The Alestle Vol. 76 No. 30

THE

NEWS IN BRIEF

Possible sexual assault, kidnapping initiated at Cougar Village late Friday

An e-Lert reporting a kidnapping that occurred on SIUE campus was issued by SIUE Police early in the morning of May 27. The e-Lert said the kidnapping resulted in a later sexual assault in Berkeley, Missouri.

According to the e-Lert, a woman said she had been taken from Cougar Village by an acquaintance and driven to north St. Louis — later confirmed to be Berkeley, Missouri.

“The female reported she was held at gunpoint during the drive before being sexually assaulted in Missouri,” according to the e-Lert.

The victim said she was pushed from the car, after the assault, where she then

called local police.

According to the e-Lert, the suspect is about 6 feet 1 inch tall and is described as a “light-skinned black male” with short, dark hair and a patchy beard. The suspect’s vehicle was reported to be a “gray or silver Hyundai 4-door sedan, possibly with mild front end damage.”

SIUE Police said the case is being handled by the Berkeley Police Department in Missouri, where the assault is reported to have occurred. When contacted, Berkeley Police did not comment, as the officer who is working the case is out of the office until Tuesday.

STATISTICS TO KNOW

Students are at an increased risk during the first few months of their first and second semesters in college

86 percent of sworn campus law enforcement officials have legal authority to make an arrest outside of the campus grounds

70 percent of campus law enforcement agencies have memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with local law enforcement

The National Sexual Assault Hotline is (800) 656-4673

SIUE alum teaches students her craft at Alton dance studio

PAGE 3

insidE: Our lifestyles editor learns life lessons in pottery class PAGE 4

Gen Z is no better or worse than previous generations PAGE 6

the student voice since 1960

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

BOT approves tuition, fee increase up to 2.9 percent

WINTER RACINE

online editor

Incoming freshmen will be paying more to attend SIUE next year, and all students will be paying higher fees after a vote by the board of trustees.

Lead: SIUE’s Board of Trustees recently approved a yearly tuition increase of $270 for students who will be starting at SIUE in the academic year 2023-24. Student fees were increased by $94.50 for all students regardless of their academic start.

The revised tuition for in-state, full-time undergraduate studies will be $9,576.

Due to the Illinois Truth in Tuition act that safeguards enrolled students from increased costs, only incoming undergraduate students registering for 12 or more credit hours for Fall 2023 will be subject to the tuition increase.

Current undergraduate students enrolled in previous semesters will not be affected by the increase in tuition.

The hike in room and board will result in a 2.8 percentage increase, raising by $290 per academic year.

The overall cost of undergraduate studies including room and board will be

$23,483.50 for two semesters at 15 credit hours, representing a yearly increase of $654.50. With student health insurance, this number rises by $2,400.

Chancellor James T. Minor said the university has come to a stage where the cost of delivering a high quality education has surpassed its revenue.

“The increase would generate an estimated $480,000 for the institution, which would assist in keeping pace with increasing instructional costs,” Minor said.

According to Kedra Tolson, executive director of University Marketing and Communications, the university is largely dependent on tuition.

“[The increase] is done to help us with our revenue and to also be competitive among other Universities in Illinois,” Tolson said.

According to Tolson, the funds generated from the general student fee increase will be utilized for several purposes such as providing support services for students’ mental health, covering expenses related to computing infrastructure, facility maintenance, dealing with rising food costs, and managing projections of utility costs.

Tolson was uncertain about the allocation of the funds from the tuition increase.

According to Tolson, the rise in fees and tuition will enable the university to enhance the quality of campus services, and remain proactive in anticipating and managing inflationary costs that might otherwise affect the services offered to students.

“What we need to focus on is not only students coming in here and getting an education, but we’re also focused on the whole student,” Tolson said. “So, while you’re here, we have to make sure that we have the type of services that students need.”

According to Tolson, the university remains committed to affordability.

“The college has always had a commitment to affordability,” Tolson said. “We are one of the most affordable universities in the state.”

Compared to Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, attending SIUE is $1,631.50 higher to attend. On the other hand, compared to the University of Illinois Springfield, attending SIUE is a more affordable option, with a cost that is $2,652.50 cheaper.

05.28.23

Officer assisted the Edwardsville PD with searching for a vehicle that was headed toward s campus. Officer advised the vehicle was not located.

05.28.23

Officer responded to an active fire alarm and determined it was activated due to a candle. While investigating the cause of the fire alarm, the officer advised paraphernalia and cannabis were located. Investigation continues.

