The Alestle Vol. 74 No. 18

FACULTY TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY IN THE CLASSROOM page 4

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New devices decontaminate campus spaces JOHN MCGOWAN reporter

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted Facilities Management to use new methods of cleaning campus buildings. Some of these new methods come in the form of the CloroxPro Total 360 Electrostatic Sprayers and Backpacks — two cleaning devices that make the job much easier.

The two products are essentially the same device in two different forms. The sprayers are capable of spraying disinfectant across a large area, but must be wheeled around, while the backpacks do a similar job in a more compact form.

The sprayers work by applying an electric charge to the mist as it comes out, causing the atoms to repel each other and instead seek out other particles to stick to, like viruses.

Superintendent of Building Services Jheri Riedel said the sprayers are able to get the job done much faster than the traditional way of wiping down the room.

“It doesn’t require any wiping or anything of that sort. So, we could do a classroom that holds 90 students in five to seven minutes, whereas before that [it] could take, you know, 45 minutes to do by hand,” Riedel said.

There are two sprayers on campus and eight backpacks. The two sprayers are kept in the Vadalabene Center and Korte Stadium, and are used to clean locker rooms and courts, while the backpacks are spread across several buildings on campus.

Vice Chancellor for Administration Morris Taylor said the backpacks are convenient for smaller spaces.

“The 360 Backpack is essentially the

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same thing except you put it on your back, and you can walk around with it. You can go up and down stairs easier, or if you have a seating arrangement like an auditorium type setting, you can just walk through and get all those surfaces rather than pulling the big 360 model on the floor,” Taylor said.

While the devices are effective, Director of Facilities Management Craig Holan said they don’t entirely replace traditional cleaning.

“It’s different than cleaning, because we’re also cleaning dirt and [non-vir u s e s and bacteria] … it’s a different f u n c tion,” H o l a n said.

Riedel said the backpacks aren’t used in every classroom.

“We’re not spraying every classroom, because not every classroom is being used. With the reduction of students physically on campus we don’t have to see SPRAYERS on page 2

BSW’s hold front line in pandemic KRISTINA JOHNSON reporter

Before campus was shut down in March 2020, building service workers began the thorough cleaning of buildings. Almost a year after the beginning of COVID-19, they continue their efforts to maintain cleanliness.

Facilities Management at SIUE is in charge of construction, maintenance, transportation services and cleaning campus. After the pandemic began, it became more important for classrooms and frequently touched surfaces to be properly sanitized.

“What we do now, we did not do at this time last year,” Superintendent of Building Services Jheri Riedel said. “The pandemic changed pretty much … our procedures, the equipment that we use, chemicals that we use [and] our main focuses were highlighted differently than what used to be the norm.”

For the 60 building service workers, there are three shifts throughout the day: day shift, evening shift and third shift. Third shift will soon be divided between the day and evening shifts. Riedel said at the beginning of each shift, workers are assigned a specific building they will be working in. The day shift cleans faculty

offices and public areas, evening shift cleans classrooms and third shift cleans other highly touched areas and works on other projects.

Riedel said they had been fortunate enough to have access to proper personal protective equipment and chemicals that are strong enough to kill off the virus.

“We were very lucky to have purchased two pieces of equipment that are called Clorox 360 and purchased 10 backpacks that are electrostatic,” Riedel said. “So what they do is they disperse the chemicals in a fine mist and then the chemical air-dries on any hard surface or anything it attaches to.”

Building service worker Jim Gillentine works the evening shift from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. He said each building service worker bids on a campus building to work in during specific days and times.

He said part of his daily tasks includes wiping down every surface that could have been touched throughout the day as well as making sure every classroom is stocked with masks and hand sanitizer.

“We’re having to make sure everything is constantly sprayed down with the cleaner that they’ve provided to combat [COVID-19] … tables, the desks, everything,” Gillentine said. “[The backpack spraying] is done every day.”

When campus closed after spring break, Riedel said building service workers didn’t have access to the equipment yet, so they started by cleaning everything by hand. Now that they have access to Clorox 360 and the backpacks, they are able to disperse the chemicals to more areas at a faster pace.

“We have three different chemicals that we use to neutralize COVID-19 and anything else,” Riedel said. “The chemicals that we use are specific to COVID-19, they pretty much kill any virus that they come across. A couple of them are actually hospital grade.” see CLEANING on page 2

School health officials call for vigilance with new COVID-19 variant in Illinois DALTON BROWN copy editor

A new variant of COVID-19 was discovered in the Chicago area of Illinois; while school health officials say the variant hasn’t heavily impacted our area, they warned of the possible consequences if students don’t remain vigilant.

Jerry Kruse, medical doctor and dean and provost of the SIU School of Medicine, said that even though Illinois has moved into less restrictive mitigations, this new variant means residents shouldn’t ease up on pandemic protocol.

“The issue with the new variants is that oftentimes, they’re more infectious than the other ones, and that means that the av-

erage number of people who can be infected by one person might be a little bit higher,” Kruse said.

“And so the message we’re getting out is to not let our guard down … we’ve moved back to a more liberal either tier or phase by the State of Illinois, and that kind of encourages people to get together or drop their guard down on their preventative measures — that’s the wrong thing to do right now.”

According to Kruse, if proper precautions are not taken this flu season, it could lead to a surge in both COVID-19 and influenza.

“We were fearing the dreaded combination of an influenza outbreak with COVID,” Kruse said. “Influenza season goes until the end of March, and if we let our guard down too much … and we get an influenza and COVID surge on March 15, watch out.”

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According to Riane Greenwalt, director of Health Services, the school’s testing response will remain the same for now, but may change with new information.

“We’ll continue to do this randomized voluntary testing during the Spring,” Greenwalt said. “COVID has been fairly fluid, so while we say that today, if we found out new information tomorrow we would obviously adjust.”

If a student tests positive, according to Greenwalt, they will still follow the school’s current guidelines of remaining in isolation for 10 days if they’re asymptomatic, or remain in isolation until their symptoms have subsided — but even if they test negative, Greenwalt says students should act like they’re about to test again.

“While testing itself does not

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make you safe, the behavior of knowing that you’re going to test sometimes changes what you’ll do and makes you safe,” Greenwalt said. “So just because you’re negative today, if you turned around and didn’t wear a mask … you could test positive tomorrow.”

The discovery of the new COVID variant in Illinois comes as the state enters Phase 1B of its Vaccine Administration Plan.

SIU’s current vaccination rollout plan has already begun in a few areas like the School of Medicine and the School of Pharmacy — but according to Chancellor Randy Pembrook, the Illinois Board for Higher Education is still working with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office to make vaccines available to the larger campus community.

“Right now, K-12 is included in the 1B stage,” Pembrook said.

