Daily Wildcat | Women's History Month | March 2022

THE DAILY WILDCAT VOLUME 115 | ISSUE 110 | WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH EDITION | MARCH 2022

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Women’s History Month ● March 2022

4 • The Daily Wildcat

Women’s History Month ● March 2022

Women’s History Month | VOLUME 115, ISSUE 110 Youth feminism

Dean of students

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Kendal Washington White Q&A

Opinion on Equal Rights Amendment

Soccer record breaker

Distinguished coach

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Editor-in-Chief JT Thorpe editor@dailywildcat.com

Science Editor Udbhav Venkataraman science@dailywildcat.com

Opinions Editor Payton Toomey opinion@dailywildcat.com

Managing Editor Sam Burdette samb@dailywildcat.com

Comics Editor John Konrad johnk@dailywildcat.com

Photo Editor Tia Stephens photo@dailywildcat.com

Training Coordinator Capri Fain mentors@dailywildcat.com

Sports Editor Ryan Wohl sports@dailywildcat.com

Multimedia Editor Nathanial Stenchever nates@dailywildcat.com

News Editor Maggie Rockwell news@dailywildcat.com

Assistant Sports Editor Asher Bookspan

Copy Chief Hannah Martuscello copy@dailywildcat.com

Assistant News Editor Sohi Kang Enterprise Editor Kate Ewing investigate@dailywildcat.com

Arts & Life Editor Madison Beveridge arts@dailywildcat.com Assistant Arts & Life Editor Abbie Kosoc

Assistant Copy Chief Avery Martinez

30x30 initative Female representation in UAPD

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Artist profile

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Volume 115 • Issue 110

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Adia Barnes Q&A

Women in music Las Azaleas: allfemale mariachi group

What it means to be ‘Out in STEM’

Fight for equal rights

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Jill Aguilera: Arizona’s golden goal

7

OPINION: Teenage girls should not be the butt of your joke

Photographers Featured work from our female photographers

A welcoming communitty

Jesse Hinson and the art of domesticity

THE DAILY WILDCAT News Reporters Sean Meixner Vic Verbalaitis Kate Ewing Annabel Lecky Sam Parker Kiara Adams Susan Barnett Vivek Aking

Arts & Life Reporters Ellen Nangia Madison Beveridge Keryn Aponte Ana Teresa Espinoza Vanessa Lucero Selassie Wilson Liv Leonard

Sports Reporters Jake Faigus Ari Koslow Devin Homer Andrea Morabito Aidan Alperstein CJ Lala Cole Johnson Autumn Froitland Cayden Brotz Sam Gillman

Photographers and Multimedia Reporters Caitlin Claypool Carly Markovich Danielle Main Eli Rahamim Jackie Cabrera Marison Bilagody Augustine Lopez

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March 2022 Cartoonists Jemelle Texeria Keryn Aponte Galadriel Gross Nettie Gastelum Jasmine Ma Mary Ann Vagnerova Opinion Writers Amanda Betz Maggie Landon Julianna Strano Alexzandria Martinez Sophia Hammer Copy Editors Frances Drye Tereza Rascon Miquela Hughes Ash Johnston Kristijan Barnjak

Designers JT Thorpe Maggie Rockwell Sam Burdette Payton Toomey Hannah Martuscello John Konrad Tia Stephens Asher Bookspan Udbhav Venkataraman UATV 3 General Manager AJ Janos gm@UATV.arizona.edu KAMP Student Radio General Manager Annika Reimers gm@KAMP.arizona.edu

ABOUT THE DAILY WILDCAT: The Daily Wildcat is the University of Arizona’s student-run, independent news source. While publishing daily online at DailyWildcat.com, its print edition is distributed on campus and throughout Tucson during fall and spring semesters. The function of the Wildcat is to disseminate news to the

community and to encourage an exchange of ideas. The Daily Wildcat was founded in 1899. All copy, photographs and graphics appearing in the newspaper or DailyWildcat.com are the sole property of the Daily Wildcat and may not be reproduced without the specific consent of the editor-in-chief. A single print copy of the Daily Wildcat is free from newsstands. Unauthorized removal of multiple copies will be considered theft and may be prosecuted. Additional print copies of the Daily Wildcat are available from the Arizona Student Media office. The Daily Wildcat is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and the Arizona Newspapers Association.

EDITORIAL POLICY: Daily Wildcat

editorials represent the official opinion of the Daily Wildcat opinions board, which is determined at opinions board meetings. Opinion columns, guest commentary, cartoons, online comments and letters to the editors do not represent the opinion of the publication, but that of the author.

CORRECTIONS: Corrections or complaints concerning Daily Wildcat content should be directed to the editor-in-chief. For further information on the Daily Wildcat’s approved grievance policy, readers may contact Shannon Conner, Daily Wildcat adviser, in the Sherman R. Miller 3rd Newsroom at the University Services Building.

NEWS TIPS: (520) 621-3193 The Daily Wildcat is always interested in story ideas and tips from readers. If you see something deserving of coverage, contact the newsroom at storyideas@dailywildcat.com or call 621-3193.

COVER DESIGN: Graphic of diverse UA women in front of the 25-scientists sculpture, illutrated by Galadriel Gross | The Daily Wildcat

March 2022 • Women’s History Month

DailyWildcat.com • 5

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Discourse on Women’s History Month matters

BY JT THORPE @JT_Thorpe_

What’s up, Wildcats?

The Daily Wildcat had some staff changes over winter break, so as this semester’s Editor-inChief, I’m excited to introduce our first special edition of 2022!

Since the pandemic began, the Wildcat has had to cut down its weekly production of print editions, which is why we only do

about three a semester now.

I thought it was about time we began utilizing our semiregular production of themed special editions to feature bigger issues or subjects that can affect anyone and everyone in our community.

While thinking about what sort of editions we might want to produce over the next handful of months, I landed on the idea of featuring Women’s History Month during March.

Despite the fact that women make up roughly half the human population, our society still lacks accurate female representation in so many areas.

It’s wild to me that it’s 2022 and men still have higher salaries than women in the same field.

Even in a female-dominated workforce like education, male teachers make around 10 to 13% more than female teachers, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Women make up only 34.3% of tenured faculty at the University of Arizona, which is almost a 6% increase from a decade ago, according to the university’s statistics — as mentioned by Daily Wildcat news reporter Vic Verbalitis on page 9.

Featuring some of the amazing women in our community and

highlighting current issues give our reporters and opinion columnists enough room to run wild with a wide range of ideas and a variety of specific topics to focus on.

Some of the stories you can find in this edition include: a Q&A with one of the top basketball coaches in the country, a heartwarming feature on one of Tucson’s all-female mariachi groups, an opinion piece the Equal Rights Amendment and a great amount of advice from UA professors for any women considering a career in STEM. We want to report on what matters to you, not just in print,

but through our daily online content as well. While we truly can’t highlight everything under the sun, I promise we will try our best.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for topics to feature, please reach out to me or one of our specific desk editors. Our email addresses are at the bottom of page 4.

Bear Down and Go ‘Cats,

JT Thorpe Editor-in-Chief

ADMIN SPOTLIGHT

Get to know the UA’s Dean of Students

BY JT THORPE @JT_Thorpe_

While President Dr. Robert C. Robbins is the face of the University of Arizona, there are dozens of other people who help keep the school running. With the surplus of university-labeled emails, it can be easy to feel disconnected from the administration and forget the faces behind the names.

To help close this gap, the Daily Wildcat sat down with Dean of Students and Vice Provost for Campus Life Kendal Washington White to get to know her better.

What sort of mentors did you have growing up?

I’ve never had a singular person. I’ve always been around people, men and women, who you could pick things from — information and wisdom. So I’ve had quite a few people throughout my life; I still do. I try to

get wisdom from as many people as I can. I also get it from students as well. I really appreciate meeting with students. … It’s important for me as the Dean of Students to want to know what’s happening. I want to hear what’s happening and what’s going well for students. …

Everybody has different ways of experiencing the university. … We’re here because of you, to provide you all with the best experience we can give and offer.

What was your favorite subject in grade school?

In high school, it was history. It’s fascinating when you think about how this country evolved, and about how little women could do for a long time.

And we still have a long way to go, but history is so exciting for me. I love the Greeks and the Romans. I love “The Odyssey.” I think that reading is great.

What are your favorite books and subjects to read?

Right now I’m reading “The Other Black Girl.” It’s fiction, but everyone said it was good, so we’ll see. I read a lot of different things.

I’ve been reading a lot about incarceration or the woes of the world. There’s a lot going on in our country, and we have to educate ourselves.

So I’ve been spending a lot of time reading about inequities.

There are so many things, but the more you learn about it, the better you can advocate.

You’ve worked for the UA for 27 years, what is your favorite place to go on campus?

I really like the turtle pond. That’s really cool. I didn’t know about it until I was 10 years in. When I was the director of the New Start summer program, that’s how I learned about the pond.

We would take our class over there for a break.

What do you do when you’re not at work?

I love hanging out with [my sons]. They moved back right before the pandemic hit. …

It’s been great to have them at home. … Having my sons home has been wonderful.

We’re hanging out with each other, going to the movies.

As someone who lived across the country before settling here, why Tucson?

Arizona is beautiful.

Tucson is beautiful. … The beauty of being Black in Tucson is there is no certain place in Tucson where all the Black people are. … We’re everywhere, which is a good thing. The con to that is if you really want to be near and with Black folks in Tucson, it’s tough. You have to make an effort to reach out. … The thing that I love the most about Tucson is the fact that you can just be who you are. … It’s such a welcoming community.

KATE EWING | THE DAILY WILDCAT

THE DEAN OF STUDENTS and Vice Provost for Campus Life Kendal Washington White sits in her office by a name plaque that reads “women work wonders,” on Thursday, Feb. 10.

6 • The Daily Wildcat

Women’s History Month ● March 2022

YOUTH FEMINISM

OPINION: Teenage girls should not be the butt of your joke sixth grade class seemed to complain when a few girls requested our teacher to play the song. It’s not even the question of whether their

BY MAGGIE LANDON music was good, people were @maggie_landon solely hating on them because of who loved them.