05.28.23

Officer responded to a report in Cougar Village of a resident advising someone banged on their apartment door and tried to open it. The officer advised the door was locked. Officer checked the area and was unable to locate subject.

State report: Catholic church kept hundreds more abusers than previously known

HANNAH MEISEL

Capitol News Illinois

SPRINGFIELD – Catholic dioceses in Illinois failed to disclose hundreds of abusive clerics before the state opened what would become a yearslong investigation into sex abuse within the church, Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced Tuesday.

Included in a scathing 700-page report published by Raoul’s office at the end of the four-and-a-half-year investigation is the most comprehensive list to date of Catholic priests and religious brothers –451 in Illinois – who abused nearly 2,000 victims since 1950.

When former Attorney General Lisa Madigan initiated the investigation on her way out of office in late 2018, only the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Joliet disclosed the names of clergy with substantiated sex abuse allegations against them. Between the two dioceses, they disclosed 103 names.

During the course of the investigation, the other four dioceses began listing their own names of known child sex abusers who ministered within their purviews, eventually upping the number of disclosed clergy with substantiated sex abuse claims against them to 320. The original 103 names disclosed by the Archdiocese of Chicago and Diocese of Joliet had some overlap with lists of names disclosed by the other four dioceses.

But Tuesday’s report names 149 more abusive clergy members than the dioceses had ever disclosed.

“Decades of Catholic leadership, decisions and policies have allowed known child sex abusers to hide, often in plain sight,” Raoul said at a news conference in Chicago. “And because the statute of limitations has frequently expired, many survivors of child sex abuse at the hands of Catholic clerics will never see justice in a legal sense. But it is my sincere hope that this report will shine a light on those who violated their positions of power and trust to abuse innocent children, and on the men in church leadership who covered up that abuse.”

A 2017 law eliminated Illinois’ prior statute of limitations for child sex abuse, under which a 20-year clock began ticking on a victim’s 18th birthday. But that

law was only prospective; a 2009 Illinois Supreme Court decision affirmed that attempts to alter the statute of limitations retroactively violated the due process rights of the accused.

Asked Tuesday if he would support an amendment to the state’s constitution to allow older victims to file lawsuits, Raoul declined to give an answer.

“I’m not going to speak to that,” he said.

Raoul and Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Thomas Verticchio on Tuesday said investigators referred certain cases to local law enforcement any time they had reason to believe the statute of limitations window may have still been open. But they couldn’t say how many cases were actionable.

The attorney general’s office made “more than 600 confidential contacts” with survivors of child sex abuse by church leaders, including in-person, video and phone interviews, in addition to messages left on the attorney general’s hotline, plus emails and letters.

The dioceses cooperated in the investigation, giving staff in the attorney general’s office access to thousands of files and allowing diocese leadership to sit for interviews with investigators.

“It’s important to note, when we say substantiated, we were not calling balls and strikes,” Raoul said “The Church is, in the end, substantiating.”

According to the report, 22 clergy members associated with dioceses in Illinois had

Survivors’ accounts

The report is full of anecdotes and direct quotes from survivors interviewed by the attorney general’s office.

In one heart-wrenching story, a woman referred to by the pseudonym “Shanice” recounted how she was repeatedly raped by Father Robert Boley in the late 1980s when she was a fifth grader at Saint Cyril in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood.

Boley’s abuse began with inappropriate touching behind his desk while the rest of the class worked on math problems. But eventually Boley would regularly hold Shanice back from going to recess, raping her in the empty classroom.

“He told me I was bad,” Shanice told investigators from the attorney general’s office. “He told me that Jesus made me bad, that he was there to help me.”

Shanice said she both trusted Boley and feared him. She also said she knew she wasn’t the only one of her classmates targeted by Boley.

“I think that what people don’t understand is when you are a child, you don’t separate a priest from God,” she was quoted as saying in the report. “He was God. To me, he was God’s worker.”

According to Shanice, another priest even caught Boley one day, bursting into the empty classroom at recess and witnessing Shanice on his lap. But instead of doing anything about it, Shanice recalled the other priest asked Boley a question, then locked the door behind him on his way back out.

However, they did say the most recent abuse detailed during the investigation occurred in approximately 2010.

The investigation spans more than seven decades, with some of the oldest priests named in the report having been ordained in the 1910s. Raoul on Tuesday confirmed that the majority of those named in the report – 330 – were already dead.

