In November of 2022 the Temple University Graduate Students’ Association authorized a strike for the first time in their 26-year history. Citing poor average pay, exorbitant healthcare costs for dependents, an abysmal parental leave policy and substandard working conditions. The Association voted to strike with a 99 percent majority after a year of negotiations with administration ground to a standstill. The strike officially began on Jan. 31.

On Feb. 8, Temple administration made public their decision to cancel tuition remission for striking graduate students, a move that will force many of these students to owe up to $20,000 to the university, due Mar. 9. It was reported Feb. 9 that Temple administration had begun canceling graduate students’ healthcare policies. 

In the email sent out to striking graduate students, which was made public on Twitter by Ph.D. candidate Madison Ingram, the explanation given by Temple was short, shallow and intimidating. By only citing “participation in the TUGSA strike” as the reason for cancellation, the university appears to be abandoning negotiation, using their power to force a favorable result.

The Triangle Editorial board stands with the Temple University Graduate Student Association in their right to a liveable wage, affordable healthcare and longer parental leave. The graduate students employed as teaching assistants are vital to the institution as a whole and function as a space for radical possibility. The Triangle Editorial board values practicing education as an exercise of freedom. The repeal of tuition remission by Temple University exposes the administration’s disregard for the diverse student body it has served for many decades. 

Graduate student teaching and research assistants, as both students and employees, occupy a unique, vital position in higher education. When one of the largest universities in Philadelphia chooses to treat them with such little decency, it sends a message to its employees and students. It says that the institution does not care for you, that it thinks your time is cheap and that your well-being is less important than the work you produce.

We strongly disagree.

The Triangle Editorial Board

We at The Triangle are taking an opportunity to start fresh, to thank those who have waited for us after a long hiatus — and to introduce ourselves to those who have never heard of us. We are Drexel University’s independent student-ran newspaper: we aim to provide timely and relevant news about life at Drexel and in Philadelphia, highlight groups and events on and around campus, deliver well-researched and thought-provoking perspectives of the latest cultural issues, and cover the newest media such as music, movies and books regardless of their popularity. 

This is the Triangle’s newest edition after almost a full year since last publishing — many complications, primarily as a result of COVID, intersected to play a role in this.The Triangle is thrilled to be returning to publication and is delighted to showcase the works of our members, some who have only been with us for three weeks, and some who have remained dedicated for as long as five years.

The diverse talent pool has allowed a community of Drexel’s dedicated students to learn outside the classroom and learn from each other — lessons that cannot be taught in the institutional setting. 

The Triangle and its staff are deeply honored to work towards our mission of rebirth of organization. The path to this edition has been rocky, taking a mass of collective labor by a staff with little training but enormous dedication. 

The process has been filled with many challenges: moving our offices to the Creese student Center required time to unpack and reorganize our space, and senior members graduating and lapses in communication impacted our staff engagement. In spite of these hurdles, the remaining team members have worked towards new ways to revitalize the newspaper, finding ways to create a product that distinguishes and reaffirms the Triangle as a vital part of the Drexel community. 

The work you see here is not for fame nor acclaim; it is a labor of passion.. These are the ideas that matter to the people, by the people. We’re here to stay. This edition of the Triangle includes work ranging from current events and hot topics to pop culture discourse and much more. 

We encourage any and all with an affinity for writing, editing, photography, graphic design, business , IT or journalism in general, to reach out to us. The Triangle is always looking for new voices, new perspectives, new pens on our paper — your mark on a hundred-year-old legacy. 

Please take the time to read us in your bedroom, living room or on your daily commute. 

Enjoy what our writers have created for you here. 

Expect to see us more often from here on out — the best is yet to come.

After six academic terms of remote learning, Drexel finally plans to return to a fully-opened campus this fall — with necessary COVID precautions, of course. For many students, this means an end to a lonely, Zoom-fatigued era of online classes. However, the sudden switch to remote learning meant Drexel had to make many changes to its academic procedures. And some of those changes were very welcome! 

In fact, this reopening of campus may be the reset we need. It’s a chance to reevaluate our academic standards, get rid of rigid and outdated traditions, and embrace new accessibilities. 

One such benefit is having online resources for classes. This doesn’t just entail hosting classes via Zoom; it also includes recorded lectures, PowerPoints and other notes available online, discussion boards for conversing with classmates, and online textbooks. This accessibility benefits students of all abilities and studying styles. 

