2024.01.31

Campus union, admin release statements on ongoing negotiations

By Cam’ron Hardy News Editor | @DEN_News

Eastern and AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, have both released a statement regarding the negotiations.

Eastern’s statement reads: “Constructive and regular meetings with AFSCME Local 981 began in May 2023 and continue. The university looks forward to finalizing a successor agreement for the nearly 200 AFSCME-represented employees in the service, clerical and food court units. Several tentative agreements have been mutually agreed upon and EIU reaffirms its commitment to collaboratively finalizing a multi-year agreement that includes both enhanced benefits and compensation. EIU’s last offer included the following wages: For Year 1, 5% – 12.5% (depending on classification); Year 2, 4%; Year 3, 3%; and Year 4, 2.5%. We are pleased to announce this financial package represents an unprecedented proposal that translates into between 14.5% – 22.0% in base compensation increases as of Jan. 1, 2024 wages and is the largest proposed increase for AFSCME employees at EIU in over three decades.

In addition to compensation, the university proposes that employees also receive additional holiday leave, a new parental leave program and community service leave.

Transfer to the Panthers raises guard confidence

By Luther Yoder

Assistant Sports Editor | @DEN_News

Sophomore guard Ellie Buzzelle began her college career at Grand Canyon University before transferring to Eastern after one year. Now at Eastern, she leads the team in three-pointers made and three-point percentage, as well as being third in minutes played.

“Coming here was more of a culture thing for me,” Buzzelle said. “The girls and the coaches were great to me on my visit. Definitely the amenities and things like that were a switch for me, so it took me a while to get used to, but coming here I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls and a better coaching staff that supports and gives me confidence.”

While at Grand Canyon, Buzzelle shot 28% from three and had a field goal percentage of 30.8.

In her first year at Eastern, she has sur -

passed that shooting 41.7% from three and 37.6% from the field.

She also has made more threes this season than anyone at Eastern did last year with 53.

Last year, junior guard Miah Monahan had 36 made threes.

“I’m trying to put my finger on it. I don’t really know why,” Buzzelle said. “I think if I still was at GCU I still would have a pretty good percentage, but coming here I think, especially the coaches that I work out with, they’ve given me a lot of confidence to just let it fly. I’ve never shot this well in my life. It’s pretty insane, but these girls and this coaching staff gives me confidence. Whenever I’m open, let it fly, and if I miss, you know, I’m not letting anybody down.”

Ellie Buzzelle

Buzzelle said in a post on her blog that she doesn’t “feel content and worthy when I make

a shot or a good play anymore. I’m content with whatever performance happens that specific day.”

Buzzelle said in a post on her blog that she doesn’t “feel content and worthy when I make a shot or a good play anymore. I’m content with whatever performance happens that specific day.”

She said that taking that mindset helped her to be able to perform the way she is this season.

“Last year I think the biggest thing for me was that I was very content with making others proud of me, whether that’s coaching staff or teammates. I don’t look to anybody but myself for validation and the Lord,” Buzzelle said. “I don’t try and make anybody else proud; that’s not my goal.”

EIU recieves new grants

By Cam’ron Hardy News Editor | @DEN_News

Eastern has received new grants to improve academic life for students and faculty, said President Jay Gatrell at the 2024 spring update Wednesday.

One of the grants received will help with the advancement of the science building, which has been in the works for years.

Eastern will request an 8% increase in appropriation for fiscal year 2025.

Additionally, Eastern will be requesting reappropriation for a new physical science building.

“While phase one of the design process has been completed, we continue to work with the Capital Development Board to move forward and anticipate launching the project’s next phase design develop before the end of the fiscal year,” Gatrell said.

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Eastern Illinois University

Negotiations continued from PG 1 >>

The EIU administration values and appreciates the commitment of AFSCME members and their many contributions to the university’s mission, our students and the entire campus community. For these reasons, the university looks forward to finalizing an agreement as soon as possible.”

AFSCME’s statement reads:

“AFSCME members do the work supporting students and faculty that makes EIU happen. We deserve pay and benefits that can sustain us and our families. It’s unacceptable that, after months in negotiations, EIU administration is still unwilling to offer compensation that recognizes our contributions to the university, keeps pace with rising costs and allows EIU to hire and retain dedicated staff. We will be seeking the assistance of an impartial mediator to aid bargaining going forward.”

