The Alestle, Vol. 76, No. 24

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

the student voice since 1960

DYLAN HEMBROUGH reporter him for the position for which he is running.

Nineteen candidates gathered over two days to discuss their visions for SIUE, should they be elected this week.

WHAT EXPERIENCE QUALIFIES YOU FOR THIS POSITION IN LEADERSHIP?

Kenzie Richards, who is running for student government president, said her prior experience as senator-at-large on student government has given her opportunities to work with a variety of departments.

“This year I serve as external affairs officer for student government, which means that I organize a large portion of the events student government puts on,” Richards said. “This allows me to connect with administration, as well as get to know the students on campus through these events and kind of gauge what you want to see.”

Richards, who is currently president of the Psychology Club, said her involvement on campus serves to aid her in making decisions that properly represent the student body — a core tenet of her campaign platform.

“I really want to get the feedback of all of those different students, which is why I try to stay so involved on campus … to get as large a range of students as possible in order to make sure that I can serve you guys as effectively as I can with the information that I have,” Richards said.

Ugo Eleonu, a Nigerian international student who is also running for student government president, said his experiences in a new country have improved his personal judgment and given him a better understanding of different perspectives.

“Two and a half years ago, I picked up, left my home country and came to the U.S,” Eleonu said. “It was a very different experience for me, coming to new environments in the middle of the pandemic and having so much restriction and less contact with everybody.”

Eleonu, a member of the School of Engineering, said his involvement in local leadership as an engineering senator and his current position as a financial officer within student government have given him the necessary insight for running for president.

“I was not aware of how much impact I could have on the student body,” Eleonu said. “This has been one of the main driving forces that has led me to the decision of running for student government president.”

Barrett Larkin, who is running for one of the positions as senator-at-large, said his previous experience in local politics in the Metro East have prepared

“I’m from the area [and] I’ve done local politics in the area,” Larkin said. “I actually care about it.”

Larkin also said since he is planning on staying in the area after he graduates, he has a different perspective on the future of the campus than other candidates.

“I’ve got my finger on the pulse of both the community and the campus. What happens here on campus matters to me in a way it wouldn’t matter to [the other candidates],” Larkin said. “So there you go, that’s why I’m the best.”

Jared Jess, who is running for vice president alongside Eleonu’s campaign, cited his involvement in organizations as diverse as Student Veterans of America and the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity as reasons why he should be elected. Jess also said he has been involved in a number of committees dedicated to building a sense of community and belonging on campus.

“I’m also a research assistant for the physics department as a mechatronics and robotics research assistant, and I’m also currently serving on student government as a senator for the School of Engineering,” Jess said.

Juan Pizano, who is running for vice president in tandem with Richards’s campaign, said he plans to use his status as a freshman to bring a unique perspective to student government.

“I’m a first-generation student and out of state, so I’ve kind of learned to pick up on what it means to be in Edwardsville and SIUE,” Pizano said. “I had the opportunity to be here over the summer at SIUE and learn about campus and the different services and departments we have out here.”

Pizano also said his position as an outsider would aid in his service as vice president.

Current student government president Rahmat Salau, now a candidate for graduate senator, cited her current experience as president preparing her for advocating for graduate students.

“I’ve had opportunities to make connections with administrators and faculty and staff members,” Salau said. “I hope to take the experience that I have in this role this year as I go into graduate school to advocate for graduate students on campus and bring light to issues maybe not everybody knows about.”

WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR SIUE 20 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD?

Eleonu said he hopes to promote the importance of research funding at SIUE, referencing Jess’s experience as a research assistant to emphasize his point. Eleonu also said he hopes SIUE

will become more diverse and more welcoming to all kinds of students.

“I come from a more cultural mindset,” Eleonu said. “In 20 years time, I see SIUE as a more diverse community. I see SIUE having more people of color, I see SIUE having international students from more countries, I see SIUE actually having a community in Edwardsville that supports these students that isn’t just based on whether you’re from the area of Edwardsville or not.”

Richards said when she was first applying to colleges, SIUE was a safety school, an institution that was more of a backup than a top pick. However, in her time as a student here, she said she has seen the potential SIUE has to be viewed as more than that by the wider community.

“SIUE is a place that I went to as a safety school, and that’s where a lot of people fall when they look at SIUE,” Richards said. “But with the work being put into this community, SIUE will not be a safety school, because it’s not just a safety school … Going to SIUE for the purpose of really getting a fantastic education is what we want to work towards, because that is what you get when you go to SIUE.”

Larkin also said SIUE has the potential to be perceived as more than just a backup option, but that that transformation has to be balanced correctly.

“I see SIUE existing within the larger community with some sort of synergy between the two,” Larkin said. “[The chancellor] wants us to be a little more prestigious, and I like that, but I don’t want to abandon the cost. We’re a school of people, we’re not fancy, we’re not highfalutin or think we’re better than everybody else. We can be better than everyone else, but let’s be humble about it.”

Ashton Carter, a candidate for the School of Business senator, also wanted SIUE to be a “number one pick” for prospective students. Carter said he would focus instead on the culture being fostered on campus, rather than purely academic matters.

“We don’t have as much culture as we could have, but in the next 20 years, SIUE could have that culture,” Carter said.

Lauren Harris, who is running for student trustee, brought a personal perspective to the table.

“I think it’s also important to look back about 28 years. My mom also went to SIUE … [where] she met her friends [and] her future maids of honor,” Harris said. “People are still meeting their people here on campus, they’re still meeting the people that they’re going to love forever, they’re getting an education that’s going to further their career and their goals.”

Ashton Carter, a candidate for the School of Business senator, also wanted SIUE to be a “number one pick” for prospective students. Carter said he would focus instead on the culture being fostered on campus, rather than purely academic matters.

