The month of March is Women’s History Month, which is to highlight the accomplishments and strides women have made throughout the past. Beginning in 1978, as a week to commemorate women’s history and gradually became the month people acknowledge now. On March 8 the U.S. acknowledges International Women’s Day.

Reverend Naomi Tutu came to speak at Colorado State University on March 8 in celebration of International Women’s Day, where she discussed her experiences as a woman of color and elaborated on how women can become more unified. 

Tutu is a human rights, race and gender activist. Born and raised in South Africa, Tutu elaborated on how she struggled to find her voice when coming to the U.S.

During her time speaking, Tutu reflected on her ideas of how women can grow together if they overcome the barriers they have been led to build. 

“Justice and peace will come when we cross the lines we have been taught are dismantled,” Tutu said. 

When discussing the topic Tutu continually told jokes and stories that kept the audience engaged and laughing, all while keeping the important message of unifying women as the center focus of her talk.  

Other points Tutu discussed were the importance of breaking the silence women have been taught to keep and fighting the standard that women should always be polite. 

“We have been conditioned to be polite,” Tutu said. “Silence is building wars.” 

She told personal anecdotes of how uncomfortable conversations are what allowed her to break barriers with women who have different viewpoints and how these created unity when it was needed most. 

Tutu finished her time speaking by asking the crowd to think about how to give women the space to speak their stories in their own voices. 

“We should speak our stories with an awareness of our own context,” Tutu said. 

She explained how women have been told to look down on each other’s differences rather than try to understand the many different backgrounds and cultures they experience.

Shauna DeLuca, assistant director of global co-curricular initiatives at CSU, helped organize the event and bring Tutu to campus. 

“By bringing the world to Colorado State University, we can create a community that is better informed and more prepared to address the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century,” DeLuca said. 

She went on to emphasize how having a university such as CSU hold these events allows engagement with important leaders and opens discussions for crucial and sometimes difficult topics. 

DeLuca also explained that Tutu’s speech was crucial because it educates on how women and people of color can overcome the barriers that have been placed before them.

“(Tutu’s) experiences taught her that our whole human family loses when we accept situations of oppression, and how the teaching and preaching of hate and division injure us all,” DeLuca said. 

Reverend Tutu left many students and staff at CSU with a new understanding and perspective on how to have conversations about race and gender issues. Her knowledge on the struggles minority groups face was a new perspective that highlighted her ideologies.

Reach Katherine Borsting at life@collegian.com or on Twitter @katbor2025.

The Gophers ended their regular season with a loss to rival Wisconsin on Sunday before they flew down to Chicago for the 2023 Big Ten Tournament.

The No. 14 seeded Gophers defeated No. 11 seeded Nebraska Wednesday. Minnesota advanced to round two on Thursday, where they lost to the No. 6 Maryland Terrapins.

March 9 vs. Nebraska

The Gophers had a slow start to the game. Nebraska took an early 8-point lead amid a sea of red that packed the United Center. Ta’Lon Cooper made a pair of free throws to give Minnesota its first points more than four minutes into the game.

Junior Jamison Battle led the Gophers to their first lead of the game after he hit a layup midway through the first half. Dawson Garcia, Battle and Jaden Henley all hit consecutive 3-pointers for the Gophers, giving them a 5-point edge over the Cornhuskers.

The Gophers shot 58% from the field in the first half, resulting in a 37-33 lead.

Henley strengthened the Gophers’ lead to 11 early in the second half after he drained a pivotal 3-pointer. Nebraska’s Sam Griesel responded with a layup to bring the Cornhuskers’ deficit within 4 points.

Battle hit his last 3-pointer of the night before fouling out of the game at the nine-minute mark. The call infuriated Gophers Head Coach Ben Johnson, which cost his team a technical foul and serious momentum.

“I put myself in his shoes at that moment and said, you know what, he’s given a lot to this school. Sometimes you’ve got to let it rip and let it ride,” Johnson said. “My technical, that was on me 100%; that was probably not the smartest thing to do.”

The game started to heat up without the Gophers second-leading scorer. Griesel brought the score within 1 point for the Cornhuskers after a jump shot in the paint.

Minnesota defaulted to getting the ball to their point guard Cooper down the stretch. He responded by knocking down 8 of 10 free throws when the Gophers needed them most.

“They make me come in every day and shoot 75 free throws, 75 makes, so I think that helped a lot,” Cooper said. “Nothing was really going through my mind, just stepping up, just knocking down the free throws.”

Cooper only missed two free throws all night, which led the Gophers to defeat the No. 12 team on Wednesday 78-75.

