INSIDE: CONCERNS RISE A BOUT P HEA A FUNDING. SEE A2
FEBRUARY 22, 2018 | VOL. 95 NO. 13 | EST. 1924
THEYELLOWJACKET.ORG
@WUYELLOWJACKET
ONE YEAR L ATER: A LOOK AT LIFE AFTER BRAD GRINNEN
Grieving students offered support By TEGHAN SIMONTON Managing Editor
Remembering Grinnen
Mackenna Drazich, For the Yellow Jacket
By TEGHAN SIMONTON Managing Editor
It’s been a year. One year since Brad Grinnen, a junior at Waynesburg University, died unexpectedly in his dorm room. One year since the campus community was shaken by the loss of a popular student and athlete. And one year since Clarence Parchman III lost his football teammate, roommate and best friend of three years. Almost three—because the third year was cut short. “We were brothers, really,” said Parchman. Parchman said he and Brad were “the best of friends.” Not only were they
teammates on the football team, but they often did homework together, went out to eat and held “Madden” video game tournaments. Now Brad is gone, and Parchman, along with the
an impromptu Chapel service was held on campus to comfort grieving students. The football team, in particular, was hit hard by the news. Many could not believe it, including Chris Smithley, then
phone, in shock. “I didn’t believe it,” he said, looking back. “You know, it’s just so tragic that its almost like its not real life.” Smithley said the loss of a “great leader” like Brad
Following the death of junior Brad Grinnen last year, the people he left behind come forward to talk about how they've coped with the incident rest of the campus, is experiencing life without him. Since the incident last year, the people that knew Brad have tried to come together. Immediately after his death was made public,
assistant, now head coach. “No way. There’s absolutely no way,” he remembers thinking, when he received a call from Scott Venick, defensive coordinator. He remembers standing in his back yard, on the
brought the team closer. The bond between teammates is stronger than ever. “A lot of guys really stepped up,” Smithley said. “Not that we could ever replace him, but a lot of guys tried to take some of that leadership role.
The role that Brad had in this program was huge – it was bigger than life. And I think that a lot of the guys were motivated by that to take on more leadership.” According to Smithley, the team grieved together often last year, but during the season in the fall, they were focused on the game. They were focused on moving forward. It’s what Brad would have wanted. “I think that we had Brad in our hearts and in our minds, but also knew that we had a job at task,” he said. Parchman said Brad’s absence was always felt in the locker room and on the field, especially on the defensive GRINNEN >> A3
In the wake of the one-year anniversary of Brad Grinnen’s unexpected death, the Waynesburg University Counseling Center is emphasizing its services for dealing with grief. According to Jane Owen, director of the Educational Enrichment Program, Clinical Services and Counseling Center, the office saw an increase in students seeking grief counseling. The Counseling Center frequently receives visits from students struggling with a myriad of mental health issues, from severe depression and anxiety to general feelings of being overwhelmed. When it comes to grief related to the death of a loved one, Owen said that the process is unique to everyone. But no matter what, the Counseling Center is equipped to handle it. “We are all trained in grief,” she said. “We have all experienced grief personally. You know, grief is different— people grieve differently and so what we want to get across most of all is that however you’re doing it, it’s individual. And grief is such a process.” Whether it is spurred by tragedy or the tensions caused by everyday life, students are always encouraged to visit the office when they are struggling. “If you’re a student and you are experiencing any type of grief, depression, anxiety, please know that we’re here for you,” Owen said.
Two-hour block ‘WU-Fi’ extended to Stewart Hall replaces traditional Assessment Day By EDWARD BOICE Editorial Assistant
By MATTHEW SHINKLE Associate Editor
In years past, Waynesburg University had held its annual Assessment Day on a set day in February for students of all majors to take surveys or tests and participate in any additional activities for the students’ major. Traditionally, each department organizes the day differently. The decision was made last year to change Assessment Day to from an entire day devoted solely to such activities to a
distinct block of time, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with this year's event falling on Thursday, Feb. 22. “The [Institutional Assessment Committee] met and members of the committee really did an evaluation and looked at what was occurring campus wide for the assessment period and talked with all of the departments about the activities that were happening and what they were doing ASSESS >> A3
The wait for campus-wide Wi-Fi and up-to-date technology is almost over. After four years, the Information Technology Department is nearing completion with the network infrastructure project. Most recently, the department finished setting up the Wi-Fi on the first and second floors of Paul R. Stewart Hall. The Wi-Fi setup has taken around three weeks to complete. Stewart Hall didn’t have the space necessary to house the access points – small, white boxes that provide the wireless coverage – or the cables needed for the new Wi-
Eddie Boice, Yellow Jacket
After months of waiting, Stewart Hall has recently received the full extent of the new campus-wide Wi-Fi, allowing both students and faculty to benefit. Fi system. William Dumire, vice president for Information Technology Services and
chief information officer, said that Stewart and other buildings needed renovations in
order to complete the project. STEWART >> A3
CORONER RUSH WANTS TO BE MORE THAN A 'NAME ON A DESK'
WHAT SHOULD THE U.S. DO ABOUT GUN REFORM?
Greene County's newly elected coroner sets a standard for transparency.
In a special edition issue, the Op/Ed section is devoted towards last week's school shooting in Florida. Two columnists go head-tohead on the topic of how to solve gun violence. See B1
See B2
INSIDE
SEASON OVER FOR MEN'S BASKETBALL
SERVING UP FRIENDSHIP
The men's basketball team was unable to secure a first-round win over Bethany on Tuesday in an 82-73 defeat. The Jackets end their season with a 10-16 record.
Carla Yost has worked at the Beehive for three years, and, according to Yost, this time serving students has allowed her to be able to connect with those who frequent the Beehive.
See C1
See D1
Campus . . . . . . . . . . . . . A1–A4 Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1, B4 Editorial/Op-ed . . . . . . . B2 News Digest . . . . . . . . . B3 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C1–C4 Arts & Life . . . . . . . . . . . D1–D2 Entertainment . . . . . . . D3–D4 Copyright © 2018 Waynesburg University 51 W. College St.Waynesburg, Pa. 15370
February 22, 2018
Page A2
Senior nursing student lands job at UPMC-Mercy By MICHAEL CAPPELLI Editorial Assistant
One of the most stressful things for any college senior, besides keeping grades up in order to graduate, is finding a job after graduation. For senior nursing major Angie Ortoleva, finding a job was not an issue. Ortoleva recently accepted a job at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Mercy in Pittsburgh, where she will be working in the cardiac stepdown unit. “If you think about it, the intensive care unit is the highest level of intensity, and then there is a stepdown unit, and there is floor status after that,” said Ortoleva. “So, I’m like the middle man, where you are stable enough to come out of the ICU, but you’re definitely not going to come home anytime soon.” This unit is put in place because the ICU can be an intimidating place for some patients. “ The ICU is a scar y place for most people,” said Ortoleva, “so they like
to make it floor by floor.” Nursing wasn’t always the field of choice for Ortoleva, as she only decided on her major late in her high school career. “I did not want to be a nurse for the longest time,” said Ortoleva. “I went to work with my mom; I just helped out and did aid work, turned and repositioned patients and gave them towels.” While it was only basic work, it had an impact on Ortoleva that has now shaped her future. “I really loved what I did,” said Ortoleva. “I loved being with the patients, getting them ice, getting them blankets and talking with the families.” For most people, choosing the right college can be hectic and time consuming. This process was no different for Ortoleva. “My mom had signed me up for a visitation at [The University of Pittsburgh],” said Ortoleva. “On our way down to Oakland, I see this billboard, and it’s some nurse from Waynesburg. I said,
‘OK that one.’” The initial visit for Ortoleva did not go as planned for several reasons. “I had signed myself up for a visit to Waynesburg, and I hated it,” said Ortoleva. “I didn’t like how small it was, and my dream was Penn State [University].” Coming back for the second time, the story changed, and Waynesburg’s appeal had grown. “We came back a second time, and the students were able to have a one-on-one,” said Ortoleva. “That’s when I was like, ‘wow this place really does care,’ and I got to talk to professors, and they told me what the plan would be.” According to Ortoleva, looking at the different aspects of the hospitals is important to finding a good job. “Don’t accept a job just because they offer it to you,” said Ortoleva. “L o ok at the b enef its like, are they going to offer parking, do you have to take a shuttle, do they offer healthcare.”
Mike Cappelli, Yellow Jacket
Senior nursing major Angie Ortoleva uses a stethascope to check a fellow student's heart beat. After looking at the dif ferent asp e c ts, Ortoleva also stressed that finding a place that fits
is imperative. “Figure out what you want to do first,” said Ortoleva. “Figure out what
floor you like or what kind of nursing you like, and f ind a place that fits you.”
Communication dept. to host Scholarship Day for new students By PAUL ZALAKAR
For the Yellow Jacket
Waynesburg Universit y’s D ep ar t ment of Communication is hosting a competition this Friday, Feb. 23, for high school seniors to win a $10,000 scholarship. The scholarship is divided out between the four years the winner attends Waynesburg University. Students who have been accepted to the university and are planning to major in communication are invited for Communication Scholarship Day. “Stakes are going to be a little high,” said Chairperson for the Communication Department Richard Krause. “These students are competing for a scholarship, so we expect a form of professionalism.” The prospective students will participate in communication related activities throughout the night. This allows incoming seniors a chance to preview what the department has to offer. Faculty, as well as student leaders, develop relationships with, as well as welcome, the future Waynesburg students. The night is a chance for these incoming students to soak up as much knowledge as possible. “They really become informed consumers,” said Krause. “They find out about faculty, current students and what they might have here in the next four years.” The relationships built during this night are academically and socially based. The recipient of the scholarship last year and current freshman, sports b r o a d c a s t i n g , m aj o r Dylan Cleland easily got a jump start to his four-year college story at Waynesburg University. “At that time, I had not decided on my roommate, but I decided to room with someone that attended the Scholarship Night,” said Cleland. “It was neat to connect with students early on and now some of them have become my really good friends.” As for being acclimated to the everyday life of being a Communication major, this was potentially
the first step in the right direction. “I’ve always felt experience trumps anything else, especially in this hands-on department,” Cleland said. “To walk around the fourth floor of Buhl Hall and be familiarized with everything was a neat transition.” The Scholarship Day commences at 4:30 p.m. Meanwhile at 5:00 p.m. the parents will go to a panel to hear for themselves what Waynesburg University has to offer. At that same time the prospective students will proceed to the Benedum Dining Hall for dinner. The parents panel helps the parents understand everything included in the department. “Student leaders amongst the department talk about different areas within the department,” said Krause. “Organizations like WCTV, The Yellow Jacket and PRSSA are getting a chance to be showcased to these parents.” The final college decision normally comes down to the students, as well as their parents. The parents panel becomes a second showing of how Waynesburg University is a family-like community environment. Fo l l ow i n g Fr i d ay ’s competition is Admitted Student Day. It begins Saturday, starting at 8:00 a.m. According to Vice President for Enrollment Dr. Shari Payne, this is another way for high school students to find out the pleasant experience at Waynesburg University. “That’s what people tell us when they get back from a college visit on campus,” said Dr. Payne. “That it’s a friendly, warm and welcoming family environment.” This weekend is one of the biggest times for sealing the deal with students looking to attend Waynesburg University. At this point in time, students have most likely visited the university and applied to attend. “Typically, around 80 percent of students who come to the event will end up attending the university in the fall,” said Krause. “It serves as a foundation for the recruiting class.”
Michelle Keith, Yellow Jacket
WOMEN OF WAYNESBURG UNIVERSITY COME TOGETHER FOR WU GO GIRL
WU Go Girl, an event that centers around uplifting and encouraging women, took place Tuesday, Feb. 20 where Waynesburg students and community members wrote letters to one another, enjoyed fellowship and heard from Waynesburg alumna Emily Roberts, who served as the keynote speaker. Domestic Violence Services of Greene County also presented information at the event.
Concerns raise about PHEAA funding By MICHAEL CAPPELLI Editorial Assistant
For students who are attending a college or university, the state of their financial aid should be something that they are aware of. According to Waynesburg University President Douglas Lee, it is vital for students who are in college, as well as future college students, to have a plan. “It is very important,” said Lee. “You never plan to fail but you do fail to plan, and students should have an idea coming in of what their expectation of costs are going to be and what the outcomes will be after they receive their education.” If students need assistance with financial aid, there are several services that are designated for such purposes. A large contributor for student help is The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. “[PHEAA] is formed for the purpose of providing financial assistance to Pennsylvania students attending Pennsylvania colleges,” said Lee. “It pro-
vides, in a big way, the opportunity for students to choose where to go and which school.” P re s i d e nt L e e a l s o said that “the beauty of PHEAA” is that the scholarship dollars they offer are not directed at one school in particular. While having a plan
nancial Aid office gives to students is to contact the servicer. They will have various options available and can provide the best option, according to Stokan. When it comes to having a plan figured out, students should also be aware of what is going on
“With respect to education, I continue to be concerned about PHEAA recieving adequate funding.”
DOUGLAS LEE
Waynesburg University President
coming into college is important, it is equally important to have one after you leave. According to Matthew Stokan, director of Financial Aid, there are several different payment plans for recent college graduates. “There is a ton,” said Stokan. “The standard payment plan is you pay off your student loans over a 10-year period, but there is extended payment plans, public service loan forgiveness and income sensitive repayments.” The advice that the Fi-
economically. The recent government shutdown posed a threat to the security of financial aid, but in this particular instance it was not affected. “The good news is, it did not affect financial aid at all,” said Stokan. “There was no reduction in aid and there was no delay in students receiving their loans or grants.” In addition, with the government shutdown, the new Pennsylvania state budget proposal has been issued. The new budget will
give PHEAA a $500,000 decrease from the current fiscal year. “With respect to education, I continue to be concerned about PHEAA receiving adequate funding,” said Lee. “In this year’s budget PHEAA received a $500,000 decrease while, at the same time, the augmentation that is being requested of PHEAA is $87 million.” This can be considered a setback for financial aid and higher education. It is not certain that the plan will change anytime soon. “I don’t have any information to tell me that it will [change],” said Lee. “I haven’t heard anything of that nature, that there is push to give PHEAA more state dollars.” For college students now, it becomes a waiting game to see how the financial aid situation turns out. “It looks like the way the budget is working, it is a wait and see,” said Lee. “I’m not certain whether students will receive less in PHEAA dollars next year. Obviously, the hope is they won’t, but it remains to be seen.”
Page A3
February 22, 2018
Jarrell leaving WU after Spring 2018 University creates partnership with D.C. intern program By JOE SMELTZER
Editorial Assistant
After nearly a decade-long association with Waynesburg University and spending almost his entire life in Greene County, Residence Director Anthony Jarrell is moving away following the 2018 Spring semester. Jarrell will be moving to Lakeland, Florida this summer, after his RD contract resets June 1. A combination of factors contributed to Jarrell’s decision to move, such as his fiancée, Lauren Fox, working on an internship. One of his close friends from high school also lives in Lakeland. Jarrell will be pursuing his second Master of Business Administration degree at Southeastern University, as well as running his own online business. He started to talk about the move late last year with a few confidants: his fiancée, Pastor Justin Meyers of Foundry Church in Morgantown, West Virginia and Southeastern Graduate Professor Robert Crosby. After the discussions, Jarrell determined the time was right to move on. “I really started to discern and have some conversations about what is the best move for me at this point,”
said Jarrell. coming to an end. When Jarrell “I t h i n k t he graduated from normal shelf life Waynesburg Cenfor RD’s, especially tral High School, here, is about three he didn’t plan on to five years,” Jarrell staying local to fursaid. “Whenever I ther his education. feel that I’ve done After his mother all that I can do, encouraged him that’s when I’ll go.” Jarrell to be open to stayJarrell is heaving in Waynesburg, however, ily involved in ministry at Jarrell looked into the uni- Waynesburg. In his time at versity. Although he lived in the school, he has led Bible Greene County all his life, he studies in addition to his role discovered that the university with organizations, such as wasn’t the same as the rest of Upper Room and Tuesday Waynesburg. chapel, and wrote a book “It has a completely differ- called “Exile: A Story of ent feel here on campus than Finding Hope,” which was it does being in the rest of published this past August. the town,” Jarrell said. “And I Three years ago, Jarrell helped never knew that even grow- launch Foundry Church. He ing up around here. I just said the rapid growth of the thought it was just some lame church was a contributing school.” factor to one of the main After receiving his under- reasons for his departure: he graduate degree in psychol- feels he has done all he can do ogy in 2013, Jarrell didn’t in Waynesburg. plan on returning to Waynes“As a leader, I think it’s burg University right away. the best feeling, that you’ve But after spending a year in helped develop people and Morgantown, West Virginia, can move on to what the next working in mental health, challenge is,” Jarrell said. “I Jarrell came back to the feel like in the nine years I’ve school to accept the RD po- been here I have invested all sition. In addition to working in who Anthony Jarrell is toas an RD, Jarrell earned his day, and he’s exhausted all of first Master’s degree last year. his ideas.” When this school year Of all the aspects of started, Jarrell knew that Waynesburg University, there his time in Waynesburg was is one that Jarrell will miss
most of all. “The people,” Jarrell said. “Oh my gosh. The people who invested in me for nine years, I’ll absolutely miss them.” While Jarrell looks to land a full-time job and pursue some higher education opportunities, the most important thing to him is that he finds a ministry platform. “Finding a job and getting to know co-workers,” said Jarrell. “That will be a priority, [but] not as much as I think finding a good church community, people who are going to be able to speak a similar language and understand some of the things personally that I’m going through.” Jarrell feels that Waynesburg University shaped him, and is thankful for the university giving him the opportunity to pursue his faith. “I want to thank the university, incredible coworkers and students for just teaching me so much about Christ and community, and really just kind of opening my eyes to really all that is possible and more in life,” Jarrell said. “This university really allowed me the freedom to go after Jesus and just allowed him to transform my life, and that’s been because of the people in the community.”
