WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 www.villanovan.com @thevillanovan
STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916
VOLUME 111 | ISSUE 11
COVID-19 Tracker p. 2 Public Safety Blotter p. 2
University Students, Faculty and Community See Increase in Positive COVID-19 Cases
NYT Releases Information on President Trump’s Tax Returns p. 3 Recap: Sept. 29 Presidential Debate p. 4 Amy Coney Barrett Nominated to Fill Supreme Court Seat p. 4 COVID-19 and Villanova’s Next Generation p. 5 Safety Now, Reward Later: Falvey Library p. 7 Letter from the Editors: It’s Time to Recommit p. 7 Freshman Senate Elections Feature p. 8 & 9 SSC Pushes Campus Styrofoam Ban p. 10 Student Zoom Fatigue p. 11 Rethink Fast Fashion p. 11 A Beginner’s Guide to Thrift Shopping p. 12 Special Olympics Volunteers Share Athlete Stories p. 13 Women’s Basketball Welcomes New Class & New Coach p. 14 Men’s Soccer Adds to Roster p. 14 Student-Athletes Utilize Their Right to Vote p. 15 Potential NBA Teams for Former Wildcat Saddiq Bey p. 15
Emily Cox Co-Editor-in-Chief This weekend, the University community saw the addition of at least 29 new, positive COVID-19 cases to the school’s coronavirus dashboard. Many students, faculty and members of the community were alarmed by this spike, as it was the greatest increase seen in a single weekend since students returned back to classes on Aug. 17. Nick Tumuolo, Assistant Dean of Students, sent an email to members of the University’s Student First Committee early Saturday afternoon, raising concerns of the uptick. “If you have not yet seen today’s COVID-19
Campus Dashboard, there are 11 new positive cases reported this morning, and we are using approximately 30% of our isolation and quarantine space,” Tumolo wrote in his email. “While these current numbers are still manageable, this increase calls for all of us to double-down on our efforts to stop further spread. As student leaders, we need you to reach out to your peers, organizations, and social networks to bring today’s dashboard to their attention, and urge everyone to use sensible measures and to put Community First, tonight and ongoing. We have an opportunity right now to ensure we are not on a trajectory that will become problematic.” Student leaders on
One of the many signs, encouraging mask-wearing, decorates The Oreo. Courtesy of The Villanovan
the committee were not the only people members of the administration spoke to. A Zoom call took place on Saturday afternoon with Assistant Dean Tumolo, Associate Vice President for Student Life Kathleen Byrnes and Director of Presidential Initiatives and Events Christine Quisenberry. All members of the Panhellenic Council executive board, Interfraternity Council executive board and respective members from each NPC and IFC chapter on campus were asked to join the call. Nearly 80 students joined the call. Junior Mariana Marquez, Vice President of Standards for the chapter of Kappa Delta, attended this Zoom meeting. She explained that members of the
administration were asking those on the call to use their respective influence within the Greek Life community to correct practices that may not be safe or within the clearly defined rules by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. According to Marquez, those leading the call specifically mentioned fraternity rush and sorority member involvement in these events as possibly contributing to the rise in cases. On the call, Tumolo mentioned how other schools, like The University of Virginia, are starting to implement stricter protocols for students, such as curfews and restrictions on all in-person gatherings. While the University has yet to enforce stricter
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University’s Socially-Distant 1842 Day a Success Jack Birle Staff Writer On Tuesday Sept. 22, Villanova University held its fourth annual 1842 Day fundraiser. The University raised over $5.9 million from 7950 donors during the 24-hour fundraiser. According to the University, 1842 Day is “Villanova’s giving day” and allows students, faculty, alumni and others to help different organizations at the University. The goal of the first 1842 Day in 2017 was to get 1,842 donors donating in 1,842 minutes. This year’s event had the challenge of getting 1,842 donations to unlock a one million dollar donation to the University’s Waterhouse Family Institute for the Study of Communication and Society.
The Waterhouse Family Institute for the Study of Communication and Society was established in 2010 from a donation from University alumnus Lawrence Waterhouse Jr. The goal of the institute is to emphasize the role of communication in social change. Organizations which could be donated to as part of 1842 Day included Campus Ministry, the Villanova Athletic Fund, The Student Emergency Fund, the Career Center and NOVAdance. Donations to any of the University’s colleges also qualified as part of 1842 Day. The organization that raised the most money on 1842 Day was the Villanova Annual Fund with $201,348.06 from 827 donors, followed by the School of Business Fund with $129,184.31 from 527
donors and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Fund with $71,825.56 from 522 donors. Due to coronavirus restrictions, the event was centered around a nearly 10 hour livestream on the 1842 Day website. Some events were still held in-person with social distancing in mind. The traditional 1842 Day Mosaic was available on campus near the Connelly Center and online on the 1842 Day website. The livestream was hosted by University alumnus Keith Jones from the University’s new Center for Performing Arts, which opened earlier this year amid the coronavirus pandemic. Lauren Dugan and Darryl Reynolds, also University alumni, provided updates from on-campus and on Zoom throughout the livestream.
University President Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A., Ph.D. opened the livestream with a message to students, faculty, staff, and alumni. “While today will look and feel a little different than previous 1842 Days, we are continuing to come together and celebrate the great causes throughout the University that will benefit from your gifts,” Donohue said. “Thank you for all that you do for Villanova today and always.” Highlights from the livestream included virtual rides on the “Cat Cab,” a preview of the new Center for Performing Arts, an update on the return to campus and interviews with University leaders. The goals set by the University for the event were greatly exceeded, with nearly 8,000 donors from all 50 U.S. states and Canada.
