Marquette Tribune | February 15th, 2022

Celebrating 100 years of journalistic integrity

1 The cost of COVID-19 Health workers at Marquette share their burnout stories during the coronavirus pandemic NEWS, 5

McLaughlin makes a splash

Graduate student guard improving defensive skills with Golden Eagles SPORTS, 12

Volume 104, Number 18

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

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How do students deal with the cold?

Temperatures in 2022 have reached below zero in Milwaukee

By Connor Baldwin

connor.baldwin@marquette.edu

According to weather-gurugroundhog Punxsutawney Phil, there will be an extended winter.

After emerging from his hole and spotting his shadow Feb. 2, winter in America will stick for another six weeks.

Winter will now end on Mar. 20, right when students return to campus after a week-long spring

break. This winter has been a mixed bag when it comes to the forecast, some days have felt particularly warm while others have been notably frigid.

Eilleen Harrington, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, said that this week has not been bad. Although, she said her Midwest origins have made her more used to the cold than others.

So far the coldest day of

By Megan Woolard

megan.woolard@marquette.edu

For some faculty members the university announcement regarding new safety measures on campus was well-received.

However, it brought university priorities into question and raised concerns over past faculty and staff departures, due to financial shortfalls, amid the university’s announcement to hire more

See COLD page 3

Photo by Josh Meitz joshua.meitz@marquette.edu

New safety measures announced Public relations concerns arise among some faculty

winter 2021-2022 was recorded Jan. 26 when Milwaukee reached temperatures of -5 degrees Fahrenheit, but the record coldest of -26 degrees Fahrenheit in 1996 freezes out the competition.

Although technically not in winter, December saw some warm days reaching temperatures as high as 68 degrees Fahrenheit, which matched previous records for December in Milwaukee set

Milwaukee’s next mayor

Marquette University Police Department officers.

“It really wasn’t until, from my perspective, it became a public relations issue and not just a safety issue that this action was taken,” Doug Smith, director of the International Business Studies program, said.

Crime in Milwaukee has been on the rise in recent years and the city has broken the homicide record for the past two years. This year there have been 18 more homicides than at this point See SAFETY page 2

INDEX COVID-19 TRACKER......................................3 MUPD REPORTS...........................................3 A&E................................................................8 OPINIONS....................................................10 SPORTS........................................................12

Mayoral primaries take place today, seven candidates total

By Hannah Hernandez

hannah.hernandez@marquette.edu

The mayoral primary election is today and voters are deciding the two candidates advancing to the general election April 5. However, low voter turnout continues to impact local elections.

The candidates are Marina Dimitrijevic, Bob Donovan, Ieshuh Griffin, Cavalier Johnson, Earnell Lucas, Michael Sampson and Lena Taylor.

Associate professor and assistant chair of political science Amber Wichowsky said that Milwaukee has a history of

long-serving mayors and said she is excited about the new candidates.

“Two candidates will emerge for the April election, but this is a really interesting time because it is kind of unclear who the two candidates are going to be,” Wichowsky said.

In the mayoral candidate forum Feb. 9, Wichowsky said four key issues emerged, affordable housing, fiscal constraints, reckless driving and economic peace.

Some of the other issues discussed in the forum are the flight of the Black middle class from Milwaukee, the creation of economic and entrepreneurial opportunities, public safety, the Milwaukee Public School system, the eviction crisis, revenue generation and develop-

ment in neighborhoods suffering from disinvestment.

As statistics have shown, voter turnout for presidential elections is much higher than voter turnout for local elections. In comparison to 66.8%t of citizens voting in the 2020 presidential election, only 15 to 27% of eligible voters cast a ballot in their local election.

Paul Nolette, associate professor of political science and chair of the political science department, said that people associate politics with Washington D.C. instead of local communities.

“This [lower voter turnout in local elections] has been something that is very consistent,” See MAYOR page 4

NEWS

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

OPINIONS

Les Aspin donation

“Hey Cassie...”

Don’t be performative

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PAGE 8

PAGE 11

D.C. center helps students improve civic understanding

Euphoria season two has taken the entertainment industry by storm

Allyship with Black community must be genuine

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News

The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

SAFETY: MUPD to hire four additional officers Continued from page 1

last year.

“Safety is important on campus not just because we all live and work there… but it’s impossible to recruit people to come to Marquette if there is a perception that it is not safe on campus,” Smith said.

Marquette has also experienced safety concerns after a string of armed robberies in the fall semester and an investigation involving the shooting of a Milwaukee Police officer was concluded on campus.

As part of the new measures, University President Michael Lovell said that he will be “personally involved” with the president’s task force that works to improve campus safety and wants to increase focus on community engagement.

Lovell also promised full “institutional support” to address the issue of safety on campus and in the surrounding community.

“This issue is bigger than Marquette. I have spoken with Milwaukee’s acting mayor and the chief of the Milwaukee Police Department, and I will reach out to additional law enforcement leaders and community partners to explore how our

organizations can collaborate to address the systemic roots of crime,” Lovell said in the statement.

Some students looked at the new safety measures as a step in the right direction toward improving campus safety.

“I think it’s pretty good, safety is pretty important and should always be first priority especially when you’re just walking around,” Emilio Munoz, first-year in the College of Engineering, said.

While the announcement responded to safety concerns from community members, other members of campus called for attention to other areas of Marquette.

“It seems like the university is really responsive to an important issue of safety,” Philip Rocco, associate professor of political science, said. “We promise students a safe campus and we want to deliver on that, it’s important. We also promise students a certain quality of education and for me it’s important that we put our money where our mouth is on that one too.”

Last year the university chose not to renew a “single digit percentage” of nontenure-track faculty

members. The numerical amount of contracts not renewed was never made public. Additionally, 39 positions were eliminated due to “short term and long term financial challenges.”

“I don’t want to attribute bad motives to people who are in charge, but we don’t know why this decision (to increase safety measures) has particularity over every other one,” Smith said.

Smith also said that since the university never confirmed all of the positions that were eliminated, there’s no way for community members to know if any MUPD positions were a part of the eliminations.

“It’s hard to find many successful businesses or firms when you have departures, retirements in core areas of production that are really important to what the organization does and they don’t rehire,” Rocco said.

The Marquette Wire inquired about the financial aspects of the new safety initiatives. The university responded with the following statement: “Marquette is committed to addressing safety due to the recent crime trends in our city, and we are confident that the initiatives

announced by President Lovell will be a step in the right direction. Through the president’s Task Force on Community Safety led by MUPD Chief Edith Hudson, we will be able to monitor and report on progress towards our goals — both nearterm and long-term. We intend to share future updates on our progress as the Task Force is formed and begins to implement the safety and security initiatives,” Lynn Griffith, university spokesperson, said in an email.

Marquette Wire stock photo

Though the safety initiatives have yet to be put into place, questions surrounding university personnel decisions and safety measures remain on campus.

“Is this a good thing? Absolutely. But to do it right now when they knew some time ago that there were safety issues, raises questions in my mind as to how decisions are getting made … if it were just about safety they would have done it a while ago,” Smith said.

UPCOMING EVENTS

MUSG Movie with President Lovell Friday, February 18th at 8:30 PM CST in the Varsity Theatre

Black History Month Museum Sunday, February 20th from 12-2 PM CST on the first floor of the AMU National Marquette Day Giveaways Saturday, February 29th in the Commons Take a Break Week week of 3/8/2022 Black Leadership Panel Wednesday February 16th at 6 PM CST in Coughlin Hall in Room 357A

n’t be converThere nt celfor our

Ebony Ball Sunday February 27th at 6 PM CST in the AMU Ballrooms

Graphic by Grace Pionek

The Loyola Project Tuesday February 22nd at 5 PM in Weasler Auditorium

News

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

The Marquette Tribune

COLD: Weather changes

3

The Marquette Tribune EDITORIAL Executive Director of Marquette Wire Aimee Galaszewski Managing Editor of Marquette Tribune Benjamin Wells NEWS News Editor Megan Woolard Assistant Editors Julia Abuzzahab, Connor Baldwin Reporters TJ Dysart, Bailey Striepling, Hannah Hernandez, Phoebe Goebel, Clara Lebrón

Continued from page 1

in 2001.

Kiontis Gallion, a first-year in the College of Communication, said he has experienced many winters in his day. Being originally from Milwaukee but moving around from Mississippi to South Carolina, he said he has seen both sides of the climate coin.

“I feel like it’s good and bad, people get sick from it. When I walk around outside I see people coughing, like, strep throat coughing, so I feel people should put their masks on for walking around. For me I use a scarf around my mouth,” Gallion said.

Cold season starts up during the fall and winter periods. Although the common cold is believed come from frigid temperatures, it is just a virus which spreads quicker when everyone is indoors.

But the cold weather does dry out your nose making it easier to pick up the virus. The best way to combat the cold is to drink plenty of fluids and a get a good night of sleep. On average adults get two to four colds every year.

But for Danny Smith, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, there is no such thing as the cold season. Smith spends time in the winter “living the eight-yearold dream,” he said, throwing around snowballs and making snow angels.

“Personally I’ve loved it [the cold]. I’m a big snow guy so we’ve had flurries the last two nights so I’ve been taking laps around campus sliding around, eating some snowflakes,” Smith said.

PROJECTS Projects Editor Lelah Byron Reporters Christina Espinoza, Maria Crenshaw, Lan McCauley, Max Pieper ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Arts & Entertainment Editor Randi Haseman Assistant Editors Kim Cook, Rashad Alexander Reporter Izzy Fonfara-Drewel OPINIONS Executive Opinions Editor Alexandra Garner Assistant Opinions Editor Hope Moses Columnists Grace Cady, Laura Niezgoda, Krisha Patel SPORTS Executive Sports Editor John Leuzzi Assistant Editors Sam Arco, Jackson Gross Reporters Kelly Reilly, Ava Mares, Johnnie Brooker, Ben Schultz, Hannah Freireich, Catherine Fink COPY Copy Chief Eleanor McCaughey Copy Editors Alex Wagner, Jack Connelly, Emily Reinhardt, Bailey Striepling

Photo by Josh Meitz joshua.meitz@marquette.edu

Smith said he compares having more weeks of winter to when you smell something you really like and you perk up with excitement. Smith does wish there was more snow on campus.

“I might be a little crazy but I will take the five plus inches, I love it. I wanna be high stepping, belly flopping, I know it’s chaotic for the rest of campus but I’m all for it,” Smith said.

