The Alestle Vol. 74 No. 16 by The Alestle

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vol. 74 no. 16

The Student Voice Since 1960

MLK celebration urges audience to act

News in brief ROTC Cadet club hosts fundraiser for cadet after shooting

taking capitol offense Several local organizations hosted a protest last Tuesday urging Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to resign. Hawley was the first U.S. senator to challenge the electoral college results, and is widely criticized for raising a fist in support of the protesters who stormed the Capitol building last week. I Khoi Pham / The Alestle

Student and faculty thoughts on riot DALTON BROWN copy editor

The world watched as the Capitol building was stormed, but not everyone saw the same thing — from historians to student protesters, here’s what some on campus thought about what unfolded in Washington, D.C. Matthew Petrocelli, professor of criminal justice studies, said he thinks President Donald Trump was responsible and should face the full extent of the law. “I think that any fair read-

ing of what [Trump] said and what he did there under the law qualifies as incitement, which is a crime,” Petrocelli said. “I mean if we don’t impeach a president of the United States for inciting an armed coup … what do we impeach a president for, then?” Sophomore political science major and president of Turning Point USA’s SIUE chapter Sophia Pritchett of Staunton, Illinois, said she thought the president chose his words poorly, but didn’t act maliciously. “I don’t necessarily think he incited violence, but he definitely could’ve worded stuff different-

ly,” Pritchett said. “Whether he would’ve prevented it, I’m not sure, because I think the people who did do that stuff on Capitol Hill were quite upset that he lost the election.” To stop Trump from calling for further unrest, Facebook and Twitter announced they would suspend him from their platforms indefinitely. History professor Bryan Jack said he thought these actions were too little, too late. “I think when he was continually putting out false information, especially on Twitter, that Twitter was marking as ‘disputed’ see CAPITOL on page 2

NICOLE BOYD copy editor

With the recent shooting of SIUE nursing student and ROTC cadet Moneer Damra, the ROTC Cadet Club is hosting a GoFundMe fundraiser titled “Do it like Damra.” These donations will help with the costs of his upcoming medical expenses and offset the costs of travel and lodging for his out of state family, according to the ROTC Facebook page. Their Facebook page also said Source Juicery will be donating $3 to the official GoFundMe page for every comment on their post. Damra was shot in the neck on Jan. 14 in what police believe to be a random act of gun violence and remains in critical condition. He continues to receive treatment for his injuries at a regional St. Louis hospital. For those who are coping with this recent event, SIUE’s Counseling Services can serve as a short-term option. For more information on the fundraiser, go to the ROTC Cadet Club Facebook and Instagram pages.

The Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion hosted a virtual event to celebrate Martin Luther King ,Jr. Day, during which speakers called out issues within SIUE and drew attention to King’s unpopularity during his lifetime. Assistant political science professor and keynote speaker Timothy Lewis said in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King told evangelical ministers and American citizens they were lying to themselves if they thought the legal system in America moved society toward justice. Lewis asked if Americans keep the same way of thinking today. “In this reflective, celebratory moment, honoring the titan of terminology himself, we need to ask ourselves the question, ‘Are we lying to ourselves?’ Because America’s so whitewashed by false notions of American exceptionalism that we cannot see the truth,” Lewis said. “Are we really claiming racial progress when blunt force has been the leading cause of death for Black people since the slave patrols? Are we really claiming racial equity when systemic racism allows hospitals to offer lower quality of care to Black people in the middle of a pandemic when Black people are dying at three times the rates of [white people]? Are we claiming a justice system when a Black woman can be shot to death in her bed and we charge the officer who shot the drywall, not the officer see MLK on page 8

New bill could eliminate Illinois cash bail system SIUE community reflects on to be incarcerated,” Criminal Jus- From the data we have right now JOHN MCGOWAN inauguration day, President tice Professor Kevin Cannon said. from the places that have done it, reporter Opponents of the bill have it’s promising,” Erwin said. Biden’s promises to the country A new Illinois bill, titled HB said safety issues may arise from Other changes brought along JOHN MCGOWAN KRISTINA JOHNSON reporters

Despite worries of a repeat of the storm on the Capitol, President Joe Biden was inaugurated Jan. 20. With his inauguration came promises to reunite a divided nation and undo many actions of the previous administration. Some people at SIUE are looking forward to a new start in 2021, starting with the inauguration of a new president. Senior Community Outreach Chair for College Democrats of SIUE Evan Senat, of Belleville, Illinois, said she is looking forward to what Biden’s administration has planned for the country. “I think he [President Biden] has enough of the world watching that everyone is holding him to a higher standard than they did Trump,” Senat said. “I really just hope he is taking that seriously, but I have hope that he is.” Senat said she and the rest of the College Democrats of SIUE

have very similar views on what they believe is important for the future of our country. “We as a group [College Democrats of SIUE] are very excited to have more distribution of vaccines in the near future, as well as having our country rejoin the Paris Climate agreement because climate change is a huge deal to our future as a country,” Senat said. Senat said the introduction of Vice President Kamala Harris as the first female vice president in U.S. history is a positive representation of the Black community. “I personally feel very strongly about everything that has happened this summer with the Black Lives Matter movement,” Senat said. “I do feel like since we have Kamala Harris as VP and she is a form of representation of the Black community, that’s going to benefit our fight in the long run as well.” After the riots in D.C., the see INAGURATION on page 2

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3653, was recently passed by the Illinois General Assembly. It aims to reform the criminal justice system by abolishing cash bail by 2023 — through the Pretrial Fairness Act — among other changes. It is now up to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to sign it into law. With these changes in effect, court judges would be unable to detain most people. According to the bill, “detention only shall be imposed when it is determined that the defendant poses a danger to a specific, identifiable person or persons, or has a high likelihood of willful flight.” This aspect of the bill is intended to combat discrimination. “The cash bail system has consistently been shown to create a disadvantage for those in the lower class economically, and being detained prior to trial has consistently been shown to increase the likelihood of being convicted of whatever offense you’re charged with — and then if you are convicted, it increases the likelihood that you are going

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fewer being detained. Cannon said evidence doesn’t point to that. “There have been plenty of studies that have shown that a person who is awaiting trial does not have a great likelihood of committing another offense before that trial, so the need to incarcerate them may not be there,” Cannon said. If the bill is signed by Pritzker, Illinois will be the second state to have passed reform at this level, following in the footsteps of New Jersey. After reform passed in 2017, New Jersey has seen a 20 percent decrease in its jail population. Social Work Professor Jennifer Erwin said this may be one of the first few steps of reform across the nation. “I think the more data we get that shows [passing reform does not lead to an increase in crime and people not showing up to court dates] the more likely other states are going to be to follow along — if the data shows that …

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by the bill are restrictions to violent police behavior like chokeholds, requiring police to wear body cameras, the ban of the purchase of certain types of military equipment by police departments and more rights for those detained. This new bill comes in the wake of this summer’s Black Lives Matter protests. According to Assistant Sociology Professor Ezra Temko, the bill wouldn’t have happened without them. “People might ask about ‘why did this happen now?’ I would just say that this is part of the context of the Black Lives Matter protests from this past summer, and this attention to racial justice that creates a more permeable status quo in terms of people being able to act and move forward with policies that in other environments may struggle a little bit more,” Temko said. Those interested in all the potential changes caused by the bill can read it on the Illinois General Assembly website.

