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The Appalachian Tuesday. September 22, 2015

FIELD HOCKEY see PAGE 12

Chris Deverell

Car crashes into Appalachian Antique Mall by Carl Blankenship News Editor

onday afternoon, a Toyota Highlander backed through one of the storefront displays of the Appalachian Antique Mall and over a parking meter on King Street. Witnesses on the scene suggested that the vehicle was being driven by an elderly woman. “I was serving tables in the window and while standing there all I saw was the car backing up into the spot,” Rachel Tilghman, a waitress at Our Daily Bread said. “Then I heard

the loud crash and I saw her go over the meter.” Tilghman said she ran outside to see if the woman was hurt or if anyone had been hit. She said that people at the tables she was serving expressed concern that if the car was parked another space up, someone could have been seriously hurt. Bystander Ron Simons said he heard the sound of glass breaking and the engine grinding as it went up into the display. “She was obviously shaken up,” Simons said. “The first thing she asked when she opened the door was, ‘I didn’t hit anybody did I?’”

Appalachian Antique Mall owner Jill Reeves said that nobody was hurt in the incident and the driver was taken to the hospital. “The first thing is we’re glad that no one was hurt,” Reeves said. “That’s number one on our minds.” She said that a lot of things have happened at her store over the years. “We’ve had the President of the United States, a state senator and this window broken with two kids fighting,” she said. “A day in the life of an antique mall, I guess.” Reeves said that she was not at the store when the crash happened but

Holocaust survivor recounts her experiences in Auschwitz by Kevin Griffin Staff Writer

Auschwitz survivor Susan Cernyak-Spatz spoke to a packed room about her experiences during the Holocaust and the importance of learning the lessons of those events Thursday in the Parkway Ballroom in the Plemmons Student Union. Cernyak-Spatz was living in Berlin with her family in 1933, the year Hitler came to power. Shortly after, the family left for Vienna, where a branch of her family’s business was located. In 1938, the Nazis took control of Austria and the family fled once again. “We left Vienna overnight,

practically, leaving behind a six-room apartment, with the silver and china and glass in the cupboards in the dining room, with the clothes in the closet, and the food in the refrigerator,” CernyakSpatz said. “And with a little suitcase in hand, I did my first flight from Vienna to Prague.” In 1939, it became apparent that the family would have to leave again. Her father left before the rest of the family on Aug. 31, a day before Germany invaded Poland. Cernyak-Spatz’s father was able to escape to Belgium from Poland. Cernyak-Spatz and her mother were left in then-Czechoslovakia. They were first transport-

ed to Theresienstadt in May 1942. From there, Cernyak-Spatz was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau in January 1943. “The first thing that hit you was a smell. I can’t even say smell, it was a stink,” Cernyak-Spatz said. “And what you saw in front of you as the train moved in was the chimney, that was flames shooting out and black smoke curling out of it.” The Jews brought in by bus were divided into groups, one headed for the gas chambers and the other for the labor camp. Cernyak-Spatz and other members in her group were

SEE SURVIVOR PAGE 2

was called about the incident. “I got a call from my store manager and she was so calm I couldn’t believe it,” Reeves said. “She said ‘Jill there’s a car in the window.’” Reeves said that the manager was so calm when she told her that she thought she was talking about a display item in the window. Planning and Inspections Director Bill Bailey said that the town would expedite the permits needed for repair work for the store. The driver’s name is still unknown. Boone Police didn’t comment on the scene and no press release had been posted as of press time.

Big turnout expected for Homecoming blood drive by Tommy Culkin Senior News Reporter

Appalachian State University will hold its ninth annual Homecoming blood drive on Sept. 23. The adviser of the student committee responsible for the blood drive, the event has always achieved high levels of success, according to Thomas Evans. “We’ve always had phenomenal turnout,” Evans said. “In our very first year, our goal was just a couple hundred pints. And without any tradition behind it or any expectation, we collected over 500 pints.” Last year, the blood drive collected 1,265 units of blood, which was the most the drive

has ever collected. This year the blood drive’s goal is to collect 1,250 units of blood, although Evans said he actually expects them to surpass last year’s record, due to an increase in advertising. “We’ve traditionally had such consistent turnout, that we’re really optimistic that we’ll hit our goal,” Evans said. To participate in the event, you can register online at www.homecoming.appstate. edu, although they will accept walk-ins. However, preference will be given to people who registered. “Everything we do on that day is to ensure that the people who registered have the most positive experience pos-

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news

University unveils diversity initiatives

by Tommy Culkin Senior News Reporter

n recent semesters, Appalachian State University has worked to address a lack of campus diversity. This semester, the university is unveiling six initiatives designed to change its culture and improve its diversity. The initiatives are the result of collaboration between administrative offices such as the Office of Multicultural Student Development, the Office of Equity, Diversity and Compliance, and various student groups which also offered input into the planning of the initiatives, such as the Appalachian Social Justice Educators, the Chancellor’s Student Advisory Board, The Black Student Association and more. “Many of the student groups that I work with in MSD played a role [in creating the initiatives],” said Everette Nichols, the interim assistant director of multicultural student development. “Last year we had a number of students attend the Black Lives Matter conference in Arizona and they came back with multiple ideas regarding material they learned at the conference.” One of the initiatives will expand upon a formal mentoring program for minority students at Appalachian State. The program is available to students

SURVIVOR

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 taken into a sauna where they were stripped, shaved and subjected to cold showers. After this, the inmates were issued clothing, including the uniforms of dead Soviet soldiers. Cernyak-Spatz was “lucky enough” to get shoes, which allowed her to avoid infections that would have meant certain death. Then, inmates were given the “absolute abyss of dehumanization”: A small feeding bowl. “It was your entire civil utensil,” Cernyak-Spatz said. “You had no spoon, you had no knife, you had no fork, you had no handkerchief, you had nothing. You were at the level of an animal.” During her time at the camp, Cernyak-Spatz learned several lessons for survival. One such lesson came early on, when camp personnel officer ordered Cernyak-Spatz and those with her to climb to the top bunks. Cernyak-Spatz later learned there was a practical reason for this. The inmates were not allowed to use the latrine at night and if one of the few buckets left at the end of the bunks was too full, inmates were forced to use their feed-

who are members of the LEAD program. In the past, upperclassmen students have mentored underclassmen students in LEAD. Now, another tier to the program is being added and the upperclassmen will also receive mentoring. The students will fill out a questionnaire about their plans for the future and then be given a professional mentor based off that information. “I think that this is incredibly invaluable,” said Bindu Jayne, the associate vice chancellor for equity, diversity and compliance. “We want to make sure that our upperclassmen students are being mentored about what identity groups they belong to and what aspirations they have.” The second initiative will provide mandatory training on inclusion and diversity for faculty members. “The goal is to have conversations about what personal steps we all can take to be cognizant of how inclusive of an environment we are creating,” Jayne said. Jayne said the initiative was inspired by a similar training program at Appalachian State. “Last year we had interpersonal violence training for all supervisors, and through that we trained roughly 780 faculty and staff members,” Jayne said. “That model was incredibly successful. We got lots of positive feedback from the faculty who

