The Daily Egyptian - April 2, 2024

THE Daily Egyptian

It’s the Valley,

Scott: Nagy introduced as Saluki head coach

As SIU athletic director Tim Leonard and Chancellor Austin Lane presented new men’s basketball head coach Scott Nagy with a Saluki jersey below a maroon and white balloon arch, confetti rained down with all of the pomp and circumstance of a pep rally.

The Charles Helleny Pavilion became home of a celebration for the 15th head coach in program history. After being announced as such on Thursday afternoon, Nagy was introduced to the public at an event attended by scores of fans, followed by a media press conference.

Based on Nagy’s accolades in three decades as a college basketball coach, Saluki fans have every reason to be excited. His five total NCAA tournament appearances and three NIT bids across two teams since moving up to Division I in 2004 gives a fanbase that hasn’t seen a postseason run since the late 2000’s more than a bit of optimism.

Nagy said that in meetings with Leonard, Lane and former interim AD Matt Kupec, he saw that same passion that is shared throughout the region.

“Talking with them, seeing the commitment that they had to men’s basketball, and how badly that they want to win, and what they want to do. That was important to me,” Nagy said.

Nagy returns to the state of Illinois, where he grew up in Champaign. His wife Jamie is a native of Decatur. His dad was a longtime assistant at the University of Illinois, where Nagy would get his start as a graduate assistant. He said he’s been trying to get back to the state ever since he left.

“We’re excited about it,” Nagy said. “I have such a good base here, really because of what Coach [Lou] Henson and Jimmy Collins and my

Eclipse 2024: Everything you need to know about the event

Carly Gist | CGist@dailyeGyptian Com

115-miles of cities in the U.S. are getting ready for up to four minutes of complete darkness

Monday, April 8. Southern Illinois, however, is not just going to sit back and watch.

“We are featuring a variety of events [in] what we’re dubbing the Southern Illinois Crossroads Eclipse Festival,” said Sarah Vanvooren, director of events and outreach at Southern Illinois University.

“It includes talks, presentations, an arts and crafts fair…the idea is to provide a unique union stafffriendly, family-friendly experience of activities centered on arts and sciences.”

Southern Illinois has branded itself “the crossroads of the eclipse,” as this is the second time it will be in the centerline of totality for a total solar eclipse in just seven years. Carbondale sits where the path of the 2017 eclipse crosses with the 2024 eclipse. According to Assistant Professor of Practice (School of Physics & Applied Physics) Corinne Brevik, watching it is typically a once-in-

Corinne Brevik, co-chair of the SIU Eclipse Steering Committee’s subcommittee and participates in the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) research project, stands on Neckers Lawn at SIU March 27, 2024 in Carbondale, Illinois. Libby Phelps | @libbyphelpsphotography ECLIPSE

Busy Carbondale Spring Fest anticipated in honor of the eclipse

Katie KWasnesKi KKWasnesKi@dailyeGyptian Com

This year’s Carbondale Spring Fest may be the busiest yet, with traffic through southern Illinois increasing to view the total eclipse taking place on Monday, April 8.

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) estimated 70,000 to 300,000 people will be coming into the area. Southern Illinois is the closest point to Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Alabama, Georgia and Florida to see the eclipse.

The fest will take place the weekend leading up to the eclipse, April 6 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and April 7 from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., with music provided by the city of Carbondale from 3 - 10 p.m. on Sunday.

Local business owner Michael Smith of Fired Up Jellies and Jams started the Carbondale Spring Fest

back in 2022. This year will be the store’s third time hosting, and there will be around 65 vendors attending, from food trucks, to apparel, jewelry and other artisan goods.

“This is a milestone for us because it’s like, look how far we’ve come since the last eclipse,” Smith said.

During the 2017 eclipse, before Fired Up Jellies and Jams was a registered business, Smith remembers sampling out his product to the campers who rented out the field behind his house. Now, he holds the annual fest to not only showcase the product, but to bring awareness to local small businesses in Carbondale and surrounding towns.

