Jan 26

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022

VOL.124. NO.15 SINGLE COPY FREE

New Covid Protocol Causes Confusion

By ALAINA LASTER

LEAD REPORTER | LASTER3@MARSHALL.EDU

Rules regarding Covid-19 have been changing since the day the country went on high alert for the virus in March 2020. Lately, Covid rates have taken a jump on campus since the first of the year and students are confused about what the rules are now protocols.

For some students it can lead

to a confusing round of tests and conf licting results.

“When my teammate tested positive, my athletic trainer asked me if I had been vaccinated and boosted,” said junior student Brooke Burns.

“Since I was and I had documentation of that, I didn’t have to go [into quarantine].”

Read more on page 2.

“No One Instagrams Their Bad Days” College students grapple with a new reality based around social media. For some it leads to depression, eating disorders, and a warped view of other people.

Read more on page 4.

Signs direct motorist to a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing site in the parking lot of the Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, Pa., Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

Consequences of Covid Confusion on Campus ALAINA LASTER REPORTER | LASTER3@MARSHALL.EDU

The rules regarding Covid-19 have been changing since the day the country went into quarantine in 2020. Covid rates have taken a jump on campus since the first of the year and students are confused about what the rules are.

“When my teammate tested positive, my athletic trainer asked me if I had been vaccinated and boosted. Since I was and I had documentation of that, I didn’t have to go to Holderby until I took a test on Monday…Monday evening around 7 p.m. I got a call from my trainer that I tested positive and within 2 hours I had to move to holderby,” said junior student Brooke Burns.

Burns is a member of the Track and Field team and had practiced for longer than fifteen minutes unmasked with her teammate who later found out that she had tested positive. Both Burns and her teammate who had been contact traced were tested just to be safe. Burns found out she had also tested positive, and was moved into Holderby within 2 hours of that result.

“Since I was boosted, I got to take another test the next day so Tuesday at 11... about 12 hours after finding out (the positive result), I got to take another test,” said Burns.

That test came back negative, so she was tested again for a third time. When the results of that test were also negative, she was confirmed to have been a false positive and released from Holderby.

“I want to know why if I do everything right and wear my mask and get vaccinated and my booster shot, why can I still get contact traced?” said Burns.

Burns is not alone in her confusion.

Macey Swearingin, fellow student athlete and sophomore on the Swim and Dive team, was left confused when two of her roommates tested positive.

“Two of the seven of my roommates

tested positive, so I was contact traced from both of them… and they said that I had to move out of my dorm room because I was vaccinated but not boosted, and it was for the safety of the other people living here as well as my roommate,” said Swearengin.

“I want to know why if I do everything right and wear my mask and get vaccinated and my booster shot, why can I still get contact traced?” said Burns.

Swearengin moved into Holderby the night of December 31. However, the next morning she was told that she would be able to move out of Holderby and back into her dorm room if she produced a negative test.

“I got tested the following day and I tested negative, so they told me I could move back to dorms. So, I moved all of my stuff back to dorms… I got a text about two hours after they told me to move out and it was just kind of like hold on. I didn’t get a response until about an hour after that telling me that I had to move back into Holderby,” said Swearengin.

Swearengin moved back into Holderby Hall, where she remained to finish her quarantine until January 5. She does not understand why she was told to remain in that long however, because her initial contact was made the 30th of December. She was tested once again on the 4th of January where she produced another negative result and was told she still had to remain until the 5th.

“They said that test was the test to move

out of quarantine and they said that even though we had those negative results, we still had to stay until the designated day.

But they said the five days went to January 4th, which means that I was contact traced from the 31st. But the positive cases-I came in contact with them at first on the 30th, so my five days should have ended on the 3rd, but I didn’t get out until the 5th,” said Swearengin.

Burns and Swearengin are only two examples of confusion regarding the quarantine protocols. Tracy Smith, the director of environmental health and safety, was able to clear up some confusion regarding the changes to protocol.

“So basically, if you have received doses one and two and not received a booster, and you’re identified as part of contact tracing as a primary contact - which means you are not positive, but you were around someone who was positive - then you must go through the whole quarantine process,” said Smith.

Smith also said that there is a difference between quarantine and isolation. Though the CDC has officially made both five days long, compared to their original fourteenday statement, they do not mean the same.

Isolation is specifically referenced to those who are infected and have Covid-19.

Quarantine is only specific to those who are exposed to someone else who has tested positive.

“For example, if you are positive and I am around you, depending on what occurred and if we had masks on or not.

Let’s say we both had no masks and were around each other closer than six feet for more than 15 minutes. You would go to isolation for five days, and I would be able to continue to work or go to class. Because even though I did not have a mask on, I have had two vaccines the first and second dose, plus the booster dose,” said Smith. story continued on page 23

Speaker Brings Motivation to MU CALVIN STATEN REPORTER | STATEN30@MARSHALL.EDU

Real estate investment owner and “How to Become a Better Leader and Build a Better Team” public speaker Mike Fritz spoke at Marshall University on January 18th and 19th.

“When I was in school, public communications was my only good grade.

I finished with a 1.9 GPA, … when I preached, I fell more and more in love with speaking to others” Fritz said. “Speaking with people after the discussions that I’ve genuinely impacted has always been my favorite part of public speaking.”