For students with disabilities, this is even more impactful. Before the pandemic, universities were required to provide necessary accommodations — provided those accommodations were not a large obstacle for the university. The Drexel University policy specifically states: “A modification or adjustment is not reasonable if it imposes an undue burden on the University or fundamentally alters an educational program.” 

While it’s fair for the university to set boundaries, these limits have been a barrier for students with disabilities. It seemed especially unfair when online accommodations were provided university-wide as soon as the pandemic hit. Now that face-to-face classes are returning, it’s possible that this flexibility will disappear as well, despite having widespread benefits for the whole student body. 

There is no reason for that to be the case. Ashley Brickley, director of the disability center at the University of Missouri, told the New York Times in an Aug. 23 article that “the idea of remote instruction as an accommodation is something that’s newer from the pandemic.” That idea has the perfect chance now to be further explored — and become a reality. 

Flexibility extends to the way classes are taught and graded, as well. During the pandemic, a Pass/No Pass option was given while classes were remote, except during the current summer term. Similarly, many professors were more lenient about technical issues and grading options. It makes sense for academic standards to adjust during times of uncertainty, but having compassion and empathy for individual situations should not be a pandemic phenomenon. 

Complete remote options have also found a place in the academic world. 

For example, standardized tests moved online over the past few months. Giving students the option to take the GRE at home was an overdue necessity, and it is likely here to stay. Even more encouraging, many universities have reevaluated the necessity of standardized testing at all. Graduate school programs in Drexel and across the country stopped requiring GRE scores during the pandemic and will likely keep that decision in place.  

The remote terms also had some benefits for campus life. Student organizations had to adjust just as quickly to the pandemic, but the online accessibility also meant more options for participation. At Drexel especially, students may find it hard to stay engaged during co-op or study abroad programs. With the switch to remote meetings, these students had the opportunity to continue participating while being away from campus. 

While many aspects of in-person learning have been dearly missed, there are plenty of changes from remote learning that were welcomed and long overdue. Drexel and other academia, in general, should take this opportunity to reconstruct its system, keeping in place the accessibility and flexibility from online classes even as campus reopens. 

Drexel students need to get used to wearing masks indoors again. Due to continuous (and quickly changing) updates as the situation on campus, there has been a confusion about indoor mask regulations. Earlier this year, the CDC stated that fully vaccinated people would not need to wear masks “indoors or outdoors in most settings,” and many took this to indicate a return to pre-COVID normalcy. Unfortunately, due to the Delta variant, things cannot go according to Drexel’s initial plan, which was to have in-person classes without masks. Drexel students will have to get used to wearing masks indoors again as they return to campus this fall. 

On June 23, Drexel had announced that vaccinated Dragons were not required to wear masks indoors. At that moment, COVID rates were under 1 percent in the Drexel community, and Philadelphia’s cases were at the lowest numbers since the beginning of the pandemic. People had to submit their vaccine proof by July 1 for semester students and Aug. 1 for quarter students. 

After all these measures, the Drexel community thought they were moving in the right direction. More and more people started feeling comfortable not wearing masks indoors and the overall atmosphere started to feel more positive. Then, the Delta variant hit, becoming a nationwide concern — especially in big populated cities like Philadelphia.

On July 22, the City of Philadelphia released a statement strongly recommending residents wear masks indoors, even those vaccinated. The following Tuesday, July 27, Drexel followed suit and “encouraged” vaccinated students to wear masks indoors despite their previous allowance. Unvaccinated students have always been required to wear masks on campus.

Shortly after, reported cases in Philadelphia began to rise. According to USAFacts coronavirus report, there were 36 cases reported in Philadelphia on Jul. 9; by Aug. 10, there were 276 reported cases. . 

On Aug. 3, the university announced a mask mandate for every Drexel building. Some students, especially those vaccinated, may have felt confusion or frustration at the rapid change in guidelines — or simply did not take them seriously.

Many people continued to go maskless in Drexel buildings without knowing about the new requirement. Knowing that the number of cases is rising all throughout the United States and that the Delta variant, a variant that is 50 percent more contagious than the original strain of COVID, is spreading very fast, masks (along with other measures, like social distancing and limiting crowds indoors) help keep the Drexel community as safe and COVID-free as possible. 

