THE MEREDITH
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HERALD
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December 1, 2021
Efforts to Install Additional Braille Signs On Campus Continue By Rachel Van Horne, Associate Editor, and Olivia Slack, Co-Editor in Chief Using braille—a system of raised dots that can be read by visually impaired people—on signage is something that can make buildings more accessible. Meredith College student Mikayla Gephart, ‘23, has been advocating for the addition of braille signs on all buildings at Meredith since June 2019. The Meredith Herald recently interviewed Gephart and Assistant Director for Disability Services Carolyn Koning to hear more about this issue. Upon arriving at Meredith, Gephart, who identifies herself as blind, noticed that all buildings had a sign on the outside of them indicating the buildings’ names, but that these signs did not include braille. Gephart said, “I started advocating for braille signage because I feel it is unfair that I do not have the same access to the signs as everyone else.” She continued, “When I realized in June, 2019 that Meredith needed more braille signage, I alerted Carolyn Koning about the issue. I didn’t want the issue to get swept under the rug. Two years later, there has been minimal progress.” Gephart gave an example about the impact of inconsistent braille on campus: “The lack of braille signs grew particularly frustrating during my first Cornhuskin’,” she said. “I volunteered to bring some cans to one of the
co-chairs for the Class of 2023, who she wanted to make students lived in Heilman. I lived in Fairaware that they “have done a lot cloth, where all of the room numby increasing visibility and letting bers were brailled. However, when people know we want to be an I tried to find the correct room in inclusive community.” Heilman, I was shocked to find that there were “We want no braille diversity signs to because help me find it makes the correct us a more room.” inclusive Koncommuniing said that ty,” Koning when she arsaid. “We rived at Merreally do edith, braille care about signage was accessibilinconsistent ity and A braille sign in Joyner Hall; and that she and Karen welcoming all stuphoto by Olivia Slack Hager, a disability dents.” Koning said counselor in the office, have been that often, there are “too many working on a braille audit. “Last projects and not enough money.” summer, we committed to getting “Ultimately, we didn't this done,” Koning said. “Karen have the budget for all the loHager and I went into every single cations that still need braille,” building and every single outside Koning explained. “We prioritized space, and we made a spreadsheet the buildings that were most and identified every location that frequently used by a known user still needs braille.” of braille, and we hope to have When asked about student access to funding to complete the advocacy for the braille signs on braille project at the end of this Meredith’s campus, Gephart said, fiscal year." “I think that we need to make the In Gephart’s opinion, administration aware that this isthere is little excuse for the lack of sue is important to us as students braille around Meredith’s camwho want to make Meredith a more pus. “[Placing braille sign] is as inclusive environment.” Koning simple as ordering the signs and shared similar sentiments, and said then having Facilities hang them
Students Alert College About Mold in Residence Hall Vents
in accessible places,” Gephart said. “I have received countless emails throughout my time here saying that they were making progress, but it has still been three years and most of our buildings still do not have signage that is accessible to the blind. If Meredith can build new buildings for some of our academic programs, there is no reason why we cannot purchase braille signs for all locations on campus.” According to Koning, braille signs can cost more than people may think, and budgets across Meredith’s campus were cut due to the pandemic, limiting what Disability Services was able to accomplish this summer. “We want students to know we care about this,” she said. “I wish we had the resources to get ahead and be proactive, but we typically react to the specific accommodation needs of incoming students, so it often feels like we're playing catch up.” “Putting a braille sign next to the dorm I am living in and a few other buildings is not going to cut it,” Gephart said. “It can be frustrating being the only blind student, because I am only one person. However, if we all put pressure on Meredith, maybe this can be finished by the time I graduate.” All Herald articles are available and accessible for screen readers and other technology on our website, meredithherald.com.
By Evelyn Summers, Staff Writer Within a week of moving into her on-campus residence in Heilman Hall, student Lara Brown, ‘25, says she started experiencing symptoms that she described as “pure exhaustion, super stuffed up [nose], dry throat, runny nose [and a] dry sort of cough.” Brown believes these symptoms are indicative of an allergic reaction to mold and mildew in her on-campus living space. “We noticed we had to dust every two days due to how bad our room was,” Brown said. “One day we looked up at our vents and realized how disgusting they looked. There was mildew coating [them] and mold on the outside of the actual cover to the vent.” Brown said that a month and a half after complaining about their findings, Heilman’s residence director gave her and her suitemates 48 hours to move out with no definite information about when they could return. Brown and her suitemates ended up permanently moving to another floor in Heilman.
