Between the Lines | Fall 2021

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FALL 2021 1

Isabel Bonebrake Executive Photo Editor

Skyler Chun Managing Editor of the Marquette Journal

Aimee Galaszewski Executive Director of the Marquette Wire

While this issue of the Marquette Journal focuses on stories relating to students, staff and faulty at Marquette University, we hope they also help to spread awareness on issues impacting the greater Milwaukee community and college students overall.

Photo taken by Josh Meitz

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Gracie Pionek Design Chief

Issue No. 03 / Fall 2021 / Volume 08

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Letter from the Editor Dear Readers,

In an effort to put accessibility and inclusion into play in our own We’ve all spent the better half of the past two years in publication, all print stories isolation. But with all the extra time and space I had to have an audio version of the myself, I began to realize this: There was a lot more separattext that can be listened ing us from one another than just six feet of distance. And to online, and each video there was also so much we shared. package has an option Almost two years ago, as news of COVID-19, Black Lives for closed captioning. We Matter protests and various natural disasters took the front also incorporated some pages of nearly every newspaper across the country, I began handwritten notes, in an to write my thoughts between the tiny dotted lines of my attempt at bringing a blue hardcover journal. And one day I wrote this: more “human aspect” to the stories.

“Sometimes I find myself wandering between the thinand lines of everything I am, everything society tells meseeI should be.

I didn’t always italways ...or there.“ feel it... but it was

It took a global pandemic for me to realize I didn’t quite fit into one “box” or stereotype, and that is perfectly okay.

To everyone interviewed in this issue: Thank you for graciously sharing your stories, and being so open, honest and vulnerable in doing so. I know that is not always easy to do.

To the Marquette Wire staff: Just as I have been inspired While my experiences growing up have been uniquely by each story in this issue, I Asian, they have also been uniquely American and even have been equally inspired a little Pacific Islander as well. I grew up celebrating holidays and humbled by all of you. like the 4th of July and Thanksgiving just like thousands of Thank you for being so perother Americans in the United States. But I also grew up sistent in the pursuit of excelparticipating in lion dancing traditions on Chinese New Year, lence, and for eagerly accepting joking around in broken Japanese with my brothers or saying any challenge I throw at you. I had “ ” (let’s eat!) before a meal. big expectations coming into this While I always had so much to be thankful for, I also expe- school year, and so far, you have exceeded them all. rienced what it was like to move schools and leave friends for a more affordable education. And while I always loved Whether you can relate to meeting new people, I often kept to myself so that I would not many of these stories, or you are feel left out. shocked and surprised by them, I hope this magazine helps to Becoming the managing editor of the Marquette Journal transcend your understanding of has given me the opportunity to share stories that are not others, challenges you to see new only similar to my own, but to also dive deeper into unique stories that are often left untold and to tackle issues that are perspectives and gives you the courage to embrace all parts of your often left unquestioned. story even the parts that may not “Between the Lines” focuses on various topics relating to always fit in. diversity and inclusion, from multicultural perspectives of attending a predominantly white institution, to women in the field of sports (or sports journalism) and questioning the Sincerely, ways in which we can make campus more accessible for those with physical disabilities.

We also took an inside look into the often silenced population of those suffering from food insecurity which has only been heightened since the pandemic and light-hearted stories of students finding ways to connect in isolation.

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Executive Director of the Marquette Wire Aimee Galaszewski Managing Editor of the Marquette Journal Skyler Chun EDITORIAL DIGITAL Editor of Diversity & Inclusion General Manager of Marquette University Television Alex Rivera-Grant Andrew Amouzou Executive Editors General Manager of Marquette University Radio Lelah Byron, Alex Garner, Randi Haseman, John Leuzzi, Megan Reese Seberg Woolard Executive Producers Assistant Editors Ryan Hagan, Tyler Peters, Vanessa Rivera Julia Abuzzahab, Rashad Alexander, Sam Arco, Kimberly Cook, Assistant Producers Maria Crenshaw, Claire Driscol, Jackson Gross, Hope Moses Laura Bigay Ojeda, Kylie Goetz, Molly Gretzlock, Tim Littau, Copy Chief Manny Lopez, Kristin Parisi, Sarah Richardson Nora McCaughey Assistant Radio General Manager Copy Editors Emily Bittman Jack Connelly, Emily Reinhardt, Bailey Striepling, Alex Wagner Audio Producers Contributing Writers Julianna Okosun, Emily Sacco, Matt Yeazel Connor Baldwin, Johnnie Brooker, Grace Cady, T.J. Dysart, Assistant Music Director Christina Espinoza, Izzy Fonfara Drewel, Hannah Freireich, Ryan Grace Flynn Hagan, Jenna Koch, Ava Mares, Kelly Reilly, Jaiden Schueller, Bailey Striepling, Matthew Valente ART ADVERTISING Design Chief Account Executive Gracie Pionek Audrey Roth Executive Photo Editor Assistant Account Ececutive Isabel Bonebrake Maggie Kemp Designers Kayla Nickerson, RJ Siano, Lily Werner Photographers Sarah Kuhns, Josh Meitz, Collin Nawrocki

All photos in this issue have had filters applied for design consistency in line with our theme.

These photos were not otherwise altered in any way.

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Quinn XCII performs some of his more popular songs, such as “Stacy” and “Stay Next to Me” on the Generac Power Stage at Summerfest Sept. 9.

Photos taken by Collin Narwocki 7

The Milwaukee River flows through the city.

Photo taken by Isabel Bonebrake

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Two people order food from a takeout vendor at the Henry Maier Festival Park.

Photo taken by Josh Meitz 10

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City life continues even after then sun goes down.

Photo taken by Josh Meitz

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The Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, or “The Domes,” offers exhibitions to see unique plants and flowers.

Photo taken by Isabel Bonebrake

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FIRST GENERATION STUDENTS Written by TJ Dysart

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Photos by Sarah Kuhns

For many students, the idea of attending college is a concept that has become second nature. Some students may have heard stories of their parents’ college experience filled with friends, studying and pizza at two in the morning.

“My parents always want me to be at the top of my class, and they want me to take everything that we can get and make the most of it,” Lechowska says. “They are always pushing me and my family to do our best.”

But for others, college is more than that. College is a milestone, an opportunity and a moment for certain students to make history in their families. These students are known as first-generation students; Students who are the first to attend college in their family.

When applying to Marquette, Lechowska says she had to find a lot of her own resources when applying to college, as her parents don’t speak english well, and don’t really know what college is or how to apply.

As reported by Marquette University, approximately 21% of students are first-generation.

This means that nearly 2,500 students at Marquette are the first in their families to ever attend college. While many students have described being a first-generation student as an honor and a blessing, some mention the internal and external pressures they face from their family, as well as the personal standards they hold themselves to.

Jocelyn Hernandez, a first-year student in the College of Engineering, touched upon the encouraging pressures she felt before attending college.

“Not only am I a first-generation student, but I am also a daughter of immigrants,” Hernandez says. “I definitely want to give back to them by doing well at Marquette. If they hadn’t come to the United States, my life would have been a completely different thing.”

She says her dad was 15 when he came to the United States, and her mom was 17. Both of her parents are from Mexico.

While her older sister was the first in her family to attend college, Hernandez says she was the first to leave home and live in an on-campus dorm.

“It was scary for my whole family, but I wanted the experience of leaving and going off on my own,” Hernandez says.

“So I couldn’t really ask (my sister) for advice about actually living on my own.”

Because first-generation students can’t always seek the advice of family members, many turn to friends, classmates or teachers for overall perspectives and help with the college application process.

Hernandez says she felt grateful to have her sister’s support and advice on the application process and the overall college-level workload.

“I turned to (my sister) a lot for advice,” Hernandez says.

“I was lucky because kids who aren’t first-generation students are able to ask their parents about what college is like, and most of them get clear answers because their parents already attended college.”

For Kasia Lechowska, a junior in the College of Engineering, being an immigration student was just another obstacle before becoming the first in her family to attend college.

Lechowska’s parents immigrated to the United States from Poland, an area where high school was typically considered to be the highest level of education. Nevertheless, Lechowska’s decision to attend college triggered high expectations from her parents.

Lechowska says support from her parents grew over time, as her parents learned more and more about the experience she was having at Marquette.

“My parents definitely still support me, but again they didn’t understand college, so they didn’t support me as well as maybe other students’ parents did,” Lechowska says.

“They didn’t tour campus with me because they didn’t even know that was a thing when you apply to college. That is kind of where it differed a little bit from my peers who are not first-generation students.”

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It was scary for my whole family, but I wanted the experience of leaving and going off on my own.

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Jocelyn Hernandez, first-year student, College of Engineering Lechowsaka says she has an obligation to help her siblings with the application process if they choose to attend college as well.

“While I was helping my brother (with the application process), I really reflected about how I struggled applying to college and how I didn’t have a support system,” Lechowska says. “So I feel like I need to be there for him and be able to answer his questions because I didn’t have that and it is something that I wanted to have,” Some say it is important for non-first-generation students to learn more about the experiences of first-generation students and their perspectives. Clara Dwyer, assistant director of peer engagement programs and services, shares how 17

students can get to better understand the different expereinces among their peers.

“If a first generation peer tells you personally that they are the first in their family to attend college, give them props,” Dwyer said in an email. “They are taking on a challenge in which there is an unspoken, possibly daunting, layer of difficulty having to navigate the college terrain on their own.”

said in an email. “In conversations with advisors, peers and other faculty and staff, first-generation students should feel safe to express that they are the first in their families to attend college, have the strong desire to succeed, but need to feel safe in asking questions for which the answers may be seemingly obvious for continuing generation college students.”

For first-generation students, the journey they embark Additionally, there are multiple windows of support on on during the next four years will be the first in their famicampus for students looking to talk about their transition into ly’s history. While the decision to attend college may seem college. expected, for these students, it is a decision that may change “There are people around campus who students can talk the course of their family history forever. to for support throughout the transition into college,” Dwyer

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DISABILITIES &RESOURCES Some Marquette buildings lack accessible layouts Written by Claire Driscol Gilli Leonard, a senior in the College of Communication, was a first-year student in college when she was put in a wheelchair for a month due to a bulging disk pinching her sciatic nerve. In that time, what was once an effortless walk to class transformed into a dangerous venture.

“Wheeling myself down the street was a major challenge because all of the sidewalks are slightly slanted,” Leonard says.

“I would have to roll with one arm down the entire street of Wisconsin because if I rolled with both arms, I would go into the street.”

Marquette’s outdoor landscape isn’t the only space presenting obstacles for individuals with disabilities, as Leonard also struggled to maneuver indoors.

Issues surrounding accessibility were thought to be resolved with the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which is a civil rights law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability.

What was once inaccessible to individuals with disabilities transformed after ADA; Sidewalks and streets required curb ramps, public transportation implemented wheelchair lifts and public, along with private entities that operated as places of public accommodation, now needed to create an accessible layout for their buildings.

However, more than thirty years later, Leonard says inaccessibility has persisted at Marquette, as initiatives for a more inclusive environment come at a cost.

The 1990 ADA was an unfunded mandate, meaning states, local governments and private businesses have to make accommodations on their own dime.

To Leonard, Helfaer Theater embodies this issue.

“They refuse to make the older buildings ADA compliant because it would mean spending more money,” Leonard says.

“People have been injured because of their lack of initiative.”

Vice President for Planning and Facilities Management, Lora Strigens, says the costs of reforming Healfer Theater are not “insignificant.”

“They [Helfaer Theater] are being considered in the context of overall investments that need to be made to our physical campus to address health, safety and welfare issues, deferred maintenance needs and other renovations and improvements,” Strigens says.

Photos by Sarah Kuhns

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Disability is an “issue of identity

and minority rather than biology. For example, a person with a physical impairment will not feel disabled because he cannot enter a building as much as he would feel due to social norms of ableness.

Enaya Othman, associate professor in languages, literature and culture

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Drawing on the dangers within Helfer Theater’s infrastructure, Leonard says that a faculty member who had knee surgery was forced to walk outside to go to the bathroom on the theater’s first floor since there is no elevator in the building. As a result, the faculty member fell.

“We’ve been asking for an elevator in the theater for years and they’ve never listened to us,” Leonard says.

Straz Hall, where a majority of business classes are held, has also been criticized for its small bathrooms and slow elevator, however, these obstacles have not been addressed since Strigens says the College of Business will be vacating Straz once the new business building is complete. The new facility will reside on the corner of Wisconsin and 16th street.

“This creates a great opportunity to look at Straz when it is renovated for its next use and evaluate all aspects of health, safety and welfare as we make decisions about upgrades and modifications to the building,” Strigens says.

Despite the university’s lack of initiative on the Helfaer Theater and the Straz Hall Business Building, Strigens says all buildings on campus meet ADA guidelines “for the time of construction.” For buildings that are renovated, the university makes updates to meet current requirements “to the extent possible.”

The 1991 ADA standards for accessibility, which is implemented within the 1990 ADA legislation, and what Strigens refers to when stating the building’s time of construction is different from the ADA’s updated standards in 2010.

One of these 2010 standards is having accessible routes that coincide with those of the general public. However, this excerpt in the 1991 standard only states that these routes should be “at the maximum extent feasible” to the general public. In Helfaer Theaters case, the closest accessible access is at the back of the building.

Hopes for accommodations beyond the Helfaer Theater are extensive, as Leonard knows many parts of campus are not compliant with the 2010 standard, and has experienced this exclusion first-hand when she was in a wheelchair.

“Getting into buildings was also a major challenge because in most cases, I would have to wheel around the entire building just to get into the accessible doorway,” Leonard says.

adjustments, as Enaya Othman, associate professor in languages, literature and culture, says the university also needs to keep the mental well-being of students in mind when making decisions regarding accessibility.

“Making the environment accessible does not only mean adjusting the physical space, it also -- even more importantly -- concerns social spaces,” Othman says. “First of all, as individuals, our perspectives and attitudes should be inclusive with regard to different groups.”

Othman teaches the concept of disability as an identity, concept and minority issue in a section of CORE 1929, which is a class where students must “compare and contrast the approach of three different disciplines to a common theme.” All students are required to take CORE 1929 at one point in their academic career, however, topics differ depending on the section.

In the class, Othman introduces disability as a constructed concept, which differs from an impairment.

“While I refer to a biological, medical or physical condition by impairment, disability is created as a result of the stigmas and stereotypes based on the impairment,” Othman says.

