February 10, 2021

Feb. 10, 2021

|

Volume CII

|

Est. 1929

|

www.sjuhawknews.com

|

The Student Newspaper of Saint Joseph’s University

DOUBLING UP

Jessica Gonzalez ’22 (top) and Kyra Kopacz ’22 (bottom) started double-masking after a university announcement advised students to. PHOTOS: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

Community wears two masks for added protection

As new and more contagious variants of COVID-19 emerge, some members of the St. Joe’s community are double-masking while on campus.

A Feb. 1 university announcement advised students to consider double-masking to “prevent the transmission of COVID-19.”

Double-masking refers to the practice of wearing one mask on top of another. Recently, double-masking has become more popular, with public health officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recommending the wearing of two masks to add an extra layer of protection.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not yet issued a public recommendation on the issue.

Divya Balasubramaniam, Ph.D., associate professor of economics, is teaching her courses in a hybrid format this semester.

Although Balasubramaniam does not require students in her in-person sections to double-mask, she said she recognizes how the new trends in protective measures are “forward looking” with possible benefits.

“Thinking like an economist, [double-masking] is about the marginal benefit versus marginal cost,” Balasubramaniam said. “Wearing a mask definitely has benefits, so double-masking, I believe, is dependent on other factors like whether you have a good quality mask or whether you have a well-fitting mask.”

The need for double-masking has in-

creased, in part, due to new, more transmissible variants of COVID-19. On Jan. 15, Penn Medicine reported that the B.1.1.7. variant of COVID-19, first identified in the United Kingdom, had been found in southeastern Pennsylvania.

“Just like wearing two sweaters when it is cold out, [a second mask] adds another layer of protection,” wrote Brian Forster, Ph.D., general education program lab coordinator and chemical hygiene officer for the university, in a written response to emailed questions from The Hawk.

While on campus, Forster wears a double layer mask to provide that additional layer of protection.

“The idea of double-masking is that the medical mask on top of a cloth mask increases the chances that any virus particle could be trapped in either of those layers before getting a chance to enter you via your respiratory system,” Forster said.

“Hence the double mask brings us closer to the quality of an N95 [mask].”

A number of studies from the Journal of Education and Health Promotion found that cloth masks alone are less effective than surgical masks and medical-grade masks, like N95s or KN95s.

For some students, double-masking is especially important in spaces with a denser population, like classrooms and residence halls.

“When I know I’m going to a club meeting or a class where there are people, I usually double-mask because there’s nothing to lose and it’s extra protection,” Patrice Romano ’24 said. “Especially seeing other regional universities, like what’s going on

with their case numbers, [I’ll do] anything just to stay on campus.”

At other Philadelphia-area schools, cases are increasing. As of Feb. 8, Villanova University reported an estimated 504 active COVID-19 cases on campus, and the University of Pennsylvania reported 222 students in isolation with COVID-19.

“Although we have the resources to manage the current situation, these numbers are not sustainable,” John Stack, O.S.A., vice president for Student Life at Villanova, wrote in a Jan. 31 email to students.

Stack added that if the numbers continue to go up, Villanova President Peter Donohue, O.S.A., “will have no option but to end the semester on campus.”

When double-masking, Romano said she wears a two-ply reusable mask with a one-ply reusable mask on top to give herself three layers of protection. Romano said she double-masks when going to classes, club meetings, the gym or visiting with her grandparents, six feet apart and outside.

“When I’m in a high-risk situation—if there are more people or higher-risk people—I think it’s wise to [double-mask],” Romano said.

Jessica Gonzalez ’22 started double-masking after reading the university announcement and seeing advice from health professionals like Fauci.

Gonzalez wears a surgical mask with a cloth mask over that while attending class and or shopping at the grocery store.

“After [hearing the recommendation], I did decide to double-mask,” Gonzalez said. “My mom also works at a hospital, so she said if I decide to come home, she

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

EDITORIAL

FEATURES

CHRISTINE DISANTI ’21 Assistant News Editor

@SJUHAWKNEWS

04

This editorial acknowledges the resilience of the Black community

09

As president, Tayler Stokes explains how she’s changing the direction of BSU

would rather I double-mask at school so she knows that I’ve been safer.”

Jordan Butt ’21 said he prefers an N95 mask. Butt started wearing an N95 when he realized masks would be part of the foreseeable future. While he said he thinks if people wore higher-grade masks in general, they could avoid double-masking, he would also prefer that students simply wear their masks properly.

“For starters, I wish more people would just wear the mask over their nose,” Butt said.

Jordan Butt ’21 wears his N95 mask.

PHOTO: DANNY REMISHEVSKY ’23/THE HAWK

SPORTS

11

Philadelphia has a rich history with Negro League baseball

2

News

The Hawk Newspaper

Feb. 10, 2021

BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENTS ON CAMPUS

PHILADELPHIA

2/11

Through

Toxic

Masculinity

Hosted

by

the

in

Black

the

Black

Student

Community:

Union

(7

Rights

p.m.)

Jack

His

T.

for

NFL's An

Rooney

online

Duru, of

Social

Rule:

of

(6:30-7:30

and

hosted

discussion

Professor

Law

Change

Social by

addressing

Law

at

the

Justice: Sports

diversity

American

Understanding

Marketing

in

the

University

NFL

N.

Washington

Jeremi

Dating:

Justice:

examination

Civil

online

event

Thomas

hosted

Out

War

Center

by

An

Jefferson

against at

University,

University

Center

the

Sciences (6

and

the

Senate

Racial

in-person

Temple

Joe’s

Student

Against

University,

of

student-led

racial

injustice

Maguire (4-4:45

speak

on

Wolfington

and

ideas

the

lawn

Blake

Welcome

gallerist

of

of

and

Art

Aisha

by

the

Asian

Art

History.

Khan

and

art

Lorraine

among

critic

in

the

Program,

Join

O'Grady

anti-Blackness

visibility

Studies

and

Arun and

U.S.

communities

for

of

a

the

D'Souza

Baseera and

Women’s

virtual

how

Khan,

create

color.”

on

(4-5

Leaders

Center

conversation

2/19

looking

can

Film by

Day An

of

all

event

Day

Night:

the

Black

of

Hosted

Student

Union

p.m.)

2/25

at

possibilities

sharing

In

An

of

The

Battle

through

Online

the

and

Gardens,

tales

of

an unflinching

Mural

for

Arts

Freedom

National

and

Constitution

Amendments

in-person

featuring

African

horticulture.”

You:”

The

in-person

art

from

tickets

and

and

the

options

role

for

“storyteller

American

Available

Collection

art

Black

in

of

a

walk-

Charlotte

communities

through

March

21.

collection

artists.

of

Dr.

Constance

containing

Available

from

over Feb.

E.

seventy 20-April

4.

advance.

28.

Feb.

walking

p.m.)

20

tour

about and

and

hold

and

exhibition

leaders.

at

Available

Month

in

Walking

Center

City

public

art

social

justice

Tour:

“to

An

in-person

discover

representing

and

iconic

issues.”

learn

events

Racism online

Feb.

Dialogue by (3

the

Reflection:

Black

“the

Student

and

p.m.)

Feb.

is

a

systemic

27

at

about

and

Available Youtube

to

that

public

An

perpetuates

What?:

An

out

the

schedule

here:

addressing

inequities

crises.”

Feb.

Maori

Rashid

Wortham

online, 12,

collection

founder

DJ/filmmaker Jenna

live

Now

Museum

health

online

BlackStar

Feb.

Issue:

Mütter

in

Available

p.m.

Live!:

like

the

racism

4:30

with

Health

from

contributes

guests

inclusion.

Public

&

Philadelphia, check

program

Black

Month

happenings

Black

Available

more

History

full

sponsored

conversations

equity

in-person

Black

21.

Holmes

university

An

honoring

For History

shows

day

Legends:

until

BlackStar

to

the

an

War.

Longwood

lens

Park

Black

for

Dialogue:

diversity,

the

American

Fellowship.

Reconstruction

Civil

and

offer

2/26 (8

African

showcasing

through

Reentry

exhibit the

exhibit

incarceration

America”

Landscape:

of

Fairmount

figures

Hosted

the

from

p.m.)

more

Union

the

“Awakened

including

negotiating

solidarity

Black

the

the

Alston

through

St.

sponsored

artists,

for

at

Civil

selections

Solidarities:

Department

diaspora

art

mass

Reconstruction:

online

tour

Clayton:

event

“between

of

Reimagining

and An

in

through

works

the

Philadelphia’s

collection

online

contemporary

during

Reserve

virtual

An

highlighting

Voices out

p.m.)

Diasporic

in

featuring

Speak

Injustice:

2/18 A

of

Equality:

University Union

photography

“expansive

slavery

Student

exhibit

Philadelphia.

