The Hawk March 10 2021

March 10, 2021

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Volume CII

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Est. 1929

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www.sjuhawknews.com

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The Student Newspaper of Saint Joseph’s University

GAME DAY Spectators allowed back with conditions Field hockey fans were permitted to attend the 2021 spring season opener at Ellen Ryan Field on March 7, as long as everyone agreed to wear masks at all times, practiced social distancing and did not gather in groups.

St. Joe’s fell 4-1 to to Syracuse.

PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

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Kelsey Welsh ‘22 discusses burnout faced by BIPOC students

SPORTS

FEATURES

OPINIONS

07

A selection of woman-owned businesses to support

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St. Joe’s athletics teams wear gear in support of Black Lives Matter

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March 10, 2021

News

The Hawk Newspaper

Free hotspots help with internet connectivity MARY COMERFORD ’22 Special to The Hawk Like a lot of off-campus students, Thomas Sweeney ’22 and his roommates have trouble connecting to class online.

“Sometimes when one of my roommates is logging into class, he’ll have to run to his friend’s house next door and take class from there because his connection is so bad,” said Sweeney, who lives in a five-person house in Manayunk.

Off-campus students like Sweeney, as well as faculty, can now request a free internet hotspot from the university to help with their connectivity issues. The program is part of an educational partnership with Sprint and T-Mobile that provides free mobile hotspots to students and faculty in need.

St. Joe’s has incurred no additional costs upon entering this program and has received all of its devices for free, according to Fran J. DiSanti ’79, chief information officer.

The Department of Information Technology (IT) did a soft launch of the loaner program last March when the university first went online because of COVID-19.

“These devices have seemed to help students who have had the need and, for financial reasons, might not be able to increase the speed of their bandwidth with their internet providers,” DiSanti said.

The initial allocation from Sprint and T-Mobile was 20 devices, 17 of which are

currently in use. DiSanti said if demand for the devices increases, St. Joe’s could access anywhere from 50 to 75 hotspots.

Users of the devices do not have to worry about their data being compromised because the hotspots are secure through the use of password protection technology, DiSanti said. The devices, MiFi 8000 mobile hotspots, are manufactured by Inseego.

Abigail Shimanek ’21, who lives in a four-person house in Manayunk, applied for an internet booster at the beginning of the spring 2021 semester after repeated connection issues.

“Ever since having it, I haven’t had any problems on Zoom,” Shimanek said.

But DiSanti said mobile hotspot devices are not a viable solution for all students experiencing connection problems, particularly those living in multiple-person houses. Students and faculty working from multiple-person residences generally benefit more by increasing their bandwidth connection with their internet providers as opposed to using a mobile hotspot.

“The top reason for internet problems is oftentimes insufficient bandwidth, which can be contributed to an older router and the number of concurrent users on the network at one time,” DiSanti said.

Broadband is the maximum amount of high-speed internet available at a given

point in time. Ten through 20 megabits per second (Mbps) is considered fast enough for academic activities, according to the St. Joe’s IT website.

Internet providers such as Comcast, Xfinity and Verizon have created programs that are aimed at providing students with a sufficient amount of bandwidth at a discounted monthly rate, according to DiSanti. Deals include 200 Mbps for about $20 a month.

Sometimes, though, even the fastest broadband cannot solve the problem. Jack Mostow ’22, a resident in a six-person house on North 52nd Street, said he gets completely disconnected from his internet at least once a week despite paying a premium for his network.

At times it can take between 20 to 30 minutes to reconnect to his internet, Mostow said.

Jonathan Gehrkin, an employee at CompuWorld located on the corner of City Avenue and North 52nd Street, said at least one customer a month comes in with internet problems.

While CompuWorld does carry internet hotspots, Gehrkin recommended students use a cable wire to directly connect to their internet network. Internet cables can cost anywhere from $10 to $15.

“If you hard-connect to your internet, you’re going to get much faster speeds, especially with a good wire like Cat6 or 7,”

Gehrkin said.

Cat6 and Cat7 refer to the upper-end of ethernet cables, which allow for the highest possible bandwidth.

Off-campus students and faculty interested in an internet hotspot can request one by filling out a Google Form, located on both The Success Center and IT websites.

Shimanek with her internet hotspot.

PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

PPE waste poses sustainability concerns DEVON FITZPATRICK ’22 Special to The Hawk As the coronavirus pandemic heads into its second year, used personal protection equipment (PPE) is starting to pile up.

PPE is considered anything that protects those who wear it from the spread of germs or infection. The most common form of PPE during the current pandemic are masks, followed by gloves, gowns and face shields.

The current surge in PPE use poses a challenge to the global waste management infrastructure, according to a study published in the February 2021 issue of the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. The authors of the study describe “a new type of ‘PPE pollution’ in the land and aquatic environment.”

PPE generally cannot be reused or recycled and most PPE is designed for single use and is made of nonrecyclable material.

Clint Springer, Ph.D., director of Environmental Science and Sustainability Studies and associate professor of biology, said certain sectors have always generated a significant amount of medical waste. But now, everyone is.

“We normally throw away a lot of material because of medical waste,” Springer said.

“Now that problem is exacerbated by the fact that we’re all generating medical waste.”

Even if contaminated PPE cannot be

recycled or reused, people can still make sure their masks make it into the trash, Springer said.

“If you go to the Acme parking lot, if you go to one of our parking lots, it’s hard to walk through and not see a disposable mask laying in a parking lot,” Springer said. “What I would really encourage everyone to do is just make sure that they’re disposing of things properly, like all trash.”

Caitlin Thiel ’22, co-president of the Green Fund, an organization that focuses on sustainability at St. Joe’s, also said she encourages members of the community to make sure their PPE is thrown into proper receptacles.

“There have been many instances where these disposable masks and gloves don’t make it into the garbage and are being left laying around,” Thiel said. “It’s really upsetting because there are so many masks I just see thrown all over the grass on campus or next to trash cans.”

Alex Coyle ’22, co-president of the Green Fund, said buying reusable masks is one way to address the problem.

“If you just buy a couple reusable masks, you will have them forever and you can just keep washing them,” Coyle said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that reusable masks have at least two layers of washable material, fit snugly over the face and contain a nose wire. Cloth masks also should

Most PPE is not reusable or recyclable. PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

be washed regularly in warm water and dried on high heat, according to the CDC’s mask guidelines, updated on Feb. 21.

On March 3, Kathleen Smythe, Ph.D., professor of history and sustainability at Xavier University, co-facilitated a workshop at St. Joe’s titled “Ignatian Pedagogy for Sustainability.”

Smythe said members of Jesuit communities are connected to a long-standing history of caring for the environment.

“We have a very clear mandate to educate as we think about ourselves as one with the planet and seeking an integral ecology,” Smythe said. “Jesuit schools have this really deep wealth of tradition to draw on.”

Yet, for Smythe, sustainability is also about individual actions and choices.

“In the case of masks, it’s just like napkins,” Smythe said. “You can either have a cloth napkin or you can have a paper one that you throw away.”

Thiel and Coyle said the Green Fund is exploring a partnership with TerraCycle, an international recycling company headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey, which is repurposing some PPE and using it to make new products through a process of cleaning, burning and remolding.

Thiel said the Green Fund is looking at the possibility of investing in TerraCycle’s Zero Waste Boxes to place around campus.

Through TerraCycle’s initiative, groups can collect used PPE like disposable face masks, visors and disposable gloves and send them to the company to be recycled.

“We were thinking of getting a few of those TerraCycle boxes and putting them around St. Joe’s campus so that people can collect PPE there and dispose of it instead of just putting it in a trash can where it might blow away, or throwing it out their car window,” Thiel said.

Coyle said while the Green Fund stresses the importance of wearing masks, they want everyone to be more mindful of the environmental costs when using single-use products.

“We’re just trying to raise awareness of the lasting effects,” Coyle said. “We want to make people think about the impact on the environment and some more eco-friendly options.”

Where to donate CHRISTINE DISANTI ’21 Assistant News Editor March marks the celebration of Women’s History Month. To commemorate the month, The Hawk has compiled a list of organizations to support that uplift women.

The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness: This Milwaukee-based nonprofit’s mission is to “eliminate health disparities and other barriers impacting the lives of women and girls of African descent.” The organization empowers Black women in health leadership and raises awareness for Black women’s health as a public health priority.

I’m FREE: I’m FREE is a nonprofit organization that serves incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women in the Philadelphia area.

It provides training, workshops and support for women.

Women’s Law Project: Founded in 1974, the Women’s Law Project uses litigation, advocacy and education to advance the rights of women and girls in Pennsylvania. Some of their current areas of focus include legal status, mental and physical health, economic security and LGBTQIA+ rights.

Malala Fund: Started by Malala Yousafzai, the Malala Fund focuses on providing all girls with access to “12 years of free, safe, quality education.” The Malala Fund network is currently prioritizing operations in Afghanistan, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: Aimed at addressing the racist, sexist, classist and patriarchal roots of domestic violence, this national organization supports domestic violence survivors by advocating for “holding offenders accountable and supporting advocates.”

Running Start: This organization is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that trains women to run for political office. Running Start has over 100 programs nationwide and has trained over 20,000 women.

News

The Hawk Newspaper

March 10, 2021

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College Republicans and Democrats navigate tensions FATMATA SAKHO ’21 Special to The Hawk College campuses are not immune to political divisions that have roiled the country in the wake of the 2020 presidential election, which leaves student-led political organizations trying to navigate the tumult.

At St. Joe’s, leaders of the SJU College Democrats and the SJU College Republicans are trying to figure out a way forward in a partisan system that often pits students with different views against each other.

“With everything that’s been happening recently, like the presidential election and the insurrection in January, there has been a lot of tension worldwide that also translates onto our campus,” said Katharine Gazaleh ’23, director of social media for the SJU College Democrats.

Gazaleh said those tensions make it difficult to run a political organization.

