March 4, 2020

THE MEREDITH

Happy Nat'l Grammar Day

HERALD

BREAKING: BIDEN LEADS DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY – Super Tuesday Results, pg. 2

Each year, the Meredith community celebrates the College’s founding by honoring strong women who have made it possible for students to continue receiving their Meredith education. Alumnae, faculty, parents and friends show their support for Meredith by giving monetary gifts to the College on Giving Day, an event that is always held on the Tuesday of Founders’ Week and is in its fifth year, according to Erin Cleghorn, director of the Meredith Fund.

Cleghorn explains that the theme of Giving Day is always “to honor a strong woman.” In addition to donors giving in honor of a fellow classmate, family member or faculty member who has “made a difference in their lives,” “there are also a number of people who have had Meredith colleagues or Meredith connections, and they want to give in honor of them.”

On this year’s Giving Day, 2,392 donors honored over 1,300 women by raising a total of $638,960, surpassing the college’s $500,000 goal.

According to Cleghorn, donors can designate how they want

their funds to be used, but the majority of donations are designated to go toward “the college’s greatest needs,” which is a huge help for the budget.

Many classes also have special projects that they support with their donations, and a number of donors fund specific scholarships or Meredith’s athletic or study abroad programs. The majority of donors resided in North Carolina, but Meredith reveived Founders' Day donations from 38 out of 50 states.

In addition to Giving Day, the Meredith Fund does fundraising all year long and hosts a faculty and staff campaign in the fall each year. While many of the funds from these additional fundraisers go towards scholarships that “give [students] more opportunities,” they can also fund “everything from individual departments on campus to the grounds and maintenance.” The college’s endowment, which “helps the general wellbeing and life of the campus,” also benefits from these fundraisers.

A new way that Meredith celebrated its founding this year was

with a special visual display in downtown Raleigh. At about 7 p.m. each night, from Feb. 13 to Feb. 20, a short video highlighting how Meredith is “going strong” was projected onto the side of the Marriott City Center building. This location, close by Meredith’s original location, allowed word to spread to more people about Meredith’s many undergraduate and graduate programs.

Meredith also hosted a variety of fun challenges during Founders’ Week to encourage participation in Giving Day including a competition between Odds and Evens to see who could raise more money. A social media challenge that inspired members of the Meredith community to show how they #MakeItCount4MC also took place during Founders’ Week. The challenge included themes like “Worldwide Wednesday,” which showcased how Meredith students come from all over the world and get involved in study abroad programs, and “Friendship Friday,” which celebrated priceless Meredith friendships that last a lifetime.

Cleghorn expresses how she wants to “share how important alumnae giving is to this campus,” as the support of alumnae is “what keeps Meredith College here.” She explains that “women’s colleges are kind of an endangered species,” so it is “a wonderful thing to have our graduates love this pace so much that they give back.” Figure courtesy of Meredith College, graphic by Savi Swiggard.

Latest Meredith Poll Complete

By Sofia Gomez, Podcasting Director, and Mimi Mays, Editor in Chief

The Meredith Poll has been around for five years, and political science professor Dr. David McLennan has been handling the collection of data and analyzing it as the director. He hopes to gain an understanding of North Carolinians’ opinions on a variety of topics, including social, policy and cultural issues. One of the more interesting topics he and the poll surveyed was the gender-pay gap and women in leadership positions. The poll uses both online and telephone polling because it is a challenge to get a reasonable amount of respondents from just the telephone, and telephone polling is less likely to reach young audiences and people of color, says McLennan.

During this process, students are involved in all aspects; Dr. McLennan explains, “We have a group of students who help write out the questions in the POL-322 class, we have the students calling and col-

lecting the data and we have classes that analyze these data after collecting it.”

Dr. McLennan says that “one of the main reasons that polling is so important nowadays is because the world is rapidly changing. It is more important now than ever to have a grasp to see the public opinion on policies and politics in a world where politics is evolving ever so quickly.” Many sources, from local newspapers to MSNBC, look at the Meredith Poll to see how North Carolinians are feeling about current or future policies. The Meredith Poll also has an important impact on our student experience as well as the wider North Carolina culture.

So, what does the poll tell us?

There are significant gaps in how satisfied North Carolinians are with the “directions of the country,”

March 4, 2020

Inside This Issue

NEWS

129 Years Going Strong

By Molly Perry, Staff Writer

@meredithherald @meredith_herald #harktheherald meredithherald.com

and partisan affiliation is the clearest indicator of that political attitude.

When asked if they were “satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the U.S.,” Democrats report being highly dissatisfied, while most Republicans are satisfied.

