Nubian Message, Jan. 20, 2022 — To Freedom!

NUBIANMESSAGE NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY | RALEIGH, NC | THENUBIANMESSAGE.COM | Thursday, January 20, 2022

TO FREEDOM!!!

Thursday, January 20, 2022 | 2

Letter from the editor

Tim Havens Correspondant

Hey y’all, Welcome back to the super-spreader event of the new year aka the Spring 2022 semester. Hopefully, you’re vaccinated and “Material Girl (Bass Boosted)” because we’re in for quite a ride.

So many of my friends and family have gotten COVID-19 over the past two weeks and it makes me wonder about our future and how we treat each other based on ability status when thinking about the effects of “long COVID.” However, just keep all that in mind when you think about how “mild” the Omicron variant truly is.

This week we have a good selection of articles for you to choose from. There’s a campus update on COVID-19 protocols and two opinion pieces about the condition of NC State and the UNC system during this time. We also highlight the opening reception of the AACC’s newest gallery, “Black Girl Maverick” and we have a short season overview of our women’s basketball team.

Make sure you check out our media page which features a poem from Elikem and a staff playlist that focuses on frustration.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Spotify @nubianmessage

THISISSUE 4

BLACK GIRL MAVERICK

AACC hosts new gallary featuring Avery Bolden

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MEDIA PAGE

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NCSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

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NUMBERS DON'T LIE

I wish I never knew love NC State will play Louisville

Campus Covid-19 cases are out of control

cover photo BY Natalie Folsom/ Student Media NC State students and staff stand in line at Witherspoon Student Center to get a COVID-19 test on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022.

The Sentinel of the African-American Community at NC State Since 1992 314 Witherspoon Student Center, NCSU Campus Box 7318, Raleigh, NC 27695

Try to live life COVID-free (or as close to free as possible)

office 919-515-1468 advertising 919-515-2411 online thenubianmessage.com

Andie

Andrea/ Andie Alford (They/Them) Editor-in-Chief

nubian-editor@ncsu.edu Elikem Dodor (She/Her) Managing editor

nubian-managingeditor@ncsu.edu Arana Blake (She/They) Layout designer

Only with the permission of our elders do we proudly produce each edition of Nubian Message: Dr. Yosef Ben-Yochannan, Dr. John Henrik Clark, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, The Black Panther Party, Mumia A. Jamal, Geronimo Pratt, Tony Williamson, Dr. Lawrence Clark, Dr. Augustus McIver Witherspoon, Dr. Wandra P. Hill, Mr. Kyran Anderson, Dr. Lathan Turner, Dr. M. Iyailu Moses, Dokta Toni Thorpe and all those who accompany us as we are still on the journey to true consciousness.

Thursday, January 20, 2022 | 3

News

Covid-19 Campus Update

For the spring semester, NC State has decided to return to full in-person classes, whereas some schools in North Carolina have decided to push back the spring start date, or return to online classes for the first few weeks.

Schools like Methodist University are taking a different approach and requiring that all of their students be fully vaccinated in order to live on campus, attend classes and participate in school events, with the addition of delaying their spring semester due to the Omicron variant.

For the week of Jan. 9, 2022 through Jan. 14, 2022, Wake county had the highest number of average covid cases in a 7-day period in the state, sitting at 4,618 cases.

This is almost double the number of cases for the next highest county, Mecklenburg, sitting at 2,582 cases. As of Jan. 14, 2022, there were 5,694 new cases reported in Wake county. At the moment, there are six municipalities in Wake County that have a mask mandate in place. They are Raleigh, Garner, Knightdale, Morrisville, Rolesville, and Zebulon.

While welcoming back students on campus, NC State has required all students that live on campus regardless of vaccination status to get tested within 72 hours of returning to campus. They are also requiring all faculty, staff and off-campus students who have not provided proof of vaccination to get tested within the same window of time.

According to the NCSU COVID-19 dashboard, we are seeing an average of 200 positive cases a day and have approximately 1,580 active cases. As of January 13th, there are 1,317 total students and 174 employees in isolation and quarantine. These are just the cases from on-campus testing and selfreporting.

Arana Blake Correspondent

Testing Sites If you are a non-vaccinated student, NC State requires you to get tested at either an on-campus or off-campus testing site weekly. If you get testing off campus, it must be a PCR test and you have to upload your testing results to HealthyPack Portal. If you miss more than two required testing cycles without an exemption you can be subjected to disciplinary action. Vaccinated students are allowed to get tested on campus at these sites for free as well. The testing locations and hours open are below.

