Athlete Spotlight: New Athletic Director

^{Shy Yamasaki, Staff Writer}

As we started the beginning of a new academic year, we welcomed a new Athletic Director here on campus. Steve O’Brien grew up in San Jose, CA. His interests were playing soccer, baseball and running track. He spent his time at Boston College and transferred to Santa Clara University, where he majored in History and Economics. During his time at Santa Clara University, he was a member of the men’s cross-country team. During his college years, he met Julianne at an alumni function, who is a civil engineer and ran cross country at Santa Clara University. O’Brien played on the USC men’s club soccer team and even attempted to pursue competitive soccer opportunities at the next level after he graduated. In addition to his education at Boston College and Santa Clara University, O’Brien studied at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law. He practiced transactional finance and in real estate as an attorney. After his practice in transactional finance and as a real estate attorney, he was able to pursue his career in college athletic administration. O’Brien’s stops were at Santa Clara University, the University of California, Santa Barbara, the United States Naval Academy and San Jose State University before he joined us at SMU. 

O’Brien hopes to focus on making the athletic department more process-oriented. O’Brien stated, “I believe that ‘winning teams’, the measure by which most people may consider the defining benchmark of success in athletics, is a lagging indicator.  In order to get to that point, and in order for competitive success to be more sustainable and of greatest consequence, a foundation for that success must be built.  That will happen by taking a series of deliberate steps. For the purposes of this article, I think we can boil it down to 5 steps.” Within those steps, he has mentioned that relationship building and assessment are ‘key constituents inside athletics, across the campus, and throughout the community.’ Furthermore, with this step, it will help keep the trains running on time and address time-sensitive issues. The other steps include plan development, experimentation and scaling, have Saint Athletics produce across three critical areas and assess, refine and re-attempt. Another hope O’Brien has for SMU, as a whole, is to demonstrate a robust and competitively successful mission aligned intercollegiate athletic program. With that, he also wants that intercollegiate athletic program competitiveness here so it can ‘positively contribute to the overall development of student-athletes while simultaneously benefitting the entire campus community, advancing strategic institutional objectives and serving a critical relationship building function with families, alumni and local/regional community partners.”  

O’Brien is a hard worker and very dedicated to the things that are important to him. Much of his free- time centers around his family and youth sports. He has helped coach his eldest son’s soccer and baseball teams. He is looking forward to being more involved with his younger son’s team when he is able to start playing. O’Brian also enjoys running the trails here on campus. “The trails around Saint Martin’s campus are incredible!” O’Brien stated. He also is looking forward to exploring more of Washington and the PNW with his family. Currently, he is committing himself to becoming more adept at using social media.

Colored In Red: Celebrating the Lunar New Year on Campus

Caleb Sharp, Student Writer 

On January 23rd, the Asian Student Alliance, alongside the Office of Housing and Residence Life, invited students to the TUB to celebrate the beginning of the Lunar New Year. 

As students began filing into the TUB’s auditorium in preparation for the events to come, those who arrived early received lucky red envelopes, traditionally referred to as ‘hóngbāo’ in Chinese. These lucky red envelopes usually contain money or small gifts and are said to bring good luck to those who receive them. For the purposes of this event, the envelopes were filled with raffle tickets instead of money.

Once everyone was seated, the Lunar New Year event kicked off in full swing. The President of the ASA, Amaiya Rose-Nyugen, along with other members of the ASA, introduced themselves and prompted the audience to do the same with those sitting next to them. After breaking the ice, the ASA hosts began to tell the story of Nian, a four-legged beast closely associated with myriad Lunar New Year traditions. 

As the story goes, Nian was a mighty beast that feasted upon human flesh on Lunar New Year’s Day. In order to ward off Nian, people would hang red paper decorations on their doors, light paper lanterns ablaze and set off firecrackers on Lunar New Year’s Eve, as Nian feared fire and the color red. And thus, the Lunar New Year’s association with the color red, firecrackers, lantern making, and good luck was born. 

