THE
Daily Egyptian Serving the Southern Illinois University community since 1916.
dailyegyptian.com January 27, 2021 Vol. 104, Issue 2
SIU research team discovers new variant of COVID-19
IEA pulls Bost endorsement
George Wiebe | gwiebe@dailyegyptian.com
Elizabeth Derr, an on campus resident, gets tested for COVID-19 Monday, Jan. 25, 2021, at the SIU testing site located at Becker Pavilion near Campus Lake in Carbondale, Ill. “Subash Kharel | @pics.leaks Janae Mosby | @mosbyj
SIU chemistry professor Keith Gagnon and his team have been conducting research on the COVID-19 virus, and recently discovered a new variant of the virus that is dominant in the United States.
Gagnon started his research with genomic virus surveillance and that led him to discover this new variant. Genomes are the complete set of genes present in a cell or organism. “This variant that we found we have named 20C-US and it appears almost exclusively to be a US
variant. It looks like it originated, as far back as we can trace it, in the southern US,” Gagnon said. The earliest genome they found that contained all the signature mutations of 20C-US was from Houston, Texas, Gagnon said. Please see COVID-19 | 2
Hayes Center gets a fresh coat
Jesse Miller paints a wall at Eurma C. Hayes Center on Saturday, Jan 23, 2021, in Carbondale, Ill.. Subash Kharel | @pics.leaks
The Illinois Education Association and the Illinois Political Action Committee for Education officially pulled their backing of fourth term congressman Mike Bost. In their publicly released letter to Bost, the IEA said their decision was a result of the congressman’s vote against certifying the election results on Jan. 6. The IEA has endorsed Bost since 2016. When Congress met to confirm President Joe Biden’s electoral college victory Rep. Bost, along with 138 other House Republicans, voted to overturn the results of several states, including Arizona and Pennsylvania. Only two of Illinois’ eighteen congressional representatives voted against certifying the election results, the second being newly elected Rep. Mary Miller of the 15th district. On Dec. 16, SIU’s Faculty Association and Graduate Assistants United co-wrote the Illinois Education Association, which represents over 135,000 current and former education employees across the state. In their joint letter to the IEA, the FA and GAU condemned the continued endorsement, writing, “The FA and GAU have long been convinced that Bost is hostile to the values that we, as educators, work to protect.” Anne Fletcher, president of SIUC’s Faculty Association, said the FA and GAU had been “overwhelmingly outvoted” when the IEA had decided to re-endorse Bost last fall. In December the IEA wrote Bost asking him to “begin to help heal our nation by supporting the electoral college vote.” Five days after the insurrection at the Capitol, the IEA once again wrote to Bost officially cutting ties saying: “Your decision will make it impossible for IPACE to continue our political support for you moving forward.” “Our feeling is that a
“The FA and GAU have long been convinced that Bost is hostile to the values that we, as educators, work to protect.” - SIU Faculty Association and Graduate Assistants United
government official’s social and political actions are inextricably linked to their stands on education,” Fletcher said. “I can say now that the IEA’s action restored my faith in grassroots efforts and in the efficacy of unions.” When asked for a comment Bost’s press secretary replied with the congressman’s official statement on his house.gov press release in which he said “I wasn’t seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election, I was upholding the constitutional principles that educators across America instill in their students each and every day.” Bost said the Arizona and Pennsylvania elections did not comply with their state’s laws, something officials in both states as well as the Supreme Court have dismissed outright. Top election officials, Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State of Arizona, and Kathy Boockvar, Secretary of State of Pennsylvania, stand by the legitimacy of their state’s elections. “I value the work that Southern Illinois’ educators do to educate and inspire our youth, and will continue to support their very important mission,” Bost said in his statement. A petition to recall Mike Bost from public office reached 2,275 signatures as of Jan 25. Staff reporter George Wiebe can be reached at gwiebe@ dailyegyptian.com
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
COVID-19 continued from
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Jacqueline Boyd | @jacqueline_ciera
“What we are seeing is that it is very different geographically, in the center of the United States it is taking up a large percentage of the total COVID-19 cases,” one of Gagnon’s research assistants, Michael Bosmeny said. Bosmeny said there is a lower percentage 20C-US in the western states of the US. Gagnon began with using samples of the COVID-19 virus that were from Illinois, but once they realized they found an interesting variant, they began using data from the entire United States and the world. “We’ve acquired a bigger data set and that allowed us to look a little closer and that is what led us to identify this new variant,” Gagnon said. Gagnon received the samples of the coronavirus from the Illinois Department of Public Health. “We’ve acquired a larger number of genomes, we were asked to ramp up our sequencing to hunt for the UK variant. Through the course of that and through December we really generated a lot more genomes,” Gagnon said. As far as how common the variant is, Gagnon said one in every two people that get COVID-19 may have this variant in the US. This new variant is different from variants that have been discovered in other countries. Bosmeny said what makes this variant different from other is it does
not have the same mutations on the outside. “It is primarily in the US, it has not spread widely to other countries yet. The mutations it carries are very unique and different as compared to other variants in the world and that is part of why it took a while to recognize,” Gagnon said. Gagnon said certain global regions like North America, South America, Australia, the UK and parts of Africa should expect to have their own unique variants emerge. “They’re separate variants from different parts of the SARS-CoV-2 tree. They do kind of parallel each other though in the sense that you see the emergence of local variants in a number of different regions that may be improved versions of the virus,” graduate research assistant Chris Barkau said. New variants have been discovered in the UK, South Africa and Brazil, according to the Center of Disease Control. The UK variant has been named B.1.1.7 and this variant can spread more quickly and easier than other variants. “The UK variant has been proposed to be more transmissible, the hard data for that is still out. The South African variant has some preliminary reports have come out saying it may be able to evade immunity,” Gagnon said. The variants that were discovered in South Africa (1.351) and Brazil
(P.1) have not been detected in the United States. The CDC stated the South Africa variant 1.351 shares some of the same mutations as the UK variant and it was detected in early October. The Brazil variant P.1 was identified in four travelers from Brazil. This variant contains additional mutations that affect its ability to be recognized by antibodies. The COVID-19 vaccine will help fight against 20C-US, but it is acquiring new mutations that could impact the vaccine. Currently the majority should not be a problem, Gagnon said. Barkau said none of the initial set of mutations that occurred were in the protein the vaccine encodes so it shouldn’t affect the effectiveness. Further research on this variant is going to allow a better understanding of the evolution of the virus over time. “We are going to track this variant and monitor its new mutations across the US and around the world. We plan to do experiments that will teach us more about its transmissibility and its virulence and hopefully we can compare that to other variants around the world,” Gagnon said. Staff reporter Janae Mosby can be reached at jmosby@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @mosbyj.