“This should come as no surprise, given the strong partisan gaps about

Super Tuesday Results Coronavirus in Wake County A&E Charming Evening Review Birds of Prey Review Dad Jokes March Madness OPINION Bilinguilsm and Music Women in Abuse Mardi Gras and Carnevale

Meredith to Host Dr. Damon Tweedy

By Milin Santizo-Escobar, Staff Writer

The Meredith College Convocation Committee will host a lecture by Damon Tweedy, author of the New York Times bestselling book Black Man in a White Coat, on Tuesday, March 17, at 7 p.m. in Jones Auditorium. A reception is set to follow in Johnson Hall. There will also be a Q&A event at 3:30, where students will have the opportunity to ask questions in a more casual setting.

“I’m hoping that it will be an eye-opener for people wanting to pursue medicine as a career...about what some of the challenges are, especially for people of color,” says Brian Thornburg, who is a permanent member of Meredith’s Convocation Committee.

Continued on page 2...

Graphic by Mimi Mays

President Trump,” reports the Poll.

By examining Poll data from the past four years, we can also see that North Carolinians have never been more polarized in their opinion of the American political landscape – 2020 has yielded the largest gap between Republican and Democrat satisfaction in Poll history.

News

Critical Super Tuesday Results Are In, Biden Leads

By Olivia Slack, Online Editor, and Mimi Mays, Editor in Chief

On Super Tuesday, March 3, 15 U.S. states and territories held primary elections. According to NPR’s live coverage, Biden won North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, Minnesota and Texas. Sanders took home a majority of delegates from his home state of Vermont, as well as Colorado, Utah and the highly coveted California. Trailing the pack are Warren and Bloomberg, who weren’t able to dominate any state primaries this Tuesday. However, Bloomberg did win the most delegates in the territory of American Samoa – five. Tulsi Gabbard, a candidate who hasn’t qualified for recent debates, also didn’t win any races, but did nab just one delegate – also from American Samoa.

As of 5 a.m. on March 4, Joe Biden is leading nationally with 453 delegates ahead of Sanders’ 382 and Warren’s 50. These Super Tuesday numbers are expected to shift dramatically throughout the night as new states update their numbers.

Some candidates hover around the 15% vote threshold they must hit to earn delegates. The ultimate nominee must claim 1,991 delegates, which

is a majority of the 3,979 pledged delegates available this primary season.

In the past week, many changes to the Democratic presidential primary occurred, including candidates dropping out of the race and new endorsements. On March 1, Pete Buttigieg withdrew his candidacy, and was quickly followed on March 2 by Amy Klobuchar. Both endorsed former vice president and fellow moderate Joe Biden as their candidate of choice for the primary.

With the field quickly narrowing, the remaining four major candidates— Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Mike Bloomberg—were left to battle it out on Tuesday.

In local news, the NC primary race for the U.S. Senate shows Democrat Cal Cunningham facing off against Republican Thom Tillis in November. Democratic incumbent Roy Cooper will be challenged by Republican Dan Forest for NC governor, and for NC lieutenant governor, Democrat Yvonne Holley will face Republican Mark Robinson.

Dr. Damon Tweedy Continued from page 1...

At the convocation, Tweedy will talk about his book, which is a memoir describing his experiences as a black medical student and intern in a predominantly white field. TIME Magazine named it as one of the top ten nonfiction books of 2015.

“His book talks about his observations and struggles as an AfricanAmerican man in America,” Thornburg says. “It hits a lot of different things that students could be interested in, whether it be biology, sociology or psychology. We’re excited that there are a lot of different pockets of students who would probably find this very rewarding.”

Tweedy attended the University of Maryland, graduated from Duke Medical School in 2000 and later graduated from Yale Law School in 2003.

He currently serves as an associate professor of psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine and is a staff physician at the Durham Veteran Affairs Health Care System. He has also published numerous articles about race and medicine in notable news sources such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune and the Raleigh News & Observer.

According to Thornburg, Dr. Karthik Aghoram, Professor of Biological Sciences, recommended Tweedy to the Convocation Committee: “We had considered some other speakers but [Aghoram] came to us enthusiastically.

He’s read [Tweedy’s] book and felt it would be wonderful for our students to hear from him.”

This event is free and open for everyone. For Meredith students, this event also serves as an academic/cultural event. All Meredith students must attend at least eight academic/cultural events in order to graduate. “It’s not just about going to class and writing a paper and passing a test...all professors are looking for things that they think will enrich the lives and minds of their students to help them grow. The more you take advantage of this, the richer your experience will be,” said Thornburg; “It will feed your head and mind. Even if you’re not in a major that has anything to do with this, if you took the time and came to it, you’re going to learn something about the world that you might not have expected to.”