Naturally, after explaining some of the history behind the Lunar New Year, the ASA handed out supplies for the audience to make their very own red paper lanterns to scare off Nian and bring good luck into their lives. From here on, people were encouraged to mingle with their neighbors, enjoy some gyoza and discuss the celebrated traditions of the Lunar New Year.

While the lantern-making activity and brief history lesson were received well, the clear star of this event was the calligraphy station. In conjunction with the Office of International Programs and Development, the ASA was able to hire Jun, a professional calligraphist, for the Lunar New Year event. Jun instructed students on how to draw Chinese kanji symbols onto pieces of red paper, which is thought to promote good luck throughout the Lunar New Year.

The ASA’s Lunar New Year event went off without a hitch and gave students the opportunity to learn more about the Lunar New Year and its time-honored traditions. For some students of Asian descent, however, the event signified more than fun and games. To some, the event was an acknowledgment and celebration of a cultural tradition that receives very little recognition in the United States.

ASA Lunar New Year event organizers: Calligraphist Jun (pictured center), and ASA President Amaiya Rose-Nyugen (pictured center-right)
_{Photo Credit: Caleb Sharp}

When asked what the Lunar New Year event means to her, Rose-Nyugen explained, “coming here [to Washington], I saw that it wasn’t really a big thing. Down here in Lacey, there’s not a big Asian community that does stuff in public. Celebrating the Lunar New Year is a way for me to connect to my family and my culture. It’s a good way for me to get in touch with my culture, especially growing up in America.” 

Overall, the ASA’s event was an insightful experience for students who weren’t familiar with the Lunar New Year while also giving other students the chance to reconnect to their culture. Here’s to the Lunar New Year; may it bring good luck and fortune to all!

Pacific Exhibition

Phoebe Young, Staff Writer

There is a vast array of wonderful clubs and organizations here at Saint Martin’s, one of them being the Pacific Islanders Club. The Pacific Islanders Club is an organization that aims to bring students from the Pacific Islands together and allow them to express and embrace their true identities. They also work to educate Saint Martin’s students about the culture and traditions of the Pacific Islands, as well as to share this culture with those who may not know about it or be a part of it. Furthermore, the Pacific Islanders club functions as an affinity space and motivates and encourages club members to strive for their fullest academic potential by providing them with the resources and assistance they need to achieve academic excellence.

The Pacific Islanders Club has put on a multitude of fun events in the past, such as; the Holiday Hangout that occurred at the beginning of December in 2021 dedicated to making gingerbread houses, eating Panda express, prizes and raffles; the Halloween Spooktacular that the club put on in October 2021 including a costume contest, food eating contest, game booths, prizes and more; the Pizza and Painting event held in October of 2021 for students to paint, study, hang out with one another and eat pizza; and many other exciting and inclusive events for students of all kinds at Saint Martin’s to participate in. 

This March, the Pacific Islanders Club is going to be putting on an event called the Pacific Exhibition. The event will occur in the Norman Worthington Conference Center (NWCC) from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30. At this year’s Pacific Exhibition, the theme will be Stories of the Pacific. The Belltower spoke with club President Ligi Saolotoga, who told us that this theme was chosen with the intention of introducing people to stories and information about the Pacific they may not have known about before.

Saolotoga also went on to explain to me that the event will focus predominantly on displaying a collection of some of the incredible art that comes from the various Pacific Islands.

We chose this theme to showcase the different and unique stories of each Pacific Island that people may not have knowledge of. This event also mainly focuses on the showcasing of a mixture of dances and songs that originate from the different pacific islands.

President Ligi Saolotoga

The event will also be providing amazing Pacific Islander foods that you definitely do not want to miss out on. It is going to be an exciting event full of the beautiful culture of the Pacific Islands.

If you are interested in attending and experiencing the Pacific Exhibition in March, you can purchase a ticket later on. Spots are limited, so if you are planning on attending, be sure to get your ticket as soon as possible. Ticket sales will be advertised on the Pacific Islanders Club’s social media, so stay on the lookout and do not miss out on this wonderful event! You can keep up to date on this event and any others the club puts on by following the club’s Instagram, which is under the handle: @smu_pacificislandersclub. Make sure to stay updated and pay attention to the club’s posts so that you don’t miss out on the Pacific Exhibition or any of the other fabulous club events!