Philadelphia’s

2/17

Speed

Activism

art

Rendering

depiction

College

p.m.)

2/12 Black

in

Youth

online

the

Club:

with

An

Franklin

Museum Sport

Eyes:

Era:

and

of

live

talk

Karmael

Zakat

featuring

Questlove.

on

Facebook

19

and

Feb.

Live

and

26.

Military coup in Myanmar DEVIN YINGLING ’22 News Editor What is the recent political history of Myanmar?

After gaining independence from Britain in 1948, Myanmar, then known as Burma, was ruled by military forces until 2012.

In 2015, former State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi’s, National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide election, ushering in a civilian-led government.

Myanmar held a general election on Nov. 8, 2020, continuing the democratic electoral process. One thousand one hundred seventy one national, state and regional seats were up for election, according to the Myanmar Times. Suu Kyi’s government won in a landslide victory. The NLD’s primary opposition in the election was the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

In 2017, the Myanmar military cracked down on Rohingya Muslims (one of many ethnic minorities in Myanmar) after Rohingya militants attacked police posts. The ensuing violence and conflict forced thousands of Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the Rohingya as “one of, if not the most, discriminated people in the world.”

In 2019 Suu Kyi appeared before the International Court of Justice where she

The UN Refugee Agency

denied allegations that the military committed genocide against the Rohingya. The United Nations concluded in 2019 “that the evidence that infers genocidal intent on the part of the State…has strengthened, that there is a serious risk that genocidal actions may occur or recur.”

Myanmar does not consider Rohingya in the Rakhine state—where most Rohingya are located—citizens of Myanmar. Rohingya have been denied the vote since 2015, and continue to be disenfranchised.

What happened after the Nov. 8 election?

The USDP pushed for a recount of the vote after claiming widespread election fraud. On Feb. 1, the military in Myanmar forcibly seized power and detained Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other senior figures from the NLD. In the midst of countrywide protests against the coup, the military declared a yearlong state of emergency, giving leadership authority to army chief Min Aung Hlaing, who has been condemned by the international community for his role in the Rohingya genocide. As of Feb. 7, internet access, which was previously cut, has been restored, but access to social media outlets remains blocked and is under military surveillance.

What is the international response?

The United States: U.S. President Joe

Biden denounced the military coup in Myanmar, asking for unity within the international community to press the military to relinquish power and calling their actions a “direct assault on the country’s transition to democracy and the rule of law.”

“In a democracy, force should never seek to overrule the will of the people or attempt to erase the outcome of a credible election,” Biden wrote in a Feb. 1 White House statement.

The Vatican: Pope Francis has called for harmony in Myanmar and expressed his “solidarity with the people” in the state.

“I pray that those in positions of responsibility in the country show sincere willingness to serve the common good, promoting social justice and national stability for a harmonious and democratic co-existence,” Pope Francis said on Feb. 7 during his Sunday address in St. Peter’s Square.

The UN International Children's Emergency Fund

Islamic Relief USA

The United Nations: Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General, said in a press release on Jan. 31 that Guterres “strongly condemns” the military coup in Myanmar.

“The Secretary-General urges the military leadership to respect the will of the people of Myanmar and adhere to democratic norms, with any differences to be resolved through peaceful dialogue,” according to the press release. “All leaders must act in the greater interest of Myanmar’s democratic reform, engaging in meaningful dialogue, refraining from violence and fully respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

If you would like to donate to support the Rohingya, you can donate through the following organizations:

Muslim Global Relief

News

The Hawk Newspaper

Feb. 10, 2021

3

Changes to SNAP benefit students in need CARLY CALHOUN ’21 Copy Editor Certain St. Joe’s students are now qualified to receive help buying food using funds from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) due to a temporary extension of eligibility requirements amid the pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service released an update on Jan. 16 introducing the temporary expansion of SNAP benefits to students enrolled at least half-time who meet one of two requirements. They must either be eligible for State WorkStudy or Federal Work-Study (FWS) or have an expected family contribution of $0 during the academic year.

The new requirements differ from prior conditions, as students with FWS were only eligible for SNAP if they were actively working an FWS job.

Susan Clampet-Lundquist, Ph.D., professor of sociology, said this change in SNAP eligibility will be helpful for students in need, not only physically but mentally.

“Imagine a student who might be able to [receive] that extra help. Thinking ‘How am I going to afford to eat this week?’ is one less thing that student has to be anxious about and have to think about,” Clampet-Lundquist said.

Though food insecurity is a long-stand-

ing issue, it has worsened amid the coronavirus pandemic over the past year. More people than ever have turned to food pantries and an Electronic Benefits Transfer card from SNAP to make food purchases, according to Keith Brown, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology. “[The pandemic] is making the issue of food insecurity on all of our radars,” Brown said.

According to a July 24, 2020 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), minority communities are more susceptible to issues like food insecurity, beyond specific health risks from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Social determinants of health have historically prevented [racial and ethnic minority groups] from having fair opportunities for economic, physical and emotional health,” according to the CDC. “Inequities in the social determinants of health, such as poverty and healthcare access, affecting these groups are interrelated and influence a wide range of health and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.”

In November 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services reported that enrollment for SNAP in Philadelphia increased 5.6% since February 2020, with a total of 1,834,008 people enrolled in the program. The USDA reported in September 2020 that 42,917,341 people nationwide were enrolled in SNAP.

Maddie DeMarco ’22 is the president of HawkHUB, an on-campus food and basic needs resource center for students, faculty and staff at St. Joe’s. She said SNAP’s new inclusion of a wider range of students in need is an important step forward in helping student populations who are struggling.

“The assumption lies in the idea that a lot of times your parents are helping you pay for school and people at colleges aren’t [going] hungry,” DeMarco said. “A lot of the time, students have to sacrifice eating and meeting their basic needs to get the education that they want to get.”

Dylan Judge ’20, co-treasurer for HawkHUB, conducted research last year with Becki Scola, Ph.D., professor of political science, and fellow research assistant Christine DiSanti ’21, about food insecurity on college campuses. Judge said a lack of knowledge about available resources prevents students from getting the help they need.

“One of the big issues is that people don’t even know that they’re eligible for these benefits,” Judge said. “It’s mainly the younger generation and the elderly that are missed, and a lot of people in the middle ground who just don’t know that they qualify for it.”

Brown said food insecurity issues on a campus like St. Joe’s are too often invisible or overlooked.

“Sometimes at a place like St. Joe’s,

where the student population is relatively wealthy and the people who are working here have solid jobs, we miss the people who are in our own community who are struggling with food insecurity,” Brown said.

Brown invited guest speaker Jackie DeCarlo, CEO of the Manna Food Center, to speak to his class Feeding Philadelphia on Feb. 8. The Manna Food Center focuses on food distribution for residents in Montgomery County, Maryland. DeCarlo said she fully supports the expansion of SNAP. “This is a program that we wholeheartedly support, so if it’s expanded such that more people can get it or more money is in people’s pockets, then that’s a good thing,” DeCarlo said. “[SNAP] really keeps people out of deep poverty, and it lifts people up.”

DeMarco said including more students in a program like SNAP “dismantles the notion” that students who attend college are automatically able to afford basic needs, especially at a school with a student population as affluent as St. Joe’s.

“There are people in our own community that need just as much help as people in the outside communities,” DeMarco said. “It’s important that we’re contributing to helping those in our own community while also serving with and for others outside of the community.”

How to apply for SNAP You can apply online by using COMPASS:

Or in person by filling out this application at your local county assistance office

Find out where the closest office to you in Pennsylvania is here:

More information on SNAP can be found here:

Department of Public Safety reports (Jan. 30 - Feb. 4) Jan. 30 No incidents to report.

Jan. 31 Public Safety was notified by a St. Joe’s student in regards to a suspicious male on the 5400 block of Wynnefield Avenue knocking on their front door. Philadelphia Police were notified and responded to take a report. The incident is under investigation.

Feb. 1 Public Safety was notified in regards to three signs of a political nature dis-

covered hanging from the McShain Hall Bridge. These signs were removed for violating the university posting and assembly and expression (fixed exhibit) policies.

The incident is under investigation.

Feb. 2 Public Safety was notified by a St. Joe’s student in regards to an unknown person leaving a threatening voice message on their phone. No police report at this time.

The incident is under investigation.

Feb. 3 Public Safety was notified by a St. Joe’s

employee in regards to an unknown person writing an anti-Semitic comment in the second floor men’s bathroom of the Barbelin Hall. The Title IX Coordinator was notified.

Community Standards was notified. The Investigation is ongoing.

Feb. 4 Public Safety was notified by a St. Joe’s student in regards to a suspicious male owwn the 2400 block of N. 56th Street attempting to serve some type of document to an individual who did not reside at that location. No police report at this time. The incident is under investigation.

