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 Volume. CXLIV, Issue XV
concordiensis.com
Thursday, May 6, 2021
Tony Porter makes a call to men to end sexual violence By Megan Brown co-News Editor
Tony Porter, public speaker, activist, author and co-founder of “A Call to Men,” an organization working to promote “healthy, respectful manhood,” addressed the campus community during a webinar this past Thursday, April 29. In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Porter engaged in a dialogue on breaking out of the “man box” and encouraging a healthier, more reverential development of boys to men in modern society. The conversation revolved around Porter’s conception of the “man box” (“coined 20
plus years ago”), encapsulating three prominent societal and cultural “norms”: women being less valued than men, women being viewed as the property of men and women being viewed as sexual objects. He mentioned that these three components of the “man box” have a direct coorelation behind sexual and domestic violence against women. In addition, the “man box” also holds the idea that, according to “A Call to Men,” “men are expected to be strong, successful, powerful, dominating, fearless, in control, and emotionless.” When explaining further why it was that Porter created “A Call to Men,” he stated a few key statistics to help put into perspective the extent to
which violence against women and girls is of “epidemic proportions.” “One out of five women will be sexually assaulted during her four years on the college campus. One out of six women will be raped. Every three to six seconds a woman is a victim of domestic violence. Over 50% of female homicide victims are women killed by their husbands or partners. It is at epidemic proportions.” Porter does a lot of work in providing resources and training those men that aspire to increase their allyship to women and girls in their communities. He expressed that targeting all men, not just violent men, is key to the success of the movement. “The majority of men don’t
perpetrate violence against women and girls, but we are central to the problem of the violence. We don’t perpetrate the violence, but so much of the culture of what it means to be a man contributes to the violence.” Violence against women, like other social justice issues, is a widespread effort that holds more than just the victim parties responsible. “That’s why we put our attention … when we say ‘a call to men’ … on the majority of men. Men who don’t perpetrate the violence but far too often are silent to the violence or far too often the culture of manhood that we are part of is feeding the violence.” Porter made sure to highlight that “if women could end the violence
on their own they would have already.” Additionally, Porter emphasized how much his organization invests in highlighting military men and male coaches and/or athletes because those are the men that other men look up to the most. He stated that targeting these men will help “expedite” this call to action. The efforts to curb this epidemic of violence against women and girls is a movement that starts like any other: education. “A Call to Men” provides such education as well as additional steps. The training Porter’s organization provides is open to any member of the public at acalltomen.org.
President David Harris hosts sixth annual Feigenbaum Forum online By Dante Sasso Jr. Editor-in-Chief
On May 4th, 2021, President David Harris of Union College was joined by Mary Beth Labate, Joshua Kim (from Dartmouth College), Jeff Selingo, Brian Rosenberg, hosted the sixth annual Feigenbaum Forum on Innovation and Creativity. Originally created by Armand V. Feigenbaum ‘42 and Donald S. Feigenbaum ‘46, the Feigenbaum Forum as described by the Union College website is “a gathering on campus at which academicians discussed characteristics of a new generation of leaders and how better to Opinions. page 3 Glamorization of mental illness
integrate liberal arts and other studies.” After a series of introductions made by President Harris, Selingo began to explain about higher education and how large of a disconnect there is between the employment market/what it desires, and where parents and students put their money into college. Rosenberg commented on this, stating that he saw a “tectonic shift” towards STEM disciplines at Macalester College. For Rosenberg, some of the more recent issues were demographics and the economic model, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Many colleges are struggling with admissions currently, and that it will only
get worse in coming years.” On the employment market shift, Rosenberg stated, “it’s a challenge… you have a workforce that is extremely specialized, and a student base that’s difficult to shift around.” Labate stated that “demographics are not on our side,” as several states are seeing a decrease in high school graduates. Labate explains that the reason private colleges are more expensive than state schools is because the state schools are using taxpayer subsidies to uphold their colleges; “it really creates a challenge for [private schools] to counter those narratives.” See FORUM on page 2
Dante Sasso Jr. | Concordiensis Mary Beth Labate (U-L), Joshua Kim (U-R), David Harris (M-L), Brian Rosenberg (M-R), and Jeff Selingo (bottom) at the 2021 Feigenbaum Forum.
