The Alestle Vol. 74 No. 21

T H E

ALESTLE

thursday, 03.04.2021

The Student Voice Since 1960

vol. 74 no. 21

SIUE plays hot and cold

Temperatures in builidings across campus were lowered to counteract increased gas prices during winter storm.

For more, see page 3

Nursing students help distribute COVID-19 vaccines for their clinicals | page 2

Local business celebrates one-year anniversary during pandemic | page 4

Men’s basketball heads to OVC tournament after busy season | page 7

| Khoi Pham / The Alestle

alestlelive.com

page 2

thursday, 03.04.21

Nursing students continue vaccinations after joining National COVID-19 Community Engagement Pledge KRISTINA JOHNSON reporter

While administering the COVID-19 vaccine to the public, the School of Nursing signed this pledge in a way of saying they’re committed to keeping the public safe.

Since Jan. 21, senior nursing student Domonique Dones, of Belleville, Illinois, has been participating in multiple vaccine clinics. A month in, she said the clinics have given her an experience she will carry on to her professional career as a nurse.

“SIUE’s nursing program truly gives us a lot of hands-on and real life experience,” Dones said. “Despite the pandemic, they have continued to provide us with clinical experience and keeping everyone safe at the same time.”

Mid-December, the U.S. received its first doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

About a month later, SIUE got their first doses, of which were given to members of the School of Dental Medicine. Now SIUE’s nursing students are able to continue the vaccination process by administering them to phases 1A and 1B. These phases include health care personnel, residents of long-term care facilities, people over the age of 75 and nonhealth care frontline essential workers, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Nursing Associate Professor Amelia Perez said the Madison County Health Department and the East Side Health District are the groups providing local vaccine clinics.

“We have faculty that go there and have built relationships with those agencies for several years,” Perez said. “Because of [the faculty’s] relationships that they have with the students at SIUE and these agencies, when they were starting to plan these clinics they contacted the two faculty and invited them [and their students] to help with the vaccination clinics.”

Before the pandemic, Perez said nursing students enrolled in the care of populations course practiced vaccinations by administering the flu shot.

“Students would get engaged in influenza vaccinations and those types of experiences, health fairs and things like that,” Perez said. “This was an additional experi-

02.24.21 Officer responded to a report of a female subject possibly needing assistance.

Officer advised the female subject was gone on arrival.

Officer assisted ISP with traffic control on a traffic accident.

Officer responded to an active fire alarm. Officer advised the alarm was activated due to a hair dryer. No fire, no smoke, no damage.

02.25.21 Officer responded to a report of two subjects smoking by the lake. Officer made contact with the subjects and advised them smoking was not allowed on campus.

Senior nursing student Chloe Howard from Sherman, Illinois, is disinfecting the arm of senior nursing major Taylor Franklin from Rockford, Illinois at the Clyde Jordan Senior Center in East St. Louis, Illinois. | Damian Morris / The Alestle

ence. [The students] feel like, ‘Wow we’re in this pandemic and we’re helping to be part of the solution.”

Senior nursing student Ranita Donaby, of Centralia, Illinois, said she is getting a unique experience by participating in the vaccine clinics.

“I’m very happy to be involved [with] giving out vaccines and just helping slow the curve [of] the people [who] are getting infected with the coronavirus,” Donaby said.

Not only are the nursing students administering the vaccine, Perez said they are also helping in other areas during the clinics.

“They are also [helping] teach about the vaccine, about its benefits [and] what to watch out for,” Perez said. “They’re not only doing the administration of the vaccines but they’re also doing health education … keeping the flow of everyone coming in [organized.]”

Donaby said after a person has been given the vaccine, they don’t leave right

away. The person has to be monitored to make sure they don’t have any reactions to the vaccine.

“We stand there and watch for 15 minutes and make sure they don’t have any adverse reactions or anything like that. We want to catch it before it happens,” Donaby said.

Depending on the person getting the vaccine, Donaby said people who are at higher risk can sit up to 30 minutes for observation before they can leave.

With the pandemic taking away a lot of in-person learning for students, Dones said she is happy to have participated with the vaccine clinics and to be able to do it in-person.

“Clinicals have been great,” Dones said. “We give over 100 COVID-19 vaccinations each week. It is truly encouraging to see the community still working together during the pandemic.”

For more information about COVID-19 vaccines, visit the Illinois Department of Public Health website.

State citation issued to person near University Drive. Warnings also issued for Driving on Suspended Registration, Operation of Uninsured Motor Vehicle and No Rear Registration Light.

02.26.2 Officer responded to an active fire alarm. Officer advised the alarm was activated due to cooking. No fire, no smoke, no damage.

Officer responded to an active fire alarm. Officer advised alarm was activated due to cooking. Officer advised there were flames in the oven. Edwardsville Fire Department was dispatched and extinguished the fire. There was a fire, heavy smoke and the oven was damaged. EFD cleared the scene and advised it was secure to enter.

02.28.21 Officer responded to an active alarm.

Officer advised the building was checked and secured and alarm was activated due to an unknown reason.

Officer responded to a suspicious odor of cannabis. Officer advised there was a faint smell, but unable to locate the source.

Mayor proposes changes to Chicago police search warrant policies following wrongful raid on woman’s home GREGORY PRATT JEREMY GORNER JOHN BYRNE Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO – Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled a series of proposed changes to the city’s search warrant policies amid ongoing pressure from City Council members to implement police reforms in the wake of the wrongful raid on Anjanette Young’s home.