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“In Illinois, higher education is not included in that 1B phase, but I think … if we could achieve that, then that would mean when students return home from college in April or May at the end of the semester, hopefully everyone will have been vaccinated so that we don’t have that bursting of the bubble effect of thousands and thousands of people going back to communities and possibly spreading it.”

Lakesha Butler, a clinical professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, said the current vaccines in the area will still be effective against the new variant of the virus, citing a press release published by vaccine manufacturer Moderna. However, Butler said those who get vaccinated should

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Engineering mentorship program offers new experience for freshmen, sophomores THOMAS DRAKE reporter

The Engineering Center of St. Louis is offering a College Engineering Mentorship Program to freshmen and sophomore engineering students.

The program’s goal is to give engineering students guidance on what will be expected of them in an engineering career.

The students will be assigned to engineering mentors by the Engineering Center.

They will shadow these mentors to be introduced to professional engineering.

Christopher Gordon of the associate dean of the School of Engineering, said he is excited about the investment of local companies in SIUE’s students.

“It’s very exciting our local industry is investing in the future of the industry by connecting with our students and really helping our students learn more about the possible directions they can go, making informed decisions on what they’re passionate about,” Gordon said.

Gordon said the School of Engineering is happy to take part in the program.

“It’s geared towards connecting our students with regional professionals to give them more exposure to the opportunities that are available in their areas of interest.

So we’re very excited about participating in

this new program,” Gordon said.

Gordon said this program’s virtual format allows students and mentors to connect instantly.

“What we learned about remote instruction and virtual communication, it really opens up new opportunities to connect and seek mentorship remotely or in person. So with this program, it’s focused on connecting students and professionals, however that works out. With any of these programs, there is that opportunity for just personal communication that really provides instant access to mentorship,” Gordon said.

To be eligible for the program, students must be a freshman or sophomore in an engineering or engineering related program and fill out an application on the Engineering Center’s website. Civil Engineering Professor Brad Cross said the program is a great experience for students.

“If there can be a shadowing of practicing engineers, they’ll get a really good idea of what the job is actually like, so it could help them make decisions, [like]whether they want to be an engineer and what area of engineering they want to go into,” Cross said.

Cross also said this program can be a good start for engineering students who are unsure about a career in the field.

BY THE NUMBERS

COVID-19 at SIUE New confirmed positive cases (from tests conducted by SIUE and self-reporting): Jan. 22 - 28: 19 students, 2 faculty/staff Jan. 15 - 21: 19 students, 1 faculty/staff

14-day new positive tests: 38 students, 3 faculty/staff All prior weeks positive tests (Aug. 1 - Jan. 14): 266 students, 76 faculty/staff Total positive cases: 317 students, 79 faculty/staff

Tests conducted by SIUE

Madison County confirmed cases by day

January 23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Source: Madison County Health Department COVID-19 Dashboard, as of Feb. 1

Percentage of isolation/quarantine space available on campus (as of Jan. 28): 99 percent

Source: Health, Reporting, and Testing page on SIUE’s COVID-19 website, as of Jan. 31

COVID-19’S impact on Madison County

Jan. 22 - 28: 1,162 Jan. 15 - 21: 3,612 14-day new tests conducted: 4,774 All prior weeks tests conducted (Aug. 21 - Jan. 14): 4,042 Total tests conducted: 8,816

Positive cases identified

by SIUE testing:

600 550 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50

“It is a good starting off point, especially for freshmen who aren’t exactly sure what they want to do. They may have some ideas about the way things are out in the world, but once they get involved in a program like that, they get a much better sense if they’re going to like that particular type of job,” Cross said.

Serdar Celik, a professor of mechanical engineering and mechatronics, said the mentorship program can also offer many advantages to SIUE engineering students.

“I think there are two significant advantages here. One of them is the students will be expanding their network, and obviously, having a network is important. The second thing is they’ll benefit from the experiences of the engineers of the greater St. Louis area, in regards to both technical and business-related aspects,” Celik said.

The program is designed to have engineering students mentored by local engineering professionals. Companies participating in the program are Burns & McDonnell, CCI (Code Consultants), Cincinnati Insurance Co., Civil Design, Inc., EFK Moen, Farnsworth Group Inc., FM Global, GBA, HDR Inc., Lochmueller Group, Oates Associates, Reitz & Jens Inc., Steward Steel Inc., and Vestal Corporation.

To learn more about the program, visit Engineering Center of St Louis’ website.

All of Illinois’ regions remain under Tier 2 mitigations, which went into effect Jan. 22. These mitigations include the following: - Bars and restaurants suspend indoor service and allow no tables exceeding 6 people. Outdoor, delivery and takeout service will continue under updated hours.

Jan. 22 - 28: 16 Jan. 15 - 21: 12 14-day new positive cases: 28 All prior weeks positive cases (Aug. 21 - Jan. 14): 335 Total: 363

- Meetings, events and gatherings (excluding in-person school or sports) are limited to limit to 10 guests indoors and outdoors.

- Organized group recreational activities (fitness centers, sports, etc.) are limited to lesser of 25 guests or 25% overall capacity indoors and outdoors.

- Household gatherings are limited to 10 people is encouraged.

- Indoor fitness classes can have groups limited to 10, including fitness classes.

- Cultural institutions and offices are open under Phase 4 rules.

- Hotels are limited to registered guests and fitness centers are closed or operating on reservation model at 25% capacity.

The complete list of mitigations can be found at coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/restore-illinois-mitigation-plan.

Source: dph.illinois.gov.

| Damian Morris / The Alestle

CLEANING I COVER

If someone were to test positive after being on campus, Riedel would send a couple of building service workers to go to any buildings they had been in, using the backpacks, to spray down the areas surrounding where the positive case had been.

“If there is a room that has a known outbreak [the foreman] has to go in there with [the backpack] and spray it down and make sure it’s properly cleaned also,” Gillentine said.

Associate Director of Facilities Management Donna Meyer said campus would not be as clean as it is without the hard work of Riedel’s staff. “[Riedel] and his staff did an awesome job changing gears and figuring out what they had to do and getting it done with no complaints,” Meyer said. “People just stepped up and did their jobs. From my perspective, it was very easy and they just took care of things.”

Director of Facilities Management Craig Holan said he agreed with Meyer.

He said was happy with the way his staff overall has handled the pandemic.

“My staff is excellent. I have [a staff that], all the way from individual building service workers up through management, overall [have] a very good commitment to the campus and students and what the university’s mission is. I couldn’t be happier to have a staff like this,” Holan said.

After working at SIUE for seven years, Gillentine said that the pandemic has brought along a new learning experience for everyone one. Riedel said the pandemic has brought their work a new form of appreciation as well.

“We were always in the background so to speak,” Riedel said. “This has given us the opportunity to bring cleanliness and safety to the forefront of people’s [minds].

