Friday, April 16, 2021

THE
AUGUSTANA MIRROR Vol. CVIX
No. 9

ArtiTänzer dazzles with dance Elgersma advocates for minority students Softball strong at home
Group to perform in May Title IX lawsuit highlights LGBTQ+ discrimination Weekend of wins for Vikings
Variety Page 8 Forum Page 4 Sports Page 10

CAMPUS SAFETY

Catalytic
converter
stolen on
campus
Noah Wicks
ntwicks17@ole.augie.edu

When sophomore Kallee Bush-

field went to start her silver 2009
Toyota Prius at 4 p.m. on Tuesday,
Feb. 16, she noticed it sounded sig-
nificantly louder than usual.
She had first parked her car in
the overflow parking lot near Tuve
Hall on Sunday afternoon at around
2 p.m., and her dad thought that
the 20-degree-below temperatures
Photo by Camryn Hay on Monday might have been the
Senior Angelina Gibson, junior Harley Tran, sophomore Barsha Shah, junior Sara Alhasnawi, senior Cole Tessendorf cause of the sound. But when the
and senior Hailey Nold light candles at a vigil held on Friday, April 9 in honor of the victims of the Atlanta shooting. temperature rose again and her dad

Our names are our identity

brought it into his shop, he noticed
that a big chunk of the muffler was
missing.