Coronavirus Update: Now in NC

By Milin Santizo-Escobar, Staff Writer

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On March 3, 2020, the CDC reported the first documented case of the coronavirus disease in North Carolina. The case occurred in Wake County after the patient traveled to Washington state, according to Governor Roy Cooper’s office. With this in mind, keeping the spread of information factual is important in limiting panic and keeping the population informed of safety measures, particularly on a small campus such as Meredith.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the global risk of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak to be “very high,” which is its top level of risk assessment. Over 95% of COVID-19 cases are in China, with most occurring in the Hubei Province.

Over 1,848 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in 48 countries across the globe, including Italy, the Republic of Korea, Iraq, Algeria, Austria, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the U.S., among many others.

80% of these cases are from the Republic of Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Italy. Worldwide, around 3.4% of reported COVID-19 cases have resulted in death.

The United Nations (UN) recently released $15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help contain COVID-19.

This UN funding was given to the WHO and the United Nations Chil-

dren’s Fund (UNICEF) to fund the operation of national laboratories to help monitor the spread of the virus.

In the U.S., nine people have died from the disease, all of which have been in the Seattle area. Over 115 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the U.S. in a dozen states.

The U.S government has imposed limits on traveling to China, prohibited travel to Iran and has issued warnings about traveling to parts of Italy and South Korea.

As of Feb. 28, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has elevated the Travel Notice for Italy to a Level 3: Avoid Non-Essential Travel.

This is of particular concern to the Meredith Office of International Programs, since current and future study abroad programs are in some countries most affected by COVID-19.

“Because of the increased occurrence of coronavirus in Italy, the Office of International Programs made the decision to cancel two graduate-level study abroad programs planned for April in Italy,” said Brooke Shurer and Liz Yaros, Director and Associate Director of International Programs; “The health and safety of our students and community members, including study abroad participants and faculty, are of paramount concern to Meredith College.”

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause ill-

nesses, everything from the common cold to these more severe diseases like COVID-19. They are zoonotic, which means that they can be passed between animals and humans. The most recently discovered iteration is the coronavirus disease COVID-19.

This strain and accompanying disease went unknown until the outbreak in Wuhan, China, which occurred in December 2019.

The most common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms such as fever, coughing and shortness of breath. Most of these symptoms are mild and begin gradually. One in six people who contract COVID-19 become severely ill and have difficulty breathing. Around 80% of infected people recover without needing any special treatment.

The eldery and people with underlying illnesses such as high blood pressure are more likely to develop a serious illness.

“One negative consequence of this outbreak is the painful stigma that some people have faced. In situations like this where information is changing rapidly, it is important for us to avoid making assumptions about others based on perceived identity or symptoms. As an example, there are cultural differences around wearing protective masks. In some countries, people regularly wear protective masks out of precaution, not because they are sick. This has not

necessarily been the case in the U.S. and misunderstandings about these differences have led to harmful and unnecessary judgement. We must show empathy and respect for everyone in our community,” say Shurer and Yaros.

Studies are showing that the virus is spread via respiratory droplets, and that the main way the disease is being spread is by the respiratory droplets that are expelled by someone who is coughing. When a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales, they can spread small droplets from their nose or mouth onto the objects and surfaces around them.

Other people can then catch the illness by touching these surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.

WHO advises people to stay at least three feet away from people that are sick. It is recommended to thoroughly clean your hands with soap and water to eliminate any viruses that may be present in your hands.

The incubation period for COVID-19 is most commonly around five days but can range from one day to two weeks. For people who have recently been in areas where the COVID-19 is spreading, they are advised to stay home if unwell and to seek medical advice if fever, cough or difficulty breathing develop.

Arts & Entertainment

“Bling Before the Ring” for the Class of ‘22

By Olivia Slack, Online Editor

On Feb. 26, members of the sophomore Class of 2022 gathered at the Royal Banquet & Conference Center for Charming Evening. This sophomore tradition celebrates the halfway point of college with a charm bracelet, dinner, and a slideshow featuring memories from the class’s first two years at Meredith.

The class’s co-chairs for the event were Susan Llanos and Eleni Hull. In a speech recalling all that the sophomores had experienced at Meredith thus far, attendees relived memories of Cornhuskin’, Fire & Water, and the Guardian Angel Dance.

