Kentucky Kernel: November 9, 2020

kentuckykernel

Monday, November 9, 2020 est. 1892 | Independent since 1971 www.kykernel.com @kykernel @kentuckykernel

FISHY BUSINESS

Bag to backpack to stream: Trout stocking in Red River Gorge

JOE BIDEN ELECTED 46TH PRESIDENT OF U.S.

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Student & teacher

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Spotlight: Local workers

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Agents of democracy

Monday, November 9, 2020

opinions

Your friendly neighborhood service workers need you to wear a mask

By Gillian Stawiszynski opinions@kykernel.com

A week ago at my part time job as a hostess, a woman walked in looking for a table for lunch.

She walked in with a smile that scared the life out of me. My co-worker quickly handed her a mask asking if she could put one on. “I actually can’t wear a mask,” said the patron, as she wrapped each string behind her ears and stopped the mask right below her nose.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t offer her a table - we were completely booked up for lunch aside from the tables on the sidewalk.

She scoffed and asked us why she had to put on a mask if she couldn’t even eat inside. She ripped her mask off and somehow, her expression was even more menacing.

This is when the smoke began to burst out of her ears. I could have sworn I saw red in her eyes as well as she grumbled “You kids need to wake up!” with a vengeance. My manager walked into the lobby and stopped at the door, looking just as frazzled as my coworker and I still were. She began to walk out before the aura of a broken lightbulb appeared over her head, and said, “So now I just have this mask, to contaminate and do whatever I want with?”

She stormed out of the restaurant lobby and my coworker swiftly replied “that’s your prerogative, ma’am.” This was a bad idea - as the woman shouted six

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times in a row, “This is ridiculous!” She did not stop when she had gotten to the sidewalk either, continuing to make a scene as she spit her exasperating words into the air.

I do not know this woman from a hole in the wall, and even after her memorable fit of anger, I could probably never recognize her maskless face among any sea of people. However, she seems to be quite outraged that people take this pandemic seriously. I could throw out a wild guess that she believes COVID-19 is overhyped and that everyone that is trying to be safe is indoctrinated by what she believes is just a conspiracy.

I’ve met quite a few people that scoff at me whenever I politely ask them to wear a mask. I must communicate with them to make money for rent and bills, there is no choice. Sometimes, they complain to my manager, probably imagining a dream world where I walk out in defeat and despair, having lost my job, as they maniacally laugh in defeat.

These types of people likely wouldn’t care if I had told them that two of my roommates, including my co-worker have mildto-severe asthma. They do not know or care that I have not seen my family in over six months, or that my boyfriend’s grandfather is in critical care having tested positive for COVID-19. They do not know or care, because their rights as Americans are supposedly underhyped in the midst of a murderous pandemic, because

MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF A barista at 3rd Street Coffee uses a gloved hand to prepare a customer’s order.

they are being asked to wear a mask on their face.

I am not the only one who has to experience these kinds of people, by any stretch of the imagination. There have already been hundreds of videos posted on the internet from service workers recording their experiences first hand of customers harassing them, while maskless. I also hear stories of people who refuse to mask up from my friends on a daily basis. Those of us who cannot work online are already forced to place income over health. Our safety shouldn’t be threatened even further.

If I could say anything to

this woman, though, it would be exactly what I stated above, and how this pandemic has personally affected me and people I know and love. Seeing protests fighting mask mandates signifies that people think COVID-19 is overhyped. I think that the mask debate is overhyped. Please, wear your mask, or stay home. None of our lives are promised, and not wearing a mask can prove that.

As French philosopher, Albert Camus, once alluded to in his existential novel,“The Plague”, Plagues are a reminder to mankind that no one is immortal, and that none of our lives arepromised. Not wearing a mask

can further prove that.

I find it important to note that there have been people who are caring, though they still go out.

Some folks keep their masks up until I leave their table, and I see them put a mask over their mouth when a server comes along. To people who are trying to be as safe as possible and still go out with their masks ready - save money, go out a lot less. Learn to prepare meals and drinks you enjoy. You can also just order food for pick up of delivery. We all have safer options when it comes to food. After the pandemic, the world (and restaurants) will likely still be here.

Monday, November 9, 2020

LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD

kentuckykernel

CONTACT Editor-in-chief: Natalie Parks editor@kykernel.com

JOE BIDEN PROJECTED WINNER OF PRESIDENTIAL RACE

The nation has a new president.

Democratic candidate Joe Biden reached the 270 electoral college votes required to be called as the winner on Saturday morning as the Associated Press, New York Times and other outlets called Pennsylvania in his favor.

Pennsylvania, which has 20 electoral votes, was mandatory for Trump to win if he was going to achieve a second term.

The state was trending red earlier in the week, but as absentee ballots from Philadelphia and surrounding counties began to be counted it inched closer to blue before flipping in Biden’s favor on Friday, Nov. 6.

Pennsylvania has a state law that ballots cannot be counted before polls close on Election Day, so the state had a backlog of early and mail-in ballots to wade through before the results would be available.

Nevada was also called for Biden; its six electoral votes now bring him to 279. Three states have yet to be decided - Biden holds the lead in Arizona and Georgia, though the latter will undergo a recount due to its slim margin between the two candidates NPR called Arizona for Biden, though the New York Times and AP had not yet done so. In a Saturday morning tweet, Biden - now president-elect - said he was “honored” to have been chosen.

“The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not,” Biden said. “I will keep the faith that you have placed in me.”

His campaign’s victory also bring significant firsts to the White House: Kamala Harris, his vice presidential pick, will be the first female, Black and Asian vice president. Harris’s husband, Douglas Emhoff, will be the first “second husband.”

Biden and Harris both changed their Twitter bios to reflect their new “elect”

status. According to the New York Times, Biden won the popular vote by over 4 million.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear Tweeted his congratulations to the pair.

“Today the people of the United States were heard, and history was made,” Beshear said.

Fayette County residents voted for Biden over Trump. According to the Fayette County Clerk’s office, Biden received 90,566 votes compared to Trump’s 58,845, a percentage margin of 21 points. Biden supporters took to Triangle Park on Saturday afternoon to express their excitement over his victory, many saying they felt overhwhelmingly relieved.

Lexington and Fayette County’s vote did not correlate to the rest of the state.

Kentucky was the first state called in favor of Trump on Tuesday night.

Donald Trump has not conceded the election, tweeting that he won “by a lot” and will challenge the results in court.

FAYETTE COUNTY IN ZONE FOR COVID-19

MICHAEL CLUBB I STAFF Biden supporter Mark Linnen walks down Tates Creek road dressed in a bear costume.

Linnen said he is “always up for hijinks” and wants to lighten up a stressful election day.

Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Lexington, Kentucky.

RED

Winter approaches, and with it a surge of COVID-19 cases in Lexington. Last week Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced that Fayette was one of 80 counties in the red zone, meaning that the rate of infection is more thatn 25 cases per 100,000 people.

Cases among UK students are showing a corresponding increase; after spening most of October with daily new case numbers in the mid-teens, UK student numbers have jumped back up to the 20s and 30s in the last week, once again accounting for 20 percent of new daily cases in Lexington.