The measures outlined by Lightfoot stop short of stricter rules proposed by aldermen and in some cases reflect basic steps such as reviewing mistakes after the fact to find out what went wrong.

Under Lightfoot’s proposed new policies, all search warrants need to be approved by a deputy chief or higher. The current standard calls for a lieutenant’s approval. All “no-knock” war-

In this file photo, supporters gather during a rally Monday, Jan. 18, 2021 outside Progressive Baptist Church for Anjanette Young and all women who have been traumatized by police violence and miscon| Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune duct. rants will be banned from use except when there’s a safety threat, which the police department previously said already was its practice. These warrants will need to be approved by a bureau chief or higher and executed by SWAT, officials said.

Cops also will be required to perform a planning session

before serving a search warrant, and an independent investigation of the raid will be conducted to make sure the information used to obtain the warrant was accurate.

A female officer must be present for the search and a lieutenant or higher must be there as well, Lightfoot said.

The city also will conduct an after-action review any time the city performs a wrong raid, Lightfoot said.

The measure doesn’t go as far as a plan proposed by aldermen last month with Young’s support. That ordinance would prohibit officers from pointing guns at kids or handcuffing them, or doing so to relatives while kids are present.

Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said Wednesday the search warrant policy will be posted as a draft on CPD’s website for the public to weigh in on it over a 15-day period before a final policy is implemented.

“It’s always the right time to do the right thing,” Brown said, noting the department had previously revised its search warrant policy in January 2020. “We should always be evolving to improve our policy’s training and accountability.”

Since December, Lightfoot’s been forced to confront the fallout from an errant February 2019 police raid at Young’s home, during which she was handcuffed naked by officers who had wrongly entered her residence. Lightfoot’s Law Department worked to keep the video under wraps before WBBM-Ch. 2 published the video last year.

Lightfoot’s administration filed an emergency order to prohibit the publication, which she later said she didn’t know about.

Lightfoot initially said she only learned about the video when CBS aired police body camera footage that showed Young repeatedly telling officers who barged into her home that they had the wrong place. But the mayor later acknowledged she had received a November 2019 email about the “pretty bad wrongful raid” that was explicit about the details.

thursday, 03.04.21

alestlelive.com

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Motivation and Organization is key to stave off mid-semester slump THOMAS DRAKE reporter

The spring semester has started and it is the last stretch of the semester until the summer break. But managing time can be difficult for some during this period.

Undeclared freshman Luke Parish from Alton, Illinois, said starting the second semester was rough.

“I don’t know why, it just took me a while to get back into everything. Waking up a certain time in the morning and making sure I get a certain assignment done,” Parish said.

Parish said in order to manage his time better, he makes being successful in school his biggest goal.

“I prioritize school above everything else right now. I am not one of those people that does a monthly schedule and writes down every date on a syllabus. Every Sunday I write down all of my assignments for the week and I write out when I’m going to do what,” Parish said.

Learning Support Services instructor, Sarah Andersen, said a planner is important for any student.

“I would say that the biggest thing is to have a planner. I also recommend a white board and putting all your assignments and all your work, and all your classes, everything on that white board and crossing it off as you go,” Andersen said.

Andersen said the visual representation of the board can help to remind a student.

“It’s a visual representation, so if you are walking past it you’ll just look at it and see, ‘Oh yeah I got something to do’,” Andersen said.

Andersen said she tells students to have a dedicated time to study with breaks to manage their time.

“Twenty minutes of dedicated studying, no phone, no distractions and then at the end of the twenty minutes I tell them to have a planned break and take a ten minute break, like a solid ten minutes, not five, but really let your brain relax and then come back to it again in twenty minutes,”

Andersen said.

Counselor for the Career Development Center, Robin Brown said that a student rewarding themself after a task can help motivate them.

“If they can think of their primary goal is to eventually get the degree and get a job and start their career, but that can be difficult at times so for me personally, if I was a student I would basically reward myself,” Brown said.

Motivation is important to make a schedule for a student to properly manage their time. Parish said his motivation is his future.

“I think about what I want to do after school. I want to go and make videos, it’s

Learning Support Services instructor Sarah Anderson said she recommends students use a planner and visual reminders to keep up with classes in college. | Khoi Pham / The Alestle

basically all I wanted to do since first grade.

So everytime I sit there and I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t really want to do pre-calc today,’ it’s just what I wanna do after school,” Parish said. “ I really want this degree. If making video games doesn’t work out, what am I gonna do without a degree?” Parish said.

Brown said working towards a future career can be a great driving force for a student during any semester and that the Career Development Center can help with that.

“They can also use our services because we make appointments and we can get you started looking for some type of internship or co-op, even if you’re a freshman and you wanted to start getting your resume completed and because [of] the fact you’ll be working towards your career,” Brown said.

Brown said a student can still hangout with friends and other activities, but they have to give some attention to school and their future careers.

Freshman business administration major Gage Crader from Godfrey, Illinois, said he schedules all of his classes in the morning and does them throughout the day. Crader said his friends on campus keep him motivated.

“Seeing them kinda pushes me along.

We try to stay in a cheery mood. No one wants to be gloomy,” Crader said.

To learn more, go to the Learning Support Services website.

SIUE lowers building temperatures to adjust for heating price increase JOHN MCGOWAN reporter

Building temperatures at SIUE are about four degrees Fahrenheit colder than they were a couple weeks ago, due to the increased heating prices that came as a result of the recent polar vortex.

Heating prices went up across the country. At SIUE, the price for one dekatherm, a unit used to measure natural gas, spiked from $3 to $130. Director of Facilities Management Craig Holan said the decision to lower the temperature was a proactive one.