In this way, Othman says having a mental illness or disorder can be considered an “even worse” situation because social and cultural norms marginalize it in a stronger way.

“Disability is an issue of identity and minority rather than biology,” Othman says. “For example, a person with a physical impairment will not feel disabled because he cannot enter a building as much as he would feel due to social norms of ableness.”

In an attempt to become a more inclusive campus towards different groups, Othman says students must be “aware” and “alert” when interacting with others, as disabilities aren’t always visible, specifically surrounding mental health.

“A lot of students suffer alone due to the stigma associated with mental health and seeking help from such centers,” Othman says. “The possibility that mental health can be a hidden issue of our students should always be present in our minds, which is the actual challenge.”

In fact, experts estimate that around one in four people have treatable mental or emotional difficulties, but up to 75% of Americans don’t seek the help they need.

Leonard also had challenges with handicap buttons, as they would often malfunction. She also says the sidewalks are “slightTherefore, Othman says disability needs to be addressed from ly slanted,” which caused her wheelchair to spin out of place. both an institutional and individual lens.

Looking back on her experience, Leonard understands why Looking forward, Leonard hopes issues surrounding the she rarely sees individuals with paralytic disabilities on campus. stigmatization of those with disabilities will lessen on campus, “Marquette doesn’t accept them because they know the campus is not adequately suitable,” Leonard says.

However, creating an inclusive campus goes beyond physical

as once she was able to regain her walking ability, students no longer recognized her.

“They just saw me as the girl in the chair,” Leonard says.

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BEHIND THE Learning to balance mental health with productivity in isolation Written by Bailey Striepling The COVID-19 pandemic created a rise in mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, suicidal tendencies and other mental health conditions that many refer to as “the mental health pandemic.”

The stay-at-home orders and physical distancing guidelines made it hard for people to feel any sense of normalcy in a time of uncertainty brought on by the pandemic.

“Human beings have a natural need for predictability and routine,” Stephen Saunders, the chair of the psychology department at Marquette, says.

COVID-19 brought disruption to day-to-day lives due to the shift in home and work dynamics that made many individuals feel isolated and lonely.

“The term that we all came to be familiar with was ‘social distance’ and I really wish they’d come up with something else,” Saunders says. “It’s really being physically distanced; Six feet is a physical distance, but you don’t have to be socially distant even at six feet.”

Social distancing has been proven to be 80-100% effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

“I think it’s a really unfortunate term because since physical distance is necessary, you need to increase your social interactions even more,” Saunders says.

Back in March 2020, when COVID-19 was declared a national emergency, college students were forced to move home and continue their education online.

“The social distancing restrictions made it very challenging for students to build community and friendships that are essential to college life,” Judy Evenson, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at the counseling center, says.

“The resulting loneliness and sense of isolation coupled with chronic worry can often be precipitating factors in the development of mental health problems.”

Best Colleges reported that 95% of college students have experienced negative mental health symptoms as a result of COVID-19-related circumstances, 45% reported increased anxiety and 36% reported increased depression.

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Social isolation due to COVID-19 created many psychological consequences for college students such as increased irritability, lack of focus, self-doubt and a sense of hopelessness.

“When transitioning to this year, I developed bad social anxiety at school, even just going to class,” Abby Willner, a sophomore in the College of Communication, says.

The fall 2021 semester is the first semester back in-person for many students since the pandemic began in the spring semester of 2020. Since returning, many students have reported difficulty participating in class, completing homework and making friends.

“COVID-19 has taken away a lot from my college experience,” Amy Baudhuin, a junior in the College of Communication, says. “I definitely felt like I was not getting the most out

SCREENS of my time here at Marquette, seeing as this is my first full year of in-person classes as a junior.”

For some, the implications of COVID-19 caused an increase in stress due to the state of uncertainty in the world.

“Over the past year and a half, issues with the pandemic, job insecurity, political stress, isolation and issues around racial injustice have led to many stressors that may be impacting people’s mental health and may be leading more people to seek out support,” Nicholas Jenkins, counselor of mental health advocacy at the counseling center, says.

Evenson recommends four things students can work on to improve their sense of well-being. The first thing she recommends is self care.

“One of the big things is self-care, which is not always the long hot bath, spa day or gym workout that the mainstream media portrays,” Evenson says. “In some cases, it might be saying no to a social event so you can catch up on sleep or spending some extra time planning your meals so that you can avoid ordering fast food when you are in a time crunch.”

Best Colleges described college students’ top five selfcare activities as spending time doing a hobby, physical activity, spending time outdoors, spending time with pets and taking time off of social media and news.

Evenson says she also believes setting boundaries with friends and family as well as technology and the news can help students feel less on edge and limit their exposure to unnecessary stress.

“Don’t be afraid to say no,” Evenson says. “Sometimes we all need to turn down plans to get some extra sleep and all of the stimulation from our phones, news, social media ends up being internalized. It’s important to think about what you can do to limit your exposure to this type of stress.”

It can also be important to stay connected to family and friends to avoid loneliness caused by quarantine.

Parents, siblings, friends and roommates can act as support systems while readjusting to post-COVID life.

Students work on online homework assignments.

Photos by Josh Meitz

The Marquette University Counseling Center offers individual and group counseling, psychiatry and free service for full-time students.

The counseling center can also assist with helping students find a mental health provider in the community.

“I think that there has been the perception that someone with a mental health concern is crazy, insane, dangerous, weak or broken,” Jenkins says. “By openly talking about mental health concerns and being open to seeking out help, we are able to better address our concerns and experience less distress.”

The Marquette University Counseling Center is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and offers a range of behavioral health services such as therapy and medication management.

“You are allowed to have hard days, and so are the people in your life,” Evenson says. “It’s okay to not be okay, and it’s important to ask for help when you need it.”

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Women in

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Females make up the minority in STEM-related classes at Marquette

pus,” Herring says. “ACM is a general community for computing, and ACM-W is more of a subset of women.”

Because of COVID-19, Herring says they haven’t had many events yet. However, Lagman says she joined the club because she had never heard of an organization like it before.

Written by Julianna Abuzzahab “Guys will be like ‘Oh you’re so brave for going into computer science’ ... and that just kind of makes me angry like ‘What?

Why is it? Why should it be different?,’” Celeste Lagman, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, says.

Lagman says she chose to study computer science because she was always super interested in technology growing up. When she entered high school, she says she decided to enroll in a coding class to see if she liked it.

“I’m learning the same stuff as you [men], but I’m just a woman.”

Lagman says.

“I was like, ‘Oh finally,’ it’ll be something with more girls who are interested in the same things as me,” Lagman says. “So kind of towards the end of sophomore year is when I finally found people I could connect with who were interested in the same things as I was.”

Despite finding a community of women on campus with similar interests, Lagman, vice president of ACM-W, says she has had classes at Marquette where she has (since 2019) been the only girl.

STEM Degree Percentages

32.4% 67.6%

After taking her coding class, Lagman realized she really enjoyed computer sciences and decided to major in it.

Even though women earn the majority of upper-education degrees in the United States, they still make up the minority in science, technology, engineering and mathematic related fields.

“I didn’t realize at first that it would be so male-dominated at Marquette because the classes I took in high school always had a decent amount of girls in them,” Lagman says. “I knew less girls took computer science and STEM classes, but I didn’t know it was this drastic.”

= Men graduates = Women graduates

Since 2009, women graduating with a degree in STEM have increased by 66.3%; However, they still only make up 32.4% of all professionals with a STEM degree.

Marquette University has STEM-related groups women can join to find a community and inclusivity such as the Association for Computing Machinery-Women, Society of Women Engineers, the Women’s Innovation Network’s WISDOM, among others. Women can also join STEM-related clubs that include both males and females.

ACM-W was established at Marquette in 2019. The organization strives to uplift, honor and campaign for the engagement of women in all areas of computing and to “advance the contributions of technical women.” ACM-W also has a variety of programs available to all members.

Clare Herring, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and president of Marquette’s ACM-W chapter, says although ACM-W is very small, joining the organization helped her find a community of other women in a similar field.

“Even to this day, most of my friends aren’t in my major, because the computer science department is so small on cam-

Debbie Perouli, an assistant professor in the department of computer science, says that computer science classes generally suffer from low female enrollment all around the world.

Herring says her classes are typically 5-10% women, but in classes of around 20, maybe six or seven of those students are female.

Despite low female numbers, Perouli and Herring both agree that as long as someone is passionate about the field they are going into, they shouldn’t be intimidated of being the only girl in the room.

“I think it’s more important to find something that matches your skills and what you like doing than to be held back because of the idea that it’s male-dominated, and I don’t think that they have anything to be afraid of,” Perouli says.

Herring says although there are not many women in STEM, there are still women present, and every female she’s spoken to has been passionate about what they are going into.

“Reaching out to females that are in the space is huge because A. it’s networking, B. you’re able to get a representation,” Herring says. “I think it really helps build confidence knowing that you can find your people and your community while still doing something you love and that you’re passionate about.”

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EVICTIONS AND HOMELESSNESS ‘There’s such strength in each other’: Meet Sister MacCanon Brown Written by Lelah Byron Her eyes sparkle above her mask, which is adorned with diverse, cartoon nuns in prayer. She walks through a warehouse brimming with clothes and construction materials and speaks with a calm confidence. She is Sister MacCanon Brown, a powerhouse for the poor, and president of a shelter in her name.

“I didn’t choose the name,” Brown says with a smile, as she opens the door to the MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary.

Although Brown didn’t choose the name, she did choose a life of service. Now, at age 74, she is the fresh face of a movement.

‘God just opened a path for me’ On the twilight-hued ceiling of the sanctuary is the Milky Way solar system. Built recently by students from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, over one hundred fluorescent stars blink bright above Brown, who says the idea of a dome came from a vision.

“What the Holy Spirit was showing me was the parallel between the Underground Railroad out of slavery and the Underground Railroad out of homelessness and poverty,” Brown says. “They followed the North Star, and now we have the North Star here.”

Having attended Otterbein College, in Westerville, Ohio, where she engaged in Black studies and attended civil rights events in Columbus during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement in 1963-65, Brown has long been involved in social justice efforts.

But for Brown, these efforts were not always part of her professional life; She says she moved to Milwaukee in 1986 to live as an artist, not an activist.

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Faith-filled but financially struggling, Brown came to a realization.

“We are all designed to live in community,” Brown says.

“From that point on, it was as though God had opened up a path for me.”

That path directed her to homeless outreach, and by April 1992, led to positions as founding member, board president and later executive director of Repairers of the Breach, a daytime shelter and resource center for adults in poverty.

When she parted ways with Repairers of the Breach in 2013, the path guiding her journey took yet another turn.

With a trusted, close group of friends, the MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary came into being.

And for those who work with her, its existence as well as hers is a blessing, they say.

“As most of Milwaukee knows, Sister MacCanon is a god“I had come here believing that the ultimate lifestyle was to send to the entire underprivileged community,” says Connie hobnob with the arts community, so I tried that,” Moorer, program and resource coordinator for the SanctuBrown says. ary. “She means so much to my family, and to so many other people.”

That community, Brown goes on, didn’t feel much like one at all. Rather, the scene left her feeling overwhelmed and vulMoorer met Brown more than two decades ago. She says nerable, as if she was centered at a crossroads and unsure they were formally introduced to one another through Moorof which path to take, she says. er’s mother, who passed away in 2012.

In certain Milwaukee suburbs, such as area zip code 53206, segregation and scarcity of resources often intertwine.

Photo by Josh Meitz

“She’s become like a surrogate mother to me,” Moorer says. “The work that she does, when I start to talk about it, it makes me want to cry.”

In addition to the work that Brown does, the history that she has created for this city will never be forgotten, Moorer says.

“It melts my heart to be able to say that I am an employee of the MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary,” Moorer says.

‘There is hardly a safety net’: Segregation and scarcity in the city.

While the problem of homelessness in Milwaukee is an old one, the Sanctuary, located at 2461 W. Center Street, has a new solution: To pioneer an all-inclusive model of food production and meals; Bathroom and shower units; Spaces to sleep as well as medical and employment services.

five mom and pop stores ... but the inventory is mainly potato chips and malt liquor.”

Those who don’t have access to healthy, reliable food are at a higher risk for health issues, such as heart disease and other diet and nutrition related complications. Distance from supermarkets correlates with these problems; Neighborhoods in these ‘food deserts’ are hit the hardest.

In other words, there are “hardly any resources to address basic human needs,” in the Amani neighborhood, Brown says.

And here’s where the Sanctuary comes in.

‘There’s laughter here, for sure’: Faith in the future Each day is full of encouragement for Brown, as the fivefloor Sanctuary is still being renovated to accommodate aquaculture, which is the farming of fish, as well as a stage for meetings and music, among other dynamic features.

Founded on the premise of “transformational solidarity,” which unites over 600 volunteers from 60 organizations “When I wake up in the morning, I get all this energy,” she citywide, the Sanctuary is in the process of extensive rensays, as she shows off space for an emergency warming ovations. And with volunteers that are 50% suburban and shelter for cold nights.

50% local, according to her own estimations, it’s like working The “interfaith, non-canonical and nonpartisan” shelter with an extended family, Brown says. reaches around 100-150 men, women and children each “That’s a whole lot of what solidarity means,” Brown says. week, according to Brown’s estimations, as services are still “Because Milwaukee is so segregated, it’s unusual to find being provided twice a week amidst construction. that kind of arrangement.”

“You’re given nothing but respect, love and dignity when Segregation and scarcity of resources are what led Brown you’re in the Sanctuary,” says Dave Engsberg, volunteer. “For to station the sanctuary in the 53206 zip code of the Amani the place to be called a sanctuary, that’s right on.” neighborhood, where 93% of residents are African AmerIt’s a violence-free space, Engsberg says, and Brown ican, and 51% live in poverty, according to Byrne Criminal confirms, noting that although the Amani neighborhood Justice Innovation. struggles from gun crime, there has not been an incidence of There, poverty is not an isolated issue, as additional brutality at the shelter in the entire time it has operated. factors, such as access to food, trap people in a cycle of “People feel safe here,” Brown says. “There’s struggle that could lead to homelessness. laughter here.”

“People don’t have fresh produce,” Brown says. “If you don’t have a car, all you have in this neighborhood are, like, four or 29

Monopoly How college play the Money students game of finance Written by Lelah Byron

Start here

When it comes to financial literacy for undergraduates, managing money can feel like a game or even a gamble.