In order to have in-person classes without being worried about our health, we need to reincorporate masks into our routine. They are proven to be one of the few measures to contain this virus besides high rates of vaccination. The CDC recently announced that breakthrough cases are possible among vaccinated people, but unvaccinated people are at the greatest risk of catching COVID and having severe symptoms. 

Until more information about the Delta variant becomes clear, masks are our best friend in limiting the spread of this virus. With in-person classes starting in a few weeks, keeping up with shifting guidelines will help keep everyone safe and protect the Drexel community from another year of online school. 

For many students, going to college opens the floodgates to a vast ocean of opportunity. The chance to try new and exciting things and to start down the long path of deciding who you want to be. There are many such opportunities to be found in student organizations at Drexel University, but few are as varied and rich in experience as The Triangle, Drexel’s only independent student-run newspaper. 

The Triangle is the perfect outlet for any and every student interested in journalism — be it through writing, editing or podcasting. We publish stories in News, Sports, Opinion, Comics and Arts & Entertainment. Articles and podcasts are written on topics ranging from local politics, campus life and events, food and culture and everything in between! We also welcome students passionate about photography and graphic design, who are a core part of our publication of print newspapers, as well as students interested in IT —without whom we wouldn’t exist digitally!

Along with a place for every interest, joining a student newspaper creates many more opportunities. It gives you a network not only with the Triangle staff and campus life, but also to other reporters and to faculty. And any Drexel student knows that building up work experience is important, especially at a co-op university; being involved with a publication is also an effective way to publically showcase your skills. 

Some of our staff members weighed on their experiences with joining the Triangle. 

Sanju Ramanathan, Co-Chief Copy Editor for the Triangle, joined the winter term of her freshman year out of her passion for journalism and editing. 

“Although I love to write, I believed editing work would improve my technical writing skills and my eye for grammar — which it did!” Ramanathan said. “I originally planned to start as a copy editor and then move into a writer position when I had more time, but I ended up enjoying copy editing far more than I expected. I really think learning AP Style and general editing skills can improve any writer’s abilities, which is incredibly useful no matter what your career goals are.”

The Triangle’s Business Manager, Utkarsh Panchal, said, “The Triangle offered me a place to express my interests and opinions for the entire student body to see. The Triangle gives me real world experience in managing a small business, which is something that is usually lacking from the co-op experience at Drexel.” 

Medha Gupta, a News writer, joined the Triangle her first term at Drexel, and it was a great way for her to connect with students outside of her major and make friends. 

“As a news writer, I am eager to explore the different events happening around Drexel and Philadelphia to report on. I have interviewed activists from Chile about the public transportation price raise while also talking to student-researchers at Drexel Waste Conference. Meeting new people and gaining new insights because of the Triangle has made it a pivotal part of my college experience,” Gupta said. 

Opinion writer Aru Nittur joined the fall of her freshman year. “Joining the Triangle gave me a great way to explore interests outside of my major. Writing has been a personal passion of mine and as a member of the Triangle, I can really cultivate those skills. I joined the Opinion section in my fall term of freshman year and it’s been an amazing experience. It’s such a great group of people and such a fantastic way to get involved with campus!”

Lena Fine, Assistant Comics Editor, also joined the paper during the fall term of her freshman year while looking for like-minded journalists. “ I joined the Arts and Entertainment section and ended up finding a group of people I love! It’s a wonderful community of different people, and I’ve grown grateful and happy to call it a home of sorts on campus.”

Ioana Racu, news writer for the Triangle, joined in the beginning of her sophomore year because she loved writing and investigating stories. She thought doing it for her own community would be fun and enjoyable. “I think the Triangle is a team full of creative and intelligent people from all majors from Drexel. I like how everybody has a different perspective and brings in different knowledge to the table. I think people should consider joining the Triangle because it’s always active and you always have something to contribute even if you don’t realize it.”

Will Marani, one of our Co-Chief Copy Editors for The Triangle, joined the fall term of his sophomore year. 

“Despite being on the journalism track of my communication major since freshman year, I waited until fall of my sophomore year to join,” Marani said. “I was worried about whether I would be able to balance it with school, but it’s been a really amazing experience, and I wish I had joined sooner. I’ve met a lot of amazing and talented people; copy-editing has helped me improve my writing and I’ve had the flexibility to write a few articles as well!”