Emily Peedin/Student media

COVID signs direct students during COVID-19 testing Sept. 15 in Witherspoon Student Center. Testing locations are available on campus for students and staff.

111 Lampe Drive, room 204: Tuesday and Thursday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Witherspoon Student Center, room 126: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Wednesday: 6 a.m.-4 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

Research II, room 313 (Centennial Campus): Monday – Thursday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM employees and students only): Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

If your test comes back positive, according to NC state policy you must be isolated for five days in either an off-campus permanent residence or in your on-campus housing assignment. After those five days, if you are asymptomatic you may leave isolation as long as you wear a mask around others for five additional days. If you are staying in an on-campus residence you are expected to stay inside your room wearing your face covering as much as possible.

Food will be available to be picked up from on-campus food distribution locations depending on where you live. Food may be picked up by you or someone on your behalf.

If you are exposed to COVID-19 by your roommate or someone else, regardless of vaccination status, you are not required to quarantine, but are expected to get tested after three days.

Vaccines NC State does not require students to be vaccinated to attend school and live on campus, but they do encourage students to get vaccinated. It does require all faculty and staff by the federal directives to be fully vaccinated per President Biden's executive order 14042.

Students who wish to be vaccinated can do so on campus by making an appointment with the PackVax Clinic, or by following their Twitter account @NCStatePackVax for walk-in availability.

Classes According to an FAQ sent out to all instructors as a guide for the spring semester, contact tracing will no longer be done this semester. It states that contact tracing will no longer be done because there were no cases of classroom transmission found during the fall 2021 semester. They attribute this to the vaccination rates on campus and masking protocols.

If professors are notified that a student in their class has tested positive for

COVID-19, they will not know the identity of the student unless the student decides to disclose that information. Professors are also instructed that if a student notifies them that they tested positive, they should not disclose that information with the other students in the class. Their communication with students should consist of supporting the learning needs of their in-person students as well as those who are absent from class. If the class is designated to be face-to-face, they are not required or allowed to move their courses online if a student in their class tests positive for COVID-19.

Students that have been isolated for the appropriate amount of days and have no symptoms are not required to have a negative test to return to class. This is because people may still test positive after 90 days and not be contagious to others, according to the CDC. Professors are encouraged to create a variety of online options for their students, like uploading the Panopto recordings of the lectures, and/ or creating a zoom session so those students can still participate in the class discussion.

The CDC recommends that everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible to help protect you from COVID-19. They recommend that everyone over the age of two wear a mask in indoor public spaces and crowded outdoor spaces.

You should also stay six feet away from others, including family members if they are sick. Wash your hands often and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with dirty hands, as well as clean and disinfect surfaces frequently. They recommend that you should avoid poorly ventilated areas as well as large crowds when possible.

In order to keep yourself and others safe on campus it is important for you to wear your mask in classrooms, and public spaces, go get tested regularly and, if you test positive, make sure you quarantine and stay away from others. Continue to practice social distancing whenever possible, and go get vaccinated.

For more information about NC State data regarding COVID-19 go to ww.ncsu. edu/coronavirus/testing-and-tracking/ and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @NubianMessage to stay connected and see any campus updates.

Thursday, January 20, 2022 | 4

Features

AACC Hosts Avery Bolden for First Winter Gallery On Jan. 14, the Andie Alford African American Editor-In-Chief

Cultural Center (AACC) hosted the opening reception for their latest art gallery entitled Black Girl Maverick. The art gallery is the first solo exhibit of the work of Avery Bolden.

Bolden has a bachelor’s degree in art history from Old Dominion University.

She is a native of Roanoke, VA and recently moved to the Charlotte area about a year and a half ago. According to information from the AACC, she is a self-taught artist who began professionally painting at 22.

Isaiah Lucas, the AACC program coordinator, led the artist talk with Bolden and asked previously prepared questions mixed in with questions the audience submitted before the event.

The event opened with questions about who and what story Bolden was trying to convey through her art and the title of her gallery. “[I’m portraying] the excellence of Black women and women of color. Their resiliency. The idea is that the Black girl maverick is a play on the term “Black girl magic.” A maverick is a unique individual. I wanted to highlight the idea of creating spaces for Black women and women of color. I was thinking of how we can determine a space for [a] home for ourselves,” said Bolden.

Several art pieces feature Black women with different hairstyles. Some of them have beads and others have pineapple updos.

