2023.03.08

1811 Buzzard Hall

Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL 61920 217-581-2812

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News Staff

Editor-in-Chief Madelyn Kidd DENeic@gmail.com

News Editor Cam’ron Hardy dennewsdesk@gmail.com

Photo Editor Rob Le Cates denphotosdesk@gmail.com

Assistant Photo Editor Ashanti Thomas denphotosdesk@gmail.com

Sports Editor Autumn Schulz densportsdesk@gmail.com

Assistant Sports Editor Kate Stevens densportsdesk@gmail.com

Opinions Editor Ellen Dooley denop.eds@gmail.com

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Editorial Adviser

Tim Drachlis

Photo Adviser Greg Cooper

Publisher Joe Gisondi

Business Manager Betsy Jewell

About

The Daily Eastern News is produced by the students of Eastern Illinois University. It is published weekly on Wednesday, in Virden, Ill., during fall and spring semesters and online during the summer term except during university vacations or examinations. One copy per week is free to students and faculty. Additional copies can be obtained for 50 cents each in the Student Publications Office in Buzzard Hall.

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UPD helps keep students, others safe during 2023 Unofficial

By Cam’ron Hardy News Editor | @DEN_news

Unofficial is one of the biggest student events on not on campus for Eastern students.

It is the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day for the community of Charleston, but with students being off campus due to Spring Break during the actual St. Patrick’s Day, they celebrate earlier. Students partied around the town of Charleston to celebrate the holiday annually People that attend typically engage in drinking, smoking, partying, as well as other activities.

In the past there have been car accidents. University Department Police Chief Marisol Gamboa said that her and the police staff have been planning how to handle Unofficial for about a month prior to the event actually happening.

“We were planning on putting additional officers on the street and on campus,” Gamboa said.

Gamboa said that her and the team worked with police officers being around the party site and visible.

“Hopefully [that] deters some of the individuals from being inebriated while driving,” Gamboa said.

Gamboa said the purpose of them being outside is to ensure the safety of those attending the event. While they are not there to prevent the parties, they are still there to protect citizens, and Gamboa said that if certain things were to happen such as safety violations or if the neighbors complain officers on duty could help.

Gamboa said the police force took other steps this year to prepare for the event. They posted on social media warning participants to be aware of not drinking and driving. The post also reminds designated

drivers to remain in that position and not drink because they cause everyone else is reliant on that person to take care of them.

Gamboa advised students to know their limit if they chose to participate.

“Know your limit, if you choose to consume alcohol and participate in Unofficial,” Gamboa said. “Make sure you know your limit, don’t get behind the wheel [if you’re drunk], find a designated driver. Don’t leave your beverages unattended. Make sure you stay in a group, stay [together], and consider your own safety because [each] student is responsible for their own safety. They have to take proactive measures and remove that opportunity of becoming a victim. Make sure their cell phones are charged at all times, because in case they get into a situation, their phone is the first thing to get emergency assistance to them.”

Those who attended Unofficial brought

their own ‘Borgs,” which gained fame on TikTok. Borg is short for blackout rage galleon and allow students to bring their alcohol instead of drinking whatever is served at the location of the party.

College students at different universities have been using them and they have gained popularity in the last month. It is safer because students are aware of what they are consuming.

Students sometimes write puny jokes on them such as “Borgan donor.” Borgs can also be concealed, unlike the typical red plastic cups. They are typically mixed with vodka and some sort of electrolyte but people can put whatever they choose in them.

Cam’ron Hardy can be reached at 581-2812 or at dennewsdesk@gmail. com.

Attention postmaster: Send address changes to: The Daily Eastern News 1802 Buzzard Hall

FRONT PAGE COVER BY MADELYN KIDD AND ROB LE CATES

ROB LE CATES | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Its Borg time: Unofficial takes over Charleston

2023 Unofficial takes over Charleston with motorized armchairs on the streets, a broken house porch, many TikTok Borgs, DJ after party

By Cam’ron Hardy News Editor | @DEN_news

Editor’s Note: The News only listed party-goers by their fist names only to prevent them being identified by readers.