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INAUGURATION | COVER

Madison County confirmed cases by day

January 9

Source: Madison County Health Department COVID-19 Dashboard, as of Jan. 19

Percentage of isolation/quarantine space available on campus (as of Jan. 19): 100 percent

Source: Health, Reporting, and Testing page on SIUE’s COVID-19 website, as of Jan. 19

COVID-19’S impact on Madison County All of Illinois’ regions remain under Tier 3 mitigations, which went into effect Nov. 20. These mitigations include the following: - Retail is limited to 25 percent capacity; grocery stores and pharmacies are limited to 50 percent. - Bars and restaurants must be closed between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. the next day, and indoor dining cannot be offered. - Personal care services must operate at a maximum of 25 clients or 25 percent capacity, whichever is less. Face coverings must be worn at all times, and services where face coverings cannot be worn, such as facials and beard trimmings, must be suspended. - Health and fitness centers may operate up to 25 percent capacity, but no indoor group classes can be offered. Face coverings must be worn at all times, and locker rooms must be closed. Source: dph.illinois.gov.

| Alex Aultman / The Alestle

CAPITOL | COVER

when it wasn’t disputed, it was false … Twitter [and] Facebook could’ve done a much better job [with] misinformation on their platforms,” Jack said. While Pritchett said she recognized the rights of these companies, she also said this could lead to further online censorship. “They are private companies, they can do whatever they want, but I can’t really think how helpful it will be, rather than creating sort of an echo chamber,” Pritchett said. “It just makes it more hard for people with right-leaning views … it would trickle down into being just an echo chamber of just the same ideas, and I think it is a little harmful.” According to political science professor Andrew Theising, this should never have been the platforms’ responsibility to begin with. ‘It is not Facebook’s job and it is not Twitter’s job to hold our President accountable,” Theising said. “I think their actions were justified, I think their actions were too late, honestly. I think they tolerated more than they should have. They can police their platforms, but it’s up to … the citizens of this country to police our politicians.” Politicians and social media companies

Spring Break canceled to limit spread of COVID-19 NICOLE BOYD copy editor

Although SIUE will not be taking a week off for spring break this semester, individual departments may schedule days off in order to lighten the load for students. Chancellor Randy Pembrook said the decision to cancel spring break was made to prevent students from mixing bubbles, then returning to campus. “People get used to living within bubbles; it can be your family, it can be your roommates, it can be a team. So within that bubble, hopefully everybody’s practicing safe behaviors and you create a level of safety,” Pembrook said. Pembrook said while he understands breaks are important for students, he believes canceling spring break is the safest option for the spring semester. “We’re trying everything we can to create a safe environment. I know a lot of people like to travel, student break is important, some people do alternative spring break and do humanitarian, social kinds of outreaches, but in this unique spring se-

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the city was shut down from spectators, the National Mall was empty and the capitol was full of security ahead of Inauguration Day. It was almost expected that something would happen before, during or after the day ends. “Yeah, I thought that something could happen and that something could happen in Washington, D.C.,” Mass Communications Instructor Bill Tucker said. “Something could happen in Springfield. Something could happen in Jefferson City. I would not have been surprised.” Edwardsville Police Chief Jay Keevan said he was not worried about the possibility of violence at the event. “They have 30,000 National Guard troops there, so I doubt that even if there is someone that tries to cause problems with the inauguration, I think that would be quelled pretty quickly,” Keevan said. “I have full faith in our military and our national guard to be able to quell any problematic issues.” While nothing ruined the ceremony, SIUE students had varying opinions on the incoming administration. Freshman mechatronics and robotics engineering major Ugochukwu Eleonu, of Nigeria, said Biden’s policy of raising the federal

minimum wage to 15 dollars won’t make a large difference. “He might be a bit better than the previous administration … A lot of people will benefit from [raising the minimum wage], but only in the short term. Over the long term it’s just going to be like it was never raised due to things like inflation,” Eleonu said. Freshman social work major Kamryn Loyd, of Springfield, Illinois, said she thinks Biden was the right choice, but people shouldn’t forget his past actions. “I wish that people would consider his past behavior and stop putting him on a pedestal, because I think that just because he’s the better candidate doesn’t mean he’s ideal … I can appreciate Biden but I’m not necessarily a supporter. I think he needs to be held more accountable,” Loyd said. Another student, senior mechanical engineering major Aaron Gagni, of Itasca, Illinois, said he’s waiting to see what President Biden brings to the table before he makes a judgement. “He’s not exactly the guy I would pick to lead right now, but I just want to see what kind of policies he’s going to implement during his term. So, we have to wait and see,” Gagni said. Those who wish to watch the full inauguration can do so on YouTube.

alike mobilized a group that has since been defined in many different terms — Petrocelli said he considers them textbook domestic terrorists. “To me, they’re domestic terrorists, and the reason that I say that is because the definition of a terrorist is someone who uses violence to achieve a political end, and that’s clearly what they were doing,” Petrocelli said. Junior exercise science major Mikia Keith of Indianapolis said based on her experience at recent protests, she doesn’t consider them protestors. “I would consider them terrorists instead of protestors because they were in the federal government’s offices destroying federal papers and documents,” Keith said. “For Indianapolis, we did a protest outside our state capitol, but we never went into the building ... we did not break in anywhere.” Pritchett said she thought the group was trying to send a message. “I think it was to get back at the government,” Pritchett said. “They were upset with the system. I don’t necessarily know the reason why, but I think it was just maybe a little bit of a power move, saying ‘look at us, we got into the Capitol.’” The response of the Capitol Police to

this incident drew intense criticism, after which their chief resigned. According to Petrocelli, the officers on the ground were operating under faulty leadership. “The officers that were on site there, I think, did a magnificent job and fought bravely to try to defend the Capitol,” Petrocelli said. “That was a failure at the highest level, that was an administrative failure … how they could not have been prepared for that is simply beyond me … even when [Trump] was speaking, he was inciting the crowd. If I’m a police commander and I’m listening to that happening, I’m calling in reserves immediately.” This security approach allowed the Capitol group to get away with things Black Lives Matter protestors never would have, according to Keith. “The craziest thing for me is just the way that the two situations were dealt with,” Keith said. “At Black Lives Matter protests, people were maced, being tased, arrested … and with the terrorist attack on the Capitol, the police let them in. There’s videos and evidence of people opening the doors, welcoming them.” Pritchett said it was unclear whether race impacted the police response. “I don’t think it really played a factor,” Pritchett said. “In my heart, I’m really ...