As cases continue to spike, local health department officials urge residents to practice social distancing and wear masks.

State guidance red zone counties says that individuals should not host or attend gatherings of any size and avoid non-essential activities outside your home.

Managing editor: Michael Clubb editor@kykernel.com News/features editor: Lauren Campbell news@kykernel.com Asst. news editors: Haley Blackburn Emily Girard Sports editor: Braden Ramsey sports@kykernel.com Opinions editor: Sarah Michels opinions@kykernel.com Asst. Opinions editor: Gillian Stawiszynski Photo editor: Tori Rogers Designers: Mya LaCLair Ryder Noah From Social media manager: Sarah Simon-Patches KENTUCKY KERNEL OFFICES 340 McVey Hall University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40506

On the cover: A rainbow trout wiggles in the hand of a trout stocking participant. Photo by Jack Weaver | Staff

Correction: In last week’s article ‘Men outnumber women among UK faculty, especially in STEM fields’, Kathryn Cardelli was misspelled as Katheryn. The Kernel regrets the error.

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Monday, November 9, 2020

feature

JACK WEAVER | STAFF According to fisheries biologist Justin Heflin, it is better to dump the fish from chest height because the sudden immersion surprises them into activity. Here, a trout stocker dumps their fish at the bottom of Chimney Creek trail in Red River Gorge on Oct. 20, 2020.

Hatch and release: Trout stocking in Red River Gorge a team effort

By Natalie Parks editor@kykernel.com

My fish are not happy.

I don’t know that for certain, but I imagine that being dumped into a plastic bag with 17 of their brothers and sisters, thrown into darkness and then being carried on the fish equivalent of a roller coaster isn’t their preferred activity.

I can feel them sloshing and swimming against my

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back, so I feel that we have a connection, my fish and I. Enough that by the time we get to our destination – a stream in Red River Gorge – I will have given them most of them names (Natasha, Bernard, Gregorovich) and be very sad to unceremoniously dump them out of their current home, my backpack.

Justin Heflin, the fisheries biologist leading this expedition, says it is better to dump the fish from chest height than to take them out by hand and ease them into the water because the shock will get them moving faster.

Scientifically, I understand; setting my fish free is the goal of this endeavor, a trout stocking trip with the Kentucky Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. (But I still wanted to hold my fish and wish them good luck).

Heflin manages the trout streams in 23 counties in northeast Kentucky; he’s been in his posi-tion for four years, coming off four years in a similar role in Virginia.

He said trout was on his plate from the beginning because it wasn’t huge in Kentucky.

See TROUT on page 5

Monday, November 9, 2020

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“With my previous experience from Virginia and from the mountains of Virginia, we had a lot of trout and it’s always been a passion of mine,” Heflin said. “So to me, it’s not labor intensive at all, I actually enjoy it. Not a lot of people can say that they get paid to hike the Gorge, and that’s definitely a big benefit to my job.”

Heflin conducts trout stocking several times a year, usually in October. I accompanied him and the volunteers at Dog Fork and Chimney Top, two of the streams KDFW has listed as potential sites.

Trout are not native to Kentucky. An avid fisherman, Bill Holmes, began illegally stocking trout in the streams of Red River Gorge in the 1960s after smuggling them in from Pennsylvania. Now, KDFW

is attempting to start trout populations in the same streams that Holmes identi-fied as suitable for the species.

“How we determine if it’s going to continue to get trout or which of those three categories it falls into are all based are based largely on water temperature,” Heflin said. They have a threshold they can sustain as far as top end, most of the time, we say roughly about 70 de-grees, but that kind of fluctuate between species.”

The categories are put-and-grow, growand-take and catch and release. Most of the trout streams Heflin stocks are putand-take, where anglers can catch fish; put-and-grow has a de-layed harvest regulation, usually until March.

“We know that the summer months is really hard on them and most of them won’t survive,” Heflin said. “So in order to avoid that, we open up harvest after that

time frame and allow people to take them out when they want it.”

Fishing is one of the main motivations for the trout stocking program. KDFW gets revenue from taxes associated with fishing – poles, lures, licenses – and similar hunting supplies. So, having more fish available in local streams increases revenue for the department.

“In the end, it is primarily for recreation, for people to be able to go down there and catch them. Especially a self-sustaining population is since they’re non-native, they’re not from here,” Heflin said.

“But if you get them self-sustaining, then they can earn the title of wild. And people really like to catch fish that are wild.”

The trout stocked by Heflin and volunteers – both brook and rainbow – are grown at Wolf Creek Hatchery, a federal location. They cost the state department

JACK WEAVER | STAFF Fisheries biologist Justin Heflin holds open a bag as fish are poured into it for a trout stocking trip in Red River Gorge. Each bag holds a couple gallons of water and, on this hike, about 18 fish per bag.

money to purchase and staff time to stock, so a self-sustaining population would reduce input costs.

Heflin and his team – another member of the fisheries staff, or a partner from the U.S. Forest Service (which manages Red River Gorge) – drive the fish in a water tank from the hatchery to the trailhead.

Once there, they pack the fish, filling a plastic bag with a couple gallons of water before scooping the fish into it, then pumping it with air before cinching the bag with rubber bands and loading it into the waiting backpacks of the volunteers.

Heflin hands me my trout for packing at Chimney Top; he tells everyone to remember when they got their fish, so that those who got bags first can dump first. Before the group gets started I practice walking around with my bag full of life, feeling See TROUT on page 6

JACK WEAVER | STAFF Rainbow trout swim inside of a plastic bag before being released as part of a trout stocking program.

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like I am carrying a sack full of water on my back, because I am. I giggle repeatedly at the topsy-turvy feeling of the water sloshing around as I slip and slide my way down to the water.

Streams are picked based on temperature and fishing access. The number of fish stocked de-pends on the stream.

“Chimney Top is 450 and then Dog Fork and Parched Corn are 300,” Heflin said, naming three common stocking loca tions.

“That number has some fluidity to it, but for the most part it’s kind of standardized through the state. Basically the length of your stream and the width and stuff is factored in, and you get a kind of standardized number of fish that you would stock in that waterway.”

Temperature is the primary concern.

Heflin monitors the streams with an instrument called a hobo, which transmits the stream temperature every hour of every day, 365 days a year, with a battery that lasts for five years. Currently, the streams are at borderlines temperatures for trout to succeed, partly because of an ice storm 20 years ago.

“They lost a lot of trees and the canopy cover that once covered the streams, that helps cool the streams also bugs that falls off the leaves and stuff like that. So it’s a good food source for trout as well. Those canopies were removed by the ice storm.

Currently, we’re in that regrowth stage where an early session will have to start to come back in and it’s starting to shade our streams and keep them a little bit cooler in the summer,” Heflin said.

Even the regrowth may not be enough to combat warming from climate change.

Heflin said that at Chimney Top, which doesn’t have many deep pools, the rainbow To the left: JACK WEAVER | STAFF Chad Nickell dumps a couple trout back into the tank as he helps prepare bags of fish for volunteers to pack into Red River Gorge during a trout stocking hike with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and the Kentucky chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.

