No. 2 (Feb. 25, 2021)

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VOL. XCVV No. 2 / February 25th, 2021

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THE UNIVERSITY NEWS

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COVER DESIGN BY REBECCA LIVIGNI

NEWS

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SLU ANNOUNCES NEW ROUND OF CARES ACT RELIEF Through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, SLU will recieve CARES Act aid in order to assist students and cover financial losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Grace Dunlavy/The University News)

By CONOR DORN Associate News Editor

n Feb. 18, it was announced that SLU is expecting to receive a new round of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) aid, part of the larger Coronavirus Relief and Economic Security (CARES) stimulus bill that was passed in March 2020.

With a price tag of just over $2 trillion, the CARES Act was the largest economic stimulus bill in U.S. history, and of that money, $14 billion was given to the Office of Postsecondary Education in order to create the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF).

The new round of funding comes after an announcement by the U.S. Department of Education in January that an additional $21 billion would be made available to institutions of higher education through HEERF II, the second iteration of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.

The announcement was made

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by the acting U.S. Secretary of Education, Mitchell Zais, who encouraged institutions to use the funds to “support students who are struggling financially in the wake of this pandemic and to build IT and distance learning capacity for now and in preparation for the future.”

In the press release announcing the new funding, Zais stipulated that: “Public and non-profit schools can use their awards for financial aid grants to students, student support activities, and to cover a variety of institutional costs, including lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, technology costs associated with a transition to distance education, faculty and staff trainings, and payroll.”

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the amount allocated to each institution is based on a formula which accounts to institutions based on a formula that includes the relative shares of Pell Grant recipients and non-Pell Grant recipients, as well as the number of students exclusively enrolled in distance education prior to the start of the pandemic.

In the announcement to the SLU community regarding the new round of funding, the Vice President

for Enrollment and Retention Management, Kathleen Davis, wrote that an additional $2.5 million would be provided to students demonstrating “exceptional financial need.”

This portion of the relief fund is meant to address direct student financial aid, and SLU will be distributing the aid through immediate, need based grants, and “unexpected expenses” grants.

The need based grants are automatically distributed to Pell grant recipients, while the unexpected expenses grants, which are capped at $800, are awarded on a first come, first serve basis through the COVID-19 Relief Request application, which can be accessed through the Saint Louis University website.

Though the exact size of SLU’s HEERF II grant has not yet been announced, it is likely to be similar to the size of the first grant, awarded back in April 2020, of $5.14 million.

During the first round of HEERF funding, $2.57 million went to direct aid for students, while the remaining half went to replacing revenue lost to housing refunds, which amounted to nearly $10 million.

The second round of HEERF funding comes at a time when SLU, like many colleges across the U.S.,

are struggling financially. Entering the pandemic after a record setting year for enrollment and projecting a budget surplus of several million, SLU projected a total budget deficit of $20 million for the 2020 fiscal year, entirely attributable to the impact of COVID-19.

In an interview given to St. Louis Public Radio, SLU President Pestello estimated that the budget shortfall for fiscal year 2021 would range between $4-$8 million dollars.

President Pestello outlined some of the deficit reduction measures taken in an email to SLU students, faculty and staff last year, which included suspension of retirement matching, faculty travel and merit increases.

In addition, SLU is in the midst of an academic portfolio review, which could potentially result in elimination of academic programs and faculty positions, though the extent of these changes will remain unknown until the review concludes next year.

As was the case for the first round of aid, the new round of CARES Act funding helps offset some of SLUs deficit issues, and extends assistance to students who need immediate relief, but it is only the start of SLU’s path to recovery.

News

CHABON, SMITH RECEIVE

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STL LITERARY AWARD

By CONOR DORN Associate News Editor

(Andrea Porter, The University News)

JESUIT HALL PROJECTS UNDERWAY

By KLAUDIA WACHNIK Staff Writer esuit Hall, located on Lindell Boulevard, has existed at SLU for one hundred years, with initial construction completed in 1921. Originally the building was known as the Melbourne Hotel, one of the most illustrious hotels within the Midtown St. Louis area. It was later purchased by Saint Louis University and served as a residential space and later a women’s dormitory. In 1973, the Jesuit community and the University agreed for it to become a residential space for Jesuit members of the SLU community.

As time has gone on and the hall has continued to house individuals for a century, normal wear and tear has occurred. Recently, Neighborhood Properties of Clayton bought the building with plans to rehabilitate the building and update its systems. While only approximately 65 people live in the building currently, maintenance and repairs will expand the housing capacity.

The exterior of the building will remain the same, and the current plan is to turn the hall into an apartment complex, adding retail spaces on the street level of the building and a parking lot. In addition to Jesuit Hall itself being changed, there are also plans to

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have a second apartment complex built with a corresponding parking lot and retail on the street level.

Fr. David Suwalsky, S.J., Vice President of Mission and Identity at SLU, commented on the development of Jesuit Hall at SLU: “ It’s going to bring a lot of people into the Grand Center Arts District in Midtown here. And I’m sure they’ve got it in their mindset, a number of those people would be students.”

The new Jesuit Hall is to be built on SLU’s north campus. The space would include private residential halls that could house 20 to 25 Jesuits, a chapel and a dining hall. Suwalsky spoke on the importance of a more present Jesuit structure on campus, stating: “We really want the Jesuits residents’ [place] to be seen as a place for hospitality and a strong supporter of the University’s mission....

There has been a Jesuit community at St. Louis University since 1829. And so this is just an opportunity for us, both the university and for the Society of Jesus to assert that the Jesuit community is part of the fabric of the university.”

Currently, fundraising is underway for the new Jesuit Hall, and the original Hall on Lindell is to start site preparation for renovations by the end of February. Both projects are on a similar timeline, with hopes for completion by spring of 2022.

or more than fifty years, St. Louis University Library Associates has had the honor of conferring the annual St. Louis Literary Award on a distinguished living writer. Since its inception in 1967, the award has been given to playwrights, novelists, historians and many of the most important writers of the 20th and 21st centuries, including authors as renowned as W.H Auden, Joan Didion and Don Delillo. Though the pandemic has forced the Library Associates to reschedule and rethink how the award program is conducted, the tradition will continue. To make up for last year, 2021 will feature two separate award ceremonies; the first, scheduled for April, will honor the 2020 recipient Michael Chabon, and the second ceremony will follow in November and will honor 2021 award winner, Zadie Smith.

Chabon was initially named the 2020 recipient of the St. Louis Literary award last fall, but his award ceremony was postponed until April of this year and converted to a virtual format in light of the pandemic. Though the ceremony is typically hosted here in St. Louis and in normal times affords the opportunity for the local St. Louis community to gather in an unusually intimate setting with the author, the switch to a virtual ceremony is not without its perks. Edward Ebur, the executive director of the award and host of the St. Louis University “Craft Talks” series, revealed earlier this month that the virtual ceremony would be hosted by St. Louis native and “Mad Men” star John Hamm, with Ebur writing that it “was important to do something a little more out of the box for this year’s virtual ceremony” to make up for the virtual format. Hamm is well suited for his role as moderator, having re-

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ceived his BA in English from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and already has experience with the format, including moderating a discussion on the musician John Tweedy’s memoir at The Pageant.

Chabon was born in Washington D.C in 1963 and drew critical acclaim for his debut novel “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh,” which grew out of a master’s thesis on UC Irvine and was later adapted into a movie. His second novel, “Wonder Boys,” was equally well received and also adapted into a movie starring Michael Douglas. Chabon won a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for his novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,” and it is this work of Chabon’s that has been selected for the 2021 Campus Read at SLU. The second award ceremony of the year, which is scheduled for November and is expected to be held in person, will honor the English novelist Zadie Smith. Like Chabon, Smith’s debut launched her literary career, publishing “White Teeth” in 2000 when she was just 24 and finishing her final year at Cambridge University. It was ranked by The Guardian as one of the top 100 most important books of the 21st century. She went on to publish three more novels, “The Autograph Man,” “On Beauty,” and “NW.” Smith’s most recent publication, “Intimations,” is a collection of six essays written from New York during the lockdown. Smith began writing the essays soon after the lockdown was announced, and her probing essays meditate on the devastation caused by the pandemic and the death of George Floyd, among other themes. She has donated all proceeds from the book to charity. Announcing Smith as the 2021 recipient, executive director Ibur praised her work as dynamic and influential and said: “Ms. Smith’s novels, essay collections, and short stories reveal a master storyteller whose works are thought-provoking, often humorous, and always unpredictable.”

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NEWS

BreAking point or turning point: Student reactions to the Student Development email

By MARK BURBRIDGE & DIANA JAKOVCEVIC Staff Writers

On Tuesday Feb. 9, Saint Louis University’s Division of Student Development sent out an email to all SLU students about tightening COVID-19 restrictions.