“The university is just not keeping up with all of that, and so people are taking home less money per paycheck.”

- Kim Pope

Agreements on discipline and health and safety have been made between Eastern’s administration and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), but negotiations regarding pay continue after eight months.

AFSCME consists of the clerical/technical unit, building services and food services workers.

Kim Pope, the President of AFSCME Local 981 and the office manager for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been leading the negotiations.

AFSCME and Eastern have met 13 times since May 2023, and, according to Pope, have made “significant progress.”

Compared to previous negotiations be-

tween AFSCME and administration, things have been moving faster, Pope said.

“We’ve been able to come to an agreement on language that’s not related to economics, such as things related to discipline, health and safety, things like that,” Pope said.

The core debate between both parties is the pay increase.

One of the new laws that went into action Jan. 1 was a minimum wage increase to $14 per hour, and some of the ASFCME members are being paid this rate. Pope said that they have been bargaining to be paid $16 per hour. The university has agreed to some increases, but not the full $16 per hour, she said.

“We do have several employees in our bargaining unit who are making minimum wage of $14 an hour, and we feel it’s just not acceptable for employees who are providing such vital services for the university,” Pope said.

Pope said many of AFSCME’s workers are student oriented and focused on helping the students.

“What we do is essential to the university, and we feel like, in these positions, we should be paid appropriately for the work that we do,” Pope said. “That’s why we feel [the need] to be competitive.”

AFSCME members that previously worked at Eastern have left to work at other jobs, Pope said, because of the pay.

“We’ve had employees recently who are leaving to go work at Taco Bell or McDonald’s because they’re finding better paying positions there. In order to make improvements upon that, wages need to be increased significantly,” she said.

The absence of workers has left the remaining employees with more work and responsibilities. Some of Pope’s colleagues have to cover multiple departments due to the lack of staff.

Pope referred to the state-wide budget crisis in 2015 as being one of the leading causes for the lack of staff.

According to Pope, there were a few hundred employees who were laid off at Eastern during that time.

The main topic AFSCME is optimistic

about is the increase in wages this year. Pope said throughout her 13 years at Eastern, she has seen no more than a 1.5% increase in wages.

Due to inflation, the cost of living has increased, and it has not been compensated for.

“The university is just not keeping up with all of that, and so people are taking home less money per paycheck,” Pope said.

During the bargaining sessions, Pope talked about a study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Illinois Economic Policy Institute titled “Lower Pay in Higher Ed,” which talks about the pay gap between state employees and university workers.

“What the study revealed was that state workers are paid on average 21% more than university employees,” Pope said. “So, we’re doing the same work, but university employees are being paid 21% less on average for some reason.”

Pope said she believes the reason for this is the decrease of funding in schools.

At the state level, an office manager is paid $30 per hour; at the university level, that same position is paid $21 per hour. At Eastern, that same position is paid minimum wage, but all are doing the same job, said Pope.

“We’ve told management there’s some significant work that needs to be done to make up for this gap in pay. It’s something that AFSCME statewide is focusing on as well, because it’s not just an Eastern problem,” Pope said.

Pope said she was alarmed to see the difference in pay. The 14th bargaining session was on Wednesday. Pope said she intends for the meeting to take up most of the day.

“We’re willing to do what it takes to get this done and get a fair contract for our members,” Pope said.

When asked for comment, Joshua Reinhart—EIU’s public information coordinator—said, “As a general policy, EIU does not comment on active negotiations.”

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

FRONT PAGE COVER BY ROB LE CATES AND HARPER HANCOCK

Serving up Eastern for more than 2 decades

By Anna Hagan Reporter | @_annahagan_

The hustle and bustle of everyday life that many college students face can drastically dampen their However, in the Stevenson Tower Dining Center, there is a man who tries to make everyone’s day just a little bit better, Aaron DeRousse.

DeRousse, a Charleston native, can be seen almost daily in the dining hall, preparing various breakfast items for students, and chatting with them about events in their life.

Whether the students realize it or not, they have a huge impact on him throughout the day.

