October 1st, 2020 edition of The Lorian

Page 1

NEW!

Behind the scenes! Work on campus: The Pub Experience

Coaches Column: Tangen’s healthy habits

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Oct. 1, 2020 — Vol. 99, Issue 3

COVID: A positive perspective Student shares personal experience testing positive for COVID-19 by MATT WAZIO guest writer

Last spring, as I packed up and moved out of my dorm room, I remember wondering if I would return to Loras before the semester ended. By the time I got home though, airports, churches, shopping malls–pretty much everything–was closed, and I knew I would finish the semester at home. In those early days, I would gather with my family around the TV every day at noon to watch the Illinois governor talk about the latest news on the virus. He would go over charts showing how many more lives had been affected by COVID-19; how many people had it and how many had died. We would go to the grocery store scared of the virus because so little was known about it. In time, we all learned a bit more about COVID and things lightened up –at least a bit. Still, the news each day seemed to tell the same stories of people catching COVID and some dying from it. However, watching COVID stories on the

news kept the virus at a distance; far enough away that I thought it wouldn’t touch me. I’m young, I wear a mask, and so I believed that I was taking every precaution to keep myself safe from this virus. I felt optimistic that a healthy twenty-one-year-old like me would only read the statistics, not become one. That was until the email popped up in my inbox with the subject: COVID-19 RESULTS: POSITIVE. My heart sank. I had taken the test just to give my mom peace of mind so that I could go back home to spend time with my family. Yeah, my taste and smell had been a little off- a tell-tale symptom of COVID – but I didn’t think twice about it. After I got that email, I became scared. I consumed every article I could find about the long-term effects. I read about all of the possible outcomes. This isn’t just the flu, it isn’t a cold. I learned about kids my age who had died from COVID-19. I was searching, not just for information but for hope. ` I read anything I could get my hands on hoping to read that this virus wouldn’t last long in my system. continued on Page 2

photo by MARK MEDERSON

Junior Zach Thompson gets tested last week Wednesday for COVID-19. The College moved from ALERT YELLOW to ALERT ORANGE last Friday.

Trump and Biden exchange blows by CONOR KELLY opinion editor

Tu e s d a y n i g h t was one for the history books, as the two presidential candidates—President Donald J. Trump and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden— wrangled for dominance

photo by JON QUINN

Explosion on Loras Blvd

Dubuque firefighters battle the blaze in the early evening on Loras Boulevard. No life threatening injuries were reported but 30 residents in the surrounding area have been displaced.

#TheSystemFailedBreonnaTaylor Black Loras athletes hold panel to increase awareness by SERGIO PEREZ college diversity officer & advisor to the president

I write this article with a notice that the content may be triggering for members of our Black and African American community. While Black and Brown people often know our historical treatment in this country, the resilience developed over our lives sometimes isn’t enough to dull the pain of injustice. This past week we’ve learned of the Grand Jury’s decision to only indict one officer with a charge not related to the actual murder of Breonna Taylor. Despite the historical precedent of our institutions failing our Black community, the announcement and lack of justice still stings and hurts. Yet it also adds to the urgency of demanding a government that honors Black lives as human lives. In their verdict on the three officers involved with the killing of Breonna Taylor, the grand jury decided to charge one officer with three counts of wanton endangerment. The other two face no charges. How did the Grand Jury arrive at this conclusion? What evidence were

they provided to form their decision? What biases were addressed? Is the government acting in full transparency? Breonna Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, simply posted on Instagram on Wednesday an image of Breonna, captioning it, “It’s still Breonna Taylor for me,” with two blue hearts and one red broken heart emojis and the hashtag #thesystemfailedBreonna. continued on Page 2

Presidential Debate: What you should know in the first presidential debate. While s ome predic ted that Biden would stick to the issues and remain more focused on the fundamentals of the debate, few could have predicted the intensity that would be thrown both at and from the former Vice President. The moderator, Chris Wallace of Fox News, desperately tried to keep decorum between t he c and i d ate s , s ome t i me s engaging in direct appeals to the President with little success.

Indeed, presidential historian Michael Beschloss condemned the debates, complaining about the lack of moderation in such a public affair, saying, “Moderate this debate Now.” It was an intense and unusual display for the nation. Perhaps it was unsurprising that this debate ended in fire and fury; it had already begun before the debate itself. Hours before the debate started, The Independent reported that former President

B a r r a c k O b a m a i n d i re c t l y accused the White House of attempting to suppress the African American vote. And right before the debate’s commencement, Fox reported that the Trump campaign had demanded third-party inspectors check both candidates’ ears for earphones. continued on Page 2

photo by KSAT

President Trump and former Vice President Biden will debate again on October 15.


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