I think before, people just took for granted the facility was clean, but this kind of brought a heightened awareness of how important building service workers are to the day-to-day operations of campus.”

For more information about Facilities Management visit their website.

COVID I COVER

still take proper precautions for the sake of those around them.

“Anyone that is getting vaccinated, you are still encouraged to wear a mask and social distance. There won’t be any necessary lifting of restrictions,” Butler said. “The reason why is because we want to allow others to get vaccinated, and we want to build that herd immunity.”

Even before the discovery of this new variant, vaccine misinformation has run rampant online. Kruse said he has received several questions about some of these claims, which he said are unfounded.

“I have had many people ask me about two misconceptions about the messenger RNA vaccines. One, that in the vaccine, there’s a chip that gets implanted in your arm so that the government can follow you anywhere and track you and know anything that you’re doing. Ridiculous, you know, it’s nonsense,” Kruse said.

“The other one is a little more subtle … the misconception is that it gets in your cell, goes into the nucleus of the cell and changes and alters your DNA permanently and you become a different organism.

Well, not true … [it] never goes into the cell, never touches your DNA, never does anything like that.”

Greenwalt said a few other misconceptions could also be the root of people’s vaccination reluctance.

“I think we obviously see people that are hesitant about getting the vaccine because of many myths that are out there,” Greenwalt said. “It is not a live vaccine — you cannot get COVID from the COVID vaccine. While it seems like it was developed very quickly, the actual way this vaccine was developed has been in development for a very long time, it just happened to match that COVID would be the perfect virus to use it with. There are no longterm studies, and so it’s hard to say what will be way down the road, but we believe that it is much safer to get the vaccine than to get COVID.” To avoid misinformation like this, Butler recommended students seek a few credible resources, including, but not limited to, herself.

“The CDC is a great resource, so it’s cdc.gov, and they have a special section pertaining to COVID-19 and it’s updated regularly,” Butler said. “[Illinois Department of Public Health] is another resource, Madison County Health Department is another resource … our campus resource would be Health Services … and I’m willing to answer questions as well.”

Those with questions about the university’s COVID-19 response and/or vaccinations can email Butler at lwiley@siue. edu, visit the school’s COVID-19 Information webpage or view the Conversations of Understanding video from Jan. 26, on the SIU System YouTube channel.

SPRAYERS I COVER

The decontamination backpack workers use to help clean rooms on campus. | Khoi Pham / The Alestle

do every classroom like we were doing in fall of 2019,” Riedel said.

Though they have certainly proven their value during the pandemic, they were not bought in response to it, Riedel said.

Talks of buying them started in late February or early March.

He said the university will continue to use them even after the pandemic has passed.

“We will probably continue to disinfect — perhaps once a week, twice a week, Monday-Wednesday-Friday, that sort of thing. We’ll just have to see how it all pans out. Not only does this kill [COVID-19], but it’s also good for flu season, MRSA, any of those kinds of things that might be going around,” Riedel said.

Those interested can learn more about CloroxPro devices on the products’ website.

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Dining closures only temporary due to COVID-19 procedures and lack of on-ground students DANA MCLENNAN copy editor

Students and staff might have to wait until fall semester for the return of some closed dining options.

The beginning of 2020 brought on changes that no one could have foreseen.

As restrictions have changed over the last year, many companies are still struggling to operate as they once did. The campus has been affected as well.

Starbucks at the MUC and other restaurants opened back up in limited capacity to serve SIUE, but others, such as Kaldi’s Coffee, Auntie Anne’s and Cocina did not. Sweet Eats Bakery, The Wok, Fixins’ Restaurant, Bluff Hall Café and Skywalk Diner will also remain closed until further notice.

Director of Dining Services Dennis Wobbe said keeping some closed was a necessary decision but not an easy one. He said it didn’t make sense to support multiple restaurants few people are utilizing.

“Basically, it all boils down to having easily 60 to 70 percent of our sales and traffic being reduced. And we are revenue-based. So, without revenue, we really struggled to keep everything open,” Wobbe said.

Wobbe said, like most restaurants, they are struggling to keep up and do not anticipate opening up by this summer, and the possibility of reopening in the fall would depend on sales.

Erin Myers, office support associate at the Student Opportunities for Academic Results office, said she isn’t bothered by the limited options, but she is glad there are options available if she needs them.

“I do eat there sometimes, but not really often. I would say, yes, obviously, the options are limited, because they closed certain things. It doesn’t necessarily upset me because I understand why,” Myers said.

“I usually just like to pick up a pizza from

Kaldi’s Coffee is closed for the semester along with Auntie Anne’s, Cocina, The Wok, Skywalk

ins’ Restaurant and Sweet Eats Bakery

Paavo’s [Pizza] and go because I am in a hurry.”

Mass communications senior Tyana Brock from Decatur, Illinois, said the MUC is a place for her and friends to socialize and isn’t about what is closed, but the vibe isn’t the same right now.

“I just miss being around people. I miss being in college, college. [Do] you know what I mean? Like, I miss seeing other peers even if I don’t know them. It’s just nice to be around people,” Brock said.

Wobbe said Dining Services consolidated operations, reallocated their staff and that everyone is working.

“We changed our hours and had to move people around to different positions. Even though we have had to limit our operation and have had extremely low numbers, we’re short-staffed. It’s a strain on everybody,” Wobbe said. “I truly ap-

preciate all of our staff ’s unwavering commitment to the SIUE community because they really have been through it all, and with all the uncertainty, they’ve just been outstanding.”

Wobbe said safety concerns and uncertainty as to the level of anticipated foot traffic were among the reasons Dining Services chose to keep specific places closed. There was the risk of congestion in some of the busier areas, with no way to properly social distance in the lines.

“Auntie Anne’s was close to Starbucks in [the MUC] … and we didn’t want a bottleneck and then have people not be able to practice social distancing. Auntie Anne’s was more of an indulgence and not as essential. It didn’t provide a meal. And then also, it is a little more labor-intensive, so there are a lot more people on people in there,” Wobbe said.

Diner, Bluff Hall Café, Fix| Khoi Pham / The Alestle

Myers said she feels safe using the dining services on campus because dining employees and customers follow the social guidelines.

“It seems like people have been really good about keeping their distance. And I haven’t seen anyone without a mask. I feel like people are taking the precautions that they have been asked to take,” Myers said.

“And so long as ... our positivity rates remain low; then I don’t have any concern about it.”

Wobbe said Dining Services are slowly filling the student positions and monitoring the civil service positions to fill as soon as they are able. Increased need for dining services as students return to on-ground classes will make this more possible.

For a list of available dining services and their hours of operation, visit the Dining Services website.

