WEDNESDAY MARCH 24, 2021 www.villanovan.com @thevillanovan
STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916
VOLUME 112 | ISSUE 8
SGA Rise in AAPI Hate Inspires Mural Elects New and Reflections on Atlanta Shooting President and VP Nicole Celis Staff Writer
This week, the University Student Government Association held its annual student body elections. Available positions ranged from senatorial openings to the President/Vice President ticket. Senators represent their class year or their specified college in which they are enrolled. Fifteen Senators were announced in an email on Friday, March 19. The email also contained the results for President/ Vice President, in which juniors Caroline Levine and Ivanica Skalko were victorious over sophomores Julia Lamarre and Philip Choi. Lamarre and Choi campaigned on “putting the student back in student government” and were excited to start initiatives to improve mental health resources and creating a safer environment in terms of sexual assault. This would have included a collective increased understanding across campus of Title IX policies. Levine and Skalko have prior experience in SGA, as Levine was this year’s Vice President and Skalko was the Chief of Staff. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Levine has been heavily involved in the Community First program, especially encouraging students to follow guidelines and working with administration. She also developed the campus wide-initiative “Let’s Vote Nova” in the fall. This encouraged civic engagement across campus during the 2020 election. It helped increase voter registration and provided transportation to and from polling locations. As Chief Continued on p. 3
Alice Ke ‘23 VSB, Abbie Cho ’23 VSB, and Ascend Villanova created a mural spreading awareness about AAPI hate in Bartley Hall. Courtesy of @villanovabusiness Instagram page
Lydia McFarlane Staff Writer
As of Wednesday, March 17, federal agents joined a team investigating a shooting rampage that killed eight people on the evening of Tuesday, March 16. There were three separate shootings, and all took place within an hour of each other at three different spas in the Atlanta, GA area. Six of the eight victims who lost their lives were Asian women. Authorities arrested suspect Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock, GA. The suspect admitted to the crimes, but he denied their being racially motivated. He told investigators that
he suffers with a sex addiction and wanted to eliminate areas that he saw as a temptation to him, such as the spas. Long has been charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. All eight victims have been identified: Soon Chung Park, 74; Hyun Jung Grant, 51; Suncha Kim, 69; Yong Ae Yue, 63; Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Yan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44. One other victim, Elcias R. Hernández-Ortiz, was identified as being shot and injured by the shooter. In the face of such unprecedented violence, the families of the victims are grieving the
unexpected losses. “Just pray for my family,” the mother of Yaun said. “Pray that we can get through this. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever, ever in my whole life, had to deal with.” Her mother also told reporters that Yaun has left behind a 14-yearold son and an 18-monthold daughter. At 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, along with the Atlanta Police Department, held a press conference to address the shootings. Bottoms remarked during the conference that, “a crime against any community is a crime against us
all.” Although the gunman claimed while being taken into custody that the crimes were not racially motivated, officials have stated that it is still too early on in the investigation to officially rule out a hate crime. However, the Asian American community remains shaken. This particular incident comes during difficult times for the Asian American community. Since the beginning of the pandemic, due to racist rhetoric regarding the virus, Stop AAPI Hate has released a report saying there have been over 3,600 hate crimes against Asian Americans over the last Continued on p. 2
Villanova Advances to Sweet Sixteen Colin Beazley
Staff Writer
The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament is considered by many to be the greatest weekend of the sports year, a spectacle filled with heartbreak, jubilation and chaos, and this year’s tournament has lived up to high expectations. The Big Dance has produced incredible storylines, as Loyola
Chicago’s Sister Jean has reappeared to lead her school on another magical run to the Sweet 16, Oral Roberts has beaten all expectations to upset two seed Ohio State and seven seed Florida, and top seed Gonzaga has steamrolled two opponents, continuing its quest to be the first team to complete a perfect season since 1976. And, to top it all off, Villanova has looked every part the typical Wildcats
team despite playing without star point guard Collin Gillespie, handling a previously 23-1 Winthrop squad before
a complete team performance overwhelmed North Texas in the Round of 32. Continued on p. 13
Villanova will face Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen. Courtesy of Darron Cummings, The Associated Press
“Let Her Speak” Lecture Series Returns p. 4
Who Runs the Aux in the Connelly Center? p. 5
Grammy Awards Face Backlash over Lack of Transparency p. 5
Quizzes During Working Breaks Defeat the Purpose p. 6
Villa-Vogue Fashion Feature: Grammys 2021 Fashion p. 8
Mental Health Initiative IfYoureReadingThis.org at VU p. 9
Villanova Theatre Performs You Can’t Take It With You p. 10
Women’s Basketball Ends Season in WNIT Quarterfinals p. 13
Volleyball Splits Matches With Seton Hall p. 14
Track and Cross Country at NCAA Championships p. 15