ALCOHOL RELATED INCIDENTS

4 0

On campus

Off campus

DRUG RELATED INCIDENTS

0

On campus

0

Off campus

Call Public Safety:

610-660-1111

4

Feb. 10, 2021

The Hawk Newspaper

Opinions

2020’s effects on the Black community The double pandemic

Editor in Chief

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

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

It is clear that 2020 was a difficult year for everyone, and it is no surprise that Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

As we collectively commemorate Black History Month, we urge the St. Joe’s community to acknowledge the strength and resilience of BIPOC Americans, who have endured more than 500 hundred years of colonization, enslavement and systemic racial oppression.

Black Americans in particular have had to endure continued racial injustice while trying to survive the pandemic. The data shows that Black people are dying from the coronavirus at a rate 1.5 times higher than white people.

Police violence against Black people reached a peak in the summer of 2020, as 164 Black people were killed by the police within the first eight months of the year. For those who survive, the repercussions of centuries of sustained systemic racial oppression in the U.S. are mentally and emotionally taxing on Black Americans.

While (white) Americans sought ways to overcome social isolation and ways to relax over the summer as the virus spread, Black Americans did this too, in addition to fighting for their lives.

Studies from the Mayo Clinic, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and John Hopkins have found that Black Americans are disproportionately impacted by all major crises, national and global, more than any other group of people. The recession in the U.S. in the wake of the pandemic is one example of this disproportionate impact on Black lives. BIPOC Americans have also been shown to have a COVID-19 death rate double, or more, than that of white and Asian Americans.

The system of chattel slavery and an exploitative racialized capitlist economic system has created a vast wealth gap between white and Black Americans.

As scholar and law professor Mehrsa Baradaran wrote in her extensive study on racial inequality, “The Color of Money Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap,” after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, not even Black banks were empow-

“The financial, mental and emotional burdens of this past year have been hard on everyone, but we must acknowledge that this trauma disproportionately impacts Black Americans, who have endured and survived the historic, systemic racism in the U.S.” ered enough to help Black people overcome housing segregation, racism and Jim Crow credit policies.

These persistent forms of discrimination entrenches the Black-white wealth gap.

The national economic crises impacts Black Americans disproportionately more, with the unemployment rate for Black Americans

Assistant Opinions Editor Sehar Macan-Markar ’22

during the pandemic being 16.7%, while the rate for white Americans is 14.2%. The poverty rate for Black Americans is more than double that of white Americans, at 15.2% and 6.6%, respectively.

The financial, mental and emotional burdens of this past year have been hard on everyone, but we must acknowledge that this trauma uniquely impacts Black Americans, who have endured and survived the historic, systemic racism in the U.S. And so it is critical that we affirm and renew our solidarity with the Black community as we move forward into 2021 and beyond.

There are many ways to do this: educate yourself on systemic racism, white supremacy, institutional racism and if you are able to, contribute to community organizations and mutual aid groups.

The Hawk has provided a list of racial justice organizations that you can donate money to. On campus, you can donate to our student and faculty run food and basic resource pantry, Hawk Hub, which is located in Merion Hall 162. Hawk Hub accepts donations of nonperishable food and personal care items. There is also an Amazon wish list which you can use to make requested donations. If you don’t have the means to donate, the list also has links for volunteer opportunities at local mutual aid organizations or community-based groups that provide support to vulnerable communities.

Our own Campus Ministry has shown how they plan to commit to supporting the Black community throughout Black History Month, stating that they are “...working on anti racist mindsets and behaviors,” and invite the rest of the St. Joe’s community to do the same.

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 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 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

“WANDAVISION” For those Marvel fans out there who have been feeling empty inside ever since “Avengers: Endgame,” “WandaVision” on Disney+ is the perfect way to jump back into the Marvel universe. Plus, watching superheroes save the world is such a great distraction from the rough time that is our current reality.

SHOVELING 10 INCHES OF SNOW Sure, snow is all fun and games until it’s time to shovel it. Shoveling is, quite literally, not hot. And what’s even less hot than shoveling?

Not having a shovel at all. Then it’s just you and a snowed-in car with nowhere to turn.

GALENTINE’S DAY Let’s just admit it: Valentine’s Day isn’t for everyone. If Feb. 14 isn’t your favorite day, why not celebrate Galentine’s Day, on Feb. 13, instead? Celebrating the love we have for our friends is much more bearable for us. So, round up a group of your best pals and enjoy the day. We suggest watching a terrible rom-com and eating lots of snacks.

QDOBA BOWLS—LESS BANG FOR YOUR BUCK Is it just us, or are the bowls at Qdoba getting smaller? We miss the oval bowls that used to be, and now we’re just stuck with these tiny circles. Not hot, Qdoba.

FOOD TRUCKS ON CAMPUS In case you haven’t heard, throughout the semester, regional food trucks will be on campus select Thursdays outside of the Admissions Building. This one is pretty self-explanatory. Who doesn’t love a good food truck? And to make it even better, the trucks will be highlighting women- and minority-owned businesses. We definitely support this, how can we not?

NOTORIOUS CITY AVENUE TRAFFIC LIGHTS It feels like we’re being pranked with the amount of times the traffic lights on City Avenue are out. Whether we’re trying to drive through or walk across the street, we can’t shake the feeling that things are going to go very wrong very quickly. If it was a one time thing, we would understand, but this is a recurring issue. We don’t want, or need, to add anymore chaos onto this notorious street.

Opinions

The Hawk Newspaper

Feb. 10, 2021

5

The failed shorting of GameStop Stock market chaos upends financial world ALEX MANDUCA ’22 Columnist Over the past few weeks, GameStop has become the focus of one of the greatest Wall Street Cinderella stories ever told.

The famed video game retailer was once an essential institution in the gaming community that made both domesticand foreign-made video games accessible to people everywhere in the U.S. Today, GameStop is quickly being made obsolete by digital storefronts cutting out the traditional retail middleman and by retail supergiants like Amazon undercutting GameStop’s prices. The company closed nearly 10% of its stores in 2020 and had plans to close up to 20% of them by March 2021. GameStop’s future was grim, and it seemed the company would soon be gone and forgotten.

Struggling corporations with public shares on the stock market often have their shares short sold or “shorted” by investors.

Shorting is essentially a way for investors and hedge funds to make a profit off struggling corporations’ falling stock prices.

The practice entails borrowing a company’s shares and quickly selling said shares. If the company’s share price falls, then the investor can buy their shares back at a lower price and turn a profit; but there’s a catch. If the investor is wrong and the price of the stock they short does not fall, there is tremendous potential for those investors to lose a lot of money.

Enter Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets. Tired of seeing such a beloved company being shorted and taken advantage of, a group of amateur traders on the internet web forum Reddit gathered around the common cause of ensuring the short sellers would pay.

Together, they invested tens of millions of dollars into GameStop’s stock (GME) and sent it to the moon.

“Never before has a group of amateur investors shaken up Wall Street to this extent and forced investors to adjust the way they work, nor has such an event made international headlines.”

The price of GameStop’s shares had been steadily falling since 2015. All the while, their shares were being shorted until their share price hit a record low of under $3 a share last year. Their stores were closing and the business was struggling to keep its storefronts afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

to make a statement. Many found short selling morally objectionable and therefore saw their actions as standing up against the hedge funds that have been shorting and manipulating the little guy for too long.

It is unclear whether or not this unprecedented market event will help GameStop in the long run, but their recent cash inflow may at least buy them some time and provide them with enough funds to avoid having to file for bankruptcy for the time being. What does seem abundantly clear is that this statement against short sellers was meant to be heard.

Never before has a group of amateur investors shaken up Wall Street to this extent and forced investors to adjust the way they work, nor has such an event made international headlines. Their message sent shockwaves throughout the world and will not soon be forgotten.

By Jan. 28, 2021, one share of GME was worth nearly $500 and Wall Street was on fire. Hedge funds lost billions, brokerages were in a state of panic and the Redditors that started it all found that they and their actions were making worldwide headlines.

The initial motivation for the Redditors that raised GME to such heights was

Money matters: life insurance TODD ERKIS Columnist My parents have been pushing me to purchase life insurance. They say that it’s important that I am covered, but it seems like a waste of money to me. Professor Erkis, what do you think? Janine R. ’21.

Whenever anyone asks me a question about insurance, I start by asking them about their situation, as it really depends on the best use of insurance. In my opinion, the best insurance is used to protect against severe financial losses. A few years ago, I wrote a book covering many insurance topics called, “What Insurance Companies Don’t Want You to Know” (available on Amazon).

In that book, I ask the following two questions, which should help someone decide if they need life insurance: 1. Would anyone experience serious financial hardship if your income was no longer available?

2. Would there be an unaffordable cost to your family to replace the services you provide (child care, for example) if you were no longer able to provide those services?

