A COLLECTION OF WORK FOR ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY
2019-2021
Opinion Piece: Referring to the Coronavirus as the “Chinese Virus” is Dangerous and Bigoted
As covid-19 takes the world by storm, nations grapple with fear of the virus hurting people physically, emotionally, and financially. The virus has been called many names in the news and on social media. It is most commonly referred to as coronavirus and covid-19 by health care professionals and others, while some millennials online have made light of the situation in an effort to ease the tension, by referring to it as the personified name “Miss Rona.” President Trump has taken a different approach to nicknaming the virus. He been seen in press conferences referring to it as the “Chinese virus” or “China virus.”
Trump decided to make this pandemic another opportunity to get his supporters riled up. This is not the first time he has singled out an oppressed group based on ethnicity during his presidency. He has done this in the past by calling Mexicans “rapists and drug dealers,” making Latinx people very susceptible to violence. This kind of rhetoric is unacceptable to be used by anyone, let alone the president of the United States. This time, Trump has even gone as far as crossing out the word “corona” and writing “Chinese” in the speech he had in front of him at a press conference on the virus.
This virus could not help but become political. It was going to inevitably call for democrats and republicans to find a way to work together to financially assist so many Americans who are out of work and struggling to pay their bills. But Trump is referring to this virus as if it is something that was brought from China on purpose to weaponize this disease against Americans. That is specifically putting a target on Asian-Americans’ back and making them extremely vulnerable to verbal and physical abuse.
The amount of hate crimes around the world that have already stemmed from this behavior regarding the coronavirus is frightening. Jose L. Gomez, a 19-year-old man stabbed a family at a Sam’s Club in Texas. A 17-year-old girl spat in the eye of a girl in Australia, allegedly calling her and her sister “Asian Dogs.” A Minnesota couple found threatening messages on their door saying, “we’re watching you” and “take the Chinese virus back to China.” The list goes on. These recent racially charged attacks are becoming as much of a problem as the virus itself. Not only are these attacks horrible and inexcusable, the people committing them are actually more likely to be spreading the virus as well, thus perpetuating the problem they are upset over.
People should not be inciting violence against others at any time, but especially not during this pandemic. They should be coming together (figuratively) to help others to stay safe and healthy during such a tragic time. Unfortunately, with authority figures having the power to say bigoted and racist things to mass groups of people, many people listen and believe the information being given to them. Trump is saying these things because he is trying to ingrain in people that they know this virus is not his fault. He is putting the blame on China and using it as a scapegoat.
This is dangerous. This is more than accidentally saying “Chinese” virus, not realizing the implications of it. This was not an accident. This was planned. He actively wrote it down on his speech to make sure he said something he knew he should not. He is using this situation as a tactic for his presidency and for his supporters to continue to follow his lead and continue to spread fallacies and hate.
A Review of John Prine’s Self-titled Album
In 1971, the late, great John Prine released his very first album, entitled simply “John Prine.” This is a thirteen-track country folk album and I could go on to discuss every song, and trust me- I want to, but to spare everyone from reading a 10 page, in depth analysis of the entire album, I will try to focus on the songs that had the biggest impact on me. The album starts out with a silly song called “Illegal Smile.” The song can easily be deciphered to be Prine talking about smoking pot. His lyrics depict him having a lot of boring, mundane, and even bad days, and finding a way to “escape reality.” To anyone from my generation or after, this concept of singing about marijuana definitely isn’t unheard of or new to us. Though the reality is that he was one of the few that made it acceptable all those years ago to talk about such a taboo and, hence the title, an illegal subject.
The next song on the album is also considered a kind of goofy one. “Spanish Pipedream” is a song about a stripper that a soldier meets who convinces him to move off the grid and eat peaches with her for the rest of their lives. The song was definitely one of my favorites as a kid, it was absolutely a sing-along for my family in the car on road trips. It isn’t much in comparison to the rest of the album, but it’s the contrast between these more lighthearted songs off of the album and the much more somber ones. An example of one of those cheerier songs would be “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You into Heaven Anymore,” which to some, due to the steel guitar and the twang in Prine’s voice, it may resemble a typical country song; it is anything but.
