012821 by The Daily Toreador

THURSDAY, JAN. 28, 2021 VOLUME 95 ■ ISSUE 16

LA VIDA

SPORTS

Alumni discuss lasting impacts of school spirit.

Tech Track and Field starts spring off with success.

Young adult fiction deserves accolades.

OPINIONS

ONLINE Learn how to order food through the new Transact app on our YouTube channel, The Daily Toreador.

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ONLINE

INDEX LA VIDA SPORTS OPINIONS CROSSWORD CLASSIFIEDS SUDOKU

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COVID-19

Lubbock on pace to be

‘Vaccine Machine’

A Lubbock Fire Rescue member administers a COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021 in the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. The City of Lubbock has administered over 18,000 first doses of the CHASE SEABOLT/The Daily Toreador Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and over 700 second doses of the vaccine.

By JAVIER BACA Staff Writer

Following a recent study by CovidActNow.org naming Lubbock County as the No. 3 vaccine distributer in the nation, City of Lubbock officials hosted a press conference. Katherine Wells, Director of Health for the City of Lubbock, described reasons why Lubbock has had a more methodical vaccination process. “Our community was very well prepared to start vaccinating individuals as soon as vaccines became available in Texas,” she said. “Our hospitals jumped on board very quickly and secured a lot of vaccines for their healthcare workers.” The public health department was

designated as a vaccine hub sight by the state of Texas, Wells said. This has allowed the department to receive a large amount of vaccines each week. The largest vaccination center is the Lubbock Civic Center, Wells said. The Civic Center vaccinates 5,000 new individuals per week. Other community clinics were able to receive some vaccines and vaccinate their specific patients. Wells clarified about how the vaccines were being held. The COVID-19 vaccine is a more difficult vaccine to maintain because it has to be held at a specific temperature, she said. “The Health Department has multiple pharmacy grade refrigerators that were purchased about 10 years ago,” wells said. “They allow

us to store the vaccine, and we were actually able to move some of those units to the Civic Center so we can store vaccines there.” The community response to actually receiving the vaccine has been good, Wells said. In Lubbock, the demand for the vaccine is higher than what is currently supplied. “We booked about 5,000 appointments this morning in less than two hours,” she said. “We had to turn a lot of people away after those appointments were booked.” During a conference call on Wednesday Jan. 27, Mayor Dan Pope shared some statistics about who is eligible for the vaccine and who has received the vaccine. “The state says there are 123,423

eligible Lubbock county residents in 1A and 1B vaccination groups,” Pope said. “Twenty-four percent of those residents have received their first dose, that’s good news. The vast majority of 1A has received their first dose.” During the conference meeting, Pope said they are gradually vaccinating group 1B at 5,000 vaccines a week. “There are about 244,000 residents in Lubbock county over the age of 16,” Pope said. “12.3 percent of them have received their first dose. Progress is being made, it is not as fast as some of us would like but it is measurable and consistent, and I think we can plan on at least these 5,000 doses for the next couple

of weeks.” Pope, during the conference, said the Health Department is happy with the demand from the Lubbock residents. He reassured that the vaccine is productive and secure. During a virtual conference meeting on Wednesday Jan. 27, Dr. Ron Cook emphasized why Lubbock has been doing such an efficient job when vaccinating the residents. “The Mayor’s insistence from the state that we continue to be a hub is really good for our community and the surrounding communities,” he said. “Our efforts and Katherine’s efforts at the civic center to really push those 5,000 patients a week.”

SEE VACCINE, PG. 2

ENTERTAINMENT

Buddy Holly Hall seeks to improve Lubbock art scene By AMANDA HAMPTON L a Vida Editor

The Buddy Holly Hall is a new performing arts center hoping to improve Lubbock’s art scene and bring the community together. Michelle Stephens, Lubbock Entertainment Performing Arts Association executive director, said a large performing arts center in Lubbock has been desired by the community for the past 30 years. “If you look back to the City of Lubbock strategic plans all the way back to the ‘80s, there’s been a need and a desire for a performing arts center,” Stephens said. “It took until now to get the right group and the right people and all the stars aligning for The Buddy Holly Hall to happen.” The new facility includes two theaters, ballet studios, a restaurant and a multipurpose space, Stephens said. LEPAA expects The Buddy Holly Hall to attract audience members from all over West Texas and New Mexico. The architects implemented West Texas design elements