Attendance at the event was low, likely owing to the fact that this isn’t one of the most publicized traditions compared to others, such as Cornhuskin’ or Ring Dinner. However, students who were in attendance enjoyed seeing themselves in the slideshow, which featured many pictures from both their freshman and sophomore years at Meredith. As one of the last events before the Class of 2022 gets their onyx, Charming Evening was an exciting night in the countdown to Ring Dinner.

Charming Evening Co-Chairs Susan Llanos (left) and Eleni Hull (right).

Photo by Madison Sholar

Dad Jokes

Birds of Prey: Something to Squawk About

By Erin Wendorf, Staff Writer

If you’re looking for a fun movie to watch on a girls’ night out, Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn is the movie for you. A colorful superhero adventure directed by Cathy Yan, this movie delivers excitement, fun and

feminism.

The film stars Margot Robbie as the perky title character, alongside an ensemble of female vigilantes played

by Rosie Perez, Jurnee SmollettBell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and

Ella Jay Basco. Despite criticism, Birds of Prey does a great job of showing that women are not defined by the people with whom they have connections. After breaking up with the Joker, Harley spends the movie proving to others that she doesn’t need to hide behind a man. When everyone she has ever wronged starts coming for her, she steps up and shows that she is capable of taking care of herself. The man with the biggest grudge is the notorious Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask, played by Ewan McGregor. To stay on his good side, Harley volunteers to retrieve a special diamond for him

but quickly realizes she’s in over her head. While trying to do the mission solo, she befriends four other women: a young pickpocket, an assassin hell-bent on revenge, a bitter cop and a bar entertainer. When the worlds of these different women collide, they realize they have to work together to pull off an unconventional jewel heist and thwart Roman’s plans to use the diamond for his own personal gain.

Chaos ensues, culminating in a funhouse fight sequence and a car chase on rollerskates.

The madness doesn’t stop there either: the movie flaunts a killer soundtrack featuring Saweetie, Halsey, Normani, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Lauren Jauregui and more. Each song packs a heavy punch of girl power, with a healthy dose of defiance and badassery.

By Ell Shelp-Peck, Staff Writer A column with more dad-joke content than you could ever wish for, courtesy of a college-aged female with no children.

What do you call a hedge fund manager who refuses to share cases?

A hedgehog!

Justice is best served cold. If it were served warm, it would be justwater.

What did Tennessee?

Same thing Arkansas.

Get ready for...

Meredith Madness!

Keep an eye on our social to cast your votes and make your bids!

The Madness begins after spring break!

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Opinion

The Bilingual Benefits of Foreign Music

By Emma Fry, News Editor

A few years ago, I began to extend my music choices beyond the scope of the English language.

Though I can’t remember why or how I made the choice to divert, I began browsing Spotify and YouTube for artists within the specific indie/ rock genre that I enjoyed listening to, albeit without the familiarity of my own language to guide me through the meaning of the new song titles I came across.

Over the course of several years, I began to notice that my library of foreign music had branched off into different cultural influences and flourished with diverse singers and styles, and I became interested in why I was so attracted to music I didn’t connect to directly through a common language. According to an article entitled “The Relationship Between Music and Languages,” listening to music from other cultures can

Women in Abuse

carry similar benefits to bilingualism and multilingualism. It was observed that word retention is actually strongest through tone, melody and harmony as opposed to phonemes, which are the basic distinctive units of speech that are very unique to different languages around the globe.

From the Greek word for “sound,” these units of language often consist of individual letters and their distinct sounds. For example, the letter r in the word ring and the letter s in the word sing, which make these similarsounding words distinct in their individual meaning.

While this experience was new to me, there are plenty of people my age who were born with or grew up surrounded by multicultural music and language. When children are young, studies have found that their brains absorb and soak in language much better through song because

of the slowed speed, the patterns of melody and its direct similarity to patterns of speech and word structure. Young children are also set up for successful language acquisition when they are exposed to a variety of cultural sounds because the more auditory stimuli a child listens to, the better prepared they will be to differentiate between the patterns of song and those of spoken language.

Another amazing gift that diverse types of music can give us is the ability to relate to and feel comfortable with the history and everyday lives of cultures different from our own. Even in a different language, a linguistic study with a group of volunteers showed that when listeners heard lullabies and dance music from vastly different regions of the world, they were always able to recognize the quiet, soft-spoken notes of a sleep song from that of a fast and upbeat

By Savi Swiggard, Associate Editor, and Ell Shelp-Peck, Staff Writer

Last week, The Herald released an article on the rising awareness of female abusers, in part due to the ongoing and extremely public conflict between actor Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard. The Herald will be releasing a series on women in abuse, to cover all perspectives and positions women take in abusive relationships.

