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C O L L E G E O F D U PA G E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R / / 0 3 M A Y 2 0 1 7 / / V O L U M E 5 1 – I S S U E 2 7
NEWS
Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs pays homage to Vietnam veterans PAGE 3
FEATURES
The Simpson family: A testament to the college’s progression and opportunity p8
OPINION
SPORTS
Pharmaceutics and the beginning of our mass extinction p11
Catching up with COD Softball’s Bailey Engel p12
COURIER
THE
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Editor-in-Chief Lucas Koprowski News Editor Kitt Fresa Features Editor Caroline Broderick Graphics Editor Joseph Molino Reporter Vandy Manyeh Photographer David Jura
INDEX NEWS SPORTS 5 Local couple steals $200,000 from financial 12 Catching up with Softball’s Bailey Engel aid at COD MUSIC
FEATURES
6-7 Q&A with Judy Burgholzer, the woman who heads COD’s horticulture program
16-17 It Came from Bandcamp: Three albums you should know
Social Media Manager Alizay Rizvi Reporter Carlos Peterson
Want quick access to our website? Newsroom 630-942-2683 Adviser Jim Fuller fullerj103@cod.edu The Courier is published every Wednesday when classes are in session during the fall and spring semester, except for the first and last Wednesday of each semester and the week of spring break as a public forum with content chosen by student editors. One copy free, additional copies available upon request. The Courier does not knowingly accept advertisement that discriminate on the basis of sex, creed, religion, color, handicapped status, veteran or sexual orientation, nor does it knowingly print ads that violate any local, state or federal laws. Deliver all correspondence to SSC 1220 between regular office hours or mail to the Courier, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, IL. 60137.
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NEWS Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs pays homage to Vietnam veterans Vandy Manyeh · Reporter
Pastor Kent Svendsen speaking at the Vietnam Veteran Commemoration Ceremony.
It is about 50 years since the fall of Saigon, but the celebration of the gallant men and women who fought to defend the values of the United States of America is still being heralded. Organized by the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, on April 25, 2017, the College of DuPage hosted over 200
Vietnam veterans at the Jim Belushi theater to celebrate 50 years of service to America. The East Aurora High School Navy JROTC performed the posting of colors, the Lincoln Challenge Academy Cadets honored fallen and missing soldiers during a missing man table and honor ceremony, while
students Erick Flores and Jacob Nikolas sang the National Anthem and “God bless America” along with everyone in attendance. “Fifty years later, we are here today with your 50th commemoration of our war in Vietnam,” said Harry Sawyer, assistant director of Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs. “We
COD Newsroom
honor each of those names etched in the stone in the Vietnam wall in Washington D.C., 58,282 American patriots. We salute all those who served with them. We stand with their families who love them still.” For COD President Ann Rondeau, it was a time to honor these veter-
President Ann Rondeau shaking the hands of veterans.
ans and also reminisce her faithful service to the U.S. Navy. “I joined the Navy just around the end of the war,” said Rondeau. “I was stationed in Hawaii and was part of the command center that had to oversee the extraction of people from Saigon. That was a tough place to be.”
For more information about events related to the 50th-anniversary celebrations, visit: www.vietnamwar50th.com
03 May 2017 // codcourier.org // 3
NEWS
Academic Honesty at COD
How honest are COD’s students? Kitt Fresa · News Editor
Have you ever cheated on a test or in a class? Have you ever been tempted to? According to an ongoing survey of ALP English students to measure academic honesty at COD, 75% of students have answered yes to this question. As part of an ongoing initiative, The Academic Honesty Committee has been working on educating students on what constitutes cheating in class. In an interview with Academic Honesty Committee member, Jennifer Kelley she said, “I’m new to the committee, but I think it’s overarching goal right now is to kind of shift the discussion about academic honesty on campus away from it being punitive and more being like “this is our culture at the college.” We value academic integrity, we expect it, we work towards that goal.” The initiative may be working as well, questions relating to what constitutes cheating in the recent surveys have been proving to show that students are becoming more aware of what the rules are. Students have been answering survey questions more accurately as the survey has been given out over time. “A friend lets you copy their homework because you left yours at home” and “you hand in a paper you wrote for a different class” are two examples of cheating that the survey asks the student to respond to and have recently been getting answered correct. After being asked if she was surprised at all with the student surveys, Kelley answered, “Not really. The surveys that I’ve been doing with ALP English students have been interesting. I think
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the students tend to be a little bit more surprised than I am. We’ll go over the results in class and the first question on there is, “have you ever been tempted to cheat?” and everyone’s response is always “yeah, of course” but there’s always a couple of people who haven’t, so they're surprised that there’s somebody in their class that has never been tempted to cheat.” When asked how she thought COD could lower the amount of students cheating Kelley said, “Part of it is making the stakes lower, I think that’s a huge part of it. Part of it is also shifting the conversation to, the goal of learning isn’t the grade, the goal of learning is figuring it out. Also creating that culture of academic honesty and academic integrity, everyone being more open about challenges and the reasons why students cheat. I think there’s some instructors who just take the position of “students are going to cheat, no matter what.” So they kind of lock everything down, but I think there needs to be more reflection on why that’s the case and make changes in order to fix that. It's not a given that students walk in the door and they're automatically going to cheat, and also its not true, there's plenty of students who don't cheat. On the other hand, theres students who happily admit that I’ve had in these sessions where we do the survey that happily admit “Oh yeah I totally got away with this.” So I think it's understanding why they think that's ok, what other options could there be, what would have prevented that student from cheating, that kind of measures what we can put into place.