Renzo Silvera plays chess, but not with pawns. For Silvera, a Pass Go and Collect Loans senior in the College of Engineering, money management in The EVERFI report, titled “Money Matters on Campus,” also college feels just like that game of strategy. found that while six in 10 students have taken or intend to take out loans to cover their tuition bills, only 65% plan to “You gotta see who your opponent is,” Silvera says. “In this case, it’s the financial system. And then, instead of just look- pay those off in time or in full. ing one ahead, try to look five or more steps ahead.”

These trends are cause for concern among some profesSilvera speaks from experience, and lists off books from self-made millionaires with ease: When he was ten years old, his family moved from his home country of Peru to San Jose, California, which neighbors the entrepreneurial Silicon Valley. Not long after that, his parents introduced to him the concept of personal money management.

sors at Marquette University, one of whom shared her own struggles while in school.

“When I was in college, my dinner was microwave popcorn with parmesan cheese,” Lora Reinholz, instructor of finance and Marquette alum, says. “I was so broke, in my last semester I went part-time because it was cheaper than full-time.”

“They just kinda let me do it on my own,” Silvera says.

“Since the age of 17, I have not asked them for anything.”

Reinholz took out thousands in student loans, recalls finding grocery stores on campus too expensive, and in the both the 1980s and 2021, she says students are asking themselves So when it came to college, Silvera knew the numbers the same questions: “‘How am I going to pay back my stugame. Thanks to outside, private scholarships, institutional dent loans in addition to my renters insurance, my transporgrants and savings from a side hustle, he says he was able tation, my food? Am I ever going to get new clothes, or hang to avoid taking on student loan debt. In his sophomore and junior year, he became a Resident Assistant, and saved mon- out with my friends, or travel to see my parents?” ey that way, too.

When Taylor Morant, a senior in the College of Communi“That’s a big advantage, for sure. Instead of paying loans, I can use that for investments that can be profitable,” Silvera says.

cation, arrived on campus as a first-generation student who commuted, she was asking herself some of those questions — especially about covering her tuition bills. Because her mother had turned to student loans to finance her high school education, it was an option Morant herself took, she says.

But for many other students, going up against the financial system alone is frightening, and budgeting for bills can be a mind-boggling process. In addition to accumulating high “I don’t know if there will be a time when I stop paying back amounts of debt, managing money from day-to-day remains college loans,” Morant says. “I’ve taken out a loan every sinthe most formidable challenge, with nearly half (47%) of gle year so far.” college students saying they don’t feel prepared to do so, according to a 2019 survey by EVERFI, an organization focusAccording to the Pew Research Center: “About two-thirds ing on social inequity within America’s education system.

(65%) of first-generation college graduates owe at least $25,000 or more, compared with 57% of second-generation “It’s a hard game,” Silvera says. “It’s very complicated.” college graduates.”

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But whether they’re first-generation status or not, students of varied economic backgrounds feel unprepared to responsibly handle student loans, Reinholz says.

“There are some students walking around with well over $100,000 in debt, which is really scary,” she says.

Over the past decade, student loan debt has increased by 107%, according to an analysis of Federal Reserve numbers

by CNBC News. Today, close to 44 million Americans have accumulated nearly $1.7 trillion in student debt, with the average total of student loan debt at $30,000, per U.S. News data.

Draw Two: Financial Health and Emotional Health Stress levels increase among students when it comes to managing money, because financial health and emotional health are so closely connected, Reinholz says. And according to the 2019 financial survey by EVERFI, the three highest points of stress are the following: fear of tuition rising, having enough money to last the semester and landing a job after graduation.

There was no Marquette tuition increase for 2021-2022, as rates are set by the Board of Trustees after considering certain costs. According to the school website, 46% of tuition dollars are used for faculty and staff compensation, 27% is used for student scholarships and 16% is used for student support. The other 11% goes toward facility and administrative services.

So with no fear of tuition rising, the two highest points of stress are having enough money to last the semester and landing a job after graduation, Morant says.

“I have savings, but it goes down quickly. There’s always something that goes wrong,” Morant says.

Like her car breaking down, for example.

So she can have enough money to last the semester, Morant commutes to campus and works two part-time jobs while at Marquette. And although auto repairs are a necessary expense, surprises like that eat away at her pocketbook savings.

And because of her two part-time jobs, Morant feels as though she can’t afford to take on an unpaid internship, even though it could benefit her career: College graduates who have had internships are 90% more likely to receive job offers than graduates who didn’t, according to an analysis of survey data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) by WIRED. “I’m not sure if I’m going to get a journalism job,” Morant says.

But Morant is not alone. For Vanessa Morales, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences who is also a first-generation student, these points of stress can distract from college classes. She says she feels as though she has had to choose

between going to class and clocking in “a lot of times,” because she needs to make money.

This is a concern for professors like Reinholz, who says that if students in the classroom are stressed out because they are working too much, their main focus is not necessarily on learning the material.

“The job is helping you pay for things, but you really do need to focus on school,” Reinholz says.

But as Morant and Morales say, focusing on school is tough.

For them, it’s a game of balancing risk and reward.

Risk and Reward But even with student debt and stress levels climbing high, evidence documents that having at least a bachelor’s pays off in the long run, because adults who have completed college tend to accumulate more wealth, according to Forbes.

Ian Gonzalez, vice president for finance at Marquette, echoes that sentiment.

“

I don’t know if there will be a time when I stop paying back college loans,” Taylor Morant, senior, College of Communication

“You may be taking out loans in order to pay for that degree, or you may be working extra jobs,” Gonzalez says. “Obviously, there’s pain to get to a point like that, but I can tell you that the payoff in the end is high.”

While Reinholz echoes this sentiment, she says that pain can impact students’ ability to stay engaged in their professional life, which in turn impacts productivity and future pay.

In other words, she says, if the risk becomes more than the reward, it is important to ask for help.

“We want the best for our kids,” Reinholz says. “If you don’t tell anybody, no one is going to know. And if no one knows, how can we help?”

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Architects Academics How does inclusivity play into design?

Written by Lelah Byron, Skyler Chun Just like the phrase “circle of life” from “The Lion King” refers to the connection between the beginning and end of a life cycle, John Knapp, director of external affairs from the College of Business Administration, says each building on Marquette University’s campus has its own circle of life as well.

In other words, when one building falls, another rises. It’s an intensive process of planning and preparation, one that involves the past, present and future of Marquette.

“We want to anticipate the needs for the building,” Knapp, who works on strategic initiatives, says.

Those anticipated needs are twofold: inclusion and accessibility. Spaces on campus create community and comfort, and therefore play a subtle but significant role in day-to-day life.

But not all spaces are made equal.

Because the Americans with Disabilities Act and accessibility guidelines (ADAAG) for builders were not passed until 1990, buildings at Marquette that were constructed before that time may not emphasize those needs, Knapp says.

For example, O’Donnell Hall, built in 1952, as well as Helfaer Theatre, built in 1997, have been criticized for their lack of wheelchair accommodations, such as ramps at the front entrance and elevators inside.

‘This doesn’t happen without a lot of people’: Design that’s universal When it comes to inclusion and accessibility, architects and academics refer to the principle of universal design. Those who utilize universal design make products -- be it a building or a bound book -- accessible to all users, regardless of disability, age and other factors such as race, according to the Universal Design Project.

It helps to have a team that can work through these design difficulties, and where a plethora of perspectives are platformed, Knapp says. And as it just so happens, that’s his job -- to be an avenue of voices for students, faculty, alumni and others in the Marquette Business building.

“That’s how you ultimately end up at the best product that’s going to meet all of those stakeholders’ needs,” Knapp says.

Lora Strigens, vice president for planning and facilities management, works with university leaders to lead the planning process of new infrastructure.

Strigens says the main goal of her team is to provide the planning and the right type of spaces so that stakeholders throughout the university can do the things they need to for the students.

From just the kernel of an idea, to envisioning what the university wants to achieve, and designing and implementing “You see some older buildings were designed without that those plans, Strigens says there’s not a single aspect of anyperspective (of inclusion and accessibility) in mind,” thing that happens in the physical environment that doesn’t Knapp says. involve her team. However, she says the university has the In the past, it was in the green space adjacent to the Alumni final say in any decision made regarding these new buildings on campus.

Memorial Union where McCormick Hall once stood. And in the present, the largest donor-funded project in university “The university has frequent and deep input throughout history will take its place: the home of Marquette Business. the entire process,” Strigens says. “I would say there’s not a detail in that building that doesn’t have the hands of the uniSo, with the new Marquette Business building in the early stage of its cycle of life, Knapp says a team of architects and versity on it in some way ... So while the responsibility of my team is to lead and facilitate, that doesn’t happen without academics are thinking about every project from the past the input and engagement of a lot of people.” and the present in order to build a better future.

But what does inclusion and accessibility really mean?

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Strigens says her team tried to focus on spaces that would impact students the most and bring people together in a

community-driven way. In planning for the business building, this meant placing a greater emphasis on the learning environment, event space and common space.

But sometimes, it’s worthwhile to construct a space specific to a community. For example, one need look no further than the Commuter Lounge in the AMU. ‘A home while on campus’: Design that’s useful Ali Myszewski, associate director for marketing, student employment and AMU information, explains how the Commuter Lounge in the AMU, located in Room 139, serves the purpose of “creating a space for commuter students to relax, hang out, eat and socialize while they are on campus,” Myszewski says in an email. “Granted, any location on campus for students is for commuter students. However, the Commuter Lounge provides an identified space where they can network and relate to other students who are experiencing Marquette in a lot of the same ways they are.”

designed to be flexible from a teaching perspective, but also from a learning perspective, which includes small details, such as making sure chairs and equipment can be easily rearranged and moved. For example, the design and planning team is focusing on creating more “informal work spaces,” such as a cafe, more study spots, places for group work and rooms that are designed to be similar to workspaces students will be in once they graduate.

“That may not seem like a big change on the surface level, but a traditional classroom was designed for a faculty member to be in front and be able to see everyone at once,” he says. “As much as that seems subtle, that is a change to create a more inclusive environment.”

Knapp also says that just like all faculty teach differently, students also learn differently.

“Just because someone sits in the back, doesn’t raise their hand a lot ... doesn’t mean they are disengaged and they are not learning,” Knapp says. “I think our environments have to Because commuter students don’t have the same experiences of students living on campus, she says having an iden- be flexible and adaptable because good teachers can figure out how to create learning spaces in that classroom that will tified space provides them with a “home” while on campus. make sure every single student is having a positive learning “(The lounge) builds community amongst the commuter experience.” students, allows for communication to be publicized to them Wilkerson says she hopes to make more friends and build they might not otherwise see, and it connects them to Marstronger connections with peeers throughout her time quette beyond the classroom,” Myszewski says in an email. at Marquette.

“We often hear that the Commuter Lounge is the location commuter students need to meet new people and develop “As the years go by, I hope there can be more inclusivity on Marquette friendships. campus, and hopefully I can see more colored people who look like me too,” she says.

While Vanessa Wilkerson, a first-year in the College of Health Sciences, is not a commuter student, she says she can relate to feelings of loneliness that come with a lack of diversity and inclusion in physical spaces on campus.

“Sometimes there are classes where I am the only colored person in the classroom,” Wilkerson says. “It’s just different … I wouldn’t say it makes me uncomfortable, but it’s just like ‘Wow, I’m kind of by myself I guess.’”

She says she usually either goes off campus, or finds a space by herself, to study on campus.

“It can be easy to feel alone, so representation, and knowing that there are other people by your side,” Wilkerson says.

“Knowing that is is half the battle to be honest because if you don’t know there are these resources for you, you are not gonna do anything about it, and you are just going to continue to feel alone.”

Traditional vs. modern architecture While Straz Hall has served its purpose of educating students for many years, Knapp says the new business building will adapt to more modern times.

“When you get down to the classroom level, and you think about how creating those spaces are functional not only for inclusivity but for student success, you have to things really going on: You want to create a classroom environment where our faculty can teach the way they feel they really need to be affected in today’s world, and that’s different from when Straz (Hall) was built.” Knapp says.

Knapp says every classroom in this new facility is not only

Students play spikeball in the green space next to the AMU, where the new business school is currently being built. This photo was taken prior to construction.

Marquette Wire stock photo 33

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FOOD INSEC URITY Twenty-two percent of MU students are actively food insecure, but not many receive the help they need.

Written by Maria Crenshaw

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Food insecurity.

It looks like skipped meals, compromises the grocery store, sacrifices, extra shifts at work and trying to focus in class despite not knowing what your next meal is, or where it will be coming from. On Marquette’s campus, these experiences -- among countless others -are a reality for many students. Yet food insecurity is silent. in

Dr. Noreen Siddiqui, a recent graduate student at Marquette University and special projects coordinator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, published a study in 2018 on the state of food insecurity on campus.

She found that one in five students at Marquette were food insecure -- or unable to have access, at all times, to enough food to support an active, healthy lifestyle.

This 2018 study is the most recent one done on Marquette’s campus.

College of Health Sciences, is the director of operations for the Backpack Program and wants the program to be more than an impersonal exchange of food.

“Even as we keep growing, it’s really important to us that participants are met with a student handing out the bag and get to say ‘How’s your day?’ and ‘Is there anything we can get you?’” Lechman says. “If you need something, Backpack is there for you.”

There are no stipulations for students signing up for the Backpack Program; Everyone is welcome. Yet members of Backpack Program, including Elizabeth Mantey, a junior in the College of Health Sciences and director of external relations for the program, recognize there are barriers to overcome.

“We recognize that there is a barrier to people even signing up for the program,” Mantey says. “The idea that food insecurity is not a thing on campus and that there is almost shame in needing and desiring that while going to a private university.”

“Twenty-two percent of students on Marquette’s campus are actively food insecure,” Dr. Christopher Simenz, professor in the department of physical therapy and exercise Food insecurity is not simple. It permeates science, says. “Which should shock you. Which should shock the lives of those affected, and Christine Little, maneveryone on campus because we do a good job at ager of campus food recovery and assistance at Marquette, hiding that.” says stigma around the issue can be debilitating to food Researching food insecurity in the greater Milwaukee area insecure students. has been a part of Simenz’s professional work, along with “I feel like there is the trope of the starving college student teaching at Marquette, for over ten years. and it’s almost a rite of passage,” Little says. “The stigma is At first, those two professions were separate. Then Sia lot, the mental aspect of it is very isolating, it’s embarrassmenz learned Marquette students were going to community ing for some students. It affects their mental health, their pantries to get free and reduced food. social health, as well as their physical health.”