ing bowls. The contents were then emptied through a slit of the bunk, down on the other bunks. Thanks to the help of a friend, Cernyak-Spatz was able to secure various jobs “on the inside,” a development which allowed her to survive. Auschwitz-Birkenau was evacuated in January 1945, forcing 58,000 people out of the camp. Cernyak-Spatz and others in her group were sent marching through the forest to a train station. Cernyak-Spatz was transported Ravensbruck, a women’s concentration camp, where she stayed until April. In April, the Nazis and allies had a prison exchange in which the allies requested the women from Ravenbruck. Red Cross buses were dispatched to pick up the women, taking them in groups based on nationality. Cernyak-Spatz decided to stay with her group, walking west on foot. At one point, the group was forced to avoid crossfire from an exchange between unidentified groups of soldiers. The group eventually made it to an American checkpoint. CernyakSpatz asked an American soldier, “Where are we supposed to go?” “You’re speaking English. Why?” the Ameri-

went to that training, so we’re essentially using the same model.” Jayne said the only thing left for the commission to do is to hire the educator who will provide the training. Another initiative will provide a bias incident response process. If students, faculty, or staff feel that they are the victims of discrimination or harassment, they can file a complaint online or in person at the Office of Equity, Diversity and Compliance. Their response will then be addressed by a team of staff members from the various offices responsible for the creation of the initiatives, and they will decide on the proper course of action. Another initiative will expand on the exit interview process for faculty and staff. Currently, Appalachian State surveys departing staff members to see why they’re leaving. However, this process isn’t available to most of the faculty. This initiative will provide all faculty members with the opportunity to complete an exit interview. “We want to see why they’re leaving, and if there’s anything we could have done to retain them,” Jayne said. “Once we have that data we can start discussing possible changes in policies. It’s also important for us to tease out the demographics of the faculty and staff members that are leaving and figure out why they’re leaving.”

can soldier responded. “Because I learned it,” Cernyak-Spatz said. “Well, go back where you learned it from,” the soldier replied. Another prisoner who was with the soldier said that they could not go back, that they had come from an extermination camp. “I shall never forget the look that that G.I. gave me,” Cernyak-Spatz said. “He said, ‘What the hell is an extermination camp?’” She continued with the story: “And I had to think, there was this young man probably in his early 20s who had served three years, who was planning to liberate the occupied people of Europe, the oppressed people of Europe, and he had no idea who the most oppressed people were,” Cernyak-Spatz said. The soldier redirected Cernyak-Spatz and her group to a village where they could meet with his commanding officer. “All of a sudden, I realized I could stand, I could sit, I could walk backward, I could do what I wanted. I was free,” Cernyak-Spatz said. Aftermath and Lessons After the war, CernyakSpatz came to the United States, got married and had children. She is a

The last two initiatives deal with improving search committees to increase the diversity among the faculty members. The first initiative will be an online training module to educate search committees on the ways implicit biases affect search processes. The other initiative will provide face-to-face education to go more in-depth. Jayne said the six initiatives are all close to being ready, and should be implemented this semester. Nichols said he thinks these initiatives will cause gradual change rather than immediate change. He believes it’s important that these changes are gradual in order to change mindsets. “Nothing instant ever lasts long,” Nichols said. “We need to change the overall culture at App and then the diversity will improve.” Jayne believes it’s a necessity to improve the diversity on Appalachian State’s campus, not only for the benefit of minority students, but also for the benefit of the entire university. “One of the goals of higher education is to prepare our students to go off and do amazing work all over the country,” Jayne said. “In order to do that we need to have students who are prepared to think in a diverse manner and also engage with diverse populations of people, and we can’t do that if we don’t have it.”

Kevin Griffin

Susan Cernyak-Spatz signing books and sheets of paper for attendants of her speech. Cernyak-Spatz, an Auschwitz survivor, is a professor of German Literature at UNC Charlotte.

German literature Professor Emerita at UNC Charlotte. During her account, Cernyak-Spatz did not discuss the fate of her mother. In response to an audience question, she called it a “personal matter,” but mentioned that her mother had decided “to leave with her friend.” In her first time in the United States, she said that few Americans wanted to hear about the Holocaust. Only during the 1961 trials of SS officer Adolf Eichmann did this seem to change, Cernyak-Spatz said. At several points during the presentation, Cernyak-Spatz criticized the behavior of the free world, particularly in the early years of the Nazi

regime. “I have often wondered, was either the free world so stupid or so indifferent? And since I couldn’t think that the whole world was so stupid, I could only deduce that they plain didn’t give a damn,” she said. Cernyak-Spatz finished her presentation with the lesson she wants all to learn from the Holocaust. “If any of you might have a profession which might involve hurting or killing one human being, think of what I’ve told you,” she said. “Don’t let anybody, be it a multinational corporation or a government with the best salaries in the world, don’t anybody let it corrupt you and use your humanity.”

University unveils diversity initiatives by Tommy Culkin Senior News Reporter

In recent semesters, Appalachian State University has worked to address a lack of campus diversity. This semester, the university is unveiling six initiatives designed to change its culture and improve its diversity. The initiatives are the result of collaboration between administrative offices such as the Office of Multicultural Student Development, the Office of Equity, Diversity and Compliance, and various student groups which also offered input into the planning of the initiatives, such as the Appalachian Social Justice Educators, the Chancellor’s Student Advisory Board, The Black Student Association and more. “Many of the student groups that I work with in MSD played a role [in creating the initiatives],” said Everette Nichols, the interim assistant director of multicultural student development. “Last year we had a number of students attend the Black Lives Matter conference in Arizona and they came back with multiple

ideas regarding material they learned at the conference.” One of the initiatives will expand upon a formal mentoring program for minority students at Appalachian State. The program is available to students who are members of the LEAD program. In the past, upperclassmen students have mentored underclassmen students in LEAD. Now, another tier to the program is being added and the upperclassmen will also receive mentoring. The students will fill out a questionnaire about their plans for the future and then be given a professional mentor based off that information. “I think that this is incredibly invaluable,” said Bindu Jayne, the associate vice chancellor for equity, diversity and compliance. “We want to make sure that our upperclassmen students are being mentored about what identity groups they belong to and what aspirations they have.” The second initiative will provide mandatory training on inclusion and diversity for faculty members.

“The goal is to have conversations about what personal steps we all can take to be cognizant of how inclusive of an environment we are creating,” Jayne said. According to Jayne, the initiative was inspired by a similar training program at Appalachian State. “Last year we had interpersonal violence training for all supervisors, and through that we trained roughly 780 faculty and staff members,” Jayne said. “That model was incredibly successful. We got lots of positive feedback from the faculty who went to that training, so we’re essentially using the same model.” According to Jayne, the only thing left for the commission to do is to hire the educator who will provide the training. Another initiative will provide a bias incident response process. If students, faculty, or staff feel that they are the victims of discrimination or harassment, they can file a complaint online or in person at the Office of Equity, Diversity and Compliance. Their response will then be addressed by a team of staff members from the various

offices responsible for the creation of the initiatives, and they will decide on the proper course of action. Another initiative will expand on the exit interview process for faculty and staff. Currently, Appalachian State surveys departing staff members to see why they’re leaving. However, this process isn’t available to most of the faculty. This initiative will provide all faculty members with the opportunity to complete an exit interview. “We want to see why they’re leaving, and if there’s anything we could have done to retain them,” Jayne said. “Once we have that data we can start discussing possible changes in policies. It’s also important for us to tease out the demographics of the faculty and staff members that are leaving and figure out why they’re leaving.” The last two initiatives deal with improving search committees to increase the diversity among the faculty members. The first initiative will be an online training module to educate search committees on the ways implicit biases affect search processes. The other initia-

tive will provide face-toface education to go more in depth. According to Jayne, the six initiatives are all close to being ready, and should be implemented this semester. Nichols said he thinks these initiatives will cause gradual change rather than immediate change. He believes it’s important that these changes are gradual in order to change mindsets. “Nothing instant ever lasts long,” Nichols said. “We need to change the overall culture at App and then the diversity will improve.” Jayne believes it’s a necessity to improve the diversity on Appalachian State’s campus, not only for the benefit of minority students, but also for the benefit of the entire university. “One of the goals of higher education is to prepare our students to go off and do amazing work all over the country,” Jayne said. “In order to do that we need to have students who are prepared to think in a diverse manner and also engage with diverse populations of people, and we can’t do that if we don’t have it.”

