The Alestle Vol. LXXII No, X

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RELIVING THE MRF INSIDE LOVEJOY LIBRARY

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THERE WILL NOT BE A PRINT ISSUE OF THE ALESTLE ON OCT. 31 vol. LXXII no. X

The Student Voice Since 1960

SIUE continues to make eco-friendly changes RYAN BIERI managing editor

Constructing change

| Summer Bradley / The Alestle

e Alestle

Walker said the green improvement he wanted to see most was the complete adoption of LED lighting in every fixture at SIUE. The university is currently in the process of converting the exterior lighting to LED, according to Walker.

The project started with the lighting in the parking lots, and is now moving to street and walkway lights.

In some of the parking lots, the tallest lights won’t be replaced immediately because new fixtures need to be installed.

They will be replaced as more repair work on the parking lots occurs.

Walker also said that some interior spaces on campus are already lit with LED lighting, such as the Vadalabene Center gymnasium and Dunham Hall theatre.

“If I could wave my magic wand and make one thing

different on campus, I would like to convert the entire campus to LED, inside and out. And when I say ‘the campus,’ I mean Alton, East St. Louis and Edwardsville — all three campuses,” Walker said.

“Now, we’ve gotten a good step in that direction, but my magic wand is out of batteries right now.”

The next wave of interior light replacement will focus on lobby and hallway lights that are on all night.

While the lights save money in the long run, the initial cost to replace old light fixtures can be expensive. However, Walker said it was worth the investment.

“Lets face it, we’re in this business for the long haul. We plan on being around a long time, so it’s the right thing to do, but coming up with that initial cash is a process,” Walker said.

Right now, there is no timeframe for the full adoption of LED lights on any of the campuses, but new construction and renovations — big and small — will lead to piecemeal adoption, According to Walker. “[Founder’s Hall] is going to be a much more efficient building, and use less energy, because we’re replacing these heating/air conditioning buildings,” Walker said. “We’re also replacing the single-pane windows on the building with thermal windows.”

Walker said part of the goal of renovating buildings on campus is to make the buildings more eco-friendly.

“We’re trying to make our buildings more comfortable to work in, [and] at the same time make them more efficient so

| Summer Bradley / Th

Some on campus, like Vice Chancellor for Administration Rich Walker, feel a personal responsibility for making the campus as eco-friendly as possible.

“It feels like we all have this social responsibility to protect this planet we’re on. I don’t want to get too preachy about it — and I can’t protect the whole planet; I can just try to protect a small piece of this corner of the world,” Walker said. “Our social footprint here can’t be so deep that it harms this part of the world for the students that are taking over next.”

Sustainability is an issue that is being thought about broadly across the university. For example, Dining Services recently

put out corn-based straws as an alternative for plastic straws, and the university has multiple eco-friendly issues at the top of their campus growth points of pride.

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that it doesn’t cost so much to run them,” Walker said.

Currently, seven buildings on campus are certified green under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system.

The Engineering Building addition, Lukas Athletic Annex, Multidisciplinary Dental Medicine Laboratory, Science Building West and Science Building East all have silver LEED certification. Additionally, one residential building in Cougar Village has residential LEED certification, and the Art and Design West Building has gold LEED certification.

Walker said that as buildings are renovated, they will also most likely receive LEED certification.

SIUE currently uses renewable energy, or pays renewable energy investment credits, and because of this, SIUE is considered renewable energy-sourced, according to Walker. see GREEN on page 3

Accident in Science West sends student to hospital A chemical explosion occured inside the Science West building on Oct. 16, according to SIUE Police Chief Kevin Schmoll.

There were four students in the room at the time, and according to Schmoll one suffered lacerations to their hands, forearms and stomach. The other three students were not injured in the explosion.

Schmoll did not identify the injured student to The Alestle.

Police received a call detailing the incident around 4:20 p.m. that day.

Police administered first aid to the student until EMS and fire department members arrived. Schmoll said the paramedics placed a tourniquet on one of his arms before he went to the hospital.

The injured student was then transported to St. Louis University Hospital for treatment, but was released from the hospital in the early hours of the morning.

Schmoll said that all of the injuries were due to broken glass, not from the chemical.

The explosion was caused by a student heating the chemical thioxanthen, which Schmoll said is supposed to be worked with at room temperature.

“Because [thioxanthen] is a hazardous material, we sealed off the room until a hazmat team could come in and clean it up,” Schmoll said.

Schmoll said the room was reopened on Oct. 17.

Jessica Harris appointed to Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum board JENNIFER GOECKNER lifestyles editor

Gov. J. B. Pritzker recently selected Jessica Harris, interim assistant provost, to be a board member for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

“I’m a historian by training, 20th-century African American history specifically, so the idea to work in any area related to my field is really awesome,” Harris said. “This particular opportunity is not one I sought out, but I’m really grateful that the governor and his office saw something in me and wanted to give me the opportunity.”

Harris said her role as a board member will be to advance the mission of the library and museum and ensure engaging educational programs are available for

visitors. Harris said she has previously visited the museum herself and looks forward to being able to help influence its direction.

The museum, located in Springfield, Illinois, houses the largest collection of artifacts relating to Lincoln’s life and legacy.

Harris said she is excited to work on the board for the library and museum, and this appointment is special because she was contacted without applying first.