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Chloe Schobert | @chlo_scho_art
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
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Speaker of the Illinois House Madigan passes the gavel Oreoluwa Ojewuyi | @odojewuyi
Following four decades as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, Michael Madigan passed the gavel to the first Black Speaker of the House Emanuel “Chris” Welch. Madigan announced he was suspending his campaign as Speaker of the House following a vote on Jan. 10. “It is time for new leadership in the House. I wish all the best for Speaker-elect Welch as he begins a historic speakership,” Madigan said in a statement announcing the suspension of his campaign. “It is my sincere hope today that the caucus I leave to him and to all who will serve alongside him is stronger than when I began.” Four members of Madigan’s inner circle were indicted Nov. 18 for bribery in connection with a bribery scandal involving the Commonwealth Edison. They were: Michael McClain, a ComEd lobbyist, former CEO of ComEd Anne Pramaggiore, lobbyist John Hooker and Jay Doherty, the past president of the
City Club of Chicago. Madigan received 51 votes from the House Democratic Caucus on Jan. 10. In order to win the position a candidate needs to receive 60 votes. Welch received a call from Madigan on the morning of Jan. 11 he said he will never forget. “I was going through security and he called me through an unfamiliar number. It was Madigan. He told me he was suspending his campaign, asked me if I was interested in the job and he gave me some advice on how he thought I could get it done,” Welch said. Being the first Black person to hold the position of Speaker of the Illinois House is long overdue, Welch said. “I had a moment with my son on Martin Luther King day, we were having breakfast as a family. I have an eight year old son and six year old daughter,” Welch said. My son asked me, ‘Daddy when was Illinois founded?,’ I said 1818 and I saw his face calculating the number. It took over 200 years for
us to get here and that’s what Dr. Martin Luther King was fighting for. This new rule will show little Black girls and boys all over the state that they can accomplish great things.” Welch hopes to follow in Madigan’s footsteps and is looking forward to moving the state forward with his colleagues. “I think so far it has been a very smooth transition. Speaker Madigan has been very helpful with me and finding my way around the office. I also think that folks can expect to see the Chris Welch stamp, I’m going to be myself,” Welch said. Steve Brown worked as a spokesman for Madigan since 1983. Brown, a Southern Illinois University graduate and former Daily Egyptian reporter, will continue on as an adviser to Welch. Brown said Illinoisans can expect a smooth transition of power. “I think they will continue to see the legislature, especially the House of Representatives, functions as a co-equal branch
of the government they will do their best to address all the myriad challenge the state is facing right now from dealing with COVID-19, and the budget deficit proven and provide services that people are entitled to under the law to continue as well as possible,” Brown said. Brown said Welch admires what Madigan accomplished over the years and sees it as an inspiration. “Speaker Welch will set his own path and establish his own identity. I think that he admires a lot of the work Madigan did over the years and finds that as a big inspiration,” Brown said. According to Welch, the House is hoping to pass new rules on Feb. 10. “Our caucus has formed a working group. Our plan is to go through that process through the next couple of weeks before we adopt any new house rules. We normally would have approved rules on Jan 14, Everything is under review,” Welch said. Welch said he wants to work with Republicans but does not
want to mirror the minority party. “We’re going to make sure we do things ethically. I plan to unify the House by my style of leadership. Just yesterday I reached out to leader Durkin and he said he doesn’t think the last speaker had his cellphone number.I think it’s important that we communicate,” Welch said Welch also received support from the Illinois Federation of Teachers. “As a state representative, Speaker Welch has been a friend and ally in protecting middle-class families from devastating cuts to public services and healthcare and an ardent supporter of public education. I have stood with him as he organized grassroots support for the safety of school children,” Illinois Federation of Teachers in a statement released on Jan. 13. Reporter Oreoluwa Ojewuyi can be reached at oojewuyi@ dailyegyptian.com or on twitter @odojewuyi.
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Reform bill could make Illinois first state to abolish cash bail
Jason Flynn | @dejasonflynn
Civil rights advocates in Illinois drafted and shepherded what might be the most transformative criminal justice legislation in the country through the state general assembly, despite opposition from police and prosecutors. House Bill 3653 aims to make sweeping changes to the criminal justice process, including abolishing the use of cash bail to enforce pretrial detention, adding use of force rules for police officers, adjusting decertification for officers, and adding “guardrails” to the pretrial detention process to keep more people out of jail before they are convicted of a crime. The bill was awaiting a signature from Governor JB Pritzker as of publication deadline. “Partially, it’s just a vindication of the principle of innocent till proven guilty that is supposed to apply in an American criminal court,” Ben Ruddell, Director of Criminal Justice Policy with the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said. The ACLU of Illinois drafted some language for the bill in coordination with thirteen other organizations in the Coalition to End Money Bond, which formed in May 2016, and organizations partnering with the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice. “The Chicago Community Bond Fund, and the Illinois Justice Project, Chicago Appleseed, Shriver Center on Poverty Law, Community Renewal Society, a number of churches and faith based organizations, The People’s Lobby, the Worker Center for Racial Justice, those are all those organizations are members of the coalition to end money bond that worked on the Pretrial Fairness Act,” Ruddell said. Money bail has a long history in the United States garnering a mention in the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment which states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” The practice underwent a major expansion in the 19th century, according to Shima Baughman, a professor of law and the author of “The Bail Book: A Comprehensive Look at Bail in America’s Criminal Justice System.” “Commercial bail became a practice in California and it spread to other states,” Baughman wrote in an email. “The impact of commercial “bail bonds” have been devastating on poor Americans.” “Being in jail is a punitive measure,” Ruddell said. “The only justifiable reasons to hold a person in jail, pre trial, when they have not yet been convicted of anything, is either because there’s good reason to think that they would pose a danger to other people if they were not incarcerated, or because we think they’re going to willfully run away” The bail process was intended to be a safeguard against people fleeing court proceedings. “Ultimately, I want to make sure
Chloe Schobert | @chlo_scho_art that bail is there to ensure their court appearance, and that’s that’s the most important thing, but ultimately, it has been used to make sure that bad guys stay in jail, and good guys get out.” Joe Cervantes, the State’s Attorney for Jackson County who is opposed to the bill, said. “I’ve never misused that, and I don’t know any state’s attorney around here who has” In 2015 seventy one percent of the jailed population in Illinois was from pretrial detention, and southern counties like Alexander, Pulaski, and Union had the highest rates of jail admissions according to a study by the Vera Institute of Justice. “We see, you know, 250,000 people pass through Illinois jails every year,” Ruddell said. “Most of them ended up there because they were detained on a money bond that they were unable to pay.” The bill was opposed for various reasons by police organizations and the Illinois State’s Attorneys Association. “We’re not totally opposed to everything in this bill, but, overall, there are some things that are very concerning to us. And that, that causes us to, you know, remain opposed to the bill,” Shawn Roselieb, the Executive Director at the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council said. The main points of contention are mandates for training, and body camera implementation which, according to Roselieb, would divert police funding from other action items. “If you’re making the body cameras be worn there, there is no, right now, there is no funding for that. So the funds that you currently have are going to have to be used to, you know, purchase that equipment and hire those people that are going to be tasked with Freedom of Information requests,” Roselieb said. “That’s money that’s, you know, already allocated.” Reformers like Phil Telefeyan, the Executive Director of Equal Justice
