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Changing Mask-Wearing Mandates

Photo by **Anna Shvets** from **Pexels**

by Autumn Zipfel, Leah Garrison–

With new vaccines rolling out every day, Virginia passed a bill through the Senate, making masks optional for Virginia public schools. While the purpose of masks is to keep others safe from the spread of the coronavirus, the new vaccine introduces a new question: should masks become optional?

Tim Sands, the President of Virginia Tech, released a statement preparing Virginia Tech students for the very possibility of optional masks. To understand how current students feel about an optional mask mandate, reporters Autumn Zipfel and Leah Garrison went out on campus to gain some insight.

LIFE/STYLE: How to eat like an Olympian

by Matt Scopa, Gavin Linden–

Olympic athletes train vigorously to compete in their respective sports but training is only half of what it takes to remain in peak athletic shape. To reach the height of Olympic excellence athletes must also focus on their diets.

Olympic dieting receives coverage whenever the Olympics roll around especially with competitors frequently appearing in ads for large food brands such as Subway and UberEats. This raises the question of what does an Olympic diet actually look like? What kind of foods? What kind of schedule? On this episode of the Newsfeed podcast, reporters Matt Scopa and Gavin Linden will try to shed some light on eating like an Olympian.

ARTS/CULTURE: Looking into Choi’s ‘The Shape of Distance’

by Sean Lyons, Jett Willingham–

An art exhibition at the Moss Arts Center: “The Shape of Distance” features multiple paintings and sculptures by Namwon Choi. It features vivid blue colors, interesting shapes and abstract takes on real-life images.

In this podcast we discuss the content of the exhibit, Choi’s background in art, the colors featured in the exhibition and favorite pieces in the exhibition.

“The Shape of Distance” by Namwon Choi is available for viewing at the Moss Arts Center until March 26, 2022.

INTERNATIONAL: Borders opening

by Camden Osborne, McKenzie Roberts–

Photo by Pexels.com

Traveling internationally has been made possible again for tourists all over the world. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic there was a halt in traveling and many borders shut down to prevent the spread. Many countries are now making it possible for tourists to visit different countries by following certain guidelines.

In this edition of the International podcast, Camden Osborne and McKenzie Roberts discuss what this means for countries opening up their doors again. They also take a closer look at different requirements to be eligible to travel inside of borders. They also touch on Israel, Australia and United States borders being opened and how that will impact the economy.

SPORTS: “March Madness” branding to include women

by Camden Osborne and Kalley Sullivan–

After social media exposed the disparities between the men’s and women’s post-season college basketball tournaments, the NCAA responded to these gender inequities recently announcing that the “March Madness” logo, terminology, and branding historically used for the men’s tournament will now be used for the women’s tournament as well.

In this edition of The News Feed’s Sports Podcast, we take a look at this step In this edition of The News Feed’s Sports Podcast, we take a look at this step towards a more gender-equal playing field in the world of sports and what this could mean for the future of female athletes. We will discuss the effectiveness of this NCAA decision in regard to the public’s perception of women’s basketball and, more broadly, sports, as well as what further changes this could ignite moving forward.

LIFE/STYLE: Netflix’s “Squid Games” impact

by Rory Ailor, Jonas Buckberg–

Netflix released “Squid Games” and it grossed over 111 million viewers in it’s first 2 weeks. This makes the premiere the largest in Netflix’s history, and it is only growing. The show highlights many aspects of society, including the wealth gap and class system, as well as testing how far the human will go for money. The Korean-based thriller was made with many up-and-coming actors, as it was a breakthrough season for many of the main characters.

On this podcast, Rory and Jonas discuss how ‘Squid Games’ is affecting society’s way of thinking about money and greed, as there have been many people playing these games in real life for money, just without a lot of the violence being re-created. They also discuss how the show is causing concerns for many parents, as it is displayed as the show is based on children’s games, but it has a lot of violence and gore.

SPORTS: Deshaun Watson allegations

by Rory Ailor and McKenzie Roberts–

On this edition of the Sports podcast for The News Feed, Rory Ailor and McKenzie Roberts discuss the aftermath of allegations made toward Deshaun Watson. Watson is a 26-year-old Houston Texans football player, who has been accused of being a sexual assailant for many women. According to The Clemson Insider Watson has lost a lot of his sponsorships due to these accusations, not to mention the support lost by fans. Watson’s Nike sponsorship became suspended, Reliant Energy removed him as a brand ambassador, and Beats by Dr. Dre terminated his contract.

The sport that brought him much success has been put to a halt. According to Larry Brown Sports, he is still a member of the Houston Texans team but has not played for the past few games. Throughout this podcast Rory Ailor and Mckenzie Roberts discuss what Deshaun Watson’s future might entail.

The News Feed · DeshaunWatsonAllegations_ Sportspodcast

SCI/TECH: What’s next for civilian space travel?

by Kamryn Buza and Kalley Sullivan

Astronauts of Inspiration4 flying aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft land in the Atlantic Ocean. COURTESY OF SPACEX/INSPIRATION4

Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its first civilian flight on the Inspiration 4. A big question that remains is what does this mean for the future of tourist travel in space and what are the implications of it for Earth.

The Inspiration 4 mission cost just under $200 million dollars with 5 more SpaceX tourist flights already planned for the upcoming months and years. Other companies such as Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin are also working on plans to take civilians to space.

John Harris from The Guardian leaves us with the question, is space now a playground for the rich?

INTERNATIONAL: Immigration issues, solutions

by Katie Leeper, Abass Al Zanjne–

Immigration has been a hot topic of debate among politicians for years but in the midst of the pandemic & change of presidency, the historic surge of immigrants storming our borders from not only Mexico – but also from the Middle East & Africa – has caused many issues. In this podcast, we will discuss issues ranging from healthcare to the economy to border security.

Many countries do not want their citizens to leave & the United States doesn’t want individuals to enter illegally so international actors are having to work together to find a solution. In this podcast, we will discuss possible solutions – specifically building a wall along the Southern Border.

SPORTS: NCAA athlete compensation crisis

Photo on Pexels.com.

by Jett Hooker, Maddison Dempsey —

The National College Athletic Association (NCAA) officials have been considering proposals that would make it possible for top collegiate athletes to receive compensation for their name, image and likeness. However, the money that some athletes would receive as compensation would come from the revenue that is meant to fund a variety of different sports, including women’s teams.

As a result, the NCAA has received criticism for considering the compensation proposals, especially after the 2021 March Madness Tournament in which the men’s basketball teams received better facilities and rewards than the women’s basketball teams due to the differences in revenue that the teams bring in. Many coaches, players and even athletic directors are concerned that the state of play for women’s sports teams will only grow worse by compensating athletes that bring in the most money, since it will be taking away the little bit of revenue that women’s teams have to work with. Additionally, if the proposals are passed, it will be hard for schools to adhere to the Title IX gender equality rules that are currently in place, which could ultimately cause further problems for women collegiate athletes.