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trout are a last-ditch effort to see if trout will survive there, after brook and brown trout both failed (my fish will be fine, I’m sure).

He monitors the trout’s success in the spring, using backpack shocking to catch what’s around and observe their growth.

“In the past we’ve seen natural reproduction, so we see several age classes of fish. We saw like two-inch fish, which is obviously a lot smaller than what we stock so we can tell that they have had a successful spawn in there,” Heflin said. In hotter years where the trout struggle they will be emaciated and Heflin can tell that he needs to adjust the stockings.

But the stocking program would not exist without volunteers, Heflin said.

“There’s no way we could ever be able to get enough staff employees and it would be nowhere close to profitable if we had to pay people to go down in there,” Heflin said. “This program really relies on volunteers and we try to thank them as much as we can.”

These days, the volunteers are primarily members of the Kentucky Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, a conservation group whose only platform is access to public lands and public waters.

“How many organizations do you know that are non-partisan, completely dedicated to the mission? Everybody smiles and nobody cares what your political party is.

Nobody cares what your agenda is because you don’t have one,” said Mike Abell, the vice chair of Kentucky BHA. The group is only two years old; they were chartered in May of 2019.

According to Abell, Kentucky BHA is one of the youngest, most diverse conservation groups out there; it has around 350 members and focuses on service projects.

“A lot of conservation organizations,throw a huge fundraiser every year and use that money to helpwith conservation work. We actually get out and do it ourselves. We don’t raise a bunch of money,” Abell said.

The Kentucky chapter is ten years out from being able to afford a lobbyist to affect legislature, like one of the Montana chapters does.

“What we do have is elbow grease.

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Monday, November 9, 2020

feature To the left: JACK WEAVER | STAFF Fisheries biologist Justin Heflin helps a father and son fit a bag of trout into their backpacks as the volunteers prepare to hike the fish into Red River Gorge to be released as part of KDFWR’s trout stocking program.

To the right: JACK WEAVER | STAFF A trio of volunteers hike into Red River Gorge, each carrying a bag of trout in their backpacks to be released into the stream at the end of Chimney Top trail.

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We have sweat equity and we’re putting it we’re put in these projects,” Abell said.

Trout stocking is a project they’ve been able to help with the last two years. For BHA members, pack-ing in a few pounds of fish isn’t much different from their preferred hobbies.

“I enjoy just getting to go out and hike.

It wasn’t much different than backpacking in some-where for me, the camaraderie is really nice,” said Josh Rodamer, a 5th district commissioner for BHA. BHA’s commissioners align with the state’s fisheries commissioners, an intentional plan.

“The goal there is that Nick Hart, who is our third district director, would develop a relationship with Ralph Swallows, who is the third district commissioner appointed by the governor,” Abell said. That’s how BHA’s involvement with trout began, with Abell talking to his connections with the state.

“We had this really big plan and I gave it to the department and they were really reluctant to approve it. There was a lot of red tape. So out of frustration, I said, ‘well, why don’t you guys tell us what your project list is? You guys give us a list of projects and I’ll take that back to my Board of Directors and we’ll vote and we’ll do projects that you guys have already approved’,” Abell said.

After a few completed projects, word spread that there was a young, fit group of volunteers available.

“The fisheries guys have always struggled to find enough strong people to stock those remote streams in the Red River Gorge,” Abell said. “I guess the biologists all started talking and it was kind of a grassroots thing.”“It’s definitely difficult to find dedicated people that are able and willing to make some of these hikes. Some of them aren’t easy to make,” Heflin said. (Case in point: the six miles at Dog Fork, where Heflin and a BHA member caught me when I fell off a rock and freed my See TROUT on page 8

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feature On the top right: JACK WEAVER | STAFF A trout stocking participant steps over a fallen log on Chimney Top trail, the location chosen for one of the KDFWR’s October trout stocking hikes.

On the top left: JACK WEAVER | STAFF Rainbow trout jostle for space in a bucket as they wait to be loaded into bags, which will then be carried by volunteers down to a stream as part of a trout stocking hike on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, at the Red River

TROUT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

JACK WEAVER | STAFF Backcountry Hunters and Anglers member Nick Hart holds up a bag of rainbow trout, destined for a stream in Red River Gorge as part of a trout stocking program.

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foot from underneath another rock).

Around 15 BHA members volunteered for the Dog Fork hike after seeing the notice on Facebook and another 10 at Chimney Top. Some had taken off from their day job; others rearranged their work from home schedule to participate. Mike DeLong used a company-provided service day to attend and his son emailed his teachers and finished his assignments early so he could come too.

BHA-ers make the hike an outing, not a chore; a helping hand up a rock face here, a dirty joke there. When I arrived at the meeting place for the Oct. 14 hike, the group was chatting as they waited for the fish tank. They come prepared with extra backpacks and look out for each other on the trail, including a stumbling college journalist that tagged along for fun. After an event the group will gather for a beer or dinner at one of a couple local spots, but the focus of the day is still the work.

“This is us busting our tail for the good and for the good of Kentucky and mankind. Just the sense of when you walk

away with is what builds the camaraderie,” Abell said. “Our biggest recruiting tool are these service projects, these events. People just leave with this huge sense of accomplishment. Everyone has a good time. It’s poetry in motion, really. It’s awesome.”

So far, BHA has helped building fish boxes and refurbishing archery ranges.

Their goals for the next few years, besides increasing membership, are to start chapters at Kentucky colleges and become the go-to for public lands projects in the state.

“The lofty like endgame goal is that we are looked at as the preeminent public lands, public waters conservation organization that works for everybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re horseback or a hiker or fisher, a hunter, a mountain biker, you can be you can be part of our house, even though it’s called Backcountry Hunters and Anglers,” Abell said.

Abell, a retired full-bird colonel, likened the BHA group to the teamwork of the military. Many BHA members are former military themselves, a trend that happened naturally, Abell said, because those that leave the service seek the same sense of belonging.

“We come up with these missions and through the sense of accomplishment we have, it’s just this organic camaraderie and military people gravitate towards it. It’s the thing that’s missing when we all leave service. We miss our team and we miss our mission,” Abell said.

Mission in mind, the BHA-ers follow Heflin’s plan for the trout stocking trip, each carrying about 15 fish.

“We try and get them roughly six inches is a good size,” Heflin said of the trout.

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“That’s mainly the size we go for because they fit in those bags really easy. They require a little less oxygen to carry them down in there.”

Depending on how many fish are in a bag, they can last bags for about two hours, just enough time to get down to the stream on some of the longer hikes. Because trout must go in water, the hikes are downhill on the way out and uphill on the way back (good for the fish, bad for me).

“We haven’t pushed them to past their limits yet. Dog Fork we had a two-hour hike and when I dumped my last bag was it was two hours. So they survived just fine,” Heflin said. “They swam off good.” (“They’ll last a lifetime,” Heflin said to a curious BHA member on location. How long that life-time is is another question).