See THEFT, page 2

Students gather to remember
the names of the victims of the ACADEMICS

March 16 shooting in Atlanta Faculty

Jeni Fjelstad
jrfjelstad18@ole.augie.edu reconsider SRI
Sophomore Harley Tran’s voice rang out clear and steady to
use in tenure
decisions
the crowd of students gathered on the commons patio.
“Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Delaina Ashley Yaun,
Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Paul An-
dre Michels.”
Laura Johnson
While she spoke, the attendees moved through a line, each lajohnson19@ole.augie.edu
placing a lit candle next to the plaque and flowers set to com-
memorate the victims of the Atlanta shooting. To these students, In the middle of each semester,
who had gathered for the vigil Friday, April 9, these names mat- students have the opportunity to
ter. rate and provide feedback about
These eight names are those of the people, six of them of their academic experience for each
Asian descent, who were murdered in the March 16 mass shoot- class through Student Rating of
ings at three massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia. Instruction (SRI). Many students
The event, hosted by the Asian Student Organization (ASO), ignore the initial prompting by ad-
the Augustana Student Association (ASA), Lost & Found, and ministration to take a few minutes
Diversity and Inclusion, reflected on hate against Asians and its Photo by Camryn Hay to answer the questions. However,
history and contemplated actions students could take to stop Junior Brayden Harris signs a pledge promising to com- the use of SRIs have been debated in
hate and discrimination against Asian American and Pacific Is- mit to being anti-racist at the vigil on Friday, April 9. recent years among faculty.
lander (AAPI) individuals and to support their Asian friends. Professor Lisa Babcock of psy-
“Augustana is most definitely not untouched by anti-Asian be so important to show that just because it happened down in chology and professor Eric Wells of
sentiment,” Sara Alhasnawi, sophomore and ASO senator, said Georgia doesn’t mean that South Dakota is doing okay,” Alhas- physics compiled a proposal to re-
at the event. nawi said in an interview. “Augustana might be going through move SRIs from the tenure and pro-
The seven speakers also used the vigil gathering as a call to the same thing, even if it’s not to the same level.” motion discussion of faculty. The
action for the attendees, about 60 in person and about 50 on the The event began with opening remarks by Alhasnawi, who paper they co-wrote cited concerns
livestream. was an organizer of the event. about the low student response
“I think sometimes it seems like the issue isn’t there when “How many of you asked any of your Asian-looking friends
it’s not addressed, which is why I think this event is going to
See VIGIL, page 9 See SRI, page 3
NEWS
Sophomore Kallee Bushfield stands next to her Toyota Prius. In February, Bushfield noticed that her car sounded louder
than normal, and she later discovered that its catalytic converter had been stolen.
Continued from page 1
THEFT
It was then that Bushfield and her father
realized that her catalytic converter had
been stolen.
“It’s so frustrating, because it had to
have happened while it was like negative
20 degrees out,” Bushfield said. “I was just
kind of in disbelief.”
According to Sam Clemens, the public
information officer for the Sioux Falls po-
lice department, there have been at least
50 catalytic converters stolen from cars
parked in Sioux Falls this year. But he said
this uptick in thefts isn’t just a local phe-
nomenon.
“This isn’t anything that’s just exclusive
to Sioux falls,” he said. “The thefts of cata-
lytic converters have been on the rise and
happening across the nation.”
According to the National Insurance
Crime Bureau, there were 25,394 catalytic
converter thefts from insured vehicles in
the United States between 2008 and 2015.
However, the true number of thefts could
be much higher among uninsured vehi-
cles.
Catalytic converters are devices that
remove toxic emissions from a vehicle’s
exhaust stream using rare metals like
platinum, palladium and rhodium. It’s
these materials that give the converters
their value and make them appealing for
thieves. An ounce of platinum was worth
$1,296 in February according to Kitco
Precious Metals, while an ounce of rho-
dium was valued at $24,000 and an ounce
of palladium could go for $2,554.
“Inside the catalytic converter, there’s
some type of rare metal that they actually
Variety Editor Laura Johnson
Opinions Editor Anna Sorenson
Sports Editor Olivia Bertino
Copy Editor Jenifer Fjelstad
ASA Reporter Andrew Kronaizl
Social Media Producer Kayla DeAlba
Photographer/Videographer Gage Hoffman
Photographer/Videographer Camryn Hay
Podcast Director Chelsea Felton
augiemirror.com
tear the catalytic converter apart, and they
would just remove that metal,” said Rick
Tupper, associate vice president for safety
and logistics. “Then they’re able to go sell
that.”
A report by the National Insurance
Crime Bureau states that thieves can sell
to scrap dealers for between $20 and $240.
Almost all gasoline-burning cars and
trucks manufactured after 1975 have cata-
lytic converters installed, though Bush-
field said hybrid vehicles like her Prius are
particularly vulnerable.
Thieves are more likely to target these
types of vehicles because their catalytic
converters retain more rhodium, palladi-
um and platinum than traditional vehicles
do. In addition, hybrid vehicles are often
smaller and lighter, making them easier to
jack up than larger cars.
“Because the hybrid converters are larg-
er, they have more of those valuable ma-
terials, and you can get more money for
stripping them and selling them for parts,”
Bushfield said.
In order to remove catalytic converters,
thieves must lay below a vehicle’s under-
carriage and cut the converter out.
“Whoever stole this knew what they
were doing,” Bushfield said. “They have
the tools to remove all the bolts around
it. They had a clean cut. They clipped the
wires perfectly. The reason why they knew
it was theft, too, is because they jacked up
the car on a spot where it left the dent in
the undercarriage of the car.”
These parts aren’t cheap to replace ei-
ther. Two of the auto repair shops that
Bushfield consulted when searching for a
replacement gave her quotes of $1,200 and
$1,500. She eventually ordered one from
Brian’s Auto Repair in Elk Point, South
THE AUGUSTANA MIRROR
Noah Wicks Dawn Geertsema
Editor-In-Chief Managing Editor
augustanamirror@gmail.com
Photo by Noah Wicks
Dakota, where she bought an off-the-mar-
ket replacement for $250. This converter
didn’t have the same precious metals in it,
so it didn’t cost as much as a traditional
one.
“I have that off-brand part that’s not as
valuable, and I’m just hopeful that if some-
one were to jack up my car again, they
would know the difference,” she said.
Bushfield said that, while she did report
the theft to Campus Safety, there wasn’t
much that they could do to help her be-
cause the parking lot it was stolen from
does not have security cameras. Tupper
said Campus Safety has been more fo-
cused on checking the parking lots since,
but they can’t be there watching all of the
time.
Bushfield did not file a police report be-
cause she did not need to go through in-
surance for the theft.
Clemens said there’s very little people
can do once a catalytic converter has been
stolen. They don’t have serial numbers or
model numbers that can be matched up to
a certain vehicle, so once a converter has
been removed, there is no way to track it
back to the source.
“There’s just a lot of things that kind of
add up and make it a very difficult crime
to solve unless we’re able to catch some-
body doing it,” Clemens said.
Tupper encourages students to call
Campus Safety immediately if they see
any suspicious behavior around parked
vehicles.
“Our eyes and ears are students,”
Tupper said. “If you see somebody walk-
ing in a parking lot and it looks like they’re
trying doors, or you see them acting sus-
picious, call us, and then we can get over
there right away and check on them.”
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Merriam Hagadorn
Andrew Struck
Kat Elgersma
Ana McCabe
Seth Miller
Andrew Struck
Holden Sutter
Ruby Evans
@augiemirror
Bri Lebrun
Arden Koenecke
Friday, April 16, 2021 2
SAFETY LOG
Below is recap of notable Cam-
pus Safety reports from March
17 to April 11.
Disorderly Parent
April 11
Campus Safety Dispatch received
multiple phone calls from a stu-
dent’s parent demanding action for
an off-campus incident.
Marijuana Smell
April 8
Campus Safety received a phone
report of a marijuana smell in
Stavig Hall at 10:27 p.m.
Vehicle Accident
April 5
Campus Safety recieved a phone
report of an accident in the Stavig
loop. A Campus Safety officer and
an officer from the Sioux Falls
Police Department responded. The
police officer issued vehicle dam-
age cards.
Fire Alarm
April 2
A Campus Safety officer responded
to a fire alarm but discovered it
was activated by a cooking ac-
cident. Sioux Falls Fire and Rescue
responded and reset the fire alarm
panel.
Towed Vehicle
March 25
Campus Safety officers towed a
repeat violater from the Stavig Hall
parking lot.
Vehicle Accident
March 25
Campus Safety officers investi-
gated a report of a student hitting
another student’s vehicle in the
Commons circle at 10 a.m.
Fire Alarm
March 20
Campus Safety officers responded
to a fire alarm in Bergsaker Hall
at 11:52 a.m. but discovered that
it was a washer that was over-
loaded and making smoke. Sioux
Falls Fire and Rescue arrived and
cleared the area.
Towed vehicles
March 17 and 18
Campus Safety officers towed the
vehicles of multiple violators at the
Mikkelsen Library and the Elmen
Center.
Feline Theft
March 17
A student reported a cat and
kennel stolen from their room in
Stavig Hall at 3:57 p.m.
JOIN US
If you are interested in contribut-
ing to the Mirror, please email
augustanamirror@gmail.com for
more information.
REPORT AN ERROR
The Augustana Mirror corrects all
factual errors brought to its atten-
tion. Please email augustanamir-
ror@gmail.com with any errors.
3 Friday, April 16, 2021
Continued from page 1
SRI
rates, systemic bias and outdated infor-
mation that influence a critical part of
a professor’s academic career. The deci-
sion was postponed at a faculty meeting
on April 7 until October, to give time for
more discussion and deliberation on the
topic.
Many faculty members agree that
SRIs need to be improved in regard to re-
sponse rates and their use. The disagree-
ment lies in their impact in tenure evalu-
ations. Babcock and Wells have both
received tenure at Augustana University,
and Wells has served on the Personnel
Council in the past.
“A better use of them would be to en-
courage individual faculty members to
use them to learn about their classes, but
not hang these high stakes job decisions
in part on the student evaluations,” Bab-
cock said.
When a professor is being evaluated
for a tenure promotion, they are assessed
by a committee of their elected peers.
The council, which consists of the three
division chairs and three elected faculty
from each division, analyzes the profes-
sor on three areas: academic publication,
community involvement and teaching.
Communications professor John Bart
describes this basic criteria as the legs to
“a wobbly stool” because there is a larger
emphasis on the teaching and academic
publication aspects of an individual’s ca-
reer.
While he said he partly agrees with
Babcock and Wells, Bart is adamant
about the importance of SRIs in evaluat-
ing a professor’s growth as a teacher.
“I think that the student voice, while
limited, is still an important factor to
consider,” Bart said.
Bart said he believes the accumula-
tion of evaluations over time is one of
the most valuable uses of SRIs because it
shows how the professor is committed to
their students. He emphasized a profes-
sor’s “habit of scholarship” meaning their
commitment to continuing research and
to their students after they have achieved
tenure. The quantitative data of SRIs over
the course of around six years of teaching
can show this commitment.
Faculty also have the opportunity to
write a narrative explaining their SRI
data and can provide written feedback
they have received from students, ac-
cording to Bart. If a professor tried an
unsuccessful project one semester, they
have a chance to explain the situation
to show commitment to growth in the
classroom.
In their proposal, Babcock and Wells
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compiled data indicating that systemic
bias brings the results of SRI’s into ques-
tion. They point to evidence supporting
A breakdown of the argument against SRI’s
race, gender and discipline bias when
Professors Lisa Babcock and Eric Wells argue that Student Ratings of
students are evaluating their professors.
Instruction (SRIs) should be removed as a metric when considering tenure
Because the evaluations are done anony-
and promotion for professors. Here are the main reasons they argued in
mously in order to protect students from
their proposal, which was endorsed by the Natural Science Division in a
academic repercussions, the context of
33-4 vote.
evaluations are unavailable. The paper
argues that there are too many outside
factors to be able to effectively consider
SRIs in a tenure setting. 1. Efficacy Issues
“The relationship between the ques-
Babcock and Wells state in their proposal that there is no evidence of SRIs
tion and the criteria is complex, depend-
offering “reliable summative information on the effectiveness of the instruc-
ing on multiple parameters, and it is not
tion being evaluated.” They wrote that most current members of the Personnel
clear how to extrapolate from one to the
Council “indicated that they felt the SRI contained little useful information
other,” Babcock and Wells state in the
and no unique insight was obtained from SRI data.”
proposal.
Even though the Personnel Council is
aware of these systemic biases, it is dif-
2. Issues of Bias
ficult to compensate entirely for the ben- The proposal argues that “uncontrolled systemic bias” could taint the data
efit of the faculty member while still tak- produced by SRIs. Babcock and Wells state that there is a tendancy for female
ing into account the student voice. professors to be rated more negatively than male professors and a tendency
Senior ASA senator Mason Blue ex- for Hispanic and African American professors to be rated more negatively
pressed concern about the lack of stu- than white or Asian American professors. They also state that there is a ten-
dent voice in the tenure process. Though dancy for natural science professors to be rated more negatively and humani-
there are problems with the way current ties professors more positively than social science professors.
SRIs are presented and received, he said
that they are a useful tool that should be
considered in tenure decisions.
3. Issues of Administration
“There should be efforts to improve Augustana has based its Form B SRI on recommendations by the UC-Berke-
SRIs before they are entirely removed ley Center for Teaching and Learning, but Babcock and Wells cite a statement
from the process of considering the pro- from the center that “SRI are to be used only for formative assessment” or to
motion of professors,” Blue said. gauge learning. In addition, they argue that questions on the SRI are “double-
President Stephanie Herseth Sand- barreled” or ask about multiple topics, but only allow for a single answer from
lin oversees any changes to the Faculty respondents. Finally, they state that changes in SRI scheduling makes it dif-
Handbook, including the section con- ficult to properly control the survey and measure the results.
cerning the role of SRIs and their uses.
She said these assessment tools are im- 4. Issues with Interpretation
perfect and should be improved upon.
However, they play a key role.
According to Babcock and Wells, SRIs could be misinterpereted if not consid-
“We need to make sure that the stu-
ered in the proper context. They state that there are small differences in mean
dent voice is a part of this discussion, not
values of SRI scores that could be misinterpereted, and they cite an an article
only to help faculty make adjustments
by Dan Li and Steve Benton that states, “Simply put, using ones measure to
and improve their own teaching, but it is
make an important decision about a person’s career is the cardinal sin of psy-
important in the tenure and promotion
chological and educational measurement.”
process,” Herseth Sandlin said.
When deliberating over this topic,
Herseth Sandlin takes into consider-
5. Auxiliary Issues
ation the possible repercussions taking
The proposal says that “the use of student ratings of instruction can hinder
SRIs out of the tenure evaluation process
the implementation of innovative instructional strategies, especially the use of
might have on students. She is balancing
active learning techniques.” According to Babcock and Wells, feedback from
the concerns faculty have as well as pre-
peer evaluation is likely to be much more specific and actionable to discern
serving the input of students.
poor instruction in the classroom than student feedback. They say that by
More evaluations need to be filled out
proliferating SRI’s, “we have been duped into thinking we are monitoring
before SRIs are considered to be an ac-
teaching effectiveness and, in working to improve SRI, improving our teach-
curate depiction of a professor’s perfor-
ing.”
mance. In two separate polls posted on
The Mirror’s Twitter and Instagram ac-
counts, a little over sixty percent of stu- SRIs, though that does not rule them out the evaluation’s faults.
dent respondents thought that SRIs were entirely. As the debate continues into next fall,
too long. If SRIs are taken out of consideration Herseth Sandlin said she wants to focus
Bart said that in the past, SRIs were during these high-stake career evalua- more on one particular question: “How
distributed on paper in class. When they tions, what would replace them? Babcock do we best assess the student learning ex-
moved online, participation dropped and Wells recognize the importance of perience, the classroom environment?”
dramatically. As of right now, there is not SRIs but said they are focused on push-
a push towards reverting back to physical ing the administration to acknowledge Noah Wicks contributed to this report.
Scan this barcode to listen on Spotify
FORUM
SOAPBOX
LGBTQ+ struggles emerge in Title IX lawsuit
Kat Elgersma
keelgersma20@ole.augie.edu
Recently, a class action
lawsuit against several Chris-
tian colleges and universities
called into question the value
of the religious exemption
written into Title IX of the Ed-
ucation Amendments of 1972.
It also prompts an important
conversation about whether
or not religious exemptions
have any place in civil and hu-
man rights legislation.
Specifically, the lawsuit in-
volves 33 plaintiffs, all mem-
bers of the LGBTQ+ com-
munity who have attended
Christian colleges and uni-
versities across the United
States and have experienced
mistreatment by the hands of
their educational institutions.
These schools receive public
funding and are therefore sub-
ject to compliance with Title
IX. However, Title IX includes
an “exemption for educational
institutions controlled by a
religious organization, to the
extent that application of the
regulation would be inconsis-
SUSTAINABILITY
McCabe: Consider effects of fast fashion when summer shopping
Ana McCabe
ajmccabe19@ole.augie.edu
As spring begins to make an
appearance at Augie, summer
days are becoming less of a fan-
tasy students have during the
blustery cold of South Dakota’s
winter “wonderland.” Summer
weather includes fun activities
with family and friends, a break
from the school grind and time
in the sun. With the rise in
temperature, a change in ward-
robes is needed — unless being
wrapped in a wooly sweater on a
90 degree day is more your style.
The different trends circulat-
ing the internet influence the
summer attire of many people.
Hopping onto this fast fashion
trend, inexpensive and trendy
clothing produced by mass mar-
ket retailers is seemingly harm-
less. However, according to
Earth.org, fast fashion depletes
non-renewable resources, in-
creases the emission of green-
house gases and uses up an
enormous amount of water and
energy. Approximately 200 gal-
lons of water are used to produce
one cotton shirt, and 2,000 gal-
lons of water are used to pro-
duce one pair of jeans. Leftover
Kat Elgersma
tent with the religious tenets of
the organization.”
The grievances detailed
in the lawsuit include forced
conversion therapy, being de-
nied housing and healthcare
and sexual, physical and emo-
tional abuse and harrassment.
In nearly every one of the
cases, these LGBTQ+ students
were made to feel guilty and
ashamed of their identities.
Those involved in the lawsuit
have started the “Religious Ex-
emption Accountability Proj-
ect’’ or REAP.
Research shows these stu-
dents’ experiences are com-
water dyes, the second largest
water polluter in the world, are
dumped into rivers and streams,
according to Earth.org.
These fast fashion clothes are
made with non-biodegradable
fibers such as polyester, nylon
and acrylic. Earth.org states that
80 billion new pieces of clothing
are consumed by the world each
year, with 82 pounds of textile
waste coming from the average
American.
Along with the environmental
issues that fast fashion presents,
the social impacts are just as det-
rimental, especially in develop-
ing countries. Child labor, poor
and dangerous working condi-
tions, little pay and the dismissal
of environmental regulations are
major causes for concern.
Luckily, there are clothing
brands that make sustainability a
priority. Patagonia is one of these
clothing companies. Sixty-four
percent of the company’s fabrics
are made with recycled materi-
als, and 100% of the cotton used
is grown organically. Patagonia is
involved in many programs that
support the environment, and
ensure fair working conditions
and wages.
“We aim to use the resources
Friday, April 16, 2021 4
Tweets
mon. A 2016 APA study found
that over half of sexual minori-
“committed to providing equal
access to and participation in
of the
ties attending religiously af-
filiated colleges or universities
had experienced bullying or
employment opportunities
and in programs and services,
without regard to race, color,
Week
harassment on account of their religion, creed, sex, pregnan-
sexual orientation. As a result, cy, sexual orientation, gender “Some of y’all never got to
these students also more com- identity, genetic information,
monly experienced anxiety, national origin, ancestry, age,
calibrate the SmartBoard as
depression, substance abuse, veteran status, or disability.” By a child and it’s really starting
to show.”
eating disorders and other its own rules, Augustana can’t
similar adverse effects. abuse its freedom of religion in
In addition, about one-third this way. No matter what hap-
-@LayneSymington
of Christian colleges and uni- pens with this lawsuit, it is an
versities include a statement in opportunity to acknowledge
their handbooks banning “ho- that Augustana enjoys certain
mosexual behavior.” privileges because of its affilia- “Meant to send “thanks so
much in an email to my
While Augustana is not tion with the Lutheran church.
named in the lawsuit, and it Also, and perhaps even professor and it corrected to
is generally safe to be out as more importantly, this case is “thanks smooches”, goodbye
LGBTQ+ on campus, this case a reminder that everyone de-
highlights a few issues. serves to be treated with dig- everyone”
First, there is the religious nity and respect regardless of - @HaileyNold
exemption piece that is avail- personal beliefs. While this
able to all religiously affiliated may seem obvious, the Reli-
colleges and universities. The gious Exemption Account-
ELCA’s LGBTQ+ affirming ability Project’s very existence
views provide protections for shows that there are those in
“i do think my academic
Augustana’s gender and sexual the country that mistreat oth- stress would go away if i just
got a tattoo right now”
minority students. In addi- ers while believing that they
tion, Augustana states in the are right and, also, that there
handbook that it is compliant are systems in place that allow
- @madsolson
with Title IX and also that it is them to do so.
we have — our voice, our busi-
ness and our community — to
do something about our climate
crisis,” Patagonia stated on its
website, detailing environmental
activism.
Reducing the impact of its en-
vironmental footprint takes pre-
cedence over the production of
materials.
Another clothing company
called Girlfriend Collective
makes ethically-sourced clothing
from different recycled materials
such as polyester, post consumer
bottles, fishing nets, a fiber called
Ana McCabe
cupro (made from the waste that
the cotton industry leaves be- not as hard as it seems. The web- source when looking for sustain-
hind) and other recycled materi- site Eco Stylist is a sustainable able clothing brands to expand
als. clothing directory that allows a one’s summer wear.
“We are like the earth’s num- person to customize what they The downfall to these sustain-
ber one fan, so being eco-friend- are looking for through different able clothing brands is that many
ly is at the top of our priorities, as filters such as the types of cloth- are expensive. For a college stu-
is giving you as much informa- ing, gender, country and rating dent on a budget, it is easy to be
tion as possible,” Girlfriend Col- of how sustainable the brand is. tempted into buying fast fashion
lective’s website stated. Eco Stylist explains and gives to save a few bucks. However,
Information about where the ratings of certified, silver and thrift shopping is both affordable
company’s materials come from, gold to different clothing brands and sustainable. As thrift stores
why it uses these materials, how based on the transparency, fair become increasingly more popu-
and where it produces its clothes, labor practices and sustainabil- lar, less clothes are thrown into
and why the company is sustain- ity of each company. They score landfills, there is less pollution
able can also be found on the the brand out of eight points on and a decrease in resource waste.
website. leadership, diversity and inclu- The positives that come with
The challenge of searching for sion. Eco Stylist is a helpful re- thrift shopping are enormous.
sustainable clothing brands is
5 Friday, April 16, 2021 augiemirror.com FORUM