“I thought the resolve and toughness that they showed, both mental and physical, the entire game, especially after getting off to a rough start, was phenomenal,” Johnson said. “That’s what it takes to win at this level and in this tournament.”

The Gophers advanced to the second round where they matched up with No. 6 seeded Maryland.

March 10 vs. Maryland

The Gophers answered with an early 8-2 Maryland run, with an 8-point run from a trio of true freshmen, a foundational part of their team they will hope to build upon next season.

“We had our ups and downs but just feel like we stuck with it,” freshman guard Braeden Carrington said. “To have this core group of freshmen for the next couple years is definitely exciting.”

Maryland quickly responded with a 9-2 run of their own to regain the lead. Henley cut the Gophers’ deficit to three after he put one up, but Maryland hit its fifth and sixth 3-pointers of the first half to stretch the lead to 9 points with less than five minutes left to play in the first half.

A jumper from Henley and free throws from Pharell Payne allowed Minnesota to close the half down 31-24.

The Terrapins opened the second half with a 10-2 run, just before Minnesota responded with its own 11-4 run. Payne added two more field goals to stay within 8 at 49-41.

Maryland stretched the lead to 15 points after Jahmir Young hit his free throws. Carrington sank two 3-pointers and Cooper nailed a jumper to pull the Gophers within 9.

The Terrapins, however, outscored Minnesota 12-5 over the final five minutes of game play, winning 70-54 and advancing to Friday’s quarterfinal round against No. 3 Indiana.

True freshman Payne, who scored 17 points on a perfect six of six from the field, led the Gophers.

“I thought he had a lot of energy on the offensive glass,” Garcia said. “He’s an incredible talent, and he’s only going to get better because he likes to work and he’s very coachable.”

Johnson said developing his young team will be a critical part of their off-season work.

“Player development is obviously huge, whether it’s weight room, on the court, getting guys
physically ready,” he said. “You take a look at our league, there’s a lot of older guys, and there’s mature bodies, and we’ve got to be one of those next year.”

The University of Maine System is no longer requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for students and employees. Chancellor of the University of Maine System Dannel P. Malloy announced Friday, March 10 that they are encouraging students, faculty and staff to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine and boosters, but as of May 2023 will not be mandating it. 

“Students and employees have demonstrated a strong commitment to safety throughout the pandemic,” Malloy said in a statement sent out to the UMaine community. “Maine’s vaccination rates are also among the highest in the nation.” 

The University of Maine System is now the second university system in Maine to no longer require COVID-19 vaccines, following Maine Community Colleges’ decision to lift their vaccine requirements at the beginning of February 2023. Maine Community College System (MCCS) President David Daigler attributed strong vaccination rates and improved outcomes for pandemic victims as key factors in this decision. 

“It’s been three full years since the pandemic began, and the situation has changed since we initiated this vaccination protocol,” Daigler said. “It’s time to change our approach by ending the requirement and focusing on wellness education programs.” 

Malloy said that factors including decreases in variants associated with the disease contributed to this decision at UMaine.  

“These factors helped inform the University of Maine System’s decision to lift the COVID-19 vaccination requirement effective with the May term and going forward,” Malloy said. 

At the time of the MCCS’s decision, Malloy was not prepared to change UMaine’s policy until the FDA and CDC changed their guidelines. 

Penobscot County, Maine is still considered a high community level according to the CDC. The CDC is still recommending that Mainers stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines, including recommended booster doses. 

Though the vaccine is no longer going to be required for University of Maine System students and employees, according to The Together for Maine website vaccines and boosters are strongly encouraged. 

“I thank you for the role that each of you continues to play in our success and encourage you to stay up-to-date with your vaccinations,” Malloy said. 

The women’s basketball team shut down the Black Knights in overtime to secure its spot in the Patriot League Championship for the second time in three seasons.

Maine Campus Media would like to recognize the work of one of our news contributors, Westley Brinegar. 

Westley is a third-year at the University of Maine and has been a news contributor for the Maine Campus since the fall 2022 semester. For the past two semesters he has been our student government reporter, attending all General Student Senate meetings and playing a pivotal role in highlighting the upcoming student government election. 

“Westley has shown immense dedication in covering student government meetings and events. In particular, his interviewing of the student government candidates during the presidential election has been high-quality and informative,” Caty DuDevoir, news editor for Maine Campus Media said. 

Westley is from Gorham, ME and is studying communications with minors in philosophy and economics. In his free time he enjoys playing guitar and can also be found working at Harvest Moon Deli. 

“When collaborating, he has been excited to get involved and provided great feedback for our news team,” DuDevoir said. 