NEWS
Local couple steals $200,000 from financial aid at COD Kitt Fresa · News Editor
PROVIDED BY DuPAGE COUNTY SHERRIF’S OFFICE
A couple’s financial aid fraud scheme has been uncovered by the local police, but not before managing to steal over $200,000 from the school. Cedric Ramey and
Mary Allen from Roselle, IL have been charged with theft of more than $100,000 from a school or place of worship, financial institution fraud, forgery, identity theft, conspira-
cy to commit a financial crime, and theft by deception, according to the DuPage County sheriff ’s office. The couple’s scheme started to unravel when local police received a report
of identity theft in 2013. The police later received information from financial aid and several indicators of a financial aid fraud scheme after the report which led to an investigation. The investigation was led by Lieutenant Kent A. Munsterman where it had been discovered that the scheme had been around 9 months in progress and also took around a year and a half to fully uncover. The investigation was aided with the help of the financial aid department where Financial Aid Representative, Jennifer Prusko was said to be an “instrumen-
tal” aid in the investigation. This also isn't the first time this has happened as well, COD was under financial attack from two previous fraud rings, one that had managed to steal $40,000 and the other $300,000. Prusko was said to be an aid to the police as well in the previous fraud rings. Ramey and Allen who previously have never been affiliated with the college, did receive money through the scheme but have been ordered to reimburse the school through a judge, subsequently splitting the cost evenly between the two. The couple has been
reported to have recruited friends and obtained their personal information that was used to apply to COD and for federal loans and grants administered through the college. Ramey has been held on bond for $1 million while Allen has been held at $500,000. Their next court date has been scheduled for May 22 before Judge Robert Miller. Even in the midst of the scheme the couple’s scheme though, it has been reported to never have effected any other student’s chance at receiving financial aid.
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03 May 2017 // codcourier.org // 5
NEWS
Q&A with Judy Burgholzer, the woman who heads COD’s horticulture program Vandy Manyeh · Reporter
College of DuPage horticulture students placed fifth in the nation at a recent landscaping professional competition in Utah. The horticulture program is expanding and has more degree and certificate programs. Hosted in the Technical Educational Center, the program has state of the art learning facilities and outdoor labs for students enrolled in the program. The Courier had a conversation with the program’s coordinator and adviser about the many things COD’s horticulture program has to offer. Here is how it went:
Judy Burgholzer of COD’s Horticulture department.
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Vandy Manyeh: What is the strength of the horticulture program at COD?
Judy Burgholzer: The strength of the program is we have a lot of hands-on experiences for our students. We prepare them for careers in the industry, and we are very well respected by area employers. They know our students get good training here and are ready to work. We have four classrooms, two of them are dedicated to the program, one is a floral design classroom, and one is our landscape design classroom. We have drafting tables, computers for the computer-aided drafting and three outdoor learning labs. One is our landscape lab. It is where students do plant installation, hard-
scape construction and for plant identification classes; so they have a lot of hands-on there. We have a 12,000 square foot greenhouse, where students get the experience in growing greenhouse crops, annual perennial vegetables and herbs, and, of course, we have our big sale in the spring for all of those products. And then, our newest lab is the sustainable urban agriculture lab, which is to the south of the greenhouse, and it has several raised beds, a green roof, a high tunnel, which extends in growing season for the various crops, compost bins and coal frames that are used in the growing season.