Should participation in sports, university programs and

organizations be recognized with graduation regalia?
Anna Sorenson
acsorenson17@ole.augie.edu
For the 2021 undergraduate com-
mencement ceremony, the President’s
Council, with consultation from the
Commencement and Honorary Degrees
Committee has approved for students to
wear pins on their robes or stoles noting
involvement in athletics, campus orga-
nizations, programs and departments.
The pins are an addition to the already
approved commencement ornamenta-
tion of Verdier award medallions, gold
Civitas stoles, summa cum laude cords
and official honor society cords. The pins
must be 2 inches or smaller in diameter.
An email sent to graduating seniors
asked that students wear pins — rath-
er than non-approved stoles, cords or
medallions — “to avoid diminishing
the visual differentiation of academic
achievement and excellence during the
conferring of degrees.”
Augustana nursing students have pre-
viously received pins from their depart-
ment at a separate pinning ceremony
the evening before graduation. With the
addition of a School of Education and
School of Music, those graduates may
now have a pin from their department
this year.
All Augie graduates already receive a
pin: an ‘A’ recognizing the students’ new
status as Augustana alumni.
Some worry that additional regalia
will distract from graduation’s celebra-
tion of academic honors and achieve-
ments. Others want their dedication to
the campus outside of academics to be
recognized at commencement.
The addition of pins is not yet perma-
nent and will be evaluated after this year’s
commencement ceremony.

