The Hawk April 21, 2021

April 21, 2021

|

Volume CII

|

Est. 1929

|

www.sjuhawknews.com

|

The Student Newspaper of Saint Joseph’s University

‘We cannot do it anymore’ See pg.3 for more information about the killings of Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo by police.

A group of at least 50 people gathered on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 17 to protest the latest police killings of Black Americans. Kendall Stephens and Marsha Pisces spoke at the event about, among other things, drawing attention to the importance of white allyship.

“If you are of privilege and of power, you have to stand together in solidarity with Black and brown people who have to live in fear,” Stephens said. “Because if you are white, if you have privilege and power, you don’t have conversations with your kids about how to navigate a racist system.”

After marching down Benjamin Franklin Parkway and several other streets, the group, which had grown to about 100, stopped in front of Philadelphia City Hall. There, Pisces spoke to the group about the constant fear that Black and brown people experience in their daily lives.

“I don’t understand how much privilege I would have to have to sit here and ignore the fact of the matter that the country that I live in is killing people,” Pisces said. “How many more people have to die?”

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

@SJUHAWKNEWS

A marcher at the event, who carried a sign with the names and photos of people killed by police, who asked not to be named, but consented to having her photo taken, said she attended the march to show support.

“I think for me this is a first step and then I go home and figure out what else I can do to help,” she said.

Text: Kaylah Hernandez ’23 Photos: Mitchell Shields ’22

06

Leslie Quan ‘22 shares the realities of dark humor memes

SPORTS

FEATURES

OPINIONS

09

Best buddies adjusts and expands on campus

11

Baseball transfer looks to make impact on A-10 chances

2

April 21, 2021

News

The Hawk Newspaper

Hogan Hall becomes center for students in recovery EDDIE DAOU ’22 Assistant News Editor St. Joe’s will now be offering an on-campus residential option for students in recovery and committed to living a sober lifestyle starting in spring 2021, according to a March 31 email from the Office of Residence Life.

As a facet of the university’s Collegiate Recovery Program (CRP), the Recovery Residence will be in Hogan Hall, located on Lapsley Lane. According to the CRP website, the Recovery Residence will serve as a welcoming “community and gathering space for our larger CRP, serving as a hub of social and therapeutic programming.”

Alex Copeland, CRP manager at St. Joe’s, will be living in Hogan and providing guidance to the students within the community.

“We’re going to offer greater access to recovery support and therapeutic resources,” Copeland said. “We’re going to have events, activities and workshops for our students and a lot of things for our residential students, our community members and even for all St. Joe’s students to have access to sober activities and sober events along with our resource guidance and treatment assistance.”

Copeland is working alongside Leon Gellert, an alcohol and other drug therapist and clinical advisor at Counseling and

Psychological Services (CAPS) and advisor at CRP. Gellert said building this community in Hogan will allow for members to have a fuller college experience and will help to create a supportive environment for students in alcohol and drug recovery.

“It’s going to help destigmatize recovery, which will hopefully help students who are thinking about it or going through it but aren’t talking about it to open up a little bit more,” Gellert said.

Gellert said the residence will run recovery-related programs and activities such as yoga, art therapy, dance movement therapy and other alternative forms of therapy for students to find what works best for them.

“Some of it is going to be open to everyone, and some of it might be specifically for students who are living in the residence,” Gellert said. “The mutual aid meetings are always going to be open, where maybe some of the process groups will be more closed because it’s more about processing things that are happening in the residence.”

For help in developing the CRP, the university is partnering with the Independence Blue Cross Foundation. Evan Cantiello, senior program specialist at the Independence Blue Cross Foundation, said the foundation is focusing on establishing and improving collegiate recovery programs.

“We know it’s a really challenging time for schools to be focusing on new programmatic efforts, and with COVID-19 I think the evidence is there to support that the global pandemic is exacerbating the condition of substance use disorder in a lot of people,” Cantiello said. “There’s an opportunity to support students in recovery in a unique way.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 13% of U.S. adults started or increased substance use as of June 2020.

Cantiello said their hope, as they continue to partner with new schools, is that they can gain some momentum so as they continue their work, more schools will continue to reach out with a focus on the region in southeast Pennsylvania.

“The great thing about St. Joe’s is that we probably consider them one of the leaders in Collegiate Recovery programming in our region,” Cantiello said. “They’re very far along the spectrum of resources being provided for students in recovery.”

The Recovery Residence will be the central hub of the university’s CRP, according to Marci Berney, director of the Office of Student Outreach & Support and a case manager at St. Joe’s. Berney said the university has been looking to open a

Recovery Residence for six years and the addition of Copeland and Gellert led to it becoming a reality.

“Both of those positions are essential, being able to support both the students living in the residence but also help with the planning for future support and events,” Berney said. “We’ve used this year, particularly this spring semester, as a planning semester and we focused a bit more on our Collegiate Recovery Program in general.”

Berney said the university is ready to welcome the first group of students to Hogan in the fall 2021 semester. Hogan, which was renovated earlier this year, has a capacity of 12 students with single and double person dorm-style living spaces.

According to the email from Residence Life, students looking to become a member of the Recovery Residence must email recovery@sju.edu to express their interest. Students will be sent an electronic application form after reaching out and will then be interviewed to help advisors get to know each member more and provide additional details about the program.

“We’ve already had a few students who have expressed interest, so our application processes on a rolling basis,” Berney said.

“That is available at any time and will continue until the house is at capacity.”

Students experience symptoms after COVID-19 vaccine JENNA QUIGLEY ’22 Special to The Hawk Headache, chills, fever, fatigue—these are several of the common side effects people have reported after getting the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized three different vaccines in the U.S. for COVID-19.

Two of the vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, require two doses in order for people to become fully vaccinated, while the other vaccine, Johnson & Johnson, requires only one dose.

On April 13, the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on hold because the safety systems that make sure vaccines are safe received a small number of reports of a rare and severe type of blood clot happening in people who got this vaccine.

All reports occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred six to 13 days after vaccination, according to the CDC’s website. Health officials are investigating whether this health issue is related to or caused by the vaccine.

Vaccines work by training and preparing the body’s natural defenses to recognize and fight off the viruses and bacteria the immune system targets. After vaccination, if the body is later exposed to those disease-causing germs, the body is primed to destroy them, preventing illness.

“It’s normal for your body to mount to an immune response,” said Jamie Richardson, R.N., nurse navigator at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Most people can expect to experience some mild discomfort following a vaccine.

This means the vaccine is working and creating an immune response in the body.

“At the first dose, your body is seeing the antigen that it has to make an antibody against, so it takes time to ramp up,” Richardson said. “When you get the second dose, your body’s like, ‘Oh, I’ve seen that before, I’m going to fight it.’”

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is a lot like getting any other shot, along with the side

effects that come with it, Richardson said.

“The most common reactions are injection site reactions such as pain, swelling and redness at the site, and then some patients can go on to have things like a headache, fatigue, muscle aches and a fever,” Richardson said.

Peter Melniczek ’22, received both doses of the Moderna vaccine. The first shot only left him feeling tired, but with the second shot, he felt awful.

“I got a fever and extreme chills, the worst kind I ever had before,” Melniczek said.

“I was also nauseous, which went on for about two days, and I couldn’t really eat, either.”

Emma Heffner ’23 received the Pfizer vaccine. The first dose made her tired and her arm was sore at the injection site. As with Melniczek, the second shot hit Heffner harder.

“The second dose was definitely 100 times worse,” Heffner said. “I felt like I got hit by a bus. I had aches all over my body and had the worst headache of my life, which lasted for an entire day.”

Heffner said she “chugged water” and took ibuprofen to help get through those symptoms.

Taking ibuprofen, acetaminophen, aspirin or antihistamines after a vaccine to relieve pain and discomfort should be fine as long your doctor okays it, according to Dr. Brett C. Gilbert, FACOI at Delaware Valley I.D. Associates, a medical practice in Wynnewood that specializes in infectious diseases and travel medicine. But taking those medications before getting a vaccine is not advised, he said.

“It is not recommended you take overthe-counter pain relievers PRIOR to getting vaccinated,” Gilbert wrote in response to written questions from The Hawk. “Theoretically, it could pose a risk of decreasing one’s immune response to the vaccine.”

Gilbert said there are other steps people can take to help mitigate symptoms.

“It is recommended that you are well hydrated, have had a good night’s sleep, have limited alcohol consumption prior to being vaccinated and have appropriately taken any medications you need on a routine basis for chronic conditions/illnesses,” Gilbert said. “Keep in mind, common side effects to the COVID-19 vaccine such as tiredness,

headache, muscle pain, chills, fever and/or nausea are normal signs that your body is building protection.”

According to the CDC, side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine vary for each individual.

“Really it has to do with the strength of your own body’s immune response to the vaccine,” said Jennifer Kurasz, graduate student in microbiology at the University of Georgia. “Some people just experience a stronger immune response, so their own immune system is basically just freaking out a bit more than other people’s.”

Danielle Greenberg ’22 received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine and experienced very few side effects.

“After the first shot, my arm was just sore, and I definitely felt tired and fatigued, but I was really surprised after the second shot because I didn’t have any side effects

besides feeling a bit tired,” Greenberg said.

That worked out well for Greenberg.

“I actually had to go to work right after my first and second shot, so I bought an extra large coffee to help with the tiredness,” Greenberg said.

Raeghan Smith ’21 received the Moderna vaccine and felt fine after the first dose but experienced “the kind of fatigue where your whole body kind of hurts” after the second dose.

