The University News
Recent round of visa cuts leaves SLU international students concerned and confused
International students at Saint Louis University are anxious about the future of their immigration status after the Trump administration revoked over 25 student visas in the St. Louis region this month.
That includes a “small number” of SLU students whose visas were cancelled unexpectedly, SLU spokesperson Clayton Berry confirmed in a statement to The University News.
Students at a number of other universities in the region also had their legal status changed, including at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Webster University and Washington University in St. Louis.
The reasons provided by the federal government for the revocations were “limited” or “unspecific,” Berry said. Local immigration attorneys said federal authorities revoked international students’ visas for “minor offenses” like traffic tickets or “for no reason at all,” according to reporting from the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Federal immigration agencies did not directly notify SLU about the visa cuts. Rather, students found out on their own by looking at their Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) portal and reporting their status update to the university, Berry said.
An undergraduate student studying at SLU through an F-1 visa said the administration’s crackdown on international students is cruel and makes her feel unwelcome. The student requested anonymity out of fear that having her name in the media could make her a target.
“My family and I have put so much money, effort and hope into building a future through education in the U.S.,” the student said. “And now, visas are being revoked with no explanation. It feels like it’s happening at random; no one is telling us anything. That uncertainty is exhausting and deeply unfair.”
Despite this, the university continues to monitor student records on SEVIS and has told affected students to contact the Office of International Services (OIS) for guidance, Berry said.
“OIS is speaking with impacted students on an individual basis to understand each student’s specific circumstances and explain options available to them
Community mourns Pope Francis with mass Lauren Hutchens, Editor-in-Chief
St. Louis community members gathered beneath the vaulted ceiling of St. Francis Xavier College Church for a Memorial Mass to mourn the first Jesuit pontiff, Pope Francis, two days after his passing. The mass opened with the Regina Caeli prayer, which is read from Easter day to Pentecost, before acknowledging the Argentine Jesuit priest. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the 266th pope to lead the Catholic Church and passed Easter Monday at the age of 88.
“I welcome you to our mass, and pray for Pope Francis, giving thanks to God for His loving and faithful service to the people of God,” said Susan Chawszczewski, Director of Campus Ministry. “Pope Francis, in his Easter message this year, stated, ‘On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves or who come from discrimination, bring unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas for all of us, are children of God.”
Francis’ health had been deteriorating for some time, and his death took place almost a month after he returned to the Vatican from being hospitalized for double pneumonia. Maureen Wangard, one of two Americans who met Francis in 2020 at the World Union of Catholic School Teachers Conference in Rome, said his health didn’t slow him down.
“Every step he took was a challenge, but he sat down and was very gracious. He smiled the entire time. And, I mean, we were there for well over an hour, and you figure he must do this several times a week, and yet, he looked very happy and spoke clearly,” Wangard said, the assistant director of graduate student initiatives at SLU.
Wangard’s meeting with Francis and Catholic representatives from around the world left her feeling as if she were a small part of something bigger. That was the influence he had, she said.
“I think the pope actually said, ‘You’re co-workers with the pope,’” Wangard said. “I had this sense of, yeah,
I do need to be inclusive, treat other people in a way that’s welcoming and in a way that I think it’s really important to see God in everyone.”
Francis’ influence stretched beyond Catholics. The memorial, well-attended by non-Catholics, was a testament to how he advocated for migrants, LGBTQ+ people and environmental policies. Sophomore Kaydence Davis said that Francis’ advocacy of these political issues garnered her support, even as someone who did not practice Catholicism.
“I really liked his views on same-sex marriage and homosexuality, and how open he was to it, and how it kind of moved forward the Roman Catholic Church,” Davis said.
Francis was well known for changing conversations within Catholicism on LGBTQ+ issues after saying, “Being homosexual is not a crime.” However, he
pinion
We are living in what many experts are calling a “male loneliness epidemic.” Surveys show that men, particularly younger men, report higher levels of isolation and lower rates of close friendships than ever before. While this crisis deserves attention, the solutions being offered by alpha male influencers and online communities dubbed manospheres are not just unhelpful, they are actively harmful.
In recent years, a disturbing subculture has gained traction across social platforms: the “manosphere.”
What began as loosely organized forums of selfdescribed “men’s rights activists” has evolved into a highly visible network of influencers, podcasters and online personalities who promote rigid, regressive notions of masculinity. These figures, from Andrew Tate to Joe Rogan, preach a worldview in which empathy is weakness, women are adversaries and the only currency of male value is dominance. At the heart of this rhetoric is the revival of the “alpha
How the British Empire indirectly caused today’s Israel-Palestine Conflict
Calla
Truschel Jacobs, Staff Writer
On Oct. 7, 2023, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas killed 1,200 Israeli civilians and injured 5,431 more. In retaliation, the Israeli government killed 47,450 Palestinians and injured 111,618 more. The attack on October 7 brought the Israel-Palestine conflict back into the world spotlight, and for many, it was their first time hearing about the issue. Though the history of the conflict began over 100 years ago, I have found that many make overhasty decisions when it comes to picking a side. People base these decisions on how the current conflict is depicted on our screens and in the news, without taking the time to research how and why the conflict became what it is today.
A few months ago, I was scrolling through TikTok when a video popped up on my “For You” page. In the
video, Palestinian protesters at Columbia University were asked to define Zionism, and they often did not know how to answer. In all fairness, neither did I. So, I did what any self-respecting history major would do and googled the definition. Though I did not know it at the time, that Google search would lead me down the biggest historical rabbit hole I had ever fallen in. I was Alice; JSTOR and YouTube were my wonderland.
Though the history of the Israel-Palestine issue is extensive, and while there are many aspects worth considering, what shocked me most was how interlaced the escalation in conflict was with the British Empire. In the early 20th century, the British Empire decided — without consulting the Palestinian people — to ReadmoreonB3,Israel-Palestine
Owen Herdrick,
Thirty-one years ago, “Riverdance” was born as a performance in the iconic “Eurovision” competition. Since then, it has transformed into an iconic display of Irish culture as a full theatrical performance that has set off on a tour to celebrate its 30th anniversary in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Samantha Felling, a member of the Irish dance troupe and graduate of Saint Louis University, discussed the excitement to bring the show to her hometown, a performance she feels is as important and valuable now as it was three decades ago.
Samantha Felling spoke with The University News’ Owen Herdrick on April 16. The following conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
If you could give me an elevator pitch on what ‘Riverdance’ is, what would that be?
Samantha Felling: It started at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994, and that was the first time Irish dance kind of got a big stage to showcase on… it was seen as an actual performance piece, versus just kind of a traditional thing that people did at the pubs and back in Ireland. Riverdance itself is really just a celebration of Irish culture and music. [But] as much as there’s a lot of Irish dance and music, there’s also a flamenco dancer, there’s American tap dancers [and] there’s Eastern European folk dancers. We have a whole live band – it’s just a really high-energy show.
