The Alestle Vol.73 No. 21 by The Alestle

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FORMER SIUE ATHLETES INDUCTED TO STL HALL OF FAME page 7 vol. 73 no. 21

The Student Voice Since 1960

FIXINS’ TO CLOSE NEXT FRIDAY DUE TO STAFFING SHORTAGES ELIZABETH DONALD copy editor

Springfield Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan begins speaking to the crowd about why she decided to enter the political game at the “Knock Down the House” showing. The candidates featured in the film mirrored Londrigan’s own experiences, which Londrigan explained while addressing the crowd. | Morgan Jackson / The Alestle

Congressional candidate visits campus to promote student involvement in politics JOHN MCGOWAN reporter

Congressional candidate Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, a Democrat from Springfield, discussed the importance of student voting following a screening of the documentary “Knock Down the House” in the Meridian Ballroom Tuesday. Londrigan is running a similar campaign to some politicians featured in the documentary. Like Amy Vilela, a candidate from the film who ran for one of Nevada’s congressional seats in 2018, Londrigan was prompted to start her campaign after receiving enormous medical bills when her child was sick. Londrigan is on her second campaign now, after losing to Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., by one percent in 2018. The event was co-sponsored by SIUE’s Department of Applied Health, for its message of

fighting to change the healthcare system in particular. The documentary highlights the importance of all Americans involving themselves in politics, no matter how insignificant they may feel against the establishment. Londrigan echoed the messages of the film when she came out to speak, forgoing the podium to address the crowd up close. She said people involved in politics should only be defined by their values. “If you believe that you deserve a place in that race that is your qualification,” Londrigan said. “If you are working for it, if you are doing what needs to be done, you are qualified to be there. Do not ever – anybody – let somebody look at you and look at your resume and let that define who you are.” The women featured in the documentary were all up against

well-established politicians who had held public office continuously for years. Londrigan said she faced similar issues as them by not being taken seriously when she first stepped into politics. “In the beginning, people are skeptical if you stand a chance of winning. So, making sure that you know why you’re in the race, who you’re fighting for and believing in yourself is really important,” Londrigan said. The event organizers wanted it to be nonpartisan, or politically neutral, so Londrigan spoke more about the importance of being involved in politics in general rather than focusing on her policies. Event organizer and public health professor Nicole Klein said the message was about voting regardless of which side students are on. “We don’t care how they vote,” Klein said. “We just want people to be voting, to be involved in the political process and

to be good citizens.” After Londrigan left, a representative from the League of Women Voters spoke about ways to get registered to vote in the Illinois primaries and how to be informed in politics. Senior criminal justice major Cody Cooper, of Otterville, Illinois, said he is still deciding his political opinions and who he’s going to vote for, so the event resonated with him. “I believe that it’s important … because it helps students in the college population become more informed about the importance of their vote in the political system as well as the importance of the political system in itself,” Cooper said. Students interested in learning more about politics and their choices can contact the college democrats and republicans of SIUE through their Get Involved pages.

Fixins’ will close for the rest of the semester, which university leaders say is due to a significant shortage of workers. Dining Services announced Monday the restaurant on the second floor of Morris University Center will be closing on March 6 and will not reopen this spring. Dining Services Director Dennis Wobbe said due to a combination of open positions, recent and upcoming retirements and individuals approved for family medical leave, Dining Services has a 35 percent shortage in its staffing. “While we are continually hiring to fill open positions, the competition from both food service and non-food service competitors in the area has made recruitment for open positions extremely difficult, regardless of both traditional and enhanced advertising initiatives,” Wobbe said. Wobbe said no matter how many positions they might have open, they must follow state and university hiring guidelines in filling positions, which takes time. “Closing Fixins’ will allow us to shift Fixins’ staff to our busier locations where we are experiencing shortages,” Wobbe said. The announcement was immediately met with distress from faculty and students. “Fixins’ is a great place for groups to meet in an informal setting to share a meal in an academic context,” psychology professor Jonathan Pettibone said. “I use it frequently to take my lab out at the end of semesters, and we take our job candidates there for lunches with students.” English Professor Charles Berger said Fixins’ fills an important role on the campus. “It’s a place where students, faculty, staff, administrators, guests, etc. mingle in FIXINS on page 3

Health Service website confusion leaves students without care NICOLE BOYD copy editor

Until recently, the Health Service staff were unaware their website mistakenly says there are no available appointments. Students who tried to schedule appointments online may have been unable to do so, as the website claims there are no available appointments through the end of the semester. This is incorrect, according to Health Service staff. Students are still able to schedule appointments via phone

call or by going into the Health Service office, which is located on the lower level of the Student Success Center. Freshman art major Mackenna Mortensen, from Marengo, Illinois, is one student who unsuccessfully tried to make an appointment online. “You say specifically what your problem is and what you’re trying to see, but then when you go to book the appointment, it’s full … that’s not the case,” Mortensen said. Mortensen said she prefers

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to schedule appointments online because she doesn’t feel comfortable making phone calls. “I don’t like calling people because that makes me kind of anxious, and then I’m like ‘oh, if they don’t answer the phone I have to go in person,’ so it just makes it less likely for someone to go in and get the care they need,” Mortensen said. Mortensen believes the misinformation on the website may deter some students from seeking the healthcare they need. “If people are anxious

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enough to where they don’t want to deal with their issues, with their health, one-on-one with a person, they would rather do it online. Then that online option is not available to them and they probably won’t get the help they need,” Mortensen said. Riane Greenwalt, director of Health Service, says that students can always call to make appointments. “[The website] tells you, if you can’t find one [appointment] in your specified range, you just call the office,” Greenwalt said.