Teenage femininity is a battle Analise Bruno wrote in an against every societal standard article for the Viking Times that is shoved down your throat that “this culture often puts from a young age. Teenage girls impressionable girls under the are consistently picked apart microscope and perpetuated for their interests, hobbies the idea that we all only like and habits. Whether it is liking things that are weird, shallow, One Direction or sports, there basic, or done for the direct is always someone there to attention of guys which makes comment on how obsessive it hard for us to like or do they are or claim they are just anything without the looming trying to seek some form of fear of being judged.” attention or validation from If a girl is interested in others. makeup, it doesn’t mean she The term “fangirl” comes is shallow and looking for to mind when I think of ways attention. Enhancing beauty society has picked apart can work wonders for selfteenage girls. If you Google confidence and help a woman “sports riots,” dozens of feel comfortable in a society searches come up with the that is always looking to titles “top-12 insane sports highlight her flaws. riots,” “here are five American During a beauty cities which rioted after secrets video with Vogue, sporting success,” and yet fans congresswoman Alexandria of boy bands are constantly Ocasio-Cortez commented ridiculed for their obsessive on this by saying, “there’s and dramatic tendencies. I this really false idea that if don’t remember anyone setting you care about makeup, or if a car on fire when Zayn left your interest is in beauty and One Direction. fashion, that that’s somehow Speaking of One Direction, frivolous. But I actually believe in an article for Study these are some of the most Breaks written by Katherine substantive decisions that we McLaughlin, she detailed the make, and we make them every issue of why One Direction morning.” Whether you do full was never taken seriously for glam or just mascara for class, their success. She said that it doesn’t give anyone the right “a group that is statistically to claim that it is indicative of extremely successful still faces your character. some of the most intense social TikTok is another rabbit hole loathing of their time.” Is it a of pushing narratives upon coincidence that their general teenage girls and shaming fanbase consisted solely of them for their interests. Vox teenage girls? Not at all. published an article where I even remember feeling Rebecca Jennings wrote, “teen inclined to dislike One girls and their interests have Direction when “What always served as punchlines, Makes You Beautiful” rose but on TikTok, once enough to popularity because of teen girls publicly enjoy how much everyone in my something, the backlash

can grow even bigger.” This is later followed by “TikTok accelerates meaningless cultural cycles faster than any machine or platform ever has, which means that as soon as something gets popular enough, it’ll trigger a nearimmediate backlash.”

One example that immediately comes to mind is the sudden backlash making its way through TikToker Emily Uribe’s comment section. It seemed as if the world was rooting for her when she was posting herself engaged in mock interviews with comments similar to “can’t wait to see you doing this for real.” But now, she’s walking red carpets and interviewing movie stars while continuing to post on TikTok and is now met with comments like “don’t tell me she’s serious” or simply “no” or “uh.”

While her audience may have shifted, her comments used MARY ANN VAGNEROVA | THE DAILY WILDCAT to be riddled with SOCIETY TENDS TO CRITICIZE all things that teenage girls love. It is time to start questioning joy and genuine this criticism on teenage femininity. encouragement for this creator. male counterparts finding their to because those are things Once she gained I truly enjoy. Stop trying to way to fame? immense popularity and put teenage girls into a box As someone who was a attention from magazines or corner for one aspect teenage girl very recently, I and media outlets, Uribe was of themselves. Women are can say confidently that my suddenly met with criticism multifaceted and should not be interests and hobbies have and hatred that wasn’t shared treated as one-sided beings. been poked fun at or even before. She’s finding success ridiculed for their frivolous and being dragged down for nature. I’m going to continue it with faceless commenters — Maggie Landon (she/her) is a to read and watch rom-coms, finance major at the University of claiming she’s not ready for it listen to One Direction and Arizona. She loves to read and vibe or is undeserving. What makes do my makeup when I want with her cat Rizzo her any less deserving than her

March 2022 • Women’s History Month

DailyWildcat.com • 7

A WELCOMING COMMUNITY

What it means to be ‘Out in STEM’

BY KATE EWING @mariakewing

The Out in STEM club is the perfect haven for any queer STEM majors feeling lost in the shuffle of campus life looking for community.

The oSTEM club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the LGBTQ+ community at the University of Arizona.

They hold weekly meetings at the LGBTQ+ Resource Center on Tuesdays at 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Brianna Hoegler, the president of the oSTEM UA chapter, is studying geosciences with a concentration in Earth, oceans and climate.

Hoegler explained that the club is a professional association that helps queer scientists develop their skills and expand their networks.

“Our big two goals are building community for queer STEM students on campus and to empower those students to succeed in what they want to do,” Hoegler said.

The organization’s main mission is to empower LGBTQ+ individuals to succeed in their respective fields by utilizing their unique viewpoints and talents. The organization also

strives to create a world where queer people can be safe and supported. oSTEM puts on diverse programming and events to tailor to the needs of their different members. With the club having members in several different majors, it is important that they do various activities and hold all types of events so that everyone gains something from the experience.

Some of the social events they have had include an annual egg drop engineering challenge, rock painting and an end of the year picnic. They also foster personal development by holding skills workshops, like resume building events or having field scientists talk to the members about their work.

“I was one of those people who signed up for like twenty clubs,” Hoegler said. “oSTEM was one of the very small handfuls of clubs I decided to stick with.” oSTEM offers conferences each year, some of which Hoegler has attended. She believes that she may not have met the people she knows or learned about topics like gender discrimination in artificial intelligence without the club and

these conferences.

“Getting to go to conferences and network with employers and grad school recruiters has been amazing,” Hogler said.

Sydney Brandt, the vice president of oSTEM, is an information science and technology major. She became a member three years ago.

Brandt moved from Phoenix to Tucson during her freshman year.

At this point in time, Brandt felt like she didn’t have many connections with the queer community.

Brandt recalled leaving a class ELI RAHAMIN | THE DAILY WILDCAT and ending up at the club fair VICE PRESIDENT SYDNEY BRANDT (left), Treasurer Zach Hills, Social Chair Carson where the former oSTEM president Collins and President Brianna Hoegler pose in the LGBTQ+ Resource Center on Feb. 15. was tabling alone with a rainbow The four are a part of oSTEM, a club dedicated to LGBTQ+ identifying students in STEM. banner. She said this caught her eye, and she decided to stop and She said that people have words from other members in chat with him about the club. continued to find out about the club, Brandt feels that she’s “That’s where I’ve met most of improved her professional abilities. their club through the oSTEM my closest friends at the [UA],” She hopes to help other students website or the newsletter they Brandt said about the impact put out. She is very excited to who are moving here to find the oSTEM has had on her life. “It’s one community she did her freshman have people drop in because she of the most impactful communities year at oSTEM. thinks it is very valuable and can I’ve had the privilege of being in.” give people the chance to build “What’s cool about last Now she helps plan the events their network. semester and this semester that helped her get over imposter For more information about specifically is we are having a lot syndrome. She said that oSTEM oSTEM, check out their Facebook of new people drop in, even for has helped her value her own skills page or visit them at the LGBTQ+ like a meeting or two,” Brandt and talents. With encouraging Resource Center. said.

SURVIVOR SUPPORT

Confidential support: The UA Survivor Advocacy Program

BY SUSAN BARNETT @susan_a_barnett

A program aimed at helping students deal with sexual or gender-based violence at the University of Arizona is run by just four people: two advocates, a supervisor and a graduate intern.

The Survivor Advocacy program, like many others, was started through student advocacy in 2018.

“Right now, it’s just small because that’s what our funding is,” said Makele White, a survivor advocate. “The program has just been such a small thing that I don’t think a lot of people know about us.”

The program offers a wide range of resources and support: emotional support, physical and emotional safety planning, help in requesting academic

accommodation and assistance in obtaining safe housing. Their website offers oncampus and off-campus resources, state and national resources, resources for undocumented students and for male survivors.

“The main thing that we do is advocacy,” White said. “[And making students] feel like they have somebody with them that can advocate on their behalf and navigating the systems that sometimes aren’t set up to help survivors.”

If a student reports sexual misconduct to the Office of Institutional Equity, both parties “meet with an investigator to present their perspectives, and provide witnesses or information, to bring an advisor to the meeting and to ask questions and seek clarification,” according to the Dean of Students website.

If a student reports sexual misconduct to either the Tucson or University police department an investigation may take place. An officer will be sent out to gather details about the event and possible evidence, according to the City of Tucson website.

Unlike other organizations that handle sexual violence cases — like the University of Arizona Police Department, the Tucson Police Department and the Office of Institutional Equity — the Survivor Advocacy program is completely confidential.

“Survivor [Advocates] are not mandated reporters,” White said. “That allows survivors to kind of have a little bit more control over their story.”

The program helps all students who have experienced sexual or gender-based

violence. It does not conduct investigations or look further; it is in place to simply support students with whatever course of action they want to take. Whether that be going through the justice system, making a university complaint or simply dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic experience.

“It doesn’t matter how long ago or how recent students experienced gender-based violence, we’re here to support them,” White said.

To refer yourself or someone who is experiencing sexual or gender-based violence, visit survivoradvocacy.arizona.edu.

“We understand that sometimes after something happens, it takes a while to be able to reach out and ask for help and that’s okay,” White said. “Whenever students are ready to talk, we are ready to listen.”

8 • The Daily Wildcat

Women’s History Month ● March 2022

ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS

Highlighting some of Arizona’s best athletes

BY JAKE FAIGUS @jake_faigus

JENNIE FINCH The conversation for best women’s athlete in Arizona history usually starts with pitcher and batter Finch.

While at Arizona, Finch set numerous pitching records and became the face of Arizona softball as many people now know it. She played for the Wildcats from 1999-2002 and helped lead the Wildcats to a College World Series appearance in each one of her four years, and she helped win it during her junior year.

Her numerous accolades include: most consecutive wins at 60, a three-time All-American, MVP of the College World Series in 2001, and when she left Arizona, she was the career leader in strikeouts, shutouts, innings pitched and was tied for the lead in no-hitters at No. 8.

She was in the top 10 for home runs, RBIs and walks when she left, and she even ranked No. 6 and No.7 all-time for a careerwinning percentage in the Pac-12 and the NCAA.