mester we think it’s the best route to help everybody get through the classes safely,” Pembrook said. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Jeffrey Waple said not having spring break allowed classes to start a week later, while still ending the first week of May as planned. “Really the rationale behind that [decision] was to get past the 14 days of New Year’s, and the people that traveled, [who] would be quarantined if people had exposure over New Year’s. So that’s why we pushed it back a week,” Waple said. “Looking at our testing that we’re doing right now, and the really, really low positivity rate, it seems to be working … So we’re starting a week later, spring break is gone and we’re still getting out that first weekend in May.” Many universities are canceling spring break, but some are having individual days off throughout the semester called “wellness days.” Waple said while there are no university-wide wellness days planned, separate departments or faculty members may decide to have them on smaller scales. “If we had started school [a week earlier] … we could build in a couple days on here and there. So I believe individual departments or faculty are going to look

into a day off here, a day off there,” Waple said. “... Student Affairs, we’re taking a week in March and we’re not going to have any meetings, any Zoom meetings. We’re going to give our staff time to catch up, work on projects.” Lisa Thompson-Gibson, coordinator for outreach and prevention initiatives and staff counselor of Counseling Services, said students concerned about burnout due to not having a break may benefit from a few coping strategies. “Spring has a tendency to be a little bit more demanding than fall in general, and so being able to prepare for that early I think is really helpful for all of us,” Thompson-Gibson said. “So in terms of how to combat the ideas of burnout, perhaps really organizing yourself earlier on, pacing yourself, coming up with … something that’s sustainable rather than perhaps falling back on practices that sort of get in the way of success, like procrastination and those last minute kinds of things that can lead to feeling depleted or anxious or overwhelmed, I think would be really important throughout the course of the semester.” To learn more about Counseling Services, visit their website.

hopeful that race did not play a factor, but it is in question. It was debated that whole day, Jan. 6, ‘if they were another skin color, would they have been treated differently?’ but I don’t know how we can truly know.” As far as how the country should move forward, Pritchett said we should let civility shape our identity. “I saw a lot of people saying that they were ashamed to be American on the day of the Capitol incident, but we really cannot let those people define us as Americans,” Pritchett said. “If we want to make a change, we need to mobilize, get our voice out there in a very peaceful way and remain civil.” Graduate business administration major Asher Denkyirah of Glen Carbon, Illinois, said she hopes this is an awakening which brings about change. “I hope that this moment that happened last week will open the eyes for many Trump supporters that were kind of on the fence,” Denkyirah said. “We cannot pick and choose to condemn Black Lives Matter for protesting for their own lives and then … not [be] willing to condemn and prosecute these terrorists that invaded the Capitol building.” For more information on what happened that day, visit NPR’s Live Updates.

01.10.21 SIUE Police arrested an individual on a McLean County Warrant for Domestic Battery at North University Drive near Cirlcle Drive. Subject was transported to the SIUE Police Department where he was fingerprinted, photographed, processed and taken to the Madison County Jail, awaiting extradition from McLean County or subject posting bond. State citations were also issued for Speeding and Operation of Uninsured Motor Vehicle.

01.14.21 Officer assisted Illinois State Police with locating a victim that was involved in a shooting. Officer also assisted Illinois State Police in trying to locate the suspects. Investigation continues. Illinois State is handling the call.

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SIU’s School of Dental Medicine first campus to receive COVID-19 vaccine.

Center for Faculty Development & Innovation offers aid to online classes

KRISTINA JOHNSON reporter

THOMAS DRAKE reporter

The first round of the Moderna vaccine was administered to the School of Dental Medicine’s faculty and staff on Jan. 12. “Around 230 or so people got vaccinated yesterday at the School of Dental Medicine in collaboration with Madison County Public Health because they are part of tier one,” COVID-19 Response Coordinator Michael Schultz said. Bruce Rotter, Dean of the School of Dental Medicine, was the first to receive the vaccine on Tuesday at the Alton campus in their Science building. At SIUE, the vaccines are being prioritized to faculty and students within the medical fields and environmental services through the tier system. The Illinois Department of Public Health and the CDC gave a list of tiers that outlined eligibility of people who can receive the vaccine. Through those tiers, the School of Dental Medicine was able to determine their hygienists and dentists were eligible to receive the vaccine. When all of tier one is vaccinated, the vaccination process will begin for the next tiers. “Madison County and SIU Health

Service staff both participated in that vaccine clinic,” Director of Health Services Riane Greenwalt said. SIU’s School of Dental Medicine is the only dental school outside of the Chicago area in Illinois. Around 300 students are enrolled in SIU’s dental school and they service nearly 35,000 patients every year at their patient clinic. Having access to the vaccine adds another layer of protection between the students and their patients. Chair of Applied Dental Medicine Nathalia Garcia said the process of getting vaccinated couldn’t have been smoother. She said the students and faculty who were getting vaccinated were emailed a couple days before to set up online appointments for vaccination times. “I am very grateful,” Garcia said. “I think the entire School of Dental Medicine community is also grateful for this opportunity to receive the vaccine.” Some people have voiced their concerns with the side effects that could come from getting the vaccine. After receiving her vaccine, Garcia said that the Moderna vaccine has minimal side effects and she is feeling well. The Moderna vaccine consists of a two-dose vaccination. The second dose of the vaccine will be administered four weeks

after the initial dose. Garcia said she is looking forward to getting past this pandemic, believing the vaccine is a step in the right direction. “I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity. This step is fundamental to getting over this pandemic,” Garcia said. “Our School of Dental Medicine has been providing dental services to our community during this pandemic using the highest level of protection for the students, patients and staff.” Greenwalt said the availability of more vaccinations for SIUE students and faculty is on the way. “On Tuesday the 19 we have a vaccine clinic on site, at the Edwardsville campus, and those too will also be 1A tiers,” Greenwalt said. “These are faculty, staff and students that are in clinical sites as well as people who do environmental services [who will have access to the vaccine].” Those who fall under that tier have been offered an appointment to receive the vaccine. All vaccines are done on an appointment-only basis. Madison County is in charge of the appointment schedule and hands it off to Health Services. For more information on SIUE COVID-19 vaccines, email Greenwalt at rgreenw@siue.edu.

Seth Evan, a freshman political science major from Ava, Illinois, is turning in the sample to the nurse. | Khoi Pham / The Alestle

ments… they only need two milliliters. So yeah, it’s gone from five to two,” Schultz said. The Aura application was used to facilitate the process of making an appointment to get tested. Students and staff were asked to download the application to ease the process of making an appointment. “Everything went smooth for me personally,” junior elementary education major Katelyn Patterson of Hamel, Illinois, said. “I had an easy time making an appointment but my coworker must have signed up without the app and thought there were only so many spots open and that everything was booked.” Schultz said SIUE’s East St. Louis campus had one testing date because their campus is operating remotely, meaning only the administrative staff needed to be tested, which is around 25 to 50 people. He had learned, after the dates were set for testing sites, that more than 150 people from the East St. Louis campus wanted to get tested. Test results have taken anywhere from 24 hours to up to a week to get back. Schultz said since GENETEWORx is based in Virginia, they used Federal Express to drive the day’s tests to their laboratory. Some delays occurred when the trucks weren’t able to meet their delivery times. SIUE plans to continue testing throughout the semester, but it will be on a randomized, voluntary basis. For those who volunteer to get tested, they will be offered an incentive, said Director of Health Services Riane Greenwalt. “There is sort of an incentive if you do participate,” Greenwalt said. “So for faculty, staff and students there’s some Cougar bucks, and for students there’s an opportunity to be in a lottery for bigger prizes at the end of the semester.” For the latest testing information and statistics, visit SIUE’s COVID dashboard.

