THURSDAY, JAN. 27, 2021 VOLUME 96 ■ ISSUE 18
LA VIDA
NEWS
Foreign exchange students share their experiences in a new country and at Texas Tech .
Around campus, several construction projects can be seen. Read about the investments Tech is making to campus.
Read what students around campus have to say about Tech’s upcoming men’s basketball game against Texas.
OPINIONS
SPORTS
INDEX
Tech and Longhorns face off with a current 5-3 conference record on Feb. 1. Read about how the teams play in the Big 12.
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LA VIDA SPORTS OPINIONS CROSSWORD CLASSIFIEDS SUDOKU
BURNT
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Businesses reflect on promises to Beard, moving on By ARIANNA FLORES
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Editor-in-Chief
n March, local businesses were treating one man to many gifts. Gifts he did not receive and instead left for the capital of Texas. The owner of J’s Salsa company, Kelsey Johnson said he did not think the former head coach of the men’s basketball team, Chris Beard, would leave for his alma mater. “I feel like he just kind of stabbed us in the back a little bit,” Johnson said. “But at this point that seems like forever ago now.” Local restaurant Evie Mae’s BBQ offered Beard free barbecue for life before his departure and one of the owners, Mallory Robbins, said she and other businesses collected the former offerings and wanted to gift the items to a Tech basketball fan.
“We collected all sorts of crazy things from a Yeti cooler to a pair of cowboy boots, to gift cards,” Robbins said. “This was not for Chris Beard, it was for a Tech basketball fan.” Robbins said she is excited to see head coach Mark Adams and the team play against the Longhorns and she is expecting students and other fans to be loud. “I think it is exciting that (Beard’s) coming back.” Robbins said. “I think I would be kind of intimidating if I was Chris Beard to come back to Lubbock.” Micah Sparks, the owner and operator of Beef ‘O’ Brady’s said, he is ready to watch the Red Raiders play and show the nation that the grass is not greener in Austin. “We felt a little betrayed by his decision to go to Austin,” Sparks said. “I respect that he wanted to follow his dreams there but I feel
like Austin would have never appreciated Beard in the same manner Lubbock (did).” Sparks said he saw the amount of drive that went into the Kansas game and that team is in good hands with Adams. Eric Washington, the managing partner at Two Docs Brewing Company said the establishment offered Beard free beer for life. “Everybody’s a little angry about how things ended with him but I think at this point, rather than being angry, everyone’s really just more excited with the way our team is looking,” Washington said. “And this is going to be a great chance for him to see what kind of crowd we have and what kind of team Mark (Adams) put together. So I think it’ll just be a chance for Lubbock to show that the team was bigger and more than just Chris Beard.” @AriannaFloresDT
“Everybody’s a little angry about how things ended with him but I think at this point, rather than being angry, everyone’s really just more excited with the way our team is looking.” Eric Washington, managing partner, Two Docs Brewing Company
TOP: PHOTO BY KHLOE SCOTT/The Daily Toreador ABOVE: PHOTO BY EMILY KNEPP/The Daily Toreador
TOP: After announcing the 79-70 Texas loss against Iowa State, a Red Raider fan throws a horns down sign on Jan. 18, 2022, at the United Supermarkets Arena. The Longhorns hold a 5-3 conference record with Tech’s former head coach Chris Beard. ABOVE: The Texas Tech student section cheers after the Red Raiders score against Kansas at the United Supermarkets Arena on Jan. 8, 2022. Tech defeated the Jayhawks 75-67 for its second conference win this season. Tech now has a 5-3 overall conference record.
Scout Sonnenberg explores beauty through art By STEPHANIE GHANDOUR Staff Writer
Many people use art as an outlet or therapy in their lives. By creating art, they are able to make something beautiful out of personal issues or pain that they otherwise may not be able to express to others. For Scout Sonnenberg, art is not only an outlet but a way of life. When Scout was born, she was diagnosed as legally blind in addition to other conditions. “I was born completely blind. I went through a series of surgeries until I was 3 to restore my vision. And it wasn’t until I was three that I did get eventually some of that site back,” Scout Sonnenberg, a second-year studio art student from Lubbock, said. “When I was born, I was born with white eyes, which meant that it was like the visible sign of glaucoma. So, my eyes clouded over.” Scout Sonnenberg said she has had around 47 surgeries throughout her life 43 of which were performed on her eyes. Despite the multitude of surgeries, she has had in her life, she remembers using art as a form of therapy far before she could even see, Scout Sonnenberg said.
