The Alestle Vol. 75 No. 6

THE

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Fitness Center reopens Climbing Gym to students

Hispanic Heritage Month provides games and education

Men’s soccer takes sudden loss in Homecoming game

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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

the student voice since 1960

Thursday, September 30, 2021 Vol. 75 No. 6

Busey closes campus branch, replacement search underway FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter

Busey Bank is closing its on-campus location. The university has started a search for a new bank to fill the place.

Students currently banking with Busey Bank will feel the impacts of the closure set to occur on Nov. 19.

According to an email the university sent, SIUE is putting out a Request for Information in hopes to find a new banking partner. They hope to find a new banking service soon to provide students with the convenience that Busey offered.

A Request for Information is a business process where the purpose is to collect information from businesses about a certain business’s capabilities and is filled out only by bidding businesses.

According to Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Jeffrey Waple, the university administration met to decide if an on-campus bank was a priority and the Chancellor’s Council decided that it was.

“The general consensus is that we needed a branch for a lot of reasons. One, to support our faculty, students and staff and their banking needs. It’s a big support for international students who have to establish accounts, student organizations also have their accounts [here]. So it was decided to have the banking service,” Waple said.

The Request for Information went

out on Sept. 27 to all the local banks in Edwardsville and Glen Carbon. The school had already seen eight or nine banks reach out prior to the RFI being sent out, which is a good sign according to Waple.

“The bank can ask questions [until] [Oct.]1, then the submissions must be here by [Oct.] 15. Then the team will review them. [I] think we’re gonna have double-digit submissions this time,” Waple said.

Waple said that the ideal bank would not only provide students, staff and faculty with banking services but would also support students with financial literacy or similar skills. He said the university was very direct in the RFI that the bank must have a face-to-face business model, not a virtual office.

“Our campus is student-centered, face-to-face interactions [and] engaged in campus life and that’s what we want and that’s right on the main page of the RFI,” Waple said.

Freshman pre-med major, Sylvia Lopshire from Arrowsmith, Illinois, said that she’s a little upset about the bank closing as she had transferred all her money here when she first moved to SIUE. She still plans on banking with Busey, but wouldn’t be opposed to switching to a new bank if one opens in the MUC. “I think I’ll still bank with Busey, their student checking account has good benefits, but if there is a new one that they

Busey Bank’s SIUE on-campus location is set to close on Nov. 19. The university is working to find a new banking partner in order to provide students with the same convenience Busey offered. | Damian Morris / The Alestle

find, I would definitely switch again,” Lopshire said.

Busey Bank declined to be interviewed but issued a statement via email.

“After careful review and analysis, Busey made the decision to consolidate its local branch footprint to maintain a balance in our service center network and broad digital banking services. Busey is committed to maintaining a strong presence in the Metro East. With 12 remaining service centers throughout communities in the area, extensive ATM network

and robust digital banking tools, customers will have many local, convenient options when the SIUE location closes in late November 2021,” Rob Schwartz, senior vice president and commercial market president said.

Waple said that he hopes to announce the new bank around December or January and that the new bank is in place before the end of the spring semester. The deadline is set to be before summer begins so the bank can provide students with support during Springboard.

New dental clinic on Edwardsville campus offers student and faculty discounts ALEX AULTMAN editor-in-chief

Students and faculty now have an option for discounted dental care on campus through SIU Dental associates.

The newly opened faculty practice has a rotating staff of two School of Dental Medicine faculty members each weekday.

There are currently two general dentists on staff and the rest have specialties ranging from periodontics to dental radiology.

The clinic accepts most insurance plans and offers a 25 percent discount for enrolled students and a 10 percent discount for faculty. Costs of treatment will be discussed with patients before they begin.

There are also financing options available through the SIUE Credit Union.

Dr. Robert Blackwell is the chair of graduate education at the dental school and a dentist at the clinic. He said the on-campus clinic will save time and money for students and faculty due to the location.

“All the faculty that are participating are all very talented clinicians who are leaders in their particular field of interest.

So [students and faculty are] going to be able to get high quality care in a location that’s conve-

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nient,” Blackwell said.

The clinic has been in the making for a while, but there was a delay in getting the faculty practice incorporated due to the IRS taking two years to approve the application. In the meantime, the building served as a training ground for some of the dental students before the Advanced Care Clinic in Alton, Illinois, was created.

Clinical Associate Professor of Periodontology Dr. Robert Bitter said being at the clinic one day a week has the added benefit of keeping the faculty up to date with the field of dentistry.

“One of the reasons that we have a day like this that we’re given, is that this is what helps us to stay current,” Bitter said.

“Because especially today, things are changing so rapidly that if we can’t stay current, we can’t really teach our students what they need.”

Bitter said they offer a little bit of everything. There are open and private operatories that patients can sit in depending on what they are comfortable with or the procedure they are getting done.

There is also a supply of nitrous and oxygen in house due to them becoming increasingly more difficult to obtain from nearby hospitals. The clinic also

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This operatory at the newly opened SIU Dental Associates provides patients with the option of a more private environment than the main room. | Alex Aultman / The Alestle

has a laboratory in case any biopsies need to be done. A cone beam computed tomography machine that takes a 3D image of the patient’s mouth is also available to aid in planning things like implants.

Assistant Clinical Professor Dr. Bret Gruender said the prac-

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tice is still growing because some dental school faculty members feel more comfortable staying where they have been practicing outside of the university.

“I think where we’re really going to see this [growth] is the newer hires that we have,” Gruender said. “And we’ve had

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a few of those people who have moved within the last few years that really didn’t have that place to practice.”

SIU Dental Associates is located at 195 University Park Drive and appointments can be made Monday through Friday by calling 650-5781.

See you on the Internet!

