Biden Gives Go-Ahead On Airstrikes In Syria Amid A Flurry Of Controversy

Last Wednesday night President Joe Biden approved an airstrike that struck an Iranian-backed facility in Syria, amid bipartisan criticism on how to act. The move came weeks after Iran launched a missile at US targets in Iraq, killing a US contractor and wounding another service member. Following the initial Iranian attack, a first test of the Biden administration in the Middle East, some Senators from the Republican side saw blood in the water and pressed the President to take action. From Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) to Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), many Republicans voiced support for retaliating against the Iranian government. It wasn’t what happened during the retaliatory strike that frustrated Biden’s counterparts in Congress however, it was before the counterstrike. Only the congressional leadership, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) were notified before US action took place.

War powers have been a topic of much controversy and bipartisan debate on what the President can and can’t do without Congressional approval. Article 1 Section 8 of the United States Constitution states that Congress has the power “To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;”. Since President Biden didn’t consult with the full Congress, many like Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mike Lee (R-UT) believe this attack needs legal justification- at a minimum. This also upset progressive Democrats such as Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Ro Khanna (D-CA), who have always been vocal opponents of US involvement in the Middle East. Following a confirmation defeat and minimum wage knock by the Senate Parliamentarian, it has not been the start to the Biden presidency many were hoping for.

When Is The Vaccine Arriving On Campus? What We Know So Far.

Talk about the vaccine arriving to Saint Anselm College has been swirling on campus, but the vaccine might not be arriving any time soon. According to the COVID-19 support page on Canvas, the college may be getting the vaccine around March. But amid some road bumps in New Hampshire’s vaccine rollout, the likelihood seems slim. 

“I think I’d be surprised if [the vaccine arrives] in March,” said President Favazza. “I would say it’s more likely April or May than March, but we just don’t know. There’s so many unknowns with the vaccine rollout.” 

The estimated timeframe of New Hampshire’s vaccine distribution plan is heavily dependent on vaccine doses that are allocated from the federal government and how many people are vaccinated. 

The state of New Hampshire is currently in Phase 1B of it’s vaccine distribution plan, which includes residents 65 and older and medically vulnerable residents under 65. Phase 2B includes residents aged between 50 and 64 and those living in congregate living settings. The college has been designated as one of those living settings. 

“The state of New Hampshire has told us that we would be a point of distribution, but we would be a private point of distribution which means that we would only give the vaccine to our staff, faculty, and students.” explains Favazza. 

All students will receive the vaccine when it becomes available to the college, including those living off-campus and commuter students said Favazza. 

But while it is unclear when the vaccine will arrive on campus to vaccinate the Saint Anselm Community, the college wants to make clear that anyone who can get the vaccine, should get it. For example, nursing students, the monks living in the monastery, and Director of Health Services Maura Marshall have all been vaccinated. 

“I encourage everyone to get the vaccine whenever they can get it,” said Favazza. “The more that we have folks on campus with [the vaccine], it’s just gonna make sense that our numbers are going to go down,” 

Student Senate Seeks Greater Transparency From College Administration

At the third Senate meeting of the Spring 2021 semester, Sophomore Senator Christopher Demarkey presented a resolution regarding clarity around the phases of reopening. The resolution states the following, “Be it resolved, that the Student Senate, requests that school administrators provide information regarding the necessary conditions and/or requirements in order to transition between the colored operating phases implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Senator Demarkely verbalized that there is “no information what-so-ever” on the guidelines to move out of Phase Orange and into a new phase. He also argued that it would be helpful for Saint Anselm students to know what these conditions are so students can know what to advocate for and encourage their peers to do. When Dean Finn, the advisor to the SGA, was asked if she had any comments on this resolution, she told the Senate that she “didn’t have anywhere to point students to” regarding any sort of guidelines and she wished to provide no further comment on this resolution. 

After President Rit Flandreau and others expressed concerns that Covid-19 is just too unpredictable for a set list of conditions to move phases to be created, Welfare Committee Chair Tyler Cullen replied, “All we are asking for is a rough sketch… no definitive numbers. We are completely in the dark right now.” Vice President of the Class of 2022, Jackson Peck, expressed a similar sentiment and said that “there is no benchmark.” Academic Committee Chair Aidan Pierce pointed out that it is the Covid Analytics Team (CAT) that evaluates what phase the campus should be on and one of their major concerns is the quarantine and isolation rooms filling up. Given the limitations of available quarantine and isolation spaces on campus, if cases continue to rise it will only reduce the potential for loosening of restrictions and movement between phases. The resolution passed through the Senate with 18/20 Senators in agreement. 

