No. 4 (April 29, 2021)

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VOL. XCVV No. 4 / April 29th, 2021

THE UNIVERSITY NEWS

SEASONS OF CHANGE

Cover Design by Grace Dunlavy

NEWS

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Photo Courtesy of Tishaura 4 Mayor

TISHAURA JONES MAKES HISTORY After a close-fought election, Tishaura Jones was sworn-in as St. Louis’ 47th mayor and the City’s first Black female mayor on April 20. Jones plans to bring monumental change to St. Louis city.

By ZOË BUTLER Staff Writer t. Louis native Tishaura Jones made history on April 7 by being elected as the city’s first Black female mayor. Jones is a self-described progressive who has worked as a Democratic Committeewoman, has served two terms in the Missouri House of Representatives and was most recently the Treasurer of St. Louis.

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SLU senior Savanah Seyer, who has also worked as a staff writer for the University News, is the executive administrator at MO Political, the firm that represented Jones. She worked strategically throughout the campaign to interview the volunteers participating in community outreach, including canvassers, door knockers, phone bank staff and general organizers.

“A lot of people wanted to help out with the campaign, so putting together the right team was something I really took seriously,” Seyer said. “[Jones] just inspires a ton of hope and motivation in a way that I’ve never seen with any other candidate.”

Matt Rauschenbach, the campaign’s political director and spokesperson, said that since the beginning of the campaign, Jones has had three main priorities. The first is public safety.

One notable topic is the Workhouse, St. Louis City’s Medium Security Institution which has historically and presently treated inmates inhumanely, largely based on their inability to afford high cash bails. Jones has made

a commitment to close the infamous Workhouse within her first hundred days in office.

“She likes to say that public safety is not something we’re going to reform, it’s something we need to transform,” Rauschenbach said.

This campaign objective touches on multiple facets of how our city operates, including how 911 dispatch centers are organized. The overarching goal is to limit the community’s direct exposure to armed officers. People experiencing a mental health crisis would receive a mental health counselor and people experiencing homelessness would receive a case manager.

“I think that’s something really uncomfortable for people to hear, but it’s necessary,” Rauschenbach said.

Her two other priorities are equitable recovery from COVID-19, which includes planning and building public health infrastructure for the next public health crisis, and economic mobility.

“As treasurer, she implemented the college kids program, which gave a college savings account to kindergarteners, and they loaded it with the first $50,” Rauschenbach said. “So, we find programs like this to start breaking down the generational barriers that have held Black people in St. Louis back.”

Part of what made her victory so historic was the new method of voting used by the city, known as approval voting. Approval voting is a non-partisan way to give voters the chance to vote for as many candidates as they’d like, making the single winner the most approved of candidate.

Approval voting is seen by many as a better alternative to the more traditional first-past-the-post system, where voters choose only one candidate and the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of whether they receive a majority of votes. Approval voting, therefore, opens room for third party challenges and also prevents vote splitting, where one candidate will win a majority of votes in their base areas but will receive little to no support in other parts of the city.

This kind of vote split was seen in the 2017 mayoral race, where Lyda Krewson was narrowly able to clinch the votes, beating Tishaura Jones.

Before approval voting went into effect, Krewson won her race by just 888 votes, though that mainly consisted of just the Southwest corridor of the city.

Jones won citywide this year, includ-

ing north of Delmar, despite their voter turnout being substantially lower.

“Cara Spencer, [Jones’ primary opponent], didn’t win any ward north of Delmar, and in most places she didn’t even get north of 20 percent of the electoral votes,” Rauschenbach said. “So this was really the first election, probably for decades, where the winner spanned the entirety of North St. Louis into the central corridor.”

One pitfall, however, was the lack of education their campaign team noticed on this system of voting. According to Rauschenbach, the organizers of Proposition D, which were responsible for this new system, didn’t necessarily do their part in educating the public on how it works. This meant that the obligation mostly fell on the campaigns to make sure voters knew how to utilize it.

Seyer was part of this education process, and was repeatedly motivated by her respect for Jones as a candidate: “She’s not going to tailor her message for someone to make them more comfortable,” Seyer said. “She does not shy away from talking about the real logistics of getting these things done, which is so refreshing.”

Rauschenbach also emphasized how politicians’ language has a real effect on the way issues will be handled moving forward.

“For example, when you talk about something like the City Justice Center downtown, calling it what it is— which is an injustice—sets the tone for the process by which we solve the problem,” Rauschenbach said. “A lot of that trust in the way that we spoke about things came from us just having dialogue around it. Name an issue in St. Louis, and it’s affecting Black and brown communities to an extent that is multiple times the extent to which it affects white people.”

Rauschenbach noted that electing a Black woman as mayor is a powerful moment for St. Louis. In her address at the swearing-in ceremony, Jones acknowledged that she was standing on stone not built for her, in a rotunda that never envisioned her ascent to mayor, working in an office her ancestors could have never dreamed about.

“When a city like St. Louis, where race is so palpable, elects a Black woman [as mayor], it means that it’s ready for progress,” Rauschenbach said. “It’s ready for change. It’s ready for transformation.”

News ALL THE POMP, DESPITE THE

03 (Grace Dunlavy / The University News)

THE FUTURE OF VACCINES

CHALLENGING CIRCUMSTANCE

By RILEY MACK News Editor n light of the current pandemic, Saint Louis University administration announced that changes will be made to the traditional graduation ceremony for the class of 2021.

When the wrought-iron gates of campus creaked open for another school year this fall, no one could guess whether they would remain that way. As numbers fluctuated during the fall semester and the start of spring semester, the university scraped by, remaining mostly in-person for their students and staff.

As vaccine rollout is steadily underway and St. Louis cases are hitting new lows, it became evident that an in-person graduation may be a reality.

Current seniors worried that SLU administration might institute a repeat of last year’s graduation, with no formal event in-person or virtually to celebrate the graduates. Instead, the President’s office, the Provost’s team and a group of Student Government Association (SGA) representatives worked for months to plan an in-person pre-commencement and virtual graduation ceremony.

SLU will host up to 17 pre-commencement ceremonies during the week of May 17. Certain colleges may host multiple ceremonies, depending on the number of graduates. Each ceremony will be limited to 250 guests, with two guests allowed for each graduate, and will last for about 90 minutes each.

The official graduation ceremony will be released Sunday, May 23 at 2 p.m., and will include a pre-recorded statement from SLU president Fred Pestello, Ph.D., and the awarding of honorary degrees.

However, the decision to implement these ceremonies didn’t come easily.

“Initially, given the state of the pandemic in early February, we were planning for virtual pre-commencements and a virtual com-

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mencement ceremony,” said Matt Davis, the Provost’s Chief of Staff.

Once cases began to decrease in late February, a group of students led by SGA president Joseph Reznikov communicated with Pestello and newly appointed provost Michael Lewis, Ph.D., that an in-person ceremony could become a reality. All three groups worked in conjunction to create a proposal to submit to the City of St. Louis Department of Health.

The students on the planning committee “indicated a desire to celebrate with their peers and have the opportunity to have their names called,” Davis said.

Given it gathers smaller crowds, pre-commencement seemed to be the best option for an in-person ceremony. Per the City of St. Louis Department of Health guidelines, hosting an in-person graduation ceremony for all graduates and their guests in their typical venue, Chaifetz Arena, was not an option.

When registering for pre-commencement, graduates were surprised to answer questions about their guests’ COVID-19 vaccination history. Davis stated that this question was added in compliance with their COVID-19 safety plan with the Department of Health. Should it be needed, the responses to this question will be helpful for contact tracing purposes, he said.

Davis also assures that these plans were made with students in mind.

“Our goal was to give students the best opportunity possible to celebrate their accomplishments.

Our students have worked so hard to get here,” he said.

While undergraduate, graduate or professional students are embarking onto a world full of unknowns, one thing is assured—the accomplishments made among years at Saint Louis University will be celebrated come May. “We are proud of what they have achieved in such difficult circumstances in an unprecedented year,” Davis said.

By MARTIN SHARPE Staff Writer lthough many countries continue to struggle with the spread of COVID-19, rising case counts and vaccine shortages, the United States and other nations are beginning to see somewhat of a return to normalcy.

As of April 25, the CDC estimates that 40 percent of the U.S. population has received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination with 28.5 percent having received both doses. As these figures continue to rise, the nation is left with many questions concerning what life will look like in the coming months.

One issue that universities, including SLU, now face is whether to impose mandatory vaccination requirements for students returning in the fall of 2021.

Colleges across the nation including Duke University, the University of Notre Dame, Syracuse University, and now Washington University, among others have recently announced that returning students must provide proof of full vaccination by the start of classes. Other institutions are expected to follow in this trend. While SLU has not made any formal announcements or decisions regarding mandatory vaccination, there is a possibility that this could occur. A recent email from President Pestello titled, “Regaining Normalcy on Our St. Louis Campuses,” emphasized the importance of wide-spread vaccination on campus.

