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the student voice since 1960
Career fairs connect students with jobs in engineering, IT and more
Missouri garden Japanese festival is cultural hub
Men’s soccer scores last-minute victory
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Thursday, September 16, 2021 Vol. 75 No. 4
Dunham Hall TV studio gets a ‘fresh’ new look BRANDON WELLS sports editor
The updated TV studio in Dunham Hall gives students the opportunity to work with current equipment and helps promote a more green and energy efficient work studio with new LED lights. At the price of $192,906 funded by the Vice Chancellor for Administration Multi-Purpose Construction Account, the upgrades replaced the old incandescent lighting and the projectors with up to date LED lighting controlled by a new light system and a new interactive touch screen TV. Musonda Kapatamoyo, chair of the Mass Communications Department, said the department identified the need for an update due to the high costs of the incandescent lighting and the need for students to use current equipment. “Incandescent lighting gets very hot, is very expensive because it’s not energy efficient and the bulbs break often, so we have to replace them often,” Kapatamoyo said. “The replacement for it is LED lighting …. It’s going to save a lot of money, the LED lights last much longer and they are the industry standard at the moment.” Kapatamoyo also said he believes this only was able to happen due to the good relationship and cooperation with former Vice Chancellor for Administration Rich Walker and current Vice Chancellor for Administration Morris Taylor. Broadcast Engi neer Ben
Moyer sa id t he conversat ion about an upgrade started before he was hired over two years ago. The new lights also make the studio much cooler without the excess heat while also providing a more convenient way to change the colors of the lights to almost any color on the visible spectrum. “With incandescent lights … if you wanted to change any colors, you had to use what’s called a ‘gel’ [which] is basically a plastic material that comes in lots of different colors. So you had to find a gel that you wanted, you had to go up to the light fixture and attach the gel and work with it that way,” Moyer said. “With the LED system we have now, it’s all part of the control system.” While it wasn’t as out of date as the lights, Moyer said the lighting control board was also updated to be industry standard to help students learn how to work with lighting. Moyer said the biggest benefits he sees in getting the upgrade is to give students the opportunity to work with equipment they’d use in the professional field. “It’s state of the art, it’s up to date [and] it’s the same brand and/or the same type of lighting system that students would see if they went into TV studios across the country,’’ Moyer said. “These are the systems of lights that people are using in the broadcast industry, and the way that they are controlled is what students will see in the workplace.” Mass Communications Instructor Cory Byers said he has already seen the difference in the heat between the incandescent and LED lights.
Mass Communications Instructor Cory Byers (far left) holds a class in the updated TV studio under the new LED stage lights. I Jihun Han / The Alestle
“Students [would] get really hot when you have the lights on for a long period of time [and] they’re also easier to maneuver because you don’t have to worry about getting burned if you’re adjusting the lights,” Byers said. Senior Mass Communications major Carlos Dulcamara said he had worked in the TV studio before the update and immediately took notice of the new equipment. “I’ve noticed that we got a brand new giant television, so people can see better because we used to have a smaller flat screen TV — and of course the giant LED lights that we have now. It’s a lot brighter, a lot newer and it just looks fresh,” Dulcamara said.
The new lighting control board purchased by TV studio can control the brightness, color and special effects of lighting. I Jihun Han / The Alestle
FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter
Students may have seen some changes happening in Lovejoy Library. Empty shelves may seem a bit out of the ordinary for a library, but for Lovejoy it means big updates. Shelly McDavid, the area coordinator for access and library spaces and STEM librarian, has been heading up the project. “We are deselecting materials out of the collection that haven’t either circulated ever or haven’t circulated within six years. We’re essentially shrinking the collection to free up space,” McDavid said. McDavid said she hopes that by freeing up space on the second floor, she can create spaces that benefit students. All of the remaining books on the second floor will be moved up to the third floor, where brand new shelving is being installed soon. She also said that the project hit full speed this summer and continues to be a main focus for the library. “We have everyone in the library working on the deselection project, even if it’s only
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like an hour a week, just because it’s all hands on deck right now,” McDavid said. “The whole library is, in some respects getting a little bit of a facelift.” By removing the stacks, McDavid said she is hoping to flood the second floor with natural light and beautiful views. She said that since Lovejoy is located centrally near the MUC that it should feel like the student’s library, a functional, beautiful hub of campus. She is hoping to incorporate other student services from around campus such as a small satellite office for the Student Success Center or a Writing Center kiosk, making the library a space of community. Junior computer engineering major Isabel Lamonte from Belleville, Illinois, said her role is to deselect books, and she is sad to see some books go. She was hired this past summer to help with projects but often helps out at the front desk or wherever she is needed now that the school year has started.
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“We’re going to also be changing our bookshelves and making it nice and cleaner, and possibly adding some more discussion areas or collaboration areas for groups and students. So I think it’ll bring a lot more good to the place,” Lamonte said. “It’s nice to see my tuition go towards some nicer things, so I can be proud of what the campus has.” Junior geography major, Kyra Dietz, from Troy, Missouri, has also been working at the library and said she is enjoying her job and is excited to see what the new changes will bring to the library. “I have pulled books from the 1950s that have barely been touched and I box them up and stamp the box with ‘withdraw from Lovejoy’,” Dietz said. “I always feel so bad about how loud my tape is when I’m working on the boxes because the library is supposed to be silent. But I love it here, I’m already like, ‘Sign me up for next semester.’” The librarians and student workers said they hope by the next fall semester the project will be complete.
