Stephanie Levenson, the Vice President of Enrollment Management on campus, spoke on the Scots Pledge and what it entails for the 2027 freshman class and those to follow. She explained how the new program will allow students to be awarded financial aid for full tuition, including the requirements to qualify. The incoming students must be Illinois residents and reach a GPA threshold of 3.25 on a 4.00 scale, having a household gross income of $100,000 or less, and they will need to live on campus.

Levenson described the Pledge as “a better way to communicate cost and affordability for Monmouth in ways that families can better understand.” By laying out the qualifications and options for potential students, the process of applying for and receiving financial aid will be more streamlined. “What can we do to uncomplicate a complicated process?” seems to be the foundational question behind the implementation of the Scots Pledge, in the hopes that students will not be intimidated by the initial tuition fee but rather understand there are possibilities to make Monmouth a feasible option.

“To me, the benefit is opening doors to students who may not have otherwise looked at Monmouth,” Levenson explained. The class of 2031 and those to follow will have to keep an eye out in case they qualify for the new Scots Pledge, and what doors will open if they do.

Volleyball

Coming off a 12-14 overall record and 6-2 conference record from last season, the Fighting Scots volleyball team looks to build off their triumphs from the previous season, including their second consecutive Midwest Conference tournament appearance. The 2025 campaign ended with a 3-0 semifinal loss to Lawrence University.

The Scots return many power players both offensively and defensively. On the offensive end, Junior Kaylee Celus led the team in points last season with 397 and kills with 334. Senior Zoe Nizzia, who had the third most assists for the Scots in the 2025 season with 79, also makes her way back to Glennie Gymnasium. In the 2026 campaign, Celus currently leads the squad with 37 kills, followed by freshman Bri Woodard and junior Chloe Strachan with 24.

On the defensive end, Nizzia also led the Scots in digs with 394, followed by Celus with 266. Additionally, Celus and Strachan have tallied eight blocks so far in the 2026 campaign.

The team will play their first home match on Tuesday, September 15 vs Augustana College at 7 p.m., and will return to Glennie Gymnasium again on September 29 vs Coe College at 7 p.m.

Men’s Soccer

The Fighting Scots men’s soccer team looks to take care of of unfinished business from last season. In 2025, the Scots had a record of 3-9-3 overall with a conference record of 0-7-1. This season, any and all conference wins would be a pickup for the boys in red and white.

On the offensive side, senior Owen Murray returns for his final season with Monmouth Men’s Soccer, hoping to make one final statement over these next few months. Last season, Murray led the team in goals, assists, and shots.

The Scots also feature a new face defending the goal this season: freshman Calvin Cotton, who has totaled 16 saves so far in his tenure with the team.

Men’s soccer will return home and open conference play against the Grinnell Pioneers on Saturday, September 19 at 11 a.m. to kick off a men-women doubleheader.

Women’s Soccer

Like their male counterparts, The women’s soccer team is hungry for their own reasons, including a possible Midwest Conference tournament appearance. The team fell just short of qualifying in 2025 after a loss to the undefeated Lake Forest and unfavorable results elsewhere. The 2025 campaign ended with a 7-6-3 overall and 3-3-2 conference record.

This fall, the Scots return four top goal scorers from last season: Morgan Kistler), Mariah Hobson, Kiersten Medinger, and Natalie Morrow. In the current campaign, Hobson is tied with freshman Sophie Haynes with two goals apiece.

Their first game will be at Peacock Park on Wednesday, September 16, for a 5 p.m. kickoff with the Millikin Big Blue before opening conference play at home on September 19 versus the Grinnell Pioneers.

Men’s/Women’s Cross Country

The Fighting Scot look to be even faster than they were last fall and climb up the ladder in the conference standings.

In the most recent Les Duke Invitational at Grinnell College, the men were led by senior Xander Stoub, who ran 27:46.2 to place 18th overall.

On the women’s side, Melissa Bivolarov led the Scots with a time of 26:31.3 and placed 45th overall. The team will travel to Pella, Iowa, for the annual Central College Dutch Open on Friday, September 25.

Football

The Fighting Scot football team has a lot of success to build on from last season, having qualified for the NCAA playoffs for the first time since 2019. Even with the loss to St. John’s last November, the Scots return key faces and add some new faces to the 2026 roster.

Nate Wrublik returns to the squad, having rushed for 794 yards last season. At the quarterback position, Silas Braun fills in for recently graduated Brayden Deem. This season, Braun has thrown for 178 yards and two touchdowns and looks to improve on those numbers as the season continues.

