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TUESDAY, JULY 6, 2021 VOLUME 95 ■ ISSUE 31

NEWS

OPINIONS

Parking lot construction takes place across campus.

ONLINE

Summer must include self-care.

PG 3

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @dailytoreador.

PG 2

ONLINE

INDEX NEWS OPINIONS CROSSWORD CLASSIFIEDS SUDOKU

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CAMPUS

MSU joins Tech System on Sept. 1

By MATEO ROSILES

Managing & News Editor Nearly two years in the making, Midwestern State University is set to join the Texas Tech University System on Sept. 1, 2021, following an announcement from the system in June.

The Alliance On Aug. 6, 2020, MSU and the system executed a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions to which MSU would become the fifth institution to join the system. According to the memorandum, the two institutions had to seek approval from the Texas State Legislature.

President of MSU Suzane Shipley said she is happy to see the efforts of the MSU Board of Regents, the system and herself prevail after working on this project for a year and a half. She also is excited to be joining the system of her alma mater; she graduated from Tech with her bachelor’s and master’s.

“I’m feeling a lot of positive energy, both for the excitement of the system of having a new member join and the excitement from the moment we mentioned it at Midwestern,” she said.

MSU received a formal invitation from the Tech System Board of Regents in February of 2020. President Shipley then asked the MSU Board of Regents to hold several conversations with faculty and staff about the possibility of joining the Tech system. The students, faculty and staff of the MSU campus, according to Shipley, were supportive of the move during the townhall meetings MSU hosted.

Shipley said they put together a 10-page document of frequently asked questions about the transition and the faculty and staff were really supportive. MSU alumni raised a few concerns, Shipley said, about MSU joining the system because they wanted to ensure the autonomy of the university as well as being the same university they graduated from.

“We are very distinct from Tech in that we’re a public liberal arts university. We’re the only one in the state, and our average class size is about 20 students per professor,” she said. “We don’t have large classes. We only have a couple of lecture halls on campus and so we take real pride in a type of very individualistic relationship between students and faculty with a real emphasis on undergraduate research.”

The reason MSU decided to join the system was because the complexity of higher education

Photos Courtesy of Midwestern State University

TOP: The sign of Midwestern State University, located in Wichita Falls will be the fifth institution to join the Texas Tech University System on Sept. 1. BOTTOM: Hardin Administration Building on MSU’s campus, the only liberal arts university in Texas. The university is comprised of six various colleges and a graduate school. has evolved over the past few years, Shipley said. MSU has had to hire more staff for the business side of the university, Shipley said, that it would ultimately impact the university’s ability to deliver good instructions to students.

Getting approval from the state legislature, the governor and transferring boards are a few things on MSU’s to-do list, Shipley said, with the university set to join the system of on Sept. 1. MSU is currently overseen by its own board of regents; however, the board will cease to operate on Aug. 31 with the system’s Board of Regents overseeing

the university from then on.

“Our alliance is a symbol of how diversity in higher education is important,” Shipley said.

About Midwestern University The Tech System is comprised of Tech, Angelo State University, Tech Health Science Center Lubbock and El Paso with MSU bringing its unique campus life to the mix.

MSU is the only liberal arts university in the State of Texas, Shipley said.

Located in Wichita Falls, MSU has

similar architecture to Tech’s Spanish renaissance style. However, a big difference between MSU and Tech, Shipley said, is that MSU is not fueled by athletics but rather by rich tradition “Nine percent of our students are from the Caribbean, and we have a whole week that’s our Caribbean Festival, and that’s really unusual,” she said. “And our homecoming is just a total blowout. We have an entire week of activities.”

SEE MSU, PG. 4

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tokyo Games still weigh limits on fans The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee signaled on Monday that it will change its ticket policy this week for any local fans hoping to attend.

This comes with the pandemicdelayed Olympics opening in just under three weeks.

Organizers, the International Olympic Committee and others are expected to meet this week to announce new restrictions because of the fastchanging coronavirus situation.

Organizers said a ticket lottery set for Tuesday was pushed back to Saturday to accommodate any changes.

Fans from abroad were banned months ago from attending.

Two weeks ago organizers,

the IOC, and others agreed to allow indoor and outdoor stadiums to be filled to 50% capacity with a ceiling of 10,000. Japanese news reports suggest the maximum may be dropped to 5,000 at all venues.

Some unconfirmed reports have suggested that no fans is still an option and that fan limits for night sessions could be stricter than day sessions.