The first day of the event consisted of Fritz saying what makes a good leader, how we can become better leaders, and “What it Truly Means to be a Leader.” With this, he said he came up with a model referred to as the “M.A.D.E.” model, which talks about the four major parts of being a

good leader: Motivation, Activation, Dedication, and Evaluation.

“You’ll be able to impact people at the rate you can accept judgement,” said Fritz.

The second night was like the night prior but had a theme of team building. “Teams grow on trust, trust bleeds into vulnerability,” said Fritz.

An interview was conducted with one of the people who made the events possible, Corey Cunningham, the leader of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity at Marshall University. “I think this event was successful.

I feel like what these people have learned will help yield success in the future, both in and out of Marshall.” He also felt that this event could help motivate more people to build better connections with their groups. “People don’t join groups, people join people.”, Cunningham said.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

NEWS

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MU Faces Delays Due to Harsh Winter Weather

BY TREVOR SMITH REPORTER | SMITH2784@MARSHALL.EDU

Many college students find that a university has fewer delays and cancellations than their high schools did. These days do happen, though, as seen in February 2021 when Marshall University called off classes for about a week after an ice storm that affected many areas surrounding the university. This year, the school has had 3 delays within the first month of its spring semester.

Many people, including advisors and officials from the university, meet to discuss the plan for the day and make the decision for the university.

“The committee comes together and we have a standard

call at 5:30 in the morning so we can make the decision and get it out by 6 on the local news and the text alert system,” said MUPD Chief James Terry.

Terry said that the committee includes the president, provost, senior Chief of staff, human resources Director, representatives from the South Charleston and Point Pleasant campuses, communications, and the Office of Public Safety.

Although there is a committee of people helping make the decision, Terry said, “It is up to the provost and the president based on the information they received.”

Terry said that commuters are a big factor for the decision, as they will be driving to

the campus from outside of the immediate area. “Instead of my five guys coming in, we’re bringing in 11,000 people. You bring in over 1,000 employees plus the students, so you do look at the weather conditions in the surrounding area.”

Students and staff have their own decision to make, though, if the weather is too rough at their location to risk going out. “Ultimately, it is up to the individual person to make a decision whether they feel safe or not to come in,” said Terry.

Having a committee of advisors composed of more than a couple of people helps to avoid making the wrong call—which has happened before—said Terry. “From my perspective,

we’ve made the wrong call before and nothing happens or the flip side. They tell you it’s going to be a mild storm and it’s much worse.”

Although wrong calls can be made, Terry said that a quick fix isn’t hard to do as they are always able to stop what has started. “The great thing about the policy and the flexibility is we can make this phone call anytime. We’ve cancelled evening classes because you know it’s going to be a bad evening.”

Terry said that the best way for students to know decisions regarding whether delaying or cancelling classes is to sign up for MU Alert, as it is directed straight to them and can pop up before the news cycle.

Intercultural Center Inspires Inclusivity

BY GRACE HEWITT

REPORTER | HEWITT23@MARSHALL.EDU

Photos by Shauntelle Thompson

The new Intercultural Center at Marshall University will open the second week of February to celebrate diversity. The center defines diversity broadly, according to its Director.

“We celebrate the unique things that make every student them,” said Director for Interculture and International Students, Shaunte Polk. “Everyone has a unique diversity. It’s not something that is black and white.”

Diversity and inclusion have always been important at Marshall University. The Intercultural Center will allow everyone of all diverse backgrounds to come together in the same area.

“Historically, we all have had separate offices or spaces,”

said Polk. “The Intercultural Center fixes that. It houses all of these wonderful and rich, cultural and diverse group all in one location.”

The center will now have everyone together and create one big space instead of walking to different spaces.

The center is now located beside Gullickson Hall.

“This new center definitely shows that Marshall really is committed to diversity and inclusion by making sure these groups have spaces that they can come meet and talk,” said Polk. “People that are interested in-Now they don’t have to look high and low, you know? You can come to the Intercultural Center.”

“You’re all welcome here, “ Polk said for the center’s message.

The new Intercultural Center is open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m beside Gullikson Hall.

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OPINION

No One Instagrams Their Bad Days Instagram has fundamentally changed what life as a young person is like - for the worse.

By TYLER SPENCE EXECUTIVE EDITOR | SPENCE83@MARSHALL.EDU

S

ome media outlets have said Facebook is having its big tobacco moment. Executives from the company sat before congress and downplayed a fact commonly known among young people: Instagram harms them. This is especially true if you are a teenage girl.“The smaller I got last year, the more likes I would get, explained Allison, a 19-year-old college student who chose to not use her real name for this story.

“All my friends would slide up and be like ‘oh my god you look so good, how can I lose weight like that too?’

And I was giving them advice but I wasn’t in any way telling them ‘don’t start that, it’s a slippery slope. I cry myself to sleep every night, like don’t even begin to think about that,” Allison said.

It’s hard to remember when Facebook, which recently changed its name to Meta, made national headlines for something positive.