It had only been a couple of weeks since SLU students had moved back to campus after a lengthy winter break, eager to see their friends again. It was also just after the 2021 Super Bowl, when many came together to enjoy the sport of football, the various commercials, and to just simply enjoy each other’s company. However, this socialization greatly worried officials at SLU, fearing it would compromise their COVID-19 plans. SLU’s email showcased this fear, with an opening as follows: “We’re on the brink of implementing severe COVID-19 restrictions because some students, it appears, have just given up. But you can change our minds.

How? No more birthday parties. No more large gatherings in off-campus apartments. No more on-campus parties. No beer-pong parties. No Mardi Gras par-

(Rebecca LiVigni / The University News)

ties. No more hanging out after meals, without masks on, while sitting too close to one another.”

The email detailed various violations of SLU’s public health safeguards, such as 70 complaints about multiple parties, that had increased the number of on-campus positive cases of COVID-19.

The email also contained a warning of the more severe measures?restrictions SLU would implement should this behavior continue: Indefinite suspension of building-to-building visitation, suspension of all in-person non-academic events and activities, and closure of recently-opened residence hall lounges and common areas being a few of these restrictions.

Some students were so upset and hurt by the email that they responded to it. Sophomore Selena Mueller wrote a lengthy email explaining how she felt after reading the message. As she explained the lack of respect that she felt, she also went into detail about the things that the university has done wrong and could improve on. “It is not the responsibility of the student body to protect ourselves when we are living in dorms and apartments that lack the proper precautions to ensure our safety.” She further wrote, “Explain to me why every hand sanitizer dispenser in my building is broken. Explain to me why multiple staff members and food workers have refused to wear their masks correctly in the presence of students. Explain to me why SLU did not predict the correct amount of housing for positive cases.”

To learn more about the student body’s perspective on the email, The University News put out a survey to collect a diverse range of reactions and opinions. We received 100 responses and read through a myriad of perspectives.

Some students, like Mueller, were upset, while others agreed with what the email had to say. An anonymous senior wrote, “I liked that the problematic students finally got called out. If you didn’t like the email, you are most likely the problem. I’m tired of seeing people get together in large groups and hang out

unmasked. I honestly feel like SLU needs to do a better job at reprimanding and punishing students. I’m not looking to have everyone get sent home again [because] a fraction of the student body is being stupid.”

Several students thought the email was a good way to get the word out about being safer on campus and thought that people were overreacting to it. “I have truthfully been deeply disappointed by the student response to the email from Dr. Lohe,” another anonymous senior said, “I think the email was very tame in comparison to what could have been said to students, as well as compared to some much more drastic measures that have been taken by our peer institutions at other Jesuit universities.”

Other students felt differently. “I felt that I was being talked down to, and blamed for the ramifications of administration decisions to bring back students in the middle of a pandemic whilst failing to sufficiently acknowledge the mental health and social concerns of students,” said one anonymous junior.

Some students felt that the email was both helpful and hurtful: “I liked that it was serious, because people need to realize that partying or hanging out in large groups without masks doesn’t only affect them, but the whole student body. However, I think SLU didn’t claim responsibility over the parts they can control.”

Overall, the majority of the students that filled out the survey mentioned that they felt like they were being talked to like “children” and that the email had been very condescending in tone. Students also felt that the email was quite “accusatory” as Dr. Lohe wrote, “Don’t spend Mardi Gras “day drinking” instead of going to class. (Yes, we’ve heard about that plan.)” and followed up with, “You asked for more mental health days in the calendar, and February 17 is the first one.

Use it as it was intended, not recovering from a day of partying.” Several students said they felt that Dr. Lohe had assumed that everybody would be partying and disrupting the university’s COVID numbers.

News

05 (Celia Searles / The University News)

Additionally, Mueller explained that the email “is perpetuating a culture that turns students against each other,” when discussing the new Integrity Hotline.

This hotline was intended for students to anonymously report other students when there were unsafe actions involving COVID-19. For example, if someone found out that someone else had been out partying, they could report them.

Several students felt that this could be problematic because students could potentially use this as a way to get people they did not like or perhaps had a problem with in trouble, rather than a tool to help the university. A particular student said, “I get that we do need to be taking things more seriously but by essentially creating a snitch hotline you are destroying trust between administration but it’s also destroying trust between students which is hard to recover once it’s gone.”

The debate on whether students should report each other or not is still unclear as there are arguments both for and against it.

Debra Lohe, then interim Vice President of Student Development and author of the email, commented on the intense student response in an interview with the UNews. “I sent a very tough message on Tuesday,” shared Lohe. “You may not like that list, but that’s the next set of things we would move to if we had to, and what you can do to avoid that situation.”

However, the strong reactions towards the email speak to a much larger issue: COVID-19 fatigue. It has been almost a year since SLU first suspended normal campus life, and since mitigation strategies like wearing masks or social distancing were implemented. Even though students are now back on SLU’s campus, the guidelines that are in place, while promoting safety, also ensure an atmosphere of loneliness. Students do not have the physical interaction that they are used to with their peers and it is taking a toll on their mental wellbeing.

In a Nature.com article, there has been scientific discussion about isolation and loneliness affecting physical health.

"Loneliness and social isolation worsen the burden of stress and often produce deleterious effects on mental, cardiovascular and immune health." Along with feeling isolated, young teens, especially students, experience anxiety and depression, which has increased severely since the start of the pandemic. According to

an article published by CNN, the lack of social interaction during this time of social distancing is detrimental to student development as, “Having strong bonds and strong friendships helps us get through difficult times -- including times like these. For some students, isolation may feel scarier than the virus itself.”

“Socially I’m drained,” one anonymous SLU junior wrote to UNews, “I want to be able to go out and do things without the risk of COVID, I want to be able to do things with people outside of my ‘bubble,’ I don’t want to have to bring Clorox wipes and sanitizer with me everywhere.”

For many, the social experience is a big part of the college experience: in this time of self-discovery, having others to hang out with is vital. However, the opportunities to meet new people and see old friends have been severely limited.

Large gatherings like parties are discouraged, public events like concerts, sporting events and club events have largely been restricted to virtual settings. As one sophomore put it, “I feel like I'm on an iceberg that has broken off the mainland, drifting apart from my friends until suddenly they're acquaintances, and suddenly they're strangers, and suddenly they drift out of sight, over the horizon.”

For SLU officials, wanting to enforce COVID-19 safety measures is understandable. However, it is still of utmost importance to foster community amongst SLU’s students. As one anonymous junior wrote, “Continuing to shove more and more restrictions down our throats emphatically stifles our ability to flourish as human beings. This is our home. Show some compassion, SLU.”

(Rebecca LiVigni / The University News)

(Andrea Porter / The University News)

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the provost puzzle solved: meet mike lewis

News

PRESIDENT Nandini Fonseca, Helena Cooper, Justice Hill VP OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS Sophia Izhar, Vanessa Sarmiento VP OF FINANCE Don O’Connell VP OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Karen Hoshino VP OF STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS Elizabeth Potterf

By MARTIN SHARPE Staff Writer n Feb. 17, Michael Lewis, Ph.D., was officially appointed as SLU’s newest provost after serving as interim provost from July until his promotion this month.

The provost plays an essential role in setting and achieving the academic goals of a university. Reporting directly to President Pestello, SLU’s provost works closely with faculty and the deans of the academic departments, ultimately serving as the institution’s chief academic officer.

The search committee that suggested the hiring of Lewis emphasized finding a candidate that showed dedication to “diversity and inclusion,” “transparency and confidentiality” and “our Catholic and Jesuit mission and identity,” according to an email sent by the search committee.

Chaired by Jonathan Sawday, Ph.D., of SLU’s English department, the search committee was composed of representatives from the student body and the university administration, among others. In addition to these individuals, outside search consultancy WittKieffer was also employed to ensure a diverse pool of applicants.

After much deliberation, President Pestello chose Lewis to serve as SLU’s new permanent provost.

Although he has lived in the midwest for over 17 years, Lewis is originally from Halifax, a city in Nova Scotia, Canada. “My undergrad is from Saint Mary’s University, a smaller mostly undergraduate university in Halifax,” said Lewis.

“After Saint Mary’s, I decided to do my Ph.D. at the University of Missouri in Columbia,” where he eventually met his wife.

Lewis, a first-generation college student, obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry from Mizzou, later attending a post-doctoral program at Harvard University. Shortly afterward, Lewis returned to Saint Louis with his wife, Heather.

Despite initially teaching as an associate professor in the department of chemistry, Lewis eventually began working in the university’s up-

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2021 sga candidates

VP OF COMMUNICATION AND INTERNAL AFFAIRS Joshua Parney Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis University per administration. “There was a new interim provost, Ellen Harshman, and she was looking for an associate provost for faculty affairs and development,” said Lewis. “At that time, I was heavily involved in the Reinert Center’s faculty mentoring efforts and I really enjoyed that.”

