2023.10.18

The Daily Eastern News

1811 Buzzard Hall

Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL 61920 217-581-2812 217-581-2923 (fax)

News Staff

Editor-in-Chief

Rob Le Cates DENeic@gmail.com

News Editor

Cam’ron Hardy dennewsdesk@gmail.com

Assistant News Editor Audra Gullquist dennewsdesk@gmail.com

Photo Editor

Ashanti Thomas denphotosdesk@gmail.com

Assistant Photo Editor Tyriq Johnson denphotosdesk@gmail.com

Design Editor Harper Hancock hahancock2@eiu.edu

Sports Editor Zaria Flippin densportsdesk@gmail.com

Assistant Sports Editor Luther Yoder densportsdesk@gmail.com

Opinions Editor Ellen Dooley denop.eds@gmail.com

Faculty Advisers

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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Contact any of the above staff members if you believe your information is relevant.

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 Madelyn Kidd 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 1811 Buzzard Hall.

Bradbury answers questions about life

By Audra Gullquist Assistant News Editor | @DEN_News

In a world full of self-discovery and existential exploration, we are often stuck seeking a meaning to life, which Aaron Lawler has an unique approach towards answering.

Lawler explored philosophical questions by drawing connections between Ray Bradbury’s literature and self-identity during his presentation, “You Are A Story!” on Monday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Lumpkin Hall.

“Storytelling and the idea of stories are really what make us who we are, and being able to tell our own story and recognizing

that we aren’t just kind of a story, like we’re a version of what we tell the world about ourselves, is really important,” Lawler said.

During his presentation, Lawler discussed what makes a good memoir and how to find yourself through your story. He stated that one’s answers to the questions; “Why are we here, what is the meaning of life, why do we die, what is the right way to live and how do we live?” is a great starting point to creating a good memoir.

He also said that a person’s story is about their relationship with their memories.

“Our memories are part of how we define ourselves and that relationship isn’t as neat

or as clean as we often think it is,” Lawler said. “It’s imbued with a ton of emotion, feelings, issues of self-doubt, self-worth, self-esteem.”

According to Lawler, it is important to recall our life experiences so that we can better understand ourselves and begin to answer the big questions that humans have been asking since the dawn of time.

Lawler is a professor in humanities at Waubonsee Community College, near Aurora, IL and a member of the Road Scholar Speaker Bureau, which is a program through the Illinois Humanities.

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FRONT PAGE COVER BY HARPER HANCOCK AND ASHANTI THOMAS

BY AUDRA GULLQUIST | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Daniel Douglas, director of the Academy of Lifelong Learning, introduces Dr. Aaron Lawler, the speaker at the You Are A Story event at Lumpkin College of Business and Technology Tuesday afternoon.

Fresh set of wheels for EIU Police Department

By T.J. Seputis Reporter | @DEN_News

As part of its mission to keep the campus safe, the Eastern Illinois University Police Department recently put its newest patrol vehicle into operation. Having functional patrol vehicles is essential for providing police services to the community, according to Police Chief Marisol Gamboa.

“We have to have safe vehicles for our officers, and we have to have safe vehicles for our community,” Gamboa said.

The EIU Police Department responds to emergency calls for service at all hours of the day.

“We are very dedicated to our community here, and our officer’s safety is as important,” she said.

The department’s latest vehicle is a black 2023 Ford Police Interceptor Utility.

It is in service as a general patrol car and is equipped as such. As is typical in the industry, the 2023 interceptor first arrived at EIU PD with none of the aftermarket equipment that is needed for police work.

“Nothing, it had absolutely nothing,” Lt. Michael Lusk said.

Lusk said that the car was initially used as an administrative car until the necessary aftermarket components were delivered and installed.

“We had to arrange for the exterior decals, and then we had to send it off to the upfitter for all of the devices to be added,” he said.

The Police Interceptor Utility vehicle platform is based on a modified version of the Ford Explorer SUV.

The Police Interceptor Utility is designed with police patrol use in mind. It has heavier duty powertrain components, an all rubber floor and enhancements to the electrical system that enable upfitters to easily add aftermarket police equipment.

According to purchasing documents, the acquisition of EIU PD’s new Ford Interceptor was approved in May 2023.

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He said that, “The goal of Illinois Humanities is to focus on Illinois creators. So, folks who are from here and sort of maybe had a similar mission of like, promoting one of the disciplines. So, painting and drawing, or writing poetry, all these kinds of things.”

Lawler chose to demonstrate the topic of self-identity and purpose through the lens of Bradbury, since he was an Illinois native and a complex writer.