Favorite Teams at SMU

Eric Bell, Staff Writer

Editor’s Note: Eric Bell is a member of the Saint Martin’s Soccer team

Do you ever find yourself bored or struggling to find something to do outside of class? Is there something you have always wanted to try? Are you looking to meet new people and make new friends? If the answer is yes, you should seriously consider getting involved in Saint Martin’s sports. This doesn’t necessarily mean joining a sports team, although I highly encourage it. There are many different ways to be a part of athletics here. 

During my first year on campus, I have realized the importance of getting involved in the community here, and a great way to do this is through sports. From my experience, getting involved in athletics has given me many great memories, and many amazing friendships. This school does a good job at trying to get students involved, and we should take advantage of these opportunities. 

The cool thing about athletics is that there is always some sport going on all year long. Because different sports have different seasons, going to multiple sporting events is very easy. Also, because Saint Martin’s is such a small campus, getting to these sporting events when the Saints play at home is super convenient. The sports facilities are close together, so you don’t have to travel far to catch all the action.

Right now, one of my favorite sports to go watch is basketball. It is a great spectator sport for multiple reasons. First off, the men and women play during the same season, so there is almost always a game going on every few days. Second, there are lots of people who fill the stands, so it is easy to meet new people. Simply sit down next to some unfamiliar spectators and you can leave having made a few new friends. Finally, the games are played indoors with heat and music. Who doesn’t love being inside during these bitter cold months?

I couldn’t write an article about this without adding soccer as my favorite sport at Saint Martin’s. I feel like I have a slight bias towards the sport because I’m on the men’s soccer team, but selfishly I hope some of you guys also find soccer as your favorite sport here.

It is hard to pick just a few sports to call my favorite here because one thing that makes Saint Martin’s so special is how sports support each other. Members of one sport will come out to volunteer at another sport’s game, doing things to help the game run smoothly. For example, I can recall members of the basketball team retrieving balls at a soccer game. This was helpful because when the ball went out of play and rolled far into the grass, someone other than a player could go and get the ball. It also helped us from losing soccer balls, which is another positive. Another example is that the men’s soccer team volunteered at a women’s soccer game at the beginning of the year to raise money and awareness for a cause important to one of the coaches on the women’s soccer team. These instances show how Saint Martin’s is such a caring community- one we are lucky to be a part of. 

Do you have a favorite sport here at SMU? If so, what is it? If not, what can you do to change that? College is all about making the most out of your time here, and what better way to do that than supporting your school’s teams? 

See you at a Saints home game!

Tom Brady (Finally) Retires

Eric Bell, Staff Writer

Growing up, who did we think of as the best quarterback in the National Football League (NFL)? Who was the guy that even when his team was losing, you knew he still had a chance? That man was none other than Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, better known as Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time. Commonly referenced as the GOAT. While you can argue with that opinion, and there are some pretty good quarterbacks in history that you could argue for, you can’t argue with the statistics. According to nfl.com, the 199^th overall pick in the 6^th round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots played in 318 games, threw for 84,520 yards, and scored 624 touchdowns. If that alone isn’t enough to convince you he is the best; he is a seven-time Super Bowl champion and a five-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP). That alone is ridiculous, the fact that he has only been to the Super Bowl and not been the MVP of it two times. He has been to the Pro Bowl 15 times, an honor which is given to players nominated for having the best seasons that year. No other quarterback has done what he has in NFL history, and he will certainly be in the NFL Hall of Fame the first chance he can be inducted into it, in five years. If that doesn’t convince you that he is the greatest, I don’t know what will.

As of February 1, 2022, Tom Brady has officially announced his retirement from the NFL. He has decided to hang up his cleats after 22 unbelievable seasons, playing 20 seasons for the New England Patriots, the team who drafted him, and playing his last two seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There is much speculation as to why he decided to retire, with many people making the argument that he still had a couple more years left in the tank. While no one but Brady knows for sure, of course, roster injuries, upcoming contract situations, and teammate drama on the Buccaneers could have factored into his decision. It is certainly thought that he could have played for at least another year, and many agree with this narrative. 