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09.10.21 Officer assisted Edwardsville PD with crowd control on an incident in their venue. Officer responded to a report of an employee receiving a suspicious item through the mail. Officer responded to a possible domestic dispute between a female and a male subject. Officer advised the argument was verbal only. Subject left the area without incident.
09.11.21 Officer assisted Edwardsville PD with crown control on a fight. Officer assisted Edwardsville PD with crowd control on a party. Officer responded to a report of a student receiving blackmailing message through social media, phone calls and text messages.
09.12.21 Officer assisted Edwardsville PD with crowd control on a fight. Officer assisted Edwardsville PD with traffic control on a traffic stop.
09.13.21 Officer responded to a carbon monoxide alarm. Edwardsville Fire Department advised the CO level was high and ventilated the room to bring the level down. Officer advised the level was high due to student leaving the stove on.
09.14.21 Officer responded to a welfare check by parents about their son. Officer advised contact was made with the subject and the subject did not need police assistance. Officer responded to a report of a resident advising her ex-boyfriend was calling various people associated with SIUE and making false claims. Officer responded to a report of a suspicious odor of cannabis. Officer advised there was not a suspicious smell.
Thursday, 09.16.21
The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center provides data for biofuel producers FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter
The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center provides research spaces for private companies to “refine and scale” their biofuels and offers job opportunities for students, now and in the future. They also educate people about the importance of creating bio renewables in the biotechnology space. It is not only private companies that use the research center, though. Farmers’ associations such as the Illinois Corn Grower Association often work with the staff at the research center to find uses for agricultural residues. Government labs, such as the U.S. Department of Energy, will also use the research facilities at NCERC. Jackie Hayes, director of business development and client relations, said her role in the company is to educate people about the importance of ethanol and what role it plays, as well as the politics surrounding it. Hayes also said the center is a place of education and work. John Caupert, the executive director of NCERC, said that since 2014 nearly 350 students have worked at the research facility and 100 percent of those students have gone directly from the center to a full-time employer. Caupert said SIUE students should consider working, interning, graduate assisting or doing a research fellow at the center. “I firmly believe that every student obtaining a degree in a STEM field, regardless of discipline in those areas, if you’re an SIUE student, working on a degree in a STEM field, I think you should seize the opportunity of being a student worker, here at here at NCERC, or at the very least, coming over for a visit and tour,” Caupert said. There are typically only two or three fellowship positions offered a year, and applications will be opening soon for upcoming positions at NCERC. Senior biological science major Krystin Polhemus from Peoria, Illinois, has worked at NCERC since December 2020. She describes herself as a ‘collective assistant’. “I do a bunch of different analytical tests. I work on a lot of projects, I’ll do something for this project. I’ll do another thing for this project. I bounce around a lot,” Polhemus said. “I’m doing something that will lead to my future.” Hayes encouraged anyone to work at
National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center’s leadership team (left to right): Yan Zhang, NCERC Director of Research; John Caupert, NCERC Executive Director; Jackie Hayes, NCERC Director of Business Development. | Photo courtesy of NCERC
the center, not just STEM majors. They will often hire marketing majors or mass communication majors to assist with the administrative side. Hayes said that it is a good job for anyone interested in caring about the earth. “This is a great place to work if you’re someone who cares about sustainability, greener living and climate change. The primary work that we do here is finding alternatives to fossil fuels by using renewable feedstocks,” Hayes said. ”The work that we do here is novel, it’s innovative. It’s super interesting. This is a great place to work because you’re contributing to that future.” The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center has been a part of the SIUE campus since 2003. NCERC is a research center where private companies have the ability to test their biotechnology products in vastly different-sized fermentation tanks. NCERC offers fermentation vessels from as small as 5 liters all the way to vessels that can hold 22,000 liters. Hayes said the reason that companies would come to
the center to work on their projects is because of the resources available. “Companies primarily come here to scale up their technologies … refine and scale, refine and scale-up,” Hayes said. According to Hayes, when companies plan to take their biotechnology into the private sector, they use NCERC to run pilot demonstrations or demonstration scale work. The largest facility in the center is called the Pilot Plant which contains “Fermentation Alley.” The Alley earned its name from the fact that it holds the four largest fermentation tanks in the building. Each tank is able to hold 22,000 liters. Next to “Fermentation Alley” is the “Fermentation Suite”, where three smaller tanks, ranging from 30 liters to 1500 liters, are kept. In the “Fermentation Suite,” the center has a distributed control system, an automated system for both the “Fermentation Suite” and the Pilot Plant. The Pilot Plant is also a module system, which allows companies to plug in their own equipment when doing research.