Under Law, believe the complaints from cops about funding are valid, but think the choice is a matter of setting priorities. “I think law enforcement, especially the higher up is going to want to protect, you know, their peers, you know, they’re gonna want to protect other cops, which is an important group,” Telefeyan said. “When one priority is deemed by the legislature, the representatives of the people, to be high, like the use of body cams, you have to make some hard choices.” Cervantes said state’s attorneys are opposed to the bill because it limits their prosecutorial power. It says the language requires the court to make a written finding as to why less restrictive conditions would not ensure the safety of the community and ensure the defendant’s appearance,” Cervantes said. “I think there it takes away a lot of discretion and makes it a high burden for me to prove that they can do whatever they’re doing out in, you know, in jail out in the public.” Yet, those limits are exactly the points of the reform package that civil rights advocates believe the criminal justice system needs more of. “Bond court now is a place where judges have lots and lots of discretion, but their discretion is not guided by clear standards, or clear laws, and so it’s kind of the wild west,” Ruddell said. “This bill actually does a lot of work to create those clear standards, and give judges much more, much clearer guidance than they have now.” Versions of pretrial reform have popped up all over the country in the last five years, including legislation passed in Alaska, New Jersey, and New York, and a state supreme court decision in Missouri which tried to guide judges away from imposing cash bail. Reforms in those places led to modest decreases in the jailed population, and didn’t see any increases in the crime
rate, according to a study from Loyola University, but most of those changes fell short of activists’ goals. “When you look at New Jersey, they tried to eliminate or at least reduce the use of money bail prior to trial, basically making it a last resort. But judges were so used to using it,” said. “A lot of judges would just, you know, still impose it.” Illinois passed a limited reform of the pretrial system in 2017 which allowed detainees to receive credit on their bail for time served, and provided for the development of a risk assessment tool to assist in setting pretrial conditions. The new bill would totally abolish money bonds and give municipalities two years to work on setting up an alternative pretrial system. “For the next two years, before January 21st of 2023, a judge can lawfully use money bond as a condition of bond, but after that date, they cannot lawfully use that,” Ruddell said. If the bill passes, these competing groups will be working to determine the shape of the system that replaces money bail, which the bill sets up guideposts for, but still largely leaves authority with judges. The worry among reformers is that the current pretrial system will be substituted with a massive uptake in house arrests and electronic monitoring. “People who are required to be on these forms of surveillance are often required to pay money for the privilege of being surveilled in that way, and somebody else is making a profit off of that, and that is something that should trouble us all and disturb us all,” Ruddell said. “Some people have actually, because of the problems they’ve had on [electronic monitoring], have indicated that they would have preferred to just remain in jail.” Another potential unintended consequence of the bill, according to both Cervantes and Telefeyan, could
be that police officers or prosecutors will start charging people with higher class felonies so they can justify detaining people pretrial. “Eventually the public is going to want people to be in jail, period, because of nuisance and because of small property crimes and small nonviolent offenses that are attributable to living conditions in neighborhoods and communities,” Cervantes said. Cervantes said he feels the Illinois general assembly is overstepping its bounds by making such a sweeping change, and is doing so just for political clout. “I think a lot of this is just filler to make a segment of the population vote for another segment of the population come the next term,” Cervantes said. “They codify things or actions that we can already do as state’s attorneys or judges or the criminal justice system. None of this stuff is new. So, for instance, if Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Fox wants to release all people who have a misdemeanor upon being arrested or within three hours of being arrested or within five hours of being arrested on their own recognizance, then she can do that.” Pritzker made ending cash bail one of the centerpieces of his criminal justice platform which was announced in January of 2020. Supporters of the changes like Telefeyan believe folks entrenched in the law enforcement system are looking out for their own interests by opposing the bill. “There’s a follow the money theme,” Telefeyan said. “This bill will almost certainly reduce incarceration rates, which typically is how the law enforcement jurisdictions are funded. Sort of that perverse incentive situation.” Staff reporter Jason Flynn can be reached at jflynn@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @dejasonflynn.
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
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COVID-19 vaccine is in southern Illinois, but who qualifies?
George Wiebe | gwiebe@dailyegyptian.com Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan is underway in Jackson County as the COVID-19 vaccine rollout begins. The region entered Phase 4 on Jan. 15, reopening theatres, indoor dining and bars, as well as raising capacities in gyms, offices and social gatherings. Businesses are still required to follow safety guidelines, with masks and social distancing still mandatory. Due to limited access to the vaccine only health care workers, “essential frontline workers” and those over the age of 65 are eligible. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, frontline workers include first responders: fire departments, police and security, primary and secondary school educators, veterinarians, farmers, manufacturers, corrections facilities (both officers and inmates), postal workers, grocers, day care workers and public transit workers. The list of Illinoisans eligible to receive the vaccine covers about 4 million people, about a third of the total population. One of the biggest hurdles now is gathering public trust in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. “58% of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine,” a Gallup poll conducted last November found, that percentage
has risen to nearly 75% of since the start of the rollout, the Pew Research Center found. The state Illinois has received over 1.5 million doses, and administered more than 650,000. In Jackson county only around 3,000 doses have been administered, with 500 individuals having been fully vaccinated. For those in the region that are eligible, appointments can only be scheduled through local health departments, private hospitals like Southern Illinois Healthcare are not part of the state’s initial rollout. The vaccine’s slow start has been attributed to a lack of materials, but in a news conference last Friday, Gov. Pritzker placed part of the blame on the Trump administration’s poor planning. “Because federal vaccine production was hampered by the failure of the previous administration to properly invoke the Defense Production Act, vaccine supply is limited all across the nation,” Pritzker said. Rochelle Walensky, the newly appointed director or the CDC, in an interview said the new administration is still dealing with a lack of data, affecting the distribution of vaccines. Staff reporter George Wiebe can be reached at gwiebe@dailyegyptian.com
Jacquiline Boyd | @Jacquiline_Ciera
The Daily Egyptian is accepting applications for newsroom positions for the Spring 2021 semester. For employment, all applicants must be in good academic
standing and be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours.
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Seven Gangster Disciples indicted for murder, racketeering and drug trafficking Keaton Yates | @keatsians
Seven members of the Gangster Disciples, including top national and state members, have been charged with 13 counts of murder, racketeering, drug trafficking and other violent crimes. According to the release by The Department of Justice, Southern District of Illinois, the Gangster Disciples are a street and prison gang founded in Chicago during the 1960s, but they have now expanded nationwide. The gang has
a structured hierarchy that mimics national leadership positions such as Governors and Treasurers. Frank Smith, Warren Griffin, Anthony Dobbins, Sean Clemon, Dominique Maxwell, Perry Harris and Barry Boyce are being indicted. Smith is from Naperville and Dobbins is from Troy. The members are charged with violent crimes dating all the way back to 2009 where Dobbins, alleged national “Board Member,” sent a letter to another member
expressing his intention to become the first Board Member from East St. Louis, IL. The last sweep of arrests was in November of 2020 and Vancito Gumbs, a now former police officer of DeKalb County, Ga., was sentenced to 15 years for being a member of the Gangster Disciples. He said he was a “hitman” for the gang and shared confidential police information with them. Another account Barry Boyce offered another member of the
gang $10,000 per victim of another gang for the murder of 15-year-old Madison Robinson, the daughter of a Board Member known as “Shake.” The defendants and unknown other members committed various crimes such as discussing to kill other gang members, committing murder of other members or uninvolved people, distributing at least 100 grams of heroin and methamphetamine, posessing stolen firearms and other assaults.
Seven firearms, assorted ammunition and a sum of money were also confiscated. If convicted of racketeering conspiracy, each defendant could receive up to a life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Murder in aid of racketeering could result in a death penalty. Staff reporter Keaton Yates can be reached at kyates@dailyegyptian. com or on Twitter at @keatsians.