Although Smith did not feel well, she said she was happy to get the vaccine.

“I was really grateful because I work at the Kinney Center, so they told us to get it as soon as possible,” said Smith, who works as a Kinney SCHOLAR. “So anything to make myself safer and to keep a better environment for everyone around me.”

Tips for mitigating COVID-19 vaccine side effects Move your arm after you receive the vaccine The viral TikTok trend that encourages you to swing your arm in a windmill motion may actually help relieve some soreness and pain. The CDC recommends that you apply a cold, wet cloth or ice pack to relieve discomfort, swelling or inflammation, and exercise your arm.

Drink fluids before and after vaccination Make sure you are well-hydrated before the vaccination and for the next few days afterward. Drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration, fainting and to reduce side effects overall. Limit alcohol consumption prior to your vaccination and get a good night’s sleep beforehand as well.

Take common pain-relievers after the vaccination The CDC recommends speaking with “your doctor about taking an over-the-counter medicine.” However, the CDC also recommends that you do not take anything before your vaccination appointment, as it could interfere with the vaccine itself.

!

These side effects are signs that your body is building protection against the coronavirus, but the CDC recommends to call your doctor if redness or discomfort at the site of injection worsens after 24 hours, or if your side effects worsen or don’t go away after a few days.

SOURCES: The CDC, Renee Lavaelley, R.N. at Vitality Weight Loss and Wellness Clinic in North Carolina and Dr. Brett C. Gilbert, FACOI at Delaware Valley I.D. Associates GRAPHIC: CASEY WOOD ’23/THE HAWK RESEARCH: ELAINA WALL ’21 AND NENAGH SHEEHAN ’21

News

The Hawk Newspaper

New honor society for first-gen students MARK LESS ’22 Hawk Staff St. Joe’s inducted its first members into the Beta Lambda chapter of Alpha Alpha Alpha, or Tri Alpha, a national honor society for first-generation college students, on April 16.

Tri Alpha was founded in 2018 at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and St. Joe’s formed its chapter, Beta Lambda, earlier this academic year. Beta Lambda welcomed 65 St. Joe’s students at its first induction ceremony, which was held over Zoom.

There are three requirements for membership in Beta Lambda, according to Nancy Komada, Ph.D., director of Student Transitions and one of the administrators of the new honor society. To be eligible, neither parent of the potential new member can have a bachelor’s degree. Additionally, the student must have 30 credits and a GPA of at least 3.2.

The credit requirement limits membership to sophomores at a minimum.

Komada said this honor society helps to address the real issues first-generation students face.

“We’re identifying first-generation college students at St. Joe’s so that we can offer them additional support,” Komada said.

“Not necessarily extra academic resources but understanding how college works.”

The members of Beta Lambda plan to help their first-year counterparts navigate the unfamiliar college world. Whether that be through resourcing, mentorship, or just camaraderie, the goal is to help first-year students start out on the right foot.

Lucy Nguyen ’22, whose family immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam when she was 10 years old, was part of the inaugural induction class. Nguyen’s own parents never attended college, so they could not share experiences with her.

“Both of my parents were born in Vietnam in a very rural neighborhood, so they didn’t get a very high education,” Nguyen said.

“I think my mom, her highest education was elementary, and my dad’s is eighth grade.”

Nguyen said she wanted to join Beta Lambda so she can set an example for other first-generation students and help guide them through the same problems she faced.

Her biggest tip for other first-generation college students is just to talk to people.

“It’s lonely at times,” Nguyen said. “During orientation, I had questions like ‘How do I register?’ and ‘What classes do I register for?’

Just reach out to anyone if you need help.”

Francesca DePaul ’22, who was also inducted into Beta Lambda, described similar challenges as she navigated the unfamiliar space of college.

“I didn’t have anybody really to help me with applying to college or FAFSA or anything like that, so that was something that I had to overcome,” DePaul said.

Kailey Kravabloski ’22, another inductee, said she struggled particularly with preparation before the semester began.

“We had assumed that my books would be covered by loans here, and I tried to buy them at the store. I didn’t have the money and my loans wouldn’t cover it,” Kravabloski said. “We had used my savings to get everything else, but I needed hundreds of dollars worth of chemistry and calculus online homework programs, and I remember calling my mom in tears.”

Kravabloski said the Financial Aid Office was able to help her get the books and materials she needed for class and she now takes out loans in order to afford the materials.

When asked what tips she would give to other first-generation students, DePaul’s advice was to get connected.

“I would say it’s really important for them to have a good connection with their academic advisor,” DePaul said. “That’s a good starting place, especially for me in my situation since I didn’t know what I was doing a lot of times.”

Kravabloski also stressed the importance of making connections and getting to know advisors.

“Take the time to go to the admissions office, the Financial Aid Office, meet your advisor or anyone else that can help you get acquainted,” DePaul said.

April 21, 2021

3

Public Safety reports

(April 9 - April 15) April 9 Public Safety confiscated a quantity of alcohol from a St. Joe’s student inside the lobby of Rashford Hall. Residence Life was notified. Community Standards was notified.

April 10 Public Safety was notified by an Allied Universal Desk Attendant regarding a St. Joe’s student turning over a sofa and trash can on the fifth floor of the Villiger Hall. Community Standards was notified. The incident is under investigation.

Public Safety was notified of a fire alarm at the Morris Quad Townhouses. Public Safety Officers responded. The preliminary investigation revealed a student cooking activated the alarm. The alarm was reset.

April 11 Public Safety confiscated a quantity of alcohol from a St. Joe’s St. Joe’s student inside the lobby of LaFarge Hall. Residence Life was notified. Community Standards was notified.

April 12 Public Safety was notified by an Allied Universal Desk Attendant regarding an unknown person trying to gain access to Moore Hall. Public Safety officers responded to Moore Hall and escorted the person off campus without incident.

April 13 - 15 No incidents to report

Alcohol Related Incidents

6

On campus

0

Off campus

Drug Related Incidents

0

On campus (Left to right) Stephanie Zellner ’22, Daniella Campos ’23, Lesley Reyes Pina ’22, Anna Kalafatis ’22 and Ryan Fundora ’22 were among those inducted to Tri Alpha on April 16.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NANCY KOMADA, PH.D.

0

Off campus

Call Public Safety:

610-660-1111

The shootings of Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo CARLY CALHOUN ’21 Copy Editor What happened to Daunte Wright?

On April 11 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police officers pulled over 20-yearold Daunte Wright for driving with expired registration tags and having an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. Officer Kim Potter and her partner discovered that Wright had a warrant out for his arrest, and decided to arrest Wright, who was unarmed.

Body camera footage shows Wright trying to get back into his car as the police tried to handcuff him. Potter pulled her handgun out and fired one shot at Wright while calling out “taser.” After driving a few blocks, Wright’s car crashed into another vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Wright’s autopsy determined he was shot once in the chest.

What happened to Adam Toledo?

On April 15, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, an independent police watchdog agency, released body camera footage showing police shooting 13-yearold Adam Toledo on March 29.

According to police accounts, two officers chased Toledo and another man into an alley. Officer Eric Stillman shouted at Toledo.

After complying, Toledo raised his empty hands in the air. Stillman then fired one shot at the boy, hitting him in the chest. Stillman then called an ambulance and performed CPR on Toledo, telling him “stay with me.”

What charges have been brought against Potter and Stillman?

Potter, who is white, resigned from the Brooklyn Center Police shortly after she was charged with second-degree manslaughter for killing Wright. Potter worked for the Police Department for 26 years. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon also resigned from his position on April 13.

No charges have been brought against Stillman for shooting Toledo, but he was placed on administrative duties for 30 days.

What has the national response been to these murders?

Beginning the night of April 11, a vigil was held near the scene of Wright’s death.

Protests began in Brooklyn Center and surrounding cities, continuing every night

throughout the rest of the week from April 11 up until the time of print on April 19.

Curfews were imposed in Brooklyn Center as well as surrounding cities in Minnesota.

Protests and candlelight vigils have been held across the country after the killings of Wright and Toledo, including in Philadelphia, New York City, Kansas City, Omaha, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta and Portland. Protesters called for justice for the families, and for the officers who killed Wright and Toledo to be held accountable for their actions.

The trial of Derek Chauvin Just 10 miles from where Wright was killed, former police officer Derek Chauvin is being tried for the murder of George Floyd. Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds on May 25, 2020.

Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Authorities in Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center, Philadelphia and Chicago, and other major cities, say they are preparing for protests when the jury announces its verdict in the Chauvin trial.

4

April 21, 2021

Opinions

The Hawk Newspaper

Registration holds on student accounts

Holding students accountable or penalizing them?

Editor in Chief

Ryan Mulligan ’21 Managing Editor Nick Karpinski ’21 Copy Chief Cara Smith ’21 Faculty Adviser Shenid Bhayroo Contributing Adviser Jenny Spinner

Copy Editor Celia Hegarty ’21 Copy Editor Carly Calhoun ’21 News Editor Devin Yingling ’22 Assistant News Editor Eddie Daou ’22 Assistant News Editor Christine DiSanti ’21 Opinions Editor Tayler Washington ’22

Financial holds are used at most universities as a way of ensuring that students pay unpaid bills. A hold means that many students are not able to register for courses for the next semester. Others are not able to get transcripts and some do not receive their diplomas until they pay their balances.

While we can see the reasoning behind financial holds on student accounts, these holds cause an immeasurable amount of stress on students and their families. They also unfairly penalize the most financially fragile members of the university.

