Our Chance to Change | Spring 2020 Marquette Journal

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Our Chance to Change S P RIN G

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Mondays Golden Eagle Sports Report 7 P.M. Fall 2019

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Executive Director of the Marquette Wire Sydney Czyzon Managing Editor of the Marquette Journal Natallie St. Onge EDITORIAL Executive Editors Zoe Comerford, Skyler Chun, Alex Garner, Matthew Harte, Annie Mattea

Kelli Arseneau, Annie

DIGITAL General Manager

General Manager of Marquette University Radio Mackane Vogel

Assistant Editors Dysart, Alexa Jurado, John Leuzzi, Matthew Martinez,Tyler Peters

Executive Producers Kendra Bell, Jack Phillips, Kaylee Staral

Copy Chief Emma Brauer Ryan Shir

Copy Editors Bloch, Grace Kwapil, Nora Mccaughey

of Marquette University Television Kennedy Coleman

Assistant Producers Hagan, Shane Hogan, Aimee Galaszewski, Michelle Gomez, Vanessa Rivera, M’Laya Sago Assistant Radio General Manager Alec Fischer

Contributing Writers Aminah Beg, Joseph Beaird, Lelah Byron, Maria Crenshaw, Grace Dawson, Francisco Hernández, Nicole Laudolff, Ariana Madson, Nicholas Magrone, Janet Peña, Isabel Piedra, Jaiden Schueller, Matt Yeazel

Audio Producers Dan Avington ART Design Chief Chelsea Johanning

ADVERTISING Sales Manager Audrey roth

Executive Photo Editor Jordan Johnson Designers Nell Burgener, Skylar Daley, Kayla Nickerson, Grace Pionek

Maddy

Photographers Andresen, Zach Bukowski, Maria Crenshaw, Sheila Fogarty, Claire Gallagher

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To our Readers

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n the spring semester of my first year at Marquette, I wrote a series of stories for the Marquette Journal. It was my first exposure to the platform I would eventually love dearly, and in time, be in charge of running.

The string of stories consisted of alums sharing how they met their significant others on campus, another was a story of three first-generation college students’ experiences on campus, and the last: a poem titled “I am First” about my own journey being a first-generation college student.

The poem I wrote detailed the added stresses and struggles I had — and continue to have — which I did not know I would have to face. I was naive to think the whole “college experience” was going to be easy, flawless even.

It wasn’t. It still isn’t.

In the poem, I also talked about the added success I never knew I was going to have or was even capable of having.

My words were inspired by the hardships, the celebrations, and those whom I have met along the way who have made each step worth the fight, worth the biggest victories.

Being a first-generation college student is what motivates me to do my best, drives me to be the best I can be. I didn’t know then where I would be now; and as cliché as that sounds, I think it tops the list as one of the most important things I have learned throughout my time at Marquette: Things may be rough. You may get a bad grade (and you will, trust me!), get stuck in a bad partner group, have a fight with a roommate or just wake up and have a bad day, but every moment can be made better. Every new second can be one that you can change and learn from.

Where you are now may not be where you will be physically and mentally tomorrow.

It’s why I wanted to have a magazine not only related to political issues we face because the Democratic National Convention is coming to town, but because what we experience personally, translates to what we experience together, as a group, as a nation.

Take a look at “Paying the Price of Education,” a story about Marquette alum who are stuck in student debt because they chose to make their dreams, their careers come true. We look at larger issues too, like healthcare and DACA support, activists like Maryknoll sister Madre Rosa and even how sports has the “Ability to Unite” others in times of need.

I write this letter now, to our readers, as one of the last times as the managing editor of the Marquette Journal. By the time this issue publishes, we will be in the middle of a pandemic. As I write this, we will all be at home or trying to stay in one place for a lengthy amount of time, as we all try to practice social distancing and make sense of this whole situation.

We will be in the same place, with the same people, away from classes and campus and our normal routines, but we don’t have to stay in the same thoughts, in the same feelings of melancholy and remorse.

We can move on, we can stay connected and we can still “Be The Difference” that we strive to be every day in our normal routines. It’s our chance to change.

It’s a time where we are all being tried and tested, but if there is one thing we should all remember, tomorrow is a new day. Next week is a new week. We will get through the hard times, the struggles,

Photo by Maddy Andresen

the bad moments — together. Someone once told me that for every bad person, there’s at least a dozen good ones: people who will always be there for you to lean on. Remember that. Translate it to the times, too.

As I transition to my senior year at Marquette, it will bring new challenges and mountains I haven’t yet climbed before. I will move on from Managing Editor of the Journal to become the Executive Director of the entire Marquette Wire, overseeing our staff and branches that continue to serve the Marquette community with the latest and greatest news.

It will come with highs and lows, but it will come with the utmost joy to continue to be a part of and to lead such a wonderful, passionate group of young journalists.

And to Kelli Areseneau, who will be the managing editor of the Marquette Journal in the 2020-21 academic year, I can’t wait to see what you do with your creativity, drive and passion. You’re going to be amazing.

I can’t wait to see where we go from here.

All the best, 4

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Natallie St. Onge Managing Editor of the Marquette Journal

on the cover Ability to Unite Overflow The Great Debate

pg.

34 48 pg. 60 pg.

table of contents

in the issue news Knowing Madre Rosa Keeping the Peace 32 Years and Counting

Paying the Price of Education DNC Lookouts

arts

&

sports pg.

18 pg. 22 pg. 23 pg. 24 pg. 26

entertainment

Planning Party Moves What Kind of Politician Would You Be?

pg. pg.

56 58

29 pg. 32 pg. 37

Close to Home The Privilege to Political Apathy

pg. pg.

16 17

pg.

6

other

40 44 pg. 50 A Shot in the Dark: The Conversation around Gun Reform pg. 54

Cover Art and Design by Grace Pionek

pg.

opinions

projects Students Weigh In Diagnosing the System Finding Hope and Mentorship in Times of Need

A No Policy Anthem Power of One Cost of Being a College Athlete

pg. pg.

Flash Five

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FIVE The Milwaukee Court House displays red, yellow and blue ribbons.

PHOTO BY ZACH BUKOWSKI

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FIVE Flags fly in the wind.

PHOTO BY SHEILA FOGARTY

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FIVE Protestors take part in

a climate strike march in downtown

Milwaukee.

PHOTO BY CLAIRE GALLAGHER

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FIVE Grace D. stands on the bridge above interstate

43 near 10th Street.

PHOTO BY MADDY ANDRESEN

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FIVE The Milwaukee County Courthouse stands against a bright blue day.

PHOTO BY MARIA CRENSHAW

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Alex Garner

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eering outside the plane’s window, a blue mass moves slowly beneath me.

Below me, it is immense and wide, reaching before and behind me.

I squint, wanting to see the details of its surface. Small waves flicker on the top and then disappear. Something moves, swimming just underneath the surface, so clearly that I feel I could reach out my hand to pull it up. I’ve run along its shores, watched the sun rise over its edges, swam in its cool waters and investigated the caves it carved and smoothed. It’s familiar and comforting, a symbol of home.

Although it may only be a place on a map for people who don’t live in the Great Lakes region, Lake Michigan is more than a blue, almost indistinguishable blob on a world map.

Lake Michigan maintains balance, sustains life and supports communities, such as serving as a primary freshwater source for Milwaukee.

For many people in the Midwest, Lake Michigan is a great source of pride and identity.

Despite the lake’s critical impact on us, we fail to recognize the uncertainty of Lake Michigan’s future by not addressing or accepting the reality of climate change.

Recently, great tensions have arisen from the issue of ‘rising sea levels’ — a common buzz-phrase associated with climate change.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency says carbon dioxide, or CO2, emissions enter the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil and can contribute to the “greenhouse effect,” which is heating up the climate. Another large contributing factor is methane, which can come from the production and transportation of fossil fuels and from livestock and waste. Carbon dioxide accounted for 82% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2017; methane was second at 10%, according to the EPA. While the Earth’s climate has changed throughout its history, it has seen rapid, human-induced rises in CO2 atmospheric concentrations, especially since 1950. Before 1950, atmospheric carbon dioxide fluctuated between approximately 165 and 300 parts per million, but as of January 2020, atmospheric carbon dioxide is at around 413 ppm, according to NASA. Climate Central says getting down to 350 ppm of carbon dioxide would be the neces16

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sary to avoid further damage.

When we see headlines about CO2 emissions contributing to atmospheric heating, subsequently contributing to a rise in sea levels and melting glaciers around the Earth, we may not realize that a similar phenomena is occurring closer to home.

Chief of watershed hydrology at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Keith Kompoltowicz predicted in 2019 that water levels for Lake Michigan would be 11 inches higher in January 2020 than in January 2019.

Higher atmospheric temperatures due to climate change will not only raise Lake Michigan’s sea levels; they will also increase the atmosphere’s capacity to hold evaporated water, according to University of Michigan’s Richard B. Rood, a professor in the Department of Climate and

Space Sciences and Engineering.

This will increase and elongate storm seasons and precipitation, which will increase flooding.

Flooding is a serious and grave reality that approximately 12 million people living along Lake Michigan’s coast will have to face.

In addition, an estimated $100 million is needed to repair roadways in the Great Lakes region due to flooding damage, according to a Michigan Department of Transportation official.

Flood damage can have additional far-reaching and often detrimental effects.

According to the Associated Programme on Flood Management initiative, a loss of lives and property, mass migration, long-lasting psychosocial effects, decreased purchasing and production power and a

hindrance in economic growth and development can result from flood damage.

Elena Grossman, the program manager of Building Resilience Against Climate Effects — an initiative at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health — says climate change is projected to increase the number of cases of Lyme disease and respiratory problems like asthma due to the combined effects of higher temperatures, longer summers and pollution.

In addition to the impacts on humans, climate change in Lake Michigan will affect the balanced ecosystem of the lake.

Professor of aquatic ecology at Purdue University and member of Purdue’s Climate Change Research Center Tomas Hook says bacteria levels in Lake Michigan are expected to increase due to rising temperatures that breed bacterial growth, which could lead to “contaminated drinking water and more frequent closing of beaches.”

Additionally, we can expect to see changing concentrations of fish populations and more cases of invasive species like zebra mussels out-competing native mussel species in Lake Michigan, which will influence delicate food webs and available resources in the area.

With these current and anticipated challenges, it is essential we recognize our interconnection with the lake and its inhabitants.

While the climate change conversation may sometimes feels exclusive to the government, politicians, nongovernment organizations and fossil fuel corporations, we must make a more deliberate collective effort to recognize climate change in our daily lives. It is not just a phenomenon that is burning fires in Australia or wreaking havoc on island nations in the Pacific.

It is happening right outside our front door.

After we recognize this, we have to take responsibility for our contribution to the problem. We must work to understand the natural systems integrated in our lives and change our behavior to support these systems.

Without doing this, the lake that many Midwesterners hold close to their hearts will no longer be recognizable or accessible. We will lose our connection to Lake Michigan, to the organisms within it and to our identities.

Saving Lake Michigan from further damage is not something I can compromise or wait for. As a symbol of my home and myself, I will advocate for its respect, protection and restoration. I urge you to do the same.

Art and Design by Nell Burgener

The Privilege Aminah Beg

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T. E. R. R. O. R. I. S. T.” These are the harsh letters that pierce my ears and strike my eardrums as I sit on the serene Florida beach trying to soak up some sun while a man gives his opinions of the scarf on my head.

My anxiety heightens and my heart beats faster as I walk through a Transportation Security Administration detector every time I step onto an airplane, scared of the requests they might ask of me.

The pieces of cloth pinned to Muslim girls’ heads are forcefully dragged off by physical assaulters who believe they have the right to make these women fear their safety every day.

Muslim American students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were murdered on their own campus because a man believed the way they bow their head down to God differently than him was wrong and that they did not deserve to live.

These situations strike a chord in my heart, affecting my perspective on society and the issues I feel passionate about — just as the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri — and other deaths of African Americans at the hands of the police influence the African American community and the Black Lives Matter political movement. The current problems at the United States-Mexico border do the same to the Latinx community because they are heartbroken when they see children forcefully taken away from their parents.

It is not a coincidence that a minority group commonly attacked by both political media circuits — like CNN and Fox News — and the U.S. president is facing anxiety, hate crimes and even death. It is also no coincidence that the number of victims in anti-Latino or Hispanic hate crimes rise 21% in the last year, according to Reuters. It is at the point where Latinx are scared of what would happen if they reported the incident.

Similarly, nobody even flinches at the fact that there is a 1-in-1,000 chance of an African American man being killed by the police, a risk 2 1/2 times higher than that of their white counterparts, according to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

When minorities who live in this country see their own community members attacked or murdered for no reason other than the color of their skin or the religion they practice, they are devastated and damaged. They Design by Nell Burgener Photo by Sheila Fogarty

of

are forced to care about the political system in order to address the persecutions in the United States and the overwhelming condemnations made against their people.

Those who do not care about politics have the privilege of not caring about politics. They have never felt the need to talk about the current issues of the U.S. government. President Donald Trump’s words are not piercing their community or affecting the perception of worth for their people.

Their identity is not under attack. Apathy is a privilege, especially when millions of minorities in this country experience hate crimes because of the ideas perpetuated by the president and the media. Both institutions have destroyed the lives and communities of various groups: Muslims, the Latinx community, African Americans and immigrants.

These people are the targets of our own president. Legal action is taken against these groups that further marginalizes them, such as stop-and-frisk policies and the Muslim travel ban. These groups are the ones that must endure the stress of waking up in the morning and wonder if family in their home country will be bombed that day. They are the ones who are fearful to walk outside past sunset because they know how others have died for doing the same innocent deed.

They lack the privilege of ignoring the problem because the second they stay qui-

et, another African American, Hispanic or Muslim becomes a victim of an unjust crime. At the very least, these communities are negatively affected by receiving hateful comments and at most killed in the streets at the hands of a racist and ignorant American.

The current threatening and harmful rhetoric about these groups seems to draw no care from the majority in power such as the presidential administration and others in high political positions. It is even perpetuated by the news. Those who have the power to prevent these crimes seem to be the ones creating the problem. This rhetoric treads upon the foundation of their beliefs and identities.

These minority communities live in a country that cannot accept who they are, yet they are the ones faced with the responsibility of creating a better system by marching in the streets and making their voices heard. Marginalized communities should not have to bear the burden of combatting this discrimination. The silence of the majority stagnates the progression of the U.S. Instead, they should march alongside their fellow Americans.

For every ignorant American, thousands of others must show solidarity and be attentive to the problem. Because with their help and care, the U.S. can be transformed to live up to its ideals and foster a truly collective society that emphasizes freedom, independence and equality.

Nowadays, people want to categorize politics as a touchy subject. Our generation does not want to polarize the room, so instead they choose to ignore the problem.

Tiptoeing around politics makes it seem acceptable for people to not address the reality of their country. Those who believe it is “touchy” are just uncomfortable admitting their privilege in today’s society.

Do not say you do not care. Never say “let’s not talk about politics” — that’s a spit in the face to those who are forced to talk about it every day because this country believes it is acceptable to treat them as insignificant and worthless.

“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” -Martin Luther King Jr.

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Knowing Madre Rosa Francisco Hernández, Janet Peña, Isabel Piedra

I

of political uncertainty and growing violence. In 1952, the Guatemalan Congress approves an agrarian reform law that expropriates land belonging to the U.S.-owned United Fruit Company.

In response, the United States denounces democratically elected President Jacobo Arbenz as a communist and helps forcibly remove him from power. A new U.S.-backed president reverses Arbenz’s policies aimed at

improving the lives of farmers, many of whom are indigenous Maya.

