The Signpost 06.30.20 Juneteenth

Tuesday | June 30, 2020 | Volume 92 | Issue 05

>> PAGE 6

NATIONAL

HOLIDAY

SARA PARKER| The Signpost

A CALL FOR A

NEWS » PAGE 5

RETURNING TO THE COURT ROBERT LEWIS| The Signpost

02 | MyWeberMedia.com| June 30, 2020

DO YOU KNOW YOUR NEWS?

2. Which state has drawn attention lately for a debate over changing its Confeder1. In which two Utah counties ate-themed state flag? did Governor Gary Herbert ala. California low mandates for face masks?

By FRANCIA HENRIQUEZ BENSON Assistant Section Editor

cotts of Facebook and Insta- of COVID-19 cases on June 25? gram due to the social media organizations’ inaction at stop- a. Florida ping hate speech? b. Texas a. Adidas c. California

a. Davis and Weber counties

b. Texas

b. Victoria’s Secret

b. Iron and Cache counties

c. Illinois

c. Toms Shoes

d. Mississippi

d. Verizon Wireless

c. Box Elder and Grand counties

3. Which big company just 4. Which state reported a d. Salt Lake and Summit coun- threw its weight behind boy- 79% rise in its weekly average ties

FLICKR

BELOW: Face masks for the COVID pandemic.

ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS ON PAGE 09

d. Kentucky

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WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY

SOCIALIZE, SOCIAL SOCIAL DISTANCE DISTANCE AND AND SHOW SHOW SOCIALIZE,

COMMUNITY PRIDE THIS SUMMER Weber State Outdoor Program banner.

By ADAM RUBIN Reporter

As part of the larger, newly-formed “Hometown Series” on three Wednesday evenings in July and August, participants are invited to give back by cleaning up some of the natural hallmarks that make Ogden unique.

The Outdoor Program is offering a chance to socialize this summer, spend time outdoors and serve the community and its environment while safely social distancing. Space is limited, so participants are required to pre-register.

“We want to encourage making the most out of our own backyard, these are places that we use, and we want to take care of,” said Hayley Prine, the Outdoor

Program Community Coordinator.

The Outdoor Program is keeping this public service safe while allowing the community to socialize, show environmental pride and get outside. Groups are formed by no more than five people and there will be up to 15 individual groups.

“Generally, with these types of outings, ratios are 50 percent students and 50 percent general public,” Prine said. “The Outdoor Program welcomes WSU faculty and staff as well.”

The Community Service Event dates are set for 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. per event: · July 1 – Ogden River Clean-up · July 22 – Lower Boulder Field Clean-up · Aug. 12 – Ogden River Clean-up It’s free to join, and registration closes

each Thursday before the event.

The clean-up process is beginner level for both “skill” and “fitness.”

The Outdoor Program requests that participants bring their own day pack, closedtoe shoes, food and water, as well as a jacket and sun protection.

People can register by phone, email or on the website. Participants meet on location for each event, and it is recommended to arrive a little before 6 p.m.

“We are not encouraging riding in the car together,” Prine said. “Due to the risk for even small, contained crowds at any of our meet-up events.”

All registrants will be contacted by a designated representative from the Outdoor Program once their registration is

processed. Prine said the program will symptom check for COVID-19 two days before each event and before the event commences on the day of.

The Outdoor Program is taking strides to make sure everyone stays safe while out working.

“This season is a strange one,” Prine said. “There’s a heightened sense of community protection and safety, we hold that as an absolute priority, we also want to make sure that we are people who want to keep our community safe and healthy, we don’t take it lightly.”

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MyWeberMedia.com| June 30, 2020 | 05

SPORTS SET TO RETURN FOR

THE WILDCATS Asst. Section Editor

ROBERT LEWIS | The Signpost

Four months ago, it was inconceivable that tournaments would be canceled, seasons would be permanently cut short and senior student athletes would unceremoniously play their last games as college athletes.

Now, though, it seems changes and alterations will be a constant for the foreseeable future, and this year’s fall sports here at Weber State are no exception.

Changes have already been made by the Big Sky Conference, as it announced adjustments to the soccer, volleyball, basketball and softball schedules throughout this past month.

In a statement from Big Sky Conference Commissioner Tom Wistrcill, he said the Big Sky is prepared to move forward while controlling expenses and making adjustments for resumed play.

Soccer kicks off on Oct. 2, with the start of conference play, while the Wildcats first game will be Oct. 4 at Idaho State. Mon-

tana is the reigning regular season champion from last season.

Volleyball matches commence Sept. 24, with the Wildcats taking on Eastern Washington.

Teams face the same opponent on backto-back days as they play eight conference teams total, for a 16-game conference schedule, instead of the usual 18 games.

The Volleyball Conference Championship is set for Nov. 24 and 25 in Greeley, Colorado.

Men and Women’s basketball tips-off this November, but instead of the typical 20 conference games there will only be 16. Boise, Idaho’s CenturyLink Arena will host the Big Sky basketball tournament for the third year in a row, from March 8 to 13, 2021.