EMILY KNEPP/The Daily Toreador
Scout Sonnenberg poses with several pieces of artwork she created. Despite having 43 surgeries on her eyes the Lubbock native describes art as a way of life. “So, there’s like pictures of me when I was little, even before those surgeries, where I couldn’t see,” Scout Sonnenberg said. “And I was feeling the edge of the paper and I was scribbling on it
with a marker. Like I’ve always loved art.” Lee and Paula Sonnenberg, Scout’s parents, said the problems with Scout’s eyes were caused by a genetic anomaly that caused a
tweak in the fourth chromosome. “ S h e c o u l d n ’t r e a l l y p l a y sports, but she was pretty athletic, so she found swimming after the Olympics one summer,” Paula Sonnenberg said. “So, she was a competitive swimmer for probably close to 10 years, she was a recruit for the Paralympics. She stumbled on to Color Guard.” Paula Sonnenberg said the hardest part about Scout’s situation for them as parents was watching their daughter go through chronic pain. “I think it’s really so much of what we have tried to do as parents, especially for Scout, is just make sure that she had that level playing field and then we let her do what she wanted to do and could do and then we were just available to support you know, cheer from the sides,” Lee Sonnenberg said. Paula Sonnenberg said that Lee is working with political leaders and implementing laws for children across Texas for those who are visually impaired. Lee is now on the board for the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and has helped over 11,000 blind/visually impaired children ranging from the ages of 3 to 18. Despite the adversity that
Scout has overcome she has still made it her dream to continue a career in the arts regardless of her abilities to see. “For a long time, I thought it was very stupid that I wanted to do art. I was like why would I do art if one day I’m not going to be able to see anymore?” Scout Sonnenberg said. “Then, finally, I realized that I was like if I’m not able to see anymore, at least I can give people a glimpse of what I used to see and what I saw and how I experienced the world. I think art and artist they challenge you to see things differently.” Scout Sonnenberg said she is deciding between pursuing art therapy and becoming an art professor, but she will find a way to utilize art in her career. It is a dream of hers to create a book about the way she sees the world and what sighted people may take for granted. “Some people might think it’s funny for a blind kid to study studio art but I’m just incredibly thankful because it’s just built into like my DNA,” Scout Sonnenberg said. “I used to say that I have I have acrylic paint running through my veins and blood.” @StephanieGhandourDT
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LA VIDA
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International students share college experience By TANA THOMPSON L a Vida Editor
The thought of a moving to a different country can be enticing to people. That thought can bring people from across the world to start a new life. It can cause a student to leave their home, and begin college in a new place with all new people. Texas Tech has a diverse student body with international students from all over the world. “Going to a new country was a big challenge for me in the beginning because it was the first time I was going to be far away from my family for such a long time,” Mateo Castro, a second-year mechanical engineering student, said. “I didn’t know what to expect here, how people would treat me and how I will adapt myself. And after just a couple of weeks I already met new friends and started to get used to it and start to learn how to like Lubbock.” Castro is from São Paulo, Brazil, and said that Lubbock is very different from where he comes from. However, he was not able to be in the U.S. during his first year at Tech due to COVID-19 shutting down the
school, Castro said. “The biggest impact was that I wasn’t able to be in the United States for my freshman year,” Castro said. “So I spent all my freshman year in Brazil doing online classes, which wasn’t bad but it really doesn’t have the same college experience. And besides in Brazil, COVID was pretty bad as well. Thankfully, I was able to come last semester.” Irene Sarro, a second-year chemical engineering student, said she loved meeting new people in Lubbock after moving from Piza, Italy. “I lived in four different countries and moved 15 times before in my life so I’ve always been used to meeting new people and being open to different cultures,” Sarro said. “What I liked about moving here was meeting people from all around, it was nice getting to be even more open minded about other cultures and different mentalities.” Both Castro and Sarro said they applied to a number of universities in the U.S., and they both chose Tech. In order to come to college in the U.S Castro said he had to take an American College Testing (ACT), and the Test of English as a Foreign Language exam (TOEFL) as part of the
TANA THOMPSON/The Daily Toreador
Irene Sarro, a second-year chemical engineering student from Piza, Italy, uses the campus map inside the Student Union Building. International students take time to learn the campus. application process. “The first thing is to see what are the requirements for Texas Tech if they require an ACT, also a TOEFL as well for international students,” Castro said. “Then to write essays like every other student, I guess. After I got accepted, they gave me the documents for me to apply for a visa. And after that, well, just the plane tickets and finding a place to live.” Larissa Castaneda Vargas, a second-year biology student
