M The ManeaTer The student voice of MU since 1955 | www.themaneater.com | Vol. 87 Issue 5 | March 3, 2021
Students enjoy warm temperatures following severe winter weather
After a freezing February, MU students emerged from their homes to enjoy the warmer weather. Whether it was to study, skateboard, or just relax outside with friends, Tigers could be found on every corner of campus. The Maneater’s photographers captured the action at MU’s campus on Saturday, Feb. 27.
Lianna Johnson and Nate Forck have a snack while gathered with friends on the Columns.
| PHOTO BY BRAIDEN WADE From left, Manny Ochepa, Matty Huck and Nate Forck skate past the Reynolds Journalism Institute on the Quad.
| PHOTO BY BRAIDEN WADE An MU student lays in the grass of the Quad. |
PHOTO BY ANNA GRIFFIN
MU students study and play in the shadow of Jesse Hall. |
PHOTO BY ANNA GRIFFIN
Shane Hauska, left, and Brandon Jones, right, take a break from skateboarding at Lowry Mall.
| PHOTO BY ELLIE LIN
Gabe Jackson tosses a football to Ian Desmet on College Ave.
| PHOTO BY CHIRS YALUNG
An MU student sits against a tree for support while studying.
| PHOTO BY ANNA GRIFFIN
A dog chases after a frisbee on the Quad.
| PHOTO BY ANNA GRIFFIN
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the MAneAteR | COntents | M ARCh 3, 2021
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ONLINE THIS WEEK: MU introduces alternative after Harlan cling removal.
BY KATIE TARANTO
Grissum plans to graduate early this year and hopes Mizzou College Republicans will act as a watchdog for the new majority-Democrat government in the future. BY EMMA LINGO
New CAFNR lab honors Henry Kirklin, first Black MU instructor
PLANT LAB RYAN BARICH
University News Reporter
The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources has named their newly renovated plant studies lab after the first Black teacher at MU: Henry Kirklin. Chris Campbell, the director of the Boone County Historical Society, hosted the ceremony and gave a quick history lesson about Kirklin’s legacy in Columbia. Campbell talked about how Kirklin was born into slavery and worked in Joseph B Douglass’ greenhouse industry in Columbia once freed. It was only when he started working as a greenhouse supervisor at MU that the head of the horticulture department brought him in as an unofficial teacher. While Kirklin taught the art of gardening and agriculture to students and Black Missourians around the state, he never stepped into an MU building, as it was prohibited for Black people to teach inside college buildings. Now, a lab sits in the CAFNR building named after him. The ceremony was held in the new lab on Feb. 23, with Kirklin’s descendents in virtual attendance. Members of MU administration were also in attendance such as Vice Chancellor and CAFNR Dean Christopher R. Daubert and Mun Choi, president of the UM System and chancellor of MU. “Our hope is that through this special classroom, [Kirklin] will continue to See Plant Lab on 5
POLITICS
COVID
David Tyson Smith wins Sewage used to determine Democratic nomination for prevalence of COVID-19 HD 45 virus in Missouri EMMET JAMIESON Student Politics Assistant Editor
The Boone County Democratic Party nominated Columbia attorney David Tyson Smith on Jan. 20 to run in the April 6 special election for former state Rep. Kip Kendrick’s seat. Tyson, if elected, will represent House District 45, which includes downtown Columbia and most of the MU campus, in the Missouri House of Representatives. He would be the first Black man to represent
Columbia in the chamber, as well as the first to hold any seat in mid-Missouri. Rep. Kendrick retired from his seat last year to serve as chief of staff to newly elected state Sen. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City. Rep. Kendrick had just won re-election, so his stepping down triggered a special election to fill the seat for the remainder of his term. In such a situation, Missouri state law provides that the local parties select their candidate with a nominating committee
instead of holding a primary election. The committee members represent the various wards and townships of District 45. Th e co mmittee considered three men for the nomination: Smith; Caleb Hall, an attorney for the Missouri Office of the Public Counsel and Scott Cristal, the chair of the nominating committee. The three applicants gave stump speeches to make the case for their nomination in front of the nominating See Politics on 5
MAGGIE TROVATO Investigative Reporter
Researchers at MU are analyzing sewage samples across the state to detect remnants of the virus that causes COVID-19. The findings from this research are used for the state’s Public Health Dashboard, https:// showmestrong.mo.gov/ data/public-health/, to measure the prevalence of the COVID-19 virus in areas of Missouri. Dr. Marc Johnson, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology, and
Dr. Chung-Ho Lin, a research associate professor at the MU Center for Agroforestry, are leading this project. “The wastewater never lies,” Lin said. “It will generate a lot of information to help us understand the well-being of the society, the behavior and socioeconomic status. You would be surprised.” Lin said they have found a higher concentration of antidepressant drugs in Columbia during the pandemic. He attributes this to the uncertainty of the pandemic and a
possible increase in financial or mental stress. HOW IT WORKS The Missouri Department of Natural Resources collaborates with the state agencies and approximately 63 communities to make sure that the samples are collected and shipped. Johnson’s lab extracts RNA from the samples. Lin then processes the RNA using a technique called RT-qPCR to quantify the copy numbers of the virus See COVID on 4
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THE MANEATER | NEWS | M ARc H 3, 2021
The MU project surveils wastewater for COVID-19 virus remnants but is unable to pinpoint the virus’ presence on campus. From COVID on 3 that causes COVID-19, SARSCoV-2, in the wastewater. The Department of Health & Senior Services takes the data from there. “They do some further analysis on it, and they immediately communicate it to the county health departments as well as the facilities where samples were taken from,” Johnson said. “Within about a week, it goes on to this public dashboard.” This form of testing is accurate for determining whether COVID-19 virus remnants are present in wastewater. However, it gets trickier when it comes to determining the quantity that is present. Johnson said factors like rain and detergent can affect those numbers. “If there’s twice as much water flowing into the sewage that day, then the concentration of viral RNA is going to be half as much,” Johnson said. The testing surveys areas rather than pinpointing the presence of the COVID-19 virus in individual households. “We haven’t ever gotten to that point where we had to worry about privacy,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t tell you who was infected if I wanted to.” While Johnson and Lin are only measuring the prevalence
of the COVID-19 virus in areas of Missouri right now, they plan to start surveiling the wastewater for new variants. “As far as the [detection] of the variants, [that testing] should be pretty accurate once we get it up and running,” Johnson said. “We’ll actually sequence it. So, we’ll be reading the sequence as it comes off.” WASTEWATER TESTING ON CAMPUS While the wastewater testing takes samples from Columbia’s sewers, MU’s wastewater is not currently being tested exclusively . “We did it for a few months in the fall, but then we had to redirect our efforts,” Johnson said. “It was too much work for too little payoff.” The termination of exclusive testing of campus wastewater is due to MU’s complex sewage system. Johnson said many of the dorms on campus have sewage flowing in three different directions, making it difficult to pinpoint the presence of the COVID-19 virus at individual dorms. “We were sampling at four different sites that were clusters of dorms,” Johnson said. “We would see these giant shifts from day to day. But when students find out they’re sick, what do they do? They either find a way
to isolate, or most of them go home. That signal just disappears, and it’s hard to really nail that down.” Another issue that Johnson and Lin faced while testing MU’s wastewater was University Hospital, whose sewage flows into MU’s sewage system. “If I wanted to capture all of the university, I would have to capture about eight different spots,” Johnson said. “Then it would be mixed with the hospital, and the hospital has patients from everywhere, so it’d be really hard to sort out.” Johnson and Lin shared the information from the original sewage testing on campus with MU. However, Johnson said it just confirmed what they already knew. “We’re always reviewing and examining various tools for the vast amount of services we provide,” MU spokesperson Christian Basi said. “When we examine one and realize that it won’t work for our specific situation, we move on and look at other potential tools.” THE SCIENTISTS BEHIND THE DATA Johnson and Lin didn’t meet in person until after they had been working together for three months. Now, Johnson refers to Lin as his “partner in crime.” “I [didn’t] meet Marc
Johnson in person until probably July,” Lin said. “But we were able to be creative enough to get the whole project off the ground even before we had a chance to see each other.” That creativity sets in at opposite ends of the day for this pair. While Johnson prefers to work early in the day, Lin said he feels more productive in the evening. “Sometimes [Johnson] would wake up at three or four o’clock, and he would send me an email,” Lin said. “That was about the time I was ready to go to bed. It is a perfect match because, for this project, we do need to have a schedule where we work around the clock.” BEYOND THE PANDEMIC Johnson doesn’t see the need for this testing going away after the pandemic is over. He thinks that health departments will want to apply it to other viruses. “I have kids, and it always drives me nuts when they get sick, and we take them to the clinic, and they say [the kids] got a virus,” Johnson said. “I’m a virologist, dammit! There are, like, 40 viruses that can cause this disease. Can you be more specific?” With the technology from Johnson and Lin’s testing,
it would be possible to determine the types of viruses circulating in a community. “It may or may not make any difference on how you treat them,” Johnson said. “But between knowing and not knowing, I prefer to know.” For now, Johnson and Lin are focused on the COVID19 virus. They just received a grant to expand their research from the National Institutes of Health. They hope to learn more about the distribution of RNA over the course of infection. “Eventually, what we would like to be able to do is take a sample and say, ‘Okay, you probably have about 20 new patients,’” Johnson said. “We’re not there yet, but we’re getting closer.” Lin sees this project as proof of the importance of science and higher education. He thinks that groups should invest more in the university. “A lot of projects will take years before [their] discoveries can benefit the community,” Lin said. “But for this project, we know the community can immediately benefit from our discovery… They don’t realize how much we can do to help the society. This is a perfect example.” Edited by Eli Hoff ehoff@themaneater.com
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THE MANEATER | NEWS | M ARcH 3, 2021
The Columbia attorney would be the first Black man to represent the city in the state House if elected in the April 6 special election.