On Nov. 16, students living in Heilman were notified via email that Meredith had scheduled a contractor to clean air ducts and the air handler in Heilman over winter break to ensure continued healthy air quality. Prior to winter break, Heilman students will need to move all personal belongings at least four feet away from the hallway wall to ensure protection of belongings from the vent cleanings. However, Heilman is not the only residence hall that students have found mold in. While residents of Faircloth Hall have also been notified of intended cleaning, Andy Bullock, ‘25, who lives in Poteat Hall, says she also found mold in her room and has been sick ever since she moved on campus. She said she has a persistent “sore throat” and that many other of the students on her floor do as well. When asked about how she felt about the upcoming cleaning project, Brown replied, “I don’t understand how they are just now
getting to it when a lot of people get sick from mold, mildew and dust. It just seems very irresponsible of the school to not put their students' safety first. A lot of Meredith students…are from far away places, not local, and it is in no way convenient for them to have to take things home or store them somewhere else.” Carrie Barnhart, Director of Residence Life, explained that once the College was notified of the problem by students, they brought in an environmental hygienist to take a closer look. “The results of the testing by an American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) certified lab showed no safety concerns,” Barnhart said. “Having this AIHA certification is a sign that they are providing expert testing and analysis, and that their review of the test results is trustworthy.” When asked about the cleaning schedule already in place, Barnhart said, “The air vents and air handlers in our residence halls are cleaned regularly by our Facili-
Photo by Lara Brown
ties staff, and the College also has a rotation for having a contractor provide additional cleaning of air ducts and the air handlers.” She added that according to the environmental hygienist, “the levels [of mold] found did not indicate an immediate need for remediation in order to remain at a safe level for residents.” According to Barnhart, “Heilman is next on the list for this extra step of cleaning by an outside contractor during winter break. All of the residence halls will have this cleaning on a regular schedule as part of this rotation.”
News
Meredith Releases New Status of Women in NC Politics Report By Freya Dahlgren, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Meredith College
On Nov. 4, 2021, Meredith College, in conjunction with Dr. David McLennan, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Meredith Poll, published the 2021 Status of Women in North Carolina Politics report. This is the third report in this series published by Meredith College. When asked for some background on his activism, Dr. McLennan said, “I had always had a passion for gender equity and helping specific women get elected to political office was one way in which I could try to address one of the major areas of inequality in our country.” After the 2002 election, Dr. McLennan and a colleague decided to create the North Carolina Center for Women in Public Service. He said, “Although that organization ceased operations
in 2014, I continue this type of work with another organization co-founded by Meredith College called the Voices of Change Institute.” This organization recruits and equips women of color to seek political office. He said, “We completed our first program this year and are looking forward to our next institute next year.” Dr. McLennan arrived at Meredith College in 2014, but he has been tracking numbers of women in office since the early 2000s. He said, “Meredith College gave me the opportunity to formally publish my findings through the Status of Women in North Carolina Politics reports. These reports help raise awareness of the issue of gender inequity in North Carolina politics and they build on Meredith College’s commitment to promoting women leaders.” These reports have been published in 2015, 2018 and 2021. The threeyear timespan between each report accounts for election cycles and enough time to publish and analyze these findings. In an effort to empower more women to run for office, Dr. McLennan said that “[he] hopes
that the reports spur [women’s organizations] to work harder to help get more women into the political pipeline.” Dr. McLennan also empowers female leaders by hiring Meredith students to be his research assistants for the project. He said that “producing the report is very time-consuming and...collecting the data on these officeholders and the processes, like elections, that produce these officeholders is a tedious, but rewarding activity.” The research assistants and Marketing Department at Meredith College help these reports come together. One major part of this year’s report is the underrepresentation of women in politics. Dr. McLennan says the data shows that three main factors contribute to this underrepresentation. The first is that fewer women run for office than do men, the second is that some areas of the state—primarily rural areas—do not have a history of women in political office and the third is increasing hostile sexism among some voters across all political parties. The main conclusion drawn from the report is that women’s
