January 19th, 2022

The Emory Wheel Since 1919

Emory University’s Independent Student Newspaper

Volume 103, Issue 1

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Printed every other wednesday

Oxford students reflect on Confederate relics on campus

By Eva Roytburg and Katie Bartlett

“‘Our’ means Confederate,” Auslander said. “It means white. It means everybody else is ‘other’ or less.”

However, to Hauk, the monument doesn’t reflect a tribute to the Confederacy, but rather a memorial to those who died while serving for the Confederacy.

“In that regard, it’s sort of like many of our national cemeteries and military cemeteries around the country,” Hauk said.

Asst. News Editor and Oxford Campus Desk The daily life of an Oxford College student is haunted by relics of the Confederacy.

A confederate statue in Covington Square, the heart of the nearby town, watches over students driving to the Oxford campus.

Students attend classes and activities in Phi Gamma Hall and Tarbutton, buildings constructed with slave labor.

The nature trail behind the Williams gym leads to a cemetery with at least 32 Confederate soldiers, with an obelisk that reads “Our Soldiers.”

Another nature trail leads to Kitty’s Cottage, a house built for Catherine “Kitty” Andrew Boyd who was enslaved at 12 years old.

These unavoidable encounters are troubling for many students, who said they are concerned with what they see as the University’s attempts to sanitize these relics. To rectify this history, students have taken a large role in advocating for acknowledgement of Confederate history at Oxford via planning symposiums, drafting initiatives and speaking to campus leadership about their concerns.

‘Our Soldiers’: Impacts of the Confederate cemetery The cemetery on campus is a remnant from when several buildings at Oxford served as makeshift hospitals for soldiers on both sides of the Civil War. At the end of the war, the cemetery was built to house the graves of Confederate soldiers not claimed by their families. The cemetery currently lies about 100 yards west of the Oxford College gym. Union soldiers who died in the same hospitals are buried in a common grave in the Oxford Town

Kitty’s Cottage

Courtesy of Emory University

“Kitty’s Cottage” still stands in Oxford, Georgia. The house is believed by some to used to be slave quarters.

Cemetery, located just under a mile from the campus.

Mayor of the City of Oxford David Eady wrote in a Jan. 13 email to the Wheel that Emory University owns the property on which the Confederate cemetery sits. Some students have expressed discomfort with its close proximity to the campus, saying the cemetery can be difficult to avoid.

“I found the cemetery while exploring when I first came to campus, and it was not a good feeling,” Oxford Men of Color President Devin Gee (22Ox) said. “I felt like I couldn’t really belong at Oxford with the cemetery here.”

Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Communications Laura Diamond told the Wheel in a Dec. 10 email that “the cemetery is protected by state law and includes gravestones federally protected by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.”

Gee worries that its presence will lead to the desensitization of the Confederacy’s racist past. This has become evident with students using

the cemetery as a backdrop for photos and professors taking their classes there.

“More needs to be done either in terms of general announcements or different signs outside the cemetery to avoid that desensitization that leads to constant inappropriate actions with people in the graveyard,” Gee said.

Diamond said the University is actively working to better acknowledge its history. “Emory continues to examine our Civil War-era history while also working to address contemporary issues on race and inequality,” Diamond wrote.

Former University Historian Gary Hauk, who has written about Emory’s relationship with the Confederacy, called the wording of the obelisk “misleading” as it doesn’t represent the individuals who fought for the United States during the Civil War. “Whose soldiers are they? They’re not ‘our’ soldiers,” Hauk said. “They’re not soldiers of the United States. They were the soldiers of the Confederacy.

Perhaps a different sort of statement needs to be made there.”

Mark Auslander, a former faculty member at Oxford College and current visiting research scholar in anthropology at Brandeis University (Mass.), has written extensively on the history of enslaved people in the antebellum period at Emory. He said the cemetery represents a trend of a “cult of remembrance” for the Confederacy in the South, with an obelisk fondly claiming soldiers — who have no relationship to the University other than their death on campus — as “ours.”

“It tells you something about this long-time spirit of a certain kind of white nationalism that permeated a lot of the University,” Auslander said.

The wording on the obelisk also does not commemorate the Black members of the United States Colored Troops, who gave their lives fighting for the union in Georgia, Auslander explained. Further, the Union soldiers in the Oxford City Cemetery are not referenced as ‘our soldiers.’

A small house located in a remote clearing in Oxford, Georgia, Kitty’s Cottage is easy to miss. This unassuming exterior hides the influence Boyd’s story has had on the narrative of slavery in the town of Oxford.

A plaque outside Kitty’s Cottage describes Boyd’s enslavement by Methodist Bishop James Osgood Andrew, the first chair of the Emory Board of Trustees. Georgia laws in the 1840s prevented manumission, which is the release from slavery, so Andrew offered to send her to Liberia, an African colony intended for freed slaves. A plaque, erected in 2000, states that Boyd “preferred to remain with the Andrew family rather than be sent to Africa.” Accordingly, Andrew built her the cottage.

Some students and community members said they have qualms with this narrative.

“When I first read the sign in front of Kitty’s Cottage, I definitely thought it was a very white-washed account of the events that transpired,” Gee said. “The sign outside isn’t appropriate to the story that actually happened because it’s clear Catherine didn’t have much of a choice in terms of leaving.”

Auslander, who wrote a book that discusses the various retellings of Boyd’s story, said the focus on Boyd

See STUDENTS, Page 2

Black Panther Party co-founder reflects on voter registration initiatives

By Ashley Zhu Politics Desk IIn honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Emory University hosted a week-long virtual celebration that honored the life and legacy of the American civil rights movement.

The Department of African American Studies’ annual keynote address featured co-founder and national chairman of the Black Panther Party Bobby Seale. The Jan. 18 event highlighted the birth of his political party and the far-reaching influence his activism imposed on future generations.

The conversation was facilitated by Assistant Professor of African American Studies Jessica Lynn Stewart.

Niara Foster (22C), outreach chair and newsletter editor of Emory’s Black Mental Health Ambassadors, introduced Seale with a brief summary of his notable accomplishments within the Black Panther Party and his community.

“Bobby Seale is one of a new generation of young African American radicals who broke away from the usually nonviolent civil

rights movement to preach a doctrine of militant Black empowerment,” Foster said.

“Even after the Panthers faded from public view, Seale took on a quieter role, working to improve social services in Black neighborhoods and other causes.”

Seale opened his discussion by explaining his technology-oriented background, which was cultivated by his experience as a carpenter, builder and architect for his father. He later joined the Air Force, where he specialized in structural repair in the aircraft department, working for the Gemini Missile program in the engineering department. During the day, he took engineering design classes at Merritt College (Calif.).

Though Seale graduated at the top of his class, a steel strike later forced him to move back to his home in Oakland, California. He then began to look towards helping his Black community.

“Martin Luther King Jr. was the first Black leader that I went to hear speak,” Seale said. “That brother caught my soul, because he wasn’t preaching hell and damnation — he was talking about our constitutional,

democratic, civil human rights.”

Inspired by King, Seale and Huey P. Newton launched the Black Panther Party on Oct. 15, 1966. The organization led the first rally ever at Merritt. Over the next few years, the group amassed 5,000 members, including 49 chapters and branches in Black communities throughout the nation.

Seale also founded the Free Breakfast for School Children Program. He said the program, along with free health clinics created by the Black Panther Party, weren’t just created because he wanted to be good. His motive was also political, as his ultimate goal was to get people registered to vote.

“The right to vote was important to me,” Seale said. “In California, we had the right to vote — we were just miserably unregistered to vote. Until you get registered, we can’t take over some of these political power seats.”

In early 1965, there were only 55 African American elected officials out of 500,000 total political seats in the United States, according to Seale.

Although the Black Panther Party does

not exist as a political party anymore, Seale noted that he is proud of how young African American activists have carried on a history of activism by creating the Black Lives Matter movement.

“The very fact that communications technology had documented George Floyd’s murder, right in the face, that was it,” Seale said. “It caused the BLM movement across the country, and it was there for a while because of the other killings and murders going on, and they got that thing together in a matter of one to three weeks.”

With over 20 million supporters in the U.S. protesting daily at city halls and government seats across the nation in the summer of 2020, Seale said that the movement resonated with the purpose of the Black Panther Party.

“I loved it, I understood it,” Seale said.

“It was a continuation of the murder of our Black people, coming to the forefront again.”

NEWS Friends, Colleagues Commemorate PAGE 3 Angelina Boey P

EDITORIAL Alleged College Price Fixing Requires PAGE 4 Recompense

A&E The Staff’s Best Albums of 2021

EMORY LIFE First- SPORTS Emory Athletics Year Student Creates Art Adjusts COVID protocols Back Page P AGE 9 for a Cause

PAGE 7

— Contact Ashley Zhu at ashley.zhu@emory.edu

A shley Zhu/Politics Desk

Bobby Seale (top), co-founder of the Black Panther Party, spoke to the Emory community on Jan. 18. The conversation was facilitated

by Assistant Professor of African American Studies Jessica Lynn Stewart (bottom).

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Wednesday, January 19, 2022

The Emory Wheel

Latinx students, faculty strive to expand community knowledge

By Anjali Huynh Executive Editor

For many of Emory University’s Latin American students, a small room in the basement of the Alumni Memorial Union Center (AMUC) is a second home. The space, marked by bright blue and orange walls and an assortment of snacks, is dubbed Centro Latinx and facilitates students gathering regularly to study, eat or talk and hold events to bond over shared experiences.

But the vibrant color palette and refurbished seating arrangements are very new accoutrements to the space. In fact, until recently, the space had been neglected for years.

The renovation, completed in fall 2021, was a symbolic gesture from a university that has just recently begun providing more academic and cultural support for Latinx students and faculty.

Until recently, Latin American academic and cultural presences on campus largely operated with little external recognition, despite Latinx students making up about 8% of the student population as of 2019.

Oftentimes, courses pertaining specifically to Latin American populations or literature solely existed in the Spanish or Linguistics departments. And when cultural events occurred, they frequently were relegated to the AMUC basement.

However, several professors and student groups at the University, both new and old, have since looked to change that.

The Emory College of Arts and Sciences brought on three Latinx professors in 2018 as part of a “cluster hire” for new faculty with interest or research in Latin Americanrelated topics. Those hired, all of whom were granted tenure, were Professor of Political Science Bernard Fraga, Professor of Philosophy Rocío Zambrana and Professor of English Nicole Guidotti-Hernández.

Having these new professors is integral to ensuring a more com-

plete knowledge of what — and who — have shaped various processes in this country and beyond, Fraga explained.

“The Latino political experience we see throughout history, we see now and we’ll see going forward is very much entwined with the broader story of American politics,” said Fraga, who is Mexican American and teaching a course on Latinx politics in the College this semester. “The influence and the impact of Latino voters in multiple states now is very obvious, but it was present well before recent elections in places like Texas and California and Georgia, too.”

Similarly, Zambrana, who is Puerto Rican, said Emory’s hiring of a professor specializing in philosophy is emblematic of a trend of Latinx and Caribbean philosophical schools of thought emerging as subfields of philosophy.

Zambrana recalled that taking a college course on philosophical thought in Puerto Rico that went “beyond the standard European canon” was world-shifting, saying she thought, “Whatever is happening in this room, that’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.” She hopes to inspire that feeling in students in her courses, which currently include “Latin American, Latinx Thought” and “Decolonial Thought.”

“It’s been a huge feat to even have positions that are seeking people that do Latinx thought,” Zambrana said. “We want to have a study of philosophy that is capacious and diverse, such that students, in their diversity, feel that their exterior life experience, their heritage, is there … that their experiences are part of and change and impact philosophical thought in absolutely crucial ways.”

Centro Latinx has aimed to expand upon that role beyond the classroom. The space first opened in September 2015, after years of student urging for recognition, resulting in the University dedicating an initial basement AMUC space

for Emory’s Latin American community. That area now houses the inaugural Asian American identity space, which opened last fall, and the new, renovated Centro Latinx space resides across the hall.

Several students said Centro Latinx has served as a safe space for them to discuss their experiences at the University.

“Coming to Centro Latinx really felt like a little treasure in the middle of campus,” said Sebastian Gutierrez (23C), who is Peruvian American and serves as an intern for the program. “Coming in, I saw people from all nationalities, people who spoke my language in a university that really didn’t have a lot of people like us.”

While the new space is a recent development, Campus Life has plans to move all affinity spaces, including Centro Latinx, to Cox Hall by 2023.

These strides in space improvements would not have happened without student activism, said Paula Figuroa (24C), another Centro Latinx intern from El Salvador.

“There’s been a long fight for recognition and for us to get visibility, and I feel like Emory’s definitely doing a better job now than it was before,” Figuroa said. “I’m really grateful for that because now we don’t have to focus as much on fighting for space — we can just focus on bringing the community closer together.”

The advisory committee and interns for the space have sought to do just that over the last several months, ranging from a speaker series highlighting Hispanic Emory graduates across the year to several days of Día de los Muertos celebrations.

Efforts to support Emory’s Latinx community include events highlighting both lighthearted cultural topics like food and in-depth conversations on building intersectionality, seen in events planned for Indigenous Heritage Month in November.

However, among students’ favor-

A lly Hom/Photo Editor

Centro Latinx, which first opened in the AMUC in September 2015, will move to Cox Hall by 2023.

ite aspects are the informal conversations held in the space.

“Our space itself, it brings like this huge community that I never thought we would have,” Gutierrez said. “Whether it’s the same people that come in every time or new people as well, we start conversations, we get to know each other and as the events have gone on, we’ve just got this huge community together … that I didn’t think we would because the percentage of Latinx students is so low overall.”

The goal, however, is not just to provide spaces to build community among Latinx students, but also to better expand knowledge and encourage nuanced conversations so others better understand Latinx roles in both U.S. and global history and culture. Zambrana, for instance, said that more discussions need to be held on not homogenizing Latin American experiences, beginning with deconstructing the term “Latinx” itself.