“We see a lot of people on two extreme sides who sometimes get very passionate

about things that are going on, which can be a good thing and also a bad thing depending on the situation,” Gazaleh said. “That tension that we see on campus sometimes can make it difficult to have a political club.”

Sara Dimarino ’23, president of SJU College Republicans, said campus political organizations are also hampered by the assumptions people make about them.

“Whether you’re part of College Republicans or College Democrats, being involved in a political organization is just hard because people have so many assumptions about you based on what club you’re part of,” Dimarino said. “That also affects people’s involvement in political clubs because sometimes they just don’t want to be associated with it.”

Patrick du Bois ’21, vice president of SJU College Republicans, agreed with Dimarino and said that there are certain stigmas when you are associated with an on-campus political organization.

“There are a lot of kids who don’t want to have the attachment of being part of College Republicans because of the connotations of ‘Oh, you’re a Republican,’ and then there’s this litany of insulting factors,” du Bois said.

But du Bois said the members of the group are connected by the passion for politics, and membership in the group is up.

“Whenever we have anything politically significant, an election cycle or big events, that drives up interest, regardless of electoral results,” du Bois said. “So we’ve had pretty solid participation and a lot of new members this year who were not active last year.”

Gazaleh said the SJU College Democrats are trying to address conflict on campus and live up to their mission to be inclusive by working with other campus organizations.

“One way we’d like to try to ease the tensions is by trying to connect with other clubs and organizations to show that we really aren’t this independent single group,” Gazaleh

ILLUSTRATION: CASEY WOOD ’23

said. “We really want to expand and have these diverse ideas and collaborations with a lot of groups on campus like the Black Student Union and Latinx Student Association.”

Gazaleh said the organization is also considering a possible collaboration with the SJU College Republicans.

Du Bois said the SJU College Republicans would be open to that.

“We haven’t really collaborated on anything huge although we have reached out over the past four years, several times,” du Bois said. “I’m definitely looking forward to better cooperation in the future because now they’re getting very active, which makes me happy.”

University’s master plan stays on track KEVIN GILL ’22 Special to The Hawk The university’s strategic plan remains on track, according to university officials, despite a challenging year due to the coronavirus pandemic and the announcement of a possible merger with the University of the Sciences.

Details of the strategic plan, “Thinking Anew, Acting Anew,” were publicly released to the campus community in March 2019. The resulting Campus Master Plan includes new parking garages and residence halls, a new student center, renovations to O’Pake Recreation Center and other campus buildings, including Bellarmine Hall and the Science Center, an expansion of green spaces, and a City Avenue pedestrian underpass to connect the Philadelphia and Maguire campuses.

“The university remains committed to enhancing and optimizing our campus,” wrote Gabriella Lacherza, public relations manager, in response to written questions from The Hawk, which she attributed to Joseph Kender, vice president for University Relations.

In a 2019 interview with the Hawk after the plan was released, Kender said the university’s strategic initiative was “probably a 10- to 20-year plan.”

That timeline has not changed, Kender said in his recent response, but the plan remains a “conceptual guide” rather than a

“precise road map for our campus imprint.”

“Each project has multiple phases,” Kender said. “While some design has been completed, we have not completed any major construction projects associated with the master plan.”

Kender said changes are expected when implementing strategic plans.

“This includes permitting, impact to our community and neighbors, philanthropy, how our needs will evolve over time, unforeseen circumstances like a pandemic and more,” Kender said. “Any one of these elements could accelerate or delay a particular project.”

Robert Gofourth, vice president of Operations Strategy & Performance at BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, told the Hawk that adaptability is key for any business trying to plan for the future in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis. Gofourth will speak to St. Joe’s students March 10 as part of a Spencer Educational Foundation program grant, which connects college students with leaders in the risk management industry.

“Goal planning is actually easier in the near term,” Gofourth said. “Most businesses are committed to 2021 looking a lot like 2020. So, the near term has been fairly easy because we’re giving it the same treatment.”

But Ashok Margam, D.B.A., visiting professor of finance, said there are still challenges for businesses and institutions

in setting short- and medium-term goals because of so many uncertainties the pandemic has caused.

“It’s harder to plan for next year because we still do not know when we will come out of the pandemic, when life will be back to pre-COVID,” Margam said. “It’s hard to predict if it will be next year. But if you’re planning for, let’s say, five years later, or 10 years, that probably would be easier.”

Margam said the future successes of higher education institutions depend on the willingness of students to return to the status quo, like traveling to campus, living in residence halls and taking classes in person.

“There is an increasing questioning of the relevance of the traditional campuses, especially in students’ minds and parents’ minds,” Margam said.

Gofourth said keeping donors happy is an important part of the strategic equation.

“You have to get out in front of those donors, you have to seek their opinion,” Gofourth said. “Because you don’t want to lose the ability to ask them for money again.”

On Feb. 10, the university signed a letter of intent to explore a merger with USciences.

Margam said mergers for higher education institutions may become more commonplace as a result of the pandemic in order to maintain relevance and stability under external pressures.

“The smaller institutions will have to be in a survival mode,” Margam said. “I think

Tim McGuriman gives a presentation to students on the master plan in 2019.

PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

that’s where we probably will be seeing more and more consolidation in the space, through mergers and acquisitions.”

Kender said it is too early to know how the university’s strategic plan might be impacted by a merger.

“Currently, we are evaluating and confirming whether a combination is in the best interests of both university communities,” Kender said. “It is too early to know if or how the campus master plan might change based on the proposed combination of our universities.”

Department of Public Safety reports (Feb. 26 - March 5) Feb. 26 Public Safety received an anonymous report of a racial bias incident where a St. Joe’s student was making disparaging comments about Islam and the Black Lives Matter movement. Public Safety forwarded the information immediately to the Bias Activity Response Group and Community Standards. The investigation is continuing.

Feb. 27 Public Safety confiscated a quantity of alcohol from a St. Joe’s student inside the lobby of LaFarge Hall. Residence Life was notified. Community Standards was notified.

Feb. 28 Public Safety was notified by an area resident of a loud gathering involving St. Joe’s students taking place on the 5600 block

of Wynnefield Avenue. Public Safety and Philadelphia Police responded to the area and were able to speak with the students.

The students of that location were compliant. Community Standards was notified.

March 2 Public Safety was notified in regards to an unknown person removing two computers from a classroom in Post Hall. An investigation and increased patrols of the building are continuing.

March 3 Public Safety was notified by the director of Student Leadership that a St. Joe’s student had been assaulted by a male near the area of 54th Street & Wynnefield Avenue. Public Safety and the Philadelphia Police, responded immediately to the area.

The student had already been transported

to Urgent Care for treatment of a minor injury. According to the student, a male suspect approached, words were exchanged at which time the male suspect displayed some type of sharp object and cut the student. The male suspect fled the area. Philadelphia Police took a report of the incident.

The incident is under investigation and increased patrols are continuing.

March 5 Public Safety received a report of a bias incident where anti-Semitic graffiti was found in a classroom on a seat in the Science Center. Public Safety forwarded the information immediately to the Bias Activity Response Group and Community Standards.

The investigation is continuing.

ALCOHOL RELATED INCIDENTS

5

On campus

0

Off campus

DRUG RELATED INCIDENTS

1

On campus

0

Off campus

Call Public Safety:

610-660-1111

4

March 10, 2021

Opinions

The Hawk Newspaper

The pandemic’s effect on women The toll of domestic violence and unemployment

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

Women are disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic through increased rates of domestic violence and unemployment, yet there has been little support shown for them.

The increase in domestic violence during the pandemic, also referred to as The Shadow Pandemic, resulted in one in three women worldwide facing physical or sexual violence by a member of their household. Women are being isolated, and abusers feel a loss of power due to economic instability and stress, which leads to a combination that can lead to more frequent and severe abuse.

It is probable that these rates do not capture the total increase in domestic violence. As stay at home orders have been put in place, many women do not feel like it is safe to call for help, which limits the number of reports.

Although stay at home orders are necessary, they force women to be at home with their abusers, with little chance to escape physical, emotional and mental violence.

The pandemic has strained several resources, including important services such as helplines and domestic violence shelters.

While women facing domestic abuse desperately need counseling, legal advice, health services and refuge more than ever, the barriers caused by the pandemic give abusers a sense of impunity to act without restraint.

These services are even harder to reach for Black Indigenous and women of color (BIWOC), and women working and living in the U.S. without legal permission. These women experience higher rates of poverty,

limited job resources and fear of deportation. In some cases, there are normalized beliefs reinforce patriarchal elements and legitimacy of abuse.

In addition to being more susceptible to domestic violence, women are disproportionately impacted by unemployment rates and are losing their jobs at a higher rate than men. From February 2020 to January 2021, more than 2.5 million women left the labor force, compared to 1.8 million men.

“The coronavirus pandemic’s effects on women are incredibly damaging, and should not be ignored.”

When schools and day cares closed at the beginning of the pandemic, many working mothers had to become the sole source of child care. But even now as schools start to open, there is still the possibility of school closures if COVID-19 cases increase. Working mothers have unpredictable schedules, making it difficult to figure out when they can work in a job market where getting hired at all is hard enough.

Once again, BIWOC are at an even greater disadvantage. Industries where BIWOC are disproportionately represented, such as hospitality and food services, have

been hit extremely hard. Women of color are also less likely to have large amounts of wealth or savings to rely on when not working for extended periods of time, due to preexisting inequities.

Many women, most of whom are BIWOC, are stuck in a cycle of abuse and/or financial difficulties and need help breaking out of it. There are places to donate to help this cause, even in our own community.

Women Against Abuse (WAA) is an organization in Philadelphia that serves to help women experiencing abuse. WAA offers resources such as safe havens, counseling, legal advice and more, to ensure that women have a way to leave abusive situations. Women in Transition is another organization in Philadelphia that helps women to find ways to leave abusive households by offering housing and job information, peer support and community resources.

