News

International Women’s Day poetry reading

By Ashley Barletta News editor

The Department of World Languages hosted an International Women’s Day poetry reading on March 23.

The event lasted from 4:30-6 p.m. at the Luke’s Landing in the Student Union.

There were a selection of poems written by women all around the world.

The poems were read by Mercyhurst students as well as faculty and staff.

The poetry reading was planned by Alice Edwards, Ph.D.

“Dr. Edwards planned the event and asked students to read poetry at the reading. It was women-inspired, not language-specific,” said Allison Siegmann, a junior intelligence studies and Spanish double major. “She always asks students to do things for extra credit, but it gets us involved.”

Edwards made it a point to have poems written by women of different backgrounds. She had the poems sprawled out on a table in case anyone wanted to read a poem but didn’t bring their own.

“She tried to include poets of different ethnicities from around the world; there were a few Ukrainian poems and Russian poems, Latin American and Spanish, and I think there were poems by U.S. authors, too. Dr. Edwards is the biggest feminist I know. She’s so passionate about equal rights,” said Siegmann.

Having the poetry reading was an enlightening way to observe National Women’s History Month. Not only did it offer differing perspectives, but also gave participants a chance to reflect.

“It kind of brings different perspectives into light, because you don’t always think about how in other countries women aren’t allowed to drive, or they don’t have equal trans rights,” Siegmann said.

“It seems like in the U.S. we are so closed in on our own perspectives that having the poetry reading shows us that we don’t have it too bad, though there is room for change everywhere.”

Contributed photo Allison Siegmann, a junior intelligence studies and Spanish double major, read “Strike” by Gioconda Belli.

Contributed photo Sabrina Pizzarelli, a sophomore Spanish and sociology double major, read “Poem (Let Us Live)” by Joshua Jennifer Espinoza.

Contributed photo Madison Jukkola, a sophomore English major and double minor in Spanish and Chinese, read “Voy a Dormir” by Alfonsa Storni and “Mayo” by Giaconda Bell.

Board of Trustees elects three new members

By Sydney Dietz Sports editor

The Mercyhurst Board of Trustees will host their spring meeting on May 14. There will be three new faces attending the meeting; James G. Breckenridge Ph.D., Christine Spadafor, and Barbara Wening.

These three individuals are Mercyhurst’s newly elected trustees that will be welcomed at the meeting.

James G. Breckenridge, Ph. D. has a history with Mercyhurst. From 1998-2001, Breckenridge served as director of admissions. He was the first chair of the Intelligence Studies Department and was the founding dean of the Ridge College of Intelligence Studies and Applied Sciences from 2014-2017.

Not only was he the dean of Ridge College of Intelligence Studies and Applied Sciences, but he also served as dean of the Walker School of Business and executive director of the research arm of the intel department.

Breckenridge was named provost of the U.S. Army War College in 2017 where he served as the chief academic officer and senior civilian. The college is the U.S. Army’s senior institution for professional military education in which it educates over 2,400 military, Department of Defense (DOD) civilian, international and interagency students.

While Breckenridge was pursuing his military career, he taught Middle Eastern History and served as the course director for the World History Program at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He was honored with the Legion of Merit and was also chosen as a Foundation for Defense of Democracies Fellow for the study of Middle Eastern security issues.

Breckenridge has earned his doctorate in Organizational Learning and Leadership.

In addition to receiving his doctorate, he also has a Master’s in Business Administration. He is an alumnus from the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech in which he earned a bachelor’s degree in history.

Christine Spadafor is an Erie native and is the CEO of SpadaforClay Group. She has worked as an advisor to Fortune 500 C-suite executives.

She serves as an independent director on boards of public and private companies such as Boyd Gaming Corporation, which is a $3.5B NYSE- listed company, Intus Care, and Kindred at Home, which is the largest provider of home care and hospice in the United States.

Spadafor has been on the advisory board for National Public Radio Station WBUR and is a commentator on the BBC “Business Matters” global radio broadcast and podcast.

Spadafor graduated from Harvard Law School and also Harvard School of Public Health.

On top of attending law school, Spadafor was recognized by the American Bar Association as one of the top 20 female attorneys with business expertise for board service.

