119 15 1774 https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/56823aee2e2631d0be8a64a8d1118a2b.pdf 8b923c75e050419ccc2bc549d22cc76e PDF Text Text The Beacon - February 12, 2025 THE BEACON Est. 1936 Pa. Newspaper Association Member Wilkes University - Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Volume 77, Issue 14 1 “The news of today reported by the journalists of tomorrow.” Geisinger nurses rally in Wilkes-Barre amid stalled negotiations Photo by G. Wayne McCormick Nurses and supporters at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) rally at the Wilkes-Barre Public Square on Wednesday, Feb. 5. By G. Wayne McCormick “Be fair to those who care” was chanted by dozens of nurses and supporters at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) rally at the Wilkes-Barre Public Square on Wednesday, Feb. 5. There were over a dozen speakers, all airing grievances, sharing experiences and demanding action from the nurses’ employer, Geisinger. The rally was organized in response to stalled negotiations that started Jan. 31. Chief complaints involved better pay for staff recruitment and retention, affordable healthcare benefits and practical solutions to safety and care. Wilkes graduates around 100 nursing students per year from its undergraduate programs. The nursing programs’ website lists potential employers. Geisinger is at the top. Inoperable elevators raise accessibility issues, page 5 Honors students volunteer with Ruth’s Place, page 7 Reviewing the director’s cut of JPEGMAFIA’s 2024 album, page 18 Wilkes hosts basketball doubleheader against Scranton, page 20 Contributing Writer ...NURSES cont. on p. 3 �The Beacon - February 12, 2025 News News 2 Have a breaking story or a press release to send? Contact the news editor Leah Smith at leah.smith1@wilkes.edu Student Government notes: Feb. 5 weekly meeting By Kayla Bicskei News Staff Writer Student Government met for its fourth weekly meeting of the Spring 2025 semester on Feb. 5. This meeting addressed multiple funding requests and an analysis of the Spring Semester Club Day. The Student Government Treasurer’s report showed a current budget of $78,976. To begin the meeting, the Kappa Kappa Psi chapter of the Ni Chi national fraternity returned for their week two of two funding request. Kappa Kappa Psi presented their mission to maintain a diverse fraternity dedicated to advancing university bonds and create a fellowship of brotherhood. Since its foundation in 2019, the Kappa Kappa Psi chapter has inducted a total of 36 brothers and currently has 14 active members. The Chapter is requesting a total of $1,300 to fund their three-day Northeast District Convention in Harrisburg, Pa. Twelve members will be attending the conference. Student Government voted to allocate the full amount of $1,300. The next organization to present was the Lambda Kappa Sigma’s week one of two funding request. Lambda Kappa Sigma is a professional pharmacy fraternity whose mission statement is to provide lifelong opportunities for women in pharmacy through professional excellence and personal growth. The organization is requesting either $2,652 or $3,757 at the discretion of the Student Government. Lambda Kappa Sigma is requesting funds for their National Convention in Pittsburg, Pa. Lambda Kappa Sigma will return next week for their week two of two funding request. The Pharmacy and Nursing schools collaborated to present their week one of two funding request for their yearly Late Night Lift Event. The event will take place at the YMCA from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Mar. 24. At the event, the two schools will be hosting a giveaway for the first 150 students in attendance. To fund their giveaway and educational benefits of the event, the two schools are requesting a total amount of $2,250. The Pharmacy and Nursing schools will return next week for their week two of two funding request. The planning committee of the Spring Fling was next to present their week two of two funding request. Spring Fling will be held at the Mary Stegmaier Mansion and will include a DJ, food, drinks, themed decorations and semi-formal attire. The Spring Fling planning committee was requesting a total amount of $12,500 to fund the event. During voting, the Student Government Executive and General Boards decided that the event should include a photo booth for students. Student Government voted to allocate more than the total requested amount to include the cost of a photo booth. Student Government allocated a total of $13,000. The Student Advocacy Committee is a new committee within Student Government, and they presented their week one of two funding request. The Committee aims to give representation to the student body to speak up for student’s rights, empower student’s voices, promote equity and fight for policy changes. The Committee will hold four events for students, including a Whine and Cheese Night event, a Discussion Panel event, and two Tell Us Day events. To fund the food, drinks, and utensils for the events, the Student Advocacy Committee is requesting a total of $200. The Student Advocacy Committee will return next week for their week two of two funding request. The last business of the meeting was presented by the Pronoun Advocacy Committee of the Student Government. The Committee aims to create a feeling of safety and security in presenting their gender identity. The Committee is requesting a total of $402 to provide students with pronoun pins or ally pins. The Pronoun Advocacy Committee will return next week for their week two of two funding request. Student Government will meet again on Feb. 12. Residence Life Glow Run Clubs who want to participate in the 2025 Residence Life glow run can now sign up. The event benefits the Victims Resource Center of Wilkes-Barre. For more information, contact kaitlin.pasternak@ wilkes.edu. Blood Drive The first on-campus blood drive of the semester will be taking place on Feb. 18 in the JPAC. The event goes from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you are interested in donating, you can sign up at redcrossblood.org and use the code ‘WILKESU’. Beacon Briefs: Upcoming campus events Compiled by Andrew Marshallsay WAE Free Rock Climbing WAE is offering free rock climbing on Mondays and Tuesdays during the Spring semester from 6-8 p.m. No skill or sign up is required to climb. For more information, you can contact benjamin.campbell@ wilkes.edu Table of Contents News..................2 Life, A&E............7 Opinion............14 Sports................19 Upcoming Events: Fall 2024/Spring 2025 February 13 - Cupid's Carnival 14 - Transcribe-a-thon 18 - Blood Drive 19 - FAFSA Virtual Completion Workshop 20 - Black History Month Bingo Want your event featured in the calendar? Email: leah.smith1@wilkes.edu �The Beacon - February 12, 2025 ...NURSES cont. from p.3 Debru Cartha, a speaker at Wednesday’s rally and an elected union member of SEIU-UHW (United Healthcare Workers West) from Modesto, Calif., gave current nursing students advice. “Get an understanding of what a union is [while in school],” Cartha said. “The union is us, and we are the heartbeat of the healthcare system.” Lauren Harris, a local ER nurse of nine years, also reinforced Carthan’s advice for more education regarding unions in the classroom setting. “The first union contact they have isn’t until hiring,” Harris said. She would like nursing students to hear a few examples of different unions to have a better understanding of how they work before they are confronted with the decision to join one or not. Further highlighting issues in their community, she noted that any nurse who graduated in 2024 and was hired by Geisinger would not be eligible for a raise until 2026. News “They [students] don’t receive education about collective bargaining per se as a topic,” explained Emily Havrilla, chair of undergraduate nursing. However, the program does discuss professionalism/professional issues and this would be an example. She guarantees Wilkes teaches evidence-based practice, advocacy for their patients, health policy and interfacing with the legislative process for healthcare change or broad patient advocacy. She wants the Wilkes nursing program to help students cultivate their own philosophy of nursing. Students should consider an organization's philosophy and mission and to determine if it is a good fit with their own philosophy, she said. Patricia Dittman, PhD program coordinator, had worked through union contract negotiations in the early 2000s. “Nurses felt they needed a representative to be their voice when dealing with administration,” Dittman said. She continued to explain that while the Rally attendee holding up a sign. Nurses at the rally demand better pay, affordable healthcare beneﬁts and practical solutions to safety and care. Photo by G. Wayne McCormick nurses took the first step to vote in union representation, the staff went almost two years without an agreed upon union contract. Union reps and management met weekly during that time, yet after dozens of meetings, negotiations were still at an impasse. While the unfortunate reality can be that the cogs of power grind slowly, Dittman maintains “what better way to fix something than to ask the person who does it every day.” That position comes from her knowledge of Magnet Hospitals, a designation given to health care facilities by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. This status is given to facilities with excellent nurses’ satisfaction and patient care. It equips nurses with a higher level of autonomy over their practice. Magnet Hospitals are both union and non-union. Speakers and messages at the rally ranged from experienced healthcare professionals, elected union bargaining representatives, elected officials and activists. The topics discussed at the event covered a wide breadth of issues currently plaguing our Geisinger nurses. Constant exhaustion and high turnover rates due to inadequate staffing, pay cuts, substandard benefits and safety concerns were brought up by multiple speakers. The cost of a nurse’s healthcare is on the rise. One speaker mentioned the premiums, co-pays and deductibles of their insurance have reached the point where many staff are unable to afford it. “A single medication I take for a chronic issue comes with a $1500 monthly copay,” lamented a speaker. They went on to point out that insurance monthly premiums often exceed $500 per month and that it is not uncommon for healthcare workers to be on a payment plan to Geisinger for medical debt. “It’s like a company store,” said Angela Ferritto, President of Pennsylvania AFLCIO. She finds the situation of inadequate working conditions baffling as “everyone has been cared for by a nurse at least once.” Geisinger’s pay and investment preference to travel nurses over residential ones is another huge friction point for the union. On average, a travel nurse makes double what a residential Geisinger nurse 3 will, along with equal or better benefits. In July, Geisinger announced a $880 million expansion of Danville facilities on top of a $900 million expansion of Geisinger Wyoming Valley that began in 2024. Nurses and union officials find this outrageous in the face of 300 vacant resident healthcare positions in the Giesinger system, some of which have been open for more than five years. Ethan Ruskin and Debru Carthan traveled over 2000 miles to join the rally. They are both representatives of SEIU-UHW. Strongly reinforcing that all nurses are in this fight together, their organization donated $500,000 to the Geisinger nurse’s strike fund. Multiple speakers said it is not just about money and benefits. The system allows for no recognition of their work or value, adding to retention issues. A local ICU physician preached the need for solidarity between doctors and nurses. “They are not a cog,” the doctor said, going on to press the need to view nurse provided care equally crucial to care provided by a doctor. Politicians are also voicing their concerns. Pa. Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski spoke about the days of smaller health care systems and warned of the dangers that come with for-profit-healthcare. Sen. John Fetterman was unable to attend but a message was passed to the crowd illustrating his support. It is important to note that this is not a strike, but the rally attendees want Geisinger to know that a strike is likely if demands are not met. The rally ended with a request to take action by contacting Geisinger CEO Terry Gilliand to push for the company to meet worker demands. The CEO’s phone number and email address were distributed to the crowd via flyer. SEIU had a bargaining meeting with Geisinger on Feb. 6 that yielded no results and has another scheduled for Feb. 11. Geisinger was acquired by Risant Health in March 2024, a nonprofit health organization owned by Kaiser Permanente. Efforts to reach Geisinger for additional comments were unsuccessful. �The Beacon - February 12, 2025 News 4 Computers remain missing from labs after system outage By Sydney Allabaugh Editor-in-Chief Wilkes University cancelled classes on Jan. 27 due to a “system outage.” Two weeks later, some computers have yet to return to on-campus labs. The computer lab in Karambelas Media and Communication Center, classroom 137, appears to still be missing seven computers. G. Wayne McCormick was in the classroom when the computers were taken out. “It would have been the first Tuesday back from the system issues, just before 8 a.m.,” McCormick said. “An IT employee came in and was pulling certain computers out.” “I haven't heard anything around campus about what might be causing it,” McCormick added. Lab computers were not the only computers effected by the outage. Faculty and staff computers were also impacted. Enrollment Processing Advisor Jennifer Williams said her computer was of the few that were compromised. “Staff was advised not to try to log into the system on Jan. 27, and then we got word that we would be able to access the system,” Williams said. “When I came in, I had a message that my laptop had been one of the few that were compromised and that IT would be over to collect it. IT did take my laptop and replaced it.” Williams said that although her laptop was replaced, “almost eight years of data was lost and unretrievable.” Although some computers were impacted during the outage, security risks no longer remain, according to Kerianne Geist, the Associate Vice President of Marketing Communications at Wilkes. “The campus closure was a proactive and preventative measure taken out of an abundance of caution,” Geist said. “Our staff is working with external information technology experts and has restored services to campus (last Tuesday [Jan. 28]) and ensured the security of our systems.” In a statement issued on Jan. 28 at 9:45 a.m. to students, faculty and staff, ITS Executive Director Gerald Korea announced that service was restored and that schedules could continue as normal. Korea also said that organizational accounts would be required to change their passwords to a new 12-character minimum. In terms of what may have caused the outage, Geist said, “At this point, no additional updates are available.” Efforts to reach Korea for additional comments were unsuccessful. Photo by Sydney Allabaugh Computers from a computer lab in Karambelas Media and Communication Center are still missing two weeks after the system outage. Former Wilkes professor gets probation for felony charge By Sydney Allabaugh Editor-in-Chief A former Wilkes University psychology professor pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempted dissemination of sexually explicit materials on Friday and was sentenced to three years of probation, according to his lawyer, Nanda Palissery. Edward John Schicatano, 60, of Plains Twp., was charged in August 2023 for trying to set up a sexual encounter with a fictitious 15-year-old girl during an online citizen-sting operation conducted by Musa Harris, the self-proclaimed Luzerne County Predator Catcher. According to an article published in The Beacon in 2023: Schicatano, under the alias of “Lora Smith,” asked for the girl’s age. Harris, posing as the teenage girl, said “almost 16 years old.” Schicatano then replied, “I’m sorry. Too young.” The online conversation continued, despite Schicatano repeatedly expressing concern over the girl’s age and potential FBI involvement. According to police, Schicatano sent the girl a photo of two men engaged in a sexual act. He eventually wanted to meet the girl and in doing so, was met by Harris. Police said Harris provided them with video of the confrontation, and they were able to identify the man in the video as Schicatano. After the confrontation had been posted on social media, Wilkes University President Greg Cant announced in an August 2023 statement that a “longtime member” of the Wilkes faculty was no longer employed at the university following “very serious accusations.” This faculty member was ultimately identified as Schicatano. “We are very pleased with the sentencing,” Palissery said. Edward John Schicatano. Photo from Beacon ﬁles. �The Beacon - February 12, 2025 News 5 Inoperable elevators raise questions about accessibility Leah Smith News Editor Since last semester, a few elevators around campus have been inoperable due to repairs, and students and faculty have had various issues with the accessibility around campus before and during this issue with the elevators. Students who park their vehicles at the campus parking garage next to the Public Safety building have had a difficult time transitioning to taking the stairs regularly as opposed to the convenience the elevator once provided. Emma Gaul, a junior nursing student, is one of the students who have had difficulty with both elevators being down in the parking garage as well as the first floor elevator located at the Cohen Science Center. Gaul has stated that she leaves early in the morning to drive to campus. “I leave at 5 in the morning and at 7 I’m working in the hospital,” she said. “It’s all an inconvenience.” Gaul added to the concern that has been an issue around campus for a while, that being accessibility for certain buildings around campus. “It’s like if you can’t take the stairs, what are you supposed to do?” In addition to the elevator in Cohen currently not operating, the historic Kirby Hall does not have an elevator and is only accessible via stairs. Accessibility has been a prevalent issue but there are plans to make going to class a little easier. Dr. Mischelle Anthony, an associate English professor who teaches at Kirby Hall, has acknowledged that the building must improve accessibility. “I know that a lift to the back porch (Greenway side of the building) is supposedly coming at some point to Kirby,” Anthony said. “That way people can easily access the first floor rooms.” Anthony added that accommodations professors in Kirby make are to move classroom activity to accessible buildings and rooms. According to a statement from the Executive Director of Facilities Charles Cary provided by the Executive Director of Office of Academic Success Learning Center Katy Betnar, facilities have put the elevators on high priority. “Regular maintenance of all elevators in university buildings is conducted to minimize the chance of failure,” Cary said in a statement. “However, from time to time, elevators do go out of service and the facilities department puts a high priority on these issues as they can directly affect access to classrooms and offices. Some repairs can be handled by Wilkes employees, but many require assistance from an outside contractor.” The replacement electric board for the Cohen elevator that failed will not be delivered until March despite the order being expedited. As for the parking garage elevators, Cary did not provide an update about the process. Anyone who may need accommodations while the elevators are down can reach out to Betnar at (570) 408-4233. Photo by Leah Smith Inoperable elevators in the Wilkes parking garage on S Main St. �The Beacon - February 12, 2025 News Nolee Ana Grabowski and E Alexis cut the ribbon on the steps of Ross Hall surrounded by Mega Council members. 6 Photo by Brady Melovitz �The Beacon - February 12, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment 7 Life, Arts & Entertainment Have any events or artists to be shared? Contact editor-in-chief Sydney Allabaugh at sydney.allabaugh@wilkes.edu Honors students celebrate Taco Tuesday at Ruth’s Place Photos courtesy of Honors Program Honors students, accompanied by Lindsey Scorey, a Wilkes alumnus and current graduate assistant with the honors program, were on dinner duty Tuesday night at Ruth’s Place in Wilkes-Barre. The crew served up dinner in the “Taco Tuesday” theme. Ruth’s Place is a 24/7 emergency shelter for women experiencing homelessness. Top row left to right is Ciara Williams (soph, poli. science), Kensington Edmond (soph, environ. engineering) Cassie McGinley (1st-year, pharm), Lindsey Scorey, (Grad assistant, master’s student creative writing) Jordan Chepalonis (jr., math), Sydney Ahrberg (jr., English), Ava Wahlers (soph, bio). Front row, Liz Keller (soph, poli. science), Zoë Morley (jr, bio), Kailey Vogel (1st-year, English & history), Analiese Monteiro (soph. pharm). Ciara Williams, a sophomore honors student (political science), brown up the meat for Taco Tuesday. From left, Cassie McGinley (pharm) and Kailey Vogel (English and history), both first year honors students, help with some of the veggie chopping at Ruth’s Place. �The Beacon - February 12, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment 8 Sydney Allabaugh: DIET_ - Denzel Curry Leah Smith: Like a Prayer - Madonna Andrew Marshallsay: Sam Mullen: WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME GloRilla, Sexxy Red Adam Grundt: Breaking up My Bones - Vinyl Theatre Truth in the Lies - Central Cee Shawn Carey: Good for You - Third Eye Blind Brady Melovitz: NISSAN ALTIMA - Doechii Each week, the Wilkes Beacon staﬀ picks their favorite song of the week. Check out this week’s bops! �The Beacon – February 12, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment 9 Black History Month begins with Pan African flag raising, events to be held throughout month Have an event you want covered? Let The Beacon know WHEN and WHERE and we’ll do our best to be there! Email sydney.allabaugh@ wilkes.edu CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, the Pan African ﬂag was misidentiﬁed in last week’s edition of The Beacon. The paper is re-running the photo with the correct headline on this page. �The Beacon – February 12, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment 10 Two-time Pulitzer Prize Wilkes theatre presents winning journalist to new musical Between give Max Rosenn lecture the Lines, Feb. 20-23 By University release Nicholas Kristof, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author, will deliver the Wilkes University Max Rosenn Lecture in Law and Humanities at 2 p.m. on March 16. The lecture will take place at the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts. After working in France, Kristof began backpacking in Africa and Asia, writing articles to cover his expenses. He has lived on four continents, reported on six and traveled to more than 150 countries. During his travels, he has caught malaria, experienced wars, confronted warlords, encountered an Indonesian mob carrying heads on pikes and survived an African airplane crash. Kristof not only managed to survive and press on, he also won two Pulitzers in the process — advocating human rights and giving a voice to the voiceless. In 1990, Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, then also a New York Times journalist, became the first husbandwife team to win a Pulitzer Prize for journalism for their coverage of China’s Tiananmen Square democracy movement. Kristof won his second Pulitzer in 2006 for what the judges called “his graphic, deeply reported columns that, at personal risk, focused attention on genocide in Darfur and that gave voice to the voiceless in other parts of the world.” Kristof and WuDunn have written five bestselling books: Tightrope, Half the Sky, A Path Appears, China Wakes and Thunder from the East. Oprah Winfrey devoted two full programs to their work, and they have been on countless other television programs. Half the Sky and A Path Appears each inspired a prime-time PBS documentary series. Kristof is also the author of Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope and his newest book, a memoir entitled: Chasing Hope: A Reporter’s Life. After joining The New York Times in 1984, Kristof served as a correspondent in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo. He has covered presidential politics, interviewed everyone from President Obama to Iranian President Ahmadinejad and was the first blogger on The New York Times website. The Max Rosenn Lecture in Law and Humanities was established at Wilkes University in 1980 in recognition of Judge Rosenn’s exceptional contributions to public service. It was established by his former law clerks, his law firm, Rosenn, Jenkins & Greenwald, family and friends. Past speakers include Jill Lepore, Jon Meacham, Terry Gross, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bryan Stevenson, Anna Deavere Smith, Cory Booker and Bob Woodward. The Rosenn Lecture is free and open to the public, though registration is required. For more information and online registration, visit wilkes.edu/rosenn. Photo illustration by Wilkes Theatre Department The Wilkes University Theatre Departent will present Between the Lines, the new musical based on the novel by bestselling author Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer, featuring a book by Picoult and Timothy Allen McDonald. The production runs at 8 p.m. on Feb. 20, 21, 22 and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 22 and 23. Tickets available at wilkes.edu/theatre. Is your club launching a fundraising event? Looking for new members? Let us know. You could be featured in an upcoming edition of The Beacon. Email kalen.churcher@wilkes.edu with details and contact information. �The Beacon - February 12, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment 11 ��The Beacon - February 12, 2025 Opinion Opinion 14 Have an opinion or want to write a guest column? Contact assistant opinion editors: shawn.carey1@wilkes.edu or logan.colonna@wilkes.edu. Editorial Staff 2024-25 MANAGERIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief - Sydney Allabaugh Social Media Manager - Megan Davis Adviser - Dr. Kalen Churcher SECTION EDITORS News - Leah Smith Sports - Zach Paraway ASSISTANT EDITORS News - Andrew Marshallsay Opinion - Logan Colonna Opinion - Shawn Carey Sports - Adam Grundt Sports - Sam Mullen DESIGNERS Head Designer - Lara Mullen Designer - Carol Stratford Layout Designer - Brady Melovitz Photographer - Shannon Slominski SECTION STAFF WRITERS News - Kayla Bicskei LA&E - Natalia Williams Opinion - “Freeze” Sports - Ava Tureen Sports - Lexi McHugh 141 S. Main Street Clayton and Theresa Karambelas Media & Communication Center Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766 Phone - (570) 408-5903 www.thewilkesbeacon.com Want to advertise in The Beacon? Contact: Kalen Churcher at kalen.churcher@wilkes.edu or Sydney Allabaugh at sydney. allabaugh@wilkes.edu. The Beacon Est. 1936 Pa. Newspaper Association Member Our Voice Each week, The Beacon’s editorial board will take a stance on a current issue. Inoperable elevators limit accessibility Elevator repair shutdowns in the parking garage and on the first floor of the Cohen Science Center are more than just an inconvenience. For most students and faculty, it might seem like a temporary increase in time and energy needed to commute, but for those with temporary or permanent mobility issues, inoperable elevators can make the use of these facilities impossible. Although elevator malfunctions are not inherently the fault of the university, repeated breakdowns and lack of urgency to mitigate or fix them may be viewed as an indication that accessibility may not be of utmost importance. Accessibility has been an issue on campus for a while. Historic buildings such as Passan Hall and Kirby Hall do not have elevators or an alternative for people to take if they are unable to take the stairs. In Kirby Hall, even the first floor is only accessible via stairs, with only a small classroom accessible from the ground. There have been plans for Kirby to add a lift to the greenway side of the building to make accessing the first floor rooms easier, but the implementation of this addition has not yet begun. Again, the lack of urgency to implement accessibility accommodations shows a lack of consideration for impacted groups. Wheelchair users are not the only ones who rely on elevators. Those with temporary injuries or mobility using crutches or other mobility devices may find using the stairs to be straining, difficult or even impossible. Elevators also allow individuals, regardless of ability, to transport heavy items vertically, which can be important. In the case that an individual on an upper floor needs medical attention, emergency services may need to use the elevator to transport equipment and the patient. The inconvenience of elongated elevator shutdowns in and of itself can create challenges. In the case that classes are held on the second and third floors of affected buildings, professors are forced to switch classrooms in order to accommodate, when they should not need to in the first place In the parking garage, students and faculty now have to lug all their items up and down the stairs to enter or exit campus. For students who have to wake up early and drive to campus, they now have to take the stairs and risk running late to class. The roads around campus and parking are already difficult enough, but with the elevators not being operable, students will have to move around the confusing roads to find a spot that will accommodate them. Students and faculty should not have to struggle to access buildings and facilities on campus. The lift coming to Kirby Hall is only one step and as mentioned, there is no date yet as to when the lift will be available for use. Accessibility is a right, not a privilege, and it should be treated as such. Letter to the editor policy: The Beacon welcomes letters to the editor from differing viewpoints. Letters must contain contact information, including name, city, state and phone number. Phone numbers will not be published but may be used for verification purposes. All letters to the editor must be sent using one of the following methods: Email: sydney.allabaugh@wilkes.edu Phone: (570) 408-5903 (Voicemail: 30 seconds or less, please.) Mail: 84 West South Street, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18766 Attn: The Beacon �The Beacon - February 12, 2025 Opinion 15 The Icebox: Presenting a sleeper masterpiece... “Balatro?” By “Freeze” Opinion Staff Writer �� The Beacon - February 12, 2025 Opinion 16 Baseball is broken, and there is no easy solution By Andrew Marshallsay Asst. News Editor Let’s face reality for a second: baseball is broken. Whether it be the Los Angeles Dodgers buying superheros for sport and making their future kids pay for it. Or the power of owners that only see the bottom line in dollars, and not the bottoming out of records. The economic landscape of America’s pastime is changing. And not for the better. In January, the Dodgers completed the signing of Roki Sasaki, a 24-yearold right-handed pitcher from Japan. After signing, Sasaki quickly became the number one prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline. This comes after an offseason where they signed Shohei Ohtani to the then biggest, now second biggest, contract in sports history. The defending World Series winners go into the 2025 season with the largest payroll in baseball history. However, the Dodgers are only paying Ohtani, among others, a fraction of their salary. Most of the Dodgers’ contracts are deferred until long after the contracts expire. Ohtani will make only $2 million a year until 2034. Then, the contract goes to a whopping $68 million a year until 2044. Is it a smart move though? Absolutely. On the other hand, is it completely annoying that all 29 other teams in the Major Leagues are letting one team dominate the sport? Also yes. Teams like the Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Athletics (formerly Oakland A’s), and Miami Marlins have consistently spent little to none in the free agent market over the last two to three years. It’s understandable for the White Sox, as they are in the middle of a rebuild that will take some time to complete. The Pirates are not excused from this though. Boasting the best starting rotation in the NL Central, and arguably top five in baseball, the team refuses to spend. Instead of going for one of the big bats on the market like they so need, they have decided to turn back the clock and run with roughly the same team that finished dead last in the division last year. The A’s began to spend this offseason after securing their future in Las Vegas. The Marlins, after making the playoffs in 2022, will enter this season with arguably the worst team in baseball and the lowest payroll, according to FanGraphs. Is there a solution to this? There sure is. However, it will probably never happen. The only logical solution would be to introduce a salary floor and salary cap. A floor would force the bottom of the barrel teams, like the Marlins, Pirates and White Sox, to spend money to be somewhat competitive. A cap would make sure that teams with the richest owners like the Dodgers and Mets are not monopolizing the market. Alas, this will never happen. The MLB Players Association has gone on the record before, firmly opposing any idea of a possible floor and cap. Instead, the teams that have the highest payrolls pay a luxury tax. Teams like the Philadelphia Phillies are in the third tier of this tax and now have a 110% tax on all signings, regardless of how much or how little they are. The Dodgers are also past the third tier, but because of deferred money, they pay far less overall per season. Owners as well have said they oppose the salary floor/cap. With the current collective bargaining agreement coming to an end after the 2026 season, we could be in for a long ride once again. The 2021 offseason saw a lockout that was centered around various issues including the luxury tax. Don’t be surprised if another lockout occurs in a year and a half. Time will only tell if the economic landscape of baseball will improve. With the way things are going, don’t count on it happening anytime soon. The 67th Grammy Awards outshined previous years By Natalia Williams Life, Arts and Entertainment Staff Writer The 67th Annual Grammy Awards took place on Feb. 2, and I believe this was the best Grammys in a while. When nominations for this year’s grammys were announced, I was super excited. The works that were submitted were some of the best pieces of music by the most talented artists, so I knew it was going to be a very competitive year. With artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX and Chappell Roan nominated, there was no telling who was going to win, unlike other award shows in the past. I truly enjoyed the suspense. Starting with the beginning of the awards, there was a heavy emphasis on donating to a relief organization founded by the CEO of The Recording Academy called MusiCares, which I believe was the right thing to do due to the fact that the award show was happening during the L.A. wildfires. I also liked that they did this because it didn’t make the Grammys seem tone deaf to what was happening around them. They truly cared about raising money and providing resources for relief to