What does it mean to you to be reviving an old classic?
SF: The show itself is so iconic. So it’s been around for 30 years, and it maintains that same iconic music and choreography. We’ve just really upped the lighting up to the production, the graphics, the costumes and the whole cast now as well. It’s a whole new generation of Irish dancers in the cast. None of us were actually born when Riverdance first came into the scene. We haven’t known life without Riverdance, and we grew up watching Riverdance.
In what ways do you feel the story of ‘Riverdance’ is important today?
SF: The whole show is about people from different cultures and backgrounds coming together and sharing their culture and their history. It’s primarily an Irish dance and music show, but there’s a lot of back-andforth pieces between the Irish dancers and the tap dancers and the flamenco dancers and the Eastern European folk dancers. It’s a timeless show, and it’s a timeless story, because it’ll always be relevant to share your culture and your passion. There’s scenes in the show about Irish people immigrating to the United States – that’s a very relevant theme these days. It’s about kind of letting things go, moving on [and] losing people as they immigrate to the U.S., but still holding on to their family ties [and] cultural ties as they emigrate to a
inspired her and many others in the SLU community.
based on federal law, regulations and guidance,” Berry said . Before SLU student visas were revoked, the OIS hosted two informational events on April 8 and 9 to provide insights into recent federal law and policy changes for concerned international students.
The university saw a sharp decrease in the number of international student enrollment, falling from around 1,300 in 2023-24 to just over 300 in the 202425 academic year. This decrease contributed to a $20 million budget deficit, which has forced major program cuts, restructuring and faculty layoffs.
The University News’ Ulaa Kuziez contributed to this report.
The undergraduate student said that while the OIS sent emails to international students and is trying to help, she “sometimes feel like the people there (OIS) are somehow unprepared.”
clarified later that this means homosexual people should not be criminalized legally and that there is a difference between a crime and a sin. In his clarification, he included that all sexual acts outside of marriage are a sin, but not a crime.
For others, Francis was impactful because he organized the “entire church to listen to one another, rather than announcing to Catholics how things are supposed to be,” Katie Jansen said, the parish life coordinator for St. Francis Xavier College Church.
“That’s part of my hope that his work will continue,” Jansen said. “I’m so grateful for the spaces he has created for us to discern the role of women in the Catholic Church, that the final document for the Synod on Synodality says that the discernment is open for the female diaconate, so female women possibly being deacons.”
Julia Erdlen, the liturgy coordinator with Campus Ministry, said she hopes the Spirit will keep working and leading people to better understand God and the love of God. Francis’ commitment to his Jesuit lifestyle
“There’s a way in which Francis, to me, feels like part of the family because of our Jesuit connection. That is, for those of us who work and are Jesuit educated – there’s a closeness we feel. Many people feel this to Francis, which is such a gift from him,” Erdlen said. Jesuits are a part of a Catholic religious order founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola. The order takes three vows: poverty, chastity and obedience, all of which Francis was known to embody. Francis was also the first pope since 1831 to take a vow of poverty.
“We witnessed the moral and intellectual rigor of the Ignatian tradition throughout his papacy – in his openness to multiple viewpoints, in his inclusion of lay people and women in the global Synod of Bishops, and in his emphasis on the importance of individual and collective discernment,” SLU’s President Fred Pestello’s wrote in an email to the community on April 21.
Pestello also praised Francis’ commitment to serving the poor, marginalized and migrants everywhere.
“I appreciate that younger people are interested in him. I think it really says a lot about who he is,” Wangard said. “He didn’t strike me as someone who sat in fear. Instead, he struck me as someone full of hope and full of joy. He’s really an amazing human being.”
Atlas Week invites SLU community to connect and celebrate for the 25th year, but program may be cut due to limited funds
Despiteuncertaintiesabouttheprogram’sfuture,theweekfeatured60+educationalandinteractiveevents
Nejla Hodzic, DesignEditor
An excited crowd marched down Saint Louis University’s campus on April 11, waving colorful flags as a symbol of cultural pride. Those gathered to watch along West Pine Mall snapped pictures of the Parade of Nations, a beloved tradition that marks the end of Atlas Week.
Launched in 2001, the Atlas Program, housed in SLU’s Center for Global Citizenship (CGC), aims to “increase awareness of the global issues that confront us today in an effort not only to promote discussion but to inspire and inform action,” according to the program’s webpage. During the annual program, SLU community members and organizations sign up to host events in line with the week’s theme. Major parts of the planning are done by Atlas interns, who take a semester-long course to organize Atlas Week.
However, the program might be dissolved next year due to limited funding. Luella Loseille, who has run the program for about seven years, said she was informed in the fall of 2023 that Sam and Marilyn Fox decided to end donations to the Atlas fund after supporting the program for over 20 years. Loseille declined to comment on whether the potential cut of the program is related to federal policies targeting diversity programming on college campuses.
“...Atlas Week always tries to rise to the moment of [the] current global climate to serve the needs of the community. How we go about doing that in [the] future is still under discussion,” Loseille said. “But I believe initiatives such as Atlas Week are more important than ever before as it encourages all on how we should we approach global problems of injustice and inequity, from the local level to the global. How to become better global citizens that ‘set the world on fire.’”
The 2025 theme, “From Inequality to Justice: Transforming Global Health through Social Change,” explored the intersection of global health, culture and justice. From events showcasing various cultures to educational presentations and workshops, including a Signature Symposium with guest speaker Daniel E. Dawes, the 25th annual Atlas Week brought SLU and St. Louis community members together for over 60 events. A selection of events is featured below.
Parade of Nations and Billiken World Festival
As two concluding events of Atlas Week, the Parade of Nations signaled the start of the Billiken World Festival on April 11. Organized by the International Student Federation, the festival featured student performances and local vendors selling products like jewelry or offering henna. There was also cultural food from many St. Louis businesses.
Amal Rizvi, a 2025 Atlas Program Publicity intern,
said that hosting and attending events like the Billiken World Festival allowed her to see firsthand how powerful such spaces are, as they allow people to come together, celebrate their cultures and share their stories.
“SLU, while just a micro-community, reflects the diversity of the world around us, and Atlas Week made that global perspective feel present on campus,” Rizvi said. “These spaces are vital, and not just during Atlas Week, but throughout the year. I believe it’s our responsibility to continue creating and supporting opportunities like this that inspire connection, understanding, and cultural appreciation.”
Healing in Exile: Stories of Struggle and Strength in Palestine
Around a dozen gathered in the Chaifetz School of Business and listened to SLU seniors and 2025 Atlas Program Publicity interns Ansam Ayesh and Hoda Elbeshbeshy present on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Palestine. Ayesh and Elbeshbeshy highlighted the lack of necessities like shelter, hygiene, education and food that people living under siege in Gaza face on April 9.
