By: Ariana West Photo Credit: Simpson Red Hawks Twitter Many of our athletic teams on campus were not able to finish out their seasons due to the current pandemic, COVID-19. While this has been devastating for many, it’s especially disappointing for senior athletes who could not finish out their last seasons. Dan Tating, the head baseball coach, stated in an article for the Red Hawks website, "I really feel for our 12 seniors. They've been working for the last couple years to show that we could build a winning program here at Simpson, and it's devastating to not be able to showcase their hard work. We've been playing the best baseball I've seen here." Since the season was cut short, one question athletes have is if they are going to get their year of eligibility back. According to Athletic Director, Tom Galbraith, “We are working with the NAIA to come up with a final plan for eligibility and how that will play out in future seasons.” Many of our teams were well on their way to great success. This included baseball ending with a 6-2 record in conference play, and achieved a school record of an eight-game win streak. Men’s and women’s wrestling had individual champions in regional tournaments, including a Cascade Conference Champion for the first time in Simpson History. Men’s basketball qualified for the conference tournament for the third straight season. Track and field posted an individual title in their only track meet of the shortened season. Men’s volleyball earned a first-team all Cal Pac selection despite being in an extremely tough conference. Women’s golf had back-to-back second-place finishes before their spring season was cut short. Women’s softball was well on its way to establishing itself as an NAIA power of the West Coast before their season ended abruptly, which included a win against the No.1 team in the country and defending national champions, Southern Oregon University. Men’s and Women’s swimming had an impressive inaugural season with seven national qualifiers in just 19 events, plus a two-time All-American, Galbraith said. Junior swimmer Tom Higdon also explained that the swim team had multiple individual victories over NCAA DII and DIII swimmers. Higdon said, “We were able to place top 16th in the nation for all our relays and I was able to place second and fifth in the nation for the 100 and 200 breast.” Higdon had been training for the 2020 Olympics, and while he has still been training and doing everything he can to stay in shape while out of the pool, he stated that the Olympic trials and the Games themselves have been pushed back a year. His focus right now is leading his team to their second winning season and making sure they are as fast as they can be for their next national meet.