One of the vendors that will be at the fest for the first time this year is The JAY Effect. It is a husband and wife team made up of James and Yemisi Anderson and their line of seasonings. The Andersons have been

Brandyn WilCoxen

@BrandynWilCoxen

Yemisi and James Anderson holding their Flava Pack Spices from their business

The JAY Effect March 20, 2024 at Redeemer Community Church in Carbondale, Illinois. Daylin Williams | dwilliams@dailyegyptian.com

Ryan Reed kneels during his TEDx speech speaking about his journey as a broken hero during his collegiate sports career March. 30, 2024 at the SIU Student Center in Carbondale, Illinois. “”Every time they step onto the diving board, every time they step onto the basketball court, every time they go onto that football field, every time they get into a canoe, every time [an athlete] stepped up and performed for you, they risk never being able to do those things again,” Reed said.

Matthew Sebalja gives his TEDX speech. Sebalja previously helped reestablish the TEDx program before the Global pandemic shut it down in 2020

Toussaint Mitchell gives his TEDX speech called ‘Powering your success with your social battery’ where he discussed the importance of networking.

Imani McHenry gives her TEDX speech about being a ‘Digital Citizen’ and what that means in the modern age of the internet.

Christopher Swims gives his TEDX speech.

Column: Don’t hold a grudge against former Salukis during March Madness

Ryan GRieseR RGRieseR@dailyeGyptain com

The 2023-24 SIU men’s basketball season didn’t exactly go according to plan.

Between confounding losses and a highly disappointing end to the season, culminating in the departure of former head coach Bryan Mullins, it was certainly a year to forget. Many fans were left upset with the result of the season, the coaching change, or both.

It’s also worth remembering that many fans were upset heading into the season due to the decisions made by Marcus Domask and Lance Jones to leave SIU and instead play at Big Ten powers Illinois and Purdue. To me, it’s a disservice to their legacies as Salukis to be angry or disappointed with their choices.

Let’s start with Domask. In no particular order, here are some of the accolades that he earned at SIU: ninth in career scoring, first in career minutes per game, ninth in career threes, First Team All-MVC, two-time Second Team All-MVC and two-time MVC ScholarAthlete of the Year. An all-time Saluki.

Not far behind, here’s Jones’ Saluki legacy: third in career threes, fifth in career steals, two-time Third-Team All MVC, two-time MVC All-Defensive Team. Jones also led the MVC in steals during his senior season. Another all-time Saluki.

fans could wish he stayed, they should also be happy for him. Domask has had the chance to play on a much bigger stage, and many more people have seen what he had already shown so many Southern Illinois faithful: that he’s one of the best basketball players in the country.

Domask also got a chance to take advantage of more NIL opportunities, and I will never fault a player for going somewhere to capitalize on themselves. Universities make enough off of them; if the athletes can’t explicitly get paid by universities, they should have some way to make money off of their talents.

Jones was in a very similar situation, and went to an even better team. The argument for why he should go is nearly identical to that of Domask. Fans may be sad, but they shouldn’t be upset he left.

And before you start thinking, “how did they not make it to the tournament last year with Marcus and Lance and Xavier Johnson?,” let me break it down.

For starters, Xavier Johnson was not the player that he is today. While he was an excellent defender, earning MVC All-

By the end of their careers, both had achieved everything they needed to, or really could, at SIU. They graduated as Salukis, and had their on-court senior night recognition. The only thing missing from their resume is a deep run into March basketball, something that both were likely hungry for.

Defensive Team honors in 2023, he was not the scorer that he was this year. He was not asked to be in part because we had two guys that already needed to take 8-12 shots per game; X was a role player who took 4.

He was also in his first year in Mullins’ system, and there were two very established guys above him. Johnson was always going to be, at best, a third option behind Domask and Jones; they had earned the right to take the shots they did, and they often produced at a high level. There wasn’t a good reason to take shots away from them.

We’ll never know if Johnson truly had the capability that year to be the kind of offensive player he was in 2023-24. And I don’t think he would’ve been the player he was this year without that first season playing with Domask and Jones.

For what it’s worth, Johnson’s numbers were essentially a result of more opportunities, with Domask and Jones gone. Though he had a small drop in efficiency, Johnson’s rates were nearly identical; he was just playing more and had the ball more, leading to higher counting stats.