Attendees also heard from Linda Badran and Maisoon Batghouti, volunteers from the St. Louis chapter of Heal Palestine, a non-political non-profit organization that helps Palestinian children rebuild their lives through health, education, aid and leadership.
To a small but attentive crowd, Badran and Batghouti moved the audience by describing their work with Palestinian children who have come to St. Louis from Gaza for medical treatment.
Badran and Batghouti both said that their efforts make a small impact when thousands of children need treatment, just like those they have worked with, such as 12-year-old Hadi Zaqout and 7-year-old Tala. Still, they said they are grateful for the impact they can make through Heal.
“For me, it’s an opportunity; I think that most people in this room can identify that they feel frustration at our inability to do anything. It’s a small way we can make a difference, we know that we’re impacting these families every day, it’s rewarding, it’s a limited reward, but it keeps us going,” Badran said. “There’s a purpose and a cause, and for Palestinians, just expressing their resilience, coming together, building a community, is everything in exile. It’s a lifeline, not just to these children but to future generations here as well.”
Palestinian Tatreez Art Workshop
Led by Amera Khalil, local small business owner of Stitched by Amera, the Palestinian Tatreez Workshop in the CGC on April 11 invited attendees to try the traditional Palestinian art form. A dozen attendees learned about the history and significance of the art before practicing stitching themselves.
According to informational cards provided by Khalil in the supply kits given to attendees, tatreez is an intricate form of Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery that tells stories of Palestinian perseverance, love, struggle and life. While patterns may vary from village to village, motifs of important events or nature are common across traditionally stitched dresses known as thobes. With a needle, colorful threads and an aida fabric, attendees learned to stitch coffee bean motifs, which Khalil said represent Palestinian hospitality.
For sophomore SLU student Sofia Ibrahim Prendiville, tatreez is more than just a craft. Prendiville said it represents a connecting experience for Palestinians in the diaspora, especially during difficult times.
“I started doing tatreez in a time when it felt like to be Palestinian was to experience heartbreak after heartbreak with so little of the joy that our culture can bring,” Prendiville said. “I needed to feel a connection to a homeland that felt so far away, so I picked up Wafa Ghanaim’s book Tatreez and Tea and learned the basics.”
First Nationalism Then Identity: The Case of Bosnian Muslims
Mirsad Kriještorac, Associate Professor of Political Science at Broward College, led a lecture for attendees in Davis-Shaughnessy Hall on April 11 to explore how historical roots, experiencing genocide and resistance led to the development of the distinct Bosniak identity for Bosnian Muslims.
Kriještorac’s book, First Nationalism, Then Identity: On Bosnian Muslims and Their Bosniak Identity, served as the basis of the lecture. The book focuses on Bosnian Muslims’ rare and years-long process of emerging as a nation and asserting their identity, especially under the consistent aggression they faced in the former Yugoslavia and during the Bosnian War.
“Facing the threat of genocide and under a UNimposed arms embargo, Bosniaks nevertheless defended the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state and place for people of all backgrounds, honoring the multiethnic heritage of Bosnia and its traditions of interdependence and mutual respect,” said Patrick McCarthy, Associate Dean of University Libraries and Medical Center Library Director.
McCarthy, who organized this Atlas event, believes that Kriještorac’s presentation is especially relevant as SLU will become the new home for the Center for Bosnian Studies, which is relocating from Fontbonne University this summer.
The University News’ Ulaa Kuziez contributed to this report.
SLU history professors discuss where history and Trump’s contemporary politics meet
Andy Cullinane, Assistant Arts & Life Editor
President Donald Trump’s administration is rolling out controversial policies nearly every day while the nation and the world attempt to keep up. The executive orders may seem unprecedented, but Saint Louis University history professors say they can be understood by learning from the politics of the past.
Assistant professor Torrie Hester and professors Lorrie Glover and Mark Ruff each bring unique viewpoints to the discussion regarding 1800s American History, U.S. citizenship and studies of the Cold War and World Wars, respectively. They spoke with The University News’ Andy Cullinane. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Many critics argue that the Trump administration is challenging our country’s democratic norms. From a historian’s perspective, how does his approach to government compare to past presidents in terms of upholding or breaking democratic principles?
Lorri Glover: Well, I think it’s quite a radical turn away from tradition and interpretation of the law. The power that Elon Musk is exerting on a day-to-day basis on really intricate parts of the federal government is extraordinarily unusual. The transition in foreign policy is a result of about a 60 or 70-year turn. The larger cultural expressions of Trump as president are, to my mind, radically different compared to the whole long history of the presidency of the United States. If you go back to the first president, George Washington, he was extraordinarily concerned about upholding a particular kind of image of commitment to civic order. Are there any trends that the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement is following that reflect past political groups in the U.S. or abroad? Do you notice anything about this movement based on historical fact?
LG: George Wallace, who was the governor of the state of Alabama in the 1960s, ran as a kind of alternative third-party candidate and had quite a rise to power on the national stage. He did not, of course, secure the presidency, but the condemnation of the media, the weaponization of white nationalist sentiment, even some of the language about “America first” is quite similar to George Wallace, who, again, was not successful in securing the presidency.
Torrie Hester: Make America Great is tricky, because if you are a person of color, if you’re African American, if you’re a woman or even a woman of color, going back in time doesn’t mean a great time for us. In a very polarized political environment, how important is civic education for creating an engaged and informed voting community? What improvements would you suggest for the current system of teaching U.S. history and politics?
LG: The significance of civic education to a representative democracy is hard to overestimate. The theory of Republican government is that citizens will reason together and choose elective officials who will reason together and try to pursue the greater common good of the country. And so, if we cannot reason together, if we can’t start with a foundation of facts about the contemporary world, about the past, and if we can’t engage in reasoned conversation with one another, then we’re outside the theoretical bounds of representative government. It seems to me, civic education is critical in our society today, even though the 21st-century “we the people” is very different from the 18th-century “we the people.” We can’t simply fall back on our origins because that doesn’t really fit our culture and our society today. Mark Ruff: We have to know how our governmental system functions. We have to know the basics: there are three branches of government. We have to know that the Founding Fathers intended the different branches to check and balance each other, and there were specific historical reasons why they wanted this. They were Continued on A3
also, for the most part, extremely opposed to the establishment of a particular religion. What do you think Americans misunderstand most about our history? How does that affect society today?
MR: I think there’s a very large civic ignorance about history; A lot of states have cut back [on] the teaching. The reality is that people teach history in very different ways. The way we teach history reflects our values in the present and where we seek to have the country go in the future.
