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Evan Margiotta/The Eagle
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Welcome to our new Constant Contact newsletter! If you’re receiving this email, it’s because you were subscribed to our former newsletter through Mailchimp. All future newsletters will be sent from this account. To read more stories from The Eagle, please visit our website or theeaglecoronavirusproject.com.
Correction and Editor's Note: In the original version of this newsletter, The Eagle misnamed Tamir Harper, The Blackprint’s editor-in-chief, as Tamir Rice, the child who was killed by police in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2014. Accuracy is always our priority and is necessary as a news publication. In this climate, in which the country is reckoning with racist and unequal treatment of Black Americans, it is even more essential for us to not make these types of mistakes. The failure to recognize this mistake especially on the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington makes this error even more egregious. There is no excuse.
By Isabel Wolff & Daniella Ignacio
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Top Stories:
In the University’s technology news, on the first day of online classes for the fall semester at AU (Aug. 24), Zoom, a popular video conferencing app used by AU and other colleges for remote education, experienced widespread outages. Additionally, the University announced that it will phase out Blackboard and begin a two-year transition to use Canvas that will start this semester.
The AU community has experienced a wide variety of reactions to the decision to go completely online for the fall. Incoming student deferrals increased 61 percent for the fall semester to 102. Students are also facing costly and complicated decisions regarding their apartment leases, whether they are remaining within the District to study or taking online classes somewhere else. Additionally, University resident assistants found themselves without housing or an income provided by AU. On the flip side, over 28 percent of AU undergraduate students enrolled in fall 2019 are from states on the D.C. hot spot list, but some have returned to the District for their studies despite the fact that the semester will be entirely online.
Between July 2018 and June 2019, AU students used the U-Pass for over a million system rides, but, due to the pandemic, the U-Pass program has been canceled for this semester, a disappointment for many AU students who depended heavily on affordable Metro access to commute for work.
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The Eagle Explains: Our Collaboration with The Blackprint
By: Kelly McDonnell, Life Managing Editor
The Life section has always been an exciting and growing portion of The Eagle. I’ve written for the Life section my entire tenure as a staff writer, and as the managing editor, I want to find ways for our section more effectively and directly with culture in the AU community, in D.C. and across the country. As The Eagle has stated before, we have goals to expand our coverage and inclusion of diverse voices, and the Life section has a unique position to do that by reporting on the creativity from those who are underrepresented both on-campus and in The Eagle’s storytelling.
Born out of a previous Life story about Black artists in D.C. creating protest art, I wanted to look more into art that Black students at AU create. To do this, I thought it would be important to work with another campus publication, The Blackprint, which does beautiful and pertinent work every semester to showcase AU artists of color in their magazine and online. The Blackprint dedicates itself to representing students of color, particularly Black students, giving them a space to be creative with their own writing, photography or designs. I wanted to collaborate with The Blackprint because The Eagle can learn about how to best share these stories from them and with them. Dezimey Kum from The Blackprint and I, with the assistance of The Eagle’s Editor-in-Chief Sophie Austin and The Blackprint’s Editor-in-Chief Tamir Harper, are beginning a multimedia project for the semester that highlights Black students who create art. That includes photography, design, painting, printing and sketching. We want to learn why these artists create their work and what their experiences have been at AU. If you’re interested in participating in this project, use this link to share with us more about yourself.
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News:
Since 1984, CAS professor Allan Lichtman has correctly predicted the outcome of every presidential election. Read to find out why he predicts Democratic nominee Joe Biden will win the 2020 election.
As journalists, we have to make hard choices when reporting on complex issues, ethically, legally and editorially. In our latest On The Record column, News Managing Editor Kelsey Carolan spoke to SOC professor John Watson about the legality and ethics of reporting and how social media has evolved to make decision-making even more complex.
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Life:
For the first “Scenes That Stick” article, our Silver Screen Editor Grace George pointed to a scene in “Frances Ha” that sticks out clearly in her mind: the falling out scene between the two best friends.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, curators and creators on virtual display through the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center have been rethinking the ways in which they can present their art.
In Thomas Recchio’s review of “Folklore” by Taylor Swift, he believed that the album “shows an even more mature side to Swift with its music and lyrics. Swift writes about love in a more reflective manner than in her earlier albums, which react to the events of her life in the moment."
Stephanie Mirah reviewed the movie “Chemical Hearts” and stated that "Tanne’s work has a defined thesis: Writers who try to capture the teenage experience cannot do so without highlighting the pain associated with growing up. With a thesis like this, the film is a mixed bag."
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Sports:
The Eagle's Sports section is launching a new podcast, Eye on the Eagle. For the first episode, hosted by Jon Kolodny and produced by Noah Tanen, AU men's basketball coach Scott Greenman speaks about his background and the team's past and present. You can listen to it on Spotify.
Lawyers representing AU and David Nakhid, a Hall of Fame former University soccer player who sued the school for race and ethnicity discrimination, agreed to a confidentiality order in late July.
AU's Jacobs Fitness Center may be closed for the semester, but many local fitness centers near AU have reopened under Phase Two guidelines and are continuing online classes, including Crunch Fitness in Chevy Chase and Barre3 in Spring Valley.
In the latest sports column, Lee Clark asked: “Can one man save Washington’s NFL team from more defeat?”
In his latest sports commentary, Alec Branch stated: “The Mystics’ main issue is their inability to put the ball in the basket. After being the highest-scoring and most-efficient offensive team in the league last year, the former offensive juggernauts have plummeted without Delle Donne.”
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Opinion:
Laura Susanne Yochelson writes: "What I’ve learned about AU applies to everybody who is part of the University. Distance learning shouldn’t prevent us from being part of what AU has to offer. A resilient community won’t ever let an Eagle fly alone."
The Seagle jokes: "Since AU recently announced a 10 percent reduction in tuition for the fall semester, you might be wondering about the ways you can wisely spend the money you’re saving. In that case, you’ve come to the wrong place."
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The Eagle News:
In a personal update, The Eagle was ranked no. 19 in The Princeton’s Review’s rankings of Best College Newspapers for 2021. Thank you for all the kind words across social media, it means a lot to us as an organization. We can’t wait to share more of our work with you this semester.
Next week, we will be opening up our staff applications to join The Eagle for the fall semester. Be on the lookout across social media for that, as well.
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