Spadafor also has ties relating back to Mercyhurst such as Breckenridge did. In 2019, Spadafor created an endowed chair in music and an endowed scholarship in voice performance in honor of her late mother, Mary Pellegrino Spadafor. She also gave the graduation address at the 91st commencement ceremony.

Barbara Wenig is a Mercyhurst alumni from Rome, Italy. She graduated from Mercyhurst University in 1995 and earned her bachelor’s degree in Finance and Business Administration.

After earning her degree, she obtained a successful career in New York City finance. While she was in New York she led strategic initiatives, oversaw client operations, and worked with data and analytics.

Her first job was an insurance startup that was affiliated with the New York University Medical Center. Wenig spent two years at this job working on financial programs and analytics.

She later spent five years at HMS, which is a health care technology and analytics solutions firm where she earned her CPA and CFA designations and ran as the financial planning and analysis function.

However, in September 2021, she joined Principal Global Investors as the head of global operations and platforms.

Wenig is in control of advancing strategic initiatives, managing relationships with board members, clients, and industry constituents, and also engaging in new business efforts in support of PGI’s global platforms.

Mercyhurst is lucky to have knowledgeable and certified trustees joining the Mercyhurst Community. The three trustees will soon be joining the Mercyhurst University board, which means they will soon be able to call Hurst home (again).

Mask mandate lifted

By Isabella Johnson Staff writer

Due to decreased COVID-19 cases across North America, most state legislations including Pennsylvania have lifted their mask mandates. Along with them, Mercyhurst University has recently made some changes to their mask policy.

“Because we have such a high vaccination rate on campus and we’ve seen the numbers of COVID cases drop in Erie, I’m very excited about the mask mandate being fully lifted,” said Laura Zirkle, the Vice President for Student Life at Mercyhurst.

“However, we are going to continue monitoring positive cases closely. One of the things that has been clear throughout this pandemic is that masking is one of the best mitigating factors we can implement. Our current plan is to monitor the amount of COVID cases on campus with different variants emerging. I’m hoping that people spending more time outside, our high vaccination rates, and the dropping COVID cases in the area will converge to make it so we don’t have to digress back to masks.”

In February, the indoor mask mandate at Mercyhurst University was lifted everywhere except for in academic classes. and labs. The purpose of this lift was to test if positive cases would stay low and a complete lift of the mask mandate at a later date would be possible.

“The concern about classrooms is that you have people together from all different groups who usually don’t spend time together. There are also people going on and off of campus and commuters which makes classroom environments a little riskier,” Zirkle said.

“Part of the reason we lifted the mask mandate in phases was to give us a chance to see whether cases would spike before completely lifting it. We talked to the health department and our medical consultants, and we felt like we were at a point where it made sense to only require masks in classrooms. With everyone going on spring break so soon after the announcement our biggest concern was confusion by us telling students and faculty to go from not wearing masks indoors to wearing them again. Luckily the COVID numbers in Erie were so low that we were able to just keep the mandate as we had it.”

On March 27, Zirkle sent an email to the Mercyhurst community announcing that masks will no longer be required in academic classes. Those who want to wear their masks still can, and there is an updated COVID-19 policy on the Student Hub. Type “COVID-19 Information” into the search bar on the Hub to view it.

“We’ve tried to be really upfront with everybody in the community and make clear what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. I know that students and faculty receive really long emails at times, but that’s because it is important to us that you don’t think we’re just arbitrarily doing this. We weigh all the factors for every given decision because this is new territory for all of us,” said Zirkle.

In the event that COVID-19 cases on campus get out of hand, administration has also considered reverting back to masking indoors as a possibility.

“If we can get some time without masks and maybe never have to put them back on, that would be awesome. It feels like a reasonable time to take masks away,” Zirkle said.

“I’d rather do it now even if it means that at a later date, we have to bring the mask mandate back due to a variant. I feel that our community understands the importance of mask mandates and why we feel the need to use them. Hopefully it doesn’t happen, but if we had to go back to masking for the safety of the community on this campus, I think that there will be an understanding that we are doing it out of caution and the time without masks will still be appreciated despite the disappointment of having to wear them again. I don’t want to make it sound like we are planning on masking again, but it is always an option if necessary.”

Although masks are no longer required on campus, Zirkle along with the rest of the administration team that came to this decision, implore students to use good judgment and wear masks when they feel it is necessary.

