2023.09.06

EIU Weightlifting uplifts each other, newcomers

Part-time job fair educates students

The Daily Eastern News

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Freshmen offered new laptops

By Cam’ron Hardy News Editor | @DEN_News

Starting the Fall ’23 semester, all freshmen were offered new Dell laptops.

Eastern was offered a grant fund initiative for one year for the new laptops and Josh Norman, Vice President for Enrollment Management, thought about how to help students.

Due to the grant being funded by the federal funds, the new laptops were only available to domestic students.

“And so, the funds had specific stipulations from the standpoint of you know, they had to be US residents in order to be able to take advantage of the grant funds and then in lieu the laptops and so we basical-

ly allowed every incoming freshman have the option to have the free laptop,” Norman said.

Norman said that ten percent of students did not want the new laptops.

With the deal, Dell provided a maintenance plan through the four years that the students have the computers, so that students do not have to worry about their computer messing up.

“We’re really excited about getting that maintenance plan,” Norman said. “It’s been great for the students. Huge kudos to the library, and information technology services and admissions, they all work together to handle distribution during move in a week, and it really went seamlessly and so students were super excited to get their lap-

tops. I really wish we could do it every year, but again, these weren’t institutional funds. They were brand funds that funded these laptops.”

The computers were provided with the necessities for students to do their work, bug some do not have the programs for some majors such as graphic design.

“We made sure that students knew [that like,] ‘Hey, you may be in a program where you need a higher power computer,’ but the specs on it is pretty great,” Norman said. Students are able to keep the computers once they graduate.

Cam’ron Hardy can be reached at 581-2812 or at cahardy@eiu.edu.

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

FRONT PAGE BY TYRIQ JOHNSON AND HARPER HANCOCK

GRAPHIC BY CAM’RON HARDY | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

BSU concludes welcome week

By T.J. Seputis Reporter | @DEN_News

On Wednesday August 30, 2023, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Black Student Union concluded a week’s worth of welcome events by hosting “Kickin’ it On the Quad”, an event located on the south quad of campus.

The organizers set up oversized games such as bowling, Connect Four, mock axe throwing, yard pong, corn hole and more.

As the evening went on, attendance increased and there was a healthy crowd of students participating.

This year was the organization’s first time running the BSU Welcome Week. According to BSU Vice President Hannah Lawrence, a junior nursing major, welcome week was designed to “ ...bring the school year in right and have a week full of events for students to not only have fun, but understand what BSU does on campus and what we’re here for.”

Lawrence said that other welcome week activities included a party at the student union, a free bowling party and a panel targeted for freshmen. She hopes the BSU will gain visibility from Wednesday’s event and was pleased with the turnout on the quad and at other Welcome Week events.

Lawrence said the organization has had a lot of freshmen reach out to inquire about joining. Students that want to join the Black Student Union can go to the Student Life Office in the union building. Members must pay dues of $10 per semester; in return, they get a free shirt, access to all of BSU’s events, and leadership and event planning opportunities.

The organization’s first meeting is Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. in the Martin Luther Jr. University Union.

This semester, Lawrence hopes to incorporate field trips in the list of the group’s activities.

“We want to do more to not only bring students together on campus, but also allow them to experience things that are going around in Charleston and its surrounding areas,” Lawrence said.

Aniyah Smith, a junior psychology major reflected on what BSU offers.

“It’s a home for the black students on campus to get together and talk about whatever we need to within the black community,” Smith said.

Aniyah’s favorite activities at Wednesday’s event were the ax throwing and the oversized Connect Four game.

BSU member Kenneth Marshall, a senior majoring in kinesiology and a member and chapter basileus of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, was also in attendance at “Kickin It on The Quad.”

Marshall said, “I heard a lot of good things about it but, it wasn’t until I experienced it for myself, I was like man, is [sic] actually people I can relate to. We’re having conversations about topics that matter in society. It was just a good environment to be around.”

Kenneth’s favorite game at Wednesday’s event was the oversized Connect Four game.

T.J. Seputis can be reached at 5812812 or at tjseputis@eiu.edu.

BY MACKENZIE

Part-time job fair educates students

By Jacob Adcock Repoter | @DEN_News

With Students settling into their classes and getting familiar with their schedule, it is a perfect time to determine how much time they have for things outside of the classroom and extracurriculars.