Virtual Career Fairs offer real-time communications with employers FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter
Students in engineering, IT, nursing or pharmacy have the opportunity to attend several Virtual Career Fairs this semester. SIUE Career Development Center is hosting several career fairs in the upcoming months. There are six events coming up. The first event is not a career fair but a “Crash Course” on what a virtual career fair will look like. Students must register through their Student Cougar Jobline. Student Cougar Jobline is a website students can use to access Career Service support. The Jobline can be found by going to the Career Service webpage, and registering from the link provided there. The Career Development Center is providing five Virtual Career Fairs within the next couple of months. There will be a Virtual Nursing event, Virtual Pharmacy,
Virtual IT, Engineering and an October Career Fair. The Nursing Career event will take place on Sept. 27. There are two separate times, the earlier time is mainly focused on undergrads looking to enter the nursing field, while the later time is more focused on advanced practice nursing. Carrie Smolar, assistant director at the Career Development Center, said that if a student is unable to attend the time that is more catered towards them, not to worry, both times will have opportunities for both groups of students. Students who want to attend the Nursing Event should sign up through Premier Virtual. Sarah Brinker, a senior talent sourcer for the Memorial Health System, said having done your homework ahead of time about what employers are going to be there and how your skills will work with certain companies is a good way to prepare for the event. “[We] ask a lot of performance-based
interview questions and students should know that there are a lot of transferable skills, from the service industry to direct patient care. They have knowledge that they can pull from those experiences and should know not to omit that during an interview,” Brinker said. The next two events are the IT and Engineering Virtual Career Fair. Students who plan on attending either of the events must be registered through both the Student Cougar Jobline and Premier Virtual. Those links can again be found on the Career Services website. For students who are interested in attending the Engineering Fair, Katie Smithenry, an HR Specialist for Civil Design said that students who are interested in talking to employers about job positions should take the first step by starting conversations. “Don’t be shy about starting a conversation even though it’s virtual, ask questions about the position you are interested
in,” Smithenry said. There is also a Virtual October Career Fair, which will have a variety of employers there, for students in all majors. Students will also need to register through Student Cougar Jobline and Premier Virtual. Smolar said students should have their resume in front of them, printed off, so they can go over it with employers. “Have your resume out in front of you, printed off so you can look down at it at the same time employers are looking at it. Be professional, wear the appropriate attire and make sure your background is clean and professional-looking,” Smolar said. Crash Course: 3 p.m - 4 p.m, Sept. 16 Nursing: 11 a.m-1 p.m, 4 - 6 p.m, Sept. 27 IT: 10 a.m - 2 p.m, Oct. 5. Engineering: 10 a.m - 2 p.m, Oct. 7. October: 10 a.m - 2 p.m., Oct. 6. Pharmacy: 12:30 p.m. - 3 p.m., Nov. 17. Pharmacy Showcase: 3-5 p.m., Nov. 17.
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Thursday, 09.16.21
BY THE NUMBERS
COVID-19 at SIUE
New confirmed positive cases (from tests conducted by SIUE and self-reporting):
Sept 3 - Sept 9: 20 students, 4 faculty/staff
August 27 - Sept 2: 22 students, 2 faculty/staff
14-day new positive tests: 44 students, 6 faculty/staff All prior weeks positive tests (August 6 - 26): 57 students, 6 faculty/staff Total positive cases: 101 students, 12 faculty/staff
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Madison County confirmed cases by day
225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50 25 0
6
SEPTEMBER
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Source: Madison County Health Department COVID-19 Dashboard under the Cases by Day tab as of Sept.15
Percentage of isolation/quarantine space available on campus (as of September 15): 97 percent Source: Health, Reporting, and Testing page on SIUE’s COVID-19 website, as of September 15
Tests conducted by SIUE Sept 3 - Sept 9: 1,721
August 27 - Sept 2: 1,827
COVID-19’S impact on Madison County
14-day new tests conducted: 3,548
All prior weeks tests conducted (August 6 - 26): 3,163
All of Illinois’ regions remain under Phase 5, which went into effect June 11. All sectors of the economy reopen with new
Total tests conducted: 6,711
health and hygiene practices permanently in place:
Positive cases identified by SIUE testing:
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Sept 3 - Sept 9: 18
August 20 - Sept 2: 11
14-day new positive cases: 29
All prior weeks positive cases (August 6 - 26): 57 Total: 86
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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
Biden institutes vaccine rules for many businesses, decries hesitancy: ‘Our patience is wearing thin’ DAVE GOLDINER and TIM BALK New York Daily News / TNS
President Joe Biden, visibly frustrated by the country’s inability to immunize a reluctant chunk of its population in the fight against COVID-19, said Thursday that the “time for waiting is over” as he uncorked another round of mandates that now touch many private businesses. “We have the tools to combat COVID-19,” the president said. “And a distinct minority of Americans supported by a distinct minority of public officials are keeping us from turning the corner.” The blueprint ordered by the White House requires that employers with more than 100 staffers make sure their workers receive shots or take weekly tests, and it creates a new mandate for federal employees who previously had the option of taking frequent tests instead of getting inoculated. Biden, who was once reluctant to institute mandates in the vaccine effort, has decidedly changed his tone after the delta variant wreaked havoc in a disappointing second summer of the pandemic. The president first moved to force federal employees to get shots or undergo regular testing six weeks ago, in what was then viewed as a major escalation in the battle to vaccinate Americans. But on Thursday he pushed the effort into a new gear, pairing his new plans to push people to get vaccinated with his toughest talk of the pandemic. In a direct appeal to the holdouts, he said: “We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin and your refusal has cost all of us.” Roughly 4 million federal workers, plus millions of contractors, will be required to get vaccinated under an executive order signed by Biden on Thursday. Federal workers who do not get vaccinated will face disciplinary action, according to the White House. The president’s plan also includes provisions to require vaccinations for workers in most health care centers that receive Medicare or Medicaid dollars, a move intended to cover more than 17 million workers. “If you’re seeking care at a health facility, you should be able to know that the people treating you are vaccinated,” Biden said in the State Dining Room of the White
President Joe Biden speaks about combating the coronavirus pandemic in the State Dining Room of the White House on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021 in Washington, D.C. | Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images / TNS
House. “Simple. Straightforward. Period.” At the end of spring, the nation appeared to be on the precipice of winning the war against COVID-19. But coronavirus case rates increased tenfold between the beginning of July and the end of August, hampering the country’s economic recovery and putting a damper on the nation’s health and spirits entering a new school year. The federal government has struggled to meet its vaccination goals amid misinformation about the shots. Some conservative regions of the country continued to have woeful immunization rates during the summer months, despite desperate bipartisan calls for citizens to get vaccinated. Almost 1 in 5 Americans over the age
65, who face higher risks from COVID-19, still were not vaccinated as of Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, about 80 million eligible Americans have so far spurned the shots. Coronavirus is currently killing about 1,500 people per day in the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration offered full approval to the Pfizer vaccine, offering an additional seal of confidence in the shot. “What more is there to wait for? What more do you need to see?” Biden said indignantly, leaning over his podium Thursday. “We’ve made vaccinations free, safe and convenient. The vaccine is FDA approved. Over 200 million Americans have gotten at least one shot.”