DAVID TYSON SMITH’S PLATFORM Source: www.davidtysonsmith.com
OTHER POSITIONS
EDUCATION • Supports public education and local control of public schools
/ GRAPHIC BY HEERAL PATEL
Criminal Justice and Community policing • Focus on having law enforcement officers use a “preventive vs. unity approach” • Believes bodycams should be required • Opposes the death penalty
JOBS • Supports workforce development and labor unions HOUSING • Supports using low-income housing tax credits practically • Supports creating incentives for developing affordable housing
Human Rights • Supports LGBTQ+ rights • “Fully” supports gender equality and women’s right to choice. • Believes the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act must include sexual orientation and gender identity
PRISON REFORM • Opposes private prisons • Opposes laws designed for mass incarceration • Supports increasing wages, training and background checks for prison guards COVID-19 RELIEF • Believes the pandemic currently precedesother problems • Supports widespread mandates for prevention measures based in science rather than politics
Education • Believes in the separation of church and state • Sees early childhood education access as a “fundamental right of every Missouri child” • Opposes using public funds to pay for charter schools Environment • Climate action is necessary in “nearly every sector of our economy” while taking into account public health, safety and quality of life Public Health • Supports Medicaid expansion Firearms • Supports the Second Amendment and gun safety measures Economy • Supports an online sales tax so local businesses are competitive with online counterparts Government - Supports local control of public schools, environmental restrictions, country ordinances and health, with the exception of state emergency measures - Believes the state government should be honesty and transparent - Supports the use of initiative petitions as a way for citizens to voice concerns
From Politics on 3 committee, which then voted to nominate Smith. Smith is a Columbia native, and he has no formal political experience besides serving as class president while he was at Tulane Law School. He currently litigates personal injury and criminal defense cases as a partner of local law firm Smith & Parnell. In 2009, he helped to organize a Citizens Police Review Board to provide oversight of the Columbia Police Department. He said he decided to run so he could use his experience in community advocacy and law to serve Columbia in Jefferson City. “I enjoy serving people,” Smith said. “As an attorney, I’ve been serving people in the city for almost 20 years, so it’s another opportunity to continue serving in other ways.” Smith said some of his top priorities are handling COVID-19, supporting public schools and helping to implement Medicaid expansion. To handle COVID-19, Smith said he wants to preserve local control over Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services, as he feels a local approach to distributing vaccines will help Boone County vaccinate more
people. He said he wants to protect public schools from legislators who favor directing funding to private and charter schools, and he said he wants to work on Medicaid expansion to uphold the will of voters who approved it in 2018. José Caldera, the committeeman for Ward 4, said he voted for Smith’s nomination because Smith has a well-established reputation, deep ties to Columbia and a talent for public speaking. He said Smith was “allaround” the best candidate with the greatest potential. Chimene Schwach, the committeewoman for Ward 4, said that policy-wise, she liked Smith because she believes he will fight to protect abortion rights, promote the LGBT community, advocate for small business owners and try to build bridges in the state House. Schwach said she would have been happy to have any of the three candidates take the nomination, but she said that faced with three good candidates, she felt she should use her vote to promote anti-racism by nominating Smith, the only Black candidate. Schwach is a Black woman, and she said she felt having a person of color representing Columbia in the state House is important.
“It’s high time we had a legislative representative from mid-Missouri who is not white, right?” Schwach said. “People of color need a seat at the table, and sometimes we’ve got to bring our own chair to the table.” Smith said he does not take the historic nature of his candidacy lightly. He said he believes it will inspire people in Columbia, especially young people of color who do not often see themselves represented in politics. He said he has received messages of support from members of the community, messages which keep him going when things get difficult. Smith said that if he is elected, one difficulty he foresees is handling the Republican supermajority in the state House. Republicans currently hold 114 seats, and if Smith is elected, Democrats will hold 49. Smith said he plans to deal with this by working with Republicans and getting Republican co-sponsors on Democratic bills. Smith said he is a progressive, but he said he believes Republicans will still be willing to work with him if he is sensible and respectful. He said building relationships with members of the other party is always important, regardless of whether your party is in the minority. Lyra Noce, the chair of the Boone
County Democratic Party, said Rep. Kendrick was able to effectively work with Republicans when he represented District 45. She said she believes Smith would be able to work with Republicans on big-picture items that would benefit Columbia and Boone County, as Boone County is the economic hub of largely Republican mid-Missouri. Rep. Kendrick only ran with opposition in one of his four races. In the special election, Smith will run against Libertarian Glenn Nielsen. District 45 has been held by a Democrat for at least the last eight years, but Noce said the party “will never discount the fact that” Smith now has opposition and plans to run a good campaign. Smith said that if he wins his election, he will maintain his goal of service that he has for himself as an attorney. He said people in any career should use their position to serve others, and politicians are no different. “My goal is to try to get up every day and work to serve people even when it’s difficult,” Smith said. “I think history will determine what our legacy is in the end.” Edited by Joy Mazur jmazur@themaneater.com
Henry Kirklin, a former slave, taught plant studies to multiple generations of students of all races during Jim Crow-era America. From Plant Lab on 3 inspire students for decades to come,” Daubert said. Daubert said the new lab’s designed is to provide a handson, experience-oriented learning environment to promote group work and problem-solving. The lab was also designed to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic by adding technology that makes virtual field trips possible.
“The overall design and technology of the new learning lab will allow our college to better prepare our students for the plant science workforce,” Daubert said. During the ceremony, Daubert also shared that the CAFNR and the Boone County Historical Society donated money to create the Henry Kirklin Memorial Scholarship for underrepresented
minority students. CAFNR senior Maya Puller was the only student speaker at the ceremony. She shared what it meant to her — a Black, biracial student who has met very few Black students in plant sciences — that this lab was named after the first Black teacher at MU. “[Kirklin] paved the way for people who look like me,” Puller said. “It is because
of men and women like Mr. Kirklin — fighting for the rights to an education that was on par with that of their white counterparts — that is why I am able to walk the graduation stage.” The ceremony for the Henry Kirklin Plant Sciences Learning Laboratory ended with Campbell unveiling two plaques: one with a picture of Kirklin and the other with
a message to students about Kirklin’s accomplishments and legacy. “I feel certain that he would be incredibly pleased by this lab and excited for the future students who will make a future for themselves by what they learn in this lab,” Campbell said. Edited by Sophie Chappell schappell@themaneater.com
ONLINE THIS WEEK: The final movie in the ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’ trilogy ends the series with a nice, yet lacking touch.
BY RYAN WILSON MU students and professors discuss the impact of live music and their hopes for concert-goers in the future.
