ANOTHER LOSS
ROAD TRIP
The Eastern men’s basketball team lost to Jacksonville State 75-56 Thursday night.
The Eastern men’s tennis team hits the road this weekend, making its way to Wright State and Dayton. PAGE 7
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D aily E astern N ews
Friday, February 2, 2018
“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID ”
CE L E B RATI NG A CE NTUR Y OF COV E RA GE
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VOL. 102 | NO. 95
W W W . D A I L Y E A S TE R N N E W S . C O M
‘Take-A-Knee’
Students explore, discuss national movements By Andrew Paisley Campus Reporter | @Andrew_Paisley1 Police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement were two topics explored at the “Take-A-Knee” movement, a discussion hosted by the University Board. Del Marion, a representative of the Inclusive Cultural University and the keynote speaker of the discussion, said a lot of the criticism of the Take-A-Knee movement stems from coaches and figureheads in the sports business. “The problem is that these coaches and other people do not want their players to kneel during the national anthem, because it will anger some people,” Marion said. “When that happens, these coaches believe that they won’t sell a lot of tickets at games.” Marion also discussed how the Black Lives Matter Movement is affecting the country. Tony Talley, public relations coordinator for the University Board said it has a big impact. “I think that it is a peaceful protest, which brings interest in the movement to more people,” Talley said. “It still is very unfortunate that a small percentage of people in the country still have not been affected by the movement and sadly don’t have a desire to learn more.”
Take-A-Knee, page 5
JORDAN BOYER | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Alleluia Musabyimana, a senior sociology major, Marciall Anthony, an Eastern visitor and Maya Lee, a junior psychology major, laugh with each other at ‘Take A Knee’ Thursday night in the University Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.
CAA reviews 2015 HLC proposal for general education By Brooke Schwartz Administration Reporter | @brookesch_wartz At a discussion before the Council on Academic Affairs meeting on Thursday, CAA members went over the 2015 Higher Learning Commission proposal for the regulation of general education courses at Eastern. The HLC will review Eastern again in 2019 to see if the recommendations to create a more structured and unified general education program are being implemented or if progress has been made. Rebecca Throneburg, a communication disorders and sciences professor, was on a committee in 2014 that researched the best way to format general education syllabi and reduce redundancies within Eastern’s current general education courses. Throneburg presented the general education committee’s findings and showed the example syllabi the committee came up with. Throneburg said current general education courses resemble high school courses that students have already taken; the courses touch on many different subjects but do not get into any one subject too deeply. “If (students) have one last science class with (Eastern), what’s the nature of the one last science class that (students) need to get? Is it so (students) know facts, (it’s) not going to be their major, they need to know facts about (the professors’) discipline? Or they need to be able to basically say ‘I’m taking a geology/geography class, and now I’ve learned that I can consume science news better and I can be a better edu-
cated science reader for the rest of my life’,” Throneburg said. “I think that’s kind of a different mindset.” The model syllabi Throneburg showed included a more specific integration of the learning goals current course proposals have to include. “If you’re going to teach a learning goal, you can’t just have 12 weeks of topical content. We want to see the topical content, we want to see time in class to teach the learning goal (and) to practice the learning goal,” Throneburg said. Academic adviser Greg Aydt said the specifics of the syllabi prompted discussion about whether Eastern should try for a broad general education program or more narrowed one. “Some places want to have more options (for general education programs), some places want to (focus more on general education programs),” Aydt said. CAA chair Stacey Ruholl, director of adult fitness, said Eastern’s choice general education program along with structure has to be decisive before any changes happen. “There’s a lot that needs to be figured out, it feels like, before we can really gung-ho and let’s get the courses changed,” Ruholl said. “There’s a lot of background decisions that need to happen first.” A discussion of general education courses will continue Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. in room 4440 of Booth Library. Brooke Schwartz can be reached at 581-2812 or at bsschwartz@eiu.edu.
BROOKE SCHWARTZ | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Rebecca Throneburg, a communication disorders and sciences professor, reads from a report that the general education committee she was a part of wrote back in 2014. The discussion of regulating general education courses comes from a recommendation written by the Higher Learning Commission when it reviewed Eastern in 2014.
