In 1959, Dr. Marion G. Hood received a letter denying him consideration for admission from the Emory School of Medicine because he is Black. The school hosted a conversation with Hood in Convocation Hall June 17 to apologize for the school’s discrimination against Hood and other Black applicants who were denied a chance of admission during this time nearly 61 years after he received that letter. 

Current dean Vikas P. Sukhatme delivered the apology on behalf of the School of Medicine. The school accepted its first Black student, Hamilton Holmes, in 1963.

“I apologize for the letter you received in 1959, in which you were denied consideration for admission due to your race,” Sukhatme said. “We are deeply sorry this happened, and regret that it took us more than 60 years to offer you our sincere apologies.”

Dr. Marion Hood received a plaque from President of the Student National Medical Association Sydni Williams in “recognition of his tenacity and resilience in the quest to be a physician”. (Sarah Davis)

Additionally, Hood received a plaque in “recognition of his tenacity and resilience in the quest to be a physician” from the President of the Student National Medical Association Sydni Williams. The group is a non-profit organization focused on supporting underrepresented minority medical students across the United States.

The discussion was moderated by Dr. Sheryl Heron, the medical school’s associate dean for Community Engagement, Equity and Inclusion, and Dr. Carolyn Meltzer, the school’s chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer. 

Prior to the conversation, University President Gregory Fenves recognized Hood, as well as the upcoming official holiday of Juneteenth National Independence Day on June 19. Juneteenth marks the day that news reached Galveston, Texas that the Civil War had ended and slaves were free. 

“As we approach this weekend celebration of Juneteenth, his story unfolds during a time when our nation was engaged in a struggle for positive and for lasting change in the civil rights movement: a chorus of voices that rose up against centuries of anti-Black racism and profound injustice in this country, and Emory University was part of the problem,” Fenves said.

Hood’s story gained traction on social media in 2018 and then again in 2021 after a photo of the letter was posted online in which the director of admissions at the time, Lewis L. Clegg (25C, 31G), wrote, “I am sorry I must inform you that we are not authorized to consider for admission a member of the Negro race.”

“I did not expect to get into Emory,” Hood said. “I did not expect the letter to be on the internet. If you go to my house, that letter is framed in my basement where only my friends go. It’s not in the front of my house anywhere where anybody coming can see the letter.”

Dr. Marion Hood, who was denied consideration for the Emory School of Medicine in 1959 sat down with Dr. Sheryl Heron, the medical school’s associate dean for Community Engagement, Equity and Inclusion, on June 17. (Sarah Davis)

Originally from Griffin, Georgia, the 83-year-old currently works part time at a clinic in Warm Springs, Georgia that treats patients regardless of their ability to pay. He said that his decision to become a doctor was influenced by an experience he had as a young boy accompanying his mother to the doctor’s office.

“We had to enter through the back door of the building, and we went into a small room with no furniture that had Coca-Cola crates there for you to sit on,” Hood said. “We sat there and had to wait until the last person was seen, and then the doctor came in and took care of my mother. I was fuming. I couldn’t see why we had to wait so long just to be seen, and I said to myself that if I was a physician, my mother and my kind would not have to go into the back.”

After high school, Hood followed his brother to Clark Atlanta University (Ga.) where he decided to apply to medical schools, including Emory. Hood said he wanted to apply to Emory after Clark gave an Emory professor an honorary degree. 

“When they gave him an honorary degree, I said to myself, ‘Gosh, he can come over here and get an honorary degree, and I can’t even put my foot on his campus,’” Hood said. “I didn’t think that was quite right, so I decided I would apply to Emory.”

After receiving the letter from Emory, as well as rejections from several other medical schools, Hood took one “last shot” at medical school. He applied to Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (Ill.) where he graduated and became a practicing OB-GYN. 

Following his conversation with Heron, Meltzer asked Hood questions from the audience on the webinar. One question about how Hood forgave those who discriminated against him prompted Hood to tell a story that brought tears to his eyes. He recounted a story for the audience about a time when he was working in an emergency room and a patient spit in his face. When he kept giving medical attention to the patient, the man became confused and asked him why he continued to care for him after he insulted him.