“These perpetrators may never be held accountable in a court of law, but by naming them in this report, the intention is to provide public accountability and a measure of healing to survivors who have long suffered in silence,” Raoul said.

preyed on five or more children.

Nine of those had at least 10 victims during their careers, and one former priest – Joseph Fitzharris of Chicago – had at least 20 victims dating back to his first assignment in Puerto Rico in the late 1960s.

Fitzharris spent 17 years associated with eight churches in the Chicago area before moving on to Missouri, Indiana, California and Colorado, where he continued abusing children until the mid1980s, according to the report. He was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor in Illinois in 1987, removed from public ministry in 1991, resigned in 1995 and was finally laicized by Pope Benedict in 2009.

Boley was moved to three other assignments before ending up back in Illinois, where he worked at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Darien in 2002 when another woman accused him of abusing her when she was a young girl in the 1980s, close to the time of Shanice’s abuse.

After decades, Shanice finally told her mother about the abuse in 2019, and eventually agreed to a settlement with the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2022.

According to the report, Boley was removed from public ministry in 2006 and is “on a safety plan.”

CHLOE WOLFE opinion editor

Rachel Brady started dancing at a young age. At all stages of her life dance has guided her towards the places she needed to be. Today, Brady teaches the love of dance to others in her hometown of Alton, IL.

Brady said she got into dance the “typical way;” her mom signed her up for it when she was three. She liked to dance, so she continued it throughout her childhood.

When it came time for Brady to go to college, she decided to continue with dance because it was what she felt most comfortable doing.

“It was what I knew the best,” Brady said. “I mean, I sometimes consider myself lucky because I found that niche. I found a place where I felt like I belonged before I even had to explore those options in college.”

Brady began her college experience at Oklahoma City University, which shook the foundations of her easy decision on what to study. She said that although the college had one of the best dance programs, they had concerning restrictions.

“The first line of my acceptance letter after I auditioned said ‘Due to your weight you can take dance classes, but you can’t be a full-fledged dance major,’” Brady said. “I was thinking about changing my major because I still hadn’t made weight (during my first semester), and I was by no means overweight.”

As Brady was struggling with her decision to study dance, her family was struggling to support her financially.

“I was the firstborn, the first one they sent to college, and it ended up being a little too much financially,” Brady said. “So they had to sit me down and have this big discussion that I think about a lot still.”

After talking with her parents, Brady decided to go to SIUE where her father had received his master’s in fine arts.

“He was working at the steel mill here in town [Alton], and he still did his art,” Brady said. “But he told me, ‘Well, if you love it, you’ll keep doing it, you’ll find a way to keep doing it.’”

So Brady started classes at SIUE where she found a love for dance again.

“My parents felt awful that they couldn’t send me back (to Oklahoma City University), and I went in with just an awesome positive attitude,” Brady said. “I had really great teachers at SIUE

and got a lot of individual attention and discovered modern dance. I didn’t even know about that and that’s where I feel the most comfortable now. It ended up being a good thing.”

Professors Brady cited as most influential during her time at SIUE include Calvin Jarrell who, according to Brady, taught modern dance before becoming SIUE’s Director of dance, Paula Beals who taught modern and ballet and Kerry Shaul who taught ballet and jazz.

At SIUE Brady was also a part of many productions put on by the departments of theater and dance productions. She remembers during one of the performances she had to do a quick change of costumes in between dances.

“I had a solo that was very heavy and deep. I wore coveralls

zipped up and a stocking cap and mirrored sunglasses,” Brady said “So I got dressed and I forgot to zip up the coveralls. I had on a leotard and tights underneath, so thankfully everything was still covered.”

After graduating with a bachelors of arts in dance, Brady spent the next few years in St. Louis working with different dance companies.

Eventually, Brady and her then-boyfriend, now husband, decided to move to New York City after a few years.

“The goal to move to New York,” Brady said “I don’t think in my heart I ever had intentions of staying forever. Like a five year plan or a couple years. I was looking at it as kind of like graduate school, take some good classes and get some more performance experience.”

both were done and wanted to come home.”

Even though Brady felt it was the right time to move back to Alton, she regrets the fact that her children did not get to experience the diversity found in New York City.

“Coming back to the Midwest was the right choice,” Brady said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I want my kids to see all of this. But at the same time, I don’t want to push a stroller and wait for a person to help me down the subway steps.”

After moving back, Brady opened her own non-competitive studio, The Creative Dance Studio.

Brady chose to not make her studio competitive because she sees dance as more of an art form rather than a sport.