throughout the building, Stephens said. There is chandelier lighting inside The Helen David Jones theater, which was designed to look like a West Texas starry night. “When all the lights are out in the theater and just the chandelier lighting is on, it looks like a starry night inside,” Stephens said. “It’s all completely custom and unique, just for Buddy Holly Hall and inspired by Lubbock.” The design and the large spaces available allow The Buddy Holly Hall to attract local and national talents who are excited to perform at the hall, Holly Fields, Buddy Holly Hall director of sales and marketing, said. “We have a lot of tours that are very interested in the Buddy Holly Hall and coming through the city,” Fields said. The events at Buddy Holly Hall will hopefully engage Texas Tech students with the community, Charlton Northington, Buddy Holly Hall general manager, said. “We look forward to hearing from the student body about what they want to see and make Lubbock a more exciting place for them to go

away to school and be excited about what’s happening not only on campus but here at Buddy Holly Hall,” Northington said. Buddy Holly Hall is rooted in partnerships throughout the Lubbock community, Stephens said. The partnerships bring various parts of Lubbock together into a single venue and offer a way for all community members to enjoy the facility. The second theater at the venue was created in partnership with Lubbock Independent School District for its schools to have a performance center, Stephens said. A partnership with Ballet Lubbock also brought the addition of dance studios to the facility. The restaurant and concessions available at the venue are provided in partnership with The United Family, Stephens said. “It’s not things that you can go into Market Street and buy,” Stephens said. “It’s a completely special menu unique just for Buddy Holly Hall.”

SEE BHH, PG. 3

CHASE SEABOLT/The Daily Toreador

The grand helix staircase in the Christine DeVitt Lobby at The Buddy Holly Hall is a central item that guests will find eye-catching upon entering. The Hall has not had a grand opening due to COVID-19.

NEWS

JAN. 28, 2021

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CAMPUS

SGA proposes new passing periods By HANNAH ISOM News Editor

As many students attend this spring semester in various forms, buses running on a different schedule, and Limes nowhere in sight, students who are attending in-person classes may find getting to classes on time to be difficult. Senate Resolution 56.83 aims to assist students in this struggle. Senate Resolution 56.83, which was proposed by Taylin Antonick and Sarah McCormack and passed through the Senate of the Student Government Association at Texas Tech, proposes a new passing period time limit. Currently, the passing period between classes is 10 minutes, Senate Resolution 56.83 proposes a time of 15 minutes between classes, according to the Resolution. Taylin Antonick, sophomore agricultural and applied economics major from Henderson, Texas, and a senator for the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources for Tech SGA, said in the Fall

semester there were seven to eight students in her agricultural law class who would walk into class late, huffing and puffing as if they had been running. Usually, these students were trekking from the Animal Science Building, which is located beside Commuter West parking lot, to the CASNR Annex near the center of campus, Antonick said. “We just got used to them being late,” Antonick said. As a result, they were starting class 10-12 minu t e s l a t e . A d d i t i o n a l l y, some professors only grant students a certain amount of tardies until they result in an absence Antonick said, and some professors do not allow their students to leave early to make it to another class. It was these circumstances, and an experience from a friend of Antonick’s, that ultimately led to Senate Resolution 56.83. “It’s not only affecting individuals, but it was affecting our classes and our professors,” Antonick said. Before the pandemic, students were able to uti-

lize Lime scooters, and a more regular bus schedule, Antonick said. With the pandemic still raging, Limes are not an option, and the bus schedules have changed. Additionally, Antonick said Tech’s passing period has been 10 minutes since the 1980s. “In that time, obviously campus has grown a ton and yet that passing period hasn’t changed,”Antonick said. Before they can propose the Resolution to President Schovanec and the Office of the Provost, there are a few steps they must take. First, Antonick said they have done a lot of research. This research includes a survey of Tech students concerning how long it takes them to walk across campus. The average time students said they needed was 15 minutes. Additionally, they researched what other universities in the Big 12 and around Texas had done. Texas A&M had already extended their passing period to 15 minutes before COVID-19 Antonick said, they have now extended it to 30 minutes since the pandemic began. Similarly, The University of Texas has a 15-minute passing period on Tuesday and Thursday and a 10-minute passing period on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Following their research, some members of SGA will conduct a costbenefit analysis. The costbenefit analysis will determine whether the benefit is