victims, while giving viewers at home an opportunity to help. The award show was opened by a performance by Dawes, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, and Brad Paisley. Brittany Howard and St. Vincent sang “I Love L.A.” as a tribute to the city, which was very heartwarming to see. Other performers included Billie Ellish, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and a surprise appearance by The Weekend. Something I thought was really cool was the medley performance of the artist nominated for Best New Artist. It was super cool to see each artist perform. Overall for performances, my favorite was definitely Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX. They were such fun performances and I look forward to seeing them perform at the Grammys again. Another performance that got me very excited was the Quincy Jones tribute. It featured Will Smith, Cynthia Erivo, Janelle Mone, Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock. I am a huge fan of Quincy and his work, so it was something so fun to see and I feel they honored him well. The aspect that made me shed a few tears was the way they honored the service men and women. They showed clips of them providing tremendous help to the community and even had some of them present album of the year. On the red carpet when they arrived, they were welcomed with applause and it showed them how appreciative they are and I thought that was amazing. Something I did not enjoy was how long it was. As expected, there were a lot of commercial breaks and I’m not sure that would change. In my opinion, I believe there was a good performance to award ratio, but in the future I’d like to see a bit more awards shown in the actual award show. This year I actually watched the premiere ceremony which presents the awards that aren’t shown in the main show. I feel that a lot of the awards could have been presented in the main ceremony. For example, the R&B and Rap awards were presented there, and I wish they were during the main show. Overall, the 67th Grammys was something that I really enjoyed watching. Between the performances and the suspense of the awards, it was one that I believe was one of the best in a while. �The Beacon - February 12, 2025 Opinion 17 Hobby stores are important and build community By Shawn Carey Asst. Opinion Editor Everyone has a hobby. At least I hope so. There’s all the obvious ones. Gardening, journaling, cooking, reading, playing video games, etc. The ones that everyone knows about. These are the hobbies that you constantly see posted about online and listed on dating profiles. With that being said, what about the hobbies that you are embarrassed to admit you like? The more niche hobbies? The ones focused around role playing and creature collecting? The ones that cause you to line up outside Target at 6 a.m.? The ones that put you in credit card debt? The hobbies that are often considered “nerdy.” You probably know what I’m referring to. Collecting trading cards, playing tabletop games, painting miniatures, building model kits, and so on. How do you express your love for these hobbies? You go to hobby stores. A hobby store is a retail establishment that sells materials and equipment related to a specific hobby or set of hobbies. These can include items such as model kits, craft supplies, board games, card packs, TTRPG books, miniatures and other related merchandise. They’re also often referred to as game stores. Apart from selling the materials needed for these niche hobbies, they also host events related to them. Tournaments, competitions, game nights and launch parties. During these events, they also tend to hand out prizes and hold special promotions. Now, I think there’s something really special about hobby stores and the niches they represent. They offer a totally unique experience, an experience that you really can’t get anywhere else. Hobby stores are built upon the idea of having a “third place.” A third place is a public space where people can connect with others and build community. A place outside of home and work where people can relax and socialize. Coffee shops, bars and bookstores are traditional examples of “third places.” Hobby stores fit that description pretty closely. However, they offer something that the locations previously listed don’t. Third places are often associated with comfort and quiet areas. Hobby stores, on the other hand, offer a challenge. You don’t go to hobby stores to relax. You go to be faced with a challenge. As mentioned earlier one of the main things you do at hobby stores is play. Let that be card games, tabletop games, board games, whatever you want. Customers go to these stores with the sole purpose of playing against an opponent. Oftentimes, they’re only places where you can find people with the same interests. You can play against fellow trading card players, or join together with a party and participate in the “Dungeon and Dragons” campaign. Oftentimes these activities work on a pick up and play type system, meaning that you can join in whenever you want as well leave. This also causes them to be a safe space from scalpers. For those who know, a scalper is someone who buys something at a normal price and then sells it at a higher price when it becomes difficult to obtain, such as tickets. The trading card hobby is full of hundreds of scalpers. It’s pretty much impossible to pick up a new set the day of release. Scalpers buy up tens of hundreds of new packs and booster boxes, selling all the high value cards in the set for a ludicrous price. Making things harder for customers and employees. The scalper outbreak has gotten so bad that Target, Walmart and other retailers now have signs up warning against them. They usually say something like “due to high demand, we had to start limiting the amount of packs a single customer can buy.” Hobby stores on the other hand, they don’t really have to worry about them. Most store owners set a limit for how much a single person can buy. This is done to ensure that everyone gets a chance to start collecting. They also tend to hold on to some packs and use them as tournament rewards. This way, customers can own packs based on skill levels. As much as I hate saying, it’s a good way to separate real fans from resellers. Since these nerdy hobbies tend to be rather niche, it’s difficult to find others who share the same passion. Which in turn, actually helps to foster a greater sense of community. A sort of haven for hobbyists. The fewer the numbers, the greater the connection. Hobby stores are also almost always local small businesses. There isn’t really a big box conglomerate. The only one I can really think of is Hobby Lobby, and still they only really have models. Pretty much every single store is local. If you’re interested in hobby stores, there’s actually two located close to Wilkes. First there’s Sword in the Stone located in the Wyoming Valley Mall. Second, there’s Dragon Knight Games in Kingston. I highly recommend you check them out, maybe you’ll even pick up a new hobby. Graphic by Carol Stratford �The Beacon - Feburary 12, 2025 Opinion 18 Reviewing the director's cut of JPEGMAFIA's 2024 album An analysis of "I LAY MY LIFE DOWN FOR YOU (DIRECTOR'S CUT)" By Logan Colonna Asst. Opinion Editor Out of nowhere, my favorite album of 2024 received its own deluxe edition. In 2024, JPEGMAFIA released his fifth studio album, “I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU.” Half a year later, the album received its own deluxe edition, or Director’s Cut in this case. It shows off 14 brand new tracks, some of which being skits or instrumentals. The large bulk of the tracklist is thankfully songs though. The original tracklist offers new tracks sprinkled in as well as a second disk-worth of tracks. Starting things off, JPEG did great per usual. I must admit though, there is a track that I do straight-up dislike though. This track being off of the second disk, “HATE,” featuring FREAKYMAFIACULT. The whole track doesn’t even include JPEG, but I still think it’s crucial to point out in this section. That’s because if he were to put out some vocals on the track, I can see the song being somewhat listenable. I won’t get too much into it now, but the track offers FREAKY just mumbling over the instrumental. As for the good of the album, there’s quite a bit. My favorites off of the deluxe alone are “CULT STATUS,” “Boy You Should Know!” and “Bloodline Freestyle.” All of these tracks showcase why JPEG is currently my favorite rapper to stay in tune with. On “CULT STATUS,” we get the JPEG that we had on his 2023 collaboration project, “SCARING THE HOES.” I’ve been waiting for this kind of JPEG to return. While I love the rock-inspired beats and vocals we get from the rest of the original album, I easily enjoy this kind of sound so much more. On the next track, “Boy You Should Know!” we get a performance that resembles that of a few tracks from one of my favorite albums from JPEG, “OFFLINE.” The album easily shows off JPEG at his best in terms of his rapping, and I’m glad he returns with that kind of performance. With that, I do believe that this is one of the best tracks off of the deluxe. As for the absolute best track, we have “Bloodline Freestyle.” The track opens with JPEG getting more melodic than usual. I, for one, love this style that he uses. The entire track has that “floaty” vibe which is helped by the background incredibly soft and make for the perfect addition to JPEG’s calmer vocals. She gives us both a verse and the outro on the title track “i lay down my life for you,” both of which are beyond amazing. I suppose that 1 for 2 good features isn’t all that bad. As for the production, it’s A1 per usual. vocals too. There’s not much I can say besides the fact that the track just sounds great to me. JPEG delivered on a lot of the tracks we received in the deluxe, with a few tracks sticking out like sore thumbs. Looking over things, the record only has two features. One of which was the horrid FREAKMAFIACULT feature. The other feature was yet another one from Buzzy Lee, in addition to her feature on the original record. Yet again, her vocals blew me away. They’re One of my favorites is easily “CULT STATUS.” While it’s very abstract and experimental, I can’t help but feel overly positive about the instrumental. It uses the same sound that listeners heard off of the outro of “New Black History.” When I first heard that outro, I, and many other listeners, wished for JPEG not to scrap this beat and actually do something with it. Thankfully, we received just what I was wishing for. Another instrumental I enjoyed quite a lot was off of the lead single for the deluxe, “PROTECT THE CROSS.” It incorporated a lot of the same production style that was used for the original album, using a lot of rock-inspired instrumentation. Throughout the song, we get sudden bouts of calmness as well, which is really cool to see the production act as a roller coaster from the start to the end of the track. There’s also a beatswitch near the end of the track that I absolutely love. With it, we get even more of that rock vibe that I enjoyed off of the original album. It’s easy to say that this track got me overly excited for the rest of the deluxe. Lastly, how replayable is the deluxe of the record? I personally think it’s one of the best instances of great replayability I've seen recently. If you count just the deluxe tracks, the runtime is a short 32 minutes. While I wish that it was its own album, instead of being lumped together with the original project, the added tracks still only put the album at a one hour and 16 minute runtime. This is still obviously long and I get it if you were to complain about it, but the way the tracks are intertwined with the already existing record makes the hour and change go by noticeably quicker. To go along with that point, each track sounds so distinct, that it keeps the listening experience feel fresh, even if it’s your 10th time listening to the record. Lastly, the deluxe edition being released made me appreciate the album for what it was originally even more than I already have. It has been relistening to the entire project, front to back, over and over again. With all that has been said, I believe that this deluxe edition of the record has done the original project justice. While it’s not 100% necessary, I’m more than happy because of the fact that it was released. Because of that, “I LAY DOWN DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU (DIRECTOR’S CUT) gets an 8 out of 10. Graphic by Carol Stratford �The Beacon - February 12, 2025 Sports Sports 19 Want your sport covered? Deserve to be Athlete of the Week? Contact the Sports Editor: zachary.paraway@wilkes.edu Pickering scores OT winner, Penguins beat Monsters 5-4 By Adam Grunt Asst. Sports Editor �� ¡�� ¢ �� Photo courtesy of KDP Photography �� Penguins crowd Owen Pickering after scoring game-winning goal in win verus the Bridgeport Islanders on Feb. 8. �The Beacon - February 12, 2025 Sports 20 NBA: Crazy Deadline sends ripples across Association By Adam Grunt Asst. Sports Editor The NBA Trade Deadline is seemingly one of the most hectic times of the season, and this past deadline was one for the history books.’ On Feb. 6, at 3 p.m., the National Basketball Association essentially placed a ban on any trades until the conclusion of the regular season. Teams that are contending for a championship had one final chance to improve their roster, while struggling teams looked to increase their draft capita by acquiring picks and trading their productive players to teams atop the standings. In a leauge altering swap of players, the Dallas Mavericks sent Slovenian-born superstar, Luka Dončić, to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for their all-star caliber power big, Anthony Davis. The late-night move on Feb. 1 began what was a hectic week of trades throughout the league, but this move in particular was a shock to all fans, including those here on campus. “This trade is a lot deeper than a one player for one player swap,” senior business major and die-hard basketball fan Colby Butczynski said. “The potential ramifications if one of these players don’t work out is severe. There are perspectives within the game of basketball and as long as you are blind to them, you’ll never understand the reality.” Other smaller-caliber moves were made throughout the week after the big trade between Dallas and Los Angeles, but none had an impact that even compared to the potential ramifications of this trade. Dallas was unable to win a championship with Dončić during his time as a Maverick, and general manager Nico Harrison was quoted saying “defense wins championships”. Harrison has caught a lot of heat for dealing away one of the league’s most deadly shooters, but time will tell if Anthony Davis is able to fit into the Mavericks’ roster that includes multiple NBA championship winning players. On the other side of the deal, Dončić travels out west and now calls Crypto.com Arena home, where he gets to play alongside a generational talent in LeBron James. The betting odds for Los Angeles to win the NBA Championship this season prior to the trade were over +3000. Now, since the team’s acquisition of Dončić, their odds have significantly decreased to below +2000. Dončić coming to Los Angeles basically guaranteed a deep playoff run for the Lakers, if not a bid for the team’s 11th championship in history. “I think, for the time being, the Lakers won the trade,” senior elementary education major Tegan Shortlidge said. “The Lakers will be contending for a title with LeBron, and Dončić certainly boosts their odds for the championship this season. I think Dallas still needs one more elite level player to compliment Davis and Kyrie Irving.” Elsewhere, after a turbulent end to his tenure in Miami, Jimmy Butler was traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for a package including former number one overall pick Andrew Wiggins. Basketball fans remember when the “big 3”, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant played for the Golden State Warriors in their era of dominance. Now, with Durant and Thompson no longer playing in Golden State, some fans are calling the new Warriors trio in Curry, Draymond Green, and Butler the “new big 3”. The Warriors will pose a threat in the always competitive Western Conference come playoff time. Other teams, such as the Chicago Bulls, found themselves on the wrong side of a trade. In a three-team deal with the Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs, the Bulls gave up their best player, Zach LaVine, and sent him to Sacramento, thus reuniting him with former teammate Demar DeRozan. The Spurs ended up acquiring De’Aaron Fox, and the only notable thing the Bulls got in return from either the Kings or Spurs was their own first round pick that they traded away back in 2021. The Bulls now hope to just squeez into the NBA’s playin tournament as a best case senario. Time will tell in regards to who won this season’s trade deadline. Come June, the trophies and accolades will be awarded, and some teams have improved greatly in their quest for the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. Others have set themselves up for a rebuild that could potentially last up to a half decade. Wilkes hosts basketball doubleheader against Scranton By Andrew Marshallsay Asst. News Editor Both of Wilkes’ basketball teams were back home on Feb. 5 for a mid-week doubleheader against the University of Scranton. The women’s team came into the contest looking for their first win of the season, and the men’s team were looking to make it a third consecutive victory. Facing off against the Royals for the second time this season, the Colonels were looking to get a win over the third-ranked team in D3 women’s hoops. However, things were not going to go in favor of the Blue and Gold. Early on, the Royals came out hot from three-point range. Dominating the first half, Scranton went into halftime with a 43 point lead. The second half was more of the same. The Colonels were unable to stop the highscoring Royals as Elizabeth Bennett ended the night with 26 points. #3 Scranton improved to 20-0 on the season Yami Matos led the Colonels with eight points while Nadia Evanosky had a teamhigh five rebounds. With the defeat, the Colonels fall to 0-20 on the season. Next on the schedule, the Colonels travel to Susquehanna for a weekend contest. After that, the team will face Drew University away from home on Feb. 12. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from the Baldwin Gymnasium in Madison, N.J. In the men's game, it was the Royals who started hot early on. After two consecutive field goals, the Colonels got their scoring started and went on a 14-0 run to make it a 22-6 lead halfway through the first frame. At halftime, Wilkes had a 40-20 lead. Like the first half, Scranton opened the scoring in the second. A 20-6 run in the first 10 minutes of the frame saw the Royals cut the deficit to six points. The Colonels got their momentum back when Mason Fedor hit a three-pointer to stop the Royal run. The game remained close, with the Colonels’ lead staying under ten points in the remaining minutes of the with a 9-4 record in Landmark play. The team also maked the trip to game. The Colonels and Royals continued to Susquehanna on Feb. 8. They are back at trade points until the home side went on a home on Feb. 12 when they also face Drew. run to make it an 13 point game with less Tip-off against the Rangers is set for 7 p.m. than 20 seconds to play. The game ended from the Marts Center. in a 71-58 Colonels victory. With the win, Photo by Andrew Marshallsay Wilkes improved their record to 15-5 on the season. Lesko led the Colonels with 22 points and one block. Cayden Merrifield scored 14 points and led with six assists in the win. For the rest of the starters, Jack Argento, Joey Zvorsky and Eli Becker each scored eight. Off the bench, Fedor finished with seven points. The team improved Jack Argento scoring a layup against Scranton. to 15-5 on the season �The Beacon - February 12, 2025 Sports 21 WIH: Strong weekend put team at First Place in MAC Women's ice hockey holds mental health awareness game By Ava Tureen Sports Staff Writer The women’s ice hockey team played two home games this past weekend as their season is coming to an end; only three games remainas of Feb. 12. In the first match, the team played against Arcadia University, with the contest being dedicated in support of mental health awareness and partnered with the “Do it for Daron” campaign. According to the group's website, Do It For Daron supports education, awareness, and research initiatives at that encourage young people to talk openly about mental illness. Before the game started, they held a ceremonial puck drop with University President, Dr. Greg Cant. It was a challenging game that went into double overtime, but in the end, Wilkes won in a shootout. Neither team was able to score within the three periods of regulation or the extra overtime. First-year Audrey Milne denied all goals during the regulation periods and overtime for the shutout. Sr. Bella Kaczorowski had two shots on goal during the second period, and Gr. Lida Laitinen and first-year Haylee Bouchard both had four shots on goals, tying for the most in the game for any player. On Sunday, the team played against Lebanon Valley College. LVC took the lead early on, but from there, it was all Wilkes. Wilkes scored three times, one coming in each period. This included one of those points coming from a Colonel powerplay. This was the third matchup between Wilkes and LVC, and was the first win for Wilkes this season against them. Multiple players had a hand in the strong win for the team. First-year Chayce Hyndman had the first goal for Wilkes and went unassisted with it. The next period saw a goal from Sr. Rachel Morey, with the assist from both Bouchard, first-year Nina Hudakova. Finally, Wilkes capped the scoring in the third with a goal from first-year Gianna Pacillio, with the assist from Bouchard. Wilkes is now 17-4-1 overall, getting their first tie this late into the season against Arcadia. This continues to be a great season from the team, and after this weekend they are now sitting at number one in the MAC conference. The team had already clinched their spot in the MAC playoffs, and with this past weekend, have put themselves in a great spot of the top seed. The regular season is coming to an end, but they still have three more regular season games, none of which will be at home. The next game will be on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. against our rival school, King's College. Follow all Wilkes teams at gowilkesu. com HOME // FEB. 8TH 3:30 PM VS ARCADIA UNIVERISTY (DIFD MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS GAME) / MAC HOME // FEB. 9TH 3:30 PM VS LEBANON VALLEY COLLEGE / MAC FEB. 14TH 7 PM @ KING’S COLLEGE (PA) / MAC FEB. 15TH 6 PM @ ALVERNIA UNIVERSITY / MAC FEB. 21ST 3:15 PM @ HOOD COLLEGE / MAC WILKES WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY �The Beacon - February 12, 2025 Sports Athlete of the Week 22 Jordan Ferry Sophomore, Center, Women's Ice Hockey The Beacon: Female Athlete of the Week Ferry led the Colonels to wins over Neumann and Stevenson this week, scoring three goals on 12 shots while going a combined 1420 from the faceoff circle Major: Civil Engineering Hometown: Bohemia, NY What had been your favorite sports memory from your time as a Colonel? My favorite memory as a colonel was playing in the Utica tournament. What is your favorite professional sports team (any sport)? New York Islanders What is your favorite thing to do away from sports? I love to watch movies. Specifically comedies. What is your favorite part of being an athlete at Wilkes? What has been your favorite sports memory overall? My favorite sports memory was winning states What is your favorite postgame meal? My favorite post game meal is a cheese burger How do you feel about being selected as the Athlete of the Week? I am so honored to be recognized as athlete of the week and represent all the hard work our team has done so far this season! I love being able to represent a great culture and school with amazing people. What sports movie is your go-to for movie night? My go-to sports movie is Water Boy If you did not play your current sport, what sport would you have wanted to play? I think I would play rugby The Beacon//Samantha Mullen Editor’s note : Athlete of the Week s elec tions are deter mined by the spor t s staff each week. At the e nd of the acade mic year, we w ill post a reader poll on Tw itte r @ Wilkes B eacon to c row n an “Athlete of the Year." Compiled by Samantha Mullen, Asst. �The Beacon February 12, 2025 Sports Athlete of the Week Jackson Shafer Graduate Student, Outside Hitter, Men’s Volleyball The Beacon: Male Athlete of the Week Shafer totaled 52 kills, 3 aces, 8 blocks, and 18 digs for a total of 61.5 points as the Colonels went 2-1 on the week, including two wins in a tri-match against Penn State Altoona and Saint Vincent College. Major: Financial Investments Hometown: Milford, Pa. What has been your favorite sports memory overall? Getting to see my parents after every What had been your favorite game. sports memory from your time as a Colonel? What is your favorite postBeating Elmira in five sets last season game meal? in our last game to break 20 wins. Wawa What is your favorite professional How do you feel about being sports team (any sport)? selected as the Athlete of the All Philadelphia Sports (Go Birds) Week? It’s awesome being selected as Athlete What is your favorite thing to do of the Week but I always view these away from sports? things as team awards. Without I enjoy reading and pondering with my having great teammates and coaches, roommates of 404. getting selected for this wouldn’t be possible. It means that WE had a What is your favorite part of great week! being an athlete at Wilkes? Having the opportunity to meet so many amazing teammates and friends. What sports movie is your go-to for movie night? Rocky 2 or Friday Night Lights If you did not play your current sport, what sport would you have wanted to play? Football or Golf The Beacon/Sam Mullen Compiled by Samantha Mullen, Assistant Sports Editor Editor’s note : Athlete of the Week s elec tions are deter mined by the spor t s staff each week. At the e nd of the acade mic year, we w ill post a reader poll on Tw itte r @ Wilkes B eacon to c row n an “Athlete of the Year." 23 �24 The Beacon - February 12, 2025 DEC. 4TH 7PM @ LYCOMING College / LANDMARK DEC. 7TH 2PM @ JUNIATA COLLEGE / LANDMARK HOME / DEC. 14TH 3PM V. KEYSTONE COLLEGE JAN. 4TH 1PM @ ALVERNIA UNIVERSITY HOME / JAN. 8TH 5PM V. GOUCHER COLLEGE / LANDMARK JAN. 12TH 12PM VS. ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE @THE PALESTRA/ LANDMARK HOME/ JAN. 15TH 7PM V. DREW UNIVERSITY / LANDMARK HOME / JAN. 18TH 2PM SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY / LANDMARK JAN. 23RD 7PM V. MORAVIAN UNIVERSITY / LANDMARK JAN. 25TH 1PM @ CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA / LANDMARK HOME / JAN. 29 7PM V. LYCOMING COLLEGE / LANDMARK HOME / FEB. 1ST 2PM V. JUNIATA COLLEGE / LANDMARK HOME / FEB. 5TH 6PM V. UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON / LANDMARK FEB. 8TH 2PM @ SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY / LANDMARK FEB. 12TH 7PM @ DREW UNIVERSITY / LANDMARK HOME / FEB. 15TH 2PM V. ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE / LANDMARK HOME / FEB. 19TH 7PM V. MORAVIAN UNIVERSITY/ LANDMARK FEB. 22ND 2PM @ GOUCHER COLLEGE/ LANDMARK MEN’S LACROSSE SCHEDULE FEB 15 1:00 P.M. – VS ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE (LANDMARK) – SCHMIDT STADIUM FEB 22 1:00 P.M. – VS UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT BRADFORD – SCHMIDT STADIUM FEB 26 4:00 P.M. – VS MARYWOOD UNIVERSITY – SCHMIDT STADIUM MAR 5 5:00 P.M. – AT VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY – VIRGINIA BEACH, VA MAR 8 1:00 P.M. – VS LEBANON VALLEY COLLEGE – SCHMIDT STADIUM MAR 12 7:00 P.M. – AT KING'S COLLEGE (PA.) – WILKES-BARRE, PA MAR 15 1:00 P.M. – VS HOOD COLLEGE – SCHMIDT STADIUM MAR 19 7:00 P.M. – AT ALVERNIA UNIVERSITY – READING, PA MAR 22 1:00 P.M. – VS MORAVIAN UNIVERSITY (LANDMARK) – SCHMIDT STADIUM MAR 26 7:00 P.M. – AT MOUNT SAINT MARY COLLEGE (NY) – NEWBURGH, NY MAR 29 1:00 P.M. – AT JUNIATA COLLEGE (LANDMARK) – HUNTINGDON, PA APR 2 7:00 P.M. – VS DREW UNIVERSITY (LANDMARK) – SCHMIDT STADIUM APR 5 1:00 P.M. – AT GOUCHER COLLEGE (LANDMARK) – BALTIMORE, MD APR 9 7:00 P.M. – VS LYCOMING COLLEGE (LANDMARK) – SCHMIDT STADIUM APR 12 12:00 P.M. – AT SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY (LANDMARK) – SELINSGROVE, PA APR 16 6:00 P.M. – AT UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (LANDMARK) – SCRANTON, PA APR 26 1:00 P.M. – VS CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA (LANDMARK, SENIOR DAY) – SCHMIDT STADIUM � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wilkes Beacon Newspaper Collection, 1947-present Description An account of the resource This is Wilkes University's Beacon Newspaper collection, 1947-present. We also have digitized copies of the Beacon's predecessors, The Bucknell Bison Stampede, 1934-1935 and The Bucknell Beacon, 1936-1947 June. It should be noted that Wilkes University does not have a complete set of issues for the Bucknell Bison Stampede and Bucknell Beacon. For researchers who are interested in seeing the complete issues for these publications, please contact <a href="https://researchbysubject.bucknell.edu/scua">Bucknell University's Special Collections Department</a>. Missing Issues: 1947 August 8th 1947 September 5th 1947 October 3rd 1947 October 17th 1947 October 31st 1947 November 21st 1947 December 19th 1948 September 9th 1950 April 28th 1953 April 10th 1962 February 2nd Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Beacon staff is comprised of Wilkes University students who are advised by a full-time faculty member of the Communication Studies Department. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1934-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright of the Wilkes Beacons is retained by Wilkes University. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Newspaper Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Professor Emeritus Harold Cox digitized the collection from 1934-1970 and created a <a href="https://beaconarchives2.wilkes.edu/">legacy website</a>. Digital Archives student John Jenkins digitized the collection from 1970-present. Special thanks goes to Communication Studies Professor Dr. Kalen Churcher, Editor-in-Chief Kirsten Peters, Beacon staff member, Emily Cherkauskas, and other Beacon staff for their help in acquiring digitized copies of the Beacons from 2006 onward. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wilkes Beacon, 2025 February 12 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Communications Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2025 February 12 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Type The nature or genre of the resource Newspaper https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/656efedb933d866dc9ff31da203cf219.pdf 04cf15f16ad2303333e9f76285769308 PDF Text Text The Beacon - March 19, 2025 THE BEACON Est. 1936 Pa. Newspaper Association Member Wilkes University - Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Volume 77, Issue 17 1 “The news of today reported by the journalists of tomorrow.” Full lunar eclipse “Blood Moon” visible in the U.S. By Sydney Allabaugh Editor-in-Chief A full lunar eclipse, or “Blood Moon,” was visible in every U.S. state Thursday night into Friday morning. Photo by Shannon Slominski Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof visits Wilkes, page 3 Event to celebrate 250th birthday of Jane Austen, page 7 What is Tokusatu, and why should you watch it?, page 17 Stargazers across the country observed a rare astronomical event Thursday night into Friday early morning: a full lunar eclipse “Blood Moon.” It was the first toal lunar eclipse in more than two years. According to NASA: “A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align so that the Moon passes into Earth’s shadow. In a total lunar eclipse, the entire Moon falls within the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, called the umbra. When the Moon is within the umbra, it appears red-orange. Lunar eclipses are sometimes called ‘Blood Moons’ because of this phenomenon.” The eclipse was visible in every U.S. state and other areas in the Western Hemisphere. It began at 11:57 p.m. on Thursday and ended Friday at 6 a.m. The total eclipse began at 2:26 a.m. and lasted a little over an hour. According to the National Weather Service, lunar eclipses occur one to two times a year on average. The next predicted lunar eclipse that will be visible in the U.S. will not occur until March 2026. WIH bows out of playoffs after narrow loss to Colby College, page 19 �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 News News 2 Have a breaking story or a press release to send? Contact the news editor Leah Smith at leah.smith1@wilkes.edu Student Government notes: March 12 weekly meeting By Kayla Bicskei News Staff Writer Student Government convened for its eighth weekly meeting of the Spring 2025 semester on March 12. The meeting addressed new Wilkes University policies, funding requests, and a club recognition request. The Student Government Treasurer’s report showed a current budget of $27,613. Dr. Mark Allen, one of the Student Government advisors, was the first to present at the meeting with university policy updates. The first policy update presented was the upcoming ban on electric scooters, bikes, and other non-car vehicles. The ban will be implemented to reduce student injury and prevent fire hazard presence. The ban will go into effect on Aug. 1, 2025. The second policy discussion Dr. Allen held during his presentation was a reminder for clubs to spend their money before the end of the Spring 2025 semester. As a result of the inability of clubs to carry their funds from one school year to the next, Dr. Allen aimed to ensure that clubs use the funds they have available before the end of the Spring 2025 semester. The next presenting group was the We’re Empowered by Science club for their week one of two funding request. The club is requesting funds to host their annual WEBS camp. The annual WEBS camp is held in the summer and is attended by high school students who want to learn about science. The camp gains the majority of its funding from the campers’ tuition, but the club is requesting funds from Student Government to ensure all interested students are able to attend through tuition or scholarship. We’re Empowered by Science club is requesting a total of $3,000 to fully sponsor the tuition of 10 students' participation in the summer camp. The club will return next meeting for their week two of two funding request. The Honors Program Student Committee was the next organization to present for their week one of two funding request. The Committee reported that their aim is to enhance the honors experience and engage with their peers in the Wilkes University community. The committee is planning a trip to Skyzone, an indoor trampoline park, for honors students before the finals week. The event will include transporting 15 to 20 students to Skyzone with tickets funded by the committee. Any other honors students who sign up for the event will not receive free admission, but they will be given transportation to Skyzone. The Honors Program Student Committee offered two options of funding amounts to Student Government. The first option is a request of $360 to purchase 20 tickets to the event. The second option is a request of $260 to purchase 15 stickers to the event. The Honors Program Student Committee will return next meeting for their week two of two funding request. The Society of Women Engineers presented their week one of two funding request. The society is holding their Amazing Race event for high school students planning to attend college. The Amazing Race event will be attended by six high school teams comprised of a total of 57 students. The participating students will compete in five events to win a $1,000 scholarship. To help fund the event, the Society of Women Engineers is requesting a total of $400 from the Student Government. The Society of Women Engineers will return next meeting for their week two of two funding request. To conclude the meeting, the AI along with Robotics Club presented their week one of two club recognition request. The new club presented their aim to help students who are interested in robotics but find mechanical and electrical concepts complex. It was also presented that the club will begin attempting to host robotic soccer, robotic sumo, and robotic battle events. The AI along with Robotics Club will return next meeting for their week two of two of their club recognition request. Student Government will meet again on March 19. looking for current first year undergraduate students to join. First year students who have a 3.5 GPA or higher are eligible to apply. Applications close April 15. For more information, contact jennifer.mclaughlin1@ wilkes.edu. edu to find the form. If you have questions, contact isabell.barberio@wilkes.edu Beacon Briefs: Upcoming campus events Compiled by Andrew Marshallsay Sordoni Art Gallery Apparel The Sordoni Art Gallery is selling apparel that features student created designs. Apparel includes shirts, tote bags and more. The sale ends March 23. Orders will be ready about two weeks after the online store closes. To order, visit today.wilkes.edu for the link to the Sordoni online store. Join the Honors Program The Wilkes University Honors Program is Social Media Ambassador Team Wilkes University is looking for current students to join the social media ambassador team for the 2025-2026 school year. Members are able to showcase student life on campus. To apply, visit today.wilkes. Late Night Lift - March 24 The Late Night Lift Committee is hosting late night lift on March 24 at the YMCA on Franklin Street. The first 150 students who attend will receive a free T-shirt and tote bag. All equipment will be provided by the YMCA. If you have any questions, contact kaitlin.beenders@wilkes.edu Table of Contents News..................2 Life, A&E............7 Opinion............14 Sports................19 Upcoming Events: Spring 2025 March 20 - Movie Drive-In 20 - Art in Context Lecture 21 - Spring Fling 24 - Late Night Lift 29 - SG's Big Event 2025 Want your event featured in the calendar? Email: leah.smith1@wilkes.edu �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 News 3 Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof visits Wilkes Leah Smith News Editor Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Kristof visited Wilkes University on March 16 in part of the Rosenn Lecture Series. Kristof has been working as a writer for the New York Times since 1984. He has won two Putlizer prizes in journalism: one for his story about the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 and one for his story on the genocide in Darfur in 2006 Kristof returned to the United States after visiting Sudan. He recently published a story in the New York Times about how USAID cuts were affecting those in Sudan. This topic was brought up in the morning Q&A session Kristof opened to Wilkes students, who were invited to join this session as well as a networking luncheon and Kristof ’s lecture in the afternoon. Kristof discussed topics such as Sudan, Ukraine and approaches to journalism in the modern day. These topics brought many interesting stories that Kristof had, including various emotional encounters he has had with people he has met in countries he has reported in around the world. At the beginning of the lecture, Kristof was introduced by Judge Max Rosenn’s former law clerk Jonah Zimiles. As an honor to the late Rosenn as well as the series, Zimiles wanted to dedicate the afternoon’s Nicholas Kristof lecturing at the Darte Center. Photo by Leah Smith lecture to Rosenn and what he stood for: humanity and justice. During his lecture, Kristof talked about similar issues discussed in his Q&A but also took a deep dive into his career as a journalist and how becoming a journalist and actively writing in places where war is occuring and conflict is at its peak has humbled him as both an American citizen as well as a reporter. “What I’ve learned in my career and traveling around the world, is that I’m more than often wrong,” Kristof said. After the lecture, guests were welcome to purchase his latest book, “Chasing Hope: A Reporter’s Life” and attend a book signing. Watch the lecture online: The cover of Kristof's book "Chasing Hope: A Reporter's Life." �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 News 4 Wilkes Univerity names new members to the Board of Trustees Susan Davis, Heather McCray, Joanne Schoonover, J. Bruce Weinstock By Leah Smith News Editor On Feb. 21, Wilkes University introduced their newest members of the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees observes the school’s operations, such as the quality of academic programs and monetary affairs. These four new members are Susan Davis, Heather McCray, Joanne Schoonover and J. Bruce Weinstock. Susan Davis graduated from Wilkes University in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s degree in healthcare administration. Davis is the senior vice president of asset management at Cascade Capital Group, a private healthcare management and healthcare real estate investment company. She is also the primary asset liaison to the owners of SWV Management Company, the properties they own as well as others owned by Cascade. She has been a mentor to nursing and business students at Wilkes since 2011. She also has taught a Personal and Professional Development 101 course. Davis joined the board of Trustees and currently serves the Marketing, Communications, Branding and Engagement Committee. Heather McCray began her law career in Wilkes-Barre as a law clerk on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals for Judge Max Rosenn. She continued practicing law in New York City and retired from Davis Polk. Since retiring, she has helped in launching prominent and communityfocused cultural and civic organizations such as the NYCIFF, the country’s children’s film festival, and started the university’s Judge Max Rosenn Lecture series. McCray received her bachelor’s from Cornell, a J.D. from the University of Michigan and her LL.M. at NYU. Joanne Schoonover graduated from Wilkes in 1972 receiving a bachelor’s degree in biology. She became an educator and continued teaching for 15 years. She retired as the Vice President of Defense Acquisition University. She has also served 26 years in the United States Air Force. She began as a flightline aircraft maintenance officer but went for the stars and began running major space programs such as Inertial Upper Stage and the NAVSTAR Global Positioning Program. Schoonover has a master’s in systems management from the University of Southern California and was a fellow at Harvard. J. Bruce Weinstock graduated from Wilkes in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance. Weinstock works within the public education market and assists those in the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) to find solutions to their retirement funds and savings. Weinstock also is a representative of GWN Securities, Inc. an independent registered broker-dealer. He is a Kingston, Pa. local and volunteers in his community and serves on several local boards of directors for nonprofits. �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 News 5 Wilkes sees warmer temperatures ahead of spring season Shannon Slominski Photographer March 10 and March 11 saw highs of 67 and 73 degrees in Wilkes-Barre. The warm weather is expected to continue this week. Students wore T-shirts and some wore shorts last week amid warmer weather. The Sun warms Wilkes University. Spring ofﬁcially begins tomorrow, March 20. �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 News 6 Student Organization of Latinos holds Café con Leche event Alejandra Marroqui shares her story By Leah Smith News Editor Student Organization of Latinos (SOL) held its second Café con Leche this semester on Tuesday at 11 a .m. in the Savitz Lounge. At Café con Leche events, attendees are invited to engage with speakers, take part in activities, and conntect with others over a cup of coffee. At this Café con Leche, Alejandra Marroquin shared a personal narrative centered around chilhood culture. The next Café con Leche event will be on April 15. SOL is also collaborating with Crocheting Club on a fundraiser selling handmade crochet country flags. For more information and updates, visit @wilkesu_sol. Alejandra Marroquin shared a person narrative presentation at the Café con Leche event Attendees enjoyed a cup of coffee and listened to Alejandra Marroquin's presentation. Photos by Leah Smith �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment 7 Life, Arts & Entertainment Have any events or artists to be shared? Contact editor-in-chief Sydney Allabaugh at sydney.allabaugh@wilkes.edu Event to celebrate 250th birthday of Jane Austen By Natalia Williams On March 27, the English Department is holding an event celebrating British novelist Jane Austen for her 250th birthday. This event is also in celebration of Women’s History Month. The event will include a panel of speakers and a dance demonstration led by Director of Dance Stefen Zubal and other members of the Wilkes University Dance Team. “Jane Austin is an early 19th century British novelist whose work has been in constant circulation and popular publication since it was written and whose work has been adapted many many times into movies, plays, and other books,” said Wilkes University English professor Dr. Helen H. Davis. Known for her works like “Pride and Prejudice” and “Sense of Sensibility,” Austen is considered an influential writer who has had an impact on how novels were written and how they are written today. “She had a large influence on the novel, the form of the novel, and on techniques of novel writing. I also like her because she is very interested in the politics of domestic space and what it means to kind of live and function during that period, in domestic space as a woman.” Speaking on the panel will be Austen scholar Dr. Juliette Wells, who is the keynote speaker. Dr. Wells is a professor of Literary Studies at Goucher College. Wells is also co-curating the exhibit “A Lively Mind: Jane Austen at 250” in New York City at the Morgan Library and Museum. Along with Dr. Wells, three Wilkes faculty members will also participate. “We’ll also include three Wilkes faculty. It is an interdisciplinary panel, I will speak, Dr. Amy Sopcak-Joseph from history will speak and Mr. Stefan Zubal who is the Wilkes University dance director will speak,” Davis said. During the first hour of the event, the academic panel will discuss the legacy of Jane Austen. After the academic panel there will be a Regency - era dance demonstration by Zubal. “Regency-era dance embodies elegance, social grace, and precisely choreographed interactions, serving as both an artistic expression and a reflection of societal norms,” Zubal said. “Regency dance functioned as a social ritual, where subtle gestures, eye contact, and controlled physical interactions layered meaning within social expectations and relationships.” Since dance is a form of storytelling, it can bring history and literature to life. “Incorporating historical and literary elements into dance enhances its structural and interpretive aspects, uniting choreography, period fidelity, and narrative coherence in a fluid artistic presentation,” he said. “This thoughtful approach authentically brings a specific era or literary work to life.” “Weaving themes and stories from novels, poetry, or historical events into dance enriches the narrative, enabling performers to physically express the emotional depth, social complexities, and dramatic developments of their source material.” Following the academic panel and dance demonstration there will be a reception with refreshments. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is at register wilkes.edu/ austen250 Dr. Helen Davis �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment Sydney Allabaugh: 8 Sam Mullen: HOTBOX - Lil Nas X The Color Violet - Tory Lanez Leah Smith: Brady Melovitz: Black Rainbow - Spiritbox Psycho - Puddle of Mudd Andrew Marshallsay: Shawn Carey: Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door Bob Dylan Bleed Magic - I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THE FOUND ME Each week, the Wilkes Beacon staﬀ picks their favorite song of the week. Check out this week’s bops! �The Beacon – March 19, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment Check out the new creative seating space outside the Sordoni Art Gallery 9 Have an event you want covered? Let The Beacon know WHEN and WHERE and we’ll do our best to be there! Email sydney.allabaugh@ wilkes.edu �The Beacon – March 19, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment 10 Spring commencement speakers announced By University release Speakers for Wilkes’ 78th annual spring commencement ceremonies, were announced recently. Ceremonies will take place on May 17. This year’s keynote speakers include State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski ’67 and Dr. David Hicks, director of the nationally-ranked Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Wilkes University. Pashinski has made remarkable contributions in fighting for quality education, affordable health care and commonsense tax reform in Pennsylvania. Pashinski graduated from Wilkes University with a bachelor’s degree in music education and has a master’s equivalency. He will receive an honorary degree from Wilkes University at this year’s commencement. For 38 years, Pashinski taught music at the Greater Nanticoke Area School District and held several union positions with the Greater Nanticoke Area Education Association, advancing to chief spokesperson, vice president and president. Today, the majority chairman of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, as well as a member of multiple caucuses, Pashinski is also a board member of the Pennsylvania Health Information Exchange and has introduced numerous bills to increase access to medical care, reduce costs to consumers and improve outcomes. Pashinski is a local musician and entertainer and continues to be a leader in the community. A first-generation college student and son of an immigrant parent, Hicks earned his bachelor’s degree from Nazareth College of Rochester and his doctorate in American Literature at NYU. Prior to coming to Wilkes in 2020, he taught at Pace University in New York as well as Regis University in Denver, where he co-founded and co-directed the MFA program in creative writing. Through Hicks’ leadership, enrollment for Wilkes University’s graduate creative writing program has more than doubled in the last four years. Hicks is the author of many short stories as well as a novel-in-stories, White Plains, a finalist for the Colorado Book Award and Westword Magazine’s #1 book by Colorado authors. His recent children’s book, The Magic Ticket, about the death of his sister when he was a boy, has been called “a beautiful exploration of the power of books to be company when we feel lonely, a salve when we are hurting” by Anythink Libraries. His soon-to-be released second novel, The Gospel According to Danny (Vine Leaves Press, May 2025), has been called “deeply evocative” by Lori Ostlund, “dark, funny, [and] modern” by Robert Mooney, “a breakneck pursuit of the American dream” by Matt Bell, and “a dynamic portrait of . . . the fall of the American empire” by Philip Brady. “We are honored to welcome Wilkes alumnus, Representative Eddie Day Pashinski, and Dr. David Hicks as our commencement speakers this spring,” said said Wilkes University President Greg Cant. “Because of their bold achievements and impact on the community and in the arts, they are an inspiration. “Their words of encouragement and experiences will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression on our graduates as they embark on their next chapter and define success for themselves.” Wilkes University’s spring 2025 commencement will celebrate the accomplishments of more than 800 graduates with bachelors, master’s and doctoral degrees. It will be held at the McHale Athletic Center in the Ron and Rhea Simms Center on Main at 169 South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre. For more information on commencement, visit www.wilkes. edu/commencement. Is your club launching a fundraising event? Looking for new members? Let us know. You could be featured in an upcoming edition of The Beacon. Email kalen.churcher@wilkes.edu with details and contact information. �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment Which way out? Find your way out of the maze 11 �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 Photos and Story By: Brady Melovitz �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 On March 13, Wilkes University held a career and internship fair in the McHale Athletic Center. “There will be internships that are open in the summer for students to apply to,” Mrakovich said. A multitude of different companies and organizations were in attendance, and it was designed for all majors. In total, there were 63 tables . Mrakovich also mentioned how Wilkes has been one Plenty of students attended the fair. Sal Damico, a computer science major, spoke on why he came to the career fair. “I came here because I want to find a job,” Damico said. “Right now it’s a very competitive job market and I feel like when an opportunity comes like this we need to take it.” Damico mentioned that the type of organization that he was looking for would be something in the sphere of game development. Joe Long, another computer science major, cited a very similar reasons as Damico for showing up to the career fair. Long said that this career fair was a way for Wilkes students to be able to network with companies and establish connections with organizations that are in your interests. Among the organizations in attendance was Hershey of their top college partners, so when they had the opportunity to be at the career fair, they took it up. Another organization at the career fair was the Federal Bureau of Prison. Gregory Easton, who works with the organization, said they were specifically looking for people interested in being correctional officers. The representatives for Merakey, a developmental, behavioral health, and education non-profit, said they were specifically looking for education and psychology majors for any jobs or internships they have. A representative from Rutkoski Fencing Inc. said they were looking for engineering majors for their company. Entertainment and Resorts. Jacklyn Mrakovich, recruiter for Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, mentioned what Hershey was looking for. “One thing that I can tell you about us is that we take pride in the quality of our work,” said Trisha Pegula of Rutkoski Fencing Inc. “Really, though, our number one priority is safety.” �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 Opinion Opinion 14 Have an opinion or want to write a guest column? Contact assistant opinion editors: shawn.carey1@wilkes.edu or logan.colonna@wilkes.edu. Editorial Staff 2024-25 MANAGERIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief - Sydney Allabaugh Social Media Manager - Megan Davis Adviser - Dr. Kalen Churcher SECTION EDITORS News - Leah Smith Sports - Zach Paraway ASSISTANT EDITORS News - Andrew Marshallsay Opinion - Logan Colonna Opinion - Shawn Carey Sports - Adam Grundt Sports - Sam Mullen DESIGNERS Head Designer - Lara Mullen Designer - Carol Stratford Layout Designer - Brady Melovitz Photographer - Shannon Slominski SECTION STAFF WRITERS News - Kayla Bicskei LA&E - Natalia Williams Opinion - “Freeze” Sports - Ava Tureen Sports - Lexi McHugh 141 S. Main Street Clayton and Theresa Karambelas Media & Communication Center Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766 Phone - (570) 408-5903 www.thewilkesbeacon.com Want to advertise in The Beacon? Contact: Kalen Churcher at kalen.churcher@wilkes.edu or Sydney Allabaugh at sydney. allabaugh@wilkes.edu. The Beacon Est. 1936 Pa. Newspaper Association Member Our Voice Each week, The Beacon’s editorial board will take a stance on a current issue. There is no such thing as an “illegal protest” “Unconstitutional” is one of many words thrown around when discussing Donald Trump’s presidency so far. From proposing bills and laws attacking immigrants, people on social security, and just about everyone else in the country that aren’t in his tight circle of billionaire partners, Trump has recently placed his next target on public education and college students. Trump made a statement on Truth Social about how he will revoke federal funding for schools that allow, as he calls them, “illegal protests.” He added that any agitators will be arrested and/or deported as well as permanently expelled from the institution they are attending. This post is a reference to the protests from 2024 where college students openly protested against the war between Israel and Palestine. These protests were in advocacy for Palestine, in which students demanded for not only a ceasefire but for the U.S. to acknowledge and end the unjust killing of Palestinian people. Protests for this are continuing today. Trump’s rhetoric against college student protests may be actualizing. Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent U.S. resident, helped lead protests for Palestine last spring at the university. He was detained and is facing potential deportation under the provision that allows green card holders to be removed from the country if they present “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” Trump spoke on this on Truth Social and stated, “This is the first of many to come.” He added that he and his organization will go after more students across the country and called these protests for Palestine “antisemitic, anti-American and pro-terrorist.” This is horrifying not only to college students who have been involved in various protests but for all American citizens. This is only a single instance, but what is to stop him from going after people who are protesting against other social/political issues that the Trump administration is attempting to dismantle and hide from the American people? His brashness toward immigrants is more than just people crossing borders. From Khalil’s story and surely more to come, it does not matter to him if people are born in the U.S. or have obtained a green card. Trump is focused on silencing people who disagree with him. Protests and fighting for a better future are the basis of America. Calling protests, no matter what the cause, “pro-terrorist” is not only untrue but proves what we should have known from the beginning. Trump and his administration want the American people to be uneducated in what is happening to us and around the world and complacent in the face of injustice. Freedom of expression is a First Amendment right for all Americans. This includes protesting and freedom of speech. Protesting is a freedom that all Americans, especially college students and the next generation should be able to exercise. “Children are the future.” This statement rings true as we are marching the streets fighting for rights that our parents and grandparents have fought for. Not only are we fighting for rights and freedoms that have been fought for in the past but for new ones as well. Protesting will never go away. If that means more will have to be detained to fight for what’s right then, so be it. At least we will be on the right side of history exercising our rights as real Americans. Letter to the editor policy: The Beacon welcomes letters to the editor from differing viewpoints. Letters must contain contact information, including name, city, state and phone number. Phone numbers will not be published but may be used for verification purposes. All letters to the editor must be sent using one of the following methods: Email: sydney.allabaugh@wilkes.edu Phone: (570) 408-5903 (Voicemail: 30 seconds or less, please.) Mail: 84 West South Street, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18766 Attn: The Beacon �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 Opinion 15 The Icebox: Presenting horror game “Lethal Company” By “Freeze” Opinion Staff Writer I have never been a fan of horror games. This is mostly because I find them to be fundamentally boring. Even if they are scary, they do not end up being fun to play in an objective sense. Fortunately, that is something which “Lethal Company” accounts for. First of all, this game is terrifying. It’s that simple. The first time I played the game with my friends was at one in the morning in my cold, dark bedroom. I had my surround sound headset on and nobody in my party had played the game before so we were all in the same boat and had to figure things out as we went. You and three other crew members work together to land a ship on different moons and explore abandoned facilities for important equipment and treasures. Every three days, the Company provides you a quota of credits that you need to meet by any means necessary, which would be selling any items that you find to the Company headquarters. The problem is, if you don’t meet the quota in time, you get eaten. Now, it gets even worse than that. The moons you land on have unknown creatures and weather patterns that can kill you and your crewmates in many ways. Some lurk out in the open, forcing you to rush your way indoors and budgeting your stamina. Most of the monsters, however, can be found creeping around in the abandoned facilities. They might guard a hallway, pursue anyone who enters their territory or initiate a hunt to get at you and your friends. They can attack you from any direction, including above, below and all directions at the same time. Regardless, all of them are scary and difficult to beat, especially in the early-game with less equipment. Speaking of equipment, you and your crew get paid based on your performance and can spend that money on deliveries for flashlights, shovels, radios and more. Any electronic equipment has a battery that depletes relatively quickly and can be charged an unlimited number of times on the spaceship. Shovels are used to fight monsters but honestly are not very useful unless you practice using them a lot. In early stages, your best bet is to rely on flashlights and perform a rush operation for loot. The character mechanics in this game are what make it significantly more interesting. The one feature that carries this game far beyond others is the voice chat. There is an in-game proximity voice chat that works as if you were actually in space with your friends. All of the mics distort your voice to sound like you are speaking on a radio that has limited range. In other words, if you separate you can’t hear each other. That’s also why the walkie-talkie radios are important. If a crewmate dies, they go silent but you are never notified when or if they perish. Allow me to paint a picture for you. You are on a crew of four people, the other three being your best friends in real life. One person volunteers to stay on the spaceship so they can monitor life forms and send intelligence to the crew. Another person holds the walkie-talkie used to communicate. For a while it seems to be going well. Your intelligence member is making sure you beeline to treasure and carefully navigate around monsters. However, as it starts getting late, your crew realizes they absolutely need more treasure to meet the quota and have to make at least another round trip in the dark night. You decide to stay behind during the second round, holding the radio. Only seconds later, you don’t receive confirmation from the other radio holder. Their body appears to be stationary on the monitor. The other two crew members have entered the caves without guidance. You decide to go after them just in case. While you do manage to catch up, you only come upon one of your friends who has nothing but a shovel and some scraps. You decide to lead them back to the spaceship, but they go silent. Now it’s just you, all alone and several dozen meters in the depths of the dark cave. You know that if you don’t bring back the found treasures that your entire crew will fail to meet the quota and you will lose the game. They can hear each other up in heaven. They are probably laughing or joking around, but you are terrified. Dropkick Murphys concert review: An outsider’s perspective By Natalia Williams Life, Arts and Entertainment Staff Writer This Wednesday, I attended a Dropkick Murphys concert, and as a mainly pop girl, I surprisingly had an amazing time. When my roommate asked if I wanted to go, I was reluctant but decided to go anyway for the experience. I knew absolutely nothing about the band aside from one song “I’m Shipping Up to Boston.” Before I went I decided to research a bit to find out about the band, and I learned that Dropkick Murphys are an American-Celtic punk rock band who were big in the early 2000s. Since they are a punk rock band and I’m not very familiar with that genre, aside from hits from bands like Green Day, I was nervous that I wasn’t going to enjoy the show, but I was proven wrong from the second I walked into the arena. Even before the show started, I felt an energy that I have never felt before in the concerts I’ve been to. It’s pretty indescribable but the energy was getting me excited. At the show there were two openers, Teenage Bottlerocket and The Menzingers. The first band that performed was Teenage Bottlerocket. I really enjoyed their set. The energy was amazing and they had some pretty good songs. However, my favorite out of the two was definitely The Menzingers. Their music had an early 2000s vibe to it and since that’s my preferred era of music, I really enjoyed it and it made me want to listen to more of their discography. One thing that was really cool that I was so happy to experience was the circle mosh pits. I’ve always seen them on social media and seeing them in person was so cool. I wanted to be a part of it even though I’d 100% get hurt. Overall, I’d give the openers an 8/10. They really got the energy of the crowd up and excited for the main act to come out. I enjoyed their music and it made me want to listen to the two groups and the genre as a whole a bit more. Now for Dropkick Murphys: 100% a 10/10. Even though I only knew one song, I was standing up and dancing the entire time. Their energy is incredible and they were very entertaining. They opened up with “The Boys Are Back” and it was the perfect opener. It got me extremely excited to hear more and I really enjoyed the way they blended the classic punk rock sound and celtic music together. Some songs I enjoyed were “Rose Tattoo,” “Captain Kelly’s Kitchen” and “The State of Massachusetts.” One thing I did notice which I’ve never seen before were people sitting down the entire show. Granted, we were in the nosebleeds, so maybe people thought there wasn’t a point in standing. However, every concert I’ve been to, even if we are in the nosebleeds, people are standing. I thought it was pretty interesting and it made me wonder if it was normal to sit at a punk rock concert if you aren’t on the floor. Overall I’d give the show from start to finish a 10/10. There was a vibe and energy I’ve never experienced, the music was quite enjoyable, and I had a ton of fun just vibing and dancing with my friends. I would put this show in my top 10 list of concerts just because of how different of an experience it was. It made me want to listen to the groups and the genre further and possibly go to more punk rock concerts. I also learned a valuable lesson about expanding my horizons and experiencing different shows whether I know the songs or not. �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 Opinion 16 How insulin price manipulation impacts students and universities Profiting at the expense of others By Yahn Olson Environmental Litigation Group, P.C. With the exorbitant cost of insulin practiced in the U.S. in the past decade, more and more private health insurers cannot offer this medication to their clients without charging premium prices for healthcare plans. Private and public universities that provide health insurance to students and staff now find themselves trapped in a never-ending cost increase, being forced to raise insurance prices and risk losing competitiveness and students over a life-saving medication that should be affordable to all who need it. At the same time, insulin manufacturers and special groups that can buy insulin at confidential prices report profits in the billions at the expense of people’s health and taxpayer money. The American Insulin Crisis: A System Built on Debt and Rationing In America, insulin can cost a diabetic person almost half of their income, while four out of five people with diabetes have to go into debt to afford this life-saving medication. Those who cannot manage these costs resort to rationing, meaning that they use far less than the recommended dose to keep their diabetes under control. Estimates indicate that across all patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes living in the U.S., rationing occurs in about 25% of cases. All these patients are at a significant risk of developing complications due to uncontrolled diabetes. The exorbitant price of insulin in America also drove health insurance costs on the verge of unaffordability for many, while at the same time, private and public insurers, even with premium price practices for diabetics, can no longer support covering these costs. As universities offer students automatic or optional healthcare plans, these educational institutions were among the insurers affected. This phenomenon impacted most self-funded universities, as these universities are no longer able to afford the healthcare costs of their staff and students with diabetes. Oregon, like other states, passed legislation to cap insulin prices at $35. Yet, this further strains insurers and patients as costs for healthcare plans were increased to compensate for the caps. Now, with the implementation of insulin caps, universities are forced to charge students with diabetes even more for health insurance. Those on private plans are at risk of rationing and subsequent diabetes complications that may cause them to withdraw from higher education, resulting in an indirect impact on university funding. In the meantime, within just 10 years, insulin manufacturers increased their prices by 1000%, with gross sales having more than doubled from 2012 to 2019, from $13 billion to $27 billion. However, after accounting for confidential discounts granted to Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and some insurers, net sales dropped from $8 billion to $5 billion within the same time frame. These differences between gross and net sales amount to an 80% price drop as a result of these preferential discounts. This translates to an unfair yet confidential discount practice through which some purchase insulin at hidden discounted costs. At the same time, manufacturers continuously increased the price of insulin to continue making a profit. All this was done at the expense of those outside their network, including patients whose lives depend on insulin. Impact of Insulin Price Manipulation on University Healthcare The Affordable Care Act (ACA) prohibits health insurers from discriminating against clients based on their medical conditions. In practice, for universities, this means that students with diabetes cannot be denied insulin coverage under their healthcare plans. As a result, universities have two options: either offset the costs through higher insurance premiums or regulate insulin access by increasing out-of-pocket expenses. However, the second option is no longer viable in states implementing insulin price caps. Consequently, raising health insurance premiums has become a common practice among private and public universities. However, as insulin prices continue to rise, university health insurance plans cannot increase indefinitely, as these costs have already surpassed affordability for many students. In response, universities may adopt unorthodox cost-cutting measures, such as limiting covered services, excluding certain insulin brands, reducing coverage for diabetes-related medical supplies, or increasing deductibles. These strategies allow universities to comply with ACA regulations on paper while subtly shifting the financial burden onto students with diabetes. Nevertheless, regardless of how unfair these practices may seem, universities, as well as other health insurers and patients, struggle to sustain these costs. Moreover, while intended to reduce expenses, these cost-cutting measures often cost universities and students more in the long run. Without proper diabetes management, many students may experience serious health complications, leading some to withdraw from their studies. This reduces university revenue from tuition and has long-term consequences for students, including chronic health issues and reduced earning potential in adulthood. Holding Insulin Manufacturers and PBMs Accountable Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk Inc., and Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, along with PBMs CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, OptumRx, and corporate affiliates, stand now as defendants in multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 3080). Plaintiffs in this MDL are diverse and include patients and various health insurers, including self-funded universities that suffered the most losses due to insulin costs. The defendants are accused of artificially inflating insulin prices through a complex scheme involving secret rebate agreements between manufacturers and PBMs. These deals allegedly prioritized profits over affordability, leading to skyrocketing list prices while PBMs secured kickbacks. Plaintiffs argue that this manipulation forced insurers, including self-funded universities, to shoulder excessive costs, ultimately passing the financial burden onto students and employees. Additionally, the litigation claims this market entrapment stifled competition, blocking access to lower-cost alternatives like biosimilars and generic insulin. Considering the evolution of the price of insulin in America, these accusations seem sufficiently substantiated. Additionally, other strategic decisions on the insulin market further reinforce this scenario. However, critics argue that large manufacturers are now stumbling to keep their place on the market as state legislation for partnerships with other companies manufacturing and selling insulin at a fraction of the cost can become a reality. On a parallel line, it must be recognized that the insulin price manipulation scheme was possible because of the absence of federal legislation that would prohibit manufacturers of lifesaving drugs from charging unrealistic prices for patients who quite literally need this medication for survival. The current MDL should thus catalyze the development of state and federal regulations that would limit the ability of pharmaceutical companies and PBMs to engage in price-gouging practices, ensuring that essential medications remain accessible and affordable. About the Author Yahn Olson is a legal professional at Environmental Litigation Group, P.C., concentrating on corporate misconduct cases. He is committed to advocating for individuals and organizations affected by unethical corporate practices and strives to hold companies accountable for their actions. �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 Opinion 17 What is Tokusatu, and why should you watch it? By Shawn Carey Asst. Opinion Editor If there’s one thing that you have to know about me, it’s that I have many, many interests. I am unable to enjoy a single franchise or form of media. I have to know everything about everything. Over the summer I watched the movie “Ultraman: Rising.” At the time, the movie was the newest addition to the “Ultraman” franchise. A series that I knew fairly little about. The extent of my knowledge came from the original 1966 show, something that I used to watch quite often. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much going into the movie. I was expecting to see some cool giant monster battles and to feel nostalgic. A solid 5/10 experience. With that being said, picture my reaction when I found myself tearing up during the final action scene. It surpassed all of my expectations. The movie is filled to the brim with heart and character. I absolutely loved it. About a day or so after finishing the movie, I decided to do some research on the series. What I thought was going to be fun and simple investigation turned out to be quite the rabbit hole. A rabbit hole that would quickly become a new hyperfixation. “Tokusatsu” is a Japanese term which translates to “special effects drama.” Tokusatsu as we know it today started in 1954 with the release of the very first “Godzilla” movie. Inspired by “King Kong,” the film’s special effects supervisor, Eiji Tsuburaya formulated many of the techniques that would become staples of the genre. Such as the use of miniatures and “suitmation.” The genre spent its early days pretty exclusively tied to the kaiju subgenre. Characters such as the aforementioned Godzilla lead the market for a few years. That was until in 1957 when Shintoho produced the first film serial featuring the superhero character “Super Giant.” The film was a huge success and caused the genre to shift to more superhero oriented stories. The next few years saw the creation of the three biggest tokusatsu franchises: “Kamen Rider,” “Super Sentai,” and the previously mentioned “Ultraman.” I have fallen in love with all three franchises and their many shows. With that being said, tokusatsu is a rather niche genre outside of its native language. Godzilla is really the only franchise that has any sort of popularity outside of Japan. Which brings me my reason for writing this article. I’m going to explain why I like the genre so much and why I believe you should give it a shot. First thing first, these are superhero shows. They’re all about fighting against the forces of evil and saving people. They’re rather unique with how they approach the concept, however. They’re known as “Henshin Heroes.” A Henshin Hero has distinct normal and powered up forms. They need to actively switch between the two via transformation devices. Unlike western superheroes, Henshin Heroes are powerless outside of their superhero transformation. This helps build a sense of drama when they’re walking around in their powerless civilization identities as well as create excitement whenever we see them transform. The three major series have their own unique transformations and tropes. For example, “Ultraman” features characters bonding with aliens to turn into giant silver humanoids. A power that they use to battle kaiju of earthly and extraterrestrial origins. Meanwhile, “Kamen Rider” has its characters transforming using belts. Every rider belt is unique and different, meaning that you’ll constantly see a different style of transformation. I find the transformation gimmicks to be incredibly interesting. I love seeing different variations of the same concept and just how different a simple idea can get. Which leads me to my next talking point, creativity. The big three “toku” shows operate in a similar fashion as “Doctor Who.” Each season stars a new cast of characters. However, it goes a bit further than just a new cast. Each season also has a different theme. For example, the current season of “Kamen Rider” is based around sweets. The season that came before was all alchemy. Before that it was a battle royale. Before that it was about hunting demons. So on. These shows have been on air for a half century. All three shows have 30+ seasons. With so many seasons and different ideas, I believe everyone can find at least one that interests them. Speaking from my own experience, I started with “Kamen Rider Saber.” A season based around fairy tales and other classic literary stories. Something I have an interest in. Now, as creative as the shows are, they do have their own set of tropes. Most episodes tend to follow the “monster of the week” format. Every episode has a villain who is expeditiously defeated at the end, never to be dealt with again. I’ve personally never really been a fan of this format. I never really had an interest in random monster battles. With that being said these shows manage to make it entertaining. The monster designs are so creative and weird. They’re really unlike anything I’ve seen before. They also tend to have a bit of a retro sci-fi flair to them if you’re a fan of that. As expected the action is also great. Everything is so big, flashy, and in your face. There’s martial arts, explosions, robots and pretty much everything that you thought was awesome when you were a child. It’s also just extremely impressive. Ninety percent of action scenes are created exclusively with practical effects. The monsters are actors in rubber costumes; the explosions are created with pyrotechnics; there’s stunt actors doing backflips in big chunky outfits, etc. Last but not least, I want to talk about the stories the franchise tells. Monsters and superheroes are cool, but none of that matters if the story isn’t good. It may be a bit cheesy sometimes, and sometimes, even too over the top but Tokusatsu is full of heart. “Ultraman” is all about not relying on an external force and trusting in yourself. “Kamen Rider” questions the true meaning of justice. “Super Sentai” is about unity and coming together to stop a bigger threat. Each season offers the viewer something new. I promise, you’ll get as hooked as I am. Graphic by Carol Stratford �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 Opinion 18 A review of "KAYTRAMINÉ," a collaboration album An analysis of performance, features, production, replayability By Logan Colonna Asst. Opinion Editor With the warmer weather upon us, I like to get more in the mood by listening to songs and albums that embody the summer vibe. One of my favorite cases of this is Aminé’s and KAYTRANADA’s collaboration record, “KAYTRAMINÉ.” It was released back in May 2023, just in time for the summer. When it was first announced, I was beyond excited for it since I was quite the Aminé fan back when it was released with his projects like “Limbo” and “TWOPOINTFIVE.” With that being said, I adore this album, especially during the warmer months with the different aspects of the production, Aminé’s performance and the various features throughout the tracklist. First as always, Aminé did great here vocally. Some stand out tracks for him are “4EVA,” “Master P” and “EYE.” As for “4EVA,” it was the lead single for the project, getting me even more excited than I was beforehand. The kind of vibe that Aminé introduces here is unmatched in the “chill” department. I remember when I first heard this track, I was on a University Towers balcony on a hot, sunny day, relaxing on a hammock while listening to this track. That entire scenario is embodied into this track. The way that Aminé pairs so well with the feature of the track, Pharrell, makes his performance even better. Next, “Master P” might be my favorite song off of this record with the combination of the incredible production and Aminé’s go-getter attitude all throughout his verses. Aminé practically skates along the production with his rhymes and incredible flow. Speaking of his flow, he switches it up quite a bit throughout the entire track, making for an interesting vocal performance during the whole song. Then, we have “EYE.” Aminé gets more melodic with his performance here, and I am the biggest fan of it. His voice throughout the chorus is honestly perfect. He then deepens his voice a little for his verses as a way to contrast his verses and the chorus, and I think the execution is fascinating. Overall, even besides the few standouts, Aminé did wonderfully with his vocals on this record. I don’t think anyone else besides Aminé would be able to create a record A feature that I didn’t enjoy all that much when I revisited it was Amaarae’s verse off of “Sossaup.” She used this high-pitched voice for her entire verse and just was not a fan. It’s different, sure. But being different isn’t a great thing sometimes. However, the other features take away from the single “meh” feature like this and have it sound just as good. Now, we have the features that pair up with Aminé on each track. My favorite feature is between Freddie Gibbs off of “letstalkaboutit” or Snoop Dogg off of “EYE.” You can never go wrong with a feature from Freddie, but I was also surprised by Snoop's verse since I honestly thought that he would be “washed” at this point in his career. To my surprise though, he absolutely delivered. Big Sean also did great on “Master P,” but I think he was overshadowed by Aminé’s best performance on the album a little too much for me to truly enjoy it all that much. so I cannot complain at all. Next up, we have the production. As I stated before, this record is a collaboration between Aminé and KAYTRANADA, the Grammy Awardwinning producer. Before this record, I haven’t listened to many of the songs he has produced, but since this record, I’ve enjoyed just about everything he put out. My favorite tracks production-wise are “letstalkaboutit,” “Master P” and “EYE” (a lot of variety, I know). “letstalkaboutit” offers a simple but effective instrumental. All it uses are the typical sounds you’d hear in rap songs nowadays. Sometimes though, simple can be great. When being used by Aminé to rap over, it just sounds great. Next, “Master P” used a sample that was created by taking vocals from a track that was on a soundtrack for a movie titled “Sadma.” The sample itself loops vocals of the artist chanting “Yah, yah, yah” as well as reversing the instrumental from the sampled track. Any kind of sample is the way to my heart, so being able to see the sample be created through the research I did was fascinating to say the least. To add on, the sample just sounds amazing. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for someone who loves experimental hip hop as much as I do, you’re bound to love this track. Lastly, yet again, we have “EYE.” I have one word as to why this instrumental is as good as it is. Triangle. The way the triangle is used at the end of each bar in order to fill up the void between each rapping point is genius. On top of that, the rest of the instrumental is great as well. It goes incredibly well with both Amine’s chorus and verse as well as Snoop Dogg’s verse. It’s like a nice little bow on the present that is the two artists’ performances. Besides these tracks, there are a handful of other songs that are just as good production-wise. Finally, this album is very replayable to say the least. The tracklist is 11 songs while the runtime is a short 33 minutes. This alone makes for a replayable album since the album is fairly short from start to finish. To add onto this, each song has its own distinctive soundscape. While all of the songs are just enough of the same to all be in the same album, they have minor things that set them apart from each other in order to create a cohesive and enjoyable listening experience. With everything being stated, I really enjoy this album. There's close to nothing that I dislike about this record. Besides the one feature that I talked about, everything is great at the very least. Because of that, “KAYTRAMINÉ” is a 9 out of 10 for me. Graphic by Carol Stratford �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 Sports Sports 19 Want your sport covered? Deserve to be Athlete of the Week? Contact the Sports Editor: zachary.paraway@wilkes.edu WIH bows out of playoffs after narrow loss to Colby College By Andrew Marshallsay Asst. News Editor �� Haylee Bouchard celebrates after hit a goal with Gianna Pacilio empracing her, who assited the goal. The goal came in a 4-3 loss in the ﬁrst round of the NCAA playoffs. �� The team takes the ice for pregame lineups before taking a 4-3 loss in the ﬁrst round of the NCAA playoffs. Photos by Sarah Johnson �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 Sports 20 Butka and Burkhart close storied careers as Colonels By Zachary Paraway Sports Editor It was a historic weekend for Wilkes wrestling as they closed out their 2024-25 season. The Colonels had two wrestlers make the NCAA National Championships for their respective weight classes. Representing the school was Sr. Cameron Butka at 197 lbs and Sr. Caleb Burkhart at 285 lbs. Both men walked into Saturday as number 1 and 2 in Wilkes history in total wins, with Butka at 134 and Burkhart at 124. Butka had a great season to that point, adding to his historic season from last year and a historic career. Butka went 39-4 last season, winning regionals and placing 4th in the nation, securing his All-American bid, the first for the school since 2015. He came into this year at 95 wins, looking to close in on the school record for wins at 121 held by Guesseppe Rea ‘17. Burkhart, a transfer to Wilkes after his first season, joined the Colonels and immedietly got to work on the school record books. He set the record for pins in a season with 24 during his sophomore campaign. His junior year saw him secure a 32-11 record, place third in regionals and qualifying for nationals. He came into 24-25 with 85 wins and the chance to both rise in the all-time wins ranking and reset his record for pins. Both had great regular seasons, accomplishing a lot for the team each. Burkhart went 39-9 on the season, bringing his career total to 124 wins and second in school history. He had 23 pins on the season, one behind his school record but it did lead all of Division III. He placed second in the region this time and qualified for nationals for a second straight year. The Open Mat had him ranked as 16th in the nation at his weight class and was an honorable mention from d3wrestle.com Butka had a year for the record books in his last season with the team. In January, at the John Reese Duals, Butka set the record for most career wins in school history, achieving his 122nd win in a 20-5 technical fall. He again won regionals and qualified for nationals for a second straight year. The Open Mat and d3wrestle.com had him ranked at second in his class, while the National Wrestling Coaches Association had him ranked at third in their coaches poll. Butka came into Saturday as the second seed in the 197 lbs weight class, and Burkhart came in unseeded for the 285 lbs. Burkhart took two defeats on that Saturday, ending his college career. He fell in a technical fall during the round of 32 and to a decision in the constellation bracket. Burkhart retires as one of the best heavyweights in school history. Butka had a bye for the round of 32 and jumped straight into the round of 16. He picked up his 1st victory via an 8-2 decision, and got his second win in an 8-1 decision to secure a top six finish and a second straight All-American bid. On Sunday, he picked up a 4-2 victory against the sixth seed to earn his shot at the national championship. He met 2-time defending national champion and number one seed, Massoma Endene of Wartburg College. Butka would unfortunately fall in this matchup in a 10-3 major decision. Butka finishes off this season with the most wins in school history for a single season, accomplishing a 42-3 record on the year. He will finish his career as a two-time All-American at 197 lbs and the school record holder for wins in a career with 137. Wilkes Wrestling will close the door on Butka and Burkhart careers and the 24-25 season. Next year will not only mark a new season for the squad but the introduction of a women’s wrestling team to the school, to be coached by current men’s coach Jon Laudenslager. To get more information about our wrestling teams and all Wilkes athletics, be sure to check out gowilkesu.com. BASEBALL SCHEDULE FEB 16 2:00 P.M. – AT SHENANDOAH UNIVERSITY (DH) – WINCHESTER, VA 3:00 P.M. – AT SHENANDOAH UNIVERSITY (DH) – WINCHESTER, VA FEB 22 11:00 A.M. – VS SUNY COBLESKILL – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD FEB 23 11:00 A.M. – VS KING'S COLLEGE (PA.) – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD MAR 1 6:00 P.M. – VS ALVERNIA UNIVERSITY – FORT PIERCE, FL MAR 2 12:00 P.M. – VS WAYNESBURG UNIVERSITY (DH, 7 INNINGS) – FORT PIERCE, FL 2:30 P.M. – VS WAYNESBURG UNIVERSITY (DH, 7 INNINGS) – FORT PIERCE, FL MAR 4 11:00 A.M. – VS LEBANON VALLEY COLLEGE – FORT PIERCE, FL MAR 6 10:00 A.M. – VS NORWICH UNIVERSITY – FORT PIERCE, FL MAR 8 1:00 P.M. – AT OSWEGO STATE (@BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY) – BINGHAMTON, NY MAR 11 3:00 P.M. – AT THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY – EWING, NJ MAR 15 12:00 P.M. – VS ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE (DH) – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD 3:00 P.M. – VS ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE (DH) – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD MAR 16 12:00 P.M. – VS ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD MAR 19 4:30 P.M. – VS PENN STATE HARRISBURG – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD MAR 22 12:00 P.M. – AT DREW UNIVERSITY (DH) – MADISON, NJ 3:00 P.M. – AT DREW UNIVERSITY (DH) – MADISON, NJ MAR 23 12:00 P.M. – AT DREW UNIVERSITY – MADISON, NJ MAR 26 3:30 P.M. – AT LYCOMING COLLEGE – WILLIAMSPORT, PA MAR 29 12:00 P.M. – AT CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA (DH) – WASHINGTON, DC 3:00 P.M. – AT CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA (DH) – WASHINGTON, DC MAR 30 12:00 P.M. – AT CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA – WASHINGTON, DC APR 1 4:30 P.M. – AT UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON – SCRANTON, PA APR 2 3:30 P.M. – AT DESALES UNIVERSITY – CENTER VALLEY, PA APR 5 12:00 P.M. – VS JUNIATA COLLEGE (DH) – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD 3:00 P.M. – VS JUNIATA COLLEGE (DH) – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD APR 6 12:00 P.M. – VS JUNIATA COLLEGE – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD APR 9 6:00 P.M. – VS LYCOMING COLLEGE – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD APR 12 2:00 P.M. – AT MORAVIAN UNIVERSITY (DH) – BETHLEHEM, PA 3:00 P.M. – AT MORAVIAN UNIVERSITY (DH) – BETHLEHEM, PA APR 13 12:00 P.M. – AT MORAVIAN UNIVERSITY – BETHLEHEM, PA APR 15 4:30 P.M. – VS UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD APR 17 6:30 P.M. – VS KEYSTONE COLLEGE – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD APR 22 3:30 P.M. – AT MISERICORDIA UNIVERSITY – DALLAS, PA APR 23 4:00 P.M. – AT LYCOMING COLLEGE – WILLIAMSPORT, PA APR 26 12:00 P.M. – VS SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY (DH) – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD 3:00 P.M. – VS SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY (DH) – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD APR 27 12:00 P.M. – VS SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD APR 29 4:30 P.M. – VS UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON – BRUGGEWORTH FIELD APR 30 3:30 P.M. – AT IMMACULATA UNIVERSITY – IMMACULATA, PA �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 Sports 21 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins cap off busy week with rivalry win By Adam Grunt Asst. Sports Editor The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins capped off a three-game week with a 5-3 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Sunday afternoon. WEDNESDAY, March 12: Penguins 5 vs. Hershey 4 The Penguins kicked off their week with a rivalry win against the first-place Hershey Bears. Ville Koivunen got the party started for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Rutger McGroarty scored shortly after his fellow rookie in Koivunen to put the Penguins up by two halfway through the first period. Hershey tied the game at two with goals from Dalton Smith and Ivan Miroshnichenko, but Mathias Laferrière gave Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the lead late in the second period. Chase Priskie knotted the score for Hershey at the end of the second period. The Penguins started off hot in the third frame, as Avery Hayes scored before the period was a minute old. Alex Limoges tied the game later on in the third, forcing the game to overtime. Neither team scored in the extra frame, so a shootout was necessary. Sergei Murashov stopped all five Hershey shots in the shootout and Sam Poulin was the only skater to score, clinching WilkesBarre/Scranton a much-needed victory. “Simply put, that was just a great hockey game,” said head coach Kirk MacDonald Wednesday night after the victory. “It’s a shame there weren’t more people here to see it. Just two great teams going at it.” FRIDAY, March 14: Penguins 1 at Lehigh Valley 3 Lehigh Valley got the best of WilkesBarre/Scranton in their first of two weekend matchups at PPL Center in Allentown, besting the visitors 3-1. Phantoms captain Garrett Wilson kicked off the scoring early in the first period, and McGroarty was able to tie the score during the second frame. Ethan Samson gave the Phantoms the lead, and the score remained 2-1 in Lehigh Valley’s favor until Zayde Wisdom concluded the scoring with an empty net tally. SUNDAY, March 16: Penguins 5 at Lehigh Valley 3 The Penguins enacted revenge on Lehigh Valley on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Phantoms in a physical, penalty-filled affair. The Penguins special teams, in particular, thrived on Sunday afternoon at PPL Center. Tristan Broz kicked off the scoring with a power-play goal three minutes after the opening faceoff. Almost immediately after, Joona Koppanen tallied a short-handed goal on a breakaway, giving the Penguins an early two-goal lead. Samson scored for Lehigh Valley for the second game in a row, cutting the Penguins lead to one just five minutes into the contest. Givani Smith knotted the score for Lehigh Valley three minutes into the second period, but Hayes put the Penguins back in front with a deflection that fluttered over Phantoms goaltender Alexei Kolosov. Nikita Grebenkin retied the game for Lehigh Valley in his first game as a Phantom, but Valtteri Puustinen gave the Penguins the lead once more off a deflection of an Owen Pickering shot from the point. “We talked after the second, we struggled to get pucks through from the point,” said MacDonald on Sunday afternoon following the Penguins victory in Lehigh Valley. “And then, low and behold, Picks does a great job, gets on his toes, good first move to the middle, and creates a shooting lane for himself, and gets a tip for the gamewinner.” Koppanen sealed the victory for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sunday with an empty net tally to conclude the afternoon’s scoring. With his ninth consecutive victory to begin his AHL career, Sergei Murashov is now tied for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton franchise record for a winning streak by a rookie goaltender. The 20-year-old Russian netminder tied Matt Murray who won nine consecutive games during the 2014-15 season. In addition, the Pittsburgh Penguins recently announced that forward Avery Hayes is signed to a two-year, NHL contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s parent club. Hayes has posted 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists) thus far in the 202425 season, and was formerly signed to an American Hockey League contract that was set to expire at the conclusion of the season. This allows Pittsburgh to recall Hayes at some point, either this year or next, to contribute at the National Hockey League level. THE WEEK AHEAD Wilkes-Barre/Scranton concluded a stretch of playing 13 games in 24 days on Sunday in Lehigh Valley, and rest before a pair of weekend home games. On Friday, the Penguins take on the Providence Bruins, who travel to Northeastern Pennsylvania for the first time this season. Providence currently sits behind the Penguins in the Atlantic Division in third place. On Saturday, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton takes on a familiar foe in the Hershey Bears. Hershey became the only team thus far to clinch a playoff spot on Sunday with their win over the Chicago Wolves. As of March 16, Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton sits six points behind the Hershey Bears. The two teams are set to face off three more times this season, and every game seems to become more meaningful with each passing day. For more information on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, visit wbspenguins.com. Rutger McGroarty embraces goaltender Sergei Murashov after the Penguins victory over Hershey on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of KDP Photography �The Beacon - March 19, 2025 22 Sports Athlete of the Week Audrey Milne Sophomore, Goaltender, Women's Ice Hockey The Beacon: Female Athlete of the Week Milne was named the first ever MAC Women’s Ice Hockey Championship MVP, making 20 saves and allowing only one goal in the team’s 2-1 championship victory over Arcadia. Major: Sports Management Hometown: London Onterio, Canada What had been your favorite sports memory from your time as a Colonel? My favourite sports memory as a Colonel has to have been winning the MAC Championship game withmy team! If you did not play your current sport, what sport would you have wanted to play? Soccer or Basketball What has been your favorite sports memory overall? My favorite sports memory was winning the league playoff championship with my Junior team in London. What is your favorite professional sports team (any sport)? My Favorite sports team is the What is your favorite post-game Pittsburgh Penguins. meal? Chicken and Salad What is your favorite thing to do away from sports? How do you feel about being I enjoy rollerblading and hanging selected as the Athlete of the out with friends. Week? I am very honoured to be selected What is your favorite part of for this amongst many well being an athlete at Wilkes? deserving athletes at Wilkes My favourite part of being an athlete University. at Wilkes is the unconditional support from all the staff and other student athletes What sports movie is your go-to for movie night? Miracle Compiled by Samantha Mullen, Asst. Sports Editor The Beacon//Samantha Mullen Editor’s note : Athlete of the Week s elec tions are deter mined by the spor t s staff each week. At the e nd of the acade mic year, we w ill post a reader poll on Tw itte r @ Wilkes B eacon to c row n an “Athlete of the Year." �The Beacon March 19, 2025 Sports Athlete of the Week Jack Mathis Sophomore, Middle Inﬁeld, Men’s Baseball The Beacon: Male Athlete of the Week Mathis went 4-for-12 with one triple and two runs scored for the Colonels during a 1-2 week. He finished 2-for-3 against Oswego connecting on a single and triple in the Colonels 6-2 setback. What has been your favorite sports memory overall? Making the state championship What had been your favorite my sophomore year of high sports memory from your time as school. a Colonel? My best memory as a Colonel was What is your favorite postplaying baseball on our Florida game meal? spring break trip. Moe’s Major: Finance Hometown: Exeter, PA What is your favorite professional How do you feel about being sports team (any sport)? selected as the Athlete of the New York Yankees Week? It’s a great honor to be recognized What is your favorite thing to do amongst the top athletes at away from sports? Wilkes. Hanging out with my dog and sleeping. What is your favorite part of being an athlete at Wilkes? Just being around all my teammates and getting better. What sports movie is your go-to for movie night? Waterboy If you did not play your current sport, what sport would you have wanted to play? Basketball The Beacon/Sam Mullen Compiled by Samantha Mullen, Assistant Sports Editor Editor’s note : Athlete of the Week s elec tions are deter mined by the spor t s staff each week. At the e nd of the acade mic year, we w ill post a reader poll on Tw itte r @ Wilkes B eacon to c row n an “Athlete of the Year." 23 �24 The Beacon - March 19, 2025 Door’s open! �� Contact: sydney.allabaugh@wilkes.edu kalen.churcher@wilkes.edu MEN’S LACROSSE SCHEDULE FEB 15 1:00 P.M. – VS ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE (LANDMARK) – SCHMIDT STADIUM FEB 22 1:00 P.M. – VS UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT BRADFORD – SCHMIDT STADIUM FEB 26 4:00 P.M. – VS MARYWOOD UNIVERSITY – SCHMIDT STADIUM MAR 5 5:00 P.M. – AT VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY – VIRGINIA BEACH, VA MAR 8 1:00 P.M. – VS LEBANON VALLEY COLLEGE – SCHMIDT STADIUM MAR 12 7:00 P.M. – AT KING'S COLLEGE (PA.) – WILKES-BARRE, PA MAR 15 1:00 P.M. – VS HOOD COLLEGE – SCHMIDT STADIUM MAR 19 7:00 P.M. – AT ALVERNIA UNIVERSITY – READING, PA MAR 22 1:00 P.M. – VS MORAVIAN UNIVERSITY (LANDMARK) – SCHMIDT STADIUM MAR 26 7:00 P.M. – AT MOUNT SAINT MARY COLLEGE (NY) – NEWBURGH, NY MAR 29 1:00 P.M. – AT JUNIATA COLLEGE (LANDMARK) – HUNTINGDON, PA APR 2 7:00 P.M. – VS DREW UNIVERSITY (LANDMARK) – SCHMIDT STADIUM APR 5 1:00 P.M. – AT GOUCHER COLLEGE (LANDMARK) – BALTIMORE, MD APR 9 7:00 P.M. – VS LYCOMING COLLEGE (LANDMARK) – SCHMIDT STADIUM APR 12 12:00 P.M. – AT SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY (LANDMARK) – SELINSGROVE, PA APR 16 6:00 P.M. – AT UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (LANDMARK) – SCRANTON, PA APR 26 1:00 P.M. – VS CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA (LANDMARK, SENIOR DAY) – SCHMIDT STADIUM � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wilkes Beacon Newspaper Collection, 1947-present Description An account of the resource This is Wilkes University's Beacon Newspaper collection, 1947-present. We also have digitized copies of the Beacon's predecessors, The Bucknell Bison Stampede, 1934-1935 and The Bucknell Beacon, 1936-1947 June. It should be noted that Wilkes University does not have a complete set of issues for the Bucknell Bison Stampede and Bucknell Beacon. For researchers who are interested in seeing the complete issues for these publications, please contact <a href="https://researchbysubject.bucknell.edu/scua">Bucknell University's Special Collections Department</a>. Missing Issues: 1947 August 8th 1947 September 5th 1947 October 3rd 1947 October 17th 1947 October 31st 1947 November 21st 1947 December 19th 1948 September 9th 1950 April 28th 1953 April 10th 1962 February 2nd Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Beacon staff is comprised of Wilkes University students who are advised by a full-time faculty member of the Communication Studies Department. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1934-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright of the Wilkes Beacons is retained by Wilkes University. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Newspaper Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Professor Emeritus Harold Cox digitized the collection from 1934-1970 and created a <a href="https://beaconarchives2.wilkes.edu/">legacy website</a>. Digital Archives student John Jenkins digitized the collection from 1970-present. Special thanks goes to Communication Studies Professor Dr. Kalen Churcher, Editor-in-Chief Kirsten Peters, Beacon staff member, Emily Cherkauskas, and other Beacon staff for their help in acquiring digitized copies of the Beacons from 2006 onward. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wilkes Beacon, 2025 March 19 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Communications Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2025 March 19 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Type The nature or genre of the resource Newspaper https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/8535b3d70b0cd5c5950f76b3e8ad15f6.pdf 3c8283618af233350d971b68e624721a PDF Text Text The Beacon - April 9, 2025 THE BEACON Est. 1936 Pa. Newspaper Association Member Wilkes University - Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Volume 77, Issue 20 1 “The news of today reported by the journalists of tomorrow.” Crowds gather in Wilkes-Barre for “Hands Off !” protest By Leah Smith News Editor “When we fight, we win!” was shouted across the Wilkes-Barre Public Square on Saturday, April 5 at the ‘Hands Off !’ rally. Over 1,000 ‘Hands Off !’ rallies were held across the country as a mobilization movement to protest against the Trump administration. The phrase ‘hands off ’ is used to object threatened budget cuts to several federally funded programs, like Medicare and SNAP. This also expanded to women’s rights, public education and immigration rights. Action Together NEPA organized two protests in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area. The rally in Scranton was held from noon to 2 p.m., and the rally at the Wilkes-Barre was from 3 to 5 p.m. Action Together NEPA is the organization behind the rallies in the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton area. Action Together’s organization is a progressive organization that focuses on community action and empowering advocacy. They hold chapters in Luzerne, Lackawanna, Columbia, Montour, Susquehanna and Wayne counties. State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski addresses the crowd at the Wilkes-Barre “Hands Off!” protest. Photo by Leah Smith Transgender Pride ﬂag raised in Wilkes ceremony, page 4 Annual Sex Bingo returns to campus, draws crowd, page 7 The downside of announcing movies early in advance, page 17 ...HANDS OFF cont. on p.3 Wilkes Baseball hosts Landmark series against Juniata, page 19 �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 News News 2 Have a breaking story or a press release to send? Contact the news editor Leah Smith at leah.smith1@wilkes.edu Student Government notes: April 2 weekly meeting By Kayla Bicskei News Staff Writer Student Government met for its 11th weekly meeting of the Spring 2025 semester on April 2. The meeting addressed five funding requests from Wilkes University clubs and organizations. The Student Government Treasurer’s report showed a current budget of $22,003. The first presentation was given by the Future Business Leaders of America organization for its week one of two funding request. The organization reported its mission of inspiring and preparing students to become business leaders through career preparation and leadership experiences. The organization is qualified to attend the Future Business Leaders of America National Conference in Dallas, Texas, from May 31 to Jun. 2. To fund the hotel room, flight, and registration costs, the organization is requesting a total of $2,280. The Future Business Leaders of America organization will return next meeting for its week two of two funding request. The Art of Living Club was next to present its week two of two funding request. The club is planning to host two events before the end of the Spring 2025 semester. The first event the club will host will be a Nepalese New Year’s Celebration on April 13. The club is requesting a total of $500 to fund the food, utensils, and decorations for the event. The second event hosted by the club will be an off-campus trip to a Hindu monastery in New Jersey on April 18. To fund transportation to the monastery, the club is requesting a total of $5,000. Due to the Student Government’s request for more information about the club’s planned off-campus trip, The Art of Living Club will return next meeting for another week two of two funding request. The Math Computer Science Club presented their week two of two funding request for an off-campus trip to the National Museum of Mathematics. The club is working in collaboration with the Commuter Council to use the same transportation for two different trips on the same day. The club presented that exploration of the museum is an opportunity for club members to experience math is used in practice. Along with the museum, the club members will be able to explore New York City. The Math Computer Science Club is requesting a total of $500 for transportation to the National Museum of Mathematics. Student Government voted to allocate an augmented amount of $1,200 to completely fund the transportation and food costs of the trip along with a visit to the Lego store. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers organization was next to present with its annual Car Show week two of two funding request. The organization reported that there is an anticipated attendance of 350 people this year. The organization also announced that all profits of this year’s Car Show will be donated to Patriots Cove, a nonprofit charity organization. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is requesting a total of $4,325 to fund the shirts, DJ booth, trophies for the best cars, and flyer printing. Student Government voted to allocate the full $4,325. Christian Fellowship Club presented the final week two of two funding request of the meeting. The club preparing for its participants’ attendance at the 2025 Women’s Conference from April 4 to April 6. The club representatives reported that club members in attendance will listen to speakers and attend seminars teaching them how to manage the challenges of life as women with grace. The Christian Fellowship Club is requesting general funds for its attendance at the 2025 Women’s Conference. Student Government voted to allocate $390 to the club to fully fund the trip. Student Government will meet again on April 9. Beacon Briefs: Upcoming campus events Compiled by Andrew Marshallsay Wilkes Integration Bee Open to all undergraduate students, the sixth annual Wilkes Integration Bee will take place on April 12 at the Darte Center. Winners will receive either a $200, $150 or $100 prize. Participants are reminded that they should know integration techniques covered in Calculus. Fall Parking Pass Applications Applications are now open for the Fall 2025 semester parking passes. The deadline to apply is July 1 at 5 p.m. If you have any questions, you can contact 570-408-7275. The link can be found on today.wilkes.edu. X Ambassadors Concert Tickets Tickets for the Programming Board’s X Ambassadors conc ert are now on sale, both online and in-person. To purchase tickets, you can go to the SUB on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the normal movie ticket sale times. Tickets for Wilkes students are $15 and $25 for non- Wilkes students. The Concert will be held on April 12 at 7 p.m. in the MAC. 2025 COBE Research Symposium The 2025 College of Business and Engineering Research Symposium will take place on April 14 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the JPAC. The event serves as a way for both faculty and students to showcase their research and academic achievements. For more information, you can contact mona. pear@wilkes.edu. Table of Contents News..................2 Life, A&E............7 Opinion............14 Sports................19 Upcoming Events: Spring 2025 April 11 - Tom Bigler Conference 2025 12 - X Ambassadors Concert 14 - COBE Research Symposium 15 - Honors Applications Due 25 - SOMA Night Lights 30 - Final Day of Classes Want your event featured in the calendar? Email: leah.smith1@wilkes.edu �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 ...HANDS OFF cont. from p.1 In addition to Action Together NEPA, the Pennsylvanians Together Campaign were also involved in the afternoon’s rally. Mark Schaffer of the campaign took the mic to explain what the Trump administration has planned to do with federally funded resources such as social security and SNAP. “They want to get rid of these programs to make themselves richer,” Schaffer said. “These programs are ours, not theirs.” Several other speakers took the mic at the heart of the public square. Speakers such as Kayla Johnson, a veteran who spoke about how the Trump administration has been hurting veterans such as herself by placing cuts on veterans’ resources. She expanded on her fight for veterans to those struggling finding psychological help and to LGBTQIA+ soldiers that are in jeopardy of being out of the military. “One team, one fight!” Johnson cried out. Other speakers such as Jimmy Signorelli, a nurse at Geisinger Medical Center, addressed how billionaires are hurting those working in the medical field. Signorelli was one of the attendees of the Geisinger nurses’ strike in February. In addition to that, Lois Scrimm, a News mother who uses SNAP, spoke up about her experience as a single mother on food stamps providing for her son. “Without these programs, my son and I would’ve been on the streets. I was able to work for me and my son with these programs,” Scrimm said. Finally, State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski closed the rally. Pashinski reminded the crowd that the people represent this country, not the billionaires. “What is happening in Washington is destroying America,” Pashinski said. He continued his speech by reminding the people to call their representatives to stand up against the Trump administration and to keep fighting. The Wilkes Democrats club held a signmaking session at Abide Coffeehouse before the rally. Kyra Hoyt, friend of the Wilkes Democrats and a King’s College student, attended the sign making session and opened up as to why she wanted to fight back. “I’ve been looking for an outlet to make change,” Hoyt stated After the rally, several attendees stayed on the square to hold their signs high and to collect more support from passersby in cars and on the streets. Photos by Leah Smith Demonstrator in Wilkes-Barre Public Square protests Trump and Elon Musk. 3 Protester in a monkey costume with a sign that reads: "A monkey can do better." A protester holds sign advocating for LGBTQIA+ and women's rights. �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 News 4 Transgender Pride flag raised in Wilkes University ceremony By Leah Smith News Editor “Diversity is having a seat at the table, inclusion is having a voice, and belonging is having that voice be heard.” This quote by author and illustrator Liz Fosslien was used by Wilkes English professor and GSA faculty adviser Helen Davis during the Transgender Pride flag raising on, April 1. International Transgender Day of Visibility, known as simply Trans Day of Visibility, is recognized on March 31. The day of recognition was established in 2009 and is still acknowledged to this day. This day recognizes the trans community in not only solidarity but also in recognition of those in that community. Wilkes University celebrated Trans Day of Visibility by raising a trans flag at the flagpole in the greenway. The previous night, the GSA also hosted a ball in recognition of Trans Day of Visibility. GSA President Morgan Steiner kicked off the breezy morning meetup with words that acknowledged the hard times and tribulations that the trans community has gone through and are continuing to go through. She also took the time to recognize the school’s protection for those in the trans community. “Our trans people are just here to be treated equally and loved like everyone else,” Steiner said. Then, the Wilkes Title IX coordinator Elizabeth Leo took the podium and added her words of solidarity to the trans community. Leo held a meeting about Title IX changes being placed on campus earlier this year. What she said then still holds now: that trans students will be protected and not scrutinized. “These are anxious times for those in the LGBTQ+ and trans community,” Leo said. “We are going to double down on our commitments for those who are marginalized.” After some brief words from Dr. Davis, she opened the podium to students who were willing to go up and share a personal story about their experiences. Aster Rowland, a junior student, took the microphone first. Rowland opened up on a personal story during Thanksgiving break involving an unaccepting family member while also thanking her close family for not sharing that particular family member’s closeminded attitude toward sexuality. After Rowland, Ozzie Priebe, a political science major, came to the podium and shared facts with the audience -- facts about schools firing teachers for spreading awareness and posters that opened up love and equality towards their students. “To be an ally is to speak up for those that can’t,” Priebe said. The last speaker before the pink, white and blue flag soared in the sky was a graduate student Assétou Xango, who shared a brief spoken word poem about identity and a need for progressive change around the world. Dr. Davis concluded the podium section with final words including information about resources for those in the LGBTQIA+ community who are seeking help on campus as well as additional advocacy for the trans community. To conclude the ceremony, Rowland and Priebe wheeled the flag high in the sky with thunderous applause. Photos by Leah Smith Assétou Xango shares a spoken word poem on the greenway. Ozzie Priebe speaks at the Transgender Pride ﬂag raising ceremony. Aster Rowland shares a personal story on International Trans Day of Visibility. �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 News 5 Wilkes students voice technology concerns after GIS data loss Sydney Allabaugh Editor-in-Chief Wilkes University students from the biology and earth systems sciences (BESS) and civil and environmental engineering (CEE) departments recently met with administrators to voice concerns and discuss solutions after losing years of geographical information system (GIS) data in a drive failure. “The importance of communication was definitely emphasized there and working together to try to solve the problems and concerns that they have as well as ours,” said Caleb Edwards, a junior environmental science and biology double major who attended the meeting. Prior to the meeting, students sent administrators a letter containing eight pages of student testimonies regarding technology concerns at Wilkes. Students quoted in the letter were not just from the BESS and CEE departments, but from digital design and media art and beyond. “It’s nice that we can actively make a change if we play a part in working towards it,” Edwards said. The meeting primarily focused on the GIS drive failure and its resulting setbacks. The drive stored data, research, senior projects and course files dating back a decade or more. Edwards lost foundational research for his senior project that builds upon 10 years of previous work. “We had some scraps that we're pulling together that we saved elsewhere, but a lot of the main work has disappeared, so it was kind of just starting from square one again,” he said. Reagan Weldon Peri, a junior geology major who also attended the meeting, lost all her data for her senior project and two and a half years of lab work. More than a week of her classes were canceled as well. “The mental impact it has had on my professors has been hard for me, especially with my one professor, Dr. Karimi,” she said. “He has lost 15 years’ worth of work as well as $20,000 worth of aerial photos that he's been collecting.” Dr. Karimi previously said he has been staying up late and sacrificing his personal time to remake lectures, assignments, exams and labs. He also has been trying to figure out how to progress his research after losing much of it. “Because this is such a small community, we really get to know each other, both classmates and the professors, so a win for one is a win for all and a loss for one is a loss for all,” Edwards said. “This failure definitely impacted a lot of the community, not just professors, but students alike.” Edwards and Weldon Peri said that they felt administrators heard their concerns and answered their questions at the meeting. “I do genuinely think that they did really hear what was in the letter because they were referring to the quotes that they had read previously,” Weldon Peri said. Kerianne Geist, associate vice president of marketing communications, said in an email, “We appreciated the students’ time and thoughtfulness in presenting their IT concerns and remain committed to open dialogue to address various issues.” However, the students also felt that some of their concerns were not fully understood. “Overall, I think they were sensitive to the issue, but I just don't think that someone who hasn't done this type of research can fully understand the gravity of this loss,” Weldon Peri said. They were dissatisfied with attempts to minimize the impact of the loss and reduce it down to a routine technological failure. “The hardware of the server breaking is routine, but what wasn't routine was the failure of the backup system,” Edwards said. “So, the server failing isn't necessarily out of the ordinary, but the backup system is really what was concerning.” The students and Dr. Karimi said the drives were sent to a company that specializes in data recovery. It is not yet known if the data can be recovered. “Myself and Faith, my senior project partner, have already had to redo work because of this,” Weldon Peri said. “It's not like we can just pause and wait for this all to be recovered. We have to continue working on our senior projects.” Administrators and students developed a plan to help mitigate future technological problems. They put an emphasis on improving communication. “Importantly, it was agreed that the university would reinforce guidance that students should contact the IT Help Desk (#HELP) to report issues such as slow WiFi so they can be specifically addressed,” Geist said in an email. “Changes have already been made to the portal and web graphics, and communications about the Help Desk will be more frequent.” Gerald Korea, ITS executive director, sent out an email to all students a few days after the meeting. Korea reminded students to use the “Colonel” network and to contact the Help Desk with any problems regarding internet connectivity or software updates and licensing. “An important outcome of the meeting is that we can be part of the solution,” Edwards said. “Students can actually contribute towards improving technology at Wilkes.” Wilkes will soon hold a blood drive: The importance of donating Shannon Slominski Photographer Donating blood saves lives. Did you know one donation of blood can save up to three lives? Wilkes University will hold a blood drive on April 22. Anyone interested in donating can register to reserve a spot. Blood donations help hospitals maintain a steady supply in emergency situations like traumas and emergency surgeries. That is why blood drives play a vital role in communities across the country. The demand for blood is constant. Hospitals require a steady supply throughout the year, and blood drives help maintain this critical resource. According to the American Red Cross website, anyone 16 or older, weighing 110 pounds or more can donate blood, provided they are in good health. Individuals can donate blood every 56 days, or up to six times per year. Increased awareness about this ongoing need can mobilize communities to organize and participate in regular blood donation events. Every donation has the potential to save multiple lives. One pint of blood can be separated into its components red cells, plasma, and platelets, each serving vital functions in medical treatments. For patients undergoing major surgery, those battling cancer, or victims of accidents, a steady supply of blood can make the difference between life and death. Blood drives not only provide a necessary medical resource but also foster a strong sense of community. By participating in these events, individuals come together with a shared purpose, promoting teamwork and collective responsibility. Each donor becomes a part of a larger effort, reinforcing social bonds and encouraging a culture of giving. Blood drives are vital to saving lives, fostering community spirit, and enhancing public health. By understanding their importance and actively participating, we can ensure that our communities remain strong, compassionate and prepared to meet the medical needs of all individuals. Sign up to reserve a spot. To register, visit redcross.org and use the code WILKESU. TO REGISTER: CODE: WILKESU �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 News 6 Wilkes University mourns the loss of Joshua Pittenger By Brady Melovitz Layout Designer/News Staff Writer On March 16, Wilkes University was deeply impacted by the news of student Joshua Pittenger's unexpected death. Pittenger was a senior civil engineering major from Bangor, Pa. According to his obituary, Pittenger was born in Bethlehem, Pa. on Feb. 17, 2002. He went to Bangor High School where he was a student athlete, being named the Scholar Athlete for the high school football team. During his free time, he enjoyed wrestling, kayaking, camping and spending time with his family and friends. Pittenger came to Wilkes University in 2024 after transferring from Northampton Community College. Following Pittenger's death, Wilkes University President Greg Cant sent out an email to Wilkes students, faculty and staff. “In his time on campus, (Pittenger) made a positive impact on his faculty and fellow students with his academic dedication and strong, steady presence,” Cant said in the email. Dr. Brian Whitman, professor of environmental and civil engineering, had Pittenger as a student. Whitman mentioned Joshua’s light-hearted attitude in class and more specifically his smile which he had everyday. “Josh worked well with others and always came in with a smile and was eager to learn,” Whitman said. “I was sad to hear of his passing.” Whitman also mentioned how Pittenger was always in the front row of the classroom, which showcased his enthusiasm and excitement for his classes. Shiv Patel, senior chemistry and neuroscience major, spoke to the person Pittenger was outside the classroom. “He was very jolly,” Patel said. “His energy was never down and he would always have a smile whenever I would see him. You know if I could describe him in a word, jolly is what I would say.” Not only was Patel a fellow student to Pittenger, but they were also neighbors. “It still feels surreal, you know, one day he is here and you're talking to him and the next he’s gone,” Patel said. A memorial service for Pittenger was held on campus in the Savitz Lounge to celebrate Pittenger's life and legacy. As the Wilkes campus continues to mourn the loss, Mark Allen, associate vice president for Student Life and Success, advises students who need support during these difficult times to reach out. “As we navigate this tragic loss, let us lean on one another, offering kindness, strength, and support to those who need it most,” Allen said in an email. “As a Wilkes community, we remain steadfast in our commitment to caring for one another and ensuring that no one faces their grief alone.” For support, call 570-408-4100 to schedule an appointment with the Counseling Center in Passan Hall from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m Monday through Friday. Resources are also available to students 24/7 at 570-408-CHAT (2428). Joshua Pittenger. Photo from Joshua Pittenger's obituary. Students visit Wilkes at Admitted Colonels Day By Sydney Allabaugh Editor-in-Chief Isabella Barberio photographs a future Colonel in the MAC. Wilkes students tell admitted Colonels and their families about clubs and organizations on campus during the student activities fair. Wilkes University President Greg Cant addresses the crowd. �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 7 Life, Arts & Entertainment Life, Arts & Entertainment Have any events or artists to be shared? Contact editor-in-chief Sydney Allabaugh at sydney.allabaugh@wilkes.edu Annual Sex Bingo returns to campus, draws crowd By Kailey Vogel News Writer April 1 was an exciting day for students on campus. Reslife hosted its annual Sex Bingo allowing students to learn about safe sex while competing for various sex related prizes. Some baskets such as the “Sneaky Link” and “Not Your Parent’s Sex Talk” baskets consisted of books, toys, and latex-free condoms for winners. Students formed a line outside SLC 105 around 7 p.m., eager to get inside. Kendyl Keefer, a sophomore prepharmacy student, was among one of the many attendees that came out to participate. “I wanted to win a prize, but I did not,” she said. Students were encouraged to wear teal to be entered for a door prize. Extra boards were also sold for $1 each. All proceeds were donated to the Victims Resource Center, which had an informational table available throughout the night. By the end of the event $132 was donated to the cause. Resident assistants Brennan Reiner and Gabriel Sawarynski informed students of the risks of STIs and promoted safe sex through an informational PowerPoint. They informed students that “one in five college students has been abused by an intimate partner and almost one in three college women is a victim of dating abuse.” Each slide highlighted the importance of consent and contraception use. Various statistics were also displayed. Near the end of the presentation, slides provided resources for those who have been, or may know someone who has been, sexually assaulted. “We gotta teach the importance of having safe sex. I mean, we showed the statistics of STDs. You have cases of Resident assistants pour mocktails for students to enjoy with their pizza. Students attending Residence Life’s annual Sex Bingo learned valuable information on sexual health and sexual violence before playing bingo for a variety of themed prizes. Photo by Kailey Vogel HIV and STDs that run rampant,” said Sawarynski. “You have cases of lawsuits too because people unknowingly give STDs. “So, presenting and raising awareness for that is really important to make sure that people perform safe sex.” Bingo followed the informational session and tiebreakers consisted of answering sex related questions based on the earlier educational slideshow presentation. Giada Gowden was the winner of one of the baskets distributed throughout the night. When asked how it feels to win sex bingo, the first-year nursing major replied, “It’s definitely different from winning regular bingo.” Throughout the game, resident assistants walked by and dropped Skittles into students’ mocktails. This demonstrated how easily it is to be roofied or drugged, warning students of the dangers. When the event concluded, some students left having important conversations on the information they had learned. “I think my favorite part about sex bingo was Gabe’s presentation. I love seeing our RAs get out of their element and to go up and do presentations that engage people and get people riled up and having a good time,” said Daniel Yap, Slocum Hall RA. Safe sex and sexual assault are important topics to be educated on in college. Reslife was able to incorporate this education into a fun game of bingo. Students were reminded that if they see something, they should say something, because no one is, nor should be alone in a time of need. Wilkes University offers many resources for students on campus. Free Counseling Services are offered on the second floor of Passan Hall and Health Services provide STD counseling for students. They also supply free condoms and women’s sanitary supplies. �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment Sydney Allabaugh: 8 Sam Mullen: Open Hearted - The Garden Night Moves - Bob Seger Leah Smith: Brady Melovitz: Bury the Light - Casey Edwards Tarzan Boy - Baltimora Andrew Marshallsay: Shawn Carey: Good Directions - Billy Currington Maggot - Dazey and the Scouts Each week, the Wilkes Beacon staﬀ picks their favorite song of the week. Check out this week’s bops! �The Beacon – March 19, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment 9 Wilkes University Theatre puts on As You Like It By Anthony Kehs Special to the Beacon Editor’s note: Anthony Kehs is a cast member of As You Like It. After four years, The Bard is back onstage at Wilkes. The Wilkes University Theatre Department presents As You Like It, directed by Jon Liebetrau and assistant directed by junior musical theatre major Maddie Meier, this weekend in the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts.. Wit and romance thrive in this comedic Shakespeare play, where feuding brothers spark exile and transformation. Young Orlando escapes his wicked brother Oliver and wins the heart of Rosalind, daughter of the exiled Duke Senior. After being banished herself by Duke Frederick, Rosalind disguises as a man and flees with her cousin, Celia and the court fool, Touchstone to the Forest of Arden. In the Forest of Arden, love blooms and identities blur until truth is revealed and peace is restored with weddings and forgiveness in the wilds of the wood. “we are setting [As You Like It] in the 1960s around the Summer of Love/Woodstock era where there was a real confrontation between the establishment and the antiestablishment, which I think mirrors what we are experiencing today and the turmoil they went through in that era,” Liebetrau said. “I think it’s really important in these times when people disagree, to watch a play that starts out with many people disagreeing and finding ways to come together and create a better union.” First-year musical theatre major Antonio Torres enjoys the giving of themselves to the play. “The most exciting part of rehearsal is that we get to play. We are still in that stage where we get to play with the script and make it our own,” Torres said. In addition to being the last show of From left, first row, Antonio Torres and Kasey Karoli. Second row, Bella Ruiz and John Quick. the 2024-2025 season, As You Like It will also be the final show at Wilkes for seniors Kasey Karoll and Bella Ruiz “I love this role so much because I see a lot of myself in her, and I think I’m bringing a lot of myself into this character,” said Karoll, who plays Rosalind. “She’s such a me character. “I am also really proud of everyone in it. I think everyone is bringing a little bit of themselves into the world of the play and it makes the show all of the more special, which only makes leaving harder.” Ruiz plays Celia. “I am so thankful for this opportunity. It’s kind of like a capstone in a way where I am able to think about everything that I have learned beforehand and somehow encapsulate it into giving the best performance I can to say goodbye to the stage.” Liebetrau hopes the audience will be able “to think and process and find ways to accept people that don’t necessarily think the same way that they do, but will get along with them and can create an environment where people work together and can accept each other.” The Wilkes University Theatre Department will perform As You Like It on April 10, 11 and 12 at 8 p.m. and April 12 and 13 at 2 p.m. The cast includes Torres as Orlando, John Quick as Oliver, Jesse Lawson as Adam/William, Karoll as Rosalind, Ruiz as Celia, Caleb Flannery as Touchstone, Anthony Kehs as Duke Senior, Evan Cole as Duke Fredrick/Corin, Elias Brix as Charles/Silvius, Elena DiSciullo as Phoebe, Hope Jacobus as Audrey, Ella Villani as Le Beau, Alby Lopuhovsky as Jaques, Rocco Pugliese as Amiens, Madelyn Rex as Duke Senior’s First Lord, Lexi Wesnak as Duke Senior’s Second Lord/Sir Oliver Martext, Melissa Reyes as Duke Fredrick’s First Lord, Jacob Cintronelle as Duke Fredrick’s Second Lord, and Maddie Meier as Hymen. Tickets cost $15 for general admission, $10 for students and seniors, and are free for anyone with a Wilkes University ID. To purchase tickets for As You Like It, please visit wilkes.edu/theatre or visit the box office an hour before showtime at the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts on the corner of West South and South River streets. �The Beacon – April 9, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment 10 Finals season means practicing self-care By Natalia Williams Staff Writer With finals season approaching, prioritizing self-care and taking care of mental health is extremely important. The end of the semester can be a really busy time with papers, exams and projects, which often causes students to forget about their well-being. But forgetting to take breaks and neglecting one’s overall mental health, can make it harder to succeed in assignments or things that need to be done in general. “Self-care involves the activities that we intentionally engage in to maintain our physical, emotional, and mental wellness.” said Maria Richards, the Director of Counseling at the University Counseling Center. Practicing self-care during finals week or a stressful time in general is important because it helps reduce stress and anxiety, and it can help with productivity. It can alsoprevent burnout. “One of the most important self-care practices is establishing a regular routine of eating and sleeping. This keep our bodies and our minds nourished and replenished to fuel the energy and focus need to complete tasks and manage stress,” Richards said. Everyone has different ways to care for themselves that works best for them. “Some examples are reaching out to friends and family, engaging in a hobby, practicing relaxation techniques (yoga, meditation), and listening to music. It is important to identify activities that offer recharge and rest, not just distraction or numbing,” Richards said. Juggling many exams and/or projects can be tough. Time management and balance is important in order to prevent burnouts or even more stress. “I think a good starting point in managing stress when facing multiple demands is to be proactive with maintaining balance,” she said. “This involves being intentional with prioritizing and organizing time not only to study, but also building breaks to rest and recharge.” Each student during their time at Wilkes or their school career overall has found their way of taking breaks and balancing their time. “I balance my breaks and study by figuring out what space is really needed,” said sophomore business administration major Jaylin Cazares Gaspar. “For example, I would like to study right before class and if I have a two hour gap between classes, the first hour is a break and econd hour is study.” For self care methods, Jaylin says she takes breaks every couple of minutes so she doesn’t overwork herself. According to sophomore nursing major, Anthony Vissotski, organization helps him. “I have a very strict schedule that allows time for both studying and down time. And what I do during breaks is drink water and chill.” Finding a favorite way to take brain breaks during studying is imperative for a smooth and less stressful studying session. “... these breaks are what are inherently needed at regular points during these times in order to maintain a healthy mindset.” Richards gave several ideas for relieving stress, including taking a short break by going for a walk outside, calling a friend or listening to music. Not only are taking breaks and time management important, but staying connected with family and friends is another aspect as well. All can provide a feeling of comfort and a strong support system provides motivation. “If students are struggling, opening up to a trusted friend or family member is a powerful step,” according to Richards. “One can start by asking, ‘Do you have time to talk?’ in order to convey that you’re reaching out.” The Wilkes University Counseling Center offers free counseling for students in need of emotional support or just someone to talk to. “Some students come regularly, and others come as needed. It can help talk things through with a counselor, and students come for a variety of reasons (stress, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, relationships, and many more)...When Wilkes students have an urgent need to speak with a counselor, 27/7 support is available 570-408-CHAT (2428).” With the last final months of he academic year coming up, prioritizing self-care is incredibly important and essential. Taking study breaks, managing stress and things to do can make a huge difference in mental health and overall academic success. Students can reach out to the counseling for an appointment at 570-408-4100 and to get more information, visit wilkes.edu/ counseling for more information. Is your club launching a fundraising event? Looking for new members? Let us know. You could be featured in an upcoming edition of The Beacon. Email kalen.churcher@wilkes.edu with details and contact information. �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 11 Life, Arts & Entertainment Spring Crossword Puzzle Spring Crossword Puzzle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Across 3. Common ingredient in Easter recipes; it could be eaten on its own. 6. Often seen after a spring rain shower. 