“There’s an athleticism to what we do, definitely,” Brady said. “But I think, for me, it’s about expressing something. Even then, sometimes it’s not about expressing something, sometimes it can just be about line and form and movement of bodies through space.”

Today, Creative Dance Studio offers classes to people of all ages, mostly taught by Brady with occasional help from her daughter, Anna Brady. Dance classes offered include ballet, tap, jazz, modern, point, swing and musical theater.

The company is very active across the Metro East holding dance recitals for students to showcase their talents. They also do volunteer work to showcase the art of dance to the public.

Brady said that she and her husband spent a lot of the time working jobs just to be able to afford to live in the city. She described teaching many dance classes at the West Side YMCA, working at a bridal shop and a boutique paper store.

While working, Brady said that she still found time to show her work through the various dance showcases which were held every weekend across the city.

Eventually, Brady and her husband decided to move back to the metro east because they were struggling to feel settled in New York.

“It felt like we weren’t settled. Being away from family made everything harder. We had a crummy apartment. Just to get settled into a nicer apartment was going to be expensive.” Brady said. “And we felt like we

Brady said that the company will rehearse pieces and perform them for the community. She mentioned performing at nursing homes during Christmas and street fairs throughout the year.

Prior to COVID-19, Brad said that they toured local elementary schools and performed a piece based on Dr. Seuss’s My Many Colored Days.

Brady said she loves the connections she makes with her students. She said most of her students start when they are young so she gets to watch them grow up.

“They always keep me on my toes,” Brady said. “It’s silly every week with the younger ones.”

Her favorite part is sharing her love of dance with her community through recitals and volunteer work.

“Dance is an art, it’s not like So You Think You Can Dance or whatever those shows are,” Brady said. ”These are real dancers doing real good.”

After learning dance at a young age, Rachel Brady now gives the love of dance to people of all ages. | Photo courtesy of Rachel Brady

Bike and Hike to Breakfast stacks up to the hype

MYLEE WALKER reporter

The Edwardsville Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee hosted the first ever “Bike and Hike to Breakfast” offering up free food, and encouraging everyone to get outside this summer.

Mary Vandevora, an organizer of the event, said she was excited to have as many people there as they did.

“Over 600 people had registered online and there are several group rides that are planned to come into the event today, so we are anticipating a pretty big turn out,” Vandevora said.

Vandevora said The City of Edwardsville put the event together along with other local businesses to bring awareness of other ways of transportation aside from driving a car.

Many of the group walks went through historic parts of Edwardsville and the surrounding area. The St. Louis Street Historical Walk, in particular, had members of the city’s preservation committee talking about the history of St. Louis Street.

There were several other walking and biking groups that used the trails that wind through Madison County and Edwardsville. All the groups used the trails as a guide to downtown Edwardsville, where the Goshen Farmers Market was taking place.

As the attendees arrived they were greeted by free pancakes supplied by Chris Cakes, a pancake shop in St. Louis.

SIUE Admissions had a booth at the farmers market. Mario McCart and Scott Belobrajdic were the representatives from the office. McCart said he believes that events like this bring visibility to cycling in the community that could benefit students who want to be more environmentally conscious.

“I definitely think it will be a great benefit. The students can rent bicycles on campus and they can drive downtown,” McCart said, “Or biker, you can take the trails all the way to St. Louis. It tunity to reduce fossil fuels and this event shines a Steve Parks, a participant of the 40-mile bike by — said that he was excited to see that the well attended.

“It’s phenomenal, and it is cold today so I’m a little shocked it’s as filled as it is.” Parks said.

Vadevora said the promotion of sustainable transportation and getting to know the city of Edwardsville by walking or biking through it was something that she hoped many of the attendees would remember throughout the summer.

“Our goal is to increase the appreciation of biking and to create a bike culture in Edwardsville,” Vandevora said.

Stopping while ahead, other life lessons to be found at pottery class

Pottery, to a historian, is something to study, not an object to make, but I stepped outside my comfort zone and took a wheel-throwing class. I learned both a new craft and a couple of life lessons.

I am not known to be a creative person, but one of my resolutions this year was to do more things that scare me. One of the ways I wanted to push boundaries was to do more solo activities, and SIUE’s continuing education department allowed me to go outside my skill set and try a wheel-throwing pottery class at the Macoupin Art Collective.

The class is $40 for three hours where you can make three to four bowls. The MAC is a wonderful non-profit organization, located 30 minutes away from campus in Staunton, Illinois.