Lucia Knapp, another candidate for senator-at-large, said she plans to focus on cross-organization collaboration if elected.

Prasheen Bijukchhe, a candidate for graduate senator, said he would like to increase one-to-one communication with students to help alleviate stress and let them know that there are people to turn to.

Luke Buettner, a candidate for the School of Business senator, said he plans to revamp the GetInvolved website for ease of use.

“Together we could help rebuild the community at SIUE that we had before the pandemic,” Buettner said.

HOW WILL YOU PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY, DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND ACCESSIBILITY?

Richards said one of the pillars of her campaign is transparency, which she said would help increase awareness about campus-wide issues regarding diversity, accessibility and other issues.

“I think one of the obvious answers to that is social media,” Richards said. “I want to utilize that social media aspect of our lives to make sure you guys know what’s going on. As external affairs officer currently, one of my biggest things is holding events for you guys to find out about student government.”

Richards referred to the numerous campaign accounts currently on Instagram as proof of student government’s outreach potential.

“You go on Instagram right now and you see at least four or five campaign accounts,” Richards said. “Those reach a lot of people if you work on those correctly, so who’s saying we should stop those accounts? We can use those platforms and those campaign accounts and convert them to make sure that the people who voted for you and followed along with that account and that campaign continue to see the change that you’re making on campus after the elections are over.”

Eleonu said transparency can

only be discussed once there is a more improved welcoming for incoming freshmen.

“The freshman experience could be improved. I think it goes beyond having a number of events,” Eleonu said. “They need someone who actually looks out for them … Freshmen should have better support systems than are in place.”

Eleonu said he would work with existing programs to improve the welcoming experience for incoming students, but would also build on what SIUE already has.

“When it comes to transparency, I feel student involvement is the solution to that,” Eleonu said. “I would like to see students being involved in the planning of these events. Students should be asked to see what they want to see in these events, what companies they want to come.

Jess said the area he would focus on is anything related to the massive amount of change going on within the university lately. Jess specifically talked about the logo change, suggesting that students could have designed the new logo themselves as a way to build community and tradition.

“There’s a huge culture of change going on at SIUE, which is amazing, but when you have so much change going on, sometimes communication gets lost, or it doesn’t happen to the level that it should,” Jess said. “You guys pay to be here … so if there is a change, if there is something going on on campus that affects you, you deserve to know about it. You shouldn’t have to find out about it through the grapevine.”

Pizano said he wants to increase collaboration between the student government and the marketing department in order to spread the word about their actions and decisions. Pizano also said student government, the Hub and ACCESS should work together more in order to promote diversity and inclusion on campus.

“It’s the Hub and ACCESS department … As a minority myself, I am a huge supporter of them,” Pizano said. “We want to see a more diverse school, we definitely want to work with those departments more closely where thoughts can be shared, where opinions can be shared to make sure that those issues can be fixed and students planning to SIUE are comfortable with submitting their application [and] that students who are here are encouraged to stay.”

Brenden Auerbach, the third candidate for senator-at-large, approached the issue of transparency from a different perspective. Auerbach said he hopes to increase collaboration between students themselves so they don’t feel lost during the academic year.

“Students should know where they can get help, at the SSC, at the ACCESS center, even from other students,” Auerbach said. “I feel like there is a lack of mid-semester communication. [Students] don’t know where to turn to for help sometimes, and that’s not good. I think we should continue to reiterate these things throughout the semester and students should feel that they can help each other out.”

Several candidates also voiced their desire to work more closely with The Alestle, not only as the college’s media source, but also to work together to bring to light issues that may not be as wellknown among the student body. Larkin, however, said he favored an alternative method to pairing with the media, such as a website.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO REPRESENT EVERYONE WITH THE NEW SENTATORS?

Student government recently passed an amendment that will increase the number of senators in order to better represent the diverse student population of SIUE. This amendment has been the topic of discussion as the student government figures out how best to proceed with the upcoming changes.

Though Eleonu would not be filling one of the new senator positions if elected, he said he plans to draw on his own expe-

03.16.23

A traffic accident was reported in Parking Lot A7 on the Alton campus.

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A traffic accident was reported in Parking Lot A.

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A credit card was found in the Vadalabene Center.

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A traffic accident that result in property damage was reported on North University Drive near East University Drive.

rience to help these new senators in their jobs.

“As a Black person on a predominantly white campus, I have a lot of experience that people from minority groups can attest to,” Eleonu said. “I feel my identity as a person … will help me make decisions for people on campus.”

Richards and Eleonu were both present on student government through the passing of this new amendment. Richards said she thinks the new senators will improve the student government’s representation of the student body because of the influx of new perspectives.

“The more people you have representing different groups on campus, the better you can serve the community,” Richards said. “Having a greater number of senators that can help serve student government and bring those issues and perspectives on those issues is a benefit to student government.”

Madison Sample, who is running for re-election as the CAS senator for Arts and Communications, said the new senator positions will open up the rest of the senators to focus more on their constituents instead of having to deal with a multitude of issues at the same time.

“Having these new positions is going to allow for some more in-depth work on issues that are affecting students of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, students from different backgrounds,” Sample said. “There aren’t set people to work on these issues relating to these students. Having one person focused on all of diversity and inclusion is not enough to make positive and im-

pacting change on campus. Not only is it going to help these students in marginalized communities, it’s going to help the other senators focus on [their issues].”

Larkin, who was the only voting member government to vote against the new amendment, said he has doubts as to whether or not more people will actually lead to more progress.

“I’m excited to meet these new people, but will they help us accomplish any more work? That is not clear to me,” Larkin said. Larkin said the new positions, and the process of filling them, would introduce more work that student government does not need.