or nervous thoughts enter [her] head.” After finishing the race, Weaver said, “[I was] very tired but very proud and accomplished knowing I went as far as I could with my season...it was a monsoon of people after the finish line. This race was unlike any race atmosphere I have ever been in before.” The Herald also sat down with MCXC Coach Field Miller and asked him how he felt about being the head coach of the first Meredith student to go to nationals. Coach Miller stated, “It was always a goal and will continue to be a goal year in and year out to have representation on the national stage. I have confidence in all of our athletes through the hard work and dedication each individual puts into our program that we can continue to push our program forward and make this an expectation for new recruits as they join our program.” Weaver said she would have never made it to nationals without the support of Coach
Miller or the MCXC team. “Coach always jokes around about me going to nationals, but I didn't quite ever believe that could happen,” she explained. “He has definitely made this sport so much fun and always encourages me to work harder.” Weaver also expressed gratitude for the support she received from her mom and grandparents, “who always lift [her] up and push [her] to get better.” She said, “I just would like to thank everyone for all the support and sweet messages I received throughout this whole week. It really made a world of difference in helping my nerves beforehand. I can't really thank everyone enough. I am so appreciative of all the support.” When asked about his goals for MCXC’s next season, Coach Miller said, “The goal never changes, as we want to have our athletes best prepared for each season to accomplish their goals.” Coach Miller wanted to “thank [Meredith’s] administration for the
had to be halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, construction has been consistent throughout the Fall 2021 semester. Due to the pandemic-related delay in construction, the building is now expected to be fully fin-
ished sometime in 2022 which is a year later than originally planned. This new building will have new and innovative classroom designs as well as provide new technology, equipment and opportunities for students to get hands-on experi-
status in politics in North Carolina is a “mixed bag.” According to Dr. McLennan, this means that “there were some gains across North Carolina in terms of women’s representation since 2018, [and] conversely, there was really no increase in the overall number of women running for office.” He also said that the number of women of color in appointed and elected offices still “lags behind.” The report also found that “many women candidates…out-raised their male counterparts.” Dr. McLennan said that’s a good sign and “goes a long way to dispelling the myth that women cannot raise money.” Dr. McLennan said that he wants the reports to make a difference in North Carolina. “There is evidence that journalists and advocates pay attention to the results and make some effort to remedy the problem,” he said. “As we head into another important election year, I am hopeful that more women will be running for office than last year.” The full report can be found on Meredith’s website.
Meredith Cross Country Athlete Makes Nationals By Mia Russell, Staff Writer
For the first time in Meredith history, an athlete from the Meredith College cross country (MCXC) team advanced to the national level. Corrine Weaver, ‘23, sat down with The Herald after her nationals debut to share how she felt about her performance and how she got there. When asked what being the first runner from Meredith College to make it to nationals means to her, she said, “It is a very special moment and something I will never forget. I was so happy to put MCXC on the national spectrum, and I hope to do it again and encourage others that just because something has not been done before does not mean it is impossible. I really hope this sparks a light for the team and the future of MCXC.” Going into nationals, Weaver’s goal was “to enjoy every moment and leave knowing [she] took in as much of the experience as [she] could, to race to the best of [her] ability and not let negative
Photo courtesy of Corrine Weaver
continued opportunity to coach such a strong and dedicated group of athletes.” He said that “Weaver is an extremely gifted athlete who has trusted the program and is fully committed to success, and [he is] honored to have the opportunity to experience such an event like the NCAA DIII XC National Championships with her.” Coach Miller said watching Weaver make Meredith history is something he “will cherish and never forget.”
Update on the Communication and Exercise and Sports Science Building By Jayce Perry, Staff Writer
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Construction on Meredith College’s new academic building for the communication and exercise and sports science (ESS) majors has been in progress since January 2019. Although there was a period of time when the project
ence in their majors. The updated Human Performance Lab for ESS majors will allow for applied learning. Read the full story on our website.