ACFE webinar examines “levels of accountancy” in business fraud GABRIEL BRADY opinion editor

SIUE’s School of Business offered students free admission to a webinar held by the Greater St. Louis Area Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). The event’s guest speaker was University of Illinois’ Assistant Professor of Accountancy Christie Hayne, who discussed her research into fraud and accountability.

Hayne said the research was focused on the question “What pushes some individuals toward fraud, and others away?”

Hayne said she and her fellow researchers interviewed people convicted of fraud, but also people who overcame the pressure to commit fraud and avoided doing so. In this research, Hayne said she referred to these individuals as “victors”.

“As far as the fraudsters go, I actually, with my co-authors, visited five U.S. penitentiaries to conduct these interviews,” Hayne said. “And then for the victors, it was an extensive recruitment process, through personal and professional contacts, social media, LinkedIn, to try and find individuals who had faced some sort of pressure or invitation to participate in fraud, but refused.”

Hayne’s research was conducted by going to prisons and asking prisoners if they were convicted of fraud, and if they would speak to her about it. According to Hayne, there were many rules and guidelines she had regarding who she and the

other researchers would interview.

“The first [caveat to our research] is that we did not have control over who volunteered. When we went to prisons, we had posted recruitment posters in advance of our visit, and those who felt that they were relevant to our research attended an interview … so our actual results may contain a response bias. Prisoners in particular may be subject to a self-serving bias, or may embellish their particular circumstances,” Hayne said. “We did a lot to try and overcome this issue … we asked prisoners whether they are guilty or innocent of the crime for which they are serving a sentence, and we threw away any responses if the prisoners claimed innocence.”

Chair of the Accounting Department Brad Reed has a focus on fraud investigation, and he said investigating fraud like in these cases has always been an interest to him. Reed said this field was where he first started in business.

“I’m a certified fraud examiner, as well as a certified public accountant. Both roles have some responsibilities to find fraud,” Reed said. “I started out as an auditor, and auditors have always had some responsibility to find fraud.”

According to Reed, this area of study has greatly advanced in the last 20 years, so it is an interesting field for students to learn about. Reed also said the culprits of these crimes are sometimes the last person you’d expect, which also draws interest.

“In the early 2000s, it became a more important and emphasized field, and I

started doing research,” Reed said. “It seems to me that students like learning about it. I think they’re interested in it, and it’s always interesting to see different kinds of fraud. White collar crime is often surprising to people. As in, surprising to see the people who commit it. A lot of these people are people who you would least expect to commit crimes, so it’s interesting to learn about that.”

President of the Greater St. Louis Area Chapter of the ACFE Jill Simons spoke at the webinar, and she said the ACFE is offering free memberships to some students for this month.

“One of our chapter’s missions is to mentor and support the next generation of anti-fraud professionals, and the way we’re going to do that is we come up with an opportunity for students where, for a limited time … we [give] away free student ACFE St. Louis Chapter memberships through Feb. 28,” Simons said.

According to Reed, the importance of teaching fraud investigation also comes from how common it can be.

“Studies show that most businesses experience fraud at least once, or even multiple times. It’s important to know it will happen and what to do to prevent it,” Reed said. “It’s a really growing field, and more and more students are showing interest in it, and more firms are getting involved in it.”

While presenting her research, Hayne talked extensively about something called the “fraud triangle,” which is something

that, according to Reed, is very commonly discussed in the world of fraud investigation.

“When the three corners come together, there is a higher probability of someone committing fraud. One corner is circumstances, so that means someone has to be in a situation where they need money, which they may try to get through fraud.

It can be from gambling, or from someone who has lived beyond their needs for too long,” Reed said. Opportunity is another corner, where you work at an organization with weak controls or security measure, and the third corner is rationalization, because most people work their whole lives without committing a major crime, so they find a way to rationalize doing just one thing.”

However, Reed said just because there are three corners for the fraud triangle, that doesn’t mean all three must be present for someone to commit fraud.

“I always use the analogy, though I didn’t make it and it’s a common thing, but it’s like fire. For a fire, you need fuel, a heat source and oxygen, and those things together can sometimes create a fire,” Reed said. “But, if the heat source is strong enough, the other two factors don’t matter as much, and a fire starts anyway. If one of the factors is high enough, someone can be pushed to fraud. There’s a breaking point.”

For more information, check the St. Louis Chapter of the ACFE’s website and the SIUE School of Engineering Facebook page.

NEXT WEEK: DEPARTMENTS COME TOGETHER TO SUPPORT TRANSFER STUDENTS page 4

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contact the editor: lifestyles@alestlelive.com 650-3527 thursday, 02.04.21

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Faculty stress importance of diverse instructors

BLACK HERITAGE MONTH AT THE ‘e’

The start of February means the start of Black Heritage Month. Below is a list of upcoming events. To see if the events are in-person, via Zoom or via webinar, please check SIUE’s website.

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I Summer Bradley / The Alestle DALTON BROWN copy editor

Several studies suggest it can make all the difference for students of color to see themselves represented in their teachers.

While SIUE has made considerable progress in areas of diversity, faculty members say there is still more work to be done in and out of the classroom.

While SIUE has recently launched several anti-racism and diversity and inclusion initiatives, Julie Zimmermann, chair of the Department of Anthropology and professor of Native American Studies, said her department still suffers from a severe lack of diverse faculty.

“Absolutely, you need to have diverse faculty representing those diversity topics, and the case and point I would give is Native American Studies,” Zimmermann said. “In our Native American Studies faculty here, not a single one of us is Native American, we’re all white, and sadly that is not at all unusual for Native American Studies.”

The fact that Zimmermann is teaching Native American Studies to Native American students as a white professor is not lost on her, but she said professors in similar situations should do the best they can under the circumstances.

“I taught Introduction to Native American Studies for several years … and I would state from the beginning, ‘I feel very uncomfortable teaching this class. I feel like a fraud because I’m white, teaching this Introduction to Native American Studies,’” Zimmermann said. “I guess it depends upon how the professor approaches it. If the professor makes every effort to fully educate themselves and … is perfectly honest and above-board about their inadequacies and shortcomings, then I guess that’s the best we can do … it’s better than to not teach it at all.”

Assistant professor of art therapy Jayashree George said she believes one does not have to be from the culture they teach about to be qualified.

“I’m not vetted to the idea that, for example, South Asian Studies need to be taught by South Asians,” George said. “I don’t believe that, because I’ve met many student scholars … who actually [know] more about South Asian history and South Asian culture than somebody who is from that part of the world, and who would be absolutely qualified to teach something related to South Asian [Studies] with as

have a teacher of color until high school, George said she had the opposite experience — until she came to SIUE 30 years ago.

“Before I came to the United States, I grew up in India, and of course, I was surrounded by Indian teachers. However, I did go to a Jesuit school and the medium of instruction was in English, so throughout my education … English was not a problem,” George said. “Interestingly, I came from India to SIUE for my education … but back in those days, 30 years ago, we were not talking about diversity the way we are today. The focus back then was ‘you just have to assimilate and everybody has to become the same.’”

