Author: Nevaeh Schiffhauer

By Hannah Feldman

Selecting classes for the next semester is a crucial decision for college students. The right choice can lead to a fulfilling and successful academic journey, while the wrong one can result in frustration and academic setbacks. To ensure a productive and enjoyable college experience, students should follow a thoughtful and strategic approach when choosing their next semester classes.

First and foremost, students should begin by evaluating their degree requirements. Understanding the prerequisites and core courses necessary for their major is essential. This information can typically be found in the university’s course catalog or through academic advisors. By prioritizing required courses, students can ensure they make steady progress toward their degree and avoid any unnecessary delays.

In addition to core requirements, students should explore their elective options. Elective courses provide an opportunity to explore interests outside of their major, develop a well-rounded skill set, or delve deeper into a subject they are passionate about. It’s important to strike a balance between fulfilling degree requirements and pursuing personal interests.

Another crucial aspect to consider is class scheduling. Students should take into account their individual learning preferences and daily routines. Some students are early birds, while others are night owls. To optimize learning, it is advisable to schedule classes at times when they are most alert and attentive. Furthermore, students should be mindful of the time they spend commuting to campus, as this can significantly impact their daily schedule.

Moreover, it is wise to check course reviews and ratings online. Many universities have websites and platforms where students can share their opinions and experiences with particular professors and courses. Reading these reviews can provide valuable insights into the course’s quality and the professor’s teaching style. It is also a good idea to seek advice from peers who have already taken the class or consult with academic advisors.

Beyond reviews, students should carefully read the course descriptions and syllabi. These documents outline the topics covered, the required assignments, and the expectations for the course. This information can help students determine whether the class aligns with their interests and academic strengths.

While it is essential to consider individual preferences, students should also be aware of their overall course load. Balancing course difficulty and credit hours is vital. Taking on too many challenging courses in a single semester can lead to burnout, while a semester with too few challenging courses can stunt academic growth. Finding the right balance between difficulty and workload is key to academic success.

Furthermore, students should be open to seeking academic guidance from their professors and advisors. These individuals can provide insights into course selection based on the student’s goals and aspirations. They can help create a well-rounded schedule promoting academic and personal growth.

Selecting classes for the next semester is a significant decision for college students, and it requires careful consideration. By prioritizing degree requirements, exploring elective options, considering personal scheduling preferences, reviewing course ratings and descriptions, balancing course difficulty and workload, and seeking academic advice, students can craft a semester that contributes to their overall growth and success. This approach ensures that college students make the most of their academic experience, resulting in a fulfilling and productive journey through higher education.

By Caia Bevins

Both soccer and football did well this week, so let’s talk about it.

The men’s soccer team played Bluffton on Wednesday, and both teams played well. They finished the first half scoreless, and in the second half, #38 Noah Svanburg was able to score, putting DC in a one-point advantage that lasted the rest of the game. #38 Noah Svansburg led the team with one goal and six shots. #35 Griffin Meyer led with one assist, and #1 Orry Killam led with seven saves. The team as a whole ended the game with fifteen shots, seven shots on goal, and eleven saves.

Men’s soccer had their senior night last weekend, so let’s recognize these amazing students and athletes. #0 Austin Boles is majoring in Sports Management and plays goalkeeper for the soccer team. #1 Orry Killam is majoring in math education and is also a goalie for DC. #7 Adam Tobin is majoring in exercise science and is the Vice President of Student Senate. He is also a McMaster Scholar to Ghana and Ireland and is an RA. #10 Armando Compos-Ortiz is majoring in computer science and plays midfield. #11 Riley Hensley is double majoring in Psychology and Business and plays center back. #24 Joshua Maurer is getting his master’s degree in business and plays midfield. #34 Cole Mortemore is majoring in Education and plays center back for the soccer team. Finally, #38 Noah Svanberg is also getting his master’s degree in business plays midfield. 

Men’s soccer played against Transylvania for Senior Night, and #10 Armando Campos-Ortiz scored within ten minutes of the start of the game. The Yellow Jackets were up one going into the second half, but Transylvania scored a goal, evening out the score. DC stopped all other attempts at scoring but weren’t able to take the lead, and the game ended in a 1-1 draw. #10 Armando Campos-Ortiz led the team with goals, and #3 Quinn Holzapple, #4 Will Gehlhausen, #7 Adam Tobin, #10 Armando Compos-Ortiz, #11 Riley Hensley, #13 Tyler Fritchley, and #24 Joshua Maurer each recorded one shot, and #1 Orry Killam led with 6 saves. Overall, DC recorded seven shots, three shots on goal, and seven saves. Men’s soccer played their final game of the season last night against Mt. St. Joseph. 