But Stephanie Waldschmidt, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, said they have mixed feelings about the snow.

Waldschmidt said they appreciate

Temperatures in Milwaukee in the winter commonly reach below zero.

the beauty of the flakes but have different feelings when it turns to slush around campus.

“It makes me a little nervous because I always think I am going to fall,” Waldschmidt said. “It’s not as bad as it was last year, because I used to live in O’Donnell [Hall] and the steps were not ever done, so you would always be slipping.”

What Waldschmidt said they enjoy the most of the winter is drinking hot chocolate and sitting outside. Every season they said they go to Lake Michigan and take a photo of a tree branch,

MUPD REPORTS February 10 Unknown subject(s) took a Marquette student’s cellular phone that was unattended from inside of a Marquette affiliated building located on the 500 block of N. 16th Street.

February 11 A non-Marquette affiliated person was behaving in a worrisome manner on the 1800 block of W. Wells Street. After checking the subject, it revealed they had an

active warrant. The person was then taken into custody and taken to the Milwaukee County Criminal Justice Facility.

February 14 An unknown person hit a Marquette victim on the 700 block of N. 13th Street. The victim was not injured and refused to seek medical attention. The subject fled the scene prior to the Marquette University Police Department’s arrival.

enjoying how it changes with the ice and seasonal conditions.

The most accumulation of snow that occurred in Milwaukee was the blizzard of 1947, which saw more than 20 inches of snowfall, shutting down much of the city.

Winds up to 60 mph whipped the snow around and covered everything in a white blanket.

Phil suggests the shivery snow of seasonal storms will stay, but considering he’s only been correct 40% of the time in the past ten years, the weather is all up in the air.

VISUAL CONTENT Design Chief Grace Pionek Photo Editor Isabel Bonebrake Sports Designer RJ Siano Arts & Entertainment Designer Lily Werner Opinions Designer Kendal Bell Photographers Colin Nawrocki Sarah Kuhns, Josh Meitz, Alex DeBuhr ----

ADVERTISING (630) 441-0818 Sales Manager Audrey Roth

THE MARQUETTE TRIBUNE is a wholly owned property of Marquette University, the publisher. THE TRIBUNE serves as a student voice for the university and gives students publishing experience and practice in journalism, advertising, and management and allied disciplines. THE TRIBUNE is written, edited, produced and operated solely by students with the encouragement and advice of the advisor, who is a university employee.

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COVID-19 TRACKER CUMULATIVE CASES- MARQUETTE 2,262 NEW CASES- 02/03/22 - 02/09/22 55 CUMULATIVE CASES- CITY OF MILWAUKEE ~265,000 SEVEN DAY ROLLING AVERAGE- CITY OF MILWAUKEE 212

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The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

MAYOR: First mayoral election in Milwaukee since ‘04 tees such as the Public Works Committee, the Public Safety Committee and the Anti-Graffiti Policy Committee.

Ieshuh Griffin Griffin is a Milwaukee native and a community activist and paralegal. Griffin previously ran in both the 2010 and 2012 elections for Wisconsin State Assembly but was defeated.

Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson Johnson is a Milwaukee native and faced the challenges of urban poverty growing up.

Johnson is an alum of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Johnson is currently serving as acting mayor of Milwaukee.

He also serves as the president of the Common Council and alderman in Milwaukee’s 2nd district.

Sheriff Earnell Lucas Lucas is a Milwaukee native and an alumn of Marquette University. Lucas served 25 years in the Milwaukee Police Department. He rose to the rank of captain and was elected as Milwaukee County Sheriff in 2018. He served as vice president of Security & Facility Management for all of MLB.

Photo by Josh Meitz joshua.meitz@marquette.edu

Seven canidates will be on the ballot today for the Milwaukee Mayorial Primary after former mayor, Tom Barret, resigned.

Continued from page 1

Nolette said. “It’s unfortunate because a lot of times the policies adopted at the local level are the ones that are the most tangible for people, the ones that make the most direct impact in their lives.”

There is not as much media representation for local elections which Nolette said could contribute to the low voter turnout. He also said that people might not be as familiar with local election candidates as much as presidential candidates.

“I think it [local elections] tend to get less voter turnout because you’re not bombarded with messages nearly as much as with the presidential election. Presidential elections these days are really a yearlong process where you get lots of commercials. You hear about the candidates constantly, and the candidates are well-known are famous, people who have

wide name recognition,” Nolette said.

Ryan Muldoon, a junior in the College of Business Administration, was a poll worker in the most recent presidential election. Muldoon said that he wanted to be a poll worker to learn about the voting process.

“It was interesting to see everything up close and to see the process behind this big, debated issue. The voting process seems much more civilized than it sounds. In the general election, the polls were pretty busy, especially later in the day. For the local ones, they are really not as busy,” Muldoon said, “The local election is definitely more important, we have obviously seen with COVID-19 how much more authority our local governments have than the federal government.”

As a solution to low voter turnout, there are discussions around removing barriers to

voter participation in elections, such as the Freedom to Vote Act. “Making it easier for people to vote absentee, making it easier for the first time to get their voter ID and to participate in the process, and this has been a big part of the political discussion about how do we tweak voting rules in a way that ideally get more people involved in the process, and so that’s part of the discussion, but a lot of that’s at the state level,” Nolette said.

Local elections have a much smaller pool of voters than in a presidential election, Nolette said, so one vote has more impact on the results and he encourages people to actively engage in elections.

“So I certainly encourage people to research the candidates and to participate in this local election because it does have a major impact on the environment right around

you. This is making it a direct difference in their lives,” Nolette said.

Marina Dimitrijevic Dimitrijevic is a Milwaukee native and daughter of a Serbian immigrant. She is an alum of Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2004, Dimitrijevic was elected to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors and is the youngest woman to be elected on the council. She was re-elected on the board four times and served as the chairwoman of the board. She now serves as the alderwoman in Milwaukee’s 14th district.

Former Alderman Bob Donovan Donovan is a Milwaukee native and served four terms as an alderman in Milwaukee’s 8th district. Donovan is a past member of different commit-

Michael Sampson Sampson is an alum of the University of WisconsinWhitewater. After college, Sampson worked at William Morris Endeavor, which is a talent agency in Los Angeles, California. He returned to Milwaukee in 2008. He went on to start a company, Swarmm Events, which has created events in Milwaukee since 2010.

Senate Lena Taylor Taylor is a Milwaukee native and an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Taylor is serving her fifth term as a Wisconsin State Senator and represents the 4th senate district. She also served as the first AfricanAmerican chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the first African American woman to co-chair the Joint Committee on Finance. She opened Taylor and Associates Law Office, which was a general practice firm in Milwaukee.

News

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

The Marquette Tribune

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Mental fatigue in health care workers continues Golden Eagle frontline workers face burnouts

By Sarah Kuhns

sarah.kuhns@marquette.edu

As a Ph.D. student at Marquette, Jackie Christianson changed her career path after traveling to New York to help with the COVID-19 surge in March 2020. This journey convinced Christianson to study burnout in nursing and the factors that contribute to health care fatigue.

“I decided to study burnout and the systemic attributes of the nursing workforce that contributes to burnout, instead of virtual education in health care as I was planning when I applied pre-pandemic,” Christianson said.

Christianson, throughout her career and her studies, has witnessed many contributing factors to fatigue in the health care environment.

“Workplaces with too few staff [and] high expectations upon people who provide care to ‘make do’ without adequate

resources,” Christianson said.

Christianson said health care workers are not given enough resources to complete their jobs properly and yet are expected to complete their jobs anyway.

Health care workers throughout the pandemic have been forced to work in inadequate conditions, with understaffed clinics and tight budgets, according to Christianson.

“Health care has been a hostile place to work since before I started — burnout, the constant squeeze of budgets versus patient needs, undercompensating many health care workers for their essential work, violence toward health care workers, and other such issues have gotten worse during COVID, and we seem to finally be reaching a breaking point,” Christianson said.

These issues may contribute to the fact that one in five health care workers have quit their jobs since the pandemic started.

Christianson said health care workers have been stretched thin, and the pandemic has contributed to issues that were already unfolding until some have reached a breaking point.

“I’m not sold that COVID really

introduced any new problems to the health care environment so much as it dialed up those issues,” Christianson said.

“The increase in incidence increased dramatically during COVID, the ice trucks at the beginning of the pandemic, to store bodies in because the morgues were full, were real — the hospital I was at in Queens had two of them parked in the back of the building,” Christianson said.

Some health care workers are struggling to adjust to the everchanging conditions throughout the pandemic. Betsy Flasch has been a pediatric nurse since 2008 and became a pediatric nurse practitioner in 2013. She joined Marquette as a full-time faculty member in 2020.

Flasch explains how difficult it is to keep up with constantly changing guidelines, as health care workers must be ready to continue to learn and adjust.

“The hardest part of working through pandemic for me has been the frequently changing guidelines, needing masks, not needing masks, having a booster shot, but maybe we actually need a fourth booster, N95 masks

Marquette University Police Department officers, adding additional LIMO resources, continuing Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, implementing new building safety measures and holding a meeting with City of Milwaukee and community leaders.

Tess Brennan, a sophomore in the College of Nursing, said that since there have been several safety emails this semester, she said she is glad the Marquette University Police Department is doing something about all of the crime on campus instead of ignoring it.

“This semester, particularly, there has been a lot of crazy things going on,” Brennan said.

Responding to having a “higher than usual” rate of crime on campus, Lovell announced several safety measures Marquette will be implementing to maintain a safe environment.

“I promise full institutional support to address the recent crime trends in our region and ensure the safety and security of our campus community and surrounding neighborhood,” Lovell said in the statement.

MUPD Chief Edith Hudson said that having an increased police presence holds many

important values on campus.

“The first is that officers will be more visible and more accessible to students,” Hudson said. “Also, additional visibility and presence is a deterrent to people who are interested in opportunistictype crimes.”

Hudson said these plans provide MUPD with an opportunity to give more voice to their community and said she is excited to discover what initiatives they come up with and seeing how they will impact Marquette’s campus.

“Students I think are really really busy and sometimes it’s kind of hard to engage students in talking with MUPD about safety and other issues, but because President Lovell has really shown how important this is to him – I think that we’ll have more students participation as well as parents and other community members,” Hudson said.