We’re beautiful on the inside, too
Sci/Tech. page 5 NASA martian helicopter lands down
807 Union St., page 7 Students vs. Union Jackbox Games
World, page 4 Palestine elections postponed indefinitely
Sports, page 8 Men and Women’s Crew at Liberty League
News
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Chabad’s Resiliency Series ends with “Navigating Uncertainty” By Sydney Lewis co-News Editor
It is hard to be resilient in a long period of uncertainty. This message radiated from the mouths of the three parents who spoke at the last Chabad Resiliency series, Navigating Uncertainty: Parent’s Perspective, on May 4, 2021. Ezra Dori, M.D., Leslie Camins Schleimer and Lori Katzman. Psy.D. joined the Union community to discuss how their careers have been impacted by the pandemic and how they have used family to cope with the change in normalcy. The series began with an interview and presentation from Max Eisen, international public speaker and Holocaust survivor and the second speaker was Eric Dyer ’13 who has been in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction since 2011. Ezra Dori, M.D., father to Lauren Dori ’22 is a Clinical
FORUM Continued from page 1
Kim explained the narrative about higher education is that of a “crisis,” but he doesn’t feel this was the right narrative. One of the stories he believes was missed by journalism about private schools is the “renaissance” of education, stating that the courses are much better at private schools due to constant restructuring; the more private schools improve, the more state schools will follow. On online learning during COVID-19, Selingo stated that “this has been one of the most innovative periods in the history of education.” The idea that we don’t need everything on campus was discovered during this period of the pandemic, and that we’ve learned a lot from online school. “The question is, what snaps back?” Selingo explains that one fear that he has is that the desire to return to normalcy may lead to institutions losing all that they’ve learned over the past 15 months in the pandemic. Rosenberg and Labate
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Zucker School of Medicine of Hofstra/Northwell. Throughout the evening he focused on the importance of making his patients feel safe, especially when mother’s were delivering their children and their spouse could not be present. He reminded listeners that a sense of family, community and learning from each other is so important, and this is something that people were reminded of throughout the pandemic. Leslie Camins Schleimer, mother to Emma Schleimer ’22, has been a partner at Camins & Hirsch, PLLC since 2005. However, she recently started College Athletic Counseling, where she provides counseling services to high school students who hope to compete in sports at the college level. Lori Katzman, Psy.D., mother to Hallie and Rayna Katzman ’23 works with the geriatric population as she
provides older adults with psychological services while they age in place at home or live in a continuous care retirement community. Dr. Katzman mentioned the struggle she faced with communication to her patients as not only two masks and a shield barrier made it harder for them to hear her voice, but she also had to adjust them through technological barriers as well. Laiky Rubin moderated the event after the introduction to the panelists done by their own children. Rubin is the Chabad Jewish Student Group advisor as well as the co-Director for Chabad at the Union Rohr Jewish Student Center. Panelists were asked what they would put in their ethical will when thinking about the future. Schleimer compared this question to a moral legacy and her connection to her family are so sacred to her. She says, “The quality time comes from the quantity of time,” when reminiscing on
agreed with Selingo, with Labate explaining that she believes that “we acted before most other industries” in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that more collaboration has occurred during this time than ever before between colleges and universities. Kim explained that COVID-19 did have some innovation, creating a “pedagogy of care,” helping students get through the difficult time. He says that he hopes to see more people who have difficulty with higher education being helped and cared for like he saw during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the future of liberal arts colleges, Rosenberg explained that one thing he sees is a question about why higher education has such a hard time changing. “The inequities embedded in the higher education system are profound, and we aren’t going to solve them with small changes.” Rosenberg posited the question, “what makes it so hard for higher education to change,” explaining that other industries have been able to change whereas higher education has remained mostly the same. Rosenberg wants
higher education to be less siloed and compartmentalized; the current departmental and major structure should be looked at. Selingo agreed with Rosenberg’s sentiment, and explained how we know that the skills of liberal arts majors are wanted by employers, but employers also want very specific skills that aren’t always available. He stated that he would add these specific skills in microcredentials for majors. Kim explained we need to invest in public and community colleges as well, but at the level of a private school like Union, we need to think about what students need to invest in for success. We can’t have the expectation that students aren’t doing their best, and that maybe our system needs to be restructured to help students gain their essential skills in a better way than this model. Labate explained that colleges need to mold their model to students, as they need to listen to student concerns rather than just assume the model is working because it’s been the same for so many years. After this initial discussion, the panel was opened up to view-
Courtesy of Union Chabad The three speakers for the final event of the resiliency series, “Navigating Uncertainty.”
the time spent with family especially over quarantine. While sharing how puzzles, walking, baking and many celebrations filled the early months of quarantine, the panelists encouraged those listening to remember that nothing is going to be perfect. This was the third and final
talk that concludes the Resiliency Series for Chabad.
