Concordiensis - February 25, 2021

Concordiensis T H E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R O F U N I O N C O L L E G E S I N C E 1 8 7 7 Thursday, February 25, 2021

Volume. CXLVIII, Issue XI

concordiensis.com

A discussion with President David R. Harris on Black History Month

By Megan Brown and Sydney Lewis co-News Editors

In honor of Black History Month, President David R. Harris engaged in a dialogue regarding what the month means to him, and ways in which he hopes to continue to inspire discussion and inclusivity on this topic around the campus community.

Through events hosted by the Black Student Union and other groups on campus, the campus community has been demonstrating the different ways in which Black History Month is celebrated.

Harris shared his own viewpoint. While he thinks the events on campus are great, he emphasized that the efforts made by these events should be happening 12 months of the year, rather than one.

During this time he reflects on what we as a community have to do in terms of under-

David R. Harris, 19th President of Union College

standing our history, “where we are and where we want to go” and how this should be an everyday practice.

Harris recalled fond mem-

ories of his grandfather (his father’s father) as he was asked who his role models were growing up and if they had changed over the years.

Courtesy of the President’s Office

He laughed as he reminisced on the memories of watching his grandfather, who he described as the “classic Black minister” who commanded

respect, was incredibly hard working and was an agent of change. Harris also said his grandfather was someone who people in his community went to in order to find inspiration and address challenges they may be facing.

The President also discussed how Union works as a home differently for every student and faculty member.

And, this was in light of him addressing one of the main goals he has for improving and maintaining the comradery around the campus community.

He said, “I want everyone to feel like Union is their home... I don’t want people to feel like they are in someone else’s home, and so that doesn’t mean that it [Union] needs to have a culture it means that there has to be a range of cultures represented.”

During Black History Month, this rings especially true as the campus community See PRES on page 3

Emeritus Editor-in-Chief Joanna Stern ’06 speaks to Concordy

By Akriti Dhasmana co-Editor-in-Chief

In anticipation of the Founder’s Day event, Concordiensis talked to Emeritus Editor-in-Chief and Founder’s Day keynote speaker Joanna Stern ’06. Stern is the senior personal technology columnist at the

Wall Street Journal and is also a regular contributor at CNBC news. Prior to joining the WSJ, she was the technology editor at ABC News. Before that, she also worked as the reviewer and editor at The Verge. Stern shared about her experience at Concordy and after graduation.

How did Union shape your

journey in journalism?

When I first got to Union, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, what I wanted to major in.

Through taking a couple of courses in political science, I sort of started to get interested in journalism. I will credit most of it to the fact that I just decided to write for the Concordiensis. It was my second trimester of first year when I

first wrote an article for Concordy and I just got hooked on seeing my name in print. A combination of studying media through political courses and the Concordy experience got me really interested in journalism. Since, there isn’t a journalism program at Union, I tried to incorporate my interests within my political science thesis about the impact

of vlogs which were the rising technology and the impact on political coverage. I also did an internship with Times Union for two terms as an Independent study. I also spent one term with a Professor to revamp the Concordy. This laid a strong foundation for my future career in journalism.

See STERN on page 3

We’re beautiful on the inside, too

Opinions, page 5 Politicization of masks in the pandemic

Sci Tech, page 7 Microfliers expands atmosphere expolration.

World, page 6 Activists talk about protesting in Russia

807 Onion St., page 9 Bonding over food in Minerva Kitchens

Sports, page 10 Mens lacrosse ranks 10 in pre-season nationals

News

Thursday, February 25, 2021 | Concordiensis

The Marathon Continues discussion

By Sydney Lewis News Editor On February 22, 2021 The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life hosted Jarrod Benjamin from the LEAD Firm. Benjamin presented “The Marathon Continues: History of the Divine Nine Historically Black Fraternities and Sororities” to the Union College community via Zoom. He is the current CEO and professional speaker at LEAD firm.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is composed by the chartering organizations of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. NPHC was founded At Howard University on May 10, 1930 (https://nphchq.com/millennium1/about/).

Following the initial founding, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. joined in 1931 with Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. in 1937.

The presentation was cen-

tered around students learning more about the history of Black fraternities and sororities in America, how they are shaping our country today and where we can go as a community from here.

He opened the discussion by asking students to share in the chat feature what organization they were from as he introduced himself. His goal was to have students leave with tools to continue to celebrate Black History Month even after it is over. He encouraged students to follow him on social media to continue these conversations after his presentation.

Gender, socio-economic, heterosexual, race and religious privilege were listed as the five major privileges at the beginning of Benjamin’s presentation. He asked students to recognize that these privileges exist, and for students to recognize the privilege that they have in order to be an advocate for change. Students were asked to share in the chat how many privileges they had based off of those

previously listed, not necessarily to have them be judged or punished based off of their number but to ask them to be a leader based on the number they had.

Benjamin continued to ask viewers to challenge and charge themselves as members to be effective allies so that fraternity and sorority life can continue to survive. This presentation gave studetnts within Greek Life at Union the opportunity to reflect on what their presence on campus means to both the community and to themselves.

Although there is not an active NPHC or Divine 9 group on the Union campus currently, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. are all actively recruiting. The following chapters have been on the Union campus in the past: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc.

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Few positive COVID tests

By Daniel Wilcox co-Editor-in-Chief For a period of nine days, from February 13 to 22, there were no new positive COVID-19 results returned in any part of the college.

The beginning of the winter term brought with it an influx in the number of positive cases, with there being no days without at least two new positive cases being reported, in the period January 7 to 23, on days that results were being reported. As a result of the number of new cases, the college brought in a campus-wide quarantine for a two week period, beginning on January 17. In an update made on January 29 the college ended the quarantine two days earlier than had previously been announceed, due to the “tremendous effort (the campus community) made to slow the spread,” according to the President, David Harris’ message.

