The Alestle Vol. 75 No. 18

THE

alestle

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

the student voice since 1960

Thursday, January 27, 2022 Vol. 75 No. 18

| Clair Sollenberger / The Alestle

Fall COVID-19 testing policy to return see page 2

A hole lot of doughnut reviews see page 4

Wrestling suffers tough losses over weekend see page 8

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BY THE NUMBERS / COVID-19 AT SIUE, SPRING 2022 New confirmed positive cases (from tests conducted by SIUE and self-reporting):

Tests conducted by SIUE:

Jan. 18 - Jan. 24: 307 students, 59 faculty/staff

Jan. 18 - Jan. 24: 6,225

Jan. 11 - Jan. 17: 204 students, 34 faculty/staff

Jan. 11 - Jan. 17: 3,998

14-Day New Positive Cases: 511 students, 93faculty/staff

14-Day New Tests Conducted: 10,223

All prior weeks positive tests: (Jan. 4 - Jan. 24): 839 students, 189 faculty/staff

All prior weeks tests conducted: Jan. 4 - Jan. 24: 14,864

Total active positive cases: 327 students 63 faculty/staff

Positive cases identified by SIUE testing: Jan. 18 - Jan. 24: 368 Jan. 11 - Jan. 17: 501

14-day new positive cases: 869

All prior weeks positive cases: Jan. 4 - Jan. 24: 1,526

MADISON COUNTY DAY BY DAY:

Total Positive Cases:

1000

1,526

800

Positivity Rate (last 14 days):

600

6.7%

400 Percentage of isolation/quarantine space available on campus (as of January 24): 72%

200 0

JAN 18

JAN 19

JAN 20

JAN 21

JAN 22

JAN 23

JAN 24

JAN 25

Source: Health, Reporting, and Testing page on SIUE’s COVID-19 website, as of January 24.

SIUE alumnus and karate champion releases historical fiction novel FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter

An SIUE alumnus has written his third book after earning five degrees since he first graduated in 1974.

Charles Pointer graduated from SIUE with a bachelor’s degree in history. He went on to earn five more degrees, most recently a paralegal degree in 2006.

While earning all these degrees, he wrote and published three books, with two more in the works.

Pointer said that he fought through having no money for food while in university to having no heat while writing, and yet he has earned multiple degrees and published three books. He said he was awarded a scholarship for his graduate school, which helped pay for his Master’s in counseling education.

“My mother and father never finished grade school. But, [I got] an education and [my mother] encouraged me, and without her giving me money to catch the bus I wouldn’t have graduated from SIUE,” Pointer said.

Pointer’s first book, “The Making of a Black Belt Karate Champion” was published in 2012. The book outlines Pointer’s journey to becoming a black belt in karate at the age of 41, after pursuing it while a counselor at a St. Louis community center to help bond with the kids. Pointer said he became very skilled throughout his time there.

“I won over 60 trophies in competition and placed in the U.S. Open Karate Championships held in Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The book illustrates our team of students and our victory competing in the karate championships,” Pointer said.

Pointer’s second book, “Autobiography of Charles Henry Pointer: His Life His Legacy,” is a self-published book about Pointer’s life. Pointer said he wrote the autobiography because he wanted people to know that even if you come from nothing, you can make something of yourself.

“I wrote [the book] trying to show people that it is not where you come from, it is, do you have the desire to persevere and overcome the hardships of trying to

Thursday, 01.27.22

NEWS IN BRIEF

Harassment, slurs reported at Woodland Hall

Students in Woodland Hall were subjected to racial slurs and threats in a recent incident reported by the university, according to an email release.

The Bias Incident Response Team informed the university community that Woodland Hall students were “targeted with racial slurs, threats and hostility” on Sunday.

Specific details were not provided in the initial announcement.

“While it is hard to hear about this kind of unacceptable behavior, it is important that we all be aware and vigilant about these types of incidents,” read the statement from Jamie Ball, director of the Office of Equal Opportunity, Access and Title IX Coordination.