ers to ask questions to the panelists. The initial question asked about college admissions changing after the pandemic. Rosenberg explained that he believes standardized testing will be removed from admission considerations, as colleges are seeing that the removal of that statistic causes more diverse demographics. Selingo also agreed with this. Kim explained that the way we organize our colleges and universities isn’t around how students learn. Rosenberg agreed with this, and stated that it is actually organized around staff and faculty. The President is unable to really do much to tell the faculty to teach a specific way, it’s only up to the faculty. There isn’t an incentive for faculty to take a step back and examine their own practices, with the criteria for tenure and hiring that we currently have. President Harris agreed, saying that he sees some change at Union College in this sense, but not necessarily enough. Another question was raised about the “indoctrination” of college students into liberal ideology. Labate spoke on this, saying that what she
finds more difficult is the shutting down of voices on college campuses, as we lose out occasionally on seeing other viewpoints when we shut out certain speakers or people. Rosenberg furthered the discussion on this, explaining that there is a difference between “free” and “educational” speech, and that we need to be careful about what we consider appropriate and not when it comes to political ideologies. Further questions stayed on these themes of the future of liberal arts and how schools can educate more people on a larger scale going forward. With the decrease in birth rates and less people interested in and able to afford college, colleges will have to adapt to the future in order to stay afloat. The majority of questions were asked by students, with one by an alumni and one from a faculty member being asked. After all questions were asked, the panelists made some closing statements and thanked all for coming to the forum. Whether this forum discussion will lead to change at Union College remains to be seen.
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Sarah Davenport
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Thursday, May 6, 2021 | Concordiensis
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davenpos@union.edu
The glamorization of mental illness in media and culture By Sarah Davenport Opinions Editor
Mental health has always been a very taboo and stigmatized topic of discussion. The way an individual thinks, feels, and behaves are all personal experiences that constitute the state of the mind. They are elements of our character that are melded by the human condition and are often tough to talk about. The agony that comes along with mental illness, like anxiety and depression, is debilitating and not a subject to take lightly. To be betrayed by your own mind and body is a terrible way to suffer, one that I do not think all people completely
understand. There is a difference between sadness and depression; nervousness and anxiety. A bad day or sudden mood change does not indicate you struggle with mental health, rather that you are human, which is something I feel people in this day and age fail to acknowledge. In recent years, the issue surrounding mental health has become exceedingly more common within society, especially in terms of media (T.V., social media, the news). Although this is good in some respects, as it sheds light on the respective issues, it has brought many other problems to the table; problems regarding the glamorization and misinterpretation of mental illness. The main issue, I believe, is mental health as it
exists in the context of social media, as it is the most prevalent platform for my, as well as other college students’, demographic. While discussion and openness about this topic needs to be normalized, how it is currently being done seems to be excessively superficial and unrealistic. As we enter May, Mental Health Awareness Month, this issue has increasingly been on my mind. I acknowledge I do not, nor does anyone, hold the power to define mental illness, however it is clear that in many cases individuals identify their normal human emotions and behaviors as such. They seem to portray these issues as something temporary and easily fixable. As Julie Abelson says in her article, “The Glamorization of Mental
Illness,” “Depression is made out to seem like a comfortable sadness: laying in bed for a few days, watching movies and eating ice cream. Anxiety is depicted as something that can be resolved in five minutes with a simple breathing exercise or going on a jog. People laughingly say they have OCD when they need their pencils to be perfectly straight and in line with each other. People claim mania when they clean their rooms at 3 a.m. or go on ‘manic’ coffee sprees.” This is a problem, as it muffles the voices and discredits those who are truly struggling. I hate seeing how awareness has turned into self-diagnosis and how it transforms into “trendy” movements on social media, especially on platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram.
Videos that exacerbate small instances of adversity into claims of suffering from depression, anxiety, etc, as means to appear relatable or follow a “trend”, are sickening and disheartening to see. Individuals who truly struggle with these problems often do not share them or make them public, which is what makes this issue slightly off-putting. I am all for using tools, like humor, music, etc. to create common ground for individuals who struggle with these problems to connect and relate; however, there is a different motive in why these videos and posts are made to social media: glamorization.
