The Alestle Vol. 73 No. 20

DO NOT CHANGE T H E

ALESTLE

WITCHCRAFT MISCONCEPTIONS DISPELLED pages 4 & 5 thursday, 02.20.20

SOFTBALL SWINGS FOUR WEEKEND WINS page 7 vol. 73 no. 20

The Student Voice Since 1960

SIU BOT freezes tuition and fees, hears public comments on funding allocation JENNIFER GOECKNER managing editor

The SIU Board of Trustees approved a number of measures at their first meetings of the year and heard public comments from members of the SIUE community on the current funding allocation.

At the Board of Trustees’ meeting on Feb. 12, the board approved a proposal to freeze tuition and fees across all SIU-system campuses. According to Board Chair Phil Gilbert, the decision to freeze tuition and fees was aimed at attracting more students to both campuses and Illinois as a whole.

“When Governor Pritzker visited both the Carbondale campus to announce the release of the funds for the communication building and the Edwardsville campus to announce the release of the funds for the health science building, Governor Pritzker consistently emphasized affordability as the key to attracting more students to Illinois public universities,” Gilbert said during the public portion of the executive meeting on Feb. 11.

At SIUE, all new, full-time undergraduate students will pay $9,123 in tuition per semester for 15 credit hours, and all domestic graduate students will be charged $8,155.20 per semester for 12 credit hours.

Kasey Hohlt, Graduate Assistant for CSDI and Ed Hightower, Vice Chair reminisce during the break between speakers.

I Dominick Oranika / The Alestle

Tuition will also stay the same at the School of Dental Medicine and the School of Pharmacy. Dental medicine students will pay an annual tuition of $29,998, and pharmacy students will pay an annual tuition of $24,096.

All students at the under-

graduate, graduate or professional level will continue to pay a general student fee of $103.20 per credit hour for the 2020-21 academic year.

At both Wednesday and Thursday’s meetings, the Board heard public comments from SIUE faculty and staff about the

current SIU-system funding allocation. Kim Archer, a professor in the Department of Music, spoke at Wednesday’s meeting about how long the current allocation has been in place and argued for this issue to be readdressed.

“I just celebrated my 47th birthday, and I say that because

about the time that I was born, your predecessors on this board implemented a funding allocation between Edwardsville and Carbondale,” Archer said. “That was 1975, 45 years ago.”

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Dining Services prepares for upcoming Conductor of Stanford Prison Experiment changes to Chick-fil-A, Auntie Anne’s Video Chats with SIUE Students GABRIEL BRADY reporter

The MUC Starbucks renovations are not the only changes students will see coming to Dining Services: Chick-fil-A and Auntie Anne’s will soon be seeing changes as well.

Dining Services has been preparing changes for a long time, and the Starbucks renovations were the first step, according to Director of Dining Services Dennis Wobbe.

“We had to do renovations, but we held off for a while so we could investigate this master plan for the entire building,” Wobbe said.

Chick-fil-A is expected to become a hybrid model, combining elements of SIUE’s current express version and a full-service operation. The menu will expand to include ice cream and milkshakes, according to Wobbe.

Wobbe also said the renovated Chickfil-A might offer mobile ordering.

“You’ll place the mobile order, and it’ll have our new expanded menu,” Wobbe said.

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“You might also see an increased speed in service due to some of the changes, like adding more grills,” Wobbe said.

The plans for the Auntie Anne’s, however, are more tentative as of right now, but according to Wobbe, are definitely on the way. The uncertainty comes from the cost of construction and other factors like brands that Auntie Anne’s is associated with.

“Auntie Anne’s is a focused brand, which is part of a larger company that has Moe’s, Cinnabon and some others,” Wobbe said.

Some of these brands, however, bring opportunities.

“There were a couple ideas, but one was, maybe with the same amount of labor and space, we could add a Cinnabon, but we’re still looking at those options right now,” Wobbe said.

Another reason for the uncertainties is the issue of SIUE paying for the renovations.

“In purchasing, there’s a lot of rules. It hasn’t gone out to bid yet, and then there’s DINING on page 3

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ISOBEL ABBOTT-DETHROW reporter

Being able to ask a well-known psychologist any question in the world is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

This chance came to SIUE’s campus on Tuesday, Feb. 18, when the SIUE Psychology Club set up a live video chat with Philip Zimbardo, who conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment, one of the most controversial psychological experiments of the twentieth century.

The 50th anniversary of the Stanford Prison Experiment will be in 2021. The experiment was supposed to last for two weeks but ended after only six days. Some prisoners broke down in the middle of the experiment within the first few days and left early.

Zimbardo’s experiment exposed the power struggle between prisoners and their guards, showing the prisoners’ vulnerability and obedience to the guards, who became more sadistic. Zimbardo and the guards took on authoritative roles and subjected prisoners to psychological torture, refusing to let prisoners leave when they wanted to.

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According to junior psychology major and president of Psychology Club Mario Diaz, of Edwardsville, this event has been in discussion since the fall semester.

“Initially, we wanted to have Dr. Philip Zimbardo physically at one of our events,” Diaz said. “There was back and forth communication between Zimbardo’s assistants and me. We settled for the one-hour question-and-answer interview. We were more than happy to have that because even having the opportunity to talk to him was amazing.”

According to Lisa Wood, a senior psychology major and the treasurer of Psychology Club from Edwardsville, there was anticipation of a huge turnout.

“We sent the flier out to all of the psychology professors to promote the event,” Wood said. “Edwardsville High School’s psychology club heard about it and wanted to come.”

Despite interest from outside groups, the interview with Zimbardo was exclusively for SIUE students. Senior psychology major and Psychology Club’s Vice ZIMBARDO on page 3

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Despite new building Founders Hall renovations are to be completed on time DAMIAN MORRIS reporter

While the 21st century project, a series of renovations on Founders, Alumni, Rendleman, Dunham and Peck Halls along with the Lovejoy Library, will be delayed by the new health sciences building, it will have no effect on the date of completion of the Founders Hall renovations.

The construction for Founders was planned to be done by April. While most of the construction will be done by that point, some work can’t be done until there is no one in the building according to Campus Architect and Architectural Manager Roberto Canessa. “[Founders] won’t be totally done [by April],” Canessa said. “Some work has to be done in the summer when there are very few occupants. The goal is really to be ready for the fall.”

