University News No. 2 (Oct. 22, 2021)

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THE UNIVERSITY NEWS

PHOTO BY ABBY CAMPBELL

VOL. C No. 2 / October 22nd, 2021

Commemorating ocCupy SLU

COVER DESIGN BY GRACE DUNLAVY

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Luella Loseille (center) leads “Say Their Names” at the clocktower Oct. 13.

(Abby Campbell / The University News)

7 YEARS LATER: COMMEMORATING OCCUPY SLU SLU honors the legacy of the original 2014 sit-in at the clocktower with a week of events and speakers.

By ULAA KUZIEZ Staff Writer

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n the early hours of Oct. 13, 2014, two months after the police murder of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Mo and just a week after the police murder of VonDerret Myers Jr. in St. Louis, a group of nearly 1500 protesters marched down Grand Boulevard where they were met with a long line of riot police. Shortly after, another group of protestors approached from the opposite side of the road.

The police were forced to retreat, and as a result, the group, which split earlier in the day, reconvened by a SLU entrance.

Out of the large crowd emerged then SLU sophomore Jonathon Pulphus, who invited the group onto campus as his guests. This moment marked the beginning of the historic six day sit-in at the Clock Tower, eventually known as Occupy SLU. Seven years later, the University continues to commemorate the occupation’s anniversary. This year, the Office of Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement (DICE), in collaboration with Campus Ministry, hosted several local guest speakers in events that ran from Oct. 8 through Oct. 15. To begin the commemoration week, a procession took place on campus which was followed by a

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panel discussion from Kayla Reed and Kira Banks, PhD., who were both present during the occupation.

VonDerret Myers Sr., a SLU employee, also spoke alongside them about his son’s life and story.

With permission from his family, organizers led several protests like Occupy SLU in Myers Jr.’s name in October 2014, which was dubbed as ‘Vontober’ to remember him. During the occupation, many SLU students and faculty joined community members from across the St. Louis area as a unified front.

“Without the community work and without the streets, Occupy SLU would not have been possible,” said Pulphus, who led a reflection session during the commemoration week.

“Part of our mission was to pop that SLU bubble. We were successful at that quest, but the jury’s still out on the question of how serious SLU is taking and navigating the promises that were made in the Clock Tower Accords today.”

The 13-point Accords were developed through conversations between students, staff, activists and administration leaders, ending the weeklong peaceful occupation in 2014 and committing the University to enacting equitable changes. Pulphus noted that months prior, in May 2014, a group of students submitted a list of demands to the institution after a few racialized incidents occurred on campus. That initial list, he says, helped

lay the foundation for the Accords.

“We are building a team now to re-imagine the Accords and ensure that our 2021 vision is in alignment with what is currently happening, and to renew [our] commitment and investment in DICE,” Interim Vice President of DICE Amber Johnson, PhD., said.

Some of the programming during the week included an Activism 101 workshop led by Ferguson protestors Brittany Ferrel and Jamell Spann and the annual reading of a speech that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered to the University in 1964. Luella Loseille, Cross Cultural Center coordinator, led the “Say Their Names” event in which students read the names of dozens of victims who lost their lives due to police brutality.

“Standing up here and reading these names really hits home for me as an African American,” senior Justice Hill said.

“A lot of times we make adjustments as a way to survive, but I am here to tell y’all that I don’t want to survive—I want to live. Don’t leave this message here.

Take it back to your classrooms, take it back to your professors and friends because this is real.”

The commemoration week also aimed to celebrate the legacy of the late Jonathan Smith, PhD., who was a notable figure during the occupation and the formation of the Accords. As president of The Black Rep Board of Directors, Smith wrote “Do I Move You?,” a play based on a collection of poetry, music and dance which was shown Oct. 13 in his honor.

In another speaker event, “Ferguson and Tikkun Olam,” Rabbi Susan Talve and Jeffery Dhoruba Hill shared their experiences during the Ferguson protests and Occupy SLU. “You all are celebrating and commemorating this event today, and I want to stress the point that you don’t have to be this huge special person to implement change or to have an effect,” Hill said. “I was a homeless person with 5 friends, and we were able to organize Occupy SLU.” When the original Occupy SLU sit-in occurred, there were a range of opinions within the SLU community about the protest. Many parents and students criticized SLU President Fred Pestello for allowing the sit-in to occur. The movement’s legacy, however, lives on as a powerful event that shifted the University’s culture.

“While we have a long way to go in terms of institutionalizing anti-racism and anti-oppressive environments, I am seeing progress and feel good about what is possible,” Johnson said.

News

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STUDENT ADVOCACY SEEKS

TO DOUBLE PELL GRANT

By ZOË BUTLER News Editor .

(Diana Jakovcevic / The University News)

UNIVERSITY THEATRE OPENS WITH “THIS IS OUR YOUTH”

By BRIAN GUERIN Staff Writer

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enneth Lonergan’s classic work “This Is Our Youth “ was the opening production of the Saint Louis University Theatre & Dance Season, running from Oct. 1-10. Director Tom Martin said he is optimistic the show was a hit.

“It’s got three incredibly wonderful roles and a compelling story that I believe speaks to our audience,” Martin said. “The most enjoyable part is definitely working with the actors. They are a wonderful, committed group of actors, and they’re all absolutely lion-hearted.”

The 2015 Tony Award-nominated dark comedy is a snapshot into the tumultuous lives of three young adults on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. After stealing $15,000 from his abusive father, teenager Warren Straub partners with drug dealer Dennis Ziegler to eke out a living in the Big Apple.

However, the true apple of Warren’s eye is Jessica Goldman, a bold young woman with a passionate outlook on life. The trio is thrown into the harshness of the world with nothing but their experiences and beliefs, hunting for purpose in the wilderness of America’s biggest city.

Attending her first Univer-

sity Theatre production, freshman Katelyn Weber said she was impressed with the acting and subject matter of “This Is Our Youth.“ “I think [the play] represents people around our age and portrays situations that could happen to anyone,” Weber said. “It’s a more personal type of play, which I enjoyed.”

Senior Andre Eslamian played the role of Warren Straub.

As a 19-year-old college dropout, the character attempts to find direction in life and grapples with questions of loyalty, betrayal, love and grief.

Playing Warren was one of the most emotionally exhausting experiences in my entire life, but I would absolutely do it again in a heartbeat,” Eslamian said.

“There’s an extreme catharsis in playing him.”

Eslamian said he was well aware of the relevance and timeliness of performing “This Is Our Youth” at SLU. “For starters, it’s a play about young adults the same age as us college kids,” Eslamian said. “And it’s about becoming adults, overcoming this weird transitory period in our life where we start acting like adults when we have no idea what it’s actually like. As the play progresses, it tells us that being an adult is more than just performing these fantasies taught to us. It’s about being present, living in that moment and using those life experiences to better yourself.”

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ast month, SLU’s Center for Social Action spearheaded an advocacy day on the main quad as part of the national movement to double the Pell Grant, a need-based financial subsidy awarded at the federal level. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on that advocacy day, senior Anushah Sajwani and other student workers in the Center for Social Action tallied the number of calls and emails students walking through campus made to congressional members on a large whiteboard. Their goal, by dedicating one day to this work, was to generate an influx of calls and emails great enough to push this issue to the forefront of political conversation.

“Even if students didn’t make calls in the moment, they would come and talk to us and ask what was happening,” Sajwani said. “So in the sense of garnering awareness in students, I think it was effective.”

SLU is part of the Double Pell Alliance, a coalition of higher education associations, organizations and advocacy groups working to change the maximum Pell Grant award from $6,495 to $13,000 by June 2022, the 50th anniversary of the grant’s creation. According to #DoublePell’s website, the grant in its origination covered more than three-quarters of the cost of attending a four-year public college.

Today, Pell Grants cover less than one-third of those costs.

“The goal is to bring it back to its intended strength,” Dave Rice, Associate Director of Student Financial Services, said.

