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Women’s History Month to highlight the international female experience
Fashion show highlights Black elegance PAGE 4
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Tennis secures ninth consecutive win PAGE 8
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
the student voice since 1960
Thursday, March 3, 2022 Vol. 75 No. 22
‘White tears were prioritized over Black pain’ Community demands transparency, accountability ALEX AULTMAN editor-in-chief
In a town hall on Feb. 23 students, faculty and staff expressed their frustration with administrators and the racism embedded in SIUE as an institution.
BLACK UNITY COUNCIL ANNOUNCES LIST OF DEMANDS
The Black Unity Council, a new group representing multiple Black student organizations concerned about racism at SIUE, handed out QR codes that linked to a document of information they compiled, as well as a list of demands for the administration. Some of the demands are disclosures of more information related to bias incidents on campus, changing policies to include more safety measures during investigations and yearly anti-racism training. Two members of the group took microphones and read statements they had prepared for the administration, outlining why the Black Unity Council formed and what they wanted the administration to address. Mahlik Good, one of the organizers of the Black Unity Council, said the university exploits Black students for marketing materials, but does not provide enough support to retain them. “This document … shows how detrimental it has been that the administration curates a culture/climate that supports white fragility and enables anti-Blackness,” Good said. “Furthermore, despite their intentional efforts to market and recruit Black students, contained in this document is some data, which shows that the university is not successful at retaining Black students.” Robin Hughes, dean of the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior, said the group dressed in all black with clothes resembling those of the 1960s, which helped highlight the purpose of the event. “To me, all of that was on purpose,” Hughes said. “And that was an example of how one can deconstruct institutionalized racism, institutionalized racist procedures, etc. Because they took over the meeting in case anybody didn’t realize that. They helped us understand the assignment.” Good said he works in the Student Affairs office on COVID-19 compliance. He said he was upset by Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Jeffrey Waple not acknowledging him as one of the Black people who work in his office when Waple talked about changes the department was trying to make during the town hall. He said he was also concerned with Waple’s reaction to the arrival of the Black Unity Council. “It’s a shame that I do not know that you actually support people that look like me and the amount of fear that you had sitting up front when you saw a group of Black students come into this building,” Good said. “And the fear that I have that when I leave this room that I might be retaliated against and fired from the position that I have, because I might upset
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the university.” Good said the fear Waple showed and Good’s own fear of retaliation wasn’t representative of Waple, but it was representative of institutionalized racism within SIUE. The Black Unity Council said the administration has to respond to their demands by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 4. Former chancellor Randy Pembrook promised the Black Unity Council that the administration would look over the document and respond to them by the deadline.
BLACK COMMUNITY MEMBERS DON’T FEEL SAFE
Multiple students, faculty and staff members expressed their concerns over the treatment and safety of Black people on campus. Sophomore Trey Perkins said he feels unsafe on campus due to racist incidents reported in October and January. “Right now, not going to lie, I don’t feel safe on this campus,” Perkins said. “My mom really had to call me and say, ‘Hey, Trey, please look behind you. Please make sure that you walk with somebody at night,’ and I don’t feel comfortable walking around campus in general. But now even more so because of everything that happened.” Dominic Dorsey, director of ACCESS, said he has seen many situations where the concerns of Black community members weren’t taken seriously. “I’ve been in meetings where white tears were prioritized over Black pain and I had my hand slapped,” Dorsey said. “And I’ve been in other spaces, where we bring up information that we try to put forth in a democratic diplomatic manner and we identify who the individuals are who are problematic to the issue or harming students, instead of being dismissed they’re reassigned.” Assistant professor of educational leadership Candace Hall said she still experiences microaggressive behavior as a professor. “I am here to tell you that academics will not save you,” Hall said. “I am an assistant professor here and I have been questioned in meetings that I’ve been in if I’m supposed to be in the room. I’ve been questioned in my classroom, ‘What are you doing here? It’s after hours. Where are you going?’” Dorsey said Black community members don’t trust the administration because they aren’t listened to. “We tried to tell you, we showed you. We prostitute our pain and give you our experiences and let you know how much it’s deeply hurt us and you say, ‘Thank you for sharing,’” Dorsey said. “We institute trainings and it’s a checkmark because people think on what not to get caught doing. But it doesn’t prevent them from doing it when people aren’t paying attention.” Junior Jalen White said he feels uncomfortable walking around campus and in some of his classes.