greater than the financial cost or if the cost is greater than the benefits of the change, Antonick said. During this analysis, they evaluate multiple things, Antonick said. Some of these include the cost of turning on electricity earlier, or having it run later. Buses running earlier, or later, and classes starting earlier, or going later. “There are a lot of different moving parts, which means that there’s going to be a lot of money involved in making this change,” Antonick said. Tatum Whitewood, a senior animal sciences major from Fort Worth, was one of the individuals who inspired Antonick to act on the issue of extended passing periods. “It hasn’t always been really hard to make it in 10 minutes,” Whitewood said. The issue of making it to class on time became a large issue last semester, Whitewood said. She had a class in Animal Sciences Building at 11 a.m. and a class right after in in the Agricultural Economics building, which is located near the SUB. “It is a full mile from Animal Science to the SUB,” Whitewood said. For some reason, Whitewood said the buses were not running normally and her class was let out late, leaving her with no other option but to run to class. Even in her haste, she was still seven minutes late to Agribusiness Law, a class she shared with Antonick.

At the beginning of the class, they have discussion time, in which they can ask about certain laws ,Whitewood said. “I raised my hand, and I was like, ‘how do you go about changing passing periods?’” Whitewood said. Following class, Antonick approached Whitewood and said she had been looking for something to change, Whitewood said. Mitzi Lauderdale, interim vice provost for Tech, has played a key role in helping SGA prepare this resolution for proposal to the president, acting as a facilitator and communicator. Lauderdale first met with Antonick one-on-one, and then, together, they met with the Office of the Registrar to discuss why a previous proposal for extended passing periods presented in 2017 had failed, Lauderdale said. Currently, the SGA has an adhoc, or working group, researching the student side of things, and comparing what other universities

VACCINE

as many people in the most efficient way possible. “It is a machine, people are in and out, typically within 30 minutes including a 15 minute waiting time,” he said. “There are always some

hiccups but for the most part it is a machine down there and they are doing an excellent job, that’s how we did it.” Texas Tech students are in phase three with the exception of high risk conditions,

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1 Cook said that it has been a team effort from the entire community to help vaccinate

TAYLIN ANTONICK

have done Lauderdale said. The members of SGA involved with this project will create a plan following their research that will contain the details of how they plan to adjust the school day and operations throughout campus to accommodate the new passing period, Lauderdale said. “There’s definitely a financial impact there,” Lauderdale said, “which may absolutely be worth it, but that’s just part of the costbenefit analysis that will need to be done.” Once a plan is made, it will be presented to the Operations Division to determine its feasibility. However, Lauderdale said a lot is to be determined until SGA can create a plan for what the changed schedule will look like. “It will be interesting to see what happens,” Lauderdale said. “I think there’s a lot of possibilities here of different ways to meet the needs of the students and the faculty, and the university as a whole.” Taylin Antonick said it is important to remember that though the piece of legislation has been written, it does not mean it will happen right away. Planning is done two to three years in advance, Antonick said, so if they get the proposal ready by April, the change could occur in 2022 or 2023. “I think my favorite term to use is, ‘really big boats take a really long time to turn around,’” Antonick said. @HannahIsomDT

Cook said. The university is making sure that they are in line to get the vaccine. Cook said it will probably be a couple of months before Lubbock is in phase three. @JavierBacaDT

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ALUMNI

LA VIDA

Page 3 Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021

Alumni discuss lasting impacts of school spirit By NATALEE GOMEZ Staff Writer

Keeping up with Texas Tech events and campus culture has shown to be an influential part of postgrad life. It is no secret that school spirit is a large part of the college experience, but being away from campus does not stop alumni from staying connected. “We like to make a weekend out of home games, but when events are hosted in the DFW area, it becomes a place to congregate with alumni and friends,” Cari Woolf Norz, of the graduating class of 1998, said. Through the Texas Tech Alumni Association, graduates can maintain connections wherever they reside. Chapters located all around the U.S. have provided a sense of Tech community for alumni to stay involved. Christopher Richards, President of the Alumni Association in Orange County from the graduating class of 2002, said he has slowly grown away from some of his college friends since graduating, but his new alumni friends have now become close family friends

BHH

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1 Buddy Holly Hall will partner with Tech to allow the Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts to host events at the center, Stephens said. The hall is working on scheduling opera performances with the college. The hall is focused on ensuring COVID-19 safety protocols are being followed to protect both audience members and performers, Northington said. The seats available in the audience were reduced to half capacity to ensure proper social distancing, Northington said.

due to his involvement in the association. “That is kind of the thing I like most about Texas Tech, we have so many different traditions,” Richards said. “We have the Masked Rider, we have Raider Red, we have all these different things that we can use to promote our school and show our spirit when we come together.” The Alumni Association is not the only campus organization promoting this sense of community. The Texas Tech Spirit Program offers a variety of events on and off campus to bring individuals to the university environment.