Stewart: New computers next for campus updates Continued from A1
“In our particular case, at the university, a number of buildings had to be retrofitted with wiring closets,” said Dumire. “So, we had to physically carve out space on every floor to put in the networking equipment where everything gets housed and secured.” In the next couple of weeks, a new telephone system will be set up and ready to use. Services such as enhanced
caller ID, conference calls and long-distance calls will be available. Waynesburg University previously used Windstream Holdings, Inc. as its service provider. That service, however, has become outdated. IT has since switched to Voice over Internet Protocol, technology that allows the user to call using a broadband internet connection instead of an analog phone line. According to Dumire, VOIP was a necessity to install if Waynes-
burg was to own up-to-date technology. “It was just updating outdated technology on those floors to match the rest of campus,” said Dumire. “And to make sure everybody has the same amount of equal services with telephones.” Another update students can look forward to is the new computers that will be installed in multiple labs across campus. Stewart, Hanna Hall, Eberly Library, Southpointe Campus Lab and
Buhl Hall will have most of their computer labs revamped with HP Windows 10 computers. More than 200 computers will arrive sometime in April and will hopefully be fully installed by this summer. One of the reasons why IT has waited to upgrade the new computers is because a new network system wasn’t in place. Those with questions about the new tech upgrades can contact the IT Help Desk at 724-852-3413.
Assess: Students notified last minute for activities
Continued from A1
during the day,” said Marie Leichliter-Krause, assistant provost. “The consensus was, they felt the most active time frame was that 11-1-time slot, and that they would really be able to use the 11-1 frame to get the most assessment done.” An important factor that the committee took into consideration when making the change was that departments should not, and do not, only evaluate
on one single day throughout the school year. “Most of the departments felt that they do assessment, ongoing, throughout the entire year and to have a single day dedicated to assessment sent the message that [it] only needed to happen once a year,” said Leichliter-Krause. “Which is not at all the message that we want to be shared. We do want ongoing, continuous assessment; so, the consensus across the board was that assessment time would give everyone that
focused period to have very specific activities with very specific groups.” Most students were notified about the assessment time by their department as the date grew closer, with some department chairs electing to notify them the week of simply because some students may forget if they’re notified too early. Meanwhile, Gordon McClung, chairperson for the business administration department, has all assessments
for the department take place at the end of the semester with a career readiness exam and other activities. The career readiness exam was designed eight years ago by McClung and other Waynesburg faculty. “That’s been our primary assessment instrument since the beginning,” said McClung. “We used to administer it on Assessment Day, but that wasn’t ideal, its too early in the semester. You haven’t really finished your program of study.”
By JOE SMELTZER
Editorial Assistant
For the first time ever, Waynesburg University students will have the opportunity to further their careers in the nation's capital through a partnership with the Washington Center Academic Internship Program. Earlier this month, the university became one of over 600 partners with the Washington internship program. To be considered for the program, students must be at least 18 years old and enrolled at a college or university. They must be at least in their sophomore year with no fewer than two semesters completed on campus and must be approved by their campus liaison, in Waynesburg's case, it is Academic Communications Coordinator Sarah Bell, or, if the school doesn't have a liaison, by a faculty sponsor. Bell said that because the partnership came about not too long ago, students aren't yet aware that it's happening. “We just signed the agreement,” Bell said. “So, we haven’t actually started promoting it yet... Long story short is that we don’t have students expressing interest yet because students don’t know it exists.” According to Bell, the partnership with the Washington Center was started late last year when a student expressed interest in the internship. But because Waynesburg didn't yet have an established connection, students would not have been allowed to participate at the time. After receiving an endorsement from Vice President of Enrollment Shari Payne, a former liaison at a different school, the school moved forward with the partnership. Students who are accepted for the internship will work full-time Monday through Thursday. They will take a three-hour evening course once a week. Fridays, they will participate in the LEAD Colloquium, where they will interact with peers in small groups. While in the program, students will put together a portfolio that documents their experience. For Bell, the fact that a lot of students aren’t familiar with Washington D.C., as well as housing benefits and internship benefits, are benefits of applying to the
program. “It’s in D.C., which a lot of students don’t get the opportunity to travel to D.C .and do an internship,” Bell said. “As part of this program, housing is included, so students don’t have to worry about that piece. If students are accepted into the program, they’re guaranteed an internship, and when you’re applying for internships without something like this, you’re not guaranteed a spot in your top three choices.” Bell said that virtually any academic field has an internship opportunity available. Students can also take on more than one internship if they choose too. As far as costs and tuition go, the application fee is $60 for students in the United States, and $125 for students enrolled in institutions out of the country. The costs for the program itself as well as the housing varies depending on the time of year, and is roughly between $8,000 and $9,000 for the school year and roughly $7,000 for the summer. Although the application field is competitive, according to Bell, and Waynesburg doesn't have a wide national profile, she doesn't think Waynesburg students will be at a disadvantage because of the size of their school. “Waynesburg has received national recognition, and it’s a high caliber school and we have excellent students here,” she said. “Because we have established this partnership, we would be considered equally with other partners for the Washington Center. So, really it just comes down to individual student merit and what they submit, or their goals for the program. But I don’t think our students would be at a disadvantage just because they go to Waynesburg.” Although not everyone is interested in the program gets in, Bell feels that are long as students have the right academic standing— and mentality for the internship—that they will be accepted. “I think that it’s competitive,” Bell said. “But as long as our students prove that they have the merit and the drive to do it, that they would be accepted.” More information on the program can be found at www.twc.edu/programs/academic-internship-program.
Grinnen: Former roommate works to move on after death of friend
Continued from A1
line, where Brad was an AllPAC First-Team selection in 2016. “You could tell,” he said. “We lost a big captain. That’s a big thing. We lost a leadership role [and that] was probably the toughest.” As a coach, Smithley said he tries to be available for players continuing to struggle with the loss of their teammate. “Everybody handles loss differently…some guys will never get past this,” Smithley said. “I want our guys to handle this in whatever way is best for them, but also knowing that if they ever need any support or someone to talk to then all of us as coaches are here for them.” Parchman remembers that day, all too well. He remembers entering his Willison Hall dorm room, Sunday morning, after spending the weekend in Pittsburgh. He remembers the rushing feeling of disbelief and devastation, when he found the body of his friend.
Parchman was so taken aback that he sat, frozen, for around 15 minutes, before even being able to lift the phone. “I just sat there,” he said. In the days following, Parchman struggled to keep it together. He wanted to put on a brave face for his friends and teammates – but really, they were the ones getting him through it. He did leave the university for a period, to spend some time alone, at home. But he found the solitude made the grief harder to overcome. “A lot of people wanted to make it about me, and I didn’t want it to be about me,” Parchman said. “But really, I was OK for a while, just because I was around everybody, like the team and my friends…That was a real family moment for me.” But in a way, it was about him, and Parchman knew that. He knew Brad better than anyone at Waynesburg. That’s what made it so impossible to comprehend— not even Parchman saw this coming. “Brad was one of the strongest people I ever met,” he said.
are, to show them that they are not alone. “So much about counseling is about the relationship, feeling felt, feeling like somebody understands, feeling like somebody gets it,” Owen said.
Mackenna Drazich, Yellow Jacket
Known for his role on the football team, Grinnen's former teammates and coaches are still grieving his death. Everyone grieves differently, according to Jane Owen, director of the Educational Enrichment Program, Clinical Services and Counseling Center. It’s an individual process. Owen said she saw a definite increase in students seeking grief counseling in the weeks following Brad’s death – just as she did with other cases of student deaths at Waynesburg.
“I’m sure that Brad’s friends feel just as bad today—and its things like when he wasn’t on the football field this fall, and when he won’t be walking at graduation and when he won’t be going to his buddy’s weddings and bachelor parties,” she said. “It’s the everyday stuff. It doesn’t stop With three licensed counselors and three graduate students working toward licensure, Owen said the
Counseling Center is wellprepared and always open to students struggling with grief, mental illness or any other kind of problem. She said its important that students learn the skills necessary to cope with problems of anxiety or depression—be it medication, behavioral therapy or other treatment. But even more than that, the Counseling Center is about reaching students where they
One year after Brad’s death, Parchman still grieves the loss, but he knows he isn’t alone. He talks to Brad’s parents often, and he keeps Brad’s memory alive with the friends they shared. In his final year at Waynesburg, he is rooming with someone new, but Parchman said it’s almost like nothing changed, because they are just as close. “I think if I had had somebody else that I came into the year with, I probably wouldn’t be doing as well, but I’m doing just as fine this year.” For Parchman, looking forward to the future is what keeps him going. “Just having things coming forward in my life, like graduation; I’m actually trying to get into this military program; my classes are going great; my friends,” he said. “Just stuff like that. Simple stuff gets you through it.”
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February 22, 2018
Criminal Justice students urge others to take part in Polar Plunge By ANDREW HREHA
For the Yellow Jacket
Alexis Taylor, sophomore criminal justice major and Vice President of the Criminal Justice Club, has gained experience already in her work with the club at Waynesburg University. As a freshman, Taylor participated in the club’s annual Polar Plunge event. For the past five years, the Criminal Justice Club has participated in the Polar Plunge in Pittsburgh. Teams meet near Heinz Field before plunging into the Ohio River. The CJ C lub rais es money through the e vent for t he Gre ene County branch of Special Olympics. The department works with the Greene County branch of the organization to raise money and put on events for the athletes. James Tanda, director of Security Operations and Emergency Management
Mitchell Kendra , Yellow Jacket
Students from last year's polar plunge pose for a picture after jumping into the frigid Ohio River to raise money for the Special Olympics. and instructor of criminal justice, had been involved in the program and brought the idea to the Criminal Justice club when he began working for the university. “We are blessed to have the opportunity to lead by example,” Tanda said. Taylor feels that another
benefit for the students is the ability to meet and work with law enforcement officials, as many attend and take part in the event. “A lot of law enforcement agencies participate in it,” Taylor said. “That’s why I like that the CJ Club is involved with this one.”
Last year, the CJ Club finished first in fundraising out of all teams that participated in the event. As of last Friday, the club is placed 14th out of 99 teams for this year’s event, and is second in college affiliated teams behind a team from Carnegie Mellon.
Through their work with the Polar Plunge, Tanda estimates the club has raised over $15,000 for Special Olympics in the past four years. He believes the event gives students the opportunity to, “find out what they are made of,” and experience “the feeling of giving.” Taylor has experienced that same “feeling of giving” in her experience with the Polar Plunge last year and as Vice President of the Criminal Justice Club this year. “From last year to this year, being more involved in the CJ Club and doing more with the Special Olympics, seeing how much it benefits the kids and how much fun they have with all the different events we put on, just seeing how happy it makes them, really makes all of our hard work pay off.” Taylor said. Taylor said that the students will be “freezin’ for a reason” and that knowing
the money they raise goes to make sure local athletes can compete free of charge makes the plunge worthwhile. “Knowing that I’m raising money and jumping in the river for a great cause is incredible,” said Taylor. “But knowing that I’m making an impact on those kids lives is what really makes it all worth it.” Taylor wants students to know that they are still able to participate in the Polar Plunge, which will occur this Saturday, Feb. 24, and that it is a unique experience worth trying. “I signed up again and I am really excited for the Polar Plunge for my second year,” said Taylor. “I would encourage it, it might seem a little daunting having to jump in the river, but if you want to plunge, I think it was a lot of fun.” To r e g i s t e r o r d o nate to the Criminal Justice Club, visit bit.ly/wucjpolarplunge.
Orientation leaders, Fiat Lux mentors help freshmen adjust By TYLER SUMMERS
For the Yellow Jacket
Michelle Keith, Yellow Jacket
STUDENTS ATTEND M&M THEMED MAJOR/MINOR FAIR TO EXPLORE OPTIONS
Representatives from various departments on campus set up tables in the Benedum Dining Hall to give students the opportunity to explore adding a minor or changing their major. Representatives from the Army Reserves were present for students to talk with as well.
Study abroad deadline quickly approaching By HOLLY HENDERSHOT Convergence Editor
Studying abroad can be the trip of a lifetime for students by allowing them to experience a different country. Waynesburg University is offering a wide range of study abroad options for the 2018-2019 school year, and the deadline to apply is approaching. Although students can apply for the Study Abroad Program at any t ime dur ing t he ye ar, March 1 is t he de adline to apply for the next school year's Fall or Spring semesters. Sarah B ell, advisor o f t h e S t u d y Ab r o a d Program, said Waynesburg University has partnerships with organizations and universities around the world. Students who want to study abroad will have a wide variety of options to choose from, and they are a lw ay s l o o k i ng t o give students more options. “The opportunities are broken down by major or by location so that students can really try to gage which
is the best fit for them,” said Bell. The program includes possible locations such as Aust ra lia, Eng land, Spain, New Zealand and others.
universities, and they filled out the application on time, students would be eligible to take the institutional aid as well as their federal and state aid,” said Bell. Bell added that
“Be on your toes at all times and just be open and willing to learn and just take in the whole experience.”
MARLA HOLLAND
Psychology Major and Global Ambassador
Although studying in anot her count r y is expensive, according to Bell, Waynesburg is doing its best to allow students the opportunity to study abroad, while alleviating some of the substantial expenses that come with traveling to and living in another country. The university selects 10 students from those who have submitted their applications for the program. Those students will be able to keep their institutional aid for wherever they choose to study. “S o, i f t h e y s e l e c t ed one of our partner
Wa y n e s b u r g Un i v e r sity is somewhat unique in that aspect, as many other universities don’t allow students to take their institutional aid with them. “I hope that [money] is not a deterrent to any student that wants to study abroad,” said Bell. I n o r d e r t o a p p l y, students must have a GPA of 3.0 or more and be in good standing with the university. Senior psychology m aj or Ma r l a Ho l l a n d is a Glob a l Amb ass ad or for h e r pro g r am , Int e r n at i o n a l S t u d i e s Abroad. Holland works with Bell to get people
aware of and interested in the study abroad program on campus. As a student who studied abroad in Australia last summer, Holland said her goal is to help other students prepare to have their own unique experiences in different countries by helping them one-on-one with the application process and telling them about her experiences and what to expect. For Holland, students must always be on their guard, and be ready to t ake advant age of t he experience. “Be on your toes at all times and just be open and willing to learn and just take in a whole ne w exp er ience,” s aid Holland. “It’s not something you’re going to see all the time. It’s super exciting.” A final study abroad interest meeting before the application deadline will take place Feb. 26 at 11:30 a.m. in the student organization room on the second floor of Stover Campus Center. The application for the program can be found in the Study Abroad tab in myConnect.
New Student Orientation Program leader and Fiat Lux Mentor applications are available for students on myConnect. Orientation leaders are chosen by the Associate D e an of Students, Pat Bristor, and her office. According to Ryan Smith, assistant director of Student Activities, they are looking for students who will be good role models for the incoming freshmen class. “We are looking for students who would be willing to foster a good environment for freshmen,” said Smith, “They need to be able to support freshmen and ease the moving process.” There are typically around 30 orientation leaders each year. To become an orientation leader, students must have a grade point average of 3.0 or higher, according to Smith. “We are looking for students who are enthusiastic and energetic,” said Smith. “They should want to gain more leadership experience and should be good role models.” An aspect of becoming an orientation leader is moving into university housing earlier than the rest of the student population. “The students who are orientation leaders represent the university,” said Smith. “They are the first people that the incoming freshman will meet on campus and potentially connect with here on campus.” Fiat Lux mentors are crucial to the process of settling in for freshmen. The y help f reshmen get comfortable in their ne w environment and ease the transition of liv-
ing away from home, according to Fiat Lux mentor C on n e r Hof f m an , sophomore children and youth ministry major and psychology minor. “It’s not for everybody,” said Hoffman, “but if you have the drive to help someone else succeed then I would recommend becoming a mentor.” Hoffman explained that Fiat Lux mentors can share their stories and relate to freshmen in ways that maybe a professor or an advisor cannot. “I feel like I have a unique sense of how things went my freshmen year,” said Hoffman, “So, I think I was able to give them a different idea of what college is going to be like.” Fiat Lux is a necessary part of the college experience and often creates bonds between freshman and their mentors. Hoffman’s Fiat Lux mentor was a female. He explained how having a male perspective may have helped his transition. Hoffman did say, however, that he still had a good experience with his classmates. “I am still in contact with a few freshmen from my Fiat Lux class,” said Hoffman, “I will see them in the Benedum Cafeteria and they will stop to say hi.” The bonds created between freshmen and their mentors are unique. These bonds are very helpful for freshmen when moving into their dorms and settling into their new schedules, according to Hoffman. “Don’t do it just because you think it will be a good experience or a good résumé builder,” said Hoffman, “do it because you truly want to help people succeed.” Applications must be submitted by March 2.