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Visit our website: dailyeasternnews.com About The Daily Eastern News is produced by the students of Eastern Illinois University. It is published daily Monday through Friday, in Charleston, Ill., during fall and spring semesters and twice weekly during the summer term except during university vacations or examinations. One copy per day is free to students and faculty. Additional copies can be obtained for 50 cents each in the Student Publications Office in Buzzard Hall. The Daily Eastern News is a subscriber to McClatchyTribune Information Services. aaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Advertising To place an advertisement or classified ad in The Daily Eastern News, call the ads office at 5812812 or fax 581-2923. Visit our online advertisements at dailyeasternnews.com/classifieds. Comments / Tips Contact any of the above staff members if you believe your information is relevant. aaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Corrections The Daily Eastern News is committed to accuracy in its coverage of the news. Any factual error the staff finds, or is made aware of by its readers, will be corrected as promptly as possible. Please report any factual error you find to Editor-in-Chief Cassie Buchman at 581-2812. Employment If you would like to work for The Daily Eastern News as a reporter, photographer, columnist, cartoonist, copy editor, designer or videographer, please visit at the newsroom at 1802 Buzzard Hall. Printed by Eastern Illinois University on soy ink and recycled paper. Attention postmaster: Send address changes to: The Daily Eastern News 1802 Buzzard Hall Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL 61920
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2018
State and Nation THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Despite objections, Trump OK with release of classified memo
Ill. tax credit scholarships on hold
WASHINGTON (AP) — Over the strong objections of his own Justice Department, President Donald Trump will clear the way for the publication of a classified memo on the Russia investigation that Republicans say shows improper use of surveillance by the FBI, White House officials said Thursday. The memo, prepared by Republicans on the House intelligence committee, is said to allege FBI misconduct in the initial stages of its investigation of potential ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign. Trump’s Justice Department and Democrats furiously lobbied Trump to stop the release, saying it could harm national security and mislead the public. A White House official said Congress would probably be informed of the decision Friday, adding Trump was “OK” with its release. A second White House official said Trump was likely to declassify the congressional memo but the precise method for making it public was still being figured out. The officials were not authorized to be quoted about private deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity. The FBI’s stance means that Trump, by allowing the memo’s release, would be openly defying his own FBI director. It
CHICAGO (AP) — More than 24,000 Illinois families were unable to submit applications to the state’s new private school scholarship program because the online registration system shut down due to “extreme demand.” Empower Illinois is one of the organizations overseeing the Tax Credit Scholarship program, which was made available through the Invest in Kids Act. Lawmakers approved the controversial $75 million tax credit program last year as part of a school funding overhaul. It aims to assist families with certain incomes by offering scholarships that cover 50 percent to 100 percent of the cost to send a child to private school. Empower Illinois said Wednesday that it didn’t have an estimate for when applications could be accepted online again.
also suggests a clear willingness by FBI Director Christopher Wray, who in the early stretch of his tenure has been notably low-key, to challenge a president who just months ago fired his predecessor, James Comey. Trump has said he wants the memo released even after the FBI declared Wednesday that it has “grave concerns” about its accuracy. The document was written as part of an effort to reveal what Republicans say are surveillance abuses by the FBI and the Justice Department early in Russia investigation, before special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to take it over. Senior FBI officials have also made direct appeals to the White House, warning that it could set a dangerous precedent. Democrats call the memo an attempt by Republicans to distract attention from the investigation into Russian meddling in the election that sent Trump to the White House. Democrats on the intelligence panel made a last-ditch effort Wednesday evening to stop the release, saying it had been “secretly altered” by the Republicans who wrote it. This all comes as special counsel Mueller is investigating whether the
Trump campaign improperly coordinated with Russia and whether Trump sought to obstruct the inquiry by, among other actions, firing Comey. Republicans have intensified their pressure on the Justice Department as Mueller’s probe has moved closer to Trump’s inner circle. Trump has been telling confidants in recent days that he believes the document will validate his concerns that the FBI and Justice Department conspired against him, according to one outside adviser familiar with those conversations but not authorized to speak publicly about private discussions. Some Senate Republicans have also urged caution. South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 3 Senate Republican, said the Senate intelligence committee hasn’t seen the memo but should before it comes out. He also urged the House committee to listen to the Justice Department, saying they need to pay attemtion to “what our folks who protect us have to say” about the effects on national security. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell deflected questions about the memo, saying at a press conference with Ryan that the speaker is "doing this just right."