“I said to him, ‘I was a doctor. I wanted to take care of people and sometimes you have to take care of people that you don’t really like, that you don’t really want,” Hood said. “I say to people: You can’t be disrespectful, you have to always respect the patient, you always respect the person, you always expect the good from that person. And, if you do that, everything else will work its way out. There’s no reason for me to dwell on Emory not giving me a letter.”

The post School of Medicine offers formal apology to Dr. Marion Hood appeared first on The Emory Wheel.

Will Legenzowski ’22 and Simon Hatcher ’23.5 qualified for the 2021 U23 World Rowing Championships after finishing first in the single scull and first in the double scull, respectively, at the U23 World Rowing Championship Trials in Sarasota, Florida June 14 and 15. As a result of their victories, Legenzowski and Hatcher, both rowers on the men’s crew team, will compete for the U.S. national team in Racice, Czech Republic July 7 to 11. 

Legenzowski, an experienced sculler who just missed out on Olympic qualification with a fifth place finish at single scull trials in February 2020, went into the World Championship trials with an expectation of success. “It’s a lot lower stakes to lose a race you’re supposed to lose, versus win a race you’re supposed to win,” Legenzowski said. “But I’ve raced at this course a lot of times, I’ve raced in the single (scull) many times. For the most part, I felt pretty comfortable and in control. I put a lot of trust into my training and it paid off.” Legenzowski won the single scull final by 8.63 seconds to book his spot at the World Championships.

Hatcher, racing alongside Boston University rower Tucker Thomas, claimed victory by a 8.18-second margin in the double scull. “The U.S. trials were (my teammate) Tucker’s first race ever, so there was a significant disparity in our experience levels,” Hatcher said. “Our maturity and willingness to race in a calm and collected way definitely improved over the course of the regatta. We were just ready to let loose a lot of energy that we’d been gaining, and I think that that propelled us down the course to victory.”

For Legenzowski and Hatcher, victories at the trials mean that they each have achieved a long-held goal of representing the United States in international competition. “As long as I’ve been rowing, it has been my biggest goal to represent the United States in the men’s single (scull) at a world championship,” Legenzowski said. “I’ve tried before in the past and came up just short, so to finally check this off my list just feels phenomenal.”

“I set the goal my freshman year that I would want to row for the United States with red, white and blue on my blades,” Hatcher said. “To realize that goal within the year was the greatest feeling.”

“It’s exciting for the program that people are reaching that standard,” said crew Head Coach Paul Cooke ’89 P’21 P’22. “Simon and Will had some really good competition, so I’m very impressed by what both those guys did in order to make it to the world championship.”

“I would say they made the best of a bad situation with the pandemic,” added team captain-elect Ben Olsen ’22. “Instead of waiting for the world to start again, they focused on their training and did something remarkable.”

Since last summer, Legenzowski and Hatcher have been training at the Green Racing Project in Vermont, a facility that focuses on sculling instead of Division I rowing’s eight-person sweep standard. “We do have some sculling boats at Brown, but the Green Racing Project was specialized for sculling,” Cooke said. “It was definitely a great opportunity for them to go up there, and it was a great way for them to prepare for the trials.”

“At Brown, we’re almost exclusively an eight-person boat — but here, it’s a sculling center. It’s almost exclusively singles and doubles with two oars,” Legenzowski said. “The amount of time that we’ve spent in small sculling boats here is unparalleled to any college program, including our own.”

Following their performance in the World Championship Trials, Legenzowski and Hatcher returned to the Green Racing Project, where they will train during the weeks leading up to the World Championships in early July. “This first week is going to be pretty intense, and the second week is going to be a little bit easier in order to allow our bodies to recover,” Legenzowski said. “The vast majority of the work has already been done, a vast majority of the speed has already been found. And so now it’s just a matter of maintaining and improving upon it.”

The competition at the world championships will be even stiffer than at the U.S. trials, but Legenzowski and Hatcher are looking forward to the challenge. “U.S. rowing isn’t the pinnacle of rowing in the way that the U.S. is the pinnacle of football or baseball or basketball. So there’s a lot of really stiff competition when you go overseas,” Legenzowski said. “But I’m not really scared to race anybody — I’m really looking forward to racing some guys that I’ve heard a lot about, testing their mettle and seeing if they’re all that.”