LG: When I hear somebody say, “the founders said,” I always ask them to tell me who they’re talking about and when. You can’t go back to some iconic, clear, romantic [and] uncontested past and follow that. [This] also erases all of the other people who are shaping 18th century society, culture, law, communities and so on and so forth, because it’s blending them all into one body that is “the founders,” not giving them their own ideas and beliefs. And their ideas were evolving over time. If you asked James Madison in 1787 what he thought about a Bill of Rights, he would have said it’s unnecessary, counterproductive [and] probably dangerous… By 1790, he’s the architect of a Bill of Rights. So, even to say James Madison thought X about the Bill of Rights, you have to say, do you mean 1787 or 1790? This is a big difference, and that’s just one person and one topic. Have there been any times when someone who’s an unelected official has had as much power as Elon Musk has at the moment?
LG: Well, sure, but unelected officials usually go through a process of appointment and confirmation through the legislative branch. So, there have been plenty of people who were unelected who held positions of tremendous power in the government from the 18th century through the 21st [century]. But again, usually those people go through a pretty elaborate vetting process. Are there points in our history where we’ve seen this great of a divide in the two-party system?
LG: There was a tremendous divide in the election of 1800… [and] during the Civil War, when the Democratic Party led an attempt to overthrow the American Republic, that was undermined. And then there were tremendous divisions in the 1960s in the wake of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. We’re still in the wake of that history of that division and the realignment of the two national parties then. The degree to which the media has become politicized and radicalized is unusual in our history. That works against any kind of consensus and a building of trust, which is necessary for shared governance. Could you define the concept of “jus soli” and explain how birthright citizenship works?
TH: The U.S. practices two kinds of citizenship: Jus soli and jus sanguinis. Jus soli is if you’re born on U.S. soil. Jus sanguinis is birthright citizenship by transmission through parents. Jus soli and jus sanguinis citizenship are clearly rooted in the 14th Amendment which clarified that African Americans were citizens. It also had a broad effect, which meant that all people born on U.S. soil are U.S. citizens. This was tested during a particularly racist era of immigration policy called Chinese Exclusion in which immigration authorities thought that the 14th Amendment didn’t apply to people of Chinese descent.
In the case of Wong Kim Ark, eventually the Supreme Court said, even in spite of the terrible racism against people of Chinese descent, people born on U.S. soil, regardless of their race, were U.S. citizens. One of the misunderstandings about citizenship, or maybe something that people don’t puzzle through, is that in many ways, having birthright citizenship means that there is not an expanding group of stateless people in the United States. So in some ways, [birthright citizenship] prevents a caste system. If you’re born on U.S. soil, you might not have Jus Sanguinis citizenship through another nation. That would make you stateless. But the U.S. and its long commitment to Jus soli citizenship mean it’s not adding to stateless populations. And that is enormously good for not only the United States, but for the world. What matters in terms of today’s discussion of the 14th Amendment is that if Jus soli citizenship is restricted, it will create a class of vulnerable people. People often refer to the U.S. as a nation of immigrants. How does Trump’s hard stance on immigration compare to past U.S. immigration policies?
TH: Wave Two immigration [in the U.S] ends with a law called the Immigration Act of 1924. This law is an incredibly anti-immigrant, nativist [and] racist piece of legislation. In Wave Two, immigration authorities had two priorities: one, to get as many immigrants as possible into the country to do the labor. And then its smaller priority, two, was immigration enforcement, keeping out some of the racially restricted categories. In 1924, the Federal Government… puts restrictions on the number of people who can migrate from the Eastern Hemisphere, not the Western Hemisphere.
The United States has long been a place where immigrants have come for economic opportunities, fleeing persecution and death. Over the 20th century, the immigration enforcement has become much tougher. And so, the United States has this kind of contradictory history. On one hand, millions and millions of people have come to the United States and built good lives. Sometimes, though, if you’re an immigrant, especially an immigrant of color, it’s tough in the United States. You face all kinds of levels of racism.
I think that that is a deep part of this country’s history. So, is it a nation of immigrants? Yes. Is antiimmigrant racism new? No. Do you have any of your own questions, comments, or concerns influenced by your expertise in this area that you think students should be informed about regarding our current state of government?
MR: History doesn’t usually repeat itself exactly, but it rhymes.
LG: One of the reasons why the Constitution was so controversial was because it created a powerful chief executive, and people were deeply worried about one person having authority over a standing army, you know, to have the power of a veto. It was a radical shift from the governments of the states and the Confederation Congress. We trusted George Washington to set the right example, and he was very committed to doing that. But, one of the things that concerns me most is [that] the imbalance of the legislative and executive branches has gotten completely off balance. The degree to which the U.S. Congress is simply either capitulating to Trump’s policies or refusing to even discuss them and not talking to their constituents about what’s going on, that concerns me a great deal.
Beloved English professor Ruth Evans announces retirement after 15 years
Ashlyn Jones, ManagingEditor
the second floor of
every
“If there are any you see that you want, please take them,” Evans said, gesturing to the double-stacked volumes that line the walls. “I have so many more at home.”
She sits comfortably at the center of it all, surrounded by decades of academic work, draped in another one of her famously stylish outfits; equal parts elegance and edge, paired with a Ph.D. in Middle English. For students and faculty alike, her departure marks the end of an era at Saint Louis University.
“I always thought academics were glamorous,” Evans said, laughing. “Not everyone does, I know … but the life of the mind, to me, is still the most exciting one there is.”
Evans, who has taught English at SLU since 2009, is retiring at the end of this semester. Her specialties — medieval literature, feminist theory and the history of the English language — have helped shape the department’s identity, while her leadership roles extended far beyond the classroom. During her time at SLU, she served as president of the Faculty Senate, helped advance inclusive university policies and mentored dozens of graduate students.
“I think three words to describe her would be brilliant, warm and a fashion icon,” said Grace Bahru, a junior political science major currently taking Evans’ “Encountering English” and previously took her “Writing Sex in the Middle Ages” course. “When she talks, I want to fully listen and take it in. She just has so much to give.”
In class, Evans is both demanding and empowering.
“I really had to put my time into her class,” Bahru said. “But I know I became a better writer because of it.”
Bahru recalled sharing a personal experience while reading “Citizen” by Claudia Rankine, a book of poetry about racism and microaggressions. “She had given me the space to share something I don’t usually talk about,” Bahru said. “Not even intentionally … it’s just the way she creates the classroom.”
Ellen Crowell, associate professor of English and a longtime colleague, said Evans’ presence as a teacher reaches beyond the curriculum.
“She engages the imaginations of students at every level,” Crowell said. “Her deep knowledge of Middle English and the origins of English words helps students understand the language they speak in ways they’ve never thought about before. And the way she reads [Geoffrey] Chaucer aloud … students are always amazed. It’s like it’s both foreign and familiar at the same time.”