Thank you Wes for all the work you do for Maine Campus Media. You can read his articles each week on our website. 

Marcus Sasser finished one-point shy of his career-high, scoring 30 in No. 1 UH’s win over ECU in the AAC Tournament quarterfinals. | Sean Thomas/sean.htxphoto

FORT WORTH — Needing to get the offense going after shooting just 25.8 percent in the first half, Houston turned to the American Athletic Conference’s Player of the Year.

As he has done countless times before, Marcus Sasser delivered again on Friday afternoon, scoring 24 second-half points to power No. 1 Houston past East Carolina 60-46 in the AAC Tournament quarterfinals at Dickies Arena.

“Marcus stepped up in a big way tonight,” said UH point guard Jamal Shead said. “We’re going to follow him until the wheels fall off.”

UH, now 10-0 at Dickies Arena, will play No. 4 seed Cincinnati in the first semifinal game on Saturday afternoon.

While the Cougars likely have a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament locked up, head coach Kelvin Sampson was not pleased with his team’s performance against the Pirates.

“Going forward, we are just going to have to play better,” Sampson said. “I felt like we were out of character today in a lot of things.” 

The shots weren’t falling early for the Cougars as UH scored a season-low 23 first-half points.

The Cougars had a 6-minute, 29-second stretch in the first half where they missed nine straight field goals. Shead finally broke the cold spell with a layup plus the foul for an old-fashioned 3-point play.

“Shooting 28 percent, that’s hard to do,” Sampson said.

Despite the poor shooting, Sampson was more concerned with his team’s lack of activity on the offensive glass.

The Cougars, who entered Friday averaging nearly 13 offensive boards a game, only pulled down seven of their 41 misses against the Pirates.

“That’s was what disappointed me,” Sampson said.

Shead echoed his head coach after the game.

“Like coach said, we need to get back to our culture and get back to offensive rebounding,” Shead said.

A two-point halftime lead quickly turned into a 14-point advantage eight minutes into the second half as Sasser began to find his groove.

“(I) just got open shots in transition and just really getting downhill, getting more aggressive,” Sasser said when asked about his second-half scoring outburst. “My teammates did a good job finding me when I was wide open.”

Sasser scored a game-high 30 points, his seventh 20-plus point performance in UH’s last eight games, on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. Sasser finished a point shy of his career-high 31 points he scored against South Florida in January.

“One you’ll notice (is Sasser) never took a bad shot,” said UH point guard Jamal Shead. “Everything was just open for him. He took what the game gave him and that’s just a confidence booster for us going forward.”

UH (30-2) joined College of Charleston, Oral Roberts and Florida Atlantic as the only teams in the country with 30-plus wins. This is the sixth time in program history UH reached the 30-win mark.

Shead scored 12 points, the only other Cougar to finish in double figures.

J’Wan Roberts pulled down 12 rebounds.

While the Cougars lived to fight another day, Sampson said UH must elevate its performance if it is to win its third straight AAC Tournament title.

“Hopefully we can come out and play better,” Sampson said.

sports@thedailycougar.com

—
“Marcus Sasser scores 30 as No. 1 UH tops ECU in AAC Tournament quarterfinals” was originally posted on The Cougar

YES Fest, a two day music festival, will be coming to ODU campus on March 20-11. It will feature more than 20 local and regional bands.

A joint effort between ODU Arts and LAVA Presents, YES Fest will be at the Gordon Art Galleries and Goode Theatre. Doors open at 5 p.m. on March 10, and music starts at 5:45 p.m. On the 11th, doors will open at 3:30 p.m., and music will start at 4:15. 

The festival is family friendly and open to the public, and even has its own Spotify playlist. Profits from the event will benefit Wings Over Leukemia & Lymphoma.

Cullen Strawn, ODU’s executive director for the arts, said that among planned events are a market, a zine workshop, and a community kirtan led by assistant professor Dr. Mica Deckard.

“For several years I have been in discussions with Josh Coplon of LAVA Presents about collaborating on a multi-day event in some of our venues, with music and accompanying activities that would feature area talent and appeal to our students and surrounding communities,” Strawn said.

YES Fest came together organically over several years,” said Josh Coplon, owner of LAVA Presents. “LAVA has held several shows at Goode Theatre since 2018 and every show has been a real treat for the bands and fans alike. There’s also been an ongoing conversation between LAVA x Arts at ODU on how to figure out a way to get ODU students more involved in the local music community.”

“I absolutely believe that there are students at ODU that like bigger bands in the same scenes as a lot of the bands LAVA is booking and if they were familiar with LAVA Presents, YES Fest or any of the other concerts and events happening locally, they would discover new music, largely local and regional that they can listen to and come out to see live throughout the year.”  

