The Auburn Plainsman 08.27.20

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020

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CORONAVIRUS

JACK WEST / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

‘In jeopardy’

Empty auditoriums may become a more common site if COVID cases continue to rise.

Administrator says 208 cases, student behavior threaten semester on campus

By JACK WEST Editor-in-Chief

203 Auburn students and five University employees tested positive for COVID-19 in the school’s first week back on campus, according to data released by Campus Safety and Security on Monday, Aug. 24.

This number does not include data from the University’s reentry testing, which took place in the weeks leading up to Auburn’s first day of classes on Aug. 17.

In total, the increase in cases from the week before school started to the week immediately after is 611%.

According to emails from the East Alabama Medical Center and Dr. Fred Kam, director of the Auburn Med Clinic, the 208 positive cases recorded last week were out of 901 tests performed during that period. This equates to a 24% positivity rate.

“The clinic is now focusing its COVID-19

testing on those with early symptoms of the disease or having had credible close contact to someone with COVID-19,” Kam said. “This has streamlined the testing process and thereby reduced the number of overall tests administered to those without symptoms or possible exposure who were likely to be negative. As such, with fewer likely negative tests being administered the clinic’s positivity rate was affected.”

According to Kam, most of these cases are also asymptomatic and have not required many hospitalizations.

“We were expecting most of the students who tested positive to have mild symptoms and not require hospitalization, and that so far is exactly what has happened,” he said.

This increase in cases comes after multiple nights of students filling bars downtown while ignoring social-distancing and face-covering guidelines.

In response, Bobby Woodard, Senior Vice President for Student Affairs, wrote a letter to

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Auburn students urging that they follow the state and University guidelines.

“I’m writing to you today because although we are thrilled to be back on campus together, recent events across the country — and across our campus — have put our efforts in jeopardy,” the letter reads. “Simply put, if a segment of our community continues to disregard physical distancing, wearing face coverings and avoiding large gatherings, we will likely be unable to complete the semester on campus.”

In the letter, Woodard went on to explain that the University will now be limiting the size of gatherings.

“To help us on the path to success, the University is limiting all in-person gatherings to no more than 50 people, effective Aug. 24 through Oct. 10,” Woodard wrote. “Previously approved events or gatherings must also be limited to 50 people.”

The University of Alabama and the city of Tuscaloosa expressed a similar sentiment about

their own students disregarding safety guidelines early this week as well.

On Monday, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox announced that all bars in the city would be required to close at 5 p.m. for the next two weeks. The following day, the University of Alabama reported adding more than 500 new cases of COVID-19 among students in the previous week.

Alabama also announced on Tuesday that it would be requiring some students living in an on-campus residence hall to move in order for the university to have more quarantine rooms.

Though Auburn is currently using less than half of its 173 quarantine and isolation beds, the University has a plan to extend that if needed.

“Currently, 61 of those beds are in use,” said Preston Sparks, Director of University Communications Services. “Should a need for more beds arise, Auburn will work with local hotels and apartment complexes to meet any such demand beyond the University’s current capacity.”

SPORTS

How GuideSafe tested 160,000 college students

By COLLINS KEITH Assistant Section Editor

One thing that many health officials have agreed on in regards to COVID-19 testing is that time is a luxury.

With nearly 160,000 college students in the state of Alabama, any attempt at reopening was going to necessitate the implementation of largescale infrastructure to swab, test and communicate with each of those students before school could begin.

With that in mind, one can begin to understand the delicate situation that those in charge of organizing this process found themselves in.

“In the last about seven or eight weeks, to be frank with y’all, we have put together a very complex organization in a very short amount of time,” said Robert Phillips, the Executive Director of Testing at GuideSafe.

“If you think about, potentially, up to 160,000 [university] students, over 30 some odd campuses, being tested at 13 different locations with any number of entry dates, it’s a very complex calculus problem.”

GuideSafe, the organization that oversees the testing for those students in Alabama, was originally known as Testing for Alabama. That group was formed in conjunction with the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a focus primarily on COVID-19 testing availability.

“Ultimately, [Testing for Alabama] partnered with the UAB School of Medicine, partnered with the Alabama Department of Public Health and the state of Alabama, and there was a grant given from the state to [this group] from the CARES Act fund,” Phillips said. “Money was provided to develop [this group], what at that time was called Testing for Alabama, [into] GuideSafe.”

According to Phillips, the charge given to GuideSafe was to expand upon their initial purpose — combating testing issues — to move towards a more holistic approach: helping higher education institutions in Alabama make the necessary preparations for the arrival of students in the fall as safe as possible. » See TESTING, 2

TODD CAN EMST / AU ATHLETICS

Gus Malzahn speaks to his players at a shells practice on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020 in Auburn, Ala.

Tigers 11th in first AP poll

By JONATHAN HART Writer

In the preseason AP Top 25 Poll, the Auburn Tigers came in at No. 11.

Released Monday, Aug. 24, the AP Top 25 Poll is committed to releasing a weekly ranking system of the top teams in the country despite this year’s abnormal format.

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Despite the cancellation of fall sports in the Pac-12 and Big Ten, among other conferences, AP poll voters named some teams without a schedule to the Top 25.

According to Michael Giarusso, AP’s global sports editor, this was done more as a service to the fans and a tribute to what could have been had the original football season progressed.

With the switch to a 10-game

conference-only schedule, the Tigers will face five teams currently ranked in the Top 25, with home games against No. 6 LSU, No. 25 Tennessee and No. 13 Texas A&M and away games at No. 4 Georgia and No. 3 Alabama.

As of now, Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon are all ranked ahead of Auburn but will not be playing in the fall.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020

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NEWS

ELECTION

SGA votes to add polling station on campus

By DESTINI AMBUS Reporter

The Auburn Student Government Association approved the addition of an on-campus polling location for local, state and federal elections at its first fall senate meeting on Monday night, which was held over Zoom as a precaution.

Hannah Krawczyk, senior in political science and executive director of Auburn Justice Coalition, started the meeting with a presentation on the importance of having a polling location on campus.

“We’ve been working on trying to get this polling location for about two years now, so tonight is a very exciting night for us,” Krawczyk said.

Krawczyk highlighted two big reasons for the need for a campus polling location: alleviation and civic engagement. The Clarion Inn on South College Street, one of the polling locations in the Auburn area, sees lines out of its parking lot on voting days with only 120 parking spots.

“There’s a lot of administrative pressure on other polling locations in the area,” Krawczyk said. “So, we recognize there’s a greater community need for another polling location.”

The second reason was furthering Auburn’s commitment to civic learning engagement and providing a space for Auburn’s students to get involved and have their voice heard. Krawczyk mentioned that Gov. Kay Ivey is also the president of the University Board of Trustees.

“We recognize that Auburn University in general has a lot of say in Alabama politics because of that,” Krawczyk said. “The students here have a lot of power and voice when they vote.”

Krawczyk also mentioned other reasons for the polling location, such as their presence in Auburn’s peer institutions like Clemson University and Virginia Tech, the constitutional right students have to vote at their place of university residence and the

fact that the location wouldn’t be violating any of Alabama’s election codes.

One concern Krawczyk brought up was the issue of parking, the logistics of which would be figured out by administration after the SGA vote. Krawczyk emphasized that even then, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem to work something out.

“I worked in the Coliseum, and I know for gamedays, for example, we have the infrastructure to figure this out,” Krawczyk said.

She also pointed out that the polling location’s on-campus presence would reduce the need for cars for those who live on or close to campus. Voting locations are geographically based, so if someone didn’t live on or close to campus they could be assigned to another location in a different ward. The addition of the on-campus location also wouldn’t remove any other location.

As for where the polling location would actually be, Krawczyk said their first choice would be Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum, as it is the most accessible for those living on campus and in the community.

The resolution was adopted quickly with no debates, but there were some messages of support from senators.

“Freshmen, when they come to campus, honestly probably don’t know Auburn or the surrounding area,” said Molly Sullivan, senior in health administration and atlarge senator. “If they have a chance to vote on campus they’re more likely to go, because they won’t have to go get their car if it’s parked far away or figure out how to use the transit system.”

The next steps following the adoption are further communication with faculty senate and working with the Lee County Commission to get a polling place established for the next election cycle.

“The legal election code says 90 days out, and that was Aug. 5,” Krawczyk said. “Which is not a big deal; once it becomes institutionalized and a part of the Auburn culture, then it’s there, and we have time to work out all the logistics.”

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Southeastern, 17-16 temporarily shut down

By TRICE BROWN Enterprise Editor

Two bars in downtown Auburn announced on Wednesday afternoon that they would be temporarily closing while they monitor the impact of the University reopening campus for the fall.

“While Fall semester will always be our favorite time of year, 2020 has presented new challenges with the student population downtown,” the releases said.

“While the debate on the virus’s impact on the student population continues, we have decided to take the proactive step of voluntarily shutting down our business out of an abundance of caution while we monitor the impact of Auburn University’s reopening on-campus activities.”