This political conflict sparks Guatemala’s 36-year civil war. For the next two decades, left-wing guerrilla groups fight against a series of military regimes. Maya communities such as Jacaltenango are targeted by both the guerrilla and the military as possible supporters of revolution. The resulting violence is marked by abductions, torture, and massacres of entire

n 2017, history professor Laura Matthew goes in search of local archives in Jacaltenango, Guatemala. Instead, she finds the larger-than-life legacy of Marquette alum and Maryknoll sister Dorothy Erickson, Class of ’52. Erickson is also known as Madre Rosa Cordis, the name she took as a Maryknoll novice. A few months later, students Francisco Hernández, Janet Peña, Luis Jiménez, Isabel Piedra and Ricardo Hernández begin a yearlong journey to understand why Madre We ge Rosa is so beloved. al capti up early in It starts in 1912. hop int tal of Hueh the region In the town of Ossining, New York, a fou o a small uetenango the Maryknoll Order of global Catholic nal ders-hour car r,i red sedan ,f and missionaries forms an order of religious I have tination: J de to our fi or women to serve the needs of impoverpasse the luxur acaltenan ished communities around the world. squeezneger seat – yf of sittinggo.

Sister Mary Mercy Hirschboeck is constan d in the ba our others the the first Maryknoll doctor, graduating tains. t curves ta ck seat. Th are While f ke us u e heat from Marquette Medical School — puts ul p an now the Medical College of Wiscontive. tIransportatilo of scenic tbhe Guatemalda sin — in 1927. She leads the Maryera bef cannot eve n in Guatem eauty, the n mounn imagi ala int car rid knoll Sisters to work in education, was t ore cars ne o e health care and pastoral ministry in ical chae journey tahnd the moderthe difficulpterspecr e n y e Jak hig in places like Kenya, Tanzania and be dez, Ju ly 201f8ore Madre Raoltekos madehway, yet thain Zimbabwe, and in China, Japan, sa — Fr t s Korea and Cambodia. anciscoo get medH ernánBeginning in the 1950s, the Maryknolls begin to serve in Latin American countries like Peru, Ecuador and Guatemala. They arrive in the remote village of Jacaltenango, Guatemala, at a moment 18

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villages.

The violence is just f buildu t ocess oc r b p , e beginning when over 30 Jat h l t u ffi i gine d a m s i t a u I o l ab ta kalteko men and 100 Jakaltehearingelves he hospi ka women sign two letters in ing t g compares to s m e h nothin the villagers t December 1959, asking for a uits of it fromitting in the fr “nurse specializing in childhelp but s birth” and a doctor to help end ma- while abor. I can’t ledge of their l my prior know ryknoll arternal mortality in the village. ormation compareosa from the Maall this new inf The Maryknolls’ answer is xperienc Madre Rin Ossining to that had many e n Dorothy Erickson, a Maryki a tr chives in from peopledre Rosa’s nurse noll sister and 1952 graduate maternal t a a g h M n t i f r s o u sy o a e p s n of Marquette Medical School. tejo, Rosa took seriouher. O o es withana Verónica Mon r She arrives in Jacaltenango in e p Madr e to ees, Juty was something ys strov a 1962 after a one-year internship w l a se Madre e h a s mortali only because sible, but bec lu in New York City and eight cations . ly, not e best care pos er due to comp i years in a rural Bolivian hospital. as born vide th st her own moth onth after she lw Jacaltenango, however, has no e from s, Rosa lo dbirth only a m event anyone e Js hospital nor even a clinic. Erickkalteko 8 of chil osa tried to pr grief. To the a son, or Madre Rosa as the Jakalteuly 201 Madre R ncing the same — Janet Peña, J kos call her, and the other Marykexperie osa is a saint. noll sisters will have to build their Madre R hospital with the villagers from the ground up.

Jane Buellesbach — a Maryknoll sister, medical doctor and native of Milwaukee — follows Madre Rosa torture. The violence becomes part of to Jacaltenango in 1964. Sister Jane massacres, profoundly impacting the everyday life. details the laborious construction of country at its rural heart and disruptThe Maryknolls have the option to the hospital by the Maryknolls together ing daily life. Jacaltenango is occupied leave the dangers of the conflict. But with the Jakaltekos in a 1966 article by the army in 1981. Two weeks after they decide to stay with their people published by The Linacre Quarterbarracks are constructed, five men are in Guatemala and continue their work. ly called “Medicine by Muleback.” kidnapped, and only two return home Some feel that the core values of their The difficulty of obtaining necessary, alive. Quickly, local military service order align with those of the guerlife-saving medical equipment to use at becomes an obligation. Primary school rilla: to help the people. The Guathe hospital is followed by frustrations students are trained to march during temalan military agrees and targets at not having a means to transport it school. A building next to the church some Maryknolls for assassination. In efficiently. A main road has not been becomes a center of interrogation and built. Even children are tasked with bringing a single brick to school each morning to order to attend their classes, their contribution to building the One of our first op hospital. rtunities to discuss Madre Rosapo As the Guatemalan war heats up, co spontaneously. A groumes rather Maryknoll Brothers Arthur and invite us to Madre Rop of women Thomas Melville; Maryknoll Sisters rial, a vibrant pink sa’s memoMarian Pahl, Catherine Sagan and of life. We sit on thcelebration Marjorie Bradford; and Maryknoll th priest Blase Bonpane decide to join e tomb and conversee steps to in groups, using our phones as the guerrilla uprising. After years of ma ke shift recorders. The women’s hospitality political repression of democratic an d ki nd spirits, the prai and happiness they ex politics in the country, this group of se pr es s, solidify for me the im Maryknolls forms a new organization pact of Madre Rosa an d the hospital. It is credible to be able of militant Christians. They dedicate to vi sit a place where oninperson has had such themselves to defending the rights of e an impact on the lives community. — Isabel the oppressed directly by supporting of a Pi ed ra, July 2018 a revolt against the government.

Though the Maryknoll guerrilleros do not commit any violent actions, their affiliation with the guerrilla leads to their suspension and excommunication.

The Guatemalan Civil War reaches its height during the 1980s when the military commits widespread Design by Nell Burgner This article was written by a group of Marquette students who graduated december 2019.

it is a volunteered submission.

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Jacaltenango, however, Madre Rosa somehow keeps the hospital from being closed down.

As tensions mount, mistrust begins to rise among the Maryknolls themselves. Sister Mary Malherek, coordinator of the rural health program, travels to outlying villages to give courses in hygiene, but some Maryknolls express doubts about the health promoters’ program. Malherek feels as though she is being singled out for

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fraternizing with the guerrillas even though she is not connected to them.

The Maryknolls live through the same crucible as the villagers.

Madre Rosa and the Maryknolls stay with the Jakaltekos throughout the war until Madre Rosa’s death in 1994.

Today, the hospital is run by a different religious order. But Madre Rosa remains. Her bust looks out over the church plaza. Her tomb towers over the cemetery. Her name graces the

local secondary school. Most of all, Madre Rosa lives on in the hearts of the Jakaltekos and Jakaltekas, young and old, who shared their memories with us and still ask for her spirit to guide them.

Luis Jiménez and Ricardo Fernández contributed to this report.

All photos courtesy of the authors of this piece.

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Jaiden Schueller

“

Keeping

Dispute over politics leads to fight at Sacramento State” “Political fight leads to Cape shooting” “I Can’t Work With You! How Political Fights Leave Workplaces Divided” These headlines are a few of many that have sprouted across the news over the past year. We have all seen them or something similar. The commonality between them is clear: hostility in differing political views.

I found myself especially emotional when reading headlines and articles that centered around the violence that politics have induced in America. It is difficult to flip through a magazine or log onto a news website to find negative articles being published so rapidly. Living in the land of the free is something that I have always felt so blessed to be able to do. The freedom and democracy that this country have are what allow us citizens to have the opinions that we do: whether it be in politics of not.

If we are so blessed to be able to have a say in our government, what is preventing us from showing our gratitude peacefully?

It is a question that I have struggled to answer. Where is the peace?

The difference in political opinion in the United States is recognized now more than ever. It is what everybody is talking about, it is what everybody is interested in and it is what makes this country the democracy that it is. As a nation, we are meant to have contrasting opinions, and it is evident that political diversity flourishes in this age.

More in Common, a nonprofit, conducted a year-long study in 2018 called, “The Hidden Tribes of America” to “understand 22

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the

Peace

our polarization and study what can reunite our fractured communities.” The study surveyed close to 8,000 people that represented the country’s population based on census data. The “tribes” that were found through the study describe how either someone was to be engaged or disengaged in the country’s politics based on personal beliefs.

Political diversity does not always bring about the civility that is dreamed of in this nation.

One could say that it is simply incivility or societal variance, but it is not. Contempt is the notion that a person and his or her views are valueless, unimportant and beneath our own. This is why political peace is so difficult — because people aim to demean opposing views rather than educate and understand one another.

The disrespect and hatred shown toward opposing opinions has been overdone and is upsetting. Hostility towards one another simply because of their conflicting views should not lead to hate, violence, and brutality. It is not ethical. It is just not right. It is not American.

The peace in politics is overridden by contempt.

Eliminating contempt from political discussion is how this nation will end division. It can feel impossible to remain open minded or understanding when politics is the topic of discussion. It is easy to let words flow when we are irritated: anger will cause us to feel infallible. This can then lead to contempt. Contemplate responses and remain civil. Winning our political battles by manipulation and deception is not rational.

When discussing politics, remember to

This article is a narrative volunteered submission.

keep an open mind. There are reasons as to why others believe differently or similarly to you. Ask open-ended and nonjudgmental questions, give others a chance to respond, and then provide your own thoughts. Do not try to change the views of others: chances are if he or she is willing to converse with you about a political topic, they are not looking for an opportunity to change their beliefs.

Rather than discussing figures and facts, use personal examples and connections, as people are more willing to accept the argument if it appeals to a person on a personal level. Make sure that the information that you are presenting is accurate and factual.

Most importantly, don’t let contempt take over your actions and words. Disagreement is something that can ease over time.

Once one has shown contempt toward someone or something, it is difficult to recover. When ending the conversation, work to find a common ground. This may be through discussion of morals, emotions or values.

In future elections, keep competition alive. Share your opinions. Utilize your freedom of speech. Most importantly, educate. Liz Joyner, the founder of the nonpartisan public educational forum Village Square, says that “the goal (of political discussion) isn’t to agree; it’s to disagree and keep talking.”

Respect one another and the democracy that this nation has during the upcoming 2020 presidential election. As a nation, let us work to remove the contemptuous headlines regarding political difference.

We must unite to keep peace in politics and continue to grow as a nation.

Art by Grace Pionek

32 Years Nick Magrone

I

n 2018, Marquette University’s Les Aspin Center for Government, which offers semester and summer programs for students in Washington, D.C., or Milwaukee, celebrated its 30th year as a program. More than 2,500 students have participated in the program since its founding in 1988.

The mission is to provide “academic and internship programming focused on the public policy making process,” according to the program’s website. “With offerings in Washington, D.C., and Milwaukee, the Les Aspin Center integrates theoretical and experiential approaches to generating knowledge and provides its students, faculty, and staff with the opportunity to contribute to ethical, substantive, and innovative policy making work — locally, domestically, and internationally.”

Interested students can apply through the program website. The requirements for the application include a resume and a 750-1,000 word policy position statement about a particular public policy and why it is important.

Claire Stanley, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, is currently participating in the Les Aspin program in D.C. She said there are 23 students involved this semester, 22 of whom are from Marquette.

Currently, the Washington, D.C., program is open to those who are at least at sophomore standing with a 2.75 GPA or better. The semester program offers five different 3-credit classes, with the summer program offering two 3-credit classes. The semester program costs $26,420 while the summer program costs $6,582, both including tuition and housing.

Fr. Timothy O’Brien, founder and director of the Les Aspin program, describes the challenging process of founding the center.

“It was bumpy and very difficult,” O’Brien said. “It started with a good thing, as the first summer program took place in 1988. In the fall of 1988, the students who joined seemed very smart, bright and confident, and that is when I knew that something good had occurred.”

O’Brien said the program became sophisticated, as she had to locate a center

and

Counting

in Washington, D.C., that would allow students to participate in the academic and internship program.

She also said there was faculty backlash.

She said support built for the program from the College of Arts & Sciences after the second summer.

She said the full-semester program was agreed upon in 1993. “ It went extraordinarily well,” O’Brien said. “The final component of officially implementing a full-time program was the support of Marquette’s president and vice president at the time and with their support as well as hiring Les Aspin to fundraise money it opened the door for a full pres-

“The final component of officially implementing a full-time program was the support of Marquette’s president and vice president...”

-Fr. Timothy O’Brien ence in D.C.” Participating students are given a unique, in-depth look at the U.S. political process. Les Aspin specializes in internships for students regardless of major. In the past, students seeking a summer internship of full-time employment after graduation have had the opportunity to work in positions such as working for a member of Congress, the White House and other positions at the federal, state or local levels.

Marty Ordinans, Marquette alum who graduated in 2015 and current assistant director of the Les Aspin Center for the past four years, said the program draws students from many other universities and that it has far-ranging effects regardless of ones’ major. According to Les Aspin’s website, it offers internship opportunities for eligible students in any major at any university.

Ordinans says they draw students from other schools for multiple reasons, including a partnership with the Pittsburgh

Foundation, a partnership with the Council for Opportunity in Education, and through alum involvement.

The Pittsburgh Foundation sends two or three students to the summer program on a full scholarship, Ordinans says. Ordinans says the Council for Opportunity in Education selects students from applicants all over the country to student with Les Aspin. “ Ordinans says alums often have friends or family who are interested outside of Marquette students.

“We welcome students of all majors and have some really great internship opportunities for students outside the traditional political science, communications, international affairs or business backgrounds,” Ordinans says. “For example, every summer we usually have a cohort of biomedical sciences students who intern for the FDA or nursing students who get into public health while here. We really can provide a valuable experience for any background.”

Ordinans also describes what is upcoming for the program in 2020, including minor programmatic changes.

“2020 should be another strong year for the center,” Ordinans says. “The only major change is a new class offering that will be starting in the fall of this year.”

She said they are replacing Arts in a Democratic Society and introducing a new course that focuses on U.S. history and the history of D.C. “We are also very happy about many of our classes being included in the new academic core, so this will be helpful in expanding accessibility for students to have the Aspin Center be a part of their Marquette experience,” Ordinans says.

Stanley said students are currently working in the Senate with Tammy Baldwin, a democrat from Wisconsin, Dick Durbin, a democrat from Wisconsin and Diane Feinstein, a democrat from California. She said students working in the House of Representatives are working with Mike Gallagher, a republican from Wisconsin, Gwen Moore, a democrat from Wisconsin, Cheri Bustos, a democrat from Illinois and Danny Davis, a democrat from Illinois.

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Paying

the

Nicole Laudolff

S

truggle. That’s the word Brandon Savage uses to describe his own encounter with student loan debt.

Savage attends the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee before enrolling at Marquette for graduate school. He ultimately lands a position at the university as an adjunct instructor of political science.

To this day, Savage says he has tens of thousands of dollars of student debt.

“I’m approaching 40 years of age, and I sometimes wonder if I’ll be one of those statistics of people who carry their debts forever,” Savage says.

For many, this struggle is all too familiar.

In 2018, outstanding federal student loan debt across the country reaches a historic high: $1.41 trillion, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. This grand total translates to an average of more than $35,000 per borrower and in the United States, borrowers number in the tens of millions.

Marquette alum and high school counselor in Lomira, Wisconsin, Deanna Weibye, says she’s lucky.

Weibye is part of a federal student loan forgiveness program that will void her remaining debt after five consecutive years of full-time employment at a public school.

Wiebye’s situation is especially remarkable considering approximately 99% of federal student loan forgiveness applicants are rejected as of December 2019, according to the Department of Education.

“Student loans are a stressful burden for anyone,” Weibye says. “I’m fortunate to be in a position where, within a few years, I’ll have no debt at all.”