“In order to achieve this, near-universal vaccination adoption among our campus community members is critical,” wrote Pestello. “Our goal remains to keep the campus as safe as possible.”

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AT SLU: AN UNANSWERED QUESTION

However, imposing a mandatory vaccination requirement for returning students is no simple decision. Despite the existence of copious amounts of scientific evidence that vaccines are safe and effective, there still remain individuals within the SLU community that may choose to forego vaccination—for scientific reasons or not.

The upsides to mandatory vaccination are plentiful. Campus-wide inoculation against COVID-19 would likely entail a relaxation of social distancing requirements, meaning classes could largely return to normal and less emphasis would be placed on remote learning. Furthermore, as an institution deeply committed to community service, complete student vaccination could contribute to an accelerated resuming of SLU-operated service projects. The return of academic breaks and larger, on-campus social events would also be possible.

Unfortunately, downsides exist as well. Although unlikely, implementation of such a mandate could dissuade potential students from enrolling at SLU due to religious or social reasons for abstaining from inoculation. (Continue reading online).

News

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SLU COURSE CREATES

PANDEMIC TIME CAPSULE

By DIANA JACOVCEVIC Staff Writer

Photo Courtesy of City Foundry STL

CITY FOUNDRY STL

OPENING IN SIGHT

By KLAUDIA WACHNIK Staff Writer ity Foundry STL, a 14-acre plot that is set to become a Midtown hub and public market, has been an object of interest for the SLU community since the announcement of its transformation in the summer of 2016.

After delaying its grand opening in August, the Foundry is now expected to be complete by the end of spring 2021.

SLU students eagerly await the opening: “I’m super excited about [City Foundry] coming together, this is something that everyone’s been looking forward to since [my] freshman year,” said Danielle Taylor, a sophomore SLU student City Foundry STL sits along the I-64 interstate on Forest Park Avenue, and is at the center of Midtown and near the Grand Center area of St. Louis.

Various sources of dining and entertainment are expected to emerge in the City Foundry area, including an event space, a food hall, offices, shops and a theatre. Spaces which are sure to be popular include Press Waffle Co, Kalbi Taco Shack and the Fresh Thyme Farmers Market.

About 100 years ago, in 1929, the area that City Foundry STL currently sits on was owned by the Century Electric company, which produced internationally-sold generators and motors.

In August of 2016, City Foundry STL first announced that the area would be updated from an old manufactur-

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ing factory site to an upbeat, social hub for the surrounding St. Louis community.

As planning continued, more retail and financing was added on, with the final project estimated to cost around $340 million. In April of 2018, demolition began, with construction finally beginning at the site in July.

Initially, City Foundry STL was expected to be open spring of 2020, however COVID-19 provided a unique challenge for the Foundry team. Many public elements of City Foundry STL halted their plans, but steadily, they’ve begun to organize an opening, while still planning to follow COVID-19 precautions.

Recently, it was announced that an outdoor concert series is underway at the Foundry, and will host local acts until June 23. The Floozies, Andy Frasco and John Moreland lined up to perform. The concert series is being hosted in collaboration with Jamo Presents, an independent concert promoter and venue management company.

“Seventeen of the first 24 indoor shows at City Foundry sold out,” said Drew Jameson of Jamo Presents.

“There aren’t many places out there right now in the country where you can see live music up to four nights a week in a socially distanced setting – especially outdoors.”

Amidst COVID-19, City Foundry STL has prevailed and remains on track to open and be a hub for the St. Louis community.

s the SLU community finishes up the spring semester and looks ahead to fall, emotions are mixed. Some hold a sense of optimism and hope about things to come, including graduation and the possibility of a more normal semester next year.

But the moment is bittersweet, especially in light of the immense amount of suffering and loss that many in the SLU community have experienced and continue to experience. As we look ahead, questions remain about how we process this grief and move forward without forgetting or disregarding what many have gone through.

In the last edition, The University News highlighted a number of SLU courses which offered insights into how students can better understand and navigate the pandemic. Continuing with this theme, professor Vincent Casaregola, Ph.D., is now teaching a unique class on how loss and grief are processed during times of disease.

In this class, entitled “Medicine and Literature,” Casaregola and his students have examined the history of pandemics and the literature and arts that respond to loss, grief and loneliness. The emphasis, however, is on how poets, visual artists, memoir writers and composers have moved through this grieving process to a “vision of hope and continuance beyond the loss.”

One of the most exciting parts of the class is that for the final project, each student is working on a project which will be donated to the Saint Louis University Archives for future students and scholars to learn from.

These projects consist of a multimodal collection of sources, ranging from scientific literature to journalism and art, that can help future generations understand the COVID-19 pandemic and how it felt to live through it.

Casaregola sees these projects as “a kind of time capsule for the future.”

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Casaregola added that a common practice in the course is studying how “we come to terms with loss and move through it to continue living a productive and fulfilling life while never forgetting those we have lost or what has been suffered,” he said.

To this end, the class looks at a range of material culture, from literature and film, to scientific research and journalism, and how they are all in some way related to disease, loss, loneliness and isolation.

Casaregola also noted the inspiration he took from the early history of the Jesuit order: “The Jesuit educational tradition emerged from times of conflict and uncertainty, and also times of plague and suffering, and yet the first members of that company decided to join together and carry their mission throughout that troubled world to bring healing and hope to others. In that tradition, we are seeking to move through the darkness to the light. ” The class was originally planned for the fall of 2019 and the winter of 2020.

Casaregola’s original plan was for a more traditional class, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he decided to radically alter the program and structure of the class, making it much more experiential and experimental: “In a sense, we have been inventing the course as we draw on the lived experience of the pandemic time and have shaped our understanding by studying the history of pandemics and the artistic representation of them in many different art forms.”

The university archives have been excited about the idea of donating the final projects as testament for future generations of scholars and students to learn from, and it will be implemented at the end of this semester.

NEWS

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PORTFOLIO REVIEW NEARS CONCLUSION, 40 PROGRAMS TO BE CUT In early April, Provost Michael Lewis sent an update on the ongoing Academic Portfolio Review, with fourty programs slated to be cut.

(Grace Dunlavy/The University News)

By CONOR DORN Associate News Editor n April 12, Provost Michael Lewis, Ph.D sent an email update regarding the ongoing Academic Portfolio Review (APR), which announced that 40 programs are to be closed, including 29 undergraduate and 11 postgraduate programs.

The total number of students currently enrolled in the affected programs is 260. Of these 260 students, 222 are undergraduates and 38 are graduate students. These program closures will not affect current undergraduate and graduate students who are currently participants in the affected programs, nor will it affect 2021 recruits planning on participating in the affected programs.

The review formally began in 2019, when the then-interim provost, Chet Gillis, Ph.D formed an Academic Portfolio Review committee to evaluate SLU’s degree-granting programs to “assess the value and effectiveness of academic degree programs based on metrics and university priorities.”

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This committee was tasked with identifying programs which were “undersubscribed” or “unviable.” After Gillis announced that he would step down as provost in April 2020, Michael Lewis, who was then serving as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, took over as interim provost, and by extension, began to oversee the APR process.

The fact that the APR process, an action with potentially far reaching consequences including program closures and termination of faculty, was initiated by an interim provost, Chet Gillis, and then continued under interim provost Michael Lewis (who was named permanent provost in Feb. 2021), was the subject of some controversy. Before Lewis was named permanent provost in February, the position had been filled with interim appointments for nearly two years, after Provost Nancy Brickhouse stepped down in August 2018. In a memo sent in July 2020, a number of professors voiced the opinion that a full scale academic portfolio review should take place under a permanent provost who had been chosen by a national search committee, per the Faculty Manual and the principles of proper shared governance between faculty and administration.

However, no permanent decisions on program closures were made by an interim provost, either Gillis or Lewis.

The effects of these program closures will be felt by both students and faculty, and less than half of the closed programs indicated support for the closure during the APR process. The closed programs can be divided into those slated for reallocation and those slated for reorganization. According to Provost Lewis: “reallocation is the discontinuance of a program that may result in the termination of tenured faculty” while “reorganization is the structural realignment of programs or departments, and usually results in the consolidation of academic units but not in the termination of tenured faculty.”

In his letter to students affected by the program closures, Lewis wrote that: “The faculty affected by this decision will have the opportunity to propose to me alternative options to closing the programs and given adequate time to prepare those proposals.”