Dear Simpson University, I have been counting down the days until graduation since April 25, 2019--one year out. But as quickly as it was approaching, it got ripped away just as fast. Being a senior is a weird, bittersweet thing. I knew the day was coming that I would have to say goodbye to Simpson and I was ready for it. I was ready for that day in late April when we’d all part, dressed in our caps and gowns. And while I’ve been more than excited to leave this campus, it was not supposed to end this way. At this point, I can’t even put into words how I’m feeling. It all still feels like it isn’t real. I think most of us are in the same boat. To my fellow seniors, I’m sorry. This is not how we should be saying goodbye. We should not have been forced to make snap decisions that day after chapel, many moving out without any real plan. We had a whole month left. We had another month to drive our professors crazy. We had one more month to make memories we’d never forget. I remember looking around the gym after the announcement and seeing people feeling the same as me--heartbroken. Many of us cried. We shared hugs and tearful goodbyes. This has been an odd semester. A different way to end our college careers, to say the least. No one saw this coming. At the beginning of March, we were getting excited for the end of the year. Now I think we would all just like one more day with each other on campus. If I could give any advice to the freshmen, sophomores and juniors I would say this: Don’t take your time in college for granted. Be excited for graduation, but enjoy every day leading up to it. As it turns out, you never know when you’re going to walk on campus for the last time. The administration and faculty tried their hardest to come up with a plan for us seniors--something to make up for our loss of a spring celebration. The solution was having graduation at a later date, December 19. A whole eight months away. While I think we can all agree we are grateful to them for trying, it just won’t be the same. Several students have gone and won’t be able to come back. We also didn’t get our “lasts” the way we should have gotten them. Last day on campus, last day in class, last day eating in the caf, last practice, etc. These “lasts” are supposed to lead up to the grand finale--graduation day. That December grad just won’t be the same. On a more personal note, I want to thank the people who have come to be a big part of my life because of this school, and who had my back during my two years at SU. This past year, in particular, has been tough. Several things happened that I wasn’t sure I would bounce back from. I felt broken and lost. But my people held me together. These people have provided the hugs and coffee, sat with me as I cried, made me laugh and changed my life. They have become family. My crazy, wonderful, dysfunctional family. Anja Enstrom, Alli Ramelli, Ariana West, Jacelyn Wedman, Ethan Wulfestieg, Esther Gnanadoss, Shay’Lee Dayman, Connor Sutton, Brendan Moskal, Dan Berger and Molly Rupert--I would not have survived without you all. Thank you for being my support system. The love I have for you guys is endless. I will never be able to express how much you all mean to me and how blessed I feel that I was given the chance to have you in my life. I'll miss you more than you know. And of course, to my supporters outside of school, Kirsten Straccamoro, Wreth Simon and my family, I love you guys and thank you as well, from the bottom of my heart. I don’t agree with quite a few things Simpson does, and most of you know, I have not been quiet about it. Despite my frustrations with the school, I am beyond thankful for the people I’ve met and the memories I’ve made. Simpson was not my first choice. In fact, it was never on my radar. I thought I was going to attend Texas Christian University. I wouldn’t trade my decision for the world. I would give anything to argue with Esther and Brendan in the athletic office, work with my crew at the gameday table, spend a late night with Ariana and Alli in The Slate office, play Murder In The Dark with Ethan and Jacelyn in the library, spend a Tuesday morning laughing away in PR and sit in the comm office, drinking far too much coffee, with Professor Rupert, just one more time. To the student body, thank you for allowing me the chance to be your editor for the past semester. I’ve enjoyed it immensely. Thank you for reading the articles we’ve published and for supporting us as your campus newspaper. From the 2020 senior class to Simpson U as a whole, we thank you. Thank you for bringing us together. Thank you for allowing us to make lifelong friends. Thank you for teaching us, not just in the classroom, but outside of it as well. Thank you for building us into the young adults who are about to graduate so soon. Saying goodbye is never easy. But it sure is harder like this. Goodbye Simpson University, and thank you. All my love, Franchesca Carrera, Editor-In-Chief Photo and Video Credit: Franchesca Carrera

By Franchesca Carrera For the last few months, the world has been watching the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, closely. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the novel (new) virus was first detected in China and on January 30. The International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern.” Symptoms for the virus include coughing, fever and shortness of breath, according to the CDC website. As the virus has spread and made its way into the United States, the Simpson administration has begun taking precautions in an attempt to keep the SU community safe. Mark Endraske, Dean of Students, has sent four emails so far with updates regarding the virus. The email sent out the evening of Monday the 9th, was from both Endraske and Dr. Hall. It stated as of now there are no confirmed cases of the Coronavirus on campus. The email also included ways to help keep the risk low, such as washing your hands regularly, as well as mentioned for those concerned to continually check the CDC website for updates. With the first case of COVID-19 being confirmed in Shasta County by The Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency and reported by KRCR News Channel 7 on March 8, anxieties are rising. Students want answers on the crisis and how Simpson is preparing in the case that the Coronavirus is found on campus. ASBSU Vice President, Jacelyn Wedman, is among those concerned. She sent out a mass email to the student body the morning of the 9th to, as she stated, exercise the student’s right to know. “Simpson has a plan regarding online classes, meals for residents, and other provisions. Dale Simmons, SU provost, has been made aware that students need more information, and the student body should expect another, more detailed update later today. The facilities crew has amped up their disinfecting process, and has been deep-cleaning the campus regularly,” Wedman explained in the email. Wedman believes that students hearing from a peer is more personal than receiving emails only from administration, which is why she found it important to send her email. “The student body of Simpson has a general distrust of administration, going years back. As the link between the administration and student population, it is ASBSU’s duty to bridge that gap of distrust,” said Wedman. “If people see an email from a fellow student, they are more likely to read it, because it is their peer who they see every day, instead of an administrator who isn’t living in their building or attending their classes.” Wedman also added, “I’m not saying administrators shouldn’t be trusted. I am saying that students want to hear from other students.” An added problem to this virus is the need to work around it when scheduling events. At the beginning of February, Dr. Hall held a fireside chat in which he mentioned wanting to bring Ipads onto campus to potentially replace textbooks. In order to ensure this was the right decision, Hall said he wanted to have a demo team come out and test them. The demo was supposed to take place this week, said Hall, however, due to the Coronavirus, that is being postponed. “The Apple team visit is delayed because they are reducing travel related to the virus,” said Hall in an email. For now, Endraske, Hall and Wedman all have explained they have the health of the student’s in mind and are working to keep everyone as informed as possible. For more information on the plans Simpson has, check your email regularly, or reach out to an administrator.