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
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Members of the Illinois National Guard stand lookout at a road closure at South 2nd Street outside of the Capitol on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021 in Springfield, Ill.. Jared Treece | @bisalo
Illinois National Guard at inauguration: Largest special deployment in 15 years
Jason Flynn | @dejasonflynn
Justin Angel, a Staff Sergeant of 13 years in the Army National Guard, had just finished an activation in Chicago, and was prepping for an overseas mission when he got the news the Capitol building in Washington, DC had been stormed by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump. Angel, a 31 year-old Springfield resident, volunteered to travel to DC and assist with securing the Capitol nearly two weeks before the inauguration along with about 26,000 other soldiers from every state and territory in the US. “We responded to what happened January 6, and we didn’t want that to happen again,” Angel said. “We realized this is a crucial, vital, very important, historical, you know, day.” Angel said the days following the Capitol riot were with anticipation as information about what had happened and what he would be doing came in. “It was exciting in the beginning, and not just like a good type of
exciting,” Angel said. “We just kept hearing more and more about it on the news and how more and more soldiers were being stationed there and getting sent there, so it just seemed like a big deal.” Angel and the other 300 members of the Illinois National Guard who assisted at the inauguration were part of the largest special deployment since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the largest domestic security operation since September 11, 2001. “I’m sure it’s always taken very seriously, but it’s pretty obvious that January 6, kind of heightened that security and awareness,” Angel said. “They just really wanted to make sure nothing even close to that happened during this, you know, historical day.” The massive operation completely shut down DC with roadblocks and checkpoints, and fanned soldiers, police and agents out into federal buildings and parks to manage even slight unrest. “As most of you would probably know, not much happened,” Angel said.
Members of the Illinois National Guard stand lookout at a road closure at West Monroe Street outside of the capitol on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021 in Springfield, Ill. Jared Treece | @ bisalo
The National Guard has since drawn down the number of soldiers, but is leaving a sizable force in place. According to a Jan. 21 press release by the national guard, “some agencies are requesting continuity of operations, additional support and recuperation time for their forces to regroup. Approximately
7,000 National Guard personnel are anticipated to provide that assistance through the end of the month.” About 5,000 of those are expected to stay into March in anticipation of potential violence during the senate impeachment trial of Trump, according to Politico. “It’s cool to see military show up,
police show up no matter what, no matter why they’re protesting, no matter why tensions are high,” Angel said. “It doesn’t matter. We’re here to do a job, to keep people safe.” Staff reporter Jason Flynn can be reached at jflynn@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @dejasonflynn.
Illinois Senate President cancels next legislative session Staff Report
Don Harmon, Illinois Senate President, and Dan McConchie, Minority Leader, cancelled the end of the January State legislative session due to safety concerns
about COVID-19. “Our goal is to conduct a Spring Session that is as normal as possible while ensuring the safety of legislators, staff and the public,” Harmon said in the press release.
The session for the week of Jan. 26 is cancelled for safety, but they hope to meet in person for the next scheduled session, which is Feb. 9, 2021. Until then, proper procedures will be put in place for a safe return to Springfield.
Between now and the return, Senate business will be conducted remotely through committee hearings. The press release said any questions or concerns should be sent to Jake Butcher or Dale
Righter, Chiefs of Staff. The Daily Egyptian’s News Desk can be reached at 1-618536-3329, by email at editor@ dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @dailyegyptian.
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Dustin Clark | @dustinclark.oof
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
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Biden reverses ban on transgender people serving in the military
Dustin Clark | @dustinclark.oof David S. Cloud | Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — President Biden on Monday ended former President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, signing the executive order during an Oval Office meeting with new Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III. Transgender service members will no longer be discharged and they can be identified by their preferred gender once their transition is complete and recorded in the Defense personnel system. “America is stronger, at home and around the world, when it is inclusive. The military is no exception,” the order says. “Allowing all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform is better for the military and better for the country because an inclusive force is a more effective force. Simply put, it’s the right thing to do and is in our national interest.” The order is among the flurry Biden has issued in his first days as president to dismantle Trump policies that critics have considered discriminatory. He has also overturned a Trump ban on travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries, halted construction of the wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, and launched an initiative to advance racial equity. The Trump transgender policy, put in place in 2017 with the backing of then-Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, was itself a reversal of President Barack Obama’s decision a year earlier to allow transgender troops to serve openly.
The restrictions went into effect in 2019 after two years of court challenges. They required service members and those wishing to join the military to adhere to the standards associated with their biological sex and prohibited current service members from transitioning to a different gender if they wanted to remain in the military. Transgender recruits have been largely blocked from joining the armed forces since the Trump move. Biden, who had promised to lift the ban during his presidential campaign, told reporters at the White House that his order “is reinstating the position ... other secretaries have supported,” which allows all “qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform.” New recruits may join “in their selfidentified gender” as long as they meet “the appropriate standards for accession into the military services,” the Pentagon said, and any service member disciplined or discharged under the Trump policy will have their cases reexamined. The new policy will provide that “all medically necessary transitionrelated care authorized by law is available to all service members,” the department said. The change has the support of Austin, a retired four-star Army general who was confirmed to the Pentagon’s top civilian post Friday. He called for overturning the ban during his Senate confirmation hearing last week. On Monday he issued a statement of endorsement: “I fully support the president’s direction that all
transgender individuals who wish to serve in the United States military and can meet the appropriate standards shall be able to do so openly and free from discrimination.” Advocates applauded the action. “President Biden’s restoration of open service recognizes transgender service members as an integral part of our military and closes a dark chapter of history,” said Emma Shinn, a Marine captain and president of Service Members, Partners, Allies for Respect and Tolerance for All, a transgender rights group. Aaron Belkin, the executive director of the Palm Center, a research group that favored lifting the ban, said: “The Biden administration has made good on its pledge to put military readiness above political expediency by restoring inclusive policy for transgender troops.” The Pentagon keeps no figures on transgender personnel. Outside groups estimate there are 1,300 to 15,000 transgender troops in the military, which has an active-duty force of about 1.3 million. A 2016 study requested by the department “found that enabling transgender individuals to serve openly in the United States military would have only a minimal impact on military readiness and health care costs,” the White House said. But conservative groups disagreed and criticized the action. Retired Lt. Gen. Tom Spoehr, a national security expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said the Biden move “will contribute to a reduced level of military readiness in our armed forces, which