The lineup includes:

Palm Palm

Community Withc

Obscure Son

Holy Roller

Keep

Erin & The Wildfire

The Lazy Dangers

Palmyra 

Dominy

Tierney Tough

Jonah Ross

They Are Gutting A Body Of Water

Esbern Snare

Knifeplay

Dogwood Tales

Catie Lausten

Evan Hannah & The Light Shift

Ten Pound Snail

Padfood

Mean Jesus

Lizzie Trouble

Cassidy Snider & The Wranglers 

Karacell

“I … tried to make sure the line-up included both local bands and regional bands, to help bridge the gap between our neighboring scenes, such as Richmond,” said Coplon. “Some of the bands are touring and YES Fest lined up with their dates. [There are] nine bands representing the Richmond music scene [and] 10 bands representing the 757 music scene. I’ve worked with a lot of the bands on YES Fest previously but there are also a lot of new groups that we are excited to have in the mix!

While talks of an event have been ongoing for years, LAVA Presents and ODU Arts have been working together to make YES Fest happen since December. 

Tickets for ODU students start at $7 per day, and general admission starts at $25. Tickets can be purchased online here. 

Senior guard and captain Boogie Ellis fouled out of Thursday night’s Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals game against Arizona State with 46 seconds left. Ellis threw himself down on the bench in frustration and put his head in his hands as the closing seconds of the game ticked off. 

This about summed up how Ellis and the rest of the Trojans were feeling after their 77-72 loss at the hands of the Sun Devils.

“I kind of let my team down and I didn’t play to my capabilities, so as a leader on the team I just got to be better,” Ellis said in the postgame press conference.

The loss was reminiscent of the last time USC and ASU matched up. Even though the Trojans squeezed out a 68-65 win March 4, they almost squandered a 14-point second-half lead. The Sun Devils picked up right where they left off five days later, jumping out to an 8-0 lead only 65 seconds into the game. The Sun Devils went into the half with a 14-point lead and never looked back.

“We just didn’t come out ready to play in the first half, and they just wanted it more than [us],” said sophomore guard Kobe Johnson. “We just came out soft and this time of the year, you can’t come out soft.”

While the Trojans may have finished the game on a stronger note, they were not able to put anything together offensively in the first half. They ended the half shooting 1 for 11 from the field and were shooting just 25.9% overall in the opening half. USC’s 25 first-half points were the fewest they’ve had in any half of a Pac-12 tournament game since the 2011-2012 season; the Trojans finished 6-26 that year.

The Sun Devils were scorching hot from 3-point range, knocking down 14 of their 32 shots from deep. While the Trojans shot 38.1% from distance, the Sun Devils had the volume advantage, putting up 11 more 3-point shots than the Trojans. 

Fifth-year guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. led the charge for ASU, hitting 6 3-pointers on the way to a season-high 27 points.

“They made some really tough shots tonight — a lot of threes and shot clock shots which were very difficult, so give them credit,” said Head Coach Andy Enfield.

Entering the game, the Trojans were 8-1 this season when they had four players score in double figures. Despite reaching that mark, USC could not bring home the win. 

However, it wasn’t just scoring that was the problem for the Trojans — they almost matched their season scoring average of 72.8 points — it was USC’s defense. ASU dominated on the offensive boards, securing 14 offensive rebounds and scoring 21 second-chance points. 

USC also had trouble taking care of the ball, turning the ball over 14 times in the game. This was the Sun Devils’ 25th consecutive conference game forcing their opponent to double-digit turnovers.

“To have 1 assist and 7 turnovers at halftime — it was just a shock to me and everybody. I think because we weren’t passing the ball at the right time and sharing the ball like we need to,” Enfield said. “That’s embarrassing because we’re a good offensive team.”

USC has had the Sun Devils’ number as of late, beating them twice previously this season and seven times in a row overall before today. This was the first time in Pac-12 tournament history that the Trojans lost to ASU, having won the previous four times.

With the Trojans knocked out of the Pac-12 tournament, it is up to the NCAA selection committee to decide whether USC’s season will continue. The Trojans will have to wait until Sunday to see if they receive an at-large bid to the March Madness tournament.

“We’ve had a lot of adversity this year with our roster, but that’s why I’m so proud. This has been the most improved team we’ve had in a long time, maybe ever in the 10 years I’ve been here as the head coach,” Enfield said. “Where that puts us on Sunday, it’s not my decision, but I’m very proud as a head coach of what these guys have accomplished.”