Lewis also reiterated that the announced program closures were not connected to budget shortfalls resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, but were rather part of a wider review process that began prior to the pandemic fifteen undergraduate majors are slated to be cut, the majority of which are housed in the College of Arts and Sciences. Some of the majors selected for closure include American Stud-

ies, Latin American Studies and, Russian Studies. Language study was also severely affected, with closures in German Studies, Italian Studies, and Classical Humanities/Greek and Latin Language and Literature. The University will still offer courses in these language areas, but it will no longer be possible to choose these areas as a major area of study and course variety will likely decrease.

In addition to the major programs slated for closure, ten minor programs were recommended for closure, with a total of 57 students currently pursuing these minors. The program closures also include six masters programs, which have a combined current enrollment of 26 students, and four doctoral programs, which have a combined current enrollment of 12 students, all of whom are pursuing a Ph.D in Special Education.

With this announcement, the full APR is nearing its conclusion, and Lewis detailed the next stage of the process in his announcement. Faculty who offer courses within the program will be given the chance to propose alternatives to the proposed closure, and these proposals will be decided either by the Board of Trustees, if it is a program for reallocation, or directly to the Provost, if it is considered reorganization.

Arts and life

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SPRING 2021 FASHION TRENDS

By SYDNEY COMPTON & CELIA SEARLES

Arts & Life Editors

LOTS OF JEWELRY

JEANS: LOW-RISE & “MOM” STYLE Jeans for everyone. In bringing back styles from the 90’s and 2000’s, all body types are encouraged to flaunt the low rise, mom and flare jean looks. Influenced by both menswear-inspired and retrofits, prioritizing comfort and letting the legs breathe is a moment we are here for in 2021.

Layering jewelry has been one way for people to express themselves when they haven’t left the house as much. It doesn’t require purchasing new clothes to switch up the vibe of an outfit, just playing around with what you already have. Wearing multiple rings, necklaces or earrings can add both edge and put-togetherness to a basic outfit.

BROWN The 90s are back and bringing brown with them. With a variety of shades to play with, finding a color that suits you and layering it with other neutrals or a pop of color is a fun way to play with hue when stepping out.

Some may ask, is brown the new black?

PASTELS “Pastels for spring? Groundbreaking.”

But really. Translating menswear— inspired shapes into a more feminine piece with pastels not only creates an interesting outfit, but also matches the blooming foliage around us.

CLAW CLIPS We’ve long known that hair ties can tug at your hair— thankfully claw clips are coming back in style, creating an seemingly effortless way to lift your hair out of your face.

Once you master the technique you’re left with a style that takes about ten seconds to do and looks way more complex than it actually is. Score.

(Sydney Compton & Celia Searles / The University News)

NEGATIVE SPACE NAILS Nothing beats looking down while typing and seeing fun nails click-clacking away.

With the extra time on our hands in the past year, many have turned to nails as a fun form of self-expression.

Ten tiny canvases on your body to play with is both non-committal and a fun way to pass the time.

“GRANDPA” CLOTHES Thrifting is one of the most inexpensive ways to add to your wardrobe while lowering your financial and waste impact and an overwhelming majority of thrift store finds are what many describe as “grandpa” clothes. Loose-fitting, worn-in and embroidered pieces are taking the stage.

SNEAKERS No need to be active to sport some sneakers! Footwear fashion changes as rapidly as any other fad. This year we’ve seen a shift from minimalist white sneakers to bold, colorful kicks. Whether you’re looking for a dad shoe or retro runner, what’s on your feet can make or break a fit.

PUFFY SLEEVES Maybe it was our romanticising of Bridgerton, but puffy sleeves are climbing the ladder of casual wear.

Eye grabbing and sweet, a puffy sleeve call doll up any outfit. From date night to picnics, this fairy-tale trend is a win.

TREND TALK

Arts and life

Live Music Prospects are ‘Livening’ Up for the Fall

By CELIA SEARLES Arts & Life Editor

I really like the direction fashion has gone in the past year. I think as a culture we have really shifted from prioritizing “the look” above all else to prioritizing comfort as well, which I think many (including myself) are excited about. Something I personally have been incorporating into my outfits are loose pants, pastels, sneakers and “grandpa” clothes.

You’ll never catch me in low-rise pants, but I think part of what’s so fun about fashion is that there are so many places to draw inspiration from and so many ways you can put pieces together that don’t have to follow every single trend and you can still look current and put-together! So much of our lives are changing in the coming months with vaccines becoming widely available and I think our collective motivation to put together outfits that feel fun and fresh and that we feel good in will only grow as we begin to occupy collective spaces and be surrounded by others again. It’s such an exciting time for inspiration and I’m really looking forward to seeing what styles I am influenced by as I begin to get back out there and see more “street style” when I am out and about.

By SYDNEY COMPTON Arts & Life Editor After a year spent in sweats and leggings, dressing “work appropriate” from the waist up, it’s thrilling to re-enter the world in an outfit that kills. My personal style has become increasingly important to my confidence and creative outlet since starting college. My favorite trend I have seen in the past year has definitely been the celebration of all body types in all styles of clothes. I have felt empowered to push my own comfort with fashion—attempting patterns, styles and trends that a younger me would not have attempted.

Truthfully, TikTok has been a huge influence in the trends I see and decide to follow. I love to see the ways people express their personalities on social media and the different DIY tips and tricks folks decided to share. During a time where excuses to get dolled up were limited, feeling inspired and excited about style via TikTok was a great outlet. Now, with restrictions being lifted, my besties getting vaccinated and my favorite season rolling around, I am excited to incorporate some new, bold looks into my everyday wear.

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By MATTHEW CHAMBERS Contributor As more people across the nation begin to get vaccinated, things are looking hopeful for returning to a ‘pre-pandemic’ life. This includes being able to have mass gatherings, more specifically being able to host concerts and experience live music. As artists begin to announce tour dates and festivals begin to announce lineups for this year, SLU students are beginning to plan for more upcoming concerts.

Take, for example, sophomore Daniel Bernas. An avid fan of concerts, Bernas said his love for them came from the fact, “that you can experience the music in its rawest form” and cannot wait to, “hear these kinds of sounds up close again.” When asked who he was most excited to see, Bernas said Charli XCX: “I think it will be a poignant moment to hear songs like ‘c2.0,’ a song about missing your friends, and ‘anthems,’ a song about missing parties and being lazy, in a claustrophobic crowd, cry-dancing while screaming the words,” discussing songs off of her 2020 album “how i’m feeling now.” Charli XCX has not announced a tour yet, but Daniel is hoping to see her soon.

Sophomore Gabby Roeder is also hoping for an artist who has not yet announced a tour: Saint Louis native Smino. When asked why Smino, Roeder said that, “I didn’t get to see him live when he came in December 2019, [and since] he’s from the Lou, I think getting to see him live in his home city would be re-

ally special.” While Smino has not announced a tour yet either, some SLU students are looking forward to shows they already have tickets to.

Senior Eric McClelland is most looking forward to seeing Eric Church perform at the Enterprise Center later in the year, saying, “[he’s] my favorite artist and I’ve wanted to see him live for a long time. I had tickets to see him in November 2020, but it has been rescheduled to November 2021.” Rescheduling was a common practice among larger artists during the pandemic, especially at the Enterprise Center. Take for example Harry Styles, who rescheduled his “Love On Tour” Saint Louis stop with Jenny Louis from June 2020 to September 2021.

As an avid concert goer myself, there are quite a few shows that I am hoping to go to later in the year. There are some outdoor concerts that have been announced which would be quite exciting, namely the recently announced Louis The Child tour, with opener Jai Wolf. Yet there are also some anticipated shows at The Pageant, indie acts like Dayglow, COIN, Soccer Mommy, Beach Bunny and Julien Baker, to name a few. For live music, things are headed in a promising direction that should create a busy yet exciting concert season this upcoming fall semester.

(Sydney Compton / The University News)

Arts and life

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DEAR STUDENTS...

Dear Freshmen, This is your first year in college and you don’t even know the “real” experience. You’ve heard phrases from upperclassmen saying, “before Covid we used to…” and “before the pandemic there used to be…” but you don’t even know what you missed out on. Instead of attending in-person freshman move-in events, you Zoomed in from your dorm. For those that chose to move in, this was the first time you were living independently, all amidst a pandemic. It can be lonely to leave your family, but even lonelier when the first friendships you make are from a six-foot distance. Luckily, you have three more years to make the most of your college experience. Although you won’t be able to relive your freshman year again, you have the opportunity to live in every moment for the rest of your undergraduate experience and take advantage of the time you do have.

As we approach the end of the 20202021 school year, let us take a moment to reflect on the hardships that we’ve gone through, as a community and as individuals. Each undergraduate student had a different experience but everyone was affected. It’s important to acknowledge the obstacles we overcame and remind ourselves of the many things to look forward to.

