March 2021

March 2021 | University of Evansville | crescent.evansville.edu

2021 STAFF WRITING

CONTENTS

WRITING DIRECTOR Avery Pereboom

3 Harlaxton From Afar

WRITERS Jillian Koch

5 Food Insecurity

Dallsa Koth Abraham Beidas

7 The Loop

CREATIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR

11 Coloring Page

Sama Matkari CREATIVE ASSISTANT

12 Cover Story

Jasmine Brents CONTENT ASSISTANT

13 Coping With Covid

Abraham Beidas

CRESCENT MAGAZINE is the University of Evansville’s student magazine. It is written, edited and designed by and for UE students and published six times during the academic year. Circulation is 1,500, and it is distributed to 18 campus locations and housed online at www.cresceent.evansville.edu It is funded through advertising sales and a subscription fee paid on behalf of students by the Student Government Association. Printed by MarKel Printing, Newburgh, Ind. ©2021 Student Media, University of Evansville.

HOW TO CONTACT US

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EDITORIAL POLICY: Commentary expressed in unsigned editorials represents a consensus opinion of the magazine’s Editorial Board.

Other columns, reviews, articles and advertising are not necessarily the opinion of the CMEB or other members of staff.

Crescent Magazine | March 2021 | 2

Article > Study Abroad

Harlaxton From Afar Jillian Koch

A manor, once full of youthful voices and magical energy, sits empty and awaiting an adventure just like so many students at the University of Evansville. Harlaxton Manor has not housed students since March 14, 2020, and many people on both sides of the Atlantic desperately want to change that.

For thousands of individuals, Harlaxton holds a special place in their hearts. On average, the manor has housed around 120 to 150 students each semester since 1971 when the University of Evansville acquired it. From British Studies lectures in the Long Gallery and seminars in the State Dining Room to late nights in the Bistro and early morning breakfasts in the Refinery, countless memories will live on Dr. Nicola Boyle forever. In many of those memories are British faculty and staff, who are equally lonely without their American companions.

When it was announced that students’ semester abroad would be cut short, Harlaxton faculty also had to leave the manor.

“It was an unbelievable moment and really brought home how serious the pandemic was,” Dr. Nicola Boyle, professor of British studies, said.

Students at Harlaxton had heard about COVID but didn’t quite understand its severity. Still, the idea loomed over them, despite their efforts to put it out of mind.

“The announcement [of our departure] seemed to come out of nowhere at the end of a British Studies lecture,” Crayton Chestnut, a junior business management and marketing major, said. Some were in total shock and others cried, while professors did what they could to console them.

Halfway through the semester, everyone returned home and prepared for video lectures and Zoom seminars. Dr. Boyle said she set up shop in the dining room – her husband on one side

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having business meetings while she talked about Shakespeare on the other side. It was definitely not the way she expected to finish the semester, but it was her new reality.

While disappointed his semester abroad was cut short, Chestnut is grateful he experienced Harlaxton and traveled to the few countries he could. Meanwhile, students like Jessica Smith, a senior music therapy major, had their trips cancelled before the adventure even began. She was scheduled to study abroad during the summer of 2020, but slowly accepted the reality that her Harlaxton experience would not happen.

“I looked forward to gaining independence from my parents and seeing the world,” Smith said when asked what had excited her most about going to Harlaxton. This is a dream many college students have, and one Harlaxton is often able to fulfill.

“The manor needs to be filled with the voices of young people,” Dr. Boyle, who has visited the manor many times since lockdown, said.

She misses hearing students’ stories and turning a corner to find theatre majors doing something crazy.

Students at Harlaxton College have those same feelings of turning the corner and finding a new adventure. Dalton Selvidge, who studied abroad the fall semester of 2018, loved the mystery of

going through one of the manor’s passages or down an odd corridor.

“I was discovering something for the first time, but it had already been discovered so many times before by others,” Selvidge said.