A vaccination mandate: Union’s only hope for normalcy By Abby Strauzer Contributing Writer
After watching on television a plethora of other colleges and universities declare a vaccination mandate to come back in the fall of next school year, I have found myself anxiously waiting for President Harris of Union College to do the same. Other than other medical reasons that severely limit or exclude certain categories of people, there is no such reason to not have gotten the vaccine for the novel coronavirus yet. COVID-19 is something this campus has known far too well, and the fact that I have never gotten quarantined at Union nor gotten covid, for a second time in my life, is a miracle.
There is a distinct divide in the student body, as it consists of people that have either hunkered down and have done nothing for almost the full academic year, wishing they didn’t so strongly care about the dangers of the pandemic and then there are the kids that have chosen the route of partying and taking risk. Which inevitably causes individuals to get COVID-19 or be quarantined. Coming back from winter break and St. Patrick’s Day alone had lasting impacts that impacted our campus. We struggled with partially shutting our campus down and the threat of full lockdown. So why run the risk of having that happen for yet another year? A vaccination mandate at Union would allow this campus to go back to the most normalcy anyone has seen in
over a year. Social life would, once again, flourish within our campus bubble of fully vaccinated students and faculty. By mandating a vaccine, a sense of relief could finally sweep across this campus, giving everyone a chance to get back to college life in the way it’s supposed to be. I have already, along with my grade and the one below us, missed out on invaluable experiences that all Union students should experience in their time on campus. Events such as Lobsterfest, Springfest, Homecoming, Alumni Weekend, in person recruitment and classes are all elements that make Union the place we all love. Without being able to come in contact with people at these events, we are missing out on what’s important: making personal connections. There are plenty of events
and experiences I have missed once or will be missing twice, and I would never have to miss them again if we just were all required to be vaccinated. At the end of the day, there will always be push back from families and stu-
dents about mandating a vaccination against COVID-19 to come back, but there is push back with all aspects of life, and this is for the safety and betterment of this Union College community.
Concordiensis Vol. CXLIV, Issue XV, May 6, 2021 Dante Sasso Jr. Editor-in-Chief
Megan Brown, News Editor Sydney Lewis, News Editor Ariel Cooper, 807 Editor Isabelle Yee, Sports Editor Kari Kimball, Sci/Tech Editor concordiensis.com Email: concordiensis@union.edu Office: 406 Reamer Campus Center
Sarah Davenport, Opinions Editor Chris Doyle, World/Business Editor Trey Everett, 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 sassod@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, May 6, 2021 | Concordiensis
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Palestine announces elections are postponed indefinitly By Chris Doyle World and Business Editor
On April 29, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority (PA) announced the indefinite postponement of the upcoming May elections. In his announcement, Abbas pointed to the absence of East Jerusalem among constituencies within the election, according to the New York Times. Palestine and the international community see East Jerusalem as the future capital of a Palestinian state, but it was annexed by Israel in 1967, and recognized by the Trump Administration in 2018 as the indivisible capi-
tal of Israel. The Times report included another possibility that Abass’ political organization—Fatah—might lose seats to rivals. Abbas only has functional control over areas of the West Bank that are civility administered by the PA under the terms of the Oslo Accords. The Gaza Strip is effectively ruled by Hamas, which the United States, European Union, and Israel see as a terrorist organization. In 2004, Abbas succeeded Yasser Arafat as the Palestinian head of state. He would go on to win the 2005 presidential election, but Hamas was victorious in the legislative elections that took place the following year. The international community refused
to recognize the Hamas government after it refused to recognize Israel, and began withholding aid and implementing sanctions. Israel began its notorious blockade in 2007. A 2007 confrontation between the forces of Hamas and Fatah forced the latter party from Gaza. The two formed a tentative unity government in 2014, and then reaffirmed their commitment to their shared cause during the Trump Administration’s lean towards Israel in a 2020 new arrangement that included fresh elections, according to the Times of Israel. COVID-19 hindered this from taking place, but pressure from neighboring allies in Egypt and Jordan forced Abbas’ hand.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority In the same year as their last election, The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index ranked Palestine as a flawed democracy. It has been ranked more towards authoritarian in recent years.
Before the announcement of the cancellation, riots in Jerusalem heightened the divides in the city. 190 people had been arrested since April 26, according to the Jerusalem Post.