Arts & Entertainment
Office of International Programs Reveals Global Cookbook By Shae-Lynn Henderson, Staff Writer Meredith College’s international student program is going strong. On Nov. 16, 2021, the Office of International Programs (OIP) released their Going Strong Going Global in the Kitchen cookbook. The recipe book features the meaningful recipes from 10 different students, as well as Margherita Tirabosco, a friend of the college from Italy. The book is available for all students so that they have the opportunity to test out the recipes. Students can find the book in the OIP’s office in Joyner 124. Liz Yaros, the OIP’s Associate Director, explained that the cookbook was long in the making, labelling it a “team effort.” Yaros said that Tammi Ditmar, OIP Operations Coordinator, originally
came up with the idea before the pandemic “as a way to celebrate and amplify cultural diversity.” When asked which she was most excited to try first, Jennifer Glass, OIP Assistant Director, said “all of them,” but also made special reference to Yiting (Lorelei) Liang’s soy sauce chicken recipe. However, this recipe book is more than just a means to share recipes: it is significant to both faculty and students alike, and particularly to international students. Glass said the cookbook “is a reminder of the sacrifices international students make coming to Meredith,” and that it is a representation of the “comforts of home that international students have chosen to go without while they
pursue their particular goals here.” the dish “reminds [her] of the Hannah Taib, prosperity, culture ‘22, said the cookbook and openness Malay“shows the strength in sians have always had numbers of internatowards each other tional students.” She is and the different kinds most looking forward of food in each relito trying a recipe from gion.” Elisabeth Orlandini, There are also ‘23, her “great friend” plans to make the and fellow field hockey cookbook a continued teammate: Dutch cooktradition. Glass said ies. This recipe evokes she is in support of memories of Taib’s “making it happen” as visit to the Netherlands long as students have Image courtesy of the during winter break a desire to continue it. Office of International She said that she considers last year. Taib herself Programs contributed a recipe for the work from the stubeef rendang, which is traditiondents toward this cookbook “a gift ally enjoyed during Eid within the they’re sharing with the Meredith Islamic religion. As Taib recalled, community.”
Music Department's Annual "Winterfest" Tradition Continues By Evelyn Summers, Staff Writer Winterfest is an annual event in December hosted by the music department at Meredith. Ensembles such as Chorale, Encore, Chorus, Sinfonietta and Octavia perform at Winterfest. Typically Winterfest is in person, but due to COVID-19 it will be held virtually this year and members of the Meredith community will be able to watch the recording in December. The Herald spoke to Dr. Jim Waddelow, Associate Professor of Music, to learn more about Winterfest. Dr. Waddelow explained, “This year, [the ensembles playing in the concert] will be the 50-member Meredith Philharmonic Orchestra, and my wonderful colleague, Dr. Carla CoplandBurns, will lead our flute ensemble, the Meredith Flutastix. With so many ensembles it takes a bit of coordination.” Dr. Waddelow also explained that planning for the concert begins in September since the concert always takes place the first weekend in December. “Because the concert falls
on top of final exams,” he said, “it takes a bit of extra care in planning from each of us who lead the ensembles. As a department, we want to provide a rewarding and memorable experience for everyone, but each of us also tries to balance that with the reality that the students we serve have projects, finals and critical deadlines in November and December.” When asked what Winterfest means to him, Dr. Waddelow elaborated on how special Winterfest really is: “There are so many things that make the Winterfest weekend special. First of all, it is the only Music Department concert of the year where the instrumental, piano and vocal parts of the department all perform at the same concert on the same night. Another thing that is both unique and special: many alumni return year after year to campus for this concert.” Additionally, at Winterfest, students taking the senior level Instrumentation/Arranging course are given a special opportunity.
“Each year, a group of student conductors performs original orchestral arrangements written by a group of Meredith students who are taking [the] course,” Dr. Waddelow said. “The Meredith Music Department is the only program in the Southeast that does this.” The Herald also spoke to students performing this year. Alaire Donofrio, ‘24, said, “Unfortunately, as a sophomore, I haven't been able to see Winterfest in full swing due to COVID-19, but from what I hear, it's essentially a massive concert that the whole music department anticipates and puts lots of effort into.” Donofrio explained that last year students “had the opportunity to pre-record our pieces for Winterfest and vicariously experience it, and to keep things safe for both the audience and performers we will be doing the same again this year.” When asked about her favorite piece, Donofrio responded, “I'm particularly excited for people to hear Chorale sing ‘Infant Holy.’ It completely immerses you in a
warm, cozy feeling and I think the audience will really enjoy hearing us sing it in the winter season.” Donofrio will be playing with Meredith Sinfonietta and singing in Chorale. The Herald also spoke to Ingrid Santiago, ‘22, who explained that Winterfest will be her “last performance with Meredith choirs after seven semesters with them.” She said, “It's very emotional but it takes a village to put up and I'm very grateful that my last performance is going to be Winterfest.” Santiago explained that her favorite part of Winterfest “has always been getting to see what the other ensembles have prepared…we have such talented individuals at Meredith in all ensembles.” She said that her favorite piece this year is “a Hebrew piece called ‘Ma Navu’— it's absolutely beautiful and each voice part shines in its own way." The ensembles performing in Winterfest will be recording on Dec. 2, and the recording will be released following that date.