VM: What growth has this program seen since it started at COD? JB: Since it started, we saw phenomenal growth in the early 90’s, and then it kind of leveled off, but now in the last year we added two new degree programs and two new certificate programs. So we now offer three degrees, an associate of applied science in horticulture, landscape contracting and management, and that is a result of our recent accreditation by an organization known as National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP). They wanted a prescribed set of cours-
NEWS
PHOTOS BY DAVID JURA/COURIER
es where students will be prepared for landscape contracting and management. And then, the other new degree is the sustainable urban agriculture. We added two certificates. One is a certificate in sustainable urban agriculture, and the second was in power equipment technology. There are a tremendous number of jobs that are available in the small equipment repair, diesel engines, power generators, electrical systems and that kind of thing. We have six new courses that make up that certificate.
JB: We are very engaged with the community. We offer tours of our facilities and landscape labs. We bring in garden clubs, elementary and junior high school kids for tours. Our floral design class just made the boutonnieres and corsages for the retiree reception that was held yesterday (April 26, 2017), and they do the flowers for the all-college advisory committee in the fall semester.
VM: How engaged is your program with the COD community?
JB: There are several of the garden clubs that offer scholarships from the surrounding communities.
VM: What scholarship opportunities do you have for students?
There are two professional organizations: one of them in NALP, and, statewide, the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association (ILCA). They have a scholarship program, and we have had several students applied and won their scholarships. VM: What is the strength of the faculty teaching horticulture related courses? JB: The strength of the faculty is that we each have our own specialty. Two of us are full-time. We have our set courses that we teach, but then we have probably about 25 parttime faculty who teach in the program, and they
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bring their expertise. Our floral design instructor has her own floral design shop. The instructor who teaches our greenhouse class has worked in the greenhouse industry for years, and so we have people that are bringing the most current information, know the trends in the industry and our students get the benefits of that. VM: What opportunities are available to students after graduation? JB: Our students end up in many different places. If they have been through the landscape design program, they may work for a company as a landscape designer. Some start their
own businesses where they do landscape design and installation. We have people who go and work for the area nursery and garden centers, work for landscape companies as a foreman or on the crew. With the new sustainable urban agriculture program, we haven’t graduated any student yet, but our hope is they will end up working for some of the urban farms. There are several hydroponic growers, and they can work in the production of local food. VM: Any final words? JB: Everybody is welcomed to come into our facilities at any time and contact us if they have
questions about the program. We are just a really diverse program. If you look, we offer nine different programs, and there are many different areas of horticulture. There is floral greenhouse nursery, landscape and turf maintenance, landscape design, sustainable urban agriculture, power generation, power equipment and technology. We do a lot. Here is a link to College of DuPage’s horticulture program: http://www.cod.edu/ programs/horticulture/ index.aspx
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F E AT U R E S The Simpson family: A testament to the college’s progression and opportunity Caroline Broderick · Features Editor
For the majority of the past 50 years, there has been a Simpson at the College of DuPage. Starting in 1979, Ron and Linda Simpson began working as fire science instructors in M building, in what is now a parking lot. Beginning only 12 years after the college opened, the two began a legacy for their brother and nephew. Ron was an EMT at a Carol Stream fire department and instructing, and his brother, Dale Simpson Sr., was a police officer in Bellwood who would find himself instructing 17 years later. Before teaching, Dale served in the Marine Corps from 1968 to 1971 and fought in the Vietnam War. In the 1980s, Simpson Sr. decided to begin
schooling again, but it wasn’t until the veteran services at the College of DuPage made him realize the endless opportunity the school had for him. They worked with him enough to find heating and cooling classes at night so he could work from early mornings to mid-afternoon policing in Bellwood, work on his heating and cooling business, be a father and be a student. Simpson Sr. knew he wanted to learn more about heating and cooling. Working in a sheet metal field, focusing on the heating and cooling, there was something about its mechanical nature that drew him in and made it exciting. As a child, Simpson Sr. remembers being able to look at something, take
Dale Simpson Sr. (left) and Dale Simpson Jr. (left)
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it apart, and reassemble it. Years later, the college opened up opportunities for him to expand this innate trait. “When I started my education, I got the veteran’s scholarship,” said Simpson Sr. “The veteran department there was more than willing to give me a hand and advise me. The facilities there available to me as a student, to be able to practice a craft I was learning and to be able to practice with people that were actually in the field, that was really the drive I had to continue. The educational value, the knowledge, the precision these people had to teach people to look at a machine as a whole and how to dissect it.” The head of the heating and cooling department
at the time, Don Carlson, noticed Simpson’s knowledge and dedication. He asked Simpson to become an instructor, and Simpson added “teacher” to his resume. He stopped teaching in 2003 and then focused on being a cryogenic engineer at FermiLab. “Without a doubt, I attribute my education at COD to my success in the field,” said Simpson. “To this day when I pass there, I have this inner pride knowing I was not just a student, but an instructor as well. The next in line was “Little D” or Dale Simpson Jr. The younger Dale Simpson never attended the college as a student unlike his sister, Christina. He went off to Canada for schooling on a wrestling
scholarship instead. There, he discovered a love for anthropology that put him on the path of archaeology and becoming a professor at the college. In 2009, Simpson Jr. became an adjunct professor of anthropology and teaches to this day. Simpson Jr. attributes being a “legacy” as a small part of why he was looked into for the professor position. The college has been able to work with Simpson Jr. to create a people and cultures of the Pacific class, his specialty. With studies focused intensely on Easter Island, Simpson Jr. is always traveling. Although he is currently working on his PhD and traveling extensively, he continues to instruct. He just does it all from behind a computer
screen in online courses. Simpson Jr. has found that while working in anthropology and teaching, he is able to show his students so much more than inside a classroom. This aspect makes him fit right in with the rest of the anthropology department who consistently do field studies and research as they teach. Simpson Jr. also hosts “Found,” a television show that airs in Canada on the History Channel. Simpson Jr. continues to teach, but Ron and Linda retired in 2011. Together, the Simpson family represents the college’s ability to progress and change, yet retain its reputation and accommodating services and endless opportunities.
