The Alestle Vol. 73 No. 32

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Protesting police brutality in Edwardsville, other cities

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For the past three weeks, many across the nation have been breaking out their art supplies, Black Lives Matter banners and megaphones in protest of the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

Alton, Illinois, kicked off the Metro East’s protests on Friday, May 29, followed by a demonstration in Belleville, Illinois, the next day. Since then, many smaller protests have been held in Alton. Supporters of the movement gathered in front of the Madison County Courthouse in Edwardsville on May 31 and on Saturday.

Within these three small cities, many protesters echoed similar sentiments, one being fates similar to Floyd’s are not new. Osiris Tucker, Belleville resident and native of East St. Louis, showed up at St. Clair County Courthouse on May 30 in a T-shirt he had first worn six years ago.

“I’m wearing a T-shirt that says on the front ‘I can’t breathe,’ and, on the back, it says ‘Hands up. Don’t shoot,’” Tucker said.

“These T-shirts were created in honor of Eric Garner, who was choked to death by police in New York on July 17, [2014]. So, because George Floyd suffered a very similar fate, we thought it would be very appropriate to use the same T-shirt in honor of his memory as well.”

Robyne O’Mara, of Godfrey, Illinois, attended a protest in Alton on May 29, and also protested in 2017 when former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley was acquitted of the first-degree mur-

State rep. uses pay raise for greater good ISOBEL ABBOTT-DETHROW reporter

Illinois Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) recently pledged to donate her pay raise to two local organizations: SIUE’s Cougar Cupboard and the Edwardsville branch of I Support the Girls.

Both organizations have benefited Edwardsville and surrounding communities by conducting and participating in donation drives; Cougar Cupboard is known for its food pantry and I Support the Girls collects fem-

inine hygiene products and bras for women in need. Stuart said she chose to donate her raise money to these two organizations because of their positive impact on the community and how she resonated with them.

“I wanted to make sure that I was supporting groups that were supporting people negatively impacted by COVID-19,” Stuart said. “I’ve always been really impressed by the work that both Cougar Cupboard and I Support the Girls have done.”

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vol. 73 no. 32

The Student Voice Since 1960

history repeats itself

MADISON LAMMERT editor-in-chief

ATHLETES PREPARE FOR RETURN TO CAMPUS

see STUART on page 8

der of Anthony Lamar Smith.

“Just after I had retired, there was the Stockley decision in St. Louis,” O’Mara said. “A cop shot a man in cold blood and got away with it, and I joined the ... 40 nights of protesting. Jason Stockley was not the only cop to do this. He is one of thousands of cops that think that black lives are expendable, and it’s a joke to them — they think it’s a joke.”

justice & restructuring Tucker said the main reason he attended the protest in Belleville was to fight for justice for Floyd.

“Justice would be the imprisonment of officer Derek Chauvin and the other three officers,” Tucker said. “Those who are responsible for taking his life have to spend the next quarter [of a] century behind bars because they’ve proven they’re not able to perform the duties that they swore to perform the way they are supposed to be performed, and,

Top: A protester makes a play off the movie “Straight Outta Compton,” changing the wording to express how many have lost patience with lack of change. I Dominick Oranika / The Alestle Bottom: Hundreds of community members gathered outside the Madison County Courthouse on Saturday to protest police brutality. Here, protesters raise their fists in solidarity with the speaker. I Madison Lammert / The Alestle

as a result, a man — flat down on his face, on his stomach, with his hands behind his back being restrained by four police officers — lost his life.”

Since May 31, the date of the Belleville protest, Chauvin was charged with second-degree mursee PROTESTS on page 2

Fall on-campus operations recommendations presented GABRIEL BRADY reporter

On Monday’s town hall meeting held via Zoom, the Academic Continuity Task Force announced five possible courses of action for SIUE during the fall semester.

The meeting was dominated primarily by Chancellor Randy Pembrook, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Denise Cobb and Honors Program Director Eric Ruckh, as the three discussed plans for the 2020-21 academic year. Many

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other members of SIUE’s administration joined the meeting for comments throughout, including Vice Chancellor for Administration Rich Walker and Director of Health Service Riane Greenwalt.

The purpose of the meeting was for Ruckh, who is co-chair of the Academic Continuity Task Force, to explain what the task force thinks would be best for the coming semesters, which is what the group was formed to do.

“In these decisions, we have always been guided by some basic principles. We try to focus on

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safety regarding the coronavirus, but we also know that providing a quality education is important,” Ruckh said. “Some people will be unhappy with our choices. I recognize that, [fellow task force cochair Josie DeGroot] recognizes that, the task force as a whole recognizes that and the chancellor recognizes that. We will not satisfy all of you.”

The bulk of the meeting consisted of Ruckh explaining the five main recommendations the

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page 2 PROTESTS I COVER

der and second-degree manslaughter. The other three officers involved now face charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

Keith Johnson, of Belleville, said he attended Belleville’s peaceful protest on May 30 not to protest the police, but rather to stand against brutality.

“The thing about it is we just want to bring awareness to the injustice … of the things that have happened,” Johnson said.

“It’s about awareness and that we support the police, but we don’t support the brutality.”

Tucker said there needs to be more police officers of color, and the Minneapolis Police Force needs to start from scratch.

Friends Elizabeth Stallings, a former SIUE student, and Dominique Shelton, both from East St. Louis, also attended last week’s protest in Belleville and agreed the police need to operate differently.

“I want the police to actually go ahead and fire the whole

wednesday, 06.10. 20

department everywhere and revamp,” Stallings said. “Y’all need to revamp, you need to do deeper background checks on these cops, and they don’t need to be military trained. And then another thing: If you’re going to train a cop for a certain area, leave him there, because you’ve got these cops coming from the suburban areas to the ‘hood and they don’t know what’s going on. They’re just shooting because they’re scared. Or, you could just give them proper training for the ‘hood.”

Shelton said if changes are not made, further resistance can be expected.

“Honestly, I would just hope [this protest] would put the metaphorical foot on everybody’s neck … because they want us not to be violent, even though they’re violent towards us,” Shelton said.

“So, this is like the calm before the storm so we can say, ‘Alright, we done told you,’ so when we come — guns blazing — you know what’s up.”