On March 18, three weeks before the start of registration, students who had over a $2,000 balance on their tuition were emailed by the Bursar’s Office that they would have to pay their balance down to the $2,000 threshold in order to register for the fall 2021 semester.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, St. Joe’s raised the financial hold threshold from $500 to $2,000 in spring 2020. This was a huge help to students who had outstanding balances on their accounts, but with tuition starting at $47,740 a year ($23,870 a semester) for undergraduates, students who rely on loans and other sources of financial aid may struggle to make it to this threshold by the middle of each semester. Tuition is difficult to pay for most families during “normal” times, but with the higher unemployment rates due to the pandemic it has been even harder.

Financial holds that are not removed by registration time prevent students from

choosing courses during their assigned pick time. Once the hold is removed, they are able to register, but the removal can take up to three business days depending on the payment method. This leaves students who are struggling financially with limited options for courses.

All of us have had the experience of worrying about what time slot we’ll get, or if the classes we want will be available. Having to wait possibly days or weeks after the last registration time to register for classes just because of financial hardship is unfair and classist, especially for upperclassmen.

“Students who are struggling financially are essentially punished for not having the same resources as other students.”

This process, albeit a way for universities to ensure they receive proper payments in advance, adds stress to students and families already struggling to afford the hefty price tag on college tuition, let alone in the midst of a pandemic. The possibility of not being able to register for courses or not getting into required courses takes away from students’ ability to focus on the semester at hand and is an additional, unneeded stressor.

Through registration holds, colleges and universities continue the classist cycle of preventing upward mobilization in low-income communities. These holds give financially stable students a first pick at getting the classes they want and need. It also makes low-income students much less likely to return the following semester if they are unable to afford it.

Approximately 6.6 million students can’t obtain their transcripts, according to Ithaka S+R. That means even if students who are unable to afford private tuition are planning on transferring to a community college, they aren’t allowed to transfer their credits or grades if there is a hold on their account.

Students who are struggling financially are essentially punished for not having the same resources as other students.

We ask the university to reconsider its financial registration hold system due to the marginalizing factors that come into play. As a university that prides itself on social justice and puts a heavy emphasis on changing the world around us, St. Joe’s should remove financial holds from students accounts that prevent them from registering for classes as it only reinforces the socioeconomic inequities in the U.S.

The Hawk welcomes Letters to the Editor, typically no more than 300 words. They can be emailed to hawk.editorial@gmail.com.

Assistant Opinions Editor Sehar Macan-Markar ’22 Assistant Opinions Editor Maggie Brennen ’22 Features Editor Giana Longo ’22 Assistant Features Editor Nenagh Sheehan ’21 Assistant Features Editor Elaina Wall ’21 Sports Editor Riley Frain ’21 Assistant Sports Editor Tyler Nice ’23 Graphics/Illustrations Editor Casey Wood ’23 Senior Editor Jackie Collins ’21 Photo Editor Mitchell Shields ’22 Social Media Manager Sam Jenkins ’21 Business Manager Angela DiMarco ’22 Assistant Business Manager Colin Messenger ’22 Assistant Business Manager Danny Remishevsky ’23 Assistant Business Manager Jillian Bodemer ’23 Distribution Manager Alec Mettin ’24 Distribution Manager Deborah Duong ’24

WALKING SEASON People underestimate the power of a good walk, especially in the nice weather. Taking a walk outside is the perfect way to get some fresh air and clear your head, especially now with the semester wrapping up and finals approaching.

MASK TAN LINE SEASON This is a problem our past selves would have never seen coming, but here we are. We love that the weather is nice and the sun is out, but now that mask tan lines are something to worry about, we don’t know what to think.

HARRY STYLES AS ARIEL If you don’t know what we’re talking about, you’re missing out. Recently, photos surfaced of Harry Styles dressed as Princess Ariel from “The Little Mermaid” and we were not emotionally prepared.

There is nothing that he can’t do.

WRONG CLOTHES FOR THE WEATHER Hopefully others can relate to this dilemma. Every day we wake up, check the weather app, plan an outfit accordingly and then by midday, our outfit is completely incorrect for the weather. We’re either left sweating or wishing that we had a jacket. It’s just a guessing game at this point.

“THE CIRCLE” SEASON TWO The second season of “The Circle” dropped on Netflix on April 14 and we’re excited. If you haven’t seen the first season of “The Circle,” we highly recommend it. It’s basically a social media competition show where the contestants only interact through an app and can choose whether to be themselves or pretend to be someone else. It’s the perfect show to distract yourself from schoolwork and impending exams.

THE RETURN OF PRE-PANDEMIC TRAFFIC Does anyone else feel like the traffic has been worse lately? It almost feels like, dare we say...pre-pandemic traffic. We were kind of enjoying the empty roads, not going to lie.

Opinions

The Hawk Newspaper

April 21, 2021

5

America withdraws from Afghanistan A nation left in the dust PATRICK ADAMS ’23 Columnist When Talibal shadow mayor of Balkh district, Haji Hekmat, heard U.S. President Joe Biden’s announcement about when he planned to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, Hekmat proclaimed to BBC journalists on April 14, “We have won the war and America has lost.”

Hekmat is absolutely correct. America’s early withdrawal of Afghanistan beginning before May 1 has handed victory to the Taliban. Contrary to President Biden’s claim that, “We went to war with clear goals. We achieved those objectives,” this peace accord does not fulfill the president’s own standard.

As he said on April 14, “I believed that our presence in Afghanistan should be focused on the reason we went in the first place: To ensure Afghanistan would not be used as a base from which to attack our homeland again. We did that. We accomplished that objective...Osama bin Laden was gone.” Yet cutting the head off the snake of al-Qaeda has absolutely not defeated the terrorist organization, nor magically ended terrorism in Afghanistan.

Instead, as CNN explained citing a U.N. report from 2020, “The senior leadership of al-Qaeda remains present in Afghanistan, as well as hundreds of armed operatives...The Taliban regularly consulted with al-Qaeda during negotiations with the United States and offered guarantees that it would honour their historical ties.” Al-Qaeda is actively plotting in Afghanistan now and the U.S. has even less of an ability to stop them.

While the Taliban itself is not a terrorist organization, it’s Islamic fundamentalism, meaning it is an extremist organization and represents only the most extreme of Islamic political thought. Because of this, the Taliban does in fact support actual terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, which are even more extreme

When he argues that, “Over the past 20 years, the threat has become more dispersed, metastasizing around the globe. Al-Shabaab in Somalia, al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula, al-Nusra in Syria, ISIS…,” he is arguing for why being hyper focused on Afghanistan is unimportant.

“Yet cutting the head off the snake of al-Qaeda has absolutely not defeated the terrorist organization, nor magically ended terrorism in Afghanistan.” than political organizations like the Taliban.

Al-Qaeda’s status as extremists and terrorists has been known for years, especially after the tragic attacks they perpetrated on 9/11. If the Taliban’s ideas represent only a small fraction of that of the over a billion Muslims around the world, terrorist groups like al-Qaeda represent Islam about as well as the KKK represents Christianity.

But instead of focusing our intelligence and military on actual terrorists like al-Qaeda, Americans are subject to the Patriot Act, passed just 45 days after 9/11, which as the American Civil Liberties Union explains, established a massive spy program for collecting the private data of every American.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan will be turned back over to the same people responsible for harboring the mass murderer bin Laden, and the same organization that promoted terrorism around the globe. Instead President Biden said we need to move on because “the terrorist threat that we went to fight evolved.”

Yet, he fails to realize how this global terror threat developed, largely off the back of al-Qaeda’s own resources which the U.S. has failed to eliminate.

ISIS itself stemmed from al-Qaeda’s operations in Iraq, and two of the other groups he mentions, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and al-Nusra are current al-Qaeda factions, while al-Shabab has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda.

Yet, Taliban leaders appear to be honoring the peace accords signed in Qatar and have switched focus from anti-American resistance to anti-Afghan government resistance, only targeting domestic opponents.

Hekmat continued, “We want an Islamic government ruled by the Sharia. We will continue our jihad until they accept our demands.” Comments like these raise doubts about whether the Taliban will actually honor the agreement and join the Afghan government in a power sharing agreement.

Anyone willing to settle with the Taliban either is arguing in bad faith, or from

ignorance. Former Taliban spokesperson and high-ranking leader, Mullah Wakil, explained why the Taliban did not hold elections after coming to power during the civil war in 1996, “General elections are incompatible with Sharia and therefore we reject them.” Moreover, even if the Taliban participated in democratic government, it’s more likely that they would spread their anti-democratic influence in Afghanistan.

As the BBC points out, the Taliban officially banned women’s education. President Biden doesn’t believe this will happen again promising, “...we’ll continue to support the rights of Afghan women and girls by maintaining significant humanitarian and development assistance.” In reality, Taliban leaders are far less concerned about women’s rights.

The Taliban’s fundementalist interpretation of Islam and Sharia is not reflective of the diversity and beauty of Islam’s global traditon. But that doesn’t make Taliban Sharia any less brutal. Calling it “the Taliban’s perversion of Sharia law,” the Guardian documents practices like: banning women from shopping in public areas, death for apostasy and stoning for adultery.

By every metric, even President Biden’s own, the war in Afghanistan has been a disaster. If this is what winning looks like, thank God we didn’t lose. For the people of Afghanistan, I hope things change for the better. Unfortunately, U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan will likely only strengthen al-Qaeda, hurt democracy, trample on human rights, keep women marginalized and leave an entire nation in the dust of America’s longest war.