Through colleagues at the Reinert Center, Lewis was ultimately led to Harshman. “I think it started with me reaching out to Ellen,” Lewis said. “Whichever direction it was, Ellen and I met and hit it off. I really liked the description she had in mind. I liked the opportunity to create something new or move into a new position and help define it. And so I said yes.”

Over time, Lewis gradually moved away from his position in the department of chemistry. “It was something I thought about each year, what did I have time to do,” said Lewis. “I’m confident that this was not the plan eight years ago, but I did what felt right at the time and this is where it has led me.”

After almost a decade working as an administrator, Lewis has filled several other important roles, including interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and interim and acting provost.

Although numerous challenges are associated with operating a university, Lewis maintains that COVID-19 has been a particularly arduous obstacle for both SLU and his work as provost. “I do think that this last year has probably been the most challenging,” he said. “The week where we had to decide to pivot to fully online, at a university that is not built to be online, that was a big step at the time. That was a hard discussion.”

Luckily, Lewis has not been without guidance in his time at SLU, both in his teaching

VP OF DIVERSITY & INCLUSION Aric Wallace Hamilton COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES Zahva Naeem, Kara Bruns, Arjun Sahai COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH & SOCIAL JUSTICE Aastha Garg DOISY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES Paige Allen RICHARD A. CHAIFETZ SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Darren Manion PARKS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, AVIATION, AND TECHNOLOGY Brooke Kenworthy TRUDY BUSCH VALENTINE SCHOOL OF NURSING Katie Jones, Emily Junker leadership positions. “One mentor was Chuck Kirkpatrick in the Department of Chemistry and he was wonderful...people in the provost office have also taught me so much since I’ve come on,” he said.

Lewis is particularly fond of the updates being made to the campus. “I really like the new science building and the renovated Shannon Hall,’ he said. “We have a really beautiful campus.” Lewis also enjoys eating at Pickleman’s for lunch.

Like many college campuses around the nation, SLU is facing complex social and financial situations amidst a deadly pandemic. Unwavering, Lewis is eager to continue his work with the university and improve our faculty and student body’s well-being.

“I’ve been very blessed to meet so many great people,” he said. “I’m very excited to be in the job.”

Arts and life

Innoculation is in the air at slu

By DANIEL BERNAS General Manager

COVID-19 has been a long ride, one where it often seems the closer we get to the end, the more time we realize we have left. Thankfully, the more time spent in this never-ending descent into collective lunacy means the closer we get to vaccinations, and some SLU students haven’t had to wait so long.

One of those students is Ashley Keller, a sophomore studying nursing who received the Pfizer vaccine in January and completed her second dose in mid-February. Aside from a slight arm soreness (an experience everyone interviewed reported), Keller says the main response she had to this vaccine was an emotional one. “I was very excited and happy as well as slightly nervous. It is just exciting and nerve wracking to be one of the first to receive this vaccine and knowing that we are on the way back to normalcy.”

This “normalcy” Keller is alluding to could be sooner than we think, as Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted that April will be an “open season” for vaccinations, meaning that any adult will be able to get vaccinated. Helen Ratcliff, a freshman studying communication sciences and disorders and Spanish, received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine after working at a summer camp for people with disabilities. She is optimistic. “Vaccine rollout seems to be going more smoothly with the new administration. My vaccine came after my mother’s second dose, my grandmother’s first and a month after my aunt was fully vaccinated. It seems to be

Graphics Courtesy of Sydney Compton much more commonplace, but I think having cautious optimism is the best mindset to have.”

Still, once these students are fully vaccinated, the burden of self-isolation will be lifted, as recent updates from the CDC say fully vaccinated individuals will no longer have to quarantine if exposed to the virus. Senior Sydney Compton, a senior studying social work and women’s and gender studies, is halfway through her Moderna vaccine and is looking forward to that reality. She qualified due to her work with the unhoused community and connections with the Springfield, Illinois sheriff’s department. The idea of non-isolation to her is refreshing. “Knowing I won’t have to self-isolate does give me some relief. I had to isolate back in September for two weeks and it was really draining not to be able to go out, do my job, or see others. It gives me some relief but I also know I will be as cautious as possible not to expose myself or others to the virus.”

Some have expressed concerns on whether or not taking this vaccine is even a good idea, often citing its rapid development as a reason. Qualified for his work as an outreacher and work with the unhoused community, Liam John, a sophomore studying public health and management, who completed the Pfizer vaccine in February, sees the apprehension but for different reasons. “I think it is justified to consider not taking it while others that need it more still haven’t.

This is totally reasonable.” Still, John suggests taking it regardless. “Hospitals are resorting to throwing away vaccines due to the extras at the end of the day… it may go to waste if you don’t take it. So might as well take it and continue to advocate that they need to make shots more accessible.” Ratcliff points out a different concern. “I think marginalized communities who have been hurt by the medical field have justified skepticism, but as for anti-vaxxers and other people who think they are being microchipped, I don’t believe they have reason to protest.”

For now, inoculated students are just as excited as everyone else for the vaccine rollouts, each with their own special excitements. “When I return home,” Ratcliff says, “every member of my family who has been fully vaccinated is going to have a dinner party and I am looking forward to that a whole lot.”

Another dream is one that Keller and John share. “I also just want to sit in a coffee shop once again,” she says. “I understand we still need the masks,” John says, “but sitting, doing homework or having coffee dates in an actual coffee shop with actual cups and not reusable ones… superb.” For Compton, it’s the simple pleasures of companionship she is looking forward to. “Collective joy! We haven’t been able to celebrate in any collective joy this year, no sporting events, concerts, election celebrations, nothing!

I am just excited to be in spaces that people can share together.”

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Arts and life

2021 Senior Reflections

Graphic Courtesy of Celia Searles

Unlike many college students, I have had the same major throughout the duration of my college career. When I committed to SLU, I knew I was going to be a double major in Marketing and Sports Business, and here I am three months from graduation with that same double major. The difference between my 18-year-old self and my current 22-year-old self is in what I plan to do with them after graduation. I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do when I first came to SLU, but I knew that I was a strong communicator and that I had a passion for sports.

I thought maybe I would end up starting my own field hockey club to combine a background in business with my love for my sport.

Then I thought maybe I would work in sports sponsorships at some big company like Anheuser Busch. For a brief moment, somewhere around sophomore year, I thought I

might go to law school and study sports or contract law. But throughout these ebbs and flows of what the heck I was going to do after four years, I definitely saw myself entering corporate America in the spring of 2021.

It took until late in my junior year to realize that the best way to capitalize on my passion for education through athletics was going to be working in higher education, whether in college sports administration or student affairs. It took a lot of networking and informational interviews with people from all over the place to figure out that this was probably my best bet. The kicker was, to get that entry level position I wanted, it was going to require a master’s degree. Not just any master’s degree—one in education.

Yes, I did just spend four years in business school to decide I wanted to work in higher education. For someone who has never wavered in their decision to be a business major, this one was definitely a shock not only for my parents and my friends, but also myself.

So now I’m here in February preparing for copious amounts of graduate school interviews (thanks business school!) and trying to decide which of the schools I’ll be attending later

this year, hopefully in person. I never saw a post-graduate degree in my life plan, but I’m really starting to like the idea of “M.Ed.” at the end of my name. Who knows, maybe in four more years it’ll turn into a Ph.D. My friends said I was always the one who had her life all figured out, yet here we are four years later and that could not be further from the truth. I thought going to business school was going to prepare me to figure out what my career would be. Instead, I got something even greater. I figured out what I’m passionate about. Now, I’m going to graduate from SLU, potentially without walking across a stage, to get a really expensive piece of paper, with no job lined up. As sad as I am that my SLU chapter is closing, I am so excited to know that I get to stay a college student just a little bit longer, and better yet, hopefully stay in the college bubble for my career because when they said, “it’s the best four years of your life,” I decided that wasn’t nearly enough.

I look back on my young freshman self with a mix of nostalgia, laughter, and just a touch of embarrassment. I came into my freshman year of college, right off the bat thinking I was strides ahead of my peers. I had taken a gap year after my senior year of high school, and honestly, I thought I was ready. I thought I was ready to forge a new path on SLU’s campus and fight for everything I believed in. Ready to look SLU in the eyes and say “give me your best shot! I know who I am!”

I entered my freshman year and knew I wanted to study social work.

As many of us say our freshman year in Intro to Social Work, “I just want to help people.” Yes, I knew I wanted to help people, but that is so incredibly vague. I thought maybe I’d work with kids. I liked kids well enough, why not? Social work just seemed like a given. My parents both worked in the missions and in helping professions. I had lived abroad and seen first hand the effects of sustainable, global social work, but I did not know why social work meant for me.

My next four years would bring a lot of reality checks. I had to work hard to discern why I thought “helping people” was my calling, and figure out what the broader meaning of that phrase meant for me.

