After a successful season playing for the Michigan Wolverines with a Big Ten tournament title, a March Madness run to the Sweet Sixteen and an impressive stats sheet earning him All-Big Ten second team honors, Wolf announced in an Instagram post on April 16 his intent to declare in the draft, forgoing the remainder of his college eligibility.  

“I’m excited to announce that I’ll be declaring for the 2025 NBA draft,” he said in the post. He added that his time at Yale was monumental to his success: “To Coach Jones and the entire Yale staff — you believed in me when not many did. You helped shape my game and gave me a platform to grow over two unforgettable years. I’m better for it, and I’m thankful beyond words.” 

To many in the Bulldog nation, Wolf’s declaration for the draft comes as no surprise. During his time in New Haven, Wolf boasted a spectacular record. 

When asked about whether or not he saw a pro future for Wolf during the recruitment process all those years ago, Yale men’s basketball head coach James Jones told the News, “100 percent. When I recruited him, his size and skillset were so unique. I knew then he could go far.” He told the News he predicts Wolf will be drafted in the top 15 to 20 picks. 

During the 2022–23 season as a first year, Wolf carved out a role off the bench, appearing in 21 games and averaging 2.6 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest. He showed flashes of promise, including an eight-point performance in a pivotal win at Brown that clinched a share of the Ivy League regular season title. 

He logged valuable postseason minutes, as well. He contributed points on the scoreboard in the NIT matchup at Vanderbilt and played 17 total minutes in the Ivy League Tournament. His impact earned him the team’s John C. Cobb Award, recognizing him as the rookie of the year. 

During his sophomore year, Wolf really began to shine. 

Establishing himself as one of the Ivy League’s most dominant forces, Wolf was unanimously voted First Team All-Ivy and a NABC District 13 First Team honoree. He led the league in rebounding with 9.7 boards per game, ranked second with 43 blocked shots, and finished 10th in scoring at 14.1 points per game. His versatility was on full display — he was second on the team with 76 assists and knocked down 29 three-pointers. 

“We were able to let him be himself,” Jones told the News about Wolf’s time with the team. Jones said he was “able to handle the ball on the perimeter and pass and shoot from the arc. His ability to pass is elite, and his ability to put the ball on the floor and handle it is elite as well, especially for a man his size.” 

Wolf, however, shined brightest in the postseason, earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the Ivy League Tournament after powering Yale to a championship with back-to-back double-doubles, including a 19-point, 10-rebound performance in the semifinal win over Cornell. He then helped the team make an impressive upset over Auburn in the first round of the NCAA March Madness tournament.

A five-time Ivy League Player of the Week, he, in fact, recorded 14 double-doubles on the year, was named a CSC Academic All-District selection, and took home the Dutch Arnold Award as Yale’s most valuable player. 

This success was partly due to what Jones described as his “tremendous” work ethic.

“No one works harder or puts more time in the gym than Danny does,” Jones told the News. “He’s a savant, a student of the game. He watches film relentlessly. He’s the first one to get in the gym and the last one to leave.”

Even off the court, Wolf’s Yale teammates described him as “an awesome person.”

“It’s been a joy to see his years of hard work begin to come to fruition,” current captain Teo Rice ’25 told the News. “Not many people who spend time in the Ivy League become first-round draft picks, so our whole community will continue to cheer Danny on in his first year in the NBA.”

Besides his time playing in the NCAA, Wolf possesses an international reputation, highlighting his desire to continue bettering his game. At the 2023 FIBA U20 European Championship, Wolf played for Team Israel, leading the squad to secure a silver medal. 

Looking forward to the Draft, predictions are flying. ESPN has projected Wolf as the 19th overall pick. His size, standing at over 7 feet tall, and his versatility on the court, transitioning between power forward, point guard and center positions — all while managing playmaking responsibilities — would make him a significant addition to any NBA roster. 

“He’s got guard skills as a 7-footer,” Jones said. On what team Wolf is drafted to, Jones didn’t make any preference on the jersey color or mascot, rather that “I hope he goes to a place that understands his unique skillset.”

The NBA draft combine will occur from May 11-18 in Chicago, and the draft will occur in New York on June 25 and 26.

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Yale (22–7, 13–1 Ivy) defeated Cornell (18–11, 9–5 Ivy) 90–84 in the Ivy League Championship, officially securing their spot in March Madness for the third time in four years.

“Third time in four years. We are ready to take on anyone in March Madness,” Captain Teo Rice ‘25 told the News after the win.

It wasn’t an easy day for the Bulldogs, as they had to survive multiple offensive surges from the Big Red, but in the end, Yale’s star trio of First Team All-Ivy players was too much for the crew from Ithaca. 

The Bulldogs trailed at the game’s beginning, only securing their first lead as the first half came to a close with an electric basket from Casey Simmons ’26. 

The day started out shakey for the Bulldogs’ top scorer, John Poulakidas ’25. Nevertheless, fellow all-Ivy first-teamers Nick Townsend ’26 and Bez Mbeng ’25 were right there to back him up with strong performances on both ends of the floor. 