Money Matters: Inflation TODD ERKIS Columnist Todd Erkis is a visiting professor of finance at St. Joe’s who writes weekly columns answering students’ financial questions.

I have been hearing some people talking about how the spending in Washington D.C. might lead to inflation. Is this something I should be concerned about?

- Lee P. ’23, finance major.

At this point, not many people seem to be concerned about inflation. Inflation is when prices rise from previous levels, hurting a person’s purchasing power. Since 1992, U.S. consumer price inflation has been in the 1–3% per year range with a couple of small exceptions. The last time the U.S. had high inflation was in the 1970s and early 1980s.

During that period, annual price increases averaged about 9% per year and consumer prices more than doubled.

The causes of high inflation can be complex and it’s not possible to predict when high inflation will occur again, if ever. Sometimes, increases in the money available in the economy lead to inflation. But over the past 10 to 15 years, the money in the economy has increased dramatically without significant inflation. Some people believe that inflation is a relic of the past and is not something that

an investor should worry about. I am not one of those people.

The problem with inflation is that once it gets out of control, it’s very difficult to stop.

The only way to stop inflation is to raise interest rates and slow down the economy which will be terrible for investment returns.

I am also worried about the size of the federal debt, the historically low interest rates and the amount of “stimulus spending” that has been passed and with even more being proposed in Washington D.C. The spending levels under the new

Biden administration ($1.9 trillion in the first Biden spending bill and another maybe $3 trillion on the way) are huge. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects a $2.3 trillion deficit in 2021 (not including the impact of the $1.9 trillion and the proposed spending on infrastructure).

The national debt held by the public is more than $22 trillion and growing rapidly. All of this debt will need to be paid back at some point by future generations (i.e., current college students).

It does not appear that this extreme lev-

el of spending will immediately lead to high inflation, but it’s likely to be an issue at some point. I believe interest rates will need to be raised in the near future and the federal budget deficit must be much lower to slow down the growth in the size of the federal debt. It is not going to be pretty if inflation does take off, as likely the stock market will have significant losses as the economy is slowed down.

The best way to invest over the long run is to be diversified. This is true no matter what the federal government is doing. Traditional ways to protect against inflation are to own some gold, real estate and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) in your portfolio. Mutual funds are the best way to get exposure to these asset classes.

This column has previously discussed how to invest in mutual funds. Note that TIPS are better held in a tax-advantaged account (as part of retirement savings) as they can lead to large tax liabilities due to their unfavorable tax treatment when held in taxable accounts.

No one can consistently time the market. If we worry too much about bad things happening, we will not take risks and will miss out on the long-term rewards that come with investing. I am concerned but I am going to stay invested, be diversified and expect ups and downs in my portfolio.

6

Opinions

The Hawk Newspaper

April 21, 2021

Memes reveal students’ mental health

Should we be concerned about dark humor memes?

LESLIE QUAN ’22 Columnist Last summer, I joined a Facebook group called “Zoom Memes for Self Quaranteens.”

This group in particular is for “socially isolated college youth stuck doing online courses in closed universities.” There are a variety of memes that people post. Some memes play off of trending topics and news (the Ever Given container ship that blocked the Suez Canal made for some pretty good memes), and some memes aren’t pertaining to anything specific but are nevertheless relatable and funny.

The majority of the posts in the group are memes related to life as a college student during a pandemic. While I enjoy reading

through the memes and sharing them with my friends, I can’t help but think of how dark the humor can be sometimes. Many of the posts reveal how burnt out students are and how the mental health of students is taking a turn for the worse.

One meme has the caption “me at this point in the semester” with the poster of Disney's Pixar Animation Studios film “Finding Nemo,” but with the word “Nemo” crossed off and replaced with “the will to live.” Memes like this one clearly convey that students are struggling to stay motivated in school while also maintaining their mental health. The memes express the stress, anxiety, frustration and burnout that many college students are experiencing.

Navigating college during a global pandemic has not been easy. We’ve had to accept the loss of our spring break, the loss

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF CHRIS CHONG // “ZOOM MEMES FOR SELF QUARANTEENS”

of club sports, the loss of campus activities and events and the loss of all the things that make college memorable. There has been no time for us to properly de-stress and relax.

One meme that perfectly encompasses this feeling is a stick figure dad coming into the room of his stick figure son asking “are u ok,” and the son is lying on the ground surrounded by papers, headphones and a laptop. All around the son is text that says “Due at 11:59 p.m.,” “Absent,” “Inbox (184)” and “*** posted a new assignment!”

If this doesn’t perfectly describe the current college experience, then I’m not sure what does.

While these memes may seem like innocent ways to make college students laugh, they are unfortunately one of the only ways students seem to be able to communicate how they feel. This dark humor is almost like a coping mechanism for students. Knowing that we all are collectively suffering through a similar experience makes the pain and stress just a little bit more bearable.

Nearly every day there are about a dozen new memes posted on “Zoom Memes for Self Quaranteens.” I spend more time than I should reading through them, but that’s because looking at memes seems to be one of the only stress relievers I have nowadays.

College students are feeling exhausted from worrying about classes, trying to stay safe during a pandemic and working through the emotional toll of dealing with racism in the U.S. We need a break, a real one that lasts more than just a weekend.

Since we were never able to take time away from our classes, getting through the last few weeks of this semester has been rough to say the least.

Dark humor memes reveal the effect that this pandemic, and college life in gen-

eral, has on the mental health of college students. We’re all searching for motivation that just isn’t there and we’re all counting down the days until the semester ends. At this point, it isn’t even about school anymore; it’s just about surviving through each day without having a total mental breakdown.

With only three more weeks of school left, we’re all looking forward to finishing finals week and going home to finally unwind and relax for the summer. Three weeks is still a long time though. Every day I wake up questioning whether I have the mental strength to keep pushing through each day. I can’t wait to finally go home and spend time with my turtle, Chip, and eat dinner with my mom.

I’m hopeful that maybe one day, college students won’t have to rely on making memes in order to express how they feel. Until that day comes, the mental health of college students will continue to take a turn for the worse. This year has taken a toll on all of us and we deserve the time and space to properly process and reflect on everything that has happened.

Head first, fearless

Why I’m freaking out about an album that came out in 2008

MAGGIE BRENNEN ’22 Columnist It might make me “basic,” but I’m going to say it: my favorite music artist is Taylor Swift. My favorite genre of music is not even country or pop, where Swift started, but her music is just so different from any other artist in those genres.

You don’t have to be an expert to notice that her songs are genuine. They’re written by a teenage girl turned grown woman and perfectly express feelings anyone could relate to or look back on her personal experiences. There is no indication of studio executives writing songs for her and imposing catchy lyrics that would sell.

That’s why it was so strange to think that songs written by the heartbroken teenager were not owned by that teenager, now a grown woman, but rather by a bunch of rich, old men at Big Machine Records, an independent record label distributed by Universal Music Group.

In June 2019, it was announced that record executive Scooter Braun agreed to acquire the record label Big Machine Records, which owns Swift’s first six albums. Swift has not explicitly stated why she has a bone to pick with Braun, but she has taken advantage of her standing in the music industry

GRAPHIC: CASEY WOOD ’23/THE HAWK

to criticize its imbalance of power and argue that artists should own their work.

To, in a sense, take back what is hers, Swift has plans to re-record all of the albums she originally recorded with Big Machine Records, the first of which was released on April 9: “Fearless (Taylor’s Version).” Listening to it has brought me back to the time when the original album was released in 2008. I vividly remember sitting in the nurse’s office at my elementary school during recess while my arm was broken and listening to the album over and over on my Barbie MP3 player.

I had no idea what heartbreak meant and thought it was gross to have a crush on a boy, but the lyrics were groundbreaking for me—telling me that I’m actually way cooler than the popular girls in “You Belong With Me,” giving me advice for high school in “Fifteen” and relating to “The Best Day,” a

love song to her mom any 8 year old could connect to.

Along with reminiscing about my childhood, the re-record of the album gives me an excuse to listen to it simply because it has good songs that I enjoy even now, as a 20 year old. Instead of making me think ahead to high school, “Fifteen” makes me think back to high school when it would be played on the loudspeakers on the first day of school. I can now drive while listening to the album and angrily scream the lyrics to “Tell Me Why” and “The Way I Loved You.” When I heard that Swift was re-recording her albums, I was expecting them to sound completely different, since she has moved away from the country era that “Fearless” started out in, to a pop era to now an alternative/indie sound.

However, I was pleasantly surprised that you can hardly tell the difference between the re-recorded album and the original. The only difference is that Swift’s voice has gotten so much stronger than the 18 year old just starting her career. While the singing in “Fearless” is not very challenging, her albums since have involved more and more high notes and belting, making her singing on the re-record sound effortless and more clear, making me understand lyrics I hadn’t before.

A pleasant surprise from the re-records is the six “(From The Vault)” songs, songs Swift wrote back in 2008 that never made it to the album. They go right along with the 2000s country vibes in the rest of the album, and it astounds me that she had so many quality songs that she had to limit what made it into the relatively long album. These songs bring the album up to 26 songs. One hour and 46 minutes of nostalgia and teen angst.

I don’t mean for this to make Miss Swift feel old, but being born in 2000, I don’t remember a time when Swift’s music wasn’t a part of my life. Listening to the re-records has made me want to listen to other albums that I grew up listening to that remind me of a simpler time and that can be of new meaning to me as an adult.