The coronavirus pandemic’s effects on women are incredibly damaging, and should not be ignored. Ignoring these issues will further perpetuate the cycle of violence and leave these women struggling alone.

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

Opinions Editor Tayler Washington ’22 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

CHLOÉ ZHAO FOR THE WIN At this year’s Golden Globes, Chloé Zhao made history by being the first Asian woman, and the second woman ever, to win a Golden Globe for best director for her film “Nomadland.” We can’t think of a better way to kick off Women’s History Month.

FROM SNOW TO SLUSH Sure, snow is beautiful when it first lands, but people don’t talk enough about what happens when the snow starts to melt. Well, we are here to talk about it. We’re sick of the terrible, gray mixture of slush and mud that the snow turns into. Let’s have a moment of silence for our ruined shoes.

STARBURST JELLYBEANS If you are a loyal follower of hot or not, you may recall that we put Peeps in the “not” category last week. Well, we figured that this week, we should supply an alternative for Easter candy, that alternative being Starburst Jellybeans. Sure, all jelly beans are great, but Starburst Jellybeans are on an elite tier that cannot be reached.

MS. RONA’S FIRST BIRTHDAY Birthdays are fun and all, but this is one birthday that we can all collectively agree is not hot. It has almost been a full year since the pandemic first hit the U.S. No offense, but we don’t want to come to your birthday party, Ms. Rona. Actually, full offense. Please leave.

PERSEVERANCE ROVER For our space enthusiasts, you may have seen that NASA’s Perseverance Rover recently had its first test drive on Mars. According to NASA, this is a very important milestone and the rover will continue cruising around Mars. Aliens here we come.

STATES LIFTING MASK MANDATE Okay, this is just simply a terrible idea. The pandemic is not over yet, people. Let’s keep it together. Please wear your mask! Texas and Mississippi, we’re talking to you.

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

Opinions

The Hawk Newspaper

March 10, 2021

5

Health and Wellness Days ineffective We need a longer break FAITH COWELL ’22 Columnist College students are silently suffering and burning out, and all we’re getting is a couple of days off as a nod to mental health and wellness.

Weekends are simply days where we can get work done without interruptions, such as class or extracurricular meetings. Sure, everyone is suffering from the pandemic—but most adults’ jobs go only from 9-5 and end when they close that last Zoom meeting.

For college students, it’s work 24/7. If you aren’t in a class, you’re in a Zoom session. If you aren’t in a Zoom session, you’re studying or working on assignments. On top of this, we have even seen the death of the snow day as we know it.

My college existence currently consists of either doing work or grocery shopping.

Weekends are time to get work done for the upcoming week, yet the week is also time to get work done before the weekend, and so on and so forth. And if you’re not doing work, you’re feeling guilty about not doing work.

It also seems as if, in the minds of some professors, the coronavirus pandemic has translated into the idea that students now have more time to do work. Just because I only go to campus for class three days a week does not mean I suddenly have more hours in the day. And, in case anyone’s forgotten, dealing with a global pandemic is a large thing for one to have on their plate.

The university has students working for 16 weeks straight, all gas and no brakes, with just a few days known as “Health and Wellness Days.” Am I supposed to be holding out for the two days off that are supposed to

count as Easter break?

These Health and Wellness Days actually feel like salt in the wound. Sure, we have no spring break or snow days, but here is a random Tuesday off to make you feel better.

The late semester end date is also problematic. Yes, we began the semester a week late, but we have no spring break and very few days off, so that should be factored into the end date for finals.

It’s as if the university thinks we’ll say, “Wow, last week’s Health and Wellness Day cleared my pores, watered my plants and fixed all of my problems! Suddenly I am no longer burdened by the constant, crushing weight of a global pandemic, increased amount of work and no opportunities for

period of time off, people will travel and potentially spread COVID-19 to other places and bring it back to school as well. But it’s a lot to ask 18-22 year olds to work nonstop for 16 weeks. It would still make sense to let us have a week off and then give us the at-home COVID-19 tests again. We could have the first two weeks of school after spring break all online, to give people time to quarantine in school housing, and then get tested again before returning to regular class. At least then we could have some time to decompress.

For people working office jobs, it’s different. They can sign into their Zoom meetings and do their work during the day, but when they’re done, they’re done. There remains a clear distinction between work hours and lei-

“These Health and Wellness Days actually feel like salt in the wound. Sure, we have no spring break or snow days, but here is a random Tuesday off to make you feel better.” stress outlets in my life!”

Here’s what I did on our most recent Health and Wellness Day: in the morning, I went and did my grocery shopping. Then I spent the entire remainder of the day doing work. It has nothing to do with my time management skills; it has everything to do with the unyielding amount of work that we are still being assigned.

The Health and Wellness Days have a nice sentiment, I guess, but they function only as days without class, where we can get work done for those classes, where our professors give us work so we don’t “fall behind.”

I understand St. Joe’s logic in not giving us spring break, I really do. If we have a long

sure hours. Leisure hours no longer exist for college students, that distinction has disappeared. Every hour is either time to get work done, or time spent not getting work done.

I suppose we’ll all just continue working nonstop until Easter, or the next Health and Wellness Day, or until finals are over at the end of May. Surely everyone will be okay with that and not crash and burn—apparently college students are now meant to work every hour of every day and be just fine with it.

In the meantime, for the next few weeks, I’ll be using the upcoming spring sunshine and beautiful weather to cope, and hope that St. Joe’s decides to throw in some more much needed days off as a treat for us.

America’s political divide is killing us 500,000 COVID-19 deaths later RAVEN HORAN ’24 Guest Columnist On Feb. 22, U.S. President Joe Biden held a memorial for the over 500,000 Americans who died from COVID-19. In a country with over 300 million people, over 29 million Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

That’s equivalent to the population of Texas, and greater than any other state’s population besides California. You most likely know someone who had it, or have had it yourself. The U.S.—arguably the most powerful country in history—has been a leader in COVID-19 cases and deaths.

How did we get here? The long answer involves a string of mistakes, incompetence and downright negligence on the part of our government. The short answer is that the left and right political parties exist in two different realities.

I’m not going to feign impartiality here.

The fact of the matter is, the vast majority of COVID-19 misinformation came from conservative and right-wing sources: Fox News, The Daily Wire, One America News and nearly the entire Trump administration.

From the start, the conservative propaganda mill sought to contradict health care experts to bolster former U.S. President Donald Trump’s misinformation. This has

led to paranoia and denial from millions of Americans, many of whom continue living their lives as if nothing is happening.

Meanwhile, in countries like Australia, South Korea and New Zealand, strict guidelines were put in place so that the countries could open as soon as possible after reducing COVID-19 cases.

virus pandemic. Most recently, Texas experienced a cold snap that’s taken the lives of an untold number of people. Instead of climate change or infrastructural failures, conservative media touted the flagrant lie that power outages were due to wind power, an additional example of misinformation that contributes to the political divide.

“How did we get here? The long answer involves a string of mistakes, incompetence and downright negligence on the part of our government.

The short answer is that the left and right political parties exist in two different realities.”

The difference in cases is striking— current case counts in these countries are significantly lower than in the U.S. and life is returning to some semblance of normal with a vaccine plan in effect. Obviously, the failure of the American COVID-19 response ultimately lies within the Trump administration and a Congress that spent a year trifling over relief checks. And, the part that the right-wing media played in all this cannot be understated.

The right-wing media’s propaganda is not just limited to coverage of the corona-

I could talk more about COVID-19, Texas, the election or any number of conspiracies that have poisoned political discourse. The particulars are very different, but the single thread that runs through them is propaganda. America’s political divide is not so much that the left and right exist in separate realities, it’s that right-wing media does not exist in reality.

I’m not asking you to agree with me and to become a leftist. I’m begging you to think independently, for everyone’s sake.

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

This is the final column of this threepart series on taxes. This week, we will discuss details about filing federal taxes and how federal taxes are computed, asked by Julia O. ’22, economics major.

Filing federal taxes can be scary, but mostly everyone can file their taxes by themselves without paying for a professional tax preparer. Tax software is helpful and there are free versions that you can use (irs. gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxesfor-free). However, professional help may be needed if you own a business or have significant self-employment income.

The key to getting your taxes done efficiently is to have all of the information available about your income, interest and other taxable items before you start. You will need your Form W-2 from your employer that contains the amount of income earned and the total withholding for federal taxes during the past calendar year. You will also need to print out the Form 1099-INT from your bank and the Form 1099-DIV from your brokerage or other financial institutions where you have earned interest or dividend income. If you bought and sold stock or other securities, including cryptocurrency, during the year, you will also need to get the Form 1099 that shows all of your gains and losses for your taxes.

If you sold stock or any other assets during 2020, you will need to list each gain or loss on a separate tax form called Schedule D. If you made a lot of trades, filling out the Schedule D can be time consuming, but it’s necessary. All of the year’s gains and losses are added up and you will owe federal tax on total gains. Note that there is normally no withholding for these capital gains, so if you made a lot over the year, you may need to pay a large sum in taxes in April. If you had a total loss for the year, you get a deduction on your taxes but only for losses up to $3,000. Losses over $3,000 are “carried over” to reduce next year’s taxes.

Most single people will take the 2020 standard deduction of $12,400. The standard deduction for married people is higher. The government allows people with very high medical expenses, paid taxes, interest on home mortgages, gifts to charity and certain losses in a federal disaster to use those amounts to reduce the federal taxes they owe if the total is larger than the standard deduction. Those who have these items file a form called Schedule A to itemize deductions. The good news is that Schedule A is not needed if you take the standard deduction.

Federal taxes are computed by multiplying the taxable income by a tax rate percentage. Federal taxes are progressive; the tax rate percentage increases as one’s income increases. For example, the tax rate for a single person is 10% for the first $9,875 earned and then is 12% of the income from $9,875 to $40,125. Tax rates go up from there as a person’s income increases. The good news is that tax software will compute this for you, and the IRS Form 1040 has a Tax Table where you can look up the dollar amount of the tax owed; although, they use $50 ranges, so the number is not exact.