are already hard-pressed to defend American interests around the globe.” In 2016, the Obama administration announced that transgender people already serving in the military would be allowed to serve openly, ending a longstanding policy that allowed the military to discharge them, and set July 1, 2017, as the date when transgender individuals would be allowed to enlist. Trump delayed the enlistment date in 2017. In a series of tweets in July of that year that surprised the Pentagon, he declared that transgender individuals would not be allowed to serve “in any capacity” in the military. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail,” he wrote. Two years later, after a lengthy legal battle and additional reviews, the Defense Department in April 2019 approved a policy that fell short of an all-out ban but barred transgender troops and recruits from transitioning to another sex and required most individuals to be identified by their birth gender. Mattis directed development of the new policy, claiming it would ensure that all service members were held to the same standards for deployment. As of last July, at least three transgender troops were being processed for involuntary separation and, as of February, two had been considered for waivers, according to a Pentagon report to Congress. The report also said 19 people were medically disqualified from enlisting
or commissioning as an officer based on the Trump administration’s transgender policy: 11 in the Army, seven in the Navy and one in the Air Force. Of those 19, none were considered for a waiver and none ended up enlisting or commissioning, according to the report, which was first obtained by the Hill newspaper. At least 197 service members have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria since the Trump administration’s policy took effect. Of those, 12 were referred to the Pentagon’s Disability Evaluation System, which determines whether a service member will remain on duty or face discharge, according to the report. Eleven were in the Army and one was in the Navy. The Supreme Court in January 2019 denied the Trump administration’s request that it hear legal challenges to the transgender military ban, allowing cases to proceed in the lower courts. But the high court allowed the Trump policy to go into effect while challenges were pending. Biden’s order directs the departments of Defense and Homeland Security to take steps to implement the order for the military and the Coast Guard, and reexamine the records of service members who were discharged or denied reenlistment due to gender identity issues under the previous policy. The departments must report to the president on their progress within 60 days. ©2021 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
SIU alumnus addresses Trump presidency in University Museum Sara Wangler | @sara_wangler
During former president Donald Trump’s term, political cartoonist/painter Tim Atseff became inspired. Atseff picked up on the constant controversy over the way Mr. Trump ran the United States and depicted seven traits he saw in Trump in his “7 Deadly Sins: A Trump Dystopian Heptalogy” series. The 7 Deadly Sins series is on display as a part of a larger exhibition of Atseff’s work, ranging from his days at SIU to his latest work. Atseff, an SIU graduate of 1970 with a degree in Fine Art, applied to the University Museum to have his work displayed in 2019. In November 2020, an exhibit featuring over 50 years of Atseff’s work opened at the museum. While at SIU, Atseff worked at the Daily Egyptian as a cartoonist, then went on to provide cartoons for the New York Times and Washington Post. “To have my work on display anywhere is an honor, but having it at SIU 50 years after graduating is really something,” Atseff said. “The 7 Deadly Sins project started almost five years ago, when Trump was elected. The paintings didn’t start then but the seeds were planted.” Atseff said he watched the world around him and saw loss, confusion and urgency. “How do we get to a point in this country, the wealthiest country in the world where garbage bags were used by nurses in ICU’s as sterile gowns to take care of COVID patients,” Atseff said. Recalling 9/11 and the saying “if you see something, say something,” Atseff in 2017 had seen enough and started painting. “None of this has to do with Trump being Republican, but he became this messianic cult leader,” Atseff said. “That became the embodiment of the 7 Deadly Sins series, I created a painting for each sin: pride, gluttony, greed, lust, wrath, envy, and sloth.” Showcasing artwork during a pandemic was a challenge, said Atseff. While the work was on display at ArtRage Gallery in Atseff’s home base of Syracuse, New York, Atseff created a video explaining his work from previous years as well as the 7 Deadly Sins series. While on display in Syracuse, Atseff’s work was reviewed by Carl Mellor, a Syracuse-based art reviewer. In the review, Mellor describes Atseff’s stylistic elements as well as points of interest in some of the pieces. “It’s visually and topically interesting, provocative and visceral,” Mellor wrote. “In creating the “7 Deadly Sins” series, Atseff moved into crowded territory; a variety of artists working in various disciplines have addressed the Trump presidency. Yet, the current show at ArtRage has its own identity and plenty of visual appeal.” Weston Stoerger, the curator of the SIU art museum, shared the response to the exhibition as well as why Atseff was chosen. “We’ve had a number of people come into the exhibition, and the response has been positive,” Stoerger said. “We’ve had a number of people come back and bring new people with them each time. The exhibit will continue through March 27, Stoerger said.
SIU’s University Museum displays the new “The Art of Darkness” which features the work of Tim Asteff. This exhibit is open to the public and is located in Faner Hall in Carbondale, Ill. The exhibit features 50 years of work. The paintings are based off of Asteff’s interpretation of violence and persecution of Donald Trump. Emma Deeter | @emma_deeter
“We do know that the current political environment is heated, so we want visitors to know that this exhibition might have controversial material,” Stoerger said. “But the point of it is to start a conversation.” This is a retrospective show, meaning it showcases the evolution of Atseff’s work, starting with some of his earlier pieces, Stoerger said. One can see a clear and present style consistently. “Both his earliest works and his newest series underpin a dark dystopian style, where he draws on his own emotions to create these dreamscapes,” Stoerger said. “His work showcases not only current topical issues like the state massacre, but his attempt to process violence and things that he sees.” Stoerger said Atseff was chosen for both the quality of his work and the strong connections he has to SIU. “In the gallery, we have one of the pieces (Closer to the Truth) from his senior thesis show in 1970, it was originally displayed in
this museum and now it’s back,” Stoerger said. Stoerger said showcasing previous graduates’ work is not anything new to the University Museum. “Last semester we had three Paula Cuvaric, Richard Cox, and of course Mr. Atseff, in the entire north hall, we have Willaim Theelian,” Atseff said. Artists apply to have their work displayed and applications are open to anyone who wants to have their art featured, Stoerger said. “We keep it available for a couple of months and advertise it through our social media platforms. We’ve gotten applications from all over the US but the farthest application we’ve gotten was from the Ukraine.” Staff reporter Sara Wangler can be reached at swangler@ dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @sara_Wangler.
The pieces “Sloth” (left) and “The Trumpian Throne” by Tim Asteff are part of the exhibit “The Art of Darkness.” They are located in the University Museum at SIU in Carbondale, Ill. | @emma_deeter
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
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Students share their thoughts on SIU’s COVID testing process
Jason Suchon, an employee of Southern Illinois Hospital (SIH), puts on his gloves, mask, face shield and apron to test a resident of the SIU dorms Monday Jan. 25, 2021, at Becker Pavilion near Campus Lake in Carbondale, Ill. Subash Kharel | @pics.leaks Elena Schauwecker | eschauwecker@dailyegyptian.com
After returning to residence halls Jan. 17 and 18, all SIU students living on campus were required to receive school provided COVID-19 tests. Students shared their praise for the efficiency of the process, but some also had concerns for its effectiveness. Giselle Serna, a freshman studying pre-radiologic studies and a Thompson Point resident, said she was very pleased with her testing experience. “I like how they have it outside,” Serna said. “The nurse does it really fast and smoothly, and if it’s your first time having a COVID test, she makes it very easy for you to understand how it’s gonna be done.” The nurse Serna spoke of was Lexie Barton, a licensed practical nurse administering on-campus tests. Barton also had a positive experience with testing students, and she was impressed with the well-coordinated process. “I think it’s pretty well-organized, and the kids aren’t having to wait very long in line. I can’t say anything negative towards it,” Barton said. Serna and Barton also agreed the mandatory testing process will make students more aware of the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic and increase the likelihood they will stay inside and wear masks. This heightened awareness could potentially protect them from new emerging strains of the virus. Not all students share Serna’s enthusiasm for the testing system as it is. Lynette Schlueter, a sophomore studying history, agreed mandatory testing is a good temporary solution but raised concerns that cases will surge again in the future without the implementation of regular testing. “I do not think cases will decrease unless we have mandated regular tests. Some people are still bringing an unsafe amount of people into their rooms, and RAs are not monitoring it,” Schlueter said.