As announced in an email from the Vice President for Stu-

dent Affairs and Dean of Students, Fran’Cee Brown-McClure, travel restrictions that had been in place to ensure students were not traveling off-campus, were eased. As noted by Dean Fran’Cee, the college continues to “strongly discourage (students) from leaving campus.”

With a shortened spring break this year, from March 25 to 28, the college has also asked students to “remain on campus between winter and spring terms.” The Director of Health Services, Angela Stefanatos, expressed a fear that the break may create an opportunity for a repeat of the beginning of the winter term, explaining that she was “not in favor of a spring break” while understanding that “everybody needs a break.”

The beginning of the spring term will bring a return to the twice-weekly testing, as well as a quarantine requirement, following New York State guidelines, according to Dean Fran’Cee and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Strom Thacker, in an email sent out.

“An Evening with Trevor Noah” hosted by Union & 4 other colleges

By Megan Brown News Editor On Tuesday, February 23, SNL comedian Heidi Gardner joined best-selling author and host of “The Daily Show,” Trevor Noah for a Q&A panel hosted by five colleges: Union, Skidmore, Amherst, Middlebury and Smith.

The various colleges introduced Noah through a series of Zoom formatted videos, including a Gardner hosted the session which followed a Q&A format.

Gardner began the show with an introduction to both her and Noah’s work and explained that his “tireless work during the pandemic has been a much needed and grounding voice during the pandemic.”

Once Noah came on screen, Gardner started to ask questions posed by the schools, while thousands of members from each commu-

nity listened.

The first question was about his writing process.

“Writing would be broken up throughout the day … we meet each other over Facetime or Zoom ... we jump in, we talk about the news, we go through everything that we read together and then we start making right there and then” Noah said.

He made the comparison to being like doctors doing an operation. “We’ll just shout out the things we need … we need a joke about Ted Cruz!” Noah shouted. He also emphasized that even over a digital connection, it is still fun to create and that that is the most important thing for him.

Noah then got into discussion of the politics in his show, specifically balancing facts with his opinions. He stated that there is a fact checker that is very good at what he does.

He also emphasized that one of the great things about making “The Daily Show” is that

he is not trying to pretend that he’s not biased or doesn’t have his own opinion.

“We are very careful at acknowledging the fact and then I will give my opinion on the facts” Noah added.

Noah also expressed the importance of finding a balance in his content because not everyone is going to like every part about what he puts out there. In explaining how he tries to make the content “relevant, educational and inclusive” in today’s information, Noah said he asks himself this: “What is the news that is going to affect people whether they like it or not” - we should cover that and we should also cover … what is the news that is fun.”

He mentioned that there are multiple parts to balance to get the best content for his show and balancing the important with the fun is what he tries to do each time.

One of the last things Noah

discussed were lessons he learned from childhood that could be applied to his life today. He started by mentioning that if you say or do the wrong thing, expect repercussions and that if you are kind to other people, they are generally going to be kind to you.

Noah also added the com-

parison of a child to a drunk person. He laughed in saying that as a toddler, you are the “drunkest,” you can’t walk, and you go through life growing up trying to get less drunk.

At the end of this analogy is joked that it’s “what I learned about life.”

Sydney Lewis | Concordiensis Trevor Noah and Heidi Gardner during the panel session

News

Thursday, February 25, 2021 | Concordiensis

PRES Continued from page 1

He said, “I want everyone to feel like Union is their home... I don’t want people to feel like they are in someone else’s home, and so that doesn’t mean that it [Union] needs to have a culture it means that there has to be a range of cultures represented.”

During Black History Month, this rings especially true as the campus community learns more about Black history through events held both on campus and online platforms.

But, the goal of making a Union a home for every individual does not just fall in the hands of the President.

There needs to be a commu-

STERN Continued from page 1

Why do you think the Concordy is an important part of Union’s community?

When I took over as the Editor-in-Chief of Concordy, we realized that the newspaper was serving as more of a mouthpiece for the administration at the time. Our team decided to shift that and focus more on the issues that were actually impacting the student life. We encouraged our staff of reporters and editors to shake things up and write about things they heard were going on campus rather than the things that the deans, student activities and the special events team would want us to write about.The job of the student body newspaper is to hold the power to account, our job is to not be a mouthpiece for the school but rather be the mouthpiece for the student body.

What was your most memorable Concordy story?

We got very invested in looking at the security logs for incidents happening on campus, you know, usually over the weekend.One of the big

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nity-wide effort by the faculty, staff and students alike to get this campus to feel like home.

Harris said that one of the ways to achieve this goal is by having open dialogues about this subject.

“It’s insulting if all you are is tolerated. So, similarly, I don’t want our campus to support BLM, I want our campus to have frank, honest discussion about what BLM is, about what people think about it.” Harris says that if, after having those difficult conversations, people can think whatever they want.

But, that dialogue is crucial in justifying one’s opinion on the matter.

He added that, “the best way to support things is to really take them seriously and do the hard work required to learn more about that.”

In addition, there have been mentionings of including a diversity course on campus in hopes to continue this im-

perative dialogue and education in a more formal manner.

However, Harris believes that there is a better course of action for this step.

“I don’t think there should be a diversity course for everyone … what you want to do instead is have a range of offerings and then you want to say to folks, ‘here’s what you are trying to achieve … deeper understanding of other pasts than your own … now from this menu, what can you pick’ … the diversity course assumes too much about people.”

Having a range of options that students can pick from allows each individual to pick a course that would best fulfill the goal of learning new perspectives besides their own that will only help to make the community a more inclusive place - a true home for all students and faculty.

Harris mentioned several

steps that Union community members can take to achieve the goal of making Union a home for everybody. But, he also reflected on some facets of the college that have already been established and that he is very proud of.