“The best part about being here is you guys,” DeRousse said. “You guys keep me young, and I really enjoy it.”

Before his time at Eastern, DeRousse worked at his stepfather’s restaurant, the Mexican Villa located in Mattoon. A few years later he began training at a Denny’s in Salem.

“After training in Salem, there was a Denny’s diner in Tuscola that opened up and I began working there,” DeRousse said. “…And that’s where I got my start cooking breakfast.”

Fast forward to January 2002, he began working at Eastern. He first began working in the Martin Luther King Jr., University Union food court and switched to catering about a year later.

After catering, he began working in the dining halls for 14 years before solely working in Stevenson Hall.

Update continued from PG 1 >>

Other structural improvements to be made to the university include O’Brien stadium, the Coaches Stadium field roof replacement, enhanced learning spaces and academic hubs for parents in Booth Library and a new East Central Illinois Innovation Hub.

Eastern received $12 million from the state, which is $19 million total in new financial support from the state, to upgrade utilities and infrastructures.

Additionally, Eastern received a $200,000 grant which will be used to expand campus services including the food pantry, enhancing access to child care and provide to students who are in a crisis.

“The [Faculty Development and Innovation Center] will be inviting departments to submit one page proposals and timelines for course redesigned across all sections for 1000 and 2000 level multi section general education courses, enrolling more than 50 combined students,” Gatrell said.

The university will finance up to 10 $5,000 loan grants to support course

Throughout his 22 years on campus, he has seen many changes. He recalled a time before Carman Hall closed, when student attendance was significantly higher, Stevenson Dining Hall had not been renovated yet, and textbook rental was in an entirely different building.

He also noticed a few changes within the student body.

“Lit was not a thing back in the 90s and 2000s.” He said. “Bell bottoms and things like that are coming back too, reverse trend if you will.”

Despite the many changes on campus and the students themselves, his desire to connect with the students remains the same.

“Students change, faces change, but I still try to strike up a conversation as much as I can and get to know as many as I can,” he said.

During his time spent not at Eastern, DeRousse can be found with his wife at numerous fairgrounds around the state (Martinsville, Springfield, and Coles County) or the Casey’s Popcorn Festival, running his locally owned and operated concession stand, “Fry Guys.”

Although working on the grill, running his own business, and having a family is taxing on his body, he said, “I wouldn’t change not interacting with you guys for a second. It’s what makes me do it.”

Anna Hagan can be reached at 581-2812 or at dennewsdesk@gmail. com.

redesigns beginning next semester.

For academic departments that decrease the students that receive letter grades of a D or F, or those that withdraw from courses by at least 7.5% in either Fall 2024 or Fall 2025, comparative to the prior three years, the university will provide a one-time investment of $7,500 into the departments gift account.

Gatrell welcomed new people into the campus leadership team including:

• Inaugural Senior Diversity Inclu-

sion Officer – John Blue

• Internal Auditor – Natalie Black

• Vice President for University Advancement – Mindy Spencer, who will start the role in February

Gatrell said his goal is to focus on recruitment and retention at Eastern and will continue to work on Plan 2028.

There will a progress meeting regarding Plan 2028 by the implementation team where they will report their findings March 26 at 2 p.m. in the Doudna Fine Arts Center Recital Hall.

Eastern helps contribute more than $370 million to the economy as well as support more than 4,500 jobs throughout the state, according to Gatrell.

“The universities overall impact translates into over $54 million in additional state and tax revenues,” Gatrell said.

“These data are critical as they demonstrate the positive impact of EIU on our state’s economies, and the many ways in which we effectively leverage the state’s $46.5 million appropriation to produce a net benefit of roughly $325 million in economic activity, with total tax receipts that exceed our annual appropriation of more than $7 million.”

Eastern will have two new bachelors of arts and science degrees and a master in special education.

Gatrell said, “Higher education needs to meet the needs of our students, and reconfigure the long taken for granted practices and policies that have upheld structural privilege with the objective of accelerating social mobility for all.”

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

BY MACKENZIE FAHRENBACHER | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Liam Corcoran, a sophomore elementary education major, and Ella Wang, a freshman undecided major, eat in South Quad Dining Thursday afternoon.