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BY THE NUMBERS

COVID-19 at SIUE

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

Sept. 17 - Sept. 23: 23 students, 2 faculty/staff Sept. 10 - Sept. 16: 21 students, 3 faculty/staff

14-day new positive tests: 44 students, 5 faculty/staff All prior weeks positive tests (August 6 - Sept. 9): 100 students, 12 faculty/staff Total positive cases: 144 students, 17 faculty/staff

Thursday, 09.30.21

News in brief

Madison County confirmed cases by day

225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50 25 0

20

SEPTEMBER

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

Source: Madison County Health Department COVID-19 Dashboard under the Cases by Day tab as of Sept.29

Percentage of isolation/quarantine space available on campus (as of September 29): 98 percent Source: Health, Reporting, and Testing page on SIUE’s COVID-19 website, as of September 29

Tests conducted by SIUE Sept. 17 - Sept. 23: 2,065

COVID-19’S impact on Madison County

14-day new tests conducted: 3,996

All of Illinois’ regions remain under Phase 5, which went into

Sept. 10 - Sept. 16: 1,931

All prior weeks tests conducted (August 6 - Sept. 9): 6,711

effect June 11. All sectors of the economy reopen with new health and hygiene practices permanently in place:

Total tests conducted: 10,707

• •

Positive cases identified by SIUE testing: Sept. 17 - Sept. 23: 14 Sept. 10 - Sept. 16: 14

14-day new positive cases: 28

All prior weeks positive cases (August 6 - Sept. 2): 86 Total: 114

• •

Large gatherings of all sizes can resume.

All sectors of the economy reopen with businesses, schools and recreation resuming normal operations with new safety guidance and procedures.

Conventions, festivals and large events can take place.

On June 30, Illinois returned to mandated masks indoors regardless of vaccination status.

Source: dph.illinois.gov

| Kirsten O’Loughlin / The Alestle

Fitness Center brings back Rock Climbing Gym after pandemic closure BRANDON WELLS sports editor

After being shut down during the pandemic, the rock climbing walls in the Student Fitness Center Climbing Gym have finally reopened, bringing new joy to students who weren’t able to experience it before.

The Climbing Gym, located near the equipment checkout area of the SFC, consists of a tall room with several walls featuring different courses for different levels of climbing ability.

Sophomore history major Noah Tungett of Bethalto, Illinois, is a student worker attending to the bouldering cave and its visitors. Tungett said the hours are the main difference he sees, with the Climbing Gym only being from 5 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday as opposed to every day.

This being the first year he’s worked in the Climbing Gym, Tungett said he’s excited to learn how to reroute the walls.

“Rerouting is taking all the pieces off the wall [and] setting new paths that you can climb on. We’re looking to do that every few weeks just to add some variety and some new stuff, and I’m looking forward to it,” Tungett said.

| Courtesy of SIUE Campus Recreation

Due to the grip-focused nature of rock climbing, the Climbing Gym also contains powdered chalk to rub on your hands, but Tungett said he doesn’t believe it should be a risk for COVID-19.

“Usually everyone brings their own chalk if they’re wanting to use it [and] we’ve got a community bag, but I wouldn’t say [COVID-19 exposure] is a traceable thing … most people wash their hands or use hand sanitizer after climbing the wall either way just because it’s a shared space,” Tungett said.

Senior psychology major Brady Bergman of Quincy, Illinois, is another student worker who works in the Climbing Gym and said rock climbing is something he’s been involved in in the past.

“I worked at a fitness center up there [in Quincy] where I was actually a rock wall attendant, so I was doing the exact same thing, just back where I’m from,” Bergman said.

Bergman said one of the things he enjoys is being able to watch and help other people climb and enjoy themselves.

“I was actually really excited to work here. When I did this back home I really enjoyed helping people climb the rock wall, even though I don’t have a lot of experience doing it myself. I really enjoy watching other people do it, so I was really excited to get to be able to do that where I go to school,” Bergman said.

Senior mechatronics and robotics engineering major Brayton Larson of St. Charles, Missouri, said going to the Climbing Gym before the pandemic clo-

March for Women’s Rights to be held at Edwardsville Courthouse A march to advocate for reproductive justice will begin at the Edwardsville courthouse this Saturday.

Emily Gaither, the organizer of the march, said the march is intended to advocate for reproductive justice in the wake of Texas’s recent abortion bill.

“Women have come further than we’ve ever been before, but they’re trying to set us back again. It’s unacceptable,” Gaither said. “I have three daughters and I don’t want them to grow up in a world where they can’t be themselves and they can’t make their own decisions.”

The march is intended to take place alongside multiple protests across the U.S., all taking place on the same day.

“There are actually a lot of cities that are doing marches on Oct. 2, just all across the nation. It’s to show support for women’s rights that Texas is trying to take away from us,” Gaither said.

The march will start at the Edwardsville Courthouse on Oct. 2 at 2 p.m.

09.21.21 Officer responded to a report of a fraudulent hangtag being in a vehicle.

The hangtag was confiscated.

09.22.21 Officer took a report regarding a student being tagged through social media from multiple accounts.

09.23.21 Officer responded to a loud noise complaint. Officer advised there was noise, but it was not a loud noise complaint.

09.24.21 Officer took a report regarding a student being tagged through social media from multiple accounts. | Courtesy of SIUE Campus Recreation

sure was the first time he had been rock climbing, but he is excited to get back into it.

“It’s definitely nice. I don’t really love going weight lifting — it’s not really my thing, so it’s really nice to come in here and feel like I’m doing physical exercise and I’ll end up actually using my gym membership,” Larson said.

Due to the prior closure of the Climbing Gym thanks to the pandemic, Larson said he’s more worried about the possibility of it closing down again than he is about being personally exposed while climbing there.