Though the University has made strides in improving recognition, students and faculty alike said they hope to see more courses and faculty focusing on Latin American influences, both within the humanities and social science fields — where Emory’s newest Latinx professors were hired — and beyond.

In the meantime, Fraga said he hopes to help expand student minds through courses on how Latinx populations have and will continue to influence trajectories in the U.S. “It’s important to think about the role of the institution, potentially as training the next generation of leaders in American politics and American society,” Fraga said. “That next generation of leaders needs to have a deep understanding of the diversity that we have and that we will have going forward.”

— Contact Anjali Huynh at alhuynh@emory.edu

Friends, colleagues commemorate Angelina Boey, ‘a beautiful soul taken too early’

By Matthew Chupack News Editor Content Warning: This obituary mentions domestic violence and suicide.

Angelina Lai Yen Boey, event coordinator in the Emory University Office of Admissions who was remembered by her colleagues for her adventurous spirit and radiant personality, died on Dec. 9 at 33 years old.

According to a preliminary investigation by the DeKalb County police, Boey was shot and killed by her husband, Dung Phi Nguyen, 34, near Henderson Park in Tucker, Georgia before Nguyen fatally shot himself.

“The first thing I think of when I think of Angelina is her stunning smile,” said Claire Lennox, a communications specialist at the Candler School of Theology. “It’s cliché to say someone lit up a room when they walked in, but she most certainly did.”

A funeral and memorial service was held on Dec. 17 and was attended by family, friends and colleagues. Senior Events Manager at Candler Alice Tarkington, who attended the service, said Boey’s sisters reflected on the memories Boey made with friends and family and said she leaves “a legacy of warmth and everlasting love.”

“A common theme in comments was her zest for life and her genuine caring for people,” Tarkington said.

“She was a beautiful soul taken too early.”

Born in Malaysia on Nov. 19, 1988, Boey is survived by her parents, Hor Chong Boey and Chai Sia Ko, her twin older sisters Angeline and Angela Boey and nephew James Boey. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 2011 with a degree in psychology and public relations.

A GoFundMe page created by her sisters to help cover the costs of the funeral raised over $23,000.

Before assuming her most recent role in the Office of Admissions in 2017, Boey was a conference planning manager at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2013 to 2015 and worked as the events coordinator at the Candler School of Theology from 2015 to 2017.

Tarkington, who served as Boey’s manager at Candler, said that Boey “loved being in the events world” and that many regarded Boey as one of Candler’s most beloved colleagues.

“Angelina had the capacity of weighing all the pros and cons of a situation then making a decision that maximized results for our program areas,” Tarkington said. “She was smart, efficient, creative and proactive. She took her job seriously but made it fun. She was a connectional person — deeply caring and interested — a good friend.”

Lennox added that Boey was detailoriented and that her dynamic personality contributed to staff gatherings.

Boey’s work life went beyond planning events for the University as she made concerted efforts to foster friendships with her colleagues. Using

her event planning skills to coordinate a Galentine’s Day celebration with close friend Lisa Stone, senior manager of marketing at the School of Medicine, and their mutual friend Me’Ashia King, senior secretary for the office of the dean at Candler, Boey’s talents transcended the work space into community building.

“As our friendship grew, I learned that she shared that gift with friends and family, too,” Stone said. “At a belated Galentine’s Day get together with our mutual friend, Me’Ashia, she spent hours making us chocolate covered strawberries just to make us feel special.”

One of Boey’s most admirable attributes was her ability to make friends with colleagues, Tarkington said.

Whether through sharing photographs from her travels around the world or spreading a blanket on the Quad for a picnic lunch with friends, Boey held a genuine value for friendship.

Before the pandemic, Boey, Stone and King had weekly lunches, either meeting up for ramen at Wagaya in Emory Village or picnicking on the Quad.

“We always stayed way longer than we intended, catching up on news, enjoying each other’s company and figuring out what we were doing for our next monthly outing,” Stone said.

Every month, they would plan an outing external to Emory, from exploring a new restaurant to going to a city festival. These outings highlighted Boey’s adventurous spirit and her

affinity for trying new things.

“She was open-minded and could find joy in almost any situation,” Stone said. “For instance, we went to the Candler Park festival every year and even though jam bands weren’t her favorite genre of music, she was game for the experience and made the most of the time with friends.”

Lennox remembered Boey’s sincere interest in her colleagues’ lives, recalling a memory of Boey was from summer 2021, when Emory staff began going into the office more often. On one of those days, Lennox and Boey ran into each other near Peavine Parking Deck, their first time seeing each other since before the pandemic.

“She immediately burst into that beautiful smile and exclaimed, ‘Congratulations!,’” Lennox said. “I could feel her enthusiasm but couldn’t think of anything that I needed to be congratulated on, so I cluelessly replied, ‘Thanks! For what?’ She responded immediately, still enthusiastically, ‘Your son.’”

Although Lennox’s son is now two years old, Boey had not seen Lennox since before he was born. In what she described as a “lovely moment,” Lennox said it meant a lot that Boey thought of her son when she first saw her.

“To me it is one small example of how she was tuned in to other people’s lives and what was important in them, even when she hadn’t seen me for so long,” Lennox said.

From emanating authentic care

Courtesy of Claire Lennox

Angelina Boey (left), Sara McKlin (middle) and Alice Tarkington (right) pose at a Candler School of Theology event in March 2016.

for her colleagues and friends to displaying commitment and expertise in event planning, Boey was able to transform the workplace into a spirited community.

“Angelina laughed easily, was unfailingly kind and thoughtful and had a zest for life,” Stone said. “The world is less vibrant, fun and loving with her passing.”

— Contact Matthew Chupack at matthew.chupack@emory.edu

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The Emory Wheel

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

3

Students demand more University acknowledgment of Confederate past Continued from Page 1 in the city of Oxford perpetrates a “culture of denial” about the horrors of slavery in the South.

“Kitty became famous because, supposedly, she refused to be freed,” Auslander said. “The implication of those many narratives which have been printed and retold hundreds and hundreds of times over the last 150 years was that Miss Kitty illustrated a principle that slavery wasn’t so bad, that a person could choose to remain in slavery.”

There was reason to believe that the story of Catherine’s devotion to Andrew’s family was “shading the truth,” Auslander explained.

“Bishop Andrew always claimed that he inherited Miss Kitty from a widow in Augusta, Georgia, but that person didn’t exist,” Auslander said.

“There’s nothing in any of her probate records that indicates that she in any sense transferred Miss Kitty to Andrew.”

Additionally, when Andrew was called to the national Council of Bishops in the Methodist Church to discuss his slave ownership with the church leaders, Auslander said that Andrew tried to hide how many slaves he owned by transferring them to former Emory President Augustus Longstreet.

Not everyone, however, views the cottage in a negative light.

“I do think there is another way of looking at [Kitty’s Cottage] beyond just the story itself,” Gee said. “While I may have some mixed emotions about it, I do want to acknowledge that other people have different ways of reflecting on it that are completely valid as well.”

Perhaps no one has as deep of a relationship with the cottage as Cynthia Martin, Boyd’s 3rd-great-granddaughter. Martin wrote in a Jan. 18 email to the Wheel that her experiences visiting the cottage were “once overwhelming, and now fulfilling and heartwarming.”

“I am humbled and appreciative by the cottage’s preservation,” Martin said. “I’d like to think when others go to Kitty’s cottage, they are inspired to reflect on their own slave ancestors’ lives and pay their respect or to simply acknowledge slavery’s role in our shared Oxford and Emory history.”

As a friend of Martin, former Oxford City Council member Avis Williams (78Ox, 98C, 08T, 18T) experienced the cottage as a place of reflection during their visit together in September 2021, describing it as a “holy moment” with Catherine Boyd’s spirit. “[Martin] was able to introduce her ancestor to us,” Williams said. “It was very moving and brought us all to tears. At that moment, it superseded anything that might be on that plaque outside.”

However, Martin also recognized the importance of telling an honest narrative, writing that she’d, “like to see the narrative surrounding her changed to reflect what we know about her and keep conjecture to a minimum. The plaques and signage outside the Cottage should also be changed to more fact-based.”

Williams further highlighted the importance in changing the signage.

“We need to be liberal in our thinking and fair in our presentation,” Williams said. “It’s the task of Emory and others to tell the whole story.”

Auslander also thought Oxford had not yet demonstrated leadership by facing up to Boyd’s memory.

“I think the relative disinterest in Miss Kitty’s cottage is a symptom of disengagement by the College and also a symptom of the College’s disengagement from surrounding Newton County, especially Black Newton County,” Auslander said. “This is a key point about a larger disengagement from much of Emory University about dealing with its low-income neighbors.”

Controversy in Covington Troubling commemorations extend into the neighboring town of Covington, just two miles from the Oxford campus. A Confederate monument looms tall in the town square, a central hub in the small city and a popular meeting spot for Covington residents and Oxford students.

Installed in 1906, the monument depicts a Civil War soldier standing on a square base, his hands on his gun’s muzzle. The base is decorated with rifles, swords, an anchor and a Confederate flag. Its text reads, “To the Confederate dead of Newton County …

And mark the tombs where valor lies.”

The statue has long been a source of unease for Black community members, long term residents said. Williams, who grew up in Covington, recalls her and other Black children being told to avoid the square due to the Ku Klux Klan rallies that used it as a gathering point.

As a result, Williams said that she avoided the square for most of her life, estimating that she was over 50 when she first stepped foot on the inner part of the square where the statue stands.

Williams believes that many of the statues scattered throughout the South that glorify the Confederacy need to be removed.

“Sometimes when I go through the town square, there are people — young people t00 — worshiping and praying at the statue, wanting the old ways to come back,” Williams said. “It’s hard to believe there are people in the 20th century who don’t have an issue with human bondage.”

The Emory Wheel Volume 103, Issue 1 © 2022 The Emory Wheel Alumni Memorial University Center, Room 401 630 Means Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30322 Business (404) 727-6178 Editor-in-Chief Isaiah Poritz isaiah.poritz@emory.edu

Founded in 1919, The Emory Wheel is the financially and editorially independent, student-run newspaper of Emory University in Atlanta. The Wheel is a member publication of Media Council, Emory’s organization of student publications. The Wheel reserves the rights to all content as it appears in these pages, and permission to reproduce material must be granted by the editor-in-chief.

The statements and opinions expressed in the Wheel are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Wheel Editorial Board or of Emory University, its faculty, staff or administration.

The Wheel is also available online at www.emorywheel.com.

Courtesy of Gratia Sullivan

LA cemetery containing the remains of at least 32 Confederate soldiers sits on Emory’s Oxford Campus. An obelisk at the site reads “Our Soldiers.”

Similarly, Oxford Black Student Alliance (BSA) President Sarah Bekele (22Ox) recalled the discomfort she felt when driving through Covington last year. Gathered around the statue, a number of people, including families with small children, were waving American and Confederate flags.

“That was one of the first times I’ve ever felt super uncomfortable in my skin,” Bekele said. “I was really, really hoping that nothing was going to happen.”

The statue has received more backlash in recent years. Following the nationwide protests for racial justice in summer 2020, Covington residents renewed attention on the statue.

Community members circulated a petition calling for the removal of the monument, which has 11,906 signatures as of Jan. 14.

Despite renewed attention, not all community members feel the same urgency to remove the monument.

Newton County resident Bill Nash helped organize a rally in the square last April in favor of keeping the statue up, according to the Covington News.

About 60 people attended to hear speeches advocating for protecting the statue.

The protests showed how many Covington residents take pride in their relationship with the Confederacy, Covington native Kirsten Oglesby (23Ox) said.

“People were surrounding the statue and said, ‘No, you aren’t taking us down. This is my history. If you want to take this down, you have to go through me,’” Oglesby said. “It shows how a lot of people are willing to go, as far as practically risking their lives to protect the Confederacy.”

Tom Spigolon, the news editor for the Covington News who reported on the statue’s controversy, said the Newton County Board of Commissioners decided to take action on removing the statue following the protests.

The board voted 3-2 to remove the statue in July 2020. Since then, legal injunctions have been filed to prevent its removal.

Newton County’s Appeals Court and Superior Court ruled in favor of the board’s position on July 22, 2021 and Sept. 14, 2020, respectively.

The case was appealed again and is currently in the Supreme Court of Georgia.

According to Bryan Fazio, the public information officer for Newton County, the county is waiting for the appeal process to play out before taking the next step as of Dec. 1.

Hauk said that the memorial emblemized “the sort of ‘lost cause’ sentiment that is common for those who served in the Confederacy.”

Gee agreed, believing that the discourse over the statue represented more than just the statue itself.

“Even if the statue is successfully removed, the people who support it will still have the same mindset,” Gee said. “The difficulty to remove it is definitely sad and telling of the area that we live in.”

Addressing discomfort With testaments to the Confederacy still present in and around Oxford’s campus, students have sought to change the school’s historical narrative and make their concerns clear to Oxford College administrators.

Led by Bekele and Gee, Oxford BSA developed a list of ideas for how the school could better acknowledge its history.

Some of the suggestions included incorporating acknowledgements of Emory’s history with slavery into orientation, including students in the decision making for what is on plaques outside of the cemetery and Phi Gamma Hall, and having the plaques be visible on virtual tours.

Bekele and Gee presented this information to Oxford Dean of Campus Life Joseph Moon and Oxford Director of Student Involvement and Leadership Rhiannon Hubert in a meeting on Nov. 18.

Gee was optimistic following the meeting, noting that Moon and Hubert were receptive to feedback and seemed willing to make changes.

Some students believe more signage is needed around campus to explain the historical significance and implications of locations with ties to slavery or the Confederacy. The BSA initiative suggested a student and faculty commission to write these panels to ensure the narrative is not white-washed.

Additionally, some also requested more transparency regarding Oxford’s ties to slavery and the Confederacy.

They feel there is no easily accessible place for incoming students to learn about this history and know to expect relics of the Confederacy when they get to campus.

Bekele said providing this information should not fall on students, but rest on the administration.