That’s the beauty of Harlaxton – it doesn’t change, but we do.

Truman Schulz, who studied with Selvidge that semester, mentioned that the professors became a big part of his life.

“I built relationships with them I never would have been able to in the States,” Schulz said, because professors would often eat lunch with students in the Refinery or attend house competitions in the Great Hall.

Meredith Warren, who attended Harlaxton in the spring semester of 2019, loved the British Studies course taught by native British professors.

“They teach differently than American professors and truly take time to hear their students’ thoughts and opinions on the country’s history,” Warren said, fondly recalling her seminar classes.

During the week, it’s all Britain all the time. On weekends, though, students break out of the manor and for new experiences in different countries. While sitting in a coffee shop on a cloudy day in Evansville, Selvidge reminisced on walking down the back streets of Athens, Greece. He liked visiting what he called the “nontouristy places”, where people don’t often speak English. Noticing meat kabobs spinning in a window, he walked into the shop and ordered…or at least, tried to order.

their pierogis – a kind of dumpling – they sat around the table with the instructors and talked like old friends. If she hadn’t been assigned a random roommate, Warren might never have gone to Poland and had that experience.

As we continue with online classes and working from home, those who have been to Harlaxton treasure the memories they made while those who have not long for the day they can. Though the manor is a dream in itself, Dr. Boyle said her favorite part of Harlaxton is the life the students bring to it.

On his last night in the manor, Schulz broke off from his group of friends and wound up sitting in solitude in the Great Hall.

“After a semester that was often busy, the introspection hit all at once that I was leaving,” Schulz said. The most amazing four months of his life thus far had come to an end.

“The man muttered something in Greek to which I responded in English and neither of us could figure out what to say,” Selvidge said. The man brought out his daughter, so Selvidge thought he might actually be able to order. Unfortunately, she didn’t speak much English either and he ended up leaving to find another “back street place” that could understand him. He loved those kinds of adventures, though.

When thinking of her own semester travels, Warren cherished one of her last weekend trips. Her roommate, whom she had only met three months before, longed to travel to Poland.

Warren had never thought of going to the Slavic country, but it sounded exciting and she had nothing else planned.

“We did things very different from other trips, like making pierogis in a cooking class,” Warren said. She and her friends were the only participants of the class, and once they finished making

Crescent Magazine | March 2021 | 4

Article > About Our Community

Food Insecurity on Campus and Beyond Dallas Koth

Food insecurity describes a household’s inability to provide enough food for every person to live an active, healthy life. Food insecurity is one way we can measure and assess the risk of hunger.

The thought of not knowing when your next meal will be or how you will afford it is scary, but it has become a reality for roughly one in six people in the Tri-State area. Food insecurity is even more prevalent now, as many companies have laid off employees or closed altogether due to the pandemic. For families who live paycheck to paycheck and desperately need their regular income, a layoff for the household provider spells disaster.

Food insecurity is a problem that knows no boundaries. It is even prevalent here at the University of Evansville. Food is scarce for a significant and diverse portion of our population; however, many local non-profits, food pantries and organizations are doing what they can to provide for those in need.

At the University of Evansville, actions have been taken to help support students who cannot afford enough food for themselves.

Aces Haven was started in 2019 to help support students at the university. The organization is stationed in Neu Chapel, where any student in need can go in on their own time, unannounced, and get necessary food supplies.

Theda Soldatou, former president of the University of Evansville’s Student Government Association, is involved with Aces Haven.

“Food insecurities are an issue that many universities are facing, and even though there were already resources on campus to address some of the need, we thought it was appropriate to create a center that could bring everyone together,” Soldatou said.

“We have also branched out to hygiene products, as well as school supplies and clothing items. We are in the process of growing to fill even more needs for students,” Grant Oxford, vice president of the Student Government Association, said. Oxford oversees the operation with the occasional help of community volunteers and campus fraternities.

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Although the organization is relatively small, it hopes to make a big difference in the lives of those with serious concerns.