Although they have been training off-campus for the better part of the past year, Hatcher and Legenzowski agreed that their time at Brown has proved invaluable in preparing them for the highest level of competition. “In terms of overall rowing quality, strength and fitness and competitive spirit, Brown has prepared us extremely well for being here,” Hatcher said.

“American (Division I) rowing is just some of the most intense, gruesome, smash-mouth competition that you can do. There are not a lot of easy strokes taken, and that’s really benefited me as someone who liked racing but hadn’t necessarily been the toughest athlete growing up,” Legenzowski added. “Brown has given me such mental fortitude and this really intense racing spirit that I was then able to add to my already tactically sound abilities.”

Brown’s emphasis on technical skill also translates well to small-boat racing, according to Hatcher. “Our coaches teach us how to row really well — how to get the blade in the water and pull really effectively, such that we may not necessarily have the strongest, fastest athletes on the ergometer, but we are still punching right up there with the big dogs,” Hatcher said. “That technique is super important in small boats.”

Legenzowski and Hatcher anticipate intense races at the World Championships in July. “We’re not going to have the luxury that we did racing domestically — getting up off the start and being in front from the beginning,” Legenzowski said. “There are going to be a lot of really uncomfortable moments where you’re neck and neck with an opponent for probably 1,950 meters over a 2,000-meter race.”

High school students enrolled in Brown’s Pre-College summer programs began moving into their on-campus dorms this past weekend in preparation for the first day of classes June 21. Students in the program are required to partake in asymptomatic testing, and the University has worked to keep the program’s testing and dining services separate from on-campus University students.

Each of the two program sessions will include approximately 400 students on campus, with the first session running for two weeks and the second session for three weeks, University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald.

Pre-college students and all staff helping to run the program are required to participate in asymptomatic COVID-19 testing on campus twice per week regardless of vaccination status. The testing site reserved specifically for pre-college students and faculty is located in the Vartan Gregorian Quad complex, according to Clark. 

The program is “highly structured and heavily chaperoned,” said Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 MA’06. Students are “living together, eating together, their events are together,” and “a lot of effort has gone into really keeping that program as insulated as possible,” he added. 

If a student tests positive during the program session, they will be required to isolate, contact trace and, “given the short nature of the program, it is likely that they would go home, or leave the campus,” Carey said. Pre-college students who do not follow testing and other COVID-19 protocols “will be dismissed and required to depart from campus within 36 hours of that decision,” according to the Pre-College program’s Health and Safety Protocols.

But, due to the “relatively recent development” of vaccinations for people ages 12 to 15 and the lack of universal availability for this age group, the University is not requiring pre-college students to be vaccinated, Carey said. 

The percentage of documented COVID-19 vaccinations increased to 87.9 percent and 75.4 percent for on-campus University students and employees, respectively, during the week of June 10 to June 16, according to the Healthy Brown COVID-19 Testing Update. 

Including students and employees not on campus, 67 percent and 74.1 percent, respectively, have uploaded proof of their vaccinations with the University. 

“We really do need to get to 90 percent among students and 90 percent among faculty and staff in order to feel comfortable making more changes” to campus safety guidelines, Carey said. 

He added that “we’ll get there when we get there, so I can’t say exactly what that timeline is going to be like in terms of what will begin to change.” The University’s two “highest priorities” will be in-person dining and further reduction of mask-wearing indoors.

The testing program also reported zero positive asymptomatic COVID-19 cases during the week of June 10 to June 16, according to the Healthy Brown COVID-19 Dashboard. 

But the state governor’s briefing this week confirmed that the COVID-19 Delta variant, a highly contagious strain first identified in India and currently the dominant strain in the United Kingdom, was present in at least four cases in Rhode Island. In India, the severity of current health conditions is especially attributed to the Delta variant, Carey said. 