The press releases from Southeastern Bar and 17-16 Bar are identical, except for their names and logos.

“We encourage everyone to take COVID-19 seriously and hope our college customers will help us by following

the rules,” they said.

The releases state the bars “will continue to serve our customers at the right time while encouraging everyone downtown to follow the guidelines so we can all get through this together.”

On Aug. 24, the City of Tuscaloosa closed its bars for 14 days, citing a rise of novel coronavirus cases. The University of Alabama reported over 500 cases in students, staff and faculty.

According to the University’s Campus-Specific COVID-19 Data page, 203 Auburn students and five University employees tested positive for the novel coronavirus between Aug. 15–21.

The City of Auburn announced on Wednesday that the City Council will hold a special meeting on Thursday to “discuss additional measures that may be taken to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” according to a press release.

The meeting will begin at 2 p.m. and will be held over Zoom.

FILE PHOTO

17-16 announced it was temporarily closing on Wednesday afternoon.

JOSHUA FISHER / PHOTOGRAPHER

The SGA resolution was adopted quickly with no debates.

TESTING » From 1

While formed by the state, choosing to participate in the GuideSafe program is voluntary and up to the discretion of individual universities. According to Phillips, almost half of the universities in Alabama signed on to work with GuideSafe, representing around 160,000 students.

The tools that GuideSafe developed include contact tracing, symptom tracking and event passports, which are ways to safely allow individuals to enter and exit buildings.

In order to complete the testing needed for students to return to campuses across Alabama, GuideSafe needed to develop a method that allows for rapid testing with accurate results. Their solution, according to Phillips, is a method called pooling.

“Dr. Sixto Leal is a molecular pathologist, [who] works in the pathology department at UAB, with Dr. George Netto; they developed what is called a EUA, an Emergency Use Authorization, with the FDA to create a testing mechanism,” Phillips said. “One of the benefits of Dr. Leal’s testing methodology is that it is a pooled methodology.”

The pooling method takes a small sample from the material of eight individuals and combines them together into one sample, which is then run as a single test, according to Phillips. If that test comes back negative, then it means that all eight of the individuals are negative. If it comes back positive, then what remains from each of the eight samples is then tested again individually, allowing the positive individuals to be identified from the group of eight.

“That has allowed us to test a high number of students per day and feel comfortable that we’re capturing the positive tests out there,” Phillips said.

The reason that GuideSafe has not increased the number of samples that go into each

pooled test from eight is because the sensitivity of the instrumentation used to test these samples is only so precise, Phillips said. Increasing the number would cause the pooled sample to become too diluted to be effectively analyzed by the instrumentation.

In addition to the testing methodology that was developed at UAB, different vendors also helped contribute to the completion of GuideSafe’s plan.

“Over the last two months, we have identified, negotiated with and chosen a variety of vendors,” Phillips said. “We have some informatics vendors called Verily, which is the tool that you use to register and schedule tests; we partnered with Bruno’s Event Team … to open and operate 13 different collection sites around the state. There were a couple of other informatics partners that we contracted with, as well as putting together a communication plan with all the schools and a plan for bringing together data on students at schools across the state.”

In order to accurately group students’ data from across the state, GuideSafe created a master file with the results from each student in the system. Individual schools can then access and update this master file as new students enroll or circumstances change.

The master file contains information about the different times students would be returning to campuses across the state, Phillips said.

“We managed that student master file based on when individuals were trying to come back to campus,” Phillips said.

“Some folks maybe had sorority rush early; other students didn’t have to come back to campus till their first day of class.”

With all these moving parts and a large reliance on data assimilation, it was inevitable that problems would arise, he said. “[It’s] one of the things that you run into from time to time when you’re dealing with a pretty complicated laboratory

interface,” Phillips said. “We’re running thousands of samples through our laboratory each day, and then you have to be able to push the results back out to the individual and their school. We ran into some data integrity problems … with a very small group of folks. It was about 190 individuals who unfortunately ran into [that] situation.”

The situation that Phillips mentioned is referring to the corruption and eventual loss of around 190 students’ tests.

Those students then were required to get retested.

For Emma Stuttard, a sophomore in hospitality management, while her results were not corrupted, she experienced a longer delay than others in receiving them.

“I scheduled my test for a Wednesday morning, and then went in,” Stuttard said. “Everything was fine, like there was nothing abnormal that happened during the test; it went the same as everyone else’s. My test [then] didn’t come back until the next Wednesday.”

According to Stuttard, her roommates received their results the day after they went for a test, even though both she and her roommates went to the same testing site for out-ofstate students. Stuttard was on campus for the entire time she was waiting to hear back about her results.

“I was really confused, and I was waiting,” Stuttard said. “I thought about emailing, and I was going to do it. I was going to wait a week and do it on that Wednesday, but then I got my test back. It just took a long time with no explanation; it was weird.”

For Phillips, one of the most important resources for him and his team was time.

“If I had known last November that we would be dealing with COVID-19 in the way that we are, you could have … gone through a very deliberate process of doing pilots and testing systems and so forth,” Phillips said. “But frankly, we didn’t have the luxury of that kind of time.”

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020

THEPLAINSMAN.COM

OPINION

EDITORIAL

Hey, Auburn, get it together

By EDITORIAL BOARD Fall 2020

With life on campus starting back up again, Auburn University and its students have entered into a sort of trust exercise with each other.

The threat of a COVID-19 outbreak looms over the school, constantly threatening to send us all back home, and the only way to stave it off is for the University, the faculty, the staff and the students to be honest and open with each other.

For this semester to work, it is essential that students make selfless, intelligent decisions regarding their health, and that the University regularly release timely, accurate data related to the presence of the virus on campus to ensure that those decisions can be informed decisions.

In short, we need to know how far away the dark cloud of a potential outbreak hangs above the Haley Center.

Right now, we don’t really know where that cloud is.

Late last week, Auburn University launched its COVID-19 Resource Center website.

As of now, this site is a collection of resources for students, faculty and staff who may have either tested positive for the virus or been in close proximity with someone else who has.

It also includes a spreadsheet of the number of students, staff and “other” who have tested positive for the virus.

However, the information that the University is currently releasing is not adequate to detail the threat of a COVID outbreak on campus.

To start, the University has said it will only be updating the number of positive cases on campus once a week.

This is despite the fact that the University itself receives updated information from the AU Medical Clinic and the Alabama Department of Public Health every two days.

According to Preston Sparks, director of University communication services, this delay gives the University a chance to corroborate the reports it gets from a variety of sources before releasing information to the public.

“Updates are provided on a weekly basis to allot for needed time in confirming data from multiple sources,” he said.

The problem is that, as we have seen with a multitude of other colleges, businesses, cruise ships and communities, this virus has the ability to sweep through an area and significantly

JACK WEST / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

impact daily life in less than a week.

For instance, at the University of North Carolina, the positivity rate of COVID tests among students rose from 2.8% to 13.6% in their first week. This rapid spike sent UNC back to remote learning.

Now, UNC’s The Daily Tar Heel is reporting that there are more than 10 confirmed clusters of the virus on the school’s campus with hundreds of students in quarantine.

With a virus capable of spreading from a handful of people to hundreds of people in days, it is untenable for the University to only update the Auburn community on the threat of the virus once a week. Similarly, by the time the University provides data to the students and faculty, the virus has likely already expanded further into the population.

Not only is the University releasing data too slowly, they aren’t releasing it on any kind of centralized platform.

As of publication, the University has released the overall number of positive cases on its COVID-19 Resource Center, and it has released the number of available quarantine beds in a video with Dr. Fred Kam on Twitter.

Initially, the University and Sparks indicated that they would not be releasing the positiv-

ity rate of tests, but in an email on Monday, the East Alabama Medical Clinic said their positivity rate was 24% percent.

Kam has now confirmed that number in an email, but he says that the increased positivity rate is due to the clinic’s new streamlined testing procedure.

“The clinic is now focusing its COVID-19 testing on those with early symptoms of the disease or having had credible close contact to someone with COVID-19,” Kam said. “This has streamlined the testing process and thereby reduced the number of overall tests administered to those without symptoms or possible exposure who were likely to be negative.

As such, with fewer likely negative tests being administered, the clinic’s positivity rate was affected.”

While it’s good that the University is either releasing or confirming these numbers, it’s concerning that they are doing so in such a hodgepodge fashion.

In the same vein, the University is also not providing any information related to the geographic location of these confirmed cases.

Currently, we don’t know how many of the 203 students who tested positive last week live on campus. We don’t know where they likely

contracted the virus or where they went after that. We don’t even know if all of these cases are in similar places or if they are spread evenly across campus.

All of this information is vital for students and employees to have so that they can make informed decisions about their health. However, even if the University is technically releasing some of this information, making people hunt through various emails and tweets to find it isn’t very helpful.

To their credit, the University of Alabama System has far surpassed Auburn in this regard.

The UA System, like a large number of other universities across the country, has a regularly updated dashboard website that includes the number of positive cases on each of their campuses, the number of students who were tested and the percentage of quarantine dorms in use.