Stallings and Shelton both said many discussions of police brutality that have come before have portrayed it as an issue for black men only, but, as time progressed, the conversations have shifted.

“It can happen to anybody, any one of us,” Stallings said.

“It seemed to be a target on the black male’s back, but when the incident happened with Sandra Bland, it made women go, ‘Oh no, us too!’”

The Bland case has contributed to Shelton feeling uneasy when encountering police.

“People don’t understand, it’s just the sight of those lights in your peripheral that will give you a panic attack,” Shelton said.

“Hands get to sweating, and I’ve never been to jail in my life. I’ve never been arrested in my life. I shouldn’t be scared. I went to college for criminal justice. I should not be scared, but I am terrified!”

CHANGING TIDES

Many young faces were seen raising signs at Edwardsville’s

WHITE SILENCE IS VIOLENCE

protests. Willie Thomas, who graduated from Edwardsville High School in May, was one of the many younger community members to join the first protest at Madison County Courthouse, along with EHS 2020 graduate Samira Zakkour.

Zakkour, who moved to Edwardsville four years ago from Africa, said she was pleased to see the support of her community, particularly given the demographics of the city. Edwardsville is a primarily white community, with 83.2 percent of the population being white only and 10.8 percent being black or African American, according to census.gov.

“This is a white town, and we have more white people than black people out here. It feels good to know we are loved in the place we live at,” Zakkour said.

“Less violence, more peace.”

Thomas had a strong reaction to Edwardsville’s protest as well.

“It makes me happy to see mostly white people. I feel like that’s how most of these should be because it’s not our job as

black people to fix it — it’s white people’s — so, it makes me almost want to cry,” Thomas said.

NEXT STEP: THE POLLS Many protesters spoke about the importance of not only making and using a protest sign but also using a ballot to bring change as well.

Steven Kimbrough, proud first African American chairman of the Democratic Party of Alton, said Edwardsville’s protest organizers should urge protesters — especially younger ones — to vote for change.

“Dr. Martin Luther King died for us to vote, to change things, and if you change your local, then you change your state, then you change your federal; so, that’s what this is all about,” Kimbrough said. “If all these people [are] registered voters, they can change the world, and that’s what is important is they go vote.”

Alestle reporter Gabriel Brady contributed to this report.

Online counseling presents challenges for elderly, children

NICOLE BOYD copy editor

Mental health services have changed in the wake of COVID-19, causing various groups to be affected in different ways.

As many mental health services have shifted from offering in-person sessions to telehealth services, clients are adjusting to the new format. For some clients, such as children, this creates certain challenges.

Donya Adkerson, director of Alternatives Counseling Inc. in Glen Carbon, Illinois, and Alton, Illinois, said the transition is more difficult for younger children in particular.

“For younger children, where play therapy is much more a piece of that puzzle, it gets certainly much more challenging,” Adkerson said. “One of the things that we’re able to do in-office if you have a child that is extremely active and difficult to focus is you can build in physical play to the therapeutic process, and that’s just much tougher to do when you’re doing it by video.”

Cara Cassidy, a counselor with Radzom Counseling in Edwardsville, said some counselors have implemented scavenger hunts to keep children focused.

“The counselor might say, ‘Find a few things in your room that represent love to you.’ And so the kid will kind of go around their room and they’ll pick a few objects, then

they’ll come back on the screen and they’ll be able to show the counselor about what they have and what that means to them,” Cassidy said. “So it’s kind of neat because you get to see those things from their home environment.”

Cassidy said adolescents often prefer to leave the house if they don’t want their parents to overhear the session.

“Some of our kids, or our teenagers, will take their phone and they’ll go maybe take a walk, or they’ll go out in their yard or go somewhere that they feel they’re more comfortable talking,” Cassidy said.

Another challenge is that some clients who struggle financially may not have access to devices that can be used for a video platform, Adkerson said.

“For some clients that means it’s over telephone, because either they don’t have a stable internet connection or they don’t have a device,” Adkerson said.

Furthermore, according to Adkerson, the stress of the pandemic may worsen living conditions for families affected by domestic violence or substance abuse.

“The families that we work with who struggle with issues such as substance abuse or domestic violence, this is a situation that is very ripe to increase those problems,” Adkerson said. “So we have had real concerns about some of the families that we work with

in terms of the additional stressors that it’s placing on the family and how that may be playing out in increased risk for any kind of domestic violence, or for the parents that are having some substance issues that may become a factor as well.”

Adkerson said some plans for group therapy had to be put on hold, while others are still meeting through telehealth.

“We actually do a great deal of group therapy with individuals who have engaged in domestic violence behaviors or those who have engaged in sex offense behaviors,” Adkerson said. “We were just getting ready to start a trauma-based yoga group right when COVID hit … our plans for that are on hold but our other groups are meeting by telehealth.” Adkerson said.

Nursing home residents have also been affected by the transition to telehealth. Bethany Borrenpohl, an SIUE alumna, owns Live Well Counseling Services, which has locations throughout central and southern Illinois.

Borrenpohl specializes in counseling the aging population and said it has been difficult to give them access to counseling.

“Now to do counseling, we rely on facility staff to take a tablet to each person, disinfect it and get it to the next person. And that’s taxing on the nursing home staff … everything about it looks different,” Borrenpohl said. “And this is also a population that, you

know, they may struggle with their hearing or their technology skills are not up to par. So to hand them a device and say, ‘Okay, now Zoom,’ well that’s not so easy.”

Borrenpohl said the effects of the pandemic in general have been devastating to those living in nursing homes.

“They have to eat in their rooms. They aren’t allowed to have activities together.

So everybody is isolated in these little bitty rooms,” Borrenpohl said.

In order to give nursing home residents greater access to counseling, Live Well Counseling Services has been donating tablets.

“We’ve actually started donating tablets to a lot of our homes. Whatever we can do to get these people some counseling,” Borrenpohl said.

Adkerson said she believes this pandemic will change the future of counseling.

“In Illinois, the governor put into place a temporary order that mandated that insurance coverage would be extended to telehealth.

That wasn’t in place before, so sometimes the barrier to telehealth had been the payment source if it wasn’t approved,” Adkerson said.