Although Bradbury was well-known for one specific type of writing, he was very experimental with his writing styles and themes.

He stated that Bradbury is “known for his science fiction work such as Fahrenheit 451 and The Martin Chronicles, like these are his big famous works, right? But that was actually only a third of what he pro-

BY

The vehicle arrived during summer break and was placed in service as a patrol car around the end of August 2023.

The department paid $44,570 to Bob Ridings Inc., in Taylorville, Ill., for the cost of the vehicle itself. The department paid an additional $16,790 to Global Technical Systems Inc. in Effingham for the parts and labor associated with the installation of aftermarket police equipment for the vehicle.

Some of that equipment includes a Code 3 16 series lightbar, Whelen siren and light controller, Feniex siren speaker, Feniex lightstick and warning lightheads, Havis console and computer dock, Setina trunk cargo box and a Setina rear seat partition.

The aftermarket equipment is consistent with most modern police patrol vehicles in the area.

EIU Police Officer Joel Stewart has been behind the wheel of the new Ford Interceptor.

“It drives like a new car,” he said.

When compared to a 2010 Ford Es-

cape in the department’s fleet, Stewart said, “This one’s got cup holders, so I prefer this one.”

Stewart said that the latest addition to the patrol fleet is noticeably larger than some of the PD’s other vehicles.

Stewart has not yet had the chance to put the new car to the test responding to an urgent call, but he anticipates that it will perform exceptionally.

As of Tuesday, EIU PD had five vehicles including a Ford Police Interceptor Sedan that is out of service due to a blown engine. The interceptor sedan had been used as a primary vehicle due to other vehicles being down.

Lusk said that out of necessity, the car had been “hotseated,” meaning that it was used shift after shift with little to no down time.

“It just far exceeded its life expectancy because of the level to which it was used,” Lusk said.

Along with the 2023 interceptor utility that went into service as a patrol car around the end of August 2023, EIU PD received two additional Ford Police In-

BY AUDRA GULLQUIST | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Dr. Aaron Lawler, assistant professor from Waubonsee Community College, gives a presentation at the You Are A Story event, held through the Academy of Lifelong Learning at Lumpkin College of Business and Technology.

duced. Two thirds of what he wrote were either literary criticisms or what we would call more like coming-of-age stories.”

Daniel Douglas, the Director of the Acad-

terceptor vehicles.

One of those vehicles will be a marked patrol car and one will be a white unmarked vehicle. Both of the newly delivered cars are awaiting the installation of aftermarket police equipment at this time.

The department has also developed a vehicle replacement plan that is currently awaiting approval from university administration.

This plan would formally provide for the replacement of aging or overly costly police vehicles. The replacement plan would evaluate a variety of factors including, initial vehicle value, mileage, repair cost, wear and tear and how much has been invested into the vehicle.

Once a vehicle has reached a point, at which it is no longer financially sensible to keep maintaining it, the police department would be able to replace it.

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

emy of Lifelong Learning, was able to make the event possible.

The academy has worked with the Road Scholar Speaker Bureau in the past, so when Douglas began working at the academy, he was very interested in continuing those collaborations.

Douglas investigated the Road Scholar’s work and what has been done in the past at Eastern.

He then decided to reach out to Lawler to set up an event, since Douglas was very impressed by his presentations.

Douglas hopes to host more events with Road Scholars in the future.

He said that, “Hopefully in the fall and spring semesters, we’ll have a different Road Scholar each semester. That would be ideal.”

Audra Gullquist can be reached at 581-2812 or at agullquist@eiu.edu.

T.J. SEPUTIS | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

The Eastern Illinois University Police Department’s newest patrol vehicle, Car 42, parked the EIU police station on Thursday.

Opinions

Be aware of breast cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and multiple groups on campus have been holding events.

Some are focusing on fundraising for cancer research and some are doing more with educating people about early detection and getting testing done frequently.

Many of us at The News look back at how we grew up knowing or being educated on breast cancer.

Our Editor-in-Chief, Rob Le Cates, reflects back on his childhood.

Rob remembered having an entire week dedicated to breast cancer awareness when he was younger. They would have themed days and a fundraiser, and even did a community walk.

He expressed it should still have the same weight in college. People should go out to these events and support the cause. People should also support local causes like cancer research at Sarah Bush Lincoln.

Our Photo Editor, Ashanti Thomas, explained how she was never explicitly involved with breast

cancer awareness.

She said it was similar to Rob’s experience where it was more prominent before college.

Ashanti talked about how it was discussed in high school health classes, but she has seen more prominence on social media.

