M THE MANEATER The student voice of MU since 1955
EDITORIAL
Vol. 87 Issue 1
www.themaneater.com
WE’RE NOT SAFE HERE
Students sit outside the Plaza 900 dining hall on Aug. 28. /PHOTO BY AMY SCHAFFER
Following the decision to send students back to campus this fall, MU’s COVID-19 response has shown it’s only a matter of time before something terrible happens. SOFI ZEMAN
Opinions Editor
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Maneater editorial board. Through a complete lack of transparency and accountability, the University of Missouri has made it perfectly clear that it’s willing to risk the lives of this community. As of Sept. 1, there have been 691 active cases of COVID-19 in Boone County. According to MU’s Show Me Renewal dashboard, there are 415 active student cases from the university alone at press time. Yet looking around our campus and city, it’s hard to believe there’s a pandemic going on at all. Students in Columbia have showcased their total disregard for social distancing and mask policies at large public gatherings and parties. MU’s administrative response following the decision to allow students back on campus may be fatal.
Introducing #CampusClear
Recently, MU announced every person on campus was required to download the app #CampusClear and report their symptoms on a daily basis. If a student displays symptoms, they are told to stay off campus. If they report no symptoms, they are permitted in campus buildings. There are two immediate issues with the use of this app: 1. The university didn’t notify the MU community of this mandate until Aug. 17. By this point, hundreds of students had already moved to Columbia and been on campus. It’s likely some of these students were experiencing symptoms but entered campus facilities either unaware they weren’t supposed to, or knowing that they wouldn’t face administrative repercussions. 2. Though students sign into the app with their MU student accounts, the university has not set up a system that utilizes this information to promote safety on campus. Yes, students with symptoms are advised to say off campus, but there is no one checking these app responses at the doors of on-campus buildings or any kind of screening. Despite the administration’s statement that specified locations will use the app to determine whether or not a student is cleared to enter, these locations have yet to be named. Hypothetically, a student
who marked that they were experiencing COVID-19adjacent symptoms and was advised to stay off campus is entirely able to walk into the MU Student Center and put others at risk without notice. The university’s move to mandate daily symptom checks through #CampusClear is ineffective and is widely received by students as no more than a suggestion.
this community. After addressing their concerns over the matter, Welcome Week was made optional for resident advisors. MU should never have made the option of in-person Welcome Week activities available. Meeting in large groups like this for the sake of the freshman experience is a danger to both the resident advisors and students involved.
Welcome groups
MU launched a dashboard on Aug. 24 that tracks the amount of active student cases as a part of its Show Me Renewal plan. According to this page, the administration has decided to refuse to confirm or name individual cases for the sake of privacy. Though the university has claimed that they will alert those who have likely been in close contact with a confirmed case, this raises some concerns. Students interact with plenty of people outside the classroom or in a campus work environment. Putting the university in charge of ensuring that every bystander an infected person comes in contact with is informed is an ineffective measure that will not be able to cover all the bases. Though the student body is entitled to its privacy, we feel that at least naming the location of an outbreak is a worthwhile safety measure.
Despite broadcasting their support for social distancing protocols via social media posts and putting distancing-related stickers across campus, MU contradicted itself by asking residential assistants to lead student groups of 20 for Welcome Week. Intended to give freshman students a full introduction to the University of Missouri, Welcome Week is a longtime tradition that includes campus tours, information sessions, the Tiger Walk and the inclusion seminar Citizenship@Mizzou. Though most events were hosted online, RAs on campus still led tours and had their groups do a downsized version of the Tiger Walk. Given the size of our campus and that most classes are currently held online, campus tours are non-essential. Yes, the Tiger Walk is a beloved tradition of the university, but tradition should not be valued over the safety of
Reporting cases
EDITORIAL | Page 7
Sept. 2, 2020
STUDENT POLITICS
MU, Students disagree on Show Me Renewal Plan
The university said the plan is complete is complete and flexible, but many students said it isn’t enough. EMMET JAMIESON
Reporter
The Show Me Renewal Plan, MU’s outline for its response to COVID-19, is “very complete” and “flexible enough to change,” UM Director of Media Relations Christian Basi said. However, some students are skeptical about whether the plan can sufficiently curb the pandemic’s spread on campus. Show Me Renewal addresses aspects of campus life such as moving some classes online, mask mandates, social distancing and Truman the Tigerthemed safety reminders on campus sidewalks. The plan’s position on combating the virus, Basi said, will not include widespread asymptomatic testing and will instead focus on encouraging students to selfmonitor and seek a test only if they show symptoms of the virus. Basi said the team that created Show Me Renewal, which includes MU Chancellor Mun Choi and other administrative officials from across disciplines, took its advice on tracking campus COVID-19 cases from MU Health Care, Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control. To focus testing on symptomatic
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Q&A with Cale Garrett
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Editor-in-Chief Caitlin Danborn
