The Lion's Roar 02/09/2021

Hammond, LA

February 9, 2021

S O U T H E A S T E R N L O U I S IA NA U N I V E R S I T Y

Southeastern alumna crowned Miss Louisiana USA

A 2016 graduate of the university, Tanya Crowe has accomplished her goal of becoming Miss Louisiana USA. Her new title solidifies a new beginning and the end of a seven-year journey. For Crowe, the Miss Louisiana pageant was an experience that provided her with connections, experience and lifelong friendships. Crowe encourages other girls to go on the Miss Louisiana stage and keep going back. Courtesy of Tanya Crowe/The Lion’s Roar SYMIAH DORSEY Staff Reporter

On the night of June 8, 2014, a Southeastern student by the name of Tanya Crowe made a decision that would change the next seven years of her life.

Prior to making her debut on the pageant stage, Crowe was another face in the crowd. She had just witnessed the crowning of Miss USA 2014 at the Ragin Cajuns River Center Arena, and from that moment on, Crowe decided to make her own mark in the pageant world.

Crowe’s dreams came true on Jan. 16 when she was crowned Miss Louisiana USA 2021.

After seven attempts and seven years worth of memories, the alumna recalled what it was like to finally hear her name called for the coveted title.

“I didn’t have any expectations. I literally compete every year because I enjoy it. But because I had no expectations, I think it made the win all the more glorious because when I heard my name, it hit me out of left field. My body, my mind, everything just went numb because I had this realization like ‘they just called my name.’ It took seven years, but on my last attempt they

called my name,” said Crowe.

As Crowe went after the title of Miss Louisiana, she established other titles in her career.

Crowe is an NFL cheerleader for the New Orleans Saintsations as well as a model and the owner of a new business, Jo Tuklo Artistry.

Crowe graduated from Southeastern in 2016 and shared how her Bachelor in Business Administration has contributed to her success.

“With everything that I’ve done and accomplished, I’m still putting my degree to good use. I might not be working for the next corporate head honcho, but I’ve implemented it into my own life in my personal brand. With my modelling career, I know how to handle business formally. I own a salon now, Jo Tuklo in Amite. It has helped an awful lot in helping those businesses and brands flourish,” said Crowe.

With numerous responsibilities, Crowe shared that having good support systems is what helps her maintain her balance on and off the stage.

“I have really good support systems,” she said. “In those industries that I am involved with, I have very solid connections with them, and they work with me very well. Even though

sometimes I feel I can spread myself pretty thin, they know that when I give them my attention in that industry I give them my all.”

Crowe thanked Southeastern for being the foundation of many of her lifelong connections.

“I’ve made so many lifelong friends while attending Southeastern. I bleed green and gold, I love Southeastern. They carried me for several aspects of my life. I haven’t just been in this industry for the past couple of years, I’ve been in it all throughout college. Southeastern was a big support system for me to excel, and I thank them for that,” said Crowe.

Although Crowe’s dreams took time to become reality, she kept going back to the stage. Now, she encourages others to do the same.

“Just keep going back and have a good time because it’s a matter of ‘different judges, different day.’ I’m not going to say anything really set me apart, it was just my set of judges. I went back this year just like I have years before. I didn’t change who I was, I didn’t change anything about how I presented myself, I just went back to have a good time, and this time around, it was my turn.”

SGA beings Swipe Out Hunger program to combat food insecurity According to a study conducted by the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice, one in three college students in the nation face food insecurity.

The Student Government Association has launched the Swipe Out Hunger program to help students on campus who are struggling with food insecurity.

The program is funded in partnership with Aramark. Students who face food insecurity will be able to apply online and will receive free meal swipes if they qualify.

L’Oreal Williams, president of SGA, elaborated on how the program will function.

“It is a two-part program. We have the meal swipe donation portion that is ongoing, so students are currently able to donate meal swipes to other students and students are able to apply right now to receive the donated meal swipes. So, you have those two aspects going on and everything will be distributed out to students no later than March 8. Applications and donations are due by Feb. 28,” said Williams.

Williams also went into detail regarding the partnership between SGA and Aramark.

SGA President L’OReal Williams plans to impliment Swipe Out Hunger as a long “Aramark is donating meal swipes as well. Aramark is giving term program at the university. Symiah Dorsey/The Lion’s Roar students an opportunity to donate as well because some students do not use all of their meal swipes and that is a way to get more DYLAN MECHE meals out to other students who are in need,” she explained.

Staff Reporter SGA has also partnered with the GET App so that students can donate meal swipes through the app. Williams explained how For many low-income students, having reliable access to food students can donate meal swipes. can be a challenge.

“There is a button once you sign into the app where you can Weather

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donate meal swipes. If you have a Cub meal plan or a Gold meal plan, you are able to donate up to two meal swipes,” she mentioned.

Williams explained why she felt that implementing this program was necessary.

“This program is something that was under my initiative for SGA President. You might not see it on the outside, but a lot of people are facing insecurity. Through things like this program, it will help students and give them a secure way to get funding and meal swipes without having to put themselves completely out there. They can get these meals in an anonymous way,” said Williams.

According to Williams, Food security is having the ability to afford and obtain nutritious food on a regular basis.

The struggles of food insecurity can manifest in a variety of ways.

“Food insecurity can take any shape or form. Someone might lose a couple of hours so they aren’t getting as much money, so they have to decide if they want to put gas in their car or eat their next meal,” she explained.

Williams plans to implement this program long term and hopes SGA will hold this initiative every semester. To apply for this program, visit the SGA’s tab on the University’s website.

Links to the form can also be found on the linktree on SGA’s Instagram page.

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Page 2 | February 9, 2021

The Lion’s Roar | Campus Life

REC brings Pennington basketball court renovations DYLAN MECHE Staff Reporter

Over the winter break, the REC began its first phase of renovations and repairs to the basketball courts.

Currently, the floor of court one is being replaced. Over the next three years, the REC will replace the floors of the three other courts.

Once completed, it will mark the first time since the REC’s opening that the courts were replaced.

Seth Thomas, director of the REC, explained that the renovations were necessary after critical issues with the courts were noticed.

“The floor started buckling. Throughout the past twenty years, issues had arisen and caused the floor to buckle. So, we were like ‘yeah, we need to replace it,’” shared Thomas.

Thomas elaborated on the specific issues that were causing the floor to distort.