“We did it by four degrees from our setpoint. So, our set point is normally 72 … That was just us being proactive, as we had no idea how long the prices would remain high,” Holan said.

Though most building temperatures have been lowered, the Morris University Center and the residence halls operate un-

der their own guidelines, where temperatures have remained unchanged. Director of Housing Mallory Sidarous said it was a matter of balancing what was right for students and what was right for the building.

“It is different in a residential facility,” Sidarous said. “We work with Facilities Management and our plumbers to decide what’s best for our equipment. The way that a residence hall is set up is different than the heating systems in an academic building or office building. So, we keep the temperatures at a place that is comfortable for both students but also [our equipment].”

Since the cold week, temperatures have increased, and the school’s gas rate has gone back to just cents more than what it once was, though building temperatures have remained the same.

Holan said the school is now rethinking how it handles its heating.

“We do feel like setting back the tem-

BY THE NUMBERS

COVID-19 at SIUE

New confirmed positive cases (from tests conducted by SIUE and self-reporting):

Feb. 19 - 25: 6 students, 0 faculty/staff Feb. 12 - 18: 9 students, 4 faculty/staff 14-day new positive tests: 12 students, 2 faculty/ staff All prior weeks positive tests (Aug. 1 - Jan. 11): 316 students, 83 faculty/staff Total positive cases: 331 students, 89 faculty/staff

Tests conducted by SIUE

Feb. 19 - 25: 814 Feb. 12 - 18: 235 14-day new tests conducted: 1049 All prior weeks tests conducted (Aug. 21 - Feb. 11): 8561 Total tests conducted: 9610

Positive cases identified by SIUE testing:

Feb. 19 - 25: 1 Feb 12 - 18: 2 14-day new positive cases: 3 All prior weeks positive cases (Aug. 21 - Feb. 11): 371 Total: 374

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

peratures did help us … We’ve undertaken a more detailed study, building by building, to understand our gas usage a little better in terms of what the outside temperatures are,” Holan said.

Holan said heating buildings is tough as the students, faculty and staff inside all have unique comfort levels, among other factors.

“With temperature, some people will be hot, and some people will be cold, always, because individual comfort levels vary. Plus, across an entire building we have warm areas, and we have cold areas.

We can’t regulate it perfectly,” Holan said.

Some students seem unaffected by the change in temperature. Freshman civil engineering major Robert Young of Graymont, Illinois, said he likes the cold.

“I personally like the cold, so the difference in temperature hasn’t really – I haven’t noticed anything too different about the building, personally,” Young said.

Senior geography major Matt Subgrunski of Naperville, Illinois, said his advice for students upset by the change is to wear more clothes.

“I’m used to it when it gets pretty damn cold … If it is super cold, practice good layering technique with your clothes. Don’t immediately just throw on the heaviest, warmest thing you can find,” Subgrunski said.

Holan also said he is proud of the way the situation was handled.

“We did okay in response to this. We may not have been the best in response, but we were near the top in how we handled it … I certainly feel good that we addressed this the best we can, and I feel even better that going forward we’ll continue to refine our policy in terms of gas usage,” Holan said.

Holan said Facilities Management is seeking feedback on the building temperature and can be reached on their website.

Madison County confirmed cases by day

February 20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

Source: Madison County Health Department COVID-19 Dashboard, as of Feb. 28

Percentage of isolation/quarantine space available on campus (as of Feb. 25): 97 percent Source: Health, Reporting, and Testing page on SIUE’s COVID-19 website, as of Feb. 25

COVID-19’S impact on Madison County

All of Illinois’ regions remain under Tier 4 mitigations, which went into effect Feb. 4. These mitigations include the following: - All gatherings of 50 people or fewer are allowed with this limit subject to change based on latest data & guidance - Travel should follow IDPH and CDC approved guidance - All health care providers are open - P-12 schools, higher education, all summer programs and child care open with IDPH approved safety guidance Source: dph.illinois.gov.

- All outdoor recreation allowed | Summer Bradley / The Alestle

SIUE has lowered their building temperatures by four degrees in order to account for a spike in heating prices across the country. | Khoi Pham / The Alestle

ONLINE: GEORGE FLOYD’S RELATIVES SPEAK TO SIUE page 4

lifestyles

thursday, 03.04.21

alestlelive.com

A celebration like no other: local juicery reaches first anniversary during pandemic DANA MCLENNAN copy editor

CJ’s Juicery, named for owner Courtney Jean McLaughlin, opened right before the world was turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After setbacks in 2019, McLaughlin said she could finally open up her dream business on Jan. 15, 2020 — a local juicery with a built-in mini thrift shop. It was off to a great start, she said.

But, the pandemic changed her expectations.

“I just think … with me not even knowing how my first year would have went is just really sad. I don’t know what it would have been like, what it could have been,” McLaughlin said. “I don’t like to get really lost in that. But … I’ll never have that.”

McLaughlin said at first she was really busy as people began staying home, but it didn’t last.

As the weeks and months went by and COVID-19 got worse, people stopped showing up and she had to rethink everything.

“I was trying to do curbside and just keep everything very minimal, but … not a lot of people were coming in either. I really had to take that into consideration because I just wasn’t really busy,” McLaughlin said. “But I was busy enough to still be here.”

Greg Caffey, director of Planning and Development for the City of Alton, Illinois, said it has been challenging for small businesses and commends business owners that have been able to hang on.