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When approached for comment, Greenwalt was unaware of the technical difficulties. According to Greenwalt, students had not voiced concerns about the scheduling information on the website as of the day she was approached. “We really haven’t had anyone call us to tell us that they tried online and it didn’t work. Now I don’t know, we might have taken some offline because it’s not uncommon that someone will schedule an appointment and

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Vegetarians face few options, cross-contamination when eating at Dining Services GABRIEL BRADY reporter

As Dining Services prepares for renovations in the coming years, some students are curious about the lack of vegetarian options, and want to push for more. Freshman environmental sciences major Raina Schlueter, of Alton, Illinois, is a vegetarian and feels as though Dining Services does a good job with meat-free foods, but there is still room for improvement. “I would say there’s more than enough breakfast options, but as far as dinner options, there’s not as many,” Schlueter said. Schlueter also mentioned that most of the food labeled “vegetarian” is just food that has no meat, or food that she can tell was prepared with meat. Freshman undeclared major Emmylou Pruitt, of Alton, Illinois, is vegetarian as well, although she admitted she doesn’t stick to it as strictly as some do, so she has an easier job of finding food that works for her. “I’m mainly vegetarian, but I make exceptions occasionally, like eating fish, probably about once a month, so I’m technically pescatarian,” Pruitt said. “And because of that, I can usually find something that’s good.” Pruitt and Schlueter also raised concerns about cross-contamination, which is when vegetarian foods are prepared with the same kitchenware as non-vegetarian foods, leading to the food no longer being completely vegetarian. For example, a food worker might use a knife to cut meat,

and then use the same knife to chop vegetables. “If there was a vegetarian burger alternative at Boss Burgers, that might be tricky because of the grill, because they’re already grilling meat on there,” Schleuter said. Although Pruitt is not as strict about her vegetarian diet, she could see how the problem might be worrying for some. “It’s not a big deal for me personally, but I know other people who would be very upset if there was meat accidentally in their food, like people who are vegetarian for dietary reasons,” Pruitt said. Director of Dining Services Dennis Wobbe said cross-contamination is one of the reasons there may not be as many vegetarian options as some students want. “Actually, contamination is the main reason that we don’t have a veggie burger at Boss Burgers now,” Wobbe said. “The french fries there are safe as a vegan option, though they did not used to be.” Wobbe said that Dining Services also takes precaution when dealing with certain food allergies. “Although some of our foods are made without gluten, we don’t label them as gluten-free because someone with a severe sensitivity might react to it due to cross-contamination,” Wobbe said. Wobbe also said there are many changes coming to Dining Services in the future, and they will involve some new vegetarian options, such as a section meant specifically for vegetarian and gluten-free foods to control cross-contamination better. “People love the idea of a salad bar

Black and Blue panel brings discussions of racial tension with police front and center MORGAN JACKSON photographer

The Black and Blue panel held on Wednesday, Feb. 19, provided an engaging and thought-provoking discussion on police relations with the African-American community. The focus of the panel was how the black community interacts with police officers and how that relationship could be improved. The panel was hosted by the Department of Political Science in the Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion. The discussion began with moderator Timothy Lewis, a political science professor, asking if any of the panelists feel fear during interactions with police officers. The general consensus was that while the panelists did not always feel fearful of police interactions, they described themselves as “tense” or “alert.” “I’ve never actually had an interaction [with police], so this tenseness that I have stems from stories of other black individuals having interactions, and I didn’t grow up in the United States,” senior political science student Hayley Smith said. “I grew up in the Bahamas, so I have more of an Afro-Caribbean sense of justice ... and in the Bahamas most police are black … So my whole thing of seeing racial interactions with police officers just surprises me in some aspects, and so I think that’s where a lot of my fear stems from.” After answering a series of prepared questions, the panel allowed about thirty minutes of questions from the audience. Three audience members chose to ask questions. The first question was by Telisha Reinhardt from the Office of the Registrar, who challenged the idea that simply changing laws would fix the problems faced by African Americans. St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, one of the panelists, responded to Reinhardt’s comments. “Right or wrong, good or bad, this system isn’t going away,” Bell said. “We can work on improving the system we have.”

A question was also asked by senior sociology major Romeo Spells, of Belleville, Illinois, regarding people’s ability to educate themselves on how to interact with the police. “Several of you also talked about the need for educating oneself [on interacting with police],” Spells said. “On this I’m a bit more contentious just because educating oneself implies that at a certain level you’re going to have the ability to do that … your disposition on your ability to educate yourself is largely based on how you were raised.” Panelist Joslyn Sandifer, a local attorney, responded to Spells’ comments. “I suggest you’ve gotta educate yourselves because you’re here, and apparently you can read, again, because you’re here … my comments with regards to educating yourself really are to the people who I believe have the access and ability to do so, with a grain of understanding that everyone is not in the perfect position to do so,” attorney Joslyn Sandifer said. “That’s why I do what I do, clients come in and they’re crying … I take the time to educate them in that moment.” Lewis said the event had more attendees than anticipated, partially because of sociology and political science classes that were asked to attend the panel by their professors. “We were expecting around forty people and we got around eighty,” Lewis said. Following the panel, Lewis said what he would change if the panel were to be held again. “I would have it in a bigger space, definitely, and I would actually invite the police department which actually something I didn’t do this year, but I would send out official invites to police departments to have people from the department to come and hear what people, from all professional institutions and citizens, what they are saying that needs to be addressed.” For more information about the event, students can contact Timothy Lewis at timlewi@siue.edu.