I paid for the class out of pocket, and while $40 can feel like a lot for a college student, I

really enjoyed my time and don’t regret spending the money. The class started at 6 p.m. I arrived a few minutes early and I looked around while the instructor finished setting up the wheels. The MAC isn’t a big space, but it is chock-full of craft supplies. Nearly all the supplies are donations from the community, and for $5 an hour, customers can use any of the supplies to create to their heart’s content.

Soon, the other students for the pottery classes trickled in. A mom and two of her daughters, as well as an older woman, were the other students, which made the class fun conversation-wise. The mom and her daughters were chatty, telling stories and making the class feel less intimidating, even though all three were quite good at pottery. The younger daughter explained that she had just finished a pottery unit in her high school art class, and the older daughter said she had taken a similar art class a few years ago while on vacation. The older woman was

on a similar skill level as me and we joked together about our misshapen pots.

At the start of class, Ruthie Jean Kahl, who led the class, showed us how to center the clay on the wheel and various shaping techniques. She walked us through how to keep the walls steady, as you widened the opening in the clay, and how to raise the edge of the clay while keeping it stable. The majority of the class was figuring out what worked best for you, and one of the biggest lessons the other students and I talked about was taking your hands off when it looks good, and accepting it as done. I had the tendency to have a good pot, but then I kept messing with it and it would collapse on me.

As someone who has a hard time accepting things as neutral, I want to assign them a value of good or bad. Pottery was a good lesson of simply accepting things as they are sometimes. My worth was not attached to how good or goofy my pottery looked. I was more about taking the step to try

something new.

I live alone, work alone at two of my jobs and generally spend quite a bit of time by myself. While I don’t mind it, I didn’t realize the impact of being part of a community would have on my mental health. The class was on a Friday night after a hard week, and being able to sit and keep my hands busy while listening to people chat together and support each other made my heart feel just a bit lighter than it had before.

The instructor allowed me to work past the time allotted on the wheel as we still had to glaze and clean up, and the other class members and I worked together to clean up and had a really great conversation while working on our craft.

We worked on our pot tery on the wheel for about two hours and spent the last hour working on glazing our projects. Glazing is the process of essentially painting the semi-dried clay with a paint-like substance to seal

it and make the clay food-safe. I choose to do a couple of my favorite colors —green, brown and lilac— on my very wonky bowls. I won’t be able to see the finished product for about two weeks because the clay has to dry and be fired in the kiln.

I am grateful to have the financial means to spend three hours and $40 on a class, but I am even more grateful that we have opportunities like this in our local area. To find more opportunities like this, go to SIUE continuing education website, or for more art classes, visit the

FRANCESCA BOSTON lifestyles editor

Bikers ride along the Goshen trail, one of the many bike paths in that leads to downtown Edwardsville, where the event was held. I Damian Morris / The Alestle

Chris Cakes St. Louis employee Dan Horton flings pancakes to the “Bike and Hike Breakfast” attendees. I Damian Morris / The Alestle

Whether that be going on a road trip to the beach or staying home and having a bonfire with friends, here are 20 songs for whatever you find yourself doing this summer.

“AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM” (feat. Kendrick Lamar) Beyoncė

Released recently, this song definitely deserves to be played at any point in your summer. Kendrick’s verse on the song has an unexpected goofiness to it that perfectly fits the song.

“Everybody Wants To Rule The World” Tears for Fears

This song is the quintessential “windows down driving maybe a little too fast” song. Listening to this song just makes you feel like you’re the main character in any indie movie.

“The Chain” Fleetwood Mac

If you aren’t screaming this song with your friends while driving down a back road, your summer is not complete.

“HEATED” Beyonce

Summer would not be complete without at least one Beyonce song. This song is perfect for singing with

friends and laughing while you mess up the words.

“Flowers in Your Hair” The Lumineers

This folky song is perfect for when you are pretending to be the main character while running through a field and getting eaten alive by the mosquitoes.

“Breezeblocks” alt-J

Alt-J makes amazing songs to play throughout your summer, but this song is perfect for riding your bike or kayaking with your friends

“Feels like Summer” Childish Gambino

It for sure feels like summer now! This song is perfect for days, as Gambino says, when you want to slow down.

“Homesick” Noah Kahan

For those of you who traveled home to small towns, it’s easy to start missing your campus lives. This song is a good reminder that you don’t have to love your hometown and still remember it shaped you into who you are.