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FEBRUARY 22, 2018 | WAYNESBURG UNIVERSITY | THEYELLOWJACKET.ORG
Coroner Rush wants to be more than a ‘name on a desk’ Newly-elected coroner sets standard for transparency By JOE SMELTZER
Editorial Assistant
Before the 2017 Greene County Coroner Election, Gene Rush didn’t have any political experience. Rush, who previously spent more than 30 years
as the director of Rush Funeral Home in Rogersville, Pennsylvania, pursued the Coroner’s office last year as a Republican. After running unopposed in the primary May 16, Rush faced off with incumbent Gregory Rohanna, who had been in office
for more than two decades. Rush defeated Rohanna by four votes—3,555 to 3,551—and was sworn into office Dec. 21, before taking over in January. For Rush, the hotly contested election was quite an introduction to politics. “It was an emotional roller coaster. Not knowing what was going to come of it,” said Rush. “For somebody that’s never been in
politics before, it’s quite an experience.” Rush said despite such a close election, he hasn’t experienced any negative feedback from voters. “Every place myself and my chief deputy have been, it’s been ‘thank you very much.’” Rush said. “It’s been a very well received election…We want to take that as a good thing.” T i n a K i g e r, G r e e n e
Rush County elections director, said that her office hasn’t experienced any hostility
from the result, either. “There hasn’t been any controversy at all,” Kiger said. “Not in my office anyway.” Rush’s primary goal as coroner is to make his office transparent. He hopes for Greene County citizens to understand his role and know that his office is willing to address any questions RUSH >> B4
After nearly a century, Fort Jackson receiving repairs Program spotlights domestic violence By DYLAN CLELAND
For the Yellow Jacket
Luke Goodling, Yellow Jacket
The Greene County Board of Commissioners have embarked on a project to repair and restore parts of the Fort Jackson Hotel, which has been standing for 92 years.
Building restoration project to be completed by end of summer 2018 By HOLLY HENDERSHOT Convergence Editor
The Fort Jackson building in Waynesburg has been through a lot in the past 92 years. The Fort Jackson building was built in 1926 in the place of the Downy House, which burned down the year before, according the official Greene County website. But after standing for nearly a century, the Greene County Commissioners noticed the Fort Jackson building is in need of repair. Blair Zimmerman, chairman on the Greene County Board of Commissioners, said the problems were first detected
by people working in the building a little over a year ago. Greene County brought in an engineering firm, the EADS Group, to evaluate the issues. Incidentally, this same firm has worked on numerous projects, including the Flight 93 National Memorial. “Some people who worked in the building noticed some stuff,” said Zimmerman. “Then maintenance checked it out and they preceded to bring in some experts on the particular problems.” After evaluation, The EADS Group determined some of the brick in certain areas were not tied in to the building correctly and needed to be remounted, according to Chief
Clerk Jeffrey Marshall. “When it was constructed, [the brick] wasn’t tied in properly. Part of the building wasn’t built the way it should’ve been,” said Marshall. Actions were taken after the evaluation to make sure the building would not be dangerous to those inside, said Marshall. “The spring of 2017, the building was surveyed to evaluate the current situation,” said Marshall. “At that point in time, a fix was engineered to keep it where it was, so the safety was taken care of and wouldn’t get any worse. That gave [the contractor] time this winter to put together the permanent repair plans.”
The commissioner’s goal, after determining the problem with the building, was finding a contractor to fix it, which was accomplished through a bidding process. “We advertise, and they come in and look at the project, and then they submit a bid, and then the bid is opened to the public,” said Zimmerman. “We usually go with the lowest bid, as long as it’s a reputable company.” Mariani & Richards Inc., a restoration contractor, won the bid and will begin work March 15, according to Zimmerman. This project is being paid for by multiple sources, including taxes, money in the
commissioners’ general account and funds received from Pennsylvania’s Act 13. Part of Act 13 puts an “impact fee on every well drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale formation,” according to the State Impact Pennsylvania website. A portion of this fee goes to The Marcellus Legacy Fund, which is used by the state for environmental and infrastructure projects. “Anytime you start working on a project,” said Zimmerman. “You start tearing stuff apart and sometimes you find more, but it’s approximately $699,000.” The restoration, according to Marshall should be done by the end of the summer.
Domestic Violence Serv ices of S out hwester n Pennsylvania held the firstannual Rise, Resist, Unite, Program in Greene County as part of the 2018 worldwide initiative and program One Billion Rising Revolution Saturday, Feb. 17. The program was first launched in February 2012 to raise awareness for domestic violence and sexual assault. Cheryl McCready, Satellite Office Coordinator of the Greene County Women’s Center worked to plan and hold the first annual Rise, Resist, Unite Program in Greene County. “[The event] was a part of the world event for One Billion Rising and it was a flash mob dance,” said McCready. McCready said the main event was the dance, and the morning of the event is spent teaching all of the people in attendance how to perform it. “The dance itself is called Break the Chain. At [10 a.m.], we began by teaching it to whoever is there,” said McCready. “We went over it a few times and had some fun.” According to the One Billion Rising website, as of 2012, it was calculated that one in three women will be abused domestically or sexually in her lifetime. McCready said this is the primary purpose of the DVSSP >> B4
PennDOT moving forward with bridge replacement project By LUKE GOODLING Sports Editor
In Monongahela Township, a $3 million bridge replacement project has entered the final design phase. The project initially started in March 2015, according to Project Manager Brian Svesink, and it includes a pair of bridges in Mapletown. These bridges cross the Whiteley Creek on Mapletown Road. “There are actually two bridges on the road that we are going to be replacing,” Svesnik said. “We’re going to overlay the entire road [with a new surface.]” Because of light traffic in the area, the bridges do not require any other upgrades besides resurfacing. “[We’re] just resurfacing the bridge, there shouldn’t be an increase in traffic flow,” Svesnik said. “The road is only like three-quarters of a mile long. There’s two businesses located on it and they don’t get very
much traffic.” By October, Svesnik said the project will be bid out, but until then, the final pieces will be put together for the contractors. “What will be happing until October is we will be acquiring all the right away that we need for the project,” Svesnik said. “[Also] finishing up the design – like the road way and structure plans, getting environmental permits and basically putting together a big package for contractors to look at.” With this project part of the Rapid Bridge Replacement Project ongoing across the state of Pennsylvania, the impending completion of the Litte Whiteley Creek Bridge replacement will be one more checkmark on a list of 558 bridges across the state. These bridges were identified for the project based on repair costs, available finances and analysis of projects on bridges of similar
Luke Goodling, Yellow Jacket
In Monongahela Township, $3 million was spent on a project to resurface two bridges across the Whitley Creek on Masontown Road. disrepair in years previous. The state-wide project began in 2012 when the
state passed legislation enabling the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
to acquire a public-private partnership. PennDOT was awarded with the project,
along with a consortium BRIDGE >> B4
Page B2
February 22, 2018
SPJ BEST ALL-AROUND N O N - DA I LY N E W S PA P E R WINNER: 2004 2016 FINALIST: 2003 2013 2014
Gun control is overdue and well-needed MICHAEL CAPPELLI Columnist
STAFF: Executive Editor Managing Editor Sports Editor Associate Editors
Mattie Winowitch Teghan Simonton Luke Goodling Grace Hutchison Matthew Shinkle Mitch Kendra Samantha Chadwick Tiffany Morgan Rachel Mangan Photography Editor Michelle Keith News Convergence Editors Emmalea Beck Tyler Godwin Holly Hendershot Colin McLaughlin Graphic Designer Cheyenne Nester Staff Writer Drew Hreha Editorial Assistants Antonio Pelullo Joe Smeltzer Eddie Boice Michael Cappelli Kaden Hurley Copy Editor Tessa Masula Advertising Director Ben Norman
ADVISORS Richard Krause Jacob Meyer
Sarah Bell Kristine Schiffbauer
Editorials in the left-hand column represent the views of the Yellow Jacket. Letters from readers, columns, cartoons and other elements on the editorial page do not necessarily reflect the position of this newspaper and university.
EDITORIAL
When will it end?
It is interesting to me that in the days following a tragedy, such as the Florida shooting, that instead of trying to come together and unite as one, instead, we divide and argue. One side will argue for gun control and the other will argue for gun rights. In fact, there is very little research into gun violence at
all, especially when comparing it to other causes of death. This argument can go back to 1996. In that year, an amendment was passed that prevented the CDC from promoting gun control. The NRA pushed for this amendment after public health researchers produced different studies that suggested pretty sound logic. Congress lowered the CDC’s budget by the exact amount it spent on research into gun related deaths. OK. I get the message. What really is the argument
for guns though? Protection? Is that why assault rifles shoot at such high speeds? It’s not like you have all these enemies out there trying to kill you. The chances are if someone breaks into your house they just want your TV or some other expensive appliance. Now I know the rebuttal will be ‘but what if you had a gun.’ Well in that particular instance I wouldn’t exactly be able to sit right up and start shooting. I would have to get up, find the gun, find the intruders and then handle the
situation accordingly. By that time, they most likely would have escaped. So, in what world are you constantly ready for something bad to happen? On the other hand, you have people that say they are responsible gun owners and that they keep their guns locked in a safe. Then that defeats the purpose of it being for protection. While I don’t like guns, I’m fully aware of the right of American citizens to own GUNS >> B3
The Second Amendment should not change TIFFANY MORGAN Columnist
One death is too many at the hands of a murderer. The recent death of 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida, has begun another round of debate about anti-gun policies. Being someone who grew up around guns, I have learned how to use one responsibly. I was always taught by my father to “treat every gun
as if it were loaded.” I never feared the object, rather than the hands it could land into – the same hands that could be capable of a shocking event such as a school shooting. It is not the gun policy that should be rearranged, but more so the people who are allowed to buy the gun. We exhaust the idea of trying to make it harder for people to get guns, like banning certain types of guns or accessories that contribute to these deadly events, but what we should be focusing on is who gets the guns. One bad apple shouldn’t
ruin the bunch here – it’s our Second Amendment. There should be stipulations to prevent these violent crimes, of course. For example, if you are taking medication to keep yourself mentally stable or have a violent background, there should be action set in place where you cannot own a gun. Students with domestic violence should lose gun rights – one of the red flags from the most recent school shootings that occurred at Ston e m an D ou g l a s High School, was that the 19-year-old boy, prior to the shooting, was kicked out of
school for being violent. He had guardians that were aware of his possession of guns, and they had zero concern with his possible motives and actions, after being kicked out of school for fighting. I am all for having sensible gun laws, just not in the exact direction that we may be headed. Trying to make amends to the Second Amendment is not the answer we should be searching for. There are comprehensive gun laws in place already; we just need to take responsible action AMENDMENT >> B3
Don't give the shooter the attention he wants
The United States has once again, inevitably, found itself it the midst of a heated debate about gun control after the school shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Nikolas Cruz used an assault rifle to gun down 17 individuals at his former high school on Valentine’s Day. The conversation routinely brings out the worst in most individuals that are on extreme ends of the spectrum. Groups begin throwing insults and opinions at one another, expecting the one side to somehow agree with their point of view, before closing themselves off in their bubble until the next shooting happens. There will be thoughts and prayers across the country, which is not an immediate action. There will be a call to action across the country, which typically ends up changing very little. And there will be debate; endless debate and arguing, which in the end, solves nothing. In the midst of the conversation to attempt to make sure a shooting like this does not happen again in the country, despite the fact that the United States has the most school shootings per year in the world, all the limelight will ultimately fall on to the suspected killer as he goes through the courts to be tried and sentenced. All mainstream media entities from CNN to Fox News to organizations in-between will cover Cruz as he follows the long process of receiving a fair jury. Much of the country will tune in to watch, which raises the question of why bother watching? Today’s society in the United States tunes in every week to watch reality television, from dating games, to survivor shows, to competitions and more. We glorify these individuals for doing nothing but be on television. Although by no stretch are Cruz or his actions to be admired, he will get somewhere in the range of just as many viewers as television performers. Millions of people tuned in to watch Casey Anthony’s trial after the death of her child, and the same went to watch former National Football League superstar O.J. Simpson. There is the chance that this shooting could be different, with many groups beginning to form and call for action from Congress on the topic of gun reform. However, the reason the gun control debate is so hard is because it challenges a way of life millions of Americans have always enjoyed. Other countries across the Atlantic Ocean have made sweeping gun reform, with Australia being the main talking point for most gun reform activists. Even New York City has seen a decrease in gun violence in recent years with its new gun regulations. Meanwhile, Second Amendment advocates point to anytime in history that governments have taken away guns and become tyrannical under a population that cannot adequately defend themselves. While the conversation continues, let us all please be reminded that doing nothing is not the answer and immediately making sweeping changes to one side is also not the answer. NEWSPAPER POLICY The Yellow Jacket is the student-operated newspaper of Waynesburg University funded by student fees and advertisements and is intended for the entire college community. The Yellow Jacket is produced by the student staff on a weekly basis during the academic year. The office of the Yellow Jacket is located in room 400 of Buhl Hall. It is the right of the Yellow Jacket to print all material deemed newsworthy and gathered in a fair and unconditional manner. No advance copies of stories will be shown, and reporters' notes are considered confidential. No "off the record" information will be accepted. ADVERTISING POLICY Anyone wishing to advertise in the Yellow Jacket should email the advertising director at jacketads@waynesburg.edu. Ads must be submitted by the Monday before publication date and not conflict with the university mission.
STARTING THE CONVERSATION
SAB planning is imperative for each semester The following is an interview with Ryan Smith, assistant director of student services, as part of the Starting the Conversation series.
By MATTHEW SHINKLE Q: How much time goes into planning some events that take place on campus from Student Activities Board? A: "It's all dependent on the event, so it could be anywhere from a month to two months in advance to a whole semester in advance, depending on how large the event is. Hourwise, I don't know how I could give the breakdown." Q: For students that join and take part in SAB, how are they able to propose ideas and how do they move forward? A: "We have a breakdown of committees in SAB, so we have our board members, their's three of them, and then we have about six or seven committees. "In those committees, they talk about past
events, current events and future events and what they would like to see on the calender. "The highest priority is what's going on in this current moment. Let's assess what we've done, how did this event go, how can we make this better. We keep notes in the meetings keeping track of them in that aspect. In terms of future events, when it comes to our planing meeting, what can we put on the calendar for next semester." Q: How does the university go about getting all the musical guests that they have come to campus?
A: "There's a few different formats, one being NACA, the Northeastern Association of Colleges. It's a conference that smaller schools go to and we're actually going to it over spring break. "We're taking two or three students that will go with Pat [Bristor] and myself, and we'll sit through two or three days worth of different events, different performers and musicians and talk to their agents. "That's how we mainly
get a lot of new people, but our university has also worked with Degy Entertainment, they're a booking agent out of Tennessee, and they're always getting new performers. "Essentially, working with our agent, he tells us the lowdown on these people and sends us their music or we can YouTube them and kind of get a feel for them. "The third way is, we've also brought in people who don't have an agent so they are a little bit lower on the end of that. Some students have played for us. If people know up-and-coming artists, or someone who's looking to get into that field, we have approached them as well and so it's kind of just getting prices and seeing if it works within our budget and checking themes as well."
Q: Then my last question is just regarding The Loop, what is that process? A: "The Loop has been around for about five years now, it's been here for awhile. Actually, random fact, I used to be The Loop driver in college. "It runs this semester every Wednesday that we have class is in session. It essentially just goes to the local shops if a students wants to go, it's complete free, and it starts at 5:40 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and 7:20 p.m. "So yeah, if students want to come they just come to the Stover parking lot, see the Waynesburg University van and just hop on. If students need to go to Med Express, Giant Eagle of Walmart, that's fine. We'll stop there, drop you off and then come back."
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the editor are encouraged as a method to bring issues of concern into the public eye. Letters should be typed, limited to 300 words, signed and include a phone number for confirmation. Letters may be submitted to 400 Buhl Hall, sent to the Yellow Jacket via campus mail or via email to jacket@waynesburg.edu. Letters may also be sent to Yellow Jacket, 400 Buhl Hall, Waynesburg University, 51 W. College St., Waynesburg, Pa. 15370. All letters must be received by 5 p.m. the Monday of any publication week.