6

The Hawk Newspaper

March, 10 2021

Opinions

This again?

Harassment and the lack of accountability LIZ SWEENEY ’21 Guest Columnist Multiple former staff members have accused Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York of workplace sexual harassment towards female co-workers.

This should not come as a surprise. For decades, centuries even, men in power—in politics, business, homelife and beyond—have utilized their place of privilege to tactfully engage in actions of misconduct with little retribution.

Oftentimes, it is very challenging to investigate accusations of verbal harassment, as there is far less evidence than in cases of physical assault. One of Cuomo’s aides claimed that he asked about her sexual life, while another says that he kissed her without consent. These actions are also more likely to be excused, as demonstrated by the age old line of “I was just kidding.”

Moreover, notice their effectiveness– Anita Hill’s deeply concerning experiences did not stop Supreme Court Justice Clar-

ence Thomas from being appointed. Horrid narratives about the exploitation of women did not prevent the public from electing former U.S. President Donald Trump to office in 2016. This excuse of “I was just kidding” has massive implications and is an incredibly weighty political tool that men use to manipulate.

Creating a culture of “calling people [the accused] in” instead of “calling them out” is a method Professor Loretta J. Ross utilizes at Smith College in a course discussing how to combat cancel culture while holding individuals accountable for their actions.

Do not be mistaken. “Calling in” does not equate to passivism whatsoever. Rather,

“Considering the sheer prevalence of sexual misconduct in the workplace, you would think we would have made greater strides by now in how we address these allegations.”

What is particularly striking is how our response to these kinds of allegations has not changed with time. Considering the sheer prevalence of sexual misconduct in the workplace, you would think we would have made greater strides by now in how we address these allegations.

it means that in some circumstances, individuals who fully recognize and provide tangible willingness to improve are offered a seat at the table to facilitate their personal learning. However, this requires the individual to absolutely and fully address their wrongdoings.

This approach recognizes the futility in commonly purported “excuses” by high-ranking officials in response to their misconduct. It requires much deeper reflection and analysis on structural causes of these actions.

We must become more aware of the intricacies of each situation of misconduct.

Indeed, this is the harder method. However, it produces exponentially improved outcomes than those produced when blindly taking extreme sides, which has ultimately led to the state we are in today of no resulting significant solutions. The easier, extreme approach fails to acknowledge robust, complex and ever-changing power structures and perpetuates a continuous cycle not of progress, but of greater societal polarization.

We know we must absolutely respond to workplace misconduct allegations, however applying a critical lens to these situations is truly the only way to create sustained solutions to one of society’s most pressing and concerning problems.

Burnout of existing

Yes, this is harder when you’re Black KELSEY WELSH ’22 Guest Columnist As we approach the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic, many have joined in reflecting on the events, changes and lessons the last 365 days have brought us.

Certainly, there are many things worth mulling over, and much to be gained from such retrospection as we begin the process of moving forward with our lives.

One problem: I am entirely too tired to do so.

Burnout is often understood as an exhausted state of mind and body brought about by prolonged stress. With such a broad definition, nearly anybody can relate to this feeling; classes under normal circumstances can be incredibly draining, and the varying forms of virtual learning that we have adjusted to have given rise to new, never-before-seen levels of weariness.

The added, external pressures of the changing world around us only compounds this feeling, as the impacts of living through a global pandemic, a contentious presidential election cycle and bursts of civil unrest embedded themselves in our subconsciousness.

On the few occasions where I have been able to connect with my peers—whether that be in person or in Zoom breakout rooms-it’s often all we can talk about. Our feelings are completely valid. Life is hard right now. My coursework is so heavy, and with no breaks there’s no real time to rest.

The issue, however, is that there are groups of students that are experiencing this burnout tenfold. Minority students, particularly Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) and low-income students, have much more to worry about than just homework and attending class. We are navigating feelings of worthlessness that are projected onto us by the society we live in. We are experiencing violence, both physically and

mentally, at extremely high rates. We are often working to support ourselves and/or our loved ones. On top of all of that, we then have to make the time and energy to engage in our coursework.

Generalizing burnout and saying that we all are experiencing the same thing, or by equating it to mere universal exhaustion diminishes the unique and prolonged struggle of marginalized students.

The spring and summer of 2020 brought

demic together,” their syllabuses seem to say.

But are we?

My experiences this year have been pockmarked with feelings and situations I don’t entirely have the words to describe.

I feel like I’ve been mourning people who look like me, my friends and family members for an entire year now.

During the school year, I don’t even have the proper time to grieve; it’s always one thing after another, assignment, event, assignment,

“...by equating it [burnout] to mere universal exhaustion diminishes the unique and prolonged struggle of marginalized students. ” racial, class-based and gender-based disparities to the forefront of our country’s consciousness. Many in society—though not all—either began, to or have readily accepted the reality of systemic oppression’s existence.

People have begun learning about their privilege and how our society is steeped in social hierarchies. A widespread awareness has opened on these topics, particularly in places of higher education, and St. Joe’s is no exception. Many professors incorporated these discussions into their classes and continued the conversation in an attempt to prevent the usual pattern of systemic and cultural exclusion of social movements— like how many people allowed the original Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement to fade to background noise, resulting in many people genuinely believing that BLM was a new trend created in 2020.

This is all good and well, but still many professors’ practices have not reflected this supposed awareness. Instead, I have seen them follow the generalization-and-diminishing track. “We are all living through this pan-

leaving me a neat 20-minute time block to process emotions that span a lifetime.

I’m expected to analyze events of police brutality, or mass evictions, or death due to lack of access to health care, from a purely academic perspective—as if such topics don’t hold real, traumatic consequences for people like me. And to add insult to injury, nobody around me seems to care.

Topics such as these for some of my classmates are just that—things to discuss during class time and write papers about, but never to have to deal with again. On the chance that I do get to express myself, I either receive awkward silence in response, or an apology from someone with their eyes downcast.

I am tired of empty apologies. If you want to apologize, make sure your actions back up your sentiment.

Not only do marginalized students— and by this I do not only mean students of color, but low-income students, commuters, transfer students, students with disabilities and others—have to face the barriers not only placed on them by society, but also

those placed on them in the classroom.

Acts of status-based violence or exclusion threaten those groups’ well-being as well.

We should be able to understand, then, that such groups and their struggle must be considered when forming class policies, assignments and class practices. The pressure has become nearly insurmountable.

“Talking about it” is not the only way to reach social justice. If professors wish to show that they are truly conscientious of the struggles faced by their students and allies to the various communities in which they belong to, they also must understand the stress that comes with their coursework is felt disproportionately among minority students.

There is no good reason that during a year of immense turmoil, a year of grieving and isolation and exclusion and lack of opportunity, that we also have to face a piling on of extra work that diverts our focus from our well-being to making sure we can keep our scholarships by staying afloat.

This is not to say that marginalized students deserve special treatment. This is not a request for professors to care more for the needs of some groups over others.

I am asking that professors be more willing to adapt—just as many of us have had to adapt to changing financial situations, or to increased violence towards our communities, as a result of, and in addition to, the pandemic. I am asking for some of their proposed allyship to come through in their classroom practices, to the benefit of all.

As many of my peers have expressed, there is very little motivation to get through the week. Social life is no longer existent-at least not for those who adhere to COVID-19 guidelines—and “treating yourself ” usually means a half-hour break to grab takeout, or watch an episode of something on Netflix while you internally stress about work.

A small amount of care from the faculty we have grown to admire and respect would go a very long way.

Features

Salon A’Marie

March 10, 2021 7

The Hawk Newspaper

PHOTO: LUKAS VAN SANT ’21/THE HAWK

5261 Ridge Ave. C3, Philadelphia, PA Owned by Aundrea Watkins

PHOTO COURTESY OF CRUST VEGAN BAKERY

Crust Vegan Bakery

4409 Main St., Philadelphia, PA Owned by Meagan Benz and Shannon Roche

“Our main mission is to provide exceptional customer service. We pride ourselves on our timeliness with our customers and providing the best hair care services that we can provide. A lot of people come to us if they have issues with their hair. We’re like hair doctors at this point. We offer services for everyone, all ethnicities. We are very comfortable working with all different hair textures. We do men’s hair and also offer skincare services, lash care, lash extension services and waxing. We offer a lot of different services in the community and just want everyone to feel comfortable to come in.” - Aundrea Watkins, owner of Salon A’Marie

“Since day one, we have had a mission of finding a sustainable way to create accessible and delicious vegan baked goods for our community. We highly prioritize using fair trade and local ingredients.

Shannon and I started Crust with the common goal of creating a workplace that would ideally be as free as possible from the racism, sexism, homophobia and abuse found commonly in kitchens across our country. The discrimination we have felt as women in the food world goes far beyond our personal experiences, and Crust is a place that tolerates no hate. Being a queer woman-owned business is something we take great pride in, but we feel an even greater sense of pride in the equality that exists amongst all Crust staff.”