There are fears that the Olympics could become a superspreader event with 11,000 Olympic athletes and 4,400 Paralympians entering from more than 200 countries. Tens of thousands of judges, sponsors, broadcasters and media must also enter.

Officials say that more than 80% of athletes and support staff will be vaccinated.

The more critical problem is the low vaccination rate in Japan, and the probability that holding Olympics events will encourage people to visit bars and restaurants and use public transportation.

The exact day of the ticket meeting has not been confirmed, but it could come at the same time as IOC President Thomas Bach arrives in Tokyo on Thursday. Bach is to spend his first three days in self-quarantine at a five-star Tokyo hotel.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Monday reported 342 new coronavirus cases. It is the 16th straight day that cases

were higher than they were a week earlier. On Saturday the capital reported 716 new cases, the highest in five weeks.

The Tokyo government announced last week it was taking the Olympic torch relay off public streets for the first half of its 15-day passage through the capital. Only outlying Tokyo islands were excluded.

Citing an unnamed source, Japan’s Kyodo news said Monday it was likely the second half of the relay leading up to the opening ceremony on July 23 would also be taken off the streets.

The relay began in March in northeastern Japan, but it has been constantly rerouted, taken off the streets, and rescheduled

to isolated parks to avoid contact with the public. The relay is heavily sponsored by CocaCola and Toyota. Suggestions to cancel the event to save money were floated after the postponement 15 months ago, but failed to gain traction.

Also, basketball player Rui Hachimura and wrestler Yui Susaki will be the flagbearers for Japan at the Tokyo Olympics, the Japanese Olympic Committee said Monday. Hachimura plays for the NBA’s Washington Wizards.

He was raised in Japan by a Japanese mother and a Beninese father. He represents a growing number of mixed race Japanese.

OPINIONS

Page 2 tuesday, july 6, 2021

COLUMN

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Summer must include self-care

By MALLORY ROSETTA Editor-in-Chief

Happy Summer II! It’s hard to believe the summer is already halfway over and another summer session has begun. Time is flying by, and for some of us, responsibilities are beginning to pile up.

Whether it be from working all summer or taking classes on-campus or online, stress tends to follow us from the school year straight into summer. This is why self-care must remain a priority for everyone, even if you feel like you never have time for yourself.

Taking on too many things during the summer can become very taxing.

MALLORY’S MUST-HEAR SONGS OF THE WEEK

Mallory Rosetta is a senior advertising major from Lubbock.

For some of us, it can be that during the school year we did not have as much free time as usual and now are trying to make up for it during summer by overbooking ourselves.

For others, it can mean having one or more jobs, taking classes and trying to balance a social life.

Whatever the case may be, it is important to take care of yourself.

Self-care looks dif-

ferent for everyone. For some, being with people 24/7 helps us feel more connected with them as well as ourselves. However, this also means you need to make sure you are carving out some time by yourself so your social battery does not get burnt out too quickly.

Some people prefer to be alone when conducting self-care, but just as it is important to take time for yourself, it is also important to spend a little time with others so as not to become isolated, which can happen easily during the summer.

It can be something as simple as FaceTiming a friend or watching a movie with your family, but hu-

man interaction is essential (sorry, introverts).

There also are smaller steps you can take to take better care of yourself during the summer. For example, if you are a person who is working, taking classes, or both, on the days you have off, take time to clean up your study/work space and make it more welcoming so that next time you need to work on something, you actually will want to.

Doing things you enjoy is probably the most important part of self-care.

It can become easy to get burnt out when you consistently are doing things that are not your favorite, so taking time to reconnect with the things

by LANY

4

“Chill”

“Easy-to-listen”

way to help distract you for a little bit and just enjoy what you are doing in the moment.

Cooking and baking are great ways to spend self-care time, especially trying new recipes or creations. Not only are they relaxing, but they also help stimulate creativity if you are feeling uninspired. I enjoy coming up with new pastries and other things to make when I am feeling overwhelmed.

There are many other tips I could give relating to self-care, but as I said earlier, self-care looks different for everyone; doing whatever will help you feel better and relax is the main goal. @MRosettaDT

“YOUNGER NOW”

“DANCING IN THE KITCHEN”

3.5

you enjoy is important.

For me, that is reading.

Whenever I am feeling super stressed out, taking my hammock out to Urbanovsky Park and reading a book outside helps me.

Having comfort items to come back to also is a great self-care tool. Sometimes when things feel uncertain, a sense of familiarity really can help you balance yourself. This can be as simple as watching that one movie or TV show you’ve seen thousands of times and can recite wordfor-word or listening to your favorite music artist on repeat.

