The Bachelor, 11/6/2020

FOOTBALL PRACTICE UPDATE SEE PAGE FIVE November 6,6,2020 NOVEMBER 2020

GOP Succeeds in Indiana; Mixed Picture Nationwide

COURTESY OF THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

51st Governor of Indiana Eric Holcomb. The Indianapolis-native crusied to victory in his relection bid Tuesday against Democrat Woody Myers and Libertarian Donald Rainwater.

COOPER SMITH ’23 | ONLINE EDITOR • Between stressed students, frazzled

faculty, and cancelled classes, it is clear that the ongoing election has taken its toll. A number of close elections have been called, but Wabash students, like Americans everywhere, anxiously await final results in a number of key races.

Republican Victoria Spartz won the House seat for Indiana’s Fifth District.

Spartz faced a tough challenge from Democrat Christina Hale, and the race received national attention.

Ultimately, Spartz received 51.1% of the vote. Following the race, Spartz said, “This has been a long, tough campaign and I look forward uniting Hoosiers around real solutions and serving every resident of Indiana’s 5th District by ensuring we have the right policies for a strong economy, good schools, affordable healthcare and a great quality of life.”

Bryce McCullough, Chairman of the Wabash College Republicans, contextualized the Spartz victory.

McCullough said, “A lot of the speculation had assumed that Hale would win that race and flip that seat. But what we saw was that Republicans are still strong in Indiana.

I was quite surprised that Spartz won by such a large margin – it wasn’t super close. But I think it’s more

of a reflection of what’s happening nationwide for Congressional races.

While many believed that Democrats would pad their majority in the House, Republicans have flipped seats due to the help of newly-elected Republican women and minorities.”

Liam Buckley, President of the Wabash College Democrats, also spoke about the Spartz victory. Buckley said, “It’s disappointing to see. Hale was a strong candidate with a massive volunteer army. It was unfortunate to see her not pull ahead. Same with several other House Democrats – a disappointing overall trend.”

The Indiana Fifth District race was indicative of a broader disappointing trend for Democrats across legislatures. Despite Democratic hopes to maintain or even increase their U.S. House majority, it appears that they will actually lose a handful of seats but still hang on to their majority. While Democrats were hoping to flip control of the Senate, at this point, chances of this seem slim. So far, the Democrats have only gained one seat. While four Senate races have not yet been called, it seems likely that Democrats will not gain control of the Senate. Control of the Senate will likely be decided by a pair of special elections in Georgia in early January.

In the Indiana gubernatorial

election, Republican incumbent Eric Holcomb secured reelection with over 56% of the vote. In Montgomery County, Holcomb received 62%, while Libertarian candidate Donald Rainwater received a surprising 21% of the vote. Holcomb appears hopeful about the status of Indiana. He said, “Even, and especially, in a year like 2020 — ain’t it good to be a Hoosier?

Hope and growth and opportunity are alive and well in our state.”

Indiana Republicans performed well across a variety of Indiana races.

Wabash alumnus Todd Rokita ’92 won the Indiana Attorney General race with 59% of the vote. Hoosier Republicans increased their supermajority in the State House to 71 of the 100 seats.

State Republicans also won 18 of the 25 state Senate races, also increasing their control.

As for the main national event, the Presidential race, there is still no clear winner. So far, The Associated Press has called the key battleground states of Arizona, Wisconsin, and Michigan for former Vice President Joe Biden.

President Trump won all three in 2016.

As the race currently stands, Biden leads with 264 electoral votes, needing six more to clinch the presidency. Biden must win any one of the four remaining states –

Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, or Georgia to win the presidency.

President Trump would need to win all four to win reelection.

Of the remaining states, Georgia is the closest race. With 98% of the ballots counted, President Trump currently leads the state by a mere 3,000 votes. The remaining ballots are expected to skew towards former Vice President Biden – so this will be close to the finish. With 16 electoral votes, Georgia has been a safe Republican stronghold for decades. Now, Georgia has the potential to turn blue for the first time since 1992.

Both College Democrats and College Republicans commented on the status of the presidential race. College Democrats President Buckley said, “We’re feeling incredibly comfortable where we are. Biden is poised to take AZ, NV, PA, and potentially even GA, giving him a decisive victory and mandate for the next four years.”

McCullough contextualized, saying, “While Joe Biden may wind up winning the presidency, Democrats didn’t really accomplish the blue wave they hoped for.”

No matter the results of the race for the presidency, the chaos and uncertainty experienced so far certainly fit the the bill of a hectic 2020.

COURTESY OF GOOGLE

A map detailing the 2020 Electoral College map of the 2020 Presidential Election. At the time of publication, both Democratic Candidate Joe Biden and Republican incumbent Donald Trump are short of the 270 electoral college votes necessary to secure the race.