“But of course, as we’re now all going through this together, we’re recognizing that there are some real benefits to the option of telehealth.”

For more information, go to Alternatives Counseling’s, Radzom Counseling’s or Live Well Counseling Services’ website.

Recent local department resp

SIUE Edwardsville Madison County Illinois St. Louis City St. Louis County Madison County received $1.75 million through the CARES Act and asked community members to apply for the money.

April 22

April 30 Edwardsville extended liquor licenses, which allowed businesses to sell alcohol on curbsides.

Missouri's governor lifted the state's stay-athome order, but St. Louis County chose to keep the stay-at-home order in place to combat the virus.

May 4

May 5 Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the Restore Illinois Plan, which broke Illinois counties into four regions and created four phases of reopening.

A plan for reopening the city of St. Louis was announced.

The plan called for fewer public health restrictions starting May 18.

A vote passed to reopen Madison County, with businesses and places of worship to reopen on May 13.

May 12

May 11 A website was created for businesses in Madison County to show their new hours of operation and any COVID-19-related changes they had made.

Mayor Hal Patton said in a press release the city of Edwardsville would abide by the governor’s executive orders, and that any reopen ing businesses could face le trouble.

May 14

May 13 SIUE announced they would be ignoring Madison County’s guidelines, and instead following the governor’s orders.

Pritzker said there would be consequences for businesses that do not follow his plan, such as a loss of business licensure.

wednesday, 06.10. 20 FALL I COVER

Academic Continuity Task Force has developed. Questions submitted from the audience, as well as from SIUE administration, were addressed and discussed throughout.

Recommendation No. 1: Prepare for resiliency The first recommendation focused on SIUE remaining primarily remote for the fall semester.

According to Ruckh, this being the first recommendation does not mean it is the most desired one.

“One initial sense is that approximately 10 percent of our students do not have access to a laptop. That’s something that ITS is focusing on to provide a solution to,” Ruckh said. “And that’s just one need for remote learning.

That is not the only reason this would be less than desirable.”

This recommendation was reserved for a situation in which Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois Plan is not in Phase 4 by the time of school resuming in the fall. According to the Restore Illinois Plan, SIUE would not be able to have any on-the-ground courses in any of the first three phases of the plan.

In the case of a reopened campus, Walker said SIUE has reserved 32 apartments in Cougar Village, as well as a wing in each of the freshmen residence halls, for students that would require quarantine due to COVID-19.

Recommendation No. 2: Minimize changes to academic calendar The second set of recommendations centered around making some changes to the academic calendar for the next two semesters. These changes include most on-ground instruction ending prior to Thanksgiving Break, and no Spring Break to try to prevent travel and the spring semester ending one week early. Ruckh also discussed phasing-in on-ground instruction at the beginning of the spring semester.

“We requested an inventory for classes this fall and spring, so we can prioritize which courses have to be done face-to-face, which courses we could offer in a completely remote format, which

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courses are already approved online and much more,” Ruckh said.

“Using that, we will propose that, starting in January 2021, instead of filling campus to its new capacity maximum, in terms of classes, that we bring only a small amount of on-ground instruction back.

The idea is that we would phasein on-the-ground instruction in a way that is attentive to the local COVID-19 situation.”

Another idea discussed for fall was for there to be no instruction on Election Day. Pembrook said this is because there is a proposed state law that would label the election as a state holiday, meaning government employees would have the day off.

“I want to underscore: that law is awaiting the governor’s signature, and I’m guessing he would sign it,” Pembrook said.

“We would be open that day.

It’s not like it is a federal holiday where we would be closed. We’d be open, but certain individuals on our campus would have the day off, according to that legislation.”

Recommendation No. 3: Create a low-density campus Whereas the previous recommendation focuses on altering the academic calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this recommendation focuses on how to deliver specific courses based around the pandemic.

If the Restore Illinois Plan for southern Illinois is in phase 4, Ruckh said there would be more options as to what SIUE could do, and analyzing those options is the main point of the task force’s work. However, most course would still be strictly remote, with only some courses getting on-theground instruction Ruckh explained many terms about types of course delivery.

Online courses are asynchronous, meaning that there is no scheduled meeting time for the course, and are entirely online. Remote courses are also entirely online, but they are synchronous, and require meeting times over an application, like Zoom. Finally, hybrid courses are courses where students have a scheduled meeting time, in a classroom at SIUE, but large portions of the class are still done online.

The 2020-21 academic year will look different than past years. Among the changes discussed by the Academic Continuity Task Force during Monday’s Zoom town hall meeting is the elimination of Spring Break. | Dominick Oranika / The Alestle

“We propose that faculty optimize their courses for online and remote synchronous delivery, which are two different things,” Ruckh said. “At the same time, they would deliver another set of courses that they are comfortable putting forward in a flexible, hybrid model. The idea is that students would be rotated between online and on-campus in some pattern for those courses.”

Ruckh said courses with crucial hands-on aspects, like practicums and clinicals, would be some of the first courses allowed back on campus.

Cobb said keeping attendance policies would be difficult with a system like this.

“I think we would definitely need to work through some tricky attendance issues. I think so much depends on where we are in the phases and the environment of the time,” Cobb said. “Working through various ways that we can accommodate the number of students enrolled with capacity on the ground, while creating remote opportunities for some students is going to really need departmental expertise and guidance.”

Recommendation No. 4: Practice grace With this recommendation, the Academic Continuity Task Force reminds everyone that they will need to be understanding of

the problems other students, faculty and staff will be dealing with due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ruckh said although this is not a plan based on logistics, it is important to keep it in mind while proceeding throughout the coming academic year.

“I’ve had initial conversations with other members of administration about how to build this,” Ruckh said. “Me and Josie have offered to create a masterclass or workshop on how to teach remotely for faculty that are worried, or have apprehensions about it. This recommendation is for everyone on campus, and asks for grace and flexibility for students in syllabi, around attendance and deadlines for the fall and spring terms.”

Ruckh added that everyone’s lives were made more difficult by the pandemic, and the best way to move through it all is to help each other as much as we can.