State Supreme Court deems gun ban near parks unconstitutional CHICAGO (AP) — An Illinois law banning guns within 1,000 feet of public parks violates a right under the Second Amendment to carry a weapon outside the home for self-defense, the state Supreme Court concluded in a unanimous decision issued on Thursday. The 7-0 ruling came in the criminal case of Julio Chairez, who had appealed his 2013 conviction for having a gun near Aurora’s Virgil Gilman Trail park, just west of Chicago. In addition to striking the law, Thursday’s ruling also vacated Chairez’s conviction. Thursday’s ruling is in line with oth-
er rulings over recent years by the state’s high court and the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Court of Appeals that found Illinois bans on citizens from carrying guns outside the home were unconstitutional. Such rulings have forced Illinois lawmakers who back tougher gun control laws to rethink their approach. In his ruling, Karmeier says there are too many scenarios under the park law in which “innocent behavior could swiftly be transformed into” crimes. People living by parks could be charged simply by walking from their houses to their cars carrying a legal gun. To avoid breaking the law, he says, they
would have to disassemble their guns each time they leave home, then reassemble them after driving far enough away. The executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, Richard A. Pearson, welcomed Thursday’s ruling. “If you make all these 1000-foot restrictive zones, then chain them together, there’s no place you can go with a firearm,” he said. “They’re always unconstitutional.” But Thursday’s ruling says the state presented scant evidence that bans on guns in or near parks offered added protection to children or anyone else.
Measuring Great Lakes protection ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A program intended to monitor the effectiveness of Great Lakes protection efforts has established goals and ways to measure progress toward achieving them. The Blue Accounting Initiative grew out of a 2013 conference of governors and premiers from the region’s states and Canadian provinces. They agreed a system was needed to determine whether the billions of dollars devoted to Great Lakes protection were being well spent. The Great Lakes Commission and The Nature Conservancy operate the initiative. The goals they announced Thursday include protecting drinking water sources from excessive nutrients and emerging contaminants; making sure public water systems have up-to-date management and spill prevention systems; and building regional agreement on other strategies for protecting source waters. The initiative is looking for local success stories as examples others could follow.
TODAY ON ON CAMPUS: TODAY CAMPUS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2018
Friday Focus: Physics professor interviewed on NPR about experience with ‘Visa Lottery’ Editor’s Note: This is our weekly column where we highlight awards, grants and other accomplishments given to Eastern’s students, staff and faculty. If you have a new item you would like highlighted, contact deneic@gmail.com. Staff Report | @DEN_News Physics professor Abdel Adjibade was interviewed on Wednesday for NPR. On the program, he talked about coming to the United States through the visa lottery pro-
g r a m . He w o n i n 2 0 0 3 a n d came to the U.S. in 2004. About 50,000 people each year win entry to the U.S. through the visa lotter y program, according to NPR. During the inter view, Adjibade shared what his experience was like with host Mary Louise Kelly. It can be h e a r d a t : h t t p s : / / w w w. n p r. org/2018/01/31/582240533/ science-teacher-shares-his-journey-after-winning-the-greencard-lottery?sc=tw The Staff can be reached at 581-2812 or dennewsdesk@ gmail.com.
C AMPUS BRIEFS
CUPB to look at Union, Textbook Rental Services budgets at Friday meeting Staff Report | @DEN_News T h e C o u n c i l o n Un i v e r s i t y Planning and Budgeting will look at the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union and Textbook Rental Services’ budgets at its meeting Friday. The meeting is set for 2 p.m. in room 4440 of Booth Library.
At its last meeting, the CUPB heard a report on enrollment. Next month’s report is set to be on new academic programs, including 1-and-2-year-out reports on new programs from FY16 and FY17. The News desk can be reached at 581-2812 or dennewsdesk@gmail.
THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS | NEWS
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CAA approves degree in electrical engineering By Brooke Schwartz Administration Reporter | @brookesch_wartz The Council on Academic Affairs approved a new electrical engineering major at its meeting Thursday. Presenting the proposals were Douglas Brandt, the pre-engineering program coordinator and engineering professor Jie Zou. Currently, the pre-engineering program consists of students being at Eastern for 2-3 years and completing their degree at another university. Brandt said the goal of this new major was to keep Eastern students longer. There will only need to be one faculty member hired to make this program happen, because the physics department and the pre-engineering program are coordinating their own faculty to make this happen. Digital systems and design, signals and systems, feedback and control systems, semiconductor device physics, senior design and an electrical engineering internship program, which will hopefully be guided by the new faculty hire, were several of the potential courses that were proposed to the CAA. CAA Chair Stacey Ruholl updated members on the naming committee that is charged with looking at renaming Douglas Hall. This naming committee the Faculty Senate recommended to look at Douglas Hall was called together by Eastern President David Glassman and includes various chairs from organizations on campus as well as other members. The committee has been charged with
BROOKE SCHWARTZ | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Douglas Brandt, coordinator of the pre-engineering program and engineering professor Jie Zou presented programs at the Council on Academic Affairs’ meeting on Thursday. The council approved Brandt and Zou’s proposal to add a new electrical engineering major to Eastern’s campus.