These individuals are the embodiment of Texas Tech to them, and it is so powerful. STEPHANIE RHODE TECH SPIRIT PROGRAM DIRECTOR The involvement of the Spirit Program builds on the aspect of school spirit, Stephanie Rhode, Tech Spirit Program Director, said. Due There are at least two seats between each group of people and every other row is blocked off. “One of the first things that people will find out is that we’re taking temperatures when they come in the building,” Northington said. “We also have signage throughout the building encouraging everyone to agree to remain socially distant throughout the building.” Buddy Holly Hall is hosting two performances by Steve Treviño Jan 30. at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tickets are still on sale for the 10 p.m. show at buddyhollyhall.com. @AmandaHamptonDT

to the fact people cannot just go up and meet these athletes, these individuals are creating a relationship element to these events. “I think we are a bridge to so many aspects of the university,” Rhode said. “We are a bridge to alumni, but also young future students because when Raider Red, a cheerleader, or even a dancer come to interact it makes a big difference. These individuals are the embodiment of Texas Tech to them, and it is so powerful.” Jared and Sarah Roberts, from the graduating class of 1998, said now that their oldest son is committed to Tech for the fall of 2021, they have been able to make up for lost time by coming to games, events, and revisiting their old Lubbock stomping grounds. While students are experiencing college life in a new way due to COVID-19; this is a good opportunity to get to know the people near you, especially those living in the dorms, Sarah Roberts said. Take this time to become closer to them. “You can still wear a mask, you still can have as much fun while being

socially distant, supporting your school, and showing that Texas Tech spirit,” Jared Roberts said. “It shouldn’t have an effect on how you live your college experience.” Sarah Roberts said due to everything going virtual, there has been an upside to the COVID-19 closures, which is being able to connect more with her college roommates and friends. “These interactions can still happen, just in a modified way,” Sarah Roberts said. These memories speak towards the alumni experience. Both the Roberts family and Norz stated how coming back, connecting to others and even having their children commit to Tech, happened because of their school pride. Tech is the place where people mature and become responsible, so Norz said not to take things for granted. “It seems so crazy, but that’s what driving into Lubbock means to me...that I am home,” Norz said. “Every time I pull into campus I cry, it just gives me this sense that, ‘This is it. This is home.’” @NataleeGomezDT

FILE PHOTO/The Daily Toreador

The Texas Tech Pom Squad performing during the Texas Tech vs. Kansas women’s basketball game on Feb. 12, 2020 in the United Supermarkets Arena. The Pom Squad keeps the Tech spirit alive in alumni beyond graduation.

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The Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences is a new performing arts center located in the heart of downtown Lubbock. The Hall has not had a grand opening due to COVID-19.

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OPINIONS

Page 4 Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021

COLUMN

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Young adult fiction deserves accolades A

s someone floating between adolescence and young adulthood, I am in no rush to outgrow my love of young adult fiction. These days, though, it feels more apt to call my enjoyment of the genre a guilty pleasure. I regularly see authors and readers alike panning all novels with the young adult marker, calling them shallow or pandering. One Tweet I saw years ago called young adult fiction an emblem of creative rot. I can’t help but find the majority of these criticisms patronizing and overly cynical. Looking back on some of my favorite novels from my early teen years, I can understand critics’ dissatisfaction with some books marketed to that age group. Now that I’m getting older, having to leave behind many teenage habits

Toluwani Osibamowo is a junior journalism major from Plano.

