By: Andrew Galindo Simpson athletes give a synopsis of what it is like to be an athlete and what it takes to stay in shape during the season and offseason. With Simpson population being mostly athletes, this article will present what a day in the life of those athletes looks like. The morning is the most important part of the day for athletes, it really dictates your whole day because if you are not well rested you might set yourself up for failure. Recovery is a big part in athletes' lives and sleep is the biggest contributor to a good recovery. Simpson’s very own pro-baseball player Connor Wytko gave us his breakdown of his morning. “I focus a lot on recovery, so I like to wake up at 830. Eat some breakfast and if I have class go to that. If not, I’ll try to get ahead on some homework or take some relaxation time before I start my day.” If an athlete has free time before team practice, they will get out there early to get some work in before. Whether that is stretching, conditioning, or fundamentals. The greatest athletes in the world do not just rely on practice with the team. They also put time in when nobody is looking and that is a part of what makes them great. “I usually get out there about an hour and a half before to get through my full routine and to get my mind ready, to flip a switch from everyday life to baseball.” says Wytko. His hard work and dedication have gotten Wytko places, this Summer he will be playing independent baseball up in Oregon for the Campesinos de Salem-Keizer. Wytko’s past two seasons at Simpson have been solid, batting over .300 both seasons. “My favorite thing about Simpson is the relationships I've made, and I like the guys on the team a lot and we all get along. So, its fun getting the opportunity to play baseball with people you like.

By: Eric Norris Out of the eight teams that traveled to Redding, California, all left disappointed. A few teams left more frustrated than others such as the home team, the Simpson Red Hawks. Every year the location changes to each team’s home course, this year it was played at Gold Hills course. Naturally, the men’s and women’s golf teams practiced five days a week studying meticulously each hole of the course, in the end it wouldn’t be enough. Even with the home course advantage the Red Hawks were faced with more talented schools such as the Embry-Riddle Eagles, Providence Christian College, Benedictine University- Mesa, Park University- Gibert and Marymount College. The Red Hawks beat two schools, CSU-Maritime and Sierra Nevada College. Unfortunately for the women, they did not make a full team and had to play as individuals versus the field. The first day of the tournament, the worst factor that plagued every team was the wind. The week before the tournament, it was a warm, sunny 85 degrees, but today it was 58 degrees and 25-30 mph gusts that never stopped. In many collegiate NAIA tournaments, the low round of the first day would be around even par or -1, but the low round on Monday shot by two players was +4, 76. Trevor Lewis from the Eagles and Cameron Hedge from Benedictine according to golfstat.com. The Red Hawks teed off later in the morning and dealt with the wind quite a bit more resulting in higher scores. The best of these higher scores would come from first-year Andrew Scott scoring a 93, +21. After the round he said, “Even at my home course, that wind made me feel so out of sync. I struggled to control the ball flight.” Day’s two and three proposed nicer weather for both the men and women but not nicer scores. The Red Hawks greatly struggled with pitch shots around the greens more than anything. They were never used to the greens firming up as much as they were. During the year while tournaments were not happening, the putting greens would be soft and spiny for the players to get a lot of check up on shots, meaning the ball would stop sooner. But during the tournament many players besides the Red Hawks relied too much on trying to make the ball spin, which wouldn’t work because the greens were too firm. The Cal Pac didn’t go as planned even with the amount of preparation that was put in. Jaxon Moon, another first-year student, summarized his rounds by saying, “The course played harder than what I was used to. I usually have easy shots into greens where I can make low scores, but I didn't execute well.” For the men they finished as followed out of 40 players, T18th Andrew Scott +32, 24th Felipe Ferreira, 29th Jaxon Moon +59, 30th Eric Norris +67, 31st Phillip Boit +69. For the women they finished as followed out of 31 players, 10th Arianna Castaneda +59, T11th Mya Chao +60, 14th Michelle Eaun +63.