For most college students, the answer to these two questions is no. Therefore, life insurance is not needed as life insurance is to protect others who rely on your income.

If you do have someone who relies on your income, then life insurance is very important. I usually suggest purchasing term in-

exclusion period is when the long-term disability insurance starts paying if you are disabled. A 90-day exclusion period starts paying in 90 days to sync up with short-term disability. The longer the exclusion period, the cheaper the price for the long-term disability insurance.

There is nothing wrong with just taking the long-term disability insurance from your employer if they offer it. If they don’t offer it or if you want your own policy, ask for a “clean” quote with no riders or anything else attached. This will help you shop around for the lowest price. At that point, you can consider the additional items.

surance, as it’s the cheapest way to get the most life insurance.

Since you asked me about insurance, I want to recommend you consider getting disability insurance once you start working.

Disability insurance pays if you are sick or injured and cannot work. Most people will be able to financially recover from a shortterm illness or injury where they cannot work, but a long-term illness or injury is financially devastating.

The good news is that the likelihood of a younger person being disabled for a long time is quite low. This means the best time

to purchase long-term disability insurance is when a person is young. Disability insurance is sold as short-term disability or long-term disability. Short-term disability is usually provided by a person’s employer and covers disabilities up to 90 days. Long-term disability insurance is sometimes provided by a person’s employer. If not, it should be purchased as an individual policy.

Disability insurance can be confusing to purchase. I have an entire chapter in my book about disability insurance so I cannot cover everything about it here. The most important item is the exclusion period. The

Anna Lubomirski ’21: I find Professor Erkis’ advice very helpful. Not being married and not having any dependents means there is no reason to purchase a life insurance policy right now. Unlike life insurance, disability insurance will bring benefits should something happen.

The idea that disability policies have premium rates that are locked for life is also beneficial since younger people usually get lower premiums. Therefore, I will make sure I have enough long-term disability coverage when I start working after graduation.

6

Opinions

The Hawk Newspaper

Feb. 10, 2021

The impact of the loss of snow days We need a break SEHAR MACAN-MARKAR ’22 Assistant Opinions Editor In the time of the coronavirus pandemic, virtual learning is just another aspect of the “new normal” that students have had to adjust to. Online learning has certainly provided us with an opportunity to continue to learn during difficult times, and we are privileged to be able to have this.

But day in and day out, sitting on Zoom or walking across a campus that feels like a ghost town can feel bleak, to say the least. The pandemic has embedded this monotonous fear in all of us, where we are forced to deal with rising death tolls and the loss of what should be the peak of our lives. Yet in the midst of this, we still deal with overwhelming amounts of work and the pressure placed on us to be resilient.

Now, even little things, like snow days, are taken from us.

A few days ago, I was excited about the snow storm, only to be reminded that with online learning, we wouldn’t get a day off; classes and other responsibilities would

just continue virtually. Once again, something that I was so accustomed to became different due to the pandemic.

With all of the calamity that seems to constantly surround us, complaining about snow days may seem asinine. But in years past, during times with no break in sight, the excitement surrounding a snow day announcement seemed to be felt all throughout campus. The joyous energy of getting an unexpected day off was unparalleled.

This boost of morale is something that students could use now more than ever, especially with the loss of spring break.

Spring break used to allow students to decompress and enjoy some well deserved time off from stressful classes and a long semester. In the time of the pandemic, which has added immense stress to everyone’s lives, a break is much needed. But instead, we only have four individual days off, spread out throughout the rest of the semester.

ILLUSTRATION: CASEY WOOD ’23/ THE HAWK

Looking at the academic calendar and the lack of breaks instills an existential sense of dread in students. It’s understandable why there is no spring break. The safety measures the university is taking make sense. But that doesn’t make it any easier for students to digest.

Students are exhausted. All the changes we face, we have no choice in. With all of the change that students are forced to adjust to, if there’s a possibility for some normalcy, why shouldn’t we take it? Obviously, snow days are not going to fix all of the challenges that students face due to COVID-19, but it would bring a sense of comfort and a much needed rest.

Let us enjoy the snow and miss a few classes. Losing one day of virtual learning is not going to be a detriment to our education. What is harmful to our education is the lack of motivation and declining mental health that come with no breaks.

In the midst of all the chaos, snow days give us something to be excited about and allow us to regroup. As seen with the many students who took time between classes last week to enjoy the snow on campus, we need a bit of fun to make life with COVID-19 not so monotonous.

Post-term impeachment

Is it constitutional?

CONNOR MIGNANO ’23 Columnist This week began the second impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump. On Jan. 6, the country watched in horror as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop proceedings certifying U.S. President Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election.

The mob that stormed the Capitol was incited by a speech that Trump made earlier in the day, in which he continued to make false claims of election fraud. The chaos that ensued afterwards threw the country into an unprecedented situation, in which Congress took steps to impeach Trump for a second time and remove him from office with only two weeks left in his term.

Now that Biden is in office and Trump is officially a private citizen, the question has become whether or not it is constitutional to convict a former president in an impeachment trial.

While the debate over this issue is far from settled, I would argue that it is constitutional to impeach and convict a former president. My conclusion is based on three important concepts: historical precedent, the words of the Constitution itself and the necessity of preventing lame-duck presidents from committing crimes during their last days in office.

The concept of post-term impeachment is not unique to our time. Twice in the Senate history has this question been brought up. The first was during the impeachment of Senator William Blount in 1797. The second was during the impeachment of Secretary of

War William Belknap in 1876, a case which is more relevant to the current impeachment.

In that case, Belknap was acquitted because the Senate did not reach the two-thirds majority necessary for conviction, but prior to the trial’s proceedings, the Senate convened and agreed that they were constitutionally empowered to preside over impeachment trials of former government officials.

did not have the power to convict a former official. That conclusion was not a definitive condemnation of the idea that a former government official could be impeached, especially considering that a majority of senators voted to convict Belknap.

This is why I believe that, in conjunction with historical examples, it is important to consider both the text of the Constitution and

ILLUSTRATION: CASEY WOOD ’23/ THE HAWK

While there are no examples of former officials being convicted during their impeachment trials, the Belknap case shows that the act of impeaching a former government official has never been off the table.

However, historical precedent can only take us so far. Those against impeaching former officials would be valid in mentioning the fact that this question was just as controversial in the 1870s as it is today. Many senators who voted for acquittal in the Belknap case did so because they believed that the Senate

the intent of the framers of the Constitution in including the provision on impeachment in the Constitution.

In a letter written by an ideologically diverse group of 150 lawyers, the group argues that the Constitution allows for the impeachment of former government officeholders because of the two aspects of impeachment contained within the Constitution: removal from office and disqualification from running for office in the future. Both concepts, the scholars argue, are distinct from one an-

other within the text, meaning that the latter aspect is not solely dependent on the former.

The scholars further assert that the text itself does not prevent the impeachment of former officials, as there is nothing written in the Constitution that advocates for or against this action. Obviously, the ambiguity of the Constitution on this issue is the reason why this debate has been prolonged for so many years, but the fact is that there is nothing within the text that prohibits this kind of impeachment.

More important to consider is the intention of the framers in crafting the impeachment section of the Constitution. As constitutional scholars point out, the framers based much of their understanding of impeachment on its use in British law at the time, which did allow for impeachment of former government officials.

The framers intended for impeachment to be the means by which Congress could prevent tyrannical abuses of power from harming the republic. Neither the tyrant nor his ability to disrupt are nullified after his removal from office, which is why the framers included the provision on disqualification from holding future office.

The question ultimately becomes that if the Constitution does not allow for former officials to be tried and convicted in an impeachment trial, then what is the recourse for punishment of politicians who use their office to commit crimes during their last moments in office?

It would be nonsensical to allow politicians the right to escape punishment for crimes because they waited until the right moment to commit them. Our Constitution is too strong to allow this kind of loophole to exist, which is why I believe that Trump’s impeachment trial is within the rights of constitutionality.

Features

Feb. 10, 2021 7

The Hawk Newspaper Red Table Talk

hosted by Willow Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Norris Nenagh Sheehan ’21, Asst. Features Editor In 2020, Red Table Talk released a podcast called “Colorism.” In this podcast, their friend Mia Pitts joins them to discuss their experiences with colorism in their lives.

Pitts discusses how when she was an NBA dancer, a player told her he couldn’t date her because her skin was too dark. Each podcast episode has a different guest where they speak about different issues like race, gun control and privilege.

1619

hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones Jackie Collins ’21, Editor in Chief Hosted by Hannah-Jones, a reporter covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine, this podcast details the “long shadow of American slavery.” It is part of The 1619 Project, an initiative Hannah-Jones created that recognized the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery in 2019.