Rice explained that these advocacy efforts are not proposing any kind of changes in the eligibility requirements, but focusing on simply increasing the amount of the award.

“This award is so different from [other financial aid] because it’s

not tied to the school, it’s tied to you,” Rice said.

The grant works on a sliding scale, where the amount awarded to students changes based on the financial need as demonstrated on students’ FAFSA paperwork. Rice explained that this kind of increase in aid, though not resolving the financial burden of higher education as a whole, could make the process of paying for college more accessible and equitable.

“If I’m going to go buy a car tonight, and I start out with 10 percent of it or so in hand, I might struggle to figure out how to do it,” Rice said.

“But if I started out with 75 percent, I might be more apt to try to go do that.”

While some believe increasing the grant amount would give colleges and universities incentive to increase tuition costs, Rice was adamant that the correlation was not so direct.

“You could make that case, but it’s not a one-to-one correlation,” Rice said. “It’s not automatically going to mean that tuition can go up anywhere. And for SLU, it’s important to know that we publish any tuition increases every year.”

Though Sajwani believes increasing aid money for students through every avenue possible is important, she also acknowledged the opportunity available through increasing grant money on a federal level as opposed to scholarships given from a school.

“There are other universities that maybe can’t [increase their endowment], and the students who attend those universities should not be negatively affected because their institution doesn’t have the extra money to provide for them when federally they can be provided with that money.”

Even though Sajwani will be graduating at the end of this academic year, she feels strongly about fighting for this change that could alleviate some of the financial burden—even if only by a little—that she, like so many other students, has had to deal with. #DoublePell is not the answer to all of our country’s woes, but it is a starting point,” Rice said.

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PIUS LIBRARY: Best in State

By JACK JOHNSTON Staff Writer ius XII Memorial Library was recognized as the 2021 Missouri Library of the Year by the Missouri Library Association.

This award came after 18 months of Pius Library functioning through the COVID-19 pandemic, something that caused many libraries across the state to alter their services and systems.

Martha Allen, Assistant Dean of User Services at Pius Library, said that one of the reasons Pius Library received the award was due to their pandemic response.

“We did not close our doors,” Allen said. “Pius Library was open and had the longest open hours of any library in the state of Missouri.

And I’m talking public libraries, special libraries, academic libraries, school libraries—

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we were open longer than anyone else.”

Allen said that along with the hours that it was open, Pius Library was able to continue offering many of its services during the pandemic, which also set Pius apart from other libraries in Missouri.

“We were committed to try and keep the services at a level that was [similar to] normal operating services,” Allen said. “We really did move 800 chairs, 40 sofas, many, many tables. And we did that with the help of distribution and moving services.”

But more than changes topysical functions, Pius Library was also recognized for how quickly it adapted to the virtual needs of campus.

“The virtual library is absolutely vital to student success,” Allen said. “And what we quickly realized during the pandemic was that Zoom enabled us to reach students that maybe we have never reached in the past.”

There were many students and faculty members who utilized the virtual aspects of

Paige Fann / The University News)

the library as rates of e-book and streaming media checkouts rose drastically, Allen said.

Caitlin Stamm, an archivist in Pius Library, says that these services have always set Pius Library apart.

“Before I came to SLU, Pius Library had a great reputation for having a great collection,” Stamm said. “When I needed to find things for my patrons, I always knew that if I needed a special book or a theology book…Pius Library always had it and was always willing to help us. And so, I came to SLU with the knowledge of Pius Library—a great library.”

That is a reputation that has been built and tended to since Pius Library first opened in 1959. Before that, the SLU Library was located in what is now the Pere Marquette Gallery in DuBourg Hall, according to John Waide, a former SLU archivist who worked in Pius Library for 47 years.

“I am really just kind of overwhelmed by how many students use the library,” Waide said. “You know during midterms and final exams, you

can’t find a seat in the library, and there are a lot of seats in the library, don’t get me wrong. It’s just amazing to me how much use it gets.”

Students and SLU community members do use Pius heavily, especially during the pandemic. According to library headcounts, September 2021 saw over 60,000 guests enter Pius Library. Once they enter, of course, there are plenty of things for them to do.

“I just like the environment of everyone kind of studying, side by side, and it’s like we’re all kind of going through it together,” said Lydia Golden, a senior studying Health Management and Policy.

“What has become very apparent is that the library, as a place, is so important,” Allen said. “The library is a sanctuary to many students, and different types of sanctuaries: a sanctuary for intellectual research, a sanctuary just for calm and peace, a sanctuary for recreational reading, a sanctuary just to get a bagel.

You know, where you meet with your friends.”

A continuation of normalcy was something Allen says they wanted to focus on.

“I can’t tell you the number of students who have said to me how important it was during the pandemic that the library at least was a slice of normalcy in this chaotic new world that we were living in,” Allen said. “They knew that they could come to the library and feel safe.”

Ultimately, that sense of safety and support is what makes Pius Library what it is, said Allen.

“I just want to say we have such an incredible team here,” Allen said. “We didn’t win the award from one person, one individual person.

It was the team that came together to support the needs of the students. And that is thrilling for me to be in an environment that is truly committed to their mission.”

News (Grace Dunlavy / The University News) Photos Courtesy of Lennart Ootes

ŚwiercZ, Cervantes ComPete In Us Chess CHampionship

By CONOR DORN Editor-in-Chief he 2021 United States Chess Championship concluded on Monday, Oct. 18, with two SLU students, Dariusz Świercz and Thalia Cervantes, competing in the prestigious event. The pair, who are also members of the SLU chess team, both played well against internationally ranked competitors. Świercz finished with a score of 5/11, earning 8th place, and Cervantes also finished with 5/11, earning 7th place.

The championship was played from Oct. 8 to Oct. 20, with eleven rounds and two rest days. Only one round was played per day, with games often lasting several hours.

The tournament was divided into a men’s and women’s section, with a $150,000 prize fund for the men’s section and $100,000 for the women’s section.

The U.S. Chess Championship is the world’s oldest national chess tournament, and the St.

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Louis Chess Club in the Central West End has hosted the tournament since 2009. It is a tournament with a storied past; U.S. chess icon Bobby Fischer won it as a 14-year-old, the youngest champion ever, and later made history in 1963 with a perfect 11/11 score, a feat which has never been matched (though if it ever is, the champion will receive the Fischer Bonus Prize, a $64,000 bonus on top of the first place prize money).

Both players took a break from busy schedules and midterms to compete in the championship. Dariusz Świercz is a master’s student in Applied Financial Economics, originally from Poland. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Economics from SLU in 2019. Świercz became a grandmaster, the highest title a chess player can achieve, at the age of fourteen, and is currently ranked 102nd in the world. Cervantes is a freshman at SLU, originally from Cuba, who moved to the United States to pursue better chess opportunities. She is majoring in Sports Business.

Both Świercz and Cervantes faced stiff competition in their respective sections. The top seed in the men’s section was world number two Fabiano Caruana, who won the tournament in 2016 and was also the most

recent challenger for Magnus Carlsen’s World Champion title in 2018. World number six Wesley So, who won the tournament in 2017 and 2020, was the second highest ranked player in the championship section.

In the women’s section, Cervantes faced some of the top ranked female chess players in the world, including eight-time U.S. Women’s Chess Champion Irina Krush and two-time champion Nazi Paikidze. The eventual winner of the tournament, Carissa Yip, was ranked as the second seed in the tournament. Yip made history in 2019 when she became the youngest woman in U.S. history to earn the International Master title, the second highest title that can be achieved in chess.

SLU Chess Team coach Alejandro Ramirez, commenting on the strength of the field, said: “It’s the strongest national championship in the world, and it is the top chess news for the two weeks it occurs. The women’s section is also very strong and has been getting increasingly stronger as a combination of international transfers and rising juniors: Thalia is one of those.”