F E AT U R E S
A show and trip for the ages Carlos Peterson · Reporter
Some of the most telling and humorous things can be found when delving into the pit of self. Nobody does that better than Marc Maron, whose existential style of comedy will allow you to open yourself up to laugh at yourself, mercilessly. Scenarios of dealing with right wing ideology, nagging for sex, and coming to terms with mortality are some of the many great bits Maron performed this past Friday at The Orpheum Theatre in Madison, Wisconsin. Making the three the hour drive with my brother Chris, we ventured to see one of my heroes. Maron encompasses his ability to reach audiences with his authenticity and neuroses to allow himself to feel comfort in the humor simultaneously laced with understanding. Marc hosts the critically acclaimed podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, where he interviews various celebrities to answer his main question, WTF? Interviewing people such as Bruce Springsteen, Bill Burr, and most notably, former President Barack Obama, Maron has built a following of cult proportions. Perhaps not all com-
edy is created equal but the humor Maron created last Friday night was legendary. Getting to the theater, we stood in line waiting for the beginning of the show, as it started at eight o’clock and we arrived at seven. The atmosphere was charged with excitement and anxiety as many people were waiting in anticipation o f many peop l e ’s favorite comedian. When the doors were finally opened for the fans, Chris and I went through security and unknowingly accepted a bag of coffee beans from a woman not realizing it was for the first 25 people. The bag was a special WTF blend which
was described
as a smoky, dark chocolate, or ig-
inating in Honduras. This was a promotion started by Maron via his Twitter. This only added to the excitement as I couldn’t wait to brew this the following morning. When Marc finally took the stage I was in awe. For the first time in my life, another human being did not seem real. I could not believe one of my heroes had taken the stage to perform, and I was there for it. Maron opened with just six words, “ What’s he going to do next?” I immediately burst into laughter as I seemed to be one of only a few people to understand who he was talking about. In order to elaborate on what he was talking about he said, “What’re we supposed to do now? Half the country voted for him.” The rest of the theater the understood and erupted in laughter.
Maron did an unbelievable job of relating to the pulse of those who are unsure of how to navigate the nuances of the ever-changing world that we’re all a part of. His ability to be able to laugh at his own life experiences is one of the trademarks of the 51-year-old comic. Maron’s bit on the pretentious nature of those with ideas that they believed were the next big thing is absolutely brilliant in its ability to breakdown the stupidity and narcissism of individuals. Being able to experience Maron’s show in person, is an experience I won’t soon forget. Not to often are people able to see their heroes in person with varying tour days. Maron’s willingness to adapt and improve his routine is something I’ve marveled at. His bit on allowing himself to love another person is hilarious as he shows his willingness to laugh at his self proclaimed damaged goods. The man I’ve come to idolized is now someone I’m beginning to understand as he opens up. I’m thankful to have been apart of the evolution of his career and will continue to support its rise.
