The Scholar Story Report

By: Mireya Maymi PITTSBURGH --  Michaela Soper is not fond of taking credit.  After being named Duquesne University Athletics' “Staff Member of the Year", she said that she wished she could “break (her) award up into tiny little pieces” in order to share it with those around her. This is the mind behind the Dukes' acrobatics and tumbling team, a second-year program that has just returned home from its historic first NCATA National Championship appearance this past weekend. Head Coach Michaela Soper at Duquesne's inaugural acrobatics and tumbling meet vs. Gannon on Feb. 7, 2025. Photo by Joe Sargent. Over seven seasons, Soper has helped build two different programs, leading them each to claim National Championship berths. Nevertheless, deflecting the credit that comes with her success continues to be instinct. The Fallston, Maryland native spent her youth as an artistic gymnast, competing for Harford Gymnastics Club. Soper continued her athletic career in Erie, Pennsylv...

PITTSBURGH -- Briella Unger leaned forward in her biology lecture as the professor introduced an unexpected idea in the class' evolution unit: the belief that humans were created by God. Unger, then a freshman, was intrigued by the blurred line of scientific theory and religious belief. This moment for her reflects an ongoing national debate of what public school students should be taught in classrooms across the country. For over a century, the question of whether public schools should require the teaching of creationism alongside evolution  has divided the nation. This discussion  is rooted in  the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution which prohibits the government from making any laws establishing a religion. Courts have ruled over numerous cases, namely the Scopes Monkey Trial, Edwards v Aguillar and more, that the required teaching of creationism as well as the banning of evolutionary theories is unconstitutional. Still, profe...