Burgers are prepared on the grill at Boss Burgers in Center Court. Boss Burgers does not currently offer a vegetarian option. | Morgan Jackson / The Alestle

section, but we’d rather get away from some of the buffets and instead have an attendant making and prepping salads because we can stop contamination from other customers,” Wobbe said. Although she was excited for these changes, Schlueter had some ideas for how to address the issues vegetarians currently face at SIUE. One of Schlueter’s solutions is for dining workers to receive training on how to handle vegetarian foods. “They could probably do more, like maybe a night where all the employees

are told how to handle vegetarian options safely and prevent contaminating it,” Schlueter said. For more information or any questions about dining options at SIUE, contact the Director of Dining Services Dennis Wobbe at dwobbe@siue.edu. GABRIEL BRADY 650-3527 @Gbrady_alestle gbrady@alestlelive.com

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maybe they needed one sooner and they don’t call our office,” Greenwalt said. “So when we see that, we’ll call them and say ‘Oh, there’s a lot of today’s appointments that aren’t available online.’ But if you wanted to make an appointment next week, they’re normally there.” Matt Wheeler, office support associate, typically sees students making appointments either through a phone call or in-person. “They make their appointments through me, through the phone or faceto-face … normally the people we see, they’re using us to make the appointments,” Wheeler said. However, Wheeler said he has been aware of previous potential technical difficulties. “Not recently, I’ve heard it before. A lot of times, what people say is that ‘I tried making an appointment but I was having trouble, I was having trouble finding a date,’ or something like that. It may be that they’re looking for a very specific time … and it’s not being offered on the website for whatever reason,” Wheeler said. “Maybe it was already taken at that time, something like that.” Greenwalt also said appointments with certain healthcare providers can’t be scheduled online, even without technical difficulties. “There are some appointments we don’t offer online. You can’t come to counseling and do an online appointment, and the psychiatrist isn’t available online,” Greenwalt said. While Health Service intends to treat acute healthcare issues, students may be referred to a primary care physician if they need one. “If you need a primary care provider to follow you, say we found out you have a thyroid issue, we would then send you to an endocrinologist or primary care physician. Students can come and see a provider, get labs and see a pharmacy all in one space,” Greenwalt said. To reach Health Service, students can call (618) 650-2842.

02.18.20 An officer responded to a report of a woman almost being hit by a vehicle while walking in a crosswalk. The man driving the vehicle turned around and made a threatening comment to the woman in Parking Lot F.

02.19.20 An officer took a report of a cell phone, ID and Cougar Card being stolen at Dunham Hall. In Parking Lot 12, an officer responded to a report of a vehicle possibly being keyed.

02.20.20 SIUE Police received a report of an older man walking into buildings on the 500 side of Cougar Village. The responding officer made contact with the man, who said he was trying to find a friend’s apartment.

02.21.20 A fire alarm was activated in Bluff Hall due to cooking. While there was no fire, a lot of smoke was reported. Edwardsville Fire Department responded and cleared the scene before advising residents they could reenter the building.

02.23.20 An officer messaged an individual who created a post on Facebook trying to sell a university parking hang tag. The officer informed the individual it was illegal to sell an SIUE parking hang tag, and the post was taken down.

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Student organizations and faculty urge students The Alestle brings home to make their voices heard this election top award, 14 others from gagement at his recent Q&A ses- an expert, that is what democraALEX AULTMAN state college media convention sion. Pembrook expressed inter- cy is really about,” Wilson said. reporter In preparation for the primary elections, multiple student organizations have been registering students to vote. Faculty members have also been calling on administration to encourage voter turnout. Only about one-third of SIUE students voted in the 2018 midterm election, according to an SIUE press release. The College Democrats and Student Social Work Association have been registering students to vote ahead of the primaries. Senior social work major Emma Bowen, of Pinckneyville, Illinois, was registering students to vote and signing them up for primary and general election reminders on behalf of the Student Social Work Association. “There is a movement in the social work field right now going on that ‘voting is social work and social work is voting,’” Bowen said. “It’s just very important to us that everyone is represented because historically the right to vote was such a tumultuous thing to get. So we want to help people be able to vote and be registered as soon as possible in a way that is convenient to them.” Student organizations aren’t the only ones worried about whether students will be using their right to vote this year. Jacob Wilson, a faculty research fellow, asked Chancellor Randy Pembrook how his office will be handling nonpartisan election enFIXINS I COVER

a friendly atmosphere,” Berger said. “The views are great, as opposed to the downstairs dining hall. But they’re just different venues and it’s absurd to close one down in the middle of the semester. This decision smacks of an emergency of some sort — otherwise it makes no sense.” Professors aren’t the only ones concerned about the closure. Hope Krisko is a freshman from Hannibal, Missouri and a double major in French and anthropology. She is one of the student workers at Fixins’, and said while she can’t speak for every employee, the workers she knows are not happy about their upcoming transfer. “I’m really sad about it,” Krisko said. “Working at Fixins’ is a job I really like. I like going there. Our supervisor is wonderful and so helpful for everything … we’re like a little family.” Krisko said the student workers were asked where they would want to be transferred, but many don’t know yet where they will go. Business Administration Professor Robyn Berkley expressed her disappointment, as she is planning a student conference soon and had planned to use Fixins’ for food service. She said she believes SIUE needs a restaurant with sit-down service

est in holding events to promote political discussion. Wilson is now planning a Shamrock the Vote event with the university, which was named because the primary falls on St. Patrick’s Day, as a way of turning the election into a community celebration and promoting voter turnout. “I’m excited about the chancellor’s willingness and interest in empowering students to vote this November and beyond,” Wilson said. “I look forward to working with the chancellor’s office as well as faculty, staff, and administrators across campus to develop an action plan that will help us register, educate and empower students to turn out to vote and make sure their voices are heard.” According to students and faculty alike, a common deterrent for student voters is feeling like they do not have enough knowledge about political issues. Laurie Rice, a political science professor, agrees. “A lot of young adults express not knowing where to go to get good, unbiased information,” Rice said. “So, they’re skeptical about lots of information sources and because they’re relatively new to the political process they want to be well-informed, they’re just uncertain of how to do that.” Wilson believes that students should exercise their rights to vote despite that feeling. “A message I want to send to students is that it’s OK to not be