“I think it’s been very hard for, you know, all business owners, obviously, just given the fluctuations in terms of, you know, the mitigation tiers that we were placed under by the state of Illinois,” Caffey said. “So whether we were under Tier 1 Mitigation or Tier 2 or Phase 4, or you know, just with a varying seating capacity or business hours that they operate under made it very difficult for all businesses.”

McLaughlin said she is grateful to still be in business.

“Everything I do is from my heart. And I truly mean it. I was saying the other day I wouldn’t be in business if I had some McDonald’s franchise, I’m in business because it’s juice, and it heals people,” McLaughlin said.

“I truly, truly believe in that.”

She said she took to Facebook and Instagram to keep her customers aware of her hours, slimmed her menu and took pre-orders because in the end, it was all about providing a healthy alternative to other options.

“McDonald’s is still open, and other places that actually aren’t beneficial to your health and that won’t boost your immune system … the juice will help you through these times. They

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

The Headphone Jack: Sunny songs for warmer days

GABRIEL BRADY opinion editor

With the snow finally melting from the parking lots on campus, now is time to embrace the spring weather and be positive once again.

‘Birds of a Feather, We Rock Together,’ Vulfpeck ft. Antwaun Stanley

This is one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands. Based on the title alone, most people wouldn’t expect such a groovy, calm song, but that’s exactly what this song is. It’s a good way to start the day, and the vocal harmonies in the chorus are minimalistic, but very noticeable.

Top: CJ’s Juicery celebrated their one-year anniversary in January. The majority of the smoothie and juice bar’s first year in business has been marked by the pandemic. Still, the bar is up and running for those looking for healthy snacks that owner Courtney Jean McLaughlin said will boost their immune system as well. McLaughlin has also been known to offer curbside on snowy days, ensuring no patron goes juiceless due to inclement weather. Bottom: In addition to enjoying cold-pressed juice, smoothie bowls and other special treats, customers can find some pre-loved pieces in CJ’s closet. | Khoi Pham / The Alestle

will boost your immunity,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin said the pandemic made it even more important that she continue on. She said the juice she provides is made of healthy fruits and vegetables, helps boost the immune system and can help even if someone is just feeling down and out.

“I’m never [going to shut down] unless someone comes in here and [says] ‘No, you have to stop what you’re doing,’” McLaughlin said. “Like I said, McDonald’s hasn’t shut down, right?”

McLaughlin says it’s important that people understand why juicing is healthy and believes that people don’t have faith in their immune system.

“It’s not about staying inside and taking whatever they tell you to take. It’s about eating the fruits and vegetables, drinking the juice, taking vitamins, getting sunlight when we can and breathing fresh air when you can,“ McLaughlin said. “It is definitely just remembering that you have an immune system and that it’s there for a reason, so we should

try and take care of it.”

CJ’s serves cold-pressed juices that can only be stored for two to three days before they spoil, McLaughlin said. So all of her juice is prepared fresh, and nothing goes to waste. She said everything that might be discarded instead goes into smoothies.

“Smoothies have the fiber.

Like with the juice, it’s more straight, like nutrients, it’ll go into the bloodstream, but with the smoothie, it’s more of a filling fiber,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin said she avoids using processed proteins in her smoothies because eating healthy should taste good.

“I want it to be real. I want you to know it is about being healthy when you come in here, and it’s about picking that choice that doesn’t taste bad. People think health has to be gross, and it doesn’t,” McLaughlin said. “I make everything … taste just as good as all the processed stuff, but it’s actually healthy.”

McLaughlin said she always adds chia, flax or hemp parts packed with protein because fruits don’t have a lot of protein.

Kathy Mora, registered dietitian and assistant professor of nutrition at SIUE, said she would like to see more college students learning to cook and shop for healthy foods without the false sense that they have to go to a juice place to get something healthy.

“As a dietician, we recommend eating a wide variety of foods, eating whole foods, like the least processed foods,” Mora said. “So [juicing] products can provide healthy nutrients, but for the cost [at a juicery], you could probably get a lot of fruits and vegetables.”

Mora said besides being a convenient option to fast food, one of the benefits to places like CJ’s is that the combination of produce that is being used might be more than what somebody would choose independently. “[Students] might not eat that many carrots, or they might not eat carrots at all, or they might never eat kale, but they … like it in a green smoothie or green juice drink… it gives [stusee JUICERY on page 5

‘Here Comes The Sun,’ The Beatles

This one is pretty literal, but it still works well. It’s a great encapsulation of the feeling of the dawning of a new day, and the hope that comes with the end of winter. The transition between the previous song and this one is so smooth and peaceful.

‘Wind in Our Sail,’ Weezer

This is the second track off of Weezer’s 2016 “White Album,” and it’s where I think the playlist starts to pick up energy. The song is a bit louder, and it just sounds more full than the first two songs.

‘This

Life,’ Vampire Weekend

What’s more iconic than a sad song that sounds happy?

Vampire Weekend keeps the energy flowing, despite the song’s story about a failing relationship and internal struggles. The story is sad, but the song certainly does have a good beat.

‘Daylight,’ Matt Kim

and

This is the first of a few songs on this playlist with a very catchy piano part. The sheer energy and happiness of this song is impossible to avoid.

‘Shaky in the Knees,’ Grizfolk

This is a very sweet song, with slower tempo and catchy piano to give a moment of rest about halfway through both the playlist and the day. The falsetto in the chorus and all the vocal harmonies are the icing on the cake.