BY ABRAHAM ORTIZ | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Aaron DeRousse has worked in the dining hall for 14 years and tries to make everyones day better, even if it is just a smile.

Opinions

Eastern deserves a devoted provost

As students, we need someone who will be able to guide us and the university we devote much of our time to. As a provost, academics and students are the main priorities.

If Eastern is educating the next generation’s leaders, its leadership needs to exhibit the qualities of good leadership.

Besides the standard requirements like good problem-solving skills, organization and being aware of who you serve, the next provost should have qualities that help Eastern achieve its institutional goal: to being all in for its students and community.

Transparency

The next provost should keep a clear line of communication open to the campus community. If someone is to be transparent, people will trust them with their decisions.

In some cases, students do not always know what is going on in the higher-up world of academic affairs. Students look for clarity and hope to see someone who can explain and educate students on what is happen-

ing and how it impacts them in a way they can understand.

Cares about students and university

No one wants a detached leader. With the ever-growing divide in social and generational leadership, people want someone who they can relate to. This will help if the new provost is active and present on campus and within their community.

If people can relate to someone, the chances of both parties succeeding are increased because they feel valued.

We do not want someone who just shows their face from time to time. We want someone who can truly commit to Eastern’s academics and its students.

Dedicated to Eastern and its mission

Eastern’s staple is being “all in.” We need someone is able to give 110% of their effort into bettering the university and furthering its overall mission.

Dedication doesn’t stop with only attitude and mindset. Those who have a strong connection with Eastern should know how to care for its students and mission.

Although new thoughts and ideas might be useful for someone who has not been at Eastern, understanding the dynamic of our university is so important.

Understanding the demographics and being in a rural area is so different than being at a Big 10 school. We have a different need for an academic leader. This appointment is not a simple hire. There are a lot of eyes on this because our former provost is now our university president. There is a higher expectation, but this could be for the better. Why not raise the standard?

Those who have not shown their dedication to Eastern will have a harder time convincing students and the selection committee they are better candidates than an internal hire. It isn’t impossible, but should be heavily considered by external applicants. We hope Eastern will give equal chance to all candidates.

The Editorial Board can be reached at 581-2812 or deneic@gmail.com

With Eastern’s active provost search, the Editorial Board urges the candidate chosen be transparent, knowledgeable about Eastern and its mission to students and to care about the well-being of students.

COLUMN

‘Dead Heart in a Dead World’ is the metal album for 2024

By Dan Hahn Columnist

I graduated high school in 2000, which was just about the time I began embracing metal and extreme music as the foundation of my musical taste.

Fresh out of high school, I was new to the metal scene and learning about the many genres of underground metal. One American band that caught my ear was Nevermore. The band was led by singer and lyricist Warrel Dane, who tragically passed away in 2017.

He was known for a distinct singing style and incredible range with a voice that was deep, brooding and emotional.

Nevermore is a band that is difficult to categorize, they have progressive metal components that incorporate sounds of modern hard rock and classic heavy metal in their ballads, but their faster more aggressive offerings are guitar-driven and thrashy.

In October of 2000, Nevermore released a particularly listenable album: “Dead Heart in a Dead World.”

The album is angry and political. I was pleasantly surprised recently when I discovered that it holds up well and sounds great more than two decades later.

While I know heavy music is not most people’s preference, I like to believe there is something for everyone in this album. There are sing-along ballads, such as the track “Believe in Nothing,” and even a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence.” I guarantee you have never heard anything quite like it.

From the first track “Narcosynthesis” to the last, which is the title track, every song is explosively realized, demonstrating surprising clarity and uncanny band cohesion.

One standout track that I wish to discuss in this column is the song “Inside Four Walls,” which is overtly political. It oozes with disdain for the government and is intensely critical of mass incarceration.

The opening four lines strike me as particularly lucid in our polarized political times:

“Inside four walls I live my life, doesn’t matter what I’ve done. The government’s always right they tell us what to be they tell us what to believe. They’re wrong my friend is gone.”

These lyrics could be sung by anyone feeling disaffected by government. Heck, the Make America Great Again (MAGA) right could easily lay claim to this song as their Jan. 6, 2021 anthem, and no one would be the wiser.