BSA also requested that the school clearly acknowledge the labor from enslaved persons that contributed to constructing Oxford campus buildings, including Phi Gamma and Few

Hall, now part of Oxford’s Tarbutton Hall. Students also suggested that this acknowledgement be implemented into future first-year orientations.

Director of Communications at Oxford College Carrie Harmon wrote in a Jan. 18 email to the Wheel that former University Provost Dwight McBride and Hicks acknowledged that enslaved labor played a role in constructing Phi Gamma Hall during its 2018 dedication.

“Since then, the Task Force on Untold Stories and Disenfranchised Persons and the Twin Memorials Working Group have focused our university efforts, including Oxford College, on the work of continuing to recognize and memorialize the contributions of disenfranchised groups on both campuses,” she wrote.

In response to this feedback, Hubert is initiating an evaluation of Oxford’s New Student Orientation to review structure and content.

Planning for the 2022 orientation is still in its early stages, but Hubert told the Wheel that the orientation committee plans to invite student representation to meetings once they start.

Additionally, the committee plans to meet with various stakeholders throughout the spring, including student groups and support offices, to revise the orientation’s goals and outcomes.

“We have to make room to intentionally rethink how we introduce new students to Oxford and Emory,” Hubert said. “I believe we have the opportunity to introduce students to Emory’s history early, and with that, offer space for processing, reflection, support and connection.”

Oxford has previously made attempts to reconcile with the legacy of slavery and the Confederacy.

During the University’s “In the Wake of Slavery and Disposession” symposium on Oct. 5, the College hosted a conversation entitled “The History of Oxford and Where We are Today.”

The event focused on the impact that Emory’s racial legacy left on students.

Hicks, Gee and Bekele spoke at the event.

“Events like the symposium are about telling the whole story, but then one needs to act on what was said,” Williams said. “Action items that come out of it need to be teaching tools for young people because discriminatory thinking isn’t something you’re born with.”

— Contact Eva Roytburg at eva.roytburg@emory.edu and Katie Bartlett at katie.bartlett@emory.edu

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O������ W��������, J������ 19, 2021 | Opinion Editor: Sophia Ling (sophia.ling@emory.edu) | Asst. Opinion Editors: Sophia Peyser (speyser@emory.edu) & Chaya Tong (ctong9@emory.edu)

EDITORIALS

Alleged price-fixing scheme requires recompense and transparency In a recent federal lawsuit, five former college students alleged that 16 major U.S. universities, including Emory, violated antitrust laws by engaging in price-fixing to prevent applicants from receiving equitable financial aid.

These students assert that 568 Presidents Group, a cohort of 26 universities and colleges that share methodologies for calculating financial aid, illegally colluded by failing to be need-blind in their admissions decisions.

The group formed as the result of an antitrust exemption passed by Congress that allows universities to share financial aid formulas as long as each university does not consider the “the financial circumstances of the student or the student’s family” during the admissions process.

As tuition and student debt skyrocket, the alleged collusion demonstrates how low-income and marginalized students have been

systematically excluded from higher education.

Regardless of the lawsuit’s outcome, the allegations sheds light on the perpetual financial inequalities present in elite higher education.

Despite Emory no longer being part of the 568 Presidents Group, the University should rectify the financial losses of former students. Additionally, the named universities should become materially need blind by fully discounting financial status during admissions, so low-income students have equitable access to education.

Instead of upholding its stated values of adhering to need-blind admissions, the lawsuit provides evidence of the predatory and deceptive practices affecting students applying to schools in the group. The colleges allegedly persisted in considering applicants’ financial status in various decisions. These decisions were often outside the standard

admissions cycle, such as choosing someone from a waitlist based on familial wealth. Consequently, wealthier students who already have access to more educational resources have an even easier pathway to education through wealth rather than merit.

It is long overdue for Congress to demand clearer, stricter and standardized guidelines explaining the need-blind application process and how universities determine aid packages.

A prime opportunity will occur later this year when Congress will have to decide whether to renew the antitrust exemption for universities.

Such an action would increase transparency by allowing prospective students to fully understand their potential financial aid and their status relative to other students.

Financial aid is confusing enough without elite universities colluding to shirk students out of necessary

assistance.

Attending college is supposed to be the “great equalizer” of different economic classes where students receive places at elite institutions due to academic excellence and can improve their financial and social status. Within the U.S. mythos, one of the many stepping stones to attaining the American Dream involves going to college, which serves as an opportunity for students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. At college, students are placed at an equal playing level and allowed to determine their career paths and measures of success.

However, the alleged actions of 568 Presidents Group suggest access to higher education is based on wealth rather than personal achievement.

The application process still favors those already in a privileged position.

Universities must either be transparent about their use of financial status in admissions decisions or, better yet,

remove the practice of inquiring into students’ finances until their admission. Students applying to elite universities should have an equal chance, regardless of income. Anything different harms the integrity of our institution.

Indeed, Emory must take initiative on their own to rectify any potential wrongs. If the allegations are true, Emory must compensate students with their due financial aid. Any institution engaging in these behaviors should amend their behavior by paying restitution to the students harmed. The damage is done. These universities will never be able to return and give deserving students opportunities to rectify their mistakes.

Restricting access to higher education only feeds into the elitist stereotypes of U.S. universities. It is a hypocritical money-making scheme at best, perpetuating inequality and destroying their own reputation.

Fightcorporateswayoverelectionswith democracydollars On Jan. 6, 2021, an armed mob, fueled by former President Donald Trump's false claims of electoral fraud, launched an attack on Capitol Hill which left five people dead and our democracy on a knife’s edge.

Many corporate and industry political action committees (PACs) such as Toyota, Cigna and AT&T publicly pledged to stop donating to elected GOP officials supporting Trump's election fraud claims. Yet, these corporate PACs reneged on their commitments in only six months, a reflection of “pay-to-play” politics in the U.S, where companies help fund the campaigns of elected officials for preferential treatment.

By backing the campaigns of seditious GOP politicians, corporations demonstrate their willingness to

chase their bottom lines, even at the cost of our democracy. Such a relationship leaves the American public feeling unheard and resentful.

To weaken the sway of corporations over elected officials, states should adopt a democracy voucher program.

The pay-to-play nature of our politics undermines democracy by warping the relationship of politicians with their constituents, policy and broader U.S. ideals. Politicians should serve the people who elected them, and corporations should compete in the marketplace. In reality, companies and special interest groups intercede. Under the highly controversial Citizens United v.

Federal Election Commission decision, the Supreme court found that the government cannot cap indepen-

dent campaign expenditures by corporations. This led to the creation of super PACs, which can receive unlimited funding from corporations, labor unions or individuals for independent political activity.

Before Citizens United, the government actively prevented collusion by prohibiting corporations and unions from donating or advocating for candidates. Now, outside interest groups use the opportunity to accrue unprecedented political influence.

Despite the requirement that super PACs disclose their donors, many donors come from “dark money groups” that mask the fund’s origins.

Both at the state and federal level, we should implement a new tool known as democracy vouchers to weaken the influence of companies

over elections. Democracy vouchers were first implemented in Seattle to encourage people to participate in the democratic process in state elections such as legislators, officers, and even federal offices. Through this program, voters are permitted to set aside funds to donate to their preferred candidates. In taking such a step, states could counter corporate political influence by raising voters' confidence in our democracy and giving them an opportunity to directly support their preferred candidates, rather than ceding all power to corporations.

Donations from companies leave candidates beholden to their donors after taking office, influencing campaign platforms and political careers.

Thanks to PACs and super PACs, the

wealthy hold a significant sway in politics and undermine our democracy.

While limiting expenditures of super PACs is unfeasible and would violate the Citizens United decision, democracy vouchers publicize all funds received by each candidate and allow citizens to take back some degree of control in the politicians that eventually hold office.

If we want to live up to our democratic ideals, federal and state governments should implement democracy voucher programs and trust-building campaigns to match.

The profit incentives of corporations often contravene the public interest, so we must return political power in this country to where it belongs: in the hands of the American people.

The above editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel’s Editorial Board.

The Editorial Board is composed of Rachel Broun, Kyle Chan-Shue, Sophia Ling, Demetrios Mammas, Daniel Matin, Daniela Parra del Riego Valencia, Sara Perez, Sophia Peyser, Ben Thomas, Chaya Tong and Leah Woldai.

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Wednesday, January 19, 2021

5

Freedom of expression or social ostracization Isabella Aguado In Plato’s “Republic,” Socrates explores the path to becoming a true philosopher by reaching ultimate enlightenment. To him, dialectical discussion is the best method of inquiry to acquire true knowledge — a fact that supersedes all opinion, theory and bias.

Socrates’ method entails asking questions, tolerating opposing ideas and shifting perspectives or defending positions until every contradiction has been exhausted. Today, we have lost grasp of the benefits of open communication and let it shelter us from informed opinions in our educational paths. Plato’s doctrines will prove advantageous in our quest to maximize our intellectual experiences in college and beyond.

Plato’s emphasis on dialogue ties in with the current debate surrounding higher education in the United States.

Modern institutions fail to uphold their mission to educate students in the habit of free discussion and an open mind.

Instead, they have become “islands of illiberal ideology and factories of moral certitude, more often at war with the values of liberal democracy than in their service.”

Universities, the beacons of ultimate education, should rear their students to rupture the boundaries of current knowledge and instill a habit of discov-

ery so we may expand current understanding of our world. Their methods fail to align with open dialogue. Their increased dogmatism in academics and their focus on a pristine public image instead trap us in a bubble of tolerable knowledge composed of opinions considered morally correct and inoffensive.

What does commitment to dialogue look like on a college campus? Following Plato’s path to true enlightenment, open discussion leads to more accurate perspectives; as we discuss, and most importantly listen, we avoid lightly scraping at concepts and becoming prisoners to abstract shadows of knowledge.

Both students and educators have lost sight of the Platonic spirit of asking bold questions. The knowledge-thirsty environment colleges are acclaimed for has dwindled into a hum of aggressive crunch-time typing and exams.

Students present mere shadows of their beliefs: filtered summaries they strategically develop to earn approval from their professor. Consequently, their true opinions remain vaulted inside in hopes of gaining social accep-

tance. According to a 2020 Knight Foundation survey, the percentage of students who feel that their campus atmosphere prevents them from expressing their beliefs in fear others might find them offensive continues to rise.

Even if they believe their college fosters a climate that supports free speech, only 25% feel very comfortable discussing controversial topics like

offer.

My work, as a result, is not based on my own thoughts but what I perceive as the perfect formula that others will most flawlessly consume. We fear the discovery of error through interrogation and conversation, not caring whether the ideas we immortalize on paper are genuinely our own or just the right formula to earn an A. Students avoid the response of their contemporaries and the deterioration of their social status. I grew up in a culture that bred uniformity of thought regarding the role of women in the household or the acceptable way to parent.

I looked forward to my college years as a break from conformity, a time to express myself freely and finally discover new ideas through conversations with individuals from different backgrounds.

But now, I question whether my idealized discovery can happen.

There is a delicate threshold of what we are willing to have questioned and what is off-limits.

We moderate which conversations we can have, and which are simply too dark, too ingrained or too outlandish.

Students avoid the response of their contemporaries and the deterioration of their social status politics and ethics with their classmates. Students cruise through their educational careers sticking to opinions we know won't be questioned, and instead opting for ones that will be happily digested.

When faced with a discussion question or assignment, I find myself searching for the perfect opinion to

Why do we play into such a default? It surely isn’t benefiting us to perpetuate it.

Most of our ideas, once thoroughly questioned, usually prove void or farther from the whole truth. It’s time to shift our approach to moral correctness by turning away from silencing voices that to us seem radical, politically incorrect or insensitive.

As previously stated, the line between what is simply hateful and wrong and difference of thought becomes clearer as our mind experiences different perspectives.

We learn all the angles of an argument and train ourselves to develop informed opinions rooted in diverse evidence. A commitment to a logical discussion and comfort with dissent is the path that will provide the most clarity within our previously engrained ideas.

It will illuminate those beliefs we already hold or teach us to approach them from a new angle. We’ve become too accustomed to merely scratching at the truth We must make a habit of constantly double-checking if we are thoughtlessly accepting ideas. Like Plato, we should take advantage of the intellectual opportunities given to us and move away from our current ideological complacency.

Isabella Aguado (25C) is from Miami, Florida.

Georgia must repeal the tampon tax. Period.

Chaya Tong I am lucky that I can afford my period. I do not have to sit out of classes and activities once a month or put my daily life on hold. I don’t fear bleeding through my pants. I have enough money to buy pads and tampons. At Emory, I can get them for free from boxes in the communal bathrooms.

But if I had to put my daily life on hold because I couldn’t afford my period, I would have already missed out on 548 days of my life. In my lifetime, I would lose a total of 8.7 years. Currently, 28 states, including Georgia, levy a sales tax on menstrual products. The so-called “tampon tax” costs women about $20 million a year, and brings states more than $150 million a year in profit. Any tax that discriminates on the basis of sex is unconstitutional. Georgia must abolish the tampon tax.

The state of Georgia profits off women’s bodies through taxation. In Georgia, females ages 10 to 54 spend about $63 a year per person on menstrual products. Yet lawmakers continually ignore that cost. In 2020, the Department of Audits and Accounts estimated the state would lose $9 million in revenue if it were to stop taxing menstrual products. This may sound like a lot of money, but it is miniscule compared to Georgia’s $42.8 billion state budget. Even if the state is unwilling to forego those funds, the state could replace the money by taxing items and services used by the entire population, such as gasoline, tattoos

and piercings, instead of products that are necessary for basic hygiene and daily life only for people who menstruate.

Though there have been multiple attempts to exempt menstrual products from the sales tax in Georgia, none have been successful. In 2018 and

gain revenue from menstrual product sales, and people who menstruate continued to suffer under a tax on their bodies.

The tampon tax is an issue of sex equity. Most states make tax exemptions for necessary, non-luxury items, but even though almost half of the

subsidize a man’s appearance and sex life, but not a woman’s hygeine needs.

