3 | SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2021 | HILLTOPVIEWSONLINE.COM 3NEWS 3 3 | NEWS / SPORTS

By SYDNEY TREAT

Hurricane Ida made landfall on Aug. 29 as a Category 4 (130 to 156 mph winds) storm with a surge of 12 to 16 feet, and winds gusting as high as 172 miles per hour. The storm left more than one million people without power and arrived on the 16th anniversary of the massive and destructive Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Ida was the twelfth hurricane to hit in an already busy hurricane time resident of the city of New Orleans. Video chatting with her from Atlanta, GA. where she and her fiancée relocated just before the storm reached the Louisiana coast, Cochran described in detail the hurricane and how it compared to previous ones she experienced (including Hurricane Katrina in 2005). A big difference, according to Cochran, was in the billions of federal dollars in investments to the levee system which held and protected the city from flooding, and

season. The storm made its way across the southern U.S. and to the northeast, leaving more than 40 people dead in New York before reaching the Atlantic Ocean.

Hilltop Views interviewed Katherine Cochran, a longthe preparation by residents who had lived through Hurricane Katrina.

Another big difference between Hurricane Ida and previous storms is the attention this storm got from crisis-fatigued Americans. With COVID-19 , Af-

ghanistan, climate-fueled fires and other crises vying for collective attention, Ida and the damage left in its wake quickly became a distant memory. According to Cochran, the coverage that Hurricane Ida received depicted a need for help but did not convey a full understanding of the horror of being in the midst of a natural disaster. “The news is covering things in a dramatic way which is good for bringing assistance. It’s kind of telling everybody, ‘We need help.’ But they’re still not really feeling it.” Cochran said. Compounding the already devastating state Louisiana is in, many are still suffering the consequences days after the storm. Louisiana is heavily dependent on tourism to support its economy, and until electricity, buildings and lives are restored, the state and its people COURTESY OF WIKICOMMONS will continue to Ida was ranked as a Category 4 Hurricane according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane suffer. Wind Scale. Hurricanes in this category cause catastrophic damage to the regions hit. Financial resources such as the Hilltopper Help Line, Aunt Bertha, Emergency Aid Fund and the HOOF Fund are available to students impacted by the disaster.

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Tran is currently majoring in Marketing and pursuing a minor in Psychology. As Tran prepares for graduation, the future seems bright for the young player.

Emily Tran enters senior season with high expectations for herself, teammates

By SAGE WARE

Whether it’s on the court or in the classroom, St. Edward’s student athletes are working hard towards their future. Emily Tran, senior setter for St. Edward’s women’s volleyball team is no different. In 2020, Tran was added to the Lone Star Conference All-Academic team. Originally from Eagan, MN, Tran has been a part of the Hilltop community for a little over three years. The time she has spent at SEU is filled with memorable moments which helped create the person she is today. Eager for the upcoming season, Tran expressed how the team has “high expectations, wants to go to conference.” Tran, like many other athletes, is thrilled by the progressive shift towards a normal sports setting.

As for how COVID-19 affected the way that she views her sport, Tran gained a new perspective. “It made me a lot more grateful, especially because other university teams couldn’t play,” Tran said. Last year brought a lot of limitations but as more universities are able to compete, the team is motivated to do well and have “a solid year.” Tran also mentioned the challenges COVID brought to their team dynamic by emphasizing how tough it was to bond as a team. However, with this year’s new rules, getting to know teammates is much easier and their friendships are stronger than ever.

Most would agree that college is an unforgettable experience. Therefore, we felt it imperative we ask Tran about her favorite memory from her years on the Hilltop.

“My sophomore year. I think it was one of the best years we played,” Tran said. The women’s volleyball team had recently been introduced to the Lone Star Conference (LSC), which is connected to the NCAA, and that same year they won the trophy for the LSC Division Championship. This victory was without a doubt the product of hard work. “We had a tough pod and we came out on top,” Tran said.

Tran compared her first two years of college volleyball to her junior year when describing the feeling of being on the court. During her freshman and sophomore year, Tran described playing as “mostly muscle memory.” Due to the absence of fans, adjusting to people in the stands may be a challenge. “When spectators are allowed, I know I’ll have a lot of nerves and will have to shake some of it out,” Tran said.

With such strong goals and determination for excellence, it is only natural to have something or someone that inspires you. For Emily Tran, that’s her best friend and teammate: Steffy Walls.

“She is like the ultimate, elite person,” Tran said, “Have you ever met someone who can grind out everything? She inspires me because I want to have the same positive attitude and energy that she does.”

Along with inspiration from her peers, Tran is also looking to the future. Her ideas for post-graduation include studying for her masters, playing another year of volleyball with St. Edward’s or seeing where her internship will take her.