When it comes to receivers, Chase Newman returns, having led the team last year in receiving touchdowns and yards. He has two touchdowns to his name already in the present campaign.

On the defensive end, Kaden Foglesong earned two sacks for a loss of 14 yards, earning him a spot on D3football.com’s team of the week and the title of Midwest Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

The Scots open conference play next Saturday in Mount Vernon, Iowa, against the Cornell Rams with kickoff at 1 p.m. before returning home to play the Redhawks of Ripon College the following Saturday. Kickoff against Ripon on September 26 is scheduled for 1 p.m.

The addition of these new majors reflects the college’s efforts to adapt to the ever-changing workforce. Adding new areas of study allows Monmouth to stay consistent with the wants and the needs of today’s career world.

“Over time, the world has become more complex and more specialized. To fulfill its mission to prepare students to pursue successful careers, Monmouth College must change,” said School of Business Chair Michael Connell.

The new finance major will focus on preparing students to understand financial markets while also giving them the skills necessary to work in the field. The program is designed to deepen students’ knowledge in areas such as financial analysis and wealth management while preparing for careers in finance.

“In the modern economy, an understanding of finance is critical,” Connell said. “It is essential that Monmouth College students be prepared to participate in that process.”

While finance provides students with a pathway into the financial industry, the agribusiness management major is designed with the Monmouth area in mind. Monmouth is in a region where agriculture plays a major role in the local economy. As technology continues to change within the agricultural industry, farmers increasingly rely on business professionals in areas such as management, finance, and data analysis. The agribusiness management major aims to prepare students for these roles within the industry.

The addition of these two majors allows current and incoming students to pursue a more specialized education within the School of Business while continuing to receive a liberal arts education.

In 1956, she returned to France to work at Armand-Trousseau Hospital under Raymond Turpin. Turpin had previously focused on Down Syndrome and had hypothesized that Down syndrome may be linked to chromosomal abnormalities, but lacked the knowledge needed to analyze chromosomes. Fortunately, Marthe had just returned from her work in labs and offered her experience to test Turpin’s theory. With no financial support, Marthe used her own funds and resources to prepare the cells; she spent four months counting the chromosomes of patients without Down syndrome to ensure her process was successful. In 1958, two years after beginning her work with Turpin, she finally began to work with cells from a patient who had Down syndrome. She repeated the same process as before, prepping the cells and counting the chromosomes; only this time she didn’t count 46; she counted 47 chromosomes. The 47^th chromosome changed the understanding of Down syndrome. Unfortunately, Marthe lacked access to the equipment needed to photograph what she had found, so she entrusted her discovery to Jérôme Lejeune, the protégé of Turpin.

Soon after, without Gautier’s knowledge, Lejeune presented her findings at the International Congress of Genetics in Montreal with no acknowledgement of Marthe’s contribution, though it is important to note that while Marthe Gautier identified the 47^th chromosome, Lejeune was the one to determine that the extra chromosome was on the 21^st pair. The findings were officially published in January 1959 in The French Academy of Sciences as “Human chromosomes in tissue cultures” by J. Lejeune, M. Gautier and R. Turpin. Marthe received notice one week before the paper was published and was allowed to make corrections on her own research.

Following the release of the work, Lejeune received an abundance of praise and was bestowed numerous awards, even gaining the title of “father of trisomy 21”. Following his passing, the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation was created in his memory with the purpose of supporting and continuing research on Down syndrome. Meanwhile, Marthe remained silent for fear of backlash and being blacklisted. Marthe went on to continue her original work in pediatric cardiology on rheumatic Fever. In January of 2014, more than 50 years after her discovery, at the age of 88, Marthe was set to be publicly awarded for her involvement in finding the 47^th chromosome by the French Foundation for Human Genetics; however, the ceremony was held privately, as the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation showed with a court order claiming her words would degrade the legacy of Lejeune. Later that year, though, Gautier finally received the acknowledgement she deserved when the ethics committee from INSERM, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, announced that without Marthe’s work, Lejeune’s discovery could not have been made. Finally, after more than fifty years of being forgotten and ignored, her work was acknowledged, and eight years later, on April 30^th, 2022, Marthe Gautier was laid to rest.

Bibliography

Archive.org. n.d. Accessed September 10, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20230213103017/https://presse.inserm.fr/jeudi-25-septembre-2014/15704/.