Like most students, they want to find a job to have access to more opportunities, and of course, a source of income. At Eastern, a local Part-Time Job Fair was held and brought together outlets for students who are looking to fill their spare time with a job.

The job fair was held in the library quad from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and had over 15 booths full of information revolving around career options.

Anybody was welcomed and there were no requirements to attend. This allowed students to have better access to the countless numbers or resources presented to them.

The career services organization was able to put this event together for the third year in a row. They even had a booth for students to ask questions and learn more about their career options as a student attending Eastern.

The booth had three people working it which included Bobbi Kingery, the career services director, Diana Taylor who works as a counselor for the organization, along with student worker, Lindsey Quinn, a junior public relations major.

BY PRINCE PAPPOE

The three of them answered any questions students had for them. When asked why this job fair stands out to others Kingery said, “This is really nice for students because it allows them to have a onestop-shop to find part-time jobs that are right for them.”

With that statement Taylor had this to add, “It can be very overwhelming for stu-

dents to introduce themselves in a professional manner, but this fair allows them to come in a casual presence with a far less perplexed scenery. With the atmosphere being casual it was easier to create connections with different people.”

Part-time jobs can also be hard to fill up, so by allowing multiple workforces and businesses to show-off what they

do, it allows the approach to job searching less stressful. The booths included a wide stretch of jobs.

This allowed students to learn about job openings with more variety. Eli Capili, a career counselor for the Illinois Army National Guard explained how he and the students earn something by being there.

“The benefit of being here is that we get to share what we offer students who might be interested in joining the National Guard. It also seems like a no-brainer because we can offer a lot of tuition assistance,” Capili said. With a job that allows tuition assistance it can be very tempting for some students.

Many students attended the fair and some even worked at a booth.

Madison Veatch, a sophomore majoring in political science at Eastern, was working at a booth that recruited people off-campus to fundraise for non-profits at the business Ruffalio Noel Levitz, which helps students enroll in schools with a goal to help them graduate and succeed.

With this part-time job fair being so laid back and helpful, students left the library quad with more information and resources they had before.

A freshman named Jayla Singleton, majoring in biology said, “It was a great way to test my comfort zone and to understand my options while trying to find a job.”

Jacob Adcock can be reached at 5812812 or at jadcock@eiu.edu.

FEHRENBACHER | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Cortiz Stewart, a freshman business communications major, carefully pulls out a Jenga block to try and not let the whole tower fall down at Black Student Union’s field day event Wednesday evening.

| THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Eastern Illinois University Hosted the Job fair on campus near the library quad, which allows students to seek more information about current and future job opportunities on Thursday afternoon.

Opinions

Get involved before its too late

Student Government has seen a considerable dip in interest and engagement since the aftermath of the budget impasse in 2017.

Back in 2016 during the heat of the budget impasse, an organization named Fund EIU rallied to encourage the state to appropriate funds to Eastern.

Beginning on July 1, 2015, the state of Illinois couldn’t appropriate state funding to any public state schools in the state.

The 736 day-long process dwindled not only Eastern’s finances but also tanked admissions, employees and spirit.

For the next few years the Student Senate would be an active body on campus advocating as a governance body on campus to help our school.

As the impasse trailed into its third fiscal year, funds were finally appropriated allowing Eastern to function as it was.

Throughout this time, from previous stories written and insight from staffers during the time, the student body started to lose interest in involvement on campus. Going from activism to crickets, the Senate started to lose its presence on campus and members started to slim out.

Jump to this year, the Senate only met quorum three times last semester and during those meetings, the group had to approve a whole semester’s worth of RSO’s and other bills, revisions, budgets and more.

The Senate also managed to change their quorum bylaw to allow them to continue to hold meetings despite each Senate seat now representing 800 students instead of 300. While this is an outlandish amount to have one individual represent given our population size, we do not agree with the choice

COLUMN

but can understand why it was made.

This quorum problem negatively impacts Eastern’s student life by not allowing dedicated student groups to be registered through the Student Life Office.

While unable to register, groups lose the ability to tools and materials the office provides.

In addition, because of the lack of interest, elections were delayed five months with hopes to attract a larger group of students to run.