Emilio Munoz, a first-year in the College of Engineering, also appreciates the university and MUPD putting safety first.

“Safety is pretty important and should always be kind of first priority — especially when you’re just walking around,” Munoz said.

MUPD issues safety alerts

Photo by Josh Meitz joshua.meitz@marquette.edu

Many healthcare workers are tired from the stress of the pandemic.

are better, hybrid class format, learning new technology,” Flasch said.

Debra Casper is a nurse practitioner in the ICU at Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital and also works for Marquette as a director and clinical faculty member.

“Many providers and health care workers not only struggled due to physical exhaustion from long hours and extra shifts, but also from mental and emotional exhaustion due to numerous deaths, high patient acuity, need

to ration care, and feelings of helplessness,” Casper said.

Casper also worried about the safety of her family.

“I was also concerned that I would bring the virus home from the hospital to my family and infect them. However, this is my job, my calling. I just had to be diligent in my practice and protection so that I could keep my family safe,” Casper said.

through text message and email for parents, students, faculty and staff of the Marquette community. They also post updates to their Twitter account.

“What I would ask is that students give us a little grace and just trust us — trust that we have your best interest at … heart and we’re going to get the information out to you,” Hudson said. “And if there’s a bit of a delay, it’s not because there’s a threat – it’s not because we’re trying to hide something from you, it’s because either we’re waiting

on more information or it’s just not appropriate for us at that moment to share information with you.”

So far in 2022, there have been 30 homicides in Milwaukee — which is 15 more compared to last year at the same date. Six of them occurred on the 2500 block of North 21st Street.

“As a parent of college-aged children, I know firsthand that a safe campus community is a paramount for our entire Marquette community,” Lovell said in the statement.

Safety concerns extend into Marquette area Rising crime rates in Milwaukee remains worrisome

By Julia Abuzzahab

julia.abuzzahab@marquette.edu

There were three police officers shot in Milwaukee in two weeks, one of which happened near Marquette University’s campus.

During the beginning of this academic year, there were three armed robberies on campus in a span of three weeks.

Between 2019 and 2020, the murder rate in the United States rose 30%. Cities across the U.S. have been experiencing higher rates of crime than usual lately. This includes Marquette’s hometown of Milwaukee.

With Milwaukee having 33,619 reported crimes last year, safety becomes a concern on Marquette’s campus.

These crimes include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft-larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson.

University President Michael Lovell said the university is launching a President’s Task Force focusing on community safety, hiring more

Photo by Julia Abuzzahab julianna.abuzzahab@marquette.edu

An officer was shot near Marquette’s campus Jan. 27.

6

News

The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Two million dollar donation made to Les Aspin

Center for civic service looks to continue program

By Phoebe Goebel

phoebe.goebel@marquette.edu

Marquette University offers students the chance to bloom their careers alongside the cherry blossom trees in Washington D.C. at the Les Aspin Center for Government.

A Marquette alum recently donated $2 million to show support to the Les Aspin Center for Government in Washington, D.C. Jackie Lewis, a 1960 graduate of the College of Arts & Sciences, made the donation to demonstrate her long-lasting support for the program. In previous years, Lewis and her husband have donated funds for student housing and educational centers in Washington D.C. Karen Hoffman, the associate director for the Les Aspin Center for Government, said that the donation made by Lewis will help in continuing student interest in the program.

“The Aspin Center wants to ensure that students interested in the program can participate,” Hoffman said. “The incredibly generous gift from Jackie Lewis will allow us to provide more resources to students.”

The center is focused on providing specialized internship

opportunities that are tailored to the interests of the student attending the program. Students take classes at the same time as completing their internship during their time in D.C. and are equipped with the tools to pursue their future career goals.

Hoffman said that students are exposed to a great number of different opportunities and students from any major are allowed to participate. She said that students will typically intern in congressional offices, federal agencies, advocacy groups, nonprofits and private firms.

Hoffman also said that the main goal of the program is to give students confidence in themselves to work in the professional world.

“Students have said after doing the program that they feel professionally confident.

The internship is an adult experience, and students learn to feel comfortable in that setting.

Students gain communication and writing skills, as well as an understanding of the policy environment and the decisionmaking process in D.C.,” Hoffman said.

Ana Cardenas Manrique, a sophomore in the College of Art & Sciences, is studying political science on the pre-law track and is currently involved in the Les Aspin Center for Government.

Manrique said that Les Aspin was a huge component of why she chose to attend Marquette.

She said that other universities

Photo by Julia Abuzzahab julianna.abuzzahab@marquette.edu

Les Aspin provides students with the opportunity to work in the nation’s capital.

did not have this kind of handson opportunity that Marquette was offering, and this was something that she simply could not pass up.

At the center, Manrique said that she hopes to make solid connections and get some real work experience in Washington D.C. “I am most looking forward to all the connections I am going to make on the Hill as well as in my congressional office,” Manrique said. “Out of this experience, I hope to get solid confirmation that I want to be involved with politics further down the road in my career.”

Teresa Godinez, a sophomore in the College of Arts &

Sciences, was a participant in the program during the fall 2021 semester.

“I think D.C. gave me a lot of reassurance in the path I want to continue, which is law, and one day run for office,” Godinez said. “I was an intern on the Hill for my congressman, Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia, and he represents my district back home, 4th Congressional District of Illinois.”

Godinez said the biggest takeaway of the program was being acknowledged as a woman of color on the path of law, and that there is space for her to thrive. While Godinez said that this experience was life-changing, she has some

suggestions for adjustments to be made to the program.

Godinez said that she hopes the program will increase its diversity. She said she feels that students of color are not aware of the program, which should be a goal for the future because representation matters in a program that offers so many different opportunities.

“I wished to have seen more students of color in this program because of how many opportunities are provided in D.C.,” Godinez said. “I hope to see Les Aspin as a more enriching place with people who come from different programs, and maybe this donation will help with this.”

Intramural Sports continue to rally at MU

Volleyball, water polo, basketball among options

By Clara Lebrón

clara.lebron@marquette.edu

The intramural volleyball team “Mofongo” claimed its first victory Feb. 9. The team is one of the various student teams competing in the next few weeks.

“I didn’t play that much, but I had a really good time. There were a couple weird rules, but we got around it. Paula served and hit someone in the face by accident, it was funny,” Adriana Vazquez, a first-year in the College of Health Sciences, said.

They are composed of, as many other of these teams are, amateurs who want to play in an environment that isn’t very competitive. However, no specific experience is required.

Any student on campus can make a team, from tried and true athletes to people who just want

to pick up a sport.

“I hadn’t played volleyball in a minute, but it still felt great to get on the court and kind of show off my skills. It was a great experience,” Paula Pascual, a first-year in the College of Arts & Sciences and member of the team, said.

The only requirement to make a team is to have a specific number of participants. For volleyball, there need to be six people on the team.

“Basically, I wanted to play volleyball. So, I started talking about it a lot to a lot of people until I made a group chat. I ended up finding a pretty big group of people that wanted to play too. I made a group chat and kind of threw around the idea of forming a team. They ended up liking the idea, and we made a team,” Paola Velazquez, a firstyear in the College of Arts & Sciences, said.

The team practiced and won their first game, starting off the intramural season on a high note.

Velazquez said the sign-up

process is relatively easy.

“There’s a website called IMLeagues, you basically just make an account. You create your team and just invite people to join your team,” Madeline Gordon, a staff member at the Office of Intramural Sports, said.

Volleyball is just one of the sports that students can play recreationally. This year, there are a proposed 17 leagues that people can participate in, ranging from basketball and volleyball to ultimate frisbee and dodgeball.

“We have tennis, indoor volleyball. The most popular one right now is five-on-five basketball. We even have an inner tube water polo. There are a lot of sports we offer,” Gordon said.

Although the number of sports offered fluctuates every year, there seems to be a common theme as years go by.

“It’s very popular for friend groups to make teams. Friends just come in and convince each other to play every year.

It’s a good bonding activity,”

Photo by Collin Nawrocki collin.nawrocki@marquette.edu

Students make their own teams to compete against others.

Gordon said.

The participants of the team also seem to think intramurals are a good way to bond.

“I’ve played volleyball since I was 7 years old. This is the first year since then I haven’t played on an actual team. Playing volleyball makes me feel at home, and helps me feel at home with my team,” Pascual said.

The team is continuing to prepare for their next game, getting ready to face off against Hotel Orange.

“I’m pumped, I’m sure we can pull another victory this week.”

Vazquez said.

News

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

The Marquette Tribune

7

Continuing to stop the spread, MKE provides boosters Vaccination sites still open to community, others

By Bailey Striepling

bailey.striepling@marquette.edu

Wisconsin is currently ranked 22nd for percentage of population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at 64.2% and 70.8% with at least one dose. However, Milwaukee still remains in the “extreme transmission” category, meaning total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 persons in the past seven days exceeds 100.

“We are seeing encouraging trends in declining cases, lower positivity and declining hospitalizations and while the trends are certainly in the right direction and we should celebrate that, it’s important to remember the absolute numbers of each of these are still critically high,” Ben Weston, chief policy health advisor for Milwaukee County, said in a briefing Feb. 1.

The Milwaukee Health Department currently has three

community vaccination clinics at Northwest Health Center, Southside Health Center and Menomonee Valley Site, all of which are within 20 minutes of Marquette’s campus. The health department also has a mobile vaccination clinic schedule updated until Feb. 25 on their website.

In an effort to boost Milwaukee’s vaccination rate, the Milwaukee Health Department launched a new COVID-19 vaccine incentive program Feb. 3. Anyone ages five and older who receives their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at any Milwaukee Health Department vaccination clinic will receive a $100 gift card on site.

“It’s heartbreaking to continue to receive the list of Milwaukeeans who have lost their lives to this virus when the vaccine is free and readily available,” Kirsten Johnson, commissioner of health for the City of Milwaukee, said in a briefing Feb. 1. “I know we are all ready for the day when COVID-19 doesn’t dictate the decisions we make for ourselves and our families

but the only way to get there is through vaccination.”

As of Feb. 8, all 1,000 gift cards available were handed out to newly vaccinated individuals.

“We would not have had an additional 1,000 residents vaccinated against COVID-19 had we not done that so that is a win for our community,” Cavalier Johnson, acting mayor of Milwaukee, said in a briefing Feb. 8.

The Marquette Medical Clinic will offer a COVID-19 vaccine and booster clinic at the Alumni Memorial Union March 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for students, faculty, staff and dependents.