Going into the tournament, Cervantes says she was focused on playing well, regardless of the outcome of the tournament. “I was also one of the lowest-ranked in the field, so I took it as

05 more of a test of how I do against these players. Joining SLU and this being my first year, I have been quite busy.”

SLU Chess Team coach Alejandro Ramirez said of Świercz and Cervantes: “They are polar opposites...Dariusz is the most experienced and the strongest player on the team and has been a cornerstone of our team from our very first showing as a team in the 2016 Pan-American Intercontinental Chess Championships. Thalia, on the other hand, is our newest recruit. Thalia has been a top junior in the American circuit and has recently reached new heights of her chess.”

At the midway point of the tournament, Ramirez evaluated the respective performances of his players: “I think Dariusz is a bit unsatisfied with his results. He has been a bit luckless, pressing for the advantage in many games but coming up empty handed,” adding that “I’m sure he wants to score a couple more victories before the tournament ends.”

“Thalia comes in as the lowest rated player in the event, and despite that, she is currently in a tie for seventh. Again, some things to fix, but it’s a nice bounce back for her after a couple of rough tournaments leading up to the champs,” Ramirez added.

Despite several tough losses early in the tournament, Świercz played well in the second half of the tournament, ending with a win against Lazaro Bruzon and a draw against Lenier Dominguez, two top-ranked Cuban players.

Cervantes also had solid performance overall, finishing in seventh place with a score of 5/11. Highlights of her tournament included a draw against tournament winner Carissa Yip, who is currently the third ranked female chess player in the United States. Cervantes described her match against Yip as “aggressive and competitive.” Cervantes also won an exciting game against Sabina Francesca Foisor in round three.

“I am proud of my win against Sabina Foisor,” Cervantes said. “It was a hard fought game and I ended up coming out on top.”

Asked to evaluate her tournament performance, Cervantes concluded: “It was a nice experience, and overall a very solid score as I drew most of my games. I could have done a lot better, but I am content with this result. I hope my performances in this event only get better and better.”

Arts and life

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The Story Behind STL’s Pretty House Fronts

By MORGAN HAUSBACK Staff Writer (Diana Jakovcevic / The University News) very Saint Louis resident and college student has seen them and paused to take a picture of the beautiful, historic town houses that decorate many St. Louis districts. Think lush lawns and a lot of brick.

However, many stroll by and admire the architecture without thinking about the history of each of these staple STL must-sees. And no, not all of the districts have anything to do with gentrification (but some of them definitely do).

First up is Lafayette Square. The story of how it came to be the lovely area with brightly painted townhouses is not one of government interference, but rather a tale of rags to riches. In the 1970s, the area had largely been abandoned and according to St. Louis Riverfront Times, people had largely been moving to the suburbs. Lavish Victorian homes were empty and being sold for as low as $1,000. Younger generations saw the abandoned area full of prospects; so they took their chances and built something memorable.

Upon the formation of Lafayette Square Restoration Committee (LSRC) sweat, tears and heart began to pour into the restoration of the neighborhood. What made LSRC different from other neighborhood development programs was that it was not run by the government. This ultimately made all the difference in the evolution of the square. Today, a house in Lafayette Square can be sold for up to $1 million, but most are typically within the $600,000 range. People paying to tour the beautiful interiors of Lafayette Square homes

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exemplifies the notion that this neighborhood flourished through the hard work of a few people who had faith in Lafayette Square’s future.

Another St. Louis classic is Central West End. A phrase that has been heard by anyone who resides in St. Louis is “The Delmar Divide,” which is not a fictitious concept, but rather, one that highlights the structure of St. Louis. The Delmar Divide refers to the geographical and metaphorical separation that occurs on Delmar Boulevard, where south of the street, the population is 70% white and north, the neighborhoods are 99% black.

Having a largely white and wealthy population, Central West End begins this divide. Known as both a cultural and historic district, some of Central West End homes date back to the late 1800s.

Contributing to the district’s photographic appeal, Central West End is home to popular restaurants, a Whole Foods and lush scenery, while just north, one will find homes that are abandoned, in need of maintenance and a lack of greenery. An insightful example of this Divide is a neighborhood called The Ville. The Ville contains hundreds vacant properties, and many of the homes are sold for prices as low as $2000, despite being identical to those located in Central West End. A Central West End resident describes the area as a “two-world existence,” and infrastructure alone reveals that to be true.

Central West End additionally demonstrates a drastic separation in median household income.

North of Delmar, the median income of each

household is estimated at $18,000, while the median is $50,000 south. These differences between a polished area like Central West End compared to life just blocks north is apparent and disheartening. Luckily, this separation has not gone unnoticed, as many projects are currently underway. In the West End, new single-family houses are being built, with another project called Delmar DivINe taking root. Innovated by Maxine Clark, the Delmar DivINe plans on transforming the former St. Luke’s Hospital building into a space dedicated to resources for nonprofits and 150 new apartments. The space is designed with the intention to “redefine its West End neighborhood and begin to replace decades of neglect with innovation, development and sustainability.”

In the 19th century, Tower Grove was a central agricultural hub, but eventually grew into a residential area. The economic possibility of the Tower Grove area was revealed when Parker-Russell Mining Company was developed in the area.

Throughout the span of 100 years, Tower Grove rose into a beautiful residential and business area, one which still remains prosperous today.

Understanding the history behind beloved St. Louis’s homes that both residents and tourists admire helps encapsulate the history of the city.

These homes tell the stories of people’s experiences, and though the histories are not all uplifting, seeing a beautiful brick home reminds us of where we’ve been and the chance for change ahead.

Arts and life

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“Squid Game” Review South Korean Survival Drama takes Netflix’s Most Watched Original Show

By CLAIRE LYONS Contributor oming in hot as Netflix’s most watched original show with a whopping 92% Rotten Tomatoes rating, “Squid Game” is the current worldwide, must-watch thriller.

Released on Sept.17, and translated into 31 languages, Netflix said. “Squid Game” has skyrocketed in popularity due to writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s engaging and relevant plot.“Squid Game” tackles the theme of economic inequality and the exaggerated truths of living in a capitalist society.

This nine-episode series involves hundreds of desperate cash-strapped humans who are given the chance to win a large sum of money. Through a dystopian lens, the players go through a series of deathly rounds which are based on children’s games, such as red-light/green-light and marbles.

Whichever players lose the game end up getting eliminated (killed) at the end of each game. For example, if the players are split into two teams for tug of war, everyone from the side that loses will be eliminated. The stark juxtaposition between the innocent children’s games and the gory homicides is part of what makes this show so encapsulating.

In addition to the plot, another contributing factor to the show’s popularity is the cast. Lee Jung-jae plays the main character, Seong Gi-Hun, who is an alcoholic with a gambling addiction. This protagonist is surrounded by many other contestants such as Cho Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo), Sae-byeok (HoYeon Jung), and Jang Deok-su (Heo Sung-tae). What makes this show a global favorite is how the language spoken is Korean, but the actors do such a fantastic job with their body language that even without the English subtitles, the viewer never feels lost or unaware of what’s going on. Set in Seoul, South Korea, with an almost all Korean cast, the interactions between the characters are often read through their body language. Gi-Han (Lee Jung-jae) seems like an idle lowlife at first, but as his character develops, the audience can observe the complexity of his actions. For example, his interactions with Oh Il-nam (Oh Yeong-su), an old man who struggles with physical and mental effects of being senile, speak to his character—in one scene, Gi-han ties his jacket around Oh Il-nam’s waist when he has urinary incontinence to help him keep his dignity. Therefore, despite the connotation that the players are all antagonists for joining the greedy and deathly games in the first place, Gi-Han and other characters become heroes through their humane actions and character complexity.