At rough points in the trail, volunteers cheer “for the trout!” before gearing up to slide down a rock face or climb over or under a fallen tree (the trails in Red River Gorge are backcountry, meaning chainsaws cannot be brought into to clear a path). Bags do pop on occasion, leaving the carrier with a wet patch down their backpack and leg. But most make it down to the stream, where Heflin has volunteers stagger their bag dumping in different pools. It happens fast; for all the sweat and effort that goes into getting the fish to the stream, the actual release is quick. The trout begin to fan out in the stream once released, ready to fight for their survival.

Many will not make it through the summer. Some may be caught by spring.

I am the first to dump my bag at Chimney Top. My fish are nonplussed – they don’t care what I’ve been through for them, how much I’ve sweated and fretted over their comfort. They don’t know how overly cautious I have been hiking my way down the steep and muddy terrain. They hardly bat an eye (do fish have eyelids?) when I dump them out in a rush of white water. But I’ve done what I was supposed to do, and set them free.

(Silly things don’t move, though. I worry about them all the way back up to the car. where I start worrying about the state of my shoes. Some things we carry with us.)

To the left: JACK WEAVER | STAFF Kentucky BHA volunteer Corey Young empties his bag of trout into a shady pool in Red River Gorge.

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news

Need for donated blood rising, donation drive to be held on campus

By Lauren Campbell news@kykernel.com

Kentucky Blood Center, the largest FDA licensed non-profit blood bank in Kentucky, relies on volunteer blood donors to provide 400 pints of blood per day to meet area patients’ needs.

However, the need for blood has increased since the start of COVID-19 due to cancelled blood drive donations.

“While blood donation is safe and healthy, COVID-19 has caused many organizations, including schools and businesses working remotely, to cancel blood drives. In addition, many folks are trying to avoid going out during this time where coronavirus cases are rising,” said Mandy Brajuha.

KBC is the sole provider of blood to every hospital in Lexington and over 70 hospitals in the state of Kentucky. KBC’s mission is to ensure there is enough blood for all Kentuckians.

“When a donor chooses to donate blood with KBC, they are committing not just to saving lives, but to saving local lives.

The person whose life you save could be a neighbor, a fellow student, a teacher. There is no better way to impact the community where you live and study than by providing lifesaving blood to support area hospitals,” Brajuha said.

Since October, KBC’s blood collection process also includes a COVID-19 antibody test for donors. In addition to detecting the virus in an individual at the time of testing, antibody tests de-

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termine whether or not they have had the virus in the past.

The blood that tests positive for the antibodies is used to help treat current COVID patients with extreme symptoms.

Through convalescent plasma therapy, blood donated from those who have recovered from COVID-19 has antibodies to the virus. Once donated, the blood is processed to remove blood cells, leaving behind plasma and the antibodies, which can be given to people currently fighting COVID-19 to increase their ability to fight the virus.

“If someone has recovered from COVID-19 or tested positive for antibodies to the disease, we are interested in having them donate convalescent plasma. This blood product carries the disease antibodies and that antibody-rich plasma is being used as one treatment method for those critically ill with COVID-19,” Brajuha said.

KBC normally hosts four university-wide blood drives at UK’s Student Center every year; however, due to the unavailability of the Student Center for social distancing purposes, KBC has had to cancel these drives, which are their largest.

“COVID has impacted our collections greatly and we’ve had to be creative about where we hold drives on campus since the Student Center, our largest normal collection location, has been unavailable this year,” Brajuha said.

Instead, they have been hosting blood drives at smaller campus locations, including the up-

coming Big Blue Crush Drive Nov. 16 through Nov. 20 at Lewis Honors College, Buell Armory, and the Patterson Building.

All student donors will receive a long-sleeve Big Blue Crush t-shirt and a $5 Starbucks gift card.

However, unlike at their two off-campus collection locations, KBC has not yet been approved to test for COVID-19 antibodies at their Big Blue Crush Drive, and rarely see student donors at their off-campus locations.

“Unfortunately, we rarely see student donors at our two Lexington donor centers, which is why it is so important to us to come to campus to collect blood four times a year. We rely on the University and its students, staff and faculty so much but know it isn’t always realistic for students to get off campus and out to our donor centers,” Brajuha said.

The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department reported Saturday that UK students make up 21% of all cases reported this year in Fayette County. Nearly 2,500 students have recovered from the virus.

In September, Dr. Deborah Birx, the nation’s Coronavirus Response Coordinator, spoke to a media about UK’s response to the virus.

Birx recommended UK introduce antibody testing on campus in a further attempt to decrease the spread of COVID-19 by surveillance and case detection, and because college students would be a good source of antibody-rich See BLOOD on page 20

Monday, November 9, 2020

classifieds WORK FOR THE KERNEL EMAIL EDITOR@KYKERNEL.COM TO GET INVOLVED LOOKING FOR WRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS

kykernel.com

A study of emergency care involving victims of severe traumatic brain injury is to be performed in this area.

The University of Kentucky is conducting a research study to identify the best way to deliver high dose oxygen under pressure (hyperbaric oxygen) so that severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients can recover with less disability.

All patients will receive standard of care for their TBI. Because head injury is a life threatening condition requiring immediate treatment, some patients will be enrolled without consent if a family member or representative is not rapidly available. Before the study starts, we will consult with the community. We welcome your feedback and questions.

For more information or to decline participation in this study, please visit: hobittrial.org Contact study coordinator: Theresa Mims, RN, Phone (859) 218-5540 Email theresa.mims@uky.edu Study Survey: https://redcap.uky.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=JFK74ATX4N

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fall 2020 | 11

Monday, November 9, 2020

news

Education majors firsthand participants in virtual learning evolution

By Natalie Parks editor@kykernel.com

Emmy Johnston’s students didn’t know how to read.

Johnston, a senior and elementary education major, is currently in the practicum stage of her student teaching – full-time work with a cooperating teacher at a Fayette County public school. She began this school year with kindergarteners, who are having their first over school experi-ence over Zoom as FCPS operate remotely this semester.

“Bless their hearts, they were so amazing and they worked so hard,” Johnston said of her kin-dergarteners. “I was terrified that first day that we started. I really was. But they did such an amazing job with it. And I really hated to leave that place. I never really cried on my last day. I didn’t I didn’t think that it would hit me that hard because I was like, I’ve only known these kids through a computer screen.”

Johnston is now student teaching with fifth graders, the same age she will teach when she starts her new job after graduating in December. Student teaching is required for her major, so Johnston was concerned that the pandemic would put an end to her plans.

“For the first month of the summer, I was very hopeful, very optimistic that we were going to be back in-person and I was going to get to experience being with my students. And I was a little let down whenever I found out that wasn’t going to be the case,” Johnston said. Herself and other student teachers have instead been teaching virtually, some going into the school building to stream from the classroom, others staying at home.

Johnston teaches from the school, standing across the classroom from her mentor teacher as they take turns with lessons and breakout rooms for about four hours of in-

12 | kentucky kernel

JACK WEAVER | STAFF Kameron Roach demonstrates an activity using plastic bags while on a Zoom with her students on Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, at her apartment in Lexington, Kentucky.

struction a day.