“I was amazed at my ignorance,” Simenz says. “At that Siddiqui’s dissertation on food insecurity highlights how time my frustration was about our inability to address and the individual’s perspective can change how stigma affects try to mitigate food insecurity on campus, coupled with the students. The critical resilience perspective and the unnotion that students were having to look elsewhere off Mar- critical resilience perspective are two lenses that Siddiqui quette’s campus, outside of our reaches to support defined while talking to students for her dissertation. their hunger.”

Students who held the critical resilience perspective The response to this need was the Backpack Program. tended to critique the system and ask questions like “Why am I and others going hungry?” and “Why didn’t my school The Backpack Program began as a couple of mini-fridges do more?” in Simenz’s office and has since turned into an operation located in Mashuda Hall where The uncritical resilience perspective, however, Siddiqui students in need are confidentially supplied described as more dangerous to the individual. In this pergroceries and personal care products. spective, the student may believe it is their responsibility to get themselves out of food insecurity, despite systematic John Brown, a graduate student in the College of Health Sciences, is the director of problems working against them. Some of these problems include access to food, job loss, sudden changes in family diversity and inclusion for the Backpack Prostability, among others. gram and has been with the organization since fall 2019. To him, the mission of the Backpack “Time and time again I heard every single one of those Program is simple. students who either used the food pantry and then stopped “Everyone should eat,” Brown says. “Everyone eats (most of them had) or they refused to use it because ‘others were worse off’,” Siddiqui says. “Even though the food pantry ... Food is about community, food is about culture, it’s about was there for them, specifically the students.” strength and it’s supposed to bring people together.”

According to The Hope Center, an action research center, Building community is a major part of the Backpack nearly three in five students surveyed experienced basic Program’s mission. Liv Lechman, a graduate student in the 37

needs insecurity during the pandemic, yet 52% did not apply for support because they did not know how.

However, the presence of Sendik’s does not eliminate the food desert for many students and community members.

“I think college students are the silent population,” Little says.

Simenz acknowledges that Sendik’s satisfies the needs of a portion of students on campus, but those who make great sacrifices to attend Marquette don’t have a “choice” when a half gallon of milk is $2.49 and a two liter of Pepsi is three for $3.00.

The presence of food insecurity on campus goes beyond this stigma.

Marquette and the Near West Side Neighborhood are located in what is termed a “food desert,” or areas where people have limited access to a variety of healthy and affordable food.

“What we found in the level of the neighborhood was that food insecurity actually increases when you put an expensive store with items that are often inaccessible to people that don’t have the means to pay,” Simenz says. “So we have In 2017, Marquette teamed up with Near West the same problem that existed all along, but now we have a Side Partners for the “grocery store challenge.” The goal was market so people kind of forget about it.” to provide an accessible grocery store for students on camSiddiqui urges Marquette to not forget. pus and to eliminate the communities’ “food desert.”

“Are we okay as an institution with ten students Sendik’s Fresh2Go was announced in June 2017 and offigoing hungry? One hundred? Five percent of the cially opened on Marquette’s campus in August that year. population? Ten percent? How many students In a university news release from 2017, Marquette Univer- can we say can go hungry and we aren’t going sity President Michael Lovell promised that Sendik’s would to do anything about it?” Siddiqui says. solve food accessibility problems and that Marquette and the A common hope among all interviewed for this stoNear West Side would find themselves in a “fresh ry is that everyone have access to nutritious food -- a basic food oasis.” human need.

The Backpack Program is a free, confidential service that provides groceries, personal care products and necessities.

Photos

by Josh Meitz 38

EXPERIENCES ON CAMPUS Students share insights on intersectionality Written by Christina Espinoza, Ryan Hagan

White, pink, turquoise, brown and black.

This rainbow flag still flies high in front of the Milwaukee County Courthouse, less than three blocks from Marquette University’s campus. Likewise, the LGBTQIA+ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and more) has been vocal and present. And yet, the community’s experience is still that of a minority’s — muffled when compared against the campus’s heteronormative noise.

“I would say (my experience) has definitely been interesting … Definitely not easy, for sure,” Jalen Fox, a senior in the College of Business Administration, says. “I am gay, but I don’t really like to put labels on it.”

To Fox, being gay is as innocuous a trait as being straight: It’s something that just is. But being different comes with assumptions that are oftentimes harmful and inaccurate.

For example, the implicit assumption of a person’s sexual orientation, which is often taken for granted.

“Sexuality or being a part of the LGBT community isn’t something that’s black and white, you know? You never really know if a person is or isn’t, you know, a part of (the) community,” Fox says.

Fox goes on to say that a large part of his experience at Marquette comes from the his intersecting identities, between being both gay and Black.

“It’s like every day I have to think about the fact that my identity could, you know, put me in dangerous situations, just for being myself,” Fox says. “I sort of have an understanding that my experience is very different than other experiences.”

In addition to professional and classroom settings, Fox says intersectional identity plays into everyday things like walking down the street.

A multiplicity of other experiences fall under the rainbow.

The goal of LGBTQIA+ activism is to highlight and validate these experiences.

“Sometimes you kind of use a stepping stone to really buy 39

into your whole queer identity. That’s kind of what I experienced,” Maaz Ahmed, a senior in the College of Communication, says about their experience as a nonbinary person.

They started by identifying as bisexual, then gay, then came into their complete identity. They use any/all pronouns.

“And I identify as gay, although that’s also in question, so who really knows?” Ahmed says.

Being nonbinary is the experience of not identifying with either end of the bimodal gender distribution -- male or female. This is not to be confused with being transgender, which is often characterized by gender dysphoria; Intense feelings of unease with one’s assigned gender at birth.

Eleven percent of LGBTQIA+ adults identify as nonbinary, 1.2 million Americans, based on a study by the Williams Institute. Marquette does not seem to publicly display the amount of students who identify as LGBTQIA+, nor does it display specific demographics within the spectrum outside of male and female populations.

Indeed, uncertainty seems to still fill the air for some LGBTQIA+ folks on campus, a feeling fueled by past Marquette actions. Professor of social and cultural sciences

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Dawne Moon reflects on the Jodi O’Brien settlement in 2010 which contributed to the creation of the LGBTQIA+ Resource Center.

“Ten years ago when Jodi O’Brien was so horrifically mistreated by the university and I didn’t have tenure, it was somewhat terrifying to be here, but now my concerns are far more for students and staff than myself,” Moon says in an email.

She is referring to the 2010 rescinded offer of dean status to O’Brien. The New York Times has the story: “Marquette University abruptly rescinded an offer to a sociologist to serve as dean, angering some students and faculty members who said the university did so after learning she was a lesbian who wrote about sexuality. Marquette said the professor lacked ‘the ability to represent the Marquette mission and identity.’”

Reverend Robert A. Wild, Marquette’s then-president, told The New York Times that the decision had to do with O’Brien’s “negative” papers about marriage and the family.

Yet many colleagues of O’Brien were dubious. Wild himself would later call the decision a “shortcoming,” but still stood by it.

The LGBTQIA+ Resource Center, located on the first floor of the AMU, is a community space that offers resources and events.

Photo taken by Isabel Bonebrake

“A mindset -- a culture -- not like a specific group of people,” Trisha Butz, a senior in the College of Engineering, says about Marquette’s atmosphere. Butz identifies as lesbian.

She is clear about not casting the blame on the straight majority. People are just not used to having openly LGBTQIA+ people around them and do not know how to act, she says.

“It’s less of ‘Oh, this specific group is always doing something,’ always discriminating something; and more so like, ‘Nobody knows how to treat me’ type of thing,” Butz says.

“That’s what I’ve heard from others, I should say.”

Overt discrimination still happens, however, as Ahmed says, “On one hand, I’ve made some really great queer friends here.” But he feels like the queer population on campus is stratified. “There’s pockets of us in a bunch of different locations. But on the other hand, me and my roommate and some of our friends -- we’ve been called slurs on the street late at night by Marquette students.”

Institutional inaction is something Kassie Povinelli, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, discusses in her experience as a transgender woman. When undergoing gender-affirming therapy, she asked if she could have a single dorm room. “And (the Residence Hall Association was) like, ‘No, we can’t do that for you,’” she says. “I think it was because they didn’t have any available at the time.” But whatever the reasons for this, she says, it is one of many examples the university did not make an effort to streamline her experience.

In contrast, Povinelli says her professors are very supportive and enact practices which affirm her identity, like privately asking preferred pronouns to avoid outing people.

“You can just say, I want to be called this name and (administration) will give you an email with that name. They’ll give you most of your Microsoft accounts updated with that name.” Povinelli says. “All your CheckMarq and stuff will be updated with that name. Just in general, anybody who interacts with you will see that.”

But Povinelli says there are further measures that the university could take to be gender inclusive. CheckMarq does not have the infrastructure for pronouns to be placed beside names, something Povinelli says she has requested for years. She says Marquette administration has claimed it is due to CheckMarq’s software being sourced from a third party.

Like Butz, Povinelli is very particular about who should be held accountable for these oversights. “Professors are great.

But the administration really tries sliding the issue under the carpet.” Deadnaming -- using a transgender person’s pre-transition name -- and ease of updating identification

are central issues for the transgender community.

Ultimately, Povinelli says, there are traditional homophobic dogmas which maintain Marquette’s passive stances.

“Because they’re Catholic. I was raised Catholic and I went to Jesuit institutions and stuff. And the sort of hardline Catholic stance is ‘hate the sin, love the sinner,’ which really hates the sinner as well.”

Povinelli says this cognitive dissonance between the university’s stances leads them to dance around LGBTQIA+ issues.

“It’s an important broad value, but then the specific value is still like, yeah, they can’t, they can’t overwrite themselves on it because of the Vatican,” she says.

These interconnecting forces craft the LGBTQIA+ experience on campus. Angel Gallegos Cuarenta, a first-year in the College of Arts & Sciences, says he feels an air of toxic masculinity: elements of hyper-masculine identity that harm social situations for all involved (including men). He feels this when he holds hands with his boyfriend in public. “We tend to let go when we go by a lot of guys.”

Fox talks about his dating experience, and by extension how he thinks a lot of LGBTQIA+ people navigate heteronormative spaces.

“And I think it’s still pretty hard trying to navigate that. It’s different from the straight, the heterosexual experience in that you’re able to just talk to the opposite sex and just be like, ‘Hey, I like you.’”

Fox says he feels a lot of LGBTQIA+ people need to build intimate relationships online through dating apps or social media. This has a substantial effect on dynamics, creating a chilling effect on relationships that preside over the community.

“People just still aren’t really comfortable being different,” Fox says. “I wonder how could we create a space for people that aren’t comfortable being out, or don’t have people to reach out to, to ask questions about their identity and stuff like that.”

Gallegos Cuarenta and Povinelli both emphasized their experiences must not be generalized to the whole LGBTQIA+ community.

To be LGBTQIA+ is a spectrum and everyone has their own place on that spectrum.

The LGBTQIA+ Resource Center is located on the first floor of the Alumni Memorial Union, and the Gender and Sexuality Alliance puts on pride-related events around campus. They can also be found on social media @lgbtqmu and @gsamarquette.

This story is part of a series.

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Student-run businesses An inside look at some side hustles on campus Written by Rashad Alexander Small businesses and side hustles have always been around, but to run them in the midst of a pandemic is a feat that can take a lot to accomplish. However, some Marquette students have used these trying times to work on their craft, and with the world being back open, these young business owners are ready to take their products to the next level.

good and bad qualities, but we should be self-accepting regardless.”

Here are a few student-run businesses here on Marquette’s campus.

“I’ve had DJs wear my clothes at major music festivals like Summer Smash, which I still haven’t processed,” Meyer says. “The most meaningful interactions are when I meet people here at Marquette who have no idea who I am, and aren’t from where I’m from, but know of the clothes I make and the message I’m trying to spread.”

Christian Meyer - Sinful Saint We all have our flaws that may or may not be hard to hide.

Christian Meyer wanted his clothing brand, “Sinful Saint” to allow people to embrace themselves and their flaws.

“The first words when you go to the site are ‘nobody’s perfect,’” Meyer says. “That is the message I want to spread. We all have

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Meyer released his first wave of merchandise in the middle of the COVID-19 lockdown June 10, 2020. Despite the struggles he had while starting it during the pandemic, Meyer’s Black-owned business has continued to grow.

Ronnie Ortiz and Brady Walczak - Electi Gym-goers may struggle with getting a good workout in if they don’t know how to use the equipment, or if it is broken. But two

Photos by Josh Meitz

“

Just being able to share my story on entrepreneurship, I had a lot of people reach out to me and just say how it inspired them.”

Kristin Carter, senior in the College of Communication

roommates came up with an idea that helps students knock out both these problems with the Electi app.

Roommates Ronnie Ortiz and Brady Walczak, seniors in the College of Business Administration and the College of Arts & Sciences, came up with Electi due to their shared interest of the gym. “(Walczak) took a weight-lifting class and started working out and eating better,” Ortiz says. “He ended up falling in love with the gym and how it made him feel. His passion manifested itself in the creation of Electi, as he wants to make this healthy lifestyle readily available to every student.”

They both connected over a common interest in gyms, and ended up creating the app Electi.

Since May 2021, the app has gotten support from University President Michael Lovell, negotiated coupon deals from on-campus businesses and had over 150 active accounts during the first week of the fall 2021 semester. With the success Electi has received on Marquette’s campus, Ortiz says they have bigger plans for the app.

“We are actively looking to expand to nearby colleges and hope to do so in the near future.”

Kristin Carter - Carterhealth & Lifestyle The COVID-19 pandemic saw the need for hand sanitizer skyrocket, and Kristin Carter, a senior in the College of Communication, saw an opportunity. Her “Krisband,” which lets you fill up and squirt out sanitizer in a wristband, went viral on TikTok and eventually earned her appearances on Fox6, ABC and

CBS news.

“Just being able to share my story on entrepreneurship, I had a lot of people reach out to me and just say how it inspired them.”

Carter says.

Despite vaccines being available and the world opening up again, Carter still has plans to continue growing her business after the pandemic.

“I’ve been thinking about introducing a line of lotion or sanitizer,” Carter says. “I just want to keep rolling out more health and lifestyle accessories.”