Memorial held to honor students by Sammy Hanf Intern News Reporter

Speaking in front of a crowd of more than 100 in the BB Dougherty Administration building, Dean of Students J.J. Brown led a ceremony dedicated to remembering those that passed away during their time at Appalachian State University. In his opening address, Brown commended the group for their dedication to helping others in dealing with tragedy. “The way you support others in this journey has been incredible,” Brown said. Also speaking at the event were former Deans of Students Barbara Daye and and Susie Greene. Both expressed their condolences and affirmed Ap-

palachian’s commitment to the memory of those lost. Names of the deceased were read during the ceremony with flowers offered to their loved ones in attendance. Memorials submitted by families and friends were also read alongside the names. Jodie Smith was one of the parents attending the memorial. “It’s very special that they take the time to just remember,” Smith said. After the event the faculty stayed to speak personally with the bereaved and attendees were encouraged to seek out others who may be able to offer perspective on the losses experienced by students’ families. “Losing a child isn’t a feeling that is easy to empathize with,” Patrick Sul-

BLOOD

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 sible,” Evans said. Evans said the blood drive only measures turnout based on units of blood rather than the number of participants, because they don’t want to discourage the people who try to participate but can’t. “People can be turned away because they recently travelled somewhere where there was a temporary ban, or they had low iron, or another reason, and we don’t want to say that they weren’t a part of the blood drive,” Evans said. Appalachian State’s Homecoming blood

livan, a student helper at the event said. “The memorial creates a safe space where parents are able to empathize and relate to each other.” Daye said the memorial offers an open atmosphere that helps the grieving process. “You don’t have to be afraid to say anything here,” Daye said. Brown said that when he reads the names, he thinks about how all of them were students and that they will always be Mountaineers. Brown said the memorial is open for visitors at anytime during the year if they need a safe space to reflect. “It’s such a beautiful gift to think about how they will always be a part of this community,” Brown said.

drive is the largest single-day blood drive run by a college or university in the country. Anne Carpenter, a senior social work major who’s on the blood drive committee, believes this says lots about the culture of Appalachian State. “The Red Cross has a theory that they call ‘the App factor,’ where they didn’t understand what made our blood drive so successful compared to other universities’, but they finally just decided it was our student body,” Carpenter said. “The population is so focussed on the familial aspect and helping others, and there’s just something inexplicable about Appalachian which is really cool.”

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Appalachian wins in regional schools according to News and World Report by Sammy Hanf Intern News Reporter

Appalachian holds onto its spot in the top 15 southern regional schools in the News and World Report’s annual ranking. Appalachian was also recognized for its undergraduate program as well as its first year seminars. The report begins by separating institutions into categories based on the Carnegie Classification System, a metric used extensively by higher education experts, according to their website. “Once schools have been divided by category, we gather data from each college on up to 16 indicators of academic excellence,” the report said. “Each factor is assigned a weight that reflects our judgment about how much that measure matters. Finally, the colleges

and universities in each category are ranked against their peers, based on their composite weighted score.” The indicators for the report are sorted into categories such as assessment by administrators at peer institutions, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving. The report said Appalachian’s undergraduate program receives many nominations by top college officials, recognizing it for a strong commitment to the education of undergraduate students. When talking about the strengths of our general education program Michael Mayfield, vice provost for undergraduate education, said the focus is on what he calls transferable skills. “That is generally considered to include things like critical thinking skills, communication skills, creative

thinking as well as critical thinking, the ability to work in groups and knowledge of the diverse world that we live in,” Mayfield said. Mayfield said the integrative nature of the curriculum at Appalachian is instrumental in its success and the way it stretches across disciplines to expand students’ knowledge and encourages them to make connections. Appalachian’s first year experience programs were also recognized in the “academic programs to look for” category of the report. Sociology professor Martha McCaughey said the program shines because the professors involved are passionate about student development. “We had workshops, we had sessions, we had all kinds of conversations so that people really got onboard,” McCaughey said.

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LAVIER promotes new EP at Black Cat

by Abi Shaki Intern A&E Reporter

ylan Evans, who operates under his middle name, LAVIER, showcased his talent for creating silky sounds Sept. 17 at Black Cat. His latest EP, released in January, “CHAI TEA// TAI CHI,” shows how he harmoniously blends copious music genres such as jazz, dubstep, soft ambient and psychedelic rock, creating an overarching velvet ambiance for the listener. The release of “CHAI TEA//TAI CHI” solidified his strong focus for creating music. “I got into production my senior year of high school,” he said. “I spent a solid two weeks messing with the production on my computer. Then I realized that I could take this project somewhere, eventually conceiving what is now ‘CHAI TEA// TAI CHI.’” But the conception of the EP evolved from a period of temporary disarray for Evans. “A lot of the writings for my ‘CHAI TEA’ album were written during a weird time in my life,” he said. “I took a semester off after I graduated high school, and this was strange because most of my friends moved away and I wasn’t even sure

where I wanted to go school. Coincidently, I was going through a very tender relationship with this girl that I was serious about.” His disorienting endeavors, however, imbued the EP with becoming musical ideas. “Looking back, that did a lot for my creativity,” Evans said. “It’s funny because now when I listen to my old stuff, I try and capture that mood. But it’s almost impossible because that came from a bad place in my life.” And while there is this overarching ambiance in his music, there is no specific formula to Evan’s songwriting process. “Sometimes, I’ll have nothing in my brain, he said. “I’ll sit down at the piano and mess around. I think some of my best songs are created when I methodically think it out though. This way, the workflow is at ease.” Evans uses minimal yet mellifluous ornaments to make his sound lilt. “The morning after a crazy concert experience, I listened to a German duo called A/T/O/S,” Evans said. “Their music really affected me at that moment in time. Their instrumentation is minimal, yet it hits the synapses hard. That ended up being a big motivator for the creation of ‘CHAI

Abi Shaki

Musical artist Dylan Evans, who is known for blending jazz, dubstep, soft ambient and psychedelic rock, released his new album “CHAI TEA//TAI CHI.”

TEA,’ because I didn’t want the album to be musically overbearing or harsh.” There are skeptics, Evans said, that say electronic music is an entity in which talent is not needed, considering the majority of the music is solely computer generated. However, he believes this perception is false. “I hate entertaining that kind of argument,” Evans said. “The stuff I try to write is deeply rooted in jazz theory. Although the synths are computer generated, it still takes a lot of time to harmoniously blend the sounds together. I’ve put more thought and time into LAVIER than any

other band I’ve played with.” Evans set consists of a complex APC40 with 64 buttons, knobs and faders synched up to the program on his computer that houses his sounds, in addition to a small keyboard and his guitar. He hopes to eventually expand his project in the near future by adding more instruments. “It would be cool to have an entire ensemble eventually,” he said. “I’ve thought about having two people playing synths, with one synth base, a trumpet and a saxophone, perhaps. I love having the drums in the picture as well. Drums can create flows

of energy that can’t be captured with anything else.” The Pittsburg native immersed himself in music at a young age, beginning to mess around with the guitar on his own, which led to him to take formal lessons. “Eventually, I got a really good guitar teacher,” he said. “That’s when I got serious about music.” Evans has no desire to take a break from creating music. The artist has a supportive local fan base in Boone that grows with every live show. For him, LAVIER is a musical project that shouldn’t be put on the back burner – this is just the beginning.