COVID-19 reentry testing ends smoothly after a few issues KRISTINA JOHNSON reporter

SIUE’s decision to mandate COVID-19 testing for all returning students and faculty brought the difficulty of testing a large population of people along with it. For COVID-19 Response Coordinator Michael Schultz, the first task was finding a company to take on testing the university. He said Shield Illinois was the first company he hoped would do the job. “First we were going to go with Shield Illinois with the University of Illinois system and that was our plan,” Schultz said. “We gave them a deadline of when they needed to be FDA approved and they weren’t [approved by the deadline].” Instead, he went with GENETEWORx, a testing company based out of Virginia. There were four categories that were most important to fill for the company to be chosen: a non-invasive saliva test, a way to accept insurance and process it, a company-provided staff to work at the testing sites and the price. Schultz said GENETEWORx was able to meet all those requirements. Jan. 4 was the first day of testing at the Student Fitness Center on the Edwardsville campus, but only 40 percent of the staff showed up. “It was a surprise to them [GENETEWORx]. They were on the phones trying to get it resolved and so forth,” Schultz said. “They had meetings on that Monday night to make sure it didn’t happen again on Tuesday and it happened again on Tuesday.” In order to combat the lack of staff

provided by the GENETEWORx subcontractors, Schultz took it upon himself to call in some SIUE staff. “There were three or four Housing staff workers, two [from] Health Services and Vice Chancellor Waple that worked that site,” Schultz said. After the first couple days of testing, the layout of the testing site at the Student Fitness Center changed frequently, but Schultz said this was in order to make the process even more efficient for those getting tested. Changes were made due to the increased amount of time for collection of saliva and lack of staff provided. Originally five milliliters of saliva were needed for the testing, but during the testing process the laboratory’s standards changed. “The lab has changed their require-

STUDY ROOMS FOR SPRING 2021

Art & Design West 1107 (ADW 1107) Alumni Hall 0302 (AH 0302) Alumni Hall 0333 (AH 0333) Alumni Hall 3402 (AH 3402) Engineering Building 0165 (EB 0165) Engineering Building 2160 (EB 2160) Engineering Building 2170 (EB 2170) Engineering Building 3140 (EB 3140)

Founders Hall 0308 (FH 0308) Founders Hall 1407 (FH 1407) Founders Hall 3408 (FH 3408) Peck Hall 0307 (PH 0307) Peck Hall 0309 (PH 0309) Peck Hall 1309 (PH 1309) Peck Hall 1412 (PH 1412)

There are more study rooms available in Lovejoy Library

Peck Hall 2411 (PH 2411) Peck Hall 3316 (PH 3316) Peck Hall 3406 (PH 3406) Science East 1204 (SE 1204) Science East 1230 (SE 1230) Science East 2214 (SE 2214) Science East 3252 (SE 3252) Vadalabene Center 2007 (VC 2007)

The Center for Faculty Development & Innovation is a department that offers multiple professional development courses for faculty. They focus on improving leadership skills, grant writing, mentoring, work/life balance, serving diverse populations, career advancement, research productivity and teaching and learning experience. They now offer new professional development courses to assist faculty teaching online classes. Not every professor had experience with online classes before the pandemic, but with COVID-19 mitigations restricting most in-person classes, faculty had to adjust to a new standard of online learning. Lynn Bartels, Director of Faculty Development said the transition was harder on some faculty than others. “Faculty had to pivot to new ways of teaching their courses. For some of them, it was a really big shift. They had never used some of the technology that was available for instruction,” Bartels said. The CFDI with Instructional Design and Learning Technologies, a division of ITS that helps faculty to develop structures for online learning, wanted to make the transition as smooth as possible. Jessica Harris, Assistant Provost for Academic Equity, worked closely with Bartels during the transition. “We saw a prime opportunity to offer faculty and staff a varying range of professional development opportunities,” Harris said. In the summer, CFDI and IDLT held a summer camp for faculty that were concerned about online teaching. It was a week long and Bartels said IDLT offered a webinar every day that focused on everything related to online teaching. They worked on how to do group projects in an asynchronous class and engaging students in synchronous and asynchronous classes, as well as students doing internships or field work during the pandemic. Associate Director of Online and Blended Education of IDLT Matthew Schmitz said, “Our group helped faculty transition their courses from face to face to online. We helped people build their courses if they needed some content or needed some structure for online.” While they provided the technical help of the development courses, Bartels helped with identifying the problems that the faculty had, according to Schmitz. “She’s always an excellent partner to have because she really does help bring the faculty perspective and she was able to come to us and say, ‘I’ve spoken to some faculty members from my own department and other departments, or schools, or colleges and these are the concerns we have.’ She was really able to help us to kinda dig into the needs of the faculty and the students,” Schmitz said. Surveys were sent out for students to answer on the quality of the new online classes. Harris said these surveys have helped significantly. “We’ve taken that information and used it to respond and to think through how we can address some of the ongoing challenges. Any time that we’ve asked for feedback, we’ve gotten it and it’s been very helpful information and robust feedback,” Harris said. SIUE provides workshops specifically for asynchronous classes,“We have several workshops offered last week and this week that particularly address asynchronous online instructional and supporting faculty see AID on page 8

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From open mics to EP: the evolution of The Intrusion many names, “The Intrusion” pays homage to its predecessors. “Preston’s grandfather was in a band Two years after being voted out of his back in the ‘60s called The Intruders, and own band, Joe Whiteside got a text ask- they were popular in the St. Louis area, ing if he wanted to start another. The text and so he wanted to do kind of a callback was from Preston Schepers, a then-junior to them, and we came up with The Intruat Alton High School who saw Whiteside’s sion,” Whiteside said. “And I’ll be honest, departure as his chance to fulfill a lifelong I hated the name at first, but it’s kind of grown on me, you know?” goal. With members selected and a name “I’ve been wanting to be in a band for all my life,” Preston said. “So I looked decided, it was time to define the sound around the local musicians around the of The Intrusion, a process still ongoing high school, and then I found Joe White- as the group’s individual influences range side … me and him, we jammed one day widely. “We play an interesting brand of indie and we just connected, and then we just rock. Our influences range from Led Zepstarted going from there.” Whiteside said he knew after this jam pelin to Billie Eilish. We all kind of bring our own insession that he fluences into and Preston were “The sound ranges ... the mix,” onto something. “We got to there’s music on there that W h i t e s i d e said. “Me know each other, you can vibe to, music that p e r s o n a l l y, Preston and I, and my guitar we jammed for a you can cry to, music that playing is inwhile, and we said you can bang your head fluenced a ‘We’ve got to get lot by David more people in on and get mad at ‘the man’ Gilmour of this,’” Whiteside said. to ... there’s also music you Pink Floyd and … my Whiteside can laugh to. singing is recruited one of mostly inhis former bandJOE WHITESIDE spired from mates as a bassist, lead vocals, lead guitarist acts like Tears sophomore jazz performance major Jacob Pullen, of Alton, for Fears … like Rick Astley, I love Rick Astley.” Illinois, by calling him on short notice. Preston said his influences amount to “He had given me a call about a week or so before a show, and he goes ‘Hey … a sort of historical rock music timeline. “I’m the drummer, so I listen to aldo you want to learn an hour and a half of music in however many days?’ … and I was most everything from the old ‘60s rock to the new rock [of] today,” Preston said. like ‘Okay, sure,’” Pullen said. Ashton Schepers, whose brother was “Where I found my sound is from the already in the band, became the group’s Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zepperhythm guitarist about a year ago. The lin, all that classic rock … just trying to dual dynamic of being brothers and band- bring [those] old rock vibes back into the scene.” mates is not lost on Ashton. While Pullen’s inspirations vary wide“It can be some hard times because of arguing, because brothers argue,” Ashton ly, he said he doesn’t try to emulate anysaid. “But then there can be some good one but himself. “I listen to a bunch of progressive times, like after the gigs, we’re fine with rock, I’ll listen to Yes and Genesis, stuff each other.” A band was officially born — but like like that, and then also, I guess I have to any newborn, it needed a name, and like listen to a lot of jazz,” Pullen said. “I just DALTON BROWN copy editor