Football played at Anderson last Saturday. They started off the game strong with three touchdowns, one of which was made after an interception made by #2 Thomas Coltrain, who returned the ball ninety-five yards for a touchdown. They went into the second half with a 20-0 lead and were able to score twice more in the second half and made a field goal. Anderson was able to score once, but the Jackets dominated the game, and it ended with a score of 36-6. #9 Jordan Ambrose led with passing yards, #0 Tyshaun Freeman led in rushing yards, and #44 Dominic Harris recorded 11 stops. The team ended the game with 174 passing yards, 170 rushing yards, and a time of possession of thirty-three minutes and four seconds.
Defiance College Athletics. (n.d.-a). Defiance College. https://www.defianceathletics.com/landing/index

By Caia Bevins

Let’s recap what happened in women’s sports this week.

Last Wednesday, the soccer team played Bluffton. The Beavers started off strong, and by the second half, they had scored five goals. They were able to score three more times in the second half, and the final score was 8-0. #9 Hallie Webb led the team with three shots, and #99 Sarah O’Shea led with 14 saves. Overall, the team attempted eight shots, 3 shots on goal, and 14 saves. 

It was Senior Night for the women’s soccer team this Saturday, so let’s take a minute to recognize these fantastic students and athletes. #6 Logan Gray is a social work major and is a member of the Social Work Organization, the Service Leaders Program, Science Club, and is a McMaster Scholar to Belize, Ghana, and Ireland. She is also a Senior RA and a tutor. #7 Melissa Bixler is a nursing major and plays forward for the soccer team. #9 Hallie Webb is an environmental science major and plays forward. #10 Paige Rohloff is an exercise science major and plays midfield for the soccer team. She is also a part of the science club and is an RA. #11 Sloane Livingston is a double major in criminal justice and social work and is involved in the Criminal Justice Society, Social Work Organization, Campus Activities Board, is the Vice President of the Science Club, and is an RA. #20 Olivia Rayk is a forensic science major, is a math and science tutor, and is an RA on campus. #25 Bethany Lechenet is a double major in criminal justice and psychology and plays forward for the soccer team. #31 Clover Worell is majoring in environmental science and minoring in business management. She is also the President of the Science Club and is a math and science tutor. #99 Sarah O’Shea is majoring in Early Childhood Education and K-12 intervention specialist. She is the goalkeeper for the soccer team.

In the Senior Night game, the Yellow Jackets played Transylvania, and the Pioneers scored three in the first half. In the second half, they scored four more goals, putting the final score at 7-0. #13 Haley Hughes led the team with one shot, and #99 Sarah O’Shea led with eighteen saves. They played again last night against Mt. St. Joseph.

The volleyball team played against Hope College on Friday, and they played three sets at 9-25, 10-25, and 9-25, respectively. The team ended with thirty digs and one ace. On Saturday, they played against Susquehanna and played four sets with scores of 20-25, 25-20, 25-16, and 25-21, respectively. The Yellow Jackets broke their six-game losing streak with four blocks, fifty-five digs, and eleven aces.
Defiance College Athletics. (n.d.-a). Defiance College. https://www.defianceathletics.com/landing/index

By Hanna Young

The Kind Worth Killing, by New England Society Book Award winner, Peter Swanson, leaves readers guessing at every chapter. This book is set in Boston. The starting point is the London airport in which Lily Kitner meets Ted Severson at an airport bar. 

While sharing gin martinis, Lily and Ted decide to play a game of truths that lead to several things being revealed. One of these things is how Ted thinks his marriage is going cold and he jokes that he could kill his wife Miranda whom he suspects of cheating. Lily tells Ted that there are people in this world worth killing and that she would help Ted kill his wife. The pair starts to plan the demise of Miranda and while they do they grow closer and closer together. However, there are still a few secrets that Ted doesn’t know about Lily. Ted and Lily make this plan, but there is one thing that they didn’t account for. Their plans are slightly foiled when one of them doesn’t make it out of the deadly game alive. 

This book left my jaw on the floor. The beginning started out a little slow, but the pace picked up the farther into the book that I got. As I read I wanted to know more and more and I could hardly read the pages fast enough. There are so many things that had to line up for the ending to come together and in my opinion most everyone got what they deserved. I can’t wait to see what Peter Swanson does with the sequel book. 

Overall, I rate this book a 4/5. This is because there was so much that kept me reading, but the book was also kinda slow in some spots.