9. The month that marks the start of summer, but it's still spring in the early days. 10. A place where flowers or vegetables are planted. 11. A week-long Jewish holiday celebrated in the spring. 12. A popular spring flower. Down 1. Hindu spring festival characterized by colorful powder. 2. April ____ bring May flowers. 4. What animals often do in the fresh spring grass. 5. A colorful insect often seen in spring. 7. What flowers do in spring. 8. A spring holiday often associated with eggs and bunnies. Across 3. Common ingredient in Easter recipes; it could be eaten on its own. 6. Often seen after a spring rain shower. 9. The month that marks the start of summer, but it's still spring in the early days. 10. A place where flowers or vegetables are planted. 11. A week-long Jewish holiday celebrated in the spring. 12. A popular spring flower. g y r l e t 12 m t o s p 11 a 10 8 Down 1. Hindu spring festival characterized by colorful powder. 2. April ____ bring May flowers. 4. What animals often do in the fresh spring grass. 5. A colorful insect often seen in spring. 7. What flowers do in spring. 8. A spring holiday often associated with eggs and bunnies. r d e e z 6 3 e g 4 a s n s r 9 j u n w o r a i g 1 n b h l s o 2 f v e r o e a u e l 7 t b t w u 5 h Spring Crossword ossword Puzzle b i p ��The Beacon - April 9, 2025 Opinion Opinion 14 Have an opinion or want to write a guest column? Contact assistant opinion editors: shawn.carey1@wilkes.edu or logan.colonna@wilkes.edu. Editorial Staff 2024-25 MANAGERIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief - Sydney Allabaugh Social Media Manager - Megan Davis Adviser - Dr. Kalen Churcher SECTION EDITORS News - Leah Smith Sports - Zach Paraway ASSISTANT EDITORS News - Andrew Marshallsay Opinion - Logan Colonna Opinion - Shawn Carey Sports - Adam Grundt Sports - Sam Mullen DESIGNERS Head Designer - Lara Mullen Designer - Carol Stratford Layout Designer - Brady Melovitz Photographer - Shannon Slominski SECTION STAFF WRITERS News - Kayla Bicskei LA&E - Natalia Williams Opinion - “Freeze” Sports - Ava Tureen Sports - Lexi McHugh 141 S. Main Street Clayton and Theresa Karambelas Media & Communication Center Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766 Phone - (570) 408-5903 www.thewilkesbeacon.com Want to advertise in The Beacon? Contact: Kalen Churcher at kalen.churcher@wilkes.edu or Sydney Allabaugh at sydney. allabaugh@wilkes.edu. The Beacon Est. 1936 Pa. Newspaper Association Member Our Voice Each week, The Beacon’s editorial board will take a stance on a current issue. Importance of holding celebrities accountable Celebrity culture is really something to behold. We spend so much time and resources monitoring each and every moment of these celebrities’ day. While many celebrities choose to avoid the limelight to some degree, there’s plenty that embrace it. It’s not uncommon to see celebrities interacting with fans. There’s meet and greets, social media, mailing lists, whatever else. On paper there’s nothing wrong with this. It’s a great way to build community. Some celebrities take it too far however. Unwanted messages, creepy DMs, inappropriate touching. There are celebrities that believe that they can do whatever they want and get away with it. This often fails. Recently, former “Impractical Joker” star Joe Gatto was accused of messaging and sexually assaulting a 19-year-old fan. The star allegedly got the young individual drunk before leading her back to his hotel room in September 2023, a year and a half ago. That’s how long it took for the allegations to go public. As of now, it’s currently unknown if Joe is going to face charges. Out of every 1000 sexual assaults, 975 perpetrators will walk free, according to RAINN. Even if the allegations are true, it could be possible that he will get no more than a slap on the wrist. This entire situation begs the question: Should we be holding celebrities more accountable? We often view celebrities as mythical figures. We look up to them; we’re inspired by them; we want to be them. Much like heroes of myth, they can do no wrong. We forget that they’re human just like us, humans with influence and power. They aren’t our friends; we don’t truly know them. While I don’t doubt that there’s plenty of celebrities that appreciate their fans, there’s plenty that treat them as just a number. It can be difficult to put them down at our level. After all, most people don’t have an army of thousands of loyal followers, which is why I believe that we shouldn’t. We should instead expect more. They don’t have the same resources or responsibility as us; they have even more. It’s because of this that we should expect them to use them wisely. If they want to be treated like heroes, then they should act like it. We should also always expect the worst. It is a rather depressing thought but it’s something to think about. Who knows what these people are hiding or how much money they’re spending to keep the victims silent. Even in cases in which celebrities are found guilty of harassment, assault or worse, there are fans that defend their actions. We should not give these individuals a pass just because they are famous. Everywhere you go you see it. Treat celebrities as you would treat a stranger. Letter to the editor policy: The Beacon welcomes letters to the editor from differing viewpoints. Letters must contain contact information, including name, city, state and phone number. Phone numbers will not be published but may be used for verification purposes. All letters to the editor must be sent using one of the following methods: Email: sydney.allabaugh@wilkes.edu Phone: (570) 408-5903 (Voicemail: 30 seconds or less, please.) Mail: 84 West South Street, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18766 Attn: The Beacon �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 Opinion 15 The Icebox: The Nintendo Switch 2 is almost here By “Freeze” Opinion Staff Writer Welcome back to the Icebox. In today’s issue, there is a rather critical matter to discuss. The “Nintendo Direct” for the successor of the Nintendo Switch finally aired globally. Not even seconds into the presentation, my mind was blown. The Direct begins with a detailed trailer for the latest installment in the Mario franchise, “Mario Kart World” which can have up to 24 racers. The courses are gigantic and a mix of tracks from previous games; the roster is quite abundant, previously vaulted items are making a return and you can drive around in an open-world setting. That last bit is clearly a lot to unpack for a Mario Kart game. As a kid I always wondered how cool it would be to just be able to drive anywhere. Now it looks like my dreams are becoming reality with the “free roam” game mode where you can get together with your friends and drive around on a large map. The Switch 2 revealed some of the features that everyone suspected before. The JoyCon 2 does feature a mouse sensor and is claimed to be more durable. Everything about the console is bigger except for its thickness. The console will support 1080p resolution with 120 frames per second in handheld mode and potentially supporting 4K resolution when docked. The dock houses a separate cooling system so that higher-power gaming is within reach. The native storage space is now 256 gigabytes, which is eight times that of its predecessor. Funny enough, Nintendo has only just caught up to industry standards. This hardware is impressive for a Nintendo console, but relatively tame otherwise. It’s the fact that Nintendo creators never fail to make their projects super unique that carries them such a long way. Another positive note here is that the console has everything that people were hoping for. As previously discussed in an online issue of the Icebox, there is a mysterious “C” button on the controllers. That has been revealed to toggle a new feature called “GameChat.” This allows players to connect to each other in real time with voice, screen sharing and even video if they purchase the Nintendo webcam accessory. This addition to the console is absolutely insane, acting as a built-in alternative to Discord. While the exact performance is still up in the air for this, it’s clear that Nintendo wants to support the family-friendly aspect of gaming with this feature. Additionally, Nintendo has finally made greater measures to enhance the definition of “Nintendo Switch family.” First, it was revealed in another recent Direct that the systems would support virtual game cards. These are transferable copies of a digital game that can be shared with other consoles. The Nintendo Switch 2 will also be able to locally share a game to another console so both can run the game at once, just like how the now-discontinued DS systems. Transferring data from one console to another has also been made easier and faster. Of course, some of these features will require a Nintendo Online membership. Speaking of Nintendo Online, there is still no intel on whether or not the service has been improved. Fans are hoping for “rollback netcode” which is the most optimal way to arrange an online service for a video game. Games from the original Switch will be playable on the Switch 2, and some of them are even receiving updates to push potential for the new hardware. For example, the open-world Zelda games will be playable in 4K on the Switch 2. “Mario Party Jamboree” will actually include entirely new content that will make use of the new mouse and webcam features. Mario Kart is usually the designated launch title for Nintendo devices, but along with it are many Nintendo originals and collaborative projects, some of which are very surprising. Needless to say, a lot of bold statements were made when Nintendo revealed some of the launching and developing titles. For example, a Nintendo-exclusive game by FromSoftware, called “The Duskbloods” is going to be released soon. The same developers made “Elden Ring,” which is also going to be released for the Switch 2. Several big titles have already pitched in with their normal editions, such as EA Sports and Square Enix. The Switch 2 Direct has been an absolute revival of the Nintendo atmosphere, which died years ago. Not only did the representatives indirectly challenge competitors, but they have already established a spotlight with Indie developers. Why you should play the “Devil May Cry” video game By Leah Smith News Editor Upon the release of the highly anticipated Netflix anime adaptation of the video game series “Devil May Cry,” people online have vocalized their interest in not only the show but the game series in general. This is your guide to the series, what to expect and how to purchase the games. “Devil May Cry” is a Capcom distributed video game series. This game would be categorized as a hack-and-slash franchise akin to that of the “Doom” and “God of War” series. “Devil May Cry” is led by the franchise’s pizza-loving and charismatic protagonist Dante. Dante is one of the sons of the devil, Sparda. Sparda is the devil hero that came from this game’s version of hell who vowed to protect the human world from hell’s evil forces. However, when Dante and his brother Virgil were children, they were ambushed and their human mother Eva was killed and Sparda disappeared and later killed. His body becomes a sword that is used later in the franchise. “Devil May Cry” is Capcom’s most underrated franchise despite it having a highly anticipated and beloved anime adaptation and niche internet fanbase. There has not been a new game to enter the series since “Devil May Cry 5” in 2019. The series offers a fun charismatic lead as well as other fan-favorite characters: Virgil, the most recurring antagonist, Trish and Lady, Dante’s partners in his demon hunting business ventures, and Nero, who ends up becoming a co-lead in the franchise’s later games with Dante. “Devil May Cry” is an incredibly fun game series with a fun and engaging storyline that newcomers will be able to follow along with pretty easily. The combat and gameplay improves as the series progresses. Obviously, since the first game came out in 2000, playing the game nowadays would prove challenging but nostalgic. The series is not in chronological order though. “Devil May Cry 3” is technically where the series begins in terms of Dante’s journey into finding out he is half-demon and beginning the demon hunting business. How you play the games is up to you of course, but if you are one for chronological order then “Devil May Cry 3” is the place to start. The series offers an array of fun and exciting gameplay and weaponry and the later installments sure test your skills with those elements. The gameplay in the series tests your combo skills by indicating a meter that starts from D and goes up to SSS. By reaching to SSS, you will be able to reach more points that you can use to purchase in the games’ store options. In the early games, the store is located via a golden lion statue while in “Devil May Cry 5” the store can also be reached via statue but mostly from the van driven by side character, Nico, who builds weapons for the leads Dante and Nero. If you end up liking the show and are interested in the games, I highly recommend checking out “Devil May Cry.” The series is one of my all time favorite video game franchises because of the fun gameplay and engaging plot and characters as well as the game’s hard rock/nu-metal aesthetic and presentation. There is a collection including the first three to four games located on online platform stores and at gaming stores in person. The fifth game is sold by itself but should be available at a reasonable price. �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 Opinion 16 Baseball’s Torpedo Bats: Nothing special, but they may work By Andrew Marshallsay Asst. News Editor The New York Yankees have started their season on a hot streak, launching home runs like clockwork in the early stages. Propelled by a high powered offense, one thing has stood out: the new “torpedo bats.” Designed by a physics professor hired by the Yankees, the bats were created to better help a hitter find their sweet spot on the bat. The barrel on these bats is fattened at the certain part of where a certain player tends to make the most contact on a standard-issue bat. The bats aren’t anything entirely new, and they aren’t a way for players to cheat. Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton used one in the 2024 postseason and had a good stretch of games during the AL Pennant run. New York Mets shortstop Franciso Lindor used one as well last year and finished as a National League MVP finalist. Other than that, it’s not entirely clear when these bats first appeared in baseball. Major League Baseball has come out and said that the bats are completely legal and don’t violate any rules on equipment. However, the bats aren’t really anything special. Some have come out and said that the bats are “wrong” or “cheating,” but really, they’re just giving a player a better idea of where to hit the ball. Most baseball players tend to hit the ball with the same part of the bat over, and over again. Pure sluggers are going to have a certain point of contact with the bat, contact hitters are going to have another point of contact. With the torpedo bats, the main aim is to just maximize hitting. Again, there are some that say that the bats are illegal, but they just aren’t. Unlike corking a bat which gives the bat less weight, the torpedo bat weighs the exact same as a normal bat. There’s nothing illegal about it, it’s just about maximizing contact. It changes for every player, thus the torpedo bats are for different players. Since they’re just now being adopted by teams and players other than the Yankees, the science and links between the bats and increased hits just isn’t there yet. It’ll take some time before we really know if these bats are working. Quite frankly, the bats may give advantages to hitters, the key word being “may.” The evidence may be there, however it’s too early to tell if these bats are actually contributing to home runs, or good players are just starting the season having good games. While they may be a cool thing, they may well just end up being a gimmick. However, those who use the torpedo bats seem to like them so far. Alternate history: The New Order vs. The Man in the High Castle By Noah Garraoui Contributing Writer The most common question among those who discuss alternate history is, “What if the Axis had won World War II?” And by most common, I do mean it’s a subject that has been beaten to death and then beaten even more. Nevertheless there is still a way to do it well and a way to do it poorly, and as such I submit two examples to demonstrate a case in which this alternate history scenario was engaged with on realistic, intriguing, and nuanced grounds, and other that isn’t. Respectively, I am referring to the “Hearts of Iron IV” mod, “The New Order,” and the book turned TV show adaptation, “The Man in the High Castle.” And yes I would like to clarify that I am saying the video game mod has superior world building to the big budget TV. The whole subject is surrounded by conjecture of how modifying something or other about the Axis war effort would have decisively turned the tables on the Allies, so before getting into the meat of this subject, I feel beholden to dispel some of these theories and the faulty grounds they depend upon, though they are not ones which either example rest upon. First and foremost, the loss of the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk would have been extremely unlikely to catalyse a British surrender. Churchill had made up his mind about no peace for cooperation with Nazi Germany. While manpower would have certainly been a concern in the face of the loss of a third of a million men, this could have been remedied by troops from the Commonwealth. Furthermore, Germany was never going to invade England. Consider the monumental effort it took to enact D-Day, technological innovations, the sheer quantity of men and material, and the near total control of the air and sea. Even at the height of its capabilities, Germany was nowhere near able to pull this off primarily because of how outmatched the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine were to the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. Last among the myths of how Germany could have won WWII is to simply concentrate the German invasion of the Soviet Union upon Moscow and take the city before the onset of winter. This point misunderstands the character of Stalin and the nature of the war between the USSR and Germany. It was a total war, and for the Soviet Union, it was a war of survival in which German designs post-war dictated the eradication of the inhabitants of Eastern Europe. As such, the loss of their capital would in no way meant the end of the Soviet war effort, and for a megalomaniac like Stalin, no amount of defeats would mean he would concede the war. Returning to the comparison of our two titles, I start with our positive example, “The New Order.” A short book could be written about the extensive lore of this mod but in broad strokes, this mod starts the game in 1962 after Nazi Germany lands a man on the Moon, beating the USA and Japan. Right from the start, the world is far more dynamic and realistic. First of all, Germany never invaded the United States nor conquered it; the United States survived the war and founded the Organization of Free Nations, basically NATO, and welcomed the former British Commonwealth. Meanwhile, Germany has hegemony over Europe in an alliance called the Einheitspakt. Nominally, this includes a semi-independent France, a puppet Kingdom in England, Germany proper, and its colonies made out of Soviet Territory in the East. The German Colonies themselves are another small slice of realism, as the Nazi dream of German families settling and subduing the East Failed. Instead, there is a near-ongoing partisan warfare, and the colonial governments burden the Reich with economic and material reliance. Speaking of the East, The Soviet Union collapsed and lost its territory east of the Arkhangelsk- Astrakhan Line and collapsed into a multitude of various warlord states ranging from burgeoning democracies, Nazi Aligned warlords, or former soviet generals all fighting over the future of Russia. To the South of Germany, Italy under Mussolini split with Hitler and created his own faction with Turkey and a United Iberia for mutual protection in case of a Nazi invasion. All of this is barely scratching the surface of the sheer effort and love that went into crafting the world of “The New Order,” and it’s all the more impressive considering it’s a mod for a video game. Now shifting to “The Man in the High Castle,” the world map is basically two blobs: a big Reich blob over Europe, Africa, North America, and part of South America, and a big Japan blob around the Pacific and into India. How does Germany or Japan even have the manpower to occupy all these territories? Who knows? Why aren’t there constant rebellions all the time? I have no clue. Why did the Unites States surrender after getting nuked once? Why did Germany pursue nuclear weapons when Hitler mistrusted nuclear science out of antisemitism? What is life even like in the Reich? There are no answers to these questions. There is so much information integral to making the world in “The Man in the High Castle” work that is ignored, skipped over or is incongruent. For a TV show with a budget of $70 million, there is so much more that could have been done with the world building. �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 Opinion 17 The downside of announcing movies in advance By Shawn Carey Asst. Opinion Editor We live in an age of nonstop media consumption. There’s constantly new movies, shows and games being released. Most of these projects, such as the superhero ones, were announced years in advance. For example, July’s “Fantastic Four: The First Steps” was first announced all the way back in 2019 at San Diego Comic Con, six years ago. We have known of this movie for half a decade. So what gives? When and why did studios start to do this? Why is the existence of a movie public knowledge to the public before it even made it to the production stage? These early announcements are a pretty recent phenomenon. Like with most entertainment trends we can tie it back to Marvel. Back in 2011 the studio announced “phase 2” of their cinematic universe, once again at San Diego Comic Con. Marvel showcased the dates, titles, plot summaries of their next couple films. Everything from 2013 “Ironman 3” all the way to 2015 “Ant-Man.” The studio did this to show the public that they had a grand plan for their cinematic universe that Marvel was going to be around for the years to come. Soon after, other media giants decided to jump on the cinematic universe bandwagon. Warner Bros. and DC announced the DCEU, Lucasfilm announced a large list of Star Wars films and shows that would be releasing in the coming years, Sony created their own universe of Spider-man related characters. While most of the projects announced were finished and released, there were a few outliers. DC had to cancel their Ben Affleck led Batman movie, Star Wars had to cut most of their TV shows, and so on. These connected universes were mostly successful. At least for a time. Ever since the pandemic began, it seems like general audiences are becoming less and less interested in these joint projects. The last few DCEU movies were box office bombs causing the studio to reboot the entire thing, Sony scrapped their universe entirely and Star Wars is no longer the cultural landmark it once was. The MCU is seemingly the only connected universe still standing, and even then they’ve been running into problems. Mostly involving the characters of “Kang the Conqueror.” Kang was meant to be the universe’s movies usually serve as the big phase ending movies. They’re framed as these huge cinematic experiences. Movies that are meant to get the whole world talking. Kang didn’t have the best introduction but perhaps there was still a chance to get the audience to care about him. All Marvel needed to do was release a project that showed him as a legitimate threat. Something that they never got to new big bad, following the widely popular Thanos. Played by Johathan Majors he first appeared in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” The movie was both a critical and financial failure, which proved to be rather unfortunate for the studio. The villain was meant to headline “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.” For those who don’t know, the Avengers do. On March 25, 2023, Jonathan Majors, the actor that was going to play Kang, was arrested in New York City and was later found guilty of one misdemeanor assault charge and one harassment violation after allegedly striking his girlfriend Grace Jabbari in the head with an open hand and breaking her middle finger by squeezing it. One of Marvel’s leading actors was now a criminal. As you can imagine the studio panicked. The big event they’ve been building up to was now in trouble. They obviously couldn’t use the actor, or even recast him. Marvel didn’t even want to acknowledge the allegations. So, what were they going to do? Recast Robbie Downey Jr, their original frontman as a villain. Last year it was announced that RDJ would be playing fan favorite Marvel villain “Doctor Doom.” This in turn made “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” essentially meaningless. The movie no longer mattered. While Marvel has had a handful of other problems within the past couple of years, such as not being able to find a director for Blade. Nothing beats the entire Kang situation. So, what can studios do differently? These early announcements are done to build hype. They want the audience to get excited for what’s to come. They however, also lead to them being disappointed. Imagine being a fan of a character. Let’s use Ghost Rider as an example. Comic Con comes around and you’re eagerly waiting for a movie announcement. It’s time for the Marvel panel and instead of your favorite hero getting a movie, Marvel announces a fourth Thor movie. All you can do after is wait and hope for one next time, whenever that may be. Nothing stays the same, you really can’t plan a decade into the future. You honestly can’t even really do a year. Sure, you can have a concept, but still you can’t tell people to expect something. As messy as the game’s industry is, it at least seems like they know how to showcase a product. Most games tend to get announced at most two years before release. While they are some exceptions, this seems to be the standard practice. There’s nothing wrong with getting viewers excited, you just have to figure out the proper course of action. Graphic by Carol Stratford �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 Opinion 18 A review Nav's newest album "OMW2 REXDALE" An analysis of performance, features, production, replayability By Logan Colonna Asst. Opinion Editor I’d like to start this by saying that I am not a NAV fan in the slightest. I never made time to get to know his music all that well besides the more famous songs from his catalog. I know that most music fans are very one-sided regarding him though. You have the one side that is practically die-hard fans and enjoy just about anything that he released. Then, you have the other side that automatically says that the music is bad without even giving it a solid listen. To find out which side I’m on, I’ll be reviewing his new record, “OMW2 REXDALE.” I’ll take into account certain areas like the performance of NAV, the features he got together for this project, the production and the replayability of the album. First, Nav did pretty decent on this record. My favorite song on this record was the intro, “SINKING.” This is all because of his vocals on the track. I know very little about NAV, but I do know that he’s not known for his lyrics. While they’re not bad by any means, they’re not something that is going to blow your mind. Because of that, I think he knows that his appeal is his voice. With that in mind, we get tracks like this that are more melodic than usual. I also really enjoyed “U.N.I.” quite a bit. Yet again, it’s because of his vocals and his flow. As a whole, NAV is just a very melodic artist. Overall, NAV is honestly great performance wise. As for the features on the record, there’s only a couple. We have Don Toliver on “YOU” and Playboi Carti on “UNLIMITED.” As for Don’s feature, he offers his typical cloudy vocals. What he does here isn’t amazing by any means, but he creates a nice soundscape for the music to exist in. He does a great job of keeping the same vibe that NAV set up in the beginning with his verse. Even the rapping he does throughout his verse is pretty good. As for “UNLIMITED,” it’s practically Playboi Carti’s song. He gets an intro, “rock out,” and I am just not in the mood for repetition like that as of late. It’s kind of funny that I’m now like this because when he first released “JumpOutTheHouse,” I was in love with it. I bring this up because he repeats “jump out the house” 30 different times. two verses, the pre-chorus, chorus and an outro. I get why this wasn’t on his record “MUSIC” that just released since it wouldn’t fit whatsoever, but I find it weird whenever artists get a feature and are heard more than the original artist. While this isn’t a bad thing, it just irks me a bit. I thoroughly enjoyed Carti’s verses, but I cannot bring myself to like the chorus. All it is is Carti repeating Do not ask why. Anyways, the features are both decent. Nothing too bad or too good here. In regard to the production on the album, there’s seriously no track that stands out to me positively or negatively. Each track is good, but that’s about it. “SINKING” and its production is solid, but again, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. However, we do have a collaboration track with “legendary” producer Metro Boomin and NAV on “REAL ME.” I say that with the quotes because with the way that Metro Boomin is anymore, I didn’t expect anything amazing. With that, the instrumental on the track is alright at most. In my opinion, Metro Boomin has been declining shortly after his record in 2022, “HEROES & VILLAINS.” Since then, he’s just not hit the same sound that I loved from that record. Overall, the production is good at most. With the decency of the production bringing the record down, we have something that is better in comparison, the replayability. The record is fairly short coming in at 14 tracks and only 36 minutes. Like I’ve said in the past, I enjoy records that are shorter since they’re often times more cohesive as an album. The records that are over 30 songs (thanks Playboi Carti) are just unlistenable, front to back, when you want to listen for the fifth time or so. The record here also offers different sounds on each track, helping its credibility in the replayability department. Overall, I’ve enjoyed listening to the record front to back because of its great replayability. As you can probably tell, NAV is decent this time around. I can’t say that I’m much of a fan, or hater, at this point because I know that he definitely has some “meh” projects out there but I have to listen to them to really understand the people’s hate. I do get that people may not get the appeal to NAV, and I think that’s why he has so many haters. With all of that being said, I think if you typically listen to NAV, you should give this record a try. Regardless, NAV’s “OMW2 REXDALE” gets a 6 out of 10. Graphic by Carol Stratford �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 Sports Sports 19 Want your sport covered? Deserve to be Athlete of the Week? Contact the Sports Editor: zachary.paraway@wilkes.edu Wilkes baseball hosts Landmark Series against Juniata By Andrew Marshallsay Asst. News Editor �� ¡¡�� ¢�� Photo by Wilkes Athletics �� Wilkes Baseball seniors celebrate their last home games with the team during double-header against Juniata. �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 Sports 20 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins look to bounce back this week Game recaps, the week ahead, news and notes By Adam Grundt Asst. Sports Editor After two games against a tough opponent, the Cleveland Monsters, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins look to make a final push for a first-round bye in the Calder Cup Playoffs. The Penguins have already clinched a spot in the 2024-25 postseason, but are looking to solidify themselves in one of the top three spots in the Atlantic Division in order to clinch a first-round bye. After this weekend’s games, WilkesBarre/Scranton sits in third place, just one point ahead of the fourth-place Providence Bruins. They are two points behind Charlotte, who is in second place, and five behind the two-time defending Calder Cup Champions, the Hershey Bears. FRIDAY, APRIL 4 – Penguins 1 – Cleveland 7 The Penguins offense was drubbed by the Monsters on Friday, as the team was outplayed at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland. Roman Ahcan tallied the first goal of the game for Cleveland during the first period, and then the Monsters rattled off three goals to take a 4-0 lead into the third period. Mikael Pyyhtiä, Ahcan, and Guillaume Richard scored for the Monsters during the middle frame. Five minutes into the third, Cleveland extended their lead to 5-0 with a goal from James Malatesta. Vasily Ponomarev tallied the only goal for Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton, his 15th of the season. Luca Del Bel Belluz scored Cleveland’s sixth of the night with three minutes remaining in the third, and Ahcan completed the hat trick with his third of the night with a minute left. SATURDAY, APRIL 5 – Penguins 0 – Cleveland 3 Another stellar performance from Cleveland’s defense and netminder Jet Greaves was in store on Saturday night as the Monsters rebranded as the Cleveland Pierogies. Cleveland kicked off the scoring 36 seconds into the game with a goal from Hunter McKown. Just over six minutes into the game, McKown struck again to put the Pierogies ahead by 2. The two-goal Cleveland lead carried all the way into the third period, until former University of Michigan Wolverine, Gavin Brindley, concluded the night’s scoring at 13:35 of the final stanza. Penguins’ rookie netminder Sergei Murashov stopped 21 of 24 shots in net. THE WEEK AHEAD The Penguins do not play a game until April 11, when they return home to Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza for a grudge match with a bitter rival, the Hershey Bears. As previously stated, the two teams are separated by five points in the standings as of April 5. Penguins’ defenseman Filip Král leads all active skaters with 11 points (3G – 8A) in the season series thus far through 10 games. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton returns to home ice the following night for their annual community night rebranding, presented by Visit Luzerne County. The Penguins are rebranding to the Carbondale UFOs, an ode to the alien spacecraft’s alleged crash during the 1970’s in the Lackawanna County town. In addition, the first 2,000 fans to arrive at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza will receive a Joel Blomqvist bobblehead. The team faces off against the Springfield Thunderbirds, and puck drop is slated for 7:05 p.m. NEWS AND NOTES The Penguins are without two of their leading point producers until the end of the regular season. Rookie sensations Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty were recalled to Pittsburgh, and Koivunen made his NHL debut on March 30, a 1-0 win against the Ottawa SCHEDULE & TICKETS Senators. Koivunen’s family made the trip from Finland to Pittsburgh and were in attendance at the game. McGroarty collected his first NHL point, an assist on a goal from Bryan Rust in Thursday’s game against the St. Louis Blues. Later in the game, Koivunen tallied his first NHL point with an assist on McGroarty’s first NHL goal, a marker that tied the game late in the third period. The two rookies were pictured postgame with the puck from McGroarty’s goal and Koivunen’s point. If the Pittsburgh Penguins are to become eliminated from playoff contention, reinforcements will most likely be on the way. Koivunen and McGroarty will likely return to Northeastern Pennsylvania, and Tristan Jarry is eligible to return to the team as well for the Calder Cup Playoffs. For more information on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, visit wbspenguins.com. �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 Sports 21 MLAX: Wilkes drops back-to-back in conference play By Ava Tureen and Zach Paraway Contrubuting Writers The Wilkes Men’s Lacrosse team just finished up their last week, having played two games. They hosted Drew University on April 2 and traveled to Goucher College on April 5. The team came into last week with a 4-7 overall record and a 1-2 record within Landmark Conference play. The previous week was a successful one for the team as they went 2-0 for the week with wins against Mount Saint Mary College and Juniata College, both on the road. The Colonels were unable to make a comeback on Wednesday against Drew after a difficult first quarter, in which the Rangers scored nine points and held the Colonels scoreless. The final score for the night was 16-4. Wilkes had five turnovers during the first quarter, and First-Year midfielder Stone Sosnovik had one shot on goal that was saved by Joe Barnish. At the beginning of the second, the Rangers switched their goalie to Sawyer Kennedy. The Colonels had nine shots on goal, and Jackson Casper scored the first point for Wilkes after picking up a ground ball and getting the shot off. That would be their only goal before half, while Drew went scoreless in the quarter. Drew opened the second half scoring with a goal from attackman Riley Zeer and was assisted by Tommy Larmore. The Colonels were quick to answer with a goal from Casper and the assist coming from Sr. midfielder Anthony DelDuca. First-Year attackman Oscar Cline was a player to watch during this game with one goal, three ground balls, and three shots on goal. Wilkes gave it all in the fourth quarter and scored two more times. Cline scored the third goal of the game for Wilkes, followed by Sosnovik scoring the final goal of the game. Both of these goals were assisted by So. midfielder Austin Sosnovik. During the final quarter, Drew scored 2 more points, giving them a total of 16 points for the win. Junior attackman Tim Hartka had even shots, and Casper scored two goals. Austin Sosnovik had two assists and picked up a team-high of six ground balls along with Brandon Cooke. Junior goalkeeper Caleb Miller was in goal for Wilkes and had 17 saves in the game. Miller has played all 13 games so far this season with a record of four wins and nine losses. In the econd game of the week, the team traveled to Baltimore, Maryland to take on the Goucher University Gophers. Goucher, which was 6-5 coming into this game, was able to pick up their first conference win in the match. Goucher was able to take an advantage early in the game, making the deficit 7-0 after the first quarter and 15-0 by the half. Nine points in the second half made the final score 24-0 in favor of Goucher. Standout performances for Goucher include attackmen Gianni Karam with seven goals and Jacob Morgan with 11 points between four goals and seven assists. For Wilkes, Miller had 18 saves and three players; defensemen Mac Jackson, Owen Peters, and Caleb Edwards each had 4 ground balls, leading the team. The Colonels have four games left in their regular season, with the next game home against Lycoming College at 7 p.m. �� MEN’S LACROSSESCHEDULE FEB 15 1:00 P.M. – VS ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE (LANDMARK) – SCHMIDT STADIUM FEB 22 1:00 P.M. – VS UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT BRADFORD – SCHMIDT STADIUM FEB 26 4:00 P.M. – VS MARYWOOD UNIVERSITY – SCHMIDT STADIUM MAR 5 5:00 P.M. – AT VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY – VIRGINIA BEACH, VA MAR 8 1:00 P.M. – VS LEBANON VALLEY COLLEGE – SCHMIDT STADIUM MAR 12 7:00 P.M. – AT KING'S COLLEGE (PA.) – WILKES-BARRE, PA MAR 15 1:00 P.M. – VS HOOD COLLEGE – SCHMIDT STADIUM MAR 19 7:00 P.M. – AT ALVERNIA UNIVERSITY – READING, PA MAR 22 1:00 P.M. – VS MORAVIAN UNIVERSITY (LANDMARK) – SCHMIDT STADIUM MAR 26 7:00 P.M. – AT MOUNT SAINT MARY COLLEGE (NY) – NEWBURGH, NY MAR 29 1:00 P.M. – AT JUNIATA COLLEGE (LANDMARK) – HUNTINGDON, PA APR 2 7:00 P.M. – VS DREW UNIVERSITY (LANDMARK) – SCHMIDT STADIUM APR 5 1:00 P.M. – AT GOUCHER COLLEGE (LANDMARK) – BALTIMORE, MD APR 9 7:00 P.M. – VS LYCOMING COLLEGE (LANDMARK) – SCHMIDT STADIUM APR 12 12:00 P.M. – AT SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY (LANDMARK) – SELINSGROVE, PA APR 16 6:00 P.M. – AT UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (LANDMARK) – SCRANTON, PA APR 26 1:00 P.M. – VS CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA (LANDMARK, SENIOR DAY) – SCHMIDT STADIUM �The Beacon - April 9, 2025 22 Sports Athlete of the Week Ally Stafursky First-Year, Catcher/Outﬁelder, Women's Softball The Beacon: Female Athlete of the Week Stafursky went 6 for 14 at bat with a home run, three RBI, a walk, and two runs scored to help the Colonels with their first Landmark Conference win of the season against Drew University and non-conference game against Immaculate University. Major: Nursing Hometown: Eynon, Pa What had been your favorite sports memory from your time as a Colonel? My favorite sports memory as a Colonel is hitting my first collegiate homerun and seeing my teammates celebrating it with me. What is your favorite professional sports team (any sport)? Philadelphia Phillies What is your favorite thing to do away from sports? Spending time with friends What is your favorite part of being an athlete at Wilkes? I'm able to balance academics, play the sport I grew up with, and I enjoy the atmosphere of the community. The Beacon//Samantha Mullen Editor’s note : Athlete of the Week s elec tions are deter mined by the spor t s staff each week. At the e nd of the acade mic year, we w ill post a reader poll on Tw itte r @ Wilkes B eacon to c row n an “Athlete of the Year." What sports movie is your goto for movie night? "The Benchwarmers" or "A League of Their Own" If you did not play your current sport, what sport would you have wanted to play? Tennis What has been your favorite sports memory overall? Winning back-to-back District Championships my junior and senior year of high school. What is your favorite postgame meal? Taco Bell How do you feel about being selected as the Athlete of the Week? Being named Athlete of the Week is an incredible honor. None of this would be possible without my teammates and coaches who push me to get 1% better everyday. Compiled by Samantha Mullen, Asst. Sports Editor �The Beacon April 9, 2025 Sports Athlete of the Week Nathan Loch Sophomore, Shortstop, Men’s Baseball The Beacon: Male Athlete of the Week Loch went 9 for 22 at bat with eight RBIs, three doubles, a triple, three stolen bases, and six runs during the Colonels Landmark Conference wins over Elizabethtown College, Penn State Harrisburg and Drew University. Major: Financial Investments Hometown: Effort, PA What had been your favorite sports memory from your time as a Colonel? The spring trips down to Flordia. What is your favorite professional sports team (any sport)? New York Yankees What is your favorite thing to do away from sports? Hanging with friends and family What is your favorite part of being an athlete at Wilkes? The strong bond within the team What has been your favorite sports memory overall? Winning the championship in summer ball a couple of years ago. What is your favorite postgame meal? Bacon cheeseburger How do you feel about being selected as the Athlete of the Week? I feel really honored to be selected as Athlete of the Week. It’s a great recognition, but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and coaches. What sports movie is your go-to for movie night? “The Blindside” If you did not play your current sport, what sport would you have wanted to play? Golf Editor’s note : Athlete of the Week s elec tions are deter mined by the spor t s staff each week. At the e nd of the acade mic year, we w ill post a reader poll on Tw itte r @ Wilkes B eacon to c row n an “Athlete of the Year." 23 �24 The Beacon - April 9, 2025 Interested in joining The Beacon? The Beacon is currently looking to fill the following positions for next year’s staff: Reporters Photographers Designers Editors Production Managers Advertising Reps For more details, please email... kalen.churcher@ wilkes.edu � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wilkes Beacon Newspaper Collection, 1947-present Description An account of the resource This is Wilkes University's Beacon Newspaper collection, 1947-present. We also have digitized copies of the Beacon's predecessors, The Bucknell Bison Stampede, 1934-1935 and The Bucknell Beacon, 1936-1947 June. It should be noted that Wilkes University does not have a complete set of issues for the Bucknell Bison Stampede and Bucknell Beacon. For researchers who are interested in seeing the complete issues for these publications, please contact <a href="https://researchbysubject.bucknell.edu/scua">Bucknell University's Special Collections Department</a>. Missing Issues: 1947 August 8th 1947 September 5th 1947 October 3rd 1947 October 17th 1947 October 31st 1947 November 21st 1947 December 19th 1948 September 9th 1950 April 28th 1953 April 10th 1962 February 2nd Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Beacon staff is comprised of Wilkes University students who are advised by a full-time faculty member of the Communication Studies Department. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1934-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright of the Wilkes Beacons is retained by Wilkes University. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Newspaper Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Professor Emeritus Harold Cox digitized the collection from 1934-1970 and created a <a href="https://beaconarchives2.wilkes.edu/">legacy website</a>. Digital Archives student John Jenkins digitized the collection from 1970-present. Special thanks goes to Communication Studies Professor Dr. Kalen Churcher, Editor-in-Chief Kirsten Peters, Beacon staff member, Emily Cherkauskas, and other Beacon staff for their help in acquiring digitized copies of the Beacons from 2006 onward. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wilkes Beacon, 2025 April 9 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Communications Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2025 April 9 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Type The nature or genre of the resource Newspaper https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/14dc657acb97f480617b687e3770b22d.pdf 8c3e00b3840532d7e87faa60ff478166 PDF Text Text The Beacon - April 30, 2025 THE BEACON Est. 1936 Pa. Newspaper Association Member Wilkes University - Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Volume 77, Issue 22 1 “The news of today reported by the journalists of tomorrow.” Programming Board hosts County Fair event on the greenway By Shannon Slominski Photographer Programming Board hosted a County Fair event on the greenway on Thursday, April 24. It was a fun-filled event where students could relax after a stressful week of exams and assignments, just before finals. The event had games and activities like an obstacle course, mechanical shark and a dunk tank where students had the opportunity to dunk members of the Programming Board. It featured a free portrait artist and photo booth as well. Food offered included chicken tenders, breadsticks, pizza, crab rangoons and more. The event also featured Programming Board’s annual Snack Attack, where students can get free treats, drinks and snacks. Samara Carey, Programming Board big event chair and event lead, said that the planning for this event began at the end of the previous fall semester with Owen Ward, small event chair and event lead. “It’s been a process, but it’s been a fun process,” Carey said. Students sit at tables on the greenway, enjoying the warm weather for the Country Fair event on April 24. Photo by Shannon Slominski Professors and Shiv Patel get pied at Chemistry Club Bond-B-Q, page 4 The Sordoni Art Gallery hosts SOMA Night Lights, page 9 What caused “A Minecraft Movie” to succeed?, page 17 ...COUNTY FAIR cont. on p.3 Wilkes Baseball kicks off weekend by honoring Julia Mazur, page 19 �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 News News 2 Have a breaking story or a press release to send? Contact the news editor Leah Smith at leah.smith1@wilkes.edu Student Government notes: April 23 weekly meeting By Kayla Bicskei News Staff Writer Student Government convened for its final weekly meeting of the Spring 2025 semester on April 23. The meeting addressed the Senior send-off. The Student Government Treasurer’s report showed a final budget of $9,500. The Senior Send-Off began with each of the seniors receiving a gift from the Student Government as an appreciation of their time and services with the Student Government. The send-off continued with each of the Seniors announcing their immediate plans for after their graduation. To conclude the Senior Send-oOff, a slideshow was played on the projector screen. The slideshow consisted of pictures of the Student Government members throughout the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semesters. The last meeting of the Spring 2025 semester ended with a last goodbye to the graduating Seniors and an adjournment of the meeting. Student Government will meet again in the Fall 2025 semester. Fall 2025 Parking Applications Nesbitt School of Pharmacy Hooding Volunteers Beacon Briefs: Upcoming campus events Compiled by Andrew Marshallsay HPSC Clothing Drive If you have any clothes you do not want to use anymore, you can drop them off at the Honors office at SLC 262. Donations must be clean and in good condition. No undergarment or swimwear will be accepted for donation. 2025-2026 FAFSA Students are reminded to fill out the 20252026 FAFSA form by May 1 in order to be eligible for the Pennsylvania State Grant. If you have any questions or need help with the form, you can call the Financial Aid Office at 570-408-4512, email at financialaid@wilkes.edu or visit the second floor of Capin Hall. 2025 Founders Gala The 2025 Wilkes University Founders Gala will be held on May 8 at the Westmoreland Club in Wilkes-Barre. The theme of this year’s event is the Gilded Age, a time in the rich history of the city of Wilkes-Barre. Construction Work at SIMMS Until May 1, there will be exterior construction work at the SIMMS building on the corner of South Main and West South Streets. The sidewalks will be impacted in the area, and you are asked to avoid the area if possible. For any questions, contact 2Fix or Charles Cary. Commuter and resident parking permit applications are open now, and will be available until July 1. If you require a Ralston permit, you are asked to note your preference in the comments. No applications will be accepted after the July 1 deadline. For any questions, contact parking at 570-408-7275 on Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Spring 2025 Final Exams Final exams for the Spring 2025 semester will begin on May 1 and end May 8. To find the final exam schedule, you can visit ww.wilkes.edu and visit the “Calendars & Schedules” tab. Faculty Advisor Workshop - May 14 For new faculty advisors or anyone looking for a refresher, the Office of Academic Success is hosting an advising workshop on May 14 in the Miller Room. The workshop is targeted towards new advisors, but current faculty can also attend. To find the RSVP form, visit today.wilkes.edu. Men’s Hockey Seeking Social Media Coordinator The Wilkes Men’s Hockey Team is looking for someone to help amplify content on their social media platforms. If you are interested, contact Head Coach Tyler Hynes at tyler.hynes@wilkes.edu. The Nesbitt School of Pharmacy is looking for volunteers to help in the Hooding Ceremony on May 16 at 7 p.m. in the MAC. Volunteers are asked to be at the MAC for 5:15 p.m. Care Lab attire is required. For more information, contact Justin Collins at justin.collins@wilkes.edu. Table of Contents News..................2 Life, A&E............7 Opinion............14 Sports................19 Family Tree at the Sordoni Art Gallery The new exhibit for the Sordoni Art Gallery is titled Family Tree. The exhibit brings the work of four sisters together to talk about trees. The exhibit is open from April 22 to June 1. The gallery will also be hosting the second Saturday Family Hour on the exhibit on May 10 at noon. Participants can create their own family tree, with supplies being provided. Summer 2025 Courses Summer 2025 Courses will begin on May 19 and will be held until August 15. Courses are at a reduced price of $530 per credit. Financial clearance for summer courses is due May 5 until a payment plan has been set up. For more information visit www.wilkes. edu/academics/summer-classes/index. aspx. Upcoming Events: Spring 2025 April 30 - Final Day of Classes May 1- First Day of Finals 8 - Last Day of Finals 17 - Spring Commencement 19 - Summer Classes Begin Have a safe and anjoyable summer! Want your event featured in the calendar? Email: leah.smith1@wilkes.edu �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 News ...COUNTY FAIR cont. from p.1 Various local craft vendors and businesses attended the event, selling painted glasses, homemade baked goods, jewelry and beyond. “I wanted to get the local vendors' names out there, and a great way to do that is an event like this,” Carey said. Programming Board raffled gift certificates for students to support local vendors. Carey said these events draw large crowds of 120 or more students. “Events like this are fun and always have a fun crowd,” Carey said. “It's a good time and a good way to relax before finals and have some fun with friends and enjoy some food.” Several students agreed that the county fair was a great turnout and a good time to relax and hang out with friends before the finals begin. Photos by Shannon Slominski Students wait in line for food, which included breadsticks, pizza, and more. Students shop at local vendors' tables for crafts, baked goods and more. Students throw balls to dunk a Programming Board member in the dunk tank. The mechanical shark and inﬂatable obstacle course students enjoyed. 3 �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 News 4 Professors and Shiv Patel get pied at Chemistry Club Bond-B-Q By Brady Melovitz Layout Designer/News Staff Writer The Chemistry Club hosted its BondB-Q followed by the “Pie Your Professor” event at 12:30 p.m. on April 24 in the Evans Hall quartyard. At the Bond-B-Q, there were typical barbeque foods like burgers, hotdogs, and chips. Along with the assortment of food at the event, there was a bean bag toss for students and faculty to enjoy awaiting the Pie Your Professor event. Jake Middleton, Chemistry Club treasurer, was on hand for the pie your professor event. He explained the process that went into choosing the professors that would be pied. “We just asked all the faculty in the department if they wanted to be involved in the pie your professor event,” Middleton said. “Once we figured out who said yes, we set up a fundraiser for people to vote who they wanted.” The list of professors included Dr. Blechle, Dr. Youmans, Dr. Nazzal, Dr. Harms, Dr. Mencer, Mrs. Pitchford, and Dr. Jennings. Students could also vote for chemistry and neuroscience student Shiv Patel. Students needed to pay $1 to vote. Middleton mentioned that the professors involved in the pie your professor could even chip in and in turn could be rewarded. “The way it works is students can vote for the professor that they want to get pied, but the professor can also donate money and for every dollar that they donate they get to remove a vote.” The professors that got pied at the event were Dr. Mencer and Dr. Jennings alongside Shiv Patel. Photos by Brady Melovitz Geology student Reagan Weldon-Peri and biology student Maria Belen Gonzalez grill burgers. Any Barrios pies chemistry professor and co-chair Dr. Don Mencer. Biochemistry student Jake Middleton pies chemistry and neuroscience student Shiv Patel. �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 News 5 It's on Us and Title IX host virtual Q&A with Sarah Vaughan Leah Smith News Editor It’s On Us and Title IX held a Zoom session with “Anatomy of a Scandal” author Sarah Vaughan on April 24, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Miller Room. Students who registered for the event had a chance to listen and talk to Vaughan about her novel and her other works. Title IX coordinator Elizabeth Leo hosted the event and disclosed that the It’s On Us book club featured “Anatomy of a Scandal” as one of their titles. “Anatomy of a Scandal” is a crime/ courtroom thriller novel that features themes such as sexual assault, abuse of power dynamics and consent. “It’s easier to talk about these things using characters,” Leo said. “My hope is that by doing this it would be easier to address these topics in real life.” Vaughan proceeded to read an excerpt from the novel, a courtroom cross-examination scene that she took inspiration from a real life cold case she shadowed in her work in journalism. Vaughan is mostly known for her fictional work but gathered her knowledge and experience of exploring themes such as sexual crimes in her work as a journalist where she covered crimes involving the sexual assault and abuse on women and young girls. “I covered these cases because I was seen as non-threatening,” Vaughan said. “In literature and life, the muddy cases and grey areas of consent is where most common cases happen,” she added. “Anatomy of a Scandal” was released a few months after the Harvey Weinstein case and the beginning of the #MeToo movement. As a joke, Vaughan said, “I finally beat the zeitgeist for once.” Along with the novel, there is a Netflix show adaptation based on the novel with the same name. Copies of the book were offered as well as items provided by Elizabeth Leo, such as a webcam cover and an anti-spiking drink cover. Programming Board provided refreshments. Author Sarah Vaughan speaks to attendees via Zoom. Photos by Leah Smith Title IX coordinator Elizabeth Leo introduces Sarah Vaughan. A copy of Vaughan's novel "Anatomy of a Scandal" that has a Netﬂix Adaptation. �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 News 6 Wilkes receives 2025-2026 Military Friendly School designation By Leah Smith News Editor Wilkes University has earned the 20252026 Military Friendly School designation with the silver distinction The silver distinction is dedicated to institutions that offer extraordinary military and veteran programs that scored 21% in the survey and have three or more qualifying benchmarks. The institutions that have received the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated via survey and public data sources. More than 1,800 schools answered in the survey, with 830 earning rewards for going above the standard. By earning the Military Friendly Silver designation shows the dedication Wilkes has for assuring veterans have the resources, guidance and community needed for veterans to thrive in their educational endeavors. “This school is a great landing zone for military people to make their dreams come true,” said Lt. Col. Mark Kaster, director of veterans affairs, veteran counselor and environmental science and engineering professor at Wilkes. The Military Friendly School designation is a result of the university’s services, including but not limited to a veteran’s affairs counselor who works with veterans as they enroll, the Veterans Center of Excellence on campus located in Conyngham Hall that offers a spot for veterans to meet and study and a Wilkes Student Veterans Council that provides programming to help military members transition to the civilian landscape. Looking into the Wilkes Veterans Student Council, the council members support local military service projects and organizations such as the Wounded Warrior Project. They also provide community services such as sending care packages overseas. Wayne McCormick, communication and media studies major and secretary of the Wilkes Veterans Student Council, said he is pleased with the Military Friendly Designation. “It’s a very fine school for vets,” McCormick said. McCormick proceeded to state that a military friend of his is considering applying to Wilkes’ creative writing program. “Schools who achieve awards designation show true commitment in their efforts, exceeding the standard,” said Kayla Lopez, vice president of Military Friendly. For more information about the university’s student veteran programs can visit wilkes. edu/veterans. Wilkes-Barre's annual Cherry Blossom Festival held at Kirby Park By Sydney Allabaugh Editor-in-Chief Attendees listen to live music outside in lawn chairs at this year's Cherry Blossom Festival on April 26 and April 27. A family takes a selﬁe in front of a Cherry Blossom Tree at Kirby Park. Children enjoy rides and carnival games at the festival. Hundreds of attendees visit dozens of food and craft vendors selling lemonade, jewelry, funnel cake and more. �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment Life, Arts & Entertainment 7 Have any events or artists to be shared? Contact kalen.churcher@wilkes.edu Student choreographers present work in spring performance By Anthony Kehs Contributing Writer Student choreographers were showcased at a recent concert held on campus. As the 2024-2025 academic year comes to a close, Wilkes University dance minors Maddie Meier, Charley Cain, Amelia Smicherko, Lexi Wesnak, and Kylie Kilvitis, prepared for the Student Choreographers’ Concert. The Student Choreographers’ Concert gives dance minors taking DAN 320 (DanceComposition) the opportunity to take full control by selecting their dancers, the dance style, music, choreography, and costume for their piece. This allows them to take a more creative anddirectorial role. Meier, choreographed “Sparkle in Spite” to Gracie Abrams’ That’s So True. “I wanted my piece to value all of the anger and angst that comes from wanting to be somebody else, so that there was room for the exhilarating feeling of showcasing yourself unapologetically.” Meier added, “I wanted to find four dancers who were also beautifully different from one another. I wanted to combine their different strengths and showcase each of them.” “I liked Maddie Meiers’ because it was very touching, and I was able to come up with my own feelings about it and could see the story that was being conveyed,” said audience member Elena DiSciullo. “It’s very relatable.” Cain, who choreographed “That’s Life” to Frank Sinatra’s That’s Life, had a specific motive for their piece. “The word I continued using was ‘triumph,’” Cain said. “I wanted the audience to get a sense of triumph and that mydancers were strong and that no matter how much life tore them Work choreographed by Amelia Smicherko, Maddie Meier, Kylie Kilvitis, Charley Cain and Lexi Wesnak was recently performed at Wilkes’ Choreographers’ Concert. down, they were right back up again, cause that’s life.” Jesse Lawson, another audience member, said they liked how every dance had “a clear story to tell.” In addition to the Student Choreographers’ Concert, Meier, Cain, and Smicherko’s pieces were handpicked and performed later Saturday night during the Spring Dance Concert, where choreography from dance classes like tap and Broadway to modern and ballet were showcased. The classes were taught by faculty members Lynne Esgro, Sean Harris and Stefan Zubal. Anyone interested in becoming a dance minor should contact Faculty of Practice and Director of Dance, Stefan Zubal at stefan.zubal@wilkes.edu or visit https://www.wilkes.edu/academics/ performing-arts/dance.aspx. �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment Sydney Allabaugh: ANDY - Skrillex Megan Davis: After Midnight - Chappell Roan Leah Smith: Caramel - Sleep Token Andrew Marshallsay: Fast Hearts and Slow Towns Midland 8 Sam Mullen: 20 Dollar Nose Bleed - Fall Out Boy Adam Grundt: Lachryma - Ghost Shawn Carey: Collapse (Post-Amerika ) Rise Against Brady Melovitz: The Road I’m On - 3 Doors Down Each week, the Wilkes Beacon staﬀ picks their favorite song of the week. Check out this week’s bops! �The Beacon – April 30, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment The Sordoni Art Gallery hosts SOMA Night Lights Sydney Allabaugh Editor-in-Chief The Sordoni Art Gallery hosted SOMA Night Lights, named for Downtown Wilkes-Barre’s newly branded South Main (SOMA) Arts District, on April 25 from 6 to 11 p.m. It was a celebration of community and the arts. Artist Jeff Dubrow’s SOMA Night Lights featured several video-mapped projections on buildings throughout the district. Other attractions included a car graffiti bomb led by blitz.ink, fire perforers and a Kids Courtyard with free crafts. Photos courtesy of Sordoni Art Gallery Attendees watch a ﬁre performer in front of the Rusty Iris, a school bus transformed into a double-decker, mobile sculpture, art exhibit and venue. Attendees view Jeff Dubrow’s projections on Weckesser Hall. Children run through the Kids Courtyard at 116 S. Main St. It had free crafts and tables featuring Sordoni Art Gallery’s community partners. Students grafﬁti bomb a car, spray painting “SOMA” on the hood. 9 �The Beacon – April 30, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment 10 New exhibit, Family Tree, opens at Sordoni Art Gallery By Natalia Williams Find out what is going on in your campus community Staff Writer On April 22, The Sordini Art Gallery opened its latest exhibit “Family Tree.” The exhibit features the work of four sisters, Elin O’Hara Slavick, Madeline Slavick, Susanne Slavick and Sarah Slavick who are each artists. The exhibit portrays trees in and out of human conflict and care. “Each sister works with their own medium whether it be paint, mixed media, photography or analog darkroom techniques. While it is a diverse collection of artwork, it is a solid collection work.” said Heather Sincavage, director of the Sordoni Art Gallery says. Sophomore criminology major and art gallery worker Camilia De Los Santos expressed her thoughts and feelings about the exhibit. “The exhibit is pretty cool,” she said. “It was interesting to learn that most of the trees have survived things like an atomic bomb, so it shows how trees can survive trauma and it symbolizes peace.” Sincavage also explained what the exhibit means deeper. “What the exhibition does and brings them together through the subject of trees. Each approach the motif of the tree with different intentions whether it is to explore a historic event, reference literature or tackle global issues.” “Family Tree” shows how trees can be mesmerizing and full of meaning. Through the various mediums, it is still a cohesive piece of work that everyone should see. The exhibition is very accessible for both scholars and novices…It has so many applications and represents so many things. While using the tree, it allows us to explore aspects of our own humanity.” Student art gallery worker and DDMA major Nora Ahmetaj also enjoys the exhibit. “I just think it is really cool. The context behind it and how they used the theme in many ways and more people should see it.” On Saturday May 10, the gallery will host Second Saturday Family Hour: Family Tree. At this event, children will be able to design their own family tree while exploring their family history. Sordoni Art Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday | Noon to 5 p.m. The gallery is closed on Mondays and during University holidays. All events are free and open to the public. Reservations are required for the Last Look brunch. Please RSVP to melissa.carestia@wilkes.edu. For more information, visit wilkes. edu/sordoniartgallery. �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 Life, Arts & Entertainment Crossword End-of semester edition Answer Key: 11 �The Beacon- April 30, 2025 s die u t nS tio ’s a : r c en dies jo ni Ma mmu Wom Stu Co inor: nder M d Ge an ies tud S n tio en’s a c ni om s mu y, W tudie m r o S : C sto er jor s: Hi end a M inor d G an M I joined The Beacon my senior year to help out as social media manager. I thought it would be a good way to get some experience in running a social media account for someone other than myself. The experience I gained here was useful in not only social media posting but creating graphics for posts as well. What I enjoyed most was seeing the different stories in The Beacon each week when it came out. My advice for people considering joining is to definitely get involved early. I think it’s easier to see what you like early on rather than realizing you enjoyed a position your last year. Regardless, I am grateful for my time here and the friends I made along the way! 12 �The Beacon- April 30, 2025 BRADY MELOVITZ Layout Designer & News Staff Writer Major: Communication Studies Minor: Women’s and Gender Studies, English When I decided that I was going to be a communication major at Wilkes four years ago, I told myself that I would never join the newspaper. I just felt like I wasn’t interested in it and for my first two years at Wilkes that remained true. However in my junior year something changed. I wanted to be more involved within the department so I joined the Beacon. At first it was just for the practicum credit, but