from Florianópolis, SC, Brazil, said her college experience was also harmed due to COVID-19, but she has loved America since she’s been here. “I’m not going to lie, losing my first year of college experience to COVID had me devastated for months but once again my family had my back during my freshman year semester online,” Vargas said. “The toughest part of doing online classes was having the exams be pretty late
at night due to the time zone difference, but in the end, I did make many friends when I got here for my sophomore year so it was all worth it.” Vargas said her favorite part about being able to be on campus this year has been the people she has met. “My favorite part of being in the United States has to be the people, everyone is so lovely and curious when I tell them I’m from outside the country,” Vargas said. “I
felt very welcomed here in Lubbock, and couldn’t wish for better friendships. Being from a small town myself I was really worried about not knowing anyone here, I couldn’t be more wrong.” Despite COVID-19, these international students have all said they have enjoyed being in the U.S. this year. Va r g a s s a i d s h e h a s faced other problems not caused by COVID-19. “Life can’t always be perfect and even though the majority of the people I meet are so good I have experienced some things when going out with my friends. Being a Brazilian girl, and knowing how Brazilian culture is seen here in the U.S. can lead sometimes to unpleasant conversations or assumptions of being sexualized,” Vargas said. Often expect international students to have to face a language barrier, but Vargas said that is very wrong. “I’ve studied English since I was 5 and I also speak Portuguese, my native language, and Spanish because my parents are Peruvian. Of course, there are exceptions but I think most international students do their best to speak English well,” Vargas said. @TanaThompsonDT
ASSOCIATED PRESS
‘Jeopardy!’ champ’s history run ends Champion Amy Schneider’s dazzling streak on the quiz show is over, snapped by a Chicago librarian after 40 consecutive wins and nearly $1.4 million in prize money. Schneider’s success put
her in the ranks of Ken Jennings, who’s serving as guest host, and the quiz show’s other all-time greats. It also made Schneider, a trans woman, a visible symbol of achievement for often-marginalized people.
“It’s still a little hard to believe,” she said of her impressive run. “It’s something that I’m going to be remembered for, and that’s pretty great,” New champ Rhone Talsma had the correct response
to the final “Jeopardy!” clue for a winning total of $29,600. Schneider, who found herself in the unusual position of entering the last round short of a runaway, was second with $19,600. “I’m still in shock,” Talsma said in a statement. “I did not expect to be facing a 40-day champion, and I was excited to maybe see someone else slay the giant. I just really didn’t think it was going to be me, so I’m thrilled.” Schneider told The Associated Press that Talsma played well and did a “great job of taking the opportunities when they came up and putting himself position to be able to win.” The answer that stumped Schneider was about countries of the world: The only nation whose name in English ends in an “h” and which is also one of the 10 most populous. (Cue the “Jeopardy!” music — and the response is, “What is Bangladesh?”) Among her immediate reactions when the game and her streak ended: She was sad but also relieved that “I don’t have to come up with anymore anecdotes,” the stories that contestants share during game breaks.
NEWS
Page 3 THURSDAY, Jan. 27, 2022
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Campus construction to benefit students By CHYNA VARGAS Managing Editor
As students are returning to campus and walking to classes, they may notice the various construction projects. These projects are for the students to better their future and grow their opportunities here at Texas Tech. Brandon Richard, media relations coordinator with Texas Tech Transportation and Parking Services from Houston, said the Pedestrian Mall is nearly finished and ready to be utilized by students. This project began in the summer of 2021 and connects the Student Union Building and Administration building. “There are still a few landscaping things they need to get taken care of They've been planting trees the last couple of weeks. And just that like beautification of the landscaping around the parking lot, but yes, the parking lot is complete,” Richard said. What students can look forward to about this new feature to campus is the safety aspect Richard said. Cars would before not be aware of the students in the parking lot and students would feel unsafe. Students can go through the area now and not have to worry about cars. The area is also a place where students can collaborate with one another as benches and tables will be placed. As well as lighting for students walking at night Richard said. “It's just like overall just enhancement of the space but focusing on the asset of safety aspect,” he said. While this feature on campus is complete, other projects around campus are still under the works. Richard said the Academic Sciences building just broke ground in December and is currently in the next phase of construction. The building will be going directly above lot R1, which is why it is fenced off. More of the lot will be sectioned for the building but that will be in the later stages Richard said.