Yes, hardwork, dedication should be appreciated
Student athletes deserve
recognition at gradua-
tion with stoles. Less than
5% of high school student
athletes go on to college
athletics, whereas around
70% of high school stu-
dents enroll in college.
Student athletes are
some of the hardest work-
ing people on campus. We
spend a minimum of 20
hours a week training, in
addition to the full aca-
demic load. This doesn’t
include time spent on re-
covery, team meetings,
team bonding events, trav-
eling, competitions or vol-
unteering for fundraisers
which can range from 20
to 48 hours a week. In addi-
tion to our athletic require-
ments, we are still expected
to maintain our grades,
have a social life and a re-
lationship with professors,
participate in clubs and
possibly maintain jobs on
top of that.
While we are using that
time to focus on our aca-
demics, student athletes
very visibly represent the
school. Augustana’s goal
is to have academics and
athletics be in sync. To
maintain balance, student
athletes have to perform
in multiple arenas in addi-
tion to those expected of
the average student. This
additional effort should be
recognized with stoles.
Personally, and I know
for many, participating in
athletics is an essential part
of being able to afford a
Merriam Hagadorn
mahagadorn17@ole.augi.edu
higher education. I’m ex-
tremely grateful that Au-
gie provides students with
multiple opportunities and
ways to obtain its educa-
tion. But it is also impor-
tant for Augie to recognize
those that have represented
the school in other ways at
commencement.
Being a student ath-
lete is very challenging
and time consuming. For
the majority of us student
athletes, commencement
is the last time we get to
represent the larger Augus-
tana community. We have
spent years and thousands
of hours training for these
sports. Not allowing stu-
dent athletes to wear stoles
for graduation is a refusal
to acknowledge the dedica-
tion and hard work spent
during their time repre-
senting Augie.
I understand that com-
mencement is a time to
celebrate the hard-earned
VS.
education we have re-
ceived. Stoles for stu-
dent athletes would
simply acknowledge the
additional work that is
required of this select
group of students.
An argument against
giving student ath-
letes the option to wear
stoles at graduation is
that it wouldn’t be fair
to other groups such as
choir, music and the-
ater. These other activi-
ties are often part of the
students major or mi-
nor, thus represented
in the academic honor
programs. Not everyone
has the athletic ability to
be on a collegiate level
team, and those that do
should be recognized.
Overall, giving stu-
dent athletes the option
to wear stoles at gradu-
ation would display and
elevate the support that
Augie provides.
I’m proud of how
I was able to obtain a
higher education and
represent my school.
Why isn’t Augie
proud of my hard work,
dedication and repre-
sentation?
Merriam Hagadorn is
a senior biology major
and member of the AU
swim team.
No, graduation meant to recognize academics
In May 2017, I gradu-
ated from Southeast Tech-
nical College in Sioux
Falls with a 3.95 GPA —
the top of my law enforce-
ment science class. When
I received my graduation
gown, cap and cord, I
frowned with disappoint-
ment as I looked around
the room. I thought to
myself, “One golden cord?
Really?”
Earning top of the class
distinctions earned me
the same golden cord as
the students who earned a
3.50 GPA in their time at
Southeast. I couldn’t be-
lieve it.
Graduation cords are
an unmistakable piece
of regalia for college stu-
dents who excelled in the
classroom. The athletes,
student body leaders, in-
ternational students, quiet
students, students who
aren’t afraid to stand up
for others and students
who put their whole heart
and mind into their aca-
demic career are the stu-
dents who proudly wear
these same cords over
their graduation gowns.
The cords don’t tell a
story about what the stu-
dents did in their time
on or off campus as they
pursued their degrees. In-
stead, we tell those stories.
At Augustana, student
athletes know in their
heart and mind that they
left it all on the field or the
court. The student leaders
of ASA, and presidents
Andrew Struck
astruck@augie.edu
and vice presidents of
campus student organiza-
tions stood up for the dis-
advantaged, the systemi-
cally underrepresented
and the Sioux Falls com-
munity members who
needed their help.
Special graduation
stoles or cords for stu-
dents who participate in
extracurricular activities
would have unintended
consequences. Most im-
portantly, they would di-
minish the significance
and merit of regalia cords
given to students who
graduate with cum laude,
magna cum laude, summa
cum laude, national honor
society or Civitas program
honors. Special cords
shouldn’t represent what
we participated in. More-
over, special stoles could
never tell a story about the
impact we made on and
off campus through our
extracurricular activities.
A push by some stu-
dents demanding a more
inclusive commencement
environment by means of
special regalia for certain
groups of students who
participated in certain ex-
tracurricular activities has
repeatedly been denied by
campus officials — a deci-
sion I fully support.
Graduation regalia and
cords given to the students
who achieved the high-
est academic honors don’t
divide the student body.
Rather, our cum laude,
magna cum laude, summa
cum laude and Civitas
honors cords and other
academic-focused stoles
unify the students who
pursue academics above
all else. These traditional
cords and stoles further
dignify Augustana gradu-
ates who tirelessly pursue
academic excellence, at
the expense of any other
things and passions.
Demanding new stoles
and cords for individuals
who participated in ex-
tracurricular activities or
programs would devalue
our traditional stoles and
cords, therefore discred-
iting the extraordinary
efforts of the university’s
highest performing stu-
dents.
Andrew Struck is a senior
business and communica-
tions major and campus
safety officer.

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VARIETY Friday, April 16, 2021 6
Dance group to perform aurora borealis-inspired dance
Bree LeBrun in folklore,” Gibson said.
bilebrun@ole.augie.edu
She said that “the goal of the group is
to collaborate with other departments on
Augustana’s student-led fine arts
campus to educate the audience while
dance company, The ArtiTänzer Proj-
also entertaining them.” In addition to
ect, will perform “Sirens of the Dancing
dance, the event will showcase pieces by
Lights,” a story of two tribes attempting
Chad Nelson of Vinland Prints and an
to save the northern lights, this year for
adjunct in the art department at Augus-
its spring recital. Many dance forms will
tana.
be used to tell this story, including con-
His nordic art will be used through-
temporary, ballet, lyrical, theatrical and
out the performance as props and back-
even some Irish choreography. The Ar-
ground scenery as well as on display on
tiTänzer Project (ATP) is set to perform
the way into the theatre. All of the pieces
this story on May 1 and 2.
are made from carving into a block of
The story consists of two groups, the
wood called woodcut. Each piece aver-
wolves and the sirens, in a world where
ages over 100 hours of work to create.
humans are living in a disease-ridden so-
“Angelina came to me, and her idea fit
ciety. The sirens only come out and sing
like a puzzle piece into what I do,” Nelson
when the northern lights shine, but they
said. “I love Augustana and as an alumni
recently have been missing. The humans
I try to give back as much as I can.”
blame the wolves for the siren's disap-
Senior Ruby Evans and junior Jayci
pearance, but when a child of their own
Holsing will be performing in “Sirens of
dies and becomes a siren in the afterlife, a
the Dancing Lights.”
resistance is created between the groups.
“The ArtiTänzer Project is an outlet
ATP at first was created in 2018 by
for people that grew up with a dance Photos by Gage Hoffman
senior Angelina Gibson, who has an ex-
background and didn’t have a space to Senior Angelina Gibson and junior Emma Nelson dance in practice.
tensive background in music and dance.
continue that in college until now,” Evans
“Arti” is the prefix for artisan and “tän-
said. mance of the story by religion professor
zer” means dancer in German. Her idea
The group practices once a week on Richard Swanson.
to form a fine arts dance company took
Sunday nights year-round to prepare for The Augustana community can an-
her around a year and a half to put to-
the spring event. “I love the group of peo- ticipate another artistic and educational
gether. She found both dancers and non-
ple I am able to work with and the fact work from the ATP next spring.
dancers who were interested in helping
that I am able to tell a story through my “My hope is to share a wonderful,
tell important stories.
favorite art form,” Holsing said. theatrical art piece that is saturated with
Gibson said her inspiration for this
The Edith Mortenson Center will host emotions to help others experiencing
unique story came from a visit she made
the event both nights at 7:30 p.m. The similar emotions, such as grief,” Gibson
to a wolf sanctuary a year ago.
audience can expect an artist talk at the said. “I think this might make people Photos by Gage Hoffman
“Wolves are highly intelligent and
beginning of the performance with Chad feel something, and it might make them Nelson practices her dance routine
very compassionate creatures, and yet,
Nelson and narration during the perfor- think.” with teammates in the Back Alley.
they are often portrayed as the scapegoat

