The University News By Students, For Students. Since 1921
SLU graduate workers file for union elections, hoping to improve working conditions Carlee Smith, Contributor
Graduate student workers at Saint Louis University When Schaub started her graduate studies at SLU in pay increase in about 12 years. In February 2023, the graduate workers had an open filed a petition for union elections with the National 2022, she said she quickly noticed that student workers forum with the provost to discuss their frustrations. Labor Relations Board on Oct. 21, hoping to secure were struggling to make ends meet. “It was a handful of us at first, we started looking better wages, health care and job security. “It did not take me very long to realize that most for people in other departments in the university, and The student workers want to join a national of the other grad students in my department who had we started talking to people who knew about local movement of academic workers represented by the been here for more than a year just seemed really tired United Automobile Workers (UAW), a union that and demoralized,” Schaub said. “They were giving me labor organizers,” Schaub said. “Eventually we had advocates for science research funding, fair visa and advice on things like what food banks to go to and where enough organizers that we were ready to partner with a immigration policies and better working conditions at I could sell plasma because these were things they were larger union, in our case, UAW.” Schaub was a part of a graduate student worker academic institutions across the country. having to do routinely.” Eileen Schaub, a teaching assistant for introductory Graduate student workers were becoming fatigued union at the University of Connecticut where she biology and ecology labs, said she wants to join the under their employment conditions, Schaub said. SLU received her masters. student worker union so she can have a seat at the table made changes to their health insurance which increased Read more on A2, Unionization during discussions about benefits and compensation. their copays. The graduate students also have not had a
The University News / Lauren Hutchens
Saint Louis University graduate student workers, professors and local union members demonstrate at the May Day rally at the Clock Tower on on May 1, 2024. The graduate students are set to vote on unionization in early Novem-
U
Nov. 1, 2024 Issue 273
Some faculty and graduate students are anxious after recent round of layoffs Jack Cipfl, Staff Writer Ulaa Kuziez, News Editor Lauren Hutchens, Editor-In-Chief
After Saint Louis University laid off 23 staff members in October, faculty and staff morale has weakened, leaving some uncertain about their future at the university. SLU also cut expenses by 4%, or about $20 million, this fiscal year, and plans to cut an additional $40 million over the next two years. These cuts have delayed faculty raises originally scheduled to take effect Oct. 1 to January. It remains unclear how the cuts have affected specific academic departments and administrative divisions. Overall, faculty and graduate students have concerns related to the number of adjunct instructors allotted to departments for the spring semester, implications for their workload, and funding for research as the university moves toward R1 research status. Staff from six administrative divisions and two schools lost their jobs, according to an Oct. 18 university statement, which did not name the offices in which cuts were made. The University News confirmed that five people were laid off in the Office of the Provost, at least three in the Office of the Vice President for Research and one in the Student Involvement Center. The UNews is continuing to confirm where others were laid off. University administrators have said they are committed to making transparent, faculty-focused decisions about budget cuts, but faculty fear future budget cuts may directly affect their ability to balance teaching and research. Arts and Sciences Faculty Council President Ruben Rosario-Rodriguez said that unequal pay across departments has hindered faculty unity. “The climate among faculty is not good. I talked to one tenured faculty member who is budgeting month to month,” Rosario-Rodriguez said. “There’s a huge inequality between salaries depending on the department. For many STEM faculty, if salaries are unaffected, they may be very happy with the way things are going. But for those who may even be at the top of their field in the humanities, their salaries are barely keeping up with inflation.” Fewer adjunct positions awarded to departments The College of Arts and Sciences only approved 40% of the adjunct requests that were made by its departments for the spring 2025 semester. Adjuncts are typically hired
Read more on A2, Budget
Opinion Opinion Opinion Opinion Opinion
Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports
Arts & Life Arts & Life Arts & Life Arts & Li
Why I voted for Kamala Harris for president
First impressions: New look at men’s basketball
CHROMAKOPIA, CHROMAKOPIA!