“Even not having the kid there, it is awesome to be plugged into those communities and get to work with the teachers, because I just can’t imagine that I would do the same learning experi-ence if I was just teaching from home,” Johnston said. Her students also go to special areas like library time and have dedicated lunches and recesses.

Dr. Channon Horn, an associate professor in the College of Education, coordinates

the field teaching experiences for special education majors. She said that the department knew stu-dents would be able to complete their teaching hours, but was not sure what the modality would be until the public schools announced their plans. Horn says student teachers are learn-ing more than they thought possible during a virtual teacher, not just the practicalities of teaching but also the effort and heart behind it.

“That’s been such a learning point for

me, seeing all of the adaptations the teachers have made to make sure that students, no matter what kind of resources they have or no matter what what’s going on in their living situation, that they’re accommodating those students and really finding ways to differentiate and make sure each student is getting that one on one in-struction that they really need,” Johnston said.

See TEACH on page 13

Monday, November 9, 2020

news Left: Fayette County Public schools like Liberty Elementary are sitting mostly empty as their students and techers learn from home. FCPS operate virtually, especially because Fayette County has spent much of the semester in the red zone for COVID-19 cases. Photo by Jack Weaver | Staff Right: Emmy Johnston, a UK education major and current student teacher, poses for a portrait on Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, at her apartment in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo by Jack Weaver | Staff

TEACH CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

Virtual teaching has also given student teachers insight into ongoing shifts in the discipline and their own motivations.

“This goes to show that I still want to do this, even through all the hoops that we’ve got to jump to make it work. And I think it’s also just a testament of how it is to be a teacher as well. You have to be flexible. You have to adjust,” said Kameron Roach, a senior kinesiology major.

Roach teaches P.E. classes in her practicum, rotating through six classes of students a day.

Teaching remotely means Roach and her students do not have access to gym equipment. So they make do with what’s in their environment - like shoes, plates, notebooks and toys – for games like tennis skills or ladder drills.

“We just improvised, having them cut a little piece of paper in half, get four pieces and

spread them out or use objects like toys, shoes, and then step over your shoes or even books or note-books and just really being creative,” Roach said. Her cooperative teacher uses a threepart video strategy where the kids do an activity, like dancing or yoga, a wellness lesson, like hand-washing, and meditation.

“I think it just opened my eyes to the fact that you have to stay up the technology as well, be-cause there’s a lot of teachers who older who have kind of struggled with this whole process for the simple fact that they don’t use technology,” Roach said.

Student teachers like Roach and Johnston have an advantage – they have been on both sides of the virtual classroom and can learn from their experiences as students.

“I definitely understand their frustrations. When we changed to online learning back in spring and in the summer, I feel like I was doing more work than I would have done, been having in-per-

son classes. In my situation and having to be on the computer all day for so long, was where it was tough and the motivation was definitely low,” Roach said.

Roach wanted to do her practicum in-person this fall because she enjoys being in the classroom with the students, but she is now grateful to do it virtually because it coordinates better with her schedule as a member of UK’s basketball team – and keeps her safer during COVID-19.

“I’m actually kind of like thankful that we’re not in a classroom, hopefully finish out online.

I’m also nervous about catching it or, you know, passing on to somebody still out here. So nervous about that, because I know not only that people are dying and also because I still want to have a season,” Roach said.

FCPS are operating virtually except for a few students who receive extra, targeted instruction in-person. UK’s high case numbers earlier in the semester contributed to a red zone rating that

kept Fayette County from going back to school.

“A student’s perspective is that they don’t want to miss out on those college experiences and from a teacher’s perspective, you know, we’re missing out on having our students there. We know that we’re giving them the best instruction that they can have virtually or that we can give them virtually, but they would have a better learning experience in person,” Johnston said.

Johnston, Roach and Horn all said that public school kids are struggling with a lack of social in-teraction.

“That’s where we’ve talked about being super intentional, like making sure that you are knowing every single person by name, keeping kind of a running record of what are the conversa-tions that you hear that they’re having with their peers when the lesson hasn’t started,” Horn said.

Johnston copes by having small group lunches so her students can get a chance to talk,

not just to her, but to each other.

Roach said her students like to talk about basketball.

Unlike last semester, when both Roach and Johnston had a couple weeks in-person with students before switching to online, they have had to start from the be-ginning to build relationships – the hardest part of teaching virtually for Johnston.

Roach said the thing she is really missing from student teaching is learning classroom management; but, she’s seeing tradeoffs in other areas, like more exposure to technology.

“Another thing that’s been huge that I’ve learned this semester that I wouldn’t have considered going in is just that element of collaboration,” said Johnston.

“And I think that has been a really cool takeaway for students, teachers and teachers alike that.

Everyone is really working to-gether right now to make sure that the students are getting that instruction that they need.”

fall 2020 | 13

Monday, November 9, 2020

opinions

Student-recommended changes for UK during spring semester of COVID-19

By Sarah Michels opinions@kykernel.com

We’ve almost made it.

The last day of in-person classes, Nov. 24, is just two weeks away. UK managed to keep students on campus the entire fall semester.

However, the past months have been far from perfect. Online classes kept students unmotivated, overwhelmed and restless.

The administration’s lack of fully transparent and timely communication led to frustration. UK’s skeletal daily screening and waning dedication to consistent testing as the semester wore on seemed to contradict their constant promises to diligently protect students’ health and safety.

Some feel that the university brought them back to campus just to sit in their rooms alone all day.

UK announced class modalities after most housing costs were past due, leaving students with few in-person classes, if any, and a nonrefundable lease to pay. When students attended social events, they were blamed for community spread; however, many feel that UK is using them as a scapegoat, since they wouldn’t have had the option to attend social events in the first place if the university decided to go fully online.

Students want to see

14 | kentucky kernel

some changes in the spring semester UK should learn from its fall mistakes and make an effort to improve communication, transparency and campus health and safety.

When UK decided to bring students to campus this fall, they said it was because of the invaluable residential experience the university provides its members. While that may be true, several students sensed a more prominent, ulterior motive: money.

Matthew Vanzant is one such UK student. He said that he thinks the university should take one of two approaches to COVID this spring semester: “Either the virus is not a serious threat to students and thus we should operate normally, placing special emphasis on healthy practices, trusting students to MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF make good decisions on University of Kentucky strategic communications sophomore Maigan Williams gets tested for COVID-19 on Sunday, Aug. their own, or if this is not 16, 2020, at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky. the approach the university wants to have then they mind, the administration Once in Lexington, stu- ing all local public health the police to enforce the should go completely on- seems primarily motivated dents had to follow new directives such as quaran- policy and should establine and not bring students by the bottom line. rules to comply with uni- tine orders. lish clearer rules with a back to campus,” Vanzant Several other respon- versity policy, included in Off-campus activities, specific legal basis so that wrote in an email to the dents to a survey sent out an addition to the Student such as “hosting a large any policy is applied fairly Kernel. “We all know the by the Kernel took issue Code of Conduct, “Failure gathering or not following and uniformly. Other surreal reason students were with what they viewed as to Follow UK Covid-19 state, local or universi- vey respondents said that brought back to campus “propaganda” sent to them Health and Safety Guide- ty guidance,” are also be they want UK to be stricter though. It is not about our in university communica- lines.” The policies includ- grounds for punishment. concerning off-campus pareducation or our safety.” tions. ing wearing masks and Students have conflict- tying.