As the half came to a close, the Bulldogs offense went on a 12-point run and held a 37-32 lead.

“It was a very physical game, especially in the first half,” former Yale President Peter Salovey told the News. 

In the second half, the Bulldogs appeared to be running away with the game, getting out to a 16-point lead.

Much of this damage early in the half came from Poulakidas, who hit four-second half threes and finished with 25 points on 5-9 from three-point range. 

But the Big Red stormed back, going on a 14-2 run and closing the lead to two points midway through the second half. 

Clutch free throw shooting from Simmons and Poulakidas, along with some big buckets from Townsend, helped Yale pull away in the closing minutes. 

While the story of the game was Yale’s stars, the depth of the Bulldogs’ bench played a critical role in the victory. There were important minutes on the court from players who might not typically see as much of the floor in such a big game.

Leading this was Trevor Mullin ’27, who came in and made two big threes when Yale needed them most on his way to an impressive eight points off the bench. Also chipping in was Jack Molloy ’25, a senior big man who came in and kept Yale afloat while Simmons and Samson Aletan ’27 struggled with foul trouble.

Tonight at 6:00 pm, the Bulldogs will learn who they go up against in the first round of March Madness when the official bracket is released.

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On Saturday, the Bulldogs hosted the UML River Hawks after their win against Quinnipiac. By the time the whistle blew at the end of the game, the Elis netted 16 goals, seven of which were scored by senior Jenna Collignon ’25. 

Yale took the lead early, scoring four goals within the game’s first quarter. Collignon put two on the board, followed close behind with goals from both Taylor Everson ’25 and Sky Carrasquillo ’25. 

In the second quarter, the offense continued to explode, tacking on another seven goals. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs’ defense held steady, letting only three goals in the entire first half.

After the break, the Bulldogs continued to maintain control. The Bulldogs controlled possession and finished with a 42–21 shot advantage, capping off a statement victory of 16–6.

A few days later, the Elis were ready to take the field again and let another group of Connecticut challengers know who’s boss. By the end of the match against Central Connecticut State, the team would rake in a whopping 21 goals to the Blue Devils’ zero. 

In just the first quarter, the Bulldogs wasted no time asserting their dominance, putting 11 goals into the back of the neck. By the end of the half, the score stood at 16–0 with 11 athletes contributing to the tally. 

In the second half, the Bulldogs’ defense shined, controlling possession and forcing turnovers. The final quarter of the game saw just one shot on goal for the Blue Devils with a resounding 41–1 shot ratio for the entire game. 

“I’m very proud of our team’s discipline and effort today,” Head Coach Erica Bamford told the News. “We are excited for our game this Saturday.”

Yale is the first NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse team to shut an opponent out this season — they’ll be back in action on March 1 versus Rutgers.

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After an extensive preseason training regiment and a massive win against then-No. 4 University of Michigan, the Yale women’s lacrosse team traveled across town three days later to play in their second official game of the season.

“I couldn’t be prouder of this incredible group of girls for their dedication and hard work every day at practice,” midfielder Alex Hopkins ’25 wrote to the News. “Our commitment to the details this whole pre-season has paved the way for success when it matters most on game day.”

Just as their game against the Wolverines got off to an explosive start, the fight against the Bobcats was rather one-sided. The Bulldogs made quick work of their opponents, showing offensive prowess with a whopping nine goals within the first quarter. 

Sky Carrasquillo ’25 kicked off the scoring just over a minute into the game, capitalizing on a man-up opportunity with an assist from Ashley Kiernan ’27. Kiernan quickly followed up with a goal of her own, giving Yale an early 2–0 lead. 

Quinnipiac momentarily responded with one goal, but it was the only offense break the Bobcats could muster in the entire first 15-minute period.

The Bulldogs then released a relentless offensive scoring run — seven unanswered goals, plus winning nine out of 10 faceoffs and putting up 17 shots on goal to Quinnipiac’s three. 

Yale remained firmly in control throughout the second, although the pace of shooting slowed. Notably, the defense remained exceptionally sharp, limiting Quinnipiac to just eight shots and maintaining their dominance in the draw circle. By the time the whistle blew, the scoreboard already stood at a strong 12–3 lead for Yale. 

Coming out of halftime with a commanding lead, Yale maintained their grip on the game in the third quarter, outscoring Quinnipiac 3–1. Fallon Vaughn ’25 saw her third goal of the day, while Lily Spinner ’27 and Charlotte Callahan ’25 each tacked on another, bringing the score to an astounding 15–4 lead and marking Spinner’s first-ever goal for the Bulldogs. 

The Bobcats were able to outscore the Elis in the fourth 2–1, but it was far from enough to tip the scales. Yale had the final say with a goal in the last minute of the game, bringing the final score to 16–6. 

Yale is now 11–0 all-time against the Quinnipiac Bobcats.