Now, here I am senior year and I have changed my perspective and realized a few things. First, I had to do a lot of unlearning. I had to acknowledge the white savior complex in me and come face to face with the fact that I am entering a profession that is filled with other individuals who look and come from backgrounds very similar to mine. There are a lot of ways that I can be helpful in this profession, without a doubt.

But I also know I could do a lot of harm if I let my biases, privilege, and complexes get in the way. This process of unlearning won’t end when I get my degree.

Second, I needed to understand that my growth in this field can ebb and flow. That is the beauty of social work: there are so many avenues you can pursue. I don’t have to limit myself, I can work directly with communities or I can work on policy and coalition work. I went from wanting to work with kids my freshman year

to working with adults senior year.

I will continue to grow in my interests and should have an openness to go where my passions take me.

And third, if I want to “help people” I have to do my dang research. I have to unlearn my biases and invest in learning the history and struggles of the population I choose to work with. I need to figure out my boundaries and lean into my strengths.

Freshman Sydney was not focused on the preparation needed before entering a community. I had been so eager to get to work and “help” that I ended up feeling lost when I entered any community having done zero competency work.

Three and a half years ago I would never have expected to be where I am now— taking steps to get my masters with a desire to work with adult survivors of gender-based violence. I figured after four years of undergrad I would be done with school. But here I am, looking to spend more time in school and wishing I could stay there forever.

I would have never thought that I’d be leaving my undergrad knowing that I possess so little information, but having cultivated a strong desire to continue my education forever.

Graphic Courtesy of Sydney Compton

I made a lot of choices in my four years at Saint Louis University.

Some of them were stellar (studying abroad, living with and near my best friends, joining the UNews and lacing up my sneakers on West Pine a few times a week for four years), while others weren’t so much (early morning classes in Madrid, forgetting a warm jacket on a windy day on campus or waiting so long to try Fresh Gatherings). The most impactful decision I made was, without a doubt, what I chose to study.

I was accepted into Saint Louis University in the nutrition and dietetics program in October of my senior year of high school. Shortly before I packed up my life and moved into my dorm in Spring Hall, I switched to psychology, thinking maybe that would be a better fit for me instead.

I only made it two months before I switched majors to communication with an emphasis in journalism and media studies. Thankfully, that one stuck.

I started by just dipping my toe in the water: a human communication and culture class. I fell in love. From there, I took newswriting, media and society, feature writing, theory of free expression, interpersonal communication, research and more.

I sat next to students who quickly became my friends in and out of the classroom. All of them are bright, funny, kind and (unsurprisingly) chatty. Not only did we get to learn about communication— we got to practice it with each other.

Aside from the kids I took my classes with, the professors who taught them have had an equally large impact. I took classes taught by accomplished academics who are as entertaining as they are passionate about what they taught. To see someone really, truly give a shit about what they are teaching is a magical and rare thing. It is because of professors who went the extra mile to create engaging projects, lead insightful discussions and be available for extra guidance whenever necessary that I came to love

what I studied so much. It is because of my professors that my coursework was never something I trudged through, but rather something I genuinely enjoyed. I wish I had more time in the classroom ahead of me than behind me.

What’s next? Hopefully a vaccine, in person graduation and job. In a perfect world I would be buying a one-way ticket to New York City to work for the New York Times. I would be setting up my tiny apartment with a random roommate and eating as much one dollar pizza as I could. In this non-perfect world, I will be applying to journalism jobs all over the country until something sticks (hopefully in New York).

I’ll move in with my family to save some money for whenever the right opportunity does come along. I’ll probably take my dog on a lot of walks, visit my friends who will be scattered around the country as soon as it’s safe to do so, and look back on my time at SLU fondly.

There is a misconception that we have to have the next best thing figured out before we have even finished the stage of life we are currently in. If the past year has taught me anything, it’s to live in the moment we currently have and take things one step at a time. I’ll still be looking at Manhattan real estate and applying to jobs like a mad woman, but I’m okay with where I’m at. It was a series of a few wrong fits to the right fit with my major. I am approaching life the same way these days.

Thank you, Communication, for being my perfect match these past four years. Thank you for all the lessons you taught me in the classroom, but more importantly, thank you for teaching me the important lesson of knowing that it might take a few imperfect fits, a few moments of stalling— even a wrong turn or two— to get to whatever my next perfect fit looks like.

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To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

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WHAT THE PAnDEMIC HAS TAUGHT US “As a public health major, the pandemic has made me question a lot. Obviously, I love public health, and it’s something I’m passionate about, but when other people don’t take this pandemic seriously, it really makes me question what I want to do. I don’t know if my actions and my career will even be effective because people aren’t taking scientists seriously and listening to the facts.” -Abby Edwards, sophomore

Abby Edwards

Kelly Angus

By ABBY CAMPBELL Photographer

“Going through a major event like a pandemic shifts your perspective on life,” she says; “I think it made me more grateful for things, and also gave me time to acknowledge things that need to be changed in the world... It has taught me that I need to take my mental health more seriously. I feel like the pandemic can really exacerbate mental health issues.

I’ve learned to prioritize self-care, especially taking care of my mental health.”

-Kelly Angus, freshman

Almost a year has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic started. It has been a period of changing routines, relationships and values. The pandemic has forced most people to slow down and reflect; The University News wanted to know how this experience has affected SLU students. We asked nine students: What has this pandemic taught you about yourself?

“During this pandemic, I’ve been able to really let go of false friendships and people that weren’t making me happier or benefitting my life. I’ve just been finding deeper friendships, deeper meaning, losing friendships, and making new ones.”

Additionally, having in-person classes and living on campus is something Bigos is very appreciative of, saying that it is “amazing that we can still be here in person.” -Alex Bigos, freshman

Alex bigos

Grace Mohr

“I would say just how social I am; I’ve always been very introverted, but this pandemic has made me realize how much I actually do need to interact with people face-toface.”

-Grace Mohr, sophomore

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DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SLUDENT

By ANDREA PORTER Photo Editor

n Mar. 13, 2020, students learned that Saint Louis University would be closed for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester. Two months into the pandemic, SLU was eager and arranged

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for students to safely return for the fall 2020 semester.

Since the beginning of the fall semester, students were given the option to pick the class format they wanted to be taught in, either in-person flex, in-person only, A-B days or fully-online. The fall 2020

semester went into full force, and administrators were again beginning to make plans for spring 2021. Now almost a month into the spring semester, let’s take a glimpse into what life is like for a SLU student during a pandemic.

Rubina Thomas or many students deciding to come back to campus, choosing in-person flex, in-person only, A-B days or to be fully online is a difficult decision. Students who have chosen to come back to campus and learn in class have a bit of the same routine; waking up, eating breakfast, getting ready for their day and going off to class. Rubina Thomas, a sophomore studying investigative and medical sciences, lives in an off-campus apartment and has chosen hybrid learning. Hybrid learning is where classes will be taught online and in-person. Thomas says that coming back to school during a pandemic was much needed. She states, “I do not think I would be able to focus as well at home. However, of course, it is frustrating because you do feel tempted to do stuff with your friends and

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know you can’t.” Let’s take a look into Thomas’s typical morning routine: “I wake up at 9:15. After doing my morning routine and getting ready, I go into my kitchen and get some breakfast. I go to my 10 a.m., which is music theory in Xavier Hall. Afterward, I go to the library and do some work for my other classes, sometimes if I was unable to make breakfast at my apartment, then I may get some Einstein’s or Starbies. Then I attend my orgo lecture class at 1:10 online at the library. Do some more work at the library until 4ish. Afterward, I go back to my apartment, eat, watch TV. I may go to the gym, hang out with some friends, study some more. Every other week, I have a club meeting at 6 p.m. And then, usually, I go to bed around midnight.” While dining options are available on campus, she prefers to eat in her apartment. After her day, Thomas likes to study in her

apartment. When it is warm out, her go-to study spot is behind the Cupples House. During the winter, if she can’t focus in her apartment, she prefers to study in the library. Thomas feels good about her classes. She states, “It could be worse.” Along with her studies, she is a member of SLU Omkara, Greek Life, Unmasked, Indian Student Association, AED and Camp Kesem. All meetings are held virtually, except for her dance practices, which are held in person for two hours, three days a week at Simon Recreation Center. Thomas states that while living off-campus it is hard to motivate herself to get out of the apartment. However, she loves independence and is grateful to have a kitchen. She cannot imagine having to eat at Grand Dining hall every day.

