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KEEPING UP WITH COVID
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KEEPING UP WITH COVID
From Aug. 1, 2021 to Jan. 24, 2021, MSU Texas has recorded 416 COVID-19 cases on campus.
JAVIER CONTRERAS REPORTER
MSU students will be following the same COVID-19 safety protocols for the spring semester as they did for the fall semester. Wearing a mask, washing hands, social distancing and getting vaccinated are all suggested to aid in preventing the spread of COVID-19. When the pandemic started almost two years ago, most universities across the country switched to online learning, as did MSU. Since then, MSU has gradually transitioned back into in-person classes. Over the last couple of years, the university has come up with different ways to keep students and faculty safe, such as providing vaccinations at the Vinson Health Center. Students who want one can set up an appointment. “The on-campus Vinson Health Center offers students the opportunity to receive the vaccine or booster, and can be contacted at 940-397-4231 to arrange an appointment,” wrote James Johnston, interim president, in the MSU Student Postmaster email service. Dr. Keith Williamson, medical director for the MSU Vinson Health Center, strongly encourages students to get vaccinated. He wants to ensure students that the vaccine is safe, effective and the best way for students to keep themselves and their peers safe. “I am absolutely in support of the vaccines. They are incontrovertibly safe and effective and yes, students should get vaccinated, and if they’re eligible for it, they should get boosted so that they’re up to date with their COVID vaccine,” Williamson said. Williamson said there is plenty of data on the vaccine and its effectiveness. The natural immunity that people get from having COVID-19 can be uncertain so Williamson wants students to know that their best option is to get vaccinated. “The vaccine is well studied, thoroughly. I mean [there are] bucket loads of information on it and we know how effective it is. Immunization, the natural immunity you get from having the disease, has so far been a little bit elusive, we can’t quantify it like we can the vaccine. The vaccine is clearly effective, clearly safe and has the desired effect of limiting the hospitalization and death. Natural immunity, unpredictable, unpredictable. So even if you’ve had the disease, get vaccinated,” Williamson said. According to the MSU Student Postmaster, vaccines are not mandatory, but MSU does strongly recommend students get vaccinated to mitigate the spread of the virus. Other ways students can practice COVID-19 safety are by wearing a mask and washing their hands. “We strongly recommend wearing a mask when around others and indoors, especially during the first 2-3 weeks of classes and during the peak activity of this variant. The wearing of masks while in public indoor settings and frequently washing your hands has proven to be effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19,” Johnston wrote in an MSU Student Postmaster email. MSU has protocols in place to prevent the spread of COVID but also has protocols in case students suspect they may have been exposed to the illness. If a student feels sick, they should not attend class until they have received a negative COVID test result. They should also fill out a COVID self-report form that can be found by clicking on the blue link labeled “COVID-19 Updates” at the top of the MSU Texas homepage. Kristi Schulte, director of residence life and housing, has a team dedicated to helping students while they quarantine. “On campus, our quarantine protocols would be that a student who is exposed to COVID would submit the self-report form, the COVID self-reporting form, through campus. Then our office is notified and then they would quarantine in their room. Quarantine indicates that they’ve not tested positive so a student would stay in their room until they’ve received test results that indicate whether they’re positive or negative. Our office reaches out to them once we receive the self-report form and we explain to the student how long they need to quarantine and we also make arrangements for students who need us to deliver meals,” Schulte said. Schulte said that her team takes on a number of different roles while helping students in quarantine. Things like delivering mail, packages and grocery orders to students are just a few of the things Schulte’s team does for students. Schulte said that it is up to us as individuals to keep each other safe. “This is a public health matter and so as a public health matter, we really depend on the decisions of every individual to keep the entire community safe. So with that, I think that it’s important for students and faculty and staff to be mindful of those precautions,” Schulte said.
Interim President
on COVID-19recommendations via MSU Student Postmaster PHOTO COURTESY OF PIXABAY
PHOTO COURTESY OF MSU TEXAS Students help gather trash at Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Jan. 17.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MSU TEXAS Students chat while cleaning up at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Jan. 17.
SAMUEL KOONE MANAGING EDITOR
MSU’s MOSAIC Cross-Cultural Center celebrated Human Rights Week from the 17th to the 21st of this month with a series of events designed to bring awareness to social justice issues. Human Rights Week events took place across campus and the community, from residence halls to conference rooms to public parks. Jamilah Kangudja, coordinator of MOSAIC programs, remarked on the variety of events.
“We’re trying to get a little bit of everything worked into this week,” Kangudja said.
The celebration kicked off on the 17th with Martin Luther King Jr. day of service, when students had the opportunity to participate in a trash cleanup at Williams Park. This was followed on Tuesday by the human rights awareness booth in Clark Student Center and a critical race theory discussion in the Charlye O. Farris Social Justice Center. On Wednesday, the NAACP held a toiletry drive and the MOSAIC peer educators held a film night and discussion at Legacy Hall. Thursday continued the week with another human rights awareness booth and Friday capped off the week with the Better World Book Club meeting at the SJRC, as well as a movie night featuring a documentary about Black LGBT activist Marsha P. Johnson.
“I think the thing is to take action, so most of the resources that are being provided throughout this time are taking action. So Monday, a day of service, you are actually going out into the community and you’re helping in some way. With the book club, people are reading this book and they’re having active conversation about the things that are going on. I think in that way is how we’re trying to engage students so that we’re doing more instead of talking about doing more,” Kangudja said.
At the critical race theory discussion, MSU students sounded off on human rights week as well, giving their opinions on how they think it impacts campus climate. Exziyah Greenlee, finance junior, said that she found the discussion enlightening.