The real conversations never came out until someone was personally effected by cancer.

She felt it is still taboo topic within women and can be awkward being in high school, but even now in her 20’s.

As the Editorial Board, we feel that this awareness is for a reason. It is to decrease the awkwardness and taboo around talking about breast cancer.

Breast cancer is not just for women.

Men can be affected too.

That is why it is so important that everyone is aware of the topic of breast cancer.

There are a few things we urge people to do.

Educate yourself.

Early detection is the best detection. Get

screened annually, know your family history and know if you are at a higher risk.

Support awareness causes, even if it is just wearing a pink ribbon, any awareness is awareness. Support the RSO’s on campus holding events and attend with all your friends.

Support research causes and donate to well-trusted funds. One example is Sarah Bush Lincoln right down the road from Eastern. Lastly, have those real authentic conversations with those around you. It is okay to break the awkwardness and ask real questions about breast cancer that concern you.

We encourage everyone to get out this October and wear your brightest pink. Educate yourself about breast cancer and support those who are currently going through treatment, the survivors and mourn with those who have lost loved ones.

The Editorial Board can be reached at 5812812 or deneic@gmail.com.

COMIC BY JENNA MINOR | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

AI-powered tools for Academic Success

Embracing AI to increase efficiency outside of the classroom, workplace

By Dan Hahn Columnist

What if you could rapidly complete your reading list without sacrificing comprehension or focus, and still have time and energy left for rest and recreation?

As someone who does a great deal of reading for both school and work, I am always looking for ways to boost productivity and read more, faster, while still retaining the information.

There is no shortage of tools and speed-reading software available that promise to help with this.

One example is BeeLine Reader, which claims to make reading on-screen easier, faster, and more enjoyable by “using eye-guiding color gradient to pull your eyes through long blocks of text,” according to their website.

COLUMN

They claim their technology helps people read more effectively and maintain focus for longer periods.

Perhaps this is a dated metaphor, but just imagine a literal reading rainbow.

I work with someone who swears by it, and says he uses BeeLine Reader all the time. I tried it and thought it was okay, but not worth purchasing a subscription.

Not long ago, I came along an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education” that discussed artificial intelligence tools that students deem essential for success in modern college life.

One graduate student mentioned the app Speechify, which uses artificial intelligence for the purposes of speech-totext dictation. I had to try it.

Though I was skeptical at first, it was not long before I was blown away.

First, let me say I do not work for Speechify and am otherwise not invested in the company, but their tool has really changed the game for me in terms of making full use of the time I allocate for focused study of texts.

An academic journal article that once took me two to three hours to read now

takes me about an hour.

I think the reason for this is that I am an auditory learner.

It really helps me understand when I can read and listen to the text at the same time, and I am able to stay focused on the task because the app displays a playback timer showing how much time is left in the document.

I still print out articles and follow along while Speechify dictates. And no, I do not utilize any of their celebrity voices such as Barack Obama or Snoop Dogg.

I still underline and annotate my printouts and, importantly, pause the playback on the app to read and reread anything that requires repeated scrutiny.

The technology is far from perfect, and the AI stutters at times by tripping on hyphenated words, and the flow feels pretty artificial (it is “artificial” intelligence after all).

And, while there is a learning curve, I find it very useful, and not just for school.

There is even an internet browser plugin that will read wordy websites

or long newsletters that arrive in my Gmail.

So, I can either download the audio of long text documents to listen to while I do mundane work around the house, or I can use it for serious focused study. Either way, it certainly is a boon to my productivity.

Finally, I embrace this form of artificial intelligence because it enables me to complete many articles both required and optional without skimming, skipping, or an excessively burdensome time investment.

The subscription fee is worth it to me, and I realize I am in a place of privilege since some students may not be able to afford it.

However, I can envision a future where–like the Microsoft Office 365 and Adobe Creative Cloud suites that Eastern students are entitled to with their enrollment fees– AI enhanced software will be considered just another tool required for success in higher education.

Dan Hahn can be reached at dhahn@eiu.edu or 217-581-2812.

Video game dead-ication

By Kierstyn Budz Columnist

Since it is October, I decided I wanted to talk about one of my favorite topics, video games.

Specifically in Halloween spirit, zombie video games.

Now, I want to state, this is my opinion, and it is totally okay if you do not agree.

I know there are a lot of great video games based around zombies and I will be covering two of my favorites.

In complete honesty, they are my two favorite video games of all time.

The first is ‘The Last of Us: Part 1.’ This game first came out in 2013 and follows the story of Joel and Ellie in their adventure across the country.