Wendy Perez and Julie Aleman Community Books You Textbooks can be killers on students’ wallets. But with Community Books You, low-income and first-generation college students can be provided with their textbooks through donations. For Wendy Perez, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, it was a relief knowing she and her partner, Julie Aleman, a sophomore in the College of Communication, aren’t the only students going through this problem.

“Just going through that issue and knowing we can do something about it really inspired me to start the business with Julie,” Perez says.

While these businesses are all unique from one another, they all share one thing in common: They are student-run. On top of participating in all the experience has to offer, these students are taking on the notable responsibility of running a business.

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Photo by Sarah Kuhns

MULTI

While walking through the 107 acres that make up Marquette University’s campus, it may be easy to spot some patterns in ethnic, cultural and demographic backgrounds that often dominate the university. However, if you look a little closer, many students offer diverse, multicultural perspectives that enhance students’ education and life experiences.

CULT URAL

As a Hmong American born and raised in Milwaukee, Rachel Yang, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, says it can be hard to find her own identity, especially at predominantly white institutions and neighborhoods in the United States.

“Even though I’m from a Hmong family, and even though we have Hmong traditions, it’s very much like ‘But you go to a very white school and you don’t speak (Hmong),’” Yang says.

While Yang can speak and understand Hmong, she says she doesn’t use it every day, as her parents can understand English.

PERSPECTIVES

The Hmong people are an ethnic group that mainly live in southern China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.

“When I speak in Hmong I have an English accent,” Yang says.

“People would be like ‘Oh you don’t even sound like Hmong, you speak very American.’ But then when I was at school I obviously look Asian, so it’s very hard to see where I fit.”

And being Christian is just another aspect that sometimes sets her apart.

“I feel like I can’t fit into both, but at the same time, I think our culture is also evolving to be more Americanized as well,” she says.

“It’s different times now.”

Written by Skyler Chun

Minority students share outlooks 44 a predominantly white campus on

While her family still celebrates the Hmong new year and wears traditional Hmong clothes, they don’t participate in Hu Plig, a tradi-

tional Shaman blessing in the Hmong culture.

for an extra year.

“We do have different celebrations and events, but it is a little bit different because our Christian practices are different from the Hmong Shaman practices,” Yang says.

Agbley eventually made his way into community service, where he began working with a nonprofit group called Next Generation, an organization that provides academic support and enrichment programs for students in grades kindergarten through high school in the city of Milwaukee.

After transferring to Marquette in her sophomore year, Yang says it was hard to find groups where she could fit in, as there is not a big Hmong population at Marquette.

However, Yang says she feels comfortable at Marquette because she has surrounded herself with a diverse friend group and support system.

“My friend group is amazing, and I think that because I get so much exposure to different cultures, I’m able to feel more comfortable,” Yang says. “But if it was someone new, who was maybe a little more introverted, which is totally normal too, I feel like it could be harder to feel like you really belong.”

Celeste Lagman, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, was also born and raised with a more Americanized version of her Filipino culture.

Next Generation serves predominantly Somali, Somali Bantus and Black American students.

“There’s a lot of beautiful cultural dynamics happening there, and I think that at first, students from Marquette didn’t necessarily know how to navigate that,” Agbley says. “The wealth of information that you get (through service) is so immense and incomparable, and I think for me, having to cultivate that habit has really helped me find myself.”

He says he tries to encourage others at Marquette to immerse themselves in the community through service as well.

Lagman says she decided to come to Marquette because she wanted to explore the city and liked the smaller, “We have this notion, and this is kind biblical in some more individualized academic setting. sense, that ‘the servant is always the greatest,’” he says.

“I’m not saying that I’m trying to position myself to be the “When I got to Marquette, I kind of was used to seeing greatest, but just from that sentence alone it’s like when a majority of white people in my classes,” she says. “So it didn’t surprise me at first, but I can imagine someone who you’re able to truly serve with humility, you get to really understand.” came from a very diverse high school or background and coming here would be such a big difference.”

Lagman is the secretary and treasurer of Delta Xi Phi, the multicultural sorority on campus.

Delta Xi Phi raises multicultural awareness on campus by working with other diversity organizations. They also work to promote the advancement of women throughout their education and studies, connecting with people from all backgrounds.

She says she originally joined this organization to meet and interact with more students from different backgrounds.

“I’m really glad I joined because I was able to learn about the different multicultural organizations on campus, like some of the Latino and Latina sororities and fraternities,” she says. “I really connected with people from those groups ... I just like learning about different cultures and being able to participate in that.”

Sessie Agbley, a coordinator in the Center for Community Service and a graduate student in the College of Communication at Marquette, is from Ghana, West Africa, but has traveled a lot and has been able to experience cultures in many parts of the world.

After attending the American International School of Mozambique, Agbley came to the United States for college. After graduation, he received an Optional Practical Training visa, allowing him to work within his field of study

Agbley also says that growing up in multiple cultures has allowed him to really appreciate and learn from each of them in unqiue ways.

“I’ve grown up in very international circles, so whiteness has always been within my frame of reference, so the adjustment (to Marquette) wasn’t hard,” Agbley says. “I’ve always had to find myself within the spaces of whiteness.”

As a graduate student at Marquette, however, Agbley says there are times when he wants to have certain conversations, but there just are not enough people available to have those conversations with him.

Yang also says it is important to show that Marquette is a school that supports diversity.

“Showing that we are open to having those difficult conversations is the first and most powerful thing,” she says.

“If you don’t feel comfortable at your school, or where you are from, I feel like you just won’t be happy or won’t feel like you belong, so it’s important for everyone to feel comfortable enough to voice their own opinion.”

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SCHUELLER: Carrying the new you through Mental health is now more important than ever.

Written by Jaiden Schueller Times like these make you happy to be alive; Times of regrouping, reconnecting and collaboration with others. After more than 18 months under instruction to distance ourselves from one another, the world is slowly easing its way back to the way that life used to be.

After being away from one another for so long, it is important to stay connected with ourselves and make sure that we do not lose sight of who we have now grown to be.

Individually, we have gained something we didn’t have before COVID-19: A new sense of connection with ourselves. The umbrella of the pandemic along with the specific term of “quarantine” under it have led us to being more self-orientated, independent and aware of who we are. Virtual communication norms have enabled us to interact with peers and colleagues in different ways. However, that change in emotional and present interaction with others allows, and continues to allow, for a deeper connection within ourselves.

Now that classes are back in person, offices are opening up and public events are back on the rise, we are moving in a positive direction socially. As life starts to pick up more rapidly, take a moment to step back and reflect on who you have become throughout these times of independence, growth and even loneliness. Discern on the positive ways that your soul has morphed over these months, and hold onto them for the time to come.

Self recognition is the beginning for daily life and being. Once you recognize who you are, what and who works in your life and what does not, your loves and joys of life -- your soul food -- comes so fluidly. Mental health maintenance comes foremost once your self and soul have been understood. You can use the information you have gathered about yourself to prioritize proper mental health maintenance throughout this time back in reality.

CREATE YOUR OWN

CIROFCLE SELFCARE JOURNAL SOCIAL

SLEEP

MEDI A DETOX

Fort Behavioral states that “routines help us to create positive daily habits that promote self-care. We can organize our time around things that we deem important to maintain happiness and feelings of fulfillment.” By following a routine, it is easier to feel organized, less stressed and like a master of time management. A routine has helped me walk into each day with ease rather than a frantic stress of what is to come. Everyday is a blessing and welcomes new experiences in each moment, but having a basic grasp on the day is proactive.

Journaling is letting the thoughts and emotions from the brain and heart weave their way through the nerves and muscles of the body. A pen moves on paper to release whatever is on the mind. By journaling (something that is different for everybody), we are able to take our time releasing the stresses and joys of the day onto paper. Take these notes and recycle them immediately if it is something you never want to see again, or archive them to reminisce on in the future. A safe journaling routine each day can consist of: Three things that you are grateful for, three affirmations, three goals for the day, one intention for the day, one kind message to a friend (that they may or may not ever see).

Affirmations are overlooked in today’s society. Healthline discusses the reality of affirmations by saying that ”creating a mental image of yourself doing something activates many of the same brain areas

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SELF READA BOOK AFFIRMATIONS Graphic by Lily Werner elizabeth.werner@marquette.edu

that actually experiencing these situations would.” Take a deep breath, feel the air enter and leave your body and tell yourself all the positive affirmations that you need and deserve. Remind yourself of your beauty, your power, your wisdom and your worth.

Bask in your alone time. Whether it is a quick moment walking back from class or an evening alone in your apartment, live intentionally in your independent moments. I feel most connected and mentally free when I am doing yoga with a good playlist softly playing in the background. Reading, cleaning, watching a comfort movie or TV show and exercising are just a few other independent ways to stay in touch with yourself.

Self care can be as easy as taking time for yourself.

Photo by Sarah Kuhns

Most importantly, during this resumed time back with others, live each day in the present. The pandemic showed us that we cannot predict the future, let alone tomorrow. Plan for the future, but don’t let it consume today. Live in each moment and know what is meant to be is meant to be. Work hard, remain motivated and determined in hobbies, school and the workforce, but know that mental wellbeing is a top priority while moving back into the swing of life again.

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Com ing to 14. gether i n the 4

Photos by Josh Meitz

R E I NG P L H T A G AC E S N M K E I Written by Izzy Fonfara Drewel

Milwaukee is a bustling city filled with restaurants, parks, “Although going places and experiencing new things is fun, beaches, museums and a plethora of other exciting things. you don’t always get a chance to just sit there and talk and As a hub for college students and citizens alike, this city is full catch up on life,” Patel says. “So just being able to be there of great gathering spots for people of every age. and in the moment was something I had a lot of fun doing.”

While there are staples like the Milwaukee Public Market and Bradford Beach, many students seem to be flocking to something a little more out of the ordinary. Archana Patel, a junior in the College of Health Sciences, was just one of many students who attended Axe MKE, an axe-throwing bar open to those 16 years and older.

“I went axe-throwing recently ... it’s an experience and it was fun,” Archana Patel says. “I feel like people should go at least once in their life.”

Bradford beach is another fan-favorite for Marquette students. Although it can be chaotic and crowded, Christian Cruz, a senior in the College of Business Administration, has his own solution.

“There’s a beach that’s a little farther north. It’s called Atwater Beach, and it’s a hidden gem of Milwaukee,” Cruz says. “It’s definitely quieter and peaceful, and there’s like rock platforms that go out maybe 40 feet into the water.”

Although discovering new places is exciting, there are reasons why many share similar favorites, including the Riverwalk. The easy, meandering path along the Milwaukee River has created an abundance of memories with Marquette’s students.

Krishna Patel, a junior in the College of Health Sciences, says she and her roommate would go on walks at night near the river and have deep conversations.

48

Kayaking on the river is also offered by several services in the city, including Milwaukee Kayak Tours on Juneau Avenue.

To celebrate her boyfriend coming to visit for a week, Archana Patel wrote a whole list of things for them to do.

“I made a whole itinerary of things to do each day, and kayaking was really fun and it was really peaceful,” Archana Patel says. “We kind of got to see the whole city.”

Another well-known spot in the city is the Henry Maier Festival Park, home of Summerfest. A festival featuring a whole scope of musicians and genres, crowds flock to its 11 music stages.

The city is packed with different cuisines from around the world. Out of the 150 restaurants in downtown Milwaukee, it can be hard to decide where to eat. Luckily, students have plenty of suggestions.

Thai-namite is one of Archana Patel’s favorite spots for Thai cuisine. Aloha Poke and Screaming Tuna both have great menus that feature fish. Dorsia has delicious Italian food.

Lastly, My Yo My and Yo Factory are two small businesses that offer tasty desserts.

Milwaukee brings people together from all over the city; It is just a matter of going out there and finding the perfect spot.

E

FINDING CONNECTION IN ISOLATION

Written by Kimberly Cook This story contains some editorial content in regard to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the world is heading toward what may be the light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel, there were times in 2020, and even more recently for some, when the thought of getting to hug a loved one again seemed like a pipe dream. For most, the only escape during long days in quarantine was in connections with family, friends and students ... and even maintaining those connections could be hard at times.

But by finding new ways to interact, whether that be on Skype, creating bonds through food or discovering a new found family in the hallways of a university apartment building, the connections Photo by Isabel Bonebrake 49

“theNeverlastwoultwod months I have ofimagimynedsenispendi n g o r year essenti a l y l o cked i n my home, havi n g loutsi ittledetoofno physi c al contact wi t h anyone my i m medi a te fami l y .

Duri n g quaranti n e, I got back i n to my l o ngti m e hobby of baki n g and had the chance to experi m ent wi t h many new reci p es.

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Jack Wall, junior, College of Engineering

50

we had with each other were far from cut off. If anything, they were made stronger.

entirely virtual 2020-21 school year, the relationships that had existed before grew even stronger.

Ashley Bodi, a senior in the College of Art & Sciences, says she remembers when COVID-19 became real to her over her spring break vacation to Cancún, Mexico, in March 2020. Marquette students had just received an email extending their one week vacation by one more, something that, at the time, made Bodi excited.

“Skype calls with my friends gave me a break from everything,” Wall says of a time in the fall of 2020 when his residence hall, Schroeder Hall, went into a two-week quarantine due to an increased positivity rate in cases.

“I really didn’t think much of it at the time, if I’m being honest,” Bodi says. “We were all just happy to spend a little more time in Cancún.”

As the extended week came to an end, students and faculty received another email that the spring 2020 semester would resume entirely virtually, meaning students would not be able to return to campus, and the doors to Marquette University, much like the rest of the world, were closed until further notice.

“As I remember it, we got the news almost at the same time as students,” Leah Flack, chair of the English department at Marquette, says. “I think everyone’s first thought was about students: ‘How can we help them through this?’ ‘How can we continue to teach them?’ And when I look back on that, I am so proud of the faculty in [the English] department.”

While Wall says he and his roommate chose to quarantine in Chicago, rather that stay in the residence hall, it was still a priority for them to stay connected with their friends who chose to stay in Milwaukee.

“I really looked forward to checking in with everyone, and just seeing how they were all doing,” Wall says.

Flack reflected on the 2020-21 school year as eye-opening for her.

“With my students, I learned more about English than I have learned in my entire career within the virtual year,” Flack says. “Students in [that] time needed life rafts, and reading, having some way of connecting with people through books and discussing books, art, culture, TV and everything gave them that connection.”

