The Unsung Forms of the Art World

By Irvin Washington The spike in demand for digital currency has seen the rise of a new form of “art,” better known as NFTs. For those who don’t know what an NFT is, an NFT, better known as a non-fungible token, is a form of cryptocurrency, which is non-fungible, meaning they only have one of its types and can’t be traded for the same thing.  NFTs take the form of art pieces, or as some call them, “trading cards,” which can be bought on the blockchain or with cryptocurrency for…

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XAB aims to get students more involved on campus 

By Jasmine Christopher Xavier Activities Board, XAB, hosts an event almost every week to get students involved with their community and make Xavier University of Louisiana a fun and comfortable place for students.  They have many different things planned for this year, each event correlating with whichever theme is fitting from month to month, such as their upcoming Movie Night, a screening of Batman. “We’re just trying to figure out different ways to combine ourselves with other organizations to keep that school spirit alive,” said Dee Nichols, president of XAB. …

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New Year, New Season, Still COVID

By Mekayla Marshall Amid uncertainty for a complete athletic season last year at the Xavier University of Louisiana, the university launched a new softball program. Last year, Leslie Ballard and LSU standout, Shemaiah Sanchez, coached the first-ever softball team at the Xavier University of Louisiana. “Last year, we had a lot more challenges not knowing if we were going to play because of COVID,” Ballard said. “We’ve had a few scares, one that resulted in canceling a series of games.”  Considering this is the first colligate softball program in New…

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XULA student-athletes face challenging work-life balance

By Karrington Stewart In the 2021-2022 school year, multiple athletes have complained about being overworked, burned out, and not receiving enough breaks to recover their bodies.  The majority of sports teams in Xavier University attend practice early mornings about five to six times a week.  “Being a student-athlete at Xavier is all about what you make it out to be. You have to give it your all or nothing at all,” said Kynnedy Turner, a Xavier track and field athlete. “I am homesick because of track. I haven’t been able…

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The Women’s Athlete Perspective on the Disparities Between Men’s and Women’s Sports at the Collegiate Level

By Kiersten McCollum The U.S. Women’s soccer team has just settled their equal pay lawsuit after a six-year legal battle and yet discrepancies between Women’s and Men’s sports continue at a rampant rate. While inequity at the professional sports level is beginning to receive more national attention, these same issues at the collegiate level are still yet to be widely covered. despite collegiate athletics being the root of many of the problems seen in professional leagues.  “Honestly, after looking at the numbers and stuff and being realistic, you can’t be…

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Atlanta Falcon’s receiver Calvin Ridley suspended for betting on games

By Jerin Minor On Monday, March 7, 2022, the NFL released a statement regarding the gambling scandal of Atlanta Falcons wide receiver, Clavin Ridley. The league confirmed that Ridley, 27, gambled on several games that occurred during the 2021 season while the athlete was taking time off for mental health reasons. The activities transpired over a five-day stretch in late Nov. 2021. This is the NFL’s first penalty for a gambling-related issue involving a player since 2019. “Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage…

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Nyx Parade embroiled in racial controversy 

By Briana Griffith This year, the Nyx parade has the smallest number of members due to the controversy in 2020 with the founder Julie Lea, who posted “All Lives Matter” onto her Facebook page after George Floyd’s death.  Many members of the racially diverse all-female krewes were outraged and blasted Lea for being insensitive. Lea tried to apologize but still refused to embrace the phrase “Black Lives Matter.” This caused the once largest parade with the largest group of members to quickly become the smallest with only an astounding two…

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