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individuals, he said, was what they Continued from page 1recommended. “We are making sure that we’re focused on those individuals who are symptomatic and asking everyone else to engage in the appropriate behaviors, such as wearing a mask and social distancing,” Basi said. “This is what our medical experts are telling us is the best and most effective way to prevent the spread of the virus.” Show Me Renewal’s website explains in its Student FAQ section that MU does not plan to widely test asymptomatic people partially because of “issues with false positive and negative test results.” Basi said false negative results would give students a false sense of security, allowing them to further spread the virus, and false positives would create unnecessary panic. Dr. Robert H. Shmerling, senior editor at Harvard Health Publishing at Harvard University’s medical school, wrote in an Aug. 17 article that the reported false negative rate varies from 2% to 37% and the false positive rate sits at 5% or lower. The FAQ page also cites “the low prevalence of the virus in Boone County” as a reason to focus testing on symptomatic individuals. As of Sept.1, Boone County has recorded 2,614 cases and 7 deaths and has a test positivity rate of 44.6%. Basi pointed to other counties with large colleges, such as St. Joseph County, Indiana, and Orange County, North Carolina, to support his belief that Boone County has a low prevalence of COVID-19. St. Joseph County is home to the University of Notre Dame, which postponed in-person classes for two weeks, and Orange County is home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which has cancelled in-person classes for the fall semester. As of Aug. 26, Boone County has a COVID-19 case rate of 1,192 cases per 100,000 people and 3.789 deaths per 100,000. This is lower than St. Joseph County (1,781 cases per 100,000 and 34.95 deaths per 100,000) and Orange County (1,408 cases per 100,000 and 33.68 deaths per 100,000). However, St. Joseph County has a test positivity rate of 16.2% and Orange County has a rate of 7.4%, both lower rates than Boone County’s 44.6%. Since Show Me Renewal targets symptomatic individuals to curb the spread, MU advises students to keep track of their symptoms. One avenue for self-monitoring is CampusClear, a COVID-19 symptom tracking app whose dashboard shows a list of symptoms and clears students to visit campus if they are asymptomatic. Basi said CampusClear sends data to the university but can only track what users selected on the dashboard and not who the users are. Not filling out CampusClear currently does not bar students from anything on campus, but Basi said that in the future, MizzouRec will ask students to present their CampusClear status if they want
to use the facility. The app, he said, better functions to help users recognize symptoms they may not associate with COVID-19 since it features a comprehensive list. Show Me Renewal dictates that a student must get a doctor’s referral to get tested for the virus. This policy, Basi said, will help MU be a better steward of its resources. He said the university has enough tests for students that show symptoms and wants to ensure symptomatic people will not be at risk of being denied a test because asymptomatic individuals used up the stock. MU Health Care is currently
If a student receives a positive test result, Show Me Renewal requires them to report it via a form on the website within four hours. Basi said this form goes to Residential Life, the Registrar’s Office and other departments so the university can help transition the student and their contacts to isolation housing and keep them up to date on classes. Basi said that overall, Show Me Renewal is complete and flexible. He said its biggest strength is the amount of input that went into crafting the plan. “It covers so much,” he said.
Source: COVID-19 Dashboads / GRAPHIC BY JACOB LAGESSE
testing people with doctor’s referrals at two locations: a temporary outpost at the MU Sustainability Office on Virginia Avenue and a permanent location at Mizzou North on Business Loop 70. Mizzou North hit its testing capacity on Aug. 24 — MU Health Care Public Relations Manager Jesslyn Chew said the center had to turn away patients in late afternoon so it could process its current patients. Chew said Mondays are typically busy days for testing and added that MU Health Care is able to open more testing sites if demand rises. “We continue to monitor our capacity, and we have infrastructure in place should we need to open additional sites,” Chew said. “We’re not at that point yet, but certainly we will continue to monitor trends.”
“We’ve had more than 130 people working on this who are experts in their field, everything from medicine to operations on campus to communications. We’ve really run the gamut on the people that have been involved and how complete the planning is.” He added that although the situation with COVID-19 will evolve throughout the semester, Show Me Renewal is “nimble and can move quickly” to address any new developments. Some MU students, though, said they felt less optimistic about Show Me Renewal’s ability to keep the MU community safe and abate the virus’s spread. “I’m of the opinion that it [school] should have been online from the start,” said junior Thomas Semkiw.
Semkiw pointed out that UNC had fewer cases when it went virtual last week than MU does now — UNC had reported 177 student cases by Aug. 17, when it closed, and MU has 415 active student cases according to the Show Me Renewal database — and cited the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, which has 1,201 active student cases as of Aug. 28, to emphasize his belief that the virus will spread quickly on college campuses. Junior Brooke Pulliam talked about the situation at other schools as well. She said that MU should have conducted entry testing on students and should test them regularly like other schools, such as the Ohio State University and the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. Freshman Gabriella Nechita also said MU was lacking in testing. Nechita, who is from San Diego, said her hometown had many more testing sites than Columbia. She said MU should make testing more accessible to students by eliminating the need for a doctor’s referral and opening up locations closer to campus. Mizzou North is 1.5 miles from the northernmost part of MU’s campus. Nechita said MU is putting the onus on students and disincentivizing them from getting tested because of the hurdles to doing so. Freshman Logan Frommelt said relying on students to take initiative would lead to disaster. The