Dear Sophomores,

(Sydney Compton / The University News)

Just when you were getting adjusted to college life as a freshman, the urgency to move out and continue the semester virtually hit. Your first semester was spent getting to know your roommates and campus life, so you could be prepared for next semester, but at the end of the day, nothing could prepare you for a pandemic. The roommates you were supposed to be sharing a room with, you ended up sharing Facetime calls with, and the walks to classes ended up being walks to your laptop to Zoom into class. Sophomore Melissa Holland says, “It’s really hard because not only has the pandemic taken away a lot of the social aspects, but it also took [away] a lot of my motivation for doing school and completing assignments. Since many of my classes were online, it became difficult to create a set schedule and do my homework on time, and this damaged my time management skills. However, with the recent news that classes are possibly going to be closer to normal in the fall, this makes me excited and hopeful that my studying habits will also go back to the way they were pre-COVID-19.”

You’ve already made it halfway through your college career, but the other half is still there for you to grow through, learn through and enjoy to the fullest.

By SARA QALBANI Staff Writer

Dear Juniors, At this point you have all hit 20; you’re no longer in your teenage years. Sophomore year was supposed to be spent preparing your career plans, solidifying your major and taking the steps to gain experience in your intended field. Everything was pushed to the side and before you knew it, you’ve now made it to the end of your junior year. Just a few more months and you’ll be a senior. Your plans may have shifted and the senior year may still seem unknown, but the shift to “normalcy” in terms of campus life is slowly coming back. There is light at the end of the tunnel and you have one last summer in college to look forward to. Make the most of it!

Dear Seniors, First of all, congratulations. Not only did you just earn a degree, but you did so amid a pandemic. Although you were over halfway done with your undergraduate college experience when the pandemic hit, your senior year still doesn’t look the same. Some consider their senior year to be the most special.

This is the year you figure out your plans, enjoy your last few months with friends that could be departing on a new journey of their life and reflecting on the past four years. For some, this is your last year being a student or having a roommate, while others may go off to graduate school or take a gap year. Regardless, the undergraduate college experience is still a memorable one. Now, what is there to look forward to? Although there are still uncertainties for graduation arrangements, it’s time to celebrate you and what you have achieved. Soak in these last few weeks and take advantage of the limited time you have as an undergraduate student while continuing to look forward to the future. If you can take on the challenges of senior year through a pandemic, you can face post-grad life head-on, even with so much unknown.

Arts and life

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chastity is no joke to these jokesters Photo courtesy of @sluvirginityclub

An inside look at @sluvirginityclub on Instagram

By DANIEL BERNAS

General Manager Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal of Girl Defined have garnered a lot of enemies with their sugar-coated preachings on purity culture. Among the latest in their list of blocked Instagram accounts is a group of SLU students promoting chastity through the power of memes.

The Saint Louis Virginity Club (@sluvirginityclub) popped up on Instagram on Jan.19 with a post asking their new followers to “tag two people who want to wait till marriage with each other.” Around this time, virginity clubs were popping up at several universities, and the admins for this new page were taking matters into their own hands. Over the following week, the page gained recognition across the SLU community. Soon, students were eagerly awaiting their potential merch launch, reposting their lists of “essential dorm items to avoid sexual promiscuity” and competing for their chance at “virgin of the day.”

On the outside, it was all fun and games. However, the admins don’t entirely see it that way. The one topic they take seriously is protecting their anonymity. For this reason, their followers, including myself, only know them as admins one through eight.

According to admin one, the jokes are vessels for a modern commentary on religion and purity culture.

“We use humor and jokes to make our content more relatable to other students and to make the topic of purity easier to discuss without the immense pressure surrounding it.” Additionally, admin three said it is more personal than most would like to believe, saying “it’s kind of funny to make hopefully relatable jokes about our virginities.” They went on to say that “a lot of people think it is all a joke, which I guess does it an injustice, but that is on us.”

Their methods of communicating this message have taken many forms, including pie charts of the leading causes of fornication (where societal pressure ranks highest at 31.4 percent), instructions on how to prepare for the potential existence of Ryan Reynolds and lists of the most virgin states to be from. However, among the most definitive aspects of the account has been dubbed their “glitter me-

mes.” These oversaturated, blinding edits, mostly of cartoon characters and celebrities, have become a staple in the Virginity Club’s output, often putting out ten at a time, with puns about virginity that only such minds like the Virginity Club could come up with.

“So the glitter memes didn’t really have a set inspiration to them at first, we were honestly just experimenting with different editing tools and apps,” said admin one. “One admin came up with the early glitter meme that was just a picture with some simple glittery text. From there we kept making glitter memes relating to virginity and learned how to saturate them! We actually use three different apps to saturate a glitter meme before posting!”

But while the form of their messages change from post to post, the overall satirical sentiment on remaining pure is what strings them all together. While the SLU community’s response to the page has been generally positive, as a Jesuit institution, the Catholic community has shown a mixed response. “We’ve received some harsh feedback yet we know how to stand up for ourselves,” said admin two. Admin eight recalls one particularly harsh message. “It was actually pretty mean, but I understand why they sent it.” Admin seven remembered a message that made them cry. But offending has never been the goal. “I understand why it can be seen as offensive, but I really hope everyone knows the Virginity Club is all meant in good spirits,” said admin three. When asked about those who have criticized them, they said “your reasons are valid, but we do this so we can say, like, ‘hey, it’s cool to be a virgin.’” Admin five went on to take responsibility, “we’re sorry, we hear you and maybe need to take a second to figure out, as admins, how we can be fully responsive to the needs of the entire community,” while admin two maintained that they “are always open to addressing any concerns people have.”

Their critiques of these traditional religious values run more than skin deep, as six of the seven admins identify as Christrian, four of whom identify as Catholic. “We do make a lot of jokes but, at the end of the day, we want to combat the stigma around virginity,” said admin one. “It may appear confusing, since a lot of things we have openly voiced we believe in on our page may contradict the same literal teachings that the purity culture comes from, but we want to use our humor to make virgins feel as if they are in a safe environment.”

One of the largest voices in this environment comes from freshman Don Parker, a devout Catholic who was awarded the honorable title of “Virgin of the Year.” Parker has become somewhat of an icon in the comment sections of several meme pages on SLU’s campus, but the Virginity Club, to him, is different. “My favorite part about the club is the ambiguity,” he said. “It’s up to the individual to determine whether or not it is satire, all while

promoting a respectable goal: don’t go around having irresponsible sex. I think that’s a morally responsible idea. No one wants a kid right now so why rely on a balloon? I’m slowly working on getting the admins out of their shell and making this club legit because I genuinely enjoy this community, satirical or not.” Parker also celebrated them for their inclusivity, saying “if you’ve already done the cupid shuffle you can become a ‘born again’ virgin.”

While offering a more theological perspective, sophomore Clare Ni’Shuilleabhain also approves of the page, while qualifying some of its messages. “It is a common misconception that Catholics hate sex and think it’s bad. The reality is the Catholic Church loves sex, so much so we hold it to the highest honor—an honor to be shared between two people who have committed to laying down their lives for each other.” While she worries that some young college students could read some of the jokes on the page and believe them to be true, thus causing harm to their self-worth, she says the page is no cause for concern. “I think they do a really good job at making it obviously hyperbol(Sydney Compton / The University News) ic. It is an account made in lightheartedness, and although I do not follow it I have laughed at some of their posts myself. I do not believe this account is evil or sinful.”

Sophomore Danielle Nixon also enjoys the page, but for different reasons, claiming that “they point out some hypocrisy and controversy that the Catholic Church, and all Christianity, prioritizes virginity too much and focuses too heavily on purity culture, which perpetuates shame and can affect some people for a lifetime.” Sophomore Anastasia Hanonick, who was once awarded virgin of the day, wrote about her experience with purity culture in a recent op-ed for the University News.

She also appreciates this take. “I am very much a fan of satire and I think it’s an excellent way to get people to talk about difficult concepts, especially surrounding ones that people have negatively endured. I like how they took all these terrible things I was taught as a kid and turned a huge joke out of them in the best way possible.”

But such a group does not rely on the needs of that community, as the community they’ve built around their humor has been the driving force that keeps them moving forward. “When we feel pressure to give up,” admin seven said, “we feel like we have too large of an audience to stop making content.” Admin eight even got their family on board, saying “my mom actually found out I ran the page, she’s a fan though.” Admin five cited this experience as “one of the highlights I’ve had at SLU and is something I will never forget.” Addressing their followers directly, admin one said “running this page has its ups and downs but we do this for you guys and to hopefully put a smile on your face if you are having a bad day!”

