THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT SINCE 1896 • VOLUME CXXVII, NO. 32 Monday, October 12, 2020 COVID-19 Tracker Current 203 176 10 CONFIRMED CASES AT Residential Cumulative Cumulative Staff Cases UCONN STORRS Cases as of 6:25 p.m. on Oct. 11 8 Residential Cases Commuter Cases Former UConn student, fraternity brother dies by Luke Hajdasz Class of 2019 graduate Alden High School in 2015 and was STAFF WRITER Piper was roommates with the captain of their football [email protected] Rogers his sophomore year in team. Chandler Hall in West Cam- A GoFundMe page has been Former University of Con- pus. He recalled fond memo- set up in Rogers’s memory. All necticut student and Sigma Chi ries of what he called his “best donations will go to Shatter- Gamma Omega fraternity broth- friend.” proof, a Norwalk, Connecti- er Ryan Rogers died on October 3 “In the center of the quad cut-based nonprofit dedicated at the age of 23. sat a gazebo that no one really to helping those suffering from “Gamma Omega mourns the paid much attention to until addiction. At the time of writ- loss of Brother Ryan Rogers,” Ryan started going there,” Pip- ing, total donations amount to an Instagram post by Sigma er said. “Slowly more and more $2,660, $660 above the $2,000 Chi said Tuesday. “Ryan was people would come and enjoy goal. an intellect and a kind-hearted Ryan’s company until it be- Rogers is survived by his individual. He possessed many came a nightly activity to pay parents, Bruce and Mary, a values that perpetuate fidelity, the gazebo a visit. Ryan made brother, Christopher and a sis- courtesy, and affection within a everyone feel comfortable; he ter, Meaghan. relationship and he always found told jokes, and expressed gen- “Ryan had a genuine soul a way to bring the best out of uine interest in your well be- that touched the hearts of ev- someone.” ing. He was a transfer student, eryone he encountered,” his Rogers, of Avon, attended yet he made everyone feel right obituary said. “He had an un- UConn for about a year and a half at home.” canny ability to connect with but has not been enrolled since According to his obituary, people from all walks of life Bryan Rogers was a UConn student and member of Sigma Chi Gamma Omega. Rogers died unexpectedly on Oct. 3. PHOTO COURTESY spring 2018, according to UConn Rogers died unexpectedly. and always prioritized the feel- OF @SIGMACHIUCONN ON INSTAGRAM spokesperson Stephanie Reitz. Rogers graduated from Avon ings of others before his own.” UConn ranks in top 10 of Sierra UConn professors split on Club’s ‘Cool Schools,’ student course modality choices leaders say that’s not enough for the spring semester by Alison Cross still a long way to go for the UCo- attract prospective students and CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT nn campus to actually be com- show the importance of a sus- [email protected] pletely sustainable,” she said. tainable campus. UConn scored an 84.68 out of The University of Connecticut a possible 100 in a point system UConn has a history ranked eight out of 312 higher ed- that weighed the sustainability of ranking among the ucation institutions for campus of campus operations, environ- sustainability, marking the uni- mental education and student top institutions for versity’s third consecutive year engagement heavily. This year, on the Sierra Club magazine’s the Sierra Club’s most sustain- sustainability. “Cool Schools” top 10 list. While able school was the University “The platinum ranking by In the face of the pandemic, the in-person classroom is becom- ing a less feasible option. FILE PHOTO/THE DAILY CAMPUS student environmentalists com- of California, Irvine, with a first- AASHE demonstrates to the mend this achievement, they place score of 89.95. administration that the Office by Jake Kelly fall, said teaching online is a learn- urge UConn to take more action of Sustainability is a valuable CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT ing experience for everyone and for the planet. branch of the university,” Mac- [email protected] no matter the health climate come “Sustainability surveys are Donald said. spring, he plans to make it work. important to UConn because of MacDonald said sustainabili- University of Connecticut pro- “We are all just getting used to the opportunities they afford, ty rankings help companies find fessors have a variety of ideas and things. I will not be happy if this and because of the motivation specific colleges to implement choices for how they plan to tackle becomes the new normal after we they provide for the school to Sierra Magazine said they green initiatives. She said last teaching this spring semester. have a vaccine,” Dr. Schurin said. do better,” Emma MacDonald, a based their scores off of the As- year, the company OrganiCup Dr. Ronald Schurin, a politi- “I don’t want it to become a place seventh-semester