Harris acknowledged the progress made in terms of inclusion here in the community. Although he says we have a ways to go, programs such as Making U Possible have been inspiring to watch grow.

A Union College where financial restrictions create a campus where there are different levels of experience is not the version of Union that he wants to see.

Harris notes, “we’ve raised funds to cover mini-terms, to help with study abroad … that’s inclusion because now people can have full experiences.” This all relates back to the idea of Union being a home for everybody. Part of

creating that home is ensuring that every member of the community gets the full experience as to what Union has to offer.

With Making U Possible, and similar inclusivity programs on campus, you avoid the feeling of “I’m in somebody else’s house because I can only do 80 percent of what a full member does.”

At the end of the interview, Harris emphasized that there are different aspects of the college that people can learn more about, and find appropriate solutions to. Whether that is knowing more about the idol, why the mascot is both a gender and an ethnicity, and so much more.

The more education the community has about its own past and the past of others, the more this campus will truly feel like a home for all of its members.

stories I remember was when the Kosher Kitchen at West College was vandalized on a Saturday night by a couple of Union Hockey players.

Concordiensis was able to obtain the incident report on the break-in from the campus safety. We found out that the Schenectady Police Department had also gotten involved [with the investigation] and they were investigating the incident as a hate crime. We thought it was really important for that to be on the front page of the newspaper and so we did a story about how there was a possible act of antisemitism on campus.We never could conclude that but we felt it was important. I think it was a really important story because it showed that we were going to great lengths for in-depth reporting and that we were looking at something that the school may not want to be published. I learnt a lot from that. I learnt about how to find the facts and how it’s important to bring all facets of the truth to light even when you might not have the full story.

couple of years back, Apple was having a problem with their keyboard where some

on technology and social media, how has your role evolved as a tech columnist?

I like to think that I have one big audience but I reach my audience in different places and in different ways. The audience that is the one that pays my bills and is the most important to me is the Wall Street Journal and I reach them through my videos, the newspaper and the podcast. I spend a lot of time reporting, working with video journalists or different reporters. We live in a time when the survival of some of our biggest news institutions is not assured so we must do everything to help them survive. I’m really grateful to all the subscribers of the Wall Street Journal who are willing to pay for news. I also publish for people who don’t want to pay for news.They can watch the videos I make on YouTube or hear a podcast that has an ad in it.The second audience that I have are the people who follow me directly and I interact with them through my social media channels. I probably spend too much time on Twitter! I interact with people on Instagram and Clubhouse, a platform I wrote about last week.

journalists at Union?

What has been your favorite article that you have written?

For me, it’s tough to choose a single article, it’s like choosing between one of my children!

It’s probably the interactive columns that I have done that stand out the most to me. A

Courtesy of Union College Joanna Stern ’06 of the keys were not working.

So, to sort of simulate that effect, I wrote an interactive column in a way that the letters which were having those issues would not be visible until you press a key and then they would appear. I think different ways of telling a story is what I have focused on in my career. I have tried to use creative ways to give people a look inside various technology companies, a peek into the life of top tech executives and how tech impacts our day to day life.

With the rise of dependency

You have had a robust career in journalism. Is there any advice you would like to share with aspiring student

Spend a lot of time at the Concordy Office! I spent a lot of time there and learnt so much.

Thinking back to my time at Union, I met a lot of people at Union who I necessarily would not have met had I not worked at Concordy. I broadened my horizon by being exposed to different kinds of people and covering different kinds of people. Writing a different range of things is also important. And I think that’s the great thing about Concordy, that you can be flexible with what you want to cover. Editors are desperate for coffee and interesting things to write about.So you know, I could write about tech one week, I could write about a play happening at the Proctor’s Theater another week. I could write an opinion piece on dorm life or a front page story about the vandalism happening at the Kosher Kitchen. It really allowed me to experiment with different

Stern’s articles for the WSJ beats.can be found at: on.wsj.com/3dMWera OR through the following code

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Kelsey Delaney

Thursday, February 25, 2021 | Concordiensis

delaneyk@union.edu

A new wave of female friendship in entertainment media

By Abigail Cardello Contributing Writer

We learn from what we see.

Adults are told to be careful around young children, as their habits will “rub off” on kids, and the conversation around the takeaways from social media has been constant for over a decade. The influence of what we learn from entertainment media is just as strong.

The common narrative we have been fed by previous media phenomena is clear: strong women have male friends. Referred to as “The Smurfette Principle,” “One of the Boys,” or the “Tough Girl”

tropes, most of the stories we see follow female-to-male connection. In Harry Potter, Hermione’s only close friends are boys. In the Hunger Games, the “famous three” are Katniss, Peeta and Gale.

Even in the youth-focused Percy Jackson world, Annabeth’s closest connections are the male demi-gods. While these stories include levels of female friendship, it is never a main aspect of the plot.

However, for many female-identifying individuals, reality often does not mirror these ideas. Many people who identify as women will tell you that the connection they feel to peers who also identify this way is one of the most

remarkable aspects of their lives. Friendships with other women can stem from shared understanding, experience, and acceptance that might be harder to find in male friendships. Yet, the storylines we see in entertainment media often do not portray these connections. Those who identify as women are constantly told, simply by watching, that “strong girls” have communities that consist mainly of men.

Recent media, has begun to change this narrative.

One of the main players in this new revolution is author Sarah J. Maas. Her novels, Crescent City and A Court of Silver Flames, rely heavily on female relationships. Within

Crescent City, the bond the main character shares with her best friend drives her story and gives her strength. In A Court of Silver Flames, the primary female character battles extreme PTSD and develops important friendships with two other struggling women as they go through the healing journey together. These bonds are prioritized as key pillars of their stories. Movies are slowly following suit. In the most recent Marvel movie, End Game, the female heroes come together at the end to support each other and defeat the common enemy.