BEAU LEONE | THE DAILY WILDCAT

AARI MCDONALD DRIBBLES DOWN the court in a game against Standford on Jan. 13, 2019, in McKale Center. McDonald would score 17 points for the Wildcats, but it would not be enough to beat Stanford.

DELANEY SCHNELL A 2020 Olympic silver medalist, Schnell has left a mark at Arizona. In her freshman year, she was an AllAmerican in the 1-meter dive and was named the Pac-12’s

PHOTO COURTESY OF COLIN PRENGER | ARIZONA ATHLETICS

JENNIE FINCH, UA ALUMNA, points across Hillenbrand Stadium at the Red-Blue alumni game on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. Finch has struck out multiple MLB players thanks in part to the aerodynamics of her pitch according to engingeering professor Ricardo Valerdi.

AARI MCDONALD What McDonald accomplished at Arizona was amazing. She was a guard at Arizona for three years after initially going to the University of Washington but ended up transferring to Arizona, following Adia Barnes.

She burst onto the scene in 2018 and helped get Arizona off to a hot start before it won the Women’s National Invitational

Tournament and set the stage for years to come.

The next year, the team was set to make an NCAA Tournament run, but COVID-19 cut the year short.

McDonald returned for her senior year and helped lead the team on a magical run in the NCAA Tournament. The team made the Final Four for the first time and then got to the National Championship game as well, and McDonald put the team on her back

against Indiana University Bloomington and University of Connecticut, before ultimately falling just short to Stanford after she missed the final shot.

In three years, she was a three-time All-American, three-time All-Pac-12 and three-time All-Pac-12 Defense. She was also a twotime Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and was also the overall Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2021.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM Sorenstam’s career at Arizona is one for the record books, even if it was briefer than some other athletes.

The Swedish golfer moved to the U.S. to play at the University of Arizona. She won the individual NCAA Division I Championship

as a freshman in 1991. She was the first freshman and first non-American to do it, and she finished as the NCAA Co-Player of the Year, also the first Wildcat to earn the honor. She won the then Pac-10 Title during her sophomore year also. She finished both her freshman

and sophomore years as an All-American. During her two years at Arizona, she won seven individual titles and helped Arizona win 14 titles as a team. She was only in Arizona for two years, but those two years can be only be described as complete dominance.

Women’s Freshman Diver of the Year, and she also finished with the highest score on her team.

She finished with the highest scores on the team that year in the prelims in both the platform and the 3-meter at that year’s

Pac-12 Championships.

Her sophomore year she improved and was an AllAmerican in the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform dive.

She scored the highest at the 3-meter and platform dives at

the NCAA Championships.

COVID-19 wiped out her junior year, but she had her best year ever this past year. She medaled in the synchronized platform dive with silver.

She was an All-American in

ADIA BARNES There’s so much to be said about Barnes both as a player and now head coach.

Her coaching career speaks for itself.

She turned around a program that was known for being in the basement of the Pac-12, she led the team to a WNIT Championship in her third year and then COVID-19 shut down the promise of the team she had her fourth year.

In her fifth year, the team broke out and went on a magical run through the tournament to the championship before losing.

In her playing days, she was widely regarded as the best women’s basketball player to ever play at Arizona at the time. She was the first Arizona player to win the then Pac-10 Freshman Player of the Year, and then in her sophomore year she helped lead the Wildcats to a WNIT Championship title, and she was named the WNIT Tournament Most Valuable Player.

She also helped lead the Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in her junior year. They won their first game, but later lost to higher-seeded Georgia.

Throughout her career, she set 22 Arizona individual records including career points and rebounds. She also still holds some of those records today. She was also the first Arizona player to ever be drafted to the WNBA.

the platform and 1-meter and was the Pac-12 Champion in those events as well. She was the Pac-12 Diver of the Year and even broke the Pac-12 and school record for the platform dive with a score of 383.35.

March 2022 • Women’s History Month

DailyWildcat.com • 9

RECRUITING PROFESSORS

Initiative empowers women in faculty

BY VIC VERBALAITIS @VicVerb

Similar to a vast majority of universities across the country, the University of Arizona offers tenure to professors who showcase excellence in their respective fields. However, the distribution of male and female tenured faculty has not always been equal.

The Daily Wildcat spoke with Andrea Romero, the vice provost of faculty affairs at the university, to get a better understanding of how the UA has made efforts to increase the diversity of its tenured faculty over the last decade.

“I think that’s an ongoing conversation,” Romero said.

“How do we support all faculty, and especially groups that are still underrepresented like female faculty?”

In 2011, only 28.7% of the tenured faculty at the UA were women. A decade later, women make up 34.3% of the tenured faculty at the university, an increase of

almost 6% according to the UA’s statistics. In addition to that, 46.9% of the tenure-eligible faculty are women, an increase from only 43.1% in 2011.

In comparison to peer institutions across the nation, the university fares well in terms of its diversity between male and female faculty. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, as of fall 2018, women only made up about 31% of the total full-time professors in universities across the country.

“I would attribute a lot of that to our hiring process,” Romero said. “We’ve worked really hard to make sure that our hiring process is unbiased and fair, and that we really make sure we get a wide range of candidates that come in to be considered.”

In addition to promoting the diversity of faculty at the university, the administration has made efforts over the past few years to improve the conditions for female faculty at the university. A recent example of this is the new human resources initiative, which guarantees up

to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for faculty members who are parents or caregivers. This initiative provides promise in establishing a more accommodating workplace environment for female faculty members.

Implemented on Jan. 1, the expansion doubled paid parental leave for faculty from six to 12 weeks, and it applies in the case of birth, adoption, foster placement, guardianship, stillbirth or surrogacy. For female professors like professor Joellen Russell, this new initiative is a step in the right direction for the UA. Russell is a distinguished professor of biogeochemical dynamics at the UA, and she said she faced difficulties from the university when she had her two children.

Russell had to use sick days to recover following the birth of her children, since at the time the university did not offer paid maternity leave.

“I had two kids, who are now 11 and 14, and there was no maternity leave,” Russell said. “I’m so glad we’ve fixed that now. It’s become a better place to work.”

FIGHT FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS

OPINION: The feminist revolution helped us get here other injustices they noticed in the world. The success in the women’s suffrage movement was inspirational for those in the second wave of feminism

BY PAYTON TOOMEY and pushed them to continue @PaytonToomey their fight. The new platforms the movement took on contained equal treatment in ver the past 100 years, the workforce, reproductive feminism has worn rights and the fight against the many faces. We have objectification of women. The experienced three waves of continuation of previous fights feminism, each extremely and the introduction of new different than the wave that platforms is a defining trait of came before it. the feminist movement that The first wave’s main goal was continues to this day. trying to cement that women The third wave started in deserve the right to vote and the 1990s. It included the other basic rights. This idea CAITLIN CLAYPOOL | THE DAILY WILDCAT #MeToo movement and was the first of its kind and PROTESTERS GATHER AT THE “Rally for Abortion Justice” on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, in has a heavy emphasis on extremely radical for the time.

Jácome Plaza. reproductive rights and the Women were starting to make the possibilities of keeping up a entertainment and more and inclusivity of all identities. their voices heard and thus fight. never thought that any career When taking a deeper look began the women’s suffrage Today the feminist movement path was impossible for me just into the third wave of feminism movement. They recognized the is as strong as ever but because I was a woman. that we are in today, it can be injustices in their society and somewhere in these waves Along with the visibility of considered as a more accepting decided to speak up and make the meaning of the word women in power that I grew movement that recognizes a change. Their bravery sparked “feminist” got clouded by the up with, I also grew up seeing the accomplishments of those a movement that is still alive stereotypes that have been the many effects that the behind them and strives to build today. built up over the duration of drive of those in the feminist on these in the now. This wave of In the second wave, the focus the movement. Feminists have movement can have on policy feminists grew up watching the switched from ensuring women been placed in a box and faced and society. I have marched, many women that were breaking have basic rights to fighting with a negative connotation, heard the pleas of women, and the glass ceiling and they have for liberation. Women had completely discounting an entire over time these pleas became had countless role models. Being received the right to vote, but demographic of the movement. reality. This encouragement born in 2001, I have grown up that was not enough for them These stereotypes were created has strengthened me and those seeing women in STEM, politics, and they began to call out the by those who were threatened around me and allowed us to see

O

by women’s realization of their worth and what they deserve.

It was not until the late 90s that women began to lose this image of a stereotypical feminist and start to recognize the various multidimensional women behind the movement.

The movement today thrives on its inclusivity of every demographic. Feminism has become intersectional, taking on the fight for not only women but also other identities who are underrepresented today.

Throughout the early 2000s, a realization has been made that throughout history there has been too much emphasis on straight, white women in the movement and that intersectionality is crucial in ensuring that injustices are fixed.

Those in this movement today are fearlessly fighting for equality and are being led by those before them who have boldly paved the way.

— Payton Toomey (she/her) is the Opinions Editor and a junior majoring in journalism and information sciences and eSociety

10 • The Daily Wildcat

Women’s History Month ● March 2022

ARIZONA ESPORTS

COURTESY HASENSTAB BROTHERS

JENNY NGUYEN, president of the UA Gaming Club and UA senior.

COURTESY SHANNA REGISTER

SHANNA REGISTER, varsity Valorant player for UA Esports.

COURTESY BRAELYN SMITH

BRAELYN SMITH, UA alumna and Twitch streamer in Arizona.

COURTESY CAYLA BELCHER

CAYLA BELCHER, Varsity Overwatch & Rainbow Six Siege player for UA Esports

Female gamers pave the way in male-dominated field

BY SELASSIE WILSON @starrflower16

The video game industry is filled with hundreds of millions of players worldwide, yet there is still a lack of female representation within gaming communities.

A once male-dominated field, video game centers and groups have shifted in recent years, extending acceptance to women who are equally as interested and qualified as their male counterparts.

Here at the University of Arizona, the Esports program is home to hundreds of women gamers. According to its website, UA Esports offers gamers varsity-level video game competitions and career advancement.