“Super Rich Kids” Frank Ocean, Earl Sweatshirt

Super Rich Kids is for when you have nothing better to do so you’re just lazing about the house waiting for one of your friends to text you about going to get ice cream.

“Reelin’ In The Years” Steely Dan

Another pool day song, this song is perfect for when you’ve been outside all day, you aren’t completely sober and you need a nap. It’s like “Freebird” but for cooler people.

“Doo Wop (That Thing)” Lauryn Hill

There’s a reason that she won five Grammys for this album. This song is perfect for when your windows are down and you are just driving around town.

“The Spins” Mac Miller

This song should be your “song of the summer” at least once in your life. It’s a common theme in this playlist, but it is also perfect for driving around.

“Brazil” Declan McKenna

This soft song with amazing vocals is perfect for a summer picnic or bonfire with friends or family.

“Breezeblocks” alt-J

Alt-J makes amazing songs to play throughout your summer, but this song is perfect for riding your bike or kayaking with your friends

“The Boys Of Summer” Don Henley

This song is the perfect reminder that summer doesn’t last forever, so you might as well make it a good one!

“Ms. Jackson” Outkast

Perfect for when you are wandering around town with your friends trying to figure out what you want to do with the rest of the daylight.

“Doses & Mimosas” Cherub

This electro-indie song is perfect for a dance party with your friends after a long day on the lake or beach.

“Dog Days Are Over” Florence + The Machine

This indie rock song is perfect to play while you’re watching the sunset. If you’re feeling extra energetic, feel free to get up and run when the chorus plays a second time.

“Summertime Sadness” Lana Del Ray

Being named after summer, this song definitely deserves a spot on the playlist. Yet another song perfect for listening to with the windows down and you are driving around aimlessly with your friends while lamenting about how terribly your hot girl summers are going.

To listen to this playlist and others, check out The Alestle’s Spotify!

Where to find sizzling summer fun in the Metro East

WALKER

Summer is a great time to get family and friends together. Luckily for us, the Metro East is a wonderland full of events that you can use as an excuse to have fun. Many of which are affordable and easy to get to.

National Blues Museum - St. Louis Blues music has deep roots in the St. Louis area. There is no better place to learn about it than the National Blues Museum. It has exhibits of famous blues musicians and videos explaining their legacy. If you’re a music buff, this is the place for you.

Altitude Trampoline Park - Glen Carbon Fun for most ages, trampoline parks are the ultimate entertainment. With food and many types of trampolines to

jump on, it is a seemingly endless stream of things to do.

St. Louis Zoo - St. Louis

The STL zoo offers free general admission, providing the opportunity to reconnect with nature. With over 16,000 animals, there are plenty of animals to learn about.

The Wildey Theatre - Edwardsville

The Wildey Theatre is a recently revamped theater in Edwardsville that hosts all kinds of entertainment. The beautiful building houses constant movies, live music and other exciting things. Tickets are typically $3 for movies, so it is cheap, accessible fun!

Route 66 Festival Edwardsville

The 25th annual Route 66 Festival is taking place on June 10 at City Park in Edwardsville. There is going to be food,

live music and vendors. It is also within walking distance of the classic car show, so you can check out some cool wheels while celebrating Edwardsville being one of the oldest towns on the mother road!

Cahokia Mounds - Collinsville

Cahokia Mounds is a historical Native American site that houses thousands of acres of remnants of the ancient civilization that once lived there. It is free to roam the park but they have a full informational experience that you have to buy tickets for. You learn all about the Cahokia settlement and about how they lived.

Forest Park - St. Louis

Located in the heart of St. Louis, Forest Park has earned the title for “Best City Park” for good reason. The gorgeous park has many learning op-

portunities for people to learn how to connect themselves to nature. They offer self-guided audio tours which are available to the public at any time.

The Gardens at SIUE

The Gardens are a beautiful 36 acres of greenery located right on campus. It is an incredible place to get your steps in while taking in the extraordinary views it gives you. It is also completely free!

The Grant’s Farm Experience - St. Louis Grant’s Farm is an animal-filled farm owned by Anheuser-Busch. There are many things to do there, including a tram ride through the farm. They have events every Friday and Saturday from Memorial Day to July 4. A ticket purchase is necessary for the events, but general admission is free.