Savage’s situation differs greatly from that of Weibye. He says as a young teenager, he was not aware the consequences of student loans would be so far-reaching.

“When you’re 18 or 19 years old, no one tells you the amount you borrow will be less than what you end up paying,” he says. “No one tells you interest is a factor.”

Interest, the percentage of money 24

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Price

of

Education

borrowed charged to a recipient of a loan, can have serious consequences over time.

For those in higher-paying professions out of college, Savage says, it’s far easier to begin payments toward student debt. For those in fields where lower, entry-level positions after graduation are inevitable, this isn’t the case. Savage admits he has had to defer payment for years until he was in a stable enough position financially, but all the while interest was accumulating, making the

“I’m approaching 40 years of age and i sometimes

wonder if i’ll be one of those

statistics of

people who carry their debts forever.”

-Brandon Savage, Marquette Alum sum he owes larger and larger.

Some student loans allow for a sixmonth grace period after graduation during which no payments are required.

This gives borrowers time to find necessary employment. But as of December 2019, according to data provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, around 45% of recent graduates ages 21-24 are unemployed or possess a job which typically does not require a college degree, meaning such individuals do not necessarily need higher education to work in their current occupation.

That’s why Susan Teerink, director of Marquette’s Office of Financial Aid, says she recommends students acquire

no more debt while pursuing an education than their estimated first year’s salary after graduation.

“I think sometimes students get their hearts set on attending a particular institution — so much so, they put themselves and/or their family in an uncomfortable situation financially,” she says.

“It’s something (the financial aid office) sees quite often.”

Teerink says it is increasingly important for aspiring college students to consider the fiscal element when selecting a place of higher education, in addition to the academic and social factors.

Savage, conversely, believes the responsibility is on institutions and systems to make college more affordable.

“If a student wishes to go to a certain institution and they’re accepted, this student should have some greater ability to follow that dream,” Savage says.

Although the lofty price of a college education often prevents this from happening, according to a 2017 survey administered by EAB, formerly the Educational Advisory Board, a research firm that partners with K-12 and postsecondary institutions to develop educational programs and practices.

The survey, which questioned roughly 55,000 university students, found 40% of those who declined their first-choice option did so as the result of finance-related circumstances.

These findings come as higher education expenses continue a more than three-decade rise. Since 1988, average college tuition and fees have steadily increased, tripling among four-year public institutions and more than doubling among their private counterparts, according to the 2019 Trends in College Pricing report conducted by the College Board.

Marquette’s own Office of Institutional Research and Analysis reports the average annual tuition among undergraduate students at the university to have risen nearly $7000 in the past five years alone from $38,000 in the 2009-2010 academic year to $44,970 in the present 2019-2020 year.

This upward trend subsequently opens a nationwide discourse on the student debt crisis, with some public figures

proposing to expand Pell grants, more accessible debt forgiveness programs and free tuition altogether. Pell grants are grants given by the federal government to undergraduate students with financial need to pay for college. They do not need to be paid back.

While these proposals are debated relentlessly, simply attending college has become controversial in its own right.

Savage says he’s personally grateful for his career and all the opportunities afforded to him by his education, though he acknowledges a college degree is not a modern necessity.

As of August 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there to be 7.6 million unfilled jobs within the U.S. economy with significant deficits in fields of skilled trades, such as plumbing, carpentry, welding and electrical work among others. These professions may require some level of technical education, paid on-the-job-experience, and certification but do not require a bachelor’s degree.

“Today there is a huge shortage of trade workers largely because of this emphasis on college education,” Savage says. “These are respectable careers that earn good, family paying wages … No one today should feel as if they have to get a four-year degree.”

Teerink, however, says those who receive a college education not only grow intellectually but as members of their respective communities as well.

“There are too many advantages to dissuade someone from a college education,” Teerink says. “They just need to find the place best fit for them.”

On a topic as contentious as the student debt crisis, there is not a clear consensus behind any one solution or stance, though Savage says one thing is certain: its impact is vast.

“Student debt is an issue that transcends race, ethnicity and political affiliation,” Savage says. “It affects everyone.”

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L OO K OU T S Kelli Arseneau Due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, the Democratic National Convention that was originally scheduled for July 13-16 at Fiserv Forum, will now be pushed to the week of August 17.

An April 2 tweet from the 2020 Democratic National Convention Twitter said pushing back the convention date will allow “more time to determine the most appropriate structure for this historic event.” In a previous tweet on March 14, the convention team said it will “continue to monitor the developing coronavirus situation” and “will remain in constant communication with the local, state, and federal officials responsible for protecting public health and security.”

The DNC is where the democratic party’s presidential candidate for 2020 election will be determined. Preparations for the historic event have been in place for more than a year, even though the event is only four days long.

Originally, Milwaukee was expecting more than 50,000 visitors to attend the event at Fiserv Forum, home to Marquette Men’s basketball team.

While it is uncertain how many visitors are expected with the later date and when local businesses will reopen, many can still enjoy the atmosphere Milwaukee has to offer.

Marquette University To help determine the university’s role for the convention, Marquette has a steering committee led by co-chairs Lynn Griffith, senior director of university communication, and Mary Czech-Mrochinski, associate vice president for public affairs.

“We want to play our role, and we would be doing it whether this was the Democratic convention or the Republican convention,” Czech-Mrochinski says. “We’re just trying to be a good city partner.”

The committee is made up of 10 members, Czech-Mrochinski says, with five different subcommittees: academics; safety and security; operations; finances and marketing; and branding. Griffith says it is a “cross-sectional group” that brings together representatives from different areas of the university.

With the addition of COVID-19 precautions, the committee continues to meet and plan by communicating remotely via email and phone, Griffith says. She says they are confident that the city of Milwaukee and the Democratic National Convention Committee are working alongside public health officials to plan the convention, and 26

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the committee is following their guidance.

With the original plan, Griffith says nearly all residence halls will be rented out to convention guests. Summer housing

for students will be available in The Commons’ Eckstein Tower. Other venues, like the Alumni Memorial Union ballrooms, auditorium spaces and 707 Hub, will be available for rent for organizations and media outlets hosting events during the convention.

The residence halls and campus locations are expected to be rented out by guests during the convention week and the week prior but not likely throughout the rest of the month, Griffith says.

The convention security perimeter announced in January reaches 10th St., which means Straz Tower is included in the perimeter. Czech-Mrochinski says the steering committee has been reaching out to campuses in other cities that have hosted past political conventions to get insight regarding how to deal with the increase traffic and security during that week.

“It’s not going to be uncommon for you to have to have a student ID to show,” CzechMrochinski says. “(Students should be mindful of) how this is going to change the city operationally — like where students are going to be able to go, are buses going to be rerouted?”

Griffith says the university is also working to inform students of opportunities they will have to get involved with the convention and the various corporations, media outlets and other visitors that will be in Milwaukee for the week.

Places to Stay

Food Hubs One restaurant that is no stranger to highprofile guest visits is right near Marquette’s campus: Miss Katie’s Diner. A familyowned 50s-themed diner, Miss Katie’s has hosted a variety of prominent public figures.

Owner of the family-run restaurant Peter Picciurro says Miss Katie’s was visited on May 23, 1996, by then-U.S. president Bill Clinton and then-German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Hillary Clinton, who was then working on her presidential campaign, visits the restaurant on Feb. 17, 2008. On Oct. 13, 2010, then-first lady Michelle Obama paid a visit. President Donald Trump also stops into the diner during his campaign in 2016.

Picciurro says he was present for each visit.

“We’ve been here 35 years,” Picciurro says. “All the other politicians, anybody running for office, they say this is … good luck for them, for getting into their office.”

Beyond just the good food, which includes all-day breakfast, Picciurro says he thinks politicians like to visit Miss Katie’s Diner because it gives them an opportunity to sit down and eat alongside “the average Joe.” But, he says he is not sure if any politicians will be visiting the restaurant this summer or not.

Picciurro also says the diner’s location near the highway and a bit tucked away from busier parts of the city gives the Secret Service a sense of security in case they need to evacuate for any reason.

When Milwaukee was submitting its bid to be considered as the convention host city, all hotels had to submit the number of rooms they would have available during the convention, DoubleTree general manager Jeff Welk says.

The DoubleTree at 611 W. Wisconsin Ave. is one of the multiple hotels located within the security perimeter. Welk says the hotel will house delegates from Maryland and New Hampshire during the convention.

“It’s going to be, I think, fast and furious,” Welk says. “Our concern for our employees is will they be able to get to the actual facility, get here to work via driving or will they have to make alternate arrangements, because we are in the security perimeter.”

In August 2019, it was announced approximately half of the delegates will be staying at hotels in Illinois. Hotels in downtown Milwaukee will host the delegates from Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin. Other delegations will stay at hotels near the Milwaukee airport, hotels in Waukesha, Wauwatosa and Brookfield.

Rosemont and Lake County, Illinois will also house delegates for the convention.

Securing Spaces Multiple event spaces throughout the city will be utilized for the needs of various groups.

Before the alterations to the convention schedule due to the ongoing pandemic, a delegate party was supposed to take place at the Summerfest grounds July 12, the night before the four-day convention begins.

While the delegate party was not going to be open to the general public, there was supposed to be a concert at the Summerfest grounds the same night that is open to the public. It was going to feature Santana and Earth, Wind & Fire at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

However, other changes to the convention are expected to come with the date change.

The negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will likely mean that officials will “scale back the convention” in efforts to “avoid the appearance of throwing a big party in the midst of a severe economic downturn,” according to an article from Politico.

Design by Nell Burgener Photos by Zack Bukowski

Nightlife The city of Milwaukee proposes legislation to extend bar hours in the Milwaukee area — and potentially throughout Wisconsin — to 4 a.m. during the convention. This has been met with mixed reviews, as some businesses and individuals support the legislation on the grounds that it will be a good opportunity for visitors to go to bars and see the city, while others express safety concerns regarding increased hours of alcohol consumption.

The bars and restaurants near Fiserv Forum and the surrounding areas will be renting out their spaces, Richard Lorbach, founder and creative director of Drink Wisconsibly Pub, says. He says he does not expect his pub, which is located right across from Fiserv Forum, to have business affected much by the convention.

While Lobarch says he does not know what groups will be renting Drink Wisonsinbly Pub’s space, he says the pub will not be open to the general public during the convention.

“Our bartenders aren’t exactly thrilled with the extra bar time. It’s going to be a long week,” Lobarch says in an email.

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A N o P olicy A nt hem John Leuzzi

T

he sports world shifts on Aug. 26, 2016 — a shift that inevitably changes the conversations surrounding the national anthem.

In an NFL preseason game, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sits on the bench during the national anthem, protesting racial inequality in the United States.

In the next preseason game, Kaepernick goes farther and kneels during the anthem alongside teammate Eric Reid.

29

MARQUETTE JOURNAL

Photo by Jordan Johnson

Multiple professional players join the movement, raising fists and kneeling to show a stance against social injustice.

It isn’t until Sept. 2017 that the protests reach their peak.

President Donald Trump tweets, “If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL, or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect. …. Our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU’RE FIRED. Find something else to do!”

Kaepernick currently does not play in the NFL as he opted out of his contract

that would have kept him playing with the 49ers through 2020. He also has put a grievance file, a formal complaint, towards the NFL and its 32 teams for collusion.

With the 2020 Summer Olympics on the horizon, the International Olympic Committee publishes guidelines for athletes in the events to consider their political gestures.

The IOC bans athletes from making political, religious and ethnic demonstrations, including kneeling during a national anthem, displaying political messages and refusing to respect felSPRING 2020

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low medalists. Athletes are allowed to express views in interviews and social media, just not on Olympic playing surfaces or in the Village, the athletes living community during the games.

Even though it may seem like a common occurrence in professional sports, noticeable protests have yet to occur in college athletics.

The BIG EAST Conference does not have a policy or rules in place regarding the national anthem.

“We do not have a policy, firm stance or a requirement that forces anyone to participate in that or not, and I am not sure if we ever had an issue with it,” BIG EAST deputy commissioner and chief operating officer Vince Nicastro says. “We just felt at the end of the day, it was best left up to each of the individual schools.”

Marquette athletic director Bill Scholl 30

MARQUETTE JOURNAL

affirms Marquette also does not have a policy in place.

“We do not have a policy that would prohibit that from happening,” Scholl says. “We are not going to tell (athletes) that (they) can’t do things, but we are going to make sure (the players) know there will be consequences of doing it.”

Scholl notes these consequences might not necessarily come from Marquette Athletics personnel, but more from media and fans.

“As a student-athlete, you have to understand that what you do will be seen and perceived differently by a whole lot of people,” Scholl says.

Even though there is no policy in place, Marquette volleyball head coach Ryan Theis says there is an understanding of how athletes and administrators should handle this manner. “(There is) an understanding that if

there are things that they believed in and wanted to talk through (and) discuss and give their efforts, it is something we would work on together.”

Nicastro says the BIG EAST does have a protocol for pregame procedures that all teams must follow. The protocol entails listing what time the anthem is played, where the teams line up for it and that teams must shake hands before going back to their benches.

Both Nicastro and Scholl say this topic has not come up recently in meetings with conference officials and athletic directors.

“It certainly came up, after when Colin Kaepernick did that, at our next AD’s meeting we had a little bit of a conversation of ‘what are you guys doing, what do you think’, ” Scholl says. “But I am not sure if we had a conversation since. … Of all the things we need to cover in

our meeting, that hasn’t been a high priority.”

Miguel Melchor, a sophomore in the College of Engineering and a member of the Marquette Club Baseball team, says he has no problem if a college athlete wants to protest the national anthem.

“It’s freedom of speech. As long as it’s peaceful, I don’t see an issue with it at all,” Melchor says. “If a Marquette player did it, I personally have no issue with it, they have their reasons to do it.”

Jeremy DelValle, a junior in the College of Business Administration and member of the Marquette Club Baseball team, says the whole point of a protest is to bring awareness to an issue.

“People do much worse things, are suspended a handful of games and then they are back playing,” DelValle says.

“If they aren’t proud of something in the country, why force them to stand when Photo by Jordan Johnson

they don’t respect it deep down anyway?”

Chris DeLeo, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, believes it is disrespectful to protest during the anthem.

“There is a time and place for everything, but when it comes to the national anthem before a sports event, I think it is disrespectful for athletes to protest because (the anthem) is showing a sign of virtue to the sacrifices all those veterans made for this country,” Deleo remarks.

Scholl says if one of Marquette’s student-athletes felt the need to do something during the anthem, the Athletic Department would handle it accordingly.

“If it is before he/she has done anything, (sports information director) Scott (Kuykendall) and I … would sit and say, ‘tell us what you want to do and then we will give you some thoughts to think

about before we do it,’” Scholl says.

“If it is after the fact, we would have to work to coach that person through media requests or whatever it may be happening on social media.”

Five student athletes were asked to be interviewed for this story. All five students, involved in Marquette men’s basketball, Marquette women’s basketball, men’s lacrosse and women’s soccer, were not available to comment.

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The Power Zoe Comerford

T

he power of one.

It’s the slogan BIG EAST commissioner Val Ackerman remembers when she considers hiring more females in the sports industry.

“Diversification is a point of emphasis across the association,” Ackerman says.

“We all have a role, it’s like the power of one to try to bring along somebody else, whether it’s a woman in the business, a person of color, an ethnic minority who has the chance to be at the table.”

The power of one is also a slogan used for the annual Play4Kay Day, an event the Marquette women’s basketball team takes part in to support former North Carolina State University women’s basketball head coach Kay Yow who passed away from breast 32

MARQUETTE JOURNAL

of

cancer.

Ackerman’s illustrious 30-year sports career includes being a women’s basketball player at the University of Virginia, and continuing to become the founder and first president of the Women’s National Basketball Association and former president for USA Basketball, the national governing body for men’s and women’s basketball in the United States.