But “there’s been no connection that we’ve been told of with the Brown campus, and we’ve had no positive cases for almost a month,” Carey said. The presence of the Delta variant “underscores the continued importance of researching and identifying variants … and (is) further incentive for people to get fully vaccinated,” he said.

Dean of the School of Public Health Ashish Jha tweeted June 16 that “everyone needs both shots of the mRNA vaccines to be protected” from the Delta variant.

Key feature of the Delta variant is everyone needs both shots of the mRNA vaccines to be protected

But national vaccination data suggests about 10% of people have missed their 2nd shot

That’s about 18 million people

And those 18M aren’t spread evenly across the US

thread

— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) June 17, 2021

“People who aren’t vaccinated are vulnerable given the permutations that continue to exist around COVID-19,” Carey said. 

Something I have long had, and hope I never lose, is my instinct to ask why. “Because it’s always been that way,” has never been a sufficient answer to me. I have a radical philosophy: For a law to be made, there needs to be a good reason for it. The criminalization of marijuana and other drugs has always been one of those things for me. If someone smokes marijuana, why does that mean they belong in jail? If someone struggles with a cocaine addiction, why does that mean they belong in jail?

A week and a half ago, I turned 21. For many, this would be a magical week. Turning 21 usually means drinking too much and remembering too little. I don’t drink, and I don’t plan to anytime soon. But why does the magical age of 21 mean I can drink alcohol, a drug that kills more than 95,000 Americans each year, but can’t smoke marijuana, a drug that kills virtually no one every year?

The number one reason I hear as to why marijuana needs to be criminalized is that it is just too dangerous. But is marijuana really that dangerous?

The short answer is no. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a marijuana overdose is “unlikely.” Furthermore, some reports have shown that the legality of marijuana has led to a decrease in opioid overdoses. Not only do people not die from marijuana, but the drug might indirectly be saving lives.

The reason marijuana is vilified isn’t actually tied to how dangerous it is, or to the myth that it is a gateway drug to harder drugs. It is tied to the Nixon administration and the infamous War on Drugs. Here is a stunning quote from President Nixon’s chief domestic adviser, John Ehrlichman, that explains the Nixon administration’s thinking:

“The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the anti-war left and Black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or Black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and Blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”

I suggest reading that quote again. President Nixon’s number one policy item — the War on Drugs — was not focused on marijuana and other drugs, but putting Black people and hippies in jail.

My stance on marijuana — that it should be legal — shows the libertarian side of my politics. I just don’t see the need for the government to decide what Americans can and can’t consume on their own time, especially when there is no evidence that Americans can or do die from marijuana.

So, the question still remains: Why does the magical age of 21 mean I can drink alcohol, a drug that kills more than 95,000 Americans each year, but can’t smoke marijuana, a drug that kills virtually no one every year?

If it hasn’t been made clear already, there isn’t a good reason. The criminalization of these drugs was, quite literally, rooted in racism and imperialism. The War on Drugs solved a problem, just not the problem of marijuana. It solved the problem of anti-war lefties and Black people wanting change, so our government disproportionately targeted both. Today, Black people are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana than white people, despite similar usage. So, for my birthday, I don’t want to smoke marijuana or even to have a beer. I want nonviolent drug offenders to be released from prison. It’s been long overdue.

The perfect resolution: Camryn Rogers wins NCAA championships

Cal Athletics/Courtesy

The track and field season concluded in the very same way it came to an end in 2019 — with Olympic-qualified thrower Camryn Rogers winning the NCAA championships.

Back in January, if the Cal track and field team had been told that by June they would be wrapping up a successful outdoor season without any major pandemic-related setbacks, many coaches would be both relieved and surprised.

The uncertainty that loomed over this spring meant each invitational could potentially be the last. However, everything went according to plan, and the Bears had many opportunities to compete.

Rogers was the 2019 NCAA outdoor champion in the hammer throw event heading into the 2021 season after a year of cancellations due to the pandemic. Expectations were high for the junior, who’d been competing with the team since 2018. Rogers rose to the occasion, knocking every single performance completely out of the park. In her season’s finale, she recorded a 75.52-meter mark in the hammer throw, breaking her own collegiate record in the process.