“We have partnered with student organizations to coordinate donation drives. We also partnered with a local church, who donated time, supplies and a large monetary sum. We do a drive at the end of the semester to donate Ace Bucks and supplies to continue to keep Aces Haven full.” The Ace Bucks are mostly donated directly by UE students who would otherwise let them go to waste. “These Ace Bucks can be used by approved students to utilize in Café Court so they are able to have a meal,” Oxford said.

The supplies Aces Haven offers and stocks for students is used regularly, but even if it only makes a difference in one individual’s life, the organization is accomplishing a great deed. “I believe that [Aces Haven] has done a lot of good to our campus community and it demonstrates the spirit of the Aces family,” Soldatou said.

Outside the university, multiple organizations in the Evansville area have taken initiative to help support individuals and families who deal with food shortages regularly. The Tri-State Food Bank has created a network of charities and food drives to help distribute large amounts of nutritious food to families facing food insecurity and individuals who need it most.

“It’s really incredible what they are able to do there. The people are friendly, and they really want to make a difference in other

people’s lives,” Caleb Stevenson, who volunteered regularly at the Tri-State Food Bank in 2020, said. The impact organizations like the Tri-State Food Bank can make is significant and should not be overlooked, as they give individuals the sustenance to get back on their feet.

“If you volunteer there, you’ll begin to understand how much the organization does for those in need. Seeing the warehouse and all the inventory is shocking. They distribute an incredible amount of produce,” Stevenson said.

People are being sent home from work, and the number of food insecure families is rising. Nonetheless, Tri-State Food Bank is distributing more food than ever, and continuing to support those in need those affected by the pandemic and other personal crises.

Other organizations such as Feed Evansville and Urban Seeds are fighting to reduce food insecurity in the local community.

Feed Evansville is a task force that was established at the beginning of 2020, when the pandemic hit, and has collaborated with multiple businesses and non-profits to distribute food items and meals to locals in need. Their goal is solely to serve the community during these uncertain times and be an additional resource for others to lean on. Although the organization started to help families who were struggling during the pandemic, Feed Evansville’s activeness and passion to help the community has continued even as life begins to return to normal.

Evansville’s Urban Seeds is the lead organization for Nourish, a national nonprofit that works with food suppliers like grocers and restaurants to broaden community access to fresh food, especially for people facing food insecurity. By managing an online grocery platform and administering SNAP benefits at the Market on

Main and Franklin Street Bazaar, Urban Seeds connects food insecure individuals to fresh fruits and vegetables produced by local farmers at an affordable price.

One of the most impactful parts of Urban Seeds’s outreach is its educational initiatives. The organization holds classes that teach people how to plan, shop for and cook meals on a budget, in addition to a second course that instructs professionals and volunteers on how to help the victims of food insecurity and poverty overcome resulting trauma.

Food insecurity is a problem that haunts millions of people around the world and many here in the Evansville community. In the United States, roughly 10.5% of households reported some level of food insecurity in 2019. Then COVID-19 hit, and that number rose to 27.5% by the summer of 2020. The University of Evansville’s Aces Haven is making a valiant effort to lower the number of students on our campus who deal with this problem. Local organizations such as Tri-State Food Bank, Urban Seeds, Feed Evansville and others are doing the same for the entire community. It is a problem that may never go away. However, people can and are making a difference in the lives of those who deal with food insecurity.