BY MIA RUGAI
SOCIAL MEDIA
Caroline Elik connects students through compliments, confessions on Instagram BY LAUREN BLUE MOVE Culture Reporter
Caroline Elik gives the MU community a second chance at first impressions through the Instagram account @mizmissedconnections. The account offers a place for MU students to submit an anonymous Google Form telling their stories of things they wished they had said to someone. She started the account after seeing another missed connections Instagram profile for a different university and loving the positive messages. She made the account anonymously, and as it started growing, she revealed her identity to her followers. The account now has over 2,000 followers. The anonymous nature of the account gives people a safe space to confess their true feelings. Some of the submissions offer sweet sentiments, like “,I hope Carley Siler had a good day today.” Others feature people professing their deep feelings of love that they were too nervous to say in person, like “,I’ve
been in love with my best friend for two years.” The account serves a simple purpose — to make someone’s day a little bit better. “The goal is to just have it be something that is fun and a source of happiness, something to brighten someone’s day when they look at it,” Elik said. “That’s really the only goal that there is.” So far Elik has received rave reviews for the wholesome account from her followers. “I think it’s such an adorable account, and I love seeing people use social media platforms to spread positivity,” junior Lauren Greiner said. “I had two separate submissions call me out by name.” Elik attributes the account’s popularity to the pandemic creating a less — than — ideal environment for students. She thinks it has been harder to meet new people, and many are looking to make new connections, especially ones they might have missed. “It was such a nice surprise that made me smile and wonder,”
PHOTO COURTESY OF @MIZMISSEDCONNECTIONS senior Piper Stow, who had a submission written about her, said. “No matter if you hear it through an account like this, in person or don’t hear it at all, there’s always someone out there appreciating your vibes for what they’re worth.” After the tumultuous year of 2020, Elik believes there is a greater appreciation for the platform she
has created to highlight these messages. “People seem to really like it more than I ever thought they would,” Elik said. “I didn’t expect it to get so much love and so many followers.” The account not only offers encouraging notes for others but has also become a source of joy for Elik herself. “My favorite part about running the account has definitely
been going through all the submissions in the Google Form that I use,” Elik said. “I love scrolling through them when I wake up in the morning and seeing what people have sent in a day.” While most of the submissions are thoughtful and appropriate, with college students, there are bound to be some weird ones. Elik receives some questionable
submissions that she finds funny, but she knows she can’t post. Despite the occasional odd submission, Elik loves running @ mizmissedconnections and looks forward to growing it in the future. “Really, the only hope that I have is that people continue to enjoy it,” Elik said. Edited by Angelina Edwards aedwards@themaneater.com
FILM
MU junior Sofia Voss releases LGBTQ+ short film ‘I Think Of You Often’ BY CHARLIE RECCHIA MOVE Culture Reporter
Filmmaking and pandemics are not a good match. With the current crisis, completing a film seems to be nearly impossible without some sort of problem. However, MU junior and filmmaker Sofia Voss managed to create and release her new LGBTQ+ short film “I Think Of You Often.” “I Think Of You Often,” according to its description on YouTube, is a “queer (LGBTQIA+) short film following the return of Aiden to her hometown friend group and her teenage crush,
Nora.” The film portrays the normalcy and beauty of LGBTQ+ relationships within a sweeping green and blue visual atmosphere. Voss, the writer and director of the film, got her start with her first short film at the age of 16. Her love for filmmaking and movies in general is rooted within her own family. “I grew up in a family that’s very big on movies,” Voss said. “My dad really likes foreign films, and my mom is really big into horror films. Obviously, it was a big influence on me growing up.” Every artist is influenced by
something, and Voss cherishes her family as one of her biggest influences. This is when “I Think Of You Often” comes into the picture. With her skills increasing over time, Voss’s new film showcases her developing artistic process. “I’m a very visual thinker, and I always have been. When I’m coming up with ideas for a film, I’ll take images and scenes I see in my head and create a context for them,” Voss said. “A lot of times I’ll base it on something from my own life… and then it turns into its own story.”
Casting decisions can make or break a film’s quality. Many professional filmmakers go through rigorous audition processes to see who will fit best in each role. For Voss, however, her casting process was fluid and personal. “[The cast] is a ragtag group of indie kids from Columbia and the local art scene. I knew a lot of them before, but I didn’t know if any of them were actors,” Voss said. “The actress who plays Aiden, I’ve known her my whole time I’ve been here at Mizzou.” Annalise Gogarty, an MU
junior and the actress who plays Aiden, said her relationship with Voss blossomed freshman year. “We had a class together freshman year, and so we were in the same discussion group. I’m pretty sure she had colored hair, so I was like ‘she seems cool’ so I went and sat next to her,” Gogarty said. Although Voss and Gogarty have been friends since their college careers started, Gogarty was not the first pick to play the lead role in “I Think Of You Often.” The See Voss on 8
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THE MANEATER | MOVE | M ARcH 3, 2021 LOCAL MUSIC
REVIEW
Sia’s film ‘Music’ disapointed critics, autism community alike
The movie fumbles every chance it gets to portray autism and shouldn’t be watched at all. BY ANNA KOCHMAN Columnist
Ruby Lane debuts its new album at EastSide Tavern in Columbia, MO on Feb. 19, 2021. | PHOTO BY AVA HORTON
COVID-19 vs. The Arts : An unprecedented battle
Local Columbia band Ruby Lane has finally released its debut album despite the hardships of the pandemic. GABRIEL LEVI Columnist
For many Americans, March 2020 was the month the world stopped. On March 13, Governor Mike Parson declared a state of emergency in Missouri due to the COVID-19 virus. Everything changed, and things haven’t been the same since. Closures began to happen quickly. A popular local bar and concert venue, Eastside Tavern, closed its doors temporarily. On Feb. 19, Ruby Lane was the first band to host a live show at the venue in six months. The Columbia band said that working together during the pandemic was extremely difficult. “If somebody got exposed and was quarantined for two weeks, we couldn’t really do anything,” Dylan Riggs, the band’s bassist, said. Despite the challenges of writing and recording during a pandemic, Ruby Lane was able to take inspiration from their hardships and use it to create their debut album “Trains, Spaceships and Automobiles.” “This is a relatable album,” pianist Luke Anderson said. “It talks about something that everyone went through in some way, and it’s really, really cool.” The nine-song album clocks in at 48 minutes, making it their longest project that they have released thus far. The album includes a song entitled “Corona” that Anderson said is heavily inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic. The band members said the new album differs from their other work because it is a more polished and cohesive project. “The past EP was definitely just a collection of music, but this album is structured, the songs are in order, it sounds cool and all of the songs relate to the theme of the album,” lead singer Adam
Wilson said. After a lackluster response from Riggs described their previous the crowd, Wilson asked again music as more experimental, and to make sure the audience was he believes their sound became prepared for what was to come. better as they progressed. With After an adequate amount of this album, he said they are yells from the crowd, the band “continuing the upward trend and began their set. They played a making better music.” few of their older songs along To celebrate the release of their with tracks from their brand new debut record, the band hosted an album. During the breaks between album release party at Eastside the songs, the band promoted Tavern that included a live show, their album, which they released lots of drinking, laughing and on Spotify that evening. lively music. By the end of their set, a line After about an hour-long sound out the door had formed. check, the clock struck 7 p.m., Though Eastside Tavern limited and the doors were flooded with attendance of the show, Ruby Lane college students and Columbia achieved what most artists can locals alike trying to see the band. only dream of: a full house. In an instant, Eastside Tavern Despite challenges presented by went from an empty bar to a full- the pandemic, the band has been on concert venue. able to create, perform their music Longtime fan and supporter of and share their art with a wider the band Angie Busby attended the platform. When giving advice to event and said that she has “seen other artists who may have similar the development and evolution of struggles, Wilson said to “just do their sound.” it.” Busby used to work with the While many musicians deal band before it was known as with the dilemma of perfection, “Ruby Lane,” playing Anderson said this music for them and Listen to Ruby Lane should not hinder an even doing their social artists’ drive to create. on Spotify media. Now, she dates “Stop trying to make Forrest Wilson, another everything perfect,” guitarist in the band, Anderson said. “Your and admires their first song and your next current music. 1,000 songs are never “I really like how they going to be perfect, so aren’t afraid to deviate stop trying to make from the standards of them be.” music,” Busby said. Anderson said to stop “Nowadays you hear rushing perfection a lot of pop, you hear because intuition will a lot of rap, and all tell the artist when their that’s cool, but they work is complete. really bring back the roots of rock “If you were painting a picture, music.” when are you finally going to go, After another hour of drinks ‘Okay, it’s done?’” Anderson said. clinking and laughter from both To check out Ruby Lane and fans and the band alike, Ruby Lane their music, search their name on took to the stage to begin their set. Spotify. They are on Instagram as Wilson, the lead singer, started @Rubylane573 and their Facebook off with a familiar crowd-pleaser is “Ruby Lane Band.” Edited by Angelina Edwards as he energetically asked if they aedwards@themaneater.com were ready for the band to begin.
