David Flanagan Opinions editor You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. That said, perhaps the most minute choices of the President of the United States - a man with over 300 staff and presumably at least one fashion consultant under him - can be examined a bit more harshly. During his inauguration just over a week ago, President Biden broke a standing tradition of wearing an “everyman watch,” instead opting for something more opulent. Specifically, Biden wore a Rolex Datejust worth over $7,500 . Contrast this to twelve years ago, when Barack Obama was inaugurated wearing a Jorg Gray 6500 that would have set him back only 395 big ones . George W. Bush campaigned in a Timex Indiglo he could have found in a drugstore ( ~$60 ) and Bill Clinton famously, or perhaps infamously, wore a Timex Ironman - a digital watch. As one of the few fashion choices male politicians can make, along with tie color (red or blue?) and suit color (blue or black?) wrist watches play a special significance in conveying political messaging. George Bush Jr. picked his budget-friendly watch to waive a bit of his Yale/Harvard oil tycoon image, while Clinton essentially strapped a TI-84 to his arm to contribute to his fun loving and unpretentious attitude. Donald Trump wouldn’t be caught dead without a bevy of golden watches to exemplify his 24 karat personality - or perhaps his gaudy, nouveau-riche aesthetic. So what message is Biden trying to send with his timepiece? One thing is for certain: Biden’s watch is his own statement. It is not a coincidence that this experienced politician crafted his image to a T on his most visible day. Economical watches are a new-ish fad which took off in the 80s and 90s as increased visibility, and eventually internet image sharing, made the use of luxury watches look a touch out place, a remnant of old-fashioned elitism (“ Pokemon Go to the polls, ” anyone?) That old-fashioned, classic style is exactly what Joe Biden is going for. In reverting to an opulent watch, he’s confirming the image of his administration not in policy, but in presence. Biden is harkening back to the days where a president was a distinguished elderly statesman who shook hands with the opposition and was a quiet reassurance to the American public, knowing that at the end of a long day he’d be eating at the same clubs and restaurants as his political rivals. Eisenhower and Johnson wore upscale timepieces; they also stayed scandal free, out of the press, and were lauded for their “nose to the grindstone” mentality. There were no pretensions about looking like an everyman - these politicians were elected by the people, sure, but were also their paragon. In contrast to the revolutionary youth pandering of Clinton and Obama, Biden’s watch has a simple statement: I’m qualified, I’m elite and I know what I’m about. Is this what he should be doing? Shouldn’t the president at least pretend like he has working class interests? For some, a luxury watch shows a lack of understanding. Allegra Starr, ‘22 weighed in, saying “It’s upsetting when the people try to help others are so distant from the reality of the people they’re trying to help.” For others, the fact that Biden is more blatant about his wealth and status might be refreshing, and might even seem to be just plain honest. At the end of the day, it’s worth paying attention to everything politicians say, even if they don’t say it out loud. Follow the money, but watch the watch.

Jake Procino News editor A fifteen-foot high sculpture by renowned Oregon artist Lee Kelly [ will be installed on the northeast corner of campus ] next month, just northeast of the art building. The untitled sculpture crafted of steel in 1974 was donated to Willamette by SAIF Corporation, a not-for-profit workers’ insurance company with a campus in Salem. Kelly, born on a ranch in Idaho in 1932, has been prolific producing art full-time since 1965. The PNCA alumnus is most well known for his massive steel sculptures. His work can be seen all along the northwest coast and dotted throughout Oregon.

Jake Procino News editor A “student living on campus” tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 23, Willamette’s reopening committee (ROC) announced over email Jan. 24. The student was present in Lausanne Hall and known close contacts have been asked to quarantine. Additional details about the student have been withheld due to privacy laws. Faculty and staff who test positive are asked to contact Danita Chapin in Human Resources, and students who test positive are to contact Tori Ruiz in Student Affairs. There were [ eighteen positive tests ] announced during the fall semester before winter break.