“I’ve toured the museum and had a chance to visit on a couple of occasions, and so, that’s kind of surreal to know that now I’ll be in a position to really help advise and kind of shape what the future of the library and museum will look like,” Harris said.

Courtney Boddie, director of Counseling Services, said he has collaborated with Harris on

a number of projects, especially with efforts through the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion. Boddie said his experiences working with Harris have been positive, and she possesses many qualities that make her a good leader.

“I would say my experience with her has been fantastic,” Boddie said. “Rarely have I had the opportunity to work with someone who is thoughtful and advocating, polite and tenacious.

Those types of combinations don’t show up very often, particularly not in leadership in my experience.”

Boddie also credited Harris’ knowledge on the subject and said he was glad to see minority representation on a state-appointed board.

“She is a very well-established

historian,” Boddie said. “And historically there just continues to be an underrepresentation of people of color, women and other people in marginalized groups, so on the basis of identity and merit, I’m thrilled for her.”

Allison Thomason, chair of the Department of Historical Studies, agreed with Boddie’s assessment and said Harris was a great colleague when they were both working in the history department, noting how much she cared about the students and other faculty members.

Thomason also described Harris as an expert in her field and said Harris’ appointment reflected well not only on her, but on the entire history department and university as well.

“This is really interesting that she was chosen because she has

so much knowledge of African American history,” Thomason said. “So it’s thrilling for us to have someone with such a prestigious appointment associated with American history and from our department.”

Along with Harris, 10 other individuals have been named by Pritzker to serve on the board.

Ray LaHood, who previously served as the U.S. secretary of transportation and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is to act as the board’s chairman. All 11 appointees still need to be confirmed by the Illinois Senate, which Harris said she expects to happen by the end of the month.

JENNIFER GOECKNER 650-3530 @jgoeck_alestle jgoeckner@alestlelive.com

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Students gather to protest preacher for ‘hate speech’ ELIZABETH DONALD copy editor

The Quad preacher was a no-show on Wednesday, but that didn’t stop counter-protesters from calling for his removal from campus.

Tom Rayborn, of Alton, Illinois, has come to SIUE for years, standing on the Stratton Quadrangle to preach to the student body. On his permit application to SIUE, he states that his intent is to “preach the Gospel, talk with students about religious topics, [and] distribute religious material.”

Students have complained that Rayborn uses a megaphone to insult students, calling them “demons” and stating that they are going to hell.

Freshman Elly Bollinger and a few other students held a demonstration on Oct. 16 that was intended as a silent counter-protest to Rayborn, but became contentious. Other students joined them, then engaged in yelling back and forth with Rayborn, Bollinger said.

“We don’t think he should be able to shout at students like that,” Bollinger said. “It’s verbal harassment, and we should be able to feel comfortable on our own campus.”

Some students migrated to the Rock, where Rayborn continued shouting back at them.

No physical violence took place, Bollinger said, but the shouting became aggressive.

As word spread of last week’s incident, at least two groups of students gathered on Wednesday for a much larger protest and to pass a petition calling for the university to rescind Rayborn’s permit.

“It’s the university’s job to make sure that students feel safe on this campus,” said sophomore Alex Aultman, president of the Gay-Straight Alliance at SIUE said it’s the university’s responsibility to make them feel safe on campus.

“Hearing this man preach about how I’m going to hell every Wednesday on my way to class does not make me feel safe or accepted on this campus,” Aultman said.

Several students wore horns as a deliberate counter-protest to Rayborn’s alleged calls that gay students are “demons,” and several wore capes and flags for gay pride, pansexual, nonbinary and bisexual pride, among others.

Protest signs included “God is love” and “We shouldn’t have hate at home.” Several chalk drawings across the quad quoted Biblical passages such as “Love thy neighbor” and “Hatred stirs up conflict but love covers all wrongs” — as well as a goose with a pride flag.

Protest co-organizer Kimberly Hickman said SIUE is a campus of diversity and Rayborn’s message violates that tradition.

“He has decided to speak about how he hates the gays and every other religion is false,” Hickman said. “We’re trying to bring awareness that there’s a number of students … that don’t think he should be allowed on campus to spread these hateful views, and we would like to see — not necessarily him off campus, although that

Protesters call for the university to ban Quad preacher Tom Rayborn from campus. Students have said Rayborn’s preaching qualifies as hate speech; university officials have said his speech is protected by the First Amendment. | Elizabeth Donald / The Alestle

would be great, but at least him without the megaphone on campus.”

Two petitions were circulating Wednesday: one from the Gay-Straight Alliance and one from the Philosophy Club.

“We want to make sure the university hears us,” Aultman said. “We have to walk through the quad every [Wednesday] hearing this man spewing hate. We’re not protesting religion, we are protesting the fact that he is using his religion to spread hate.”

University policy states that “demonstrative activity” is permitted on the quad in accordance with the First Amendment under certain guidelines. Among them are requirements that off-campus individuals must apply for a permit, the demonstration does not obstruct traffic or access, disrupt university business with excessive noise or threaten public safety.

Public safety is the focus of one of the petitions, arguing that Rayborn’s statements about LGBTQ+ students constitute a threat to their safety.

Junior Mina Mathenia believes that Rayborn’s message violates rule four of the campus’s demonstration policy, which states that protests may not create a “clear and present threat to public safety.”