Jenny Nguyen, a senior studying information science & eSociety, is the president of the UA Gaming Club and spoke about the importance of women’s representation in gaming communities.

“I feel that it’s very important to have women representation within the gaming community. When I first joined the club back in 2017, I can recall counting only two to three other women involved with the club. Now there is a significant amount of women actively participating in our club events, applying for leadership positions and chatting in our discord,” Nguyen said via email.

According to NPR, for years, the gaming industry has been highly geared towards male audiences. From storylines and character development, right down to gamer safety that many male players take

for granted, the video game industry has long been a space made for men.

For female gamers, this can feel isolating, according to Natalie Benton, a UA pharmaceutical science freshman and varsity Rocket League player for UA Esports.

“There’s kind of this expectation that I have to do well. I wouldn’t actually get on voice chat or make it known that I was a woman in online spaces because the vibe would change completely. I would hop in a voice chat and I would tell my team ‘Hey, we’re starting’, and it goes from ‘oh you’re cool’ to ‘we’re going to lose the game,’” Benton said.

Madeline DeLeon, a UA freshman, is a varsity Super Smash Bros player for UA Esports and noted similar experiences to Benton. DeLeon explained that men often expect poor performance from female gamers, something she has fought hard to combat.

“Being a girl in the gaming community is more anxiety and rage-inducing than it should be. People automatically expect you to be bad at the game, or to only be there because of the guys or something stupid like that,” DeLeon said.

Spaces like Twitch and YouTube have made efforts in the past few years to become more gender-inclusive, according to British Esports. Braelyn Smith, a 2016 UA College of Fine Arts alumna, is a Twitch streamer who runs a women’s coworking space in Arizona.

“I have had a small amount of trolls and harassment being a woman on Twitch, but honestly I have had a really nice time

overall. The negative messages I do get I often don’t see because they are deleted by my mods before I have a chance to read them. I used my social media following to grow my Twitch, and my social media pages are around 85% women following or more, so my Twitch community is heavily female as well. This has been nice because it’s created a really safe space for women and nonbinary folks,” Smith said.

According to Diamond Lobby, involvement from women in video games has been heightened in recent years, especially in the sector of voice acting.

Valorant, a widely known video game, recently introduced their newest character, Neon. Neon is voiced by Vanille Velasquez, a Filipino voiceover actress, who has been able to bring her own personality to life in the video game.

“Other than recording the lines and occasionally adding some of my own or tweaking some, I’m very grateful for even just that little contribution that I do because that doesn’t happen all that often. They gave me some form of creative freedom, and I’m very thankful for that,” Velasquez said in a Zoom conference.

The impact of Valorant’s first female Filipino character has been both recognized and appreciated here on campus, with members of UA Esports noting the new wave of diversity for the gaming industry.

Shanna Register, a senior studying information science and eSociety and games and behavior, is a gamer for the varsity Valorant team at UA Esports. Register spoke about how Neon’s character and

Velasquez’s role have impacted the gaming community.

“It was just so awesome seeing this entire community of people hyping up this Filipino girl. I know people from the Philippines, and they really liked it as well.

It was really cool seeing that diversity,” Register said. “It’s interesting to see how impactful it was seeing these people really appreciate her like that.”

According to CNBC, the rise of the Nintendo Switch consoles since 2020 helped bring attention to the gaming community. Video games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley became a way for people to relax from their stressful dayto-day lives and helped improve mental well-being for many players.

Emma Teece, a UA environmental science senior, plays on the varsity CounterStrike: Global Offensive team for UA Esports. According to Teece, gaming has helped improve her overall happiness as well as brought her closer to people with similar interests.

DeLeon had similar remarks to Teece and noted the importance of UA Esports’ acceptance of women gamers, expressing how some players never experience this.

“Girls can play videos games, it’s not that complicated. When you buy a game, there’s no fine print written on the case that says boys only. I think the reason for the lack of gender diversity is not due to a lack of girls who play games, but rather a lack of an accepting and encouraging community that understands that games are for everyone,” DeLeon said.

March 2022 • Women’s History Month

DailyWildcat.com • 11

WOMEN IN STEM

UA women in STEM share experiences and advice

BY SUSAN BARNETT @susan_a_barnett

There is a long history of inequalities and glass ceilings for women in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics workforce.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women made up 27% of STEM workers in 2019, up from 8% in 1970 but were still vastly underrepresented. On the other hand, men make up 52% of all U.S. workers but 73% of STEM workers.

The Daily Wildcat talked with four female professors at the University of Arizona in the STEM field to get an up-close look at their career and the advice they have for future generations of women in STEM.

Monica Kraft

Kraft is a professor and the chair of the Department of Medicine. She is also the deputy director at the UA Health Sciences Asthma and Airway Diseases Research Center and a contact principal investigator at the Banner Health All of Us research program.

She has been at the UA Health Sciences Center since 2015.

Daily Wildcat: Did you encounter any obstacles when you entered the field COURTESY because of your gender?

MONICA KRAFT Monica Kraft: I’m in a very male-dominated field … . There aren’t as many women, although now there are many more women in pulmonary critical care than when I started out. When I was in my fellowship, there were six fellows a year and I was the only woman. I had to seek advice from wise mentors; both men and women helped me navigate some of these situations. I would say they weren’t the majority, but it definitely happened and it still happens today, so it’s just something to sort of be aware of. Especially as you move up into the higher levels of leadership, it’s still there.

DW: Do you still see some of the same gender issues that you had to deal with?

MK: It’s gotten much, much better. I think that certainly as young women are moving into the sciences, there’s really a desire to embrace that. I would say [with] women and students of color, there’s just much more thought and desire to really have a, diverse investigative

STEM student resource

The UA’s STEM Learning Center is a university-wide center that supports efforts to recruit and retain a diverse population of learners into a robust STEM pipeline, according to their website, where they also offer consultations for students. The center has won the pool, if you will. We just want diverse investigators because I think they bring diversity, and diversity brings really, really interesting opinions [and] ideas to the table and it only enhances sciences.

DW: What advice do you have for women who are thinking of getting into the STEM field?

MK: Find your passion, and don’t be afraid to go for it. And really, if you’re able to, create a mentor team for yourself. It used to be we always chose one person if our mentor team needed it, and certainly, depending on the situation you’re in, then you can have those go to people to talk about. They’re going to be men and women to talk about career development versus maybe a mentor for your particular scientific path versus somebody completely out of the field that can help you with even the work-life balance of trying to really create and sustain a career in science because that takes a little thought to get it right.

Carol C. Gregorio

Gregorio is a professor and the department head of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. She is the co-director of the Sarver Heart Center and director of the Molecular Cardiovascular Research Program.

Additionally, she is the assistant vice provost of Global COURTESY Health Sciences and a CAROL GREGORIO director at UA Health Sciences Global and Online.

DW: What motivated you to get into this field and do all the work that you have done and contributed to?

Carol Gregorio: I’ve always loved science. I just love knowing how things

INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine’s 2021 Inspiring Programs in STEM award, as well as the 2020 Examples of Excelencia award.

Both awards promote equality and focus on underrepresented students graduating with a STEM degree, such as first-generation college students, transfer students, ethnic minorities and students with disabilities. work. I’ve loved biology for as far as I can remember. It just comes down to solving questions that I find are important. I just find the problem solving part of it really fascinating and being able to use state of the art equipment and being surrounded by fantastic colleagues here.

DW: Do you have any advice for any women who are thinking about getting into the STEM field or who are in the STEM field right now?

CG: Well, I hope they find it fun. It’s a tough job because you could be working for months without discovering something new, so know not to give up. If someone’s struggling, make sure that they ask for help and that they collaborate because we can’t be all experts in everything. Present data as much as possible and really seek feedback.

Reyes Sierra-Alvarez

Sierra-Alvarez is a professor of chemical and environmental engineering. She got her undergraduate and masters degree in Spain but moved to the Netherlands for her doctorate in environmental technology. She’s been at the UA since 2001.

DW: What interested you to go into your field of study?

Reyes SierraCOURTESY Alvarez: I studied REYES SIERRAALVAREZ chemistry in undergrad and over time I became more interested in environmental sciences.

I wanted to do something that was interesting and would have a positive impact on the environment, and also something that was meaningful for me.

DW: What barriers did you encounter when you first entered your field?

RSA: A lot of economic obstacles. I come

from a modest family and my parents don’t have a degree [from a] university. I have six brothers and sisters, so they couldn’t pay for all of us to go to college. I was also the first female Ph.D. student in the department in the Netherlands. I’m from Spain, so there were cultural barriers — there were many differences and you had to learn how to navigate and learn the codes and rules of the country, but luckily that only took some practice.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Arnold

Arnold is a professor and curator at the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology where she studies fungal ecology, evolution and systematics.

DW: What barriers did you encounter when you first entered the field?

Elizabeth Arnold: I am fortunate that I COURTESY had excellent mentors ELIZABETH ARNOLD who helped me navigate barriers. They were real — but at the same time, lower than the barriers faced by many others. So, when I think of this question, I think of my privileges and aim to help others not encounter those barriers today.

DW: Why is it important to have diversity in STEM? EA: A positive change in STEM is the shift away from the ‘lone genius in his ivory tower’ model to an understanding that much of modern scientific work is collaborative.

STEM fields do not yet reflect the diversity of our society. When STEM teams are diverse, they bring together new perspectives, different questions and new ideas — and they have the tools to support the next, diverse generations of STEM scholars.

DW: What advice do you have for women in the STEM field?

EA: I feel that a career in STEM is one of the best jobs we can have. It’s hard but innovation, discovery, teaching, mentoring and making a difference; what could be better? There is a whole generation of us here ready to help bring the next generation of diverse scholars forward. In a sense, it’s the most important thing we can do. Please reach out to us — we are here and ready to help.

Women’s History Month ● March 2022

12 • The Daily Wildcat

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Showcasing the work of female “FOR THIS PHOTO, I wanted to capture a reflection on growing up and leaving your childhood behind.

I used a piece of glass to experiment with the reflections and this is one of my favorites that came out of the photoshoot. The fallen tree represents moving out of the house you grew up in,” Carly Markovich said of the photo.