Of course, the song was written two decades prior to the insurrection on the US capitol, so obviously the two are not related. However, good art enables us to make such connections.

While the song does not predict the

insurrection, it highlights the power behind good metal: that righteous anger towards government is healthy when channeled appropriately.

“Inside Four Walls” is a protest song, and protests, nonviolent ones, of course, are good for democracy.

Another notable aspect about the year 2000, besides it being an election year, is that it was the year I came of voting age. I remember reading the works of Ralph Nader in those days.

I agreed with his criticisms of the two-party political system in the U.S. I believe he was right then, and he is still right today.

It is a crazy thing, getting old, because now I can say with certainty that we needed a third political party exactly one generation ago, and the “more voices and more choices” that Nader was calling for is still not a reality. This is certainly a topic worthy of outrage, but it is not a rationale for apathy and inaction.

Admittedly, now that I am in my 40s, I see that the system I once raged about in my youth has worked out quite well for me. I am employed, a parent, homeowner and am pursuing a second master’s degree.

However, “Dead Heart in a Dead World” reminds me that outrage is not owned by any political party. The MAGA movement does not have a monopoly on political anger, even though right-wing media outlets are effective at stoking it.

If he were alive today, Dane would certainly have much to say about the political polarization our country is

in, and the inevitable turmoil that will be our elections this November.

Indeed, progressives and liberals have myriad issues to be angry about this year. There are many politically fraught topics for us to write courageously about, and more people should write about them! Heavy metal need not be the only genre that treads the terrain of justified outrage.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade, deadlocked wars, civilian casualties, the politicization of immigrants seeking a better life, inaction on gun control, book banning, brainwashed conspiracy theorists, climate change denial, sycophants bending the knee to their bullies and the dominance of a wealthy, aging political class: there are many reasons to be politically engaged.

Ultimately, Nevermore’s “Dead Heart in a Dead World” reminds me that this U.S. election cycle will be dripping with emotions, turmoil and dysfunction from all sides of the political spectrum.

Metal music has taught me that we are all entitled to the safe and healthy expression of our emotions.

Progressives, liberals and young people should be outraged about our current politics and, like fans of the band Nevermore, we should not be an underground minority.

We need to give voice to our frustrations, and indeed, head to the polls this November.

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

The boy in the iceberg

By Kierstyn Budz Columnist

With the new trailer for the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” Netflix show coming out, fans have reemerged with new excitement. I am 100% one of those fans.

If you are unfamiliar with the original show “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” the show came out in 2005 and had three seasons going until 2008. The show follows the story of Aang, the last airbender who happens to be the Avatar. In this world, there are four nations and four different types of benders. The nations and benders follow the four elements being air, earth, water and fire.

The Avatar is the one person who can control all four elements and bring harmony to all nations.

Back to Aang. The Fire Nation was the main cause of Aang being the last airbender, as they wiped out the entire Air Nation in an attempt to kill the Avatar and allow the Fire Nation to control the world.

After the Air Nation is wiped out, the nations think the Avatar is dead for 100 years as he is frozen in ice after he runs away just before the Fire Nation attacked. This saves Aang but causes the Fire Nation to become almost a dictatorship.

Fast forward to the present day, a water bender, Katara, and her nonbending brother, Sokka, find Aang trapped inside an iceberg and free him.

This starts the journey of Aang and his training to defeat Firelord Ozai, played by Mark Hamill.

The main problem for Aang is that

he only knows air bending and, to defeat Firelord Ozai, he needs to know all four elements. Throughout the seasons, Aang goes on a journey searching for teachers of water, earth and fire bending.

Now with some background, the new live-action show. Fans are very scared but excited for this show.

Reason being, in 2010 there was an “Avatar: The Last Airbender” movie and, well, it was horrible. Some say it was the worst show-to-film adaptation ever. I honestly agree.

The bending was nowhere close to the show, as in one scene it took like seven earth benders to move one rock. In the show, one bender could create a wall of rock without breaking a sweat.

The movie also called Aang the wrong name as his name is said Ayeng while the movie said On-g. This simple mispronunciation caused so much drama and anger in the Avatar

community.

