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Athlete removed from men’s lacrosse team Following racist remarks, campus speaks out By Benjamin Wells
benjamin.wells@marquette.edu
Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics
Following racist remarks, an individual was removed from the Marquette men’s lacrosse team.
Norovirus becomes concern Residence halls find issues with stomach virus By Megan Woolard
megan.woolard@marquette.edu
A number of students living in residence halls started to feel ill last week with muscle aches, stomach pains, nausea and vomiting. After a number of students within Straz reported their symptoms, the Milwaukee Health Department confirmed the illness to be norovirus, a highly contagious stomach virus. “A lot of it was nausea, body
aches, abdominal pain, I just slept for most of the day,” Sean McLaughlin, a sophomore in the College of Engineering and resident in Straz Tower, said. “It was relatively short though. I only had symptoms for about 12 to 15 hours.” An email was sent to Straz Tower residents Feb. 18, outlining the symptoms and the results of the health department’s tests. Since then there have also been “a small number” of cases found inside of Schroeder Hall. The news was delivered to Schroeder residents in an email Monday night. The Milwaukee Health Department worked with Marquette Dining Services to investigate all dining and food preparation
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COVID-19 TRACKER........................................3 MUPD REPORTS.............................................3 A&E..................................................................8 OPINIONS......................................................10 SPORTS..........................................................12
areas within Straz. After investigation, all areas were deemed to be free of contamination. The origin of the virus is unclear at this time. Jack Killian, a sophomore in the College of Engineering and a resident in Straz Tower, was one student who contracted norovirus. “We thought it came from the Straz dining hall, because a lot of us who got sick live and eat here, too,” Killian said. But Killian talked with others who experienced the same symptoms as he did and some said there didn’t seem to be any commonality between the things See NOROVIRUS page 2
NEWS
Late into the night Feb. 15, a video uploaded to Marquette’s Black Student Council’s Instagram page depicted two students, including a member of the Marquette men’s lacrosse team, using multiple racial slurs. “It has come to the attention of multiple organizations that we have had yet another student of our Marquette community exhibit racist behavior,” the Instagram post said. The next morning, Marquette University said it was notified of
See LACROSSE page 2
CORRECTIONS In Feb. 16’s “MU receives limited supply of vaccines” it incorrectly stated that the Dean of the College of Nursing Janet Krejci said Marquette students may be able to expect the COVID-19 vaccine sometime this spring. Krejci was not interviewed for the story. The reporter intended to use a quote and information from Lynda Connor, a staff nurse at the Marquette Medical Clinic, who was interviewed for our television show Marquette Now Feb. 3. Krejci was also interviewed for Marquette Now the following week, but was a guest on the show to talk about the $31 million donation to the College of
Nursing, not the vaccine. Krejci and Connor were switched, meaning, what Connor talked about in her interview was attributed to Krejci. The story has been updated to correctly state what Connor shared in her interview on Marquette Now regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, in which she said she hopes students can receive the vaccine by late spring, or early June, but the clinic must follow state guidelines on distribution. College-aged students are not in the groups currently receiving the vaccine. The Tribune recognizes the significance of this error and wanted to share an explanation. The Tribune regrets this error.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
OPINIONS
Students explore various clubs at Marquette
MU must sufficiently address racial injustice
MUSG hosts town hall
O-fest goes virtual
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Representatives discuss racial justice and equity
the video with two current students using racist language that was posted to social media. “The Division of Student Affairs immediately initiated a student conduct investigation, the results of which will be confidential due to FERPA privacy law,” university spokesperson Kevin Conway said in a statement Feb. 16. The university said that one of the individuals in the video was a student-athlete, who was removed from the team Tuesday morning. After the names of the students in the video circulated online, an athlete from the men’s lacrosse team was taken off the roster. The university said they will not be sharing the identity of the other student involved. The Marquette Wire is working
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LACROSSE: Currently no public consequences Continued from page 1 to independently identify and confirm the students involved. At this time, the Marquette Wire is not naming the students. “As a Catholic, Jesuit institution, we are called to build a nurturing, inclusive community where all people feel safe, supported, welcomed and celebrated. Racism and discrimination have no place on our campus,” the university statement said. “To our students of color, we pledge to continue to work with you to overcome injustice and make our university anti-racist.” Lonny Clay, a member of Black Student Council and a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, said the video is nothing new to Black students on campus. “I have seen the racism and prejudice that many on this campus have for African Americans in many ways,” Clay said in an email. “I have seen it in
classrooms. I have seen it in the cafeteria. I have seen it ever since I stepped on this campus three years ago … The Black and brown students on this campus constantly feel attacked and targeted not just by students but by the entire atmosphere of the campus itself.” In June, a women’s lacrosse commit’s offer was rescinded after she posted offensive comments related to the death of George Floyd on Snapchat. In August, University President Michael Lovell’s son withdrew from the university after he had been posting racist and sexist remarks on social media. In May 2018, an image with disturbing racial overtones, which showed a group of students holding fake guns to a Black doll, circulated around campus. Yasmeen Atta, a senior in the College of Nursing, said she first saw the video Monday evening, having to watch it more than once to hear what the students in
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It is not enough to simply remove a student from a team ... these students should be removed from the university, they should not be on Marquette’s campus,” YASMEENA ATTA Senior in the College of Nursing
the video said. She said she was disgusted. “It is not enough to simply remove a student from a team … these students should be removed from the university, they should not be on Marquette’s campus,” Atta said. “The fact that they would be allowed to still be a part of the Marquette community, still be a part of classes with students of color who are threatened by these remarks is, to say the least, pathetic.” As of Feb. 22, there are no public consequences transparent to the campus community regarding the students in the video. Atta said the university has only provided kind words instead of action, which she said does not show true anti-racist behavior. “If you don’t listen to someone who is telling you that someone who has experienced racism and they would like (things) to change. You are not even close to becoming an anti-racist
institution,” Atta said. “These are valid concerns … we are the ones who are attending this university and … go to classes with these very students who are expressing these remarks.” A statement from men’s lacrosse head coach Andrew Stimmel was posted on Marquette Lacrosse’s Twitter Feb 17. Stimmel said that he was saddened that members of the university community, including members of his own team, suffered because of the hateful words of the former lacrosse player. “Let there be no doubt, racism and intolerance have no place in our program,” the statement read. “Our coaches and studentathletes are committed to continued progress on social justice issues and our resolve has never been stronger.” Zoe Comerford contributed to this report.
NOROVIRUS: First detected in Straz Tower Continued from from page 1 that they ate. The norovirus is highly contagious and after the health department’s report, was not attributed to contamination within the Straz dining hall or food preparation areas. “Wednesday morning, I got super sick,” Brock Montelone, a first-year student in the College of Arts & Sciences, said. “I was continually getting sick and running back and forth from my room to the bathroom to throw up.”
Previously, it was thought that the only students who fell ill from the norovirus lived in Straz or Schroeder. Yet, Montelone, who lives in Cobeen, still got sick. “I never entered Straz or knowingly interacted with someone from Straz, yet I got sick with nearly all symptoms of the norovirus,” Montelone said. Montelone said he ended up calling the Medical Clinic on campus with his symptoms, wondering if he might be sick with the flu or COVID-19. “The nurse called me back the same morning and told me that they had recently found norovirus in Straz and said that’s most
likely what I had,” Montelone said. “It made a lot of sense. I had gotten a flu shot and I had never been this sick before.” Since the norovirus is so contagious, it’s very easy to spread. In addition, the Milwaukee Health Department and Marquette Dining could not attribute the cause to something within Straz or Schroeder. Because of this, other students who don’t live in Straz or Schroeder, like Montelone, have likely been exposed to the norovirus. “It’s weird it spread as far as it did with how much everyone has been washing their hands and being careful about the coronavirus,” Killian said.
Following the advice of the Medical Clinic, Montelone said he rested and drank lots of fluids throughout the day. Just like the Straz residents, he no longer felt sick a day or two after first developing symptoms. Those who get sick from the norovirus typically only take about two to three days to fully recover. Straz Tower’s common areas such as lounges, elevators, stairwells, the laundry room and other high-touch areas were all disinfected and sanitized by facilities services. In addition, disinfectant wipes were dropped off outside of every dorm room to help students disinfect the areas inside their rooms. The same
procedures done for Straz to disinfect the building are also being done for Schroeder. It’s unclear as to where the norovirus came from and how far it spread around campus. In order to stay safe, the Medical Clinic recommends washing your hands with soap and water for at least twenty seconds, as alcohol-based hand sanitizers are not very effective against norovirus. They also recommend that students stay in their rooms if they are sick and avoid contact with others.