Reporting of internal documents from Meta reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, published last September, exposed the harm Instagram can often cause and the internal research that proves it. “The company’s research on Instagram, the deepest look yet at what the

tech giant knows about its impact on teens and their mental wellbeing, represents one of the clearest gaps revealed in the documents between Facebook’s understanding of itself and its public position. In a presentation posted to Facebook’s internal message boards in March of 2020, researchers found that 32% of girls who said they felt bad about their bodies that Instagram made them feel worse. For the past three years Facebook has done research into how Instagram affects teen girls.

The researchers findings were all the same, ‘We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls,’”said one slide from 2019. For context more than 40% of Instagram’s users are 22 and younger.

If you were to ask young people if Instagram was bad for you, they would probably respond with a “Well yeah, obviously,” but it wasn’t always this way. Instagram’s humble beginnings at the start of the decade transformed after its blockbuster sale to Facebook in 2012 for $1 billion.

Change began slowly, like adding an occasional advertisement and the ability to post video. At the end of the decade, ads were inescapable and influencer culture had become so dominant it was replicated across every college campus in the United States. Young people have naturally emulated fashion and fitness trends

for decades, but the dominance of influencer culture allows for anyone to be like the celebrities that exist within Instagram. If every town is a media market, why can’t every town have its own influencers?

Allison was solemn during our discussions, as if it had taken months and years of personal heartache and experience to understand this reality.

“I downloaded Instagram when I was like 11 years old, and I was doing that when I was 11 and not even knowing what I was doing — comparing.”

“I want everything to be like how they have it. They [influencers] Instagram their food, shopping sprees with their mom, they Instagram their hangouts with their friends. But you don’t see… they could have cried in the dressing room.”

For some people it is obvious that this content is manufactured inorganically. The challenge comes for teenagers who are exposed to this content daily to not think the content is normal.

“Here’s another ‘What I eat in a day,” she said scrolling through

her Instagram explore page, which was filled with pictures and videos of mac and cheese, oatmeal, and workout regimens.

“Eating disorders are a competitive disorder like obviously it’s like [expletive] in the head, but you want to be sicker than the person you’re seeing. On Instagram, they’ll do before and after pictures. People in the eating disorder community eventually started saying you have to stop posting before and after pictures because why should I get help if their before looks different than my before.

Before and after photos very much still promote what your body should look like after.”

Brooke Snead, has chosen to delete Instagram for months at a time. She explained her choice, saying how it affected her mentally and how she would view herself, especially her body. I asked her what she believed was happening to her that caused her to delete Instagram.

“I feel like a lot of it is comparison.

I’ll follow a lot of people I don’t even know, like influencers and Instagram models and be like wow they’re so pretty and have the best bodies.’ I’ll be like what the heck, I don’t look like that, I’m slacking.”

Almost everyone I spoke with had Instagram and other social media accounts at an incredibly young age, including me. It would have been

impossible to know the impact it would have on young people at the time.

“When I was my happiest on Instagram was the worst part of my life, I was just taking more photos and craving that attention more.”

“We all kinda grew up with it. I downloaded Instagram when I was like 11 years old, and I was doing that when I was 11 and not even knowing what I was doing —comparing. So I already had those negative thoughts as soon as I downloaded it,” Brooke continued.

Allison later went into the details of her eating disorder — the remnants of comparison and her personal attempts to look like and act an influencer on Instagram that still impact her.

“To get my certain image, I was working out all day every day and counting e_very single calorie I put into my body. Like, I wouldn’t even grab a mint. I know how many calories are in a mint. I have all these calories in my head for every food I eat, I can tell you bacon, English muffin… if I can’t I won’t eat it,” she elaborated.

this story is continued on page 21

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

5 Free Throws 19-20: 130 pts 20-21: 99 pts 21-22: 76 pts

Mid-Range 19-20: 46 pts 20-21: 64 pts 21-22: 60 pts

Total: 305 pts

Total: 170 pts

Threes (Career)

Layups

Assisted: 222 pts Unassisted: 108 pts

(Career)

Fast Break: 56 pts Paint: 142

Total: 330 pts

Total: 198 pts

Savannah Wheeler’s Road to 1000 Points: A Breakdown of Wheeler’s First 1003 Points

By TYLER KENNETT SPORTS EDITOR | KENNETT@MARSHALL.EDU

Following the completion of Marshall’s win against Rice, Savannah Wheeler became just the 23rd player in Marshall women’s basketball history to pass the 1000 point mark.

In short, Wheeler’s game thrives from off-ball shot creation. In her career, the sophomore point guard has produced twice as many threes off of assists.

The Anomalies In doing a deep dive of Wheeler’s career, one is able to find a slew of

“fun” statlines that come from the way that teams gameplan around Wheeler’s ability to create with and without the ball.

One of the most interesting performances of Savannah Wheeler’s career came in the C-USA tournament of her freshman year.

In that contest against Southern Miss, Wheeler missed every attempt from three and mid-range. Her only points from the field came on 3 layups, 2 of them being on the fast break in transition. The interesting part of this statline comes from the free throw

line. Wheeler hit a staggering 13 free throws in that contest alone. 68 percent of her scoring came from the line in that game as she finished with 19. Her career high in free throws is 15, coming from her former career high of 35 points.