Originally from South London, Evans earned her Ph.D. at the University of Leeds and taught at Cardiff and Stirling Universities before coming to SLU. She was recruited to teach medieval literature and feminism and quickly became an influential presence across departments and campus communities.
Alongside her teaching and leadership roles, Evans is a widely published scholar. She co-edited “Medieval Cultural Studies: Essays in Honour of Stephen Knight” and has authored numerous essays exploring feminist theory, medieval manuscripts and representations of gender and sexuality. Her research often bridges
centuries, connecting medieval texts to contemporary conversations about identity, expression and power.
In addition to her formal work, she is an active member of five reading groups, including one on Latin led by Joan Hart-Hasler, associate professor of Classics.
“She’s a keen, skilled and engaging contributor,” Hart-Hasler said. “Kind, smart, congenial … and generous.”
Evans’ colleagues also noted her contributions as Faculty Senate president.
“She implemented new policies and procedures that made the Senate a far superior representative body,” Hart-Hasler said.
Ellen Crowell, colleague and professor, agrees. “She initiated an anonymous question box where faculty could send in concerns and she would find answers. She made everyone feel heard,” Crowell said.
Outside of academia, Evans is known just as much for her impeccable style as for her intellect.
Bahru put it simply: “Her outfits were just the cherry on top. She used fashion to express her personality… and it always worked.”
Looking back, Evans said she will miss the classroom most. Not just for academics, but for the insight students bring.
“It’s that moment when a student says something that I’ve never thought of, and suddenly I have to go home and read something new,” Evans said. “That’s the joy of teaching. You’re always learning.”
Though retiring, Evans doesn’t plan on slowing down. She’ll continue her research, stay involved with her reading groups and mentor a Ph.D. student through completion. She is also considering a move and hopes to travel more.
“There comes a point where you think, I want to enjoy this next stage of life while I’m still healthy,” Evans said. “And I want to do it before I become too old and decrepit to enjoy it.”
Despite stepping back from formal teaching, Evans said her curiosity isn’t going anywhere.
“I’ll still be reading. I’ll still be studying language. I’ll still be in love with ideas,” she said. For students like Bahru, the impact of Evans’ teaching reaches beyond the classroom.
“She’s one of the rare professors that students truly admire,” Bahru said. “It’s not just about academics. You leave her class with more confidence in who you are.” Her colleagues share that admiration, as Crowell echoes that sentiment.
“She’s a renaissance scholar,” Crowell said. “She teaches medieval lit and sexuality studies. She reads theory and contemporary literature. Any topic… she’s already thought about it. She’s constantly expanding her sense of where her ideas fit into the world and she helps the rest of us do that too.”
The news of her retirement has come as a surprise to some students and colleagues.
“I don’t think I’ve even processed it,” Crowell said. “We’re losing something huge.”
Still, Evans is leaving her mark in every direction: in language, in literature, in feminism and in the people who got to learn from her.
“She’s the professor you wish you had more time with,” Bahru said. “The kind you wish every department had. The kind you don’t forget.”
Saint Louis University’s Museum of Contemporary Religious Art will close in 2026
Saint Louis University’s Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) will close its doors in May 2026 after 33 years on campus.
MOCRA, which exhibits contemporary art with interfaith themes, will continue operations until the end of the 2025-26 academic year. The museum displays art that expresses issues, themes and reflections of differing religious or spiritual beliefs. According to a SLU news release published on March 19, the closing is part “of ongoing efforts to align resources with strategic priorities and ensure Saint Louis University’s long-term financial sustainability.”
Daniel Brinker, has served the museum for 30 years and has been its director since 2019. As director, he is responsible for the museum’s operations which he said face financial concerns despite university funding.
“The real challenge is that funding has been basically stagnant for a number of years, whereas costs and expenses keep going up,” Brinker said.
As one of three museums in SLU’s Museums and Libraries department, MOCRA has been funded by the university. In addition, MOCRA receives money from donors and grants such as the Regional Arts Council of St. Louis to support events, exhibitions and operational costs.
It is one of the latest departments to face cuts as a result of the university’s $20 million budget deficit announced last September.
“We recognize that the difficult decision to close MOCRA next year will bring a range of emotions for many in our community who have been moved and inspired by its exhibitions, collections and educational programs and the conversations they sparked,” said Jennifer Nutefall, dean of University Libraries and Museums, in the March 19 statement.
When asked about the museum’s operational costs, Brinker declined to provide details, deferring the question to Nutefall, who could not be reached for
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comment.
Established in 1993 by Terrence Dempsey, S.J., MOCRA showcases religious multimedia contemporary art by an international community of artists and hosts class visits, lectures, symposiums and performances. The MOCRA blog and MOCRA Voices — the museum’s podcast — facilitate conversations with contemporary artists and provide context for displayed art pieces. The museum has displayed permanent works and exhibitions, such as Andy Warhol’s Silver Clouds, over the past 46 years.
Some students and faculty in SLU’s visual and performing arts department did not expect the museum to close. Skye Gabbard, a senior studying studio art, was not aware of the closing and described how her art classes do not regularly visit MOCRA.
“There are already so few things at SLU that represent the arts,” Gabbard said. “It’s disheartening to see the arts at SLU decrease in scope while we have to continue paying for our own art supplies and fees on top of paying for tuition.”
Olubukola (Bukky) Gbadegesin, an associate professor with joint appointments in the department of African American studies and the department of visual
and performing arts, visits MOCRA with her students and for her own scholarship purposes. Gbadegesin was also surprised to learn of MOCRA’s closing, especially because she said the decision came without consulting stakeholders within SLU and the St. Louis community.
“This museum contributes so much to what makes SLU unique in the arts and among other Jesuit universities and colleges,” Gbadegesin said. “Its loss would be a huge disservice for the arts at SLU and for SLU’s unique place in the St. Louis art community.”
The museum’s permanent pieces will join Saint Louis University Museum of Art’s (SLUMA) collections, although the exact way is unclear. Currently on display are works such as “Triptych: Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Stations of the Cross for Latin America – La Pasin” by Michael Tracy and “Mother and Child” by Romare Bearden.
“There are major moves in contemporary art that are exploring spirituality,” Brinker said. “As a vital aspect of contemporary artistic practice, it is my hope that what MOCRA has done will be available in many ways so others can take inspiration and build upon these themes.”
In the next 15 months, Brinker said MOCRA
plans to continue its mission of sharing visual, artistic explorations of religion. “Continuum (Continued): Figuration and Abstraction in the MOCRA collection,” an exhibition displaying spiritual dimensions through the human body and abstraction, will be open to the public until May 15.
MOCRA is also hosting a public conversation on May 3 titled “Meditations: Black Expression, Creativity, and the Spirit — Live!” that invites artists around the country to discuss the intersection of spirituality, abstraction and the artistic practices of Black artists.
