WEDNESDAY APRIL 28, 2021 www.villanovan.com @thevillanovan
STUDENT-RUN SINCE 1916
VOLUME 112 | ISSUE 13
Board Editorial: Use This Year To Do Better Saying that the past year has been bad is, at this point, a cliché. The problem with this cliché is that it makes it difficult to not simply shrug and say, “yeah, it has been,” which ends the possibility of really getting to express why. This isn’t to say that it isn’t obvious; in our various roles as humans, citizens and students, and for many of us also in our personal and relationship roles, we have had to face hardships through this year that few through history have had to face. The issue is that the cliché also creates a situation that makes it easy to write gushing pieces about what we’ve learned and what the positives of the year have been. This isn’t on a knock on those who are optimistic. It’s just to suggest that sometimes you just have to admit something was terrible to get some use out of it. Through a pandemic that has killed millions, watching Black men and women across the country be murdered by those in power, learning of the harrowing stories women on our own campus have to tell about their experiences with sexual violence, hearing countless stories of the mental health crisis this year has caused and watching our country be torn apart at the seams by the ever-present political divisions that were exacerbated by a contentious presidential election – and this is by no means an exhaustive list – we have all, in our own way, been affected by the veritable Hell that was the previous year. Critiquing the optimism of some of us by no means suggests they are wrong. To the contrary, we want to add to their optimism, and suggest that now as we stare at the end of the pandemic, it is utterly Continued on p. 5
The Villanovan: A Year in Review
The 2020-2021 school year was unprecedented. Courtesy of Sarah Jones
Cate McCusker Co-Editor-in-Chief
On August 17, 2020, the University held its first day of classes for the 2020-2021 academic year on campus, thus beginning an unprecedented year at Villanova. Several other colleges and universities had chosen to remain virtual for the fall semester, such as the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University. However, Villanova opened its campus to all students and set in place the Caritas Commitment, a pledge to modify student behaviors in an effort to ensure the health and safety of the community. Many doubted
the University’s ability to remain on campus for the entirety of the semester, especially after videos of a large gathering of freshmen spread throughout the community during the first night of move in. University President, Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A., Ph.D., however, had confidence in Villanova. “I really believed that we could do it,” Donohue said in an exclusive interview with The Villanovan on Friday afternoon. “I wasn’t concerned that we couldn’t. There were a lot of naysayers out there. But we did it. We proved that we could do it.” And the University was successful. Students followed the Caritas Commitment and kept the case
count relatively low, despite a spike at the very end of the semester, and the fall semester concluded with everyone on campus. Over the summer, after the unjust death of George Floyd set off protests across the country, the call to action for racial justice was brought to Villanova’s campus. “I think it’s been not only a call to Villanova but a call to the nation... Particularly for me that was a call to acknowledgement,” Donohue said, reflecting on the @blackvillanova instagram, which was created over the summer as a platform for Black and POC students, faculty, and alumni at Villanova to share their experiences with the community.
“We talk so much about community here, and in some cases we really failed people. We called people to live in community, but we never realized the struggle they had in living in our community.” The Aequitas: Presidential Task Force, led by Vice President of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Dr. Teresa A. Nance, was created over the summer as an effort to “assess the racial climate on campus, identify areas for improvement, and create a plan for developing the cultural competence for all students, staff and faculty who are members of the Villanova community,” according to the University’s website. Dono Continued on p. 2
A Letter to the Class of 2021 Grant Carter
Staff Writer
Exactly a year ago, my friend Isabel Forward ‘20 wrote her own letter to the Class of 2020, hardly a month after campus was suddenly closed because of the oncoming pandemic. She said something that resonated with me, especially now: “in this big and
scary world, none of us are really strangers”. Plenty has changed since then, and in many ways, the world has gotten a lot scarier. Despite it all, I look back on what the Class of 2021 has experienced, and I am filled with optimism for where we are going next. Together, we experienced a Championship, Continued on p. 13
The Class of 2021 had an unprecedented senior year. Courtesy of Villanova University
COVID 19 Vaccine Pop Up Event p. 3
Decolonizing Series Hosts Final Event p. 4
The Freshman Experience in the Pandemic p. 5
Food Truck Friday Should Become a Villanova Tradition p. 6
The Problem with Jake Paul’s Boxing Career p. 8
VTV Holds First Ever Villys Awards p. 9
Club Spotlight: Villanova Mock Trial p. 13
Villanova’s Woodrose: Two Albums in One Year p. 14
Villanova Softball Wins Three in a Row Against St. John’s p. 17
Athlete of the Week: Madison Burke p. 19