Vice Chancellor for Administration Rich Walker is adamant about getting the Founders Hall construction done as soon as possible for purposes of saving money and getting people moved back in more quickly.

“We’ll be able to get people in there sooner and be able to do more work as a result,” Walker said.

This will allow the work on the new health sciences building to be the main focus and get started more quickly. Director of Facilities Management Craig Holan said they have already started working on a design plan for the building.

“We requested a proposal for architect engineer consultants to provide bridging documents for the health sciences building. So this will be bid as a design build, meaning that the architect that comes on

board first provides a general blueprint with the requirements,” Holan said.

This proposal was sent out Tuesday, Feb. 11. Holan said that this will be a partial plan and will be sent out to design build teams consisting of builders with their own architects.

The purpose of using this method is to hopefully shave off about nine to twelve months of the health science building design plan. The entire process will take about three to four years to complete.

Two of those years will be to construct the building.

The new health science building’s construction is going to take place before Alumni Hall in order to make the 21st century project move much more smoothly.

Holan said that, while this will delay the project for the time being, it will make it much easier to work on the other buildings in the future.

“As part of the Founders [project] we also had to carve out what we call swing space to put people temporarily,” Holan said.

This costs a lot of money to do, and funding plays a major factor in how quickly the construction teams can move through the project.

“If we construct a health science building and move the nursing school out of Alumni Hall, then I’ve got a lot of vacant space that I can go in and renovate without moving people out of it,” Walker said.

Walker said ideally all classes will be moved out of Alumni Hall during its renovation with the ability to move people into the new health building. This would save a lot of time for the construction team.

Current and upcoming meal plans: explained JOHN MCGOWAN reporter

Even though meal plans are mandatory for freshmen living on-campus, many still don’t know how they work.

Known as the 60-40 meal plan, 60 percent of the cost goes to Dining Services and the other 40 percent goes is available to purchase food that’s sold at 40 percent of it’s normal price.

Currently, the plan comes in two versions. Plan A is $1,780 per semester and Plan B is $2,460 per semester.

The 60 percent of the cost that goes to Dining Services is used to cover labor, supplies, maintenance, and utilities for the dining hall. Any of the remaining 40 percent that isn’t used by the end of the semester goes back to the students.

For the 2020-2021 year, meal plans will be changing. There will be three plans offered: Plan A at $1,835 per semester, Plan B at $2,185 per semester, and Plan C at $2,535 per semester. The new intermediate plan between the highest and lowest options comes from complaints about the current Plan A being too little to spend and the current Plan B being too much.

This additional plan has yet to be approved by the SIUE Board of Trustees. If it isn’t approved, students who purchase Plan B for the upcoming semester will instead receive Plan A. According to Christy McDougal, accountant for the Morris University Center Business Office, students used to not get their money back at the end of the semester until Jim McDermott, former Business Manager of the Morris University Center, designed the current plan. McDougal said it was a more reasonable structure.

“If a student made a decision to want to go off campus with friends or go home, they still recoup the cost of the food, but

Dining Services was able to keep the 60 percent because they were here, they prepared the food, they had the food waiting for the student, and they had the labor,” McDougal said.

The current plan has been criticized as misleading. While the food is discounted at 40 percent of the original price, students are still paying for the rest of it up front with the 60 percent of their plan that goes to the school. Others are upset to be forced into a meal plan at all.

Freshman German major Ethan Anderson, of Springfield, Illinois, is one of the students upset about the plan. He said the discount seems good but can be detrimental.

“It’s nice thinking you get a discount of course, but when you don’t actually get the discount, we have to pay all the extra money up front and take out extra loans and that’s not really a good thing,” Anderson said.

On the other side, freshman undeclared major Andrew Sorenson, of Springfield, Illinois, said he appreciates the plan for its convenience.

“I like having it,” Sorenson said. “I mean, obviously I’m going to have to pay all the money back eventually anyways, but it’s nice getting to come here and get good food for what is essentially cheaper than I normally would without the meal plan.”

Freshman elementary education major Nicole Obert, of Quincy, Illinois, also appreciates the plan. She said any flaws don’t bother her.

“I think it’s fine. It’s just like when you’re getting it you don’t even think about it. You just see that nice discount,” Obert said.

Students who want to learn more about Dining Services can check out their website.

The south entrance of Founders Hall remains closed as construction continues. | Mackenzie Smith / The Alestle

“With everyone out of the building, all the heating can be pulled out all at the same time as the mechanicals, structural retrofits,” Holan said.

Holan went on to explain that it was hard to give an estimate as the time will largely depend on funding.

This is a large project that will take a lot of time, which will cause a lot of inconvenience for occupants of these buildings, which is why Walker wants to show his appreciation for all those affected by this.

“I always like to say ‘thank you’ to the people who are in the building who have to live with these conditions day by day because construction is inconvenient.

There’s no question about it. So I appre-

ciate everyone being patient as we do this work” Walker said.

Walker also said the end result will be worth the struggles they have to deal with for the time being.

“When it’s done we’re gonna have a building that’s going to operate more efficiently, it’s going to be more comfortable to work in and study in and that will last us another 50 years,” Walker said. “That’s what this program is all about.”

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to serve more patients and give the school’s students experience in more areas of dental medicine.

With new system president Daniel Mahony officially stepping into the position on March 1, Mahony has established seven working groups to help him with the transition. According to SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook, both campuses are represented in each working group.

“He charged them just in the last week or two, the process is getting started, so he’s phoned in with them [and] conferenced called,” Pembrook said. “There’s cochairs, so there’s representation from both campuses, and on average about three or four committee members from each campus.”

Working groups focus on a variety of topics, including enrollment and community partnerships, and report their findings to Mahony.

“One of the things I found very interesting and I appreciated is that rather than having each group start from square one, he asked for what he called reading materials, which is what have the campuses done in all of those areas,” Pembrook said.

A search is also currently underway to fill the position of SIU-system Vice President for Academic Affairs. The screening committee will be chaired by Jim Allen, who currently fills the position. The position is also being given a new name — the Vice President for Academic Innovation, Planning and Partnerships.

The next Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Thursday, April 30 on the Carbondale campus. The Board can be contacted by emailing Executive Secretary of the Board Misty Whittington at mistyw@ siu.edu.