Ball’s office is working with the SIUE Police Department to investigate the incident. “Once the investigation is completed, anyone found to be involved in making these harmful statements will be held accountable,” her statement read.

Anyone with information about this incident or who has experienced harassment or discrimination on campus is asked to file a Bias Incident Report with the team.

SIUE returning to previous COVID-19 testing model, textbook service changes

Chancellor Randy Pembrook announced that the university is planning to go back to the Fall 2021 COVID-19 testing model during Monday’s Student Government meeting.

Pembrook said once the campus positivity rate is below 5 percent, he and the rest of the COVID-19 task force would discuss changing the testing policy. Under this policy, only unvaccinated individuals would be required to do weekly COVID-19 testing. As of Jan 26, the positivity rate is 6.7 percent, according to the SIUE COVID-19 dashboard.

Pembrook also said tuition and student fees for the 2022-23 school year would be discussed at the next Board of Trustees meeting Feb. 10.

He said the board would also be looking at the future of Textbook Service, including if books will still be covered by tuition and fees, or if the university wants to move to an independent vendor.

Stokely Carmichael, pictured above, was a leader in the fights for civil rights, Pan-Africanism and more. | Photo courtesy of Goddard College graduate from college and pursuing your careers and everything else?”

Pointer’s third book, “A Time to Remember,” is a historical fiction novel based on the life of Stokely Carmichael, who was the leader of a civil rights organization called the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

“With the encouragement of my professor Dr. Herbert Rosenthal, who was one of my professors at SIUE, he said I should write it on Stokely Carmichael, leader of SNCC,” Pointer said. “The nov-

el [has] action, suspense, romance and brings out my character, John, who falls in love with Betty, a white woman.”

Pointer is currently working on a sequel for “A Time to Remember” as well as a second autobiography. He said he loves what he does even if he doesn’t get much financial value out of his work.

“I don’t think about financial gain when I’m writing. I just write because I enjoy doing it. That’s not why you write anyways, but [because] you have a passion for what you’re doing,” Pointer said.

01.10.22

Officer responded to a report regarding damage to lockers in the men’s locker room of the Student Fitness Center.

01.12.22

Officer assisted Edwardsville PD with crowd control on a loud noise complaint. Officer advised he spoke with the subjects and the subjects turned the music down.

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Restrictions and supply issues affect student employment BRANDON WELLS sports editor

SIUE Dining Services has been hit with multiple supply chain issues over the duration of the pandemic, while increased restrictions and Omicron numbers leave student employees with the challenge of policy enforcement and low-staffing.

Menu items and dining options now reflect what items the university can acquire, with food supplies heavily impacted by the pandemic. Director of Dining Services Dennis Wobbe said getting certain items due to both shortage and increased prices has been taxing on dining.

“Our food cost is going through the roof … Chicken [is about] 30 percent up, fats and oils [are] 30 to 40 percent up.

We’re barely getting stuff in, so it’s been very difficult. A lot of times we place an order and 25 percent of the order does not come in because it’s out of stock,” Wobbe said.

Wobbe said shortages like this have been happening throughout the pandemic with items such as milk, eggs and Pepsi products as well.

Due to the shift to online learning, Wobbe said the number of employees has shifted up and down. With the loss of revenue from fewer customers on campus, at one point in 2020 Dining Services was operating with only 15 employees.

With Omicron surging this semester, Wobbe said the start of the semester was also challenging due to losing many customers; approximately 50 percent of the 2,500 daily customers last week were faculty and staff, compared to the usual amounts they have with normal numbers of guests that can total well over double the amount they’re seen.

Other locations of dining such as the MUC Starbucks have also been facing minor setbacks due to the recent surge taking some employees out of work. Senior industrial engineering major Erdem Serdaroglu of Istanbul is a barista at the cafe and said this

With the cost of food and products increasing as wells as less employees and customers on campus, Dining Services has been hit hard during the pandemic. | Clair Sollenberger / The Alestle semester so far has been a tough start compared to last semester with sick employees.