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Black Unity Council members read their list of demands after asking Black students in the room to stand. | Jihun Han / The Alestle
UNDERGRADUATE ENROLLMENT
13.6% 71%
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES
BLACK
9%
BLACK
WHITE
77%
WHITE Stats from SIUE Fact Book 2019-2021
| Kirsten O’Loughlin / The Alestle
“I walk around this campus all the time and I feel like sometimes I don’t belong here,” White said. “Sometimes I’m scared to be in certain groups, because I’m afraid of what I’ll hear. I was in classes where they’re talking about racist concepts as if it were 1962.” One student said she doesn’t trust the campus police due to how she was treated when she got into car accidents on campus. “I’m tired of the police department making me feel as SIUE Student though I’m in the wrong when I’m the victim. I have been in two car accidents on this campus and I was the one being hit,” she said. “And instead of the police saying anything about the smell of my car in the beginning of the incident, he decides to accuse my car of smelling like marijuana after the fact, after the police report is made. One way to show trust is to first show me that you trust me.” Junior Bryan Robinson said if changes aren’t made, Black students will start
“
transferring to other schools. “I definitely fear for the attendance rate of Black students here in the future, because I feel like if you don’t make these changes soon, you’re going to lose us,” Robinson said. “Why would we stay at an institution that isn’t progressing swiftly towards a solution that should have been already established?” Several students talked about being the only Black person in their classes or in their programs. They said the environment made them start doubting their own academic abilities, which a couple described as imposter syndrome. “We talked about how so many Black students experience imposter syndrome,” Dorsey said. “But so many of those students didn’t come here with imposter syndrome. That imposter syndrome came from being gaslit on a consistent basis.”
I’m tired of the police department making me feel as though I’m in the wrong when I’m the victim.”
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BY THE NUMBERS / COVID-19 AT SIUE, SPRING 2022 New confirmed positive cases (from tests conducted by SIUE and self-reporting):
Tests conducted by SIUE:
Feb. 22 - Feb. 28: 3 students, 0 faculty/staff
Feb. 22 - Feb. 28: 1,261
Feb. 15 - Feb. 21: 12 students, 11 faculty/staff
Feb. 15 - Feb. 21: 1,232
14-Day New Positive Cases: 15 students, 11 faculty/staff
14-Day New Tests Conducted: 2,493
All prior weeks positive tests: (Jan. 4 - Mar. 1): 1,024 students, 242 faculty/staff
All prior weeks tests conducted: Jan. 4 - Mar 1: 26,252
4 students 3 faculty/staff
Feb. 23 - Feb. 28: 10 Feb. 15 - Feb. 22: 25
14-day new positive cases: 35
All prior weeks positive cases: Jan. 4 - Mar. 1: 1,812
Positivity Rate (as of Mar. 1): 1.4% Percentage of isolation/quarantine space available on campus (as of March 1): 98%
Source: Health, Reporting, and Testing page on SIUE’s COVID-19 website, as of March 1. FEB 21
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FEB 23
FEB 24
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Holocaust survivor and SIUE alumni’s artwork celebrated at closing reception FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter
Agnes Pal’s artwork was acknowledged and celebrated at a closing reception at the Fuller Dome. Pal, a Holocaust survivor, learned metalworking at SIUE and used the art form to illustrate her experiences. Pal passed away in August of 2021, and the exhibition opened up in December of the same year at the Fuller Dome, as part of a celebration of life for Pal. She donated her artwork to the museum to ensure its preservation and so that it would be used to educate others about the Holocaust. Erin Vigneau-Dimick, the executive curator of the SIUE University Museum, said the museum is honored to have had this collection donated to them and to have the ability to share Pal’s legacy with many different people. “[Pal] really wanted to make sure her work was gathered and was able to be exhibited over and over again, that it could be loaned to other places. That’s part of the work we’re doing,” Vigneau-Dimick said. “[Pal] had a lifelong commitment to our interpersonal expression and we hope to be able to expand this to other museums.” Paulette Myers, a former professor of metalworking and jewelry at SIUE, was Pal’s teacher. She said that she remembers Pal working night and day in the studio, going home to fix supper, before coming back to work on her art. Myers said Pal started coming to classes after her husband was hired as a math professor. She said it wasn’t until Myers suggested that Pal use her art to convey her experiences during the Holo-
02.16.22
A purse was found in Bluff Hall.
Positive cases identified by SIUE testing:
MADISON COUNTY DAY BY DAY:
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Total active positive cases:
02.21.22
Officer responded to a report of an individual threatening their roommate in Bluff Hall. Officer advised it was a verbal argument only. Officer responded to a report of siblings fighting in the Cougar Lake Apartments. Officer advised one party was not on scene on arrival. The other party declined to press charges.
02.22.22
Four SIUE computers were reported missing: one in the Police Department, one in Science West, one in Dunham Hall and one in Peck Hall. An iPhone was found in Science East. Officer took a report of a possible email scam. Officer took a report regarding a verbal argument between roommates in Bluff Hall.
02.23.22
Officer responded to a report of a male subject in Peck Hall after hours. Officer provided a courtesy escort off campus. A credit card was found in the MUC. Officer responded to a report of a dog in a vehicle parked in Parking Lot 6. Officer advised the dog had a blanket and water. The owner was located. Officer took a report of a flag being stolen off a truck in Parking Lot B.