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Transitions

By REBECCA LIVIGNI Editor-in-Chief

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I read once that we, like potted plants, need to be uprooted, stripped of the comfortable store container we call home. We need to be gently– sometimes painfully–broken up our roots loosened and separated and placed in a much larger pot with fresh soil to really grow–we need to be watered, fed, nourished, yes, but the repotting is what allows us to flourish beyond our tiny container These words resonated with me when I was repotted at SLU I felt ripped from my home, my mother, my town that was mapped onto my heart I reminded myself that to grow– flourish– I needed to find roots on this campus.

It took me two years to realize that those tears were watering my soul, allowing me to grow into this person, this body, this city that I can call home (now).

As I approach the end of my days as an undergraduate, with my heels pressing the brakes and my mind swatting at timelines these words resonate again.

Transitions are hard and college is especially hard because the expectation is to be uprooted I’m scared because I was able to finally feel a sense of belonging with friends who nourish my laughter and hold the weight of my pain with me.

It still amazes me how everything I do feels like the hardest thing I will ever do.

But I look back on these times of transition and know that the next step is upward.

I am ready to grow–to take on that big girl job, that graduate school, that renter’s insurance.

It is painful and exciting and anxiety-inducing and nostalgic all wrapped up in a little package that will meet me at the next spot I land.

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Photography

EVERY ENDing HAS

By ANDREA PORTER Photo Editor

Claire Battista

Claire Battista is currently majoring in integrated strategic communication with a minor in marketing; after graduation, she is excited to transition to a full-time marketing role at the start-up company she currently interns for. One of Battista’s favorite parts of her college experience was when she studied abroad in Madrid, Spain; she states, “As cliche as it sounds, it was truly the best four months of my life and I can’t wait to return to Europe when it’s safe to travel.” A piece of advice she would give her freshman year self would be “everything will work out - you’ll get the internships, the jobs, and the grades. Try not to stress!”

SARAH JONES

Sarah Jones is majoring in sociology and international studies; after graduation, she will be attending Syracuse University to get her Ph.D. in political science. She hopes to work in policy research in D.C; she is specifically interested in the relationships between policy and political participation. The most exciting part of her college experience has been seeing her personal growth. A piece of advice she would give to her freshman year self would be “be open to meeting new people at every turn”...“while friends are made freshman year are great and can carry you through your four years at SLU, don’t ever close yourself off to new people in the process. SLU is FULL of incredible people and you will build life-long friends!”

ERIN MCCLELLAND Erin McClelland is is majoring in marketing and sports business. After graduation, she will be pursuing her master’s degree in higher education administration at the University of Virginia to work in college athletics administration. Even though being a student-athlete can be challenging, she wouldn’t change it for the world and she has met her “forever people” at SLU. She says she wouldn’t have survived the last four years without them. McClelland said the best way to describe her college experience is that she, “wouldn’t change it for the world.”

PHOTOGRAPHY

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a new beginning

SARA rutherford Sara Rutherford is majoring in international business and hopes to practice international business law in the future. The most exciting part of her college experience has been being away from home and gaining more freedom and independence. Adulting is hard yet exciting, and she states, “I’m so proud of how independent I am now and feel my college experience aided in that development.” Rutherford’s favorite memory while being a Billiken was being able to study abroad in London.

She had the opportunity to take courses that were not offered at SLU along with traveling throughout Europe with her friends.

celia searles

Celia Searles is majoring in communications with a concentration in journalism and media studies. She hopes to pursue a writing career after graduation. Her favorite memory while being a Billiken was during her junior year; Searles and her friends ran onto Vandy field in the middle of the night and played games and enjoyed each other’s company. Meeting people has been “hands down” the most exciting part of Searles college experience; there isn’t a better place than the clock tower to meet and run into friends, which is why the clock tower is one of her favorite places on campus.

Riley mack

Riley Mack is majoring in communication with a concentration in journalism. For as long as she can remember, journalism has always been a career for her; “choosing to study journalism was never a decision from the head, but always straight from the heart.”

Her aunt was a renowned travel journalist and Mack has always admired her work. As a journalism student, she has loved being able to hone in on her writing skills in a place where she is surrounded by people who are supportive, friendly and always willing to help. Mack describes her college experience in six words: wonderful, passion-driven, worthwhile, meaningful, love-filled and life-changing.

By Andrea Porter Photo Editor

ust over a year ago, many students were on their spring breaks having the time of their lives. Students were hopeful that school was halfway through and summer was near. But then the pandemic hit and that hopefulness turned into fear, confusion and worry. Due to the pandemic, students were not permitted to come back to campus until the upcoming school year.

Unfortunately, SLU students didn’t get the “ perfect spring” that students were used to in the past. Instead, we were hunkered down in our homes eagerly awaiting the CDC to announce to the public that it was safe to be around more people than just our immediate families. Socializing with friends, having picnics, going on vacations and making memories with friends were not on the list of things we could do with our lives.

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There is no better feeling than walking down West Pine in the spring and seeing the pink, red and yellow flowers blooming all around. Anybody can grab a blanket, lay on the quad, sit near the duck pond, do homework near the clock tower and sit near Cupples House. People come out from their rooms to socialize, and you can see the frowns, worry and stress begin to turn into smiles and laughter. The breeze blowing in our faces, smelling the fresh air, rolling up our sleeves to get a little tan, soaking up the vitamin D, hearing the water running down the rocks near Chaifetz School of Business; there’s no better feeling. Nothing can beat spring time on SLU’s campus.

As 2020 came to a close we had time to reflect on one of the most unpredictable and isolating years of all time. We learned and grew in many different ways that we didn’t expect. Going into the 2021 spring

semester things were looking more optimistic than they did last year. Now, we’re finally at the point where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Watching the COVID-19 vaccine roll out to the masses is one of the most important factors in getting our world back to the way it was before the pandemic. Students are being offered the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Hopefully this proactive step will help get campus back to a sense of normalcy. Due to the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccinations, and spring coming upon us, we are beginning to see students out on West Pine socializing again, while maintaining a six-feet social distance. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way in which people socialize with one another, but being able to indulge in the little things that remind us of spring time at SLU has brought us back to that perfect spring feeling.

SPRING AT SLU

Photography

14

sports

THE CARDINAL RULE: KNOW THY ENEMY STANFORD ATHLETES PROTEST PROGRAM CUTS

By SYDNEY ALTEMOSE Associate Sports Editor tanford is a powerhouse.

Known as the ivy of the west coast, with a stunning campus and astronomical post-graduation clout, it is easy to understand why the draw to Stanford is so big for student athletes. Oh, and they boast a 36 program athletic department. Well, before COVID-19 they did.

With the onset of coronavirus, Stanford Athletics knew that their financial department would feel the repercussions quickly. So, they made the decision to cut programs. The news of the cuts broke on July 8, 2020. The athletes belonging to the programs that would be cut were sent an email at 9:10 telling them they would need to be on a call by 9:45. In five short minutes, Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir had told the athletes the cuts were non-negotiable. Whatever season COVID-19 allowed them to have would be their last in a Stanford uniform.

While Stanford was not the first school to make athletic department cuts, they were the first to do so with such magnitude. Prior to the cuts, Stanford

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had boasted the second largest athletic department in the country with 36 programs. Even with their $26.5 billion trust, the school said they could no longer afford eleven programs.

They would be cutting men’s volleyball, wrestling, men’s rowing, field hockey, squash, women’s lightweight rowing, synchronized swimming and the coed fencing and sailing teams. Stanford said they would honor all present athletic scholarship commitments and pay out all coaching and staff contracts affected. They would also be paid severance.

For plenty of athletes, however, they had not simply chosen Stanford for all the extras that college competition would offer them—they had come to play. Shane Griffith overtook the NCAA wrestling championship by storm. This was a complete 180 from the kid who had called his dad that day with serious consideration of quitting. Griffith would take down Pittsburgh’s Jake Wentzel to claim the 165 pound championship. When his time for interviews came, questions came flooding in regarding the all black uniforms the team had worn throughout the tournament. Unanimously, the team

had decided they would not wear the logo of a school they felt did not support them. They had made their journey to St. Louis on their own accord, with the support of their friends and family, rather than that of their athletic department. Griffith’s success on the national stage brought widespread attention to the plight of not only the wrestling team but of the other eleven sports that had also been cut.

The only other Stanford sport that has seen competition this year is Stanford field hockey.

Taking a page out of the wrestling team’s book, they come to every match equipped with black tape. On both their red and white uniforms, the black line that cuts through Stanford sends the same message as Stanford wrestling: they will not play for a school that does not support them. On April 24, 2021, Stanford field hockey took the America East championship for four titles out of the last five years. The argument that the athletic department had previously tried to make that the programs were not winning enough, simply does not make sense.