“This one-year adjustment to our conference basketball schedules is an appropriate measure that delivers significant cost savings to our member institutions while providing our basketball programs with more flexibility in their non-conference

Players face off Friday night at the WSU vs NAU hockey game.

scheduling,” Wistrcill said in a statement on the conference’s website.

Softball is also slated to start next spring with the usual 18-game conference schedule. The Wildcats were the 2019 Big Sky Champions, before falling in the NCAA Regionals to second-ranked UCLA. Also, due to the cancellation of the end of last season, Weber State is still the current reigning champs.

The Wildcats were also set to host the 2020 Outdoor Championships for track this past May, but will now host in 2021, due to the cancellation.

All plans are ongoing as well, as, due to the pandemic, more modifications may be coming down the line for each sport, depending on health protocols.

Wildcat Athletic Director, Tim Crompton, spoke on Weber State Athletics ‘Cat Tales Podcast earlier this month. He shared his thoughts on this upcoming 2020 sports season, and how it’ll be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have student athletes back on cam-

pus now taking part in voluntary workouts and there’s been much thought put into that, in the preparation to have them come back to campus. As that relates to our sports medicine, and team physicians,” Crompton said.

He also elaborated on Weber’s plans for dealing with the potential obstacles this upcoming season could bring.

“What we’re implementing is a combination of best practices that are happening at all types of collegiate facilities or in the community across the country, to mitigate and then to deal with if one of the athletes tests positive and how that all works and that it falls in line with the CDC and the health department, and those things are constantly changing,” Crompton said.

With student athletes back on campus, along with protocols and schedules in place, sports seem to be right around the corner.

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ROBERT LEWIS | The Signpost

By MILES SHAW

Wide Receiver Jon Christensen leaps for the screen pass at practice with the Wildcats March 11.

BEAABLACK BLACKHOLIDAY. HOLIDAY. JUNETEENTH SHOULDN’T SHOULDN’T BE IT SHOULD BE A NATIONAL HOLIDAY.

MyWeberMedia.com| June 30, 2020 | 07

06 | MyWeberMedia.com| June 30, 2020

Managing Editor

Wikimedia Commons

A group photograph of thirty-one people at a Juneteenth Celebration in Emancipation Park in Houston’s Fourth Ward in 1880.

A mob commandeered the vehicle, dragged Marshall to a farm in the area and lynched him.

A group of 100 Black workers in the county pooled together money to pay for his funeral expenses. They didn’t have enough to afford a headstone.

Utah has a history with racism running as deep as any state. Black people have been killed here. They’ve been denied places to live, eat and perform.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has had a religious stronghold since pioneers settled here, didn’t allow Black members to hold the priesthood until 1978, more than a hundred years after slavery was abolished.

White people are still learning about Juneteenth, while millions of Black people celebrate it every year.

Juneteenth was a bigger story than usual this year, thanks to President Trump scheduling a rally over the holiday in Tulsa, the site of one of the worst race massacres in the history of America.

I didn’t learn about the 1921 Tulsa massacre in school, either.

Later, Trump took credit for educating Americans about the holiday.

“I did something good,” Trump said. “I made Juneteenth very famous.”

White people shouldn’t be learning about significant holidays because the president tried to overshadow it with an extraordinarily-irresponsible gathering in the middle of a global pandemic.

We don’t have an excuse anymore. We should be learning about Juneteenth. We should be teaching our children. It should be part of the required curriculum for every school, in every state.

We celebrate the slaughter of indigenous people on Columbus Day. This year, we’ll celebrate America’s independence from Britain twice. Yet, Juneteenth is still not a national holiday.

Until we are committed to making Black history as significant as white history, we will continue to live in two Americas. One for the oppressors. And one for the oppressed.e oppressed.

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Juneteenth festivities around Ogden celebrate the day slaves were officially freed in the U.S in 1865.

SARA PARKER | The Signpost

Galveston, Texas. June 19, 1865. Federal troops took control of the state to command that all enslaved people be freed.

U.S. Gen. Gordon Granger stood on Texas soil and read General Order No. 3: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. Two and a half years later, slaves in some non-Confederate states were still not free. Many slavers had moved to Texas, which was viewed as a safe haven for slavery.

Granger’s proclamation officially freed the

ABC4’s coverage of the event began with the sentence, “There’s a possibility you’ve heard of Juneteenth.”

However, many students haven’t. Juneteenth isn’t in the required curriculum for Utah schools, even universities. I received my Bachelor’s degree without a mention of the holiday — and I’m a History minor.

Maybe Juneteenth doesn’t seem like a critical holiday in Utah, considering our population is 90 percent white, but racism has existed here since our state was settled.

The first group of pioneers to reach the Salt Lake Valley included enslaved members. Slaves were bought and sold here.

When slavery was outlawed, Utah joined other states in passing “black codes”: laws that targeted Black workers and set the stage for Jim Crow.

In 1925, a Black coal miner named Robert Marshall was accused of murdering a county marshal. Despite there being no witnesses to the crime, Marshall was apprehended and taken to jail.

SARA PARKER | The Signpost

DARYN STEED

last slaves in the United States in America, some 250,000 people. Celebrations broke out across the country, and Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the official abolition of slavery, was born.