It’s all in one place.

UNC Chapel Hill has a similar page.

So do Troy University, Tuskegee and Georgia.

Why don’t we?

Since March, this fall semester was always going to be a trust exercise — an agreement between people and an institution they love to be honest and open with one another about the risks facing this community.

While Auburn is technically releasing some of the relevant data, they aren’t doing it in a way that’s timely or cohesive. Weekly updates and having to search through emails isn’t going to get us through this semester on campus.

Auburn students and employees deserve to know not just how many students have tested positive, but where those cases were and what the positivity rating was. Similarly, they deserve to know how many quarantine beds are being used and how many are still available.

More than that, students and employees deserve to have this information easily accessible and updated often.

Hopefully, the administrators who are making decisions about on-campus life already have this information easily available to them, but the rest of us don’t.

The rest of us have been left to dig through emails and pull data from a variety of sources.

We have, it seems, been left to sit, six-feet apart from each other, on The Greenspace, and watch for that dark and looming cloud.

If we’re lucky, it isn’t already here, but really, we don’t know.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Editor’s shaming of AU students unprofessional, out of line

By GANNON PADGETT and NATHAN KING Most letters to the editor are written to the paper as a whole. This one is directed at the editor, specifically for his public statements on Twitter.

Recently, Auburn has decided to allow students back on campus, and local businesses have allowed students back in their indoors facilities during the coronavirus pandemic.

There are a lot of unknowns about this situation. There are things that frustrate us, and there are things that encourage us.

Seeing bars packed full of students is both frustrating and concerning given what we do know about this virus, how it spreads and how it will ultimately impact the most vulnerable among us.

However, these students are not

“lowlifes.”

Name-calling, degrading and using Snapchat to shame students from Jack West, new Plainsman Editor-in-Chief, is unbecoming of The Plainsman standards that we’ve come to expect.

These tweets are degrading. Full stop. And they should be deleted.

Regardless of the journalistic ethics of opining on topics you cover, what was the broader point being made in these tweets outside shaming and degradation? Going “hate viral” is not a way forward for The Plainsman.

Sure, those students packing out the bars are being irresponsible. Accountability is going to need to be massive on college campuses if we’re going to beat this virus. But frustration aside, these tweets and the subsequent sharing to The Plainsman audience cross a line.

We urge for both an empathetic and

accurate perspective from the leaders of The Plainsman. We expect professionalism and excellence from the most decorated student publication in the history of the National Pacemaker competition. Jack’s tweets do not follow in that tradition.

The Plainsman is built on over a century of strong and ethical reporting and etiquette. Some AU students and Plainsman readers in the past wrongfully called the paper a “rag” that reports too many opinions and not enough hard news. Please don’t allow them to be right this year.

Stay well, and let’s beat this virus.

We’re gonna need everyone together.

Gannon Padgett is a 2018 Auburn graduate and a former multimedia editor at The Plainsman. Nathan King is a 2020 Auburn graduate and a former sports editor at The Plainsman.

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

OPINION PAGE POLICIES LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

COLUMNS & EDITORIALS

The Auburn Plainsman welcomes letters from students, as well as faculty, administrators, alumni and those not affiliated with the University.

The opinions of The Auburn Plainsman staff are restricted to these pages.

Letters must include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification.

Submission may be edited for grammar, style and length. Please submit no more than 600 words.

EVAN MEALINS

Managing Editor, Design

Managing Editor, Content

CHARLIE RAMO

TIM NAIL

IRELAND DODD

Community Editor

Campus Editor

Photo Editor

MY LY

COLLINS KEITH

ABBY CUNNINGHAM

Assistant Community

Assistant Campus

Social Media Manager

ABIGAIL MURPHY

JAKE WEESE

TRICE BROWN

Lifestyle Editor

Sports Editor

Enterprise Editor

Assistant Sports

The opinions expressed in columns and letters represent the views and opinions of their individual authors.

These opinions do not necessarily reflect the Auburn University student body, faculty, administration or Board of Trustees.

NATALIE BECKERINK

Editor-in-Chief

CHRISTIAN CLEMENTE

CONTACT

Letters must be submitted to editor@theplainsman.com before 4:30 p.m. on Friday for publication.

This editorial is the majority opinion of the Editorial Board and is the official opinion of the newspaper.

JACK WEST

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CAMPUS

CORONAVIRUS

University officials address faculty COVID concerns

By TIM NAIL Section Editor

Faculty attending Tuesday afternoon’s Auburn University Senate over Zoom had numerous questions for the administration regarding its guidance in navigating a semester defined by COVID-19.

Among the biggest was what would drive the University to return to remote operations. The answer? It’s contingent on a number of factors, according to Executive Vice President Ronald Burgess.

“There is not one single Auburn individual student that is currently in [East Alabama Medical Center] that has been hospitalized for COVID,” Burgess said in response to this inquiry during the call. “That one is really one of the key indicators that we look at.”

Another question for the administration came from Susan Youngblood, associate professor in the Department of English.

“I’m a little worried about the fact that [data is] aggregated by week, because we have a hard time seeing what’s going on with trends as the week is aggregated,” she said.

“Is there any possibility that those could be parsed out more finely, like by day?”

She was met with 20 seconds of silence from officials present that included Burgess, President Jay Gogue, Provost Bill Hardgrave, Dr. Fred Kam of the Auburn University Medical Clinic and Lady Cox, associate vice president of student engagement in Student Affairs. None of them could provide an answer after having quickly responded to other questions throughout the meeting.

The pause was broken by Richard Sesek, senator and associate professor in industrial and systems engineering, who felt faculty are not well informed on how to approach students who test positive in classes and requested other data be publicized, referencing the GuideSafe daily Healthcheck screener required for students.

“I want to piggyback off that and suggest that more granularity with respect to where things are happening would be good,” Sesek said. “Stats like ‘how many red screens,’ ‘how many yellow screens,’ ‘how many are in quarantine,’ not just cases. A lot of my faculty are very concerned about liability issues and making decisions that might put somebody ultimately at risk.”

Youngblood’s inquiry was soon answered

by Bobby Woodard, senior vice president for Student Affairs, who appeared in the call to say the University is prioritizing accurate data.

“We are working on making sure we don’t double count, and where those numbers come from right now we’re still getting from GuideSafe, plus numbers from EAMC, the [University] Medical Clinic and also the self-reported data,” Woodard said.

The beginning of the meeting was marked by news from Gogue that the pandemic, up to this point, has not necessitated budget or office cuts.

“There’s been no discussion about elimi-

nation of any kinda department or program on campus, there’s been no discussion of furloughs, there’s been no discussion of reductions in force or pay cuts or any of those things,” Gogue said. “From a financial point of view, I think we’re doing OK.” Hardgrave followed with a ‘thank you’ to attending faculty for their perseverance in the first week of classes and asked that they ensure the University’s A Healthier U guidelines are being followed.

“It’s unlike any fall semester we’ve ever had, but all in all, I would label [the first week] as very, very successful,” Hardgrave said. “The safety protocols put in place really need everyone to do their part, not only practice those yourselves but also ensure that others are practicing those safety protocols, particularly in the classroom.”

Though there’s been talk among some incoming and current college students of taking gap years because of the pandemic, Hardgrave said enrollment has continued on an upward trend even with the University Board of Trustees approving a proposed enrollment cap last year.

“Enrollment as of yesterday [was] 30,735, which is the largest enrollment in Auburn history,” he said. “This time last year [it was] 30,293, and keep in mind our strategic plan has us really curbing and controlling our enrollment.”

Some of the numbers in detail were 4,902 freshmen; 1,027 transfer students; and 1,669 new graduate students.

Luca Guazzotto, associate professor in the Department of Physics, asked what the outlook for teaching in spring currently looks like.

“We heard ... that we should plan to teach live in the spring,” Guazzotto said. “Is there any more precise plan?”

Hardgrave responded that the University is planning for next semester at this stage under the assumption that it will be a “normal spring” before planning for an altered semester. However, dates for preparing spring courses have been delayed as a precaution, he said.

“Typically we build our spring course roster in early September; we’re going to push that off until October,” Hardgrave said.

“We’ll also push off when students enroll to a little bit later in November.”

Burgess announced that the University has formed a COVID operations group which meets twice a week to discuss Auburn’s continued response to the pandemic. This is in addition to the COVID-19 Resource Center led by Cox and Bob Norton of the Auburn Food Systems Institute, which takes calls and emails concerning COVID-19 and the University.

“We turned pretty quickly ... on a dime in three hours to put the word out that we’re going to require masks on campus,” Burgess said as an example of the operations group’s work.

He also referred to the quarantine and isolation residence halls reserved in The Hill,

TIM NAIL / SECTION EDITOR

Samford Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, in Auburn, Ala.

which he said have more than enough room for students asked to move to the housing.

There will also be excess housing if the main halls overflow, he said.

“Right now we aren’t even scratching the surface,” Burgess said. “We’ve got about a fourth to a third of the capacity being used, even with the numbers where they are.”