Top: (From left to right) Bassist Jacob Pullen, guitarist Ashton Schepers, lead vocalist and guitarist Joe Whiteside, keyboardist and lead vocalist Thomas Voumard and drummer Preston Schepers pose for a promotional picture. Pullen, Preston and Ashton also sing backup. Bottom: The band plays at The Gold Bar in Grafton, Illinois, in October 2020. What started as a single gig turned into a bigger opportunity for the band; the bar’s management was so impressed they booked them five more times in a single week. / Photos courtesy of The Intrusion.

kind of play how I naturally play.” Ashton said one of his strongest influences was his father’s taste in music. “When I got started, I was big into Led Zeppelin and everything because my dad listened to it too,” Ashton said. Family ties would prove to be a running theme throughout the band as the Schepers’ uncle, Mark Rice, got involved after listening in on a practice session. “One day my nephew calls up, Preston, he says ‘Uncle Mark, I started a band.’ I’m like, ‘Really? Alright, cool,’ and he says ‘You need to come check us out,” Rice said. “About a week later … I stopped by there and they were having practice, so I stopped in and I was pretty amazed because they were playing old school rock and roll.” Rice was so impressed, he noticed the band’s lack of sound equipment and offered to be their sound man, equipment included. The Intrusion now had everything they needed to start performing, which they did almost anywhere they could. “Our first shows were just local music festivals,” Whiteside said. “Stuff like Bush-

Fest and Trinity River [Festival], those were things that I had played in previously … people would see us, but we didn’t have any more contact other than that.” While these gigs held the band over for some time, according to Whiteside, things started to pick up after Rice began managing more than just their sound equipment. “Our drummer’s uncle, Mark Rice, stepped in and offered to manage us, and he’s been playing music all his life ... he knows a bunch of people,” Whiteside said. “In the span of just a few months ... we went from open mic nights to some spots at bars, and then we got into Grafton eventually, and we played at this one place ... The Gold Bar, down on their patio, and ... the crowd loved us.” Rice said The Gold Bar’s management was also impressed. “They liked us so much, they booked us five more bookings within a week,” Rice said. “And then it kind of just snowballed because they were really liked and really wanted, and so for us, it’s been see BAND on page 8

thursday, 01.21.21

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page 5

‘New normal’ for libraries means new resources are introduced

DANA MCLENNAN copy editor

Libraries are hubs for resources, but with the pandemic, they are creating new ways to serve the public. From call-in services to virtual interaction, local librarians are getting creative. Whether remote or in person, returning to school presents challenges to students who lack the proper resources to study adequately. Working students or students with children may find it difficult to utilize the services offered during the limited open hours of local libraries. Campus libraries, while less restricted, are not operating at full capacity either. Other students who prefer to study online minimize their risk of exposure; however, they may need student resources or activities to fill the void left by social distancing. Ted Piening, access and reserves student manager at SIUE’s Lovejoy Library, said that the most difficult part is adapting to an at-home, online presence. “[We have been] developing procedures to provide materials to patrons safely and setting up easy access online,” Piening said. “There have been upgrades made to the databases to make searching topics easier for students.” Matthew Paris, education librarian at Lovejoy, said while less students have been using in-person resources, such as visiting librarians, they can still get help virtually. “With 80 percent of the courses online, it has lowered foot traffic significantly,” Paris said. “We have a chat service that people can log into with employ-

ees waiting to respond. If an assistant isn’t available, you can still submit your questions. All questions will be responded to within 24 hours. A high number of students are coming in to connect to their classes or Blackboard.” While open, Lovejoy has limited staff working on-site, adhering to capacity guidelines put forth by the state, enforcing masks and social distancing in efforts to assist students in any way they can. Rooms can be reserved for safe study space and accessing online classes or Zoom meetings privately. A children’s corner situated next to a computer bank keeps children safely entertained and helps some parents who lack daycare access research. Students and faculty can check out materials prior to arriving to minimize contact. Lovejoy also offers a variety of limited services to the off-campus community.

Rebecca Harper, library director of The Learning Resource Center at the SIUE East St. Louis Center, has been developing new ways of interacting with her community to keep them informed of programming, resources and outreach available. They are closed to the public but the community can request library materials for curbside pick up. They also are offering free print services. Hoping to help the public any way they can, the center developed new Zoom programs and shifted others to a virtual experience on Facebook. “We more than doubled the people on our Facebook page when the pandemic hit,” Harper said. The LRC has increased community involvement behind closed doors to offer many of its in-person programs online right

now. Programs include financial planning, resume building, online children’s programming and distributing activity kits aimed at children. In the future, they hope to reach out to the senior community as well. On Tech Tuesday, staff members assist the public with questions about tech issues, from uploading documents to printing from cell phones. Christine Gerrish, library director of Glen Carbon Centennial Library offers Zoom classes ranging from knitting to virtual yoga to help keep the community involved. They also host a story time and book club chat virtually. “There are online resources that patrons can access, such as the 24-hour databases, e-books and research help available,” Gerrish said. The library is closed to the public but can assist with curbside deliveries and answer ques-

tions Monday through Saturday on a limited schedule. Students who wish to access services only offered to card-holders may apply for free library cards at their local libraries, or pay for library cards outside their districts. All hours are subject to change as mitigation factors increase or decrease. SIUE students local to the LRC or community members who need help with their resume should contact Tomoko Jo, Career Services program assistant. For the most up-to-date information regarding services, events or hours of operation see their Facebook page. Questions or requests for the LRC can be addressed by reaching out to the circulation desk at 874-8719 or emailing them at siue.esl.library@ siue.edu. Patrons wishing to use Glen Carbon’s services can contact them at 288-1212.