The clinic will have first, second and booster doses available along with influenza vaccines.

The previous clinic at the AMU held Feb. 1 administered more than 360 COVID-19 shots, including multiple first-time doses of the vaccine, and 50 flu shots.

“I’m happy with Marquette’s vaccine efforts and I do feel safe on campus with vaccine and mask mandates,” Savannah Jankowski, a junior in the College of Business Admin-

istration, said. “I don’t know what else they could be doing at this point.”

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported that the seven-day average of daily COVID-19 cases in Milwaukee declined to 2,864 cases Feb. 9, the lowest point this year and first time below 3,000 cases since November 2021.

The Wisconsin Hospital Association also reported a decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations and a decline in number of patients in intensive care.

“We’re continuing to see a decrease in the disease burden in our community and that’s a promising sign,” acting Mayor Johnson said in a briefing Feb. 1. “Although we’re seeing improvement, we still remain in the extreme transmission category and need to continue practicing the appropriate safety measures like wearing a mask, washing our hands and watching our distance, not to mention of course getting vaccinated.”

Since Feb. 1, there have been 1,600 positive COVID-19 cases in Milwaukee, with a 8.8.% positivity rate. As of Feb. 14, Milwaukee

still has an “extreme transmission” status with 201 confirmed cases per 100 thousand, though the percent positivity rate has dropped to a “substantial transmission” status.

Marquette University’s COVID-19 alert status is yellow, meaning 5% to 10% of COVID-19 tests are positive, as of Feb. 14. There have been 55 positive COVID-19 cases in the last seven days and 138 in the last 14 days.

“We are certainly moving in the right direction,” Weston said in a briefing Feb. 8. “In the next two weeks, we would anticipate being in a much better place with our disease burden throughout the county and in the state as well.”

Weston also said it’s time to start the discussions regarding lifting the Milwaukee County mask mandate.

As of Jan. 22, the Milwaukee County mask ordinance will remain in effect until March 1, 2022 but acting Mayor Johnson said if trends continue to go in a positive direction, it could end early.

SUMMER STUDIES REGISTRATION OPENS FEB. 17 marquette.edu/summer

The Marquette Tribune

8 Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Arts &

Entertainment

Page 8

Marquette reacts to euphoric return of “Euphoria” Sunday nights are dedicated to this HBO Max series

By Izzy Fonfara Drewel

isabella.fonfaradrewel@marquette.edu

This story contains spoilers for season two of “Euphoria.”

Packed full of violence, addiction and chaotic high school relationships, “Euphoria” captivates its audience every Sunday. They surround their screens to see if Rue (Zendaya) will finally overcome her drug addiction, if the truth about Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Nate’s (Jacob Elordi) relationship will come out and what other plot twists the producers have in store.

HBO adapted Euphoria from an Israeli show with the same name and enlisted Canadian rapper Drake as an executive producer.

After airing the first season in 2019, “Euphoria” gained a loyal following. Now, “Euphoria” has returned for a second season with its talented cast, and the show has managed to grab new viewers.

The new episodes are released at 9 p.m. EST on Sunday nights.

“I started watching it because everyone said season two was coming out and I hadn’t even seen season one,” Mari Crowley, a first-year student in the College of Communication, said.

“Basically, I started watching it because my friends were watching it.”

Whether they’ve been a dedicated fan from the beginning or have only been watching for a few weeks, the audience is excited to see where the crew takes this season. Plotlines, such as Cassie and Nate’s secret relationship, grabbed everyone’s interests, putting them on the edge of their seats. The new season has viewers like Lizanne Donnelly, a first-year in the College of Arts

& Sciences, invested in every second and wondering just what could come next.

“I think it’s a lot more drama now that the storylines and characters were laid out in season one,” Donnelly said. “[The characters] are developing and changing and it’s a lot more interesting because we already have that precursory knowledge, so it’s learning what they’re doing with that.”

Each episode is packed with new twists and turns, which only intrigues the viewers more. The unexpected plot points are part of the show’s character, and they hold onto the attention of their audience. However, there are a few things that students would like to change.

“I would have Rue go to the hospital, be admitted and go through the whole rehab process again,” Lorelai VanGuilder, a first-year student in the College of Communication, said. “Maddy and Cassie should not be friends

anymore; I don’t know why they were even friends in the first place.”

Despite the desired changes, some of the audience can’t wait to see what happens next. Some people have their own predictions for the rest of the season, but only time will tell.

“I think someone is going to get close to death, for sure,” Crowley said. “I hope Cal Jacobs figures out who he is and goes on to lead a life that’s not full of abuse and hatred.”

With the height of the season coming closer, some viewers are worried about the characters and their potential fates.

“My favorite character is Fez because I feel like I can relate to him out of most of them since he doesn’t really cause a lot of drama and he takes care of people,” Vanguilder said. “I think Fez could die but I don’t want to put that into the universe.”

“All I hear is that someone is going to die and I think that might

be Cal because he’s had growth as a character,” Donnelly said.

“That’s something you see a lot in TV where a character presents change within themselves, but then they never get to fully live with that change.”

The suspense of the show is part of why viewers keep coming back. “Euphoria” is known for being unpredictable and the audience continues to watch so they aren’t caught off guard.

For some fans, watching the newest episode is a bonding experience. They gather and host watch parties with their friends, and their reactions are only amplified when they are together.

“Normally, I go to my friend’s room, and we’ll all sit and watch all together, like a family,” VanGuilder said.

The show has brought people together and generated memories for them. “Euphoria” has been a wild ride for some viewers, but some can’t wait to see where it goes next.

Photo by Collin Nawrocki collin.nawrocki@marquette.edu

“Euphoria” returned for a second season Jan. 9 on HBO Max and broke viewer records with 2.4 million viewers across all platforms. The show releases a new episode every week.

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Arts & Entertainment

The Marquette Tribune

9

CURRAN: predictions for movie’s biggest night Oscar nominations are here, tune in Mar. 27 to see who wins

By Patrick Curran

patrick.curran@marquette.edu

Every year I look forward to the day when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) gives me a heart attack for snubbing the best movies and in turn nominates the awful ones.

Year after year, as I wake up early (this year it was at 7:18 a.m.) at the most specific time, I sit in my bed and gasp as a C-list celebrity announcer reveals the nominations.

As I watch the nominations, I wonder what absurdity the Oscars will pull this year, such as when “La La Land” originally was the winner of Best Picture in 2017 until “Moonlight” was then awarded after a mishap.

I then hear them list the nominated actors and actresses and I sit and wonder if my favorites will be snubbed (which they always are).

It is something that I am now used to from my five years of closely following the Oscars. Now I shrug it off.

Despite the Academy producing upsets year after year, here are my attempts at predicting the 94th Academy Award winners.

Best Picture is supposed to be

the list of the ten best movies of the year. Yet, many of these movies should not even be in consideration.

(I am looking at you “Don’t Look Up”).

Best Picture: “Belfast,” “CODA,” “Don’t Look Up,” “Drive My Car,” “Dune,” “King Richard,” “Licorice Pizza,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Power of the Dog” and “West Side Story” Will Win: “The Power of the Dog” There is almost no way that “The Power of The Dog” does not walk away with the trophy. It garnered twelve nominations, which indicates support for the movie, actors, filmmakers and crafts. “The Power of the Dog” is not the best movie on the list, but it seems like the movie that the Academy will go for in the end despite not being a crowdpleaser.

Should Win: “CODA” “CODA” is a coming-of-age story that has strong representation and a stellar cast. The heartwarming film follows Emila Jones, who stars as Ruby, the eponymous CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), the only hearing member of her deaf family.

It was one of my favorite movies that I have seen in the last year, and it has a strong story behind it with a theme of family that everyone can relate to. The Academy rightfully should award this film in some way.

Snubbed: “tick, tick….BOOM!” “tick, tick…BOOM!” is the biographical musical about

Jonathan Larson and it deserved a nomination. It stars Andrew Garfield, who did receive a nomination for his performance, yet I believe the movie itself deserved a nomination for its terrific ensemble, songs and screenplay.

Best Actor: Javier Bardem in “Being the Ricardos,” Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Power of the Dog,” Andrew Garfield in “tick, tick… BOOM!” Will Smith in “King Richard,” and Denzel Washington in “The Tragedy of Macbeth” Best Actor consists of all returning nominees, and many are still fighting to win. It depends on how each star campaigns their movie over the next six weeks until the final round of voting begins.

Will Win: Will Smith in “King Richard” In “King Richard,” Smith plays Richard Williams, the father and coach of widely successful athletes Venus and Serena Williams. Smith has a narrative building as one huge actor who has yet to win an Oscar, which is why I think this is an easy win for him.

Should Win: Andrew Garfield in “tick, tick…BOOM!” G a r f i e l d ’ s performance is a career-best where he stars in a musical

with upbeat songs balanced with complex lyrics. He should win, but I’ll be surprised if he ends up winning considering “tick, tick…

BOOM!” did not get the expected support from the Academy as it missed out on critical nominations, unlike Smith.

Snubbed: To be honest, this is one of the only categories where I think the Oscars got it pretty right.

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Olivia Colman in “The Lost Daughter,” Penélope Cruz in “Parallel Mothers,” Nicole Kidman in “Being the Ricardos,” and Kristen Stewart in “Spencer” Unlike the Best Actor category, which has contenders with Best Picture nominations, Best Actress has zero, which leaves this as a pretty open race.

Will Win/Should Win: Nicole Kidman in “Being The Ricardos” This year, Nicole Kidman is back in the race for her dramatic transformation of playing television icon Lucille Ball in “Being the Ricardos.” At first, Kidman received tons of backlash from people who

did not believe she could do the iconic role justice. Despite people writing her off, she received lots of buzz, and I believe Oscar voters will connect with her performance.

Kidman, after all, is one of the most famous actresses on the planet playing a television icon, so people that believed she wouldn’t be in awards conversations were truly fooling themselves.

Snubbed: Lady Gaga in “House of Gucci” Even though I was not a fan of the movie, Gaga was highly anticipated to be on the list and even had a chance of walking away with the trophy. However, AMPAS did not receive “House of Gucci” well. It only got one nomination for makeup and hairstyling.