When Senator Demarkey was asked, “What made you want to create this resolution and propose it to the Senate, he responded, “I wanted to create this resolution since many people, including myself, have no idea how we can advance out of the orange phase. I figured the Senate would be the best forum to voice this concern while also letting administrators know that we are always checking out what is going on and what they say and do. In bringing this to the Senate and discussing it with a member of the higher-ups at this school present, I was looking to apply pressure for some change.” In speaking about his resolution, Senator Demarkey also said,, “What I think and hope will happen is this news will be relayed to CAT, who will begin to provide some rough outline of what the standards are. As I said when discussing the resolution, I don’t expect nor do I care if there is/isn’t a phase change immediately- I just wanted more information about the process CAT goes through.” 

Bernice King Speaks to SAC Students at NSLS Event

Bernice King, daughter of famous racial justice activist Martin Luther King Jr, graced Saint Anselm students on Tuesday night with a presentation, detailing the King Center, which was founded by her mother, Coretta King. During the presentation, she touched upon the current racial issues of our time and the importance of never giving in, for everyone faces some form of adversity in the developing, complex world that could be aided by overcoming the boundaries of diversity.

King talked about her creation of the movement ‘be loved,’ where she is trying to redefine the term love to be more inclusive of diversity, while also committing to ensuring racial justice. King hopes to inspire others and humanity to love, care, and build communities instead of dividing and building barriers against others. She even offered an interactive element to her broadcast which gave three students from different chapters of NSLS, the chance to join her ‘be loved’ program and directly interact with the King Center and its members.

Thank you to the Saint Anselm chapter of the National Society of Leadership and Success for offering this wonderful broadcast to the entire Saint Anselm community!

If The Past Is Prologue, Saint Anselm College Is In For Another Rough Semester

The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Some of the current policies at Saint Anselm College are the epitome of that tried failure. 

This past year has tested everyone – literally every person on earth. A pandemic few saw coming has devastated many, including myself. I had the unfortunate circumstance of grief after my grandfather caught the virus and passed away- something still extremely tough for my family. There are no words to fully describe the chaos and misery brought on the human race by this virus. Schools like Saint Anselm College, however, gave us hope by taking the great first step in announcing in-person classes for the fall semester of 2020. This well-received news was going to give students the opportunity to see friends again, learn, and escape isolation. 

Students knew a lot would be different on campus when they moved back in August, but this was only the beginning. A lot was going to be different arriving on campus this past August, as we the students knew that, starting with move-in. Phased-in and spanned out over 2 weeks, students were constrained to just their rooms and could not eat in the dining halls. After the 2 cases were identified during move-in, the campus was Covid free, with most still in compliance. “Following a surveillance phase when the harshest of restrictions were lifted, the same was true, Saint Anselm was COVID free yet again.”. Inter visitation, however, was not reinstated. Students could not travel within their own dorms, which, unlike other schools, are already segregated by gender. With few alternatives of socialization on campus, some left to get quality time with friends. These actions put everyone in jeopardy of catching COVID, which was spotted shortly after. The rest of the semester, we, the students, never got intervis, and cases continued to grow…

As part of the SGA Student Response Task Force, my fellow Anselmians and I put in countless hours to gather student feedback on the semester and offer solutions in an effort headed up by Student Body Vice President Kevin Chrisom. Let me be clear, this was not a bunch of rowdy college kids simply upset they couldn’t go to the bars. Over the months of work, we heard from over 400 students in student-led discussions and polls conducted on social media platforms. We looked at the data and realized being frustrated at the policies was not a minority view. Almost everyone, spanning grade, sex, major- you name it and we spoke to, was unhappy with how the semester had been going. 

In the middle of November, it was announced by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna that a vaccine had been created and was over 90% effective and possessed few negative side effects. Once we hit December, thousands had been getting their first dose every day, ramping up to a million doses per day by President Biden’s Inauguration. Anyone over the age of 65 in New Hampshire who wanted a vaccine could get one around this time-  including the Monks of Saint Anselm Abbey. It would only make sense to relax restrictions for the second semester, right? You would be wrong if you thought so. After rolling out a new color phase policy, where restrictions are either loosened or tightened depending on the phase, once again students were led to believe things might be different this semester.