Pal mentored Elaine Eversgerd through SIUE’s metalworking program. Eversgerd examines the metalworking project, “Numbered,” which was the main artwork featured at the exhibition. l Francesca Boston / The Alestle
caust, did Pal even begin to talk about that time of her life. “She wanted to stay in that studio to continue to work after getting her master’s degree. We always worked it out in some way so that she could stay there and was able to work,” Myers said. “She was an absolutely great assistant in the classroom. She was a great influence on the students that are there. I feel very honored to have had her and I miss her every day.”
Several of the copper plates are cracked where Pal used a hydraulic press to create the indent. These cracks are meant to represent the brokenness experienced by many of the victims of the Holocaust. l Francesca Boston / The Alestle
At the exhibit, there was also a letter written by Pal’s brother after being liberated from a concentration camp. He learned his parents were alive and wrote a very long letter detailing his experiences and suffering. At the time he wrote the letter he didn’t know if Pal was alive, so one of the first things he wrote was “Tell me if Agnes is alive.” Pal kept the letter and translated it into English. Jodi Henderson knew Pal through the Faith in Action program, a community-based organization that provides drivers to senior citizens. She said when Pal showed her that letter, she realized Pal’s work and memories need to be recorded and cataloged. She reached out to several people and said that is how the collection eventually ended up in the hands of the SIUE museum. “All I can say is that I was in awe when she showed me the letter the first time that her brother wrote, and that letter, which was about 20 pages long, maybe longer than that, is an incredible story, and I knew we had something good here,” Henderson said. The SIUE museum is currently working on digitalizing the artwork. For more updates, see the SIUE Museum Facebook page.
Officer responded to another report of a male subject on campus after hours, this time in Founders Hall. Officer provided a courtesy escort off campus.
02.24.22
Officer responded to a report of a racial slur written on a countertop in Prarie Hall. BIRT was contacted and the investigation continues.
02.26.22
Officer responded to a report of a subject possibly having a firearm in Prarie Hall. The subject was charged with unlawful use of a weapon in a school, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated assault. They were then transported to the SIUE PD where they were fingerprinted, photographed, processed and transported to the county police on a felony hold.
02.28.22
Officer responded to a report of a male subject in a building after hours. Subject was provided a courtesy escort off campus.
Thursday, 03.03.22
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Women’s History Month talks address roles of women in society, diversity FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter
Issues facing women both in the U.S. and abroad will be the focus of the Women’s History Month talks this month. Carolina Rocha, professor of Spanish and Latin American studies, is the director of the Women’s Studies Program, which coordinates Women’s History Month programming. She said she wanted to bring awareness to the problems that women around the world face, as well as the diversity of women’s experiences. “One of the goals is to educate [students into] well-rounded citizens. So I wanted to bring awareness to what other women are experiencing outside the U.S. borders. So many of the activities that women do go unnoticed,” Rocha said. Rocha said she reached out to female professors to speak during the month because she wants to highlight the important work many of them are doing. She said Sonal Vij, one of the speakers, is a grad student at SIUC and will speak on issues faced by women in Pakistan using examples from the entertainment industry of how women are fighting back against negative stereotypes. “[Vij] is doing a great deal of research that complements what we’re doing on campus. I thought that it would be neat to have that different perspective, but also a complementary view,” Rocha said. Masonya Bennett, an assistant professor of anthropology, will be speaking on ‘The Labor of Diaspora: Black Women, Resistance and Sustainability in the Americas.’ She said the talk will speak to the importance that Black women played in creating spaces of belonging in the US throughout history. “The role of women in resistance movements, of Black women in particular, and resistance movements throughout the diaspora,” Bennett said. “My research focused on Black immigrant identity in Charlotte, North Carolina, and part of that was looking at spaces and places, and how Black immigrants and Black Americans create places or spaces of belonging.” Bennett said a large part of Women’s History Month is acknowledging the extended kinship that women create TOWN HALL | COVER
ATTENDEES DEMAND CHANGE IN POLICY
Moderators asked attendees what came to mind when they heard the term ‘procedural justice.’ Provost Denise Cobb said she hears the lack of trust and acknowledges that SIUE is falling short. “I think for me, procedural justice means our processes at the end, if they work in the right way, then you would trust the outcome, even if you didn’t like it,” Cobb said. Multiple attendees on Zoom and in person said they associate procedural justice with bureaucracy. “Procedural justice does create a pile of red tape to weed through in the hopes that justice would be at the bottom of the pile,” one Zoom participant said. “So the question becomes who informs the community of how to navigate the process to find justice here at SIUE?” Waple said there are revisions to the Student Code of Conduct under development by interim Dean of Students Terrence McTier. He said there would also be more conversations to educate the campus