Prior to the pandemic, Rodgers said that they made more money through box office donations than they had through ticket sales. When it comes to attendance at shows, Rodgers explained that the pandemic has made it “difficult to judge whether or not free tickets will drastically change [the] attendance at performances” because they have limited the number of non-Meredith attendees. However, they are optimistic that their spring musical, A Grand Night for Singing, will be more open to the public. “Seating upstairs in Jones Auditorium allows for more audience members,
even with six-feet social distancing,” Rodgers said, “so that should help increase our numbers quite a bit.” In addition to donations, Rodgers explained that students can show their support for the program by taking theatre classes, auditioning for shows, working backstage for course credit or being involved with the Extra Theatre Company. “Students do not have to major or minor in theatre in order to participate,” Rodgers emphasized.
Meredith Theatre Continues to Offer Free Admission By Aminah Jenkins, Associate Editor The Meredith College Theatre Department puts on a variety of shows throughout the year. All of these shows are put on with no cost for admission. Catherine Rodgers, a professor and the program coordinator in the Theatre Department, spoke with The Herald about why the department made this choice. Rodgers explained that tickets have always been free for faculty, students and staff through complimentary tickets they could sign up for. The department decided to open it up to everyone since a large portion of their audience is usually from the Meredith
community, and to avoid having to track all of the complimentary tickets. The program no longer has to buy physical tickets or box office software programs, which cuts down on costs. Rodgers shared that Meredith’s administration has played a large role in the department’s ability to do this. “Theatre is an academic program, not a for-profit organization, and it is funded as such,” Rodgers said. “We do usually ask the audience to make a donation if they are able to do so since we don't want folks to think that the arts can exist without proper funding.”
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Opinion Meredith COVID Policies Don't Make Sense By Aminah Jenkins, Associate Editor
As finals approach, many of us are reflecting on the highs and lows of this semester. The uncertainty that surrounded this semester made it one for the books. The rules are meant to mediate the spread of the virus so that students can continue to go to class and have as normal of a school year as possible. However, these rules aren’t applied equally to every situation. Masks According to Meredith’s Community Standards, “it is strongly recommended that persons taking group photos wear face coverings, practice physical distancing and take the photographs outdoors.” It isn’t uncommon to see students taking group pictures to document things like the first day of class or Ring Ceremony. One of the times where masks aren’t required is “when
outdoors and maintaining physical distance from others.” However, many students take these pictures unmasked and without maintaining social distance. Gatherings This leads to the next area of discrepancies—gatherings. In classes, students are required to wear their masks at all times. Even though most classes are held indoors, many students sit right next to each other. This, coupled with the close proximity of people taking group pictures, makes the masking rule arbitrary. Certain traditions were not able to happen this year because of COVID guidelines. The Class of 2023’s Ring Ceremony was held at the Fletcher Opera House and only had speeches (the ceremony normally involves a dinner at a country club). Other traditions were not necessarily regulated to these
rules. Cornhuskin’ was meant to be governed by the same rules as every other tradition. Despite telling students to social distance in the amphitheatre, classes still sat right next to each other. Guests Initially, students living on campus could only have other oncampus residents in their rooms and were limited to one student per resident. The rules have changed to allow for any Meredith student or the parent/guardian of a resident to visit. But even then, that hasn’t stopped people from bringing guests onto campus. Just two weeks ago during Belk Dining Hall’s Thanksgiving celebration, students brought their significant others and families to celebrate. Students also bring their friends onto campus to hang out in areas like the courtyard or the library that are open to guests.
Additionally, Meredith has hosted admissions events on weekends with dozens of non-Meredith students and their families coming to campus. Guests are expected to abide by the same community standards that we are. However, they aren’t required to show a negative COVID-19 test prior to coming to campus (as many of us had to at the start of the year). Allowing dozens of nonMeredith people onto campus when it’s convenient for Meredith isn’t a fair way to enforce rules. Next semester, with the vaccination requirement in place, it makes sense that some of the Community Standards may change or be removed altogether. However, Meredith should also focus its efforts on creating uniformity.
