4 | SEPTEMBER 2 • 2021 

PURELY COMMENTARY

continued on page 6

for openers
Name That Man
W

hat shall we name 
the baby? This is 
a question that is 
often posed by new parents. 
How many realize that the 
names for boys 
that are chosen 
are actually part 
of our everyday 
parlance?
By GEORGE, 
it sometimes 
seems that every 
TOM, DICK 
and HARRY has a commonly 
used moniker. But let me be 
FRANK; finding a suitable 
name is not like playing 
Where’s WALDO?
Alcohol and drinks made 
therefrom are laden with 
men’s names though why 
these are masculine is a won-
der. (What latent suggestion is 
there?) Consider: ROB ROY 

cocktail, JOHNNIE Walker 
and gin RICKEY.
Well, it would be just JIM 
dandy to be able to get a cup 
of JOE without having to 
JAYwalk and be a mindless 
pedestrian. Out of funds? (No 
BENJAMINs?) Do not get in 
the habit or robbing PETER 
to pay PAUL; that is rarely 

a good solution. Be wary of 
MAXing out your credit; get-
ting BILLs in the mail is no 
fun.
I do not JOSH when I say 
that seeing a skater perform 
a double AXEL is a real treat. 
Some even perform twirls 
while holding on to a partner’s 
HANK of hair! That’s a perfor-

mance after which you could 
“drop the MIKE.” CAR(R)Y 
that picture with you!
Ever feel like hang-gliding 
over a CLIFF? Well, GRANT 
me the assurance that you will 
DON protective clothing and 
then that will be JAKE with 
me.
At this point, I VAN(t) you, 
dear readers, to find some of 
the MAN(N)Y other exam-
ples that are out there. When 
you do, well, then BOB’s your 
uncle!
As I was getting ready to 
end this article, I had a vision 
of female protesters who 
ROSE to call me to task for 
not getting a PEARL of an 
idea and to formulate a col-
umn of women’s names. Please 
have the GRACE to be patient 
and I promise to develop that 
soon. 

Sy Manello 
Editorial 
Assistant

essay

Living in a Pandemic

A reflection on the past year.
O

riginally, I started my 
journey as an under-
graduate student at 
Wayne State as a biology major. 
However, after taking a few bio 
classes, I found quickly that this 
would not be the 
route for me and 
got on track to 
become a public 
health major 
instead. 
 At the begin-
ning of my 
second semester, now public 
health major, my life went on as 
normal. Besides beginning to 

hear of the coronavirus in the 
news and discussing it with my 
professors and peers, it had no 
major presence in my day-to-
day life. 
I was a happy, normal college 
student. I ate in the dining hall, 
went to all my classes in person, 
and slept in the on-campus 
dorms. It was a conventional 
college experience. I went 
out with friends, studied in 
the library, suffered through 
my midterms and was even 
planning a trip to New York at 
the end of the semester. 
I had made wonderful 

connections with Hillel of 
Metro Detroit’s Jewish Student 
Organization on campus 
and met some amazing new 
friends. I attended Hillel’s 
events and even organized 
some of my own. At Wayne, I 
felt safe expressing my Jewish 
faith and religion openly, 
knowing that Hillel was like a 
family on campus that would 
always welcome me for a 
Shabbat dinner or a coffee 
and understand me spiritually. 
Everything was going according 
to plan! 
The email students received 

extending spring break for 
another two weeks was at first a 
welcome surprise. I, along with 
my friends, took it as a bonus, 
a chance to relax a bit more 
before the insanity of finals 
fell upon us. However, about 
three weeks in, we noticed this 
seemingly small change in plan 
was nothing short of a single 
falling domino in a cascade of 
changes that would alter our 
daily lives. 

A DRASTIC CHANGE
As the pandemic came upon 
us in full force, my normal 

Loren Safta
jewish@edu 
writer