There is even a joke that the Avatar movie is the black sheep of the family, and no one should bring them up. With the show coming out, fans are scared that the show will bring forth the same emotions as the movie.

I have faith that the show will be better than the movie as the trailer looks fantastic.

Fans all over the world also agree that the 2-minute trailer looks better than the entire 103-minute-long movie.

Hopefully, the show will live up to us mega fans’ expectations and it can join the community with open arms. With such a timeless and amazing show that touches on numerous political and social issues, the Netflix adaptation has very big shoes that it will hopefully fill.

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

Coach’s kid now on staff

By Maurice Phipps Sports Reporter | @MPhipps_

Eastern’s women’s head basketball coach Matt Bollant is in his seventh season with the Panthers. This season, his daughter Regan Bollant joined the coaching staff as an assistant coach.

“It’s great,” Matt Bollant said. “We’ve shared basketball our whole life. Now to be on the same staff, it’s pretty special.”

Matt Bollant has 22 years of head coaching experience at the college level, including a previous Sweet Sixteen appearance in the 2011 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Regan Bollant and her dad have bonded with basketball since she was young.

“I decided around age 10 that I wanted to play college basketball, and I feel like we’ve planned this since I was little,” she said. “Once I got serious about basketball, this was kind of in the plan.”

Matt Bollant was ecstatic when talking about working with his daughter.

“She’s seen the highs and lows, so she knows what she’s getting into,” Bollant said. “When I found out, I was excited for her.”

He also mentioned that basketball has allowed them to travel to places like Paris.

“There’s been a lot of travel, and it’s been neat to see where basketball has taken us,” he said.

Regan Bollant gives her dad credit for motivating her to pursue coaching.

“I’ve seen him do it my whole life, I couldn’t see myself doing anything else,” Bollant said. “I don’t know what I would be doing if he wasn’t a head coach. I don’t think I’d be in the profession. Basketball might be the smallest part of what I’m learning as a coach now.”

Regan Bollant also noted the similarities and differences between the coach and dad.

“He’s very patient both as coach and as dad, but the biggest difference is his intensity when he’s on the court,” she said. “A lot of my friends say he seems scary, but he’s a good dude once you get to know him.”

Regan Bollant’s future aspirations don’t end at working with her dad though.

“Even with my undergrad team, I would go on recruiting trips with my head coach,” she said. “I would do all the tours when recruits would come. I think I would be a good recruiting coordinator at an assistant level.”

Maurice Phipps can be reached at 581-2812 or at densportsdesk@ gmail.com.

Pitcher excited for 2024

By Maurice Phipps Sports Reporter | @MPhipps_

Eastern’s senior pitcher Olivia Price is coming off a year where she won the Ohio Valley Conference female player of the year award and the OVC pitcher of the year. Price also notched a selection to the OVC first team and won the OVC Championship to help the Panthers secure a spot in the NCAA Regional Tournament.

So, I sat down and had a Q&A with Price and asked her the difficult questions, like ‘apple juice or orange juice?’ and how 2024 has been treating her so far:

Q: How has the semester been so far?

A: “So far, it’s pretty good. Nothing too hard just yet. I’m just waiting until finals honestly.”

Q: Waffles or pancakes?

A: “I prefer waffles, honestly.”

Q: Morning showers or night showers?

A: “I say night showers.”

Q: What has been the biggest factor in your growth as a player?

A: “I think my biggest factor was last year developing a changeup. That [set me] apart from the last few years. It was also a change on the scouting report, so it gave me a look to other teams.”

Q: Would you describe yourself as more of the quietly confident or outwardly confident?

A: “I would definitely say quietly confident. I’m not the verbal leader on the field most times. Most of the time I just stay to myself.”

Q: If you had to switch positions in softball, what would you play?

A: “I think I’d be an outfielder because I was an outfielder before I was a pitcher. I’m kind of cheating a little bit.”

Q: What is your favorite pitch?

A: “I like the changeup or fastball depending on what’s working that day.”

Q: How many 5th graders do you think you could strike out in a row before your arm gets too tired?

A: “Maybe 20?”

Q: Apple juice or orange juice?”