“I think his words count as hate speech, and that that’s against what the campus stands for,” Mathenia said.

Rich Walker, vice chancellor for administration, said that earlier in the semester, university officials listened to Rayborn’s speech with legal counsel and SIUE police, and did not hear anything that could be construed as a threat or hate speech.

“True, we haven’t listened to 100 percent of all of his speeches, so there may be content that we haven’t encountered,” Walker said.

Walker said that as an “intellectual, diverse and inclusive community,” the university needs to respect differences and disagree in a respectful manner.

“It pains me whenever someone — a young person especially — is targeted with messages that don’t come from a place of caring

or respect,” Walker said. “So many people get it wrong, and I am saddened when anyone feels somehow lessened because of someone else’s detestable words. Still, we can be a stronger university because of a healthy dialogue.”

Walker said that there was video and audio footage from Oct. 16, which has been reviewed by university officials. Unfortunately, he said, it was the counter-protest-

ers who “acted inappropriately by cussing at him and flipping him off.” He said some observers were up close to Rayborn and yelling expletives in his face, which some witnesses verified.

Walker said that over time, the university has narrowed Rayborn’s permitted physical space, reduced the equipment and volume of his equipment and asked SIUE police to have an officer on

site whenever he speaks.

“We’ve met with him numerous times about his rhetoric, and I have personally sat and listened to his remarks,” Walker said. “But unless he breaks the law, he is free to speak his opinions – far outside our own beliefs and values as they may be.”

Rayborn was not present on Wednesday despite having an approved permit for his usual Wednesday protest. However, when reached by email, he said he was “out of town this week at four campuses.”

The Alestle was not able to speak extensively with Rayborn at the time of publication.

At least five SIUE Police officers were present on Wednesday, remaining outside the main quad circle and observing the protest.

SIUE Police Chief Kevin Schmoll said that police activity on Oct. 16 was limited to an unrelated incident: At the same time as Rayborn’s protest, a Collinsville man came on the quad wearing a helmet and carrying a shield in the shape of a white cross. He also had a bag that contained two pairs of nunchucks, which are not a banned weapon on campus. The man allegedly said he used them to “fight Lucifer,” and told police he was there to register for classes, Schmoll said.

The man was removed from campus and put on a bus back to Collinsville. Schmoll said he did not know the man’s name.

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thursday, 10.24.19 GREEN I PAGE 1

Walker also said that he thinks the next building on campus may be heated and cooled with geothermal energy.

In a more traditionally green improvement, SIUE is also renovating the greenhouse. Walker said the project will renovate the current greenhouse, and add another one of equal size.

Walker said he would like to see the university add more solar panels to campus, and potentially even a solar field to campus.

“We’ve got a lot of land; We can collect a lot of free energy that way. The thing is, it does take a lot of solar panels to create any real results, so the payback is a lot longer. But again, we’re in this for the long haul, so if we have to wait 20 years, then so be it,” Walker said. “But, that’s an expensive initial capital outlay to wait 20 years to get paid back.”

Walker said he is waiting for the price of solar energy to drop or for another group to provide funding for the initial setup costs.

He also said he was potentially looking at placing a solar field near Stadium Drive on the land that is currently used for farming.

“Wouldn’t it be cool if SIUE was able to produce enough solar electricity to sell power back to the grid? Not only get us on 100 percent [solar] energy, but to actually supply the system with energy,” Walker said.

Eco-friendly food Dining Services is also making their own changes to help the university become more eco-friendly, according to Associate Director of Food Services Melissa McEldowney and Executive Chef Eric Ruhmann.

Some changes Dining Services is looking to implement include the removal of all plastic foam take-home containers, transitioning to eco-friendly disposable silverware and adding composting options for students, according to McEldowney.

McEldowney explained that a portion of her job is to not just seek out improvements in the products we use on campus, but negotiating with companies to make prices affordable for the university.

“We want to be fiscally responsible and be a good steward of our university dollars, and make sure that we’re doing something that we can do that will help the environment but also be [financially] sustainable,” McEldowney said.

The changes she’s currently working to implement include changing the plastic bags in Center Court to ones that are more easily recyclable and reusable, and changing the take-home containers to compostable ones.

Currently, Dining Services provides traditional plastic straws as well as corn straws that are commercially compostable.

McEldowney said she was interested in getting straws made from avocado pits, but that it wasn’t financially feasible right now.

“Since there’s some issues with tariffs and the trade war with Mexico right now, [the straws have] tripled in price,” McEldowney said. “This is the best eco-friendly straw; it is mixed with plastic, but the majority of it is avocado. What’s cool about it is … avocado pits are the number one waste producer in Mexico.”

McEldowney also highlighted Dining Services’ reusable cup policies, which allow for faculty, staff and students to bring their own cups in and get a fountain soda at a reduced price without using a disposable cup.

Dining Services also has hyper-local food initiatives in the form of an urban cultivator located between Entrees and The Wok in Center Court and two beehives on campus — one on the roof of Fixins’ and one on the nature preserve on campus.

The beehives provide honey for Dining Services, but right now they cannot harvest honey from the hive above Fixins’ after the loss of its queen over the summer. McEldowney said that if they took honey from that hive right now, it might not survive the winter.

The urban cultivator grows four to five pounds of microgreens and herbs per week.