Another Wheeler trivia moment comes against Rutgers, also in her Freshman season. Wheeler was held silent throughout the entire first half.

She did not attempt a single shot. In the second half, Wheeler would go 4-7 from the field, hitting 2 threes and also shooting 5-6 from the line. At the end

of that game, Wheeler led all scorers, including those from Rutgers, with 15 points.

Career High vs Oakland Wheeler’s biggest moment came against Oakland earlier this season.

Despite the above breakdown, which makes Wheeler look like someone who prefers the three point line, Wheeler’s career high is likely more impressive due to the way that she obtained 40: 14-18 from the field and only 2 made three pointers. For many, Oakland was arguably one of the most efficient games in Marshall

history. Wheeler dropped 16 points from mid-range jumpers en route to shooting 77 percent from the field against the Golden Grizzlies.

Expanding Her Range Wheeler has evolved in her shot choices since her freshman season.

When looking at the mid-range shot, outside of the paint and within the 3-point line, Wheeler rarely made shots as a freshman, only sinking 46 points from mid-range. In the 20-21 season, she expanded that total to 64 points in a season shortened due to COVID. This season, Wheeler has ...

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

Wheeler...

...continued from page 5 already broken the 60 point barrier with an entire month of play still remaining. On the other end, when it comes to paint points, Wheeler has declined since her first season at Marshall. 90 points were scored in the paint by Wheeler as a freshman. only 64 points have been scored so far this season. In the shortened pandemic season, Wheeler only put up 52 points in the paint. This, by

6 proxy, has affected her free throw numbers. Wheeler had 130 points from the free throw line as a freshman, but now sits at 76 with a little over a month remaining in the regular season. Wheeler is one of the most efficient free throw shooters in college basketball. She has never fell below 80 percent FT shooting in a single season, even when considering outlier games.

When is Wheeler on Fire?

When logging each point by month, Wheeler is seemingly most effective in January, scoring 316 points throughout her “Januaries”

when not including the 2 most recent contests following Rice, the game in which Wheeler crossed 1000 points.

However, when it comes to the “best” month, Wheeler averaged 21.6 points per game in December this season, the highest mark of her career. She continues to evolve as a scorer. Throughout the month of January, Wheeler was averaging 20.5 points per game heading out of the Texas trip.

How Impactful is Wheeler?

Wheeler’s impact is seen night in and night out as a pure facilitator.

She is able to create her own shot

when she has the ball and get open when she does not. Since scoring is the focus of this study, it should be known that Wheeler has been the leading scorer for Marshall in 33 separate contests. In games where Savannah Wheeler leads scoring and scores 20+ points, Marshall has only lost three times. The overall record of Marshall when put in that situation is 10-3. Overwhelmingly, when Wheeler scores 20 points, the Herd tends to win.

What’s Next on the Road?

Marshall is on its best start in conference play since 1988 at 9-1.

The Herd has a chance to run the table, potentially winning the first conference title under head coach Tony Kemper.

Only WKU and Charlotte, the lone undefeated teams in conference play, are ahead of Marshall in the entirety of C-USA. For Wheeler’s sake, she was given an extra year of availability following the pandemic. Karen Pelphrey, likely the best player in Marshall history, sits atop the all-time points category with 2746. At her current pace, Wheeler could potentially cross 2000 points, a mark only met by 3 players.

everything that you can instead of just letting it flow, and that’s letting the game, and I just what you said the pressure-the pressure situation,” Kinsey said, “You can’t let pressure, you know, of trying to get over this hump, you know, face how we play.

We have to just play how we play and the win will come, you know.

Everybody who’s looking for a win— everybody who’s searching for a win—that just makes it go farther and further away from us getting to it.”

Coach Dan D’ Antoni mentioned how in his postgame news conference that this is a team that heading into the year had high expectations.

“Well, they’re probably a lot more expectations this year for this team.”

Marshall Men’s Basketball will be back in Huntington, this week as they welcome Middle Tennessee Thursday and UAB Saturday. Both games tip off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+ and WMUL 88.1.

Marshall Men’s Basketball Loses Ninth Straight

By JUSTIN ZIMMER

REPORTER | ZIMMER3@MARSHALL.EDU

Despite a promising first few minutes of the ballgame the The Marshall Thundering Herd fell to the pressure as they lost their ninth consecutive game Saturday afternoon as they traveled down to Boca Raton, Florida to take on the Florida Atlantic Owls.

Head Coach Dan D’Antoni mentioned that when a team has high expectations, handling pressure is essential for success on the court.

“So, with expectations comes pressure that’s just part of it. Now you got to handle it and that mean you fold to it. That’s like that’s the way life is. You know expectations cause heartburn.”

In the early minutes of the contest, Marshall was not able to get a field goal but was able to get points on the board with two free throws from Goran Miladinovic.

Marshall got its first field goal on an Andrew Taylor layup with 15:12 remaining in the first half. The Herd was able to tie the game at 10 minutes in the first half with a Darius George three-pointer off an assist by David Early. Throughout most of the

first half, Marshall traded baskets with the Owls while maintaining a lead in the ballgame.

With 3:48 remaining in the half, Dardan Kapiti shot a layup to regain the lead for the Owls. The Owls took the lead in the final minutes of the first half, with a score of 31-30.