Miley Cyrus gets weird on surprise new album by Jordan Williams Intern A&E Reporter

Music, especially pop music, is at its most unpredictable period. You have popular artists like Beyonce, Drake and Azealia Banks releasing surprise albums and now Miley Cyrus has joined the club with her new record, “Miley Cyrus and her Dead Petz.” Cyrus released the album right after her appearance as host of the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards. In 2013, Cyrus gained worldwide attention with a provocative performance where she displayed what many people considered “risque” dance moves and several sexual euphemisms. With this new album, Cyrus makes it clear that she doesn’t care what people think. She even outright says it on the opening lines to the first song, “Dooo It.” “Yeah I smoke pot, yeah I love peace/But I don’t give a f--k, I ain’t no hippy.” “Dooo It” is a carefree, weird song that is heavily influenced by The Flaming Lips, a main contributor on this album. This album as a whole appears to be Miley Cyrus messing around with some of her pals and creating whatever came

Miley Cyrus ‘Miley Cyrus and her Dead Petz’

into their heads, a bold move for a huge popstar such as herself. While this is bold, it doesn’t necessarily make it smart. However, Cyrus is at the point in her career where she doesn’t really need album sales to remain popular – a fact that she seems to be completely aware of. The majority of tracks on this album reflect on the musical relationship between Cyrus and the modern psychedelic rock band The Flaming Lips, who she collaborated with for the majority of the songs. Tracks like “Something About Space Dude,” “BB Talk,” and

“Space Boots,” while having nice and dreamy instrumentation, are overshadowed by Cyrus’ mediocre singing and some of her most ridiculous lyrics yet. “I get so high cause you’re not here smoking my weed/And I get so bored/Cause you’re not here to make me laugh,” she sings, as if she were an 8th grader trying weed for the first time. Some tracks remain interesting despite their terrible lyrical content. “Milky Milky Milk,” and “Cyrus Skies” have just enough of an intriguing production quality that it makes the songs somewhat bearable. The dreamy, fuzzed out Flaming Lips influence has saved this album on many of the tracks. Tracks such as “I Forgive Yiew,” featuring production from big-time rap producer Mike WiLL Made It, and “1 Sun” contain elements of Cyrus’s last album, “Bangerz.” The instrumentals on these tracks showed promise, but are completely overshadowed by Cyrus and her lyricism, “How dare you bring another chick in our bed/You’re lucky I’m doing my yoga or you might be dead” is a particularly laughable moment. While most of the songs on

this album are nothing to brag about, some tracks do stand out. “The Floyd Song (Sunrise),” is a dreamy acoustic track with some very pretty vocal work from Cyrus. “Tiger Dreams ft. Ariel Pink” is Cyrus working alongside the spaced out production and making it a fairly decent track. “Slab of Butter (Scorpion)” which features Sarah Barthel, the lead singer of indie band Phantogram, shows that Cyrus has the capability of making a club-worthy hit when she wants to. “Twinkle Song” is a piano driven ballad that is reminiscent of her smash hit “Wrecking Ball.” Cyrus brings out some great vocal work with a lot of actual emotion on this track, and while the lyrics are nothing special, they at least sound very believable. Overall, this album is Cyrus just doing whatever she wants. It is clear that this was not meant to be a smash-hit album, but more or less a project that she wanted to do to collaborate with some other musicians and just chill out. While it’s a respectable decision, the album could have been a much better asset to her career if the tracks were taken seriously.

Annual Bug Fest attracts over 30,000 to Raleigh by Kelsey Hamm A&E Editor

More than 30,000 people crowded into downtown Raleigh this weekend at the Museum of Natural Sciences for Bug Fest, an annual event dedicated to the celebration, appreciation and scientific nature of insects. This year’s special theme was cicadas, both for display and for Café Insecteca, where free, bug-inclusive dishes were available to visitors. The event featured “buggy” displays, presentations and an evening “Insectival” for nocturnal bugs and live music, said Jack Leff, a senior biology major at Appalachian State University. Wade Harrell, owner of the Harrell House Bug Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, visited for Bug Fest and hosted a booth titled “Scorpions and Other Arachnids.” Ultraviolet lights accompanied the displayed arachnids, whose exoskeletons glowed under UV lights, Harrell said. “No one is sure why some scorpions glow under UV light,” Harrel said. “It may just be another side effect of the components of their exoskeleton, or they might just have the need to retain moisture in some of their other habitats and the natural water proofing in their skin just happens to be fluorescent.” Scorpions use venom to catch prey and defend themselves, but most are not dangerous to people, Harrell said. “There’s over 20,000 kinds and only 25 of them are considered dangerous,” Harrell said. “There is a five-tail scorpion, native to Africa. It’s not the

strongest of any species, but it’s common and injects a lot of venom when it stings -- so it’s responsible for more deaths.” Harrell said the Arizona bark scorpion is the only kind that is dangerous in the U.S., out of 50 species. The Bug Fest meal section of the festival was incredibly popular, with crowds waiting for over two hours to consume dishes like arthropod chocolate chip cookies. Zack Lemann, the manager of Animals and Visitor Programs at the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium in New Orleans, Louisiana, served meals to the crowd and created special demonstrations for the “Insectival,” including a cicada shishkabob with teriyaki sauce and onions. Crickets are the chef’s “favorite thing to eat.” “I knew that because we expected thousands of people at Bug Fest this year that I would need some of the farm raised stuff in short order,” he said. “I wanted something special, so I had colleagues out of state collect periodical cicadas for me. In Louisiana where I’m from, I got a some dragonflies for us, which I fry and put on sauteed portobello mushrooms with dijon soy butter to make what I call that an ‘ordonate ordourve.’” Lemann has been cooking bugs for about 18 years. “I started in 1997,” he said. “At [the Audubon Butterfly Garden] right now there is an area called ‘Bug Appetite.’ We serve edible insects every day that we’re open.” There is nothing wrong with eating bugs, said Lemann. The consumption

Kelsey Hamm

Bug Chef Zach Lemann poses for a photo during the annual Bug Fest at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, North Carolina. The event is a celebration of the scientific nature of insects.

of insects provides a wide range of environmental, nutritional, agricultural and gastronomic benefits. “There’s certain bugs that are delicious,” Lemann said. “So why not expand your pallet with other good food? There is an environmental aspect to this too. Bugs are able to convert the food they eat into edible matter for us–better than animals like pigs and cows.” Raleigh local Philip McDonald attended Bug Fest to sell butterfly displays, a hobby that turned profitable for the retired bug fan.

“I retired and needed something and I have been catching butterflies for over 50 years,” McDonald said. “I had this idea to put them in displays and sell them.” Capturing butterflies is a gentle business, he said. “I capture the butterflies with a net and for the moths I go out late at night–they have compounded eyes so they can get blinded from a light at night,” he said. “I get them off the ground as they fall down. You have to get up really early for moths– around 3 a.m.”