“Last semester we hadn’t had a problem like that, but this semester at the beginning because everyone’s turning out to be positive,” Serdaroglu said. “We had a couple people who didn’t show up … one of them is [COVID-19] positive and the other [came in contact] with the one that’s [COVID-19] positive.”

Some of the other employment opportunities students include the front desk of the MUC, in which their job is to help people, as well as enforce masking and distancing policies

as best they can.

Junior criminal justice major Bryce Thompson of Springfield, Illinois, is one of the front desk workers, and said he switched positions during the height of the pandemic. He said one of the difficulties of his position has been trying to enforce campus policies.

“I think it’s difficult for students who aren’t on campus to deal with other students — their peers — and enforce the campus’s [COVID-19] policies,” Thompson said. “With my job I have to enforce masks in the MUC and I know a lot of people eating in here don’t like to [wear masks], so I think it puts students in

a tough spot.”

Thompson said one of the biggest issues he has with enforcement is the negativity students show towards him when he tries to enforce the university policies.

The enforcement of mask policies has also shifted with state mandates in places such as the Student Fitness Center.

Senior biology and psychology majors Hillary Mann of Forsythe, Illinois, works at both the SFC’s reception desk and equipment issue desk, and said the past few semesters have been positive for her due to her job’s flexible hours.

With policy enforcement,

Mann said the policies outlined for the SFC have had to be focused on and enforced less due to the enforcement of pandemic policies.

“Since we’re in a pandemic, it’s been a lot of trying to mandate masks,” Mann said. “It’s been especially harder since we are in a facility where people want to work out and they’re doing physical exercise and they think it’s harder for them to work out with masks.”

For more information on Dining Service’s pandemic response, you can visit their website. For the SFC response to the pandemic, you can visit campus recreation’s website.

Fairview Heights facility to help make abortion care more accessible

GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol Illinois News

SPRINGFIELD – Hoping to make abortion care more accessible, a facility near St. Louis is set to be the “first of its kind” in providing financial assistance for travel-related costs.

A Regional Logistics Center was opened Friday in a Planned Parenthood clinic in Fairview Heights. Using private funds, the center will pay for travel and lodging arrangements and connect patients to resources and support organizations in all 50 states.

“Together, we are breaking down the silos anti-abortion politicians have created, and proving that … with innovation and determination … we can secure a future with abortion access,” Yamelsie Rodriguez, president of St. Louis Planned Parenthood, said during an opening event Friday.

Rodriguez said the RLC will be operated by Planned Parenthood and the Granite City-based Hope Clinic for Women in response to more restrictive abortion laws in other states and to the lack of access for women in rural areas.

Planned Parenthood and Hope Clinic have been planning for the center since 2019, when Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Reproductive Health Act which guarantees that reproductive health, including abortion, is a fundamental right in Illinois.

“The idea that we’re protecting those rights with the Reproductive Health Act in the state is vital,” Pritzker said Friday.

Since a soft opening in December, the center has provided 138 rides and flights and housed dozens of women in need of overnight stays.

Rodriguez is projecting an additional 14,000 women from conservative states are likely to travel to the region for abor-

tion care if Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion nationwide, is overturned.

“With reproductive rights under attack across the United States, it’s never been more vital for the state of Illinois to ensure access to reproductive services,” Pritzker said. “Let’s be loud and clear – abortion restrictions endanger women.”

Saturday is the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Abortion access in conservative states such as Missouri, Texas and Arkansas has become more restrictive in recent years, leading women to travel in search of reproductive health care services.

“The hardest part is knowing that these hurdles have been systematically manufactured by anti-abortion politicians whose goals are to ban abortion,” said Kawanna Shannon, director of Patient Access for RLC. “Access to abortion doesn’t have to be like this.”