Zimmermann said the school “We have this program within the can recruit a diverse faculty by utilizing its current tools and supuniversity called Strategic Hire that porting diversity early on.

“It takes targeted faculty we can use to target particular searches. We have this program within the university called Strateareas, so the University has to gic Hire that we can use to target absolutely stand behind that. In particular areas, so the University has to absolutely stand behind some cases, it’s going to require that. In some cases, it’s going to require higher salaries,” Zimmerhigher salaries ... But it needs to mann said. “But it needs to start start with scholarships for college with scholarships for college students … let’s put more money into students ... let’s put more our K-12 … it all starts there. If money into our K-12 ... it all starts you want a diverse faculty, we need to be supporting diversity beginthere. If you want a diverse faculty, ning in pregnancy.” a diverse faculty has we need to be supporting diversity beenOnce hired, according to Hernandez, the university can work on rebeginning in pregnancy. taining them by compensating for JULIE ZIMMERMANN implicit student bias.

“Overall, your promotion professor of Native American Studies, Department of papers are set up based on what’s Anthropology Chair expected in your teaching evaluaa person of color and you’re a woman … tions,” Hernandez said. “But oftentimes, just cut the line and get ahead.’ And I’m [Black-Indigenous People of Color] faculthinking, ‘That just kind of deleted all of ty receive negative evaluations from white students because they don’t want to hear my qualifications right there.’”

Experiences like these underscore the what they have to say, versus their teaching importance of having diverse faculty mem- ability, and that can count against them.”

Hernandez said the school’s Anbers. Jennifer Hernandez, an assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and ti-Racism Task Force is currently looking Learning, said the lack of diversity in her into the issue and developing possible soluchildhood education had an adverse effect. tions. According to George, the universi“It kind of secured and solidified ty can help create a sense of belonging by whiteness in the sense of … every perspec- ensuring proportionate representation betive that you received was from a white tween all campus community members.

“I think it’s important that when perspective, and so it was very homogeneous,” Hernandez said. “There [weren’t] you look at the demographics of the faca lot of different ways of thinking or ac- ulty, it should reflect the demographics ceptance of different perspectives, because there was only one perspective offered.” see DIVERSITY on page 5 While Hernandez said she didn’t much verve and passion and integrity as someone who is from that culture.”

While her white peers can become fully knowledgeable about cultural subject matter, according to George, they have also been prone to microaggressions.

“Sometimes in the classroom, [when] they’re talking about India or Asians, the teacher might turn to me and say, ‘Well, you know all about it,’ because I’m the resident Indian,” George said. “And sometimes, I’ve also heard this other thing; applying for jobs, trying to get job interviews, there are those white colleagues who have told me, ‘Oh, you would have no problem getting a job because you’re

9

STATE OF THE BLACK UNION SIUE Black Faculty and Staff Association, 11 a.m.

A CONVERSATION ABOUT COMMUNITY SERVICE AND ACTIVISM WITH MS. DREMA LEE WOLMAN Women’s Studies Program, 3:30 p.m.

BLACK STUDENT TOWN HALL Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion, 5 p.m.

HEALTH PANEL 10 CAB DISCUSSION Campus Activities Board 11 Day 1: Virtual panel, 11 a.m.

Day 2: In-person health screenings (tentative), 11 a.m.

CONVERSATION 12 INCLUSIVE CSDI, 12:15 p.m.

VIRTUAL NETFLIX PARTY 15 CAB CAB Day 1: “Moonlight and Beyonce’s 16 Homecoming” time TBD

Day 2: “Imperial Dreams” and “For Colored Girls” time TBD

INVISIBLE: THE 17 VISIBLY SOCIOPOLITICAL REALITY OF

BLACK WOMEN Political Science Black Sociopolitical Lecture Series, noon

FIERCE MOTHER’S PATH: 18 AFROM PRISON TO HELPING

OTHERS IMPACTED BY INCARCERATIONS Women’s Studies Program, 4:30 p.m.

BRIDGING THE GAP: CONVERSATION BETWEEN AFRICAN AND AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS Black Studies Program, 5 p.m.

HIS NAME: THE STORY OF 19 SAY GEORGE FLOYD

CAB Featured Speaker, 3:30 p.m.

SOCIOECONOMIC AND 23 THE CULTURAL NORMS ASSOCIATED WITH BARRIERS TO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN Women’s Studies Program, 1 p.m.

HISTORY SCAVENGER 24 BLACK HUNT Black Studies Program, 6 p.m.

LIKE A TIGER: AFRICAN 25 FIGHT AMERICAN AMBITION IN THE

ERA OF SLAVERY Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Campus Center, 7 p.m.

CEREMONY 26 CLOSING Black Heritage Month Planning Committee, noon BLACK STUDENT ORGANIZATION FAIR CAB, 2 p.m.

thursday, 02.04.21

alestlelive.com

page 5

Furry friends are going through changes, too — here’s how to help: KRISTINA JOHNSON reporter

During the COVID-19 pandemic, animals were being adopted at such a high rate that some shelters were running out of adoptable animals. These animals are now trying to adjust to life without their owners who are starting to leave for work and school again.

At Metro East Humane Society in Edwardsville, Executive Director Anne Schmidt said their shelter was nearly empty at the beginning of the pandemic because of the rise in demand to adopt. Schmidt said their shelter pre-pandemic held up to 20 to 60 dogs and puppies and 20 to 60 kittens and cats.

“We also saw a lot of families wanting puppies,” Schmidt said. “This makes sense since most families were working from home and had the time commitment necessary for training a puppy.”

Schmidt said their shelter had a high enough demand that they began to talk to a group out of Arkansas that would send strays to them on an almost bimonthly basis. In addition, she said the shelter had to increase the number of foster homes by 70 percent to make room in their shelter.

One of those that decided to adopt was SIUE graduate Kerrington Schlueter, of Edwardsville. She adopted a 4-year-old cat named Elena from United Friends of Homeless Animals in Richland, New York.

During the pandemic, Schlueter spent most of her time at home, as her classes were online.

“If I was home, she was constantly beside me. She’ll sit right beside me, literally touching me, or leaning on me or behind me on the couch,” Schlueter said. “Then when I’m sleeping, she’s right beside me or on the foot of my bed.”

Schlueter said now when she goes to classes in person and comes home, Elena meows at her more than she previously did when Schlueter was home, a sign she says

is a way for Elena to express her disapproval of her being gone all day.

“Then when I get home she is right beside me again, trying to make up for lost time and she’s always watching [me],” Schlueter said.

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ website, separation anxiety is normal for animals that have been adopted from shelters. This can be due to change in residence, schedule, guardianship or absence of a family member.