through mothers, grandmothers, moth- vist and unique collection librarian, had er figures in any form. She said those created a history on women faculty and relationships are extremely vital in the staff who were part of the university beBlack community both historically and ginning back in 1957. He said there were for herself. She said she grew up see- seven full-time female faculty members ing many women who were educators when SIUE opened and that often the and those women’s mentorship influ- wives of faculty members would offer to enced her trajectory, towards being an teach classes part-time during the first few years of the university. educator herself. He said as an archivist, it is his job to Bennett said motherhood to her is any type of nurturing relationships, includ- remember and give credit to those meming aunties, mothering in the LGBTQ+ bers of faculty and staff who may not have been paid as c o m m u n i t y, much attention and leaders of to in the past. organizations “We all and clubs. have to remem“Womber and give en’s history is credit to the recogn izing people who lineages, hishave built the torical lineaguniversity over es, spiritual the years. Unlineages and fortunately, not connect ion, as much attenbut also the tion has been MASONYA BENNETT sacred bond assistant professor of anthropology paid to female and the safaculty memcred role of motherhood,” Bennett bers, not enough attention has been paid said. “My grandmother, Glennie Bento African American faculty members,” nett, did so much in our small comKerber said. munity in the south. My mother, WinKerber said there were many influennie Bennett, has been a vital part of tial and important women who contributmy life as well.” ed to SIUE but one he believes left a huge Rocha said one of the talks is given impact on the school was Eva Driekurus by Jocelyn DeGroot, who is a professor Fergon, a psychology professor. of applied communication studies. De“Dr. Eva Dreikurs Ferguson, a Groot’s talk, “It’s just what moms do” much-beloved faculty member from the Invisible Labor, Struggling Silently, and Department of Psychology is as far as I Performing Motherhood Flawlessly” will know the longest-serving woman faculty focus on the role of mothers in society member. Dr. Ferguson taught at SIUE and how often women are overlooked for from 1965 until 2019, a truly remarkable their efforts in the home, which translates achievement worthy of note,” Kerber said. to less recognition of their labor outside Rocha said to her, Women’s History the home. Month is looking back on the advance“All those tiny little things usually ments that society has made, but also fall on women. For instance, buying pres- looking forward to the work that still ents for children to go to birthday par- needs to be done. ties. It takes time and energy to do this,” “For me, [Women’s History Month] Rocha said. “If you take a look, women means reflecting on how far we have come in leadership positions are in the extreme and also being aware of the work [that] is minority in the U.S., so how can we bring still ahead of us,” Rocha said. the energy that women produce and use For a full list of events and to the forefront [of our minds]?” Zoom links, visit the Women’s Stephen Kerber, the university archi- Studies website.
“Women’s history is recognizing lineages, historical lineages, spiritual lineages and connection, but also the sacred bond and the sacred role of motherhood
on student conduct investigations in comparison to Title IX investigations. Tom Foster, professor of physics, said the university’s system needs to be fixed. “One of the things I found troubling by the responses from the administration is they kept telling us, ‘We’re going to teach you the system,’” Foster said. “But the system is broken. So why aren’t our administrators standing up here saying, ‘We need to fix the damn system to reflect the needs of our diverse student population.’” One graduate student said students don’t have the luxury of being able to say they’re trying, so administration needs to do more. “What we’re getting told today is not enough,” she said. “When we get told, ‘Hey, we’re trying. We’re working on a training,’ that’s failing, and failing means no degree for me. What does that mean for you all?” Attendees expressed concern with the lack of consistent communication from administration about bias incidents. Perkins said he was tired of being kept in the dark, as well as other students. Waple said the administration has
learned that they need to get better at communicating. “We got this incident, we got something out … and then there was nothing,” Waple said. “And we had an opportunity probably to say, here’s what’s happening, here’s the process, here’s the procedure. And we have to get better at that in all cases.” Chancellor James Minor closed out the town hall by telling Black students that they belong at SIUE. “I am bothered by the fact that just one inkling, that you spent one day here with the idea that you don’t belong here,” Minor said. “So I’m here to tell you that you do and you matter to me and walking across that stage to get your degree matters Minor said more conversations would follow as SIUE continues its journey to becoming an anti-racist institution. “This is going to be a community effort,” Minor said. “We’re here to listen. We’re here to learn. We’re here to respond. I can guarantee you that we’re going to get better. It won’t be perfect. It won’t happen tomorrow, but I guarantee you we’re gonna make progress.”
