The Marquette Tribune | April 6, 2021

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Campus clean up

Some students express concern about littering around and near Marquette’s campus NEWS, 4

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Volume 105, Number 22

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

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Burnout

Students react to new era of MUBB Marquette hires Shaka Smart, fires Wojciechowski

By Natalija Mileusnic

natalija.mileusnic@marquette.edu

Marquette University recently decided to part ways with men’s basketball coach Steve Wojciechowski March 19 and hired Shaka Smart as his replacement shortly after.

Kolbe Donoghue, a first-year in the College of Business Administration, said that the dismissal of Wojciechowski will benefit the team for the upcoming season.

“I feel that Marquette has had too much talent in recent years to not make deep tournament runs, so a change in leadership is definitely a step in the right direction,” Donoghue said.

Donoghue expressed his frustration with Marquette not making the NCAA March Madness tournament this year.

“Overall, it’s disappointing that they are not in the tournament,” Donoghue said. “They certainly have the talent and they’ve shown that they can beat anybody, but they couldn’t put it together consistently enough as a team to have a successful season.”

Donoghue said what he hopes to see in the 2021-2022 season with new head coach Shaka Smart, a Wisconsin native that previously coached at the University of Texas for six years.

“I hope to see a team that is willing to make individual sacrifices to benefit the team as a whole,” Donoghue said.

Sam Gutierrez, a sophomore in the College of Communication, said that Marquette was not given an opportunity to succeed this season because of Wojciechowski’s coaching.

“I’ve been torn as to whether or not I like the guy, and I really wanted to give him a chance this season,” Gutierrez said. “But his abysmal coaching job this year has been disappointing, to say the least, especially with a team with such talent.”

Gutierrez said his disappointment, along with the rest of Marquette basketball fans, would continue if Wojciechowski remained head coach.

“I hate looking at the statistics, because there are a lot of contributing factors, but no NCAA tournament win in seven years, especially when we were in a good position, is frustrating,” Gutierrez said. “I think if Wojciechowski stayed, the trajectory would be little to nothing.”

Nathan Marzion, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said the release of Wojciechowski will improve the program.

“I was happy about it from a program standpoint because it was the right move to make,” Marzion said. “The results weren’t there and the production wasn’t there and there were a lot of consistencies every year.”

Marzion said that he has been a Marquette fan since 2008-2009, and the past few seasons have been upsetting.

“It’s a program that experiences a lot of success and so when you come in and you’re just not getting those results in the tournament in March, or when it matters, then the fanbase begins to grow impatient,” Marzion said.

Marzion said that consistency will be key to having Marquette be a successful team.

“I do think coach Smart will bring a better defensive team, because he has been consistently a good defensive coach,” Marzion said. “I’m

MUU TV

Semester with no spring break has significant impact to members of the campus community

Photo by Zach Bukowski zachary.bukowski@marquette.edu

Late pandemic mental struggles have become hard to ignore, especially on Marquette’s campus.

By Finn Askin

finn.askin@marquette.edu

After nearly three semesters of online learning and no spring break for the 2021 spring semester, students and faculty are beginning to experience pure exhaustion.

The phrase “burned out” has been coined to describe the stress and feelings students are consistently battling.

This widespread feeling of stress began when Marquette students received an email from the university that stated “beginning Wednesday, March 18 2020, university operations – where possible – will move to a remote working environment until at least April 10, at which point the university will reassess our overall situation.”

However, in-person learning See ERA page 2 would not return for the spring

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

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semester after another email was sent out less than two weeks later extending remote learning.

Students returned to campus for the fall 2020 semester, but things were different.

Tracey Sturgal, a professor of communication studies and strategic communication, said that she’s been seeing this trend in students since what she called the “February Slump.” With two of Sturgal’s children attending Marquette, she is also able to get an inside look into the stress students are enduring.

“Because I love my job and I love what I do, I want to always bring the highest energy and do everything I can for my students,” Sturgal said.

Sturgal said she believes it’s harder for everyone, including professors because during classes people are alone in their house and not surrounded by

See BURNOUT page 3

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their peers.

“Being so much more aware that all of the people are around me are having the same feelings I am right now. Remaining resilient, patient, and kind is so important right now,” Sturgal said.

Beyond the fall 2020 semester, most students at Marquette are still involved in some amount of online learning. Throughout Marquette, students are involved in a hybrid environment, which is a classroom that rotates students from being online and in person, or a fully online class. For a few, all classes are in person.

Before COVID-19 began, battling the hardships of school was already plaguing the mind of former Marquette student Jimmy Wronski. Wronski, who opted to

Accept LGBTQ+ people PAGE 11

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News

The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

ERA: Recent seasons seen as disappointing Continued from page 1 hoping he can improve the defense, so that we can be a top 40-50 defensive team in the nation.”

Marzion praised Wojciechowski’s efforts in attempting to create

a successful basketball program at Marquette.

“He’s a very good recruiter and I wish he could have been the guy,” Marzion said. “He represented the program really well, but the results just weren’t there.”

Tate Herbst, a junior in the College

of Engineering, said that the actual firing of Wojciechowski was a shock to him.

“I thought with COVID he would get one more year to prove himself, however, he has never been able to run an offense or get wins when they counted,” Herbst said.

Herbst said that he enjoyed watching the Marquette games this past season, despite Marquette’s record being 13-14 for the 2020-2021 season.

“I really liked how they scheduled tougher non-conference games this past season, so that is something that

I hope they keep doing,” Herbst said.

In Wojciechowski’s seven seasons at Marquette, his record was 128-95.

He only made two NCAA appearances, with no recorded wins.

Photos courtesy of Marquette Athletics

The university chose to part ways with former head coach of Marquette Basketball Steve Wojciechowski (top) March 19. Shaka Smart, former University of Texas head coach, takes his place.

News

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

The Marquette Tribune

BURNOUT: Some say they feel lonely Continued from page 1 take the year off from school, would have been a junior in the College of Communication at Marquette this year.

“There was immediately a gigantic disconnect between the students and professors. I can’t learn if things aren’t being presented to me in a face-to-face manner; I needed that interaction to maintain focus.” Wronski said. “All accountability for students seemed to be put on the back burner.”

Joey Sullivan, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, said he shared the same struggles as Wronski.

“It doesn’t even feel like we are in classes anymore. It’s nice that the university and professors are trying to be accommodating,” Sullivan said.

“However, If they were truly accommodating during this time,

then my peers and I wouldn’t all be feeling like we do.”

Sullivan continued by saying that it has seemed like Marquette isn’t doing their best to make sure online learning works for each curriculum.

With Sullivan being a finance major and a member of the Applied Investment Management Program, Sullivan said stress is already a facet that consistently seems insuperable. These factors, his extracurriculars, his job and sitting behind a computer screen for hours on end have made him feel like he is “just trying to scrape by until summer at this point.”

Sullivan and Wronski both, however, emphasized the fact that the “burned out” feeling will not just evaporate after the school year’s end.

“These three semesters of online schooling are deterring me from wanting to have any-

thing to do with school in the summer. The stress is even deterring me from wanting an internship,” Sullivan said.

Samantha Melody, a sophomore in the College of Communication, said it has been incredibly difficult to navigate this period due to the lack of interaction with other students.

It has also been laborious to retain the curriculum presented to her. Melody has participated in three straight semesters of fully online learning.

“Online learning has made me feel lonely. I can’t make friends from going to class, I don’t feel accountable for ditching because friends and professors won’t even realize I’m not on the screen,” Melody said. “The professors and peers tied to my curriculum are providing me no motivation.”

Melody said that online schooling may seem nice due

to its freedom, but in the long run, it doesn’t feel like it will be that beneficial.

Marquette was aware of the stress being built up in their students after their implementation of Mental Health Days. In place of spring break, Marquette decided to provide the student body with five Tuesdays or Wednesdays off throughout the course of the semester.

Sullivan said the result of these days was more counterproductive to his stress than anything: “It’s obviously a nice break, but I am still doing schoolwork during those days, which does not make up for spring break. It seems to be a trend that my professors will schedule exams after Mental Health Days.”

Marquette plans to be fully in person in fall 2021.

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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 Editors Megan Woolard, Claire Driscol Reporters Natalija Mileusnic, Julia Abuzzahab, Karsyn Hartfield, Finn Askin 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, Emily Reinhardt, Kimberly Cook, Bailey Striepling VISUAL CONTENT Design Chief Grace Pionek Photo Editor Zach Bukowski Sports Designer Kayla Nickerson Arts & Entertainment Designer Lily Werner Opinions Designer Mariam Ali Photographers Claire Gallagher, Joceline Helmbreck, Isabel Bonebrake, Nathan Lampres ----

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Some students feel like they just stare at a screen all day, leading to lack of motivation and struggles with focusing on their classes or activities.

MUPD REPORTS MARCH 31 A MU student reported another MU student subject for posting defamatory and harassing statements on social media. The subject has been arrested by MUPD and charges are being sent to the Milwaukee County district attorney’s office.

In a business in the 1600 block of W. Wells

street two non-MU subjects were involved in a physical altercation. One subject was arrested and transported to the Milwaukee County Criminal Justice facility. The other was transported to the Aurora Sinai Medical center by ambulance.

APRIL 1 In the 1100 block of N. 29th street a non-MU subject, with active warrants,

COVID-19 TRACKER was found to be in possession of cocaine. The subject was transported to the Milwaukee County Criminal Justice Facility.

A non-MU subject was found to in possession of marujuana and a firearm during a traffic stop in the 1600 block of W. Wells Street. The subject was arrested and transported to the Milwaukee County Criminal Justice Facility.

CUMULATIVE CASES - MARQUETTE 972 NEW CASES - 3/29-4/4 15 CUMULATIVE CASES - MILWAUKEE 101, 093 SEVEN DAY AVERAGE - WEEK OF 3/31 114.6

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The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Groups focus on cleaning up surrounding areas Participants spot crushed cans, face masks as litter

By Lelah Byron

lelah.byron@marquette.edu

With the pale sun of the spring semester comes melodic birdsong, floral apparel and warmth that exposes accumulated waste trapped beneath the snow. Ashley Tan, a first-year in the College of Engineering, traipses through trash when she walks to class.

“When the snow melted, there were a lot of disposable masks on the street,” Tan said. “I live

by Straz Tower, and whenever I walk across the bridge, I feel like I always see some type of trash. I try to pick it up when I see it.”