‘Lovely Day,’ Bill Withers

This is, in my opinion, one of see SPRING SONGS on page 8

thursday, 03.04.21

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Nap pods provide new way to relax on study breaks are still out. I would assume so it doesn’t feel like you’re confined in a little thing …

The circular part makes it darker, or you can turn on lights inside if you don’t want it [to be dark], but it kind of makes it like

give them everything they need within the NICOLE BOYD library,” Weatherly said. copy editor Students seem to be enjoying the nap The black and red, egg-shaped chairs pods, Weatherly said. that have appeared in Lovejoy Library are “I went up there one time to get some actually “nap pods,” intended to more photos of [them], and yeah, give students a safe place to relax or they were being used by students, study. which was really great to see. I’ve Antonina Weatherly, social meused [them] before, not even for dia graduate assistant for the library, work, as a student,” Weatherly said. said the library had the nap pods Desrine San Pedro, a senior for several months, but didn’t know nursing major from the Philippines, whether or not they would be safe said she likes using the nap pods to during COVID-19. They decided study. they would be a cleaner alternative “I like it. It’s really cute. I think to beanbags, as they are made of it’s really comfy, because when I leather and plastic. work at home, I like working in my “We can’t be using the beanbed, so it kind of mimics that, so bags right now with COVID, bethat’s why I like it … I haven’t [takcause they’re harder to clean. [With] en a nap] but I just do my homethe nap pods, you can still wipe work there,” San Pedro said. them down and get them clean. The Christian Debrosse, a sophbeanbags, you would have to wash omore economics major from St. the cloth every time,” Weatherly Charles, Missouri, said he prefers said. to nap on the couches in the library The nap pods’ features create instead of in the nap pods, but still an atmosphere that aids in relaxuses them to relax.

Students no longer see the giant red beanbags in ation, according to Weatherly.

“I’ve used them a few times, the Lovejoy Library. Instead, they see nap pods, “Students can go up there and [they’re] pretty comfortable … which are easier to clean due to their leather interior. … use the features in the nap pod, usually I’ll just look at my phone. | Khoi Pham / The Alestle which there’s a timer feature, there’s I don’t really study in them or anya light feature, there’s music that thing, but I’ll just kind of sit there you can either listen to and have and chill,” Debrosse said. it surround you or you can plug in your your own little area,” Weatherly said.

Kylea Perkins, a senior art and design own headphones, so I think they were put Weatherly said the library hopes the major from St. Louis, said she didn’t know there just to give students another place nap pods will provide a way for commuter what the nap pods were, or that they were to relax and study because sometimes students to stay on campus between class- made for napping. you just get overwhelmed studying for so es.

“I haven’t tried them out … I go to long,” Weatherly said.

“I think it goes back to SIUE being, the library because I work in the honors Weatherly said the nap pods are or it used to, being a commuter campus. office, but they do look exciting,” Perkins shaped like eggs so students can feel se- And so we don’t want to have to have said. cluded without feeling constricted. students come to campus and then leave To learn more about the nap pods and “You can close it to where it’s darker because they need a break, or leave the li- instructions on how to use them, visit the around where your face is, but your feet brary because they need a break. Rather, library’s Instagram page.

page 5 JUICERY I PAGE 4

dents] an opportunity to introduce new, fresh produce … into their diet in a way that is more fun and palatable and enjoyable for them,“ Mora said. “If you drink something, it seems easy, versus ‘I have to get a bag of kale and figure out what to do with it.’”

McLaughlin said she celebrated her first year in business by holding a special and having live music.

“It was really kind of a walk-inand-out type thing. You know, everybody was wearing masks. I had my … friend in the corner, he was playing some acoustic [music], but it was just very minimal,” McLaughlin said.

“But say, if we didn’t have COVID, it probably would have been like, three times what it was.”

McLaughlin said while the pandemic has put off her plans of adding yoga and reiki sessions in-store, they are still on the table. In the meantime, she said she isn’t giving up and shared her advice for others.

“Don’t get stuck. Everything is temporary … [you’ve] got to get up, you have to do what you got to do and don’t let the anxieties of not having enough customers in one day bring you down the rest of the year,” McLaughlin said. “You know, just because there’s one bad day, bad week or bad month doesn’t mean it is going to be terrible forever.”

CJ’s offers juices, smoothies, protein bars, vegan peanut butter balls, soups, muffins and more.

CJ’s Juicery is located at 415 Ridge St. in Alton, Illinois, just six minutes from the SIU School of Dental Medicine campus. Pre-orders can be placed by calling 419-3684.

Two professors will have research funded under prestigious grant KRISTINA JOHNSON reporter

The Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Award was awarded to the professors for their research, which includes $12,500 to be used in a one-year time span.

Mass communications professor Ashton Speno and applied communications studies professor Deborah Sellnow-Richmond will use award money to fund their upcoming separate research projects.

Gender and race in tween television

Speno’s research will examine portrayals of gender and race in tween television programs and their effect on children.

She said this is a topic that lacks research and that her research will add to the field of study.

“Kids can learn [a bit] from TV. They are impressionable at this age and a lot of times they are getting to the age where they don’t care as much about what their parents have to say,” Speno said. “They’re looking to these other sources for information.”

Her research on tween television shows is an addition to her research published in 2014, which focused on how tweens view themselves because of their representation on television. Speno said the two topics are interconnected and that her future research will dive into them

more.

“In the last study I did, I saw [girls] are already being [indoctrinated] into this idea that girls need to be attractive, they should care about their appearance, they should work to maintain their appearance and that it’s appropriate and normal for young girls to have people comment on their appearance,” Speno said.

Analysis of Speno’s previous research had four main takeaways: female characters were underrepresented, were more attractive than male characters, received more comments about their appearance and showed more concern for their appearance.