AWIS. 2025. “Marthe Gautier.” March 14. https://awis.org/historical-women/marthe-gautier/.

Badger, Jan. 2026. “Unsung Hero.” Helen: The Journal of Human Exceptionality, March 15. https://helenjournal.org/march-2026/unsung-hero-marthe-gautier.

Saharan, Shehroze. 2026. “Marthe Gautier.” The Matilda Project, May 3. https://www.thematildaproject.com/scientists/marthe-gautier.

Scientificwomen.net. n.d. “Marthe GAUTIER.” Accessed September 10, 2026. https://scientificwomen.net/women/gautier-marthe-120.

She explored topics consisting of economic, environmental and policy changes that were caused due to the farm crisis in the 1980s. As well as the mental strain the farm crisis had on farming families. Many farmers were losing their land or were in serious danger of losing their farms, which ultimately caused extreme stress and fear in many families.

“The losses didn’t just belong to adults. They belonged to entire families: men, women, and children,” Professor Riney-Kehrberg said.

Farms were being lost due to farmers regularly borrowing to maintain their business, farmers being young and in precarious condition, being young and ambitious, and due to being older farmers who had borrowed against the value of their land to bring children into their operations.

“I’ve talked to lots and lots of students whose families are farm families who don’t know much about this,” Professor Riney-Kehrberg said. A reason why it is so important to talk about the Farm Crisis, even forty years later, is due to how many young farmers are unaware of what has happened in the 1980s. Riney-Kehrberg said she wants to keep the awareness of what has happened in the past in discussion so young farmers can understand what has happened and learn from it.

Riney-Kehrberg has spent years researching these topics, having published five books and written 40 articles based around life on the farm, childhood and rural communities and humanity within the Midwest. She was a past president of the Agricultural History Society and past president of the Midwestern History Association.

Starting in 2016 through a gift from Jeanne Gitting Robeson a 1960 alum, The Wiswell-Robeson Lecture’s purpose is to annually feature a speaker from the agriculture community who explores issues, challenges and innovations in the industry.

A duo of top-shelf goals by Mariah Hobson and a second-half go ahead goal from Yoselim Hernandez were all the ladies in red and white needed to claim their season-opening victory by a score of 3-2 over the Lakeland University Muskies at Peacock Park Friday evening. With this win, the Scots start the season 1-0 overall under their new head coach Rhys Lewis.

Hobson got the party started in the second minute when she received a pass from Natalie Morrow at the top of the box, then slotted it into the top-left corner for Monmouth’s opening goal. The Muskies responded in the 33rd minute, but Hobson produced another upper-90 strike in the 56th minute to grow the Scots’ lead to 2-1. Yoselim Hernandez then bagged a goal herself off a corner kick from Jackie Contreras in the 67th minute.

Despite a late charge from the Muskies, the Scots defense held their own and saw the game out for their first victory under Coach Lewis.

The win was complemented by the Scots outshooting the Muskies 27-5 (18-4). Freshman goalkeeper Cadence Covert recorded two saves in her debut appearance for Monmouth.

Monmouth women’s soccer will be at Peacock Park again on Wednesday, September 16 to take on the Big Blue of Millikin University. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 5 p.m.

The Warhawks dominated the game statistically too, in particular outshooting Monmouth 23-2 (17-2). Freshman goalkeeper Calvin Cotton recorded eight saves in his debut appearance for the Scots.

Monmouth men’s soccer will be home again when they open conference play against the Pioneers of Grinnell College on Saturday, September 19. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 11 a.m.

.

Ruby Poffinbarger joined The Courier as a contributing writer in January 2025 and was promoted to staff writer last August. “With a [communications] minor, you need a workshop and I love writing. I knew I would prefer journalism over radio, and I was correct. I loved it so much, I decided to keep writing after the journalism workshop ended,” said Poffinbarger.

Her favorite memories are sitting with copyeditor Mikaela Avery and editor-in-chief Dawsyn Wilson and writing while they edited stories. “They aren’t extravagant moments by any means, but they are special to me.” said Poffinbarger. As a staff writer, Poffinbarger has grown more confident in her writing and interviewing people, learning how to ask better questions.

“Take the feedback and ask the questions. It is okay to be wrong, it is okay to be learning, that is the point of being on the courier. Without stepping out of your comfort zone, you will never improve, and even if you think you don’t need to, you can always improve,” Poffinbarger said.