These portrayals will hopefully have ripples effects that will change how female friend-

ships are incorporated into modern media. While this is not to say that male friendships are unimportant or have no value, it is imperative that we show that female relationships hold an important place in life as well. When female-identifying individuals see the connections they often experience in real life reflected in the stories they consume, it will start to change the message that has been sent for years–that important connections are with men. It will give women permission to be proud of their female relationships, and make it clear that strength does not need to come from male counterparts. .

How has tradgedy continued to be monetized?

By Sarah Davenport Staff Writer

When conversing with friends, tragedy is something you typically try to steer away from, usually there interactions are fun and light. However, as COVID-19 has taken over the world for the past year, disaster and devastation have become a topic of everyday conversation.

While talking with a group of friends I truly realized how quickly witty chat can turn itself into aserious conversation. Our talk of highschool, sports and movies welded itself into one concerning the significance and perception of historical tragedy. As a highschool senior I took a class called The Art of Film and Literature in Cinema where I watched several movies about events such as

9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombing. I had never thought much about the impact these films had on individuals or any false portrayals they may have had. It was only after one of my friends mentioned how terrible it is that people make money off of others tradgedy. began to think about this issue more.

Movies like Flight 93 and Patriots Day (portraying 9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombing), greatly hold your attention as they are action packed and dramatic. However this dramatization is detrimental to society’s accurate understanding and perception of these terrible events. In Patriots Day, the heroic title is given to Mark Walhberg and his pack of policemen. It took the light away from the truly important figures of that day, the people of Boston. This film extensively exploited and romanticized the bombing in a fashion to which the filmmak-

ers could attract large audiences and ultimately monetary profit. Regardless of good intensions, it is undeniable that the motives behind its production were profit driven.

This is very telling of how society views the world, and life within it. Everything, even sometimes unintentionally, is money driven. We live in a place where economic principles run and ruin our perceptions of our existence and the important things within it.

It’s disgusting that we have reached a point where catastrophe is a source of entertainment. Although it is important for individuals to be knowledgeable about historical tragedies, the portrayal must no longer be aimed towards entertainment. This is especially important as we work our way through the remainder of the Coronavirus pandemic.

There are several films being made that turm the year

of 2020 and early 2021, into a thriller. Which is disheartening to see as it has extensively ruined the lives of millions. I personally would not want to have this terrible time portrayed in an entertaining manner for

future generations to enjoy.

It has not been an enjoyable time. The deaths, sickness, depression, and isolation that this pandemic has caused are not subjects to be sewn into the world of film.

Concordiensis Vol. CXLIX, Issue III, February 25, 2021 Akriti Dhasmana and Daniel Wilcox Editors-in-Chief

Mitchell Famulare, Managing Editor and Arts Editor

Megan Brown, News Editor Sydney Lewis, News Editor Dante Sasso, 807 Editor Isabelle Yee, Sports Editor Kari Kimball, Sci/Tech Editor

concordiensis.com Email: concordiensis@gmail.com Office: 406 Reamer Campus Center

Matt Farr, Managing Editor Kelsey Delaney, Opinions Editor Chris Doyle, World/Business Editor Stephen Nadler, Photo Editor Mail: Concordiensis Box 2577 807 Union Street

Do you have something you want to say? The Concordiensis is now accepting Letters to the Editor. Share your thoughts about campus, news, trends, or anything you want to write about!

All letters should be sent to dhasmana@union.edu or wilcoxd@union.edu. They should be less than 250 words in length and must include the writers full name and email address. Any letters longer than 250 words may be edited for length, word choice and accuracy.

Opinions

Thursday, February 25, 2021 | Concordiensis

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A time for choosing, a dilemma for the Grand Old Party

By Adam Jack Chinnery Staff Writer

The Republican Party faces a massive dilemma. It managed to win it’s largest number of votes in its history and managed to surpass everyone’s expectations in the 2020 election, with Trump just 1.15% from re-election and needing just six more seats to win back the house. In-spite of the moderate popular vote win

by Joe Biden, this race was close. However, that creates a few problems for the GOP. This as the post-mortem from this election will be incredibly unclear and could potentially leave the GOP paralysed in a bitter intra-party feud for many years to come.

It looks likely that the states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are likely to be the battlegrounds for the next elections to come, with all

three of them voting right of the national popular vote for the second time in a row, which means they can be picked up with relative ease. Iowa and Ohio now look fairly safe, and Florida is for certain not trending blue- a Democrat would now need to win the popular vote by at least 7% to take the state. Meanwhile Georgia and Arizona seem to be slipping from the grasp of the party, however they too will be competitive battleground states in the elections to come.

By having these two different sets of states to compete with in completely different parts of the country, the GOP has a decision to make. Does it remain the party of the ‘left behind’ in the so-called ‘rust belt’, or does it modernise to become a party for traditionally red states that are growing in population size and are gradually becoming diverse?

This geographic divide will plague the GOP as it debates whether Trumpism should re-

main and if so, what elements of it. Trump appears to have helped the GOP keep 46 electoral college votes in the midwest competitive, but it could lose 27 or even 65 (if Texas becomes more competitive) if the current trends continue.

Whilst the party might seem loyal to Trump at the moment, it is clear that people are beginning to gradually distance from him. Nikki Haley for example, is trying to straddle both lanes, by stressing the need to reform the party whilst continuing to stress what she sees as the successes of Trump’s foreign policy, a Politico Magazine article on Friday February 12th set this dilemma out well. This could be seen as an interesting strategy to try and hold an electoral coalition together, however without caution it could easily mean winning neither of these areas at all.

So it is clear that the Republican Party is at a ‘time for choosing’. It needs to consid-

Courtesy of Unsplash New York Times and Le Mode discuss American Elections.

er which states to prioritise winning back, what demographics to focus on and who to pick for it’s 2024 nominee.