VOLUME 113 • ISSUE 12

Verdi’s Music Speaks To Unity

IO MAEDA ’24 | STAFF WRITER • We are still unsure who the next U.S. President will be for next four years.

Although Americans have voted under the strong belief of democracy, people are dissatisfied and arguing with each other about upcoming events.

Furthermore, the pandemic makes people worry about their future and how to live.

However, people should not give up because we have succeeded in overcoming many obstacles throughout our human history. We have improved our civilization every time we face difficulties. There is light if people continue pursuing it.

Looking at Europe, they are also in turmoil because the number of COVID-19 cases are increasing.

For example, Italy has decided to strengthen the restriction such as closing shops and imposing curfew to prevent the pandemic. Even though Italians are suffering, they are still united by music.

Giuseppe Verdi’s “Va pensiero, sull’ali dorate” which is one of the numbers from his opera Nabucco is recognized as the “second national anthem” of Italy. It has been loved

by Italian since its first performance in 1842. There is a famous saying that this music sparked the spirit of independence to the people of Milan who were under the control of Austria.

“Nabucco” is an opera about Hebrews from Jerusalem who were slaved and taken to Babylonia. However, they were freed by king of Babylonia Nabucco who praised their God (Jehovah). At the same time, it is also a love story of a couple who came from Jerusalem and Babylonia (mutual enemies). “Va pensiero” is played when the Hebrews are captives and sing about missing their home country.

Like the Hebrew people, the composer Verdi himself had a very difficult life. Before he composed this opera, he had lost his wife, son, and daughter. He became so depressed that he stopped composing. However, when La Scala’s impresario Merelli gave the script of Nabucco, he was impressed and encouraged to pursue a career as a composer again by the words, which start with “Va pensiero, sull’ali dorate (Go, thought, on wings of gold)”.

Fortunately, this opera was very successful, and he became a wellknown composer. Other famous operas composed by Verdi are La Traviata, having the famous drinking song “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici (Let’s drink from the joyful cups)”, and Aida, having the famous “Grand March”.

The music of “Va Pensiero” starts with the strings playing ornamented notes. It can be a metaphor for the Hebrew dragging the chain while they walk. They do not have freedom because they were being held captive.

Woodwind instruments express their sad feelings. Their short notes with staccato musically represent that they are dropping their tears. The solo part of the flute sounds so isolated that no one will rescue them.

Then, in contrast to the mourning sounds, the thunder-like sounds played in forte repeated three times astonishes the audience. The strings express that scream by playing two close notes in a fast tempo. The bass sounds in a solemn atmosphere to show how their difficulties weigh on their lives.

The music becomes calm again as if they stopped panicking while the flute plays a bird’s twitter-like melody.

Then, the orchestra starts playing a dance beating rhythm. It does not have a happy tune but conveys nostalgia to the audience.

The chorus (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) starts singing the song in unison or all different voices singing the same pitch and rhythm. Also, the first violin and the woodwind instruments play the same melody as the chorus. The music is easy to sing as they put their hearts together.

They sing the smooth melody as they reminisce about their happy past memories in their home country.

They sing many of the parts in triplets, a rhythm in which three notes sound in the space of two. It sounds like they suffer breathing as they express their feelings.

Then the chorus sings the loudest dynamics of the piece twice. They express their fate first and then their memories. The chorus finally sings a different melody no longer in unison creating harmonies. The audience can hear each person`s voice through the enriched sound.

After the short transition, they sing the same melody as in the beginning.

However, the first violin and some woodwind instruments do not play the same melody as the chorus but play the dancing rhythm instead.

This part focuses more on the chorus because most instruments are just accompanying it.

The dancing melody has higher pitches than before as chorus’s feelings rise. They repeat the last lyrics three times expressing hope that their suffering will someday end. The music ends gently as if they pray to their God. It is clear that music has power to unity people and to strive against difficulties like the Hebrew people.

Our strong hope for the bright future goes over the walls blocking before us.

Whatever happens in our lives, we have the right to be always happy. The only thing we can do right now is to believe that our world will be a better place for all people.

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COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA.ORG

Giuseppe Verdi was a composer from Italy during the 19th Century. He is known for being a supporter of Italian Unification.

From The Ramsay Archives:

OPINION AUSTIN HOOD ’21 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

REED MATHIS ’22 NEWS EDITOR

ALEX ROTARU ’22 OPINION EDITOR

BLAKE LARGENT ’22 SPORTS EDITOR

DREW BLUETHMANN ’22 CAVELIFE EDITOR

BENJAMIN HIGH ’23 PHOTO EDITOR

COOPER SMITH ’23 ONLINE EDITOR

JOHN WITCZAK ’21 COPY EDITOR

Social Boxers Austin Stockton ’24 Reply to this editorial at asstock24@wabash.edu

W

ith such a rise in tense politics, political climates, and political news, I think it’s important to remember that politics is based mostly on one thing: respect. It seems to me that modern politics are mostly about just bickering and arguing between two people. Furthermore, it’s mostly just about two sides, no in-between.