Should some shots have been directed towards Johnson and others in 2022-23? Should there have been different rotation choices made, or adjustments by Mullins? Absolutely. But hindsight is 20/20, and there are plenty of things that he could have done better. And at the time, SIU was also playing very well; a lot of things can be overlooked if a team is playing well.

SIU’s season also ended at the hands of now two-time MVC Player of the Year Tucker DeVries and a very good Drake team, which ended up winning the MVC Tournament by handily beating top-seeded Bradley. Domask also had arguably his worst game of the season in the loss to Drake, so for once the loss couldn’t be blamed solely on the team around the stars not being good enough.

With the season over, there was buzz that Domask and Jones were likely to leave. One thing was almost certain though; they weren’t taking the court as Salukis again. It wouldn’t make sense for them to run it back with an arguably worse team, play in a small media market in a mid-major conference and have very few NIL opportunities.

The news that Domask would be transferring to Illinois was heartbreaking for Saluki nation, but not unexpected. While

By leaving, Domask and Jones were able to show why they are the players that we thought they were. Each had signature moments this year that won their team games. Domask’s 33 points against FAU at Madison Square Garden and his triple-double (only the tenth in NCAA tournament history) against Morehead State have made him a topic of national conversation. Jones had 26 points in an overtime thriller vs Northwestern, in which Purdue scored over 100.

Now Jones is playing in the Final Four, while Domask’s Illini was eliminated in the Elite Eight, wearing the jerseys of their new schools while still representing Southern Illinois at a level it hasn’t reached in 17 years.

I would argue that their legacies at SIU are even stronger now than they would have been had they not transferred. We got to see that both are truly great players against some of the best competition in the country. They showed why what they did as Salukis was so impressive, and why we should appreciate their contributions to SIU.

As Saluki faithful, we should be cheering for Jones and Purdue all the way, and celebrating Domask and the Illini’s spectacular season. And as we look ahead, we should continue to support the players who have left their mark in Carbondale, no matter how long their stay.

Sports reporter Ryan Grieser can be reached at rgrieser@dailyegyptian.com.

Marcus Domask (left) and Lance Jones (right) during a Purdue-Illinois game Jan. 5, 2024 at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana. Photo credit to Illinois Athletics.

Lance Jones (left) and Marcus Domask (right) during a Purdue-Illinois game Jan. 5, 2024 at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Photo credit to Purdue Athletics.

Spots, dots & pots

A group of students work on their Easter Egg designs at the HSC Pots and Eggs Painting Easter Event March

Ana Soares designs an egg at the HSC Pots and Eggs Painting Easter Event Leslie

Photos taken by Enan Chediak | @EnanChediakPhotography

dad did, and the relationships they’ve built.” Nagy leaves Wright State after eight seasons with the Raiders. He had previously coached at South Dakota State since 1995. Having lived in Dayton, Ohio, for so long.

“Jamie and I knew that, in order for us to leave Wright State and leave Dayton, it was gonna take a very special place,” Nagy said. “All of our family lives there, our grandkids live there, and it was gonna be hard to pull us away from that. It’s been an emotional three days, and it’s hard. But that doesn’t mean it’s not good.”

His hiring was the result of a three-week search starting with the departure of Bryan Mullins on March 8. Since then, Leonard has been looking for a coach with a history of winning, making the NCAA tournament and earning conference championships, in an effort to bring that same success to Carbondale.

“I love the tradition, I love the history about SIU. That’s what makes this place special,” Leonard said. “But I want to live in some history, not just read about the history.”

The search lasted nearly the entire month of March, but Nagy was only part of the process as a candidate for less than a week. Leonard said he had originally reached out to Nagy over the weekend of March 23 in order to get information on two other candidates for the position.

“The whole time I’m talking to him, I’m like, ‘wait a minute.’ I did all this research, had all these coaches, I’m like, ‘why am I not talking to this guy?’” Leonard said. Leonard later elaborated that while Nagy did not explicitly express interest, he seemed like a better fit for the role than Leonard’s previous candidates.

“I know this sounds crazy, because he didn’t say anything, but I just kinda sensed in his voice, like, ‘why ain’t you talking to me?’” Leonard recalled.