Mark Poepsel, Faculty Association president and professor in the Department of Mass Communications, spoke at both meetings and made a similar argument to Archer’s. According to Poepsel, the board should reconsider the current funding allocation and allocate all new state funds to SIUE in the meantime.

“Our students, in an essence, are subsidizing the status quo at Carbondale, and we believe at the SIUE campus that this should end now,” Poepsel said on Thursday.

“As long as Carbondale receives nearly a two-to-one split of state funding, we at Edwardsville would argue that we should have all new monies from the state earmarked to help our campus survive and thrive.”

Members of the board did not respond publicly to comments made by the SIUE faculty and staff members. However, in a press conference following Thursday’s meeting, Vice Chair Ed Hightower said splitting the system or giving all new funding to SIUE were not options being considered.

“We said up front coming back on the board that this is going to be a system process,” Hightower said. “The notion that there’s going to be a split of the two campuses is not something that we’re interested in or entertaining, and we made that very clear coming back on this trustee board. We said that we were going to be transparent and there was going to be a fairness about how we do business.”

At Thursday’s meeting, the board approved contracts totaling more than $7.4 million dollars toward the School of Dental Medicine’s Advanced Care Clinic on the Alton campus.

The new clinic will provide a wider range of services for patients, especially children being treated at the clinic. Most notably, the new clinic will provide general anesthesia capabilities, allowing the clinic

DAMIAN MORRIS 650-3527 @damian_alestle dmorris@alestlelive.com

JENNIFER GOECKNER 650-3527 @jgoeck_alestle jgoeckner@alestlelive.com

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Former director of Women’s Studies explores issue of trans treatment in healthcare Students got personal experience with the narratives of transgender people in the healthcare system at the “Silent No More” event on Feb. 4.

The event was a result of the Trans Health Ethics Project, a research project by former director of women’s studies Alison Reiheld. Reiheld interviewed transgender people in the St. Louis area about their experiences. Her goals were to identify common issues trans people have with the system and to help healthcare providers better understand how to treat them.

The event was held in a gender and education class in which doors were open to all who wanted to attend. Reiheld and one of her URCA assistants, first-year sociology graduate student Breanne Burton, of Aviston, Illinois, read the transcriptions of those who didn’t want their audio used, while other recorded interviews were played through speakers.

According to Reiheld, transgender people will often be turned away because healthcare providers treat them disrespectfully or don’t know how to treat them at all. Reiheld said this has affected many trans peoples’ trust in the system.

“About 20 percent of trans folks report that they have delayed going to get preventive care because they are afraid they will be treated badly,” Reiheld said.

Reiheld said these numbers are the same for trans people who need to go to the emergency room.

Another URCA assistant for Reiheld and a trans student himself, senior integrative studies major Ren Czachor, of Chicago, said the issues discussed in the event are very real.

“Literally every trans person I have ever talked to has had problems with the healthcare system. I have had my own problems. I have had friends who have had problems. It is a pervasive issue,” Czachor said.

Burton said she hoped students

walked away from the event with an understanding of how frustrating the medical system can be for trans people.

“They need to be aware of things like an intake form, you know? Male, female, other. What message are we sending when you don’t identify as male or female? If you put the box as ‘other,’ that’s such an ‘othering’ experience,” Burton said.

Since the end of 2019, gender reassignment therapy and surgery has been covered under Illinois Medicaid for those over the age of 21 diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

Reiheld noted that support like this is important because transgender people without social supports are more likely to attempt suicide, and ease of access to things like gender reassignment brings these suicide rates down.

Czachor said that while the changes are good, there have been issues with who gets treated and the availability of treatment in southern Illinois.

“It’s definitely a step in the right direction, I’ve heard of a lot of people having trouble accessing the care even though it’s supposed to be covered … the other issue is that — especially in this area — there’s not as many surgeons or healthcare providers on this side of the river,” Czachor said.

Reiheld wants to see better medical education on how to treat trans people, but she acknowledges schools are already struggling to fit subjects into their curriculums.

She suggested trans patients be incorporated into ethics across the curriculum, a program that brings complicated ethics cases to medical courses in order to better prepare healthcare providers for situations like this.

In the future, Reiheld wants to expand to Indianapolis and interview trans patients who have had better experiences with the healthcare system. She also said she would like to interview healthcare providers to get their perspectives.

Students can learn more about the women’s studies program at their website.

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dollar amounts, and some approval processes, so it’s going to happen, but we’re going to wait until that’s all done,” Wobbe said.

Although the changes are tentative, Wobbe had some blueprints of the possible renovations prepared. Since the final decisions are still being made, these blueprints may somewhat change.

“In due time, we’ll get it all inked,” Wobbe said.

Some students are very excited at the possibilities opened up by these changes.

Sophomore mass communications major Jacob Whitener, of Collinsville, Illinois, was very happy to hear about these renovations.

“I would really like those improvements, especially the Cinnabon, for early in the morning,” Whitener said.

“I’m just interested in any changes or new food that the MUC has to offer,” Whitener said.

However, not everyone agrees with Whitener. Sophomore elementary education major Zilvia Montez, of St. Louis, said she would rather see funds being allocated to bring healthier foods to campus.

“I just wish we had a better selection of food that’s healthier,” Montez said.

Although the current additions may not seem healthy, there are plenty more changes on the way. Currently, Wobbe says the earliest date for the changes to Chick-fil-A and Auntie Anne’s is summer of 2021.

President Madalynn McKenzie, of Alton, Illinois scanned student IDs at the door.

“We want to keep it only for SIUE students so they have a chance to talk to [Zimbardo],” McKenzie said.

While there was an emphasis on the Stanford Prison Experiment and several questions about the study during the Q&A, Zimbardo also detailed his studies on time perspectives, shyness and the Heroic Imagination Project among other endeavors. Zimbardo was responsible for founding the Shyness Clinic at Stanford University, which was founded in the late 1970s.

During the Q&A interview, Zimbardo warmly opened up about his personal life and experiences, tying them to the beginning of his love for psychology. Since his senior year of high school, Zimbardo has released over 600 articles and books.

Zimbardo informed those who attended the event that he still kept in touch with a number of prisoners and guards who participated in the Stanford Prison Experiment.

The Zimbardo Q&A event left some students, including senior psychology major Natalie Lyon, of O’Fallon, Illinois, with a new perspective on the famed psychologist.

“I thought it was a really fun opportunity,” Natalie said. “I have more respect for him now after hearing him in person, rather than reading a textbook.”

