Fashionable backpacks for the fall semester seen around Eastern. p. 4
Bones Jugs N Harmony will play at 9 p.m. Friday at Mac's Uptowner. p. 3
AUG. 28, 2015
The Daily Eastern News' weekly arts and entertainment section
EPIC WIN
ON THE VERGE Check out The Verge for reviews, fashion tips and a feature on the award-winning radio station HitMix 88.9.
The women’s swim team receives recognition for academics, involvement and season success. PAGE 8
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JASON HOWELL | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS
Cassy Hodge, a senior mass communications major, tells listeners what song will be playing next on Hit-Mix 88.9. The station has been a finalist in multiple college-level contests, and was nominated for an mtvU Woodie Award.
Hit-Mix 88.9 WEIU wins spot on top 10 college radios list By Rose Sacco Verge Designer | @den_verge
Over the summer, HitMix 88.9 WEIU was awarded a spot on gearpatrol.com’s 10 College Radio Stations that Rock. On July 8, the online media site, based out of New York, gave 10 college radio stations from all over the country recognition overall for the way they operate. The site granted Hit-Mix 88.9 WEIU the honor for “claiming to offer 'the story of your life in music'." "WEIU offers — first and foremost — professional training for its student radio hopefuls, and also aims for quality in its music and community broadcasting," according to Gear Patrol's website. Although Hit-Mix 88.9 was not nominated for this title
and did not submit any work, the radio station’s director, Jeffrey Owens, was quite pleased. “It’s a result of hard work and dedication to our craft,” Owens said. “What makes us stick out (from other college radio stations) is our students love the station and love the fact they have a great interactive audience who use the station on a daily basis.” The radio station is live from 6-9 a.m. and has students working it all day. It also is a flagship for Eastern football and basketball. No day looks the same to the radio team. Past honors include students' individual awards, such as the National Sportscaster of the Year, IBA-U Silver Dome Awards, CBI Awards, and Statewide PSA Awards. The station has been a finalist for the mtvU Woodie
"We are not like any other radio station in the country."
Friday, August 28, 2015
-Robert Calhoun, production supervisor
cap that we are getting nationally recognized. It shows the hard work that our students put in is being appreciated, not only locally, but also throughout the country,” Calhoun said. He said Hit-Mix 88.9 WEIU has what it takes to stand out in the entertainment crowd, both in a collegiate setting as well as a professional setting. “We are not like any other radio station in the country. We play hit music from the ‘50s to today. Most stations will play a hodgepodge of many different genres and songs that have not been hits," Calhoun said. "We feel our format better prepares our students to get jobs following college." Several student workers at the radio station are up for IBA-U Silver Dome Awards
again. The finalists will be announced soon, Calhoun said. Two-year on-air personality James Bateman said he could not be happier for the title from Gear Patrol. “I showed my mom after I read it and I was so proud to be a part of something that was getting national attention,” Bateman said. “For a college radio station that is considered a small school compared to some of the other schools on the list, it is nice to see all the hard work we do paid off.” He added this is the biggest nomination the radio station has received since he started working on-air.
“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID”
C E L E BRATI NG A CE NTUR Y OF COV E RA GE Award for the Best College Radio Station in the country the last two years, and was named a Top 20 College Radio Station That Rocks by bestcollegereviews.org. Production supervisor Robert Calhoun said he takes pride in these awards. “It is another feather in our
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Rose Sacco can be reached at 581-2812 or rcsacco@eiu.edu.
ROTC undergoes combat water training at pool By Cassie Buchman Administration Editor|@cjbuchman Members of the ROTC swam across the Charleston Rotary Pool in full uniform with plastic rifles in their arms for water training Thursday afternoon. Their uniforms were dripping with water upon exiting the pool with their boots flooded. ROTC members went through five events meant to train them for situations where they have to swim while in combat. For the first event, each member swam 15 meters in full uniform carrying a plastic rifle. After that, they were taken to the diving board where an instructor pushed them off while they wore a hat on their head that covered their eyes. Dylan Doughty, a senior business major, said the point of the blindfolds is so they are disoriented when they hit the water. “You’re supposed to keep your calm, remove your blindfold, and swim back to the side you came from,” Doughty said. The other event was on the far side of the pool. Leaders put the equipment on the ROTC members, and then they were pushed into the pool. “As you fall in backwards, you’re supposed to get all the equipment off you while you’re underwater just so you get used to maneuvering all that gear because it gets heavy,” Doughty said. The last two events are a 10-minute swim and five minutes treading water. During the swim, students cheered as the instructor announced there was only one minute left. Maryneth Biyok, a freshman clinical laboratory science major, said
JASON HOWELL | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Junior pre-nursing major Angela Robison is pushed off the diving board during combat water training on Thursday at the Charleston Rotary Pool.