In the early minutes of the second half, Marshall was able to eliminate the deficit from the first half. With 17:53 remaining in the contest, David Early tied at 34 with a jumper. Throughout the first part of the half, the Owls started pulling away from the Marshall, though the lead was in single digits. At the end of the ballgame, the Florida Atlantic Owls pulled away and defeated Marshall by a final score of 71-60.

After the game, Marshall guard, Taevion Kinsey, addressed the losing streak. “When you-When you’re trying to press yourself, and you’re trying to make those eight point plays, and you’re trying to do

Courtesy of herdzone.com

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

Marshall Student Activists Face Hunger, Arrest for Federal Legislation

BY BELLA ROBINSON LEAD REPORTER | ROBINSON436@MARSHALL.EDU

In early December, Marshall students joined university students from Arizona in a hunger strike to urge federal intervention and the passage of the Freedom to Vote Act to address the dangers of “dark money,” and voting restrictions on the United States democracy.

For fifteen days, the strikers went without food and sat on the steps of the nation’s capital demanding democratic reform. The strike was suspended, however, after the Senate’s prioritization of the Freedom to Vote Act. The large bill includes the cessation of partisan gerrymandering along with increased protections against voting restrictions.

Among those in attendance at the strikes were Emma Marshall, Grace Smith, Matt Adkins, Haley Jones, Seth Graybeal, Kris Trabert, Hunter Tyree and Jasper Ball, all of whom are current students at Marshall.

On January 12, students from the previous hunger strike began their direct action again.

Joined by twenty-five faith leaders—including former NAACP President, Rev. Cornell Brooks—the growing crowd once again urged their representatives to pass the legislation with what they called a “Hunger Strike for Democracy.”

Emma Marshall, a senior ceramics major,

SAT Going Digital in Shifting College Admissions Landscape

Photos Courtesy of Un-PAC

joined the first hunger strike in Arizona and then traveled to DC, resulting in her striking without food for two weeks.

Marshall said the most challenging part of hunger-striking was reminding herself that she was doing the right thing.

“Whenever you’re hungry, you want food and you can only think about food,” Marshall said. “I just kept reminding myself that this is important, and I need to do what’s right, and I got over that and was just ready to keep going.”

After the strike was suspended, Marshall was arrested in Charlestown on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “Me and eight other people went to downtown Charleston and stood beside the Martin Luther King Jr. sign where the road is, and we blocked traffic,” Marshall said. “It was an arrestable action, so the police drove up and we did not comply until they told us that we were we needed to get up and leave because we were getting arrested. So, we got up and we were walked over to the jail.”

Wet and cold from the weather, Marshall said she was kept in handcuffs in jail for around three to four hours without water. story continued on page 24

BY CAROLYN THOMPSON

AP Photo | Alex Brandon

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The SAT exam will move from paper and pencil to a digital format, administrators announced Tuesday, saying the shift will boost its relevancy as more colleges make standardized tests optional for admission.

Test-takers will be allowed to use their own laptops or tablets but they’ll still have to sit for the test at a monitored testing site or in school, not at home.

The format change is scheduled to roll out internationally next year and in the U.S. in 2024. It will also shave an hour from the current version, bringing the reading, writing and math assessment from three hours to about two.

“The digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give, and more relevant,” said Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of College Readiness Assessments at the New York City-based College Board, which administers the SAT and related PSAT. “We’re not simply putting the current SAT on a digital platform. We’re taking full

advantage of what delivering an assessment digitally makes possible.”

Once essential for college applications, scores from admission tests like the SAT and rival ACT carry less weight today as colleges and universities pay more attention to the sum of student achievements and activities throughout high school.

Amid criticism that the exams favor wealthy, white applicants and disadvantage minority and low-income students, an increasing number of schools have in recent years adopted test-optional policies, which let students decide whether to include scores with their applications.

The pandemic accelerated the trend as testing sessions were canceled or inaccessible. Nearly 80% of bachelor’s degree-granting institutions are not requiring test scores from students applying for fall 2022, according to a December tally by the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, a watchdog group that opposes standardized testing.

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NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

Exhibit Promotes Body Positivity VICTORIA WARE REPORTER | WARE57@MARSHALL.EDU

“Rebellious” is a solo art exhibition that encourages body positivity, showcases diversity in size, and broadens what society sees as conventionally beautiful.

Lindsey Guile, a classically trained figurative artist, has created an exhibition that is inspired by her own struggle with body image.

Guile said, “It was actually initially inspired by like, my own body image issues and dealing with recovering from an eating disorder. And I realized that I didn’t want to just

tell my story, but that so many other women have the similar story.”

The artwork being presented is made up of nude and semi-clothed figure drawings of women. The drawings are based off of women that modeled for Guile.

“So, I started drawing them nude or semi-clothed, whatever they consent to. So, the atmosphere I create when I photograph the models is very much based on consent, so that they can see themselves as a piece of artwork, and they can kind of recontextualize how they see themselves,” Guile said.