“I definitely am going to be playing volleyball, some way somehow,” Tran said

4

SPORTS How SB2 affects ‘competitve fairness’ for transgender athletes

By AUDREY CAHAK

As of Aug. 25, deliberation over Senate Bill 2 (SB2) has been postponed, as Texas lawmakers in the House Public Education Committee are still discussing its advancement through the court system.

If successful, SB2 would require Texas public school students, starting with kindergarteners and extending to collegiate-level athletes to play on teams that correspond with their sex assigned at birth. The bill would not allow athletes to participate on teams as the gender they identify

as. SB2 would effectively restrict transgender students from participating in sports with their correct labels.

SB2 was crafted by Sen. Charles Perry, RLubbock, and pushed by Republican senate members and conservative advocacy groups. However, Texas is not the only state to enact bills like this; Mississippi, West Virginia, Arizona, and more also previously pushed or actively passed similar legislation.

The resistance against transgender athletes focuses on “competitive fairness,” or the assumption that those born as men (cisgender males) are stronger or faster than those born as women (cisgender females), and therefore should compete separately.

Biologically, there are

differences in the weight distribution, testosterone levels, strength and sizes between the sexes. However, when transgender people medically transition through hormone blockers or hormone replacement therapy, their biology physically starts to take on the characteristics of the opposite sex.

Transgender researcher and athlete Joanna Harper, who worked with transgender female runners, noticed the effect of hormone replacement therapy. The athletes experienced more than a 10% decrease in their speed, which lines up with the 10% speed difference in professional male and female runners.

Despite this science, there is still a double standard. Under the assumption that transgender women may hold a competitive advantage if they competed with cisgender women, it is imperative to acknowledge the “unfairness” that might occur when transgender men dominate women’s sports.

If Texas legislators choose to pursue true fairness but want to use biology as the argument for invalidating transgender athletes, they must consider how far along athletes are in their transition.

Focusing solely on one’s

“gender” undermines the accomplishments and comfort of athletes that do not fit the gender binary, and ignores the actual science of athleticism. Constricting the world of sports to a person’s anatomical parts—instead of measuring athletes on similar biology and skill levels— is truly the catalyst to sports inequality.

SYDNEY TREAT

While transgender participation is still undetermined, the Tokyo Games marked the first time openly transgender athletes competed as Olympians. 13VIEWPOINTS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2021 | HILLTOPVIEWSONLINE.COM

Rising baseball star, Trevor Bauer, makes choices that might end his MLB

By ADORRE BENKE &

DAFNE VILLANUEVA

Earlier this year Bauer signed a three-year $102 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers but by July 2 was on paid administrative. The 30-year-old pitcher faces a possible yearlong suspension from Major League Baseball, due to an ongoing investigation from MLB and the Pasadena Police Department. Bauer was accused of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

Bauer currently faces sexual assault allegations that took place on two different occasions but involve the same woman. Despite initiating sex with Bauer, the claims are described as non-consensual. The woman states that while she did seek out Bauer through private messages and consented to intercourse, she did not consent to be choked by her hair or punched. Allegedly, she woke up with bruises, scratches and swollen eyes and jaw.

With Bauer facing strong allegations, MLB placing him on leave, and majority of the Dodgers players not wanting him back, his career is in limbo. Nevertheless, his actions and MLB’s course of investigation bring to the surface the level of scrutiny that players and leagues receive due to the unjust practices they uphold. It wasn’t until 2015, when MLB instituted a domestic violence policy, that 14 players were suspended and five were placed on paid administrative leave.

Meanwhile other professional leagues, like the National Hockey League (NHL), have no domestic violence policy, and take each allegation case-bycase. Per the example of NHL player Slava Voynov, who was engaged in spousal domestic violence in 2014, and proceeded to have his six-year $25 million contract terminated. The termination was a result of pleading no contest to his misdemeanor charges and while no longer suspended he is prohibited from playing in the NHL.

If Bauer is convicted, this might have major effects on MLB’s employment process. Conviction may bring a critical eye to the investigation process MLB claims to make before offering employment to players. This is particularly interesting because Bauer’s past shows

warning signs. Before his employment with MLB, Bauer had an aggressive online presence

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Trevor Bauer’s paid administrative leave from the Dodgers was extended for the eighth time this past week. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is still looking into filing sexual assault charges against the where he had harassed women and transgender people. Not interested in another scandal and bad publicity, MLB might strive to take more precautions during their employment process as well as take into account prospective players’ risky behavior. Lastly, failure to make appropriate adjustments could indicate that while MLB may appear to be progressing, they might still be stuck in the values of the 20th-century sports industry.