Senior musical theatre major Hannah Fink, of Onarga, Illinois, adopted her cat Ollie from Partners for Pets in Troy, Illinois, during Summer 2020. She said to try and counteract the effects of separation anxiety setting in, she tried to spend less time around him.

“I have him in my room with me but I try to not always be [engaging] with him when I’m home … I feel like [he] would be worse [off] than [if] he can roam around and be by himself during the day even if I am here,” Fink said.

The ASPCA website said leaving soothing music on for an animal will engage their auditory and visual stimulation, so they will engage with their surroundings when owners are gone. “[When I’m gone] I’ll leave music or videos [on] for him, give him some extra toys [and] stuff like that,” Senior computer science major Lyric Boone, of Rochester, Illinois, said.

Boone came across her quarantine animal in a different way. She rescued her kitten Sushi when she found him near a swimming pool. She said since she spends most of her time with him, Sushi does not always recognize Boone when she returns from being out away from him for awhile.

“Not being with him or leaving him definitely makes him a little more apprehensive of me at first when I walk in,” Boone said. “I think he gets nervous and sometimes doesn’t recognize me [which]

makes him more standoffish until I approach him with pets and an open hand.”

The ASPCA said to try and keep one’s pets’ schedule the same every day. For example, feeding or walking them at the same time during a regular work or school schedule. Changing up the toys they have is another solution. This can give a pet a variety of items to keep them busy when their owners aren’t home.

As some people begin to transition back into their normal pre-pandemic schedules, keep the ASPCA’s tips in mind to lessen animals’ stress while being home alone for longer periods of time.

Although the pandemic has been lonely, Fink said having a new animal around has shined a light into the darkness of this past year.

“Especially in a time like this where we were so isolated for so long …” Fink said. “It’s just nice to have another form of companionship like that [with Ollie].”

For more information about adopting animals, visit Metro East Humane Society’s website.

Top: Boone (right) and Nicole Humphreys, her girlfriend, pose with Sushi the cat.

Boone rescued Sushi during the pandemic. Bottom: Fink and Ollie have been inseparable ever since Fink brought Ollie home from Partners for Pets. | Photos courtesy of Boone and Fink.

REVIEW: Despite all-star cast, ‘The Little Things’ is just … meh MADISON LAMMERT lifestyles editor

If “The Little Things” were bread, it would be plain, white bread. No peanut butter. No jelly.

But on the bright side, at least it’s not moldy.

Translation: “The Little Things” is nothing stellar. There’s nothing giving it flavor, but it’s palatable. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s not anybody’s first choice. It’s a typical mystery-meets-crime film, but is hardly “thrilling” enough to be considered a thriller. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 48 percent on its Tomatometer, a testament to its average-ness.

There are some spoilers ahead. Honestly, if you have HBO Max, there’s no harm in watching this movie when you have some down time, but for those who don’t, please value your money and don’t risk going out in a pandemic to see it in theaters. Just read this review!

The film follows Joe Deacon (Denzel Washington), also known as Deke, as haunting memories of a past case resurface when he becomes involved in a case spearheaded by Detective Jim Baxter (Rami Malek). Deke worked a case so hard he mentally and physically could not function, so he left Los Angeles to work in a small town as a cop. Baxter is his replacement, and there’s still some hostility within the big-city

department surrounding Deke’s departure.

When the current string of murders has a similar M.O. to those that beat Deke down, Baxter realizes Deke has valuable insight.

They form a dream team of sorts.

The only thing is, Baxter doesn’t know just how much insight Deke really has, and how it fuels Deke’s obsession with the case. Through flashbacks and conversations with previous coworkers, we know Deke’s involvement in the first case transcended beyond just doing his job, but the film gives you quite a tease with the details.

When the plot revealed the exact nature of this involvement, I was disappointed. Considering the dark vibes the previews give off while not giving any insight into the plot, I was expecting the so-called secret to be a little bit more sinister. Instead, we got a mere accident, a cover up and some guilt. The previews left out details to protect a pretty predictable plot twist, if I can even call it a twist. And given Deke’s little mantra, “The past becomes the future, the future becomes the past,” it’s pretty easy to predict Baxter will suffer a similar, guilt-ridden fate.

The film survives with the help of two key things: the viewer’s need to prove they can guess a plot twist and Jered Leto’s ability to play quirky characters. Albert Sparma, played by Leto, is a crime

Rami Malek (left), Jared Leto (center) and Denzel Washington, each Oscar winners, star in “The Little Things.” | Warner Bros. Pictures.

junkie who leads Deke and Baxter through some car chases and countless nights of stakeouts. He is compelling in that he knows his stuff; the guy studies crimes so he can convince Deke and Baxter he’s the murderer. I have to give him props for that, even though the absence of a red beret alludes that maybe he was innocent after all. Either way, I don’t feel so bad when he gets taken out by a shovel, considering it’s very apparent that he does have the potential to be really dangerous.

It’s clear the film is trying to conjure questions of morality in our minds. Sparma may not be the killer they were after (I’m 99.9 percent sure he’s not), but he is a sleeze. Given this, is it

OK he died? As viewers, are we less human if we don’t feel bad seeing his glazy eyes looking up at the sky, knowing he can’t see the stars above because he’s dead?

What about Deke? Does his insistence on not giving up on his original case overshadow how he shot a captive, a victim, not the perpetrator? Is his motive to erase his own guilt good enough? And lastly, is it OK to lie in order to absolve someone of his own guilt, as seen in the end scene (I won’t explicitly give this one away, as it was well-done)?

As good as these questions are, the mediocre execution of the film leaves me with one conclusion: I don’t really care enough to ponder them.

DIVERSITY I PAGE 4

of the student body, and in total should reflect the demographics of the United States,” George said. “That would certainly be a virtue that would be useful, because it affects people’s belongingness needs. You know, everybody deserves to belong.”

Hernandez said students who feel unrepresented by their teachers should seek those who do represent them and can help them achieve their goals.

“Find campus faculty that match the way you look, that match your social identities and seek them out, and there are programs in [the] Teaching and Learning department that we have for our BI-POC students [where] they are connected and mentored by BI-POC faculty,” Hernandez said.

“Young people of color who want to be teachers, let me mentor you … let us help you navigate this, because we’ve been through the process and we know what challenges you’re going to face.”

For more information about the diversity of SIUE faculty, staff and students, read the most recent edition of the SIUE Fact Book.

opinion

NEXT WEEK: THE DRINKING AGE AND SELECTIVE SERVICE page 6

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alestle VIEW

Teachers, please don’t actually leave us alone THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board

Aside from being awarded credentials, the advantage of learning information from school instead of YouTube is the personal attention of an expert in a field who will gladly answer your questions and help you learn the information you’ve chosen to pursue. However, some professors, especially in an online environment, don’t even provide this individual attention to their students.