Not only is Rogers a skilled athlete, but she’s also an expert at the mental gymnastics it takes to compete at such a high level. With throwing events, athletes only get a few chances at success. Each time you step into the circle brings an immense amount of stress and intensity.

“When I go into a throw I don’t really think about anything, I focus on myself and what I need to do for that day,” Rogers said.

That being said, just because Rogers isn’t contemplating anything specific doesn’t mean the intensity isn’t affecting her.

“For some people, if they’re in high-pressure situations, they need to tell themselves to relax,” Rogers said. “Other people need to put more pressure on themselves. For me, I like to use the pressure that has come with the many amazing experiences I’ve been able to have.”

In her outstanding 2021 season, Rogers placed first at 10 of the 11 invitationals she competed at, including the NCAA championships. This kind of success is unusual for even the most advanced throwers. Rogers, however, is no regular thrower.

After her most recent NCAA championships performance, Rogers moved to fourth in the world for the hammer throw. This accomplishment came just weeks after she notched an Olympic-qualifying mark in the same event.

Rogers attributes her success to her wealth of experience in the hammer throw. With an extensive international resume, including a gold medal at the U20 World Championships, it’s clear Rogers has been around the block.

“For high-level competitions, it really is about experience,” Rogers said. “You have to be in that setting to understand how you operate under that pressure and what you do when faced with that kind of stress.”

Senior Iffy Joyner also competed at the NCAA championships and came in 13th in the discus event. Joyner improved five places from the last time he competed at the NCAA championships in 2019.

The blue and gold throws squad was unstoppable this year. With Rogers and Saatara still on their team heading into 2022, there’s no doubt more victories are to follow.

Mia Horne covers track and field and cross country. Contact her at mhorne@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian

A chef prepares food in the Moody Towers Dining Commons, prior to the start of the pandemic. | File Photo

UH Dining services announced Moody Towers Dining Commons will be opening back up in Fall 2021, in a tweet on Friday. 

Moody was originally closed in August 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic throughout the academic year. Now, the dining commons will open on Aug. 22 with full 24-hour service, for all seven days of the week.

Cougar Woods Dining Commons’ Hours of operation have not yet been finalized. 

Updates regarding hours of operation and more dining commons will be on the dining website or @uhfoodie on social media.

news@thedailycougar.com

—
“Moody Towers Dining Commons reopening this fall” was originally posted on The Cougar

President Joe Biden signed a measure Thursday that formally recognizes Juneteenth as a national holiday. Juneteenth takes place annually on June 19, celebrated by the African American community. Although the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by former President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, it was on this day in 1865 that the last enslaved African Americans in […]

It was a battle of two home teams on Friday night as Real Salt Lake faced the Vancouver Whitecaps at Rio Tinto Stadium. Vancouver is currently playing their 2021 matches in Utah due to the COVID-19 restrictions put in place by Canada. Instead of trying to work their way around those protocols, Vancouver will call Utah home for the time being. 

While Real secured their first victory since May 1, there are several key factors which affected the outcome of the match, and in all honesty, Real got incredibly lucky as they scored two goals in stoppage time, walking away with a 3-1 victory. 

1. Real Created Chances, Failed to Convert Early, But Struck Gold Late

By the end of the first half, Real had six shots, four of which were on goal to Vancouver’s two, only one of which was on frame. While the midfield was doing a fantastic job of feeding the forwards down the sides and on several through balls, the forwards struggled to put the ball in the back of the net. 

To begin, Anderson Julio missed a breakaway in the 6th minute that easily should’ve been finished as it was a two-on-one with the goalkeeper but came up empty. While Vancouver’s goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau did make a great save, Julio had the entire net in addition to an open teammate to his left, but went for the bottom right corner which Crépeau gobbled up.

In the 18th minute, Rubio Rubin ran down the side on a through ball and sent a cross to Julio but it was too far behind him. Rubin then had a wide open shot but put it right in the keeper’s chest, squandering a great opportunity.

As time continued into the 21st minute, another cross was sent into the box from Rubin to Julio but it was challenged inside the six and cleared by the defense. 