According to Leonard, Nagy was first discussed as a candidate on March 26, and two days later was announced to be the hire.

“It all happened so quick, because I was talking to him about two other guys as references,” Leonard said. “I couldn’t be happier with where we landed.”

In terms of what Saluki fans can expect on the court, Nagy discussed his team’s playstyle, which includes a highly efficient offense. In 2023-24, Wright State averaged around 85 points per game, and led the country in field goal percentage. He also noted an emphasis on play around the basket, describing his ideal recruits as “sixes who want to be fives.”

“I love big guys who want to be big guys,” Nagy said. “We like guys that want to catch the ball in there and get to the free throw line, and are skilled and can finish around

the basket. We try to build our offense from the inside out.”

While Wright State has shown proficiency on the offensive side of the ball, Nagy said he mainly focuses on defense and rebounding in practice.

“Those are the two most important things to me…” Nagy said. “Defense, particularly on the road, wins. When you have tough shooting nights, defense wins. It can be consistent; offense can’t be.”

Nagy noted that a proficient offense makes the play style an easy sell to recruits, who may find more enjoyment playing at a high pace.

“Kids like that,” Nagy said. “I don’t enjoy watching games that are in the 50’s, and young men don’t like playing in games that are in the 50’s. Defense still has to be the most important thing, but it’s not hard to sell in terms of the offense.”

Entering a Southern Illinois program that has all but two remaining players currently in the transfer portal, Nagy will face a situation of selling his vision to both potentially returning Salukis as well as those who would join the team for next season from high school or the transfer portal.

Nagy said he will be meeting with last year’s Saluki team on Tuesday to discuss

the future, as well as setting up individual meetings with specific players. As of March 29, only Troy D’Amico has committed to a new team, joining former head coach Mullins at DePaul.

“There still may be some of those guys that want to come back here, and so we’ve got to convince them of that,” Nagy said. “We’ve got to give them some time to figure that out, because their world’s been upside down by losing their coach and somebody they trust in, so we have to earn that trust, and it’s hard to do in a short period of time.”

Nagy compared the situation to when he moved from South Dakota State to Wright State in 2016. Though he acknowledged that not as much of the team was in a position to leave that season with stricter transfer rules, he also noted that entering the transfer portal is not a guarantee that players will leave.

“We know many of them are in the portal, and we’ll give them that opportunity, but my guess is we can convince some of them to stay, if we can talk about how we play, what our plans are for them,” Nagy said. “And from there, we’ve got to figure out who we need.”

While some SIU players may stick around, Saluki fans shouldn’t expect many Wright State players to be jumping ship to follow their now former head coach. The Raiders recently promoted associate head coach Clint Sargent as Nagy’s replacement, and Nagy said he would “work very hard to avoid trying to take any players from there.”

“I’m not wanting to hurt Clint and burn bridges back that way,” Nagy said. “I think that the players of Wright State were fairly upset that I was involved in something, because we’re always talking to them when we recruit them about being here and staying here and being loyal, and then all of a sudden, look what Coach does.”

In terms of recruiting, Nagy has what some might call an old-school mindset in terms of NIL and the transfer portal. While acknowledging the monetary benefits for players to transfer to larger schools with more NIL opportunities, Nagy wants college basketball to be more “relational” than “transactional.”

“You just watched Marcus Domask last night,” Nagy said. “You would like to see him finish here, but you also can understand, that amount of money, why a young man would go. It’s hard to fault them for that. It’s a very difficult thing. I still want it to be relational. I want guys to be loyal.”

Instead of focusing on drawing recruits from other schools as has been commonplace in college basketball at the Division I level, Nagy’s approach focuses more on bringing in recruits from high school and focusing efforts on retaining them throughout their four years.

“The way we still want to build this and the way NIL was meant to be was that it was meant to help you keep the players that you have there and not go out and try to recruit players by paying them a bunch of money,” Nagy said. “And so that’s the way we’ll want to build it, is to recruit good high school players, develop them in our system, and do the very best we can to keep them. If we’ll be able to, I don’t know. If they’re so good that schools like Illinois want them, then we’re doing a pretty good job too, and so that’ll help us recruit the next young man.”