The annual Unofficial event took place Saturday morning and entailed a broken porch, roof climbing, one ambulance call, a house ending the party almost two hours earlier than planned and many Borgs.

Unofficial is hosted every year at the University of Illinois and Eastern. Meant to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a “house crawl” fashion, the psuedoholiday is something many students look forward to every Spring.

A Borg is a “blackout rage galleon” and began as a TikTok trend. Borgs are a partially emptied gallon jug of water with the desired amount of alcohol added with any added flavoring to the water like Kool-aid.

There are parties set up all day long, but typically start 9 a.m. and end in the late evening or night.

People go from house to house enjoying music and drinks.

For the official parties, there were three official houses as a part of the house crawl before moving to Ike’s for the DJ after party.

One of the attendees, Ian, said he was having a good time at the event and looked forward to partying the rest of the night.

Ian’s friend, Emma said that she really enjoyed Unofficial as well.

“It’s great, I want to stay, I love it here,” Emma said.

She said that she looked forward to hanging out with her friends later.

Adriana and Onika also attended the parties. They said that they were partying since 10 a.m. and planned on partying until everything was shut down.

Adriana said she really enjoyed the environment and that everyone at the event was really “chill.”

Theo, another attendee, gave their thoughts about Unofficial and how unique it was.

“It’s really interesting to watch a lot of Eastern come together and celebrate this one holiday,” Theo said. They said it was their first Unofficial event but did not plan on going to another one.

“I feel like one is [enough], one-anddone,” Theo said. They did not like the amount of walking that they had to do to get from house to house.

They hope that everyone is safe and to watch out for their

friends

A group of friends also attended Unofficial together.

One of the members, Brandon, said they were there to carry on the tradition.

Another member, Josh, came down from Manteno, Ill., to celebrate with his friends.

“I know this is like the biggest day of the year, so I’m kind of expecting big shit to go down, you know. People breaking tables [and] the cops, I don’t know. I’m not [going to] be involved in that, but I want to witness it.”

Police officers remained in the area to watch out for civilians and to make sure everything was okay.

One person was taken away from the party in the back of an ambulance due to a call of being unconscious and potentially not breathing at the time of the 9-1-1 call.

One officer told a party-goer, “That’s an open container on a public sidewalk, take 10 people with you and move along.”

Another attendee, Dawson, said he was having a lot of fun and was partying before the actual parties started.

He also wanted people to be safe knowing that there are some reckless people that come out to Unofficial.

Cam’ron Hardy can be reached at 581-2812 or at dennewsdesk@gmail.com.

Preparing for Unofficial takes months to organize

By Cam’ron Hardy News Editor | @DEN_news

Unofficial is one of the biggest events of the year and there is much organization and preparation that goes into the day.

Unofficial took place March 4 and the day is filled with parties at multiple locations. At these parties, locations have to be set it and supplies must be bought prior to the event.

Jordan Socarras, a junior business administration, played a role in planning Unofficial.

Socarras said that he was already friends with the people that set Unofficial up in the past and said that he was “passed the torch” along with his other friends.

“For the past two months, we’ve been meeting regularly and planning the details to make Unofficial happen,” Socarras said.

To start out the process, Socarras said he and his friends hosted a T-Shirt competition and he said he and his friends had many submissions to choose from. After the design is chosen, they get the design put on the T-Shirts at a manufacturing company on 18th St. They provided the T-Shirts from Unofficial last year.

A party-goer shows off their “borg” at the first Unofficial house party Saturday morning, Mar. 4, 2023, in Charleston, Ill. A “borg” stands for “blackout rage gallon.” People make their own homemade drinks for both safety reasons and person taste. Several partygoers said they prefered to bring their own drinks so they know what’s in it.

The money from the T-Shirts goes towards the renting and getting other

supplies for the day.

Last year, 550 T-Shirts were sold for Unofficial, Socarras said, and this year, 835 shirts were sold. Socarras said that not everyone that attends Unofficial is expected to buy a shirt, so they were expecting a larger crowd, specifically 1200 to 1500 people.