“It’s kind of one of those things where you don’t want it to be an issue, but you’re worried that they’re gonna close it because it might be an issue … I figure I’m just as exposed coming in here as I am going to in-person class and touching all the door handles,” Larson said. “The weight gym’s open too, so I feel like [the Climbing Gym] should be open.”

09.26.21 Officer responded to a report of a suspicious odor. Officer advised there was a strong odor coming from a dorm room. Officer made contact with resident. Officer advised a warning was issued for possession of cannabis and advised subject of the Housing policies about cannabis use.

09.27.21 Officer responded to a report of roommate problems. Officer advised Housing would be handling the incident.

Officer responded to a report of a physical fight between two male subjects. Officer advised the victim signed a refusal to prosecute form.

Officer assisted Edwardsville PD with traffic control on a welfare check.

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Thursday, 09.30.21

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Big stakes for Pelosi, Democrats in advancing Biden’s agenda JENNIFER HABERKORN JANET HOOK Los Angeles Times / TNS

WASHINGTON — Democrats are deeply divided over how to enact President Biden’s agenda, but they agree on one thing: No one comes close to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s acumen in muscling bills through the House.

But with the slimmest House Democratic majority of her career and Biden’s top legislative priority hanging in the balance, the San Francisco Democrat is facing perhaps the most complex test of those skills.

As she tries to win House approval of Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan — the centerpiece of his economy and social policy agenda — Pelosi finds herself in a familiar position, caught between progressives who want to enact the most ambitious social programs since the New Deal and centrists who are leery of spending trillions of dollars.

Both sides have made her task more complicated by drawing lines in the sand, making ultimatums and disparaging fellow Democrats — and leaving it to her to figure out a way out of the mess.

“There’s nobody better than Speaker Pelosi at getting votes,” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.). He is leading a group of centrists who weeks ago convinced Pelosi to pledge to vote on one part of Biden’s plan — a $1-trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill — on Monday, a timeline that already slipped to Thursday. “She committed to getting votes and I know she will,” Gottheimer said.

The political stakes surrounding the plan, which also includes a second Democrats-only bill to fortify and expand the social safety net by establishing universal pre-K and paid family leave and expanding health programs, could not be higher.

Democrats are facing headwinds in their bid to retain control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections and want to run on popular accomplishments. For Biden, a huge chunk of his agenda is on the line, if not his presidency. If these two bills fail, it bodes poorly for the remainder of this Congress, and even the remainder of his term.

For Pelosi, the bills could serve as her last — and perhaps biggest — legislative accomplishment after her 34 years in Congress and nearly two decades as the leader of House Democrats.

In 2018, she committed to stepping down as speaker by the end of next year.

Pelosi had for weeks sided with progressives in agreeing to not vote on the infrastructure bill until the broader social policy bill was ready. On Sunday, she moved away from that position, setting up a Thursday vote on the infrastructure bill even as the so-

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, speaks on the Biden Build Back Better Act on climate on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. | Yuri Gripas / Abaca Press / TNS

cial policy bill stalled.

On Monday, Pelosi acknowledged she would decouple the bills and blamed the decision on resistance among some moderate Senate Democrats to the $3.5-trillion spending bill, even though their opposition had been known for weeks. “It all changed, so our approach had to change,” she told her members, according to a source familiar with her remarks. “We are not going to pass a bill that won’t pass the Senate.”

Angered over the potential loss of significant leverage if they approve the bipartisan infrastructure bill first, progressives are threatening to block it. Pelosi’s much-vaunted whipping skills will be put to the test over the next days as she tries to rescue that key part of the Biden agenda and propel the second part to fruition.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who represents the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Tuesday that there are about 50 progressives who would vote no on the infrastructure bill Thursday, absent a vote on the broader bill. A sketchy framework “is not going to do it for us,” Jayapal said.

“No pinkie swears.”

Escalating tensions, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — progressive icon and chairman of the Senate Budget Committee — took to Twitter to support them. “I strongly urge my House colleagues to vote against the bipartisan infrastructure bill until Congress passes a strong reconciliation bill,” Sanders wrote, referring to the social spending bill that Democrats plan to pass through a budget reconciliation process.

If Pelosi follows through with her plan to hold the vote

Thursday and progressives maintain their posture, it could result in her first loss on a major House vote as speaker.

“Normally she doesn’t do that [call a vote she expects to lose], but she may have done the calculation that it has to be done to show the moderates that there aren’t the votes,” said Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough).

In hopes of finding consensus, Pelosi has brought Democrats into the same room twice this week. Although most meetings have been virtual because of the pandemic, she strongly urged members to attend in person. She has also huddled with members in her office just off the Capitol Rotunda, with the pace of those meetings expected to pick up in the coming days.

“She’s trying to get members to get off their positions to negotiate. So she’s kind of creating deadlines for both sides to come to an agreement or to at least say what they can or cannot accept,” said Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles). “As long as you don’t have that kind of pressure, you’re never going to move.”

John Lawrence, former chief of staff to Pelosi, said her legislative superpower, developed over decades of work in Congress, is to discern which of her members’ demands are essential and which are wish lists.

“It’s very similar to the words of the great British political theorist Sir Mick Jagger: figuring out what you want versus what you need,” said Lawrence. “There is nobody better in politics better at that than Nancy Pelosi.”

The speaker has faced sizable legislative obstacles before, most notably the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2009 and 2010. Now she is facing an even

tougher test, and the increased degree of difficulty speaks volumes about how the Democratic Party has changed over the last decade.

In 2009, Pelosi’s left flank was anchored by senior members who were close personal allies, such as California Reps. George Miller and Henry A. Waxman.