We’re hiring for the 2021-2022 school year! Apply for managing editor of the Marquette Tribune, managing editor of the Marquette Journal, general manager of Marquette Television, general manager of Marquette Radio by Feb. 26 Applications are available at marquettewire.org/apply Email applications to Erik Ugland, the chair of the University Board for Student Media, at erik.ugland@marquette.edu
Photo by Claire Ga
Marquette is receiving $9.7 million in aid. Of that aid, approximately $3.3 million
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Tuesday, February 23, 2021
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Marquette remembers Avijit Hira Engineering student’s death leaves impact By Claire Driscol
claire.driscol@marquette.edu
Avijit Hira, a doctoral student and teaching assistant in the College of Engineering, died inside of Engineering Hall the morning of Feb. 18. In an email to Marquette students, faculty and staff, Marquette University President Michael Lovell said Hira was a gifted scholar. Hira completed 12 publications, highlighting his research in wireless networks and encryption technology. “He was passionate about service, working with “Dream,” a voluntary blood donation society in Bangladesh,” Lovell said in the email. Hira was a native of Bangladesh. He loved nature and enjoyed traveling often. Lovell said Hira was involved with International Day on campus,
sharing his culture with the Marquette community. “His death is literally being mourned around the world,” Lovell said at the university’s prayer service of remembrance for Hira Feb. 19. “This is an immeasurable loss for our department, college and university,” Ayman El-Refiae, professor of electrical and computer engineering, said in an email. El-Refiae described Hira as a “nice, bright and wonderful individual” with a big future ahead of him. “Avijit was able during his short but impactful life to touch the lives of many of us and have a significant positive impact on the entire Marquette community,” ElRefiae said in an email. Chung Hoon Lee, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, said he often held lunches with Hira in which they discussed his future aspirations. “He had career goals,” Lee said. “He wanted to finish his Ph.D., work as soon as possible and go back to his country to teach.” Lee said Hira was part of the
faculty at a local college in his country and was a motivated, quick learner. “I was most impressed with his worth ethic, maturity, hard work and accountability,” Lee said. “He was a very bright, confident, kind and humble person.” Lee described Hira’s work as exceptional and said his former student executed all of his projects with “patience, precision and determination.” “He was one of the best graduate students I have had during my 15 years of career as a researcher and an educator,” Lee said. “I saw him having the potential to be a stellar scholar and a wonderful colleague in academia.” Kristina Ropella, dean of the College of Engineering, said Hira exemplified hospitality and passion when conducting tours of the labs in E-Hall. “He would always be quick to welcome visitors and smile at me and our friends, and he would quickly offer help in discussing the many great activities of the lab,” Ropella said at the service. “He clearly was passionate about the research he was doing, and the good he was doing for Marquette
and the world.” Farhana Anwar, a graduate student in the College of Engineering, said Hira was passionate about his work. However, her connection with the former student went beyond academics. “He often called me over to his place to taste his delicious food, especially fish curry, which is a Bengali dish,” Anwar said. “When I couldn’t show up, he would send me food in a lunchbox.” Anwar described Hira as a calm man with a good sense of humor. “While playing UNO, he would always say ‘last card!’ but not ‘uno’ when he had one card left, and we would always shove two cards on his as he broke the rules,” Anwar said. In the immeasurable pain of moving forward without Hira, Anwar said she will try to continue on. “Although our eyes will always look for the guy walking around E-Hall second floor wearing a blue Columbia jacket, his demise taught us how we can survive such a painful moment with a strong friend circle,” Anwar said.
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The Marquette Tribune EDITORIAL Executive Director of Marquette Wire Natallie St. Onge (414) 288-1739 Managing Editor of Marquette Tribune Annie Mattea NEWS News Editor Benjamin Wells Assistant Editor Megan Woolard Reporters Natalija Mileusnic, Charlie Pineda, Julia Abuzzahab, Claire Driscol, Karsyn Hartfield PROJECTS Projects Editor Lelah Byron Assistant Editor Amanda Parrish Reporters Grace Dawson, Maria Crenshaw, Aspen Ramos, Beck Salgado ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Arts & Entertainment Editor Skyler Chun Assistant Editors Charlotte Ives, Mason Stebnitz Reporters Quinn Faeth, Ryan Lynch, Ariana Madson, Tommy Shaffer OPINIONS Executive Opinions Editor Alexandra Garner Assistant Opinions Editor Aminah Beg Columnists Jenna Koch, Hope Moses, Max Pickart, Lucia Ruffolo SPORTS Executive Sports Editor Zoe Comerford Assistant Editors Nick Galle, Molly Gretzlock Reporters Sam Arco, Bryan Geenen, Jackson Gross, Matt Yeazel, Matthew Valente, Jack Lewandowski COPY Copy Chief Eleanor Mccaughey Copy Editors Kendra Bell, Grace Kwapil, Emily Reinhardt, Kimberly Cook VISUAL CONTENT Design Chief Grace Pionek Photo Editor Zach Bukowski Sports Designer Kayla Nickerson Arts & Entertainment Designer Lily Werner Opinions Designer Mariam Ali Photographers Katerina Pourliakas, Claire Gallagher, Joceline Helmbreck, Isabel Bonebrake, Nathan Lampres ----
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Kristina Ropella, the dean of the College of Engineering, said that Hira always was very hospitable during tours of E-hall.
MUPD REPORTS FEBRUARY 22 A non-MU victim was struck by an unknown subject in the intersection of N. 17th Street and W. State Street. The subject fled prior to MUPD’s arrival. The victim was medically evaluated at St. Mary’s hospital. Outside of Abbottsford Hall, three underage MU students were found to be in the possession of alcoholic beverages. All three students were cited by MUPD.
An MU student had property removed from the exterior of their vehicle by three non-MU subjects in the 900 block of N. Renee Street. MUPD stopped the subjects after they attempted to flee. All three suspects were taken into custody. Two of the subjects were cited for theft and then released. The other subject was transported to the Milwaukee County Criminal justice facility.
COVID-19 TRACKER CUMULATIVE CASES - MARQUETTE 1,068 NEW CASES - 2/15-2/22 11 CUMULATIVE CASES - MILWAUKEE 97,287 SEVEN DAY AVERAGE - WEEK OF 2/17 80.6
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Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Joe Biden hosts town hall in Milwaukee President discusses vaccine timeline, schools opening By Claire Driscol
claire.driscol@marquette.edu
In his first town hall since becoming president, President Joe Biden spoke at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee Feb. 16, where he addressed topics ranging from vaccine distribution to school reopenings. Biden said that every American will be eligible for the vaccine by the end of this July. “By the end of July we’ll have over 600 million doses, enough to vaccinate every single American,” Biden said. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Wisconsin has administered a total of 1.18 million COVID-19 vaccines, ranking the state 15th in the nation for the amount of vaccines administered in respect to how many the state was given. Biden also said that he is hopeful, however still uncertain that things will return back to normal by next Christmas. “I don’t want to over-promise anything here,” Biden said. “I told you when I ran and when I got elected: I will always level with you.” Robert Miller, chair of the Marquette Democrats and a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, said he admired Biden’s transparency during the town hall. “His honesty is admirable,” Miller said. “He mentioned not to predict things you don’t know for certain, a drastic change in tone from the previous administration.” However, Philip Anderson, cochair of the Marquette Republicans and a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said Biden’s timeline surrounding COVID-19 is vague. “Biden provided no information as to when or how this would be done,” Anderson said. “He said he ‘hoped’ that by ‘Christmas’ or ‘next year,’ that the mask restrictions and social distancing requirements would be significantly different. I can understand the hesitancy for giving an exact timeline of events but how about some objective standards?” Bryanna Spietz, a first-year in the College of Arts & Sciences and member of the Marquette Democrats, also expressed concern regarding the timeline Biden provided for vaccinations
and school reopenings. “He stated that vaccines for COVID-19 will be ready for everyone who wants one by the end of July, and that grades K-8 will be back in school within his first 100 days.” Spietz said. “Although I want these things to happen, I do doubt how accurate this timeline will be.” According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, only 13% of the US population is vaccinated with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, meaning only half of the population will recieve the first dose by August if the current rate of administration persists. Despite Spietz’s concerns over Biden’s proposed timeline, she said she admired the president’s demeanor at the town hall. “The thing that stood out most to me was the personalization that Biden conveyed,” Spietz said. “He addressed almost every speaker directly and either thanked them or asked more about their background. Personally, I found this really refreshing to see, as the last four years lacked these connections with ordinary people.” When asked about the status of schools reopening, Biden said the majority of K-8 schools will be in-person five days a week by the end of his first 100 days in office, meaning this transition should take place in May. However, Biden said that this transition will be a slower process among high school and college students due to studies showing higher contagion rates amid this demographic. In order to ramp up vaccine production, as well as provide additional aid to small businesses, states and local governments, Biden also proposed his $1.9 trillion plan at the town hall, which is called the “American Rescue Plan.” The $1.9 trillion plan aims to “facilitate the United States recovery from the devastating economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.” “Now is the time we should be spending,” Biden said. “Now is the time to go big.” However, Anderson said that there are more effective alternatives to stimulate the economy than Biden’s plan. “Biden seems unwilling to work across the aisle to minimize the astronomical price tag,” Anderson said. “Even slight reopenings would have tremendous effects on unemployment and the economy that has been shown feasible in the state of Florida.” Floridas unemployment rate went down 3% between May and June of 2020 when it
reopened businesses. It continues to have an unemployment rate of 6.1%, this is .2% below the national average. Although immediate reopenings may not be feasible, Anderson said it is important to provide a concrete plan for the American people. “In sum, Americans want our schools back, our jobs back and our lives back,” Anderson said. “If not right now, we want objective measures we must meet to get there.” However, Miller said he appreciated the way Biden is handling COVID-19. “He is not downplaying the severity of the virus, but rather sharing the information that he was given by experts in the field studying viruses.” Miller said. “I am pleased with the initiatives brought forth by President Biden.”
Photos by Benjamin Wells and Kaylee Staral benjamin.wells@marquette.edu, kaylee.staral@marquette.edu
Biden addressed topics such as vaccines and reopenings when he spoke at Pabst Theatre Feb. 16.
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Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Black LLC starts in fall Fifth living learning community to be in Carpenter Tower By Megan Woolard
megan.woolard@marquette.edu
Starting in the fall 2021 semester, there will be a new Black Living Learning Community on campus. The LLC will consist of 20 first-year Black students who will apply for the community as part of their housing application. The community will be located on the 16th floor of Carpenter Tower. “The community had been charged to increased recruitment, retention and success of Black students at Marquette,” University President Michael Lovell said in his 7th presidential address. “A living learning community is designed to bring students together around a common theme or major to bring their learning out of the classroom space,” Tracy Gerth-Antoniewicz, assistant director of Residence Life Education, said in an email. While the plans for the Black LLC have been in discussion for a while, the upcoming fall semester will be the first time that the community is available to Black students on campus. The implementation comes after the administration’s talks with Black Student Council back in September. Living Learning Communities are special housing options that allow students to live with other students that have similar
interests or are studying within the same academic discipline. “(In LLCs) Residence Life staff and faculty collaborate to find opportunities to program, continue discussions or supplement classroom learning on the floor, campus or in broader community opportunities such as attending speakers, visiting museums, attending plays, etc.,” Gerth-Antoniewicz said in an email. The choice to put the new LLC on the 16th floor of Carpenter Tower was based on some of the amenities that Carpenter is able to offer. “The floor has doubles and singles, so we can accommodate different room requests and the number of rooms means a smaller, more tight-knit community. Each floor has a lounge to facilitate community connections,” Gerth-Antoniewicz said in an email. Carpenter also has private baths, which allows the LLC to be co-ed by door. In addition, Carpenter Tower is open yearround which would provide a space for residents to live during the break, should they need it. The new Black LLC will join a group of existing LLCs already on campus. In Eckstein Hall, there is the engineering community, which consists of about 90 students living on three different floors. There is a nursing LLC in Carpenter Tower made up of about 40 students. In Straz Tower there are two LLCs: one for students within the honors program and another for students within the Latino community, called
“Nuestro Hogar,” which means “Our Home.” “Living Learning Communities are high impact programs that promote student success and whether it is language, community or social justice, these kinds of programs are important,” James McMahon, former vice president of student affairs, said back in 2014 when Nuestro Hogar first opened. The new Black LLC will be named “Umoja: Black Living Learning Community.” In Swahili, Umoja means unity. “A Living Learning Community is a space for students who have similar interests and are passionate about a variety of things to work towards them,” Andrea Garcia, a Marquette alum and former resident assistant for Nuestro Hogar, said in a “We Are Marquette“ podcast episode. LLCs offer more than just a place for students with similar interests to connect. It also has many academic benefits as well. “Beyond unique experiences and living with others who have common goals or passion areas, student who live in Living Learning Communities have a deeper sense of learning around content, higher faculty contact, generally report higher GPAs and are more likely to graduate,” Gerth-Antoniewicz said in an email. The new LLC will be fully implemented next semester and will officially become the fifth LLC at Marquette.