JOHN MCGOWAN reporter

02.05.20

02.11.20

At Woodland Hall, an officer took a report of a domestic battery that had occurred on Feb. 3. Neither party wanted to file charges.

An officer responded to a hit and run accident in the Evergreen Hall parking lot. There was minor damage and the victim did not want to fill charges.

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Michael Ingram, Jr. was arrested for an active warrant for failure to appear and disregarding a stop sign. Ingram was transported to the SIUE Police Department during a call for assistance by Edwardsville Police. He was processed and released after posting bond.

An officer responded to a report of a suspicious item in an apartment on the 400-side of Cougar Village. The officer said that a toy gun was located.

02.09.20 Roderick Demmings was arrested for driving while intoxicated. Demmings was transported to the SIUE Police Department where he was fingerprinted, photographed, processed and released after posting bond and forfeiting his driver’s license.

02.10.20 In Cougar Village, an officer took a report of a student receiving a suspicious text message regarding picking up a friend. The officer contacted the friend, who said they never sent the message.

At Prairie Hall, an officer took a report of a student overhearing a suspicious conversation while walking in the third floor hallway. The officer reported being unable to locate the source.

At the Belleville Head Start Center, an officer took a report of a juvenile saying his teacher put him in a refrigerator.

The investigation continues.

Dmytro Baumann was arrested for theft. Baumann was fingerprinted, photographed, processed and released with a notice to appear.

02.14.20 At the Student Fitness Center, an officer took a report of a former employee having SIUE property. The investigation continues.

02.15.20 An intrusion alarm was triggered in Birger Hall. The responding officer reported that the alarm was set off by the janitorial crew because they had forgotten to silence the alarm.

02.16.20 An officer responded to an entry alarm at the Bluffview Head Start building. The officer found no sign of entry.

Famed psychologist Phillip Zimbardo answers questions from SIUE students and discusses his controversial Stanford Prison Experiment. Zimbardo Skyped members of the SIUE community on Tuesday, Feb. 18. | Emma Davis / The Alestle

Freshman undeclared student Patrick Lyon, of O’Fallon, Illinois, said he also gained a new perspective following the Q&A. “I thought I would be intimidated by him,” Patrick said. “But he was really cool. He has been doing this for over fifty years.”

Students interested in learning more about the Stanford Prison Experiment can visit the experiment’s official website

at www.prisonexp.org. Learn more about the Heroic Imagination Project at www. heroicimagination.org. Students interested in joining Psychology Club can visit the organization’s page on Get Involved.

ISOBEL ABBOTT-DETHROW 650-3527 @isobel_alestle iabbottdethrow@alestlelive.com

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contact the editor: lifestyles@alestlelive.com 650-3527 thursday, 02.20.20

Witches combat misconceptions and shed light on their practices and beliefs JORDYN NIMMER NICOLE BOYD lifestyles editor, copy editor Witchcraft, a long-stigmatized and misunderstood practice, is often subject to misconceptions.

Over the course of history, witchcraft has taken on many different meanings, dependent upon each individual time period and cultural framework.

Many witches have faced immense criticism — aside from the obvious injustices of the witch trials — as a result of the misconceptions about their beliefs.

The origin of witchcraft is largely unknown but can be traced back to many ancient civilizations.

While practices varied among different cultures, common among all witches was the usage of magick to achieve some form of change within a particular environment.

Ancient civilizations across the world practiced their own unique versions of witchcraft.

From Africa to Asia, practices and reactions to witchcraft vary.

Occult and transformative magick are practiced in many regions of Africa. Many female witches endured torment for centuries and still face criticism and punishment.

In Ghana, there are still witch camps open today, intended to house accused

women. Although the Ghanaian government has publicly acknowledged they intend to close the camps, they remain open.

While many people believe witches are no longer punished today, recent reports reveal their continued torment across the world.

In Kenya, a report showed 11 accused witches were burned in 2008. According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau, more than 2,500 people have been murdered in witch hunts in India from 20002016.

Children are particularly at risk for witchcraft accusations and abuse. In Malawi, the United Kingdom and several other countries, children accused of witchcraft or the possession of magickal abilities are susceptible to abandonment, physical and sexual abuse, violent exorcisms and murder.

Step children or mentally ill children are often targeted by these accusations due to their parents viewing them as inherently different or abnormal.

Anyone outside of the norm was subject to being accused of witchcraft. Aside from children, approximately 25 albino people have been murdered by witchdoctors in order to obtain their “magickal body parts” since 2007.

Aside from baseless accusations, the practical application and usage of witchcraft is widely misunderstood.

The origin of modern Western witchcraft is tied predominantly to European practices. One such practice is seidr magick and Norse shamanism, practiced among Vikings across Scandinavia for centuries.

Most ancient forms of witchcraft have since been modernized. Many contemporary neopaganists and witches pull inspiration for the craft from ancient practices, such as runes from seidr still being used today in various neopaganist religions.

Modern witches often use divination tools, such as runes, pendulums and tarot cards, in their craft.

For witches who perform rituals and spell casting, they might also incorporate wands, cauldrons, chalices, athames and candles as well. Many of these are used to create an ceremonial altar used for their rituals.

However, not every witch completes or participates in rituals. Some witches prefer to stick strictly to spell casting with herbs.

There are countless forms of witchcraft which include their own unique ceremonies and requirements.

One misconception about witchcraft is its religious affiliation — or lack thereof.

Witchcraft itself is a practice not a religion.

Witches can be of any faith system and are not strictly confined to paganism.

Additionally, witchcraft is not directly associated with devil worship. While some

Activism panel inspires students to create change ALEX AULTMAN reporter Activists from all areas of the local community were brought in to talk to the audience about different actions they can take to make a difference in the lives of others.

What would have been a typical class period for Women and Values students last Tuesday was transformed into a discussion on activism with members of the SIUE community.

The event was hosted by the Women’s Studies Department and showcased activists who operate on campus, local community and corporate policy levels. Each panelist spoke about the value of their work.

Destiny Green, a prevention educator at Safe Connections of East St. Louis, Illinois, hosts small groups at schools in the area.

“I think that I do healing work,” Green said. “I basically teach young people how to be in healthy relationships and how to foster safe environments for themselves and other people, whether it’s in their schools or in their communities.”

She said she did not have discussions like these when she was in school, which is a reason why young people do not know how to advocate for themselves.