WELL-BEING

Tips and tricks to deal with

approaching stress of finals
Ruby Evans day.
rjevans17@ole.augie.edu
Everyone that has ever been
in finals season in college knows
Everyone’s worst nightmare
the constant feelings of worry
when it comes to finals in col-
and pressure that come along
lege unfortunately became a re-
with the countless final exams,
ality for Mallory Kloucek. Even
papers, projects and the list that
now as a working professional at
never seems to end. In terms of
the National Alliance on Mental
taking care of oneself during
Illness (NAMI) in South Dako-
this period, the range of self-
ta, Kloucek recalls the haunting
care practices can look different
story of her expereince like it
depending on the individual.
was yesterday.
“Self-care can be very diffi-
The morning of Kloucek’s
cult sometimes and isn’t always
final arrives, and she wakes up
glamorous,” senior Hailey Nold
in complete panic. She’s slept
says.
through her final exam. Rac-
Could self-care look like a
ing to her all-to-familiar college
face mask and a movie in be-
campus of University of South
tween studying times? Sure.
Dakota, Kloucek starts banging
However, it is important to re-
on the door to the classroom
member the individual nature
frantically. Luckily, her profes-
when reading through the vari-
sor shows grace and allows her
ous study and self-care tips giv-
to make up her exam. Although
en by those who have had their
the initial fear of the event pass-
fair share of finals.
es, the anxious and uneasy feel- Photo by Sophie Koball
ings surrounding the memory As finals approach, students share their insight into how to survive the pressure of tests.
have not subsided, even to this See STRESS, page 8
7 Friday, April 16, 2021
Above left: Senior Camryn Huber shows off her birthday decorations before she begins celebrating in her hometown of Beresford, South Dakota, with her family.
Bottom right: Huber and her mother both share cocktails while celebrating at Vinyl Taco in Sioux Falls.
COVID-21: Becoming legal during the pandemic
Arden Koenecke
agkoenecke18@ole.augie.edu
A scratchy sequin dress with a pink
sash over it. A loud, crowded bar with
sticky floors. Shoulder to shoulder
against sweaty strangers with a too-sweet,
too-expensive cocktail in your hand. You
loudly shout “It’s my birthday!” over the
deafening roar of “In Da Club” by 50
Cent (which your friends requested just
for you) and receive a free shot, or two,
or three, in return. After barely making it
home, you finish the night in bed with a
bucket lying on the floor next to you.
This is, of course, the usual 21st birth-
day celebration. The sick feeling in the
morning is all worth it for all of the fun
you had, if you can remember it. In this
year, however, with most public spaces
closed and gathering in large groups
frowned upon, newly legal young adults
have been forced to get creative with their
parties.
Though a celebration is the goal, a lit-
tle creativity never hurts. Here are some
examples of guidelines to keep in mind
when you plan your next celebration —
even better if it’s your 21st birthday.
Be flexible with plans
Senior Camryn Huber has been talk-
ing about going to Las Vegas for her 21st
since she turned 14. As the pandemic
raged on throughout the spring, it be-
came clear to Huber that her plans that
were seven years in the making might
have to be readjusted from her May 11
birthday last year.
“I eventually came to terms with it,
knowing it was out of my control, but
augiemirror.com
Photo by Camryn Huber
initially it was pretty heartbreaking,”
Huber said.
Instead of the trip they’d planned,
Huber’s family ended up hosting a “Vegas
pregame party” at Vinyl Taco in Sioux
Falls as a way to honor what should have
been. The celebration ended up perfect
because most of those who would have
been going to Las Vegas were in town to
celebrate.
“I’m not one to go out and party and
never have been,” Huber said. “So the
fact that it was chill, and I didn't spend
my 21st puking out of an Uber in a city
where what happens there stays there was
actually OK now looking back at it.”
Socially distance whenever possible
When most people think 21, they
think pub crawls. Senior Grace Doeden
wasn’t far off, celebrating with what her
family dubbed a “porch
crawl.” They spent the
evening on March 30,
2020, hopping around her
hometown of Beresford,
South Dakota, where her They will be even
parents had recruited vari- meaningful when we get year, but Douglas
ous family friends to leave to do them again.
a shot for Doeden on their -Grace Douglas '21 celebration will all
porches.
In return, her fam-
ily brought special birth-
day shots for those who
participated: Bailey’s Irish
cream with a chocolate chip cookie shot
glass. The families would then take their
shots together from a safe distance, keep- them again,” Douglas said. “I'm looking
ing the “spirit” in the celebration without forward to going out with my friends
getting too close.
“It was definitely not what I expected,
VARIETY
Photo by Callin Naddy
Above: Senior Callin Naddy and her father take a selfie together
after they took a 21-miles bike trip for her birthday.
Photo by Camryn Huber
but I’m grateful for my family trying to
make it the best they could,” Doeden When in doubt, think outside the box
said.
For junior Callin Naddy, her 21st
Make it virtual birthday didn’t look much different than
what she expected it would have been.
Junior Grace Douglas had been plan-
Her birthday is on Dec. 24. Combined
ning on a small indoor celebration with
with Naddy’s indifference toward big par-
friends for her Dec. 8 birthday, a time
ties, she had already been anticipating a
when the pandemic had been slowing
smaller celebration than most.
down, and it was no longer nice enough
“I just kind of always assumed that my
to be outside. Her plans were upended
21st would be pretty chill—focused on
when one of those friends came down
Christmas and that sort of thing,” Naddy
with COVID-19 four days prior.
said.
Though Douglas wasn’t a close
Naddy refers to her celebration as
contact, a few of the other people she
“21 for 21.” Naddy and her dad biked 21
was planning on celebrating with were
miles around their hometown of Fort
now in quarantine. Her small in-person
Collins, Colorado, in honor of her 21st
party turned into an evening on Zoom
birthday. The track and cross country
to drink, chat and play online games,
athlete notes that though she is a runner,
while Douglas was in her hometown of
21 miles of running was “absolutely not
Aberdeen, South Dakota, and her friends
on the table” for her celebration. So, they
quarantined in their
biked. For one hour and 30 minutes.
Sioux Falls house.
Naddy and her father were lucky
It was differ-
enough to find Zwei Brewing, a German-
ent than expected,
style brewery, halfway down the trail
which seems to be
more a theme for the past
where Naddy could have her first beer
—ever. Naddy said the beer was good,
said that the delayed
but she was more excited about having
turned 21 and biking than she was to ac-
tually drink it. The bartender picked her
be worth it in the
beer for her, but Naddy said next time
end.
she goes, she will pick what she wants.
“With most
“I definitely feel for the people who do
things that have
want big, huge celebrations because that
been canceled
would be a tough turn around,” Naddy
because of the pandemic, they will be
said. “But for me, this was honestly prob-
even more meaningful when we get to do
ably close to what I'd have done anyway,
so I was happy.”
when the pandemic is over, and we're all
21.”
VARIETY
In the new action movie directed by Adam Wingard, Godzilla and Kong grapple for the title of alpha.
'Godzilla vs. Kong' film is
what you would expect
Holden Sutter
hasutter17@ole.augie.edu
It’s been over a year since
trips to the movie theater have
been a regular occurrence for
me. Theaters have implemented
COVID-19 procedures but most
people, including myself, felt it
wasn’t worth the risk. As people
get vaccinated, they’ll need big,
exciting films to draw them back
to the theaters. “Godzilla vs.
Kong” came out at just the right
time to meet that need.
Godzilla, formerly a protec-
tor of humanity and the balance
of life, has been mysteriously at-
tacking cities around the world.
In order to protect civilization,
the U.S. government captures
Kong to use as a weapon against
Godzilla.
A monster movie is noth-
ing without its bombastic fights.
Luckily the fights in this film are
a true feast for the eyes. Both
Godzilla and Kong use their abil-
ities to their fullest extent. This
leads to exciting battles that are
much more dynamic and inter-
esting than your typical monster
film. It’s just a shame that there
weren’t more of them.
These fights are complemented
by a slick visual style. Previous
American Godzilla movies have
been gray and shrouded in dark-
ness. However, in this one, the
cities are lit up by a ton of neon
and covered in a dense fog. It al-
most looks like these monsters
are fighting in the Los Angeles of
“Blade Runners.”
Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers Studios
d
James Willar
"Godzilla vs. Kong"
Starring: Millie Bobby
Brown, Alexander
Skarsgard, Rebecca Hall,
and Julian Dennison
Director: Adam Wingard
Distributor: Warner
Brothers
Don’t let the title fool you,
however. Whereas something
like "Captain America: Civil War"
provided enough information for
the audience to make a decision
as to which side they agreed with,
"Godzilla vs. Kong" doesn’t even
try. This is a Kong movie through
and through. The majority of the
runtime is devoted to a journey
that he goes on with the humans,
and Godzilla usually just pops
up as an antagonistic force. As a
augiemirror.com
Godzilla fan myself, I was a little
disappointed.
There are about 45 minutes of
fun monster fights, and the rest
of the two hour runtime is filled
with some of the most cliché,
boring human storylines ever put
to film. There’s a typical corporate
bad guy. There’s a discredited sci-
entist who turns out to have been
correct the whole time. No char-
acter gets any interesting back-
story. Most of them had a parent
die or something. How original.
And what a waste of a talented
cast! Millie Bobby Brown, Re-
becca Hall, and Alexander Skars-
gård are just a few of the names
that are in the movie purely for
star power. Brown’s character and
her plot line could be complete-
ly written out of the movie and
nothing would change.
Not all of the human bits are
awful. One little girl has a special
connection to Kong that helps
ground Kong as a character and
creates an emotional core to the
film. Even that storyline isn’t
without its logical flaws though,
and its payoff at the end of the
film is lackluster at best.
A big ape fights a big lizard.
If that sounds fun to you (as it
did to me), then you’ll probably
enjoy this movie. If you think
it sounds stupid, well I can’t re-
ally argue with that either. If you
feel safe enough to go back to the
theaters though, this may be the
dumb fun that you need in the
middle of this stressful semester.
Friday, April 16, 2021 8
Continued from page 6
STRESS
Get in touch with how you best process information,
then do it.
Cramming in order to retain the information required
for an hour-long test or 15-page paper is a common habit
when studying for finals. However, in terms of actually re-
taining that information long-term, most of us probably
won’t.
“If you have an understanding just how you compre-
hend and how you process information, and if you haven’t
discovered that yet, be open to what that is,” Kloucek says.
“That’s what’s going to help retain that information as you
leave college as well.”
Utilize study resources and not just during finals week.
Looking back on finals now as the assistant director
of admission at Augustana University, Wendy Mamer is
proud of how she used her resources.
“I utilized tutors from the start to maximize my aca-
demic potential versus just going to them during finals
week when I needed to do well on something,” Mamer
recalls.
This strategy minimizes the feelings of panic that come
with waiting until the last second to ingest the knowledge
and make us of those that have expertise knowledge on
the subject you are studying.
Organize your load.
Back to cramming. Many students are all guilty of it.
Break. It. Up.
“Try to section it out so you’re not as stressed and it’s
easier to break [the study load] up and not feel like you’re
tackling everything at once,” Nold suggests.
Spread your load out to study for one chapter per night,
leading up to the final exam. Not only is it less over-
whelming, but you’re most likely going to remember the
information longer-term versus cramming it all the night
before the exam.
Don’t compare yourself to others.
The old saying goes that “comparison is the thief of joy.”
Although Theodore Roosevelt was most likely not talking
about finals in college specifically, the saying still applies.
Sophomore Courtney Chrystal reminds us of the im-
portance of just checking in with yourself.
“I know the most harmful thing for a lot of students is
that they are measuring themselves to other students and
those student’s performances,” Chrystal says. “Just know
that no one is expecting you to do anything that isn’t just
the best you can be doing at that time.”
Nourish your body, whatever that looks like for you.
“There were times when I was studying that I couldn’t
even remember the last time I went to the bathroom, or I
realized I hadn’t drank water in x amount of hours, I had
to skip lunch like that is so unhealthy,” Nold says.
In order to have brain power your body needs power
too. Don’t forget to go back to your basics. Your body will
thank you later.
Remember that you are more than a grade.
Grades are important, but they aren’t everything. Of
course working hard is crucial in finals week, but taking
care of yourself should be a main priority too.
“At the end of the day, grades aren’t a holistic reflection
of you,” Mamer says. “The difference between a grade is
not worth sacrificing your peace of mind.”
Whether it’s waking up late the morning of your final
exam or something that you may deem potentially worse,
finals season - and the stress that comes with it is tempo-
rary. You can do this, but take care of your body and mind
in the process.
9 Friday, April 16, 2021
augiemirror.com NEWS
Continued from page 1 tract by wearing that color.”