It was unfathomable they would block her on the floor.

Now the Democrats’ moderate wing is much diminished and more at risk. Its progressive wing is more rambunctious, and less beholden to the Democratic establishment in general — and Pelosi in particular.

The progressive camp includes several high-profile back benchers who won by unseating longtime incumbents in primaries and are ready to take on establishment leaders such as Pelosi; some of them had openly questioned whether she should continue as speaker.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said holding one vote without the other is a “betrayal.

We will hold the line and vote it down,” she tweeted.

Even veteran progressives are threatening to block the bill without something ironclad from the Senate, including Reps. Ro Khanna of Fremont and Jared Huffman of San Rafael.

The question now is whether progressives are truly willing to block a piece of Biden’s agenda on the floor. For years, progressives have been known to make demands for bold policy, but to ultimately cave in favor of making piecemeal progress.

To appease moderate Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, the $3.5-trillion social spending bill will be scaled

down. It is unclear yet what programs would be cut. Democrats could decide to eliminate entire programs, keep them all but make them available only to people under certain income levels or make them available for only a few years.

While rank-and-file House Democrats show no sign of losing confidence in Pelosi, there is growing pressure for Biden to get more personally involved, particularly in getting Manchin and Sinema to specify their bottom lines in order to move negotiations along. He met with both of them individually at the White House on Tuesday.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki declined to provide details of those meetings when asked whether Biden was pressing for the two Democratic holdouts to agree to a new price tag.

“We’re obviously at a very sensitive time in these discussions,” she said.

While at his Camp David retreat over the weekend, Biden made calls to members of Congress. Last week, the president brought groups of other Democrats to the White House.

“Should he succeed, he can demonstrate that he is a leader with strength and skill, a president who can get the job done,” said Michael Genovese, president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University.

“But should he fail, his popularity will take a hit, his prestige in D.C. will wane, and commentators will read the tea leaves and say that the chances for the Democrats in 2022 and 2024 look dim.”

The stakes are even higher for the Democratic Party. Many Democrats believe that their uphill fight to keep control of Congress in 2022 will become nearly impossible if they don’t have these bills — with their far-reaching benefits to families, states and communities — to show the fruits of a Democratic-controlled government.

“Biden has three years to recover and a presidential race always looks much tougher when you have no opponent. But once you have an opponent, presidential races are choices, not a referendum,” said a Democratic strategist familiar with the White House’s thinking. “The problem the Democratic Party has is that midterm elections have become referendums on the party controlling the White House.”

For both Biden and Pelosi, the current legislative conundrum is a test of the old-style leadership skills that are central to their political personas. For now, some House Democrats have taken to calling Pelosi their “magician.” But even they have their limits.

“She is a magician,” Gomez said, “but sometimes there’s too many rabbits and not a big enough hat.”

NEXT WEEK: A LOOK AT ORCHARDS AND FARMS FOR FALL TIME FUN PAGE 4

lifestyles

RELAX’

‘ THIS IS DEFINITELY HELPING ME NICOLE BOYD social media manager

This year’s Homecoming Week festivities included a petting zoo on Dunham Lawn, giving students the opportunity to pet and feed farm animals, including a mini cow and a donkey.

Maddie Walters, a senior business economics major from Elizabeth, Illinois, and the Homecoming chair for CAB, said they had to pick from 11 different animals offered by the company, and they picked almost all of the animals that they offered.

“We stuck with pretty much the traditional animals that you would normally see in a petting zoo — goats … a mini horse, a donkey, a mini cow, a Great Pyrenees dog, chickens and then … turtles, because we thought that would be a good one for people who might have allergies, they might be able to pet a turtle,” Walters said.

The idea to have a petting zoo came from CAB’s graduate assistant, Madison Schurman, according to Walters.

“We wanted to find an event that was something that everybody could be a part of and inclusive of everyone, because a lot of Homecoming events are kind of limited two student organizations,” Walters said. “So this is definitely something that we wanted to make sure that anybody that wanted to be a part of it or to come enjoy it would be able to.”

Mackenzie Lewis, a freshman mass communications major from St. Louis, said she was most excited to see goats and sheep.

“I truly do love animals. I don’t get to see a lot up close, living in the city, so the most interaction I get with animals [is] my cats and Discovery

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contact the editor: lifestyles@alestlelive.com 650-3527 Thursday, 09.30.21

CAB brings furry friends to campus for Homecoming Week

In some Western cultures, a goat is a symbol of evil. This one, however, is more concerned with being petted that committing unholy acts. | Nicole Boyd / The Alestle Channel,” Lewis said.

Lewis said she thinks the SIUE community benefits from having a petting zoo by learning about the different animals.

“There are a bunch of animals that we don’t know about or just have little education [about]. There’s also a lot of issues with how farms raise and produce

Most donkeys have to carry loads for travellers through the dessert. This one, however, is the star of a show. | Nicole Boyd / The Alestle

our meat,” Lewis said. “If you just help and educate people on that it will create a better environment.”

Miles Winn, a freshman environmental science major from Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, said the goat and the Great Pyrenees were his favorite animals. He said he probably spent about 45 minutes petting the Great Pyrenees.

“I have, after this, four to six hours of homework to do, and this is definitely helping me relax a lot before that happens. It just allows students to really destress and have a good time,” Winn said.

Krystel Perea, a senior industrial engineering major from Arequipa, Peru, said she was passing through campus when she decided to check out the petting zoo. She said she thought it was nice that students had the opportunity to see the animals.

“I think it definitely will help us take a little bit of a break from school and study, and just the interaction with the animals, I think that’s really nice,” Perea said.

Walters said they found a company that does traveling petting zoos, and then were able to schedule a date and reserve the space.