“Underneath the courts are neoprene pads which are designed to help the courts expand and contract. Over time, those pads had begun to disintegrate which was one of the causes of the floor buckling,” explained Thomas.

To solve this problem, metal railings will be installed underneath the wood between each of the four courts.

“These railings will help with that expansion and contraction. Before, it was just wood rubbing up to wood. When you have four courts

that are that size, that is always a problem. Our hope is that putting the metal railing between each court will help with the expansion part of the wood,” said Thomas.

Thomas also noted that the courts will be stained with a water-based stain rather than the oil-based stain used previously. He explained the benefits of this new stain.

“It is a harder stain over the court, so it will hold up a lot longer. In year’s past, we have had to go through and restain the courts every year. So with a water-based stain, we will only have to do that every two or three years. Budget wise, that’s saving almost 14 thousand dollars a year. I don’t think you will be able to tell the difference playing on the court but the look of it will be 100 percent better once we get all of the water-based stains,” explained Thomas.

The current renovations are progressing smoothly, according to Thomas.

“The floor has been laid on court one. They have come through and stained the court and now, they just finished painting the lines. They will come back through with another waterbased stain on top of that. After that, they will come through and sand courts two through four and we will then lay the oil-based stain on Over the next three years, the REC will replace the floors of the three other courts. Once completed, it will mark those,” said Thomas. the first time since the REC’s opening that the courts were replaced. Dylan Meche/The Lion’s Roar All four basketball courts are expected to reopen on February 20.

Annual gallery exhibition features faculty artwork

Christine Cook designs costumes for various performing arts, including the costumes pictured above. Photography instructor Christopher Burns photographed various areas of the rural south Louisiana landscape in 2020. The above selections are from a collection titled Sodium Vapor. Cook’s and Burns’s works are currently available for viewing in the Contemporary Art Gallery, along with several other faculty artworks. Brynn Lundy/The Lion’s Roar BRYNN LUNDY Staff Reporter

The 2021 Faculty Art Exhibition is currently on display at the Contemporary Art Gallery to showcase artwork created by faculty members within the Department of Visual Art + Design.

The exhibition opened on Jan. 20 and will remain open until Feb. 24. The gallery is open for visitors to view the exhibition Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.and on Fridays from 8 a.m. to noon Cristina Molina, associate professor of new media and animation, became the gallery director in the summer of 2020. She said the annual faculty exhibitions allow students and the rest of the community to see what they have been working on over the course of the year She explained, “It’s a way for the students that we all teach to get to know a little bit about our individual artistic practices and to show them that we’re working artists as well because students may not know that, that even though we teach art, 40% of our job is that we have to be dedicated to our own studio practices.”

The visual artist said that, while there is no specific theme for the

exhibition, there is a purposeful relationship between where the pieces of art are placed in the gallery.

“When I organized it as curator, I do consider what works are fitting together within the given space, and how the viewers are walking through the space and how individual artworks can be in conversation with one another,” she said.

Molina has a performative video on display in the exhibition, titled “River, River.” Molina and a collaborator of hers, both of whom are members of the 9th Ward Marching Band, addressed environmental and cultural topics through the filming of different sites along the Mississippi River.

In parts of the video, which took about five months to complete, Molina and her collaborator can be seen performing the marching band’s flag routines while onboard the Steamboat Natchez. She said they wanted to honor the Mississippi River and other parts of the regional culture while portraying their coexistence with environmental concerns.

“Along the way, there are these sites that you can see, like petrochemical plants and blighted properties, and more scenic areas in New Orleans that are a little more beautiful. You see all of these

sights all at the same time -- this industry, this joyous architecture, these blighted properties,” described Molina.

Ceramics professor Dennis Sipiorski has several ceramics pieces on display in addition to two paintings of acrylic on paper. The acrylic pieces portray Sipiorski’s interpretation of the insurrection at the nation’s capital that occurred on Jan. 6. One depicts red snake-like figures surrounding the building, and the other depicts fire ant-like figures in a similar way.

“Artists don’t usually do political art because the tendency is it’s hard to sell, but I didn’t make these with that intention. I made them to be a visual response to what went on in DC. It’s my visual response to what I thought was a sad event for our country, and maybe how you would explain that to maybe a child, on what happened,” he said.

Sipiorski mentioned that he chose ceramics pieces for the exhibition because it is the subject of his instruction. He said Molina had seen his paintings on Facebook and asked him to bring them in to be displayed as well.

“The nice thing about the show is there’s a lot of different ways to make things, and people have decided how they want to make things.

Art people make things, and no one tells them what to make. It’s up to

SE 101 instructors host freshmen scavenger hunt

Both Darlencia Avant and Taneshia Drake are SE 101 professors that chose a different route to help their freshman learn how to deal with time management. Courtesey of Taneshia Drake/The Lion’s Roar

TRINITY BROWN

“Freshman Olympics.”

Both Darlencia Avant and Taneshia Drake are SE 101 This past week what started professors that chose a different out as a class activity turned into route to help their freshman learn what two professors now call the how to deal with time management.

Staff Reporter

The two wanted to collaborate on an activity that they felt would get their students charged up to be a lion. So rather than sitting through a lecture on ways to fight procrastination and time management during their first year here at the university, the professors created a scavenger hunt for their classes.

“We officially named the scavenger hunt ‘Freshman Olympics’ because our classes were kept split to make two teams in order to compete against one another,” said Drake Ms.Drake’s class was gold and Ms.Avant’s green.

“We teach SE 101-Freshman success and did a topic elaboration.

We wanted to get the students moving around and up. We did a scavenger hunt activity to see how well they could prioritize their time and learn different things around campus. We followed all COVID

guidelines during the activity.”

The teachers worked together to make their students gain knowledge on different places on campus as well.

They both teach SE 101 at the same time this semester and came up with the idea together also.

“We actually did a similar activity again last semester but it was hybrid so it was more difficult.

But this year the class is only face to face for both of us. We wanted to give our students an opportunity to learn more about campus because a lot of our students didn’t get an orientation or to tour the campus.

So we wanted that experience for them as freshmen and for them to learn some time management skills and be ready to better delegate their tasks this semester,” said Drake.

In order to start the activity, they first reminded the students of the COVID policies and social distancing rules that the university

has put into place. Then they let each class give the other six locations on campus that they had to walk to in order to complete all the tasks.