as opposed to a noisy cafeteria like Center Court. “I would not bring a job candidate down there, nor would I want to have more collaborative meetings with my colleagues in that location,” Berkley said. “I am adamantly against closing Fixins’. We need a better solution.” At the most recent Student Government meeting Jeffrey Waple, vice chancellor for student affairs, said it’s also not so simple to just hire new workers. A large portion of Dining Services is laid off every May for the summer and then rehired in the fall, so hiring a lot of workers in March and then laying them off in May is problematic, he said. At the moment, SIUE has listed civil service positions available for “culinary worker II,” a full-time day shift position requiring six months’ experience and offering a salary of $13.25 per hour plus benefits. There are also open recruitment listings for food service cashiers, also listed at $13.25 per hour full-time and part-time, food service sanitation laborers for $13 per hour fulltime and snack bar attendants for $11 per hour full-time. That does not include the student jobs listed on the university’s student employment system at the minimum wage, which increased to $9.25 per hour on Jan. 1.

“It’s about learning. It’s about talking to one another. It’s about disagreeing but doing it in such a way that each party walks away having a better understanding for the other’s point of view and where they’re coming from.” For many students, this will be their first presidential election they are old enough to participate in. However, students have many responsibilities that may make it more difficult to find the time to cast a ballot. “I think that when we think about student voting, we really have to keep in mind that students have extra responsibilities and burdens on their plate in terms of their time commitment for studying and going to class and also being involved on campus and oftentimes working at least part time to pay to go to school,” Wilson said. “Fortunately, for SIUE students who live in Illinois, the laws for voter registration are a lot better for everyone, particularly students, and there is an option for same-day voter registration.” In Illinois, the primary election is March 17. Online registration will remain open until Feb. 29. Select locations will offer same-day voter registration. Early voting for the primaries begins March 2. ALEX AULTMAN 650-3527 @Alex_Alestle aaultman@alestlelive.com

The Alestle won 15 awards at the recent Illinois College Press Association’s Convention and Awards in Chicago, including second place in the General Excellence category in their division. The division The Alestle competes in is the most competitive in the annual ICPA awards, with almost half of the total member publications competing. “I appreciate that our hard work was recognized in this way. Getting second in general excellence was the highlight of the whole convention and my Alestle career so far,” Alestle Editor-in-Chief Madison Lammert said. They also won 14 other awards, mostly in design and photography categories. The Alestle staff was recognized for its work in headline writing and feature page design, taking first place in the division of non-dailies with school enrollment over 4,000. Of particular note was Online Editor/Opinion Editor Jordyn Nimmer’s first place win for editorial cartoon in the open division in which all schools, regardless of size, compete. The staff won third place in the sports page design category. Former Alestle staffers Spencer Peck, Bre Booker and Jakob Ruffner won third place in the spot news photo, sports photo and feature photo categories, respectively. The staff as a whole and

several individual staffers won honorable mentions. The staff was recognized for its work in in-depth reporting and entertainment supplement. Current Multimedia Editor Mackenzie Smith was recognized for her work in feature photo. Former staffers JoAnn Weaver and Hannah Miller were recognized for their design work in the graphic illustration and sports page design categories, respectively. Former staffers Bre Booker and Spencer Peck were also recognized for their work in sports game coverage and general news photo, respectively. “I’m so proud of our staff. We have had a hard year of serious staff shortages. The fact that we are back in the general excellence category shows how hard The Alestle staff works,” Alestle Program Director Tammy Merrett said. The Alestle competed with 33 Illinois colleges and universities in 12 open categories. Additionally, The Alestle competed in 21 categories against 15 non-daily student newspapers on campuses with more than 4,000 students including Columbia College in Chicago, Loyola University, Northern Illinois University, DePaul University, Illinois State University and others. Almost 1,000 entries in the competition were judged for excellence by working journalists across the country.

Fixins’ is packed in the final weeks before spring break as students and faculty come to enjoy another meal there before it closes. | Morgan Jackson / The Alestle

For comparison, food service listings in the Edwardsville area range from minimum wage for McAlister’s Deli and fast food to $10.13 per hour for school cafeteria workers. Wendy’s offers starting pay of $9.50 per hour, while dishwashers at Peel are listed at $9-12 per hour and line cooks at Cleveland Heath earn $11-13 per hour. In addition, Waple said Fixins’ is not a profitable enterprise for the university. “I think this is a bit that many people — faculty, staff and

students — may not understand: Fixins’ as it is right now is our biggest loser,” Waple said. “We lose money annually on that operation because it’s heavy labor and it’s hard to determine who’s eating the buffet [and] how much food they have to prepare.” Waple said he hopes the closure is temporary, and the goal is to reopen the restaurant in the fall. However, he said, the university will face budget challenges in the next fiscal year, including the next minimum wage hike in January 2021 to $11 an hour. That

will increase Dining Services’ costs by $1.2 million, making the reopening uncertain, Waple said. “We’ve all got to figure out how to make all our operations work and try to keep student jobs, pay students that minimum wage and not give up operations,” he said. “So there may be some changes to all aspects of our dining operations.” ELIZABETH DONALD 650-3527 @edonaldmedia edonald@alestlelive.com

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contact the editor: lifestyles@alestlelive.com 650-3527 thursday, 02.27.20

Main street street bakery bakery gives gives rise rise to to bread bread Main making classes classes in in the the community community making