‘Contact’ photography exhibition explores relationships and intimacy by Katie Murawski A&E Reporter

Senior studio art majors Alec Castillo and Chastan Swain chose to name their split photography show “Contact,” before being exhibited at the Looking Glass Gallery in the Plemmons Student Union on Sept. 18. “Contact” featured 25 black and white images of various portraits with subjects the artists feel close and intimate with. Fifteen photos belonged to Castillo and 10 belonged to Swain. Throughout the night, over 75 people visited to view the exhibition. Castillo’s 15 photos came from his first long-term and continuous series called “Let The Kids Be Kids.” Castillo explained his passion for photography stemmed from skateboarding. “I liked how you could look at the world as a playground, and keep your imagination racing,” he said. “Skateboarding definitely trained my eye for photography.” Castillo’s “Let the Kids Be Kids” tells his personal story of familiarity with his life and close friends. Castillo started about two years ago on the series when he was inspired to show the importance of relationships. “I didn’t really know what I was doing until the photos I

was shooting began to have a cohesive feel together as a visual narrative,” Castillo said. Swain said his selection was mostly comprised of traditional portrait photographs of people he feels a “closeness” with. Swain’s continuous series, from which the photographs come, is called “Proximity.” “[‘Proximity’] captures my relationship with the people in the photos,” he said. “Since I am so close to leaving Boone, I have had to re-evaluates what relationships are and what relationships matter, which is the central theme of ‘Proximity.’ ” Castillo, a member of the Nude Party, put the night’s playlist together with fellow band members Zach Merrill, Shaun Couture and Connor Mikita. He also served as the exhibition’s DJ. The playlist included various tracks from a vast selection of LPs supplied by the band, including Bob Dylan, War, The Velvet Underground, Van Morrison and (most appropriately), Marvin Gaye. Senior Connor Mikita commented on the exhibition, describing the work as producing “very chill vibes all around.” Swain and Castillo said the Looking Glass Gallery was the “perfect” location and venue for this exhibit.

Kelsey Hamm

Alec Castillo and Chastan Swain shared a selection of their work from each of their continuous series “Let the Kids be Kids” and “Proximity” in a split photography show Friday, Sept. 18 at the Looking Glass Gallery.

“The Looking Glass provides a small, more intimate setting, which is the theme of both of our photo sets,” said Swain. Castillo agreed, saying he couldn’t have asked for a better gallery. “The curator [Ariel Moran] was extremely helpful in reaching our goals and setting up the reception,” he said. Moran worked closely with the artists to make the exhibit a success, she

said. “‘Contact’ came together harmoniously because of the collaboration on presentation I had with the artist,” Moran said. “’Contact’s’ photographs could be described as sensual elegance, and Alec and Chastan’s photographs capture different types of relationships-- not just romantic.” “Contact” will be available in the Looking Glass Gallery until Oct. 8.

Split Rail 5K

(Above) A group of finishers relax under the shade and listen to Unaka Prong, a local band, while awaiting the final results.

Photos by Lindsey Honkomp

(Left) The Split Rail cow peeks into the expression tunnel looking for the first runners to come through. The expression tunnel is the last leg of the race before the finish line.

(Right) One of the many female racers finishes strong up the hill to the finish line.

(Right) The first runner to finish, No. 24, comes through the expression tunnel ready to cross the line before 15 minutes have passed.

opinion

Potential religious shift could be a sign of hope

Over the last few years, there has been a clear shift in the religious landscape of this country. Perhaps the biggest change is the declining number of selfidentified Christians; a Pew Poll from May showed that number had fallen from 78 percent to 70 percent between 2007 and 2014. But it seems that there may be another important shift in the country’s landscape: The rise of liberal Christianity. In some ways, we see it already in evolving attitudes on once controversial issues

such as gay rights. A Pew Poll in July shows that members from pretty much all Christian denominations have increased their support for same-sex marriage over the last decade. One of the broader shifts appears to be the way that public religious discourse is being defined less by those social issues and more on economic issues. Even though he has largely adhered to the church’s strict social teachings, Pope Francis has emphasized the importance of caring for the poor and dealing with the effects of climate change. Just last week, Bernie Sanders framed his economic message within a Christian framework at Liberty University that appears to have resonated. In response to the speech, a Liberty University alumni gave a response referring to

Sanders as a “John the Baptist” who had come to awaken Christians to their neglected duties to the poor. Certainly, there are plenty of signs of the religious right’s presence in our country. We have Kim Davis denying marriage licenses as part of her “religious freedom” and Republicans working to defund Planned Parenthood. But it seems like we may be in a transitional period where the voices of religious conservatives will grow fainter. Perhaps what will rise up is a religious dialogue concerned with issues of poverty and equality. As an Atheist, my personal feelings on that prospect are mixed. It would, of course, be great to see the religious right, with all its hypocrisy and cruelty, diminished. On the other hand, I do not

think we need religion to behave decently. There are a great number of secular arguments for addressing poverty and inequality that I find even more compelling than the religious ones. Also, I believe in the separation of church and state and don’t believe we should be more eager to bring religion into public policy just because the religion is becoming more sane. But, if we live in a world where there is religion, and I don’t see that going away anytime soon, at least we could have a better form of it. Then we might be better able to meet the real, pressing challenges that we have before us. Griffin, a junior journalism major from Madison, is an opinion writer.

Get out and travel through the help of Appalachian Lauren Merrill Opinion Writer

As students at Appalachian State University, we have the privilege of living on one of the most beautiful campuses. Although we get our education in such a scenic place, we do not have to be confined to only learning within Boone. With the help of the International Education and Development program here at ASU, students can go on a number of short-term or long-term study abroad adventures throughout their university careers.

The short-term faculty-led programs allows students to enroll in fall, spring and summer adventures that last anywhere from one week to one month. Nina-Jo Moore, a professor of communication at Appalachian State, has been taking students on short-term faculty-led study abroad trips since 1999. “[These trips] open student’s eyes to see that there is a lot more out there than they can experience here on our campus,” Moore said. “The experience should also help them learn to be more tolerant of others’ differences, and also to let them see how many similarities we have with people in other cultures.” Students can also choose to go on full summer, semester or yearlong study abroad experiences. There are 200 foreign sites for students to consider

studying at. There are a number of reasons why every student should consider studying abroad at least once in their time here at Appalachian. One is students can earn credit hours towards their degree program. On the short-term faculty-led trips, a student can usually earn up to six credit hours on one trip. Even if you go with a different department, there is a possibility to earn credit for any elective credits needed. On these trips, students learn valuable knowledge about their own field of study and the cultures they are traveling within. This wisdom can benefit students in life back on campus and in future careers. A student who traveled to Poland with Moore got an internship with David Letterman because she put the experience

on her resume. Having experiences like this on a resume can differentiate a potential candidate for a job from hundreds of other competitors. Also, do not worry if these trips sound expensive. Financial aid and scholarships are available to any student who wants to travel. It is important in this time of learning and growing that we get out and experience other places and new ways of life. Moore offers three important pieces of advice to students who want to travel, and those are: “learn to be flexible, realize that the “American Way” is not the only way to do things,” and “learn to enjoy whatever the trip brings you.” Merrill, a sophomore journalism major from Chapel Hill, is an opinion writer.

Letter to the Editor

Support for ASU’s “NTT” faculty: A “NTT” view

All opinions expressed on this page are that of the writer and not The Appalachian as a whole.