Breaking down barriers over Zoom: Uncomfortable Conversations resumes KRISTINA JOHNSON reporter

The murder of George Floyd served as a catalyst for calls of racial justice around the nation. It also marked the beginning of Uncomfortable Conversations, weekly Zoom conversations about race, politics, religion and more. In May 2020, Al Womack, executive director of the Alton Boys and Girls Club, had conversations with concerned townspeople that were outraged by Floyd’s murder. They believed he was the right person to start a conversation in the community about everything that had happened surrounding Floyd and others who had lost their lives or been injured to police violence. “People are hurting based on what they are seeing and what they’re witnessing taking place in our country, and I think things are happening almost in HD right now because we’re in a pandemic,” Womack said. It didn’t take long for Womack to agree to start Uncomfortable Conversations in June with a weekly Zoom meeting. Every week, Womack picks two to three topics that are discussed on the call. The topics are typically centered around current events. Recent topics discussed include the upcoming inauguration, Illinois House Bill 3653 and former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment. “We talked about everything from the election to the differences in cultures of the Black and white culture,” Womack said. “[With] the elimination of Black

history in the school system …, we talked about education and how to address those short falls or disparities in education.” Womack said the importance of having these uncomfortable conversations is so one day they can become comfortable. “It is a safe space for people to share their experiences or to talk about how they feel about certain subjects,” Womack said. He said the program’s goal is to bring people together so they can discuss each other’s experiences and understand where they come from. After a few weeks break for the holidays, the program is back to

their weekly meeting on Thursday evenings. People joining these calls include local police officers, judges and teachers around the Madison County area. Principal of Lewis and Clark Elementary School Latasha LeFlore-Porter believes Uncomfortable Conversations is something that needed to happen. “It’s not until you lean into more challenging things that you’re able to grow,” LeFlore-Porter said. “And that is why I think this particular conversation that we have every Thursday night is not just good conversations that [are] uncomfortable to learn from, it’s necessary.” L e F l o re-Porter has joined almost every session of Uncomfortable Conversations from the beginning. Whether she decides to just listen or voice her opinion, she is ready to hear what other people’s thoughts are. She said she is excited to s e e

the future generation pushing forward to seek changes and to see how everyone comes together, more than past generations have done. As a principal, LeFlore-Porter said she sees more diversity in her students every year. “Watch you guys, because you’re not just [saying] okay this really is not right, this is not right. You’re actually joining together, you’re actually marching together… but I think the world itself is taking a turn because of how the people in this country look,” LeFlore-Porter said. Juvenile Probation Officer Tonya Jackson grew up in Alton, Illinois, the same town as Womack and LeFlore-Porter, and was interested when she learned about the program. “I really think this is how change starts,” Jackson said. “You have to start initiating those conversations and getting people involved and the more people you get involved the more they can have conversations with their peer groups. You know, it’s like a wildfire — it starts the spread.” Both Womack and Jackson emphasized the importance of continuing to have these conversations and to have them with as many people as possible. “I think just the actions that took place [in D.C. have] changed people’s views …” Womack said. “We can’t continue down this path because look what’s happening … Change has to come because look what’s happening if we don’t embrace change.” Uncomfortable Conversations is open to the public and new people are always welcome to join. For more information on how to join the conversation, email Womack at awomackbgcalton@aol.com.

opinion

NEXT WEEK: INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN AMERICA AND INCOME page 6

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T H E

alestle VIEW

We should all learn something from January 2021 THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board

One particular sentiment was commonly thrown around in 2020: “I can’t wait for this nightmare of a year to be over, then everything can go back to normal!” Anyone paying attention to the news should know that was a load of garbage, and with a new presidential term starting, we shouldn’t be making that mistake again. It’s no secret that the biggest meme of 2020 was 2020 itself. It started with the virus, then murder hornets, then the protests and finally the election, with plenty of surreal events in between. It was a year of substantial change, both good and bad (mostly bad). It’s understandable that people would want a year so chaotic to stay as just that — one year — but it’s time to accept that’s not the

case.

The most obvious example of all of this is the pandemic. The American people were told time and time again that, with the way things are going, this virus would persist far after the year was over, but everyone compartmentalized it into 2020. Even back in March, the number of memes, tweets and TikToks discussing how amazing the summer would be when social distancing was done was overwhelming. Now, 10 months later, scientists are warning of new strains of the virus, and at the current rate, vaccine rollout will take years. Another example is the biggest news of the month so far: the Capitol insurrection. When a portion of President Donald Trump’s following started talking about the possibility of election fraud after election day, the rest of America laughed it off and added

it to the pile of 2020 wackiness. Then, when thousands of rioters stormed the Capitol building, far too many people acted surprised, despite the fact that Trump’s base and the various terrorist groups like the Proud Boys or the QAnon conspiracy theorists that support him have been slowly escalating things for the past four years. Even as this is being written, there’s fear something similar could go down at President-elect Biden’s inauguration. It was easy to think that this was all temporary. Those hopeful days of early quarantine were a little fun when everyone thought it would be a month, and it’s a lot more fun to laugh at people upset about the election rather than be forced to confront them, but now that the inauguration has come and gone, it might be too easy to fall back into that mindset. Instead of the wildness of 2020 being over, now it’s the wildness of

the Trump administration ending. While it’s hard not to admit that’s a little bit exciting, a lesson can be learned here. The American people need to wake up and see this as a moment of clarity. Rather than thinking of the mass trauma we’ve all experienced as part of an isolated collection of incidents, it’s time to start thinking of the bigger picture. Yes, 2020 is over, but what made the year so bad is clearly far from over. So, feel free to get excited for President-elect Joe Biden’s presidency, but don’t forget that just weeks ago America had its most prominent display of domestic terrorism in recent history, and just last week over 23,000 Americans died of COVID-19. Keeping these facts in mind, we can enter this new year and this new presidency not with blind hope, but with brave faces ready to face whatever else gets thrown at us and create lasting change.

It’s 2021. Stop picking on nerds. BROOKE HILL copy editor

As long as we are stuck at home, we are stuck online, and for many of us, online fandoms have come to play a large role in how we meet friends and the topics we engage with. Depending on what interests us, harassment can become unavoidable — so make sure you are part of the solution, and not part of the problem. Most people are fans of something, and not all fandoms are stigmatized. While I am not aware of any systemic discrimination against fandoms, bullying people for their friends or interests contributes to existing prejudices against marginalized communities. This harassment tends to slip by things like discrimination policy, so most places allow it. It is no

coincidence that fandoms that are mostly women, racial minorities, LGBTQ+ or neurodiverse tend to receive the most unwarranted backlash. Perhaps the most widely-known example of this are furries, a fandom based around media with characters that have both human and animal characteristics. Often, when someone admits to being in a clique like this, people will assume sexual deviance and try to distance themselves. In reality, furries simply have a sex-positive culture which welcomes differences others might reject, just like the LGBTQ+ community. Unsurprisingly, studies have indicated furries are about twice as likely to report sexual minority status compared to others.