By Jessica Reynolds

I would like to introduce you to Stacy Adams. She is in charge of the Autism Spectrum Disorder Affinity Program and she is the Education Clinical Experiences Coordinator. She has been at Defiance College for 2 and a half years. Her favorite part about working at DC is the one on one services she can provide for students in the ASD program. She also made mention that she is very passionate about holding the camp for the young kids because she likes to provide services to the younger generation. Stacy decided to work at Defiance College because she was very interested in the job posting and applied. 

Stacy Adams graduated from Defiance College in 1996. She obtained her social work degree and previously held her License of Social Work. Prior to working at DC she worked in many different areas including: as a paraprofessional at Defiance City Schools, Defiance County Children Services, Four County Family Services, and Head Start in Defiance. 

Stacy’s favorite things to watch are true crime documentaries. Her favorite sport to watch is soccer. Some things that are on her bucket list are getting to go to Greece and eating at an IHOP.  The phone apps she thinks she uses the most are Spotify, Google Search, and Messages. She was confident in saying she is most proud of her two daughters. Her favorite color is “orange because it is a happy color.” Stacy made mention during the interview that she is introverted and she prefers smaller groups of people. Stacy loves to read, especially romance books. An interesting fact is that she will not read any romance book that has time travel in it. 

Stacy’s office is located in Defiance 119. 

By Caia Bevins

Women’s soccer played against Anderson last Wednesday. Anderson scored six times in the first half of the game, making the score 6-0 going into the second half. #99 Sarah O’Shea guarded the net for the majority of the first half before switching out with #0 Madison Hert for the rest of the first and the entirety of the second half. The Jackets recorded two shots, one made by #9 Hallie Webb early in the second half and the other made by #14 Lexi Howard toward the end of the game. Anderson was able to score two more goals before the end of the game, making the score 8-0. #14 Lexi Coward led the team with three shots, and #0 Madison Hert led with sixteen saves. The team as a whole ended with six shots and two shots on goal.

They played again on Saturday at Franklin. The Grizzlies fought hard but weren’t able to score until a little over half an hour into the game, and then scored two more goals before the second half, making the score 3-0. Going into the second half, Anderson scored three more times, putting them in a six-to-nothing lead. #13 Haley Hughes was able to record one shot on goal, but it was knocked down by Anderson. #13 Haley Hughes and #20 Olivia Rayk led the team with shots, and #99 led with saves. The team ended with two shots, one shot on goal, and fourteen saves. They played last night against Bluffton and will play again Saturday against Transylvania at 1 p.m.

Volleyball played twice this week, once against Rose-Hulman and again against Transylvania. In the Rose-Hulman game, the sets were as follows: 25-15, 25-15, and 25-12 respectively. DC ended the match with a score of 3-0, 2 blocks, 51 digs, and 2 aces. In the Transylvania game, they played three sets, with the scores being 10-25, 13-25, and 8-25. The Jackets ended with a score of 3-0, 1 block, 38 digs, and 8 aces. The volleyball team played again last night against Earlham at 7 p.m.

Defiance College Athletics. (n.d.-a). Defiance College. https://www.defianceathletics.com/landing/index

By Caia Bevins

Last Wednesday, Men’s soccer played Anderson in their pink-out game. In the first half, Anderson scored twice. The Jackets went into the second half scoreless but were able to stop any more goals made by the other team. Towards the end of the game, #11 Riley Hensley scored, making the score 2-1. Though they battled hard, they weren’t able to score again and the game ended with a score of 2-1. #11 Riley Hensley led the team with 8 shots and #3 Quinn Holtzapple and #24 Joshua Maurer each recorded two. DC ended the game with seventeen shots, six shots on goal, and four saves.

Men’s soccer played again on Saturday against Anderson and it was a challenging game for both teams. #11 Riley Hensley made his attempt at scoring in the third minute of the game and they kept that momentum going throughout the first half, but were unable to score. Both teams started the second half scoreless and while both teams recorded nine shots, neither were able to score at all in the second half, leading to a scoreless draw. #11 Riley Hensley led the team with five shots and #24 Joshua Maurer and #35 Griffin Meyer recorded two each. The Jackets ended the match with fourteen shots, four shots on goal, and six saves made by #1 Orry Killam. The Jackets played yesterday at Bluffton and will play again on Saturday against Transylvania at 3:30 p.m.