Considering they have lost the popular vote in 7 of the last 8 elections and have failed to

win a greater number of electoral votes than any democrat in their three electoral college victories, it is clear that they have a lot of thinking and work to do.

The politicization of COVID-19 enabled 500,000 deaths

By Daniel Wilcox co-Editor-in-Chief

The United States has passed the 500,000 mark for the number of deaths suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic. The most powerful nation in the world, priding itself on having the most technologically advanced healthcare facilities on the planet has gained the notorious label of being the country that has arguably suffered the worst from this pandemic. Followed closely by countries like Brazil and my own native United Kingdom.

The former President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, who long trumpeted

the still-to-be-witnessed “miracle” of the virus disappearing overnight, is assuredly directly-responsible for the pain and harm caused to the friends and families of those more than 500,000 victims.

The refusal of Trump, and the posse that surrounded him, also known as the Trump family, to follow the guidelines published by his own administration, most notably the importance of wearing a mask, is unforgivable.

To imply that those who wear a mask are weak and unpatriotic, as witnessed during a multitude of tirades, was not only unforgiveable, but a downright death sentence for all those who took, and may still take, the right-wing ‘Messiah’s’ word as law.

Of course, we have all seen how certain groups and personalities in the media and beyond have equated wearing a mask as being muzzled and having their freedom curtailed. The issue arises, however, around whether a person’s freedom not to wear a mask trumps another person’s freedom to a disease-free life.

No matter which way you look at it, the issue of medical politics is one that has plagued American society for a very long time. Whether this crisis enables a pivot to a more moralistic and humanistic approach is yet to be seen, although I won’t hold my breath.

Having a president like Trump, and a pandemic like COVID at the same time must

Daniel Wilcox | Concordiensis Union’s American flag at half-staff for 500,000 COVID deaths.

be one of the worst cross-over events in history. A man so eager to cover his own behind and fill his pockets, while thou-

sands are dying everyday, not only brings suffering, but also shows complete disregard to what America holds dear.

Do you have something you want to say? The Concordiensis is now accepting Letters to the Editor. Share your thoughts about campus, news, trends, or anything you want to write about!

All letters should be sent to dhasmana@union.edu or wilcoxd@union.edu. They should be less than 250 words in length and must include the writers full name and email address. Any letters longer than 250 words may be edited for length, word choice and accuracy.

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Chris Doyle

World / Business

Thursday, February 25, 2021 | Concordiensis

doylec@union.edu

Nalvany supporters talk about protests in Russia

By Chris Doyle World/Business Editor

*NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT THE SAFETY OF INTERVIEW SUBJECTS As protests swept across Russia in reaction to the arrest and subsequent conviction of Putin-opposition leader Alexi Nalvany, security forces cracked down on protesters and worked to censor other associates of Nalvany.

By the end of January, 5000 people had been detained.

The Concordiensis spoke with three young people at the forefront of the movement.

“Civil society has become much stronger than in 2011 and 2012, and dissatisfaction with the government and citizens’ awareness of corruption is only growing. 100

million views on the investigation about Putin’s palace - the state media has never dreamed of such ratings,” said Samuel from Ekaterinburg. Expressions of discontent are more spread out, rather than confined to citie s, according to Samuel. “Today people go to the streets all over Russia, from megacities to single-industry towns.”

After his arrest, Nalvany’s associates released footage of a billion-dollar megacomplex in the Black Sea that they claimed was Putin’s.

“The luxury lifestyle of Russian oligarchs and political elite never was sensational news for the general public.

Putin’s figure aside from his personal life (family,children, and property-related information) has been taken out of the media space for the previous 15 years. A new thing about this investigation isn’t about

the luxury but the context of deanonymized elements of Putin’s personal life,” according to Lucy of Novosibirsk.

She doubts that Putin will face justice or sanction for his actions against Nalvany and his supporters, pointing to his ability to escape the annexation of Crimea relatively unscathed and the EU’s desire to see the Nord Stream 2 pipeline completed. Samuel agreed, pointing out that “the EU will not essentially give up on the profits of mutual trade.”

All three agree that the Russian Judiciary is under the firm control of Vladimir Putin. A 2014 report by the International Court of Justice called prosecuting authorities “the least reformed institution in Russia since Soviet times.” They further report allegations of bribery, intimidation by security forces, and outside influence by senior judicial officers and

political operatives. Judges interviewed by the ICJ claim that they “see themselves as agents of the State whose goal is to protect its interests, in Soviet tradition.” “There is no Court. All decisions are made exclusively upon a call from the presidential administration,” according to Samuel. This is inline with the ICJ report of “telephone jurisprudence.” Lucy mentioned how only a fraction of cases before the Russian Judiciary are acquitted, which is supported by a study by the Carnegie Moscow Center, which claims an average judge will hand down a not-guilty verdict once in a seven year period.

Lucy’s friend Kate of St. Petersburg was arrested while at a demonstration. “We stood in the cold for almost one and a half hours, waiting until we were all put in the arriving paddy wagons.” On arrival at

police stations, she claimed to have been dragged across the floors, kept without charge for a time exceeding the legal limit, interrogated with physically abusive methods, and had her picture and fingerprints taken. “Nights were spent in cells, sometimes without access to food, water and toilet. We were transported from one police station to another with short time intervals, and then to the court and then to the special detention centers.” When she was finally put before a judge, Kate received three days in jail before finally being released.

She has no plans to back away from the movement.

“The choice is yours: to maliciously grin at the “whims” of those who go to the rally, or still think about what is happening right here and now. We live here,” Kate said.

French-West African coalition to continue in Sahel

By Chris Doyle World/Business Editor

On February 15, the leaders of the Sahel G5—Mali, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania—were joined by France in a conference call to recommit themselves to the anti-insurgency campaign in West Africa known as Operation Barkhane. Jidhad fundamentalists began a campaign of violence and terrorism in Mali in 2012, and spread through neighboring coun-

tries, according to France 24.