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ANGELINA WHITE any students want to be back on campus but prefer to learn remotely to limit exposure. Student Angelina White, a junior studying studio art, states that coming back to campus during a pandemic is not quite what people had hoped for, but she is glad to be here. White lives on campus but prefers to do remote learning to limit her exposure. On a typical Monday, White’s day consists of waking up around 8 a.m., an hour before her class starts, and continues her learning until her last class, which ends at 11:50 a.m. Being close to lunchtime, she prefers to make herself a meal and eat in her apartment. While being a remote student, White likes to study in her apartment. She states, “I

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like to move around when I study, so I enjoy being able to spend a few hours in the living room or switching off to spend some time in my bedroom. Or if the weather is pleasant, I like to sit on the balcony.” She is doing well with her online classes and hopes that the filler classes will still be available online for years to come. Even though White is a remote student, she continues to be involved in clubs and organizations. She is a part of the Track and Field team, Rainbow Alliance and OneWorld magazine. These meetings are virtual, but she is still able to see all the members in one setting! White states that living on campus in her apartment is decent, and while she typically thrives at the university, she now just wants to survive.

ASEYA SIDDIQUA

seya Siddiqua, a freshman studying neuroscience on the pre-med track, lives at home and has chosen to take her class online.

Siddiqua states, “I honestly am having a very hard time trying to adjust though it is my second semester. The workload and system are much, much different than high school.” She gave me a glimpse into her average Monday schedule: “Since my first class on Monday is at noon, I wake up around 10 a.m. to get ready.

I am a remote learner, which means I do not have to account for the time to walk to my classes. It is all at my desk.

I have biology from noon to 12:50 p.m.

And then right after, at 1:10 p.m, I have Urban Crisis, which ends at 2 p.m. I have recently gotten into Blueprint for Student Success and that starts at 3 p.m. After that ends at 4 p.m., I take a break, evening prayer at 6 p.m., and get back to studying around 7 p.m. I will first finish off any homework or assignment I might have due. And then work on my asynchronous calculus class. I watch the lecture, take notes and look at the homework for a bit. After that, I prepare for my chemistry class that I have the next day and

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end the day with a bit of review for biology.” Siddiqua prefers to study in her room because she feels comfortable there. With being fully-online and at home, she says that some of her classes are hard. Even though she is a second semester freshman student, she has gotten involved in numerous clubs and organizations. She is a part of BALANCE, Her Campus and OneWorld. These meetings are all online and have been since coming back to campus. Siddiqua states, now it feels normal in regards to meeting virtually for her clubs/organizations. She also says, “doing it remotely I am completely isolated from my peers, sometimes it feels like I am all alone in this.

However, it is not all bad. I have gotten help from different people, made some new friends, and learned a lot.

So, I am just trying to balance it out and see where it takes me.” Siddiqua states that even though there are some downsides with doing school remotely, it is nice living and learning remotely because she has the freedom of her own space. She does not have to worry about socialization in the hallways or other areas on campus.

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“I think this pandemic has taught me two main things. The first is that I realized how much I was lacking in self-love and self-care. I think before this pandemic I was always occupied with various things; I just got out of high school, and I always had something going on since I was at school seven hours a day and was constantly having social interaction. I almost relied on this to make me feel content, and I was definitely neglecting being happy with who I am.

It’s definitely still a work in progress, but I think the pandemic has taught me to focus more on that.

The second thing is that I’ve had a lot of time to reflect by journaling and having really deep conversations with people I’m close to. Through that, I’ve learned a lot about my passions and my goals, and the things that fulfill me in life.”

-Lily Jiang, freshman

Lily Jiang

“I’d say it definitely has taught me that I value faceto-face interaction a lot more than I thought I did. Then the other thing is, as people we generally know how to adapt to situations well. Even if it extends past a certain amount of time, we can adjust, even if it’s drastically different than life usually is.” -Vishnu Rangachari, senior

vishnu rangarchari

“This pandemic has taught me that a support group is really important to me. Talking to close friends and calling my parents or my twin brother to tell them what’s going on in my life has really helped my mental health. During the lockdown, I didn’t do that, and it made me really lonely and made me feel like I was suffocating inside in my room, just stuck there; same for my girlfriend. I realize there are a lot of things I took for granted, and there are things I’ve come to appreciate a lot more now.” -San Kwon, junior

Sam Kwon

Antonio Donohue

“It has taught me how much I need those in-person interactions with people; that hit me really really hard.

Going all online and having my classes online, I didn’t get that in-person interaction as much I used to. I definitely had to find a way to take care of my mental health.”

-Antonio Donohue, sophomore

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THE BILLS ARE BUZZING

By SYDNEY ALTEMOSE Associate Sports Editor

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haifetz Arena is always busy.

Athletes hustle in and out of the VIP entrance, headed for rehab or running to lift. Players run down the hallway to grab items from their respective locker rooms. Coaches hustle about for their COVID tests. The administration has not had the opportunity to sit still since all the athletes have come back to campus.

It is important to know that in a normal year, Chaifetz is busy. Without the limited space in the weight room and training room, sometimes athletes and teams were required to wait their turn. Now, with 18 sports and nearly 300 athletes coming and going on a daily basis, Chaifetz is nothing short of a beehive. Athletes wait patiently to be taped while others anxiously shift around waiting for their lift to start, but only after undergoing the necessary COVID protocols.

Sports this year look a little different. The classroom in the arena has gone unutilized. Pregame meetings take place on Zoom. Pregame meals are no longer provided— athletes are on their own. In reality, the team comes together to lift, practice and play. Otherwise, for everyone’s safety, teams spend their time apart from one another. Every day during practice they have the opportunity to recount a day’s worth of adventures that in another year, they probably would have experienced together.

For administrators, their duties and obligations have increased tenfold. In a normal year, the fall and spring seasons are the busiest. Now, all eighteen are a go. That means any problems that arise are on the shoulders of those who are already experiencing a career-high workload. For things to go seamlessly, an abundance of effort is poured into careful planning and painstaking

(Billiken Athletics) cooperation between public health officials and the teams.

This is not for nothing, however.

Certainly, there are challenges to this season and plenty have yet to be seen, but every team that is currently competing is boasting a winning record. The Billikens have prepared long months, raft with highs and lows in order to undertake a real season and a chance to play the game they love. In order for this to happen, plenty of teams had to make sacrifices. Swimming was sent to an off campus facility to train this fall. Tennis and field hockey, which normally play off-campus, have had to conform to their venues’ ever-changing rules and regulations that allowed them to be there. With the brutal winter weather of last week, every outdoor sport had to make adjustments to continue practice. For baseball and softball, indoor hitting facilities allowed them to hone their offensive game, men’s and women’s soccer paid visits to the various indoor soccer facilities in the area, and field hockey also moved to an indoor pitch.

For the Billikens, this season will be about taking things in stride.

There are bound to be problems and slip-ups. One of our teams or an opponent could test positive for COVID. Earlier this month, SLU’s

ever-vigilant health staff advised the men’s basketball team to stay back from their game against Richmond— a call that helped keep not only men’s basketball but the entire department COVID-free.

A win this season will be a little more sweet than normal. Getting to play will mean a little more than usual. Everything is a gift. It is the sort of situation no one wants to find themselves in but that reminds you exactly why you should never be so comfortable you take things for granted.

For a renowned athletics department, this season is a unique test.

For athletes, administrators, coaches and fans alike, COVID will continue to test mental and emotional stamina. For athletes, continued separation from family and friends has created an environment with little reprieve outside of athletics.

For fans, the spectator restrictions will make it difficult for students to support their peers and find activities that promote simultaneous social distancing and entertainment.

This season’s challenges are not simply from COVID, either. For fall student-athletes, almost a year has passed with full focus on training and preparation for being in season. High intensity training on the body could wreak havoc on Billik-

ens’ bodies, potentially bringing problems throughout the season. A condensed season could also bring problems. Many teams will play their season straight through without a week off.

As for the perks, there are a few that are obvious. The ability to play is one that is not overdone. The chance to travel and see opponents as opposed to simply continuing intrasquad scrimmage is what teams have trained for. Anticipation and excitement with a twist will be a familiar feeling for our athletes this season. Now, more than ever, it is important to seize the opportunity provided. But there are plenty that the season could hold. As of now, we do not know what a postseason for any of our teams could look like. A postseason itself will be full of unique challenges with different obstacles to navigate. However, the importance of keeping a positive mindset and training for the best will be of utmost importance.

The Billikens are a tight-knit group. Supporting one another does not come with much resistance.

Many remain hopeful that things could change throughout these next months. Even with a shortened season, it is important to remember that a month is still a good bit of time... plenty could happen. In short, nobody knows what these next hectic few months hold for the Billikens. Most certainly, there will be triumphs and defeats, records broken and celebrations had.

While they will look different than usual, it will still be an important thing in which to partake. A sense of normalcy will be the greatest thing afforded for the athletes this season. SLU is not the only athletic department in the nation facing these new challenges. In a way, it is a great equalizer. It gives the underdog the chance to rise up and provide the nation with a well-loved Cinderella story. In the end, while this season is new and unique for everybody, there has never been a better chance to make history. And that is just what Billikens and fans alike will be anxiously awaiting this next season.