When Bolden was asked about the importance of Black hairstyles in her art she said the following, ”hair is a big part of Black women and women of color. In certain places, we are discriminated against for wearing our natural hair and I wanted to negate the stigma of not being accepted in the workplace. I want to show [Black women’s] space in the culture of America.

I‘m thinking it is time we take [our culture] back for us and realize how powerful that can be.”

As the event progressed further, Lucas began to move toward specific pieces and series that Bolden shows in the gallery.

Lucas asked Bolden about her thoughts on her “nudes” and what they meant.

Bolden shared that it was the first series she completed as a professional artist and that it symbolized the beginning of her journey. One of the paintings in that series was her first painting and marked her first collaboration with her father.

Image from AACC INstagram

“When I was creating [the nudes series] I wanted to talk about the beauty of women, especially women of color. These women are bare and exposed and they have an air of vulnerability to them. Black women and women of color are often denied these things and I wanted to portray that,” said Bolden.

Lucas also asked Bolden what her favorite pieces in the gallery were. Bolden mentioned two pieces titled “Beads and Braids I” and “Beads and Braids II.” She expressed satisfaction with how the pieces turned out and mentioned her inspirations for the more recent fashion week shows that highlight Black women and their braids. Bolden feels that the pieces “Braids and Beads” and the fashions shows reveal that Black women and Black hair are being taken more seriously in the fashion and art world.

Bolden also illustrated the message behind another piece entitled “Our Matriarch,” which she credits as a gift to her mother.

“I feel like the matriarch is the world. The woman carries the basket on her head just as women seem to carry the world and are seen as nurturing the world. Women are essential to the world as it is, especially the matriarch. That role has been an integral

piece of my life. And sometimes you can look to anyone in your life to find that mother role,” explained Bolden.

The gallery also features a singular abstract piece that Bolden believes shows her versatility. She also said it represents a pathway to greatness and that path is not always straightforward. She related the piece to her own life by saying that is a professional artist who did not study fine arts or have any formal training. Her journey has been up and down but her goal is that the endgame is always up.

When Lucas asked Bolden about her artistic influences she mentioned Kerry James Marshall, Kara Walker and Jacob Lawrence. From these artists and others, she focuses on how they captured the essence of Black people through shape, form and detail.

Bolden is just getting established in the Charlotte and overall North Carolina area, but she has plenty of goals for where she sees herself in the next five years.

“I hope to continue having opportunities like this where I can showcase my art and start conversations around it. I really want my art to spark conversations. Although I would like to sell pieces, I don’t think that is the ultimate goal for me. Conversations are what sparks longevity. I also want to be an

inspiration to other artists of color and give them spaces like this to display their art and talents. I aspire to provide scholarship and resources through my endeavors,” answered Bolden.

As the opening reception began to come to a close, Lucas asked Bolden what advice she would give to a Black girl who was still in the process of finding her maverick. Bolden explained the importance of knowing that one’s journey is just as important as the destination.

“Being a maverick is about understanding yourself and your purpose and advocating for yourself. Your journey will take you [to] different places, but there’s not a rush in the experience. You’ll find your maverick on your own time because that is the only time you have to worry about,” said Bolden.

See Bolden’s art for yourself and see if you can feel the messages and emotions she wanted to portray. The AACC will be hosting the Black Girl Maverick art gallery through Feb. 11, 2022, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the AACC Gallery on the second floor of Witherspoon.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the artwork that is on display contact Avery Bolden over email, mavs.corner@ gmail.com, and discuss pricing. You can also follow Bolden on social media @ maverickscorner_.

“Being a maverick is about understanding yourself and your purpose and advocating for yourself. Your journey will take you [to] different places, but there’s not a rush in the experience.

You’ll find your maverick on your own time because that is the only time you have to worry about,”

-Avery Bolden

Opinion

Frustration playlist by Nubian Message Staff

#TIREDT. Graphic by Kyle howe

Cold December Resentment December Traitor Don't Waste my time Shutter Island Flowers Trippin Let it go take me to the river