- Meagan Benz, co-owner of Crust Vegan Bakery

A selection of local woman-owned businesses to support

PHOTO COURTESY OF HARRIETT'S BOOKSHOP

Harriett’s Bookshop

258 E Girard Ave, Philadelphia, PA Owned by Jeannine Cook “Harriett’s mission celebrates women authors, women artists and women activists under the guiding light of Harriet Tubman. We offer books, art and opportunities for activism. Women have, for far too long, been relegated to a position of second class citizens—especially Black women who Alice Walker refers to as ‘the so-called mule of society.’ My quest is to restore the order, revise the history, so we can reconstruct the future.” - Jeannine Cook, owner of Harriett’s Bookshop

by Sarah Harwick '21

PHOTO: LUKAS VAN SANT ’21/THE HAWK

Ceramic Concept

5015 Baltimore Ave., Philadelphia, PA Owned by Stefani Threet “The shop is focused primarily on promoting ceramic works of artists of color, women and local artists. As of now I carry a little over 70 artists here in this space. Some of the other works I carry are from artists I’ve met through craft shows or I have met through various different facets of my selling career of 15 years. I carry artists nationwide and I have two international artists.” - Stefani Threet, owner of Ceramic Concept

Girls Auto Clinic

7425 West Chester Pike, Upper Darby, PA Owned by Patrice Banks

Modest Transitions

www.modesttransitions.com Owned by Melanie Hasan “Modest Transitions offers naturally dyed textiles and aesthetically pleasing pieces inspired by nature’s beauty to empower and unify women from different backgrounds. Modest Transitions encourages women to embrace their natural beauty and to be comfortable within their own skin through unique, hand-dyed products. I am hopeful Modest Transitions will generate healthy and positive conversation to eliminate or bring awareness to stereotypes associated with modesty, femininity and inclusion.” - Melanie Hasan, owner of Modest Transitions

“Girls Auto Clinic is a mechanic shop where we don’t discriminate against anyone, but we want to help our [female] customers.

We want everyone to feel equal and just feel comfortable and empowered to not be auto airheads. We want everyone to be able to feel like they’re competent when they get stuck on the road and need a tire or just something in general that could go wrong with your PHOTO: SARAH HARWICK ’21/THE HAWK car. We’re your family and we got your best interest in our hearts.”

- Amina Velazquez, service advisor at Girls Auto Clinic

PHOTO COURTESY OF MODEST TRANSITIONS

Unity Yoga

4363 Main Street, Philadelphia, PA 8020 Germantown Ave Philadelphia, PA Co-owned by Arielle Ashford “We visioned this studio to be a trauma-informed studio. We hire teachers who have a trauma sensitivity about them inherently through the way they teach. We also do offer recovery yoga for folks that are in recovery from substance use and mental health disorders. In a way of giving back we’re able to have those classes for free, which is super cool.” - Arielle Ashford, founder and co-owner of Unity Yoga PHOTO: LUKAS VAN SANT ’21/THE HAWK

8 March 10, 2021

Features

The Hawk Newspaper

Student leader spotlight: co-presidents of WLI 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.

This week’s Q&A is with Maddie DeMarco ’22 and Kayla Evans ’23, co-presidents of the Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI).

DeMarco is from Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. After graduation, she is planning to continue her education at St. Joe’s with the 4+1 M.S. in the Public Policy Program.

Evans is from Baltimore, Maryland, and wants to pursue a career in law and social justice after graduating.

What would people be most surprised to learn about WLI? KE: We are an activism-based club and a professional development space, so I think people often view WLI as this super luxuri-

Evans ’23 said building a community in WLI is important.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KAYLA EVANS ’23

ous and prestigious organization. In reality, I’m just this girl with a bunch of tattoos who doesn’t have a filter. People are surprised to see me. I think that’s the whole point. We need more representation throughout campus, and that’s why I accepted the position; because I knew that as a Black woman, I wanted to be in WLI. I wanted other Black women on campus to know that this club isn’t just about white feminism. It’s about building a coalition amongst each other through all of our identities. You don’t have to be a white girl trying to take down patriarchy. You can just be a woman of anything.

We all fight together.

What impact does WLI have on the St. Joe’s community?

MD: A huge impact. On a personal level, I’ve learned professional development skills I never would have known if it weren’t for going to WLI’s monthly meetings. As for general members, WLI provides services that they wouldn’t usually learn about, professional development skills, like how to navigate the world of careers and internships, while also honing in on the topic of social justice and having hard conversations and being a useful ally. WLI does an excellent job of balancing both of those pillars in our mission, so it impacts the community in that way.

KE: WLI catapults women in their careers. It creates an amazing network. The work of WLI is so strong, and we have so many alumnae that are willing to come back and give us advice. They are willing to offer internships and referrals and help us when we graduate. It’s really about helping our club members to navigate what’s next and find their place in the professional world.

WLI is an amazing networking field and an amazing liaison between college and real life. It sets people up to have relationships

in different sectors that they really wouldn’t have without WLI. How does WLI create a safe space for women on campus?

MD: It’s definitely different given the times, but I would say pre-COVID, we created a literal space for women on campus at the Women’s Center for people to feel included and safe. During times of Zoom, we continue to have a virtual space where people can come on and chat about their day and explain what’s going on and ask questions.

We’ve created a welcoming environment and transitioned pretty smoothly to being online.

It’s not the same, but still, a lot of it is our executive board and our faculty advisors and being so welcoming.

KE: If you are a woman on campus, come to the Women’s Center. There are couches and a TV and snacks meant for us. Sometimes being a women in day-to-day life is taxing, and sometimes it’s nice to take a seat. Pick your feet up and talk to some other woman about life. It’s nice to decompress. I also think WLI does a fantastic job at making people not feel ashamed to claim their womanhood or their feminism, or being a feminist in general. This is not a man-eating club. This is just a women’s empowerment club. The vision and narrative often get misconstrued, but WLI does a great job of making people feel like it’s okay to be proud of being a woman. You should be proud of it, and you should embrace it.

How would you encourage men at St. Joe’s to be active feminists?

KE: A really good way for men to be active in feminism is to go to events, be involved in classes and organizations that take feminism as a priority. Definitely any of our events, men are welcomed to come. There are many classes on campus, like in the political science department, that deal with intersec-

tionality. Those are amazing courses to take as a man on campus because it teaches you so much about the intersections of identity and how much of a struggle it is for women and women of color in the world.

After you graduate, what do you hope to leave behind with WLI? MD: A continued legacy of hard work that everyone has left before me of empowerment and dedication to the organization and the community as a whole.

KE: I want to leave behind a legacy of inclusion and sisterhood. I think a lot of times, WLI is seen as this super professional organization. At the end of the day, we’re just women in college, trying to figure out what we’re doing. So sisterhood and building coalitions and building unity amongst each other is a big deal for me.

DeMarco ’23 hopes to leave a legacy of empowerment.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MADDIE DEMARCO ’22

Student teachers navigate hybrid learning ELISE WELSH ’22 Special to The Hawk Overbrook Educational Center is one of 53 Philadelphia schools that opened for hybrid learning this week after being shuttered for nearly a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

That means Amanda Miller ’21, who is spending the last semester of her senior year student teaching, was finally able to meet her students in a physical classroom.

Since last month, Miller has worked online with kindergarten through second grade students in her special education class.

“It is completely different student teaching in a pandemic,” Miller said. “You’re dealing with a different way of teaching than we’ve discussed [in class].”

Miller is one of approximately 105 St. Joe’s students who are student teaching this semester according to Jim Osborne, the director of clinical experiences in the Office of Certification and Compliance.

While Miller said she hopes that she will “never have to teach in conditions like this again,” the experience also prepared her in ways she could not have imagined.

“I’m still doing all of the same stuff that I would be doing and I’m having to be more creative with it and figure out how to break it down even further to do it in such a different environment,” Miller said. “So in that way, I do think it’s beneficial. It’s just not easy.”

The need to be adaptable and the resilience the situation demands benefits St. Joe’s future educators, according to their professors.

“While the philosophy hasn’t changed, the need to individualize is much more paramount and has expanded to include the online learning needs of the students and the awareness that the environment is a teaching factor that needs to be considered,” said John Vacca, Ph.D., associate professor of teacher education.

Stacy Olitsky, Ph.D., associate professor of

teacher education, said she thinks students are more prepared for what lies ahead because of the pandemic.

“They’ve had to be very flexible,” Olitsky said. “They’ve also had to think very specifically about pedagogy because you can no longer just do what’s been done before. There’s a lot of innovation happening. There’s a lot of creativity happening. There’s a lot of new ideas. There’s a high level of reflection, which is an excellent characteristic for teachers to have.”

In fact, Olitsky said the skills these student teachers acquired during the pandemic could make this generation of teachers stronger.

“If you are in a situation that is new, in a lot of ways you have to be more reflective on the impact of different practices and make changes accordingly,” Olitsky said. “That in itself is going to produce very strong dispositions for teaching.”

Bobbi Lawley ’20 was student teaching when the pandemic moved schools online last spring. She is now a full-time second grade special education teacher at The Philadelphia Charter School for Arts & Sciences in the Northwood neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Lawley’s school has been virtual since she began her job in August 2020. It too, opened for hybrid learning this week.

Lawley said the experience gave her “a different way to think of teaching,” just as her professors predicted.

“From the very beginning, it was difficult for me to wrap my brain around how I could give my kids more support than the general education teachers can, but over Zoom,” Lawley said. “So we’ve incorporated breakout rooms, and I have meetings at the end of the day with just my kids where they work on their goals.”

Quinn Maguire ’21, a student teacher teaching kindergarteners at St. Thomas Aquinas School in South Philadelphia, said she thinks virtual education will continue to be “a part of the norm.” Like many of the city’s pri-

vate and parochial schools, St. Thomas Aquinas has offered both in-person and online instruction, depending on what students chose, since school opened in fall 2020.

While Maguire, like most student teachers, said she prefers to be in person with her students, she is grateful for the exposure to teaching online. She has had to navigate her own challenges, and witnessed the ones her students experience as well.

“It’s hard when they’re online to control their environment in a way,” Maguire said. “A lot of the kids have siblings, so their siblings are also online doing class. When they come off mute to talk, it’s so loud in the background because you hear their siblings’ classes or their parents working or other distractions like the TV and such. There’s only so much you can do when you’re not really with them and they’re learning from their house.”

Carly Netting ’21, who is student teaching third grade at Smedley Elementary Mastery Charter School in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia, was able to be in her physical classroom for the first time in mid-February, though her students remained online until this week.

“It was weird because all of the bulletin boards still said ‘Friday, March 13, 2020,’” Netting said. “They haven’t been back to the room since that day.”