Seamus O’Sullivan

“I have always enjoyed writing and wanted the opportunity to write outside a strictly academic setting,” said Seamus O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan joined as a contributing writer in August 2024 and became a staff writer the following semester. Last August he was promoted to features editor.

“It’s a lot of fun, especially when we meet and lay out paging. There was always plenty of banter between myself, our advisor Chris Goble, and the Editor in Chief Dawsyn Wilson. It’s something I will miss a great deal when I graduate,” O’Sullivan said. In February, O’ Sullivan’s article won first place in the Small Schools: Sports Game Story category at the annual ICPA convention in Chicago. O’Sullivan notes the accomplishment as his favorite memory on staff.

“Don’t be scared to talk to people and get quotes, especially on a tight-knit campus like Monmouth. Sure, at the start you may have some awkward interactions or have people ignore you, but its like any skill where the more you do it, the bigger your network grows, the more trust you build, and these interactions become easier,” said O’Sullivan.

Patrick Curry Jr.

Pat Curry started working with the Courier his sophomore year while taking a journalism workshop. He joined as a staff writer in junior year, and has become the sports editor this semester when Phillips graduated in December. “I joined because I have always had a passion for sports coverage and this allowed me to do what I love,” said Curry.

During his time with The Courier, Curry has learned how to write stories that readers can envision. “It was unique because it allowed me to have excuses to go to sporting events across campus and talk with players after the game to highlight their performance,” Curry said. His favorite moment is getting to see his teammates’ reactions when they see themselves featured in his stories.

“Always be curious and ask questions on what you can do to get better. Never feel like you know everything because there is always more to learn,” said Curry.

Neilly Cole

Neilly Cole joined The Courier this last semester as the photo and graphics manager because of her interest in graphics marketing and how the position worked in an organization. “I joined the Courier beginning of my senior year, just as I was figuring out what I want to do after I graduate,” said Cole.

Cole has learned a lot about the production process and how to use Adobe software. “I learned a lot about the newsletter production process, which felt really important to me going into public relations work after college,” Cole said. Her time on staff has given her the opportunity to learn and experiment.

“My advice to interested writers or editors would be to try everything out and don’t be afraid to take risks. That’s what doing this in college is all about, figuring out what you want to do,” Cole said.

Ryan Phillips

Ryan Phillips first joined The Courier as a contributing writer in Fall 2024 before he was promoted to sports editor shortly after. “I got involved because I knew I would be a great fit. I was motivated to not only create a new era for The Courier but help make the vision of bringing our newspaper to a magazine style format,” said Phillips.

It all comes down to how creative you can become while staying as professional as possible,” Phillips said. His favorite memory with The Courier was the annual trip to the ICPA convention in Chicago. In February, he won first place for “Snow Game,” a documentary he shot about the football team’s NCAA tournament game at St. John’s University in Minnesota.

“To the next editorial staff, never let anybody control the news you find and publish. The world is full of journalism that represents a specific side. Always stay independent and be understanding. If you can’t do that, journalism is not for you,” said Phillips.

Maya Dickerson

Maya Dickerson joined the Courier her freshman year after being encouraged by Lena Wickens. “[Wickens] was one of the first girls in my sorority I connected with. We talked about how I was involved in my high school newspaper and she urged me to continue this journey in college.” said Dickerson.

Sophomore year she became a staff writer and then the news and opinion editor her junior year. Her last year on staff, Dickerson has been The Courier’s web and social media manager. “I like being able to interview people I might otherwise not talk to everyday. I loved being able to sit down with President Draves and talk to her about the new schools they implemented this year,” Dickerson said.

Dickerson has enjoyed writing about books, movies, and TV shows. Her favorite memory working at The Courier has been working with other staff members, in addition to going to meetings to hear the banter between O’Sullivan and Phillips.

Kelsey Moersfelder

Kelsey Moersfelder has been working as The Courier’s distribution manager since Fall 2024 and cites an invitation from editor-in-chief Dawsyn Wilson as her motivation to join the publication. “They needed a new distribution manager, and I was happy to step up to the task,” Moersfelder said.

Her favorite part of her job being the privilege of being the very first to see the new editions before the rest of campus did later in the day. Moersfelder found it very rewarding having another way to help the campus community and getting to see the results of the staff’s work.

“My biggest piece of advice for anyone in college is to be willing to try new things. It was what helped me get involved with The Courier, and I am so glad I was willing to take on something new,” said Moersfelder.