By: Gustavo Ventura Swoosh sounds the golf ball. Flashbacks from Simpson University golf team at the Cal Pac tournament on Monday April 11 at Gold Hills Golf Club. Images By: Andrew Galindo, Timea Horvath, and Macole McMahon. Videos by Andrew Galindo, Timea Horvath, and Macole McMahon.

By: Cole McMahon The tale of the Caped Crusader has been rebooted again. “The Batman” arrived in theaters on March 4, after being delayed for over a year due to COVID-19 . The film is set in Batman’s second year of dawning the cape and cowl when Gotham faces a new threat of The Riddler who has been working to terrorize Gotham City. Like most Batman movies, the film has a darker tone in the plot and of the shooting of the film as well. The story of billionaire Bruce Wayne shows the contrasting lives he plays when putting on his Batman face. However, when Bruce Wayne was on screen it felt as if it was just Batman without his mask on. Robert Pattinson, who plays Batman/Bruce Wayne in the film had an emo and brooding attitude when he was Bruce Wayne during the day. His persona did not change much when he was either Batman or Wayne. Whether or not that was the intention of the director Matt Reeves is unclear. The whole idea of Bruce Wayne living double lives is that as Mr. Wayne he is a celebrity billionaire to the eye that has no problems in the world. While at night he is a cold-blooded character who is trying to clean the streets of Gotham. To be fair, the emo and brooding Bruce Wayne did appear in other Batman films such as Batman Begins, but not to the level and capacity as in this film. This is not a knock whatsoever on Pattinson’s acting in the movie. His acting along with actors Zoe Kavitz, who played Catwoman, and Colin Farrell, who played Penguin, all did well with what they were given. That is not to say that some of the writing in the movie seemed poor. One line that makes me cringe is when Batman is having an interaction with Catwoman and makes a remark that she has a lot of cats. This line and other unwanted written lines in the movie are what kept it from reaching a movie like The Dark Knight’s potential. The film was not only held back by Bruce Wayne’s portrayal and the writing, but also by the story and plot itself. It would have been a more enjoyable movie if the time were shaved off by at least a half hour. By limiting the number of [TH3] times Batman entered and kept returning to a club with Catwoman to find answers to The Riddler’s plans and whereabouts. With The Riddler being the main villain in the movie, it would have been nice to see him have more screen time with less of it being projected by videos taken by his phone. Finally, what stuck with me the most was the cheesy ending of the movie where you have Batman and Catwoman going separate ways and the camera showing the two of them driving off on motorcycles in different directions. Some of the better parts of the movie were Batman’s epic theme that would play almost every time he was on screen, the creepiness of The Riddler’s look and personality in the film, and the overall look of the whole movie and the way it was shot. Simpson students Ethan Padilla and Eric Winchester had their own thoughts about the newest Batman film. When talking about the past Batman movies, Padilla said, “it was a different take on the traditional Batman, and I enjoyed it.” Winchester had a similar taking saying, “I thought it was something we have never seen...Robert Pattinson was a good choice for the movie... and even though it was a three-hour movie, I can’t think of anything they can take out.” After watching this film and hearing all the great reviews by critics and peers, I thought that I may have been crazy and maybe The Batman really was a fantastic film. Then, a few days later I re-watched Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and I understood that I was not crazy, and The Dark Knight still is a better Batman movie and film altogether.