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Legacy’s wellness fair seeks to help midterm week GABRIEL BRADY managing editor
This year’s annual Legacy outreach project focused on mental health. With restrictions from the pandemic lessening, Legacy was able to offer a more personal experience than before. Taylor Hoeg, second year graduate student in nutrition, said Legacy’s annual events are held to benefit the community, and the group wanted to focus on mental health this year. “We get sort of a budget to somehow improve students’ or campus life in general, to make some sort of improvement to the community,” Hoeg said. “And so, our contribution to the community this year is this little wellness fair. Just because of COVID, with everyone having so much stress, we wanted to give something back to the students so they can focus on their health and mental wellbeing.” Matthew Burgess, senior in chemistry said, with COVID-19, the previous years’ events had to be less personal. But, with restrictions becoming lighter, he said there were now more options for community engagement. “Last year, the Legacy program, they did the little library I believe over in The Gardens,” Burgess said. “This year, we scheduled this … to get students more actively involved as they go to lunch or come back from classes. We want them to see us and say ‘Oh, I guess I could go do a little something fun.’” Leanne Montgomery, first year graduate student in mechanical engineering, said although Legacy isn’t part of any mental health organizations at SIUE, the wellness fair gave students a way to reach out to them. “This coincides with other mental health initiatives on campus,” Montgomery said. “We’re not directly tied into them, but we want students to know those resources are there.” The timing of the wellness fair was also very important when the event was first being planned, according to Montgomery. “We’re [going through] midterms, and the choice of this event was because students are, you know, increasing in stress. But also, workload is increasing, and we wanted people to be able to take a little break before things really crank up,” Montgomery said. “We all have to work so hard towards the end of the semester.” A momentary release from the stress of midterms was the exact idea of the event, according to Burgess. “The idea of it is to allow students, staff or faculty to come over and do something relaxing for half a minute in the middle of their day. We’ve got different campus resources over there for people to look at, we’ve got coloring pages and obviously there are places around herein the MUC to go and color,” Burgess said. Burgess said they also offered free items to anyone who came by. “We’ve got bags with little fidget toys in them, with sleep masks,” Burgess said. “There’s a game we have you can play about creating a healthy meal, which is really important for students, or really anyone at all.” For more information, visit Legacy’s webpage.
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Black Girls Rock presents annual spring fashion show SANGIMA RAI reporter Black Girls Rock held a fashion show on campus Friday, Feb. 25 in the Meridian ballroom at the MUC. ‘The Black Luxury’, ‘Monochromatic Scene’ and ‘The Protest Scene’ were among the themes that emerged from the show. The fashion show not only included runway walks, but dance moves that the audience applauded. Senior psychology major and president of the Black Girls Rock, Mahoggani Pickett said, “‘The Black Luxury’ lights on the elegance of Black fashion. We tie all the outfits that we got with us and this is what luxury means to our models.” Pickett said some of the models designed their outfits themselves and even wore them for the show. Junior elementary education major and vice president of Black Girls Rock Karlie Singleton-Kidd said they came up with the idea of a monochromatic theme since they believed that monochrome colors enrich the beauty of dark skin and it would be something that the audience would be drawn to. “There has been a lot going on, not only in the world but as well as on campus, so we wanted to include a protest theme too,” Singleton-Kidd said, “This fashion show happens to be the first fashion show in SIUE since the pandemic.” Senior psychology major Heaven Bones said modeling in the show was im-
portant for her. “This was one of the finest experiences for me to do on campus, especially with a group of people of color, like me,” Bones said. Bones said she had been in a couple of on-campus fashion shows before, but this was her first time walking in the Black Girls Rock fashion event. “I was against modeling but people always said that I should do it because of my tall height, so I gave it a try and it felt pretty fantastic,” Bones said. Dominic Dorsey, the director of ACCESS, came to the event with his wife and daughter and said he was thrilled for the chance to show his daughter the diversity and inclusion that the fashion show had accomplished. “They did an amazing job, I love their confidence, the different themes they had put together for different scenes and the way everything was choreographed and synchronized,” Dorsey said. “I love their level of creativity and genuinity and I am always looking for opportunities to support my students.” Dorsey said the unity in the show made him want to attend future shows. “It is an amazing display of how students can come together and put something together, it had so many different moving parts and all of them were so uniquely and unapologetically presented,” Dorsey said. “I loved everything about it and it was great and it is definitely something I won’t miss from this point forward.”
“The Black Luxury Scene” showcases Black elegance and high-end fashion.