“She’s a trailblazer in so many ways,” Marquette women’s basketball head coach Megan Duffy says. “We couldn’t have a better leader right now in the BIG EAST.” Across the BIG EAST conference, there are 168 varsity sports throughout the 10 schools. There are only 36 female head coaches, primarily in women’s volleyball, women’s soccer and women’s lacrosse.

“Most of the ADs (athletic directors) at the Division I level are men. You have a tendency to hire the people that you know and there are more men coaches coaching women’s teams now than ever,” Providence College athletic director Robert Driscoll says. “We have to make a conscious decision to bargain and give women an opportunity. We as an athletic world haven’t done a good job with that.”

As of now, there are no female head coaches in the BIG EAST for any men’s sport. But Ackerman wants to change that.

“What I’d like to see happen is more women becoming candidates to coach not only women’s teams, but men’s teams,” Ackerman explains. “(I’d like to see) this dual career path open to more women.”

The perception that women cannot recruit prospects for men’s sports is a claim Ackerman and four athletic directors say is invalid.

“It’s wrong,” Driscoll says. “Recruiting is recruiting. Relationship building is relationship building. That’s an old attitude. …

Anybody can coach anybody and recruit anybody, we just have to give people the opportunity.”

Out of the major sports, women’s volley-

One ball owns the most progress in this area as seven of the 10 BIG EAST head coaches are female.

In 2011, eight of the 16 BIG EAST women’s basketball head coaches were female.

But that changes during the 2013-14 reconfiguration of the conference, losing Notre Dame’s Muffet McGraw, Rutgers’ C. Vivian Stringer, Pittsburgh’s Agnus Berenato and Cincinnati’s Jamelle Elliott.

Seton Hall’s Anne Donovan decides to resign in 2013 and Georgetown’s Terri Williams-Flournoy leaves for Auburn in 2012 and Natasha Adair heads to University of Delaware in 2017. Their positions were given to males, Anthony Bozzella and James Howard.

Now there’s only two head women’s basketball coaches who are female — Duffy and Xavier’s Melanie Moore — which is the fewest women’s basketball head coaches in any conference in the NCAA. Before Moore’s hire in April 2019, former Marquette head coach Carolyn Kieger was the sole female in her position across both men’s and women’s basketball since 2017.

Kieger declines to comment for this story.

The BIG EAST’s two female women’s basketball head coaches is the smallest number compared to the the other Power Five conferences. In the Atlantic Coast Conference, 10 of the 15 head women’s basketball coaches are female. In the BIG 10 Conference, 11 of the 14 head women’s basketball coaches are female. In the Big 12 Conference, five of the 10 head women’s basketball coaches are female. In the Pacific-12 Conference, 10 of the 12 head women’s basketball coaches are female. In the Southeastern Conference, nine of the 14 head women’s basketball coaches are female.

“What we’re trying to promote is to get more women head coaches back in the hot chair, the big seats,” Duffy says. “I’m very proud to be one of those women in the BIG EAST.” Historically, there have been more female head coaches in the league, but many have either resigned, left for another school or fired. Creighton athletic director Bruce Rasmussen explains how hiring female coaches is more expensive.

“You can hire a male for 40 or 50 cents on the dollar for what you can hire an out-

standing female because of the demand,” Rasmussen says. “You have to be willing to make that commitment to spend the extra dollars to get the outstanding female coaches in the more visible sports.”

During the 2019 Final Four press conference Notre Dame women’s basketball head coach Muffet McGraw made headlines advocating for more women in sports leadership positions.

“When you look at men’s basketball and 99% of the jobs go to men, why shouldn’t 100% or 99% of the jobs in women’s basketball go to women? Maybe it’s because we only have 10% women athletic directors in Division I,” McGraw says in a press conference. “People hire people who look like them and that’s the problem.”

Duffy, who was a four-year guard for McGraw, commends her former head coach for her activism.

“She’s really big on how can we help those younger coaches, who are assistant coaches right now, be fully prepared so that they have opportunities to get those jobs and when they’re in that seat, that they do a great job,” Duffy says.

Sports Illustrated reported the percentage of female-led women’s college basketball programs has plummeted from 79% in 1977 to 59% in 2018. Out of the NCAA’s 351 Division I women’s college basketball programs, there are still 120 male head coaches.

However, there are some, like Baylor University’s Kim Mulkey, who do not completely agree with McGraw.

“I understand her points without a doubt, but I’m of the belief, I want the best person for the job,” Mulkey explains at the April 4 press conference. “Bring attention to what needs to be fixed, but don’t give an absolute answer. I don’t want to hire somebody just to be hiring them.”

Ackerman says direct hiring decisions are always up to the individual schools’ athletic directors and their staff. As commissioner Ackerman oversees the whole BIG EAST Conference, while the athletic directors oversee a specific institution.

“Whether it’s the AD, his or her staff, that’s all completely managed at the institutional level,” Ackerman says. “We try to be a resource to the schools on maybe two areas, which would be just a national landscape in hiring trends … and we recently formed a Diversity and Inclusion Working Group.”

Driscoll mentions how his initiative and the BIG EAST’s strategic plan is focusing on diversity and inclusion in terms of hiring Photo by Zach Bukowski

decisions.

“You have to make a conscious effort to turn over stones to find people that may not typically be given a chance,” Driscoll says.

“If you don’t make it a priority, it’s not going to happen.”

Many of the athletic directors justify along with Ackerman that regardless of gender, they are looking to hire the best educators.

“Teaching, whether it’s the skills of the sport or life skills that last literally a lifetime, to me that’s the first quality,” St. John’s athletic director Michael Cragg explains. “(We) bring the best of talent, male or female, to the forefront for evaluation.”

Six league schools decline to comment on the hiring of more female coaches: Butler, DePaul, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier.

Out of the 14 varsity sports at Marquette, there are three female head coaches: Duffy for women’s basketball, Meredith Black for women’s lacrosse and Jody Bronson for women’s tennis.

Scholl has had the most involvement in the hiring process over the last 10 months, having to replace former women’s basketball head coach Kieger, former men’s lacrosse head coach Joe Amplo, former cross country head coach Mike Nelson and former women’s soccer head coach Markus Roeders.

He says he starts with a list of criteria in what the absolute must-haves in a new coach are, including a clean NCAA record and a history of success on the field. A clean NCAA record means in former coaching positions the specific coach did not violate NCAA rules, like paying players under the table. Each sport has an administrator, who will always have at least 10 names as potential head-coaching candidates.

“Every game I go to, I’m looking at the other team’s coach,” Scholl says. “You’re constantly building up this database of people you might have an interest in. At the same time, you’re hearing from a lot of other (ADs).”

Professional teams are trying to hire more female coaches like the NFL, which just hired one of the first female coaches for the 49ers and the NBA with bringing some professional WNBA players to coach.

“We see the door opening ever so slightly in the NBA with a handful of women working on coaching staffs there,” Rebecca Lobo, former WNBA player and sports broadcaster, explains via email. “I think that will happen in college as well. Then, as soon

as a woman has success, other teams and schools will follow suit.”

However, Driscoll thinks the hiring of more women should start at the collegiate level due to the breadth of opportunity and that will transfer to the professional level.

DePaul head women’s basketball coach Doug Bruno credits this as an in-house issue.

“I believe my job is the development of female leadership. That’s what I’m charged to do every single day,” Bruno says. “I can’t answer why who hires who.”

The next steps in female head coaches starts with the equal rights and opportunities that were established in the 1970s with Title XI laws.

Both Ackerman and Driscoll agree this begins with a conscious effort from the decision-makers to make equal opportunity in sports a reality.

“The stereotype is a male head coach,” women’s soccer junior defender Maddie Monticello explains. “The more we can break that stigma and getting more females welcome in it, it will go a long way.”

Duffy believes the next steps are getting women excited about honing skills in graduate assistant, video coordinator or assistant coaching roles and understanding the impact they can make and how that translates to the head coaching positions. Ultimately, Duffy wants to see more minority head coaches.

“The more diverse group of people you have in a room making decisions and sharing thoughts and ideas, I just think life is a whole lot better when you see different perspectives,” Duffy says. “Coaches are starting to understand that a female perspective can be very powerful.”

Like Ackerman, more women are becoming athletic directors, college commissioners and administration. She says while there may be fewer females coaches, there are more women working in a wider array of opportunities in college sports.

“As somebody who didn’t have any women to look up to when I was coming up the ladder in the sports world, it’s been heartening to see the progress at least at the executive level at least over the last 15 years,” Ackerman says. “I can foresee some significant progress in this in college sports in the coming years.”

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ab i l i t y

t

Matt Yeazel

“

Sports give you hope.”

It’s at least what Marquette women’s volleyball head coach Ryan Theis says. “It’s entertainment, it’s something to root for. It gives people something to look forward to.”

At Marquette, there are hundreds of student-athletes, thousands of fans who 34

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watch games from Fiserv Forum and the Al McGuire Center all the way to Valley Fields, and millions of dollars invested into the athletics department all to adhere to one thing: unity.

“We have people from all over the world here, and they all come together speaking Marquette,” men’s soccer head coach Louis Bennett says. “You can peel back the layers of race, religion and more and see that there is a

lot of commonality in people. We can come together to be a strong, powerful force.”

Bennett describes the importance of moments in soccer where people unite, like when five prisoners set up a soccer club in Africa to protest the apartheid and to keep a community together when Nelson Mandela was in prison. It gave the prisoners something to look forward to, or better yet, hope.

to

unite

Art and Design by Kayla Nickerson Photo by Jordan Johnson

Bennett also notes the time when Iceland, which he says is a “country smaller than Milwaukee,” became the smallest country ever to qualify for the World Cup in 2018. The entire nation root together for their team and their country.

BIG EAST Conference Commissioner Val Ackerman echoes the sentiments of sports’ ability to bring different kinds of people together.

“Sports can result in bridges between people of different faiths, ethnicities and nationalities,” she says. “It’s a great unifying force for our culture, and they can become a very effective platform for positive social change.”

The impact of that unifying force has been felt by players, including former Marquette University men’s basketball player, Luke Fischer. He now plays basketball in Würzburg, Germany, and

says that sports can, in a way, be a universal language.

“I’ve played with guys from all over the world and it’s crazy how basketball brings us together,” he says. “People who don’t speak the same language as I do have cheered for me in games.”

Fischer says big games at Marquette make him realize how big of a community and fanbase Marquette has and that it’s a big deal to have the commuSPRING 2020

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nity come together to celebrate and cheer on a team.

Kevin Choe, a sophomore in the College of Education and a fan of Marquette sports, also says that sports at Marquette have a big impact in terms of bringing people together.

“Basketball games and other sports are big events here on campus and they are really important for a lot of students,” he says. “The games bring together current students, former students, fans and everyone in the com-

talk about the game and their family — which is something he looks forward to every year.

Sean Dole, a sophomore in the College of Business, says that he considers National Marquette Day about family and that it is one of the most important days for Marquette.

“It’s special because it’s all about the community and everyone involved with Marquette, past or present,” he says. “It’s a day that’s all about celebrating us and that’s not something ev-

With sports having that ability to bring people together, there is something to be said for its ability to provide people with an escape from hardships by providing a window of distraction.

“Regardless of what’s going on in people’s lives, sports allow people to come together for a common goal, cheering for your team to win,” Organ says. “For a few hours we all forget about our responsibilities and we aim our focus on watching and cheering our team on to victory.”

“Regardless of what’s going on in people’s lives, sports allow people to come together for a common goal, cheering for your team to win.”

- Nathan Organ, junior in the College of Engineering

munity and are a great way to spend our time together.”

For Nathan Organ, a junior in the College of Engineering, he says National Marquette Day means more to the Marquette community than just a basketball game.

“National Marquette Day is important because it allows us to come together in solidarity with the alumni that were in the same position we were,” he says. “That day has the ability to bring Marquette together in celebration of our culture.”

Organ says that his family, who has a line of family members as alums, always try to meet up at halftime on National Marquette Day to catch up and

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eryone has.”

For this year’s National Marquette Day game against Butler, there were 50 registered watch parties around the world including in Hawaii, London, Paris, and Puerto Rico. As Marquette athletic director Bill Scholl says, that is what makes the day what it is for Marquette nation.

“There’s something to be said for Marquette fans around the world deciding that we’re all thinking about Marquette at the same time on the same day,” Scholl says. “Everyone decides that this is the game that we’re all gonna watch and it creates those magical moments where everyone is celebrating together.”

The idea of having a common goal resonates with Fischer, as he says sports can bring people together no matter how different everyone may be.

“Whether you’re a fan or a player, you’re all united for the sake of a common goal,” Fischer says. “I think that speaks to the power of sports.”

Cost

of

Being

Tyler Peters

A

law that allows athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness passes in California on Sept. 30, 2019. It’s a law that gives athletes the ability to benefit from their athletic status but “makes clear that compensation for athletic performance or participation is impermissible.”

The National Collegiate Athletic Association Board of Governors come together for a vote and unanimously choose to allow athletes to profit off of name, image and likeness. The NCAA’s law states its intended to “assure student-athletes are treated similarly to non-athlete students unless a compelling reason exists to differentiate.”

Marquette athletic director Bill Scholl says he is in support of the NCAA’s proposal but says he believes there is still a lot of work to be done.

Scholl says the main difference between intercollegiate athletics and other athletics entities, like the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and several others is recruiting versus signing, drafting and trading players.

“We have to convince (the student athletes) that our school is the place to come,” Scholl explains. “It’s pretty important if we’re going to have institutions throughout 50 states competing on the same playing field and trying to beat each other and be competitive with each other. I think it’s pretty important if we operate by the same set of rules. Depending on how NIL gets constructed, (it) could really affect the recruiting balance in the country.”

BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman, who is the co-chair of the NCAA’s committee on the topic, says improvements and modifications to NIL are in the works. She expects more details to be released in a report this April.

“There is a commitment by the

a

College Athlete

NCAA to modernize its rules to allow for expanded opportunities for student-athletes,” Ackerman says. “What we’re working on right now is a model where the athletes would not become salary employees of their university.

That’s a scenario we’re working to avoid.”

Scholl says NIL is completely different than paying athletes for their play.

“While there might be a few folks who believe pay for play truly makes sense, they are very few and far between within our industry,” Scholl says. “To begin to write checks for them to play for us as opposed to what we currently do for them is not where Marquette would want to go.”

Marquette men’s lacrosse redshirt

“The

point of college

athletics is to enhance your

educational

experience

...”

-Jordan Schmid, Men’s Lacrosse Midfielder

sophomore midfielder Jordan Schmid does not believe the NCAA will ever reach a point where it pays its student-athletes.

“You go to play sports in college for a specific reason. You don’t have to play college sports if you don’t want to,” Schmid says. “The point of college athletics is to enhance your educational experience and be able to potentially pay for your educational experience.

Some athletes have the opportunity to go to college for free and play the sport they love.”

Schmid says NIL offers equal opportunity for all collegiate student-athletes, like allowing all sports to profit from their name, image and likeness, not just the ones that generate the most revenue.

In an Oct. 29, 2019 tweet, Lebron James says: “It’s a beautiful day for all college athletes going forward from this day on!” James says in a tweet regarding NIL. “Not a victory but a start!”

Chris DeLeo, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, was a former high school athlete. He expresses his concerns with NIL. “To me, it sounds like another excuse the NCAA is using to avoid paying athletes, but I do think it’s a step in the right direction,” DeLeo says.

DeLeo says he would be frustrated if he was a college athlete and wasn’t getting paid for his services.

“At the same time, I’m not sure paying a Division III or Division II athlete would be necessary. I think Division I players should be the only ones getting paid since they likely bring in the most revenue.”

Schmid says he believes there’s a common misconception among the general public regarding the issue of student-athletes being paid.

“A lot of fans and the general public will look and think (the NCAA) is taking advantage of student-athletes,” Schmid says. “I think there needs to be more education on all of the opportunities and advantages that are offered currently to student-athletes that a lot of people just don’t see.”