Mariya Yasinovska, Opinion Editor
Ismael Domin, Sports Editor
I voted for Vice President Kamala Harris for president, and I think you should too. This year’s election is unlike any in recent memory. For many U.S. citizens, it’s a defining moment, and as a woman, an immigrant and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, this was not a decision I made lightly. This election is not just about policy differences but about the very survival of democracy, civil rights and the protection of minority communities. I voted for Harris not because I agree with her on every single issue, but because the stakes are far too high to risk a return to a Trump-led America. Women in politics are constantly held to impossible standards that men, especially white men (who dominate American politics), rarely face. Harris, as both a woman and a woman of color, is subject to scrutiny far beyond what’s applied to Trump or even male leaders within her own party. While Trump can openly make inflammatory comments and maintain his base, Harris’s every word and move is dissected with an intensity that suggests women must be above reproach to even be considered competent. Unlike Trump, whose supporters often disregard his past actions, Harris faces a huge double standard, judged by expectations that her male colleagues do not meet. She faces an even higher bar than Hillary Clinton did, as Harris’s identity brings additional prejudice — she’s a target not only as a woman but as a Black and South Asian woman, forced to navigate biases that compound Read more on B3, Kamala
Aiden DeSpain, Arts & Life Editor
The Saint Louis University’s Men’s Basketball team drive inside seemingly ended in either a turnover or a took the court for two exhibition games on Oct. 18 and poor shot for the Billikens. Swope finished the first half Oct. 25 against Rockhurst and Maryville. Despite early with four points, three turnovers and zero assists, against woes, new head coach Josh Schertz is confident in the Hawthorne’s four steals. new-looking Billikens. Swope spoke after the game about his play during Schertz’s career with the Billikens started with the first half. disaster when star junior transfer Robbie Avila was “I think I came out too lackadaisical, not playing with injured during a scrimmage. Avila’s sprained ankle kept a sense of urgency,” Swope said. “I just gotta be better.” him out of the Oct. 18 game against Rockhurst. The Schertz voiced his disapproval of Swope’s play during six-foot-10 center returned from injury to start against the postgame presser. “You can’t jog back in transition Maryville, delivering 12 points and 7 rebounds in 17 and give up two layups. On top of the turnovers,” Schertz minutes and holding opposing center Francisco Espinosa said. scoreless on 0-of-5 shooting from the floor. Avila joined Schertz spoke on how he motivated his players Schertz from Indiana State, along with sophomore guard during halftime to produce such a shift in play. Jaden Schertz and senior guard Isaiah Swope. Avila was “Yeah, nothing I can share in here though,” Schertz named to the Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team along joked. “Most of the adjustments were mental and with SLU veteran guard Gibson Jimmerson. Swope was mentality adjustments.” named to the Third Team. SLU would come back in the second half to blow out SLU’s mettle was tested against Rockhurst. SLU Rockhurst 86-65, with Swope putting together 10 points finished the first half down 30-33 against the Division II and three assists with zero turnovers. Other secondHawks. Due to Avila’s absence, sophomore guard Kellen half heroes included senior guard Kobe Johnson and Thames took the opening tip-off against Rockhurst’s Dan freshman guard Amari McCottry, who combined for Carr, with junior forward Kalu Anya serving as Carr’s 25 second-half points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. primary defender throughout the game. Carr put up 11 Both showed out defensively, including McCottry rising points and six rebounds against the Billikens in the first up for a monstrous stuff block against Carr to preserve a half, shooting 5-of-9 from the field. SLU run. “[McCottry] and Kobe both can really give ball The five-foot-10-inch Swope struggled against Brian handlers trouble. And then they both have the size and Hawthorne’s six-foot-two, 175 lbs. frame and physical physicality to switch,” Schertz said. defense. Every possession where Swope attempted to Some players showed impressive potential during
Why you shouldn’t vote
The University News
Read more on B1, CHROMAKOPIA
The history and legacy of One Direction Reegan Johnson, Copy Editor
Joseph Glaser, Senior Writer I find it absurd that even if no one voted, there would still be a president elected. In America, we are promised the freedom of democracy and the power to choose our leaders. So why do so many people still feel like their vote doesn’t matter? We have all heard that the popular vote does not determine the presidential election, the electoral college does, but what purpose does the popular vote then serve to begin with? The Electoral College was created to balance voting power in the states. It puts the power of the state’s vote into the hands of a few “electors” who are determined ambiguously by political parties. This system, essentially, sets up a barrier between people’s power over the presidential election and the power of political parties to determine who becomes the leader of America for the coming years. No wonder people feel their vote no longer matters nowadays because, at the federal level, it literally does not. There have been multiple occasions where a candidate has won the popular vote yet lost the Electoral College. While the system was made in good heart, it is clear that it can be easily manipulated to fit a political Max Pikaar throws it down over Rockhurst’s Arol Kacuol on Oct. 18. agenda. Read more on B3, Don’t vote Read more on A4, Basketball
It is here. “CHROMAKOPIA” is Tyler, The Creator’s 7th solo album, and as to be expected, it tops his previous six projects with magical composition and lyricism that leaves listeners wanting more. The album includes mostly hidden features from the following artists: Daniel Caesar, Teezo Touchdown, Childish Gambino, Schoolboy Q, Doechii, Lil Wayne, GloRilla and Sexyy Red, the last five of whom have full verses. Some recurring topics on the album include pregnancy scares, parental trauma, lack of privacy, sexual deviancy and an inability to practice monogamy. Inside his fear of commitment, he questions whether he is simply afraid to be intimate with someone or if he is interested in polyamorous relationships, with the idea that he is simply afraid to get that close with someone or that he is interested in polyamorous relationships. The album rollout was quick, with only enough time for two singles — “Noid” and “St. Chroma” — prior to the album release. The former, the third song on the album, comes out swinging. Tyler struggles with the paranoia associated with extreme fame and the associated lack of privacy, narrating not trusting people romantically and advocating for nearly solely physical relationships to avoid being “trapped” with pregnancy. While the song was initially widely accepted by fans,
The University News / Emma Duman
British-Irish boy band, One Direction, was a phenomenon: Dubbed “the internet’s first boy band,” the group found profound, and retrospectively unexpected, success in the early 2010s. Composed of five members, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik, the iconic pop band had a shortlived five-year career before taking an indefinite hiatus in 2015. The band members got their start in an extremely unassuming way, not only for the time, but also in a way that has yet to be recreated on the same large scale. They were brought together on the London-based talent show “X-Factor” as individual contestants who failed to progress past the bootcamp stage of the show. Individually, each member was light-years away from being a pop star prodigy. Average-at-best singers, dancers and overall performers, their stage presence lacked the confidence and fine-tuning that a solo act needs to command the industry. Yet, producers saw an undeniable glimpse of talent and pushed the five of them forward as a group. Although an “X-factor” victory surpassed them, the stardom of what was next for them was incomparable to any award they could have been granted. From that humble start, One Direction stumbled into immediate success. Their first-ever release “What Read more on B1, One Direction
A1