In 2020 and the first six weeks of 2021, the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services investigated 16,325 garbage violations and orders, according to WTMJ-TV Milwaukee. At Marquette, despite attendance challenges faced by clubs on campus due to COVID-19, organizations like Students for an Environmentally Active Campus have continued to advocate for sustainability and cleaner streets.

“Sustainability has come to the forefront of a lot of people’s minds,” Aaron Sabal, a senior in the College of Business Administration and president of SEAC, said. “We’ve seen a lot more public discourse and discussion about it, which is encouraging.”

SEAC is a club for students to participate in both learning opportunities and excursions around Marquette and Milwaukee. Three other student-led organizations on campus — Ocean Conservation Club, Global Water Brigade and Food Recovery Network — cite climate justice and sustainability in their club descriptions. Fossil Free Marquette, founded in the fall semester of 2019 and not yet listed on the Marquette website, is a campaign petitioning the administration to divest its endowment from the fossil fuel industry.

“Throughout the past year, the pandemic helped a lot of people see that these environmental issues are interconnected,” Joseph Miscimarra, senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, vice president of SEAC and co-founder of Fossil Free Marquette, said.

Miscimarra noted the linkages between racism and environmental inequities, especially with air pollution and a virus that attacks the respiratory system.

COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death in the United States in 2020, according to provisional mortality data published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention March 31. Communities of color were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic; deaths related to COVID-19 were higher among American Indian and Alaska Natives, Hispanics, Blacks and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander persons than whites, according to the report. Unequal and chronic exposure in communities of color to environmental health hazards such as air pollution — which can contribute to or worsen diabetes, heart diseases, asthma and lung cancer — overlap with the risk factors for severe COVID-19, according to preliminary research from the Public Health Institute and the University of California San Francisco.

These are deeply rooted and systemic patterns in the nation and on campus. Litter is just a physical manifestation of one part of those problems.

SEAC campus clean-ups are held each month, weather permitting, to dispose of litter like fast food wrappers and cigarette cartons. SEAC held their first campus clean-up of the year March 21.

“It was good timing, because that was just after the snow melted, so there was a ton of trash lying around,” Miscimarra said. “We got at least ten full bags of garbage, and it’s maybe just a small dent in the problem, but it can’t hurt.”

Mia Cinquini, a sophomore in the College of Nursing and secretary of SEAC, said in-person activities like the clean-ups have been the most effective in boosting club engagement.

“It’s kind of hard to host Zoom meetings — like no one really wants to have another one in the day. There are still people that do show up, just not as many as we would like,” Cinquini said.

Weekly virtual meetings for SEAC Wednesday nights typically attract the executive board and about three club members, Cinquini said. That number jumps up to ten when they host socially distanced, in-person meetings outdoors. The recent clean-up, with 20 participants, has been the club’s best turnout so far this year.

Tan is not a current member of SEAC, but she said she hopes to get involved next semester once campus is more open and meetings can be in person. She said she also has plans to organize her own eco-friendly group.

“It would be easy to text your

friends, like, ‘hey, I’m gonna go walk around and clean up trash today. Let’s grab a bunch of trash bags,’ or something like that,” Tan said. “If it’s something you want to do, and you want to see campus look cleaner, then this is a great option to help the environment one step at a time.”

Most commonly, campus clean-up participants and students like Tan who work independently will spot crushed cans, face masks and takeout containers. The latter two items, Tan said, are largely unavoidable due to the pandemic, but they should be disposed of properly.

“Obviously the masks are a necessity, but reusable masks can help the environment out,” Tan said.

Cinquini said she is glad to see some more eat-in options at campus dining halls now, where students can eat on reusable plates. But in the fall semester, “the garbage cans were overflowing” in Wells Street Hall, where she lives. To-go containers are often not disposed of by students in the proper bins labelled “recycling,” Cinquini said.

“Every single day it was really bad,” Cinquini said. “It was absolutely insane how many containers there all were.”

The crushed cans, though, tell a slightly different story.

“They were a majority of what we picked up,” Miriam Schwabe, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences and co-founder of Fossil Free Marquette, said in an email. “If you’re partying outside, please recycle those cans!”

Clean-up participants largely stick to blocks with off-campus housing, where several houses are notorious with SEAC for not disposing of party waste.

Kilbourne Avenue and State Street are also congested with

garbage, Sabal said. The shrubbery surrounding one dumpster on the street is sullied when there’s an overflow of trash and city sanitation has not collected that day.

“There’s one bush that’s just completely full of trash, and it’s really gross,” Sabal said.

Even though the trash is gross, the clean-ups themselves are productive ways to become more involved with environmentalism and the city, Sabal said.

“We’re going to do a beach clean-up,” Sabal said. “They’re all a lot of fun, and it’s a good way to get outdoors.”

Efforts for an environmentallyconscious campus are helped in part by the new sustainability and energy coordinator Chelsea Malacara, who has been in the position since September 2020.

Former sustainability coordinator Brent Ribble left the university before the 2019 fall semester and the position went unfilled until Malacara.

“One of my top priorities is really connecting folks across campus, breaking down silos to create synergies that will eventually make sustainability an inherent part of our culture here,” Malcara said in an email. A synergy is a collaboration between two or more organizations whose combined efforts are greater than the sum of their individual efforts.

Malacara praised the clean-up efforts by SEAC, also noting that the grounds team at Marquette is “committed to campus beautification and do their fair share of litter clean up throughout the year.”

In terms of broader sustainability initiatives, Malacara pointed to her current work on Marquette’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System report. The report is “a transparent,

self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance across operations, academics, engagement, planning, administration and leadership,” Malacara said in an email. It will be completed this summer. A main sustainability goal is to reduce CO2 emissions by 25% by 2025, Malacara said.

Following the completion of the STARS report, Malacara wants to organize a committee, including staff and students across campus, to develop a sustainability plan for Marquette.

Regardless of political ideology, younger adults aged 18-38 are the among the most climateconscious generations when it comes to environmental activism and policy, according to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. In fall 2020, 33 Marquette undergraduate students had declared interdisciplinary environmental studies as their major, and six had declared it as a minor, as indicated by program enrollment statistics.

From climate lunch talks to internship offerings, members of SEAC said Malacara has provided “wonderful learning opportunities” for the club and the Marquette community as a whole. Malacara considers sustainability efforts beyond the usual suspects of trash and recycling, Miscimarra said. He offered the 13th Street parking structure as an example, which keeps its lights on “all the time.”

“I could talk about (Malacara) all day. She’s amazing, and I honestly cannot think of a better person for the job,” Miscimarra said. “If you think about sustainability on campus ... there’s a ton of other ways we need to holistically round out our efforts.”

Photo by Joceline Helmbreck joceline.helmbreck@marquette.edu

Chelsea Malacara is Marquette’s sustainability and energy coordinator. She began working at MU in September.

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Tuesday, April 6, 2021

The Marquette Tribune

5

Spring elections held Tuesday in Milwaukee Some view local elections as essential despite lower turnout

By Karsyn Hartsfield

karsyn.hartsfield@marquette.edu

Wisconsin held its 2021 spring elections April 6. The positions being elected include multiple school board directors, state superintendent of public instruction and municipal and circuit judges.

The elected state superintendent of public instruction serves a four-year term, while Wisconsin circuit judges serve six-year terms. This is the only statewide election this election day.

For Milwaukee, the local positions being elected are school board directors for districts four, five, six, seven and a municipal judge.

Elected school board directors serve four years in office, as do elected municipal judges.

Many of the currently elected officials for these local positions are not running for reelection this year, meaning there will be many newly elected officials voted in.

Who is elected does come down to who votes. While about 60% of Americans vote during a presidential primary, only 20% vote during local elections. In a 2019 election for a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, there was about a 27% turnout in Wisconsin.

Bryanna Spietz, a first-year in the College of Arts & Sciences and the finance director for Marquette Democrats, said that while all elections are important, local elections are especially important.

“These are where ideas are most likely to be heard and acted upon,” Spietz said.

Spietz also said that locally elected officials are “more directly involved in the community and the process going on” because of the smaller population size they serve.

Allison Mazukelli, a firstyear in the College of Health Sciences, also said that even if its not a big election by some people’s opinions, it still important. Mazukelli said that even if it’s not a major one, the election “affects everyone in Milwaukee, and there’s a lot of people in Milwaukee.”

Milwaukee’s population is just under 600,000 as of 2020.

Even for students who don’t permanently live in Milwaukee, such as Spietz, the local election can impact them.

Spietz said that although she’s not from Milwaukee, she’s here during the school year and the decisions the community votes on will affect her. For students who go to school in Wisconsin, they can register to vote even if not originally from there. In addition to those affects, the decisions made in local elections can be impactful for more than just the city or state.

“Our city can implement new policies and change that draws

attention from the rest of the nation. Their implications can affect people statewide and even nationwide,” Spietz said.

Abby Gray, a first-year in the College of Arts & Sciences and a member of the Marquette Democrats, also said her views on local elections are that they are essential.

“Voting for local officials is the best way to reflect our values since it impacts us the most,” Gray said.

Gray also said each elected position is important. She mentioned that the courts are a “lesser known” voting system, however, they still hold importance. These courts are “important in high publicity cases,” for example.

Another example Gray used is the importance of the superintendent position. Gray said they are “the face of the public schools,” which is why it’s essential for people to “elect someone who fits our vision for public schooling.”

The candidates on the ballot for Wisconsin state superintendent this year are Jill Underly, the current superintendent of the Pecatonica School District, and Deborah Kerr, a former superintendent of the Brown Deer school district. Both candidates have over 15 years of experience working in the education system.

Recently, Kerr has received attention due to a controversial tweet she posted. The tweet,

posted in response to a thread asking, “When was the first time someone called you the n-word?

I was 18,” has since been deleted, along with Kerr’s twitter.

Underly was recently questioned on her ability to handle racial incidents by a now-former superintendent candidate, Shandowlyon Hendricks-Williams.

Hendricks-Williams, during a forum, questioned Underly as she referred to an incident that occurred in the area of Underly’s school district before an upcoming game.

Those looking to find their voting site or who want to register to vote can find out how to do so here.

Photo by Isabel Bonebrake isabel.bonebrake@marquette.edu

The state election is for the superintendent of public instruction. There are also elections local to Milwaukee.

Socially vulnerable populations prioritized Public health officials encourage certain zip codes to vaccinate

By Julia Abuzzahab

julianna.abuzzahab@marquette.edu

Milwaukee County states on their dashboard that they utilized data to identify the socially vulnerable populations in their community. The data will help emergency response planners and public health officials adhere to the needs of the Milwaukee community in terms of response and recovery efforts.