“Each location had a QR code that they had to scan which prompted them to complete some type of task before they moved on to the next. So for example at Strawberry Stadium they had to send a picture to us imitating their best football move. And whoever finished all six locations won the scavenger hunt,” explained Drake.

They even threw in a location that the students were sent to that turned out to be blank, with no tasks. This was to show how there are things throughout everyone’s day that distracts them for a few minutes from their original tasks and ends up taking extra time.

Avant says it took them about three days to finalize and prep for the activity before the big day, but

the activity itself only took a few minutes.

“We started class at 9:30 sharp to remind them of the COVID regulations and discuss Campus maps they could use while during the scavenger hunt. They started around 9:50 and finished at about 10:15.”

Both professors were very satisfied with the outcome even Avant who says her team ended up losing sadly.

“Afterwards I talked to the class and one student did say it’s something they believe freshman can benefit from and help with time management a lot. It really was different than listening to a lecture versus actually going outside and doing an activity that they learned a lot from.”

Both professors and students claimed to have learned a lot and enjoyed themselves.

Opinions | The Lion’s Roar

February 9, 2021 | Page 3

Ruby Bridges: The problem that she lived with It was Nov. 14, 1960 when an African American 6-year-old girl named Ruby Bridges was set to start first grade at an all-white elementary school in New Orleans. Every day for that Austin Dewease year, Bridges Staff Reporter was escorted by U.S. Marshals and was met with angry crowds yelling racial slurs and threats.

White parents began to remove their children from her class and all but one teacher wanted to teach her.

Despite these hardships, Bridges persevered and soon the crowds thinned and the school had enrolled more black students.

At such a young age, Bridges had become the leading figure of the fight for desegregation of schools in the south and an inspiring figure of the civil rights movement.

Even though Bridges was born just a few months after the Brown v. Board of Education decision established segregation in public schools unconstitutional, southern states were particularly hesitant to the integration of African American students into their schools.

Facing pressure from the federal government, the Orleans

Parish School Board administered an entrance exam designed to be too difficult for Black students and thus keeping them from being integrated into all-white schools.

After attending a segregated kindergarten, Bridges had passed the entrance exam by the Orleans Parish School Board along with five other Black children. With two of the five children staying at their old school and the other three going to a different school, Bridges had attended William Frantz Elementary School being the only black child.

During her stay at William Frantz Elementary School, Bridge’s family had faced retaliation from their community.

The grocery store her family frequently shopped had refused to serve them, and her father Abon had lost his job as a gas station attendant and soon after Bridges’ parents divorced. Even her grandparents who were sharecroppers were kicked off of their land.

However, some people of both races in their community had helped her family through these difficult times. People watched and protected her family’s house, babysat her sisters, and a neighbor even helped her father find a new job.

Through her perseverance,

Bridges inspired other Black children, and soon, they too began to enroll in all-white schools across the south. Bridges was the subject for American painter Norman Rockwell’s famous

painting, “The Problem We All Live With” published during the Civil Rights Movement.

Bridges is now a civil rights advocate and formed The Ruby Bridges Foundation in 1999 to

promote “the values of tolerance, respect, and appreciation of all differences,” according to their mission statement.

At the turn of the century, she won many awards and honors

from organizations and colleges across the nation, including awards from both President Clinton and President Obama during their terms in the White House.

What President Biden has done as president so far; my thoughts It has been a little over two weeks since Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of The United States of America.

While many have already developed strong opinions and attitudes toward President Gabrielle Wood Biden’s time in office thus far, Staff Reporter I’m not going to sugarcoat the fact that I am a 20-year-old girl that mainly focuses her time on TikTok, insead of politics. I have honestly been more wrapped up in Olivia Rodrigo’s Driver’s License drama, than any paper Biden has signed off on yet.

Therefore, I decided to educate myself on how Biden is currently handling our country’s affairs. Here is what I know so far.

On February 2nd, President Biden had signed as many as 28 executive orders; almost as much as President Franklin Roosevelt who still takes the cake of 30 within his first month in office.

Personally, I feel that this is a significant start when it comes to putting words into actions. Time and time again we have seen many Presidents in the past, whether they are a Republican or Democrat, tell the American people what they want to hear and then not do anything about it once they have received the votes.

Whichever side of the political spectrum you find yourself on, I feel that it is important to recognize this newfound haste in making change happen.

Out of all the executive orders that Biden has signed, the two that seem to be most controversial

are the strengthening of the Medicaid and Affordable Care Act, as well as promoting COVID-19 safety in foreign and international travel.

The White House described Biden’s intentions for the policy, “After four years of attempts to strip health care from millions of Americans, President Biden will sign two executive actions that will begin to restore and strengthen Amercians’ access to quality, affordable health care.”

Many Republicans are particularly frustrated by this order, after former President Trump worked extensively to reform Medicaid. As a result, there has been a significant amount of criticism in Biden’s decisions to only push through Democratic priorities.

Another influential event to note has been Biden’s efforts in becoming familiar with the U.S. World Health Organization after Trump withdrew in July 2020, as well as the Paris Climate Agreement. In an effort to distribute vaccines globally, Biden aims to collaborate with the rest of the world in controlling COVID-19 outbreaks.

The Paris Climate Agreement has also sparked conversations as Biden hopes to avert global warming across the world. According to The NY Times, “President Biden Jr. brings with him the largest team of climate change experts ever assembled in the White House.” During President Trump’s term, he claimed that global warming was a “hoax” and the U.S. withdrew from the agreement.

Those who support Biden are celebrating these triumphs of order, and those who stood with Trump are experiencing a loss of the past four year’s work. As an outsider of politics in general, I can only conclude that our country is undergoing a substantial amount of changes

within only the first month of the New Year, which is a start.

Will President Biden continue to follow up with his promises, we will have to see within these next four years.

Staying positive during another COVID Semester As we are nearly three weeks into yet another semester that has been altered by COVID-19, it’s difficult not to feel a sense of pandemic fatigue.

It’s easy to allow ourselves to be discouraged by all of the things that we still aren’t able to do and all of the restrictions that we still have to follow. It feels like we have been living with Dylan Meche these restrictions for so long and naturally, it can Staff Reporter make us frustrated.