It’s unsettling to watch Maddie Ziegler, a neurotypical, non-disabled performer, contort her face and limbs in a mockery of a disability. But that’s the opening scene of the controversial new film “Music,” directed by singersongwriter Sia. Ziegler’s titular character Music has autism and is nonverbal, which isn’t received well by her newly-sober sister Zu, who must care for Music after their grandmother dies. The movie chronicles Zu’s emotional and mental progress through recovery, using Music as a crutch to advance the plot. The film is characterized by a simple binary: when Music is happy, she is ethereal, walking down her street and beaming sunshine and joy into the lives of her neighbors and friends. And when Music is upset, she’s a terror, puppeteered by Sia and dramatized by Ziegler, who wreaks havoc on Zu’s life and the lives of every innocent bystander in her wake. This is, of course, difficult to watch. For viewers who have never met or interacted with an autistic person, it begs the question: Is this onedimensional portrayal of autism accurate? For Hattie Bartlett, an autistic MU sophomore, it’s an egregious misrepresentation of the autism community. “While it’s harder to control our emotions… it’s not that we’re like some Jekyll and Hyde kind of creature where it’s just a sudden transformation,” Bartlett said. “There are reasons why we have meltdownsI definitely think she was made into a caricature.” Some of the problematic aspects of the film might have been solved had Sia cast an autistic person in the role of Music. Ziegler, who was just 14 when “Music” was filmed, isn’t at fault, though she ineptly mimics the gestures and sounds that a nonverbal autistic person might use to communicate. No, the blame is on Sia, who issued a lackluster Twitter apology to the autism community for the inaccurate casting and later deactivated her Twitter account. Bartlett believes it’s a moot point. “I don’t think [Sia] would’ve ever considered casting an autistic actor,” she said. Beyond the film’s problematic treatment of autism is the fact that it just… isn’t a good movie. Sia desperately wants “Music” to be something of an art film. She injects dance cutscenes with garish costumes and settings throughout. Apparently, this was intended to represent the way Music perceives the world, but it comes off as a strange attempt to revitalize an otherwise dull movie. Moreover, the scenes contain intense visuals and lighting that could potentially be triggering to the very community the movie intends to represent. Zu is unlikable as a character, treating Music with utter disrespect and acting out as if she’s a child. Her lack of See Sia on 9
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THE MANEATER | MOVE | M ARc H 3, 2021
“I Think Of You Often” seeks to share the beauty of LGBTQ+ relationships. From Voss on 6
original pick to play Aiden had an apparent COVID-19 scare and had to step down, Gogarty said, leading her to play the character. Gogarty emphasized the importance of LGBTQ+
representation within the film industry and stressed that normalizing these stories could lead to a more comfortable world. Juno Dokken, who plays the love interest Nora, said that LGBTQ+ representation in films is often over-sexualized, unrealistic and doesn’t portray
the real struggles these individuals actually face. “I think it’s just all a very romanticized type of culture when it’s really extremely difficult,” Dokken said. “People kill themselves every day for being gay because it is so hard to come out. You
don’t know what everybody’s reaction is going to be.” Aiden and Nora’s relationship within the film is realistic and de-sexualized, providing an accurate window into relationships within the LGBTQ+ community. “I Think Of You Often” seeks
to bring more accurate queer representation to the silver screen. The film is currently on YouTube for no charge on Voss’s channel @sofia voss. Edited by Angelina Edwards aedwards@themaneater.com
Music is an egregious misreprentation of the autisim community From Sia on 7
empathy is astounding. It doesn’t seem that Zu really grows throughout the movie, either — instead, she struggles until the very end. Other critiques of the film include its portrayal of physical restraint on Music, as well as a scene in which Music appears to wear cornrows and Blackface. “The movie is not only harmful for autistic people, but it’s also directly harmful for Black people,” Bartlett said. “Music” is already
facing the criticism it deserves — it was awarded multiple Golden Globes nominations, which were followed by public outrage and incredibly poor critical reception. Online discourse has caused the film to fade from the limelight, even in the first week after its US release. Bartlett feels that Sia’s poor handling of what could have been an informative and emotional film merits this backlash. “She deserves what’s coming to her.” Edited by Chloe Konrad ckonrad@themaneater.com
The Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment Disorders | PHOTO BY LILY DOZIER
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THE MANEATER | PHOTOS | M ARcH 3, 2021
Concrete Canoe Team prepare for a competition
Each year MU’s Concrete Canoe Team competes in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Concrete Canoe Competition each year. For this competition, the team builds a canoe out of concrete. This year the competition will consist of virtual presentations and papers without the usual canoe race. Despite the change, the team has continued to build the canoe and prepare for the competition. | PHOTOS BY MICHELLE GUTTIEREZ Typing on a calculator, senior David Treece calculates information for the stand on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021 at Lafferre Hall in Columbia, Mo. Treece said they still have a lot to do this semester. “We have to finish making the form, we have to perfect our concrete recipe, we have to pour the canoe, we have to finish building the stands, we have to do some sanding on the canoe and I think we’re going to turn in a report pretty soon,” Treece said. Cutting a piece of metal, senior Sean Hertogs helps prepare the needed pieces for the canoe’s display stand on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021 at Lafferre Hall in Columbia, Mo. Hertogs said his favorite part of the Concrete Canoe Team is the hands-on learning experience and the teamwork it takes. The team consists of about 20 active members this year. Writing dimensions on the white board, senior David Treece and junior Corey Valleroy discuss the dimensions of the canoe stand on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021 at Lafferre Hall in Columbia, Mo. Valleroy joined the team based off the suggestion of his brother who had been on the team previously. “It’s related to my major so I get more experience and I get to connect with people in my major area and learn more about how to be an engineer and what we want to do,” Valleroy said. “We’re both getting the job experience and that social aspect in a year that’s so tough to see people.”
Freshly cut pieces of metal for the canoe stand and a ruler lie on top of a plastic horse on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021 at Lafferre Hall in Columbia, Mo. President of the Concrete Canoe Team and sophomore, Blake Peters said his favorite part about being on the team was seeing the whole process of the project. “To see the project from beginning to end and see what we design at the beginning of the year kind of come to life and ultimately tested and make improvements and work on it in the next race in the next year. It’s pretty fulfilling just to kind of see that progress,” Peters said.
Go behind the scenes at MUTV
MUTV is Mizzou’s student-run TV station. It is available on YouTube and through Residential Life. MUTV is open to all majors and provides students with real-life journalism experience. Along with original programming, the station has its own movie and TV streaming service, available at mutvstream.missouri.edu. | PHOTOS BY BRAIDEN WADE Anna Buturla demonstrates the editing behind the videos in MUTV23 on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in the Student Center.
Cara Wagner and Rachel Henderson talk while new MUTV member Tierra Allen is trains on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in the Student Center An MUTV audio mixer sits on a sound table on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in the Student Center. MUTV uses a multitude of broadcasting equipment to produce their shows.
Rachel Hdnerson sprays disinfectant on equipment on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in the Student Center. “I disinfect everything,” Henderson exclaimed as she sprayed Lysol for the fourth time.