Speno said she believes times are changing and the popularity of movies and television shows that include a wide variety of characters are on the rise.

“We’ve seen some of these movies, for example, ‘Get Out’ or ‘Black Panther’ that have Black actors in the most prominent roles of these movies,” Speno said. “Those have been wildly successful at the box office. I’m hoping we’re at a turning point where we’ll start to see more and more racial and ethnic diversity in TV shows and film.”

Mass Communications Chair Musonda Kapatamoyo said Speno’s research is timely since children today are spending more time with the media than previous generations.

“In the past there was TV, radio, newspaper, but now all that stuff is combined into apps on the internet, which the teens and tweens have that in their hands 24/7,” Kapatamoyo said. “I think it’s going to be very helpful to people that have the concern to understand what is going on with young people.”

Communication during pandemic

Sellnow-Richmond’s research is focused on crisis communication among vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said her focus for the population is centered around grocery store workers, delivery drivers, restaurant workers or essential workers who worked in-person throughout the pandemic.

“We had a lot of communication errors happen early on and throughout the pandemic,” Sellnow-Richmond said. “But we also have more long-standing issues in that, with vulnerable groups in particular, we’re looking at things like, ‘How do we vaccinate the population? What about issues of distrust with the health system, with organization trust issues that have occurred because of abuse in the past?”

Sellnow-Richmond said she wants to focus on how officials are going to effectively get out of the pandemic by using crisis communication. Also, she hopes to show how to productively communicate with these populations in a way that will encourage appropriate action going forward.

The groups she is focusing on are the people who do on-ground work around St. Louis County and into the Metro East area. Because these populations are high risk, they are vulnerable.

Applied Communication Studies Chair Duff Wrobbel said the importance of understanding crisis communication is vital in taking care of people during a pandemic. He said Sellnow-Richmond’s research couldn’t be more timely given the pandemic we are facing.

“A huge driver of whether or not we succeed or fail at controlling it is in the communication that we have about it,” Wrobbel said. “You want to have the most accurate information communicated in the most appropriate ways possible in order to keep people as safe as possible.”

Wrobbel said knowing how the communication was handled in the St. Louis and Metro East areas are important to know for the future, if another pandemic were to happen again.

“How well [did] they work for different subsets of the population?” Wrobbel said. “Coronavirus has hit different demographic groups differently. Some groups have been hit much harder than others.”

As her research moves forward, Sellnow-Richmond said it’s important to recognize that crises will happen and they are going to continue; therefore, communication at the beginning, and throughout, is crucial.

“We weren’t prepared at the public health level for a pandemic like this, but there were so many gaps in execution that we really floundered. It’s not really enough to have [crisis communication] done, it has to be to be practiced,” Sellnow-Richmond said. “I’m hoping that it gets put into action beyond understanding, because I think that’s what we’re looking at in late and post-pandemic.” photos by SIUE Marketing & Communications

opinion

NEXT WEEK: THE BENEFITS OF REHAB FOR ADDICTS page 6

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Teachers, pointless group projects need to stop THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board

Lazy peers, indecision, impossible coordination, an unwelcome time commitment and a classroom full of groaning students. Tack on a deadline and you’ve got yourself a group project. It’s no secret that many students hate being forced to work in a group.

One of the most common problems faced in group projects is the concept of social loafing — the idea that people put forth less effort when working in a group due to a lesser sense of responsibility than working individually.

This can lead to some students who might normally be hard workers to put less effort in, forcing others to pick up the slack.

Add this to the fact that it can even take as long as a week

for group members to figure out when they are all available to meet up. When they do meet up, the first meeting is often filled with back and forth as to what they even want the project to be or how they should start.

This isn’t to say group projects can’t be valuable nor that they should be taken out of classrooms completely. However, they should be well thought out and serve a particular purpose when assigned. Oftentimes, it seems an instructor assigns a group project because they heard group projects are beneficial to students but don’t put enough thought into why they are assigning it.

A student is used to being responsible for their own work and their own grade. The GPA system is in place to represent a student on their individual academic mer-

its. In group projects, there are often a select few who take the lead and do the majority of the work.

If one grade is shared for the whole group, then this is bound to frustrate the students who had to pick up the slack and make up for the lack of their peers’ effort.

A simple way for instructors to track individual efforts is by delegating roles to each member: leader, organizer, documenter, etc. This gives each person a role that can be graded on it’s own virtues, but still requires teamwork to complete the task, simulating a workplace environment. But, if every role is dependent on one another, the same issue of certain students not holding up their end of the bargain can still occur. This is why instructors should have a system in place where students can notify them if a group mem-

ber isn’t contributing.

If a group project is assigned, there needs to not only be class time for students to work on it, but instructors also need to keep the course moving, which can be difficult to manage for instructors and students alike. Instructors have to make the group project the sole focus of the class for the time allotted to complete it, set mini deadlines if there are other assignments during the same time or simply not assign one at all.

The bottom line is group projects should never be assigned just to have a group project in a course. They should only be given if they have a specific and relevant purpose to the class, as well as having been thought through well enough to address common problems within the nature of group projects.

Sam’s autism support group. The show still has its flaws, but many noticed a marked improvement in the quality of representation from season two on.

However, not everyone is receptive to backlash. “Music,” a 2021 film by the pop musician Sia, is a garish example of what happens when you don’t see autistic people as valuable in portraying ASD. Instead of being understanding when criticized, Sia resulted to childish insults when asked by someone on the spectrum why there were no autistic people included in any step of the production. On her since-deleted Twitter, Sia replied, “Maybe you’re just a bad actor.”