Code Switch

The Humanity Archive

hosted by Shereen Marisol Meraji and Gene Demby Tayler Washington ’22, Opinions Editor

hosted by Jermaine Fowler Elaina Wall ’21, Asst. Features Editor “The Humanity Archive” podcast shares the incredible stories from history that are left out of textbooks. Although not every episode is specific to Black history, Fowler, the host, often focuses on the topic, providing a different perspective on notable public figures, including Martin Luther King Jr., and discussing public figures and social movements that are not discussed as often, including Ida B. Wells, the Great Migration and more.

This podcast surrounds race, ethnicity and culture in the U.S. and explores the everyday experiences of Black, Indigenous and people of color living in America. While “Code Switch” doesn’t exclusively feature Blackness in America, Demby, the co-host, brings in the perspective of a Black man living in America since the 2016 election to just about every episode.

Podcasts to listen to for

Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations

hosted by Oprah Winfrey Maggie Brennen ’22, Asst. Opinions Editor Winfrey, the legendary talk show host and interviewer, has been releasing podcasts of past conversations with important figures.

Not every episode features a Black interviewee or talks about race, but many of them do, with interviews from Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and Nelson Mandela.

There was a two-part episode titled “Where Do We Go From Here?” in response to the murder of George Floyd, where Winfrey spoke with Black leaders about the anti-racist movement.

Black History Month.

EDITORS' PICKS

Black Men Can’t Jump (in Hollywood) hosted by Jonathan Braylock, Jerah Milligan and James III Eddie Daou ’22, Asst. News Editor

“Black Men Can’t Jump,” is a podcast that reviews films starring Black actors and takes a look at filmmaking in the context of Hollywood’s race and diversity problems. Hosted by Braylock, Milligan and James III, this podcast offers a unique perspective on films in the context of race.

The Bakari Sellers Podcast

Louder Than A Riot

“The Bakari Sellers Podcast” tackles pressing current events through conversations and interviews with high profile guests.

Sellers, a former lawyer and politician in South Carolina, uses his experiences to talk about the world of politics, including the 2020 election and the movement for racial equality in the U.S.

This podcast details how hip-hop and mass incarceration are intertwined in U.S. history. It also explores how the music industry has largely taken advantage of Black artists and Black culture, using exploitative strategies to capitalize.

hosted by Bakari Sellers Carly Calhoun ’21, Copy Editor

hosted by Rodney Carmichael and Sidney Madden Nick Karpinski ’21, Mutlimedia Editor

Black Shutter Podcast

hosted by Idris Talib Solomon Mitchell Shields ’22, Photo Editor “Black Shutter Podcast,” hosted by Idris Talib Solomon, focuses on the different eye people of color have for photography. This podcast cover all types of photography and photographers from all walks of life to provide insight into their minds. Personally, I am fond of the work done by the White House photography staff during former U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration. So, I would recommend listening to episode nine featuring Lawrence Jackson, the only Black photographer on staff for the Obama administration.

8 Feb. 10, 2021

The Hawk Newspaper

Features

Beyond the Field: violence prevention, social justice and leadership through football RYAN MULLIGAN ’21 Managing Editor In the past year, young people have been at the forefront of social justice movements across the U.S., acting as catalysts for change at local and national levels. Young Philadelphians have joined the fight against injustice as well. Over the course of the semester, The Hawk will feature profiles of Generation Z activists in and around Philadelphia who are working to create change in their communities.

As talks of a canceled football season grew louder among administrators in The School District of Philadelphia last summer, KeShan Allen, a rising senior cornerback and wide receiver for the South Philadelphia High School Rams, knew football players like him across the city stood to lose more than a football season.

They risk losing the motivation to continue going to school. They risked losing contact with their coaches who were also mentors. They risked losing an outlet from the violence surrounding them.

So, Allen and a contingency of high school football players from across Philadelphia went to City Hall in July to demonstrate what impact a canceled season would have on those who needed football the most.

With a statue of Civil Rights activist Octavius Catto as his backdrop, along with four jerseys representing seven Philadelphia high school football players shot and killed in the last four years, Allen stepped in front of a cluster of microphones to speak about how, for so many student athletes in the city, sports are a lifesaver.

“We wanted to say something about the price this season has cost, not just on us but for all student athletes in the city, especially in the inner-city, high-poverty communities,” Allen said. “In my speech I remember saying, ‘Our school district is not really the best school district, and a lot of people go to school just for sports.’ If it wasn’t for sports, a lot of people just wouldn’t be in school. They probably would have dropped out. And we don’t get the same support the suburbs or the Catholic schools get.”

A month later, Allen and the others who attended the demonstration were invited to District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office for a closed meeting to further discuss the consequences that pushing off the season, and thus leaving teenagers across the city with idle time, could have on the community.

Record surges in violence in Philadelphia disproportionately affect young Black men. In 2020 alone, there were 166 shooting victims aged 10-17, with 20 of them being fatal. Of those young victims, 77% were Black males.

“Growing up in Philly, you see people get shot like you see people blinking,” said Brandon Frierson, a senior defensive back and slot receiver for Olney Charter High School.

Allen and Frierson are part of Beyond the Field, a community-based initiative created last summer in response to the

coronavirus pandemic. Run by a nonprofit, Open Door Abuse Awareness & Prevention (ODAAP), Beyond the Field stepped in to address the gun violence in the city by offering football players across Philadelphia an outlet to practice and work out in lieu of their canceled season.

Founder and CEO of ODAAP, Valencia Peterson, affectionately known as “Coach V,” said filling the void was urgent. The players needed an escape from the violence around them that a COVID-19-induced pause on sports had robbed them of. So, Peterson devised a plan, doing what she has made a life of: reaching young men through football and welcoming them into her family.

Peterson knew the stakes. On July 5, one of the high schools ODAAP works with, Frankford High School, lost a player, 15-yearold Angelo Walker, who was shot and killed while riding his bicycle outside of his home in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia.

Community activism is core to Peterson’s teachings, and Allen said he took what he learned from Peterson to City Hall.

“Not just Beyond the Field, but sports in general, save a lot of kids, especially during high school,” Allen said. “In our environment, you got gun violence, you got poverty, you got minimum wage. And then there’s a lack of guidance. Sports definitely play a major role. For a lot of people, they learn more life lessons in sports than they learn with school.”

Beyond the Field hosted players on Tuesdays and Thursdays for two hours a day throughout the fall, giving players a chance to “get out of the house and be safe,” Peterson said.

“No guns, just a safe space, family-friendly,” Peterson said.

Frierson said Coach V was like a second mom to him and that Beyond the Field generated tangible hope.

Valencia Peterson and KeShan Allen (third and fourth from left respectively) stand outside of City Hall with jerseys representing players that were victims of gun violence. PHOTO COURTESY OF VALENCIA PETERSON

“As we spoke about stopping the gun violence and how kids were losing their lives, we realized there can be a direct correlation to having nothing to do and the gun violence now,” Peterson said.

Peterson hesitated to label what ODAAP does as a program, preferring to call it “doing life with people.” She said ODAAP focuses on teaching life lessons and building relationships with young people “by any means necessary.” Those means are often football, which Peterson coaches at Penn Wood High School in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania.

“We work with young people wherever they are,” Peterson said. “It's not so much ‘come to our program.’ It’s ‘ODAAP has inserted itself in your program.’ You don’t even know that you’re part of ODAAP. All [the young men] know is that this coach right here really cares about us and they created something for us to have a positive space.”

“Every day I came it was just nothing but good vibes,” Frierson said. “I feel like one of the things within our community that we don’t teach a lot of young men now is to really put more value on themselves.

Beyond the Field taught me how to think from a perspective as a young man.”

Beyond the Field also hosted college coaches, offered a job resource and college fair, and used “teachable moments” to instill life lessons, Peterson said.

The underlying theme in much of Peterson’s teaching has to do with building relationships and turning boys into men.

This resonated particularly with Zion Mason, a running back and linebacker at Penn Wood High School. Mason said what he has learned along the way are not lessons he will forget in the next few days or even the next few years. He will be able to apply them throughout his life.

“I’ve actually been in situations where people were trying to peer pressure me into doing things where I was just like, ‘I wasn’t raised to do that,’” Mason said. “Not only that, but ODAAP helped me maintain that integrity that I had already. And it’s basically stopped me from doing things other people wanted me to do and peer pressure me to do.”

Mason, Frierson and Allen all pointed to peer pressure as a driving force behind the violence that surrounds them on a daily basis.

Frierson added the violence he sees around him doesn’t get the attention it should-from the media, or from people in the community. It has been normalized.

“The only difference when you see people get shot in our neighborhood compared to where it’s like a bigger income, a more wealthy neighborhood, is that people over here don’t really make the news,” Frierson said. “Here, all they tell you is that so-andso got shot, this-and-that, but nobody really does anything about it.”