“The bureaucracy of student government can get in the way of doing real work,” Larkin said. “It’s a downward spiral of unproductive stuff.”

Jess said he would focus on expanding representation beyond the new senators if the student deemed it necessary.

“If elected it will be directly my job to ensure that the positions are properly filled and properly voiced with people that properly fit the standards for the seat they are sitting in,” Jess said. “That’s kind of an important role as we go through all these diverse changes, so making sure we have the proper committee with the proper members on the committee is of the utmost importance … If you’re not getting that voice that should be heard even through these changes, please come and tell someone.”

Students government elections were held in-person and online March 28 and March 29. Unofficial results will be posted Friday, March 31.

Ugo Eleonu, one of the candidates running for president, addresses the crowd as other hopeful candidates watch on. | Chloe Wolfe / The Alestle

CHLOE WOLFE

photographer

During women’s history month it is important to remember the ordinary women who did extraordinary things for us. The Alestle wanted to feature one of the countless women who have helped make this university what it is. SIUE’s minority scholarship is named after Johnetta Haley, but not many people know what she did for her community and students.

Born March 19, 1923, in Alton, Illinois, Haley, formerly Randolph, spent most of her early life moving around Illinois for her father’s job.

From a young age, Haley became interested in music. She played her first piano concert and directed her first choir at the age of 15.

Haley and her family moved to East St. Louis during her senior year of high school in 1940.

After graduating from Lin-

coln High School in 1941, she attended the historically Black college Lincoln University like her mother before her.

In 1945, Haley graduated with a bachelor of science degree in music education and began teaching music at her former high school.

For the next 10 years, Haley moved around schools until Brown vs. The Board of Education passed which legally desegregated schools across the country. Haley was one of the four teachers transferred to a predominantly white school within the St. Louis area.

At the desegregated school, Haley eventually became the head of the music department.

Later in life, Haley attended SIUE to earn her master’s in music. After finishing her graduate assistantship, Haley was hired as an assistant professor within the fine arts division of the music department in 1972.

During her time at SIUE,

Haley was heavily involved. She served as chair on many committees including the Arts and Education Annual fund drive and many others within the music department. She was the coordinator for the school of fine arts and communications as well.

Another important role Haley held was the first woman president of the Board of Curators at Lincoln University.

Nationally, she was recognized as a leader of music education and civic affairs and served as a board member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. She was also on the National Board of Directors of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Although Haley did lots of important work, she did the most for SIUE’s East St. Louis campus.

After being appointed as director of the campus, she convinced the U.S. Department of Education to allow the university

to create a Head Start program for underserved students across the area. Through this program, many students in the area were able to receive a better education despite their surroundings.

In a 1989 report about the program, Haley said, “We know that among the thousands of disadvantaged preschoolers and elementary, junior high, senior high and college students with whom we work there are many potential Donald McHenrys, Jim Rossers, Jackie Joyner-Kersees, Miles Davises and Eugene Redmonds.”

Haley retired from SIUE in 1994 after 21 years of service but still remained active within the community.

Through her work within the area, Haley received many awards, including the SIUE Distinguished Service Award in 2017.

Haley passed away on January 30, 2021, following almost 50 years of service to SIUE.

English professor uses AI to personalize student tutoring

WINTER RACINE photographer

Donavan Ramon, an assistant professor in English, has implemented the use of an artificial intelligence software called Packback to provide tutoring to his students.

According to Ramon, the software provides real-time writing assistance that encourages students to write more efficiently without making them feel discouraged.

“I didn’t want to use a tutor because if I tell students, ‘Hey, I’m using tutors’ help’, they might assume that there’s something wrong with their writing,” Ramon said. “I begin with the assumption that their writing is well enough … But I want to get their writing to the next level.”

words. Is it convincing? Does it answer the question?”

Ramon said that he uses Packback to help students improve their writing.

“Packback allows for that to happen,” Ramon said. “I put questions online every week, and they can use the curiosity score to see how well they can develop every week.”

Ramon said the change that he has seen in his students’ writing has been positive.

“Overall, I’m seeing less and less summaries and more and more critical perspectives of the literature for each week,” Ramon said.

sides to whatever you’re posting about. I wish that it was a little bit more explanatory, simply because it’s already the fact that we’re learning online,” Hall said. “It [Packback] should have, like, maybe a tutorial on how to actually use the platform for people that are new to it.”

Psychology sophomore NaShiah Dent, from Alton, said that she enjoys using the services that Packback provides, and hopes to see more professors implementing it in their curriculum.

Dent said that the feedback provided by the curiosity score has helped her improve her writing skills, and ultimately boost her grade in the class.

Ramon said. “It is not for grad students. It’s mainly for undergrads. It’s really a way to hold students’ hands as they write the weekly responses. It is not really useful for graduate courses.”

Ramon encourages instructors who believe that Packback could enhance their class and express interest in the platform to reach out to him for further details.

Donavan Ramon Assistant Professor of English

Ramon said Packback provides a ‘curiosity score’ that enables students to receive real-time feedback on the comprehensiveness of their writing.

“The curiosity score lets students know how well they’re doing,” Ramon said. “It measures their responses in terms of the depth and the clarity of their

Psychology sophomore Shannan Hall, from Streamwood, Illinois, said that she has grown to enjoy the software.

“In the beginning, I hated it. It was very overwhelming,” Hall said. “Now I’m starting to, like, understand it more. What I enjoy most is the feedback from the other students in the class.”

Hall explained that Packback allows classmates to provide counter arguments, and that a navigation walkthrough could improve Packback’s software.

“That makes it easier to see both

“I feel like it’s helped me a lot, much more than my other English classes, where they just give you a segment and you’re supposed to write about it,” Dent said. “It [the curiosity score] helps strengthen your assignment . . . It always gets me a good grade.”