Netting also has some students in the classroom and some online beginning this week.

“You have to tailor instruction to both groups of students,” Netting said. “Our school is just trying to figure out how best to do that because not every teacher has the technology that some schools have in order to perfect this, if there even is a way to perfect it. The biggest challenge is finding out how we can successfully manage the students online and the students in person so that they’re all on the same page.”

For many St. Joe’s student teachers, technology is a strength. Lilly Walsh ’20, a

Miller ’21 teaches at Overbrook Educational Center.

PHOTO: LESLIE QUAN ’22/THE HAWK

kindergarten teacher at Van Holten Primary School in New Jersey, said she felt prepared to be a full-time teacher during the pandemic after student teaching because of the classes she took as an early education major, especially Education 242: Technology Enhanced Curriculum and Instruction, which is required of all education majors.

“It was very interesting to see the difference of technical knowledge that I have compared to the teachers that were already teaching,” Walsh said. “[That course] really helped me be prepared for teaching in this pandemic. At first, it’s like, ‘Why are we taking a technology course?

How often are we going to be using technology?’ But then all of a sudden a pandemic hits, and you’re using technology every single day.”

Walsh said she is grateful for the preparation she received from both St. Joe’s and from the pandemic.

“Reflecting on this journey so far, it’s been bumpy and curvy,” Walsh said. “But there’s challenges and there’s celebrations, which make it all so worth it.”

Features

March 10, 2021

The Hawk Newspaper

9

The difficulties of dating in a pandemic for college students ROBERT WHITNEY ’23 Special to The Hawk Last spring, Liv DeSanto ’23 was introduced to Sam Gingerich ’23 at an off-campus party.

In normal times, that meeting might have been the start of a traditional college relationship. But shortly after the two met, the coronavirus pandemic worsened and stay-at-home restrictions were put into place. The university shifted operations online and students left campus. DeSanto went home to Washington Township, New Jersey, and Gingerich to Norristown, Pennsylvania.

The two are biology majors and later connected again, virtually, over a shared chemistry class.

“I had reached out to ask a chemistry question, and then we started talking from there,” DeSanto said.

Their relationship remained mostly virtual, but they met in person twice over the summer, with Gingerich visiting DeSanto at her home in New Jersey and the two of them spending time at the beach in Brigantine.

Even though they both returned to campus in fall 2020, because of the ongoing pandemic, DeSanto and Gingerich are largely limited to FaceTime conversations and outdoor lunch dates. They live in two different residence halls, Merion Gardens Apartments and Rashford Hall.

“Obviously you can’t have guests in the buildings, so we can’t hang out in our dorms,” DeSanto said. “That means, for the most part, we have to hang out all in public on campus. What we usually do is we have set days and times that we get lunch. Sometimes we go to some of our favorite restaurants in Manayunk to just get off campus a little. It’s the best we can do.”

The pandemic has rewritten college norms when it comes to dating. But it has also made it hard for people to meet in the first place. Dani Greenberg ’22 said that many of the normal avenues for meeting new people have been cut off.

“It’s really hard to get to know people,” Greenberg said. “You’re not seeing anyone, and it’s hard to interact with anyone in a safe way.

I would meet people through classes, clubs, on-campus events and then on weekends at the bar. There was just a lot more organic ways.”

College students are not alone with these relationship troubles, according to Elizabeth Earnshaw, director of A Better Life Therapy in Philadelphia and a licensed therapist who specializes in romantic and familial relationships.

“So many people have had to resort to virtual connections to maintain a connection that it’s going to be interesting to see what it looks like when they don’t have to do that anymore,” Earnshaw said.

Those virtual connections, even if imperfect, are still necessary, Earnshaw said.

“When we’re disconnected from others we’re more likely to develop depression and anxiety, and actually there are a lot of studies that show we’re more likely to develop health issues,” Earnshaw said.

Earnshaw said she believes the challenges of dating in the pandemic are exacerbated for college students.

“The way that college students meet is at parties or social events or even being able to engage in class activities,” Earnshaw said.

“And then, the way they often get to know each other is through continuing those social activities.”

Earnshaw said those in-person connections are important for getting a sense of chemistry with your prospective partner.

“I think that if you are interested in getting to know someone, you want to try to move it off message-based stuff as soon as you can,” Earnshaw said. “That being said, there is still a pandemic going on, so you might not want to meet up. But I would still suggest trying to create some sort of date, in a way that feels safe, so that you can get to know each other beyond the messaging.”

Some students at other universities have taken steps to ensure their peers have the opportunity to safely connect with one another.

This year, Boston College implemented a national college matchmaking service called The Marriage Pact. The program is designed to match people based on similar interests and world views through a 50-question survey. Originally created as an economics project at Stanford University in 2017, The Marriage Pact has since spread to universities across the country.

Jack Smith, a sophomore at Boston College, is one of the heads of marketing for The Marriage Pact at Boston College. He shared that since the program at Boston began, 3,700 students have participated, including almost 300 LGBTQIA+ students.

“We marketed it as a way of making friends, in addition to also dating,” Smith said. “Right now people are feeling isolated and lonely and I personally speak to that.

People are just desperate to meet new people and make new connections.”

The questions on the survey range from

political ideologies to existential beliefs.

While sexual preferences are not segregated, some questions are specifically designed to protect LGBT students from people with homophobic views. While many students use the service to make new friends, some find their partners for life.

“Two people who participated in The Marriage Pact got matched with each other and now they’re actually married,” said Smith, referring to a couple who met during Stanford’s launch of the program in 2017.

“So we are not lying when we say that it can lead to true love.”

Many people have turned to online matchmakers or dating apps to form new connections during the coronavirus pandemic. But online dating presents its own issues.

“So much is lost with tone in messages,” Earnshaw said. “You’re not actually reading whether or not you have kind of chemistry or connection with the other person.”

And then there is ghosting, the practice of suddenly ending a personal relationship without explanation and withdrawing from all communication.

“There’s a lot of people that I find experiencing that no one responds back,” Earnshaw said. “Even though there’s a lot of people online, they’re not getting a lot of responsiveness.”

That has been Greenberg’s experience at times.

“One thing that has been driving me crazy is when you do end up talking with someone online through a dating app and you start to really click, then all of a sudden you just never get a response back, which is super frustrating,” Greenberg said.

Sayed Hassan ’23 said while ghosting is the norm in online dating, it is more notice-

ILLUSTRATION: CASEY WOOD ’23/THE HAWK able now that communication has shifted almost completely online.

As a member of the LGBT community, Hassan said the pandemic makes dating especially hard for St. Joe’s students like him who identify as gay.

“There are not many options because people are uncomfortable, they don’t come out of the closet as much, and it makes dating very difficult,” Hassan said. “As far as I know, most LGBT people here date outside of the school because making a connection here is not really ideal.”

The pandemic and related university safety guidelines have nearly eliminated any chance of forming new relationships with people outside the university.

“Obviously, we have to be safe with not letting people come into the dorms,” Hassan said. “But it does raise this huge issue with how are we going to connect with people on this campus when we’re already disconnected from meeting new people in general. I get the safety concern, but there’s also a mental health concern. You have to balance it.”

DeSanto said her relationship is key to the foundation for her mental health during this disconnected time.

“I have a touch of anxiety when it comes to getting sick so with the pandemic, I’m really anxious about being exposed to anything,” DeSanto said. “Having that significant other that’s always there to talk to really helped me with that.”

Despite all the difficulties of dating in a pandemic, Earnshaw said she remains hopeful for future connections.

“My hope is that [the pandemic] helps us to become more selective and intentional about the relationships we have,” Earnshaw said.

Faculty Foods: Claudia Páez Lotero’s, Ph.D., Colombian Arepas ELAINA WALL ’21 Assistant Features Editor Due to the coronavirus pandemic, people have spent more time in their homes trying new recipes. The Hawk will feature recipes submitted by St. Joe’s faculty members to connect with one another through food.

Claudia Páez Lotero, Ph.D., assistant professor of Spanish, who immigrated to the U.S. 10 years ago from Colombia, shared her arepas recipe with The Hawk. Arepas are a traditional Colombian dish, similar to a Mexican tortilla, but bigger and thicker.

Páez Lotero said she wants to share this recipe because arepas are part of her family tradition.

“I have a lot of memories of making arepas with my mom when I was a child, so that’s something that we used to do on Saturdays with my brother,” Páez Lotero said. “For me, I love arepas because of the flavor, they’re delicious, but also I love them because of the memories that I associate with them.”

Enjoy arepas as a snack, or serve it as the perfect side dish to your next meal.

PÁEZ LOTERO’S AREPAS Time: 30 minutes (10 minutes active) Servings: 5-7 Ingredients: 1 cup precooked corn flour ½ cup shredded “Queso Campesino” or mozzarella cheese 1 tablespoon butter 1 pinch of salt 1 cup warm water (not boiling) Directions: Combine corn flour, butter, cheese and salt in a large bowl.

Pour warm water into the bowl in small increments and knead until the dough has a soft, moldable and moist consistency. Do not use all the water unless necessary.

Divide the dough equally into five to seven pieces and form medium size balls, about the size of a golf ball.

Flatten the balls and shape them into flat disks with your hands.

Preheat a griddle or a skillet on high heat.

Once the griddle is hot, add arepas and cook them on both sides until golden.

Optional: add butter, cheese or a fried egg.

Serve while warm and enjoy.

Páez Lotero said arepas are part of her family tradition. PHOTO COURTESY OF CLAUDIA PÁEZ LOTERO.

10

March 10, 2021

Sports

The Hawk Newspaper

Men’s basketball recap: ups and downs in Lange’s second year TYLER NICE ’23 Assistant Sports Editor In a pandemic-marred season that was expected to be unusual, the St. Joe’s men’s basketball team faced more variables than they imagined.