As if Brady retiring is not crazy enough, there was some drama about his retirement going public. On January 29^th, Adam Schefter, ESPN’s highly regarded senior NFL insider, broke the news that Tom Brady was retiring. This turned the entire sports world upside down. Media pages were putting together montages of Brady’s career and everywhere you looked, the news of Tom Brady calling it a career was front and center. Only it wasn’t true. News broke later that day that Brady had, in fact, not made his decision and informed the Buccaneers General Manager that he had, contrary to what the media had leaked, not retired. With the sport’s world on edge, Tom Brady finally announced his retirement two days later. This time, it was for real. All the drama was seemingly for nothing. 

Aside from Tom Brady being the GOAT, he has provided all of us with a sense of inspiration that we incorporate into our own lives. As mentioned early, Brady was the 199th overall pick in the 6^th round of the draft, so it wasn’t exactly like he had the pedigree to be a starting quarterback in the league. The Patriots already had a quarterback and drafted Brady as a backup plan. Instead of getting angry that he was taken so low in the draft, Brady continued to work to be ready for any opportunity. Forced into action due to injury, the rookie out of the University of Michigan took his chance and ran with it. He never gave up the starting quarterback job.

This is what we should incorporate into our lives, the determination to never give up. In life, you need to take advantage of any opportunity, just like the greatest quarterback of all time did.

Who Takes Care of Our Campus

Emmanuel O. Son, Staff Writer

Photo Credit: Danyka Nebel

Taking care of a private Benedictine university is a blessing, but not an easy task. In order to take care of Saint Martin’s University, many departments must work together to make the campus a better place. New Assistant Director of Public Safety, Daryl Henry, talks about who exactly takes care of our campus. Henry served for 20 years in the Security Forces in the Air Force, 15 years as a Security Supervisor at the Tacoma News Tribune, and two years at the University of Washington Security. 

Henry states that everybody takes care of campus and plays a role in that duty. However, Public Safety is mostly responsible for overseeing the campus and looking out for students, faculty and staff, guests, and buildings. Some of Public Safety’s main duties on campus include assisting with escorts at night, given the department runs 24 hours a day. Officers can escort students and faculty to and from their vehicles or buildings at any time of the day. Officers can also assist with transporting students or faculty members who need medical assistance to other parts of campus. Throughout the day, officers are also performing security checks by doing a number of patrols throughout the day, such as walking around buildings and looking out for anything out of the ordinary that might be happening on campus. The Communications team of the department is responsible for making student and staff IDs, as well as taking phone calls. They also serve as the SMU Visitor Center, making sure to always be welcoming towards newcomers to campus. 

Some other departments and offices that contribute to taking care of campus are facilities, grounds, and maintenance. Because of the areas where they do work, those departments also contribute to doing security checks for the campus, since they are also constantly going around campus, Henry states. Workers for grounds do work by edging, grass and field maintenance, trash pickup and campus clean up, and whatever it takes to keep the campus looking clean. Workers at facilities are mainly in charge of making sure that buildings function properly. This includes doors, sinks and restrooms, walls and ceilings, and the overall internal and externals of the buildings. 

A department of campus that Henry is thankful for is Bon Appetit. Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, he mentions that they do a great job in feeding members of the community. He also is thankful for Monk’s Bean being a convenient stop for a cup of coffee. Because of the early mornings and long hours he and other officers work, Bon Appetit’s breakfast serves as a quick and convenient meal, he says. 

Other departments such as the Abbey, Campus Ministry, and the Counseling and Wellness Center do a good job of checking in with the students and their well-being. They both serve as guidance to members of the community. He mentions that many college students are facing a number of difficulties and are often overwhelmed, so it’s always important to have people who can guide you through tough situations. “If you’re dealing with more than your capable of, it is always good to have someone to speak to,” he says. “The Monks are some of the nicest people that I have ever talked to.” 