The small harvests are placed out onto the salad bar or used as garnishes.

Ruhmann said Dining Services uses local products whenever possible. Some local companies they use include Prairie Farms Dairy, Kaldi’s Coffee and Louisa Food Products Inc. Ruhmann also said that as Dining Services replaces old equipment, the new-

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er equipment is usually more efficient. He used the bakery oven they replaced three years ago as an example. The newer model has more standby features, which cause the oven to use energy when it is not in use, but also allows for less energy use overall since it doesn’t have to reheat every time it is used.

“Generally speaking, the cooking equipment we replace with newer equipment is almost always more efficient because all the equipment designers are very cognizant of [energy consumption],” Ruhmann said.

Small changes This winter, the university plans to begin removing invasive species from the woods on campus, according to Walker.

The main culprits Walker talked about were vines beginning to overgrow trees on South University Drive, as well as Autumn Olive trees that are growing at the edges of the woods around campus, both of which threaten to overwhelm the plant life at SIUE. “I can only shape this little piece of [the planet] that I’m assigned to, but we are educating thousands and thousands — 13,000-plus — students every year to send them out into the world to change it for the better,” Walker said.

RYAN BIERI 650-3530 @ryanbieri rbieri@alestlelive.com

Women Exceeding Expectations promotes breast cancer awareness During the presentation, Alston also showed a video demonstrating how to perform a self-examination and testimonials of In a presentation held to honor Breast breast cancer survivors.

Attendees cited a variety of reasons for Cancer Awareness Month, members of Women Exceeding Expectations shared coming to the event. Senior political scitheir personal experiences and urged wom- ence and theater performance student Avaen to be aware of the early signs of breast lon Palmer, of Chicago Heights, Illinois, cancer. said she came to the event because of the For Cheniya Alston, the effects of impact cancer has had on her family. breast cancer are personal, as several of “I came because cancer has been a big her family members have been diagnosed. thing in my family. I just recently lost my Alston, a senior nursing major and Women aunt back in May,” Palmer said. “So it’s cuExceeding Expectations’ chair of educa- riosity, but also kind of me trying to cope tion, of Richton Park, Illinois, therefore and come to terms with certain things that decided to lead the presentation. are happening and why they happened.”

“Personally, a lot of my awareness Junior nursing major Lauryn Ross, of about breast cancer came from being like Edwardsville, said she attended the presen‘Oh, my family has cancer,’ not because this tation to better prepare herself for her fuwas something ture career. that was made “I came evident to me because I’m a or that somenursing major, one went out so I’m always of their way to trying to get teach me about new inforit,” Alston said. mation about “So, I wanted to things that go do that.” on in the health NYDRAISHA GEETERS The presystem and our senior speech-language pathology student sentation was body,” Ross held Oct. 17 by said.

“I want Women Exceeding Expectations, SIUE’s chapter of the National Association of Col- to be a women’s nurse practitioner and a midwife, so I thought it would be good to ored Women’s Clubs.

It centered around the importance of come to something like this so I could get knowing risk factors, such as a family his- information because I’m sure I’ll be dealing tory of breast cancer and early menstrua- with patients who have these questions.”

Junior industrial engineering major tion, and recognizing changes in the breast Tamryn Williams, of Chicago, said she saw that may be warning signs. According to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, an orga- the importance of educating oneself on this nization devoted to raising awareness for topic, which led her to attend the event.

“I just feel like it’s very important to breast cancer, these changes may include swelling or redness, a change in size or educate ourselves because I feel like in a shape, new pain in one spot that does not lot of these cases, in women and in men, it comes by surprise or it comes too late, go away or even a lump.

However, Alston also urged attend- mostly because they’re not aware, they’re ees to get screened by a doctor regularly, not educated about it, they’re not getting in addition to knowing the risk factors and themselves checked [or] they don’t know warning signs, to increase the chances of that they should be getting themselves an early diagnosis. checked,” Williams said.

Alston said this is especially important Learn more about breast cancer and for African American women, who have find resources at nationalbreastcancer.org the highest breast cancer mortality rate. or komen.org.

JENNIFER GOECKNER lifestyles editor

10.16.19 An officer responded to a report of a subject wearing a helmet and carrying a shield. Officer spoke with subject and subject had multiple pairs of nunchucks on him. Officer advised subject he was not allowed to have nunchunks on campus. The subject left the campus.

10.17.19 An officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle on South University Drive near University Park Drive. While on the stop, the officer reported there was a gun in the vehicle. The gun was seized by the police.

10.20.19 Shaylyn M. Logan was charged driving with a suspended driver’s license. Logan was transported to the police department where she was processed and released after posting bond. Logan was also issued a citation for speeding.

10.21.19 Dakeisha S. Powers was arrested on an active warrant from Pulaski County, Missouri for failure to appear/larceny. Powers was transported to the SIUE PD where she was processed and released after posting bond. A state citation was also issued to Powers for speeding.

Tommie L. Carraway Jr. was arrested on an active warrant from Madison, Illinois for failure to appear/traffic offenses. Carraway was processed and released after posting bond.

“I want to be a women’s nurse practitioner and a midwife, so I thought it would be good to come to something like this

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WHAT I WISH YOU KNEW MADISON LAMMERT editor-in-chief

While 2019’s Celebration of World Faiths focused on the importance of taking care of the Earth in various different religions, many speakers conveyed another valuable lesson: the importance of getting in touch with one’s spiritual side, regardless of religious affiliation.