OLIVIA RAYMOND/The Daily Toreador
In lot R-1, near the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, there is ongoing construction to the new Academic Sciences building. The Acedemic Sciences building will be renovated into a multipurpose teaching and research science facility. Currently, facultwy can still park in the R-1 lot and students may walk around the fencing surrounding the construction to get to their classes. The only way this affects students at the moment is changing their walking routes around the area. “You have to walk around the fencing just kind of like the pedestrian mall fencing was up. Like you had to just walk around,” he said. “That's really the only way it affects students and then the faculty staff that parked in R1 are still able to park there for now.” This new building will provide students with new classroom facilities, said Eric Crouch, senior managing director for capital projects and administration from Monohans. This building will serve as multipurpose teaching and research science building once it is finished said Crouch. “So probably there are five total departments: chemistry, biology, physics, geosciences and psychology. And the goal is aimed at science teaching spaces teaching laboratories and classroom space and then some research space,” Crouch said. The Academic Sciences building is not the only project that is upgrad ing the Tech community. Crouch said the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts Theatre & Dance Complex
is on phase II of renovation construction. This project kicked off in the year of 2020, but due to COVID-19, it had been delayed. The total budget for this project is $20 million dollars, which include both phase I and phase II Crouch said. “There's about 24,000 square-feet that are being renovated. That includes the theater and the stage. And then the lobby space, serving the theater. Along with the prop lab and the orchestra pit and some circulation spaces back behind the theater,” Crouch said. The second part of the project is 11,300 squarefeet. This renovation will include two stories of steel beams behind the theater. The space will provide room on the first floor for costume labs, student workspaces and offices for graduate students and administrators, Crouch said.
He also said the goal with a project like this is to provide a modern facility for students to study in and provide productions in new and updated facilities for patrons as they come and watch students perform. “I think they need the most modern equipment and facilities sort of thing can express themselves and express their their creativity,” Crouch said. Another person involved with this project is Andrea Bilkey, associate dean for students and curricula at the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts. Bilkey said this project has been in the works for almost 20 years. The project started with the feasibility study and the feasibility study happened many years ago, said Bilkey. “I think the main goal is for us to be able to train our students in the practices of
today and the practices of tomorrow. So we're looking for not just being able to be employed right away, right now,” Bilkey said. “But looking towards how the arts inform many other fields of interest.” The expected move in time for the project is fall 2022. Students who are not majoring in the college will be able to experience the upgraded facility by attending performances the college students puts on Bilkey said. There is a student rush night, which is also known as sneak peak night before opening. Some classes require students to attend, others give it as a suggestion for students, but it is readily accessible to all students, said Bilkey. “We're doing a number of interesting things there. And then of course, we're doing a lot of social justice work as well investigating
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what's happening in our world and our societies. As a lot of artists say, ‘art is a reflection of what you see and an art as a reflection of yourself ’,” Bilkey said. Bilkey said she is really excited the building will come to life as it has been a long process to get it in the works. She said she felt nervous when the pandemic hit as it was unknown what was going to happen to the project. Now, she said the world is waking up and will be able to get that building up soon that will benefit the game. As for other new projects to look out for in the future, Crouch said there is current construction in the works with regards to the Texas Tech Museum and expanding the Arnold East Wing in order to fit new art collections that were gifted to the university. @ChynaVargasDT
OPINIONS
Page 4 Thursday, Jan. 27 2022
COLUMN
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CARTOON
Entertainment industry should stop sexualizing high schoolers HBO’s “Euphoria” season two just released and is opening up conversations about difficult topics. Drug abuse, alcoholism or even sexuality. While these discussions are important for young adults to talk about, how these shows bring up the explicit content is concerning. There are ways for television shows to bring up hard topics without the oversaturation of the sex appeal. “Euphoria” has adults playing high schoolers. That is somewhat acceptable to an extent for legal reasons, but the show’s producers and creators are also adults. It’s acceptable but why is there so much sex involving all these characters? Sex is a normal, natural thing with the human body, but characters are portraying 14-15-years olds that are having sex or constantly in the nude. Some teenagers may be already doing that, but it is wrong to assume that is all a teenager is worried about. “Euphoria” is not meant to be watched by a young audience according to TV guidelines. The rating is for
Chyna Vargas is a secondyear journalism major from San Antonio.
