SHARE:  
Join Our Email List
AY 2020-21, Issue XXVII | April 16, 2021
Chyna Brodie is a candidate for AUSG President
COURTESY OF CHYNA BRODIE
This is the latest edition of our newsletter covering our work from April 9 to April 15. To read any of these stories and more, check out our main website or our coronavirus website, which covers news related to the pandemic. 

We’re proud to announce that The Eagle has won two Society of Professional Journalists Region 2 Mark of Excellence Awards for 2020:



By: Isabel Wolff (iwolff@theeagleonline.com)
The Eagle Explains: Intentions for a new semester
By: Clare Mulroy, Incoming editor-in-chief (cmulroy@theeagleonline.com)

As soon as I heard the news that I was selected as the incoming editor-in-chief for the 2021-2022 school year, my first thought was “I have big shoes to fill.” 

As EIC, Sophie Austin has lifted us to new heights in diversity of coverage, staff and overall innovation amid a global pandemic without our physical newsroom. She created our Spanish initiative, El Águila, and strengthened our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts with concise and productive meetings. In her final letter from the editor, Sophie thanks our staff and community for the past year, but I want to thank Sophie for being a great friend and mentor during the past year not only for myself, but for the rest of our staff.

I hope to pick up on the same page Sophie leaves us off on. 

My intentions for this year are two-fold, focusing both externally and internally. I want to strengthen and diversify our coverage so that it lends itself to material our student body wants to read and needs to know. In a time where the press is under such scrutiny, it is important to me that we are a publication that our readers trust and see themselves represented in. I hope to accomplish this by continuing our efforts with El Águila and adding on a new managing editor position for the section. I will also continue Sophie’s legacy in strengthening our DEI group by requiring all managing editors to attend and become liaisons for their section. DEI efforts should extend to every reach of our coverage and team. 

Our entire community of students and faculty will also undoubtedly face difficulties translating operations back onto campus as the pandemic winds down. My other intention with this coming school year is to work on internal changes and establish an environment where our staff feels seen, heard and included. Aside from giving me invaluable experience and skill, The Eagle has granted me a family and network of friends who are some of my greatest allies and are valuable to my college experience. I want to give the same experience that I’ve had to others. I want staffers to feel at ease the second they walk into The Eagle office the way I do. 

To those of you who are mourning the loss of community while we continue online, I hear and understand you. If you’re looking for a community upon your return and want to experience the kind of teamwork and friendship that we have on our staff, I encourage you to apply. Whether you’re a journalist or have an interest in creating media and storytelling with other mediums such as graphic design or video, there is a space here for you at The Eagle. 

I am honored to begin this exciting and challenging position come Monday, and I look forward to helping this organization grow every day. 

COVID-19 Update:
  • On April 12, nine COVID-19 cases were reported by the University for the week of April 5. There have been a total of 159 cases reported for the spring semester. Seven of the previous week’s cases were reported from students living off-campus, and one case was from faculty and staff. One case was reported among students living on campus. There have been over 22,500 tests administered so far this semester, and nearly 2,500 tests were done last week. 
News:
  • The University announced that all American University students who reside on campus or come to campus in the fall must provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccination, in an email on Wednesday evening. 

  • AU announced details Wednesday on its plans to host in-person commencement ceremonies for both the Cass of 2020 and the Class of 2021. Commencement will also have both virtual and in-person celebrations over the first three weekends in May to celebrate those that have graduated amid the pandemic. 

  • Chyna Brodie has been elected AUSG President with 65 percent of the vote. Brodie focused her campaign around the tenets of advocacy, community and transparency, and plans to uplift BIPOC voices in every aspect of her work. Javon Darrien was elected vice president, Max Rubin as comptroller and Maanasi Natarajan as secretary.

  • Students participating in the Mid-Semester Residential Experience reflect on their time on campus and the enforcement of COVID-19 safety guidelines a month into the program.

  • AU had the second-highest number of applications received in its history this year. The University expects to welcome around 2,005 first-year students for the class of 2025.

  • Per a recent announcement from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, all D.C. residents over the age of 16, including AU students, are now eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Pre-registration is open now.

  • Author and human rights activist Chanel Miller spoke to the AU community on April 8 at a virtual event hosted by the AUSG Women's Initiative. Miller discussed her book "Know My Name: A Memoir" and the power of healing through art.

  • Michael Brenner, Director of the Center for Israel Studies at AU, is the first recipient of the Baron Award for Scholarly Excellence in Research on the Jewish Experience, an award described as the Nobel Prize of its field.

  • Club Feature: The Sikh Student Association provides a space where Sikh students can connect with other people of similar backgrounds, experiences and values. The club's leaders, who are both seniors, hope that the SSA continues engaging with activism after their graduation this spring.

  • For the second installment of its Women of Color Trailblazers series, The Blackprint hosted esteemed voting rights activist LaTosha Brown on April 7.
Life:

  • Silver Screen: Free screenings of the 2020 film "Promising Young Woman" will be available to all college students on Thursday through a partnership with Focus Features and the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

  • Spring has finally arrived, and finals are just around the corner. Check out these five book recommendations that you can take a break from studying to lay in the sunshine with.

  • AU's Department of Performing Arts debuted its new musical "Too Much Unhappy" over Zoom on April 2 and 3. Award-winning playwright and AU professor Aaron Posner wrote and directed the production.

  • Silver Screen: "Voyagers," a newly released film set in 2063, presents the audience with questions regarding human survival rates in the future.

Sports:

  • The Eagle compiled an oral history of men’s basketball alum Andre Ingram’s career. Interviews with his family, teammates and coaches help explain his rise from an all-time leading scorer at AU to his Lakers debut.

  • The men's soccer team has secured their spot in the Patriot League championship after defeating Loyola 3-2 on Wednesday. This is the first time since 2016 that the Eagles will make a championship appearance.

  • Jason Borrelli has been hired as AU wrestling's new head coach, the University announced on Tuesday. Borelli was formerly the head wrestling coach for Stanford University for 13 seasons. 

  • The women's soccer team tied with Navy in double overtime last Friday, marking the end of its 2021 season. Head coach Marsha Harper says this season is a culmination of the year’s efforts and a look at what’s to come in the future.
Opinion:

  • Staff Editorial: "As the University starts to notify students who were affected by the data exposure, it has an obligation to be transparent about the multiple mistakes made that resulted in this situation."

  • Opinion: "In both the classroom setting and within our interpersonal relationships, we have the power to challenge each other to think critically about the type of language we use."

  • Opinion: "The University has a duty not only to us as students, but to the city as a whole, to get us vaccinated."

  • Opinion: "AU students are interested in and want to hear from the government that represents them, but AUSG must give them the ability to do so."

  • Satire: “Lane maintains that she is being extremely safe, though has since retracted her previous statement that she is the safest person she knows.
El Águila:

  • Opinión: “Todos jugamos un rol en la realidad social que construimos para cada individuo y en el caso de la mujer estamos fallando.”