The most recent jobs report showed American businesses added far fewer new jobs than expected in August. And with workers fretting about pandemic child care and workplace safety, firms cannot fill the millions of job openings they have. “Our overarching objective here is to reduce the number of unvaccinated Americans,” Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a briefing ahead of Biden’s speech. “There are of course 80 million unvaccinated Americans at this time. We want to decrease that number.” Critics have framed vaccination mandates as an infringement on their personal rights, a notion the president pushed back on during his address. He said the issue does not revolve around “personal choice.” “It’s about protecting yourself and those around you — the people you work with, the people you care about, the people you love,” Biden said in the forceful 27-minute speech. “My job as president is to protect all Americans.” He said he was directing the Department of Labor to craft an emergency rule that would operationalize his effort to get workers at private businesses vaccinated. That rule, though not an airtight mandate, would reach businesses that collectively employ more than 80 million people. The White House said it was also working on a rule to ensure that employers offer paid time off to workers covering the time it takes to get vaccinated. “We’re going to protect vaccinated workers from unvaccinated co-workers,” Biden said. Top Republicans said the president had gone too far with his latest restrictions and punishments. “President Biden has made small business an enemy of his administration,” Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) , the House minority leader, said in a tweet. “Forcing main street to vax or pay a fine will not only crush an economy he’s put on life support — it’s flat-out un-American.” But Biden framed his moves as an effort to finally disentangle the nation from a stubborn virus that seemed to be in retreat just weeks ago, when masks were vanishing from coast to coast and the president prematurely announced U.S. “independence” from the pandemic. On Thursday, he suggested the end is still within reach — if Americans just coalesce behind his vaccination pitch.
NEXT WEEK: ALTON DOWNTOWN’S ANNUAL EARTHTONES FESTIVAL PAGE 4
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contact the editor: lifestyles@alestlelive.com 650-3527 Thursday, 09.16.21
Missouri Botanical Garden’s Japanese Festival provides an authentic look into Japanese culture EMILY STERZINGER opinion editor Editor’s Note: The author of this article is half Japanese American, and felt her cultural and ethnic identity was relevant to her representation of the festival and experience attending. Personally, she felt the festival provided a platform for representing a culture that is underrepresented within the Midwest. From ornamental plants to centuries old forms of comedy to traditional dancing, the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Japanese Festival provided an opportunity to experience Japanese culture that doesn’t involve a 12-hour flight. One of the traditional forms of entertainment present at the festival was performances by St. Louis Osuwa Taiko. The organization is an ensemble of performers who play Taiko, a category of traditional Japanese percussion instruments often used in festivals. Rosemary Mroczkowski, a member of the ensemble, said that the loud reverberation of Taiko drums matches the emotional attachment of hearing your mother’s heartbeat before you are born. “The connection between this very loud booming sound that you can feel through the ground, through the floor and with your heart — I think that is irreplaceable in life,” Mroczkowski said. The festival, despite being on a different weekend than the holiday itself, had some elements shared with the Japanese holiday of Obon, a traditional Japanese Buddhist holiday based around honoring the spirits of ancestors. The main shared element between the festival and the holiday was Bon Odori, an event typical for the holiday where traditional Japanese folk dances are performed. Taiko drums are often used in these dances as well. Another traditional form of performance at the festival was Rakugo, a style of traditional Japanese entertainment involving a complicated, long comedic story where a single performer represents all of the characters. The performances were run
During the festival, the Bonsai Society of Greater St. Louis displayed some of their bonsai for festival attendees to view. Pictured above is a 10 year old cypress, cultivated into a slant style bonsai. | Emily Sterzinger / The Alestle by St. Louis Japanese Language School. Jayme Lowe, one of the performers from the school, said that she was inspired to perform by seeing others perform Rakugo for many years. “As an art form, I’ve always enjoyed
storytelling, and I’ve really enjoyed Japanese stories in particular,” Lowe said. Throughout the day during the festival, the Bonsai Society of Greater St. Louis displayed Bonsai in the Linnean House, a greenhouse within the front area of the
Left to Right: Rosemary Mroczkowski and Jack Glennon, members of St. Louis Osuwa Taiko, play the song “Hanabi” on a Taiko drum. The song is named after the Japanese word for fireworks, based on rhythm being made to sound like fireworks | Emily Sterzinger / The Alestle
Gardens. Bonsai is a traditional style of Japanese tree cultivation that creates miniature trees, with the term itself translating to “tray planting.” Chris Jersan, a member of the society, said his interest in Japanese culture and love for growing things compelled him to join. “Producing something that looks like an old tree in nature is what we’re aiming for. With our display here, you can also see we’re setting a whole scene for the trees as well,” Jersan said. The St Louis Chapter of Ikebana International also had displays in the Linnean House. They displayed Ikebana, a centuries old style of flower arrangement linked to Buddhist tradition in Japan. Most of the arrangements on display were cultivated within the school of Ikenobou, the oldest style of Ikebana. Judy Blix, the president of the chapter, noted that the chapter’s vice president Yoshiko Mitchell was their professor of Ikenobou. “You learn to appreciate all nature, the little buds coming on, the strong beautiful ones that are in full bloom, and the ones that are passed,” Blix said. “We can appreciate a leaf that’s buggy because that’s part of life. I’ve enjoyed being in this group because the appreciation of nature goes beyond just the perfect beauty.” More details on the event can be found on the Botanical Garden’s website.