With a 17-year drought looming larger and larger over the Southern Illinois program with every passing year, Nagy feels the pressure of trying to take the Salukis where his two predecessors hadn’t.

If he can light the same spark in Carbondale that he has at his two prior jobs, SIU fans might need to be more concerned about the pressure to maintain success.

“I heard somebody say it the other day… ‘pressure is privilege,’” Nagy said. “We want to get to that point where people expect us to be good and be able to deal with that pressure.”

Stay tuned to the Daily Egyptian for continuing coverage of the 2024 SIU men’s basketball offseason, which can be found in the tab at the top of the website.

Managing editor Brandyn Wilcoxen can be reached at bwilcoxen@dailyegyptian.com

Basketball head coach Scott Nagy (middle) is presented a Saluki jersey by Athletic Director Tim Leonard (right) and Chancellor Austin Lane (left) in an introduction event March 29, 2024 at Charles Helleny Pavilion in Carbondale, Illinois. Lylee Gibbs | @lyleegibbsphoto

a-lifetime opportunity.

“The next total solar eclipse is not for 21 years, and it will go from Northern California to Florida, so we won’t see that one,” she said. “So this is really special for us now, and it’s important because… people [think] they happen all the time…The next total solar eclipse to go through southern Illinois is over 300 years from now, so they don’t happen often. We’re just the lucky spot that got it twice.”

The festivities begin Friday, April 5 and run through the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8.

“If you’ve got time to kill that weekend, come on campus, take part in the activities,” Brevik said. “We’ll have a lot of glasses, so if people still need eclipse glasses, come to one of the events, and get some glasses. We don’t want the community to miss the show because they weren’t prepped for it.”

A full schedule of events is available on eclipse.siu.edu. On Friday, a research workshop will be held, along with a talk series, chalk competition and a concert at Shryock Auditorium. Saturday through Monday will feature a comic con, spring festival, live music and more.

“We have eclipse activities all weekend. [It’s] a big festival,” Brevik said. “So you come early, and Carbondale has got its own… set of activities. So there’s concerts, there’s live [streams], like at Adler Planetarium [in Chicago] we’ll do a live recording of their sky observers hangout podcast, and then Saturday and Sunday [in Carbondale] is the comicon.”

She said there will be “lots of fun stuff to do with families and kids and friends.”

“Sunday [and] Monday is the technology expo [Crossroads Astronomy, Science and Technology Expo],” she said. “NASA is going to be there, Adler Planetarium is there, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, who does some of the spacecraft that are orbiting the sun, they’re gonna be there. We’ll have guest lectures talking. There’s a ton of hands-on activities for people so they can bring their kids…The inflatable planetarium will be up, so they’ll be [seeing] planetarium shows, all of that’s in the Banterra Center.”

The only events that are ticketed are the Eclipse Con at the SIU Student Center and Eclipse Day at Saluki Stadium. Students can pick up tickets for free with their student IDs. All others are free and open to the public.

“The stadium is offering a guided eclipse show,” Brevik said. “And it’s important for people to realize that it’s not just sit in the seats and watch the eclipse. It is an actually fully-produced show.”

She said that Matt Williams from the theater department “has choreographed an entire multiplehour event.”

“The band, the choir, the dance, the cheerleaders, the theater, art–all of this will be happening. There’s a whole show going on on the stage,” she said. “So if you

have family or guests coming and they’re like, ‘I don’t want to sit on the lawn for three hours,’ this is a full-scale production. Air Force is going to do a flyover, so it’s going to be very cool.”

She said guest speakers will also be present to talk about “what’s happening” and “why it’s happening.”

“The guided part of the event, Adler Planetarium, NASA and a group will be [saying] ‘Watch over here, this is about to happen, look over here, don’t miss this,’” she said. “So if you’ve never seen an eclipse and you’re like, ‘I don’t know where to look and I don’t know when to look,’ we’re gonna walk people through that entire experience.”

The city of Carbondale can expect an economic boost from an influx of visitors. Niki Davis, director of hospitality, tourism and event management, expects to see numbers similar to the 2017 eclipse.