Now No. 5 in the nation, the Bulldogs will be back in action on Saturday against the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 

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Heading into the season, the Bulldogs had a lot to prove. After a record 17 wins last season — not to mention an Ivy League Championship, Tournament Championship and a pair of wins in the NCAA Tournament under their belt — they were ranked first in the Ivy League Preseason poll. 

The game’s start packed a punch with three back-to-back goals from Taylor Lane ’25, Fallon Vaughn ’25 and Ashley Kiernan ’27. After an attempted comeback from the Wolverines, putting them on the board 3–1, Jenna Collignon ’25 shut down the conversation with another two in the net. 

By the end of the first, the Bulldogs were already up 5–1. 

Despite a strong offensive push from Michigan, Yale held firm in the second period, maintaining their lead with key defensive stops. After the Wolverines opened the period with back-to-back goals, the Bulldogs responded, and Lane capitalized on an assist from Kiernan to keep momentum on Yale’s side. 

The Blue and Maize closed the gap to 6–4 by halftime, but Yale’s ability to control possession and force turnovers prevented the Wolverines from gaining too much ground. With solid defensive positioning and key draw controls, the Bulldogs ensured they stayed in command heading into the break.

After the half, the action continued. The Elis maintained their composure on the field and kept the Wolverines back despite some valiant attempts to tie up the score and bring the deficit down to a one-point game. 

Yale’s offensive depth was on full display during the period. A powerful, deep squad of seniors kept the momentum strong with goals from Vaughn and Taylor Everson ’25. Plus, sophomore Karina Herrera ’27 tacked on two unassisted goals on the board.

By the fourth, the Bulldogs had run away with their lead. With a stacked four goals in the back of Michigan’s net, plus a disciplined defense limiting Michigan to just three shots on goal, the Bulldogs secured a 12–6 victory. 

At the end of the game, goalie Cami Donadio ’25 was awarded the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week. With six saves, Donadio came up big in key moments, denying Michigan’s preseason All-America attacker Jill Smith twice—once on a close-range shot in the final 30 seconds of the third quarter and again on a free-position attempt at the 12:05 mark in the fourth.

With one win on the board, the Bulldogs are gearing up for round two. Yale and Quinnipiac, a pair of local rivals, will face off today, Feb. 18, at 2 p.m.

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Yet, when Ikenna Ugbaja ’25 walked off of Yale’s varsity football team his sophomore year, he surprisingly lost a world of privileges beyond sporting a varsity athlete backpack around campus and trips to the Yale Bowl for practice. 

Unbeknownst to many outside of 12 percent of the students who are athletes, student-athlete privileges include preferential treatment at Yale’s Student Health Center. Varsity athletes are siloed into a different office on Yale Health’s second floor, separate from the Student Health Center, which serves the rest of the student body and is infamous for long wait times and lack of transparency, according to ten non-athlete students interviewed for this story. 

At the Yale Student Health Center, each varsity athlete is assigned their own Athletic Medicine doctor. Athletes have faster access to appointments and a lower patient-to-doctor ratio. They are offered services unavailable or provided at a higher price to the rest of the student population, including full-body imaging, mental health and nutrition counseling, athletic cardiology and on-site physical therapy. 

When asked if he thought being an athlete had helped him previously navigate Yale Health, Ubgaja said, “Yes. I do think it’s easier as an athlete to get medical care at Yale Health. It’s two different worlds.”

“It was so, so easy to make an appointment [at Yale Health]. I had zero wait times,” Eleanor Lockhart ’26, a former coxswain for the varsity heavyweight crew team and former sports reporter for the News, said of her time as a Yale athlete. 

Tim Brown, the director of Yale Health Communications, explained to the News that “as distinct departments, [Student Health and Athletic Medicine operate] independently to address the specific needs of its respective patient groups,” as required by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.  

Brown confirmed that all eligible students are assigned a primary care provider after enrolling. He added that for varsity athletes specifically, these providers are primary care physicians who are trained in sports medicine. According to Brown, this ensures that doctors “are equipped to handle the specialized care needs of varsity student-athletes,” in addition to treating orthopedic needs and routine primary care issues. 

Behind closed doors on the second floor 

Upon enrollment at Yale, each varsity athlete is assigned a doctor within the Athletic Medicine office to act as their general physician, according to Lockhart. Within their first few weeks on campus, student-athletes have an introductory check-up with their doctor to ensure that they are healthy and ready to compete. 

The News asked ten non-varsity-athlete undergraduates across different grades — all enrolled on the Yale specialty healthcare plan — if they knew their primary care provider at Yale Health, telling them that Yale Health’s Tim Brown asserted that all students, regardless of varsity athletic status, are assigned one. None of these students knew they even had such a provider, much less who the provider was. 

After these initial checkups, the appointment request process for varsity athletes runs “smoothly” over the phone or through the Yale MyChart website, Lockhart added. 

MyChart portal allows anyone admitted to Yale Health to manage their healthcare interactions digitally and is used by student-athletes and non-athletes alike. Varsity athletes, however, can also directly correspond with their assigned Athletic Medicine doctor.