“I think about myself and my peers … and I did not have informed discussions about what consent was, how to advocate for myself, what is sexual harassment, and as a result me and my peers, we harmed each other,” Green said. “So I think that this is like healing from intergenerational trauma.”

Mikaila Crawford, a senior economics and finance major from Jerseyville, Illinois,

is the founder and president of Students for Reproductive Rights. The organization does ballot initiatives and focuses on outreach to the campus community.

“It’s really about getting out into the community and informing the student population about what reproductive rights are because unless you’re in the healthcare field or in the women’s studies field, you really don’t get information on it except for what you hear in the media,” Crawford said.

Jaimie Hileman of Alton, Illinois, is the executive director of the Trans Education Service.

She works with corporations on educating their employees about LGBTQ+ issues and helping them introduce inclusive workplace policies.

“When I’m talking with potential clients with my educational consultancy, I tell them I have two policies: no whitewashing and no pinkwashing [the promotion of being LGBTQ+ friendly to downplay negative aspects of the company],” Hileman said. “No whitewashing is because I will be talking about race when I’m talking about the background and systemic institutional violence against gender-expansive and queer-identified folk. You can’t erase race from that.”

During this discussion about intersectionality, Students for Reproductive Rights’ name change was used as an example.

The organization’s name was originally Students for Women’s Choice.

“It wasn’t until I posted something on Facebook about the name … and I believe somebody commented on it and said ‘this really isn’t inclusive because there are some

Executive director of TES (Trans Educational Service LLC) Jaimie Hileman facilitates trans & LGBTQ cultural competency with education, policy development, conferences, workshops, public speaking and community meetings.

I Dominick Orainka / The Alestle

trans men who have reproductive rights as well,’” Crawford said. “That’s why we went ahead with the name change to Students for Reproductive Rights because we really wanted to be inclusive to all because it’s not just women’s reproductive rights, it’s all reproductive rights we’re talking about here.”

The participants talked about the different ways they practice self-care to recover from the difficult work they do. Some meditate and practice yoga, while others go to therapy to help them navigate life and heal from their own trauma.

Hileman brought up a different method of self-care in regard to activism.

“It’s important to stop and observe [success] and experience it for a bit, because it’s a way that as individuals who are

activists we can recharge our batteries,” Hileman said. “Celebrate success and realize that this might be a milestone, not a finish line, but it’s a milestone on the journey to the finish line.”

Women’s studies professor Alison Reiheld agreed that focusing on those successes is important because we still have work to do in educating the next generation.

“Human nature isn’t always oriented towards justice so we will always have to teach, at least the new generation, what justice is and how to make it real inside yourself as well as fight for it outside yourself,” Reiheld said.

To find out more about the Women’s Studies Department and future event, check their website.

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witches practice Satanism or Luciferianism, they are among a significant minority of total practitioners of magick.

It is estimated that only 100,000 Satanists exist worldwide, with a much smaller proportion of this number practicing witchcraft in accordance with their faith.

Further, Luciferianism faces its own misconceptions, as it is more focused on enlightenment than actual devil worship.

Another misconception about witchcraft is the assumption that one must practice witchcraft within a coven. While many covens exist, namely for Gardenarian and Alexandrian witches, both practitioners of a form of Wicca, witches are not mandated to practice as members of a coven.

One such coven popular in the metro east area is the Yarrow Coven.

The Yarrow Coven practices North American Eclectic Wicca. The coven was founded on Samhain 1989 as a St. Louis neighborhood coven, but has since grown to include members throughout Missouri and other states.

Yarrow’s website states, “We love to sing and chant. We love creating things. We love gathering together each sabbat and honoring the cycles of nature and giving and receiving blessings from the Lord and Lady. Most of all, we love the fellowship that we find in each other and also with the greater St. Louis Pagan community.”

The Yarrow Coven also celebrates the Autumn Equinox with the Mabon Festival.

The Mabon Festival consists of, “camping, workshops, rituals, children’s activities, swimming, music and merrymaking and overall, a good time to celebrate harvest home.”

Aside from covens, many modern witches and practitioners of magick choose to practice solitary witchcraft.

Libby Workman, a senior history and philosophy major from Normal, Illinois, practices solitary witchcraft and uses several tools to practice magick, such as tarot cards and palm reading.

“I used to think of myself as a wiccan …

[Now] I’m not a practicing wiccan. I don’t

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associate with religion, but I regularly do tarot readings,” Workman said. “I actively practice crystals, energy readings and I read palms to sort of help other people.”

Workman said the uses of these practices vary from person to person.

“A lot of it is secular, so for some people, tarot can relate to asking a deity, like what it is they need answers on. For some people, it’s just asking the cards, like for me I always talk about my cards like that, like ‘let me ask my cards what’s going on,’” Workman said.

page 5

and practices have always been interesting to me. It’s just a matter of finding things that work for me or I identify with.”

Workman says books are helpful tools for those looking to get started in such practices.

“There’s books. There’s starter kits now … so there’s a lot of places to start just by googling books about it,” Workman said.

Arianna Gatchell, a sophomore civil engineering major from Houston, is another SIUE student who practices magick.

Gatchell says that in her Wiccan practice, individuals may worship as many deities as they wish, but often choose a god and goddess that represent aspects of their identities.

“You can worship however many gods and goddesses you want, but generally it’s one god and one goddess, and they represent who you are,” Gatchell said. “They’re like the mother and the father.”

According to Gatchell, her practice is heavily rooted in nature.

“All of us recycle, try to do what we can for the earth. When we can, we volunteer. I’m an engineering student, so that’s not very much, but we all try to do what we can to try to save the earth in general, and then, it sounds tacky, but be one with the earth,” Gatchell said. “Also, in meditation, we have this thing called grounding, which is where you kind of imagine yourself as a tree, and at your tail bone you have roots growing into the ground itself. You really do become one with the earth type of thing.”

While witchcraft takes on many forms across cultures and has evolved tremendously since ancient times, the focus continues to be the same — harness magick and the forces of the universe to achieve a set goal.

Before feeding into the common misconceptions about witchcraft, seek out and engage with local witches to ask about their practices. The result might be surprisingly magickal.

“I’m actually a religious studies minor right now, so religion and practices have always been interesting to me. It’s just a matter of finding things that work for me or I identify with.