biggest mistake Mizzou has made is trusting students,” he said. Graduate student Joshua Lisse wrote an opinion piece titled “MU needs a better, safer plan to return to campus” that was published in the Sunday-Monday issue of the Columbia Missourian. In the article, Lisse said Show Me Renewal would not be sufficient to protect the community and urged community members to demand stronger action from the administration. Outside the article, Lisse said his concerns with Show Me Renewal are that it is too narrow to address every concern and will leave cases undetected due to a lack of entry and widespread testing. He also said he had qualms with the extent to which MU is reporting data. The Show Me Renewal dashboard updates once weekly and reports the number of student cases, the percentage of the student body that has contracted COVID-19 and the amount of students that have recovered from the virus. Lisse said the database should update more frequently and include other figures, like positivity rate and the number of students hospitalized. Lisse wrote in his op-ed that the university’s decision to bring students to campus might lead to unfortunate results. “Allowing MU students to return to campus may prove to be a dangerous mistake and could come at an enormous cost,” Lisse wrote. Edited by Joy Mazur jmazur@themaneater.com
CE IST AN LD CIA SO
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WEAR A Ways to celebrate a socially-distant long weekend A few ways to spend the upcoming long weekend while also keeping yourself and the people around you safe. CATHERINE POLO
MOVE Culture Reporter
With the added pressure of school starting back up on top of the stresses of COVID19, the upcoming long weekend can't come soon enough. While this would usually be a great opportunity to get together with friends to help pass the time, the need for social distancing is still here. It's time to get a little more creative about ways to stay safe and enjoy the extra time off. If you're an art fan, the Museum of Art and Archaeology is a must see. You can visit for free on Saturday or Sunday from noon to 4 p.m., with a group of no more than six individuals while wearing masks, social distancing and frequent hand washing. Additionally, the museum also has some online exhibits so you can learn about Gemstones of Antiquity, Picturing Black American Families and Artful Lighting from
GRAPHIC BY JACOB LAGESSE
the comfort of your home. While the Columbia Art League’s physical building is closed to the public, they have plenty of virtual galeries to explore. Here you can learn about artists you might not have heard of and get to read about what inspired their work. 2020’s Art in the Park may have been canceled, but online you can see what artists and work would have been featured. If you're tired of being indoors, enjoy the fresh air and sunshine of Stephens Lake Park. The park has shelters and picnic areas where you can sit and enjoy the feeling of the sun on your face and the shimmering lake, or bring along some snacks and have a socially distanced picnic. Or if being active is more your style, you can walk along one of the trails. For people who are looking for a scenic place to stroll, Shelter Gardens is the place to go. It not only has an array of colorful flowers, but also a gazebo and a replica of a one-room schoolhouse. The wide variety of trees and shrubs make for a great place to walk around and enjoy nature. No one wants to do homework on their day off, but a good use of the extra day off would be to catch up on school work. With a lot of classes being moved online, and stress and homework building up already, taking the opportunity to use the long weekend to possibly work ahead in classes could be beneficial. Edited by Sophie Stephen sstephens@themaneater.com
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OPINIONS
EDITORIALS REPRESENT THE MAJORITY OPINION OF THE MANEATER EDITORIAL BOARD.
THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY THE MANEATER COLUMNISTS DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINIONS OF THE MANEATER EDITORIAL BOARD.
On Aug. 24, @MIZ_ISC_2020 tweeted encouraged their Twitter followers to protest using images — such as this one — featuring prominent locations on the MU campus with the words “I’m Still Concerned” written on them as Zoom backgrounds as a way remotely. | PHOTO COURTESY OF TWITTER VIA @MIZ_ISC_2020
EDITORIAL: Maneater Editorial Board Supports Student Group’s List of Administrative Demands
The Maneater’s analysis on #StillConcerned’s demands against racial injustice. SOFI ZEMAN
Opinions Editor
ELI HOFF
Managing Editor
There is a serious problem that exists within the University of Missouri. From its very founding, a school intended to serve as a social and intellectual compass for its students has actively chosen to whitewash the offensive and racist history that it was built on. In a previous editorial statement published by The Maneater, we addressed our support for the demands of the 2015 student protest group, Concerned Student 1950. CS 1950 devoted itself to holding the MU administration accountable for its lack of response to a myriad of racial injustices on campus. Their efforts raised the standards MU is expected to meet for racial inclusion on campus, such as the amount of faculty of color on campus and enrollment rates. Ultimately, this resulted in the resignation of University President Tim Wolfe.
The effort to correct these racial injustices hasn’t stopped with the 2015 protests. Both racism and underrepresentation are still prevalent at the University of Missouri, as well as around the world. For this reason, student group #StillConcerned has surfaced with a new list of demands for the MU administration to address. Given that these demands have the potential to change the social dynamic of our university for the better, The Maneater feels it’s important to give an honest review of this list. That review includes across-theboard support for the demands. The Maneater acknowledges some demands are simple to meet while others are far more complex, and change isn’t instantaneous. But the meeting these demands would reflect a university that listens to its stakeholders, values their talents, recognizes its systemic flaws and wants every student and faculty member to feel safe. The demands, and The Maneater’s reasons for supporting them, are as follows: 1. Award tenure to Dr. Ashley Woodson.