Gallery Director Jamie Platt

said, “They’re all different body types and the title of each of the pieces have to do with an emotion, and it’s an emotion that was visible to the artist and also agreed on by the model. So, when Lindsey made the work, she worked with the model and explained what she was doing and they’re not people who are professional models they just were interested in the project.” As those in attendance are able to see the beauty in the drawings, Guile wants the exhibition to encourage the viewers to see the beauty in themselves as well.

Guile said, “One of the most

powerful things that I heard previously is someone will look at a drawing in a show and say, ‘I was looking at this- this person’s figure- and realized I just thought they looked so beautiful and then I realized that their body was similar to mine, and why didn’t I find myself beautiful as well?’”

Guile uses the term beautiful more in relation to self-worth and value.

“When I say beautiful it’s not necessarily the contemporary version of ‘everyone’s beautiful,’ and all that-which they are-, but like we often times find worth. So, I think

what a lot of people are saying is, ‘I found value in that body, why don’t I find value in my own?’”

This exhibition is meant to show representation of different body types and promote diversity.

“I think the more we show diversity in body size and shape and everything, that people will start seeing themselves and representation is so important,” Guile said.

The exhibition will be on view at the Birke Art Gallery until Feb. 25. A reception in honor of “Rebellious: will take place on Feb. 10 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Celebrating Bad Art with Appalachia’s Least Talented TREVOR SMITH REPORTER | SMITH2784@MARSHALL.EDU

The first Good Time Bad Art Show was held at Huntington City Hall in West Virginia on Friday night, where artists and onlookers could listen to music, mingle, and gaze at art that wouldn’t be found in a typical gallery.

After purchasing a ticket at the front doors, visitors would go upstairs to the Jean Carlo Stephenson Auditorium where the show was held. Local bands including The Carpenter Ants and Laid-Back Country Picker were also featured at the show on the auditorium stage, the show consisted of art that was deemed purposely bad and was open to any artists who wished to have their bad art looked at and even purchased if desired.

Laid-Back Country Picker had two members dressed uniquely with Laid Back, the vocalist and guitarist

of the duo, dressed in black cowboy attire, including boots, a hat and sported mutton chops.

Honey, the drummer, wore a pink nightgown, aviator sunglasses, and had curlers in her hair.

The Carpenter Ants played mainly gospel and soul, with elements of rock that would get the crowd out of their seats, dancing, waving their arms, and singing along with the words “Enjoy yourself, its later than you think.”

The three worst pieces were voted on by the gallery visitors and announced onstage by Michael Valentine, host of The Good Time Show and technical media Manager for the city of Huntington.

Valentine wanted to create a show that anybody could take part

picture of a dog. Lauren Winter in 2nd Place with “Snakey McSnakerson,” a drawing of a green snake with sunglasses and a bowtie. Lily Casto won 1st place with “Spicey Jim Carrey,” a VHS tape of 2000’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas, covered in hot sauce and matches. Those who viewed the piece walked away with a foul smell in their nose. For 1st place, Photo by Trevor Smith Casto recieved the 1st place brown ribbon and in, no matter what their expertise is. a can of SpaghettiOs. “I guess I thought it would be Valentine has hosted other shows an art show that anybody could be involved in, regardless of ability or in the auditorium including the skill,” said Valentine. “Art is so care- Good Time Christmas and Mounfree, and it’s fun to look at all the tain Mamas show, and Good Time Horror Podcast Live. He said that crap on the wall.”

The winners for the worst art some past shows had larger audiencwere Ami Zimmerman in 3rd es with 200 people, while others like place with “Rudy Poops,” a colored the Bad Art Show only had around

30 people.

“I was definitely hoping more people would be involved because I thought this was a really cool and fun idea. It is different, and I think we may have dropped the ball a bit.

If we do this again the first thing to do is contact all the art teachers in the community,” said Valentine.

Valentine has no limit to his ideas for Good Time Shows, as he plans on future shows like the Good Time Kids Show or the Good Times Game Show. He said that ideas are not limited, but money is. To be able to host events, there is a need for supplies and care, which seem to be lacking.

“We are hoping if we keep doing stuff up here people will eventually say ‘Oh, yeah, there’s always something fun going on,’” said Valentine.

“I like doing stuff that I think is cool.”

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

21

continued from page four 4 tions that came up was how many Instagram followers does she have. The conversation kept flowing, like, nobody questioned why does that matter? It was really a question.

What does that mean? Like what value does that hold? It’s a fake world, it’s an imaginary place and we’re putting real value on that?”

Mel seemed exasperated while talking, like he was the only one in his circle asking those questions that bothered him to the core.

“Even with my Instagram I’ll look through it and be like ‘Oh that looks fun, I had a good day’ but that was one of the worst days I had that whole week. It’s just so fake. Even the little fun game day pictures, like I literally went home crying after that, like something happened and I got into a fight with somebody but you don’t see that. I know a lot of people who edit their pictures and like edit their bodies. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve whitened my teeth before, and like… that’s fake. That’s how we all wanna come off is perfect, that’s something I really have in my head. With Instagram there is just a pressure to look a certain way,” explained Brooke, who spoke with the clarity that is only earned when separated from one’s old college town.