“I would ask that if you see someone still wearing a mask be thankful. There are a lot of reasons that people may choose to continue wearing a mask like if someone is showing symptoms, going to be in a really crowded area, or even about to visit someone who is high-risk. We have folks on campus who have children who aren’t old enough to be vaccinated so they’re at a higher risk. Those people have to look out for their kids. I would encourage everyone to use good judgment on whether to wear one when they feel it is appropriate and to be supportive of others who chose to wear one,” Zirkle said.

Despite the excitement of being so close to normalcy on campus, the concern for protecting one’s own health as well as the health of others still exists.

“I was really excited about it; [the recent mask lift] as much as I would still love to take precautions and protect people, I am very tired of this pandemic,” said Sophia Supinski, a freshman dance major.

Being in a learning environment during a pandemic has required a lot of adapting from the students and faculty members here at Mercyhurst. However, pre-pandemic university life is closer in reach than ever.

Zirkle said, “I have such an amazement and appreciation for how much the community at Mercyhurst has acted during all of this. I get emotional thinking about how supportive my peers have been in stepping up and doing extra work to help out students. It’s been a positive experience to see how this community has handled everything. I know that this all has been extremely difficult for some people and yet I’ve seen our community handle everything with good faith, good nature, and compassion.”

Joe the orangutan of the Erie Zoo passes away

By Vydalia Weatherly Staff writer

On March 6, the Erie zoo opened for the 2022 season. As visitors came to take place in opening day festivities, many noticed the Bornean orangutan family was not present in their exhibits.

The day prior, 36-year-old Bornean orangutan Joseph, known by most as simply “Joe,” fell ill. Joe’s symptoms included behavioral changes, lack of appetite and fatigue, the Erie Zoo revealed in a news release.

A COVID-19 test was administered and came back negative, and subsequent tests did not result in a diagnosis.

Joe lived in the exhibit with his mate Dasa. The two came to the zoo together in 2002 to mate.

Despite having three offspring together, only Dasa’s and Joe’s 5-year-old offspring, Otis, lived in the Erie Zoo.

Joe was the only one to come down with the mysterious illness, but the zoo removed the entire family from the exhibit as a precaution. While the family was away, the zoo set up a table outside of the orangutan exhibit to make get-well cards for the beloved family. Joe passed away on March 19.

“This is a truly sad day for the Erie Community and we are all heartbroken over the loss of Joe,” said Roo Kojancie, COO of the Erie Zoo, in a news statement.

“Joe has been a beloved member of the Erie Zoo family since 2002. He has touched the hearts of so many visitors, volunteers, and staff over the years. His absence is going to leave a hole in our hearts. I’m proud of our exceptional veterinary and animal care teams who dedicated themselves to leaving no stone unturned in their pursuit of Joe’s health.”

Two days prior to his death, Joe went under intense testing.

“Several routine diagnostic tests were performed which did not yield enough information for a diagnosis,” the zoo said in the statement about Joe’s death.

“After extensive consultations with experts from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Orangutan Species Survival Plan and the Great Ape Heart Project, additional diagnostic evaluations under anesthesia were deemed necessary.”

Diagnostic tests revealed Joe the orangutan was suffering from heart failure.

Orangutans are an endangered species. According to the Orangutan Conservancy website, orangutans have a life expectancy of 35 to 40 years in their natural habitats. However, in captivity orangutans have been known to live into their late 50s.

A contributing factor in orangutans becoming an endangered species is due to the unethical production of palm oil.

“The mass production of palm oil has relied on the destruction of rainforests, which leads to climate damaging emissions, as well as loss of biodiversity, particularly for orangutans, and human rights issues” according to Ethical Consumer.

Despite recent efforts to reduce production and usage of palm oil, it is used in many products across the globe.

According to Ethical Consumer, “more than 50% of packaged supermarket products from margarine and oven chips to soaps and detergents” are made using palm oil.

It is important to consider the products you use each day and consider to switching to a brand that uses ethically sourced palm oil if it is affordable.

The Erie Zoo said that there is no rush to replace the beloved orangutan, and that the other orangutans who shared the exhibit with Joe are healthy.

Merciad IN A MINUTE

Apply for Study Abroad

There is still time to apply for one of the Study Abroad programs being offered during the 20222023 academic year.

Simply go on the Student Hub and type in “Study Abroad” and find the application.

The Hub also features information on the programs.

