Marquette University President Michael Lovell, head of the men’s basketball team Shaka Smart, head of the women’s basketball team Megan Duffy and Sendik’s Fresh2Go owner Ted Balistreri headed in front of the on-campus grocery store Monday morning to give out 400 donated breakfasts to students.
“Last year, we couldn’t do any of this,” Lovell said. “The energy and excitement from the students is just fantastic and overwhelming, and it’s just so great to be back in the community again.”
Looking forward to the upcoming semester, Lovell said he’s excited to be among the students, and welcomes not only the first-years, but also the sophomores who were unable to experience the campus last year “in its full livelihood.”
“What makes Marquette special is the people. And to be around each other, lean on each other and be around each other during the good and bad times is really important,” Lovell said. “It’s just so special because people care more about each other, more about the institution than any place I’ve ever been.”
As students filed outside of Sendik’s to receive their free breakfast, Anna Houston, a junior in the College of Communication, also said she was excited to return back to normal activities and was grateful for the opportunity to receive a free meal on the first day of school.
“Being juniors, it’s really nice to get anything for free, so we [juniors] really wanted to take advantage of it,” Houston said.
Although Houston enjoys the sense of normalcy back on campus, she is grateful that Marquette is still requiring students to turn in their COVID-19 vaccine card, which 92% of students have uploaded, and have mandated masks indoors.
For students still looking to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the Marquette University Medical Clinic has a limited supply of the Pfizer vaccine—which has been FDA approved—and is offering appointments to students, faculty and staff.
Duffy also made an appearance at the breakfast and was excited to see the student body around campus after a “strange” year.
“I can’t believe how different it feels,” Duffy said. “Even this morning just seeing the smiles and excitement even for 8 a.m. classes to get up and have a little breakfast and get up and hang out. There’s definitely a buzz.”
With the women’s basketball team arriving back to a normal playing season this year, Duffy said her team is looking forward to “doing the basic stuff” that was missed last year due to COVID-19, and the ramifications associated with the virus.
“They’re looking forward to being out in the classroom and in the dining halls, and just basic stuff that we missed and just creating that bond between athletics and our entire student body,” Duffy said.
As basketball season approaches and COVID-19 regulations ease, Duffy looks forward to having a fan base back at games and to return to a more normal year on campus.
“The strangest part [of last basketball season] was running out to the games and just having the teams and staff,” Duffy said. “But just to have our die-hards in the stand cheering us on and the cheerleaders and band…just that spirit again is something we really look forward to.”
This story was written by Claire Driscol. She can be reached at [email protected]
Tyler Peters, Kristin Parisi and Julia Abuzzahab contributed to this report.