Supporting Actor has two people in the race to win: Troy Kostur and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Smit-McPhee is looking like the favorite to win, although Deaf actor Troy Kostur deserves it for his performance in “CODA.” Supporting Actress is probably the most locked win of the night: Ariana DeBose in “West Side Story.” It would truly be a disgrace if anyone else won. When (not if) she wins, she will become the first openly queer woman of color to win an Oscar.

Even though I am not an Academy voter, I will for sure be screaming at the television and perfecting my ballot in time for Hollywood’s biggest night Mar. 27th.

Graphic by Lily Werner elizabeth.werner@marquette.edu

REVIEW: Remi Wolf knows how to put on a show 26-year-old artist performed in Chicago on Feb. 4 at the Metro

By Anna Houston

anna.houston@marquette.edu

Remi Wolf reminds me of warm breezes and sitting in the passenger seat of my friend’s car in the spring of 2020 when everyone’s lives had just fallen apart. I remember scrolling through her six-song EP, the only music she had released at the time, and thinking, “When this is over, I’m going to see Remi live,” and that’s exactly what I did.

For the newly 26-year-old singer, filling a stage solo was easy. The pop star dominated her sold out show at the Metro in Chicago this past Friday, Feb. 4. She opened with her recent single “Liquor Store” which brought the crowd to their feet.

Every single song sounded better than the next as she completed a full set while jumping around the stage with ease despite having shin splints, she told the crowd.

Even as a solo act, she made great use of her stage space, spending equal time with each section.

In the middle of the performance, she took a minute to calm down the crowd. Once the venue was brought down to a whisper, she did what seemed to be a mental health check-in, asking how the audience was feeling. Upon hearing a few disheartening murmurs, she lead the whole audience in two thoughtful and cleansing breaths.

As a regular concert-goer, this was a first for me. I had never experienced a performer do something so intimate. It’s like she could read my mind and see the struggles of the week before.

For the entire show, Wolf was completely herself. She has this stage presence that shows how fun loving and emotional she

is. Her fun and funky sound not only allows her to dance around, encouraging the audience to do the same. The call and response elements only heightened the energy in the venue.

The cherry on top of the performance was the ad-libs that proved just how talented of an artist she truly is. She took her music to the next level with belting notes and runs that absolutely blew me away and showed how much she deserved the spot on the stage. It reminded me of seeing a jazz performance: no two shows are the same. I am sure that Wolf went on to do different renditions of the songs each night, creating excitement not just for her, but the audience as well.

Wolf wrapped up her set by singing her iconic hit, “Disco Man,” the song which turned all of my friends into Wolf fans. It was the perfect way to wrap up the show, fans screaming the well known melody at the top of

Photo by Anna Houston anna.houston@marquette.edu

Remi Wolf rose to fame after her song “Disco Man” was released. their lungs and jumping around like the ground was on fire.

The 90-minute performance was a prime example of why live music exists. It is supposed to be exciting, powerful and

a completely new listening experience. It takes your favorite songs and makes them better than you ever thought possible, and Wolf did just that.

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The Marquette Tribune

Opinions

10 Tuesday, February 15, 2022

PAGE 10

Editorial Board

Alexandra Garner, Executive Opinions Editor Hope Moses, Assistant Opinions Editor Aimee Galaszewski, Executive Director Benjamin Wells, Managing Editor of The Marquette Tribune Skyler Chun, Managing Editor of The Marquette Journal

Megan Woolard, News Executive John Leuzzi, Sports Executive Randi Haseman, A&E Executive Lelah Byron, Projects Editor

Eleanor McCaughey, Copy Chief Grace Pionek, Design Chief Izzy Bonebrake, Executive Photo Editor Nancy Flaherty, Social Media Executive

Andrew Amouzou, Station Manager of MUTV Reese Seberg, Station Manager of MURadio Alex Rivera Grant, Editor of Diversity and Inclusion

STAFF EDITORIAL

Hiring staff to send safety alerts necessary

Silence and delayed responsiveness can be detrimental to the Marquette community’s safety.

Marquette University President Michael Lovell shared an announcement Feb. 8 about changes to Marquette University Police Department in response to “higher than usual crime rates” on Marquette’s campus.

These changes include launching a task force to assess community safety and developing 30-day, 60-day and longer term plans. Four more MUPD officers will be added to areas of campus where “pass-through” crimes occur and more LIMO drivers will be hired to increase services.

Additionally, Lovell said that required MUID swipe access will be added to residence halls, as well as campus buildings after business hours. He shared that he intends to reach out to community partners and law enforcement to learn about ways Marquette can be involved with addressing the roots of crime. Lovell also said MUPD will continue to use the “Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design” to assess different safety measures

on campus, such as lighting, security cameras and “traffic calming measures.”

These changes to campus safety are definitely improvements that can help prevent more crime on campus, especially adding swipe access to campus buildings can add another layer of safety for students. In addition to these changes, the university should also consider hiring a designated MUPD staff member who deals with safety alerts. University spokesperson Lynn Griffith said that the shift supervisor on each shift is currently authorized to write and send out the safety alerts. There is currently no designated MUPD staff member who deals with safety alerts.

Rather, the shift supervisor on each shift is authorized to write and send out the safety alerts.

There have been consistent and ongoing issues with the timeliness and level of detail of MUPD’s safety alerts. This can lead not only to the possibility of students spreading misinformation but also to the possibility of panic.

An incident of student panic occurred Friday, Feb. 4 in the

Alumni Memorial Union Ballrooms, and some students told the Marquette Wire differing stories of what actually happened.

MUPD sent an alert at 5:55 p.m.: “Police presence at AMU due to emergency exit door alarm accidental activation. No threat to campus. No shelter in place order.”

Some students were texting their friends not to come near the AMU because of what they perceived to be a threatening situation. In a now deleted post, one Instagram account @marquette_ affirmations even posted a photo of the AMU with the words “The AMU is not on lockdown” at 5:50 p.m, which was an entire 5 minutes before MUPD sent out the safety alert.

Students shouldn’t have to rely on each other for information because MUPD’s safety alerts are not sent out fast enough.

MUPD usually sends a followup email about the incident after sending out a safety alert. However, there was no follow-up email about the Feb. 4 incident.

Griffith said that text messages are sent to students, faculty and

staff who opt into text alerts when there is either an active threat to campus or when there is an incident on campus that is not an active threat; this would include information about a police presence on campus or for people to stay away from an investigation area. Griffith also said that the text safety alerts are intended to inform students to avoid specific areas and/or be aware of people who match descriptions that MUPD sends out.

Another recent example of slow responsiveness was when MUPD was assisting the Milwaukee Police Department with an investigation regarding the shooting of an MPD officer Jan. 27. The MUPD alert said, “Situation stabilized. No threat to campus.” There was no information about what the situation was, where it was occurring on campus or who was involved.

Both the Feb. 4 safety alert and especially the Jan. 27 safety alert provide little detail about each incident. In the Jan. 27 safety alert, students who didn’t know what was happening were left to wonder what and where “situation”

was stabilized.

MUPD did send subsequent messages after its initial message, but the separation of information likely led to panic and the spread of more misinformation. The information across the three alerts should have been combined into one message, considering that there were 16 minutes between the second and first, and over an hour between the third and the second message were sent. At the time the first alert was sent Jan. 27, MUPD was already assisting MPD and students; they should have informed students of that from the start. This could have dispelled misinformation and prevented unnecessary panic.

Hiring an MUPD staff member who is responsible for sending out safety alerts could improve timeliness, decrease inconsistencies across messages and alleviate responsibilities from shift supervisors who can focus on maintaining campus safety.

While the new changes to improve safety are a positive step, prompt and sufficient communication cannot be left out when considering student safety.

identities and sexual orientations in positions of power. An ABC News and Ipsos poll was conducted in January and found that 76% of Americans believe that Biden should “consider all possible nominees” for the Supreme Court position. This opinion is understandable and one that I think many Americans can agree with: However, it isn’t a point that has been raised in the past.

The Supreme Court has consistently been made up of white men, lacking both racial and gender diversity. Only about 4% of Supreme Court justices have historically been women. This is a huge discrepancy. Along with that, although nearly four in 10 people in America are not white, only two of nine current Supreme Court justices belong to a racial minority group. The real issue

is that major discussions about diversity have only just begun, and many of these conversations are negative.

The upsetting concept is that somehow a Black woman being a Supreme Court justice is questionable because she may not be the best fit or less qualified than other candidates. Yet, this was not something that people in America were outspoken about when time after time white people, mostly men, were chosen as justices.

Capitalizing on the prospect of diversity efforts in America is a separate issue, which can manifest into performative activism, in which people will act as allies or join in on a cause for personal gain. This is disingenuous and wrong because it makes a mockery of real issues in America. However, if Biden

were to claim he wanted to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court in his campaign but not follow through, then we could discuss that issue.

However, he is actually going to follow through with it and take measures to ensure this intentional practice continues.

On his Saturday podcast “Verdict,” Senator Ted Cruz said, “The fact that he’s willing to make a promise at the outset that it must be a Black woman — I gotta say, that’s offensive.” Cruz also said, “Black women are, what, 6% of the U.S. population?

He’s saying to 94% of Americans: ‘I don’t give a damn about you.

You are ineligible.’”

Rather than adopting this perspective, I would encourage everyone to consider this: a Black woman can simultaneously bring much-needed diversity to

the Supreme Court and also be intelligent, qualified and right for the position. There is no reason to suggest that it must be one or the other. Making mindful decisions about diversity and inclusion in powerful positions is important. The Supreme Court should represent all of the people of America, and that should not be a controversial notion.

People of different backgrounds, whether it be race, gender or sexuality, each have unique perspectives and experiences that their fellow justices may not; these differences are what make a court more powerful. A court that includes all types of people is a more representative, stronger Supreme Court.

Diversity efforts should be standard in political appointments Grace Cady

Diversity should be a standard when appointing people to positions of power.

Justice Stephen Breyer announced he will be retiring from the Supreme Court Oct. 3.

With Breyer leaving, President Joe Biden will be left with the decision of who to replace him with, arguably one of the most influential powers of a president.

Biden announced Jan. 28 that his selection for Supreme Court justice will be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. This comes after the pledge he made during his campaign.

Still, many Americans struggle with the concept of including people of all races, gender

Grace Cady is a sophomore studying journalism. She can be be reached at grace.cady@marquette.edu

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Opinions

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

The Marquette Tribune

Solidarity must exist beyond Black History Month Hope Moses Black History Month is not your 28-day subscription to allyship: Standing in solidarity with Black people should be a year-round priority.