“Something that was different for the petting zoo was that we needed to make sure that they had a certain level of liability insurance in order to be allowed to come on campus,” Walters said.

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Thursday, 09.30.21

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SIUE’s homecoming highlighted by rap rock group Unchained GABRIEL BRADY lifestyles editor

Unchained, a band from Rochester, Illinois, performed for SIUE’s homecoming last week.

With plenty more shows coming up, as well as an EP they’ve begun work on, things are looking up for Unchained.

Dave Allen, the band’s frontman and one of its two singers, said Unchained had never played at SIUE before. According to Allen, the band has been playing

plenty of shows far from home.

Their next show is Friday, Oct. 1 at Weebles Bar and Grill in Springfield, Illinois.

“I really hope some of the people at [the SIUE] show come see us again. Or, we’d love to come back to SIUE again,” Allen said.

“It was pretty cool for our first college gig.”

Allen said the audience they had for this inaugural SIUE show was great.

“It was a good, really good crowd. They were super inte-

ractive, which is always nice,” Allen said. “It’s always more fun for us when the people watching are getting involved with the music too.”

Drummer Matthew Runions said he and the rest of the band were particularly taken by the food venues at the concert.

“The show went great, and I believe they had a little taco venue for before or after the show,” Runions said. “I know we as a band really appreciated that.”

According to Runions, the

(From left to right) Allen gets into the groove, put together by Marx and bassist Ty Ellis. | Photo courtesy of University Marketing and Communications

band currently plays mostly covers of older songs. However, Runions said the band has begun work on an EP, and they plan on playing a lot more original music soon.

“We’ve got some tracks laid out. It should all be ready to go by the spring. It’s going to be called ‘Psychedelic Picnic,’” Runions said. “We’re making that move toward playing mostly original stuff, and then by the next summer, hopefully with all those summer festivals we normally do, we can just do originals and see where it goes.”

The band was started about three years ago, according to Runions. He said he got the idea to start a band from his dad.

“The idea of starting the band was brought up by my dad in August of 2018,” Runions said. “I got some people together, and although we’re not the same group as the original line-up, we’ve been going strong with this setup for about two years now.”

The band members met through the music departments in school in Rochester, Illinois.

Logan McKneelen, one of the band’s two guitarists, has been playing guitar for over 10 years.

“I started lessons at 8, which was about 12 years ago. I’ve been playing since then,” McKneelen said. “I was in jazz band and the music program in high school and junior high school, and I met a lot of these guys there.”

Cooper Marx, the other guitarist, said the music played by the

band is a combination of many different influences that each of the members has gotten over their years of playing music.

“In our words, I would describe us as epic,” Marx said.

“We’ve got a ‘90s vibe. We really like bands from then, like 311, Incubus. It’s a lot of rap rock. We play music that came out 20 or even 30 years before we were born.”

According to Allen, this blending of genres and somewhat old-school style of music gives the band a lot of versatility.

“Since we blend a lot of styles together, our music fits in at any festival. We do play a lot of rap rock, but we try not to stay in one genre,” Allen said. “We all have different genres of music we love that we bring to the table. We do reggae, ska, punk and a whole lot of stuff.”

McKneelen said having a range of genres makes the band more fun for the audience, but also for the members themselves, because they feel like they can play whatever they want and still have a good time.

“I feel like we have a good mix of a lot of genres, and it’s all very alternative,” McKneelen said. “We can spread out across the board and just play what we enjoy, and not worry about losing the crowd, because they want to see us, and that’s what we do.”

For more information, check the band’s Instagram or Facebook pages.

Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month celebrates culture while addressing important issues NICOLE BOYD social media manager

This year’s events include lotería, piñata making and Inclusive Conversations tackling issues relevant to the Hispanic community, in a series titled “ESPERANZA: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage and Hope.”

Angel Jones, visiting professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning hosted an Inclusive Conversation titled “También Somos Latinxs (We are also Latinxs): Addressing Anti-Blackness in the Latinx Community.” Inclusive Conversations is a series of discussions of various cultural topics. “Latinx” is a recently coined gender neutral term used in place of “Latino” or “Latina,” which has generated controversy within the community.

Jones, who is an Afro-Latina, said she felt it was important to give the talk because people often don’t talk about the Black experience within Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, and she was hoping to open peoples’ minds to allow them to see that Afro-Latinos are members of the Latinx community too.

“I think a lot of times when people think of the Latinx community they have one image of what a Latina looks like, and a lot of us don’t fall into that category, don’t live up to that made-up standard,” Jones said. “We’re often left out of the conversation, or our identities are questioned and not seen as valid because we look different, so for me it was important to make sure that as an Afro-Latina, that I told

my story and that hopefully left space for other Afro-Latinas to be able to tell their story as well.”

Jones said she was encouraged by how the conversation went.

“I think I would’ve liked to see more folks here, but I actually didn’t expect a lot of them, because this is a topic that people don’t normally talk about,” Jones said. “So I’m hoping that next time there’ll be even more people, but I was encouraged by those who were here.”

Olga Bezhanova, chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature, hosted an Inclusive Conversation on the topic of the Spanish language in the U.S. She discussed how the use of the Spanish language in the U.S. has been growing and has been projected to grow more in the next 20 to 30 years.

“Very often, people speak about this as something new, like, ‘We’re seeing all the Spanish speakers around …’ but the interesting issue is that the Spanish language has been used in what today is the United States for over 400 years. [The] Spanish language was used on this continent before the English language ever was,” Bezhanova said.

Bezhanova said she hopes that people took away an understanding of how rich, vibrant, complex and diverse the Hispanic culture is.

“There’s always more and more knowledge that we can gain, and I gave a little glimpse into some of the things that I find fascinating and don’t always get

talked about, and with the hope that people would be motivated to learn more,” Bezhanova said.