Photos by Isabel Bonebrake isabel.bonebrake@marquette.edu.
The LLC will be housed on the 16th floor of Carpenter Tower and will have 20 first-year Black students.
The Marquette Tribune
University revises Title IX policy Clarifications made to existing document, no major changes By Claire Driscol
claire.driscol@marquette.edu
The university revised its Title IX policy, a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in schools that accept federal funding, Feb. 8. Title IX coordinator Kristen Kreple said these revisions were made to the interim policy — a temporary policy subject to change — that was put into effect in August due to the new federal regulations. “In response to the Title IX Final Regulations released by the U.S. Department of Education, Marquette composed a task force that wrote and implemented an interim sexual harassment and sex discrimination policy that went into effect on Aug. 14, 2020,” Kreple said in an email. “At the conclusion of the fall semester, the university reviewed feedback and slightly revised the policy.” However, Kreple said that the recent revisions were made for the purpose of providing further clarification on existing policies, rather than making any substantive changes. “These most recent changes simply clarify the changes we were required to make in the interim policy as a result of the new federal regulations,” Kreple said in an email. Emma Unholz, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences and member of Marquette’s Women Empowerment Club, said these clarifications are important due to the complexity within a legal document like Title IX. “It was important for them to clarify because there’s a lot of gray area surrounding what constitutes sexual misconduct and what doesn’t, as well as what would be considered under the university’s oversight,” Unholz said. “Clarifications are helpful because we’re not going to go through and read the full report.” Despite the new federal regulations brought to Title IX in August, Kreple said that there are various parts of the policy that the university can keep the same. “One of the policies that the university will maintain is to broadly define ‘mandatory reporter,’ or those required to report sexual harassment and sex discrimination to the Title IX coordinator,” Kreple said.
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In order to abide by the new federal regulations set in August, the university will comply with either the “hearing process,” which addresses conduct within the federal Title IX final regulations, or the “prompt and equitable process,” which addresses “sexually harassing and discriminatory conduct” outside of these final regulations. Unholz expressed mixed feelings regarding the recently implemented “hearing process.” “Requiring live hearings can deter survivors of sexual assault from coming forward, which is a problem because a lot of victims don’t come forward at all,” Unholz said. “I also understand that those who are accused have the right to due process, and so I think if those hearings and crossexaminations aren’t a thing it could be unfair.” According to a Justice Department analysis of violent crime in 2016, nearly 80% of rapes and sexual assaults go unreported. In an effort to lower these statistics, Unholz touched on how Marquette’s Women Empowerment Club approaches issues of sexual misconduct and becoming a better bystander. “We are definitely a safe space,” Unholz said. “Every meeting we make it clear that if there is something someone wants to talk about they can come forward, or we can meet more privately.” Katy Adler, coordinator of Advocacy Services and Sexual Violence Prevention, also emphasized the importance of becoming a better bystander. “We all can become better bystanders when it comes to issues like sexual misconduct by becoming active or prosocial bystanders,” Adler said in an email. Being an active or prosocial bystander can take a variety of different forms. “This can range from directly confronting someone who is making a joke about rape to having a conversation with a friend who is being controlled with their partner,” Adler said in an email. Adler also said it is important to combat violence with a holistic approach, as gender-based discrimination and violence is only one of the many mediums it is rooted in. “As we think about combating gender-based discrimination and violence, we need to also be intervening in situations involving acts of racism, ableism, homophobia, etc,” Alder said in an email. “Only by addressing all of these harms will we truly be able to be effective in preventing violence.”
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The Marquette Tribune
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Weekly tests occur to combat COVID-19 Up to 500 selected each week, receive emails Sundays By Julia Abuzzahab
julianna.abuzzahab@marquette.edu
To ensure safety on campus during the coronavirus pandemic, Marquette University implemented mandatory COVID-19 testing during the spring semester. Up to 500 random students are selected to take the test each week. Each Sunday, the selected students are sent an email announcing their mandatory test and providing a link to choose a date and time. The sign-ups occur Monday through Friday from 7-11 a.m. The testing center is located at the Helfaer Recreation Center on the basketball courts. Students are asked to not brush their teeth, smoke, chew gum, use lip balm or eat or drink 30 minutes prior to a test so there is not an invalid test result. Students are required to take a saliva test if they followed those rules, but the other alternative test would be giving themselves a nose swab. Students do not have a choice which test they must complete, the testing center decides for them. Danilo Dobrilovic, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, was selected as a random student to get tested. “I entered the (room) and showed my ID to people at one station and then moved to the next station where I took the test itself, which was a nasal swab that I had to do myself,” Dobrilovic said. “After that, I sealed the sample and dropped if off at the third and final station where I got a paper that said I had completed the test.” According to Marquette’s Coronavirus Dashboard, so far throughout second semester there have been 2,184 tests conducted on campus. First semester there were 4,743 conducted. Sophie Freisleben, a first-year in the College of Nursing, said the testing went smoother than what she had expected. “I had to do a spit test, so I filled a pretty small vial with my saliva. I expected it to be more difficult to fill than it was, but it didn’t take that long,” she said. Carolyn Smith, associate professor in the department of physical therapy, said the most difficult part of the testing
process is the student generating enough saliva to fill the vial. Students must fill one milliliter of saliva. Smith said surveillance testing has always been a component of Marquette’s testing plan but due to state and national testing capacity shortages it was previously not an option. The Washington Post said “the limited supply of does of the vaccines has forced State Department leaders to make difficult and enviable deci-
sions, and created humbling experiences for U.S. diplomats representing the world’s wealthiest country.” Smith said Marquette focused its priority in the fall on testing symptomatic individuals and those in close contact with COVID-19. “As supply shortages improved and more testing options became available, Marquette had the capacity to increase testing in the Spring. Ongoing, random surveillance testing of
asymptomatic students is an effective strategy used to control the spread of COVID-19,” Smith said. “The strategy is designed to identify shifts in positive tests so mitigation strategies can be quickly implemented. Random testing also helps give Marquette a sense of prevalence of the virus in our community.” Smith said students have been doing an excellent job following directions regarding the COVID-19 testing, and they have had a very small percentage of
invalid tests. “Surveillance testing is helping keep the campus community healthy in order to allow students to live and learn safely. When selected, please do your part and schedule your appointment. Testing is mandatory and failing to schedule an appointment will result in a $50 fine, loss of access to campus facilities and a potential conduct hearing,” Smith said.
Graphic by Benjamin Wells benjamin.wells@marquette.edu
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Tuesday, February 23, 2021
The Marquette Tribune
MUSG discusses racial justice, equity Representatives focus on funding, administration By Megan Woolard
megan.woolard@marquette.edu
Marquette University Student Government held a virtual Racial Justice and Equality Initiative town hall Feb. 20. The town hall was a conversation between students, faculty and MUSG representatives on how to make Marquette a better place for students of color. This came just days after a Marquette University lacrosse player was removed from the team for the use of racial slurs. Approximately 40 Marquette community members took part in the event. “We’re hosting this to figure out ways to support students of color and to find ways to bring justice for all students,” Bridgeman Flowers, chair of the Racial Justice and Social Equity Committee for MUSG, said while introducing the event.
MUSG representatives asked for students in attendance to describe how MUSG can better support them. One of the primary topics of conversation was the process of receiving funding from MUSG to fund different events for student organizations. “The process to get money is way too long and way too complex. We never get any money for our events. We, as the Black student organizations on campus, have repeatedly and commonly have to go into our own pockets to fund events,” Emmanuel Johnson, a junior in the College of Education and treasurer for the African Students Association, said. In the past, funding for student organizations has been in bulk, meaning most organizations would have to apply months ahead of time without having a good idea of how much funding they would need. In some cases organizations would have to apply for funding As a result of COVID-19, MUSG has temporarily moved to spot funding. That means that student organizations can apply for funding on a rolling basis as they plan
their events. MUSG president and senior in the College of Nursing Evelia Guerrero said the shift to spot funding may become permanent. “We’re shifting to be only spot funding, so you can apply when you need it. We’re working on legislation that will have to be approved by the Senate. S.O.F (student organization funding) is nearing a shift,” Guerrero said. The conversation then shifted to prompted questions by MUSG leaders. Students in attendance expressed their frustrations with the lack of change toward a more inclusive campus culture. “It feels like we take four steps forward, then four steps back. I feel like we’re at the same place we were when I was a freshman,” Breanna Flowers, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and president of the Black Student Council, said. Michelle Batad, a junior in the College of Education, said it feels like higher administration is not transparent with students. “The only time they care about students of color is when they want
to put our picture on the university website. It feels like we’re just floating bodies on this campus,” Batad said. Students and MUSG representatives talked about their frustrations at the lack of education about issues that affect the city of Milwaukee within Marquette’s core curriculum. “Marquette has a duty to teach students about inner-city issues and to care about city issues. There’s a huge sense of apathy in Marquette students,” Abby Gray, Abbottsford Hall residential senator, said. John Su, vice provost of academic affairs, was in attendance at the town hall. He outlined four ways in which Marquette is planning to make changes. “We’ve been working with the Committee on Teaching to explore what will be inclusive pedagogy training. It’s taking longer than we hoped, as we have to adjust to different academic disciplines, but we hope to have it in place by fall,” Su said. The work with the Committee on Teaching looks to
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evaluate Marquette’s current teaching practices and make any revisions to ensure an inclusive educational experience for everyone. The next two ways involved changes to Marquette’s curriculum. Su said the changes to the ENGL 1001 class, which is now a required class as part of MCC, helped to engage students in discussion about racial issues. He also stated that service learning participants, both faculty and staff, are now engaging in training to help with intercultural competency. The last way was bringing attention to the student success initiative that was announced in University President Michael Lovell’s presidential address a few weeks ago. This will help students graduate through a “network of care” that starts before students even arrive on campus. Following the town hall, MUSG posted a list of “takeaways” on their Instagram page that included how they planned to address the issues brought up in the town hall. In addition, a recording of the town hall is available through MUSG’s website.