VIGIL
what their real name was when they gave
you their English name?” Alhasnawi said.
She cited that there have been nearly
4,000 Asian hate crimes in the past year,
according to the organization Stop AAPI
Hate. She added that the myth of the
“model minority” harms the AAPI com-
munity by diminishing their struggle as a
systemically oppressed group.
Then Ericka Kim, junior and ASO
operations officer, took the mic on be-
half of ASO to express thankfulness for
allies and community support, show the
group’s support and solidarity for the
wider AAPI community and remember
Ways that students can support their After Gibson, ASA President Cole
Tessendorf shared a message expressing
peers and stop Asian hate grief and solidarity and condemning rac-
ism and violence, especially against AAPI
In the words of ASO Senator Sara Alhasnawi people.
After that, Tran, ASO events coordi-
nator, spoke about Asian names. Many
Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students have been
seeing a rise of anti-Asian sentiment, and as a non-AAPI, you can Asian people, including herself, may
offer your support in various ways. How to do that? choose to take on an English name in the
United States for a number of reasons,
Reach out, ask how your AAPI friends are doing and pitch into a
including societal acceptance, pronun-
1. project if they require help due to the burden of recent traumatic
experiences.
ciation or racism in job hiring practices,
Tran said.
But she emphasized the importance of
Educate yourself about the history of Asian discimination, the their given Asian names.
2. model minority myth and any recent injustices. It should not be
your AAPI peer’s job to educate you.
“Our names are our identity, our heri-
tage,” Tran said. “It’s what we have left
that reminds us who we are, where we

3.
and mourn the eight lives lost. come from.”
If you can, donate to organizations fighting anti-Asian injustice. Tran also expressed anger that the
“I wanted to be thankful for our audi-
ence, who was predominantly white, but names of the victims had been common-
Learn to dispel any unconscious biases that you may hold about ly misspelled in mass media.
not be the Asian stereotype of being white
how an Asian individual looks. Asians are multifaceted, they are “Respecting the victims in the Atlan-
people’s servants and just being submis-
sive to them,” Kim said in an interview.
She said she felt sad and angry when
4. not a monolithic group as society has historically misrepresented.
Asians may come from Iraq, Nepal, China, etc. Do not in any way
ta shooting means getting their names
right,” she said.
diminish that identity with societal misconceptions. Hailey Nold, president and founder of
she found out about the shooting but be-
cause of the prevalence of anti-Asian sen- Beyond anything, call out anyone that is committing any kind of Lost & Found on campus, named some
of the feelings many have been having
5.
timent was not completely shocked. racist act or microaggression toward your AAPI peers. AAPI indi-
So she hoped to reflect that in her viduals cannot be the only ones fighting for their own identity and around the attack: vulnerability, fear,
statement at the event. rights. Use your privilege. grief, depression or hopelessness. She
“[I was] making sure the Asian com- also pointed to mental health resources
munity felt heard and that their hurts for anyone struggling with these feelings
trauma, and I call it bravery and activ- Gibson, who spoke next, shared her who wants to seek out help.
were not overlooked,” Kim said.
ism.” experiences of racism for being an Asian Following the speeches and the candle
Sophomore Barsha Shah shared her
She called for allies on campus to take woman. lighting, students were invited to sign
experience having her struggles mini-
on more of the burden in dismantling the “I’ve been made fun of, fetishized, at posters that declared “How will you com-
mized and facing the harmful stereotypes
systems of oppression and to work ac- 19 years old by being told that I should mit to being anti-racist?” They respond-
that some have about Asian people.
tively with their Asian peers. invest in a rice hat so I can do yard work ed with goals like having tough conver-
“Because I am soft spoken, because
“When you see someone who looks in the summer,” Gibson said. “I was told sations, speaking up against injustice and
I am petite, because I speak the white
like you being at the other end of a bullet by a restaurant manager when I wore red educating themselves.
man’s tongue in ways that appease you,
by a white man,” senior Angelina Gibson and put my hair up for a job at 18 years
I am unthreatening,” Shah said. “So my
said, “some people know that pain well.” old, he asked me who I was trying to at-
body has become a vessel of my pain and

Student of the Month

Emily Fleckenstein
Major: Religion
Minors: Philosophy, English and Classics
Hometown: Hinton, Iowa
Activities: Emily sings in the Chorale and is
actively involved in the Philosophy and Clas-
sics Honor Societies. Emily also really enjoys
lifting in the Elmen Center weight room.