So while the world was isolated from each other, and classrooms were divided into 30 small squares with unenthused faces, we found ways to keep seeing each other. While they may not have been conventional, they For Jack Wall, a junior in the College of Engineering, the were necessary and made all the difference in keeping more difficult transition was finding a way to cope with communication and togetherness alive. the stress and the amount of time he spent Connection. That is what made all the difference in at home. the world.

“I took up running, mainly as a way to get outside Even now, as we make our way to in-person classes and relieve stress that was building up from school,” around Marquette’s campus, Bodi says it feels like nothWall says. “I needed something to focus on so my mind ing has changed. wouldn’t wander.”

“Being back on campus, you can feel the excitement Sofia Neckopulos, a sophomore in the College of Arts & that everyone has ... it’s almost buzzing,” Bodi says.

Sciences, says baking desserts and spending time with her family were stress relievers when the reality of the pandemic hit a little too close.

“I got to spend a lot of time with my immediate family because a lot of us (before quarantine) were busy with our activities, so it was nice just to be able to have that,” Neckopulos says. “I made a lot of chocolate stuff so my family was pretty happy about that.”

On a more personal level, I feel that, as a society, we have never been closer to family and friends, and I wholeheartedly believe we have the pandemic to thank for that. We have connected and learned so much about ourselves and the people around us that we would have never known if the pandemic hadn’t forced us to take a step back and take inventory.

And, yes, there were times we had no idea what to do Neckopulos, a class of 2020 senior in high school when with ourselves or couldn’t grasp what was happening the pandemic began, described the feeling of losing the in the world around us. But through those hardships end of the school year, senior prom and graduation as we found that talking to friends, to our families and just heartbreaking. keeping the line of communication established and open “I almost cried when (prom) was canceled,” Neckopulos was all we needed. says. “A drive-through parade was not enough.”

People need people. If the pandemic has proved anyBut during times when it seemed as though everything thing, it is this notion: No matter where you are in the was falling apart, it was the people closest to us that world, what culture you come from, the color of your skin kept us grounded throughout the pandemic. Even when or the language you speak, people need people.

Marquette students returned to campus for an almost 51

INSPIRATION BEHIND THE LYRICS Tar Lvng: a combination of “Kung Fu Panda” and cigarettes Written by Randi Haseman Declan Fontillas, a junior in the College of Communication, originally went by the stage name Crusader, along with a screamo vibe. But he switched to Tar Lvng, name that comes from both the movie “Kung Fu Panda” and cigarettes.

Tar Lvng is a play on “Tai Lung,” the 2008 movie’s antagonist. “Tar” alludes to Fontillas’ smoking habit.

Last summer, Fontillas flew alone to California with hopes of creating an album.

“I was really nervous,” Fontillas says. “I hadn’t written anything in about three months. I hadn’t released anything. It just wasn’t going great for me. I was going to quit music.”

But something in California clicked. The sound system “I didn’t like music for a really long time.” Fontillas says. carrying subtleties, the beats from producer King Theta “I was one of those people who were like ‘Oh, I don’t listen and the despair of missing his girlfriend all combined to to music, I’m so countercultural.’” create songs Fontillas actually liked.

Then, during his senior year English class, more similar When finding inspiration for another song, Fontillas to a general art class, the teacher assigned a final project thought about performing live and in person, something where everyone had to make ... something. that hasn’t happened yet.

“I said ‘You know what? I’m going to make a little EP,’” Fontillas says. “I released three just really stupid songs, and I was like ‘This is kind of fun.’ Some people were like ‘Hey, this is really good, you should keep going,’ and I was like ‘no.’”

Until the following semester, when he turned in an album for another final project. Again, that was the end of his songwriting career.

Then he wanted to ask a girl to prom through a song.

She said no.

“And that was inspiration for another song,” Fontillas says. Thirty-nine songs later, including two features and eight tracks on an abandoned page, his songwriting career continued to evolve.

52

Fontillas’ first gig will be Nov. 27 at the Miramar Theatre. He says he wanted a song for that exact experience, and that’s when “showstopper,” the last song on the album, was born.

“If there isn’t a story behind it, I probably won’t like it just because I’m not as enthusiastic about it,” Fontillas says.

The album “Cities Burning,” along with the track-titled music video, premiered Sept. 11.

“I’ve gotten further than a lot of people thought I would’ve,” Fontillas says. “And, when I say that, I’m trying my best not to sound like, ‘Oh, I’m a rockstar’ type thing ... I felt like I had gotten somewhere pretty cool.”

Tar Lvng created his first album over last summer.

Photo by Ryan Lopez (Instagram: @ryn.lopez)

HOT MESS

by Tar Lvng

Broke up on a FaceTime I popped one, Snap the seal on the bottle for the lost one.

Those pills were off so I stopped em, Know I’d take it again if I crossed one.

Ibethaoufrghesthethristaawkedrouuglond” thclatiche“l.o.veI imsayahalitvetle madtoe oitresealemthough.

Neari g therelendationshi of both myeverynpast ps thi n g was just stupi don’dt redun like beidant,ng alI ojust ne.

Here we are, out of cash Spent it all to fill my tab Here we are same as before You’re just a cure for getting bored 53

54

Sean Ki n gston, DJ Mando and crew perform at homecoming Photos taken by Collin Narwocki, Josh Meitz 55

OFF

the court

Athletes find ways to balance athletics and academics Written by Ava Mares

There is more to being an athlete and a student at the collegiate level. They are both, student-athlete.

When these athletes are not competing they are just like regular students.

Here is how some Marquette student-athletes balance their everyday activities and responsibilities, once the blood, sweat and tears dry up.

A balancing act Women’s basketball redshirt first-year guard Rose Nkumu says a key to balancing academics and athletics is communication.

“It’s a lot of organization and time management. As a team, we have learned to stay organized and meet with tutors,” Nkumu says.

“I have a lot of support here (at Marquette). I am able to go to someone if I need help.”

Men’s soccer first-year defender Jonas Moen seconded Nkumu’s words on the importance of being able to adapt to a hectic student-athlete schedule.

“The key word is time management,” Moen says. “I try to put my phone away by 11:00 p.m. and wake up at around 7:00 a.m., so I get a good eight hours of sleep.”

For men’s lacrosse redshirt first-year defender Jack Kinney, he says one way he stays organized is by scheduling and planning out his days.

“I’m pretty meticulous with how I spend my time and you kind of have to be in order to get everything done and to achieve everything you want to achieve,” Kinney says. “A big component is not being on your phone, not being distracted at times.”

Day in the life The average school day for a student-athlete is no walk in the park.

“My average day varies, but 6 a.m. practice is always consistent,” men’s lacrosse sophomore midfielder Charlie DiGiacomo says. “I have a lot of classes during the day, so when I’m not in those, I like to study in the locker room late at night, because not 56

many people go in there.”

Like DiGiacomo, volleyball redshirt first-year middle blocker Carsen Murray’s day begins with practice.

“I wake up around 8 a.m. and go to practice. The team practices for about two and a half hours (and) then we have weights.

After that, I hustle from weights right to class,” Murray says.

“After class I have a small hour break where I usually grab lunch or go to The Brew and grab coffee.”

After that, Murray has two more classes.

When athletes aren’t sitting in a lecture, hitting the weight room or practicing with their team, many can be found in the Al McGuire Center, home to an athletic study facility called the Eagle’s Nest.

“It’s pretty social, so it depends on how much work I want to do at the end of the day,” Kinney says.

Moen says he also likes taking advantage of this available space.

“As a student athlete, I like the Eagle’s Nest,” Moen says. “I have my academic advisor to talk to me there and usually have some of my teammates there as well, so it’s a good place to relax and also study.”

Team Bonding Whether it be spending off-days together, traveling to cities for road games or exploring new cities, each team is able to use this time to form stronger bonds and lasting memories.

“It’s these little moments where we can all just be together is super important for team chemistry,” Murray says.

Nkumu says that while the women’s basketball team went through different types of adversity last year, it helped build invisible ties within her and her teammates and coaches.

“Sharing the struggle of going through COVID-19 last year brought us a lot closer,” Nkumu says. “We have become a family.

We make it clear that we are all here for each other and it’s not all just about basketball.”

Kinney says 6 a.m. practices become “just hanging out with all my best friends for two hours.”

And when it comes to their time off the lacrosse field, the Golden Eagles sees each other often, such as watching football together on Sundays.

“We spend so much time together that bonding comes naturally,” DiGiacomo says.

Just a regular student Murray said carving out time between academics and sports is not always enough.

“It’s very important to have down time, especially for student-athletes,” Murray says.

“We dedicate a lot of time to our sport and academics, (that) sometimes (we) forget about ourselves,” Murray says.

Just like many others, Murray says listening to music is another way for her to refocus and take her mind off of everything.

At the end of the day, these student-athletes are just regular Marquette students. This includes living and dining in residence halls. Moen says his favorite dining hall is Cobeen, where he enjoys the burgers and chicken patties. Yet DiGiacomo and Kinney say it’s all about the faces behind the food, such as the staff at Cobeen Hall.

Kinney, an advocate of Schroeder’s chicken parmesan, says, “at this point, we’re pretty good friends with a lot of the dining hall workers.”

Howeer, dining is not the only thing Kinney enjoys about being on campus.

“Living in the dorms is pretty nice because our team is all pretty close to each other on the same floor, but at the same time, I’ve been able to meet a lot of my hall-mates that aren’t on the team,” Kinney says. “Being that condensed in a dorm, you get a chance to meet everybody at some point, it’s pretty cool.”

With all the joys of campus life, classes and rosters, Nkumu says there is also lots being done to prepare student-athletes for life.

“You know that your sport isn’t going to be around forever, so Marquette prepares you for life after that,” Nkumu says.

Jonas Moen is a first-year defender on the Marquette men’s soccer team.

Photos taken by Isabel Bonebrake 57

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Written by Hannah Freireich If you ask any student-athlete to share their thoughts on how fast their college careers go, there might be unanimous answers: Quick.

For many Marquette student-athletes who have their collegiate careers coming to an end this year, it’s a time to reflect on their journey built in Milwaukee through memories, overcoming challenges and winning championships.

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“My favorite memory was last semester when we made Emily Foley it to the tournament in North Carolina and we played LMU With the NCAA granting all student-athletes an extra and we won on a PK which was a spiritual high and big year of eligibility due to COVID-19, cross country runner occasion,” Thornton says. “The whole season was great and graduate student Emily Foley has been allowed to and we won a lot of overtime games.” compete on the course for one more season.

Thornton, who hails from Rotherham, England, transBut Foley’s journey within the cross country program ferred to Marquette prior to the 2019 season after spendhasn’t been an easy one. ing the first half of his college career at Gannon UniverFoley began her first year on the team as a walk-on sity. and has now become a key member of the program. She He mentioned the transition from a smaller school, credits support from her friends for helping her to translike Wickersley School and Sports College back home in form her running career.

England, to a bigger school like Marquette has had its ups “It was about the competing, the practicing, but a lot of and down for him during his career. it had to do with the people that I did meet and the people “Personally the way things are run at Marquette and that did change my perspective on the sport,” Foley says. a lot of the opportunities, facilities and professionalism Although Foley has faced many adversities during her matches, if not, exceeds in England,” Thornton says. “The time at Marquette, her time in Milwaukee has been an two systems are great. However, the facilities and supimpactful one within the community and her team. port systems here help you to grow and feel aspired.”

“She has been a great leader on the team just looking Men’s soccer head coach Louis Bennett acknowledged out for the team as a whole and having conversations Thornton’s sacrifices throughout his career playing a facwith people and looking out for people other than herself, tor into the person he has become on and off the pitch. it has been a blessing to have her around,” head coach “Sam sacrificed a lot coming a long way from home, Sean Birren says. being a long way from his parents. A quick winter break doesn’t mean going back to his family where it does for a Sam Thornton lot of regular students,” Bennett says.

Although his career with the Blue and Gold will be shorter than others, men’s soccer senior midfielder Sam Taylor Wolf Thornton has created memories for a lifetime Like Thornton, volleyball graduate student outside hitter

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Spotlight (Far le ft and mid-le ft) Pho tos co urtesy of Ma rquett e Athle tics, (m id-righ t) Wir e

Taylor Wolf’s time at Marquette will be short but memorable.

Prior to last seson, Wolf transferred to Marquette after three years at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Wolf says playing for Marquette has given her a lot more experiences in the volleyball world.

“The opportunities we get here at Marquette are much greater than what I experienced at my undergrad,” Wolf says.

Volleyball head coach Ryan Theis says one of Wolf’s biggest accomplishments during her time with the Golden Eagles was adapting into her new role and taking on the setting position while still keeping her right side attacking position.

‘Taylor is a humble superstar and a heck of a volleyball player,” Theis says. “There are very few people who can do what she does, which is set in the back and hit in the front top. She just comes in and works to get better every day.”

Kaitlyn Lines

Redshirt senior Kaitlyn Lines also joined the volleyball program prior to her junior season.

When asked what her favorite memory has been since

stock photo , (far r ight) P hoto b y Sara h Kuh ns

she transferred to Marquette prior to the 2019 season, Lines mentions Marquette’s 3-1 win over BYU to win the BYU Nike Invitational that season.

“It was a big game for me because it was exciting to be playing on the team for the first time and we always lost to BYU at my old school so I really wanted to beat them,” Lines says.

Lines has faced a lot of adversity during her time at Marquette, including a season-ending injury in early October 2019. However, she has been able to learn more about herself both as a volleyball player and student from this.

As for post-graduation plans, Lines is still undecided about what she wants to pursue but hopes to build her resume, become more well-rounded and strengthen her confidence outside Marquette.

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M E N TA L for college

Written by Sam Arco Competing at the highest level is what most athletes dream about growing up. But when they get to Division I, performing to the best of their abilities under substantial pressure, while balancing school and sports can be challenging for many student-athletes at Marquette.

so certainly pressure or a desire to succeed for themselves, their coaches and their teammates does exist with D1 athletes across the country.”

Mental health includes a person’s emotional, psychological and social well-being. Student-athletes who are stressed about the daily pressures and living up to the expectations put on by others should know they are not alone and that there are others who are here to help.

Women’s soccer graduate student defender Maddie Monticello says she tries flipping the script on the pressure by facing it, rather than succumbing to it.

Kristin Hoff, director of student-athlete mental health and performance service at Marquette, works with connecting student-athletes to appropriate treatment providers to address their mental health and performance needs.

“I think of mental health as an umbrella term to describe our sense of emotional well-being,” Hoff says. “I support the conceptualization that mental health exists on a continuum, and we all move up and down the continuum based on our levels of distress, and the internal and external resources we have to manage that level of stress.”