February 22, 2018
Page B3
Cheat Sheet: Florida shooting leads to students calling for change Editor's Note: The following is a synopsis of a recent topic trending in world or national news. By MATTHEW SHINKLE Associate Editor
This past Valentine's Day, Nikolas Cruz cut short the lives of at least 17 individuals at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after returning to his former high school. Cruz is currently in police custody, accused of killing the 17 teachers and students with an AR-15 rifle. The accused shooter appeared in court for the first time Feb. 19 in a red prison uniform in shackles and remained mostly silent during his first live televised appearance in a Broward County Circuit Court. Although the horrible act from over a week ago is still fresh in the minds of many across the country, the trial is expected to last a while. Senator Marco Rubio, R-FL, has publicly stated he supports the death penalty for the accused. While prosecutors are
Tribune News Service
Students of Atlantic High School in Delray Beach attend a rally against gun violence in light of the recent mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in nearby Parkland on Feb. 19 in Delray Beach, Fla. still currently unsure if they will pursue the death penalty as of the writing of this article, Rubio has said that this case is what "the death penalty was designed for." However, Cruz's legal team said this past Friday that he would indeed plead guilty, as long as the death
penalty is not an option. After this latest school shooting, it has once again reopened the national debate of what to do with the current gun laws in the country. Many Americans across the country are demanding immediate action and gun regulation in the wake
of the slaughter of the 17 students, particularly pertaining to assault rifles; however, the debate spans across multiple schools of thought and topics with each side. Mental illness, types of guns, background checks and waiting periods are just some of the issues that are tangled up in the
overarching problem that remains to be gun violence in the United States. Students from Florida and across the country are planning to take action into their own hands, after stating publicly on news outlets such as CNN after the shooting and on Twitter, by protesting and
traveling to their state capitol buildings, as well as Washington D.C. For example, busloads of students from Stoneman Douglas High School were expected to go to Tallahassee, Florida, Wednesday to march on the state capitol to demand better gun laws, making it more difficult for such a massacre to happen again. Meanwhile, March 14 will see the organizers of last years women's march on Washington combine "students, teachers, school administrators, parents and allies" to lead a nationwide, 17-minute school walkout at 10 a.m., which is the one-month anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas and intended to remember those who died. Meanwhile, there will also be walkouts on April 20 for the Columbine anniversary. "They can change the world, and we can only go with them," Darren Levine, a Stoneman Douglas High teacher, said of the school's students at an anti-violence rally in Delray Beach, Florida.
In the News: Five headlines you need to know this week Editor's Note: The following is a synopsis of a recent topic trending in world or national news.
by Russia to target and undermine our democratic institutions, and they’re going to keep coming at us.”
1) National Rifle Association may be looking for new convention city A Dallas city official has stated that the NRA should look to move its annual convention from Dallas to somewhere else. Dallas City Council member Dwaine Caraway said his thoughts are due to the high amount of gun violence across the United States. Caraway has not spoken directly to any NRA officials and is not planning to take action to have the city government stop the event. Instead, he is expressing his own personal belief. "I am saying to the NRA, reconsider yourselves coming to Dallas," Caraway said. While Caraway says he does own five firearms himself, he believes assault rifles should not be available for citizens. The NRA convention is scheduled for May 3-6 in Dallas, which would be the group’s 147th annual meeting. "Why the NRA now?" Caraway said. "Because it's their convention. It's because it's their responsibility. It's because they stand for the very things we are confronted with every day of our lives. Those kids in Florida, they will have to live with these nightmares the rest of their lives." -USA Today Feb. 20 2) Is KFC running out of chicken overseas? Fast food chain KFC has been forced to shut down all of their restaurants across the United Kingdom this past week after a problem with their
-Washington Post Feb. 19 4) TV star making new show about religion and faith
Tribune News Service
National security advisor H.R. McMaster speaks at the Center for a New American Security's annual conference in Washington, D.C., on June 28, 2017. delivery system. Nearly 90 percent of locations were closed Monday, Feb. 19, while around half of their stores in the country remained closed by afternoon the next day. While the problem is being fixed, closures are still expected to be ongoing. "Each day more deliveries are being made, however, we expect the disruption to some restaurants to continue over the remainder of the week, meaning some will be closed and others operating with a reduced menu or shortened hours," a KFC spokesperson said in a statement emailed to CNN. KFC announced that the problem was due to the switch to a new delivery partner last week. DHL, the new delivery partner, said the delivery problems were “incomplete or delayed” due to “operational issues.” The German apologized this past week for failing to make their deliveries, but added that others were also at fault for the breakdown. "With the help of our partner QSL, we are committed to step by step improvements to allow KFC
to re-open its stores over the coming days," DHL said in a statement. The UK is currently KFC’s largest market in Europe and also one of the chains top five around the world. -CNN Feb. 20 3) Russian bots flood social media after Florida shooting Just one hour after news broke and reports began flooding in about the school shooting in Florida last week, Twitter accounts suspected of having connections to Russia poured hundreds of posts into the gun control debate. The accounts began tweeting with hashtags calling for gun reform and gun control. Before the shooting took place, many of these accounts had been posting about the special investigation by Robert S. Mueller III into accused Russian meddling in the presidential election. “This is pretty typical for them, to hop on breaking news like this,” said Jonathon Morgan, chief executive of New
Knowledge, a company that tracks online disinformation campaigns. “The bots focus on anything that is divisive for Americans. Almost systematically.” Gun control remains potentially the most divisive topic of conversation in the United States, leading Second Amendment advocates to be pitted against those in favor of common sense gun laws or restrictions aimed to cut down on the high number of gun deaths in the country. The Alliance for Securing Democracy, a research group, created a website that tracks hundreds of Twitter accounts of both human users and potential bots that are suspected of having Russian connections. “We’ve had more than a year to get our act together and address the threat posed by Russia and implement a strategy to deter future attacks, but I believe, unfortunately, we still don’t have a comprehensive plan,” said Senator Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “What we’re seeing is a continuous assault
Johnny Galecki of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ has decided his next career path is to move behind the camera and help create a television show about a man who decided to live strictly by the Bible. Galecki will serve as an executive producer for ‘Living Biblically,’ a show he says he wanted to pursue due to its underrepresentation on television. “When I started my production company, it was No. 1 at the top of the list to try to do a comedy about religion,” he told journalists at the panel at the Television Critics Association’s Winter Press Tour. “I recognized that these conversations [about religion] weren’t being had despite the fact that … 80 percent of people in the world subscribe their lives to some sort of spiritual belief.” The show is one that he hopes could “inspire a conversation around the water cooler” about the Bible and faith. “One of the biggest hurdles is the fear to have the conversation about [religion]…” he said. “The best way to approach [a topic] that people may be uncomfortable with is with comedy.” The show has already taped a 13-episode first season and worked with many consultants to ensure the scripts were accurate and respectful. -Fox News Feb. 20
5) MLB plans released to attempt to increase pace of play Major League Baseball announced their plans and new rules designed to help speed up the pace of play for the 2018 season, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Two of these intended ‘improvements’ include only allowing a maximum of six mound visits per game for each team and shortening the time between innings. The league said in a statement that it will not add a pitch clock or timer for batters or at-bats this season, “in order to provide players with an opportunity to speed up the game without the use of those timers,” said Jon Morosi of MLB Network. However, the six mound visits allowed for teams are not expected to be concrete as catchers will be able to speak with their pitcher, at the approval of the umpire. Such discussions will be allowed only as long as the umpire believes and agrees that there is a cross-up with the pair during the gam, thus allowing the team an additional visit. "I am pleased that we were able to reach an understanding with the Players Association to take concrete steps to address pace of play with the cooperation of players," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in the statement. "My strong preference is to continue to have ongoing dialogue with players on this topic to find mutually acceptable solutions." -Bleacher Report Feb. 19 Information curated by Matthew Shinkle Associate Editor
Guns: Please do not arm teachers Amendment: Crucial to work together Continued from B2
guns. It is stated in the constitution that Americans have the right to “bear arms”. Let’s think about that for a second, this was put in place so that citizens could form a militia in case the government became too tyrannical. This made a lot more sense when the most advanced weapon
was a musket. It is hard to say that it would be a fair fight. There is also the argument of arming teachers in school. This is an interesting argument but one that is shot down rather quickly. Anyone who went to public school knows how ruthless teenagers can be. We also know that from time to time there are pretty heated arguments between
teachers and less-then-cooperative students. The type of arguments that get so loud that it draws attention from the hallways. Now throw a gun into the mix. Is it so far-fetched just to be able to conduct a little bit of research into guns? It is indeed a scary place we live, and all I am saying is to think about the true reasons for owning a gun and why we have such easy access to them.
Continued from B2
with these laws already in place. I think a good course of action to take would be having these crimes looked at under a state level. From the state perspective, we would have more control to take action when banning certain guns. Not all of these laws are appropriate for ev-
ery state, and to take it to a national level takes up more time and arguing room. Conservative or liberal, stopping gun violence has always been a major issue that is debated back and forth. It is a tragedy how common it is – we as a society can become desensitized to the idea of these events, due to the unfortunate and frequent occurrence of them.
There is a total of about five million paid members in the National Rifle Association. When tragedies like school shootings happen, society tends to spend more time pinning the fault of such events on the NRA or President Trump. How about this: start working together to prevent future occurrences instead of playing the blame-game.
Page B4
February 22, 2018
Bowlby Library offering community programs and activities By TIFFANY MORGAN Associate Editor
For generations, the B owlby Public Librar y has been a service to the community via one thing: books. Fast forward to current times, and the library now provides books, computers and several programs and activities for a range of ages to participate in. There are more than 11 programs held at Bowlby. From Lego Club to yoga classes, the public library is a versatile service provider to the Greene County community. Movie Nights, one of the many well-attended events, according to Kathy McClure, executive director of the Bowlby Public Library, used to be a monthly event, but to reach more attention to those in the community, it is now a weekly event, held ever y Wednesday night. “I think people are really catching onto [movie nights] and it’s kind of fun,”
Tiffany Morgan, Yellow Jacket
Bowlby Public Library offers more than just books. This month, the library is offering movie nights, Lego Club, yoga classes and more. said McClure. McClure has been a part of the library for 24 years. Back when McClure was a young mother, she noticed an opening on the staff at the library took the opportunity to fill it. “I thought ‘It might be nice to work at the library’ I could have the best of both
worlds, I could teach children but at the same time I could do collection development,” McClure said. “What better place? I love books, so I just decided to come here and I have been here ever since, and that’s been 24 years.” Mc C lu re re m i n is c e d about her childhood memo-
ries of going to the library with her family. “It was one of my most favorite things to do,” McClure said. Growing up in the community, McClure always had a special place for the library. “I have the best of interest in the community, it’s very
important to me to see this library succeed and become not just meeting the needs of everybody but to be viable in our community,” McClure said. McClure has heavy passion for her job. She loves coming up with ways to cater to those in Greene County and make the library an important part of the community. She’s doing so not only with books but with other services that can make a difference in the community. One of the biggest factors to that catering is the internet services Bowlby offers. “One of the things that I think is most important about our community is that we’re a very rural area, so there are not very reliable internet services in most of the areas,” McClure said, “and so we’re able to fill that void here at the library by providing internet services for customers who may not be able to have it.” McClure’s goal with some of the library programs that
are provided is to spark an interest in children and for them to find their place in the library with one of those programs. “Most importantly, because we are so rural and we don’t have a lot of activities for our young people in our community as far as roller rinks or movie theaters or even a bowling alley,” McClure said. “There’s really nothing for our young people to do so we really try to fill that void by providing programming that will meet the needs of school age children especially.” McClure said the library tries to meet individual needs as well as general interests. “We try to provide programs that will bring them to the library, get them interested and give them some place to be,” McClure said. “They can come, they can be safe here, they can have a good time but they can also be fulfilling a lot of their own personal needs as well.”
Rush: Greene County Coroner sets goal to increase transparency
Continued from B1
Luke Goodling, Yellow Jacket
or concerns. “A lot of people do not know what a coroner does,” Rush said. “So, one of my main goals was to get the word out as to what we do, what we’re able to do, and what we can’t do. I want to be able to answer anybody’s questions that can call me.” C hief D eput y C oro ner Martin Yoskovich has known Rush for nearly four decades. Yoskovich agreed it is essential for himself, Rush and the rest of the office to be accessible, as well as cooperative. “Accessibility is probably the biggest thing,” Yoskivich said. “We’re going to strive for our response time to be as quick as possible to a particular scene... We’ve been trying to work diligently with the state police, the local police, the fire departments and, most importantly, the families that we serve.” One way Rush aims to increase transparency is through cooperation with the county’s efforts to combat the opioid crisis. Rohanna didn’t release statistics about the overdose rates in Greene County last year, leading to a lawsuit from the Obser ver-Reporter. Rush recently released the data on last year’s overdose rate and found that the deaths caused by overdoses
dropped from 20 to 13 in the past year. Although Rush isn’t sure what caused the decrease, he hopes the trend continues in 2018. “You can only keep your fingers crossed,” Rush said. “We have no guarantees. I’ve seen other county reports that have far more than we do.” Rush said he believes it is essential to emphasize education to help fix the county’s drug problems. “We need to get to the young people—not even teenagers, but before that,” Rush said. “Because we’ve had [reports of] drug users that were 11 and 12 years old. That’s not natural. There’s a reason for that, and we need to find that out and at the same time educate people as to why that is or if that’s a problem and locate the areas it’s happening in and that kind of thing.” As coroner, Rush wants to be thought of as more than the responsibilities his job entails. “I want to be more than a name on a desk,” Rush said. “Because a coroner can do more. He can help prevent this as much as he can invest in it. So, I want to be that person. I just don’t want to be ‘oh, somebody died, we call the coroner.’ There’s more to the office than that, and that’s what I want when I think transparency.”
FLOODWATERS FLOW THROUGH GREENE COUNTY
Bridge: PennDOT DVSSP: Month dedicated to raising awareness takes on project to repair state's bridges Last week, Waynesburg received more than two inches of rainfall, causing local creeks to rise to dangerous levels and flood warnings to be issued across the county.
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revolution. “The important part is obviously the awareness of domestic violence, but it does cover sexual assault,” said McCready. “The One Billion Rising [also] covers inequalities, but our focus is domestic violence.” In addition to the Greene County office, Washington and Fayette counties recently held their own version of the Rise, Resist, Unite Program as part of the One Billion Rising Revolution. McCready believes keeping the program local has its benefits. “Domestic violence is around. It’s in Greene County, but we often hear that these things don’t happen in our community,” said McCready. “The fact
is that it does. [By] getting everybody on board with awareness makes it easier for victims to talk about what is going on.” McCready also said victims fear coming forward, but holding the event locally draws people out to share their story and come forward as abuse victims. “All of our education programs are the same thing, they are to make people feel comfortable,” said McCready. “We focus on being nonjudgmental and [giving] confidentiality. We want people to feel comfortable in our offices and ask for help.” Wi t h F e b r u a r y b e ing Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, Waynesburg University students have also found ways to be involved with raising hope and understanding for this
cause. McCready said DVSSP had a table at the WU GO Girl event in Stover Tuesday night.
“We often hear that these things don't happen in our community. The fact is that it does.”
CHERYL MCCREADY
Satellite Office Coordinator
Also, this past week, the Bonner Scholars held their annual dating violence program. “At that [Bonner program] we had one of our volunteers who had a family member that died as a result of domestic violence in Washington a couple years
ago,” said McCready. “Unless there is an emergency in town the [borough] police are going to come and talk about their experiences with dating/domestic violence.” The main event that evening was the annual dating violence video contest that judge’s videos scripted and recorded by local high schools. “Each year the schools film their videos and at the program we announce the winners,” said McCready. “This year all three of the winners are from Carmichaels Area High School.” As the month of awareness draws to a close, McCready concluded by sharing something the center and program stands by. “It is OK to get angry but not OK to hurt anybody,” said McCready.
Continued from B1
of Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners, contractors trusted to handle construction.. Jeff Rossi, public information manager, said a majority of these bridges partnered with the statewide project are in rural locations, the Little Whiteley Creek Bridge being one example. “Most of these [bridges] are located in rural areas,” Rossi said. “All these bridges are coming to the end of their lifespan. They are still safe to drive across and everything, it’s just they are coming to the end of their useful [duration.]” Across Greene County, Rossi said roughly 60 bridges have been identified to be a part of the replacement
program, and they have intentions of repairing the 558 bridges by the end of 2018. Rossi said they have experienced some delays, but they were not typically during the construction phase, rather during the planning process. “We’ve had, from the beginning, a pretty aggressive schedule to get these [projects] done,” Rossi said. “A lot of the delays we’ve experienced is just trying to get utilities moved and getting right away from railroads is not an easy thing, so we [have] to juggle.” Despite the varying degrees of delays the projects have experienced over the past few years, Svesnik said the Little Whiteley Creek Bridge project is on track to be completed on time.