“Inherently, knowing that you can see the same doctor and ask follow-up questions is really important and very beneficial,” said Charlie Williams ’26, who walked onto the varsity Track & Field team in the fall of her first year. 

In contrast, non-athlete students send general “talk to a doctor” messages on their MyChart portal. 

Four non-athlete students reported that if they receive a follow-up, it typically comes from an internal medicine nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant rather than a certified medical doctor, given that only five are on staff for all of Yale Student Health. Student-athletes noted that the face-to-face contact they received at Athletic Medicine was typically with an MD.

A 2023 News article reported approximately 770 Yale College students are on varsity athletic teams. According to the Yale Athletic Medicine website, the medical team comprises 22 healthcare specialists: the 16 trainers assigned to specific sports, two primary care head physicians, two surgeons, one doctor of osteopathic medicine and one nurse coordinator. In all, there is one healthcare provider for every 35 varsity athletes. 

Conversely, the general Student Health team consists of 20 people, only five of whom are doctors, for the approximate 5,980 remaining students. In other words, the Student Health program allocates one healthcare provider to serve every 300 students, not including graduate students or other Yale affiliates who receive healthcare at Yale Health. 

Because the Yale Athletic Medicine staff treats a smaller subsection of the student population, “they tended to have a lot of last-minute or immediate availability,” Lockhart said. 

In addition to their Athletic Medicine general physician, each of Yale’s 35 varsity athletics teams has an athletic trainer to treat their team. According to their staff directory, Yale Athletics employs 16 trainers. Most trainers have one or two teams under their care and can treat all injuries and illnesses, regardless of whether they are athletics-related or not.

If the doctors at Athletic Medicine cannot treat a student’s concern, they can directly refer them to doctors in other departments, bypassing the bureaucratic delays other students recall facing before being seen, Lockhart noted. 

In the fall of her sophomore year, Lockhart inquired with Yale Gynecology about getting an IUD inserted on campus. 

At first, they told her there was no availability for a first-time consultation for at least two months. Hoping to complete the procedure faster, she went to Yale Athletic Medicine to ask her general practitioner there for advice, who advised her to tell the Gynecology department that Athletic Medicine sent her. 

“[It’s] a little crazy, considering that my IUD has nothing to do with my athletic performance,” she recalled. “They had me wait [for] 15 minutes and saw me for the first appointment that day.” Following her initial consultation, Lockhart scheduled the insertion procedure for a week later. 

“If I had done it through the normal route, it would have taken me months,” she added. 

“Two different worlds”: Navigating Yale Health as a non-athlete

Coming into Yale, Ugbaja was a healthy student-athlete. It wasn’t until the football team’s intense practice schedule that he realized his body’s difficulty with oxygen intake. 

During his first year, he suffered an episode of breathing difficulties during practice and was rushed off the field. He scheduled cardiology exams and tests through Yale Athletic Medicine and Yale Cardiology, all of which occurred quickly and led to his diagnosis of a genetic lung condition. 

While Ugbaja’s coach had been a staunch advocate for him when navigating the bureaucracies of Yale Health during his first year, things got more complicated in his sophomore year. After quitting the team for personal reasons, he was now flying solo. 

Despite his diagnosis less than a year prior, Ugbaja recalls being bounced between different departments, all of which were unable to help him schedule appointments or contact doctors. He even had trouble accessing his medical records from the previous school year. 

“I never got a test that whole school year … There was also just general unhelpfulness: the lack of response. [I would try] to use MyChart and schedule things, and then call to make sure that the [appointment] was scheduled, and then they’d say, ‘Oh, we didn’t see anything that was scheduled. Nothing came in.’” 

Head Athletic Trainer Jason Cordone, who treats Yale’s football team, did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding Ugbaja after initially agreeing to be interviewed.

Lily Kim Scott ’27, a sophomore ballet dancer at Yale, also had difficulties with the disorganization of Yale Health. 

In fall 2023, Scott tore the MPFL ligament in her knee in a dance class. While Ubgaja was rushed off the field and given medical attention during his on-field respiratory episode, Scott had to Uber herself to the Yale New Haven Hospital despite getting injured in a formal Yale course. Doctors told her she needed an MRI and recommended doing the scans on campus for efficiency and accessibility. She was discharged with an MRI referral, which she took to Yale Health the next day. 

Scott was then turned away and told MRIs were not a service offered at the center because she had waived Yale’s hospitalization and specialty care coverage and only had the Yale basic insurance plan. Although her external insurance plan covered diagnostic imaging, they told her the tests could not be done at Yale. 

Scott also inquired about physical therapy options since her doctors at Yale-New Haven Hospital had recommended she start sessions. The Physical Therapy office at Yale Health told her they couldn’t provide her with that service either. Scott ended up having to Uber to Orange, Connecticut, multiple times a week for physical therapy. 

Professor Daniel Ulbricht, the teacher of Scott’s “Ballet Now” class, works with dancers at the beginning of the course to mitigate injuries. When asked about injury prevention and management services on campus for dancers, Ulbricht said he was “unaware” of any trainers or physical therapists. 