Black History Month is an annual celebration of the achievements of Black people and a time for recognizing their central role in United States History.

Originally, Black History Month was “Negro History Week” and was created

by Carter G. Woodson and other prominent Black people in 1915.

Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries including Canada and the United Kingdom devote a month to celebrating Black history, both in February as well.

So at the beginning of

Laura Niezgoda Sexism is not new and is painfully apparent on college campuses through Greek life, sometimes resulting in abuse.

In response to last semester’s allegations of sexual assault at the University of Southern California, the school shared Jan. 21 that they will now be posting security guards at bedroom doors and will restrict students to common areas in a fraternity chapter facility, essentially acting as babysitters for adult men who engage in Greek life.

As it is commonly known, Greek life is an undergraduate, philanthropic consortium of organizations comprised of different chapters across the nation.

The Interfraternity Council is the representative of all-male fraternities whereas the National Panhellenic Conference serves as the coordinating body for all-women sororities.

Fraternities and sororities strive to promote academic excellence, brotherhood and sisterhood, leadership opportunities and great networking opportunities.

While there are certainly opportunities to achieve those goals, some chapters have histories tied with incidents of sexism and horrifying hazing experiences, only some of which have come to light.

The overwhelming majority opinion that sorority girls suck,

11

the month, corporations, organizations, brands and streaming services all decide that Black lives matter; that is until the month ends. Making Black art visible on websites and changing their logos are only a few examples of what occurs during Black History Month.

But this kind of performative activism is concerning and counterintuitive to the practice of solidarity.

For example, directly after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Instagram created something called “Blackout Tuesday,” in which black squares were shared on the platform in an attempt to express support for the Black community. Soon after, major brands like the GAP, Urban Outfitters and Nasty Gal all shared black squares with some variation of “we stand with you.”

Meanwhile, Black activists who use social media to amplify the voices of Black people and bring awareness to systemic

issues that harm our community were overlooked and we can partly thank performative activism for that. Besides the point that Black people are always overlooked, the activism being performed by millions of people on Instagram did not help.

Not only did the black squares not drive systemic change, but the same corporations, brands and streaming services that have posted these are the same ones exploiting people of color to make their clothes, discriminating against their models and everything in between.

Yet, they stand with us, right?

I think not.

Fortunately, there are healthy and effective ways to stand with the Black community and selfeducation is a great start.

Simply saying you are an ally is not enough; a critical step in allyship is acquiring knowledge about racism and its effects on

minoritized groups. It is not up to the Black people around you to educate you on Black history — we are not Google. However, Google is a great place to start.

There is a plethora of resources including scholarly articles and websites that will be useful in the pursuit of understanding systemic issues.

Social media, such as Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube are great places to listen to first-hand accounts of people who have experienced racism as well.

I am aware that educating yourself is difficult, so there needs to be a willingness to lean into the discomfort and check your privilege as you do so, leading me to my next point: this conversation is not about you.

Although you may feel pain toward the events minoritized groups have experienced, the pain does not belong to you.

Understanding this is crucial so that you do not step on the toes

of people in the community; Make sure you are amplifying the voices of those in the community instead of your own.

Also, be aware that you will be under scrutiny, especially by those close to you, and to that, I encourage you to be strong and stand with our community even when you are scared. Picking and choosing when and where to be an ally is not allyship: it’s performative activism.

Allyship requires courage and the constant re-evaluating of values and principles you, as well as others, hold. It is always, and always will be, up to you to be better.

The question is: Will you rise to the occasion or will your subscription to activism end when Black History Month does?

are annoying and fake is a result of sexism within our society.

Sexism against sororities manifests in policies as well, sometimes creating a double standard within Greek life. At a sorority house, members are typically not allowed to have men sleep over or have men as guests past a certain time. They are also not allowed to drink in the sorority house regardless of their age, as the National Panhellenic Conference states. However, they can co-host with fraternities and have alcohol there. They are expected to put on grandiose displays that are Instagramworthy through big-little reveals, formal and recruitment.

The pressure to be perfect prevails. The attitude we see toward sororities does not present itself when it comes to fraternities.

Fraternities have very relaxed rules about the chapter house, as they are governed by the Interfraternity council. They often throw frat parties, usually with copious amounts of alcohol, that sorority girls will then attend.

Frat parties are reported to feel like a hunting ground for women.

Moreover, attending frat parties is the activity of choice for many students on the weekend.

Sorority girls experience sexism through the majority opinion. This is wrongly attributed because they do not have the legacy of rape culture that fraternities do.

Sexism in Greek life can also manifest into incidents of abuse.

A fraternity member is three

times more likely to rape a girl than any other classmate. Women in sororities are 74% more likely to experience rape. Fifty-five percent of gang rapes on college campuses between 1980 and 1990 were tied to fraternities.

In addition to sexist policies

resulting in head trauma and death at Penn State University in 2017. Over 250 deaths have occurred since the 1800s due to hazing-related incidents.

Violence through hazing is still violence even if it is committed by someone’s “sisters.”

Hazing is illegal in 44 states, but it persists and thrives in university life. Ninety-five percent of hazing rituals are not reported. This could lead to the belief that a fraternity or sorority may be on the anti-hazing on the outside, but allow their members to endure abuse on the inside.

Despite Greek life being less prevalent to the Marquette college experience than at other colleges, incidents of abuse still prevail.

Marquette’s chapter of Alpha Xi Delta was found in violation of anti-hazing practices in 2017. Three out of seven Marquette fraternities, Triangle, Delta Chi and Sigma Phi Delta were investigated for sexual misconduct in 2014. At the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity was also investigated in 2014 for supposedly putting “date rape” drugs in several people’s drinks at a party.

Not all fraternities and sororities engage in hazing, abuse and sexual exploitation. The main purpose of Greek life is to provide undergraduate students with leadership opportunities, academic achievement, and a place to make friends and long-

lasting connections and some chapters stay true to this belief.

However, the chapters that do not follow this belief must be held accountable.

Greek life cannot continue like this. This culture is built on problematic history due to hazing and sexual assault. Brotherhood and sisterhood should not be cultivated due to humiliation and abuse.

Greek life must be reevaluated.

To make change, fraternity and sorority members must be able to talk about these problems; they cannot be silenced by secrecy.

Sexism, abuse prevails in Greek life

“

The pressure to be perfect prevails.” and attitudes, much of Greek life is rooted in secrecy dating back to the establishment of the first first fraternity Phi Beta Kappa in 1776. Many initiation practices, traditions and constitutions were rooted in historic practices like Greek philosophy and literature and were kept secret by its members. These practices continued in secrecy, but serve as the transition into hazing, a practice that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers a person joining an organization, regardless of their willingness to participate.

Some examples of hazing incidents on college campuses include violent paddling that led girls to go to the hospital at Rutgers University in 2010, being expected to recite chants at the threat of being verbally abused at Penn State University in 2010 and being forced to consume large amounts of alcohol

Hope Moses is a sophomore studying journalism and peace studies. She can be reached at hope.moses@marquette.edu

Laura Niezgoda is a sophomore studying communication studies and criminology and law studies.

She can be reached at laura.niezgoda@marquette.edu

Statement of Opinion Policy

The opinions expressed on the Opinions page reflect the opinions of the Opinions staff. The editorials do not represent the opinions of Marquette University nor its administrators, but those of the editorial board.

The Marquette Tribune prints guest submissions at its discretion. The Tribune strives to give all sides of an issue an equal voice over the course of a reasonable time period. An author’s contribution will not be published more than once in a four-week period. Submissions with obvious relevance to the Marquette community will be given priority consideration.

Full Opinions submissions should be limited to 500 words. Letters to the editor should be between 150 to 250 words. The Tribune reserves the right to edit submissions for length and content.

Please e-mail submissions to: alexandra.garner@marquette.edu. If you are a current student, include the college in which you are enrolled and your year in school. If not, please note any affliations to Marquette or your current city of residence.

12

Sports The Marquette Tribune

WLAX LOOKS TO MAKE BIG EAST PLAYOFFS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2019 SPORTS, 14

Tuesday, February 15, 2022 PAGE 12

Picking it up on the defensive end

Photo by Sarah Kuhns sarah.kuhns@marquette.edu

Graduate student guard Karissa McLaughlin (12) drives to the lane in Marquette women’s basketball’s 72-58 loss to then-No. 8 UConn Feb. 13 at the Al McGuire Center.

Graduate student transfer recording 25 steals on year

By Ben Schultz

benjamin.schultz@marquette.edu

After playing over 100 games at Purdue University, graduate student guard Karissa McLaughlin has been able to find her footing at Marquette.

However, McLaughlin said she’s doing more than she ever has, and it’s

not on the offensive side of the ball.

“Coach (Megan) Duffy (and I), we laugh about it all the time, I’m like ‘coach Duffy this is the most defense I’ve ever played in my entire life,’” McLaughlin said. “I mean that’s what the Marquette way is, is playing defense and the offense will come.”

With an ever-growing responsibility on defense, sophomore guard Rose Nkumu said she has found McLaughlin getting better in that area of her game.

“For Karissa especially, she’s sometimes tasked to

guard one of the better players on the other team or a better scorer,” Nkumu said.

“It’s been awesome watching her progress of just learning different styles of play and learning how to guard different players.”

While McLaughlin may have picked up something new at Marquette, she’s continued to do what leads to her name being at or near the top of opponents’ scouting reports.

Through 24 games this season McLaughlin has accounted for 74.1% of Marquette’s made 3-pointers while second the BIG EAST in

3-point percentage at a clip of 43.2% which is also good for 17th in the country.

McLaughlin’s highest 3-point shooting percentage in a season at Purdue was when she shot 37.9% from deep as a first-year while also leading the team in 3-pointers with 75 whereas this year she has 60 through 24 games.

To go along with that, McLaughlin is fourth in the conference for triples per game with an average of 2.5 per game, a rate that ranks 42nd nationally.

“That’s exactly what we expected,” Marquette assistant coach Kelly Komara

said. “She can put the ball in the hole, no doubt. But it’s something that when she does it at such a high clip and the crowd’s almost like ‘aww’ when she misses it as opposed to going nuts when she makes it.”

The stats don’t always tell the full story, however, as even in games where her numbers aren’t necessarily there, her impact is still felt.