By Jacob Greene Rookie and veteran anglers are set to compete on the national stage in Oklahoma. The Simpson Bass Fishing team has a tournament-filled March and April. Lake Havasu, Arizona; Fort Gibson Lake, Oklahoma: Clear Lake, California: and the California Delta are all locations that the team will be competing at. Nathan Phillips (Junior) and Ty Manterola (Freshman) are both competing in the Abu Garcia National College tournament this year. With them, 6 other anglers from the Simpson Bass Fishing team are competing. Phillips, an experienced angler, is leading the team in the National tournament again this year. Manterola, however, has never competed in Collegiate Nationals, only High School Nationals. “I expect to go in knowing that I have the tools and opportunities to win, this is the toughest tournament that college bass fishing has to offer. So, it's not going to be easy, but I don't do this expecting myself to lose, so honestly, I expect us to win,” he said. Phillips voiced his confidence, “I think as a team if we can all stay positive and fish hard all day, we are going to be super hard to beat.” “You have to start at the basics, try to find a pattern, and run from there,” Phillips said. “There’s times where we definitely like to put a lot of unneeded pressure on ourselves, we know how to catch ‘em we just have to relax and do our thing.” This year the team has expanded from 4 anglers to 9. Phillips emphasized how important chemistry is in a tournament. “This year we have a bunch of new partnerships so it’s important to just fish with your partner and learn their strengths and weaknesses. You want to just be able to feed off each other without even talking.” Phillips said, “Decisions in this sport need to be that fast to be at the top. Everyone has got to be on the same page and if you aren’t, things just seem to fall apart.” Phillips has competed in many tournaments throughout his collegiate fishing career. The team has experienced college fishermen, including Taj White, Ryan Beaty, and Austin Rojas. There is also transfer student Myles Davis (upperclassman). There are anglers like Manterola, who are new to collegiate angling. These other freshman anglers include [captain] Quinn Hawkinson, Jayden Nezy, and Jacob Greene. They have a busy tournament schedule for March and April. Phillips said, “I like having tournaments closer together because you can get momentum going just like any other sport. It’s a lot harder to keep that momentum if we must wait 2 months to finish the next tournament. Keeping the confidence high is a major part of anyone’s success in anything they do.” These tournaments soak up lots of time and preparation. You need skill and head knowledge to do well. Especially when you are fishing for new water. Manterola said, “Ever since I found out where we're going for Nationals, what lake it was going to be on, most of my research is on YouTube or Google Earth.” Manterola said, “Kind of seeing what type of color is in the lake and what the water clarity is like, what the conditions look like on that particular lake, and get an idea of what the layout of the lake is.” “I spend hours and hours on Google Earth,” Manterola commented, talking about how he has probably spent “50 plus hours on Google Earth since finding out where it’s at.” He breaks the lake into sections and marks different things, so he knows where things are underwater. From an aerial view, when the water is at its lowest, he can see the underwater cover. One major thing you must prepare is your tackle. The key to efficiency on the boat is having every lure rigged up before you go out. “Us guys on the Simpson team have had a lot of experience in that,” Manterola stated, referring to the whole team staying mentally focused during a long tournament, “with not a lot of sleep or good nutrition.” Most people do not understand the mental, physical, and all-around preparation that goes into a fishing tournament. There is lots of preparation and head knowledge you need, not to mention great communication and impeccable efficiency. “I think it should set up just right to catch some good pre-spawn fish, as long as we don’t get a major cold front that will stunt those fish in transition,” said Phillips about the timing of the National Tournament. The fish are bedding, getting ready to spawn and lay eggs. As warmer weather approaches, the bite gets better because they are more aggressive. The current weather is setting the Simpson Bass Fishing team up to have a successful next couple of months. Sources: Nathan Phillips and Ty Manterola