CHLOE WOLFE opinion editor

MYLEE

reporter

THEA WELTZIN Illustrator MYLEE WALKER Reporter UDIT NALUKALA Photographer

OPINION

Which

DAMIAN MORRIS Multimedia Editor

view

Don’t cut down Gen Z before they bloom

TAMMY MERRETT Program Director ANGIE TROUT Office Manager

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There is the old adage that each new generation is lazier and more privileged than the one before. Gen Z is no stranger to being told we are lazy, spoiled, and sensitive. But if you think about it historically for a minute, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence to prove this false.

Interestingly enough, since ancient Greek times, each new generation has been accused of being worse than the older generations. A BBC article written in 2017, outlines how humans have always complained about the younger generations, with evidence dating back at least 2,000 years. One example is a 2016

quote on the millennial generation “out-of-touch hipster who spend too much on coffee and too little on facial hair care” compared to a 1771 quote about the newest generation then calling them “a race of effeminate, self-admiring, emaciated fribbles…”

Gen Z is not worse simply because we are young. We are simply different from our older generations, and that is just fine. Why would we differentiate generations if not to compare them?

We at the Alestle would argue that our generation is not any lazier than other generations. Many of us on staff are working multiple jobs to put ourselves through school, while also maintaining grades and publishing a weekly newspaper. We see our friends studying for days on a single test,

or caring for ailing grandparents or family.

Take SIUE for example, many of the workers in dining, housing, or building services that keep SIUE healthy and safe are student employees who are also working while in school. Student employees are subjected to the whims of the administration and management, allowing very little autonomy in a place that preaches inclusivity and progress.

While Gen Z has grown up with technology, many of us realize how terrible being exposed to the internet so young was for us, and want to make changes for the next generation. Our generation has seen an uptick in school shootings, where our fellow students are gunned down while simply trying to learn. Yet we are

told that we are weak and “snowflakes.” Gen Z is not better or worse than any other generation. We are simply facing different challenges.

Stop blaming entire generations, especially when the presided faults being placed on the new generation is not the fault of that generation, but instead the failings of the older generations to teach and protect.

Generation blame is not an effective way to motivate young people. It is understandable to compare generations— humans have always done that and always will— but it is not fair to the younger generations to cut them down before they have a chance to bloom.

It is not all men, but even one man is too many

WOLFE opinion editor

Last Saturday, I woke up to an e-Lert about a woman being abducted from her home and sexually assaulted by someone she knew. I wasn’t even on campus, but I still felt scared. After a minute, I became angry. Why is this still happening to us?

I chose to come to SIUE not only for its proximity to my hometown or the option to have an air fryer in my dorm room, but also because according to SIUE, the campus is ranked ninth nationally in the Safety of College Campuses and second within Illinois.

I thought that if I came here I would feel safer, and usually I do. I get the odd bout of anxiety here and there about sounds in the woods, but I just walk faster.

that are tested every semester.

The only critique I have on their resources is that the classes should be open to everyone. People of all genders would benefit from knowing how to protect themselves.

I would also like to see more cameras around campus to ensure our safety. Former SIUE Police Chief Kevin Schmoll mentioned that he wanted to put more around campus, but was unable to do so because of lack of funding.

After receiving this alert though, that feeling of safety was basically shattered. I feel deeply for the woman who had to experience this, but my question is: Why did she have to?

had my location.

Why are we still giving advice to women on how to stay safe? Why aren’t we condemning the people who are doing these attacks?

Ask any woman you know, or someone who was socially raised as one. Most of us already have routines we do or plans we have to stay safe.

I keep something sharp on me. I check underneath my car because I’m scared my Achilles tendon will be cut so I can’t run away, and then, lastly, I check my back seat so I won’t be choked to death.

already in our lives. According to the Department of Justice, 73 percent of sexual assaults are committed by non-strangers. Although sexual assault and rape affect women at a disproportionate rate, we are not the only ones who are affected by this.

According to the CDC, “Over half of women and almost 1 in 3 men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact during their lifetimes.”

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SIUE actually does a really great job of offering resources to people who may be scared. There are several self-defense classes offered to women almost every week, as well as blue police buttons to press all across campus

At the end of the email we all received after the incident, there was a long list of ways to try to prevent attacks like these from happening. They were all things my mother had already taught me by the age of 13.

She told me not to go to gas stations alone after dark, not to be outside by myself past dark and to always make sure someone

I shouldn’t have to. What we should be focusing on is teaching people from a young age not to harm others. Instead of telling women not to wear “provocative” clothes, we should be telling men not to rape.