It’s all Democrats vs. Republicans, and no input from the Libertarians, Green Party, Reform Party, and others.

The thing about politicians, and for the sake of inclusion, businessmen, lawyers, and economists, is that they are social boxers.

Boxing is a discipline based on respect. Yes, it’s going to hurt to get hit by someone who’s trying to knock you down, but every blow that you take is only going to help you give back bigger blows. In the early days, it was about sportsmanship and dignity, not about talking smack about the other person and acting like a tough guy in front of the camera. In retrospect, politics has become that way, and is continuing on the same path.

Politics - and more specifically American politics - used to be about respect, dignity, honor, and friendship. Boxing was just like that, but, much like politics, it’s now about being cheap and disrespectful, rather than smart and respectful. What boxing and MMA are nowadays is just hurting your opponent and using everything you can to take them down while also not letting them have their chance to hit you. Politicians will interrupt, insult, blaspheme, and just disrespect each other.

So, what happened? How did it come to be this way? Are we just going to whine and complain and talk like babies just because others don’t have the same opinions or beliefs as us? It looks like we’re getting there, and fast, but can we counteract this? Yes, we just need to say “I agree to disagree” and move on.

Being in the middle ground or trying to be the middleman doesn’t help solve the situation.

It only helps both sides bring up their points and try to make a persuasive speech, but that sometimes doesn’t work either.

I think that we need to take a moment and ask ourselves, “Do I need to say something that argues or builds on their point? Are there any alternatives? If I agree, will anyone support me?”. Questions like these help us make sure we sound like people who just want to make a difference, and not like buffoons. You don’t have to hate or argue with someone just because they say x and you say y. You need to understand why they say x, so that they can understand why you say y.

This isn’t just about politics. This goes

into law, business, economics, sociology, and other fields and areas, but it’s all about understanding and knowledge. For something that needs to be done, there needs to be more than just one perspective and, more importantly, understanding why there are multiple perspectives. Having just one perspective limits what can be done in and for a situation, whether or not that one perspective is the “right” perspective. To add on, there is no right perspective or opinion.

Now yes, some opinions and perspectives could be very unpopular and very hated, but it all comes back to understanding.

In conclusion, whatever happens in the future, just remember, there are always multiple sides and perspectives that, whether you like them or not, you must think about and see where you can build your point off of that. It won’t be easy, but nothing in life truly is, so it’s best to just think about how you can reach your opponent and to the other side, but the best and most rational way to do that, is through respect.

The Biggest Problem in the World Eric Lakomek ’21 Reply to this editorial at ealakome21@wabash.edu

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he year 2020 has been frustrating. We have all experienced disturbances in our everyday lives in more ways than one.

(Just a little side note: I love baseball, so I am going to use a baseball metaphor here.) 2020 is like a curveball. As a hitter, it looks great coming out of the pitcher’s hand. However, as soon as you feel like you will crush it, the ball curves away, and you miss. A curveball that I faced this year was the challenge of virtual interviews.

Generally, I enjoy conversations that occur face to face, but, because of COVID-19 restrictions, I had to adjust my approach. Finishing the

interview felt great. However, my mind kept coming back to one particular question that I could not shake: what is the biggest problem in the world?

The question was simple yet loaded. I remember sitting there, feeling as if my mind was racing a million miles per hour. How could I pick just one, and which was the biggest? In an age where we are faced with the threat of COVID-19, racial injustice, climate change, poverty, and many others, I struggled to formulate a response that captured the essence of the message I was trying to get across. After some more thought, I felt thousands of synapses fire and give me an “aha” moment. The biggest problem in the world is that we often forget the human condition.

Many people lose sight of what it means to be human. We all have desires, needs, and wants.

We all have the same blood. We all love and have feelings. Failing to understand the struggles faced by others is why issues plague us in society.

When we do not acknowledge this, injustices occur, diseases continue to ravage areas, and people suffer. Stand with those against racial injustice. Stand with those who work to fight

COVID-19. Stand with those who will come after us two hundred years from now, and who will be affected by our climate decisions today.

In every problem that has arisen, the world has become so polarized. We are fighting against each other, instead of addressing the issues at hand. We are losing sight of our species. Instead, we are becoming selfish, individualists who only look out for our own best interests. The only proper way to overcome this is to have empathy and embody one of this college’s core tenets: living humanely.

I think back to my experiences in Dr. Wetzel’s Global Health course. We dedicated an entire week to empathy and compassion, with the sole purpose of enhancing our skills. Empathy is so powerful and draws us back to remember the human condition. By placing ourselves in another individual’s situation, we can fully grasp the person’s struggle. Empathy means living humanely. And to live humanely in society requires all individuals to understand themselves as humans. It is quite difficult to impact another person’s life if you have not discovered your connection to that person as a member of humanity. Therefore, it is best to understand

what connects us all.