The deadline to apply is April 1, so be sure to check out the programs!

New RSCO

Mercyhurst Equality of Women aka MEOW has been revived as an RSCO!

They will be holding their first meeting on March 31 at 7:00 p.m. in the Great Room in the Student Union.

This club centers on the celebration of powerful women on campus in history and across the world. This club is welcoming to all students!

Marie Benedict speaking

Famous author and lawyer Marie Benedict is coming to Mercyhurst on April 2 to speak in the Performing Arts Center at 1 p.m.

Afterwards, Benedict will hold a workshop for students at 3 p.m.

Contact Jeffrey Roessner if you are interested in this opportunity to work on your writing skills with a published author.

Trans Day of Visibility

The Campus Involvement Center is hosting a screening of a documentary on Marsha P. Johnson to observe Trans Day of Visibility, March 31 at 7pm.

Johnson was an activist during the 1969 Stonewall Riots, which led to the Gay Liberation Movement.

The screening will be in Zurn 114 and followed by a discussion led by the Sexuality and Gender Acceptance Club.

Rent-a-Habitater returns for the spring semester

By Samantha Weber Editor-in-chief

With Spring and warm weather being right around the corner, the Mercyhurst Habitat for Humanity chapter is holding their Rent-a-Habitater once again.

For those who have not heard of this event before, it is a fundraiser for the club where students will go out and volunteer for faculty and staff of the university at their homes.

Typically, the students volunteering will be painting, raking leaves, gardening or doing other work around the house for whoever wants or needs the help.

“Some months we receive more traffic from professors than other months. Although, we try to offer as many opportunities as possible! In order to find out about these opportunities, students should join the club’s email list and organization on Laker Launchpad,” said Ashley Kreeger, secretary for Habitat for Humanity club.

This year, the club is offering more opportunities for students to volunteer.

“We try to offer multiple weekends for students to volunteer. This semester we added many more weekends trying to have one every weekend that does not fall on a break,” said Abigail Springer, Habitat for Humanity president.

Service is a huge part of the Sisters of Mercy as they took a fourth vow of service when they became a sisterhood in 1831. This dedication to service has carried down through generations to Mercyhurst today.

Most students who attend Mercyhurst complete some type of service on their own time, and getting involved with Habitat for Humanity is a great way to give back to the community.

“Habitat for Humanity’s ultimate goal for Rent-a-Habitater is to allow interested students to engage in the community beyond the gates. With this opportunity, students are able to go to professors’ homes to work on projects or tasks as directed,” Kreeger said.

This is a great fundraiser for the club as the money goes toward the club’s spring break trip. Every year, Habitat for Humanity will take a trip somewhere and spend the week building houses.

The past two years, the trip has been canceled due to COVID-19, but the club is optimistic that next year there will be a trip.

This year, the club had already picked a location for the Spring Break trip before COVID-19 canceled the trip for the second year in a row. This year students were supposed to travel to Kentucky to volunteer and build houses.

During the last two trips students traveled to Monroe, North Carolina in 2018, and Alabama in 2019. These service trips are a great representation of how the Sisters of Mercy’s mission is still being practiced to this day.

The money raised from Rent-a-Habitater both in the fall and spring semesters goes toward offsetting costs for the spring break trip for students who wish to attend.

If there are any faculty or staff that want to request volunteers, they can reach out to Erin Smith, Rent-a-Habitater Coordinator, or use the link that was sent out in The Morning Tide on March 24.

If you are a student who wants to volunteer, you can reach out to Erin Smith or Abigail Springer.

Contributed photo

Ashley Kreeger and Beatrice Titus from a previous Rent-a-Habitater.

Contributed photo

Students position a tree in the gravel.

Archbishop Oscar Romero Award presented

By Nicholas Klein Staff writer

On March 24, 2022, the Barber National Institute for people with mental and intellectual disabilities was awarded the Archbishop Oscar Romero Award by Mercyhurst University.

The award was in honor of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was a Salvadoran Archbishop of San Salvador and was murdered by the military regime for speaking up for the poor and marginalized and for also speaking up against the regime. He was later canonized as a saint in October 2018 by Pope Francis.

Like Oscar Romero, Gertrude A. Barber spoke for the marginalized, who were children and adults with mental and intellectual disabilities. Gertrude Barber was born on Sept. 16, 1911, in Erie, Pennsylvania.

