The Alestle Vol. LXXX, No. X

Page 1

page 4

thursday, 09.14.17

the

READ ALL ABOUT LOUFEST, SIUE ALUMNI BAND

alestle

WOMEN’S TENNIS ACES FIRST MATCH OF THE SEASION page 7

alton — east st. louis — edwardsville

vol. LXXX no. X

Change in homecoming tradition fosters inclusion LUKE MOLEN reporter

I Alestle File Photo

Chancellor Pembrook discusses East St. Louis Center, inclusion, campus innovation at Q&A KEEGAN GAUWITZ reporter

SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook hosted his second Q&A of the fall 2017 semester, Monday, Sept. 11 at SIUE’s East St. Louis Center to discuss the upcoming Board of Trustees meeting, campus inclusion, innovation and the relationship between the main campus and the East St. Louis community. Pembrook began by outlining the basics of his upcoming salary proposal he will present before the Board of Trustees Wednesday, Sept. 13 and Thursday, Sept. 14. “We’ll be proposing a two percent increase, retroactive to last year, July 1, 2016-17, then another two percent for ’17-’18. So, we hope that the Board feels good about that and approves it on Thursday morning,” Pembrook said. Pembrook also said he plans to propose a practice plan for the dental program. This plan would allow the dental faculty to be more active in continuing to

work professionally, keeping their skills up so the university could retain those employees and keep the dental program strong. On the topic of diversity, Pembrook said that the Edwardsville campus has been working to organize recruiting and financial aid information in a way that diversifies the students the university draws in. Pembrook said the campus is also working closely with students from the charter high school and programs such as Upward Bound — a federally funded college prep program for middle school and high school students from low-income areas. According to Pembrook, SIUE is also bringing a sustained dialogue program to the campus, where students are encouraged to meet and discuss differences and diversity. Associate Chancellor for the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion Vanessa Brown said SIUE is beginning to live its values of inclusion as the program and enrollment have continued to change. “We’ve seen the early signs

of change by receiving the HEED Award — the 2017 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award … I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Brown said. East St. Louis Center Executive Director, Jesse Dixon, concluded the Q&A thanking Pembrook for his sincerity when he came to East St. Louis as part of Pembrook’s interview process. “One of the things that I remember was your reaction to coming down here — 15-16 months ago — and the real interest at what was down here, and really digging into the development of the East St. Louis Center,” Dixon said. Dixon continued, asking Pembrook what reflections he has on the East St. Louis Center and their role in the university — as well as the opportunities the community provides — after a year as chancellor. Pembrook said his interest in East St. Louis began with the charter high school, and the difference it is making in the lives of young people. In addition, Pembrook was drawn to the rich history of East St. Louis as it relates

to the arts. “I think we’ve followed through on some of those developments this year. I think the arts program has come along,” Pembrook said. Pembrook said he is most interested in improving East St. Louis’s relationship as a community with SIUE. Pembrook said he recently spoke with National Association for the Advancement of Colored People leader, Stan Franklin to discuss a program called ACTSO, which allows students to compete in regional and national competitions in various areas of study such as music, chemistry and entrepreneurship. Franklin said in other communities, the program provides students with mentors to help prepare them for competition. In order to strengthen the program, Pembrook said he has spoken to faculty about recruiting mentors to work on building a connection between SIUE and ACT-SO.

Student Body President Ramon DeShazer said. Student Government is working with these local communities, meeting with donors to bring the supplies to campus where they are sorting and distributing it accordingly, Massey said. The relief effort originally began to assist victims of Hurricane Harvey, but as Irma, Jose and Katia grew, the donation broadened to assistance for all four tropical storms, DeShazer said. “SIUE students can bring donations into the Student Government office [SSC 1208].

We’re accepting all donations, but monetary donations are the big ones that we’re aiming for to aid Houston. Most of the item donations will go to the storms happening in Florida,” DeShazer said. “We’re taking anything that anyone is willing to offer. No amount is too small, whether that’s a monetary donation or just donations in general. We actually have a pile started already in the office,” Student Government’s Director of External Affairs, Ethan Massey said. DeShazer said Houston is currently receiving a large number of item donations, and ef-

forts are now being made to raise money to begin rebuilding areas of the city. Currently, the list of needed items includes, but are not limited to: non-perishable food items, bottled water, lightly-used clothing and shoes of all sizes, underclothes, first-aid items, books, toiletries, baby diapers and formula, blankets and cleaning supplies. Massey said the idea for the drive originally began following a conversation he and DeShazer had after Hurricane Harvey. “He brought me into the office and brought up Texas, and I immediately knew where he was

The Kimmel Student Involvement Center has decided to alter the 60-year-old homecoming tradition of Homecoming Queen and King, having determined time for new royalty has arrived. Rather than selecting two individuals of the opposite gender for a queen and king, two candidates will be elected “Homecoming Royalty.” This change is aimed to create a more inclusive community by not limiting the selection to gender. “I feel that this change is necessary,” Student Homecoming Chair Dominique Davis said in a Kimmel Student Involvement Center press release. “Implementing the royalty court is just one of the first steps toward a welcoming and supportive environment.” The two royalty members will be announced before the start of the homecoming men’s soccer game 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7. The two candidates will be chosen from a pool of 10 potential selections, who all will be judged on three criteria: their applications, interviews and number of student body votes. Each category will account for a third of the overall score. “This update from ‘Queen and King’ to ‘Royalty’ widens the scope of opportunity for SIUE’s community to participate in Homecoming activities,” Assistant Director of Campus Life Andrea Keller said in a Kimmel Student Involvement Center press release. “Moving away from the previous process allows us to be more welcoming and uphold a more transparent, student-focused scoring method.” Applications have been available since Sept. 6 and will close on Sept. 21. Interviews will take place on Sept. 25 and 26, followed by the announcement of the final 10 candidates within the same week. Students will vote for the winners Oct. 2 and 3 on the CollegiateLink webpage.

Student government aims to assist hurricane victims KEEGAN GAUWITZ reporter

SIUE Student Government is hosting a donation drive the weeks of September 18-22 and 25-29 to collect items to relieve victims of hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose and Katia. Student Government is reaching out to students, faculty, staff and all surrounding communities for help. “Overall, it’s an effort between the SIUE community and surrounding communities. So far, we’ve already received donations from St. Louis, Belleville, Edwardsville and Glen Carbon,”

@thealestle

@thealestle

The Alestle

going with a drive. Now, because of Irma, we decided it would be more effective to do a hurricane relief drive, rather than just focusing on Harvey,” Massey said. Pharmacy student Anna White, of Roscoe, Ill said she is happy to see student representatives reaching out to the victims and giving everyone else on campus the opportunity to help as well. “It’s cool to see the Student Senate taking action on their own accord. I think it positively represents the student body as a whole and hopefully everyone will contribute to helping the victims,” White said.

alestlelive.com


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.