Bezhanova said the topic is important for Hispanic Heritage Month because the university is working to attract more Spanish-speaking students, and needs to be relevant to those students.

“We always collaborate with the Hispanic Heritage Month because our department at the university is a place that offers courses on the history, the language, the culture, the Hispanic world, and we really want to bring more awareness to campus that there’s a wealth of amazing cultural resources and experiences that we can find among our Hispanic student population, professors and prospective students,” Bezhanova said.

Jones said she is in favor of the university’s use of “Latinx” in the title “Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month.”

“That’s the term that I use and I feel like it is more inclusive and open than some of the previous terms,” Jones said.

Bezhanova said Spanish is a gendered language, as all languages derived from Roman are, and while Spanish speakers are very proud of their

language, the fact that it’s gendered is not ideological.

“For example, the table in Spanish is female and the floor is male, for no ideological reason,” Bezhanova said. “Part of diversity is opening yourself up to a language that has a different linguistic reality, a different grammar reality, and that doesn’t come in any sort of conflict with ideas that one might have.”

J.T. Snipes, assistant professor of educational leadership, said he attended “También Somos Latinxs” to learn more about the role of anti-Blackness in Latinx communities.

“I think the first step to transforming things is understanding … provide some awareness and consciousness around issues of exclusion within marginalized communities,” Snipes said.

NEXT WEEK: THE U.S. NEEDS MORE POLITICAL PARTIES

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Check COVID-19 facts before listening to conspiracies THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board

By now most people have heard the infamous story about Nicki Minaj’s cousin’s friend allegedly having a concerning side effect on his genitals after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The tweet was quickly debunked by medical professionals, but the damage was already done. Fans protested outside the Centers for Disease Control headquarters in Atlanta and health officials in Trinidad also had to work to debunk the claim.

Fact checking has always been important, but now it is even more necessary due to the amount of information thrown at us daily. Health officials like the CDC and Illinois Department of Public Health are valuable resources that can be used to check infor-

mation shared by friends, relatives or celebrities about COVID-19.

Anecdotes from loved ones or celebrities should not be taken as gospel because they usually are not scientists and research should always be done through scholarly sources. No, conspiracy videos on YouTube do not count as research.

Like the telephone game, information can be changed after going through various people, which is why checking official sources and analyses is crucial.

Since the pandemic has become so politicized, it’s also important to get information from unbiased sources. News outlets are good at breaking down health care jargon into layman’s terms, but not all news sources are created equal.

The Associated Press, New York Times and Washington Post are all good sources.

Some have criticized scien-

tists and government officials for changing guidelines throughout the pandemic, but that is because what we know about the virus has changed. We are watching the scientific method in progress and as said in many research methods classes, good research should change. Our methods of combating the pandemic will change as we are presented with new evidence of what works best. At the beginning of the pandemic it was recommended that we avoid touching things after other people, but now we know the virus is primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets in the air and surface transmission isn’t as much of a concern.

Guidance is also changing because of new variants being discovered around the world.

In the U.S. the Delta variant is now the dominant strain of the

virus, resulting from mutations as COVID-19 spread. The CDC said the most effective way to limit the spread of variants is to continue wearing masks and get the vaccine, which prevents the spread of the virus, thereby limiting how often it mutates.

This is another reason why it is important to pay attention to the most recent information about COVID-19.

There are easy ways to keep up with developments in the COVID-19 pandemic. One of which is to install the app of a trusted, unbiased news outlet on your device and enable push notifications. Another method is to follow news outlets and health organizations like the CDC on Twitter. To learn how COVID-19 is affecting SIUE and Madison County, check the university’s COVID-19 Dashboard.

Younger students have more in common with their peers.

This makes being in group projects and connecting in class over the assignments difficult due to the age differences and in the case of single or young parents, other responsibilities.

It isn’t easy being a nontraditional student. Nontraditional students generally do not live on campus, are much older than their classmates and usually have their plates full with work or children or both. SIUE offers many great clubs and activities, but none currently aimed at nontraditional students.

On the GetInvolved website, there are two groups specifically aimed at students with children and nontraditional students, both focused on resources, not much fun. The last event listed on either of them is three years old. While resources are great, we need interaction. We need options for activities that include us.

There should be get-togethers, even virtual ones for nontraditional students and other activities that we can participate in while not living on campus. The

activities shouldn’t have to be connected to a certain club, but the school itself. The university should be finding ways to interact with nontraditional students because we are paying for the college experience as well.

There should be activities on campus for young parents to include their children in so that they can share the experience with other students who understand what they are dealing with daily.

Counseling and other services are helpful to young parents trying hard to raise children and attend school, but building relationships with other students is just as crucial to keep a person motivated to continue.

I feel that older students specifically are somewhat swept under the rug. When I arrived last January, I gave myself a tour of the campus because I was never offered one. When I went into one office to ask for a map, I was greeted with a nod toward the counter and not much interest in answering any of my other questions and the assumption that I was someone’s parent.

The only webpage on SIUE’s

website for nontraditional students just gives the definition of who qualifies and a phone number at the bottom to call if someone has questions regarding this status. In comparison, SIUC’s website features a landing page for nontraditional students which helps them navigate through the process of applying, testing services, family housing, resources for parent students and more.

Ultimately, we nontraditional students could spearhead groups and clubs but face it, we have our hands full. The school would do well to consider that we are choosing you to educate us but also give us the same rounded college experience that younger students traditionally receive.

If you want to bolster retention rates among nontraditional students, understand we need more than just counseling or resources. We need interaction. We want more than just a pre-commencement party. While it is appreciated, I am sure, it comes at the end of our journey at SIUE. The journey to that point shouldn’t be lonely.