Although not all men commit these crimes, we can not afford to believe this when it could be any man. The email gave us ways to stay safe, but even if we already do these things, this doesn’t protect us from people

The problem is that these statistics are only mostly accurate due to the fact that many people who have experienced sexual assault or rape never come forward. I personally know several people who never came forward and never got justice.

If you have ever been sexually assaulted, I am very sorry that you ever had to go through something like that. You did not deserve it.

Instead of telling us how to prevent being attacked, we need to get to the root of the problem: the people who are being taught that it’s okay to attack others. Stop blaming the victim and start blaming the perpetrators.

CHLOE WOLFE Opinion Editor

BRUCE DARNELL Managing Editor

DYLAN HEMBROUGH Editor-in-Chief

AUDREY O’RENIC Sports Editor

CHLOE

FRANCESCA BOSTON Lifestyles Editor

WINTER RACINE Online Editor

letter

to the

a mindless drone of multiple choice questions about consent for four hours or so straight, should be given a seminar on how to be a gentleman or something. Something that teaches empathy for women and that helps them to see us as people rather than objects. So long and thanks for the fish.

—GabbyGojko Edwardsville

Editor’s note: A representative from Student Affairs said pepper spray and Mace are not on the list of prohibited items, but SIUE Police said neither are allowed to be carried by students.

SIUE Cougars baseball, softball conclude OVC season

ever had.

The All-OVC recognizes and honors its top players.

Baseball wraps up 26-28

SIUE baseball concluded their 2023 season in the Ohio Valley Conference with a game against Tennessee Tech on May 24, in Marion, Illinois.

The Cougars ended with a loss, bringing their final standings to 26-28 in the OVC. Despite more losses than wins, the Cougars proved to have a successful season.

Before the final tournament, seven SIUE players were recognized as a part of the AllOhio Valley Conference Baseball Teams — the most SIUE has

Brennan Orf, Avery Owusu-Asiedu, Brady Bunten, Jake Bockenstedt, Chase Bloomer, Ethan Willoughby and Garrett Helsel were all recognized.

Orf finished fifth in the OVC with a batting average of .351, earning a spot on the first team. Players with the highest points make the first team, with the next highest making the second team.

Bockenstedt, Bunten and Owusu-Asiedu were recognized as Second Team. Designated Hitter Bunten was honored consecutively two seasons in a row, finishing the 2023 season with

an average of .322. Outfielder Owusu-Asiedu finished with an average of .265.

Pitcher Bockenstedt finished 5-6. He was also awarded earlier in the season as one of Collegiate Baseball’s National Players of the Week, and as the Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week four times this season.

Willoughby, Helsel and Bloomer were honored as part of the All-Freshman team. Infielders Willoughby and Bloomer finished with averages of .242 and .269 respectively. Pitcher Helsel finished 3-1.

Softball ends as OVC runner up SIUE Softball finished as Runner-Up with a loss against Eastern Illinois on May 12, as part of the OVC tournament. Once again, despite the loss, the Cougars fought hard this season.

The Cougars completed their season 30-26, and were one of three teams to finish with an overall record of better than .500 overall in the OVC.

Four Cougars were awarded All-OVC on May 6. Lexi King, Paige Rocha, Sydney Baalman and Rylie Pindel were honored.

Outfielder King was recognized as First Team, and with

an average of .391, she leads the OVC and is currently ranked at 17 on a national level.

Pitcher Baalman earned her place on the Second Team, with a 13-8 record. Pitcher Pindel was recognized as All-Newcomer, which honors the top new incoming players, with a record of 6-3.

Infielder Rocha secured a spot on both the First Team and All-Newcomer team, with an average of .416 and 74 hits. She achieved the most hits SIUE has had in Division 1 since 2006.

King, Baalman and Rocha were all named as part of the AllOVC team following the conclusion of the tournament.

AUDREY O’RENIC sports editor

Junior pitcher Tyler DeLong throws to the Southeast Missouri University Redhawks during the March 30 home game.

| Valquiria Lorei / Contributing Photographer

The Cougars watch on as their fellow teammate goes up to bat during the game on March 30 against the Southeast Missouri University Redhawks.

| Valquiria Lorei / Contributing Photographer

Junior infielder Grace Leuke from McLeansboro, Illinois, pulled in two hits with four at bats, two of them with runs batted in, and one run on April 8.

| Winter Racine / The Alestle

The Cougars cheer on their fellow teammates as they head to the field on April 8 against Tennessee State. Following an initial loss, the Cougars ended the weekend series with an overall win.

| Winter Racine / The Alestle