Julie Swanstrom, assistant professor of phi-

losophy and religion, said, “Emily is one of
the hardest working students I have ever had.
When something iimmediately makes sense,
Emily then works to think about it another
way to make sure she has understood it....She
makes her education have enduring worth
through her hard work and self-reflection, which she is engaged in because of her com-
mitment to integrity, to community, and to service..”

David O’Hara, professor of philosophy, classics, and environmental studies said, “Emly is
wide awake in the best of ways.”

Paid for by Augustana Student Association

SPORTS augiemirror.com Friday, April 16, 2021 10

SCORE
BOARD
Scores of the this month’s games

SOFTBALL

04/11
WIN vs MSU ... 3 - 1
WIN vs MSU ... 9 - 3

04/11
WIN vs SMSU ... 10 - 2
WIN vs SMSU ... 9 - 1 Photo by GoAugie
The women s softball team beat Concordia-St. Paul in a double header 8-0 and 2-0 on Saturday and MSU Mankato in a
double header 3-1 and 9-3 on Sunday afternoon at Bowden Field, recieving unanimous No. 1 in the NFCA Poll.
BASEBALL
SOFTBALL

No. 1 Vikings glide past CSP, MSU

04/11
WIN vs U-Mary ... 15 - 2

04/11 Andrew Struck But base hits weren’t the only weapons of wins over CSP. On Sunday, the Vikings
astruck@augie.edu
in the Vikings’ arsenal. In the bottom of again took to Bowden Field where they
WIN vs NSU ... 2 - 0
the third inning, left-handed Pardo con- swept MSU Mankato 3-1 and 9-3, respec-
LOSS vs NSU ... 4 - 3 The No. 1 Augustana softball team
tinued her attack on CSP, sending a solo tively.
(21-3, 9-1 NSIC), sailed past Concordia-
home run soaring over the opposite field In game one against the Mavericks,
St. Paul (CSP) with an 8-0 and 2-0 pair of
fence. Lien followed up Pardo’s solo shot six different Vikings came up with hits as
MEN’S TENNIS wins on Saturday, before taking down No.
homer with a big hit into center field — the team once again remained on trend,
20 MSU Mankato 3-1 and 9-3 on Sunday
good for a standing double. swinging big sticks in the box including
afternoon at Bowden Field.
04/11 Maybe it was the fact that the players
By the bottom of the fifth inning, the two solo home runs from Lien and Brink.
Vikings offense had put on a show. The “Our team is getting better, and string-
WIN vs Benedict ... 6 - 1 were wearing their gold jerseys. Maybe
game saw Lien score on a wild pitch, a ing hits together, and being able to put up
it was because they were playing on their
smooth bunt for a hit from senior Abbie lots of runs,” said junior Becca Koupal.
04/11 home field for the first time this year. Or
Lund, and a pair of walks from Gracey In game two Augustana faced a new
maybe it was just the momentum from
Brink and Cornick. threat, after going down 0-3 following the
LOSS vs Creighton ... 7 - 0 their previous three-game win streak in
Despite the Vikings robust offensive ef- Mavericks’ offensive front in the top of
which the Vikings blew out St. Cloud
forts, a full-fledged pitching performance the first.
State University and University of Min-
WOMEN’S TENNIS from seniors Amber Elliott and Mickschl Elliott continued to bring the heat on
nesota Duluth.
was also on display. the mound, striking out eight and shut-
No matter what, according to head
“Ashley gave up two hits, and Amber ting down the Mavericks in each inning
coach Gretta Melsted, the Vikings were
04/11 landing hits. But that’s not necessarily
gave up two hits —that’s it,” Melsted said. after the first. The Vikings continued
“They gave up four hits on the day. That’s launching their well-oiled offense against
WIN vs Bemidji ... 7 - 0 unusual.
pretty amazing.” the Mavericks, notching 12 hits into the
WIN vs Crookston ... 4 - 0 “We hit the ball really well on Saturday,”
The Vikings batted down any hope of books including a career-first home run
said Melsted, who coached the Vikings to
a CSP comeback with a fifth-inning, sec- from Dickmeyer that scored Koupal and
their NCAA DII National Championship
04/11 ond solo home run rocket from Pardo, sophomore Bergen Linder.
win in 2019. “We’re really known for our
tripping the NCAA’s eight run rule as the “Mankato is a great team, I mean,
WIN vs SMSU ... 7 - 0 power.”
Vikings beat down the bears with a final they’re number 20 in the country,” Mel-
After junior Mary Pardo and senior
score of 8-0. sted said. “For us to take two from them
Kendall Cornick started with a pair of
WOMEN’S GOLF “It was just an all-around great day,” today, that was huge.”
hits in the bottom of the first inning,
Melsted said. “We had some really big- The Vikings currently sit atop the
pitcher Ashley Mickschl laid down a bunt
time plays defensively, too. Our shortstop, NSIC Conference at 9-1 after winning
just out of reach of the catcher and put
04/11 Amanda Dickmeyer— I just think she’s each of their four games over the week-
on the speed to outrun the throw to first
the best shortstop in the entire league.” end, and extending their win streak to
Newman Invite ... 7th from third base.
The Vikings made quick work of CSP seven games.
With the bases loaded and facing a
in game two, thanks to a comprehensive “[I’m] just proud of their effort —
3-2 count, sophomore Torri Chute sent a
04/11 high-fly ball soaring past the outfielders,
effort from Elliott, who snagged eight proud of their effort all weekend,” Mel-
strikeouts on the mound, while Chute sted said. “The thing that makes our team
Wayne Invite ... 6th good for a run batted in and a 1-0 lead
and Pardo continued their dominance in special is they play for each other. If we
over CSP. Third baseman Abby Lien fur-
the batter’s box. take care of each other, and support each
ther contributed to the Vikings’ offensive
“In game two we won by the long ball,” other, watch out for each other, we’re go-
MEN’S GOLF bout with a line drive of her own into
Melsted said. ing to put ourselves in a good position to
center field, scoring Cornick, followed by
The Vikings’ second win over the do well,” Melsted said.
a strike into the infield from first base-
Golden Bears saw another solo home The Vikings will hit the ground run-
04/11 man Delaney Young, good for another
run from Pardo, and a long-ball homer ning this weekend with a double header
Upper Iowa Invite ... 4th RBI and a 3-0 lead over the Golden Bears.
from Chute who sent the ball soaring into border battle in North Dakota vs. Minot
“We kind of base-hit them to death for
Bowden Field’s scoreboard, securing the State (12-12, 5-5 NSIC) on Saturday. On
04/11 a while,” Melsted said. “We were able to
2-0 win for the team. Sunday, the Vikings will play the Univer-
kind of play a different style of softball —
Central Missouri ... 18th The softball team’s success over the isty of Mary (2-21, 1-9 NSIC) at 12 p.m.
which is really important.”
weekend didn’t end with Saturday’s pair and 2 p.m.
11 Friday, April 16, 2021 augiemirror.com SPORTS

“
Continued from page 12 With a disparity of 20.8%, the institution ranks No. 12.