By Franchesca Carrera and Ariana West We asked these seniors the following two questions. 1. What is the biggest lesson you learned from your time at Simpson? 2. What are your plans after graduation? Lily James 1. “The biggest lesson I’ve learned from being at Simpson is probably to have a better mentality or mindset preparing me for the future or in sports.” 2. “I’m planning on getting my masters in orthotic and prosthetics then work in the military.” Blanca Casamort 1. “The importance of surrounding yourself with friends that will help you get through anything and that makes being far from home easier.” 2. “I want to do a master’s degree in International Relations after graduation.” Andrew Cisneros 1. “The biggest lesson I learned from my time at Simpson is how to be more accepting of different cultures and upbringings and finding common ground.” 2. “My plans after graduation are to accept an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator job for our baseball program at Simpson. I eventually want to own my own business.” Joshua Ladner 1. “The biggest lesson I learned from being at Simpson is probably that coming out of my shell reveals amazing people and experiences.” 2. “I’m going to stay in Redding and find a job somewhere.”

By Daisy Brenegan On February 22, three members of the Simpson Men’s wrestling team qualified for NAIA Nationals -- Bryce De Camargo, Armand Molina and Jake Gonsalves. According to Simpson Athletics News, Armand Molina won Simpson's first-ever Cascade Conference title on Saturday, capturing the 141-pound championship with a 3-1 victory and earning a berth into the NAIA National Championships. “It felt great to be the first ever. It was such a great honor to win it especially since it’s my last year competing for the school. I was happy that the coaches finally had a first champion since they’ve been working so hard to have a champion at the tournament,” said Molina. Bryce De Camargo also made a run at the championship match at 184 pounds before running into defending national champion, Menlo's Anthony Orozco, losing 7-4. His second place finish also earned a trip to the NAIA National Championships. Jake Gonsalves fell in the semifinals at 197, but worked his way back to a fourth place finish and an entry into the national championships. Besides three wrestlers earning the chance to compete in nationals, two of Simpson’s wrestlers also received awards. Chris Lacayo was awarded character of the year and Silas Lagroue was awarded academic all American. Chris Lacayo stated, “I am so grateful to receive this award and I am grateful I get to be part of such an awesome team and represent my school.” Overall Simpson took 8th in regionals. For more details on this tournament go to simpsonredhawks.com.

By Ariana West For Simpson and many other Christian universities alike, earning spiritual life or chapel credit is something pretty normal. Here at Simpson, traditional undergrad students are required to receive seventeen spiritual life credits, eleven for nursing students, and seven for fourth semester nursing students. While the normal chapel time is still 10:20 a.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays, some students are missing how things were last year when there were more opportunities to earn spiritual life credit outside of chapel itself. Sophomore Kennedy Wulfestieg stated that, “There were more options last year and last semester. This semester is lacking.” Last year with Campus Pastor Bill Griffin, he held many more events to give students the opportunity to earn chapel credits if they could not attend all of the chapels. Glancing at emails from last year, there are several throughout the year from Griffin regarding extra opportunities for students to earn spiritual life credit. Events such as surveys, movie nights, and others were held quite often last year. According to sophomore Alexandra Samson, there were more Bible studies last year, or at least they were advertised more so students knew about them. Also, Unite was held every night in the prayer chapel as a way to get spiritual life credit. Samson also mentioned that last year there was a bowling night put on by Residence Life that was super fun. She continued by saying that more events like this would draw in more students. Samson and Wulfestieg both agreed that they would like to see more activities outside of regular chapel in the upcoming school year. For some students, juggling classes, athletics, homework, and after school jobs can make it extremely difficult to attend all the required chapels. If more events were offered at different times, students could not only get a different experience, but have an easier time fulfilling their spiritual life credit requirement.