Recommendation No. 5: Reinvent campus culture The final recommendation is similar to the previous one, as it is not focused on logistics, but instead on the atmosphere of the SIUE community. This plan involves the Academic Continuity Task Force working with various organizations on campus to create campaigns to encourage the SIUE

community to do their part to continue practicing social distancing guidelines and keeping each other safe.

“Working with our partners in Student Affairs, we would create an influencer campaign, where student leaders, athletes, excelling engineering students, nursing students, theater students and more are wearing masks,” Ruckh said.

“We would work with Student Affairs, the Kimmel Center and the marketing team to create this influencer campaign that shows SIUE’s clear expectations for students in the coming terms.”

Although these recommendations were worked on by the Academic Task Force for some time, Ruckh said ultimately, the decision of what to do is up to both the chancellor and, more importantly, COVID-19 itself, so nothing is official yet.

More recommendations from the task force are forthcoming, including information on research projects at SIUE and creative activities scheduled to be on campus.

For further information about the recommendations and the Academic Continuity Task Force, contact the co-chairs of the task force at jocbrow@siue.edu and eruckh@siue.edu.

The town hall meetings are scheduled to continue through the month of June, and they can be attended through invites emailed to the SIUE community.

ponses to COVID-19 pandemic

e negal

SIUE announced their official plans for reopening under Phase 3 of Restore Illinois, with campus buildings reopening June 8 and many employees returning by June 15.

St. Louis County announced its stay-at-home order would begin to be lifted. Malls opened May 22 as part of this.

May 18

May 28 As the governor moved all of Illinois into Phase 3 of Restore Illinois, SIUE announced they would take some time to decide how to proceed.

An announcement from city officials said city hall would reopen to the public on June 1.

June 1

May 29

An executive order from Pritzker stated that Illinois could move into Phase 3 of the Restore Illinois Plan.

Mayor Lyda Krewson announced a $64 million funding package to address the needs of St. Louisans as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

June 3 The Board of Aldermen, St. Louis’s legislative body, formed a coronavirus special committee.

County officials announced a $9.5 million Humanitarian Response Program.

Pritzker issued an executive order allowing schools to open for summer school while following social distancing guidelines.

June 4

June 5 City officials announced COVID-19 testing is now available to any city resident who wants to get tested, even if they are not displaying symptoms.

|Summer Bradley / The Alestle

READ ABOUT THE INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN PRIDE AND BLM NEXT WEEK page 4

LIFESTYLES alestlelive.com

contact the editor: lifestyles@alestlelive.com 650-3527 wednesday, 06.10.20

The ‘angry black woman’ is angry for a reason JORDYN NIMMER lifestyles editor Editor’s Note: Amid social justice demonstrations across the country and locally, we are reviving our “What I Wish You Knew” series. The campaign was selected two years ago to be a part of the national Poynter College Media Project. The goal is to examine misconceptions surrounding social issues and daily realities of our diverse campus community.

As protests erupt nationwide in response to police brutality and other discriminatory actions against the black community, Christen King, senior criminal justice major from Medina, Tennessee, not only advocates for change but plans to create change as a lawyer.

Reflecting on the protests, King is hopeful that the change she plans to make is within reach.

“It should give everyone hope that people aren’t done.

People aren’t done fighting for others and what they deserve,” King said. “It’s a beautiful thing to have social media now and see so many people fighting with you. You see support from all over the globe right now. It’s so important because our generation is leading the charge.”

King believes social media plays an important role in the Black Lives Matter movement, but it has opened her eyes to how much information goes unnoticed and is ignored.

“We grew up in the hashtag generation: hashtag this man, hashtag this woman, hashtag this

child,” King said. “For black people, we got sick and tired of these hashtags, because these aren’t the only black people that are being unjustly murdered in the streets.

These are only the ones that everybody’s seen.”

During the movement, many have opted for silence, counter protests or even conspiracy theories surrounding the deaths shown in the media. King is hurt to witness people partake in these responses.

“At the end of the day, if I became one of those hashtags, would you stand up for me?,” King said. “It’s hurtful to know that people you’ve grown up with, people you’ve interacted with, people that know your heart, wouldn’t, solely because of the color of my skin. They don’t want to believe something, even if it’s right in front of their eyes.”

Part of the movement is embracing people of diverse backgrounds and cultures. Moreover, it’s about recognizing these differences and acknowledging the privileges and injustices existent within our society because of them.

Beyond embracing diversity, King chooses to embrace the stereotypes that come along with her skin color.

“I’m a black woman that loves her black skin, and I wouldn’t change a damn thing about it. I know black women go

through struggles that I can’t even begin to explain,” King said. “So, I am a black woman.

I accept all the stereotypes. I am the angry black woman because I want change. And I want my [future] children and my black daughter to feel accepted.”

Although she embraces the stereotypes, King does not allow such assumptions to define her life.

“I do not fit in a bubble, and I don’t fit in a box. I’m a black woman that grew up in an all white town, and people would call me Oreo. I’m a black woman that’s had some privileges that other black people haven’t,” King said. “I don’t know what it means to be burdened with the struggles of an urban black person. But, I’m a black woman that’s going to fight for all my black people.”

King plans to fight for her community and other minority communities in her future criminal justice career.

“I want to be a lawyer. I want to change the system. I don’t want to just sit here and keep complaining about it. I want everything that has been wrong to our people and to different minorities to be fixed,” King said. “I want that for the black community. I want that for Native American community. I want that for the Asian community. I want that for the LGBTQ community.”

Historically, social justice has progressed quite slowly for affected groups. King said she feels this is disheartening but not hopeless.

“I feel like we are moving in the right direction, and we have leaders in place. We’re just not there yet. It’s hard to believe because people love to say ‘we’re in 2020’ as if that means a lot,” King said. “It feels like it should; it feels like we should be farther ahead. There shouldn’t be a reason that we’re still having the same discussion that my grandparents were having 60 years ago.”

King believes that although the past is bleak, the future can still be bright.

“I want to be able to not have to sit down and tell my children or my grandchildren about inequality: discrimination, the school to prison pipeline, the war on drugs,” King said. “I want to be able to say, ‘Look here, if you work hard, there should be no reason that you won’t succeed’. You shouldn’t fail because of your name, your race or unfair policies.”