Nontraditional students deserve a college experience too DANA MCLENNAN copy editor

In 2019, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, 7.9 percent of college students were adults over the age of 25, yet SIUE fails to deliver the college experience for the nontraditional student.

SIUE considers a nontraditional student as someone who has not continued school following high school, anyone over the age of 24, single parents, those with dependents other than a spouse, work 35 plus hours, part time attendance, financially independent and/or completed a GED. Other than graduating with a high school diploma I hit all the markers of a nontraditional student. Attending SIUE was important to me because they have one of the best mass communications departments close to home. I was also hoping to find a groove with other students because we would have a shared interest in the field. Instead, I end up having more in common with the instructors.

contact the editor: sports@alestlelive.com 650-3527 PAGE 7

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NEXT WEEK: SOFTBALL’S THIRD HOME GAME VS REND LAKE COLLEGE

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Homecoming Run returns in-person, financial success NICOLE BOYD social media manager

Over 300 runners attended the Cougars Unleashed Homecoming Run on Saturday, Sept.

25, which was held in person with a virtual option after being entirely virtual last year.

Nick Niemerg, assistant director of constituent relations, said planning for the Homecoming Run has been ongoing since July. He said accounting for social distancing was a little tricky, but it paid off.

“This is one of our first events in over a year and a half, and the crowd here has been fantastic. I don’t have the final numbers yet, but I will say that this is going to be the most financially successful event that we’ve had ever,” Niemerg said. “So we’re very happy about that.”

Cathy Taylor, director of constituent relations and special projects, said they’re excited to offer an in-person run this year.

“Last year because of the pandemic we went completely virtual, which was new for us, of course, but it gave us the opportunity to try the virtual format. This year we’re thrilled that we’re able to offer an in-person and virtual format, so we have

over 300 runners participating,” Taylor said.

Andrew Ravanelli, president of the alumni association, said the virtual events allowed them to think outside the box and engage with more alumni that they normally wouldn’t have.

“Normally our in-person events are fairly restricted to people who are local, and doing more virtual things allowed us to reach a lot more people,” Ravanelli said.

“So we’re excited to be able to offer the things for the local community again because most of our alumni are local, but now being able to do both in-person and virtual lets us reach as many alumni as we can.”

Ravanelli said turnout for the virtual events was more than expected, and that they did virtual happy hours in the beginning of the pandemic to keep people engaged with tutorials and demonstrations.

“We had a mixologist who was teaching mixed drinks. We hosted a couple of virtual happy hours where we had some cooking demonstrations, just to try to keep people engaged. That was especially early on in the pandemic when people were mostly isolated at home and feeling bored and disconnected,” Ravanelli said.

“This year and last year, having a virtual Homecoming Run, we had a lot more participants than we maybe expected. A lot of people were choosing to do the run, they still wanted to participate, still wanted to submit their times … it was more than we expected.”

Ravanelli said setting up for race day involved recruiting volunteers and donations so that all of the proceeds go to scholarships for SIUE students.

“All of the money that we bring in for everything goes directly into our scholarship fund,” Ravanelli said. “We have Chris Cakes pancakes, and the race day coordination, we work with them to plan out the route. We work with the campus police to get security parameters set up to make it safe for our runners.”

Ravanelli said having a run at SIUE is an opportunity to bring people from the Edwardsville community on campus so they can be a part of the campus life.

“It continues to bring awareness to how awesome this campus is, how great the students are here, what a great opportunity this is for people in the community to be a part of,” Ravanelli said. “Every opportunity that we can bring the community on campus, and bring our students and alumni to

engage with the community, only strengthens the relationship between SIUE and Edwardsville.”

Michael French, a junior computer science major from Danville, Illinois, said he spontaneously decided to participate in the race the day before at the request of a friend.

“This is my first 5k. I would run for fun all the time, but this is my first official race, so I’m feeling excited,” French said.

Sarah Watts, an SIUE graduate from Mattoon, Illinois, brought her young daughter in a stroller with her to continue the tradition of participating in the Homecoming Run. “I’ve done it since I was an RA, so I came back to do the race again … [I’m feeling] antsy with her. I don’t know how she’s going to do. I thought I’d bring her back and have her do it,” Watts said.

Ravanelli said the most important thing is that they have missed seeing their alumni.

“We miss seeing students, we miss being able to be on campus, we miss being able to be in the community, and it’s been really hard,” Ravanelli said. “We’re excited to have really nice weather to do our homecoming events this year.”

SIUE loses to Bradley in the final few minutes of overtime FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter

In a nail biting Homecoming game against Bradley University, the Cougars were defeated in overtime after a strong lead in the first half, losing by a single goal.

According to Cale Wassermann, head coach of men’s soccer, the audience’s energy really helped throughout the game.

“A big thank you to all the students that came out for the homecoming game. I thought their energy, especially early in the game, really helped and hopefully we entertain[ed] them and [we’re] looking forward to seeing them back in a couple of weeks.” Wassermann said The Cougars played a strong game but after getting a red card halfway through the second half ,according to Wassermann, the team started to lose control.

“I thought we played really well, and we went into halftime confident and with the lead, so we were really confident going into the second half,” Wasserman said. “When we got the red card and had to play with one less player, that certainly affected the game a little bit, so we lost some control, one thing led to another and a couple of individual errors and Bradley punished us.”

Segura said the team went into the second half excited and ready to go, knowing that their strength typically lies in the second half of the game, but the red card affected the team.

“We were told that we have to keep the level because we

know that every game that we played this year, we play better in the second half but when we tried to do it again. Then I think that the red card was difficult to handle for us,” Segura said.

The game started strong, with five goals being scored in the first half alone.