The Marquette Tribune
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Arts &
Entertainment
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Local Black-owned businesses to visit in Milwaukee Bronzeville Collective MKE sells handmade products, artwork By Quinn Faeth
quinlan.faeth@marquette.edu
Black-owned businesses have seen some of the steepest financial hardships out of anybody in the country, according to a New York Fed study. Since the start of the pandemic, the communities they reside in have seen the highest infection and mortality rates, which has a direct impact on stores and restaurants. Here are three Black-owned businesses near campus that students can check out. Sneex 316 N. Milwaukee Street Located downtown in the Historic Third Ward district, Sneex offers a wide variety of clothes, shoes and other
accessories for men, women and kids. For shoes, they carry brands like Adidas (including Yeezys), Dr. Martens, Reeboks, Pumas and many more. You can also find clothing brands like Reigning Champ, Ksubi, Levi, Daniel Patrick and Champion at owner Eric James’ store. They have a wide variety of accessories to buy as well, including Comme des Garçons fragrances, Gucci eyewear, Druthers beanie’s, candles and different brands of backpacks. Since Sneex offers several designer brands, it is on the pricier side. They have been in business since 2018 and have been able to survive the COVID-19 pandemic so far. Students can easily get there by walking or by taking the BLU Line bus east towards the lake. Bronzeville Collective MKE 339 W. North Avenue Bronzeville Collective is
located near the Black Holocaust Museum on the northside of downtown, but still within reach for students. Just take the BLU Line bus north before hopping on the 21 bus. The trip there takes around 30 minutes by bus or less than 10 minutes by car. This business is comprised of over 25 local brands that are almost 100% Black or brown-owned. Their mission, according to their website, is to “highlight local talent and give them a place to thrive not only creatively, but financially.” Their products are similar to what you might find on Etsy: predominantly handmade items from small vendors looking to give their products some exposure. Bronzeville Collective offers items like earrings, necklaces, bracelets, bath salts, body scrubs, pins, journals, candles, mugs, clothing and lots of different kinds of artwork. Prices vary by item, but most can
be found under $20. Sherman Phoenix 3536 W. Fond du Lac Avenue One of the most iconic buildings in the city of Milwaukee is the Sherman Phoenix. It is a cultural hub for small businesses, particularly for owners of color. Students can get there with just a short 10-minute car ride or by riding the BLU Line bus north for about 25 minutes. The story of the Sherman Phoenix is almost as good as the food and shops they have available in their complex. During the Sherman Park riots, protesters burned down what was a BMO Harris Bank, among many other buildings back in 2016. After the dust had settled, community members in the Sherman Park neighborhood decided to transform that rubble into a space filled with light and energy. Four years later, it’s now one of the staples of Milwaukee’s north side.
The Sherman Phoenix offers a wide range of beauty services like 2 Kings Barbershop, The Lash Factory, Theresa Do My Nails and 9th Cloud massage therapy, among others. They also offer several different kinds of shops ranging from customized shoes to creative art spaces. Not only do these places above provide high-quality products, but they are important to the communities they reside in. COVID-19 has had a detrimental impact on organizations all across the country, but the ones that are Black-owned have been disproportionately affected. Black History Month is a great time to recognize Blackowned stores, shops, boutiques, restaurants and any other local businesses, but supporting them should be a year-round activity.
Photo by Claire Gallagher claire.gallagher@marquette.edu
Bronzeville Collective MKE is located at 339 W. North Avenue near the Black Holocaust Museum on the northside. It takes about 30 minutes by bus or less than 10 minutes by car to reach.
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Arts & Entertainment
The Marquette Tribune
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Students share thoughts on transition to virtual O-fest The event showcases different clubs at Marquette University By Skyler Chun
skyler.chun@marquette.edu
O-fest, or “organization fest,” is a way for students to get connected on campus and explore a variety of clubs that Marquette has to offer. But due to social distancing guidelines, this year’s event was held on a virtual platform with Degy World Feb. 16. Degy World is an immersive virtual reality platform that allows participants to create their own avatars and talk to others nearby through voice or text chats. Sean Francis de Asis, a firstyear student in the College of Engineering, said he was a little skeptical about joining the online platform, but it turned out to be more social than he had expected. “It actually felt really nostalgic, like playing a really old computer game, and the voice chat was really fun because you could talk with friends,” Francis de Asis said.
He said he actually felt that participating in Degy World was much easier than going around places in real life. “I was able to go from a dance club to a stand-up comedy club in just a couple seconds,” he said. “It was fun to navigate. It was like walking through a campus.” Francis de Asis said he found the study abroad, Quidditch and “The Studio 013 Refugees” really interesting. The Studio 013 Refugees club is an improv group looking for students to join their first in-person workshop in Marquette Hall Feb. 26. “People would just reach out and talk to you virtually, which was really nice,” he said. Anthony Limon, a firstyear student in the College of Engineering, said he joined the virtual O-fest hoping to connect with people who share similar interests as himself. “Because of COVID-19 and everything, I haven’t been very involved on campus,” Limon said. “I’m trying to see if I can push myself to do the things that I wouldn’t usually do.” While he originally attended O-fest looking for organizations related to physics or math, Limon
Photo by Skyler Chun skyler.chun@marquette.edu
Participants create avatars on immersive online platform, Degy World.
said he also found a lot of new clubs that he had never heard of before, such as a dancing club and a book club. “I think I got about five groups to email me, and I will probably join the Big Brother, Big Sister one too,” he said. Big Brothers Big Sisters is a networking organization that pairs adult volunteers with children to build stronger relationships throughout the community. After talking to leaders from various organizations, Limon
said he and a friend decided to explore Degy World more. “We were able to jump to and from different locations pretty quickly. There were a bunch of mini-games to play and it was really cool,” he said. “It was also really easy to navigate.” He said there were mazes, soccer games, a concert stage and a bunch of other entertainment venues online. Limon said he and his friend even got to drive boats. “We went exploring quite a bit, but it was a lot of fun,”
Limon said. Coner McFarlin, a senior in the College of Engineering, helped to run the Studio 013 Refugees booth at O-fest. McFarlin agreed that the Degy World platform worked well, but it took him awhile to figure out how things worked at first. “I liked the platform but it ended up being pretty ineffective in terms of actually engaging people to check out our club or come to events,” McFarlin said in an email. “Being virtual it made it a lot easier for people to ignore us.” He said it also seemed like there were not many students who were actually looking for new organizations to join. “People get intimidated by the idea of doing improv, so normally at in person O-fests, being able to talk to them face to face and make more of a connection helps us get more engagement, which is something we didn’t have with this,” McFarlin said in an email. Students who missed the opportunity to attend O-fest this past week can find a full list of clubs at Marquette with ways to get involved online.
Taylor Swift fights for ownership, re-releases music New song brings anticipation for re-recorded albums By Ariana Madson
ariana.madson@marquette.edu
When most artists announce an album release, it is of completely new content and something the fans have not heard yet. However, that is not the case for Taylor Swift. After a whirlwind year of recording and surprising fans by releasing two albums. Swift announced she would be releasing her own version and re-recording of her 2008 album “Fearless.” It is rumored to be released in April and is titled “Fearless (Taylor’s Version).” Though it is mostly songs many fans and
non-fans alike have heard, with hits like “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story,” she will also be releasing six unheard songs from “the vault.” Big Machine Records, a record label, signed Taylor Swift in 2004 where she recorded six albums and spent 14 years of her life. Once her contract had ended in 2018, she signed with Republic Records and Universal Music Group. Drama ensued after Big Machine Records was sold, which also included the selling of Swift’s masters, which included all the songs she wrote with Big Machine Records. Swift claimed she asked for a chance to obtain and own her own work, but she said Big Machine only offered her the chance to earn her albums back after each new one she recorded with them. She turned it down and instead, in November of 2020, was able to begin re-recording her albums one through five. Swift released the first single for the album which was a rerecording of “Love Story” titled “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” Feb. 12. The intro, on first hearing it, brings back a youthful feeling,
similar to that of dancing in a childhood bedroom with J-14 posters of 2008 bands hanging on the wall. It’s familiar yet sounds slightly different. The country twang, though still present, sounds a bit quieter, with a bit more emphasis on the percussion. When Swift sings her first line, “We were both young when I first saw you / I close my eyes and the flashbacks start / I’m standing there,” the recognizable tune brings a sense of awareness to 13 years ago. However, the difference in her voice is somewhat noticeable. She sounds older, yet the vision of an 18-year-old girl is still present. The new release sounds similar to the original, but her voice sounds more powerful and mature. When announcing “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” she also gave a sneak peak of the cover in an Instagram post. She even had a hidden message in her post spelling out APRIL NINTH. This indicated to some fans that the release was to be on that day. Fans also took it further and pointed out differences in her new cover, though it still has the similar golden hue to “Fearless.” They pointed out that Swift
Photo by Katerina Pourliakas katerina.pourliakas@marquette.edu
“Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” was released on Feb. 12 to all platforms.
is wearing a silk long-sleeve, which is similar to the one worn by Romeo in her original “Love Story” music video. This led to the belief that Swift is saying she is now “her own knight in
shining armor.” Swift’s album will not only bring about excitement for new, unheard songs, but a feeling of nostalgia for her fans and even for those who aren’t.
