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Volume 105, Number 20
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
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Parties persist despite COVID-19 risks National Marquette Day leads to increase in unsafe gatherings By Natallie St. Onge and Claire Driscol natallie.stonge@marquette.edu, claire.driscol@marquette.edu
Each time *John Doe steps outside of his building near 17th Street, he enters what he calls a “war zone.” Crowds of students, mostly unmasked, gather at a house frequently to party. Though crowd sizes have been down the last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Doe said it didn’t stop students from attending a large party for a second National Marquette Day March 6. “I was astonished to see so many people and not a single person was masked,” Doe said. As he watched a densely packed group continue to gather, Doe said he decided to take out his phone to capture a video of the crowds, in
hopes that the students would see someone taking a video and would then disperse. Doe also wanted to have on record what he had been seeing often. The video shows about 100 students, donned in Marquette blue and gold, partying hours before the last Marquette men’s basketball home game March 6. The game was at 8 p.m. “Every time that happens, I make sure all the windows are sealed, because a lot of students are coming right by our door ... we don’t leave the house,” Doe said. Doe has requested to be anonymous for ensuring protection of his privacy. The Marquette Wire has honored that request. When Doe took the video, stepping outside for about a minute, he said he wore two masks and a face shield visor to protect himself from Photo courtesy of an anonymous source anything that may be in the air. “It’s just scary for us. We’ve made A large gathering of students were spotted partying on National Marquette Day, prior to the basketball game. See PERSIST page 2
Marquette begins progress on changing seal Committee consults with Milwaukee Jesuit community By Skyler Chun
skyler.chun@marquette.edu
Marquette University’s seal has been a controversial topic for many years now, particularly due to its inaccurate portrayal of Native Americans. Marquette’s current seal has two parts within a blue circular border. The upper part includes the Latin words “numen flumenque,” which translates to “God and the (Mississippi) River.” The lower half of the seal depicts Father Marquette interacting with an Indigenous individual on their
journey to the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. However, this image of Father Marquette has been cropped to leave out several Indigenous people who are in the original picture. “A university committee appointed by President Michael Lovell is working on an updated university seal that will celebrate Marquette’s Catholic, Jesuit mission and pay tribute to the influence of Indigenous peoples on our history,” according to a Marquette Today statement March 15. After the University Academic Senate meeting Feb. 16, changes seem to be taking shape. “The committee has gathered input from the Jesuit community, Indigenous peoples, faculty, staff and students and the design INDEX
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process is underway,” according to the Marquette Today statement March. 15. “The updated seal will be shared with the Board of Trustees for review and approval at a future board meeting.” Alex Liberato, a senior in the College of Business Administration, president of the Native American Student Association at Marquette and student body representative on the Seal Committee, has been a part of this ongoing process since his first year at Marquette. While specific details of the seal are still being kept within the committee, Liberato said they are currently consulting with members of the local Milwaukee Jesuit community on design ideas. He said they intend to bring the final design before NEWS
the Board of Trustees at their next meeting. “I’m really excited to be a part of this process and make a lasting change at Marquette for the better,” Liberato said in an email. “I’m thrilled because I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much get done in a year here at Marquette.” Bryan Rindfleisch, assistant professor of history and member of the research team on the seal committee, played a role in the first step of the seal redesign. As a member of the research team, Rindfleisch said their main job was to do research on Marquette’s history and give recommendations for elements that would honor Indigenous people. Their team was also there to supervise at every stage of the
See SEAL page 2
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redesign process. While Rindfleisch does not come from an Indigenous background himself, the other research committee members he works with do. These members include Samantha Major, assistant professor of English, who is Dakota; Jacqueline Schram, special assistant for Native American affairs at Marquette, who is First Nations and Richanda Kaquatosh, director and coordinator of Milwaukee Public School’s First Nations Studies Program, who is Menominee. Rindfleisch said that while he could not share specific details about the seal, he believes the
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