Rodriguez said Planned Parenthood of St. Louis has seen steady annual increases in out-of-state patients traveling for abortion care. Since a Texas abortion ban took effect in September 2021, Rodriguez said, more than $73,000 in financial assistance has helped more than 800 women travel to the southern Illinois facility. There has been a 40 percent increase in patient visits, she said.

“This law just had a rippling effect that is causing all patients, even in states where abortion is still legal and available, to travel outside of their home state in order to find appointments,” Rodriguez said.

There is no income or distance requirement to access RLC services. Patients must schedule an appointment with Reproductive Health Services or Hope Clinic for Women before contacting the RLC for logistical support.

NEXT WEEK: ANNUAL JURIED STUDENT EXHIBITION

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contact the editor: lifestyles@alestlelive.com 650-3527 Thursday, 01.27.22

In terms of sweet, deep-fried foods, who doesn’t like doughnuts? Even so, we know how hard it can be to find the best doughnuts in any given area. We at the Alestle made the great sacrifice of testing doughnuts from the entire region, just so you know where to get that sweet treat.

Rating Graphics and Header by Kirsten O’Loughlin

For the last of its kind in the U.S., Mister Donut falls flat

I Emily Sterzinger / The Alestle MISTER DONUT (618) 466-6327 2720 Grovelin St # A, Godfrey, IL

Mister Donut, though founded in the U.S., is a chain that has had far more success in other countries. This is worth noting — considering the Godfrey location is the last one standing in the U.S. I ordered a cinnamon twist and a standard glazed doughnut; they were both solidly okay, if a bit basic.

The flavor was good, especially the cinnamon twist, but there was nothing spectacular about it. The texture was a little worse — not bad, but just overly dense and chewy. Usually I prefer doughnuts to be more light and fluffy.

I hate to use the word mediocre due to its harsh connotation, but that may be the best way to describe the doughnuts.

Granted, I liked them enough,

but if you’re looking for a really good doughnut, this is not your best choice.

At least the price was low, but you could find better doughnuts in a similar price range.

As for the service, it was okay, nothing particularly good or particularly bad. Unfortunately, everyone was maskless — staff and patrons alike — but I ordered the doughnuts to go, so that wasn’t super impactful. Still, I’d advise caution if you choose to go there, as that may pose some general sanitary concerns.

Overall, they were decent doughnuts — maybe a little bland, but there wasn’t really anything that made them a better pick over others in the area, or even over other chains in general.

Yummy Donut Palace is a quick way to get tasty treats

I Alex Aultman / The Alestle YUMMY DONUT PALACE (618) 307-9499 443 S Buchanan St, Edwardsville, IL

I arrived around mid-morning and there was no line. There were a couple people chatting and enjoying breakfast at tables off to the side, but the front area was very open. There was a glass case full of a large variety of doughnuts and pastries. A second case lined the wall behind the register. I was glad to see all of the employees were wearing masks.

I got a chocolate iced cake doughnut with sprinkles, as well as a glazed raspberry jelly doughnut and was pleasantly surprised that the total was only $1.75. They were scooped into a paper bag and handed to me quickly. The whole trip took maybe five minutes, which makes it seem like a great place to run in and grab a quick breakfast to go.

They also offer boba tea, a subject of a previous Metro East Eats, which I plan on

coming back to try. Yummy Donut Palace also has a convenient location right on the way to Target or Schnucks if coming from downtown Edwardsville.

Once I got home, I unwrapped my sugary package. Some jelly was spilled on the outside of the bag when they were being packaged and got on the counter at home. The jelly doughnut was everything that is typically expected of its kind.

The glaze and jelly added moisture to the pastry and the doughnut itself was airy.

I wish the jelly was more evenly distributed in the doughnut, but that is something I wish for every jelly doughnut, so I can’t take points off for it. The cake doughnut had good flavor and was more dense, as is typical of cake doughnuts.

However, it was drier than expected and made for an overall less pleasant texture.

