OPINIONS

Tuesday, april 12, 2022

The MarqueTTe Tribune OpiniOns

PAGE 10

Aimee Galaszewski, Executive Director Benjamin Wells, Managing Editor of The Marquette Tribune Skyler Chun, Managing Editor of The Marquette Journal

ediTorial board

Alexandra Garner, Executive Opinions Editor Hope Moses, Assistant Opinions Editor

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 Support student well-being, revitalize food access

To address food barriers on campus and better support students, Marquette University should consider implementing more flexible dining hours, food options and meal plans.

It’s important to recognize how food connects with culture and religion to offer more inclusive dining options.

The month of Ramadan began April 2, and is a time in which Muslims engage in prayer and self-reflection. It is observed as one of the holiest months of the year. During Ramadan, Muslims who are able to will fast from predawn to sunset.

The sun will typically set in Milwaukee between 7:15 p.m. and 8 p.m. during April this year.

Muslim students who celebrate Ramadan may find it difficult to find dining halls that are open when their fasting ends.

Straz dining hall closes at 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and doesn’t offer dinner hours Friday through Sunday; Cobeen’s dining hall closes at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:15 p.m. on the weekends; Erbert and Gerbert’s, Power Bowl, Grill 155 and Taqueria in Marquette Place in the Alumni Memorial Union also close at 6:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, at 4 p.m. on Fridays and are closed on the weekends.

There are only a few food locations that are very accessible for students celebrating Ramadan who are on the Anytime Dining meal plan based on their closing time: The Commons, Schroeder and The Union Sports Annex. The Commons typically closes at 11 p.m.Monday through Sunday; Schroeder dining hall closes at 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday; the Union Sports Annex closes at 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at midnight Friday and Saturday.

To better support Muslim students during Ramadan, Marquette should consider keeping dining halls open later. This is important to supporting their health and well-being by providing accessibility to meals across campus.

University spokesperson Lynn Griffith said that Marquette dining services has served fish dishes on Fridays to accommodate Catholic students during Lent.

Marquette can create more religious inclusivity by making accommodations for Muslim students during Ramadan as well.

Creating food inclusivity is also important for students with dietary restrictions. The university has implemented recent changes to better serve students with vegetarian and vegan diets. The Commons’ dining hall opened a new Plant-Powered Grill, offering sustainable and vegan meals sourced from Morningstar Farms, a company that offers vegan and vegetarian food options.

The university should continue implementing a variety of food options across dining spaces on campus, as well as engaging with students to hear their input.

To increase food accessibility the university should also consider offering more meal plan options. Marquette currently offers the Anytime Dining meal plan as its only meal plan option for firstyear students and sophomores who live in residence halls. The Anytime Dining meal plan costs $2,430 for the fall 2021 and spring 2022 semesters.

According to the university meal plan page, “Students living in the residence halls must purchase this meal plan. The costs … are built into your residence hall agreement and payments.”

Students with dietary restrictions may still find it difficult to eat food that they like, despite Marquette making changes to food offerings. Some Marquette students may also not be able to afford the meal plan. And students may want to have more flexibility in their meal options.

For students not living in

residence halls, the only two meal plans are the Anytime Dining and the Loyalty 50 plan, which costs $450 a semester. Students get 50 swipes per semester, and can purchase the plan twice in a semester. Marquette should look to other universities that offer more than one meal plan option. Loyola University Chicago is one university that provides several meal plan options for students: All-Access plans, dining Dollar plans and Block Plus plans. Unlike Marquette that offers two plans that range from $450 to 2,430, Loyola offers eight different plans that combine access to dining halls and dining dollars and range from $500 to $2,890. From socializing with friends to receiving nourishment to be healthy, food is a central part of college life. Making sure students are satisfied with their options while at Marquette is essential to supporting their health, wellbeing and academic success. Abolish military draft, strive for gender equality

Krisha Patel

The United States has made significant progress in addressing the inequality that women experience in America, such as granting women the right to vote and the right to an abortion. However, the possibility of a military draft still upholds gender inequality for men.

While it has been over fifty years since there was last an indication to use the draft, all males are still required by law to register for the Selective Service within 30 days of their 18th birthday. The same goes for immigrants, regardless of status. The penalty for not registering for a draft is five years in jail or a $250,000 fine.