To live humanely as a good community member requires us to understand that differences are a construct and that we have many of the same biological and psychological needs. We must realize that we may have different beliefs and attitudes, yet we are all still human. It is best if we can recognize our differences and accept each other for who we are. There is no need to criticize, stereotype, or falsely accuse someone of something just because they are different from us. Our humanity connects us all.

Despite our differences, we should attempt to make close relationships with our neighbors. I encourage you to go out and make new friends.

Introduce yourself to someone you do not know; someone who is different from you. Get to know one another and accept the other person for who they are. Many problems would be eliminated from society if we embodied this simplified version of living humanely in our community.

Living humanely means living together and remembering what it means to be one human race. The biggest problem in the world is a function of us losing sight of this.

Ditch Discipline and Inquire Freely!

Alex Rotaru ’22 Reply to this editorial at arotaru22@wabash.edu

D

iscipline: there’s no word I hate more.

It’s basically getting your body into a routine that will help you accomplish tasks. While that is productive, my concern comes from discipline not leaving any wiggle room for the eternal questions: am I doing the right thing? Is this what I should be doing? Why should I do this? I, for one, have been annoying a lot of people with my lack of discipline, as I have learned to replace it with free inquiry.

Today, I will show you why you need to do the same, what the effects of doing so will be, and what the limitations and caveats we, as a society, need to keep in mind to maintain free inquiry for all.

The main reason I pursue free inquiry above all is because I don’t know, and I want to learn. There will always be questions where an

approximate answer - which is far from perfect will have to do (philosophy majors study them all the time). As such, discipline becomes incredibly risky, as the actions I pursue are based on ideas that may very well be in error, and, should I need to pivot, the routine that discipline provides will make it incredibly difficult; free inquiry, on the other hand, will make sure I keep my mind open to any changes I will need to make within my mindset and my actions.

Free inquiry requires and produces a free society. Tyrants will frequently prevent their subjects from asking questions, in order to feed their egos and keep themselves in power. Free inquiry will always lead to the answer that is closest to the truth - even though it may not showcase the full truth, as that is not always possible. And that answer will change with time, which is expected. I mean, injecting mercury up a guy’s delicate parts was the answer to treating gonorrhea in the 1800s, but I doubt doctors would do that today. And the only way medicine, science, and knowledge in general can evolve is through free inquiry.

With free inquiry, you will allow yourself to protect a moral value without getting bound to principles that will likely get overthrown as time goes on. Different ages, generations, and even companies have different moral codes, and being able to navigate them easily will enable you to adapt and better yourself in the process.

This is basically the Darwinian argument of the survival of the most adaptable (i.e. the fittest).

Also, free inquiry will free you from the intricate web of frustrations that inevitably comes with partisanship. In partisan America, people stand their ground based on opinion, which is not always the result of free inquiry.

When you inquire freely, what you seek is the best possible outcome for yourself, your community, and all the other stakeholders of a decision. Free inquiry results more often than not in the best information one can get about a situation, and allows people to make decisions based on arguments instead of just feelings and whatever propaganda politicians use these days.

So, with all these boons coming from free inquiry, and tyranny standing against free inquiry, you might think that I am advocating for anarchy - what better society to inquire than one without rules, right? Actually, it’s not that simple. According to social contract theorists, we would wind up in a world where we would be fighting against one-another constantly. Even though we would have all of our rights intact, we would be spending our time defending them and surviving - which means we won’t have time for inquiry. So, we created society in the hopes of sacrificing some rights in order to truly benefit from others being respected for all.

And, so, one thing we need to figure out is what rights should not be infringed upon in

pursuing inquiry. The biggest one is life. We all have our own valuable perspective, and we all have something to bring to the table. Death is an irreversible loss in the pursuit of free inquiry: a person who is dead cannot inquire - or, at least, cannot communicate their findings, should they be in whatever afterlife your or their religion dictates they are in.

Also, people’s inquiry abilities get hindered when they are unhealthy, unsafe, and not free. The unsafe part is the reason society was created in the first place, per social contract Theory. Also, in tyranny, people fear authority or are censored, so free inquiry cannot exist.

Finally, people will worry about their health before worrying about inquiry.

Now, pursuing happiness is a tricky situation: happiness can create contentment, which results in people not inquiring, but sadness does the same thing because of hopelessness. While a healthy dose of happiness will help with inquiry, we should not chase it blindly.