Noah Dantes Editor-in-chief College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) students will start all classes remotely on Jan. 20, and in-person classes are scheduled to move in-person on Feb. 2 after a 10-day “quiet period.” The intent of the quiet period “is to limit the amount of student interaction upon arrival to campus,” Director of Bishop Wellness Center and Reopening Committee (ROC) member Don Thomson said over email. During the quiet period, all classes will be remote and students, faculty and staff are being asked “to limit their interactions with others as much as possible.” President Thorsett said in a December interview: “The biggest concern is travel: once the community is together, we have the right precautions to keep people safe.” Goudy Commons will remain grab-and-go only and Sparks Athletics Center will remain closed for the “foreseeable future,” Thomson said. Both Goudy and Sparks are subject to the limits established by the risk category given to Marion County by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA). Since [ Marion County is currently in the OHA’s “Extreme Risk” category ], Goudy cannot reintroduce dine-in and Sparks cannot reopen. [ Sparks has been closed since Nov. 14 and Goudy halted in-person dining on Nov. 16 ]. Once in-person learning is implemented on Feb. 2, CAS students will not be allowed to switch back and forth between remote and in-person learning. While many classes still offer both in-person and remote options, Willamette has “asked students to commit to attending in one mode or the other rather than shifting back and forth,” Thomson said. Thomson elaborated: “Feedback from CAS students and faculty indicated that the all-remote or all in-person courses were the most successful. The masks and distancing requirements made it difficult for remote learners to hear what was happening in the classroom and stifled discussions.” When asked whether Willamette could move to online-only learning sometime during spring semester, Thomson said: “If the state or federal government made a determination to further limit in-person interaction, we would of course need to comply.” Additionally, if cases on campus rose to a level that “adequate support could not be provided,” Thomson said Willamette “would need to reconsider the decision to offer in-person experiences.” “We successfully completed fall semester thanks to our community’s care and commitment to the requirements of the [ WU Well U Agreement ],” Thomson said. “These requirements, which include wearing face masks, maintaining 6 ft. of physical distance from others, hand washing, limiting social interactions, and limiting guests, will continue for the Spring 2021 semester.”

Noah Dantes Editor-in-chief Bishop Wellness Center will “begin [ surveillance testing ] of undergraduate, law, and graduate students in February,” Director of Bishop Wellness Center and Reopening Committee (ROC) member Don Thomson said over email. Bishop will use the rapid antigen tests for its surveillance testing, so test participants will receive their results the day of. There will be no direct costs for students requested to participate in the surveillance testing, and the appointments will be available 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Monday to Friday. Thomson said that he is hopeful the new surveillance testing will help identify potential for community spread. “The results will not only help us understand the factors that facilitate transmission among students, but may help us locate geographic patterns of COVID-19 on campus,” Thomson said. “Although we identified positive COVID cases on and off campus in the fall, they were not connected to one another. We will continue to monitor for community transmission in the spring.” Bishop will also offer tests to asymptomatic students for a “$50 fee as supplies are available.” Thomson said that anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or those that had close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 should call Bishop and make a separate appointment, rather than participate in the surveillance testing. Willamette will not be offering vaccines anytime soon, Thomson said, because the nationwide roll-out of the vaccine has been slower than promised. The federal government had previously indicated that it would be distributing a federal reserve of vaccines to the states, but Oregon Governor Kate Brown said [ that the federal government lied: there is no reserve ]. As a result, the vaccine distribution timeline Gov. Brown and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) previously shared has been pushed back. “It will continue to take time for the vaccines to be widely available and meet the demand of the groups eligible for vaccinating. Currently, OHA is still in [ Phase 1a ] of the vaccine roll out,” Thomson said. In a December interview, President Thorsett said Willamette’s plan for vaccine distribution depends on how quickly it rolls out. “18-22 year olds will be really low on the priority list. Any real changes will probably come pretty late in the semester,” Thorsett said. When asked if Bishop would offer vaccines, Thorsett said: “We don’t know how it’ll be distributed yet, so no idea. There’s some questions about which vaccine will actually be distributed. It might be offered only through Salem Health if it’s the vaccine that needs to be held at low temperatures.” Willamette will not require the vaccine before it becomes widely available, so that vaccines aren’t diverted from a low need area to a high need area. “We don’t want to encourage low risk people to get vaccinated when high risk people need it more and there’s still no wide availability of the vaccine,” Thorsett said. “That doesn’t mean that we’re not thinking about employees, who have family that are high risk. We’ll find a way to get employees and people at Bishop vaccinated.” Willamette will also consider the efficacy of the vaccine before making it mandatory.