MU professor Dr. Ashley Woodson is renowned for her work in social studies with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion. Some of her many accomplishments include: • Over 17 works of published writing, some of which are peer reviewed and researched. • Winner of the 2020 AERA Social Studies Research SIG Early Career Award. • Has spent the majority of her career informing the public about Black history and advocacy. • Received the William A. and Jean S. Stauffer Faculty Fellow in Education in 2017. • In 2018, received the College of Education Faculty Commitment to Diversity award. We feel Dr. Woodson has put forth more than sufficient work to warrant tenure. The denial of tenure among people of color is an unfortunately common occurrence in higher education. Not only will tenure give Woodson the job security she has earned through her work, but it will also be a beneficial way for MU to increase staff and student diversity on campus. People
of color are more likely to be willing to work at or attend a university that awards them for their hard work, rather than one that stands in their way of promotion. It’s important to note student evaluations play a role in who receives tenure. For this reason, we encourage MU students who fill out evaluations to be considerate of the effort professors put into their teaching and work. 2. Create a student- and faculty-led racial accountability board. If change is going to come to MU, there will need to be action from university administration. Progress doesn’t come in the form of social media posts and platitudes, so accountability will be essential to the process. As MU’s primary stakeholders, students, faculty and staff are the ones asking for results. MU should happily request and receive feedback from those invested and oft-wronged parties. Just as students’ performance is graded and faculty receive promotions and tenure, the university should be held
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accountable. The Maneater feels Continued from page 5 an effective way to achieve this would be a student- and facultyled racial accountability board. The primary function of the board would be to identify and rectify not only shortcomings and failures of the university, but also those of their peers. It would be naive to think that the university administration is the sole source of racism and discrimination at MU. Indeed, leadership from within the student body and faculty population is necessary to foment change in every corner at once. MU enjoys tremendous resources in its diverse, engaged and talented population of students and faculty. The university should listen to and learn from them. 3. Reinstate Kathryn Chval as Dean of the College of Education. Dr. Kathryn Chval was removed in July from her position as Dean of the College of Education after six years of work. Chval’s work has been instrumental in helping underrepresented peers make advancements within their field. According to reporting from the Columbia Missourian, “during Chval’s tenure as Dean, the percentage of tenure-track faculty from underrepresented groups at the College of Education tripled to 34%.” She was also president of the board for the Division of Learning Disabilities. Chval, a well-known and respected MU faculty member and professor of mathematics, was unable to explain the reason for her own dismissal, and no reason for the removal was publicly released. In the midst of the confusion circulating this event, a group of Chval’s peers sent Chancellor Mun Choi and the MU Administration a national letter of public support, expressing their concern over Dr. Chval’s removal. According to a full documentation of the conversation between Choi and a peer by the name of Rochelle Gutierrez, Choi’s initial response to the letter was brief: “Thank you, Professor Gutierrez. I do appreciate your support for Dr. Chval. There are many good reasons for our decision for the dismissal and the decision will not be reversed.” In the transcript, Choi goes on to use incredibly vague language and avoids sharing why he felt this dismissal was justified. The massive rush of faculty support for Chval and disagreement with the decision suggests Choi’s reasoning is suspect. The Maneater agrees that Dr. Chval should be celebrated for her work and reinstated as Dean of the College of Education. 4. Remove Mun Choi from all leadership positions within the UM System. It’s no small thing to call for the removal of a university’s chancellor, especially when that individual
is the president of the state’s university system, too. However, it’s also no small thing for a leader in both of those roles to suggest faculty who disagree with administration should leave, or that progress which emerged from the 2015 protests was detrimental to MU. But MU Chancellor and UM System President Mun Choi did both of those. He has established himself as a dictatorial leader of both institutions. Choi has publicly and privately worked to restrict dissent from faculty and staff while continuing to make decisions in a fashion that concerns and harms his university’s stakeholders. The prevalence and prominent nature of some of Choi’s administrative failures make his position untenable. It is in the best interests of both MU and the UM System to remove Choi from all leadership positions. Though Choi publicly proclaims to be receptive to feedback and criticism, his private actions prove otherwise. “If you are a leader, a senior leader at the university, and you don’t agree with the philosophy of the university or you don’t trust the motivations of the senior leaders, then I think you should leave,” Choi told the Columbia Daily Tribune in July. It’s fair for a leader to want their decisions and philosophies to be well-received, but it’s the responsibility of that leader to operate in a fashion that commands respect. Dissent isn’t reflective of the person who speaks up — it shows that a leader has failed to incorporate the needs of the dissenter. “I have not and will not make decisions based on popular consensus,” Choi wrote in a column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. While there are undoubtedly decision-making factors that are necessarily kept from the public, MU — as a public university — should be led with the best interests of the tax- and tuition-payers who fund it in mind. If Choi wishes to reduce dissent, he would be well served to pay more attention to the “popular consensus.” Additionally, Choi has spoken with disdain about the widespread campus protests of 2015. “[A] few MU employees have recently appeared — perhaps unintentionally — to provide encouragement for discord and protest at the university in ways similar to what severely wounded the institution five years ago,” Choi wrote the Post-Dispatch column. “All of that progress [MU has made] … is placed at risk if we experience anew the events of 2015.” Though there is clearly work to be done in the fight against racism and discrimination on campus, the 2015 protests were a successful and positive step for equality and justice at MU. As 2015 showed, that fight may not be “pretty” and certainly will not please university administration.