Faced with the many injustices which need to be resolved, King feels allies should step up and continue the progress that has been made.

“I just want to see progression at this point. I feel like minorities hold America at such a low bar because nothing ever happens. Our bar is so low because we don’t expect a lot from this country,” King said. “So literally any progression is what I’m looking for. Show up. Share kindness. Try to understand.”

A GLIMPSE AT BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTS FROM UPSTATE:

Left: (from left to right) Julia Martinez, of Frankfurt, Kentucky; Damian Prokop, of Algonquin, Illinois; Archer Seaborn, of Algonquin, Illinois; and Sonya Cortez, of West Dundee, Illinois, design free BLM masks to be handed out at a protest in Crystal Lake, Illinois, on Saturday, June 6. Middle: Jess Moore, of Crystal Lake, Illinois, joins the protest as an opportunity to listen and uplift black voices. Right: Kelly Cronin, of Crystal Lake, Illinois, joins protest organizer Deshawn Smith, also from Crystal Lake, to thank protesters for attending after the conclusion of speeches on Saturday. | Jordyn Nimmer / The Alestle

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Students lending a helping hand through the social distance JENNIFER GOECKNER managing editor SIUE students and organizations remain dedicated to giving back to the community, even as COVID-19 restrictions continue to limit in-person interactions.

These students’ motivations for volunteering may vary from personal reasons to service requirements for programs and organizations; however, all these individuals are making positive contributions to a society that, for many, feels more disconnected than ever.

For Alpha Phi Omega, a national co-ed fraternity, service hours are a typical requirement for maintaining membership.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this requirement was waived during the spring semester, according to Joel Rahlfs, the organization’s vice president and service committee chair.

Rahlfs, a May 2020 SIUE graduate from Ellis Grove, Illinois, said the group continued to look for ways for its members to volunteer, despite no longer requiring them to do so.

Rahlfs also said he was surprised by how many opportunities were still out there, especially online.

“I was surprised by the amount of service opportunities that are online because previously I had never really thought about doing online opportunities since we were more focused on doing more in-person work, but the online opportunities opened my scope of what people can do for service, and it was really cool to help people who were far away,” Rahlfs said.

This spring, members of Alpha Phi Omega volunteered through a number of online opportunities such as transcribing historical documents through the Smithsonian Transcription

Center and helping researchers ing homes to spend time with the with their projects through the residents and make them memory website Zooniverse. The organi- books detailing some of the life zation also made masks for health experiences they share. The orgacare workers from their homes, nization planned one of these visaccording to Rahlfs. its for after Spring Break but had Rahlfs said Alpha Phi to cancel it due to COVID-19.

Omega’s national office providWithout volunteers being ed SIUE’s chapter with a virtual able to visit and spend time with service guide containing a list of them, Mwangi said she worries online volunteer opportunities, that some residents may be lonely which is where he heard about and missing this social interaction most of these programs. with people who do not live or Rahlfs also said giving back was not the only benefit of volunteering — it also allowed members to continue interacting with one another.

“The focus I had for service events … was different projects that our chapter would be able to easily communicate with each other for in order to provide people with a little bit of a social break from the panCARA LEVINGSTON demic,” Rahlfs Sophomore civil engineering major said.

The Hospice Volunteer Initiative is another group dedicated to service work within the nursing home. that had its volunteer projects “I think it’s been a diffiimpacted by COVID-19 restric- cult time for them. I know a tions. lot of nursing homes aren’t acAccording to Michelle cepting visitors, just immediate Mwangi, the organization’s me- family members,” Mwangi said. dia and outreach coordinator, “I know there was even a time most of the volunteer work they when family members weren’t do is with local nursing homes allowed to visit, and I know nursand assisted living facilities. ing homes depend a lot on this Mwangi, a third-year phar- interaction between the residents macy student from Nairobi, Ken- and other people outside — it’s ya, said one of the group’s regular healthy for the residents. So that volunteer events is to visit nurs- time that’s been cut back needs to

be replaced somehow.”

Mwangi said the group is exploring options for how to continue serving these communities, dependent upon what guidelines are in place during the fall semester.

“We don’t want to put them at risk … I know we can definitely find other ways [to help],” Mwangi said. “We have to, we have to be creative because we still want to volunteer and we still want to help them out. We just can’t do it the way we’ve been doing it.”

The Honors Student Association is another organization searching for alternative volunteer opportunities for its members, especially with uncertainty still surrounding the fall semester.

HSA’s Service Committee Chair Cara Levingston, a sophomore civil engineering major from Leroy, Illinois, said she has been researching online volunteering options and compiling a list to offer to other honors students.

Levingston said one of her favorite online service opportunities she has discovered so far is Translators Without Borders.

“Basically, if someone is able to speak fluently in more than one language, they can translate for international organizations that focus on crisis relief, health and education,” Levingston said.

For those looking to do volunteer work to complete a service

“There’s always better ways to help the community [and] the world, especially right now with all the issues — COVID, Black Lives Matter.

Right now, everyone just needs to be united as a community, and what better way to do that than service and helping one another.

hours requirement for a program or organization, Assistant Director for Community Engagement Carolyn Compton said the Kimmel Student Involvement Center would accept hours completed online, such as transcribing or translating.

“Some of the really good things people could do are things like that, the transcribing of historical documents and stuff like that, that’s really important …

Those things are really necessary, so we would definitely take those things, and I think that’s part of where we’re at now, too, just kind of being flexible with what’s going on,” Compton said.

Levingston said there are volunteer opportunities out there for people with all different interests, it is just a matter of looking for them.

She said also no matter how people choose to volunteer, they should continue to give back because service is such a uniting force.

“There’s always better ways to help the community [and] the world, especially right now with all the issues — COVID, Black Lives Matter,” Levingston said.

“Right now, everyone just needs to be united as a community, and what better way to do that than service and helping one another.”

Compton said the Community Engagement office is working to compile more service opportunities to share with students through their social media pages.

According to Compton, they are also developing plans for in-person service projects, specifically Service Saturdays, for when students return in the fall.

Compton encourages members of the SIUE community to visit the Kimmel’s Community Engage website, contact their office or follow them on social media to find more information about service opportunities during this time.