Socarras said choosing the houses is the best part of preparing Unofficial.

Socarras said they already know some groups and Greek organizations on campus, so they know where to look in that department.

“We look around into who has a good yard to be able to hold that many people,” Socarras said. “So this year, is fun to kind of switch of switch up the scenery that they usually do for unofficial.”

One of the places that hosted an event was Ike’s. Socarras said that since it was his first year planning, he wanted to “add something different.”

“I know that after the house crawl ends, usually there is a dead period before anything happens at night, so I asked Ike’s if they would be willing to host a DJ out on their patio,” Socarras said.

The DJ was one of Socarras’s former coworkers at Pagliai’s Pizza.

“I know that he was [a member of Sigma Pi Fraternity] a couple years ago, and I know that he has some history DJing at Stews and Marty’s, so when I was trying to think of a DJ, he came to mind,” Socarras said. “I shot him a text and he was down, so we made it happen from there.”

Socarras said it was cool to see people from different universities to join the festivities.

He said people from Chicago, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Illinois State University came out.

“It really started to hit me how big this is gonna be when the news showed up to our T-Shirt handouts on that Thursday,” Socarras said. “So, it was really cool to see how big and how successful this event turned out.”

Socarras said the biggest goal of hosting Unofficial is making sure that the day runs as smoothly as possible and to take safety into consideration. He said safety is something that they try to take care of as best as they can.

Cam’ron Hardy can be reached at 581-2812 or at dennewsdesk@ gmail.com.

PHOTOS BY ROB LE CATES | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

The 2023 Unofficial house crawl started at 9 a.m., with the first party going until noon, then the second from noon to 2 p.m., then the final house party from 2 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

2023 Borg-official

By Rob Le Cates, Photo Editor | @robert_lecates

Partygoers walk through and around empty alcohol cans, cups, and 24-packs at the third Unofficial party house. The party was canceled after there was damage to the property and an individual left in an ambulance.

(Above) An older woman joins in the festivities of Unofficial getting bead necklaces draped over her and being bombarded for pictures at the second Unofficial party house.

(Right) A member of the Charleston Police Department talks to partygoers at the third Unofficial house party once the property owners wanted partygoers to leave the property.

The 2023 Unofficial house crawl started at 9 a.m., with the first party going until noon, then the second from noon to 2 p.m., then the final house party from 2 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

After being told to leave the third scheduled house party, partygoers walked down the street to another unaffiliated house party.

Opinions

Do not hold grudges against The News

A recurring problem for us at The News has been people holding grudges or hatred towards the newspaper for past instances. Recently on Saturday, the 2023 Unofficial occurred.

In the past editors of The News and Unofficial attendees have bashed heads in a disagreement stemming from The News’ coverage of the 2021 Unofficial which Eastern had asked students not to have due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The News’ coverage led to others being angry and threatening past editors. This anger carried over into last year’s Unofficial as well.

While for 2023’s Unofficial, the majority disregarded editors reporting on the house crawl, there were a few people who called us “ops” or “snitches.” Those comments were directed to editors who were not at Eastern during the coverage of 2021’s Unofficial.

When the editors relayed this to the group of attendees one of them said current staff members didn’t do anything wrong but The News did. It seems the anger stems from past experiences.

However, there is still one staff member who helped cover 2021’s Unofficial. They don’t hold an editor position this semester and will graduate at the end of this semester.

Quote of the Week:

After this semester, no one at The News will be a part of what caused students to be angry. Once the staff from 2021 is gone, your anger at The News’ should too.

It is unfair to hold grudges against The News and student journalists because of past experiences with reporters and editors who graduated years ago.

It is not just students who have held grudges against us.

Faculty and staff have also held grudges against The News and refuse to speak to us because of instances that occurred years ago. If you do not want to talk to us, that is your choice. However, do not attack our editors and reporters for experiences they were not a part of or don’t even know anything about what happened.

If the editors at The News upset you in 2013, don’t hold old grudges against current staff. We might be able to recognize a name but we do not know them. Therefore, the current staff does not know why you are mad, which is very frustrating for us.