Henry states that there are also some ways that students and staff can help take care of campus. One important thing to remember is compliance with either a student or full-time staff public safety officer. For example, always comply with an officer when asked to show identification and answer honestly. If there is anything out of the ordinary that is seen, one of the first steps that should be taken is to call Public Safety or the correct department in charge and not just walking past it. Always have the Public Safety phone number saved and be prepared to call it. Henry mentions that despite the patrols done by officers, Public Safety cannot always be everywhere so, “keep your eyes and ears open to unusual situations or people in the area and calling that information in.” “Instead of having ten sets of eyes out there, we’ll have hundreds of sets of eyes,” Henry describes it. 

Volunteering for the Greater Good

Shy Yamasaki, Staff Writer 

Volunteering and Service are some of the many Benedictine values at Saint Martin’s University. It is taught through some classes and through the ways of the community here on campus. That is why volunteering, leadership, and service are very important here at SMU, and highly recommended to volunteer and serve whenever it’s available. There are many different ways you can serve here on campus as well as off-campus. There are ways you can find out more information about volunteering and service on campus through ASSMU, different clubs posting their connections with volunteering opportunities, or posters through campus on ways you can volunteer and serve. Volunteering helps fill the service credits and fills up your heart in the process making you feel like you have made a difference around school or off-campus. 

Volunteering and serving on and off-campus helps make you understand why small changes can really make a difference in a community so close like Saint Martin’s or the Lacey and Olympia community. It has the amount of uplift and a beat to volunteering since it does affect others around you and seeing that changes are possible even though you start small then work up towards bigger changes. Volunteering with friends is always a good day because you can set goals for you and your friends to accomplish throughout your volunteering opportunity. If you are doing it with a club, you can always challenge them to see how many records they break with collecting canned foods or the number of times they have worked at a shelter for women and children to support what is needed for them.

Many ways you can serve here on campus is by working for the Admissions office since you are serving the students by showing them around campus and getting them comfortable with what they are seeing on campus. Another way you can serve, or volunteer is helping with clothing drives that are held on campus along with being an AHANA or Incipio Leader at the beginning of school. It makes you feel good about helping someone that you have been in the shoes of and making sure they feel comfortable with the campus and showing them the friendly faces, they will see around. Some other ways you can be volunteering are at Our Common Farms, Boys and Girls Club, and at the Thurston Food Bank. The Thurston Food Bank is always looking for volunteers to help distribute canned foods or even donations for the long winter days or for holidays where families and individuals need it the most. One volunteer opportunity that is coming up soon is through our Community Kitchen. The Community Kitchen holds volunteer opportunities every first Friday of each month. CRS does participate in helping and volunteering options at the Community Kitchen. The next volunteer opportunity for the community kitchen is on March 4th, so if you want to join in this opportunity contact Krystal Cardona for more information on how you could join and volunteer for this opportunity.

World Leaders Meet to Discuss Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Emmanuel O. Son, Staff Writer

Description: People taking part in the Unity March demonstrating Ukrainians’ patriotic spirit amid growing tensions with Russia. Photo Credit: Idrees Ali ( @idreesali114 ) on Twitter

As tensions between Ukraine and Russia continue to go back and forth, some world leaders have stepped up their talks on how to combat the conflict peacefully. Meetings come as many fear a Russian invasion of Ukraine and a potential war that would break out as a result of that. French President Emmanuel Macron has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow while President Joe Biden is hosting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Washington.

With Russia hosting more than 100,000 troops on its borders with Ukraine, many have accused the country of planning an invasion of sorts, which Russian officials have been denying. Tensions between the two countries are happening again almost eight years after Russia’s annexation of the Southern Crimea Peninsula in Ukraine and a rebellion that took place in Donbas. 