The Marquette Tribune
Opinions
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
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Editorial Board
Natallie St. Onge, Executive Director Annie Mattea, Managing Editor Marquette Tribune Kelli Arseneau, Managing Editor Marquette Journal
Alexandra Garner, Executive Opinions Editor Aminah Beg, Assistant Opinions Editor
Ben Wells, News Executive Zoe Comerford, Sports Executive Skyler Chun, A&E Executive Lelah Byron, Projects Editor
Eleanor Mccaughey, Copy Chief Grace Pionek, Design Chief Zach Bukowski, Photo Editor
Kate Hyland, Social Media Executive Aimee Galszweski, Station Manager MUTV Reese Seberg, Station Manager MURadio
STAFF EDITORIAL
MU must go beyond addressing singular racist actions Marquette University cannot expect the campus climate to improve if it will not implement ways to better it. While the university continues to commit to anti-racism and promises to better the experiences of diverse students on campus, the university cannot keep adding new initiatives if it cannot address the current climate on campus. New initiatives cannot be the only solution to fix the current problems. A video of two current students using racial slurs surfaced online Feb. 15. The university said that one of the individuals involved was a student-athlete, and an athletics spokesperson later confirmed he was removed from the men’s lacrosse team. This is the second public action taken by the university regarding an individual affiliated with a Marquette sports team in response to offensive material being posted within the past year. The university rescinded a women’s lacrosse commit’s offer June 1 after posting an offensive message on Snapchat about the death of George Floyd. The university should be commended for its quick decision to remove the student from the men’s lacrosse team. Marquette cannot be a place for such hate and intolerance. Despite the university’s quick decision, initially there was little direct communication to the Marquette community about removing the student from the men’s lacrosse team. University President Michael Lovell and Provost Kimo Ah Yun shared a message about the recent incident first Feb. 17, on the university’s Instagram story. That same message was later shared in a university news release the same day. The message said the Division of Student Affairs initiated a student conduct investigation of both students, and that due to federal privacy laws, Marquette will not be releasing the names of the students. Though the names of the students circulated online, the Marquette Wire is working to independently
identify and confirm the students in the video. At this time, the Marquette Wire is not naming the students involved. “Racism and discrimination have no place on our campus,” the message said. “We stand with all our university leaders in our pledge to our students — all students, and especially our BIPOC students — to work with you to overcome injustice and ensure that our university remains anti-racist. We also stand with you to heal and in the work that lies ahead.” When the Marquette Wire initially reached out to the university for a comment, a university spokesperson said in a statement, “Late on the evening of Feb. 15, Marquette University was notified that two current students used racist language in a video posted to social media … (and) the Division of Student Affairs immediately initiated a student conduct investigation, the results of which will be confidential due to FERPA privacy law.” The university should have been, and needs to be, more proactive and transparent. Sharing the events of the video and holding the students accountable needed to be communicated to the campus community. Students have the option to submit an incident bias report if they have experienced or witnessed a biased incident. When the incident occurred, the incident bias reporting form included a message at the top that asked students not to make any reports about the Feb. 15 incident unless they had new information, saying that the university had received a high number of duplicate reports, which could make it more difficult to address other complaints. Lovell and Ah Yun’s first message was two days later, after the video surfaced. Their message did not provide new information to the community. How are students supposed to know what is new, and what is not, in order to fill out a bias incident report? Additionally, it is disappointing that sharing offensive and racially charged comments on
Photo by Joceline Helmbrek joceline.helmbrek@marquette.edu)
A student-athlete was removed from their team after using a racial slur in a video that circulated online
social media has become a pattern of problematic behavior among Marquette athletes and students. Though we are not ignorant to the fact that racism exists on campus, not much seems to be getting better. Lovell announced several programs and initiatives in his Feb. 4 presidential address that are aimed to support Black students, and while these are great, positive steps to supporting Black students in the future, Marquette is not addressing the behavior of current white students now. Holding a couple students accountable is not enough. Racist words and behaviors among students is a recurring problem. Lovell’s son withdrew from Marquette before the beginning of the fall 2020 semester after posting multiple racist and sexist posts on different Instagram accounts. Additionally, a Marquette student was expelled before the fall 2018 semester after sharing a photo with racial overtones with students the previous spring. The photo is of four white males, two of whom are holding fake guns and one who is holding a Black doll. The university cannot continue to preach it is anti-racist, or strive to be better for minority students, unless it takes
deliberate steps to support those words. Marquette needs to be more clear that racially offensive language and behavior is unacceptable and will be met with consequences. Moreover, the university must be immediate with its communication to the Marquette community when these incidents happen and denounce them. Marquette should and needs to require accepted students to complete anti-racism training as soon as they arrive on campus, similar to Red Watch Band training. Red Watch Band is a mandatory bystander intervention training for first-year students and focuses on bystander theory, alcohol 101, how to intervene and presents students with reallife scenarios. Requiring students to complete anti-racism training could hold students accountable if there are incidents of using racial slurs or posts on social media. Even before that, the university must be more thorough in recruiting students and athletes to Marquette, such as getting to know them better and making sure they demonstrate “cura personalis.” This could be done through checking social media accounts and conducting thorough interviews. Living up to being truly
anti-racist requires the university to know truly who their current students are and what kind of behavior they are conducting. As of the fall 2020 semester, out of 11,550 undergraduate and graduate students, there are only 3,022 students of color, according to the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis. Additionally, out of 2,811 faculty and staff, there are only 601 faculty and staff members of color, as of the fall 2020 semester. With that said, all of the responsibility should not be put on people of color. Marquette must make the effort to educate white students and faculty and staff members to be allies and support the Black community. This must come from Lovell and other white administrators, rather than placing all of the responsibility on administrators of color. If Marquette is to truly address racism on campus, it has to come from the bottom-up, through students, faculty and staff taking training and incorporating anti-racism curriculum, and from the top-down through recruitment and holding students more accountable. The university cannot support students of color without following through with these commitments.
Opinions
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
The Marquette Tribune
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Resellers, new thrifters must be conscious consumers Jenna Koch Thrift stores are something I hold near and dear to my heart. I may sound like I’m exaggerating, but really, I know without them, I’d look far less insane. There is truly nowhere else I would be able to find an Edwardian-revival 80s blouse with shoulder pads or overalls that say “old-lady gardening apparel” across the chest. Ever since I began going to Goodwill with my broke graduate student sister in middle school, I’ve slowly started to exclusively buy from thrift stores. Soon after, I became acquainted with Depop, a reselling site with a user base that’s almost entirely under the age of 26. It’s easy to use and perfect for harder-to-find vintage pieces. Depop has sharply risen in users since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United Kingdom, where the resale company is based, the number of active users doubled from 980,000 to 2 million from March 2020 to May 2020, according to a Statista report. The company had been steadily on the rise since 2011, but now Depop is a household name for much of Generation Z. It is important to be aware of how reselling can impact lower-income people who rely on thrift stores, and important to learn how to weed out scammers like drop-shippers, who mark up and advertise a fastfashion product as their own and
then send their customers items directly through the retailer. The new world of thrifting and reselling is a controversial one, so consumers must be conscious of how their buying habits impact the industry as a whole. I’ve come across children’s Tshirts put up for $50, scuffed and cruddy Vans selling for their original retail price and drop-shippers with clearly stolen photos from fast-fashion sites. Some sellers will even purchase from higherend retail lines for the sole purpose of reselling it for double the original price. None of this is new, as vintage resellers like antique stores, and sneaker resellers specifically, have been around for decades. However, the online marketplace makes it increasingly easier for everyday users to set up a resale side business, myself included. I tend to use thrifting as therapy sometimes, as the methodical action of going through clothes and instant dopamine release when I strike gold is nearly addicting. My style also changes by the minute, so I tend to go through clothes fast. Reselling is a really easy way to make a little extra cash with pieces I’ve stopped wearing, and I sleep better at night knowing that my old favorites are getting some more use out of them. While that’s all great, there’s also the guilt of knowing I could simply donate it all back to the stores I bought it from. Although I barely mark up my items, I still feel a bit guilty — I’m not sure if it’s ethical
to go into a space made to be affordable and then make it less accessible to those who can only buy secondhand. I wonder if even by using the platform I’m contributing to the gentrification of thrifting, as some have called it. Gentrification was initially coined to describe the phenomenon of middle and upper-class people moving into working-class neighborhoods which increases up the cost of living and forces workingclass people to move out. Recently, the word has been applied to encompass a broader array of topics. Thrift store gentrification not only refers to rising prices at thrift stores but also the way people perceive it. When working-class people were thrifting, it was considered cheap and unsanitary. Now that middleclass teenagers have started doing it, thrifting has become trendy. Goodwill specifically has changed their pricing system from past years to include a wider range of prices, so now employees can judge the quality or brand of an item and price accordingly. This has led stores to mark up stylish and durable items, making them inaccessible to many people who thrift. Then again, there are so many upsides to the resale market. Fast fashion is not only an environmental problem but also a human rights one. Brands like Shein, Old Navy and Forever 21 are responsible for 8% of carbon emissions, and 93% of fast-fashion brands do not pay their workers a livable wage. Consumers are able to avoid that
Graphic by Alexandra Garner alexandra.garner@marquette.edu
completely by buying secondhand, as long as they can avoid the dropshippers of Aliexpress, which is an infamous fast fashion seller. Furthermore, over 84% of clothing ends up in landfills and thrift stores have to throw away some merchandise to make room for the new donations. A lot of clothing ends up in rag houses, where “clothes go to die,” according to vintage reseller Madeline Pendleton. Resellers are able to give new life to old clothes by reselling, or as Pendleton does, reworking them into new pieces. There are ways to be ethical about reselling and thrifting in general. My main rules are no buying work clothes or winter gear, no marking
up more than what I know an item is worth and no overconsuming second-hand clothes the way we’re expected to consume fast fashion. The last one has been difficult for me, but I’m finding I appreciate my clothes more as I visit thrift stores less often. By fighting our consumerist tendencies and considering how our purchases impact others, the thrifting movement can help create a more sustainable and humane fashion industry, rather than a gentrified one. Jenna Koch is a first-year student studying journalism. She can be reached at jenna.koch@marquette.edu
Don’t push teachers back into classrooms Lucia Ruffolo In the midst of the frenzy surrounding teachers going back to school during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to listen to teachers’ concerns for not wishing to return to in-person teaching and prioritize vaccinations. Schools across the country, especially at the elementary level, have been debating on whether or not to reopen schools for in-person instruction. Teachers’ unions have expressed concern and doubted the certainty in which schools are able to keep both faculty and students safe. Milwaukee Public Schools are still continuing with remote instruction with plans to reopen in April. Transmission rates of COVID-19 in Milwaukee remain in the “substantial risk” category, in which there are 50 to 99 total cases per 100,000 persons. If schools were to reopen right now, it would have to be partial with social distancing requirements in place. Chicago Teachers Union, however, was pressed to agree to
in-person instruction for Chicago Public Schools, and in a 2-1 vote, the union voted in favor for students to return to school Feb. 11. Two concerns about returning to inperson learning were that the daily case rates in January were as high as last spring at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States and that the risk for potential infections of variants is also high. Others have highlighted that Chicago Public Schools did not delay openings so that teachers would have more time for preparations and vaccinations. In particular, people worry about how underserviced and underfunded districts will cope once schools reopen, as access to resources and ability to comply with COVID-19 safety requirements are limited. Things like social distancing, proper ventilation and vaccination distribution may be difficult for districts that are facing budget cuts or struggling to accommodate the growing student enrollment. Prioritizing vaccinations for teachers is an essential component of reopening schools, which makes it necessary that the vaccine
be widely accessible and fairly distributed. For example, in Baltimore County, teachers are having trouble getting the vaccine, causing some to seek their own means of getting the vaccine. It is also important to consider the needs of teachers who are immunocompromised or have close family members who are. While schools may be sympathetic to teachers who have preexisting conditions, they may not as be accomodating to those with close family members who are. In addition, opening schools will disproportionately affect low income kids, who face higher risks when it comes to the likelihood of a family member in their household dying from the coronavirus, as they are more likely to work a job in which they are at higher risk for exposure and have less access to health care services. With that said, those who advocate for schools to reopen make a compelling point. Remote learning, frankly, is not the same as in-person learning, and it has proven to be a struggle for both children and educators to try to learn and teach completely online. Elementary years
are formative and it is important for children to receive a consistent curriculum. It is also worth mentioning there are disparities present in online education, such as how 4.4 million households do not have consistent internet access. This disparity in technology access causes inequalities among education. Additionally, 7 million school-aged children with disabilities are also struggling, as they have lost vital services to aid in their learning by having virtual learning. In-person instruction is ideal, and teachers are well aware of the struggles that remote learning has brought about. However, we are still in a pandemic, and people are still dying from complications of the coronavirus. In order for schools to resume in-person instruction, there has to be pragmatic considerations first, such as how vaccinations will be distributed, how classrooms will be organized and how schools will equip faculty with necessary resources. Without these considerations, reopening schools will just bring forth chaos, with perilous outcomes for both teachers and students. Before we force teachers to go
back to schools, it is vital to listen to their concerns before inperson education can be truly safe and effective. Lucia Ruffolo is a first-year student and is undecided. She can be reached at lucia.ruffolo@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.