This Fall semester marks my 16th year teaching history at ASU. I love my profession. I love the collaborative art of teaching-learning that I get to participate in with the excellent students that come to ASU every year. However, this also marks my 16th year as an “NTT”—a “non-tenure track” professor. That means that I live off of a one-year contract from year to year. If my contract doesn’t get renewed for next year, I lose my job. If that happens, I lose my insurance. I will lose my house within a month of depleting my savings on my last mortgage payment. But for family, I would be homeless. And I am not alone. Sometimes we are called by other misleading names—“Contingent Faculty”— “contingent” means something that is “un-necessary and dependent on another,” or “adjunct”—meaning “subordinate or incidental thing.” We teach 43 percent of the credit-hours generated at ASU, and credit hours are the basis for ASU’s funding. Without us, education at ASU wouldn’t be possible. Students: Do you know how many of your professors this semester are “adjunct”? Do you know how many of the teachers who are inspiring you, challenging you, and helping you to achieve your goals in life are working multiple jobs out-

side of the classroom just to make endsmeet? Do you know how many of them are on one-year contracts? Do you know how many of them are on semester-by-semester contracts? Do you know how many of them are one pay check away from being homeless? Your professors. Do you know that a percentage of the increased tuition you pay has not gone to faculty salaries—and especially not to “NTT” salaries? I know first-hand how valuable education at ASU is. My grandmother graduated from ASU in 1923. My uncle graduated in the class of 1947 on the G.I. Bill after the Second World War. I graduated with a bachelor’s in history in 1994 and a master’s in 1998. My Appalachian education has served me very well. But I have personally witnessed in my time as a professor at ASU an increasing diminishing of that very education through the adoption of business models of administration that de-humanize professors by treating them as replaceable, or, to use another term, “flexible” tools. This diminishing has a real impact on the education that students receive: sub-living wages, in-secure working conditions, the necessity to work multiple non-academic jobs just to make ends-meet make it very difficult to be the most pro-

ductive and effective teachers that the citizens of North Carolina deserve. I am encouraged by Chancellor Everts’ willingness to listen to faculty and staff concerns, and even more encouraged by her willingness to take action with these concerns. As an “NTT” I would like to make some personal requests to the Chancellor: Continue the progress towards a more sustainable and just ASU by implementing the recommendations of the committee report on “NTT” faculty by enabling more lectureships, senior lectureships, and multiple year contracts for these positions. Continue the progress towards recognizing the dignity of “part-time” faculty by enabling them to have parking fees drafted from their checks, rather than having to pay up front before they receive their first pay check from the university. This latter request could be affected immediately, and would be a concrete example of how, one step at a time, we can make ASU what founder B. B. Dougherty envisioned it to be: “A place of beauty and of health”—and we can add, of true learning and justice. Ralph E. Lentz II M.A., History M.TH., Systematic and Philosophical Theology Senior Lecturer, (“NTT”), History Dept.

classifieds

CRIME LOG BOONE Sept. 18 11:31 p.m. | Drug violation Coltraine Trail A student was arrested for possession of marijuana Sept. 18 4:27 a.m. | Vandalism Sanford Hall Leads exhausted

Sept. 17 9:21 p.m. | Vandalism Sanford Hall Leads exhausted

Sept. 16 1:44 p.m. | Fraud Dougherty Administration Building Under investigation Sept. 16 2:27 p.m. | Larceny Wey Hall Under investigation

Sept. 16 1:22 p.m. | Vandalism John Thomas Hall Leads Exhausted

Sept. 15 4:25 p.m. | Drug violation

Rivers Street A student was arrested for possession of marijuana Sept. 11 12:24 a.m. | Underage Consumption of Alcohol Gardner Hall A student was arrested for underage consumption of alcohol. Sept. 11 10:27 p.m. | Larceny Hoey Hall Larceny of a bicycle

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WHO ARE WE? The Appalachian, a student-run publication at Appalachian State University, strives to provide fair and accurate news for the campus community; to inform, entertain and create a forum for ideas; to provide an outlet for reader's opinions; to be a champion for student, faculty, staff, and community interests; and to remain independent, exercise and ensure its First Amendment rights.

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Malik Rahili Managing Editor Andrew Clausen Visual Managing Editor Justin Perry News Editor Carl Blankenship A&E Editor Kelsey Hamm Sports Editor Chris Warner Graphics Editor Samantha Cordialini Opinion Editor Lauren Burrows Photo Editor Alex Gates Video Editor Jennifer Rhodes Chief Copy Editor Charlotte Wray

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email business @theappalachianonline. com Correction: We mistakenly ran a photo in both print and online of the Appalachian State Men’s Soccer Team, rather than of the club sports team. This picture has now been changed online to reflect the correct team.

ONLINE Web Manager Dylan Dow Marketing Director Stephanie Sansoucy

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Contact Information EDITOR-IN-CHIEF (828) 262-6149 BUSINESS OFFICE (828) 262-2157 ADVISER OFFICE (828) 262-2245

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app news

10 Submit Announcements App News is a service of the Division of Student Development. Email dycheab@appstate.edu. Submissions should not exceed 100 words and must include the event title, date/time, location and cost, and a contact email, phone and/or URL. Announcements will be edited as needed and will run as space allows. Preference given for events that are free or have a nominal cost. QEP funding opportunity To promote global learning for students, the Office of the QEP invites faculty, staff and administrators to apply for up to $8,000 in QEP funding under categories including: Learning Communities, Education Abroad Training, Infusion of Global Content, Targeted Areas, Innovative Technologies, and Other. Submit proposals at http://qep. appstate.edu/funding/funding-opportunity-application. Proposals and letters of recommendation are due before noon Sept. 25. Career Readiness Workshop Series • Sept. 22 — Brush Up on Your Interviewing Skills, 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m. in Linville Falls; 5:30 p.m. in Three Top; PSU: Learn how to make a great first impression, how to prepare for the interview, what you should take with you, and what you may ask when you are there. Learn the importance of a thank you letter and how to write one. • Sept. 23 — Networking/Developing Your Personal Commercial, 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. in Linville Falls; 5:30 p.m. in Three

Top; PSU: Networking and making contacts at CareerFest can be easy and more comfortable if you have prepared. Develop a 30-second personal commercial to use as you network. Learn from TQL recruiter Erin Kolb how to present and market your strengths and talents to potential employers. • Sept. 24-25 — Putting Your Best Foot Forward at a Career Fair, 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Sept. 24; 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Sept. 25; Linville Falls, PSU: Get to know the ins and outs of a Career Fair to maximize your likelihood of being noticed. This presentation will cover how to prepare before a Career Fair, some tips and tools for Career Fairs as well as how to follow up after attending a Career Fair. Enhance your networking skills. Islamic holiday celebration The Muslim Student Association will host an event to celebrate and learn more about the Islamic Holiday, Eid Al-Adha, “The Feast of the Sacrifice,” from 6-8 p.m. Sept. 23, Great Hall of the Living Learning Center. Featuring food, storytelling and a henna fundraiser to benefit Syrian refugees. 9th Annual Homecoming Blood Drive 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 23, Holmes Convocation Center. The App State community is asked to register to donate and help reach the 1,250 pint goal. Register at homecoming.appstate.edu. Walkins will be accepted as space allows. Park Place grand reopening The grand reopening celebra-

tion will be through Sept. 25 at Park Place in Trivette Hall. The upgrades to Park Place, the dining venue overlooking Appalachian’s scenic Duck Pond, included an expanded service area with an open kitchen, the Asian Bar and a larger salad and dessert bar. The newly renovated Trivette Hall opened in August 2014. Turchin Fall Lecture Series All lectures are at 7 p.m. in the Turchin Center Lecture Hall. For more information, go to http://tcva. org/exhibitions. • Sept. 23: Intervention: Kirsten Stolle • Oct. 14: “The Performance Review: Endia Beal” (formerly titled “Can I Touch It) • Oct. 21: “Back to Boone: The Editorial Cartoons of Andrew David Cox” • Nov. 11: “Beth Hetland” • 2 p.m. Nov. 6: “Cartoon College,” film screening in conjunction with the exhibition At the Junction of Words and Pictures: The Tenth Anniversary of The Center for Cartoon Studies,” followed by a panel discussion with Alec Longstreth and Jen Vaughn. Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series All programs are free and open to the public. • Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing, poet and editor R.T. Smith, will present a craft talk from 2-3:15 p.m. and will read from his work at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24, Table Rock, Room, PSU. His works include “In the Night Orchard: New and Selected Poems” and “The Red Wolf: A Dream of Flannery O’Connor.”