Throughout this pandemic, I have always been optimistic that we will soon round the corner and be able to quickly transition back into our normal lives. When we started school last semester, there was no doubt in my mind that restrictions would be completely lifted come springtime.

However, even with a vaccine, it has become clear that we will still have to live with the threat of the virus for the foreseeable future. All of this can be tiring and frustrating.

This entire pandemic is something that I still have a very difficult time processing. We have been living with this virus for nearly a year now and it still all seems so unreal. At times, I feel that my life has been on pause since March of last year.

Because of this continued feeling my life is on pause; I can become mentally detached from everything going on around me.

Last semester, I had this perception that I was unable to enjoy anything because things weren’t completely back to normal yet.

The threat of the virus and the restrictions always got in the way of me truly enjoying the semester.

I was frustrated that the pandemic was taking up so much of my college experience and that I would very likely never have a “normal” college semester again. I had lost any and all control over the college career and I became extremely pessimistic.

Heading into this semester, I finally came to the realization that just because things aren’t the way that I want them to be doesn’t mean that I need to view everything in a negative light. Of course, things aren’t great, but I still have a lot to be thankful for.

It’s really a blessing that we are still here on campus at all and that I am able to continue my educational career in the middle of these uncertain times.

I can still make the most of my time at college even though I can’t do everything that I would like to do.

As this semester continues, I would encourage everyone to look on the brighter side of things.

We might not be back to the way we want things to be right now, but don’t let that stop you from (safely) enjoying life.

It may seem like everything is falling apart and there is no reason to be hopeful for things to get better, but that isn’t true at all. There is always light at the end of the tunnel.

As we are nearly three weeks into yet another semester that has been altered by COVID-19, it’s difficult not to feel a sense of pandemic fatigue.

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It’s easy to allow ourselves to be discouraged by all of the things that we still aren’t able to do and all of the restrictions that we still have to follow. It feels like we have been living with these restrictions for so long and naturally, it can make us frustrated.

Throughout this pandemic, I have always been optimistic that we will soon round the corner and be able to quickly transition back into our normal lives. When we started school last semester, there was no doubt in my mind that restrictions would be completely lifted come springtime.

However, even with a vaccine, it has become clear that we will still have to live with the threat of the virus for the foreseeable future. All of this can be tiring and frustrating.

This entire pandemic is something that I still have a very difficult time processing. We have been living with this virus for nearly a year now and it still all seems so unreal. At times, I feel that my life has been on pause since March of last year.

Because of this continued feeling my life is on pause; I can become mentally detached from everything going on around me.

Last semester, I had this perception that I was unable to enjoy anything because things weren’t completely back to normal yet.

The threat of the virus and the restrictions always got in the way of me truly enjoying the semester.

I was frustrated that the pandemic was taking up so much of my college experience and that I would very likely never have a see COVID OP, pg. 6

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Page 4 | February 9, 2021

The Lion’s Roar | Arts & Entertainment

‘Beyond the Proscenium’ exhibition shines spotlight on theatrical design at HRAC

‘Beyond the Proscenium’ features set designs, costumes, and more from local and regional designers and theatres, including works from the university theatre department. In partnership with the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, the Hammond Regional Arts Center organized this exhibition to highlight the art of theatrical design. Symiah Dorsey/The Lion’s Roar SYMIAH DORSEY Staff Reporter

The Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts is home to many of Downtown Hammond’s most crowd-gathering stage performances. This led their neighbor, the Hammond Regional Arts Center, to pose the question: “What happens before the curtain ever rises?”

To gather the answers, HRAC and the Columbia joined together to present “Beyond the Proscenium”: an exhibition that shines the spotlight directly on the art of theatrical design. The exhibition is located at the arts center and will remain open until Feb. 19.

Tara Bennett, media coordinator for HRAC, curated the event with James Winter, artistic director of the Columbia and Chad Winters, instructor of theatre.

Bennett explained how the exhibition was an opportunity to bring life back into theatre after dormant seasons of production.

“Putting the spotlight on the designers and production items

has been my favorite part of the process, especially since many theatres have had to cancel their seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with that, the exhibition allows our patrons further exploration into the process of bringing a stage play to life,” Bennett said.

Those who visit “Beyond the Proscenium’’ can view pieces from the Columbia, Southeastern Theatre, Swamplight Theatre, Playmakers, Inc. Community Theater, Alpha Psi Omega - Alpha Epsilon Psi, Robenhood Productions and more.

Bennett shared how the curation team collected the various costumes, set designs and other production pieces for the exhibition.

“The call to artists was open to local and regional theatres with housed items from previous productions. The show curators and I also selected various theatre designers from the Southeastern Theatre department (faculty and alumni) who have exceptional designs that would fit the exhibition’s concept,” she said.

Winter was proud to see works of theatrical design receive recognition and described opening night as a powerful experience.

“The idea itself is brilliant,” he said. “A theatrical event is this incredible joint effort by so many different visual artists, and I feel like their individual work is so rarely recognized for its artistry. When I walked into the gallery for the opening of this exhibit and I saw all of this theatre design work so elegantly displayed, that was a really powerful moment for me. I am proud of HRAC and Hammond for supporting a show like this.”

As contributors to the cultural experience of downtown Hammond, the Columbia and HRAC anticipate more collaborations in the future.

“I hope partnerships like this between the Columbia and HRAC continue for many years to come. Tara Bennett deserves tons of praise for conceptualizing and executing this unique exhibit,” Winter commented.

“Beyond the Processium” is free and open to the public during HRAC’s current times of Wednesday-Friday from noon to 6 p.m.

Kairos Koffeehouse: A non-profit campus coffee shop

A student orders a coffee at Kairos Koffeehouse; Kairos Koffee serves a variety of beverages, including pastries to it’s customers . Gabrielle Wood/The Lion’s Roar GABRIELLE WOOD Staff Reporter

Though students are familiar with fueling up on coffee at Starbucks and Java City on campus, many may not be aware of the coffee shop within walking distance of south campus classes: Kairos

Koffeehouse, located at the Wesley Foundation.

Melissa Guerra, “pastorista” for the Wesley Foundation, explained how Kairos Koffee came to be, because of the organization’s love of coffee and community.

“In the summer of 2016, our Pastor Sam Hubbard was appointed to be the pastor of the

Wesley Foundation, and renovations on the building started shortly after. We noticed there weren’t many coffee shops on or around campus.