student major- sociation for the Advancement provided hundreds of free reus- cal science professor who will be where most students take classes ing in natural resources, said. of Sustainability in Higher Edu- able menstrual cups to UConn teaching POLS 2607: American online. It changes the culture of cation’s Sustainability Tracking, students after finding UConn Political Parties this spring has the university.” UConn scored Assessment and Rating System. through the UI GreenMetric not made a final decision on mo- Dr. Carrie Eaton of the School an 84.68 out of a AASHE STARS, which cur- ranking system. dality. of Nursing will be teaching NURS rently rates 669 institutions in MacDonald also said these “My preference is to teach the 3120: Patient Centered Health possible 100. the U.S. and 15 other countries, systems allow the Office of Sus- course in person because I like Assessment Across the Lifespan gave UConn its first platinum tainability to identify areas in the interaction that I get with via synchronous distance learn- MacDonald serves as an un- rating in 2020. UConn is one of need of improvement. MacDon- students,” Dr. Schurin said. “It’s ing for the spring semester. For dergraduate student representa- seven U.S. universities to receive ald said specifically, she would easier for me to put things up on the lab portion, she is currently tive of the UConn Environmen- a platinum distinction. like to see UConn transition to the board as I think of them, and brainstorming with the faculty in tal Policy Advisory Council, As an intern at the Office renewable energy sources and it creates an opportunity for stu- the School of Nursing Simulation EcoHusky president and intern of Sustainability, MacDon- promote composting in resi- dents to interact with one another Center to find creative solutions at the Office of Sustainability. ald helped fill out the AASHE dence halls. in discussion.” for remote lab sessions. “UConn does a great job of re- STARS survey. She said UCo- Dr. Schurin, who already taught See SIERRA CLUB, p. 2 porting its successes, but there is nn’s sustainable ranking will a course during the pandemic this See MODALITY, p. 2 UConn funds COVID-19 research through special initiative by Thomas Alvarez Molecular and Cell Biology) and (Department of Pathology and STAFF WRITER his co-PI Mark Peczuh (Depart- Laboratory Medicine) received [email protected] ment of Chemistry) received $49,149 for their research titled $43,439 for their research titled Rapid and Ultrasensitive SARS- The Office of the Vice Presi- Targeting the Endoribonuclease CoV-2 Detection in Wastewater dent for Research has estab- of Coronaviruses. by Smartphone. lished an internal funding program for University of Bahram Javidi (Department Rachel O’Neill (Department Connecticut projects from all of Electrical and Computer En- of Molecular and Cell Biology) campuses that focus on the CO- gineering) received $49,999 and her co-PIs Kendra Maas VID-19 pandemic, offering up for his research titled Compact (UConn MARS), Joel Salisbury to $50,000 to program partici- Field Portable Biophotonics In- (Digital Media and Design), Mi- pants. strument for Real-Time Auto- chael Vertefeuille (Digital Media Currently, five projects from mated Analysis and Identifica- and Design), Suzanne Onorato both UConn and UConn Health tion of Blood Cells Impacted by (UConn SHaW), Mike Jednak have been supported by this COVID-19. (Facilities Operations), Jessica funding endeavor. The projects Healthcote (ITS), Emily Wil- The Whetten Graduate Center in Storrs houses UConn’s Office of selected for the first funding Changchun Liu (Depart- son (UConn CLEAR) and Dan the Vice President for Research. The office started an initiative cycle are as follows: ment of Biomedical Engineer- to fund COVID-19-related projects. PHOTO COURTESY OF UCONN OVPR James Cole (Department of ing) and his co-PI Maroun Sfeir See RESEARCH, p. 2 For more... dailycampus.com The_DailyCampus The_DailyCampus The Daily Campus Tweet of the Day Kristi Henderson THE VOTE | PAGE 4 MEN ON BOATS | PAGE 5 BACK IN ACTION | PAGE 12 @k_henders Join me in the 1st ever CT Collegiate Is it time for the U.S. to re- The Connecticut Rep goes Football: Huskies back Virtual 5K! Show your #UConn pride & examine the electoral college? virtual Saturday at Villanova let’s beat all of the other Connecticut schools! 02 Monday, October 12, 2020 • DailyCampus.com News Sierra Club gives UConn top- sustainability ranking of the honors are kind of per- much energy,” Kaufman said. SIERRA CLUB, cont. from p. 1 formative. We know how to “They aren’t really looking check the boxes. ... It’s giving long term about a lot of these us an excuse to say ‘look we’re things; they’re still investing UConn has a history of great’ but not really push for in fossil fuels.” ranking among the top institu- more.” Kaufman said this is not just tions for sustainability.