She had a passion for learning at an early age, which was recognized by the Sisters of Saint Joseph, who were her teachers at Saint Ann’s Church and School. In 1933, at the age of twenty-two, she became a teacher in the Erie School District.

From there, she was often responsible for telling the parents, who had children with disabilities, that their children could not go to school. That job was tearing apart her life, until 1950 when she started to organize groups of parents, who wanted their children with disabilities to get educated.

In 1952, she opened the first classes for young students with intellectual disabilities in the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Center in her hometown.

Six years later, Barber made the Lakeview Hospital into the first school and workshop for children and adults with hearing and intellectual disabilities. The basement was the cafeteria, the first floor was made for children’s classes, and the second floor was made for adults.

In 1962, John F. Kennedy appointed Gertrude Barber to be one of twenty-five experts on the National Task Force on Mental Retardation. She would later be one of the attendees to the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act by President George H. W. Bush at the White House in 1990.

In the early seventies, as thousands of people with disabilities began to leave institutions, the Barber Center began to open the first community group homes in Erie and started programs in 1973, for those who were returning from Polk State Hospital.

She continued to do her charitable work for people with disabilities until her death on April 29, 2000, at the age of 88.

At the event, the speaker was the niece of the late Gertrude A. Barber, Maureen Barber-Carey. She is currently the Executive Vice President of the Barber National Institute and is a current member of the Autism Focus Group for the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

The Barber National Institute is located on 136 East Avenue in Erie where the former hospital used to be. The institute does quarterly publications of the Barber Spirit, which is meant to spread Barber’s legacy.

Nicholas Klein photo Nicholas Klein photo

The event took place in the Mercy Heritage Room. President Getz stands with Maureen Barber-Carey.

Service Honor Society accepting nominations

By Ashley Barletta News editor

It’s that time of year again; the time of year when seniors are preparing to graduate. Some seniors will soon be inducted into the Service Honor Society.

The Service Honor Society at Mercyhurst was established in 2006 in order to honor graduating seniors who “exemplify our Mission-centered commitment to be ‘Ambassadors of Service,” according to the Community Engagement Hub page.

Students who are ultimately inducted into the Service Honor Society must demonstrate the following: “significant and sustained service to the campus community and/or larger world, marked achievement in leadership, meritorious academic achievement, and recognized integrity and commitment to excellence,” as stated on the Community Engagement Hub page.

Right now, seniors who will be graduating in Spring 2022 are being nominated. Friends, faculty, staff, club advisors, coaches, or other members of the MU community can nominate the students they believe qualify.

Students also have the option to, and are even encouraged to nominate themselves.

To nominate a graduating senior, go to https://forms.office. com/r/4E0P2ZUXm6. Once the students are nominated, there are a few steps that they must complete prior to actually being inducted.

“Nominated students are emailed and invited to complete a ‘service profile,’ or basically a resume of all of their service and co-curricular involvement over their years here at MU,” said Bethany Woods, associate director of Community Engagement.

“It’s their chance to sell themselves and highlight all that they’ve done while a student here.”

After all of the applications have been submitted to the Induction Committee, they will review the applications and decide who will be inducted.

“The SHS Induction Committee (made up of staff and faculty across the university) meets around Easter after reviewing the compiled profiles and determines who meets or exceeds the SHS descriptors and deserves to be inducted,” Woods said.

“If a student meets all the criteria, they are notified a few days later that they are invited to the induction ceremony and dinner. At that ceremony, a student will receive cords and be celebrated for their service to the Mercyhurst and surrounding communities.”

Students must be a full-time undergraduate student, be a senior who has been certified to graduate in the current calendar year, have a GPA of 2.75 or higher by the beginning of the spring semester of the induction year, be recommended for induction through the completion of an official nomination form, and complete and return by the designated deadline all materials requested by the Service Honor Society Selection Committee.

The Committee Chair will approve the final induction list, and then the induction process can begin.

At the induction ceremony inductees are provided the green and white Service Honor Cord which they will wear at their graduation, which recognizes their remarkable commitment to living Mercyhurst’s Mission through significant service both on campus and beyond the gates.

If you or someone you know fulfills the requirements to be inducted into the Service Honor Society, consider going on the Community Engagement Hub page and filling out a nomination form. STUDENT GOVERNMENT

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