Features

The Hawk Newspaper

The “Genesis” of NxG

Gansallo is a native of North Philadelphia, which is home to rappers like Lil Uzi Vert and Meek Mill.

PHOTO: CHRIS RODRIGUEZ

CHRISTIAN PEENEY ’22 Special to The Hawk For Noah Gansallo ’21, a rapper known as NxG, music has been an outlet to express how he feels and where he is in life.

Gansallo’s single “Eyy Yeah!” currently has over 86,000 streams on Spotify and was written at a particularly tumultuous time in his life.

Ten days before Gansallo’s first live show, his grandfather passed away. Fortunately, Gansallo had a friend by his side

who helped him get through it, and he wrote “Eyy Yeah!” for her.

“I think that was the first time I dealt with a death in the family of someone who I actually knew,” Gansallo said. “This friend was really there for me at the time and it was sort of a thank you letter to her.”

Music has been a major part of Gansallo’s life. As a child, he took both piano and violin lessons, and he taught himself how to play guitar and bass.

When Gansallo first arrived at St. Joe’s for Admitted Students Day in 2017, Suzanne

April 21, 2021

Sorkin, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the music, theatre and film department, immediately recognized his musical talent.

“He was a prospective student to come in as a computer science major with a music minor,” Sorkin said. “We talked about his experience with piano, with voice and in writing his own music.”

Gansallo eventually switched his major to communication studies but kept music and music industry minors.

Three years after first meeting Sorkin, Gansallo enrolled in Sorkin’s Music Theory I course, furthering his exploration of music.

Sorkin said she noticed Gansallo’s “genuine curiosity” for music and his “excellent ear.”

Throughout his semester in Music Theory I, Gansallo showed Sorkin some of his original music: old songs, such as “Mission” from his 2019 album “In Loving Memory,” as well as new songs, such as his popular 2020 single “Baguettes.”

Sorkin said she was happy to offer advice to Gansallo as he developed his music.

“My desire is for students to take the material that we’re learning and use it as tools in their creative toolbox,” Sorkin said.

In August 2020, Gansallo released his extended play (EP) record, “Genesis,” which was meant to represent his musical journey.

“It wasn’t a representation of where I was at the time, but it was a representation of what it had taken to get me to where I was,” Gansallo said.

After the release of “Genesis,” Laura Veras, artist manager and artists and repertoire (A&R) representative from Boston, Massachusetts, began to work with Gansallo as his manager.

The two first met through a mutual friend and began a more casual friendship before officially working together. At the time, Veras was interning with producer Che Pope, who had previously collaborated with rappers such as Lauryn Hill and Kanye West.

7

According to Veras, Pope was looking for “really dope hip-hop artists” to work with, so she pitched Gansallo’s music to him, giving both herself and Gansallo a boost in confidence.

“Che [Pope] really liked it,” Veras said.

That even more so validated my taste and my ears.”

Veras officially became Gansallo’s manager in October 2020, and the two have been working together ever since. Working with Veras opened up more opportunities for Gansallo. He recently began collaborating with producers in California that have worked with national-level artists, such as Drake and Lil Uzi Vert.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic and its limitations, Veras said the music industry is still moving forward.

“Honestly one of the only differences is live shows and touring,” Veras said. “That’s the biggest hit that the music industry has taken obviously. But besides that, I think it’s been pretty clear, just by even looking at your favorite artists and seeing that they are still releasing music, that part of it is not really stopping.”

Gansallo said that the pandemic has, in a way, forced him to become better. Due to the restrictions of studios and in-person meetings, he learned to record by himself and improve his production skills with limited outside help.

Gansallo’s journey will continue with the release of his next project, titled “Outta Here Soon,” which he has been hinting at on his Instagram (@xgseason). Although there is no release date set, Gansallo said he hopes it will extend his reach and introduce an entirely new audience to NxG. “I think that’s going to be more of an explosion onto the local scene, and national scene,” Gansallo said.

“Genesis,” as well as Gansallo’s various singles, are available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music.

Hands-on art classes adapt to COVID-19 restrictions DEVON FITZPATRICK ’22 Special to The Hawk Grace Coyle ’22 was taking Painting II last March when the world first locked down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

So much uncertainty left her feeling unmotivated, and she said her work started to reflect that.

Then, she began to use painting-and the extra time she had-to find her way out of that darkness.

“I personally started to lean into it more,” Coyle said. “There was a time in which painting became going through the motions. I got into it again because I had the time to do so, and I was just looking for a creative outlet.”

The art department had the summer to prepare for the school year, and for the challenge of hosting studio art classes amid COVID-19 restrictions regarding space and social distancing.

This semester, St. Joe’s is offering 40 studio art classes, including painting, photography, ceramics and graphic design.

Some of the classes are virtual, with students producing all of their art at home.

Others are hybrid, with the class split into two with some students in the studio and others at home.

Mary Henderson, adjunct professor of art, is teaching all of her Painting I classes virtually this semester. She relied on the department to ship supplies to her students.

“The materials part has been pretty seamless because the department has handled it really well,” Henderson said. “They have done a really good job about getting stuff shipped out to students who needed it.”

Henderson also has had to rely on technology to review her students’ completed work. Students submit photographs to her of their paintings.

“It’s so impressive,” Henderson said.

“People square off the image in the frame.

I’m able to get a pretty good idea of what I’m looking at.”

All in all, Henderson said the experience has been a positive one, thanks to her students.

“It’s been surprisingly not a disaster,” Henderson said. “A lot of credit goes to my

Allen records her class on Zoom for those who can’t be present.

Allen’s ceramics class works on making mugs. PHOTOS MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

students for making it not a disaster. They’ve really risen to the occasion.”

Jill Allen, visiting assistant professor of art, is currently teaching Ceramics I, Ceramics II and Mosaic I courses in person.

Over the summer, Allen taught a fully virtual ceramics class. Being back in the studio for ceramics classes is ideal, Allen said, though she still had to make adjustments.

“This year we did not use the pottery wheels,” Allen said. “It’s such a time-intensive but also material-intensive process that we decided to eliminate the pottery wheels as a tool. We’ve been teaching pottery by hand, building pottery forms using things like slab building or coil building techniques.”

Madison Pristera ’22 is currently enrolled in Drawing I, which takes place in Boland Hall. In compliance with COVID-19 guidelines, all easels are six feet apart and split between two floors. There is also no sharing of materials.

“The only thing that we share is the pencil sharpener,” Pristera said. “Everything else is given to us-erasers, pencils, charcoal and chalk. We do have rulers that [our instructor] gets out, and we wipe them down.

I have one at home with me now and it has to be wiped down before I give it back.”

Allen said a lot of extra cleaning protocols are in place for ceramics classes as well.

“We have communal bleach buckets for anything that might be communal like a sponge,” Allen said. “It’s dropped into that bleach bucket and cleaned that way and then goes back into rotation after being sanitized.”

Henderson said when she looks back at the work students have produced during the pandemic, she is moved by the beauty of the work and by the students’ resilience.

“I know that is a credit to them and their willingness to really work hard and rise to the occasion under difficult circumstances,” Henderson said.

8

April 21, 2021

The Hawk Newspaper

Features

CineHawk Review: ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ JAYLEN DOTSON ’21 Columnist Fifty-nine years after their first battle, the two most iconic movie monsters of all time reunite for a rematch to end all rematches in “Godzilla vs. Kong.”

The fourth film in the “MonsterVerse,” the film stars Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Julian Dennison and Lance Reddick. It is directed by Adam Wingard from a script by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein.

“Godzilla vs. Kong” is currently in theaters while simultaneously streaming on HBO Max for the first month of release.

The film begins with the giant ape Kong, first seen in the 2017 film “Kong: Skull Island,” under observation by the organization Monarch in a simulation of his original habitat. There, Kong develops a friendship with the daughter of one of the scientists studying him, with whom he communicates through sign language.

However, he is soon released from his captivity when the King of Monsters, Godzilla, embarks on a mysterious series of rampages after years of protecting the Earth.

The two titans find themselves on a collision course, both determined to prove themselves the true alpha predator. All the while, mysterious forces conspire in the background to unleash an even greater threat than the two giant monsters combined.

From the start, viewers will notice that “Godzilla vs. Kong” has a distracting style shift from previous installments. Any pretense of realism has been abandoned in favor of a softer science fiction aesthetic that would not feel out of place in either “Star Wars” or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As dazzling as the special effects can be, it does not feel contiguous to the grounded style of the rest of the franchise nor is it presented as an organic evolution.

Even by the already low standards of the

ILLUSTRATION: SADIE HENZES ’24/THE HAWK

“MonsterVerse,” the human storylines feel particularly half-baked. One of the main villains is Ren Serizawa, played by Oguri, the son of one of the previous protagonists of the franchise.

However, instead of using this connection to add dramatic weight to the story or give that character an interesting motivation, the film treats it as a throwaway detail.

Kyle Chandler’s Mark Russell, the main protagonist of “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” is so irrelevant to the story that his role could be entirely cut without any meaningful difference in the final film.

Instead, the primary human storyline of “Godzilla vs. Kong” revolves around the Monarch research team assigned to monitor Kong on Skull Island. Hall gives a passable performance as Dr. Ilene Andrews, as does Skarsgård as Dr. Nathan Lind, but neither are particularly interesting or memorable in their own right.

Even worse for Skarsgårdis is that his character is a proponent of the “Hollow Earth” theory, a long disproven and pseudo scientific hypothesis that undercuts the film’s intention of depicting him as a serious scientist. The film’s insistence on presenting this theory as fact does not help matters.