JORDYN NIMMER lifestyles editor A local bakery is utilizing its award-winning bread-making classes to highlight the historical background and curative power of the culinary art. SIUE Educational Outreach partnered with local 222 Artisan Bakery to create bread making courses in an effort to expand course offerings into the culinary realm. The Artisan Bread Series was recognized as a 2019 LERN Course of the Year in December. There are three courses available for community members to enroll in, each focusing on a different aspect of bread making. They blend the spirit of community and educational inquiry into one experience. The courses also touch on the importance of cost-effective, value -conscious and health-conscious baking. Owner and baker Trevor Taynor, of Bethalto, Illinois, demonstrates the importance of the bread making classes in understanding the art of baking in these classes. “I focus on teaching the students skills surrounding bread making, such as knowing how much of a particular ingredient is needed,” Taynor said. A common issue among home bakers is overusing certain ingredients and overdoing the bread in the baking process. The introductory courses address these issues by emphasizing skills surrounding

terminology, ingredient functionality, fermentation and dough development. Student of the Artisan Breads I course, Amy Lowe, of Bethalto, Illinois, believes the course expertly educated her on how to handle bread properly and with intention and care. “The course taught me about which and how much of certain ingredients should be used in different recipes,” Lowe said. “I can now use the skills I learned in class at home to make the bread recipes I have saved.” Beyond the ingredients used in the breads, the course also examines how to make different shapes of bread. “I learned how many different shapes can be made using only one recipe,” Lowe said. “Now, I can incorporate multiple shapes and styles of bread into my skill set, while still only using one recipe.” Aside from the introductory bread making courses, Artisan Breads I and II, Taynor also teaches a course called Breads of the World which explores the cultural and historical background of various grains. “Many people do not know that some of the most ancient grains originated from Egypt. People spread the Egyptian’s knowledge of bread making to other regions,” Taynor said. “Now, today, we are still influenced by their bread making style.” The Breads of the World course

covers bread making techniques for international breads, including brioche, challah and others. Taynor has noticed many of the students enrolled in the courses are either students of SIUE or retired individuals within the community. However, Taynor believes the courses are of benefit to anyone willing and able to learn about the art he has dedicated his life to. The courses also explore the power of baking in stress reduction and creative expression, according to the course descriptions. Lowe regards the courses in high esteem and is in great anticipation of enrolling in more. “I recommend the courses to all my friends,” Lowe said. “I want to enroll in the Artisan Breads II course, but they’re all booked up.” Since each course is limited to a size of 10 students, many of the courses are booked out far in advance. However, 222 Artisan Bakery is working to make more courses available for any students interested in taking more courses and for past students interested in advancing their knowledge. Students of the series are able to enroll in each course at a cost of $129. However, the cost includes 20-30 loaves which each student is able to take home. Prospective students of the courses can find more information about enrolling at siue.edu/continuing-education/personal-development.

“The “The course course taught taught me me about about which which and and how how much much of of certain certain ingredients ingredients should should be be used used in in different different recipes. recipes. II can can now now use use the the skills skills II learned learned in in class class at at home home to to make make the the bread bread recipes recipes II have have saved. saved. AMY LOWE

Artisan Breads I student

Artisan Breads I student Amy Lowe, of Bethalto, Illinois, smiles as she practices her newly acquired dough development skills. I Mackenzie Smith / The Alestle

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REVIEW: ‘Waterfowl’ by Frankie Valet proves to be unmatched talent of St. Louis scene ISOBEL ABBOTT-DETHROW reporter The St. Louis music scene is vast and ever-expanding and Frankie Valet contributes greatly to the scene while separating themselves. On Friday, Feb. 7, St. Louis band Frankie Valet released their second album, “Waterfowl.” The quartet consists of Jack Elliott-Higgins, Jake Nelson, Alison Setili and Gram Tolish. All but Tolish contribute vocals to the record, with Elliott-Higgins and Nelson on guitar, Setili on bass and Tolish on drums. The album cover is a watercolor and pen piece, showcasing a man in a bucket hat on a tiny boat, rowing himself with a long wooden stick; a duck floats next to him in pink, yellow, and blue clouds reminiscent of artwork in The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine.” The album begins with a nearly-five-minute soft ballad, “Nakid,” with Nelson and Setili on vocals. The quiet percussion, matched with the rhythmic, breezy guitar leaves a feeling of comfort and intimacy throughout the song, similar to its name.

The last lyric, “Everyone is speechless from afar,” is repeated multiple times for the last half of the song. The guitar gets heavier and fuzzy in the last repetition, exhibiting a tug of energy and tranquility, which gets resolved by Setili’s echoing vocals introducing the second track, “Water Foul,” whose calming vocals and bass setup Elliott-Higgins’ emotional, intense interruption. “Water Foul” becomes the album’s most emotional track with Elliott-Higgins’ vocals and lyrics, changing the tempo from Setili’s melancholy melody to a high energy, confessional piece. This cohesive, shared pull of ferocity and gentleness is demonstrated unpredictably in the rest of the album. There is an obvious motif of this tension throughout the album in the form of folk, shoe gaze or rock. “Engulfed,” the third song, is the album’s most vigorous and energizing track, giving one the feeling of taking caffeine pills. There is high, sonic speed energy throughout, even in its quietest moments. Elliott-Higgins’ repeated cry of “I tried!” at the song’s end leaves similar chills and the need

to catch your breath when coming down from a roller coaster ride. “Theo,” the following song, gives enough time to regain your stamina. “Theo” is a perfect bridge to “Soft Skin,” the next track. The breezy, cradling guitar chords of “Nakid” revisit for “Soft Skin,” the most sentimental piece from “Waterfowl.” The first verse’s lyrics are short, yet packed with intimate imagery, sung slow-paced and quietly by Setili. The tempo suddenly shifts in the second verse; Setili sings quicker and louder, with percussion and guitar following the same path. All combines beautifully in the end as the first verse is repeated in higher volume. “Wilt,” “Our Apartment” and “Try Not to Think” all further exemplify the purpose of repetition, along with the ongoing pull between buzz and calmness. The combination of “You Found Me Out” and “Alright Okay” provide a perfect conclusion to “Waterfowl,” both being short songs, jam-packed with trapped energy in a jar. In the end, every unpredictable turn all makes complete sense.