But finally, in the 43rd, Real put one away on a cross delivered from the left side, flicked on by Albert Rusnák right to the feet of Damir Kreilach, just outside the 18’, which he fired low into the back of the net. Courtesy of the goal, Real would take a 1-0 lead into the locker room.

For the majority of the second half, Real was unable to create any dangerous opportunities. While still dominating in possession their chances were few and far between. One of the better chances came in the 86th as a cross was delivered from inside the 6’ but was right at the defenders feet and easily cleared after what should have been a dangerous scoring chance.

Lucky for Real, there is a thing known as stoppage time and they were able to score twice in those few minutes, erasing their previous mistakes and propelling them to victory. While those goals were impressive and incredibly timely, Real never should’ve been in that situation.

2. Real Dominated Possession 

Through the first 10 or so minutes, Real couldn’t come anywhere near the ball. However, as the game continued, that drastically changed. 

By halftime, Real had 59% possession and were working the ball around beautifully. The backline was controlling the pace, the midfielders were feeding the forwards and chances were being created. But despite the dominant possession, they were making poor decisions when those chances arrived and restricted the impact of the one-sided possession. 

While possession did drop in the second half, through 60 minutes, Real still had roughly 56% of ball possession. However, that didn’t amount to anything as all they did was ping the ball around and failed to create anything dangerous. Additionally, Vancouver scored on a turnover, quickly working their way up the right side and delivering a cross which was placed into the back of the net in the 54th minute. 

By the end however, Real was able to reclaim 59% possession which heavily benefited their efforts as they continued to press Vancouver, scoring two goals late and claiming the victory. 

3. Better at Scoring with Their Heads Than Their Feet

As previously mentioned, Real struggled immensely to finish dangerous chances for the majority of the match. However, in stoppage time, Real found the back of the net multiple times using their heads.

In the 92nd minute, a throw-in was launched from near the right corner, finding the head of Erik Holt which deflected into the bottom left corner and gave Real the late lead. 

While the match seemed to be over, Kreilach secured the lead in the 95th minute as he scored on a breathtaking diving header which the keeper had no chance of stopping. If you can’t score with your feet, use your head.

Overall, Real dominated this match and were rewarded for their efforts late with a much-needed 3-1 victory. With the win, Real improves to 3-3-1 and fifth in the Western Conference. They will face the Seattle Sounders next on Wednesday, June 23 with an 8:00 p.m. MDT kick-off. That game can be viewed on ESPN+. 

c.bagley@dailyutahchronicle.com

@bagley_cole

The post Thoughts from the Pitch: RSL vs. Vancouver Whitecaps appeared first on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

Unavailability of gender-neutral housing and bathrooms for incoming freshmen is a repeated concern.

CA implements digital system to access vaccination information

Wilfried Pohnke/Creative Commons

The California Department of Public Health announced the Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record, which has a tool that allows people to access their vaccination information with a four-digit PIN, as well as a scannable QR code. (Pixabay License: No Attribution Required.)

Days after the state reopened, the California Department of Public Health, or CDPH, announced Friday the Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record, an online tool to help residents view and save records of their vaccination.

Launched in partnership with the California Department of Technology, the vaccine record tool allows people to access their vaccination information with a four-digit PIN, according to a CDPH press release. Users can also access a QR code through the site that can be read by scanners.

“We achieved our goal to quickly produce an intuitive portal that offers Californians another way, and an easier way, to access their own COVID-19 immunization history,” said Amy Tong, state chief information officer, in the press release.

Under current state guidelines, employers and businesses may ask people for verification of their vaccination status, which can be accessed through the portal. According to the CDPH website, the online tool is optional and should not be considered a vaccine passport.

People can make a digital record of their vaccine card at https://myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov/, and personal information will remain private and only accessible to the phone or email associated with the immunization record, the website adds.

The portal utilizes the SMART Health Card framework, which is also used by UC Health and other public and private organizations, the press release adds.

“If one of the state’s nearly 20 million vaccinated Californians misplaces their paper card, the Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record provides a convenient backup,” said state epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan in the press release.

Aditya Katewa is the executive news editor. Contact him at akatewa@dailycal.org, and follow him on Twitter at @adkatewa1.

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