Sports The Marquette Tribune
MLAX LOOKS FORWARD TO BRIGHT FUTURE WITH TALENTED ROSTER SPORTS, 14
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 PAGE 12
Sarah Rose battles Ewing Sarcoma
Photo courtesy of Sarah Rose
Volleyball player Sarah Rose was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a form of bone cancer, in fall 2020. She decided not to return for her senior season and graduated early.
Marquette community supports athlete’s fight against cancer By Jackson Gross
jackson.gross@marquette.edu
“It’s something you never really expect to hear, or really want to hear,” Sarah Rose said. “That you have cancer.” Rose, a senior on the Marquette women’s volleyball team, was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer which grows in the soft tissue and bones, in September. “Initially, I was just really heartbroken. I didn’t know honestly what to think at the
beginning,” Rose said. Due to her diagnosis, Rose could not return to play for the team for the 2020-21 season. “A lot of things were racing through my mind about volleyball, school, life, everything. I was just nervous about what was to come and I had a lot of questions, I didn’t know what to expect and I was just scared by the whole situation at the beginning,” Rose said. To this day, Rose has undergone five months of chemotherapy and finished radiation a little over two weeks ago. Yet, her fight hasn’t been fought alone. With the help of Rose’s family and teammates, her older brother and sister made an almost 50 minute long video, including everyone important in her life
sending words of encouragement and funny stories to take her mind off of radiation treatment before she started it. The kind words from her teammates and coaches, along with seeing the work that the team puts in, has inspired and continues to encourage Rose to keep fighting. “It really inspires me to keep pushing and to keep fighting and they always send such kind words of encouragement and they’re always checking in on me … I couldn’t ask for a better support system than my teammates.” Rose said. Rose said that her teammates continually stay in contact with her, whether it’s a FaceTime call, texting or even having Zoom calls of practice.
The encouragement goes both ways, as Rose’s fight has been a source of inspiration for the team and for head women’s volleyball coach Ryan Theis. Rose gave the pregame speech to her team before the Golden Eagles’ game against DePaul Feb. 12. “She did way better than I probably ever have, it was awesome,” Theis said. “She got them extremely excited, emotional and charged up to play for her.” As senior week was inching closer, the plan was to honor Rose, along with the rest of the senior class, Feb. 19, but with COVID-19 complications within the Creighton program, the ceremony and games were postponed. The planned ceremony was to be the end of “Gold 4 Sarah”
weekend. From Feb. 17-21, all Marquette athletic teams would wear gold jerseys and shoelaces to honor and support Rose and to aid her in her fight. “I’m so honored and really appreciative that not only my team, but all the other teams are honoring me,” Rose said. “I’ve had their support since day one and I am so grateful that they’re doing this for me and just continuing their love and support.” To show the support is bigger than Marquette, the Creighton Bluejays also took part in wearing gold shoelaces. Rose said she felt honored by the gesture and felt like they were not seeing her as the “competitor on the other side of the net,” but instead as another See ROSE page 15
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Tuesday, February 23, 2021
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WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Julianna Okosun adjusts to American style of play Copenhagen, Denmark native comes to Milwaukee By Molly Gretzlock
molly.gretzlock@marquette.edu
Many factors have an influence on the decision to continue an athletic career in college, one of which may be location. Some people may want to stay close to home, so they decide to pick a college not too far away. Others may want to have a little more distance, but not too much, so they may come from neighboring states. Others may decide they want to move across the country. But for one first-year player on the Marquette women’s basketball team, her trip to campus required crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Julianna Okosun first came to Milwaukee last summer from her hometown of Copenhagen, Denmark after she felt like the move would be the most beneficial for her career. “There (are) huge differences that I have to get used to,” Okosun said. “A lot of it is cultural, over here (in the United States), basketball is much bigger and taken much more seriously. That
also shows the coaches care a lot more, but they expect a lot more too. Back home our coaches had jobs on the side, and they weren’t fully invested in us as players and as a team.” As she has been adjusting to college basketball in America, head coach Megan Duffy has high expectations for Okosun and her underclassmen teammates. “Our sophomore class is huge, along with our freshmen as well,” Duffy said. “We’re still underclassmen, we got 10 kids that are going to be huge parts of our program.” Okosun attended Frederiksburg Gymnasium and HF-Kursus educational institutions while she was in Denmark. During that time she was a part of the national team squads, as high school programs and teams were not an option. “Sports were not integrated into school, you had to play for a, more or less, professional team to be able to play,” Okosun said. During what would have been considered her high school years, she was a member of the Denmark U16, U18 and junior national teams. In those years, she played in the U18 European Championships and was named to the Denmark Senior Women’s National Team. These
achievements alone were some of the many reasons why Marquette was interested in adding the No. 28 ranked international first-year on World Exposure Report to their roster. Okosun made her way out to the Midwest and visited campus with her father prior to committing, which helped her feel more comfortable about coming over to the U.S. to continue building her basketball resume. However, due to major time changes and a long flight over, Okosun did not remember much from that initial visit. “I did take an official visit. I don’t remember a lot of it because I was super jetlagged — me and my dad were so tired,” Okosun said. “They wanted to show us all the great stuff, which the schedule was packed with. I did speak to a lot of coaches and research online, but you really have no idea until you actually visit.” In addition to her visit to Wisconsin, the 6-foot-4 forward toured the University of Arizona, where she figured out quickly that it was not the destination for her. “It was way too hot,” Okosun said. “I am from a Scandinavian country; We like that middle temperature where you can still have
Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics
Okosun is a first-year forward.
a jacket on. It was way too big. I just didn’t feel like I would fit in there. It just seemed very big and I would get lost easily.” Besides the heat index, Okosun was also introduced to the game of football on her campus tour. “They took me to a football game, and I had never seen a football game and there was fireworks and cheerleaders, I was so taken back by it,” Okosun said. Now in a Marquette uniform, Okosun made her first collegiate appearance Nov. 29 against North Dakota. Since then, she has been able to put up four points, seven rebounds and four assists in the other eight games she has
appeared in. “To become a player that can really help the team on the court is a huge thing,” Okosun said. “The biggest reason I am here is to play basketball. Of course I want to be in school, that’s really important to me, (but) the basketball side of it is the reason I am in the States.” Duffy said she looks to give Okosun, as well as the younger players, as many opportunities as she can. “One of the things we have prided ourselves on is having a balanced attack,” Duffy said. “The more kids we can get in (like Okosun) … and get (them) confidence to score the basketball and get some really valuable minutes will help our team down the road.” Although Okosun is dedicated to the sport of basketball, she struggles with being over 4,000 miles away from her family. “I try to talk to them every day, because of the time difference it is very hard,” Okosun said. “I have to speak to them before 3 p.m. otherwise they will be asleep, but usually from the morning to afternoon times I am very busy with classes and practice. I try to talk to them though, even if it is for five or 10 minutes. They miss me, I miss them.”
MEN’S SOCCER
Bennett’s defense starts out strong to begin 2021 Team wins first 3 games in overtime, posted clean sheets By Matt Yeazel
matthew.yeazel@marquette.edu
The Marquette men’s soccer team has had a thrilling start to their season, winning their first three games 1-0 thanks to game-ending goals in overtime. They also went to overtime again for a fourth game in a row, falling 2-1 in their first BIG EAST contest to Creighton. Despite not scoring any goals in regulation until junior forward Lukas Sunessson scored against Creighton Feb. 20, the defense has stepped up, starting the year with three clean sheets. A key contributor to the hot start is redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Chandler Hallwood. From Halifax, England, Hallwood transferred to Marquette from Gannon University in Pennsylvania. He started in the team’s wins over Northern Illinois and St. Louis, and played all 100 minutes against the Billikens.