Dawsyn Wilson

Dawsyn Wilson has been a part of the staff since August 2023, dedicating two years as the copyeditor before becoming the editor-in-chief during her senior year. “My friend, Karli Strom, suggested me to Chris when The Courier was looking for a new copyeditor. It felt like a no-brainer to me, and it’s been fun ever since,” said Wilson.

During her time on staff, Wilson has sharpened her eye for detail and has grown more confident in her creative decisions. Her favorite memories have been annoying Chris in his office about various late story submissions and bantering with Phillips and O’Sullivan during staff meetings. “I’ve really enjoyed getting others involved, too,” she said.

To those interested in the news: “Don’t be afraid to reach out and talk to people. As someone who considers herself introverted, talking to strangers is something I’ll always struggle with. The bravest thing I did on staff was getting out of my comfort zone and approaching people I didn’t know.”

“The meet we do on Thursday is always fun. It shakes up our schedule a bit and lets us compete where we practice everyday making it feel like we have an advantage going into the meet,” said Kayla Braun.

Among those many PRs was Braun in the shot put with a throw of 14.00m. As of Thursday night, the throw placed her at no.4 in the country amongst D3 athletes, also earning her a national qualifying mark.

“Getting that national qualifying mark was a huge sigh of relief. I mean, we work towards competing the best at conference while still hoping to make Nationals. It was a goal of mine to return back there after making it last year and achieving that goal with a few weeks left in the season lets me enjoy the time I have left with my team and wearing a Fighting Scots jersey instead of feeling like I’m under so much pressure.”

With seven teams participating, the track meet is a lot smaller than what the Scots usually attend during outdoor season, but with 30+ personal records set, it’s no wonder that the annual Thursday meet is a continued tradition.

Jillian Toth also won the hammer throw with a season best of 52.71m, which jumped her to no.10 in the country as of Thursday night. She went to Drake Relays the next day and topped that throw with a throw of 53.78m for a new season’s best and moved up to no.5 in the country as of Saturday, April 25th. “It was an ecstatic feeling when the number was read off from the laser. I have been stressing the last few weeks about securing my spot for nationals, it was a weight lifted off my shoulders. I’m nowhere near done pushing my limits, but it was a great step for me,” said Toth.

Logan Morse won the high jump with a new season best of 1.91m and later went on to lead off a winning 4x400 relay.

Both men and women’s relays placed first overall, with the women’s 4x100 (Maddie Rusk, Sophie Kern, Hazel Hill, A’iyana Maxwell) setting a new season best of 51.93s and the men’s 4x400 (Logan Morse, Patrick Curry Jr, Anthony Arambula, and Adrian Outlaw) setting a new season best of 3:26 seconds.

“The vibes were pretty good, I got to run with my boy again in the 4x400 after over a year, and we ended the day off pretty strong. I enjoyed myself,” said Adrian Outlaw.

Jacob Blunk swinging for the fence. Photo by Billy Lopatto

The Pioneers showed their teeth early in the game when they tagged Monmouth starter Brandon Coats for four earned runs in the first inning and another in the second. They then tagged Scots reliever Dane Keevan for four more earned runs in the second.

The Scots struck back in the bottom of the second with Eric Campen’s home run to right center field, Zach Almauger’s RBI single, and Aidan Parkins’s sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 9-3 at the end of two frames. But it was the Pioneers’ show from there on out. Grinnell scored three in the fifth and two in the eighth, while only allowing one Scot to score in the seventh, and shut the door on the Scots in the eighth inning to seal the run-rule victory 15-4.

After visiting the Augustana Vikings for a single game on Wednesday, the Fighting Scots baseball team will close the regular season with a three-game series at Lawrence University on May 2 and 3. Saturday’s games will begin at noon and 2 p.m., and Sunday’s single game will have first pitch at noon.

In the opener, it was Monmouth’s time to shine. Third baseman Mackenzie Gerard got the party started in the opening frame when she smacked an RBI single to left field, scoring lead-off hitter Karleigh Ashby. The Scots followed up in the second innings with RBI hits by Alexis Hardy, Ashby, and Savannah Powers, which grew the hosts’ advantage to 5-0 after two innings.

The Scots topped off the third inning when Ashby launched an RBI double to right-center field and scored on a throwing error. The Scots then held the Pioneers scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings and claimed an 8-0 victory in five innings.