A US official has also warned Biden of Russia potentially invading Ukraine. President Biden and security advisor Jay Sullivan have advised any Americans that are in Russia or Ukraine to leave. Biden has threatened to shut down and stop Nord Stream 2 Russian gas pipelines in Russia as a protest against the country. “If Russia invades again, there will no longer be longer Nord Stream 2. We will bring it to an end” Biden said. White House National Security advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with ABC News and stated that the US is currently seeking a diplomatic solution. “Putin has put himself in a position of military diplomats to be able to act aggressively against Ukraine at any time now” Sullivan says. However, neither the President nor any other US officials have stated how their solution would be done, only answering when asked, “I promise you we will be able to do it.” Concerns of the issue are also coming at a critical time as the Olympic games continue to push through in Beijing. Sullivan mentions the importance of preparation as intervention could happen either during or after the Olympic and Paralympic games. 

BBC is reporting that officials in Moscow are demanding that the NATO Military Alliance bans Ukraine from ever becoming a member, as well Ukrainian troops be brought out of eastern Europe. NATO has declined Russian requests and is now suggesting other solutions, such as lowering the use of weapons. Russia has also accused Ukraine of failing to enforce the Minsk Agreement, which is the international deal that would restore peace to the East in areas where Russian rebels control territory, sponsored by Germany and France. In 2014, 14,000 people had been killed in those areas. 

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that any confrontation with Russia would lead to a “full-scale war”. After speaking with U.K Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Zelenskyy has warned that war that involves Ukraine would affect the whole continent of Europe. The President has stated that if a war were to break out, it would not necessarily be a war between Russia and Ukraine but of the whole European continent. “This will be, unfortunately, a tragedy if the escalation against our state begins.” “No one will give up their territories and people anymore,” he stated in a press conference. During the week, the President signed a decree which would increase the military armed forces by 100,000 over the next three years. 

The Associated Press is reporting that the Pentagon has ordered that 3,000 US troops be sent to Poland to reassure allies. President Biden and Putin are set to hopefully talk to each other in hopes of discussing the crisis together. Biden states that although troops are being sent over, there is no direct plan to go to war in Ukraine, but to serve economic sanctions against Moscow. 

The Biden administration’s plan on the handling of the Russia Ukraine situation has been met with some criticism. The Daily Mail reports that Alexander Vindman, a former White House staffer and Ukraine policy expert who oversaw the Trump administration’s handling of Ukraine, has criticized Biden for acting too late on the issue. Vindman has stated that a Russian invasion would look bad for the United States and its most important European allies. “The senior policymakers didn’t seem to come around to this threat until really quite late” he tells Yahoo news. He argues that the United States should have already been helping out the Ukraine military with advancing military capability against Russian moves. Vindman’s criticism came after Biden has threatened that there would be no Nord Stream 2 Pipeline. 

Sources:

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-boris-johnson-joe-biden-europe-moscow-4d1e75eb68e1396bef885425c65039fb

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10492627/Vindman-says-Biden-little-late-deter-Russian-invasion.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/02/ukraine-warns-of-full-scale-war-and-tragedy-in-europe-if-russia-attacks.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60292437

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220207_05/

Restaurant Review: Pizzeria La Gitana

Phoebe Young, Staff Writer 

The Olympia and Lacey area is bursting at the seams with an incredible variety of different cafes and restaurants, many of which offer an array of good foods. In particular, there are many wonderful Italian restaurants throughout the area. If you like authentic Italian food in a classy, modern setting, you need to check out Pizzeria La Gitana in downtown Olympia. Pizzeria La Gitana was recommended to me by a friend who told me that it was highly underrated and not super well known. I love Italian food, so I went to try it out over the weekend with a few of my friends, and I was very pleasantly surprised. The environment there is very romantic and classy. There are lots of warm lights that illuminate the tables from the ceilings and walls, lots of vines hanging from the ceiling, paintings and miscellaneous art along the walls, and we even had a real rose in a vase on our table. They have a huge, authentic pizza oven behind the counter, and you can actually watch as your pizza is being made, which definitely adds to the experience of Italian cuisine. The building is very spacious and clean, and overall, a very aesthetic place to enjoy your meal.