Ulbricht added that the Theater, Dance and Performance Studies Department does not have a set of guidelines to help faculty address cases like Scott’s. In comparison, the Yale Athletics website features extensive resources on student-athlete medicine and injury procedures, including a thirteen-section student athletic medicine handbook. 

Ulbricht proposed dance specialists in the Yale Orthopedic Department and in-case-of-emergency trainers for students to contact if they are hurt during rehearsal as potential resources. 

“It all comes down to awareness and being proactive … [the] responsibility is on both the individual and Yale,” he said. 

After attempting to be proactive with her recovery, Scott felt frustrated. When she turned to her friends for support, she discovered that one of her suitemates, a varsity tennis player, was receiving treatment from the Yale Health Physical Therapy office even though she had also waived Yale’s specialty coverage. 

“She’s able to go to their team’s personal trainer and a physical therapist. I think each team has their own that’s assigned. I know she’s gone in and gotten massages or ice baths, things like that,” Scott said.

These expenses are covered if the student is on Yale’s specialization coverage health plan. If they waive Yale’s specialty coverage plan, they can still access these resources, as long as their personal insurance plan can cover the cost or the student pays out of pocket, according to the student-athlete secondary insurance guide.

Additionally, all varsity athletes, those who waive specialty coverage and those who do not, have access to services at Yale Athletic Medicine — such as physical training sessions, one-on-one appointments with a primary physician and nutrition counseling — for free. 

These same services that fall under basic Athletic Medicine care are not offered to other students who waive the specialty coverage plan. In other words, in addition to receiving expedited referrals and treatment, non-varsity-athlete students pay a premium for services available free of charge to varsity athletes.

When asked about other special Athletic Medicine services, like nutrition counseling and ice baths, Brown, the Yale Health communications director, reaffirmed the office’s commitment to “dedicated” services for student-athletes, required by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. 

“Certified athletic trainers who are care team members may refer varsity student-athletes to Athletic Medicine based on assessments made during varsity practices or competitions,” Brown wrote to the News. “This immediate response is vital for maintaining the student-athlete’s health and performance and is in accordance with NCAA Division I rules.” 

Access to Athletic Medicine does not extend to Yale’s higher-intensity club sports, including the cheer and rugby teams. 

Because injuries are so common in the sport, Yale men’s rugby hired its own trainer, separate from Yale Athletics, to treat players during practices or games. Alumni donations cover the cost. 

Rosa Alcala ’26, a former member of the Yale cheerleading team, said she felt it was “taboo” for team members to ask their coaching staff and Yale Athletics for a trainer and athletic medicine resources. She said there was no room in the budget to hire a cheer trainer, and the team does not have the robust alumni base that the rugby team has to fund a trainer independently.

Even if cheerleaders get injured during varsity athletics games — where trainers are always present for the competing athletes — trainers are “not allowed” to treat them, according to Alcala. 

During her first year, Alcala injured herself at a football game. Although she was bleeding profusely from her lip and nose, healthcare providers affiliated with Yale Athletics did not treat her and instead referred her to Yale Health.

“No one took a look at me, and it was up to me to go to Yale Health with no support of Athletics,” she said. In her experience, cheerleaders are instructed to sit out if injured at practice, but no formal medical examinations occur. 

Colleen Murphy, Yale Athletics’ director of communications, commented on behalf of the Yale Cheerleading Coach Danielle Vitagliano, noting that “members of the Yale Cheer team, similar to other students competing in club sports and intramurals, have access to care at Yale [Student] Health.”

In his response to the News, Brown did not explain the lack of physical therapy options for injured non-varsity athlete students who contribute to Yale’s extracurricular life, such as rugby players or dancers. He also reaffirmed that MRI imaging is available to all students who do not waive Yale Health’s Specialty Care Coverage plan. 

“When you have Athletic Medicine, and you’re able to go in that day or the next day, you’re much more inclined to actually take care of yourself,” Lockhart said. “It isn’t such a burden to schedule and be sure that you’re sticking with it … the disparity is so huge in scheduling ability and probably in quality of care.”

Yale Health is located at 55 Lock St. 

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A year ago, Truwit was completing hours of physical therapy, recovering from surgery and acclimating to life with a prosthetic after losing her foot in a shark attack just days following her Yale graduation. This year in Paris, she became a silver medalist with a time of 4:31.39, almost three seconds faster than her qualifying time. 

“It’s honestly a surreal moment right now and I feel really, really grateful to contribute to Team USA’s medal count because what I’ve achieved is on the shoulders of truly so much support from everyone around the country,” Truwit said after the race.

In her first showing in the Olympic pool on Sept. 1, she came sixth in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 1:02.80.

Just a few days later, in her first heat of the 400-meter freestyle, Truwit placed first with a time of 4:34.71, surpassing Canada’s Aurelie Rivard, the world record-holder in the event.  