Thursday, 09.16.21
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SIUE staff member hopes to bring athletics to national stage with new editorial job FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter
INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine has asked Venessa Brown, associate athletic director for diversity, equity, and inclusion to join their Editorial Board. Brown, a longtime member of the SIUE community, said she hopes to shed light on the importance of athletics within the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion space. Brown has been a part of the SIUE community since 1995 as an assistant professor before becoming a professor in 2006. In March of 2021, she joined the Athletics Department as the associate athletic director for diversity, equity and inclusion. Brown started a new adventure recently. She accepted a position on the editorial board for INSIGHT Into Diversity. Holly Mendelson, co-publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, said the Editorial Board is excited for Brown to join them. “Our Editorial Board is there to advise and counsel us. [Brown] will be a great addition to our board, as she has so much knowledge,” Mendelson said. After being featured in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education as one of the 25 women in higher education who have made an impact back in February 2021 and SIUE being awarded the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award in 2020, Brown has been on INSIGHT’s radar. “I was contacted by the owners of INSIGHT [Into] Diversity and they said ‘you have really made such a big contribution to the diversity, equity inclusion space, and
you really moved SIUE forward. SIUE is shed some light on what it means to really one of the leading institutions in the Mi- bring athletes to the diversity, equity includwest, for diversity, equity, inclusion, and sion [space] on a national and internatiowe would really love for you to be a part of nal level. I’m hoping to be a person that will have innovative ideas for Insight to do our editorial board’,” Brown said. Brown credited much of her founda- around athletics,” Brown said. Lenore Pearlstein, co-publisher of INtion in the diversity, equity and inclusion space to SIUE. Before becoming the asso- SIGHT Into Diversity magazine, said it ciate athletic director for Diversity, Equity was important for Brown to be a part of and Inclusion she was the associate chancel- the board, especially as a person who works lor for the Ofin an athletics fice of Institudepartment in tional Diversity h i g h e r and Inclusion, education. chief diversi“The most ty officer and important ethics officer at thing that she SIUE. She said brings, she’s this new posichief diversity tion is a blesowfficer for an sing to both VENESSA BROWN athletic departher and her associate athletic director for diversity, equity and ment which work at SIUE. inclusion is something “This is new and very the icing on the cake of the hard work, the rare in higher education. I want her to dedication and the passion and the love that take the lead for us to let us know what I’ve had for SIUE. So to take that love and she is doing so that other schools around take the work that we’ve done here, and to the country can use [SIUE] as a role take that to a place like Insight, and be able model,” Pearlstein said. to tell the SIUE story even more, because Brown said she is excited to see what this is where my foundation is,” Brown said. the future holds for both her new poBrown said she only recently started sition at the magazine, but also within working in the Athletic Department but the athletic department. She said she is one of her current goals is to shine a light hoping to use her new position at INSIon the importance and impact the sports GHT to bring SIUE sports to a national have on the diversity, equity and inclusion and international platform. space. She talked about what she hopes to “We have a winning team here. bring to the Insight Editorial Board. We have a wonderful group here, but “I think intercollegiate athletics is a I think I could make us much more diamond... I’m hoping that I’ll be able to visible,” Brown said.
“This is the icing on the cake of the hard work, the dedication and the passion and the love that I’ve had for SIUE.
REVIEW: ‘Life is Strange: True Colors’ channels the power of emotional storytelling ALEX AULTMAN editor-in-chief
The “Life is Strange” series is what got me into gaming, so I was really excited when “True Colors” was announced. I’ve been anxiously waiting for it to come out since March and was ecstatic that it actually released a day earlier than it was originally supposed to. I spent my entire weekend binging this game. I have finished my first run and started on my second to see the options I didn’t choose the first time. Our protagonist for “True Colors” is Alex Chen, an Asian American who has spent her teenage years in the foster care system. Alex had an unstable childhood, moving from home to home, getting into frequent fights and troublesome situations. She travels to the fictional town of Haven Springs, Colorado to reunite with her older brother, Gabe, after 8 years apart. Like previous protagonists in the series, she has supernatural powers. She
is an empath, meaning she can feel people’s emotions and understand why they are feeling them. However, if the emotions of others are too strong they will infect her. One of the first scenes in the game is her getting into a fight with another character because his anger was too strong. An interesting thing about the game is that you use Alex’s power to find collectibles, which are objects with emotions attached to them. When you find them and use your powers on them it gives you a little bit of lore and more insight into the characters’ backgrounds. The mechanic of collecting memories rather than items is just really neat. As with the other games, you can choose between two different people to romance — or no one at all. Ryan is a park ranger and Gabe’s best friend. He is an absolute himbo and I love him very much. Steph is actually a character from the prequel “Before the Storm” and she’s
Photo courtesy of Square Enix
a nerd for music and tabletop roleplaying games. As much as I love Steph and was excited to have the option to romance her, I ended up picking the straight option on my first run. A relationship with Ryan just felt more natural to the story and without spoiling anything, that proved to be correct. One of the main marketing points of the series is that the choices you make impact the outcome of the story and give the player different endings. Decision-based games often have the issue of feeling like your choices don’t really matter in the end. “True Colors” manages to avoid this and it’s the first game in the series where I have been genuinely satisfied with the endings. The graphics of this game are astounding when compared to the first game from 2015. The characters actually have realistic facial expressions and skin texture. I found the eye movements most notable because those can be one of the hardest things to animate in games. My graphics card isn’t super great so I’m not sure if it is a me issue or a game issue, but textures took a couple seconds to load in any time the camera switched. It only slightly impacted my immersion. At around 10 hours to complete thoroughly, it’s a short game, but the story flows really well. Releasing the game all at once rather than keeping it episodic like the prior games helped it a lot. I would have hated the cliffhangers that would have inevitably resulted from it being episodic. This enjoyable game takes all of the best parts of previous games and merges them together. It has the internal moral debate around using your powers from the first game, the sibling dynamic and fleshed out characters from the second game and continues the tradition of having a weird dream sequence in the finale. It’s also very emotional and hit extra hard because I saw a lot of myself in Alex.