Thus, here’s my argument: moderation in everything but inquiry and experimentation will lead people to a healthy, moral life. Inquiry and exploration are at the core of the liberal arts, but not necessarily the Anglo-Saxon mindset. I challenge you, the reader, to question, to ask, to be curious, and to experiment and explore, so that your soul may stay young, hungry, and always growing.

find: a Gem Micromatic single-edge, safety razor, (aka Grandpapi’s old reliable) for a measly $7. Fascinated by the prospect, I didn’t see a loss in going all in. So, at the close of last spring I bought myself a Weishi Nostalgic double-edge, safety razor, an industry standard. That along with after shave made me the caricature of a clean-shaven go getter, “Honey, I’m home!”

And that’s how I usually advertise when I’m asked to explain my atypical hobby. But in my abridged tale told by materials and intrigue, left out is a story of hot water, razor blades, frustration, and blood. Grandpapi may have left his razor behind, but he took his technique with him. Barbasol and a half-witted understanding of what you think a wet shave is like will get you a theatrical tragedy of a shave. Bloody, blown out, and scared, your beard will grow out of the hesitation to pick up that nasty contraption ever again.

The solution was long in the making. Trial and error only captures part of it. But after a painstaking process, soon enough I was picking up my razor with more confidence, honing my technique, and giving more thought to my shaving kit. After my new razor came in the mail, a badger-hair brush, Italian-style shaving cream, and a bespoke selection of razor blades soon followed. I became a hobbyist.

Also let it be known, this style of shaving is robust. The tools are not convenient and cheap at the start. The technique comes in weeks, not days. And there is no respite from its due diligence. This is no half-assed endeavor. If

you ‘bout it, you ‘bout it. And as I took up what I now know is a mantle of a long tradition of shaving, there was a lesson to be learned. I realized that in our charge for expedience and convenience in the mail-order shave we have abandoned a sound foundation.

When did we start thinking that shaving was a source of tedium? When did we forget that shaving is a part of self-care? The minutiae of how I shave is not the salient take away from this investment of my time and focus.

You and I will be shaving until we ride the pale horse. How you do it is not my business. Take a lawnmower blade to your scruff if that’s what makes you happy. But underneath going through these motions was an allegory for reflection, literally looking into the mirror but also looking deeper into myself.

It somehow engaged with the old principles, incorruptible and timeless. When we care for something, we make it mean more. In a sense, we make it more real. When something fully grasps our attention, it doesn’t blur into the periphery, escape in the fickle feel of memory, or become corrupted by the passage of time. It appears dead center, true, and remarkable.

When I shave with a safety razor, I feel more real because I’m augmenting something about myself. I’m flexing my technique and experimenting. It’s sensual. But my tools in that moment are also more real. My razor is cast from brass. I use a badger-hair brush to apply natural, imported Italian soap made by a real person on my face. My razor blades are imported from many different countries and are

fabricated out of paper-thin steel, laced with a few microns of a platinum or ceramic coating.

The material technology alone is preternatural.

It’s the same essence that makes a flag made out of something other than polyester—one can imagine some thick, coarse cotton—more real.

That is not to discount that something of lesser material can produce the same image or fulfill the same purpose. But it falls into the common trope of seeing results as the end-all, be-all; the destination is more important than the journey; the ends justify the means. One can say it a million ways. But quality goes deeper than performance. Quality is longevity not inherent in the durability of its materials alone but in the awareness of its creation. It can be symbolic. If something means more, we will go to greater lengths to protect it, maintain it, and not overextend its utility.

And the transcendent quality about this allegory about reflection is that both the tool and you appear in the mirror. Every day we have the opportunity to pay attention to the way we create ourselves, how we treat our forms and how we cultivate our minds. If we truly cared about bodies and minds, how much more would we value and maintain them? How symbolic are we to ourselves?

Like the nature of the wet shave, augmentation of the self is robust, not cheap, not convenient, won’t arrive tomorrow, and will require your diligence without respite. So therefore, let it be that like with the wet shave, that we ourselves may also be built on a sound and long-lasting foundation.

The Principles in Wet Shaving Latham Davies ’22 Reply to this editorial at lldavies22@wabash.edu

L

ast year roughly around this time, I started wet shaving to scratch the itch that lingered after my monthly mailorder shave didn’t do me right. My subscription left me $6 bucks in the hole using a 3-blade cartridge razor with questionable integrity. It made me long for the higher tiers with a $15 subscription and an additional 4 blades, the executive-upper-class-admiral’s-club-superultra-supreme shave.

But what was truly disconcerting about it all, aside from the stagnation at the poor man’s razor, was the amount of waste and formality with it. Every month was another postal box with some exclusively online company’s name on it, which had more plastic cases for more cheaply manufactured cartridges inside. I felt like I was feeding the earth a toxic snack for the sake of a few fewer whiskers. My past self needed a revelation.

And providence gave way to a thrift store

THE BACHELOR | WABASHC OLLEGEBACHELOR .C OM | 3

NEWS

Glee Club to Hold Semester’s First Concert

COURTESY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

Sebastian Wang ‘22 and other members of the Glee Club during their trip to New York City over Spring Break last semester.