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STREAMING SERVICES TAKING OVER SPORTS

YOU’VE DROPPED CABLE, HERE’S WHERE TO GO TO WATCH YOUR FAVORITE TEAMS

By ERIN MCCLELLAND Sports Editor adding live sports, they have now put themselves into a market that Netflix has yet to break into.

While Hulu has live sports, it’s not for the die hard sports fan. For $64.99 per month, the same as fuboTV, members get access to live sports, as well as their entire collection of shows and movies.

This package is better suited for the entertainment lover who happens to also want to watch sports occasionally. The sports you are able to see is dependent on your location, meaning you may not always be able to watch your favorite team if you are out of town.

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oday’s world of entertainment has become one of streaming services, with new companies popping up to undermine cable companies everywhere.

Fewer and fewer people are keeping cable and moving to individual services so they can pick and choose what they want to pay for and what they don’t need. For some, the one thing keeping them holding onto their cable is sports. Sports are unique due to the fact that they are broadcasted live, making them less than ideal for streaming services.

But you’re in luck: UNews Sports has done the research for you to find the best places to watch your favorite teams and sports in this evolving entertainment environment.

For the college sports fan… ESPN+ ESPN+ is the best option for the college sports fanatic, especially if you are a fan of the Billikens. The Atlantic 10 Conference has a deal with ESPN to broadcast many of their games. It is the best way to watch all your favorite Billiken teams that aren’t on national television frequently.

For just $5.99 per month, subscribers can get access to a multitude of live games of just about any NCAA sport you could imagine. Another bonus to this membership is access to ESPN 30 for 30 documentaries. The only downside is that the channels that ESPN+ supports require a cable login to get access. This is not a streaming service to replace cable, but instead puts all the ESPN channels in one place.

As a bonus, since ESPN is owned by Disney, there is now a bundle that will get you Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (with commercials) for just $12.99 per month.

This would be a great family package, especially for one with a college sports fan.

(Grace Dunlavy / The University News) For the mega sports fan… fuboTV fuboTV markets itself as the best service for sports fans. For $64.99 per month and no cable requirement, they offer over 100 channels, covering both sports and entertainment. Any major sporting event can be seen through fuboTV, but it won’t guarantee smaller events, like Billiken women’s soccer games. If you’re someone who wants to watch the big games in professional sports but don’t care too much about what’s going on in college soccer or lacrosse, this might be the service for you. fuboTV doesn’t only do sports. They also have all the major entertainment and news channels that you would be able to get from a cable network. All together, this is a really good option to replace cable as you wouldn’t be sacrificing too many channels you are accustomed to.

For the casual sports fan… Hulu Hulu has been doing a lot of advertising lately about how they now have live sports. Hulu has positioned itself in the same vein as Netflix with original content and a selection of shows and movies for the viewers to choose from. By

For the budgeting sports fan… Vidgo Vidgo currently has a deal where the first two months are just $10 before it hikes back up to $55 per month. This is a bit cheaper than it’s closest competitor, fuboTV, but it doesn’t have as many channels. For someone who wants the basic channels, this is the best bet. You won’t get everything, but that’s what you can expect from a cheaper option.

You’ll have the basics for news, entertainment and sports, but if you are balling on a budget, this might be for you.

If nothing else, at least you have two months to try it out for a cheaper price before really committing to going all in.

For the cheapest sports fan… Sling Sling doesn’t seem like the greatest investment for a sports fan because they have divided their service into two groups, blue and orange. Not only is their service divided, their sports channels are as well in the attempt to encourage subscribers to buy both. They do have a deal that if you purchase both it’s 25 percent off, but that doesn’t seem like enough of an incentive. Sling blue has NFL network, but Sling orange has ESPN. For someone who wants to watch all the major sporting events, this probably isn’t the one for you, but if you are happy to just have a game on in the background, the $35 per month might be worth it.

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MENTAL HEALTH ON THE MIND CHECKING IN ON HOW NEW RESTRICTIONS ARE AFFECTING STUDENT ATHLETES

By ERIN MCCLELLAND Sports Editor he cancellation of both spring and fall sports in 2020 was devastating to not only the budget of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), but to the athletes and coaches that spend their entire year training and preparing for that competition season. Fans missed out on conference tournaments, March Madness, the College World Series and everything else, with the exception of football, this past fall.

In the desire to watch live sports again, it’s easy to forget that there are student athletes, coaches, trainers and administrators being put at risk to ensure these games go on. The everyday routine athletes that athletes were accustomed to pre-COVID no longer exists and has been replaced with outrageous amounts of COVID tests, socially distanced practices, small group sessions, limited access to coaches outside of normal practice times and extremely restrictive team rules. The work-school-life balance of student athletes has disintegrated in front of them and many are left to see their experience as all sports, little to no social life and a strain on their academic life.

Saint Louis University is one of the many institutions that has decided to allow every sport it sponsors to participate in athletics this spring. SLU sponsors 18 sports, all of which are currently competing both against other universities, but also with each other for space in Chaifetz Arena. The athletic department has one weight room, one training room, two practice courts and one main court within the arena for all the sports to share. On top of that, there are occupancy restrictions that every room has to follow— even though 18 teams are

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trying to get into the training room at the same time, only four athletes and four trainers are allowed in the room at a time.

While scheduling conflicts create an issue, the quantity of COVID tests endured by in-season athletes per NCAA and SLU rules is vast. Indoor sports have the most because they are considered at highest risk, while outdoor sports have slightly different quotas since they are seen as slightly less at risk. Every week athletes check their emails to see if they won this week’s lottery for another COVID test.

A l l of these new rules and procedures are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the new life of a student athlete. It’s mentally exhausting and physically draining. For months, fall athletes teetered between “we’ll have a season” and “we won’t.”

Not only were they concerned about whether they would even play, they also had to consider their own personal views on whether it was even ethical to be playing during a pandemic.

In a survey of SLU student athletes, one third of the responses said they believed it was unethical for sports to be happening during a pandemic. One student athlete elaborated that, “no one from our team is trying to turn professional and we are doing this for ourselves.

The pandemic [is] a much wider

issue [and we must] put personal enjoyment aside.” Another simply said, “there are more important things than volleyball.”

While 15 athletes believe it to be unethical to be playing right now, the majority believe that there is nothing wrong with continuing athletics with proper precautions in place. One said, “while life should be altered to adjust and be considerate to people of high risk, life must also go on.” Similarly, one said, “we have learned enough about this pandemic to know that our age group is low risk, and sports are a huge [part of our identity].

We lose so much physically and mentally without them.”

Many SLU athletes made comments about how they understand the importance of being safe and cautious, but that without the ability to play their sport, it would be even more detrimental to their mental health than their concern of the pandemic.

91% of the student-athletes said that the pandemic has affected their mental health in some way.

While this is a staggering number, a surprising almost 47% said that they could identify something positive that has come out of COVID in their sport. This shows the power of an optimistic mindset and that SLU’s athletes tend to find ways to see the bright side. Some noted that they get more time to spend with their teammates, others recognized that they are more appreciative of

the opportunity just to play, while others see the extra year of eligibility the NCAA has extended to every athlete as a positive opportunity to continue their education.

A common positive that athletes pointed out was the opportunity to grow as a team in the unforeseen off season. The ability to practice, despite a lack of competition, helped the fall athletes specifically work out as a team in a way that they have never experienced before. Usually, freshmen are thrown into the mix and competition before really getting time to develop as a college athlete, but this year, fall 2020 was a chance for them to get to know their teammates and systems of play before stepping into competition this spring, an advantage that upperclassmen never got to experience.

Another factor that largely impacts the mental health of a student athlete is their relationship with their coach. The athletes were asked whether or not they believe that their coach cares more about playing their sport than the mental health of their student athletes.

Shockingly, ten athletes said they agreed with this statement.

Scan the QR code to read the rest of the article.

(Grace Dunlavy / The University News)

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BILLIKEN BASKETBALL PREPARES FOR MARCH

Arts and Life

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this moment in music: slu’s top 50-ish tunes

By CLARKE TAYLOR Contributor usic is the heartbeat of our world.

It takes us to different places, brings us joy, reminds us of sad memories and so much more. We hear music and it bonds us with other people, and sometimes creates relationships. When listening, we often compare songs to older songs or figure out the sample beat they are using.

This article is an opportunity to be a time capsule of music for our generation. We will be sharing the top choices of music from 52 students with a reasoning for some, a few recommendations and the best response for why a student loves music.

All students had different reasons for these being their top music choice. Conor Van Santen (song “Lost In Yesterday”) says, “the meaning of the lyrics—that nostalgia is contagious and alters our real perception of the past.” Liv Gartlan (song “No Body No Crime”) says, “the rhythm is addictive and the vocals are haunting.” Maria Cieslarczyk (song “Smithereens”) says, “it’s beautiful and all of their music is so poetic and makes me feel alive and emotionally heard.” Julia Ouellette (song “The Morning”) says, “His lyrics are soft but the music is full if that makes sense?” Maasai Rodgers (song “Honest”) says, “It’s emotional, had a beautiful build in the beginning & is just *chef’s kiss.*” We also asked for student recommendations; here are 10 random selections.