Ramon recommends that instructors who opt to use Packback establish the guidelines and expectations in a well-defined manner prior to the start of the semester. Additionally, they should assess whether its implementation is suitable for their course.

“I would also say to tell professors not to use Packback for grad students,”

Variety of baskets presented at the Edwardsville Art Center

Baskets as works of art of utility and personal expression, were the focus of the recent art exhibit hosted by the University Museum and Edwardsville Art Center.

Laura Strand, is a professor of textile art and design and a moderator for the opening night event. She said more than 18,000 baskets of historical notions were collected and donated to the museum by Milton Harrington. She described the baskets in talking about their origins and purposes.

Beth Browne, executive director of the Edwardsville Art Center said it was important to let people know that the center is open to the public and has programming besides the exhibitions.

“We house classes, we have a gallery shop, we’re working with the district to provide resources for them,” Browne said. “They can support us in these facets but also as a membership opportunity, and then we introduce the curator or the artist.”

Strand said that the artists presented incredible contemporary baskets and two of Mary Giles’ baskets were lent by Duane Reed Gallery in Saint Louis.

“There are a number of incredibly incredible contemporary baskets,” Strand said. “They’re also wonderful historical baskets. I don’t know why I’m so taken by it, but there are sandals that have just been basketry twined together, that were used before 1 A.D.”

Museum curator, Erin Vigneau-Dimick spoke at the opening event and came up with the idea to center it around baskets. She said there were pieces from varying time periods made by Zambian, northern U.S., South American, and Native American cultures.

“Most of the material that we have is from native populations around the world,” Vigneau-Dimick said. “Some are Native American from the 30s, when they were sort of poorer but trying to still produce traditional crafts. Our collection is varied. Primarily the historical material is mostly 20th century, and then some of these things are very contemporary.”

Browne said that it is an honor to be able present the collections since some often sit unseen.

“And for us to be able to house that for them is a wonderful thing,” Browne said. “And then also, tying in the history of objects and making and crafting to contemporary works and how it inspires contemporary artists to create, utilize ancient techniques, creating a whole new product out of it.”

Strand said that as the moderator, she wanted to ask whether artists felt that why were or were not connected to the origin of their expertise.

“They were making objects for use, whereas I’m making objects for expression,” Strand said. “But I’m always connected to the notion of their traditional origin. So I asked that question, ‘How did they feel that they were or were not connected to the origin of their technical

DYLAN HEMBROUGH reporter the campus entrance.”

While many have heard of Rotary International, people may not be aware of just how big of an impact they have around the world, even at the college level. Rotaract Club is the college-level version of Rotary International, a worldwide nonprofit organization dedicated to helping out in the community. Alison Howard, senior in the elementary education program and president of Rotaract Club, said SIUE’s branch works mostly in the Edwardsville and St. Louis areas with other nonprofit organizations.

“We particularly volunteer a lot with Restore Decor, which is a nonprofit furniture store, so we’ll go in on Saturday mornings and paint the furniture, which is a lot of fun,” Howard said. “We do the Humane Society once in a while, where we’ll go in and can food for the pets and play with the pets. Another big one for our particular branch at the college level is Adopt-a-Highway, so we will clean up trash along Route 157, by SIUE. That’s where we actually tie into campus, is we clean up trash along

Jenna Lercher, sophomore nursing major and vice president of Rotaract Club, joined Rotaract after involvement in the high school version of the club, Interact, which Howard was also involved in. Lercher said one unique challenge of attracting members to a club dedicated to service is that some of the “dirty work” necessary in service may not be appealing.

“We clean up trash on the side of the road, and it doesn’t sound enjoyable, but as a member, as an officer, you make it enjoyable,” Lercher said. “The stories we have, the projects we have fixing up old furniture, you get dirty, it’s a lot of work, [so] you make it enjoyable for everyone.”

Lercher said she feels that Rotaract is different from other clubs because of its focus on service rather than any one specific hobby.

“We’re all different majors,” Lercher said. “If you split us up, we all have different qualities or hobbies. The only thing we really have in common is giving back.”

Safat Shoeb, an international student from Bangladesh who is working towards his master’s in pharmaceutical sci-

expertise?’ And it got interesting answers. It came forth largely that they use it as a base, but that what they are reaching for is their own sense of expression through a media that is soft and yet takes on sculptural aspects.”

Strand said that she has a personal interest in the materials used in the different pieces and that she found their individuality inspiring. She has a personal interest in the physical nature of materials that are woven, plated, twined or knotted.

“So that linkage between what is

ence, said he was interested in joining a service club from the first days of his study at SIUE. Shoeb said he was involved in a service club back home, but that Rotaract has given him more opportunities socially.

“In my home country, the club was organized by the people from the same department,” Shoeb said. “Rotaract is different because here you can meet people from all around university, from each department. Another thing is they have people from different cultural backgrounds where you can also learn about new cultures and make new friends.”

Rotaract has not always thrived as much as it has in recent years, however. Howard said when she joined, the club was nearly dissolved because of how small it had become during the pandemic.

“We were very stagnant, especially because of COVID, because we are a community service club, so not being able to go out into the community really stunted our growth,” Howard said. “I was actually the president, the secretary, the treasurer, and the PR officer when I first took over the presidency because there was such a massive overturn of posi-

historical and what is contemporary is a beautiful engagement that’s available in all the craft disciplines to see what it has been in the world, what it continues to be in the world, and how it can be used to express an individual’s notion. This really talks about who we are as individuals and people in the world. We make objects for use, and those things that we’re using all day, every day are also capable of expression.”

For information on future exhibits since the exhibit is closed visit the Edwardsville Arts Center website.

tions. I was just trying to keep the club alive … and I implemented a lot of things I’d learned from community service opportunities I had through Interact.”