ages 17 and older. Yet, the students in the show portray children as sexy students. These shows have adults playing adolescents. They could watch the show but that opens another conversation on why characters in these shows are always being portrayed as sexy or their personality is just about having sex. Granted, there are shows that do talk about true high school problems like college, standardized testing, students orgs or working a job and going to school. However, the narrative has shifted the last couple of years. The actors playing high schoolers do not even look like they should be in high school. This is where a problem is created for the younger generation. They see these adults playing vulgar teen-
agers. If they should not be watching the show, the show should not be based in high school. While I am aware the show is fictional and made for an audience who is a little more mature than the characters are played, but the theme and ongoing trend is redundant. Even to say the least a little too much. Shows or movies that have high schoolers constantly having sex or doing drugs appeals to a niche audience. That audience does in fact exist, but is it really the only storyline entertainment can go with? There are numerous shows that are popular for being based in high school and touch on the subjects of sexuality, self discovery or friendships. The storylines differ, but the overall theme is something relatable to most people. Although, it is fully possible to create a show about the topic with-
out the exploitation of sex. Regardless if shows like “Euphoria” show equal parts of male and female nudity, the amount becomes tasteless and does not add anything to the plot expect gain viewership. The sex appeal American audiences have is tasteless. In order to gain views, shows about teenagers have to show watered down pornography. Again, these themes are very common and part of life. But what does this mean for viewers? “Euphoria” is rated for mature audiences, “Gossip Girl” or “Riverdale” are rated TV-14. These teenagers are seeing adults act out their peers. Fictional or not, they should not have to always see their experiences being portrayed as sexy, old horny adults. The scenes are not real but it’s hard to tell a viewer when it is created to look so real. If there is a show
about teenagers having fun or just worrying about school projects, it will be found on Disney Channel and most likely is not being watched by a 14-year-old.
There are shows that do talk about true high school problems like college, standardized testing, student orgs or working a job and going to school. However, the narrative has shifted. There is no in between, so young audiences just go straight to seeing adults with developed bodies having sex. The American entertainment industry needs to take those ideas they have for high
school shows and simply just apply them to shows about young adults. If the scenes in “Euphoria” or “Riverdale” were just based in a college setting, it may just be a bit better as audiences can see they are actually grown adults doing adult things. The subject of sex, drugs or abuse should definitely not be avoided when talking about teenagers growing up, but it should not be the selling point when creating a show about high schoolers. Whether it makes producers money or not, it does not give an accurate representation of high schoolers who are struggling with basic problems like the SATs. The industry just needs to get creative and have high school based shows about more than sex and actually have teenagers play teenagers.
@ChynaVargasDT
COLUMN
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EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Arianna Flores (806) 742-3395 editor@dailytoreador.com Managing Editor Chyna Vargas managing@dailytoreador.com News Editor Arianna Flores news@dailytoreador.com La Vida Editor Tana Thompson features@dailytoreador.com Sports Editor Bishop Van Buren sports@dailytoreador.com Opinions Editor Chyna Vargas opinions@dailytoreador.com Multimedia Editor Emily Knepp photo@dailytoreador.com
In today’s day and age, many people spend various amounts of time scrolling through social media. Most know social media affects its users to an extent, but it can be hard to know just how much it affects individuals, especially adolescents. One particular aspect of social media that is problematic is posting before and after pictures following a weight loss advertisement. Of course, people are free to make modifications to their life. However, posting a before and after picture sends many negative messages that can be quite harmful. For one, such social media posts promote that the “before” is bad and the “after” is good. However, if one has a body type similar to the “before” picture, then one can imagine what kind of message that sends. Again, people are free to follow such paths, but not everyone with a large body would like to lose weight. For some, being in a large body is what is healthiest
Faith Dolan is a first-year English major from Midland.