An exhibition titled “To See this Place: Awakening to Our Common Home,” will open in the fall semester. Brinker said MOCRA has a unique thematic focus that opens the floor for artists to discuss spirituality through art. For over 30 years, he said the museum has offered an important way to showcase the “diverse, challenging and vital ways that artists are engaging with spirituality and religion.”
“MOCRA is one of the first contemporary art museums with an interfaith focus,” Brinker said. “There are preconceptions with how contemporary artists engage with spirituality and religion in their work, causing contemporary religious art to go unnoticed.” Brinker indicated SLU’s other museum’s, SLUMA, McNamee Gallery in the Samuel Cupples House museum and SLU’s VPA department as other resources that also explore interfaith in contemporary art. The MOCRA website also lists other museums, galleries and university art programs that showcase spiritual themes.
“I’ll always treasure my interactions with visitors, whether that be a class visit or individual conversation,” Brinker said. “There’s moments where I can see when someone’s connecting with a work of art, and I can see a spark in their eye, and I can tell that they are beginning to engage with the work. That’s been a really rewarding part of my job here.”
I watched every Game 1 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves pushed past a sloppy start to steal Game 1. The Lakers’ small-ball lineup is not as effective due to the size the Timberwolves have on the defensive end, even with Rudy Gobert not seeing extended minutes (which seems to happen every year during the playoffs). Coaching adjustments will be the deciding factor in this series.
New York Knicks vs Detroit Pistons
Cade Cunningham has to play a lot better for the Pistons to have any chance in this series. It’s unprecedented for a team to go on a 21-0 run in a playoff game; the Pistons’ role players are the only guys that showed up. The combination of OG Anunoby’s lockdown defense on Cade, Karl-Anthony Towns’ dominance on the offensive end, and Tom Thibodeau
Herearemythoughtsoneachseriesinthreesentences
Jordan Wilson, Contributor
trusting his bench has me thinking the Knicks could make a deep run.
Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Clippers
James Harden and Kawhi Leonard started off the game just as good as they have in the playoffs before.
The Nuggets grinded out a comeback and proved that sometimes having the best player in a series is enough to win a game. Stylistically, these teams match up really well, so the rest of this series will definitely be a chess match.
Milwaukee Bucks vs Indiana Pacers
Giannis Antetokounmpo looked dominant as always, but he simply needed help. Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner were great for the Pacers in a game that they had to make a few adjustments due to the Bucks changing their defensive looks. Seeing Damian Lillard
and Tyrese Haliburton talking trash post-game makes me hope this series goes to seven games.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Memphis Grizzlies
One of the most lopsided playoff games I’ve ever watched. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t even have to play well, it was a “by committee” performance out of the Thunder. The Grizzlies have to make more shots if they want a chance to steal a game against a team as talented as OKC.
Boston Celtics vs Orlando Magic Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner combining for nine turnovers is a recipe for disaster. The Celtics’ two all-stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, took a backseat to a Derrick White 30-point performance. It’s hard to believe any team in the Eastern Conference will be able to beat the Celtics in a seven-game series.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Miami Heat
The Cavaliers never really let this game get close. They are better than the Heat at pretty much every position, and are expected to sweep. At this point, the Cavaliers just have to hope the Celtics and Bucks series go as long as possible so they can have the advantage of rest.
Houston Rockets vs Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler both played very efficiently. This series really comes down to whether this younger Rockets team is ready to take a step up against a very experienced Warriors roster. It will be interesting to see if Houston has what it takes to settle into this series.
Unrivaled: The three-on-three Women’s Basketball League looks to the future after first successful season
Emma Browka, AssistantSportsEditor
The concept of three-on-three basketball is relatively new in the sports realm, first appearing in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The American women’s team have already proved their dominance in the sport, taking home medals at both of the two only Olympics since the sport was introduced to the Games. After the women earned gold in Tokyo and bronze in Paris, it became clear that this concept was of interest to both high-level players and dedicated basketball fans.
Unrivaled is a three-on-three women’s basketball league aimed at allowing Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players to play during the offseason without having to go overseas to do so. The league currently includes six teams, with six players on each team.
Unrivaled was co-founded by three-time Olympic gold medalist Breanna Stewart and two-time Olympic gold medalist and O’Fallon, Missouri native, Napheesa Collier. These two women were teammates and National Champions at the University of Connecticut during their college careers before collaborating to start the league.
The first season of play in the Unrivaled league brought unprecedented success, exceeding both financial and viewer expectations. Beginning in January 2025, the nine-week season was broadcast on TNT and Max and averaged 221,000 viewers per regular season game. The league also brought in $27 million in revenue, which includes aspects such as ticket and merchandise sales.
Unrivaled gained a multitude of influential investors leading up to and during its inaugural season. Standout names include soccer player and two-time Olympic medalist, Alex Morgan, along with current National Basketball Association (NBA) Golden State Warriors star, Steph Curry.
Along with investors, Unrivaled gained sponsorships from popular brands throughout the first season, including State Farm, Miller Lite, Under Armour and many others. The relationship between the league and Under Armour expanded to include the creation and sale of jerseys later in the season, which sold out in less than an hour after being dropped.
The ability of Unrivaled to draw support from a crowd of renowned athletes as well as from popular brands shows the potential for growth of the league
and demonstrates the increasing popularity of women’s sports.
The rapid success of Unrivaled can be partially attributed to the well-known names that have been signed to play, bringing greater attention and more viewers to the league. These players include the 2023 NCAA Champion with LSU and current Chicago Sky forward, Angel Reese, as well as the 2021 NCAA Champion with Stanford and current Los Angeles Sparks forward, Cameron Brink.
Additionally, both Stewart and Collier play in the league that they co-founded. The mix of college stars, WNBA standouts and Olympic champions makes for a league of high-energy and well-experienced players.
Alex Bazzell, husband of Collier, is the current president of Unrivaled and is a known trainer in the college, NBA and WNBA world. Looking back on the first season of the league, Bazzell recognizes the success that they had, but also looks forward to the future and aims to build on what has already been established.
“I think for us, we’re obviously excited about what we did in year one. We have to continue to be aggressive and be innovative in ways that just increase our ability to drive value, both to the players, the fans, and our shareholders,” Bazzell told Forbes.
Bazzell has expressed ideas about how he hopes to expand Unrivaled in the future. Currently, the league plays at Wayfair Arena in Miami, which seats 850 fans.
Although Bazzell has mentioned wanting to increase the in-person audience for games, he is consistent in his goal for fans to continue to have an intimate and unique experience when attending Unrivaled games.
One way that Bazzell is thinking of executing this idea is by creating a “touring” model of game play, where games would be played in different areas of the country, giving fans the opportunity to attend games without having to travel to Miami. Bazzell has also hinted at the idea of increasing the number of roster spots past 36, which could bring more big names and greater influence to Unrivaled.