Monday morning, an email with the ballots was sent out and despite the effort to allow a more diverse student election pool, three spots did not have contested races.

Candidates Nidhi Patel (student body president), August Biernbaum (student executive vice president), and Carlos Rodriguez (student vice president of academic affairs) are all running unopposed. The only other executive positions running opposed is the student vice president for student affairs with candidates Nicholas Macaluso and Brianna Hull-Dennis.

A couple weeks ago, Lucy Ade, a former student body president, who had been helping with elections said she had seen a jump in engagement. The ballots say otherwise.

Did students go out to get petitions but did not receive enough, or perhaps just lost motivation and quit?

It is not the fault of the Student Government and its candidates. The group has done its due diligence to help recruit and inform new and current students about the resources they have.

Due to the each year’s roster of senators dwindling, it becomes progressively harder to recruit new members as the years go on.

Current and former members of the Senate held tabling and outreach events all of first week to encourage students to run for office, but it seems the offer fell on unwilling ears.

For those who did not know:

• The Senate is open to all majors, not just political science,

• All positions come with a form of stipend,

• Leadership roles look amazing on resumes.

So what is the deal? Why is there such limited engagement and participation?

The lack of interest or concern leaves us to assume students just do not care.

Is it a time commitment issue? Did aspiring senators think the position would

eat all their free time and got scared away? Are students feeling a sense of caution and unwillingness to step out of their comfort zones?

There are so many questions we can ask as to why there is such low engagement. The root of the problem is asking and addressing those questions to students.

Hopefully the people who are now running can find some answers to these questions and address them. If students continue to not show any level of interest, this will put the entire student body in a hole that will become quite the task to climb out of.

The Editorial Board can be reached at 581-2812.

New advice column, enter Aunt T.

By Tera Johnson-Swartz Columnist | @DEN_News

I am going to let you in on a little secret: I’m over 40, earning my MA from EIU remotely (sadly, nowhere near the campus), and I have not told my family I am starting this column.

What if this flops? What if the young peeps hate me? What if… the list could go on. I have a laundry list of irrational fears about rejection, failure, and life’s uncertainties.

My motivation in starting this column came from one of my students - did I mention I teach high school English? Oh yeah, I do that too. Let us call this student, G. Well, one day, we were chatting about hopes and dreams, and they asked mine.

I confessed I want to be a writer (yes, like

Editorial Board

the ones you imagine shacked up in a cabin in the mountains with a couple of dogs and a roaring fire and maybe a tumbler of Scotch - except I hate Scotch, so I’ll have an Amaretto Sour instead).

“You could still do that, Ms. T,” they said in the oldest, wisest, and most sincere voice I’d ever heard come from a 17 year old.

“You could also be a philosopher or a therapist though. You have interesting takes on things, give good advice, and tell it like it is.”

That conversation gave me just the right amount of confidence to try for real.

It let me know I was not too old to go back to school and earn my masters in English. It also set the foundation to start this column.

My hope is that you - The News readers, students, and future badasses (I’m allowed to say that, right?) - will feel comfortable enough to use this advice column as a safe place to ask anonymous questions..

You can ask me anything. Life. Grades. Drugs. Finances. Careers. Friendships.

Anything, really. Except if it relates to technology or math or statistics. These are my kryptonite (my eyes glaze over during any discussion remotely related to these topics and I use such moments to daydream about unrelated things like my garden, a trip to the spa, or what is for dinner?).

Otherwise, most everything else is fair game.

Now, please note, I am not a licensed therapist, I cannot give you medical counsel or mental health diagnosis, and I will not be able to live your life for you or promise my advice is the be all/end all that will save you from impending doom.

But I am here: Aunt T, at your service and accepting your questions at the time of this publication.

In the meantime, here’s a little backstory about me. I’m originally from Illinois (outside of Bloomington-Normal), went to Millikin University in Decatur during my first year of college, transferred to Berklee Col-

lege of Music in Boston, graduated in 2002, moved to Los Angeles, worked in the music biz for nearly a decade.

Then I switched careers to health and wellness (massage therapy, mainly), moved to Nashville for a year, then moved to Colorado, have juggled a variety of other side hustles aside from massage (freelance, food brokering, bookkeeping, childbirth Education, midwife assistant - there’s more but not enough room in this posting!).