Currently, approximately 17 million draft-eligible men are on file with the Selective Service System.

The first draft occurred May 18, 1917 through the Selective Service Act which require all men between the ages of 21 and 30 to enlist in World War I because there weren’t enough volunteers. However, some forms of the draft occurred before then, dating back to the American Revolution and Civil War.

Since World War I, the draft has been used three more times, the most recent time being in 1973 during the Vietnam War. Since then, the draft has been inactive and the military has relied on volunteers.

As the conflict continues between Ukraine and Russia, discussions of the United States entering war with Russia seem to loom across the nation. That possibility is largely unpopular among Americans and scholars, but there are still conversations about the potentiality for a draft.

Recently, the war between Russia and Ukraine has increased fears that a possible world war might emerge. Tensions rose between these countries since 2014 when Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula and have recently worsened when Russia invaded Ukraine Feb. 24.

In the event of a draft, there are some exceptions, according to the Selective Service System. Any current college student has the choice not to go through with the draft if they get selected, and anyone with mental or physical disabilities is also exempt from the draft.

Abolishing the current draft would be the most progressive decision, considering that women are excluded from it and men are disproportionately impacted. Despite this solution, there have been efforts by the federal government to maintain it, but make it more gender inclusive. avoid the draft.

By abolishing the draft, the U.S. military would have stronger units with volunteers rather than using people through force. Historically, volunteers for the military are older and more educated than young men who are picked from the draft.

In the end, people will still have their voice if the draft is eliminated completely. Abolishing the draft will enhance our countries ideals of freedom. When it comes to the potentiality of war, in the near or far future, it’s important that everyone is valued equally and even more importantly, everyone is there by choice.

Congress recently tried to change the draft making it inclusive to women, rather than make attempts to abolish it altogether. However, the charges were dropped in December2021due to conflicting views between the Democratic and Republican parties about whether women should be included in the draft or not.

While requiring women to also register for the draft would virtually create gender equality between men and women, the current draft requirement for men is discriminatory. Moreover, the draft should be abolished because it limits people’s ability to choose; this came to fruition in the Vietnam War draft.

In addition to largely being opposed to the war in Vietnam, people were against the draft. As many as 40,000 young men were drafted each month. Some men even fled the country Canada to

Alexandra Garner contributed to this story.

Grace Cady

Exercise, healthy eating and facial serums are all wonderful elements of selfcare, but if you don’t take care of what’s happening in your mind, heart and soul, you are neglecting key elements of your health.

In a medically reviewed article by Everyday Health, self-care was defined as “anything you do to take care of yourself so you can stay physically, mentally and emotionally well.” Research suggests that practicing selfcare “promotes positive health outcomes, such as fostering resilience, living longer and becoming better equipped to manage stress.”

When I think of doing something to care for myself when I’m in need of relief, I think about taking a bubble bath or going for a walk. For me, these are both wonderful things to do in order to care for my body and relax. I love to unwind in these ways. However, they only scratch the surface of what it truly means to perform self-care.

If I care for my body but neglect my emotions and thoughts, I cannot truly be content.

I used to think that if I exercised a lot, I would be happy. If I stayed on a consistent workout regimen and dedicated a lot of my energy to that, I would be fulfilled. But, over-exertion is a form of neglect or punishment, not self-care.

When I would work out, I would feel moments of temporary relief from the stress in my life. I would feel strong when I ran and exhilarated when I would lift weights, but as soon as I was done, all of the emotional baggage weighing heavily on my mind returned.

For some people, distraction comes in the form of drugs, alcohol and partying. This is especially an issue among college students. Getting drunk and going out to avoid real life issues has become far too normalized in our society. Of course everyone is allowed their vices, but when things cross the line from being vices to being addictions, we get into trouble.

About 73% of college students have some sort of mental health crisis during their college years.

In order to make sure that we practice proper self-care in every aspect, we must focus on what is in our hearts and on our minds as well. I can eat all of the vegetables, run all of the miles and do all of the face masks in the world, but if I neglect my mental and emotional states, I will never be caring for myself in full.

Practice self-care by journaling, listening to music or podcasts and spending healthy time alone.