Famous Black figures provide the inspiration for “The Protest Scene,” which was accompanied by one of the models singing. | Clair Sollenberger / The Alestle
| Clair Sollenberger / The Alestle
Thursday, 03.03.22
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‘Love, longing, loss’ play proves that life doesn’t suck FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter
Ella, portrayed by Joshalynn Gibson, kisses Dr. Aster, played by Troy Alexander Sr. | Francesca Boston / The Alestle
“Life Sucks” featured a small cast, but managed to bring comedy and realism to the stage with a modernized adaptation of “Uncle Vanya,” a 19th-century play. The show, which featured only seven actors, is about a dysfunctional group of family, friends, and enemies. Each character struggles with something throughout the show, whether it is unrequited love or just having to put up with the other character’s problem. Freshman theater performance major Tressel Eckman from Cypress, Texas, played Vanya, the grumpy, wickedly smart uncle to Sonia. He said he would describe the show as a dramatic comedy because even though there are heavy, dramatic moments, there are also moments of hope and love. He said it was really interesting because the audience got to see the characters develop throughout the show. “They have hope, they keep fighting, they keep going. The whole show is about love, longing and loss. It’s a very fast-paced show, you just sort of go through the lives of these characters and there are nice moments near the end,” Eckman said. Junior theater performance major Leta Debardeleben from Warden, Illinois, portrayed Sonia
Vanya, played by Tressel Eckman, plays the piano to interrupt the Professor speaking. | Francesca Boston / The Alestle
in the show. She said the show is a look at the family through Sonia’s eyes, as she is the only character who would have called Vanya, Eckman’s character, Uncle Vanya. She said when Geovonday Jones, the director, pointed out that fact, it shifted how she saw the play and how the play relates to our world today- reflecting the beauty that could be found within the show. “I think it’s a beautiful testament to everything that has been going on right now. It’s this beautiful, realistic thing of, ‘we’ve been stuck in our houses with these people we love so much, and we’re fed up with them,’ but we can’t help but love them,” Debardeleben said. She said while the show is called “Life Sucks,” the entire play is a battle of trying to figure out if life truly does suck or if it’s not that bad. “Because human emotions are bigger than just ‘I love someone and they don’t want me back.’ There’s a constant battle,” Debardeleben said. “The entire show is people coming to the realization that life doesn’t suck. I think it’s really beautiful.” Junior theater performance major Angelia Prather from Owensboro, Kentucky, played Babs, the motherly figure who tries to convince others to look on the bright side of life. She said the show is fitting for current times. “We’ve all been stuck inside
and doing nothing and to be able to do this and perform on stage is incredible. We’re still stuck in COVID but we’re still looking for those opportunities, as you should do in life,” Prather said. Senior theater performance major Montana Hughey-Takacs from Billings, Montana, portrayed Pickles, the lighthearted character who managed to lift everyone’s spirits throughout the show. She said that it’s been amazing to work on the show because everyone in the theater department is kind of her Pickles, working together to pull each other up through the good and the bad times, proving that life doesn’t suck. “Whether that be commiserating together and camaraderie or they genuinely are on a different level than you are, they’ll always pull you up,” Hughey-Takacs said. “We’re all just trying to kind of try to do our best, I think it’s kind of beautiful and I hope it stays that way.” Junior theater performance major Claire Holliday, from Maryville, Illinois, was the Stage Manager for the show. They said the main idea that stuck out the most to them was the family aspect of the show, and the energy the characters brought to the show. “I love watching it, they look like they’re having so much fun and [the show] just looks like home,” Holliday said.
Pickles, played by Montana Hughey-Takacs (right), shows off her handmade puppets to Ella, portrayed by Joshalynn Gibson (left), in an attempt to cheer her up. | Francesca Boston / The Alestle
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We stand with Black students in demanding change
THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board
At the town hall on Feb. 23, the Black Unity Council addressed SIUE administration with a list of grievances and demands. This document also included a timeline of racist events the BUC was aware of at SIUE, which they said “shows how detrimental it has been that the administration curates a culture/climate that supports white fragility and enables anti-Blackness.” While the administration’s response was encouraging, they need to continue this spirit beyond a town hall meeting. They must continue this approach long after public conversation has turned to other topics. In the notice to SIUE administration, the BUC demanded communication, respect and regard, asking for disclosure of all legally permissible information related to bias incidents and all actions racist in nature. They also
asked that university messaging be vetted by the BUC in communication regarding the loss of Black lives and the Black experience at SIUE. In regards to policy, the BUC demanded an amendment to the Student Code of Conduct to have specific consequences for bias incidents, death threats, hate crimes and all racist actions, as well as all bias incidents be reported to the Bias Incident Response Team and disseminated to the departments and divisions applicable. The BUC also demanded enhanced campus safety, including enhanced campus lighting at night, installation of security cameras and enhanced swipe access. They demanded the creation of an affinity housing group for Black-identifying students as well as create a Black Cultural Center for Black students to safely embrace their identity. They also demanded that the university acknowledge an inability to retain Black students, develop Black students as leaders
and create authentic, safe environments and programs to embrace Black culture. Finally, in regards to anti-racism, the BUC demanded a chronological index of racially-biased incidents related to all SIUE campuses, and that an annual campus climate survey be conducted to assess students’ sense of belonging. We at The Alestle support these demands as necessary steps to creating a campus climate that is actively anti-racist and supportive of Black students. As a student news organization, we will continue to report on racially biased incidents and issues that affect Black students, cover Black student-led events and amplify the voices of Black leaders on campus. We are committed to editing our stories for sensitivity and tact in race-related coverage, and are open to being corrected and learning from our mistakes as we make them. As SIUE recently welcomed James T. Minor as the new chancellor, we need the new adminis-
tration to listen to the BUC’s demands and work toward creating an anti-racist institution. They must continue this conversation indefinitely, as a period of time without racist incidents does not mean that the problem is permanently solved. We hope that they fulfill the BUC’s demands out of a genuine concern for Black students’ safety, and a genuine desire to make Black students feel included and supported within the campus community. Once SIUE works on its anti-Blackness, this work needs to be extended to other marginalized groups, as racism rarely stops at one race. While we do not intend to derail the conversation, we also want improved experiences for Hispanic, Asian, LGBTQ+ students and students who are disabled. SIUE administration needs to update the campus on their response, and if certain demands cannot be met, we ask that they explain their reasoning.