Allen, who takes college courses at Parkway Center City Middle College while attending high school, plans to graduate high school not only with a diploma but also a college associate’s degree. He has done research on the systemic issues that plague communities of color.

Allen outlined a number of barriers that he sees in his neighborhood, starting with education, which he said is “slim to none.”

From there, factors like drugs, one-parent households and minimum wage jobs put kids his age and younger in a situation where they have to grow up quickly.

“A lot of people have to grow up early,” Allen said. “It’s like I got work, I got school and I have all of this messy stuff going on around me, surrounding me. There are a lot of barriers.”

Peterson said Allen, Frierson and Mason are already finding their footing as activists within their own communities, working to overcome and remove the barriers they have faced while also excelling on the football field.

“They are going to place themselves in a situation where they are influencers, and they’re going to speak up for what’s right.

They are already starting to do it, seeking out social justice causes,” Peterson said.

The men all see themselves as role models for their peers and teammates. And they do not find their youth to be the barrier that other people see. Instead, they belong to a generation that will fight for justice and change, starting with their own communities.

Allen sees himself as a leading voice against injustice in a city plagued by it. He led the fight for a season during the summer, but he realizes that step is just one in a longer journey.

“I see myself as a role model for my family members, a role model for my teammates, a role model for some underclassmen,” Allen said. “If my name can go on to hold more weight, hopefully I’ll be a role model for the entire community, the whole Black community, the entire city.”

Features

The Hawk Newspaper

Feb. 10, 2021

9

Student leader spotlight: president of Black Student Union NENAGH SHEEHAN ’21 Assistant Features Editor With St. Joe’s students isolated to abide

by COVID-19 protocols, chances to connect with fellow students are limited. Each week, The Hawk will offer conversations with various student leaders to help the community get to know them and their organization.

Our first Q&A is with the president of the Black Student Union (BSU), Taylor Stokes ’22, who is from West Philadelphia.

After Stokes graduates with a degree in criminal justice and ethics in the law, she plans to go to law school and study discrimination law. Her life goal is to develop her own diversity training program.

Why are organizations like BSU so important at predominantly white schools like St. Joe’s?

It can be hard to go out and go between classes and not see somebody who looks like you, or in positions like faculty, staff or administration. It’s important to make sure that students feel supported and have events for their culture.

You’re going to get a chance to see other Black students that you may have never seen before because they may be a different major or they’re going to be in a different environment than us. It’s a good time to make sure our members feel encouraged but also to know that we are here, we’re united and we’re going to make sure that we are represented on campus.

What does it mean to be Black and female at St. Joe’s?

Being in a predominantly white space teaches me how to navigate a lot of spaces, and as much as I want to have a normal college life, I can’t have that because I’m a Black woman at a predominantly white institution.

This means I can’t get the opportunity to let my hair down, say what I want, because there are stereotypes that can be placed

upon me. There’s microaggressions present every day. People tend to look to me as the answer to all questions that I’m supposed to fix. In reality, I’m a 20-year-old woman in society trying to figure out my life.

How can this campus be more welcoming for students of color?

Before we can make sure people feel welcomed, we need to focus on the retention rate and see if minorities on campus are coming back. It’s all about the experience you can give us, not the money. If we still don’t feel welcomed and appreciated while we’re here, then we’re not going to stay.

We need to look at programming and opportunities, and make sure that the university is trying to educate people on how to be more diverse.

Also, we need to look at offering more diverse courses and representation within faculty. We need a better way to support students while they’re here.

What motivated you to become president of BSU? I wanted to be able to provide that safe space for minorities on campus, especially Black students, and be able to take an administrative level of change. I decided to run for president because I always wanted to be in charge. I had a whole bunch of ideas for events that I wanted to put on, but I also want to change the direction and the mission of BSU from what it used to be in the past and what it will be now that I am president.

Why and how have you changed that mission?

In the past, everybody wanted to talk about what BSU was doing for the institution, what policies needed to be changed, what was BSU doing for Black Lives Matter.

In reality, that’s not our job to educate white people, to host these forums, host these protests, host these walks. It’s not our job to make sure the administration is doing what it needs to do. We don’t get paid to do it.

We’re undergrads. Our job is to go to school.

Taylor Stokes ’22 changed the direction of BSU as president. PHOTO: KELLY SHANNON ’24 /THE HAWK

Under my role this year, we wanted to make sure members have fun events because for our members having to do the hard work of planning forums and protests and having to look at policies is draining. It’s exhausting. Black women especially, Black people in general, are always doing this hard free labor, educating people and doing all this stuff, where it’s taxing on our mental health.

Along with being in school, we’re trying to live in society.

What is your most memorable moment at BSU? The protest, [where BSU and other St. Joe’s students marched in solidarity in light of racist incidents on campus], that happened [in] October [2019]. It was something

organized so quickly, yet so many people showed up and marched around campus.

We came back, and it opened up the floor for anybody who had anything to say, and it was great to see how much power BSU has.

Also, the amount of allyship that people had, to stand with us and take a moment of silence, it was nice to see how supportive people were during that time.

How can students get involved with BSU? Come to our events, follow us on Instagram and just reach out to any of the members. We are all welcoming, and we love to have support from all groups of people, not just our general members.

Black-owned businesses to support on Valentine’s Day ELAINA WALL ’21 Assistant Features Editor Valentine’s Day is about sharing and showing love to those around you, and after a difficult year, it’s more important than ever to spread love to one another. The Hawk curated a list of local Black-owned bakeries and businesses to support, where you can buy delicious treats for your friends, family, significant other or yourself in celebration of this holiday.

Clara’s Groovy Deliciousness, 261 S. 20th St. Owner Samirah Williams discovered her love of baking from her grandmother, Clara, who inspired every aspect of the business.

Clara’s Groovy Deliciousness offers exquisite cakes, cookies, pastries and more. This Valentine’s Day, Clara’s is offering a “Love Day” menu with doughnuts, personalized conversation heart cookies, chocolate brittle and individual heart-shaped chocolate cakes. Check out their website to order your treats for pickup at their Rittenhouse Square location.

Milk + Sugar, 1501 S. 5th St. Milk + Sugar offers cupcakes, cakes, cookies and other sweet treats made by Marcel and Brittany Maldonado, a mother-daughter duo of self-taught bakers. The bakery is offering a wide selection of cookies, cupcakes, family kits and variety boxes for Valentine’s Day. Visit @milksugarcakes on Instagram to order your desserts for pick up at their shop in their South Philadelphia location.

Denise’s Delicacies, 2916 N. 22nd St. Denise’s Delicacies specializes in incredible custom cakes and has served the Philadelphia area for over 30 years. Denise’s also offers fresh-baked cookies, pies, doughnuts, breads and pastries. Select menu items are available for delivery on the Black and Mobile app, or you can order online for pickup at their North Philadelphia location.

The Sweet Life Bakeshop, 740 South St. The Sweet Life Bakeshop opened in 2010 and focuses on perfecting their sweet flavors of desserts, including their Salted Caramel Banana, Strawberries ‘n Cream and Sweet Potato creations. They are bestknown for their delicious pudding, cupcake and chocolate chip cookie recipes.

Visit their shop on South Street to try one of their classic desserts.

Lily of the Valley Cupcakery & Cafe, 322 W. Chelten Ave. Lily of the Valley Cupcakery & Cafe is a family owned and operated business, offering a large variety of cupcakes, cookies, cakes, pies and puddings. They are offering specially made Valentine’s Day truffles, mugs, heartshaped cookies and more. Visit their website or call their shop to place your order for pickup at their Germantown location.

The Sweet Life Bakeshop is best known for their puddings. PHOTO: LUKAS VAN SANT ’21/THE HAWK

Darnel’s Cakes, 444 N. 3rd St. Darnel’s Cakes is dedicated to supporting local and national organizations to raise awareness about the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

They allow customers to order a free HIV test, provided by Bebashi, a nonprofit agency dedicated to improving the health and wellness of LGBTQIA+ people of color in the greater Philadelphia area, online and pick it up at the store. Darnel’s offers a full menu, including pizza on Fridays, brunch on the weekends and an assortment of cookies, lemon and cheesecake bars, cakes and brownies every day. Check out their website to order for pickup in the main lobby of the building, located just north of Old City.

Banana Mousse, 5602 Spruce St. Banana Mousse was founded in 2015 by a mother-daughter duo. They serve delicious and over-the-top milkshakes, mousse desserts and ice cream with enjoyable flavors like Birthday, Sweet Potato, Fruity Pebbles and more. Banana Mousse is offering a special Red Velvet Valentine flavor for the month of February. Check out their website to order online for pickup at their West Philadelphia location or for delivery in select Philadelphia zip codes, including 19131, 19151, 19139, 19104 and 19143.