The harmful effect of this policy is exacerbated by the fact that women make 82 cents for every dollar earned by men, yet they are taxed for their biological needs when cis men are not.

The tampon tax especially hurts low-income women, who must pay this on top of essentials like housing and food. A survey in St. Louis, Missouri found that two-thirds of women in the city were unable to afford menstrual products. Nearly half could not afford to buy both menstrual products and food.

Women should not be forced to make do with toilet paper and ILLUSTRATION BY ALISON BARLOW rags, or use prodThe Georgia tampon tax should be repealed on account of ucts multiple exacerbating wealth inequality and disallowing equal access to times and risk menstrual products. serious infection.

2019, Democratic state Rep. Debbie population menstruates, tampons, Women of color suffer disproportionBuckner introduced an exemption bill. pads and menstrual cups are deemed ately as well, and the tampon tax only She argued that though the U.S. Food “luxury goods” by lawmakers. People exacerbates wealth inequality. Black and Drug Administration recognizes are being taxed for their biological women earn on average 62 cents for menstrual products as medical devices, makeup. To make matters worse, every dollar white men make, while Georgia carries a double standard, products like Viagra and Rogaine, Latina women make 54 cents. Geortaxing them and not others like insulin which treat erectile dysfunction and gia’s population is 32.6% African syringes. She introduced the bill again baldness, are considered “medically American and 9.9% Hispanic. The state in March 2021, but no action was necessary” and exempt from sales tax. also has 55,650 transgender residents, taken. Instead, the state continued to In short, the government is willing to many of whom also menstruate. In

addition, transgender people are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than cis people, and are often unable to access free menstrual products in women’s restrooms. A “tampon tax” is not just an inconvenience — it is a barrier to racial and socioeconomic equity.

But ending the tampon tax is only a first step. Georgia must follow the lead of other states like California to ensure equal access to menstrual products. In addition to abolishing its tax on menstrual products, California recently passed a law requiring public middle and high schools to stock bathrooms with pads or tampons. This law also requires California State University, a system with 23 campuses around the state, and all community college districts to supply free menstrual products in at least one central location on campus. Schools with means like Emory should not be the only campuses that provide access to products that are basic healthcare necessities.

Everyone should be able to afford their period. Access to menstrual products is more than an issue of gender equality. It’s an issue of racial and income equality. It is a human right. Though the 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law, the sex-based discrimination imposed by the “tampon tax” is a clear violation. Taxing feminine products isn’t just unfair; it’s unconstitutional.

It’s time for Georgia to abolish its tampon tax and end this sentence.

Period.

Chaya Tong (25C) is from the Bay Area, California.

The Emory Wheel

Wednesday, January 19, 2021

Unity of fusion food Sophia Ling “Ew, that’s a lot of mayo,” I overheard as I dolloped the condiment across my fries. Whether or not they were talking about me is irrelevant.

People indulge in different, weird food combinations like Cheetos and milk, salami and grapes and of course, Hawaiian pizza.

Hawaiian pizza — a must-have, pizza perfection and invention of Greco-American Sam Panopoulos — is the cornerstone of innovation and a case study for multiculturalism. Fusion food brings people together by redefining the meaning of cross-cultural identity. It’s borderless, reaching a golden era that represents the nuances of cultural adaptation and the shaping of new, global identities.

Precisely, cooking and eating is all about this sense of evolving. Our food morphs with us as we develop more sophisticated taste buds and take on new identities. When Chinese immigrants came to the Americas in the early 1860s, sweet and sour combinations were an innovative take on Chinese dishes. Though there is no such thing as pineapple chicken in China, the dish should still be recognized under its own historical, cultural and social context. The inherent creation of new food corresponds to the spread of cross-cultural assimilation.

While we often prioritize authenticity in preserving cultural food practices, cross-cultural food helps maintain parts of our identity. Because of globalization, people have been and always will migrate around the world.

Whether it be in search for better job opportunities, higher education or a chance at social mobility, the mobilization of people inevitably means that we will never just belong to one identity group. Fusion food is symbolic of the

growing togetherness of the world. At the same time, it is an ode to the individual stories of each culture and symbolic of the fluidity of identity. As such, unity and diversity are not mutually exclusive. For example, Roy Choi’s Korean-Mexican taco food truck Kogi started after Choi lost his job. The tacos are filled with traditional Korean flavors, paying homage to his cultural roots.

No one owns the rights to a specific food or preparation. What they do own, however, is what was produced in their specific sociocultural context. Food is versatile, unconfined by stringent definitions. But with freedom comes a recognition between adaptation and appropriation. The difference can be small: simple changes in techniques, adding uncommon ingredients to existing traditions or even just the way we market the food we serve. Being purposeful in recreation is the key to preventing ourselves from toeing past the line into cultural appropriation.

If we lived our lives by everything that was “supposed to be,” we would not have popsicles, nachos, cheese puffs or ice cream cones. Inventions are only created because someone went against the status quo to find something new. Like fusion food around the world, Hawaiian pizza defies the greater world order for the better. It is a revolutionary food influenced not only by its traditional Italian roots, but by the ebb and flow of immigration and the daring imagination of Panopoulos.

The future of food is endangered when we live by what we know. Though fusion food might toe the line of adaptation and appropriation, recognize the value of expanding cultural gastronomy to encapsulate more diverse and complex identities.

Sophia Ling (24C) is from Carmel, Indiana.

6

The future of abortion bans Lena Bodenhamer In 2011, El Salvadoran Maria Teresa Rivera woke up handcuffed to her hospital bed after enduring a miscarriage. In the eyes of Salvadoran law, her miscarriage was a guise for an illegal abortion, and she was sentenced to 40 years in prison for aggravated homicide. Separated from her 12-year-old son for four years, Rivera was finally granted an early release on the grounds that there was not sufficient evidence to uphold her sentencing. But facing the growing threat of her release being repealed by anti-abortion advocates, Rivera and her son sought political asylum in Sweden. Her painful narrative of escaping political imprisonment for an alleged abortion gave her the title of the world’s first “abortion refugee,” or a women displaced from her home due to the criminalization of abortion in her country.

While Rivera may have first donned the identity of an abortion refugee, she unfortunately will not be the last. She embodies the consequences of not only the international atmosphere of increasingly restrictive reproductive rights, but also possible domestic consequences. The restriction on abortion rights is rooted in the current Supreme Court makeup which is a conservative majority. With these conservative pressures increasing, the abortion refugees could be synonymous with future of American reproductive rights.

Last year, there was a recordbreaking number of abortion bans and restrictions across the U.S. Before headlines of abortion bans began to break weekly, the prescription regulations of take-home abortion pills was becoming increasingly

complicated by Zoom consultations.

As a result, states and pharmaceutical companies limited online consultations and administration only to women with an address in the same state as the doctor they met with on Zoom.

These new guidelines made the process of receiving an abortion more difficult for women who do not have access to doctors in their state and forces abortion-seeking women to jump through loopholes, and even travel across state lines to safely receive an abortion.

This small change in abortion pill administration has already spiked the first small-scale migration of American abortion refugees, leading to what could be the start of a larger migration of women who need reproductive care.

Uncertainty surrounding Roe v.

Wade has also shaken up state abortion laws: if the ruling is overturned, it would allow states to make their own laws. A dozen states have already implemented “trigger laws” that would effectively ban abortion in the event Roe v. Wade is overturned.

Additionally, several states have passed laws that incriminate those who aid in abortion. Alabama was the first to instate a bill of this nature, where performing an abortion is considered a felony with up to a 99-year sentence for doctors. The Guttmacher Institute projects that if the current trajectory of abortion bans continues, abortion could be illegal in 26 states, and only 13 states have legislation in place that explicitly protect abortion.

If legislative restrictions continue to tighten reproductive freedom, American women will begin to face the same political threats that Rivera did. Banning abortion does not remove the need for the procedure.

For women who need an abortion, these obstacles will not stop them from finding one. Already, women are crossing state lines to receive medial consultations and abortions.

We are seeing the beginning of a politically-motivated movement by women who need abortions and have to flee political persecution for seeking basic reproductive rights. No woman should have to flee legal persecution for choices they make about their own bodies, especially in land of the free. These women would be our American abortion refugees, and each anti-abortion law brings our country closer to this reality.

Rivera’s story foreshadows what women in the U.S. could face as abortion is criminalized. Women will resort to anything to find abortion options. If Roe v. Wade is overturned and abortion bans continue to be instated, the term “abortion refugee” might not be so foreign anymore.

The stories of abortion refugees are real, and more and more women might begin to share the narrative of being one. But, this flight of American abortion refugees can be avoided.

While too many women have faced incarceration and consequences for abortions, the trend can be stopped by those willing to take part in the fight. Organizations like Planned Parenthood and American Civil Liberties Union are actively taking steps to protect a woman's right to make her own choices about her body.

Women should not have to flee persecution for choices made about their own bodies, we can stop the flight of abortion refugees one step at a time.

Lena Bodenhamer (24C) is from Fort Collins, Colorado.

Omicron is still a threat. Treat it that way.

Sara Khan On Dec. 28, Emory University announced that the first three weeks of the semester will be online and encouraged students to delay their return to campus after this remote period. This came as no surprise, as institutions like Harvard University (Mass.), Columbia University (N.Y.), Duke University (N.C.) and Georgetown University (D.C.), had published similar plans in the days prior.

While this decision should ideally reduce COVID-19 cases on campus, literature about the new Omicron variant’s mild symptoms will likely encourage Emory students to continue to gather in large groups and plan early returns to Atlanta. This not only risks the safety and well-being of others in the Emory community but also decreases the likelihood of a normal spring semester. However, President Gregory Fenves recently announced that Emory will definitely be returning to a normal spring semester after Jan. 31. To some, Omicron may not seem like a major threat, but developing research shows that the coronavirus is still spreading much faster than ever.

In everyone’s best interest, delay your return to campus or limit your social gatherings as much as possible in the

coming weeks.

Studies show the mildness of the new variant isn’t as straightforward as it seems. The Omicron variant invades our cells differently compared to Delta or the original coronavirus. In studies on mice and hamsters, Omicron produced infections limited to the upper airways including the nose, throat and windpipe, but lungs were largely spared. As a result, the infection is less severe, highlighting why we are likely seeing less deaths from this variant of the coronavirus. The severe shortness of breath, chest pain and loss of taste or smell characteristic of previous variants is not reported in Omicron patients.

Earlier studies from November 2020 show previous COVID-19 variants causing irreversible lung damage and scarring upon infection. Because Omicron does not replicate as well in the lungs, it has a much lower chance of causing permanent damage, and thus does not result in as many severe hospitalizations. Though these results may seem promising, the large majority of early Omicron infections were young people already less susceptible to severe illness from the virus. Other groups affected already had significant immunity from vaccinations or previous exposure to COVID-19, meaning the decrease in deaths we’re seeing

might not be entirely reflective of the true dangers of the variant. Though college students are recovering more quickly from Omicron, that does not mean that we can’t spread this variant to other high-risk members of the Emory community.

Another recent study from researchers at the University of Hong Kong in humans reinforced the theory that Omicron has faster and enhanced viral replication efficiency in the upper airways but slower spread within the lungs. This can be an indication as to why the new variant may seem less severe than Delta or the original variant, as it doesn’t cause the same chronic effects of other variants.

Regardless, if the virus replicates faster in the upper airways, it can linger in the throat and nose for longer and has a much greater likelihood of being transmitted into the surrounding air and invading new hosts. Additionally, Omicron’s increased ability to evade antibodies of vaccinated individuals compared to other variants can be another explanation for its rapid spread. Omicron patients also report coughing, congestion, fatigue and a runny nose, symptoms shared by any other cold or flu-like illness that can spread around this time. Because the new variant spreads quickly and is fairly indiscriminable from other sea-

sonal illnesses, Emory students must continue to get tested, wear their masks and properly isolate themselves if infected.

Though COVID-19 related deaths have decreased significantly since vaccines became available to the public, nearly a quarter million people have died in the U.S. during the past eight months. The daily case average has increased by 202% in the last two weeks, along with a 30% increase in hospitalizations. Although many Americans are vaccinated and have received boosters, COVID-19 remains an imminent threat. Young people are still vaccinated at lower rates compared to other groups. Further, hospitals in states like Rhode Island continue to struggle with staffing shortages and decreased bed availability in their emergency rooms. A small percentage of Emory students, faculty and staff remain unvaccinated, and to protect those individuals, we must continue to wear masks and social distance appropriately. If you’re currently not vaccinated and do not have a compelling reason to forgo the immunization, get your vaccine to help others in imminent need of care receive the treatment they rightfully deserve. Omicron is undeniably powerful. Doctors, nurses, PAs and other clinicians wearing their masks religiously and main-

taining proper social distancing protocol are being infected at tremendous rates. Several physicians I know, including family members, have tested positive, leaving patients worried about their own health and unable to access the care they need.

This past year has provided us with invaluable tools to protect ourselves from the coronavirus. However, we can’t deny that there will be more variants of the coronavirus, and with limited information being released, we still need to remain alert and follow public health guidelines. Though three weeks of virtual classes may seem unnecessary, it may be all we need to avoid the peak in Omicron cases nationally and return to an in-person semester.

For the sake of your peers and for a chance to have a more normal school year, take this remote period seriously.

Limit your social interactions to those who you know are being safe during this time. Take precautions such as wearing your mask properly indoors and staying home if you’re feeling ill.

This may seem like a painful reminder of March 2020, but the sooner we take this peak seriously, the faster we can control this outbreak.

Sara Khan (23C) is from Fairfax, Virginia.

&

The Emory Wheel

ARTS ENTERTAINMENT WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19TH, 2022 Arts & Entertainment Editors: Eythen Anthony (eaantho@emory.edu) and Jackson Schneider (jdschn3@emory.edu)

‘Licorice Pizza’ shows the lesser known side of Los Angeles

BY LIAM SHERMAN Contributing Writer

ALLISON BARLOW, Staff

A&E staff’s best albums of 2021

2021 was a monumental year for music, from re-releases of classic albums to unexpected, genreblending projects. Since there were so many well-made albums released this past year, we decided to ask our writers what they considered to be the best albums of 2021.