I’ve heard a lot of people excuse their behavior, after being called out, by saying their comments only target people who make fandoms into their entire personalities. This is not true, and if it were, it would be a bad excuse anyway. Nobody makes anything their entire personality. No matter how much a person loves writing fanfictions about minor characters from the 2012 remake of “The Lorax,” they have other aspects that you would see if you got to know them. By claiming people make it their whole personality, you simply admit you’re not willing to see beyond one thing that makes them different from you. I’ve also heard a lot of people say things like “I just don’t think they should interact with children,” an argument clear-

ly echoing those made against homosexual and transgender people. We need to take this seriously and prevent these sweeping generalizations from being made. We need to point out when people are being unkind, especially when it might affect somebody in the room. Because it is obviously not nice to pick on people, most people will not think less of you for standing up to someone who does. If you stop worrying about how weird other people’s hobbies are, you’ll enjoy the stuff you like to a greater degree too, and it’ll make you a better ally to women and minorities. Besides, someone like me is just going to call you out and make you look bad if you decide to keep harassing innocent people regardless. Cringe culture is dead now. Deal with it.

contact the editor: sports@alestlelive.com 650-3527 thursday, 01.21.21

sports

NEXT WEEK: GOLF, TENNIS, VOLLEYBALL SEASON PREVIEWS page 7

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Cougars to make up games after pandemic postponements

SIUE Standings MEN’S BASKETBALL

OVERALL OVC

DAMIAN MORRIS managing editor

Men’s and women’s basketball are now looking toward busy seasons with plans to make up games postponed by COVID-19 measures. Director of Athletics Tim Hall said the basketball teams will have to play more games during some weeks in order to make up for the ones they have missed. “We look at open dates within the reDuring men’s basketball’s final home game prior to winter break, sophomore guard Shamar mainder of the schedule and we add games Wright drives to the basket and puts up a shot while being heavily guarded by opponents in,” Hall said. “So, some weeks where we from the University of Nebraska Omaha. The team has since had eight games postponed. were going to have two games, we’re going | Khoi Pham / The Alestle to have three; some where we had three, we might have four so that we can attempt to get the athletics department. just the first time in a long time in their lives these games in before the end of the season.” “The NCAA has a team of medical pro- there’s been a significant break from basketMen’s Basketball Head Coach Brian Barfessionals headed by a gentlemen named Bri- ball this year,” Barone said. “Starting from one said due to these added games, his team an Hainline who is the director of medical the off-season where the summer was kind of will be going through a trial that few other services for the NCAA, and he has a really shortened, the ability to get on the field as a teams experience. strong team of national experts that make team has been very limited and obviously as “It’s unprecedented, and I’d be willing recommendations, and then each individual of late, we’ve been very limited as well.” to say there’s probably no other team, or conference will adopt those recommendaDespite the postponements, Buscher very few teams in the country that are gotions and then [make] tweaks to them or ad- said she believes SIUE and the athletics deing through what we’re about to embark ditions based on their own individual circum- partment have done an excellent job of proon,” Barone said. stances,” Hall said. tecting their students and student-athletes “Ultimately, we’re Women’s Bas- from COVID-19. just going to have ketball Head Coach taken it very seriously,” Buscher “Ultimately, we’re just going Paula Buscher said said.“We’ve to go in there and “Not only our women’s basketball profocus on, as cliche while these post- gram, but our athletics [department] and our to have to go in there and as it sounds, one ponements are university. We do testing, and currently we’re focus on, as cliche as it game at a time, hard on her team, doing testing three times a week … We’re and not get overdoesn’t believe working really hard at wearing masks and sounds, one game at a time, she whelmed with this year is harder social distancing … within reason, whenever what’s ahead of us. for student-athletes you can when you play basketball.” and not get overwhelmed There’s going to be than anyone else. Hall said they often have talks with their with what’s ahead of us. times we’re play“I think this athletes about how to protect themselves and ing four games in year’s been hard on those around them. one week and then everyone mentally, “We talk to our young people all the BRIAN BARONE turn around doing and not just stu- time about really making good decisions and men’s basketball head coach the same thing, and dent-athletes, but staying within your family unit and in your that’s bookended students in gener- bubble,” Hall said. “I think it’s been pretty by three games a week before and after.” al, people in general,” Buscher said. “I don’t clear, just generally in society, it’s so hard to Hall said these games were postponed think we’re any different from what everyone pinpoint where you can pick it up from … because they didn’t have enough available else is going through. Yes, we gear ourselves So, what we really say is look, it’s the three players. up and then sometimes it’s like, ‘Woah, not W’s: ‘Wash your hands, watch your distance, “Specifically for basketball, one of our today,’ so you can call it frustrating if you and wear your mask. When you’re with peorules is that you have to have at least eight want, but I think you have to be able to just ple outside of your bubble, try to have a individuals in order to conduct a game,” Hall roll with it and take care of what you can take strong sense of where they’ve been, because a said. “So, because of positive tests and also care of … We’re in a pandemic, it’s just part lot of time you don’t know.’” contact tracing due to close contacts, it’s reof it.” Men’s basketball will resume playing duced us to below that number of eight.” Barone said his team has been mostly starting Jan. 21, and both men’s and womHe said they base these rules on the affected by the lack of time to play on the en’s basketball are working to reschedule NCAA’s recommendations in terms of what court. postponements. For more information, go to policies and procedures should look like for “I think the impact it has on them is it’s the SIUE Athletics website.

14-1 12-2 3-4 9-6 7-4 8-5 5-8 5-6 4-8 2-13 3-7 2-9

Belmont Eastern Kentucky SIUE Morehead State Austin Peay Jacksonville State Eastern Illinois Murray State SEMO Tennessee Tech UT Martin Tennessee State

8-0 6-1 1-0 6-2 3-2 4-3 2-4 2-4 2-4 2-6 1-5 1-7

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

OVERALL OVC

SEMO Jacksonville State UT Martin Austin Peay Eastern Kentucky Eastern Illinois Tennessee Tech Belmont Murray State Morehead State SIUE Tennessee State

7-4 7-2 5-3 7-4 6-6 6-7 5-4 4-3 6-6 4-8 4-8 0-9

5-1 4-1 4-1 5-2 5-3 4-4 3-3 1-1 3-4 3-5 1-6 0-7

WRESTLING

OVERALL MAC

Buffalo Missouri Rider Northern Illinois Central Michigan George Mason Lock Haven Ohio SIUE Clarion

1-0 7-0 1-1 2-1 2-2 0-0 0-0 1-4 2-2 0-2

1-0 1-0 1-0 1-1 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-1

UPCOMING GAMES: Women’s & Men’s Basketball at Tennessee State 5 p.m. & 8 p.m., Jan. 21 Wrestling at Clarion 12 p.m., Jan. 23 Women’s & Men’s Basketball at Belmont 1 p.m. & 4 p.m., Jan. 23 Men’s Basketball at Eastern Illinois 7 p.m., Jan. 26 Women’s & Men’s Basketball at SEMO 5 p.m. & 8 p.m., Jan. 28

SPORTs in brief: Winter break recap SOFTBALL

SOFTBALL

Women’s basketball began their winter break with a decisive win against Chicago State University, ending with a score of 62-36. Following two postponements, they returned to play against Austin Peay on Jan. 7. The game resulted in their fifth loss of the season. After a win against Murray State, the team faced a series of losses last week and into this week. The team currently holds an overall record of 4-8, with a conference record of 1-6. They compete next Jan. 21 at Tennessee State University.