Hoff sees the pressures student-athletes face up close and personal, especially here at Marquette.

“Each athlete is unique, and their experience of collegiate sport is their own,” Hoff says. “Athletes often set goals for themselves, and they are relentless in their pursuit of goals,

No matter the sport, challenges arise for many different student-athletes at Marquette in their own way.

“I have a different look at the pressure given by fans, whether it’s at a tough away game or even in front of Marquette fans at a home game. I think it’s the coolest pressure to go against,” Monticello says. “I try to tell the younger girls on my team that this is pressure that everyone has to face and that took me a while to figure out.”

Monticello believes the biggest way to cope with these pressures is by first accepting that it is a normal occurrence for athletes like herself.

“With being a student-athlete, those pressures are there daily and they’re prominent and I think the first step of dealing with those pressure is accepting them,” Monticello says.

“I’m really big into taking a deep breath and taking a step back while looking around and seeing I get to do the things I love with the people I love.”

Hoff seconds Monticello, saying it is important for

60 Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics

Wire stock photo

HEALTH

athletes

student-athletes to be aware of their situations by coming out and turning toward professionals if they’re ever overwhelmed by certain factors.

“Athletes can start by acknowledging the importance of maintaining all aspects of wellness. First and foremost, it’s important for athletes to pay attention to their emotional well-being and appreciate that attending mental health is a natural part of training and in life,” Hoff says.

Men’s soccer senior goalkeeper Cedrik Stern says these challenges can be brought on by different factors, including playing in a different country.

Stern, who originally hails from Friedberg, Germany, has had the challenge of adapting to life in a different country while also trying to balance that with school, soccer and social life.

“When I first came here, I had no idea what was going on and I didn’t really know what to expect,” Stern says. “There were so many things that were new to me, but as time went on, I found it was so easy to fit in which has made it easy to connect with other people and with the city of Milwaukee.”

As for athletes such as women’s basketball graduate student forward Lauren Van Kleunen, basketball itself is her way of relieving some of the stress she endures being a student-athlete.

“If I’m ever feeling stressed about something happening during school, I like to just be on the court and have fun with what I’m doing,” Van Kleunen says. “The excitement of practice just takes the stress away and I like to just live in the moment, so I would say it doesn’t necessarily get rid of my stress all the time, but it definitely helps limit it at times.”

Playing under the pressure in front of hundreds or even thousands of fans, in some instances, can be a lot for some student-athletes, but for Van Kleunen this is just another part of the game.

“The fans are part of the reason that make our games so much fun to begin with and was something that we were definitely missing last year due to COVID-19,” Van Kleunen says. “I think they’re even more important now after we saw what it was like playing without them in the stands.”

There’s no denying how exciting sports can be for players and fans, but at the end of the day, individuals like Hoff are there to ensure these student-athletes have their mental health as their priority.

“Most importantly, and I cannot emphasize this enough, attending to mental health is about health and sense of well-being, regardless of performance,” Hoff says. “Athletes are human beings that are passionate about and dedicated to a competitive sport, but that is not the only aspect of their identity. They have lives outside of their sport, too.”

61 Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics

Transfer Athletes Written by Johnnie Brooker

It can be a strange feeling being the new kid on the block.

However, that wasn’t the case for three Marquette student-athletes when they decided to transfer to Marquette.

Marquette volleyball redshirt senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Lines says it was after her second visit to campus that she knew she wanted to be a part of head coach Ryan Theis’s program.

“I loved the coaches and all the girls on the team,” Lines says. “It seemed like they had a good head on their shoulders.”

Lines, who teammates and coaches call K.J., hails from Gilbert, Arizona, and spent her first two years of college eligibility at University of the Pacific in California. In her first year at Pacific, Lines earned All-West Coast Conference First Team honors while posting 437 kills last season.

Since transferring to Marquette, Lines has only climbed upward. In her first year with the Golden Eagles, she suffered a season-ending injury in early October. Then last season, Lines found her way back in the rotation finishing with 94 kills and 13 blocks across 13 matches.

As of Oct. 16, Lines has not played in a match this season for Marquette, despite practicing with the team.

Another newcomer to the volleyball program has been Taylor Wolf, who transferred from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to Marquette prior to the 2020-21 season.

Taylor Wolf earned All-BIG EAST Team honors in her first season last year at Marquette.

Photo by Collin Nawrocki

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Despite transferring to a new school during the middle of a pandemic, Wolf, who earned All-American honors with the Phoenix, says Marquette’s academic rigor was the reason for her transfer.

“I was looking to start physical therapy school and was in the process of taking my graduate school entry exam and my other requirements for PT school,” Wolf says. “I applied to Marquette and ended up getting in and then followed through with the coaches.”

In Wolf’s first season at Marquette last season, she earned All-BIG EAST First Team and AVCA All-Region Honors. In addition, she finished first in kills (144), second in assists (256) and

third in blocks (32) on the team.

In addition to Marquette’s physical therapy program, Wolf says part of the reason she transferred to Marquette was because of the culture and level of play within the volleyball program.

“The culture is very similar to what I had experienced at Green Bay. There’s more competition in the gym and we get to play bigger teams. Things like that is exciting for me,” Wolf says.

“Marquette has had a good history of going to the NCAA tournament which wasn’t as common at my other school.”

For some athletes, their transfer comes from wanting to transition to a bigger program.

That was the case for senior track and field hurdler Jared Humphrey, who transferred to Marquette from mid-major Valparaiso University in the Missouri Valley Conference.

“I wanted a bigger atmosphere, (a) bigger conference,” Humphrey says. “So I decided to enter the transfer portal.”

Though the track and field season has not begun just yet, Humphrey says he is looking forward to becoming a difference-maker on the team.

Prior to the 2019 season, Kaitlyn Lines transferred to Marquette after two years at the University of the Pacific in California.

Photo by Collin Nawrocki

“Hopefully maybe by the time I leave, be a 400 Vertical BIG EAST Champion. That’s the ultimate goal,” Humphrey says.

Wolf, who hails from Waconia, Minnesota, says she has enjoyed her time in the Cream City, especially after not being able to explore it last year due to COVID-19.

“This summer, I got a little bit of the Bucks games, saw the Public Market and walked down by the lake a little bit,” Wolf says. “I’ve seen a bit of it but there is still a lot more to explore.”

Though each of these athletes transferred to Marquette at different times and for different reasons, they all said acclimating to a new campus, city and culture were key.

“At first it was a little overwhelming coming from a smaller school,” Humphrey says. “To me, Marquette has a bigger atmosphere so it was a little overwhelming, but now I’m adjusting well.”

Lines says her acclimation process was a smooth one, as it has been for many volleyball transfers.

“The culture is really easy to acclimate into because our coach Ryan says all the time, ‘We don’t have too many issues with new recruits coming in because he recruits a certain type of player’ and so I feel like it makes our culture so good because we all buy into it real well,” Lines says.

As all three inch closer to the end of their collegiate careers, they all have their plans and goals set for their remaining time in the Blue and Gold with a future aspirations set for post-graduation.

“I want to build on who I am as a person and as someone that doesn’t just play volleyball. I want to explore more of it for myself,” Lines says.

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Women in

SPORTS

Marquette alums, women’s basketball head coach share their experiences to how they have become successful in the field Written by Kelly Reilly According to an article written in March 2021 by Paola Boivin of Global Sport Matters, only 10% of sports editors and 11.5% of sports reporters are women.

While there is still abundant room for improvement, what we see today in the sports industry is much better than what we have seen in the past.

Nancy Armour graduated from Marquette University in 1991 with a double major in journalism and political science. She currently works for USA Today as a sports reporter.

the only woman in the media relations office when she was a public relations intern.

“I did not know which way I really wanted to go, and I remember it was not like there weren’t any women at all. It has grown enough to the point where it is so normalized, and it has been talked about for a long time,” Fischer says. “If you turn on ESPN you see women in sports, and not only women but Black women. You see diversity, equity and inclusion; I think from where I have gone to where I am now it is really good to see.”

“We have seen the popularity of women’s sports in particular soccer, the WNBA have just exploded and if you don’t have women telling those stories, if you don’t have women making the decisions in sports, a lot of times those go uncovered because unfortunately for most male lenses they don’t think about those, or they don’t deem it as important as the NBA or as MLB or the NFL and we need to get away from that kind of thinking,” Armour says.

Fischer mentioned now working with the WNBA, “a lot of the WNBA staff in the league office are women so it’s really awesome to see a women’s league, ran by women.”

Marquette alum Jenny Fischer, who now works as a digital and social content publisher for the NBA, interned with the Milwaukee Brewers during her first summer in college, and was

“I used to go to games when I was a kid when they were like 14 and 52, when Brandon Jennings was on the team (and) now

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This past summer, Fischer had the opportunity to cover the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, the NBA Finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns as well as running Media Day at the WNBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas.

Being a native of Milwaukee, Fisher said covering the Bucks Championship run was a special moment for her.

Courtesy of Google images

“

It’s not just the people who are playing women’s basketball or people who are coaching, we want more people to be thinking of ways they can help the women’s game, whatever sport we’re talking about, improve and increase,” Megan Duffy, Marquette Women’s Basketball Head Coach

I am capturing content of him at the Bucks game when it was Bucks in six, which is the slogan that he came up with,” Fischer says.

Fischer says what she enjoys the most about her job is being as close to who the story is about and do the story justice.

However, Armour, who started out as a South Bend Correspondent for the Associated Press, says it hasn’t been easy all the time.

“We still have a long way to go, unfortunately, but when I was covering Notre Dame, I was the only woman in the room,” Armour says. “I remember when I got to Chicago, and granted this was 1998, I think there were three or four other women covering sports on a regular basis. There were a couple of women in sports radio, I think there was one in TV. It was a revelation to me that I was not the only one out there.”

Armour says the biggest difference to her has been athletes growing up in an era where there isn’t just one woman in sports media.

“They grew up watching Michele Tafoya and Doris Burke. They grew up reading Sally Jenkins and Christine Brennan. It’s not out of the ordinary to them, so I think that has made it much easier,” Armour says. “We still fight the battles of trolls and even some people that we work with that don’t see us in the same light as the men who cover sports.”

Armour says her love for sports writing is the opportunity to tell stories.

Marquette women’s basketball head coach Megan Duffy, who played at Notre Dame and in the WNBA, said along with her coaching staff she makes sure there are conversations said to help her players.

“There is such a rich environment, even if you are covering a game to tell stories of certain people,” Armour says. “To me it is a much more colorful and robust way to do writing and to do storytelling.”

“We try to talk to our team, a lot of times about many things that are going on with inequities. We’re not afraid to discuss different topics, how they feel and most importantly how we can move forward and make an impact,” Duffy says.

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The 2019-20 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year says another key component to the conversation and solution is having allies.

“It’s not just the people who are playing women’s basketball or people who are coaching, we want more people to be thinking of ways they can help the women’s game, whatever sport we’re talking about, improve and increase,” Duffy says.

Fast forward to this past March at the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments when University of Oregon redshirt sophomore forward Sedona Prince posted a TikTok video showing disparities between the men’s and women’s weight room in the NCAA bubbles.

Although this disparity came as a shock for Duffy and her team, she says this has been a fight that women have been battling for decades.

“There were some very very clear and distinct inequalities between the men’s and the women’s tournament. It’s really unfortunate, it’s something we have been dealing with not just in the tournament but years of trying to build our brand and have the equity come in everything we are approached with,” Duffy says.

Following her graduation from Marquette in 2019, Fischer worked for the NCAA’s Championships Digital and Social Media Department. Like Duffy, Fisher says she was surprised to see everything unfold the way it did after her time with the NCAA. Fischer says she is glad that the issue was brought to light because it is something that has to change. At the end of the day she says we need to figure out why all of this is the case in the first place.

“That’s good journalism at the end of the day, asking why over and over and over again,” Fischer said. “The deeper we get into that and the more improvements we see this year, that will be a sign of how well the NCAA has responded, key stakeholders have responders, broadcast partners, all that because again it all plays a role in it, it’s not just this institution, there are a lot of factors.”

Megan Duffy, Marquette Women’s Basketball Head Coach Photo by Isabel Bonebrake

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Photos by Sarah Kuhns

Written by Alexandra Garner Climate change is affecting us all today. It is in our current reality, and will be central to shaping the future health of the planet.

With what seems to be a constant reel of environmental disasters - devastating wildfires in California, ravaging earthquakes in Haiti and severe melting in Antarctica and the Arctic regions - it is understandable to feel overwhelmed and hopeless when talking about climate change.

Recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said this August that climate change is “widespread, rapid and intensifying,” and that we are nearing the 1.5 degrees Celsiuslimit for global heating. The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said that the IPCC report was a “code red for humanity.”

There has even been a rise in “climate anxiety,” which is the “chronic fear of environmental doom,” as described by the American Psychological Association.

According to a 2021 study conducted by the University of Bath, 75% of 10,000 young people surveyed between the ages of 16 to 25 in Australia, Brazil, Finland, France, Nigeria, the Philippines, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States reported feeling deep anxiety about the future and climate change.

Climate change is scary.

But we cannot accept that all is lost. We have to accept the reality of climate change, and take action to mitigate and adapt to it.

One way to address the colossal issue of climate change is to determine how it is impacting our communities locally.

According to Milwaukee’s Environmental Collaboration Office, climate change will continue to increase rainfall, growing flood risks, experience rising temperatures, lower air and water quality across the Midwest.

In Milwaukee, specifically, there will be potential drinking water contamination, heat-related illnesses and premature deaths, lower air quality that could increase the risk of lung and cardiovascular diseases and risks to freshwater resources from the Great Lakes. There will also be increased flooding and sewer overflows that could damage storm water management systems and transportation infrastructure.

Additionally, already marginalized communities will experience further disproportionate effects from climate change - Indigenous communities’ livelihoods and cultures who rely on natural resources will be threatened and people experiencing homelessness in Milwaukee will experience greater health risks due to the “urban heat island effect.”

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 68

heat islands have structures like buildings and roads that absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes like water bodies and forests. The high concentration of infrastructure with a lack of greenery traps in heat, resulting in a “heat island.”

Although heat islands can develop in any region, season and city-type, they commonly form in urban areas.

Generally, heat islands in urban areas have temperatures that are 1 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit higher than outlying areas during the day and 2 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit higher during the night.