By Ariana West The Simpson University men’s Bass Fishing Team might be in their first inaugural season, but they sure aren’t competing like amateurs. Not only on their home turf Lake Shasta, but also across the country, the team has already earned an impressive record. With their first place victory at the Wild West Bass Trail College Series on Lake Shasta, the duo of Chase Sherman and Nathan Phillips earned first place amongst 14 teams on January 26th. Some of their other competitors included some division one schools such as Chico and Oregon State according to an article by Simpson U News. Their successes and funding from sponsors allowed the team to travel all the way to Florida to compete in the national competition at the end of February.according to Freshman Taj White. In a press release by Simpson U News, they also stated that, The Simpson University Bass Fishing Team attended the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year Tournament earning the position as the top team in California and 98th among 315 in the nation. The team impressively beat out many larger schools such as; Chico State, UC Merced, CSU East Bay, Cal Poly, Sonoma State, Sac State, CSU Long Beach, Humboldt State, and USC. Team member Ryan Beaty explained that, “It’s really fun being able to compete against other schools and how we compare to them.” The team has another tournament at Lake Havasu in Arizona on March 14 so be sure to stay tuned for updates on how they end up doing. With being a brand new team on campus, Beaty stated that he hopes next year more people will be on the team and that they compete in as many tournaments as they can. If interested in joining the team, they meet in OC 204 at 4 p.m. every Thursday.

By Daisy Brenegan Starting on May 8, students might not be able to buy books and other essentials because the Simpson Bookstore will be closing down. Manager of the bookstore, Rachel Glasgow stated, “All the information I can give at this time is that we will be closing May 8 and everything with Simpson on it will be sold at a discounted price at some point.” Glasgow also explained that, “ The school wants to use this area to create a student union. Our company wanted to keep the bookstore on campus but located somewhere else. But the school chose to move forward with a different company.” According to Glasgow, there is no news on who this new company is and how textbooks will be purchased at this time. Junior, Tommy Willis said, “I am sad the bookstore is closing because every university and college has one, how can we not have one? I really hope this new company has no issues because the bookstore was really accessible. Adrian Maruffo said, “ I love the campus bookstore but I am curious and excited to see what this new company is like and how we are going to get textbooks.” More information should be released before the end of the school year. The bookstore staff is doing their best to tell everyone that they are closing. Spread the word to your friends.

By Franchesca Carrera The Simpson University Spring 2020 Graduation is a little under two months away and new details about the ceremony are emerging. At the fireside chat on Monday, February 10th, President Norm Hall announced where the ceremony will be held. In the past, the commencement was located on the cross-field. The last two years, the location was up in the air, until weather played a major role in the decision to hold it in the Grant Center, said Hall. For the third year in a row, the spring graduation ceremony will be held in the gym. At the fireside chat, Dr. Hall mentioned the struggles that come with having the ceremony outside. He said since the weather could turn bad within days of the ceremony, both the outside and inside venues need to be set up. The decision to keep graduation in the Grant Center comes mostly from money, explained Hall. In order to prepare both the gym and the field, it costs $8,000, whereas it costs significantly less to forego the outdoor setup altogether. Despite the finances, not everyone is happy with the decision. “I think having graduation outside makes it a lot more sentimental. Especially around the cross since we’re a Christian school,” said Shay’Lee Dayman. “Being outside will also create better photos with natural lighting, photos don’t always come out very well with the lighting in the gym.” Besides the lighting in the gym not being appealing, the space also isn’t big enough. According to a plaque posted on the outside of the Grant Center, the maximum capacity for floor seating is 1543. This results in graduates only getting a certain number of tickets, as stated in a recent email from the university. For graduating seniors with large families, such as Alex Cooper, this is not ideal. “If graduation is inside I will be crammed and feel claustrophobic and it won’t be enjoyable because there are people who have supported me throughout my journey who won’t be in the stands cheering me on sharing what will probably be the best day of my life because I would have accomplished something that no one in my family has done,” explained Cooper. Dr. Hall has made it clear that he feels it is more beneficial to have graduation indoors and despite the pushback from students, that is where it will remain.