CARLY MARKOVICH | THE DAILY WILDCAT

CARLY MARKOVICH | THE DAILY WILDCAT

A PORTRAIT FEATURING PHOTOGRAPHER Carly Markovich’s sister. Markovich writes, “For this photoshoot, I wanted my sister to express the opposite feeling of how the photo looks. We played around with a lot of different props, but I think this one became my favorite because it reminds me of a crown. I like the contrast of that idea and the colors with the look on her face.”

THE EYE OF BOBBIE LYONS, Daily Wildcat photographer Catlin Claypool’s grandmother, looks sharply into the lens of the camera. Claypool wrote that she took this picture of her grandmother because she is interested in what an eye can reveal about a person.

CAITLIN CLAYPOOL | THE DAILY WILDCAT

JACKIE CABRERA | THE DAILY WILDCAT

IMAGES OF THE HOLY kings, also known as the wise men, as they take a boat ride around Cajititlan Lake on Jan. 7 in Cajititlan, Mexico. It is a yearly tradition to take these religious men on a boat ride.

13 • The WildcatHistory Month March 2022Daily • Women’s

Commencement/Year In Review ● Spring•2020 DailyWildcat.com 13

PHOTOGRAPHERS

e Daily Wildcat photographers THE THREE FIGURES OF the wise men are carried during the yearly procession in their honor on Jan. 7 in Cajititlan, Mexico. There is a procession in honor of the wise men every year, usually one day after Three Kings Day. JACKIE CABRERA | THE DAILY WILDCAT

JACKIE CABRERA | THE DAILY WILDCAT

A PROCESSION MAKES ITS way into the church of the Three Kings on Jan. 7 in Cajititlan, Mexico. Due to COVID-19 protocols this year, only a limited number of performers and news media were allowed into the church for mass.

CARLY MARKOVICH’S SISTER POSES for a simple portrait. The image is a double exposure; Markovich writes, “I thought these fit well together, and I love how the lighting comes in from above.”

CARLY MARKOVICH | THE DAILY WILDCAT

CAITLIN CLAYPOOL | THE DAILY WILDCAT

THE “LUVABULLS” WAVE TO high school students at Wolcott College Prep on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2018 in Chicago. The cheer squad for the Chicago Bulls performed at the school before their basketball game.

14 • The Daily Wildcat

Women’s History Month ● March 2022

FIGHT FOR EQUAL RIGHTS

OPINION: The University of Arizona needs to stand in support of the Equal Rights Amendment secure equality under the law for women and all marginalized genders,” stated

BY SOPHIA HAMMER @sophiahammer8 Congresswoman Maloney. The inequality women any collegeand marginalized genders aged students face on a day-to-day basis have not put cannot be tolerated, and too much thought into both college students and what the Equal Rights the University of Arizona Amendment is. A lot need to recognize that. vaguely understand that We as students need it works to ensure gender to push ourselves and equality in the United the University of Arizona States constitution, but to fight for the ERA’s do not think about how guarantee of gender it can affect universities equality and stand up and the legal rights of for anti-discrimination college students. The policies that could make Equal Rights Amendment the UA a more equitable is a proposed amendment place. Women and to the Constitution that people of all genders are guarantees equal legal continuously facing a rights for Americans plethora of challenges regardless of sex. It is due to a lack of legal vital that college students protections — but the and universities across acknowledgment of equal the country recognize rights in our constitution the significance and take and on our campus should steps to implement the not be one of them.

ERA because it affects all Shira Griffith, the state genders and marginalized director of Generation groups.

Ratify California, a On Jan. 27, Reps. Jackie youth-led movement Speier, D-Calif., and to ratify the ERA, states Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., that colleges across the presented HJ. Res. 28, a country should, “update resolution to the House the Title IX policies and recognizing that the Equal other equity policies to Rights Amendment has reflect the ERA.” met all legal conditions Not only should the to be recognized as the UA and colleges across 28th Amendment to the the country support the Constitution.

ERA, but they should “It is long past time to also begin to take steps cement gender equality to ensure that the ERA in our nation’s most is reflected and required important text, the in education. If the UA Constitution, once and were to enforce and for all. With the ERA, we

M

COURTESY OF TINA VO STUDENTS ACROSS ARIZONA PARTICIPATED in an Equal Rights Amendment ribbon tying event to educate others about the ERA in Gilbert, Ariz. at Discovery Park on Jan. 26, 2022.

support the ERA, it would greatly alter and benefit students by changing how public institutions deal with Title IX processes and regulations. Title IX prevents discrimination on the basis of sex within education, however there are many loopholes within Title IX that the ERA can close, benefiting the lives of women and marginalized genders across campus.

If the UA and universities across the country choose to implement the ERA, “colleges will have to update their equity policies to reflect the

much-needed changes in this country,” Griffith reaffirms. This can cause major changes that would ensure survivors receive just treatment, discriminatory practices and policies are eliminated and a clear judicial standard for every issue relating to discrimination based on sex is addressed.

Dianne Post, the head of the ERA Task Force in Arizona states that there is, “nothing wrong with a state school supporting a national constitutional amendment,” and that the impact of support from universities could

put, “pressure on the legislature to get this done.”

We need to urge the UA to apply the ERA to provide equal rights to all students on campus.

If you are a student who wants to get involved, Post said that students can advocate through educating about the importance of the ERA, lobbying your own state legislators and using the ERA to argue when faced with discrimination.

I insist that all students remain aware of this critical piece of legislation. It affects every single one of us.

If we want to begin to care about equal and accessible education for all at the UA, we need to include in our discussions the importance and need for the ERA. We need to drive the UA to do what is right and that is reflect the ERA in all its policies and practices.

—Sophia (she/her/hers) is a freshman majoring in family studies and human development and global studies. She loves to write on pieces concerning politics that affect the Tucson and the UA community

March 2022 • Women’s History Month

DailyWildcat.com • 15

SOCCER RECORD BREAKER

Jill Aguilera: Arizona’s golden goal

BY ASHER BOOKSPAN @abookspan

Jill Aguilera bent over and pulled up her socks as she patiently waited for the whistle to be blown for the penalty kick attempt that would break the 1-1 tie in overtime.

She looked at rival ASU’s goalkeeper Julia Ortega and knew exactly what she was going to do. The whistle blew, she lined up the shot to the left side of the net and fired the ball past ASU’s Ortega for her recordshattering 33rd career goal and final win with Arizona soccer.

“Once I hit it, I knew that she had already leaned to the wrong side, and knew that she couldn’t recover to get to that side,” Arizona forward Aguilera said.

Already one of the most prolific players in Arizona soccer history, breaking that record was just one moment in her storied career.

A soccer player from the start

Raising her in Redwood, California, Julie Eshelman knew that her daughter had something special even when she began to play in elementary school.

“I knew when she started to play that she could go far because she had the speed and you can’t teach speed,” Eshelman said, “And she would just blow past these kids and score.”

So they did, getting her involved with a local club named Juventus Zebre SC. Aguilera continued to improve and played for her high school, Woodside, where she also set the goal-scoring record with 105 goals.

Committed to her teams

When Tony Amato, Aguilera’s head coach throughout her collegiate career took a coaching job at the University of Florida, she put her name in the transfer portal. After a phone call with newly hired head coach Becca Moros, Aguilera decided to stay for her final season.

“I kind of kick myself a little bit for even trying to leave or thinking that I should. It was very impulsive and I’m happy that I didn’t go through with it,” Aguilera said.

Aguilera only left a team once in

her career and it is not for the reason most would suspect. She quit an Olympic development team to be able to give her all to her club and high school teams before moving on to college.

A less than ideal beginning

Her career did not start off as planned, tearing her ACL before her freshman season began. She tried to make as big of an impact as she could, screaming on the sidelines, and motivating teammates. She was inspired and ready to return to the field.

“After she was done crying, she was like, ‘Ok, let’s go. I want surgery.

I want rehab. Let’s go. I want to get back on the field,’” Eshelman said.

Aguilera continued to work on her comeback, returning her sophomore season. She immediately made an impact, scoring 24 goals during Amato’s time as head coach.

Amato’s strategy was that if Aguilera or teammate Jada Talley got the ball while running towards the goal it would give them the best opportunity to score.

“As a result, they scored a crap ton of goals together.” Amato said.

Not only did she score goals under Amato, but she was also often his plane buddy on trips to away games and helped him through the worries of traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“She was always super supportive, and she would bring extra wipes and hand sanitizer. When I was sitting next to her, she helped film a social media thing where we’re wiping down the seats and stuff before we got in it during COVID,” Amato said.

Super senior year

Even during a down year for the program, Aguilera stayed positive in her fifth and final year with the team.

“The whole team means a lot to me. This year was definitely one of the happiest times that I’ve had, even through all the losses. It’s the happiest I’ve ever been on a team,” Aguilera said.

Aguilera’s scoring ability was showcased again for the Wildcats in her final season, scoring another 9 goals, her final being the golden

COURTESY OF AVRY FRANK | ARIZONA ATHLETICS

JILL AGUILERA (14) CELEBRATES WITH her teammates Ava McCray (3), Madison Goerlinger (18) and Quincy Bonds (11) on Nov. 5, 2021, in Tucson, Arizona. Aguilera scored the winning goal in overtime to beat ASU 2-1.

goal against ASU. The final 2 goals came against ASU to tie and break the scoring record held by Mallory Miller.

Head coach Moros knew that Aguilera would give it her all even in a developmental year for the team.

“She cares a ton about the program and the team, and I think she always led with that, regardless of what she was talking to, or what level of experience they had,” Moros said.

While many focus on what Aguilera can do on the field, she

CAREER STATISTICS Played 92 games (program record) 33 goals (most in UA history) No. 2 all-time in points with 81 (Courtesy of Arizona Athletics)

is dedicated to her academics, teammates and family off the field as well.

More than a goal scorer

After earning multiple Pac-12 and CoSIDA academic awards, Aguilera graduated in 2020 with a degree in general studies with an emphasis in sports and society and is working towards her master’s degree in real estate development.

“It’s mainly being able to transform a house into like a home, turning it into something that the client or family really wants,” Aguilera said.