The event featured the Assisi Declarations on Nature, formed when leaders from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism gathered to discuss how their faiths could help protect and save an ailing Earth.

Not everyone has to identify with the same religion: Because she does not believe in the superiority in any one religion or faith, first-year graduate art therapy counseling student Daisy Yen said she finds it important to partake in events such as the Celebration of World Faiths.

Yen read the Buddhist Declaration in accordance with her personal beliefs at the event Saturday night. However, Yen said she did not do this in the hopes of converting anybody to Buddhism.

“I personally don’t feel like any religion is superior, or better, than any others, but I think it’s important that you have a belief — it’s kind of the anchor for your soul,” Yen said. “So, I don’t mean to promote Buddhism, it depends on what you feel you have a connection to. That’s why I came to this ceremony — it’s not only for Buddhism, it’s not only for Christians, it’s for every religion, and I have respect for all of them.”

On a personal level, Yen said she identifies with the Zen school of Buddhism, which heavily relies on meditation.

“For meditation you basically try to have a clear mind,” Yen said. “One of the sayings is ‘everyone is like a mirror.’ When the mirror is clean, it’s supposed to be able to reflect everything clearly. You can make a good decision if you have a very clear mind.

However, when there’s dust on the mirror, then it’s hard for you to see things clearly and you may

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contact the editor: lifestyles@alestlelive.com 650-3527 thursday, 10.24.19

Different faiths have more in common than not not be able to make good decisions. So it’s very important that you polish, you clean, your mirror, which stands for your mind.”

Yen said being mindful of both one’s thoughts and actions is the core of her faith, and this stems from the belief in reincarnation.

the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu text from which Scholler read at the Celebration of World Faiths event.

Red Cedar Circle welcomes all:

At the beginning of the event, the Red Cedar Circle performed “I personally don’t feel “Grandmother like any religion is superior, Song,” a tribute to Grandmother Earth, or better, than any others, and “Tall Cedar Tree,” a prayer for but I think it’s important the plants. Accordthat you have a belief ing to the program, these praises origiDAISY YEN nate from the PacifFirst-year art therapy counseling graduate student ic Northwest Coast Salish Lummi Tribe.

The Red Cedar Circle meets “For Buddhism, we believe that you have a past life. You have at the Center for Spirituality and a past life and you have your fu- Sustainability at noon on the first ture life, so whatever you are do- Saturday of every even month. ing today, whatever happens to Member Kathy Matthews said SiSiWis tradition-based you today is a result from your the past life, and all the good or bad group welcomes anybody to atthings you’re doing will contrib- tend their gatherings.

“We welcome one and all,” ute to your next life,” Yen said.

“So, you’re encouraged to be very Matthews said. “We welcome all aware of what you’re doing right faiths. As long as you are of a now. I think it’s very good to be peaceful mind, then you are more mindful, and I think mindfulness than welcome to join us and share your own stories and beliefs. We would be the core.” are open.”

According to Matthews, No one faith is better SiSiWis means “sacred breath,” than others: and the tradition originated as a Similar to the sentiments of means to bring different groups Yen, Yolande Scholler said she together.

“Red Cedar Circle comes also feels no one faith is more imfrom the SiSiWis medicine traportant than others.

“I believe that we’re all spir- dition of the Pacific Northwest,” itual beings, and I think on that Matthews said. “That tradition level of being a spiritual being, comes from some of the core there’s no such thing as distinc- [families] in that area from way tions between different religions, back. It was actually a tradition so it’s all boiling down to the that came into being as a way to same essence basically, in my bring all those tribes in that area together.” opinion,” Scholler said.

Matthews said because of This very belief inspired Scholler, a second-year social this, peace is at the very core of work graduate student from the the tradition.

“That’s how the tradition Netherlands, to start Mantra, a meditation-focused group for was put together, to bring peace those of all different faith back- to all those peoples up there, and grounds, even though she indi- so I believe that is the one base purpose for it being brought out vidually practices Hinduism.

“It’s a way to deepen your into the world: peace, respect, spirituality,” Scholler said. “So, love,” Matthews said. you can follow a specific path and For more information on you don’t have to change it, you can just stick to that, or you can events at The Center for Spirituhave no path at all — it would ality and Sustainability, visit their calendar of events on their webstill be beneficial.”

Mantra is currently studying site.

The Alestle will not publish a print edition Thursday, Oct. 31 Watch for news online at alestlelive.com

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Lovejoy brings Mississippi River Festival back to life RYAN BIERI managing editor

The Lovejoy Library is typically a quiet place for students to relax and study, but on Saturday evening it was filled with live music, catered food and more than 300 visitors.

This year’s “Night in the Stacks” event celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Mississippi River Festival, an outdoor concert series held annually from 1969 to 1980. The MRF featured performances from Alice Cooper, Janis Joplin, the Beach Boys, John Denver, Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead and The Who, among many others.

The event was held by the Friends of Lovejoy Library, the SIUE Foundation and the SIUE Alumni Association. Lydia Jackson, interim dean of Lovejoy Library, said it’s important for the library to have a fundraiser every year because it doesn’t have alumni to support it.