When I journal, I feel authentic joy. Writing can be a passion or simply a selfcare tool, but for me it is both. Journaling about my day, my feelings and what’s going on in my life can be very powerful and help you feel more in control of your own well being. This may not be for everyone, but it is very beneficial for me.

Listening to music and podcasts helps me gain a lot of perspective. There is a reason that people say music is healing. When we listen to music that helps us acknowledge our emotions through lyricism and storytelling, we feel supported, understood and heard. Finding a good podcast that helps us find comedic relief, advice or just a virtual friend can help us feel the same way. Some of the podcasts I listen to often include “Let’s Talk About Mental Health” and “The Happiness Lab.”

For some, spending healthy time alone might be the most important.

I am a self-proclaimed

opinions Self-care through a different lens

introvert, but I still spend some of my life feeling pressure to spend time with people. I don’t want to lose friends, deprioritize relationships or be lonely.

However, as I’ve grown up I have learned that true loneliness is feeling absent from myself. If I lose sight of my passions, identities or just don’t care of myself, loneliness will ensue. You can be in the biggest crowd or surrounded by people you love, but if you are not content in your own company you will always feel alone.

Self-care must be prioritized more in all of our lives. It is so important to look after our physical health, but if we do not also focus on the less tangible aspects of ourselves, we will ultimately not be living up to our full potential.

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

quette.edu

Marquette needs more Milwaukee heart

Laura Niezgoda

Marquette University may be located in the heart of Milwaukee, but it does not represent the heart that Milwaukee has.

The college experience fluctuates depending on your location. From being in the South to the North, from being in a city to a college town, even from different neighborhoods within the city. Students get into school, study, get their degree and get out. But in the moments of freedom after looking up from their textbooks for the weekend, the students look to their location for things to do.

I had a high school teacher who attended the University of Wisconsin-Platteville who said there was nothing to do there except drink. I have been told stories of countless sleepless nights walking to Conrad’s on State Street by my friends at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Marquette students have the entirety of Milwaukee as their playground like the lakefront, Art Museum, East Side and Brady Street. Despite this, Marquette does not incorporate the broader personality of Milwaukee into the campus environment nearly as much as it should.

More often than not, I am as far away from Marquette’s campus as I can get on the weekends. You’ll typically find me over on the East Side.

The location of Marquette is my least favorite aspect of the campus and as much as I would like to propose a “swap” with University of WisconsinMilwaukee, Milwaukee School of Engineering or Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, something tells me that it is not particularly feasible.

Marquette can work to revitalize campus by incorporating more local businesses on campus.

As Marquette is located in Avenues West to serve the community, Marquette should take this idea into consideration when trying to invigorate the campus with more of Milwaukee’s broader culture.

To do this, the Marquette campus should create an event space like the Ivy House or the Cooperage to host events that could serve the community, like a flea market with affordable clothing from local vendors. This could also allow students to showcase their own businesses, while simultaneously bringing other

Marquette should be praised for some of the efforts it has taken already, as incorporate small businesses into campus life. Recently, the dining halls now offer Stone Creek Coffee as an option and the Alumni Memorial Union hosts Ian’s Pizza regularly for lunch.

This should not end, but be the first step.

Students should want to stay on campus when they are not between studying sessions and classes.

local businesses into the area.

Marquette could also update the Book Marq to be a second-hand bookstore that would make academic and non-academic books more affordable to students. This could also incorporate the student-run organization Community. Books. YOU. which makes books more accessible to students. This redesign would then create a new space for students to hang out or study.

Similar to local restaurants like Real Chili and Sobleman’s, Marquette should also bring Milwaukee businesses into vacant spaces on campus, such as the old Burger King space on Wells Street.

Maybe bringing in more local restaurants that would take MarquetteCASH or offer ways for students to get out of the dining halls.

UW-Milwaukee’s dining system has a feature that allows students to “Taste Milwaukee,” meaning students can take their meal plan dollars and spend them (or even get delivered from) at places like Mad Chicken, BelAir Cantina and FreshFin Poke.

Simpler changes could be made too, such as having The Brew represent the myriad of local coffee shops. This incorporation could support smaller shops like Interval or Anodyne Coffee, rather than Starbucks.

Marquette needs to represent the broader Milwaukee from all different neighborhoods.

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.