Maneater
OpiniOns
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Opinions expressed by The Maneater columnists do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Maneater Editorial Board. Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Maneater Editorial Board. KEARA’S COMMENTARY
COLUMN: Does Thomas Jefferson’s supposed history with the university outweigh his past? BY KEARA SHANNON Columnist
MU’s Task Force for Contextualization of the Thomas Jefferson Statue sent a report to UM System President and Chancellor Mun Choi on Jan. 15. This report recommends that a sign be placed next to the statue detailing Jefferson’s past. However, its contents make his actions seem dismissable when in reality, Thomas Jefferson is not someone to be revered. CONTRIBUTIONS? WHAT CONTRIBUTIONS? The proposed sign begins with Jefferson’s ties to the university | ties that are barely existent in the first place. “The Trustees of the University of Missouri’s Jefferson Club presented the campus with George Lundeen’s sculpture of Thomas Jefferson and the garden surrounding it to commemorate Jefferson’s belief in the importance of public education, political democracy, and intellectual discovery, which led to the creation of the first public university in the Louisiana Purchase territory--the University of Missouri--on land ceded by the Indigenous inhabitants in the Treaty of Fort Clark of 1808, the Osage Treaty of 1825, and the Treaty of August 4, 1824.” With how hard MU is fighting for this statue, one would believe that Jefferson himself founded the university. What Jefferson really did was purchase territory from France - which happened to include Missouri - and the university was later founded by James S. Rollins. Rollins owned 34 slaves, making him one of Boone County’s largest slave owners. Rollins is shunned by his great-grandson who started the James S. Rollins Slavery Atonement Endowment to fund research in MU’s Black Studies Department. According to an article written by Richard Webner of the Columbia Missourian, “He had to argue with the MU News Bureau to keep the reference to slavery in the endowment’s name because employees were worried it would draw bad press.” It seems that trying to hide the institution’s racist founding isn’t foreign to MU. Instead of highlighting people like
Jefferson or Rollins, why can’t MU give attention to figures like Lloyd Gaines or Lucille Bluford? These individuals were denied admission into MU because they were Black. Now their names are on buildings around campus, but no one knows why. They deserve a plaque or statue detailing their contributions to the university because they certainly contributed more than Jefferson did. What about the Osage tribe that gave up their land with which the university stands? They contributed more to the university than Jefferson did as well, but no one knows about it. If it weren’t for them leaving Missouri, would MU even exist? JEFFERSON’S VIEWS ON RACE The next part of the text reads as follows: “Lundeen depicts Jefferson drafting the Declaration of Independence, stressing his authorship of the radical notion that ‘all men are created equal.’ Jefferson recognized that the United States failed to live up to this principle, asking a decade later: ‘Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? . . . . Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: t h a t h i s
justice cannot sleep forever.’” This part makes it sound like the task force is trying to disprove claims that Jefferson was indeed a racist, but history proves that this reigns true. Monticello, his own estate, says: “Thomas Jefferson wrote that ‘all men are created equal,’ and yet enslaved more than six-hundred people over the course of his life. Although he made some legislative attempts against slavery and at times bemoaned its existence, he also profited directly from the institution of slavery and wrote that he suspected black people to be inferior to white people in his Notes on the State of Virginia.” These notes are riddled with disgustingly racist rhetoric such as saying that white people are more beautiful than Black people. “Are not the fine mixtures of red and white, the expressions of every passion by greater or less suffusions of colour in the one, preferable to that eternal monotony, which reigns in the countenances, that immoveable veil of black which covers all the emotions of the other race?” Jefferson wrote. He then says that Black people are less intelligent with reasoning and in imagination are “dull, tasteless, and anomalous.” After writing the Declaration of Independence and declaring that all men are created equal, Jefferson did not free his slaves. In fact, he continued buying them. He only freed five of them after his death — all relatives of Sally Hemings, who was still kept as a slave. He supported the See Jefferson on 12
GRAPHIC BY JACOB LAGESSE
NOAH NOTICES
COLUMN: “This is genocide.” Inmates at St. Louis jail revolt over barbaric conditions and inhumane treatment BY NOAH WRIGHT Columnist
On Feb. 6, 117 inmates at the City Justice Center in downtown St. Louis revolted, escaping from their cells to occupy a section of the jail. The inmates broke windows and started small fires within the facility, garnering national attention and condemnation from some. This is the third uprising in the facility since the beginning of December. Some 65 of the inmates who participated in the protest were removed and taken to the Medium Security Institution, infamously known as the Workhouse. This facility has been the subject of numerous lawsuits and protests over its lack of air conditioning, inhumane conditions and use as a facility for pretrial detainees unable to pay bail. The St. Louis Board of Aldermen voted unanimously in July to close the Workhouse after years of pressure from community activists. Dec. 31 was the deadline for its closure, and now more than a month after this deadline it is being used to house even more detainees. As of Feb. 13, there are 888 people currently detained at both the City Justice Center and the Workhouse. These facilities house pretrial arrestees, meaning that many of these inmates have not yet received their constitutionally protected right to a speedy and fair trial. Instead, they are being subjugated to gulag-like conditions due to their inability to pay cash bail. Inmates said, one individual at the CJC has been awaiting trial for more than five years. Conspicuously absent from mainstream media coverage is the statement issued by the incarcerated individuals, which details the horrific conditions these individuals were revolting against. This statement can be found online and deserves to be read in its entirety. It also details how previous attempts See Protest on 12
THE MANEATER | OPINIONS | M ARcH 3, 2021
11
THE LIN LETTERS
COLUMN: The origin of Asian American activism does not allow for an increase in policing
Asian American activists have a duty to Black activists to not call for further policing. BY ELLIE LIN Columnist
For Lunar New Year, I had my dumplings delivered. Going out to celebrate is antiquated, and in theory, good luck will follow the dumplings no matter where you eat them. This is the first year I can’t celebrate Lunar New Year with my grandparents, adding tradition to the long list of things ravaged by COVID-19. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I’ve seen my grandparents once a farewell before I left for college. As the months and distance have increased, I’ve grown more concerned for my grandparent’s safety. Elderly Asian Americans are facing two dangers in this pandemic: COVID-19 and hate crimes. A study done by the Asian American Bar Association of New York reported more than 2,500 anti-Asian hate crimes relating to COVID19 between March and September of last year. Hate crimes saw the most rise in places with high concentrations of Asian Americans, such as New York and San Francisco. Anti-Asian hate crimes rose following the events of 9/11. Those crimes affected predominantly South Asian and Middle Eastern communities. The most recent surge in hate crimes affects predominantly Eastern Asians and is a consequence of former President Donald Trump’s sinophobic rhetoric. Trump was criticized for calling COVID-19 “the China Virus,” and “the Kung Flu.” AntiAsian sentiments were echoed by conservatives across the country, including by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt who sued China last April over their response to COVID-19. The increased violence caught celebrity attention when Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu offered a reward of $25,000 for information leading to the arrest of a man seen pushing over an elderly Asian man. “Remember Vincent Chin,” Wu said, a
GRAPHIC BY AVA HORTON reference to the murder of a Chinese American by two white men in 1982. Following Dae Kim and Wu’s social media posts, there was an outpour of social media activism calling for attention and awareness about the violence facing Asian Americans, including petitions and fundraisers. Several businesses and community leaders have called for further policing of Oakland, California’s Chinatown. One fundraiser raised $85,766 for armed patrol security guards of the area. Calls made for a larger police presence had their intended effect. The Alameda County District Attorney’s office has authorized the creation of a special response unit to combat the antiAsian attacks in the area. However, this is a terrible idea — and contrary to the history of Asian American activism. Now, more than ever, it is inappropriate for Asian Americans to call for any sort of increased policing in this country — including armed guards and cash rewards. Asian Americans don’t face the dangers of excessive policing that other minority groups do. Black Americans are more than 2.5 times
more likely to be killed by police than white Americans. For Asian Americans to call for further policing is to call for further violence against Black Americans. Such violence is diametrically opposite to the ideals that began Asian American activism in this country. Asian American activism rose to prominence in the late 1960s, following an age of Yellow Peril. The McCarthy era, immigration quotas, the Vietnam war, and unfair working conditions all played roles in early activist movements. However, the roots of Asian American activism stem from the Civil Rights movement led by Black Americans. Asian American activists collaborated with Black activists to dismantle the Emergency Detention Act, one that Black activists feared would be used to encamp Black Americans in a similar way to Japanese Americans during World War II. A sentiment by Asian American activists at the time was “Yellow Peril for Black Power,” often associated with Asian Americans protesting with the Black Panther party for the release of Huey Newton. The term has since been criticized for its equation of