Updated Jan. 19: Campus Safety details added. Jake Procino News editor Noah Dantes Editor-in-chief The lower windows of Oregon's capitol have been boarded up. Photo by Jake Procino. The [ FBI is expecting armed protests ] at every US state capitol between Jan. 16 and Jan. 20, corresponding with the date of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. As of Jan. 17, there have been a few demonstrations, including a [ small armed group ] who dispersed without incident. The Salem Police Department is still [ expecting demonstrations Jan. 19-20 ], with the demonstrations starting around 9 a.m. to noon. Salem Police encourages residents to avoid the state capitol on Jan. 19 and 20. President Thorsett announced Jan. 12 in a “Words from Waller” email that Willamette has [ extended the number of move-in days ] to last from Jan. 19 to Jan. 23 in response to the potential armed demonstrations. Prior to the announcement, Jan. 19 and Jan. 20 were the only move-in days. Director of Campus Safety Ross Stout said over email, “Campus Safety has been in communication with the Oregon State Police at the Capitol, the Salem Police and the Mid-Valley Threat Advisory Team to learn the latest intelligence about potential protests.” Stout said that Campus Safety has established a plan in response to the potential armed demonstrators and the capitol, and are taking three steps to protect the campus community: “1. Willamette’s campus remains closed to all visitors and there are signs at all entrances to campus that state this. Campus Safety officers will enforce these restrictions. We are hiring contract security staff who will be monitoring the perimeter of campus during any protest at the Capitol. 2. Campus Safety is bringing in officers on overtime and hiring contract security to supplement the regularly-scheduled staff. 3. The university will activate its Emergency Notification System to immediately inform people on campus if there are perceived threats from protesters and encourage them to shelter in place in their buildings until they are notified that the threat has passed.” Stout added on: “At all times, students should call Campus Safety immediately if they observe concerning situations or people on campus. Call 24 hours a day at 503-370-6911.” Two Willamette students, Seth Bell (‘23) and Micahel Burke (‘23) have created a [ “Move In Buddy Volunteer/Request Form” Google Form ] in an effort to keep students safe in groups when they move in. Bell said over message that the form collects the respondent’s move-in information, then matches students into pairs and small groups to safely walk around campus while moving in. Bell said their goal is to, “Help keep our community safe during this potentially dangerous and unfortunately timed event.” The Oregon State Police (OSP), who have jurisdiction and enforcement responsibility for events at the capitol, have increased law-enforcement activity and are being supported by the Salem Police Department and the Oregon National Guard. [ According to the Statesman Journal ], OSP vehicles have frequently patrolled the capitol while the Oregon National guard has remained on stand-by. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office are also ready to provide support if needed. The Oregon State Capitol building itself, meanwhile, has been boarded up with plywood covering the first-floor windows and concrete blocks placed in front of the Capitol.

Chrissy Ewald Staff writer Art by Maizy Goerlitz. Three months after Willamette University (WU) [ announced a planned merger ] with the Pacific Northwest College of Arts (PNCA), talks to bring the PNCA into the Willamette fold as its fifth degree program remain ongoing. While the exact timeline of the merger is in the hands of the Oregon Department of Education, both schools hope that approval will be secured by the first week of January 2021. Meanwhile, merger teams are working on creating new curricula that will create opportunities for students from both schools. While PNCA and Willamette students can currently [ take classes ] at the other college through the Oregon Alliance of Colleges and Universities, having equivalent prerequisites can be a problem, especially for non-art majors. PNCA students all complete a “foundation year” in which they learn the basics of arts higher education and explore a wide variety of arts disciplines. Willamette students, especially non-art majors, do not have an equivalent arts foundation. Ruth Feingold, the Willamette Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences who spent the fall semester working as special assistant to the PNCA president and provost for coordinating the merger, explained that with the merger, “there is the possibility for having some special classes designed for Willamette students that don’t necessarily require all the background.” These could include, for example, classes in PNCA’s state-of-the-art printmaking studio. With the considerable distance between the PNCA and WU campuses, Feingold discussed the potential for study-away semesters at both institutions for students interested in taking a full semester course load of in-person classes at the other school’s campus. PNCA students might be interested in Willamette courses on sustainability to supplement their Art and Ecology minor, costuming or fashion courses that approach the subject from a historical or theatrical perspective, and women’s and gender studies. Another possibility Feingold raised was establishing 3+2, 3+1 or 4+1 degree programs that would involve both WU and PNCA. Willamette undergrads might pursue a Master in Fine Arts degree at PNCA, or PNCA students could get a Master in Business Administration at Atkinson. While students could do that before the merger, it will now be easier to design combination programs. Some Willamette students have wondered why Willamette is merging with PNCA, especially during a pandemic and economic recession. This news comes only a year after Claremont School of Theology (CST) partially relocated its campus to Willamette as part of a similar merger. Feingold said that Willamette is aiming for a student body of about 4,000 students in order to make Willamette a mid-sized institution. While there is an economic dimension to Willamette absorbing new programs, the [ FAQ page ] for the merger on Willamette’s website says the merger is not a sign that Willamette is struggling financially. The main goal of these kinds of mergers is to enrich the educational experience of all students involved, and Feingold said that beyond the efficiency of having a larger school, this merger is an opportunity to build a more “vibrant community” on the WU campus. Feingold expressed excitement about the potential having 400 new art undergraduates could have on the diversity of perspectives present in the CAS: “As we’re trying to teach students how to look at the world from a variety of different perspectives, [the addition of PNCA students is] an additional perspective that has been sequestered in a very small part of our curriculum, but could really spread out more broadly.”