“We don’t have any alumni,” Jackson said. “For us, all of the [SIUE] graduates are our alumni. That the foundation was willing to partner with us really mattered.”

A cover of Billy Joel’s “My Life,” played in the background as Jackson explained how the theme for this year’s event was chosen.

“The decision was made to use the [MRF as a theme] and to bring back the memorabilia because we knew that people would really enjoy coming back and the nostalgia of it all,” Jackson said.

Lyle Ward, an SIUE alumnus

who started working at the MRF when it opened and worked inside the Morris University Center for 30 years, brought part of his photo collection from the MRF to the event. Ward, who graduated from the university in ‘69 and ‘72, said that bringing in The Who was one of his favorite memories of the MRF. “I hate to use this as an example, but The Who was an unbelievable learning experience.

They had just gotten their main stuff out — this was in ‘71, ‘Tommy’ was just going crazy. I heard they were having problems with their sound system, and that they weren’t very easy to work with,” Ward said. “I decided to solve some of the problems by having bands out in the parking lot until the concert got started to take the pressure off the day, and it worked.”

John Keller isn’t an SIUE graduate but said he’d been to the MRF many times. Keller said he was at the event to support the university and the area.

Like Ward, Keller said his favorite memory from the MRF came in 1971.

“Oh my word, it would have to be The Who,” Keller said.

“There were more than 36,000 people there. It was over capacity and there were many people who never even saw the concert, but they heard it because it was over the crest of the hill.”

Jackson said she was surprised by the turnout this year, and that this year’s event had nearly three times the attendance as last year’s.

“The nostalgia of it all really

Local photographer Lyle Ward explains his pieces and answers questions from guests at the Mississippi River Festival-themed fundraiser at Lovejoy Library. | Taylin Ritter / The Alestle

made it possible,” Jackson said.

“We had heard that people wanted to have an event like this, so blending it with the library was a really great opportunity for us to fundraise and the audience to bring back those memories.”

The event auctioned off memorabilia from the MRF, including a piece of the tent from the first year of the festival and autographed photos and prints signed by artists who performed throughout the festival’s history.

For more information on the MRF, visit the Lovejoy Library’s archives at www.siue.edu/lovejoy-library/archives/mrf/.

RYAN BIERI 650-3527 @RyanBieri rbieri@alestlelive.com

Local artist Vesna Delevska creating a painting that was set to be auctioned later in the night. | Taylin Ritter / The Alestle

REVIEW: ‘Zombieland’ sequel uses the same undead formula SHANE WHEATLEY copy editor

“Zombieland” makes its return to theaters in its sequel, “Double Tap.” The film follows the same formula the first one does and doesn’t expand on anything new.

Just like the first one, the main comedy and strengths come from the loveable Tallahassee,

played by Woody Harrelson.

Also like the first movie, I constantly find myself annoyed by the character Columbus, played

by Jesse Eisenberg.

Because “Zombieland: Double Tap” is similar in many ways to the first, fans of the original movie will be pleased with “Double Tap.” However, if a non-fan goes to see it expecting the creators to have included new ele-

ments and expanded upon the world of Zombieland, I think they’d leave the theater very disappointed.

The biggest difference going into this movie is that there is a newer, more-evolved version of the zombies that are faster, stronger and harder to kill. This difference was not enough to make me feel like there was a point to this sequel.

Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone reunite in ‘Zombieland: Double Tap.’ Columbia Pictures

Despite the shortcomings in the lack of elaboration and expansion from the first movie, they did a really good job of keeping the comedy and filming techniques as impressive as the first one. The movie opens up with all four protagonists deciding to set up home at the White House, which has been overrun by zombies. This creates a very well-filmed scene of them fighting their way through zombies to get to the White House. The use of cinematography in this scene uses slow-motion to show everyone killing zombies in their own ways, making it stand out to me.

The comedy style also retained major similarities to the original. The same trick of words popping up to subtitle certain scenes, such as Columbus’ rules, makes its appearance throughout the movie. One particular scene takes this a step further when two characters show up and meet the main group, and the two new guys are exact copies of Columbus and Tallahassee, even down to the “list of rules.”

When the climax of the mov-

ie finally rolled around, certain plot points stuck out as perhaps the worst things to do in a zombie apocalypse. The main group finds a peaceful town that melts every gun that enters so they can make “peace sign necklaces.” Unaware that a horde of zombies is outside their gates and down the road, the town decides to shoot off a bunch of fireworks. While it makes sense that the town’s citizens are ignorant of the outside world, it seems extremely unbelievable that they would not realize the zombies are attracted to light and sound and choose to shoot off fireworks. It is also unbelievable that the main group is able to repel hundreds of zombies without any guns and instead with just a monster truck doing donuts in the middle of a crowd of zombies.

“Zombieland: Double Tap” is a movie for fans and nothing more. Someone who was a huge fan of the first movie is going to find this one a huge hit. Anyone else, however, might want to skip this one until they can stream it for free.

opinion

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Stay informed about upcoming primary elections THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board

The 2020 presidential election is an incredibly important one, but for those in the Metro East voting blue this time around, the upcoming primary elections are going to be much more important.

A primary election shapes the candidate who will be representing the party in the main election in 2020 — President Donald Trump is all but guaranteed to get the nomination for the Republican party.