“We’ve had multiple games where she’s been face guarded or they won’t let her touch the ball and they’re focusing so much on Karissa and what See DEFENSIVE page 16

Sports

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

The Marquette Tribune

13

MEN’S LACROSSE

Stimmel’s squad looking to invest in each other Team won three of last four contests to end last season

By Ava Mares

ava.mares@marquette.edu

If there was just one word to define last season for Marquette men’s lacrosse, it would be “unique.”

“We got to play everybody in our conference twice,” head coach Andrew Stimmel said. “That’s something that we’ve never done in program history.”

The Golden Eagles finished with a 4-8, 3-7 BIG EAST record.

“Lot of times you got to find out how you lose games before you find out how to win them,” Stimmel said. “Towards the end of the year (last season), we were able to string a couple wins together and now are really starting to turn the corner as a team.”

While last season has been put in the past, redshirt junior midfielder Logan Kreinz said the team continues to carry the lessons they learned with them.

“We’ve always embraced the underdog mentality. We don’t believe we’re like everyone else,” Kreinz said. “We more so want to prove ourselves right rather than everyone else wrong.”

With the 2022 season already underway, Stimmel said one key message heading into the new campaign is: “love wins onegoal games.”

“Investing into each other, investing into our staff, and investing into our guys. Just trying to invest in the people around you and always trying to find a way to serve and do things for other

people,” Stimmel said.

Offense “On the offensive side of the ball for us this year we have had a great offseason, and when we’ve been able to scrimmage outside competition, the offense has done a really nice job,” Stimmel said.

Leading the attacking unit is redshirt sophomore Devon Cowan and sophomore Russell Melendez.

Cowan, who hails from Mount Laurel, New Jersey, became the first Marquette underclassman to reach 30 goals last season. He also earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team.

Meanwhile, Melendez, one of the highest ranked recruits in program history, played in the first seven games of the year and made four starts on attack as a true first-year last season.

The Maryland native posted seven goals and four assists for 11 points before suffering a season ending injury.

Bobby O’Grady, Nolan Rappis and Will Foster join the unit as first-years.

“Those guys really don’t play like freshmen. They don’t practice that way. I think they’ve learned quickly what it takes at this (college) level,” Stimmel said.

O’Grady, Rappis and Foster all hold mounds of evidence to back up Stimmel. O’Grady was a prominent member of the United States National Team Development Program U-17 Team, Foster was the recipient of Minnesota’s Mr. Lacrosse 2021 and Rappis is a two-time US Lacrosse All-American player.

When it comes to gameday, Stimmel said O’Grady will start as a first-year at the attack.

Photos courtesy of Marquette Athletics

Men’s lacrosse was picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST in the conference’s preseason coaches poll.

Redshirt junior Holden Patterson will round out the unit, serving as the team’s man-up specialist.

Patterson said despite the unit as a whole being on the younger end, it doesn’t count for lack of skill or determination.

“The offseason provided a unique opportunity for us to focus not only on the fundamentals of skills that we are working on in practice, but also building our offense as a tight knit culture,” Patterson said. “We took a lot of pride in getting to know those young guys, integrating them into how we like to do things.”

After the graduation of Ryan Fazio, Peter Henkhaus and Connor McClelland, Marquette will feature an entire new first midfield line.

“We graduated a couple fiveyears, and a lot of those guys happened to be at offense. Therefore, naturally, we just brought in a lot of younger guys,” Patterson said.

The freshly revamped line will

Redshirt sophomore attack Devon Cowan (29) hails from Mount Laurel, New Jersey.

feature three redshirt sophomores in Griffin Fries, Jake Stegman and Chris Kirschner.

“These guys that are looked at as younger have continued to really step up,” Stimmel said.

Rounding out the midfield unit will be sophomores Ellison Burt-Murray, Justin Mintzer and Pierce Washburn, as well as firstyear Hayden Miller.

Defense Of the team’s units, the defensive unit slots a more season makeup of veteran players.

“We dictate things to the offense, we set the tone and communicate,” Kreinz said. “We were fortunate enough to only graduate one player and with that we have our returns, we know where our culture is on the defensive end,” Kreinz said. “We are a very tight knit group and we really care about one another on and off the field.”

Leading the charge on defense will be returning starters redshirt sophomore Mason Woodward and redshirt junior Zach Granger. Both defensemen earned All-BIG EAST Team honors last season while combining for 34 caused turnovers and 79 ground balls.

Expected to fill the third starting spot is sophomore David Lamarca, who appeared in five games last season. Behind the starters will be redshirt first-years Ryan Kilcoyne, Billy Rojack and Jack Kinney.

Kreinz will return as a key part of the long pole unit, along with redshirt sophomore Noah Verlinde and redshirt senior Moey Lardy.

The short stick defensive midfielder is a position of great

depth and experience. The crew consists of graduate students Anthony Courcelle, Jacob Hallam and Aaron Joesph. Alongside them will be Max Kruszeski, a redshirt sophomore.

New to the unit is transfer graduate student Mitch Salanty and first-year Tommy Casey.

“This offseason has been more about bringing in some of the newer players and bringing them up to speed on what we do at defensive end,” Kreinz said.

The face-off group is rounded out by redshirt junior Thomas Washington, redshirt sophomore Luke Williams and transfer student Cole Emmanuel, who previously played with Colorado Mesa.

As for the goalkeeper slot, the Golden Eagles have a pick of three, each of whom is yet to play an official game in the blue and gold.

The eldest at the goal will be Max Christides, a transfer student from UMass Lowell.

Christides is coming into Stimmel’s program with a 0.48 save percentage.

Also fresh to Marquette’s goal is Micheal Allieri and Jamie Grant, both of whom are redshirt first-years.

With each aspect of the team working together like a welloiled machine, Patterson said the team has been able to set big goals for this season.

“Our goal isn’t to make the make the BIG EAST Tournament this year. Our goal is to win the BIG EAST Tournament and to be in the NCAA Tournament. We want to strive to play Memorial Day weekend,” Patterson said.

1414

Sports

The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Following past struggles, crew remains optimistic Golden Eagles picked to finish fifth in BIG EAST Preseason Poll

By Jackson Gross and Kelly Reilly

jackson.gross@marquette.edu kelly.reilly@marquette.edu

Even though the Marquette women’s lacrosse team ended the 2021 season with a sweep of the Butler Bulldogs, the Golden Eagles finished 7-9 overall and missed out on the BIG EAST tournament for the second year in a row.

Between COVID-19 and four one-goal losses, head coach Meredith Black characterized the season in one word: difficult.

“It’s frustrating, it’s hard, and it was long, and it was tiring, but you grow from those experiences, so I think there is a lot of positives that came out of last year,” Black said.

Now heading into the 2022 season with 11 new players, including nine first-year players, Black said the mindset has already begun to change.

“From the minute we started this season in May, we had the positive mentality of we’re gonna learn from those things that were hard and frustrating, we’re going to get better, grow, come out on top and overcome challenges,” Black said.

Junior midfielder Emma Soccodato said out of her three years with the program this is the most hustle-driven team she has been part of.

“If we can stay consistent with that, we’re gonna surprise a lot of teams,” Soccodato said. “We’re usually the underdog in some big games, which I personally love

but I think if we stay hungry we’re gonna show up big time.”

For junior defender Ellie Henry, the goal for this team is clear: win a BIG EAST Championship. “(There’s) no if, ands or buts,” Henry said. “We’ve put in the hard work since the beginning, we’ve ran harder, conditioned harder, we’ve held each other to a higher standard than ever before and I think a lot of that comes from our upperclassmen. We know what we want and we’ve tried to instill that into the underclassmen as well.”

Attack After the graduation of four of their top eight scorers from last season, the team will rely on junior Hannah Greving to help speed up the offense and get things started as she scored 21 goals in 16 games last season.

“The fall was really hard for us, but in a good way,” Greving said. “That’s prepared us well.

Pretty early in the season we will have good competition. We are all pretty excited,” Greving said.

Greving said the new faces on the team have added one particular advantage for the offense.

Now, players are always trying out new positions, which can make it harder to be scouted by other teams.

“It’s created more diversity,” Greving said. “Last year, people kind of just had their one spot. It’s allowed me and a lot of others to play different positions in our offense. I’m usually the floater inside of the middle of the eight but it’s allowed me to go more behind the crease and push some crease players up top.”

Black said this change has put some into roles that may be uncomfortable or out of position.

“It has given them confidence that they are able to do more than they thought,” Black said. “There

is definitely a learning curve to that, but at the same time hopefully in the long run it pays off.”

Outside of Greving, returning senior Shea Garcia and graduate student transfer Kyra Lamotte round out the attack.

Black said Lamotte brings “a lot of experience” to the unit after a four-year career at Furman University, scoring 108 goals in 55 games for the Paladins.

“She has been one of those people that is being pushed to play a different role than she has really ever played before and she is doing great with that,” Black said.

Midfield Marquette returns 10 midfielders from a year ago while adding five first-years to the unit this season.

With a lot of depth at the position, Black said it has created both competition and additional effort from everyone.

“People are recognizing everybody’s strengths and they’re trying to use them,” Black said. “It’s an all-in team effort to try and maximize everyone’s strengths.

It’s created a lot more competitiveness at practice, a bit of depth chart competition, which is good (and) where you want to be.”

Senior Lydia Foust, who earned a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, leads the unit.

“That was a huge honor for me and it just makes me more excited going into these first few games,” Foust said. “I definitely just want to continue to do what I was doing last season and hopefully just improve on everything else as well.”

Foust will be joined by newly minted captains Soccodato and redshirt sophomore Leigh Steiner.

Steiner had 17 goals and 27 points in 16 games last season for Marquette, while Soccoda-

Women’s lacrosse finished with a 7-9 overall, 4-6 BIG EAST record last season in 2021.

Photo by Collin Narwocki collin.narwocki@marquette.edu

Senior attack Shea Garcia (21) in Marquette’s 16-13 win Feb.12.

to finished with nine goals and three assists.

“I love that we are a new, fresh team with a lot of young people, but it does bring a sense of comfort having them (Foust and Steiner) by my side for the whole process and the connections off the field with those two play a major role in how we play together, and I think it’s great,” Soccodato said.

Beyond those top three, Steiner said junior CJ (Carrie) Froemming and first-years Elise Smigiel and Meg Bireley are ones to keep an eye on this season.