The titular character, Music (played by neurotypical actress Maddie Ziegler) is a portrayal of autism that would be laughable if it weren’t so insulting. Ziegler is unable to produce even three facial expressions as Music, and the depiction isn’t just bad, it’s dangerous. The film depicted the use of a type of restraint that

has killed autistic children as an act of love, and Sia claiming future releases would cut the scene doesn’t excuse implementing it in the first place.

The sad thing is, even good representation can be corrupted by bad influence. I was thrilled when “Sesame Street” added Julia, an autistic muppet, to its cast.

This excitement wasn’t personal, but because I have a cousin my age on the spectrum who enjoys “Sesame Street.” That kind of representation isn’t just important for him, but numerous other children and families. She was developed in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, one of the most prominent organizations made by and for autistic individuals.

That’s why it was saddening to find out that Sesame Street had since broken their partnership with ASAN and used Julia to promote Autism Speaks. The organization is a controversial yet well known one that uses performative inclusivity to hide

a negative view on autistic individuals, encouraging a rhetoric of grieving a living autistic child, implying diagnosis is comparable to death.

These examples don’t mean representation is impossible to do well. The 2018 reboot of animated action-adventure “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” is known for its diversity, including a great example of autism representation. Entrapta, voiced by Christine Woods, is the princess of Dryl, a talented inventor who’s a valued member of the cast despite having different ways of approaching things than her peers.

Her development was influenced by a crew member on the spectrum, Sam Szymanski, whose input was vital in her authenticity, and her characterization was praised by fans and critics alike.

Basically, when it comes to depicting ASD on the screen, there’s a good phrase used by ASAN to summarize my point: “Nothing can be about us, without us.”

Autism Representation: You need us to know us

EMILY STERZINGER online editor

Why is pop culture still so behind on representing autism properly? The answer may be simple — a lack of input from those on the spectrum.

An example of what input fixes is “Atypical,” Netflix’s comedy-drama series focusing on Sam (Keir Gilchrist), an autistic teenager struggling with the social complications of family, high school and relationships. To some, season one’s depiction of Sam was seen as stereotypical and sometimes even inaccurate. The cast and crew of the show at the time was also entirely neurotypical, meaning nobody in the cast or crew had ASD. When the show’s team heard backlash, they used this as an opportunity for growth. They hired David Finch, a best-selling author with ASD, to be a consultant for the personal experience of autism, and cast actors on the spectrum as members of

sports

contact the editor: sports@alestlelive.com 650-3527 thursday, 03.04.21

READ ONLINE: GOLF TAKES WIN IN ONLY HOME MEET OF SEASON page 7

alestlelive.com

Basketball teams end regular seasons, men compete in post-season

SIUE Standings MEN’S SOCCER

OVERALL MAC

SIUE West Virginia Western Michigan Akron Bowling Green Northern Illinois

DALTON BROWN copy editor DAMIAN MORRIS managing editor

Men’s basketball is competing in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament after having the most OVC wins since their 2014-2015 season. While the women’s team didn’t make the OVC, they’re preparing for their next season.

The women’s team left Saturday’s game with a record of 3-17 in the OVC and 6-19 overall. The men’s team left with a record of 7-12 in OVC and 9-16 overall, putting them in position to go to the OVC tournament despite obstacles Head Coach Brian Barone said they faced throughout the season.

“You take 33 days off in the middle of the season, you have two full practices in an 18-game stretch that you can actually practice and not have to just jog through stuff,” Barone said. “And to win enough to get into the tournament says a lot about what we’ve overcome with two season-ending injuries the last three weeks, a season-ending injury to start the season for Ray’Sean Taylor and then having people with COVID out 10 to 16 days, that’s more of the story than anything, and that’s something that we’ve put ourselves in position to go to the OVC tournament.”

Women’s Basketball Head Coach Paula Buscher said her team also faced obstacles this season, but she’s grateful regardless.

“You know, I give a lot of credit to our players, with the pandemic and all the different things that have gone on, they’ve sacrificed a lot and I really appreciate that,” Buscher said. “And there’s also support staff and everybody else. It’s unbelievable how many people were involved to pull this off and allow us to get to play the game we love.”

With their last game of the season behind them, Buscher said her team is already looking forward to next season.

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

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

SOFTBALL

OVERALL OVC

Senior guard Mike Adewunmi looks to drive into the lane while facing off with SEMO’s Eric Reed Jr. during Saturday night’s game. | Khoi Pham / The Alestle

“We’ll sit down and we’ll liams. However, one of the Couhave some individual meetings gars’ missed attempts allowed the and ask them what do they feel Redhawks’ sophomore forward like went well, what do they feel Sophia Hancock to steal, passlike they need to work on, and ing to redshirt junior guard Terri really it’s just setting up an indi- Smith, who attempted to dribvidual plan for where they take it ble out the clock. The Cougars in the spring through the summer stole it back, and freshman guard and get ready for next season,” Caite Knutson scored a last-minBuscher said. ute layup with only two seconds Despite their 69-63 loss on remaining in the quarter, but it Saturday, men’s basketball was on wasn’t enough to put the Cougars the verge of a comeback after a on top. The night ended in a 6315-point push in the second half 52 SEMO victory. after being behind 47-31. This During the men’s basketball led to a constant push-back with game, junior guard Courtney Carthe score being tied at 48-48 with ter scored 16 points in the second 8:36 minutes left in the game. half of the game despite having a Barone said he attributes the hard first half, scoring no points. team’s improvement in the second Barone said this rough start half to their natural instincts and was due to his play time being consistenlimited in cy. the first half “I just “Every coach will tell you of the game. think we “Courtfinally just this, but great players are ney’s a guy started seethat has a made in the off-season. ing the ball lot of abilgo in a litity to do PAULA BUSCHER tle bit and great, he’s a women’s basketball head coach whenever great young your ofman,” Barfense picks one said. up and the ball goes in, natural- “He had two fouls in the first half ly our defense really picked up as [and] he was limited in his minwell,” Barone said. “We just made utes, but once he got comfortable some shots and we keep believing in kind of understanding [how] and we stay consistent in our ef- defense was stacked against him, fort. And I think that’s why we he was able to take advantage achad our little run right there.” cordingly.”