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Stream SLU’S Top 50-ish Tunes on Spotify Here:

1. “You” by Barry Louis Polisar 2. “Rosetta” by chuck Sutton 3. “Pockets Bigger” by Flo Milli 4. “Rolling Stone” by the Weeknd 5. “Blue Tacoma” by Russell Dickerson 6. “Viagra Boys” by To The Country 7. “Death” by The Naked and Famous 8. “At My Worst” by Pink Sweats and Kehlani 9. “Sade in the 90s” by Qveen Herby 10. “Quesadilla” by Walk the Moon If you need more music recommendations, Celia Searles (song “Monsoon”) says, “Tik Tok is a great place for finding music! There are a lot of users who dedicate their page to helping you find new/ undergroud music in whatever genre you are in!”

Graphic Courtesy of Sydney Compton

Opinion

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Will College Ever Be the Same?

By PENELOPE GARDNER Staff Writer know there are so many people, myself included, that grew up idolizing higher education, particularly the undergraduate experience. Both of my parents were privileged enough to pursue college degrees. Because of the memories and experiences they have shared with me, I looked forward to college my entire life. Of course, this has been a complex year to start the venture. From the political upheaval that followed the election to the emotional chaos that occurred due to the pandemic, this year does not represent how college has been for decades, and it’s certainly not what I was raised to look forward to.

I hope most first-year students have still made friends and attended some classes normally, but the normal ways that students are supposed to develop relationships and study skills in college have changed. How will this class of freshmen teach the college experience to those who follow?

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I have not attended any sporting events, parties or even casual events with strangers. I have found a bubble of people who I know will be safe and have not left it. Once people are widely vaccinated and it is safe to attend these such events, most of the people who experienced college as it’s meant to be will be gone and I fear college life may not recover. Even the way we take tests has drastically changed.

Thus far, I have only had one test that wasn’t an open note exam, and I know for a large portion of students closed note exams can still mean open note if you’re in your dorm. How will we know how to manage the rigorous college curriculum once we’ve lost the formative freshman experience?

If it helps anyone picture what college stories I was told and the college experience I was prepared for, my dad’s name is Brad. He wears khaki shorts and he was a member of the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity at Iowa State University. I was fully prepared for getting black-out drunk every night of the week and for all the crazy shenanigans that accompany that type of lifestyle. I had my chitchat skills prepared and ready

“Though the experiences we have had at college thus far have allowed us new students to get a general vibe of SLU, we cannot see what SLU is truly like.” to go so that I could make friends at parties and large get-togethers. That obviously didn’t happen. Instead, we play board games in our dorm entirely sober. College is not just about learning and paying exorbitant amounts of money for textbooks you will not use. It is a place where you are appropriately socialized for the first time. Thousands of students will miss out on having the same conversation with hundreds of people: what year are you, what’s your major, where do you live, etc. Missing that tedious and annoying social learning phase may stunt this class. With any luck, there will be enough time post-vaccination to make up for the lost time.

Regrettably, that may not happen.

Currently, there is fear that even this year will end with us being sent home. The dream of sustainable inperson learning would be crushed, along with any hope of finishing off the school year in a “normal” way.

Though the experiences we have had at college thus far have allowed us new students to get a general vibe of SLU, we cannot see what SLU is truly like while abiding by public health guidelines. The student body behaves differently when there isn’t a giant world catastrophe influencing them.

During the height of the Black Lives Matter movement this year, I could see that there was a large portion of SLU students that were active and cared a considerable amount. There is also a

portion that were complacent and did nothing to advocate for those being killed. Finally, there’s the portion that opposes the movement in its entirety and whose members wear blue lives matter masks regularly. Personally, I am only really good friends with people who have the same basic core values as me. I do not risk seeing anyone I do not trust, so it has been hard to see people outside of my little bubble. This practice may stunt how we see our peers and how we view the world as well. Though we can infer a vibe, that is not worth how much we are paying for this collegiate experience. Not being immersed in a diverse culture and forming echo chambers will make it hard to learn what college is supposed to be like once we can start getting together with people who disagree with us.

In conclusion, the current juniors and seniors need to leave something behind so that us youngsters know what the freak to do when things reopen. I know that there are some people already out there partying, but I don’t necessarily trust them to be the best teachers. Upperclassmen ought to just pick a freshman and teach them how to college so they can pass it on. I’m not sure how that will work, but I’m so scared of what the future of college holds after a year or more of being shut down. A little hope would help a lot.

Opinion

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Analyzing The True Cost of In-Person Learning

By CONOR VAN SANTEN Opinion Editor e can safely say that we successfully made it through a semester of hybrid instruction at Saint Louis University. For some, in-person teaching was a huge blessing. There’s something to be said about the quality of in-person learning versus online learning. In addition, togetherness (with social distancing!) promotes both social and emotional wellbeing. What we must all bear in mind, however, is the reason why SLU was forced to decide between remote learning and in-person instruction in the first place.

COVID-19 has claimed the lives of over 500,000 Americans. While the number of daily newly diagnosed cases in the U.S. has plummeted since it peaked on Jan. 8, we are not out of the woods yet.

Vulnerable segments of the American population continue to become infected with COVID-19, and some even die because of it. As many begin to let their guard down and start to gather unsafely, we are in imminent danger of propagating the virus once again.

SLU is an outlier in the way it’s been able to semi-successfully manage the spread of COVID-19 among its campus population. During the fall 2020 semester, SLU had a total of 544 positive cases among students. Of these, 435 were diagnostic (people who had symptoms and sought out a test to determine if they had been infected), while 109 were surveillance (people who were randomly tested for the virus and ultimately tested positive despite being asymptomatic).

While the positivity rate (the number of confirmed positive cases divided by the total number of tests administered) remained low enough to justify inperson instruction in the eyes of the university, it’s important to examine the ethical quandaries at play with regards to in-person learning while in the midst of a pandemic.

First, one must consider the potential negative effects of encouraging a campus population as large as SLU’s to come together while a disease as contagious and deadly as COVID-19 ravages communities across the globe. To date, the city of St. Louis has had 19,730 positive cases and has conducted almost 232,000 tests. This translates to an all-time positivity rate of 9.4 percent.

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Tragically, at the time of this writing, 412 members of the St. Louis City community have lost their lives to the coronavirus.

As students, it can be easy for us to forget that we live in the middle of a busy city. Many of us spend our time almost exclusively on-campus or just off of it in nearby apartment buildings. What this pandemic has highlighted, however, is just how connected we are to the St. Louis community at large. Hundreds of faculty and staff members travel to and from campus on a daily basis, but some interact more closely with students than others. For example, the staff of Grand dining hall are almost constantly breathing the same air as the thousands of students that depend on them for a meal. These people almost certainly earn less than their paper-pushing counterparts in the administration, yet they are the ones on the front line of this pandemic. After their shift, they return home to their families. Some may have brought the coronavirus with them. Of those who did, some probably spread it to members of their families and communities. Of those who contracted the virus, a few may even have died because of it.

All of this is not to say that there were no positive benefits to having in-person instruction at SLU. After all, many hundreds of people likely would have lost their jobs had the administration decided to keep students home again this year (and to his credit, Dr. Pestello publicly prioritized keeping as many people on the SLU payroll as possible in an April 2020 email). But would those firings have been justified had SLU decided to do exclusively remote learning? SLU continues to invest millions of dollars in building state-ofthe-art facilities across campus and has raised the cost of tuition consistently since I first arrived in 2017, yet seems to have been totally financially blindsided by the arrival of the pandemic. In an email sent on May 4, 2020, Dr. Pestello predicted that SLU would ultimately end fiscal year 2020 with a deficit of $20 million. Further, for fiscal year 2021 (which began last July), the president predicted a deficit of at least $20 million dollars if the university did not receive residential income and if enrollment decreased.

Clearly, finances were a major factor at play when the university decided to bring students back to campus this year. Had they not, their budget situation would have been even more dire than it is now. One would think, however, that a university with a $1.3 billion endowment would be more prepared for emergency situations that might

drastically reduce their revenue (admittedly, in that same April 2020 email, Pestello explained that much of the endowment was tied up in the stock market, which bottomed out when the pandemic first struck). This unpreparedness ultimately put the university in the position of having to decide between cutting employees to prioritize public health and bringing students back to prioritize balancing the budget. They chose the latter.