Jake Procino News editor On Dec. 14, Willamette University [ announced ] that they decided to cancel the football and men’s and women’s basketball seasons for the entirety of the 2020-21 year in a joint statement with Lewis & Clark College. The decision comes after the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) [ announced ] earlier in December that “Full-contact sports are prohibited” until further notice. OHA defined full-contact sports as sports that involve “sustained close proximity or physical contact between participants, and includes but is not limited to football, rugby, wrestling, cheerleading, basketball, hockey, dance, water polo [and] men’s lacrosse.” The status of other sports seasons is still up in the air. The Northwest Conference Presidents’ Council (NWC) [ announced ] on Dec. 15 in a press release that they decided to “resume conference competition and championships after January 1, 2021 when federal, state, local and NCAA health directives permit.” This means that some sports will be able to compete during spring semester if both Oregon and Willamette allow certain forms of athletic competition. Willamette has yet to make an announcement regarding plans for sports other than football and basketball. Marion County has over [ 460 cases per 100,000 people over the past fourteen days ], putting the county in the [ “Extreme Risk” category ] at least through the end of the year. OHA places restrictions on extreme-risk counties, such as prohibiting indoor recreation and limiting outdoor recreation to fifty people.

Noah Dantes Editor-in-chief Governor Kate Brown has invited Oregon students to create a 30-second video that addresses the question: “How do you plan to celebrate the holidays safely?” The contest website gives a breakdown of the submission rules, COVID-19 guidelines and a list of low-risk ways to celebrate the holidays. Videos will be sorted into three different age groups: K-6, 7-12, and College. Governor Brown will then choose top videos from each age category, and invite the winners to participate in a video chat with her. Students have until Dec. 18 to submit their video through a Google Form or by emailing it to Sarah.Dean@Oregon.gov along with your name, city, school, and video title. “Because people in their 20s continue to be the most likely to test positive for Covid-19, we are trying to focus on getting young people involved in the discussion around following public health guidelines,” a spokesperson for the governor’s office said in a statement.

Emma Innes Staff writer The Northwest Conference (NWC), the NCAA Division III athletic conference that includes Willamette University, held no games during the 2020 Fall Semester as part of safety measures for the COVID-19 pandemic, but Willamette still held practices, similar to other colleges. With COVID-19 cases rising in Oregon and across the United States, many are wondering if student-athletes will be unable to play in games in Spring 2021 as well. Rob Passage, Willamette’s director of intercollegiate athletics, said over email that there hasn’t been a final decision concerning sport games in the spring, but that the NWC president’s council will make the ultimate decision regarding conference games. The NWC president’s council’s next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 11. It’s not certain if a decision will be made then. Passage said Willamette will play only within the NWC and that they are drafting schedules for all sports, most with fewer games than a regular season. If Willamette plays in games during the spring, fans will not be allowed unless there is a change in health guidelines. However, Willamette is working to ensure events can be watched online. According to Passage, the NWC is working on a testing policy to ensure student-athletes can safely travel between campuses. Willamette would need to comply with the policy to compete. If the NWC does not have games in the spring, there is still the option of continuing practices. Passage said on spring practices, “I would hope that teams would still be able to train in some capacity even if they are not competing, but like everything else that depends on what the health authorities are telling us at that specific time.” Audrey Piacsek (‘22) of the track team said that her coach has communicated that there is no solid idea of what the season will look like, but there is a plan to continue practicing, which Piacsek would personally prefer over doing nothing. Kaitlyn Wells (‘21) of the softball team said over email that she would prefer to play games, but doesn’t believe it could safely happen since student-athletes from other institutions would have to come to Willamette and Willamette’s team would have to travel to other campuses. While not optimistic about being able to play games, she does hope they still practice, saying it’s important to maintain their skills and team chemistry. On the question of if COVID-19 has affected funding for the Athletic Department, Passage said: “Like other departments on campus we have cut our expenditures to only include those items that are essential to what we are doing at the moment, which for us this fall was only practicing.” Passage said a lack in spending by the athletic department was probably a conscious decision to hold onto funds until spring plans were clear and not a funding issue.

