STORY AND SONG TOP CAT Members of EIU CrossBones will perform at the BalWith red-shirt sophomore Garet Christianson lenger Teachers Center’s Storytime program during Family Weekend.
on the men’s soccer lineup, the team has scored nine goals in three games.
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Dai ly Eastern News
THE
WWW.DAILYEASTERNNEWS.COM
Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013
VOL. 98 | ISSUE 29
“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID”
crime
entertainment | spoken word
Police seek assistance in investigation
Students voice life issues
Anyone with ‘Barn Party’ information asked to come forward By Bob Galuski News Editor @DEN_News The Charleston Police Department issued a release on their Facebook page asking for any witnesses from the “Barn Party” shooting on Sept. 15 to help aid in their investigation. Anyone with information regarding the shooting, which took place at 634 W. State St., is urged to contact the CPD or the University Police Department. Anyone who has information can call 217-345-8422 to speak with a detective. Those with information who wish to leave a tip anonymously can call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-345-8488. People can also go to the Crime Stoppers website at www.colescountycrimestoppers.org to leave a tip after following the link on the right side of the page. Lt. Brad Oyer of the CPD said the department has been using social media outlets like Facebook to help with investigations for a while. “It’s always provided a good tool,” he said. “I can’t tell you the amount of times it’s helped out.” The “Barn Party” shooting investigation is still ongoing, Oyer said. “Detectives have been working hard to run down any information they can,” Oyer said. So far in the investigation, two men have been arrested in connection to the shooting. Marquis Green, 24, of Park Forest, Ill., and Kajuan Wright, 23, of DeKalb, Ill., were arrested on Sept. 15 after allegedly deterring attempts by police officers to provide assistance to the injured victims, a press release sent by the Charleston Police Department stated. The “Barn Party” shooting occurred on Sept. 15 and two gunshot victims and one battery victim were taken to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center. Oyer said he did not have an update on the condition of the victims, and the hospital does not release patient information. Oyer said those wishing to leave a tip anonymously should use Crime Stoppers. “With Crime Stoppers, they stay anonymous,” Oyer said. He added that along with social media, Crime Stoppers was a good tool for law enforcement. According to the release posted to the CPD’s Facebook page, a cash payment can be made to anyone who leaves a tip that leads to an arrest. The anonymous caller will receive a code and after the arrest has been made, the caller calls back in with the code. “Crime Stoppers assures that the caller remains anonymous with no pressure to reveal their identity and still collect their awards,” the release stated. Bob Galuski can be reached at 581-2812 or rggaluski@eiu.edu.
By Marcus Curtis Entertainment Editor @DEN_News The scene is a dimmed 7th Street Underground with a well-lit stage to set the mood for creativity through spoken word to present the “The Brave New Voices” poetry slam. David Groves, a senior management major and UB Mainstage coordinator, approached the stage to present the first poet. Groves put emphasis on the fact that all the poets performing were performing original pieces. In addition, Groves presented each poet by stating a quote from the poet themselves. The first poet to perform from the majority female line-up was Dominique Miles-Rodgers, a sophomore family and consumer sciences major. Groves introduced MilesRodgers by giving her quote, “She enjoys writing and has always had a passion for expressing herself through her words.” Miles-Rodgers performed a poem that discussed the obstacles a female has to face when searching for “real love,” while the audience sat in silence, eye focused on the stage. Asha Hoover, a junior therapeutic recreation major, performed her poem, “What color is love,” a poem about the issues of adopting a child of the opposite race. Hoover interacted with the crowd, asking them “what color is love?” The substance of Hoover’s poem and her performance resulted in a series of claps, snaps and cheers from the crowd. But, the performance that sent the crowd into an extreme uproar was Tiarra ‘Mello’ Webb’s version of “Black Woman” by poet T. Miller. Webb is a sophomore athletic
Jessic a Svoboda | The Daily Eastern Ne ws
Jalisa Israel , a senior corporate communications major, recites a poem during Brave New Voices Wednesday at 7th St. Underground in he MLK Jr. University Union.Isreal said she feels poetry is a way to express issues that others are afraid to.
training major. Webb’s poetry flow, eye contact and enthusiasm won the crowd over. The poem by T. Miller described the oppression and success of African American women in the past and the present, mentioning names like Harriet Tubman and Oprah Winfrey. Webb even went as far inside her as to encouraging the African American males in the audience to show more respect towards African American women. Travon Moore, a sophomore pre-business accounting major, said he enjoyed Webb’s poetry the most.
“My favorite was Tiarra Webb’s poetry,” he said. “I loved the enthusiasm of the crowd.” Cailley Young, a freshman biological sciences major, said she enjoyed Webb’s poem as well. “I liked Mello’s performance, that was a nice performance,” Young said. “It connected to me.” Other performers included Shamerea Richards, a junior business marketing major, and Alexis Bentley, a senior mass communications major, who recited a poem titled “Little Girl.” Jalisa Israel, a corporate communications major and the special events chairwoman for NAACP,
performed a poem that encouraged minorities to stand up for their rights. Xavier Menzies Jr., a sophomore English major and the only male performer for the night, performed two of his original rap songs for the crowd. The poetry slam ended with an open mic session available to the students in attendance. The crowd cheered once Paulette Horton, a junior psychology major, approached the stage and performed her own version of Beyonce’s song “One Plus One.”
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administr atoin | pover t y
Professor weighs in on food stamp cut By Robert Downen Administration Editor @DEN_news Ongoing battles on Capitol Hill over slashes to the national food stamps program could have drastic effects on the Charleston and Coles County area, one Eastern professor said. Michael Gillespie, an assistant professor of sociology who has researched and worked extensively with local poverty and hunger, said the Charleston and Mattoon areas are especially susceptible to cuts because of the high number of residents who rely on government programs for food. Currently, one-quarter of all Coles County families, including two in five children, are food insecure, meaning they lack permanent
access to meals that fulfill even basic dietary needs. The pending legislation, which narrowly passed the House last week, demands a $40 billion cut to the SNAP program over the next decade. Yet despite estimates from the Congressional Budget Office that the bill could cost $764 billion over the next decade as is, Gillespie said the $40 billion cut still unfairly targets the needy. “I think it’s an awful idea,” Gillespie said. “It’s going to cut eligibility; it’s going to cut access to the program; it’s going to deny people who need help, help, all based on this idea that there’s this fraudulent population taking advantage of the system, and that population doesn’t exist.” While a White House veto threat
and a Democrat-controlled Senate both make passage of the bill highly unlikely, Gillespie still said the notion of prominent fraud within the program is bothersome, and based mostly on misconceptions of impoverished Americans. “Over half of the people on SNAP are kids,” he said. “The other half is made up of people who work low-wage jobs, elderly people and the disabled.” He also noted fraud rates for the SNAP program are actually lower than those for agricultural subsidies, which until this year, would have traditionally passed as a part of the pending Farm Bill. “It always kind of mystifies me that we don’t talk about millionaires getting millions of dollars in subsidies, but we talk about someone who needs food assistance cheating
a little bit to put some extra food in their belly,” he said. Regardless of the SNAP program’s future, Gillespie said that despite the county’s serious poverty levels, he still often witnesses hostility towards lower-income individuals, a problem he views as symptomatic of myths surrounding welfare programs. He recalled a particular episode in a grocery store check-out line, where a woman had separated her order—baby formula, bananas and some bread— according to how she would pay. Gillespie said the woman was holding food stamps from SNAP as well as WIC, a nutrition service for woman who are about to or have recently given birth.
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