A: “Honestly, neither. I’m not a big juice person.”

Q: Favorite game you’ve played in besides the obvious? (OVC Championship game)

A: “Well like you said, the obvious. My favorite is the OVC Championship. I liked playing in the regional games against Northwestern and Miami (Ohio).”

Q: Before the OVC Championship game did you know you were going to pitch a shutout?

A: “No. It’s hard to say if you know. I think it just happens when it happens because in the game anything can happen.

There’s no guarantee you’ll have a perfect game or a shutout.”

Q: What does receiving awards like pitcher of the year and OVC female athlete of the year mean to you?

A: “It means a lot. It means that I’ve worked for everything I wanted. Not [necessarily] having those awards in mind, just playing throughout the year.”

Q: How did your family react to you guys winning the OVC Championship?

A: “My mom cried. She was super happy. She was really proud of me knowing that throughout the years I’ve overcome a bunch of obstacles. My dad is stoic, so he hugged me, told me good job, and called it a day. Didn’t show a whole lot of emotion, but I knew he was proud of me.”

Q: Do you model your play after anybody in particular?

A: “Not necessarily. I guess I could say watching other female athletes and previous years watching the [Women’s College] World Series. Not taking after one specif-

ic person but just watching other pitchers and seeing how they handle any type of stress.”

Q: Would you say, ‘6:45’ or ‘a quarter to 7’?

A: “6:45.’ I dislike greatly when people tell me ‘a quarter’ to something.

Q: Least favorite drill in practice?

A: “We don’t do many hard drills. I would say maybe fielding ground balls with tennis balls.”

Q: Favorite song currently?

A: “‘Champion’ by Kanye West.”

Q: How excited are you to start this upcoming season?

A: “I’m super excited. A little bit nervous not knowing how the season’s going to go, but I think once we get on the field and play a few games, I think everyone’s nerves will go away. I’m really excited for this year.”

FILE PHOTO | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Head coach for women’s basketball Matt Bollant started his seventh season at Eastern, this time with his daughter Regan Bollant as an assistant coach.

FILE PHOTO | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Senior pitcher Olivia Price won several top honors during last year’s softball season. Coming off a successful year, Price said she is nervous, yet excited, to hit the field again in their first game on Feb. 9 and conference play beginning March 9.

Basketball continued from PG 1 >>

That attitude has shown this season with Buzzelle taking and making multiple clutch shots.

When the Panthers played at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville earlier in the season, they were down by one. Buzzelle was able to make a three-pointer to put them up by one with 27 seconds left.

She would then go on and make five straight free throws to put the game away.

Three games later, she was able to do it again when Eastern was down 6167 to Morehead State University with a little under two minutes left. Buzzelle would then go on to hit two threes, tying the game up with nine seconds left on the clock.

Morehead would then make a layup to put them up by two, and head coach Matt Bollant said that they drew up a play for Buzzelle.

“We ran a set play to get her a shot there,” Bollant said. “She makes them, so it just gives you confidence to say, ‘Hey that might be the girl that we want to run something for to try to get her a shot in a situation because she’s done it before.’”

Against Tennessee Tech University last Thursday, she didn’t take the shot but assisted on it with a pass to junior forward Macy McGlone, who was able to win the game.

Buzzelle is also important to the team’s success because the team is 4-2 in games where she scores 15 or more points.

Those two losses came to the University of New Mexico, where they lost 7881 in overtime, and against Morehead State, where they lost 67-69.

Buzzelle said that she doesn’t think that she is a clutch player, and that all her life she had been scared of those moments.

“I don’t know how I’ve all of the sudden become calm in those moments, but I think it’s just my foundation off the court that I’m not really made for. I mean I play great basketball. I’m made for more than basketball,” Buzzelle said. “I think that gives me validation that if I mess up, it’s not the end of the world, and I think it just gives me the calm nerves to not get so nervous in those moments in which other people have struggles with getting nervous in those moments.”

With her three-point shooting success, Bollant said that she has the green light to shoot whenever she feels she is open.

Sophomore guard Ellie Buzzelle is 31st in the country in three-point percentage with 41.7%.

“For her, there’s really not too many threes that are bad shots because she can shoot it quickly and shoot it with range,” Bollant said.