After a very successful first season, Unrivaled looks forward to the future and the opportunity to capitalize on the attention the league has drawn thus far. Going into Season 2, Unrivaled will continue to prioritize the fan experience and grow the popularity of women’s sports.
Sports betting: Legal underage gambling takes college campuses by storm
Aditya Gunturu, Senior Writer
Over the past semester, in addition to the Protestant guy who stands in front of the crosswalk trying to convince people to repent for their sins, Grand Boulevard has been home to a brand-new entity. Taped to a solitary white fold-out table lies a poster with an equally vague and intriguing question: “Talk for $$$ (~5 minutes)”.
This simple statement should fire red flags across every person’s mind. Years of “stranger danger” talks have initiated an automatic withdrawal from this situation. But when you’re a struggling college student dealing with massive loans, any money can be good money. What very few know, however, is that this quick money is a slippery slope. A downward slide filled with debt, addiction, and major potential consequences called sports betting.
Sports betting, or the action of predicting certain events occurring during sports games and wagering money on these events to happen, has been a popular activity in the current zeitgeist. The 2024 Presidential Election ballot here in Missouri included an amendment to legalize sports betting, a proposal that narrowly passed with 51% approval from voters within the state.
Since this moment, any Missourian with a phone or television has been bombarded with advertisements from popular sports books like Underdog and PrizePicks. These companies are paying every celebrity millions to advertise and offering insane looking deals that would entice even the most skeptical of sports fans. And one market that has been hit extremely hard has been that of young, impressionable college students.
Currently, the national minimum age for sports betting is 21 years old, but it seems to be changing. Legislation is being introduced across the country to allow sports gambling online, and to lower the legal age, state by state. In the past, sports betting was an action that could only be done in sportsbooks, which were actual buildings people had to go to and place bets through a bookie.
However, the invention of online sportsbooks, like FanDuel and DraftKings, has made the process of signing up and betting using their apps incredibly easy. Long gone are the days of going to the horse track to bet on the races, now replaced by wannabe analysts shouting about how to ensure your “parlays hit” and your “spread is realistic”.
Speaking of these parlays, they are a big way online
gambling sites have been able to take advantage of gullible people. Parlays involve making multiple bets, where several actions would need to occur during a specific sporting event, but it would lead to a much larger payout. The actions can be as basic as “one team winning” or as specific as “this specific player will score 20 points and 4 rebounds.”
While these events are less likely to occur, or ‘hit’, they would have payouts that could potentially multiply a person’s money by a hundredfold. These parlays were originally touted as the new way to hit it rich, but just like most gambling practices, the house tends to win. Parlays have such low odds because they are so unlikely to hit, which means the actual sports betting companies will end up taking all the money. In the rare moments that people actually do win a parlay, the companies still leave with more.
Popular sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings reported record profits at the end of 2024, with the online sports betting industry recording revenues over $10 billion, cutting massively into the profits of brickand-mortar sportsbooks.
A silver lining of these online betting sites and apps has been an increase in coverage for many lesserseen sports. With people being able to bet on any sport under the sun, this meant less-viewed sports outside of basketball, football, and soccer became more popular, simply from people putting more money into these sports.
This increase in viewership was also reflected in women’s sports, with women’s basketball and soccer recording massive turnouts with large betting pools in the past few years.
While sports betting isn’t outwardly illegal, it can be extremely dangerous, especially for younger demographics, the exact ones being targeted with these online gambling sites. By promising these children that they could potentially “make it big” by just putting in a few dollars, they lead them down a slippery slope filled with debt and addictions.
That is the ultimate goal of these mysterious tables at Grand Crossing. They say they will give students cash, but only when they put money into these gambling apps. And when the money is in there, the most dangerous idea they could have is “what’s the worst that could happen?”
Softball extends conference winning streak to 12 games
Ismael Domin, SportsEditor
The Saint Louis University (SLU) Softball team extended its conference winning streak to 12 games on April 18 against the George Mason Patriots, setting a program record.
The streak began on March 29 against the St. Joseph’s Hawks, with an 8-3 win. Throughout the streak, SLU has outscored conference opponents 70-17, securing shutouts in half of the games.
With a 14-5 conference record, Saint Louis has risen to the top of the Atlantic 10 (A10) standings. They currently sit two games ahead of the Dayton Flyers.
The Bills are second in the league in fielding percentage, while holding the second-lowest earned run average. During this streak, they have allowed only 1.42 runs per game.
That defense is enough to put the team into championship contention, but paired with an offense that has scored 3 runs or more in each game during this streak, the Billikens are a monster of a matchup.
A10 fielders are allowing 7.17 hits per game against the Billikens. SLU’s superstar slugger Abby Mallo totaled 15 during the streak. Mallo leads the conference in Runners Batted In (RBIs) with 55, 20 of which came in this streak. Almost one-third of SLU’s RBIs during this stretch have come off Mallo’s bat.
First baseman Jane Kaniecki spoke about the team’s emotions surrounding SLU’s program-record streak.
“It’s been awesome, we have the staff to do it. They’re really willing to go the distance,” Kaniecki told ESPN+’s Colin Suhre. “And then our offense can work. It gives our offense the comfort to be able to do our thing and not have to press and look to score runs”.
Of course, the Billikens still score runs, at a clip of 5 per game, leading the A10. Against conference opponents, SLU’s average increases to 5.16 runs scored per game. SLU will host their penultimate conference series starting on April 26 against St. Bonaventure.
Freddie Freeman. Mookie Betts. Teoscar Hernandez. Tommy Edman. Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Roki Sasaki. Blake Snell. Tyler Glasnow. Clayton Kershaw.
And Shohei Ohtani (the hitter and the pitcher).
Let that roster sink in. Or don’t – they’ve probably burned your team at some point already.
With a half-billion-dollar payroll, a lineup seemingly built on MLB the Show and a stranglehold on baseball’s future, the 2025 Dodgers aren’t just dominant – they’re redefining what it means to compete at the Major League level.
According to most analysts, based on their earlyseason performance, the Los Angeles Dodgers are once again the most dominant and disciplined team in Major League Baseball, a fact as fascinating as it is unsettling. The reigning World Series Champions may be even stronger than the squad that convincingly took down the New York Yankees in five games last October.
As of April 23, the Dodgers sit at 16-8, a game behind the surging San Diego Padres in the National League (NL) West – and are coming off an 11-10 extrainning heartbreaking loss against the Chicago Cubs. That’s what makes them even more terrifying: they can collapse on a Tuesday and look invincible again by Friday.