Alex Segura, a first-year grad student forward, scored a goal with the first two minutes of the match, putting SIUE in the lead. He was assisted by Oskar Lenz, a sophomore midfielder. Bradley University quickly scored as well, earning a goal in the fifth minute of the game.

Kelby Phillips, a junior midfielder, scored his first goal of the season three minutes later, which put the Cougars back in the lead.

That lead did not last long, as Bradley University scored a goal in the 15 minute of the game.

SIUE scored their third goal of the night not even 30 minutes into the game. Later, Pau Palacin, a freshman midfielder, was assisted by Philips, for SIUE’s final goal of the night.

Bradley University sent a long pass from the back and was able to score their third goal of the night on an unprotected net in the 69 minutes of the game.

With 11 minutes left in the regulation 90 minutes, Harvey Moyes, a grad student midfielder, was issued a red card and was taken out of the game leaving SIUE with only ten men on the field. SIUE maintained a strong offensive for the rest of the game, despite being short-handed.

The game went into two ten-minute overtimes. Bradley

Thursday, 09.30.21

SIUE Standings WOMEN’S SOCCER

OVERALL OVC

Murray State SIUE UT Martin Belmont Tennessee Tech Southeast Missouri Austin Peay Eastern Illinois Morehead State

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

MEN’S SOCCER

OVERALL OVC

Bradley Loyola Missouri State Drake Evansville SIUE

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

SOFTBALL

OVERALL OVC

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

11-30 22-29 15-25 27-16 18-21 24-25 27-19 25-19 19-30 35-17 30-17

All stats are from the OVC and MVC Websites

UPCOMING Volleyball at Austin Peay 6 p.m., Oct.1 and 2 Softball at SIUE vs. Rend Lake College 1 p.m., Oct. 2 Cross Country at Louisville Classic, Oct. 2 Softball at SIUE vs. Wabash Valley College 1 p.m., Oct. 3 Men’s Soccer at Loyola 2 p.m., Oct. 3

Max Broughton (5), a redshirt defender, looks alert while David Lianes (22), a graduate student defender, and Alex Segura (23), a freshman forward go after the ball. | Francesca Boston / The Alestle University scored the winning goal with two minutes left in the second overtime, making the final score 4-3, resulting in SIUE’s first loss to Bradley since 2013.

Wassermann said that the team overall played fairly well, and there were lots of positives coming from the team during the game.

“I think the way we attacked, we were really dangerous. We had the most shots we’ve had all year, the most goals we’ve had all year. Arguably the most possession we’ve had all year, so a lot of positives. I think if we can be a little more disciplined and take care of some of the mistake

moments, I think we’ll be in a really good position in these upcoming conference games,” Wassermann said.

Phillips said that throughout the game, the team played really well. In fact, Phillips said some of the players performed the best they have all season.

“Eighty percent of the game was positive. We were playing well, and just 20 percent, 10 percent of the game, was some mistakes [that were capitalized on], so I think it’s being tuned in all the time and just have a little bit more grit will help us in the future and future games,” Phillips said.

Women’s Soccer at SIUE vs Morehead State, 2 p.m., Oct. 3 Men’s Golf at UT Martin Gorver Page Classic, Oct. 4 and 5

alestlelive.com

PAGE 8

Thursday, 09.30.21

New Cinderella movie feels like a community theater show FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter

The new “Cinderella” movie gives a very modern take on a classic, with Camila Cabello as the dressmaking heroine.

“Cinderella” was a good movie to watch if you focused mainly on the music and choreography. The writing was cheesy at points, leaning heavily on common tropes, but overall provided a fun watch.

Other reviewers said the movie leans too heavily on feminism and women’s empowerment, but I disagree. It definitely was an important part of the movie, mainly with Cinderella and Princess Gwen’s characters,

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but in a very lighthearted way.

It’s one of the first major movies I have ever seen that gives women both “true love” and a career. The plot centers around Cinderella’s ambition to become a dressmaker in a society that doesn’t allow women to own businesses. Then she meets the prince and has to decide between becoming a dressmaker and marrying the prince.

It was upbeat and modern using all pop songs, which is very clever. There were times where I didn’t love the choice of songs, but overall it was enjoyable to watch. It felt very much like a Broadway production, which is a different style of movie-making, and maybe why the movie has re-

ceived such bad reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb. I do have a couple of frustrations with the movie. It recycles several tired tropes, such as fat-shaming. The fat sister is the meaner one and none of the main love interests are plus size.

For being such a diverse cast and new take on the traditional Cinderella story, that was quite a disappointment. It also still uses the “fall in love overnight” trope, which is very frustrating for those of us still living in the real world.

The sibling relationships throughout the movie were fairly accurate. The stepsisters had a very realistic sibling relationship, but the relationship between

Prince Robert and Princess Gwen felt very bland and could have been improved.

I wish Princess Gwen’s character would have been elaborated on a bit more. I know that her character was written for comic relief, but she was such an intelligent character that I felt she could have played a bigger role in the movie overall.

As a former theater nerd, it was fun to watch because it felt like watching a musical at a local theater. The movie made some nice, lighthearted fun at theater kids’ expense, and used jokes that many theater kids have made themselves. The dialogue was simple and cheesy.

I also loved the costume de-

sign as a whole as the princesses dancing at the ball had beautiful costumes and several even drew inspiration from traditional dresses from around the world. They used the song “Seven Nation Army” and it honestly worked fairly well for the ball scene. The friendship between the prince and his male friends is refreshing to see in the media; it was very positive and didn’t contain toxic masculinity. All the prince’s friends have different accents as well including Scottish, English and American, which confused the history major in me.

Overall, it was a fun movie to watch. It just feels like you are watching a community theater’s take on Cinderella.

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