These groups are branches of al-Qaeda and Nusrat al-Islam.

Since 2014, France has spearheaded counterterrorism operations in the region by providing special forces and advisors to supplement local military forces. Since engagements in the region began, 38 French soldiers have died, including two in January of 2021. President Emmanuel Macron has called for greater participation in the region from the European Union.

Several members of the bloc including Sweden, Den-

mark, the Czech Republic, and Estonia have joined the French-led task force to bolster counterinsurgency operations. Germany has refused to provide combat troops, according to Deutsche Welle.

In a October, 2020 report by the United Nations Refugee Agency, 1.8 million people have been “internally displaced”—have left their home but remain in their country of origin—and roughly half a million have fled across borders.

Drought caused by climate change, as well as poverty and a lack of permanent in-

frastructure has contributed to the regional blight along with the violence coming from Islamists. The UN report also noted that one million psople [approximately 5% of the Burkinabè population] has been displaced in some form, and that 7.4 million people in the Sahel are suffering from some form of malnutrition.

In a July, 2020 assessment

by Human Rights Watch, support for the Western coalition is waning due to a lack of tangible progress made in curbing the spread of terrorism and destruction. HRW also con-

tributes incidents of abuses and war crimes committed by the Europeans against civilians as reasons the local populace is beginning to question the prescense and effectivity of the European soldiers.

A poll in January of 2021 by the French Institute of Public Opinion shows a 51% disapproval of continued French involved in West Africa. Preisdent Macron is eligible to be reelected in April of 2022.

60-Second News

Ireland to extend COVID-19 restrictions into April, but primary schools will be allowed to reopen within the next week.

The Ecuadorian electorate is growing impatient with the eleven day delay in the recounting of ballots for the first round of its Presidential election.

Gibril Massaquoi will face a special Finnish tribunal in Liberia for war crimes of rape and recruiting child soldiers during the Liberian Civil War.

Kari Kimball

Sci/Tech

Thursday, February 25, 2021 | Concordiensis

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kimballk@union.edu

Single genome alternation could provide evolution insight

By Kartik Nath Staff Writer

How have modern day humans evolved from our predecessors? This is a novel question puzzling researchers, trying to trace the origins of the modern humans to our predecessors.

Traditional evolutionary studies usually include fossil and genetic analysis, but Dr. Alysson R. Muotri decided to take a different approach because he was interested in studying a specific area of evolutionary history: brain development. Dr Muotri and his lab published a study in Science on February 12th, 2021, where they analyzed the genomes of Neanderthals and Denisovans, two of modern human’s ancestors, and found a single gene

alteration that may explain why the brains may be different than modern humans.

Dr Muotri, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Cellular & Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego and the Director of the University of California, San Diego Stem Cell Program, studies brain development from the evolutionary perspective. Since our brains are a vital characteristic of what makes us human, Dr Muotri hopes that studying the evolutionary origins of the modern brain will illustrate processes such as the origins of disease. The Muotri lab is focused on studying complex neurological disorders and wants to use the evolutionary work to study disease models, molecular mechanisms, and possible therapeutics. So, how does Dr Muotri study the genome of

our ancestors? How can you study the brain of our ancestors when brains do not fossilize? The answer: stem cells.

This study is so fascinating, being able to identify gene alterations that could affect brain development. According to the article, Dr Muotri and his team studied the genetic code of the Neanderthals and Denisovans and found 61 variations between ancestor DNA and modern-day human DNA. Of those 61 variations, one stood out to Dr Muotri—neuro-oncological ventral antigen 1 (NOVA1)— that contains genome alternations that code for proteins involved in neurodevelopment.

Quick review: DNA provides for the instructions for the production of mRNA, which provides instructions for the production of protein. Proteins are polymers made up of amino acid monomers. DNA is a

polymer made up of nucleotide monomers, where the sequence of nucleotides provides the code for a sequence of amino acids, which is the primary structure of a protein.

A change in the nucleotide sequence has the potential to change the structure and function of a protein, which can alter cellular functions.

According to the article, Dr Muotri and his team found a single nucleotide alteration in the NOVA1 gene at position 200 which causes the amino acid to change from isoleucine to valine. Then, Dr Muotri used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing and human induced pluripotent stem cells, which are stem cells that are undifferentiated, meaning that they can develop into any human cell, and replaced the copy of the NOVA1 gene in the stem’s cells with the ancestral allele with the single alteration, then

influenced the stem cells into forming neural cells. They were able to get the brain cells to form into organoids, or clusters of cells, that have been used as models for diseases, genetics, infections and drugs. What was remarkable was that the ancestral cell organoid looked very different from the human organoid, with a distinctly different shape.

These results tell us that the ancestral NOVA1 causes a change in neurodevelopment, which means that modern humans must have acquired this single gene alteration at some point in time. Dr Muotri will be continuing his work and use this neuro-evolutionary perspective to try and understand brain development and function of our ancestors, which should shed light on human diseases and development.

Microfliers allow a new level of atmospheric exploration

By Olivia Egan Contributing Writer

While planes, balloons and drones are classic methods of recording information about our atmosphere, there are spots that even the most hightech planes can’t reach. In the mesosphere, about 50 to 80 kilometers above the surface of the earth, the atmosphere is too thin to support most types of flight technology, including balloons, which are typically the method used to breach hard-to-reach locations.

As of right now, the only aircraft that can spend any length

of time in the mesosphere are rockets. However, despite the massive technological advances made, they are still only able to remain there for a few minutes at a time.

Enter the innovation of microfliers, built from carbon nanotubes and powered solely by sunlight. These tiny drones have the potential to reach locations that are practically impossible for other aircraft to access, according to Science News. One of the keys to this is the carbon nanotube design which allows the craft to absorb light. This warms the microflier, and allows for liftoff. As the craft flies, it collides with air molecules, which gain energy from the collision and

propel it further into the air.