“Chandler has been able to handle crosses, handle the high ball and on the rare occasions where the defense has been beat, he’s managed to come up with big saves,” head coach Louis Bennett said. Throughout all 100 minutes against St. Louis, Hallwood did not have to make a single save. “I’m very proud of our three clean sheets in a row, but it’s really a credit to our team chemistry as a whole,” Hallwood said. “I’ve got a lot confidence in the rest of our defenders.” Junior midfielder Zyan Andrade, who scored the game-winning goal
against St. Louis, also credited the defense for putting them in a position to win. “Everyone is working together on defense, not just on the back line but the whole team,” Andrade said. “We’re always just hungry to get the ball again, and more than 270 minutes without conceding a goal gives us a great chance to win.” Andrade also said that the hunger they have on defense for getting the ball back will help them get more opportunities to score on offense. “If you’re not conceding any goals, you are always going to have a chance to win, and when you’re
hungry to get the ball back it will open up opportunities to score,” Andrade said. Coming into this season, Bennett said the coaching and emphasis on defense remained the same, as it is always a top priority for a winning team. “As long as our defense is in top form, you can’t lose a game,” Bennett said. “The reason we’re more successful this year is that we have more experience on the defensive end.” Coming into this season, the men’s soccer team had 11 newcomers and had their normal fall sea-
Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics
The Marquette men’s soccer team lines up before their game against Loyola Chicago Feb. 3. They won 1-0.
son switched to spring, which left many questions regarding how they would train and prepare with the safety protocols. Even with the uncertainties around this season due to COVID-19 and the training being different than normal, Bennett said his defense is living up to the expectations of the job. “I don’t think anyone is exceeding my expectations, they’re just all doing their job at a very high level,” Bennett said. “We have to make sure we don’t give good opportunities for shots. The less Chandler has to do, the better we’ll be.” Bennett did specifically mention that junior midfielder Alan Salmeron has stood out to him amongst a multitude of strong performances thus far defensively. “Alan has been fantastic, sensational,” Bennett said. “He does a lot of the grunt work that you may not notice if you don’t know what goes into the job, but he’s done a great job.” After falling to 3-1, Marquette now looks forward to Saturday when they will host nonconference opponent Western Illinois at Valley Fields.
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Tuesday, February 23, 2021
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Twombly makes impact in first season with WSOC Midfielder/forward scores important goals against ISU, LUC By Bryan Geenen
bryan.geenen@marquette.edu
Many of the young Marquette women’s soccer members are getting their first glimpse of a collegiate season in a unique manner due to the pandemic. Elsi Twombly, one of the firstyears on the squad, has started to get a feel for the games. The transition from high school to college has been difficult, but that was expected. “It’s definitely very different because high school wasn’t as fastpaced or physical but it’s still really exciting and exactly what I expected,” Twombly said. “I really like it.” Twombly, who went to Kimberly High School in Wisconsin, has had some help from her team to make changes. The juniors and seniors on Maquette’s roster have helped Twombly adjust, she said. “They’ve helped a lot,
Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics
Elsi Twombly runs after a ball Feb. 7.
especially with COVID and everything,” Twombly said. “They’ve been really supportive and understanding and helpful to all of us freshmen coming in because we don’t know much and are very clueless about a lot of things that are going on. They’ve been really helpful with that.”
Twombly has picked up three goals in three games so far. Her performance even drew attention from the conference, as she was selected as the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, according to the BIG EAST website. Twombly said she was happy that she could help her team pick up some wins to start the season. “I was really happy. It was something I’m honored to receive,” Twombly said. “It’s always exciting because the work that our team has done and the goals that I’ve scored have paid off.” Head coach Frank Pelaez said Twombly’s award was proof of the hard work the team puts in at practice. “It’s exciting for her. For all the freshmen, they’re all really close and they’re all supporting each other really well,” Pelaez said. “She’s definitely a player that is strong and quick and has a nose for the goal. It’s just a process where we want her to get better every day and she’s working really hard at it.” Twombly is both a midfielder and forward, a position combination she
shares with several other members of her team. Twombly has been able to distribute from the midfield and chase the ball down at forward. Twombly has also been able to use her physical traits to help her score goals. “I think the two things are definitely my speed and size,” Twombly said. “In the last game, I was able to run past a few defenders and then body them off the ball because of my size and physical abilities.” Two of the three goals Twombly scored proved to be big for the Golden Eagles, as they fended off Illinois State and Loyola Chicago by just one score in each. Marquette has been able to get goals in every game and has avoided any overtime games so far. Goals from several other Golden Eagles in the games have given Marquette a 3-0 record with just under a month until BIG EAST play. “Overall, I think we scored nine goals so far and maybe four or five different people doing it,” Pelaez said. “That is really important to me that it is spread out.” The team aspect has proven to be
a central focus for the Golden Eagles. Twombly talked about how the awards were exciting but the team always comes first. “It’d be nice to achieve more individual awards but I’d rather have our team do well than achieve awards. We want to win the BIG EAST tournament rather than achieve those individual awards,” Twombly said. In high school, Twombly was certainly able to secure awards, even being named the Post Crescent’s Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year in Wisconsin, one of the most prestigious awards in Wisconsin. She also was named first-team all-conference and first-team Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association all-state in her junior year. Twombly was one of the many players to have a senior season canceled. So far, she said she is enjoying being back on the pitch. “It’s the best feeling,” Twombly said. “I waited so long and now every second out there is the greatest thing ever because we didn’t have it for so long.”
MEN’S LACROSSE
Stimmel’s squad primed for successful spring Fleming, Cox reflect on newcomers, veterans for upcoming year By Nick Galle
nicholas.galle@marquette.edu
After playing their last game March 11, 2020, the Marquette men’s lacrosse team has anxiously been awaiting the start of their 2021 campaign. Over 345 days later, the time finally came. The squad was slated to begin their season Feb. 13 against Cleveland State University, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 related issues within the Cleveland State program. With that, the Golden Eagles jumped right into BIG EAST play for their season-opener in a matchup against the 2-2 Denver Pioneers Feb. 20, who had already had four games under their belt. Marquette head coach Andrew Stimmel said it would have been nice to have had a game or two before conference play, but the team and coaching staff was still wellprepared for game action. “We kind of just go into every week understanding that there are going to be plenty of moments where we have to adjust and adapt and we have to find the silver lining in everything,” Stimmel said. “If you get a game canceled, it’s certainly heartbreaking for a few moments, but we felt great last week when we were able to deliver that news to our team and saw the response. … They
took it hard for a minute or two and then we were able to go out and have a great practice.” Despite COVID-19 having made its mark on the offseason and early in the regular season, the team enters this spring with plenty of experience on the roster and a plethora of young talent. ATTACKERS:
The team features 12 upperclassmen and four graduate students, with all but one returning from last season. The one new addition, attacker Morgan Macko, is a graduate student who played the last four seasons at Bellarmine University. During his time with the Knights, Macko posted 61 goals and 33 assists in 45 career games. Redshirt junior attacker Griffin Fleming said Macko’s addition to the team helps the attacking unit as a whole. “It’s nice having guys like Morgan Macko come in,” Fleming said. “It’s nice to have him come in with a ton of experience … and sort of help me out and help some of the other upperclassmen out to sort of get them comfortable and feel as confident as they can feel in these big games.” Fleming also said getting players more comfortable and confident in their roles is one of the goals the attack unit has for this spring. He also hopes they can be one of the highestscoring units in the country. “Obviously we want to be a top 10 offense in the country,” Fleming said. “I think it’s something that we
believe, and the coaches believe, is achievable. From there comes success as a team, so hopefully that’s what comes.” DEFENSE: While the attacking unit has its fair share of seasoned veterans, the defensive unit is much younger. Nine out of 10 defensemen on this year’s team are underclassmen, aside from graduate student P.J. Cox, who is returning for his fifth season with the Golden Eagles. Cox has played in 26 games dating back to 2017 and started in all seven of Marquette’s games last season. In those seven games, he tallied five ground balls and caused two turnovers. As the oldest player on defense, Cox said it is important to be willing to offer time and help to the younger players on the defensive side since he remembers what it feels like to be in their shoes. “There’s certainly a big learning curve coming from the high school to college level,” Cox said. “I’m in a position right now where I can kind of be like another coach and just kind of … support guys and help them feel as confident as they can so that they feel comfortable and able to make plays.” Coming into this season, Cox said this defensive group has a sense of togetherness they were able to build towards the end of last season before the pandemic ended the season early. “As the games went on last year we felt a lot more cohesive as a unit,” Cox said. “I think that that’s
gonna free us up to make maybe even more plays than we were able to do last year just cause we know each other better, we really have an understanding of what certain guys are good at and when we as a unit we might need to support other players.” In the seven games played last season, the defense allowed 74 goals and opponents had a shot percentage of 29% against the Golden Eagles. MU also caused the most turnovers per game in the BIG EAST, averaging nearly nine. GOALIES: Marquette has a lot of depth in goal with the additions of first-years Jamie Grant and Michael Allieri. The newcomers join redshirt firstyear Sean Richard, redshirt junior Gabe Stein and redshirt junior John Hulsman, who made a team-high of 50 saves last season. MIDFIELDERS: The midfield brigade is led by graduate student Peter Henkhaus, who enters his fifth season with 34 career goals in 41 games played. He tallied 11 points last season after his best season as a Golden Eagle in 2017, where the 5-foot-9 midfielder posted 21 points and started in 12 of 13 games played. Redshirt first-year midfielder Chris Kirschner will also look to build on an impressive first season after leading the team in both goals and points. The Flemington, New
Jersey native posted 16 goals and 20 points as a true first-year and was the first player in program history with at least two goals in each of his first five collegiate games. In addition to the returning talent, the roster features 15 incoming firstyear players. Stimmel said the veterans on the team are gracious with their time and are always willing to help the younger guys improve their game. “Our upperclassmen … have always done a great job of really recognizing … a young, talented player and really not having an ego and I think just finding a way to utilize them and help them make the team better,” Stimmel said. “They kind of have the experience, they understand the system, they understand what we’re trying to do as a program and I think to be intentional with those relationships, it’s really incredible to see because I think a lot of people maybe wouldn’t do that.” In a season where there are still so many questions because of the pandemic, Stimmel’s message to guide the squad to success is simple: Keep showing up. “We’ve been inspired by that, not only from a mental health initiative, but I just love the message,” Stimmel said. “So that’s kind of what we’ve discussed. Let’s continue to show up every day to get better. … So I think if we’re able to do that, it’s gonna lead to success. It’s not the end result, but that mentality is gonna lead to success down the line for us.”