In the 400-meter freestyle final, Truwit started strong, leading for the first 250 meters. At the 300-meter mark, Rivard overtook Truwit. 

Still, Truwit shaved three seconds off her qualifying time and finished second, setting a new American record in the event.

Having swam varsity for Yale all four years of college, Truwit was determined to not let her accident be the end of her swimming story. 

“My experience as a member of Yale Swim & Dive taught me critical lessons about how to be clutch under pressure, how to be the best teammate I can be, how to work and train even when you don’t feel like it, how to dig deeper, do more than you might have thought you could,” Truwit previously wrote to the News in July. “It taught me what it really means to be part of something bigger than yourself.” 

Swimming brought Truwit to Yale. When a shark attacked her in the water, she relied on 15 years of competitive swimming to save her life. Now, she’ll return home with at least one Olympic medal in Paralympic swimming.

Truwit competed in S10 swimming, a Paralympic classification based on a person’s disability.

Truwit will race again on Sept. 6 in the 100-meter backstroke.

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The athletes represent ten nations — Australia, Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Nigeria, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United States — and four different sports — rowing, sailing, soccer and Paralympic swimming.

Each competed as a varsity athlete during their time at Yale.

“I’m really excited to wear the United States flag on my cap in my races in Paris,” Ali Truwit ’23 said. “Not only is it a huge honor, but to me, it is a thank you to all the everyday heroes who saved my life and are continuing to help me rebuild it: my coach, my doctors, prosthetist, nurses, physical therapists, family, friends.” 

Truwit was a four-year letter winner for the Yale women’s swimming and diving team. Following her graduation from Yale last spring, she survived a shark attack in Turks and Caicos where she tragically lost her foot and part of her leg. 

Determined to not lose her love for swimming, she started training for the Paralympics and qualified for the Games a little over a year after her accident and amputation surgery in June. 

Michelle Alozie ’19 is also heading to Paris, representing Nigeria on their Women’s Soccer team. 

While at Yale, Alozie was an Ivy League Co-Offensive Player of the Year and was unanimously voted to the first team All-Ivy. She says her time wearing Yale Blue uniquely equipped her to represent Nigeria in the Games. 

“At Yale, I learned to put blinders on to stay focused on what I want to achieve,” she told the News. “The same goes for the preparation for the Games. Many external factors can deter me from performing fully on the goal that Team Nigeria has here. So, putting on the blinders with my head down and focused is how I have been preparing.” 

Truwit’s time competing as a Bulldog also motivated her to train for the Paralympics. She recalled the team’s “positive energy” and “bold hopes” when vying for first in the 2019 All Ivy Championships. 

“Yale Swim and Dive has been in the trenches with me since day one… It’s my teammates who saved me, it’s my teammates who joined me in public without a foot for the first time, it’s my teammates who flew from Canada and Tennessee to practice with me,” she said. “I returned home a few weeks ago from Trials, and it was my teammates lined up with posters and balloons to congratulate me.”

Ten of Truwit’s Yale teammates are flying to Paris to cheer her on in the pool. 

“How incredible is that!” she exclaimed. 

The bulk of Yale’s athletes, 16 out of 20 of the Olympian Bulldogs, will be competing at Paris’ Vaires-Sur-Marine Nautical Stadium on their country’s respective rowing teams.

Andrin Gulich ’22 will be rowing for Switzerland in the Coxless Pairs competition where just two rowers sit in a boat with one oar each. 

Gulich and his teammate Roman Roeoesli are the reigning World Champions in the event after winning in Serbia last year.

Gulich competed in Tokyo, although in a different event: the Men’s Four. This time around, he’s most looking forward to the spectators since none were allowed due to pandemic social distancing restrictions in the last games. 

At all of his regattas, including the Olympics, he enjoys seeing fellow Bulldogs in other boats. 

“I feel a tremendous amount of support from the Yale community,” he told the News. “When we go to regattas, the world rowing events, they always feel a bit like a Yale reunion… just seeing friends in other boats, and even competitors’ boats, I mean, that’s kind of a support system, and it feels nice.” 

In this year’s games, Gulich will face off against three other Yalies in the Men’s Coxless Pair competition: Dan Williamson ’23 representing New Zealand, Ollie Wynne-Griffith ’17 representing Great Britain and Simon Keenan ’15 representing Australia. Williamson won an Olympic gold medal as part of the New Zealand Men’s Eight at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Wynne-Griffith’s boat won Bronze in the same event. 

Yale boasts over 200 Olympic athletes in its history and over 100 medals. 

“I am so proud of our current and former student-athletes participating in the Paris Olympics,” Yale Athletics Director Victoria Chun wrote to the News. “I can’t imagine a better experience than competing at the highest level of sport and studying at the highest level of academics. You can have it all.”

The first Yalies will compete on Saturday, July 27. All of the Olympics can be watched on NBC and Peacock.

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On Monday, following the arrest of 48 pro-Palestine protesters, including 44 Yale students, two groups of Yale faculty members sent letters to President Salovey and other Yale administrators denouncing the University’s response to the weekend’s protests and encampment on Beinecke Plaza. 