swimming for ten minutes was easy for her. Biyok said this was because they were not wearing their uniforms, and because she is from the Philippines, where she swam a lot. “I think I could go 20 minutes, it’s not really that bad,” she said.
Not everyone that attempted the event was a strong swimmer, but part of water training was identifying the weaker swimmers. “ We have swimming lessons throughout the semester,” Doughty said. K Saldanas, a senior sociology ma-
jor, was not a swimmer when first starting water training. “I failed everything my freshman year, then sophomore year I started training with Captain Alix to improve, but by my junior year I passed everything,” Saldanas said. “I think training is good for everyone to face
their fears, because I’m still scared of swimming.” Abby Robison, a junior pre-nursing major, has had three previous experiences with water training for the ROTC.
ROTC, page 6
Stevenson Hall fire Students see results in Gateway forces evacuation By T’Nerra Butler Multicutural Editor | @DEN_News
JASON HOWELL | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
A maintenance worker removes damaged ceiling tiles in the lobby of Stevenson Hall. Flashing alarms continued after sprinklers were activated to extinguish a fire on the fifth floor Thursday. Charleston Fire Chief Pat Goodwin said units were dispatched for an activated fire alarm and that fire pumps were active as firefighters arrived on scene. The fire was discovered in a closet and the sprinklers extinguished the fire. Water could be seen dripping into the Stevenson Hall lobby. Maintenance workers were seen removing damaged ceiling tile. The cause is under investigation.
Yolanda Williams, a Gateway adviser, started her advising career at Eastern. Williams said this year Gateway has more than 200 students in the program. She said the average student is released from the program in their second year. “There are 38 to 40 second-years in Gateway and a little over 180 for freshmen,” Williams said. “Our program is one of the few programs on campus that continually has students.” Williams said her approach as an adviser is to treat her students as if they were her own. “We have intrusive advising, and intrusive advising means that we’re not just talking about grades.” Williams said. “We’re talking about roommates and how that’s going, and how they are getting along at Eastern.” Williams said she talks to her students on a personal level so they never feel like they are getting a PIN num-
ber and a ‘see you in two weeks.’” Williams said Gateway gives students a lift up and pushes them to be successful. Corinthian Bethel, a senior family and consumer sciences major, said Gateway is like a family to him and played a vital role in his college years. “What lead me to being a president is being able to help other students and stand for what I believe in. African American studies is my passion,” Bethel said. “I saw the need for Gateway students to be involved and make a difference, and I did just that.” Bethel said the worst part about Gateway were the rules and regulations. He said those vigorous activities consumed his social life and not his academic life, so it benefits the student in the end. “Gateway works,” Bethel said. “I am a product of it.” Chelsea Ray, a junior communications major, said she was in Gateway for two years. She said Gateway helped her become a better student. “Now that I am a junior I feel that Gateway has helped me improve myself,” Ray said. “My sophomore year I
was given an award for having a GPA of 3.0.” Ray said she feels odd about not going to study tables or having priority towards a certain thing on campus. She said in study tables students are required to stay four hours a week. Roosevelt Martin, a freshman business major, said he is in Gateway because of his ACT score. Martin has a twin brother who is also a business major, but not in Gateway. “It’s different requirements than students that got in through regular admissions,” Martin said. “They’re on us a lot harder, so I actually feel like I’m going to come out better than most students.” Martin said his brother got a 19 on the ACT compared to his 17. Martin said this is not the first time his brother has outdone him. He said he could have a different outcome this time around. “Because of the extra push I get, I might come out higher,” Martin said. T’Nerra Butler can be reached at 581-2812 or tabutler@eiu.edu.