“We’re fortunate that we did this in 2017 already, so we have a little bit of information to draw on from that and we have some estimates for the upcoming eclipse,” she said. “So in 2017, our numbers just here in Carbondale were roughly 50,000 additional visitors to the community day of, and about $7 million in economic impact that came into Carbondale. That is huge for a rural destination like this. If we look across southern Illinois in 2017, it was about 200,000 people across the region. Statewide economic impact was about $18 million, and we’re looking at a couple of days that came in…We’re expecting the same number of visitors for sure. We’re expecting 30,000 just to be on campus, let alone what’s inside Carbondale.”

Several safety measures will also be in place to manage crowd control and ensure an enjoyable environment for all attendees.

“The larger planning committee is from a community and campus first-step perspective [and] includes all of the risk management components,” Davis said. “Carbondale Police Department will be out, SIU

campus police, they’re all part of the planning process. And that’s typical certainly of any large-scale event like this, that your safety and security personnel, whether it’s a local police department, campus security, sheriff’s office, whatever, they’re always going to be part of the conversation.”

Brevik said her goal is to educate the public on the safety of wearing eclipse glasses without making them paranoid.

“I have run into small children who’ve been told not to stare at it so much that they won’t even watch the eclipse because they’re absolutely petrified that they’re gonna go blind,” she said. “That does nobody a service…so the message I usually give is when you’re staring at the sun, put on the glasses. On the flip side when you’re not staring at the sun, take them off. They block 99.9% of the light; you can’t see a thing through them…So you don’t need them unless you’re staring at the sun.”

She also mentioned that traffic is unavoidable, and advised that those who are worried should “leave early” and “arrive later.”

“There will be traffic. It is not fixable, it just is,” she said. “So the message is do not leave campus immediately after totality… There’s another hour and 15 minutes of Eclipse after totality is over as the moon moves off the sun. If you leave immediately after totality, you will sit in a gridlock, I guarantee it, especially if you stay on the major roads. So don’t leave. Go downtown and get a meal. Go to your favorite adult beverage location, hang out on the lawns and play some frisbee. Or the expo and all the activities, they’re still going until five o’clock.”

She recommends people stay on campus for that extra hour.

“Enjoy all the other stuff happening, then leave. And that will let the bulk of the insanity flow away, and then the traffic should be a lot less,” she said.

Hotels and campgrounds are already fully booked, including SIU’s Touch of Nature. The outdoor education center is

that level of media is just really good for our campus community.”

It is also going to be a learning experience for many students at SIU. Brevik said there are around 10 to 20 students actively doing astronomy research on campus. A large group of students studying mass communications are also involved in organizing the live stream feed (see story on page 19b). Davis said the hospitality students are working with the Economic Development Center to cater a VIP barbeque event. She also said they are “acting as the docents” in the VIP stadium suites this weekend, ensuring that the people staying there are taken care of.

“It’s very much hands-on experiential learning for our students, which is something we strive to do in the program as much as possible,” Brevik said.

hosting a family-friendly weekend for those staying there.

“People are staying in tents and cabins and our hotel out here is full, so it’s packed,” said Brian Croft, director of Touch of Nature.

Rather than having specific events, Touch of Nature has planned many activities for guests.

“Ours is kind of a weekend about experience, where we’re going to have our climbing wall open and canoeing and kayaking,” he said. “And you’ll have camp food, and there’ll be a campfire at night with songs and there’ll be live music. It’s kind of this family camp that I joke happens to end with a really cool eclipse.”

He hopes this weekend can create outdoor experiences that will stick with families forever.

“Our mission [at] Touch of Nature is to enhance the lives of all people through outdoor experiences,” he said. “So that’s really what we want to do is we just want to create a fun experience that…selfishly I hope in 20 years, kids can look at their mom or dad [and say] ‘Hey remember that time we camped out at SIU’s Touch of Nature and saw the eclipse and we got a climbing wall and we did the zipline, and like, that was really, really fun. Because again…I want to believe that we all can kind of agree that good things happen when we go outside.”

