OPINIONS

Communities on fire for justice

BY LANDRY MOFFO lgmoffo@vwu.edu

Unless you’ve been living under a rock all summer, you’ve heard about the movement called Black Lives Matter, or at the very least the letters B, L and M.

BLM was founded on July 13, 2013 in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman after he fatally shot

Trayvon Martin. May 26, 2020, the day after the death of George Floyd, marked the start of the

Minneapolis protest that would give way to a wave of marches and civil unrest across the country and around the world. Black Lives

Matter has led the way during these protests as the movement seeks to capitalize on the flame that was ignited on May 26. Since the protests began, 15 individuals 2020 will forever be known as the year of COVID-19. So many events and occasions that were integral to our lives have been put on hold in order to help mitigate the threat of COVID-19. This has meant no live sports, no weddings, no parties and no other social events.

If you’re like me, you spend a lot of your summer hanging out with friends and family out at parks, baseball games, restaurants and other public places. That wasn’t possible this summer because so many places were closed or had restrictions. Despite these challenges, my friends and I figured out a way we could hang out while also staying physically distanced: we started fishing. Fishing was one have lost their lives and more than 14,000 people have been arrested. The reason why BLM is getting so much support from people stateside and overseas is that the organization is seeking basic human rights. Thousands of people took and continue to take the streets from California to Main in search of equality in the eyes of the state.

The BLM website states that “our intention from the very beginning was to connect Black people from all over the world who have a shared desire for justice to act together in their communities.”

BLM is a group of marginalized people who have decided to speak up and stand up to their oppressors...once again. To those who say of the few things that I could do safely while also hanging with my friends. Fishing is also super easy to learn, a great way to get outdoors and a hobby that you can do whether you are 5 years old or 75 years old.

Another exciting aspect of fishing that makes it a great socially distanced activity is how large the world of fishing is. There is freshwater and saltwater fishing and both types of water provide so many different species of fish to catch that there is always something new and exciting for you to try while fishing. Since coming back to campus last month, I have already caught five new species of fish. If you’re looking to get started fishing, there are a few things you’re all lives matter, you are correct. All lives matter, but if house A is on fire and you’re walking by, decide to stop and call the fire department, when they show up are they going to start spraying house B, and C down? No. They are going to spray house A down because house A is on fire and actually needs help.

The African American community in the United States is the house on fire begging for real justice when a man is unlawfully killed (George Floyd), when a woman is shot five times in her own home (Breonna Taylor), and real when a 17-yearold is shot reaching for candy (Trayvon Martin). going to need. Firstly, buy a fishing license.

Next, find a rod and reel to fish with. What kind of gear you get will be dependent on what kind of fishing you are looking to do. If I had to make any recommendations I would suggest a medium power fishing rod between 6’6 and 7’0 long. This rod is a great all-around rod that is good for saltwater and freshwater.

When it comes to selecting hooks, sinkers, and baits it will all depend on the fish you’re targeting and in what kind of water, so do some research and figure out what works best for what you are looking to do.

Lastly, find a spot to fish, put some line in the water and start fishing.

Protests calling for racial equality and justice are occurring all over the world.

Bing Images|Courtesy

Being a student during a global pandemic

Students social distancing in the Batten center.

Layne Nooner|Marlin Chronicle

BY EZEKIEL HERRERA-BEVAN egherrerabevan@vwu.edu

If someone told me back in February that in seven months the United States would have over six million cases and up to two hundred thousand deaths from COVID-19, I would have said such a claim was absurd. Unfortunately, here we are.

To be a student in their undergraduate career in the midst of a pandemic seems all too surreal as we work to obtain degrees with the threat of a lethal virus looming over us. Furthermore, the impact of the pandemic has been felt around the world, not in the sense of health and safety, but how we live and interact with each other on a daily basis. No one would have thought we would see the day where. before we left the house or dorm, masks wouold join our keys and wallets as essential items. Now it all seems commonplace.

Here at Virginia Wesleyan University, we’ve seen our school take rigorous actions to implement safety and health policies that ensure the students’ well-being.

Although these are the logical measures to take, people here choose to not adhere to such policies due to personal vendettas against being controlled by a higher power or they are unable to adapt to change. Oftentimes, we see that it is those people who contract the virus and put everyone they interact with at risk.

Personally, if a friend of mine willinging chose to not obey the rules, contracted the virus, and believed it was okay to interact with me, I would only feel that they have no problem putting my life at risk..