Recognizing abusive behavior is the first step in addressing the problem. Abusive or manipulative language can take many forms; for example, if someone is showcasing self-deprecating behavior or language only to receive an affirma-

tion such as: “I told you I was a bad person; you should have listened.”

This statement is a clear example of someone searching for a positive correction – it’s a way to divert the conversation from the actual problem being addressed and make the opposing party feel guilty. Other forms of abusive language can include putting down one’s partner or even raising one’s voice. There is a fine line between a healthy disagreement and it becoming a potentially abusive situation. If it feels like the interaction is not healthy, then one has the right to address it with the other party. Clearly communicate

dance beat. Even though we see our music as different from those around the world, the harmonies and melodies are often similar enough for us to recognize and relate to.

Consistently listening to music in a different language has had the ability to shape the fundamental way that I hear different languages and connect to them. It’s a small chance to view a different region of the world in one of the most intimate ways possible, aside from direct conversation with a native speaker.

Music can not only promote intense feelings of belonging, comfort and happiness over time, but dedicating one’s self to the immersion of other cultures’ music could potentially help us free ourselves from feelings of hate and “otherness” that exist through the persistence of ignorance and highlighting what makes us all different, rather than what makes us the same.

with one another and create an open setting where neither person feels that they cannot come forward. If one party feels they cannot come forward without being attacked, then there are probably toxic characteristics present in the relationship.

DomesticShelters.org is a nonprofit organization that provides free online resources for domestic abuse victims. Abuse can come in the form of both physical and emotional abuse, and DomesticShelters offers a list of red flags to watch for abusive behavior. While these are flags to search for in your romantic relationships, recognizing that these flags can show

up in your family and in your friendships is an important step in protecting yourself from abusers. Lack of compromise, guilt tripping, coercive or pressuring behavior and denial of behavior are only a few of the notable red flags that DomesticShelters reminds everyone to look out for.

At an all-women's college, we must realize that our female friends can be abusers. Remembering to evaluate even the friendships you value for abusive behavior is incredibly important to protecting yourself from damaging relationships.

Mardi Gras, or “Fat Tuesday,” comes from Medieval Europe. Mardi Gras started as a kick-off to Lent, a last hurrah before 40 days of penance and fasting that occurs between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. During early Mardi Gras celebrations, masks were worn as a way to escape the class constraints of the time. The tradition of bead throwing started with a mock king during the first Mardi Gras held in 1872. The original color of the beads, purple, gold and green, were royal colors, each holding special meaning: purple for justice, gold for power and green for faith.

At the first carnival, the beads were glass, but over time they have become plastic so as to better suit the throw-

ing tradition. In modern times in the American city of New Orleans, over 1.2 million people attend Mardi Gras every year, which is approximately 3.5 times the entire population of New Orleans. The city of New Orleans spends $3.33 million on Mardi Gras each year; hotels in the surrounding area make $56 million during the span of the festivities.

No matter where Mardi Gras or Carnevale is celebrated, it is always assured to be a fun and colorful event with memories that will last a lifetime.

Mardi Gras and Carnevale: One Last Hurrah

By Rachel Van Horne, Staff Writer

All over the world, Christians are preparing for the season of Lent, but not without a big party first. The name and specific activities of the festival differ based on geographical location; in Italy it’s Carnevale and in France and the U.S. it’s Mardi Gras, but the implications are the same.

On Meredith’s own campus, Tavola Italiana, the Italian club, held a Carnevale celebration event on Feb. 21. The festivities included Italian music, both traditional and modern, snacks and mask-making.

In Italy, Carnevale celebrations start about two weeks before the actual day. Events and entertainment are held nightly in Venice, with people in costumes wandering around the city

and partying well into the night. In Northern Italy, the town of Viareggio is known worldwide for its elaborate Carnevale floats. Each year, Viareggio tries to outdo itself with a month of extraordinary animated floats that become more intricate and outlandish with every iteration. Followed by masked all-night street parties, the Carnevale parades feature giant papier-mache caricatures of current political and cultural figures—in recent years American pop culture figures have been prominent—as well as figures from folklore. The tradition is so serious that the people of Viareggio will begin to plan next year’s floats the day after this year’s festivities end.

STAFF

Mimi Mays, Editor in Chief. Savi Swiggard, Associate Editor.

Lilly R. Wood, A&E Editor. Emma Fry, News Editor. Olivia Slack, Online Editor.

Copy Editors: Amelia Bryant, Sofia Mazzola.

Staff Writers: Molly Perry, Milin Santizo-Escobar, Ell Shelp-Peck, Rachel Van Horne, Erin Wendorf, Katelyn Wiszowaty.

Podcasting Director: Sofia Gomez

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