The intricacy present in the nanotubes under the craft is one of the keys to the microflier’s lift mechanism. The nanotubes were created to possess more ways for the air molecules to ricochet around.

This is done by the underside of the craft heating up significantly faster than other parts of the tiny craft which is what allows it to achieve liftoff.

While it has not yet been tested in the mesosphere, the microflier has performed well in lab conditions that mimic those of the mesosphere.

According to Science Magazine, it achieved liftoff within a vacuum chamber and, using a field of light that trapped

the craft within the chamber, scientists predicted that the microfliers could potentially carry a small load as well. This would allow for further study of the mesosphere, and would broaden our capabilities in at-

mospheric study as a whole.

Homo sapiens evolved about 300,000 years ago.

The tailbone developed a new purpose to act as an anchor for muscles.

60-Second Sci/Tech

Humans did not directly evolve from apes.

Wisdom teeth are obsolete by humans because of our soft diet.

Morning sickness during pregnancy evolved to prevent women from eating uncooked meat.

PICTURES OF THE WEEK

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Courtesy of Katie Davin, Akriti Dhasmana ’22, Daniel Wilcox ‘22 | Concordiensis A light disfunctions at the Nott Memorial (U-L), Concordy Office wall painting (U-R), UProgram mini-golfing event at the Field House (L-L) socially distanced class in Karp Hall. (L-R).

CRIME & FIRE LOG 02/19/21 - 02/25/21

2/20/21 12:22 p.m. Vandalism to door discovered - time of occurrence unknown. Open Investigation. Davidson House basement

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Dante Sasso Jr.

Thursday, February 25. 2021 | Concordiensis

sassod@union.edu

Using the Minerva kitchens for bonding during COVID-19

By Ariel Cooper Staff Writer

As a first year student, beginning my time at Union during a global pandemic has been unpredictable compared to previous experiences of classes. I have a somewhat half-baked understanding of what typical student life is like on campus, given the strict restrictions in place to protect the health and safety of the student body.

Though I appreciate all the safety precautions in place on campus, this has made it difficult to find things to do with my friends. One of the things I was excited to be a part of when I initially arrived on campus was my Minerva House, Breazzano. I had heard about how much they engage with the student body and were such a key part of that typical,

social “college experience” we all hear about as high school students.

My experience with my house has given me some glimpses into how exciting student life normally is during a typical year, but I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that I still don’t have the entire picture. I know I won’t see this full portrait of student life until the pandemic ends, though that hasn’t stopped my curiosity from growing.

One of the many resources I had heard of, but never tried were the kitchens located in each Minerva. There’s nothing like home cooking, and after weeks of only West lunches, my friend Nicole Turpin ’24 and I decided we would finally take advantage of this resource.

In order to reserve the Breazzano kitchen, we had to sign up virtually using 25live, which was something neither

of us had done before. We simply signed in to the website, created our own event, and the kitchen was ours for an hour.

We wanted to create something that reminded us of a simpler time that would also be easy to share, and we arrived at tea sandwiches.

We picked up some bread, cucumbers, jam, pesto, mozzarella and raspberries so we could make a variety of sandwiches in different shapes to pass out to our floormates.

Being the scrappy college students we are, we brought two cheap, plastic plates and two flimsy steak knives from our own dorms with us to the kitchen, since there are no cooking utensils or tools available to students who don’t live in the house.

During our crafting of the lovingly made creations, I enjoyed being out of the dorms, and taking advantage

Ariel Cooper | Concordiensis Nicole Turpin ’24 with the tea sandwiches of a new space on campus made me feel like I was right at home. We ran into a fellow student who lives in Breazzano during our assembly, and I found myself gaining a little more understanding as to how the Minerva Houses really are hubs of activity and communication at all hours of the day.

Utilizing a service that I

hadn’t used before has made me feel more at home on campus, despite all the craziness of the world right now. Though modern times can feel incredibly isolating, the Minervas are great resources to get more involved on campus and an easy way to break through the virtual wall we often find ourselves in front of.

Union’s Woman of the Week: Abby Stack ’21

By Marcy Forti Staff Writer

Nomination: Abby has been a Mentor in the Science & Technology Entry Program (STEP) for several years.

Along with helping out with student research projects in the summer, she has become our MVP among student staff and our go-to person for all things STEP! Abby runs an SAT prep class and an ACT prep class every week. She helps out with workshops via Zoom, creating fun activities for the youth in our program.

She has called the students to check in with them and their families and is currently serving on both our STEP Advisory Committee and our STEP Director Hiring Committee. At this very challenging time for this program - being remote due to COVID and being short staffed - Abby has been a tremendous help and is a big part of the current success of

this great program that serves underrepresented youth in our community. Anyone who knows Abby knows that she brings an abundance of positive energy to everything she does! The staff at the Kenney Center truly appreciates her!

Nominated by: JanetSweeney

What are your proudest accomplishments?

My proudest accomplishment at Union is absolutely playing with Union Field Hockey for 4 years. One of my favorite parts of being on the team has actually been cheering on my teammates from the sidelines. I am still very proud of my personal athletic accomplishments, like performing really well on the pacer test junior year and scoring 2 goals my sophomore year, but the best memories are seeing my friends achieve their goals on and off the field.

What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about intersectional advocacy. I think empathy is the most important skill one can develop. In my experience, it is incredibly difficult to experience empathy and not feel called to engage in advocacy. Using one’s privilege is essential to help those in a less fortunate situation. As Toni Morrison said, “The function of freedom is to free someone else.”

Who do you look up to?

I look up to so many people, but the biggest role model in my life has always been my mom (and I mean that in the most cheesy way possible).

She is the most joyously selfless person I have ever met.