IO MAEDA ’24 | STAFF WRITER • The Glee Club Fall Concert will be live and in-person in the Knowling Fieldhouse this Friday, November 6th at 7:30 pm.

All members of the Wabash Campus Community are welcome to attend.

Unfortunately, it is not open to the public this time due to the pandemic.

Tickets are required for this free concert. It limits one ticket per person and a limit of 100 tickets. Also, participants must have a “Go” sign on your COVID Pass to attend.

If it is unable to attend for some of them, then they can still enjoy watching the concert which will be live-streamed at www.wabash.edu/live. The concert will be about half an hour to prevent the pandemic during the concert.

This semester, the singers had a difficult time because of the pandemic.

They had to have social distance and wore masks all the time during their practices. They practiced outside of the Fine Arts Center with a piano accompaniment.

For the first few weeks, they rehearsed into several small groups to avoid large congregations. Then, all of the members were finally able to practice the whole thing just a couple of weeks ago.

Benjamin Bullock’ 23, one of the singers said, “Anybody who has sung in a choir before will testify that it can be hard to hear every part all the time. I can assure you that masks and spacing out do not make it easier.”

The pandemic brought more difficulties other than the masks and the social distance.

They practiced in a bad environment like extreme heat, extreme wind, or rain while being outside. Also, they suffered from black bugs biting them, which they needed to prepare bug spray all the time.

However, the new director of the Glee club Dr. Williams said, “Although they faced many difficulties, they are well prepared for the upcoming concert. The guys are doing well working hard for the concert. They are fun to work with.”

According to her, while the pandemic brought challenges, it has also brought a good opportunity. “So there are definitely negatives, but there are also positives to this concert format. This

will be the first family members who are far away to hear the concert because of all the live broadcast on the website.”

About the upcoming concert and what she is looking forward to, she said, “All singing together. That is something that is such an important part of a member of a choir. To give some joy and mental break to the audience members. Music is not what we do, it is part of us.”

It is a great thing that we can hold a music concert during such a hard time.

The Glee club has done three informal spontaneous events throughout the semester, but this concert will be the first to be held in a formal situation.

In order to find out what our Glee Club have been working on throughout the semester, attend the concert on Friday.

McRary Advises DC Hopefuls

JAKOB GOODWIN ’23 | STAFF WRITER •

In the heat of counting ballots in Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Nevada, Wabash students were learning about opportunities for summer internships in Washington, DC. Combined with the Career Services Department, Special Advisor to the President for Public Policy Opportunities Lewis McCrary gave a presentation to a group of students interested in public policy internships in our nation’s capital.

Lewis McCrary, a graduate of the University of Cambridge, came to Wabash this summer to join the President’s office to help students to do just this. McCrary has a decade of experience in DC media, including some time as Executive Editor at The American Conservative. He’s also spent time at The Cato Institute, the Pew Research Center, and in the Senate Republican Policy Committee.

McCrary began his presentation by giving a better explanation of what public policy is and what that entails in Washington. There are four sectors of DC: the government, non-profit work, business, and media. The government is exactly what you would think it would be: the different parts of the Federal government. Think tanks and other research institutions make up a lot of the non-profit scene in DC. The business field is made up of consulting groups and lobbying firms. Newspapers, broadcasting channels, and social media makes up the fourth estate, the media in the Capital.

These different groups make up the political scene and work to make decisions for the country.

After explaining what all actually happens in the beltway, McCrary moved

to the different kinds of internships that may be available to students interested in interning in DC. Students were interested in many different policy fields, including economics, foreign policy, and social justice issues. There may be opportunities at think tanks like the Brookings Institution or the Hoover Institute, advocacy groups like FreedomWorks, and government agencies like the CIA. McCrary urged the students on the call to find a passion in some public policy field and become an expert in that field. That means reading many sources, writing about the issue, and using all of our great campus resources to learn as much as possible. McCrary suggested a few DC Politicos that students should read in order to learn what is going on. He mentioned Politico, Axios, and The Hill amongst others. He also noted some magazines like The National Review, Vox, and the Atlantic. McCrary and the Career Services department have worked with alumni to help students by making these paid opportunities a reality. DC is expensive, so Wabash wanted to make these opportunities available to students without having to worry about the cost of living.

McCrary then moved into a discussion about the DC experience and what living in Washington is like. Even though it is the focus of national politics, McCrary said that DC is like a small town.

Geographically, it’s a small town and everything is quite close together. He says that DC is accessible if you can afford the rent. He also noted the importance of the networking opportunities in DC. McCrary said he still reaches out to some of his connections in the Capital.