The costs and benefits of in-person instruction in a pandemic are numerous and vary in their importance. While the university has successfully maintained a low positivity rate for the first half of the academic year, it still bears direct responsibility for the COVID-19 cases that have spread from the student body to the St. Louis community at large. Individual responsibility is essential in a pandemic, and it must still be practiced among every member of the campus community. But the university knew that it wouldn’t be able to control the actions of every student when they opted to hold inperson instruction this year. If their financial safety net had been stronger, or perhaps their administrative budget cuts more severe, they wouldn’t have had to choose between promoting public health by holding classes entirely online and the economic well-being of its staff by holding classes in-person.

In having to pick between these two, the administration was stuck in a truly difficult situation. If I had been in President Pestello’s position in the spring of 2020, I might have decided to bring students back to campus to keep as many people employed as possible. While the university should have been more prepared for an emergency situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic, we are living in a reality where it was not.

As we continue to take class in-person, I ask that everyone remember the unseen consequences of this pandemic. Carriers of COVID-19 might not even know that they have the virus. As a result, even a simple sanitary slip-up could get someone seriously ill. The St. Louis community is vibrant and alive, if a bit quiet because of the times we live in. Every life is precious, and to cut one short because of carelessness is simultaneously tragic and sinister. Students, staff, faculty and administrators all have a role to play in finally ending this pandemic. Let’s start acting like it.

Opinion

22

You are Not Alone

By ANASTASIA HANONICK Contributor

Mental illness and its effects on college students during the COVID-19 pandemic Trigger Warning: This article discusses the topic of suicide.

“No way.”

My friend Elizabeth leaned over from her seat so that she could glance at my phone. The day was March 12, 2020. We were in Madison, Wisconsin visiting a friend during our spring break when I had suddenly received an email from my university that all in-person classes had been suspended until further notice. I shrugged the message off and told myself how this was probably going to be a temporary precautionary measure that would probably last a month at the very most. Little did I know that the email that I received marked the start of a very long, up and down journey called the COVID-19 pandemic.

After saying an abrupt goodbye to my little Griesedieck dorm and essentially my freshman year of college, I drove back home with my car packed with my belongings, wondering about what the future had in store. For the first time in my life, I felt like my plans had been entirely crushed, and what made it worse was knowing that I had no control over what was going on. I quickly began noticing that my friends and peers had equally distressed attitudes towards the future as well.

Most of the people I spoke to lost jobs, were struggling financially and were having a difficult time adjusting to this new reality. Everything had been normal, mundane even, and then we were suddenly stripped of our lives as we knew them overnight. That

is enough to create life-changing problems for millions of people, which can subsequently cause poor mental health.

With the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of mental illness diagnoses skyrocketed. According to the CDC, the pandemic has been associated with mental health challenges, as an increased number of people began to develop symptoms of depression, anxiety, substance abuse and suicidal ideation. 40 percent of respondents to a CDC survey reported new symptoms of an anxiety disorder or depressive disorder and 13.3 percent of people admitted to having started or increased substance use to cope with stress or emotions related to COVID-19. When the survey asked participants if they had seriously considered suicide in the prior 30 days, 10.7 percent responded yes.

The statistic was significantly higher among respondents aged 18–24 years, with a staggering 25.5 percent admitting to having considered it.

Compared to pre-pandemic life, these statistics almost tripled.

Struggling with mental illness is an extremely difficult and aggressive battle, but being a college student adds onto the intensity of this challenge.

When you are at a stage of your life during which you are learning to be completely independent for the first time, you need to rely entirely on yourself, which many are not used to doing. You are suddenly met with the intense pressure of starting your life from a blank slate after spending the previous eighteen years living in the

comfort of your childhood home and having your best friends living less than ten minutes away. For the first time in your life, you are met with the immense responsibility of deciding which career path will satisfy you for the rest of your life. You will then need to step out of your comfort zone to make an entirely new group of friends, find new hobbies and interests and learn how to balance these things while having a heavy academic workload.

Like it or not, the process will be hard. On top of these challenges, today’s students also face high debt and fewer job opportunities after graduation. These added obstacles can lead to serious depressive and anxious episodes in college students.

Students who struggle with mental health problems are at a greater risk of developing problems such as substance abuse, making them more likely to binge drink, smoke and participate in unsafe sexual behaviors to help themselves cope. In the United States, suicide is the second leading cause of death in people aged from 15-34. In the 18-25 age group category, 8.3 percent of individuals have seriously considered suicide (pre-pandemic).

The COVID-19 pandemic has given the college experience a new meaning.

Students can no longer attend meetand-greets, or attend every class inperson, or go out to large gatherings on weekends to get to know one another. This can lead to a delay in making friends, and as a result, a delay in creating a stable support network

at school. Classes are also mostly remote, and because of this, students are often confined to their dorm or apartment for days. This can lead to serious feelings of isolation and loneliness, both of which can trigger feelings of severe depression and anxiety. COVID-19 has made mental health problems skyrocket because human beings are naturally social creatures. We crave human interaction and we seek support from our friends and family during difficult times.

When that support is stripped away from us, life is miserable. One of the most important things that a person suffering from mental illness needs is constant reminders and affirmations that they are not alone, and that they are loved and cared for. It is incredibly difficult to grasp these concepts when it has been months since you had last seen your best friends in person.

Even if a student decides to reach out to get some help, SLU counselors are often overbooked, and students only get a limited number of sessions per year. If we want to see the future of our society thrive, we need to invest in the health and well-being of our students. We cannot put the pressure on our students to balance all of these stressful factors in the midst of a global pandemic and expect them not to burn out. These are trying times for everyone, and the absolute least we can do for one another is to be supportive. Life always feels easier when you know someone has your back.

“Struggling with mental illness is an extremely difficult and aggressive battle,but being a college student adds onto the intensity of this challenge”

Opinion Pandemonium, Projection and the Psychology Behind Dealing with the Pandemic

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By REBECCA LIVIGNI Editor-in-Chief

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ne year after it emerged, we’re still coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. 500,000 people are dead, millions have been infected, and millions more have to deal with longterm negative psychological effects brought on by isolation and loneliness.

While the pandemic has become an increasingly political issue, one thing everyone can agree on is that this past year was traumatic in more ways than one. The National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that more than a third of Americans have experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety in the past year. College students in particular have been overwhelmed by anxiety and depression since the start of the pandemic.

Across the country, college students and university administrators are locked in a metaphorical shouting match passing blame between each other. Administrators are blaming students for the rising number of

cases on college campuses and for forcing them to close schools, while students are blaming administrators for prioritizing university finances over their health and safety. At the same time, both students and administrators want to keep their schools open. Julia Marcus and Jessica Gold wrote in The Atlantic “Although [young people] may transmit the virus to others, they are at substantially lower risk of complications from coronavirus infection than older people—but at far greater risk of psychiatric disorders that can be triggered or worsened by social isolation...The issue isn’t that young people are universally unconcerned about the pandemic; it’s that they realize it’s not the only—or even the greatest— risk they face.”

In times of stress or internal conflict — both of which are situations college students face every day — we often turn towards defense mechanisms to cope. These mental processes are initiated, typically unconsciously, to avoid conscious conflict or anxiety.

Marþinko et al. use psychodynamic

theory to understand the good and bad of these psychological coping strategies. “Immature” defense mechanisms are unhealthy ways to deal with the stress of a traumatic event. “Projection” — incorrectly attributing any unpalatable thoughts or actions to others and essentially putting the blame on others — is a common type of defense mechanism. “Splitting” refers to focusing on only some aspects of a scary reality instead of considering the complexity brought about by the crisis as a coherent whole. “Displacement” is expressing anger at and blaming someone other than the individual themself when they are upset with that person for a stressful event.

For students, these immature defenses play out by blaming the administration for putting them in an environment that is not built for social distancing. In reality, the situation is much more complex.

What students really want to do is to get back to their old lives, but that is outside of their control.

When institutions appeal to individuals’ fear, it can lead people

to change their behavior if they feel capable of dealing with the threat, according to Van Bavel et al. In this case, though, it can often lead to defensive reactions when they feel helpless to act. And, as Marþinko et al. point out, the choice of defense mechanism is involuntary.

There are healthy, “mature” defenses, like utilizing humor to diffuse tension or utilizing altruism to fulfill the needs of others and thereby the needs of oneself. The pandemic and its effects will not be going away within the next few months. We need to look inwards, understand and empathize with those who are going through our same pains. Right now, students are trying to use single-faceted coping responses to solve a multifaceted problem. Instead, let’s all take a moment to reflect on the ways we can hold ourselves and each other accountable from a place of humility and compassion.

UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITORIAL BOARD 2020-21 Rebecca LiVigni, editor-in-chief

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Andrea Porter, photography editor

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Conor Dorn, associate news editor

Jacob Cunningham, copy editor Marycait Dolan, copy editor

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The University News was founded by Claude Heithaus, S.J. The Editorial Board of the University News recognizes Avis Meyer, PH.D., as the newspaper’s faculty mentor.

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