Arizona goalkeeper Hope Hisey said it was a bittersweet feeling to realize she will not play with Aguilera next year.

“You have teammates and then you have teammates who you know are going to be your lifelong friends, and she’s that for me,” Hisey said.

Not only is she known for being a diligent student and good friend, it is also known how important Aguilera’s family is to her, according to Hisey and her mom. Her grandmother

taught Aguilera one of the most important life lessons she has learned.

“To be laughing for as long as you possibly can. I honestly think that has extended her life because of how much she laughs and just enjoys life,” Aguilera said.

A legacy left

Aguilera was picked up by team Chicago Red Stars in 2020 and has made the preseason roster for this year’s National Women’s Soccer League season. As she prepares for the next step in her career, she can close her chapter with the University of Arizona with a sound mind.

“It means the world because all I’ve ever wanted to do is make an impact on the team in any way, shape or form that I possibly can. I can’t score without, somebody assisting or somebody assisting the assist,” Aguilera said, “And in from interviews since my freshman and sophomore year, I don’t care who scores as long as somebody is scoring, and we’re winning and being successful.”

16 • The Daily Wildcat

Women’s History Month ● March 2022

REBECCA MOROS

Fresh season, fresh start After a 5-13 season in her first year, Arizona soccer head coach Rebecca Moros is ready to show what she can do in year two thing?’”

Her mother recovered and Becca returned to the U.S. and played an additional six years in the National Women’s Soccer League.

BY AUTUMN FROITLAND @DailyWildcat

Last summer, the Arizona soccer team had a vacant coaching position and very little time to fill it.

The challenge of getting to know the team, building a staff and preparing for the season less than a month before the first game, can be a hard sell. Luckily for Arizona, Rebecca Moros is always up for a challenge.

During the hiring process, Moros, 36, spoke with her childhood and college teammate Lorraine Quinn about collegiate soccer. At the time, Moros was the assistant coach for the professional NY/NJ Gotham FC. She wanted a better understanding of the college game and Quinn was her go-to, as she had coached at the collegiate level.

Both women knew Moros could be successful coaching college soccer.

“She had said to me at the end of one of those conversations, ‘so I’ll call you back when I’m hired,’” Quinn said.

Carving down the mountain From playing soccer in freshly plowed parking lots during New York winters, stepping her cleats in various arenas with multiple teams or traveling overseas for the best and most difficult part of her career, Moros’ experience with the game is unique.

She picked up the soccer ball around 7 years old. She excelled and continued to develop each year, but her passion for the game developed on its own because she did not grow up in a family-centered around sports.

“I grew up in a very academic family,” Moros said. “There were very few sports on in my house, of any kind. Sports was something you did because it was healthy and social and because you loved it. I loved playing. I loved being outside. I loved all of it.”

Moros grew up with older sister Sarah Moros and younger brother Nathan Moros.

All three siblings played sports, but Becca was the breakout athlete.

“I remember we did our first ski trip when we were little and Rebecca being the best athlete in our family, out of all the siblings,” Nathan Moros said. “We were all falling down face first, and she is just carving down the mountain.”

JACOB MENNUTI | THE DAILY WILDCAT

ARIZONA SOCCER HEAD COACH Becca Moros (left) and Arizona Athletic Director Dave Heeke (right) hold up an Arizona soccer jersey during Moros’s introductory press conference in McKale Center on July 19, 2021.

“I think I was made to do this. I think everything in my career was not set up for me to have the best playing career that I could have, but I do think it set me up to be the best coach that I can be.”

— REBECCA MOROS, HEAD COACH While Becca Moros was most often playing soccer, Nathan Moros said she was dedicated to her studies and doing her best to excel in anything.

College and the pros Both Becca’s academic and athletic skills led her to play at Duke University.

“The academic and athletic balance … is probably the thing that tipped me over,” Becca Moros said. “I got to campus, and it was beautiful and sunny and everybody seemed happy. I just had such a good feeling when I got there, I knew just walking around that it was the right place to be.”

After graduating with a degree in psychology, she was drafted in 2009 by Washington Freedom in the sixth round of the Women’s Professional Soccer draft.

The WPS folded in 2012 and Becca found a new challenge. She spent three months

training in Tokyo, before deciding to call it her home.

Becca played for two years in the Japanese Nadeshiko League. She learned a new culture, language and a different way of playing.

“It was the best and the hardest thing I’ve ever done … I was isolated and lonely and illiterate,” Becca Moros said. “But I fell in love with the language, I studied a lot and I absolutely loved the soccer there. It’s still to this day the best soccer I ever played, on the best team I ever played on.”

Her new challenge was off the field, thousands of miles away, when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“Mom is the center of the family. When mom’s not doing well, that’s a big deal,” Nathan Moros said. “It was definitely very difficult for her, and I would imagine it was one of those times where she has to ask herself, ‘what right now is the most important

Introducing the new coach Professional soccer was not the end for Becca Moros. All that experience led her here.

“I think I was made to do this. I think everything in my career was not set up for me to have the best playing career that I could have, but I do think it set me up to be the best coach that I can be,” Becca Moros said.On June 16, 2021, Becca Moros was announced as the new head coach at the University of Arizona.

“We were all really excited,” said Arizona soccer redshirt senior Jill Aguilera. “Not only because she played in the NWSL and has a lot of experience, but also because she was a female coach.”

Becca Moros’s role at Arizona made her the youngest soccer coach in the Pac-12.

She added Quinn as the assistant coach and prepared for the fall.

“It’s really hard to come in and not know your players as people,” Becca Moros said.

“You’re building trust while you’re in season, so our number one goal was to make sure that they knew that we cared about them.”

Seven weeks after she was hired, Becca Moros took the field with former head coach Tony Amato’s squad. The team, comprised of 28 players — 19 underclassmen, including nine freshmen — finished with a 5-13 overall record and was 2-9 in the Pac-12.

Two upperclassmen shined during Becca’s first season: junior Hope Hisey led the conference in saves for over 10 weeks and her 102 saves was one of the best goalkeeper seasons in program history.

Aguilera became the highest scorer in program history with 33 goals.

This spring, Becca Moros makes the UA team her own. She has recruited seven new players, including Angela Barron, a member of the Under-20 Colombian National Team.

“I’m excited for a spring season with them,” Becca Moros said. “I’m excited to be able to train and work on things without that immense amount of pressure and I’m excited to know them.”

March 2022 • Women’s History Month

DailyWildcat.com • 17

DISTINGUISHED COACH

How she got here: A conversation with Arizona WBB head coach Adia Barnes

BY DEVIN HOMER @DevinHomer

Arizona women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes, 45, is one of the biggest names in the history of Arizona athletics.

Barnes started her basketball career at Arizona in 1994. She was a three-time All-Conference selection and was voted first-team All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1998. She graduated from Arizona and played 12 professional seasons, both in the WNBA and overseas, winning a championship in 2004 with the Seattle Storm.

Coaching was her next stop: From 2011 until 2016, she was an assistant coach at the University of Washington. On April 4, 2016 Barnes was named the University of Arizona head coach.

The impact she’s made at Arizona, in the Pac-12 Conference and the nation have been on and off the court.

First, the turnaround: In the three years before Barnes arrived, the Wildcats had a 3260 overall record. In the last three seasons, Barnes’ teams have gone 69-26.

The Wildcats capped the 2019 season with a win in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament— the tournament features the top 32 teams that don’t make the NCAA Division I basketball tournament. In 2021, Arizona earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to its first National Championship game, where they lost by one point to Pac-12 rival, Stanford.

As she engineered a turnaround of the women’s basketball program, Barnes got help from her top assistant, who is also her husband, Salvo Coppa. They have two children, Matteo, 6, and Capri, 18 months.

Life as a coach, wife and mother were at the forefront last spring when during the National Championship game, she pumped breast milk at halftime, which resulted in her being late to start the third quarter. ESPN reporter Holly Rowe let the TV viewers know: “For those of you who think this is too much information,” she said, “let’s normalize working mothers and all they have to do.”

Barnes also founded the Adia Barnes

Foundation, which mentors underserved youth, conducts charitable events and community service projects such as school supply drives.

Here are three questions with the nationally known Arizona coach as her team attempts to cement its legacy during Women’s History Month:

What advice would you give a woman trying to break into Division I coaching?

“You have to study the game, I think networking, studying the game and just working on your craft daily. I think when you have a will and a passion for something and you set your eyes on the prize, there shouldn’t be anything that stops you from doing that. Even if you have to start in high school or junior college, or go be a video-coordinator, you get in there and you learn and you let your work speak for you. I think there are a lot of really hard working people that are determined to be great. If you work hard and you work on what you want and go after what you want and you don’t let anyone stop you from that, you will get there. Sometimes you have to be patient.”

Who are the women that shaped the woman you are today?

“My mother [Patricia McRae], because she was a strong, smart, really hard-working role model. She was tough, she was very resilient and she faced a lot of adversity but she was always extremely strong minded, optimistic. She always told me, ‘when you fall on your face, get right back up.’ So, I think I got a lot of my mentality from her.”

What’s the best advice you’ve gotten from a female peer?

“There isn’t one thing that stands out as the best, but understanding that it’s a marathon and not a sprint. Good things take time and you do them the right way.

Even if it takes a little longer, that’s how you sustain success. Be patient in the process and believe in yourself and do what you do everyday and believe in it and go for it.”

NATHANIAL STENCHEVER | THE DAILY WILDCAT

HEAD COACH OF THE Arizona women’s basketball team, Adia Barnes, celebrates with her team after the game on Sunday, Feb. 13, in McKale Center in Tucson. The Wildcats would win the game 62-58, beating their in-state rival ASU.

18 • The Daily Wildcat

Women’s History Month ● March 2022

THE 30x30 INITIATIVE

University of Arizona Police Department reaches milestone in female representation

BY SUSAN BARNETT @Susan_A_Barnett

The University of Arizona Police Department held a promotion ceremony for two female officers on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at the UAPD headquarters on 1852 E. First St. This comes only weeks after they hired the first female police chief in the university’s history.

It’s all part of a pledge called the 30x30 Initiative that UAPD took in September of last year to increase women in policing to 30% by 2030.