US Navy fires warning shots against Iranian navy ships By Jing Chen Staff Writer
On April 27, 2021, a US Navy ship fired warning shots against three Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) boats approaching the northern Persian Gulf. The US Navy said that the IRGCN speed boats advanced “unnecessarily close with unknown intent, coming as close as 68 yards” of the USS Firebolt and the Coast Guard vessel Baranof patrolling in international waters during the time of the incident. Personnel of the Fifth Fleet claimed that while they had issued multiple warnings through the ra-
dio, the Revolutionary Guard vessels continued “their close range maneuvers,” and thus fired warning shots until the IRGCN ships distanced themselves from US vessels. The US Navy released a statement assuring that “the U.S. is not an aggressor” and that its forces are trained “to conduct effective defensive measures when necessary.” This is the second time in April when Iranian ships harassed US vessels in the Persian Gulf, the US Navy says. Earlier on April 2, several Revolutionary Guard Corps boats harassed US Coast Guard ships by continually crossing in front of American ships at a proximate reach that lasted for three hours. NBC News, the Wash-
ington Post, and Wall Street Journal note that these American and Iranian fast-ship encounters have not occurred since 2017. They believe that these instances are related to restoring talks of the nuclear negotiation between Washington and Tehran. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) initiated in 2015—popularly known as the Iran Nuclear Deal—is an accord between Iran and several global powers. Under its terms, Iran accepted international inspection of its extensive nuclear capabilities, and the dismantling of some of its nuclear facilities in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions from the
EU and United Nations. Iran is also restricted to its uranium usage under specific guidelines and inspection. US intelligence officials estimated that in the absence of the negotiation, Tehran could produce enough missiles to threaten nations and provoke a crisis. The Iranian economy suffered years of recession, currency depreciation, and inflation before agreeing to the JCPOA implementation. The Council on Foreign Relation reports that after sanctions have been lifted, Iran began exporting 2.1 million barrels of oil per day and swiftly stabilized its economy. In 2018, the deal collapsed when President Trump formally withdrew the US from the JCPOA, insisting
that the agreement had failed to hamper Iranian power and regional influence. Shortly after, the Trump administration reinstated economic sanctions on Iranian oil. While the Iranian government initially continued to comply with the JCPOA, it began to step away in the summer of 2019. According to CNN, Iranian aggression through speed-ship attacks have likely started when the Biden administration started talks about rejoining the JCPOA pact with Iran. On April 21, the US, Iranian, and current members of the JCPOA met in Vienna to discuss the future of JCPOA. US and Iranian officials both claim that they would not make the first move.
60-Second News
President Joe Biden pledges US support to India’s medical community, dispatching US Air Force aircraft loaded with oxygen, protective equipment, and other supplies
400,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Brazil due to shortcoming of vaccine drive
US and allies begin phased with withdraw from Afghanistan
Kari Kimball
Sci/Tech
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kimballk@union.edu
Major milestone 1 million COVID-19 vaccines administered By Kari Kimball Sce/Tech Editor
Just four months since the World Health Organization (WHO) approved the first emergency use COVID-19 vaccine, the world has reached an unprecedented milestone of one million vaccines administered. As of April 27, 1.06 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccines had been administered to 570 million people around the world, according to Scientific America. WHO’s chief scientist, based in Geneva, Switzerland, Soumya Swaminathan stated, “It is an unprecedented scientific achievement. Nobody could have imagined that, within 16 months of the identification of a new virus, we would have vaccinated one
billion people worldwide with a variety of different vaccines, using different platforms and made in different countries.” Major rollouts have come in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. Big, wealthy countries like the US have been able to distribute vaccines at record speeds. However, smaller, less industrialized countries have had a hard time getting any doses of the COVID vaccines. The uneven distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations within and between nations threatens to slow progress towards herd immunity. Krishna Udayakumar, associate director for innovation at the Duke Global Health Institute in Durham, North Carolina states, “it’s absolutely amazing that in a short time we developed multiple vac-
cines and gotten a billion doses administered, but the way it’s happened has worsened inequities around the world.” About three quarters of all doses have gone to ten nations while the remaining 185 nations have had to share the rest. The United States and China account for nearly half of all the doses given out while two percent have gone to the continent of Africa. The self interest of higher income countries in beating the pandemic has hindered the progress of creating vaccine equity, according to Peter Hotez, a vaccine scientist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. In addition to the disparities of vaccine availability between nations, there are also disparities within nations. A study conducted in the United Kingdom found that, of 1.1
million people over the age of 80 who were treated for health conditions between December and January, a significantly higher percentage of white patients had been vaccinated compared to black participants. Only 20.5 percent of black participants had been vaccinated while 42.5 percent of white participants had been vaccinated. This study also found trends based on socio-economic status. Krishna Udayakumar, associate director for innovation at the Duke Global Health Institute in Durham, North Carolina, stated, “vaccinating only portions of the population is not an effective strategy, and leaves us vulnerable to new variants. A global pandemic can only be met with a global response.” While this is a significant milestone reached, it does
not mean that we are out of the woods yet. Only 7.3 percent of the world’s 7.79 billion population have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Based on previous research, scientists believe that at least 75 percent of the world population needs to be vaccinated to bring the pandemic under control. Global vaccine manufacturers are significantly increasing their production to meet the demands. Experts believe that it could take another six to twelve months to develop enough vaccines to meet the demands. Experts are still optimistic about continuing to vaccinate the world population at record speeds, stating that we are likely to hit the two billion mark even faster than we hit the first billion.