We at The News are just trying to do our job and cover the Eastern community to the best of our abilities, and as students, we are still learning every day. We are student-run and there is no descriptive history that lists every altercation and burnt bridge The News has had.

We also cannot amend things if we do not know what happened and you refused to even speak to us.

However, some burnt bridges were done with reason, and we are not in the wrong in every altercation.

If you threaten us for little things, we are not going to pacify you. Don’t be an authority figure and threaten a staff member by saying a backhanded comment like “don’t make me regret talking to you” or someone who anonymously threatens the safety of our staff if your feelings are hurt. Past mistakes by past students are not any of the current students’ fault, so stop treating it like it is.

" That’s an open container on a public sidewalk, take 10 people with you and move along "

- CPD Officer assisting property owners of the third house in the crawl to remove party goers after they wanted everyone removed

We need to work together to stay safe at parties

At the end of this semester, I will have been in college for three years. It has been a very long journey, but an eye opening one as well.

I enjoy talking to prospective students about my experiences so far: the classes that I have taken, what professors have been amazing and the professors that have not been too helpful. I get lots of questions when I work for the admissions office and give tours.

I also get questions about making friends, meeting new people and student life overall. These are great questions to ask, because as a student on a college campus you will want to know what it is like interacting with other students. I always give students a warning about people that they may meet on campus as well.

As the weather gets warmer, more people plan to be on campus for different events and parties. I never tell my tours about things that happen off campus because I do not want to seem like I am promoting off campus parties or the culture of students that you may run into at these off campus parties.

Especially since I am usually in the presence of these high schooler’s parents, I just inform them that it is up to student’s dis-

Editorial Board

cretion to decide whether or not they would like to attend off campus events and I leave it at that.

But, in the back of my mind, I am usually thinking about things that I have seen off campus. I always encourage students to have at least one friend that they attend events with, go to the dining halls with or anything of that nature.

When it comes to off campus events, though, I do see it quite more often than not that people go to parties on their own.

As a recovering shy kid, I found it very difficult to even go to the lobby of my residence hall by myself when I was a freshman and

Madelyn Kidd Ellen Dooley

even a sophomore.

But now that I have walked this campus everyday since August of 2020, I definitely find it easier to do now than ever before.

But, it is a different story once you step off of Eastern’s campus. I have been stared down in grocery stores, come across flags and signs that do not make me feel comfortable, and I have seen things that definitely were not normal.

Going to parties in college, you will always encounter someone under the influence who may not need to be under the influence. Whether they are underaged, which most times we really cannot pinpoint, or if they are extremely intoxicated, I have witnessed it. I have had my own experiences where I would be with my group of friends and someone is acting completely out of the ordinary. Then you look at the people surrounding them and they do not know any of these people.

It is a sad reality, but going out in groups is your best bet to stay safe in any situation. Especially for the ladies. Going in a group makes it less likely that someone will be able to coerce you into leaving with them.

If you come with a group of friends, you must make sure that you are leaving any

event or function with those same friends. You never know who may be plotting on you or someone in your friend group.

If you are at a party and you have to use the bathroom, bring a friend with you to make sure you get to the bathroom and make it back. If you need to go outside for some fresh air, bring a friend with you to make sure you are okay and then go back to wherever you were once you feel ready. Lots of people may not believe in intuition, but I do. If you get a bad feeling while you are out that something may happen, it is time to leave. It is not our obligation to take care of one another, but you would want someone to do the same for you if you were in their shoes.

People who leave you while you are intoxicated in a strange place are not your friends. And you should be willing to help out other people who may have lost their friends or are not in the best condition. As a student body, we speak so much about our campus community, so the best way to strengthen that community is to help others out when you have the ability to.

Kyla Moton is a junior English/creative writing major. She can be reached at klmoton@eiu.edu or 217-581-2812.