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Woman-owned business offers fresh doughnuts at a good price I went early one Saturday morning, as the bakery opens at 6 a.m. and I’ve heard they run out before they close at noon.

I got there around 8 a.m. and the case was still more than half-full. I got half a dozen doughnuts and a chocolate chip scone all for $9.78. The price was reasonable for a small business and the doughnuts were a good size.

I bought several kinds, including jelly-filled, creme-filled, glazed, and frosted Long Johns. The dough was fairly plain- just lightly sweet, which was a good contrast to the sweet glaze or filling.

The doughnuts were fluffy and fresh, and the fillings were the perfect amount in contrast to the dough. They were

fairly plain-looking as I didn’t buy any decorated ones, but they were neat and identical-looking, which is an impressive feat for fried foods.

The shop itself is fairly small, but both staff members were wearing masks and gloves when serving customers over the counter.

There was very good signage asking for customers to wear masks, and all orders are takeout based on the nature of the business, so I felt very comfortable.

Overall, I would rate the bakery 5 out of 5 stars. The staff was very friendly and followed COVID-19 precautions closely, the display case was beautiful and full, and the doughnuts were delicious.

I Francesca Boston / The Alestle A LITTLE TASTE OF HEAVEN BAKERY (618) 659-8569 2709 N Center St, Maryville, IL

A Granite City staple, Duke Bakery deserves its good reputation Duke Bakery may not appear to be the trendiest location from the outside, but their selection of sweets and quality products more than make up for it.

Duke Bakery is well-known in Granite City for their smiley face and rainbow sprinkle cookies, and is located across the street from my old pediatrician’s office. My mom used to take me to Duke’s as a treat after my doctor’s appointments, so I’ve been enjoying their cookies for years. However, I had never tried their doughnuts.

I didn’t even notice the doughnuts while standing in line because there were so many decadent treats in the display case including dipped cannoli, cookie sandwiches, cake bombs, gourmet cupcakes and, of course, their famous iced cookies.

According to the cashier, I had come on Duke’s busiest day of the week, so

they were nearly out of doughnuts. Of the three varieties left, I picked an apple glazed donut.

The total came out to be around $5.00. Since only one employee wore a mask and many of the customers did not, I ate in my car.

The apple glazed doughnut was delicious. I’ve found that apple desserts tend to be quite dry and too dense, but this was neither. It was a bit more dry than a regular glazed doughnut, but not enough to detract from the taste — and it still had a nice, light texture. It had just the right amount of apple to taste and the perfect amount of glaze — not too sticky, but pleasantly sweet. My only complaint is that it was too small.

I’ll definitely be returning to Duke’s soon to try some of their other offerings.

I Nicole Boyd / The Alestle DUKE BAKERY (618) 877-9500 3202 Nameoki Rd, Granite City, IL

Old Town Donuts brings a warm atmosphere and standard doughnuts Although they pride themselves as being voted the best doughnuts in St. Louis by KSDK and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I would have to partially disagree with that. Old Town Donuts in Florissant, Missouri, certainly deserves a lot of praise, I wouldn’t say they are the best.

The small shop had so many doughnuts packed into such a tight space that it took me a moment to gather my thoughts before I ordered. The counter was chock full of doughnuts. If someone preferred a less busy time, Old Town Donuts is the only 24-hour doughnut shop in the area and a late-night visit would certainly involve other customers.

Despite the large number of customers, the service was quick. The only thing that held me up was the families ahead of me choosing which doughnuts they should buy. Once I got to the front, I used a cou-

pon from their website for a cheaper dozen of doughnuts, which dropped the price to less than a dollar for each doughnut.

I won’t go over every single doughnut I bought,but there are some worthy of spotlights. I’m a sucker for a good fruit doughnut, and their lemon-topped doughnuts as well as the lemon-filled ones covered that base wonderfully. But then came the biggest disappointment of the order: the gooey butter cake doughnuts.