• Denise Giardina, author of “Storming Heaven,” will present a craft talk from 9:30-11 a.m. in Table Rock Room in PSU, and will read from her work at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20, Parkway Ballroom, PSU. • Black Mountain College literary historians William C. Rice and Katherine Chaddock will read from their works at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27, Parkway Ballroom, PSU.

CareerFest Noon-4 p.m. Sept. 29, Holmes Convocation Center. More than 100 employers will discuss career insights, internships and job opportunities. Professional dress is required. Attendees should register through Career Gear.

Lecture series The Fall 2015 Lecture/Seminar Series: Philosophy and Religion in the Contemporary World is presented by the Philosophy and Religion Department. All presentations begin at 5:30 p.m. and are held in room 114, Belk Library. • Sept. 29: “This World Is Not Made For Us: Why Pessimism Matters” with Rick Elmore • Oct. 13: “The Aesthetics of Exile” with Davis Hankins • Nov. 10: “What the Hell? How to Interpret Biblical Texts on Final Judgment” with Rodney Duke

Boyles Distinguished CEO Lecture Series Bonnie Schaefer, co-owner of Westglow Resort & Spa and former CEO of Claire’s Stores, will speak at 10 a.m. Oct. 13, Holmes Convocation Center.

September

sunday

monday 20

Appalachian Symphony Orchestra, 2 p.m., Rosen Concert Hall, free

tuesday 21

Homecoming Kick-Off, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Sanford Mall, free

wednesday 22

friday

thursday 24

saturday 25

Tai Chi (students only), 5 p.m., Turchin Center, free

“The Godfather, Part III” screening, 7 p.m., Greenbriar, PSU, $1

“Mad Max: Fury Road” screening, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., I.G. Greer

“The Godfather, Part III” screening, 7 p.m., Greenbriar, PSU, $1

Bent Frequency guest saxophone and percussion concert, 8 p.m., Rosen Concert Hall, free

Homecoming Blood Drive, 8 a.m.7 p.m., Holmes Convocation Center

Visiting Writers Series: Book reading with R.T. Smith, 7:30 p.m., Table Rock, PSU, free

“Mad Max: Fury Road” screening, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., I.G. Greer, $2

Turchin Center Lecture Series: Kirsten Stolle, 7 p.m., Turchin Center, free

“The Subaltern, Again and Again” by Professor Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (Columbia University), 4 p.m., Rosen Auditorium, free

CareerFest, noon-4 p.m., Holmes Convocation Center, free

Rootz Underground with Fear Nuttin Band, 9 p.m., Legends, admission: $8-$10

Homecoming Movie on the Lawn: “Tan- “Friday the 13th” gled,” 8 p.m., Duck screening, 7 p.m., Pond Field, free Greenbriar, PSU, $1 Keith Weber guest organ concert, 8 p.m., Rosen Concert Hall, free

26 “Mad Max: Fury Road” screening, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., I.G. Greer, $2

International Sports Festival, 3-7 p.m., Sanford Mall, free Contra Dance with George Segebade w/ Footspring, 7:15 p.m., Legends, admission: $3-$5

Homecoming Lipsync Finals, 8 p.m., Holmes Convocation Center

Homecoming Float Building, 2-5:30 p.m., Raley Parking Lot

“Magic Mike XXL” screening, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., I.G. Greer

Homecoming Parade, 5:45 p.m., downtown Boone “Magic Mike XXL” screening, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., I.G. Greer “Friday the 13th” screening, 7 p.m., Greenbriar, PSU, $1

Homecoming NPHC Step Show & After Party, 8:30 p.m., Legends

“Magic Mike XXL” screening, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., I.G. Greer

sports

Men's tennis set for a strong start by Monica Crawford Intern Sports Reporter

ith a full team returning, including four AllConference players, the App State men’s tennis team hopes to start the fall season off on a high note. The Mountaineers will play in five big tournaments this fall, where each player will compete individually. The team uses the fall season to prepare for the spring, when the team results really matter. “They’re playing tournaments as individuals even though we’re going as a team,” head coach Bob Lake said. “Their records speak for themselves as individuals, not team results. Once we hit the spring, that’s the real deal because the team is the only thing that matters in those.” The team went 10-11 last spring and had multiple close losses. The Mountaineers made it to the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt tournament, where they were defeated by the South Alabama Jaguars. Junior Jack Maddocks said that the team will use those close losses as motivation for the fall season. “We lost a lot of close matches,” Maddocks said. “That kind of gives us motivation for this year to get through those close matches and just make a better result. If we had won all of those, it would have been a much better season.” Sophomore Scott Webster said one of the team’s biggest challenges last year was keeping the entire team in shape all season long. The Mountaineers have already been working hard on their own this summer, as well as spending extra time in

Photo Courtesy of Appalachian State Athletics

Doubles duo, Scott Webster and Jack Maddocks, celebrate after a point during a 2014 match.

the gym and on the court in order to be ready for this season. “We’ve been doing a lot on the court and hitting the gym really hard,” junior Trey Morris said. “I think that’s the most important part. It’s that, you know, we’ve been working out hard. Last semester we didn’t seem quite as focused in the gym as we are this semester. This semester we were able to hit it hard, and everyone seems really motivated and eager to get after it.” In addition to working hard in the off season to prepare for the fall and build confidence, the Mountaineers plan to take advantage of the fact that they have four returning All-Conference players this year. Maddocks, Morris, Webster and junior Oliver Casey were all-conference players last spring, and Webster was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Year.

“[Returning All-Conference players are] definitely going to help us a lot,” senior Zach Bost said. “We’ve got our freshman of the year, and he’s looking sharp. Then we’ve got our doubles team No. 2 and No. 3 that were really good last year.” The Mountaineers are set to begin their fall season with the Davidson Invite on Sept. 25-26. The team will face off against Davidson College, University of South Carolina Upstate and Campbell University, all of whom App State will also play in the spring season. They will play eight singles matches and four doubles matches against each team. This tournament will help the Mountaineers figure out where they stand as the season begins. “Usually I don’t have everybody here for the fall because I bring people in in the spring,”

Lake said. “This year I have the whole team here to play [at Davidson], so we’ll get a pretty good idea of what’s going on.” Following the invite, on Oct. 2-3, the Mountaineers will host their Alumni Day Weekend, which is their only home series this fall. “Alumni Weekend is huge,” Morris said. “We’ll be honoring coach Bob Light, who just recently passed away, and everything that he’s done for our program in the past. We’ll also have all our alumni up, and we’ll play a little tennis with them. It should be fun.” The team will finish up the fall season on the road following Alumni Weekend, playing in invites at College of Charleston and Winthrop, as well as a regional tournament in Chapel Hill, before beginning the spring season in mid-January.