Before the first games of 2025 were even played, MLB Network analysts and everyday fans casually speculated whether the Dodgers could break the alltime single-season win record. The record of 116 wins is currently held by both the 1906 Chicago Cubs and the 2001 Seattle Mariners. The general consensus is that they will not only make a run at the record, they might obliterate it. If they want it, that is.
The Dodgers have the best roster in professional baseball – and it’s not particularly close. Despite playing in arguably the toughest division in the sport, their sights seem set more on securing another pennant or world title than simply clinching the NL West — a title they’ve claimed in 11 of the last 12 seasons.
hosts Unity Week dodgeball tournament
Approximately 140 SLU students took part in the Fraternity and Sorority Life’s (FSL) dodgeball tournament on April 2. Phi Mu and Alpha Delta Gamma (ADG) won the tournament, defeating Delta Gamma (DG) and Beta Theta Pi (Beta) 2-1 in a hardfought nail-biter championship series.
ADG President, Griffin Burk, scored the final out of the tournament. His teammate, Michael Brenner spoke about what playing alongside Burk is like.
“Burk is an amazing teammate. That’s our president so he’s always there cheering us on. It’s great,” Brenner said postgame.
Burk spoke highly of both his ADG and Phi Mu teammates.
“It’s teamwork, it’s what it’s all about,” Burk said.
“We were coordinated, collaborative and it showed”.
Phi Mu/ADG’s toughest competition came in the final round, against DG/Beta, who were led by dynamic duo Sam Van Cleve and Cooper Bergstrom. Van Cleve and Bergstrom combined for over 80 outs across the span of the tournament, with more than 20 catches between them.
“[Bergstrom] is the first kid I met at SLU 101, and
The most overpowered ballclub in MLB history
Brendan Brunette, AssistantSportsEditor
Yoshinobu Yamamoto has already made good on the hype, striking out 38 over 29 innings with a ridiculous 0.93 ERA. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently called him “the best pitcher in baseball.”
Perhaps the most outrageous element of this team, or front office, is its payroll. Sitting at an estimated $390 million, their total payroll is likely to exceed $500 million. Los Angeles spent an estimated $445.5 million this offseason – an incomprehensible number.
For comparison, the St. Louis Cardinals spent zero dollars, yes, you read that right – not a single penny in free agency. A true disgrace to the city of St. Louis and a blatant insult to the supposedly “best fans in baseball.” But somehow, the blame falls on the fans, as records continue to be set for the worst attendance in the history of Busch Stadium III. Maybe the Savannah Bananas will bring fans back to the seats when they come to town in July, following
ever since then, we’ve had a special bond together,” Van Cleve said. “We’ve gotten used to each other, and we were able to carry that over onto the court today.”
“You can’t say we didn’t go out there and fight. This meant a lot to us. Those DG girls put it all out on the floor,” Bergstrom said after the final.
Other tournament standouts include Leonardo Cecere and Aleigha Schnable.
Cecere was a defensive anchor for Kappa Delta (KD), Delta Phi Omega (DPO) and Phi Kappa Tau (Phi Tau). The team forced multiple overtimes in their firstround series against DG/Beta. Cecere
their April reschedule. But circus acts and stunt baseball aside, it’s time to take a serious look at what makes this Dodgers roster so terrifyingly effective, top to bottom, they’re built like a dynasty in motion. It’s not just that they have All-Stars, it’s that their All-Stars play multiple positions, hit for power and average, and casually carry MVP-caliber résumés.
Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman remain two of the most consistent and complete players in the game. Shohei Ohtani is doing things no one alive has ever seen before – and now, he doesn’t even have to pitch this year if he doesn’t want to, thanks to a rotation stacked with aces like Yamamoto, Glasnow, Snell and the ageless Clayton Kershaw. That said, the rotation isn’t invincible. Blake Snell was recently scratched from a bullpen session and shut down with shoulder discomfort, putting a slight crack in LA’s otherwise untouchable armor. Roki Sasaki hasn’t even found his true groove yet. Then there’s Will Smith, Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernández lurking in the middle of the order like a second wave of artillery.
The Dodgers didn’t just build a starting lineup, they have assembled a galaxy. They have done it with such precision and foresight that even when one piece falters, the machine doesn’t – it merely reloads. Bob Costas, the legendary color commentator, once said during Stephen Strasburg’s debut, “From up here, the game’s a rumor.” He was talking about the surreal view from the broadcast booth, but honestly, that line might as well apply to the rest of Major League Baseball looking up at the Dodgers. Because unless the league steps in with a salary cap, or at the very least, a salary floor, competitive balance might soon become just that: a rumor. The Dodgers aren’t just winning – they’re redefining what it means to compete, while the rest of the league scrambles to keep up with a team that seems like it was built in a baseball lab.
In a pop culture world that is overrun with superheroes and villains, “Invincible” is something very, very different. While Marvel and DC dominate the field, Image Comics managed to break the mold with their own spin on the “Evil Superman” trope, creating something so much richer than its contemporaries. A series about the true moral quandaries of fighting evil. A series about balancing real life with an innate responsibility to do good. A series that truly creates a new and welldeveloped world of rich and complex characters. A series that is:
Based on the 2003 best-selling indie comic book series of the same name, “Invincible” was the brainchild of “Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman, along with the help of Amazon Prime Video. Originally greenlit in 2017, the series went through multiple iterations, even dipping into a potential live-action production. The show that we know of today didn’t find proper footing until around 2020, when pedigreed actors Steven Yeun and J. K. Simmons joined the voice cast.
“Invincible” is set in a typical world of superheroes and villains, where teenager Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun), son of Omni-man (JK Simmons), discovers he has powers and must learn to become a superhero while balancing school and his own life, with dark threats looming closer than he knows.
While the premise of the show may sound very similar to many other superhero shows and movies, it stands out in two key ways: gratuitous violence and grounded characters. A key point of this show is that Invincible is a terrible superhero at first. He ends most episodes drenched in blood and clinging to life, but each of these experiences teaches him how to be a better superhero, just like everyone around him. Seeing actual growth like this is truly rare in superhero movies these days, turning “Invincible” into a uniquely grounded story.
Grayson isn’t the only that has this maturation story, however. He is surrounded by a plethora of different heroes, villains and civilians, all trying their best to survive in a thoroughly complex world, making the show an immediate hit with fans.
Audiences came into season 3 of “Invincible” with very little faith. Season 2 had been, by all means, a massive disappointment. Coming almost three years after the first season’s release on Prime Video, the show had amassed millions of fans during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Amazon had failed to properly capitalize on its popularity in that gap.
When the second season was finally released in 2024, several questions were raised. A new art style had been incorporated, but there had also been a visible drop in overall animation quality.
Many of the action scenes felt slower, and there was a dizzying amount of reused art, making the three-yearlong break seem even less reasonable. To make things worse, there was a season break halfway through, which lasted almost six months, further frustrating fans. All of