SECTION C
FEBRUARY 22, 2018 | WAYNESBURG UNIVERSITY | THEYELLOWJACKET.ORG | @YJ_SPORTS
Championship pursuit ends short after 82-73 defeat to Bethany Dismal 3-point shooting plagues Yellow Jackets in first-round playoff loss By TYLER GODWIN and MICHAEL CAPPELLI Staff Report
Mitchell Kendra, Yellow Jacket
After failing to reach the playoffs last year, the Jackets were seeded seventh against Bethany.
Knab, Paige, Wallace and Nugent play final game By MICHAEL CAPPELLI Editorial Assistant
The season is over. Waynesburg University men’s basketball team traveled to face the Bethany Bison Tuesday. It was the first round of the Presidents Athletic Conference tournament and the Yellow Jackets were defeated. The Jackets however, put up a fight before Bethany was able to close out a 8273 victory. According to head coach Mark Christner, the team responded well throughout the game. “I thought we really battled back,” said Christner. “We wanted to put game pressure
on them and we did.” The night started off well for the Jackets, who were able to jump out with a lead thanks to senior forward
Marcus Wallace. Wallace scored six points in that run and finished the night with 15 total. The Yellow Jackets faced a tough opponent in Bethany,
especially against senior guard Calique Jones. Jones is the leading scorer in the PAC, averaging just under 19 points per game.
C h r i s t n e r h o w e v e r, thought his team played Jones well. “I thought we did a really good job on him,” said Christner. “I thought we
made things difficult for him, he didn’t get a lot of easy shots, but he still made them.” At the end of the first half, Jones made a deep 3- pointer to give the Bison a 39-27 lead. In the second half, the Jackets didn’t give up. Despite having a slow start to the game, senior wing Jon Knab helped his team battle back. “I thought he had a great second half,” said Christner. “I think part of the slow start was getting two fouls, and he hasn’t had a lot of foul trouble.” Knab contributed 10 points to the cause over his 23 minutes of play. Other notable performers
Popeck a key contributor in freshman season By JOE SMELTZER
Editorial Assistant
Matt Popeck’s college basketball career didn’t get off to a usual start. The men’s team was playing over 2,000 miles away from home. It’s opponent, Whitman, was ranked No. 1 in the country coming into the season, and Popeck, unlike most Division III freshmen, was starting at point guard for his collegiate debut. Although the Jackets fell to Whitman, 113-74, Popeck shined, makMichelle Keith, Yellow Jacket
In high school, Matt Popeck scored 1,000 points for Washington High School. After his first year with the Jackets, he has 384.
ing nine of his 13 shots and scoring 23 points. In the 24 regular season games after that, Popeck eclipsed his opening night point total four times, twice reaching 30 points, and ended the regular season leading all Presidents’ Athletic Conference freshmen in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game, which was also good for seventh overall in the conference. With Timmy Kaiser graduating last season, the point guard position was one that needed to be filled coming into the season. Although Popeck was well established as the all-time leading scorer at Washington High School, he wasn’t sure of where he would stand until after practices had started. “I didn’t really know [what my role would be],” Popeck said. “The first week of practice, I just tried to work as hard as I could and just challenge everybody and play my game and [score]. [Head coach Mark Christner] told me that I was going to be starting in the scrimmage against La Roche, and it was just a good moment for me just moving forward—just seeing what I can do and just be growing every day and filling in that role.” Although he is a freshman, the
numbers show that Popeck’s individual success on the court is proportional to the collective success of the Yellow Jackets. In Waynesburg's 10 wins this season, he has been one of the
Jackets top two scorers in all but one of them. He didn't play in the team's 84-78 win over Muskingum Dec. 20, and his 384 total points ranked second to senior wing Jon Knab, which was 208 points ahead of the next highest scorer. In the four games Popeck failed to score in double figures the Jackets are winless. Popeck is familiar with the spotlight. In his last two seasons at Wash High, the Little Prexies went 42-14 overall and 24-2 in conference games, making the PIAA state playoffs in both seasons. For Christner, Popeck playing a significant role on those teams helped him not be overwhelmed with the college game. “He’s always been used to having a good defender on him … Part of his game is scoring, and being able to be assertive offensively,” Christner said. “So I think he’s used to that component, and so it’s a matter of just kind of learning how teams play, learning how things happen and involving other talented guys as well.” Popeck’s rookie campaign hasn’t come without its valleys. Around Christmas time, he went through illness. He responded by averaging 13.6 points over five games during the winter break. After a stretch in January in which he scored fewer than 10 points in four of five games— all of which were losses— Popeck overcame an ankle injury against Westminster. In that game Popeck put up a then-career-high 30 points and led the Jackets to an 88-86 victory that ended the eight-game skid. Popeck was been recognized by the ECAC numerous times and recently recognized with ECAC Division III South Rookie of the Week honors. Popeck had handled his first college season by being himself, and believing in his abilities. “[I’m] just playing my game and playing with confidence,” Popeck said. “Knowing that I can play and I can make an impact. [We are] just trying to play for each other, [I] play for the guys around me, play for my teammates. Just every night, doing whatever it takes to win.” For Christner, Popeck has shown that he has the right mentality to deal with the ups-and-downs of college basketball. “It’s a long year, it’s physical,” Christner said. “I think for him, his resiliency has been good… The important thing is that you don’t lose confidence in the type of POPECK >> C2
For a Waynesburg University men’s basketball team that finished third in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in 3-point shooting, a rare low-percentage shooting game turned out to be the difference in the team’s playoff loss to Bethany this past Tuesday. For a team that shot 34.5 percent from beyond the arc for the season, it was suddenly shooting just 20.7 percent for the game against Bethany. Going 0-for-15 in the first half in attempted 3-pointers, it was a detrimental part of the Yellow Jackets game. “It was just unfortunate, I thought for the majority of them [we had] good looks for the right guys,” said head coach Mark Christner. “I think the 0-of-15 in the first half was really rare [for us]… obviously if we would have been 5-of-15 we could have won… I think we did a lot of those things we wanted to do.” The Yellow Jackets bounced back in the second half with a 6-for-14 showing from 3-point range, including a pair each from junior Nate Gearhart and senior Jon Knab. Freshman Matt Popeck, who averaged 32 percent for the season from 3-point range and was coming off a game in which he knocked in 8-of-13 shots from beyond the arc, finished 0-5 against the Bison despite scoring 12 points. Knab also finished below his season average of hitting 42 percent of his 3-point attempts, knocking down 33 percent, 2-of-6, in the Bethany game. The Bison, likewise, finished the season in MBB >> C4
that helped the team battle back included freshman Matt Popeck who chipped in 12 points as well as five rebounds and senior Kendall Paige also added 8 points and 6 rebounds. The team was lead in rebounding by freshman Ben Vitovitch and senior Mike
Nugent, who grabbed nine and eight rebounds, respectively. “[Nugent] was awesome, he had seven offensive rebounds in that game,” said Christner. Staying alive on the boards DEFEAT >> C4
WRESTLING PREVIEW
Jackets prepare for regionals following two-week hiatus
for their goal,” said Headlee. “We need to have three or four wrestlers in CleveAfter winning its second land wrestling, and their straight Presidents’ Athletic team coming out to support Conference championship them.” two weeks ago, the wrestling Headlee feels that Burrs, team heads to the Evans and Buxton regionals, lookcan set the examing to follow up a ple for the rest of tournament that the team. head coach Ron “ [ Bu r rs , Ev Headlee thought ans and Buxton] was “one of the wrestled really best performancwel l at PAC ’s, es that I’ve been a the y’ve b een part of ” last year. wrestling well all After winning year, and I think Buxton seven in a row the they’re leaders first day last year, and then for the team,” said Headlee. sending a couple of guys to “Hopefully other guys just the final who lost their re- pick up on that and go to respective match despite pos- gionals and give themselves sibly making it to nationals a chance to win.” – it was still one of the best Both Burrs and Buxton team performance Headlee fell just outside the top had ever seen. three, placing fourth in their “Overall it was probably weight classes last year at reone of the best days we’ve gionals. Headlee feels that had of wrestling that I’ve both men are anxious to been a part of,” said Head- avenge falling short last year. lee. “Guys just [got it done “[Buxton] and [Burrs] in pressure matches].” both lost in ‘the blood This year has the potential round’ to go to nationto be even better. als,” said Headlee. “I know Wit h w rest lers such they’re both hungry, they as sophomore Ken Burrs want to get there and show in the 197-pound weight they can perform at that class, junior Jake Evans at level.” 285 pounds and senior TrisThis year also brings a tian Buxton at 125 pounds, change in region for the there is opportunity to send wrestling team as they went at least three wrestlers to na- from the Mideast to the tionals. Central region. With three key wrestlers Headlee knows it will be having the potential to make different seeing wrestlers it to nationals, Headlee feels from teams that they usuthat the relative closeness of ally do not compete against. nationals this year in Cleve“We’ll see some teams that land, Ohio, will help bring we’ve never seen during the more support. “[It’s] just guys reaching WRESTLING >> C2 By ANTONIO PELULLO Editorial Assistant
Page C2
February 22, 2018 A N A LYS I S
Who is the best Yellow Jacket in Mark Christner's tenure? in his time at Waynesburg, it wouldn’t be much of one. Knab barely saw the court as a freshman. He started every game as a sophomore. By his junior year, he became one of the top players in the PAC, and finally, in his senior season, joined Fleegle and Propst as members of the 1,000 point club roughly two weeks ago at Thomas More. “I think he’s been a guy that we least expected [to reach 1,000 points] in terms of where he started and where he ended,” Christner said. “He has worked really hard to put himself in a position where he can be pretty dependable and reliable.” Knab ended the regular season with 1,049 points, ten behind Fleegle and 75 behind Propst. One could make the argument that Knab edges out both of them as the best player Christer has had as Jackets head coach, even though he has not surpassed them in overall point totals. Fleegle is a natural player to compare with Knab. Both played the same position, wing, and both were similar in stature, with Fleegle
By JOE SMELTZER
Editorial Assistant
Head men’s basketball coach Mark Christner has had some talented and successful players in his eight seasons at Waynesburg University. Over the years, Christner saw the Jackets go from winning just two games the year before his arrival to a Presidents’ Athletic Conference championship game appearance in 2015. Of course, Christner needed proficient players to turn the ship around. Two seniors on the team that finished second in the conference, Jacob Fleegle and Jason Propst, each reached the 1,000 point plateau – Propst ending with 1,124 points and Fleegle 1,059. Other successful athletes Christner has coached in his time at Waynesburg also include 2016 graduates B.J. Durham and D.J. Ritchie. But the best might be a man who saw just 22 minutes of action on that 20142015 team. If it’s a stretch to say that Jon Knab had a meteoric rise
standing at 6’5” and Knab 6’4”. The two were so similar that during the only season in which they were teammates, Knab guarded Fleegle “every day for 75 practices,” according to Christner. “I think he probably mirrors [Fleegle] in some ways,” Christner said. “They’re both longish wing guys. I think they both come from a similar place from a character, faith standpoint as well. Both of them treat people well and have been really good representations of our program to the outside world.” Knab tied Fleegle in scoring with a 10 point effort in the final game of his career against Bethany this past Tuesday, despite falling well short of Fleegle’s 109 appearances in a Yellow Jacket uniform. Knab also has a slight edge in the rebounding department, averaging around 4.2 rebounds compared to around 4 for Fleegle. Comparing Knab with a player like Propst is a little more complicated. Even though Propst, like Fleegle, was 6’5”, Propst played a different position than Fleegle and Knab at
Knab
Propst
Fleegle
forward. Although Propst still is Christner’s all-time leading scorer at season’s end, Knab has the edge in scoring average, averaging 12.2 points compared to Propst’s 10.5. Despite playing more of a big man role, Knab holds his own against Propst in the rebounding
department, as Propst ended his career averaging a little over a rebound more per game than Knab. Christner didn’t say where Knab stacks up against other Waynesburg players of this past decade, but he sees him as a perfect example of a player who made the most
of his chances. “I don’t know if we can rank [the players],” Christner said. “He’s been great though. He’s been a bestcase scenario… to kind of watch [him] five years ago and then think about what he would be now, that is the definition of faith probably.”
Popeck: Freshman ends season Wrestling: Headlee's team has as team's second-leading scorer eyes set on national recognition sential. “Just seeing what some of the teams do, I’m just paying attention to it and learning it, and just trying to figure out ways that I can work, get in the gym and just find ways so that they can’t do that,” Popeck said. “Just so I could handle everything and just be able to make plays.” Popeck came to Waynesburg during a transition period for Yellow Jacket basket-
Continued from C1
player you believe you can be, and he really hasn’t.” As Popeck’s name gains notoriety throughout the PAC, he’s noticed that other teams have picked up on his strengths and weaknesses. For Popeck, understanding what his opponents are throwing at him, and doing the work needed to adjust to it, is es-
ball. After a PAC title game appearance in 2015, Waynesburg hasn’t had a winning season since. Popeck’s main objective is to be a catalyst in changing that. “I just know what we can do and what we’re going to do,” Popeck said. “Just trying to get all the guys in the gym to work hard, so we can have some winning seasons and we can make history here. That’s my goal.”
Continued from C1
year, where last year I think we [previously] saw every team at least one time,” said Headlee. “So [there will be] some new opponents that we might not know much about in going into wrestling them.” Some other key wrestlers to watch heading into the event this weekend, accord-
ing to Headlee, are freshman Josh Kuslock at 133 pounds, freshman 149-pounder RJ Hall, freshman Caleb Baxter at 174 pounds and sophomore Zack Mackall 157 pounds. Despite coming off the PAC title, Headlee isn’t concerned about a letdown. “I think it’s kind of nice that we have two weeks [between PAC’s and regionals],” said Headlee. “Sometimes
you’re worried about that feeling haveing a [week off] … Our guys have higher goals than just winning the PAC’s. They want to place in the national tournament. That’s one of the things we stress is [the national tournament] is what we are striving for.” Regionals begin on Feb. 23 and continue through the 24th in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
PRESIDENTS’ ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ROUNDUP Men’s Basketball STANDINGS Thomas More Bethany Saint Vincent Westminster Grove City Geneva Waynesburg Thiel Chatham Wash. & Jeff
Conf. 16-2 14-4 13-5 12-6 9-9 7-11 6-12 5-13 4-14 4-14
Overall 21-5 15-11 16-10 19-7 16-10 12-14 10-16 7-17 7-18 5-20
Saturday’s Box Score
Waynesburg 73, Bethany 82 Waynesburg 27 46 73 Bethany 39 43 82
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Waynesburg Top Scorers 1. Marcus Wallace ...............................15 2. Matt Popeck....................................12 Grove City Top Scorers 1. Andrew Beckman ...................................15 2. Isaac Williams..........................................13 Bethany Top Scorers 1. Chaice Truex.............................................28 2. Calique Jones ..........................................25 Geneva Top Scorers 1. Jimmy Leichliter......................................33 2. Eric McHee...............................................13 Thomas More Top Scorers 1.Ryne Callahan ..........................................16 2. Simon Clifford .........................................15 Thiel Top Scorers 1. Daquan Simmons ...................................13 2. Josh Lumbus ...........................................12 Chatham Top Scorers 1. Will Sandherr...........................................19 2. Marc Wells ...............................................9 Westminster Top Scorers 1. Jarrett Vrabel ...........................................15 2. Marco Delornzo .......................................15 Wash & Jeff Top Scorers 1. Sean Stinelli ............................................19 2. Brian Lindquist........................................14 Saint Vincent Top Scorers 1. Tom Kromka ............................................22 2. David Stephen.........................................14
RECENT RESULTS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
SWIMMING AND DIVING
WRESTLING
STANDINGS
MEN RECENT RESULTS
Waynesburg Thomas More Thiel Wash. & Jeff.
