THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2025 VOLUME 99 ISSUE 8
LA VIDA
LA VIDA
SPORTS
Electrical engineering student Ethan Anderson has spearheaded the revival of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers robotics team.
Texas Tech students and professors discuss what halting penny minting in the United States could mean following President Donald Trump’s Feb. 9 executive order.
Ivan Ortiz, Texas Tech football’s first team barber, got his start with a borrowed pair of clippers.
Texas Tech has introduced the department of Interdisciplinary Human Sciences and named Nichole Morelock as its founding chair.
A columnist at the DT offers their opinion on President Donald Trump’s decision to pause military aid to Ukraine.
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NEWS
OPINION
Red Raiders create global impact INTERNATIONAL
Students for Justice in Palestine fundraises for Gaza resident By BRAXTON CASTLES
Digital Content Manager
Over a year ago, Gaza’s towers filled the sky. Now, Adhem said, only two towers reach the skyline. Of the many buildings destroyed, Adhem, a 21-year-old Palestinian, said his apartment was one of them. Adhem asked his last name be removed. At first, Adhem said he replaced the glass each time it broke. That was until the efforts seemed to become redundant, and he settled for plastic tarps. Currently stuck in his warruined apartment along the Gaza Strip, he is applying for a transfer document to Egypt for displaced individuals in Gaza. “We began to put tarps and blankets over the window as a temporary solution,” Adhem said. “Some walls were destroyed between me and my neighbors, so I boarded it up with plywood I found on the street.” Texas Tech’s Students for Justice in Palestine is fundraising to aid Adhem in affording the transfer document.
Adhem’s interview with The Daily Toreador was translated by Lubbock local Hazem Alhattawi. While Adhem lives 6,971 miles away, his story made it to Tech’s SJP organization. His need for a transfer document has only increased after the ceasefire, which went into effect on Jan. 19, ended on March 18 by a surprise bombing from Israel. “A d h e m got connected to
us through Asmaa (a member of SJP),” said Sam Fursanebusaad, a senior chemical engineering student from Dallas and SJP president. “They know each
other from an online languagepractice chat room.” Last semester, SJP decided philanthropy would be a major part of the year-old organization at Tech, with its goal to help provide a small sense of relief through financial aid. SJP started raising money with Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, where they earned $2,864 for eight families. “ We decided that
we want to help individuals in Gaza who we are directly connected to, like Adhem,” said Yessenia Cantero, a junior creative media industries student from Lubbock and SJP creative director. “We want to help bring any sense of relief we can.” Adhem said growing up, he became accustomed to a different type of stability in the middle of on-and-off again wars. “You adjust,” he said. Adhem grew up in the State of Palestine, which has been in a 76-year conflict with Israel over issues such as territorial occupation along the Gaza Strip and West Bank, water rights, security, regime differences and more according to the United Nations website. “I would take a small little Vespa to get me from home to school,” Adhem said. “But the bombings took everything away. The college (Islamic University of Gaza) is in ruins, and I had to put my goals on hold to survive.” SEE INTERNATIONAL, PG. 2
PHILANTHROPY
Tech pitcher launches cancer-awareness campaign
By ANDREW GOODRICH Sports Reporter
Texas Tech pitcher Zach Crotchfelt is spearheading a cancer-awareness campaign through Tech baseball, the most recent addition to a life he’s dedicated to serving others. Crotchfelt’s WREC CANCER campaign is aimed at raising money for children fighting cancer, a disease that hits close to home for the Jackson, New Jersey, native. “I have so many family members that have had to deal with different types of cancer,” Crotchfelt said. “There’s so many people that have had to deal with it, that a lot of people can relate. I know a lot of people would be willing to support. We’ve been dealing with
it for so long let’s try and figure out an answer.” The junior pitcher is donating $3 for every strikeout the Red Raiders’ pitching staff throws during the season. Each dollar goes to Covenant Hospital to help children and their families with treatment, meals or any things they might need. The idea was inspired by former Auburn University teammate Chris Stanfield, whose Hats off 3 campaign donated $3
to the Miracle League of East Alabama every time his hat flew off. C r o t c h f e l t ’s t e a m g o a l i s 6 5 0 strikeouts. The program is at 165 strikeouts as of March 27, according to Tech Athletics. Although he was nervous to introduce the idea, due to the financial and time commitment, Crotchfelt said he was ecstatic when the staff embraced it. “My initial thing was, ‘I want everyone to be involved,. This isn’t just my thing. I love all you guys, and I want everyone to be involved and all of us to do something good,’” Crotchfelt said. SEE PHILANTHROPY, PG. 4
FUNDRAISING
Tech student tackles nutrient deficiencies in India By MARIANNA SOURIALL Editor-in-Chief
Texas Tech student Shristi Subudhi dreams of becoming a pediatrician, but she isn’t waiting for the white coat to begin helping others. A believer in affordable health care around the world, Subudhi started Power Up With Protein. The fundraiser is designed to
support families in India facing protein deficiencies derived from a primarily plant-based diet. Her goal is to raise $5,000 via GoFundMe to buy protein packs for families within Odisha, India, assisting with the financial burden. “This project is really to highlight that there are developing countries that need this support,” Subudhi, a second-year from San
Antonio, said. “If we can support, it's great to do so and be a part of something bigger outside of yourself. It’s just helping out as much as you can, wherever you can.” She was first connected to the town through her father who grew up in Odisha. The village is considered to be in rural India where inflation is high and access to health care is low, Subudhi said. While she knows people are
wary of making monetary donations, Subudhi said she hopes the personal tie will show others she is closely connected to the residents there. Budankayala Subudhi, her father, said despite being 25 years removed from the town, people in Odisha still recognize him and his family as the town is small and everyone is acquainted. However, just as the small-
town feeling has not changed, the dietary issues have not been resolved either. “There, it is expensive, and also it’s not easily available for the rural areas,” Budankayala Subudhi said. “They’re not even aware of them (proteins), and they don’t even let the doctor prescribe proteins because of the cost.” SEE FUNDRAISING, PG. 2
LOCAL
RCOS members volunteer with children in need By JACOB LUJAN
Managing, Multimedia Editor
Ashlynn Franks began her two-hour shift at Family Promise of Lubbock, volunteering with children undergoing homelessness. Franks, a first-year student and member of Texas Tech’s Raider Children Outreach Society, joined children as they
created Play-Doh animals out of varying colors. While initially put off by the bird-poop-covered tables, she watched as the children began to smile more, later turning into laughs as they became more social. Franks said their joy changed her perspective entirely. RCOS was created to bring positive experiences to children in Lubbock facing disabilities,
illnesses and homelessness. “(The children) made joy out of something like Play Doh which was so dirty and gross, and they’re happy about it,” said Franks. “It shows how thankful you can be for just the little things in life, and it's just such so eye-opening. I think for them to be so little, that's what they see. You can learn so much from that.” Volunteering with organiza-
tions like Family Promise of Lubbock, Ronald McDonald House, Children’s Home of Lubbock and Ramirez Elementary School members of RCOS not only help children but also connect to their inner child, said Hamza Hashmi, co-founder of RCOS and a fourth-year biology major from South Lake. “I’m sure we’ve all wished we could be young again, so to play
with these kids just kind of brings you back to those positive feelings when life was a lot simpler,” Hashmi said. Created in the summer of 2023, RCOS has a member fee of $25 per semester, and any Tech student can join. RCOS provides weekly opportunities like Family Promise, SEE LOCAL, PG. 3