I got two gooey butter cake doughnuts, as I was equal parts excited and curious. However, the doughnut itself was nothing special. It was just a normal doughnut with icing.

Despite the letdown with the gooey butter doughnut, I would certainly recommend Old Town Donuts to someone who wants a good, sweet breakfast, or to crush a late-night craving.

I Gabriel Brady / The Alestle OLD TOWN DONUTS (314) 831-0907 510 N New Florissant Rd, Florissant, MO

Wood River Donut N More is definitely a hidden local gem Despite its small staff, Wood River Donut N More was impressive for its extended hours ranging from 5 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Further, they had a vast menu including a mix of breakfast, lunch and dinner items, featuring their signature doughnuts and biscuits and gravy.

Upon arriving in the evening, I was met with an interior combining that of a typical doughnut shop and a classic diner. There was no line, so I headed to the counter and was greeted by a friendly worker. Per her recommendation, I ordered a Long John custard doughnut with white icing.

The doughnut was presented as the average Long John with a light layer of white icing on top, and not much else to differentiate it from any other doughnut. Based on the presentation, I was expecting just that — an average doughnut with nothing to make it stand out.

However, upon taking my first bite, I was met with a custard that was just sweet enough for me, topped with a rich icing.

What made this doughnut stand out most was its balanced distribution of the sweet flavor, which didn’t allow the sugar to overpower the pastry. This doughnut defied expectation with — despite being lightly coated —a surprisingly tasty icing and a custard fill slightly less sweet than average, which served to balance the richness of the icing.

What was also impressive was the doughnut’s ability to retain its form while eating it. The usual expectation of a custard doughnut is for it to be messy and have the filling spill out upon biting into it. To my surprise, this didn’t happen.

Having never heard of this shop, my first impression has been overwhelmingly positive and I will definitely be going back.

I Damian Morris / The Alestle WOOD RIVER DONUT N MORE (618) 251-5331 102 W Edwardsville Rd, Wood River, IL

NEXT WEEK: SIUE SHOULD REQUIRE COVID-19 VACCINES

opinion

Share your thoughts: opinion@alestlelive.com 650-3527

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Thursday, 01.27.22

Cougar

Controversies ALEX AULTMAN Editor-in-Chief

Early Bird or Night Owl?

GABRIEL BRADY Managing Editor

EMILY STERZINGER Opinion Editor

14.3%

BRANDON WELLS Sports Editor

Questions go up at 10 a.m. every Monday on Twitter: @TheAlestle

view

DAMIAN MORRIS Opinion Editor

NICOLE BOYD Online Editor

Public health is worth more than the economy

THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board ELIZABETH DONALD JANA HAMADE Copy Editors

JIHUN HAN CLAIR SOLLENBERGER Photographers

FRANCESCA BOSTON Reporter

CAMILO ZULUAGA-CAICEDO Advertising Manager

KIRSTEN O’LOUGHLIN Graphics Manager TAMMY MERRETT Program Director

GWENDALYN ECKERTY AMINA SEHIC Office Clerks ANGIE TROUT Office Manager

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85.7%

Throughout the pandemic, the working class has been hit the hardest. They have weathered furloughs, unemployment, countless exposures to the virus while doing their jobs and a skeletal social safety net all in the name of maintaining the economy.

The creation of the essential worker has allowed businesses to exploit their employees and force them to work in dangerous conditions. Typically, when companies ask their employees to work in dangerous conditions, they receive hazard pay. We will soon finish our second year of the pandemic, but according to Brookings, most workers stopped receiving hazard pay by October 2020.

During the first year of the pandemic, the U.S. government sent out three rounds of stimulus checks. These paid very little in comparison to the amount and frequency other countries were

paying businesses and individuals to get their citizens to stay home.

Canada gave its citizens $2,000 a month for the first four months of the pandemic. According to the Washington Post, few other countries approved payments for individuals and instead paid businesses to keep their workers on payroll.