Washington, DC is sure to be somewhat

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COURTESY OF THE FUND FOR AMERICAN STUDIES

Lewis McCrary. After an extensive career in our nation’s capital, McCrary joined the Wabash College staff as the Special Advisor to the President.

different come next summer. At the time of publication, they are still counting ballots to determine the President and the Senate is still up for grabs. This is all without mentioning COVID-19 and the

uncertainty it will continue to cast on all of our lives. However, what is certain is that there will be some great opportunities for Wabash men to make a difference and stand TALL in our nation’s capital.

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BACHELOR

301 W. Wabash Ave., Crawfordsville, IN, 47933 Twitter: @WabCoBachelor_ Instagram: wabashcollegebachelor EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Austin Hood • aghood21@wabash.edu

NEWS EDITOR

Reed Mathis • rwmathis22@wabash.edu

OPINION EDITOR

Alex Rotaru • arotaru22@wabash.edu

SPORTS EDITOR

Blake Largent • jblargen22@wabash.edu

CAVELIFE EDITOR

Drew Bluethmann • dmblueth22@wabash.edu

PHOTO EDITOR

Benjamin High • bchigh22@wabash.edu

ONLINE EDITOR

Cooper Smith • cesmith23@wabash.edu

COPY EDITOR

John Witczak • jbwitcza21@wabash.edu The purpose of The Bachelor is to serve the school audience, including but not limited to administrators, faculty and staff, parents, alumni, community members and most importantly, the students. Because this is a school paper, the content and character within will cater to the student body’s interests, ideas, and issues.

Further, this publication will serve as a medium and forum for student opinions and ideas.

Although an individual newspaper, the Board of Publications publishes The Bachelor. The Bachelor and BOP receive funding from the Wabash College Student Senate, which derives its funds from the Wabash College student body.

Letters (e-mails) to the editor are welcomed and encouraged. They will only be published if they include name, phone, or e-mail, and are not longer than 500 words.

The Bachelor reserves the right to edit letters for content, typographical errors, and length.

All letters received become property of this publication for the purposes of reprinting and/ or redistribution. Profanity may appear in the publication, but only in cases of direct quote or if profanity is necessary to the content of the story. Please do not confuse profanity with obscenity. No article or picture of an obscene nature will appear in this publication.

The Bachelor is printed every Thursday at the Purdue Exponent in West Lafayette. It is delivered freely to all students, faculty, and staff at Wabash College. All advertising published in the Bachelor is subject to an established rate card. The Bachelor reserves the right to deny requests for publication of advertisements. Student organizations of Wabash College may purchase advertisements at half the listed rate.

The Bachelor is a member of the Hoosier State and Indiana Collegiate Press Associations (HSPA and ICPA).

NEWS

Students Prep for HI-FIVES Extended Winter Break FIVE THINGS WORTHY

OF A HI-FIVE THIS WEEK

JAKOB GOODWIN ’23 | STAFF WRITER • Wabash students usually have four

or five weeks for semester week.

This means we go home and rest for a short period before coming back to Crawfordsville and getting our nose back to the grindstone. However, just like everything else in this year of uncertainty and change, winter is going to be different. Winter break is eight weeks long this year and that is too long to not do anything. Associate Dean Roland Morin ’91 has said that students need to do something worth telling a story about. In pursuit of that, the Professional Development office created some opportunities for students to gain experience and credentials for their future. I interviewed Andrew Gonczarow ’22 and Cooper Smith ’23 to learn what they are doing over this long break.

I zoom-ed with Andrew Gonczaro to ask him about his winter. He’s going to have a full break between his Agile course and the work he is doing with the Admissions Department.

Andrew was one of the students accepted into the Agile program that the Professional Development office helped set up. Andrew will be one of the participants in a four-week Agile Program Certification course from the University of Maryland. Agile is a project management software that helps companies organize and manage their workloads. It’s a goals-based system that prioritizes working together and spreading out work across multiple people. Agile also allows businesses to adapt to sudden changes quickly without affecting their workflow. Andrew said he was incredibly thankful for this opportunity.

However, this isn’t the only thing Andrew is doing this winter. He’ll be working with the Admissions Office to train others how to give tours over the winter. We’ve noticed a few seniors on campus throughout a program that the Professional Development office helped set up. Andrew will be one of the participants in a four-week Agile Program Certification course from the University of Maryland. Agile is a project management software that helps companies organize and manage their workloads. It’s a goals-based system that prioritizes working together and spreading out

work across multiple people. Agile also allows businesses to adapt to sudden changes quickly without affecting their workflow. Andrew said he was incredibly thankful for this opportunity over the break.

However, this isn’t the only thing Andrew is doing this winter. He’ll be working with the Admissions Office to train others how to give tours over the winter. We’ve noticed a few seniors on campus throughout this semester taking tours of our campus to get a feel for Wabash. This winter, the admissions office wants to give prospective students more opportunities to see housing and other places on campus that are often too crowded to tour. Andrew is going to be training new tour leaders so that more students can come and see our great campus.