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(Diana Jakovcevic / The University News)

Hwang Dong-hyuk seamlessly symbolizes his plot with the solemn effects of class discrimination contributing to South Korea having one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

Every contestant in “Squid Game” has personally struggled with this phenomenon, whether it’s finding a job or being in debt. In fact, the players’ debt ridden lives were so unpleasant that they would risk their survival for a chance to win money. However, “Squid Game’’ is only one of many shows reflecting South Korea’s economic disparities. In fact, many film critics draw comparisons to “Parasite,” Bong Joonho’s 2020 Oscar-winning hit which exposes the underside of South Korea’s economic success story. Even similar to America’s dystopian hit “The Hunger Games,” these brutal survival tales are all metaphors for larger social issues.

Through dark satire of economic inequality, “Squid Game” is a suspenseful show meant for a mature audience. Furthermore, South Korea is a major cultural hub with rising prominence in Hollywood and on Billboard charts. Netflix does a commendable job providing a platform to promote east-Asian cinema and directors in countries where it otherwise may not have been typically highlighted. Therefore, with high demand from all over the world, season two of “Squid Game” holds a lot of promise.

(Poster Courtesy of IMDb)

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Arts and life

Hauntingly Good Reads for the Halloween Season

By ABIGAIL LISZEWSKI Staff Writer

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he Halloween season has finally arrived and many students at SLU are eager to get into the Halloween spirit. And what better way is there to celebrate Halloween than to immerse yourself in a good ol’ horror book! So without further ado, here are 6 of the best books for a spooky night in.

Dracula by Bram Stoker Of course first on the list is the classic novel, “Dracula.” “Dracula” by Bram Stoker is considered the original vampire story. The novel tells the tale of the infamous Count Dracula as he travels to England in search of new blood. After Dracula bites the wrong woman, a small group of men led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing attempt to finally end the count’s reign. This classic excites readers of all ages with its timeless story of good versus evil. For all the scaredy cats out there, have no fear, Dracula is gothic horror rather than a nightmare inducing horror which makes it a perfect read for the faint of heart. Readers should definitely take a bite out of “Dracula” this Halloween season.

Carrie by Stephen King Pretty much any book by acclaimed author Stephen King is bound to be a great book for the Halloween season. However, Stephen King’s “Carrie” is the perfect place to start off the spooky season. Fun fact, “Carrie” was actually his first ever published novel and was released on April 5, 1954! The book follows Carrie White, an unpopular young girl with growing psychic powers on her road to revenge. The clas-

sic revenge story combined with a slow build of suspense and dread makes “Carrie” absolutely worth the read this Halloween season.

House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski “House of Leaves” is a wild ride start to finish. The book tells the story of a family who begin to realize their house is bigger on the inside.

The most interesting thing is the novel’s extremely unusual style of formatting. There are footnotes, font changes, and at one point you even have to turn the book as you read it! Readers be warned, this is a difficult book to get through, very little is fully explained and the book expects the reader to fill in the blanks themselves. This book is a must read for those who are looking for a challenge which will leave them horrified.

Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson While everyone may have heard of the popular Netflix TV series, the “Haunting of Hill House” is actually based off of the book written by Shirley Jackson (and we all know the book is always better). The book follows four lovers of the occult as they investigate a haunted house. “Haunting of Hill House” was the blueprint for haunted house horror. While it is a short read of only 182 pages, that by no means means it will not scare the pants off of its readers.

Haunted by Chuck Palahnuik If you are in the mood for twisted and bizarre stories, Haunted is the perfect book for you. Similar to “Scary Stories to Read in the Dark” (another great book to check out), “Haunted” by Chuck Palahnuik is a compilation of short horror stories each being creepier than the last. Be forewarned, the first story “Guts” is so disturbing readers are known to pass out! This novel is perfect for readers who are not looking for a major commitment and are simply looking for a quick, nightmare inducing scare.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman Travel back to Halloween as a kid and read “Coraline.” Although many of us have seen the uncanny clay-mation movie, few truly realize just how much horror the movie left out. The story begins when Coraline finds a hidden door leading to another world with strange copies of her parents. But as Coraline grows more attached to her new life, she begins to notice something sinister underneath her perfect new world.

A creepy and disturbing story with vivid imagery, “Coraline is guaranteed to leave readers of any age sleeping with their lights on at night.

(Grace Dunlavy / The University News)

Arts and life

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Halloween: A Hopeful Imposter and Ancient Religion

By JULIETTE CALLAHAN Contributor

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alloween: the one night every year where young children can indulge themselves in candies while knocking on doors and bringing smiles to the individuals that are handing out candy. I remember when I was younger, I would dress up in my costume and walk around my neighborhood knocking on the doors of my neighbors while attempting to act as my costume and ask for candies. After a night of strategic planning to knock on the notoriously fruitful doors, I would run home and consume candies till my stomach ached. Last week, as I reflected on my Halloween endeavors as a kid, I wondered about the history of Halloween. How did an originally religious festival become a Westernized tradition of pleasurable delight in the greediness of children with a thirst for sugar?

Halloween originated in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain on November 1st, where the Celtic community would celebrate the beginning of their new year at the end of summer that was “associated with human death.” On the night of Samhain, October 31st, the worlds of the living and the dead melded when the Celts made bonfies, sacrificed animals, and burned crops while dressed in costumes of “animal heads and skins.” Halloween also originated in the designation of November first as a celebration of All Saints’ Day by Pope Gregory III. All Saints’ Day became known as All Hallows Eve and the Celtic celebration of their new year on the 31st eventually became known as Halloween. Celtic people believed that on that night, predictions or prophecies of the future were sourced in the melding of the two worlds. In 1000 A.D, the Catholic Church moved All Saints’ Day

to November 2nd as a day to honor the saints that had ascended into Heaven. It is presumed that due to the Church’s relation with the Celts, that the move from November first to second was an attempt to create a celebration of the dead within the Church as the Celts had. The day was celebrated with practitioners creating bonfires and wearing religious affiliated costumes such as “saints, angels, or devils.” Obviously, the two celebrations were not independent of each other. With an outline of the history, the question of how Halloween was westernized remains.

With the Protestant community in New England, Halloween did not develop across America until Native Americans began to stage a celebration of the harvest around bonfires where communities would recount stories of their dead ancestors as ghosts. Colonies, by the nineteenth century, began recounting stories of ghosts during fall festivals. As immigrants of the nineteenth century began to arrive in America, specifically Irish immigrants of Celtic descent, the celebrations of Halloween began to develop across America. With that celebration, the practice of trick-or-treating spread when Americans began to host frequent parties as an attempt to disaffiliate Halloween from the Church, Celtic, and even the Native American traditions.

Over the century, the religious overtones of Halloween were diminished by parties and parades that particularly directed young children towards the celebration of Halloween within their community. As the celebration was centered around children, mischief was the outcome of the evening celebrations. Parents

then began to bestow “treats” on the community’s children as a means of dissuading them from mischievous, unpredictable behavior. Thus the tradition of trick-or-treating and indulging in treats was formed.

With a stomach ache, grass in my hair and theatrical makeup smeared across my face, three-year-old to twelve-year-old me was animated by the lights, frights, and sights of Halloween. The simple action of knocking on a door that at any other day in the year I would have never knocked on, to it being opened by someone with a smile and a bowl of candy in their hands, was a night that allowed me to be an imposter of my own making. Halloween offers children an introduction to the future, as, for one night in the year, every young child can form their dream of the

future to become someone or something of their choosing. A child could come home from a night of trick-ortreating and inform their parents that they want to be a doctor, lawyer, animal, witch, or any product of their imagination. If only life was as sweet as candy and as easy as dressing up as a character. Next weekend, when the kids in my hometown community are dressing up, I am going to as well. That notion of the future as a kid on Halloween is still the notion of the future I attempt to maintain: I can be whatever it is I wish to be, if I only have hope. If I want to be a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, or an artist, I can be like a naive kid and dress up in hope and knock on doors to uncover my future that is as sweet as a candy.

(Grace Dunlavy / The University News)

University News 10/21/21 Sudoku

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University News 10/21/21 Crossword

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(Michael Place / The University News)

BEEP Baseball Challenge

By ANDREA PORTER Photo Editor

n Oct. 16, the St. Louis Gateway Archers challenged the SLU Department of Ophthalmology to a baseball game.

