Holi Unites BU in Color Happened in 1770
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Baylor Lariat WE’RE THERE WHEN YOU CAN’T BE Friday, March 6, 2020 baylorlariat.com Opinion | 2 A&L | 6 Sports | 8 BU v. Cal Poly Don’t waste it Act Locally on a staycation Waco Bears try to regain How to make Books Matter momentum the most of blog features after Texas St. break student writing loss 250 years after Boston Massacre, Law, history dept. host re-enactment ELISABETH GEORGE amusement of the audience, Reporter loudly telling some students to “please remove your In commemoration of chapeaus,” (referring to their the 250th anniversary of baseball caps) out of respect the Boston Massacre, the for the proceedings. History department and In a Baylor press release, Baylor Law School put on Sweets said that the students an improvised mock trial in performing have studied Bennett Auditorium Thursday historical documents from afternoon. which they have based their Dr. Julie Sweet, history characters. She said that the Brittney Matthews | Multimedia Editor professor at Baylor, organized goal of the performance was the performance along with COOL FOR COLOR ISSA Baylor hosted their annual Holi festival 5 p.m. Thursday on Fountain Mall. to show that history is not Baylor Law professors Gerald boring and that there are Powell and Abner McCall. many different ways to learn The performance was an and experience it. improvised, unscripted, mock Powell said he thought it trial based on real events that “presents a unique opportunity Holi unites BU in color happened in 1770. In her for history students to do opening statements, Sweet research in their field and our CAMILLE RASOR explained that while only men law students to practice their Staff Writer were permitted to be in court trial skills.” at that time, both men and Blue Springs, Mo. senior Colorful powder covered Fountain women would be participating Caleb O’Donnell portrayed Mall and the Baylor community on in the trial. the witness Benjamin Davis Jr. Thursday as the Indian Subcontinent The clerk read theHe said that the groups have Student Association celebrated their indictment to which the been preparing for the mock fourth annual all-campus Holi festival. defendants Private Hugh trial since November. Holi, also known as the Festival Montgomery and Private “We all had to prepare of Colors, is a Hindu festival that High White, portrayed by witness statements that originated in India but has since spread Temple master’s candidate included what was actually to places in the Indian subcontinent Danny Dunn and Solon, said in the testimony,” and beyond. The festival celebrates the Iowa senior Katy Clevenger O’Donnell said. “We each coming of spring and the triumph of respectively, pleaded not got a person who was in that good over evil. guilty. The trial proceeded trial. And then we took other “We really just want to spread our with the presentment of people’s testimonies, we took culture around Baylor’s campus and charges, opening arguments, surrounding scholarship, show the traditions that we celebrate witness testimony, closing mainly primary sources, and the festivals that we have,” Burleson Brittney Matthews | Multimedia Editor Brittney Matthews | Multimedia Editor arguments, jury deliberation and tried to craft who our senior Krishna Jayaswal, president of FRIENDSHIP OF FUN The Festival LIFTED UP The Holi festival has and the publication of the character was.” ISSA, said. of Colors, also known as Holi, involves significance for Hindu people. Some verdict. O’Donnell is a history Holi will be celebrated around the participants throwing colored powders modern-day interpretations of the A bailiff strode around major with a rhetoric, public world on March 10, but ISSA decided on other participants, celebrating the festival state that the colors can help the room during the event coming of Spring. symbolize that discrimination based on keeping order. He hushed the HOLI >> Page 4 race is nonsensical. occasional hecklers and to the 250 YEARS>> Page 4 Area authorities continue to monitor COVID-19 MATTHEW MUIR Staff Writer While COVID-19, better known as the novel coronavirus, has thus far stayed away from McLennan County, authorities are preparing to combat cases in the local area. The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District announced the formation of the McLennan County Leadership Response Team Wednesday to plan a response to the global outbreak. While there were no confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases in the county as of Thursday, the announcement said the team is “actively monitoring patients for risk factors and working to ensure our local health care system is prepared to respond to the situation as it unfolds.” Kelly Craine, public information officer at the Waco- McLennan County Public Health District, said the risk to McLennan County residents is minimal, but everyone should stay vigilant regardless. “We know that in McLennan County we are not seeing what they