“I do not think cases will decrease unless we have mandated regular tests. Some people are still bringing an unsafe amount of people into their rooms, and RAs are not monitoring it.” - Lynette Schlueter SIU sophomore
Schlueter said she and her friends have had negative experiences in the past with the school’s quarantining process. When they were required to quarantine on campus due to exposure at the beginning of January, Schlueter said they were given insufficient food and not properly supplied with class materials. “It feels like I am a prisoner stuck in solitary confinement,” was a text message that Schlueter received from one of her friends. Senior Olivia Tarantella, a zoology major, took issue with the fact students in her classes who were living off campus were not required to receive COVID tests. “Why don’t they test the off-campus people? I feel like I have to ask everyone in my physics lab if they live on-campus just to know who has been tested,” Tarantella said. Tarantella and Schlueter also both suggested students should be quarantined before they receive test results in order to minimize the spread. The dining situation, in which dozens of students eat together in the cafeteria at the same time, was a particular point of concern. Serna disagreed with the idea of keeping students away from dining halls, stressing the importance of emotional health in addition to physical health. She said students need to be allowed a place to come together and socialize, given they are now extremely limited in their daily human interaction. Regardless of the conflicting opinions, it is important to recognize all the hard work that has gone into this testing
process. Lorianne Stettler, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, commends Carbondale’s healthcare workers and students for their continued dedication to health and safety. Stettler credited the Student Health Services Team for making sure students who tested positive were notified quickly, the University Housing Team for moving students into isolation and Jackson County Public Health for contact tracing. “As you can imagine, this is a complex operation and takes many people working long hours to help keep our campus safe,” Stettler said. Stettler thanked students for taking the pandemic seriously and following the university’s advice. She said she hopes to continue to implement systems such as this one in the future so students can have a normal college experience as soon as possible. Staff reporter Elena Schauwecker can be reached at eschauwecker@dailyegyptian.com.
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Wednesday, January 20, 2021
The sister that made the leap Alpha Kappa Alpha celebrates Kamala Harris’s Vice Presidency
Jamilah Lewis | @jamilahlewis
Last week America inaugurated its 49th and first female Vice President, Kamala Harris, who makes history as the highest-ranking woman of color in the nation. One group celebrating her success are her sisters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., was founded on the campus of Howard University on Jan. 15, 1908. Vice President Harris was initiated into the sorority at Howard University in 1986. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first Black sorority founded in the United States, now spans across the world with over 300,000 members globally. Jacari Henderson is the president of the Gamma Kappa Omega
chapter located in Carbondale which was chartered on March 15, 1941. Henderson said an AKA woman has pushed her and motivated her to be an advocate for her community. “AKA means so much just as a woman and also as a Black woman because AKA was the first Black Greek lettered sorority that was founded in the U.S.,” Henderson said. “We’re the first to start the work in our community as far as the ladies and we’ve been around for a number of years and it’s just been a really great and humbling experience to be a part of such an illustrious organization.” Henderson said she is excited for Vice President Harris and her professional endeavors. “She’s been a barrier breaker. I think her even being in the White
House sends a clear message to women of color specifically, just being that representation matters and I think with her being in the office it has really reinvigorated fire,” Henderson said. “It has really been heartwarming to see her journey to the White House.” Twenty-one-year-old Jasmyne E. McCoy is the International Second Vice President of AKA Sorority, Inc. in the Lambda Upsilon chapter at Harvard University. McCoy has been around the women of AKA most of her life and said they’ve been role models. “We have five different targets: we have HBCU for life, women’s healthcare and wellness, building economic legacy, the arts, global impact, and those are some of the things that we really care about as AKAs,” she said.
The chapter works on things related to mental health, financial literacy, study halls for finals, voter registration and many other things with other chapters in the Boston area. The sorority can’t endorse a candidate, but they do their best to make it known they supported Vice President Harris throughout the election. “She is a woman of Alpha Kappa Alpha, but she stands on her own two feet,” McCoy said. “We recognize the work that she has put in for years with her job as a prosecutor and we understand and see her as a true politician. Someone who understands what the position holds and has respect for [it].” McCoy said as a Black woman, Harris’s role is a major leap of progress in representation and
women’s empowerment. Both chapters had watch parties for Inauguration Day. The Lambda Upsilon chapter held a watch party for the inauguration and the Gamma Kappa Omega chapter held a watch party for the festivities after the inauguration. The women of AKA are excited to see what their sister and the rest of the Biden-Harris administration have in store for the next four years. “There is no one that has done this before her and she is just stepping out on faith that she is going to be able to succeed, survive and thrive in the position Alpha Kappa Alpha prepared her for.” McCoy said. Staff reporter Jamilah Lewis can be reached at jlewis@dailyegyptian. com or on Twitter @jamilahlewis.
New Chicago ordinance could remove Trump Tower sign due to impeachment Leah Sutton | @LeahSutton_
With President Trump facing his second impeachment, Chicago locals fight for the removal of the ‘Trump’ sign on Trump Tower. In 2018, there were many Trump-owned apartment buildings that took the company to court demanding name changes to the buildings that used President Trump’s name. Amongst the apartment buildings were Trump Place and Trump Soho in New York City. During the court case, Trump officials argued that changing the name would ‘violate the building’s licensing agreement.’ The majority of residents in apartments such as Trump Place voted in favor of changing the name, according to NPR. With political tensions surrounding the insurrection at the Capitol, a new Chicago ordinance might be the final nail in the coffin of the iconic addition to the Chicago skyline. Many businesses are also trying to cut ties with the Trump Organization in wake of recent events. The Chicago Tribune released that Alderman Gilbert Villegas (36th), City Council floor leader, planned to propose an ordinance that would prohibit “any person convicted of treason, sedition or subversive actions from doing business with the city, including having a sign permit.” The passing of this ordinance would give the city cause to remove the ‘Trump’ sign on the Trump Tower now that President Trump is impeached. Photo Editor Leah Sutton can be reached at Lsutton@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @LeahSutton_
Right: Trump tower is located at 401 N. Wabash Ave., Chicago, Ill. It is the second tallest building in the country standing at 98-stories. Overlooking the Chicago River, the skyscraper houses the Trump International Hotel, condominiums and a retail space. Leah Sutton | @leahsuttonphotography
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
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For Harris and Obama, different times mean different approaches on race Noah Bierman | Los Angeles Times
Barack Obama campaigned for president in 2008 with explicit advice from his inner circle to downplay “any topic that might be labeled racial grievance” or to “do anything that would box me in as ‘the Black candidate,’” he wrote in his recent memoir. Just over a dozen years later, Vice President Kamala Harris was ushered into the White House by the drumline of historically Black Howard University, her alma mater, to be the second in command of an administration that has made closing the racial wealth gap one of four policy “pillars.” Distinctions in tone, emphasis and perception between the nation’s first Black president and its first Black vice president are not easy to draw. Obama spoke personally and poignantly about the nation’s troubled racial history — including in a 2008 Philadelphia speech sparked by controversy over his pastor — and Harris similarly has been able to interpret her personal encounters with the country’s racial divide for non-Black audiences. Yet many see Harris as willing to lean harder into her public identity as a Black woman and to place societal racial gaps higher on her agenda. That is widely interpreted as an important marker in the country’s movement, spurred by a Trump presidency that placed white racial grievance at its center, by a summer of nationwide protests over the abuse of Black people in the criminal justice system and by a Capitol siege this month in which Trump supporters waving Confederate flags sought to overturn Joe Biden’s election. “Both of them are candidates that act as translators on race,” said Arisha Hatch, vice president and chief of campaigns at Color of Change, a progressive political group that focuses on civil rights. “We’re just in a different place as a country.” In the wake of police shootings of Black people caught on video, Americans of all races increasingly cite racial equity as a top issue in opinion polls. The Democratic Party has recognized that it would not have won the presidency, or the pair of crucial Senate run-offs in Georgia this month that gave it control of Congress, were it not for high turnout among Black voters, Black women in particular. “Politicians, or leaders, tend to follow the voters,” said Cornell Belcher, a pollster for Obama and author of “A Black Man in the White House: Barack Obama and the Triggering of America’s RacialAversion Crisis.” “In 2008, we didn’t have hundreds of thousands of our young people on the street protesting racism and the sort of systemic racial issues that you see with the criminal justice system,” he said. Those issues were propelled to the “front and center,” polls showed, among voters who chose Biden and
Democratic presidential candidates former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) speak after the Democratic Presidential Debate at Texas Southern University’s Health and PE Center on Sept. 12, 2019 in Houston, Texas. Win McNamee | Getty Images | TNS
Harris. The two Democrats have a friendship that began when Harris was district attorney of San Francisco and a prominent Obama supporter early on, when his presidential bid was seen as unlikely. She traveled to Springfield, Ill., in February 2007 for his campaign launch. Obama drew criticism in 2013 for joking at an event that Harris “happens to be, by far, the bestlooking attorney general in the country.” The controversy, though mild, pointed to the different set of challenges Harris faces as a woman in politics. They spoke several times during the 2020 Democratic primary and general election campaigns, according to advisors, including when Harris was still a presidential candidate, and Obama, while neutral, was widely believed to favor Biden. An Obama aide said the former president has never explicitly advised Harris on how to address race on the political stage. Obama did not shy from addressing the country’s history of racism. But he presented himself as a bridge-builder and emphasized that he was raised by white grandparents in an America that had begun the process of overcoming its fraught history on race. He persuaded doubters during the 2008 Democratic nomination contest, including Black voters, that he could win a general election. He coolly dismissed overtly racist lies promoted by Trump that he was not American and stereotypical slurs from others that his wife Michelle was an “angry” Black woman. “The feeling that we had then was that the historical nature of his candidacy was obvious, that we did not want [him] to get pigeonholed as a candidate who was running to be the first Black president,” said David Axelrod, his chief political advisor. “We wanted him to be a candidate who was running for president who was Black, which was different.”