Here’s what stood out to them: “The Turning Wheel”

by Spellling California-based artist Chrystia Cabral, better known as Spellling, released “The Turning Wheel” in June 2021. Her shimmering synths, progressive song structures and ever-shifting vocal range make for an art-pop album like no other before it. The album is split into two sections. The first half displays Spellling at her brightest, with high-pitched vocals and swelling instrumentals. By contrast, the latter half takes on a much darker tone. Thrumming basslines and a more personal scope define the final five songs, with Cabral’s vocals pitched down into a deep alto. Much of “The Turning Wheel'' revolves around Cabral’s love of the natural world and her desire to save what humanity threatens to destroy: “You want to set out for the city's turning wheel/ But I want to stay up on the hill.” She takes her concept to the next level by shifting from the outside world to her own inner conflicts halfway through, resulting in a masterpiece both sonically and conceptually.

- Jackson Schneider “MONTERO” by Lil Nas X

“MONTERO” debuted in September 2021, and Lil Nas X made it far more than your average album release; he posted a birthing video for his album and advertised it on satirical billboards across the nation. In celebration of the album, Lil Nas X even created a “baby” registry, which was a list of charities he supported and wanted his fans to donate to as well. Lil Nas X brilliantly used this album to make critical social and political statements in support of the BIPOC, houseless, LGBTQIA+ and women-identified communities, and that's before even addressing the genius quality of his music.

Each track on the album defies category, settling somewhere in the gray area between pop, rap, hiphop, country-rap, trap and poprock. Even though the album is bursting with famous celebrity features like Doja Cat, Elton John and Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Nas X’s musical genius and versatility stand out like no other.

- Zimra Chickering “Smiling with No Teeth” by Genesis Owusu Hailing from Canberra, Australia, Genesis Owusu is an artist to add to your queue. In March

2021, he dropped his debut album: “Smiling with No Teeth.” This album is truly a tale in dynamics, not tied down to a single mood or genre. Delving into themes of race, mental health and love, the album provides an intimate look into Owusu’s mind. His voice carries a deep resonance that is simply stunning, balancing out hard-hitting, gritty bars alongside softer sung melodies which create a harmonious unity. High-energy songs like “The Other Black Dog” are balanced perfectly with laid-back grooves like “Waitin’ on Ya.” Owusu is also playful, a personal favorite line being: “your ass is stinky and you built like a mole” off “Don’t Need You.” The album is an encapsulation of a journey in style and Owusu’s capability as an artist at large. This work was undoubtedly one of my musical highlights of this past year, and I can’t wait to see what will be added to his repertoire in the future.

- Noor Aldayeh “An Evening With Silk Sonic”

by Silk Sonic At its core, “An Evening With Silk Sonic” encapsulates the classic ‘70s vibe while simultaneously capturing the essence of today’s sound. Each track beautifully blends elements of rap, funk, R&B and soul, resulting in a musically rich record. The album really does feel like an intimate evening with Silk Sonic. The spoken intros in “After Last Night” and “Smokin Out The Window,'' along with passionate lyrics, add to this intimacy.

Mars and .Paak do not get enough praise for the brilliance behind the music as their chord progressions alone create magic within the songs. These chords take listeners in unexpected directions and resolve in ways that will leave them smiling. Climaxes in “Leave The Door Open,'' “Blast Off” and my personal favorite, “Put On A Smile” will give you an eargasm.

Overall, the velvety, funky, romantic and silky sounds of this album will supply you with enough good vibes to brighten any part of your day.

- Ama Ofosu “Notes with Attachments” by Pino Palladino and Blake Mills Because of its melodic ambiguity and sparsely rendered West African influences, some might describe trying to quantify “Notes with Attachments” a fool’s errand.

What little melodies it possesses are hazy and ephemeral, and one would be hard-pressed to accurately hum more than ten seconds of any of its instrumental tracks by heart. Yet, the songs are nothing if not memorable. What Palladino and Mills leave you with after listening to their compositions is akin to a taste, sound or smell of some distant and intangible place.

A sensory souvenir, if you’ll indulge me. This is the genius of the record and its creators, and nowhere is this effect more evident than in “Just Wrong,” the album’s first tune. What starts as one note from one saxophone gives way to an indefinite cloud of guitar, bass and sitar. Before you know it, the song has enveloped you completely, like a lysergic flying blanket. Ultimately, all the songs have the same impact. The only thing that changes is where they take you, and I guarantee that none of the destinations will disappoint.

- Cole Huntley “Kick ii-iiiii” by Arca Arca is not satisfied to merely dabble in the ambiguities enabled by our post-genre internet era.

Rather, she stretches and contorts all notions of stability, forcing us to relish in her cavernous and mystifying electronic atmospheres. Over the course of four discs, Arca weaves together an erotic web of ambient electronic, romantic piano, reggaeton, dancehall, and noise. Her songs feel danceable only momentarily before antagonistic new rhythms interrupt and wash over. Listeners are forced to continually adapt, to detach from any desire for musical stagnation and rather submit to her everchanging multitudes. “KICK ii” is more direct, pulling from contemporary pop and latin dance rhythms; “KicK iii” is abstract, intense and inspired by the ‘90s UK underground. “kick iiii” and “kiCK iiiii” are more introspective and ambient. The Kick series is an affirmation of Arca’s genius, her potential and her present status as one of the most important, forwardthinking creators of our time.

- Jeffrey Rosen “Valentine” by Snail Mail The most impressive thing about “Valentine,” Lindsey Jordan’s second full-length release as Snail Mail, is how downright sweet it is.

Even when accusing her partner of infidelity, the most biting words she can find are “C’mon, I loved you!” Over a fleeting half hour, Jordan demonstrates how we tend to put the onus of heartbreak on ourselves out of continued admiration for someone who’s probably already moved on. Track after track, she gives herself up, offering everything from whispered confessions of exhaustion (“c. et al.”) to groovy declarations of loyalty (“Glory”). Through all of this, Jordan never lashes out at the person whose spell she still finds herself under, amplifying the heartbreak that much more. If you aren’t crumpled in a heap of tears by the time she tenderly croons goodbye to her lover on the album’s closing number, you’re getting ready to wail along to the explosive opening track of “Valentine” all over again.

- Noah Gentry

Finally! Finally, some appreciation for the land in which I grew up. The San Fernando Valley is so often forgotten about, picked last in the schoolyard lineup when it comes to discussions about the great City of Angels (even though we were the first to get Chick-fil-A and have the best parking spots).

It is a gratifying feeling to see a shining memory of my neighborhood in the ‘70s, delicately and lovingly reconstructed by cinematic master Paul Thomas Anderson. Anderson is no stranger to making movies set in the Valley with films like “Boogie Nights” (1997), “Magnolia” (1999) and “Punch-Drunk Love” (2002).

However, what separates his latest film, “Licorice Pizza,” from the former is that the San Fernando Valley is more than just the backdrop; it becomes a living arena for the two main characters to find themselves and each other among the earthquake-worn sidewalks, swaying palm trees and dry heat.

The tennis-match love story of Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) and Alana Kane (Alana Haim) shows the two going through the typical fluctuations of any movie romance: the flirtatious banter, the spiteful back-andforths and the use of other romances as weapons and “blind-

folds” to forget one another. The scales continuously tip for our characters, their power dynamic seesawing up and down. The main struggle comes from their sizable age gap: Gary is 15 and Alana is 25.

While the two have tons of chemistry, Alana never makes things physical. Instead the two just hang out, maturing at different stages but nevertheless together, which is ultimately the focus of the film.

“Licorice Pizza” is a hangout movie, echoing the same sentiments of films “Dazed and Confused” (1993) and “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982). Gary and Alana navigate their tumultuous romantic tug-of-war through the streets of Ventura.

Numerous unpredictable situations and even more unpredictable characters make up the narrative, strengthening the duo’s bond even when they initially seem like roadblocks to the relationship.

All the actors in minor roles give such staggering performances that it feels as though they are aware of their place in the fictional hierarchy and desperately want to be main characters.

Bradley Cooper playing the grossly larger-than-life Jon Peters is a shining example. His stretch as the manic Hollywood hairdresser/mogul seems surreal until you read about the actual Jon Peters and realize that Cooper may

See NEW, Page 8

Emma Chamberlain is a brilliant ode to navigating adulthood

BY SARA KHAN

Contributing Writer Emma Chamberlain’s YouTube videos unequivocally shaped our generation’s teenage years. Whether that be through her hilarious stream of consciousness in her vlogs, her relatable hatred of the high school system or her seemingly unhealthy obsession with coffee, the now-20-yearold quickly rose to success on the video streaming site.

Since leaving high school and moving out of her childhood home at 17, Chamberlain has spent the last three years working on understanding her future and how to navigate adulthood. In the process, she has moved several times within Los Angeles, signed a sponsorship with Louis Vuitton and developed a self-named coffee brand after her cold brew recipe gained her followers’ acclaim. The most impressive change Chamberlain has taken on in the past few years is a marked shift from the frantic, high-energy content she produced in her teens to more calm podcasts, relaxed, documentary-style videos and casual Instagram posts.

As Chamberlain grew into her new style, she experimented with podcasts and how to best convey her inner thoughts through the audio medium. After ceasing her first rendition of the series “Stupid Genius,” the launch of Chamberlain’s current podcast, “Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain,” is perhaps her most notable accom-

plishment. A year after its inception, the series ranked eighth on Spotify’s Podcast Charts of 2021.

In her episodes, which range anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half, Chamberlain covers either a set topic for the week or holds an advice session, answering questions that her listeners send in. Some topics that she has covered in the past include her experience as an only child, navigating friendships during the pandemic and her tumultuous relationship with social media. In this series, Chamberlain constantly reminds us that taking the time to reflect on our emotions is necessary to creating a healthy lifestyle.

In one of my favorite episodes, “back to school,” Chamberlain recounts her experiences in high school and how the pressure of grades and college admissions led her into a constant state of unhappiness and dissatisfaction. She said she would often look in the mirror after receiving a bad grade on a test and see a different, uglier version of herself. In the pursuit of a prestigious college degree, Chamberlain took several AP and honors classes, and got stuck in the cycle of studying, sleeping and repeating everything the next day without time to relax or enjoy her hobbies.

Chamberlain advises her listeners in any stage of their education to refrain from taking classes that yield solely extrinsic rewards and instead pursue subjects they actually enjoy. She also recommends taking fewer advanced or

See CHAMBERLAIN, Page 8

The Emory Wheel

A&E

Chamberlain’s podcast sees success Continued from page 7 difficult classes and spending more time pursuing hobbies and passions, if possible. After a semester of overloading myself with difficult classes with little time to do the things that made me happy, I began to see myself socially withdraw, resort to bad habits and feel dissatisfied with the person I was becoming. Chamberlain’s words inspired me to evaluate my life and make tangible changes to get myself back on track.

In “put your phone down,” Chamberlain provides a review of her week off from social media, an experiment to reduce her screen time to two hours per day.

Though her life as an influencer and YouTube celebrity requires her to use social media platforms regularly, Chamberlain cited incredi b l e improvements in her anxiety and depression from this endeavor.

She noted that apps like Instagram often pressure us into posting new content and maintaining a perfect appearance at all times. Chamberlain expresses hope that in the future, she can stay true to herself and use Instagram in a way that is gratifying for herself rather than appealing to a certain audience.

Even outside of social media, Chamberlain reduced her use of text messaging significantly, making time to talk to people when she could hold meaningful conversations with them.

I spent a great deal of time limiting my social media and phone usage after listening to that episode, increasing my independence and trying not to rely on my devices as a way to calm down or avoid my responsibilities throughout the semester. Now, I find myself able to go about my day without feeling obligated to respond to every text, incessantly check social media to keep myself updated and call someone at any free moment when I’m alone. Seeing Chamberlain successfully detach herself from social media gave me the

courage to do the same and reevaluate my friendships with others.

In the episode that resonated most with me, “growing up as an only child,” Chamberlain delves into her upbringing as the only child in a divorced family. As a result of her childhood, she likes to spend most of her time alone, tends to be more independent and less willing to ask others for help, is an overachiever and has a limited social battery at times. Chamberlain even goes as far as to say it’s very difficult for her to find someone her age that she fully connects with, as their experiences often differ dramatically.

As an only child myself (who knows few other only children), listening to Chamberlain made me feel understood for the first time. It’s very difficult for me to maintain relationships with others who don’t understand my Courtesy of RAMBLE need for alone time and self-reflection. Hearing Chamberlain helped me understand that, though I have my qualms with being an only child, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ve struggled in the past to find a podcast that has held my interest, but since becoming an avid listener, I can’t recommend Chamberlain’s episodes enough. As she matured throughout this pandemic, I followed suit, learning more about myself and taking the time to accept life as it comes.

Amid a flow of jarring burps, random asides and wildly entertaining anecdotes, “Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain” is a wonderful glimpse into the mind of the 20year-old influencer.

Through openly sharing her struggles with developing independence, Chamberlain allows us to see that growth is non-linear, and true maturity is the culmination of our struggles and how we learn from them.

- Contact Sara Khan sara.a.khan@emory,edu

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

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New Anderson movie is an unconventional love story

Continued from page 7

have surprisingly underplayed him (, emphasis on may). My personal favorite cameo was the messianic bard of vagrants, the king of the rain dogs, Tom Waits, whose raspy, black-lung voice kept a permanent smile on my face. Unlike his other, more subtle, performances in the works of Jim Jarmusch and the Coen brothers, there is nothing subtle about Waits here.

Considering his character’s frenzied theatricality, I imagine Anderson wrote the character while listening to Waits’ album “Franks Wild Years,” specifically the track “I’ll Take New York.”