Howard and Lercher said club membership has more or less tripled since the early days of their involvement in Rotaract, now boasting around 30 members. Shoeb said he has been very impressed with the work being done to revitalize the club and hopes it will continue to grow in the future.

“Everyone is taking initiative, putting their hands up and helping each other in the events, and they’re there for the mission, to bring the change, to help the society and give back to the society,” Shoeb said. “I see this club growing a lot, being one of the biggest clubs at SIUE, because it’s fun, people can give back to the society, and it’s not boring. There’s a new idea exchange [all the time].”

Since rejuvenating the club, Howard and Lercher said they have focused fundraising projects on various nonprofit organizations that can use the money to help out around the world. Howard and Lercher both said Rotaract raised over

$600 for the American Cancer Society last year.

“We also donated $250 last semester to UNICEF, which is a Rotary partner helping people in Ukraine, particularly children and making sure they’re still getting an education and making sure they’re doing okay due to the unrest that’s been happening lately,” Howard said.

More recently, Rotaract raised approximately $200 for the End It Movement, a nonprofit dedicated to human trafficking prevention.

“To some, that probably doesn’t sound like a lot, but for us, because we are so small, I’m just so proud of how much money we’ve raised in the last year,” Howard said. “In terms of financial contributions, we’ve done a lot more than I ever thought we could.”

Howard, Lercher and Shoeb all said they hope to see Rotaract grow in the years to come.

“We are always welcoming new members,” Howard said. “Anyone can join any day, any time, any place.”

For more information on SIUE Rotaract Club, visit their GetInvolved. Facebook or Instagram as well.

The Alestle will be on a print break next week, but will return in print on Thursday, April 13

“Seussesque / Truffla” by Cael Chappell. The peice made in 2019 with nothing but waxed linen thread.| Noah Claghorn / Contributing Photographer

CAMELA SHARP reporter

Pharmacy faculty share what their work is like behind the scenes

DYLAN HEMBROUGH reporter

Pharmacists aren’t just pill-pushers; faculty from the School of Pharmacy often have off-campus jobs where they work in a variety of settings.

Clinical pharmacists work in hospital settings and can be involved in mental health, cancer care and even poison control. Some clinical pharmacists choose to specialize, leading to occupations like those mentioned above. These are areas of work that a general clinical pharmacist may not be called upon for since specialized pharmacists have honed their skills into a specific area.

Kelly Gable is a professor in the School of Pharmacy and teaches courses directed towards the mental health side of pharmacy.

“I teach a first-year pharmacy class in patient-centered communication,” Gable said. “And I teach in the third professional year in integrated therapeutics psychiatry topics, like treatment and clinical management of

depression, schizophrenia, psychosis, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders.”

Gable said the School of Pharmacy offers an elective specifically targeted toward education about psychological disorders and their treatment for prospective pharmacists.

“[It] really just focuses on going beyond the pharmacology and clinical use of the medications, and allows the students to think about things from the patient’s perspective, from the health care system’s perspective, related to mental health,” Gable said. “So we do a lot of active learning and discussions, we watch some documentaries surrounding mental health disorders, and we have some discussions about them.”

Off-campus, Gable works in the psychiatric field in St. Louis providing services to underserved communities alongside a psychiatrist.

“Since 2016, I’ve been working as a behavioral health consultant at a federally-qualified health center in St. Louis,” Gable said. “We provide psychiatric medication, assistance or guidance for primary care providers, [and] we work with a team of social workers, psychologists and peer specialists to offer behavioral health resources and treatment focuses for our patients that receive care at these clinics.”

Gable said she typically sees 15 to 20 patients per day and advises them based on where they

are at with their mental health.

“From 8:30 to 5 I’ll have a 30-minute slot with a patient I’m seeing for behavioral health focus,” Gable said. “I spend that 30 minutes meeting with the patient, discussing their behavioral health concerns, and trying to really focus in on how we can better help them manage their symptoms. Sometimes that’s starting a medication, stopping a medication, getting them connected to resources in the community [or] getting them connected to therapy.”

Lisa Lubsch, a clinical professor with the School of Pharmacy, also works at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital with children who have cystic fibrosis or asthma. Lubsch, a pulmonary pediatric pharmacist, said her father was also a pharmacist, so she grew up familiar with the ins and outs of the job.

Lubsch said she sees patients and their families after they have been seen by the physician, so it’s her job to explain medicinal therapy to her patients. Lubsch said she typically does this by way of analogy.

“We have a medicine that came out in February of 2019 –it’s been a literal lifesaver – called Trikafta, tri because it has three medicines in it,” Lubsch said. “I teach them that those three medicines work together like a doorway. It works on their chloride channels to open the door – or to open the channel – to bring more people through the door, so that chloride can move through the door to make their body process chloride better. In turn, that means they process sodium and water better.”

Lubsch said she feels her role in therapeutic education is important, especially for parents who may be reluctant to give their children medicine.

“Besides vaccine hesitancy … I don’t run into hesitancy otherwise, once education is provided,” Lubsch said. “If parents are on the fence, I try to instill the importance of the medicine for the child. I think what’s more difficult for my adult provider peers is they’re able to make decisions for themselves, instead of who I’m working with, they’re making decisions for their child.”

Keith Hecht, an associate professor of pharmacy practice, also works at Mercy Hospital as a specialist in hematology and oncology, which focuses on blood and cancer care.

“I work with a multidisciplinary team that includes nurses and social workers to help people recover from whatever reason got them into the hospital,” Hecht said. “For cancer patients, that’s a lot of things like infections, pain, nausea, vomiting and other side-effects that they may have experienced from their chemotherapy, so it’s a lot of helping make recommendations on how to treat those problems, as well as recommend adjustments to their chemotherapy regimens to decrease the likelihood of those scenarios happening again, and educating patients about medications and especially their chemotherapy.”