Thomas More Wash. & Jeff Saint Vincent Grove City Waynesburg Bethany Geneva Westminster Chatham Thiel
Conf. 18-0 14-3 14-4 12-6 10-8 8-10 5-13 3-15 2-15 2-16
Overall 24-1 21-4 17-8 17-8 15-11 12-14 8-18 7-19 5-20 3-22
Saturday’s Box Score
Waynesburg 86, Westminster 71 Westminster 16 14 18 23 71 Waynesburg 13 30 18 25 86
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Waynesburg Top Scorers 1. Rachel Eng ......................................17 2. Erin Joyce ........................................17 Grove City Top Scorers 1. Lexie Arkwright.......................................19 2. Kate Balcom ............................................12 Bethany Top Scorers 1. Kelsea Daugherty....................................22 2. Ashley Duthie..........................................13 Geneva Top Scorers 1. Callie Ford................................................20 2. Jodie Carlson .............................................8 Thomas More Top Scorers 1. Abby Owings...........................................20 2. Jules Howard...........................................16 Thiel Top Scorers 1. Taylor Duchon..........................................23 2. Jess Vormelker.........................................13 Chatham Top Scorers 1. Katie Sieg................................................19 2. Olivia Barkley ..........................................13 Westminster Top Scorers 1. Emily Fromknect .....................................20 2. Paige Quinn.............................................12 Wash & Jeff Top Scorers 1.Amirah Moore .........................................17 2.Nicole Ricketts.......................................... 6 Saint Vincent Top Scorers 1.Maria Morgan ..........................................8 2. Carlee Kilgus............................................8
Wednesday-Saturday, February 14-17 PAC Championships 1. Westminster 908 2. Grove City College 903 3. Saint Vincent 687 4. Wash&Jeff 248 5. Bethany 185
UPCOMING GAMES Saturday, February 24 Kenyon Invitational Westminster Grove City Saint Vincent
WOMEN RECENT RESULTS
Wednesday-Saturday, February 14-17 PAC Championships 1. Grove City 853 2. Saint Vincent 713 3. Westminster college 691 4. Chatham University 400 5. Wash & Jeff 315 6. Bethany College 127
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD 3-0 2-1 1-2 0-3
MATCH RESULTS
PAC Championships 1. Waynesburg, 107.50 points 2. Wash. & Jeff., 99.50 points 3. Thomas More, 66.50 points 4. Thiel, 48.50 points
RECENT RESULTS
Friday, February 2 Thomas More 35, Thiel 10 Saturday, February 3 John Summa Invitational 6th, Wash. & Jeff., 76 pts. 8th, Waynesburg, 56.5 pts. 11th, Thiel, 39 pts. 13th, Thomas More, 26.5 pts.
UPCOMING GAMES Saturday, February 24 Kenyon Invitational Westminster Grove City Saint Vincent
UPCOMING MATCHES
Saturday, February 24 Division III Mideast Championships. Waynesburg and Washington And Jefferson
PAC M. BASKETBALL LEADERS
Division III Southeast Championships Thiel
Rebounding: Deontay Scott, 8.3, WES; Ethan Moose, 8.0, GEN; Andrew Beckman, 7.8, GRO
Division III Central Championships Thomas More
Assists: Anthony Bomar, 4.4, CHA; Damion King, 4.2, TMC; Andrew Beckman, 4.2, GRO
PAC W. BASKETBALL LEADERS
Scoring: Calique Jones, 18.8, BET; Cameron KaneJohnson, 16.6, WES; Jon Knab, 16.5, WAY
Free Throw %: Jimmy Leichliter, .890, GEN; King, .842, TMC; Burton, .826, THI
Geneva at Thomas More - 7 p.m.; Westminster at Bethany 7 - p.m.
WOMEN - Kenyon Classic
60 Meter: 1. Jonah Edwards, 8.06, Kenyon College 200 Meter: 1. Hailey Acosta, 2.07, Otterbein 10. Cassidy Guiser, 28.54, Waynesburg 400 Meter: 1. Raquel Warner, 1:00.11, Otterbein; 3. Cassidy Guiser, 1:03.89, Waynesburg 800 Meter: 1. Emma Dalan, 2:21.59; 5. Angie Marchetti, 2:24.37, Waynesburg 1 Mile Run: 1. Rachel Gerber, 5:12.63, Mount Vernon Nazarene; 2. Angie Marchetti, 5:21.73, Waynesburg 3,000 Meter: 1. Julie Gerber, 11:01.36, Waynesburg 5,000 Meter: 1. Lacey Serletti, 18:43.99, Unattached; Malerie Yoder, 21:28.82, Waynesburg 55 Meter Hurdle: 1. Ciera Rose, 8.98, Otterbein; Katherine Fair, 9.24, Waynesburg 4x200: 1. Erika Womack, Julia Higgins, Emmalee Sullivan, Korri Palmer, 1:54.21, Wooster; 6. Christina Borkovec, Megan McElligot, Jordan Simpson, Carli Polczynski, 2:19.23, Waynesburg 4x400: 1. Gabriella Loeffler, Haley Yenchik, Ashlyn Carlsson, Rachel Pell, 4:09.65, PSU-Behrend; 5. Cassidy Guiser, Mary Beth Cunningham, Kathryn Thompson, Marla Holland, 4:21.92, Waynesburg
MEN - Kenyon Classic
Scoring: Vormelker, 19.8, THI; Daugherty, 18.3, BET; Arkwright, 18.2, GRO Rebounding: Vormelker, 9.5, THI; Daugherty, 9.5, BET, Knetzer, 8.8, WAY Assists: Temple, 5.4, TMC; Starre, 5.1, WAY; Moore, 3.6, WJC Free Throw %: Carlson, .871, GEN; Temple, .865, TMC; McClain, .862, CHA
Geneva at Waynesburg - 3:30 p.m.; Thiel 61 at RECENT RESULTS Chatham 63; Wash & Jeff 70 at Thomas More 92; Thiel 57, Westminster 71, Waynesburg 86; Wash. & Jeff. 42, Thomas More 72; Geneva 80, Saint Vincent 78; Grove City Thomas More 92; Thiel 47, Chatham 59; Bethany 51, 60, Westminster 61 Grove City 58; Westminster 47, Saint Vincent 51; Geneva 41, Bethany 69
UPCOMING GAMES
12-8 9-5 7-4 6-8
60 Meter: 1. Carl Jones Jr., 7.00, Mount Vernon Nazarene; 4. Mark Minjock, 7.22, Waynesburg 200 Meter: 1. Carl Jones Jr., 22.87, Mount Vernon Nazarene; 10. Mark Minjock, 23.88, Waynesburg 400 Meter: 1. Nathan Forrney, 51.35, Otterbein 500 Meter: 1. Tanner Sipes, 1:08.37, Otterbein; Matthew Shinkle, 1:11.67, Waynesburg 800 Meter: 1. Drew Davis, 2:00.25, Ohio; 9. Nathan Jecelin, 2:04.08, Waynesburg 1 Mile Run: 1. Samuel Boyd, 4:28.28, Ohio Northen University; Nathan Jecelin, 4:33.76,Waynesburg 1,000 Meter: 1. Nick Snabes, 2:37.62, Otterbein; 3,000 Meter: 1. Alex Clevinger, 8:57.48, Otterbein; 28. Micheal Cappelli, 10.22.42, Waynesburg 5,000 Meter: 1. Zachary Wortman, 15:50.99, PSUBehrend; Zachary Wortman, 15:50.99, PSU-Behrend 60 Meter Hurdle: 1. Carl Jones, 7.00, Mount Vernon Nazarene; Mark Minjock, 7.22, Waynesburg 4x200: 1. Marvell Conner, Rahmon Davis, Jonah Barnett, Connor Whitaker, 1:34.50, Mount Vernon Nazarene; 6. Blake Feldner, Cullen McElligott, Drew Schwab, Kevin Thacker, 1:54.99,Waynesburg 4x400: 1. Devin Ross, Greg Graf, Colton Barger, Grant Rodgers, 3:29.46, PSU-Behrend; Nathan Jecelin, Andrew Kingan, Garrett Guthrie, Joel Kuzminski, 3:40.46, Waynesburg
WAYNESBURG ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
UPCOMING GAMES
Waynesburg at Grove City 7 p.m.; Bethany at Saint Vincent 7 p.m.; TBD at Wash. & Jeff. 6 p.m.; TBD at Thomas More - 8 p.m.
Julie Gerber, Women's indoor Track Matt Popeck, Men's Basketball
WPIAL HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS ROUNDUP Carmichaels
Jefferson-Morgan
Mapletown
Waynesburg Central
Boys Basketball Season Completed
Boys Basketball Season Completed
Boys Basketball Season Completed
Boys Basketball Season Completed
Girls Basketball
Girls Basketball Season Completed
Girls Basketball
Girls Basketball Season Completed
Season Completed
2/17 - Aquinas Academy 51 Mapletown 26
West Greene Boys Basketball 2/16 Imani Christian 46 West Greene 39 Girls Basketball 2/23 - Rochester vs West Greene
February 22, 2018
Page C3 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESIDENTS' ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PL AYOFFS
Eng, Joyce lead Jackets to first-round win over Westminster By DYLAN CLELAND and LUKE GOODLING Staff Report
Waynesburg University's women’s basketball team picked up an 86-71 win over Westminster in the first round of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament. Head coach Sam Jones felt that his players embraced t he p osts e as on atmosphere of win or go home and took advantage of having a first round game at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. “I could feel there was a palatable difference in energy in the room for our players and on the court in general,” said Jones. “Baskets were celebrated more than they were in December. Conference playoffs are always different because you are playing someone for a third time, you know them pretty well by that time.” Waynesburg was outscored 16-13 in the first quarter, but the Jackets fought back through the second and took a commanding 43-30 lead into the locker room at halftime. “We took a little bit [of time] to adjust to their zone [defense],” said Jones. “We knew it was coming and we prepared for it, but we called a timeout and changed from one zone of-
Mitchell Kendra, Yellow Jacket
The Yellow Jackets faced Westminster in the first round for the second straight year. The Jackets beat the Titans in that game last season, 71-50. fense to the other and that was when we started to click a little bit.” According to Jones, familiarity played a large part in the second half of the contest, as the Jackets already defeated Westminster twice in the regular season and were able to pick up some of the Titans top strategies and hold their frontcourt in check. “We wanted to make
them work really hard for every score,” said Jones.
baskets. She had 17 points, but I thought we made her
“We made [Emily] Fromknecht work hard for her
work really hard. We wanted to make sure their shoot-
ers did not get any open looks and make them one dimensional, which we did a pretty good job on most of the evening.” Keeping the Titans scorers in low numbers was a key defensively, but the Jackets were also able to score on the offensive end. The efforts were led by senior Rachel Eng and sophomore Erin Joyce, who both posted 17 points. Joyce
matched her career-high in points in the game. On offense, the 3-pointers fell a plethora of times, as the Jackets shot 14-of-27 from beyond the arc and moved the ball effectively. “Offensively, we wanted to have good, fast ball movement and take the right shot, which [led to] 25 assists on 30 made baskets, I thought our ball movement was fantastic,” said Jones. The Jackets went on to score the same amount of points in the second half as the first— 43—enough to go on and defeat the Titans by 15 points. Moving ahead to the quarterfinal round, the Jackets will have to prepare for another familiar opponent in Grove City, who they split the season series with. The quick turnaround from Monday allowed Jones to focus on a couple of Wolverine tendencies. “Grove City has heavy pressure, full-court,” said Jones. “They are very good at it, and so we just have to make sure we are ready to beat that press. Also, [we have to] make sure we don’t have a lot of silly turnovers that lead to easy baskets.” Waynesburg played the fourth seeded Wolverines on Wednesday night. The game was passed deadline for print.
Men's T&F compete in smaller invitational Preseason Baseball & By DYLAN CLELAND
For the Yellow Jacket
Last weekend, the men’s indoor track & field team placed fifth out of 10 teams with 61 points at the Kenyon College Classic in Ohio. The meet was the final tune-up before the Yellow Jackets head to the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships today. Head coach Michelle Cross was satisfied with the results and believed that less
“It was as little bit smaller of a meet, and because of that, we had more people have the opportunity to place.”
MICHELLE CROSS
Head coach
competition led to a better test for the Jackets. “It was a little bit smaller of a meet, and because of that, we had more people have the opportunity to place,” said Cross. “It was a lot of fun to see people on a smaller competitive field competing and placing.” Several upperclassmen led the Yellow Jackets in their respective events. In the 500-meter dash, senior Matt Shinkle recorded a 1:11, earning himself a fifthplace finish.
Senior Mark Minjock finished fourth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.23 seconds, a new season best for the Peters Township native. In the pole vault, senior Mitch Kendra finished in first place after clearing 4.40 meters. “[Kendra] seems to have the most attention to detail out of all the athletes I coach,” said Cross. “It shows up in little things, he is protective and particular of the pole vaults. He has always demanded a lot from himself and has been very supportive and helpful of others as well.” He also finished in 13th place in the 4x400 with junior Tyler Sisler, sophomore Michael Trax and freshman James LaFollete. The Yellow Jackets also had three men finish in the top ten in the shot put, two of which are juniors. Sophomore Ryan VanTine and juniors Blake Feldner and Drew Schwab placed third, fifth and seventh, respectively. VanTine’s top throw measured 13.46 meters, Feldner’s measured 12.89 and Schwab’s measured 12.04 meters. Some young talent on the track also shined for the Yellow Jackets, as freshman Nate Jecelin placed fourth in the mile, with a 4:33, and fellow freshman Mac CoMT&F >> C4
Softball Coaches' Poll
Michael Cappelli, Yellow Jacket
Mitchell Kendra holds the program record for pole vault and finished first at the Kenyon College Classic.
Bungard's first quarter buzzer beater catapults team to win Freshman was ‘turning point’ after slow start By LUKE GOODLING Sports Editor
Early on, baskets weren’t falling against Westminster. In the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets came out sluggish – shooting 4-15 from the field despite a win-or-go-home playoff situation. Then, freshman forward Kerri Bungard buried a 3-pointer in the corner lane at the buzzer and everything changed. “I really think the turning point was [when] … we hit
a three right at the end of turned to the court in the the first quarter,” head coach second quarter and more Sam Jones said. “That’s really than doubled that percentwhen I felt the energy on the age, shooting 64 percent. bench. There was a differIt was the frustration felt ent feeling and we in the beginning went nuts in the of the game, Jones second quarter.” said, that lead to Four pl ayers the drastic change ended the game in the rest of the in double digits. game. Senior Rachel Eng “People were and sophomore frustrated in the Erin Joyce had f i r s t q u a r t e r,” 17 points each. Jones said. “I reSenior Mackenna ally think we just Drazich added 15 paid attention to Bungard points and freshdetail in the secman Andrea Orlosky had ond quarter and we made 12. the right read every time After starting the first and then we were knocking quarter of the game shoot- down shots.” ing 26 percent from the field, the Yellow Jackets rePLAYOFFS >> C4
Late last week, the Presidents’ Athletic Conference released its annual preseason baseball and softball coaches’ poll. The Waynesburg University baseball and softball teams were picked to finish fifth and seventh respectively for the upcoming spring campaign. Last season, the Yellow Jacket baseball team was also picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll, and promptly finished the season as the fifth place team in the PAC, missing out on a playoff berth by one game. With an 18-21 overall record and 12-12 conference record last season, Waynesburg garnered 57 total points from the 10 coaches in the league, finishing behind fourth place Grove City by three points. The baseball team also graduated 12 seniors from last year’s roster, including many that saw consistent playing time on the diamond. As for the Yellow Jacket softball team, last season it finished in a tie for sixth place with Bethany, collecting a 15-22-1 overall record and 8-10 PAC record. The women gathered a total of 36 points from the league’s 10 coaches, predicting them to finish behind sixth place Geneva, who gathered 53 points in the poll. Building off last season, the softball team graduated just two seniors from its roster—one of which saw significant playing time. In the preseason baseball poll for 2018, Washington & Jefferson was picked to finish in first place with 97 points one year after coming in second place at the Division III National Championship and with an overall record of 4213. Thomas More (93 points), Thiel (76 points) and Grove City (60 points) round out the predicted playoff teams for the upcoming season. Likewise, in the softball poll, Thomas More was predicted to take the PAC Championship with eight first place votes and 98 total points. Westminster (87 points), Thiel (75 points) and Saint Vincent (68 points) round out the preseason top four. The baseball team opens the 2018 campaign at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational and is scheduled to open the season with a doubleheader against Penn State Altoona Sunday, March 4. The Waynesburg softball team opens the season at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic and is scheduled to start against Albion Sunday, March 4.