Kam shared that the AUMC anticipated and prepared for more positive cases in the first week than what was actually reported.

However, he expects increasing cases among students in the weeks to come which will pose a challenge for the clinic.

“Students have been socializing out in the bars and other places,” Kam said. “They’ve been exposed, and everybody wants to get a magical test. Our demand for testing is up — the clinic was prepared to handle a volume of somewhere between 200 to 250 tests per day, and we’re at that.”

Despite this, Kam dismissed claims that

the clinic doesn’t have enough tests. He also said it continues to improve communication with students, though students have not been the most responsive in receiving their results in that they don’t always answer phone calls or emails from the clinic.

“We have more than doubled the phone lines over the summer, [and] we have increased staff and trained them to answer calls and respond,” Kam said. “Even with that, we’re getting over 3,000 phone calls a day.”

As for the rest of the fall, Kam predicts rising case numbers into the next couple months, where they will then plateau and decrease should the semester carry on as planned.

“You will expect that we will see a higher positive rate for the next few weeks and probably into October,” he said. “After the middle of October, we will see a flattening and then we’ll see a slow decline.”

HOUSING

On, off-campus residents settle into 160 Ross

By SARAH GIBSON Writer

Auburn University announced its Masterlease agreement with 160 Ross, an apartment complex east of the core campus, in February after approval from the University Board of Trustees. This agreement stated that about half of the complex would be used for campus housing, while the other half would continue to be used for residents who signed leases with the apartment complex.

LaDarius Price, junior in early childhood education, is one of the new residents of the on-campus housing sector of 160 Ross.

“I think most of the campus housing residents are upperclassmen; I have yet to meet any freshmen,” Price said. “I really cannot tell the difference between who is a campus housing resident and who is an off-campus resident.”

Price said the dorm is set up with everyone having their own bedroom and bathroom. There is a full-size kitchen with a stove, oven, refrigerator, dishwasher and microwave. There is also a washer and dryer in a closet in the shared common space.

“I was originally signed up for South Donahue, The Village or the Quad,” Price said.

“Then, they told me I had been assigned to

MARY ELIZABETH LANE / PHOTOGRAPHER

Both on and off-campus residents have had to adjust to living in a living environment wih elements of both.

160 Ross, which I was fine with. They told me my assignment in either March or April.”

Price said that he really enjoys living in 160 Ross and that he feels like it has a lot of perks. He said his only complaint was the street noise that East Glenn Avenue brings into his apartment.

Price said the walk to campus is very doable and that it doesn’t bother him. He said he felt that housing approved by Auburn was a safer option because he is more comfortable with living in campus housing.

For students like Tucker Brant, sopho-

more in management of industrial systems, this transition came as a shock. Brant stated that he signed his lease with 160 Ross approximately a week before the announcement came that the University had paired with the complex.

“It’s interesting to know that I am in my apartment off campus, yet I still see resident assistants,” Brant said. “Although it is nice that the shuttle buses now come here.”

Brant said that 160 Ross was a definite improvement from his dorm that he lived in during the previous school year. Howev-

er, he said he wished that the University had told students there was going to be campus housing at 160 Ross so that he could have saved money using the Alabama Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program. The PACT Program is used for tuition, housing and other college expenses.

“I was disappointed and annoyed that I did not know the University was pairing with 160 Ross,” Brant said. “I wish I had known because I could have used part of my PACT Program plan I have for on-campus housing.”

The Auburn Plainsman

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020

PAGE 5

HEALTH

COVID-19 gives RAs a new level of responsibility

By VIRGINIA SPIERS Writer

Resident assistants have the responsibility of making sure students living in their residence halls are safe and following the rules put out by the University. This year, however, they have the responsibility of not only keeping them safe, but also keeping them healthy.

When it comes to living on campus, many things have been different this year; one of them being move-in day. This year, students living on-campus had a two-week period to move in, instead of one day like in the past.

“Everyone that moved in had a QR code on their phone, and [the RAs] had apps to scan them on our phones,” said Isaiah Pompo, a junior in biomedical sciences and a second-year RA. “You were able to scan the QR code and it told you what room they were in, what key they needed, and it was pretty seamless actually…”

There have been more adjustments to on-campus living than just move-in day, however. Now, living in the residence halls requires social distancing and face masks at all times when outside of personal living spaces. Contactless hall activities are free of any food items and there is a campus-wide restriction of visitors to anyone living off-campus, excluding sorority chapter meetings.

“In every residence hall, all the Auburn protocols are going to be followed,” Pompo said. “You have to wear a mask, practice social distancing, limit the people in the elevators, as well as only taking off your mask in your personal living space.”

Every year, RAs go through three weeks of on-campus training to prepare for the upcoming school year. This is usually when the RAs get to know one another, learn or refresh the protocols for on-campus living and build a mutual trust between each other, according to Pompo. This year, however, RAs

VIRGINIA SPEIRS / WRITER

Maria Glenn Hall in The Quad on March 28, 2020, in Auburn, Ala.

were not given that opportunity, and instead had to complete a oneweek training course, completely online, around the end of July.

“We decided that this year we weren’t going to do any face-toface community building activities like we normally would,” Pompo said.

According to Pompo, this was in

order to keep all the RAs safe and prevent any unnecessary contact with each other before the start of the school year.

Although being an RA this year is different than in years past, complete with many more responsibilities due to COVID-19 policies, Pompo does not think it will be too much for him or his fellow RAs to

handle.

“My job here is first to make sure that everyone living in the hall feels safe, and to still build community through that,” he said. “[The RAs] are here to trust the guidelines put out by the school and to relay that information to the people living on campus to make sure that everyone feels safe.”

SOCIAL

Students say they have good Wi-Fi but poor connection

By MCKENZIE DOOLEY Writer

JOSHUA FISHER / PHOTOGRAPHER

Plainsman residence hall in the morning on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, in Auburn, Ala.

Last August, Auburn’s campus was booming with students as the beginning of the fall 2019 semester began. Dining halls, the Student Center, classrooms and residence halls saw thousands of students eating, hanging out with friends, learning and studying.

However, this year things are looking quite different around campus, especially for students living on campus at a time when many classes have moved online.

So what is on campus living really like for those whose schedules are compiled of just online classes?

Some students living in residence halls this year have mixed emotions about having mostly online classes. Savannah Aldridge, freshman in pre-nursing, is among them.

“I feel like I have a hard time making friends and putting myself out there while being locked up in my room all the time,” Aldridge said.

Aldridge said she believes it’s unfortunate the class of 2024 will have a more limited beginning of college than students of

other years. She said she is worried about the possibility of being told she has to move off campus.

“Not having the privilege of being on campus every day can have an impact on the current freshmen’s ability to make new friends,” she said.

Despite the fact that the University has went mostly online, Aldridge said she still sees the benefits on-campus living offers.

“It is still fun being on campus and being able to enjoy the beautiful sights of campus,” she said.

Like Aldridge, Sophia Koolman, freshman in biomedical sciences, also had some conflicting feelings about online classes.

“It is sad that I don’t get to learn the campus and meet people in person,” Koolman said.

Koolman said she would like to stay on campus even if Auburn goes completely online so she can still receive the on-campus experience for her first year of college.

“I am happy being on campus and having my roommates,” she said.

Even though the two students are not physically going to classes every day, they said they still appreciate everything Auburn has to offer.

However, each both agreed their greatest concern is the unknown of the situation.

FERPA Annual Notice

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) Student have four basic rights under FERPA: 1. The right to inspect and access their education records. Students should submit a written request to the Office of Registrar that identifies the record requested. The student will be notified of the time and place the record may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the Office of the Registrar, the student will be advised of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.

2. The right to seek and amend inaccurate and misleading information. Students who wish to have a record amended should write the school official responsible for the record, and include why it should be changed. If Auburn University decides not to amend the record as requested, it will notify the student in writing of the decision and the student’s right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment.

3. The right to provide written consent to Auburn University to allow disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) contained in the student’s education records, except in cases where FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

In accordance with FERPA, Auburn University may disclose PII from the student’s education record without consent to a school official with legitimate educational interest. A school official is typically defined as a person employed by Auburn University in an administrative, supervisory, academic, or staff position; or a student serving on an official committee. A school official also may include a volunteer or contractor outside of Auburn University who performs an institutional service for the university. A school official typically has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for Auburn University.

4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Auburn University to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is: Family Policy Compliance Office U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202 Auburn University defines directory information as required by§ 99.37 as information that if released would not be considered a violation of a student’s privacy. This information includes: • Student’s Complete Name • Participation in Recognized Activities and Sports • Telephone Numbers • Term/Dates of Attendance •

Addresses

•

Degrees and Awards Received

•

A.U. E-mail Address

•

Enrollment Status (full or part time)

•

Most Recent Classification and Curriculum

•

Photographs, Video or Other Electronic Image (released only in connection with official A.U. publications)

FERPA regulations allow the release of directory information without the written consent of the student. A student does have the option to place a FERPA restriction on his or her educational records by contacting the Office of the Registrar. This will ensure that no directory information will be released to a third party without that student’s written permission.