Ilene’s adoptive and deaf daughter Jia, played by Kaylee Hottle, has the most interesting human role in the movie by virtue of her ability to communicate with Kong via sign language.

Comprising the film’s secondary human storyline is returning character Madison Russell, played by Brown, who investigates the corrupt corporation Apex Cybernetics alongside newcomers Bernie Hayes and Josh Valentine, played by Henry and Dennison, respectively.

Putting aside the questionable ethics of glorifying a conspiracy theorist as a protagonist, the trio’s plotline is as one note as it is completely illogical. “Godzilla vs. Kong” expects us to believe that three civilians (two of whom are teenagers) have the skills to infiltrate a billion dollar tech corporation, but the audience’s ability to suspend disbelief can only go so far. If there is any entertainment to be found in this subplot, it is only the ironic humor in how lazily written it is.

As much as the film fails its human cast, it does not disappoint in its depiction of the two titular monsters. Kong and Godzilla are infused with much more humanity than their previous appearances, bringing an emotional core to their spectacular battles.

Through his interactions with Jia, Kong’s desire to reunite with other members of his species is explored, making him all the more relatable. Godzilla’s rampages in the first half of the film finally bring him in line with the classic depictions of the character, as well as create intrigue as to what is motivating him in this installment.

Of course, what the fans of the “MonsterVerse” desire more than anything is to see giant monsters fighting exceedingly destructive battles across big cities, something “Godzilla vs. Kong” has in abundance. The fight scenes showcase the two titans at their finest, with special mention going to the third act battle in Hong Kong. Because they are both monsters lacking in human speech patterns, Godzilla and Kong’s interactions are all the more compelling since viewers have to interpret what they are communicating to each other for themselves.

Ultimately, “Godzilla vs. Kong” is a fine creature feature that delivers on its title. Though the human storylines leave much to be desired, watching these iconic monsters in conflict more than justifies the film’s existence.

Rating: 7 out of 10 Hawks

Students draw the line on what they will spend to be ‘trendy’ GABRIELLA GUZZARDO ’23 Special to the Hawk Golden Goose sneakers are ruffling some feathers with a price tag of at least $460 but with the look of a thrift store shoe.

The price of Golden Goose sneakers range from $460 to $1,700, depending on the style and material of the shoe. The sneakers are made of authentic Italian leather that is purposefully distressed with scuff marks.

The most expensive pair is embossed with ostrich feathers, and the shoe laces alone sell for $70.

“It appropriates or fetishizes poverty, which is messed up,” said Mackenzie Allen ’23, a fashion Instagram blogger @dressupwithkenz. “It is like treating people who can’t afford new shoes as a trend.”

The sneakers are expensive in part because each pair of shoes is made by hand in Venice, Italy, where Golden Goose is headquartered.

The cost of Golden Goose sneakers are comparable to brands like Tory Burch and Valentino. The difference between those brands and Golden Goose, though, is that Golden Goose sneakers are made to look worn-in and dirty. This “dirty shoe” trend has also been adapted by brands like Gucci and Balenciaga.

Kevin Hoban ’24 keeps up with classic trends in fashion but said he will not be wearing Golden Goose sneakers.

“I don’t like the dirty shoe trend in general,” Hoban said. “If I’m paying $500 for a

ILLUSTRATION: CASEY WOOD ’23/THE HAWK

pair of shoes, they are going to look new.”

Allen does not own a pair of Golden Goose sneakers because she does not buy items made with animal products. While the leather is a deterrent, so is the price.

“They’re priced in a way that is only directed to a certain socioeconomic group that can afford them,” Allen said.

College campuses like the University of Southern California have noticed a spike in students wearing these shoes, according to

Business Insider, and are another symbol of the “wealth gap” among college students.

Allen said these shoes are targeted towards “young, rich, white women.” Golden Goose has a male shoe collection, but it is small compared to the number of styles and choices offered for women.

“They are coined as a ‘frat party shoe’ because of the look,” said Kella Pacifico ’21, who runs the fashion Instagram @styledbykellaa.

Pacifico said her problem with Golden

Goose sneakers is both the price and the lack of versatility in the shoe.

“If I am going to purchase a pair of shoes for $750, I want a pair of shoes that will hold up,” Pacifico said. “They’re not versatile.”

So far, flocks of Golden Goose sneakers seem to have avoided St. Joe’s campus. And there’s a chance they may never migrate here.

“It is a trend,” Allen said. “But like all trends, this look will phase out.”

Features

The Hawk Newspaper

April 21, 2021

9

A student survival guide on how to ace a Zoom interview MARY COMERFORD ’22 Special to The Hawk At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, many employers struggled to hire, in part, because they were not sure how to conduct interviews that were not in person.

But employers have become increasingly better at conducting Zoom interviews, according to Scott Rappaport, associate director of career services at the Career Development Center (CDC), and that is resulting in more interviews, more offers and more hires.

“A year in, employers are doing this really successfully, and one of the ways we know that is the number of postings we are getting is way up from where it was a year ago,” Rappaport said.

In fact, Rappaport said job-posting levels through the CDC are just as high as they were pre-pandemic.

One advantage to Zoom interviews is employers can now interview more candidates in a shorter period of time, which creates more opportunities for students to land an interview, Rappaport said.

Still, interviewing on Zoom can be tricky. Here are some tips on how to ace a Zoom interview: Be prepared (but don’t over prepare).

Elyse Notarianni, owner of Townie Creative, a company that specializes in helping small businesses with social media, recently interviewed 12 people for internships and other positions at her company. She conducted all of these interviews virtually.

“Zoom is hard because you have that ability to over prepare a little bit more, or to use a cheat sheet, and it becomes a crutch, and then people get stiff and robotic instead of answering and just having a conversation,” Notarianni said. “Ninety-nine percent of what an interview is is having a conversation.”

Rappaport said interviewees should not have too much information around them

ILLUSTRATION: CASEY WOOD ’23/THE HAWK

because they’ll start looking for things. If they think they need the extra help, they should put keywords on a sticky note next to their camera.

Interviewees should also be prepared to share their screen at any time, and should not have a lot of tabs open before going into an interview because they may be asked to show their previous work. Having additional tabs open can serve as a distraction and make it harder to navigate your computer screen, according to Rappaport.

Maintain good eye contact, and be conscious of your body language.

One thing that Notarianni said she doesn’t like to see candidates do during an interview is fidget.

“When they’re fidgeting around, they just look uncomfortable, like there’s something else going on in the room,” Notarianni said.

“That’s definitely a put off. If I see that somebody’s looking at other things on a screen, I don’t love that either.”

Rappaport suggested sitting in a “real chair” and trying to maintain good eye contact with the camera. He also suggested interviewees have an arrow pointed at their computer screen camera to direct their eyes to look at it.

Also, don’t forget to put your camera at eye level or slightly above.

“We have all been on Zoom with people that their camera is way below them and it is shooting up their nose,” Rappaport said.

Prepare an appropriate background setting and good internet connectivity.

Interviewees should try to limit distractions by notifying their housemates that they will be interviewing ahead of time, closing their windows and turning off their phone

and computer notifications.

“Ultimately, they’re not going to hire you because of your background, but they could make the decision not to hire you because of it,” Rappaport said.

Zoom settings enable interviewees to select a virtual background. But the use of a virtual background will require more bandwidth, which could slow internet connection down and create an issue.

Rappaport said interviewees should test their Wi-Fi ahead of time, preferably at the same time of the interview, but on a different day. That way, they can test the bandwidth when their roommates might also be using the internet.

Also, confirm your phone number with the interviewer in case something goes wrong.

“That shows that you’re thinking ahead, and you’re preparing for if there is an issue,” Rappaport said.

Students can also book private rooms for interviews in the Drexel Library or in the CDC. Dress professionally, from head to toe.

Finally, Zoom interviewees should dress to impress. Rappaport suggested fighting the temptation to dress professionally only from the waist up.

“You should be dressed for a virtual interview the same way you would dress for an in-person interview, and I would say that means from head to toe,” Rappaport said.

Research suggested that the more professional that an interviewee is dressed, the better they will do.

Allison Walsh ’22 has done dozens of virtual interviews for her doctoral program at Thomas Jefferson University.

“I always dress from head to toe, because I think if I were in sweatpants, I would feel like I am faking the part,” Walsh said.

“I would rather feel completely professional during the interview.”

Best Buddies works to expand its reach on campus DEVON FITZPATRICK ’22 Special to The Hawk This was supposed to be the year that the St. Joe’s chapter of Best Buddies International was going to take off. But because of the coronavirus pandemic, the group, which serves adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, had to adjust their plans.

In 2018, St. Joe’s formed a chapter of Best Buddies, an international volunteer organization that offers “one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” according to its website.

“Our chapter is made to foster friendships,” said Kerriann Howley ’22, public relations chair of the St. Joe’s chapter.

But the St. Joe’s group was largely inactive when they started in 2018. Student leaders tried again last fall to get the chapter going, signing up 90 interested students to the group’s email list.

The St. Joe’s buddies come from various group homes and day cares in Philadelphia, according to Megan Piasecki ’22, secretary of the St. Joe’s chapter.

“They choose to join our chapter because they want to socialize with us, just like we choose to socialize with them,” Piasecki said.

But the pandemic made connecting with those buddies a challenge.

“In a perfect world, without COVID, we would pair them up one-on-one, and they would do one-on-one meetings with just one

Best Buddies participants get to spend time together virtually this semester on Zoom. PHOTO COURTESY OF KERRIANN HOWLEY ’22

person from St. Joe’s,” Piasecki said. “They could go on Starbucks dates, or something like that.”