Rod wave beyonce Olivia

Olivia Rodrigo Usher, Ella Mai

Jessie reyez iyla

Earthgang ft. kehlani Keyshia cole al green

so many tears

2pac

casket pretty

noname

moonlight Miss understood Sticky

jasmine cephas-jones little simz Ravyn lenae

Thursday, January 20, 2022 | 5

I wish I never knew love To know love is to know pain To know a blade slicing through all the layers The blood dripping from my hips The late nights in my bathtub Filled with tears and gallons of blood Cold, wet, sticky hair Wishing that someone would intervene and take on this burden Knowing that nothing will be enough and i will always fall short Questioning every interaction and thread So I continue Left to right, left to right I slice, slice, slice Hoping to overpower this sorrow with pain With blood With peace Eventually I’ll lose enough And the worlds will blur together Finally surrounded by darkness encompassing my soul and granting my hearts desire I pray and pray that I will be able to leave peacefully And that my loved ones won’t mourn too long That they will be able to continue living as if I never existed Because I’ve always been a shadow person, never in the forefront But even in death my shadows will roam See I’ll always be there, even if it’s in a padded casket, 6 feet under Rotting for eternity But, I’ll finally know peace Solitude and consistency Granted to me by powers beyond me I just want to rest peacefully Free from burdens and shackles Free from this thing called love I hear freedom calling I hear the bells ringing

-Elikem

Thursday, January 20, 2022 | 6

Features

Battle Of The Giants To Happen In Raleigh The hub of collegiate Tim havens basketball will be Staff Writer

Raleigh, NC when NC State's women's basketball team hosts the Louisville Cardinals in Reynolds Coliseum on Thursday, Jan. 20. Set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m., the upcoming game features two teams ranked among the 5 best in the nation, the only teams undefeated in ACC play.

The 4th ranked Wolfpack enter the upcoming game feeling good after winning 6 in a row including blowout victories over rivals Chapel Hill and Duke. A win over the Cardinals would not only make NC State the leaders of the ACC but would also extend the Pack's nation's best 24-week streak of being ranked in the top 5.

This wouldn’t be the Wolfpack’s first big win of the year as they’ve already beaten four teams ranked in the top 25.

A win on Thursday would give NC State their 2nd win over a top 5 team as they beat 2nd ranked Maryland earlier this season. Overall the Wolfpack have a record 16-2 with their 2 losses coming against the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Georgia Bulldogs.

The leader of the veteran-filled Pack is Center Elissa Cunane who scores 16.3 points and gathers 8.3 rebounds per game.

Alongside Cunane are Wing Jakia BrownTucker and Forward Kayla Jones who provide 13.5 & 11.9 points along with 5.0 and 7.1 rebounds, respectively. Guards Raina Perez and Kai Crutchfield finish up the starting lineup with Perez averaging 8.8 points and 3.2 assists while Crutchfield leads the team in steals. Diamond Johnson & Jada Boyd regularly come off the bench to provide key contributions.

After their previous win against Duke, some of the players were asked about how they handled having such a talented team.

“Doing the little things, like taking care of the ball, and playing hard when your number is called and taking advantage of opportunities when they come,” said Jada Boyd.

When asked about the team's wealth of experience Cunane said “It's (experience) very important, coach Moore can only tell us so much from the sideline... Learning to adjust in the middle of a game, learning how our offense works, and what options we’ll have… having that core group of veterans they really know what they're doing which lets the younger people watch and follow us.”

repeat of the last season. In fact, the last meetup between these teams ended with NC State celebrating after Perez made a shot with 2.3 seconds left, solidifying the Pack as back-to-back ACC champions.

Don’t think anybody forgot either, as 15 of 17 players from the game returned to University and will be playing in this showdown. The Cardinals will no doubt have revenge on their mind as they try to best the Wolfpack and remain the only undefeated team in conference play.

Congratulations to Coach Wes Moore

Image from Nc state Womens BasketBall

Coach Wes Moore was also asked about what it's like to have such a veteran team.

“On one hand it’s easier. It's almost like having 5 assistant coaches out there on the court that kinda know what you want and how you wanna do it. The flip side of that is some of them have been there 5 years and they’re probably thinkin’... coach just let me play… so it's a combination but it's great to have all that experience out there.”

The Opponent Louisville enters the game riding the longest winning streak in Division 1 basketball with 15 straight wins. The 3rd ranked Cardinals are coming off doubledigit victories against Syracuse and Boston College in their last 2 games; however they had to rally to win after Boston College was winning by 10 after the 1st quarter.

Also undefeated in conference play, the Cardinals will no doubt be hungry to beat the Wolfpack and stand alone as the top team in the ACC. The Cardinals are led by their guards Kianna Smith and Hailey Van Lith who average 12.2 & 11.9 points respectively.

Forward Olivia Cochran, another notable player, scores 10.5 points per game while leading the team with 8.3 rebounds per game.