TITLE IX
out of 16 schools in the NSIC. The addition of two new
sports will certainly help to shrink the disparity, but
I m still learning and we are looking at it won’t bring it close enough to comply with Title IX
things we need to do for the transition. As regulations.
previously occupied by Ann Traphagen, who parted
ways with Augustana in Fall 2020.
“I think she brings extraordinary professional ex-
perience particularly in the area of compliance, which
is so important in college athletics as a senior woman
administrator, as a person of color,” Augustana Presi-
dent Stephanie Herseth Sandlin said.
Miller has 18 years of experience in intercollegiate
far as getting us close to that balance when
it comes to Title IX, it s gonna be a huge
task, but I feel we are moving in the right
direction.
“
-Kimberly Miller
Associate AD for Compliance
Augustana ranked only ahead of the University of
Mary (22%), University of Sioux Falls (22.3%), Minot
State University (25.5%) and Upper Iowa University
(26.6%).
“I’m still learning, and we are looking at things we
need to do for the transition,” Miller said. “As far as
getting us close to that balance when it comes to Title
athletics and was most recently the deputy athletic and Senior Women Administrator IX, it’s gonna be a huge task, but I feel we are moving
director and senior women administrator at Savannah in the right direction. In my eyes, are we ever going to
State University in Savannah, Georgia. get a complete balance? I don’t think it’s ever going to
“When you’re looking at Title IX you’re not only be a balance. But can we get close to it? I think so.”
looking at athletics but at an institution as a whole,” Full Title IX compliance is hard to achieve for
To fully dissect the impact of the new sports on schools as small as Augustana. Percentages are far
Miller said. “We have a much larger female population
Title IX numbers, one needs to look at the roster spots more volatile for Augustana versus schools like South
than we do male, meaning that we do have to increase
of both teams. Acrobatics and tumbling can bring in Dakota State University or the University of Minneso-
opportunities for females However, we can’t neglect
30 to 40 new women’s roster spots, and if swimming ta. An unbalanced student population such as Augus-
things on the male side.”
and diving bring in the same amount of athletes as the tana’s will make it even harder.
Augustana also announced two new sports coming
women’s team, Augustana is bringing in 22 men’s ros- Another challenge comes from sports like football,
to the athletic department in the 2021-22 school year:
ter spots. Therefore, Augustana has the chance to add which require a large number of players to be competi-
men’s swimming and diving, and women’s acrobatics
anywhere from eight to 18 women’s roster spots within tive. With a football team that brings in around 100
and tumbling.
the next couple of years. men’s roster spots, it makes it nearly impossible to fully
“Whenever you’re going to add a new sport, you
have to be thinking about the impact on Title IX Latest Numbers comply with title IX standards.
compliance,” Herseth Sandlin said. “You also need to “We have to develop and be committed to the plan,”
The most recent Title IX data for Augustana can be Herseth `Sandlin said. “And I think that’s what we’ve
be looking at it from the locker room standpoint, the
found on the U.S. Department of Education’s spon- shown over the past three years with ongoing improve-
strength and conditioning standpoint, the scholarship
sored, “Equity in Athletics Data Analysis” website. ment, knowing that we still have a gap to overcome,
standpoint and facilities standpoint.”
Augustana’s Title IX disparity got worse in 2018-19. but that we’re still committed to overcoming the gap.”

Continued from page 12

SWIM
lost appetite and taste and smell and ex-
perienced fatigue. Upon returning to the
pool, she also had a difficult time jump-
ing into the deep end of practice right
away.
“I felt like my body physically recov-
ered quite well, but my heart and lungs
are so behind in the recovery,” Smith
said.
At the start of the season in January,
Smith felt ready to compete. However, af-
ter her first race in the 50 meter free-style
event, her resting heart rate was signifi-
cantly higher than it should have been
for an hour after her initial race.
After a few competitions, Smith be-
Photo by GoAugie
came more used to “the feeling of how it
Sophomore Emily Alama decided to sit out this year because of the lasting repercussions she faced from COVID-19.
was to race with these things.” As Smith
acclimated to these new challenges, “After a break from swimming, these
she adopted a different mindset toward symptoms have begun to alleviate them-
swimming. selves, although I still experience bouts
“Just being able to race at all was kind of exhaustion and chest pain,” Scott said.
of a big thing in itself,” Smith said. The athletes shared similar feelings
Scarring of the lungs was a long-last- about the pandemic before testing posi-
ing impact sophomore Cailey Scott had tive for the virus.
to deal with after contracting COVID-19 “Before contracting the virus, I knew
mid-September. that COVID-19 had a large effect on
Similar to her teammates, Scott’s communities of people, and I did not
symptoms appeared to be mild: sore want to be a part of the problem,” Scott
throat, fever, body aches and loss of taste said. “I very much had a ‘that would nev-
and smell. Scott returned to practice af- er happen to me’ mentality, but I quickly
ter three weeks and began experiencing learned that the virus can have a large
bouts of sustained increased heart rate, detrimental effect on even the healthiest
chest pain, fatigue, shortness of breath of teenagers.”
and a cough. Despite the tides of their long-term ef-
Over winter break, Scott sought out a fects, these athletes fought back and have
cardiologist for an answer. After wearing taken their own experiences as opportu-
a heart monitor over a period of time, nities to grow.
they scanned her lungs to understand the “I still love swimming but it’s my team
cause of her rapid heart rate. Scott had and coaches that make it worth being on
pneumonia-like scarring on her lungs the team,” Smith said.
from the virus. Photo by Laura Johnson
Sophomore Lydia Smith adjusted to swimming after recovering from COVID-19.
 TITLE IX
SPORTS Friday, April 16, 2021 12
SWIMMING

Swimmers face
lasting effects
from COVID-19
Laura Johnson

26.60
NONCOMPLIANT
25.50
lajohnson19@ole.augie.edu

Drowning is the last thing that

would be associated with the highly
successful women’s swimming and div-
Augustana athletics fall outside Title IX regulations
ing team. However, that is what Emily Seth Miller officially filed on Feb. 11, 2020, and states that
Alama said she felt like was happening smiller18@ole.augie.edu
the school is not providing female athletes
when she dove back into practice after with an equal opportunity to play sports
three weeks of quarantine. 22.30 In response to Augustana Uni-

22.00
under Title IX’s three-part participation test.
Like many of her teammates, Alama versity’s 2017-18 school year data,
The test consists of proportionality, history of
initially believed if she contracted the an unknown person filed an Ad-
progress and accommodation of interest.
ministrative Class Complaint with

20.80
virus, her symptoms would quickly According to the complaint, Augustana
subside. As time passed, she realized the U.S. Department of Education
failed the first test. The file states, “If Augusta-
this sentiment could not have been fur- about the school’s Title IX compli-
na had provided women in 2017-18 with pro-
ther from the truth. ance.
portional athletic opportunities by expanding
As the pandemic raged through The complaint, which
programs or eliminating sports roster cuts, an
campus in the fall of 2020, a handful was obtained by The
additional 80 women would be able to play
of Augustana swimmers contracted the Mirror through a Free-
18.40
collegiate sports.”
virus from their peers. With so much dom of Information
In 2017-18, Augustana University had
uncertainty surrounding the effects of Act request, was
a student population that was 68% women
the virus, it was unclear how much it and 32% men. However, the student-athlete
would impact athletes.
16.70

16.50 population comprised 46.2% women and

Lasting effects plagued the swim- 53.8% men. This means there is a 15.8%
16.20
mers to varying degrees. Augustana’s disparity between the student population and
primary care the student-athlete population. If Augustana
team phy- added 80 roster spots for women, the
sician Dr. disparity percentage would be within
Scott Boyens
14.30
Title IX compliance.
compared it This is not the first time that com-
to symptoms plaints have been filed against Augus-
of mono: the tana with the Department of Education
harder an either. On April 15, 2017, someone
athlete tries to submitted a Title IX complaint about
push through Augustana’s 2015-16 data. In that year,
the long last- Emily Alama the disparity level between the student
ing effects, the population and the student-athlete
worse it will be for them. population was 26.2%, and 135
“From a physical standpoint, it’s a
10.30

women’s spots needed to be added

continuum that is different for every- to comply.
body,” Boyens said. This shows that Augus-
Alama was initially diagnosed with tana had made significant
8.90

COVID-19 in September. Her immedi- improvements since 2015-

ate symptoms were extreme fatigue and 16; however, the school is
high fever. After two weeks of quaran- still not within compliance.
tine, she felt almost back to her normal
self. Unfortunately, during her first Department Changes
swimming practice, she quickly real-
ized that her recovery time would take On Jan. 4, 2021,
much longer than she had anticipated. Kimberly Miller was an-
After multiple visits with Boyens nounced as the new
and her personal doctor, Alama came associate AD for
to the conclusion that she needed to sit compliance and
4.50

out for this year’s season. senior woman

In addition to not participating in administrator.
team practices, Alama had trouble The spot was
even walking to class at times. When
she went home for winter break, her See TITLE IX,
page 11
Graphic by Noah Wicks

fatigue worsened which resulted in her

2.00

staying at home until a few weeks into

spring semester.
0.40
1.40

“It’s very hard to feel a part of your

team when you are gone from campus
for six months, and you can’t swim,”
Upper Iowa

Minot State

USF

U-Mary

AU

SMSU

CSP

Moorhead

Wayne

NSU

Winona

Crookston

BSU

UMD

SCSU

MSU Mankato

Alama said.
Sophomore Lydia Smith also experi-
enced long-term effects after she tested
positive for COVID-19 in September.
When she was quarantined, Smith

See SWIM, page 11 Title IX disparities in NSIC schools by percentage