Sports
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
The Marquette Tribune
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VOLLEYBALL
ROSE: Athletic program creates #Gold4Sarah campaign day this is just a game,” Stimmel said. “She’s got a fight ahead of her that is much bigger than anything were doing.” Even though at first Rose didn’t want to share what was going on with her to people outside her tight community
Continued from page 12 human being. In addition, the Marquette Athletics funding page teamed up with the “Go 4 the Goal” foundation, an organization that raises money and awareness for children with cancer. The original goal was $500, but as of Feb. 22, it is at a staggering $7,315, which is 1,463% of the original goal. While the volleyball team was not able to play to honor their teammate, most of the other teams at Marquette were able to participate in the event. The men’s basketball team played Butler on the road in their gold uniforms Feb. 17. After the 73-57 victory, the team did a FaceTime call with Sarah in the locker room to celebrate the victory. Men’s basketball head coach Steve Wojciechowski said that even within sports, it is important to keep perspective on what is going on in the real world. “One of the things that I think is important for everybody involved in high-profile sports is to have perspective. You can think what you’re going through is tough and difficult, but when you have perspective, in reality, you’re not fighting the battles a lot of people are
of friends and family, she said she is happy that she did. “Looking back on it, I’m glad that I shared my story and that we are honoring pediatric cancer and fighting for a bigger cause,” Rose said.
Photo courtesy of Sarah Rose
Sarah Rose poses at the hospital as she undergoes cancer treatment.
fighting,” Wojciechowski said. “We have a lot of gifts individually and collectively as a group and we try to honor those gifts and Sarah (Rose) is a great role model for us to be reminded of that lesson.” Redshirt junior Greg Elliott also talked about the call and reiterated honoring the gifts given to them. “Talking to her (Rose) after the game was amazing, because it’s bigger than basketball at this point,” Elliott said. “She can’t play the sport that she loves but we still get to. She’s fighting
through us and we’re fighting through her … it felt good to talk with her (and) see her smiling.” Heading into their matchup with the Denver Pioneers Feb. 20, head men’s lacrosse coach Andrew Stimmel highlighted what playing on Saturday meant to the team, specifically focusing on Rose. “It’s hard to put into words. I know our guys are excited to be playing on Saturday for a number of reasons, but I think to be able to go out and truly stand behind Sarah and her battle and understand that at the end of the
Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics
Rose sets up Gwyn Jones in the 2019 NCAA Tournament at Purdue.
ESPORTS
‘Valorant’ players continue to engage in competition Johnson, Dahms highlight differences in comparison to CS:GO By Jack Lewandowski
jack.lewandowski@marquette.edu
When most gamers think of a 5v5 tactical first-person PC shooter game that involves planting and defusing bombs, their mind usually wanders to “Counter Strike: Global Offensive,” a game that has been on the market for nearly a decade. However, a new challenger has proven to be a worthy competitor to CS:GO, and it goes by the name “Valorant.” Starting as just a small research and development project at Riot Games in 2013, it was recently released this past June after being worked on for almost eight years. According to a video game database article released in June 2020, during the progression of the game’s development process, Riot Games promised that although the game may follow the same objective as CS:GO,
the game would “stay true to the high-consequential gameplay of other competitive tactical shooters with the addition of unique character abilities that create and open tactical opportunities.” This meant that, unlike CS:GO, players would have to rely on specific character abilities to use to their advantage during the best-of-30 match that consists of either stopping the opposing team from arming a bomb or planting the bomb and stopping the your opponents from diffusing it. About a month before the game was released, Riot Games allowed a two-month beta-testing period for 25,000 people who watched and listened for beta codes via social media and through Twitch streams. Two of the 25,000 people selected to participate in the beta happen to be heavily involved in Marquette’s very own “Valorant” team through the Marquette Gaming and Esports club. First-year Alec Dahms, and captain of the “Valorant” team, reflected on his “Valorant” beta experience. “I did a lot of the closed
testing with my friends … and I started playing it a lot more and started getting better at it than I ever thought I would be,” Dahms said. Dahms was not on campus at the time, so when he got to Marquette, the Gaming and Esports board were looking for “Valorant” players to start the first team. One of Dahm’s “Valorant” teammates, sophomore Gavin Johnson, had a different road that led him to the team. “I have this friend who is on the ‘Rocket League’ team … for esports at Marquette and he told me that (the Esports club) was making a ‘Valorant’ team this year and he saw me playing ‘Valorant’ and told me that I should join Marquette Esports,” Johnson said. When the game was finally released in June, about a month after the beta ended, Riot Games had not done much to change the overall experience of the tactical first-person shooter. “There wasn’t much that was changed, I think it was just some gun balancing and some ability balancing stuff,” Johnson
said. “There weren’t any major changes that I remember.” The more that Dahms and Johnson reflected on “Valorant,” the more the two made comparisons to CS:GO. “’Valorant’ and CS:GO have similar gunplay,” Johnson said, which means that the gun shooting and mechanics stay the same. While the games have many similarities, Dahms said there was a learning curve when it came to figuring out the characters’ abilities. Dahms said these abilities are exclusive to different characters and can produce many tactical and lethal advantages, such as a smoke grenade effect which can blind enemies, or Molotov cocktails that can burn opposing players if walked on. Marquette’s “Valorant” team has been competing in league play against other teams since mid-October. The team is currently 3-8, but the squad is making a comeback, as the team has won three out of its last five matches. Dahms said that the team is currently participating in the “College Star League,” the
biggest esports league for collegiate play in the country. Marquette’s “Valorant” team has a nontraditional, non-BIG EAST schedule, since the only team they have played from the BIG EAST is DePaul. Both Dahms and Johnson said they want to stay primed to participate in local area network tournaments against other teams for this next season. “I hope that in the future, we’re able to do more tournaments before the next season starts and get pretty far in them,” Johnson said. Johnson, a computer engineering student, stated that his biggest strength is making big plays that shift a game’s momentum toward Marquette. As the captain of the “Valorant” team, Dahms wants to make sure that he “doesn’t get too rusty” when long breaks occur, such as winter break, which stretched from Nov. 22 to Jan. 19. Dahms also expressed that he wants to meet his teammates more when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
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Tuesday, February 23, 2021
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Tiana Windbuchler discusses journey to United States Redshirt first-year trains at New Zealand National Academy By Matthew Valente
matthew.valente@marquette.edu
Every athlete has a journey to their collegiate career, if they are even lucky enough to make it that far. Not to mention the miles of travel they have had to put in to get to where they are today. Redshirt first-year women’s tennis player Tiana Windbuchler is the exact description of those miles and time sacrifices. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Windbuchler had an incredible journey to get to where she is today. Her love of the sport started at a young age, as she grew up watching sports with her dad. “We would watch basketball, rugby, tennis, or any other kind of sport,” Windbuchler said. Tennis was her favorite, though. Tennis is very popular in New Zealand, which could have lead her to like the game. “Over there its a very leisurely
sport,” Windbuchler said. She began to play tennis and then asked her parents if she could play more often when she was 12 years old. From there, her love of the sport grew. She started playing in programs, tournaments and eventually in the Tennis New Zealand National Academy, which Windbuchler said is an organization run by Tennis New Zealand. “I played in the Academy from when I was 12 until I moved away which was at age 15,” Windbuchler said. Windbuchler said she worked hard at the Academy, training five days a week. Her training consisted of lots of testing for fitness and body mass. The training demands were similar to those at the Athletic Human Performance Research Center, as players were used to experiment and test certain tools and new equipment. “We were the perfect guinea pigs for them because we are intense athletes,” Windbuchler said. “There was this little wrench that had a little scale in it and it would squeeze a bit of your stomach and it will tell you how much fat you have. There were also these electronic gates that would measure how fast we ran over a certain length.”
Tournaments in New Zealand do not happen often, but they are major events when they do happen. There are 6-8 minor regional tournaments that happen throughout the year and one of them is a “Top 8,” where the top eight athletes in each respective age group play in one national tournament in January. Windbuchler was not sure if this occurs this year due to COVID-19. The regional tournaments happen in some of the major cities in New Zealand such as Auckland and Hamilton. These tournaments have different age groups: 12s, 14x, 16s and 18s. When it came to preparing for a tournament, other than typical practices and a quick warmup before a match, Windbuchler did not prepare much. “I was not much of a preparer, I like to have a lot of fun, hang loose and just hang out with my friends,” Windbuchler said. When she came over to the U.S., Windbuchler noticed that there was a big change in the game dynamic compared to her home country. “In New Zealand if you try your best you are seen as trying too hard and here if you don’t try your best you are seen as a fool,”
Windbuchler said. Windbuchler was supposed to come to Marquette last fall semester, but due to complications, her trip was delayed. “I got delayed due to visa issues, so I took an involuntary gap year,” Windbuchler said. Some coaches get worried when when someone new joins the team in the middle of the season. Some coaches may be worried about who they’re going to get, but that is not the case with Windbuchler. Head coach of the women’s tennis team, Steve Rodecap, described her as “multi-dimensional.” Rodecap said all the players on the team also love her.
“She is one of those players that everyone likes, she is a happy-go lucky type of kid,” Rodecap said. Windbuchler said she likes the coaching techniques of Rodecap. “He pays a lot of attention to his players, he has that balance of very serious and off the court you can joke around with him,” Windbuchler said. Despite her love for the game, when Windbuchler graduates she doesn’t want to play tennis professionally. “Very few people make it successful in tennis, it is a difficult road,” Windbuchler said. “I would love to graduate with my degree in criminology then go off to grad school.”
Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics
Redshirt first-year Tiana Windbuchler attempts a backhand volley Feb. 2.