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Alumnus celebrates 102 birthday, given a birthday message from students EMILY STERZINGER opinion editor
Part of a four generation SIU family, alumnus Mildred Prange recently celebrated her 102nd birthday. Her granddaughter, economics instructor Laura Wolff, had students sign a birthday scroll for her, a pandemic friendly alternative to a standard birthday card. Prange was born in DeSoto, Missouri, on Sept. 13th 1919. She married her husband Robert Prange in 1940, and they had six children. She graduated in August of 1963 at SIUC, and during that time balanced being a full time student with taking care of her family. Wolff had her students sign a birthday scroll as a more pandemic friendly alternative to a card. Her last class signing was in 2019, for Prange’s 100th birthday. Jordyn Perkins, a junior international business major from Fairview Heights, Illinois is one of Wolff’s students who joined in on signing the scroll. “I don’t hear much about older alumni, so I think that was really cool,” Perkins said. “I put ‘Happy Birthday,’ I wasn’t really sure what exactly to put but I think it’s really cool that we even get a chance to wish her a happy birthday.” Wolff said she celebrated Prange being still with her and her family despite previously having COVID-19, but that the pandemic has made it more difficult to spend time with her. “She was born in the first pandemic in 1919, and then she literally survived COVID this last year, so that’s been very difficult,” Wolff said. Prange, who graduated in 1963, attended as a non-traditional student, and balanced her life as a student with taking care of her family and raising six children. According to a letter Prange wrote in 2010, SIUE opened when her sixth child was in kindergarten. “This was my chance to get some college education so, when the youngest boy was in school in the morning; I was able to take several classes,” Prange wrote. Prange’s daughter, Barbara Huddleston, was the first in the family to attend SIU as a student at the Alton campus. Huddleston describes Prange as very energetic and a talented artist. “She did china painting, oil painting, watercolors, quilting; you name it, she did it,’’ Huddleston said. “I don’t think she slept much at night, I know she did her homework up until two o’clock in the morning and then she’d get up and get the kids off to school.” Among those hobbies, Prange also enjoyed sewing, embroidery, knitting and crocheting. Wolff said she is trying to start a scholarship in Prange’s name for non-traditional students, as a scholarship was what enabled her to become a full-time student “Her getting funding was what allowed her to be able to go, and so I think that would be just a really good way to celebrate our family’s history with SIU,” Wolff said. Wolff said that finding Prange’s writings has provided her further motivation to create the scholarship, as Prange once wrote that she wanted to leave an impression on the world by the time she leaves it. “I surely hope something I have said or done will be remembered with love,” Prange wrote.
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Employers should consider their role in the employee exodus
THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board
“Help Wanted” signs hang in windows everywhere while businesses are closing down daily due to lack of employees to adequately keep the doors open. While some blame unemployment benefits or lazy people there is another aspect to consider – the employers. Lack of the proper education, weight restrictions, shift restrictions, lack of daycare and felony records are just a few of the roadblocks that might prevent people from gaining adequate employment. A recent job opening on Indeed.com said they were willing to hire anyone in Illinois in their ad, but the required qualification list states the prospective employee must have one or more years’ experience in health care and be proficient in multiple IT applications. The applicant must also have a diploma or equivalent to apply. There is also no mention of training the right candidate. This is not being willing to hire anyone.