Having something that brings you comfort when you are stressed is a great

4

4

by MILEY CYRUS “Nostalgic” “Great lyrics” “Calming”

Mallory Rosetta is a senior advertising major from Lubbock.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Demolition boosts search at condo, storms pose threat Rescuers searched through fresh rubble Monday after the last of the collapsed Florida condo building was demolished, which allowed crews into previously inaccessible places, including bedrooms where people were believed to be sleeping at the time of the disaster, officials said.

But they faced a new challenge from thunderstorms that hit the area as Tropical Storm Elsa approached the state.

Three more victims were discovered in the new pile,

Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told family members, raising the death toll to 27 people.

Another 118 people remain unaccounted for.

The demolition late Sunday was crucial to the searchand-rescue effort, officials said, and raised the prospect that crews could increase both the pace of their work and the number of searchers at the site, although the chance of finding survivors 12 days after the June 24 collapse has diminished.

“We know that with every day that goes by, it is harder to see a miracle happening,” said Maggie Castro, a firefighter and paramedic with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue who briefs families daily.

Teams had been unable to access areas closest to the remaining structure because of its instability, MiamiDade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.

“Truly we could not continue without bringing this building down,” she said at a news conference.

Part of the existing debris pile was also helping to support the remaining structure, City of Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll said. Rescuers were still holding out hope of reuniting loved ones.

“We continue to remain focused on our primary mission, and that is to leave no stone unturned and to find as many people as we can and to help bring either some answers to family and loved ones or to bring some closure to them,” Carroll said.

LA VIDA

@DailyToreador www.dailytoreador.com

PARKING

Page 3 tuesday, july 6, 2021

Parking lot construction takes place across campus

By MALLORY ROSETTA Editor-in-Chief

Anyone who has been on Texas Tech’s campus this summer may have noticed a change in the parking lot between the Student Union Building and the Administration building.

Although lot R-7 is torn up, construction will be completed in the fall to reveal a new pedestrian mall for students.

Brandon Richard, media relations coordinator with Tech Transportation and Parking Services, said this is the biggest parking lot construction project happening this summer and the one TPS is most excited about.

“So, construction started earlier this summer and is projected to finish before the fall, you know, weather pending and a few things like that could delay it. But the goal is to have it done before the fall,” he said. “The cool thing about this project is that it’s going to beautify the area a lot. They’re putting in trees, benches and tables and making it much more pedestrian friendly.”

Because the parking lot is one of the bigger and busier lots during the school year, Richard said the construction is creating a safer environment for students, faculty and staff to walk through with a sidewalk going through the middle.

Aside from the construction happening in R-7, Richard said there are four additional parking lot construction projects happening around campus.

Lot C-10, located behind the Animal Food and Sciences building, has been

under construction since last summer, Richard said. This lot is being expanded to allow for additional parking spots, as the completed construction of the Dustin R. Womble Basketball Center took away a few parking spots in the Commuter West lot.

Lot C-1, or Commuter North, located west of the Jones AT&T Football Stadium, also is adding spaces, Richard said. The lot is adding spaces near where the Coliseum used to be located on campus since the building was torn down two years ago.

Lot Z-5, located by the Stangel-Murdough residence hall, is made up of two larger lots and one smaller one located east of Stangel. Richard said the smaller lot will be removed. Z-5 now will be limited to the two larger lots north of Murdough.

The last parking construction project taking place is in the R-3 lot, a small visitor park-and-pay lot located south of the Maedgen Theater. Richard said this lot temporarily has been removed while construction on the theater is taking place.

Although these projects may seem temporarily inconvenient, Richard said they are all ultimately happening to benefit the students, faculty and staff.

“Changes that were put in place only help and are actually only adding more parking,” Richard said. “I feel like every summer there’s always projects because that’s the time when we can do those projects. And so, it’s always a concern, like, ‘How is this going to affect the student body or faculty?’ Thankfully, it’s only helping.”

MALLORY ROSETTA/The Daily Toreador

TOP: Construction of a pedestrian mall for students is taking place in the R-7 parking lot located between the Texas Tech Student Union Building and the Administration Building. LEFT: A construction worker uses machinery to work on the R-7 parking lot on Monday, July 5, 2021.

@MRosettaDT

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NEWS

JULY 6, 2021

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CAMPUS

Interim dean discusses call-to-action letter, college’s action

By MATEO ROSILES

Managing & News Editor One year ago on July 1, the School of Theatre and Dance and the administration at Texas Tech received a call-to-action letter from students and alumni of the school.