Once again, cases were contained and isolated during move-in, with few cases following for the first two weeks. This is indicative of the Anselmian community- the vast majority of students willing to sacrifice basic freedoms we had last year to create a bubble. What happened when this bubble was created? Nothing. In an email sent out on February 12th, a Friday afternoon, we were informed by President Favazza we would not be moving out of phase orange, a phase that still does not allow for intervis outside of one’s dorm hall. What happened the week after this announcement? A blistering 17 cases, most likely because students realized our lives would not be changing, like the semester before, and were more than willing to leave campus to socialize. I do not condone going out to bars during COVID, but it is beyond understandable considering the lack of incentives to stay on campus. For students, no matter how hard we try, it feels like nothing will change, as nothing has. The administration may feel good about the status quo, but students do not. The real question is, what will be left when the dust settles on this semester? What has really been provided to students? To this day, we still do not know what it takes to move in and out of the phases. We’ve been here a month! Do administrators not remember who they work for? How much longer will students be subjugated to their “family units”? People are beyond done with the lack of transparency, and the brutal restrictions. 

In polls conducted 2 weeks ago by the SAC Student Response Task Force, 52% of students said they had a “negative” overall experience this semester, with 48% saying they were having a positive experience. The same poll was conducted on November 2nd, 2020 with 72% of respondents saying they had a “Positive” experience. That is a 24% swing in the opposite direction. In another poll regarding opinion on restrictions, 89% of students said the restrictions currently in place are “too strict”, with 11% saying they are “too lax”. Both polls combined garnered over 130 student responses. It’s time for this administration to realize the negative effects these policies have on the student body, particularly with both student morale and student mental health (cases of depression and anxiety have spiked country-wide since last March). We all want the same thing- a strong and vibrant Anselmian community. Without that, there is no Saint Anselm College.

COVID-19 Update: An Outbreak Amid New Changes to Saint Anselm College’s COVID Policies and Protocols

As new COVID-19 cases in New Hampshire are tracked to its colleges and universities, Saint Anselm College finds itself included in the upward trend. At the 11th meeting of the Student Senate at the start of the week, President Favazza expressed optimism that the college would be able to enter yellow phase. However, after an uptick in cases, the college will remain in orange phase for the time being.

“We’re up to 20 something [COVID-19 cases this week]. Which we’ve never had, even in the fall semester, we’re gonna stay in orange for now,” said Favazza. “We just got to see some trending in the right direction. We’re not looking for zero positives. We’re looking for small numbers to take some pressure off of our isolation and quarantine space.” 

In reaction to an extreme uptick of cases on their campuses, the University of New Hampshire, Franklin Pierce University, along with others, have gone fully remote in an effort to keep their communities safe. 

On the college’s COVID-19 dashboard, Favazza noted phase red was there for a reason. “If it keeps going up, [phase red] is absolutely on the table,” said Favazza. “I’m hoping that we don’t get there.” 

What’s changed on campus?

After listening to student concerns and an unprecedented fall semester, Saint Anselm College implemented new policies and protocols to try to better address COVID-19. With these changes comes the phase reopening system, increased testing capacity, and efforts for more transparency  between the administration and the student body. 

What has not changed is the college’s need for a “bubble.” The addition of two testing machines has significantly increased the college’s testing capacity. “For move-in testing, we did 400 a day, which is a lot. And then when we repeated to secure the bubble, we did it again,” says Maura Marshall, director of Health Services.

With the increase in testing capacity, the college can more often test students that are higher-risk than others, such as commuters and athletes. With regards to other students that live on campus and do not have to leave for other commitments such as internships or medical appointments, they are tested alphabetically.

“We have certain students that are frequently traveling off-campus, so they go once a week, and then the other ones, we fill in through the alphabet.”

“That’s where people are getting [COVID-19], they’re getting it from off-campus” noted Marshall. “They’re leaving campus frequently, so we want to keep testing them on a regular basis.

In an email to discourage students from leaving campus, Director of Department of Safety and Security, Rob Browne, it was announced that a third-party security firm would be staffed at entry points to campus, during Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. 

As draconian as the effort sounded, the gates are meant to be a reminder to not leave campus, rather than a real, physical, security checkpoint. “Even though it may feel like it, we are not a prison,” Favazza said, laughing. “We’re not gonna put fences up, spotlights, guard dogs and everything else.” 

