THE TIMES-DELPHIC The weekly student newspaper of Drake University Vol. 140 | No. 13 | March. 3, 2021
FEATURES
SPORTS
COMMENTARY
Students participate in a time-honored Drake tradition: hubbelling, an event in which students go sledding using old Hubbell trays. Read more on page 2
Basketball player reflects on his season, and encourages his former back up, while recovering from left foot injury.
One student laments the options, or lack thereof, at Hubbell Dining Hall, and questions the quality of the food served to students. Read more on page 4
Read more on page 3
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Students, faculty reflect on Black History Month
BLACK HISTORY MONTH may be over, but the fight for racial justice and recognition of Black history and culture is ongoing. After last summer’s historic racial justice movement, community members are encouraged to continue conversations surrounding equity and inclusion. PHOTO BY CHARLEIGH REINARDY | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Victoria Soliz Contributing Writer victoria.soliz@drake.edu
Ever since President Gerald Ford declared February would be Black History Month in 1976, the month has blossomed into a celebration of Black culture. To kick off Black History Month, Drake University Provost for Equity and Inclusion Erin Lain sent out universitywide emails at the start of February, reminding students of the month’s significance and sharing opportunities to celebrate. “This year we have some
exciting speakers coming and panel discussions happening throughout the month,” Lain said. “There’s lots of cool stuff we’re trying to promote and this is a time for students, faculty and staff to take some time to reflect on the contributions of African Americans to the United States and the challenges that the Black community is facing right now in terms of racial justice.” An annual Black History Month tradition on campus is the Coalition of Black Students’ Black on Black banquet with faculty members, such as President Marty Martin, in
attendance. The banquet took place this past weekend. But some students wished they saw more effort from the university staff.
“Black History Month isn’t just a month.”
“Black History Month isn’t just a month,” junior Madyson Sklar said. “But we often want to make sure we feel comfortable and find a box. When emails are coming from white faculty
or administration and that’s all they do for Black History Month, I’m like ‘alright’. However, members of our administration do go out of their way and I don’t want to neglect the efforts they do take when it comes to their organizations.” In the past, Drake has received criticism for incidents involving poor treatment of Black students and people of color on campus. Such incidents have included the use of derogatory, racist language in the classroom. According to Lain, the university has since begun to make improvements.
“It was really hard to see that type of hateful sentiment happening,” Lain said. “Since then, we’ve worked hard to make sure that incidents like that don’t happen on campus and we’ve implemented some things like Bulldog Foundations… but it takes a community effort of holding each other accountable. We still have to focus on it quite a bit.” As Lain said, it takes a community to bring change and that’s even more prevalent with the racial injustice happening today.
Students double mask to avoid new covid-19 strains
Claire Mintus Contributing Writer claire.mintus@drake.edu
Since 2019, many people’s lives have been interrupted and shifted in dealing with the global COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses shut down, and many countries spent months and months in lockdown. With the creation of three COVID vaccines, there have been hopes of returning back to the old normal. But with new variant strains of COVID being discovered all around the world, many fear we won’t be able to return to normal anytime soon. The coronavirus pandemic has taken a large toll on the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 500,000 American lives have been lost to the pandemic. The vaccines from Pfizer Biotech and Moderna, Inc, both of which have been authorized by the FDA, are known to be approximately 95 percent effective in protection from the original strand of the coronavirus disease. But new strains have been identified all over the world, and whether or not these vaccines cover these strands is unknown. The first discovery of a new strain called B.1.1.7 was discovered in the United Kingdom, and was first identified in the United States in the end of December 2020. Since its first discovery, the United States has seen 1661 confirmed cases involving this strain. The United States has also seen cases rising with two
other strains - B.1.351, first detected in South Africa, and P.1, first detected in Brazil. These numbers alone may seem insignificant, but these strains carry a significantly higher risk than the original strain. These variants have a higher rate of transmission from person-to-person, and early research suggests they have a higher mortality rate in comparison to the original strain. While the newest vaccine, available from Johnson and Johnson and approved by the FDA just this past weekend, has been proven to be effective against newer strains, there are still growing concerns that rising cases will burden the healthcare system and put it under more stress than it already has. This may even lead to more restrictive measures across the United States, including new lockdown measures and shutdowns of businesses nationwide. To prevent this from happening, the CDC has a new recommendation, known by many as the two-mask rule. In order to provide maximum protection against the new coronavirus strains, experts recommend that Americans wear a three-ply cloth face mask over a medical procedure mask. This evidence suggests there are many benefits to doublemasking. However, in the world we live in, many are frustrated at having to wear a single mask in public. This leads to a common question: how do the American people feel about double-masking?
COVID-19 VARIANTS were first discovered in the United Kingdom and South Africa. Both variants have now been identified in the U.S. GRAPHIC BY ALLYN BENKOWICH | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A poll that surveyed 2,000 U.S. adults found that a moderate amount of people support double masking - 61 percent of respondents said they support the concept. But support for a concept doesn’t always equate to action. While many people said they think people should double-mask, only 43 percent of respondents said they were currently double masking. Getting the American people to follow through with the idea of double masking may prove to be a challenge. No communication from the administration has suggested that Drake University plans to enforce a double-masking rule on campus. But with case numbers rising, the possibility of a double-mask rule isn’t ruled out entirely. Students on the Drake campus seem to be
in support of a potential double masking rule. In fact, many students have already been double-masking on their own free will. First-year student Jenny Mahl is a perfect example of a student who practices doublemasking on her own accord. She currently wears a surgical mask covered by a cloth mask when she goes out. “If [Drake] implemented a double-masking policy, I would be for it, as the new strain is more spreadable and that would hopefully prevent more cases from occurring,” Mahl said. However, not all students were convinced that a doublemasking policy would be successful. “I feel a policy like this may be harder to implement as I do not know of many places that are now requiring double
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masks,” first-year Lizzie Murphy said. “I feel students may not quickly abide if this were to be implemented unless there is ample evidence provided of its effectiveness and other examples of places where this is being done.” Regardless of whether or not a double-masking policy becomes reality, there are many steps students and faculty can take to minimize the spread of COVID-19. If two masks feel uncomfortable, purchasing a mask-fitter is a possible solution to ensuring more protection while feeling comfortable. Another method for ensuring efficiency of masking is tying or twisting the loops around a mask to make it fit more snugly on the mask wearer’s face.