For someone to get coffee on the south side of campus, you’d have to walk half way across campus to get it. So we decided to give it a go,” she said.

Gracie Newton, a junior education major, explained the importance of Kairos Koffeehouse’s location.

“I feel like it was the perfect spot for students who are not as close to the main building. It’s nice to have that easy access and not have to walk all the way across campus for coffee,” she said.

The shop also provides a variety of options on its menu, ranging from flavors to pastries, for customers to enjoy.

“We partnered with Decatur Street Roasting in New Orleans to create three of our own Kairos roasts: a dark roast, light roast and decaf. Each week, we offer a new ‘Drink of the Week’ creation made by one of our talented student workers, so there’s always something interesting to try. We have a cookie business, The Cookie Bizzness, owned and operated by one of our alumni that provides the tastiest gourmet cookies for students to enjoy as well,” Guerra explained.

Unlike the other coffee locations on campus, Kairos Koffeehouse is a non-profit organization that benefits university students.

“We also knew, going into this adventure, that we wanted to give it all back to the students of SLU as well, so we are completely non-profit. At the end of each semester, we give all of our profits back to the students and community of SLU. We also get to help students by providing federal

work-study jobs through the university,” entailed Guerra.

Guerra described the impact that COVID-19 had on the organization throughout 2020.

“After the campus shut down, we had to close our building to ensure our students who live here were protected. We have seven residents living inside the Wesley Foundation. Because no one could come in to order coffee, we finally got our delivery service off the ground and started to push our website and social media. While it did hurt our overall business because students weren’t on campus, we got to engage with our customers in a different and exciting way and build our relationships with our regulars who visited us every week,” Guerra explained.

Kairos Koffeehouse looks forward to meeting new students and providing a positive atmosphere for all who stop by.

“We really try our best to offer a welcoming environment to everyone who walks through our door. When you come in, we want you to feel like you are loved and at home. Whether you need a good laugh hanging out in the cafe with everyone, or a quiet place to study in the chapel, we want you to find your place to just be your most authentic self,” Guerra shared.

Kairos Koffeehouse is located at 307 W. Dakota St. inside the SLU Wesley Foundation, right across the street from White Hall. Students can visit on Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., and accept cash, card, Apple Pay and Lion’s Lagniappe.

Delivery and curbside pickup are available through their website www.kairoskoffeehouse.com.

Southeastern Theatre holding auditions for all-Black cast SYMIAH DORSEY Staff Reporter

Southeastern Theatre is ready to bring life to “Dark Skinned Pavement,” the winning play of the 2020 Inkslinger Playwriting Competition.

Written by playwright TJ Young, “Dark Skinned Pavement” features an all-Black cast consisting of three men and two women.

Auditions for the production will be held Feb. 10 from 4-7 p.m. in recital hall, Room 202 of the Pottle Music Building.

Freshman Alexandra Owens, an assistant director of the production, shared that actors of all skill levels are welcome to audition.

“With auditions, I’m hoping to see many new faces there. With the theatre department always growing, we can never have what would be ‘enough’ actors as a whole, so just finding more people who may want to try acting for the first time or even continue to act,” said Owens.

Those wanting to audition are asked to prepare a short, contemporary monologue between one and two minutes long.

Owens also gave advice for anyone who might be nervous to audition.

“To those who may be nervous about coming out to audition for the show, the best advice I would be able to give out is to always take

a chance with it because not only would you be working to obtain a role, but you’d be able to get experience and that is always a good foundation to start with in a possible acting career,” she said.

Theresa Brown, a freshman psychology major and stage manager for the play, shared what having an all-Black cast means to her.

“There is a huge significance about an entire Black cast,” she said.

“One, it is not common to see an all-Black cast, and two, the entire play revolves around the characters being Black. It makes the story, and I think the play itself is so significant right now and reflects American society today from the perspective of a Black family.”

In the midst of Black History Month, the casting for “Dark Skinned Pavement” is a wonderful experience for Owens.

“As a young Black woman, seeing productions that share Black stories is always so wonderful to me. Not only are we sharing some kind of insight of Black people in an artistic sense, but it can also start a discussion among those who have seen the project. Especially with ‘Dark Skinned Pavement’, my hopes in this show focusing more on topics such as racism as well as loss brings a much needed conversation about this kind of issue among our audience as well in the POC community,” shared Owens.

Auditions for Dark Skinned Pavement, the 2020 Inkslinger-winning play written

by TJ Young, will be held in the Pottle Music Building in recital hall room 202.

Those wishing to reserve an audition slot or request further Dark Skinned Pavement features an all-Black cast. Symiah Dorsey/The Lion’s Roar information can contact Brown at theresa.brown@selu.edu.

Sports | The Lion’s Roar

February 9, 2021 | Page 5

Lady Lions gear up for 2021 soccer season

The Lady Lion women’s soccer team will play a conferene-only schedule in 2021. With COVID-19 playing a huge factor in their performance, Gordon explained what the team has done to mitigate the risk of catching the virus. . File Photo/The Lion’s Roar HANNAH JUNEAU Staff Reporter

It has been nearly two years since the university women’s soccer team has had a competitive conference game, and the team is ready to play, according to senior midfielder and Captain Megan Gordon.

With COVID-19 playing a huge factor in their performance, Gordon explained what the team has done to mitigate the risk of catching the virus.

“To start with, we’ve done a lot where we space each other out, so we’re still six feet apart during drills and stuff. Now that we’re in each other’s bubbles, we get tested each week. We’re training like normal. We train five days a week—actually pre-season, we’ve done six days a week—with one day off,” Gordon explained.

Going into the new season, Gordon explained that she has worked on integrating the team.

“There’s been a lot of, obviously, issues over the past year so just making sure everyone’s okay regularly and checking in on everyone. I think because of 2019 and COVID, life has been spent

with each other because, obviously, it’s been a lot different for us, but as athletes, we were lucky enough to train throughout the fall, so having that has been huge. We’ve just gotten stronger and stronger as a team,” she said.

Gordon shared her thoughts on the team’s improvements and differences compared to last year.

“I think we have a lot more depth. I think now we have girls fighting for different positions, so it gives a sense of competition, so you’re never safe and that, if something goes wrong, we can always bring in someone and all of that,” shared Gordon.

The team has some activities that they use to bond. Although they could not do some of the things that they planned to.