looking at the Faculty Senate’s recommendation to rename both Lincoln Hall and Douglas Hall to The Lincoln and Douglas Debate Hall East and West respectively, and will make a recommenda-
tion to Glassman later this year. Brooke Schwartz can be reached at 581-2812 or at bsschwartz@eiu.edu.
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4 OPINIONS STAFF EDITORIAL
The daily editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Daily Eastern News.
Those interested can inquire at opinions.DEN@gmail.com for all opinion questions, submissions and letters to the editor.
W W W. DA I LY E A S T E R N N E W S . C O M
Friday, 02.02.18
Solar drama
New statue would be a waste of student fees Between the budget impasse and the past few years, where fall enrollment has been getting lower, the last thing the university needs is to waste money at any level. In article from Thursday’s edition of The Daily Eastern News, the Student Senate discussed a proposed bill which calls for the spending of $5,950 on a bronze panther statue. According to the bill, this statue is meant to “increase school spirit, provide a mascot on campus and offer a photo destination for prospective students, current students and alumni.”Though we agree that the campus could use a little extra “school spirit,” The Daily Eastern News editorial board wants the student government to find ways to fix the problems on campus before we can focus on fixing everyone’s “morale.” We cannot help but notice that perhaps the student government’s priorities are out of whack. Maybe student senators and the student government’s executive board are not aware of the current fiscal insecurity that is affecting our campus. This statue will be paid for by money that was left over from the student government budget. This budget is composed of student fees and was a hefty $50,000 this year. Once again: these are student fees. In other words, the money that is tacked onto the bill everyone receives at the start of the year that many students are afraid to open. There are several students on The Daily Eastern News’ staff who have to work more than one job to pay for school, and we know they are not the only ones. Everywhere you look there are stories about students who struggle on a daily basis to make sure they have a degree, because it seems as though that is the only way anyone can have a better future. The last thing any of us want is knowing that our student fees are going to pay for a statue that’s only real purpose is to make the front of the library “pretty.” Not to mention, the effects of the budget impasse still linger across campus. Buildings and classrooms are still in disrepair, not because people do not want to fix them, but because the money to do so is not there. What we want to know is whether or not student government could use the funds and excess money they would have used for the panther statue on something more useful, which will leave more of a lasting impact on campus. Of course, we realize that there are some constraints on where student fee money can go and what it can be used for. However, looking into these constraints and ways they could fix problems on campus despite them would be a much better use of the Student Senate’s time. In reality, what benefit could having the statue really be, besides a place for people to maybe take pictures once in a while? Prospective students are not declining to go to Eastern because we do not have a nice, bronze panther. Alumni come back to see old professors and the places they remember from when they were students — they will not flock back just to take a selfie with a statue. One thing the student government is doing right in this case is asking for feedback, according to Thursday’s article. So, if you think this bronze statue is a bad idea, let them know. Tell the Student Senate what should be done with the student fees that you pay for. Go to their office hours in the Student Activities Center of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union, or email them to let them know. Now is the time to make your voice heard.