Game two saw a more even start when both sides put up a run in the first inning. Monmouth added three runs in the third when Powers smacked an RBI single to the outfield, Gerard was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and shortstop Ella Cunningham scored on an RBI fielder’s choice by Maddie Hepner. However, a defensive error by the Scots and a base hit to right field by the Pioneers paved the way for Grinnell to tie the game at four runs apiece in the seventh.

After three full extra innings, Liz Waymire emerged as the hero in the 10th inning when she launched an RBI single to left center field, scoring catcher Graci Guenther and winning the game for the Scots.

The Fighting Scots softball team will end the regular season on May 1 when the Lady Blues of Illinois College visit town for a doubleheader. First pitches for those games are scheduled for 3 and 5 p.m.

The Pioneers took an early lead with 4-0 in the top of the first off Senior pitcher Roy Ralston, but the Scots quickly recovered, ending the first inning with a 13-4 lead, including a grand slam by senior Clayton Matkovic. The Scots continued to lead despite a strong fight by the Pioneers. Senior Jace Wilkerson made his 9th home run of the season, and sophomore Zach Alumager earned the first of his career in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively. Freshman Owen Alfred received Ralston in the 5th inning, and junior Will Baumgartner finished the game.

The second game kept the energy high, with Wilkerson and Alumager both hitting another home run each in the first inning. Junior Ethan Zaayenga pitched for the start of the second game, relieved by senior Weslee Frame in the 6th, then by freshman Blake Sierens. Sophomore Hunter Wheat hit his first career home run at the bottom of the 6th, and the 5th of the day for the Fighting Scots.

Sunday’s game was not as lucky for the Scots, with Grinnell winning 15-4 in the 8th inning. Junior Brandon Coats started the game before being relieved by freshman Dane Keeven. Monmouth recovered in the 3rd inning, with 3 runs, including junior Eric Campen with his first career home run. Despite a tough fight by the fighting Scots, they were unable to finish the series with a perfect sweep.

Held on Earth Day, the event explored how environmentalism has shifted from a historically bipartisan issue into a deeply polarized one. Nelson encouraged audience members to write to elected officials and consider environmental positions when voting, arguing that policy decisions today will shape the nation’s environmental future.

The discussion began with the origins of Earth Day, first organized in 1970 by former U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, and examined how environmental awareness has evolved over the past five decades. Early environmental movements drew support across party lines, but modern debates increasingly divide along political and economic perspectives.

The central theme of the talk questioned whether nature holds intrinsic value or only matters when human interests are involved. Nelson pointed to legal frameworks that regulate human behavior even in outer space as evidence that societies recognize the need to protect environments beyond immediate human use.

Environmental justice was also highlighted, including the work of activist Hazel Johnson, whose efforts helped bring national attention to environmental racism and pollution in marginalized communities. Nelson referenced international examples as well, including a poisoning case in Nigeria, to illustrate the global scale of environmental challenges.

The lecture examined U.S. environmental legislation such as the Clean Water Act and debates surrounding air quality, including concerns about ozone depletion and worsening air pollution. Nelson also discussed recent policy controversies, including a Senate vote regarding mining protections in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and argued that shifting political priorities have affected how the United States presents itself on environmental issues globally.

President Trump was cited as an example of changing federal environmental policy. Nelson referenced Trump’s criticism of environmental initiatives as a “green new scam” and his administration’s use of national security arguments to navigate provisions of the Clean Air Act.

Throughout the event, Nelson emphasized the connection between environmental policy and broader party platforms. He noted that environmental regulation is often viewed by conservatives as burdensome to business and government growth, while liberals have traditionally made environmental protection a core policy priority.

Concluding the session, Nelson urged attendees to stay informed and politically active, warning that scientific expertise is increasingly sidelined in public debate. “We are turning our back on science,” he said, adding that individual civic engagement remains critical to shaping the future of environmental policy.

“We wanted an event for students that was outside and low effort for them,” Eli Kelly, organizer of the event and class of 2024, said. “It’s a high traffic area at a high traffic time, with pretty easy events. We wanted to support pipe band and to just have a fun event.”

The two unscored games were the most played: Maide-leisg (lazy stick) with 30 competitors, and Tug of War came in second with 20. Shot put was also an available game and had 18 participants. Current students and faculty were not the only participants in the games, as the winner, with a throw of 35 feet and 11 inches, was a prospective student on a tour. The most anticipated event of the evening was the Kaber toss, with 7 people, including Dean O. The winner was freshman Ivan Iverson.