03 May 2017 // codcourier.org // 9
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OPINION EDITORIAL
Pharmaceutics and the beginning of our mass extinction The Western world is drowning in a sea of malaise, and it is all due to the pharmaceutical companies that run every aspect of Western medicine. The constant mutations that occur in bacteria have made them resistant to every form of attack that we have. The medicine we once used to destroy these organisms and to heal us has failed us. Not because it is incapable, but because the microscopic world has become stronger. However, instead of us finding stronger methods of defense and attack, the pharmaceutical companies we rely on to heal us have lost their humanity and given up on the very people they were meant to protect. The microscopic world is composed of several different organisms. These range from fungi to bacteria to something as small as viruses. These organisms multiply at a rapid rate, much faster than our own cells, which causes them to create mutations in their DNA. The mutations that occur in these microorganisms create resistance against our medicine. However, the real reason why resistance occurs is because of our own actions that cause our undoing. See, the problem with us is that we rely too much on laboratory medicine rather than supplementing our own immune system. The slightest bit of flu symp-
toms occur and we automatically end up going to the doctor to get medicine to heal ourselves. Alongside that, when we do get antibiotics or antivirals of any kind we do not finish them. We stop taking medicines when we feel we are better and we no longer need them. This is wrong. When these organisms become exposed to the medicine it kills off a large amount o f them, b u t when w e stop taking i t halfw a y, it is unable to finish the job and several organisms then remain in our system. With their fast mutation system, they are then able to mutate their genes to become resistant. However, the bigger problem also falls upon the pharmaceutical companies that make these antibiotics and antivirals. We as human beings have become dehumanized, and in re-
EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LUCAS KOPROWSKI FEATURES EDITOR CAROLINE BRODERICK GRAPHICS EDITOR JOSEPH MOLINO PHOTOGRAPHER DAVID JURA REPORTER VANDY MANYEH REPORTER CARLOS PETERSON SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER ALIZAY RIZVI
turn the pharmaceutical companies care less about human health but rather about profits obtained from it. According to Frontline reporter JASON M. BRESLOW; “It can
have ruled such research cost-prohibitive.” This price, however, does not include the cost of research, clinical studies and any sort of competition when it comes to pricing.
cost upwards of $1 billion to bring a new drug to market, and because antibiotics don’t command the same high prices as other medications, many companies
The way antibiotics and antivirals are to be used is for a short amount of time, which also means they will cost much less and limit any sort of profit to the pharmaceuti-
cal industry. Pharmaceutical companies have been unable to see the pain and suffering that comes alongside having an infection of such a large magnitude. It is a force to be reckoned with, and it oftentimes seems like such a hopeless case that it seems that death will come at any moment. When an infection of any microorganism first starts, it can often time resemble flu-like symptoms. Howe v e r, as the infection progresses, the different organisms have different ways of eradicating our body systems. As a result, it devours our immune system, and we become utterly defenseless, becoming exposed to multitudinous other microorganisms that normally would be easy to kill. It is a slow and painful process as it can take a few days for the body to first show symptoms and then continue to break down.
In the United States alone, at least 2 million people are infected by drug-resistant bacteria every year, and 23,000 die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The good news is that pharmaceutical companies have now been pressurized to once again begin research in the field. Just last year, the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland declared that antibiotic resistance will cause the death of us all. A coalition of more than 80 pharmaceutical, diagnostics and biotechnology companies signed onto the declaration to fight the war against antibiotic resistance. Here in the United States, The Pew Charitable Trust is working with the Centers for Disease Control to enhance more research in the field. However, it will take many years before an actual cure is found against resistance. Not only that, the way that the economy is structured and the way pharmaceutical companies chase after dollars will be our very undoing. If we are unable to find a way to bring humanity to light and to help fight against the microscopic universe, eventually we will all face a plague that will annihilate us all.
Views expressed in The Courier represent opinions of majority of editorial board. The Courier encourages all students, faculty, staff, administrators and community members to voice their opinions on all the topics concerning them both in and out of school. We encourage readers to submit a “Letter to the Editor” voicing their opinions on topics discussed in the editorial.
03 May 2017 // codcourier.org // 11
SPORTS
Catching up with Softball’s Bailey Engel Carlos Peterson · Reporter
COURIER ARCHIVES
Lady Chapparal Softball player Bailey Engel up bat at an early 2017 season game.
I was able to catch up with Bailey Engel, the second year softball player, who enjoys her time with teammates both on and off the diamond. It was a fun conversation about being a student athlete, future aspirations, hobbies, and being a part of a team. Carlos Peterson: What are some of the things you like to do in your free time? Bailey Engel: Aside from when I’m playing softball, I like to hang out with my friends and listen to different kinds of music. I’m like obsessed with dogs. So I like playing with dogs too. Other than that I enjoy reading. CP: Oh really? What kind of dog do you have? BE: I have just the standard poodle so he’s pretty
big. He’s huge. He's about as tall as me standing up. CP: You mentioned music, what music would you say you're into right now? BE: I like most genres. The only thing I would say that I don’t like is scream-o. CP: Don’t worry, you’re in the majority. BE: It can pump me up sometimes. If it’s thrown into the playlist, I’ll listen to it when I work out. But right now I’m very into country. CP: Any particular artists? I know someone like Luke Bryan is a big name in country music right now. BE: Right now my favorite artist is Kane Brown. He has a song, “What if ’s.”