“Women are underrepresented in the profession,” said Cindy Ewer, a police lieutenant at the UAPD. “It’s kind of been a pledge that we decided was really important to diversify our department to represent the communities that we serve, and it’s not even just about women.

It’s about the underserved population and increasing the diversity within our agency.”

A Pew Trust study found that women make up 7% of state police agencies, and in 2021 Arizona reported only 4% of women in state police agencies.

The university’s police department reports about 13%, although it can fluctuate because of how small the department is.

“Having somebody to look up to or somebody to to be a mentor to you is important,” Ewer said. “Having equal representation so that you know, you’re not the only female around sometimes. It’s really important having females that want to empower each other and support each other.”

Ewer started at UAPD as a dispatcher and became a corporal, then moved to the first female sergeant

LEXI HORSEY | THE DAILY WILDCAT

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA Police Department headquarters on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019, in Tucson, Arizona.

interested in policing to health has always been a and now serves as the first request to go on a ride-along passion of mine,” Sultan female lieutenant where she with a police officer, something said. “So I find that it really is supervises half of the patrol. that can easily be done paramount to the job that we She’s seen the amount of through a form request and a do as law enforcement now.” women fluctuate from four background check.

Coming from a family of female officers up to nine, “It’s a culture where we need law enforcement officers, and now to the seven women to change,” Ewer said. “The she felt “called back” to a law working in the department. culture to be more accepting of enforcement profession and The two recent promotions females in the role.” decided to take a shot at it. brought the number of About 85 agencies had “For me, the university police corporals on the patrol squad joined the pledge when UAPD to three men and three women, department specifically was decided to join after seeing alluring,” Sultan said. “Partially a first in the university police other Pac-12 schools do the because of the type of policing force’s history. same. However, the police that takes place, there is a lot Melanie Sultan was one of force has been advocating for of community-based policing, the two women celebrated more women in policing for which is something that I really in her new role as corporal. years. value.”

Sultan began working as a Camp Fury is a partnership She suggested anyone police officer three years ago, between public but previously safety and the worked as a Girl Scouts that social worker introduces teen for CODAC and girls to careers in Casa de los Niños the police force or after graduating as firefighters. with a degree in “It gives us a psychology and — CINDY EWER, UAPD LIEUTENANT chance to mentor political science. them and educate “Behavioral

“

It’s really important having females that want to empower each other and support each other.”

them on careers,” said Corporal Michele Kahn, the second woman being promoted to corporal, “and hopefully give them some insights so that they can make more of an educated decision on whether this is the type of work they want to go into and then having a little bit of exposure to what we actually do.”

Khan mentions that the girls get to go on ride-alongs in the police cars with the lights on, as well as participate in a simulator. On the fire-fighting side, the girls put out real fires and repel off of buildings.

“This camp is such a confidence builder. And by the end of the week these girls have come out of their shells, and they’re just showing superb leadership skills by the end of this camp,” Khan said. “It’s really amazing.”

Khan has been working as a police officer at the university since 2017, but she first started at the Pima Community College Police Department in 2013. In her new position, she works on administrative tasks as well as managing other officers in her squadron.

It’s not only representation women are seeking. The 30x30 website states that female officers use less excessive force, are named in fewer complaints and lawsuits, are perceived by communities as being more honest and compassionate, see better outcomes for crime victims, especially in sexual assault cases and make fewer discretionary arrests.

“Am I gonna take down a 300 pound, 6-foot-5 guy who is in front of me and is not listening?” Khan asked.

“My tactic sometimes is deescalation with my words and it works. So, you just sometimes do things differently, but the end goal can be the same.”

March 2022 • Women’s History Month

DailyWildcat.com • 19

WOMEN IN MUSIC

All-female Tucson mariachi group finds the melody mid-pandemic

BY LIV LEONARD @livjleo

Échale ganas! Give it all you’ve got!

Tucson native and musician Diana Olivares is doing just that. Olivares planted her training in voice, theater and years of mariachi experience into a passion project that bloomed into her all-female Latin group, Las Azaleas.

Before the pandemic, Olivares performed vast amounts of mariachi gigs, in addition to giving voice lessons at her home studio in Tucson. When COVID-19 hit, Olivares’ previously planned gigs were canceled and her vocal students could no longer attend rehearsals.

With no gigs and students quarantined to their homes, Olivares had lots of time to self-reflect on her career thus far.

“I had a lot of time to think and I always wanted to go back to playing mariachi or Latin music,” Olivares said.

Olivares noticed herself daydreaming constantly about what she wanted to do once she could perform live again.

“I found myself in a position where like, well, got nothing going on, so let’s just write down what I would do if I had my own band,” Olivares said.

Not only did Olivares visualize her dream band, but she began to create and assemble it. Using her extensive connections from previous studies in voice and theater, her own students from her studio and even former teachers, a group began to form.

As Las Azaleas slowly formed, it quickly became evident that the fiveperson group was all female.

“I didn’t know that this would turn into a woman centered sort of project, but it just ended up being that way. I just knew I wanted to start a group,” Olivares said.

The women of Las Azaleas consist of Diana Olivares, Andrea Gallegos, Suzy Villarreal, Azul Navarrete-Valera and Salma Díaz. Each Azalea sings, in addition to playing their own instrument for the group. Olivares, Gallegos and Villarreal all play violin, while NavarreteValera and Díaz both play guitar.

Each Azalea brings something truly remarkable to Las Azaleas, as their musical knowledge and ample backgrounds have enabled them to

work together in such a beautiful and dynamic way. Rehearsing together constantly, traveling and playing at such eclectic venues has created a bond between the musicians forever.

Navarrete-Valera, a freshman studying law at the University of Arizona, was one of Olivares’s voice students and used to envision Las Azaleas if it was to ever become a group. She shared the impact the group has had on her since its beginning.

“This group is a huge part of my heart.

I love all the girls like family,” NavareteValera said.

After years of knowing each other, Olivares formally asked NavarreteValera to audition to be a violinist for the group the two has always dreamt of.

Later, she was asked to contribute her guitar skills as well.

“Next thing I know, Las Azaleas is created and [Olivares] is asking me to audition for violin. I was honored and I auditioned,” Navarrete-Valera said. “[Olivares] mentioned she needed a guitarist and I told her I have prior experience from elementary school.”

A common expression from each Azalea is the empowerment they feel ever since joining Las Azaleas.

Villarreal, a violinist for the group with over 30 years of experience, expressed her gratitude for her colleagues.

“It has given me a sense of empowerment because we do not let anything stand in our way,” Villarreal said.

Gallegos, another Las Azaleas violinist, agreed that the all-female aspect of their craft has been a positive change of pace.

“Being in a full all-female ensemble has been empowering. There has definitely been a very refreshing and different dynamic in working with all women,” Gallegos said. “I have always been a mariachi musician within a predominantly male ensemble, and so I know what it is like to have to prove yourself and be the minority in an industry and genre that is very male dominated.”

Las Azaleas has dedicated themselves to performing covers composed by women or popularized by female artists.

COURTESY OF LAS AZALEAS MARIACHI GROUP

ALL FIVE CURRENT MEMBERS of Las Azaleas dressed for their private performances. Every member contributes something special and insightful to the music they play.

According to Olivares, thanks to newest member Díaz, they have been working on original compositions. “[Díaz] is just so creative,” Olivares said. “She’s such a great lyricist and so thanks to her we’re looking at now composing our own songs, which is pretty cool.”

The Latin group acknowledged that their hard work had paid off immensely when Olivares was offered the role of music director at Tucson’s annual AllSouls Procession in November 2021. Las Azaleas was the musical entertainment for the event and it was their biggest performance yet.

“It was really special to be a part of such a city-wide, iconic event and we

were women and we were Latinas and we only performed in Spanish,” Olivares said.

Whether it be a wedding or just a backyard birthday party, the ensemble always arrives in beautiful dresses and flower crowns, ready to enchant their audiences.

“We show up with a deeper sense of appreciation to be there,” Olivares said.

The group’s charm has landed them their Fox Theater debut, opening for Flor de Toloache March 19. You can find out about upcoming Las Azaleas live performances, YouTube recordings and sign up for their newsletter to be entered in a raffle to win a private performance at their website.

20 • The Daily Wildcat

Women’s History Month ● March 2022

FACULTY IN SCIENCE

‘Falloposcope’ assists earlier ovarian cancer diagnoses

BY ANNABEL LECKY @ABlecky_23

University of Arizona professors and students are collaborating to take exponential steps toward finding a cure to ovarian cancer.

Jennifer Barton is the brains behind the whole operation, and her new device, the “falloposcope,” has plans to change modern medicine around diagnosing ovarian cancer. Barton is a biomedical engineering professor at the university and also directs the BIO5 institute on campus.

When Barton first came to the university, she met with a physician who requested that she try to create something to diagnose patients in the early stages of ovarian cancer.

“When a physician comes to a biomedical engineer and says ‘I need you to build something to solve this horrible problem,’ then engineers always go, ‘yes, OK, I’ll take that challenge on,’” Barton said.

According to Barton, ovarian cancer starts in the fallopian tubes — tubes that transport the egg from the ovaries to the uterus. Much like cervical cancer, it develops from a few abnormal cells. The cells start proliferating and they can stay there for a number of years, yet everything appears fine to the host.

“If we could catch the cancer in that six-year window, then we can cure the disease with surgery or chemotherapy,” Barton said.

However, a lack of modern technology once prohibited oncologists from getting inside the fallopian tubes to do screenings for ovarian cancer.

“Once those cells leave the fallopian tubes, they float out and then attach themselves to the ovaries or other places in the abdominal cavity and they, for reasons we don’t entirely understand, will start growing very quickly,” Barton said. “It’s not until they have grown very quickly that you start having symptoms and the disease has advanced.”