Defense With just two returning starters on the defensive end, the Golden Eagles will look for some new faces to fill holes in the starting lineup.

Junior and two-time captain Ellie Henry will lead Marquette’s defense once again this year. Last season, Henry contributed 14 ground balls, 13 caused turnovers and 23 draw controls.

“Ellie is probably the most trustworthy of them all,” Black said. “Trust is a huge part of the defense and will be a part of their success.”

Henry echoed those same ideas of trust, but also said that communication will be key for such a young unit.

Outside of Henry, Black said sophomore Audrey Brett will be a leader for the team. Last season, Brett was one of the only first-year players to appear in every game.

Redshirt first-year Molly Powers takes over on the one-to-one defending. First-year Jasmine Murray will also be looking to fill a starting role, as one of the only first-years.

“We have depth, we have a lot of people to work with, we have a player coming back off an injury from last year, and she is really strong, I think our defense is

pretty solid,” Black said.

Junior Kate Pearson suffered an injury that cost her the final eight games of last season during a matchup against UConn.

Goalkeeper The faces between the pipes will look different this year for the Golden Eagles.

During the off-season, Marquette added two new goalkeepers in graduate transfer student Amanda Rumsey from conference rival Butler and first-year Brynna Nixon.

Though Rumsey has four years of experience after playing for BIG EAST foe Butler, Black said there will still be an adjustment period for her.

“It’s a new team for her and as a goalie you have to command the defense, so I think we are still learning that with her, how to take over the defense, a new defense and do it when it’s new, but she is adjusting well,” Black said.

Black said for Nixon, on the other hand, she will have to learn how to be a leader on the field as a first-year even with the talent that Nixon has.

“She’s great, but she’s a firstyear and if there is any position, I think is the hardest to come in as a first-year and play is goalie because, take skill aside she is great, she’s good enough to play no doubt, but there is a lot to it, you have to be a leader” Black said.

Black said both goalies are still pushing each other to be better.

“They’re both really strong goalies, so I think that this is the best way because their learning curves are very different, they both have to adjust to a new team so they have kind of been working together on that, but I think (they are) pushing each other by stepping up in moments,” Black said.

Sports

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

The Marquette Tribune

15

VOLLEYBALL

Theis names Ryan Walthall as new assistant coach Former Big Ten libero comes to MU after stint at Penn State

By Jackson Gross

jackson.gross@marquette.edu

Marquette volleyball head coach Ryan Theis announced Monday morning that Ryan Walthall will join the coaching staff as an assistant coach, replacing RJ Lengerich, who stepped away from coaching Monday.

“When RJ decided to step away from coaching, my first thought was to try and get Ryan Walthall on staff,” Theis said in a statement. “Walt(hall) is a tireless worker and committed to the study of volleyball.”

Walthall comes to Marquette after seven seasons at Penn State University, where he served as

FOLLOW ALONG FOR MORE SPORTS CONTENT

an assistant coach on the men’s volleyball program.

As a former Nittany Lion himself, he helped Penn State become one of the best serve-receive teams in the nation this spring. In his six seasons in State College, Pennsylvania, Walthall helped led the Nittany Lions to a 110-62 overall, 6615 EIVA record and two trips to the NCAA Championship under head coach Mark Pavlik.

“He has spent the last six years working with some of the best male volleyball players in the country at Penn State and we had the pleasure of working together two years at Ohio,” Theis said in a statement.

“The team, of course, made fun of the fact that I am only willing to hire Ryans, but I call it a coincidence. I look forward to working with him again.”

Walthall served as a key part of Penn State’s success last season, helping the Nittany Lions rank as the top team in the Big Ten in opponent’s hitting percentage and blocks per set, holding teams to .156% hitting percentage and 2.75 blocks per set.

Prior to his time with Penn State, Walthall spent time with three different women’s programs at North Florida University, University

Photo by John Leuzzi john.leuzzi@marquette.edu

Marquette volleyball celebrates in its 3-0 win over UConn in the BIG EAST Semifinals Nov. 26.

of California Santa Barbara and |Ohio University.

In his one season in 2014 with UCSB, Walthall served as the team’s offensive coordinator while also handling the video analysis for both scouting and player development.

While at Ohio, he worked as the Bobcats’ defensive coordinator under Theis. Under Walthall, the Bobcats defense led the MAC in both

WOMEN’S TENNIS

opponent hitting percentage (.172) and blocks per set (2.75), while also tallying the fifth-most digs (16.24/set).

As a player at Penn State, Walthall had an illustrious career as he was a part of four national semifinal squads, including the 2006 season when the team competed in the National Championship match.

During his senior season in 2007, Walthall ranked 15th in the nation

and led the Nittany Lions with a 2.33 digs-per-set average. After moving to libero in his junior season after two seasons serving as a defensive and serving specialist, Walthall helped led Penn State to a 21-8 record and a national-runner up finish.

Walthall will now join Abby Gilleland as an assistant coach on Theis’ staff.

Quebec native brings strong work ethic and mentality Desmarais making connections with other international players

By Hannah Freireich

hannah.freireich@marquette.edu

For those who grew up in Quebec, Canada, the most common sports to play while growing up are ice hockey, soccer, lacrosse, swimming and boxing. However, for Elisabeth Desmarais, she found a love for a different court: tennis.

“I knew I wanted a school with a good tennis level and that would be a huge step up from what I am used to,” Elisabeth Desmarais said.

Desmarais said she chose Marquette and Milwaukee for its atmosphere and how well she connected with the players on the team during her visit.

“There are a lot of international girls which I thought was really nice and I really liked the coaches, Desmarais said. “Coach Dusan (Medan) actually came out to visit me back in Quebec City to see how I was training and that really meant a lot to me.”

Desmarais said her game has changed quite a bit since arriving to the Brew City. Additionally, she said playing for a Division I school has sharpened her game and mindset.

“The most important thing is the mindset and confidence,” Desmarais said. “I want to do what I do in practice and put them into my matches for this season. We will be playing some big schools this season so that is very motivating and I think that as a team we are much stronger.”

Associate head coach Dusan Medan said an area of Desmarais’ game he has been working on with her is her forehands and the physical competent.

“We are trying to get her to be more physical and aggressive because her game is bigger than a normal women’s college player.

One thing I thought she brought to the table when I first saw her was her competitiveness. She definitely fit the criteria we were looking for when recruiting players, ” Medan said.

Desmarais said her strength on the court helped her to a memorable win against DePaul during her sophomore season.

“It was the first time we beat DePaul in a long time and I clinched the meet with that match,” Desmarais said. “We beat them on home court which was so great.”

Desmarais said she is hopeful to capture some big conference wins, such as the one against DePaul and plans on following routines in prepare for those big games.

“When we play here at home we

are really well prepared and have a great set up and routine which helps me here on the courts with our trainers, doing the same warmups before matches is really important to me,” Desmarais said.

Being a singles player, Medan said Desmarais brings a high confidence level and mindset to the team which is something the team needs this season.

“I hope Elisabeth finds her way and where she needs to be in the lineup for both singles and doubles because she definitely deserves to be in it and it is important that she enjoys the season and competition,” Medan said. “She has a good group of girls around her to support her.”

Redshirt senior Natalija Popovic, who hails from Čačak, Serbia, has been a support system for Desmarais as both are international players on the team.

Popovic said since she can relate to many things with Desmarais — adjusting to Marquette, preparing mentally for matches and being away from family — it has led to both forming a close friendship.

“We have had a great relationship off the court since day one,” Popovic said. “We are together all the time and are there to support each other anytime we need advice or are struggling. I am very grateful that I met Elisabeth.”

Desmarais’ hard work and men-

Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics

Elisabeth Desmarais is a redshirt junior from Qubec, Canada.

tality on and off the court has led her to being named one of the team captain’s this season.

“Elisabeth is nothing but a fighter on and off the court and a true team leader and a captain,” Medan said. “She wouldn’t be a captain if she didn’t check those boxes.”

Popovic said she can attest to her Medan’s comments.

“My sophomore year when Elisabeth came, I got to know her during her visit here. As a teammate, she is very hardworking and dedicated, a great leader doing the right things all the time,” she said.

Desmarais, who is in her fifth year in the program, said she plans to stay in Milwaukee post-graduation after she finishes completing her master’s in finance.

But until then, she said she is looking forward to what is to come for the remainder of the season.

“I am really excited to play this season and go up against some good competition from the Big Ten including Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana,” Desmarais said. “It is really motivating to prepare me for conference matches this coming year.”

16

Sports

The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

DEFENSIVE: Guard ranks 42nd in nation in 3-pointers Continued from page 12

that does is it allows the other players to get open looks,” Komara said. “You wouldn’t be able to know that by just looking at the stat sheet.”

McLaughlin has faced difficult defenses this season, but has still still been able to get enough space to get her shot off. She’s had eight games this season where she’s shot 50% or better from three.

During these games McLaughlin said she gets in a zone that not only helps her, but her teammates as well.

“It’s an incredible feeling and then when your teammates just keep finding you

and keep knocking people over with their screens that they’re setting,” McLaughlin said. “It just builds energy and that’s exactly what I want to do for my team.”

To go along with being the shooter she is, McLaughlin is said to have become an arguably better teammate, bringing constant positivity.

“She’s always bringing the positivity and she’s always just encouraging us to trust ourselves and just go out and have fun,” Nkumu said.

“It’s nice to have a different perspective. Obviously this is her fifth year, so she’s been kind of through it all and she’s been very willing

McLaughlin (12) brings up the ball in Marquette’s 72-58 loss Feb. 13.

Photo by Collin Narwocki collin.narwocki@marquette.edu

Graduate student guard Karissa McLaughlin (12) is the all-time 3-point leader at Purdue University.

and open to share with us her experiences.”

Nkumu said that McLaughlin brings a poise and confidence when stepping on the court, which stems from her experience.

“She just brings a different type of energy and poise to the game, no matter what team we’re playing, you know she’s always going to step out and put out her best efforts,” Nkumu said.

This mindset that Nkumu

mentions has served to be a vital one in McLaughlin’s final season of collegiate basketball. However, Komara said she has seen a different side of McLaughlin, a creative one, as she’s interested in things like photography and fashion which may help her down the road.

“Basketball, a lot of it is creativity, making moves in the rhythm of a basketball game,” Komara said. “I think her creativity from the court

is sort of helping her in the next phase of her life which I think is really cool.”

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Graphic by RJ Siano