T h e D ai l y Eastern News
JALEN MASSIE | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Sean Says: Make the most of college It is weird to think that graduation is just over four months away. It feels like yesterday I came to visit Eastern in February 2014. The time has flown by, but I can say without hesitation that it has been the best four years of my life. I would not change what has happened. Even with all the “bad” things that have happened with Eastern over the years, I still would not trade it. I heard someone say the other day that they wish that Eastern was as fun as it was three years ago. The way I see it is that if you are not enjoying your time in college, it is your fault. It is so easy to get involved on this campus that you should not be bored. And if going to class and then going to Marty’s on the weekend is all you need to have fun, then that is fine. But hearing people say there is nothing to do here just confuses me. As cheesy as it is to say it, college is what you make it. I have been able to meet some of the greatest people, who I can call my best friends, here. I know for sure that saying bye to the people I met here will be tough,
Sean Hastings because I may never see them again. I know that I will see some of my best friends again post-college, but the ones I did not see often, yet still built a great relationship with, I may not. Those are the toughest. You only have four years, and while that may seem like a long time, it is not. I knew that when I got to my senior year that I did not want to be sitting there wondering what could have been in college. Eastern has so many opportunities that
no one should be bored here. I would rather be up to my head working for the paper, covering basketball games over the weekend and taking photos than going to class, going back to my apartment and doing nothing. To wrap up what I, and probably a majority of Eastern’s seniors, are thinking: where did the time go? Not once did it cross my mind wishing Eastern was what it used to be. To me, this place only got better with time. You meet more and more people as you go through your years, and pretty soon it is gone. I am not 100 percent sure what is waiting for me when I walk off that stage, but I do know that I have not wasted my time at Eastern or wish that it could have been better. Something is only not fun if you make it that way. Sean Hastings is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at smhastings@eiu.edu
There can be happiness after loss In November my dog, a Husky and Border Collie mix named Ramona, died from a 4-yearlong battle with cancer. Ramona was an 80-pound fighter. She tried pretending up until her very last day that she was not in pain, even though she could no longer walk or jump into the car because of a tumor that was growing on an internal organ. My family did not handle it well. My step-dad took her death worse than he did the death of his parents. I mourned for a week or so. Then, the loneliness of not having a dog to snuggle and hang out with set in. I realized that while I was sharing pictures of dogs that were currently at the Coles County Animal Shelter, I wanted a dog exactly like Ramona. I feared that dogs different from her would lack the personality and temperament of Ramona if they were not a similar breed, so I decided to stand firm and wait for the right dog to come along. On Tuesday night, my mom tagged me in the animal shelter’s post about a black German Shepard named Sasha. She looked almost identical to Ramona, but she did not have the white spot on her chest or white-spotted sock paws like Ramona did.
Liz Stephens My sister Sara and I fell in love with her, but we worried that my stepfather, Phil, would not be ready for another dog and tell us no. I woke up Wednesday morning and told Phil that Ramona’s twin was at the animal shelter and I wanted to go see her and possibly adopt her. I showed him pictures, and he was sold on getting her. It melted my heart when he said “I would gladly take another Ramona.” With absolutely no shame, I skipped my class to go see Sasha and ended up adopting her. Her previous owner, from what we were told by the workers at the animal shelter, had gone to
jail and did not come within the allotted 7-day period to get Sasha back and lost their rights to her. The last owner let her get a severe flea infestation, to the point that Sasha has a bald spot on her lower back that needs to re-grow from her biting the fleas. She was treated at the animal shelter for them, but I do not see how an owner who took care of their dog could let it get that severe. The staff members at the animal shelter were extremely supportive and made it beyond easy to take Sasha home that day. Granted, my mom and Phil both knew some of the staff, so it was a lot easier and less complicated than I had expected. Since being home, Sasha has blossomed into a smiley and happy dog that loves naps in front of the French doors in the kitchen. In honor of Ramona, I have decided to take Sasha with me to more places, take more pictures of her and spoil her even more than I spoiled Ramona. This may be a new start for Sasha, but for me it is just awesome to know she is happy and healthy with a good home. Liz Stephens is a junior journalism major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or ejstephens2@eiu. edu.
Editorial Board Editor- in-Chief Cassie Buchman
Managing Editor Analicia Haynes
Opinions Editor Carole Hodorowicz
Sports Editor Sean Hastings
Photo Editor Jordan Boyer
Online Producer Olivia Swenson-Hultz
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2018
»
Take -A-Knee
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Marion described a situation at a school in Des Moines, Iowa, where a young African-American student sent out a selfie, which was posted by another student to a chat forum. Marion said this caused a lot of racial issues resulting in many people wanting to shoot all the African-American students at the school. “When I heard about this incident, I immediately called the staff at the school and they allowed me to intervene and be a part of a community discussion that addressed why this incident took place,” Marion said. “This was really when I realized that something needs to be done to promote change in our country.” Marion also said an audit was done at the school, which led people to realize that an enormous amount of African-Americans were being suspended for things that white students were getting away with. Audience members were asked to rate their stance on different issues based on percentages of intervals of 10. Alleluia Musabyimana, a senior
THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS | NEWS
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sociology major, said she believes that under 50 percent of the country believes in unity of all races. “I feel that the political climate in the country as a whole has been very divisive,” Musabyimana said. “Our president is provoking this divisiveness and the rhetoric is being very affected by his actions, causing the country to not be as united as it should be.” Hawah Abdulrasaq Coker, an immigrant and Muslim, has had her own experiences being judged by her race. “Back home, we do not feel that people are racist,” Abdulrasaq Coker, a junior biological sciences major, said. “My first week at Eastern, an African-American girl came up to me and asked if my forefathers sold my ancestors into slavery.” Abdulrasaq Coker said she felt very attacked by this comment because of the fact that her own ancestors were slaves. “ There is a lot of work, but there is still a lot of hate and resistance,” Abdulrasaq Coker said. “We really need to unite and work together to end all this hatred and racism.” Andrew Paisley can be reached at 581-2812 or at abpaisley@eiu. edu.