The future of these platforms remains uncertain. Instagram’s recent time in the spotlight has led to additional criticism of their oversight and algorithms, but its often difficult to put into words the opportunities for harm that can be created in these platforms. They aren’t just changing and negatively impacting some users - they are changing society as a whole for the younger generations, possibly in an irreversible way. Platforms like Instagram are an integral part of what it means to be a young person in society, but what happens if the platform itself is toxic? You are left with a generation of young people seeking validation from the internet and falsely portraying themselves as a perfect and and usually unobtainable version of a human. Not only does it alienate one another, it is just downright lying, and young people are usually the victims and perpetrators of it.

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“Now I’ve put on the weight and I’m back on Instagram. I was off Instagram for a long time, but now I’ve been reminded about how terrible Instagram is. I’m watching people eat all the time. I watch cheat day videos, but people can eat that and they can throw it up… When I was my happiest on Instagram was the worst part of my life, I was just taking more photos and craving that attention more,” Allison explained.

Instagram’s new feature shows users someone they aren’t following, but their mutual friends might, and they are nearly always a popular user — a local influencer type if you will.

“Now they have a feature, that shows you people you aren’t even following in your feed.

It’s like suggested people and it’s always somebody attractive and I don’t even know this person like why are they in my feed? It takes away from the normality of it. Even if you had a feed that’s based around normal people, they throw somebody in there that makes you go ‘aw man look at what they’re doing. I need to go to the gym,’” said an exasperated Mel Thomas, who by every metric could be one of these mini influencers on his college campus.

Mel won homecoming king at his university in 2020 and was inducted into his fraternity’s hall of fame this year.

“As a guy, you’re like, ‘it shouldn’t matter to me,’ but deep down it strikes. It strikes for sure.”

Mel used a metaphor that normal people on Instagram are like a kid from a workingclass family on Christmas enjoying the holiday with their family, only to go to school to see the kid from the rich family tell everyone about the amazing gifts he got. It’s not that the kid didn’t like his Christmas, but comparison is the thief of joy. Mel said that he had been in conversations with his friends, and often when someone brings up a girl they are interested in, someone will ask how many Instagram followers she has and see how many likes she gets on her photos.

“It’s actually something funny, me and my friends talk all the time and we were talking the other about some girl and one of the ques-

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

22

OPINION

Welcome Back to Campus From New President Brad Smith

By BRAD D. SMITH Brad Smith is the 38th President of Marshall University and former CEO of Intuit

The Parthenon, Marshall University’s student newspaper, is published by students Wednesdays during the regular semester and every other week during the summer.

The editorial staff is responsible for news and editorial content.

Tyler Spence - Executive Editor Conner Woodruff - News Editor Tyler Kennett - Sports Editor Evan Green - Features Editor Shauntelle Thompson - Photo and Graphics Editor Rafael Alfonso - Copy Editor Abby Hanlon & Abby Ayes - Social Media and Web Managers Alaiana Laster and Isabella Robinson - Lead Reporters Charles Bowen - Faculty Adviser 109 Communications Bldg Marshall University | One John Marshall Drive Huntington, West Virginia 25755 | parthenon@marshall.edu @MUParthenon Letters to the Editor are accepted. See guidelines online.

THE PARTHENON’S CORRECTIONS POLICY

“Factual errors appearing in The Parthenon should be reported to the editor immediately following publication.

Corrections the editor deems necessary will be printed as soon as possible following the error.”

Hello! I’m very excited to welcome you back to Marshall University. I hope you are as energized and motivated for this spring semester, as I am to be your new president.

As we begin this journey together, I want to share a few of my central thoughts and ideas in hopes you will consider them as you continue your studies here at Marshall.

First, I sincerely believe that education is the great equalizer.

Education transforms obstacles into opportunities and levels the playing field of opportunity for all who have the aspiration and the grit to try.

Like many of you, I am a native of West Virginia from a small town. I attended the West Virginia public school system and I’m a proud Son of Marshall. Everything I have ever achieved in life is because someone saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself, and they invested in me.

I’ve been preparing for this new role as your president my entire life, although as most of you know, I have spent my career in business, specifically

the tech industry. As a result, I’ve enjoyed a dynamic life with many opportunities. Now, I see this position as a way serve the community and state that invested in me, and to pay it forward.

Your college education will open many doors for you, and those doors will lead to a variety of opportunities. I encourage you to be open to exploring the vast number of experiences that will come your way. Enjoying a breadth of experiences will allow you to discover things that inspire you, while identifying areas that do not fill you with passion or purpose. Both are important lessons to learn.

Mark Twain once said that the two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you discover why. I encourage you to capitalize on this time in your life to discover your why! A great book that I have found powerful in assisting with this discovery is “The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter And How To Make The Most Of Them Now” by Meg Jay. I encourage you to check it out.

I wish you the best in your studies this semester at Marshall and I look forward to hearing from all of you in the listening sessions that are scheduled for students. Please visit www.marshall.edu/news/ listen for the dates and times.

As my mother always said, “I’ve been given two ears and one mouth, and I should use them in that ratio.” Thus, the reason for my Listening Tour and my excitement to hear from you.

Thank you for choosing Marshall and best wishes for a successful 2022!