One statement — written by Yale professors affiliated with the organization Faculty for Justice in Palestine — condemned Monday’s arrests and threats of disciplinary action against students, while the other letter — signed by 60 affiliates of seven Yale schools — criticized the administration’s failure to take action to protect Jewish students and faculty members. The former statement does not have specific signatories.

Faculty for Justice in Palestine ‘condemn’ Monday arrests, threats of disciplinary action

Addressed to Salovey, Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis and Vice President for University Life Kimberly Goff-Crews, the statement written by Yale affiliates of Faculty for Justice in Palestine voiced concern over the University’s decision to arrest pro-Palestine protesters in an encampment at Beinecke Plaza on April 22. 

The statement criticized Salovey’s description of pro-Palestine protesters unaffiliated with Yale as “outside agitators,” arguing that the rhetoric plays into “racial tropes.” Its writers also expressed support for pro-Palestine activists on campus and urged the university to halt a “punitive approach” toward student organizing.

“As educators, we are in awe of the commitment, discipline, and peacefulness our students have shown despite being doxxed, intimidated, falsely accused, and now arrested,” the message states. “They were, in fact, admirably heeding the president’s call to ‘act with compassion and civility, especially when the values we stand for are being severely tested.’ This warrants respect and tolerance rather than discipline and threats.”

So far, several faculty members have lent support for pro-Palestine protesters, said Roderick Ferguson, the chair of the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, who is an FJP affiliate. Faculty have provided food for protesters, conducted teach-ins, picked students up after arrests and attended rallies on Beinecke Plaza during the encampment, he told the News.

The FJP statement also notes that affiliated faculty members are prepared to stage walkouts and boycott Yale’s graduation ceremonies in solidarity with students if the university administration does not meet student protesters’ demands for Yale’s divestment from military weapons manufacturers.

“I’m proud to see faculty members within and beyond FJP support students who are trying to actualize the professed democratic ideals of this university and this nation,” Ferguson wrote to the News. “I predict that faculty support will only grow.”

Kishwar Rizvi, an FJP affiliate and the Robert Lehman Professor in the History of Art, Islamic Art and Architecture, counts herself among the faculty members supportive of pro-Palestine student protesters. 

As a witness to the protests, Rizvi expressed alarm at the “disproportionate aggression” she believes the administration has used to curb student organizing. 

“To criminalize the students for simply occupying spaces that they are also told they belong to, to try and silence students when we teach them to think critically, to impose ad hoc rules that seem to be invented simply to censor free speech, is an extremely dangerous thing,” Rizvi wrote in an email to the News. 

For Erica Edwards, professor of English and African American studies, the University’s punitive response — threats of disciplinary action followed by police arrests — to Yale’s pro-Palestine protesters created an excessive safety risk for students involved. Edwards expressed disappointment that the University responded with “surveillance and punishment rather than transparency and substantive engagement.”

‘Enough is Enough:’ Faculty letter on increasing protection of Jewish students

In contrast, a separate group of Yale faculty urged the University to bolster the protection of Jewish students and faculty members and criticized the administration for failing to enforce school disciplinary policies. They also accused the administration of not acknowledging an alleged physical attack on a Jewish student. The letter was dated April 22 — the day protesters were arrested— which is when Howard Forman, a signatory and professor of radiology and economics, first saw it. He told the News that the letter had been drafted and circulated before Salovey’s April 22 email to the Yale community addressing student arrests, which overcounted the number of protesters detained.

The signatories stated that the University’s lack of consequences for the protesters who violated Yale’s Free Expression Policy Guidelines “undermines the credibility and commitment of the University to address antisemitism.” The letter noted that if the safety of Jewish students cannot be guaranteed, demonstrations should be “halted.”

“The safety of Jews can no longer be ignored in the name of ‘free speech,’” the letter states, citing instances of harassment and violence towards Jewish students on campuses across the nation.

The letter demands that Salovey release a “strong” statement within 48 hours of the letter’s release, detailing how the administration intends to ensure Jewish safety on campus. 

As of 9 a.m. on Friday, Salovey has yet to release such a statement. 

At least 45 of the signatories were associated with the School of Medicine, though faculty from Yale Law School, the School of Management, the School of Engineering & Applied Science, the School of Public Health, the School of Music and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences also signed the letter. 

Evan Morris, a professor of radiology and biomedical engineering at the School of Medicine, and Irena Tocino, a professor emeritus of radiology and biomedical imaging, both wrote to the News that they helped draft the letter. 

They cited multiple reasons for writing the letter, arguing that Salovey “lost control of the campus” and that his lack of action could increase violence. They also argued that the administration “constrained the police inappropriately on Saturday night” and “defended all manner of hate speech against Jews.”

The University spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

Forman explained to the News that he signed the letter after receiving it in an email.

Forman told the News that while the tone of the letter was “harsher than [he] personally would use,” he deliberated for about an hour and ultimately signed it because he agreed with its content. 