Vanzant added that “Stop saying you’re do- physically distancing in all ing views with the effective “Actually look for parwhile there are many fac- ing great all the time but public spaces on campus, ban on large social gather- ties on and around campus, ulty and staff who have then never give us anything completing a daily well- ings. Caleb Heintz said that students’ best interests in back,” said one respondent. ness screening and follow- UK shouldn’t “weaponize” See CHANGES on page 20

Monday, November 9, 2020

news

Almost normal: Local workers say Election Day business as usual

By Natalie Parks editor@kykernel.com

On Election Day, voters went to the polls, reporters followed the voters and in the air there was a sense of history. The University of Kentucky declared Election Day an academic holiday, giving students and faculty the day off, though staff like dining hall employees continued to work.

At eight locations around town, Lexington residents signed up to work at the polls, either voting in-person or volunteering as a poll worker. But for employees of local businesses, one of the most historic days of a tumultuous year was “nearly normal.”

Myles Racino,Third Street Stuff & Coffee Behind the plexiglas barrier on the counter of Third Street Stuff and Coffee, Myles Racino is cheerful. Racino, a student at Bluegrass Community & Technical College, has worked as a full-time barista at the local shop, known for its colorful interior, for about a year.

For him, work on one of the most eventful days of the year has been nearly normal.

“Most years I’ve worked through Election Day and it’s been a stressful thing because I’m trying to get out and vote.

But this year it’s been a little bit different where I was able to vote a couple days ago,” Racino said.

Customers were still coming into the coffee shop, and Racino said they brought the outside world in with them.

“We see a lot of “I voted” stickers and a lot of people will talk to us about the election and everything,” Racino said. “We’re definitely like a politically charged restaurant. We have a lot of things going on in here, so there have been some people that I’ve seen get angry at us.”

MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF Rodney Washington of Fades Barbershop gives his son, Jacob Washington, a haircut during the afternoon lull on Election Day in Lexington, Kentucky.

However, Racino said he likes being at work so he is not plugged into the news all day.

“I can kind of tap out for a second and then when I get home catch up,” Racino said, which he planned to do that evening when he got off work.

Gayle Stockdale, Imperial Flowers At first, Gayle Stockdale is hard to find.

Stockdale, the owner of Imperial Flowers,

sits at the back of the store, which is filled from the entry with floral arrangements.

Stockdale said she had been inside all day so she hasn’t seen much of what happened on Election Day in Lexington. She voted early and was happy to see her fellow Lexingtonians do the same, voting in high turnout for what she called “the most important election in her lifetime.”

Imperial Flowers on Election Day was normal, Stockdale said, if a bit busier per-

haps. Her dog, Chloe, gave no indication that the day was special in any way - chasing a tennis ball across the floor, flopping down in a sunny patch by the door.

Stockdale was most worried about what would happen in the aftermath. Not necessarily afraid of violence and chaos - “we’re still a country, right?”, she said - but about policy changes.

“If we don’t change things, we’re not

See NORMAL on page 16 fall 2020 | 15

Monday, November 9, 2020

news NORMAL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

going to have an earth left anyways,” she said of the U.S.’s current trajectory.

Stockdale said seeing more young people get civically involved gave her hope, but she still worries over the deep divides in the U.S. “Another four years of this and I’ll be so exhausted I won’t be able to get out of bed,” Stockdale said.

MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF Michael DeLucia poses in the entryway of Pedal Power on Nov. 3, 2020, in Lexington, Kentucky.

MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF Admiral, resident cat of vintage shop the Domestic, stares down the camera as he poses for a portrait on Nov. 3, 2020, in Lexington, Kentucky.

16 | kentucky kernel

Michael DeLucia, Pedal Power Pedal Power, a bike shop on S. Upper Street, is bright, clean and airy. Employee Michael DeLucia, who was at the store all day, said business was normal for a Tuesday.

“People are still coming in with their bikes needing them fixed up,” DeLucia said, with little to no indication Election Day was happening.

While at work, DeLucia was not plugged into the news, but he said he didn’t think he would be glued to his screen at home either.

“I’m pretty versed and pay attention a lot so paying attention to the step by step process during election day isn’t super important to me,” DeLucia, who had already voted, said.

And at Pedal Power, bikes were still the focus of the day.

“I think this Election Day is a little bit strange for a lot of people because a lot of people have already voted so the stress of requiring people to get down to the booths and get their votes in is a little bit different this year,” DeLucia said. “Honestly, it’s felt more like a normal day than it hasn’t.”

J. Michael Courtney, Black Swan Books Black Swan Books is quiet. J. Michael Courtney, owner and operator since 1984, said this isn’t unusual for the store - but that the day has even more of a quiet feel to it.

Tucked into East Maxwell Street, the bookstore is deeper than it looks from the outside, with a chain of rooms - each filled floor to ceiling with books - extending into what used to be living quarters, back when the building was a family-owned plumbing

business.

Courtney said in-store business was strong for the first few hours of Election Day before slacking off, but he can’t complain. In a year where small businesses folded under the pressure of COVID-19 closures, bookstores have one advantage.

“COVID has boosted reading, or at least seemingly so,” Courtney said. “We’ve been back open, I guess three months, our sales have not lagged at all over past years.

If anything they’re probably up over past years.”

Within the quiet isolation of Black Swan Books, little news of the election had made its way inside.

Courtney said the only person who had mentioned it was the mailwoman.

“I asked her if she voted and she said no she had not, because the line this morning was too long,” Courtney said. He voted early and did not keep up with the news during Election Day. For one thing, he hasn’t owned a television in 25 years. And for another, he said the nature of a bookstore makes it less likely for news to come inside.

“It takes a certain person to want to go to a bookstore, so most of the people that come here are looking for certain subjects or are curious about something,” Courtney said. “It’s a different kind of business.”

Before COVID-19, the outside world was more likely to make its way into the bookstore with football games and visiting fans. Courtney said a woman from the University of South Carolina would bring the fighting rooster to see him and that he’s had his picture taken with it several times.

In this election season, Courtney has received a couple visits from out of staters.

“Both were here working on a campaign here in town, but now that the election is winding down they were both getting ready to return out of state so they wanted to buy some Kentucky books to take back to family,” Courtney said. This was no problem for Courtney - he has a whole section dedicated to Kentucky writers, including prints of Wendell Barry’s work, so he was able to find both customers the souvenir they wanted. Business as usual.

See NORMAL on page 17

Monday, November 9, 2020

news

MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF Gayle Stockdale, owner of Imperial Flowers on Waller Avenue, holds her dog Chloe as she poses for a portrait at her desk on Election Day, 2020, in Lexington, Kentucky.

MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF J. Michael Courtney, owner and operator of Black Swan Books, poses for a portrait in his 1912-era bookstore on S. Upper Street in Lexington, Kentucky, on Nov. 3, 2020.

NORMAL

er outside of the house - and for the boys to get their hair cut.

On Election Day, Jacob brought his father, Rodney Washington, lunch and was sitting in the chair ready to get his cut.

Rodney’s store, Fades, has been in the same location for 17 years. He has over 400 clients and said COVID-19 has affected his business in one notable way.

“When everybody came back they had a lot of hair,” Washington said.

Tuesday is usually a mediocre day for cuts, Washington said, and Election Day was no different.

Jacob said he was treating it like a normal day because no matter how the election went, results would not be available that night.

“No matter the outcome you can’t change it. No one of us can single-handedly change what’s going to happen in the next couple days so you roll with the punches that you get,” Jacob said.

Jacob, a student at Transylvania University, said he voted early and had an easy time. He said voting has been high visibility this year.

“You walk down the street, you see more and more people talking about ‘I just

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

Samanta Murphy, The Domestic Vintage store the Domestic has furniture, clothes, art - and a cat, Admiral.

The store operates through vendors, who find goods and bring them to The Domestic as a central selling place. Samantha Murphy, an employee and vendor, said their Election Day business was steady.

“We’ve had a decent amount of people but our Instagram business was really busy today too, so that was a little elevated,” Murphy said. “I think people are at home or at work on their phones a lot.”

Murphy is actively trying to avoid being sucked into her phone and the news, and being at work was helping her achieve that goal.

“Today is obviously very anxiety-inducing no matter what happens, so to be able to stay busy and help customers and be surrounded by beautiful things helps keep your mind off the craziness,” Murphy said.

She said she might wait to catch up on the news because she doesn’t expect there

to be a final decision soon because of all the mail-in ballots. Murphy already voted and has been encouraging others to vote, saying she likes seeing all the early involvement.

Her customers mentioned the election as they came into the store on Election Day. “Seen a few stickers and a couple people have mentioned that they voted or have been getting out to keep their minds off things,” Murphy said.

Murphy is not too worried about post-election chaos; The Domestic is far enough off the beaten path that she thinks they wouldn’t be affected if chaos erupted.

“Honestly it’s just been a stressful year and then adding an election on top of all of it, we’re all just doing our best to get through it and enjoy it as we can,” Murphy said.

Rodney Washington and Jacob Washington, Fades Barbershop In a normal week, Jacob Washington stops by his father’s barbershop at least once. Usually, one or more of his brothers end up stopping by at the same time, and it’s a chance for the family to see each oth-

voted’. That’s the only thing I’ve heard this week, that’s the only thing you see pop up any type of social media, any web browser, it’s ‘vote vote vote’,” Jacob said.

Washington brings that kind of civic engagement into the barbershop.

“I bring up the topic with them, I been doing that for some time,” Washington said of his clients. By the early afternoon, Washington had had 12 clients on Election Day - 11 of whom had voted.

While larger businesses like UK gave many employees the day off, Jacob said it was important for the barbershop to be open on Election Day, especially after missing business due to shutdowns.

“The thing about it is this is a small business versus those larger corporations are bigger, bigger institutions closing down cause they have the ability and manpower to do that,” Jacob said.

After 30 years in the business and having already weathered the COVID-19 shutdowns, Washington said he was not too concerned about ups and downs from the election.

“I roll right with it.”

fall 2020 | 17

Monday, November 9, 2020

news

Poll volunteers fulfil ‘civic duty,’ witness history this election season

By Natalie Parks editor@kykernel.com

As the presidential election begins an inexorable slide to its conclusion, patterns are emerging about Election Day and voter turnout. The story so far is one of increased civic engagement. President-elect Joe Biden was carried to victory by women voters and voters of color; Georgia was flipped blue because of years of grassroots community organization; Americans across the country volunteered with campaigns, voting registration groups andwith their local county clerk’s office as poll workers.

Poll workers run the nitty-gritty of Election Day: checking in voters, assisting with ballot scanners, resolving registration issues. It’s a 15-hour day that, for volunteers like Frank Cannavo, is a matter of civic duty.

“It’s not like I have to grab the musket off the wall to go face the redcoats or go march to Valley Forge and starve or freeze to death. A lot of people did that so we have the right to choose our government, so I think it’s really important to be a part of that process,” Cannavo said.

Cannavo, retired from the air space industry, is a model of the typical poll worker: a retiree with lots of time on their hands. He has been volunteering at the polls for 16 years.

“It’s sort of a family tradition. My parents did it for years while I was growing up and I just had it sort of bred into me, so to speak,” Cannavo said. He said this election season had the biggest turnout out of all the elections he’s seen.

Cannavo and other poll workers confirmed a trend from this year’s voter turnout: lots and lots of first-time voters, both young and old.

“Lots of first-time voters, the kids who just turned 18 but lot of adults who could have voted earlier,” Cannavo said. “Very

18 | kentucky kernel

MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF Elections officer Emily Libecap, who is earning a concurrent Master’s in history and library science at UK, assists a voter with the ballot scanner while working the Dunbar Community Center polling location in Lexington, Kentucky on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.

excited and happy to do it, also very cooperative face masks social distancing.”

UK graduate student Emily Libecap, a volunteer poll worker who was placed at Dunbar Community Center, said she also saw lots of new voters.

“Our location is probably the closest to UK, so I’ve had people that I’m assuming are UK students or maybe Transy students saying like, ‘oh, this is my first time voting, I’m so excited’ or ‘am I doing this right? this is my first time voting I want to make sure I do it right’,” Libecap said.

At other polling stations, first-time vot-

ers were celebrated with claps and cheers.

“I think it was a very collaborative spirit of being excited for a new generation, voting for young people to exercise their voting rights and to encourage them to do so.

You know, so that was really cool to see.

And some of them got very embarrassed.

It was pretty cute. And the other ones are like, ‘yeah, voting!’ Really excited,” said Margaret Kelly, a PhD student and English instructor at UK. Kelly volunteered in Jefferson County, where she lives, after her councilwoman, Paula McCraney, sent out a newsletter.

“I responded to that call and said, I can be a poll worker, we get Election Day off,” Kelly said. “I don’t have to teach, so I’m happy to do that. I was also thinking that usually poll workers are older, retired folks who are more at risk for COVID. And I am a young person without any comorbidities and so I can show up and do that with less risks for myself.”

Unlike Cavanno and Libecap, Kelly only worked Election Day itself. Cavanno and Libecap are what’s known as election See POLL on page 19

Monday, November 9, 2020

news POLL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

officers – volunteers who worked all three weeks of early voting and were given a small stipend.

“Normally they have people that do every election because it’s only like one day, typical retirees or whatever, they only need four people and it’s in your precinct but this year because it’s so different and so long they needed us very single day for three weeks,” Libecap said.