For Mikayla Butz-Weidner, The Triangle was the first club she joined in the fall term of her freshman year in 2018. “I was interested because I enjoy writing, but I applied for the Copy Editing team, thinking it was my best shot in. Learning to copy edit for the newspaper gave me a new way to hone my skills, and it equipped me to move onto larger editor positions, to Chief Copy Editor, to Managing Editor, to what I am today, Editor-in-Chief.”

“The Triangle is a great place to explore an interest in writing and the media, but it’s also a whole community on campus to meet new friends,” Butz-Weidner said. “We work together in our various sections, from news to copy to IT to comics, and when all the work is done, we keep hanging out, whether it be casually after meetings or at one of our staff dinners or parties each term.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Triangle has only been able to publish one physical edition in the past year and a half at time of writing. However, with the return of in-person classes and campus life fast approaching, now is the perfect time for both incoming and returning students to get involved. Our organization gives students the opportunity to dip their toe in the world of journalism directly and indirectly: writing and editing articles as well as taking photographs and designing graphics — publishing work in a newspaper that they can then add to their portfolios and resumes.

If you’re interested in joining the Triangle, you can find out more information here. Applications will be open in the fall, making now the perfect time to read over our forms and prepare any material you would like to submit!

It has been almost 18 months since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Despite the sudden upheaval of student life, life at Drexel never stopped moving, and The Triangle has persevered in publishing content online (and even a physical special edition during the winter term!). 

With graduation approaching, we have several seniors leaving our ranks who should be celebrated for all their hard work and dedication over the past few years. 

Through a year of hardships and drastic changes, it was many of the names on this list that kept the Triangle running. Their contributions to the paper — and their places among our staff — will be sorely missed. Although it’s bittersweet saying goodbye and good luck to these invaluable members, we are sure the same talent and energy they brought to our organization will carry them far in their future pursuits!

Ben Ahrens

Managing Editor

Jason Sobieski

News Editor

Evan Wessman

Arts and Entertainment Co-Editor

Devan James Suber

Arts and Entertainment Co-Editor

Emma Dietz

Production Manager

Tiffany Harris

Copy Editor

Roxana Shojaian

Opinion Staff Writer

Vlada Kupriienko

Staff Photographer

Michael Raffle

Arts and Entertainment Staff Writer

Mikaela Taormina

Arts and Entertainment Staff Writer

Elizabeth Both

Arts and Entertainment Staff Writer

The recent changes to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, last updated Sunday, have lifted a number of COVID-19 restrictions. Those who are fully vaccinated are now free to resume their daily lives prior to pandemic, completely maskless. Although everyone is still expected to comply with local business and workplace guidelines, many people who have received their full dose of the vaccine will no longer need to mask their faces or social distance.

While this is a big step toward a return to normalcy, we may be taking it too soon. According to Our World in Data, 40.1 percent of Pennsylvania’s population is now vaccinated. This is progress toward a fully-vaccinated state, but it still means a significant portion  of the population may be susceptible to catching and spreading the coronavirus.

The new CDC guidelines place a huge burden on local businesses and average citizens to make judgment decisions affecting strangers. There is no reliable way (besides the “honor code”) to differentiate between those who are vaccinated and those who are not.

People who want to keep masking and social distancing guidelines in place no longer have the law to back them up. They’ll also find themselves at odds with a number of large corporations: Walmart, Costco, Starbucks and Trader Joe’s are just a few of the big names that have dropped restrictions for vaccinated customers.

This means that we all still have to continue being responsible about how we interact both with strangers and friends in the coming weeks. Owning up to whether you are vaccinated remains vitally important to the safety of those around you. There is room for some relaxation of the practices we have been exercising over the past year, but “safer” still does not mean “safe.”

On Tuesday, Drexel released a statement declaring that students with proof of vaccination will no longer be required to get tested starting on May 30, but masks still have to be worn inside Drexel buildings. The statement went on to say that those who are tested will be sent email confirmation to be used for travel and other activities. Other revisions on Drexel’s current restrictions will be announced in the coming weeks.

National Nurses United — the largest nurse’s union in the U.S. — condemned the relaxed rules last Friday, May 14. Executive Director Bonnie Castillo stated that the CDC’s decision is “not based on science, does not protect public health, and threatens the lives of patients, nurses, and other frontline workers across the country.” NNU warned that the changes would continue the high rate of COVID-19 cases, circulate variants of the virus and compound the danger that essential workers face.