By: Anna Jaumandreu Coming back to the routine after Spring Break can be tough for some. Homework, work, and practices can be stressful after being home or traveling with friends. Luckly, here are a few places to go here in Shasta County for those who are looking to escape the routine. Starting in Redding, the Sundial Bridge, at Turtle Bay, crosses the Sacramento River, and it is the perfect place to walk around at any time, day, and night. Moreover, there is a trail to walk around and enjoy the beauty of Redding. Next to it, there is the Turtle Bay Exploration Park, a 300-acre campus that has educational and entertaining activities such as the art gallery in the museum, wildlife exhibits, forest camp, an amphitheater and arboretum and gardens. Sandra Berrocal, who is a Simpson student stated that, “Going to the Sundial for a walk helps me a lot to disconnect, and now that we have nice weather I would encourage everyone who needs to take a break to go and take a walk.” For those who like outdoor adventures there are several waterfalls to check. Whiskeytown Falls are next to Whiskeytown Lake, just outside Redding the hike follows the James K. Carr Trail for a 3.4-mile loop to see the 220-foot-tall waterfall. There is also space to sit down and enjoy the day next to it. An hour away from Redding, there are the Burney Falls in State Park, located in Burney. The water comes from underground springs above it and there is also a trail to walk around and see the flora and vegetation around it. Mossbrae Falls in Dunsmuir is an easy hike that follows the train track. It is considered one of the most scenic waterfalls, due to the multiple layers of water that come from the spring-fed waterfall. Thanks to its multiple landscape variety, there are hikes to check as well. One hour away from Redding the Lassen Volcanic National Park is a must-see. According to the National Park Service, it is one of the only places in the world that has four kinds of volcano and it is characterized by its steamy geothermal features. “Lassen Volcanic National Park is home to steaming fumaroles, meadows freckled with wildflowers, clear mountain lakes, and numerous volcanoes. Jagged peaks tell the story of its eruptive past while hot water continues to shape the land.“ National Park Service websit. There is a lake, trails, and it is possible to go to the peak and enjoy the view of the nature surrounding it. For those looking to hike in Redding, there is a 38.2 mile-trail from the Sundial Bridge to the Shasta Dam. And finally, there are the Caves of the Shasta Cascade located 19 miles north of Redding. It offers “Three Adventures in One '' which includes a scenic catamaran cruise across the Shasta Lake, a fun bus ride to the cave entrance and an information-filed tour of what some geologists consider one of the most beautiful limestone caves in the U.S. Coming back to the routine can be hard, but there are always adventures to go with good company and make fun memories.

By: Eric Norris Car thief stumbles upon Simpson campus attempting to creep on college students. Two days before spring break on March 10, an undisclosed man in his 20’s walked around the dorms and attempted to get into a female's window that afternoon. The woman inside noticed and frightened the man to where he ran into the forest behind the dorms. The police were immediately contacted and arrived 15 minutes later around 4:00 pm. An extensive search was conducted into the woods but no sign of the mystery man. Thankfully the woman who noticed him took a picture of him. That photo was handed to the police and sent to all students to keep a lookout. Later that afternoon around 7:00 pm the man was spotted again. A different woman called in that she saw the man in camo near the Mazel dorm and she said over the phone, “I think he has a knife in his left hand.” Immediate action was taken when campus safety rushed to the scene but were not able to locate the suspect. Higher safety measures were conducted to ensure the safety of the students, faculty and everyone else on campus. The first measure was to email all students of what was happening at the time along with the picture of the suspect. Next, there were hourly searches to check the forest throughout the evening and night. At about 8:00 pm, one of these searches paid off. Two students Tommy Hilfiger, and Zach Watkins spotted the man in a white sedan that sped away off campus. Watkins was able to catch a glimpse of the license plate. He reported it to the campus safety supervisor, Dennis Smith. Smith reported the license plate to the police and the police came back with the message, “That vehicle is reported stolen. He is dangerous.” Since that day it has been a total of 17 days since the original altercation and there has been no sign of the suspect’s arrest and wanted for multiple felony crimes including carjacking and evading arrest. He is still on the run.