As a student that is part of a larger community, I simply want nothing but good health and wellness for my peers. It only seems logical to do my part to limit the spread of COVID-19 during this pandemic. This is where I struggle to find the words to describe seeing people who knowingly don’t follow the rules and policies that are meant to maintain their health and safety.

If people had worn masks, socially distanced, quarantined, and maintained cleanliness back in February, would we still be at 6.4 million cases and 190,000 deaths

COVID-19 and discovering new leisure activities

BY HUNTER NORDBERG hdnordberg@vwu.edu

and counting?

Fall and winter sports postponed

BY NICHOLAS MUNDY namundy@vwu.edu Sports Editor

Virginia Wesleyan has followed the lead of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and has postponed the beginning of the fall and winter sports seasons. There will be no athletic competition for fall and winter teams until 2021. Under the guidelines set by the CDC and Virginia Wesleyan, there are teams that are allowed to have organized practices to begin this school year in preparation for games in the new year.

There hasn’t been organized activity for teams here on campus since early March. Each respective team has been given the guidelines that they must follow for the fall semester, which include wearing a mask if within six feet of each other. Currently, there are phases that each team must go through to begin their season. As the phases increase, the number of practices a team can have a week decreases and the number of players in a group and length of the practice goes up. Every phase will be two weeks long.

Renn CONTINUED FROM PG.1

Despite having fun, returning back to VWU was not a difficult decision for Renn. “With the whole virus thing, we’re all feeling so disconnected and isolated... and when Dr. Miller reached out it didn’t take much for me to say ‘Sure, let’s give it a shot,” Renn said.

Renn returned to many familiar faces and did not feel too disconnected from the students and staff when coming back. Sports Information Director

Alysse Scipter interned under Renn during her senior year at ODU, and noticed that the Marlin community had all known Renn as “Coach Renn” even as an athletic director. “Coach’s return has really been like welcoming back a member of the family, and that’s one of the things I think is so great about VWU, it feels

Sports Information|Courtesy

When spring sports were cancelled in March, all athletes were given an extra year of eligibility. With what is now an even crazier fall season, there is a 50/50 rule. If less than 50% of the games are played during the upcoming season then every fall athlete will be given an extra year of eligibility. Most senior student-athletes from this past spring season have declined to take an extra season. The few that have elected to stay an extra year are pursuing master’s degrees.

Each team has to handle training differently through this pandemic. Jeff Bowers, the associate director of Intercollegiate Athletics and head women’s soccer coach talked about how the training for his team has been affected during COVID-19. “Our first two weeks have been very individualized. We are actually going to use the first two weeks to be more individual personal fitness workouts,” Bowers said. He mentioned that the goal for this season is an ODAC title, and that this team is talented up and down the roster from the 13 freshmen to the 10 seniors. The 2019 women’s soccer team made it all the way to the ODAC championship.

Bowers stressed that the athletic director and coaches have been meeting every week for months to give the players the season that they deserve to have. If all goes to according to plan, the spring semester is going to be one of the most hectic seasons Virginia Wesleyan has ever had. Athletic Director Joanne Renn mentioned there is a possibility of games being played nearly every day of the week. With the current restrictions and guidelines on campus, Renn said, “no fans as of now,” As the future does look a little grim with COVID-19 suspending play until Jan. 1, there is hope for the spring to have games played with fans in attendance.

Joanne Renn ends her retirement of two years to come back and serve as the new athletic director at Virginia Wesleyan.

Sports Information| Courtesy like family. And that is something that was really developed and cultivated under Renn,” Scripter said.

Coach Renn has been persistent in her efforts to ensure that the student athlete experience is of high quality in this challenging time we are living in. While she returned to VWU trying to navigate sports through uncertainties and a pandemic, Renn has still been “a strong voice and figurehead for the Marlins in the ODAC and in expressing how we would like to pursue this year,” Scripter said.

Virginia Wesleyan University athletics draws so many athletes and coaches because of its culture and family-like community. “As coaches, we say our players create the culture we want... and she [Renn] epitomizes that. She’s creating a winning culture with community and family values and just really gets our student athletes and has their best interest at heart,” said Head Men’s Basketball Coach David Macedo, one of Renn’s first hires at VWU.

Renn had been named as the interim athletic director back in July, but due to the ongoing pandemic concern Miller described keeping her for the entire academic year. “In our response to the global pandemic, it is important for us to maintain a level of consistency in our Office of Intercollegiate Athletics. Therefore, we have suspended the search for a permanent athletic director,” Miller said.

“I felt supported by the staff and that they were working very very hard to make me feel comfortable once I was back. It really is like in some ways it’s like I never left,” Renn said.