“The letter itself still stands up for basic principles that I think people feel are being ignored right now,” Forman said. “I came to sign it mostly to show solidarity with people who I think are right now feeling very much hurt.” 

The letter also listed additional demands, stating that only Yale faculty and students should be able to participate in on-campus protests and that “anti-Israel rhetoric and political positions” should be removed from Yale websites. 

Moreover, they state that demonstrators should not be allowed to wear masks or other face coverings to “avoid accountability for their actions.”

Forman said to the News that while it is “terrible” that students are getting doxxed and attacked for participating in protests, he believes that they should also publicly defend their beliefs. 

“I’m willing to put my name behind this at personal harm, at personal risk of offending people,” Forman said. “You have to be willing to stand up for what you believe in.” 

Matthew Spiegel, a professor of finance at the School of Management, also received the letter via email and decided to sign on. In an email to the News, he wrote that he signed onto the letter to urge the University to enforce the rules they had previously established. 

“If you have rules, you need to enforce [them],” Spiegel wrote. “If you are unwilling to do so, no matter the situation or who the violator is, then you need to repeal the rule. … Rules you enforce with ‘discretion’ are invitations to discrimination.”

Pro-Palestine protesters first set up an overnight encampment on Beinecke Plaza on Friday, April 26.

Correction, April 26: A previous version of this article misstated the time that the faculty letter calling on the university to ensure the safety of Jewish community members was drafted and circulated; it was actually circulated prior to President Salovey’s 2nd email to the community on April 22.

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Papathanasopoulos won the race with 708 votes — or 35.2 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, competitors Brian Zhang ’25, an Arts editor for the News, won 664 votes — or 33 percent — and Celene Bennett ’26 won 638 votes — or 31.7 percent. This year, 2,010 students voted in the presidential election, 170 less than last year’s total. 

“I am incredibly honored and excited to serve as Yale College Council’s next President alongside Esha. We are profoundly grateful for the student body’s trust in us and are ready to dedicate our time, energy, and love to these roles,” Papathanasopoulos wrote to the News. 

Garg won the two-person vice presidential election by a larger margin, receiving 1117 votes while Juan Borrego ’26 won 889 votes. Garg also won her race for Grace Hopper College senator but subsequently decided to relinquish the seat, leaving it open until the fall. 

Meanwhile, Bennett and Borrego — who ran together — were docked 50 votes due to a campaign violation of the YCC’s endorsement procedures. This penalty, according to outgoing YCC Vice President Maya Fonkeu ’25, was administered after an “initial warning.” 

Bennett told the News on Tuesday that the violation was related to an individual who sits on both the YCC’s Executive Board and the Yale First-Gen and/or Low-income Advocacy Movement board that advocated for YFAM to endorse Borrego and Bennett.  

“This individual was not a part of our campaign team, but urged YFAM to consider us for endorsement,” Bennett wrote to the News. “They attended the debate, however since they did not interview all candidates individually before deciding to vouch for Juan and I, we were penalized.” 

The YCC endorsement guidelines — which Fonkeu included in an April 11 email she sent to students about YCC elections — state that all organizations seeking to officially endorse a candidate must meet three requirements. These requirements include offering all candidates for the position in question an endorsement interview “of equal length and nature,” disclosing any affiliations with candidates they seek to endorse to current YCC leadership and having at least one member of the organization attend the YCC-YDN debate. 

YFAM ultimately did not endorse any candidates for the election.

The election also determined the 2024-25 events director, junior and sophomore class council presidents and residential college senators. Zhang was elected events director, Kingson Wills ’26 was elected Junior Class Council president and Andrew Boanoh ’27 was elected Sophomore Class Council president. 

Boanoh told the News that while he was happy with the results of this year’s elections, he still noticed “a lot of apathy with regard to the YCC” in conversations with peers and in this year’s voter turnout, which was about one-third of the undergraduate student body. 

Boanoh said he felt inspired to make the YCC’s work more “visible” so that students “feel that we’re actually in their corner.”

“More specifically to SOCO, I think that the next year will present a unique challenge,” Boanoh told the News. “Our class will be scattered across campus to our various different residential colleges, which will make it a bit tougher to come together as a full class at any given point in time. My goal, though, is to create as many opportunities as possible for our class to bond, celebrate, and remain connected throughout the year.”

Zhang wrote to the News that he is “fearlessly prepared” to serve in his new role as YCC Events director for the 2024-25 school year.

Zhang, who previously served as JCC president, said that he “knew that a more externally facing role would suit [him] best.” 

“Creativity, concepts, philanthropy and imagination are all factors I consider when I am hosting an event or fundraiser,” Zhang said. “We are living in uniquely difficult times, and the types of events the Yale student government puts out can be statements to greater issues impacting our communities.” 

The new YCC administration will take office at midnight on Saturday, May 4, following a two-week transition period.

The post Mimi Papathanasopoulos ’26 and Esha Garg ’26 win Yale College Council presidency, vice presidency appeared first on Yale Daily News.