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Our Chance

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e to

Art and Design By Nell Burgener & Chelsea Johanning

Change

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S tudents W eigh I n Matthew Harte

B

rooke Huerter says the day Hillary Clinton conceded the 2016 election, she changed her major to political science.

Huerter, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, volunteered for the Clinton campaign throughout her senior year of high school. She applied to Marquette with the intention of being an education major, but felt an increase need to become politically active after Donald Trump’s victory.

“In (Clinton’s) concession speech, she said ‘you know, I didn’t get it done, but it will be one of the young women who’s watching this,” Huerter says. “And I was like, ‘oh my gosh, maybe this could be a career path for me.’”

Huerter says her political science courses show the power young people have to influence political change. While it’s likely few other Marquette students change their educational course after an election result, most say politics are important to their everyday life.

The Marquette Wire conducted a survey of undergraduate students’ political preferences leading Jan. 21 to Feb. 21, receiving 220 responses.* 59.6% of respondents say politics are either somewhat or very important to their daily life, compared to only 25.8% who say politics are somewhat unimportant or not at all important.

Students across the country appear to be engaging with politics at higher rates than previous years. An analysis by Tufts University estimates 40.3% of students nationwide voted in the 2018 midterm, compared to only 19.3% in the 2014 midterm.

Marquette’s political priorities 124 students identify climate change as one of the most important issues for their voting decision going into the 2020 election, making it the most frequently chosen topic.

William Grafft, a senior in the College of Engineering studying environmental 40

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engineering, says predictive models describing the ‘point of no return,’ in which climate change will have irreversible effects, are cause for concern. Climate scientists from the United Nations predict that there is less than 11 years for global warming to be capped at a level of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures, and beyond that point there will be a significant increase in extreme heat, floods and droughts.

“I think (the researchers) know better than I do,” Grafft says. “If a candidate says they think climate change doesn’t exist, I would be disinclined to vote for the person.”

Julio Garcia, a junior in the College of Communication, also emphasizes the role that scientific studies play in his decision to prioritize climate change going into the election.

“Understanding global emissions and how greenhouse gas is going to destroy our world is something that should be instilled in everyone’s mind,” Garcia says.

“I think we should all be aware of what is causing this and how we can make a difference.”

Health care is students’ second most frequently cited issues, with 83 respondents saying the issue is important to their vote.

For Vincent Di Castri, a first-year in the College of Engineering, a family emergency led him to become invested in issues of health care and workers’ rights.

When Di Castri was nine years old, his mother experienced a life threatening injury at work. Di Castri says his mother used opiates for about eight years while waiting on the surgery, which the family couldn’t afford to pay for.

“She was like a zombie” Di Castri says. “That was rough for my relationship because I didn’t really have a mom.”

Di Castri says the medical bills took a significant financial toll on the family, and they eventually filed for bankruptcy.

He says he supports universal health care to alleviate the stress unexpected medical emergencies have on families “If healthcare is more affordable, it

would mean people won’t have to go through similar issues.”

Marquette leans left Marquette students are generally left-leaning, with 42.7% saying they would describe their political ideology as very liberal or liberal. 20.5% of respondents say they are conservative or very conservative, while 33.3% are moderate.

Additionally, 54.6% identify with the Democratic Party, while 28.6% identify with the Republican Party.

This ideological split is largely consistent with the voting trends of young Americans in previous elections. The Harvard Institute of Politics estimates 67% of voters aged 29 or under preferred Democrats in the 2018 election.

The split is also reflected in students’ preferred presidential candidate leading into the 2020 election. When asked who they would vote for if the election were held today, 28.6% of respondents say Bernie Sanders, who suspended his campaign April 8. 40.9% support Joe Biden or another Democratic candidate who has also suspended their campaign since the end of the survey period.

Eric Rorholm is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and the Marquette College Democrats chairman. In September, he started a student group named Marquette for Bernie as a way to raise support for Sanders on campus. Rorholm says Marquette’s support for Sanders is unsurprising, pointing to a February poll from Chegg and College Pulse that has Sanders’ support among college students nationwide at 50%.

Rorholm says college students’ appeal for Sanders stem from his independent views that often misalign with both major parties. He adds that Marquette for Bernie is the only student campaign for a single candidate with a presence on Marquette’s campus.

“Bernie is the absolute case study in having all kinds of values and ideologies, but having no loyalty to a corrupt party system or political institutions,” Rorholm says.

1

Healthcare 80 Students

Climate Change 125 Students

Art and Design by Chelsea Johanning

Economy/Job 50 Students

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Student views on President Trump Stephen Hegarty, a senior in the College of Health Sciences, says he identifies as conservative and Republican. However, Hegarty says he believes President Trump has shown a lack of professionalism during his first term.

“As a businessman, Donald Trump has shown success,” Hegarty says. “But as

Gun

Policy 50 Students

a figurehead for our country and moral leader, I don’t think he’s lived up to the expectations of someone I want to be president.”

Hegarty’s criticism of President Trump is largely consistent with the rest of the Marquette community. 62.7% of students say they strongly or somewhat disapprove of Trump’s performance as president, while only 24.1% strongly or somewhat approve.

However, Hegarty’s qualms about Trump are mostly inconsistent with a majority of Republican-identifying students. 69.8% say they strongly or somewhat approve of Trump’s performance as president, compared to only 14.3% who strongly or somewhat disapprove.

Mark Williams, a junior in the College of Engineering, has attended two Trump rallies and runs a blog expressing his conservative views. He says Trump’s ability to run the economy and emphasize American pride have impressed him throughout the president’s first term.

“I believe America’s the greatest country in the world, and just having a president who thinks like that and always says ‘America First’ is something I love,” Williams says.

Williams says he finds that college campuses have a liberal bias, especially in failing to present conservative viewpoints. He also says Marquette students

Women’s Rights 45 Students

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are often not receptive to listening to his perspectives.

“I’ve lost a couple friends just because I’m a Trump supporter, and to me, I don’t base my friends off political opinion,” Williams says. “I look at them as a person and to me politics is secondary.”

Student activism into elections Marquette students indicate a strong desire to head to the polls in major upcoming elections. 81% say they are very likely to vote in the presidential election, compared to only 12.7% who say they are very or somewhat unlikely to vote.

44.1% also say they planned to vote in the Wisconsin primary election in April, while 36.8% plan to vote in a different state’s primary.

Garcia says students have an obligation to be politically active and cast their vote.

“I think no matter what spectrum you’re on, it is our civic duty to be aware of what is going on in the world,” Garcia says. “If you aren’t aware, exploitation can often go unchecked.”

Huerter says it’s important for students to turn out in the upcoming presidential election, as they will feel the effects of their vote most strongly in the years after they graduate. Additionally, she notes youth turnout is historically lower than older age groups, despite gains in recent elections.

“College students have the most at stake in this election, especially with issues like health care and climate change” Huer says, “Your vote truly does matter, and it’s truly going to affect the rest of our lives.” *Methodology notes: From Jan. 21 to Feb. 21, Matthew Harte surveyed Marquette students on their political and ideological views. The survey was conducted through a paper form handed out in communal campus spaces, such as the Alumni Memorial Union and Raynor Memorial Library bridge, and an online survey sent to students’ emails. In total, 220 students were surveyed, with 128 paper responses and 92 electronic responses. The survey results have a margin of error +/- 7%.

Immigration 25 Students

Art and Design by Chelsea Johanning

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Diagnosing the System

Matthew Martinez

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I

n 2020, health care weighs heavy on the minds of Americans. During a global outbreak that’s seen governors ‘competing’ for medical supplies and marginalized communities particularly affected, the conversation has never been more pressing.

Lowering the cost of health care is the top domestic priority among both Democrats and Republicans, according to a joint poll by Politico and Harvard University.

Lowering the cost of prescription drugs, another shared belief among Democrats and Republicans, ranks second.

An important caveat: Americans may agree that the system should change but have drastic ideas of how to get there.

Some are hitching their wagons to the universal coverage “Medicare For All” plan.

Others are opting for more moderate plans such as “Medicare for All Who Want It.” Still, others want to see generic, inexpensive drugs even out the market through competition with name-brand pharmaceuticals, efforts spearheaded by current Republican leadership.

In 2018, 27.5 million Americans were uninsured in 2018, according to data from the United States Census Bureau. This figure accounts for 8.5% of the U.S. population and represents an increase of those uninsured by nearly 2 million from 2017.

The United States is the only industrialized democracy in the world that does not have universal coverage. Universal coverage refers to health insurance provided or secured by the government of a country.

Senator Bernie Sanders’ Medicare For All is a single-payer plan, making it comparable to Canada’s health care system.

Single-payer insurance is just one form of universal health care. Under it, citizens are placed under one health insurance plan implemented by the government. The plan would essentially remove private and employer-based insurance options, which currently cover a majority of Americans.

Susan Giaimo, an associate adjunct political science professor at Marquette, says calling single-payer “socialized medicine” is a misnomer; it should be referred to as “socialized insurance.”

“It’s not that (the government) would take over the entire health care system,” Giaimo says. “Doctors would still be in private practice. [Nonprofit] hospitals would still remain nonprofit. … It’s just that there

would be only one government insurance.”

As of 2018, Americans spend $3.6 trillion annually on health care, resulting in an average cost of $11,172 per person. Health care spending currently makes up 17.7% of U.S. gross domestic product.

“We’re spending so much more money on health care than we ever have in the past,” Lisa Grabert, a visiting professor with a joint appointment at Marquette University and Georgetown University, says.

Grabert specializes in health policy and worked on Medicare policy for 15 years, spending five and a half of those years on the House of Representatives’ Ways and Means committee, working directly on Medicare bills. The Ways and Means committee is the primary tax-writing committee in the U.S. congress.

On an individual level, the American health care system can be dizzying. Grabert says patients are subject to “surprise billing,” sometimes resulting from getting care from a provider who is not covered by their insurance (an “out-of-system” provider) even if they are at an “in-system” hospital or clinic. Patients often pay for prescription drugs out of pocket because their insurance doesn’t cover a specific drug.

Concerns about the current system have led to proposals on the Democratic debate stage that would introduce major shifts to established institutions.

“We could be due because it’s been about 10 years since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law,” Grabert says. “I don’t know that the temperature necessarily of the country right now … (has) the right political alignment for that, but in 2020 that could all change.”

Grabert says that realistically, the Democrats would likely need a trifecta, or a party control over the presidency, the House of Representatives and the Senate, to try to enact major legislation such as Medicare for All. Democrats currently have a majority in the House; they would need to flip the Senate and win the presidency to secure all three chambers.

Giaimo says even with a trifecta, passage of any proposed health plan far from guaranteed.

“It would require Democrats to take both houses of Congress, get the presidency, and convince their moderate Democrats that this is a good idea,” Giaimo says.

Giaimo teaches courses in U.S. health

policy and comparative health politics. The latter of those two compares the U.S. health system to that of other countries. She’s written two books on the subject: Markets and Medicine: The Politics of Health Care Reform in Britain, Germany, and the United States and Reforming Health Care in the United States, Germany, and South Africa: Comparative Perspectives on Health.

Giaimo says that convincing moderate Democrats may be difficult, especially with rising pressure from the pharmaceutical industry and health care providers. Giaimo says it is likely that doctors and hospitals will make less than they do with private insurance, but more than the current payout from Medicare.

Grabert says she’s not ruling out a major change.

“If lawmakers want to do something, they’re going to find a way to do it,” Grabert says. “I don’t say that there’s too many things that can’t be done, because if there’s

insurers have agreed to waive costs for testing, but not necessarily for care if someone develops COVID-19.

“Maybe you can get the test for free, but then you’re going to need treatment and you have a high deductible plan where you pay the first 6-10,000 dollars in medical expenses and you end up in the hospital, you could end up in medical bankruptcy pretty quick,” Giaimo says.

Giaimo says the gaps in coverage may be most present in states that did not expand Medicaid, as access to coverage will be a key factor in getting through the pandemic.

Eric Rorholm, a junior in the College

health insurance as a major issue during the pandemic.

“If you don’t have health insurance, your options are go into such severe debt that you risk losing your car or your home or even your kids, or staying at home and potentially dying because you can’t breathe,” Rorholm says.

Rorholm points to discrepancies such as testing, where many Americans need to get a referral for a test that’s already in short supply.

“That’s money, that’s time, that’s assuming you even have a doctor to access,” Rorholm says.

Rorholm says that health care should be a right especially in the “richest country to ever exist on Earth”. He believes that single-payer insurance is a step toward that.

Rorholm cites the importance of single-payer insurance as the bargaining and leveraging power of the American people: Putting everyone under one insurance plan

“We’re spending so much more money on health care than we ever have in the past.”

-Lisa Gabert, visiting professor at Marquette

political will and the desire to kind of take something on as an issue, you will get that done.”

Whether or not the novel coronavirus will impact attitudes on public health remains to be seen.

“I think our country generally doesn’t believe in having a proactive position on anything…” Giaimo says. “…there were simulations done about how we would deal with a pandemic virus, and the report that came out last fall said we were really behind…and nobody did anything at the federal government level.”

President Donald Trump has drawn criticism for his administration dismantling the National Security Council’s global health security team in 2018, and more recently announcing a plan to defund the World Health Organization in the midst of the pandemic.

Giaimo says there are some quagmires in U.S. health policy that are unique to America. For instance, Giaimo says private Design By Chelsea Johanning

of Arts & Sciences, says he’s in favor of Medicare for All. Rorholm is president of the College Democrats and member of Marquette For Bernie, a club supporting the Democratic candidate on Marquette’s campus. Rorholm started supporting Sanders in 2016.

Rorholm says that the novel coronavirus has further highlighted the need for single-payer healthcare, especially in America.

“That’s a big part of why we’re so far behind the eight ball, because the United States has not in a long … time had to face a situation where you have to put health above profit in the short-term or it will destroy you in the long-term, which is where we’re at now,” Rorholm says.

Rorholm especially points to monetized

increases the ability to negotiate costs.

“That’s why the cost of health care in the United States is so high,” Rorholm says.

“These small, compartmentalized corporations with their own subscribers and their own clients can’t negotiate very well with pharmaceutical companies, with hospitals, with contractors.”

In his agenda, Sanders says “The United States must join the rest of the industrialized world and recognize that health care is a right of all, not a privilege.”

“What Bernie Sanders brings, the revolution of his political thinking, is that human lives matter so much more than the economic bottom line,” Rorholm says.

Rorholm says that the current health care system will cost more in the long run than “Medicare For All”. While it’s currently unclear if Sanders’ plan would be less expensive, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services project that health care spending will reach $6 trillion by 2027 without a change in current law.

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Sanders dropped out of the presidential race on April 8, 2020. Days after he suspended his campaign, Sanders endorsed democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden.

While Sanders and other progressives could still attempt the legislation in the Senate, Biden has publicly said he would veto Medicare-For-All if it came across his desk as president.

According to his campaign’s website, Biden’s healthcare plan is to “protect and build on the Affordable Care Act.” The website states the Biden administration would increase the value of tax credits to lower premiums, expand access for low-income Americans, and create a public option like Medicare. “…the Biden Plan will give you the choice to purchase a public health insurance option like Medicare,” the website says. “As in Medicare, the Biden public option will reduce costs for patients by negotiating lower prices from hospitals and other health care providers.”

Miranda Spindt, president of Young Americans for Freedom and a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, says that the current system is the best fit for the country, “although needing obvious improvement.”

“There should absolutely be health care provided, preferably by local or state governments, when it is needed by those who can’t afford it,” Spindt says in an email. “Local and state governments are better suited to fit the needs of their residents than the distant federal government.”

YAF is a group of students “dedicated to promoting traditional conservative and libertarian views on Marquette’s campus,” according to its Facebook page.