But petitions haven’t worked. The progress Choi speaks of pales in comparison to the ground yet to cover. MU’s Chancellor and the UM System President resigned under enormous pressure in 2015. It’s time Choi is removed, too. 5. Undo system changes combining UM System President and MU Chancellor. Recently, the UM System Board of Curators combined the roles of UM System President and MU Chancellor, making Choi the current occupant of both positions. Not only is this an unnecessary distribution of power with one person in charge, it’s also unfair to the other schools within the UM System. Making the leader of one specific institution the overhead leader of all others within the same system shows immense favoritism toward MU. As the university with the most money and highest enrollment, MU already has a clear advantage over the other schools, and the combining of these positions increases that. Considering Choi is based in Columbia and deals directly with MU affairs daily, how would he be able to equally direct his attention to the other three schools in the system equally? That was on the minds of leaders at the three other schools in the UM System, which publicly opposed the merger out of concern for a changed dynamic among the universities and unclear long-term motivations. Alternatively, the needs of MU students cannot be met to the fullest extent if the chancellor’s focus is split between two different jobs, including tending to three other major universities. The combining of these positions is inefficient, unnecessary and should be reversed. 6. Memorialize Dr. Gus T. Ridgel on the MU campus. Dr. Gus T. Ridgel was the very first African American man to receive a graduate degree from MU. In order to enroll in 1950, Ridgel had to file a lawsuit against the university, and eventually became one of the nine students of color admitted. Throughout his time as a student, Ridgel faced racism and hardship regularly. He was forced to live alone in his dorm room because other students refused to live with him. He was unable to afford a second year at the university, so he completed his entire degree in two semesters — with honors. Ridgel served as a pioneer in education and the desegregation of MU, yet few know his name. Though the atrium in Restaurants at Southwest has been named after him, its history is not widely discussed. The entire purpose of a memorial is to share a person’s story, and that isn’t being done properly on MU’s campus. Frankly, an atrium in a dining hall is not enough for a person who has played such a key role in the history of this university. After all he’s done for this
university, MU should have enough respect for Dr. Gus T. Ridgel to properly memorialize him. 7. Remove the Thomas Jefferson Statue from the MU campus. It’s time that MU realizes the glorification of a racist, rapist and slave owner is not the way to progressively contextualize history. In his lifetime, Thomas Jefferson enslaved over 600 human beings. One of these slaves was Sally Hemmings, who he raped in her early teenage years and never freed. Throughout history, this situation has been romanticized by the public as a consensual relationship, rather than the cruel sexual manipulation it actually was. Thomas Jefferson fundamentally believed that Black people were lesser than the white race. According to the Journal of Black Studies, Jefferson felt that African Americans “are inferior to whites in the endowments of both body and mind.” For hundreds of years, Jefferson has been universally celebrated, despite the truth of his past. He’s presented as a hero in most youth classrooms, has his face on the twodollar bill and is widely considered to be one of the more progressive and peaceful minds of his time. To top it all off, MU’s campus statue of Jefferson is considered a staple of Francis Quadrangle. When the presence of the Jefferson statue was previously called into question, MU Administration responded that it was important to preserve the statue in order to properly contextualize the darker parts of American history. However, MU has failed to properly address Jefferson’s wrongdoings, outwardly oppose his actions or comment on its own connection to Jefferson. The university’s extreme reluctance regarding the statue’s removal comes off as a defense of Jefferson at best. At worst, it’s an insult to every student of color who walks by its prominent, heavily secured location. MU has more of an infatuation with Jefferson than any real historical connection. The statue is actively harmful to students and reflects the ignorance of university administration. Take it down. The Maneater Editorial Board approves the content of all articles published under the “Editorial” label. A member of the Board is significantly involved in the #StillConcerned organization. That individual did not participate in the writing of this editorial and abstained from voting in the approval process. As part of its commitment to highlighting organizations fighting for racial justice, the Maneater is encouraging readers to donate to Color of Change, a national civil rights group that works to strengthen the political voices of African Americans Edited by Caitlin Danborn cdanborn@themaneater.com
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EDITORIAL
Continued from page 1 The dashboard immediately addresses that, while students are required to report cases to the university, cases which went untreated or were confirmed externally from MU are not accurately recorded. Therefore, the data we are seeing on this website are not representative of the actual situation within the student community. It’s likely that there are significantly more student cases in Columbia than what is being reported.
Testing
In regard to testing plans, it’s no wonder Scientific American ranks university responses on a scale from MU to UIUC. Currently, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign is testing every student on campus twice a week for free. Students are only permitted on campus after receiving negative results which are delivered within hours via the Safer Illinois app. Those who are not up-to-date on their mandatory testing or who receive positive test results are denied access to on-campus facilities. Additionally, UIUC has a total of 17 testing sites spread across campus in order to increase student accessibility. The University of Missouri currently offers one public drive-thru testing site that’s located off the main campus at Mizzou North and an on-campus testing site that is located at the west side of the Virginia Avenue Parking Structure. The latter is by appointment only. That’s right. Not only does MU not require students to get tested for COVID-19, it’s also failed to make on-site testing easily available for those living on campus. Though information was released about the on-campus site, there is no information about it on MU’s COVID Testing website, making it difficult for students to figure out how and where to get tested. The inconvenience of testing on campus could very well end up the reason a symptomatic student endangers others. MU should cater to the safety needs of the student body by providing more accessible testing locations. According to a press release posted Thursday by MU Health Care, students who are experiencing symptoms or are in at-risk situations were told to get approval for testing by the Student Health Center before going to get tested at the Mizzou North site. Filtering this testing process gives the impression that MU would rather save money by limiting the amount of tests processed than allow any concerned or mildly symptomatic student that wishes to take a test to do
so. Additionally, the MU Health Care website claims that it will be charging $150 for a COVID-19 lab test. Though there is no immediate copay, patients will be billed through their insurance. Fortunately, students without insurance will face no charge. Despite this accommodation, we find it concerning that MU wants to charge students for anything COVID-relevant, given the circumstances.
Tuition increase
The University of Missouri Board of Curators in June voted to raise the price of tuition 2.3% at all UM System schools in an attempt to recover from “facing significant financial pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” In the 2019-2020 school year, the standard cost per credit hour for an in-state student at MU was $288. This year, it was raised to $311 but was reduced to $306 per credit hour as a result of an undergraduate tuition waiver. According to the MU Cashiers Office breakdown of undergraduate tuition, this waiver is “the result of university and state budget arrangements and may not continue in the future.” Yes, universities like MU are financially-motivated institutions. That said, MU never directly sent out an official statement regarding the raise in tuition cost to the student body. Though external news outlets reported on the change in cost across the UM System, the university made no attempt to ensure that all MU students were informed of this. Furthermore, MU hasn’t commented on the cause for the increase or even bothered to specify how the additional revenue will be put to use. In other words, students at the University of Missouri are paying more money to live in less safe conditions. In spite of the difficulties students have faced this past year, and in spite of the fact most classes are online and on-campus students will likely be sent home in a matter of weeks, MU sees an immediate need for financial gain. It’s MU’s job to ensure that its students are informed on the important goings-on within the university and it has failed to do so.