FIND US
JORDAN BOYER | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Del Marion, the keynote speaker for the “Take-A-Knee” discussion, talks with Kunmi Eholo, a sophomore business management major, Thursday night in the University Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.
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THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS | SPORTS
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OPINION| WOMEN'S BASKE TBALL
Rebounds lacking for women’s basketball team Rebounds did not abound for the women’s basketball team in its 50-59 loss to Jacksonville State on Thursday. While the defensive rebounds looked good on paper, it was the offensive rebounds that lacked for the Panthers. Jacksonville State outrebounded Eastern 15-7 on the offensive end. At times, no Panther even reached for a board. Sophomore forward Jennifer Nehls led the team with eight rebounds followed by sophomore guard Danielle Berry with six. Jacksonville State’s forwards Tasha Magruder and Rayven Pearson combined for 17 rebounds with Magruder pulling down nine boards. Jacksonville State grabbed 44 rebounds as a team to Eastern’s 35. Coach Matt Bollant said a big reason for the lack of offensive rebounding is lack of action from the post players when a rebounding opportunity arises. “That’s a frustration, honestly, because the posts are supposed to go to the boards all the time,” Bollant said. “For Grace McRae not to have an offensive rebound and for Jalisha (Smith) to not have an offensive rebound, and (Jennifer Nehls) had two… but typically (Danielle Berry) is our best offensive rebounder…but she shouldn’t have more offensive rebounds than our posts.” Nehls still leads the team with 112 total rebounds on the season, but Berry is not far behind; she needs just 12 more rebounds to tie with Nehls. McRae sits at 91 rebounds this year with Smith trailing by one. Bollant said that improving the posts’ put backs are crucial because losing out on those boards is hurting the team. “Our posts have to rebound the ball better, and that’s one of the things that’s killing our program right now,” Bollant said. McRae may have lent her team a few more re-
Kaitlin Cordes bounds had it not been for a bloody nose that kept her on the bench for much of the second half. Nehls picked up where McRae left off with three rebounds of her own with Berry and Smith contributing as well. A lack of rebounds on the Panthers’ part may have been largely due to a tight Jacksonville defense that freshman guard Karle Pace said lived up to it’s reputation. Pace admitted that the Gamecocks’ aggressive defensive strategy made it hard for her team to reach the basket. Eastern needs to step up its rebounding game before Saturday’s matchup against Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles had 33 rebounds per game, and they let opponents snatch just one more rebound in a game. In Tennessee Tech’s most recent loss to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, the Golden Eagles managed to out rebound the Cougars 41-39. Tennessee Tech’s Mackenzie Coleman pulled down 12 rebounds. In fact, Tennessee Tech went from having zero offensive rebounds in the first half, to grabbing 14 in the second half. They outrebounded Southern Illinois Edwardsville 27-18 in the second half alone. The Panthers have their work cut out for them as
K ARINA DELGADO | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Eastern foward Grace McRae guards Jacksonville State forward Rayven Pearson in the Panthers' 59-50 loss to the Gamecocks Thursday at Lantz Arena. The two forwards squared off in a pivotal rebounding matchup, with McRae grabbing five and Pearson finishing with eight. Kaitlin Cordes can be reached at 581-2812 or krcordes@eiu.edu.
far as rebounding. If the board game improves, so will the offense.