If you have questions regarding this notice or other FERPA questions or concerns, please contact the Office of the Registrar at 334-844-2544 or registrar@auburn.edu.

community

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020

THEPLAINSMAN.COM

COMMUNITY

ECONOMY

City plans budget without college football

By CHARLIE RAMO Section Editor

Auburn University’s decision to limit its football stadium capacity to 20% will only allow for premium seat holders, students and guests of the competing players to attend. This will lessen the number of football fans staying in Auburn hotels, visiting Auburn restaurants and rolling Toomer’s Corner.

The City is budgeting for the 2020-2021 fiscal year to exclude any additional revenue that would usually come from football-related sales and activities, said City Manager Jim Buston. The City typically sees higher sales tax revenue during football season.

There is no set revenue the City gets from football season, as it depends on the number of home games and which games are played at home, Buston said. August through November are the months that would typically see extra revenue.

The City is using data for January through March to estimate revenue to the fall if no football games were to occur.

“Comparing those, [our revenue] is around $2 million into our coffers,” Buston said. “It varies depending on what the games are or whether we’re winning.”

Multiple businesses in Auburn are much more heavily reliant on sales from football season, Buston said. City government will not be impacted by a lack of football fans nearly as much as local businesses will.

Football season taxes account for 2% of the City’s annual budget. The City used to be completely dependent in the University, Buston said. Auburn began to diversify the economy in the 1980’s, bringing alternatives to University jobs.

“We now have as many jobs in [industry and] manufacturing as we do at the University,” Buston said. “That has helped to grow the population, so there are a number of people in the community who are really not related to the University for their livelihood.”

The City and local businesses are not as reliant on the University as they were 20 or 30 years ago, Buston said. The City wants to look into the future to keep the economy from being dependent on any one business.

Without hosting fans in the City, there will be fewer public safety and cleanup expenses. While the University is responsible for safety and cleanup on campus, the City incurs most of those costs when off campus.

FILE PHOTO

The City will create a budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year assuming no football games will include fans.

“[Cleanup] is especially expensive when our team is winning, and we’re rolling Toomer’s Corner every weekend,” Buston said. “The revenues [during football season] far exceed the expenses.”

Buston does not expect to see a significant number of sports fans in Auburn now that most will not be allowed to attend football games.

Some people may want to roll Toomer’s Corner if the team is winning, but Buston expects this to be smaller crowds of mostly local residents.

“We want to make sure that [visitors to Auburn] understand what the governor’s rules are and that we are enforcing those rules,” Buston said. “On the other hand, I don’t think we’re seeing … [students who are] willing to follow the rules. This past couple of weekends have not been … a shining example of what we’d like to see in our community.”

Buston said that as the City has diversified its economy, the University has diversified its public offerings. Football is no longer the University’s primary draw for out-of-town visitors.

“The University just became a premier research institution,” Buston said. “What’s happening at the technology park … [Auburn] is the only University in the state to have that. It’s growing to where high-tech businesses are starting to think about locating there.”

A lack of football fans does not mean a lack of travelers altogether, Buston said.

The City government is prepared to operate for the next fiscal year, even if Auburn ultimately cancels their football season.

CHARLIE RAMO / SECTION EDITOR

LITERATURE

JACK WEST / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Auburn Oil Co. Booksellers sells books and serves coffee out of its East Magnolia St. location.

Book club trades in-person meetings for Zoom

By EVAN MEALINS Managing Editor

Auburn Oil Co. began offering southern literature and young adult book clubs this summer. Like other enjoyable things of the past, the book clubs don’t happen face-to-face.

The store is about to start up their fall clubs. The groups held their inaugural meetings in May of this year, and wrapped up the summer club in early August. The clubs meet once a month to discuss the book they’ve read, and continue for four months to complete all four books.

The first meeting of the southern literature book club was somewhat small, the group’s moderator Angela Wilhite said.

“I’m visualizing our Zoom meeting screen,” Wilhite joked, trying to recall the amount of members in the club. It was four, at that first meeting, she remembered, not including that week’s

special guest.

“We read ‘The Magnetic Girl’ by Jessica Handler, and she lives over in Atlanta, and came to our Zoom meeting and was so charming, so nice,” Wilhite said. “A virtual book club is not as appealing as an in-person one, but that was definitely a nice bonus to have her there.”

Wilhite, 44, said she enjoyed hearing Handler speak. She enjoyed the ladies that are in the club with her, and she is certainly a fan of being inventory manager at the bookstore.

“It’s the best job ever,” she said. “It’s like Christmas everyday.”

Wilhite has lived in Auburn for 12 years, and her love of books drew her to start working at the — who would have guessed it? — bookstore.

“Auburn is such a neat place,” Wilhite said. “I can’t believe it’s taken this long for us to get an independent bookstore in town. I do think we’re’ filling that niche.”

The clubs were planned as a way to get the community involved at the bookstore, originally as a typical club, with face-to-face meetings. As the pandemic came along, they were finishing up their plans for the club. So, they had to shift to a virtual venue, which poses its own set of challenges.

“You know, when you’re sitting together in a group, it’s just a different feeling,” Wilhite said. “There’s a different rapport that you get when you’re face-to-face, versus with technology, somebody might have a little bit of a lag or their screen might freeze.

There’s just some obstacles to building that rapport.”

Auburn Oil Co. hoped to shift the fall book clubs back in-person, but the current state of the pandemic has led the business to keep the meetings online. Wilhite and Kenzie Barrett, who moderates the young adult book club, are there to try and establish that sense of community despite the hindrances

that online meetings can have.

“We are just there to kind of moderate and move it along and add comments whenever we need to or can, and just help with that sense of community and actual feeling … like there’s people, even if you can’t be with them at a physical book club,” Barrett said.

Barrett, who is a junior studying accounting at Auburn University, is a bookseller and barista at Auburn Oil Co., meaning she’s one of the faces you see when you enter the bookstore. She also started working at the business when it first opened last October.

“I actually just saw a sign in the window while walking to class, and even though I am an accounting major, coffee and books are like my two favorite things,” she said.

The chance to lead a book club was extended to all the employees of the store to see who was interested, and Barrett took the opportunity. The young adult book club got off

to a slower start than the southern literature group this summer, she said, but more participants joined thanks to marketing on social media.

The clubs have already selected their books for the fall club, which begin on Sept. 6. ‘A Good Neighborhood’, ‘The Book of Lost Friends’, ‘The Awakening’ and ‘The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls’ are on the list for southern literature. For the young adult club, the selections are ‘Lovely War’, ‘Yes No Maybe So’, ‘Layoverland’ and ‘These Witches Don’t Burn’.

Wilhite and Barrett both hope that in-person meetings will be possible soon. Zoom will have to do, for now.

“I really hope we can keep doing these. I think they’re really great, since community and people [are] pretty much the basis of a bookstore,” Barrett said. “I’m excited to do more when we can meet not-online, but I think online is great for now.”

The Auburn Plainsman

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020

PAGE 7

BUSINESS

New food trucks hit Auburn streets

By KATIE CARROLL Writer

Whether the mood is sweet or savory for breakfast, Auburn now has two new mobile eating locations to accommodate.

Drive-By Tacos and Bruxie are food trucks that serve the Auburn and Opelika area.

Drive-By Tacos sells tacos, salads, nachos and sliders, while Bruxie specializes in serving up fried chicken and waffle sandwiches.

An aqua blue food truck with Drive-By Tacos scrawled in red and yellow on the side can be seen in various places in the Auburn community. According to Drive-By Tacos’ Instagram page, the business is family-owned and local.

In July, Drive-By Tacos announced on Instagram that they were expanding their menu to include breakfast as well adding a new brick-and-mortar location called Drive-ByBreakfast in Auburn at 1188 Opelika Road.

This location carries only the breakfast menu.

Drive-By Breakfast has a range of breakfast items from biscuits and burritos to crab cake Benedict. Drive-By Tacos and Drive-By Breakfast source all their ingredients locally and have said that the majority of their produce comes from George’s Farmers Market in Lafayette, Alabama.

Drive-By Breakfast keeps customers updated with their weekly schedule and locations on their Instagram page @drivebybreakfast.

Drive-By Breakfast is open from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., Tuesday through Sunday, at their sedentary location. Catering or online orders from

both restaurants are available to be purchased through their website.

Also making rounds in the Auburn community is Bruxie, a food truck that offers a variation on chicken and waffles: the chicken and waffle sandwich.

The original sandwich is the most popular item on the menu, Andrews said. The feedback from the community has been overwhelmingly positive.

Lee Andrews, Bruxie’s general manager, said that the restaurant originated in California, but that the Bruxie locations in California are sedentary restaurants rather than food

trucks.

“They weren’t using the truck out there, so we bought it,” Andrews said.

Andrews also said that Bruxie plans to build a restaurant in Auburn or Opelika in the future.