NC State is led by its offense whereas Louisville is led by its defense

NC State is the 2nd best 3-point shooting team in Women’s College Basketball, making 41% of their shots from beyond the arc. The Cardinals can shoot too, they are the 2nd best 3-point shooting team in the ACC, making 37% of their shots from deep.

Louisville’s defense will be the best the Wolfpack have played all season. This season the Cardinals have allowed their opponents to score the 2nd least amount of points per game in the nation.

The Wolfpack will look to counter Louisville's defense with their stellar offense. The Wolfpack average 80 points and are the best scoring team in conference play.

Both teams also shoot well from the free-throw line and are among the top 3 in shooting percentage from the foul line in the ACC. Destined To Meet Entering the season, experts thought these two would be the best teams in the conference. National pre-season rankings had the Wolfpack and Cardinals ranked 5th and 6th respectively. When the ACC released their pre-season predictions both the panel of blue-ribbon experts and coaches predicted NC State to finish 1st and Louisville to finish 2nd in the conference.

If true, these predictions would be a

Coach Wes Moore coached his 1000th game Sunday, Jan. 16, joining the legendary Kay Yow as the only coach in program history to reach that milestone. Moore’s resume includes 764 wins, 2x ACC Champion, 2x ACC Coach of the Year, 9x SoCon Tournament champion, and 12x SoCon regular season champion. Moore is the only coach to reach the NCAA tournament in divisions 1, 2 and 3.

If NC State wins, the coast is far from clear. They’ll be tested by a tough schedule full of road games. When discussing the road ahead coach Moore said “It's the ACC, our schedule, this next stretch, we have a whole lot of ranked teams… it's just life in the ACC we got 6 teams in the top 25.”

Cunane shared a similar remark in saying “Next time we’re gonna be playing them (Duke) at their spot so we have to come out and be even better… We have Louisville coming this Thursday.”

The Pack has a packed schedule ahead including road games against their Triangle rivals Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill.

How can students go to the game? The ticket student line opens an hour before tip-off so for this game tickets will roll out around 6:30 pm. Those interested should get there as early as possible - NC State is expecting a full house and had to turn away students earlier this season after full capacity was reached. Show up with a valid student ID and the game is free, students just need to show their ID card and present it in the Student ticket line for entry into the game. Masks are required for attendance.

Can’t make it to the game? No problem!

For those who want to watch but can’t get there, the game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

Opinion

Thursday, January 20, 2022 | 7

Numbers don't lie. UNC System – What’s good?

What will it really take for the UNC School system to value students' health over profit? With as much as we are paying in tuition, you would think we could at least be provided with a safe Elikem Dodor environment to learn Managing Editor in. Truthfully, the only acceptable amount of COVID-19 cases is none. While it may be unrealistic to have no COVID-19 cases, there is no real way you can say that having 1,000+ positive cases on campuses is acceptable.

"With as much as we are paying in tuition, you would think we could at least be provided with a safe environment to learn in."

As of 4:57 PM on Jan. 14, 2022: NC State has reported 1,889 positive cases since Jan. 4. UNC-CH has reported 1,143 positive cases since Jan 4. ECU has reported 1,374 positive cases since Jan. 4. NCAT has reported 525 positive cases since Jan. 4.

UNCC has reported 858 positive cases since Jan. 4. These are just a few of the schools in the UNC School System.

Some institutions within the system don’t even have accurate COVID tracking dashboards or haven’t updated them since December. A lot of these campuses are running out of resources– they don’t have enough tests to administer to students or the infrastructure to get results back quickly enough. Schools like UNC-CH have stopped testing asymptomatic students who are unvaccinated, saying “But I will tell you that many, many healthcare systems, including our own here at UNC, have completely stopped asymptomatic testing because of the lack of safety and security and supply chain for testing supports.”

Even with all of these individual campuses' problems, they essentially aren’t allowed to act on their own or do what is

best for the respective campuses. During the NC State’s faculty senate meeting the Provost said “we are a part of a system, and we have no autonomy to make choices that diverge from what the UNC System has been pressured to do... We will keep the dashboard with case counts, for now. But frankly the UNC System isn't interested in the numbers. They are no longer relevant."

Hearing things like this is the furthest thing from encouraging. What will it possibly take for them to be “interested” in the wellbeing of the thousands of students on these 17 campuses?

The Provost’s response raises very important questions and concerns – who is pressuring the UNC system to neglect their students? Who is pressuring the UNC system to expose thousands upon thousands of people to COVID-19? Who is pressuring the UNC system to not listen to the voices and opinions of their students on the various campuses? How can some schools move online for two weeks while others are saying that they cannot?