for them, and these individual differences should not be overlooked. Some who are recovering from an eating disorder may realize that proper nourishment and consistent meals constitute a larger body. It is virtually impossible for one to recover from an eating disorder while following a weight-loss plan or diet. When someone who suffers from such a devastating mental illness sees such content, he or she is much more likely to relapse. Chelsea Kronengold, an associate director of communications at the National Eating Disorders Association, said “while sometimes well-intentioned, the impact of before and after photos lend to social and body comparisons, which can cause harm to anyone
— especially people struggling with body image and eating concerns.” Not only do before and after photos send negative messages to viewers, but it also sends negative messages to the poster. All of the comments along the lines of “You look great!” establish the idea that the person is more worthy after losing weight. This principle brings up the form of discrimination most deny that actually exists: fatphobia. At the mention of this word, some may roll their eyes and claim how sensitive people are these days, but fatphobia is very real, especially in the instance of the before and after picture. People are free to lose weight and do whatever they want nutritionally. However, these types of beliefs should not be projected onto other people in the form of a picture that basically says: “Here is a picture of my larger body. It is bad. It is unworthy. And here is a pic-
ture of my smaller body. It is good. It is worthy.” Why, exactly, does someone’s value as a human being increase the skinnier that he or she gets? This type of thinking is the most normalized kind of discrimination that America faces today.
For some, being in a large body is what is healthiest for them, and individual differences should not be overlooked. This also brings up the influence that these social media posts have on adolescents. As the years pass, more and more adolescents have social media accounts that make them susceptible to the negative messages sent by before and after photos. An adolescent’s understanding of body image can be distorted by the idea
Digital Content Manager Téa Mcgilvray online@dailytoreador.com
that fat is bad and skinny is good, whereas, in reality, some people are genetically predetermined to have a large body and some are genetically predetermined to have a small body. No moral value should be placed upon these phenotypes. Individuals are free to make modifications to his or her exercise and diet, but it is immoral to post a before and after and assume that what works for them works and is beneficial for everyone else. Different things work for different people, and no two people are alike. People are fat and that’s ok. People are skinny and that’s also ok. People should be able to live their life without fear of judgment, ridicule or biss that is perpetuated by before and after photos. If no one is hurting another, then they should not be judged or discriminated against. Let us all use kindness and an appreciation for diversity as we approach such topics. @FaithDolanDT
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NEWS
WWW.DAILYTOREADOR.COM
JAN. 27, 2022
5
Police look to ensure game safety By KAITLYN SALAZAR sports reporter
Any time the Texas Tech Red Raiders take on the University of Texas Longhorns, fans of both schools make sure to pack the stands in support of their team. Tech’s former head basketball coach Chris Beard now coaches for the Longhorns after leaving Lubbock after the 2020-21 season, and his first game back in the United Supermarkets Arena on Feb. 1 has already sold out, according to Tech Athletics. Multiple students have plans to camp outside of the USA before the game, including Kyle Knudsen, a senior sports management major from Dallas. “Oh, I’ll be here,” Knudsen said. “I’ll be camping out three days before. We’ve got all the guys preparing to skip class sadly, but we’ll be here two or three days before.” TJ Fox, a fourth-year economics major from Allen, said he is going with a group of people who have the same plans in mind. “Oh, we’re gonna camp out two days before,” Fox said. “I’m not worried. We’re gonna be front row and we’ll be chirping, we’ll be talking.”
FILE PHOTOThe Daily Toreador
Students line up to get first pick of seats in the student section for a previous basketball game at the United Supermarkets Arena. Students will start to line up for the Feb. 1 game two days before. Knudsen and Fox are just two Tech students with plans to arrive early to the Big 12 battle, but Captain Amy Ivey of the Tech Police Department, said camping
out is all about being smart. “If (students) do camp out, just be smart about it,” Ivey said. “Just you know, be aware of your surroundings. We have officers on
campus 24/7, so if [students] need assistance or they see something, make sure they call the police department so we can come out and check it out. But the main thing is to just be smart and safe about it and stay aware of your surroundings.” Large events always raise safety questions, and Ivey said she uses experience to help her create a safety plan on game days as big as this one. “For big events, especially the Big 12 games, we make sure safety and security is our number one priority for the faculty, staff, students and visitors that come to the arena,” Ivey said. “We do have safety plans put in place, you know, for this big event. But we’ve also kind of had experiences from last year to go off of and learn from with some of the wins that we had,” Ivey said. “And then already some of the wins that we’ve had this year, we just make sure that safety and security is our number one priority.” Beard’s decision to accept the head coaching job at Texas and abandon his position with the Red Raiders angered many Tech fans, but Ivey said Tech fans should refrain from any
FILE PHOTOThe Daily Toreador
On Nov. 20. 2017, a police officer secures a perimeter around campus. Being on alert as there may be a potential threat on campus. For Big 12 games, safety and security is number one priorty. disrespectful actions. “The biggest thing we want to get out to the students is we know Coach Beard is coming back and the reputation he left us with, but we want to make sure we still treat him with respect.” Ivey said. During an anticipated game like this one, some students may be willing to risk being responsible for a few laughs. Ivey said the students should stay uplift-
ing, but know their limits. “You know, don’t do anything that’s going to get yourself into trouble, like throwing things on the court. We want to be an upstanding student section and show that we can be loud and proud and root for our team, but also be professional,” Ivey said. “You could get arrested or kicked out of the game.” @KaitSalazarDT
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Vaccine mandate to kick in for first wave of health workers Health care workers in about half the states face a Thursday deadline to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine under a Biden administration mandate that will be rolled out across the rest of the country in the coming weeks. While the requirement is welcomed by some, others fear it will worsen already serious staff shortages if employees quit rather than comply. And in some Republicanled states that have taken a stand against vaccine mandates, hospitals and nursing homes could find themselves caught between conflicting state and federal demands. “We would like to see staff vaccinated. We think that it’s the safest option for residents, which is our biggest concern,” said Marjorie Moore, executive director of VOYCE, a St. Louis County, Missouri, nonprofit that works on behalf of nursing home residents. “But not having staff is also a really big concern, because the neglect that happens as a result of that is severe and very scary.”