NASA’s new tiny martian helicopter lands on Mars By Olivia Egan Staff Writer
On April 19th, 2021, the first ever flight of a craft on another planet took place on Mars. Arriving on Mars via attachment to NASA’s most recent rover, Perseverance, the small spacecraft is the first of its kind. Its blades are specially engineered to be able to push against air with a density that is just 1% of Earths at sea level, something that is incredibly difficult for any flying craft. Ingenuity went through an incredible number of tests before finally being launched into space, where it hovered
above Mars’s surface for a 40 seconds before successfully landing again. The final craft weighed about four pounds and had blades approximately four feet in length, much longer than a similar craft would need to fly on Earth. One of the challenges of creating a craft that must withstand conditions in an atmosphere different to Earth’s is testing. The only place on earth that has a similar atmosphere to Mars would be a point over 87,000 feet in the air, three times the height of Mount Everest, which meant that engineers had to construct a place that the craft could be tested in Mars-like conditions. Ingenuity engineer
Amelia Quon was the head of the team responsible for the creation of the Mars Simulation Chamber, a space in which Earth’s air could be extracted and replaced with the carbon dioxide rich air that Ingenuity would have to fly in on Mars. Once engineers were satisfied that Ingenuity would be able to survive a flight on Mars, it was paired with the Perseverance Rover. The pair arrived on Mars on February 22nd 2021, after which Perseverance drove around in search of a spot flat enough for Ingenuity to launch. Ingenuity had its first contact with martian soil on April 3rd, where it charged its batteries
The new martian helicopter, Ingenuity
Courtesy of NASA
via solar panels and began preparation for its flight. After troubleshooting and blade testing, Ingenuity took flight at 3:30 am, 12:30pm Mars time, and autonomously lifted itself 16 feet off of the ground and flew about 160 feet before
landing on Mars. This successful flight on Mars ushers in a new era of space flight potential, from scouting new planets to transporting future astronauts through areas that rovers and other vehicles cannot.
You cannot test positive for COVID-19 from the vaccines.
Scientists are looking at the affect of COVID vaccines on testing positive for antibodies.
60-Second Sci/Tech
There is no evidence of the COVID vaccines effecting fertility or hindering pregnancy.
COVID vaccines do not change or interact with your DNA in any way.
None of the COVID vaccines authorized for use in the US contain the live virus.
PICTURES OF THE WEEK
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Trey Everett ‘22 | Concordiensis A view of the skyline above the theme houses (U-L), Students playing frisbee (U-R), A view of the cloudy sky from Seward (L-L), The Nott during a cloudy evening (L-R)
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Students vs. Union: Gaming4U hosts gaming gauntlet By Dante Sasso Jr. Editor-in-Chief
Throughout spring term, Gaming4U has been hosting a series of Jackbox Games competitions between Union College students and Union College faculty/staff to see who can come up with some of the wittiest answers to some of the zaniest questions. With five games of the gauntlet down, the Union College faculty/staff have been crushing the students with a 4 to 1 record in the faculty’s favor. The idea to create a Jackbox Games gauntlet came from the mind of Logan Walker ’23, who explained that he was “surprised how many professors accepted the offer.” Walker and Andrew
“Gio” Giordano ’21 are both the co-Presidents of Gaming4U, and they both have been working to make sure that the events have been running smoothly. Certain video games and board games have been off the table for Gaming4U due to the COVID-19 pandemic that is ongoing. Jackbox Games, however, allow the group playing to be remote and socially distanced. The way that each of the Jackbox Party Packs works is quite different from a standard video game or board game; each player uses their phone to join in and input answers to various prompts on a main screen. In order for the participants to have an equal chance of winning, Walker devised a mathematical algorithm to create a set of rules for the
games: 3 games of Quiplash would be played among the group, with the Union faculty/ staff member only needing to win 1 game in order for it to count as a Union win. Gio explained that “the more participants we have, the more equal the chances of winning become for both sides.” With 5 games played so far, Gaming4U has hosted Katie Davin and Lauren Doughtery from Student Activities, Randy Wyatt from the theater department, Nick Webb and Kristina Striegnitz from the computer science department, President David Harris, and Jennifer Matsue from the music department. Generally, the feedback has been positive so far according to Gio and Walker. “There needs to be more events with faculty,” Geo ex-
Courtesy of Jackbox Games Jackbox Games has created several group party games plains. Students have also been enjoying the events according to Walker, and both co-Presidents agreed that future events may also have the gauntlet structure.