Food Insecurity Statistics 13.3%

Indiana Overall Food Insecurity Rate

18.1%

Indiana Child Food Insecurity Rate

14.5% 18.1%

19.9%

Vanderburg County Overall Food Insecurity Rate

Vanderburg County Child Food Insecurity Rate

Source: https://map.feedingamerica.org/county/2018/child/indiana

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The Loop > Stay in the Know

Drink Of The Month: Ingredients:

COVID-NINETINI

1. 1.5oz Vanilla Vodka (1 Shot glass-full) 2. 1oz Coconut Rum

3. Splash of Pineapple Juice 4. Sugar (Optional) 5. Pineapple Slices

Directions:

1. Run your glass with sugar (highly recommended) 2. Fill a shaker with ice 3. Add Vodka+Rum

4. Add Pineapple Juice for flavor 5. Shake and strain in glass

6. Garnash with a pineapple slice

This drink is exactly what you need after the whirlwind year of 2020: intense, bright, tart and super easy to make at your convenience. Although this drink is a twist on a classic coconut martini, the pineapple adds a balance of sweetness and acidity. Just make sure to get “turnt” responsibly and enjoy your drink.

Making Comebacks Scrunchies

Fanny packs Platform sneakers Overalls Chokers Leopard print

Switch

it Up

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

-Winston Churchill

Didn’t I see you on the cover of Vogue?

If I followed you home, would you keep me?”

Are you French? Because ma-damn, you’re fine.

I think you’re suffering from a lack of vitamin me.

Is there an airport nearby, or is it my heart taking off?

Pick Up Lines

People’s

Tweets “CDC: Wear a mask! Social Distance! Get the Vaccine!

Me: Absolutely!

CDC: Don’t eat raw cookie dough Me: I’ll see you in hell”

- @daphinethewriter

“I will jump out the shower naked just to skip a song, idc”

- @immanwrl

“Ugh I was supposed to perform WAP at the inauguration today but I had a dentist appointment :( :(“

- @iamcardib

random > off the wall

“Hard Times” Charles Dickens (Bradbury and Evans, 1854)

“The 48 Laws Of Power” Robert Greene (Penguin Books, 2000) “A Promised Land” Barack Obama (Crown, 2020)

“Chosen Ones” Veronica Roth (HMH Books, 2020)

Great Reads

Discombobulate Word Of The Month

to confuse (someone)

1. WAP - Cardi B & Megan the Stallion 2. Adore You -Harry Styles 3. Dynamite- BTS 4. Blinding Lights- The Weeknd 5. Lose You To Love Me - Selena Gomez

Popular

Songs (#1 Billboards)

6. Rain On Me- Ariana Grande & Lady Gaga 7. Say So -Doja Cat 8. Cardigan- Taylor Swift 9. Drivers License - Olivia Rodrigo 10. Stuck With You- Justin Bieber & Ariana Grande

Make your classes your top priority. As an incoming college student, you’ve got to be thinking about all kinds of opportunities that will emerge. From living in some cool new city to possibilities of going to “crazy college parties,” you are probably thinking about all kinds of exciting things that college has to offer.

Shoot for perfect attendance in your classes. Sure, this goal may be hard to achieve- but at least shoot for it. Attendance is a better predictor of success in college than is just about anything. It is a better predictor of college GPA than are SAT scores, for instance.

Don’t even come close to plagiarizing. There is nothing worse than plagiarism. Students who are called out on plagiarism may claim that they didn’t know that they were doing constituted plagiarizing, and they often are surprised when professors take punitive actions.

Take notes with a good old pen and paper. Occasionally, a student will take notes with a laptop or Ipad. This makes your professors wary. Writing out notes during class is a critical skill that will help you best learn the material.

College Tips for Freshman

The Loop > Stay in the Know

1. Take the Plunge If you’ve always wanted to try ice skating or table tennis, then go for it!

2. Get Moving Even if a 6 a.m. jog sounds like a nightmare, a hike out in nature or a stroll around campus can be a great way to clear your head.

3. Fitness Classes Visit the UE Fitness Center for classes like yoga, kickboxing and line dancing.

4. Connect with Friends Meet new friends and connect with old ones through activities like intramural sports or a weekly bike ride.

5. Volunteer There are plenty of ways to give back to your community while staying fit. Walking dogs at the humane society is the ultimate win-win. ½ - DON’T FORGET TO DRINK WATER!!!!! STAY HYDRATED

Odd Laws

5½ Ways to Stay Active

Oregon- It’s illegal to practice occult arts like fortune-telling, astrology and spiritualism.