Hecht said for cancer patients, and patients in general, he and his team try to get them well enough so they can continue their treatment on their own at home.

“The goal is to get them well enough so they can finish their healing process at home, where it’s more comfortable and they’re surrounded by things that they like and people that they love.”

Like Lubsch, Hecht said he emphasizes patient-provider communication. Hecht said this is a key component for any pharmacist, regardless of the setting.

“We could be super knowledgeable and know exactly what we’re talking about, but if we can’t convey it accurately to a patient so they can understand it, they won’t be able to process that information,” Hecht said. “For me, the way I keep that in mind is I think of trying to explain technology to my mother. I’m sure most students at SIUE can probably relate to trying to explain Snapchat to your parents.”

Gable, Lubsch and Hecht also oversee rotations towards the end of pharmacy school, in a student’s fourth professional year, where aspiring pharmacists work in a variety of settings to get experience in the field and figure out where they want to go with their career.

While we can’t go behind the counter, we can do things to be respectful of the myriad duties of pharmacists and other health care professionals.

“Right now is a very hard year for all the children because of all the viruses around, because we’ve masked up for the last two years. My plea to everyone reading would be to use the best hygiene, get vaccinated, so that you can help take care of everyone, not just the advanced age folks,” Lubsch said.

REVIEW: Hozier taps further into American blues with new EP

CHLOE WOLFE photographer

Hozier ties in Irish heritage with American blues with his new EP “Eat Your Young” which uses Dante’s circles of hell as commentary on modern-day issues.

The EP was released on March 17, which is St. Patrick’s Day as well as Hozier’s birthday, and features three new songs: “Eat Your Young,” “All Things End” and “Through Me (The Flood).”

Along with the release, Hozier announced more songs to come until late summer when his album “Unreal Unearth” will be released in full.

According to the artist, the new album is inspired by the circles of hell from the epic poem “Divine Comedy.”

I’ve been a fan of Hoizer since the release of his first album and I think it’s very important to realize that he has always been a political artist. Songs like “Swan Upon Leda” focuses on women losing reproductive rights worldwide and “Cherry Wine” reflects domestic abuse. That has not changed with this EP.

For the first song on the EP,

although he has not confirmed it, I believe that Hozier pulled inspiration from Jonathon Swift’s “A Modest Proposal.” Swift’s essay is a popular satirical piece about how poor Irishman might improve their lives. Swift called for Irishmen to sell their children to rich people to be eaten as a way to reduce the population and improve the financial standings of the rest.

This first song is based on the third circle of hell: gluttony. The song talks about fine things, like the feast they are about to have, coming at the cost of children.

I think this is my favorite song on the release. He uses his Irish history to critique modern-day capitalism using American blues. Nobody else can do it the way he does.

I think there’s also something to be said about the way he sings the song. His voice is incredibly sultry throughout the song, as if he’s trying to make eating children attractive.

The second song on the album is “All Things End” which leans more heavily into American blues than the other songs.

Sticking with his theme of

the circles of hell, this song is about heresy. I believe he means heresy in the idea that you don’t believe in an afterlife because there isn’t one, there is only now.

While this song does have a very non-religious message, in my opinion, the music and vocals actually take you to church.

The entire song seems to be an ode to the human condition; the idea that we all suffer but there are beautiful things nonetheless. Given the world that we live in now, I think this message is more important than ever.

The final song on the EP is “Through Me (The Flood).” I don’t think a circle of hell has been assigned to this song, but I feel as if this song is about the journey through them all.

According to Hozier, this song was written during the pandemic. This song, much like the last one, is about the human condition. But this one is about those who take that suffering and use it to continue on instead of being motivated by the good things.

I think he did an excellent job of describing what the pandemic was like, with the feeling of hopelessness as we all sat

| Thea Weltzin / The Alestle

inside hoping our loved ones would be okay. It also reflects the George Floyd protests when we watched people being kidnapped and murdered but still continued to fight for justice.

Overall, I think these were

perfect songs to tease an album. They were different enough musically, but they followed a cohesive theme.

More importantly, they are just good songs, and I honestly can’t wait for more.

The Alestle will be on a print break next week, but will return in print on Thursday, April 13

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SIUE students are drastically unprepared for emergencies

THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board

In the wake of a recent surge of school shootings across the country, SIUE needs to initiate a program that teaches students what to do if the worst-case scenarios happen.

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be prepared for when it happens.

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Tragedies can happen on any school campus. Even though SIUE is comparatively smaller than other schools, this doesn’t protect us from facing a similar crisis.

On Monday, March 27, another school shooting happened in Nashville. This, alongside the shootings at Michigan State University and The Colorado School of Mines, where the university failed to announce there was a dangerous man on campus until shots were already fired, are once again showing that these issues will not end anytime soon. This is why all students need to

Most schools already institute a form of emergency training. Throughout elementary and high school, students are taught what to do in the case of any disaster occurring, not just a school shooting. Fire drills and tornado drills are the most commonplace.

However, upon arriving at SIUE, these drills have seemingly disappeared. It’s almost as if it’s assumed that everyone knows what to do already, and so continuing these drills is unnecessary. This is a dangerous way of thinking.

When an electrical fire broke out at Peck Hall, some classes simply didn’t respond to the alarm, thinking that it was the first Tuesday of the month and that it must have been a test. Luckily, the fire was put out quickly and wasn’t allowed to spread, but if the opposite were

true, there may have been a tragedy on campus.

We cannot simply wait for a disaster to happen to change the school’s approach. There needs to be improvements to SIUE’s emergency alert system, as well as having drills that teach students and faculty what to do when said emergencies occur.