Distance events highlight the final meet before championship By MATTHEW SHINKLE Associate Editor
The defending Presidents’ Athletic Conference champions for indoor track & field had one final tune up this past weekend before gearing up for the PAC Championships Thursday, Feb. 22. The Waynesburg University women’s track & field team traveled to Kenyon College and tied for third in the meet in scoring, and more importantly beat out the other PAC schools competing. Head coach Michelle Cross was excited to see the women compete at such a high level, something she has seen them do for quite
some time now. well. This past weekend, “It’s kind of hard to see Marchetti placed fifth in the how well we do against oth- 800-meter with a time of er Division III schools until 2:24 and second in the mile you get to a meet that has a run with a time of 5:21 for smaller field like the Yellow Jack[this past weekets. Meanwhile, end],” said Cross. Gerber won the “We just had a 3,000-meter race bunch of people for Waynesburg. placing in events While the Yelall over the place low Jackets perand it was just formed well at really fun to see the meet, much them competing.” of the focus from A strong suit this meet was getfor Waynesburg ting ready for the Gerber over the past few PAC Championyears has certainly been ships later in the week and with regard to its long dis- getting the opportunity to tance team, with veteran preview the Westminster runners such as seniors Titans, a team that is exAngie Marchetti and Julie Gerber always running WT&F >> C4
Page C4
February 22, 2018
Men's tennis back to work in tri-match By MICHAEL CAPPELLI Editorial Assistant
The Waynesburg University men’s tennis team travelled to Erie this past weekend for a tri-match with Pitt-Bradford and Penn State Behrend. Waynesburg (3-3) started off the day on the right note against Pitt-Bradford (0-5). In doubles play, juniors Jonah Cooper and Josh Denham rolled through with an 8-5 win at the No. 1 spot. Shortly after, seniors Adam McKnight and Andy Brunette continued the trend with an 8-3 victory. McKnight also had success in singles competition. Head coach Ron Headlee was pleased with the play from his senior. “I think [McKnight] played the most consistent for us,” said Headlee. “He had a good chance at winning both of his singles matches and came up a little bit short, but I thought he [was] pretty consistent all day.” Junior Brian Drake and sophomore James Zeremenko completed the sweep in doubles, winning 8-5. In singles competition, Brunette, McKnight, Denham and Zeremenko came away with victories. The Yellow Jackets tried to carry the momentum into play against Penn State Behrend (2-3) but unfortunately were unsuccessful. According to Denham, the team used the matches to gauge the overall preparedness looking forward to the rest of season so they can make adjustments as
Playoffs: Long-range shooting leads women to first-round playoff win Continued from C3
Dave Miller, ADM Photography
Jackets split the weekend, beating Pitt Bradford 7-2, but were swept by Penn State Behrend 9-0. necessary. “Our expectations were to kind of go in and see where we were for the season,” said Denham. “Considering it was our first match, we were kind of feeling out how we want to play.” Despite the valiant effort by McKnight, the Jackets were swept in singles play by Behrend. Similarly, the team was swept in the doubles as well. In the past, the Jackets have struggled with consistency. But according to Headlee, a plan is being set in place to help the team adjust. “We will work on it,” said Headlee. “I have a good read
on what they need to work on and some of them just need more playing time. In our doubles team, we need to be more aggressive at the net.” On a positive note, Brunette made his return to the courts after a two-year hiatus. Although he hasn’t played the past two seasons, his senior leadership hasn’t gone unnoticed. “I like the way he plays on the court,” said Headlee. “He doesn’t get uptight, he played pretty loose, he adds a lot at doubles especially with [McKnight].” Brunette’s teammates also appreciate what the senior brings to the table. “I think it’s really huge
that he came back and really wanted to play with us,” said Denham. “I think its huge for our entire team because he’s a really good player, so it’s nice to have that all the way through the lineup.” Despite the loss, Denham believes that there are positives to come out of the matches. “I thought we played really well,” said Denham. “I thought it was pretty good for our first match of the season and we really set our set our expectations.” The next time the tennis team returns to the courts will be Saturday, March 24, when it faces Thomas More in the first conference matchup of the season.
One area the Yellow Jackets capitalized on was shooting beyond the arc. After shooting an average of 33 percent from 3-points through the first quarter of the game, the Jackets were able to multiply it to 70 percent in the crucial second quarter. Leaders from beyond the arc included Joyce, who shot 5-of-8, and Drazich who contributed four 3-pointers herself. When Jones realized the efficiency in 3-pointers for the team, he said nearly everyone on the team got the go-ahead to shoot deep. “That’s just part of our offense,” Jones said. “We pound it inside and if that is taken away from us we kick it outside to our shooters. Not everyone has the green light [to shoot 3-pointers], but pretty much everyone has the green light.” Even the freshmen were finding success from the field against Westminster. With Orlosky leading with
WT&F: Jackets look to defend PAC title next
Photo courtesy of Ed Hall
Continued from C3
pected to compete closely with Waynesburg. “I think it was very much a confidence boost for them and they did very well,” said Cross. Moving to the shorter distances, a standout on the team was junior Cassidy Guiser, who placed third in the 400-meter race with a time of 1:03, while also adding a tenth place effort in the 200-meter race as well. Gusier was just one of the sprinters that recorded a personal best on the day. “In general, for most of the team, I would say for sprints and jumps it was a day where a lot of people improved and a lot of people scored,” said Cross. While much of the team scoring came from senior and junior leaders from Waynesburg, a solid group of freshmen have also been making strides and contributing the team’s success. In the past meet, Amber Yauch scored in the top three in both the long and
12 points, the freshmen combined for 24 points collectively. Jones said having the offensive effort from the freshmen was an encouraging glimpse of what future seasons could hold for the team. All in all, the evening, which led to the team shooting 48 percent from the field and 51 percent from three, Jones said was summed up to effective shot selection. “We took the right shots on most possessions and most people stepped up and hit them because they were open,” Jones said. “They did what they should do … again I’m really pleased with our focus and ball movement.” Looking ahead, Jones said if the Jackets can match the same offensive effort as they did against Westminster, they will be a hard team to overcome. “When you have a team with four people in double figures and your leading scorer was not one of them, you’re going to be tough to beat,” Jones said.
Sophomore Cullen McElligott competed in the shotput at the Kenyon College Classic this past weekend.
MT&F: Competing against smaller field a ‘confidence booster’ Continued from C3
Photo courtesy of Ed Hall
Senior Elinore Loch runs the 400-meter and the 800-meter for the Yellow Jackets. triple jump, while Katherine Fair qualified for the 60-meter high hurdle finals, finishing in third place in the meet. “Amber Yauch, Katherine Fair and Rebecca Volz - they have definitely done very well. And that’s not to say that the other freshmen aren’t doing good things as well, but those three in particular have done very
well,” said Cross. “Kat Fair in particular, her role on the track team is very different than what she did in cross country, it’s fun to see her in more of a sprinting role and she’s more of a sprinting athlete than necessarily a distance one.” Looking ahead to the PA C C h a m p i o n s h i p s Thursday, Cross acknowledged that the path to re-
peating as champions seems quite difficult, despite being early favorites in the preseason. “I think that this will be one of the closest championships we’ve had in a long time,” said Cross. “I actually think we’re probably a little bit, if you look at it in straight points, behind Geneva. We’re two very different teams.”
lomb posted a 16:30, in the 5000-meter run, earning a third-place finish. Cross said the meet went well overall. “This was probably the perfect meet to come to [leading up to PAC’s],” said Cross. “It was a long meet and it was far away. [But] to come in against a little bit of a smaller field with about the same number of people that we will be competing against at PAC’s is always a fun confidence booster.” With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the team planned to make final preparations this week with PAC’s starting today.
“We have been pressing really hard up to this point, so this week will be a [little] lighter,” said Cross. “We can’t be too light because we still have improvement and stuff to do for outdoor. We will have a couple meetings and talk about our goals and things we want to do for the championship. For the most part, it will be a tune-up and a lot of making sure they are mentally ready more than anything else.” The Yellow Jackets are in Youngstown, Ohio, today for the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships. The team will then have three weeks off before the outdoor season begins on March 17 in New Concord, Ohio.
Defeat: Poor first-half MBB: Jackets end season with 10-16 play from team's leaders overall record after road loss to Bethany leads to playoff loss Continued from C1
Continued from C1
was a saving grace for the team according to Christner. “I thought we were re-
“I'm proud of our group. I think they represented our program and our university well, because that was a fight and I thought we played really hard.”
MARK CHRISTNER
Head coach
ally good on the boards all the way through, absolutely it kept us in the game,” said
Christner. With just over four minutes left in regulation junior Clay Carper was able to sink two free throws to bring the game within one basket, 6865, but ultimately that would be as close as the Jackets would get for the rest of the game. Christner was still pleased with the effort from his team and thought they illustrated the program well. “I’m proud of our group,” said Christner. “I think they represented our program and our university well, because that was a fight and I thought we played really hard.” The Yellow Jackets finish the season with a 10-16 overall record and 6-12 record in the conference.
eighth-place in the PAC in 3-point shooting at a 31.8 percent clip, but managed to just edge out their average against Waynesburg with a 33 percent 3-point night. Bethany also had timely 3-point shooting despite only having 15 attempts in the game compared to Waynesburg’s 29, including a buzzer-beater at the end of the first half by Bison senior guard Calique Jones that extended the team’s lead to 12 at halftime. “I think the turning point could have been the shot that Jones made at the end of the half,” said Christner. “It was a deep three, we probably weren’t
Ashley Hall, Yellow Jacket
Senior wing Jon Knab struggled against Bethany Tuesday, unable to find the basket in the first half. close enough but he made it and it was from 40 [feet] and put them up 12.” When comparing Waynesburg’s 93-77 loss to Bethany earlier this season,
Jan. 20, to the playoff loss, the 3-point results were similar in that the Yellow Jackets shot considerably below their season average at 28 percent and the Bison
shot just under 46 percent in the game. Popeck and Knab struggled in that game as well, finishing just 3-of-12 beyond the arc collectively. Sophomore guard Sam Heeter was the lone Waynesburg player to find success in 3-point shooting, connecting on 4-of-7 attempts in the game. Despite strong 3-point shooting for a majority of the season, the Yellow Jackets were unable to build off one of their strongest assets in an attempt to pull off an upset of secondseeded Bethany. The team’s season has come to an end and will send off one of its greatest shooters in recent history in Knab, as it looks to build off its successes from beyond the arc for next season.
SECTION D
FEBRUARY 22, 2018 | WAYNESBURG UNIVERSITY | THEYELLOWJACKET.ORG EMPLOYEES OF THE BEEHIVE
FRIENDSHIP WITH A SIDE OF FRIES Long road leads Carla Yost, a cancer survivor, to Waynesburg's Beehive By RACHEL MANGAN Associate Editor
For many Waynesburg University students, the Beehive is the place to go for a quick meal. Immediately after stepping in line to give their order, students are greeted by an ensemble of friendly faces wearing the customary Aladdin Dining Services baseball hats and aprons. One of those faces is that of Carla Yost, a woman who, many times, can match a student's face to his or her regular order. For Yost, her job at Waynesburg is like a dream come true. “I just really like working with food [and] students,” said Yost. “I love being the ‘mommy-type.’ Yost's journey to Waynesburg University was rife with challenges. She is fiveyears free of kidney cancer, but also struggles with Lymes disease. At the time of her initial cancer diagnosis, she was working at Rolling Meadows Nursing Home. Yost had always wanted to be a part of the Waynesburg University family. However, achieving her current position—which she has held for three years now—wasn’t easy.
Michelle Keith, Yellow Jacket
Carla Yost, a former employee of a nursing home, now enjoys being a mother-like figure to those who frequent the Beehive. According to Yost, one of her favorite parts of her day is being able to see people. “I’ve always applied [at Waynesburg], but I never could get on and finally, I [saw] they were hiring and there were [around] 15 people they had lost at
the café, so naturally they were looking to hire 15 new ones,” said Yost. Working with the same foods every day, though, has its fair share of joys and
drawbacks. Yost enjoys “slicing tomatoes, of all things” but has found more of a struggle off campus. “ Wh e n I w a l k i nt o
Walmart, the smell of the Subway’s bread, it nauseates me instantly,” said Yost. Yost is very much a people person. S he loves to get to know
the students who come through the Beehive line every day. “Seeing the people is one of my favorite parts of the day,” said Yost. “It seems like you can really become friends, you really get to know a lot of students and the other workers.” Yost is always shocked to see their talents such as athletes at sporting events. Her husband works as a security guard for many of the sporting events on campus, so Yost sees the students she serves food to each day competing. When it comes to entertainment, Yost prefers to listen to music, put together puzzles and read books. She is self-proclaimed as “anti-television” which includes not watching Netflix, though her co-worker constantly encourages her to watch Golden Girls. Taking pride in her work and emphasizing cleanliness and safety are values that Yost holds dear. Students won’t be seeing Yost at the Beehive for much longer, as she will be changing positions next week. After that, students will be able to see her working in the cafeteria at the register, doing what she loves most: interacting with people.
Students prepare Band concert features ‘flowing melodies’ to explore Greece during spring break By EDWARD BOICE Editorial Assistant
By MITCHELL KENDRA Associate Editor
S ophomore criminal justice major Alexis Taylor wanted to travel. “Coming to college I knew that I wanted to either do a study abroad or do a mission trip, especially with Waynesburg being a Christian school and mission focused and mission centered,” Taylor said. “I knew I wanted to do some kind of traveling.” But after completing most of her general education requirements, Taylor didn’t believe the opportunity would still be possible. “After freshman year, I knew it would be kind of hard to study abroad as a [criminal justice] major because I had gotten most of my [general] [education courses] out of the way,” Taylor said. “And I can’t really take my [criminal justice] classes somewhere in another country because their justice system is way different than ours.” Then she learned about the Footsteps Ministries trip to Greece. “I [felt I would never study abroad], then when this trip come up I was like ‘Wow, that’s a perfect opportunity,’” Taylor said. Waynesburg University encourages its students to travel and improve their knowledge of the world by the many different trips every year. During Spring Break 2018, Taylor and 21 other students will have the opportunity to travel to Greece during a 10-day trip, from March 2 to March 11. Instructor of Biblical and Ministry Studies and Assistant Chaplain Josh Sumpter and Mary Fox, an
event planner in Institutional Advancement, will lead the trip. Sumpter and Fox visited Greece in 2014 as a part of Footstep Ministries with Waynesburg University’s Alumni Program. The trip has been planned over the last couple of years, and Sumpter said it is a well-rounded experience. During the trip, students will have the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of Paul, according to Sumpter, as Footsteps Ministries owner David Sparks will provide the biblical insights. Sparks’ wife, Elizabeth, is a native of the country and will provide students an insight into the culture. “They are really going to come away experiencing Greek culture…there will be a diverse selection of experiencing the culture… language, food, shopping, histor y and the Bible,” Sumpter said. Taylor said she signed up and didn’t think about the trip too much. Then she thought about the cost of the trip and where the money would come from. “I was signed up, I didn’t really think much about it at the time other than ‘I’m going to Greece,’ but I didn’t know how I was going to raise the money at the time but it all got done and here we are like three weeks away,” Taylor said. After attending the informational meeting last year, Taylor decided this trip was something she wanted to participate in. “It was kind of like a spontaneous decision – I didn’t know how I was goGREECE >> D2
While love was in the air this past Valentine’s Day, the musicians of Waynesburg University came together and lifted melodies to join swooning couples in celebration. Waynesburg’s Symphonic Band performed the MidWinter Concert Feb. 14. The band put together five pieces for their concert. While the performance was advertised as having a Valentine’s Day theme, none of the songs were picked to fit that theme. Ronda DePriest, director of the Music Program and conductor of the concert, said that the pieces they performed were chosen primarily for the Ninth Annual Conducting Symposium that took place Feb. 2 and 3. “There are some nice, f l ow i ng m e l o d i e s an d things like that but we didn’t pick a love theme or anything,” said DePriest. “Just really good symphonic winds type of music.” Multiple genres of pieces were featured in the concert. One of DePriest’s favorites was “Down a Country Lane” by Aaron Copland. The piece transported the listener to the calm, peaceful country side. For Jakob Nyswaner, sophomore psycholog y major, music minor and alto saxophonist, his favorite piece is called, “Simple Song”. For Nyswaner, a challenge of performing the song was for the musicians to be in sync with each other to perform without being guided by DePriest. “The way [we] played it was with no conductor,” said Nyswaner, “the band just breathed together and all started playing at the same time, not having any direction.” The Conducting Symposium was extremely helpful to
the performers. Col. Lowell Graham, director of orchestral activities and professor of conducting at The University of Texas at El Paso, came to the symposium to teach students not only how to conduct, but DePriest as well. Nyswaner felt that the symposium strengthened his, his bandmates' and DePriest’s skills and aided in preparing for the MidWinter Concert. “It actually resulted in her pulling one of our pieces last week that we were going to do,” said Nyswaner. “She yanked this piece out of the concert because she realized that she had more work to do on it then she thought she did.” The band has had the music since the beginning of the semester. They met twice a week with four rehearsals and the symposium. While it’s only been a month since the musicians received
their music sheets, DePriest said that the students were confident in their ability. “I asked them yesterday at our rehearsal ‘how are you guys feeling about the concert?’” said DePriest, “and they all [felt good about it].” While the performance went smoothly and performers walked away with triumphant grins, at least one wasn’t quite satisfied. For Nyswaner, perfection is an elusive goal that he keeps
reaching for. “There’s never an ideal p er for mance; it ne ver feels good enough,” said Nyswaner. “I guess the ideal performance would be walking out and not hearing a bad comment. Because if you don’t hear a bad comment, then you probably did well, even if it doesn’t feel like you did.” The Symphonic Band will perform the Spring Concert in Roberts Chapel April 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Ashley Hall
Ronda DePriest, director of the music program and conductor of the mid-winter symphonic band concert, instructs students during rehearsals.