Despite having 7 children, she has never once complained about the financial burden of multiple college tuitions, time constraint of attending countless musical and sporting events, or the overwhelming noise level within a 9-person household. She practices what she preaches in every

Abby Stack ’24 sense, and has taught me how to craft my mental game in a loving and sustainable way.

What does being a woman at Union mean to you?

Advocating for other women! Trans, cis, and every other female identity. Over my time at Union, I have tried to connect myself with as many areas of campus as possible in order to understand how different all of our experiences at

Courtesy of Women’s Union

Union are. As a female athlete, I have had a very specific social experience at Union that is vastly different that someone whose main social circle is their theme house, or a club they are involved in, or a program they are a part of. I think that welcoming all women and asking questions to better understand the experiences we do not share is essential to creating a supportive campus environment.

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Isabelle Yee

Thursday, February 25. 2021 | Concordiensis

yeei@union.edu

Men’s lacrosse team pre-season national rank is tenth place

By Annie O’Donnell Staff Writer

The Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Men’s Preseason Poll ranked the Union College men’s lacrosse team 10th in the nation.

Head coach Derek Witheford expressed his happiness to be in the rankings, “we are excited to be back in the top 10.”

Last year before COVID-19 shut everything down, Union was ranked 11th in the USILA preseason poll and then moved into 10th after a handful of wins. They had wins against Endicott, Babson, Springfield and no. 12 St, John Fisher. The only loss was against no. 4 Williams College with a close score of 10-11.

The current Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Men’s Preaseaon Top 20 Poll ranked two other Liberty League teams, with Rochester Institute of Technology (no. 3) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (no. 17).

The Liberty League is not the only athletic league to

have multiple schools.

The Old Dominion Conference has two members, Washington and Lee (no. 19) and Lynchburg University (no.

13).

The Centennial Conference also has three members, Franklin and Marshall (no. 14), Gettysburg (no. 9) and Ursinus (no. 5).

The New England Small School Athletic Conference (NESCAC) led the way with five schools in the rankings, Middlebury (no. 16), Amherst (no. 12), Williams (no. 7), Wesleyan (no. 4) and Tufts (no. 2).

Whether or not the men’s team and other springs sports get to compete this spring is still to be decided.

The Liberty League is to make an official decision on March 1, 2021.

It may be likely these athletes will have a season due to the number of staff members and students getting vaccinated and the current downward trend in new cases per day.

There are a couple of scenarios that may occur if spring sports are approved to play.

One possibility is that the men

Ryan Puglisi ’21 and teammates in action. may only play in-conference games.

Another likely scenario is that the Liberty League will split in half with a West and East division. The West Division will have Rochester, RIT, St. Lawrence and Clarkson while the East Division will have Skidmore, Union, RPI, Bard and Vassar.

Coach Witheford said, “I hope these student-athletes have the opportunity to compete on the field this year in a safe environment.”

In addition to the news of

the men’s team being ranked in the top 10, it was also announced that Ryan Puglisi ’21 was named to the 2021 USILA/Dynamic Division III Preseason All-America honorable mention.

Puglisi has had a very successful career at Union thus far. During his sophomore campaign, he earned All-Liberty League honorable mention after grabbing 32 ground balls and ranked second on the team with 32 turnovers. As a junior, he served as one of four captains alongside Kerry

Courtesy of Jonathan Goldheim Lyne ’20, Jimmy Connelly ’20 and Charlie McGovern ’20.

In the five games played last year, he caused five turnovers and picked up three groundballs.

Puglisi also excels in the classroom. During the 20192020 academic year, he received the Stephen Ritterbush ’68 Award and was inducted to the Tau Beta Pi (Engineering) and Omicron Delta Kappa (Leadership) Honor Societies. He is also a two-time member of the Liberty League All-Academic Team.

Crew team benefits with newly donated indoor rowing tanks

By Isabelle Yee Sports Editor

Early last week, Union Athletics unveiled the Union Crew Team’s new indoor training facility.

The new indoor training facility is located in Alumni Gym where the racquetball and squash courts used to be.

The facility has a four-seat sweep/sculling tank and multiple ergometers that are used before and after practice.

There is also office and meeting space for the crew team’s coaching staff and team to utilize.

The new facility brings many advantages to the crew team. For example, it allows them to remain in contact with

the water without having to deal with the frigid temperatures on the Mohawk River.

The coaches are also able to provide feedback and instruction at close quarters, something that is not possible on the Mohawk.

Furthermore, the rowers can practice at times that are more suitable for their class schedules.

The Athletic Director, Jim McLaughlin ’93, told Union Athletics that the “new rowing facility will have a positive daily impact on our student-athletes and help raise our men’s and women’s crew programs to the next level”.

Without the generous donations from Chuck ’88 and Katie Lane, Henry (P’21) Owsley and Alexa Van de Walle, and Peter ’93 and Daphne

Schwab, and a handful of other supporters, this new facility would not have been possible for the Crew Team.

One of two captains, Ben Weiss ’23 expressed the team’s gratitude for the donations, saying “on behalf of the entire rowing team coxswain, rowers and coaches, we want to thank Chuck and Katie, Henry and Alexa and Peter and Daphne for their generosity in providing us with these awesome indoor rowing tanks.

Weiss also voiced how the tanks are a useful to the newcomers on the team, explaining that “[the tanks] are great to have for the newcomers, especially the freshmen who have never rowed before to hone in on their skills, work technique and have that oneto-one instruction from coach-

Courtesy of Union Athletics Alice Sperry ’21 using the new rowing tank. es.”

Marina Angelopoulos ’21, who is another captain, also addressed how the tanks have been useful during the pandemic, saying that “the tanks have been an invaluable asset to us, especially this

term with COVID-19, since we’re not able to be out on the water with the boats this is giving us an almost equivalent opportunity. We are really appreciative of work we are going to be able to do in all of these facilities.”