SIUE’s e-Lerts are a good way to solve the first problem. When a person was walking up to cars and asking the drivers get out, an e-Lert quickly went out to warn students of the issue. Doing this would solve problems such as faculty, staff and students not knowing if an alarm is a test or the real deal. However, the e-Lert needs to be as quick as possible so that the least amount of time is wasted. If they go out late, they may as well not go out at all.

The second problem can

only be solved by reinstating drills in the school. Whether it be once a month or a few times throughout the year, it is important that everyone on campus knows exactly what to do when emergencies happen. What are we supposed to do during a tornado? Or a fire? Drills would allow these questions to not be left unanswered.

It is the job of the university to provide a safe campus where students can live in peace. There are areas where SIUE is able to do this, and obviously, they cannot predict every issue or crisis However, in keeping with making the school a safe place for students, there need to be better systems in place to teach students what to do in times of emergency. We cannot wait until a tragedy happens to take action. It needs to happen now.

SIUE People Search shares too much personal information

AUDREY O’RENIC copy editor

With a quick name search, the SIUE directory shares your personal information with strangers.

After commenting on a TikTok post, I was flooded with direct messages from a self-proclaimed “serial stalker” user, explaining that they easily found a lot about me on the internet.

One of the things they mentioned was SIUE People Search: after simply entering my name, they had access to not only my major and email — but also my home address and personal phone number.

SIUE People Search, or the faculty, staff and student directory, is publically available and easy to find people by name. Upon searching the name, you are met with a list of

that individual’s area of study or profession, class or title, home address, phone number and university email.

The fact SIUE makes your home address easily accessible to the public is alarming.

SIUE’s statement on right to privacy and nondisclosure reads, “Students may object to the release of their directory information by submitting a Directory Information Release form… To ensure exclusion from online publication [at the beginning of each spring and fall semester,] the Directory Information Release form must be on file by the end of the first week of the semester.”

According to the U.S. General Services Administration, PII, or personally identifiable information, is “Information that can be used to distinguish

or trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with other personal or identifying information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual.” Examples of PII include phone numbers and addresses — both of which are present in the SIUE directory. PII can be compromised in various ways, and while your identity cannot be stolen with merely a name and address, it’s a good start for thieves and frauds.

For example, Eva Casey Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, explains that with a simple name, phone number, and address, a thief can change your address via U.S. Postal Service and redirect mail to their address of choice, which opens doors to credit card fraud with the access of your financial mail.

While the majority of users

browsing SIUE People Search may not be malicious, it’s still important to keep PII safe and secure online.

University of Illinois’ directory demonstrates the ideal online directory. First, to access any information, you must log in using a university email which prevents outside users. Second, once you search for the name, the only information you get is the person’s title and email — what more could you need?

In order to become more secure, SIUE People Search should at the very least require users to log in using their university email, just as they do on other PII-filled sites such as CougarNet or Starfish. This alone deters common criminals among the general public. With this simple action, SIUE becomes one step closer to becoming a safer place for everyone.

DAMIAN MORRIS Multimedia Editor

NICOLE BOYD Online/Opinion Editor

GABRIEL BRADY Managing Editor

FRANCESCA BOSTON Lifestyles Editor

ALESTLE CLASSIFIEDS GIVE YOU MORE

Place your classified ad at a convenient time for you using our easy and secure online interface: alestlelive.com/classifieds

HELP WANTED

Person with laptop computer to set up a Go-Fund me, online photos and sales of autos, motorcycles, etc. No drug check; smoking ok. $12.50/hr starting, flexible hours, will work on your schedule, in Granite City. Call Bob: (618) 797-9375

Part-Time Babysitter for 12-year-old. Some evenings and/or weekends. Near campus. Send resume and cover letter to: BJT.1915@yahoo.com

FOR RENT

Living accommodations for one in executive home. Near campus. Non-smoker only. Distinct floor with bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and family room. Reply to: BJT.1915@yahoo.com

FOR SALE

1998 Lincoln Town Car — 72,000 original miles, $4,200 Call Bob: (618) 797-9375

HELP WANTED

The Village of Glen Carbon is now accepting applications for seasonal part-time positions within the Public Works Department. Job duties including mowing grass, weed eating, cleaning park restrooms and trash duty. Applicant must be able to work 40 hours per week. The hours are guaranteed until the job ends in September.

Resumes must include employment history, job related skills, 3 professional references and education. Or, you can pick up an application from Village clerk’s office between hours of 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.

Applicants must be at least 17 years of age to apply for work and must have a valid driver’s license and clean driving record. Pay rate is $15.45 per hour.

Applications should be returned immediately to Lori Gibson, Human Resource Coordinator Village of Glen Carbon P.O. Box 757 Glen Carbon, IL 62034,

E-mail:

lgibson@glencarbonil.gov

Phone: 618-288-2647, Fax: 618-288-4703. EOE.

Positions open until filled.

Letter to the Editor: In response to ‘The future will be socialist or it will be sorrow’

There is no perfect form of government. With every amendment to a current structure, or after every revolution, there will always be a problem with society. There will always be homelessness. There will always be hunger. There will always be a lower working-class struggle. But establishing socialism in America would just replace old problems with new ones. The economic system would slow to almost a halt.

After World War II, the U.K. tried socialism for three decades and saw devastating tax rates on income. The unions in the state were powerful and deterred incentive and investment from workers. It wasn’t until Margaret Thatcher stepped in and privatized the current system, which resulted in the economy skyrocketing compared to its previous condition.

Increased government ownership will choke and decrease growth, as seen in the U.K. in the late 20th century. Poor conditions for workers will always

be an issue in the U.S. A complete socialist reform of the entire structure of our government is not the answer.