Most people who exhibit these symptoms are then diagnosed

with ovarian cancer. Women materials that are flexible and mechanics are up to par. are usually in a very late stage of pushable and biocompatible,” “My role is that I ask people their prognosis when they are Barton said. if they are interested in diagnosed, which means their In the past, cancer biologists participating and if they do agree outcomes are typically very poor. have taken tissue that was being in participating, I am the one who People with stage 4 ovarian cancer removed in surgery anyway and looks at the fallopian tubes with have a relative five-year survival looked at it in the laboratory. This the device before I remove them,” rate of 17%. way, they were able to make sure Heusinkveld said. “Because we’re “For a long time people didn’t that the optical techniques will moving toward something that really know why, because for allow them to detect cancer. The will eventually help with cancer other cancers, like cervical cancer, next step is seeing if they can get care, a lot of women are willing to you have pap smears every year,” their microscope into the body do this. We’re not going to extend Barton said. “Generally in the rather than bringing the tissue to their anesthesia time for more than United States, you catch cervical the microscope.

15 minutes and there’s no harm to cancer very early, but there’s no these patients.” screening like In this trial, the that for ovarian main priorities are cancer.” to find out what a Barton realized normal fallopian that to catch tube looks like and cancer early, ensure that the doctors have to operation does not get something cause harm to the inside of the fallopian tubes. fallopian tubes.

“There is a The cancer huge variation cells in the between people,” fallopian tubes Barton said. “You are too small really have to to be detected understand what

by CT, MRI, normal looks like ultrasound or before you can any comparable JT THORPE | THE DAILY WILDCAT determine what sort of imaging A DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION OF a uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries. disease looks like.” modality.

The next “You really Dr. John Heusinkveld works step after this study is to test the need to use optics; you have to look with Barton in his own personal falloposcope in people that are at and analyze it,” Barton said. “The OB-GYN practices here at the UA. high risk for ovarian cancer. problem with optics is we can’t Heusinkveld is a UA alumni who Barton has been working on look into our body.” now practices at Banner University this study for over 20 years, but Barton and her team have Medical Center. He has assisted may be nearing the finalization figured out a mechanism in which in the trial of the falloposcope on of her device if the next stages they can go through the uterus and patients, which is the first step in of development run smoothly. into the fallopian tubes. the development of the device.

Barton’s said her goal is to get “It’s just a little bit of a challenge The current stage of the study a medical device company to to make something small enough consists of rounds of surgery license this technology and start to do that,” Barton said. on people who are not at risk producing it once it has completed Challenge aside, her team was for cancer and do not currently sufficient trials. able to make the “falloposcope” to have cancer. Heusinkveld is not “My students and I are building go into the fallopian tubes, shine a cancer surgeon, but he does like 30 or 40 of these endoscopes light on the tissue, collect the light complete surgeries on women in the basement of our building that comes back, analyze it and who are having their fallopian and we can do that, but we can’t determine whether or not cancer tubes removed for various reasons. build hundreds or thousands,” is present.

The people who Heusinkveld Barton said.

“Technology is getting to the operates on are volunteers who Andrew Rocha is a Ph.D. point where we have these little have agreed to extend their candidate in the optical science tiny fibers and these miniature surgery so that doctors can try out program at the university who is sensors and we have these new the cameras and make sure the working alongside Barton. Rocha

needed to find a new project two years into his Ph.D. and a new principal investigator who had funding. Barton had made a callout to the college, saying that she had a funded grant to do some endoscope work.

“When I applied with her, I let her know that most of my experience was building space optics and most of my internship experience had to do with laser communication satellites and optical systems,” Rocha said.

Although out of his original field of interest, Rocha said he knew that this was a notable opportunity to try something new. Initially, he started on his first project which was making an endoscope with the application of trying to do early detection of pancreatic cancer.

“I wanted to absorb as much information as I could, so I hopped onto the falloposcope project because they were in the middle of building endoscopes.

I had never built anything that small before; I wanted to get that exposure,” Rocha said.

Rocha was able to continue on this team and took part in the initial trials with Heusinkveld. He helped continue the pilot study, which is making sure that the endoscopes are meeting all of the specifications of the design.

Before this, Rocha mentioned that he had never even set foot in a surgery room, let alone instructed a doctor on how to use their device.

“I think the challenging part about it is we are essentially doing things that have never been done before so everything is a learning lesson, … learning how our medical device is going to be used versus how it works in the lab,” Rocha said.

“Everything is so different and I think that’s a really tough part of it — trying to anticipate how things are going to happen in the real world.”

March 2022 • Women’s History Month

DailyWildcat.com • 21

ARTIST PROFILE

Jesse Hinson shows domesticity as art Daily Wildcat photographer Carly Markovich joined MFA student Jesse Hinson for an intimate tour around her studio. Hinson, originally from Cleveland, N.C., is in her final year at the UA’s MFA printmaking program.

Hinson started her art education journey studying painting at the San Francisco

Art Institute before transferring to the University of North Carolina at Asheville after two years. She later did two years of post-baccalaureate in ceramics at UNCA. While in the graduate program, Hinson has taught classes at the undergraduate level. These classes include mapping and relief printmaking. She also works

two days a week at a facility in Oro Valley teaching painting and drawing classes for primary school children.

Hinson makes work about the domestic. Being a woman is reflected in the things she is crafting. She has had issues with people respecting her boundaries and understanding her work because it’s about the domestic.

CARLY MARKOVICH | THE DAILY WILDCAT

THREE PRINTS HANG ON a clothes line inside of Jesse Hinson’s studio. Hinson’s work focuses on the domestic and these prints show intimate moments in the home.

CARLY MARKOVICH | THE DAILY WILDCAT

JESSE HINSON, UNIVERSITY OF Arizona graduate student, stands in front of her in-progress thesis work.

She is in her third and final year of UA’s MFA printmaking program.

Through her craft art, Hinson reacts to the idea that women artists are taken less seriously than men because what they create is viewed as domestic.

Hinson said she believes a big issue in the craft art world, and the art world in general, are the positions men hold over women. While there were only three

male students in her undergraduate program, only one faculty member was a woman.

“I find it interesting because a majority of the people I’ve gone to school with and in the classes that I have taught are women, yet it still feels like the majority of instructors are males,” Hinson said.

In her experience,

she has seen that men typically do not seek MFAs because they have a higher chance of getting a job without one than women do.

“It’s interesting that men find their way into instructor and professor positions. Certainly, I have had some great male professors, but I have run across rigid and antique beliefs,” Hinson said.

CARLY MARKOVICH | THE DAILY WILDCAT CARLY MARKOVICH | THE DAILY WILDCAT

JESSE HINSON’S STUDIO IS decorated with her prints and other art pieces. She finds printmaking much more exciting than painting, which she previously studied at the San Francisco Art Institute.

A SEWING MACHINE SITS in front of a quilted artwork hanging in Jesse Hinson’s studio. Hinson works with textiles and things that relate to craft histories, bringing attention to domesticity and the history of women in the home.

22 • The Daily Wildcat

Women’s History Month ● March 2022

CAMPUS RESOURCES

Find a safe space on campus in the Women and Gender Resource Center

BY VANESSA LUCERO @Vanessa_Luc31

The small bulletin board above the Women and Gender Resource Center director Kim Dominguez’s desk overflows with thank you cards. Pinned to the board and taped against the wall, the cards serve as a reminder that someone was able to find help through the WGRC. “You can impact people and you can make positive change, even if it’s one person at a time,” Dominguez said.

Over the years, Dominguez has kept all the cards and graduation invitations she’s been given by students. They enforce the notion that her work is meaningful amongst students facing challenges such as food insecurity, gender-based violence and sexual assault.

Dominguez herself faced many challenges while attending the University of Arizona, where she got her B.A. in Mexican American studies and women and gender studies. She grew up in a low-income household with a single mom. During her childhood, Dominguez shared that she noticed social inequities. She remembers wishing there were services for moms and their kids to combat issues she and her own mother faced, such as grocery shopping and trips to the laundromat.

Dominguez was actively involved in ethnic studies during her junior year of high school as a student organizer for the Social Justice Education Project.

Dominguez noted this experience left her seeking a feminist environment and a safer space for genderoppressed individuals.

During her time attending the UA, Dominguez’s gender and women’s studies minor allowed her to

intern at the Feminists Organized to Resist, Create and Empower, also known as FORCE. FORCE is a feminist internship program through the WGRC that offers educational outreach and support for the feminist community.

Her FORCE internship ended in 2015, yet Dominguez stayed close to the program and has been working for the WGRC since 2017.

“Regardless of my title, I’ve really tried to be a leader and create consistency for the students, be a familiar face driving our values. I care a lot about the space and the students and their experience,” Dominguez said.

Daniela Garcia, co-director of FORCE, came across the FORCE internship when looking at the UA online club directory. As a first-generation student, Garcia knew from a very early age she wouldn’t be able to afford college easily and knew they would need scholarships to graduate debt-free.

“I don’t think I’d be in college if it weren’t for FORCE,” Garcia said. “FORCE is a fun opportunity to create genuine connections.”

Garcia says she owes a great deal of her college success to Mariah Harvey, the coordinator of feminist engagement at the UA from 2019 to 2021. They noted that Harvey was a good mentor during their FORCE internship and during their transition from high school to college.

Garcia shared the support she feels from the WGRC and Dominguez, explaining that she hopes FORCE will always maintain an intersectional feminist framework and be a truly diverse space.

Genesis Buckhalter-Horne, a UA graduate student in

COMIC: ‘COLLEGE COWBOY’ BY MARY ANN VAGNEROVA

CARLY MARKOVICH | THE DAILY WILDCAT

INSIDE THE WOMEN AND Gender Resource Center on the fourth floor of the Student Union Memorial Center. This center holds events, hosts outsideof-the-classroom learning and raises awareness for the intersectional issues on campus.

the College of Public Health, is an assistant at the WGRC. Buckhalter-Horne is involved in numerous engagement programs on campus such as the Mothers of Color in Academia, a group aimed at supporting mothers of color during their time in college and beyond.

“With the work that we do, we really try to make sure that we’re amplifying student voices and that they are aligned with student demands,” Buckhalter-Horne said.

“A lot of the work that we do is making sure that students have the platform.”

The WGRC is located on the fourth floor of the Student Union Memorial Center and is open to those interested in promoting their mission of creating a space on campus for activism.

March 2022 • Women’s History Month

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