While Missouri has historically been a state that could go either way, it has gone red since

the start of the 21st century. Conversely, Illinois’s electoral college votes are likely to go to a Democratic candidate. While every person who’s able to vote should still vote in the general election, with the results in both states nearly predetermined, the primary election gives Democratic voters the chance to more directly shape who they think should lead the country.

The Illinois Democratic Primary Election will be held Tuesday, March 17, 2020, and the primary in Missouri will be held on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. According to both states’ delegate selection plans, votes from each primary will be given out proportionally to candidates who

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earn them — neither state is allor-nothing for one candidate, so each state’s votes are important.

Both major parties require voters to state their party affiliations.

It is also worth noting while Trump will most likely become the Republican candidate for president in 2020, primary elections also include races like Senate and House of Representative positions, so there’s still a reason to show up if you already know you’re going to vote red.

While we at The Alestle believe every potential voter should be participating to the fullest reasonable extent in our democratic process, that doesn’t mean we should just be showing up and

voting blindly in the primaries.

The upcoming flood of political ads might not be upon us yet, but we still need to be thinking critically about potential candidates and continuing to stay informed.

The election day for the next President of the United States (as well as countless federal and state senate and representative positions) doesn’t happen until Nov. 3 of next year, but we need to be paying attention to the potential candidates now so that we can make the most informed decisions possible in the primary.

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“I didn’t realize anybody was fronting candidates yet. I don’t think either of the parties have had their caucus yet to pick. I think it will be pretty similar to last year. Republicans are probably going to rally behind Trump. I mean he has not been doing too bad, and honestly I think the Democrats will probably have the same issue. They have already got two dozen people that have announced that they want to run.”

“Depending, of course, on how the primaries go, my favorite candidate is Pete Buttigieg.

I think he has some good positions. He is tentatively more moderate, so I think that he has some nice positions where he is willing to be progressive on certain issues. But then other issues, he is willing to open up to both sides of the aisle.

He is not too afraid to talk to Republicans or Democrats. He wants to find a compromise that still moves people forward.”

EZEKIEL GRAY junior mechanical engineering major Carlinville, Illinois

COLIN BOYSEN sophomore business and criminal justice major Chicago, Illinois

“After the second democratic debate, I decided that I am going to vote for Joe Biden, because I feel like he did a great job as vice president, and I know he would do an even greater job at being president.

I like his stances on different policies, so that’s part of it as well. I appreciate his policies on education.”

ALYXANDRIA SMITH junior social work major Decatur, Illinois

“I think it is important to examine their whole platform before voting to become more informed and keep up with the events, even though the political debates have become more about who is a bigger celebrity, focusing more about what they are saying rather than how they are saying it, because some people tend to go with the candidates that have a louder voice — where I like to see it as what are they actually going to do for society.”

DOMINIC GRASSO freshman dance major St. Louis, Missouri

sports

contact the editor: sports@alestlelive.com 650-3527 thursday, 10.24.19

Men’s soccer scores clean win at home

NO PRINT ISSUE THURSDAY, OCT. 31.

WATCH SIUE EMAIL FOR OUR ONLINE EDITION page 7

alestlelive.com

SIUE Standings MEN’S SOCCER

OVERALL MAC

JOHN MCGOWAN reporter

SIUE men’s soccer won with a score of 2-0 on Saturday in a slow and uncertain home game against Bowling Green State University.

The game started uneventfully, until sophomore midfielder Kelby Phillips scored SIUE’s first goal within the first half hour, with an assist from senior midfielder Jorge Gonzalez.

“It was on the counter,” Phillips said. “I saw Jorge take inline … I just kinda [hung] back, and Jorge found me in the perfect spot, and props to him because it was a beautiful ball; all I had to do was just tap it in.”

With another assist from Gonzalez, SIUE Men’s Soccer Head Coach Cale Wassermann, right, and the team on the sidelines at their freshman midfielder Andres Delascio scored first game of the season. The Cougars played the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane in an the team’s second goal almost 30 minutes exhibition game at Korte Stadium in August. into the second half.

Courtesy of SIUE Athletics Having assisted with both goals on Saturday, Gonzalez can be credited with a lot of the way from defending a previous shot, ing us back a little bit with the territory in the of the team’s success this season. He is the Bowling Green sophomore midfielder Charlie first half … Bowling Green plays a unique sysseason point leader with 22 points, and he is Maciejewski shot again on an unguarded goal. tem, a different formation than we’ve seen,” leading in goals as well, with nine. However, Hinkson pulled through with a team save and Wassermann said.