The common feeling, from both from those who did and didn’t vote at all that year, was that Donald Trump would not win. I didn’t believe them then, and was surprised he didn’t win in 2020. Let me clarify — I did not want him to win at all. But I felt as though I knew what the United States would pick. Since 2020’s protests and election, I’m afraid some people in this country are adopting the idea of a post-racial society again. I’m worried we have begun to slip back into our old ways. In 2008, the idea was that we had the first Black president, so racism had to be done. In 2020, the idea was that we didn’t let our government get overthrown and the man who staged this lost the election, so racism was done again. Strides have been made in this country. It would be foolish to deny that. Things are better now for any minority group in the United States now than they were in the 1800s. But, that
doesn’t mean we should not want improvements still. The white majority of this country should not believe that racism is something that can be defeated. In many films, television series and other media, racism is treated as the ultimate evil, but that idea is untrue; racism isn’t evil because evil isn’t real. No one is evil just to be evil, but people are racist just to be racist. For example, white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who are self-declared racists and express pride in that fact. There’s also the fact that, of course, evil is usually seen as this fairytale concept where the evil nature of someone is characteristically evident, like a wicked stepmother or a witch. Racism, however, is often a small, direct and momentary instant of microaggression. Many news outlets who reported on the increase in hate crimes in 2020 compared the increase to another year when the
number was on the rise in the United States — 2008, the year President Barack Obama took office. Any time the white, liberal majority of this country believes a stride has been made against racism, the more racist parts of the country feel as though they must lash out. The solution to this problem is not to be content with where we are in the fight against racism. A professor at this university once explained racism to me as a residual concept. When you turn off an oven, it doesn’t immediately become room temperature inside the oven. It remains hot for a while after. The effects of racist policies will be at play for a long time after they are repealed, if they are ever repealed. We as a university and as Americans need to understand that stopping racism isn’t just one political candidate away, or a few laws away. It will take time, and we need to remain vigilant against bigotry of any kind.
The fight against racism is an eternal one everywhere GABRIEL BRADY managing editor
Following the Obama presidency, a concept emerged in America — the post-racial society. The concept was that because a Black man had earned the highest title of authority in the United States, the nation was no longer racist. Which therefore, made it beyond the concept of race — in other words, post-racial.This was obviously untrue then and remains untrue now. This is not the most surprising claim; others have expressed this feeling time and time again. The assumption would be, after the previous presidency and the protests in the summer of 2020, that everyone in this country who has been following the news knows this concept to be false. This is not a statement on how the United States is. This is a warning. In 2016, there were many voters who regretted not voting.
Thursday, 03.02.22
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Women’s Tennis sees a community of support and cinches their ninth consecutive win FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter SIUE Tennis remains undefeated this season after securing a win over Bradley University. The team is now nationally ranked, the first time in the program’s D1 history. Head Coach Adam Albersten said it was their largest crowd ever to come out and support them. Albertsen said that it was really awesome to see all the student-athletes, from volleyball and basketball to softball and track, as well as other community members come out and support the team. “I decided what’s better than free pizza so I bought a bunch of pizzas and everybody showed up,” Albertsen said. “You could tell our team was fed off that, the atmosphere was electric. They’re looking around and seeing people yelling and cheering for them.” The match started with doubles play, and the Cougars secured that point, boosting their confidence going into the singles matches. Jill Lambrechts, a redshirt sophomore, and Maria Thibault, a redshirt junior, won their match 6-1 while Jordan Schifano, sophomore, and Vanessa Reinicke, a redshirt junior, secured their match at 6-3, which gave SIUE the doubles point. “Getting that doubles point,
let us kind of find our way in singles. It obviously gets some momentum going up. We knew this was going to be a tight match. It just lets everybody kind of settle into singles and kind of feel good going into the match,” Albertsen said. The singles play was tight, but the Cougars pulled through. Lambrechts earned her eight-consecutive single wins this season and SIUE’s second point. Schifano won her singles as well, putting SIUE into a good position to win and remain undefeated. Fabiola Perez, a sophomore, cinched the fourth point in a 6-4, 6-4 win. SIUE lost to Bradley last year in a tight game, but Perez said she believed it is the hard work on the doubles and the team chemistry they have built that has improved the team’s play. “[Our team chemistry] really helps us, like we’re next to each other. We’re supporting each other [through] anything, that makes a really big difference,” Perez said. Albertsen said they knew it was going to be a tight game against Bradley but it was exciting to see the girls respond well and play well. He said that the support from the community was amazing and definitely helped shift the girls into a winning mindset. “We knew this was gonnabe one of our tougher matches early on, and it was exciting to kind of see us respond well and play well,” Albersten said. “Just having that support from our own student-athletes is special.It makes this place really, really special.”