Noah Dantes Editor-in-chief An employee “not regularly working on campus” and a contractor working on campus both tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 26, Willamette’s reopening committee announced over email Nov. 27. The contractor was last on campus Nov. 17 and was present in Goudy Commons, but was not in close contact with anyone at Willamette. The employee was last on campus Nov. 23, and was present in Sparks Athletic Center. Anyone who was in close contact with the employee has been told to self-quarantine, and will receive follow-up from a Marion County contact tracer. Additional details about the individuals have been withheld due to privacy laws. Faculty and staff who test positive are still being asked to contact Danita Chapin in Human Resources, and students who test positive are to contact Tori Ruiz in Student Affairs. Willamette announced its sixteenth case of the semester on Nov. 20.

Edited by Kathleen Forrest Managing Editor Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are the individual staff member’s own, and do not reflect the perspectives of the Collegian staff as a whole, nor the view of the Collegian as an institution. Art by Maizy Goerlitz The Pick: Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India Available on Netflix, rated PG Submitted by Jake Procino, News Editor Staff Comment: Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, is a 3-hour and 44-minute Oscar-nominated 2001 Indian Hindi-language epic musical sports film about a rag-tag group of Indian farmers in 1891 who play the British raj (the colonial rulers) in a game of cricket for their livelihoods. There's a lot to unpack here. Global superstar [ Aamir Khan ] plays the lead: a young, male farmer named Bhuvan who gets into a kerfuffle with a ruling British officer named Captain Russel. Captain Russel challenges Bhuvan and his farming village to a game of cricket with very high stakes: if the British soldiers win the match, they will triple the lagaan (the annual agricultural tax); if the Indian villagers win, there will be no lagaan for three years. What's worse, the rainy season has been delayed so the farmers haven't been able to grow any crops this season. What follows is an epic musical saga of a group of underdog farmers learning how to play cricket to avoid triple lagaan. It includes all the ingredients for a great sports film: a Judas-esque backstabbing, dance numbers, love triangles, a cruel, merciless villain and an [ epic training montage ]. It's a long, long film with a laundry-list of cast members, but the pay-off is worth every second. The Pick: Snowpiercer Available on Netflix, rated R Submitted by Noah Dantes, Editor-in-Chief Staff Comment: A truly bizarre but controversial crossover and social commentary you never knew you needed. Based on a 70s French comic, directed by Bong Joon Ho (the man behind Parasite and Okja), and starring the best Chris (Chris Evans) and British actress Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer is an international project with… eccentricities. Machines smushing up cockroaches to make chunky meals for the train’s back-car passengers? Yum. Ski mask men coating their axes in fish blood before battle? Wtf? Using drugs as a literal bomb? WTF! All set on a train divided by a class system and (brutally violent) class war hurtling across a barren, frozen, dead Earth- except for the odd polar bear, of course. All because we killed our planet by trying to reverse climate change too hard. What?? And perhaps it’s all secretly a sequel to Willy Wonka ??? If you start to think about the movie too hard, you’ll have way more questions than you’ll ever have answers. For me, that’s part of the fun, but if you look at the reviews to this movie, half of watchers claim it to be a masterpiece while the other half claim it to be a plothole-filled trainwreck (pun intended). If you’re one to focus on plot holes, this movie probably isn’t for you. But if you can sit back and enjoy the ride for what it is: excellent social commentary, beautiful camera shots, a unique setting + sets and just an insane amount of weirdness, it might just end up as one of your favorite movies. P.S. Don’t watch the trailer, it sucks. P.P.S. This was the movie that made me realize that Chris Evans has a WAY bigger acting range than what they let him use in the Marvel movies (even though I do love Marvel). The Pick: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Available on Netflix, rated R Submitted by Kathleen Forrest, Managing Editor Staff Comment: While Netflix labels this Coen brothers movie a ‘comedy’ that’s not quite right, and while ‘dark comedy’ gets closer, it’s still not there. This movie makes you laugh, but it’ll also make you feel weird about it. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is an anthology of mini-westerns, “ranging from absurd to profound”, and it runs marathons within that range. All of the stories have a connecting theme to them, but while you walk away knowing the theme, articulation of it may yet escape you. It includes actors like Liam Neeson and James Franco, although it might still take you some time to recognize that because, well, it’s a Coen brothers movie. All of the actors do such a phenomenal job that they blend right into the world created in this film, and it does create a world. I recommend you start watching at sunset, both because I’m pretentious like that and also because it gives you the full effect of ending the movie when it’s dark out. It is beautiful and ridiculous, and I cannot recommend it enough.