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February 22, 2018
Students participate in Ash Wednesday service to kick off Lent By COLIN MCLAUGHLIN Convergence Editor
The season of Lent began last week on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14, coinciding with Valentine’s Day, with Catholic students participating. The season of Lent, which will end on Easter Day, April 1, is 40 days of remembrance, sacrifice, fasting, prayer and forgiveness. For Roman Catholics, it is a huge part of their tradition and faith. On Ash Wednesday, during the church service, the priest or pastor will put a cross on people’s foreheads with ashes, as a symbol of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection. “I decided to give up two of my favorite foods and also fast every Friday,” said junior business management major, Josh Sneeringer. “I am giving up all Dominos food—that’s a hard one for me. I’m also a Sheetz enthusiast, but I just count that with Dominos
because it’s all fast food. I am also giving up Poptarts. I am fasting for 12 hours every Friday.” To Sneeringer, the season of Lent is a time of reflection and preparation for what is to come. He added that it is crucial in not only the Roman Catholic faith, but other Christian beliefs too, to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ. “[I hope to] get some clarity in my life,” said Sneeringer, “whether it be school or for relationships and a future internship that I’m working on getting.” “Everyone is giving up something or working on something they feel is going to help better themselves for Christ,” said Sneeringer. “This is a time solely for preparation. You don’t need to do something big or extravagant, like fasting for 40 days, but doing the little things and even just working on your prayer life.” Sneeringer and his fam-
ily all do the same thing for lent, as do many other Roman Catholic families around the world. Fridays and Sundays are both days of fasting, reflection and prayer. Everyone will give up something and tell the rest of the family what they gave up, so they make sure they don’t forget. Most families, when they fast, will give up meat for that day and have pasta, seafood or anything else that is not meat related. Many catholic churches have fish fries on Fridays for people to come together and socialize. A l s o, m any R om an Catholic churches will do “stations of the cross,” which is a procession of different events surrounding the day Jesus was crucified. The season of Lent is also a time of confession of your sins in the Roman Catholic Church. “It’s just a time of prayer a n d re f l e c t i o n ,” s a i d Sneeringer.
Photos courtesy of Tre Thomas
Students attend a mass led by the Rev. Al Carver, pictured above. Catholic students have the option to attend mass on the first floor of Stover on Tuesdays.
BMS department classes are a ‘journey’ Greece: Travelers to By KADEN HURLEY
For The Yellow Jacket
For one biblical and ministry major, discovering what he wanted to do with the rest of his life was not an easy task, but there is one description he would want people to know him as. “If I could be known as one thing, it would be a son who is loved by his Heavenly Father, the creator of the universe. That’s amazing,” said Andrew Brunette, a senior biblical and ministry studies major with a focus on children and youth. Initially, when Brunette came to Waynesburg as an Electronic Media major, he couldn’t see himself doing it for the rest of his life. After a whole month in prayer, asking God for guidance in discovering his passion, Brunette felt God’s pull. “I was walking to my car in the middle of January, and I was walking from Thayer to Dominos, and it just hit me. ‘Hey, youth ministry you should look into this,’” Brunette said. “I love Jesus. I love students and kids. Ministry would be a viable option.” Brunette is one of 19 bib-
lical and ministry majors enrolled in Waynesburg University, making the department one of the smallest on campus. Despite its size, the department offers multiple branches of ministry, including a minor, for students to pursue children and youth, Christian missions, international studies, music ministry, religion and philosophy and media ministry. “[Biblical and ministry studies] is designed to assist students who have a calling for ministry and prepare them ,both mentally and spiritually, to work with the church or with nonprofits or some other ministry organization,” said Josh Sumpter, assistant chaplain and department instructor. This exact mindset is what pushes students like sophomore music ministry major Thomas Faye to break out of their shells and take on a new role. “All the tools they’re teaching us,” Faye said, “It has made me become a better leader. Overall, it boosted by confidence.” Often classes required for the BMS major overlap with
psychology and communication courses. “We’re working with people,” Sumpter said. “The church is a messy place. We equip our leaders to listen, to care for people, to counsel when necessary and to be aware of the variety of things that impact how humans live.” Although its size is small, the department truly thrived this school year. They placed third overall in the Day of Giving and raised $5,000, which provided the program what it needed to make an extra push for its students including scheduling monthly events with guest speakers, visiting religious organizations and even getting a trip to Greece during spring break, where the students will follow a “Footsteps of Paul” tour. That level of dedication and loyalty is reflected not only among the BMS students, but the faculty as well. “I have a heart to invest in people,” Sumpter said. “I realized that there is a great opportunity to journey with students… I teach in the classroom, but I want to assist them on their journey.” The idea of embarking
on a journey resonates with many of those enrolled in the program. In fact, Brunette sees most of his courses as a journey. “We had a class where we would get case studies of real life experiences in ministry,” Brunette said. “And [Sumpter] would ask how we would have responded to this. It’s just very practical.” Practical advice and continual practice help the students grow in their own faith as well as in their ministry pathways. Practicum and internship requirements force students to go out and involve themselves with the real life ministry field they study. “I definitely feel prepared,” Brunette said. “I guess I should say my time at Waynesburg overall has prepared me for life in the future. The things that I’ve learned in all my classes I can say, ‘wow I’m going to use this someday.’” Both Faye and Brunette admit to being unsure where their paths will take them. However, neither seems too worried. “As long as I’m involved in ministry in some way, I know I’ll be okay,” said Brunette.
Chapel speakers ‘reach students with Christ’ By ANTONIO PELULLO Editorial Assistant
Every Tuesday at 11 a.m. during the school semester Chapel is held and speakers are chosen from the university and from outside the university to read passages from the Bible. The final decision is always made by Rev. James Tinnemeyer who speaks twice each semester. Along with Tinnemeyer, Assistant Chaplain Joshua Sumpter also provides help to Tinnemeyer on speakers. Often, speakers are from the school whether it be faculty, students or President Douglas Lee. This frame allows the selection of speakers to be well organized. “So that framework, we have a built-in structure and then of course myself and Rev. Tinnemeyer have a couple of opportunities as well as campus ministry staff,” Sumpter said. “We want to look in house but it’s nice but if we can have some guest as well.” Often guest speakers come two at a time the guests from last semester have included Derek Davenport from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, William Younger, Dr. Karen Younger, a pastor at Union Presbyterian Church of Robinson and earlier this semester Marilyn West, the chairman of Board of Trustees. The next guest speaker will include Paulo Nzambi, Head of Imani Christian Academy
Michelle Keith, Yellow Jacket
Dr. Lawrence Stratton, director of the Stover Center for Constitutional Studies and Moral Leadership, speaks at a Chapel service Feb. 20. and that will be on Charter day. Chapel focuses closer on scripture rather than personal stories. The goal for those is for people not to be the same after Chapel and leave with a new description of sermons. “We call it meditations for the short sermons,” said Sumpter, “versus just sharing ‘Hey this is my life, a teachable moment.’ That does engage the heart of the people that attended but, it does a sort of flimsy message, like each week we float along and share random stories. We want it to be rooted in scripture.” Tuesday, Feb. 13, Dr. Karen
Younger was the speaker for Chapel and according to Sumpter, she brought a different perspective as a history professor. There was so much great feedback that a tweet was sent out in support of the professor and speaker. “She brings together different parts of her background and I think the feedback from Tuesday somebody tweeted out that Dr. Younger is the greatest of all time,” Sumpter said. “She just really did an incredible job.” Students and faculty acknowledged the quality of Younger's speech and, according to Sumpter, the ability to reach students through Christ with as Younger did is
important. “Little bit of who they are with God's message for people that attend the challenged right that they’re encouraged another moved so that they will be like Christ our life to Christ,” said Sumpter. At the end, the focus should remain in the scriptures and who Jesus was and is to this day. “They're going to point to the Scriptures. Here's what the Bible says about who Jesus is and this is who Jesus calls us to be,” said Sumpter. “Speakers do a nice job of doing that pointing to the scriptures to be the voice that talks by the speakers the vehicle I have for the message.”
follow the ‘Footsteps of Paul’ in spiritual trip Continued from D1
ing to raise my money for the trip,” Taylor said. “But I guess I kind of believed that God had a plan and that it would get done that I would be able to fundraise and go on the trip.” For most Waynesburg University trips, fundraising is possible. Students participating in the Greece trip started fundraising during the Spring 2017 semester, according to Sumpter, due to the different opportunities available. Fundraisers such as sales for Yankee Candles sales and pepperoni rolls were how Taylor raised most of the funds for her trip. She also wrote a letter to friends and family describing the experience she would have and then received checks with donations. Taylor said the fundraising and donations were a big benefit. She raised about $2,500 towards the original trip price of $3,400. The trip, according to Taylor, requires students that are biblical ministry studies majors or students who have taken the BMS 106 Introduction to New Testament course – which she took with Sumpter. “The trip we are going on, they advertise ‘We are going to walk in the footsteps of Paul, walk where the word was written’ and to do that it can be a very surreal experience to be in the Biblical cities where Paul would have been,” Sumpter said. “I think it just really makes the text come alive and you’ll never read the Bible the same again.” Since students in a variety of majors will be going on the trip, Sumpter said this provides a unique situation from the group. “With a diverse group of students, we have the ability to learn from one another…I think when we share intentional time together it impacts who you are,” Sumpter said. It is in Sumpter’s BMS 106 class where he teaches students of apostle Paul and shows the pictures he took during his 2014 trip to Greece. “I think it’s vital, it really opens up the Bible – it makes it come alive,” Sumpter said on the students having the opportunity to visit the places he teaches in class. “We’re going to be visiting exact locations where the apostle Paul would have
been preaching, where he would’ve been baptizing individuals, where he would have been confronted by religious leaders and teachers of the day…I think just being there enhances it – when we talk visual aids, to directly go there and experience Greek culture and to see archaeology in the setting that’s still in place [from] 2,000 years ago can be life-changing.” While this trip will take Taylor out of her comfort zone, she knows it will be in a good way, and is excited about the opportunity to immerse herself and grow in her faith. “I think it’s definitely going to be a really powerful trip and basically a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity, and that’s what I kind of explained to my parents,” she said. Sumpter said he is thankful for Waynesburg for providing students opportunities like this. “Waynesburg University has done a great job of making partnerships with organizations and to assist also in fundraising efforts, whereas once you leave college it’s much more difficult as a young adult to go on 10-day trips overseas and experience things like this,” Sumpter said. “I’m grateful for academic affairs and Sarah Bell and how hard they have worked to help make these types of trips possible.” Sumpter’s goal for students is to change during their time at Waynesburg. He believes trips, such as the one to Greece, are an influential factor in the students’ growth. “My prayer for the students at Waynesburg is that when they leave they are not the same,” Sumpter said. “And this type of experience, both in and out of the classroom, is a part of that in shaping them intellectually and spiritually. I’m grateful to have that opportunity to invest in them.” Sumpter plans on having another trip in 2020 and hopes to have the trip every two years. “ Trips like this help them become more globally minded and they realize how large the world is and how much there is that is beyond themselves…the experiences like this expose us to [the idea that] God’s creation is much larger,” he said. “[It gives] us a bigger perspective, and then ultimately, [we are] creating memories that change us intellectually and spiritually.”
February 22, 2018
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WEEKLY CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1. Día de San Va lentín flowers 6. California’s __ Gabriel Mountains 9. Construction rod 14. Remove from the bulletin board 15. Blood type let ters 16. Like 36 piano keys, traditionally 17. Lewis with 12 Emmys 18. “That ‘70s Show” exchange student whose nationality isn’t revealed 19. Lessen 20. *Beer hall snacks 23. Surf and turf, say 24. NASA vehicle 25. Tempe sch. 28. Time for action 29. *Deli snacks 33. Actress Neu wirth with Tonys and Emmys 34. Slim craft 35. *Bakery snacks 41. “Tempt not a desperate man” speaker 42. Pretty good 43. *Diner snacks 46. California wine valley 50. Favorite 51. One of three rhyming mos. 52. Pavement clop pers 54. Component of balanced health ...
and what each an swer to a starred clue looks like it should be part of? 57. Lose one’s cool in a big way 60. Murmur 61. Lift with force 62. Car or tree feature 63. Tote 64. Film with lots of shooting stars? 65. Ships 66. Stat for Clayton Kershaw 67. Flexible Flyers, e.g.
DOWN 1. Blitzed, in football 2. In stock 3. Peloponnesian War victor 4. Put on the line? 5. Wading bird 6. No-risk 7. Help with an in side job, say 8. Gas pump part 9. Genuine article 10. Flows out 11. Feathery wrap 12. House pest 13. Bread with cara way seeds 21. Insurgent 22. Charged fish?
25. Indigenous Japa nese 26. Notice 27. Multi-tools have many 30. Old hoops org. 31. Board 32. Solo with a Wookiee co-pilot 33. Nowheresville, with “the” 35. Cut closely
36. Sharpen 37. Skip over 38. Board bigwig 39. Heart test letters 40. Broth that’s the base of miso soup 44. Cath. or Prot. 45. Christmas eave decor 46. “The agreement is off ” 47. Take wing
48. Rather put out 49. Starlike flowers 53. Figure-eight steps, in an Argen tine tango 54. Posterior 55. Acidic 56. Draped garment 57. FG’s three 58. Exist 59. Many a “Call the Midwife” character
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ABRAHAM LINCOLN HISTORY DEMOCRACY FLAG CONSTITUTION FEBRUARY
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GOVERNMENT STATES AMERICA CELEBRATE LEADERSHIP
HOLIDAY VOTE FOREFATHER ELECTION NATIONAL
MOVIE REVIEW: 'Coco' The following is a synopsis and review of a movie from the perspective of a student who studied film in Los Angeles, California. By MEGAN COOK
For the Yellow Jacket
Lee Unkrich directed the animated feature starring Anthony Gonzalez as Miguel alongside Gael García Bernal as Héctor and Benjamin Bratt as Ernesto de la Cruz. The central song from the movie, “Remember Me,” is repeated in various styles: a mariachi arrangement, a lullaby, and an emotional version at the end. The credits included a pop duet sung by Miguel and Natalia Lafourcade. The song, written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and is nominated for an Academy Award, both for best original song. To a film student, the ending may have been predictable; however, it was touching nonetheless. As for the short preceding the film, Olaf ’s Frozen Adventure was way too long. The songs were pretty, but the plot was cheesy, and the dialogue seemed unnatural. The upcoming Disney-Pixar film, The Incredibles 2, will be released on June 15, 2018.
Walt Disney Pictures released Coco in November 2017 after the recent success of diverse movies such as The Princess and the Frog in November 2009 and Moana in November 2016. Coco focuses on the Day of the Dead, the Mexican holiday celebrating deceased ancestors. The animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios centers around a young boy named Miguel that loves music; however, his shoemaker family strongly prohibits any type of music because it is the reason his great-greatgrandfather abandoned his wife and daughter. During the Day of the Dead celebration, Miguel is cursed for stealing a guitar from the mausoleum of Ernesto de la Cruz, a famous musician. To lift the curse, Miguel must travel to the land of the dead to find his great-great-grandfather and INTERESTED IN GETTING YOUR ARTreceive his blessing. WORK PUBLISHED? IF SO, CONTACT During his quest to return home, Miguel meets Héctor, a skeleton that TIFFANY MORGAN AT MOR4950@ offers to help Miguel if he can help STUDENT.WAYNESBURG.EDU. return to the land of the living to visit his daughter before she forgets him.
Photo from: https://www.cineman.ch/en/movie/2017/Coco/
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February 22, 2018
The History of Presidents’ Day Written by Mike Cappelli
Designed by Cheyenne Nester
What exactly is President’s Day? Why do we always see so many “President’s Day” sales from mattress stores?
1800 Death of George Washington
1870 Declared federal holiday
1960s
Became known as Presidents’ Day
1968 Uniform Monday Act passed
The story begins in 1800, the year after George Washington’s death. Since then, his Feb. 22 birthday has become an everlasting day to remember. At the time, Washington was regarded as one of the most important figures in United States history. All throughout the 1800’s Washington’s birthday was unofficially celebrated. It wasn’t until 1870 that it was declared a federal holiday. A senator from Arkansas first proposed it and later President Rutherford B. Hayes signed into law. This was one of the first holidays to celebrate the life of an individual.
In the late 1960’s is when we see the shift from Washington’s birthday to President’s day. Congress proposed a measure to unite the celebration of several federal holidays into a series of predetermined Monday’s. It might seem odd to take the birthday of one our nation’s founders and combine it with other holidays, but the idea was to create a series of more three-day weekends. So, it proves to the American people that Congress was attempting to be productive. In 1968 what is known as the Uniform Monday Act was passed and took effect in 1971.
1971 Moved to third Monday
Today Presidents’ Day sales exist
After this Washington’s Birthday changed from Feb. 22 to the third Monday of the month. Marketing geniuses soon came to realize that with the newly added three-day weekend they could advertise sales for various stores; places like Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Home Depot and any furniture store that had ever existed. There are many deals and savings to be had on President’s Day but let’s not forget that the true intention is to celebrate the birth of some of the nation’s greatest leaders.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/presidents-day