Bruxie is set up in different locations throughout Auburn during the week. Bruxie’s whereabouts and hours of operation are posted on Instagram @au_bruxie. The truck welcomes invitations to apartment complexes, businesses and events for groups of 30 people or more, and the business can also be contacted for catering via email.

ELECTIONS

FILE PHOTO

Opelika’s elections were held on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

Fuller wins fifth mayoral term

By CHARLIE RAMO Section Editor

JOSHUSA FISHER / PHOTOGRAPHER

Drive-By Tacos frequents the Auburn University Veterinary School in the morning.

During the Aug. 25 Opelika municipal elections, Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller was reelected for his fifth term. He beat Opelika City Council member Tiffany Gibson-Pitts by achieving 66.3% of the vote.

All five ward seats were also up for election. Erica Norris won the Ward 2 Council seat with 60% of the vote, and Eddie Smith won Ward 4 unopposed. The remaining Council races have entered runoffs.

George Allen and Jamie Lowe have entered a runoff for the Ward 1 seat, currently held by President ProTem Patricia Jones. Michael Carter and Robert Lofton have entered a runoff for Ward 3, a seat currently held

by Dozier Smith. Incumbent David Canon and challenger Todd Rauch have entered a runoff for Ward 5.

The Opelika City Council will meet at noon on Sept.

1 to declare the final results of the election.

RESTAURANT

Mo’Bay Beignet makes plans to open downtown

By MY LY Assistant Section Editor

The City of Auburn is planning on adding another storefront to their downtown zone later this year.

Mo’Bay Beignet Co. is a Mobile based cafe that is owned by Jaclyn Robinson.

Robinson started the company in order to pursue a long-time dream and also help pay for her daughter’s college expenses.

“Both the name of the company and the idea for the fundraiser are something for which I give God full credit,” Robinson said. “The name Mo’Bay Beignet Co. dropped in my heart years ago and never would let me go. In May 2019, I heard God say ‘Now,’ and I knew it was about Mo’Bay. I felt led to launch

the company as a fundraiser, so I began.”

In late May 2019, Robinson designed her logo, created a website, packaged her original beignet mix, jarred her signature beignet syrups, created product labels using her original photographs and launched the fundraiser on social media.

The cafe was an instant hit in Mobile, and as word spread, markets throughout the state began requesting to have Mo’ Bay products on their shelves.

Although the cafe was a success, Robinson stated that by August 2019 she was debating whether or not it was worth it to continue her journey with the cafe, until she remembered an encounter she had earlier that year.

“In April 2019, someone I had never met wanted to pray for me and told me to turn on my phone’s audio recorder,”

Robinson said. “He prayed and then told me that while he was praying he saw a bunch of numbers, heard the word ‘math’ and the phrase ‘it doesn’t add up.’

He told me that if there was something that didn’t seem to add up, he felt like she was supposed to move forward anyway.”

She stated that at the time, the prayer didn’t make any sense to her. But when she found herself unsure if she wanted to continue with Mo’Bay Beignet Co. months later, she immediately remembered what the man had said to her in his prayer and knew she had to move forward with the cafe.

Robinson stated that Auburn had always been on her list of locations she would like to expand to.

“Throughout the process of prepar-

ing to open Mo’Bay Beignet Co., I continually referred to it as my flagship location,” Robinson said. “I had a gut feeling this would not be the only one. I started dreaming of different locations and made a list of the first five cities I wanted to be in eventually. Auburn was one of them.”

While Auburn had always been on Robinson’s list, she never expected it to be the first location she expanded to.

“On June 5th, 2020, I was approached

by Tripp Skipper,” Robinson said. “An Auburn local, Mobile native and owner of The Skipper Group, he came into the cafe to introduce himself. His niece, Abby Armbruster, an Auburn freshman, had taken a job at Mo’Bay over the summer. Upon hearing about the cafe, he took interest in seeing a location in

Auburn, sooner rather than later.”

According to Robinson, the process of bringing the cafe to Auburn has already begun, and they hope to have it open late this year.

The cafe will be located on 155 N. College St. and will be in the heart of Toomer’s Corner.

Robinson stated that Mo’Bay Beignet is about more than just business. It’s about bringing something new to Auburn.

“The company is about so much more than serving beignets and coffee,” Robinson said. “My heart is to see Mo’Bay Beignet Co. be a light in each city it enters, creating an atmosphere of joy and kindness for each customer. In doing so, I hope to make each community sweeter, in more ways than one.”

sports

8

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020

THEPLAINSMAN.COM

SPORTS

FOOTBALL

FILE PHOTO

Tre’ Williams (30) dives to tackle Sony Michel (1) in the first half of Auburn vs. Georgia in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 2 in Atlanta, Ga.

‘It’s been a rollercoaster’ How Tre’ Williams’ journey helped him transition from player to coach

By JAKE WEESE Section Editor

Tre’ Williams’ final snaps inside Jordan-Hare Stadium may have only been in 2017, but the former Auburn linebacker has been busy since that 26–14 victory in the 2017 Iron Bowl.

The former linebacker has worked at FedEx as an operations manager, worked in recruiting at Auburn, had neck surgery, was signed and later cut by the Detroit Lions and most recently played in the XFL before the league suspended operations in early March.

Now, the 2017 Second Team All-SEC linebacker has officially hung up the cleats for good. However, Williams is not stepping away from football for good, as he is now going to become a coach.

Williams will stay in Alabama as he will help coach and teach at Thompson High School in Alabaster, Alabama. Thompson’s website lists

Williams as an assistant coach on the football team and as a health and physical education teacher.

While Williams describes his journey since graduating Auburn as a “rollercoaster,” he’s grateful for all of these experiences as he can help show that there is life after football.

“Just allowing those guys to use me as a resource and also using my testimony with everything that I went through allowed them to understand that there’s life outside of football,” Williams told The Plainsman.

Williams also wants the players to understand that football is over at some point.

“Don’t make this your life,” Williams said.

“This is just something that you do that can provide for your family, but eventually, it’s going to end.”

While Williams may be new to coaching, the desire to help others has been something he’s done a lot of and has wanted to keep pursuing since graduating in 2017.

Whether it was helping host a football camp this summer with Deshaun Davis and Taylor Stallworth — all three Mobile, Alabama natives — or coaching and teaching, Williams enjoys giving back to the community.

“I always love helping people,” Williams said. “That’s something that I absolutely want to do for the rest of my life, no matter what position I am in.”

Coaching, teaching and community service may keep Williams busy, but he still makes time to stay up to date on Auburn.

Williams stays in contact with guys on the team like K.J. Britt and checks to see how Britt and other players are doing from time to time.

Being a few seasons removed from playing at Jordan-Hare has given Williams a newfound perspective. He now understands the many emotions that fans go through when watching Auburn football on Saturdays.

“It’s bittersweet as a fan because, of course, I love to see them be successful,” Williams said.

“I love to see a game played at a high level like that, I love that part. The stress that comes with it as a fan, I do not like it.”

From helping Auburn defeat the No. 1 team in the nation twice in 2017 with wins against Georgia and Alabama to having neck surgery to seeing the XFL close its doors in March and now finding a new opportunity in coaching, Williams has genuinely been on a “rollercoaster” journey.

For Williams, it all comes back to God at the end of the day. God may have given him the talent to play football, but his gift is helping others.

“There’s a lot of things we go through in life that’s not for us,” Williams said. “God blessed me with talents and gifts, and football is just a talent. He just gave me the ability to play the sport, but my gift is totally different. My gift is giving back to the kids or even adults, just doing anything within the community, just allowing God to shine his light through me.”

BASEBALL

Former Tiger called up by Washington Nationals

By CALEB JONES Writer

A week after the Detroit Tigers called up Casey Mize, another former Auburn pitcher has received his call to the show.

Ben Braymer has been called up from the Washington Nationals’ alternate training site, and following his debut, he will be the 53rd former Auburn player to play in the MLB. Braymer only spent one year on the Plains, going 4–4 with a 3.56 ERA in the 2016 season. He appeared in 21 games for the Tigers, starting four of them and striking out 47 batters over his 48 innings pitched.

Before coming to Auburn, Braymer spent two seasons at LSU-Eunice compiling a 13–2 record with a 2.81 ERA in his 125 innings of work.

From Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he was drafted in the 18th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Nationals and has been in the organization ever since.

Braymer played his first season of pro ball in the Gulf Coast League for the Nationals, before spending the next two seasons in Single-A. The 6-foot-2 southpaw found success in 2018 at the

Single-A level, where he pitched to a 9–3 overall record and a 2.28 ERA. His 2.28 ERA was the lowest in Washington’s minor league system, and he was named the Nationals’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2018.

He also received an invite to the Arizona Fall League and made the league’s Fall Stars Game.

Following his breakout season, Braymer advanced quickly through the Double-A and Triple-A ball ranks last year before being added to the Nationals’ 40Man roster.