Employers must be transparent when placing hiring ads if they want to receive the right applicants — but also clear so that applicants are not wasting their time on positions they will never get. Obviously, some employers must have specific requirements depending on the work required, however, when deciding upon these requirements, employers need to consider what they can absolutely do without to gain a good employee. Do they really need to be able to lift 20 pounds to work a desk job as a paralegal or an office assistant? In some cases, the answer is yes, but in others, employers need to ask themselves the benefit of passing over applicants who cannot lift in favor of applicants who are otherwise qualified. In some cases, employers are asking for three or five years’ experience working in a field and then offer entry-level pay. Expecting college trained individuals with active working experience is a deterrent to individuals looking to make an upward move in
their career as opposed to a lateral move, and in some cases a step down. Advertising these positions for college students or those who have just graduated would bring about a more ideal response. Pay has been a huge factor in the argument of why restaurants and other lower paying jobs are dropping employees like flies, but another consideration needs to be the workplace environment. Employees need to be appreciated and not worked into the ground because they were willing to show up. Employers in these positions need to schedule their staff reasonably even if this means operating on an altered schedule, which some have done. Employees who are not being given a healthy work-life balance will not stay, especially if they are not being heard. Employers need to stop looking at staff like numbers and consider the person they are expecting to be the face of their business. Appreciated employees will stay longer, work through harder conditions and be more positive
in the workplace. No one is asking to have everything handed to them, but it isn’t lazy to expect to be treated like a person, to be heard, to receive recognition, be given fair pay and work for an empathetic company. One option would be to create part-time positions in place of full-time to open up hours that could be filled by two employees that have restrictions or special needs met. Another option would be for employers to accommodate employees who are struggling to meet all of the hourly requirements. It’s also important to consider providing reasonable pay for experience, and to consider applicants that do not have college experience, but parallel experience that would make them an ideal candidate. Among these options, signing bonuses also provide extra incentive for prospective employees. While not all employers have unrealistic expectations, employers as a whole need to revisit their expectations and workplace environments if they want to attract employees during this hiring epidemic.
speech in that they reported “More than 60 percent of extreme liberals said it’s ‘always’ or ‘sometimes’ acceptable to shout down a speaker; compared to 15 percent for extreme conservatives” and that 13 percent of “extreme liberals” said using violence as a means to stop a speech or event from occurring on campus was “always” or “sometimes” acceptable as opposed to 6 percent of “extreme conservatives.” More than a quarter of “extreme liberals” said this was “rarely” acceptable compared to 8 percent of “extreme conservatives.” Given these statistics, it’s no wonder so many students are scared to speak openly about their views, especially those with non-liberal ideologies given the likelihood of being shouted over by their peers with opposing views. Even among conservative students who ranked predominantly liberal institutions highly on being “open to speech,” 82 percent reported themselves self-censoring as opposed to 53 percent of moderates and 40 percent of liberals, according to Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. Students aren’t the only ones with this fear, either. Based on a 2017 survey involving over 900 faculty conducted by Samuel J. Abrams, two-thirds of conservative professors avoided sharing their opinions out of fear of negative reactions from students and
peers compared to one-third of liberal professors. In this same survey, Abrams also found that seven in 10 professors and half of administrators said they wanted to create an open environment, even if that meant offending some. So, even though a bit over half of administrators and professors strive to create an open environment for students to discuss ideas openly, they receive pushback from their peers and worry students may voice similar concerns. This doesn’t mean any of these staffers are ill-intentioned either, as certain things shouldn’t be accepted during civil discourse such as bigotry, but it’s also important to recognize not everything that offends someone is bigoted either. The idea of creating an environment to discuss ideas without anyone getting offended sounds wonderful, but in practice, alienates students from wanting to discuss their own political opinions. Face it, when talking about politics, someone is going to be offended by everything and it’s going to lead to heated discussions. The entire act of attempting to regulate what ideologies should be discussed will, and has, offended many people in its own right. The problem surrounding the political divide on college campuses is a lot larger than a one-sided political leaning, to which it’s often reduced. It can
even be partly explained by the higher tendency toward liberal ideology among those with a higher education, but in no way justifies suppressing conservative ideas. The environment created is becoming less and less open to non ‘woke’ viewpoints to the point that students won’t even discuss it. The push attempting to be accepting and not offend people is too contradictory to work in the same environment. Colleges may not be able to change the ideological leaning of their staff, nor can they, but rather recognize the larger problem is failing to create an environment open to ideas from students and faculty of all ideologies. In their effort to accept everyone, they’ve alienated many and can only begin to unravel this culture by encouraging their faculty to discuss ideas with their students from all perspectives and encourage discourse between them. Disagreeing with someone ideologically doesn’t inherently make a discussion hostile, but teaches students to understand perspectives outside their own. Social pressures must stop attempting to conform everyone on their campus to value acceptance, but rather promote it by not denying them the ability to be open about their thoughts. Only when everyone is allowed the freedom to offend each other will diversity of thought enter back into the culture of the college campus.