Small group activities would be a possibility, too.

“The idea is that everyone’s kind of paired up with a buddy, so you do go out and do bowling or you go out to eat and meet once a month or so,” said chapter member Lily Bowditch ’23.

About 20 to 40 St. Joe’s students attended meetings this year, in addition to several buddies. They have met three times via Zoom.

The final meeting for the year will be held April 28.

“They are more casual,” Bowditch said in reference to the meetings. “We talk a lot about the inclusivity aspect, but mostly it’s just having fun hanging out and doing activities together. We play a bunch of games. Everyone kind of comes up with something to play at the meeting, so it’s lighthearted.”

In addition to the Zoom meetings, the club also held two fundraisers, one at Chipotle Mexican Grill and one at Panera Bread.

“The money from the fundraisers are

allocated towards chapter dues,” Howley said.

“Those are sent to Best Buddies who use it for programming.”

Once the pandemic is over, the group has big plans for the chapter.

“The biggest thing that I would love to see is if it could become a bigger club because it not only helps the buddies but it helps St Joe’s students as well,” Piasecki said. “It’s a two-way street of socializing.”

10 April 21, 2021

The Hawk Newspaper

Sports

Lifters adjust as O’Pake prohibits spotters DREW CHILSON ’22 Special to The Hawk For Logan Guarino ’22, who played soccer in high school and is now a member of the St. Joe’s club soccer team, weightlifting has been a part of his strength training routine to improve his game.

Guarino lifts regularly at O’Pake Recreation Center, but as with most things during the coronavirus pandemic, there have been lots of challenges.

O’Pake has two zones in the workout area, one for cardio and one for lifting. Multiple people are allowed in these zones, but they cannot be within six feet of each other.

O’Pake Recreation Center has enacted a number of restrictions amid the pandemic PHOTO: LUKAS VAN SANT ’21/THE HAWK

For lifters, that means no spotting.

“I can’t do as much weight as I would like to be doing now that you’re not allowed to have a spotter,” Guarino said.

A spotter is a person who acts as a partner when someone else is lifting heavy weights.

The spotter helps to prevent accidents from happening due to someone not being able to handle the weight by themselves. A spotter is not necessary for all lifting exercises, but usually is for bigger ones like benching and squatting where more weight is used.

For people who do like to lift, spotters are crucial for safety, so lifters like Guarino have had to change up their routines without one.

“Maybe I will skip [an exercise] since that’s a little more [of a] dangerous exercise for me, and maybe I’ll just hop on a machine or something like that,” Guarino said.

Frank Castano ’21, who works at O’Pake, said he noticed regular lifters have toned down their workouts in order to comply with the no spotting rule. But they are still careful when they add weight.

“They walk up to their buddies and make sure they were watching just in case,” Castano said.

Rob Smith, director of strength and conditioning for SJU Athletics, said while the number one purpose for spotting is safety, it can also be a key aspect of strength growth.

“You know a spotter is something that can be useful because it can then allow you to go to 100% of your max or even close to it, and feel comfortable that if for some reason you were to fail, you know you had someone there to help you,” Smith said.

Spotters are needed most when a lift is a safety issue or “something that puts you in a compromised position, like a bench press or a back squat,” Smith said. Without someone there helping, it is hard to reach your maximum weight.

But Anthony Trotto ’23 said not having a spotter has offered him some benefits.

“It allows you to work on yourself and pick a more conservative load that you can lift, and it causes you to be more dependent on yourself and know what you can lift,” Trotto said. “Having a spotter is always great because you can bump up the weight a little bit, but I don’t think it hinders anyone’s ability to lift weights.”

Riley Frain ’21 contributed to this story.

A game too many

Throwing a flag on the NFL’s new schedule AARON TULLY ’23 Hawk Staff The NFL had the perfect schedule format, but NFL owners ruined it.

On March 30, the NFL owners approved a change from a 16 game regular season, to a 17 game regular season. The change will be implemented at the beginning of the upcoming 2021 season and will be the first time the league has expanded the regular season schedule since 1978, when they made the jump from 14 games to 16.

Under the system that had been in place since the addition of a 32nd team in 2002, each team played 16 games: six games in their division versus divisional opponents, four matchups with teams from a division in the opposite conference, four games against teams from one of the other three divisions in their conference and two games against the teams who finished in the same position in the other two divisions in their conference during the previous season.

While the process of scheduling those 16 games will stay the same, the 17th game will be an inter-conference matchup between two teams that finished in the same positions within their divisions. The divisions that played each other two years prior will be matched up for the 17th game.

The change also means that the schedule symmetry is gone. There will no longer be an even split of eight home games and eight away games for each team, as 17 games

means half of the league will play nine home games, and the other half will play nine away games. This will alternate between the AFC and the NFC each year, and AFC teams will begin the rotation, playing nine home games in 2021.

son games due to the pandemic, injuries have been steadily rising in the NFL since 2012.

Players are struggling to stay healthy over the course of a 16-game season, and adding an extra game with no extra bye week will only make things more difficult for the players.

GRAPHIC: CASEY WOOD ’23/THE HAWK

This scheduling change comes without an additional bye week, which creates trouble for the players. Injuries were at an all time high over the course of the 2020 NFL season.

There were a total of 801 injuries in the NFL this season, smashing the previous record of 786 during the 2015 season.

While many will attribute the injury total to a lack of offseason team activities or presea-

The addition of a 17th game will challenge coaches to think about how they can have the healthiest team possible come playoff time. If their team is already locked into their playoff spot through the first 15 games, they may opt to rest some of their starters for the final two games in order to gear up for the playoffs.

While this is reasonable for the coaching staff of a given team to protect their Super Bowl

aspirations, it is dreaded by teams and fans across the league. This has the potential to send a ripple effect across the playoff picture, as one team sitting starters can have costly ramifications for teams in their conference that are fighting for playoff spots.

In the 2020 season, four teams were fighting for the final three AFC wild-card playoff spots headed into the final week of the season.

Two of the four teams were playing against teams who were resting their starters, putting them at an advantage in their fight for the remaining playoff spots.

Fortunately for the Indianapol is Colts, the Miami Dolphins could not overcome the Buffalo Bills’ backups, sending the Colts to the playoffs. While this instance didn’t significantly skew the playoff picture, taking things out of a playoff hopeful’s hands by resting starters is no fun for anyone, and adding an additional week with potential for more resting of starters only amplifies the problem, and possibly harms the integrity of the game.

The NFL had the perfect system from 2002-20. Thirty-two teams, 16 games, eight divisions and four teams in each division.

Oddly satisfying, isn’t it?

The addition of a 17th game to the NFL schedule is going to have long-term consequences on the health of the players and how teams approach the regular season. The change has the possibility to lead to a decrease in the quality of the on-field product due to more injuries and more sitting of starters, and a decrease in quality of play is something that no football fan wants.

Sports

The Hawk Newspaper

April 21, 2021

11

Baseball transfer makes impact on conference title ambitions DREW DESSEN ’21 Special to The Hawk When right-handed pitcher Ian McCole transferred to St. Joe’s last fall, he worried about fitting in.

Twenty-three-year-old McCole is a graduate student in the MBA program with junior eligibility on the team. He came to St. Joe’s from Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania, where he played Division III ball from 2018 to 2020.

“When I committed here, I was terrified,” McCole said. “I was out of my comfort zone. Everyone knew me from my old school, and when I first came here, I felt like I didn’t know anyone.”

But McCole said he soon felt at home.

“My roommates accepted me from day one and made me feel like I wasn’t the new kid,” McCole said. “It felt like I had been here before. It didn’t take as much adjusting as I thought it would, which felt good.”

The St. Joe’s baseball team’s 2020 season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The team struggled through their 2019 and 2018 seasons, finishing 1311 and 12-12, respectively.

“I came from a real winning program at Misericordia,” McCole said. “From what I have been told, the last few years have been a little rough here, but from the fall and the first few games, things have completely turned around.”

Junior catcher Andrew Cossetti said McCole is a great addition to the team.

“We have a mature group of guys on the team,” Cossetti said. “Ian [McCole] coming into the team is huge in solidifying our pitching. With him and the rest of the guys staying healthy, I think we have a great shot at making the tournament and going on a run.”

McCole currently stands with a record of 1-2, managing 29 strikeouts and just four walks across a team leading 31 innings pitched, se-

curing himself a save in the process.

Head Coach Fritz Hamburg said he recruited McCole because he’s a “tough, hardnosed competitor.”

Hamburg also liked McCole’s pitchability—the range and versatility of his pitches— and durability during games.

“He’s got good sink in his fastball and throws his breaking ball for strikes,” Hamburg said.

As in the MLB, college pitchers do not often pitch an entire game. According to Hamburg, that has not been the case for McCole in his first few outings.

“In my time here, I might be able to count the number of nine inning complete games on one hand,” Hamburg said. “Last week he went for a complete game against UMass and gave up an early homerun in the first inning.

McCole winds up for a pitch at home on John W. Smithson Field. PHOTO COURTESY OF SJU ATHLETICS

After that, Ian [McCole] just went in there and did his thing and did a great job.”

St. Joe’s went on to beat the University of Massachusetts 5-1 that game.

Hamburg added that he likes McCole’s attitude and appetite for the game.

“He’s very coachable,” Hamburg said.