REVIEW: ‘Miss Americana’ doesn’t stand for all Americans — and it needs to

Taylor Swift talks at a YouTube convention about her recent work in the media and in her music. I Photo courtesy of Marcin Wichary

“Waterfowl” keeps you on your toes, not knowing what to expect. Frankie Valet exposes the genius, well-schemed range of their talents in “Waterfowl,” with every sudden change and repetition having individual purpose. “ Wa terfowl’’ is a defining piece of Frankie Valet’s sound and it is just the tip of the iceberg. If you would like to purchase a vinyl copy or cassette tape of Frankie Valet’s “Waterfowl,” they are on sale at Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis’ Delmar Loop. Frankie Valet also has Bandcamp and Spotify pages, along with Facebook and Instagram.

MADISON LAMMERT editor-in-chief Everybody seems to have their own opinions surrounding Taylor Swift’s new documentary “Miss Americana.” As always, Swift’s stage presence is stellar. Her vocals are impressive. Her cats are the most adorable animals ever. However, all of this is not enough. At first, I thought the main problem was how the Netflix film is set up chronologically, separating sections of the film by age. While this does drive home that Swift’s evolution into an activist was anything but simple, it tries to oversimplify a cluttered narrative. Painting her as a different person each year of her life makes the star even more unrelatable, which has a drastic impact once the documentary (finally) details when she began speaking her mind. Yet, even though the documentary covers so much — what I feel to be too much — it leaves so much out, namely groups of people different from herself. It throws intersectionality by the wayside. Frankly, it adds fuel to the long-standing argument that she uses political involvement as an attention-grabbing mechanism and the rainbow flag as a fad. It’s hard for an audience of ordinary people to relate to Swift crying on her couch because her album wasn’t nominated for a Grammy like all her others, yet this is one of the first things we see in “Miss Americana.” Then, she speaks on many of the things many women experience on a adaily basis: the fact that our gender identity determines our potential for success, not being taken seriously when we say a man makes us uncomfortable or believed when we tell stories of sexual harassment or assault — in her case, she even had a picture to prove it. The list goes on and on. She speaks out against the notorious-

ly anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-feminist — meaning anti-equal rights for men and women — senator Marsha Blackburn. This is all a step in the right direction for Swift, who never spoke on anything even remotely controversial before due to needing to maintain her good girl image. However, she leaves something out. Everything she does is from the perspective of a heterosexual (or, at least, from what we know), cisgender, incredibly wealthy white woman who only knew fame for most of her childhood and all of adulthood. Her feminism is white-washed — not once does she talk about women in minority groups when speaking about how offended she is by Blackburn’s policies. Not once does she give voice to people of color when discussing politics. She has famous LGBTQ+ individuals surrounding her, but at the end of the day, the over abundance of rainbow wigs and sets cannot make up for the lack of conversation surrounding specific issues within the community. Unfortunately, Blackburn took Tennessee, now what? Your activism isn’t more than a party? What now? What issues can we deal with now? The lack of discussion makes it seem like she’s not educated on issues that don’t impact her directly. Breaking news: women dealing with the problems imposed by them by a patriarchal society can also be LGBTQ+, which adds a whole other layer of oppression. Women can also be LGBTQ+ and black. They can also be poor. But none of this is mentioned, issues are merely glossed over with a blanket and individual experiences are not accounted for. To ignore intersectionality at this time in American politics or any discussions regarding, well, anything ever, is an insult. She’s still got more catching up to do.

opinion

NEXT WEEK: THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY HISTORY page 6

T H E

share your thoughts: opinion@alestlelive.com 650-3527 thursday, 02.27.20

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It’s (almost) impossible to function while sick at SIUE

THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board

Being sick in college can be difficult, especially when professors have harsh attendance policies. You are probably hesitant to stay home from class out of fear of falling behind. Professors are often unhelpful by having harsh attendance policies that either reward those who attend or punish those who do not. According to the page on SIUE’s website for medical excuses, Health Service can excuse you from class, but highly encourages professors to make their own judgments. This is a problem when judgments regarding excused absences are so different between different professors; shouldn’t the judgment be on the professionals at Health Service?

For anyone who has ever had the flu during the semester, you know that symptoms can stick around for a long time. For a professor that only allows two absences, those can be used up in just a few days of being sick. A professor may offer bonus points for missing no classes. They may also threaten to drop you from the class or reduce your grades if you miss more than a couple times during the whole semester. Some professors have other policies, such as allowing sick absences, but requiring a picture of a recent receipt for cold medication if a doctor’s note is not provided. A policy like this falls short for those who already keep cold medication on hand so they don’t have to leave home when they do get sick. Also, affording it could be an issue for some students. Some

don’t have cars to easily access the medicine. The university could provide professors with more in-depth ways of determining when to excuse a student’s absence. Even more importantly, professors must make their policies on being sick clear to students and easy to access. Professors need to create ways for their students to properly request extensions and recover from being sick. The last thing a student needs when they are sick is to have the stress of classes and work piling on top of them. Being sick is something that happens to virtually everyone at some point, yet the university barely addresses what to do in the situation. Even if this was just briefly providing some strategies for dealing with being sick at freshman orientation or send-

ing out an email early in the semester providing some resources for staying on top of assignments, giving students almost anything would be helpful. Many of our staffers have found the steam from taking hot showers helps with overall productivity by helping to manage congestion. In addition, properly timing medication can help manage symptoms overall. An immediate loss in productivity might make it tempting to sacrifice sleep to get more time, but the consequences can be devastating for your recovery, and the longer you’re sick, the longer you’ll be less productive. The most important thing to remember is to take care of yourself so you can get better, because the sooner you get better, the sooner you can get back to living how you want.