Milwaukee County is also one of the first communities to include race and ethnicity on its COVID-19 dashboard. From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,

Milwaukee County has attempted to be transparent in relation to race and ethnicity.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, socially vulnerable populations refers to the socioeconomic and demographic factors that affect the resilience of communities.

The City of Milwaukee announced that Milwaukee residents living in specific zip codes were the focused demographic encouraged to get the COVID-19 vaccine March 17.

The CDC ranked these areas the most vulnerable on their Social Vulnerability Index.

The CDC calculates their index by utilizing the U.S. Census data to discover the social vulnerability of each census tract. Census tracts are subdivisions of countries that the Census collects data from. The CDC social vulnerability in-

dex determined each tract from 15 social factors which include poverty, lack of access to a vehicle and crowded housing. The CDC then groups them into four themes: socioeconomic status, household composition, race/ethnicity/language and housing/transportation.

Alison Efford, associate professor of history, said these socially vulnerable populations were developed as a result of long-standing racism and entrenched self-interest. They are also populations that have unequal access to necessary resources that allow us to live healthy lives.

“People who live in close proximity to others in prisons and long-term care facilities are vulnerable, as are those who live in large households. People who have to work in close contact with others are also at risk,” Efford said in an email. “Of course,

racism, discrimination based on immigration status, and socioeconomic disadvantage affect all these factors, so Milwaukee’s Black and Latinx communities have been disproportionately hit hard.”

Keli Wollmer, executive director of the Marquette Medical Clinic, said the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on underserved, socially vulnerable populations. Wollmer said vulnerable populations include several people of color that live in poor, crowded communities with inadequate living conditions and have limited access to health care, including the COVID-19 vaccine.

William Welburn, vice president for inclusive excellence, said he would rather refer to people in these socially vulnerable populations because these people were made vulnerable due to inequities in jobs and

fair wages, housing, health care and access to a good education. These factors have only worsened because of COVID-19.

Efford said that we have an ethical responsibility to ensure that the people most at risk receive the vaccine. She said viruses must be addressed at a population level rather than an individual level, for COVID-19 will be a risk to everyone as long as it continues to circulate.

“Marquette’s mission is grounded in creating men and women for others. If we take that seriously, we need to think about communities geographically close to campus. The university benefits from the vibrancy of Milwaukee as a city. We must work to make sure that we are not simply on the receiving end of that relationship,” Efford said in an email.

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News

The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Commuters adapt to hybrid, online learning Some prefer virtual format, others say it is more difficult to focus

By Claire Driscol

claire.driscol@marquette.edu

Similar to students living on campus, commuters and those living at home have also had to adapt to a new format of school amid COVID-19.

Bennett Raasch, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences who commutes from Wauwatosa — which is around 10-15 minutes away from campus — said using public transportation during the pandemic was challenging.

“It became less practical to take the bus because I could never know if it would be at full capacity on a given morning ... meaning I could miss the opportunity to get down to campus on time,” Raasch said in an email.

The Milwaukee Coun-

ty Transit System buses have a maximum capacity of 15 passengers because of COVID-19 regulations.

Due to these restrictions, Raasch said he made the decision to purchase a commuter parking pass this year so he can drive to campus on his own schedule. A daytime commuter pass for summer 2021 is $132. Next semester’s price is not yet available on Marquette’s website.

Although Raasch now has more flexibility in travel plans, he said Marquette’s Mental Health Day activities aren’t geared as much towards commuters as it is “unrealistic” to head down to campus on these days.

According to Marquette’s website, Mental Health Days were implemented for the purpose of giving undergraduate and graduate students in certain programs the opportunity to “rest and recharge while also reducing unnecessary travel.”

Marquette implemented these days after it eliminated spring break. Within these days, the

university hosts a variety of in-person and virtual events for students.

The next Mental Health Day will take place April 20 and the final Mental Health Day is May 5.

Although online school gives students more flexibility in where they attend class, Raasch also said he continues to spend the same amount of time on campus as he did before COVID-19.

“I find it extremely difficult to take online classes from my home and need to head down to campus for my courses and to do schoolwork,” Raasch said in an email. “Commuting is about the same as before with the amount of time I spend on campus, but that is merely because I can’t focus as well at home compared to the library.”

Difficulty completing schoolwork at home is not exclusive to Raasch, as a 2020 report from MDPI showed that studying from home commonly requires greater self-discipline and motivation to follow through with online lessons for students in

higher education.

“I am someone who learns better in person and can easily lose concentration during an online class, as I’m sure many students do,” Raasch said in an email.

Madisen Donovan, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences who is living at home this year, said she also struggles in the newfound virtual environment.

“It has been much more difficult than I ever imagined,” Donovan said in an email. “I have always thrived in an inperson environment and now being so isolated and just watching voiceovers of professors is not the same.”

However, Donovan said she made the decision to stay home and attend all-virtual classes because it was a “better fit” for her this year.

“I thought it was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the online learning and be able to make extra money,” Donovan said in an email. “But that definitely doesn’t mean that I like online learning.”

Ross Pendergast, a junior in the College of Business Administration who also commutes from Wauwatosa, said class difficulty has remained relatively the same with an online course load.

“The only difference I see is more activities to keep students engaged in class,” Pendergast said in an email. “This has definitely led to more time spent on classwork.”

Pendergast also said that online classes have made his commute from Wauwatosa easier.

“I don’t have to plan as much to make it to class on time as a lot of my classes are online a few days a week,” Pendergast said in an email.

Although virtual class has made Pendergast’s commute easier, he said he is hoping campus returns to normal next year while still allowing hybrid or online classes for students who don’t feel comfortable or are at risk for COVID-19.

JUNE AND HERMAN LOEBL

WOMEN BUSINESS LEADERS SPEAKER SERIES Marquette University College of Business Administration Presents Taking Risks and Engaging Authentically – Perspectives on Leadership Featuring Kamilah Williams-Kemp The June and Herman Loebl Women Business Leaders Speaker Series features distinguished business leaders who have reached the highest levels of achievement and leadership in their professional sphere. In April, we welcome Kamilah Williams-Kemp, vice president of risk products at Northwestern Mutual, for a virtual presentation and discussion.

FRIDAY, APRIL 16 11:00 a.m. – noon CDT Virtual presentation and discussion Presented in partnership with the Marquette University Institute for Women’s Leadership

Register online at marquette.edu/womeninbusiness.

News

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

The Marquette Tribune

7

Where to get the COVID-19 Construction for new business vaccine near Marquette school begins Wisconsin expands eligibility to residents 16 years and older

By Finn Askin

finn.askin@marquette.edu

Over 100,000 people in Milwaukee County have had COVID-19.

Over 1,000 have died. However, yesterday, the people of Milwaukee took a big step in the march toward normalcy.

The Milwaukee Health Department opened vaccinations up to any individual 16 years and older who resides in certain zip codes March 22, but recently after increases in vaccinations, the state was able to expand eligibility to all individuals over the age of 16.

At Marquette, doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine were secured and will be able to be distributed to the larger campus community starting April 14. However, vaccinations can still be done at other locations near campus.

Members of the Marquette community can sign up for an appointment online. However, Marquette’s clinic will not be open to the public and is exclusively for students, staff and faculty.

Outside of campus, students have multiple options of places. The

Wisconsin Center, located at 400 W. West Wisconsin Ave., is only a 10-minute walk from Marquette’s campus. Appointments can be set up through the City of Milwaukee Health Department’s website.

The Milwaukee Mass Vaccination FEMA Clinic is open to the public and will offer appointments for first and second doses of the vaccinations. The center is open seven days a week and opens at 9 a.m. Monday-Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday.

Outside of the Wisconsin Center, students are also able to schedule an appointment through Walgreens on campus with a Walgreens.com pharmacy account.

Sophomore in the College of Nursing Melissa Olivera Liz received the first dose of her vaccine at the Wisconsin Center site in early March when eligibility was open for nurses.

“Getting my vaccine went very smoothly. They were very organized and kind. I was afraid the vaccine would hurt but they did it so quickly I couldn’t even feel it.

Overall, it was a very positive experience and I feel very lucky to have been able to get it,” Olivera Liz said.

Gabriel Dally, a senior in the College of Health Sciences, has yet to receive his vaccine due to the worries of an adverse reaction affecting

his schooling.

“Currently with my school load it has been really hard to set aside either a day or two to endure the effects of the vaccine,” Dally said.

Potential side effects of the vaccine can include pain, redness, and swelling of the arm and fever and chills that can last up to 48 hours after vaccination, according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention.

Hannah Eichelman, a sophomore in the College of Nursing, obtained her vaccine a bit further off-campus at the Kosciuszko Community Center, located at 2201 S. 7th St., about two miles south of campus.

“My experience with the vaccine was amazing,” Eichelman said. “I wasn’t sure how my body was going to react, but I only had a headache for about an hour and some pain at the site of injection. I recommend everyone who is eligible get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

As of Monday, 18% of all Milwaukee county residents are fully vaccinated and 59% of individuals 65 and older have received a full dose.

In the state of Wisconsin, 35% of the state has at least one shot in their arm. This is above the average of 32% vaccinated for all other states and U.S. territories.

Benjamin Wells contributed to this report.

Photo by Joceline Helmbreck joceline.helmbreck@marquette.edu

Students can get the COVID-19 vaccine at the Wisconsin Center, Walgreens or even the Medical Clinic.

“You’ll see a lot of construction taking place here over the next 18 months.”

While the place where the business school is set to be was used for Marquette students to congregate during the warm weather, Strigens said that the business building will actually have an outdoor area that

By Benjamin Wells benjamin.wells@marquette.edu will act as a green space. “(There) will actually be a cafe Tyler Pietsch, a first-year in the that will open up into this green College of Business Administra- space,” Strigens said. “We’ll tion, said March 23 was a good have this active campus cafe right day for him. on the peripheral of that green Pietsch and his group of friends space ... I actually think it’ll be watched the groundbreaking cer- an improvement.” emony for the new business buildHowever, just outside of the ing from outside the Alumni Me- construction site, members of morial Union lawn. the Marquette community held a “We’re really silent protest excited about with signs that the new busiread “no one ness building,” gets fired.”

Pietsch said.

This was one “We’re gonna of many protests get a year and a that have been half out of the going on this new building ... school year disWe just wanted agreeing with to see it because the university’s this is going to recent decisions be our home.” to eliminate 39 The groundpositions and breaking cernot renewemony consisting contracts ed of multiple of nontenure members of the track faculty.

TIM HANLEY Marquette com“We just Interim dean of the College of munity, including wanted to reBusiness Administration University Presimind admindent Michael istration that Lovell, Provost Kimo Ah Yun, Lau- there is human cost happening ra Daniels, former dean of the Col- here at the same time of these capilege of Business Administration tal projects,” Sarah Kizuk, graduJoe Daniels’ wife and Tim Hanley, ate student of philosophy, said. the interim dean of the College of Some of those who were presBusiness Administration. ent at the ground breaking walked “Today just culminates this last right past the silent protest without incredible year and we couldn’t be acknowledging their presence. more excited,” Hanley said.

“None of them looked at us at No official name for the new all, and I’m not surprised,” Kihome of the College of Business zuk said. “But I am really sad Administration has been revealed. that they couldn’t even acknowlHowever, Hanley said there are edge the fact that we were here ... plans to honor the late dean’s life it’s disgraceful.” after he was killed in a car accident Kizuk said that there are more February last year. plans for members of the Mar“It was Joe Daniels’ vision that quette Academic Workers Union brought us here today,” Hanley and the Marquette community said. “We’re definitely going to do to keep voicing their demands to something to honor Joe.” the university.

Ground broke at 2 p.m. dur“We don’t plan for it to end ing a livestream to the Marquette here,” Kizuk said. “We’re trying community and construction has to build a movement here.” since began.

The new school will complete its “Next step is we continue to construction by December 2022. clean up the site and get ready to Kaylee Staral contributed to this start digging the hole,” Lora Stri- report. gens, vice president for planning and facilities management, said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Building to have outdoor area to replace green space

“

It was Joe Daniels’ vision that brought us here today.

We’re definitely going to do something to honor Joe,”

The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Arts &

Entertainment

Page 8

TEDxMarquetteU hosts 2021 spring conference “Flourish” Speakers talked about growth, connection, society during event

By Skyler Chun

skyler.chun@marquette.edu

TEDxMarquetteU hosted its second conference this year called “Flourish,” which was livestreamed from the Varsity Theatre March 28. Three speakers from the Milwaukee and Marquette communities delivered presentations on various topics relating to our society.

TEDx is an organization that posts online presentations on innovative ideas for viewers across the world.

Aiesha Anchan, a junior in the College of Health Sciences and an associate director for TEDxMarquetteU, said that given the situation with COVID-19 this year, their team wanted to choose a theme that would represent growth.

“We wanted to talk about how we, as a community, can grow and learn no matter what circumstances we are in,” Anchan said. “Regardless of where you are and what you’re giving, you are still able to grow and develop.”

With this semester’s theme being “flourish,” each of the speakers at this semester’s conference touched on growth, connection and society.

All three speakers were also Marquette professors.

Melissa Shew, a visiting assistant professor of philosophy at Marquette and the first speaker, talked about philosophy for women and girls.

“In (Shew’s) speech, she bridged the concept of the Greek goddess Persephone and her journey as a god with woman’s voices and women’s studies,” Anchan said. “She also talked about the actions we need to take to uplift these voices.”

Chelsea Cook, an assistant professor of social behavior, neurobiology and behavioral genetics at Marquette, talked about bees, specifically honey bees, and how their behavior is very similar to how we function in society.

“Bees have very concrete roles, and there’s a very diverse amount of behavior in a colony,” Anchan said. “(Cook) talked about how the diversity and behavior of those

Photo by Joceline Helmbreck joceline.helmbreck@marquette.edu

Melissa Shew is a visiting assistant professor of philosophy at Marquette. She talked about the dangers of intellectual disempowerment in women.

bees and their cooperative abilities can be applied to the problems that we have in our society.”

Michelle Rodriques, a primatologist and a biological anthropologist, as well as assistant professor of social and cultural sciences at Marquette, does research on social networks and stress in monkeys, apes and humans.

Rodriques is an advocate for the conservation of primates. In her speech, she talked about how colonized primatology impacts the communities that these primates live in.

“A lot of these speeches are very rooted in what these professors study and what their biggest interests are,” Anchan said. “It’s very unique to see how their ideas and solutions can not only apply to Marquette University, but our society in general.”

Anchan said their biggest struggle was making these speeches as engaging as possible in a virtual situation.

“I think our team really pulled through this time, especially with the amount of practices these speakers had, and just all of us

being there to be the audience,” Anchan said.

Melissa Shew, the first speaker at the event, said she is heavily devoted to education and advocacy in support of women, both in her role as an educator and just as a female in the world.

“I wanted to give a talk that laid out the importance of empowering women and girls intellectually … so my talk really focused on the importance of supporting women as thinkers and knowers,” Shew said. “I understand it as part of my job to help people learn how to think their own thoughts and have the confidence to be able to do so, especially when or if they make mistakes.”

She said that while she has given a lot of other presentations before, giving a TED talk was a whole different experience.

“The amount of stress and nerves that I felt beforehand, but it was also exhilarating,” Shew said. “On top of it, giving a TED Talk a year into a pandemic, with two little children at home and a lot of curveballs and chaos, was a very special experience. I remember right before I went on

stage, thinking I will never do this again, and then after I did it, I was like ‘well, maybe I could do this again.”

Shew said the team of TEDx students who put this together did an “absolutely sensational job.”

“They were so well organized amidst all the chaos and changes that they were going through, and they pulled off a fantastic event,” Shew said. “I really love that even in the chaos of a pandemic, these students are so devoted to innovative ideas, because it is easy to deemphasize the importance of ideas in this moment. Everyone is just trying to get through on a daily basis, but I really admired their commitment.”

Lily Eggerding, a first-year in the College of Arts & Sciences, is not a member of TEDx, but got to watch the event in person because her roommate is a part of the organization.

“I honestly didn’t really know anything about TEDx and the process behind that, so it was really cool to see,” Eggerding said. “There had been no in-person events this year, so it was awesome just to be able to see some professors that I’ve

had and listen to what everyone had to say.”

Eggerding said her roommate met with Shew about once a week.

“Shew probably wrote about 30 minutes of content, but had to break it down,” Eggerding said. “It was interesting to see how attached people can get to their ideas and what they write.”

The speeches were limited to around 20 minutes.

She said watching the event in person was much different than watching it online because she actually got to see the participants speak, and there were times when she even got chills from what they were saying.

“I’ve watched a lot of TED Talks in class and for different things, but I think seeing it in person is so different because you get to see the speaker talking to you, not at you,” Eggerding said. “You could see their passion when they were talking about their topics and they seemed really nervous when they come out and then they get into a groove. I feel like you can’t see that as well online. It kind of added to the experience and you got to feel what they were trying to invoke.”

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Arts & Entertainment

The Marquette Tribune

9

Bayanihan Student Organization hosts annual cultural show ‘He’s Dating an Heiress’ highlights Filipino culture

By Ariana Madson

ariana.madson@marquette.edu

For the Bayanihan Student Organization, the spring semester is a time of preparation for the annual BSO cultural show.

Kaylee Reyes, a junior in the College of Engineering and vice president of BSO, explained that BSO is the Filipino cultural organization at Marquette. They usually host two shows a year with a fashion show in the fall semester and the cultural show in the spring semester. The cultural show is a free event that is put on each spring and highlights the Filipino culture. Each spring, it includes a student-written play with dances in between.

“I always thought that cultural was a great opportunity for our members to embrace Filipino culture even if they aren’t Filipino or Asian,” Reyes said. “I feel like a lot of our Filipino members growing up didn’t really have a chance to connect with their culture.”

Reyes explained that Bayanihan means “coming together to achieve a common goal” and the show is just to let people have fun and embrace Filipino culture.

The show consists of a full storyline with intermittent dances

called “He’s Dating an Heiress.”

Reyes said that everything for the show was pre-recorded due to the pandemic.

“It’s one full story and the dances are somewhat integrated into the play itself so they do mention what dances are going to be happening next and stuff, so it’s kind of like one full storyline with the dance breaks,” Reyes said.

Stephanie Anne Villaceran, a junior in the College of Nursing and the cultural show coordinator, helped plan the show.

“Along with our cultural show, we kind of create a storyline to help with the flow of dances, so it’s not just one dance after another … we try to write storylines that reflect Filipino American culture or Filipino American experiences well as bring awareness to our culture overall,” Villaceran said.

Villaceran, who helped write the play’s script, said she and her colleagues took inspiration from the movie “Crazy Rich Asians.”

Villaceran said the plotline of the play follows a female lead who is visiting her home in the Philippines after studying abroad for a few years. She is also bringing her boyfriend and his family to introduce them to her wealthy family.

Sean Francis de Asis, a first-year in the College of Engineering, is one of the cast members in the play. He is also dancing in the show.

“I am dancing in a dance segment called tinikling, which involves

Marquette Wire stock photo

Bayanihan Student Organization members practiced a dance for their performance November 2019.

bamboo sticks and I also play a role in the acting segment of the show,” Francis de Asis said.

Francis de Asis said that all the dances and segments are choreographed and written by students in BSO. For a few of the members, the final product of the show is something they are looking forward to.

“I think seeing the end result come together would be very relieving … it’s been really great though to see everybody’s effort and willingness to participate despite the pandemic,”

Villaceran said.

For Reyes, this show and the organization have important timing, especially with the rise of Asian American and Pacific Islander hate crimes in the country. In the Atlanta area, a gunman killed eight people at different spas March 16, six of them being women of Asian descent.

“I feel like this show with the timing right now is very important to us because the world has been seeing, especially in America, a rise in Asian American and Pacific

Islander hate crimes in the country, which is something that has been deeply affecting us on a personal level, and I do feel like it’s nice to see that amidst this hate that we see in this world, BSO can become a safe place for our members to freely embrace the culture regardless of if they’re Filipinx,” Reyes said.

This year, the whole show is being pre-recorded and there will be a showing held in Varsity Theatre April 24. It will also be available to livestream on YouTube.

Students share thoughts on shortened Easter break Classes were only canceled on Good Friday this year

By Rashad Alexander

rashad.alexander@marquette.edu

COVID-19 has changed a lot of things for Marquette students during the 2020-2021 academic school year. One of those things is the loss of spring break, which has been replaced with five Mental Health Days spread throughout the semester. Some students find the days helpful, others do not.

But one thing that has not changed was having Good Friday off during the weekend of Easter.

Usually, Marquette would give that Thursday off for students as well.

But this is not the case this year, as students will just get Good Friday off.

While the Easter break gives students the opportunity to get a break from school, some students

Photo via Flickr

Some found ways to celebrate the holiday with family and friends.

don’t look at it that way. Alma Sandoval, a first-year in the College of Health Sciences, feels like this is not a real break.

“I feel like if it were a real break, we wouldn’t have homework and we would have time to relax”

Sandoval said. “But most of us still have homework to do so it can still be stressful.”

The lack of a spring break for Marquette students this year has really affected students this semester.

While some students went home to

see their families during this short Easter break, students like Eduardo Rodriguez, a first-year in the College of Engineering, wishes it could last longer.

Rodriguez said he spent time with his family over the weekend, but wish he had more time.

According to NPR, 60% of colleges this year are ditching spring break. And while this action is meant to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, it keeps students from being with their families, especially those who don’t live near Wisconsin.

However, some students have decided to take the trip home anyway, despite the long distance from home and short amount of time off from school.

Phillip Decocco, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, is a native of California. He hasn’t seen his family since the end of winter break. But he is taking advantage of this short Easter to be with them.

“I’m happy I get to see my family for the first time in months,” says Decocco. “However, I’m

disappointed that we didn’t get a break after midterms”.

Midterms can be a very stressful time for college students, and Decocco said it just does not make sense that students only get a three-day weekend after all the stress.

“I commend the university for trying to keep us safe during the pandemic, but I wish I had more time to be with my family,” Decocco said.

While the decision to not have a spring break was not something many students were happy about, they can still look forward to the end of the semester, which is a little over a month away.

The Marquette Tribune

Opinions

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

PAGE 10

Editorial Board

Natallie St. Onge, Executive Director Annie Mattea, Managing Editor Marquette Tribune Kelli Arseneau, Managing Editor Marquette Journal

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to persist and severely impact people’s mental and physical health, burnout is also severely impacting the Marquette community.

The World Health Organization describes burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” often relating to workplace stressors that cause feelings of exhaustion, negativity, mental distance from work and reduced professional efficacy, or belief in one’s accomplishments and abilities.

As full-time students who are often juggling homework, jobs, extracurricular activities and other obligations, burnout this school year is very real among Marquette students. Especially with additional personal and academic challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is

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

We are struggling with burnout

becoming too much.

Many students haven’t been able to see their friends or family members in normal environments or have a normal learning experience at Marquette. Being isolated and having to adapt to online learning may also be negatively impacting students’ mental health when it comes to their work.

As students, we also see the challenges professors are facing during this time and how difficult it is to keep up with tasks while facing uncertainty with their own jobs.

We are all struggling right now.

Having to deal with these additional challenges has been exacerbated by the lack of a sufficient break during the 16-week long semester.

Students, faculty and staff are all feeling the impact of not having a spring break.

Mental Health Days don’t provide students with a sufficient break. Not only are Mental Health Days in the middle of the week, but they are also inconsistently scheduled across the semester. Some Mental Health Days have long periods between them and others have short periods. For example, the Feb. 9 and March 10 Mental Health Days have four weeks between them, the March 10 and April 20 have almost six weeks between them and the April 20 and May 5 Mental Health Days have two weeks between them.

Students are exhausted and are struggling, and they need support.

Faculty and staff are still go-

ing through their own struggles as well — whether personal or professional — but they must make sure they have more understanding for the struggles of their students right now. Many professors are not taking into account that students don’t have a spring break when giving coursework.

Everyone should be more mindful and understanding during this time. Feeling overwhelmed and frustrated right now is completely justified, but we must still try to be considerate and kind to each other.

Considering the stressors and isolation this year has brought, it is essential that we are there for one another for support. We must make sure we are checking in on our friends as well as checking in with ourselves.

With the time for spring break

gone and only a few more weeks left in the semester, that is all that we can do.

Additionally, if students are experiencing challenges and wish to speak to someone or find more resources to get help, they should reach out to the Counseling Center. Students can call the Counseling Center for a phone consultation to schedule an appointment during weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 414-288-7172. If students feel they need resources for non-life threatening mental health concerns after weekday hours and during the weekend, they can contact the after hours counselor through the Marquette University Police Department at 414-288-6800. For life-threatening emergencies, students should call 911.

other pressing matters.

Everyone is eager to hear the latest news on how COVID-19 will affect their lives, but it feels like non-LGBT wants to hear about how COVID-19 is impacting LGBTQ+ people or other marginalized groups, let alone the issues that those communities were dealing with before the pandemic started.

It’s understandable — Americans are coming up for a breath of air after four years of former President Donald Trump and after a year of COVID-19, which finally seems to have an end in sight. Ideally, everyone would be paying attention to LGBTQ+ news all the time, but it’s been more difficult to continue activist work during the past year. However, now that there’s a pro-LGBTQ+ president in office and vaccine distribution dates right around the corner, we need to start paying attention to LGBTQ+ issues.

The existence of institutional transphobia and homophobia hasn’t gone away because of the pandemic. Because many are only paying attention to pandemic news, it is easier for these laws to go unnoticed in the news cycle. We cannot let this continue to happen and when anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is

passed, it needs to be met with direct support to the community it is affecting.

For example, the Alabama bill was passed in the state Senate by a vote of 23-4 and is likely to be presented before the House soon. This bill seems to be on the path to being passed, so support for trans people in Alabama is crucial right now and always.

Many trans people are currently seeking financial donations. Raising money allows them to put money toward their

some point in their lives. Even just a donation of $20 can help a trans person purchase a binder or help pay for groceries that week.

However, not everyone has the financial means to support marginalized people.

Fortunately, there are many other ways to support LGBTQ+ folks.

For trans people specifically, gender-affirming clothing and garments are crucial to their social transition. Marquette’s LGBTQ+ Resource Center recently hosted a clothing drive for trans people in the community, so paying attention to this and other organizations’ food or clothing drives is an easy way to help.

Additionally, raising awareness about similar bills and laws can help prevent them from getting as far along as Alabama’s has. This website has been tracking the number of anti-trans law proposals made in different states.

By researching these further and staying informed on when new legislation is proposed, especially in local states, we can begin protesting before the laws reach the point of no return.

Wisconsin’s neighbor Iowa has introduced three anti-trans bills this year, none of which have passed, but it’s likely that

other similar bills will be taken into consideration.

By staying informed, spreading awareness and offering support to trans and LGBTQ+ folks as a whole, we can start to help others see LGBTQ+ issues as a priority and keep it a priority no matter what the news cycle looks like.

Legislative protections for LGBTQ+ must become a priority

Jenna Koch This story is part of a series called “Moving On, But Not Forward.” As we see an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, this series draws attention to the social issues that were less prioritized during the pandemic but are now coming back into the public spotlight.

The Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, which would make it a felony to provide hormone replacement therapy, puberty blockers or gender-affirming surgeries to transgender youths, is advancing quickly through Alabama’s state legislature. 2021 already broke records for the amount of antitrans legislation proposed in the U.S. However, it feels like people are more silent than ever about trans issues.

Any important news is often overshadowed by COVID-19.

The pandemic is important and has taken the lives of many.

Transphobia has also taken the lives of many, but is not impossible to pay attention to both pandemic news as well as

“

The existence of institutional transphobia and homophobia hasn’t gone away because of the pandemic.” transition or towards basic needs like housing and food.

According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, one in five trans people have experienced homelessness at

Jenna Koch is a first-year student studying journalism. She can be reached at jenna.koch@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.

Opinions

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

The Marquette Tribune

11

Catholic Church must live up to teachings Max Pickart This story is part of a series called “Moving On, But Not Forward.”

As we see an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, this series draws attention to the social issues that were less prioritized during the pandemic but are now coming back into the public spotlight.

The Vatican’s appalling and disagreeable stance against same-sex marriages is one that will not only affect the LGBTQ+ community and its allies, but also the Catholic Church and organized religion as a whole.

The Church’s statement is deeply unfortunate and extremely detrimental toward the LGBTQ+ community, as the Church denied any form of same-sex marriage blessings March 15. In a message approved by Pope Francis, the response stated that Church’s stance on same-sex marriages would not and will not align with that of the progressive society.

There is no doubt that denying blessings to same-sex couples will

only further enhance the pain and anger of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies, especially those who are Catholics.

This pain and anger is justified, and those feelings should be encouraged among all Catholics. For an institution that constantly preaches “love of thy neighbor,” this is the greatest hypocrisy.

On top of this hypocrisy, the Vatican also explained that the Church refuses to bless sin, alluding to same-sex marriages as such. This is extremely disappointing.

In doing so, the Church failed to even recognize same-sex marriages as marriages and, instead, used the term “union” to acknowledge a civilly recognized marriage that exists between members of the same sex. Grace, love and faith persist in same-sex relationships and should be recognized for their uttermost beauty and authenticity.

What is perhaps most frustrating about the Vatican’s stance is the fact that it identifies gay and lesbian individuals as “persons with homosexual inclinations,” while asking that the LGBTQ+ community recognizes the “genuine nearness of the Church … and receive the teachings with sincere openness.” In doing so, the Church attempts to deny that de-

nying blessing of same-sex couples is any form of discrimination. If that is not discrimination, I do not know what is.

While the Church asks the LGBTQ+ community to remain open, it is directly closing off and restricting the capabilities of samesex couples and marriages in the Church, thus again committing complete hypocrisy.

Loving, faith-filled marriage, no matter the orientation of the couple, should be valued and celebrated in the Church.

A community that has been the recipient of prejudice and have been constantly reminded that their livelihood, by nature, is a sin from the Church has no reason to remain open to the Church’s said teachings and practices. It is nearly impossible for the LGBTQ+ community to feel the genuine nearness of the Church that discriminates against them.

They owe nothing to the Church as an institution.

The Church is stuck in the past and fails to change with the everevolving society around it, ultimately doing a disservice to both Catholics and the rest of society. Catholicism is declining at an alarming rate, with an 18% decrease in membership in the last

two decades. I am not surprised and I suspect that membership will continue to decline with the Church’s discrimination against nontraditional marriages and identities.

As a Catholic, my parents and my education instilled in me a sense of love for the world around me, an appreciation for all people and all orientations and a deep commitment toward fighting for justice and against all injustices.

While I want to stand with and for the Church at all times, I cannot when the Church denies the love of a community that I care deeply for.

In fact, I will gladly stand against the Church and demand better. I am angry and I am ashamed of my faith’s institution. This is wrong. It is simple: The labeling of LGBTQ+ couples as an act of sin is absolutely abominable and an act of violence.

The Catholic Church must do better. It is committing a deep act of violence against the LGBTQ+ community, and it is directly contradicting Catholicism’s golden rule: Love your neighbor as yourself.

At Marquette, students and faculty must actively combat such violence and discrimination in its teachings.

We are to demand that the LGBTQ+ community be welcomed and cel-

ebrated by the Church. Their love is not a sin, and their love and livelihood, too, is filled with faith.

I urge Catholics everywhere and students at Marquette recognize love as love.

Though the pandemic continues and our journey toward health is not quite finished, it is essential that members of the Church community continue to fight the injustices of the Church as an institution and commit toward a more welcoming, inclusive Church.

While the pandemic disrupted our lifestyles, the discrimination and prejudices against the LGBTQ+ community have still remained and the inequities still prevail. There is still so much work to be done.

In my life experience, I am reminded that love perseveres again and again, and that is enough. Love is enough.

Today and every day after, Catholics everywhere must demand the celebration, blessing and recognition as authentic, faith-filled love in the Catholic Church.

Max Pickart is a first-year student studying Writing-Intensive English.

He can be reached at max.pickart@marquette.edu

U.S., world still failing to protect women Hope Moses This story is part of a series called “Moving On, But Not Forward.” As we see an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, this series draws attention to the social issues that were less prioritized during the pandemic but are now coming back into the public spotlight.

Despite the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine increasing across the nation, we have not yet moved forward in addressing other societal issues. There is a silent pandemic that has plagued our societies globally, one that we have not yet remedied: the struggle for women’s rights, especially regarding sexual assault.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only dominated the news cycle but has globally dominated most conversations. While this is understandable, as the pandemic has altered and reshaped our entire society, it forced conversations concerning sexual violence to the sidelines.

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, sexual violence is the act of forcing or manipulating someone else into unwanted sexual activity without their consent.

Reasons someone might not consent include fear, age, illness,

disability and influence of alcohol or other drugs. Additionally, people may not consent because they change their minds.

Anyone can experience sexual violence including children, teens, adults and elders. Those who sexually abuse can be acquaintances, family members, trusted individuals or strangers.

Although anyone can be a victim of sexual assault, it is very common among women and affects them at a higher rate than men. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of February 2021 more than one in three women and one in four men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact during their lifetimes.

Nearly one in five women and one in 38 men have experienced completed or attempted rape.

This is not to say that sexual violence against men is not equally important but rather to show the disproportionate way it affects women. For example, 86% of young women aged 18 to 24 in the United Kingdom have been sexually harassed in their lifetime according to a survey for UN Women U.K. This imbalance stems from a history of misogyny and sexism which has led to other inequality issues women face today, such as the gender wage gap, gender discrimination in the workplace and poverty.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, sexual violence has

Graphic by Alexandra Garner alexandra.garner@marquette.edu

only increased, specifically in the domestic sphere. Lockdowns and stay-at-home orders were crucial to containing and controlling the coronavirus, but the silent pandemic that many girls and women were facing during the time was one that contradicted the idea of being safer at home.

Global data from the UN shows an increase in calls to Violence Against Women and Girls helplines, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean region. In Mexico, emergency calls related to violence against wom-

en and girls increased by 53% in the first four months of 2020.

During March and April 2020, the National Network of Refugees reported a 77% increase in the number of women using their services compared to the same period in 2019.

Not only has the pandemic pushed VAWG to the side, but it has also allowed for attacks on women’s rights to fly under the radar. Last month, the Minnesota Supreme Court overturned a sex crime conviction because the victim was voluntarily drunk.

The woman, the court said in a

unanimous decision, was “voluntarily intoxicated” at the time because she had made the decision to drink, and therefore did not meet the threshold for mental incapacitation under state law. The Minnesota Supreme Court has called for a new trial based on the fact that the victim was not forced to drink which has caused public outrage.

If it were not for social media, I would not have seen this case, making me wonder, how many others are missing out based on the prominence of the coronavirus in the news cycle?

Rulings like these are important to talk about and even protest, but most of us are missing out on it, forcing topics of sexual violence back into the darkness.

This is why we need to continue to shed light on this second and silent pandemic.

As we move on from the coronavirus pandemic, we need to realize that moving on is not moving forward. We will continue to be plagued, whether by the coronavirus or sexual violence, if we do not understand the severity of it. Violence against women and girls is not an inevitable part of life; It can and must be prevented.

Hope Moses is a first-year student studying journalism. She can be reached at hope.moses@marquette.edu

Sports The Marquette Tribune

BASEBALL BEING BACK BRINGS BUSINESS TO BARS, RESTAURANTS SPORTS, 15

Tuesday, April 6, 2021 PAGE 12

Shaka Smart era begins for MUBB

Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics

Shaka Smart received a tour of Marquette basketball facilities March 28. The Madison native has been a head coach for 12 seasons and amassed an overall record of 272-142.

Former University of Texas head coach returns to home state

By Zoe Comerford

isabel.comerford@marquette.edu

For Marquette University, March 29 was a historic day. It marked the start of the first African American men’s basketball head coach in program history’s tenure: the Shaka Smart era.

“I take a lot of responsibility and pride in being the first Black head coach here, especially because this is Doc (Rivers’) school,” Smart said. “If I’m the 18th head basketball coach at Marquette, hopefully down the road, there’s another Black coach

not just at Marquette, but around the country.”

University President Michael Lovell, who spoke first at the introductory press conference, said after getting to know him, Smart is a man of tremendous character and someone who cares about personal relationships.

“I learned from my first days at Marquette just how important basketball is to our students, alumni, faculty (and) staff,” Lovell said. “He is an excellent fit for our basketball program and even better fit for our university.”

Athletic director Bill Scholl echoed Lovell’s praises of Smart and said he is a man of great principle. Scholl said he wishes the season started tomorrow.

“You can’t possibly overstate what a great fit he is for this

storied program,” Scholl said.

“He is smart. He is thoughtful. He is principled and he can coach. ...

This is going to be a thrilling new era of Marquette basketball.”

For Smart, this is his third head coaching job after stints at the University of Texas and Virginia Commonwealth University. Over his 12 years as a head coach, his overall record is 272-142 and he took his 2011 VCU team to the NCAA Final Four.

“Any time you start at a program that has such a history like Marquette does, the first thing when you have that start is to make sure you understand the history of the program,” Smart said. “I take the responsibility very seriously of being your basketball coach. … Can’t wait to get to work.”

Not only was March 28, 1977 the day Marquette won its only NCAA Championship, but 11 days later, Smart was born to Monica King in Madison, Wisconsin.

“Growing up in this part of the country, you couldn’t help but follow this basketball program,” Smart said. “I remember listening to Al McGuire as a broadcaster and getting to know his personality through listening to him do games. … As I got more and more into the sport, into coaching, I’ve learned about what he did here … and truly understanding how special a basketball program this is.”

Smart’s biggest influence is his mother, who raised him and his three brothers mostly as a single mom.

“She did the best she could. She

worked a lot. … My mom and I have always had a really close relationship,” Smart said. “When I told her I was coming here, words can’t express how overjoyed she is.”

Being from a single-parent household, Smart said his coaches were father figures for him.

Smart’s Oregon High School basketball coach, Kevin Bavery, is the one who helped Smart fall in love with basketball.

“He used to open the gym Friday and Saturday nights,” Smart said. “He taught me about coaching even while I was still playing. … He was one of the many, many coaches who spent the time to build a great relationship with me.”

See SHAKA page 14

Sports

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

The Marquette Tribune

13

VOLLEYBALL

Theis’ squad loses to Creighton in BIG EAST final showing up. … They did all that first day prior for Marquette, as the squad class and I am just proud of their ef- breezed through set one with control. forts and ability to stick together. So, First set service aces contributed to to be playing for a championship at the team’s early success. The Goldthe end of all that, I was pretty happy en Eagles tallied up four, with only with them.” two service errors. Wolf and sophoMarquette entered the match more outside hitter Hannah Vanden

By Molly Gretzlock in search of their first BIG EAST Berg each contributed two service molly.gretzlock@marquette.edu Championship since 2013. In aces. Wolf and Lines also added The Marquette women’s volley- the previous BIG EAST Confer- four kills to help Marquette cruise ball team (10-4, 4-2 BIG EAST) ence Tournament in 2019, they to a 25-18 win.

The Bluejays woke up in set two fell to Creighton University (12-3, were knocked out by the reigning to keep the match tight and tested 7-1 BIG EAST) in the BIG EAST champions, St. John’s.

The day began where it left off the the Golden Eagles’ endurance. After Conference Championship 3-1 April 3.

The early afternoon match at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Nebraska was well fought by the Golden Eagles, as they carried over momentum from the semifinal match April 2.

Senior right-side hitter and setter Taylor Wolf and senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Lines led Marquette in kills with 13 each. Senior outside hitter Hope Werch followed with 10 kills and 12 digs. Graduate student middle blocker Savannah Rennie added nine kills.

Head coach Ryan Theis said he has been pleased with the way the team has been able to come together this season.

“I was extremely proud of the way they held together through this extremely difficult year,” Theis Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics said. “Through the pauses, through Creighton’s Annika Welty (11) attempts a kill during the Bluejays’ 3-1 win . the breaks, through the new players

Bluejays win 6th league title since 2014 in 3-1 decision

many lead ties and exchanges, the Bluejays took nine out of the final 10 points. Junior middle blocker Annika Welty capitalized with a kill to get a 25-19 win and tie the match at 1-1.

Set three made for another very tight competition. Werch got the momentum going for MU with a kill after an impressive diving save from the back row. Marquette went on to take a comfortable 22-16 lead before CU made a surging comeback.

The BIG EAST Midwest Division No. 1 seed Creighton and the Midwest Division No. 2 seed Marquette were not budging toward the end of the set. Both teams threatened set point four times before Creighton claimed the set by a score of 31-29.

The Bluejays were led by the BIG EAST Conference Championship MVP, senior middle blocker Naomi Hickman, who notched a hitting percentage of .579 in the fourth set.

The Bluejays got out to an early scoring run, forcing the Golden Eagles to play from behind. However, Theis worked hard on the sideline to get the Golden Eagles fired up, which led to a Werch ace to pull the team to within three down the stretch. Rennie and Wolf both added kills to add more pressure, but the Bluejays’ numbers in the fourth set were too dominant. They tallied 16 blocks, 12 kills and only one error on

19 attempts to take the set 25-22.

“Hats off to Creighton. I think the third set was kind of the back breaker,” Theis said. “They fought hard and came back. We knew they make it tough to score. We had opportunities to climb back in, in the fourth, and opportunities to close out the third and we didn’t take advantage of those.”