A 5-15 final record pales to reflect the true capabilities of a team that played well against some of college basketball’s premier programs early in the season and won four of its games in the Atlantic 10 (A-10). However, the potential that the team had was diminished by injuries to key players and two seperate COVID-19 related pauses.

“We don’t make excuses,” Head Coach Billy Lange said in a press conference on March 4. “But this team never really had a chance to get started.”

The Hawks opened the season on Thanksgiving Day in the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip Off Classic, where they fell in overtime to Auburn University, a Final Four team in 2019, by a score of 96-91. The following day, St. Joe’s held a second half lead against the University of Kansas, a perennial college basketball powerhouse, before the Jayhawks pulled away for a 94-72 victory. After competitive performances against power conference opponents, it looked as though the Hawks were set to make significant strides from the 2019-20 season in whcih they finished 6-26.

“We played two great games in Fort Myers, and I thought we could be a top four team in our league,” Lange said. “The team that played against Kansas didn’t practice together for one more day after that and we never had the same team.”

On Nov. 30, the Hawks entered a 14day quarantine period because of a positive COVID-19 test. After the team returned, they lost to city rivals Drexel University 81-77 and Villanova University 88-66. On Dec. 21, in a game against the University of Tennessee, A-10 preseason second team selection Ryan Daly, a senior guard, injured his hand and missed the next 10 contests. In that time, the Hawks went 1-9 and allowed their opponents to score 78.9 points per game, which ranks as the worst in the A-10.

Redshirt sophomore guard Greg Foster Jr., sophomore guard Jack Forrest and senior forward Anthony Longpré all missed time during that stretch of games. Foster was out due to personal reasons, Forrest because of a foot injury and Longpré due to a lower body injury.

“When some [team] loses a player for injury or illness, fans think about how it affects their offense and no one thinks about how it impacts defense,” Lange said. “We lost great ball pressure in Greg Foster, we lost intelligence and rebounding in Ryan Daly, we lost rebounding in Jack Forrest.”

The Hawks were 1-14 and sat in last place in the A-10 standings when Daly returned to action after his extended injury absence. In his first game in nearly two months, Daly scored 30 points and led St. Joe’s to a 91-82 overtime win over Big 5 foe La Salle University on Feb. 20. “[Daly] kind of makes things run here,” redshirt junior forward Taylor Funk said during the press conference. “We like when the ball is in his hands because he can score and find open players. Once he came back, it just started clicking again.”

The Hawks then rattled off two straight wins to close the regular season: a 97-84 victory over the University of Dayton behind a 36 point effort from Funk and a 76-73 win at the University of Richmond.

“We went into do or die mode the day after the Dayton game,” Lange said. “We knew Richmond had to win that game to keep their at-large hopes. I felt like we got our players in a space where they know there is no tomorrow.”

The Hawks entered the A-10 postseason tournament with renewed spirit and momentum. In a first round rematch against La Salle less than 48 hours after its defeat of Richmond, the Hawks turned in one of their best defensive performances of the season, holding the Explorers to 66 points, the second fewest for an opponent this season for the Hawks, in a six point win.

“We packed the paint on the guys that weren’t going to beat us from the 3-point line,” Daly said in a postgame press conference after

the Hawks defeated the Explorers. “We always had people in the paint to protect the rim because they’re a driving team at heart.”

Inevitably, the clock struck midnight for St. Joe’s late season resurgence in the second round of the A-10 tournament. The Minutemen from the University of Massachusetts hit 12 first half 3-pointers en route to a 100-66 whalloping of the Hawks.

“They couldn’t miss from three and we didn’t shoot well from three,” Funk said.

“They can switch one through five [on defense]. We kind of struggle with that.”

After the game, Daly confirmed that he will not exercise the additional year of eligibility that was granted to all Division I basketball players at the beginning of the year and will pursue professional basketball opportunities, either in America or abroad.

“To wear St. Joe’s across my chest is a dream come true,” Daly said. “I feel like I got a lot of new family members so it’s definitely been a great three years for me.”

Lange said Daly was a crucial part of laying the foundation for the new chapter of the St. Joe’s men’s basketball program.

“Having [Daly] here for two years with

that passion and that competitiveness while we built a new era of St. Joe’s basketball was truly a blessing,” Lange said.

Looking forward to next season, Lange said that the program is still in its building stage with brand new players. He hopes that this season will provide a young nucleus of returning players with valuable experience.

“I think that these guys had to grow up,” Lange said. “The concentration that it takes to have a scouting plan, lift and watch film every day, watch what you eat every day. There was no grace period for them. What I’m hoping is that they take a leadership role in the culture we’re trying to build here at St. Joe’s.”

While St. Joe’s brings in only one high school recruit in the class of 2021, guard Erik Reynolds, St. Joe’s highest ranked men’s basketball recruit in 10 years, Lange emphasized the importance of “roster optimization,” hinting that the 2021 roster may not be finalized if the Hawks choose to pursue transfers.

“We still have more pieces that we need to add,” Lange said. “We have scholarships available and we want to make sure that we bring the right guys.”

The Hawks will return all but three players from this year’s roster for next season.

PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

Not just a basketball school Field hockey and women’s teams deserve more recognition RILEY FRAIN ’21 Sports Editor For as far back as most fans can remember, St. Joe’s has been touted as a “basketball school.” A university filled with tradition, pride and a deep seated history in the basketball-centric city of Philadelphia. Throughout the years, both the St. Joe’s men’s and women’s basketball teams saw Atlantic 10 (A-10) championship titles, NCAA Division I tournament runs, conference crowns and a plethora of professional talent from forward/guard Cliff Anderson ’67 to guard Natasha Cloud ’15.

Amid the major successes the St. Joe’s basketball programs saw in their history, it’s easy to notice the downward trend that both the men’s and women’s teams experienced in the past few seasons. The men’s team hasn’t posted a winning regular season record since the 2015-16 season. The women’s team has also struggled to make their way above .500 in the regular season for the past three years, with their last winning season in 2017-18.

However, there is a team on St. Joe’s campus that has earned a winning percentage of .500 or above for every season they’ve participated in since 2014, and they aren’t getting the recognition they deserve for it. They consistently win A-10 Championships, earn national acclaim and fight for NCAA tournament bids.

While the basketball teams at this “basketball

school” continually disappoint, the St. Joe’s field hockey team overachieves.

Since 2017, the field hockey team has not missed an NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship as a representative of the A-10, not including their 2020 campaign for a four-peat which was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.

From 2016-19, the field hockey team has produced four different All-Americans student athletes throughout the first, second and third tiers, more than any other team at St. Joe’s in that time frame. From there, they’ve only continued to bolster their roster, bringing in notable recruits and coaches such as freshman forward Manu Ghigliotti, who spent time with Argentina’s U-21 national field hockey team, and assistant coach Alyssa Parker, who is a member of the U.S. national field hockey team.

Led by a group of veteran seniors such as midfielder Cassidy Atchinson, back Nicholl Fenton and forward Sara Hayes, and featuring a mixture of exciting prospects such as twotime Bucks County Courier Times Player of the Year freshman forward Katelyn Cocco, the field hockey team has topped the 2020-21 A-10 preseason poll.

And while their season did not start exactly how they envisioned, with their first two matches of the season either canceled or postponed, A-10 success is no doubt where the bar is set. This season comes off the back of three successive NCAA tournament appearances,

while also topping the A-10 preseason poll for the third time since 2018.

While many Hawk fans would argue based on the history of our basketball programs that St. Joe’s is a “basketball school,” the recent consistent success of our university’s field hockey team would beg to differ.

This is a program that is consistently prominent on the national collegiate field hockey scene, a program which improves season after season under four-time A-10 Coach of the Year Lynn Farquhar, becoming the most successful team on campus for the last 10 years.

For all the matchups, trophies and accolades that both the field hockey team and its individual student athletes have gathered for this university, they deserve more recogni-

tion and support than they receive from the St. Joe’s community.

While field hockey at the collegiate level is primarily a women’s sport with no Division I athletic programs fielding men’s field hockey team, I wonder if St. Joe’s field hockey would be more popular if it was a men’s program.

We often see this with the basketball teams. While both the men’s and women’s programs have struggled in recent memory, the women’s last national tournament appearance came in 2018 when they qualified for the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, while the men haven’t been to a national tournament since 2016.

As a university, we need to do a better job of celebrating our women’s athletic programs and their many accomplishments moving forward.

Since 2017, the St. Joe’s field hockey team has not missed an NCAA Division I Championship.

PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

Sports

The Hawk Newspaper

March 10, 2021

11

St. Joe’s teams show support for Black Lives Matter movement ADAM FINE ’23 Special to the Hawk In the wake of nationwide demonstrations for racial justice last summer, St. Joe’s Director of Athletics Jill Bodensteiner, J.D., said she encouraged student athletes to “engage in dialogue” that would “lead to education for all.”

“My guidance to our coaches and our student athletes was simply, you can use your platform, but I really want you to have thoughtful conversations as a team about what is your ‘why ’, and whatever you choose to do, does it authentically represent you as individuals and the team?” Bodeinsteiner said.

The St. Joe’s women’s basketball team did both: they talked, and decided to use their platform to focus on what they saw happening in the U.S. In a group chat last fall, sophomore forward Gabby Smalls proposed that the team wear Black Lives Matter apparel before the start of games.

Sophomore guard/forward Jaden Walker said everybody on the team immediately endorsed the idea.

“Everyone was willing to do it,” Walker said.

At their season opener on Dec. 13, the Hawks replaced their regular warm-up jersey with black T-shirts that read “Black Lives Matter.”

Bodensteiner said when the team initially approached her with the idea, she asked to meet with the players and Head Coach Cindy Griffin.

“I used it to have that conversation and say, ‘Have you reflected on your why? Have you had dialogue about this or is it just reactionary based on what you’re seeing with the WNBA?’ Bodensteiner said. “And they were

really thoughtful, and they had great team discussions. That team in particular, they have been real leaders on campus.”