We don’t need cops, let’s get rid of them

BROOKE HILL copy editor

The job of police is to threaten people. They carry with them the threat of punishment enforced by the government for anyone caught breaking a law. If you don’t act in a certain way around police, the police will use physical force against you and get away with it. Unlike ordinary citizens, police don’t always get to choose which laws they enforce. Many of us would choose to take legal or even physical action if we saw someone being hurt or killed, but don’t tend to care when people commit parking violations or breach of copyright. We have the freedom to ignore these things, but a police officer who wasn’t willing to enforce laws they don’t agree with could very quickly lose their job. Which neighborhoods they patrol, which calls they respond to and how many citations they give out are not decisions they get to make individually; even when it is morally wrong,

they have to obey the chain of command. Preventable deaths like starvation, exposure and many illnesses regularly occur in a system that allows billionaires to make obscene amounts of money by doing little to no work, but the laws enforced by police prevent anyone from taking that money and giving it to the people who will die without it. In these ways and many others, the police are part of a larger system that hurts the poor to benefit the rich. After being sentenced, prisoners are exploited by corporations for their labor. Many inmates working at AT&T call centers are paid $2 per day, according to Prison Legal News. According to Prison Policy Initiative, the national average for non-industry jobs held by prisoners is just 86 cents per day as of 2017, with a majority of prisoners in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Texas not paid at all. You might recognize this as slavery.

Consider how likely it is that any recipients of the 11,000 citations issued by Dallas police for sleeping in public between 2011 and 2015 were unable to pay their fines and eventually forced to do unpaid labor in prison, and you will hopefully agree that our legal system needs to undergo drastic changes at many levels. However, most of us do not have very much power to change laws, and prisoners themselves have even less; we cannot reasonably expect every part of this system to ever become good or fair, much less within our own lives. We do have the power to seek out alternative solutions that do not involve the police or corrupt legal systems. For these reasons, I wholeheartedly support organizations such as WeCopwatch, who aim both to hold police accountable for their actions and to create an environment where state violence is never a necessary avenue for justice. As their about page says, “the only way to make police obsolete is to not perpetuate their

behaviors, and to live in such a manner where people no longer rely on police.” Reliance on police isn’t just bad for people accused of crimes either, as this system is ineffective at performing many of the functions we ask of it which are necessary for social order. For instance, only 5 out of 1000 instances of sexual assault lead to convictions. Our society needs different avenues for dealing with issues like this because the ones we rely on now simply aren’t working. Alternative ways to solve conflict vary by circumstance. Most can be de-escalated without any outside interference, while others might involve a different phone call. The best solutions rarely involve violent force, and by using and taking part in other networks with more peaceful solutions we can make the police less necessary, and eventually redundant. After that, we can safely abolish this oppressive and counterproductive system of legal persecution.

sports

contact the editor: sports@alestlelive.com 650-3527 thursday, 2.27.2020

SEE INDOOR TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS NEXT WEEK page 7

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Four alumni inducted into St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame ALEX AULTMAN reporter

SIUE alumni Misi ClarkJones, Tom Calhoun, Nino Fennoy and Steve Trittschuh, were honored with an induction ceremony into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame. Jones is the highest scoring player in women’s basketball history at the university. Deputy Athletics Director Jason Coomer feels this honor was well-deserved. “Misi’s jersey, if you look inside the arena, is the only retired jersey we have hanging from the rafters,” Coomer said. Fennoy played on one of the first men’s basketball teams at SIUE. He is now the girls’ track coach at East St. Louis High School. Vice president of the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame Tim Moore, emphasized his achievements as a track coach. “He’s won about 17 state championships in track and field,” Moore said. “His credentials are outstanding and worthy of being

recognized by the Hall of Fame.” Trittschuh is a professional soccer player who got his start at SIUE. He played for the U.S. soccer team at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Due to his performance, he was recruited to become the first U.S. player to participate in the European Cup on Czechoslovakia’s team, the AC Sparta Praha. Tom Calhoun is an announcer for the St. Louis Blues and the Gateway Grizzlies. He’s been an announcer for numerous high school and college-level athletics events. He was also a host on KMOX radio. He received the President’s Choice award as well. “The founder and president, Greg Marecek, selects his own person to receive that award from each induction class,” Moore said. “He knows somebody is worthy.

SPORTS IN BRIEF: The weekend of Feb. 2123, was busy for Cougar Athletics, with wrestling ending their season and tennis making some stand-out performances.

SOFTBALL

Women’s basketball took a 79-62 loss against Austin Peay. During this game sophomore guard Mikala Hall scored a personal best of 18 points. Junior guard/forward Allie Troeckler added 17 points to the team’s score. Last Saturday, Feb. 22, the Cougars played against Murray State, losing 7061. Freshman forward Mikayla Kinnard scored a season-best of 24 points for the team. Sophomore guard Mikia Keith contributed 9 points and Troeckler 8 points to the team’s score. Women’s basketball plays its next game at 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 29, against East ern Illinois. Men’s basketball had a 7860 loss against Austin Peay last Thursday, Feb. 20. On Saturday, Feb. 22, the Cougars just fell short of a win against Murray State with a score of 59-58. Entering halftime the score was at 36-19, in favor of

Baseball took its first loss of the season last Friday, Feb. 21, against Stephen F. Austin with a score of 1-2. Three of the team’s pitchers allowed just one hit during this game. The Cougars followed this up with one win and one loss last Saturday, Feb. 22. The first of these was a win in the morning against UT Arlington with a final score of 2-1. The second game ended in a loss against Stephen F. Austin with a final score of 13-1. The follow-up game Sunday morning against UT Arlington ended in a 3-2 loss for the Cougars. Baseball’s next game will be at 4 p.m., Friday, Feb. 28, against Central Arkansas.