Kate Stevens Cam’ron Hardy Autumn Schulz Rob Le Cates

Kyla Moton

Washington reflects on history left behind at EIU

By Autumn Schulz Sports Editor | @autschulz

EVANSVILLE, IND. — Eastern women’s basketball seniors Lariah Washington and Morgan Litwillers’ fourth straight OVC Tournament appearance ended in a 6661 loss, sealing the end to their careers as Panthers.

Both seniors improved offensively between last year’s OVC Tournament appearance and this year’s appearance.

Washington ended her career as a Panther by putting up 20 points. In last year’s OVC Tournament appearance, Washington put up 17.

Litwiller was able to contribute eight points and four rebounds during her last game as a Panther. Last year, Litwiller was able to put up six.

Head coach Matt Bollant said that being able to coach two players all four years of their collegiate athletic career is rare.

He reflected on the time that he went to see Washington play as a senior at Apollo High School in Minnesota.

“I remember when we went to Minnesota two years ago when she scored 23 [points] you know I thought she played great, we had a chance to win,” Bollant said. “Well, a lot of kids at the mid major level, you know, what’s the next best thing for me or could I play, you know, in Minnesota, the Big Ten. For Lariah to stick it out and help us get to where we’ve gotten is pretty neat.”

Bollant said that Litwiller worked through many injuries throughout her time as a Panther and that with both her and Washington staying on board with the Panthers, it has been amazing to coach them.

The Panthers made history during their 2022-2023 season as they broke and set the school record for consecutive wins in the OVC with 13-0. SIUE handed the Pan-

thers their first conference loss on the road. Washington herself made individual history during her time as a Panther. Washington earned three first-team All-OVC honors, making her the third player in school history to do so.

She is currently sixth on EIU’s all-time scorers list and her 616 career filed goals from the regular season ranks seventh in EIU history.

Her 310-career made free throws ranks ninth in school history.

Washington led the OVC in points per game with 16.6 and her 466 total points in the regular season also led the conference.

Throughout the season, Washington earned OVC Player of the Week three times.

Washington said that being able to have been a part of historic team like the Panthers is pretty special.

“It’s pretty unique to be able to just be a part of a team that can do this and just thankful to be able to do it with everyone and be able to do it at EIU,” Washington said. “It’s a good feeling and just thankful to do that with all these girls.”

Breaking history at home in Lantz Arena during the annual CARE game against Tennessee State was the defining moment for the Panthers this season and Bollant said he was thankful to see fans there cheering the team on.

He also said that the team brought joy to the community.

As both Litwiller and Washington leave the Panther basketball program behind in the hands of up-and-coming players, Washington said that they hope the team continues to improve.

“I would just say like, just continue to build just from what we have now and to keep building through all the hard times,” Washington said.

Macy McGlone is one of those up-andcoming players for the Panthers. Her regular season performance in the OVC earned her OVC All-Newcomer honors and she was able to put up a double-double in her first OVC Tournament appearance with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

She said that the one thing she took away from Washington’s and Litwiller’s leadership was to build off the foundation that they built.

“Morgan and Lariah have been here for four years, and they are just really great leaders,” McGlone said. “I think that me and some of the other girls on the team are gonna have to step up and fill that role and be the leaders on the team so we can be successful.”

ASHANTI THOMAS | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Senior guard Lariah Washington (22), protects the ball from a Tennessee Tech defender while making a one handed pass to a teammate at the Ohio Valley Conference Friday afternoon.

ASHANTI THOMAS | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS Sophomore forward Macy Mcglone (33), avoids the defender and attempts to score under the basket at the EIU women’s basketball game vs. Tenneesee Tech. The Panthers lost to the Golden Eagles 61-66.

Women’s basketball loses in OVC Tournament semifinals

By Kate Stevens Assistant Sports Editor | @katestevens25

EVANSVILLE, IND. – After a backand-forth game with Tennessee Tech, Eastern’s women’s basketball lost 6661 in the semifinal game at the OVC Tournament in Evansville, Ind.

The game started out with a 11-2 run by Tennessee Tech, but Eastern was able to get back in the game and kept it nearly even for the remainder of the game.

The Panthers gained momentum and trailed by just one point going into halftime. They went on to score 20 points in the third quarter and had a five-point lead as they went into the fourth quarter.