Prior to winter break, men’s basketball held an overall record of 3-4. They have since faced weeks of postponements which have stalled the season’s progress. The team last played on Dec. 18 against Morehead State University, their first conference game of the season. The game ended in a close win, with a score of 69-65. The team’s eight postponed games are being rescheduled for upcoming weeks, and the team is set to play their first game in over a month on Jan. 21 at Tennessee State University.

Wrestling began their season with a home opener on Jan. 10, when they dominated Bellarmine 39-6 but fell to Northern Illinois 18-16. The team competed again last weekend and collected their first away win against host University of Arkansas at Little Rock, ending the match up 21-13. However, they couldn’t overcome Oklahoma State, taking a 38-0 loss. The team competes next on Jan. 23, when they will face Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Central Michigan University and Kent State University.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MEN’S BASKETBALL

WRESTLING

page 8

alestlelive.com BAND I page 5

actually a good year as far as The Intrusion.” This steady increase in gig prominence culminated in a show at Red Flag in St. Louis last December, which Whiteside said was unique for the band in several ways. “It was really eye opening to me, who had only ever played in bars, to see what playing in a club was like,” Whiteside said. “For one, people were watching us, they were paying attention to us instead of going ‘Oh, those guys are cool. I’m going to get another beer.’ It was a concert, versus a gig. And the people there, they bought tickets, is another thing … it wasn’t ‘I went to the bar and there was this cool band here,’ it was ‘I’m going to see this band,’ and we never had that before.” After spending so much time on the road and stage, Whiteside said the band wanted to try recording in a studio. “Because we were gigging AID I page 3

faculty with making sure they’re more attentive with students.” Harris said. Online classes have gotten better than when they started, but Schmitz said there’s always new ways to improve. “If you were teaching a class for the same way for three or four semesters in a row, that’s gonna get stale for you and I think that in teaching and learning, there’s always new things that can be tried, and we encourage that too.” Schmitz said. For more information on this topic visit the website for the Center for Faculty Development & Innovation.

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so often, we never really had a chance to sit down and write, but we really wanted to make a recording,” Whiteside said. “Mark got in contact with one of his friends who owns a studio … he said I’ll record your songs, so get four or five songs that you want to do, we’ll make it into an EP.” While Preston said he prefers to play live, he also enjoyed the studio process. “Playing live is always fun, I think that’s probably my favorite, but going into the studio was a different experience,” Preston said. “You had to be on top of your A-game … even though it was our first time going into the studio … it’s fun to see how everything builds up into a song and everything.” Whiteside said he preferred live performance to studio recording for a few reasons. “I prefer performing live because if you mess up, it’s not as big a deal,” Whiteside said. “I don’t have to focus on my vocals as much — I probably should,

but recording and listening to yourself playing and singing over and over … I love to do it, but it’s tedious.” Pullen said his experience in the studio inspired him to get creative. “At first, I thought I was going to like performing more ... but then I started getting into the studio and … the gears just started turning, I was like ‘I have complete freedom over this. It’s like we can do whatever we want in here.’” The results of this studio time vary widely in both sound and subject matter, according to Whiteside. “The sound ranges … There’s music on there that you can vibe to, music that you can cry to, music that you can bang your head and get mad at ‘the man’ to … there’s also music you can laugh to,” Whiteside said. “The overarching theme is us and how we relate to other people, whether it’s people in our families, such as on the title track ‘Everything’

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that’s about a strained family relationship … there’s a track called ‘Television’ which is about how people change when they’re engrossed in things like social media and watching movies and TV and all these expectations … and just how that can damage a person.” These themes suggest that throughout the band’s time together — on the road, stage and studio — many lessons were learned along the way. Whiteside said that between his last band and The Intrusion, he learned to let others have the spotlight. “I have a major ego, but I’m also incredibly aware of it, and I’m constantly trying to make sure that doesn’t get in the way of anything,” Whiteside said. “The last band I was in, we were fairly dysfunctional at times … I started The Intrusion with the intention of fixing all of the problems that I had in my last band, which, a lot of them included fixing my own ways of thinking and conducting myself.” Preston said he’s learned how MLK I cover

that shot the woman?” Lewis then focused on SIUE specifically. “Are we at SIUE claiming that the tenure process is fair? I question that when there are entire departments that have never granted tenure to African Americans. Are we at SIUE [claiming] that Black lives matter? I question that because white faculty and staff retire. Black faculty and staff relocate. Are we at SIUE [claiming] racial equity? I question that because the USC Race and Equity Center has given SIUE the grade of an F when it comes to completion equity for Black graduates,” Lewis said. “And please, are we still claiming anti-racism? I question that when the administration won’t even make diversity training mandatory.” SIU System President Dan Mahony said while people tend to respect King’s work today, they often forget that what he fought for made him unpopular. “We often think of [King] and the popularity that he often has today, and don’t recognize that during his life, he was one of the most hated men in America, and we have to reflect on that as well. So to me, this is not just a day of service and about giving back, although that’s certainly important, this is an opportunity to reflect on whether we’ve done all that we can, and every year I always say, ‘No, not yet, not

far honesty can go in strengthening the group’s bond. “Just [be] true and honest with everyone,” Preston said. “Don’t try to go over anyone’s back or lie, just tell the truth and we’ll be tighter as a team.” While Rice has been instrumental in getting the band to this point, like any good manager, he has big plans for the future. “I want to take these boys as far as I can,” Rice said. “One of my goals is to get them on a tour and start hitting some of these big cities one of these days, make a big tour of it and get these guys well-known.” The Intrusion’s debut EP, “Everything,” will come out this spring; while no official release date has been set, fans should stay tuned to the band’s Facebook and Instagram pages for updates.

Check out alestlelive.com for bonus content: music that inspired The Intrusion

enough.’ And so it’s an opportunity for each of us to consider what we can do next year to help fulfill Dr. King’s vision for our country,” Mahony said.” Tarsha Moore, assistant director of the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion, asked the audience to learn about King’s message in its entirety. “My ask is that moving forward, we no longer paint Dr. King’s picture as the individual quotes that dilute his holistic message and who he really was. I ask that you learn more about him and, really, what he stood for as a person, as a Black man, and really think about the things that are happening right now in our community,” Moore said. Moore called on the audience members to stand up for their beliefs despite the possibility of being met with animosity by others, like King did. “[There may be a moment] where your peers might not be very fond of you, because a lot of people weren’t fond of Dr. King, and do we have the courage, individually and collectively, to face that level of discomfort and keep moving forward? Because we know that’s when, years from now, the children that we are passing this legacy into the hands of, that they’ll reflect on these times to say, ‘We have to keep going, the same way that they did,’” Moore said. The Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Ceremony will be held virtually at 4 p.m. on Jan. 29.

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