Had the U.S. required businesses to keep their staff, the initial COVID-19 response likely would have been less harmful to workers.

The stimulus checks only covered living expenses for a fraction of Americans — and when people were forced to go back to work, cases spiked once more. There should have been more social programs put in place so workers didn’t have to choose between getting exposed to COVID-19, or paying their rent.

There are also thousands of college students who are considered essential workers outside of their coursework, but they were not eligible for the stimulus checks if they could be claimed as a de-

pendent on someone else’s tax return. This left students with little help apart from hoping they would qualify for funding through their university. SIUE did pursue money for their students and sent multiple relief checks, but not all universities were as consistent with it.

The CDC also recently changed their guidance on isolation and quarantine. They now say people with COVID-19 should only isolate for five days if asymptomatic. Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor for President Biden, said these changes were made to get people back to work more quickly.

While the CDC says the decision was based on science, which we don’t doubt, but it was also motivated by economic interests.

Every country’s economy has taken some sort of hit with the pandemic. Rather than prolonging America’s economic and societal suffering by continuing to change policies to keep our heads above water, the focus should be on mak-

ing sure people are protected from COVID-19 in every way possible.

This is especially important as we still are unsure of the long-term effects of contracting the virus.

There also haven’t been enough tests available during the Omicron surge. The government is trying to rectify that by offering four free COVID-19 tests per household through the postal service. However, the website has an error: in some apartment complexes, only one tenant per building can claim the free tests.

The White House says this only impacts a small percentage of users, but they haven’t released the actual numbers. This error needs to be fixed so people can keep themselves and their families safe.

No one will be able to work if they are sick or dying. Officials need to put the health of the public first by basing COVID-19 guidance on what will limit the spread and limit severity of infection, rather than what is profitable for businesses.

before being allowed to compete in NCAA competition as a woman and the NCAA’s policy is considered progressive. Meanwhile in the professional world, people like Caster Semenya, who is intersex and was raised as and legally is a woman, have been barred from competing in certain categories in the Olympics on the grounds of “biological advantages.” Semenya has had to advocate for herself in several legal battles.

The argument of biological advantages means absolutely nothing when advantages that aren’t correlated with sex are accepted.

Phelps himself has multiple biological advantages that make him better suited for swimming than his peers, but he is allowed to flourish. His advantages are celebrated while Thomas and Semenya’s alleged advantages are regulated and required to be suppressed.

Whether trans people actually have biological advantages is debatable since there haven’t been

many studies comparing performance before and after transition.

Joanna Harper, who researches the athletic performance of trans athletes and is a distance runner, transitioned in 2004 and noticed she became 12 percent slower after starting hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Women who transition after puberty may also have larger bodies powered by less muscle mass after starting HRT. Determining if people are able to compete based on arbitrary hormone levels and other biological criteria also creates further restrictions on what it means to be a man or a woman and increases the stranglehold of the gender binary. Biology is not even a binary, because intersex people exist and there are so many configurations of chromosomes and hormones that can make up a human. Trying to create black and white categories doesn’t work when even nature operates in shades of gray.

These categories seem to come

under challenge only when trans athletes appear and experience success. The NCAA has had the same policy about transgender athletes for 10 years and only now have they decided to defer to governing bodies for individual sports. This decision came after Thompson broke two records at the Zippy Invitational and received backlash for competing as a trans woman. The decision made by World Athletics to prohibit women with high testosterone from competing in races greater than 400m was only made after Semenya won a gold medal in the Olympics.

It’s clear that the policy changes coupled with how the biological advantages of cisgender athletes are treated show biology doesn’t really matter when it comes to trans people competing in sports.

The goal is to prevent trans people from experiencing success in sports and subjugate them further by using biology to rally the public behind their exclusion.

Discriminating against trans athletes is hypocritical ALEX AULTMAN editor-in-chief

The debate around transgender athletes competing with others of their gender has picked up once again with Michael Phelps saying “sports should all be played on an even playing field.” This statement was made in regards to transgender swimmer Lia Thomas from the University of Pennsylvania.