REVIEW: Netflix limited series shows Epstein’s abuses are not unique, but fails to mobilize change MADISON LAMMERT editor-in-chief “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich” demands the viewer’s full attention from start to finish.

Based on the book by James Patterson, John Connolly and Tim Malloy, the limited series follows several survivors of Epstein’s underage sex trafficking ring while still following a linear, narrative style of a Patterson novel.

It would be a waste of time to watch the series without thinking critically about the societal issues of gender and class and how they intersect.

The theme of accountability is brought up time and time again throughout the survivors’ testimonies.

Survivor Annie Farmer hits the nail on the head in the final episode when she essentially says Epstein’s money and status, which goes hand-in-hand with

his ability to blackmail others in power, allowed him to escape accountability for many years.

Frustratingly enough, the survivors’ chance to finally see justice is jilted by Epstein’s apparent suicide.

The series does a stellar job of connecting the dots between Epstein, Trump, the Clinton family and even Harvey Weinstein, who notoriously preyed on young actresses in Hollywood.

Obviously, Weinstein and Epstein have more in common than the last couple letters of their names.

The methods each used to lure young women to their homes/hotels centered around intimidation.

The already inappropriate “just one massage” ploy would lead to further trauma, and promises of career advancement and gifts — whether monetary or in the form of irreplaceable expe-

riences — kept survivors quiet.

Both perverts also preyed on vulnerable victims. In the case of Epstein, most of the girls came from across the bridge from Palm Beach, which was a whole different world.

As seen in the series, many homes were unstable, and some survivors were essentially homeless before Epstein found them.

He promised quick money, but the price was lifelong trauma.

Young actresses, and even young journalists, struggling to reach solid footing in their careers were silenced by Weinstein’s power in the entertainment industry.

Both men had friends in high places, and clearly, both men had enough leverage to make many powerful people turn a blind eye to what was going on.

In Hollywood or on private estates, this victimization is not unusual. And if it can happen

there, it can happen anywhere.

Let these cases serve as an example to all of us to remain vigilant and call out these crimes for what they are. No, Epstein did not solicit prostitution — prostution can imply willingness, and these victims were all minors who could not consent.

Let us hold those in power accountable for not only fraternizing with these men, but also for turning away when things got messy (that is, when the truth was exposed and change was demanded).

Much to its downfall, “Filthy Rich” passes up a great opportunity to educate viewers on what they can do to help end sexual harassment and sexual assault.

It’s clear Epstein abused his power, and because of the #MeToo movement, we all know problems such as these are not limited to the most elite.

But what can we do? The series leaves much to be desired for those who wish to engage in personal activism.

It doesn’t touch at all on statutes of limitations for sexual assault survivors and how this makes cases look different from state to state.

In addition, we are left to wonder what happened to Epstein’s right hand, and dare I say accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Was the socialite willingly recruiting and partaking in the assaults, or was she being blackmailed as well?

Either way, the docuseries hardly holds her accountable in the last episode.

For more information on the Weinstein case, and to see how badass journalists blew it wide open, watch “Untouchable” on Hulu. “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich” is now streaming on Netflix.

opinion

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The press is under attack, and here’s why you should be concerned THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board Last week, our staff discussed why journalists should not be prevented from doing their jobs when covering protests. We understand there have been instances where protesters take physical action against the media, and, as seen in our last staff editorial, we acknowledge this. However, this week we are focusing on the actions taken by those in power against members of the press and the more insidious underlying objective in doing so: it aims to perpetuate systematic ignorance.

There’s a reason why news media is commonly referred to as “the watchdog.” Television, print, images and the press in general grant the people access to information those in local, federal and state government simply do not.

A good, well-rounded press does not seek to serve any agenda but to simply inform. Obviously, this does not always happen, but this is the ideal, and it is what all journalists should strive for.

If not for journalists, important documentation of history would be lost. If not for journalists, many in small towns in rural America would have never heard a person of color speak on their experiences. If not for journalists, sick individuals such as Harvey Weinstein would not be exposed. If not for journalists, would as many people know about George Floyd?

And, if not for journalists, how much would you know about the current state of affairs of not only our country, but the world at large?

If not for journalists, the people would remain ignorant to issues that do not impact them directly, and the inner workings of the sys-

tems that systematically oppress people of various races, genders, sexual identities or any other marginalized group.

Silencing the press is a form of oppressing the people. It goes well beyond the elementary definition of the First Amendment’s freedom of the press. When a government, when a police force, when even an individual citizen takes action to silence the press, they are trying to systematically keep others ignorant. When anybody lies to the press, they are lying to the people.

So, when police are firing at journalists and crowds with rubber bullets (which are metal bullets encased in rubber), and shooting tear gas into often peaceful crowds where journalists are taking pictures and illuminating voices of protesters, they are attempting to eliminate an essential service — an essential RIGHT — of the people.

Notice the word “attempting” is being used, because they will not succeed. Journalists have never let dangerous situations get in the way of getting answers the people need and telling stories that need to be heard.

Yes, the revolution will be televised, “the revolution will be live,” as it will be covered live. If it means the audience will see journalists being taken to jail, or their hands being zip-tied behind their backs, so be it. It cannot be ignored, as it is everywhere, and since it is everywhere, we, as members of the press, will be everywhere. The information will get out, and the press will continue to be a vehicle to get it out. What the public chooses to do with it is up to them, but one thing is for certain: The people will know, and the people will no longer be able to easily ignore these historic moments.

Steer clear of narcissists before you get too invested ISOBEL ABBOTT-DETHROW reporter

Abuse takes three main forms: physical, emotional and verbal; These three types of abuse can be broken down further into numerous subcategories. One of the most impactful subcategories of abuse is narcissistic abuse, which commonly occurs under the umbrella of emotional abuse.

Personally, I have had my run-ins with a couple of narcissists in my 21 years of life so far. My mom was also subjected to the same narcissistic behavior. Watching psychologists’ videos on YouTube, such as Dr. Ramani, who is a clinical psychologist specializing in narcissistic personalities, helped me gain clarity about what happened to me and my mom. I finally had a label for what happened to us. I also got my mom to watch Ramani’s videos and they made her realize how manipulative the situation was; it had previously

been hard for her to accept what actually happened.