He received an invite to spring training earlier this year and is listed as the defending world champs’ No. 24 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

Once Braymer makes his debut, it will be the first time since 2008 that multiple Auburn alum will make their big league debut in the same season.

While Braymer has not debuted since being called up on Monday, he will be ready when called upon.

As for Mize, he has started two games since being called up.

The No. 1 overall pick in 2018 in two apperances has 9 strikeouts through 7.2 innings of work.

FILE PHOTO

Ben Braymer (34) pitches during the Alabama State vs. Auburn game at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala., on Tuesday, March 23, 2016.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020

The Auburn Plainsman

PAGE 9

FOOTBALL

Shaun Shivers taking on leadership role in the backfield

By CHRISTIAN CLEMENTE Assistant Section Editor

Following the Outback Bowl loss, it was clear Auburn had a running back room that was overcrowded, and the writing was on the wall that at least one player would end up transferring.

First, the starting running back for the last two years, Boobee Whitlow, entered his name in the transfer portal in February.

Then, veteran back Malik Miller decided to leave the team in July.

Auburn was now left with four talented, but young running backs left on the roster.

The veteran and fifth back in this group is Iron Bowl hero Shaun Shivers.

Shivers heads into his junior season after being used as a rotational back in his first two years. He racked up 657 yards and six touchdowns over his first two years, but now he’s the group leader, a role he feels ready for.

“That’s something that I always wanted to do,” Shivers said on Wednesday. “Be a leader for the team, for the program, and just to let everybody feed off my energy. This year I just took on a big role like, it’s time to step up this year and lead the team and do what I always did growing up, be a leader.”

The group behind him is 4-star Tank Bigsby; the No. 4 running back in the class of 2020, sophomore D.J. Williams; sophomore Harold Joiner and redshirt freshman

Mark-Antony Richards, who spent last season injured.

Richards is a guy who’s already caught the eye of Shivers since fall camp started.

“Mark-Antony… he’s a bad man,” Shivers said. “He just looks like a real dude, you know he playing fast, he playing physical and Mark-Antony will be good.”

While the speedy Shivers has showcased his ability as a runner, he’s also expanding his game to incorporate catching the ball out of the backfield more, with just six total receptions in his first two seasons.

“I’ve been working out every day, working my craft, working my game, working on catching the football, working on things I need to add to my game, catching kick returns and catching punts and things like that,” Shivers said.

A crowded backfield could lead to tension, but Shivers and the rest of the running backs will work together and support each other.

“We don’t really think about how many carries we’re going to get a game or how much we’re going to play in a game,” Shivers said. “We’re just here to support each other and get better as a room as a unit. At the end of the day, whoever gets the most carries or whatever, all us are going to go out there and do what we do, because that’s why we came to Auburn — to make plays, do what we’re being taught and add more explosiveness to the offense.”

JOSH FISHER / PHOTOGRAPHER

Shaun Shivers (8) runs onto onto the field prior to the start of Auburn football vs. Alabama, on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019, in Auburn, Ala.

FOOTBALL

Big Kat Bryant ready to step up in senior season

By RYAN METCALF Writer

Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson’s loss leaves gaps that Auburn will have to replace on the defensive line and will force new players to step into leadership roles.

Big Kat Bryant, a senior from Cordele, Georgia, is stepping into a leadership role as one of Auburn’s returning starter from last season’s defensive line.

With Auburn bringing in several new JUCO transfers and true freshmen to the defensive line, Bryant wants to make sure they adapt to the culture of Auburn’s defense without taking things personally.

“The thing I tell them is just embrace it,” Bryant says to the newcomers. “Because they’ve been coached differently and everyone knows G [Rodney Gardner] he’s different, and I tell them don’t get in your feelings about little things, he’s trying to coach you.”

While Bryant’s leadership has helped the young guys develop off the field, his on the field talent has helped Auburn at the start of camp. Bryant has seen snaps at both buck and defensive end.

“I’m really all over the place right now,” Bryant said. “I’m really playing end a lot, but then I get buck too.

I say I’m playing end the most right now because it’s just the simple fact of

depth.”

Bryant has expressed disappointment in his performance on the field as he believes his sack production could have been better. In 2019, Bryant had 1.5 sacks, but nine quarterback hurries.

“It started back for me in the spring,” said Bryant. “I was working out with a lot of guys in the NFL and just learning their technique and how they play. I just kinda like the drills and everything that I took from them I took, I invested in myself and brought the same load of cones and cone drills and ladders and everything. I invested in myself a little bit more than I have in the past, and I feel like it really has contributed.”

JOSH FISHER / PHOTOGRAPHER

Kyle Trask (11) throws the ball as Big Kat Bryant (1) moves to tackle him during Auburn vs. Florida, on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, in Gainesville, Fla.

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lifestyle

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020

THEPLAINSMAN.COM

INCLUSION

LIFESTYLE

FACILITIES

Rec Center to offer online fitness classes

By MAGGIE HORTON Writer

TRICE BROWN / ENTERPRISE EDITOR

Protestors tally the number of postitive interactions they have with passersby

Toomer’s sit-in approaches 100 days

By TRICE BROWN Enterprise Editor

It was day 83 and a car honked its horn on Toomer’s Corner, so Damarius Nolan-Watts added another chalk tally to a brick on the walkway. A passerby gave him a thumbs up, so he added another tally.

“I’m getting the positive and negative interactions,” Nolan-Watts said. “We mostly have positive today.”

The negative interactions were much less frequent than the positive ones. The day before, day 82, they received 165 positive interactions and only two negative interactions.

The negative interactions could be a lot of things. Sometimes, it was a middle finger or a thumbs down.

“Yesterday, we got spat at by somebody,” he said. “And in some instances, we were told to go home.”

He marked these interactions with a sad face.

Since June 1, members of the Auburn community have sat on Toomer’s Corner from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. to support the Black Lives Matter movement. This protest was deemed the Great Toomer’s Corner Sit In by its founder, Kelli Thompson. The group aims to reach 100 days.

Nolan-Watts has been a part of the sit in for about 40 days. Once they started tallying their interactions with passerby, it was his

job to keep the record.

“The tally is a remarkable thing,” said Bay Kelley, who was sitting with Nolan-Watts.

“To go home and … read the news, you don’t really have a handle on things.”

Kelley assumed there would be a lot more negative interactions when he first joined.

He said there’s a ratio of about 50 positive interactions for every negative one.

“It’s uplifting,” he said. “I often leave in a better mood than I come with. It’s also just quiet meditation.”

This kind of protest is different than the ones held in Auburn over the summer. In those, protesters marched down city streets, held almost nine-minute-long moments of silence and chanted “No justice; no peace.”

The foldable sign Kelley is holding has similar messages. On one side, it reads, “Empathy is not ‘radical,’” which he said is a response to messages that decry the “radical left.”

His current message is painted over an older message. He changed it because he thought it sounded too antagonistic. He doesn’t like the message he has on it now anymore.

“It’s too pokey,” he said.

He said this is how it usually goes for him.

He has an idea for a message, gets excited about it, paints over his old one, then he second-guesses himself.

“I also think that my signage, in the interest of being friendly, has backed off the orig-

inal message a little bit too,” Kelley said.

He said he worries that by trying to placate everyone, his original message, that Black lives matter, gets lost a little bit.

Nolan-Watts is holding a circular sign that reads, “Stop racism now.” He sometimes throws it up in the air for flair.

“I guess I kind of enjoy the neutrality of our signs,” Kelley said. “There’s nothing to be opposed to. So when people throw out bird fingers, you know, if you are throwing out a bird finger at stopping racism, alright.

I can’t take you seriously because I don’t feel like you are responding to the message.”

Two cars honk and Nolan-Watts lets out a little “woo,” as he marks two more tallies to a brick. Kelley said they are often gifted water or Toomer’s Lemonade by individuals as they pass.

“It really is super affirming,” Kelley said.

“Not that we are out here for free water.”

When it rains, they keep sitting. Nolan-Watts has a hoodie and an umbrella in a bag with him. If it gets too stormy, they move to right outside Biggin Hall. If it’s too hot, they stay in the shade and inch closer to their usual location as the sun sets.

“While we don’t have a silver bullet to stop racism, I feel like all of us as a whole need to do better every day or be aware that racism is out and about,” Nolan-Watts said.

Two passersby tell him and Kelley that they will join them in a minute. He adds two more tallies.

The Auburn University Recreation and Wellness Center is now offering virtual group fitness classes along with in-person classes due to COVID-19 guidelines.

Currently, all group fitness classes, including Tigerpump, Butts and Guts, Yoga, Pilates and Zumba, have virtual options on Zoom. The only class that is not offered virtually is cycling.

Weights and equipment are not being used in classes to make the online platform accessible to everyone.

Lisa Padgett, a group fitness coordinator, and Christy Coleman, the assistant director for group fitness, said weights can be a safety issue as well for an online platform because it is harder for instructors to monitor form virtually.

For in-person classes, equipment is also not being used due to sanitation requirements.

Padgett and Coleman said this has prompted instructors to modify their classes and make them more intense while only using body weight.