The next game in the gauntlet will include Laura Munkres from the Minerva Program office and a “mystery guest” on Tuesday, May 11th at 5:00 PM.
Union’s Woman of the Week: Prof. Rosemary Patterson By Jackson Giammattei Contributing Writer
Rosemary Patterson, Sociology Professor Nominated by: The Women’s Union Eboard Nomination: Rosemary did such an amazing job speaking at Denim Day and we wanted to shout her out this week! Her speech really highlighted the importance of Denim Day as well as the conversation surrounding sexual assault and how to support survivors. We were honored she took the time out of her schedule to speak and appreciated all of her help with the event! Also we cannot wait for her to speak for Take Back the Night in a couple weeks!! What are your proudest accomplishments? Personally, I have a threeyear-old daughter and she is by far the best thing that has ever happened to me. She is the sweetest soul and being her mother is the greatest gift and highest honor. Professionally, after a de-
cade of serving as a Medical Social Worker, starting my appointment with the Sociology department this past fall was a dream come true. I care deeply about the integrity of the social work profession, the people that we serve and feel that educating the next generation of practitioners. Helping future practitioners to understand and utilize their sociological imagination is the ultimate way to fulfill our professional value of service. What are you passionate about? I am passionate about enacting our social work professional values in both the classroom and the field. Our values of service, social justice, dignity and worth of a person, the importance of human relationships, competence and integrity are at core of our practice. I am passionate about living out these values, leading with empathy and addressing inequity, racism, discrimination, and the unequal distribution of wealth or resources. Who do you look up to? My professor in undergrad and current department chair
at the College of Saint Rose, Maureen Rotondi, LCSW-R. She embodies everything that a social worker and educator should be. She is empathetic and fierce. She is a social worker and a human first. What does being a woman at Union mean to you? Being a woman at Union means that we can offer strength through vulnerability, empathy and the gift of being multifaceted. As a woman, a social worker and as a mother, I feel that I have experienced a vulnerability that is both frightening and humbling. I am grateful for the opportunity to utilize my strength to help others connect to something within themselves, and ultimately foster connection and change. To be clear, being a woman is not synonymous with being a mother, having a family or a partner. What is amazing about women, is that we all get to choose what we will derive meaning from in our life and cultivate that for ourselves. For me, my identity as a woman, social worker and mother are all intertwined.
Prof. Rosemary Patterson Therefore, being a woman at Union to me means finding ways to nurture our students, advance the rights of others through research and ensuring that I am present for my daughter and family as well. Being a woman is a multi-task-
Courtesy of Women’s Union
ing experience. Being a woman at Union means sharing the complexity of our intersecting identities, subsequently, allowing our strengths to enrich our community.