The mandate affects a wide swath of the health care industry, covering doctors, nurses, technicians, aides and even volunteers at hospitals, nursing homes, home-health agencies and other providers that participate in the federal Medicare or Medicaid programs. It comes as many places are stretched thin by the omicron surge, which is putting record numbers of people in the hospital with COVID-19 while sickening many health workers. Nationwide, about 81% of nursing home staff members already were fully vaccinated as of earlier this month, ranging from a high of 98% in Rhode Island to a low of 67% in Missouri, according to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The data is unclear about the vaccination levels in hospitals and other health care sites. The mandate ultimately will cover 10.4 million health care workers at 76,000 facilities. It is taking effect first in jurisdictions that didn’t challenge the requirement in court. Those include some of
the biggest states, with some of the largest populations of senior citizens, among them: California, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania. “There absolutely have been employee resignations because of vaccination requirements,” said Catherine Barbieri, a Philadelphia attorney at Fox Rothschild who represents health care providers. But “I think it’s relatively small.” At Wilson Medical Center in rural Neodesha, Kansas, three of the roughly 180 employees are quitting, and several others have sought exemptions from the vaccine mandate, said hospital spokeswoman Janice Reese. “We are very fortunate that that is all we are losing,” she said, noting that the hospital was not in favor of the mandate. “We didn’t feel like it was our place to actually try to tell a person what they had to do.” Reese said the vaccine requirement could also make it more difficult for the hospital to fill vacancies. In Florida, medical centers find themselves caught between dueling federal and state vaccination policies.
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They could lose federal funding for not adhering to the Biden administration mandate, but could get hit with fines for running afoul of state law. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who has waged a legal campaign against coronavirus mandates, last year signed legislation that forces businesses with vaccine requirements to let workers opt out for medical reasons, religious beliefs, immunity from a previous infection, regular testing or an agreement to wear protective gear. Businesses that fail to comply can be fined $10,000 to $50,000 per violation. Asked if the state would pursue fines against hospitals that enforce the federal mandate, a spokeswoman for the Florida attorney general said all employee complaints “will be thoroughly reviewed by our office.” Some states already have their own vaccine requirements for health care workers. In California, for example, they have been required to be fully vaccinated since Sept. 30 and must get a booster by Feb. 1.
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Big 12 play features similar Tech and Texas By BISHOP VAN BUREN Sports editor
After playing in the highest-scoring Big 12 game of the season so far, a 94-91 loss to No. 5 Kansas in double overtime on Jan. 24, Texas Tech’s men’s basketball team fell to 5-3 against inter-conference opponents. One day later, the University of Texas improved to an equal 5-3 record with a win over Texas Christian University. In the eight inter-conference games that each team has participated in since the new year kicked off Big 12 play, Tech played five ranked opponents and emerged 3-2 while Texas lost 79-70 to its only ranked Big 12 opponent so far this season. Both teams are in their first season under a new head coach. After the 202021 season, Tech’s former head coach Chris Beard accepted the same position with the Texas Longhorns in the state’s capital. After Beard’s departure in April 2021 left an opening at the head coach position, Tech hired its next head coach within a week.