While recognizing the importance of Rep. Shirley Chisolm’s 1972 campaign as the first Black and woman seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, and of civil-rights leader Jesse Jackson’s runs in 1984 and 1988, the members of the Obama team did not want their candidate to be viewed as “making a statement” in a way that lowered expectations that he could win, Axelrod said. Valerie Jarrett, a close advisor and friend throughout Obama’s political career, said, “We never used the words ‘racial grievance.’” She went on, “I would describe it as sensitivity that, in order to get elected ... to govern effectively, the country needs to see that you will govern for the entire country.” Obama spoke out about racism on many occasions during his presidency, though mainly when events all but demanded that the first Black president do so. He invoked his young self and his young daughters when an unarmed teenager, Trayvon Martin, was shot dead in 2012 in Florida by a self-styled neighborhood watchman and delivered a stirring eulogy in 2015 for the nine people killed in a Black church in Charleston, S.C., by a white supremacist. His Justice Department made efforts to change policing practices, including establishing a task force that wrote a guidebook for police departments — initiatives that were abandoned by the Trump administration. Advisors were cautious about drawing Obama into too many such discussions. They expressed frustration in 2009 when his remarks promoting his signature healthcare plan, the Affordable Care Act, were ignored in the controversy over his comment that police acted “stupidly” in arresting a Black Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, as he tried to enter his home. Jarrett said she not only worried that Obama would lose momentum for the bill but was annoyed that a
single sentence at the end of a news conference appeared to hurt his standing among white voters in polls. “I assure you, if Vice President Biden had said the same thing, the reaction would be very different,” she said. But Jarrett said she also believes Obama’s tenure helped erode the double standard she saw and gave both Biden and Harris unprecedented opportunity to discuss race more frankly. “In the current climate, people would not be surprised by either a President Biden or a Vice President Harris making a similar comment,” Jarrett said. “We are now talking about that in a way people were not a decade ago. ... In a sense, it’s progress.” Donna Brazile — who was the first Black woman to lead a major party’s presidential campaign, when she managed former Vice President Al Gore’s bid in 2000 — said it’s too much to expect any politician to fix systemic problems that permeate the culture, the economy and the criminal justice system. Asking Black Americans to fix racism, she said, is like telling them to solve global warming, just because the floods hit the low-lying areas first. “We have to dispense with the notion that Black people can uproot systemic racism in the United States of America,” she said. “We don’t have the power to do that. We don’t control the institutions. We’re not in charge.” Harris, whose Black father emigrated from Jamaica, wrote in her memoir that her Indian-born mother, who had custody of Harris and her sister, Maya, when the parents separated, “understood very well that she was raising two black daughters.” She wanted to make sure “we would grow into confident, proud black women.” Harris came of age at Howard University, the preeminent historically Black university, and cites her membership in Alpha Kappa Alpha, a Black sorority, as formative. Though she spent much of her adult
life in San Francisco and entered politics there as the district attorney, she launched her presidential campaign in Oakland, with a jazzfunk band playing 1970s protest music, and based it in Baltimore, two cities known as Black cultural and political centers. Harris had a mixed record on police reform during her years as a prosecutor and attorney general, and as a presidential candidate, she was forced on the defensive for her toughon-crime stands. For example, she’d rejected demands for investigations into a pair of police shootings of Black men in 2014 and 2015. She has since positioned herself as a leader in rooting out racial bias in policing and opposing cash-bail laws. She spoke out forcefully after the videotaped death of George Floyd during an arrest last May jump-started a summer of nationwide protests for racial justice. She and Biden remain under pressure, however, to push harder on such issues — and certainly more forcefully than prior Democratic administrations, including Obama’s. Many young activists who have moved to the forefront of civil rights advocacy over the last decade, while frustrated that Obama did not make more strides, recognize that even many Black voters were reluctant to pressure him because of the obstacles he faced as the first Black president. “It was actually harder as an accountability organization to demand things,” said Hatch, the activist at Color of Change. “The Biden-Harris administration doesn’t actually have that sort of veil of immunity from the Black community, and I think we expect to see promises fulfilled.” Alicia Garza, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter who now leads the advocacy groups Black Futures Lab and Black to the Future Action Fund, said Harris uses the language of the movement to talk about racism as a structural problem. Obama and Biden, she said, were more likely to describe racial divisions as an issue of individuals failing to understand each other. For example, Obama held a “beer summit” with Harvard’s Gates and the white police officer who mistakenly arrested him, attempting to bridge that gap in understanding. Biden, as a presidential candidate, told a story of his reconciliation as a young man with a Black antagonist nicknamed “Corn Pop.” Harris, Garza said, understands racism as a problem that “permeates every aspect of our lives” and is not the result of a few white nationalists and “fanatics.” But she worries that the Biden administration may lose its resolve to tackle systemic racism as other crises take precedence. “I think the question is not so much what her perspective on the question will be,” Garza said. It is, she went on, “What power does she have to address it?” (This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times)
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Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Salukis fall in first game of series against Indiana State
Janae Mosby | @@mosbyj
After a three-week break, the SIU men’s basketball program (7-4, 1-4 MVC) lost the first game of the series against the Indiana State University Sycamores (7-7, 4-5 MVC), 69-66. Southern held the lead for most of the game, but in the last minutes of the second half the Sycamores powered past the Salukis to win the game. “I thought our guys were great and I thought our bench was great. I’m proud of our group, everything we’ve been through this last month and to come out and compete like this against Indiana State,” head coach Bryan Mullins said. Sophomore guard Lance Jones led SIU in scoring with 25 points and senior guard Tyreke Key led scoring for Indiana State with 23 points. Jones also led the Salukis in rebounds (5) and steals (3).