President Smith can be contacted at president@marshall.edu

The Parthenon is committed to publishing a wide variety of opinions and perspectives. If you wish to send a letter to the editor, email parthenon@ marshall.edu

23

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM

continued from page 2 Many people also question the dependability of the 15-minute antigen versus the 24- to 48-hour Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

“Generally speaking, if a test comes back positive, whether antigen or PCR, it is almost certain that person is positive,” Smith said, “If there are no symptoms or history of exposure, then likely that is … a false positive.

“But again, it is extremely rare,” he said. “If you are positive on antigen and you have symptoms and a history of exposure and you are negative on PCR, we are going to treat you as positive and then likely do at least on

more PCR on you two days later.”

The tests also pick up different pieces of the virus, making the positive result show up differently on both, said Smith.

“Your PCR test will show positivity for up to 90 days, antigen tests and rapid tests usually pick up just live virus,” he said. “You can still test positive on an antigen test for basically six to 20 days. But it is nowhere near the length of time a PCR test will pick that up. The PCR test is basically the gold standard for testing. Antigen testing is absolutely a great tool that we have, and it is like 97.2 percent accurate if you have a history of

exposure, and you are symptomatic.”

In terms of how quickly things are changing, the campus community is almost back to where it was at the beginning of the epidemic, Smith said.

This pandemic is confusing, he said, “because it is a very fluid situation.”

Students who are feeling sick or having symptoms should not attend class and contact student affairs so they can be tested as quickly as possible, he said. Student affairs will excuse them from missing class so that they can keep themselves as well as their fellow community members safe, Smith added.

Photo by: Rebecca Sasnett/AP Angelica Robles reacts while taking a nasal swabfor her COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test during the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s drive through COVID-19 testing site at Pima Community College West Campus in Tuscan, Ariz. on Monday, Jan. 24, 2022.

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24

Marshall Student Activists Risk Hunger and Arrest for Federal Legislation story begins on page 19

BY BELLA ROBINSON LEAD REPORTER | ROBINSONXYZ@MARSHALL.EDU

Marshall said that, because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and most employees being off for the holiday, she thought that she and the others arrested were going to have to stay in jail overnight.

“They decided to call in the prosecuting attorney and she came and prosecuted us, and we got charged,” Marshall said.

As a student, Marshall says she is not concerned about the arrest impacting her future.

Matt Adkins, a senior sociology major, joined the first hunger strike in DC on day five. Adkins, who uses they/them pronouns, said they traveled to DC with other West Virginians that weekend who were equally inspired to join, including multiple West Virginia University students.

Adkins has been working towards the passage of the Freedom to Vote Act since March of 2021. They said they spent the summer canvassing and knocked on thousands of doors across West Virginia, listening to voters’ concerns about the integrity of the United States’ democracy and educating those people on how to let their senators know how they feel.

“It started out as the For The People Act and it moved to the Freedom to Vote Act because Manchin said that was his compromise; and we were like, ‘Yeah, he’s listening and giving us what we want and what West Virginia wants,’” Adkins said.

As other senators began expressing uneasiness about the legislation and saying that they may not vote to pass it, Adkins said they had to escalate.

“If we don’t go and put effective pressure on them and President Biden, all this effort and all these doors we’ve knocked—all these conversations we’ve had—it’s not going to mean anything,” Adkins said. “That is why I joined the strike: because I knew if I did not do it now, I was going to regret it later.”

Adkins is a native West Virginian and says the hunger strike was inspiring to continue fighting for this state.

“We’re tired of this. We’re ready for the change that we deserve—not that we need—that we deserve; because, often, this state is left out of every conversation,” Adkins said. “I think it’s just time for us to not back down and make Manchin hear us.”

Adkins said if they could have done anything differently, they would have joined the second hunger strike. They said the reason they were not able to participate was that they could not find a way to balance school and activism with the start of the

new semester.

Activism has always played a role in Adkins’ upbringing, they said. “I grew up knowing we live in a corrupt system with my grandmother suing the state over water quality and water rights because the coal mine was dumping coal surrey into the waterways that ran to her house.”

“For me, that’s what empowers me to do the things that I do; because I know where I have come from and I know how hard she fought and I know how hard other people like her and other land defenders fight,” Adkins said. They continued by describing how—regardless of if a person was a native to West Virginia or not—the state’s current events affect everybody.

“Everyone is impacted by what goes on in this country and what goes on in this world,” they said. “To sit by idly while things change, you can’t complain when things change not in your favor if you’re not actively seeking out to be a part of that change.”

Adkins said that, even though the bill did not pass, the work that the strikers did will have lasting impacts.

“We started a movement that is not going anywhere,” Adkins said. “Manchin thinks that he can control the Senate because he’s so powerful and works to make sure that everyone’s wishes are heard, but the only wishes that are heard from him are his donors, and Exxon, and all of his little Republican buddies.”

Adkins said he would like his Senators to know that he feels disappointed that the Freedom to Vote Act was voted down by them despite widespread support across the state and many West Virginians demonstrating the bill’s necessity.

“I don’t know if he cares and I don’t know if he ever will, but I know one thing: at the end of the day, no matter who he prays to or who he believes in, he is going to meet his maker and he is going to be disappointed in the same sense that we are disappointed now.” Adkins said.