“He wants to learn and get better. I love the fact that he does what we want our pitchers to do so well and he leads by example and he just gets it done.”

Hamburg has high expectations for his team, whose record sits at 11-8 overall and 6-2 in the conference. The team split their most recent series with St. Bonaventure 2-2, losing the first two games by scores of 3-8 and 0-6 but came back with a 9-7 victory and a dominant 11-3 win led by five RBIs on three hits from senior outfielder Brendan

Hueth to round off the series.

“If we can avoid another hiccup with COVID, I think this team can do some great things,” Hamburg said. “This team wants to win an A-10 championship.”

Cossetti said McCole’s presence in the dugout helps their chances of winning the 2021 Atlantic 10 Championship.

“There is a different presence on the field this year,” Cossetti said. “Our expectation is always the A-10 tournament and making a run for the championship. This year we actually feel confident in saying that.”

That is what McCole would like, too.

“The goal is always to win the championship, no matter what level you play at,” McCole said. “We are going to compete and win some games, and I’m excited to see where it goes.”

THE HAWK IS HIRING! Photographers Graphic Designers Editors Social Media Manager

AP PL Y TO DA Y The

Hawk

is

student-run St.

Joe's.

our

at

organization

find

and

at

build

journalism

sju.edu/english

Application

Visit

independent

Contribute

community,

courses

to

an

news

Deadline:

April

21

http://www.sjuhawknews.com/apply/

apply.

Scan t he QR Code b elow for mo re inform ation:

12

April 21, 2021

The Hawk Newspaper

Sports

St. Joe’s grad turned Philadelphia Union supporters’ group leader RILEY FRAIN ’21 Sports Editor During his time at St. Joe’s, Adam Booth ’13 could always be found front and center of the student section in Hagan Arena cheering on the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

After four years of sitting in the front row, leading chants and bringing energy to Hawk Hill, Booth channeled his fandom into a new sport. He leads the “Sons of Ben,” a supporters group for the Philadelphia-based Major League Soccer franchise known as the Philadelphia Union.

“They are the most rowdy, most feverish and the most vocal supporters of the Philadelphia Union and they occupy a similar area to the students’ section, one quarter of the stadium that’s basically just devoted to them,” Booth said.

As one of a dozen “capos” for the Sons of Ben, Booth’s job at Subaru Park’s River End, the section where Sons of Ben's fans sit for every home game, is to lead the chants from the front row and make sure the fans are coordinating properly on game day, similar to what he did at Hagan Arena.

“Anybody who was going to St. Joe’s games when Adam [Booth] was in school knew exactly who he was,” said Michael J. Lyons, associate professor and chair of the communications and media studies department.

“He was the loudest person in the arena, he was super vocal and super animated. He was hard not to notice at our games.”

Before his arrival on Hawk Hill, Booth was already an avid college basketball fan. But after he attended his first few Hawks games, he became an admirer of both squads.

“As a sports fan it was cool to see, that

Booth described the Sons of Ben as the standard for what Philadelphia sports fans can be.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MORGAN TENCZA/BROTHERLY GAME

seemed like the next level of sports,” Booth said. “The [men’s team] was really bad when I was there my freshman year but it allowed me to meet the real diehards, the people who are really there for basketball.”

As a leader of the Sons of Ben’s fan section, Booth’s job is to be the loudest person in the section, making sure fans are singing along to chants and supporting their hometown Philadelphia Union.

“It was very similar to what I was doing at St. Joe’s,” Booth said. “[As capo] your primary goal is you’re leading the chants, you’re getting the people going, you’re yelling out the directions.”

Booth said there is another, more intangible side to his role too.

“You’re making sure people feel comfortable in the situation that they’re in,” Booth said. “I take it upon myself, and I think a lot of the other capos do, to try to make people feel comfortable. If you’re just a casual fan of sports, you would not necessarily be prepared for the experience that is the River End.” The experience at River End is unlike any other in sports, and according to Booth, it sets the standard for how Philadelphia fans support their local teams. Booth described the scene before the pandemic as “wild and loud.”

“There’s smoke bombs, there’s flags, there’s giant banners, it is a place for a fan to be themselves at the maximum that they want to be,” Booth said.

The coronavirus pandemic hindered Booth’s role as capo. The Philadelphia Union did not allow fans for a portion of last season, but fans are slowly starting to return to the stadium for the 2021 season.

After watching games from home, Booth and the Sons of Ben were allowed to return to Subaru Park under different circumstances.

“The Union themselves opened up the stadium for parties where families would fit in pods that were sectioned off and you could watch the game on our new giant big screen,”

Booth said. “As a capo, I was put under the giant big screen, was given flags and smoke bombs and was told to do the best I could from that position and it was tough, but it was nice to get out there.”

According to Sons of Ben President Matt Gendaszek, in spite of some of these restrictions, Booth has done an excellent job leading fans and has been a crucial part of the Sons of Ben’s respected reputation around the MLS. “Adam [Booth], because of his energy and his personality, he usually runs around the River End,” Gendaszek said. “He’ll be on the ladder in the front and center of the River End, and then at one point, somebody else will get on a ladder and he’ll come down with a megaphone and he will cover up and down the stairs of the entire River End doing chants.”

Looking back on his time as Booth’s professor, Lyons said it was shocking to see the difference of how he acted in the classroom versus who Booth was as a St. Joe’s sports fan and who he’s become as a member of the Sons of Ben. “I remember the first time I saw him at a basketball game, because he’s not like that [in class],” Lyons said. “If you hang out with him one on one, or in class, he was a really shy kid. Is there something about sports that does that?”

Booth even found himself on a Philadelphia Union billboard, which displayed a picture of himself leading chants set up on Interstate 95.

“I was like ‘oh my gosh,’” Booth said. “I had my entire giant face on one quarter of a billboard. It was me, the Philadelphia Union logo, [and] the Sons of Ben were in the background. I’m not going to say it was the most flattering photo, but it was an intense photo and absolutely insane.”

Steph Kelly breaks all-time assists record TYLER NICE ’23 Assistaint Sports Editor From the first women’s lacrosse game of the 2021 season, Rebecca “Bec” Lane ’19 realized that her record for career assists in program history wouldn’t stand for long.

The former Hawk player and current assistant coach knew that senior attacker Steph Kelly was inevitably going to shatter her record by the season’s end. While some former alumni would be upset to see their record broken, Lane has a unique vested interest in Kelly’s success, more so than the typical relationship between a player and a coach, or even former teammates. The two women were childhood friends. They lived ten minutes from each other and even played youth lacrosse together at Footscray Lacrosse Club in Melbourne, Australia, more than 10,000 miles away from Hawk Hill.

“To be able to pass her record is really cool,” Kelly said. “I think it’s a testament to where we both come from. We’re both from Footscray, both from Australia and both from St. Joe’s.”

Lane said she has watched Kelly grow into a poised and athletic leader on the field.

“Her record breaking season is a culmination of all her hard work,” Lane said. “She has earned this success and I am just so happy for her.”

Kelly set the record for career assists seven minutes into a 12-10 win over Duquesne University on April 3. As of April 16, Kelly ranks tied for 14th nationally in total assists and tied for seventh in total points. She leads St. Joe’s in goals, assists and points, totaling 65 on the season so far.

Still, Kelly said she prefers doing the “little things” on the field to spark a goal or an assist and these plays have come to characterize her career on Hawk Hill.

“I love to assist, I love to see my teammates end up with a goal,” Kelly said. “I think that sometimes I’m just in the right position at the right times. When I’m in that position, it means that there’s players on the inside that I’m hitting at the right time.”

Kelly’s passing vision and willingness to contribute to the team’s success in any way mirrors the identity of Australian lacrosse, according to Lane.

“Australian lacrosse really prides itself on its creativity and intuition on the field, as well as how gritty and relentless we play,” Lane said.

Unlike in the U.S., there are no youth leagues or high school lacrosse in Australia. Instead, players often learn the game through their local club teams, like Lane and Kelly did with Footscray. On such teams, players could be as young as 12 playing with 30-year-old women.

Kelly and freshman midfielder Bonnie Yu, also from Melbourne and Footscray, are the two Australians on the Hawks’ 2021 roster. According to Head Coach Alex Kahoe, this experience leads to a strong knowledge of the game and a high propensity to be a leader on the field.

“I always find that the Australian players have the ability to be leaders on the field right away,” Kahoe said.

Kelly’s leadership is reflected in her ability to put her teammates in positions to succeed. She knows when and where players on the attack like to receive passes, according to Kahoe.

“She plays within the offense, but also takes the time to really get to know her teammates,” Kahoe said.

Playing alongside Kelly is senior attacker Sam McGee, who is third on the team in goals and third in points with 38. McGee said having a teammate with passing vision like Kelly’s enables her more opportunities to score.

“If I know the next pass is going to go to Steph [Kelly], I know that’s my time to cut,” McGee said. “She makes it easier to think two passes ahead.”

McGee receives many of Kelly’s assists because she is a reliable target when cutting

through the defense, according to Kelly.

“When I see her cutting through the middle, I’m [passing] the ball in there,” Kelly said. “I know she’s going to catch it and I know she’s going to finish it. Our attack works as a unit and works so cohesively that it’s just perfect timing.”

Though Kelly now owns the record for career assists, she remains focused on the team’s collective success, embodying the team mentality so present in Australian lacrosse.

“We need to get better to be able to win the A-10 Championship and get to a place where we’re all breaking records,” Kelly said.

“I’m just here at the right time.”

Kelly currently sits second on the Hawks’ all-time points list. PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK