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Motion to investigate for impeachment

President Adam Kouhel said claims against him are false

Nominated song from “James: The Jim Foley Story”

By Amy Elliot-Meisel & Patrick Thomas

amy.elliot-meisel@marquette.edu patrick.thomas@marquette.edu

A Marquette University Student Government senator filed a motion to investigate President Adam Kouhel for impeachment last Monday.

The “Petition for Appeal and Justice,” addressed to the MUSG judicial administrator cited two specific instances where Kouhel is accused of violating MUSG’s constitution. The first deals with Student Organization Funding for the fall and the other during a Dec. 5 senate meeting.

Both occurred when Kouhel was serving as executive vice president last fall.

In an affidavit obtained by the Marquette Wire, two MUSG senators said Kouhel cut funds to five student organizations after the budget had been approved and voted on by the SOF Committee. One of the senators has since removed his or her name from the document.

Kouhel said the charges against him are false. He said they did vote on the reduction and reallocation of funds.

“Every decision that we made was voted on, no decision made was by one person, or made maliciously,” he said. “Every decision made was because of our budget.”

The cuts stated in the impeachment letter were said to be made after the vote, but

Slain alum honored

by Sting at Oscars

By McKenna Oxenden

mckenna.oxenden@marquette.edu

Photo by Austin Anderson austin.anderson@marquette.edu

MUSG President Adam Kouhel (right), had a motion for impeachment filed against him.

before organizations were contacted with how much money they were allocated.

“We don’t randomly slash budgets, we definitely stay away from that,” Allie Bitz, a junior and MUSG senator for the College of Arts & Sciences, said. “If we are over budget, it is always a discussion with the committee and our advisor.”

The five organizations are Model U.N., Mardi Gras, Youth Empowered in the Struggle, Mazaa and Bayanihan Student Organization, which were cut by a total of $8,824.65.

Google Spreadsheets show

Kouhel was the last person to make changes before organizations were informed how much they were allocated.

“The changes in amounts granted to student organizations were not approved with a vote by the Student Organizations Funding Committee, and thus are not constitutionally valid,” the motion for impeachment states.

As EVP, Kouhel served as chair of the SOF Committee. He denies the accusation that he made changes without anyone knowing.

“It’s weird they were the only

five (organizations) listed. I can’t comment why they picked those specific organizations to focus on (in the affidavit).”

He said. “We did reallocate to many other organizations other than just those five.”

Previous administrations have made percent reductions across every club to meet the budget, often cutting a small amount from every organization. This year, the five mentioned organizations were allegedly cut significantly to meet the budget.

Kouhel said a percent reduction for all clubs could not be

INDEX

NEWS

MARQUEE

CALENDAR......................................................3 MUPD REPORTS.............................................3 MARQUEE.......................................................6 OPINIONS.......................................................8 SPORTS..........................................................12 SPORTS CALENDAR .....................................13

PAGE 5

See FOLEY page 2

See MUSG page 5

Helping the homeless YellowBellies at MU Student packages bags with necessities to help less fortunate

Slain Marquette alumnus James Foley was honored by Sting during the Oscars Sunday night.

The singer sang his Oscar-nominated song, “The Empty Chair,” from the documentary “Jim: The James Foley Story.” The song lost the Oscar for best original song to “La La Land” and its song “City of Stars.”

Thomas Durkin, a longtime friend of Foley and Marquette graduate, said he and Foley’s family knew the song had been nominated and Sting would be performing, but they had no idea how it would be done.

As the performance came to an end, an image of Foley flashed on the screen with his quote, “If I don’t have the moral courage to challenge authority … we don’t have journalism.”

“I don’t think they could have done it any better. I was blown away,” Durkin said. “The simplicity of the song with the background with Jim at the end and seeing the large image of him with the quote. The song captures Jim and that quote is what he stood for—having physical courage and moral courage to actually be a good journalist and have the truth.”

First Food Truck Wednesday promises to bring new flavors PAGE 6

OPINIONS

Year of opportunity

EDITORIAL: Journalism program has potential to grow PAGE 8

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News

The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

McAdams receives Academic Freedom award Suspended MU professor awarded sum of $10,000

By Maggie Cannon

margaret.cannon@marquette.edu

Suspended Marquette University Professor John McAdams received the Jeane Jordan Kirkpatrick Award for Academic Freedom last Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.

The CPAC is an annual, fourday conference bringing together conservative organizations involved in activism training and campaign management.

The award is a fixed sum of $10,000 and is named in honor

“

of former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Jeane Jordan Kirkpatrick. McAdams was awarded for his “outspoken criticism of political correctness on college campuses.”

The conference and the Kirkpatrick Award is supported by the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, which holds programs “meant to support and strengthen democratic capitalism, limited government and a marketplace for economic activity.”

Richard Graber, president and CEO of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, supports McAdams and said in an interview that he is a “fearless defender of free speech and open inquiry, and a martyr to political correctness.”

The fact that I’m willing to be kind of stubborn is good, but the fact that there are other people behind me who will support me is good.”

JOHN McCADAMS Suspended Marquette Professor

FOLEY from page 1

Foley’s character accurately presented

McAdams is receiving this award just weeks after his case was presented in court against Marquette University. McAdams sued Marquette last year after being suspended for a blog post he wrote in November 2014. The post criticized Cheryl Abbate, a former graduate student teaching a Philosophy of Ethics class and included her contact information.

“I was standing up for the right of a student, when gay marriage came up in class, to speak in opposition to gay marriage, (to) speak up on behalf of the Catholic Church’s own position,” McAdams said in an interview.

McAdams, a political science professor, was suspended without pay. University President

Future residence hall plan expanded 140 beds set to be added, increases budget by $12 million

By Devi Shastri

devi.shastri@marquette.edu

Photo via ABC

Thomas Durkin, longtime friend of Foley, said he could not have imagined a more perfect performance.

The quote rings true to not only how Foley lived his life, but also sheds light on current journalists, especially those from various news organizations that were banned from an informal White House Press Briefing by President Donald Trump last Friday.

“At a time when the value of journalism has been questioned, James’ example—and his words that appeared on screen at the end of the performance— are as relevant as ever,” Chris Jenkins, associate director of communication, said.

Foley graduated from Marquette in 1996 with a bachelor’s in history and went on to Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism in 2006.

He covered war in Syria and

Libya, entered war zones and was captured for 44 days in 2011, where he was held in a 12 by 15 foot cell. Five months after being released, he returned back to his public service journalism. Then, in 2012, ISIS captured Foley. After two years, his captors publicly executed him at the age of 40.

“As a university, we were heartened to see the Oscars pay tribute to our beloved alumnus, James Foley,” Jenkins said.

“Through his life and his work, James embodied so many of the values that we seek to encourage in our students.”

Durkin said watching the remembrance performance was surreal. So was watching and being featured in the documentary, inducting Foley into the

Milwaukee Press Club Hall of Fame and countless other things.

“It’s hard to process it in the moment because you want your friend back here sitting with you, not being honored because he was killed by ISIS” Durkin said.

“It was very surreal to see it and it felt very, very right.”

If there is one takeaway Durkin wishes people would takeaway from the Oscar performance and Foley’s documentary, it’s understanding.

“I hope more people take the time to find out about Jim and not just about Jim, but all of these journalists and the dangers they put themselves in so that we can know the truth.”

Michael Lovell said he would reinstate McAdams to teach class if he met requirements stating that McAdams would have to write a letter apologizing for his actions.

McAdams rejected the offer, saying his contract with Marquette was violated for not protecting his freedom of speech.

“It’s nice to know that there’s people who push back against campus political correctness. The fact that I’m willing to be kind of stubborn is good, but the fact that there are other people behind me who will support me is good,” McAdams said when asked why this award is important.

The University declined to comment due to the ongoing legal matters.

The university announced plans Feb. 23 to expand Marquette’s future residence hall to house 140 more beds than initially planned.

In a news brief to the campus community, University President Michael Lovell said two more floors will be added to the new dorm. The cost of construction will now jump from $96 million to $108 million. When completed, the complex will be able to house 890 freshman and sophomores. It will include a dining

hall and a campus community space that will connect the tower section of the building to a shorter half.

Lora Strigens, vice president of planning and strategy, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the decision to add more rooms will eventually allow the university more flexibility while demolishing McCormick Hall and closing O’Donnell Hall, though the university has no immediate plans to demolish O’Donnell.

Last month, alumni Ray and Kay Eckstein gave a $10 million gift toward the construction of the hall, which will be named after Rev. Robert A. Wild. The building will be located on the corner of Wells and 17th streets, next to Humphrey Hall, where construction is already underway.

Photo via Marquette University

The cost of the development has now risen by over $12 million.

News

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The Marquette Tribune

Behind the Badge: Gary Bray Officer Bray aligns MU values with service-oriented life

By Clara Janzen

clara.janzen@marquette.edu

It is no secret homelessness is prevalent in the area surrounding Marquette, and around the whole city. The Marquette University Police Department is making strides to change the way it deals with homelessness in the area.

MUPD started an initiative two years ago called Homeless Outreach Team.

“We are trying to become part of the community,” Captain Jeff Kranz said on how MUPD is dealing with the high volume of homeless people in the area. “We’re trying not to make homelessness a crime. Writing someone with no money a ticket is pointless.”

MUPD wants to police in a different way. “It’s easy to just throw someone in jail and say problem solved, but that’s only a short term solution,” Kranz said.

Officer Gary Bray leads the HOT program, and says HOT is working to point people toward long-term solutions.

“I have conversations where I’m like, ‘I see you out here every day, let’s get to know you.’

What can I do to try to make a win-win situation for everybody?” Bray said.

One of the main ways HOT has changed MUPD is by teaching officers to find alternative solutions to ticketing and

arresting homeless people.

“Last summer, we arrested three people around the same time that were stealing items, and it was all hygiene products; and, as we were writing the citations, we asked them why, and they said, ‘Oh, we’re just short on this. Shampoo, razors, this or that.’ So I thought, instead of you guys stealing it, we have some hygiene products. Just come in and ask us,” Bray said.

Since then, the MUPD patrol cars have started carrying hygiene products, as well as other basic items like clothing to give out when they see people in need. By doing this, MUPD is providing an alternative interaction between those in need and the police instead of the interaction they may otherwise have had, stealing and getting cited.

Officer Gary Bray Looking for a more rewarding job, Bray, a Milwaukee native, made the transition to work at the MUPD eight years ago. This move came after working 13 years in the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department, mostly at the jail. Bray said he needed to do something different. He liked working with people and knew he wanted to help them. He saw an option to do that at Marquette.

Bray works the day shift (6am-6pm) doing patrols, but his work extends past the limits of a 12 hour period.

In his off hours, besides listening to ’80s heavy metal and reading, Bray spends his own time working beyond HOT, as he coordinates with and actively volunteers at many causes targeted at helping the homeless around the city.

Bray, a coast guard member himself, loves to work at the Milwaukee homeless veterans initiative.

“I’m glad the department understands. You

BEHIND The BADGE

FEBRUARY 24 A person not affiliated with Marquette resisted and obstructed MUPD in the 400 block of N. 16th Street, causing minor injury

to an MUPD officer at 7:11 a.m.

Thursday, Feb. 23. The subject was cited by MUPD and transported to the Milwaukee County Criminal Justice Facility for active warrants.

FEBRUARY 23 A student was in possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia in the 1000 block of N. 16th Steet and was cited by MUPD at 12:33 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 22.

The Marquette Tribune EDITORIAL Executive Director of Marquette Wire Patrick Thomas Managing Editor of Marquette Tribune Amy Elliot-Meisel NEWS News Editor McKenna Oxenden Projects Editor Devi Shastri Assistant Editors Ryan Patterson, Maggie Canon Reporters Alex Groth, Jackson Dufault, Matthew Harte, Kristina Lazzara, Abby Ng, Camille Paul, Clara Janzen, Matthew Martinez, Leah Harris, Madison Marx

Photo by Clara Janzen clara.janzen@marquette.edu

Officer Gary Bray works his MUPD hours around volunteering.

know we have Marquette values, and they give me the time to break away from regular patrol to work on these side projects,” he said.

He likes to get to know people personally, and finds it easier to help people once he gets to know them and understand their problems.

He describes himself as the middleman, receiving and distributing donations. Bray has done this with the help of people at Gesu parishes, and has created ties between the MUPD, Gesu and the community working to help the homeless.

“I want to help people directly, not just hearing about it, so you can empathize with what they went through and what it took to change their lives,” he said.

A partnership with Gesu Peg Flahive, the director of human concerns at Gesu parishes, said Bray and the HOT team have been very helpful in aiding their mission. “It’s a great partnership between Gesu and the MUPD,” she said.

Parishioners donate a variety of items to Gesu, and Bray takes some of it to go distribute.

He takes some to shelters and some to keep in the lobby of the police department.

Another way Bray is working with Gesu is passing around pieces of paper with lists of

resources for those in need compiled by individuals at Gesu.

“It’s nice that we can hand that out for anyone who’s not familiar with those services,” he said.

Bray said he wants to help get the word out so people know all of their options. “If we can deal with (people) by advising or pointing them in a different direction, I’m happy with that,” he said.

A group that calls themselves the “city meal ministers” meets once a month, and they plan different meal sites across the city, as well as discuss meal security and other concerns.

Last summer, some MUPD officers gave training to the meal ministers on diffusing conflict through conversation. For people like herself that work with meal planning, Flahive said it was very helpful and she and others were grateful for the time the officers took to help them. “They don’t have to do this kind of stuff.”

Gesu has held a variety of other events and initiatives MUPD officers have attended on and off the clock. Flahive said, to her, that shows the officers’ commitment to be active and involved in the surrounding communities.

MUPD has an “attitude of respect and passion coupled with the work that needs to be done,” Flahive said.

MUPD REPORTS FEBRUARY 27 A student reported that unknown person(s) smashed a window of his secured, unattended vehicle in the 1400 block of W. State Street, causing an estimated $300 in damage between 1:30 p.m. and 5:49 p.m Friday, Feb. 24.

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MARQUEE Marquee Editor Jennifer Walter Assistant Editors Rachek Kubik, Kaitlin Majeski Reporters Hailey Richards, Kelsey McCarthy, Nathan Desutter, Brendan Attey OPINIONS Opinions Editor Elizabeth Baker Assistant Editor Mike Cummings Columnists Morgan Hughes, Ryan McCarthy, SPORTS Sports Editor Jack Goods Assistant Editors Grant Becker, Matt Unger Reporters Brian Boyle, John Hand, Brendan Ploen, Thomas Salinas, John Steppe COPY Copy Chief Emma Nitschke Copy Editors Sydney Czyzon, Sabrina Norton, Gina Richard, Kaelyn Gray, Emma Brauer VISUAL CONTENT Design Chief Anabelle McDonald Photo Editor Austin Anderson Opinions Designer Chelsea Johanning Marquee Designer Hannah Feist Sports Designer Molly Mclaughlin Photographers Yue Yin, Andrew Himmelberg, Matthew Serafin ----

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EVENTS CALENDAR FEBRUARY 21 A student in O’Donnell Hall was distributing a controlled substance at 1:40 a.m. Monday, Feb. 20.

Unknown person(s) entered an unsecured, unattended business after business hours and removed property in the 1600 block of W. Wisconsin Avenue between 3:33 p.m. and 3:46 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19.

FEBRUARY 28 Hunger Clean-Up hosts Sample the Soups 11 a.m.-2 p.m., AMU ballrooms Fighting for Migrants’ Rights: Fray Tomas Gonzalez Castillo 4-5:30 p.m., AMU Room 163 MARCH 1 Ash Wednesday Humanities Research Colloquium: Heather Hlavka and Sameena Mulla 5-6:30 p.m., Marquette Hall 105

Celebrating Women: Latina and Indigenous Women 6-7:30 p.m., AMU 254 MARCH 2 Sports Law Speaker Series: Andy Shiffman Noon-1 p.m., Eckstein Hall MARCH 3 First Annual Marquette Symposium on Latin American and LatinX Studies 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Raynor Memorial Libraries’ Beaumier Suites Milwaukee Bucks Pride Night 6-9 p.m., BMO Harris Bradley Center

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News

The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

O’Brien Fellowship donor passes away Peter Frechette, died suddenly, five months after wife

By Ryan Patterson

ryan.patterson@marquette.edu

Peter Frechette, who made significant contributions to Marquette’s journalism efforts, died suddenly Wednesday, Feb. 22.

He was 79.

Frechette and his high school sweetheart Patricia O’Brien Frechette donated $8.3 million in 2012 to the Diedrich College of Communication to fund the Perry and Alicia O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism, named in honor of Patricia’s

parents, both of whom graduated from Marquette in the 1930s. Perry O’Brien was a longtime reporter for the Janesville Daily Gazette and 1230 WCLO-AM radio.

Since its inception, the O’Brien Fellowship has provided a total of 14 professional journalists a nine-month residency on campus while working on an in-depth public service project.

The journalists are assisted by Marquette students.

“Pete and Pat Frechette were strong supporters of journalism and democracy, and they were looking for an opportunity to use their support to better the press in general but also to provide some student experience,” Kimo Ah

Yun, dean of the College of Communication, said.

The couple was married for 55 years before Patricia’s death five months ago due to stroke complications at age 78. They are survived by twin daughters Kathy and Kristy.

“They taught us to look past ourselves,” Kathy told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“They had a lot, but did not take it for granted.”

Peter Frechette was an accomplished businessman. He helped lead Patterson Companies, a dental supply company, to more than $1 billion in annual sales before retiring in 2013.

In his younger years, Frechette

was a member of the Army Military Police, and in 1962 helped protect James Meredith, the first African-American to attend the University of Mississippi.

He graduated from the University of Wisconsin Business School and earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. Frechette continued to support the universities after graduation with both time and money. He was a member of the University of Wisconsin Foundation board and the Business School Advisory Board and served on the Kellogg School Board.

The Frechettes also donated to the University of Wisconsin

Education School, and provided financial support to arts, environmental and health causes in Minnesota and the Vail Valley in Colorado.

Ah Yun said the Frechettes’ $8.3 million fellowship donation ensures that investigative journalism at Marquette will continue.

“The nice thing about a gift of that magnitude is that all of the financing pieces are together, and so it’s just our job to make sure we continue to run it the best way possible,” he said. “It was a great relationship. She is already missed, and he will be missed as well.”

The funeral service for Frechette is Thursday in Minneapolis.

Student section cheering causes concern After the Xavier basketball game, students scolded

By Matthew Martinez

matthew.martinez@marquette.edu

During National Marquette Day, students in the BMO Harris Bradley Center chanted vulgar remarks as the Marquette Golden Eagles battled the Xavier Musketeers.

An email sent Feb. 22 by notable members of Marquette’s administration reprimanding the student section. After the Golden Eagles had built a considerable lead over the Musketeers, students began to chant, “F— you Xavier!” The chants were started by unidentified students within the section.

These isolated incidents spurred

Vice President of Student Affairs Xavier Cole, Vice President and Director of Athletics Brian Scholl and Marquette University Student Government President Adam Kouhel to write the email about representing Marquette with passion and respect.

“Profane chants don’t reflect our values,” the email said. “They don’t show support for our student athletes on the court, or respect for our opponents. And they don’t send the right message about who we are to families sitting nearby, visitors from a fellow Jesuit institution or to the rest of the country watching on television.”

Cole and Kouhel were both present at the Xavier game, and witnessed the chants firsthand.

“I know that I am one of the many students and alumni who feel that we are better than the profane chants we heard,” Kouhel

The chants are not new to the student section. Thomas Inda, a freshman in the College of Health Sciences, and Daniel Matheson, a freshman in the College of Business, said they have both heard these chants before.

“The chant’s been used at the Wisconsin game and the Villanova game, but this was the first time we’ve been reprimanded for doing so,” Matheson said.

Matheson and Inda both recognize that the chant does not happen frequently, but said there is a pattern for when it appears.

“It’s usually close games with rivals,” Inda said.

The Xavier game, was not close, though. The Golden Eagles maintained a double-digit lead for the majority of the game. However, Matheson believes that National Marquette Day contributed to the high tensions.

said. “While major collegiate athletic programs across the country experience similar challenges, we don’t shy away from holding ourselves to high standards.”

According to Cole, fans at the game approached him with concerns.

“There were formal and informal complaints lodged by Marquette community attendees, as well as Xavier University visitors,” Cole said.

In addition to these complaints, the volume of the chants was a major factor in addressing the issue.

“While there may have been some negative examples of fan behavior earlier in the year, the profane chants during National Marquette Day were significantly louder than at other games, which is why we sent the letter to our student body,” Kouhel said.

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“The fact that it was a highprofile game also played a factor,” Matheson said.

As an avid fan, Inda said the chants didn’t bother him, but he understands why there may be cause for concern.

“I don’t think it reflects poorly on the program, but it does kind of reflect poorly on the students,” Inda said. “I’m OK with the chants, but it is kind of weird when you see kids around the stadium. It makes you pause twice.

The chants are mostly unintelligible, though, so I don’t think they cause much harm.”

Concerns have also been raised about how late in the season the reprimanding occurred.

With only one home game left, Matheson said he wondered why the university didn’t address the issue sooner.

“I understand the reasoning behind it, but I feel like it should’ve happened after one of the earlier games rather than one of the last home games of the season,” Matheson said.

Cole said the information was presented to him after the Xavier game, and he would have addressed it sooner if he were made aware.

“It matters not the time of the year or how late it is in the season,” Cole said, “I was responding to information when I knew it. We will continue to educate around issues of civility regardless of the context.”

While the chants were seen as a blemish of an otherwise successful game, Kouhel does not believe that they ruined the spirit of National Marquette Day. “I do have to say that we recognize that this took place in what amounted to a very small portion of the game and the overall experience was an amazing game-day atmosphere,” Kouhel said.

News

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The Marquette Tribune

5

Student aims to help MKE homeless Jack Toner hands out necessities to help less fortunate

By Matt Harte

matthew.harte@marquette.edu

As he walked down the street, Jack Toner spotted a homeless man asking for $12. He was suffering from burns and refusing to go to the hospital.

“He had burns all over his arm, and he said he just needed twelve dollars for gauze,” Toner said. “I didn’t have any money to give him, and asked him if he could go to the hospital. He said ‘If I can’t afford the twelve dollars to get gauze, I can’t afford a $900 hospital visit.’”

That’s when Project Aceso was born.

Toner, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, and his team members pack bags filled with a toothbrush, toothpaste, socks, Band-Aids, gauze pads, a gauze roll, triple antibiotic ointments and alcohol wipes to help fight infection and disease. The project was named after Aceso, the Greek goddess of healing.

Toner has made a habit of carrying a Project Aceso bag in his backpack.

“Whenever I see a homeless person on the street, I asked them if they need socks, a toothbrush or a Band-Aid,” he said. “If they say yes, I hand them a bag.”

Homeless people are more susceptible to a variety of infections, including skin infections from open wounds.

Three Milwaukee homeless shelters have agreed to take the bags and distribute them to their patrons; the Milwaukee Rescue Mission, Repairers of the Breach and St. Ben’s Clinic.

Sophie Temple-Wood, a sophomore in the College of Nursing, acts as the team’s medical consultant and helped decide which medical supplies to include.

“When wounds go untreated, especially (with) homeless people because they don’t want to seek help because it’s expensive, they can have a lot of problems that go along with that,” Temple-Wood said. “They might end up in the hospital anyways in a worse condition.”

The first set of bags were funded through a GoFundMe page, and Toner’s own expense. He orders most of the supplies from Amazon.

However, he said some of the supplies were donated, such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, from the Marquette

Dental School.

Right now, the project is entirely based on donations.

Toner said he hopes to move toward selling the bags in order to fund the supplies.

“In an ideal world, we’ll find data showing that these bags reduce the number of homeless people that go to hospitals,” he said. “Then, we could sell them to hospitals. The other area we’re thinking about is selling them to small mom and pop shops that might give (them) away to customers.”

The Project Aceso team also consists of seven members of the Commons, a program that connects Wisconsin college students to startup projects. Jonathan Jean-Baptiste, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, was accepted into the Commons and wanted to join Project Aceso after hearing Toner pitch the idea to members.

“I’m a biology and sociology major, so those two disciplines really fit together perfectly in this particular project,” Jean-Baptiste said.

“This project obviously deals with the health of homeless individuals, but it also taps into the bigger problems they face, which is a big part of sociology.”

Toner said while the homeless people receiving the bags

Photo courtesy of Jack Toner

Toner provides basic needs in the bags like socks and gauze.

are often very thankful, it can sometimes be hard for them to see the immediate value because they don’t contain food.

“Over time, we hope to try to get coupons or vouchers in there,” Toner said. “I hope then that there will be more of an immediate reaction.”

In the future, the project could also expand

beyond Milwaukee.

“The ideal scenario would be that it’s used in disaster relief,” Toner said. “I do hope to make trips to countries in need. For now, we’re just going to start in Milwaukee and make sure it works.”

MUSG from page 1

Kouhel believes accusations arise due to looming election

done because of an influx of funding requests. The requests for funds were significantly higher this year when compared to previous years. “We were put in a situation we weren’t prepared for,” he said.

The MUSG president said he believes the motives of the senators who filed this letter was because student government elections are approaching.

“No senator, MUSG executive member, SOF board member or student at large raised any concern about the decisions that were made,” he said. “Why didn’t these conversations, or even a dialogue with the SOF Committee members occur earlier? The timing is suspicious to me and a lot of other people.”

Bitz said the MUSG Constitution “doesn’t necessarily have specificities” regarding percent reductions or cutting the SOF funding of individual clubs.

“It is important to note that these reductions were not made through the traditional ‘price

reduction’ method, but rather through a haphazard decision which we felt was unfair to the student organizations affected,” the affidavit said.

“Everything we do is through the (SOF) committee,” Bitz said. “From assigning out percent reductions to finding out how much money we have in the first place, everything is voted on by the committee. There is no way that one person could decide to go off and do what they want.”

All the organizations cut were either service or culture based.

The Bayanihan Student Organization released an official statement to the Wire on the subject.

“We, as an executive board, respected the funding given to us by MUSG, and have made efforts to try and accommodate this. We have launched a variety of funding initiatives to accommodate the loss of expected funding we hoped MUSG would provide. As one of Marquette’s largest and most

diverse student organizations, we were initially surprised to only receive one-third of the funding we requested from MUSG.” The Wire was denied access to the SOF Committee meeting minutes where funding was discussed.

“

“I am trying to push to make those (SOF meeting minutes) public,” Blake Ruppe, a sophomore and senator for the College of Communication, said. “What I have been very dissatisfied within MUSG is the lack of transparency. (Organizations) have the right to know what went down during the voting period.”

The other reasoning for impeachment said Kouhel removed a reserve fund allocation vote from the night’s agenda. Meeting minutes confirm the removal, but do not specify why.

The motion accuses Kouhel of perjury for stating that removing the vote was due to respecting the senate’s time, not its failure to pass the Budget Committee. The Wire was unable to confirm this claim.

“While the minutes don’t AFFIDAVIT have my language word for word, it had nothing to do with saving or respecting senate’s time, but rather that I took

It is important to note that these reductions were not made through the traditional ‘price reduction’ method, but rather through a haphazard decision.”

into consideration the budget committee’s concerns and that I wanted to reevaluate the legislation,” Kouhel said.

According to Article XII of the MUSG Constitution, “any member of MUSG may submit a request for impeachment to the Judicial Administrator for consideration by the senate.”

Anne Sorensen, a junior in the College of Communication, is the current judicial administrator. Sorensen forwarded the motion to the business administration chair, who will bring the evidence before the senate, where a two-thirds vote will be necessary to investigate Kouhel.

If passed, a second senate vote will need a three-fourths vote to convict Kouhel.

If impeached, Kouhel will have 10 class days to file an appeal according to Article XIII Section 6 of the MUSG Constitution.

The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Marquee

Page 6

Brake for lunch

Photos by Austin Anderson austin.anderson@marquette.edu

YellowBellies was featured Feb. 22 at MUSG’s first “Food Truck Wednesday.” No schedule is in place, but MUSG promises at least one more truck to visit in spring.

Eateries roll up to Wells St. parking lot during spring

By Nathan Desutter

nathan.desutter@marquette.edu

Marco Pollo, Gouda Girls, Falafel Guys and The Rolling Cones: these aren’t bad band names or minor league baseball teams; these are some of the stars from Milwaukee’s thriving food truck scene.

The best part is that they may be rolling up to campus on a Wednesday this spring.

Last October, MUSG’s creative director, Ben Dombrowski, came up with the idea of Food Truck Wednesday. On a sporadic Wednesday, a specific truck would be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in parking lot A to serve lunch to students.

Dombrowski saw the location as ideal. Located behind McCormick Hall, just to the left of the Alumni Memorial Union and in the main intersection of a route a lot of upperclassmen take to get to their off-campus apartments.

He saw the event as the perfect opportunity to give

students a broader variety of food options they crave.

“This was an easy, fun way to provide more options without going though a lot of hoops,” Dombrowski said. “The best part is that the university was so open to it. They were gung-ho.

We sat down and said, ‘Let’s make this happen.’”

After months of hard work and marketing, Dombrowski finally saw his idea come to fruition this past Wednesday when the YellowBellies food truck put on the parking break, fired up the grill and starting shelling out their signature gourmet sandwiches.

“It was a lot of fun and really good energy,” Siobhan Mesenboury, owner of YellowBellies, said. “As opposed to other times when we’ve set up and just got a lunch hit of crowds coming out, there were crowds at all times.”

Just five minutes after opening, a swarm of people surrounded the truck. It helped that the weather was an unseasonably warm 70 degrees, but he was excited nonetheless.

“We were waiting to see what the crowd was going to look like,” Mesenboury said.

“We weren’t sure since this event had never been held before and it was the middle of February … but right when we saw the immediate crowd, we knew it would be a great success.”

Mesenboury’s assumptions were correct since they sold out of their stock 45 minutes before they were scheduled to

people holding (it) and couldn’t help but stop,” Alexa Lyon, a senior in the college of Health Sciences, said.

Megan Carrol, a sophomore in the college of Business Administration, had the same reaction. Her friend told her about the event ten minutes before they both showed up.

“They were giving out free

Photos by Austin Anderson austin.anderson@marquette.edu

Sandwich from YellowBellies, the first truck to visit MUSG event.

wrap up at 2 p.m., something she was both disappointed with and impressed by.

“We know next time to bring more,” she said.

Students responded positively to the truck’s food.

“I was walking past, smelled the food, saw

fries. That sold me,” she said.

“Also, the food ended up being really good.”

Possibly the only issue — and it was hard to find one on a February day that saw most people wearing shorts — was getting the word out ahead of time. Most students didn’t

hear about the food truck before they saw it on campus.

Lyon, Carrol and Lucas Henk, a senior in the College of Engineering, said it was word of mouth that brought them to the truck.

Dombrowski, who worked hard at blasting the news on print, digital, social media and sidewalks, admitted this was a “trial run” and there would be a “learning curve” involved.

He also said it would be a while until they host the next food truck so they can take notes to see what went right and what to improve.

Though a schedule isn’t officially set, Dombrowski said there will definitely be at least one more this spring.

“I’m confident this isn’t going to be a one-hit wonder, and I think students are excited about it,” Dombrowski said. He also wants to make this more than a just a Marquette event.

“This is centered around community,” he said. “We want to encourage the Milwaukee community, along with (Marquette) faculty and staff, to come out and get great food.”

Marquee

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The Marquette Tribune

7

Best Lenten Fish Frys Around Milwaukee Waterfront Brewery Classic Milwaukee Beer Battered Cod Fry $13

The Brown Bottle Beer Battered Cod $11.95

Black Rose Irish Pub

Mo’s Irish Pub

St. Paul Fish Company

Friday Fish Fry $9

Fish and Chips $13

Schlitz Battered Cod Fry $10.95

Information from thrillist.com Photos from flickr.com

The season of Lent, a time of fasting and prayer for Christians, begins Wednesday. One of the season’s traditions is to give up meat on Fridays -- not including fish and seafood. Fish frys are popular at churches and in restaurants around Milwaukee. For more about the Lenten season, check out the full story on www.marquettewire.org.

Infographic by Hannah Feist hannah.feist@marquette.edu

Lights, curtain, costumes: Helfaer backstage Exploring offstage efforts behind MU Theatre’s latest

By Mac Vogel

mackane.vogel@marquette.edu

The applause at the end of a Marquette Theatre show congratulates the actors’ and actresses’ hard work. But beyond a gesture to the booth, many playgoers fail to recognize the full extent of efforts from students off-stage who make shows possible.

Marquette Theatre finished performing Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth” Feb 26.

Stephen Hudson-Mairet, scenic designer and associate professor of theatre arts, oversaw the work that went into designing the backdrop for this show.

“We use Q-lab software, which displays one picture across three screens using a splitter,” Hudson-Mairet said.

An example of this is during the second act, when a man on a bike is seen on the digital screens in the background. The biker starts on screen one, and although they are not directly next to each other, the biker continues on to screens two and three and then out of sight, creating a realistic effect of movement.

Hudson-Mairet also noted that the designs for the second act were all created as pencil sketches and projected on screen.

While Hudson-Mairet played a tremendous role in the scenic design, he passed off most of the credit to the students, especially Julie Ahlgrim, a senior in the College of Communication.

“I did all the physical aspects, which required a lot of

digital painting and tracking down furniture,” Ahlgrim said.

Ahlgrim, upon her mom’s request, took a sewing class which sparked her career in costume design. She climbed her way up after that and eventually found her knack for making shows run smoothly as a student production manager.

Ahlgrim still has a passion for costume design, as she described how the impressive mammoth costume was made for “The Skin of Our Teeth.”

“They started making it in early November. The work consisted of a lot of wire-cutting and bending as well as sewing lots of fur together,”Ahlgrim said. “This is definitely one of the biggest

“

Every theater has hidden gems that not everyone gets to see when they come to see a show.

These are ours.”

Julie Ahlgrim Senior in the College of Communication

costume shows we have had in a long time.”

Rebecca Gardner, a

sophomore in the College of Communication and a costume shop assistant, described her position as assistant designer.

“Working in the costume shop, I make, pull, shop, fit and adjust all the costumes for every show,” Gardner said.

Costume design is a team effort, as assistants must help with two shows before designing a show themselves. “The Skin of Our Teeth” was Gardner’s second assistant design show and she will be able to design on her own from now on.

Gardner stressed how important all aspects of off-screen theater are and “The Skin of Our Teeth” is a great example of where they came together

to produce a successful show.

Gardner described it as being “a true example of a well-done technical-heavy show.”

The area backstage is massive. There are several levels of catwalks where lights are hung and students are positioned to operate them. Much like the amount of students and the work they put in, the Helfaer Theatre is far larger than any playgoer could ever imagine.

As Ahlgrim said as she showed off the backstage areas, “Every theater has hidden gems that not everyone gets to see when they come to see a show.

These are ours.”

Watch the photo gallery on marquettewire.org

Opinions The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Editorial Board

Elizabeth Baker, Opinions Editor Mike Cummings, Assistant Opinions Editor Patrick Thomas, Executive Director Amy Elliot-Meisel, Managing Editor Marquette Tribune Stephanie Harte, Managing Editor Marquette Journal McKenna Oxenden, News Executive Emma Nitschke, Copy Chief Casey DiNicola, Online Editor of Marquette Wire Austin Anderson, Photo Editor

Jennifer Walter, A&E Executive Jack Goods, Sports Executive Anabelle McDonald, Design Chief Lily Wellen, Station Manager MURadio Hannah Kirby, Station Manager MUTV Brian Georgeson, Video Editor

STAFF EDITORIAL

Journalism department must capitalize on opportunity for growth

2017 is an exciting year for journalism at Marquette. Not only are we celebrating 100 years of student media, but we are about to undergo significant changes including high faculty turnover and building renovations that have the potential to elevate the department to new levels of success.

These major changes signal a pivotal moment for journalism at Marquette. Administrators must capitalize on this momentum and boost the department to be a national leader in defining what it means to be a journalist in the 21st century.

To do this, a reorganization of the curriculum should be the foremost task.

In the current curriculum, the first-, second- and third-level journalism courses feel disconnected from each other. Little balance exists between writing, video, photography and audio lessons, and it’s unclear which skills need to be taught and mastered at each level. While one Journalism 2 class spends time at the courthouse learning about open records, the other focuses the semester on producing audio content.

Being a journalist requires a very practical skill set, and the curriculum should reflect that.

Writing leads, interviewing and shooting and editing a video should be taught uniformly in the entry-level courses. This way, by the time students reach upper-division classes in which they can specialize in subjects like business, arts or long-form journalism, they’ll have the knowledge to create stories and projects they could add to a digital portfolio.

As it stands, the curriculum alone, without internship or student media experience, does not adequately prepare graduates for the competitive journalism field.

You wouldn’t let a nursing student become a nurse without ever having practiced on a patient before; education majors are not certified to teach until they have student teaching experience. Journalism, like these careers, is a trade that requires mastery of certain skills.

As students, we are keenly aware of the modern difficulties that complicate journalism education today. The industry is changing faster than universities and professors can keep up with, and

instructors who practiced journalism as it was 10, 15, 20 or even more years ago are forced to teach journalism as it is now.

The wave of outgoing professors the department will experience this year offers the college the opportunity to hire instructors fresh out of the industry who can teach both the fundamental – lead writing, interviewing and copy editing – and technological – social media, videography and data visualization – skills of the trade.

Ana Garner, journalism and media studies chair, said there are talks of taking this opportunity to add classes focusing on data and investigative journalism.

It is up to college administrators to take advantage of this year of growth. Surely the department, with its century-old tradition of educating some of the nation’s best journalists, has the potential to be a leader in a new age of journalism.

If we want our graduates to leave Marquette with both journalistic passion and preparedness, Marquette must step up to the challenge the modern industry presents.

Statement of Opinion Policy

Wire stock photo

Johnston Hall is home to the Diederich College of Communication, including the journalism department.

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: elizabeth.e.baker@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.

PAGE 8

Partisan commentary serves little purpose

Morgan Hughes

Media are businesses. News media included.

The first thing I was taught as a bright-eyed, optimistic, Social Justice Warrior, 18-yearold journalism student was that media are businesses. Forget everything you thought you understood about the press lest your time spent learning this craft be misguided, was the general message.

It was not that media are evil, not that they are corrupt or deceptive — though those are terms often associated with business, they are not synonymous. The lesson was not to distrust media, but to be wary of marketing techniques, and not to confuse the two.

It is with this skepticism I approach political commentary shows like TheBlaze’s “Tomi” with Tomi Lahren, or MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show“ or Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”

I’ve prickled during Tomi Lahren’s egregious comparison of Black Lives Matter to the KKK, and I’ve nodded along as Trevor Noah condemns the actions of the Trump administration. But regardless of my own reactions to individual commentators, I can’t with good conscience acknowledge these shows as anything more than tabloid journalism.

The point of these shows is to confirm the beliefs of those who agree and enrage those who do not. The business model is essentially to keep those who agree coming back, and frustrate those who don’t to the point where they have to show all of their friends in order to alleviate their anger.

They don’t serve a purpose other than to pick apart those on the other side. They are divisive in an already distanced political climate.

The preachy monologues scapegoat blame. It’s the ultimate, “it’s not me, it’s you.”

We don’t need to find a solution because it’s not our fault, right?

Most dangerous of all, though, is that these shows are purposefully emotive. That some of the information they

Cartoon by Morgan Hughes

Political commentary is a soulsucking enterprise.

provide is factual is irrelevant because of how irresponsibly that information is presented.

Anger clouds judgement. That’s why we get flustered during debate or inconsolable in the face of betrayal. Sure, emotive rhetoric has a place, but not in news media, at least not in fair news media. These shows take advantage of us. They play on our sympathies and our values.

The reason Lahren and Noah can be friends outside of their respective talk show platforms is because they know it’s an act.

Sure, they believe what they’re saying, but not to the degree of urgency they pretend to.

Stephen King writes, “What do you do when you can’t use anger to fall back on? You admit the truth.” And I think that simplifies my point better than anything. When we stop blaming “them,” when we stop acting like we’ve been personally victimized, when we get over ourselves and look at things rationally rather than through the lens of blame, then maybe solutions to these problems we keep avoiding might present themselves.

I’ve written about my contempt for partisan politics a million times, I’m sure. It’s a cancer on a could-be intelligent community. These shows only amplify the spread of the disease.

Political commentary is not inherently useless. It can be a useful tool in educating a confused public, but only if the goal is explicitly to inform.

Morgan Hughes is a junior studying journalism and political science. She can be reached at morgan.hughes@marquette.edu

Opinions

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The Marquette Tribune

9

Unexpected value of MUSG tobacco ban paternalistic part-time barista gig Caroline Kaufman For four years as undergraduates, students feel heavy pressure to get internship experience under their belts. An internship is undoubtedly a great opportunity to be shaped as a professional; however, my experience working at a local coffee shop has shown me that a part-time job, especially in the service industry, can shape you as a person.

I have been a barista at Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. for a little over a year. The notorious sophomore slump had me feeling unmotivated and questioning how I was going to make the last half of my college career truly count. This angst manifested itself into a two-month-long hunt for the perfect part-time job.

This hunt was much harder than anticipated. Having never worked in coffee, I lacked the training necessary to become a barista. When interviewing for these positions, I couldn’t use my previous internship experience or academic background as my crutch. Instead, I had to reflect on who I was as a person and why I would be a good fit with the company.

I had previously developed a script of what to say in interviews, but when I realized a coffee shop doesn’t care about my knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, I prioritized my soft skills for future interviews in all fields.

Anodyne is only a few minutes from campus, but working there has allowed me to experience Milwaukee from the perspective of a local, not just as a Marquette student. The coffee shop is in the middle of one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, Walker’s Point, which is currently undergoing a great revitalization period.

When employees from other local businesses come in for their daily coffee, we chat about what’s new at their businesses and what is happening in the area. If it weren’t for the coffee shop, I would never have been exposed to so many different opportunities to get involved in the Milwaukee community, and chances are I would still consider La Perla the best place in Walker’s

Point — perhaps the greatest travesty of all.

In the beginning of my job search, I was motivated to gain a memorable experience for the remainder of my college career. Being a barista has allowed me to look beyond campus and experience Milwaukee from an entirely different lens. The work ethic and patience I have gained from working in the service industry will shape how I approach any job in the future.

Unlike at an internship, my coworkers don’t all have the same end goal as I do, which makes my experience that much more enriching. Some of my coworkers are still in school, some are artists and some are lifelong baristas.

The opportunity to spend eight-hour shifts getting to know individuals who aren’t college students has been refreshing and has helped me understand the importance of a work-life balance.

When I am behind the bar, I can stop being a student for a little while, converse with the regulars and just worry about perfecting my latte art.

The word “anodyne” is defined as a source of soothing comfort and, for me, Anodyne is just that.

Caroline Kaufman is a junior studying corporate communication and writing-intensive English.

She can be reached at caroline. kaufman@marquette.edu

Ryan McCarthy Last week Marquette Student Government unanimously passed the campus-wide tobacco-free policy that has been bouncing around for the past few years. The policy, which prohibits the use of any tobacco products on campus, is patronizing and insulting.

For those who have yet to read the new policy, it bans students, faculty, staff, contractors, vendors and visitors from using any tobacco product on Marquette’s campus, in its buildings, at outdoor athletic events and in university vehicles.

The policy applies to all tobacco products including: “any lighted cigarette” and “smokeless, spit or spit less, dissolvable, or inhaled tobacco products; including but not limited to dip, chew, snuff or snus, in any form (orbs, sticks pellets, etc.).”

It also bans any universitysponsored publication from using nicotine or tobacco product advertisements. It does allow tobacco use for religious purposes and on city sidewalks. The policy takes effect August 1.

The main argument in favor of the policy seems to be that as a Jesuit university, Marquette believes in Cura Personalis, or “care for the whole person.”

This includes its students’ and employees’ health.

Let us take this Cura Personalis argument, then, to its inevitable and logical conclusion: Marquette should ban alcohol.

We should make Marquette a dry campus and close any restaurant,

bar and store that serves alcohol.

After all, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, college drinking is responsible for nearly 1,825 student deaths, 696,000 assaults by another student who was drinking and nearly 97,000 sexual assaults.

It also contributes to academic and social problems.

Of course, nobody would seriously consider this. Then why do we treat tobacco differently?

Nowhere in the MUSG policy is it clarified how these new rules will be enforced. Will MUPD patrol the dumpsters behind the AMU to catch an employee on a smoke break? The only solution MUSG offers is the campus wide proliferation of “tobacco-free campus” signs that will no doubt find themselves decorating the homes and apartments of students in a matter of weeks.

The policy makes no mention of consequences for violating this policy. Can professors lose their jobs? Will students be fined? Can vendors lose their contracts? There are more questions than answers.

Without any clear explanation of its implementation strategies or consequences for violating the policy, I am at a loss to understand how this will be effective, especially if the goal is to reduce smoking among Marquette students and staff. All this does is make it slightly less convenient to smoke if you live or work on campus.

The only impact I foresee is more places on campus becoming like the ELS Language Center on 19th and Wisconsin. As many as two dozen students will smoke at once on the city sidewalk in front of the building, creating a giant

Wire stock photo

MUSG’s tobacco-free campus policy will take effect Aug. 1.

plume of tobacco smoke that is uncomfortable to walk near. By forcing smokers onto the sidewalks, MUSG is actually increasing the likelihood of exposure to second hand smoke.

I’m a nonsmoker, and I believe all tobacco poses serious and unnecessary health risks. I don’t have a problem with MUSG educating students about smoking’s harmful effects, just the idea that making it more difficult to smoke will somehow decrease its prevalence.

Like tobacco spokesman Nick Naylor said in the 2005 film “Thank You For Smoking,” “It’s called education, and it doesn’t come on the side of a cigarette carton. It comes from our teachers, and more importantly our parents.”

Ryan McCarthy is a senior studying journalism. He can be reached at ryan.w.mccarthy@marquette.edu

A VOICE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE. MARQUETTE FORUM As a Catholic, Jesuit university, Marquette is committed to social justice. The Marquette Forum is an annual series that brings experts of national renown together with those from the Marquette and Milwaukee communities, for conversations on topics that impact our community and the world.

A FORUM FOR CONVERSATION. The Marquette Forum — a yearlong series of events and discussions on the topic of “Freedom Dreams Now,” the challenges that inequality presents, and the hope of a better world emerging from Black freedom struggles — concludes with a talk by Dr. Angela Davis. A scholar, activist, author and lecturer, Davis has been focused on social justice. Her work as an educator — both at the university level and in the larger public sphere — has always emphasized the importance of building communities of struggle for economic, racial and gender equality.

Dr. Angela Davis Wednesday, March 29 | 7 p.m.

Al McGuire Center | 770 N. 12th St., Milwaukee The event is free and open to the public.

Please reserve a ticket online by March 22; it is required for entry.

marquette.edu/forum

The Marquette Tribune

10

Opinions

The Marquette Tribune

Celebrating alumni, 100 years of Marquette student media Elizabeth Baker Last year, I had a unique opportunity to meet five esteemed alumni. For a journalism research paper, I spent many hours talking to James Areddy, Jacqui Banaczynski, Margo Huston, George Lardner and John Machacek, who have all won Pulitzer Prizes in journalism.

Inspired by the 100th anniversary of the Pulitzers last year, I examined Marquette’s connection to what is considered the highest honor in American professional journalism.

I talked to these five alumni about their Marquette journalism experience, careers leading up to winning the prize and the significance of the prize on their lives. For the majority of the conversations, I asked questions and listened to their incredible stories. The phone calls usually ended, though, with questions for me about my Marquette journalism experience — in particular, my involvement in student media.

As we shared stories about long nights working on the Tribune in the Johnston Hall basement, it became clear to me the place where these journalists earned their first bylines – be it the Marquette Tribune, Journal or former Hilltop yearbook – had significance on their careers to follow. These

publications created a community for the budding reporters, and several of them agreed their experience working among other students probably taught them just as much as, if not more than, their classes.

Today, Marquette student media is very different from what students 100 years ago experienced. Those who created the first edition of the Tribune donated their own money to purchase the printing equipment, and radio was introduced to campus around the time the U.S. entered World War I to teach drafted students Morse code and wireless telegraphy. As decades went by, the Hilltop Yearbook ceased publication in the late 1990s, and the Tribune went down to only one printed issue per week.

It seems, however, the same values remain. Marquette student media has always been the place young journalists first learn the

“

art of storytelling and collaboration and discover where it is in the field they belong.

One of the most important things I learned while researching Marquette’s connection to the Pulitzer Prizes is it was no coincidence the prizes, Marquette journalism education and Marquette student media, all began within a few years of each other.

Around the turn of the century, the end of the partisan press led to the outbreak of sensationalism and yellow journalism.

The public regarded newspapers as dishonest and subjective. The Rev. John Copus, a former newspaper reporter turned Jesuit, who established the journalism department at Marquette, called journalism “a profession sorely in need of ethical cleansing.” He knew the institution’s Catholic mission would benefit the profession and the public alike.

This weekend’s celebration of 100 years of student media will serve as a testament to the strength of the mission of Marquette journalism.

Several hundred alumni will return to campus to remember their years working on student publications.

My experiences meeting the five Pulitzer-winning graduates gave me a renewed vigor for my journalism studies and made me proud to attend this university.

I hope as former student media members meet with us students who are now in their positions this weekend, these interactions will provide the same admiration and inspiration.

Marquette student media has always been the place young journalists first learn the art of storytelling and collaboration and discover where it is in the field they belong.“

Elizabeth Baker is a senior studying journalism and Spanish.

She can be reached at elizabeth.e.baker@marquette. edu

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Remembering Foley’s courage essential now Amy Elliot-Meisel

At some point in the past two and a half years, we forgot how it felt to turn on the TV and see the images of Marquette graduate and journalist James Foley on his knees, moments before ISIS executed him in 2014.

The Marquette community packed Gesu to remember the heroic alumnus. As a campus and nation, we mourned. My mom called me, and we cried together because we were appalled by the violence and brutality of the murder. Foley reported what was happening in Syria — people’s triumphs, their terrors and what was happening to their everyday lives.

The United States grieved his death and decried the violence that ended his life.

Today, journalists are looked at as the enemy, a vilified group out to promote a liberal agenda.

The faces and names of those who gave their lives for the cause are forgotten.

Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony brought back the image of Foley’s face during Sting’s performance of “The Empty Chair,” the soundtrack for the motion picture “Jim: The James Foley Story.” Sting’s acoustic guitar rendition of the song once again put a face to journalism.

A growing trend today is the idea journalists are the enemy of the American people. “The media,” an extremely inaccurate generalization of the news industry, is portrayed as a harm to society. Many have forgotten the reason journalism exists – to maintain an informed electorate.

Former President George W. Bush stated Monday, “I

consider the media to be indispensable to democracy,” echoing remarks by dozens of former presidents, including Thomas Jefferson in 1823. He said, “The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure.”

Foley kept the world informed on the atrocities occurring every day in Syria.

Through his videos and stories, we saw their pain and suffering. Thousands of journalists around the world today enter war zones, prisons and the White House press room to report what is happening. If these reports are becoming the enemy of the people, perhaps it’s instead the facts that people simply don’t want to hear.

No one wants to hear of others suffering in Syria, a soldier dying in Yemen or a Congressional report that doesn’t quite sit right. But informing the public these events happen is what journalists do.

During Sting’s performance at the Oscars, an image of Foley appeared on the screen behind him. Dressed in his bullet proof vest, typical aviator glasses and 5 o’clock shadow, Foley’s likeness reminded viewers of how we once mourned his death.

The quote next to his face reminded us all of the cause for which he gave his life: “If I don’t have the moral courage to challenge authority … we don’t have journalism.”

Amy Elliot-Meisel is a senior studying history and sociology.

She is the managing editor of the Tribune. She can be reached at amy.elliot-meisel@marquette.edu

Photo via freejamesfoley.org

James Foley was honored at the Oscars ceremony with a song by Sting. His commitment to journalism will never be forgotten.

Opinions

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The Marquette Tribune

11

Learning journalism in basement of Johnston Hall Mike Cummings I had this dream growing up that one day I would moderate a presidential debate on CNN. As I welcomed the viewers back from the commercial break, I would speak with the ease of Anderson Cooper and ask the hard questions with the political wit of Chris Matthews.

I’ve al ways loved journalism.

I’ve been watching the news with my dad since I was a child, and I dorkishly adored my high school newspaper.

This love for communications has not faltered in my college years, as the Marquette Wire has been without a doubt my favorite part of Marquette. I am now about to complete my second year working for the Opinions desk, I have been a DJ for a number of Marquette Radio shows and I have helped out with some of the broadcasts at

“

basketball games. I was once even trusted to cover the Republican presidential debate downtown with MUTV. What’s unique, though, is that I am one of the few editors at the Wire who is not a journalism student. I major in political science and international affairs. In fact, I have never even had a class in Johnston Hall.

Thanks to student media, however, I know the halls of this building all too well and have learned more about journalism than I ever could have asked for.

Looking back, I find that I have been able to learn and grow in a distinct and beneficial way. Student media has allowed me to learn journalism in a practical sense, outside of the classroom and from other students.

In this group of students with different ages, majors and positions, I’ve learned broadcast, print and everything in between. Each of the people I have met

Looking back, I find that I have been able to learn and grow in a distinct and beneficial way.”

in the last few years has their own unique style.

Learning from them, I have constructed my own style, which I have had the pleasure of passing onto others the same way a lot of it was passed onto me.

Most of my student media friends have heard the story of my first column once, twice or maybe even 10 times. I was just hired and put on the budget for my first opinions piece. In what must have been an absolute scare for the editors, I sent in my column to be read the night before publication.

After reading my work, Drew Dawson, executive director at the time, sat me down in a very grandfatherly way to kindly explain I had done nearly everything wrong. Still to this day, it was one of the most necessary and worthwhile conversations I have had in the basement of Johnston Hall.

My work with student media has impacted my collegiate experience in more than a few ways. I met some of the best people, to begin.

My fellow opinions friends, Ryan, Morgan and Elizabeth (Bitty), who otherwise I would not have met while confined to my public policy and government classes, will be friends of mine for life, and I have learned so much from them. MU Radio has even entrusted our

outspoken and opinionated crew with a radio show this semester called, “You Can’t Handle the Truth.”

Feel free to tune in on Thursday nights.

Furthermore, while working for Opinions I have been able to take what I learned in my political science classes and apply it to my work on the pages of the Tribune. Writing political columns, making podcasts about election predictions and writing about other social issues in Milwaukee has contributed to the pages of our newspaper

and helped me tremendously in the classroom.

What I owe to student media cannot adequately be summed up in one meager column. My time at Marquette would not have been as great or beneficial if it weren’t for late nights with some of the most talented students I have ever met. So from a non-journalism student who found a niche in Johnston Hall nonetheless, thank you, student media.

Mike Cummings is a senior studying political science and international affairs. He can be reached at michael.cummings@ marquette.edu

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The Marquette Wire staff of 2016-’17 poses for a photo while working on the newspaper. As we celebrate 100 years of printing the Tribune, Cummings looks back at his experience with the Wire.

Goldstein: MU-Providence game should have been called for health of players

SPORTS, 15

Sports The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, February 28, 2017 PAGE 12

MU ready to host BE Tourney WBB set to become second BIG EAST team to host event

By John Hand

john.hand@marquette.edu

From March 4-7, the Al McGuire Center will look a little more dressed up, as Marquette will be hosting the BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Last year the BIG EAST decided to allow colleges to bid on hosting the tournament on their campus as opposed to hosting the tournament on a neutral site. This is the first time Marquette has hosted the tournament.

“It is a very exciting opportunity for us,” Marquette Athletic Director Bill Scholl said. “I think it lends to real credibility to the growth of the program over the last few years and certainly gives us a chance to show off Marquette women’s basketball this upcoming week.”

Marquette submitted a bid last year to the BIG EAST to try to land the tournament.