and comforts, I find it much harder to relate to 16-year-olds overthrowing kingdoms and finding their soulmates. Shailene Woodley, star of one of the biggest young adult book-to-film adaptations, “The Fault in Our Stars,” said it best in a 2014 interview with Vulture: “Last year, when I made ‘Fault,’ I could still empathize with adolescence,” Woodley said. “But I’m not a young adult anymore I’m a woman.” A d m i t t e d l y, I t h i n k young adult literature is becoming much more commercialized and repetitive. This is due in part to the time between 2010 and 2015 when book-to-film

franchises like “The Fault in Our Stars,” “Harry Potter,” “The Hunger Games” and “Twilight” dominated the entertainment industry. They inspired every fledgling author to write the next big book-turnedmovie blockbuster. There was a palpable shift in which young adult novels lost a lot of their originality. The same overused dystopian, fantasy and contemporary tropes wormed their way into many of the novels I read from middle to high school - love triangles, the “chosen one” and token diversity. This isn't to say I never read a good book in that time, as my friends and I obsessed over even the most cliché series. Even now, pre-20th century literature is not my thing. I remain captivated by past required readings in high school by Zora Neale Hurston, Agatha Christie and the ever per-

plexing William Shakespeare, yet I hardly sought out classic novels outside of an academic setting. Quite frankly, I did not want to think too hard when I read for pleasure. Books were my escape from the mundane of textbooks, homework and Sunday school. Why break out SparkNotes every time I cracked open a book? I do try to read more challenging literature now than I did in high school even though social media has ruined my attention span - but something I feel literature purists must come to terms with is that gatekeeping art does more harm than good. If teens and young adults are reading in the first place, more power to them. Who cares if it's manga, romance or communist manifestos? It’s reading, exercising the mind and discovering new worlds.

Personally, I didn't hate “Heart of Darkness” because I was a brainwashed, feeble-minded 17-year-old snowflake. I hated “Heart of Darkness” because I found it confusing and mindnumbingly boring with questionable themes.

They inspired every fledgling author to write the next big book-turned-movie blockbuster. If I, an avid reader, couldn’t drag myself through Joseph Conrad’s novel, why would the kids who already struggle with reading bother to pick up a harder book on their own time if they have such negative emotions associated with classic and adult literature?

Another one of the more insulting implications of young adult criticism is the idea that teens reading young adult literature will, as “intellectually stunted” adults, grow up to write low-brow books and sully the art of fiction. Yet, this did not stop authors like Meg Cabot, Neil Gaiman and Andy Weir from writing fanfiction about their own favorite books and finding success in the literary world. This isn't a campaign to replace all assigned reading in schools with Rick Riordan novels. The greatest classic novelists contributed more to literature than any of us can fathom. But perhaps instead of looking down on young adults for their tastes and the adults who write books for them, we should honor their passion and encourage the next generation of writers to keep on reading. @TOsibamowoDT

COLUMN

Super Bowl provides respite during pandemic While I would have loved for the Pittsburgh Steelers to be one of the teams to be playing in this year’s Super Bowl, I have accepted their early loss. However, I will still be watching the event on Feb. 7, 2021. I believe that many people will be tuning in that night regardless of their team preference. This year, the Super Bowl is more than about football. The Super Bowl every

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Chyna Vargas is a freshman journalism major from San Antonio.

year is the most watched televised broadcast in the United States. It will still be the case this year, but not for the reasons you think. We a r e s t i l l i n t h e middle of a global pandemic and vaccinations are just being rolled out, but the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be near. Sports traditionally have always brought people together. The Olympics unite countries, and the World Cup finals unite regions. While sports are competitive, the emotion and serotonin they bring are what is needed at a time like this. For a single night, all can be forgotten and attention is brought to the traditional and nostalgic game of football. My focus

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audience is universal. We are all exhausted of the redundant news reports, and the constant reminders of the situation we are in. However, with the biggest event in the U.S. approaching, there is a break that is given to everyone. Even when we can not physically crowd or gather, streaming the game while facetiming friends and family is just as good. The game is already on a big screen and after a year ’s worth of practice, I could say streaming and virtually calling is second nature now. Watching the game from the comfort of your own home is a common tradition amongst Americans. I remember for the 2011 Super Bowl my family decorated our whole house with black and yellow decorations for the Pittsburg Steelers. The closure and normalcy has not completely gone away due to the pandemic. If anything, the pandemic has taught us how

to be more creative. This game will be broadcast out on so many platforms so no one will be left out. It’s about the experience as a whole. Americans finally have something positive to look forward to. Every year I watch the event purely for the advertisements but as well for the halftime show. This year ’s performer will be The Weeknd.