By: Louis Down Simpson University manages to lure back many of its alumni to fill positions that arise on campus. However, one Simpson legend has found himself in a full circle situation, his name is Gary Weaver. Weaver is a proud Stockton native that left Simpson in 2007 as a National Christian College Athletic Association all-American and after being selected for California Pacific All-Conference. After returning to Simpson in 2020 as assistant coach of the men’s soccer team, Weaver has brought his winning way back to Simpson. In his first season back, the program finished with its best record in over a decade (9-4). This record was in fact the best winning percentage in the program’s history. Who knows what this current winning program could have achieved if Weaver had been able to lace up and still play. As a player, Weaver holds the record for most goals scored by an individual player for Simpson, 30 goals in as many games. Simpson Men’s Soccer team head coach, Erly Cornejo, was the man who brought Weaver back to Simpson. Cornejo and Weaver have been reunited in a true bromance story. After competing together as teammates at Simpson, to now coaching side by side. Cornejo believes that the program wouldn’t have had the success they’ve had in recent years without him. Cornejo went on to say “Honestly, he is the man! He makes everything happen in the program. Logistically he does everything that we don’t enjoy doing as coaches. He genuinely loves his players and wants to make sure to drag out the best in all of you. Obviously, he does it in a quieter, cooler way but I think the guys look up to him because he is genuine. From an experienced standpoint, he is the best player to play in program history. His knowledge of the game from a technical and tactical standpoint is super high and is great working with players, especially on a 1 on 1 basis. Just pulling players aside and talking to them.” On Aug. 8, 2020, Weaver posted on Instagram claiming that he chose coaching as a career choice because he missed being around the game. Weaver stated in an interview with the Slate, “What I enjoy most about being back is being around the guys. Building relationships with all the players. I love seeing the development and ambition. I love seeing hard work pay off.” Simpson University student and Men’s soccer team player David Vasquez testified to the character and coaching attributes that Weaver possesses, “Honestly Coach Weaver is supportive. I believe I can tell him anything and he’ll be there for me on and off the field and I think that’s the sign of quality attributes in a coach.” With the program already finding success under the guidance of Weaver in the short period of time that he’s been here, the school will be hopeful to keep him here as long as possible to keep sharing his wisdom and ability with players to come.

By Christian Valdez Years and years of compelling footage of the rise of the Chicago icon, Kanye West, has recently culminated in the three part documentary, Jeen-Yuhs. West’s past is riddled with controversies. The Netflix documentary that concluded on Feb. 16. revealed that there is more to West than his mistakes. Clarence Simmons Jr., directed the series and has followed West with a camera since 2002. Simmons said, “there was something different about Kanye,” and, “there was no doubt he was going to be a star.” West achieved prophesied stardom in style racking in 22 Grammy Awards and 7 platinum albums according to echonews.com. West has achieved a lot in the music industry, but nothing compares to how he overcame adversity in his life. The documentary does a spectacular job illustrating West’s numerous failed attempts to get a record deal. The Chicago native was determined to reach his goal and this came to full fruition when he signed with Roc-A-Fella Records. West talks about practicing his Grammy Speech prior to even getting a deal. Some may say this is arrogant, but it really is inspirational. This inner confidence is what boosted him to climb the ladder to stardom. Not to mention, he opened the gateway for Chicago artists like Chance the Rapper. These first two episodes do a great job highlighting the fact that West is truly inspiring. West’s drive and persistence are admirable traits that people would not see without this docuseries. The series also emphasizes the importance of West’s mother, Donda, in his life. His mother played a monumental role in his life providing advice and countless laughs. West’s newest album even shares the same name as his mother. West’s sentimental side that he shows with his mom adds more layers to his character. Simmons dedicates the third episode to West’s struggle with being bipolar. Simmons highlights that West still achieved greatness with the difficulties of his disorder. West’s resilience is quite inspiring, but nothing is as inspiring as when he overcame a near fatal car crash. There was a possibility that he could never rap again yet he produced the hit “Through the Wire” while he was still recovering in the hospital. Simpson student, Ronald Bolling, said, “This moment made me realize Kanye’s passion for music is indescribable and inspiring for all people.” This documentary sheds light on the inspiring nature of West. The first two episodes are magnificent, but the concluding episode is left unfulfilled. The third episode is good, but it strays from the inspirational theme that the first two prioritize. This documentary is definitely worth a watch especially if you are in need of inspiration. It is a 8/10. Simpson students, Louis Down and Bolling, agree that West is truly inspirational and they have even been revisiting his music. Down says that “Kanye has the culture in the palm of his hand.” West is an inspirational figure who is still influencing the culture today. Make sure to check out the documentary.