10

Feb. 10, 2021

Sports

The Hawk Newspaper

Powerlifting club aims to start off strong TYLER NICE ’23 Assistant Sports Editor In the coming weeks, there will be some heavy barbells pressed, lifted and pulled by the St. Joe’s Powerlifting Club in the updated strength room in O’Pake Recreation Center.

New to Campus Recreation this semester, the club is centered around powerlifting, a form of weightlifting consisting of three central exercises: the bench press, the back squat and the deadlift. The club’s members have yet to meet for team weight training, but participated in an inaugural Zoom meeting on Feb. 1.

Liam Ferguson ’24, president of the club, said he hopes the club provides its members with a foundation for weight training while cultivating a team atmosphere.

“The idea for this club is for anyone who has an interest in lifting to explore and learn more about the three main lifts,” Ferguson said. “You can come out and lift while building friendships.”

Ferguson and Angie Nagle, assistant athletics director for Campus Recreation, worked together to create the club. According to Nagle, the club will motivate students to stay active in a time when fitness and well-being should be prioritized.

“We’ve learned throughout this whole pandemic that fitness and wellness are essential to not only our physical [health], but our mental and social [health],” Nagle said. “Providing opportunities for our students to get a workout in and break a sweat is so important.”

Ferguson said that as a high school lacrosse player, he fell in love with weight training. When he arrived on campus last fall, Ferguson was disappointed to find that St. Joe’s did not offer a powerlifting program for students.

“I wanted to keep pursuing [strength training] and maybe take it to the next level,” Ferguson said. “Some of my friends at [University of Connecticut] and [Villanova University] have powerlifting programs and I wanted that for myself.”

Ferguson said that the club plans to focus on the bench press, the back squat and the deadlift because they are functional exercises for all types of weight training, not just powerlifting.

“Even if you’re not a powerlifter or a bodybuilder, the three main lifts are relevant to any weight training program,” Ferguson said.

Performing these compound movements, which target multiple muscle groups at the same time, also provides the opportunity for a time-friendly workout, according to Elizabeth Binder ’22, the only female student in the club.

“I think powerlifting specifically is a really efficient way to exercise,” Binder said.

Binder said female students should not be intimidated to join the club, even if they have minimal experience in weightlifting.

“I’ve only been doing this for maybe eight months now, and I’m still learning a lot,” Binder said. “[The weightlifting community] is generally really welcoming, it’s definitely something anyone can do.”

Ferguson hopes the powerlifting club will compete against other schools in the future.

PHOTO: DANNY REMISHEVSKY ’23/THE HAWK

On a similar note, Nagle said that as the club works to become more visible on campus, she expects more female students to have an interest in participating.

“I’m in O’Pake every day, so I know that there’s more than one student who identifies as female that lifts heavy weights,” Nagle said. “There’s definitely an interest across campus for women, Liam will just have to work hard to let people know about it.”

Ferguson said that his ultimate goal is for the St. Joe’s powerlifters to compete against other schools, similar to other club

July 8 - Aug. 9, 2021

teams on campus.

“I’m picturing it like the rugby team,” Ferguson said. “It would be so fun. We would all have singlets and squat suits repping St. Joe’s.”

If that were to happen, Binder said that she looks forward to experiencing a team-oriented powerlifting competition.

“I’ve heard that powerlifting competitions are a lot about the camaraderie and just having fun,” Binder said. “That would be a cool experience to have in college.”

Sports

The Hawk Newspaper

Feb. 10, 2021

11

Negro League Baseball: the Philadelphia Stars RILEY FRAIN ’21 Sports Editor No history of professional baseball in Philadelphia is complete without the Philadelphia Stars, and yet many modern-day fans have never heard of the once prominent Negro League team.

Like much of the history of Negro League baseball, the Stars slipped into obscurity. But for nearly two decades, the team gave mostly African American baseball players, who were denied an opportunity to participate in the white Major League, a chance to play professional ball.

The Negro baseball leagues, established in 1920, were comprised of seven professional baseball leagues located across the U.S. Throughout the 1920s, small local clubs dominated the Negro baseball scene in Pennsylvania, including teams like the Hilldale Athletic Club and the Darby Phantoms Athletic Club, in Darby, Pennsylvania. The city of Philadelphia remained without a competitive team in any of the leagues.

That all changed in 1933 when local baseball-lover and Philadelphia businessman Ed Bolden teamed up with a white booking agent and sports executive Ed Gottlieb, the owner of the Philadelphia Warriors basketball team, to found the Philadelphia Stars, who would play their inaugural season as a team independent from any established professional baseball league.

That same year, a businessman from Pittsburgh by the name of Gus Greenlee formed the Negro National League, which came following the disbandment of the original Negro National League, brought on by the Great Depression.

Greenlee desperately wanted a Philadelphia-based team for his new league, and when initially approached, Bolden and Gottlieb were reluctant to join the newly formed

association. While Bolden felt his team could maintain financial success as an independent franchise, his team’s popularity dropped.

By 1934, the league’s second season, Bolden decided to accept Greenlee’s invitation and officially made the Philadelphia Stars a member of the Negro National League.

In their first season as a team in the Negro National League, the Philadelphia Stars played at Passon Field, located at 48th Street and Spruce Street, about three and a half miles from St. Joe’s campus, which is now known as Pollock Field.

The Stars were led by a mix of both veterans and rookies, with the average age on the official roster being 32 years old.

Forty-year-old Chaney “Reindeer” White led the team with an average of .307 during the 1934 season, but the most impactful player was 38-year-old Ernest “Jud” Wilson, who was second on the team in homeruns, first in RBI’s and would be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

The Stars were led by all-star pitcher Stuart “Slim” Jones who, at 21 years old, stood a whopping 6 feet 6 inches and managed 20 wins and just five losses with an ERA of 1.91 and a WHIP of .74.

The Philadelphia Stars’ first season in the Negro National League proved to be their best, as they played their way into the Negro National League Championship. As winners of the 1934 season’s “Second-Half,” they played against the league’s winner of the “First-Half,” the Chicago American Giants.

The matchup was set for a seven-game series between Philadelphia and Chicago. Initially, the first four games were played in Chicago, where the Giants picked up three wins to the Stars’ one. But as the series flipped to Philadelphia for the final three games, there was an unexplained 10-day delay before their fifth game.

At 44th Street and Parkside Avenue sits the Philadelphia Stars Negro League Memorial Park.

PHOTO: RYAN MULLIGAN ’21/THE HAWK

The Stars would pull out a win in game five following the delay, pushing the series to 3-2, but game six saw chaos, as Wilson punched an umpire, an action that should have called for his immediate ejection from the game. But the umpire refused to throw Wilson out in such an important matchup and, despite complaints from the Giants coach, Wilson remained in the Stars lineup and helped his team to a win, tying the series at 3-3 and forcing a game seven.

Game seven was a tight matchup between the two sides, playing to a 4-4 draw.

Eventually, the game was called off due to darkness and ruled a tie, moving the series record to 3-3-1 and forcing a decisive game eight between the Stars and Giants.

Led by ace pitcher Jones, the Stars managed a gritty 2-0 victory in game eight, carrying the team to a Negro National League Championship in the club’s first season in the league. To date, the win remains one of the most controversial championship victories in baseball history.

The Stars remained members of the Negro National League for 14 more seasons un-

til the team’s financial collapse following the 1948 championship. The Stars switched to the Negro American League, which was formed in 1937 and started growing in popularity by the 1940s. Philadelphia spent three years in the Negro American League before a sharp decline in popularity forced the club to fold at the end of the 1952 season.

Relics of that historical team sit at 44th Street and Parkside Avenue, home of the Philadelphia Stars Negro League Memorial Park. The park features a Pennsylvania Historic site marker that references Negro baseball in Philadelphia, a Negro League memorial statue and a mural celebrating the legacy left behind by the Philadelphia Stars.

In recent years, the MLB has begun to take steps to ensure the history of Negro League baseball is preserved. There are 35 Negro League players who are currently elected members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2020, the MLB began counting Negro League statistics for the MLB’s official record books.

The Stars are officially part of that record.

Run it back EA Sports College Football TYLER NICE ’23 Assistant Sports Editor On Feb. 2, EA Sports announced plans to resurrect its dormant college football franchise with a new video game, “EA Sports College Football.” It will be the first college sports game released by the company since 2013, when the most recent iteration of the NCAA college football franchise hit the shelves. The news, announced in a tweet, was met with an overwhelming response from fans and was possibly the most powerful example of unity that has occurred in America in a long time.

One of the reasons EA discontinued the franchise seven years ago was due to the issue of whether or not NCAA athletes should receive compensation for the right to their name, image and likeness. In the past, EA bypassed this issue by not assigning real names to the players in its NCAA football and NCAA basketball video games.