Both programs are fighting to remain alive. Donations have been made and the eleven million price tag placed on them to retain residency in the department has been reached. How-

15 ever, Stanford has remained steadfast in their decision: they plan to keep only 25 teams. Throughout the years, Stanford has produced plenty of Olympians. It is one of the few athletic departments left in the country that has fought to keep Olympic sports alive.

With the cutting of these programs, the fear of extinction for sports like synchronized swimming is more prevalent than ever.

Stanford has been a renowned athletic department for generations. The announcement of July 8 sent shockwaves throughout the country. Cuts such as this potentially threaten every other program nation-wide. While Stanford has shared that they intend these cuts to be permanent, there is no telling what happens in the months to come. Some could say that turning some of the most brilliant student athletes in the country into enemies might not have been the best decision. One thing is for certain, however. The student athletes of the Cardinals program will continue to prove their worth. In fact, no one should be surprised if it is Stanford field hockey hoisting the national championship trophy in all black. They have a point to prove, and they will go down swinging.

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16

IT’S NOT A SUMMER BOD, IT’S JUST YOUR BOD that diets and fads do not work.

Because of this rejection, intuitive eating is often perceived incorrectly as binging on junk hen you food whenever you are hungry. were a After eating at Grand dining baby, with hall throughout freshman year, nothing but you know that you crave fruits i n s t i n c t s and vegetables just as much as to survive, any junk food, or at least I do. you cried As previously stated, the first to be fed and ate until you were principle is “Reject the Diet full and your parents couldn’t Mentality.” You aren’t failing make you eat a drop more. This when you gain weight and you summer, instead of starving should be mad that our society yourself for a summer bod or promotes “skinny” as healthy. even to make weight for what- Diets often don’t last and havever sport you play, try some- ing that lingering hope that thing new. Don’t ignore the there might be a way to magibaby inside, crying for food or cally lose 15 pounds in 15 days squirming away when they’re or to burn fat fast is not going full: try intuitive eating. to help you create healthy eatThe intuitive eating move- ing habits. ment was started in 1995 when Their second principle is to Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tri- “Honor Your Hunger.” When bole wrote “Intuitive Eating: you feel hungry, you should A Revolutionary Program that eat. I know it might sound Works.” Though it sounds like cheesy but your body gets you every other diet book, their first from place to place, it runs and principle is to reject the diet jumps, it fights a deadly panmentality because they know demic, etc. You need carbs and fats and protein to do those t h i n g s .

When your body sends a signal to your brain, you should honor that and go feed your body what it wants. It knows what you need to keep moving. Listen (Grace Dunlavy / The University News) to it! If you

By PENELOPE GARDNER Staff Writer

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put off eating until you are starving, you are more likely to just eat whatever is in sight instead of the food your body needs. Food is fuel and you need to treat it as such. You wouldn’t drive with your car on empty for mile after mile; when the light turns on, you go to the nearest gas station. When you answer that first biological signal of hunger, your body will begin to trust you and food again.

The third principle is “Make Peace with Food.” You need to let yourself eat. If you deprive yourself, that can build into craving and binging. Would you ever tell a toddler not to eat something that they are hungry for (unless it is a non-food item of course). If a toddler is screaming for the blueberries sitting in the fridge, would you tell them no and that they need to stick to a diet? If so, call CPS maybe. If you keep telling yourself not to eat, when you do eat you will experience guilt that will make the process of intuitive eating harder.

Next, their fourth principle is to “Challenge the Food Police.” Just as you protest for the causes you believe in, protest the thoughts in your head telling you that eating cake makes you a bad person. Food has no moral value in case you were unaware. Food might make you weigh more but it doesn’t make your soul heavier.

Fifth, “Discover the Satisfaction Factor’’ in food. Food is good; it is meant to taste good and make you happy. It is a basic part of human existence for the food we eat to be good. You don’t have to eat a 100 calorie

snack pack if you don’t enjoy it. Don’t eat at the Wild Mushroom in Grand if you don’t like the tofu stir fry or squash whatever.

Their sixth principle is to “Feel Your Fullness.” This is difficult when you were raised in a household where you had to clear your plate before you could leave the table. Halfway through the meal, pause and ask yourself how full you are.

Don’t worry about waste, I’m certain you can find a teenager nearby who is never full.

Listen to your body, even if it might be difficult after a lifetime of ignoring it. You can’t make a baby eat more than it wants and new parents are taught to never force them to eat. This is hard, I know. It is a process.

A misconception about intuitive eating is that it’s just stress eating all the time.

Honestly, it can be. Food provides comfort and you are entitled to that comfort. Therefore, the seventh principle is “Cope with Your Emotions with Kindness.”

(Continued online.)

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17

FAREWELL TO FIELD HOCKEY A senior athlete’s final goodbye

By ERIN MCCLELLAND Sports Editor hen you first pick up a sport as a young kid, it’s probably because your parents need a break. Twice a week, for an hour or so, you are someone else’s responsibility. It’s something to do after school or on the weekends to make friends and get out all that pent up kid energy. What you don’t realize as a kid is that before you know it, you’ll be 22 and the sport has become part of your identity.

My fun fact in every awkward first class introduction during syllabus week was, “Hi, I’m Erin and I’m on the field hockey team.” I had SLUFH #28 in my Instagram bio starting on the day I committed in September of 2016. My profile picture on LinkedIn is my roster picture. I played my last game in a Billikens uniform on April 10 and now I don’t know how to not be an athlete.

For many people, sports are just games that are entertaining to watch because of the amazing athletic abilities of those partaking. It’s something to do on a Friday night while drinking a beer with some friends after a tough day at work. Yet, for me, sports are so much more than just a game because my time as a competitive athlete has been the most rewarding experience of my life.

In 14 years I never played in front of a massive crowd cheering or taunting, never scored the game winning goal and never won a championship, but what I did do is wake up at 3 a.m. to catch flights, sacrifice school breaks for tournaments and meet some of the coolest, most hardworking people in the world. I got to wear a blue jersey that said “BILLIKENS” across the front and feel a part of a family. On the hardest days, it humbled and motivated me to remember that there are girls around the country that would give so much to be in my shoes.

Looking back, I have played field hockey for longer than I haven’t, but now my stick is hung up and I don’t know the next time I’m going to get the chance to use it again. The culmination of senior year is hard for everyone no matter what you did or didn’t participate in during your time in college, but for me it’s not just the end of college, it’s like breaking up with my first love.

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Field hockey has seen me through the most challenging times in my life and it has always been an escape when lifee gets hard. Between the white lines, I was strong, confident, powerful and genuinely happy. Not only was it my escape, it taught me everything I know about being a teammate, a friend, a mentor and a competitor.

It taught me to get up out of bed even on the days you know are going to be hard, because it’s going to make you one percent better than you were the day before. I learned that you’ll never regret a workout, no matter how hard it hurts

in the middle of it. Most importantly, I learned that the relationships you make are what truly matter in the end. In 10 years no one is going to care what the record of the 2021 SLU field hockey team was, but I know I’ll still have the love and support of the people I shared the field with no matter how far apart we may be.

Even though I know what my next steps are in my life and my career, it is going to be incredibly hard to say goodbye to my time as an athlete. Representing Saint Louis University as a student-athlete was a great joy and honor and it’s something I will never forget. When I was a sophomore my class sat down and decided that our goal was to “leave the jersey better than we found it.” I can say with complete confidence that we achieved that goal and I am so excited to watch our program only go up from here.

Field hockey will always have a huge place in my heart and I am eternally grateful for everything this sport has given me.

I may not get up to go to practice every morning, but I will always be a field hockey player.

Between the white lines, I was strong, confident, powerful and genuinely happy.

(Grace Dunlavy/The University News)

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18

WHAT ARE THE WOMEN WEARING? Why is the newest Nike drop so important?

hroughout the past five years, the WNBA has undergone a serious revolution. It’s not just that their prominence has risen, or that their draft picks have gotten increasingly more impressive and it’s not even that they have continued to sign better contracts with ESPN for coverage. Instead, it has to do with something deceivingly simple: their uniforms. When the 2016 draft took place and the pictures of the first round picks were released, there was a detail on the uniforms that was suddenly strikingly obvious: the names of sponsors were larger than the team’s logos.

This was a stark contrast to the NBA. Teams across the league had logos that spanned their entire chest. Some had logos and the names of their teams. There were alternate jerseys. There was not a sponsor to be found on the men’s uniform. In fact, even high school and college teams had the honor to play for their school without product placement interfering. The WNBA, comparatively underfunded, sold space on team’s jerseys to keep the teams outfitted.

In 2015, Nike signed a deal with the NBA making them the sole company creating uniforms for the league. The same year, the WNBA was afforded the same deal and all teams transferred to uniforms with a swoosh. But, almost immediately, Nike began work on different kinds of uniforms. The NBA was given city uniforms that pay homage to the place that hosts them. Plenty of teams have more than a third jersey option. The WNBA had two—home and away.