Ideally, instructors would be people who choose to teach subjects on which they’re genuinely interested in sharing their knowledge. In our capitalist reality, teachers are people who need money to live, and they will often end up teaching courses they wouldn’t necessarily choose to teach for free. It’s often a question of what instructors are willing to commit to, rather than

what they would choose. In an asynchronous online course, this commitment can be very little. A syllabus can consist of a series of video lectures and machine-graded assignments, allowing the instructors to simply respond to student emails and do little else over the course of a semester.

This model of teaching is far from ideal for anyone, and can contribute to the sense of isolation students probably already feel from trying to help contain a virus for the past year. Students can learn things in more depth and retain them longer if their teachers engage with the material. When teachers use lesson plans they didn’t come up with themselves, it means the information is not organized according to their individual strengths and interests. Any questions about the material are more likely to be met with the simple responses of someone who has known something for a long time with-

out really thinking about it too critically.

Teachers are responsible for returning grades in a timely manner and being available to provide feedback to their students.

It’s bad enough to know a teacher doesn’t really want to be there explaining things to you, but it’s a lot worse to feel like you’re working against them by trying to get a response. The amount of effort an instructor puts into teaching a course is visible in the materials they create — but also in areas where material needs updated, where instructors are glossing over material they don’t care about and where important viewpoints aren’t being considered. Students will very often look for areas where instructors succeed or fail in how they present certain topics when trying to get to know their instructors.

That opportunity is lost when materials are borrowed from other instructors. If a student isn’t

sure how an instructor might respond to a particular question or comment, they’ll often stay unsure.

Students who have questions won’t always reach out, and checking in through an email can go a long way toward making sure students are up to date on the information they need. Because communication between instructors and students does not occur as naturally in asynchronous courses as it does in faceto-face classrooms, the burden is on the instructor to provide extra means of communication, extra opportunities to communicate and regular and detailed feedback on assignments. Professors who use pre-recorded footage to teach courses need to be aware of the additional responsibility this places on each student, and make it as easy and natural as possible to engage beyond simply watching the videos and completing the graded assignments.

in response. The video garnered mixed reactions in the comments, with some people commenting that he gained their respect — but the majority of commenters gave negative feedback, saying he shouldn’t be praised for doing the bare minimum. (Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a fan of Sartorius in any way, shape or form, nor do I know much about him aside from this one specific video.)

In another video that I saw duetted on my For You page, a man posted a POV in which he asks his partner if they’re ready, and they say yes. He notices that they don’t seem ready, and they respond that they’re not sure. He reassures them that it’s okay, and suggests that they go get something to eat instead. In the duet of the video, which has since been deleted, a woman dances around to sarcastically praise the man for

not assaulting his partner. Many of the comments say things such as, “The bar is on the floor,” and “The bar cannot get any lower.”

My concern when reading these comments is that they will discourage male influencers and creators from making similar content in the future. I agree that not taking advantage of someone when they’re drunk, or making sure your partner is comfortable when initiating sexual activity, are actions that should be the absolute bare minimum. I agree that it is frustrating to see men expecting praise for, essentially, not being predators. I am also bothered by the suspicion that some of these men may be making these videos for clout. However, I think, or at least hope, that these types of videos will normalize asking for consent, especially among young viewers.

Since approximately one in six women and one in 10 men report having been sexually coerced in their lifetimes, I would argue that while these videos portray men acting with basic human decency, they sadly do not portray the norm. Furthermore, as of 2018, only eight states require consent to be taught in sex education in public schools. If kids aren’t going to learn about consent in school, maybe they’ll learn from TikTok. I’m a firm believer that we should not punish or discourage the behavior we want to see. As someone who grew up listening to “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” and watching “Grease,” I see this as a welcome shift in pop culture. I’m not going to tell anyone not to be annoyed by this trend, but I do encourage people to think twice about criticizing videos that could be a step in the right direction.

Don’t punish the behavior you want to see

NICOLE BOYD copy editor

Warning: This piece contains some content related to sexual assault.

While TikTok POVs have long been the subject of mockery, one trend in particular seems to generate criticism for the wrong reasons. For those who don’t know, a POV is a “point of view” video that usually consists of captioning explaining what is happening from the viewer’s perspective, while the person in the video acts out the scenario.

I’ve seen a few POVs recently in which men act out a scenario that centers around them not assaulting a woman. For example, Jacob Sartorius posted a POV where he acts out a friend encouraging him to bring a drunk girl to his bedroom, and he refuses by lip syncing a derogatory name

sports

contact the editor: sports@alestlelive.com 650-3527 thursday, 02.04.21

READ NEXT WEEK: TENNIS HEATS UP WITH FIRST HOME MEETS OF SEASON page 7

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Former SIUE soccer duo takes on COVID-19 in Nevada MADISON LAMMERT lifestyles editor

School of Nursing alumnae Caroline Hoefert and Lindsey Fencel have traded their soccer cleats for scrubs, and are now exchanging the flat landscape of Southern Illinois for the Sierra Nevada mountains.

The transition to a cardiac telemetry unit in a Nevada hospital, which is currently serving as a COVID-19 unit, is something both said they couldn’t imagine without each other.

“The process of driving across the country and going somewhere totally unfamiliar would be so much less desirable if I was by myself,” Hoefert said. “It is a new hospital, it is a new area, but having the comfort of someone else from home doing everything that you’re doing, going through the same obstacles, definitely makes the whole process a lot easier.”

While they worked at different hospitals after their Spring 2018 graduation, the former teammates eventually ended up on different floors of St. Mary’s in St. Louis. During their time apart, Fencel said the two did not lose sight of their goal to do a traveling nursing assignment together.

“We always talked about doing this traveling assignment,” Fencel said. “It got delayed a little bit more than we had planned, but then it all just started falling into place.”

The two were friends even before coming to SIUE, having played soccer together since they were around 12 years old. When high school hit, the pair played on opposing teams, since Fencel is from Bethalto, Illinois, and Hoefert is from Godfrey, Illinois.

However, Fencel said their time at SIUE really solidified their bond, as they shared classes, a sport and living space.

“It was hard to time manage,” Hoefert said. “With our nursing classes, I remember instances where we would have to miss practice and make up that practice or weight lift — just us two — because a clinical or lecture couldn’t be rescheduled.”

In fact, the rigorous nature of nursing programs leads some colleges and universities to not allow student-athletes to major in nursing. SIUE Women’s Soccer Head Coach Derek Burton, who coached Fencel and Hoefert, said the School of Nursing’s top-ranking status serves as an advantage while recruiting.

“I’ve always believed that we have a great nursing program

for a reason, and if someone is attracted to SIUE partially because of that program and part of it has to do with soccer as well, then … it’s very hypocritical of me not to use that as a recruiting tool,” Burton said. “I’m willing to adjust and make concessions in places for that reason, because I want those players in our program and I’m not going to exclude players that we would like to have in our program just because of their academic interests.”