AHO women’s rugby tops NC State by Adam Hothersall Intern Sports Reporter

AHO women’s rugby team squared off against NC State at State Farm Field Saturday in a physical 38-26 victory. The action was high paced, quick, and exciting to watch, and both sides displayed relentless effort in the hard fought match. Senior scrum-half Julie Blakesmith, who scored on a nice assist from freshman Emerci Jones, was very encouraged with the play of her team and loves the direction they are heading. She was also pleased with the improvements of the young players on the team. “I think we played awesome as a team.” Dylan Dow Blakesmith said. “We really pushed through a lot Pack-captain Megan Campbell is lifted up by team- of adversity that we had mate Shea Poage in a line-out during Saturday’s with a lot of new playgame. The team went on to win the match 38-26 ers and kind of rebuildagainst NC State. ing the team this year. A lot of our new players

played wonderfully.” The team graduated one of their captains from last season, Miranda Miller, their president, Kelly Costanho, along with other senior standouts Chloe Ramjohn and Kathryn Kennedy. Thankfully for the team, they return arguably their most dominant player, senior Rachel Baker, the team’s back captain for this year, as well as junior forward captain Megan Campbell. Both scored once in the win. One newcomer, senior Sadie Lagle, scored twice in the match as well. Blakesmith, who missed much of AHO’s last season after being injured during the team’s annual home tournament, “Rucktoberfest,” also gave credit to the veterans on the team. “They showed off their abilities,” Blakesmith said.

Despite the victory, and an overall solid performance by AHO, Blakesmith said improvements could be made including working on fitness and organization on the field, but she was very pleased with the team’s effort. “We played our hearts out.” Blakesmith said. Rugby as displayed Saturday is definitely a team game, and Blakesmith was very pleased with the team’s chemistry in the match. “The biggest part about rugby especially is communication and team work along with having that family dynamic on the field so we can have each other’s backs,” Blakesmith said. The team will need to play with this same approach as they take on both UNC Charlotte and Western Carolina in their next two games, scheduled for Sept. 26.

Field hockey captures first home win by Lee Sanderlin Sports Reporter

App State field hockey defeated the La Salle Explorers on Sunday 2-1 in their first home win of the year and in the head coach Meghan Dawson era. Sunday’s game was the second of the home stand, which saw the Mountaineers drop the first game in a 5-0 shutout against James Madison. The Explorers struck first in the game, as forward Abbey Lawrence scored on a corner play six minutes into the match. That would be the only time La Salle would find

the back of the net, however, as the Mountaineer defense stepped up the intensity after the early goal. Goalie Cristina Ceppi had one of her best games of the year, saving six of the remaining seven shots on goal by the Explorers. “After that first goal got by me, I learned from it really fast,” Ceppi said. “I was determined to not let them score again. I really increased my energy.” On the offensive end, senior forward Caroline Phillips came up big, scoring both of the Mountaineer goals. Phillips first goal came off of a set corner play and she was assisted

by sophomore forward Micaela Diedericks. Phillips struck again off an assist by sophomore midfielder Taylor Cimbalist with nine minutes left in the game, giving the Mountaineers the edge 2-1. “I was just set up really well, and we managed to convert opportunities to score, which is something we haven’t been doing,” Phillips said. After the game, Dawson could be heard telling her players to “act like they win all the time.” The excitement of the victory was echoed in Phillips’ and Ceppi’s comments postgame. “It’s a lot of fun,” Phillips said. “It’s

nice to get that winning feeling back and hopefully we can keep it.” Dawson said she was proud of her team, but knows they must keep improving if they plan to compete in their next game against No. 3 North Carolina, Dawson’s alma mater, on Sunday. “It was nice to get a win, but we have lots of things we need to work on before Sunday,” Dawson said. “Our goal Sunday is to compete with UNC. Just to compete would be a great accomplishment against such a good team.” With the win, the Mountaineer’s improve to 2-6 on the season.

Softball looking to build culture by Jason Huber Sports Reporter

Building culture and finding leadership is the mission of the App State softball team heading into the 2015-16 season after finishing their first season in the Sun Belt Conference with a 14-35 overall record, including a 1-22 record in conference. The App State softball team experienced a rough first season in the Sun Belt after making the transition from the Southern Conference, where they finished middle of the pack in the annual standings. The team is focused on playing well during their fall season to get ready for the spring. Second-year coach Janice Savage feels last year was a learning experience for the team and they have plenty of room to improve. “This year our team speed has increased, but I am still trying to just get us to grow,” Savage said. “We are a young program and we were in the middle of the Southern Conference. We made a big jump switching conferences, so we are learning how to grow and become part of the top half in the Sun Belt.” One of the team building aspects is the annual Black and Gold scrimmage that the App State softball team holds every season to help build team work and confidence. Senior utility hitter, Pepper Butler, who had a .233 average with six home runs last season, feels the scrimmage gives the team a chance to fight for positions and get better. “I think it’s a good competition to get us prepared,” Butler said. “It is a good game between the team and who wants to fight for a certain

position to have a big season.” With some of last year’s top seniors, Cynthia Gomez, Sarah Warnock, Dani Heichen and Caroline Chambers graduating, Savage feels the Black and Gold scrimmage gives the team a chance to have potential breakouts from freshman and players who didn’t have the chance to play a lot last season. “For us the Black and Gold scrimmage really makes us sit back and look at our personnel and see who we need to step up at this time or someone we weren’t expecting to shine that steps up and shines,” Savage said. While some of the top seniors are no longer on the team, App State has brought in some new freshman faces that have a very good chance to step up. Junior pitcher Vanessa Ciocatto, who led the team with a 6.21 ERA last season and a 4-11 record, feels the freshman class will bring some missing speed that the team lacked last season. “I think we are looking for our freshman class to give us a different look as a team,” Ciocatto said. “We picked up a lot of speed in the freshman class, so that will give us a lot of opportunity to get on base and score more.” Savage feels that graduating so many seniors from last season gives the team a chance to find new leadership and build a culture that is new to App State softball. “We are going to miss that leadership from last year,” Savage said. “The biggest thing we are trying to develop and cultivate this season is getting players to step up and be leaders. We have to rely on some players who are not seniors to step up and take on

Dave Mayo | App State Athletics

Softball utility hitter Tiffany Taynor steps up to the plate during a 2014 game. Taynor is a top returning batter for the 2015 team (.294 average).

that role for us. We are going to expect some freshman to do some big things for us.” The Sun Belt Conference is one of Division I’s top softball conferences, and for App State it was a new feel as they had to play new competition last season. Redshirt senior pitcher Katherine Johnson, who had a 3-10 record last season, said familiarity with the conference will help them improve from last season’s performance. “We just know the competition better,” Johnson said. “Last year we were new to the conference and didn’t know anything about our competition. It gives us a better

chance to be a better team.” Savage is looking at the positives as she sees playing in such a tough conference will give the team motivation and be something to be proud of. “I think it’s a great motivation for our team,” Savage said. “Its pretty awesome to say we play in the fifth toughest conference in Division I, ahead of the Big Ten, and there’s not many mid-major conferences that can say that.” Ciocatto is hoping this season will have a different feel after a less-than-favorable season a year ago and feels the team will come out more prepared after a good offseason.

“We are obviously coming off a rough season, so we have been doing a good job coming back and getting mentally ready for the season,” Ciocatto said. “We have been doing a lot of running and lifting and having good practices just making sure we can fix what we couldn’t get done last year.” With the fall season now in full swing for App State softball, the team is hoping it will prepare them for the spring season and give them a chance to improve. “The biggest thing I am looking forward to is seeing App State the Softball team be the best they can be,” Savage said.