What many don’t understand is that not all country music is bad: surprise! There is country music out there that is musically complex, well-written and not containing the usual lyrics regarding trucks, beer, and extreme patriotism. Prine’s song is anti-war and discusses the idea that being a proud-flag-toting-American, is not what makes you a good person and being religious and supporting the war is purely ironic. He touches on many controversial topics such as that and the consumption of marijuana as I mentioned above. In “Paradise” he also talks about the role Peabody Energy played in strip mining Muhlenberg Country in Western Kentucky where Prine used to visit as a child with his family.
The afore mentioned songs have all been considered pretty cheerful ones. That isn’t all this album is though; it is truly melancholic and woeful as well. It’s important to understand Prine knows how to do both. It is exactly that contrast from the first song “Illegal Smile” and the third song “Hello in There” that makes a person understand exactly who John Prine was and what this album is saying. The song “Hello in There” has the power to make a grown man cry, my dad to be specific. He really describes the bleakness that the elderly experience so simply, yet so perfectly. The other songs on the album though, can describe even the bleakness that is just being human.
I would be remiss not to mention one of his most well-loved and well-written songs. “Angel from Montgomery” is a masterpiece, I do not use that term lightly. There have been so many artists who have covered this song. Ranging from John Denver to John Mayer to Dave Matthews Band, the list goes on. Musically, the guitar and organ playing is stunning. Lyrically, he paints a very vivid picture of a woman who is sick and tired of the life she is living, and she just needs an angel from Montgomery to take her away from it all. He is the only man I know that has ever started a song with “I am an old woman named after my mother,” so tastefully at that.
Prine wrote about the human condition like no one else could. One moment he’s writing about days of the week fighting in a field in “Pretty Good” or singing about smoking pot in “Illegal Smile” to writing about the loneliness of old age in “Hello in There” and the effects of war and drugs on an old man in “Sam Stone.” His lyrics go from hilarious to straight up heart breaking. I’m trying to stay true to my promise I made at the beginning to not talk about every song so to finish up, honorable mentions from John Prine’s self-titled album are “Quiet Man” and “Six O’Clock News.”
Prine inspired too many to count. He was a mailman from the suburbs of Chicago who went on to change the history of music forever. To say that I’m lucky that I was introduced to this album at such a young age by my father is an understatement. Even if John Prine didn’t just pass away last week, this album would already bring tears to my eyes. If you haven’t heard this album yet, go give it a listen. The 44 minutes it takes to listen to this album is time that could not be better spent.
Michelle Opel: An Emotional and Physical Transformation
Michelle Opel is health coach who found her calling through her own life experiences. Opel lost over 160 pounds, became sober, and found her faith in God. Health is more than just dieting and exercising to Michelle, she also believes in an emphasis on mental and spiritual well-being. She explains that where it all began was in 2012 when her mother had passed away from a stroke. She says that was the moment she knew she had to make a change; for herself and for her daughter. Opel had been dealing with unresolved childhood trauma from when she was very young, which she says led to her gaining weight and even eventually turning to alcohol to self-medicate in college.
When asked about how to battle an addiction, Michelle Opel says that it is important for individuals working to quit a habit they have, to know exactly why they are doing it. She also talked about how there are so many types of addictions now and there is a term now called “soft addictions.” These kinds of addictions can be to things such as shopping, playing video games, watching television, etc. She says it is crucial that individuals have to decide if they have a problem and if they want to make a change.
Those examples of soft addictions that Opel gave are also the kinds of addictions people can slip into while they are sitting around at home. This current situation of stay at home orders and quarantining due to the Coronavirus has made it much easier to fall into addictive tendencies. Opel explains that the quarantine can be a really tough time for some people physically and emotionally. Some may be finding it tougher to stick to their diets if they are surrounded by unhealthy food, or they may be out of their work outs routines if they usually go to a gym. She advises to keep tempting food out of the house if that is a problem and to find trainers on Instagram and Facebook that are doing free live work out sessions. She also says that the mental effects of quarantine are having quite an impact for some people.
Opel says that in this age of social media many people feel pressured to be learning a new skill or overhauling their diets and if they aren’t making positive changes to their lives then they’re doing this quarantine wrong. She says that it is very harmful for people and especially those battling mental illness. If people aren’t as productive, it does not mean that they are failing. “I think having grace with yourself and allowing yourself to feel whatever you’re feeling during this time is okay.”