Then I stumbled upon teaching by accident in the fall of 2022, have three kids, two dogs, a husband, and am terrified of snakes - as in, my children know if we were in the wild and came across one, it’s highly likely I will blackout and sacrifice one of them to run for cover.

So, whatcha got for ol’ Aunt T? The semester is young…let us get this column/ party started!

Tera Johnson-Swartz can be reached at tjohnsonswartz@eiu.edu or 217581-2812.

Rob Le Cates

Cam’ron Hardy

Ashanti Thomas Ellen Dooley

Zaria Flippin

Dating. Sex. Fears. Anxieties. Depression. Parents.

COMIC BY JENNA MINOR | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Tribute to Windham Rotunda

By Brie Coder Columnist

Mortal versus immortal. That is a never-ending debate many of us have with ourselves and others.

When we think of mortal, we think of ourselves. We are everyday people with everyday objectives. As for immortals, they are the ones we look at and acknowledge that they will live forever, even long after us.

Professional wrestling is about creating immortal characters played by mortal men and women. If the person plays the character well, the lines are blurred, and for some, like me, at times, you forget there is a human behind the character who goes through the same things we do (good and bad days, wellness, sickness, etc.).

That moment of realizing the mortal man behind the character happened last Thursday, when questions popped up of "What" and "That isn't true, is it?" Throughout the professional wrestling community as what some would call the most underrated yet mischievous character, Bray Wyatt, and the man who played him, Windham Rotunda, passed away at the age of 36.

Rotunda, for many, will be remembered as the cult leader of the notorious groupThe Wyatt Family. Picture it: three to four men with long hair and beards, white and black sheep masks, dirty Hawaiian shirts and a lantern that carried the light through the mysterious bayous of Louisiana.

Others remember him for his most recent and final gimmick, The Fiend, where he suffered from a case of dissociated personality disorder.

One minute, he was Bray Wyatt, a recovering former cult leader who embraced a more goofy, amiable projection of Mr. Rogers, to The Fiend, a freakish alter ego monster who used his horror-themed ideologies to keep pushing Wyatt to swim in the darkness he once swam in so comfortably. The Fiend was always the one who begged his enemies to "Let Him In."

Whichever version of Wyatt you preferred, the commonality was that it was always Rotunda’s original character, just amplified and molded to illustrious and more frightening heights than before.

He was excellent at transcending his personality to match the deep and dark battles within himself. Gimmicks like that are hard to come by and to keep consistent in professional wrestling, let alone maintain interest within the fans.

Rotunda, a third-generation wrestler, had big shoes to fill as his grandfather (Blackjack Mulligan), father (Mike Rotunda) and two uncles (Barry and Kendall Windham) opened the portal and challenged Windham and his brother, Taylor, to leave a bigger legacy than they did.

Prior to his in-ring career, Rotunda was a state wrestling champion and former football athlete specializing in defensive tackle and guard. Thereafter, he wandered over and honed his craft at World Wrestling Entertainment from 2009 until his passing, hoping to exceed his family's legacy.

Common with any creator, Rotunda tried out personas like Husky Harris, a no-nonsense guy who had no problem charging his targets with his incomprehensible strength. But, the lack of reactions from fans inspired Rotunda to continue testing the waters and

expand his creative horizons.

Like Francisco de Goya as he created his "Black Painting" series, Rotunda delved into the dark side and pulled out Bray Wyatt, who made his earthly premiere in 2012.

Comparing one of Goya's specific black paintings, "Saturn Devouring His Son," to Rotunda's character, Wyatt, you could see the resemblance of frantic psychopathic yet disheveled behavior Wyatt carried in his matches and vignettes (videos used to introduce or add more character development).

Wyatt was a man who wanted to rid the ills of society. In doing so, he called on his henchmen (Erick Rowan, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman) to do his bidding as he sat on his unorthodox throne - a rocking chair.

The Wyatt family was a masterpiece, and from there, Rotunda's trajectory gained a cult-like following with the WWE Universe (the company's fans).

No matter who Rotunda was pretending to be, his gimmicks always centered around offering eternal verities. Each character he constructed pinned the Biblical good versus evil vibes on his challengers, where he was always right.

Textbook shipping delays

By Dan Hahn Columnist

Readers of The News may not realize that there are many fully online students that will never pick up a paper copy of Eastern’s student run newspaper, or even set foot in Charleston.