“Everybody gave great effort. It just didn’t come out our way, but our effort was great on both ends and I feel like the bench was really there for us tonight,” Jones said. Southern was without 2020 MVC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year Marcus Domask for the game due to a foot injury. Domask averages 16.3 points per game, along with 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. The Salukis started the game with a layup from freshman center Kyler Filewich assisted by Jones. “Kyler played great obviously he was in foul trouble and I wish we could have played him more, but he was productive for us,” Mullins said Indiana State gained a two-point lead with a layup from Key and a basket from graduate student guard Tobias Howard. The Sycamores increased their lead, 8-4, with layups from junior
guard Cooper Neese and sophomore guard Jake LaRavia. Southern decreased the gap, 10-9, with a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Steven Verplancken. A layup from sophomore guard Ben Harvey gave SIU the lead, 1110. The Salukis increased their lead to six points after a 3-pointer from Verplancken followed by a layup from Jones, making the score 18-12. “Steven gets up shots everyday and it was only a matter of time when his night was going to come, I feel like he stepped up in the starting role,” Jones said. Despite scoring from Indiana State, Southern kept the lead, 23-16, with just under eight minutes left in the first half. The Sycamores brought the gap down to four near the end of the half after a 3-pointer from LaRavia and a
free throw from Howard. Indiana State tied the score, 3131, with one minute left in the half after a basket from Key. At the end of the first half, Indiana State took the lead, 34-33, after a 3-pointer from Neese. Jones led scoring for the Salukis at halftime with 12 points and LaRavia led scoring for the Sycamores with 10 points. SIU began the second half with a 3-pointer from Jones giving them the lead 36-34. Both teams traded points at the start, but the Salukis stayed out in front of the Sycamores. Indiana State tied the score, 4343, with a basket from Neese. Scoring went back-and-forth between the two teams and the score was tied again at 49-49. Southern regained the lead with a layup from freshman guard Dalton
Banks and a 3-pointer from Harvey. The Sycamores took the lead near the end of the second half, 56-54, with a layup from sophomore center Tre Williams. Indiana State increased the lead, 62-59, from scoring by LaRavia and Key with under five minutes left in the game. The Salukis fought to regain the lead, but it was not enough to overcome the Sycamores and lost 69-66. “We’ve got to come back ready tomorrow, we’ve got to get a split. We got to move forward and come out here with a win,” Mullins said. Staff reporter Janae Mosby can be reached at jmosby@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @mosbyj.
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
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Saluki basketball programs speak season pauses due to COVID-19
Ronan Lisota | @r_lisota Ryan Scott | @ryanscottDE Both the SIU men’s and women’s basketball programs have had several games postponed this season due to positive COVID-19 tests within their programs. Most recently, the Saluki men’s program announced on Jan. 8 the postponement of four games, two against Indiana State and two against Valparaiso. The men’s program currently sits at 7-4 overall with a 1-4 record in Missouri Valley Conference play. They’re on a fourgame losing streak (as of Monday) since an undefeated 7-0 start and took a three-week break from play due to the virus. The men’s team previously had to drop out of the Louisville MTE to start the season. This was the second stoppage this season. The women’s program recently announced on Jan. 13 the postponement of four of their games as well due to positive COVID-19 tests, two against Loyola Chicago and two against Valparaiso. They will resume play on Jan. 27 against Missouri State. The Saluki women’s team had two earlier games postponed, but this would be their first time missing multiple, consecutive games this year. The women’s program is 5-4 overall and 2-2 within the MVC. They have lost two straight games, both coming against Bradley and haven’t played since Jan. 9. Men’s basketball head coach Bryan Mullins spoke on Jan. 19 during the MVC coaches media day about this stoppage and the effect it’s had on the team and players. “Every team at some point has gone through it and for us it’s our second go around with taking a little pause but our guys are doing good,” Mullins said. Trent Brown, a sophomore guard, discussed the team’s reaction and said the team has done what they could but the virus cannot be completely avoided. “Nobody can really outrun this virus. You can do as much as you can and take
as many precautions to help you elongate your time. We just knew that there’s nothing you can do, we did everything right that you could and we were still hit with it,” Brown said. Mullins also talked about the Salukis’ return to play after COVID-19 policy and how that affects the team’s ability to get back to full strength. “Day one is 15 minutes, the next day is 20 minutes and then 30, the fourth day you can start lifting and just gradually until that seventh day when you can do a full practice or compete in a game,” Mullins said. Mullins said he has had more time to watch other teams than normal and said he thinks the team will be good to play on Monday, Jan. 25 against Indiana State. “As long as nothing happens in the next four days with injuries or testing situations but we should have eight scholarship players able to play Monday,” Mullins said Mullins said that some of the players who didn’t test positive were able to get in the gym and shoot around by themselves. Mullins applauded the MVC and said they have done a great job allowing the Salukis a chance to get all their games in. Mackenzie Silvey, a senior guard on the women’s team talked about the Salukis reaction to the temporary stoppage and said the team is doing their best to stay safe. “We were disappointed but we know that we’ve done everything we can to stay safe, I mean it’s just gonna happen regardless at this point so yeah we were disappointed but we knew we just need to focus on what we can control and continue to work hard,” Silvey said. Rachel Pudlowski, a senior forward, discussed the team’s reaction and said it’s emotional when games have to be canceled due to the pandemic. “It’s heartbreaking every single time because it’s a different person who may or may not go out and it’s also different emotions when it’s our team going out and canceling a game than another team going
out and canceling a game,” Pudlowski said. She also said the team was very frustrated when their Dec. 22 game against Illinois was cancelled because of a false positive. Pudlowski discussed the practices with less players. “We definitely get in and get after it when we do have practice. Practice times have definitely been shorter with there only being five of us. We go for about an hour, hour and a half but we’ve been working on a lot of 1v1, 2v2 breakdowns, different plays and maybe some alterations we might do and what to expect from our upcoming opponents,” Pudlowski said Pudlowski said the team has done a good job staying in touch with each other even though they haven’t been able to see each other in person. Silvey spoke on the team’s ability to win right out of the stoppage. “I think honestly we’ll never be 100% this year, I don’t think any team is because you don’t know who’s gonna be out, who’s gonna be sick or contact tracing. So, I think it’s just trying to work through the uncertainties but I think we’ve been working hard at practice with the half that can and the other half I know they’re doing stuff to stay in shape on their own,” Silvey said Pudlowski said the team will be positive about their chances in games no matter how many players they have that day. Silvey also said the team should have three or four practices before the team will play a game. The men’s team resumed play on Jan. 25 and 26 against Indiana State on the road and dropped the first game of the series 69-66. The women’s program will play again on Jan. 27 against Missouri State on the road. Sports reporter Ryan Scott can be reached at rscott@dailyegyptian.com or on twitter @RyanscottDE. Sports reporter Ryan Scott can be reached at rscott@dailyegyptian.com or on twitter @ RyanscottDE.
Southern Illinois Saluki number 34 forward, Nicole Martin, jumps for a basket to score against Indiana State Sycamores during the Friday night woman’s basketball game at the SIU Banterra Center. The game ended with SIU at 60 and ISU at 42 on February 21, 2020. Nicole Tillberg | @ nicoletillberg315
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Study Break
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JUMBLES:
LAST WEEK’S |
HUTCH
CLOUT MONKEY
FUMBLE
ANSWER: WHEN IS CAME TO TV EPISODES OF THE BRADY FAMILY, THERE WERE A --- BUNCH OF THEM