Photo from twitter @ThurstonTalk

Our waiters were very kind and helpful, and they seemed genuinely pleased to serve us, even though we arrived a little less than an hour before they closed for the night. They were patient as we decided on what to order, checked up on us often, and very willingly answered all of the questions we had about different menu items. The food was wonderful as well, although a little pricier than I had anticipated. Our meal started off with complimentary flatbread covered in sea salt and rosemary which was delicious. We ordered a side salad as well, which came with mixed greens, balsamic vinegar, mushrooms, olives, olive oil, and artichokes, which was very refreshing. I also ordered a breve, and I was very pleased with the quality and flavor of the espresso.

We ordered Carbonara over fusilli and a Fresca pizza as well, which both arrived very quickly and tasted great. The Carbonara was creamy, and the bacon was savory, although we felt the sauce itself could benefit from a little more seasoning. The portion size was not large enough for the price, but it was still filling, and we definitely did not leave any leftovers. The Fresca was delicious and had a wonderful balance of heartiness from the cheese and refreshing lightness from the tomatoes and basil. 
For our dessert, we ordered both the tiramisu and the affogato, both of which we felt were very good. The tiramisu was one of the best I have ever had and was super light and fluffy. It had a perfect balance of sweetness and lightness from the ladyfingers and mascarpone cream, and bitterness from the espresso. I had never had affogato before, but it was very good as well. The gelato was sweet and creamy and complimented the espresso very well. As with my breve and the tiramisu, the espresso was delicious, and of very good quality. Overall, Pizzeria La Gitana is definitely somewhere I would go again and recommend to others. The food is very good and worth spending a little extra money on, the workers are great, and the restaurant itself is beautiful. If you are in need of a date spot and want to check out some new restaurants in the area, or just enjoy Italian food, Pizzeria La Gitana is definitely worth checking out.

The History of Black History Month

Gilbert Smith, Staff Writer

Black History Month has not always been around, in fact, it is a relatively new thing. It all began as recently as 1915, half a century after the abolishment of slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment. In the September of 1915, Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard-trained historian, and the minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the, “Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), an organization dedicated to researching and promoting achievements by Black Americans and other peoples of African descent,” explains HISTORY. Today, the association is known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). HISTORY continues, “the group sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926”. The group had decided to choose the second week of Feb. to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. This event led to the inspiration of schools and communities nationwide to organize celebrations, form history clubs, and host performances and lectures. Since the beginning of this event, the main focus was to encourage the teaching of the history of Black Americans in educational institutions with a focus on primary education. 

Originally, the overall reception was lukewarm, but Woodson considered it a great success. In the Feb. of 1969, the idea for Black History Month was brought up and promoted by Black students and educators at Kent State University. The next year was the first celebration of Black History Month on campus and local areas. Six years later, in 1975, Black History Month was being celebrated across the country, both in and out of schools, colleges, and community centers. In 1976, President Gerald Ford was the first president to not only recognize, but praise, Black History Month. Since then, every American president has proclaimed Feb. as Black History Month. Other countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom dedicate a month to acknowledging and celebrating Black history. 

With each year comes a new theme that is given to Black History Month, this year being “Black Health and Wellness.” This year’s theme is dedicated to examining how the American Healthcare system has over-served and harmed the African American communities. The historical abandonment of the communities within the healthcare system goes back centuries and is still not fixed. Even today, the US chooses to stay behind the forward movement of the rest of the world in providing affordable medical care for its citizens. This puts African Americans and other minorities among the country’s most vulnerable communities, especially if they are poor. 

There are many people who are celebrated in Black History Month. There is Martin Luther King Jr. who is well known for his “I have a dream” speech and is celebrated for his efforts in the fight for equal rights and the end to segregation in all walks of life. There were also many firsts to celebrate with Thurgood Marshall being appointed to the court in 1967, Mae Jemison in space in 1992 and Barack Obama in the 21st century.

Black History Month Events 

There have been events on campus that talk about topics related to it that will have happened by the time this goes up like “Liberty and Justice for All? African-American History and American Democracy” on Feb. 9th in Cebula Hall. There most likely will be more events that will celebrate it on campus.

Sources

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month

https://nationaltoday.com/black-history-month/

http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/black-history-month.htm