One student discusses her transition into college life with a pandemic looming overhead

Morningside University Sophomore, Josie Dike, discusses the difficulties she faced coming into college while balancing making friends and staying safe through the Covid-19 scare.

Wyoming was relatively unaffected by the worldwide panic that hit because of the spreading Covid-19 virus. Mask mandates were not followed and the residents of Riverton, Wyoming did not conform to the quarantines that many others were facing.  Dike went from a state of little to no restrictions to one that took the impending pandemic very seriously. 

Morningside University began the school year with a mask mandate and a request that all students stay within their “family units”. Of the restrictions, dike stated that “It was frustrating going to college and not getting the freedom I thought I’d Have. I didn’t have an issue with the masks, It was more about how distancing made it harder to, make friends and be a part of the Morningside community.”

Dike was quarantined within the first few months of the semester. College students are known to struggle with mental health during their first few months at college. Many express feelings of anxiety and depression.

Dike stated that her mental health really took a dive due to her time in the Quarantine halls at Morningside University. “It began to feel like things were really hopeless because no one really knew what would happen next. In the long run, it made me stronger.”

On September 21st at 10:15 am I walked into the Khrone Advising center and entered the office of one Ms. Kim Sangwin. Sangwin is the Director of web development and digital strategy for Morningside University. Sangwin had three Morningside University T-shirts sitting on her desk as I entered her office. When asked what her favorite part of her job was Sangwin said “Helping people, That’s the goal.”

Later that morning at around 10:20 I walked up the stairs to lewis Hall and approached one miss Cassie Bates sitting at the front desk. When asked what her favorite quote was she said “Nobody goes to target and buys sad, It just comes and goes as it pleases” Bates stated that she “wanted to make a sticker out of that quote”. Cassie has a boutique where she sells all her sticker designs, the link to her boutique is located on her Instagram bio.

Cassie is a sophomore from Northeast, Nebraska. “It’s so small it’s not even on the map,” Bates stated.

Star Gymnasts give senators an unsparing account of the FBI’s failures on Larry Nassar Investigation.

The article details the ongoing court case of Larry Nasser at the senate judiciary committee and the failures of the FBI to properly investigate the claims of four elite gymnasts Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols, and Aly Raisman.

The article starts by detailing the events leading up to the court case, then provides quotes from each of the victim’s testimonies stating that “The FBI made me feel like my abuse didn’t count” The article goes into detail stating that the FBI failed to further investigate allegations made by these athletes leading to continued unchecked abuse. The reports filed by these gymnasts were not filed until months after the incidents had occurred.

I believe the author was very objective in the way they wrote this article. Nasser was already convicted at the time of this hearing. The question was not whether he did it, the question was whether the FBI did their job in investigating and protecting these athletes. If any opinions were given, they were direct quotes from the victims themselves. Further down the article, the author uses quotes from representatives defending the FBI’s actions. I believe they did this to ensure the integrity of the article, ensuring it did not come across as one-sided.

I liked how the article was organized, the structure made it very easy to follow along. The author put the facts of the case upfront and then selected a quote from each of the witnesses’ testimonies to place throughout the article. It was very informational, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the situation.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/simone-biles-mckayla-maroney-aly-raisman-senate-fbi-investigation-11631723958?mod=hp_lead_pos8

Nurses being fired across the United States over the Covid-19 Vaccination.

Shortly after the creation and FDA approval of the Covid-19 vaccine, hospitals across the country are implementing mandates on healthcare officials to get vaccinated. Healthcare workers from all areas respond with opposing views.

Peter Ramjung in a report from News@Noreastern.edu states that “Healthcare workers have been gradually coming around to COVID-19 vaccines, with one-third more people vaccinated since earlier in the year, but 27 percent of them are still unvaccinated, and 15 percent of the unvaccinated group are firmly opposed to immunizations.” The groups are divided into already vaccinated and strongly opposed to getting the vaccine. 

According to Ranjung those healthcare workers opposing the vaccine are either resigning or being dismissed from their positions. Skepticism surrounding the vaccine is now becoming a roadblock in the health care industry with it keeping nurses and doctors away from patients in need.

The reasons presented behind anti-vaccination are valid and healthcare professionals are demanding they be acknowledged. In an interview from yahoonews.com’s Marquise Francis, a Huston Methodist Hospital nurse, Jennifer Bridges, stated “I’m not anti-vax. I’ve had all my other vaccines, but this one was rushed, and it didn’t have the proper research,” Bridges said, adding, “I would rather take my chances rather than get the shot.” Under normal circumstances, it can take upward of 15 years to create a safe vaccine, and research for the Covid vaccine started in only March of 2021.

Others are worried about the reliability of the vaccine. With reports of the need for booster shots are we worried about breakthrough cases of Covid in people who received the vaccine? According to Francis the answer is a shaky no. “More than 156 million Americans have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of July 2, according to the CDC data tracker. Only a tiny fraction of people who have been vaccinated experience breakthrough cases.”

Another concern that many health care professionals are wary of is Myocarditis and Pericarditis. Both are known as severe inflammation of the heart and existing cases are known to be caused by the Covid vaccine. Both conditions are considered a rare side effect of the vaccine, but many health care professionals have deemed that it is a worthy cause for concern citing it as their reason for refusal of the vaccine.

Protests and boycotts of hospitals are being staged to combat the implementation and execution of the Covid-19 vaccination mandate. Nurses and doctors around the United States are being pushed out of their livelihoods and what many consider their “calling” in life. Uncertainty looms around the future of healthcare and the freedom to choose whether to be vaccinated.

https://news.yahoo.com/nurses-fired-for-not-getting-covid-19-vaccine-explain-their-rationale-202817653.html

https://www.wisn.com/article/some-nurses-willing-to-pay-hefty-price-to-not-get-covid-19-vaccine/37343992#

WOODBURY COUNTY, IA- 

Three injured, one dead in a two-car collision just two miles outside of Sioux City.

An Iowa man, Moyer Quick, was killed in a two-car collision heading east on Highway 28 at 11 a.m. Yesterday morning.

Quick collided with a truck driven by one Randy Radin of Swan Lake, IA. Three survivors were transported to Sioux City General. The two passengers were Dorothy quick of Sioux City and Maxine Steuerwald of Lawton were said to be in “good to fair condition” while randy was deemed to be in “Critical Condition” with a fractured skull and internal injuries.

An Iowa highway patrolman, Patric Stewart, stated that “Both vehicles were proceeding in a westerly direction on the two-lane highway. Quick passed the Radin vehicle but his rear-end struck Radin as he completed the pass. The impact sent both vehicles into the ditch on the north side of the road. Quick’s vehicle rolled once.” Further details of the accident are awaiting further investigation.