As a student, I am tired. I’m tired of begging people to care about me. I’m tired

of having to pressure people into doing their jobs, jobs that they are literally getting paid to do. I’m tired of the lies. You don’t have to pretend to care about us. You don’t have to make meaningless videos about how you want to protect your student body. You don’t have to send out newsletters filled with oxymorons and irrelevant information.

At this point, just take my money and shut the hell up. The numbers don’t lie. The omicron variant is highly contagious and you all are letting it run rampant through 17 different campuses. You have run out of quarantine rooms and are sending students home to infect their families and communities. You aren’t testing folks and you’re sticking them back in classrooms.

You say you are doing everything that you can but numbers don’t lie. UNC System please do better. Please protect your students before it’s too late.

Omarion Got Hands... The Dap of Doom School has started and the first week of spring has come to an end. But things have just started, in more ways than one. It’s hard to believe that COVID-19 has been a constant for the past two years. One of the things that have also Austin Modlin been constant is NC State’s Correspondent lackluster care for students during the pandemic.

As many know, new variants have been popping up and spreading like wildfire.

With the Omarion variant running rampant throughout the United States, there have been concerns from many about what the UNC System is doing about this.

To be quite honest with you, it looks like nothing has changed. NC State is still sending performative emails about them and their motto of “Protecting the Pack”.

It also doesn’t help that since 1/13/21, we have had over 1,000 people in isolation or in quarantine, both on and off-campus. I was one of many students that tested positive for COVID before classes started.

All it took was me getting some water,

and just having someone I knew dap me up. Next thing I knew, I was getting a text from them telling me they tested positive.

After that was the anxiety of waiting for the on-campus testing sites to open. Got tested and found out that same night that I had to get into isolation. The supplies provided for isolation were lackluster and teetering the line of the bare minimum and just not caring.

During isolation one of the main things that I realized was how much I missed interacting with people. For the first week of class, everything I saw was through a screen. I began to use Facetime religiously, being the only outlet to people. I had to start my first week looking at lecture videos, as some of my professors don’t offer Zoom live streaming access. Luckily I was able to have my absences excused, even though it took more emailing than needed to do so.

Seeing news and studies finding newfound long term effects from COVID or “long COVID” did not help my mental state that first week. Now that I’ve left isolation, I am more on edge than ever about returning to class and being out on campus.

We haven’t even gotten halfway through

the semester and Omarion has already started to spread through the campus. We’re ducking COVID and we haven’t even had midterms yet. “What has the university done about this?”, you may ask. They decided to get rid of contact tracing, that’s what NC State and the UNC School System as a whole have decided to do.

There’s also the issue of isolation/ quarantine rooms being able to house the rapidly growing population of students who have positive cases. It seems that NC State no longer has control over the situation.

“The Provost’s answer is this: We are a part of a system, and we have no autonomy to make choices that diverge from what the UNC System has been pressured to do,” said Meagan Kittle Autry, a teaching assistant professor and director of graduate professional development in civil, construction and environmental engineering, on Twitter.

As for the dashboard that keeps track of case counts, there is a high chance that NC State will stop counting the positive cases for students.

“Provost stated plainly today, “We will keep the dashboard with case counts,

for now. But frankly, [the] UNC System isn’t interested in the numbers. They are no longer relevant”, referring to how contagious but “relatively mild” Omicron is,” stated Autry. This is disappointing, but not surprising considering the track history of NC State's preventative measures.

NC State faculty have now given up on stopping the spread of COVID, shifting towards how to manage the outbreaks.

“Our public health colleagues no longer talk about *if* we are going to get Omicron. We talk about *when* we are going to get it. It’s just that contagious, and it’s everywhere,” replied Autry.

The fact that public health workers have started saying that during the first week of classes, is not only disheartening, but it’s also infuriating. Why are we still having professors and admin demand in-person classes? At the very least give students an option for Zoom lectures. It’s the bare minimum and NC State isn’t even doing that. How are we going to get through the semester if we are already talking about “when we’re gonna get it?”, and we literally just started the semester!

Are you being discriminated against or harassed because of a protected status and need support and resources?

Report a concern: go.ncsu.edu/ reportconcern SAFE at NC State: go.ncsu.edu/safe

2022 MLK Campus Commemoration “They tried to bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds.”

Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity

January 17 – January 21, 2022

For full calendar of events, visit go.ncsu.edu/mlk