It will still be the case this year, but not for the reasons you think. He is a Grammy award winner who is not even from around here. This Canadian star is bringing people from across the border to tune into this special event. The halftime show is just as important to as the game as the broadcast are bringing a target audi-

ence who are not typical football fans. Music lovers and sports fans, in general, are all anxiously waiting for the biggest U.S tradition. This is our only sense of normalcy in these hectic times. No matter who wins this year’s Super Bowl, it will be the best broadcast ever watched. I do not have much excitement for the upcoming months because we are approaching a year into this pandemic. The world is tiptoeing every day wondering what the next move is. It feels like we are blind because we have to say “if”. The Super Bowl is what is guaranteed. It is happening, it is continuing, and I bet every American will be tuning in somehow. This is our normally scheduled program. So while this event is about football, this event brings more than football to the audience. It brings everyone together again. @ChynaVargasDT

COLUMN

Music industry adapts to COVID-19

Sports Editor Zach Richards sports@dailytoreador.com Opinions Editor Mateo Rosiles opinions@dailytoreador.com

and what I know from others is on the entirety of the broadcast. Since this is the most watched program every year, advertisers and promoters know this is the time to put their products out there. We are watching more than men tossing a football, but the masterpieces of Super Bowl ads. There is always a commercial for someone. These companies appeal to all audiences as they know every TV has the same game on. There are no flipping channels during the Super Bowl, or else you are going to miss something important, that could very well be a meme that will last three months. What I predict as well this year for advertisers is that they will use the past events to their advantage. Not in a negative way, but in a way where the entire audience can relate and laugh. The flip side of everyone living the same life for the past year is the

Evan Ray is a junior DMPC major from Sugar Land. It has been about one year since our lives were forced to change around a pandemic. In addition to staying healthy, people, businesses, companies and organizations have all had to evolve in order to survive financially. The music industry is one industry that has changed dramatically. How would an industry reliant upon public concerts and festivals survive with COVID-19 being so prevalent? In this era of streaming music, it is no secret how little artists get purely from their music alone.

For instance, Spotify reported in January of 2019 that their artists would receive between $0.00331 and $0.00437 per stream. After some quick calculations, one million streams on a song equates to about $3,000. Considering the money spent on each individual song (buying a beat, paying for a studio session with a producer, paying for a feature, etc.), this will likely lead to a very little profit margin, if there is one at all. The real reason musicians and artists can potentially make a fortune are live shows and festivals. Depending on the artist popularity and the event, an artist can break millions in a single night of a tour. It is not financially sound to release new music, outside

of pure passion. However, new music comes out every Friday, so what has changed? There isn’t one universal answer, but there have been many different solutions found by artists. One interesting method was a streamed tour show. This provided the opportunity to experience a live show to people who normally may not have enough money for concert tickets while allowing the artist to reap the financial benefits of streaming through sponsorships and advertisements. Another method artists have done is to expand their merchandise department. Most artists already sold merchandise before COVID-19, but many have expanded this beyond just a T-shirt or a hoodie. Freddie Gibbs released

an entire comic book that featured him and his music producer partner, Alchemist, that could be purchased in promotion for his album, “Alfredo”.

After some quick calculations, one million streams on a song equates to about $3,000. Then, he released a whole other merchandise line themed around the comic book, alongside his regular merchandise line. Many other artists have done more unorthodox merchandise products to help boost profit. As of the last couple of months, some artists have been able to carefully con-

duct smaller venue shows (some that even social distance) and have been able to do so in certain cities or areas that allow for it. Hopefully, we’ll see the effects of the vaccine in the next few months and truly see another live show again. These have been trying times for all of us with some forced to rearrange their business dealings in order to stay afloat, and some having to find new ways to make ends meet. The music industry is one that was definitely hit hard, but just like the rest of us, have been forced to adapt and overcome. These next few months may prove to be some of the craziest yet, but just as we altered to survive the pandemic, we can reshape again. @EvanRayDT

SOCIAL MEDIA Ana Arthur is a senior CMI major from Cedar Park.

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SPORTS

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TRACK & FIELD

Page 5 Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021

Tech Track and Field starts off spring with success By ZACH RICHARDS Sports Editor

