THE
Volume 105 | Issue 2
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Sept. 22, 2020
RACLE
Free in single copy
Tech’s primary news source since 1924
158 years later, struggle for racial equality continues ANA PENA-VELASCO
Reporter
The Emancipation Proclamation declared “that all held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free.” This executive order was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, during the Civil War. The executive order rang as a huge historical win for the Frican American community. However, over 158 years later, this community still fights for freedom. Although this fight is focused on different goals today, it is still rooted in the same issues. Through the decades of struggle, many individuals of color have influenced African American history. Senior Victory Murray said she belives Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had the greatest impact. “I would say him because he kind of appealed to all audiences and didn’t really just focus on what Africa Americans need to do,”
Murray said. “He included others in his effort for change, so that’s why I would say him because he was more of like a global leader and not just like an African American leader,” she said. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s most famous work was the “I Have a Dream” speech he delivered to a group of civil rights marchers gathered around the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Dr. King spoke of his dream with a United States free of segregation, and racism. The biggest march Dr. King gathered to protest, and fight for equality was on August 28, 1963 where about a quarter-million people participated in the historic march. President Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States who served for two terms from 2009-2017, was the first, and only African American president up to this day. Murray reflected on the impact Obama’s presidency had on the African American community.
Photo by Laura Navarro Victory Murray, senior Journalism major, poses for a photo on the Tech Campus. Murray believes one of the ways to achieve racial equality is for everyone to understand there is a place for everyone and that together we must all get to world peace.
“He showed that African Americans, just like minorities that it was possible . . . seeing the representation, and knowing that it’s
possible really just propelled African Americans to move forward. Basically, just give African Americans a voice and say like you
have a say in what happens,” she stated. Murray had her input on what recent events with George Floyd has meant to
the black community. “First I would say it has impacted negatively the
see Equality pg. 5
Is Tech doing enough to stop spread of COVID-19? JONAH STOUT
Reporter
Tech is four weeks into the Fall 2020 semester, and students are still required to wear masks in all classrooms and anywhere on campus where social distancing is not possible. Students have also been encouraged to stay home and take advantage of Tech’s virtual learning options if they are feeling ill. Despite Tech having a plan to stop the spread of the coronavirus, there are some students who believe the university is not doing enough. Jonathan Fowler, a sophomore marketing major, thinks Tech needs to be more strict on enforcing mask wearing. “I do not feel safe on campus...mask wearing is not strict enough...I see people with their
masks pulled down all the time in class and the professors do nothing,” said Fowler. Though hand sanitizer has been available across campus, Caleb Harwood, a sophomore mechanical engineering technology major, would like to see students and faculty use it more. “I think students should be given hand sanitizer and wipes when they come into a classroom...people would have more peace of mind if masks and hand sanitizer were a little more strictly enforced,” Harwood stated. Tech’s Dean of Students, Katherine Williams, said the school is expecting students and faculty to hold each other accountable for wearing masks because they do not have the employees to enforce it in every building. “We are looking at more of a
Photo by Jonah Stout Jonathan Fowler spends most of his class time in front of the computer.
community enforcement model... it appears, at least in the classroom, from my perspective, mask enforcement and social distancing is going pretty well...if I see someone who is not wearing a mask in
a building, I’ll say something and hope that others will feel comfortable doing the same,” stated Williams. Williams is encouraging students and faculty to continue following the policies and guidelines as well as they are now throughout the remainder of the semester. “As we progress into the semester, my hope is that people continue to stay vigilant and continue to practice those safety measures,” she stated. According to Williams, Tech’s COVID-19 Dashboard has been updated in the past week so students and faculty can be more informed on the impact of the coronavirus on campus. “The COVID-19 Dashboard is updated every day...it was more of a simple graph...but now they’ve expanded it to include daily active
Photo by Jonah Stout Caleb Harwood spends his spare time writing songs when he is not on campus.
cases and cumulative and recovered cases...everybody in the Tech community has access to that,” Williams said.
Oldham addresses uncertainty, health concerns of Tech community MORGAN LEE
Reporter
Photo by Emily Higdon President Phil Oldham answers questions during Chat with the President. Oldham discussed uncertainty and health concerns on the Tech campus.
Significant Figures in America’s Fight for Racial Justice Page 5
President Oldham discussed COVID-19 updates, university enrollment, tuition, and finances at the fall 2020 Chat with the President. This semester’s chat began with some opening remarks from President Oldham about campus updates. “This is clearly a very unusual time in the history of our nation, in the history of this campus, so the environment here has changed a lot in the last three months,” Oldham said. He went on to praise faculty and everyone else involved with the sudden transfer to online delivery last spring. He congratulated students on record high grades for Tech last semester. “The campus as a whole has done an absolutely amazing job at rising to this challenge,” Oldham said. He spoke about the funding cuts the university received this year and that they had to make a few necessary adjustments to university finances. He then closed his opening remarks by speaking on the university’s recent national rankings. “Once again Tennessee Tech was
ranked as one of only three public universities in Tennessee as a nationally ranked public university,” Oldham said. Oldham addressed positive cases in resident students after being asked about residents and resident assistants. If a resident on campus tests positive for COVID-19 and chooses to go home or leave campus, they will not be classified as an ‘on campus’ positive case. Therefore, the on-campus positive cases may not accurately reflect how many campus residents have contracted the virus. Oldham discussed the 10 faculty terminations that took place over the course of the summer, despite receiving CARES Act funding. The CARES Act advises against terminating employees during this time of financial crisis. Oldham also addressed how terminating these people aligned with the ‘Wings of Kindness’ initiative he and his wife launched last semester. “Terminations are always unfortunate. I don’t like them. But they are reality. As far as, is it kind or unkind, it’s a situation that we had to deal with,” Oldham answered. He went on to discuss how the university provided severance to those employees and they tried to help them anyway
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they could. When asked about the percentage of students and faculty on campus at one given time and the possibility of giving individual departments more say in what is online and what is in person, Oldham and Provost Lori Bruce highlighted that the university was only ever trying to find balance. The goal was always to provide as much flexibility as possible for students and faculty. If a faculty member was uncomfortable with coming to campus and wanted to work remotely they could always speak with their department chair, and if it was for a medical issue they could speak with human resources. Oldham then addressed university growth and enrollment. “The recruiting process was drastically impacted because most high schools shut down in the spring also, so we didn’t have the same level of access to incoming freshmen that we had before … Right now we are sitting at about 10,200 students, which is just slightly above where we were last fall. We’re in good shape. That is not necessarily true at all the other institutions around the state,” Oldham said.
see Oldham pg. 5
Tech Intramurals facing changes this Fall.
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