Buzzelle said that knowing that she has the green light as a shooter gives

her a lot of confidence, even if it’s contested.

“[The coaches] know the work I’ve put in. They’ve seen the amount of makes I make in practice or in workouts and they support me and to just shoot it,”

Panthers of the Week

The junior forward from Greenville, Wisconsin, scored the game-winning layup at the buzzer to give the Panthers the 73-71 win over the Tennessee Tech University Golden Eagles Thursday evening in Groniger Arena.

McGlone recorded 30 points and 19 rebounds. The last time a Panther scored 30 points or more in a single game was on Dec. 3, 2022 when Lariah Washington scored 30 points against Northern Illinois.

Buzzelle said. “That’s my job on this team, that’s my role.”

Luther Yoder can be reached at 581-2812 or at densportsdesk@ gmail.com

The junior distance runner from Hampshire finished in first place in the 800m event at the Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis Invite in Indianapolis. Morales finished the 800m with a time of 1:54.76.

Morales also finished in fourth place in the mile run, setting a new personal best time of 4:17.70.

MACY MCGLONE

ISAI MORALES

BY SIA DEYKOONTZ | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

‘Goodie boys’ reunite at EIU

By Zaria Flippin Sports Editor | @DEN_News

Junior guard/forward Kyndall Davis and senior guard Tiger Booker have known each other for six years.

Although Booker is a year older than Davis, the two weren’t very close early on.

“We were always cool, but we didn’t really get close until I was out of high school,” Booker said.

COVID-19 put most of the U.S. on lockdown, the two grew closer off the court during the summer of 2020.

“When COVID hit and everyone was in the house, we didn’t have anything to do,” Davis said. “One day, we just had the courage to go outside. We started doing everything together: going to SkyZone, going out to eat, hanging out with friends. We’d just always be together.”

Even though Davis and Booker kept in touch while at different colleges, they had talked about playing with each again in the future.

“We’ve been talking about going to school together way before this,” Booker said. “We wanted to play in college together. At the time, [Kyndall] was in junior college last year, so he had to leave to attend a four-

year school, and I put my name in the transfer portal after Tarleton [State].”

Davis was the first out of the two to commit to Eastern, but Davis was not slow to suggest to Eastern’s coaching staff that they should give Booker a chance.

“I knew [Booker] was looking for a new school, and he’s one of my best friends,” Davis said. “We talk about every other day. I knew he was looking for a school, and he had told me that he wanted to come closer to home, so I knew that we needed a point guard, so I tried my best to convince Marty to give him a chance, and he did.”

Davis added that it wasn’t super hard to convince the coaching staff to recruit Booker.

“It wasn’t really that hard because Tiger is really well known around Chicago,” Davis said. “Coach Marlon London knew about Tiger, and I told him that he was looking for a school, and I guess they went from there.”

Coached by the late Arthur Goodwin, Booker and Davis were starters for the 2018-2019 season as Bogan High School made it to the Illinois High School Association 3A State Championship.

Booker and Davis credited Goodwin, who they called “Goodie” to their success in high school as well as creating an environment

both players wanted to be part of.

“Off the court, I’d say he’s a goofy, funny person. He’d always talk to us about stuff other than basketball, and we just had a good relationship with him,” Davis said. “On the court, we knew there was a certain standard that he held us to, and we were expecting that. He was a ‘stand-on business’ guy.”

“He was the coolest person off the court,” Booker said. “I guess that’s what made us respect him as a coach because we knew the relationship off the court. There was nothing that he would’ve told us that we wouldn’t have done for him, and we knew it was the same thing the other way around.”

Booker and Davis have traveled together and went through several wins together throughout their 31-4 season at Bogan High School during the 2018-2019 season, and four years later, they get to share the court with each other again.

As of January 28, 2024, Booker averages 14.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Davis currently averages 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.

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

FILE PHOTO | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Senior guard Jordan “Tiger” Booker has scored 14.9 points per game, has a 43.5% for field goals and 2.3 steals per game this season.

FILE PHOTO | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS Junior guard/forward Kyndall Davis (right) has scored 8.8 points per game and has 2.3 steals per game this season.