LIBBY WORKMAN

Senior history and philosophy major

Workman’s family allowed her to delve deeper into the alternative spiritual practices that work for her.

“My grandpa is actually a Methodist pastor, so I grew up in the Christian church, but my mom has always been very open about, you know ‘what’s the energy in this room like right now, Libby?’ and I’ll be like, ‘it’s not good energy, Mom,’ and then from there it had developed as a hobby,” Workman said. “I’m actually a religious studies minor right now, so religion

REVIEW: Photographers share their take on podcasts EMMA DAVIS DOMINICK ORANIKA photographers Podcasts are perhaps the newest form of entertainment — causing college students to split their time between music and hearing stories on their daily commutes. Here are top picks from two staffers — photographers Emma Davis and Dominick Oranika — that we think you should give a try.

“Slow Burn” “Slow Burn”, a Slate podcast narrated

by Leon Neyfakh, an American journalist, focuses on crucial events that took place during the last 100 years of American Politics.

“Slow Burn” has three seasons, each one focusing on a different event in history.

Seasons one and two of “Slow Burn” dive into the two largest presidential scandals of the 20th century: the Watergate scandal and the impeachment of Bill Clinton.

This podcast transports the listener back in time and recreates the feeling of what it was like to live during these times of political turmoil that are not so different from our current political climate.

For me, listening to this podcast has not only helped me form a more solid understanding of what impeachment is, it has given me some peace of mind about our current political situation.

I enjoyed seasons one and two of this podcast much more than season three, mainly because I found this podcast when

I was looking for podcasts about politics.

I think what sets this podcast apart from others is that they don’t present the obvious facts. In season two, the season about Bill Clinton’s impeachment, they have an interview with Linda Tripp, the woman who recorded her and Monica Lewinsky’s phone conversations and gave them to the FBI. Tripp has given very few interviews since the scandal and having her interview showed a side of the story that was not widely publicized.

After finishing the podcast I feel adequately informed and more knowledgeable about impeachment. You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Slate Plus, and on their website slate.com/ podcasts.

“This Is Love” “This Is Love”, a Radiotopia podcast hosted and co-created by Phoebe Judge, tells short stories about unexpected love.

This podcast is simple yet complex as it dives into the intricacies of love.

Each episode in this podcast is a different story. Most of the episodes do not feature stories about romantic love, as they challenge our societal misconceptions about love.

I listen to this podcast because it relaxes me, takes my mind off what is going on in the world, and makes me feel happy. It helped me realize all the love I had in my life, even the things that I love that don’t sound important to others.

I like this podcast because the episodes can be puzzling and reflect how love isn’t

always obvious.

Everyone feels love in their own way, and this podcast resembles that. This podcast brought out my thoughts and caused me to reflect on my own life.

I like to listen to it while walking to class or while I am outside, as this enhances the experience. You can listen to this podcast on all podcasting platforms, including their website thisislovepodcast. com .

“Jenna & Julien Podcast”

The “Jenna & Julien Podcast” is hands down my favorite podcast because it is made purely for entertainment. It is stress relieving and is guaranteed to make you laugh.

This podcast is perfect to listen to while you are driving or fighting rush-hour traffic. I listen to this podcast because it is as enjoyable as watching television. For me, listening to podcasts is a much better way to relax than being in front of a screen or reading a book. I have listened to all 262 episodes and I relisten to the ones I have forgotten about.

I love that this podcast is always different and always has a lot of variety. They play games, have philosophical talks, tell stories, take quizzes, have guests and do many other random things. Sometimes they stay up all night and podcast and sometimes they just talk about their dogs.

This podcast is also unique because not only can you listen to it but you can also watch it on YouTube if you want a visual. I feel like some people stay away

from this podcast because they aren’t familiar with the hosts, Jenna Marbles and Julien Solomita. However, watching their YouTube channels is not necessary to enjoy this podcast. Even if you don’t know the intimate details of their lives, they are still entertaining.

You can listen to their podcast on all podcast platforms as well as YouTube and on their website jennajulien.com.

“Criminal” Like “This is Love,” “Criminal” is an independent true crime podcast hosted by Phoebe Judge. It originally aired in January 2014, but I discovered it in fall 2017 on Spotify. Each episode is a story told by someone who is familiar with a specific criminal case — they may be a criminal, victim or anyone else somehow involved.

Similar to “This is Love” podcast by Phoebe Judge, each episode features a unique story.

“Criminal” has 133 episodes to date and I’ve listened to over a hundred. Judge’s voice is calming and something about the style of the podcast kept me listening. I would do homework and be immersed in the stories and visualize them. I found being able to just listen to a story without being distracted by the accompanying video was more natural, and wonder why I didn’t listen to podcasts before I found “Criminal.” Honestly, I cannot find one thing I don’t like about “Criminal,” except that I wish there were more episodes.

You can listen to Criminal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and more.

TUNE IN NEXT WEEK TO READ ABOUT SICKNESS AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS page 6

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Award shows should continue to celebrate diversity THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board

Letters may be submitted at The Alestle office: Morris University Center, Room 2022 e-mail at opinion@alestlelive.com

This year’s Oscars honored individuals and films from around the world but still lacked diversity in some important categories, pointing to more progress that needs to be made.

“Parasite” was the biggest winner of this year’s ceremony, taking home four awards, including best picture. This South Korean film about greed and class conflict made history by becoming the first foreign language film to ever win this award.

The film also took home awards for achievement in directing, best international film and original screenplay. While accepting the award for original screenplay, director and screenplay writer Bong Joon Ho recognized how much the film’s success has impacted not only those directly involved in creating it, but also the entire country of South Korea.

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Let us know! opinion@alestlelive.com Campus Box 1167 Edwardsville, IL. 62026-1167 Letters to the Editor Policy: The editors, staff and publishers of The Alestle believe in the free exchange of ideas, concerns and opinions and will publish as many letters as possible.

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“Writing a script is always such a lonely process,” Ho said during the televised event. “We never write to represent our countries, but this is very personal to South Korea.”

The film’s four Oscar wins show the ability of foreign films to succeed within the U.S. It also shows how prestigious film academies, and all moviegoers in general, have become more accepting of a wider variety of films in recent years, and this is a trend that should continue.