“It definitely keeps people informed, because when I came here, I wasn’t entirely informed about critical race theory, but now I definitely have some more talking points that I can use with family members and friends,” Greenlee said.
Recognizing human rights week across campus also had an effect on the MSU population. Greenlee also mentioned some of the potential benefits of the week for students.
“It definitely helps with involvement and feeling seen and feeling heard,” Greenlee said.
Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs
speaking on Human Rights Week
Cammie Dean, assistant vice president of student affairs, oversaw the critical race theory discussion on Tuesday night. There, she emphasized the importance of discussing potentially controversial topics on campus.
“I think it’s really important to have those conversations because the folks that are here on campus are future leaders and decision makers in communities: for businesses, for nonprofits, for their churches, synagogues, mosques. These folks who graduate from MSU and have college degrees will go out into a world where they have the potential to make a change. And just like we talked about people not always having the right information or good information to make their decisions, I think CRT is a perfect example of how that can go very wrong. So giving space to have these conversations, to talk about what’s being debated and what it might really mean and indicate so that when it’s your turn to make a decision, or your turn to influence a group, that you have something more substantive than just what you heard a pundit spout,” Dean said.
Dean also mentioned the significance of human rights week as a time to remember the injustices of the past and use them as the motivation for future change. She referenced historic civil rights leaders and brought up how their messages have been sugarcoated in the years after their lives.
“I think it’s important to remind ourselves of how far we’ve come, but also things we might need to still work on and I think human rights week is one of those opportunities. To remember Dr. King and to remember his inspiration, Mahatma Ghandi, and to think about the messages that they conveyed and the changes that they were able to influence in their lives, and to choose to embrace those ideals in our own lives, but to make that actionable. A lot of people love… ‘The Dream’ but they love ‘The Dream’ because it doesn’t really ask you to do anything except dream. But a lot of what Dr. King had to say was a lot more actionable and didn’t get finished because of the way that his life ended and it’s on us to finish it,” she said.
Students can still stand for human rights even now that human rights week has ended. Kangudja highlighted the volunteer opportunities available to students. These include Volunteer MSU, MOSAIC and their STAND Councils, and other social justice centered student organizations. The MOSAIC Cross-Cultural Center is located in the Clark Student Center in Room 194. The Charlye O. Farris Social Justice Resource Center is located in Bea Wood Building, Room 131. MOSAIC can be contacted at mosaic@msutexas.edu or by calling 940-397-4947.
Undergraduate researchers introduce their EURECA project topics
JOSEPH NELSON ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
This semester, 11 new undergraduate research projects receive funding for Enhancing Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (EURECA) and will be presented at a conference on April 20. Students from the ProthroYeager, Dillard, McCoy, Fain and West Colleges prepare their research projects to expand on their passions, interests and respective fields. Molly Maloan, an education senior, is one of the students who uses EURECA to pursue their goals, with a project revolving around multicultural mathematics instruction.
“As an early childhood education major, I was very excited to be invited to participate in the research topic study of how educators can utilize multicultural literature in mathematics in elementary and secondary schools,” Maloan said. “I was inspired to take on this project because of my love for children’s literature and the yearn for more inclusive texts, specifically multicultural children’s books being studied in the classroom.”
There are many disparate inspirations for each individual research project. Marissa Salinas, mass communications senior, said her fascination inspired the research and exploration of her project revolving around street art’s hidden beauty.
“I have always been fascinated with graffiti,” Salinas said. “So, when I got to meet some graffiti artists in the [Wichita Falls area], I was interested to learn more about how and why they do it. It’s a widely misunderstood art form that I think deserves the same appreciation that traditional art receives.”
Not only is EURECA an outlet for undergraduate inspiration and creativity, but the opportunity also offers undergraduates to prepare for graduate-level work. Kendra Jean Jacques, physics senior, prepares for graduate school with her project exploring the very large complexity of the very small with quantum electro dynamics.
“I am inspired by my future career and graduate school studies, since I would like to pursue
EURECA’s office sits in the Atrium at Clark Student Center. Sep 14, 2021.
PHOTO COURTESY OF EMMA BROWN
a Ph.D. in particle physics,” Jacques said. “I hope that people will learn more about physics as a topic and how the particles… play a key role in our existence.”
Projects aren’t just exclusive for preparing careers for graduate programs. Amira Johnson, marketing senior, hopes to open her own bakery and will be researching how bakeries can be more inclusive places for the disabled.
“My goal of opening a bakery that provides more employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities is what inspired my research topic,” Johnson said. “This topic is important to me because my younger brother has IDD [intellectual and developmental disability].”
While students gear up for a semester of preparation and research for the conference, they also anticipate their fair share of challenges, such as the prospect of not finding enough research for their project.
“The challenges that I anticipated running into with this type of research was not being able to find enough children’s multicultural texts… that would cover a wide variety of math skills and would be developmentally appropriate from students in grades pre-K through sixth,” Maloan said. “It is easy to assume that there will be many books geared towards the younger group of elementary students… but… there may be difficulties finding diverse multicultural literature for the older elementary and secondary aged students, not in terms of relatability, but in terms of enhancing their mathematic curriculum.”
In order to help find sources that flesh out their topics, students rely on faculty mentors already skilled in their respective fields. History senior Rachel Patterson, who plans to research the Lao people, says her faculty mentors helped her find the academic research needed to provide an accurate project.
“Dr. Rattanasengchanh is there to answer any questions I may have about the history of Laos and the political issues during the time we are researching,” Patterson said. “Dr. Lynch is a good resource for any clarification that I need while translating our sources. They both help me put the information together to see the bigger picture of what we are researching.”
Students will present their projects at the EURECA conference on April 20, 2022.