North Carolina- It’s illegal to hold a meeting or demonstration while wearing a mask, hood or other costumes. The law sounds random but was likely passed to crack down on Ku Klux Klan activities in the state.

Nevada- It’s illegal to sit down or lie down on a public sidewalk.

Missouri- In Jefferson, Missouri it’s illegal to have more than two in a particular location during a garage sale. Also, a garage sale can’t last longer than three days and must be held within certain hours.

Michigan- It’s illegal for a person to be intoxicated on a train.

Maryland- In Rockville, it’s illegal to curse, swear or use obscene language.

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Crescent Magazine | March 2021 | 10

Random > Coloring

Coloring Page

By: Sama Matkari

Crescent Magazine | March 2021 | 11

Feature > Friends of UE Music

The Band Plays On Avery Pereboom

Three months after UE publicized its draft realignment plan, UE Music announced that it would be transforming into the UE Music Conservatory rather than facing elimination. For all who rallied in support of UE Music and other at-risk programs, the news brought their hopes to reality. But this happy ending was only possible through the quick response and collaboration of UE Music and its community network.

When President Pietruszkiewicz unveiled the drafted realignment plan on December 10, music faculty were shocked to see their department slated for elimination. But within twenty-four hours, they began channeling their frustration into a counter proposal with the help of their long-standing fundraising partner, Friends of UE Music

“We really presented this as a joint proposal between the department of music faculty and the Friends of UE Music,” Dennis Malfatti, professor of music and department co-chair, said.

Their plan to rescue the program relied heavily on increased donations gathered through Friends of UE Music, who aim to double their fundraising in the next year from $35,000 to $70,000. The organization is optimistic about this goal after seeing the community push-back against UE Music’s proposed elimination.

“I think some people are realizing that they may have taken for granted in the past what we have in terms of the music program...I know that there have been some people that have come forward now that have not financially supported the department before, and then through this event have decided to,” Tad Dickel, Friends of UE Music board president, said.

Friends of UE Music saw a comparable uptick in donations about five years ago, when the organization discovered a surplus of fundraising opportunities lay outside the bubble of UE Music alumni. At UE, students of all majors have the chance to perform in instrumental ensembles, and many younger students in the community receive lessons from UE Music students and faculty. Dickel and his colleagues found that people with less traditional ties to UE Music were often just as ready to donate as music graduates, because the department played a similarly large role in their lives.

Strengthening community ties also underlies the department’s new identity as the UE Music Conservatory, a rebranding that will build on and open up existing opportunities beyond campus bounds.

“The word conservatory can either mean a school of music that offers degrees, or it can mean a community music school...so it shows that we are continuing to offer the same five degrees we normally do, the ensemble experience both to majors and non-majors, but now also this community piece for high school students and adult learners,” Malfatti said.

Fundraising alone wasn’t enough to ensure the survival of UE Music, so the groups who worked on the counter proposal had to creatively find other sources of revenue. Without a fine arts magnet school in the area, there is a demand for advanced music

education, which the conservatory plans to fill by working with local high schools to develop dual enrollment courses. The department is interested in targeting adult learners as well.

UE Music also hopes to attract students with an improved performance venue to replace Wheeler Concert Hall, which was built in 1961. In August of 2019, a burst coolant pipe destroyed the stage floor and ceiling and damaged several important instruments.

“The funny thing about that is, having facilities is important for your major. I would think if you’re majoring in one of the hard sciences, you would want to make sure that the laboratories are of sufficient professional quality to warrant studying there, and same thing with music,” Malfatti said. Instead of diverting the department’s needed revenue, Friends of UE Music has created the Wheeler Concert Hall Fund to raise money for this renovation.