Despite lacking any experience as a head coach of a Division 1 college basketball program, Tech’s former assistant coach Mark Adams was promoted to fill Beard’s role. Adams served as Beard’s assistant coach at Little Rock University during the 2015-16 season and followed Beard to Tech as an assistant for three seasons. The Longhorns have allowed a conference-low 59.8 points per game to opposing Big 12 teams this season, according to Big 12 Sports. The Red Raiders average 69.6 points per game against Big 12 opponents, while Texas averages four fewer at 65.6 points per game, the third and fourth best in the conference, respectively. According to Big 12 Sports, the Longhorns have suffered as many turnovers as they’ve forced since interconference play began (104). Tech, meanwhile, boasts the best turnover margin in the Big 12, averaging 12.6 turnovers but forcing their opponents into an average of 15.8 turnovers. The Red Raiders are
shooting 26.6 percent from behind the arc in inter-conference games after making just 38 of 143 attempts, the lowest rate in the Big 12. On the other hand, Texas has made 52 of their 161 three-point attempts against Big 12 teams for a rate of 32.3 percent. However, Tech is shooting 45.4 percent from the field against Big 12 teams this season (200-441), the fourth-highest rate in the conference, according to Big 12 Sports. A major factor in Tech’s shooting success has been super-senior forward B r y s o n Wi l l i a m s , w h o scored a career-high 33 points in the loss to Kansas. After going 4-4 from behind the arc and 1419 from the field against the Jayhawks, his field goal shooting percentage against Big 12 opponents rose to a conference-high 54.2 percent, according to Big 12 Sports. “I’m just coming out to fight,” Williams said after the loss. “I’ve got teammates that believe in me, I got a coaching staff that believes in me, and I just
came out to be aggressive and do whatever I can to help this team win.” According to Big 12 Sports, Williams’ improved his average to 17.3 points per game against interconference opponents with his 33-point performance against Kansas. “Bryson Williams was outstanding. I wish he had a little more help on the offensive end,” Adams said after the loss to Kansas. Before setting a new season-high in scoring against Kansas, 22 points was the most Williams had scored in a game so far this season, first in the season opener and again in Tech’s first game against the Jayhawks. Despite losing, Adams found it within himself to joke about Williams’ succcess against Kansas. After the game, Adams said Williams gets ready to play any time someone mentions Kansas. “He’s been playing well since that first Kansas game,” Adams said. “I think that we’re going to continue to see him score from all three levels and make big plays.” @BishopVB_DT
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Big 12-SEC Challenge takes college basketball’s center stage this weekend The Big 12 and Southeastern Conference got together about a decade ago and create a yearly challenge on the hardwood, giving each of their schools the chance to break up their league play with a marquee mid-season opponent. Good luck finding a better slate over the years than you’ll find on Saturday. It begins with Auburn, ranked No. 1 this week for the first time in school
history, welcoming an Oklahoma team teetering on the NCAA Tournament bubble to The Jungle. It continues with No. 17 LSU heading to TCU, one of the surprising teams of the first three months of the season, and Missouri taking on No. 23 Iowa State — its old Big Eight rival. No. 18 Tennessee heads to Texas as coach Rick Barnes returns to Austin, where he only missed the
NCAA Tournament once in 17 seasons, while Mississippi State visits No. 13 Texas Tech and fourth-ranked Baylor faces Alabama. Oh, and some little matchup between No. 12 Kentucky and No. 5 Kansas. Just the two winningest programs in college basketball history playing on the hallowed floor of Allen Fieldhouse. “ Yo u ’ v e g o t M i s s o u r i that’s not on the bubble
yet, but if you win here (on Tuesday) then all of a sudden they’re on the bubble,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “You’ve got Oklahoma coming in on Saturday; they are a bubble team. So you just tell the kids — you keep it 100, keep it real. You hope success won’t change them. So far, it hasn’t.” The Tigers, who have been No. 2 on a few occasions but had never been
No. 1, have rattled off 15 consecutive wins heading into their game against Missouri. The streak includes wins over ranked teams LSU, Alabama and Kentucky, the latter coming last weekend, when the Tigers rallied from a halftime deficit to stamp themselves the team to beat in the SEC. “Part of it is, everybody’s going to be excited about playing us because of the
number, because of the prize on our head,” Pearl said. “We’re now ranked as highly as we are, these are the kind of games, ’Hey, 40 minutes and we can feel pretty good about ourselves and it’s really going to jump our chances of getting into the tournament.” Indeed, the push for the NCAA Tournament begins in earnest as February dawns for dozens of teams across the country.