That changed on April 8, 2021. Nike announced and released new jerseys for all 12 teams of the WNBA. All of them would fall under the acronym H.E.R.—Heroine (home jerseys) Explorer (away uniform) and Rebel (city editions). For the first time ever, sponsor logos have been removed from the jerseys. The priority is now the team and the team’s colors. Now, the WNBA has also been afforded city jerseys, reminiscent of some of the most popular jerseys in the NBA. It is also important to note that there are specific touches that Nike has been working on for years in order to make this happen. For the first time, the women will have the chance to choose a neckline on their jersey. Knowing the body type of the professional athletes, Nike has created a new template for shorts that allows for more space through the thighs and glutes. The jerseys will have large arm holes and wider body panels to accommodate the muscularity of the women.

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By SYDNEY ALTEMOSE Associate Sports Editor

(Grace Dunlavy / The University News)

While all l2 teams have unique stories behind their third options, there are three that are remarkably unique. The first is that belonging to the Connecticut Suns. The team plays in Mohegan Arena, owned by the Mohegan tribe. They are the only professional team in sports that has proper affiliation with a Native tribe (looking at

you, Washington Football Team and Kansas City Chiefs). On their third jersey, the word “Keesusk” spans the chest. Keesusk is the Mohegan word for sun. The pattern that adorns the sides is the Mohegan “trail of life.” Their other two jerseys also feature Mohegan patterns.

The Dallas Wings third jersey is also exceptionally noteworthy. Texas manufactured the P-40 Warhawk during World War II. What’s more?

The plane was flown by Women Airforce Service Pilots, the famous WASPS, during testing. Militaristic in design, the jersey features a military green (certified military-grade) base, accompanied by a white star with a blood-red circle in the middle of it.

Finally, the Washington Mystics pay homage to being the home of liberty in the U.S. with their third option. The word “RISE” replaces the Mystics moniker. Under RISE, is an odd, almost tracing shape. It is the path that the Women’s March takes throughout downtown D.C. Printed overtop the path are the words of the 19th Amendment. There are other important pieces that pay homage to women’s history that have taken place in the nation’s capital. With the passing of D.C. statehood legislation in the House, the Rebel edition for the Mystics has especially important meaning.

Nike is one of the few athletics companies who have continuously tried to make places for women and change with the times. This new uniform collection stands as the pinnacle of Nike’s engagement with women to date. It is an important message to other female professional athletes as well as young girls who are looking to get invested in women’s sports. Another perk of this new collection with the WNBA is that Nike has released it in bulk on their platforms. It is the first time a jersey from all 12 teams is available on the Nike website. Additionally, team merch is also more widely available on the website.

For some, this is far over-due. For others, the intent, details and planning that have gone into this release make sense. What is for certain is that it has been well received by the women throughout the league and has given women’s sports hope. For years, women’s uniforms have been startlingly similar to men’s uniforms. Now, the new dawn of women’s athletics says that women’s bodies deserve outfitting made specifically for women. Nike has taken it into their own hands to make sure they are a part of that change— something especially comforting for women who have spent large parts of their career without much recognition.

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Opinion

20

the cold war is creeping back And no one seems to notice...

By STEVEN LUM Staff Writer t seems that the world is back to its good old Cold War shenanigans. Russia rapidly mobilizes its troops, the West and its allies scramble to ready what forces they can and Russia quickly withdraws those troops. This is precisely what happened near the Russo-Ukrainian border recently.

Russia sent a large number of troops to their border with Ukraine, which (understandably) alarmed the international community and sent it into a diplomatic frenzy. Russia’s excuse? The Russian Defense Minister said it was a snap drill to see if their military could defend the country. Ukraine is hardly a threat to Moscow when they are in a stalemate with Russia-backed separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine. Russia’s goal was to send a message. Prior to 2014, Ukraine had a president who maintained warm relations with Russia. In 2014, after violent protests, the then-President Yanukovych fled to Russia. Ever since then, Ukraine has sought closer relations with the transnational European Union and NATO, the American-led military alliance of Western countries.

Russia isn’t the only country that has been testing its Western-aligned neighbors; China is doing the same in the Pacific. In recent years, China has ignored other countries’

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territorial claims by building up islands across the entirety of the South China Sea. The most recent flashpoint in this conflict occurred near the Philippines after the Philippine Coast Guard found Chinese fishing boats in their waters, allegedly with militias on board. Chinese authorities denied this allegation, saying the boats were taking shelter from a storm.

Territorial water disputes are nothing new to Southeast Asia.

The South China Sea serves as an abundant source of fish and as a passageway for much of the world’s shipping. Tensions in the region ebb and flow over time as China targets one country to another, but they never completely go away.

The South China Sea is the most likely point of tension because almost all the countries in the region have competing territorial claims with each other. Aggressive clashes between countries are not uncommon; encounters range from ships following each other to ships ramming each other. It doesn’t help that China claims the entire region based on maps from “ancient times.” With that logic, a quarter of the world would still be British territory, including parts of China. The Chinese Coast Guard has already been documented chasing fishing vessels away from areas that have traditionally been used. The ultimate goal of both China and Russia is to expand their territory so they are able to have a better international posture. Russia

“Leaders like Putin are able to build out their game plan over a much longer period of time than democracies because they know that they will be in power for the foreseeable future.”

seized the Crimean peninsula in 2014, effectively cutting off the Ukrainian Navy from their own ships and ports. In the South China Sea, China has been creating artificial islands to build airfields and military bases on.

What inevitably comes with these shenanigans is panic. This includes, but is not limited to, countries regularly poking each other with bombs, general hysteria and demonization of an outside group and massive spending on defense. We will get into a weird culture war about how we are losing to “them.” We already are in the beginning of dumb culture wars to be honest, just tune into Fox News on any given day. In 1956, “In God We Trust” became the official motto of the country.

It replaced the unofficial motto, “E pluribus unum” to counter the “Godless Soviets.” The motto change did little, however, to change how the country faced the Soviets. During WWI, anything that was remotely German was considered unpatriotic. Sauerkraut was renamed “liberty cabbage” and German language newspapers disappeared. The demonization of their heritage ended up convincing

some German-Americans to later fight for Nazi Germany.

The difference between Russia, China and NATO-aligned countries is that leadership changes often in the West.

In China and Russia, elections don’t really happen. Leaders like Putin are able to build out their game plan over a much longer period of time than democracies because they know that they will be in power for the foreseeable future. In the West, policy goals change with every election and subsequent new administration. There really is no solution to this dilemma other than to stare at each other and saber rattle, because, realistically, no one wants war.

At least, not a direct war. Both sides will most likely support proxies that would be willing to fight over ocean territory because those proxies will also have interests in the territory, whether it be natural resources or simple pride.

And so, the Cold War continues as the imperialist countries involved each sponsor a rooster in the coming cockfight. The notable difference between a cockfight and a real war, however, is that human lives are at stake.

Opinion

21

It’s Time to Make the Switch... to A Menstrual Cup

By PENELOPE GARDNER Staff Writer

y favorite fold is the double seven, but not in terms of origami. No, the double seven is actually a way to insert a menstrual cup. While I know the non-menstruating people of TikTok and Twitter just figured out tampons, it’s time to confuse them again by making the switch to a menstrual cup. These handy tools don’t dry out your vagina like tampons, so they’ll help you get that WAP that Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion are raving about. So why not try it? I did.

Whenever I run out of a product, I attempt to replace it with a more eco-friendly alternative.

This past cycle I switched from tampons with cardboard applicators to a menstrual cup. If you are contemplating making a change or if this is the first it has been brought to your attention, I love it and would wholeheartedly recommend trying it out. Menstrual cups are a reusable option for your hygiene needs. They are bell shaped cups made of medical grade silicone that are inserted into the vagina to catch the menstrual blood. It can be used for up to ten years and can be inserted for up to 12 hours depending on flow, which makes it so much better for the environment than tampons or pads that are one use only.

Yes, the first time you use it will be scary.

There are so many ways to fold it and the explanation videos always assume that the vagina has nothing restricting access to it. No labia or even legs exist in the instructions. If you aren’t relaxed enough, inserting it might even hurt which could dissuade you further.

All I can recommend is to take a deep breath and persevere. To be totally transparent, removing it for the first time is even scarier.

If you have a high cervix, you will think it has entirely disappeared. Once again, relax and try another position. It can’t go anywhere and it will not fit through the cervix. I pinky promise.

But is silicone worse for the environment than

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all the plastic and other waste from pads and tampons? According to Stanford Magazine, almost 12 billion pads and 7 billion tampons are discarded every year in the United States. Most hopefully end up in landfills, but a substantial portion goes to our oceans.