Jaela Zimmerman led the way for Creighton, posting 16 kills and 43 attacks, followed by Welty and Hickman with 12 kills each. CU had a hitting percentage of .191%, while MU finished at .169%.

The 2021 BIG EAST Conference champions have now regained the title after a previous five-year stint from 2014-2018. With the title, Creighton also received an automatic bid to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament, which will be taking place down the road from their home court at the CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. First and second rounds of the tournament are set to begin April 14 and 15, respectively.

“We are in the mix, some of our nonconference wins are valuable,” Theis said. “We’ve got a chance; I hope (the committee) saw what we were capable of. If we get 10 more days to practice, maybe make some noise if we get in.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

One senior stays at MU, the other declares for WNBA Lott to start pro career, Van Kleuen will have 6th season

By Nick Galle and John Leuzzi

nicholas.galle@marquette.edu john.leuzzi@marquette.edu

Selena Lott declares for 2021 WNBA Draft Marquette women’s basketball guard Selena Lott has declared for the 2021 WNBA draft, according to her Instagram post April 2.

“Marquette University has helped me to develop as a person and as a basketball player with preparing me for life ahead. Looking back to the day I committed to this program, I leave with no regrets. This university has certainly left its MARQ,” Lott said in the post. “With that being said, I would like to pursue my dreams as a professional basketball player and declare for the 2021 WNBA Draft.”

Coming off a senior season in which she averaged 14.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game, the Troy, New York native will forgo the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lott was also

named BIG EAST Co-Defensive Player of the Year and earned AllBIG EAST First Team honors.

Lott finished her career with 1,195 points, 383 assists and 223 steals, which ranks her 23rd, 10th and ninth all-time in program history, respectively.

Lauren Van Kleunen returns for sixth year Marquette women’s basketball redshirt senior forward Lauren Van Kleunen announced March 31 that she will be returning for a sixth year.

She made the announcement on her Twitter account.

The NCAA announced last October that winter sport athletes who competed this season would receive an extra year of eligibility.

In 26 games this season, Van Kleunen averaged 13.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals.

The Mason, Ohio, native earned All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-BIG EAST Tournament Team honors for this season as well.

Van Kleunen became the 31st player in program history to reach the 1,000 point milestone March 7 in the Golden Eagles’ 64-59 win against Creighton in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals.

Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics

Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics

Lauren Van Kleunen (42) shoots a jumper Dec. 2. Selena Lott dribbles in MU’s win over Creighton Feb. 22.

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Tuesday, April 6, 2021

MEN’S BASKETBALL

SHAKA: WI native values relationships, growth, victory Continued from page 12 Bavery is part of the reason why Smart’s number one priority is relationships. However, the relationships do not stop with the coaches and players. They are also between athletes.

“The best teams have a few things in common and one of those things that they have in common is that they’re truly connected around something common, a common goal: They want to do something special,” Smart said. “Whether you’re talking about 1977 or 2003 … you talk to those players and talk to those coaches, they’ll say ‘damn, we had a connected group.’ That starts with relationships.”

Smart’s second core value is growth because he is able to be around these players during a formative time in their lives, from 18 to 23 years old.

“That’s a time when you really go from being a young man to being a grown man, not just out here on the basketball court, but in life,” Smart said. “I take very very seriously the opportunity to play a role in helping these guys grow and become, as we say, the best version of themselves. That doesn’t just happen on its own.”

The third core value Smart mentioned was victory. He said every team and coach wants to

win, but it is those who emphasize all the preparation behind the scenes that will succeed.

“In order to win large victories, we have to win small victories.

Things like being on time. Things like being the first guy ready,” Smart said. “It’s really the teams that honor what goes into winning, and work at those things every single day, that are going to be highly successful.”

Another one of his goals is to build leaders, and he said that is not something that is determined by a title or rank. “(It’s) simply the ability to make people in situations better,” Smart said. “If our guys can come out here on the court and they can make the people around them better, if they can make the practice better, if they can make our games better, then they’re leaders. … The best teams are filled with leaders, not just a captain or two.”

The reason Smart took this position had to do with three things: being a basketball-centric institution, Marquette’s family atmosphere and the alignment of a common vision that Lovell, Scholl, deputy athletic director Mike Broeker and Smart all share.

Smart also was able to connect with Marquette basketball legend Doc Rivers, who has been one

Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics

Shaka Smart (right) poses with athletic director Bill Scholl (left) at his introductory press conference March 29.

of Smart’s mentors since 2008 when he tried to recruit Doc’s son, Austin, as an assistant at University of Florida under Billy Donovan.

“He’s about as accomplished as any basketball coach in our day at any level and he also does it at a level of class that is out of this world,” Smart said. “He’s influenced me a lot more than he probably knows. … I’m really glad to be back (at) his university and part of his program and the same goes for all the greats, all the former players that have made this program what it is.”

Even though he has not been able to meet the team in person

yet, Smart said the players are the ones who make the program go. But he has some expectations for them.

“We don’t have to practice, we get to practice. Huge difference,” Smart said. “We want to build a basketball program full of energy givers. Through that, things are fun. … Lastly, we’re going to compete. Everything we do in our workouts, in our practices, we will have a score.”

In terms of his coaching staff, Smart said he wants people who agree with his core values of relationships, growth and victory.

When asked about whether he was considering breaking the

Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics

Shaka Smart gazes at the locker room inside the Al McGuire Center on his tour of campus March 28. That’s the same day he arrived in Milwaukee.

glass ceiling to hire a woman assistant, he said he wants to add someone that is best qualified for the job. He said in a media press conference that he hired a female strength coach at Texas a few years ago.

“I’ve actually interviewed females before for positions on the staff and have gotten to know a few female assistant coaches in the NBA that know more basketball than any male coach,” Smart said. “I know our game is certainly moving to the point where I don’t think it’ll be long (before) you see a lot more female assistant coaches on the men’s side in college basketball.”

As a Madison native, Smart said he is looking forward to showing his daughter, Zora, Milwaukee and the rest of the state when time allows.

“I’m looking forward to … driving over to Madison and getting a chance to spend time with her grandmother. I know for a fact Zora’s going to love it up here,” Smart said. “I’m looking forward to taking her to some Marquette women’s soccer games.”

Though Smart said the hardest part of parting from Texas was leaving relationships, he said he is excited to be back in his home state.

“I’m really really happy to be close to home, close to my mom, close to a brother who lives in Chicago, but more than anything we’re happy to be at Marquette,” Smart said. “I spent my whole childhood in Wisconsin. It’s phenomenal being back, but the reason I came back is Marquette.”

At the end of the press conference, Smart had one thing to say to the current players on the roster and future recruits.

“I can promise you this, you will not find a coach who has (more) compassion and enthusiasm for pouring into you as a person (and) helping you become the best you can be,” Smart said.

“We’re going to have a lot of fun together.”

Sports

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

The Marquette Tribune

15

BASEBALL

Brewers bring crowds back to bars, restaurants during that time he had to change up their events because Brewers games didn’t see the same attendance at his establishment compared to a normal year.

“We had to find different ways

By Bryan Geenen bryan.geenen@marquette.edu to get people interested like bands, As the 53rd Milwaukee Brewers’ trivia — things like that where we regular season began April 2, had to limit the people,” Budiac said. fans also made their return to the “We had to do a cost analysis to see ballpark, newly renamed American if it would work, and then if it didn’t Family Field. The Brewers delivered work, we had to change it. I’ve been fans in attendance an opening day doing this for 30 years and this is comeback win, as the home team the most interesting year that we’ve beat the visiting Minnesota Twins ever had.”

Steve Sazama, a Milwaukee 6-5 in extra innings. native and owner of Saz’s State The season debut for the Brewers House Restaurant, just two miles saw over 11,000 fans in attendance, from American Family Field, getting their first glimpse of intalked about how in the 46 years his person baseball in 18 months. The business has been open, last year was team announced earlier this year a down year. that “as a result of the ongoing “It definitely hurt the restaurant coronavirus pandemic, the ballpark because we were taking like is limited to 25% capacity for the 150 people that were eating here start of the 2021 Brewers baseball beforehand and then they would go season,” the Brewers’ website said. to the game,” Sazama said. “So, it Although the Brewers’ return was really quite a loss for us.” offers fans an exhilarating way to One of the major ways Brewers watch their home team, it has also fans get to games is from local bars had a major effect on the local small and restaurants.

Many of the bars in businesses that have been hit hard Milwaukee offer shuttle rides to and during the pandemic.

The 2020 season was played dur- from the game when the Brewers ing the pandemic, but no stadiums play at home. In a year without home allowed fans. In that time, a lot of lo- games with fans, the shuttle services cal restaurants and bars could not get were shut down as well.

Drew Retherford, the shuttle the same draw of Brewers fans due manager for Milwaukee Brat to restrictions.

House Downtown, Jack’s American Paul Budiac, the owner of PauPub and Milwaukee Brat House lie’s Pub & Eatery in West Allis, said

Businesses eager to thrive after quiet 2020 due to pandemic

Shorewood, said once the news broke of no fans at games the impact was immediate for him and his employees.

“It was a little scary, I’ll be honest, as the primary source of income is to be a shuttle driver and not only that but shuttle manager,” Retherford said. “I reached out, from somebody that it affected so dramatically last year, to a team of 12-14 other bus drivers whose livelihood is very much affected and say, ‘hey, we don’t have the people to take to the games, we just don’t have that this year.’”

The shuttles come from restaurants and bars all across Milwaukee and the surrounding areas to bring fans to and from the ballpark. This year, these companies will be allowed to offer the shuttle service again, but much like the rest of the game day experience, it will have limitations to protect the fans.

“Safety is going to be a new fold this year. The Milwaukee Health Department has handed down some guidelines for any buses operating to Miller Park,” Retherford said. “So, it’s new safety practices and limited capacity. It’s not like you’re used to in some of the buses in years past where it’s like a party on wheels, that’s not going to be the case this year.”

For Sazama, who is located in Milwaukee, the shuttles will be limited, just like the bars and restaurants have been during the

COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our shuttle holds 15 people and we’re allowed to take seven,” Sazama said. “We hope that will change but that’s the restrictions for right now. We have been doing our COVID-19 plan and we’ll stick to it.”

Another change the Brewers implemented in their COVID-19 guidelines is the restriction of parking lot tailgating — “Tailgating is not permitted before or after games or events at American Family Field,” the website reads.

Sazama said the new limitations on tailgating have positive and negative impacts on local businesses.