BASKETBALL

someone to be inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame. The committee will check their credentials to determine if they will be inducted. They also do their own research to discover people they feel are worthy of being given the honor. “Any time you have alumni that are recognized in the community whether it’s athletics or non-athletic related activities, it’s always a source of pride, not only to the athletics department but to the institution as a whole,” Coomer said. “I think it shows the strength of our institution that we have a number of professionals not only in the St. Louis area, but nationwide that have gone on to make the institution very proud and I don’t see that ending any time soon.” See the rest of the inductee class at the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame website.

ALEX AULTMAN

650-3527 @Alex_Alestle jmcgowan@alestlelive.com

Tennis has stand-out performances; baseball takes first loss of season

Murray State, which resulted in the Cougars gaining the lead in the second half until the last minute and a half of the game. The Cougars will take on Eastern Illinois for their next game at 2 p.m., this Saturday, Feb. 29.

DAMIAN MORRIS reporter

There may be various reasons why he’s picking, but that’s solely up to him.” Calhoun believes his education at SIUE helped him significantly in his career. “When you came out of SIU Edwardsville in the early ‘70s like I did, with a degree in mass communications and a specialization in radio and television, that was a pretty significant door opener for you to get your career started,” Calhoun said. “I was lucky enough when I graduated college to go right out and get a job in radio without really even trying that hard.” The St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame hosts separate ceremonies for Illinois and Missouri. Which ceremony an inductee is invited to depends on where they are from and where they made their career. Anybody can nominate

BASEBALL

SOFTBALL

MEN’S GOLF

Men’s Golf finished last Saturday tied in 16th place with Murray State with a score of 303. The game consisted of 19 teams total. Sophomore Brooks Jungbluth is the only Cougar in the top 30, as of Saturday, Feb. 21, in a tie for 26th-place with a score of 73.

SOFTBALL

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Women’s tennis fell short of a win last Saturday against Green Bay with a score of 3-4. The Cougars started off with a win in doubles play where No. 3 sophomore Maria Thibault and sophomore Vanessa Reinicke defeated Kaori Terunuma and Theresa Tebon with a score of 6-3. The team followed by losing its next two doubles and first two singles. On Sunday, Feb. 23, the Cougars exceeded its previous record of 7-2 with a 6-1 win against Valparaiso. This was women’s tennis’ seventh win this season, surpassing its number of wins in the previous two seasons. The Cougars’ next game will be at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 4, in St. Louis against the Billikens.

SOFTBALL

Softball took home two wins last Saturday, Feb. 22, against Miami University at Ohio and Chattanooga, winning 6-4 and 5-2, respectively. Senior infielder Zoe Schafer batted her third homerun for the

season as well as sophomore utility player Kloe Hilbrenner batting three hits during the game. On Sunday, Feb. 23, the Cougars took its first loss of the season against UNLV with a score of 9-4, and rebounded that loss with a 5-4 win against St. Francis. This leaves the Cougars with an overall tournament record of 7-1. Softball’s next game will be at 3 p.m., Friday, Feb. 29, against Lipscomb.

SOFTBALL

WRESTLING Wrestling had a loss last Sunday against Northwestern University with a score of 38-9. Junior Kevin Gschwendtner, 174 pounds, and sophomore Colton McKiernan,

SIUE Standings MEN’S BASKETBALL OVERALL MAC

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

22-7 20-8 19-10 14-15 16-13 14-14 13-16 12-17 9-20 8-19 7-22 7-22

13-3 13-3 13-3 11-5 8-8 7-9 7-9 7-9 6-10 4-12 4-12 3-13

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL OVERALL OVC

Belmont UT Martin SEMO E. Illinois Tennessee Tech Jacksonville St. Austin Peay Murray State Morehead State E. Kentucky Tennessee State SIUE

19-8 18-9 21-6 17-10 17-10 12-15 16-11 13-14 10-18 10-17 4-22 3-24

14-2 14-2 13-3 11-5 10-6 8-8 7-9 6-10 6-10 4-12 2-14 1-15

WRESTLING

OVERALL CONF

EAST DIVISION Rider Old Dominion Clarion Lock Haven George Mason Edinboro Bloomsburg

12-3 10-9 10-6 7-7 9-9 10-10 3-10

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

WEST DIVISION Missouri Northern Illinois Cnt. Michigan Ohio Cleveland State Buffalo Kent State SIUE

12-7 13-4 8-4 9-8 9-6 9-11 6-12 2-14

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

Upcoming Games Men’s Basketball vs. EIU 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 29 Vadalabene Center

285 pounds, were able to pull out wins for the Cougars during the duel. This finishes the Cougar’s regular season with a duel record score of 3-13. Wrestling is now preparing for the Mid-American Championships all day Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, in DeKalb, Illinois.

DAMIAN MORRIS

650-3527 @damian_alestle dmorris@alestlelive.com

Women’s Basketball vs. EIU 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29 Vadalabene Center

Baseball vs SLU 3 p.m., March 3 Simmons Basball Complex Womens Basketball OVC Tournament Quarter Finals March 4 & 5

page 8

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