They said they have been moving towards a virtual option for group fitness over the past year as part of their fiveyear plan for the program.

Padgett said in March, they decided to “push the gas harder” to implement an online option for group fitness for the fall 2020 semester.

“We are tapping into an audience that has never done group fitness,” she said.

Padgett and Coleman said they did a lot of testing for the online platform and collaborated with other universities over the summer to make this a reality.

“We want to start at a beginner level regardless of fitness level or experience,” Coleman said.

Padgett said the staff has been all in, and she is excited they are learning a new facet to group fitness. In addition, she thinks this will be beneficial to them in the future as the world becomes more centered around technology.

Not all instructors have both virtual and in-person classes, but she wants everyone to be trained on the virtual platform eventually.

“Whether students are here or away from campus, they should stay active and stay connected,” Coleman said. “Virtual classes pass on that message.”

Lacie Johnson, a group fitness instructor, said the transition has been “stressful but fun.” It was a quick turnaround for instructors as they were informed about the transition on Saturday, and she had to teach a class on that Monday.

Instructors were able to fill out a preference form to determine who would be teaching online or in-person, Johnson said.

“It’s nice being able to teach in-person even if you have to modify,” Johnson said. “It’s fun to be around people even if you’re spread out.”

HEALTH

Student warns others after her COVID experience

By JACK WEST Editor-in-Chief

When Landry Chizik, senior in communications, went to the beach this past Fourth of July with some friends and family, she thought she understood the risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. While they were there, Chizik said she felt like everyone was taking the correct precautions and doing their best to avoid coming into contact with the virus.

They socially distanced; they wore masks.

“We were being, obviously, very cautious,” Chizik said.

However, near the end of the trip, Chizik’s boyfriend, Chase Robinson, started to feel a little unwell. Just a little.

“I guess it was the last night that I started feeling a little sick,” Robinson said. “But honestly, I didn’t even think I was sick because it was just chills.”

At first, Robinson even attributed the chills to sleeping in a room with the AC on high all night. On the way home, he said he felt a little bit of headache, but he wasn’t too concerned about that either. After all, who hasn’t spent a holiday week at the beach and not felt a little sun-worn and tired?

It wasn’t until Robinson’s mom encouraged him to get a test before going back to work that he thought he might have COVID-19.

“He got tested,” Chizik said.

“It was positive; so I immediately self quarantined.”

Within a few days, Chizik also tested positive, along with seven other friends and family members who had been at the beach together.

Less than a week after celebrating Independence Day in Destin, Chizik found herself quarantined in her room, positive and symptomatic.

First, she said it felt like a bad cold. Then, she lost her sense of taste and smell.

“About day five, I started having a little bit of trouble breathing, but it was just because there was congestion in my chest,” Landry said.

Eventually, it got to the point where Landry said she felt nauseous for two weeks straight.

“I was extremely nauseous for 14 days straight,” she said.

“That was the strangest thing for me was that I woke up every single day nauseous for 14 days straight. That part was awful too because I just didn’t ever feel normal; I had no energy” She suspects she lost ten pounds from not eating.

On the other hand, Robinson said that apart from the chills in Destin and the headache on the car ride home, he didn’t have any other symptoms. Regardless, he said the days of quarantine gave him a lot of time to think.

Robinson said he was constantly worried that even though he remained largely asymptomatic, he could have passed a more aggressive case

to Chizik’s family.

Chizik’s dad, former Auburn football coach Gene Chizik, was one of the few members of the family who never tested positive, but both of Landry’s siblings tested positive soon after.

“The sickness was nothing compared to how I felt about risking other peoples’ health,” Robinson said. “That was miserable for me to live with.”

Chizik also said that the virus exacted a mental toll, but her’s was slightly different.

“It’s very mentally debilitating in a way because you are sitting in your room for 14 days with no human interaction,” she said. “That’s mentally hard for a lot of people to do.”

She said she especially struggled with anxiety during those two weeks.

“It makes you very anxious knowing that you have this virus in your body that no one knows about,” she said.

That stress, the fear of the unknown, is part of the reason Chizik said people her age should take this virus as seriously as possible.

“I know that, obviously, I’m blessed to be young and healthy … but it’s not something to take for granted and say that just because I am healthy doesn’t mean I don’t have to correctly follow all the guidelines,” she said. “I would just urge people our age to take it very seriously. I know that they may be healthy, but it’s so, so spreadable.”

CONTRIBUTED BY LANDRY CHIZIK

Chizik and Robinson posing together.

The Auburn Plainsman

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020

PAGE 11

ARTS

CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH SCOTT

One of Scott’s watercolor paintings.

Local artist captures emotion in portraits

By ABIGAIL WOODS Writer

Art is alive and well in the Auburn community, and at the heart is local artist Sarah Scott.

Scott has a recent series of prints titled “Black History Prints,” available at Mamma Mocha’s, her website, Facebook and Instagram.

“I really just wanted to start doing good, powerful peacemakers in history,” she said.

These paintings include multiple prominent figures: President Barack Obama, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer and others.

“I don’t think they are represented enough

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in art; there needs to be a bigger range of positive Black influence in the South,” Scott said.

She said through her art, she seeks to have a closer connection with the people who view her work.

“I want people to look at my art and know that if they are going through something, they are heard and understood,” she said.

Scott said she wants people to be able to relate to the emotion in her artwork and form that one-on-one relationship.

“I paint to have others respond,” she said.

Scott said her style of painting focuses on the human body, emotions and faces.

Her artwork is full of emotion and feeling, which is evident through the facial expressions and the elaborate detail she puts into

the strokes.

“People are definitely my favorite subject matter,” she said.

Scott said anybody in the Auburn area is free to reach out to her to act as a live model for her artwork.

“I prefer to paint from local models,” she said.

Originally from New Zealand, Scott moved to the United States 18 years ago.

She said upon her arrival to Philadelphia from New Zealand, she met someone from the Opelika area who prompted her move to the South.

Scott said ever since she moved here, she has been able to pursue her career in art and has found a deeper connection to her passion.

With a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Scott said this major was not something she was interested in finding a career in. She said, while her family told her that art was nothing more than a fun hobby, she persisted.

Growing up, Scott said she took it upon herself to use her free time to paint, following in her mom’s footsteps as an artist.

Scott said she used art “as a way of expressing myself by working through the motions.”

In addition to her art career, she is working on a book she described as mature art pieces combined with elaborative texts.

“It is an illustrative book,” she said. “In the end, it will be like a kid’s book, but for adults.”

For more updates and artwork, visit sarahscottpaintings.com.

JOSHUA FISHER / PHOTOGRAPHER

TIGERMARKET

Abbigail Hickey, Auburn Universitys campusPrint dietitian speaks with The PlainsDeadline: man on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018 in Auburn, NoonAla. three business days

prior to publication.

Release Date: Thursday, August 27, 2020

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Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 “Amanpour & Co.” network 4 Enough and then some 9 Strand during a hail storm, say 14 GPS finding 15 Take it easy 16 “__ Rae” 17 Put to work 18 Small earthen pot 19 Huge success 20 Sandwich in Denver?

23 Astronomical octet 24 River Foyle’s province 28 Form 1099 agcy.

29 Japanese sandal 31 Hullabaloo 32 Puts up, as drapes 35 Sandwich on the briny?

37 Scott of “Big Little Lies” 38 Examined in court 39 Metric prefix 40 Sandwich in the neighborhood?

42 Like a soufflé, if everything goes well 43 Busy mo. for the 28-Across 44 Senate staffer 45 Some MIT grads 46 Wright who quipped, “Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time” 48 Elaborate wardrobe 52 Sandwich at a church concert?

55 Left 58 Bugs with weapons 59 Oral health org.

60 Musical work 61 Revise 62 Casual greetings 63 Gets the kitty going 64 They may be pressing 65 Neruda verse

DOWN 1 Zaftig 2 Pho garnish 3 Inscribed pillar 4 Quiver carriers 5 Rates 6 Promotes 7 Mascara target 8 Corp. bigwig 9 Pancreatic hormone 10 “The Gift of the Magi” gift 11 Stat for Clayton Kershaw 12 Online chats, briefly 13 “Hard pass” 21 “The Imitation Game” encryption machine 22 Shockingly vivid 25 Zaps 26 Elicit 27 Sign of spring 29 Former name of the Congo 30 Cookie with a Tiramisu Flavor Creme variety 32 “Papa Bear” of football 33 Take on

34 Mother-of-pearl 35 TV’s talking horse 36 Acquirer of more than 1,000 patents 38 Doohickey 41 Ophelia’s brother 42 Does some jogging?

45 Task for a gofer 47 Word with mail or box

48 Say yes 49 You can cross it in about an hour on I-90 50 Fixed up 51 Remove all traces of 53 Grace period?

54 Alaskan seaport 55 Place for a peel 56 Map insert 57 Service to redo

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

By Andy Morrison ©2020 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

08/27/20

08/27/20

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020

The Auburn Plainsman

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