Ellie is a 14-year-old girl who was bitten by this game’s zombies but survived and holds the cure to ending the apocalypse.

This game does not have your standard zombies, there are multiple stages to the infection depending on how long it has been since bitten or have breathed in fungal spores.

When a person is first bit or breathes spores, they turn into a “Runner” which means they have their full vision, and their hearing is that of an average human.

Stage 2 is called the “Stalker” where their vision is starting to be taken over by fungus and their hearing becomes better.

They tend to hide in the dark and surprise their prey.

Stage 3 is called the “Clicker” which is one of the most terrifying forms in my opinion as they are completely blind but use sound to see.

They make a clicking noise hence their name and are not able to be killed with hand-to-hand combat.

The last stage we see in the first game are “Bloaters” which are bigger than the rest and have been infected for a few years. They are slow but very strong and throw spores at the player which is very hard to get away from.

These different stages of zombies are one of the reasons I am so attached to the game.

In a lot of zombie-based games, the zombies are simply the undead and they will stay the same throughout their undead lifetime.

In ‘The Last of Us,’ there is more to the apocalypse and the zombies are not actually dead, they are just people who

have been infected and have turned.

The game uses a real type of fungus that is said to “mind control” insects and adapts it to a human level.

This makes the game almost scarier as it shows this could actually happen in real life in some form.

The storyline is also just fantastic and the character development between many different characters we see feels accurate to humans not just video game characters. I do not want to ruin the game, but I definitely recommend playing or watching ‘The Last of Us’ show which came out earlier this year.

The second game I would like to talk about is ‘Resident Evil 4.’

I will say, I do enjoy the ‘Resident Evil’ franchise, but the 4th game has always been my favorite.

This game came out in early 2005 when I was 3 years old, and it is one of the first games I remember watching my dad play in our living room.

I would sit and watch him play for hours and would say it was my favorite game well into my teenage years.

Earlier this year, ‘Resident Evil 4’ was remastered, and I lost my mind. I was so excited to see my favorite childhood game in 2023 graphics.

For a game made in 2005, it was absolutely revolutionary.

In previous ‘Resident Evil’ games, the

camera would be set in one spot and switch between rooms or hallways.

There was no way to change the angle or zoom in closer.

In the 4th game, the camera follows Leon Kennedy, the main character, and provides the player with a 3rd person view.

In my opinion, this makes the game easier and smoother to play compared to the previous ‘Resident Evils.’

The game has a longer more intense storyline, big areas for the player to explore, and some really great bosses to fight.

The story follows the outbreak of the “T-Virus” and causes people to turn into zombies if bitten or if they die which is the normal way zombies happen in most media.

Even with just standard zombies, the ‘Resident Evil’ games are one of the best zombie-based franchises.

I personally find zombies to be overdone in today’s world, but these two games always have me coming back and playing them over and over.

I can say, even with their age, they hold up very well against other zombie games and will not disappoint you if you try them out blueprint.

Kierstyn Budz can be reached krbudz@eiu.edu or 217-581-2812.

BY ASHANTI THOMAS | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

made the best memories singing together.

Foto creates firm backbone in Abilene performance

By Cam’ron Hardy News Editor | @DEN_News

After the revelation she had at around 17 years old, Gaylyn Foto decided she wanted to switch from pure classical performances to a classical crossover style.

Before she turned 17, she was trained with the works of classical music legends including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach and Johannes Brahms.

She said she felt “stuck” with the genre for a while until one day she realized that there is a “whole world out there” to discover as far as music.

“I started listening to some of these other composers’ pieces and seeing what they were doing with the class,” Foto said. “I was like ‘OK, that’s the world I want to dabble in.’”

She eventually joined the band Abilene, which was formed in 2020, as one its five members.

Abilene performed Saturday night at the Doudna Fine Arts Center in the Recital Hall with special guest Chloë Agnew, a singer, songwriter and actress from Dublin Ireland.

Abilene’s five members are Foto on cello, Joshua Spacht on piano, Ashton Fineout on violin, Nikki Eoute on violin, and Zach Sprowls on synthesizers.

All the members live in different areas including Dallas, Greenville, South Carolina and Washington, and they practice for about six hours per day.

Whenever the group has a performance, they all regroup in Nashville.

Foto is from a small town in Baton Rouge, with a population of around 2,000, so coming to a smaller community like Eastern is no surprise for her.

“Anytime we’re going to a small town, I love it,” Foto said. “…In fact, I would say the

smaller towns make me just breathe and actually enjoy the content more.”

Foto began studying music at 3 years old and grew up playing with her sisters.