Meredith Should Have Mental Wellness Days By Rania Abushakra, Staff Writer Content warning: mentions of suicide With only a few weeks remaining in the semester, students and faculty are burnt out. College is stressful. Everyone needs a day to recharge from the constant assignments, final exam preparation and essay writing required in classes. With the majority of students feeling that their mental health has worsened during the pandemic, Meredith College should provide students and professors with a mental wellness day that would give them the opportunity to destress. Our generation was already struggling with high rates of mental health issues before the pandemic, but now, according to a survey conducted by Education Week, about 56% of college students are struggling with poor mental health
after living through a pandemic for over a year. As a generation, we have started to normalize struggling with mental health issues and made efforts to spread the message that it is perfectly acceptable to not feel great 100% of the time. This is especially true with all the exciting but stressful life changes that college students experience. Mental wellness days are days where there are no classes and no classwork is expected of students. During these times, students are encouraged to take time to unwind and focus solely on doing things that help ease their minds. Many colleges and universities across North Carolina, like NC State, have designated days off for mental wellness. Due to several recent student suicides, UNC Chapel Hill decided to give stu-
dents and staff a mental wellness day to focus on rest and self-care. Meredith has also been touched by this issue and many students on campus say they would like to see additional steps being taken to ensure students have the support they need, and that the mental health of students and staff alike should be a top priority for Meredith’s leadership. Olivia Skaggs, ‘24, said she believes that our society is in a crisis and that something must be done about it within our school. “Meredith should recogniz[e] that mental health struggles are higher than ever before and more suicides are occurring,” she said. When asked about the benefits of mental wellness days, Laurie Ponder, ‘22, said that “[it] would give students a day of rest and recuperation.” She added,
“Ideally, I would love it to be implemented for future students two days a month due to the high expectations of Meredith College’s academic…requirements. Students need as much of a break as do faculty with grading.” As the end of the semester is near, remember to take care of yourself as best as you can. If you or someone you know is in a crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-2738255. The crisis center provides free and confidential emotional support 24/7. The Meredith College Counseling Center is also available at 919-760-8427 for appointments. For more resources on where to find mental health resources at Meredith, check out the Counseling Center’s website.
celebration of the holiday tells of an unnamed Native American tribe welcoming the Pilgrims to a feast where they share knowledge of the land. This is a bloodless scene, a feast between new friends. It is full of falsehoods. This unnamed tribe was actually the Wampanoag tribe. There was a bloody history between this tribe and the Europeans, including slave raiding by the
Europeans. Leading up to the arrival of the Mayflower, the Wampanoag tribe had experienced an epidemic of disease, lowering their population. Due to this decrease in number, the tribe reached out to form an alliance with the Pilgrims, hoping to defend themselves against tribal threats.
The True Meaning of Thanksgiving By Maggie Barnhill, Staff Writer Content warning: mention of violence and slavery While Valentine’s Day is considered a “commercial holiday” by many, I personally believe that it has been wrongly accused. This Feb. 14 holiday is a day dedicated to showing one’s significant other that you care. While there are many corporations that benefit from the holiday, the thought behind the day comes back to love.
Unlike Valentine’s Day, I would not mind throwing Thanksgiving out the window. While having this day to gather with one’s family is wonderful, the history behind the holiday is not something we should be celebrating. We have been taught that Thanksgiving originated in Plymouth, Massachusetts during the time of colonial America. The story most often taught about the first
Read the full story on our website.
STAFF
Olivia Slack and Elinor Shelp-Peck, Co-Editors in Chief. Rachel Van Horne and Aminah Jenkins, Associate Editors. Ally Cefalu, A&E Editor. Molly Perry, Features Editor. Hannah Porter, Opinion Editor. Staff Writers: Rania Abushakra, Maggie Barnhill, Jeanine Carryl, Freya Dahlgren, Shae-Lynn Henderson, Jayce Perry, Rylee Petty, Anna Prince, Mia Russell, Evelyn Summers, Hannah Taib. Contributing Writers: Kaitlyn Eisbacher, Amal Heda, Rachel Johnson, Angelina Morin, Haileigh West. Podcasting Director: Sofia Gomez. Copy Editor: Erin Wendorf. Staff Photographers: Madison Sholar, Elisabeth Sinicrope.