USC awaits Selection Sunday at 3 p.m to see if they will make March Madness for the third straight season, as they hope what happens in Vegas will stay in Vegas.

The post USC men’s basketball can’t overcome lackadaisical start, gets burned by Sun Devils appeared first on Daily Trojan.

Laila Blair, UH women’s basketball’s leading scorer, was held to two points in Houston’s loss to ECU in the AAC Tournament championship game. | Andy Hancock/American Athletic Conference

The UH women’s basketball team lost a 46-44 heartbreaker to East Carolina in the AAC Tournament title game, missing a chance to automatically qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

The Cougars’ defense was on display in the first quarter. UH held ECU to 1-for-17 from the field, taking an 11-2 lead after the first quarter.

UH led at halftime 23-16. Senior Tatyana Hill led the team in points with seven, while junior Kamryn Jones followed with five points of her own.

The Pirates came out of the half ready to play. East Carolina outscored UH 14-7 and tied the game 30-30 at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was a slugfest. The teams were scoring on each side, keeping it close. However, East Carolina closed the game on a 6-2 run to come out victorious in a 46-44 nailbiter.

Jones finished the game with 13 points. Both senior Bria Patterson and Hill followed with 11 points.

UH ended the season 15-16 overall and 10-5 in the AAC.

sports@thedailycougar.com

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“UH women’s basketball collapses in AAC title game, misses out on NCAA bid” was originally posted on The Cougar

The College of Humanities at the University of Utah is unveiling a new course for first-year students, Great Books in the Humanities, which will explore the seven different departments within the college: philosophy, English, linguistics, communication, world languages and cultures, history, and writing and rhetoric studies.

The Great Books course will launch in Fall 2023 to first-year students at the U. The course will feature texts from each humanities department to be read and discussed. 

An instructor from each of the seven different departments will have about two weeks to teach their book, and within that timeframe, students will hear lectures, attend small group discussions and critically analyze each text. 

Dean of the College of Humanities Hollis Robbins said the course gives new opportunities to both faculty and students. She said professors usually prefer to teach upper-level seminar classes and first-year students don’t often get a chance to learn from top professors.

“This gives our seasoned faculty, our really prestigious faculty, a chance to be in the classroom with first-year students, and it gives first-year students a chance to be in classes with some of our most prestigious professors,” she added.

In an email interview, Michael Middleton, associate dean of academic affairs in the College of Humanities, said the hope is the Great Books program will be a transformative experience for students.

“Humanities is not only the place to explore ideas that have challenged individuals and communities historically and in contemporary times but also the place where they can develop critical skills that will sustain their professional and intellectual aspirations,” he said. 

Robbins said the course will allow students who may be unsure of what they want to do to get a glimpse into the humanities as a whole. “The best thing for first-year students is really to see the quality of our faculty in humanities and to see the options in the variation and the breadth of the kind of work that we do,” she said. 

Middleton explained that Robbins had taught in a Great Books program while she worked at Johns Hopkins University. “She is still in touch with several of her students from more than ten years ago and it is that potential for lifelong connection that motivated her to suggest launching a Great Books program at the U,” he added.

Robbins said students have so many choices when it comes to what interests them and which classes to take and this class will enable students to get a good idea of what kinds of professors there are.

“It’s like a buffet table of our great professors, and you’ll have a better sense going forward of what interests you the most,” she added. 

According to Middleton, there are three goals for this course: provide a foundational humanities course introducing students to the humanities, encourage students to explore majors and minors in a humanities field while making progress toward their general education requirements and share analytical and critical thinking skills that help support the successful careers of humanities alumni. 

“We are excited to introduce U students to global texts and the ways Humanities fields differ from – and relate to – one another, demonstrating why the College of Humanities is ‘where ideas connect,’” he said.

For students interested in the course, here are the seven books to be taught throughout the class:

In the philosophy department, Erin Beeghly will teach “The Epistemology of Resistance,” by José Medina.

“Mrs. Dalloway,” by Virginia Woolf, will be taught by Scott Black from the English department.

Nora Ellen Groce’s “Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language” will be taught by Aaron Kaplan from the linguistics department.

Sean Lawson from the communication department will teach “Speaking into the Air: A History of the Idea of Communication,” by John Durham Peters.

“On the Origin of Species,” by Charles Darwin, will be taught by Rachel Dentinger from the history department.

Franz Kafka’s “The Trial” will be taught by Joe Metz from the world languages and cultures department.

“The Fire Next Time,” by James Baldwin will be taught by Maximilian Werner from the writing and rhetoric studies department.

v.hudson@dailyutahchronicle.com

@vanessachrony