“With the development of the team and the growth they’ve had we feel like they are in a position to be successful and to be able to provide them an opportunity to do that on their home floor, in front of their home crowd is something we value with any of our teams,” Senior Associate Athletic Director Sarah Bobert said. “When we look at these opportunities, a lot of it is based on the fact that we feel that our team has a potential to do some really good things in the tournament.”

Photo by Austin Anderson austin.anderson@marquette.edu

A new banner hangs outside the Al McGuire Center in preparation for the BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Tournament starting Sunday.

Bobert said the success of the program not only made Marquette interested in hosting, but also helped the school land the event.

“They are looking for a great experience for the student athlete, which a big part of that is having people in the arena cheering them on and the exposure you get from that,” Bobert said. “The success of the team is something that is definitely part of that because obviously the more that team plays, the better the crowd is going to be.”

The Al McGuire Center also helped Marquette secure the bid. The $31 million facility holds 3,700 people and with the tournament approaching, the Al has been getting a makeover.

New BIG EAST banners have been placed inside and outside the arena, a new LED advertisement board will be placed along the scorer’s table and the biggest change of all is the new 10-by-18 foot video jumbotron in the right corner of the arena. The jumbotron allows for instant replay, interactive games with fans and entrance videos.

“Some branding will change within the facility to give it more of a BIG EAST conference look. But in the end it will still be obvious to the fans and to those watching through different forms of media, because every game is televised somehow, it will still be obvious that it is being played at Marquette University,” Bobert said.

After securing the bid to host the tournament, Marquette went to work to make sure they met the necessary requirements to host the tournament.

“For our regular season games we have our own requirements, but then with so many more people in the building over the course such a short period of time, a lot of that stuff is amped up a little more,” assistant director for faculty and event management Tim Watts said. “(It’s increased) with the video board and making sure we can apply the electricity for it. … There are more fans, there is more media, there is more student-athletes, more staff. It is that many more people you have to make sure go home

satisfied and safely.”

The staff will be making the final touches with the tournament approaching next weekend.

“It’s really just the execution phase now,” Watts said. “We’ve got the signage that we need all figured. We are just trying to finalize that stuff. We are just trying to make sure everything we planned for the last six months is actually going to be produced or be executed.”

Currently, the BIG EAST championship trophy is stored in Bobert’s office. She and the rest of the Marquette staff are hoping by the end of next weekend the trophy will remain in the Al.

Weekly staff picks

MUBB

Goods

Unger

Becker

Hand

Boyle

Salinas

Ploen

19-15

19-15

16-18

14-20

16-18

18-16

18-16

Steppe

DeSutter

at

Xavier

3-1-17

Mubb vs.

Creighton 3-4-17

Record

20-14

2-1

Sports

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The Marquette Tribune

13

Denson’s youth set him up for life of service, sport

Track and field junior passionate about Milwaukee

By Brendan Ploen

brendan.ploen@marquette.edu

Marquette track and field’s Djdade Denson grew up in Milwaukee’s infamous 53206 zip code, known for having one of America’s highest incarceration rates.

Denson’s parents told him like it was. At any given moment, life could turn upside down.

Determined not to go down a wayward path like so many others in his neighborhood, Denson found himself immersed in other activities, primarily track and field and volunteering.

“Growing up, my mom and my parents taught me that everyone has value, no matter who they are,” Denson said. “Treat people how you’d like to be treated and value people for what they have to offer. As a result, I’ve always been involved in service, giving back, because I know that at any moment, everything could change.”

That is why Denson got involved in Project Homeless Connect, which provides basic needs for Milwaukee’s homeless community. He is also a teacher’s aid for Milwaukee College Prep. For Denson, it is more than just about helping others. It is about helping his community.

“Honestly, it means everything,” Denson said. “What I’ve learned more than anything is the future generations and how

important they are. That just is propelling for me. Starting at the basics, and from the roots on up, helping them to understand how things are in the outside world, it’s not the same things you always see on TV.” Denson competed with or against a lot of the people he helped daily in sports. He went to University School in Milwaukee, where he starred on the basketball and track and field teams. He was a member of the 1,000-point club in basketball, was named a team captain to the track and field program and won a state championship in the triple jump his senior year.

When Marquette offered him a track and field scholarship his senior year, Denson knew he had to stay local and stay true to his community. He loved Marquette’s emphasis on giving back to the community. Denson became an engineering major for the same reason he came to Marquette, to improve the lives of others.

“You do what you can to help others out, and teach them that there is more than one way, always more than one way, to get things done, to make progress,” Denson said.

One person who has noticed Denson’s knack for lending a helping hand is Mary Ellen Jones, his former high school coach.

Jones, a frequent volunteer with the United Way and Project Homeless Connect, has seen Denson grow significantly since their first encounter.

“DJ’s plate is full, and I sometimes wonder when he eats and

sleeps,” Jones said jokingly.

“When I see someone his age volunteering early in the morning, when he could be doing so many other things, I know that he has matured and is maturing into a man. DJ is making decisions to give his time while sacrificing his time to help others in need.”

As his time volunteering at Marquette has increased, so has his distance in the triple jump.

In his first season, Denson had a quick start to his first indoor season with the Golden Eagles, as he finished second in the long jump and third in the triple jump at the BIG EAST Championships. His sophomore year, he continued to jump further. He was named to the All-BIG EAST team and his mark at the outdoor BIG EAST meet went into the record books as the ninth-best jump in program history.

Denson was expected to have another stellar indoor season, but toward the end of last semester, he knew something wasn’t right. After going to a cardiologist, Denson learned he had pericarditis, the swelling and irritation of the pericardium, the fibrous sac surrounding the heart. The condition is treatable and is usually resolved within days or weeks. It kept him sidelined for most of the indoor track season, and slowed him down to a walk.

For Denson, it became a time to reflect.

“It really helped me understand the value of time,” Denson said.

“When I first received the news, I got down because I love track and it’s what I love to do. but

MARQUETTE SPORTS CALENDAR TUESDAY 2/28 Women’s lacrosse at Kennesaw State 12 p.m.

SATURDAY 3/4 Men’s golf Desert Mountain Intercollegiate Saturday-Sunday

WEDNESDAY 3/1 Men’s basketball at Xavier 8 p.m.

Women’s tennis vs. Drake 12 p.m.

FRIDAY 3/3 Men’s tennis at Wisconsin 5 p.m.

Men’s lacrosse vs. Ohio State 7 p.m.

Men’s lacrosse vs. Detroit 3 p.m.

Men’s soccer Alumni game 4 p.m.

MONDAY 3/6 Women’s basketball BIG EAST Tournament Semifinal (if neccesary) 3 p.m.

Men’s tennis vs. Utah 9 a.m.

BIG EAST STANDINGS MEN’S BASKETBALL (BIG EAST, Overall) Villanova 14-3, 27-3 Butler 12-5, 23-6 Creighton 9-7, 22-7 Seton Hall 8-8, 18-10 Providence 8-8, 18-11 Xavier 8-8, 18-11 Marquette 8-8, 17-11 St. John’s 7-9, 13-16 Georgetown 5-11, 14-15 DePaul 2-14, 9-20

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (BIG EAST, Overall) DePaul 16-2, 24-6 Creighton 16-2, 22-6 Marquette 13-5, 22-7 St. John’s 11-7, 19-10 Villanova 11-7, 16-13 Georgetown 9-9, 17-11 Providence 4-14, 12-17 Xavier 4-14, 12-17 Seton Hall 4-14, 11-18 Butler 2-16, 5-24

46 feet and 7 inches.

And when his track career is done, Denson is passionate about giving back to Milwaukee and knows all it takes is the right person and situation, and the city he calls home will reach its potential.

“I honestly don’t see myself leaving,” Denson said. “This city has a lot of potential, but it just needs to be tapped into, helped along and loved and encouraged, honestly. Me and my city, I love it so much because of that aspect, because there is so much potential and so much life, and often times it is degraded to the point where people think they can’t do it just because of where they are from. I don’t believe that and hopefully I am setting an example for them.”

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Women’s lacrosse at Colorado 2 p.m.

Women’s basketball vs. Georgetown (BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinal) 2:30 p.m.

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I also feel like it helped me in a sense because it helped me open other doors, to not worry so much about me, but what I could do for other people.

“I wanted to stay busy and active and be a part of my team, but also be a part of my community and my city.”

Remarkably, Denson’s doctors cleared him at the perfect time, and he was with the team in New York City to compete in this year’s Indoor BIG EAST Track & Field Championships.

Despite only competing in one meet the entire season before being sidelined, it was like Denson never skipped a beat. He came out strong in the triple jump, his signature event, and finished runnerup with a leap of 14.24 meters, or

MEN’S LACROSSE (Overall, BIG EAST)

WOMEN’S LACROSSE (Overall, BIG EAST)

Denver 4-0, 0-0 Providence 3-1, 0-0 Marquette 1-1, 0-0 Georgetown 0-3, 0-0 St. John’s 0-3, 0-0 Villanova 0-3, 0-0

Denver 5-0, 0-0 Temple 4-1, 0-0 Vanderbilt 2-1, 0-0 Florida 1-1, 0-0 UConn 2-2, 0-0 Cincinnati 1-2, 0-0 Georgetown 1-3, 0-0 Marquette 1-3, 0-0 Butler 0-3, 0-0 Villanova 0-4, 0-0

FEW LEFT June 2017 CALL OR TEXT: (414)459-1795 OR EMAIL : info@schulhofproperties.com

14

Sports

The Marquette Tribune

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Women’s assistant Merritt lives life of basketball

Former MU player turns to coaching after playing career

By John Hand

john.hand@marquette.edu

Scott Merritt is a basketball junkie.