By Jacob Greene' A meme account was created and deleted within a week. What was the real meaning behind the Simpson meme account? Over spring break a student who wants to remain anonymous created a meme account on Instagram. Students and some faculty followed the page named “pimpson_memes.” Although this account had many followers, some students, like Gianna Smith, did not follow it. “I thought it could go bad and I didn't want to get in trouble for following it.” She did say that some of the memes were funny. But she agreed that they did step over the line at times. When asked if she thought it was good the account got deleted, she replied, “Yes and no because yes some of them were bad, not funny I thought. But like it gave all the student body something to laugh at.” Smith commented that she thinks the person running it shut it down. Not someone in administration. She also added that, “I think it was like a fun way to all stay connected over spring break. They were still like posting memes about Simpson when not everyone was here.” Eli Mandujano stated over text, “Even though pimpson memes only lasted for 2 weeks, it was a good 2 weeks.” Many students wonder who was running the account. Smith elaborated that she did not think the truth would come out about who ran it. “At least from me,” she said with her trademark giggle. If students caught it, you could tell who it was before the account got shut down. We do not know if it was reported or deleted. But, if you were quick enough, or know the right people you may have caught a video the account posted on their story. The quick video showed a 360-degree panoramic view that revealed a vehicle in the background. Contrary to popular opinion, we may find out who it is after all. The account has been recreated recently. Mandujano said (via text), “I saw that there is a new meme page. I requested to follow it, but I am still waiting to be accepted.” The account only has one post and has not been as active as the previous account was. Perhaps the secret memer will slip up yet again and accidentally reveal their identity.

By: Armando Barcenas Here at Simpson University students are required to attend chapel. The set requirement for the semester is to attend 17 before the semester ends. For students that do not meet this requirement before the end of the semester there are consequences. The first penalty is a warning, so consider it strike one. The second penalty will be chapel probation where the student may not hold a leadership position, represent the University in any way, participate in intercollegiate athletics or join traveling music teams (unless the student is a music major or minor). That is strike 2. The third penalty will be chapel suspension where the student is not allowed to attend Simpson university for one semester. That is strike 3. If you are short on chapel credit, do not worry. There are plenty of opportunities to attend events that allow students to accumulate more credits toward chapel. Every week at Simpson University there are events held to obtain more chapel credits -FCA Fellowship of Christian Athletes that meets every other Sunday at the gym at 7 pm or 8pm - Alpha group that meets at Collord Humphries every-Monday 6-7pm, Tuesday 11:45-12:45, Thursday 8pm-9pm - Roots that meets every week at 7pm at Collord Humphries- Spirit Men 5:30pm at OC204 - Alive in Christ 7pm at Morgan second floor lobby- Upper Room 5pm at the GCI. Jacob Vincent, a team Representative for Wrestling, recommends attending the FCA. “The FCA is kind of fun, and it is run by athletes, so it is a good experience,” Vincent said. In FCA a person can learn more about God, listen to stories on how he has affected people and interact with fellow athletes. Dylan Harrell has attended Alpha from time to time and recommends attending this event to make up chapel credit. Harrell states “I like going to Alpha since it’s a way to learn about the Christian faith, and it’s a great way to listen to other people's experience with God.”

By: Andrew Galindo Logan Gomes touches on the importance of propaganda and how the U.S. influenced Hitler. Last week's symposium was great. To start of the day the guest speaker of the day Dr. Lane touched on the pilgrimage through life and the importance of really taking a step back in your life to try and find your true meaning. One of the most interesting things he talked about is how so many animals know how to get back home when they have never been. Like the monarch butterflies or sockeye salmon. Dr. Lane gave the students a great lesson on life. Many great speakers throughout the day spoke but one stood out amongst them all. Logan Gomes spoke about the rise of propaganda during WWII and Hitler’s plan that he carried out with his propaganda. He starts off hot by teaching the audience that Hitler really took the United States propaganda from WWI and used it to his advantage. “He told us that the message needs to be real but with little lies spread throughout. The Nazie regime planned to attack the conscious of the German people so that they would believe anything Hitler said to be true. They did this through using radios and censoring the terrible things so the Nazis could instill their own agenda.” Logan’s main goal for this paper was to expose the realism of propaganda in our world today, although we might not see it, there are still many of these things going on today in our world. Logan had the audience attentive to what he was saying, and the reason people loved it was because it related to our society today.