There are, as the NNU also pointed out, many uncertainties about the effectiveness of vaccines as well, particularly against asymptomatic and mild cases of COVID-19. And, most importantly, it is currently unknown how long protection from vaccines will last. By the time we get crucial answers to these questions, it may be too late to reverse the effects of suddenly relaxing social distancing and masking guidelines.

On Tuesday afternoon, Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd. The trial itself was momentous — and its outcome even more so — for doing what so many similar cases in the past have failed to do: hold accountable the excessive and fatal force used by police against innocent Black Americans.

After the tension of waiting for the verdict, hearing that Chauvin was found guilty on all three counts felt like a breath of relief. To many Americans, it’s tempting to feel like the protests and movement that took place after Floyd’s death worked, and now the case has been closed and justice has been served.

However, the work of the Black Lives Matter movement and its calls for social reform did not revolve around a single case of police brutality. The fight against systemic racism is still ongoing, as it has been since our country’s creation. While Chauvin’s indictment can be indicative of a step forward, it is only one step in a very long journey.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would ban potentially lethal police techniques (like chokeholds and carotid holds) at the federal level. It would also prohibit racial, religious and discriminatory profiling by police, ban no-knock warrants in federal drug cases, require body and dashboard cameras, create a national police misconduct registry, limit police militarization and invest in community programs for equitable policies.

While the legislation promises big changes that would at least improve the state of police in America, it remains stuck in the Senate, despite being passed twice by the House of Representatives. The systems in power that need to be held accountable continue to stall when it comes to real police reform. When the representatives meant to serve the people are unable to make meaningful changes when the country calls for it, indicates a problem that goes much deeper than the individual. 

Many Americans are already aware of how deeply racism is rooted in our country, in part due to the rallying cries of the Black Lives Matter movement to abolish the current police system and fight for sweeping change. It’s important not to lose sight of that end goal in light of one small victory.

It’s also important to remember that George Floyd did not choose to be a martyr for a movement. He did not decide to sacrifice his life for the greater cause. George Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin and by an unjust system. And, while Chauvin has been held accountable by our court system, it is essential that the system faces real changes, as well.

With the warm weather having arrived here in Philadelphia, more and more people are itching to get out of the house. As a result, many Philadelphians are flocking to their local eateries among Philly’s vibrant food scene. With Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announcing the expansion of indoor dining capacity to be at 75 percent (up from 50 percent) as long as these businesses self-certify, it’s clear that the state is looking to open up its businesses to more people. The relaxed regulations come despite the fact that Philadelphia officials don’t feel as optimistic yet and are abstaining from these state-wide changes in an effort to keep COVID-19 rates low. 

According to Thomas Farley of the Philadelphia Health Department, the city of Philadelphia will not see these changes to their indoor dining capacities affect COVID-19 numbers. Despite this, Usama Bilal — an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics and a member of the Urban Health Collaborative here at Drexel — still feels this is not enough. He takes these sentiments further by recommending a halt to indoor dining in its entirety. 

Bilal has been tracking COVID-19 testing access from the start and has been reviewing  studies from various health organizations throughout Europe and from the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He cites a CDC study in particular that has shown how impactful indoor dining is in correlation to an uptick of

 COVID-19 cases.

The situation, like most pandemic-related problems, is a tricky one. On one hand, many want to reopen, stimulating the economy and supporting local businesses who may not be able to withstand another full closure. On the flip side, there are studies indicating the negative implications to reopening indoor dining, such as an increase in COVID-19 infection rates. As vaccine rollouts continue and vaccination eligibility widens, does that mean that we can resume life as was previously normal? That isn’t the case just yet.

With only 19.2 percent of Pennsylvania’s population being fully vaccinated (as per CDC data from April 7), it isn’t yet safe enough to support the increase of indoor dining throughout the state or even at all. However, that does not mean that outdoor eating options should halt, as that is a much safer environment for dining. 

Plus, with sunny weather and higher temperatures on the horizon, outdoor dining will be a more popular option. In fact, many Philadelphia’s “streateries” are looking to do just that by revamping outdoor dining to make it more appealing for avid diners. 

In the coming weeks, remember to take extra caution when going out in public to dine and refrain from non-necessary public interactions when possible to help in putting a quicker end to the pandemic.