A total of 1,459 students, 17 percent, enrolled in an online program at Eastern in the 21-22 school year, according to the website Univstats.com.

One of the nice perks remote learners enjoy is the convenient and money-saving textbook rental service that ships out required textbooks for each student. However, this year the textbooks were late!

To the credit of the textbook rental service, since I began my graduate program in the summer of 2022 my textbooks arrived reliably before each semester started. So, when on the first day of classes I had not received my textbooks, I wrote an email and never heard anything back. I notified my teacher and waited a couple days before sending another email, which again was ignored.

Midweek of the first week of instruction I looked up the textbook rental service’s phone number and called. Why not send a message telling students what it took a staff member one minute to tell me: they were running late and that they will get the textbooks shipped out as soon as possible.

I eventually received my textbooks on the Friday of the first week of class, which is not a catastrophic failure. But, it should never be the responsibility of a student to ask the school “where are my textbooks and what should I tell my teacher?”

There's so much more to wrestling than two rivals physically duking it out. Rotunda was the one who pulled back the curtain and asked fans to look past the in-ring action and pay attention to the cinematic moments happening outside of the ring that build the in-ring angles.

Rotunda inspired a new generation of pro wrestling. He left behind a resume that will never be seen again in our mortal time.

Not only did he capture the fans with his unconventional characters, but he also caught a few title wins along the way, including the WWE Championship, Universal, RAW Tag Team and SmackDown Tag Team titles, all while doing what he loved doing most: creating an illusion that a mortal man was immortal.

No matter what role Rotunda played, his get-up always included fireflies that carried the light to the ring for him. Now, those fireflies are carrying Rotunda home, where all the ultimate battles between his good and evil characters can finally end and peaceful rest for them all will be bestowed.

Brie Coder can be reached at bmcoder@eiu.edu or 217-581-2812.

With all the social media that Eastern uses for outreach, as well as other communications channels available, why not communicate the delay?

While I am a little upset about the customer service failure of Eastern’s book rental service, I think the lesson is to communicate early and communicate often. Nowhere on Eastern’s social media (or even in The News), was there information about textbook rental shipping delays.

This all makes me think that online degree students are not much of a priority. Online students are paying customers, too. And while we are not present in person, we do deserve the courtesy of being told what to expect.

Eastern is no Amazon.com, and perhaps administration should reconsider the scope of their services if they are not able to fulfill demand reliably and with transparency. If they cannot, then perhaps it is time to consider outsourcing this crucial service to vendors who can.

BY MIGUEL DISCART | CREATIVE COMMONS

Windham Rotunda (Bray Wyatt), born May 1987, died: 24 August (us) 2023.

EIU Weightlifting uplifts one another

By Alexis Moore-Jones Feature Reporter | @DEN_News

While working out and going to the gym can be intimidating, EIU Weightlifting has created a community dedicated to learning about self-improvement, the role weightlifting plays on overall health and how to properly use the gym as a resource regardless of experience level.

The weightlifting group’s overall mission is “to create an atmosphere that promotes healthy living,” said Vice President Mikaela Inskeep. “We just want it to be open to anyone, whether you are super experienced or have never touched away before. Everyone’s super nice and wants to help each other, which is awesome because I feel like you don’t always have that,” Inskeep said.

The reason the club was created was because Eastern did not have a weightlifting organization on campus.

The group meets every other Friday this semester at 3 p.m. in the lobby of the Student Recreational Center. During the first 20 minutes of the lift, the group has a talk about topics like powerlifting, weightlifting, supplements, dietary things or topics brought up by members.

“It’s very like open form,” said EIU Lifts President Ryan Escudero. “Whoever wants to ask whatever questions they want or provide whatever information they have learned, that’s what it’s for.”

What makes this group so unique is its stride for inclusivity and a sense of community.

“I can see from the outside looking in how all of this here can be very intimidating when people have been lifting for a long time, but the thing is everyone including myself, is really willing to help because we know how beneficial it can be for anybody honestly,” said sophomore physical education major Chris Short.

The organization’s purpose is to use the knowledge of the more experienced members to assist those who are still learning the ropes while also creating a space for positivity, like-mindedness, and a place for everyone to fit in.