Disciplinary action
Despite informing the community that it would enforce disciplinary action toward students who knowingly defy COVID-19-related health and safety guidelines, MU has yet to keep their word. Recently, multiple cases were confirmed within MU fraternity and sorority houses in the days following in-person bid day
celebrations. In the last week, this topic has been heavily covered by local and university news: MU is very aware this is a problem. Even so, the university did not take action to shut down these functions and has yet to release a statement or hold any of these groups accountable for refusing to social distance. As something that many anticipated as a potential safety issue from early on, it’s difficult to believe that MU was not prepared to control the situation. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Bill Stackman posted on Twitter Aug. 12 that anyone who refuses to follow these guidelines “will be subject to disciplinary actions, up to and including suspension or expulsion.” Despite this, no serious action has been taken by our administration.When organizations as large as Greek Life are engaging in activity that has the potential to make this situation astronomically worse, it’s the job of MU administrators to step in. MU’s inability to live up to its own disciplinary policy gives smaller organizations and individuals the idea that they will face no repercussions for ignoring campus health guidelines.
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A community issue
MU’s response after allowing students back on campus has fostered an inexcusably unsafe environment, but this risk is not exclusively for the student body. It’s important to address that Columbia is not solely a college town. This city serves as a home to people outside of the university. MU’s lack of planning and disregard for its students will have an impact on the safety and well-being of the Columbia community as well. The Columbia Missourian posted an article Friday in which MU Chancellor Mun Choi justifies staying open longer than universities of similar population size by saying that having a higher hospital capacity will lessen student risk. What Choi fails to understand is that there shouldn’t be a need for these hospital beds. Had MU been more prepared to allow students back to campus or taken proper, thorough steps to slow the spread of the virus, this wouldn’t have become as serious of an issue. As part of its commitment to highlighting organizations fighting for racial justice, the Maneater is encouraging readers to donate to Race Matters, Friends. This Columbia-based racial equality organization works to start conversations regarding structural inequality in our community and around the world. Donate at: https:// racemattersfriends.com/ Edited by Caitlin Danborn cdanborn@themaneater.com
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Living their dream: Second Brown brother commits to Missouri Missouri’s 2021 recruiting class is beginning to come together, and for Kaleb Brown, it will be a family affair. KYLE PINNELL
Sports Reporter
Missouri running back Tyler Badie finishes a run during the Tigers' 2019 season opener against West Virginia. /PHOTO BY MADELINE CARTER
‘We’ve Got a Long Way to Go’: Installing New Scheme Comes with Hurdles for Missouri Offense
Drinkwitz has advertised versatility and “pro tempo” as features of his system. JACK SOBLE
Sports Editor
When Eli Drinkwitz was hired at Missouri, one of his main objectives in Year One was to implement a new system that would instill new life into the Tigers’ offensive identity. Through a week of fall camp, that system has generated excitement among returning players, but it’s still very much a work in progress. That can be reasonably expected given the lack of a spring season, but the clock is ticking toward a Sept. 26 date with Alabama. “We’ve got a long way to go,” Drinkwitz said. “The challenge has just been inconsistency. We’re inconsistent at a lot of execution plays, whether it’s quarterbacks, whether it’s protection, whether it’s routes.” While the former Appalachian State coach and North Carolina State offensive coordinator has spoken generally about what his scheme will entail, no one will know exactly what concepts he’ll feature during the regular season until the Tigers step onto Faurot Field. What he has described is what he values in an offense, like “pro-tempo,” which has been something of a buzzword from the Missouri coaching staff in press
conferences thus far. “It’s pro-style concepts, tempo-based, we’re gonna play with rhythm, attack, and execute,” Drinkwitz said. “Pro-style concepts, tempo-based means we’ll be able to play as fast as we want to and as slow as we need to in order to affect the defense.” Versatility is one of the keys to Drinkwitz’s offense as well, meaning he wants to move his skill position players around the field, as opposed to having a designated outside receiver, slot receiver, in-line tight end and backfield running back. He explained how this can benefit a team that cares about player matchups throughout the game. “If you’re set left-right or X and Z, then they can find you, put their best player on you and figure out how to bracket coverage you,” Drinkwitz said. In layman’s terms, Drinkwitz doesn’t want opponents to be able to key on a player who they know will be in the same spot at all times. This would make it easier for the defense to create the matchup that they want and even “bracket” their stars by putting one defender on either side. “If you’re always moving around and playing multiple positions, then they’re not going to be as easy to dictate a game plan around.” The first-year Power Five head coach listed receiver Jalen Knox and running back Tyler Badie as two