Other teams soon followed with their own statements. St. Joe’s women’s lacrosse players chose to wear Black Lives Matter T-shirts similar to the ones worn by women’s basketball players. Members of the St. Joe’s men’s basketball team wore warm-up shirts that read “Equality.” St. Joe’s men’s soccer players collectively knelt after the playing of the national anthem in their first game on Feb. 15.

For some teams, the decision to engage publicly as a team in racial justice issues was not as smooth as it was for women’s basketball. While St. Joe’s female soccer players also now wear Black Lives Matters warmups, the initial conversation among team members was difficult, said senior midfielder Annie McConnon.

“I think being a primarily white team on campus, we struggled in the beginning with having conversations about race and social injustice,” McConnon said.

McConnon said she stepped up to help spur these challenging conversations with the team by “reaching out to specific people so that we can get the whole team on board.”

Choosing to wear Black Lives Matter warm-ups was not the women’s basketball team’s only decision, said senior guard Mary Sheehan. The team deliberately chose RoloVinyl, a Black-owned business in Philadelphia, to create the warm-up apparel.

“We decided to not only get the shirts and have them made, but also [to] walk the talk,” Sheehan said.

Women’s basketball Assistant Head Coach John Hampton said the response on social media following the team’s first appearance in

Women’s soccer was one of the first teams to wear Black Lives Matter warm-up gear.

PHOTO: DANNY REMISHEVSKY ’23/THE HAWK

the warm-ups has been largely positive. There have only been a few negative reactions directed towards SJU Athletics but “nothing that is too alarming,” Hampton said.

Hampton said the team was prepared for any criticism.

“If this is something you are committed to and invested to, you’ve got to stand together and stay invested,” Hampton said.

In 2018, Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham infamously told NBA stars Lebron James and Kevin Durant to “shut up and dribble.” Ingraham’s message was that sports had no place overlapping with politics.

Ingraham’s words inspired the opposite reaction among the St. Joe’s women’s basketball team, Sheehan said, adding that Ingraham’s phrase motivates the players at St. Joe’s to be more than just student athletes.

“Any platform that you have, you should use,” Sheehan said. “We have a platform as Division I athletes, as individuals and then collectively as a team, so I think we should be using it.”

In fact, Walker said that in some ways, college athletes can have as much of an impact as celebrity professional athletes.

“I don’t think an issue like that is just for celebrities,” Walker said. “It’s important that a program and school like ours is doing this because small schools matter and can motivate the people around them.”

Hampton said it is a sign of progress that so many of St. Joe’s teams have decided to take public stands against racial injustice.

“It’s allowed everyone to be a little more courageous,” Hampton said.

O’Pake reservation system a “learning curve” for students DREW CHILSON ’22 Special to the Hawk At the start of the school year, Jenna Troyano ’22 looked forward to getting back into her workout routine at O’Pake Recreation Center.

But every time she tried to make a reservation, she found the slots for when she wanted to work out were full.

Eventually, Troyano gave up and bought

a membership to LA Fitness for the fall semester, which has a $29 initiation fee and costs $24.99 per month. She has since switched to Planet Fitness for a monthly fee of $20. O’Pake would have been free for Troyano since she is a student.

Troyano said she was pushed to make this decision because of conflicts between her classes and availability at O’Pake.

“The main problem is that there’s not a

Amid the pandemic, students must sign up for 90-minute slots in order to workout in the O’Pake gyms.

PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

lot of time slot options,” Troyano said.

Prior to the pandemic, O’Pake was open most weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

While weekends had a later start time of 10 a.m., the facility was open until 7 p.m. on Saturday and until 9 p.m. on Sunday. Now, the facility closes at 7 p.m. every day.

The biggest adjustment for students, though, is that O’Pake is no longer a walk-in gym. Students must sign up for 90-minute time slots and can only book reservations up to 48 hours in advance. There are also 30-minute intervals for cleaning configured in the system.

Despite Troyano’s difficulties, Angie Nagle, assistant athletics director for Campus Recreation, said generally the problem is not so much with the reservation system as with students not fully understanding how the reservation process works.

“It’s new, and there’s this learning curve,” Nagle said. “They go on the reservation site and they’ll see nothing’s available for the whole month, thinking that everything is booked out for the whole month.

That’s not the case. We only let people book for two days in advance so that we can put some limitations on and make things as fair as possible for students.”

Nagle said the biggest issue is not an inad-

equate number of reservations, but rather students not showing up to their reserved times.

“If students don’t show up but don’t specifically cancel their reservation, they are taking up a spot that another person could use,” Nagle said.

If the trend continues, Campus Recreation will look at instituting a no-show policy, Nagle said, but for now, she and her staff want to remind students who can’t make their reservations to click the “cancel” button at the bottom of their appointment confirmation emails.

While Nagle said slots do get booked up daily, no-shows are a particular problem between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

“After 3:30 p.m., students are consistently securing and showing up for their reserved times,” Nagle said. “So, 3:30 to 7 p.m. is the busiest time at the rec center.”

Andrew Martinez ’24 is one of the students who regularly keeps his appointments at O’Pake. He said he plans ahead and doesn’t have a problem finding a spot.

“I think people make it out to be more difficult than it actually is,” Martinez said. “I have a link that my friend sent me a couple months ago, and I just saved it in our chat, and then I just click that 48 hours before I want to go.”

12

March 10, 2021

Sports

The Hawk Newspaper

Groundbreaking women within SJU Athletics RILEY FRAIN ’21 Sports Editor In honor of Women’s History Month, The Hawk highlighted some of the most prolific female athletes and administrators on Hawk Hill.

Through their legendary collegiate or professional careers, these women have laid the foundation for St. Joe’s women’s sports:

the Philadelphia Big 5 for women’s basketball, leading St. Joe’s in blocked shots throughout the 1979-80 season.

Listed at five-feet-10-inches, Jefferson was a key defensive player for the Hawks during her time with the women’s basketball team.

Anne Gallagher ’78 - Women’s Rowing

St. Joe’s Board of Trustees. After serving as vice president of St. Joe’s alumni association from 1996-98, she was briefly promoted to president of the association.

Ellen Ryan - Administrator and Coach

Kathleen McEnroe Del Monte ’80 Women’s Tennis

Cass Jefferson - Women’s Basketball

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SJU ATHLETICS

Cass Jefferson, the first Black female student athlete at St. Joe’s, was a member of the women’s basketball team for two seasons, starting in 1978. As a sophomore forward/ center, Jefferson would help the Hawks to an Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Eastern Regional Final.

Jefferson was also a member of the Hawks team that went 3-1 in the inaugural season of

In 1975, Anne Gallagher '78 founded the St. Joe’s women’s rowing team. This was the first women’s rowing team to have a university affiliation in the Philadelphia area.

As a three-year captain of the team, rower Gallagher helped lead St. Joe’s to the 1976 Dad Vail Finals.

After graduation, Gallagher joined the board of directors of the USRowing association and remained active in promoting the sport of rowing as well as SJU Athletics.

Gallagher also served as co-chair of St. Joe’s and St. Joseph’s Prep’s boathouse project, which helped acquire land for the two institutions to build a rowing facility on Boathouse Row in Philadelphia. This is where the Robert M. Gillin Jr. Boathouse remains today.

From 1986-95, Gallagher served on the

Kathleen McEnroe Del Monte '80, one of the most successful women’s tennis players in St. Joe’s history, currently ranks as third all-time at St. Joe’s for career singles wins with 31. Only slowed by missing her junior year due to a knee injury, McEnroe managed just one singles loss throughout her entire career on Hawk Hill.

While McEnroe went undefeated in singles matches across her freshman and sophomore seasons, an even more impressive feat was that when women’s tennis wasn’t in session, McEnroe was the number two player on the men’s doubles team.

McEnroe was elected to the St. Joe’s Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 1999 for her impressive tennis career and breaking down gender barriers in SJU Athletics.

Ellen Ryan was instrumental in developing St. Joe’s women’s athletics. During her 37 years as a Hawk, Ryan served as the head coach for multiple women’s athletics teams, including basketball, tennis and club field hockey.

In 1975, Ryan moved to the administrative side of SJU Athletics as coordinator of women’s athletics. After six years, Ryan was promoted to assistant athletic director in 1981.

She held that position for 21 years before another promotion as the associate athletic director for varsity sports.

During Ryan’s tenure on Hawk Hill she managed to expand the number of women’s athletics teams on campus from a mere three to the full slate of nine varsity teams seen today. In 2011, Ryan retired from the university and, to honor the groundwork she accomplished for women’s athletics, the field hockey field was renamed in her honor as the Ellen Ryan Field.

Ryan was elected as a member of St. Joe’s Athletics Hall of Fame with the class of 1999 and was later inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame in 2003 for her work with St. Joe’s women’s basketball.

Graduating Seniors Do you want to deliver the Student Address at this year's undergraduate commencement ceremony?

Seniors of this year's graduating class from the College of Arts & Sciences, the Erivan K. Haub School of Business and the School of Health Studies and Education are welcome to submit a typed copy of a commencement address for consideration. This invitation to submit is open to students enrolled in traditional undergraduate day programs, as well as to adult learners in our Professional and Liberal Studies and Haub Degree Completion programs.

Criteria for Selection Candidates must have completed all academic requirements by May 2021 with an overall superior academic record. In addition to the academic record (3.5 or above), students will be evaluated on the basis of their leadership, service, and contribution to SJU's mission. The delivered speech should not exceed 4 minutes.

Finalists will be invited to submit a video of the reading of their proposed speech to be reviewed by the selection committee.

Please submit a copy of your speech in an electronic version using M.S. word format and double spaced. Upon receipt of your speech, you will also be asked to complete a formal application.

Submit to: Donna Mandery, dmandery@sju.edu - College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Office Deadline: March 15, 2021 @ Noon