Asian American struggles with Black struggles. Even the title of “Asian American” was influenced by Black activists. Yuji Ichioka and Emma Gee founded the Asian American Political Alliance at the University of California, Berkeley in 1968. The founding of AAPA is believed to be the first use of the term “Asian American.” The very beginning of Asian American activism in the U.S. was in solidarity with Black activism. Directly following its creation, the AAPA joined the African American Student Union on the University of California, Berkeley’s campus to form the Third World Liberation Front. The goal of the TWLF was to create a Third World College, with race studies programs aimed at removing Eurocentrism from education. The unification of the AAPA and the AASU, along with other racefocused advocacy groups, began a month-long strike at the University of California, Berkeley’s campus. The picket lines were struck by the police, who attacked strike leaders, students and journalists. Unification between Asian Americans and Black Americans has not always followed the standard set
at the conception of the Asian American movement. Calls for more policing highlight and exacerbate the anti-Blackness in Asian communities. Asian Americans have benefitted from their proximity to whiteness and the model minority myth for decades. Anti-Blackness in the Asian community is virulent; it can vary from something as seemingly innocuous as the popularity of skin-lightening creams in Southern Asian cultures, to deadly, as evidenced by Tou Thao, the Hmong-American police officer complicit in George Floyd’s death. Asian American activists must recognize there are ways to combat antiAsian hate crimes that do not involve more police. A good example of this is Jacob Azvedo’s Compassion in Oakland project, where people can volunteer to accompany elders and anyone who feels unsafe on errands in Chinatown. There is a long history and a great power in both the Asian American community and the Black community, and their coalescence is key to liberation. Edited by Sofi Zeman szeman@ themaneater.com
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THE MANEATER | OPINIONS | M ARcH 3, 2021
MU’s Task Force for Contextualization of the Thomas Jefferson Statue’s attempt to contextualize Thomas Jefferson falls flat. From Jefferson on 10 deportation of freed Black Americans to Africa or the West Indies and “beyond the reach of mixture” and characterized Black people as being “as incapable as children.” He used pseudoscience to justify the inferiority of Africans, and assumptions like the ones in his notes are precisely what further convinced people that we were indeed inferior to white people. Sure, this was the attitude of that time period, but does that make it excusable? If racism was the norm during this time period, then why do we focus so much on it? So many people are ignorant about just how racist many of our founding fathers are and the U.S. continues to let this happen. JEFFERSON AND SALLY HEMINGS The next part of the proposed sign details Jefferson’s “relationship” with Sally Hemings — if
one can call it that — and his treatment of Native Americans. “Jefferson later fathered six children with Sally Hemings, one of more than 600 people he enslaved throughout his life, and instigated policies that led to the forcible removal of Indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands.” This section glazes over his relationship with Sally Hemings. Sally was very much underage at the time of her pregnancy, with reports stating that she was as young as 15-16 years old. There are those who speculate the nature of their relationship, but during the time, female slaves could not refuse unwanted sexual advances by their owners. It is not possible that she consented since she was enslaved. Additionally, Sally’s son Madison Hemings recalled that when Jefferson was returning to America, Sally refused to come back from
Paris as his daughter Maria’s domestic servant and maid, and only did so after negotiating “extraordinary privileges” for herself and freedom for her future children. Could a relationship even be consensual when the woman is being held captive by her owner? There as an obvious power dynamic at play. The details regarding their relationship are still very unclear. However, with Sally’s refusal to go back to Monticello only until she was able to negotiate a better life for herself and her children, things aren’t looking too romantic. MU HIDES FROM THE TRUTH The final piece of text is pretty side-eye worthy. “Other American leaders and visionaries, including Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Vine Deloria Jr., Harvey Milk, and others, have used Jefferson’s words to assert
the rights and freedoms of all people. Today, Jefferson’s words and his dedication to the pursuit of knowledge encourage students of the University of Missouri to surpass those who came before them as they embrace Mizzou’s values of Respect, Responsibility, Discovery, and Excellence.” It gives off an “I’m not racist. My friends are Black” tone using people like Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr., important Black figures that people are largely familiar with and Native American activist and author Dr. Vine Deloria Jr. This entire sign promotes the notion that Jefferson’s contributions to America outweigh his damage on Black and Native populations around the country. MU’s Task Force shouldn’t sugarcoat everything that Jefferson has done. The fact that they have shows they know that his dirty laundry
is inexcusable. That, or they didn’t do their research. Listen to the students that are uncomfortable about the statue and his gravestone. Yes, donors from the Jefferson Club donate a lot to the university, but what would a university be without its students? We pay so much money - hundreds of acrylic cases worth in fact - to keep MU running. They’ve barely listened to what Black students want and instead punish them for speaking up. It’s blatant hypocrisy for a school claiming to be so intent on promoting diversity and inclusion on campus to push the voices of their minority students to the side in the name of “history.” Thomas Jefferson is not someone we should look up to, and this sign just doesn’t cut it. Edited by Sofi Zeman szeman@themaneater.com
Our society is committing crimes against humanity on incarcerated individuals. We need abolition. From Protest on 10 to voice concerns through established channels have been ignored, and earlier peaceful protests unreported. The statement details how inmates have been systematically denied access to nutritious food, warm clothing and protective gear to combat COVID19. Additionally, inmates struggle to receive COVID19 tests and lack the space to quarantine from individuals who are displaying symptoms. They are also subject to psychological distress from being unable to engage in recreation and prevented from communicating with their families due to new COVID-19-related policies. It details many more instances of barbarity and horror within the CJC, and is surmised by the following paragraph that closes out the statement: “We feel like POWs in a foreign land in hostile territory. Because of our blackness/ancestral ties to Africa or Latin America, we are being treated less than human. We are dying at CJC in unheard of numbers and being intentionally infected at alarming rates. In my homeland that is the civilized country of America…THIS IS GENOCIDE!” As a result of the protest and pressure from community activists, the St. Louis circuit attorney launched an investigation into the conditions of the CJC. Additionally, St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson has announced the creation of a task force to examine the causes of the uprising. These investigations will confirm what we already know about
the conditions of the jail, but it is unclear if they will result in any substantive change or decarceration. COVID-19 has spread among incarcerated people at rates higher than almost any other population in the U.S., and this number is undoubtedly higher due to systemic under testing. In Missouri, one in five prisoners has tested positive for the virus, a rate 2.8 times higher than the general population. The death rate is 1.4 times higher. These numbers are reflected across every state and are no surprise considering the U.S. has both the highest incarceration rate in the world and the most COVID-19 cases. We receive an endless barrage of grim statistics every day, yet we can not forget about the human cost behind every number. The need for abolition has never been clearer. Our prison system is failing to bring about justice and is used to address issues that stem from socioeconomic inequality and the mental health problems they create. It is not a “broken” system. The system is functioning as it was created to do so: to inflict the most harm possible on people of color and their communities. Cruelty is the point. Even those who shy away from outright abolition must realize that the U.S. is committing crimes against humanity in our jails. We are allowing COVID-19 to spread unchecked among inmates and depriving them of their most basic needs. Many of these victims are guilty of no crime other than being unable to pay bail. The only viable solution is emergency decarceration. It
is extremely important to get inmates the protective gear they need to curb the spread of COVID-19, but there is only so much that can be done to prevent a highly contagious disease from spreading in an overcrowded prison. Missouri must release its prisoners being held pretrial, followed by a thorough re-examination of all criminal cases to evaluate whether or not they pose a threat to society. Closing the Workhouse and abolishing cash bail is only the floor. Abolition is foremost
a process of building alternatives to carceral solutions. Instead of fighting violence with state violence, we must ensure that everyone has access to food, housing and healthcare. This will never be done by politicians in Washington, but it can be accomplished through community solidarity and mutual aid. Consider joining a group I’m a part of, Abolitionists @ Mizzou, who are currently reading Angela Davis’ “Are Prisons Obsolete?” as part of our monthly book club.
Additionally, we can display solidarity with incarcerated people by sharing their stories and amplifying their voices. Our system seeks to dehumanize and we must counter the narrative that incarcerated people are irredeemable criminals. It is dehumanization and ignorance that has allowed these genocidal actions to occur. Edited by Sofi Zeman szeman@themaneater.com
Maneater
SportS
ONLINE THIS WEEK: After two rough seasons with the Gamecocks, LaDazhia Williams found her footing — and joy for the game — with the Tigers. BY KYLE PINNELL
No. 5 Missouri had a strong showing at the MAC Wrestling Championships, with Surtin being one of eight Tigers to make the final of their weight class. BY ANTHONY KRISTENSEN
BASKETBALL
Missouri women’s basketball guard Lauren Hansen sprints back down the court after knocking down a three against South Carolina on Feb. 11 2021.