Both Fencel and Hoefert acknowledged being a student-athlete enrolled in the School of Nursing was no easy feat and agreed it would have been even more difficult without each other.

“We were very blessed and lucky that with what we’ve been through, we’ve been able to do it together,” Fencel said. “I’m the type of person who likes to have someone going through the same thing as me; it just makes it less stressful and easier knowing you have someone. Not everyone does get to go to college with a best friend, but if you can find a teammate, or someone that you

know is going to be as dedicated as you, working together on things just really makes the whole process easier.”

In addition to their classroom and clinical education, Hoefert said many skills she and Fencel learned in soccer are also essential in their professional careers.

“I would say the aspect of teamwork and time management is crucial in the nursing field when you’re on the floor working with your coworkers and asking for help,” Hoefert said. “That’s an everyday necessity.”

Burton said athletes’ ability to adjust to new teams stands out in the job market at large, but proves to be especially valuable in Fencel’s and Hoefert’s cases. “[Fencel and Hoefert] are used to being new in a group,” Burton said. “Specifically with travel nursing, they’re two people coming across the country, joining a group of people in a hospital that they don’t know … and then making an impact in that group and jumping on board and working towards [the group’s] goals. I think all of those things translate from being an athlete on the soccer field to being an effective healthcare giver, and certainly, in their situation, being a travel nurse for sure.”

For more information on SIUE’s School of Nursing, visit their website. More information about SIUE’s current soccer team can be found at siuecougars.com.

Wrestling earns first conference win at home meet

THOMAS DRAKE reporter

Wrestling picked up its first conference win Saturday with a 28-12 victory over Clarion.

The team also took a 15-19 loss against Buffalo and 10-27 loss against Northern Illinois.

The Cougars were led by 141-pound redshirt sophomore Saul Ervin, who claimed victory in all three of his match-ups. Ervin kicked off the meet by outwrestling Buffalo’s Derek Spann 5-1.

Ervin then faced Clarion’s Kyle Schickel, scoring multiple takedowns during the match. In the second period, he escaped from Schickel and scrambled to a slick takedown, ending with a score of 13-5.

Ervin continued with his match against Northern Illinois’ Caleb Brooks. In seconds, he shot

for a single leg and scored a takedown. The match ended with a score of 5-2.

Ervin said he strives to control the flow of every one of his matches.

“A normal mindset of mine is that I want to get to my attacks and my ties. I don’t want the opponent to control the match, so you could kind of feel the pace during a match and I like to set the tone. If the pace is going their way, I like to make little mental blocks in my head to try to get it back to my match. I’m always making sure to stay calm and collected,” Ervin said.

Justin Ruffin, a 157-pound junior, had wins in every match as well. For his first match against Buffalo’s Michael Petite, Ruffin scored a 5-1. His match with Clarion was against Taylor Ortz, who Ruffin pinned 37 seconds

into the match with a head pinch.

“I was really excited to have three conference duels to wrestle.

The team seemed pretty energized that day so I was real excited and I was just ready to go to war with everybody,” Ruffin said.

Ruffin said he was proud of how the team grew after a defeat against Clarion a week earlier.

“I thought we were performing really well as a whole. I thought there were a lot of improvements made from previous weekends. I thought it was nice to see we wrestled Clarion again and we got to beat them. They had beat us the previous weekend, so that was fun,” Ruffin said.

Sergio Villalobos, a junior who’s wrestling at the 184 and 197 weight classes, won against Buffalo’s Adam Daghestani with a score of 14-6. Villalobos also won his match against Clarion wres-

week in review

tler Brett Wittmann with a score of 16-0. However, Villalobos was defeated 5-1 in his third match, facing Northern Illinois’ Will Feldkamp. Even with the loss, Villalobos said he was happy with his performance.

“I thought I wrestled pretty well, there’s certain areas that I could work on. I [have to] be more patient, but other than that, I was pretty happy with my performance,” Villalobos said.

Head Coach Jeremy Spates said he thought his team competed well at the meet.

“I thought overall, we competed really well this weekend. We still made some mental mistakes, we still have some technical things to clean up, but overall we wrestled well,” Spates said.

The Cougars compete next at 1 p.m. Feb. 7 in Columbia, Missouri.

SIUE Standings MEN’S BASKETBALL

OVERALL OVC

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

18-1 14-2 13-6 10-6 10-7 6-8 8-8 6-11 5-10 6-13 2-16 3-12

12-0 8-1 10-2 6-4 6-5 4-4 5-6 4-7 3-8 3-9 2-9 2-10

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

OVERALL OVC

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

11-3 8-4 9-5 9-5 9-7 8-4 8-9 6-9 8-9 5-10 5-11 0-11

10-1 5-2 7-3 7-4 7-4 5-3 6-6 5-6 5-7 4-7 2-9 0-13

WRESTLING

OVERALL MAC

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

9-0 2-1 3-1 6-2 2-2 2-5 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-2

3-0 2-0 3-1 5-2 1-1 2-4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1

WOMEN’S TENNIS

OVERALL OVC

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

1-0 2-1 1-2 1-3 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-2 0-4

0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

UPCOMING GAMES: Men’s & Women’s Basketball vs. Tennessee State 1 p.m. & 5 p.m., Feb. 4 Cross Country at Murray State 2 p.m., Feb. 5 Men’s Soccer at Butler 2:30 p.m., Feb. 5

SOFTBALL

SOFTBALL

SOFTBALL

SOFTBALL

Women’s Basketball lost 62-77 against Southeast Missouri in the fourth of five road contests for the team. Sophomore forward Mikayla Kinnard led the Cougars with 14 points.

The team took another loss of 45-79 against UT Martin. Kinnard led the team again, scoring 10 points.

Men’s Basketball has lost three of their last four games, taking a close 62-64 loss against SEMO. The team was also defeated

by Austin Peay and Eastern Illinois, with scores of 59-74 and 61-70, respectively.

The team picked up a 76-60 win against UT Martin. Senior guard Mike Adewunmi led the game with 20 points.

The Cougars competed at Indiana Tech’s Warrior Invite. COVID senior Aly Goff, who is playing under an extra year of eligibility due to last season’s cancellation as a result of the pandemic, finished second in the women’s mile. Senior John Barnes placed second in the shot put and first in the weight throw.

Tennis started their season strong with a 6-1 win against Dayton, excelling in both singles and doubles. Redshirt freshman Melissa Vizcardo and redshirt sophomore Maria Thibault earned the first win of the match as the No. 2 doubles duo, and the Cougars emerged victorious in each singles match they played.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MEN’S BASKETBALL

TRACK & FIELD

TENNIS

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