While “Parasite” was the most notable winner of the night, several other individuals and films were honored that show the academy’s increasing acceptance of diversity. Taika Waititi won the award for adapted screenplay for his work on “Jojo Rabbit.” Waititi is a descendant of the indigenous people of New Zealand, making him the first indigenous person to ever win an Oscar in that category.

When accepting the award, Waititi acknowledged his heritage and dedicated the Oscar to indigenous children around the world.

“I dedicate this to all the indigenous kids in the world who want to do art and dance and write stories,” Waititi said. “We are the original storytellers and we can make it here as well.”

Another notable winner at this year’s ceremony was “Hair Love,” which was named best animated short film. The short, created by Matthew Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver, tells the heartwarming and comical story of a father who is trying to do his daughter’s hair for the first time.

In his acceptance speech, Cherry spoke about the need for more representation in cartoons and acknowledged DeAndre Arnold, who was told he would have to cut his dreadlocks in order to walk at his high school graduation.

“I just want to say that ‘Hair

Love’ was done because we wanted to see more representation in animation. We wanted to normalize black hair,” Cherry said.

“There’s a very important issue that’s out there, it’s the Crown Act, and if we can help to get this passed in all 50 states it will help stories like DeAndre Arnold’s … stop to happen.”

Despite the diversity represented by these winners, this year’s nominations were still heavily criticized. Cynthia Erivo, nominated for her role in “Harriet,” was the only black actor to receive a nomination. The Oscars were also criticized for the lack of female directors in the achievement in directing category.

The lack of representation in these areas points to progress that still needs to be made to honor the achievements of people from all backgrounds. As viewers, we can promote this progress by watching and supporting a wider variety of films.

alestle asks Are voting apps a good idea?

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“I think that voter apps, if used and set up properly, would be beneficial, but after the issue with the Iowa caucus, you can definitely see that if not done correctly it can lead to a lot more problems than benefits, so I think that if we develop these ideas a little bit more, and we actually work more on it, I think it could be a very good thing.”

“I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable using an app to vote, especially with in the last general election, you know, with there being interference with voting and I think that another country was interfering. I feel like voting on apps would just leave more room for that to happen. I feel like that would just be easier to ... hack into. “

Freshman math major Trent Minder, of Springfield, Illinois

Freshman nursing major Stephanie Mullen, of Granite City, Illinois

“I think in theory it’s a good idea, because then it makes it more accessible to people who can’t travel to vote at specific places, but I feel like, while it makes it more accessible and gets rid of some issues, it creates a lot more because it’s kind of unreliable and also you don’t really know what you’re getting when you open an app. You don’t see the person actually voting so you don’t know what’s going on on the other side.”

Freshman mass communications major Aislinn Davis, of Troy, Illinois

“It depends on the software I’d say. I’ve heard of Blockchain, that sounds really effective.

I’d have to make sure it’s secure before I’d use it. Other than that, I mean, it seems like it’d be an effective way for people to vote. It’s a lot easier than going to polls. If you vote from your own house you’d probably get more turnout.”

Sophomore psychology major Travis Kunkel, of Shiloh, Illinois

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contact the editor: sports@alestlelive.com 650-3527 thursday, 02.20.20

READ NEXT WEEK: ALUMNI INDUCTED INTO ST. LOUIS SPORTS HALL OF FAME page 7

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Women’s Softball returns from Alcorn State Standings Tournament, finishes 4-0 MEN’S BASKETBALL

OVERALL OVC

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

SHANE WHEATLEY copy editor

Women’s softball won all four games at the Alcorn State Tournament over the weekend in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Softball kicked off the opening with two wins on Friday, beating Southern University 5-1, and then went on to beat Alcorn State 7-1. The team had a very strong start to the season, with senior pitcher Emily Ingles striking out eight batters in the first game, and redshirt senior infielder Zoe Schafer hitting a two-run home run early into the same game. Freshman pitcher Kennedy Lehn joined the field in the second game, making this her college debut with the Cougars.

Junior infielder Bailley Concatto said the team’s competitive spirit led them through the games.

“We’re competitive this year, so obviously that’s the mindset we’ve come to the games with: everybody competing and everybody playing their best,” Concatto said. “It was a really competitive group effort.”

Softball continued with a win on Saturday over Southern University 11-3 over 6 innings, and then Jackson State 9-0 over 5 innings. Ingles came back for the second day, striking out six and hitting her third no-hitter of her career. Junior infielder Alana Cobb-Adams scored her first home run of the season against Southern University.

Cobb-Adams is very proud

19-17 18-9 20-7 13-14 16-11 15 12-14 10-17 8-17 7-20 7-20 7-20

12-2 12-2 11-3 10-4 8-6 6-8 5-9 5-9 4-10 4-10 4-10 3-11

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL OVERALL OVC Southeast Missouri Belmont UT Martin Tennessee Tech Eastern Illinois Jacksonville State Austin Peay Murray State Morehead State Eastern Kentucky Tennessee State SIUE

20-5 17-8 16-9 17-8 15-10 11-14 15-10 12-13 9-17 10-15 3-21 3-22

WRESTLING

12-2 12-2 12-2 10-4 9-5 7-7 6-8 5-9 5-9 4-10 1-13 1-13

OVERALL MAC

EAST DIVISION Rider

11-3

7-1

Clarion

9-6

6-4

Old Dominion

Senior utility player Abby Marlow starts off the season with two wins against Southern University and Jackson State University.

I Mackenzie Smith / The Alestle

Edinboro

of how the team performed over the weekend, crediting the whole team.

“We came away 4-0 which is awesome,” Cobb-Adams said.

“We had really good defense, hitting and pitching. I think we all just performed how we wanted to.”

Sunday’s games were canceled due to rain, causing the Cougars to leave without finishing their last two games. Concat-

Bloomsburg

to said the team was very upset with being unable to see how they’d finish up the weekend.

“We were absolutely upset, because we wanted to stay and play and see it to the end,” Concatto said. “We took it really personal to not be able to play them.”

Head Coach Jessica Jones said it was rough to come back from not having played a game since before the break.

“I’m extremely proud of how everybody played. It can be tough going from a full winter of practice to your first weekend of games,” Jones said. “But we have a lot of talent, and we had contributions from the whole team.”