The letter stated that the School of Theatre and Dance is lacking in diversity in faculty and staff as well as selection productions which have resulted in displays of tokenism and racist depictions of black, indigenous and other people of color on stage.

The letter further asked for reparations and ongoing accountability, changes in institutional structure, leadership, and recruitment and focused education and programming.

The J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts contains the School of Art, the School of Music and the School of Theatre and Dance within the college.

Genevieve DeCesaro, appointed on Sept. 1, serves as the interim dean of the college and said the college, on the whole, has taken steps to rectify the situation.

“So after we received the call to action, I think the first thing we did was take a hard look at where we really failed,” DeCesaro said. “The call to action came in the middle of a fairly substantial leadership transition in the college and also in

MSU

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1

MSU has a lake on campus and during homecoming week students make boats with cardboard and duct tape and race them

one of our units and it was during the summer of COVID-19.”

DeCesaro said things were not happening as fast as they should have; however, each school within the college created its own diversity, equity and inclusion committees composed of students, faculty and staff. The college as a whole also created a committee to address issues.

The college committee identified several projects dealing with diversity, equity and inclusion to help support, DeCesaro said. Some of the projects included financially supporting the Humanities Center at Tech with an anti-racism project as well as supporting efforts from the Office of International Affairs.

“So they are really examining things like a land acknowledgment that’s not performative,” she said. “They’re looking at how to better promote and make visible programs related to DEI work across the schools so that, for example, students in the School of Theatre and Dance know when something is happening in the school of music that relates to diversity, equity and inclusion.”

The college also is working on translating material’s on the college website into Spanish, DeCesaro said, to help current and prospective students and parents access the information in

their preferred language.

The college also has set up micro-grants to help fund projects for art, music and theater that respond to student’s experiences on campus.

DeCesaro said there were seven projects submitted last year, with five of them being funded totaling about $10,000. She said the college continue this effort next year.

“Ideally, the participants would be from multiple units within our college. And the idea is how are our students actually experiencing discrimination and what can our arts do in response to that,” she said.

The letter asked for an apology from the School of Theatre and Dance and was directed at the previous dean of the college; however, DeCesaro said she took it upon herself to acknowledge the missteps the college made and she is given the time to grow from those mistakes.

“I sit in a position of privilege as a white woman and the things that I respond to I do from that position of privilege and so it’s necessary for me to say, in a fairly consistent way, I’m going to get things wrong,” she said.

“And I hope that you (the members of the college) all will help pick me up from that fall and we’ll keep walking together.”

The letter further asked for mandatory mul-

across the lake, Shipley said, as well, the university will host a fish fry on the lake. During summer, faculty and staff have Fridays off while working for 10 hours a day on Monday through Thursday. Wednesdays are their Summer Sizzlers where

a department on campus will host an hour of treats and relaxation for faculty and staff, Shipley said.

MSU contains six colleges on campus, Shipley said with them being the McCoy College of Science, Mathematics & Engineering, Dillard College of

FILE PHOTO/The Daily Toreador

The J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts Maedgen Theatre on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019. Students in theCollege of Visual and Performing Arts submitted a call-to-action letter about diveristy, equity and inclusion issues withing the School of Theatre and Dance on July 1, 2020, and the college has taken action to meet the needs requestied ticultural training within the school; however, DeCesaro said it would be hard to make training such as that mandatory.

Faculty members do have access to the Teaching, Learning & Professional Development Center for further professional development programs, she said.

The college also is helping promote diversity

within its faculty and staff when it comes to hiring, DeCesaro said. COVID-19 also played into the efforts of the college positively in that the college was able to bring lecturers from various backgrounds to teach or talk to students in a virtual medium.

“As a College of Visual Performing Arts. I think we are uniquely positioned to lead on this

campus and in this community conversations about eliminating racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination from who we are and what we do,” DeCesaro said. “If we can’t lead the way in those conversations, we’re leaving a gap. We’re failing ourselves, we’re failing our students, we’re failing our communities.”

Business Administration, Lamar D. Fain College of Fine Arts, Robert D. & Carol Gunn College of Health Services & Human Sciences, Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities & Social Sciences and Gordon T. & Ellen West College of Education, as

well as the Dr. Billie Doris McAda Graduate School.

“A lot of the professors’ research is about how students learn their topic, or it’s research done with the students, and we put a very high priority on publications that are made by students as well

as faculty,” she said.

Unlike Tech, Shipley said, MSU has smaller class sizes and a more intimate classroom experience. Students can live on campus in a residence hall where everyone knows each other.

@MateoRosilesDT

@MateoRosilesDT