| PHOTO COURTESY OF SEC MEDIA PORTAL
‘One Time’: Confidence and swagger helped shape Hansen’s journey to Missouri women’s basketball KYLE PINNELL
Assistant Sports Editor
Through much of the past decade, two words have instilled fear in the women’s AAU basketball scene in New York City. “One time.” Her coach Thomas Davis often belted the phrase at his talented guard, which gave a young Lauren Hansen the green light to pull up from deep, and opponents knew it too. “She’s about to shoot it,” parents and opponents often cried out in panic. It never mattered. Hansen always let the ball fly, and more often than not, those shots ripped right through the net. “Hearing that just
brings me back to having confidence to shoot [the ball] and play with anybody,” Hansen, now a sophomore at Missouri, said. “It didn’t matter who was guarding me or who was in the stands.” Regardless of whether she was a few steps behind the 3-point line or even near half-court, Hansen’s instincts usually took over as she sized up her defender and released the ball. “She would just shoot it unconsciously and not even have to think about it,” Davis said. “To this day, I think she has that phrase so embedded in her head that if I went to a Missouri game and shouted out, ‘One time’ in the stands, she would probably shoot it.” The ability and
confidence to shoot from anywhere on the court, as well as take opponents on off the dribble, allows Hansen to play basketball at the highest level in college. However, to those who have coached her, it’s her mind and drive to stay in basketball that will give her a chance to make it to the WNBA and, eventually, become a coach. One day in 2011, a few players Davis worked with at Our Savior New American School on Long Island, New York, called their trainer to convince him to watch the workout of a local sixth-grade girl from nearby Setauket. Though younger than many of the other girls
Davis has coached, Hansen’s advanced skill set immediately stood out. The sixth grader already had ballhandling skills, shotmaking prowess and craftiness in her arsenal, and Davis knew that he wanted her to be a part of his AAU program: Exodus NYC. The problem was that the program didn’t have a team for her age level. Despite that, Davis believed in Hansen’s natural talent and played her on the under-17 team. In her early years at Exodus NYC, Hansen shared the court with talented players like future South Carolina and WNBA player Bianca Cuevas-Moore. She learned a lot from
playing with Cuevas, and never missed a single one of her games in the summer. “I sat there and watched everything that she did,” Hansen said. “The way that she carried herself, the way that she walked around the floor. I just wanted to carry that over to the way that I played.” Samantha PrahalisHolmes, another player from Long Island who went on to succeed in the WNBA, first heard of the young phenom before she coached her at Ward Melville High School. Hansen’s ability to create shots for both herself and her teammates immediately impressed Prahalis, who watched her guard’s star grow each week. During her time at Ward
Melville, Hansen set the school’s all-time scoring record, became a McDonald’s AllAmerican and led the Patriots to back-to-back league titles. “She was so much more advanced than anyone else on the court, or even on the island, at the time,” Prahalis said. Hansen arrived at an AAU tournament in Atlanta in 2012 with a confidence that she had never had before. The guard recalled her first trip to the tournament in sixth grade, where she looked around the gym in awe of the talent that surrounded her. In the future, she told herself, she would be one of those players. See Hansen on 16
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THE MANEATER | SPORTS | M ARcH 3, 2021
MENS’ BASKETBALL
Dru Smith scores quietly and lives loudly
The redshirt senior guard isn’t the flashiest player but will be crucial for a Missouri tournament run. JACK SOBLE Sports Editor
On Feb. 8, Missouri guard Dru Smith took home his third SEC Player of the Week award of the season. Smith, not one to brag about individual accomplishments, didn’t tell his immediate family. “It’s funny because I didn’t even know that he got that again,” Kendra Giles, Smith’s mom, said. “He definitely does not tell anybody any of that kind of stuff. You just have to find out.” Smith won the award after All-SEC-caliber performances against Kentucky and Alabama, further cementing his case for first-team AllSEC honors once the regular season ends. It also came just two weeks after Smith eclipsed 1,000 career points, spanning across a little over 3 1/2 seasons at Evansville and Missouri. Smith scored many of those points, as people who follow Missouri basketball will tell you, “quietly.” The redshirt senior is a player who will make you look at the stat sheet in the middle of the second half and say, “Wait, Dru has 20?” As Missouri’s season moves along, with each passing game adding another bullet point on Smith and the Tigers’ resume, his points are getting louder. “Unless you really know basketball, I think he gets passed up a lot,” Giles said. “So it’s just neat to see him get recognized for all of his dedication to the game.” When Smith looks back on his time at Evansville, a mid-major school in the southwest Indiana town where he grew up, one unconventional memory tends to stick out.
“It may not seem like a good memory, but it was just one of those times I was getting in trouble,” Smith said. “Coach [Marty] Simmons was kind of making fun of me about me turning it over in practice. He just kind of called me out in front of everybody.” Smith said that Simmons acted out Smith’s errant passes by throwing the ball at the wall. “I was just trying to get Dru to understand the importance of taking care of the basketball,” Simmons said. Smith’s never been bothered by taking criticism, saying that everyone on the team jokingly gave him a hard time about the demonstration after practice. Simmons, now an assistant coach at Clemson, remembers Smith as one of the better teammates and players he’s ever coached. “One of his teammates, Ryan Taylor, who was a great player for us, he said it best,” Simmons said. “He said he loved playing with Dru because he played both ends. He was as dedicated on the defensive end as he was the offensive end.” Smith, who is fourth in the SEC in steals per game after leading the league last season, has always taken pride in his defense. Giles, who only missed “five or six” of Smith’s games throughout his childhood, said that he started focusing on defense shortly after he started playing basketball. “He started AAU basketball around when he was, like, seven,” Giles said. “I would say around nine, 10, his defense was pretty good, and then it just, of course, kept growing from there. His shot was his main area that he
competition with needed to focus on.” He didn’t score much athleticism alone — or in his freshman year, in get away with reaching part because his coaches in so often, though the typically used him as a steals indicate that his screener and facilitator active hands are an asset on offense. But despite when used responsibly. “You’ve seen it this only scoring 5.3 points per game as a freshman year,” Blake Simmons at Evansville, he earned said. “I mean, he gets both playing time and in foul trouble, doesn’t his teammates’ respect he?” He does, probably more from the moment he often than Missouri stepped on the court. What many agree sets coach Cuonzo Martin Smith apart from being would like. Smith has a typical defensive reached four or more specialist, though, is his personal fouls in seven commitment to the little of the Tigers’ 16 games this season. things. However, in the “He always made the time right play, whether it was aforementioned the extra pass, taking a period, Smith learned to charge,” Blake Simmons, build up his basketball Smith’s teammate at IQ and develop the Evansville and Marty savviness he showcases Simmons’ son, said. today. “As you move up, “He just had a great, great understanding for they’re picking from basketball and how to the best of the best at that level,” Smith said. play.” When Smith arrived on “I may not be able to campus, he drew Blake just sprint right past Simmons’ attention you, but I’m able to get a shoulder by you or get right away. “His go-to move something past. Just coming out of high understanding angles school — and if you ask and changing speeds, directions, him he’ll tell you — is changing he liked to back-tap stuff like that.” Smith’s defense and people, meaning when someone got by him, he intelligence helped him make a name would reach for himself from behind early, but and backby his tap it,” Blake sophomore Simmons year, he said. “Now, s t a r t e d as you know s c o r i n g . in basketball, Simmons you never called upon w a n t Smith to someone to score more, get by you, and his but Dru would a v e r a g e always do it jumped to on purpose, 13.7 points a l w a y s per game. thinking he “ M y could get that sophomore steal.” year, I In high stepped more school and as Kendra Giles into that his Evansville scoring role. career moved along, Smith realized Coming off of screens, that he wouldn’t be just being a little more able to beat top-level aggressive.” Smith said.
“HE’S HILARIOUS. HE JOKES, HE DANCES, HE ACTS SILLY. … HE ALWAYS HAS THAT POSITIVE ENERGY THAT HE BRINGS.”
“I had the ball in my hands a little bit more, heading toward the basket.” “I think it was just maturity more than anything,” Marty Simmons said. “And I think again he’s very cerebral. I think he just saw that he needed to look to score a little bit more. And he never took bad shots.” Smith’s percentages in his sophomore year were eye-opening: 57.8% from the field, 48.2% from three-point range and 86.2% from the free-throw line. And like at Missouri, he did it quietly. “It’s almost like you’re begging this guy to shoot, but then when you look at the scoreboard, you’re like, ‘Well, Dru just had 25, I guess he is scoring pretty well,” Blake Simmons said. “You would see that a lot here; you’re like, ‘Hey Dru, go get a bucket!’ And he’s like, ‘Man, I got 15 points already!’” Smith left Evansville after that year for a few reasons. One of them was that Evansville unexpectedly fired Marty Simmons, with whom he was close, after 12 years. “The talk of some of the new coaches coming in — I think that Dru
wasn’t really interested in them,” Giles said. Smith’s instinct on that front was correct: Marty Simmons’ replacement, Walter McCarty, was fired after only a season and a half in the midst of sexual misconduct allegations. He was later arrested after failing to appear in court for a civil case after he defaulted on a $75,000 ‘private select line of credit,’ according to the Evansville Courier & Press. Other than the coaching change, Smith chose Missouri because he connected with Martin and the Tigers’ coaching staff, was clearly ready to make the jump to the SEC and didn’t want to move too far from home. The decision to leave Evansville, where he had lived his entire life, was difficult. Leaving Evansville meant moving away from Giles, his fiancee Marley Miller — who played basketball for the Purple Aces, too — and his five-year-old brother Jaxon, with whom he has a strong relationship. “I felt like I was leaving a lot, honestly,” Smith said. “I had always been there, and it was comfortable. But at the end of the day, it was a decision that kind of
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had to be made, and it was a step in my life that helped me grow up and helped me mature. Looking back, it was definitely the right decision to make.” It didn’t take more than two or three weeks for Smith to feel comfortable in Columbia. “After you get to know the guys, get with your team, get in practice and stuff like that, it just happens naturally,” Smith said. What does “scoring quietly” mean to Dru Smith? “The baskets I’m getting they’re just simple, usually,” Smith said. “Either a layup or an open three; a pull up in the mid-range. I’m usually not shaking somebody, as [Missouri point guard] X[avier Pinson] is. He might hit you with a crossover, stepback and hit the three.” Pinson is also known for high-flying, fastbreak dunks that fire up the Mizzou Arena crowd. Smith, as far as research shows, has not dunked in a game since he arrived in Columbia. Blake Simmons said that Smith can dunk, but it’s not pretty. “And I definitely can’t
give you celebrations afterwards,” Smith said. On the court, that’s definitely true. It’s not like Smith is grumpy or even just stoic when he’s locked into a game. He can often be seen smiling, goofing around with his teammates, especially during pregame warmups. Smith and a couple of Tigers might race off the court, laughing all the way, as Missouri heads back to the locker room. Even his headshot on Missouri’s website is beaming. But he won’t swing a fist at the air and yell like Mitchell Smith did after his gamesaving block. Off the court, though, celebrating is very much an option. “Dru was there when I hit my first hole-in-one in golf,” Blake Simmons said. “I remember him and I doing, like, a chestbump on the green in the middle of the golf course. I’m sure people are thinking we’re morons, but we’re running and high-stepping on the green.” Smith can showcase a fun-loving side at home, too. “He’s hilarious,” Giles said. “He jokes, he dances, he acts silly. …
He always has that positive energy that he brings.” “Not many people get to see Dru’s goofy side,” Miller said. Smith tries to come home every time he gets a break in his schedule, and his family will play games like Uno and Sequence. Whenever Smith wins, or even when he doesn’t, he’ll break out whatever dance move comes to mind. His mom struggles to keep up with the dancing. “I don’t know, because now with TikTok — I’m old now, so I don’t keep up with all that stuff,” Giles said. “But I would definitely say he likes TikTok dances.” Smith and Miller filmed a few TikToks during the spring when the COVID19 pandemic first hit, which they posted on Miller’s account. Miller deleted her account since then, but she’ll always have some of those videos saved to her phone. “He has sarcastic jokes, does accents a lot, dances; he’s very witty, he likes to impersonate people,” Miller said. “We were driving one day and his front tooth
Dru Smith dribbles up the court during Missouri’s win over Alabama at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 6, 2021.