Favazza stressed that the risk of leaving campus is not only the possibility of outbreaks on campus, but also spreading COVID-19 to the surrounding area that is not a part of the Saint Anselm community. The rise of COVID-19 cases in NH colleges serves as a reminder that students also have a responsibility to protect others and keep the local community safe as well, said Favazza. 

GameStop – To The Moon, Or To The Pavement?

Gamestop, NYSE: GME, increased from $17.25 on Jan. 4 to $347.51 on Jan. 27 at closing after being fueled by Reddit traders from r/wallstreetbets, WSB.

On Jan. 28, Robinhood and other stock trading apps banned the buying of heavily shorted stocks, such as GME, causing a decrease to $63.77 as of closing on Feb. 5.

WSB’s investment into shorted stocks such as GME began when Keith Gill, known as u/DeepFuckingValue, began posting his gains and losses to the subreddit in mid-2019. Gill’s success in mid-December and the subreddit’s belief that GME was undervalued, prompted other members to begin investing and holding the stock. This increase in price was not only because millions of redditors bought the stock, but also because these stocks were heavily shorted.

On Jan. 22, 140% of GME stock was shorted by hedge funds, such as Melvin Capital. When a stock is shorted, investors borrow a share of a company and sell it. When the short contract expires and the investor must return the stock to the seller, he must buy the stock back. If he buys it back for less than he sold it, he makes a profit. However, if the price goes up, he suffers a loss. Short positions can provide a large amount of profit if successful, but if unsuccessful, the potential loss is infinite. When these stocks sharply increase, a short squeeze can occur.

A squeeze forces investors to buy their shorted stock back otherwise losses will compound. If sellers decide to hold, then the price will increase. Melvin Capital, the largest short seller of GME, has lost 53% of its assets since the stock increased and was bailed out by Citadel at a price of $2 billion. Citadel, Melvin Capital, and other hedge funds had to prevent an increase in GME stock.

Robinhood, the most popular trading app used by WSB, made nearly $700 million from selling user data to hedge funds and Citadel purchased 55.06% of Robinhood’s market orders, according to Robinhood’s 2020 SEC filing. To prevent their biggest customers from losing money, apps such as Robinhood forbade the purchase of shorted stocks like GME. When Robinhood finally lifted their ban on GME, the damage was already done.

Last week when WSB lost millions, fear, uncertainty, and doubt began to plague these traders. WSB still has faith that the short squeeze has not occurred and they are holding fast claiming that GME will still go to the moon. Friday gave them hope as GME increased 24.3%. In addition to Friday’s gains, GME’s upcoming short interest report is scheduled for publication on February 9th. 

While the future of GME remains unclear, WSB continues to believe its research is correct. If last week has proven anything, it is that hedge funds will do everything in their power, legal or otherwise, to prevent losses. 

Only time will tell how GME stock will fare.

Brady Wins 7th Ring as Bucs Dismantle Chiefs 31-9

If anyone was trying to make an argument that Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. wasn’t the greatest quarterback to ever put on the pads and helmet, they will surely have to come to terms with the fact that they were mistaken. The 43-year-old quarterback put up yet another Super Bowl-winning performance (201 yds, 3 TD) as the Buccaneers won their first championship since 2002 and their second in franchise history. 

The chemistry between Brady and partner in crime Rob Gronkowski (6 catches for 67 yards) was on full display as the two connected for two touchdowns in the first half, with another former Patriot, Antonio Brown, catching Brady’s other touchdown pass. Leonard Fournette (16 carries for 89 yards) added a score on the ground in the third quarter to round out the Bucs’ touchdown scoring efforts.

The Tampa Bay defense will more than likely not receive the credit they deserve for shutting down Patrick Mahomes (270 yds, 2 INT) and the rest of the dynamic Kansas City offense. The Chiefs were completely kept out of the end zone, an impressive feat considering the scoring success the team has enjoyed under Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid. Travis Kelce, who had ten catches for 130 yards, managed to find some success in an otherwise disastrous night for the offense. The story of this matchup was much different than that of their first in Week 12, where Mahomes threw for 462 yards and three touchdowns with Tyreek Hill hauling in all three scores in the first half as the Chiefs were victorious 27-24. 

There’s no doubt that Mahomes and the Chiefs will be back. However, as long as the ageless Brady is still suiting up, the road to the Lombardi will never be an easy one.