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That’s my jam. CP: Is that like your workout song? BE: It’s more of my driving around song right now CP: If there was anything you could do over the summer what would it be? BE: I’m trying to go to all four days of Lollapalooza. So that’s my goal right now. It’s running a little expensive so we’ll see if I can get that done. CP: What are some of the challenges you feel student athletes face today? BE: I’d say finding free time. Since we have softball, when it rains it’s especially hard because we have to pack so many games
in on days that we can. There’s a lot of travel, and you’re gone a lot more time than you expect. It’s hard to get all your homework done and making sure that you’re doing everything. There’s a lot of things online, and you gotta make sure you find the time where you have internet. I feel, especially at COD, the teachers are super understanding. CP: Do you feel that the relationship with your teammates has helped with the college transition and what you just described? BE: Definitely, especially since I’m new here this year. I was a little nervous to see how I was going to interact with the team and how they’d help me transition, but I felt I fit when I got here. I feel it helped me feel more comfortable
with the environment in general. That helped make it easier to get help when I needed it. So it made for an easy transition to COD. CP: What would you say your favorite softball memory is? BE: When I was younger I had this trip to (ESPN’S Wide World of Sports) at Disney in Florida, and it was this super cool experience. You get all these passes to Disney and play on these really nice fields. I was actually put into a magazine when I was there with a picture of me playing. CP: Is there a COD memory? BE: I would have to say our trip as a softball team down to Florida. It was whole 10 days, and I felt that it really helped bring
us closer as a team. There was great bonding, and we were able to play some tough competition. CP: What would you say is your favorite part of being on the field? BE: Being a part of a team is my favorite part. So much of softball is individual plays. It’s nice to be contributing to a larger goal. It’s great to know that you can pick each other up and not worry about playing for yourself. CP: Did you have aspirations outside of softball? BE: I originally wanted to attend ISU to become a high school health teacher, but then being at COD has helped me refine my love for softball and made me want to continue.
THINKING ABOUT SUBMITTING A LETTER? Letters to the editor must not exceed 500 words. If you choose to include citations, please do so in the text, as we can not accept footnotes.
Jacob Sanchez Diagnosed with autism
All submissions must be sent to editor@cod.edu, with the subject title “Letter To The Editor.” Lack of speech is a sign of autism. Learn the others at autismspeaks.org/signs.
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MUSIC Gorillaz: Humanz
ALBUM REVIEW
Kitt Fresa · News Editor
“HUMANZ” SPOTIFY
After a six year wait Gorillaz have finally made their return with a vast album filled with guest appearances that give it a sound that is simply not the Gorillaz . For most of its career, Gorillaz has established a certain mystique, a ominous vibe of superb music that cuts through the rest of the crowded lists of artists. Through “Demon Days,” Gorillaz tapped into something not many other bands had before. They made their own genre. The sounds off that album were new, exciting and breathed much needed life into an ugly time in music. But the spot where Gorillaz had placed
themselves on music’s wide range of genres was
uncharted territory. To try and throw Gorillaz into a previously established genre was impossible. They weren’t something that had already been done before, and that’s what people from all over the world fell in love with. Gorillaz’ last album,
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“Plastic Beach,” was released in 2010 and once again showed h o w g r e a t Gorillaz can be. Songs like “On Melanchol y Hill” and “S t ylo” captured a u d i ence ’s ears once again after their earlier work. “ P lastic Beach” was excellent, but it didn’t quite reach the same level of greatness that “Demon Days” achieved. After the mad success of “Demon Days”, Gorillaz released some smaller and weirder collections, a few years later “Plastic Beach,” and then faded into dark-
ness. Gorillaz had been vacuum sealed in greatness in their absence from the music scene. For six years that seal has lasted, until now. “Humanz” has just been released and has reopened that long-awaited seal of g re a t n e s s . Unfortunately though, Humanz doesn’t live up to what Gorillaz has worked so hard to establish. In fact, it feels like in this world of synonymous music that Gorillaz has always escaped, is now what Gorillaz is trying to be apart of. The album, as a whole, sounds familiar, but too much like something Go-
rillaz isn’t. “Humanz” is an album so different from their previous work that it’s difficult to decipher whether it’s really them.