Pads take 500-800 years to decompose and menstrual products that are chlorine bleached pollute the environment even more. Buying a small silicone cup every ten years makes a massive dent in that pile of waste. Silicone can even be recycled if you send it to the proper recycling facility. It is the eco-friendly option.

As those who menstruate know, you can’t use the restroom with a tampon in for the risk of the string spreading bacteria. That is not a problem for cup users because there is no exposed string. Period poops (which are actually a thing) happen seamlessly, and I am speaking from experience. Toxic-shock syndrome is obviously a constant fear with internal products, but since menstrual cups only collect and don’t absorb blood, you are not at risk for infection.

People who have IUDs might worry about the suction that the menstrual cup uses to catch every drop of blood. Though companies claim the suction is not strong enough to remove an

(Grace Dunlavy / The University News)

IUD, if you are still worried, a menstrual disc might be right for you. Menstrual discs are very similar to menstrual cups, and you can even have sex with it in place since the silicone is so flexible and it sits near the cervix like a diaphragm would. (You still have to wear a condom though because it is not a diaphragm).

For those who are now convinced, I would recommend getting a cup or disc that is very flexible. Also, get the smallest size unless you have given birth. I got the June cup on sale for $6 (not sponsored), and though the silicone is a little stiffer than I would like it, is a great option for the price. The average year of menstrual cycles cost from 50 to 100 dollars.

That is a big difference for a college student on a budget.

So why hasn’t this become a major movement since it is so good for the environment?

Reusable straws were such a fad, why couldn’t this be the new one, and one that sticks around at that? First of all, the U.S. has a capitalist economy which means that we are constantly berated to buy more. Spending six dollars instead of a thousand over a decade is a major decrease in spending. Also, people don’t want to talk about periods. It’s gross. It’s taboo.

The German Pinky Glove company even tried to make it so women wouldn’t even have to touch themselves. In commercials for period products, the liquid shown is blue, because red would be gross. Sadhana Nadathur Jayakumar wrote it best in an article with Feminism in India, “Menstrual cups become even more daunting when we are not comfortable with our body. A lot of us find it difficult to trust and love our bodies because we are used to the unrealistic beauty standards that the society has imposed on us. We need to know the inside of our vagina well enough so we know how to navigate and ensure that it’s healthy. But for many of us, the vagina is still an enigma.”

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Opinion

When Activism Goes Too Far

An overview of Demi Lovato’s recent controversy

By ANASTASIA HANONICK Staff Writer n recent years, actress and singer-songwriter Demi Lovato has taken on the role of social activist as she openly spoke out about her struggle with substance abuse, eating disorders and LGBTQ+ issues. People praised Lovato for her vulnerability and willingness to talk about topics that most would consider to be very difficult to open up about. Upon the release of her documentary titled “Dancing With the Devil,” in which she depicted her battle with opioid addiction, she received additional support from fans and activists alike.

I salute people who use their platforms to spread awareness and their perspectives on certain issues, but there comes a point where this engagement can go too far. This is perfectly illustrated by the recent controversy involving Lovato that took place April 19. That day, the singer-songwriter posted several Instagram stories in which she shunned and criticized an LA-based

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(Grace Dunlavy / The University News)

frozen yogurt shop, claiming that it was “triggering” and “difficult” for her to be there due to her struggle with eating disorders. The culprit behind these feelings were the multitude of “diet” options that were present at the store, including sugar-free cookies and dairy-free/gluten-free yogurts.

For some reason, Lovato saw these products as a personal attack. After plastering her Instagram story with multiple screenshots of her attacking the owner of the frozen yogurt shop, she proceeded to post an eight minute video on her Instagram with more complaints about the store. “I am very outspoken about the things that I believe in,” Lovato emphasized in the video. “I understand that sometimes my messaging can lose its meaning when I get emotional. I am human.”

Upon posting the video, Lovato faced understandable backlash as people spoke out about how she was ruining the reputation of a small business that is probably struggling to get by during the pandemic.

Others, including people with medical conditions like diabetes and Celiac disease called her statements “absurd” and “ridiculous” and emphasized that having sugar and gluten-free options was important for them. Upon seeing that she wasn’t receiving the support and attention she was expecting, Lovato issued an apology video in which she claimed that it was never her intention to stir up drama with the small business and put them in a bad spotlight. “I’m sorry that I got the messaging wrong. I’m sorry that I may have disappointed some people,” she said, “but I’m not coming after a small business as someone with a lot of followers. That’s not what I’m doing.”

Upon releasing the apology video, she promised to donate $100,000 to the business, which they say they never received.

After carefully examining the situation, I have one thing to say to Demi: the world does not revolve around you. Having a mental illness does not put you in a position of authority to tell others what they should and should not be doing to cater to their customers. One must understand that the needs of other people are different from your own needs. And that’s okay. We are all human beings with our own experiences, which will cause all of us to have different expectations of ourselves and others. Additionally, the world is not your trigger. Living with a mental illness or disorder is undoubtedly grueling, painful and difficult, but expecting the world to make accommodations just for you—

especially strangers who have no idea what you have gone through— is not only unrealistic but also extremely self-centered. You are the only person responsible for your healing. It is not the world’s job to fit the mold of what you perceive to be acceptable or not. Because once again— your needs might be right for you, but they might cross the boundaries of others.

For example, if the store was to comply with Demi’s obscene request to get rid of all their “diet” options, me, a woman who is vegan and has Celiac disease would no longer have anything to eat there.

Before you call someone out for their offensive behavior, ask yourself two questions: is their behavior intentionally malicious, and what is the desired outcome of you confronting them? If someone intentionally made an insensitive comment, or said something downright hurtful, or purposely did something to exclude or belittle you, you have the right to express how you feel and go as far as you need to shine light on what went wrong. But if you are going out of your way to ridicule someone who genuinely did not mean to offend you or did not know the circumstances of the situation, don’t go there. There are better ways of civilly getting your point across.

As someone who has struggled with an eating disorder for six years, I would’ve done the following in Demi’s shoes: politely thanked the owners for their time and left the store. The solution to her problem was that simple.

Opinion

23

Here’s to the class of 2021

By CONOR VAN SANTEN Opinion Editor Well, we’re reaching the end of the line: our college careers are almost over. Graduation and the “real world” loom in the not-too-distant future.

Some of us will probably grow apart over the next few years as we seek to start our own lives and define our own destinies. Some of us might not even see each other again. But that’s okay. All of that is okay.

The last year and a half has been tough for us all. We had our senior year robbed from us. Some of us have had loved ones lose their lives to this terrible pandemic. Others have struggled to find hope amid the bleak onslaught of bad news. Even now, as we start to emerge from our homes after a year or so in isolation, it can be hard to reconnect with the things that give us meaning and purpose in life. Again, that’s okay. It will be okay.

Every generation has its challenges to overcome. I won’t pretend that our generation has had it harder than anyone else, but I think it’s safe to say that we’ve had more than our fair share of difficulties. Most of us were two or three when the Twin

Towers fell. Many of us watched with concern as our loved ones struggled to overcome the Great Recession. We’ve endured a once-in-a-century pandemic and borne witness to the kind of hatred that can topple great nations. In short, our lives have been a two-decade-long emotional rollercoaster.

And yet, all of us alive today continue to find a reason to get out of bed each morning. We all find a reason to carry on, be it for a family member, a friend, a pet or even for our own sake. It teaches us so much about ourselves, each other and the world around us. Even in the midst of great hardship and pain, the universe speaks to us in strange and mysterious ways. We have to keep listening.

The path before us is unknown, and that can be scary. It’s okay to be scared.

It’s okay to be unsure of what you want to do. And, above all, it’s okay to take time for yourself. Do some soulsearching. Read a couple self-help books. Go to therapy. Breathe. You don’t have to figure everything out right this second. In fact, most people make it up as they go along.

But right now, take a moment to treasure what you’ve accomplished over the past four years. Heck, take a moment to reflect on what you’ve

(Grace Dunlavy / The University News) accomplished over the past 20 years. Savor this moment, because fulfillment can be fleeting. Look forward to hard work, good company and the years to come. Understand that, while times may get hard, there is always something worth sticking around for.

With any luck, our class will be the last to graduate during the COVID-19 pandemic. While our younger peers will be able to physically walk across the stage at their own graduation, we

must be content with a wave into a distant camera. This isn’t the end to our college career many of us had hoped for, but it is still an end. It will also be a new beginning. Let’s make the most of it.

Congratulations, Class of 2021. We did it.

UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITORIAL BOARD 2020-21 Rebecca LiVigni, editor-in-chief eic@unewsonline.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MEREDYTH Claire Battista , managingSTAUNCH editor eic@unewsonline.com managing@unewsonline.com Sophie Perry, online design editor webmaster@unewsonline.com

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