Because UE Music was able to adapt, none of its faculty will face termination, but sacrifices have still been made. Positions within the department will be phased out through planned retirements, and revenue from private lessons, which usually goes directly to instructors, will be redirected to maintain the program. Faculty are also very conscious that although their department continues, many others are still slated to be cut.

“One of the things this realignment plan has done is, it’s actually allowed the faculty to have much more connection with one another across departments than we’ve had in the past,” Malfatti said.

This interdepartmental collaboration can be largely attributed to the UE chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which over half of UE faculty members have joined since it was formed in September. The UE AAUP has outspokenly opposed the realignment plan through its Save UE campaign “to restore shared governance” in decisions impacting the university’s academic programs, including the music department’s proposed elimination.

“Of course we also recognize that this is just one piece.

There’s still many other departments we don’t know about. We’re a part of the team, so we want to be supportive of those departments, too,” Malfatti said.

Article > COVID

Coping with COVID Abraham Beidas

Think back to March 23, 2020. Everything seemed normal until checking Twitter to see a mind-boggling headline: “Could COVID19 be the next pandemic?”. Cases had been reported in China, but few people suspected how quickly it would spread worldwide.

Farrah Beidas, a recent University of Evansville graduate, was on vacation having the time of her life when she stumbled across the devastating news.

Beidas had traveled to Dallas, Texas to celebrate her 21st birthday with her father and brother. She woke up not only to her birthday gifts, but to wearing a mask outside, with friends and in the supermarket.

A whole year later, these precautions are still part of daily life. “I want to visit my mother who lives thousands and thousands of miles away. The only way I keep it together is binge-watching my favorite Korean television shows and calling my mother every day on Facetime to check up on how she is coping with the pandemic alone, without her kids,” Beidas said when asked how she stayed sane during these difficult times.

Social media is always a way to escape reality, but leaving reality behind for a year can be tiring. TikTok has been a popular platform for people to take their minds off the pandemic by watching funny videos or creating their own content. As a result, TikTok’s total active users rose to 91 million by the middle of summer in 2020, according to a user growth report released by TikTok in August.

California was one of the many states that struggled to contain the spread of COVID-19. Politico reported in October that other states like Vermont, Washington and Louisiana locked down more quickly, which helped to flatten the initial curve and reduce the number of infected individuals.

Humoud Al-Ghanim, an international student and soccer player at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, talked about his frustration with public disregard for COVID-19 safety.

“What makes it more difficult is going outside to buy groceries and seeing elderly or cool kids who refuse to wear masks because it covers their physical features or they can’t breathe. Doctors wore masks way before COVID, and they did not complain, so it is tough seeing these people rebel against the rules, endangering other people’s lives,” Al-Ghanim said.

Not being able to see or hug loved ones is difficult, so to combat loneliness, Al-Ghanim regularly used social media to check up on friends and family. Practicing the sport he loves has also helped to distract him from the tragedies happening every day.

Across the pond, Mariam Nasser is a graduate student at Bedfordshire University in the East of England. As her graduation approached and her classes became virtual last spring, Nasser struggled through miscommunication with professors, unanswered questions and the knowledge she that she wouldn’t be able to see her family that summer.

“Like so many others, I was on a straight path to graduation, but what seemed straight then surely became windy as time went on.

Not only was I almost withheld from graduating, my good academic standing was threatened. I always considered myself a dedicated and studious individual...Yet somehow the pandemic hits, and I am feeling unmotivated, uninspired and lazy,” Nasser said.

Fortunately for Nasser, many writing groups and student organizations moved online, and participating provided the support she needed to make it through the semester. Socializing through online games helped as well, and to stay active, Nasser followed guided home videos on meditation and stretching.

Though the pandemic has brought great hardship to our world, it has also inconvenienced us in many smaller ways as we cope with isolation and the weight of tragedy around us. As people are vaccinated and we slowly return to ordinary life, remembering the common struggles and solutions we shared while apart will bring us closer together.