Head Coach Christopher McBride explained some ways that the soccer team has grown closer as a team.

“We’ve had some sessions where we get in, and we go over some games like ‘Who Am I?’ games. We fill out a sheet in the beginning of the year and everyone says a funny story about their childhood or something, and then we get in and we read it out and have to guess who it is and they get points for guessing who it is, so we do a lot of fun games,” explained McBride.

McBride shared that the team is most anticipating Nicholls State University, but the team treats everyone in the conference as a rival.

There are some specific strategies that they use for each team, but they prepare themselves more for a player as opposed to a whole school.

“There’s some specific players that will cause different strategies. As a team, we have our own identity. We want to make sure that teams can adjust to us rather than us adjusting to them, but there’s certain players that we play against that we have to make adjustments for because if we don’t, then they’ll be dangerous,” expressed McBride.

The Lady Lions women’s soccer team will open their 2021 season on the road this Friday in Beaumont, Texas against Lamar University.

After having a disappointing 2019 season and finishing 4-13-1 the Lady Lions will look to improve in 2021. Southeastern will play a conference only schedule with 11 matches total and 6 at Strawberry Stadium

Last week in sports: Feb. 2-9 GERARD BORNE Editor-In-Chief

The week of Feb. 2-9 was a relatively quiet week of athletics for Southeastern as only two of the 12 university sports teams had games/matches.

The university’s cross country squad had a record-breaking weekend in Tallahassee, Fla. as senior distance runner Shea Foster broke the Southeastern record for the 8k with a time of 23:40.6. Foster, a transfer from Lamar University, hopes to lead the Lions into their Conference Championship on Feb. 15.

Southeastern’s football squad added three more signees to the 2021 recruiting class with three in-state recruits. The trio includes defensive end/tight end Dalton Allen (6-4, 240, Oak Grove, Louisiana, Oak Grove HS), linebacker David Ellis (6-1, 220, New Orleans, Louisiana, McDonogh 35) and athlete Joseph Wilson (5-10, 180, Shreveport, Louisiana, Calvary Baptist Academy).

Third-year head coach Frank Scelfo will look to lead the Lions to back to back FCS Playoff appearances for the first time in over seven seasons.

The Lady Lions womens’ tennis team had their three matches postponed this week against University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Southern University and University of Wyoming. The Lady Lions who are currently sitting at 1-1 for the 2021 season will look to pick things back up on Thursday Feb. 11 in Jackson, Mississippi against Jackson State University. Their last match was a 7-0 shutout to Mississippi State University on Jan. 31.

Sitting at 5-6 and tied at eighth in the Southland Conference, the Lady Lions women’s basketball team looks to knock off rival Sam Houston State University at the University Center on Feb. 10.

With eight games left on the regular season schedule, the Lady Lions will look to make a late season surge to make the Southland Conference Tournament for the second straight season.

Tied at sixth in the Southland, the men’s basketball team is currently riding a two-game win streak after defeating the University of New Orleans at home 79-73 on Jan. 30. The Lions will have a hard battle on the road against Sam Houston State University on Feb. 10. The Bearkats are currently sitting at 14-6 and recently defeated the Lions 70-52 in the University Center on Jan. 6.

The Lady Lions women’s soccer team will open their 2021 season on the road this Friday in Beaumont, Texas against Lamar University. After having a disappointing 2019 season and finishing 4-13-1, the Lady Lions will look to improve in 2021. Southeastern will play a conference-only schedule with 11 matches total and six at Strawberry Stadium.

Above, senior distance runner Shea Foster broke the Southeastern record for the 8k. The Lady Lions basketball team will face Sam Houston State University on Feb. 10. File Photo/The Lion’s Roar

Tom Brady wins Super Bowl No. 7, Buccaneers beat Chiefs 31-9

Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl on Feb. 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Buccaneers defense held the Chiefs to nine total points. The Buccaneers were the first ever team to win a Super Bowl in their home stadium. File Photo/The Lion’s Roar TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady made the Buccaneers, their fans and their city believe from the moment he arrived in Tampa Bay. With help from old friend Rob Gronkowski and a ferocious defense, Brady and the Buccaneers are Super Bowl champions.

Brady threw two touchdown passes to Gronkowski and one to good pal Antonio Brown, and the Buccaneers routed Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City 31-9 on their home field in Super Bowl 55 on Sunday.

“You get this far and you wanna get the job done and we did it,” Brady said. “We just believed. I”m so proud of the guys.”

Despite moving south to a new team and conference during a pandemic, Brady didn’t slow down at age 43.

The GOAT earned his fifth Super Bowl MVP award and extended his Super Bowl titles’ record in his 10th appearance, nine with New England. Brady broke his own mark for oldest player to win a Super Bowl and joined Hall of Famer Peyton Manning as the

only quarterbacks to win one with multiple franchises.

“I think they’re all special,” Brady said. “I’m not making any comparisons. Experiencing it with this group of guys is amazing.”

Stunningly, it was easier than any of his previous Super Bowl victories, which came by an average margin of five points. Mahomes lost by double digits for the first time in his four-year career.

The Buccaneers (15-5) took their second NFL title and first in 18 years as the first team to play the big game at home, capping an unusual and challenging season played through the novel coronavirus. They won three road games as a wild card to reach the Super Bowl, and joined the NHL’s Lightning as a 2020 season champion. The Rays also went to the World Series but lost to the Dodgers.

Mahomes and the Chiefs (16-3) failed to become the first repeat champions since Brady’s Patriots in 2003-04.

“I didn’t see it coming at all,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I thought we were going to come in and play these guys just like we’ve been playing teams, and it didn’t happen that way. I give them credit on that.”

The NFL completed its 269-game season on time without any cancellations, a remarkable accomplishment that required nearly 1 million COVID-19 tests for players and team personnel.

Due to the virus, only 25,000 mask-wearing fans attended, including approximately 7,500 vaccinated

health care workers given free tickets by the NFL. About 30,000 cardboard cutouts made the stadium look full.

A streaker wearing a hot-pink onesie eluded security and slid into the end zone with 5:03 left in the game. Kansas City’s high-powered offense never got that far against Tampa’s fierce defense.

“Obviously I didn’t play the way I wanted to play,” Mahomes said. “What else can you say? All you can do is leave everything you have on the field. I feel like the guys did that. ... They beat us pretty good, the worst I’ve been beaten in a long time.”