Where do you intern and what are your responsibilities?

During my internship, I was responsible for maintaining a cleaned and organized clinical environment by preparing and sanitizing patients’ exam tables and treatment areas. I assisted by gathering and setting up necessary equipment for physical therapy sessions, as well as preparing therapeutic modalities such as hot and ice packs. Additionally, I assisted by helping guide exercise sessions, by reading upcoming exercises, demonstrating proper form, and providing hands on.

What skills or knowledge have you gained from this experience?

I learned how to be flexible and adjust to the changes, whether it was modifying exercises or assisting with different patients... I became more aware of patient handling techniques and the importance of maintaining a safe environment to prevent injury for both patients and the healthcare providers...Overall, this internship helped me build strong communication skills, develop clinical knowledge and skills, become adaptable, and understand the importance of safety and documentation.

Mason Reed - Knox College

Where do you intern and what are your responsibilities?

I intern at Knox College, and I have quite a few responsibilities. Some of which are to wrap athletes, attend games and practices, and help around the room with tasks as assigned and many more

What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges I thought I would face was being a Monmouth college student at Knox but that was never a challenge. The learning curve I experienced with how they run there training room and the equipment they have in it. At Knox college they have student workers who cover the day-to-day tasks which free up the trainers to help more athletes every day. The equipment they have is different than what I was used to here at Monmouth. They also approach rehab differently than we do which has helped me in a tremendous way to find out what I like from both training rooms I’ve worked in.

“Greek Week is so important because it allows both fraternity and sorority life to have a week to compete and celebrate each other,” said Addie Greene, member of Pi Beta Phi.

Members of the Alpha Xi Delta and Sigma Phi Epsilon team, Talon Hunter, Kent Huth, Natalie Morrow, Kaytlynn Taylor, and Lorenzo Ramirez, competing in tug of war. Photo from MC Flickr.

The first event started a week early this year with a community service event at the Jamieson Center. Members from all chapters got together to help clean up and place mulch around the center. Points were awarded for having up to 5 members present.

Greek Week officially kicked off on Monday with a Just Dance event hosted by ASAP. Teams of 4 from each chapter danced their hearts out to not only win Just Dance but also win Greek Week points for their chapter.

On Tuesday, Chapters participated in Captain America’s Field Day Challenges. One fraternity and one sorority teamed up to compete in challenges such as Hulk’s Tug-of-War, Magneto’s Metal Spoon Race, Captain America’s Shield Toss, and the Batmobile Race. The

The highlight of the night was the Batmobile Race, where teams of 12 rolled a table on their backs across the field while a chapter member rode on top of the table. Points were awarded to each chapter duo based on their placement in the individual events. The winner of the night was “The Phi Duo,” consisting of Pi Beta Phi and Phi Delta Theta.

The week continued with the annual Family Feud competition on Wednesday night. 5 members from each chapter competed in a standard game of Family Feud. The two teams with the most rounds won moved on to Quicksilver’s Fast Money.

On Thursday, chapter members were encouraged to attend the Twilight Special Track Meet and cheer on the Monmouth Track and Field team. Points were awarded based on each chapter’s overall attendance.

The philanthropy chosen for this year’s Greek Week was the Recharge Teen Center. Throughout the week, chapters participated in the Penny Wars competition to collect donations for RTC and earn more points for their chapters. The organizations collected a total of $595.55 throughout the week.

An additional ongoing event was the finding of the Hidden Super-Greek Week Directors that were placed on bulletin boards around campus. Each chapter could find its missing Greek Week director for extra points.

Each chapter also painted a banner relating to the superhero theme. The board of judges consisted of Aramark staff members who chose Pi Beta Phi as the winner and secured extra points for their chapter.

Greek Week concluded on Friday night with the Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards Ceremony. Awards are handed out to students and staff who have made a significant impact on Greek Life. The Greek Week Committee also nominates students and chapters that went above and beyond during the week for spirit awards.

The overall Greek Week winner was Pi Beta Phi with a total of 1,720 points. Phi Delta Theta came in second place with 1,670 points, and Zeta Beta Tau came in third with 1,520 points.

Photo of Brownfield presenting on a career in criminal and forensic psychology. Photo from MC Flickr.