While it would be nice if the harm caused to trans people were enough to nip this debate in the bud, many of those advocating for gender identity-based separation in sports don’t care enough about trans people for that to matter to them. Trans people have their bodies examined, measured, tested, regulated and scrutinized in ways no others do and it has only become worse in recent years due to policy changes.

For example, Thomas was required to be on testosterone suppressant treatment for one year

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contact the editor: sports@alestlelive.com 650-3527 Page 8

sports

NEXT WEEK: PAID COLLEGE ATHLETES AND WHAT THEY’RE DOING NOW

alestlelive.com

Thursday, 01.27.22

SIUE STANDINGS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

OVERALL OVC

SIUE Murray State UT Martin Belmont Tennessee Tech Southeast Missouri Austin Peay Eastern Illinois Morehead State Tennessee State

7-11 14-6 5-11 10-6 11-7 4-15 12-5 8-10 1-16 10-8

MEN’S BASKETBALL

OVERALL OVC

Junior, Max Kristoff, from Belleville, Illinois, goes on the offense against a South Dakota State University wrestler. | Clair Sollenberger / The Alestle

Wrestling takes difficult loss to Central Michigan and South Dakota State DAMIAN MORRIS opinion editor

SIUE Belmont Austin Peay Southeast Missouri Tennessee Tech UT Martin Morehead State Tennessee State Eastern Illinois Murray State

7-12 15-5 5-10 8-11 5-13 7-13 15-5 8-12 2-17 18-2

VOLLEYBALL

OVERALL OVC

Morehead State Murray State Belmont Austin Peay SIUE UT Martin Eastern Illinois Tennessee Tech Southeast Missouri Tennessee State

20-11 18-12 9-20 21-12 6-23 15-17 11-18 16-14 25-8 10-17

All stats are from the OVC

The Cougars took two heavy losses on Sunday 34-4 to Central Michigan and 29-3 to South Dakota State.

Head coach Jeremy Spates said both him and his team were frustrated they didn’t do what they needed to do to bring home a win.

“Both those teams are really good teams,” Spates said. “I think they’re both top 25 teams and they have a lot of ranked guys in their lineup, but we didn’t do the things right we needed to do to compete. Coming away with only a couple wins on the day, we felt like we had chances to get ranked wins and help our guys out for seeding later in the year and hopefully getting to the NCAA tournament.”

Although they lost overall, Spates said they came away with some positives as well, including individual wins from senior Sergio Villalobos from Woodridge, Illinois, at 184 pounds took against Central Michigan’s Ben Cushman and junior Max Kristoff from Belleville, Illinois, at 149 pounds against South Dakota State’s Kenny O’Neil.

He said there were a lot of matches where the team was attacking early, but that they need to finish those shots and make sure they’re attacking late as well.

“We got to attack more,” Spates said. “We talked about putting two or three shots or attacks in a row. We talked about doing the little things right in our finishes so that we’re getting to the leg in a lot of matches, especially early, and we didn’t get those take downs that are big points later. That, and just more belief in our abilities because we are definitely a better team than we showed today.”

This leaves the Cougars at 0-10 overall and 0-3 in the Mid-American Conference.

UPCOMING Women’s Tennis vs. IUPUI 12 p.m., Jan. 28 Track and field at Pittsburg State Invitational Jan. 29 Women’s Basketball vs. Southeast Missouri 2 p.m., Jan. 29 Men’s Basketball vs. Southeast Missouri 4 p.m., Jan. 29 Men’s Basketball vs. Austin Peay 6 p.m., Jan. 31 Women’s Basketball vs. Eastern Illinois 6 p.m., Jan. 31

Senior, Sergio Villalobos, from Woodridge, Illinois, is locked in an intense bout with an opposing wrestler. | Clair Sollenberger / The Alestle