The Gateway Archers are a team of players who are blind or visually impaired. The MindsEye’s BeepBall Program adds a twist on baseball that allows players of all visual abilities to compete. In Beepball, all players wear blindfolds except the sighted pitcher and outfield spotters. Players are guided by sound, not sight: the ball emits a “beep” sound, bases buzz and the pitcher gives verbal cues.

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SLU’s Department of Ophthalmology rallied up 10 players and 18 spectators. Friends and family of the Gateway Archers and SLU Department of Ophthalmology gathered at the Medical Center Stadium on South Campus to cheer and watch the game.

Many of the Gateway Archers players are patients of SLU ophthalmologist Dr. Tom Porter and see him regularly at Saint Louis University Hospital. This made the game especially exciting for SLU Hospital staff members, who loved seeing their patients play a sport that many assume requires sight. Members

of SLU’s Ophthalmology Department had never played baseball blindfolded, so this was a whole new experience for them. The Archers were victorious, winning 6 to 2.

SLU Ophthalmology hopes this will be an annual game. Porter said, “The Archers are amazing, and watching them play makes one realize what incredible athletes they all are. They played with the same drive and intensity as any baseball or baseball team. I think they were going easy on us this year but warned us next year they’re going to ‘smoke us’ and we better start practicing!”

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SOULARD OKTOBERFEST

(Grace Dunlavy/ The University News)

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Eckert’s belleville farm Pumpkin Jamboree October in Missouri

By LEXI KAYSER Copy Editor

the light feels softer in autumn, scattered like cinnamon dust, stuck to the corners of the sidewalks like maple sap. nostalgia seeps through stomata— soaks the soul through then wrings it out to dry— sucks the green from the leaves, drinks the life from the grass; and something fresh takes its place. brisk and blustery, mystic and melancholy, curtained in shades of whiskey-amber that only ever grace Missouri treetops. the air gets crisp, cuts through the heatwaves, leaves the tang of cider in its wake. it’s bittersweet, October— the clarity that only comes with a year’s dying exhale.

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billiken OPEN PRACTICE

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Photography

(Michael Place / The University News)

sports

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TALIBAN BANS WOMEN’S SPORTS

By SYDNEY ALTEMOSE Sports Editor ith the Taliban’s regain of political control in Afghanistan, people instantly recognized that a shift in government power meant a loss of their rights.

An example were the women who actively participated in sports since the Taliban’s removal from power in 2001. With the reinstatement of their regime, their rights for simple enjoyment have been rolled back.

The Taliban’s basis for banning women’s participation in sport comes from their religious beliefs. Participating in sports could expose a woman, which is considered deeply inappropriate in the fundamentalist form of Islam which the Taliban practices. A Taliban spokesperson also cited the media as being a concern for the exposure of their female athletes.

Cricket, a popular sport throughout the country, is now off-limits for women and girls. Additionally, those women who were once members of the now-banned national cricket team have gone into hiding for their own protection for fear of retaliation by the new government. Some have at tempted to leave the country and seek asylum elsewhere. Women in Kabul feel especially uneasy; after a violent few months, they hope they can keep violence at bay from themselves.

Alternatively, the men’s team is being actively endorsed by the government for a match with Australia which will take place in November. The International Cricket Council keeps a close eye on Afghanistan as member teams must compete and qualify in order to achieve full status. The women’s team had already done so in 2017.

The Taliban forbids co-ed schooling, which marks another source of pain and concern for the women of Afghanistan.

Petition against the Taliban’s new law enforcements could mean death for anyone attempting to stand against them. For many young girls in the country, sports were a source of freedom. For some, it was

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freedom against the dress codes they were forced to follow, since participation in sports allowed girls to wear athletic gear which was less restrictive. In turn, they could share their newfound passions and excitement with one another. Something that will almost certainly come with a stark price should someone be brave enough to test the Taliban’s boundaries.

Sport was another way for Afghani women to see the world. Plenty have risen to compete internationally and then return home to share that opportunity with others. Using their hard-earned knowledge they have created programs to help one another become successful world-class athletes. Now, these women are reduced to hiding their successes and hoping that their name does not mean a death sentence. Sediqa Sidiqi, a cyclist, has said that with the transition of power, her father took a picture of her awards, medals, and certificates, with plans to burn them afterwards; years of work reduced to ashes.

Sidiqi had shared her love with other girls in the community. It was difficult at first, as she and the other girls who rode about their town were frequently assaulted with stones or produce by the men who saw them ride past. When she returned home last year after a national championship, she was greeted warmly. Now, all the work she and other women of the community had done will be erased.

Other young-women, like those on soccer teams, are riddled with depression.

Before ever being afforded the opportunity to compete on a national scale, that dream has been ripped from them. Some are brave, standing against the Taliban’s attempts to take their opportunities from them and continuing to play, regardless of the threat it poses.

Some of the best known female sports stars from Afghanistan no longer live in the country. They do not feel as though their own safety is in immediate danger.

They will do what they can to help secure the safety of others and encourage their bravery from afar. The women who have

seen success are also aware that it is the women who came before them who allowed them to take charge of their opportunity when the time came. They want to help provide that for other women.

Hope is especially important for the future of women’s athletics in Afghanistan.

While it is easy to be frightened by the situation and feel hopeless, the women who have created international acclaim for themselves remain steadfast in the hope that the young women who have fallen in love with sport will not give it up easily.

While the future seems bleak, challenging these rules and regulations will be instrumental in assuring the work that has taken place over the past twenty years will not be dismantled overnight. The future of women’s athletics in Afghanistan will be watched with careful eye by the international community.

Diana Jakovcevich / The University News

sports

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WATCH YOURSELF

By SYDNEY ALTEMOSE Sports Editor

he end of the hour is approaching. You have not stood. The reason does not matter: your Apple Watch demands you move for at least a minute. If you want to close your rings for the day, you will oblige. Later that day another alert buzzes on your wrist. “You can still do it!”, your watch boasts, almost tauntingly. But you have had a busy day. A workout was not in your plan: getting one in would mean sacrificing something else of more importance.

But, not getting one in, not burning those calories means you will break your streak. The last time that happened you could not find the motivation to work out again for a month. For consistency’s sake, you listen to the 2 x 1 inch glass face on your wrist.

Technology has made fitness more accessible than ever. There are various forms and platforms that can help you stay more in tune with your body

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than ever. From Apple, to Garmin, to Fitbit, smartwatches carrying fitness capabilities allow for anyone to be painfully aware of their fitness standards at all times. Several brands make watches that can pair with any smartphone, while others such as Apple designed their smartwatch so that its capabilities blend seamlessly onto your wrist. Depending on your choice of a watch face, a simple flick of your wrist can instantly provide your fitness readings at a glance. Within seconds you are aware of whether you are on track to meet your fitness goals for the day or if you are falling behind. A downside is that this can lead to feelings of guilt or even a lack of confidence depending on how long the streak has been going.

Still, there are good things that wearable fitness trackers offer. For example, a quintessential trait that almost all modern trackers carry is the ability to monitor heart rate.

By monitoring your heart rate and analyzing the spikes and falls, you are able to learn more about your performance as well as how you might improve it. Different forums offer various sports and activities in an attempt to help you better track your activity and the amount of energy you burn. Apple

Andrea Porter / The University News

specifically has created milestone markers in the form of earnable badges that entice wearers into completing their set daily goals. In order to accomplish these goals, it is easy to make fitness a priority. It is easy to find time in the day to make sure you accomplish your goal. But when it is not so easy is when things can get complicated for wearers.

Life gets complicated. Cutting fitness out is an easy way to uncomplicate things as it can give you anywhere from thirty minutes to three hours back in your day. Not to mention the time it takes to prepare and then return and settle back into doing the things you need to do. Plus, the work you have put in over the course of five months does not disappear in one day without exercise. But wearing your fitness can serve as a blatant reminder of exactly what you are missing when you can not make it to the gym.