This winter, Cooper Smith is interning at the Louisville Legal Aid Society. The LLAS is a poverty law center that gives the poorest in Louisville legal representation. Cooper will be working in the economic security law practice at the LLAS. They handle tax law, consumer debt litigation, bankruptcy, and record expungement. One of the areas Cooper will be dealing with is eviction, an issue that has only become more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic. He’ll get to sit in on court hearings, draft petitions, and do legal research.

Cooper told me that he’s passionate about public interest law and social justice, so this 12-week internship will give him the kind of experience he wants to take into his future as a lawyer. He is looking forward to working on record expungement and evictions because of just how current the issue is. He said that he, “Can’t think of a better time to work on record expungement and eviction hearings. Given the events of this summer and the pandemic, this grants a great opportunity to learn on the job.”

This winter has provided an opportunity for students to do something great and turn this time of uncertainty into a story they can tell for the rest of their life. Andrew and Cooper will have some great stories from these opportunities from their winter break.

CANCEL FINALS, BECAUSE REASONS (PLEASE)

Lo-Five to the Registar for scheduling 6 p.m. exams during finals week. God knows that a great way to round at a semester where campus-wide mental health is at an all time is by forcing BIO 101 students to miss dinner to act like they know what the hell a ribosome is.

GARLIC AND WOODEN STAKES STOCKS UP Hi-Five to the President and his supporters for taking a strong stand against the Vampiric scourge that’s ravishing this country. “Stop the count” will live on as a mantra against pale Romanian Aristocrats in American poltics for years to come.

2020 = GROUNDHOG’S DAY? Lo-five to daylight savings time for forcing yet another hour of the year that will never end upon us. What’s next: Professor Ross will discover that we’ll have to repeat 2020 because the sun’s still couting mail-in ballots?

REPUBS VOTE FOR CASPER Hi-Five to the people of North Dakota for electing a deceased man to their state legislature. For as much as Republicans complain about dead people voting, apparently they have no qualms about dead people taking office.

TODD GETS ELMER’S ENDORSEMENT Hi-Five to former Bachelor editor Todd Rokita ‘92 for being elected Indiana Attorney General. You give Sig Chi pledges hope for a future beyond glue sticks and quarantine!

SPORTS Football Returns to Practice L i a m G r e n n o n ’ 2 4 | S t a f f Wr i t e r • On November 2nd, Wabash Football resumed practice for the first time since last year. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the team had been unable to practice formally up until this last Monday. Encouraged to lift and workout on their own, players were excited to get back to work as a team.

Andrew Jamison ’22 was excited to return to the field while still being able to stay safe.

“I think it’s encouraging to see the guys on the new field working to get better. It’s also worth mentioning the level of commitment that the coaches have demonstrated by creating practices that feel almost normal while abiding by COVID regulations,” Jamison said. “It’s great to know that, while the goal is to resume football practices, the safety of the players and the campus is their number one priority.”

Despite that excitement of returning to team practices, the loss of this year’s season has still affected the overall morale of the team.

“There has definitely been some hurt felt in our football community. I think that we all wished we could have played, especially our seniors. All of can relate to having a season ripped away from you, it is a horrible thing.” said Nathan Pairitz ’23. Despite this, Pairitz remains optimistic about the rest of the season.

“With practices starting up again, those that are practicing are excited about it. It is a great feeling to be on the field with your brothers. We are all ready to get back and get to work, especially after losing the bell last year. That has left a sour taste in our mouths, and we cannot wait to play them again,” Pairitz said.

Practices are being conducted in groups of living units to combat the possible risk of exposure during practices. This means that members of the team from Sigma Chi will practice with each other at a designated time, while Martindale residents practice with one another at a separate time.

BENJAMIN HIGH ‘23 / PHOTO

Wabash has begun to open the Little Giants Stadium to The College community, though certain portions remain under construction.

This way any exposure on the team can be contained within living units.

Players also are required to wear masks and are avoiding any physical contact.

The experience of freshman football players has been very different than years prior. We spoke to Steven Thomas ’24 to get his experience as a Freshman this year.

“It has been pretty lackluster in

regards to football up until this Monday,” said Thomas. “We needed to be doing a lot of individual lifting and workouts to be ready for when we got back on the field, but being able to put work in outside of the gym has been great.”

Cole Bergman ’24 also echoes Steven’s sentiments.

“Because to Covid these last couple of months, we haven’t been able to do

anything officially as a team. Sure, we could lift together, but it’s nice to have some football drills being run as a team again,” said Bergman.

The team hopes that being able to practice safely will pay dividends when they are finally able to return to competing. With two weeks left in the semester, each day of extra practice is one step closer to bringing the bell home.

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