The event’s keynote speaker was Dr. Chad Brownfield, a clinical and forensic psychologist operating in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Brownfield spoke on his time and career in criminal and forensic psychology, the importance of pursuing the field, and the steps to his career. He is currently an adjunct professor at St. Ambrose University and serves on the Human Rights Commission for Rock Island.

STEM ambassadors recording their podcast. Left to right, Alayna Earle, Nick Brown, Turner Plumer, and Kailey Cronin. Photo by Dawsyn Wilson.

One group of students from the STEM ambassador course created a podcast, Outside The Lab, this semester. During presentations, they interviewed various students at their table and went around with portable mics. Engineering students created an autonomous golf ball retriever after they surveyed the golf team and learned how long it takes to manually retrieve every loose ball.

In Petra Kuppinger’s Everyday Sustainability course had a table that showcased the various projects from the class. Over eight weeks, students worked on individual projects. “I personally decided to make my own paper using recycled paper that I received from classes. Majority of it coming from Petra’s class herself,” said Allie Glassburn. After a difficult process, Glassburn was able to use her recycled paper to write, draw, and paint.

Last fall, students Cole Pugh, Mathew Bright, and Izzy Seipold built a catapult in the Ancient Technology and Engineering class. The group had to refer to sources and pictures from class to replicate an onager, a Roman-style catapult. “We used two-by-fours, some plywood as a lever arm, and lots of paracord as our main mechanism for the launch of our projectiles,” said Seipold. Bright and Seipold launched ping-pong balls to showcase their catapult’s throwing distance.

The Scots went on to compete in one of their coldest track meets this season with extreme wind that made many events harder. High jump being one of them, usually the bar is set at a height, and the athlete has three individual attempts to clear it but because of the heavy wind the bar was consistently knocked over before athletes could attempt to clear it. “I think the team did good,” said Damone Johnson.

The throwers were the first to compete in these conditions. Kayla Braun moved into the top 15 nationally as of Saturday, April 18th with a throw of 13.48 meters in shot put. Two of the men throwers cracked into the top 10 in school history for hammer throws. Gunner Bryant broke his PR by 3.41m in the hammer by throwing 51.13m, and Blake Orwig threw 51.80m, breaking his previous record by .82m.

“It’s not the best conditions, I mean it has its benefits with some of the running events but, competing in the cold makes a lot of events harder,” said Johnson. Numbers agree with Johnson because the Scot saw 23 PRs.

Logan Morse attempts to jump 1.85m. Photo by Patrick Curry Jr

A lot of athletes overcame the cold and used it to their advantage. When running in heavy wind, the direction you’re running can help or hurt your time. If the wind is at your back pushing you, then you have a positive wind which make running easier, but if you’re running against the wind it’ll be a negative because it is going right into your face.

“We have Tashawn in the finals for triple jump. Our freshman Maddox Clark made finals in the 100 and ran 22 in the 200,” said Johnson.

There were three PRs in the 200m dash from Jerry Reed 22.83 seconds, Johnny York 22.68s, and Maddox Clark 22.71s. Clark also had a PR in the 100m dash with a time of 10.86 seconds.

The Rams took the first game 7-1 while the Scots emerged victorious in game two, 8-6. These results lift the Scots to 11-18 overall and 7-7 in MWC play, sitting in fourth place between Beloit and Lawrence.

The Fighting Scots baseball team confers between games. Photo by Billy Lopatto

Cornell dominated game one, finding their way onto the scoreboard first in the third inning when a throwing error by the Monmouth defense allowed two Rams to score. In the fifth inning, Cornell smacked a solo home run out to right field, growing the Rams’ lead to 3-0 after five innings. The Cornell defense held firm from there and earned a 7-1 victory in the opener. Cornell’s winning pitcher was Nate Pacetti, who tossed a complete game and fanned 10 Scots. Roy Ralston took the loss for Monmouth despite also fanning 10 Rams.

Game two saw a much better start for the Scots when Aidan Parkins responded to an early Cornell score by launching a 2-RBI double to right-center field that also let shortstop Hunter Wheat run home on an errant throw. Both teams traded scores in the next three innings to make the score 6-3 after seven frames. After a three-run surge by Cornell tied the game at six, two hits were all the Scots needed to take the game: a single by Eric Campen and a game-ending, two-run missile hit to right field by Jace Wilkerson.

The Scots will host the first-place Grinnell Pioneers for a three-game series next weekend, Saturday and Sunday, April 25th and 26th. Saturday’s first pitches are at noon and 2:30 p.m., and Sunday’s single game kicks off at noon.