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sports

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FIELD HOCKEY UPENDS VCU

By RYAN OLSON Contributor t was a great weekend here in St. Louis. With the Blues winning their season opener against Colorado and the men’s soccer team defeating Dayton, it was only fitting the weekend should end with a SLU victory. VCU came to SportPort International Sunday afternoon to take on the Billikens field hoxkey team expecting a win. After a hard fought defensive battle, the Billikens prevailed and shut out the reigning and defending A-10 champions to win 1-0. Freshman forward Josefina Perez scored the lone goal for the Billikens at the 16:33 mark for her 3rd goal on the year. She was assisted by junior forward, Demi Sahuleka, for her 5th assist of the season.

Sahuleka (9) and Perez (8) both lead the team in total points.

While Perez and Sahuleka took care of business on the offensive end, the Billikens truly won the game on the defensive side as senior goalkeeper, Sasha Sander, recorded 10 saves with 4 coming in the 4th quarter. Sander was awarded A-10 defensive player of the week honors for her strong defensive performance.

Providing support for Sander was her defensive front. The defensive backline of Julianne Sacco, Nicole McDowell, Savina Purewal, Parker Guy and Cameron Tucker found themselves in a defensive duel for the majority of the game, especially in the second half.

Despite being taken out of playoff contention, the Billikens walked into SportPort looking for a win and that is precisely what they found.

If not for playoff contention, what does this win mean? While playoffs were out of the question, one of the team’s longstanding goals was to get at least one conference win at home in front of their fans. For the players, coaches and supporters, this win showed a hopeful future for the SLU field hockey program. Seeing younger players, such as Josefina Perez, Savina Purewal, and Lotte Teunissen starting to take the team

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in a new direction shows that this program will be in good hands.

This win sends a message to the A-10 conference that SLU field hockey is starting to make a turn around. The silver lining to what has been a less than auspicious season is the heart the Billikens have shown throughout.

The great Rocky Balboa once said: “it’s not about how hard you can hit, but how much you can get hit and still keep moving forward.” There is no better quote to accurately describe the current SLU field hockey team.

Despite all the challenges, all the adversity, the long drives to home games, the early mornings, the late nights, and the lack of support, they never broke down and continued to persevere. To see a team that has had little success come out and take on the defending A-10 champions is a stepping stone to building this program back up.

After this win, the Billikens are looking to keep the momentum going as they head to Bloomington, Indiana, to take on University of Indiana.

They return for their final home game of the season against Central Michigan next Sunday in celebration of senior day. They will then close out the regular season with one last A-10 matchup at Davidson.

If you haven’t made it out to a SLU field hockey match, you truly are missing out. The way these young women fight and play for each other is truly a testament to the great character of each and every one of these athletes. No matter what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, these young women always walk out with their heads held high because they know they left it all on the field. As the season starts to wind down, there is no doubt that every athlete on this team will walk away satisfied with their performance. Although the results may not always go in favor of SLU, the upperclassmen can always know they taught the younger women how to be better women, and that is better than winning any field hockey game.

Courtesy of Billiken Athletics

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sports

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT

Why this year’s WNBA Championship was so important

By SYDNEY ALTEMOSE Sports Editor n Sunday, the Chicago Sky overtook the Phoenix Mercury 80-74 to claim the 2021 WNBA Championship. In order to make the games-- especially the playoffs--more accessible to viewers, Google created a partnership with the WNBA and ESPN to broadcast this season’s games.

Being the 25th anniversary of the WNBA, the 2021 season marked a monumental milestone for the organization.

A partnership such as this promotes viewer engagement and franchise expansion on unprecedented levels. In fact, viewership of the WNBA finals spiked by 4,500% this year.

The addition of Google as a Changemaker partner in the WNBA brings elite company. Along with AT&T, Deloitte and Nike, the Changemaker partners seek to elevate women in sports on a greater scale. A partnership with Google means big things for the league; their mastery in technology and marketing allows for reaching untapped audiences, allowing them easier access to the games the women play.

Additionally, with a big name such as Google, it signals to other platforms that there is opportunity in women’s sports.

With the Google partnership, competing companies could seek the potential to sponsor other women’s leagues and programs, giving them a chance to advance.

While the Google sponsorship and the anniversary of the WNBA brough extra eyes to the season and playoffs, the playoffs themselves held plenty of important moments, not only for the basketball players themselves but for women’s sports nationally.

There are currently nine parenting mothers actively playing in the WNBA, three of whom play for the Mercury: Diana Taursai, Skylar DigginsSmith, and Bria Hartley. Candace Parker is a parenting player on the Sky. Almost every parenting player spent at least a portion of their careers with either the Sky or the Mercury; these two teams specifically are known to help parenting players prioritize. During her career with the Dallas Wings, Diggins-Smith’s return from maternity leave prompted her transfer. The “family-first” atmosphere the Mercury cultivated was a major draw for her.

Diana Tuarsai, one of the most famous names in the WNBA, had an especially exciting playoffs with expecting wife Penny Taylor at home in Phoenix. The semifinals saw a matchup between the Mercury and the Aces.

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During the deciding game five win, Tuarsai had a show-stopping performance.

Scoring 24 points, she helped lift the Mercury into the finals with a 87-84 win.

Immediately following her interview with ESPN, she boarded a plane to help support her wife through the birth of their daughter.

Candace Parker had extra help with her to celebrate her championship win; her ten year old daughter, Lailaa, was there to watch her mother win her second WNBA championship. This will be the second championship Candace Parker and Ally Quigley share together. Their first encounter was in their Chicago high school.

The 2021 playoffs were special for a plethora of reasons. Alongside Google, other important names helped promote the playoffs. Chance the Rapper, a Chicago native, was sitting courtside when the last buzzer sounded.

To celebrate the win, he plans on getting a Chicago Sky tattoo. During the AcesMercury semi-finals matchup, Trae Young, Ja Morant, and Chris Paul all tweeted about the excitement of watching the thriller. For game two of the finals, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Jae Crowder all sat courtside, congratulating Taursai as she stepped off the court. After game five ended, stars like Dwayne Wade, Stephen Curry, Pau Gasol, Isiah Thomas, and James Harden all took to Twitter and social media to congratulate Candace Parker and her hometown team.

Big names call for big reactions. The support of NBA stars means good things for the WNBA and its exposure. But with Google’s partnership, it is safe to say that this season has been instrumental in the growth for the league. News articles regarding WNBA have turned out faster than ever. Viewership has spiked. The women of the league have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they can play basketball. They play at such a high level while being mothers and raising children.

While the spotlight from famous NBA players has helped boost interest, the fame and play will continue to elevate in coming years. When the organization celebrates its 50th anniversary, there is hope among the WNBA and its supporters that the Google partnership will be a crucial but distant memory. As the WNBA continues to expand and grow, the encouragement and assistance of parenting players will be instrumental.

Sunday brought the Chicago Sky their first championship. But the other good things that came along with the season and its fitting playoffs proved that the sky’s the limit for this new and blossoming league.

Diana Jakovcevic/ The University News

COMING THIS NOVEMber!

Located at City Foundry STL, only a block away from SLU! For updates on our official Grand Opening Day, follow us @freshthymefndry

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Opinion

Academic Anxiety Your Grades Do Not Define You

By SARA QALBANI Staff Writer

he shaking legs, the rapid heartbeat and the knot in your chest: I can assure you they’re not in your head. Academic anxiety is a term under the umbrella of anxiety experienced by many college students. Anxiety, in general, is the leading mental health concern amongst college students. Approximately 41.6% of students have anxiety, according to the American Psychological Association.