Although comparisons were made between the two of them, they always encouraged each other. Foto said they made the best memories singing and playing music together.

“For the most part I would say we were blessed to be able to do it together and encourage each other on,” Foto said.

On Saturday, Foto’s performance on the cello allowed other instruments to build from her instrumentation, while also adding their own weight and showing their importance.

Foto described each instrument as a part of body and said each instrument is “unique and vital.”

“It’s just like the little pieces of art that you don’t even think about on the human body, just kind of the way it related to a band,” Foto said. “Everyone’s contributing their giftings too, so not only their instrumental, but like their actual gifting strengths, and you kind of balance each other out.”

The emotions shown by the band were captivating. The passion of the composition was gripping. It gave off the same spirit and energy as a movie soundtrack, which is one of the things that inspires Foto.

One genre of music that Foto listens to is country, but she often finds her inspiration in not listening to anything.

“I just think there’s so much power and underestimated volume in silence,” Foto said.

Foto thinks that there is power in music as well. Being able to express experiences through sound is a way to change that possible negative mindset to creativity. When the band finished performing, they received a standing ovation.

BY ASHANTI THOMAS | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

One of the attendees was Charlotte Hedberg, a junior studio art and vocal performance major.

Hedberg thought the performance was “amazing” and was interested to see Agnew.

As a vocal performance major, Hedberg saw some things in the performance that she could use.

“[Agnew] had really impressive breath

support to support some of those long notes, and I was also just interested in the other singers, like how she was holding her balance to support the notes and everything,” Hedberg said.

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

Joshua Spacht creates noise by using Gaylyn Foto’s cello during their Abilene show.

After the performance, Gaylyn Foto talks to fans. Foto began studying music at 3 years old and grew up playing with her sisters. They all encouraged each other and together

Athletes of the Issue

AUTUMN GRINTER

The junior freestyle swimmer from Edwardsville won two events at the Davenport Invite on Friday and Saturday, and Grinter also won a team event during the invite.

Grinter won the 50 freestyle event with a time of 24.07 on Friday.

On the second day of the invite, Grinter won the 100 freestyle with a time of 53.20.

The freshman runner from Mount Horeb, Wisconsin finished in 66th place at the Bradley “Pink” Classic.

Stoddard finished the race with a 25:21.40 time, and he was the third runner to finish for the Panthers.

This is Stoddard’s best time this season as he improved from his previous race by 24.3 seconds.

JOE STODDARD

EIU falls 4-2 v. Little Rock

Men’s basketball preps for season

By Zaria Flippin Sports Editor | @zariaflippppin

Eastern’s men’s basketball team have 25 days until their 2023-2024 season starts.

Panthers’ Head Coach Marty Simmons will enter his third year as the head coach for Eastern men’s basketball.

“I feel good,” Simmons said. “We’re excited about our returning players [and] excited about our new players. Everybody has a great attitude. Everyone is working hard.”

Six players make up the returners for the Panthers: sophomore forward Sincere Malone, fifth-year guard Caleb Donaldson, sophomore forward Luke Light, junior forward Rodolfo Bolis, junior guard Dan Luers and fifth-year forward Jermaine Hamlin.

“I feel like we prepare everyday, getting better and better,” Malone said.

“We’ve been working hard, I mean, since the summer really started,” Luers said.

The Panthers have nine new faces for

the 2023-2024 season as eight of them are transfers: senior guard Jordan “Tiger” Booker, junior guard/forward Kyndall Davis, redshirt sophomore forwards Kooper Jacobi and Lazar Grbovic, and junior guards Corey Sawyer Jr., Nakyel Shelton, Carson Prost, and Jaylin Gibson.

“We got a lot to prove, and I like the guys we got,” Booker said. “I’m excited this year.”

“I’m super excited, you know, to play with new guys and a new coaching staff,” Sawyer Jr. said. “We’ve been working hard, getting better each and every day, so I’m excited to see the results.”

Freshman guard Isaiah Griffin is the only freshman on the team this year.

To watch the video of the Panthers talking about how they feel, click here.

The Panthers will play the University of Illinois Illini on Monday, Nov. 6.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the University of Illinois Memorial Stadium.

Zaria Flippin can be reached at 5812812 or zhflippin@eiu.edu.

FILE PHOTO | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

The Eastern men’s basketball head coach Marty Simmons (seated left) feels good as the Panthers have 25 days until their first game of the 2023-2024 season.

BY PRINCE PAPPOE| THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Kate Germano, a sophomore midfielder (11), dribbles the ball up field towards Little Rock Trojan territory at Lakeside Field Sunday afternoon.