As someone who isn’t able to see a therapist, these videos really helped me. I felt the ongoing months of gaslighting, even while having no contact with the narcissists, lift off my shoulders. It’s a shame that hindsight is so clear after the fact of dealing with abuse; when you’re invested in the relationship, it’s rose-tinted glasses and blurred vision.

According to sane.org, 0.5 to 1 percent of the general population suffers from narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). This makes it a rare personality disorder, but a lot of its traits appear in people who don’t have the disorder, or who aren’t ever diagnosed. “Narcissist” is a word that gets thrown around a lot today without knowing its true meaning. Just because a person has self-confidence doesn’t mean they are a narcissist. Narcissism is much deeper and scarier than just

having confidence in yourself.

The one thing that connected the narcissists in my mom and I’s lives together were manipulation tactics, such as gaslighting and love bombing, which, according to Ramani, are key traits of someone dealing with NPD. Gaslighting is when the abuser manipulates their victim by making the victim question their sanity, and accuses the victim of lying or being a narcissist themself. Love bombing is the overwhelming load of affection the narcissist will give their victim in the beginning.

Then, the discarding and smear campaigns start when you begin to see through the narcissist’s hypocrisies. Narcissists want control and when they lose control, they go to other methods of controlling how people view you.

Being involved in a narcissistic relationship can reveal a lot about the abuser, but also things about yourself. The right thing to do can also be the hardest deci-

sion, such as stepping away from an abusive relationship; many repercussions can follow afterwards, especially when dealing with a narcissist. When I left my situation, I realized how codependent I was, then started taking steps to create healthy boundaries with people.

Learning from your mistakes and identifying the abusive relationship early on is a big step in achieving happiness. It’s extremely important to follow your gut and recognize when things don’t feel right, because they usually aren’t. Don’t feel guilty for stepping away if the situation is toxic, as your personal well-being should be a top priority.

Narcissists come and go from our lives; we are all bound to encounter them at some point.

However, it’s important to expose narcissists’ characteristics, so people can have a lesser chance of getting wrapped up in a manipulative relationship.

sports

contact the editor: sports@alestlelive.com 650-3527 wednesday, 06.10.20

COUGARS DON’T STOP DURING SUMMER BREAK — NEITHER DO WE. WWW.ALESTLELIVE.COM

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Sports teams anticipate returning to campus NICOLE BOYD copy editor

Athletes are hoping to return to campus by July, provided that southern Illinois has reached Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been keeping SIUE athletes from practicing together, but coaches are eager to resume practice soon. Director of Athletics Tim Hall said SIUE’s plan is based on southern Illinois entering Phase 4, which Gov. J.B. Pritzker said will be no earlier than June 26.

“I think that is going to

be based on the number of positive cases and they’re talking about the curve flattening. So if we stay flat or have a decrease certainly in the number of positive cases … we feel pretty confident that by the first full week in July we’ll be in Phase 4, which allows groups of 50 or less,” Hall said.

According to Hall, SIUE will reintroduce athletes by following NCAA guidelines, along with those of the Ohio Valley Conference.

“We’ll take those recommendations from the NCAA and interweave those into whatever policies ultimately come out from the Ohio Valley Conference and also the university,” Hall said.

“And so the university is currently having planning meetings right now to talk about what will on-ground education look like in the fall and how will we reintroduce not only faculty and staff, but also students back to the campus in a safe manner.”

According to Hall, in addition to being tested

upon returning to campus, athletes will be checked for symptoms. “[We will] continually watch and assess, and check temperatures. And certainly if somebody were to report symptoms, get them tested right away,” Hall said.

Hall said even if Illinois reaches Phase 4 in time for fall sports, the number of spectators may be limited.

“If soccer for example has 11 on a side, then that’s 22 [players] and then you have the rest of the team off on the sidelines. Does that mean you can only have 15 in the stands? If you were looking at it from a literal sense, if we were still in Phase 4, that’s I think how you would look at it,” Hall said.

Kendall Paulus, head volleyball coach, said volleyball players are planning on being able to stay on-campus this summer.

“As of right now, I believe the university will open Cougar Village. I’m not sure about Evergreen, but we normally live in Cougar Village over the summer, and I do know they, as of right now, plan on opening that,” Paulus said.

Paulus said the team is working on a plan to allow them to work out together in the gym.

“There’s a chance that they can still get in the gym, but in

very small groups, and we’re actually working on all those protocols right now. Assuming that they can be using our weight room, we were talking about maybe it’s just groups of four or five that work out at a time and they kind of come in waves, and how long between each wave,” Paulus said.

“And the same girls that workout together will be the same girls that get in the gym together.”

Paulus also said sanitizing the volleyballs is a concern.

“We’re trying to figure out what we’ll do with the balls, like how they’ll definitely need to clean them before the next group comes in, or can they just use completely separate balls and not have to reuse any,” Paulus said.

According to Paulus, the team is expecting to play the Fall 2020 season.

“So far, nothing’s been canceled for us. All of our games are still moving forward … we’re really fortunate with our conference travel that we don’t have to travel very far, so we’re just trying to be prepared to make some health guidelines when we get there,” Paulus said. “But right now we are still planning to move forward.”

Lindsay Ross-Stewart, sports psychology consultant for the athletics department, said teams are

page 7

used to not practicing together in the summer, so they have found other ways to keep the team culture alive.

“I know a lot of teams are doing Zoom meetings and doing different things with their athletes to make sure they’re staying connected, and they’ve been doing a lot of mental training to sort of help them stay connected and doing things,” Ross-Stewart said.

“And then of course now that coaches aren’t allowed to do that now that we’re fully in the summer, a lot of the captains and the leaders of the teams will do those things to really help the team dynamic.”

Ross-Stewart said some athletes may struggle with the uncertainty of the future, in addition to missing out on this past season.

“I think athletes are struggling with the loss, you know there’s a real loss there. And then with the unknown of when they’re going to get it back,” Ross-Stewart said.

Visit the Cougar Athletics website to learn more about SIUE’s teams and for the latest updates about athletics operations.