Spindt says fixing the current system is better rather than starting something com-

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pletely new.

Spindt says the federal government’s role should be to find a “healthy balance” of regulation to take care of citizens while also engendering competition in the industry to provide the best services at the lowest prices. She says that “Medicare For All” and “Medicare for All Who Want It” would be too expensive.

“The trillions of dollars that it costs can’t be covered just by the richest of the rich,” Spindt says in an email.

Spindt says that uprooting the current system would result in higher taxes for a “mediocre health care plan that may never live up to the idea of what it is supposed to be.”

Biden plans on paying for his “Biden Plan” by closing capital gains tax loopholes, which his website claims is the second largest tax expenditure in the county at $127 billion.

The Biden administration plans to restore the 39.6% top rate that the for president Barack Obama’s administration passed in 2012, effectively doubling the tax rate on capital gains.

One of the foremost concerns with any health care proposal in the future will be staffing. As Grabert describes, the Medicare system is currently taking in 10,000 baby boomers, or individuals born between 1946 and 1964, a day, causing concern that the system may not be able to sustain the influx.

Grabert refers to it as the “silver tsunami.”

Additionally, Giaimo says that for minority communities, access to healthcare, while important, may not be enough.

Maria Bunczak, a senior in the College of Nursing and president of Empowerment, an intersectional feminist organization on Marquette’s campus, echoes this sentiment, saying ZIP code is the #1 determinant of health in America.

“The neighborhood you’re in determines

your life expectancy, your odds of being incarcerated, your odds of dying in childbirth, and Marquette is right next to the ZIP code with the lowest life expectancy in the state of Wisconsin,” Bunczak says, referencing the 53206 ZIP code.

The way the coronavirus has affected African-Americans is an example of this.

Because of living conditions, African-Americans are more likely to have pre-existing health conditions such as diabetes, asthma and heart disease which can be fatal when combined with the novel coronavirus. This can be attributed to economic hardship and lack of access to healthcare.

“Although African American adults are 40 percent more likely to have high blood pressure, they are less likely than their non-Hispanic white counterparts to have their blood pressure under control,” according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

These underlying conditions have led to African-Americans dying at a disproportionate rate amid the pandemic.

“This whole COVID outbreak really puts stress on an already broken system and helps reveal and show to the public the fractures and cracks that are already present,” Bunczak says.

Bunczak supports Medicare-For-All as a policy, saying that healthcare is a human right. Her first experiences with socialized medicine were when she was studying abroad in Ireland, where she says she received care and was incredulous when the hospital admitted her without needing pay.

Bunczak says she hopes the government’s role in the current situation will show people that there are other options for a health care system.

“Through this, people are seeing that socialism is not such a dirty word,” Bunczak says.

Photo by Claire Gallagher

Isabella Velazquez is the first-year student representative for the Biomedical Students Association at Marquette. She is a Milwaukee native studying pediatric psychiatry. She hopes to work in Milwaukee, where she says more pediatric psychiatrists are badly needed.

Velazquez was hospitalized during her senior year of high school and placed in an adolescents’ unit at a psychiatric hospital, where she was adjacent to the children’s unit.

Although they were separated, Velazquez says the younger kids often got mixed in with the adolescents “I guess for me that really opened my eyes like ‘Wow, it’s not just about depression and anxiety,’” Velazquez says. “All of those are very important issues, but there’s so much more that little children have no control over, and they’re dealing with these problems with no choice.”

She says the children, some as young as four or five years old, are often “forced into that way of life.” Some deal with complications from their parents using drugs, resulting in congenital ADHD or anger issues.

Velazquez says that the majority of patients at behavioral health hospitals are white, and it’s not because black and Latino citizens aren’t experiencing the same problems. In some cases, it’s a lack of access; in others, “medical mistrust,” she says. The mistrust stems from racism; Velazquez cites the Tuskegee syphilis study as a prime example of why the mistrust exists.

The study began in 1932, involving 600 black men — about 400 who had syphilis and 200 who did not — who were told that they were receiving treatment for “bad blood,” an amorphous term that covered syphilis, amnesia and fatigue among other illnesses. In reality, the Public Health Service was documenting the effects of untreated syphilis. In other words, the men weren’t being treated. The program was supposed to end after six months. It lasted 40 years.

An Associated Press story in 1972 caused a public outcry. An advisory panel reviewing the study called it “ethically unjustified.”

While she doesn’t back a specific health care proposal, Velazquez says she’s in favor of expanding access, especially for minority communities.

“I feel like the first step should just be building awareness, like educating people on the effects of not having health insurance,” Velazquez says. “I think if people would start to realize this is actually killing people, that would encourage people to kind of try and make a change.”

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47

Overflow Grace Dawson

“

We really wanted to stay,” Morgan Schnabl says. “We loved that location … but after about two months, we realized ‘Dang. Well, it’s not really an option.’”

Schnabl is the owner of Milwaukee restaurant Brunch that was located along the Milwaukee riverfront at 800 North Plankinton Street.

The restaurant, dawned in blue paint and a big yellow yolk, has had problems with flooding for years, but was able to manage the water in the past. This past summer, the basement flooded and the city of Milwaukee told the employees food count no longer be served.

“The water just got too high and it’s something that we had battled with for a long time and once it got too high for us to operate anymore, we were forced to shut down,” Schnabl says.

Now at a location away from the river at 714 North Milwaukee Street, the restaurant lives on, but the memories of the flooding still remain.

The persistent flooding happens during the spring of 2019. The relocations occurs during the following summer.

The flooding is a result of a lack of infrastructure and improper precautions of those who owned the building Brunch occupied.

Brunch had been at the Plankinton location since it opened in 2016.

Schnabl says neighboring businesses on Plankinton are able to keep water down with sump pumps, lift stations —which are housed below businesses and residences that collected waste water that is directed to a water treatment facility — and other systems. Brunch did not utilize those systems.

Rising river and lake levels is an effect climate change is having — and will continue to have — on the Greater Milwaukee Area.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper, a nonprofit organization that aims to ensure the health of Milwaukee’s water, notes Lake Michigan’s water levels have increased an unprecedented 12 inches per year for the last six years.

In 2013, the great lake reaches a record low. The water level was estimated to be at 576 feet, according to the Milwaukee Riverkeeper. But with increases in cu48

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mulative rain and snow, water levels are rising and are recorded higher than ever before. The Riverkeeper reports the lake has risen a little over six feet from six years ago, breaking its “high water record of 33 years.”

The river now resides at 582.18 feet.

Vince Bushell, a field staff member at the River Revitalization Foundation, says he has seen changing lake levels impact his work for the Milwaukee River. The River Revitalization Foundation empowers people to protect and restore water while its mission is to “establish an urban parkway for public access, walkways, recreation and education, bordering the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnicikinnic Rivers” to revitalize and improve water quality.

The Milwaukee River, which acts as an estuary, or where the river stream meets the tide of the lake, has risen largely due to an increase in yearly rainfall, Bushell says.

Bushell looks to the extreme rain events, or disproportionate amounts of rain in the city over the course the years 2008 and 2010.

Measurements from October to September of all rain, snow and rain snow mix is totaled.

The rain events were predicted to happen 50 to 100 years apart, not two years.

“That gives you an indication that it might be more climate than just weather” Bushell says.

In 2008, approximately 43 inches of cumulative precipitation in Milwaukee was totaled. In 2010, 41 total inches were measured, surpassing Milwaukee’s average of 34.5 inches cumulative precipitation per year from 1981-2010, according to the Wisconsin State Climatology Office.

Forty-two inches of precipitation was received in 2018 and 44.5 inches in 2019 for Milwaukee. Bushell says this rainfall is combated by an underground system that catches wastewater and stormwater, which is called the deep tunnel. It cleans water and prevents it from polluting Lake Michigan. However, if rainfall continues to far surpass averages, Bushell says it will create issues for the Sewerage District, a regional government agency that provides water reclamation and flood management services.

In its 2019 Resilience Plan, which

outlines resilience challenges and plans to combat them, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District notes Milwaukee region storms beginning in 2000 and extending through 2018 has caused significant flooding, basement backups, and sewerage overflows that has caused millions of dollars in damage across the area.

The existing grey infrastructure, or man-made water transportation and storage systems that work to move and store stormwater, the city has is not designed for larger storms like those that happened during that time frame.

It’s the same infrastructure that plays a part in the flooding at Brunch. However, Schnabl says there is not much the city could do, saying “(the city) places orders on the building to have the foundation repaired so that we could operate and would not allow us to operate again until those fixes were made.”

Schnabl says it is a positive thing for Brunch to be in a bigger, better location in the long run. Yet, that did not come without its challenges to move.

“Money-wise, we lost over half a million dollars and we’ll never get that back,” Schnabl says. “It was a very, very hard summer for us, we were shut down for four months. And we’re a high value, popular restaurant, which is great. Until it shuts down. After that, you realize how quickly funds dwindle.”

The Milwaukee Common Council approved a Green Infrastructure Plan released by the City of Milwaukee in June 2019. It is an effort to combat issues like flooding and also invest in green infrastructure and renewable energy. Most recently, the Milwaukee Common Council’s Public Works Committee voted to confirm the city’s largest solar energy project in history.

This project was voted on again and confirmed by the full Common Council March 3. It will be completed in collaboration with We Energies.

Erick Shambarger, the city’s Director of Environmental Sustainability, emphasizes that Milwaukee is committed to implementing green solutions in a number of places. One particularly exciting switch, Shambarger says, is happening at Milwaukee Public Schools.

“Every year we’re working with five schools and removing blacktops and putting in green space for kids to play on, which also manages stormwater,” Shambarger says. Green schoolyards help to reduce flooding by removing pavement, too much of which can trap water and overwhelm the existing grey infrastructure.

Shambarger makes aware of the Commercial Green Lot Grants Program, where up to $25,000 can be provided by the city towards the design or implementation of green infrastructure. Organizations can fill out an application and submit other tax documents and forms as indicated by the program website. The program is set to begin in 2020 and the Review Committee will determine which projects to allocate funding to.

The Hop streetcar, which began operation Nov. 2018, is another new development the city has taken in widening public transportation options. By using electric energy, The Hop reduces reliance on traditional fossil fuel vehicles.

The city has a goal of cutting energy use in overall city operations 20% over the next decade, Shambarger says.

Along with an increase flooding and cumulative precipitation, temperatures in Milwaukee are expecting to shift due to climate change.

Stefan Schnitzer, chair of Marquette University’s environmental studies department, says Milwaukee will likely have hotter summers and winters that will bring abnormally cold and warm periods.

Overall, variability in weather events such as hurricanes and tornadoes, is going to increase, Schnitzer says.

Schnitzer says Milwaukee, and the Midwest as a whole, is relatively buffered from some of the more drastic effects of climate change due to its region, as the natural lay of the region and its distance from the oceans offer a layer of relative protection.

“The West Coast is going to suffer greatly from drought, the East Coast and the Southeast are going to get slammed by hurricanes…Milwaukee is kind of in this more stable area,” Schnitzer says.

One major impact that Milwaukee, and many cities, will face is the urban heat island effect.

Anthony Parolari, assistant professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at Marquette, says an urban heat island is a city which tends to be hotter than its surrounding areas.

With summer temperatures in the city averaging about 1.4 degrees higher than the P

by Jordan Johnson Photo hoto by Jordan Johnson

rural areas, the city of Milwaukee can be up to 18 degrees hotter than surrounding rural areas, according to Climate Central.

Parolari says this is because the dark surfaces placed in the city absorb more sunlight, which increases heat. Additionally, the high number of cars and headed buildings add to the urban heat island effect.

Parolari says that fellow Marquette faculty are working to produce energy from sewage by creating methane, which is recycling energy, as well as extracting nutrients from waste streams. Parolari himself works on creating green infrastructure such as green roofs to offset the urban heat island and capturing pollutants from stormwater to reduce flooding.

Parolari notes the urban heat island effect will disproportionately impact economically disadvantaged areas, as they tend to have less vegetation to block sunlight from pavement.

Schnitzer says affected individuals are also likely to have less access to air conditioning.

“When temperatures get really high, people die,” Schnitzer says.

Bushell says environmental scientists are using cloned plants — grown from clippings or seeds of existing plants genetically identical to them — to test variation in temperatures, planting them at different distances north and south of equator. Because cloned plants do not have the genetic capacity to adapt to new weather situations, they are used as an ecological method of gauging temperature increase, as they will die if the temperature is not suitable.

While the River Revitalization Foundation is not currently participating in this study of cloned plants, Bushell notes that the foundation plants Ohio Buckeyes and Redbuds, both non-native trees, because they survive better in hot weather, which helps ensure there will be plant life in the area that can outlast the increased temperatures. Since these trees are not clones, Bushell says, they will have a chance to potentially adapt and survive in new weather conditions.

Schnitzer is studying tropical forests in Panama and says tropical forests have a major effect on carbon. Forests store about 40% of the world’s carbon produced by life on land. As climate change progresses, tropical forests are storing less carbon.

Trees are one of the reservoirs that participate in the carbon cycle.

Schnitzer and his team of researchers are working on large-scale predictions surrounding what this will mean for global

warming, the effects of which will reach Milwaukee and the rest of the planet.

Joe Wilson, executive director of Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful, says education about the environment is essential. He says the organization focuses on taking the climate as it is and working to improve it.

Wilson, and the rest of the organization, provides information to students in local schools about pollution and sustainability.

One example of this is in their discussion of farming, an issue directly relevant to Milwaukee and its proximity to the state’s agriculture industry.

“We see that crops and farmers are all challenged with growing things and, you know, the condition of the soil, the condition of lack of rain or too much rain or whatever it might be,” Wilson says. “We work then to show people how to be better urban farmers, how to be more sustainable and not rely on some of the crops that may not have a good year.”

For students to combat climate change in their own lives, Wilson says to carpool, use reusable bags and buy in bulk, as those are some actionable solutions.

“Students ought to look at organizations that do things like plant trees, clean rivers, that really need their effort, that come and help stall the problem of people polluting… but also passing the word along to people that they should recycle, that they should be involved in organizations that help teach younger people about it so they could come and read to them or make visits,” Wilson says.

Parolari emphasizes the importance of making green choices, but acknowledges the accessibility issues it raises. He says that one of his friends recently bought an electric car, but not everyone can afford steps like this. The average price of a new gasoline-powered four-door sedan is $35,000, while the average price for electrics cars are $55,000.

However, the responsibility to help the environment does not lie entirely on individuals.

“We are only going to address these problems as quickly as our leadership recognizes them and addresses them,” Parolari says. He emphasizes the dual perspectives on combating climate change.

Focusing on electing officials who will listen and develop the necessary policies while also doing what you can in your daily life, is what Parolari says will help move us in the right direction.

SPRING2019 2020 49 49 SPRING

Finding Hope Lelah Byron

S

tudents, higher education professionals and community members gathered at Alverno College for a summit to discuss underrepresentation on college campuses Feb. 21. The summit, Advancing Equity in Our Colleges and Universities, was hosted by the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education and the Hispanic-Serving Institution Network of Wisconsin.

Given the rapid growth of the Hispanic community in Milwaukee, six institutions — Marquette University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Mount Mary University, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Alverno College and University of Wisconsin-Parkside — have committed to attract, support, retain and graduate increasingly diverse students from traditionally marginalized backgrounds.

Alverno College met the enrollment criteria to become a designated HSI in 2017, meaning its student population is now at

50

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and

least 25% Hispanic. It is the first — and only — HSI in Wisconsin.

The other five schools have yet to achieve HSI status because they have fallen short of criteria laid out in Title V of the Higher Education Act. Yet, at this summit, there is collaboration.

There is hope.

————————————— The Advancing Equity summit aims to support the broad educational aspirations of the Latinx community. For one community within the Latinx population, however, the path to higher education is fraught with uncertainty. In addition to working towards HSI status, figures in both the Marquette and UWM communities have devoted themselves to supporting undocumented Latinx students.