Opel lost over 160 pounds after dealing with the tragic loss of her mother 8 years ago and overcoming her past trauma. She used her experiences to start herself down a new path for her life and for her career. She is now a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and the founder of Nourished Life Ministries, in which she speaks about how to honor God by honoring your health. She also is the former host of Nourished Life Radio, and currently serves on the board of directors of a nonprofit ministry serving in Kenya called Dorcas Destiny International. She has utilized her trials and tribulations to serve others through diet coaching, exercise training, faith, and spirituality. She worked to transform her life and now she works to help others transform theirs.
Michelle Opel discussing how she has dealt with staying healthy while quarantining and giving advice to others on how to get through it.
Students discuss Mental Illness and Online Schooling
It is no secret that college can be extremely difficult for students to manage. Whether it’s balancing a job and school, having to raise a child and go to classes, paying tuition, or just dealing with how tough college courses can be, students find themselves facing many challenges. There are a few uphill battles to climb throughout college, but having to deal with mental illness on top of those can make school feel almost impossible for some students.
There is a plethora of mental illnesses in the DSM-5, which is a book of mental disorders that mental health professionals use in their practice. No one is immune to mental illness, so college students are likely to have a wide array of these disorders listed in the book and they tend to go unspoken about because of the stigma around mental illness. It also may go unspoken because it is a sort of invisible disease that other people would never guess someone is dealing with. Although students could have any of these disorders, college aged individuals are typically diagnosed with anxiety and depression.
Having to deal with mental illness can already be extremely debilitating for some. For students dealing with depression, they find it can be hard to wake up in the morning and get the motivation to do their schoolwork. Of course, currently the world is dealing with unprecedented times due to COVID-19 and students have had to switch to an online education which has been an even tougher reality for many of them. Online classes have been very hard for to adapt to, as it is difficult to stay on top of course work and professors have been dishing out even more work since students haven’t been able to complete in-class work at school. It is as if students have double the homework to complete with a lack of motivation and many distractions at home.
A student at Carthage College in Kenosha explains what it is like to deal with mental illness in college and how online classes are making it even more difficult than usual. 19-year-old Jillian Brann says that she deals with depression and anxiety and taking her regular classes online now on top of that has been hard to deal with. Brann explains that she has never been at a point where she has had all C’s in her classes and been worried she would fail a class, but that has become her new normal.
Another student who attends a community college named Jeremy Sharp, 21, discusses what it is like dealing with bipolar disorder. “I struggle with heavy states of depression and mania. One makes it hard to get out of bed in the morning, and one makes me way too restless to fall asleep at night, especially when it's a night before a test or quiz,” says Sharp. He also says that it has become very hard for him to attend his online class meetings because without the sense of community and in-person discussion, he finds it less effective for him to learn.
Raquel Sánchez, 21, who goes to Elmhurst University explains that her anxiety has been even worse as trying to teach herself coursework is a very daunting task. She also says that she needs to keep her grade point average at a 3.5 in order to continue in her major and it is tough to keep it that high with online classes being difficult to stay on top of.
All of these students, along with many others, have different accounts of how their various mental illnesses make it hard to take regular college classes, and make it especially hard online. In the Psychology Today article “The College Student Mental Health Crisis,” Gregg Henriques, Ph.D., author and licensed clinical psychologist writes “A 2013 survey of college students found that 57 percent of women and 40 percent of men reported experiencing episodes of “overwhelming anxiety” in the past year…” This survey found a fairly high number of students were already dealing with severe anxiety from in-person college classes. There have yet to be many studies out about the effects of how COVID-19 has been affecting students, but according to the multiple students interviewed, the spring 2020 semester has been anxiety provoking and more stress educing than usual.
Mental illness is already hard enough for people to deal with and being a college student is pretty stressful too. Adding in the idea of adapting to a new routine, online classes, and not being able to socialize, all in the midst of a global pandemic makes for a very dicey situation. College students are hopeful and looking forward to seeing their peers next fall and getting back into their old routines. The majority of schools are not sure if they will be opening up in the fall for in-person classes, but they too remain optimistic for the future.