8
C Sports
Isabelle Yee
Thursday, May 6, 2021 | Concordiensis
yeei@union.edu
Men’s and Women’s Crew Find Success at Liberty Leagues Isabelle Yee Sports Editor __________________________ On Saturday, May 2, both the men’s and women’s crew team competed at the Liberty League Championship. The Championship took place at Fish Creek on Saratoga Lake in Saratoga Springs, New York. On the men’s side, in the Varsity Four race, the men took first place with a time of 9:15.02, beating the second-place team by more than 18 seconds. The boat contained coxswain Betsy Matthew ’24, Ross O’Connor ’22, Braman Cronin ’24, Giani DiGennaro ’24, and Ethan Conrad ’24. In the Men’s Varsity Eight race, the Dutchmen took fourth place with a time of 7:47.728. This boat contained coxswain Tonny Griffin ’24, Miles Ackerman ’23, Aidan Kask ’23, Christopher ’23,
Benjamin Weiss ’23, Harrison White ’24, Leo Gagliardi ’23, Cole Abdinoor ’24, and Isaac Neustadt ’22. They finished behind RIT who placed third with a time of 7:23.155, Ithaca who was second with a time of 7:02.467, and Hobart who won the race with a time of 6:42.024. On the women’s side, in the Varsity Eight race, the women finished in fifth place with a time of 8:51.071. The boat was composed of coxswain Sally Harper ’24, Marlena Fornuto ’24, Alex Lipsky ’22, Marina Angelopoulos ’21, Alice Sperry ’21, Emily Landry ’23, Ella Tycz ’24, Jenny Mutch ’21, and Amelia Roth ’22. The women finished behind Ithaca who won the race with a time of 7:56.097, RIT who was second with a time of 8:10.755, William Smith in third in 8:25.532, and St. Lawrence who finished in 8:45.667. Finishing behind Union was Skidmore with a time of
9:04.524 and St. John Finisher who completed in the time of 10:02.245. The women’s novice 8 boat took a fourth-place finish with a time of 9:54.84. This boat contained coxswain Katherine Riley ’23, Ava Russell ’21, Sophia Anderson ‘22, Lillian Woods ’24, Kiley Kirkpatrick ’23, Kelci Gilot ’22, Katarina Zahedi ’22, Alexis Henrikson ’23, and Jane Scherck ’23. The teams who finished ahead of the Union were William Smith in 9:26.502, RIT in 9:05.042, and Ithaca who won the race in a time of 8:43.071. This past weekend was the final race weekend for the crew team and the final race for the senior class. The senior class contains Marina Angelopoulos. Ava Russell, Alice Sperry, and Jenny Mutch. These four senior women have had very successful athletic and academic careers at Union. Marina received the Ste-
phen Ritterbush ’68 Award, was named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team in 2019 and 2020, and was named to the All-Liberty League Team during the 2017-2018 season. Ava Russell was named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team in 2019 and 2020. Alice Sperry was named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team in 2019 and 2020. She was also awarded Liberty League Boat of the Week member twice. Lastly, Jenny Mutch was named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team in 2019 and 2020 and was also awarded the Liberty League Boat of the Week member.
Women’s Golf Has Top-10 Finishes at Liberty Leagues Tyler Mar Staff Wrtier __________________________ The Union College Women’s Golf team put together a valiant effort at Turning Stone Resort’s Shenendoah Golf Club to finish in second place at the 2021 Liberty League Championships. The Dutchwomen compiled a score of 731 (363-368) over the two-day, 36-hole tournament with all five golfers on their squad finishing among the top-ten this weekend. Bested only by Ithaca College (679) with William Smith placing third with an 837.Alexandra Cymbal ’23, sophomore, lead the Dutchwomen in scoring and posted the tournament’s second lowest two-day score (164). Following a round of 88 on Saturday, May 2nd, Cymbal shot an 85 on Sunday and climbed six spots on the leaderboard.
She opened Sunday with a single double bogey on the par-four 1st hole, but quickly shook it off and shot nothing higher than a bogey the rest of the way to finish the round and tournament in a three-way tie for second. Cymbal was the only non-Bomber among the top-five finishers of the tournament. All five Union Dutchwomen finished among the top-ten this weekend. In addition to Cymbal, senior Juls Sweet ’21 (94-92) earned a seventh-place finish with a score of 186. Followed close behind by sophomore Avery Clavel ’23 (87-103) in eighth, sophomore Colleen Buckley ’23 (100-91) in ninth, and rounded out by junior Kiara Beckham ’22 (9995) in tenth. The two-day, 36-hole tournament (May 1st through May 2nd ) marked the conclusion of an unprecedented season for the Union College Women’s Golf team. Amidst the
coronavirus pandemic, which curtailed the team’s time on the course and roster, the Dutchwomen still managed to average 356.2 strokes per round in the Spring 2021 season—the third lowest scoring average in program history. This was also the final golf tournament for senniors Juls Sweet and Lisa Spangnuolo ’21. Both Sweet and Spanguolo paired their athletic success with strong academic recrods. Spanguolo was awarded the ECAC Medal of Merit druring the 2019 -2020 school year, is a two-time memeber of the Liberty League All-Academic Team and a WGCA All-American Scholar during the 2018-2019 year. Sweet is also a two time member of the Liberty League All-Academic Team and a WGCA All-American Scholar during the 2018-2019 year. The Dutchwomen will return hungry next season and is slated to return four of its
Courtesy of Union Athletics Alex Cymbal ’22 takes second place at Liberty Leagues five Spring 2021 letter winners again in 2021-2022.