through time I grew an appreciation for what we did at the Beacon. I started out at the Beacon as a layout designer for the majority of my time. I would periodically write articles but that was only if there was no one else willing to do so. However, for my last semester I decided I wanted to write more articles to better prepare myself for what I might do outside of Wilkes. The Beacon allowed me to not only improve on skills like my writing, but also develop skills that I didn’t have before. I am grateful for not only the opportunity I was given, but the experience that I gained. ADAM GRUNDT ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Major: Communication Studies Minor: Sports Management SAMANTHA MULLEN ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Major: Communication Studies I started writing briefly for the Beacon my freshman year and quickly became interested in continuing. It wasn’t until I started writing for sports my sophomore year that I really started to feel comfortable with writing. Since then, I have now become the Assistant Sports Editor and mainly focus on Athlete of the Week or taking photos of some of the sports teams here at Wilkes. I think my biggest advice for anyone thinking about joining is to just try it out and see where you fit. I didn’t initially start in the sports section, I first started covering news and then slowly moved into sports. Also during this time, I started to take photos and quickly grew a passion for taking sports photos. You never really know what will peak your interest until you try it. 13 ZACH PARAWAY SPORTS EDITOR Major: Communication Studies I joined The Beacon during my first week on campus, having never written before. After I had gotten my feet under me with the help of staff, I was able to feel good about my writing and how to build articles. I wrote for news my first two years, before then moving on to be the Sports Editor in my senior year. I don’t write as much now, doing mostly layout, but I do love to help the staff build a great paper To anyone looking or thinking to join, just go for it. This group of people ha been nothing short of amazing in helping to create a strong product and to make sure all strong writers, editors, and staff all throughout. I will always remember this great experience and am sad that it is coming to an end. I joined The Beacon because it’s always been a goal of mine to work in sports media. After working for The Beacon my sophomore year as a sports writer, I quickly became interested in developing my skills as a writer. From junior year until now, I’ve been an Assistant Sports Editor. This experience with The Beacon will help me immensely. I have grown so much as a writer and a human being from being around such great people throughout the past three years with the Beacon. My favorite part of the experience was fulfilling what was a childhood dream of mine: writing about sports. �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 �� Opinion 14 Have an opinion or want to write a guest column? Contact assistant opinion editors: shawn.carey1@wilkes.edu or logan.colonna@wilkes.edu. Editorial Staff 2024-25 MANAGERIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief - Sydney Allabaugh Social Media Manager - Megan Davis Adviser - Dr. Kalen Churcher SECTION EDITORS News - Leah Smith Sports - Zach Paraway ASSISTANT EDITORS News - Andrew Marshallsay Opinion - Logan Colonna Opinion - Shawn Carey Sports - Adam Grundt Sports - Sam Mullen DESIGNERS Head Designer - Lara Mullen Designer - Carol Stratford Layout Designer - Brady Melovitz Photographer - Shannon Slominski SECTION STAFF WRITERS News - Kayla Bicskei LA&E - Natalia Williams Opinion - “Freeze” Sports - Ava Tureen Sports - Lexi McHugh 141 S. Main Street Clayton and Theresa Karambelas Media & Communication Center Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766 Phone - (570) 408-5903 www.thewilkesbeacon.com Want to advertise in The Beacon? Contact: Kalen Churcher at kalen.churcher@wilkes.edu or Sydney Allabaugh at sydney. allabaugh@wilkes.edu. The Beacon Est. 1936 Pa. Newspaper Association Member �� WrestleMania 41: Was John Cena’s win the right call? WrestleMania 41 was shocking to say the least, from the Seth Rollins heel turn and Paul Heyman betrayal on April 19, to the surprising WrestleMania debut of viral Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling champion Joe Hendry and the return of fan-favorite women’s wrestler Becky Lynch on April 20. However, the biggest shock of the event was the final match on WrestleMania Sunday where Cody Rhodes failed to defend his Undisputed championship against John Cena. By defeating Rhodes, Cena has won his 17th undisputed title, breaking Ric Flair’s record of 16 world titles. This came as a bit of a shock because of Rhodes’s strong reign with the title that lasted for over a year. Cena came back and shocked the world prior to WrestleMania when he turned heel (for non-wrestling fans, it means becoming the bad guy) and sold out in favor of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. This led up to the match at WrestleMania. The question is, did WWE make the right decision to switch the title hand from the company’s current cash cow to giving it to the man who several fans would refer to as the greatest of all time? After putting emotional biases aside, this title change had to happen. It’s a tale as old as time in the WWE, the greatest faces of WWE have always had to come back from failure somehow. The “fallen hero” trope is one the most celebrated tropes in storytelling even outside of wrestling. Fans regarded WrestleMania 39 and 40 to be the “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame” of the WWE in regards to Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns’s rivalry. This comparison is made based on the endings of those films and how they correlate to their rivalry. Villain wins first, but the hero comes back and takes the well-earned victory. At WrestleMania 39, fans believed Cody would finally win the Undisputed title against Roman Reigns. After one Samoan Spike from Roman’s former enforcer Solo Sikoa, that chance was out the window. However, at WrestleMania 40, Cody finally beat Reigns in a hard-fought match filled with appearances in favor of both wrestlers such as Seth Rollins, the Usos, and the Undertaker. This is the key not only for Cody Rhodes’s support from fans, but for making a face of the company truly historic. Having the hero, essentially, of the company win the gold he’s been chasing for, finishing the story that’s been building since he’s returned and lost it after more than a year of holding that title from a man who used to be that hero Rhodes now is. This is wrestling storytelling at its finest and WWE made the right call to have Cody Rhodes lose to have John Cena win his 17th championship. Cena not only deserves to break that record but it builds up the inevitable rematch between Rhodes and Cena to be even more special. It’s just a matter of when that rematch will take place and whose side the fans will be on. Letter to the editor policy: The Beacon welcomes letters to the editor from differing viewpoints. Letters must contain contact information, including name, city, state and phone number. Phone numbers will not be published but may be used for verification purposes. All letters to the editor must be sent using one of the following methods: Email: sydney.allabaugh@wilkes.edu Phone: (570) 408-5903 (Voicemail: 30 seconds or less, please.) Mail: 84 West South Street, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18766 Attn: The Beacon �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 Opinion 15 Trump’s second term and the battle for America’s future By G. Wyane McCormick Submission to The Beacon �� The Icebox: Presenting platform shooter game “Cuphead” By “Freeze” Opinion Staff Writer �� READ MORE OF THE ICEBOX ONLINE �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 Opinion 16 Students must take action: Neutrality helps oppressors By Johnny Sudol & Jace Hynick Submission to The Beacon There’s a famous post-WWII poem called “First They Came.” It goes as follows: First, they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist Then they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out Because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me Dear Students of Wilkes University, The time to speak out is now. Our generation has been pressured to be the change our world needs to heal. However, we are living in a world where chaos has become the new normal. We live in a time that leaves many feeling isolated and hopeless. We are expected to carry the torch, to be better, to societally progress and to fight a failing system. It may seem like we do not have the tools to stand up against the inequalities dragging us down, but we do. Throughout history, every revolution that occurred had young adults like us standing at the forefront, fighting for freedom. You may ask, “Freedom from what?” It’s a fair question to ask, since the oppression one person faces may be different to the oppression another faces. Maybe you experience racism, classism or ideological oppression, etc. However, if we all stand up then we’ll stand united. And if you personally do not feel oppressed or at all affected by the current political climate, we urge you to consider the words of the poem prior. If you wait to step in and stand up for others until you are directly affected by the conflict, you may wake up to find there is no one left to fight with you. We have reached a tumultuous and historic point in our nation’s social, political and economic climate, and the time has come to rise against authoritarian threats. This is not a memorandum; this is a call to action. The future of educated America is now uncertain. The fact of the matter is that no one knows what is in store for us students here in the U.S.—and yes, that still includes Wilkes. The Department of Education has been plunged into complete disarray, leaving us unaware of its impact on the future of K-12 education. So, if you have loved ones and friends still in primary or secondary education, this situation should deeply concern you. We’ve already watched as almost all of the bigger, elitist, Ivy League schools rolled over to the Trump Administration—as he holds their federal funding over their heads. The question is: Will Wilkes be next? We would like to feel safe and protected by our university from this unprecedented threat, but the future is uncertain. According to AP News: Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University who publicly expressed support of Palestinian causes, was recently detained by authorities. Her student visa was revoked in what her lawyers say is apparent retaliation for an oped piece she co-wrote in the student newspaper. Öztürk was taken by immigration officials as she walked along a street in the Boston suburb of Somerville. She was moved to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Basile, Louisiana. Öztürk’s lawyers say her detention violates her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process. Öztürk isn’t the only one. A Louisiana immigration judge ruled that the U.S. can deport Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil based on the federal government’s argument that he poses a national security risk. Others are being shipped to foreign prisons under false assumptions of criminality. According to CBS News, the majority of immigrants sent to a maximum security prison in El Salvador have no apparent criminal convictions or even criminal charges. Those innocent people are still imprisoned in El Salvador. This is the end result of the disregard of our constitutional protections of freedom of expression under the First Amendment and of the Due Process Clause under the Fifth Amendment. This is the unfortunate reality we live in. Again, you may not be an immigrant. You may not be a political opponent to the Trump Administration. But you are a student. The Trump administration is already targeting universities; the future is uncertain. So again, it is time to act. It is time to mobilize and to organize. To inflict steady pressure on the government, our elected officials and our university, to keep us safe and to act in our best interest. We believe Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (D), Sen. Dave McCormick (R) and Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R) are not currently acting in our best interest. If we need to march, then we’ll march. If we must protest, we’ll protest. This is your education, your investment into your own self-worth. And unfortunately, we’ve entered a time where that is being challenged. Be willing to fight for what is yours. Be willing to do what may feel scary and force yourself to be brave. This may be the defining moment in your life, maybe the page in the history books our generation will be tied to. So you need to be asking yourself, which side are you on? There’s no longer any room to remain neutral. Neutrality only helps the oppressor, never the oppressed. This is your opportunity to make sure you’re on the right side of history. Is this a political conflict? Absolutely. But does it also transcend partisanship? Absolutely. If only this were as simple as elementary identity politics: Red vs. Blue, Democrat vs. Republican, Liberal vs. Conservative. It’s not. It’s bigger than all of that, bigger than all of us. This is for the soul of our nation and for the pledge we gave to it. It is imperative for the survival of America that we don’t let them become empty words and that we’ll actually protect liberty and justice for all. We also urge you to call the local offices of Pennsylvania elected officials to make your voice heard: Sen. John Fetterman: (570) 820-4088 Sen. Dave McCormick: (570) 9410930 Rep. Rob Bresnahan: (570) 763-6120 -Johnny Sudol, Anonymous Jace Hynick & For any questions, comments, concerns or if you want to get involved, contact jace.hynick@wilkes.edu or john.sudol@wilkes.edu �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 Opinion 17 What caused “A Minecraft Movie” to succeed? A deep dive into the memes and impact on pop culture By Shawn Carey Asst. Opinion Editor The very thought of making a movie about “Minecraft” is inherently silly. I’m sure that most of you know what “Minecraft” is. For those of you who have been living underneath a rock for the past 10 years. “Minecraft” is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios that allows players to explore a vast open world, build, mine, and you guess it, craft. Minecraft is well deservingly extremely popular. The game sold over 300 million copies, making it the best selling game of all time. One of the reasons for the game’s massive success is the freedom it offers the player. The game allows players to do pretty much whatever they want. Solo or with a group of friends. The game lacks a clear goal. Sure there’s a few major advancements that the player can achieve such as defeating the Ender Dragon and completing a Woodland Mansion. However, there’s nothing that really signifies “an ending.” With that being said, how do you make a feature length film about a game that doesn’t have a story? How can you make an adaptation based on a game where you can do anything? You hire Jack Black to play the leading character. It was recently reported that “A Minecraft Movie” is set to end its theatrical run with an estimated earnings of over a billion dollars. Not only making it one of the biggest video game movies of all time, but one of the highest grossing movies of all time. The success of “A Minecraft Movie” has been surprising to say the very least. When the film was originally announced it was faced with harsh criticism. That would be until the release of the first teaser, in which it was faced with even harsher criticism. The movie was constantly made fun of by everyone online, so much so that it was hard to find even a single person excited for it. The numbers don’t lie however, the movie is a resounding success. Which begs the question, how? One of the main things contibuting to its popularity is a simple phrase. Chicken Jockey. Just typing the word out makes me want to jump up and clap. When the movie was originally making its rounds on the internet users were quick to make fun of the way Jack Black pronounced certain words. In the original trailer Jack Black was constantly over pronouncing many words from the games. “Flint and steel,” “diamond armor” and “Nether portal,” for example. Clips of the actor saying these phrases quickly spread across the internet, mainly on TikTok. Edited videos of him saying these phrases were everywhere. Videos of him slowed down, sped up, backwards and so on. The most popular of these phases is the previously mentioned “chicken jockey.” As silly as it sounds, “chicken jockey” took on a life of its own. It became a popular trend to stand up, scream, spill popcorn and just be overall obnoxious when the scene showed up in the movie. The trend became extremely popular among teenagers and young adults, mostly men. Much like the “gentleminions” trend from a few years ago, a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) was created. Everyone wants to get to the theater, act like an idiot and post a video of them doing so online before the movie is pulled from theaters. “A Minecraft Movie” is strangely enough getting young people to go to the theater. This stupid trend is of course not the only reason why the movie is doing well. It’s “Minecraft.” There’s no doubt that it was going to be a hit. Kids love it, families love it, everyone loves “Minecraft.” However, I think that there’s something to be said about the effect the internet has had on the movie. A movie that would’ve been fairly successful on its own terms is now set to soon be a billion dollar hit. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that a movie about Jack Black fighting blocky CGI pig monsters probably didn’t appeal to most audiences. However, here we are. There was a sort of unintentional marketing with everything. Most of the discussion surrounding the movie didn’t come from ads or trailers, but from “memes” and videos online. I’m sure that once the sequel comes out in however many years we’ll see the studio unsuccessfully recreate it. Speaking of which, it wouldn’t surprise me if other studios try to do something similar, creating artificial “memes” for the sake of free advertising. Imagine a “Fortnite” movie starring Ryan Gosling where he’s constantly repeating phrases like “griddy” and “item shop.” Graphic by Carol Stratford �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 Opinion 18 A review of "Soft Spot" by JMSM, an innovative album An analysis of performance, features, production, replayability By Logan Colonna Asst. Opinion Editor If you saw my recent review of R&B and alternative artist JMSN, you would know that I love just about everything that he’s put out. More specifically, I loved his 2018 record “Velvet,” his 2021 album “Heals Me,” and his 2023 project “Soft Spot,” which is the topic of this week’s review. “Soft Spot” pushes the boundaries of JMSN’s music in a positive direction. I first loved him for his more soft songs with the typical sounds that you’d hear in R&B music. Now, I love him here for his experimental and alternative approach to his usual sound. First, JMSN had amazing vocals throughout each of the nine tracks on the record. My favorite among the bunch is easily “Cherry Pop” and the title track “Soft Spot.” His vocal inflections on “Cherry Pop” made me fall in love with the song nearly instant. Along with this, his ad libs add onto the song greatly. In rap music, ad libs have certainly lost their “oomph.” Here, however, JMSN uses each ad lib strategically in order to add on to the great vocal performance as well as the wonderfully-crafted production, which I’ll get into later on in the review. Near the end of the song as a little outro, JMSN embraces the rock-inspired instrumentation and goes full rockstar mode as he yells into the mic, all while still sounding great. As for “Soft Spot,” we shift directions into more of a groovy kind of song. During the chorus of the track, which is easily my favorite part of the song, we get a high-pitched vocal performance by JMSN, which I am obviously a fan of. The song takes us through a roller coaster ride between the choruses and each verse, as the beat gets slower after each chorus, only to ramp back up after each verse. He makes sure to match this with the pitch of his voice excellently. Like I said for the “Heals Me” review, JMSN released a breakdown of each track for the record. Seeing him break down “Soft Spot” was honestly something else. Seeing the creative side of artists is just mesmerizing to me. As you could guess, every other song off of the record showcases JMSN’s amazing vocals. If I expect from Sada Baby, but I’m glad he’s on the remix. His voice, flow and way he raps overall pairs excellently with the instrumental and JMSN’s vibe on the track. With that, the feature here is great and adds a lot in terms of replayability even if it is just one were to talk about them, we would be here all day though. As for the album itself, there are no features to accompany JMSN on the tracklist. However, as a treat for fans, JMSN released a remix of “Soft Spot” (the title track) with rapper Sada Baby. At first, I didn’t know what to expect since I thought the two artists would end up clashing too much in terms of sound. As a surprise, the track, especially Sada Baby’s inclusion, is really good. I didn’t know what to feature out of the whole tracklist. Next up, we have the production. As you could guess, it’s nothing shy of perfect. As I said, the record goes from all kinds of sounds, like rock, R&B, alternative and experimental. All of these different sounds combine into this album wonderfully. My favorite tracks among the bunch, in terms of production, include “Not 4 U” and “Groovy.” “Not 4 U” offers a wide variety of sounds. You get this synth that plays in the beginning of the track, effectively setting the tone. You get these DJ scratches all throughout the track too, which just sounds nice when it’s sprinkled here and there. As for my favorite part of the production, during the choruses, we get this nice electric guitar to pair with JMSN. Besides that, a lot of the track does go silent, allowing JMSN to show off his sweet, sweet vocals. Moving onto “Groovy,” the song itself is, well, groovy. You get this addicting electric guitar performance all throughout the song as well as a constant drum cymbal being hit, which just sounds great. The guitar and cymbal combo that you hear sometimes is unworldly in my opinion. This kind of addicting production is found all over the album, making for one of my favorite parts of the record. Just like his past record, everything is executively produced by JMSN as well, making it even more impressive that he makes these amazing instrumentals. Finally, we have the replayability of the album. With all of the different sounds that the record offers, along with the short tracklist and runtime (nine songs and 40 minutes), I find no issue in replaying the record from front to back over and over again. This may even be easier to relisten to than JMSN’s previous record, “Heals Me,” because of all of the different soundscapes from track to track. To top it off, each track is just really great, making it addicting to go back to each track after each listen. As you can assume, this record is practically perfect to me, just like “Heals Me.” With that being said, JMSN gets his second 10 out of 10 from me with his 2023 record, “Soft Spot.” Graphic by Carol Stratford �Sports The Beacon - April 30, 2025 Sports 19 Want your sport covered? Deserve to be Athlete of the Week? Contact the Sports Editor: zachary.paraway@wilkes.edu Wilkes baseball kicks off weekend by honoring Julia Mazur By Jake MIlls Contributing Writer �� Photos by Andrew Marshallsay Carey Mazur throws out the ﬁrst pitch in Saturday's doubleheader. Carey Mazur, Julia Mazur's mother, and catcher/ﬁrst baseman Mike Sabella. Wilkes baseball team and Carey Mazur on the baseball ﬁeld. �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 Sports 20 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins season ends prematurely Recapping the team's playoff games By Adam Grunt Asst. Sports Editor The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ season was cut short by the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the second year in a row during the first round of the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup Playoffs. The No. 4-seeded Penguins team faced off against the number 5-seeded Phantoms squad in a best-of-three series that lasted only two games. Last season, the No. 6-seeded Lehigh Valley Phantoms upset the No. 3-seeded Penguins in the same series. With a youthful group taking the ice at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza this season, the team looked to enact revenge on their bitter rival en route to a deep playoff run. Game 1: PENGUINS 2 vs. PHANTOMS 5 The first game of the short series was played on April 23 at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, and the Phantoms took a commanding 1-0 series lead with a 5-2 victory. Olle Lycksell tallied the only first period goal for Lehigh Valley, and a red-hot Alex Bump and Rodrigo Ābols tacked on two more during the second for the Phantoms. During the second period, Penguins netminder Joel Blomqvist suffered an injury that forced him out of the game, and Taylor Gauthier, who tallied a shutout in the team’s final game of the regular season, was tasked with finishing the game for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Bump added his second of the night in the first half of the third frame, and Anthony Richard scored the fifth goal of the night for the Phantoms one minute and 33 seconds later. Avery Hayes scored for the Penguins with just under five minutes to go in regulation, and Gabe Klassen tacked on another goal for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a minute before the final buzzer. “Honestly you could feel a bit of the nerves early,” said head coach Kirk MacDonald during his media availability following game one. “[Lehigh Valley] came out with a good push, but I think we were just really tentative. I thought after the first goal we settled down, but they kept pushing.” Game 2: PENGUINS 2 at PHANTOMS 3 A tense game two at PPL Center in Allentown ensued on April 25. Goaltender Sergei Murashov, who posted an 11-game winning streak during the regular season, was recalled from ECHL Wheeling to make the start for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in game two between the pipes. After a scoreless first frame, Richard tallied his second of the playoffs for Lehigh Valley to give the Phantoms a 1-0 lead. However, before the end of the middle stanza, Tristan Broz launched a wicked wrister that snuck through the pads of Lehigh Valley netminder Parker Gahagen. Harrison Brunicke scored the first goal of his professional career in a massive moment, giving the Penguins the lead for the time being with 13 minutes remaining in regulation. The rookie blueline entered the offensive zone and lofted a puck from the blue line that fluttered over Gahagen and into the back of the net. However, Jacob Gaucher scored for Lehigh Valley to tie the game and just a minute and 28 seconds later, and with exactly two minutes remaining in regulation, Helge Grans scored the game-winner and series-clincher for Lehigh Valley. “We made three critical errors and they all ended up in the back of our net,” said MacDonald following Game 2 at PPL Center. “I thought we were great. The guys made the adjustments we needed to make; we won the special teams battle. We had some great looks. Our young guys really stepped up. "Trust me when I say [the guys] wanted to be here, and they’re crushed. You get to these best-of-threes, and you have one off night and all of a sudden, you’re on the brink of elimination. It’s tough.” The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins return to action at Mohegan Arena in the fall of 2025. For more information on the Penguins, visit wbspenguins.com. Wilkes softball will soon wrap up: A recap of last week's games By Ava Tureen Sports Staff Writer The Wilkes softball season had two doubleheaders this past week. In each doubleheader, they won one of the two games they played. Their first double header of the week was against the Colonels' rivals, King's College. The Colonels won the first game 4-1. Allyson Stafursky, Olivia Dougher, Maddy Maloney and Abby Cruz all crossed the home plate, resulting in the four total points the Colonels had during the first game. One out of three of Stafursky’s hits led to her crossing home plate. The second game of the double header was won by King's College with a score of 0-4. Kings scored their first two points during the second inning, with one run after the other. It was the beginning of their comeback in game two. The second doubleheader was against Susquehanna University, and like the first doubleheader, the Colonels won their first game and lost their second game. The Colonels had a great start to their first game with a score of 6-3. Talia Piragas helped Mia Butka score the first point for the Colonels after an error. In the second inning, Susquehanna scored its first point, and the colonels responded by scoring three more points during the third inning. Kayla Burleson scored the final point of the first game during the seventh inning. Mia Butka pitched the entire game and had three successful hits. The second game of the doubleheader was a loss for the Colonels with a score of 4-6. Lauren Demarco pitched for the first four innings, and Amanda Amerman finished off pitching for the last three innings. The Colonels opened the scoreboard when Hana Cross scored the first point of the game. Susquehanna won the game after scoring five points in the fifth inning and another point during the final inning. The Colonels had a total of 14 points during their four games and won two out of the four games. The Colonels play their last doubleheader of the season against Elizabethtown College on May 3. �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 Sports 21 �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 22 Sports Athlete of the Week Hannah Boyd Fifth-Year, Catcher/Utility, Women's Softball The Beacon: Female Athlete of the Week Boyd had three RBI's and two runs in the Colonel's two doubleheaders against King's College and Susquehanna University. Major: Sports Management Hometown: Escalon, Calif. What had been your favorite sports memory from your time as a Colonel? Myrtle Beach spring break tournament What is your favorite professional sports team (any sport)? LA Dodgers What is your favorite thing to do away from sports? Hiking What has been your favorite sports memory overall? Playing on the same team as my sister her senior year of highschool and senior year of college What is your favorite post-game meal? La Tolteca How do you feel about being selected as the Athlete of the Week? It is an honor to be selected as Athlete of the Week What is your favorite part of being an athlete at Wilkes? The friendships I have made with my teammates throughout the years. What sports movie is your go-to for movie night? The Benchwarmers If you did not play your current sport, what sport would you have wanted to play? Vollyball Editor’s note : Athlete of the Week s elec tions are deter mined by the spor t s staff each week. At the e nd of the acade mic year, we w ill post a reader poll on Tw itte r @ Wilkes B eacon to c row n an “Athlete of the Year." Compiled by Samantha Mullen, Asst. Sports Editor �The Beacon April 30, 2025 Sports Athlete of the Week AJ Levandoski First-Year, Pitcher, Men’s Baseball The Beacon: Male Athlete of the Week Levandoski pitched seven strikeouts and allowing only one run in the 9-8 win over Moravian University. In the game against Lycoming College, he had 8 strikeouts in the 5-0 win. Major: Middle Level Education Hometown: Scranton, Pa. What had been your favorite sports memory from your time as a Colonel? Favorite sports memory as a Colonel has to be sweeping Elizabethtown during our first week of conference play. What is your favorite professional sports team (any sport)? Boston Red Sox What is your favorite thing to do away from sports? Playing card games with my friends What is your favorite part of being an athlete at Wilkes? Favorite part about being an athlete at Wilkes is definitely the family aspect of it. Everyone likes each other and plays for each other. What sports movie is your go-to for movie night? Major League II If you did not play your current sport, what sport would you have wanted to play? If I didn’t play baseball I’d love to golf What has been your favorite sports memory overall? Favorite sports memory ever was my last game my senior year of high school. I recorded my 200th strikeout and was named 1st Team All State; the first in school history. What is your favorite post-game meal? Chick-Fil-A How do you feel about being selected as the Athlete of the Week? It’s an honor to be selected as the athlete of the week, and I wouldn’t have been to without the help from my teammates and the coaching staff. Compiled by Samantha Mullen, Assistant Sports Editor Editor’s note : Athlete of the Week s elec tions are deter mined by the spor t s staff each week. At the e nd of the acade mic year, we w ill post a reader poll on Tw itte r @ Wilkes B eacon to c row n an “Athlete of the Year." 23 �The Beacon - April 30, 2025 Sports 24 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wilkes Beacon Newspaper Collection, 1947-present Description An account of the resource This is Wilkes University's Beacon Newspaper collection, 1947-present. We also have digitized copies of the Beacon's predecessors, The Bucknell Bison Stampede, 1934-1935 and The Bucknell Beacon, 1936-1947 June. It should be noted that Wilkes University does not have a complete set of issues for the Bucknell Bison Stampede and Bucknell Beacon. For researchers who are interested in seeing the complete issues for these publications, please contact <a href="https://researchbysubject.bucknell.edu/scua">Bucknell University's Special Collections Department</a>. Missing Issues: 1947 August 8th 1947 September 5th 1947 October 3rd 1947 October 17th 1947 October 31st 1947 November 21st 1947 December 19th 1948 September 9th 1950 April 28th 1953 April 10th 1962 February 2nd Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Beacon staff is comprised of Wilkes University students who are advised by a full-time faculty member of the Communication Studies Department. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1934-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright of the Wilkes Beacons is retained by Wilkes University. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Newspaper Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Professor Emeritus Harold Cox digitized the collection from 1934-1970 and created a <a href="https://beaconarchives2.wilkes.edu/">legacy website</a>. Digital Archives student John Jenkins digitized the collection from 1970-present. Special thanks goes to Communication Studies Professor Dr. Kalen Churcher, Editor-in-Chief Kirsten Peters, Beacon staff member, Emily Cherkauskas, and other Beacon staff for their help in acquiring digitized copies of the Beacons from 2006 onward. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wilkes Beacon, 2025 April 30 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Communications Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2025 April 30 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Type The nature or genre of the resource Newspaper