Football played in the freezing rain on Saturday against Franklin for their pink out game. They scored their first touchdown of the game in the second quarter, going into the second half with a score of 21-6. They were scoreless for the third quarter, but came back to score twice in the forth and picked up the extra point, making the score 35-21. #9 Jordan Ambrose led the team in passing yards and #0 Tyshaun Freeman led with 235 rushing yards. DC ended the game with 42 total passing yards and 291 rushing yards with a total time of possession of 24:48. They will play again next week at Anderson at 1:30 p.m.
Defiance College Athletics. (n.d.-a). Defiance College. https://www.defianceathletics.com/landing/index

By Hanna Young

A scoreless first half for both teams followed by a scoreless second half leads to a draw. The first half of the game did not see any goals for either team. The Yellow Jackets recorded five shots on goal in the first half. Riley Hensely kicked off the game by taking a shot. Orry Killam recorded one save in the first half. 

The second half also saw no scoring for either team. Defiance College recorded nine shots on goal in the second half. Armando Campos-Ortiz was the first Yellow Jacket in the second half to take a shot which was saved by Franklin’s goalie. Ory Killam recorded five saves as well. Zak Klopfenstein was the last Yellow Jacket to attempt a shot when it was nearing the end of the game. 

The team recorded 14 shots with 4 of those on goal. Riley Hensley led the Yellow Jackets with five shots, followed by Griffin Meyer and Joshua Mauer with two each, while five other teammates added one shot. Joshua Mauer led the Yellow Jackets with two shots on goal, while Armando Campos-Ortiz and Jeremy Fuller each added in two. Orry Killam recorded 6 saves in the contest. 

The Silent Patient, By Sunday Times Best Selling Author, Alex Michaelides leaves readers’ minds swimming. The book is mostly set in North London at the Grove, a psychiatric hospital. However, it has some slight flashbacks to the past and the home in which the patient lived before her time at the Grove. 

Alicia Berenson suffered a serious trauma when she murdered her husband in seemingly cold blood. She came home one night and shot him in the face five times and from then on she never utters another word. However, instead of throwing her in jail, the court decides her sentence could be served out at the Grove where she can seek out treatment away from the public eye. The Grove staff had pretty much given up hope on her ever speaking again, that is, until Theo Faber arrives and wants to work with Alicia. He gets right to work trying to understand her and trying to get to the bottom of why she shot her husband. Theo might have his own intentions outside of helping Alicia though. 

This book literally left me shaking. It is another book that is so twisted that it makes you wonder how someone could come up with it. This book is such a good read, while there were a couple parts that were slow it was packed full of information that fit into other sections of the book. There are so many clues hidden throughout that book that don’t make sense until the last couple chapters. 

Overall, I gave this book a 5/5. There was no way I could predict the ending, even with all the clues hidden throughout the book. 

By Hannah Feldman

Pumpkin and apple are two iconic fall flavors that capture the season’s essence in distinct ways. The debate over the better fall flavor has raged for years, and the truth is, it’s a matter of personal preference. Let’s explore the unique qualities of each and attempt to settle this delicious debate.

Pumpkin, with its warm, earthy flavor, is synonymous with autumn. The aroma of pumpkin spice, a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, permeates the air, instantly conjuring feelings of comfort and coziness. Pumpkin’s versatility is one of its greatest assets. It can be used in a wide range of sweet and savory dishes, from the classic pumpkin pie to creamy pumpkin soup and hearty pumpkin risotto. Pumpkin’s rich, velvety texture and slightly sweet taste match the cooler temperatures and shorter fall days. Whether you’re sipping a pumpkin spice latte or indulging in a slice of pumpkin bread, the flavor evokes a sense of nostalgia and warmth.

On the other hand, apples are equally beloved during the fall season. Their crisp, juicy flesh and natural sweetness make them a refreshing and satisfying treat. Apple pies, with their flaky crusts and spiced apple filling, make apple pies a hallmark of autumn’s culinary delights. Whether hot or cold, apple provides a refreshing respite on brisk days. The act of apple picking in orchards, surrounded by the vibrant colors of changing leaves, is an annual tradition that embodies the spirit of fall. Apples are delicious and nutritious, making them healthier for those conscious of their dietary intake.

The debate over the superior fall flavor ultimately comes down to individual taste preferences. Some may argue that the rich, creamy pumpkin dishes are the epitome of autumn comfort, while others might assert that apples’ crisp, sweet tang captures the season’s essence. In reality, there is no definitive answer to this question. The better fall flavor depends on personal experiences, memories, and associations with each taste.

In conclusion, the competition between pumpkin and apple as the better fall flavor is an ongoing, friendly debate that adds to the charm of the autumn season. The beauty of this debate lies in the diversity of tastes and traditions that different people bring to the table. Whether indulging in a slice of warm apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or sipping a pumpkin spice latte by the fire, both flavors have a special place in the hearts and palates of many during the fall season. Ultimately, the answer to this culinary problem is that there’s no wrong choice – pumpkin and apple offer a delectable taste of autumn that warms the soul.