Kentucky’s early voting plan required each county clerk to operate voting locations beginning on Oct. 13. Instead of requiring voters to vote in their precinct and having a large number of locations, cities like Lexington and Louisville said voters could vote at any location and created mega polling places. Lexington had eight of those, including the Lexington Senior Center, where Cannavo worked.

Libecap, who is earning a concurrent Master’s in history and library science, heard about the need for poll workers back in August.

“The Lexington subreddit is pretty active and Don Blevins, the Fayette County Clerk, he himself post on the Lex subreddit pretty frequently, which is interesting because it’s very like transparent of a government official to post on there,” Libecap said.

In her three weeks as an elections officer, Libecap said she spent a lot of time thinking about the security of the voting process. Security cameras were installed and there is a long checklist of safety measures like shutting down the machines and verifying the ballot counts at the end of the day.

“I know there’s accusations of voter fraud or suppression all across the country but honestly I feel like voting suppression is happening like before anybody gets to the ballot,” Libecap said.

Prior to the election, political commentators across the country predicted issues with voter registration and backlogs due to mail-in ballots. Cannavo and Libecap said they had limited problems at their location.

“Luckily in Fayette County they’re being really legit about it and if there’s a problem with your ballot they’ll call you

JACK WEAVER | STAFF A poll worker lays out stickers for voters on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, at BCTC Leestown Campus in Lexington, Kentucky.

and give you a chance to fix it,” Libecap said. There was one occasion - an elderly man whose registration wasn’t mailed in time and couldn’t vote - that made Libecap emotional, but for the most part voters went to the so-called “resolutions table” and to find a solution.

“Worst comes to worst they file a provisional ballot,” Cannavo explained. The county clerk’s office will go back through provisional ballots to see if someone’s vote can be counted.

Libecap said her time as a poll worker helped combat a feeling of powerlessness from the COVID-19 pandemic and tense politics.

“What am I doing? Nothing, just sit at home and do my schoolwork, which feels ever more futile. But this feels like something I can do to help. I can’t make huge donations to political campaigns, there’s no door knocking anymore, I’m not going to run for anything,” Libecap said. “So maybe this is a small way that can help because the more poll workers they have the more locations they can open, the more

JACK WEAVER | STAFF A line of voters averaging 100 people extends down the sidewalk on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, at Tates Creek Public Library in Lexington, Kentucky.

locations they can have open the easier it is for people to vote, the easier it is for people to vote the more likely they are to vote.”

Libecap estimated that her location saw about 100 people per day. Cannavo said this his location saw 1,300 voters on Election Day; throughout the voting period, he has worked as a ballot scanner, a greeter and a line monitor.

“It’s focus all the time, maintain your politeness, maintaining your discipline, saying the same thing 50,000 times, realizing that for every single one of these people it’s the first time they’re doing this, we have to treat it like it’s special for them,” Cannavo said.

But there are sweet moments too – Libecap said one of the best parts of her experience was watching voters submit their ballots.

“They’ll pray over it or give it a little air kiss or have a little moment of silence or as soon as it goes in say ‘woohoo’ or ‘yes’,” Libecap said.

Kelly said that her experience was hopeful because it was collaborative, not partisan, and it let her be engaged without

being consumed.

“I was able to stand witness to and participate in the election without having to be engulfed in the minute by minute news projection of what’s going to happen next,” Kelly said. “I wasn’t waiting for numbers to come in all day. I wasn’t anxious thinking about numbers coming in. But I also wasn’t ignoring the election and hiding away from it.”

After Election Day, poll workers said they felt a sense of relief and relaxation, even though the day of was energizing.

Cannavo said he was going home to sleep.

Kelly said she spent the day after recovering and walking her dog, having already cancelled classes so her students could have time to process.

“I felt that I had showed up and participated and paid attention that I was allowed to go to sleep and, you know, the results are going to be the same no matter what I do at this point, ” Kelly said. “And so that was kind of a relieving moment that, hey, I showed up, I stood witness, I participated.

I can rest now, and that’s OK.”

fall 2020 | 19

Monday, November 9, 2020

BLOOD CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

plasma to use for struggling patients. Birx called donating plasma “a real contribution to the American people.”

UK has not enacted Birx’s antibody-testing suggestion The blood donation process both on and off-campus takes about 30 to 40 minutes to complete, from registration to the end of the actual donation.

“Typically it takes 3040 minutes to complete the entire blood donation process. This includes registration, answering your health history questions, screening, where we make sure the donor is healthy and meets all requirements to give blood that day – pulse, blood pressure, hemoglobin check, etc., and the actual

CHANGES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

don’t just threaten or make people believe there are actions being taken to stop it,” said one respondent.

“Everyone in Lexington knows where the parties are.”

UK should pick a stance and stick to it. If their stance is that partying shouldn’t happen and that students are responsible for community spread, then they should replace empty threats and nonaction with actual consequences. If they choose to turn a blind eye to social gatherings that they know are happening, they shouldn’t place the blame on students.

Despite updates to its

20 | kentucky kernel

donation. The actual time to donate a pint of blood is typically between 5-10 minutes,” Brajuha said.

Protective measures are also in place to ensure COVID-19 isn’t spread through the donation process.

“We always work hard to keep our donors safe, but of course have implemented additional precautions during COVID. Temperatures are taken prior to entrance to our donation locations, both donor centers and mobile collection areas. Masks are required to be worn by all of our staff and all donors. Beds are spaced more than six feet apart and sanitized between each donor. Commonly touched surfaces are being cleaned more frequently as well. We always want donors to feel, as we do, that their health and safety is of the upmost impor-

code, UK isn’t actively pursuing noncompliance unless reported to them and has even discouraged students from reporting each other. That sounds like a university that is more concerned with public image than the community’s health and safety.

Speaking of public image, if students must follow CDC guidelines lest they risk suspension, why is the university itself exempt from these same guidelines?

UK’s daily wellness screening’s three questions don’t comply with local and national guidelines.

In the spring semester it should include at the very least a symptoms check.

The university should also bring back mandatory testing for the en-

tance to us and that hasn’t changed,” Brajuha said.

Brajuha encourages people to donate blood to help the Lexington community.

“There is no substitute for human blood. We can’t manufacture it in a lab. Without volunteer donors rolling up their sleeves, there will not be adequate blood on the hospital shelves when our neighbors need it. When everyday Kentuckians roll up their sleeves to give the gift of life, they ensure there is blood there when traumas happen, when children or parents need cancer treatments, when burn victims are being treated and for so many other uses,” Brajuha said.

People can register to donate blood at Big Blue Crush or at their two locations in Lexington at kybloodcenter.org.

tire campus, at least once a month. Students will likely only participate in voluntary testing if they are symptomatic, and we all know at this point that college-aged students are often asymptomatic spreaders. The COVID dashboard should include the number of students told to quarantine by UK Health Corps, not just those in quarantine on campus, because it gives a better indication of community spread.

These suggested improvements would increase UK’s transparency with the campus community and potentially decrease COVID spread.

While they may come at a price, UK should take the actions necessary to bring them onto campus safely.