After not being able to compete last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, club sports are now able to compete as normal, with women’s club basketball even getting to travel to Nebraska. Jackson Kennedy, a junior mass communications major from Aurora, Illinois, and president of the Bass Master’s Fishing Club, said this is the first semester the team’s been active since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said last year, they weren’t allowed to travel, and had to get the club director’s approval to participate in events within a 50 mile radius. In Spring 2021, they were only able to participate in one tournament. Kennedy said he’s thrilled to be back and able to participate without worrying about getting suspended. “I’m stoked that I’m able now, especially as President, I’m able to make the decisions that can benefit our team and bring kids to more tournaments,” Kennedy said. “We’re getting new
jerseys this year. We’re able to get a very decent amount of money in terms of sponsorships from title sponsors for [local companies], along with companies back in certain club members’ hometowns.” Kelly Cruise, a junior economics and psychology major from Havana, Illinois, and co-president of the women’s club basketball team, said they weren’t able to play any games last season, but that she forgot how much fun it is to actually play and have fans in the stands. “It’s not fun to not get to compete in your sport, but we were really lucky because we had a really strong core team that stayed with us and practiced once a week every week, even though we weren’t playing games,” Cruise said. “So to know that they were committed and dedicated was really awesome.” Cruise said the team is currently first in their league, so she’s excited for the chance to play in their league championship. “If we win that, then we advance on and might have a possibility to play in Pennsylvania for the national championship,
so I think we’re all really excited for that,” Cruise said. “We had a chance to do so my freshman year, but that was the year that [COVID-19] started and everything went downhill, so we didn’t actually get to go up.” Kyndel Arthalony, a senior biological sciences major from Mason City, Illinois, said the women’s club basketball team will play either Iowa or Creighton in regionals. “They’re both really good teams and they are fundamentally sound. They know what they’re doing, and they’re aggressive and they’re tough. So no matter what team [we] play, we’re definitely going to have to prepare and come into the game with the right mindset,” Arthalony said. Skyler Schafer, a junior elementary education major from Effingham, Illinois, and co-president of women’s club basketball, said the regionals match will be tough, especially since the team’s only loss this season was against Iowa. “We are really excited for the opportunity to hopefully get to play them again and see how it goes,” Schafer said.
Thursday, 03.03.22
SIUE STANDINGS Women’s Basketball OVERALL OVC
SIUE Murray State UT Martin Belmont Tennessee Tech Southeast Missouri Austin Peay Eastern Illinois Morehead State Tennessee State
12-17 21-8 12-17 20-7 19-9 6-23 18-10 16-13 1-27 11-18
Men’s Basketball OVERALL OVC
SIUE Belmont Austin Peay Southeast Missouri Tennessee Tech UT Martin Morehead State Tennessee State Eastern Illinois Murray State
11-20 25-6 12-16 13-17 10-20 8-22 21-10 13-17 5-26 28-2
Volleyball
OVERALL OVC
Morehead State Murray State Belmont Austin Peay SIUE UT Martin Eastern Illinois Tennessee Tech Southeast Missouri Tennessee State
20-11 18-12 9-20 21-12 6-23 15-17 11-18 16-14 25-8 10-17
All stats are from the OVC
UPCOMING
Club sports make a comeback from COVID-19 FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter
THE ALESTLE WILL NOT BE PUBLISHING MARCH 8, 10 AND 17
The team also had the chance to travel to Nebraska to compete. Kelsi Bales, a sophomore nursing major from Springfield, Illinois, said it was a great time for the team to bond. “I think the chemistry translates to the basketball court. We’ve had really good chemistry this year for a bunch of girls who pretty much have not played together. I think we’ve been able to come together well, and that’s because of the opportunities that we get to travel places like Nebraska and we went to Mizzou so I think that’s really helped us,” Bales said. Schafer said she is hopeful that the team gets to travel to Pennsylvania, as it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. “This team has worked so good together. The scoring comes from everywhere and I think that’s why we’ve been as successful as we have because our team just plays so well together and really there’s not a lot of selfishness,” Schafer said. “All we really care about is our scores higher at the end of the game, so it’s a great camaraderie to have in order to be as successful as we have been.”
Baseball at SIUE vs. Western Michigan 3 p.m., Mar. 4 Wrestling at MAC Championships All day, Mar. 4 Softball vs. Delaware 8 a.m. and vs. Illinois State 1 p.m., Mar. 4 Women’s Tennis vs. Western Kentucky 1 p.m., Mar. 5 Baseball at SIUE vs. Western Michigan 1 p.m., Mar. 5