That’s because almost the entire album isn’t them. Only one song lacks a feature, “Busted and Blue.” The rest of the album is crutched by countless features. That’s not to say features can’t be great, but
Gorillaz takes it too far. It feels like not only have they conformed to the plain normals of synonymous music, but they’ve also recruited its help in making this oversaturated album. All’s not lost though. There are songs in “Humanz” that sound iconically true to Gorillaz. “Charger,” featured with long-lost 80’s mega star Grace Jones, feels very new and rare to Gorillaz. It sounds closer to Nine Inch Nails than any of their previous work, but it sounds great anyways. Grace Jones’ iconic evil laugh combined with a heavy guitar, elec-
MUSIC
tronics and vocals from Damon Albarn make this song sound evil but exciting at the same time. The best song on the album, “Andromeda” featured with D.R.A.M., feels like a trip back to “Plastic Beach.” The light and quick electronics combined with Demon Albarn’s very recognizable vocals take Gorillaz fans back to what their music used to be, but with an updated style. It feels like it was the admirable direction Gorillaz wanted with the album, but failed to really nail. The most important song on this album, though, is “Saturn Barz”
because of how split it is between what Gorillaz used to be and what it is now. The beat sounds updated but ominous and
classic. It sounds very close to something Deltron 3030 would have rapped over, most likely because Dan Nakamura is from both Deltron 3030 and Gorillaz, and is likely to
have had an influence over that particular beat. However, it’s the vocals where the disconnect lies. Rapped over by Popcaan, a Jamaican reggae star, “Saturn B a r z ” feels like two different s o n g s played on top of each other. Popcaan’s vocals just sound ultimately contrary to Gorillaz’ b e a t , and it takes a song that could have been amzing into something that just has a great beat. Popcaan is by no means a bad artist. This song just feels like it’s two worlds collid-
ing that don’t mix at all. For the majority of this album I found myself not wanting to go back for a second or third listen. Some of the songs off of “Humanz” were just flat out annoying and difficult to listen to, while others just sounded boring, like Gorillaz had just been going through the motions of making beats and handing it off to another feature to make it more interesting. There are definitely songs on here that are great, like “Andromeda,” “Momentz” and “Charger,” but none of these songs match the previous level of greatness Gorillaz
achieved. “Humanz” isn’t a bad album, but isn’t great either. Any song of off
“Humanz” simply can’t win any battles against songs like “Feel Good Inc.,” “Clint Eastwood,” or “On Melancholy Hill.” This six year wait that has kept so many of us hyped up and excited for “Humanz” has felt like it was for nothing.
I would’ve gladly waited another two, or even three years, to hear something m a t c h that level of authenticity and unique greatness that Demon Days had achieved. No doubt that still c o u l d n’t happen e i t h e r though, it’s not like any members of Gorillaz are dead but it feels like their latest album very much is already. Humanz just feels unauthentic to what Gorillaz is. After listening to “Humanz” I’m not sure that wishing for another “Demon Days” is worth waiting for any longer.
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MUSIC
It Came from Bandcamp Three albums you should know Lucas Koprowski · Editor-in-Chief
With the advent of the internet, music has become a commodity. Anyone anywhere can make music and self-publish their work on a number of popular independent platforms. One of the most popular, yet somehow at the same time not well known, is Bandcamp - a place on the internet where any type of music from across the globe has a home. The list of genres exceeds my own awareness of how vast music has branched and twisted into, with many genres sprouting as many sub-genres as there are species of grass. Since the beginning of this year, there have been three releases that struck a chord with my ear drums and convinced me to buy their work.
Being You Is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often – Quelle Chris
Mainstream rap and hip-hop has devolved into a platform for artists to brag about how much money they’ve accumulated and all the drugs they consume on the regular. Excluding more recent artists like Kendrick Lamar, the scene has become a formulated mixand-match of artists who talk about the same stuff, sound similar, and tend to create fake drama in order to fluff album sales like Kanye West and Rick Ross. Quelle Chris is the antithesis to this mainstream contingency. Although it’s great to make money from producing music, this practice of producing to sell rather than to make art has brought down the quality of the scene. Chris used Bandcamp to release one of the most experimental rap albums of the past couple of years. His beats lay bass heavy. His voice is mysteriously sharp. His lyrics are poetry instead of inflation. His music is far from being anywhere near radio-bangers like G-Easy or Drake, but his lyrical prowess plays with concepts these rappers haven’t come close to touching in years.