Furthermore, Sean Penn (still hot), Benny Safdie (so excited for his next movie) and Skyler Gisondo (he went to my highschool, good for you Skyler) also make marked appearances. H, however, to my surprise, these big names couldn’t steal the spotlight from our two main characters.

“Licorice Pizza” marks the theatrical acting debuts of Hoffman and Haim. Hoffman has big shoes to fill considering his father, Philip Seymour Hoffman, was one of the greatest character actors to ever live and a mainstay cast member in Anderson’s previous work.

I am relieved to say that acting runs in the family. ; Cooper's performance is wholly his own.

HeCooper tackles an archetype I don’t believe his father ever had the chance to play: the charming, confident high-school dreamer, aka that kid you want to be friends with. Take the conviction of Ferris Bueller without the self-awareness, combine it with the motivation of Max Fischer from “Rushmore” (1998) without the pretentiousness and you have Gary Valentine.

What was even more delightful to discover is that the initial focus on Gary is quickly stolen by Haim, who gives an incredible and naturalistic performance. Most of Anderson’s films focus on an eccentric unpredictable male character, but “Licorice Pizza” strays from that path, making Alana Kane truly the main attraction.

The chemistry between Haim and Hoffman is unbelievable, further strengthened by their lack of experience on screen, which makes their acting feel more human.

By the end of the film, I was convinced the two really were in love. Alana, of HAIM musical fame, is also accompanied by her actual family: the family of five recreate their Israeli-Jewish lifestyle on screen, and it feels effortless as a result. There’s something really charming about watching amateur actors nail their roles by playing their actual selves. The

family dinner scene in particular feels as though Anderson uninvitedly brought his camera to document a real Haim family Shabbat dinner.

Teenage melodrama in movies is omnipresent, in love stories even more so, but there is a certain tenderness expressed and felt in “Licorice Pizza” that is so rare to find in a film.

Some filmmakers get lucky and stumble upon this seemingly tangible sentimentality, the best are able to create it. As the credits rolled, that seldom-felt warmth washed over me, and it was clear that what I watched was no accident.

It’s a shame this lovely cinematic experience was slightly marred by an obnoxious, highly liked, comment on YouTube I recently read: “Paul Thomas Anderson is the Stanley Kubrick of our generation.”

It really annoys me that two greats have to be compared, one overshadowed, instead of admired separately. It is of my opinion that through a continuous output of great cinema, “Licorice Pizza” now an illustrious member of that lineup, Paul Thomas Anderson is the Paul Thomas Anderson of our generation.

- Contact Liam Sherman at liam.sherman@emory.edu

at

Courtesy of UNIVERSAL PICTURES and FOCUS FEATURES

The art that helped me through 2021

BY NOAH GENTRY

3. ‘Hedda Gabler’ by Henrik Ibsen (1890)

1. ‘Charli’ by Charli XCX (2019)

The first time I read Henrik Ibsen’s classic tragedy for my “History of Drama II” class, I hated it. When I read it again a few weeks later in my “Reading for Performance” class, I still hated it.

It wasn’t until months later during our return to campus that I recognized the genius of this piece. Reuniting with classmates I hadn’t seen in a year and a half had me feeling as though I needed to meet their expectations and remain the person that I had been when we were sent home in March 2020.

“Hedda Gabler” captures our tendency to both satiate and rebel against the expectations of others with stunning precision and (although I know Ibsen needs no favors from me) has become a play that holds a special place in my heart.

Staff Writer

I spent this summer bussing tables at an Italian restaurant. The pay was inadequate, the hours were long and my coworkers were insufferable.

By the time the guests were gone and it was time to close the store, I was chomping at the bit to dance away my woes with Charli XCX. On “Charli,” songs swell to immense climaxes, only to then be stripped back to their bare minimum.

Her implementation of masterful songwriting (“Official”), electrifying guest appearances (“Shake It”) and glitchy, chromecoated production (“Click”) all coalesce into a project which casts a vision for pop’s future that we can only be so lucky to one day inhabit.

2. ‘Pokémon Showdown’ It’s so easy to open a new tab in the middle of a Zoom session.

While it isn’t my favorite thing to admit, I often found myself logging on to this fan-made battle simulator whenever virtual meetings started to run long.

Boasting a litany of game formats and unique rulesets tailored for competitive Pokémon fanatics, “Pokémon Showdown” was my much needed oasis in the draining virtual landscape of 2021.

also one of my most played albums of 2020, but this year, “Room on Fire” seemed determined to continue soundtracking my life. I floated in the Atlantic Ocean while humming “The End Has No End.” I sang “Automatic Stop” with a friend after he learned it on guitar.

On sleepless nights, I lay in bed and let the hypnotic march of “Under Control” wash over me, and God only knows how many rendi-

“My chest has never rattled like it did when Run the Jewels took the stage at Shaky Knees Music Festival…”

4. Run the Jewels at Shaky Knees My chest has never rattled like it did when Run the Jewels took the stage at Shaky Knees Music Festival and launched into their galaxy-shaking banger “yankee and the brave (ep. 4).” What’s a year or two off my life if I got to see Killer Mike roar through his first headlining show in Atlanta this side of the pandemic?

5. ‘Room on Fire’ by the Strokes (2003) Giving this a spot on my list feels like a cop-out seeing as it was

most forgive the guy for how shamelessly he’s ripping off the Weeknd.

7. Emory’s return to live theater While Emory’s theater community admirably found countless ways to virtually perform throughout the spring semester, there’s no denying how gratifying the return to in-person theater in fall 2021 was. Despite having to perform in masks or outside to mitigate the spread of disease, the simple act of live theater was a sorely needed breath of fresh air.

Oftentimes I found myself more moved by the support students showed one another than I was by the pieces themselves. Whether it was a musical that took months of rehearsal or a minimally practiced staged reading, students came out in spades to show love to their peers, constantly reminding me of live theater’s necessity.

tions I did of “Reptilia” at Atlanta’s own Happy Karaoke.

8. ‘Repertoire’ by James Acaster (2018)

6. Ed Sheeran’s ‘Bad Habits’ music video

James Acaster’s four part stand-up special beautifully blurs the lines between reality and fiction through fabricated tales of crime and punishment which allow glimmers of truth to peek through. Perhaps a story about entering the witness protection program becomes a confession of feeling as though life has passed you by. Maybe a tall tale about serving on a jury brings forward meditations on the frustrating nature of religion. “Repertoire” sees Acaster

On June 24, I awoke to a text from my roommate which simply read “Ed Sheeran just got yassified.” The video for “Bad Habits” is a trainwreck of hilarious proportions. It features Sheeran dressed as a glittery vampire, a terribly animated CGI crowd and a glorious ten-second shot of Sheeran squirting ketchup into an oyster pail.

The whole affair is so funny you al-

taking the idea that honesty can hide in absurdity and pushing it to the absolute limit, solidifying himself as one of the most forwardthinking comics working today.

9. Atrioc’s YouTube and Twitch channels You’d be hard-pressed to find a night I didn’t doze off to one of Atrioc’s YouTube videos or Twitch VODs. 2021 saw the streamer, lovingly referred to by viewers as “Glizzy Hands,” set multiple world records for his speedruns of the “Hitman” video game franchise, teach a marketing class in his “Marketing Monday” segment and sacrifice everything to win a Wikipedia race. Regardless of what Atrioc might be doing, I could always count on his videos to bring a cheerful end to my day.

10. ‘This Is Happening’ by LCD Soundsystem (2010) Ultimately, 2021 was the year we all began to crawl out of isolation and attempted to reintegrate with one another. Crawling out behind us came anxiety, heartache, cynicism, loneliness and the growing pains of a year spent in stasis.

2021 was a year filled with pity parties, and no band knows like LCD Soundsystem that the best pity party is a dance party. I’d end this with something about dancing ourselves clean, but as James Murphy once said, “We both know that’s an awful line.”

- Contact Noah Gentry at noah.oliver.gentry@emory.edu

The Emory Wheel

Emory Life

Wednesday, January 19, 2022 | Emory Life Editor: Kaitlin Mottley (kmottle@emory.edu)| Asst. Editors: Oli Turner (omturne@emory.edu) and Xavier Stevens (xsteven@emory.edu)

t

Student clubs adapt to remote start First-year creates art for a cause Courtesy of Delaney Fischer

Delaney Fischer (right) attends the Themata Market at the Armory in upstate New York in December. She donates one-third of her profits to charity.

By Oli Turner Asst. Emory Life Editor Delaney Fischer (25C) embroiders canvases with color, shape and line.

She describes her art as “minimalist,” a three-dimensional medium meant to be touched.

Fischer started her art business Art

By Delaney in June 2019 when a local coffee shop in Rochester, New York offered to display her art for sale.

After Fischer’s initial exposure, her business grew quickly.

She started an Instagram account and a website, and by that summer, she had already booked festivals.

During her senior year of high school, she began to take commissions.

As her business expanded, Fischer decided to donate one-third of her profits to charities.

“I already had two jobs at the time, so I didn’t need the money,” she said.

“I switch up the charity as much as I can.”

Art By Delaney has donated to orga-

nizations such as The Trevor Project, the Alliance for the Great Lakes and Ocean Conservancy. If there are specific charities or events that her customers want to donate to, Fischer respects those requests.

As a college student, she now relies primarily on online orders.

“It’s been hard to make the transition from being able to sell in stores and coffee shops to moving almost exclusively online,” Fischer said.

However, even with the limitations of an online platform, Fischer continues to sell her art. Despite limited on-campus storage space for her art, she keeps her art supplies in her dorm, so she can continue creating.

“It’s a great stress reliever to finish all my work, so I can make sure I have time to relax and express myself creatively,” she said. “I feel like being a college student, you can get sucked up into getting good grades and learning and absorbing without putting anything out creatively.”

Fischer’s art is striking, all stark lines and bold color. She said her pro-

cess starts with drawing inspiration from the size and shape of the canvas, reference images or vibrant paint.

“Once I have something in mind, I’ll paint, and then I sketch out the design,” Fischer said. “I poke the holes for the thread to go through, and I literally just sit there and I sew that canvas.”

The process is time-consuming.

Some pieces take a few hours to create; others have taken weeks.

Fischer said one of her favorite pieces was inspired by her girlfriend, and when she posted a photo of the piece on her Snapchat story, she was overwhelmed by the responses she received.

“I had a bunch of people being like, ‘I want this. This is so cool,’” she said.

“That piece really gave me the confidence to feel like my art was good enough to sell.”

Fischer was later asked to recreate the same design for a window display at a popular local store.

“It was over, like, four 18 by 20 canvases, so this thing is massive,” she said. “Imagine a store window, and it’s one design going over all these canvases.”

Fischer said the piece “started it all” for her.

“I got to take [my girlfriend] to go see it, and I was like, ‘I am in this window because you inspired me,’” she said.

Rochester Shops Local, an Instagram blog about small businesses in Rochester, describes Fischer as “beyond talented,” “a bright light” and “generous.”

When creating commissions, Fischer wants her customers to be able to “feel themselves through [her] work.”

She said her favorite aspect of her work is the tangible nature of her designs.

“I don’t want my art to just be seen,” Fischer said. “I want people to touch it.

I invite them to … experience it.”

— Contact Oli Turner at omturne@emory.edu

By Allison Reinhardt Staff Writer

Last semester, the Emory community gathered in person again for classes, clubs and events. Now, as the Omicron variant surges, some students are disappointed by the return to virtual learning.

While in-person instruction will resume Jan. 31, Emory student leaders are grappling with how to operate clubs virtually for the first few weeks of the semester in a way that is still engaging for their members.

For Ben Jacobson (23B), president of Emory Business Ethics, this time will be used as a planning period for the rest of what will hopefully be another successful in-person semester.

“It feels like all clubs are very stagnant right now and that we’re just preparing to go in person,” Jacobson said.

While holding clubs virtually presents an opportunity to plan ahead for future events, Emory Business Ethics has faced challenges in finding new members.

“One of the toughest parts is recruiting, which is essentially impossible,” Jacobson said. “We’re going to do our best to join club fairs, but I don’t suspect we’ll gain any new members during this month, although we have a few students that essentially on their own will reach out and ask to join.”

Another obstacle student leaders face is the uncertainty in how clubs are allowed to operate. Co-director of Project Downtown Atlanta Sara Khan (23C) said Emory’s return to in-person classes does not necessarily mean the same transition will occur for clubs right away.

“I just got [an] email from SILT [Student Involvement, Leadership & Transitions] talking about the fact that we don’t know if we’re going to be out of orange status after Jan. 31,” Khan said. “We can’t do anything, even outdoors, if it’s not essential with orange [status], so I don’t know what we’d be able to do.”

Project Downtown Atlanta members are responsible for packing sandwiches and hygiene kits for home-

less and underprivileged residents of Atlanta, but with the first few weeks of the semester online, the club has had to switch their efforts to activities that can be accomplished virtually.

“I think the only thing that [being] online makes a little bit easier is fundraisers,” Khan said. “I think that’s something really easy and really accessible that everyone can do, so I think it definitely makes our fundraising efforts a little bit easier, but obviously makes it a little harder to be able to engage with the homeless and help them out if we can’t all get together and make those supplies.”

No matter what types of events clubs typically host, student leaders have learned how to effectively engage with their members and host events virtually during previous remote semesters.

Secretary General of the Emory Model United Nations conference Valerie Cella (22N) explained how her organization has pivoted seamlessly to a virtual format because the club has done so in the past.

“Luckily, we did a virtual conference last year, so we know how to operate,” Cella said. “Because of being on [the] executive team last year, I know how to run the conference to the best of Emory’s and [the International Relations Association’s] ability in a safe manner, respecting rules but also being engaging and fun.”

While some students have been frustrated with the remote start to the semester, Emory student leaders encourage their fellow students to continue with the clubs they are passionate about and look forward to in-person events resuming soon.

“There [are] a lot of dejected students at Emory because of [going] online,” Cella said. “So we’ve been operating how most clubs have been operating and just trying to rally the school spirit again to join clubs and be an active part of Emory’s community.”