call community spread, that means person-to-person spread where the people that are spreading it or getting sick have not been in a travel situation,” Craine said. “Right now the risk is very low. It has the potential to grow, but at this moment it’s low.” The Leadership Response Team is composed of the Waco- McLennan County Public Health District, Ascension Providence, Baylor Scott & White and the Family Health Center. Craine said the team is scheduled to meet weekly, but through its member organizations, it has the flexibility to act quickly as the COVID-19 situation continues to develop. “On an agency level or institutional level all of our teams are meeting daily,” Craine said. “We meet daily, we know the hospitals are doing their own meetings and planning meetings for their own entity on a daily basis, so we have the option of course of ramping this up.” Baylor University assembled its COVID-19 Task Force in late Associated Press January and tasked it with monitoring the situation and advising university leadership on how to respond. In a Presidential CORONAVIRUS CONTROL Jay Butler, Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases at the The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks to the media in regards to the Novel Coronavirus, while standing in front of a map marked with areas having TASKFORCE >> Page 4 reported cases, inside the Emergency Operations Center, Feb. 13, 2020, in Atlanta. Vol.118 No. 30 © 2020 Baylor University Friday, March 6, 2020 The Baylor Lariat 4 News TASKFORCE 250 YEARS HOLI from Page 1 from Page 1 from Page 1 Perspective email Thursday, Baylor discourse and legal reasoning minor. to celebrate on Thursday because the President Dr. Linda Livingstone He said that he wanted to get involved international celebration will happen said the task force continues to in this re-enactment because he loves while students are away from campus monitor the “rapidly evolving” this area of history. for spring break. situation. Both legal teams and the witnesses The celebration began with “[O]ur COVID-19 Task Force were dressed in period clothing, and music and dance performances by continues to actively monitor some of the audience members were Baylor students, then continued with guidance from the Centers for dressed in period clothing as well. everyone grabbing bags of colored Disease Control and Prevention Pam Webb, a re-enactor from Grand Holi powder and throwing them at and state and local public Prairie, said she was impressed with each other. health agencies to ensure the the costumes and thought the actors “The diverse colors represent continued health and safety of our community,” Livingstone said. “Let had worn them very well. Webb said facing adversity and creating a me reiterate that there are NO cases she has been involved in reenacting unified unit,” Euless sophomore of coronavirus at Baylor, in Waco or since 1989. Inaara Tharani, one of ISSA’s social Central Texas.” “My ex husband went to an event, chairs who was involved in planning Baylor temporarily suspended and he says, ‘Oh you got to see this, and facilitating the event said. university-sponsored travel to you got to see this!’ and drug me out Jayaswal spoke on both the China Jan. 29, to South Korea Feb. there and we were hooked,” Webb modern and traditional significance 26 and to Italy as of Tuesday. Travel said. “It was actually a rendezvous, of the colors within Hindu culture, to these countries will remain which is the mountain Cartwright and the different meanings the suspended until further notice. era, which is a later time period than celebration has carried throughout Lori Fogleman, assistant vice this. And through the years, we’ve the years. president for media and public just, you know, you see other things “In modern day, people believe relations at Baylor and member and you just [think] ‘oh, I want to it’s also to reduce racism and of the COVID-19 Task Force, play there!’” discrimination because we all get one said Baylor learned from working Webb said that she has worn Peter Enoch | Multimedia Journalist colorful appearance, which signifies with the Waco-McLennan County reenactment clothing for the Civil our souls are all one,” Jayaswal said. Public Health District when a JUDGING OFFICIALS Judges carefully listen to a testimony War, Mountain Fur Trade, and the Students across campus and suspected case surfaced in January. during the reenactment of the Boston Massacre trials in 18th century, the latter being her celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Boston Massacre, people in the Waco community were Baylor has plans in place to deal hosted by Baylor Law and History students. with “any disruption to university favorite. invited to participate, and people operations,” Fogleman said. from several different organizations “The university has business attended the event. By the end of the continuity plans in place depending event, everyone who participated on the circumstance,” Fogleman was covered from head to toe in said.