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Kaleb Brown officially committed to play basketball at the University of Missouri on Monday, but he made his mind up long before then. It was late at night in early August when Brown entered his parents’ room and told them MU was the school for him. Turning down offers from programs such as Minnesota, West Virginia and Mercer, the 17-year-old joined Anton Brookshire as the second commit in the Tigers’ 2021 class. After a long process, Brown stuck it out with what he said was the Power Five school that was there from day one. The 6’6 point guard out of Huntsville, Ala. cited head coach Cuonzo Martin, his familiarity with the program, the promise of playing time and his brother already being there as some of the primary factors in his decision. “It was a pretty obvious decision, but I still wanted to make sure that it was the right decision,” Brown said. Coming to a decision Brown left Lee High School on Monday to a phone blown up with congratulatory messages. While the sheer amount of texts and notifications rendered his phone useless, one message caught his eye. It came from MU junior guard Xavier Pinson, a player that he enjoys watching. It was something little, but it helped enforce the feeling that he made the correct choice. While the pros far outweighed the cons, the decision to come to Columbia wasn’t always
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Q&A: Cale Garrett sizes up Missouri’s defense The Tigers’ leader from last season spoke about Nick Bolton, Kobie Whiteside, and more in an interview with The Maneater. JACK SOBLE
Sports Editor
Inside linebacker Cale Garrett was the heart of Missouri’s defense in 2019 until his season ended after a win against Troy due to a torn pectoral muscle. Garrett, now a member of the Tennessee Titans after he signed as an undrafted free agent, spoke with The Maneater about playing with Nick Bolton, Kobie Whiteside and the rest of the Tigers’ returners on defense. This interview has been lightly edited for clarification purposes. The Maneater: Tell me about playing with Nick Bolton. From your perspective, what makes him good enough to be the star of this year’s defense and a projected first-round pick? Cale Garrett: His ability to diagnose a play and then always be in the right spot is something that’s super desirable at linebacker; just for him to be able to seemingly always know what to do. He’s super smart and also super instinctual, and I think that’s a great combination. He doesn’t shy away from contact, and he’s a real physical guy, too. So, he’s got everything that you’re looking for in a linebacker. On top of that, he’s just a great person. TM: What was the first thing that jumped out about him when he arrived as a freshman in 2018? CG: Just how much of the defense he seemed to already know and his ability to pick up on things quickly and ask good questions, maybe even some things that I hadn’t even thought to ask. He’s always eager to learn, and he understands that there’s a cerebral part of the game, and I can really appreciate that. TM: Did you see him step into more of a leadership role after you got injured? CG: Yeah, I think he’s kind of forced into that regardless of if I was there or not, just because of how talented of a player he is and how good he is. I mean, he’s kind of forced into that leadership position whether he likes it or not. I think he kind of naturally is someone who’s expected to produce, and he’s a guy that’s easy to follow as well. I’m sure as time’s gone on and whatnot, just kind of the natural maturation of things, he’s stepped up to be more of a vocal leader and whatnot. Obviously with me not being there, I can’t see it all the time, but it’s only right that he’s a leader on the Missouri Tigers this season. TM: Despite Coach [Barry] Odom’s release, most of the defensive coaching staff remains intact. What are your thoughts on the coaches, and why do you think they were retained? CG: They’re all sharp dudes and great men and people that, for me personally, I could go to them with any sort of question I had — football or life-related. Just their ability to get everybody in the right place and just not have a cookie-cutter defense necessarily. They were really good at adapting to what the situation was or who we were going up against as well. TM: With an all-SEC schedule and not really getting those — not necessarily easier games — but weaker opponents at the beginning of the year, do you think it’ll be helpful to have a returning staff in place when they get those Alabama and LSU teams right away? CG: It’s gonna be tough regardless, just because this year’s kind of been crazy. But I know Coach [Ryan] Walters, and he’s kind of the guy that I would love to play for, always. Throughout my whole four years there he was somebody, who no matter what, I was always willing to do what [coaches] asked of me because I knew that they were gonna do everything in their power to put us in the best position to win. TM: Who’s one guy on defense who you think will surprise people this year? CG: I’m not sure. I just hope everybody surprises with how well they play. I wish them all success. I haven’t been at this camp to be able to say anything, but I know we have a lot of guys coming back from the year before, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they were all prepared to play, because they have a bunch of experience under their belt.
Senior linebacker Cale Garrett celebrates in the end zone following his fumble-recovery touchdown against South Carolina /MADELINE CARTER
TM: Last year you played with two NFL talents at defensive tackle, one of whom (Jordan Elliot) was taken in the third round, and the other, Kobie Whiteside, figures to be a force this season. How did you benefit as an off-ball linebacker from those guys in the middle? CG: I mean, it makes it a lot easier when you’ve got two guys up front who are balling out and eating up blocks. It definitely makes my life a lot easier whenever offenses are having to worry about those two up front before they can even climb second level. That always helps. They were also just both good leaders too, to kind of distribute responsibility and everything. I know Jordan was great at being a vocal leader on our defense, as well as being an incredible playmaker and producing for us, too. And then Kobie: he’s always in the right spot and strong and one of the most genuine dudes. Kobie Whiteside’s always gonna be himself, and that’s something I can respect about him. I know there’s a lot of expectations for him to be great this year. I just hope he’s able to enjoy this season and it’s everything that he hopes it is.