Genre: Rap Similar to: Milo, Danny Brown
Top 3 Tracks: Buddies; Popeye; I’m that N!#%A
Mary Bell LP – self titled
This self-titled LP from the small Paris-based band Mary Bell has become a staple of my car rides to and from College of DuPage. Their garage-grunge sound, mixed with the constant drowning distortion from the guitar, has me reminiscent of Sex Bo-Bomb from the film “Scott Pilgrim vs the World.” The band from this film has a very specific style of garage-punk that you can only see in up-and-coming bands. The sound is almost primal, with its low-fi lyrics that you can barely understand, and the instrumentals fighting those vocals like two gorillas in a brawl. The constant battle made their music so enthralling to both listen and watch perform throughout the movie. Mary Bell has succeeded in adopting the more low-quality sound in order to make their music beyond lively and ridden with personality in comparison to any other punk band on Bandcamp. The french female vocalist sounds almost American with her enunciation. The fire in her voice blends well to create a slab of noise that many mainstream punk and metal bands have yet to produce.
Genre: Garage-punk Similar to: Sex Bo-Bomb, The Orwells (their debut album)
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MUSIC
healing – In Love With A Ghost
I use music as a way to both express my own emotions and to escape reality. The past two selections helped me deal with stress and anxiety with the amount of fire and complex tones throughout both Chris’s and Mary Bell’s track listings. In Love With A Ghost is an electro artist who specializes in teleporting you to another dimension with their layered production and other-worldly tones. I could swear this collection sounds like something out of a videogame similar to Undertale. The album has so many emotions interlaced in each track, as well has its own personality to add to this cover-to-cover journey. The songs range from being the lengths of interludes to almost four minutes. However, each is treated like a new scene rather than a continuation of the one before. The true kicker of this album for me has been how much happier I become when I finish listening to the collection. Music in general has a lot of control over my emotional attitude, and can even prolong feelings of sadness and being alone if I accidentally find myself falling into the sad side of Spotify or Bandcamp. “healing” provides a medicine-like euphoria, and helps me climb out of slumps which seem insurmountable.
Genre: electronic Similar to: Spazzkid, Slime Girls
Top 3 Tracks: i was feeling down then i found a nice witch and now we’re best friends; welcome at azerty and qwerty’s home; qwerty enchanted the house and now it’s attacking us Follow us on social media:
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Gorillaz- Andromeda (feat. D.R.A.M.) Genre: Electronic, Alternative Similar to: Neon Indian, Gnarls Barkley Off of Gorillaz new album “Humanz,” “Andromeda” soars as the best song of all. It has bits and pieces of Gorillaz classic sound with an updated new form. Damon Albarn leads with his vocals and takes us back to a time where Gorillaz was just Gorillaz and not oversaturated with other assisting artists. “Andromeda” is most definitely a happy and easy song to listen to, but if you’re just getting into Gorillaz, stick to “Demon Days.” —Kitt
Sound of Walking Away – Illenium & Kerli Genre: Future Bass Similar to: Said the Sky, Seven Lions 2017 has proven to be a good year for Unlike Pluto with his past release of Everything Black receving over a million hits and his exceptional follow up with Sweet. It is a bit more fast paced than his previous mixes and has an almost jazzy tune to it. The beats along with Mister Blonde’s sultry and sexy vocals make it all the more attractive. It’s a song you can dance to, and despite the lyrics being slightly odd, they are probably relatable in the sense of drug addictions in a relationship. Along with that, the sensation of summer definitely comes from this song and we just can’t wait.—Alizay
The Smith Street Band - Death to the Lads Genre: Punk Similar to: Jeff Rosenstock, My Chemical Romance Usually, emo music couldn’t be farther from my sort of bread and butter. However, when my favorite musician, Jeff Rosenstock, preps an Australian band to play emo music, I have no other option but to give them a chance. The unusual Aussie accent on the lead man is the only aspect that makes this music anywhere near individualistic, however that one difference is the reason why I keep going back to their new album “More Scared of You Than You Are Of Me.” This single difference is an anomaly in the emopunk scene, and I love it. —Lucas
Post Malone- White Iverson Genre: Trap Similar to: Desiigner, Lil’ Yachty In Post Malone’s first hit song, White Iverson, the description of the Hall of Fame point guard brings up memories that bring joy to many basketball fans. The hazy and rhythmic beat allows the listener to sit back and enjoy the thoughts of the famous crossover and more often than not the stepover. The young rapper does a great job of allowing you to admire the now retired Iverson and at the same time rekindle the fire for isolation basketball -Carlos
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