An intense moment in the Buscher said her team has had women’s game happened during standout players, both in Saturthe last half of the final quarter. day’s game and year-round.

The Cougars managed to score “Prima Chellis is starting to three consecutive field goal at- play, I think we just got a little tempts, two of which were scored glimpse of what her future will by junior guard Masyn McWil- hold and how she’ll play, even

in the last maybe three or four games, she got a different comfort zone,” Buscher said. “And then Ajulu Thatha has ... improved every single year since she started playing basketball. She started playing the sport late compared to other people who get the chance to play it when they’re young, and she has just improved dramatically [from] last year to this year, and you’re going to see another huge jump with that.”

Barone said he is proud of his team for having pushed through a difficult season and still has his eye on their ultimate goal.

“Our long-term goals are always going to be to win a championship one day here, but with everything we’ve had to overcome this year and push ourselves to get into the tournament, it really says a lot about the character of this team,” Barone said.

While the women’s team didn’t make it into the OVC, Buscher said they plan to use the off-season to improve for next season.

“Every coach will tell you this, but great players are made in the off-season,” Buscher said. “You see somebody like, ‘Man, they got a lot better,’ and everyone thinks it happened right during the season.

You go back about four months to six months, and you’ll understand the grind and the hours they put in the gym: working on their first step moves, working on their pivots, working on their shot and their release, that’s where great players are made. So I think that’s gonna be the biggest step for us, is making that commitment in the off-season to get better.”

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

6-2 5-2 7-3 7-4 4-4 3-4 3-4 5-7 3-11 2-8 1-7 0-5

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

BASEBALL

OVERALL OVC

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

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

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

WOMEN’S TENNIS

OVERALL OVC

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

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

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

VOLLEYBALL

OVERALL OVC

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

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

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

week in review SOFTBALL

SOFTBALL

MEN’S SOCCER

WOMEN’S SOCCER

TENNIS

The Cougats played and lost five games over the weekend. All but one game went into extra innings.

The Cougars beat Western Illinois 1-0 to remain undefeated. Sophomore forward Jacob Bilyeu scored his first goal of 2021.

SIUE won 3-2 against Eastern Kentucky in their season opener. Sophomore defender Taylor Dolt scored the first goal.

SIUE took 6-1 losses against Bradley and Northern Iowa. Freshman Jordan Schifano remained undefeated in singles play.

SOFTBALL

BASEBALL

SOFTBALL

GOLF

SOFTBALL

VOLLEYBALL

SOFTBALL

Baseball took two losses and one win against Wichita State last weekend. The team then won 11-1 against SLU.

SIUE golfed 287 against Bradley. Redshirt senior Zak Butt and redshirt freshman Tanner Collins tied for individual honors.

Volleyball lost twice against Southeast Missouri. Senior outside hitter Rachel McDonald recorded 18 kills on Sunday.

Both teams finished eighth at the OVC Championships. Senior Kassidy Dexheimer was SIUE’s top runner, finishing 26.

CROSS COUNTRY

SPRING SONGS I page 4

the greatest songs ever recorded, and it’s the emotional climax of this playlist. No matter how far you may be falling behind in schoolwork, or how many Zoom meetings you’ve had to sit through, you can still take a moment to look around and say, “It’s a lovely day.”

‘Enjoy Right Now, Today,’ Tyler, the Creator

This instrumental track is amazing, because without any lyrics, you still get a very positive, hopeful feeling from it. And when Tyler counts in the breakdown about a minute and 20 seconds in, the song really comes into fruition.

‘This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody),’ Talking Heads

Another one of best songs ever recorded, in my opinion.

This is one of the few love songs about a real person from Talking Heads, and it’s a very upbeat one. It keeps the groove going from the last two songs, which is a big part of the remaining songs on the playlist.

‘Sunday Best,’ Surfaces

The groove in this one is unavoidable, with the rhythm just grabbing hold of the listener and not letting go until the end. The first time I heard this song, I couldn’t sit still, because it’s got such a good beat.

‘Weekend Friend,’ Goth Babe

It’s not quite piano, but the driving keyboard and gated reverb on the drums really give this song a sense of positive movement, and it helps carry the playlist along into its final phase.

‘I. The Worst Guys,’ Childish Gambino ft.

Chance the Rapper

This song signifies the beginning of the end of the playlist. It’s a happy song, with a handful of good punchline bars from Gambino, as he is apt to give.

‘Electric Relaxation,’ A Tribe Called Quest

““

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A song that instantly brings to mind cruising around with friends on a cool spring night. The lyrics are all about being relaxed and just chilling out, and the song exudes that energy.

‘C.R.E.A.M.,’ Wu-Tang Clan

Although the message of the song doesn’t relate much to good weather, or a happier time of the year, the song itself is another good night driving song (and I can never get enough of that piano sample).

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