WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 8, 2021 www.villanovan.com @thevillanovan
STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916
VOLUME 113 | ISSUE 11
Board Villanova vs. South Dakota State Preview Editorial: Michigan Shooting
On Tuesday, November 30, a gunman terrorized Oxford High School in Oakland County, Michigan, killing four students and shooting 11 people total. The shooter was identified as Ethan Crumbley, and he was arrested and charged as an adult with four counts of First-Degree murder and terrorism. The motive remains unclear. The victims have been identified as Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Justin Shilling, 17; and Tate Myre, 16. The shooting at Oxford High School marks the 29th school shooting in 2021, the 21st since the school year began in August 2021, according to Education Week. School shootings declined in numbers because of the pandemic and lack of students attending in-person school. However, the return of normalcy and in person school has come with a stark rise in school shootings since August. The warning signs were ignored, as Crumbley showed a pattern of interest in guns and was pulled out of class the morning of the shooting for depicting violent illustrations of a gun and person wounded by gunshot surrounded by the words, “Blood everywhere,” and “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.” He was sent back to class with the gun in his pocket the entire time. Current Villanova students in the Class of ‘22 and ‘23 have felt the fear of an unknown possible shooting threat first-hand. Despite later finding out there was no real danger, experiencing an active-shooter threat on Villanova’s campus in 2019 was nothing short of terrifying. Everyone that Continued on p. 10
On Saturday Villanova will face South Dakota State with a trip to the semifinals. Courtesy of Victoria Margenat/The Villanovan Photography
Matt Ryan Staff Writer
Coming off its first FCS playoff victory in the Mark Ferrante era, a 21-16 win over Holy Cross, No. 5 Villanova (10-2) takes on South Dakota State (10-3) at home on Saturday with a trip to the semifinals on the line. The Jackrabbits, in their 10th consecutive postseason appearance, are coming off a road victory over No. 4 Sacramento State, 24-19. Saturday’s 2 p.m. contest is the second between the two programs, the first coming in 2016 where the Jackrabbits bested the Wildcats, 10-7,
in the second round of the playoffs. Virtually every member of each squad in that matchup is no longer at their respective program, with the exception of some sixth-year players for Villanova. The story of the game will be the matchup between Villanova’s defense and South Dakota State’s offense. The Wildcats enter the contest giving up just 15.2 points per game, seventh in the FCS, while the Jackrabbits travel to Villanova with the eight best scoring offense, averaging 37.7 points an outing. Don’t be fooled by the Jackrabbits’ failure to
secure a first-round bye. This is a team that has realistic championship expectations. A season ago, it took a touchdown with less than 20 seconds remaining for Sam Houston to defeat SDSU in the national championship game, denying the program its first title in school history. From that FCS finalist squad, not much has changed. Key players on both sides of the ball are back, but the main difference from last year’s team to this year’s is the absence of star quarterback Mark Gronowski. Gronowski injured his leg during the first drive of the national championship game a
season ago and missed his entire sophomore campaign. Replacing Gronowski is graduate Chris Oladokun. Oladokun transferred to South Dakota State over the summer after starting his career at the University of South Florida and then transferring to Samford. Replacing the FCS Freshman of the Year is by no means an easy task, but in his sixth year of college, Oladokun has done a stellar job. In 13 games this season, Oladokun has completed 62% of his passes (204-of-328) for 2,697 yards, 22 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He Continued on p. 13
VSMT Legally Blonde Show Review Sara Hecht
Staff Writer “Everyone, say cheese! No, say Legally Blonde!” This past Thursday, Dec. 2, Villanova Student Musical Theatre (VSMT) opened its first production of the semester in the Mullen Performing Arts Center’s Court Theatre. All performances were entirely sold out as students, family and friends were eager to see this amazing production.
A 2000s classic, “Legally Blonde: The Musical” is the upbeat and inspiring
story of a young woman, Elle Woods, who follows her ex-boyfriend, Warner Hun-
All performances of Villanova Student Musical Theatre’s Legally Blonde sold out. Courtesy of Villanova Student Musical Theatre (VSMT)
tington III, all the way to Harvard Law School. “What, like it’s hard?” The fashion major goes in hopes of winning Warner back but along the way discovers she never needed a man in the first place. Now aware of the strength and intelligence she has always had, and equipped with “legal jargon,” Elle is ready to take on the world and, perhaps, find a man worthy of her one who acknowledges she is a strong, independent woman. Continued on p. 8
University Community Celebrates the Holidays p. 2
Abroad Students Get Ready to Return to the US p. 3
Temple Shooting and Student Calls for Reform p. 4
All’s Well That Ends Well p. 5
Winter Break Should Start at Thanksgiving p. 5
Spotify Wrapped: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year p. 6
Fraternity Announces First Sweetheart in Five Years p. 9
Villa-Vogue x Jordan Francis: Dear Virgil Abloh p. 11
Women’s Soccer Hires New Head Coach p. 13
Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree Returns p. 15