NICOLE BOYD

650-3527 @nicole_alestle nboyd@alestlelive.com

Tennis senior finishes final season, but awards keep coming NICOLE BOYD copy editor

Lara Tupper, winner of the 2020 ITA Central Region Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award, reflects on the highs and lows of her time playing tennis at SIUE. Tupper, a senior from Gold Coast, Australia, said tennis has been a part of her life for many years.

“My dad’s a tennis coach. [I] started playing when I was like nine or 10, and then from there kept playing,” Tupper said.

Tupper was recognized in May for her sportsmanship with the 2020 ITA Central Region Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award. Head Tennis Coach Adam Albertsen nominated her for the award.

“I heard actually from some other coaches about what a great student athlete and what a great representative she would be, and I immediately thought she would be a perfect fit for this award,” Albertsen said.

According to Albertsen, the award is given to students who demonstrate sportsmanship and hard work, and Tupper was an ideal example.

“She was just able to help our program in so many ways, on and off the court. [She’s] just kind of a student athlete that works really hard in the classroom, competes at a high level on the court, but always did it with fairness and just great sportsmanship. She was just a perfect Cougar for us,” Albertsen said.

As Tupper will be graduating in De-

cember 2020, this spring marked her final season of play at SIUE. The season was forced to end early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, just as in-conference play was about to begin.

“Because I played four seasons on the team, I’m actually not on the tennis team anymore. So the previous was meant to be my last season, but thanks to corona we didn’t end up playing it, so I’m actually done with tennis now,” Tupper said.

Tupper said she was upset that this season was called off, as the team was in a good position for conference play.

“It was kind of upsetting because I feel like our team was in pretty good shape to take on all the other teams in the conference,” Tupper said. “So yeah, it was kind of upsetting and also just like, ‘This is such a weird way to end college sport.’”

Callaghan Adams, a redshirt senior from Edwardsville, said even though Tupper was upset, her positive attitude never wavered.

“When she took the news, she did it in typical Lara fashion where she was smiling and had a positive outlook on it no matter what,” Adams said.

Tupper said two victories stand out as highlights of her tennis career. One was winning the Ohio Valley Conference, and the other was when SIUE improved the year to 2-0 against Bradley University, during which Tupper defeated her opponent in both singles matches.

“When we won conference my freshman year, that was a highlight. And then when we beat Bradley this year, that was

Senior Lara Tupper, of Gold Coast, Australia, plays during the second day of the Cougar Invite on October 12, 2019.

I Mackenzie Smith / The Alestle

a pretty big highlight for us as a team, so I’d say they were probably the top two,” Tupper said.

Adams said in addition to her positive attitude, Tupper has many qualities that contribute to her sportsmanship.

“Lara is the most selfless person I know. She would do absolutely anything for anyone, and she’s so bubbly and always happy. I mean, she’s the best teammate that any of us could’ve asked for,” Adams said.

Tupper said she chose to move from Australia to SIUE not only because of the team’s success, but also the attitude of the

team.

“There was another girl from Australia who was already on the team and she was from a similar area to me, and then I spoke to some of the girls who were also on the team and everyone seemed really nice … and the team was quite successful and it looked like a nice, safe area,” Tupper said.

To learn more about SIUE women’s tennis, visit their website.

NICOLE BOYD

650-3527 @nicole_alestle nboyd@alestlelive.com

page 8

alestlelive.com STUART I COVER

Stuart has a past participating in events and plans with Cougar Cupboard and I Support the Girls.

“I have done various supply drives for I Support the Girls before and have tried to help Cougar Cupboard with its most recent drive to collect a thousand items in response to COVID-19 [by helping] them spread the word on social media,” Stuart said.

A bill that is currently being reviewed may amend the General Assembly Compensation Act,

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which would prevent Illinois legislators from getting a pay raise.

However, Stuart still plans to donate $1,800, the Illinois legislators’ planned pay raise for 2020, between the two organizations, whether she actually receives that pay raise or not.

Founder of the Edwardsville chapter of I Support the Girls Alicia Alexander said Stuart’s affiliation with the organization goes a long way back. “[Stuart] has probably really supported us since after my first year,” Alexander said. “In 2018, she did her first collecting for [I

Support the Girls] at her office.

She and her staff started doing collections at different points … they would do a month long collection of new underwear and menstrual hygiene [products].

There have been a few different collections each year.”

According to Alexander, Stuart’s donation would go toward new products, but the main focus of I Support the Girls remains a communal project.

“Something that we try to do is not use a lot of our financial donations on actual products,” Alexander said. “The focus of the

wednesday, 06.10.20

organization is it’s a community project. Other people are giving to support those in need in our community.”

Assistant Director for Community Engagement Carolyn Compton said even though she has only been affiliated with Cougar Cupboard for about a year, she has already seen Stuart’s active participation with the organization. uture ideas for Cougar Cupboard donation drives were canceled due to COVID-19.

“We’ve had some talks about what it would look like to start doing an annual or biannual

food drive for [Cougar Cupboard],” Compton said. “Then, COVID-19 happened, so we readjusted that. Moving forward, [Stuart will] be helping with that and being supportive of food drives in the future on a regular basis.”

To find more information about Cougar Cupboard and I Support the Girls - Edwardsville, visit their websites.

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

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For each statement that applies to you, give yourself a point. Be sure to post how many points you collected on The Alestle’s social media pages with the hashtag #pointsforCOVID. Seen a person’s mask not cover their nose Seen a littered mask Seen a littered glove Seen a person not wearing a mask in a public space Received a shipping delay email Seen a protest or petition against CDC regulations Participated in a protest or petition against CDC regulations Seen someone post about CDC regulations on social media Posted about CDC regulations on social media Seen someone buy excessive amounts of cleaning supplies Bought a large amount of cleaning supplies Seen someone not follow the “6 feet” rule Hugged someone despite the “6 feet” rule Seen a birthday or graduation parade Participated in a birthday or graduation parade Been invited to a drive-by wedding reception Been invited to a small wedding reception Traveled out of state to access open businesses Took up a new hobby Learned how to make bread Spend 4 or more hours a day on electronic devices Sleep more or less than before the pandemic Shared a post about a COVID conspiracy theory Seen or shared a meme about the coronavirus Seen a person be asked to put on a mask

Total: ____________

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