SIUE Women’s softball will continue their games in their next tournament this weekend, with the first game at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Lock Haven

George Mason

9-9

10-8 7-6 8-8 3-9

5-2 3-5 3-4 3-5 0-7

WEST DIVISION Missouri

17-11

Ohio

6-8

4-4

Northern Illinois

12-4

7-2

Central Michigan

7-4

7-2

Cleveland State

9-6

5-5

Buffalo

7-10

3-6

Kent State

6-12

2-7

SIUE

2-13

0-9

8-10

Cougar hockey reflects on season as it comes to a close NICOLE BOYD copy editor

The SIUE hockey team’s season came to an end with a loss in the semifinal round of the Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.

The Cougars won the first round of the Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs against University of Illinois with a score of 5-4 on Friday, Feb. 14 in Springfield, Illinois. On Saturday, they advanced to the semifinal round, when they ended the season with a loss to Illinois State of 5-7.

Senior goalie Caleb Currie ranked eleventh in MACHA standings with a goal against average of 4.39. Goalie Justin Nosser, a grad student, ranked twelfth with a GAA of 4.56.

The team, ranked third in the Gold division, headed into the playoffs on a twogame winning streak after sweeping Iowa State 4-0.

According to Luke Clevenger, media operator and broadcaster, the Cougars had played well leading up to the playoffs and were prepared for the intensity of the games, as MACHA playoffs are single-elimination.

“We secured up third place [in the division] but between those teams ahead of us, we had an okay track record. The goal is just to get as deep as we can so far. One bad game and you’re out, so it’s a pretty brutal playoff,” Clevenger said.

Nick Zellmer, the team’s defensive coach, said the team faced a unique challenge this season.

“We had a little unfortunate happenstance over winter break. Some of our guys were doing a Two-Plus-Two program at Lewis and Clark or SWIC, and unfortunately we learned those players are no longer eligible to play,” Zellmer said. “So right now we’re dealing with a significant drop in numbers.”

Zellmer said the players worked on new strategies to overcome the fact that many players couldn’t play.

“We’ve implemented a bit more of a conservative system to allow our guys to … hopefully conserve their energy over the course of the game and over the course of a weekend,” Zellmer said. “So we’ve kind of revitalized that.”

According to Zellmer, the team worked to improve their defense in several ways.

“There’s always room for improve-

ment. We were going over some pretty simple schematic stuff … we want our other defensemen to be a little more engaged, more ready … so we can turn it back up the ice in a hurry,” Zellmer said.

“Of course, there’s always room for improvement in just about every area of our game, but that was something we focused on specifically.”

Kain Henson, a fifth-year graduate student defenseman and team captain, said he has personally been working to improve specific skills for the playoffs.

“I personally have been focusing on my shot and shooting on the power play, but also just focusing on the mental side of the game — making sure everybody is dialed in, has the right mindset,” Henson said. “Everybody’s wanting to win … I want to make sure everybody’s on the same page here.”

According to Henson, the team improved this season by having more players step up to contribute when needed.

“Guys that were lower on the spectrum in the beginning of the year are really stepping up and bringing more to the table,” Henson said.

Although Henson is approaching an all-time points record by a Cougar defen-

Then-sophomore forward Blake Takmajian gets ready to receive the puck in one of last season’s games. / Photo Courtesy of SIUE Cougars Hockey/Ray Takmajian

seman, his record was not his main focus.

“It’s kind of in the back of my mind.

It’s not really something I’m thinking about often,” Henson said.

SIUE hockey will return in October of 2020.

page 8

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HOROSCOPES By: Jennifer Shepherd, The Lipstick Mystic

Monday, Feb. 17 - Sunday, Feb. 23

Aries: March 21 - April 19 Get grounded in your physical body. Mars is urging you not to live in your head too much. Hit the gym. Attend a yoga class.

Do something that forces you to focus on the material plane. This will clear your head and make it easier to make life decisions.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22 Don’t make promises you’re not prepared to keep. The moon is encouraging you to set boundaries if necessary. Don’t allow yourself to get drawn into an overly intense romantic relationship if you’re really not willing to be intimate with somebody right now.

Libra: Sept. 23 - Oct. 23 Don’t let other people influence decisions you are making in your personal life. You could be talking about a relationship with close friends or family members, and they might be offering advice that you feel pressured to follow. The moon says remain emotionally detached.

Capricorn: Dec. 22 - Jan.19 Try to connect with your spiritual life. A mystical sun is increasing your need to meditate, pray, or spend some time in solo contemplation. Write in your journal, do some serious thinking, and take a break from busy social engagements.

Taurus: April 20 - May 20 You’ll be attracted to two people at the same time as Venus creates a divided feeling. Maybe you are drawn to one person on a friendship level, and this person is super nice. At the same time, you could be involved with a more passionate situation with someone.

Leo: July 23 - Aug. 22 Mars is creating an emotionally divided feeling. One minute you’re in love, the next minute, you’re not so sure. This isn’t a great time to make a huge commitment. Allow those day to day changes of moods to settle down first.

Scorpio: Oct. 24 - Nov. 21 With a moon opposition creating some chaos, you’re busy managing multiple fronts in your personal and professional life.

Try to get plenty of rest and take breaks whenever you can. The craziness will soon settle down, so avoid panic.

Aquarius: Jan. 20 - Feb. 18 Share your positive energy with somebody who needs it. The moon is encouraging you to be generous. Your honey might be going through a rough time, and you should see if you can help him or her out. At the very least, cook a nice dinner or bring home a treat.

Gemini: May 21 - June 21 Try to be more empathetic and sensitive. The sun is urging you to pay attention to what is happening to people you love and care about. Don’t ignore your honey if he or she needs your help in some way. And be on the lookout for emotional outbursts at work.

Virgo: Aug. 23 - Sept. 22 It’s not just in your head. Things are a little weird right now, thanks to four different planets being opposite your sign. You could be questioning everything you’ve done for years, wondering if you are on the right path.

Take a deep breath and relax.

Sagittarius: Nov. 22 - Dec. 21 You might feel that your romantic partner or family members are being too demanding at the moment. A moon square is creating a heavy feeling. Try not to blame anybody for anything, especially if you’re tired or in a bad mood.

Pisces: Feb. 19 - March 20 A friendly sun is boosting your energy. You’ll find it easier to meet people and to date attractive strangers. At work, you’ll be confident at networking events, conferences and meetings. Expect some positive results.

Jennifer Shepherd, the Lipstick Mystic®, is an astrologer and syndicated columnist with over 2 million readers. For mystical fun and psychic insights visit www.lipstickmystic.com.