Avoid echo chambers, intellectual growth is a part of college DAMIAN MORRIS managing editor
The Econ Journal Watch reports liberal college staff outnumber their conservative counterparts at a ratio of 12:1. This has led many to challenge that colleges are “indoctrinating” their students into a liberal ideology. However, the issue is much larger than a political leaning of faculty and staff. It’s a failure to promote an environment inclusive to students of all beliefs. While colleges simply having a preference toward a political ideology isn’t necessarily a problem, allowing the political makeup of the staff to shift the climate of college campuses regarding discourse is. And unfortunately, a 2020 study by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education shows this is the case. This study surveyed 20,000 students across 55 American colleges to gather their attitudes toward political ideologies and discourse surrounding these topics. Based on this, they found that 73 percent of students who labeled themselves as “strong Republicans” reported feeling they couldn’t express their opinions due to how students, professors or administration would respond as opposed to 52 percent who labeled themselves “strong Democrat.” This discrepancy even furthers in attitudes toward free
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SIUE women’s soccer sweeps SIUC 5-0 NICOLE BOYD social media manager
The Cougars started strong in their game against Carbondale, with four goals in the first half and one in the second. The Cougars started off strong. Lily Schnieders, a sophomore forward from Fenton, Missouri, scored a goal less than five minutes into the first half. Just a minute later, Maria Haro, a redshirt sophomore forward from St. Louis scored the team’s second goal. Nineteen minutes into the game, MacKenzie Litzsinger, a senior forward from Fenton, Missouri, scored a third goal. Twenty-two seconds later, Haro scored another goal, bringing the score to 4-0. The action slowed in the second half, until 20 minutes in, when Litzsinger scored the team’s fifth and final goal. Head Coach Derek Burton said the start of the game helped the Cougars achieve their goal. “I thought we had a great start to the game, which really helped propel us forward with what we wanted to do overall, and that was [to] really outwork them and have the energy and desire to make the game very difficult for them, and our really strong start helped us do that,” Burton said. Burton said to prepare for the game, the team watched videos of SIUC’s last two games to get an idea of what they like to do and how they like to play, but worked on their mindset as well. “Really, in terms of our mentality, [we] really tried to work
SIUE Standings WOMEN’S SOCCER
OVERALL OVC
Murray State SIUE UT Martin Belmont Tennessee Tech Southeast Missouri Austin Peay Eastern Illinois Morehead State
4-3 3-3 4-2-1 3-4 1-3 2-5 2-4-1 2-4-1 2-4-1
VOLLEYBALL
OVERALL OVC
Southeast Missouri Austin Peay Murray State UT Martin Eastern Illinois SIUE Tennessee Tech Belmont Tennessee State Morehead State
6-3 5-4 5-3 1-8 7-1 2-7 5-3 2-5 5-1 3-5
SOFTBALL
OVERALL OVC
Redshirt sophomore forward MacKenzie Litzsinger and senior midfielder Andrea Frerker face off with players from UT Martin, attempting to maintain Cougar control of the ball. | Khoi Pham / The Alestle
on turning the page from a couple really tight, tough losses last weekend to refocus our energy rebounding,” Burton said. With a win secured, Litzsinger said she felt good about the team’s performance. “I think it’s really good to get our offense going like that because as a team we’ve noted it has been lacking a little bit,” Litzsinger said. “So being able to finally get it going and getting that many goals is very uplifting and confidence building for us.”
Litzsinger said Haro handed her first goal on a platter to her. “She shot it and it was about a half foot away from the goal line, so that was just lucky I was there,” Litzsinger said. “The other one, Lily played me a really good ball behind and I learned from my mistake the time before that and actually shot the ball, when before that I didn’t.” Haro said it felt good to get goals in the net, especially coming from the three forwards. She also said she scored her first
goal from a through ball from senior midfielder Andrea Frerker, and the second with the help of Litzsinger. “I think the first one or the second one, I felt like I kind of dribbled and just took the girl on one [versus] one and then just took my chances,” Haro said. “I feel like a lot of times I just cross the ball in, so I was like, ‘I’m just going to take my chances, especially seeing how they played us in the defense.’ And so obviously it paid off taking those on.”
First-Year player turns the tide of men’s soccer game FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter
The Cougars pulled off a last-minute win, scoring a goal in the last three minutes of a 10 minute overtime, securing the first home win of the season. SIUE men’s soccer played against the U.S. Air Force on Sept. 3 at Korte Stadium. SIUE was down by two points for most of the first half, before Alex Segura, a grad student forward from Reus, Spain, scored SIUE’s first goal of the game. Cale Wassermann, the head coach for men’s soccer, said the game got off to a rough start. “I think we were a little too conservative, which led to defending for longer spells than we would have liked, and a little too aggressive in our attacking. It was a really, really good response from our guys coming back and winning three to two,” Wassermann said. Segura sunk the ball into the back right of the net, right around the 40 minute mark. Segura is new to the team this year,
Thursday, 09.16.21
| Mike Haupt via Unsplash
having arrived in the U.S. from Spain only a few months ago. He said it felt great to score throughout the game and to be a help to the team. “[To] score was great and not just for me, for all the team,” Segura said. Wassermann said it was important that Segura played throughout the game as it helped boost both his and his teammate’s confidence. Segura who has not played much in SIUE’s first two games was up to the challenge against the Air Force.
“[F]or a first-year player to come in and [make] two huge goals for us was a really big, really big boost you know, and a really big confidence booster for him, but also just helped us with the game,” Wassermann said. In the second half of the game, SIUE gained another goal approximately 49 minutes into the game. Max Broughton, a redshirt defender, scored the goal, unassisted. SIUE Cougars maintained an aggressive offense against the Falcons, as both teams were tied
at the end of the second half. The Cougars were able to narrowly defeat the Falcons with a last-minute goal in overtime. Steven Bibas, a junior midfielder, returns to the team this year after a rough year with an injury. He said teamwork and changing the energy on the field can turn a game around. “I think the players that came off the bench kind of gave us a spark and a bit of energy and went crashing into a couple of tackles, myself included, and I think the energy kind of shifted and we were able to come back and tie the game,” Bibas said. The Cougars held their own and scored their third goal with less than three minutes left in overtime. Segura also scored this goal to secure a Cougar win. Bibas said Segura played a vital role in the win. “He’s an extremely skilled player and very smart on the ball, very technical, and he’s going to help us along the way and score some really timely goals and just be a really good offensive player for us all year long,” Bibas said.
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 OVC website
UPCOMING Volleyball at SIUE vs Valparaiso 6 p.m., Sept. 17 Men’s and Women’s Cross Country at Normal, Sept. 17 Volleyball at SIUE vs Western Illinois 12 p.m., Sept. 18 Softball vs Jefferson College 1 p.m., Sept. 19 Men’s Soccer vs Missouri State 5:30 p.m., Sept. 19 Women’s Soccer at Texas 1 p.m., Sept. 19 Women’s Tennis at Western Illinois Invite Sept. 24
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