Newcomer Cassius Burks expressed why he was able to let go of his original thoughts coming into the meeting after hearing what the organization had to say.

“I did have a stereotype that it was gonna be, you know, like a bunch of bodybuilders, so like seeing some people that, you know, look like me, it like, kind of calmed my nerves and I feel like I could really be at home at a place like this,” Burks said.

At their first meeting of the year last Friday, the group started with a mission statement and what benefits come with the paid membership dues.

The latter portion of the presentation consisted of some of the board members taking the time to explain what certain equipment was called, what they were used for, and their function. Towards the end of the presentation, the president gave a short explanation of three types of lifts which included barbell squats, deadlifts, and barbell benchpress.

After the explanation which was accompanied by photos depicting proper form and technique the president proceeded to start the lift session and provided demonstrations and guidance for those who needed it.

Chass Cambel, a student recreation center general assistant shared his thoughts on what he hoped more people would do when they think about coming to the gym.

“I wish that people wouldn’t be as intimidated by the weight room,” Cambel said. “I feel like a lot of people get scared and intimidated when people are gonna judge them. While in contrary, I think at least all of us here want to push people to do better. We want them to strive into like being more healthy.”

Financial planning major Elijah Buscher expressed the change in mindset he had to go through to get over the idea of being judged.

“I really think the biggest thing people are scared of is the judgment they’ll face in the gym,” Buscher said. “The only people who are gonna judge you are the people who are insecure in themselves in the gym…” Buscher said. That’s something I really think that I’ve learned is just like, like I’m in my own head. These people aren’t judging, they’re here to help ask questions, be open.”

To get in contact with Eastern’s weightlifting group or the members of their executive board, they can be reached here.

Alexis Moore-Jones can be reached at 581-2812 or at amjones@eiu.edu.

BY ASHANTI THOMAS | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Kris Hanratanakool a nutrition dietetics graduate student, gets help from a spotter while weightlifting during an EIU Lifts meeting.

Aldridge, Swanson place first at EIU Walt Crawford Open

BY ZARIA FLIPPIN | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Athletes

Women take home first place for meet, men’s team second overall

By Aidan Cusack XC Reporter | @DEN_News

The Panthers’ cross-country teams ran at the EIU Walt Crawford Open on Friday afternoon.

Eastern’s women’s team finished with a score of 27, beating Indiana State, Vincennes, and Kaskaskia College.

The women’s team finished first as a result of performances from senior Mackenzie Aldridge and freshmen Bella Marcum and Brenda Torres, who were the top three runners for EIU respectively. Junior Kylie Haack and seniors Sarah Carr and Alex Gomez cemented the win for Eastern with all six runners finishing on the top 10 list.

“Everyone’s excited when they see a teammate win in the race, you know, they can see going around all the turns how well she did,” Howarth said about the effect Aldridge’s dominant race had on the Panthers.

When Marcum was asked what the pre-meet routine is, she said her team tries to lock in before the race.

“It’s more about locking in, we do an easy group run, talk with our team and kinda zone in,” Marcum said.

Eastern’s men’s team came in second place with a score of 36. The Sycamores beat the Panthers with a score of 23.

The men followed fifth-year runner, Adam Swanson, who placed first in the men’s 8k with a gap of 6.1 seconds between him and the next runner.

Swanson held this position the entire race, saying it was part of his game plan to get out in front early.

“In a smaller race like this I like to get out quick,” Swanson said.

Three runners from the Panthers were in the top ten: Swanson, sophomore Micheal Atkins and senior Richie Jacobo.

“Being strong mentally I feel is a big thing when you go out like that, and you’re just trying to push the pace and make everyone chase you.”

- Adam Swanson

Swanson reflected on his strong lead and the mental challenges that come along with it.

“Being strong mentally I feel is a big thing when you go out like that, and you’re just trying to push the pace and make everyone chase you,” Swanson said. “You’re betting on yourself... most of it is in your head for sure.”

Coach Howarth gave some input on the advice she gave her runners out on the track.

“Today was quite hot, so I feel like a lot of people were ‘tightfaced, tight shoulders’ and not staying calm and relaxed,” Howarth said. “If they looked tight, I’d say make sure they relax the mind and relax the face and the shoulders... I’d also give them some insight like two quick steps around this post, or let’s fly down this hill, or next time I see you get up to the guy in front of you.”