| PHOTO COURTESY OF SEC MEDIA PORTAL fell out and we both just stared at each other like ‘well… [laughing emoji].’” Occasionally, Smith’s goofiness can border on recklessness. “One time, we both are coming back from knee surgeries … and all of a sudden, we decide to challenge each other to a dunk-off,” Blake Simmons said. “So we’re trying to dunk on each other, both are, like, a month or two into really recovering, and we’re just two goofballs out there trying to dunk on each other.” Blake Simmons is 26, just over 3 1/2 years older than Smith, but the two became close at Evansville and are best friends to this day. Simmons will be the best man at Smith’s wedding. Even with Smith in Columbia and Blake Simmons now living in Dallas, the two have stayed close throughout the years. “We play video games together to this day,” Blake Simmons said. “Call of Duty Warzone, man.” -
Jeremiah Tilmon, and to a lesser extent Mark Smith, have received credit for the way they’ve rebounded from injuryriddled 2019-20 seasons — and rightfully so. Missouri is full of players who have fought through seasons like that and come together in 2020 to form an experienced, battle-tested roster. Smith, though he started all 31 games last year, is no exception. “He was hurt a lot of his sophomore year and still played through plantar fasciitis until he ruptured it,” Marty Simmons said. “And then he was out for 10 days and came back and played again. [He’s] One of the toughest, toughest players that I’ve coached.” That toughness might finally pay off in the form of an NCAA Tournament berth. Smith spent four years in college before this one, including one where he was forced to sit out due to the NCAA’s transfer rules, and all of them ended before March Madness. “Yeah, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it,” Smith said. “But you can’t look forward. You can’t look
past anything at this point, and we’ve learned that over the past few years.” Smith’s college career nearly spans his brother Jaxon’s entire life, but from a family perspective, he might be about to enter the tournament at a perfect time. Since last year, Jaxon has started to understand what Smith does. “I don’t think he understands the level that Dru’s at, but he definitely knows he’s on TV, and he gets to watch him,” Giles said. In mid-March, Jaxon may get to watch his brother play on the biggest stage in college basketball, and by that point, he might look up to his brother even more than he already does. “He plays basketball all the time around the house, and he plays in leagues already,” Giles said. “He acts like he’s Dru Smith.” Edited by Kyle Pinnell kpinnell@themaneater.com
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Hansen grew up with a basketball in her hands, and as she developed her skill and confidence through New York City’s basketball scene, she knows that finding a place in basketball is where she wants to be. From Hansen on 13 The next year, Exodus NYC returned with Hansen prepared to light up the competition. Upon arrival in Atlanta, the team found out that there were no other teams in its age bracket. Instead, Hansen and her team took on an Under-17 opponent, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. “Look,” David told Hansen. “This is your chance right now to prove to everybody who you are.” Hansen did just that. She scored around 20 points in that game on catch-andshoot jumpers, step-back threes, and-one’s and other crafty moves. As shots fell, her confidence grew and she began to bury shots from further and further away from the basket, which drove a packed gym into a frenzy. “She woke up,” Davis said. “She put on a show, and we ended up beating that team. Just the things that she did that game, you knew that she was different.” Those “take-over-a-game” performances were common at Ward Melville, too. In a game against nearby Elmont High School, Hansen went on multiple double-digit solo-scoring runs while being double-and triple-teamed. On her senior night, she poured in 30-first-half points. That range that Hansen developed throughout her early basketball career in the Exodus program showed every night in the high school game. Even if she was just one or
two feet inside half-court, her laid the ball into the hoop and got fouled, all while the fans shot looked routine. “There was really no shot in attendance erupted; the clip — with a hand up, two hands of that play blew up on social up or deep — where I said. media, too. “From there, I was like ‘Oh wait, don’t take that,’” ‘,Yeah, I’m Prahalis said. comfortable “I never felt being here,” that way with Hansen said. her. I’ve seen “That made me her shoot from feel like all the two feet from work I had put half-court or in had paid off.” three feet. I was H a n s e n a player, and showcased if you feel it, herself to you feel it, so I a larger had the utmost audience that confidence in night, but the her.” performance As a Long came as I s l a n d e r , nothing new to Hansen plays Davis. In AAU basketball with a tournaments, sense of swagger the way that that comes from she could see playing pickup the game on the in the streets court stood out. of New York. Oftentimes, Her herkyHansen made jerky dribble a play and then moves can told teammates bring a crowd why she made to its feet in a it in the next hurry. In 2019, Lauren Hansen timeout. she received the “I got to take opportunity to showcase that side of her game a risk on doing this,” Hansen in a three-on-three basketball would tell her teammates game at the Overtime and coaches. “Even if the Takeover, an organized event shot didn’t go in, I had to do that because if I [make in Brooklyn. Hansen’s evening started this play], it will give us this quietly, then she took over. [opportunity].” Those moments were After one missed shot, she grabbed a rebound and when Davis began to see the decided to push the ball up the potential hallmarks of a great court herself. Hansen strung future coach in Hansen. together a few dribble moves,
“I JUST WANTED TO BE THAT FOR SOMEBODY ELSE, AND THAT’S WHAT MADE ME WANT TO GET INTO COACHING— TO BE ABLE TO CHANGE PEOPLE’S LIVES AND BE THERE FOR THEM.”
Davis has a saying that he tells his players multiple times each year: “Be unapologetically you.” It’s a message that Hansen’s taken to heart since her sixthgrade season. As she developed as a player, Davis helped instill that sense of confidence in her — not just on the court with her natural talent, but also off the court. He became a sounding board and someone for Hansen to have honest conversations with beyond basketball’s small intricacies and X’s and O’s. “I just wanted to be that for somebody else, and that’s what made me want to get into coaching,” Hansen said. “To be able to change people’s lives and be there for them.” On the court, Hansen is a stereotypical student of the game. What she’d see and ask questions about wasn’t scoring tendencies but rather about where to attack on the floor based on an opponent’s foot position or how to get a certain teammate open in a high-screen situation. “It was nice because of her IQ,” Prahalis said. “I’m way older than her, and we could sit and have an advanced conversation.” Hansen can break down both a player’s strengths and weaknesses easily, but what made Davis certain that she could do it at the next level is when she began to break down opposing coaches, too. “They’re going to continue to go to that [look] no matter what,” Hansen told Davis as they watched another team’s
game one day. “Whether they lose the game or not, that coach is coaching the game emotionally right now and is not thinking about what is best for the team.” This season, Hansen is learning the game from an entirely new perspective under Missouri coach Robin Pingeton. Affectionately known as “Coach P,” Hansen said that playing under Pingeton helped her decide on transferring to Missouri from Auburn. In just months, so far she’s learned not only more about the game, but also about the importance of forming strong bonds with players off the court. “Everything that she is, is what I want to be like [as a coach],” Hansen said. “Just the way she is with relationships and how she cares for players off the court but also the way she sees the game has taught me so much.” Hansen’s next goal is to make it to the WNBA. After that, all Hansen knows is that she wants to stick to basketball. She’s had great mentors from Davis to Prahalis and now Pingeton. Maybe someday she’ll be a coach at Exodus NYC, a program that she holds so dear that it remains in her Twitter bio. And maybe, in the distant future, she’ll be the one yelling “,One time” to the next Lauren Hansen. Edited by Jack Soble jsoble@themaneater.com
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