— Contact Allison Reinhardt at abreinh@emory.edu

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EMORY LIFE

Wednesday, January 19 , 2022

The Emory Wheel

Remote start leaves students with questions, suggestions

By Oli Turner Asst. Emory Life Editor

A lly Hom/Photo Editor

During the remote start, Chance Harvey (25C) walks through Eagle Hall without passing anyone in the hallways, lounges, or lobby.

‘A little bit quieter’ Residence life during the remote restart

By Xavier Stevens Asst. Emory Life Editor

mate has class at the same time.

Molly Gassman (23B), a sophomore advisor in Harris Hall, said that her During his first semester of college, resident training over winter break Chance Harvey (25C) looked forward stressed the importance of flexibility.

“The University has given a lot of to Tuesday nights the most.

Every week, the resident student resources to try to help, and we’re staff of Eagle Hall hosted an event for all trying to do our best to navigate students to come together, eat desserts it together,” Gassman said. “I think and watch a movie. It was a night of the best thing is just to have flexhot chocolate or apple cider, cook- ibility [with] students [and] professors ies or donuts, “Soul” or “High School because two, three weeks ago, this was not what any of us were expecting or Musical.”

Harvey blocked off his schedule planning for.”

For the first day of class, Harvey for the weekly tradition, dubbed “Tea Time Tuesday,” that helped him meet and his roommate Peter Loiselle (25C) practiced flexibility and worked his friends in college.

After Emory University announced together to avoid conflicts with Zoom classes. Harvey went the semester would to the student center start remotely, resifor a few hours while dence life transitioned “Being online and Loiselle stayed in their many of its keynote room. They met up events to Zoom. But separated from for dinner with smaller, informal everyone, it’s kind of later friends from their resgatherings that define jarring; it’s easy to the college experiidence hall.

“The biggest drawence, like Tea Time feel like you’re not Tuesday, were no lonback of the remote really at school.” start is that it feels a ger possible. little bit demotivatAssociate Director of — Peter Loiselle (25C) ing without an acaResidential Education Linda Bachman and demic environment,” Assistant Director of Loiselle said. “Being Residential Education Cathy Marques online and separated from everyone, worked over break to adapt their it’s kind of jarring; it’s easy to feel like January plans to support students. you’re not really at school.”

“We suggested that [Residential Harvey said that he has struggled and Sophomore Advisors] do a lot of to meet new people in his classes or their one-on-one and small group out- see his friends who have returned to reach in January to keep students con- campus with remote learning.

Loiselle added that he has yet to nected,” Bachman said. “And give that space to our students, especially if stu- set foot across the Cox Bridge this dents have questions or are uncertain semester.

“Last semester, you would go outabout anything.”

Bachman and Marques also sched- side for your class. You would see uled new events tailored to students’ people everywhere, out and about,” Harvey said. “That’s not really the case needs.

They have partnered with Professor all around campus and kind of just of Psychology Andrew Kazama for a extends to the dorm life, so people tend workshop on Jan. 19 titled, “Zooming to just stay in rooms and not really be Out: Tackling Stress, Study Habits, out.”

Gassman noticed a similar pheand Fatigue” to address student concerns about how to stay engaged for nomenon within Harris Hall. another month of Zoom.

Even though some residents “We’re going to continue to be driv- were able to return, the common en by the needs of our students and spaces and lounges — often our mission, which is to support and occupied in the first semester — are enhance the residential experience,” now empty.

Marques said. “The way we do that “It seems like more people are just might change, but we’re driven by this sitting in their rooms, which makes [goal].” sense just given the current climate The first week of the remote restart and circumstance,” Gassman said. “It required Bachman, Marques and all just feels a little bit quieter.” residence life staff to quickly address student concerns.

The Raoul Hall student staff created — Contact Xavier Stevens at a guide for residents on where to take xsteven@emory.edu Zoom classes on campus when a room-

On Dec. 28, after Emory University announced a remote start to the spring semester, the accompanying Instagram post garnered 160 comments from students voicing their opinions about the decision. Most posts receive only a handful of comments. Increased engagement, but at what cost?

Some disgruntled students demanded refunds and accused the University of “virtue signaling. One comment that received 235 likes reads: “instead of ‘as conditions permit’ it should be ‘whatever harvard decides to do we’ll follow.’” Others expressed confusion at the online backlash from students.

Among the latter group was Julius Pugh (24C), who experienced remote learning at the height of the COVID19 pandemic during his first year at Emory. He said the initial remote-start announcement sounded “reasonable” to him.

“They’re not telling us, ‘You can’t move in,’” Pugh said. “They’re not telling you, ‘You can’t see your friends.’”

Andrew Wei (22C) was one of those who returned to campus to see his friends. As a senior in his last semester of college, he wanted to take Zoom classes in a college environment.

But many students have yet to return to campus, leaving some wondering where the funds from absent students’ room and board are being used.

In the comment section of the Instagram post, Rebecca Schwartz (24C) voiced a suggestion to reallocate unused funds toward helping students cover pandemic-related costs such as PCR tests.

“If Emory is going to collect those funds and then not use it to house and dine certain students, I think it just makes sense to put those funds back into the community that is meant to be served in the first place,” Schwartz said.

While some students offer suggestions and critiques, others complain. Pugh said many students made nonconstructive complaints about the remote start rather than suggesting alternatives, which he said was

“frustrating.”

“I’m pretty sure that Emory would be open to listening to [suggestions] because, at the end of the day, they still cater to us,” Pugh said.

Ada Demling (25C) tried just that.

Her comment on the post asked why the University had not mandated testing before deciding to begin the semester online. She spoke to administrators about mandating weekly testing during the September surge.

“From talking to peers, there’s definitely people who think it’s unnecessary or a waste of money to do that [weekly testing],” Demling said. “But … I think most people are willing to have the inconvenience [of weekly testing] in order to avoid going online.”

“Of my own volition, I decided to get a test when I got back on campus, but there’s no requirement to do that. If I didn’t do that, then I would be waling around with COVID” — Ada Demling (25C)

Demling feels that testing protocols are not enough, though, despite close-contact and pre-entry testing requirements. She is back on campus, isolating in the Emory Conference Center Hotel. Demling tested negative for COVID-19 a few hours before she boarded a flight to campus but tested positive when she arrived on campus.

“Of my own volition, I decided to get a test when I got back on campus, but there’s no requirement to do that,” she said. “If I didn’t do that, then I would be walking around with COVID.” Demling said her own experience makes a case for the necessity of mandated on-campus testing for vaccinated students. According to a Jan. 13 email from Emory Forward, only “unvaccinated students, faculty, and staff are required to conduct weekly

screening tests.”

Demling agreed with the University’s decision to begin the semester online but voiced concerns about inconsistencies in testing protocol.

“I just wish that they were at least explaining why they aren’t taking it more seriously,” she said.

Wei expressed a similar frustration.

“Something I definitely hear a lot is that it’s just arbitrary virtue signaling,” he said. “I feel like if they really wanted to keep us safe, they’d do things like have mandatory testing, not having giant campus concerts and stuff like that.”

Whether or not the remote start was necessary, Wei said the online format brought down his overall mood.

“It sucked the soul and the life out of me the moment I got on Zoom,” Wei said.

Schwartz chose to stay home for the online start and faces challenges like background noise, Wi-Fi issues and feeling distant from the Emory community. She said her friends are thousands of miles away.

Demling also finds it difficult to focus on Zoom.

“No one is participating. No one has their camera on,” she said. “The activities and class are not that engaging, and you just feel like, ‘Why am I paying so much money?’”

Wei said while he understands some of the university’s pandemic policies, he struggles to grasp other seemingly contradictory decisions.

“I can justify some, but I can’t justify others,” Wei said. “A lot of it is virtue signaling, but also a lot of it is genuine efforts and attempts to do what is right.”

Pugh is adamant that it is important for students to “speak up” and “offer suggestions,” although he acknowledges another perspective from one of his peers: that students should not have to find solutions for the University’s problems.

“This is unprecedented,” he said.

“We’re paying for our education, so we have a say.”

— Contact Oli Turner at omturne@emory.edu

The Emory Wheel The Emory Life section is seeking new writers to cover campus features and profiles!

Contact Emory Life Asst. Editor Xavier Stevens (xsteven@emory.edu) to get involved.

Pandemic effects student-athlete recruitment

Continued from Back Page

Martin said. “They also really cared about me as a person rather than an athlete which made it very easy to connect with them. They were able to separate themselves a significant amount from the other schools I was talking to in the UAA which really made me want to attend this school.”

As a result of the pandemic, the quiet period was also extended by Division I schools. This is the time in which schools are prohibited from contacting high school athletes or traveling to see them play. Outfielder Matthew Sicoli, a freshman on the men’s baseball team, was particularly impacted by this extension, leaving him with just highlight reels to share with coaches and limiting him to interact with the schools in person.

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

SPORTS

The Emory Wheel

“The [baseball] coach emailed me and told me he had seen videos of me playing,” Sicoli said. “I had to do a virtual tour of the campus as well as Zoom meetings to meet the rest of the players and staff. It was hard not getting the true intimate experience.”

Freshman defender on the men’s soccer team Ben Howell, who graduated high school in 2020, took a gap year before enrolling at Emory to dodge the pandemic’s effects on both his academic and athletic experiences.

“When they made the announcement that soccer would be canceled, classes were all online and all freshmen were in single rooms, I started thinking about a gap year,” Howell said. “I hadn’t considered taking one prior to COVID, but after I talked to my family, I had a call with our coach, who was very supportive of it.”

Although untraditional, the conversations and interactions all three athletes had with their respective coaches and future teammates gave them the clarity they needed to commit to Emory.

Looking back on my own recruitment journey and all the stress I endured in the spring and summer of 2020 — setting up phone calls, establishing college lists, creating highlight reels and being unsure of where I would end up — I would not change anything for the world. Although I count myself as one of the many student athletes whose recruitment processes and experiences the pandemic took a huge toll on, I can definitively say that I am proud to be an Eagle.

— Contact Pilar Rossi at p.rossi@emory.edu

SWOOP’S SCOOP Friday Jan. 21

Sport

Opponent

Time

M Basketball W Basketball Track & Field

@ Case Western Reserve @ Case Western Reserve @ Samford Bulldog Open

5:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

All Day

@ West Florida/Delta State @ Samford Bulldog Open

10 a.m.

All Day

Saturday Swimming & Diving Jan. 22 Track & Field

Sunday Jan. 23

11

M Basketball W Basketball

@ Carnegie Mellon @ Carnegie Mellon

12 p.m.

2 p.m.

*Home Games in Bold

Bengals look to continue big jump into playoffs Continued from Back Page Darren Waller for stability, but a Week 12 injury sidelined him for five weeks.

Yet, through all their controversies and injuries, the Raiders kept fighting.

Over the course of the season, nearly a quarter of their games went into overtime and the Raiders came out of all four with a victory. In the final week of the season, the Raiders faced the Chargers in a winner-takes-all game for the playoffs. The resilience of the Raiders was on full display as they battled their division rival down to the final seconds in overtime before making a game-winning field goal and punching their ticket to the postseason. Despite the loss in the first round of the playoffs, the Raiders showed incredible resilience in 2021.

Most Improved Team: Cincinnati Bengals The Bengals had a frustrating 2020 season, finishing last in the AFC North. Yet, this season has silenced any Bengals doubters. Putting together an incredible turnaround, Cincinnati finished the season with a 10-7 record, winning the AFC North and earning themselves the fourth seed in the playoffs. After finishing 29th in pointsper-game last season, the Bengals managed to climb to seventh this year, all with a fully recovered quarterback (QB) Joe Burrow at the helm.

Burrow threw for 4,358 passing yards,

34 touchdowns and a league-leading 70.4% completion rate despite being ranked as the most aggressive QB in the NFL this season. He capped off the year throwing for 525 passing yards in Week 16 against the Baltimore Ravens, the fourth-highest single-game performance of all time.

WR Ja’Marr Chase has also paid dividends for the team, finishing the season with an incredible 1,429 receiving yards. That mark gives him the most receiving yards of any rookie WR in the Super Bowl era. Like Burrow, Chase also finished the season in outstanding fashion, putting up 266 receiving yards in Week 17 against the Kansas City Chiefs — the most receiving yards in a single rookie game of all time. The Bengals defeated the Raiders 26-19 in the Wild Card round and will advance to play the Tennessee Titans this week.

Most Mediocre Team: Atlanta Falcons In a surprising twist, the Falcons will not be remembered for anything this season, except for getting blown out 25-0 in primetime against the New England Patriots. The Falcons finished off the 2021 season with a record of 7-10, leaving them good enough to not be considered one of the worst teams in the league, but bad enough that they never had a shot at the playoffs.

This outcome was not entirely unexpected, with preseason odds having

Price: Everyone follows same protocol

Continued from Back Page environment at that point,” she said of the Jan. 31 return date.

Senior guard Matthew Schner, one of the stars of the basketball team, is disappointed by the loss of fans and believes it will require an energy shift on his team.

“Playing without fans in the arena is definitely an adjustment, especially at home,” Schner said. “The team has to bring our own energy and feed off of each other a lot more. With that said, we’re just grateful for every game on the schedule as uncertainty surrounding this variant continues. We are all hoping to get our fans back in the WoodPEC in February and looking forward to that environment again.”

If there is a positive test on an athletic team, student-athletes will not be

treated any differently than others in the Emory community, Price added.

“We are following the same protocol for the student population, the same protocol that the CDC has,” Price said.

“A team does not shut down from one positive. We follow the same process for contact tracing, working with Student Health Services.”

There will be heightened restrictions for the small percentage of athletes who are unvaccinated. They are required to get tested three times a week, per recommendation from the NCAA. While winter sports are in action, spring athletes are preparing to begin training for their upcoming seasons, and they are subject to the same testing and mitigation protocols.

— Contact Eric Jones at eric.jones2@emory.edu

A lly Hom/Photo Editor

the Falcons victorious in 7.5 games.