“Faculty of color serve as…mentors and advisers for underrepresented students,” Jacqueline Black, associate director of Hispanic initiatives at Marquette and co-host of the

Ment

summit, says.

There are 2,383 students of color and 193 full and part-time faculty of color at Marquette, as of Fall 2019. People of color make up 28% of the student body and 14.9% of current faculty. What is most important, Black says, is putting a face and a name to the statistics.

“Our students are more than just data points,” she says.

One student, one professor, one mental health counselor and one cultural center director opened up about their successes and struggles in higher education.

This is what mentorship means to them.

————————————— It’s an unassuming accessory, adorned with colorful plastic beads — royal purple, matte black, gold and lime green.

The string is thin,

torship in looped in delicate and snug bows. It offers a reminder of her unique position.

Nancy Suarez Jiménez, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, is a resident assistant. Part of her job, she says, is engaging in personal reflection. The bracelet-making activity was one such instance. It was part craft, part introspection — an activity held at a staff meeting for other RAs. She was asked to reflect upon her identity in the form of jewelry making; each bead was to represent a personal privilege.

Whereas other RAs had fully adorned jewelry by the end of the exercise, Jiménez had only claimed a few beads. She says she teased her friend about it.

“I was like, ‘Look, it’s like we’re fishing! Your worm is bigger than my worm, (so) you’ll catch fish,”

Times

of

Jiménez says.

Some undocumented youths who entered the country as children were protected from deportation under an administrative program from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2012. This protection was called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

800,000 individuals are protected under DACA, with Jiménez and her older sister being two of them. She says she remembers the exact day the executive order was announced, seeing her mom and her sister burst into excited laughter and tears.

“My sister goes, ‘Nancy, we can work!

We can drive!’ And I’m like, ‘We couldn’t do that before?’”

Jiménez says.

The program helped Jiménez go to college — DACA allows its recipients a worker’s permit, a license and a temporary Social Security number.

Otherwise, she says her path

Need

would have been unclear.

DACA students are not eligible for federal financial aid, according to the Federal Student Aid Office. Jiménez says Marquette helped her receive scholarships to cover the entire cost of tuition.

In 2017, DACA came under siege.

President Donald Trump cited the lost job opportunities for natural-born citizens as part of his reason for ending DACA. Jiménez says when she went to the Career Services Center and asked what she could do after graduation, she received heartbreaking news. She says the adviser told her she might have to change her major to something like business — something that would not require a PhD. Jiménez wants to become a psychologist so she can help other undocumented students or children with trauma. She’s already doing that work at Marquette.

As a leader of the Dreamers Support Group on campus, Jiménez says the work has introduced her to several mentor figures in her life including Bernardo Ávila-Borunda, assistant director of Campus Ministry.

The

Art By Chelsea Johanning SPRING 2020

51

posters for the Dreamers group are vague on purpose, Jiménez says. The background is all black, and the sole image is a monarch butterfly, colored a brilliant orange and dotted with white. The only contact at the bottom is for Ávila-Borunda. “(Ávila-Borunda) is a point of contact,” Jiménez says. “We don’t disclose who the other members are for the safety of the group. We don’t want to be open targets (for deportation).”

She says she feels safe talking publicly because of her DACA status. Jiménez received DACA before Trump’s cancellation of the program.

The butterfly on the poster is symbolic of the undocumented experience, Black says.

“Butterflies migrate thousands of miles, crossing national borders on their journeys, and are powerful reminders that migration can be beautiful,” Black says in an email.

Jiménez says there are things at Marquette she wishes are better. One example of a needed change, in her opinion, is the assumption that everyone has the same legal rights. “(Undocumented students) all get uncomfortable when we walk past a table and students say, ‘Hey, do you want to go study abroad?’” Jiménez says. “And obviously, I’m not gonna disclose my status right off the bat … but they keep shoving it in my face. I have to say, ‘Listen, I’m undocumented. I can’t go anywhere.’”

Jiménez worries if she goes abroad under the Trump administration, she will not be allowed back to the mainland.

There are still things that give Jiménez hope, though. Her privilege bracelet does have beads, after all.

“It’s tiny, but it reminds me: My family is intact. That’s a privilege. I can walk from one end of campus to the other end of campus. I’m bilingual — heck, that’s a privilege!” Jimenez reflects.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed as an undocumented student but it is also good to think of the small, positive things in life.

“Count the blessings that are there,” she says, smiling.

————————————— Concern over underrepresentation in college settings is what pushed Marquette to strive for HSI status, Sergio Gonzalez, history professor at Marquette, says.

When Marquette first launched its HSI initiative in 2016, its undergraduate population was 9.7% Hispanic. As of the 2019 fall semester, the number has grown to 14%.

Full-time Latinx professors make up 4% 52

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of the faculty population at Marquette. That number, some argue, is alarmingly low.

“Institutional buy-in needs to come with resources,” Black says.

Once an institution achieves HSI status, it is eligible for federal Title V funds.

Marquette is currently ineligible for Title V funding because its undergraduate Hispanic population has not yet reached 25%. Title V-funded training and research remains the only federal program to address social, behavioral and financial barriers faced by underserved mothers and children.

The grants are not limited to help-

ing only Latinx students.

Rather, designated HSIs typically use the money to improve broad curriculum development and student services.

“The resources that have been committed to this are not nearly enough,” Gonzalez says. “Really, all of the work that’s been completed is not because of the support of the administration, but in spite of it.”

————————————— For underrepresented students, colleges and universities may seem exclusionary — a series of slammed doors and padlocks.

“Institutions will open the door and invite people in, but it’s almost like a halfway welcome,” Gonzalez says.

Gonzalez is Marquette’s first Latinx Studies professor. Latinx studies examines the cultures of Hispanic people living in the United States. By incorporating his Latino heritage into his teaching, he says he hopes to build community organically.

Gonzalez is a first-generation Mexican American and the first in his family to attend college. As someone with firsthand experiences of administrative hardships, he acknowledges how isolating the process can be for students.

“I see myself in the students who are first in their families to go to college,” he says.

“They have a lot of weight placed on their shoulders.”

There are countless ways for mentors to provide support, Gonzalez says. If not in the classroom, then elsewhere — office hours, for example. He says he hopes to accomplish two main goals through one-on-one meetings and informal mentorship: to expand the number of diverse course options and to empower students to take charge of their own education.

Along with Ávila-Borunda and Black, he is a member of the Dreamers Support Committee Team.

“It’s the obligation of the faculty who have gone through that process and understand the experience very viscerally to step forward and serve,” he says.

————————————— Over the past several decades, Wisconsin has experienced progressive growth in its populations of color. Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest metropolitan area by population, has become the most racially and ethnically diverse city in Wisconsin. Approximately 53% of city residents are racial and ethnic minorities, according to a study funded by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.

The growth parallels national trends. By the 2031-32 academic year, approximately one in four high school graduates in the country will be Latinx, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education estimates.

———————————— When Marla Guerrero first began her college journey, she had no idea what a PhD was — let alone that she would someday earn one.

Guerrero, a mental health counselor and diversity coordinator at Marquette’s Counseling Center, was a first-generation college student. When she went away to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she was stuck navigating a complex system completely by herself. She remembers other Latinx students who faced the same challenges. Many did not make it down the aisle at graduation.

Looking back, she says she almost transferred, but she pushed through undergrad and she pushed through her Master’s program. And then came her doctorate in counseling psychology.

Guerrero chose to explore mentorship relationships for Latinx college students for her PhD dissertation.

“If it had not been for three women of color who became my mentors, I would not be here,” Guerrero says in an email.

Mentorship was a critical part of Guerre-

ro’s success, she says. There were her work supervisors in undergrad — one was a director in residence life, the other a university administrator. They helped her reach out to a faculty member, who later became Guerrero’s mentor throughout graduate school.

That faculty member provided Guerrero her first research experience, which helped her become a strong applicant for doctoral programs.

The dissertation took nearly three years to complete. Now, Guerrero wants to share her findings with colleges and universities so mentoring can be implemented with intention.

Jonathan Irias, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, says he does not feel supported by the administration; however, professors and faculty members have taken time away from their paid duties to help students like him.

“I have people like Marla. I have people like Jacki Black,” he says. “And this isn’t their job … but it’s the role they’re playing right now.”

Guerrero has a step-by-step process to mentorship. First, she says working one-onone is key.

“If there is no trust, it can be difficult to truly help because students may not be comfortable to share with you what challenges them most. So … this process may take some time,” Guerrero says in an email.

Next, Guerrero says she tries to understand the individual needs of the students so she can connect them to resources.

“I work to ensure students follow up with either the things we discussed to do or check in to see if they connected to the person that I recommended,” Guerrero says in an email.

Because the process is inherently stressful for a mentee, Guerrero prioritizes mental health. She writes with a healthy mindset and supportive relationships, every student can have the opportunity to succeed.

“If every underrepresented student had even just one staff, faculty, or administrator who really showed their genuine care for them and believed in their potential to succeed, they would all cross that stage at graduation,” she says in an email.

———————————— For students who are undocumented, the path to a secure career may be met with distinct challenges. Careers requiring official documents — such as licensure and certifications — or out-of-country travel may be entirely out of reach. With DACA in limbo, the future is uncertain for hundreds of

thousands.

Irias had only been at Marquette for two weeks as a first-year when DACA was rescinded. He says when he walked past some students, he could hear their taunts.

“You could hear, ‘Go back to your country!’ People were just walking by, yelling things,” Irias says. “I don’t really feel welcomed here.”

The 2017 motion to terminate DACA was met with immediate resistance. Immigrant youths and allies held protests nationwide.

Several lawsuits were filed against the administration for terminating the program unlawfully.

Individuals who currently are or previously were DACA recipients can continue to submit applications to renew their status.

In 2019, Irias debuted an art showcase in the Alumni Memorial Union entitled “We Are Bright.” Photographs and audio recordings, collected over the course of several years, told the story of the undocumented experience.

“I attended protests and found people (to talk to),” Irias says. “The ultimate goal of the showcase was to show we are successful in this country.”

Irias is undocumented and part of the Urban Scholars pro- gram, a Marquette program which offers up to

10 annual, full-tuition renewable scholarships to underrepresented students.

He is studying to become a lawyer.

———————————— Before he was brought on as a faculty member, Alberto Maldonado was a student at UWM. When he attended, the Roberto Hernandez Center was called the Spanish-Speaking Outreach Institute. He is now the interim director of the Center, a resource for Latinx students on campus. When he saw the center for the first time, he says it caught Photos by Claire Gallagher

his immediate attention.

“Spanish-speaking? I’m gonna go there,” he says, smiling.

When Maldonado came to the U.S. from Puerto Rico in 1989, he says he spoke little English.

“I used to come to the center religiously,” he says. “It was the place where I could go get my paper grammatically corrected, or to just ask questions. It feels safe.”

Decades passed before Maldonado found himself directing the space. He says it is incredibly important for the RHC staff to reflect the population they serve. Each student-employee is bilingual, and several are first-generation college students.

“We know how many families are far more comfortable using their native language. We (hire bilingual communicators) with intention,” he says.

Of all the meetings Maldonado attends regularly, he says his favorite is not in his official job description.

Each Friday, Maldonado carves out time to meet with families who are looking to send their children to UWM. “Students come in with a lot of questions and anxiety and they leave with a smile … understanding what the process looks like (gives them) hope that they can go to college,” he says.

———————————— There are some misconceptions about the process of becoming an HSI, Maldonado says.

“There’s this idea that once you announce you want to become a HSI, you’ll reach 25% overnight,” Maldonado says, snapping his fingers for emphasis.

The process can take years. For Maldonado, community partnership is what takes precedence.

“Even if we don’t reach 25%, the conversation we’ve entertained with the administration and across campuses is important,” he says.

Mentors help drive that discussion. At the Advancing Equity summit, Vice President of MATC Wilma Bonaparte, shared her story of mentorship: without the help of a Spanish-speaking professor, an understanding adviser and some kind students, she would have never been able to succeed in the U.S. Through laughter, applause and some tears, Bonaparte concludes her speech with a quote by Dr. Seuss.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,” she reads. “Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

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53

A Shot in the Dark:

The Conversation around Gun Violence Joseph Beaird

F

rom the Milwaukee Courthouse to Red Arrow Park, Linnea Stanton marches with over 8,000 people. The crowd is young, mostly students who have taken to the streets in opposition to gun violence. It’s March 24, 2018.

Stanton is at Milwaukee’s March for Our Lives.

A month earlier, Stanton hears the news of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. She’s a freshman at Marquette, horrified not only by Parkland but also by rumors regarding a potential threat at her old high school.

Stanton remembers the moment she knew something needed to change.

“I was seeing all of these students speaking out who had just survived a mass shooting,” Stanton says. “When I saw that they were going to do a march in Washington, D.C., to demand stricter gun reform, I thought we should do it in Milwaukee.”

Her work doesn’t stop there. Stanton becomes a regional director of MFOL in January 2019, overseeing chapters in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan. Throughout these eight states, Staton aides in the creation of new chapters and advises local members on how to put on events promoting gun violence awareness.

Although MFOL has been present in Milwaukee since 2018, the club was not on campus until last semester when Stanton created it alongside 54

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co-chair Jake Hanauer, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Now a junior, Stanton says she educates herself on how the problems Milwaukee has with gun violence are unique compared to other places throughout the country.

“There’s a lot of segregation in Milwaukee, which plays into the economic hardships that people have — poverty, housing, crime — it’s all very intertwined,” Stanton says.

Reggie Moore, director of the Office of Violence Prevention for the city of Milwaukee, says throughout the four years in his position, one of the biggest challenges has been getting everyone to see eye-to-eye on violence as a public health issue.

“It’s really been a lot of faith-building in terms of … getting people to understand (violence) is preventable if we look at it as a disease,” Moore says.

Moore says between 2015 and 2019, Milwaukee has had its highest reduction of homicides in that length of time, with 145 homicides in 2015 and 97 in 2019.

Although homicides have been on the decline in recent years, there are still concerns about how crime is affecting Milwaukee. Gun violence metrics can be more than just statistics: they’re emotional.

“I think as a society, we’ve gotten really good at using and acting out of our emotions instead of processing them and experiencing them,” Brooke Talbot, executive director of REDgen,

a local non-profit advocating for youth mental health and well-being, says.

Talbot says problems such as gun violence start from a young age and are best addressed by giving children proper emotional skills and coping mechanisms.

“Emotions tend to lead to things we fear a lot,” Talbot says. “The things we fear most for our kids are typically things they are trying to use to cope with their life or express their struggles and pain.”

As a part of her job at REDgen, Talbot occasionally partners with local organizations specializing in grief support. These organizations approach communities recently affected by a tragedy, such as a shooting or death by suicide. She says they typically circle back a few months later as well to ensure that each community has access to resources and support them through their grieving process.

“When there’s a death by suicide, when there’s a shooting, there’s a lot of energy around that because there’s a lot of emotion involved,” Talbot says. “We’re really trying to stay in that prevention space, and it’s not an easy space to stay in because that’s not where the energy typically is.”

While prevention can’t always be the sole method of addressing violence in a community, Moore says he does not want to know what would have happened had the OVP not implemented the right approach.

To Moore, one of the greatest ways Milwaukee has been able to implement violence prevention is through the creation of the Blueprint For Peace, a report published by the City of Milwaukee in 2017 made up of a collaborative effort of many community leaders, such as community activists, hospital officials, philanthropic businesses, law enforcement, judges, and everyday people.

He says it’s a technique Milwaukee needs to utilize more.

“We need to be doing more to prevent (violence) because we can’t — and we should not — rely on our law enforcement officials to be counselors and to be social service agencies,” Moore says. “We definitely want them to be compassionate and just, but at the same time … when we talk about addressing violence as a public health

issue, what that really calls for is a greater investment and lifting up of community solutions.”