Men’s tennis team prepares for Wright State, Dayton By Vince Lovergine Men’s Tennis Reporter|@DEN_sports After winning its first match of the season against Chicago State, the Eastern men’s tennis team travels to Wright State and Dayton this weekend. The Panthers improved their record to 1-3 on the campaign, but received some good news about one of its players. Sophomore Freddie O’Brien was named the OVC men’s tennis player of the week, posting a 2-1 record in singles play to open the spring season. O’Brien moved his singles record to 3-1 on the year and 5-7 overall. O’Brien is the first Eastern men’s tennis player to win Player of the Week honors since Ryan Henderson in February 2016. “It’s a great thing to see,” O’Brien said. “ It makes me want to work harder and get going, and definitely a surprise.”
During his winning streak, O’Brien said it is important to focus on the weaknesses of his opponents, but he still wants to make sure he is doing the right thing. “Most of the time I just focus on myself,” he said. “I make sure I’m hitting good shape, working the ball from side-to-side, but I try to find their weaker side which could be back hand or forehand and trying to ingrain the backhand or just punish them into the backhand and look for the open court with the forehand.” While singles play is different than doubles play, O’Brien said adding another player to the sequence does not change much. “We try to keep it as simple as possible and we just do the basics right,” O’Brien said. In the match against Chicago State, seniors Grant Reiman and Jared Woodson earned their first wins of the spring season. O’Brien sees this as a step in the right direction.
“There really good leaders,” he said. “They really help all of us, especially the freshman, and me personally as well, push us towards our goals and they really want us to succeed, and it’s great to see those guys get wins because it helps them relax more and helps their game so much.” Eastern coach Sam Kercheval knows O’Brien is capable of putting up results on a consistent basis and that he will continue to succeed. “It’s a nice surprise,” Kercheval said. “ It’s nice to get that recognition. I don’t think anyone saw it coming, but frankly, I don’t think it really changes how we go about things. He was doing the right things before and he will continue to do that.” The Panthers played against Wright State and Dayton last season but dropped both matches by a score of 7-0. Wright State last season won its first match against Eastern, with the all-time series now
3-1 in the Panthers' favor. On the other hand, for Dayton a year ago, it also broke a two-match losing streak against the Panthers which brings the series record to an even 3-3. Coming into the matches against Wright State and Dayton, Kercheval said his team needs to fight, and the guys need to know their comfort levels. “The expectations are always the same,” he said. “It’s fighting hard, putting in great effort, do the things we’ve been working on, and not letting things change how we should be approaching the game, and that’s something we’ve done better over the last couple weeks.” Eastern now gears up for its fifth and sixth road matches of the season, with Wright State on Saturday at 5 p.m. and Dayton on Sunday at 11 a.m.
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Slow second half downs men’s basketball team By Sean Hastings Sports Editor| @DEN_Sports Jacksonville State is one of the top defenses in the league, as it leads in nearly every major defensive category. It showed just that in Thursday night’s win over the Eastern men’s basketball team. The Gamecocks used a 44-point second half to slip past the ailing Panthers 75-56. Eastern trailed Jacksonville State 31-29 at the end of the first half, seeming to hang around, but for the third game in a row, Eastern’s offense never hit its stride. “They kicked our butts pretty good,” coach Jay Spoonhour said immediately after the game. “That second half I thought we were slow to get back, so we were constantly playing from behind: catch-up.” Jacksonville State opened the second half on a 12-0 run and Christian Cunningham had a 6-0 run himself. The Gamecocks brought energy and set the tone for how the second half was going to go for Eastern, with two dunks to open the second half that sent the Jacksonville bench into a frenzy. “(Cunningham) puts himself in position to do that kind of stuff, because he is an athletic guy, he’s active, he knows how to play,” Spoonhour said. “Their team did a good job of catching it and passing the ball. They put themselves in good positions to get lay-ins.” Jacksonville State outscored the Panthers 38-14 in the paint. It was two different worlds for the Panthers and the Gamecocks there. Ask the Gamecocks to score in the paint, and they’ll provide. Ask Eastern to do it, and Jacksonville State was standing in its way. Spoonhour has said after most
K ARINA DELGADO| THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Senior Muusa Dama drives past Jacksonville State’s Christian Cunningham in Eastern’s 75-56 loss to the Gamecocks Thursday in Lantz Arena. Dama finished 11 points and six rebounds.
losses that the Panthers take shots that are not there or try to make a play that is not there. And that was the tale of the second half for Eastern. The 29-point and the 27-point halves for Eastern are nearly the same, but the journey to scoring those points could not have been different. Jacksonville State’s energy led to it making more defensive stops and took the Panthers out of their rhythm in the second half, Goodwin said.