In 1979, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday. Today, it is recognized as a state holiday in 47 states, but efforts to make it a national holiday have stalled in Congress.

I didn’t learn any of this in school. In fact, I had never heard of Juneteenth until after I graduated high school. In Black-majority areas across America, Juneteenth is celebrated with music, barbecues, prayer services and more. In Utah, Juneteenth is hardly celebrated at all.

Weber State University does celebrate Juneteenth with the annual Freedom and Heritage Festival. This year, many of the events were held virtually, but students were still able to watch films and listen to town halls featuring Black leaders and activists.

Juneteenth festivities around Ogden celebrate the day slaves were officially freed in the U.S in 1865.

08 | MyWeberMedia.com| June 30, 2020

By FRANCIA HERNRIQUEZ BENSON Asst. Section Editor

The big questions for fall semester are if campus will remain open and if classes will be held in person.

To comply with the six-foot social distance guideline, as well as other precautions to prevent COVID-19 cases, Weber State University is developing plans to hold fall semester classes in formats other than face-to-face classes, including online, hybrid or virtual.

The university is also working on selecting the delivery options of classes depending on the student’s needs and preferences.

Face-to-face courses will be assigned a classroom where the students can maintain social distancing. However, course meeting times will remain the same as listed on the class schedule.

The university expects to have a detailed course schedule decision by the first week of July. Once final decisions are made, students will get an email with information on their classes delivery format.

Among the courses that will likely be on-campus are lab,

Flickr

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING FALL SEMESTER

studio and research classes, as well as courses that involve performance, hands-on, practical and clinical experiences.

These classes will also be included and will be addressed in the email.

Many general education courses are being pushed to be in person for first-time students, early college students and international students that will benefit from the faceto-face interaction that comes with a gen-ed. Likewise, those who attend Davis campus and Farmington and West centers will have the opportunity to have face-to-face A look into the future of courses amid a global courses. pandemic.

Hybrid classes will be delivered in a few formats. Students could attend on-campus classes for some course meeting times and other times their course may be de- with a flexible schedule in a safe environment,” Weber livered synchronously or asynchronously online. Some State University President Brad Mortensen said in the hybrid courses may meet virtually, meeting online at the email announcing plans for Fall 2020.

The university’s prime concern is to ensure the well-bedesignated times. ing of students and faculty. Weber State has created a Along with the social distancing measures and changes back up plan in case the state goes back to a high-risk to class structures, the university has created a series of level and forces a school closure before or during fall cleaning protocols. This including hand sanitizer, disinfecsemester. tant and Plexiglas shields for each classroom.

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DO YOU KNOW YOUR NEWS? 1. The correct answer is D. According to ABC, Governor Gary Herbert mandated face masks in Salt Lake and Summit counties due to the rise of COVID-19 cases.

2. The correct answer is D. Mississippi, which is the last state to have a Confederate emblem in its flag, may have enough votes in the legislature to get the flag changed away from the symbol of Southern rebellion,

QUIZ ANSWERS FROM PAGE 2

according to CNN. 3. The correct answer is D. According to THE STREET, Verizon is the latest big company to pull its advertisements from Facebook and Instagram because the social media platforms are not taking action to stop hate speech from the platforms.

4. The correct answer is B. Texas reported a 79% rise in COVID-19 on June 25, according to CNBC; the governor believes it is likely due to people congregating at bars and restaurants.

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Face masks for the COVID pandemic.

THE SIGNPOST TEAM Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Greenlee jennifergreenlee@mail.weber.edu

Photo Editor Robert Lewis robertlewis7@mail.weber.edu

Sports Editor Raymond Lucas raymondlucas@mail.weber.edu

Managing Editor Daryn Steed darynsteed0@gmail.com

Asst. Photo Editor BriElle Harker brielleharker@mail.weber.edu

Asst. Sports Editor Miles Shaw milesshaw@mail.weber.edu

Chief Copy Editor Nic Muranaka nicholasmuranaka@weber.edu

Culture Editor Aubrielle Degn aubrielledegn@gmail.com

News Editor Marisa Nelson marisanelson@mail.weber.edu

Asst. Culture Editor Caitlyn Larsen caitlynlarsen@mail.weber.edu

Asst. News Editor Francia Henriquez Benson fhenriquezbenson@weber.edu

Social Media Manager Kalli Prendergast kandidkalliP@gmail.com

Design & Graphics Editor Aubree Eckhardt aubreeeckhardt@mail.weber.edu Asst. Design & Graphics Editor Alli Rickards alexandrarickards@mail.weber.edu Videography Editor Sarah Earnshaw sarahearnshaw@mail.weber.edu

Webmaster David Morris david.lee.morris@gmail.com Adviser Jean Norman jeannorman@weber.edu Ad Manager KC Sanders kcsanders@weber.edu The Signpost is a student publication, written, edited and drafted by Weber State University students. Student fees fund the printing of this publication. Opinions or positions voiced are not necessarily endorsed by the university. The Signpost reserves the right to edit for reasons of space and libel and to refuse to print any letters. Letters should be submitted online to thesignpost@weber.edu and read letter to the Editor in the subject box. Letters should not exceed 350 words.

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