On offense, QB Matt Ryan had a respectable but unremarkable season, finishing 11th in passing yards and 17th in touchdowns. After WR Calvin Ridley stepped away from football for mental health reasons, the Falcons were left without depth. TE Kyle Pitts had an outstanding rookie season and amassed 1,026 receiving yards. The Falcons most surprising performance came from running back (RB) and WR Cordarrelle Patterson, recently named Breakout Player of the Year by PFF after putting together over 1,100 allpurpose yards. Cornerback AJ Terrell was a bright spot on defense, but he was snubbed for the Pro Bowl and first team All-Pro. Overall, the Falcons season ended up landing them in football purgatory, and with a potential Ridley trade on the horizon, they are facing an uphill battle to regain their explosive offense.

Most Heartbreaking Team: Los Angeles Chargers Chargers fans cannot catch a break.

After years of heartbreaking losses, it looked as if the franchise could finally break out of their old habits with QB Justin Herbert leading the charge.

Unfortunately, this may have been the most heartbreaking season yet.

The wild losses started in Week 2, when the Chargers’ would-be game winning touchdown was called back due to an illegal shift. Another heartbreak came in Week 15 when the Chargers took the Chiefs into overtime and proceeded to lose 28-34. Chargers head coach Brandon Staley took some heat for this loss after passing up on several opportunities to score nine easy points, which could’ve won them the game. Even worse, though the Chargers did not know it at the time, that one more win would have gotten

them into the playoffs.

By Week 18, NFL fans everywhere tuned in for the final game of the season where the Chargers would take on the Raiders. The winner would go to the playoffs, and the loser would go home. However, if the teams tied, both would advance to the playoffs.

Down 29-14 with under five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Chargers mounted an incredible comeback including three fourth-and-10 conversions and a touchdown as the game clock hit zero. It all came down to overtime, and after trading off possessions, the Chargers were two seconds away from a tie that would send them to the playoffs. Unfortunately, Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson sent the Chargers packing with a 47-yard field goal as time expired. Despite an incredible season from Herbert, who threw over 5,000 yards and 38 touchdowns, the Chargers managed to miss the playoffs in perhaps their most heartbreaking fashion yet.

The long wait until next season has begun for the Falcons, Raiders and Chargers, while a spotlight now shines on the final eight teams standing.

Coming off their surprising season, perhaps the Bengals will continue to improve as the playoffs roll on. Who knows, maybe we will even see them in SoFi Stadium come Super Bowl time.

— Contact Ethan Mayblum at emayblu@emory.edu

Atlanta leaders discuss Ali and civil rights Continued from Back Page the time, the city was rife with racial tensions, and the sports scene largely championed white athletes and whitedominated sports. At the same time, Atlanta had its finger on the pulse of Black culture, the thriving presence of which made the city the perfect setup for the match between Ali and Quarry.

“Atlanta perceived itself as a city on the rise, a city of change,” Bond said.

“You saw Atlanta progressing through coalition politics as seen in the election of Mayor Masell, but right across the street Maddox was resigning as governor who was staunchly segregationist and extreme and conservative. This was a place of contradictions.”

Despite receiving death threats from the Ku Klux Klan, being served with a federal district injunction and learning that Maddox had reversed his initial support in the weeks leading up to the fight, Kassel forged ahead with his preparations.

On Oct. 26, 1970, almost exactly three and a half years after Ali sacrificed his athletic career for his religious convictions, the world watched the match at the Civic Auditorium in downtown Atlanta. Black and white celebrities and societal royalty flocked to the arena, pushing ticket sales to an estimated three million.

“Everybody that had some kind of hustle anywhere in the world seemed to descend on it,” Young said. “Everybody came from everywhere in the country . . . It was the first sports event that put Atlanta on the map.”

Although Ali’s win was anticlimactic – he won on a technical knockout – it symbolized the triumph of his religious freedom, racial identity and athletic prowess over discrimination and hate. The victory was replicated in the courtroom, when Chauncey Eskridge, Martin Luther King Jr.’s lawyer, spearheaded Clay v. United States in 1971.

The Supreme Court voted unanimously to overturn Ali’s convictions.

“Whenever we were in Chicago, we would stay at Chauncey Eskridge’s house,” Young said. “It was a struggle of conscience for [Ali and King].

Neither one of them was trying to get attention or wanted to be heroes.”

Today, Ali is best remembered as what Jones called a “people’s champ,” who voiced the concerns and convictions of many Blacks, Muslims and Americans who were disenchanted with the government’s stance on race and the Vietnam War. He truly embodies his most famous maxim, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” He could be forthright and outspoken when necessary, but was by all accounts a downto-earth, humble figure.

“He was a lovable figure,” Young said. “For every hater there was an admirer. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and he never took himself too seriously.”

— Contact Claire Fenton at claire.fenton@emory.edu

The Emory Wheel

Sports

Wednesday, January 19, 2022 | Sports Editor: Michael Mariam (mmariam@emory.edu) | Asst. Sports Editors: Jenna Daly (jennadaly09@emory.edu) and Claire Fenton (claire.fenton@emory.edu)

MLK WEEK

Emory honors Ali during MLK Week

By Claire Fenton Asst. Sports Editor

A lly Hom/Photo Editor

Eagles banners hang from an empty WoodPEC Gymnasium. Due to the University’s shift in operating status over winter break, basketball teams will play in empty gyms until Jan. 31.

Athletics adjusts COVID protocols

By Eric Jones Staff Writer

Despite Emory University’s decision to start the spring semester remotely, Emory Athletics is continuing business as usual. However, while the games will go on, assuming there are no COVID outbreaks, spectators will not be able to watch in-person.

In an interview with the Wheel, Emory Athletic Director Keiko Price explained why and how athletics would be able to continue despite a remote academic start.

“We, as an institution, felt that it is in the best interest of our studentathletes to support their craft,” Price said. “We also knew that we would implement measures to ensure that their safety is taken into consideration as well. With all of that, we are happy to see our athletes practicing and competing in January.”

With the new protocols, Emory stu-

NFL

dents are required to receive a negative COVID test prior to their arrival on campus. Athletes will also receive saliva screening tests twice a week.

Despite the remote start, Price explained why athletics are still happening during January’s remote transition.

“I can see how members of the community are upset, but at the same time, to continue sports is important to [the student-athlete] population,” Price said. “If they are expected to return when remote classes end, they would face additional challenges with mental and physical health by not being able to practice and compete having been away for a long break.”

As the men’s and women’s basketball teams enter the middle of the winter season, University Athletic Association (UAA) conference play is slated to get busier. According to Price, the UAA is unique in Division III because the member universities

2021 NFL season awards

By Ethan Mayblum Staff Writer

Numerous records fell in the last two weeks as the NFL wrapped up its first-ever 17-game season. The 2021 season finished with a bang as the Las Vegas Raiders took down the Los Angeles Chargers in a spectacular, and heartbreaking, overtime win. As many teams look to the playoffs with Super Bowl aspirations, there’s no doubt that the NFL landscape has changed drastically in 2021. After experiencing this rollercoaster of a season, awards are in order for the most resilient, most improved, most mediocore and most heartbreaking teams of 2021.

Most Resilient Team: Las Vegas Raiders The Raiders started off this season with a respectable record of 3-2. The future seemed bright for one of the first times in head coach Jon Gruden’s rocky tenure. Second-year wide receiver (WR) Henry Ruggs III was also proving why the Raiders were smart to use their first-round pick on him

the year before. Unfortunately, hopes quickly faded and the season began to slip away.

It started on Oct.8, when an NFL investigation uncovered racist language sent in an email by Gruden in 2011. In the following days, further emails emerged containing racist, homophobic and sexist language, leading to Gruden’s resignation three days later.

Rich Bisaccia, the team’s former special teams coordinator, took over as interim head coach and led the resilient team to two straight wins before heading into their bye week in Week 8. Just as the dust seemed to be settling from the Gruden controversy, the Raiders lost another key part of their team. On Nov. 2, Ruggs was involved in a fatal car crash resulting in the death of another driver. Ruggs had been driving at 156 mph while intoxicated and was promptly released from the team. He has since been charged with four felonies and could face at least 50 years in prison. The Raiders tried to look at star tight end (TE)

See BENGALS, Page 11

are spread out around the country, with schools being from the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast. Cross-country travel is necessary for conference play and the rewards outweigh the risks.

“There is no discussion in the conference that we would limit travel,” Price explained. “The Emory studentathlete vaccination rate is 99%. Our UAA colleagues have required the vaccine and have exceptionally high vaccination rates for their studentathlete populations. By limiting travel, we would basically not have a season for the conference, and that is not something UAA administrators have a desire to do.”

Price noted that prohibiting spectators for competition on campus was in line with the University’s goal to limit the spread of the virus. “Obviously, our hope is that we can open up to spectators after that date pending the

See BASKETBALL, Page 11

The Emory University School of Law and Dream Factory LLC hosted a virtual panel discussion on Jan. 18 about the documentary “Ali’s Comeback: The Untold Story” (2020), which chronicles legendary heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali’s tumultuous return to boxing in 1970.

The panel featured Ali’s wife Dr. Kalilah Ali, Atlanta City Councilmember Michael Julian Bond, “Comeback” director Art Jones, Emory alumnus Robert Kassel (62C, 63L) and former Atlanta Mayor and Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young.

Ali, a devout Muslim, became the subject of national controversy on April 28, 1967 when he refused to enlist in the United States Army after being drafted for the Vietnam War. He declared himself to be a conscientious objector on religious grounds; the United States government retaliated by convicting the twenty-five-year-old Ali of draft evasion, fining him $10,000, sentencing him to five years in prison and banning him from boxing in the United States.

Ali harbored doubts and fears about his potential incarceration, but Ali’s wife convinced him to follow in the footsteps of other devout Muslims and hold true to his religious principles.

“Don’t go into the army,” Kalilah Ali told her husband. “You got to be loyal.

You have to stick with it and don’t turn your back . . . That’s the sacrifice you got to make.”

Although Ali was freed on bail and appealed his sentence, he was stripped of his heavyweight championship title and lampooned for his apparent lack of patriotism and courage. Others,

however, expressed their support and hailed Ali for his determination to do what he felt was right despite the legal repercussions.

“In 1970, he was the most polarizing individual, not boxer, but individual in America,” Young said. “People either loved him or they hated him.”

Ali needed a boxing license to fight and no state was prepared to grant him one given that the federal government had blocked over sixty previous attempts.

That’s when Kassel, the owner of Sports Action Inc., threw his hat in the ring. Kassel connected with Georgia state Senator Leroy Johnson, the first Black man elected to the state legislature since the Reconstruction era, to help navigate the legal landscape.

When Johnson realized that neither Atlanta nor Georgia had a boxing commission which could deny the license, he had one person legally standing in his way: Gov. Lester Maddox, a staunch segregationist. Once Johnson received confirmation of Maddox’s public support of the fight, Kassel put his plans into motion.

He saw an opportunity to capitalize on the Ali controversy and Atlanta’s racial tensions, and proposed that Ali face the reigning heavyweight champion and “Great White Hope” Jerry Quarry.

“There were a lot of haters, quite frankly, in the white community,” Kassel said. “They thought he was a big mouth and a braggart with his poetry and all of his predictions. So we decided, let’s go find a ‘great white hope’ to really stir up publicity.”

Ali’s comeback happened and, more importantly, it happened in Atlanta. At

See ATLANTA, Page 11

PERSPECTIVE

A student-athlete on recruitment during COVID

By Pilar Rossi Contributing Writer

The NCAA college recruitment process is like running a marathon. It seems never-ending in the moment, but arriving at the finish line of committing to a dream school is extremely rewarding.

While the common perception may be that athletes have an easier path to getting accepted because they forgo a “traditional” application process, athletes face unique demands and stressors, especially during the pandemic.

Many athletes looking to pursue college sports were negatively impacted by the pandemic. Without in-person events, identification (ID) camps, official visits or sporting events, athletes and recruiters struggled to connect with one another. Coaches resorted to recruiting athletes through highlight reels and practice footage, while athletes relied on phone calls and virtual tours to determine where they would spend their college career.

The pandemic did not affect my recruiting process with Emory, but it decreased the number and variety of schools I considered. I was fortunate to begin contact with women’s soccer head coach Sue Patberg after my last showcase event before the pandemic during my junior year of high school.

I took my official visit to Emory at the end of February, where I explored Emory’s campus, participated in the ID camp, spent quality time with the current players and got to know the coaches.

Even though I was content with my visit to Emory, it would turn out to be one of few in-person experiences I had during my recruitment process. Two weeks after my visit, the pandemic forced my high school to switch to a virtual curriculum. My club team was no longer training, and my recruitment status became more uncertain. In-person experiences make all the difference when deciding among schools, as they help athletes determine whether or not they see themselves belonging on a campus.

Without them, I was nervous I would not find the right school for me.

I continued to train by myself at home and maintain conversations with a handful of coaches, including Coach Sue with whom I particularly connected. Emory continued to stand out since I had bonded and stayed in touch with the players I met, and by the summer before my senior year, I was certain Emory would allow me to thrive as a student athlete.

I verbally committed to Emory in June and soon after, I had been accepted through Early Decision I in

December. The recruitment process was finally over, and a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. While the other incoming freshmen and I were unable to visit Emory together, over the next several months we followed each other on social media, created group chats and met over Zoom to get to know one another before our preseason began in August.

My fellow Emory athletes also struggled with their recruiting processes. Erin Martin, a freshman forward on the women’s basketball team, was limited to virtually showcasing her talents to potential coaches.

“So many tournaments where coaches would have been able to see us play were canceled,” Martin said.

“I was mainly getting recruited off of workout and training videos.”

Martin also struggled with Division I recruitment as most of the schools she had been talking to had to halt all conversations due to the extra year of eligibility and increased transfer portal. When her other prospective schools went silent, Martin said that Emory leaped to the top of her list because of her interactions with the team.

“Emory didn’t have any of their seniors staying for an extra year,”

See PANDEMIC, Page 11