The Waltonian

This year, spring started off in the midst of a nor’easter, the fourth one this month. While all of these storms have been frustrating for all, they pose a bigger problem for those involved in spring sports on campus. Some teams have had to practice indoors a few times, while others have had games postponed and their season pushed back.

The track team have had some of their practices moved from the Valley Forge Track and into the gym multiple times this semester. In regards to the meet schedule, track athlete Hayden Rountree said, “this affected our meet schedule slightly because it caused our first outdoor meet at West Chester University to be cancelled because of snow. Coach Mike Wilson rescheduled a new meet for the same weekend at University of Delaware, which saved the team from just having a practice.” However, he does not seem to believe that the snow will affect the team’s performance later on in the season.

Another team that has been affected by the sporadic snow storms is the men’s lacrosse team, which has had many practices moved indoors and one game postponed. Lacrosse player, Kyle Fanelli, talked about the team’s spirit so far this season with all the snow. He said, “Overall as a team we are just trying to focus on what we can control. The weather has thrown us for a loop but we are still trying to find ways to keep are sticks in our hands and are cardio up even in the snowy weather” and that playing in the gym “isn’t the same as playing on a full field but as long as we are getting touches and staying moving I feel as if we will be successful”.

Another team that has been forced from their normal location and into the gym is the women’s softball team, they have also had one game postponed. However, none of the other sports have seem to be thrown off quite as much as the men’s baseball team, which has had six games postponed; forcing them to push their season back another week in May. Baseball player Andrew Benham reported that the same thing happened last year and that they had to stay another week past finals, but “that’s what it’s like playing baseball in the northeast during the spring.” He also said, “we always try to play are best, no matter the weather or the circumstance” and that “part of playing baseball is adjusting to the situation. We just have to learn to play our best no matter the condition the field is in.”

The Men’s Golf team has also had a tough time getting the season going as they have had two tournaments canceled so far. They have been rescheduled but it has lead to a very condensed schedule. Men’s Golf captain stated “It’s hard to believe that we are at Masters week and we still are having a hard time getting on the golf course.”

Despite all of the difficulties this spring has brought upon the teams, they are still keeping their heads up and training just as hard. When the weather permits, the Eastern Eagles are ready to go and cannot wait to give this season all they’ve got.

On Feb. 9, Windows on the World joined forces with the student club, Heart of Africa, in order to make the EU community aware that Africa is not a “single story” of poverty and suffering. A panel made of three Eastern professors, Dr. Joao Monteiro, Dr. Sharon Gramby-Sobukwe, and Dr. Mike Mtika, each gave a presentation to help shed light on the complexity and beauty that also lie within Africa.

The first presentation was given by Dr. Monterio, a sociology professor who is originally from the Cape Verde islands. Monterio first showed a TedTalk called The Danger of a Single Story, in which Nigerian novelist, Chimamanda Adichie, talks about the “single story” placed on Africa by Americans. She explains that we tend to see Africa as a third world country that only knows poverty and suffering, when in fact it is a diverse continent filled with beauty, complexity and worth.

Monterio added to the points made by Chimamanda Adichie, by reiterating that Americans tend to “oversimplify” Africa and see it with only one “bleak narrative.” Africa has “six out of the ten fastest growing economies… or consider this; Rwanda is the number one place in the world right now for women in politics” and “Africa is the world’s leader in mobile banking” are facts among the many that Monterio gave as proof that Africa is more than the label Americans have given it.

Dr. Sobukwee, a political science professor who is not from Africa, but has been studying Pan Africanism for many years, gave her presentation next. She talked about Africa’s “Intellectual Heritage,” starting with one of the oldest Universities, Sankore University, located in Timbuktu. One slide mentioned Mystery schools in Africa that Jesus most likely attended. “Africa contributed to the development of Jesus,” Dr. Sobukwee mused. She also talked about African literature that we “can’t afford to miss,” mentioning books such as We Should all be Feminists by Chimamanda Adichie and A Grain of Wheat by Kenyan novelist Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o.

The last to present was Dr. Mtika, a sociology professor who is originally from Malawi. He talked about how he worked for the Malawi government to help instruct farmers and improve agriculture, “I convinced farmers to do a lot of crazy stuff” he confessed. Dr. Mtika also talked about how telling people what to do is one of the worst ways to help them; he said “learning is not a bank system” but it is instead a “process of dialogue.” He encouraged the audience to go to Africa to “apply faith, reason, and justice up front” by using dialogue to engage the people because, according to Dr. Mtika, “improvement of life is tied to dialogue.”