Assistant chief of police for Marquette University Police Department Jeffry Kranz has had over 31 years of experience as a police officer in Milwaukee: five at MUPD and 26 at Milwaukee Police Department. He says focusing solely on violence and reports of crime, especially in the daily news media, is harmful to the work MUPD does.

“It paints this picture of the city as this big place of violence where nothing good ever happens,” Kranz says.

“All these good things that are happening in and around Marquette and in and around the city of Milwaukee are what build communities and cities to be strong, thriving places where people want to live and do business.”

Kranz says for people who live in a place where they’re safe and not normally exposed to gun violence, it is a tough problem to be addressed due to its random nature.

Talbot says we underestimate how we subconsciously perceive violence.

“If it’s a fear-based message, it’s going to create fear on some level, unless we were really aware and mindful of how we’re taking it in,” Talbot says.

Stanton says for students who come from places where everyday gun violence has never been an issue to them, there’s a lot of misinformation spread about Milwaukee.

“When they do hear about everyday gun violence, it’s like, ‘Oh, don’t go past that part of campus,’” Stanton says. “The issue just becomes further stigmatized.”

Kranz says MUPD is open to an invitation from any student or student group that wants to talk about how the department can improve safety on and around campus. He says all it takes is for a student to make a phone call to an MUPD crime prevention officer expressing their interest.

“What’s really cool with Marquette having its own department, we can work with that group or that student to get real specific on the type of training they’re looking for or the type of

information they’re trying to seek to improve safety,” Kranz says.

While Stanton believes a partnership with MUPD would be interesting, she says a lot of conversations with community members need to occur first.

“We can’t just say, ‘The police are going to keep you safe from gun violence,’ because that’s not true for a lot of people,” Stanton says. “The fact that they have guns can be very threatening to communities of color.”

In 2014, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee con-

“It’s really been a lot of faith-building in terms of ... getting people to understand (violence) is preventable if we look at it as a disease.”

Design by Chelsea Johanning

-Reggie Moore, director of the Office of Violence Prevention

ducted a survey that recorded overall satisfaction with the Milwaukee Police Department amongst different demographics. According to the survey, 22.4% of African-Americans were recorded as “not very satisfied” and 15% were “not at all satisfied” among African-Americans.

For Stanton, taking action on gun violence means utilizing policies such as universal background checks. According to the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, “background checks are designed to prevent people prohibited from purchasing guns… Universal background checks significantly reduce the number of guns diverted to the illegal market, where high-risk groups often get their guns.”

In Wisconsin, there are currently no laws requiring a background check on the purchase of a firearm when the seller is not a licensed dealer.

On Feb. 27, six people were killed

including a gunman during a shooting on the Milwaukee campus of Molson Coors. The shooting marks the 11th mass shooting in Wisconsin since 2004.

“I felt shocked and angry that it happened in our own community,” Jake Hanauer, co-chair of MFOL, says. “I was also heartbroken knowing that Wisconsin state legislators would most likely only offer their ‘thoughts and prayers’ and no real change.”

Evan Goyke, state representative for Wisconsin’s 18th Assembly District, says he is heartbroken and is reminded of how GOP lawmakers dismissed Governor Tony Evers special session on expanding background checks and “red flag” laws on Nov. 7.

A “red-flag” law, or an emergency risk protection order, is a temporary hold on an individual’s ability to purchase a firearm if deemed by a court to be a potential harm to themselves or others.

“These are provisions that have been passed in other places that don’t tread on the second amendment,” Goyke says. “They ensure that there isn’t a loophole to buy a gun online or to go into a gun show and buy a gun in person without taking a background check.”

Beyond the implementation of policies, Moore says the underlying issue of trauma needs to be addressed.

“We understand that we have a lot of trauma in our community that people need to have access to services and support then and be able to heal from, like mental health treatment,” Moore says.

For Hanauer, lawmakers should approach providing mental health services in a healthier way in response to and in order to prevent tragedies.

“America needs to do better,” Hanauer says.

In order for progress to be made in Milwaukee, Goyke says there has to be bipartisan agreement on the state level.

“No one can do this except the state legislature,” Goyke says. “The city of Milwaukee cannot do this on their own…There has to be bipartisan agreement on the state level.”

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Planning Party Moves

Skyler Chun

E

very four years, Americans rile with excitement as they take part in deciding who their next presidential leader will be. As 2020 marks another presidential campaign in United States history, political watch parties are sure to take place across the country.

But what kinds of elements go into planning a political watch party? Food?

Decorations? And with political tension rising, how can we maintain peace despite differing opinions? Several Marquette professors and students 56

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across campus share their insights for planning the best watch party.

Paul Nolette, associate professor and department chair of political science at Marquette, has attended several political watch parties during his time as an undergraduate student and as a professor in the past and shares some of his experience about what these types of events entail. He has also planned a few watch parties himself. In his entire past experiences, he says there is just one thing that makes a watch party successful: community.

“Political watch parties themselves

can help generate some excitement about participation in the democratic process, and it can really get a community together,” Nolette says.

“That’s a lot about what voting is — getting the community together to make judgements on policy issues and political figures.”

Nolette says that building up anticipation for the event makes it even more exciting.

“What we’ll do with these watch parties is … have some lead up to (the election) and have some events talking about the election,” Nolette

says. “Then on the day itself, have a space where people, both students and professors, can come together and talk about what’s going on.”

As a professor, he shares his perspective on the educational side of a political watch party and the logistics of planning one. Nolette says that having multiple parties and views is especially important in today’s society, as there is more partisan media.

“We should try to get a variety of views there, but we also try to pick out a space that is gonna be conducive to people talking with one another,” Nolette says. “If you want to talk to some people about what’s going on … then you have an opportunity to do that.”

Nolette says students or student organizations will sometimes have their own watch parties. Although he does not know of any watch parties happening right now, he says there will probably be some this semester, particularly in April, and then definitely more as the election progresses around November. He says watch parties do not necessarily have to be formal, as there are no specific rules or etiquette that go into planning one.

“I think the idea is that you’re carving out a space where you have a dialogue about political issues, and as results come in and everything, it can be an exciting time,” Nolette says. “There’s some logistics of it, just in terms of all the nuts and bolts … things like ‘What are we gonna have for food?’ and ‘Where are the TV’s going to be?’ and ‘what are the TV’s going to be tuned to?’”

With all of the tedious details, some fun and creativity can also come out of planning or attending a watch party.

Laura Feehan, a first-year in the College of Business Administration, shares some of her ideas regarding food and decorations in her ideal political watch party.

“I would probably have popcorn, cupcakes, just snacks like that … a mix of sweet and salty. Then, I’d decorate, maybe with red, white and blue streamers or balloons,” Feehan says.

“You could have like those red, white and blue popsicles or Jell-O or jars of M&Ms.” Feehan says she would want it to be really “festive, bright and vibrant with Art and Design by Skylar Daley

a USA-type of aesthetic.”

Annie Kealy and Jack Patterson, a sophomore and junior in the College of Communication, respectively, also share their decoration ideas.

“I would probably put up little flags and then streamers that were a mix of red, white and blue … I would probably serve food that has to do with the candidate that plays off their name,” Kealy says.

Patterson agrees with having a USA theme.

“My main thing would be to just have a red, white and blue trifle or cake,” Patterson says.

Although he did not come up with any elaborate party plan besides other USA-colored decorations, Patterson adds, “I think you could also put up some ‘no judgement’ signs too.”

Feehan makes it clear she would not want any decorations targeted to any specific political party.

“You want everyone to be able to form their own opinions and just watch and have it be more of a community thing where you can talk about it. …

Photo by Maria Crenshaw

Everyone’s opinion is respected, and everyone is just coming together to watch,” Feehan says.

Nolette resonates with Feehan’s idea of respecting different opinions, saying that it is one of the benefits to having a watch party.

“Just having respectful dialogue with one another is important … that’s something here, in political science, we try to emphasize,” Nolette says.

“Especially since so much of that discussion out there in the world and in the U.S. is very polarized, and it can get very heated and very angry.”

Despite these possible issues, the creativity that comes with planning a watch party is endless.

“It’s fun, it’s some community, it can get some excitement, but it also plays a role in saying, ‘Look, we can disagree, but we can do so respectfully to one another and respect each others views,’” Nolette says.

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What Kind of Politician Would You Be? Maria Crenshaw

Have you ever wanted to know what type of politician you are? What your best leadership qualities are? Will you enforce change with power or creativity? Take this quiz to find out!

1. How well do you keep up with the news? a.

I watch it every day.

b.

I know enough to speak about it.

c.

I look at weekly updates.

d.

I don’t keep up very well.

interested in u o y e r A 2. politics?

ly it’s extreme Yes, I think a. important. ortant. ’s pretty imp it k in th I b. e, but I ng to observ ti s e r te in ’s It c. be involved. ’t don want to ut ssionate abo a p o to t e g People d. it.

3.

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Are you a risk taker? a.

It depends on the situ

b.

I enjoy taking risks.

c.

My whole life is a risk

d.

I don’t take risks.

MARQUETTE JOURNAL

ation.

.

4.

How honest are you?

I’ll let people know a. portant. information that’s im out the Who cares if you lie ab little details? t

rtan Being honest is impo b. to gain trust. e.

I never lie on purpos

c.

top Honesty is always a d. priority.

5. Your frien ds would primarily descr ibe you as: a.

Sensible

b.

Confident

c.

Innovative

d.

Empathetic

6. How do you react to conflict? a.

I don’t mind conflict, but I don’t like losing arguments. b.

It doesn’t bother me, I’m confident in my position when I argue. c.

I tend to stay away from conflict.

7. Which of these options is you r top priority? a.

Creating the ch

b.

Getting other

c.

Creating soluti

ange I person

s to follow me

ally want to se

e

10. Do you think people would like you as a politician?

I mean, if we are honest, a. who really likes politicians?

ons to an issu

e in the world d.

Helping people and understa opinions nding their

They would be crazy not b. to. I was born to lead.

I think so — people tend c. to think I have a lot to bring to the table.

8.

When it comes to hot topic issues, I tend to … a.

Know my stance, but I don’t necessarily announce it. b.

Speak my mind.

c.

Have trouble committing to one side.

d.

Find my opinion changing as I talk to different people about their beliefs.

to What is the best way 9. solve an issue?

the roots.

Attacking the issue at a. ne else to fix it.

Don’t wait for someo n to Explaining my opinio b. le I can others. The more peop ople I have to convince, the more pe mbers to get help me. You need nu things done. different Seeing the issue from c. is a solution angles. Maybe there ered. people haven’t consid e problem Figuring out what th d. rs. Once I is by listening to othe ’s positions, I understand everyone od solution. can usually find a go

Art and Design by Skylar Daley

I hope so — I don’t do d. well with people not liking me. I want to please everyone.

Types: 1. If you answered mostly A, you

are:

A Determined Politician – You are sensible, ready to get things done and make change.

People say you are driven and know what you want.

2. If you answered mostly B, you are:

A Strong Politician – you have strong values and were born to lead. You don’t shy away from speaking your mind and won’t be swayed by others.

3. If you answered mostly C, you are:

A Creative Politician – You are curious and ready to ask questions others might not think about. You’re a problem solver and are ready to find solutions to the problems you are passionate about.

4. If you answered mostly D, you are:

A Peacemaker Politician – You are good at playing devil’s advocate and seeing all sides to a problem. Your values and opinions are strong, but you are still willing to be open minded and consider all groups. You are most concerned about helping other people.

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The Great Deba Ariana Madson

WHAT COLOR SHOULD THE WHITE HOUSE REALLY BE? Seamus McDermott, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, says he thinks the White House should, in fact, be a different color to mix it up.

“I think it could be a mix, (like) stone for the first half and like a tan color on the top,” McDermott says. “It shouldn’t just be one (because) in a new millennium, it deserves a different style.”

On the other hand, Alyssa Sherman, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, thinks the White House should stick to its wellknown white color.

“I like the white. … It fits in with all the rest of the buildings (there),” Sherman says.

YES OR NO TO PANTSUITS? Zoe Marmitt, a junior in the College of Engineering, says yes to pantsuits. She sees it as a very professional look and as a matter of gender equality.

“I feel like men wear suits, so women (should have) equal rights,” Marmitt says. “Women should be treated just as fairly as men, so pantsuits all the way.”

Liam Bower, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, notes the attention given to women’s clothing choices, specifically concerning the topic of women and political fashion.

“I think we, as a society, focus way too much on what women wear,” Bower says.

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ate

WHO HAD THE BETTER SPEECH: PATRICK HENRY OR ABRAHAM LINCOLN? Patrick Henry, attorney, planter, orator and former governor of Virginia, famously said, “Give me liberty or give me death” and Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, delivered his famous Gettysburg Address starting with “Four score and seven years ago …”

Bower argues that Lincoln had the better speech “because it’s about the most polarized topic.”

“It’s bringing us together through the values that established our country (and) it’s that unity, and not so much tearing apart, we need,” Bower says.

McDermott says he is a bigger fan of the Lincoln speech, especially the ending that states “the dead shall not have died in vain.”

SHOULD THE UNITED STATES STICK WITH A PRESIDENT OR GO KING AND QUEEN? Brian Coe, a first-year law student, says he thinks the United States should keep the democratic system. “(Having a) president has worked well for the past 250 years,” Coe says.

Riya Bhasin, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences, says she also thinks the presidential system should be kept in place.

“If we establish a king and queen, that’s a system that America itself didn’t accept in the first place,” Bhasin says.

She also says the difficulty in determining who would be the successor, especially since the position would not be earned but given due to entitlement. She says there wouldn’t be any work to show for the deserved title.

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SHOULD THE WHITE POWDERED WIG TREND COME BACK? Sherman says she thinks only the judiciary should all still be required to wear powdered wigs but not the legislative branch because there are a lot of members of the legislative branch.

Dev Desai, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences agrees. He thinks the judiciary branch, specifically Supreme Court justices, should still wear head pieces.

McDermott, on the other hand, thinks the legislative branch should also wear powdered wigs.

“You think about when a judge walks into a courtroom (and) when he puts on a robe, he takes on the seriousness,” McDermott says. “I think our legislatures should take on that sort of symbolism.”

COFFEE OR TEA? With tea having its symbolic beginnings in the U.S. during the Boston Tea Party, and coffee being a staple across the nation, ideas differ about the merits of both beverages.

Elle Steiner, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences, says she is more of a coffee kind of person.

“Coffee is just a hardy, full drink whereas tea is more fragile … when I want to be ready for business, I get the coffee, but when I’m feeling sick I go for tea,” Steiner said.

Bower, on the other hand, thinks teatime should be brought back on Saturday’s and Sunday’s, specifically.

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BEST POLITICAL TV SHOW With many political TV shows out there, it’s hard to talk about just one and analyze the accuracy of its content because, after all, TV is entertainment.

Desai says his favorite TV show is “House of Cards.”

“Bill Clinton did say that it’s a very accurate show,” Desai says.

Bower says his favorite political show is “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.”

“He’s funny, but he has really good statistics and political commentary,” Bower says.

SHOULD PRESIDENTS’ FACES BE ON CREDIT CARDS? Since the presidents have their faces on the physical currency in the United States, this begs the question: Should their faces be on credit cards?

Bianca Garcia, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, says she thinks instead of presidents, there should be historical events on credit cards. She also says it could be hard for some people to keep their political views private.

“I say no to presidents on credit cards … (some) want keep their political views private, but when you use that credit card, people can know,” Garcia says.

Coe also says how he thinks historical events would be a good idea.

“We’re more idolizing our great nation and the events rather than the presidents,” Coe says.

He also says that if people had the same presidents on their cards, it would be hard to easily and efficiently determine specific credit cards because of the similar design.

Art and Design by Skylar Daley

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Thank you for reading the Marquette Journal.