By Daisy Brenegan While Campus Safety’s job is to keep everyone on campus safe 24-hours a day, from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m, Campus Safety does not have anyone patrolling. Due to an officer quitting, campus safety does not currently have anyone to work that time slot. Paul Davis head of Campus Safety, stated, “We should have that position filled within a week. You can still call campus safety 24 hours a day. But there is currently no one patrolling campus from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m.” With having no security during the early morning, it is important everyone is extra careful and alert. In other news, on January 31st around midnight, there was an incident on Shasta View Drive. Mark Endraske sent out a mass email to everyone the next day to inform students of what had happened. “Around midnight, someone inside a vehicle traveling on Shasta View randomly discharged a weapon multiple times, causing damage to some vehicles on South Shasta View before leaving the area. “ said Endraske. Endraske continued to state, “No vehicles on campus were damaged, and there are no reports of injuries.” Campus Safety and Redding police responded immediately. Redding police recommended the campus not be locked down, as the vehicle was not on campus and had left the area. Campus Safety alerts students and employees through our mass notification system if there is immediate danger and will provide instruction. With dangerous incidents like this happening closer and closer to our campus, it is that much more important for everyone to be careful, especially since no one is patrolling campus during the early morning hours, as previously stated.

By Ariana West Student Activities sent out an email that stated: HELLO RED HAWKS!!!! The Spirit Club and the Baseball team will be hosting a Tailgate Party out at Tiger Field on February 29th from 10am to 2pm. Each student will receive a ticket for one FREE meal (hotdog, chips, drink and a sweet treat) in their mailbox the beginning of next week. We will also have Cornhole, Facepaint and the Mascot with us! Make sure to save the date for Saturday, February 29th!! Tiger Field 1000 W Cypress Ave Redding, CA 96001 Look forward to seeing you all out there! Spirit Club Team

By Bryce De Camargo These seniors were asked there three questions: What are your plans after you graduate? What’s something you are going to miss about Simpson? Not miss? What was your favorite class? Blake Trent 1. After I graduate I want to play basketball overseas and then start my MBA. 2. I’m going to miss the teachers, my coaches and just the atmosphere of being at a school with such caring people. 3. My favorite class was New Testament with Dr. Painter. Paul Bigelow 1. After I graduate, I plan on going back to Simpson to get my California teaching credential. I would like to teach high school history and coach baseball. In the future, I’m also considering working for my masters degree in history to teach or coach at the collegiate level. 2. I’m going to miss my history professors and fellow classmates. I will also miss playing competitive baseball and listening to chapel worship music.I’m not going to miss night classes or 8am classes. 3. My two favorite classes at Simpson are the History of Modern Europe and Hermeneutics. Omar Leal 1. After I graduate, I want to become a police officer and sell solar panels. 2. I am going to miss playing soccer with all my friends, especially the old Lucas. 3. My favorite class was criminology with Dr. McCabe because the class consisted of mainly field trips. Ali Harvey 1. After graduation I plan on working for a year in the Social Work field, I want to work with children in needy families. After that year I would like to go back to school to get my masters degree in either Social Work or Marriage and Family Psych. 2. I am definitely going to miss my softball family at Simpson as well as the Soccer team who allowed me to join their family my sophomore year. Aside from athletics the community of Simpson university was also something I really enjoyed.I won't miss the late night studying and stressing the day before tests. My favorite class had to have been either Social Work with Professor Berger, or Psychopathology with Professor Newton.