“Well, it helps because people won’t be able to get outside so they’ll want to come which should help us quite a bit,” Sazama said. “We love people taking the shuttles but if you don’t, there’s only going to be around 10,000 people so you’ll be able to drive in and out for parking.”

Retherford said he believes with the Brewers not allowing tailgating, the local businesses will have a chance to see more fans inside their establishments.

“The camaraderie and the community that is built in the parking lot area, it’s something that’s very unique to Milwaukee,” Retherford said. “Without having tailgating as an option for fans, I expect that more of the social aspects will take place in bars and restaurants throughout the community.”

Camaraderie was one word that kept coming up when some of Milwaukee’s local business owners were talking about the fans of the Milwaukee Brewers.

“Milwaukee is a huge baseball town, everybody knows about it,” Budiac said. “It’s nice to talk to people about it. There’s this camaraderie between customers and fans and that’s what I’m looking forward to the most.”

Sazama said he is just looking forward to getting back to normal as the vaccines continue to roll out. “(Milwaukee) is going to go crazy.

(The Brewers) are going to have sellout after sellout once this gets lifted. Of course, the restaurant here will be happy to be at full capacity,” Sazama said. “We could have 240 people, so we’ll be quite happy. The Brewers are going to be pretty good this year too, I got a funny feeling.”

With the Brewers’ return, the focus for small businesses is on the fans who take part in their version of game day.

“I’m looking forward to seeing people excited about baseball.

If somebody’s day can be a little brighter because of a smile when they get on a shuttle, if I’m giving them a bit of Milwaukee history or maybe cracking a joke or two; If they can experience their game day a little better because I’m part of it, that’s absolutely what I’m looking forward to on game day in Milwaukee.” Retherford said.

MEN’S SOCCER

Mirsberger steps into increased role for Bennett Defender scores gamewinning goal against DePaul in overtime

By Matt Yeazel

matthew.yeazel@marquette.edu

Having given up just six goals in 10 games, including five clean sheets, the Marquette men’s soccer defense has helped guide the team to a 9-1-1 overall record and a No. 19 ranking in the country.

One of the leaders of that dominate defense is redshirt sophomore Alex Mirsberger, who, as a defender, stood out this past week for something he normally does not get the chance to do: scoring a game-winning goal.

“I always love when we score, but it was special to see my roomie get the winning goal,” redshirt sophomore forward Nick Guido said. “It was awesome to see him win the game for us, he always tells us that he should be in there in the boxes and corners.”

The defender from Brookfield, Wisconsin, won BIG EAST Defender of the Week last week after

scoring that game-winning goal in overtime against DePaul, as well as helping his team to their fifth clean sheet in their 1-0 win against Butler.

In addition to the goal this season, Mirsberger also has two assists, one of which came on Lukas Sunesson’s game-winning goal in overtime against Northern Illinois Feb. 7. He has taken seven total shots on the season, but has been praised by his coaches and teammates for his play on the defensive end.

“Since last season, he’s been the most improved on our team,” Guido said. “He’s been the most consistent player every game and been a joy to play with.”

Mirsberger said that individually he is more confident, but his main goal is still doing the job that his team and his coaches need him to do.

“I’ve definitely come into my own and started to play with more confidence,” Mirsberger said. “I just try to play my part and do the best that I can.”

Head coach Louis Bennett has preached to his players all year the simple fact that if you do not give up a goal, you cannot lose the game. Mirsberger said that this mindset has resonated with their

team this season.

“After those three shutout wins we realized how nice it was to keep a clean sheet and to win those games,” Mirsberger said. “We’ve been good at being able to grind it out, block shots and defend to the best of our ability.”

Mirsberger said it’s been a process to get to where he’s at today.

After serving as a team captain at Brookfield Central High School and finishing first team all-conference his junior and senior seasons, he redshirted his first year at Marquette.

Since then, he has been a key part of the team, starting in all but one of the 26 games he has played in his career in the last two seasons. In six fewer games and 174 fewer minutes this season, Mirsberger has matched his total of one goal, two assists, four points and has one more shot taken (seven) than he did in 2019.

In terms of how he has learned and improved in his time as a Golden Eagle, Mirsberger pointed to one of his former teammates, defender Patrick Seagrist. Seagrist finished on the All-BIG EAST First Team in his final two seasons at Marquette in 2018 and 2019.

“I really looked up to him and

as another outside back, we were close buddies,” Mirsberger said. “He (Seagrist) was someone I strived to be like and he took me under his wing. Was someone who taught me a lot.”

One aspect of this season that is different than the two previous for Mirsberger is the absence of fans in the stands. Being from Brookfield, Mirsberger is used to having an abundance of family and friends cheering him on at Valley Fields.

“My family still texts me every game day asking if they can come, unfortunately I have to say no every time,” Mirsberger said. “I know they’re still watching the games on TV though. It stinks they can’t be there in person but they’re still supporting me.”

As his roommate, Guido also knows how fans not being allowed is having an impact on Mirsberger’s family and friends.

“Definitely stinks for him, his family is really involved,” Guido said. “He’s one of the faces of the team for sure, so it’s a bummer that his great season would be even better with fans, but he’s putting on for Brookfield.”

Despite the lack of fans,

Mirsberger and the rest of the Golden Eagles have their sights set on what is in front of them.

“If we beat Xavier, we clinch our side of the division, and that’s a big deal,” Guido said. “All eyes forward, we’re not content with where we’re at.”

Mirsberger echoed that statement, saying that he is not at all concerned with the individual accolades this season has brought him.

“There’s all these awards and rankings, but at the end of the day it doesn’t mean anything if you can’t go anywhere,” Mirsberger said.

“For me, it’s all about getting that BIG EAST championship ring on my finger.”

Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics

Alex Mirsberger kicks the ball.

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MEN’S LACROSSE

Redshirt junior finds success following knee injuries Griffin Fleming serves as leader despite prior adversity

By Nick Galle

nicholas.galle@marquette.edu

Seven games, 14 goals and eight assists. It is an impressive stat line to start the season, especially considering it is coming from a player who missed the entirety of the 2020 campaign.

Redshirt junior attacker Griffin Fleming did not play at all last year due to a knee injury. It was the second time in his Marquette career that a knee injury sidelined him and forced him to miss the entire season, after he sustained a knee injury in the preseason prior to his first year in the program.

“Obviously it was pretty devastating at first, but I had the same injury my freshman year, so I kind of knew how to attack it,” Fleming said. “Best thing for me was to just kind of celebrate the little things like walking and getting the range of motion back, (and) getting off the crutches.”

Fleming also credited associate athletic trainer Aaron Doering, the training staff and his coaches for getting him back on his feet. He said the hardest part of the entire process was watching the team from the sideline knowing that he could not contribute.

“Sometimes I’d think I could be a help, but there’s just really not much I could do other than just support them and have their back,” Fleming said. “So that was probably the toughest part.”

Head coach Andrew Stimmel said battling through injuries has given Fleming a relentless mindset, and it shows on the field.

“When he’s tired, he’s the guy that’s putting in more effort,” Stimmel said. “I mean I think he just makes a lot of little plays where if you never watched a game (and) you just looked at a box score, you might think Griffin Fleming’s a really good player and all those things, but he’s got a grit about him and relentless mentality and I think that’s absolutely been built through the adversity that he’s had to go through with these injuries.”

Despite the injuries and the fact that COVID-19 has limited the team’s time together in-person, Stimmel said that the Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania native has done a great job of stepping into a leadership role.

“I think Griff has done a great job stepping into a role that’s been fairly unique,” Stimmel said. “He was out with injury last year … and then steps in during a COVID

year where I think it’s pretty hard to build cachet from a leadership perspective when you’re really not around people that much.”

The redshirt junior has taken that role seriously and has been instrumental in building team chemistry. Whether it be the younger players in the program or the veterans, Fleming has made sure to establish new relationships, or rekindle old ones that he had built prior to his injury last season.

“I just think he’s been really intentional reaching out to guys whether it’s via text or call or FaceTime,” Stimmel said. “Even leading up to this year through the summer as we kind of had our season cancelled last year — in those gaps he really was building those relationships maybe when most would think it doesn’t matter and I think that’s probably been the biggest thing for him that’s built that trust from a lot of these younger classmen.”

Fleming said he feels him and his older teammates are doing a good job making the younger

guys on the team feel comfortable and the underclassmen have been handling everything like a “bunch of champs.”

“Everyone struggles with their freshman year, sophomore year, it’s the two toughest years adapting from high school to college and I can’t imagine being in their shoes coming in without being able to really know their teammates,” Fleming said. “So we’ve just kind of been stressing to them that it gets better, it gets better.”

Graduate student attacker Ryan Fazio entered the program in 2017, the same year that Fleming sustained his first knee injury that forced him to miss the season. He said that before Fleming went down last year, the two were really starting to build some great chemistry back in 2019 that had them really excited for the 2020 campaign.

“We weren’t playing together too much in the beginning, but then at the end of the season we got a chance to play together and we were doing really well,”

Fazio said. “So, we were looking forward to that opportunity (playing together last year), so it just broke our hearts when he went down.”

Fazio said that building that rapport back up on the field is always a work in progress, but it often comes easily.

“It’s definitely natural. I think we’re both kind of similar players in that we understand the game well and I kind of know where he’s going to be,” Fazio said.

“He’s had the ball in his stick a lot more. … The more he dodges and the more I watch him, the more I know when he’s going to be looking to feed and get in those spots and I think we’ve had success and hopefully we can keep that up.”

Through adversity, challenges and everything in between, Fazio said that one of things that impresses him the most about Fleming is the fact that he leaves it all on the field day in and day out.

“He just battles man, like seriously,” Fazio said. “He finishes games and he drives us to

the field, and I’ll have to take the keys and go pick up the car because he can’t walk after a game.

Like this kid, you take off his shirt (and) he’s just red all over, he just puts everything he can on the field. Just the confidence and the spirit to do that after what he’s gone through with injuries is awesome to see.”

In what will be his final season with the team, Fleming said the injuries have taught him to value every moment and he has carried that mindset into 2021.

“For me it’s kind of just not taking any moment for granted. I mean I want to go out there every day, every game and know that I left it all out there and leave the field knowing that I have no regrets,” Fleming said. “This is my last go at it and my last time playing against some of these opponents, so I want them to kind of remember me and remember my team and know that we kind of gave it our all.”

Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics

The Marquette men’s lacrosse team huddles during the team’s 16-14 loss to Villanova at Valley Fields Feb. 27. Griffin Fleming (18) stands in the center.