His entire life is seemingly tied to the sport, and no matter what is thrown at him, it is impossible for Merritt to get away from the game he loves.

Sitting behind his desk in the Al McGuire Center, his office appears to fit him nicely. However, his 6-foot-10 frame fills the space, making it seem like the room is shrinking. Merritt, now a women’s basketball assistant coach, was destined to find a career in the sport.

“I think it was kind of just a natural thing, ’cause my father played, my grandmother played, so I gravitated towards (basketball) pretty early on in life,” Merritt said.

Merritt was a crucial part of the Golden Eagles’ 2003 Final Four team. He finished his career 14th on Marquette’s all-time

rebounding list, and 37th in scoring.

When his college career came to an end, Merritt aspired to play in the NBA. After several failed attempts at trying to secure a guaranteed NBA contract, he decided to embark overseas.

The task was daunting. Merritt was going to leave his family, friends and the familiarity of the United States just to play basketball, but thanks to his college coach Tom Crean, Merritt felt prepared.

“I’m not scared of anything in life,” Merritt said. “I know I can get through it because of the way (Crean) pushed us.”

He would need that attitude as he started his foreign adventure in Ukraine. “(In Ukraine), the owners of the team weren’t exactly upstanding citizens,” Merritt said. “Let’s just say there was some mafia-type dealings going on. It ended up being a crazy situation, but we had a talented team. The management was so insane that we basically all jumped ship.”

He would make a stop in Cyprus, before once again calling on Crean’s lessons as he was pinned

up in a hotel for a week in Turkey waiting for his paycheck.

“We won the championship … they should be happy, and they still put me through the ringer on the way out, and that is just part of the life over there,” Merritt said.

“This was also a time when he was starting to develop a family, so you got to keep pushing … I think he and people around him thought he really had a shot,” Terry Sanders, roommate and teammate to Merritt at Marquette, said. “When you are that close to achieving your dream, you aren’t going to give up on it.”

Finally, Merritt found comfort in Japan, where his teams were run by professionals and his paychecks were on time. After three years there, Merritt headed for South Korea. He had planned to play until he was 35, but life was coming at him fast. He had two young kids, only a two-bedroom apartment and his wife wanted to go back to work.

Merritt hung up his shoes and headed back state-side where he began coaching high school basketball. But, knowing there were bills to pay and mouths to feed, he started getting licensed to

Photo by Austin Anderson austin.anderson@marquette.edu

Scott Merritt (center) stands with the women’s basketball staff.

work in finance for his father-inlaw. Meanwhile, Carolyn Kieger was named the head coach of Marquette’s women’s team.

“When I got the job, he kind of marched into my office and wanted to know my path and how I got there,” Kieger said. “I thought he just wanted some help getting in the game, but he was like, ‘No, I want to coach at a high level.’ I thought he meant the men’s side, but he was like, ‘No, I would do anything.’ I was like, ‘Okay,’ and didn’t think anything of it. A couple of weeks go by, and he keeps coming into my office. … I started thinking there isn’t another person that I am going

to interview that has more pride in Marquette.”

Kieger hired Merritt as her assistant coach.

“Did I ever see myself coaching women’s basketball? Not really, to be honest, but I enjoy it. I really enjoy it,” Merritt said.

In three years, Merritt has taken great strides as a coach, becoming a trusted voice on the sidelines and a successful recruiter for Kieger.

“I do want to be a head coach,” Merritt said. “How far down the road I’m not sure yet … Basketball will be involved in whatever I do for the remainder of my life as long as I have a say so in it.”

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Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The Marquette Tribune

15

Players’ health spurned to play on dangerous court Andrew Goldstein

Although it may be little solace to Marquette fans, it’s a minor miracle the Golden Eagles escaped the Dunkin’ Donuts Center with only their NCAA Tournament hopes injured.

Let’s be perfectly clear: This game should never have been allowed to continue. It never should have been played in the first place.

There was no reason to let two teams of young men endanger their bodies on an ice rink with a basketball court’s facade. The fact everybody’s ACLs are still in one piece doesn’t make the decision more logical or acceptable.

As condensation continued to bubble up from the ice rink below, and the “squeak-squeak-squeak” of sneakers on wet hardwood constantly reminded the viewing audience what a ludicrous venture this game always was, the announcers could hardly contain their surprise (or was it disgust?) that things were happening regardless of the blatantly unsafe conditions.

“I cringe every time someone makes a move,” CBS Sports analyst and 14 year NBA veteran Brendan Haywood said.

“The second worst (floor conditions) I’ve ever seen,” play-byplay announcer John Sadak said.

Sadak then explained the only game he remembers with worse floor conditions was a collegiate women’s basketball game many years ago where maintenance applied the wrong cleaning solution to the court. What did they do?

The only sensible thing: postpone the game for eight hours while the floor got re-waxed.

Unfortunately, none of the rational heads who halted that game could make it to Providence in time to stop what was happening.

Instead, both head coaches – Marquette’s Steve Wojciechowski and Providence’s Ed Cooley – agreed to have their teams soldier on despite the horrid conditions.

The referees, usually so eager to assert themselves when marginal hand-slap fouls are concerned, nodded their heads in unison like a slick floor didn’t put everyone on the court in harm’s way.

Games had to be played and basketballs had to be shot, your knees be damned.

The farce only got more and more ridiculous as the game wore on and every possession seemed to end with somebody planted firmly on the floor. Referees had no idea how to differentiate between transgressions that were and weren’t the court’s fault – not that it made a huge difference. By allowing the game to continue at all, head referee Ed Corbett was blowing the only call that

really mattered.

Missing that call nearly had steep consequences on a couple occasions. On one play in the second half, Providence forward Emmitt Holt dribbled from the left wing to the center of the court. He took a step back, started to raise the ball for a jumper, then collapsed in a heap on the free throw line. Replays showed Holt’s right leg turning the wrong way. It’s beyond lucky he wasn’t hurt.

Marquette didn’t have any moments as singularly traumatic as that one, but the constant stream of slips made up for it. Katin Reinhardt tripped while performing a simple hesitation dribble. Andrew Rowsey went skidding a fourth of the way down the court while diving for a loose ball.

Aside from all those, anybody watching the game couldn’t have missed the constant timeouts that had to be taken so the court could be mopped dry of excess condensation. The proceedings started to feel like a grotesque mixture of basketball and curling before too long.

Armed with a solid half’s worth of evidence the court was unplayable, the coaches came to the somber realization players trust them to look out for their best interests and the rest of the game had to be postponed in order to respect that trust.

Just kidding.

No, the only thing the coaches agreed to at halftime was that any slips caused by the court would result in the offense keeping possession. I’m sure anybody who tore an Achilles and had to have his teammates carry him off would take great solace in knowing it’s still his team’s ball.

You’re never going to believe this, but nobody seemed especially keen on taking responsibility for the debacle after the game.

Larry Lepore, the general manager of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, told GoLocalProv, “70 degrees outside and 90 percent humidity.

What do they want me to do?”

Afterwards, a note from the referees circulated among media members instructing them to “refer all questions about the playing condition and related issues to the BIG EAST office.” An hour later, BIG EAST associate commissioner John Paquette placed the blame right back on the officials, citing an NCAA bylaw that states it is on the refs to “notify game management of any potentially dangerous playing court and/or equipment conditions.”

If we assume the most charitable of circumstances, the referees realized the danger to the players and simply didn’t

Photo by Austin Anderson austin.anderson@marquette.edu

Markus Howard drives to the hoop against Providence at the Bradley Center Jan. 28. MU lost 79-78.

know they had the power to stop the game. Even under that assumption, officials still had a shaky knowledge of protocol, and the conference responsible for making sure they know it failed in its duty.

Of course, another explanation is the refs made a bad decision and stuck the conference with the blame, in which case the BIG EAST is partially off the hook and the referees are doubly responsible.

The coaches didn’t come off looking any better.

Wojciechowski criticized the slippery conditions in his postgame press conference by saying it’s “not fair to Ed’s team (and) not fair to us” that an important game was played under such conditions. It might be pertinent to point out that this statement completely ignores that both coaches agreed to play the game under those conditions.

Cooley said the coaches “agreed at halftime that as long as nobody got hurt we’d play through it.” Imagine if football or baseball applied Cooley’s logic to their weather delays.

“Yeah, we know there’s a thunderstorm going on right now; but, as long as nobody gets struck by lightning, everything’s cool. Play ball!”

Throughout all of this, the group of people whose opinion about the wet court went unsolicited is also the group of people who had to deal with the risk of injury: players. Suppose Emmitt Holt actually did suffer a career-ending injury

on that attempted jumper. Or pretend Markus Howard blew out his knee on a wet spot.

Would anybody be held accountable for either of them?

Does either player get worker’s compensation? If they couldn’t play basketball anymore, would their scholarships even be guaranteed? You probably already know the answers to those questions.

What happened on Saturday in Providence is merely a continuation of the NCAA’s core business model: a bunch of adult administrators make all the decisions and the money, while college kids assume the bodily risk. The people that operate within this system are

all too happy to be the adults when it benefits them only to deny agency when responsibility comes knocking. To feign powerlessness on financial issues is already unconscionable; to do it over athlete’s safety is disgusting.

You know who realizes that?

Wojciechowski. During his postgame press conference, he said, “we shouldn’t have been playing on a slippery floor.”

Agreed. So why were you?

Andrew Goldstein is a junior studying journalism. This is a special contribution to the Wire.

16

The Marquette Tribune

Sports

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

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