Bruce Arians became the oldest coach at age 68 to win the Super Bowl. His mom, 95-year-old Kay Arians, witnessed it in person. Brady, Gronk and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles helped Arians get that Vince Lombardi Trophy.

“This really belongs to the coaching staff and our players. I didn’t do a damn thing,” Arians said after he was handed the trophy.

Bowles devised a masterful plan to frustrate Mahomes and shut down the Chiefs, the complete opposite of Kansas City’s 27-24 win in Tampa in Week 12, when the Chiefs jumped to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter. Tyreek Hill had 269 yards receiving and three TDs in that one. He was held to 73 yards on seven catches Sunday.

“Coach Bowles is a mastermind,” Bucs cornerback Sean MurphyBunting said. see SUPER BOWL, pg. 6

Page 6 | February 9, 2021

The Lion’s Roar | News

Sexual Violence Unmasked: New organization on campus

SVU President Catherine Wooton, right, and vice president Kami Aguilar, left, have officially established Sexual Violence Unmasked on campus. With their newe organization, they hope to provide a safe space for campus survivors and avocate against sexual assault. 2. Courtesey of Catherin Wooton/The Lion’s Roar SYMIAH DORSEY Staff Reporter

In a fast-paced college world, last semester’s discussions surrounding sexual assault might be easy for one to forget. Some matters simply go unnoticed, unspoken or forgotten. Students Catherine Wooton and Kami Aguilar, however, have decided to take this covered up issue and peel its mask back.

‘Sexual Violence Unmasked,’ a group dedicated to supporting

sexual assualt survivors and working with students to advocate against the issue, is now an official organization on campus.

Last fall, Wooton and Aguilar created separate online surveys to assess the matter of sexual misconduct on campus, focusing primarily on the Greek Life community. After discovering 80% of respondents knew victims of sexual assault, Wooton and Aguilar were motivated to do more.

Wooton, junior criminal

justice major and president of the organization, shared that the process of establishing SVU was not all smooth sailing.

“The process of creating SVU was a roller coaster ride, to say the least. Kami Aguilar and I co-founded it after realizing how real of a problem sexual assault is on our campus. The surveys we conducted gave us real information and helped us become even more passionate about it,” said Wooton.

Next on her agenda, Wooton

has planned to broaden her research by assessing the issue within different departments.

“We haven’t released the current Google Forms back out to anyone, but we are hoping to meet with the athletic departments to get some anonymous surveys conducted in order to assess sexual assault on a broader range.

We’re not just focusing on Greek life, that is just where our initial concern was. After learning more we know it’s not just a Greek life problem, it’s a campus problem,”

said Wooton.

For Wooton, SVU is an opportunity to provide a safe place for all survivors on campus.

“It is so incredibly important for survivors—not just women— to have a safe place to talk about sexual assault on campus because if survivors don’t feel safe talking about it, they won’t talk about it.

If they don’t feel like we’re taking it seriously, they won’t want to speak out and advocate against sexual assault. We want survivors to know that we can and will do anything to support them no matter what they want to do about their assault,” she said.

SVU will be having monthly meetings for advocacy against sexual assault that are open to all students. The organization also plans to have private small groups on a need-to-need basis.

“Our main focus is making sure that survivors know what resources they have—the counseling center, the care team, what exactly Title IX is, and how to report assault to legal authorities,” mentioned Wooton.

The new organization has also planned to host themed events advocating against sexual assault.

“Outside of meetings, we want to host ‘Bark Against Sexual Assault’ as our first event, which would be a chance for students to come to campus with or without their dogs and advocate against sexual assault in a safe and

public way. It’s just a symbolic event, but above all else it’s something that shows survivors and all students that we’re here as an organization and we want to be loud against sexual assault,” explained Wooton.

After months of working to make SVU possible, Wooton is ready to be loud against sexual assault.

“It hasn’t been an easy journey forming this organization, but that just goes to show how necessary it is. If we want real change to occur, we have to be loud about it and we have to do our part. I want to clarify that SVU isn’t just for women, men are also victims of sexual assault and we want to support every survivor on campus,” said Wooton.

Those interested in joining SVU can contact Wooton at catherine.wooton@selu.edu to be placed in the organization’s GroupMe. Wooton encouraged all students to join in SVU’s effort to support and uplift Southeastern’s survivors.

“I encourage everyone to join because it shows support and it shows that our campus will no longer allow sexual assault to be present. We won’t put up with it anymore, and we will support and uplift survivors no matter what.”

School of Nursing instructor reappointed to state board of practical nurse examiners AUSTIN DEWEASE Staff Reporter

Gov. John Bel Edwards has recently announced multiple appointments to the LA Boards and Commissions on Jan. 15. One of those appointments was School of Nursing instructor Barbara Gibbs.

Gibbs has been reappointed to the LA State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners and will serve as a registered nurse representing the Louisiana State Nurses Association. This is her second appointment to the LSBPNE and will last six years.

The LSBPNE is made up of 16 members; consisting of six licensed practical nurses, two registered nurses, four physicians and one consumer member.

According to the LSBPNE, their mission is “to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public by providing reasonable assurance that persons who practice practical nursing are competent, ethical practitioners with the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities appropriate to the title and role of the licensed practical nurse.”

Gibbs discussed her role of board member and how beneficial it is to patients.

“As board members, we meet to discuss the 50 plus case hearings we have read and decide to accept or amend the hearing officers renderings on disciplinary actions. The board is first and foremost an advocate for the patient’s in the state of Louisiana.” Gibbs explained.

Other responsibilities of the LSBPNE are enforcing laws regarding the practice of practical nursing and to read disciplinary hearings of nurses who have not followed those laws pertaining to their practice.

With COVID-19, the board has faced many challenges and this past year the question of clinical placements for nursing students has caused concern.

“Many hospitals and nursing homes ceased to allow students to attend clinical practice. Schools of Nursing, including our own at SLU, scrambled to work with simulation and find new ways to attain the required clinical hours needed. This has not been ideal and both the LSBN (RN board) and LSBPNE (LPN board) have worked with schools allowing some simulation and communicated with facilities to allow students to return to the clinical sites as they are doing so much in patient care.