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starters who can play in a lot of places. Badie, who led the team in receptions last season and shined with his speed and quickness all over the field, could be a Continued from page 9 focal point of Drinkwitz’s new scheme. Drinkwitz mentioned tight end Daniel Parker Jr. as a versatile player too. Tight ends tend to be fixtures of complex offenses given their size, speed, and ability to line up everywhere. Parker’s position coach, Casey Woods, said it can help the offense maintain “pro-tempo” as well. “You can present to a defense a formation that would primarily be run
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straightforward. When his brother, Kobe, committed to the Tigers in 2019, the signing was met with skepticism from fans and media alike. The initial pushback that his brother faced did enter his mind, but at the end of the day, Brown says that it’s just a part of basketball. “He started to really sit down, write things down and realize that the common-sense move for him would be to go to Missouri because he liked everything about it,” Greg Brown, Kaleb’s high school coach and father, said. “He didn’t have to guess if he was being lied to, he didn’t have to worry about seeing the campus because he’s already seen the campus. There were so many factors at play to make a decision that made sense.” Brown posted a video of his top six schools to Twitter on Aug. 18, but by then he knew that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would commit to MU. Martin and assistant coach Chris Hollender had been recruiting him for years, even after his brother initially committed to play at Texas A&M. Brown said he appreciated MU’s loyalty and that there was a comfort level that came from familiarity with the program and campus. Not wanting to sway him in any way, Kobe Brown tried to avoid talking to his brother when it came to his recruitment. However, there were times that he reached out to their parents and expressed his suspicions that Brown was leaning toward MU. Shortly before commiting, Kaleb finally broke the news to his brother. ”I told him after the top six video that I was going to Mizzou,” Brown said. “He was super excited, probably more excited than I was.” Working toward the moment Like many, Brown’s mind started to wander when he was kept off the court during the early
out of 10 personnel and you could do it with tight ends on the field, so it gives you some versatility to have a spread formation while those guys are in and then get to a condensed formation without substituting,” Woods said. Missouri’s offensive coaches have been on the same page, echoing a consistent message about what their system is all about. “What that does is that allows you to have tempo,” Woods continued. “You heard Coach [Drinkwitz] talk about the pro-tempo offense and what we’re trying to do: rhythm, attack, execute.” Edited by Eli Hoff ehoff@themaneater.com
stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. He talked about his future with trainer Kelly McCarty earlier this month, asking his mentor whether he believed that he truly was a Power Five point guard. “He is very hard on himself, and he started talking about the things that he was not,” McCarty said. “I said, ‘Kaleb, what you are is a 6’5 point guard, a mismatch nightmare. You think the game at a high level. You are one of the best passers that I have ever trained.’ I started laying out to him what he could bring to a Power Five program that would qualify him to be on that level and feel comfortable on that level.” Shortly after that conversation, McCarty noticed Brown was training with a different purpose. He would work out at his school in the mornings, pop into the training facility for a couple of hours in the afternoon to get shots up and pick McCarty’s brain and then return after dinner where he would continue to work on his game. "[McCarty] is always honest with me,” Brown said. “He’ll tell me if I was being lazy or had a terrible game, so I knew he’d be honest with me about what I can do and what I can’t. It was definitely a confidence boost because he knows my skill set pretty well.” As his high school coach and father, Greg Brown witnessed his sons develop, both on and off the court. While he couldn’t recall many on-court moments, Greg Brown said what he will remember is their leadership and how much they care for their teammates. “When they were being recruited hard, they would ask me –– each one of them –– ‘Dad, what can I do to help my teammates get recruited? Do I just get them the ball; what should I do, how should I do that?’” Greg Brown said. Over the past few months, both Kobe and Kaleb Brown have been training together multiple times a week. McCarty –– who trained Kobe since he was a sixth grader and Brown even longer –– said that after a season in Martin’s system with higher-level players, he noticed Kobe now both teaches and encourages his younger
brother. And, like any sibling relationship, there’s always natural competitiveness on the court. “After training sessions, there’s always, ‘Coach, who’s the better passer? Who can shoot better?’ Or Kobe’s saying, ‘The step-back is my move, you cannot make that shot,’” McCarty said. “They’re always, always competing and it’s fun to see.” Next stop: Columbia Brown stood at just 5 feet, 9 inches in his freshman year of high school. At just 17 years old, Kaleb will be a young senior, but like any teen, he began to grow during high school. He shot up to 6 feet, then 6-foot-3-inch and is now listed at 6 feet, 6 inches. Despite his rapid change in height, Brown is still at his best with the ball in his hands. Kelly called him a “student of the game,” and his father said that he likes to study players such as Steve Nash. Greg Brown describes his son as a playmaker with good handles who prefers to set teammates up. In 2019, Brown finished with six tripledoubles and almost contributed 18 assists in a single game. Due to Brown’s growth spurt, Kelly was able to drill him as an athletic point guards rather than just a pass-first guards. Now, instead of finishing below the rim, many drills end in dunks. The pair train footwork and body control in the post, and with his increased athleticism, Brown can use his length and closing speed to become an even greater hounding one-on-one defender. With his commitment out of the way, Kaleb now has his senior year at Lee High School to continue to work on his game and prepare his body for the steep jump from Alabama 6A basketball to Southeastern Conference competition. While he admits he still has plenty to improve on, for now, the Brown family are living their dream. In 2021, Missouri fans could very well see Kaleb and Kobe connect on a lob in transition. Just like old times. Edited by Jack Soble jsoble@themaneater.com
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WE. ARE. STILL. CONCERNED. THERE IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM THAT EXISTS WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI. FROM ITS VERY FOUNDING, A SCHOOL INTENDED TO SERVE AS A SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL COMPASS FOR ITS STUDENTS HAS ACTIVELY CHOSEN TO WHITEWASH THE OFFENSIVE AND RACIST HISTORY THAT IT WAS BUILT ON.
THE
MANEATER
EDITORIAL BOARD SUPPORTERS STUDENT #STILLCONCERNED’S LIST OF DEMANDS:
GROUP
• REMOVE THE THOMAS JEFFERSON STATUE FROM THE MU CAMPUS • REMOVE MUN CHOI FROM ALL LEADERSHIP POSITIONS WITHIN THE UM SYSTEM • UNDO CHANGES COMBINING UM SYSTEM PRESIDENT AND MU CHANCELLOR • REINSTATE KATHRYN CHVAL AS DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION • AWARD TENURE TO DR. ASHLEY WOODSON • CREATE A STUDENT- AND FACULTY-LED ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD • MEMORIALIZE DR. GUS T. RIDGEL ON THE MU CAMPUS
R E A D T H E M A N E AT E R ’ S R E A S O N S F O R S U P P O R T I N G T H E S E D E M A N D S O N PA G E 5