On top of these issues, Milwaukee is experiencing other negative environmental issues that will be exacerbated by climate change, such as air pollution and lead poisoning from pipelines.

The WE Energies Valley Power Plant is located in the Menomonee Valley, just across I-94. The plant’s smokestacks can be seen from the highway entering the city, often emitting smoke into the air.

WE Energies announced November 2020 it would be closing the coal-dependent Oak Creek Power Plant by 2024 in an effort to switch to more natural gas, as well as solar and wind energy sources.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 83.7% of Oak Creek residents are white. However, only 20.6% of Menomonee River Valley residents are white, with 45% of residents being Black, 30.2% of residents being Hispanic or Latino, 2.9% being Asian, 1.3% identifying as being two or more races and 0.09% being Native American.

Although the Valley Power Plant uses natural gas instead of coal, Milwaukee residents, largely in predominant neighborhoods of color, living around the area have a higher likelihood of developing health conditions like asthma.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Air Quality Monitoring Data, Milwaukee County is among five counties in the state experiencing moderate air quality for health concerns.

On the Wisconsin DNR Air Quality Index, the qualitative values of air quality - good, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy and hazardous - are determined by looking at the ozone, or fine particle concentrations in the air.

In addition to air pollution issues, Milwaukee residents are grappling with water contamination and health risks from old lead pipes.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lead exposure, whether through breathing it, swallowing it or absorbing it, can lead to anemia, weakness, kidney and brain damage and death.

Health Services.

In Milwaukee, the percentage of children experiencing lead poisoning is higher than across the state; while the average for child lead poisoning is 3.4% for Wisconsin, 5.6% of lead-poisoned children live in Milwaukee County.

Milwaukee has replaced less than 1,000 of its nearly 70,000 full lead service lines since 2017.

Unlike Madison and Green Bay which have replaced all of their lead pipelines, Milwaukee has replaced less than 1,000 of its nearly 70,000 full lead service lines since 2017.

Having to tackle other environmental issues like poor air and water quality may make climate change that much more difficult to think about for Milwaukee residents.

Some efforts the City of Milwaukee has taken to mitigate climate change impacts include setting a 2025 goal to convert Milwaukee to 25% renewable energy, granting more affordable loans to homeowners and businesses to convert to solar energy and using a grant from the Public Health Institute to implement projects that address climate change adaptations as well as health equity.

Switching to more renewable energy could not only decrease the amount of CO2 emissions emitted into the air but also limit the health burden on communities living near power plants like the one in the Menomonee Valley.

Additionally, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District created a 2019 Resilience Planthat among other climate actions outlines ways Milwaukee can adapt to flooding and sewer overflow.

As seen in the City of Milwaukee’s action, it is not too late to tackle climate change.

Although the future may look grim, climate solutions are being developed today. As unfortunate as it is to admit, individually, it is unlikely we can stop climate change on a global scale. But, if we look closer to the environment and people around us on at the local level, we can start entering conversations about solutions and developing ways to adapt and mitigate the worst impacts.

This also requires Marquette students to take action, and be the difference on campus and in Milwaukee. Get involved with Marquette Sustainability or other organizations on campus, like Students for an Environmentally Active Campus and Fossil Free Marquette.

Lead generally affects children more than it does adults, as it may lead to neurological effects and intellectual disability.

Additionally, students should consider volunteering with Milwaukee organizations that focus on environmental issues, Nearly 9,600 children under the age of 16 living in Wiscon- such as the Urban Ecology Center. sin were found to experience lead poisoning between 2018 Addressing climate change takes all of and 2020, according to the Wisconsin Department of us, one action at a time.

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A GENERATIONAL DIVIDE Written by Jenna Koch “I hate kids,” is a common phrase to hear. I once said it as a from ageism. younger teen, even though I was also still a kid myself. Aside Ageism is prejudice against someone due to their age, from not wanting children, I also percieved kids younger than which can be seen in workplace policies and medical pracme as being stupid, confusing and annoying. tices, like using patronizing behavior toward them and Fast forward five years later, and I am now studying to self-limiting behavior, according to the World Health Orgabecome a teacher. nization. This term is most often used to talk about the discrimination the elderly face. Unfortunately, ageism against This is because I realized young people are an oppressed young people, especially children, is less talked about. group of people, and they deserve better. However, some don’t recognize this. It leads to older people harassing young retail workers, teachers belittling students and parents ignoring their children’s needs and desires.

When young people push back against this, it is often seen as a result of a “generational divide.” However, this divide is not all based on ideological differences; It can also stem 70

The WHO stresses that “ageism affects everybody,” including youths. Youths can be considered as anyone society does not perceive as an adult, and this is often justified on the basis of young people having an undeveloped brain. The idea that brain differences can or should be a basis for subjugation sub pears in ageism against the elderly as well as ableism, and historically in theories about race and gender.

reduced to ashes and every wall to rubble.”

This justification in youth subjugation can be referred to as “adultism,” which is a dismissal of children’s opinions, needs and culture due to being undeveloped or inexperienced.

“Generotocacy,” or a government run by older adults, should also be discussed in conversations about generational divides.

The Silent Generation, Boomers and Gen Xers hold the most power in society. According to a 2020 Pew Research Center study, just 34% of people in the United States are over 50, but 52% of the U.S. electorate are over 50.

Generotocacy reflects the fact that our government does not accurately represent our population across ages so it is unable to act in the favor of all people.

19-year old Greta Thunberg made an infamous speech at the 2019 United Nations Climate Summit when she was 16.

In her speech, Thunberg called out world leaders for praising her activism, while still not listening.

“This is all wrong,” Thunberg says. “I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!”

Thunberg expresses her anger at government officials for praising her activism, but not meeting her demands. She questions why she was brought there to inspire people who “continue to look away” from the reality of climate change.

Their statement reflects not just the biting humor of Generation Z, but also our persistence and realism. We know we have been left with a mess. We know older people will not listen to us, so instead, we chose to make them listen.

It’s a tricky issue because all of us will grow up. There becomes a sense of cognitive dissonance as we age; We tend to exaggerate our generation’s good qualities while highlighting the younger one’s poor qualities. This is a cycle that needs to end.

We must call out ageism in everyday life, especially our own.

Marquette is one school system that could change the way students are involved with its administration.

For example, students don’t get to choose what their tuition goes toward. Many buildings on campus need renovations as is outlined in Marquette’s Campus Master Plan for the next 10 to 20 years. Instead of repairing buildings such as Lalumiere Language Hall, Mashuda Hall or Humphrey Hall, donor funding was allocated toward building The Commons in 2018 and constructing the new business building.

If Marquette were to get students’ opinions on this matter, it might have been able to make a better decision about where to allocate funds.

To combat ageism, it is not enough to try to improve the conditions of young people. They must be given an active role in their liberation. Critics may say children or even young adults cannot do this; they do not have the language or skills to help themselves. However, I can remember repeating the phrase “it’s not fair,” numerous times to educators and parents alike during my youth. It’s as simple as that phrase - and all we need to do is ask young people what “fair” would look like to them.

Marquette can start by asking its students what they want.

The administration doesn’t always know what’s best. We must make ourselves heard, and Marquette must be willing to listen.

Photos by Collin Narwocki

Young people are often praised for our activism, but we are not really listened to. Older generations are deliberately placing messes in the hands of young people who are not given the tools or opportunities to fix these problems.

Although academics and activists have acknowledged youth subjugation for decades, concrete youth liberation organizations haven’t existed until recently.

The Youth Liberation Front based in the Pacific Northwest encouraged protests in Portland, Oregon following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.

In a tweet from June 18, 2020, the group said, “We are a bunch of teenagers armed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and yerba mate - we can take a 5 a.m. raid and be back on our feet a few hours later ... we’ll be back again and again until every prison is 71

We should be more understanding.

EMPATHY DURING A TIME OF DIVISION Written by Grace Cady The ability to understand and interpret the feelings of one another, even in situations we may not experience ourselves, is vital. Over the past several years, there has been a lack of empathy in the U.S. While disagreement is natural, we must strive for understanding and listening.

The U.S. has been deeply plagued with troubles, such as health crises, polarizing politics and social injustice long before 2021, but the last two years have proved to be especially difficult. With the rise of COVID-19, racial injustice and a narrow, divisive election, Americans have struggled to understand, let alone support, one another.

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would feel if your loved one was ill with or passed away from COVID-19, and realize that whatever your personal feelings are on how the pandemic is handled, you should comply for the safety of others and their loved ones.

In addition to the pandemic, the U.S. also responded to the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, shedding light on persisting institutions of racism in the country. The Black Lives Matter movement proved to be another matter shedding light on a racist America.

The murder of George Floyd was met with widespread controversy and debate. It should be outraThe COVID-19 pandemic has geous that a Black man was brutally murdered on shown the worst parts of our inthe street in public after a confrontation with police, dividualistic values, such as but to many Americans, it wasn’t such an issue, let through the mask mandate is- alone a racial one. Floyd’s life mattered, and the resued by the Centers for Dis- sponsibility of mourning his death should fall not only ease Control and Prevention. on the African American community. In response to If we can’t do something as protests over Floyd’s murder and the major flaws in simple as wearing masks in the police system, the All Lives Matter movement public spaces to protect from re-emerged. a deadly virus,we are lacking A 2020 Gallup poll found that roughly one-third of the most basic regard for Americans don’t believe this country has an issue human life. Some Americans with race relations. The ALM movement and this are much more interested data are both very telling that people are either not in their “personal freedoms” grasping the other perspective, or simply don’t do not want to bear the burden of want to. caring about their fellow Racial injustice is an issue that amplifies some citizens’ health.

Americans’ lack of empathy. Racism in America has In this situation, the most always existed, but we as American citizens - and as simplistic display of empathy human beings - need to have honest conversations is to wear a mask. On a with ourselves about if we are being empathetic todeeper level, the empaward people of other races who endure experiences thetic response to this we will never encounter. Once we do that, we need to situation would be to turn that empathy into action. consider how you

Photo by Sarah Kuhns

Another recent moment of division in the U.S. was the intense political division we saw preceding and during the 2020 election. The Democratic and Republican candidates at that time, current president Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump, clashed fiercely on major issues such as the handling of COVID-19, immigration policies and racial injustice,which led to intense divisive partisanship.

It is difficult to acknowledge the validity in arguments we disagree with, especially when it comes to politics. Democracy fosters an opportunity for American citizens to debate, disagree and cast their votes in contrast with one another; But empathy can still be present in politics. We do not need to agree to understand.

In times that should have brought us together, Americans were torn apart, and rather, it tore us apart from one another. An America that comes to consensus all the time is unrealistic, and not what our democracy was meant to be. We must be more civil, and there should be more devotion to empathy and unity.

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COVID-19 VACCINE

Stay informed, get vaccinated to protect everyone’s health and well-being.

Hope Moses To love others as yourself is to be vaccinated; It is quite simple.

In saying that, I acknowledge much of the COVID-19 pandemic has been anything but that. From the global shutdown in March 2020 and months of quarantining to mask mandates and social distancing, this pandemic has stripped our society - and much of ourselves - of whom we were before.

Photo by Isabel Bonebrake The thorough research into the vaccines, as well as a global need to address such a health crisis, led to full approval and Emergency Use by the Food and Drug Administration.

Number two: The side effects of the vaccine. According to the CDC, developing side effects, such as a fever and a headache, after getting the COVID-19 vaccine is a normal sign that your body is building protection against COVID-19. While these side effects may affect your ability The pandemic has been difficult for everyone, but with that difficulty comes great responsibility: Getting vaccinated. to do daily activities, they should go away within a few days and are completely normal. Severe side effects are rare Currently, 188 million Americans are fully vaccinated and extremely unlikely following vaccinations, including the against COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease COVID-19 vaccination.

Control and Prevention. Despite these high numbers, deaths Number three: The vaccine doesn’t work because it does and COVID-19 cases are still very prevalent. Since the benot 100% protect you from COVID-19. ginning of the pandemic, the U.S. has had 43.5 million cases and almost 700,000 deaths since the beginning of According to the CDC, “COVID-19 vaccines are effective the pandemic. at preventing infection, serious illness, and death. Most people who get COVID-19 are unvaccinated.” However, since As COVID-19 cases and deaths are on the rise, so is vacvaccines are not 100% effective at preventing infection, cination hesitancy. some people who are fully vaccinated will still get COVID-19.

The World Health Organization defines vaccination “An infection of a fully vaccinated person is referred to as a hesitancy as “a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines ‘vaccine breakthrough infection,’” according to the CDC. despite availability of vaccine services.” Vaccination-hesiAccording to a study conducted by the Washington State tant people are typically unsure of vaccinations due to a mix Department of Health from Jan. 17 to Aug. 21 this year, only of cultural, psychosocial, spiritual, political and 1 in 5,000 vaccinated individuals experienced a ‘vaccine cognitive factors. breakthrough infection.’

Given the disproportionate impact of COVID-19, there is Paul Gasser, a biomedical sciences professor and neua justified vaccination hesitancy amongst communities of roscientist at Marquette, says wearing masks and getting color. Because people of color, specifically Black Americans, vaccinated are very important. are more likely to contract COVID-19 and die, there is an uncertainty around getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

“When you put a barrier between your mouth and the outside world, many of those parasol particles can be prevented Outside of the racial factors, vaccine hesitancy has led to from ever leaving your upper respiratory tract and entering beliefs that the COVID-19 vaccine is not safe because it was the outside world,” Gasser says. “So if you are affected, you developed quickly, that there are severe side effects of the decrease the chances of someone else breathing in those COVID-19 vaccine and the vaccine doesn’t work because particles and subsequently be infected.” you can get COVID-19 regardless. The possible, but uncommon, severe side effects have caused a lot of panic and anxiety around the virus.

But research proves there is less to worry about than believed.

Number one: The rapidly developed vaccine.

Considering the fastest vaccine developed was the mumps vaccine, which took four years to make, it is only natural to be skeptical of the COVID-19 vaccine and its safety. According to Yale-New Haven Health, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are both mRNA vaccines, which is a technology that has been studied for years prior to this pandemic.

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Gasser says wearing a mask can also help prevent certain particles in the air from entering your respiratory tract - this protects both yourself and others.

Gasser also says he understands that people may be hesitant to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

“Every person has to reassure themselves,” Gasser says.

“Don’t take any individual’s word for it: do the research yourself. You have the power to understand yourself.”

Moving forward, we have to educate ourselves and get vaccinated in order to move forward and protect our health and others’ health.

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