Simulation cannot entirely replace training at the patient’s bedside.” Gibbs stated.As an instructor for the School of Nursing at Southeastern, Gibbs believed that her experience of teaching has made her more prepared for a position on the board.

“Teaching along with my clinical practice experience has prepared me for the board. I worked as a staff RN in med/surg, home health, endoscopy, and as a preceptor/charge nurse. I realized I loved teaching and went on to teach LPN courses at NTCC while obtaining my Master’s degree in Nursing Education upon which I began as an Instructor here at SLU.” Gibbs said.

Along with being an instructor, Gibbs is also a

After the Chiefs took a 3-0 early lead, it was all Brady and the Bucs.

Brady accomplished a career-first with an 8-yard TD pass to Gronkowski for a 7-3 lead with 37 seconds left in the first quarter.

Brady’s nine Super Bowl teams in New England produced just three points total in the first quarter.

Gronkowski, who came out of retirement to play with his buddy, caught his 13th and 14th postseason TDs from Brady. They had been tied at 12 with Jerry Rice and Joe Montana.

“To come here and be Super Bowl champs, it’s surreal, man,” said Gronkowski, who came out of retirement to play with Brady. “We have so many superstars on this team but nobody’s head was too big. Whoever got the ball got the ball. That’s what was so great about being on this team. There was no one who was selfish on this team. No one selfish in the organization. It just happened to be me this time getting the touchdown passes.”

Despite playing at home, the Buccaneers weren’t allowed to fire the cannons from their famed pirate ship after touchdowns and big plays. They did it soon after the clock expired as red, white and black confetti fell onto the field.

Fans still enjoyed the thud of Gronk’s thunderous spike after his first score.

Tampa missed an opportunity to extend the lead when Brady’s 2-yard pass to offensive lineman Joe Haeg was knocked out of his hands in the end zone. Ronald Jones was stopped short on consecutive carries as Arians stuck to his “No risk it, no biscuit” philosophy and went on fourth down.

But the Chiefs didn’t gain any momentum off the stop. Instead, they made one costly mistake after another.

First, All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce dropped a pass that would’ve been a big gain on third down.

Then punter Tommy Townsend shanked a 29-yarder after a penalty forced him to kick again. The Bucs started at Kansas City’s 38 instead of their 27.

A holding call on cornerback Charvarius Ward negated an interception by All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu. Kansas City’s defense held but an offside penalty during Ryan Succop’s successful field goal gave the Buccaneers a first down. Sarah Thomas, the first woman official in a Super Bowl, threw that flag.

Brady fired a strike to Gronkowski for a 17-yard TD and a 14-3 lead. Gronk hesitated before spiking the ball, waiting to make sure another flag on the play was against the sloppy Chiefs.

Mahomes drove the offense for a 34-yard field goal by Harrison Butker that cut it to 14-6, but Kansas City’s defense fell apart in the final minute of the first half — allowing 42 yards on two pass interference penalties. One against Mathieu in the end zone set up Brady’s TD pass to Brown for a 21-6 halftime lead.

SUPER BOWL

continued from pg. 5

“normal” college semester again. I had lost any and all control over the college career and I became extremely pessimistic.

Heading into this semester, I finally came to the realization that just because things aren’t the way that I want them to be doesn’t mean that I need to view everything in a negative light. Of COVID OP.

continued from pg. 3

Gibbs has been reappointed to the Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners and will serve as a registered nurse representing the Louisiana State Nurses Association. Courtesey of Barbara Gibbs/The Lion’s Roar nurse and feels grateful to be both.

“When I was young, I wanted to be a teacher or a nurse but could not decide. I started my college career in education. I did not finish that but got married and had a family. I worked for

my husband in his businesses. When he sold that, I went back as a non-traditional student but this time as a nursing major. Somewhere along the path in my journey, God saw fit to make me both, a teacher and a nurse.” Gibbs described.

It was Brady who convinced his new team to give Brown a chance after the troubled former All-Pro came off suspension. His TD toss to Brown was his 50th of the season, including 10 in the postseason.

Mathieu took an unsportsmanlike penalty after the TD pass for getting into it with Brady as he ran to the sideline.

Leonard Fournette, like Brown an in-season addition, ran 27 yards untouched to extend Tampa’s lead to 28-9. Arians pumped his fist after that score and pointed toward offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, who made the call.

Succop’s 52-yard field goal increased the lead to 31-9.

Last year, Mahomes rallied the Chiefs from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter against San Francisco and earned MVP honors in leading Kansas City to its first NFL championship in a halfcentury. But Tampa’s pass rush gave him no chance in this one.

Shaq Barrett had one of three sacks on Mahomes, who spent most of the game trying to escape Jason Pierre-Paul, William Gholston and a relentless group.

“There was nothing that was gonna stop us from winning this game,” Barrett said. “I knew we were going to keep the pressure up. Coach Bowles had a great game plan. We had the guys up there to make it work and we made it work, baby.”

After 20 seasons in New England, Brady signed a $50 million, two-year contract with Tampa in March. The Buccaneers hadn’t reached the playoffs since 2007 and hadn’t won a postseason game since the 2002 title season.

There were plenty of red-clad Chiefs fans doing the tomahawk chop for part of the first half until the Bucs made it a rout. Then it was the hometown fans chanting “Let’s Go Bucs.”

Before kickoff, 22-year-old poet laureate Amanda Gorman recited a poem honoring three people chosen as honorary captains for the game and all teachers, military veterans and frontline healthcare workers.

Brady avenged his loss against Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who held the same position for the Giants when New York stifled the Patriots in the 2008 Super Bowl, preventing New England from a perfect season.

The warmer climate suited Brady perfectly. He passed Michael Jordan in championships and it doesn’t seem he’s ready to slow down. He already said he might play past age 45.

“I’m coming back,” Brady said with a smile.

There was never any doubt he’s going for No. 8 next season.

course, things aren’t great, but I still have a lot to be thankful for.

It’s really a blessing that we are still here on campus at all and that I am able to continue my educational career in the middle of these uncertain times.

I can still make the most of my time at college even though I can’t do everything that I would like to do.

As this semester continues, I would encourage everyone to

look on the brighter side of things.

We might not be back to the way we want things to be right now, but don’t let that stop you from (safely) enjoying life.

It may seem like everything is falling apart and there is no reason to be hopeful for things to get better, but that isn’t true at all. There is always light at the end of the tunnel.