“They pressured us and made us get out of our comfort zone,” Goodwin said. “They (were able to) turn that into offense. We didn’t come out ready, and if we come out more aggressive next we’ll get it.” Eastern may not have scored much in the first half, but it gave Goodwin confidence that Eastern may be able to turn it around, he said. “It felt like we were starting to gel together, then we just dropped the ball a little bit (in the second
half ),” he said. “We can’t just play a 20-minute half, we have to play a full 40-minute game.” Eastern took rushed shots rather than making a play to find the open player, but both Spoonhour and senior Montell Goodwin both said it was both Eastern doing it to itself and simply Jacksonville’s solid defense. “They pressure you, they make it hard on you, but we got to the line 20 times, but we probably needed to get there 35 times,” Sp o o n h o u r s a i d . “ We s e t t l e d ,
we stayed on the perimeter too much.” Spoonhour did not want to harp on players have to be in spots they are not used to, but still said they have to be able to go out and make the right plays. The loss dropped the Panthers to 3-8 in OVC play and have a chance to get back into the win column Saturday at home against Tennessee Tech. Sean Hastings can be reached at 581-2812 or smhastings@eiu.edu
Gamecocks’ defense too much for Panthers to handle
By JJ Bullock Assistant Sports Editor|@DEN_Sports
It has been a quarter by quarter season for the Eastern women’s basketball team this year, and the team’s 59-50 loss to Jacksonville State Thursday was no different. This time, however, it was not Eastern’s own faults that led to its quarter by quarter Jekyll and Hyde transformation.It was instead Jacksonville State’s No. 1 defense that caused issues for the Panthers, and would ultimately be the reason the Gamecocks beat Eastern, according to head coach Matt Bollant. “There has been quarters where it has been all us, where it hasn’t really been them at all. Tonight I thought it was probably a little more them,” Bollant said. “Where they are at, 8-3 in the conference, is because they are the best defensive team in our league.” Jacksonville State’s Rayven Pearson led all scorers in the game with 13 points. Freshman Karle Pace has an Eastern-high 12 points. Eastern trailed by as much as 14 in the first quarter, led by three at halftime, were shut down by the Gamecocks defense in the third, and did too little too late in the fourth quarter, in a game where once again, every quarter produced a different Panthers team on the court. In the first quarter of the game, it looked as if Eastern had no answers for Jacksonville State’s top ranked defense. The Gamecocks held them to just 3-of13 shooting and opened the game on a 16-2 run.
But come the start of the second quarter, something clicked and it was the Gamecocks that seemed to have no answers. The Panthers opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run that would turn into an eventual 21-9 pummeling of Jacksonville State in the quarter. The Panthers shot 53.8 percent in the quarter. Everything came to a halt for the Panthers in the third quarter. The Panthers shot just 3-of-13 in the third quarter and were held to just seven points. While Jacksonville State was an even worse 3-of-15 from the field in the quarter, all of its baskets were three-pointers and it took back the lead, never giving up for the duration of the game. “Jacksonville State stepped up and played better in the second half. They were better defensively,” Bollant said. “We had a great second quarter offensively and we just didn’t have a very good second half.” It is no surprise that a team with a defense as good as the Gamecocks felt confident enough to play one-on-one defense and that is exactly what they did in the second half to throw off the Panthers rhythm, according to Bollant. “They felt like they could guard us one-on-one and they didn’t help and they pressured the ball, and we needed to be able to get by and go make some plays,” Bollant said. “But give them credit;their defense was really good and I thought we fought and battled, we just didn’t make enough plays offensively, especially in the third quarter.” The loss drops Eastern to 1-10 in the
K ARINA DELGADO | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Eastern junior Carmen Tellez guards a Jacksonville State player Thursday at Lantz Arena in the Panthers 59-50 loss to the Gamecocks. Tellez had eight points in the game.
OVC. Jacksonville State continues its historic start and improves to 8-3. The loss for Eastern Thursday did not upset Bollant as much as recent losses in
games against Belmont and Tennessee State, because he felt his team played hard despite the outcome. Eastern will play at Lantz Arena against
Tennessee Tech Saturday at 1 p.m. JJ Bullock can be reached at 581-2812 or jpbullock@eiu.edu.