Eastern’s next meet is the Illinois State Redbird Invite in Normal, Illinois on Friday, Sept. 15.

The women are scheduled to run at 5 p.m., and the men are scheduled to follow at 5:45 p.m.

Aidan Cusack can be reached at 581-2812 or at densportsdesk@gmail.com.

Senior outside hitter Larregui López led the Panthers in aces throughout the IUPUI Hampton Inn

She had four aces against Oral Roberts, three against UC Riverside and seven against IUPUI. She also led the Panthers with kills on Friday as they beat both teams 3-0.

At the end of the tournament, Larregui López was named the All-Tournament MVP.

Walt Crawford Open. Swanson

Junior linebacker Elijawah Tolbert tied his career high tackles of 11, had an interception and forced his first fumble in his career against Indiana State University Thursday.

Tolbert also earned the Big South-OVC Football Association Defensive Player of the Week and the STATS Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week presented by FEDEX Ground.

ELJAWAH TOLBERT

Invite last weekend.

GIOVANA LARREGUI LÓPEZ

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Mirza reflects on NCAA Division I debut v ISU

Eastern’s football

celebrate their first

By Zaria Flippin Sports Editor | @zariaflippppin

Thursday, Aug. 31 was junior wide receiver Eli Mirza’s first NCAA Division I appearance.

The Sacramento, Calif. native recorded 27 rushing yards, and he also recorded a 21-yard punt return.

Mirza also recorded four catches for 82 yards.

“Eli has done a phenomenal job learning the offense,” Head Coach Chris Wilkerson said. “He has gotten better and better every single day.”

Before coming to Eastern, Mirza played at Sierra College in Sacramento.

Throughout his two years with the Sierra College Wolverines, Mirza was a two-time Northern California Football Association National Division All-NorCal League wide receiver (2021-2022).

Mirza ended his 2021 season with the Wolverines with 41 receptions for 533 yards and seven touchdowns.

Mirza ended his 2022 season with 74 receptions for 929 yards with 10 touchdowns.

Mirza also had two games with 10 receptions and four games with more than 100 receiving yards in the 2022 season.

In 2022, Mirza was also named an All-

State player.

Eastern was one of the first schools to be interested in Mirza after his 2022 season in California.

Mirza said that he chose to attend Eastern because he liked the family aspect that the school provided.

“Ever since I came here on my official visit, it felt like home,” Mirza said. “The people, the teammates; everybody welcomed me with open arms.”

Mirza was junior quarterback Pierce Holley’s favorite target in the game against Indiana State on Thursday evening.

“I feel like our connection is good,” Holley said about the chemistry between him and Mirza. “He’s a guy that’s always open. When we give him the ball and the space, he does good things.”

Mirza still thinks there is always room for improvement. After the shutout against Indiana State, Mirza watched the film from the game on Friday morning and looked for what he and the offense could improve on.

“It was just small things that we did incorrectly, like not going to the correct guy to block on the second level to help our running backs make a bigger play,” Mirza said.

Mirza said he was nervous before the game because it was his first NCAA Division I game.

“Ever since I came here on my official visit, it felt like home. The people, the teammates; everybody welcomed me with open arms.”

“I was trying to get used to the speed,” Mirza said. “Going back on film and actually watching it, seeing that I could’ve done a lot better and running my routes a little differently, it showed.”

Wilkerson said he is seeing Mirza improve throughout his time at Eastern so far.

“He has continued to develop,” Wilkerson said. “He’s also naturally gifted as an athlete. He is what we’d consider fast and twitchy. He had a couple of explosive plays for our offense, and that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to get the ball in the

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Eli Mirza

hands of our guys that can make explosive plays.”

Mirza is ready to continue improving throughout the season with the Panthers.

“I’m ready to get after it this week,” Mirza said.

The Panthers will travel to Bowling Green, OH for their next game against the Bowling Green Ohio Falcons on Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.

Zaria Flippin can be reached at zhflippin@eiu.edu or 581-2812.

BY ASHANTI THOMAS | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

team

win of the season with their fan section at Indiana State’s memorial stadium. The Panthers won in a shutout game against the Sycamores 27-0 Thursday night.