This isn’t something you are going through alone. Academic anxiety can be brought on by numerous factors and it’s not always in our control. A study done by Cornell University in 2015 addresses the four components of academic anxiety. The first one is labeled as worry. Worry doesn’t just mean that you feel a sense of uneasiness looming in the back of your head; it’s overwhelming thoughts that can prevent you from completing work, staying focused and exhibiting motivation. These thoughts can consist of anything self-degrading or the consequences of not reaching an academic-related goal. The second component is emotionality. Emotionality is concerned with the physical or biological symptoms that occur when experiencing academic anxiety.

This encompasses a quickened heartbeat, muscle tension or sweaty palms. The third component acknowledges task-generated interference. This covers behaviors that are related to the task at hand and have the potential to prevent successful performance.

Task-generated interference behaviors can be checking the clock consistently throughout an exam, or repeatedly re-reading a question out of doubt. The last component consists of study skills deficits. These are the problems that could trigger academic anxiety related to study methods such as last-minute cramming or poor note-taking skills. Although these four components emphasize things that may be preventable, a significant amount of it is out of our control. You can have strong note-taking skills or you can study for an exam weeks ahead of time, but sometimes the overbearing feeling can still come and your progress may seem like it’s crumbling. This does not mean you are abnormal. Mental health is not a linear journey with an endpoint of recovery. There are times when you might fall and have to pick yourself up, but you are most certainly not alone and your journey is still valid.

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With midterms around the corner, these emotions may seem to be making their way back up, but there are ways to cope.

Create a plan: outline the assignment, essays or exams that you need to have completed and create a schedule that will allow you to have enough time for healthy breaks in between. Now, what is a healthy

Diana Jakovcevic / The University News break? The main component of a healthy break is to take a step away from your work. You can’t continue to work if your brain is already exhausted. This is psychologically proven in a study published by PLOS ONE, a multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal, to

cause burnout which, in turn, can result in physical consequences.

Self-Care: it’s easier said than done, but prioritize yourself, allow yourself to think in a way that emphasizes that you are worth more than your grades or GPA. Don’t use your academic performance as a scale to determine self-worth; you deserve more than that. An aspect of self-care is to find your comfort. Comfort can be found in your friends, family, or hobbies. Comfort looks different for everyone but when you find the thing that brings you peace and ease, it will change you.

Reward: after all is said and done, and you’ve submitted that essay or assignment, or walked out of that test, reward yourself.

I don’t mean go back to your desk and work on the next big thing that’s coming up. Celebrate the small victories all the way to the large victories. Regardless of your result, you still checked one thing off that checklist. Celebrate yourself and all that you have achieved.

Now, this isn’t just a call to students but this is a call to faculty as well. Everyone goes into college with uncertainty in their ability to handle their coursework, but as a professor, you have the ability to ease their worries. This doesn’t mean abolish tests and homework, but work with your students rather than against them. Identify the methods that will allow your students to reach their full potential. Push when you need to push but also allow your class to be one that students enjoy, even if it is a required course. Students aren’t learning anything if the only thing they gain from your class is credit at the cost of their mental health. Teaching methods may differ, but take a step back and look at your syllabus—are your students benefiting from your class?

I hope what you’ve gained from this isn’t just what is entailed in academic anxiety, but that you are more than what it makes you feel. Each step is still a step, whether big or small, and you are worthy of recovery. In the midst of all the academic chaos, take a second to acknowledge how far you have already made it, and how far you are going to go.

Opinion

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COMPARING THE COMPLEX

By SOPHIE GLORIOD Contributor reshmen at Saint Louis University have one constant - the Griesedieck Complex.

While all freshmen do not have to live in Gries, most that are not in Learning Communities end up with housing assignments there out of sheer luck. Or randomness. Whichever you want to call it, a lot of freshmen tend to live in Gries. The complex is made up of three buildings- Griesedieck itself, Walsh Hall and Clemens Hall. While these three dorms are technically within the same building, they have different characteristics and different reasons why each one is good and bad. The buildings vary slightly, however, each has communal bathrooms and showers, the floors are either all girls or all boys, and each room houses two students. However, the similarities just about end there.

The first building, and the most iconic, is the Gries building itself. With its height and bright blue Saint Louis University sign that glows every night, it is a feature of SLU’s campus that everyone looks for when heading down Highway 64. The rooms in Gries have one overhead light, and one air unit that is on the corner of the wall. While the rooms themselves are nothing spectacular, the view each window has is stunning.

Freshman Lauren Degenhardt, a Gries resident, enjoys her view overlooking the city each night. “I’m not the biggest fan of Gries itself,” Degenhardt said. “But I seriously love getting to see all the lights in the city at night when I’m studying.”

While the view in Gries takes the cake in the complex, the bathrooms do not. Specifically, the showers. In Gries, there are five shower stalls in each bathroom, however only one drain in the middle of the floor. Yikes.

The bathrooms more often than not are not very clean. The dorm rooms themselves are also relatively small, but what college dorm is not the size of a shoebox?

The next building in the complex is Walsh Hall. Walsh does not have all of the same luxuries as Gries, for ex-

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ample, there is only one closet for both residents. In Walsh, the biggest pro is in fact the bathrooms. Not only are there two different rooms for the showers and toilets, but each shower has its own stall, shower head and, best of all, drain. No communal drain for the Walsh residents. However great the showers may be, the dorms in Walsh are extremely small and many AC units either smell or leak when it rains.

Grace Fogarty, a Walsh resident, is relatively fond of the showers found in her building. “I really appreciate having my own drain, not having a communal drain in the middle of the room is so nice,” Fogarty said. “Plus, the water pressure is really nice so I never feel like I’m struggling to rinse my hair.”

Walsh may have the worst closet situation, but it has the best shower setup.

Even better than Walsh, the third and final building in the Gries complex.

Clemens was recently redone, and for that reason it is the nicest residence hall in the building. The dorms in Clemens are not much bigger, however, they are wider which allows more space to walk between the beds. The bathrooms in Clemens are very nice as well. They are more spacious than those of the other two buildings and overall feel much cleaner. However, the showers do in fact share a drain per two showers. In Clemens, there are about four showers in each bathroom and two drains. While this is not as bad as Gries’ drain situation, it is not as nice as Walsh’s solo shower drains. Regardless of the drains, Clemen’s does have better window unit air conditioners than both Gries and Walsh.

Clemens Hall and Walsh Hall both have Gries beat, as both Halls have lounge space and a kitchen on various floors. Even though Gries may have a better view, Clemens and Walsh’s common spaces make it much easier to

hang out with your floormates without needing to cram into someone’s small dorm. Speaking of hanging out with friends, the biggest pro to the entire Gries complex (besides the location) is not having to check in your friends who live in a different Hall every time you want to visit with each other.

The Gries complex has many pros and cons, however as most freshmen end up living in one of the three buildings, it is a bonding experience between you and other residents in the building. If you find yourself living in Gries, appreciate the community you are going to build during your first two semesters at SLU. Nearly every student can bond with each other over Gries shower horror stories or leaky Walsh AC unit memories. Living in the Complex means you are going to form strong bonds with other SLU students from every grade level.

(Abby Campbell / University News)

Opinion

22

THE FREE SPEECH DILEMMA Why “Free Speech” Doesn’t Mean “Free from Consequences”

By ANASTASIA HANONICK Copy Editor he First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the free and open discussion of all ideas regarding religion, politics, as well as the right to protest and bring petitions for grievances.

Additionally, the First Amendment deliberately prohibits Congress from restricting the free expression of people’s thoughts in the media or press. Recently, however, controversies surrounding free speech have emerged, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic as news and social media platforms have taken extra lengths to eliminate the expression of any viewpoints deemed as “false” or “misinformed.” This phenomenon brings light to questions that have left many scratching heads: how far can free speech go? Is free speech really “free speech” if censorship exists? And lastly, have we gone too far with censorship?

While the First Amendment protects Americans’ rights to talk, voice, articulate, protest or rant their opinions without the fear that they will be imprisoned for what they say, there is a limit on what one can say without facing legal repercussions: free speech does not always mean “free from consequences.” For example, the First Amendment does not protect people from posting threats, child pornography, blackmail or expressing the incitement of crime. Additionally, the First Amendment does not guarantee that the public responses following people’s expressions of opinions will be positive. One is free to say what they please, but there is no promise that their opinions will not cause disapproval or outrage from others. Because people use their moral judgment to perceive which opinions they deem acceptable and which they don’t, this gives them the right to not associate with beliefs they deem unacceptable.

People are welcome to voice their mis-

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informed or discriminatory beliefs, but by doing so they need to acknowledge that they are taking a calculated risk of losing jobs, friends or even family.

All things considered, one might wonder where social media plays into censorship: one could argue that social media platforms should not be the “moral judges” of what is okay to post, and what is not. Just several weeks ago, YouTube took steps to ban anti-vaccine activists and all anti-vaccine content. Several days later, Twitter faced criticism for censoring an obituary of a Seattle mother who died from COVID vaccine complications. Facebook and Instagram are also known for mowing through accounts and groups who violate COVID policies regarding misinformation. Perhaps both sides can be seen here; despite people’s YouTube videos and Twitter posts about the pandemic being misleading, one could argue that the rights of the First Amendment give people the authority to freely express whatever they please on their platforms.

The catch is that once it gets to private businesses and corporations, there is very little the federal government can do. Social media falls under the “private corporation” category as most of their platforms are run independently from the government. This separation is what allows private businesses andto make their own decisions regarding rules and regulations. For example, businesses run independently from the government such as grocery stores, bars and restaurants often have signs that say “we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.” This statement comes with its limits: for example businesses cannot discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or gender in accordance to federal Title VI and IX laws. However, if one shows up to a private business inappropriately dressed, using offensive language or being intoxicated, owners have every

right to refuse service to this person or simply blacklist them from their establishment.

This is usually done with the intention of preserving the safety and well-being of customers.

Social media platforms follow a similar approach in which users are required to r e a d over and consent to a “terms of service” agreement before creating an account. Deactivation, or in some cases, permanent banishment usually follows the refusal to comply with social media guidelines. These rules often come in the form of not being allowed to post violent content, sexual images, false information, harassment, or threats of any means. Social media networks recognize that with information being spread at a fast and steady pace on their platforms, there is a level of responsibility that must be taken to ensure people are not falling for false narratives so that it doesn’t go mainstream. While some may have personal concerns regarding ethical implications of this matter, the bottom line is that Instagram censoring anti-vaccine content is protected under the same laws as a bar having a sign saying “no shoes, no shirt, no service.” The reality is that under current circumstances, there is nothing the US government can do to prevent censorship on private platforms.

Because of current circumstances, censorship is the only choice we have to combat the outbreak of misinformation. The stakes are too high to have it otherwise: the COVID pandemic has claimed the lives of over 700,000 Americans. The bottom line is that innocent people are dying. Amer-

(Diana Jakovcevic / University News) icans are ready for the pandemic to be over and for their lives to return to their “normal” courses. The only way to diminish COVID cases and return to our pre-pandemic state is by vaccinating the majority of the public. People taking advantage of this to spread conspiracy theories and misinformation about the origin of COVID and vaccines will not achieve the end goal. In this day and age, misinformation is dangerous because if the majority of this country begins falling for false narratives, progress will not be seen and the pandemic will never end.

Additionally, false rhetoric will create mass panic, and with panic comes its spouse: chaos. It may be wrong to silence those who are simply trying to voice their version of the truth, but it is even more unethical to have that “truth” be the reason for unnecessary illness or death of the innocent. As an editorial posted by St. Louis Post Dispatch says: “YouTube’s ban of anti-vax lies isn’t censorship, it’s responsible behavior.”

Opinion

23

MEET YOUR NEW CANDIDATE

TRISH GUNBY

By PENELOPE GARDNER Opinion Editor

ust outside of St. Louis City is Missouri’s Second Congressional District, where Representative Trish Gunby is running for election.

Rep. Gunby has served Missouri’s House of Representatives 99th district since 2020 and on August 2, 2021, she announced her run for the second congressional district’s United States House seat. “I was, and am, very happy to serve as a state representative. But I will tell you after January 6, what happened at the capital, that event sort of shifted everything.”

Both the insurrection and Michael Brown’s death in 2014 changed a lot for Rep. Gunby. During these events, she did not feel represented by incumbent Representative Ann Wagner, who has held the seat since 2013. “I haven’t felt a sense of representation,” Rep. Gunby said. “Part of this job is to represent everybody and we all aren’t going to agree, but to close off that option in terms of face-to-face communication or even phone call or email communication.

People just want to be heard.”

My attempt to reach out to Rep. Wagner received no response. Rep. Gunby shared how she receives calls and emails from people who need federal assistance, but can’t get through to Rep. Wagner. In comparison, on her website, Rep. Gunby has a Google Form anyone can fill out. Despite not having the same resources as Rep. Wagner, Rep. Gunby still makes an effort to read through the responses. Upon securing a potential election win, Rep. Gunby said that the first thing on her agenda would be to hold a town hall where members of the community will be heard. “We may not agree on everything, but I still will serve them,” Rep. Gunby said.

Rep. Gunby strives to represent her constituents; however, she stands by her principles. On her website there are five major issues that she focuses on which include universal and affordable healthcare, good wages and good jobs, social equity and racial justice, constitutionally-endowed voting rights and a transparent, functional government.

One of the first issues I talked to Rep. Gunby about was racial justice. She took the time to educate herself since the shooting of Michael Brown and even led a church seminar on diversity and social justice.

“A lot of what we do is legislation. We’re in D.C. 100 days a year, but you’re at home 265 days a year.

I think a big part of the job is to set up events and opportunities to bring in experts to deal with tough

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subject matter and to educate and inform your constituents,” Rep. Gunby said.

From there I inquired about other issues important to me, starting with gun control. “Many times Democrats get labeled as ‘we’re gonna take your guns,’” Rep. Gunby shared. “We advocate for common-sense gun solutions and a reduction in gun violence. I believe what that looks like in this region is universal background checks, what they call red flag laws where individuals who have been convicted or suspected of domestic violence would not have access to weapons.” As a state representative, she supported the idea of individuals receiving tax credit upon purchasing a gun safe in order to incentivize gun safety.

Climate change is another large issue for me, and Rep. Gunby elaborated on where she stood.“It’s happening!” Rep. Gunby exclaimed. “I’m tired of living through hundred-year floods that happen every five years.

It’s obviously happening and the U.S. needs to be a leader in it. We need to see things happen sooner rather than later.”

With all the talk right now about abortion rights, as a woman I also wanted to find where she stood. “I am a pro-choice candidate. I believe in a person’s right to choose,” Rep. Gunby stated. “I am worried about the legislation that I see moving through state legislatures trying to undo Roe v. Wade.”

Even if Rep. Gunby’s beliefs don’t align with yours, you should still consider supporting her because of her ability to listen to opposing viewpoints. This same engagement is not reflected with Rep. Wagner, who has been shown to be virtually absent.

Missouri’s second congressional district is very competitive and diverse, which highlights the extra work she must put forth to flip the seat. “I’m two months in and we are already doing the work necessary. We did it at the state level and we will ramp up and require more volunteers, more money, more

(Photo Courtesy of TrishGunby.com) engagements, more digital ads, everything is more,” Rep. Gunby said. “We have already started door knocking. We have door-knocked over 2,500 doors.”

She emphasized that “A lot of the students may not be from the St. Louis area but they are wanting to do stuff and certainly during election time next November, you’ll all be back in school and we will need more people than ever to help us in this effort since we will likely not know the boundaries for this district until late winter next year,” Rep. Gunby said. “I’m excited that you’re interested and I would love to have as many SLU students as possible on my team. They can go to my website trishgunby.com and sign up to volunteer and members of my team will reach out.”

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