Socialism promises the working class great power. With this, the previously corrupt government officials are instead poor workers who know what conditions are truly like for non-government officials in society; the working class can make judgment calls that would be more accurate based on their prior experience. This is the main appeal of socialism. However, in most cases only government workers prosper from this system. This solution would only cause more issues. Corruption is everywhere. Everyone who gains wealth or power eventually grows attached to it. They will spoil themselves and put others down and accomplish whatever is necessary to keep that position. This is just a characteristic of human nature, it cannot be avoided.

Socialist societies – Venezuela, the USSR, Cuba – became a breeding ground for corruption.

If everyone is assimilated into the working class, the notion that citizens would be able to have their dream job would be false. If someone is unhappy with the amount of money or benefits they are receiving, changing that would prove difficult in a socialist society. If everyone is equal, then the chance of everyone getting an equally low payment is high, which is a prevalent flaw of socialism. Rulers would make everyone equal, by making everyone poor, and would exempt themselves from this law. There will always be faulty lawmakers and politicians in today’s society. Corruption will persist in the government. Socialism breaches individual liberties and halts revenue boosting innovation. Furthermore, the increase in state power paves way for a rise in corruption. A change to the United States’ ruling system would not accomplish great feats, and instead, keep the same vicious cycle that citizens are stuck in today.

—Joseph Grasso, St. Louis

contact the editor: sports@alestlelive.com

650-3527

DAMIAN MORRIS multimedia editor

Southeast Missouri blew ahead of SIUE on Sunday, scoring four times in the bottom of the ninth, and coming to a 8-4 win against the Cougars.

Head Coach Sean Lyons said that despite losing, he was impressed with his team’s persistence throughout the game.

“It was obviously a disappointing loss,” Lyons said. “We didn’t get much going offensively early on, but the guys hung in there. You just keep grinding away.”

The Redhawks scored their first run at the top of the first from senior outfielder Jevon Mason from West Des Moines, Iowa, keeping this 1-0 lead until the bottom of the third where junior infielder Drew Mize from

Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, scored a run for the Cougars, bringing the score to 1-1.

The score remained tied until the top of the fifth where senior outfielder Brett Graber from Sacramento, California, and senior outfielder Carlos Aranda from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, homered in an early run, bringing the score ahead 2-1 for the Redhawks. They scored an additional two runs in the same inning, cementing their lead at 4-1.

SIUE junior reliever Tyler DeLong from Harrah, Oklahoma, displayed a strong performance coming into the sixth inning and strik-

ing out seven over 3.2 innings, giving the Cougars a chance to bounce back.

“Tyler’s been great for us,” Lyons said. “He’s done a great job, asking him to come out and give us threeplus innings after closing out the win yesterday in game two. He’s the guy we want to have the baseball, and he did a great job to give us an opportunity to tie the score there in the eighth.”

SIUE scored three times at the top of the eighth, beginning with junior first baseman Brennan Orf from Wildwood, Missouri, hitting his fifth home run of the year. This was followed by the next two runs from senior outfielder Brady Bunten from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and senior first baseman Ole Arntson from Gresham, Oregon, tying the score at 4-4.

Lyons said this recovery was the result of one of his team’s biggest strengths, their confidence in themselves and one another.

The Alestle will be on a print break next week, but will return in print on Thursday, April 13

Thursday, 03.30.23

“That’s two days in a row where we’ve got punched in the mouth,” Lyons said. “We came back … things were not going our way offensively. It was kind of an uphill battle, and the guys rallied there in the eighth and gave us an opportunity to be in the game.”

However, despite the Cougar’s efforts, the Redhawks dominated the ninth inning, scoring the final four points of the game and quickly strik- ing out the Cou - gars at the bot - tom of the ninth, sealing their 8-4 win.

This was the third and final game in the Cougar’s Ohio Valley Conference weekend series. Head Coach Sean Lyons

said that while he’s disappointed with the loss, he believes the game could have gone either way.

“It could have been a sweep for us, it could have been a sweep for them,” Lyons said. “It’s just baseball. To come down at the end of a close series like this and have the score tied going into the ninth inning just tells you about the quality of both teams. And you know, unfortunately, we didn’t end up on the right side today.”

This game puts SIUE at 14-8 overall and 1-2 in the OVC. The Cougars will play next at 5 p.m. on March 31, which will be the first in a three-game weekend series at UT Martin.

Men’s Soccer dominates University of Illinois-Springfield

JANA HAMADE copy editor

The SIUE Cougars were able to score four goals during their 90-minute game, ending in a 4-0 win to kick off their first match in Spring’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

The last MVC matchup between the SIUE Cougars and UIS occurred in 2003, with SIUE also securing a win then with a score of 4-2.

The Cougars’ first goal was scored early in the first half by forward Mitchell Murphy, a sophomore from Quincy, Illinois.

The second goal was scored in the middle of the first half at around the 25 minute mark, by senior forward Jacob Bilyeu of Oakville, Missouri.

The University of Illinois-Springfield’s Prairie Stars did not get a chance to get a goal even though they had shots on target. Both teams received one yellow card each, with UIS getting one at the 15 minute mark, and SIUE at the 18 minute mark.

The final two goals of the match were both scored in the first 15 minutes of the second half, with forward Sebastian Bórquez, a junior from Santiago, Chile, bringing the score up to 3-0 for the Cougars. Junior midfielder Sam Layton from Brisbane, Australia, scored the fourth and final goal shortly after.

The Cougars play their next MVC game at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 1 at Korte Stadium against Maryville University.

This game places the Cougars at 7-3 overall for home. They will play at home next in a weekend series against Eastern Illinois from April 6-8. | Valquiria Lorei / Contributing Photographer