Head Coach Cale Wassermann stresses sucThough the game ended in a clean win ensured the game’s cess can be attribut2-0 score. Hinkson for SIUE, it was not easy on the team accorded to quite a few says he’s always ing to Wassermann. They had just come off a names on the team. “... We have guys – the unsung ready to help his game against Wisconsin on Tuesday, a dou“[Gonzalez heroes of the team – the Jake ble overtime that ended in a tie. Wassermann friend Heim. and Lachlan McMeiers of the world; Kelby Phillips “Yeah, I mean, cited this as a reason for the slowness at the Lean] do the bulk Noah’s my room- beginning of the game. of our scoring ... who scored tonight; Jorgen “Our guys were a little heavy-legged,” mate … Whenever but we have guys – Pettersen runs his butt off I get the chance to Wassermann said. “We had to make some adthe unsung heroes and connects all these passes come up for him on justments which kind of led to the slow start of the team – the the field I love do- a little bit. So, that was a little unique, but Jake Meiers of the so those guys can flourish. ing that,” Hinkson I thought our guys showed some real menworld; Kelby Philsaid. “I’m just hap- tal toughness in the circumstances and did a lips who scored toCALE WASSERMANN py that I was there. great job.” night; Jorgen PetMen’s Soccer Head Coach The Cougars take the field again at 6 If someone else was tersen runs his butt there they would p.m., Friday, Oct. 25, in an away game against off and connects The University of Akron. make the play.” all these passes so While Bowling Green did not score, Wasthose guys can flourish,” Wassermann said. sermann said he still wasn’t ready to discount “So, it’s a selfless effort from the group.” their abilities, noting their unfamiliar play JOHN MCGOWAN One of Wassermann’s “unsung heroes” 650-3527 style his team had to adapt to. is redshirt senior midfielder Carl Hinkson. jmcgowan@alestlelive.com “I give credit to Bowling Green for pushWhen junior goalkeeper Noah Heim was out

West Virginia

6-6-1

Akron

3-8-2 1-0-1

W. Michigan

0-2

9-4-1 1-0-1 Bowling Green 8-5-1 0-2 SIUE 8-3-2 2-0 N. Illinois 6-7-1 1-1

WOMEN’S SOCCER

OVERALL OVC

SEMO

UT Martin

Tenn. Tech

Morehead St. Murray State E. Kentucky Austin Peay SIUE EIU

9-4-1

6-1-1

6-5-5

4-1-3

6-5-5

4-2-2

4-11-2 2-5-2 9-7

6-2

4-11-2 2-5-2 4-8-3

3-2-3

3-8-3 Jacksonville St. 4-12 Belmont 4-7-4

3-4-1

6-5-4

2-4-2 1-7

3-3-2

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL OVERALL OVC

SEMO

14-8

6-2

Tennessee St.

9-12

2-6

Morehead St.

15-6

Jacksonville St. 12-8 Murray State

12-8

E. Kentucky

7-15

SIUE

Tenn. Tech.

Austin Peay EIU

Belmont

UT Martin

6-2 6-2 6-2

10-10

5-3

9-12

5-3

7-15 2-18 2-21 7-16

2-6 5-3 1-7 1-7 3-5

Tennis finishes season 7-5 overall JORDYN NIMMER online editor

Closing out the fall season, the Cougars finished with an overall 7-5 record in the ITA Central Regionals hosted by the University of Oklahoma.

Freshman Melissa Vizcardo jump-started the winning streaks with two winning rounds of qualifying singles against Cassie McKenzie of Saint Louis University 6-4, 6-4 and Shelby King of Arkansas State University 6-2, 6-0.

Vizcardo was among several of her teammates with winning matches during qualifiers.

“Most of my teammates were in qualifiers,” Vizcardo said. “We all got there earlier than the other players. The matches definitely got harder in main draw, after I qualified.”

After advancing to the main draw, Vizcardo fell to Laura Rijkers of Arkansas State University 6-4, 6-1.

Vizcardo said she felt humbled by the experience in the last match and plans to improve her

game play moving forward.

“The girl from Arkansas was definitely experienced,” Vizcardo said. “I’m glad I got to qualify to play a player like that in the main draw. I plan to take the experience and work on a few things like my net game, consistency and being under that pressure of a big tournament.”

Moving forward, Vizcardo will continue to improve alongside her teammates.

“I think this is one of our better years,” Vizcardo said. “I think we gave it our all. We all had great matches and played great tennis.

We’ve been working so hard, and it showed. There’s definitely room for improvement. We all can improve off each other.”

Freshman Jill Lambrechts defeated Riddhi Shamara of University of Missouri Kansas City 6-2, 6-2. In her next match, Lambrechts fell in her first set 3-6 to Luniuska Delgado of University of Kansas but won the second set 6-4. Lambrechts fell in the last set 2-6.

Of the two different match-

es, the first match allowed Lambrechts to play to her strengths.

“Both matches I played were very different,” Lambrechts said.

“The first match was outside, and it was very windy in Oklahoma.

I’m used to playing with the wind from back home. The second match was inside, so it was more about aggressiveness first instead of playing defensive.”

Lambrechts said she regards the matches as learning experiences and is proud of the overall performance of her teammates.

“Now, we close the fall season,” Lambrechts said. “After Christmas break, we will start the spring season. At the end of January, we host the first match at home. After these matches, I feel really confident about how we’ve improved and confident for the spring season, as well.”

Sophomore Nicole Gomez views regionals as one of the highlights of her collegiate tennis career.

“The ITAs were probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in college tennis — not

The tennis team comes together to cheer each other on at a match Oct. 12. | Mackenzie Smith/The Alestle

just because it was an important tournament,” Gomez said. “It was also because of the fact that we got the chance to play with different teams that we’ve never played before. I believe that my team did a great job that week.

We put all our effort in every match we had, and I’m really proud of it.”

The Cougars will begin the spring season at 9 a.m., Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, when SIUE hosts Chicago State University at the Edwardsville YMCA.

JORDYN NIMMER

650-3527 @jordynnimmer jnimmer@alestlelive.com

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