For example, if this year’s St. Joe’s men’s basketball team was added into EA’s old NCAA Basketball video game, you would see a player on the roster that is a 6-foot-5-inch redshirt senior guard who is white and has high attributes in shooting and scoring baskets around the rim. Who

does this player sound like to you? It’s Ryan Daly. Only his name wouldn’t be Ryan Daly. It would just be “#1.” This was a way for EA to circumvent using a player’s name and image. Virtually every single Division I NCAA football and basketball player saw a digital version of themselves in EA’s games.

That all changed in 2013 when Ed O’Bannon, a former University of California, Los Angeles basketball player, sued EA for creating a virtual version of himself without his permission and compensation.

EA settled with O’Bannon in court for $42.2 million dollars. O’Bannon essentially broke EA’s model.

In the new NCAA football game, EA doesn’t plan to base the players in its game off of actual NCAA football players. Instead, they claim that the teams on the game will have randomized players with randomized attributes, that way no real-life player can claim that EA unfairly used their likeness.

However, at some point this year, the Supreme Court is set to hear a case arguing that probation of compensation for college athletes violates antitrust laws. If the Supreme Court rules that the probation does violate antitrust laws, it would only be just and right for EA to include real player

This will be the first NCAA football video game released by EA Sports since 2013.

GRAPHIC: CASEY WOOD ’23/THE HAWK

names, images and likeness, and appropriately compensate players for their use.

As console players everywhere eagerly await the opportunity to once again take a little known college to the College Football Playoff in the franchise’s patented Dynasty

Mode, it is worth keeping a close watch on the Supreme Court’s ruling.

12

Feb. 10, 2021

Sports

The Hawk Newspaper

SJU athletics’ greatest Black athletes RILEY FRAIN ’21 Sports Editor In honor of Black History Month, The Hawk is highlighting some of the most iconic Black athletes who played a sport here on Hawk Hill.

Through their legendary collegiate or professional careers, the records they’ve broken and the impacts they each had throughout their respective sport, these athletes have forever inserted their names into the hollows of St. Joe’s sports history.

Chazz Witherspoon ’05 - Boxing During his sophomore year at St. Joe’s, Chazz Witherspoon began his amatuer career as a boxer. A year later, he went on to win the Pennsylvania State Golden Gloves title, an annual amatuer boxing competition attended by some of the best young boxers in the nation.

Just a mere eight months later, Witherspoon won the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, which qualified him for the 2004 USA Boxing National Championships, and in the process he was awarded the title of Most Outstanding Boxer.

A second place finish at the USA Championship qualified Witherspoon for the 2004 Olympic trials, where he made the official U.S. boxing team as an alternate in Athens, Greece. Upon going pro in the sport that same year, Witherspoon remained undefeated for his first 23 fights, winning 15 by way of knock-out.

In 2008, Witherspoon defeated Adam Richards in an eight-round total knock-out which received Ring Magazine’s HeavyWeight Fight of the Year award. In 2018, Witherspoon was selected as Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America. Despite this, he has remained out of the sport since his last fight in Oct. 2019.

Witherspoon forged an illustrious professional boxing career, managing 38 wins across 42 matchups. His last victory was in 2019 in a fight against Santander Silgado.

Natasha Cloud ’15 - Women’s Basketball

(A-10) Championship, A-10 All-Defensive team recognition and leading the Hawks in both assists, with 142, and steals, with 57, in the 2012-13 season.

For the 2013-14 season, Cloud was selected as the A-10 defensive player of the year. She also made the A-10 All-Conference team and was named to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List for the top point guard in the nation. Cloud ultimately brought the Hawks to the second round of the 2014 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament.

During the 2014-15 season, Cloud’s last year on Hawk Hill, she garnered an A-10 All-Conference first team selection, was a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List and was nominated to the Naismith Trophy Watch List.

Cloud remains No. 3 all-time at St. Joe’s for assists, with 563, No. 9 all-time in steals, with 171, and No. 21 in points, with 1,022.

Following her standout college career, Cloud was selected by the Washington Mystics with pick number 15 in the second round of the 2015 WNBA draft, and in 2019 she helped lead the team to its first WNBA Championship in franchise history, earning 2019 All-Defensive Second Team Honors.

After the teams’ 2019 championship, Cloud chose to opt out of the 2020 WNBA season, citing a desire to be on the front lines fighting for social reform and against racial injustice.

In June, the 28 year old signed an apparel sponsorship deal with Converse, becoming the first women’s basketball player to ever sign a deal with the shoe brand. In the wake of Cloud’s outspoken activism, Converse decided to cover her entire salary for the 2020 season.

Cloud continues to fight for both social injustice and gender equality, particularly in the city of Philadelphia and in the nation’s capital, where the Mystics play. In December 2020, she was named to Forbes 30 under 30 Class of 2021 in sport for her activism.

Steve Ave ’89 - Men’s Track and Field

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SJU ATHLETICS

After initially selecting to attend the University of Maryland to play college basketball, Natasha Cloud made a transfer back to her home state of Pennsylvania to attend St. Joe’s in 2011 as a sophomore.

While she missed the 2011-12 season, forced to sit out due to the NCAA’s transfer policies, Cloud started her St. Joe’s career off with a bang, earning most outstanding player honors at the 2013 Atlantic-10

Steve Ave ’89 was an All-American distance runner on St. Joe’s track and field team from 1985-89. Ave holds numerous accolades and records at St. Joe’s, including the Hawks 5,000 meter record. He also was a member of the St. Joe’s medley relay team that holds the school record and qualified for the 1985 NCAA’s Indoor Championship.

He competed in the 1,000 and 1,500 meter events at the 1986 NCAA Indoor

Championship, and managed to post a No. 10 place finish in the 1,500 meter race, which granted him his All-American honors following the 1985-86 season.

Ave’s successes were not just limited to the clay, as he was also a captain of the cross country team and was an important part of the 1985 St. Joe’s squad, helping the Hawks run away with a Big 5 Championship.

After graduating from the university in 1989, Ave went on to represent the U.S. on an international level on four different occasions, leaving his mark on a number of historic international track and field competitions.

In 2011, Ave was inducted into the St. Joe’s Athletics Hall of Fame for his various records and, while he has long since retired from running track professionally, Ave continues to have an impact on the sport, having worked as a footwear designer and performance running specialist for some major footwear and apparel brands including, but not limited to, Nike, Reebok and Adidas.

Donna (Crumety) Stewart ’93 - Women’s Track and Field

An excellent triple and long jumper, and perhaps one of the most underappreciated athletes to have stepped foot on this campus, Crumety placed No. 5 at the NCAA indoor Championship and No. 2 at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in 1990, both for the triple jump event.

Crumety returned the following season and qualified for the 1991 NCAA Outdoor Championship. This time, she placed first in the triple jump, with a distance of 13.41 meters, and secured her place as the only individual NCAA champion athlete in Hawks history.

Under the tutelage of legendary St. Joe’s track and field coach Kevin Quinn, Crumety went on to win four Eastern College Athletic Conference titles in the triple jump and a No. 4 place finish in the long jump while etching her name into the St. Joe’s record books by setting the mark for both of those events, records that still remain today.

In 1993, she helped St. Joe’s to capture the A-10 title in both the long and triple jump at the conference’s inaugural track and field meet. Crumety was inducted into the St. Joe’s athletics Hall of Fame in 1999, as well as the alumni association’s Track and Field Hall of Fame.

Mike Bantom ’73 - Men’s Basketball

A two-time All-Big 5 selection and threetime All-MAC selection, Bantom is one of the most dynamic basketball players Hawk Hill has ever seen. He currently sits second all-time in rebounds for the Hawks and sixth all-time in points scored, averaging a double-double per game across three straight seasons at St. Joe’s. In his college career, Bantom went on to score over 1,600 points and secure more than 1,100 rebounds on the court.

As a junior, Bantom averaged 21.8 points per game and 14.8 rebounds, leading St. Joe’s in both of those statistical categories across his sophomore and junior seasons.

Prior to his senior season, Bantom was named an All-American selection and was called in to play for the 1972 U.S. Olympic Basketball team in Munich, Germany before the national federation allowed for professional players to participate. The U.S. went on to earn a silver medal, losing in the finals to the Soviet Union 51-50.

In the 1973 NBA Draft, Bantom was selected eighth overall by the Phoenix Suns and obtained NBA All-Rookie first team honors following the 1973-74 season. Throughout his nine year NBA career, Bantom played for the Suns, Seattle SuperSonics, New York Nets, Indiana Pacers and finally the Philadelphia 76ers before trying his hand in the Italian Basketball league.

Bantom currently sits as the executive vice president of referee operations for the NBA, a position he took after 13 years as the league’s senior vice president for player development. In 2000, he was inducted into the St. Joe’s athletics Hall of Fame, and in 2013 the A-10 honored Bantom by selecting him to their 2013 Atlantic-10 Legends Class.