In 2019, the Texas Tech track and field program made history with a national championship. Despite COVID-19 cutting the following year short, the Red Raiders are continuing right where they left off in 2019. The off-season can be a grueling process, but Tech has made the most of its break, surpassing school and personal bests set in 2019. This is a direct reflection of off-season work ethic. For junior sprinter Courtney Lindsey, work ethic fuels success. “We were expecting a fast 200 because we’d seen his work ethic in practice,” head track and field coach Wes Kittley said. Tech’s newcomer ran the 60-meter dash in 6.59 seconds, followed by a 20.45-second 200-meter sprint, according to Tech Athletics. Both events imprinted Lindsey’s name in the global leaderboards. For the 60, third in the world; for his 200, the number one spot in the world. “Going inside the meet I knew exactly what I can do from practicing all fall,” Lindsey said. But the work ethic resides across the program as well. One of the main contributors to their success is how hard they work in practice not only individually but against each other. Lindsey said practices are extremely competitive, and the culture even aided his decision to go to Tech. “We go at each other at practice, its very, very competitive,” Lindsey said. “When I came on my first visit here, I was like, ‘yeah, this is definitely the place for me.’” But for a program as successful as Tech’s, the work

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Junior Ryleigh Redding competing in women’s pole-vault at the Texas Tech Invitational hosted in the Sports Performance Center on Jan. 31, 2020. The Tech track and field team is off to a good start this spring despite COVID-19, with both the men’s and women’s teams already ranked No. 6 and No. 8 respectively. ethic goes down the line. Big 12 Athlete of the Week, junior jumper Ruth Usoro, jumped the second-longest triple jump in NCAA women’s history with a 46’-10.25” (14.28m) mark, according to Tech Athletics. This happened on her first jump of the season. But her work started with sacrifice nearly one month in advance. The Nigeria native opted to forego a visit back to her home country for Christmas, Kittley said, and instead stayed at Tech over winter break to work on her triple jump, and it paid off. Kittley said graduate student runner Takieddine Hedeilli stayed to work as well. “It has a lot to do with how they stayed here and trained over Christmas most the time, didn’t take off much … Those two were off the charts as far as I’m concerned in terms of dedi-

cation to the sport,” Kittley said. “Ruth is the same way, Ruth stayed here.” The stellar outings by Usoro, Lindsay and Hedeilli at Tech’s first meet were only part of the equation, as the Red Raiders remained successful on multiple fronts. In fact, Tech’s success to open the year placed both the men’s and women’s groups in the national top 10, according to USTFCCCA. They ranked the men as No. 6 in the country, and the women as No. 8 in the country. So far, the men have garnered 98.52 points on the season, according to Tech Athletics, with Hedeilli contributing 23.62 points after a world leading 1:45.98 time in the 800m. Lindsey’s 200-meter run and 60-meter run would tally up to 42.92, nearly half of the Red Raiders’ total. But off the track, Tech is excelling as well.

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Following the second meet, the Red Raiders had five student-athletes in just seven days become world leaders in individual events, according to Tech Athletics. But for many, like Nichols and Usoro, this is just the beginning. “I just know I can do a lot better. There’s a lot of things I can change to get a further mark,” Nichols said. “I know I had more on the inside of me … This is not the end of it.” The Red Raiders will take on their next meet at home once again in the Texas Tech Invitational and Multis. The meet will begin Friday at 11 a.m. with multis, and field events will follow at 3:30 p.m. Running events will end the day, beginning at 5 p.m. On Saturday, multis will begin at 10 a.m., followed by track and field at noon.

In the high jump, sophomore jumper Jack Scarborough registered a 7’-0.5” (2.15m) clearance good for 14.78 points, and senior thrower Gabe Oladipo broke his own school record for the third time in a row with a 72’-9.75” (22.19m) weight throw worth 14.21 points, according to Tech Athletics. The No. 8 ranked women totaled 90.78 points in their starting mark. Usoro leads the way with 39.33 points, according to Tech Athletics. In the second meet, Usoro sat out for the women to rest, according to Kittley, but in her absence, junior jumper Monae’ Nichols stepped up to the plate. At the Red Raider Invitational, Tech’s second meet of the year, Nichols jumped 22’-1.75” (6.75m), according to Tech Athletics, a school record and an even more monumental 11th best in NCAA history.

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“It was very crazy to me. I had chills, my hair was standing up; I still can’t believe it right now,” Nichols said. Nichols’ jump earned her Big 12 Athlete of the Week honors, the second-straight for Tech, with Usoro earning the same honors one week prior. Nichols’ jump also gave the Red Raiders an additional 23.83 points to their total, according to Tech Athletics. Junior high jumper Sidney Sapp and freshman long jumper Virginia Kerley also tacked on points with 5.37 and 4.35, respectively, following their outings. The pattern for the women is success in field events, one that Kittley has taken early notice of. “We had some outstanding field events,” Kittley said. “Just really proud of our field events … Really pleased with those marks, of course.”

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JAN. 28, 2021