EIU had begun to work a system for getting buckets as they were able to get some strong passes down low to Macy McGlone, who ended up leading the team with 21 points.

This allowed them to go 10-of-12 for shots as they shot 83.3% from the field in the third quarter.

Trouble began for EIU in the middle of the fourth quarter.

As they had a 10-point lead with about six minutes remaining, Tennessee Tech was able to make some stops and get back to the even playing field that there was previously in the game.

The Golden Eagles’ strong offense and defense led to them stopping the Panthers from scoring in the last three minutes as they went on a 7-0 run to close out the game.

Tennessee Tech’s head coach Kim Rosamond said the team had to come together to figure out a way to stop McGlone.

“We had a little tough time guarding in the paint today,” Rosamond said. “Macy McGlone, she’s just a force.”

She said the team felt winded in the third quarter as EIU went on to gain the lead.

Rosamond also said the press they began in the later half of the season is what has helped turn their season around. She said it was also a factor in this game.

“That was a big key to this game was ball pressure,” Rosamond said. “We had to have ball pressure and I thought we did a great job of that. But the turning point of the game was the last five minutes when we went back to the press.”

Head coach Matt Bollant said he was proud of the team’s perseverance after the 11-2 start to the game. He said the team put themselves into a good position in the second half, but was unable to get things done.

“We just didn’t get enough stops down the stretch,” Bollant said. “We turned it over a couple of times and didn’t get as quite as good of shots as we could have gotten that fourth quarter.”

The team scored just 10 points compared the Golden Eagles’ 20 in the fourth quarter.

Bollant said that once the Golden Eagles gained the momentum as they began the 7-0 run, it was hard to get them stopped.

“I felt like they got some momentum

back,” Bollant said. “We just struggled to get the momentum stopped once they started going on a run. Give them credit, I felt like their two seniors really stepped up and made some great plays. But yeah, it just felt like with the momentum going against us, we just didn’t get that play to stop it.”

EIU statistically had a good game as McGlone recorded the double-double with her 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Lariah Washington had a strong presence on the court as she recorded 20 points. They had 44 points in the paint and had 13 second chance shots.

Washington said the team was confident coming into the game that they were going to take the win.

“We really wanted to win the game,” Washington said. “We were all confident that we were going to, so we were all just going as hard as we could in every play. So yeah, we had the mentality to do whatever we could to win, but it just didn’t go our way.”

Washington said she came into the game knowing they had to play their best basketball and the mentality was to win the game.

“Going into this game, me and Macy knew that we had to play a good game,” Washington said. “So, I just think we had that mentality coming into the game. We wanted to win more than anything. So even though we played a decent game, we just didn’t get the result we wanted.”

McGlone said she was not worried about the stats in the game, but she said it felt good to be able to contribute to the team. She said at the end of it all, the game is about who takes the win.

“I mean, I guess it felt pretty good,” McGlone said. “But in the end, it is about winning. So, I’m glad both of us could contribute so much, but I

wish we could have contributed a little more.”

McGlone and Washington had a season to remember as they averaged 13.3 and 15 points per game, respectively, in the regular season. They also led the team in rebounds per game. McGlone had 7.1 and Washington had 5.8. Along with a supportive starting five and a deep bench, EIU had a strong season.

The team certainly had a historic

season and were the team to beat for a majority of the conference season. The Panthers went on a 13-0 run in conference for the first time in history and they scored 66.9 points per game compared to their opponents’ 59.4 per game. They ended the season 21-8 under the reins of sixth year head coach Bollant.

Kate Stevens can be reached at 581-2812 or kestevens2@eiu.edu

BY ASHANTI THOMAS | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Macy McGlone (33), Lariah Washington (22), and their head coach Matt Bollant, answer questions for a post-game interview after their loss against Tennessee Tech at the Ohio Valley Conference championships Friday afternoon.

BY HAN BYER | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Eastern guard, Lariah Washington (22), attempts a 3-pointer while a Tennessee Tech player attempts to block her shot at the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Friday afternoon.