The events at both Touch of Nature and the Crossroads Eclipse Festival are still in need of volunteers. The portal is still open for all events at https://eclipse.siu. edu/volunteer-with-the-eclipse/

With the festival, the world is going to begin to hear Carbondale’s name. Vanvooren said the town is going to gain global recognition.

“This event is good because of the amount and the level of exposure that SIU and Carbondale has seen from a national and international media perspective,” she said. “Like we’re talking about a level of exposure that we wouldn’t even have the dollars for…We’ll have Good Morning America on campus. We’ll have the Washington Post, the New York Times. And so the engagement of

Those who are worried about the weather will be glad to hear there is nothing to fear. Brevik is the team coordinator for the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative, which will be broadcasting the eclipse to Saluki Stadium from locations all over North America.

“It is a NASA and NSF [National Science Foundation] funded research project,” she said. “We have over 80 teams with telescopes spread across the entire continent of North America, and a lot of them are in the path of totality. So we actually have telescope teams all the way from Mexico up to Canada, and they will be imaging–what we call the surface of the sun–the photosphere as well as totality.”

Not only will these images from telescope teams be live-released to the public, they will also be projected onto the screen in the stadium, she said.

“We are not weather-dependent. Even if the weather is not the best, we’ll have images of the eclipse across the entire path because you can’t cloud out the whole path,” she said. “So we’ll have images of the eclipse going from the time it starts in Mexico all the way across, so we’ll be switching between various locations.”

Overall, the Southern Illinois Crossroads Eclipse Festival is a four-day-long celebration that is going to shine a light on Carbondale, bring community members together and give southern Illinoisians a chance to see a rare total solar eclipse that they will likely not get for another three centuries.

“The key is don’t miss it,” Brevik said. “And find a location that’s meaningful to you and with people that’s meaningful to you, because you can’t even describe it. You try to explain what the eclipse is like to someone who hasn’t seen it, and you could tell them it’s amazing and it’s just life-changing, but they just have to experience it. So 1:59 p.m. on Monday, everybody should be outside so they can see it. Because we won’t get another chance, unless you chase eclipses with us.”

Brian Croft, director of Touch of Nature Education Center stands out in a wooded area at Touch of Nature March 28, 2024 in Makanda, Illinois. Libby Phelps | @libbyphelpsphotography

• Day-of registration opens at 4pm

• Race starts promptly at 6pm

• Professionally timed, certified course

• Snacks & refreshments for participants

• Live local music from RognboB & Ruth

• Door prizes

• Kids activities

• Community coloring banner

• Fun for the whole family!

100% of proceeds raised will be donated to Good Samaritan House of Carbondale, a local homeless shelter in our community.

In addition, we ask participants and the community to bring nonperishable goods to go to the food pantry, as they are able. Every donation helps a great cause in our area!

SIU’s heliophysics research fuels solar discoveries Eclipse in Carbondale 2024

AnnAlise schmidt Aschmidt@dAilyegyptiAn com

Heliophysics, the study of the sun and its impact on the solar system, takes center stage as astronomers prepare for an extraordinary celestial event: the total solar eclipse. As the world awaits this rare spectacle, scientists are at the forefront of researching the sun and its behavior at SIU.

At a time where the sun is garnering more attention, NASA launched its Heliophysics Big Year, a theme that encourages people to participate in as many sun-related activities as possible from Oct. 14, 2023, to Dec. 24, 2024. This theme represents a pivotal moment for the field of heliophysics, bringing together scientists, researchers and enthusiasts to celebrate the sun and its behavior.

The initiative encompasses a wide range of activities, from research missions to engaging public outreach

efforts, all aimed at discovering more about the sun.

Richard Danley, an SIU student who specializes in astrophysics, said, “There’s a large interconnectivity between universities for the Big Year of Heliophysics. I learned recently that Carbondale was one of the few universities that was really emphasizing the big study into the Big Year of Heliophysics, so we’re primarily focusing on the SolarSTEAM and DEB (Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast) initiative projects this year.”

Most of SIU’s heliophysics events will have to do with the eclipse, including telescope feeds, and a science and technology expo. However, other events will continue throughout the year. Celebrations marking solar maximum and updates on the Parker Solar Probe will remain prominent aspects of research. The Parker probe will come

Eating

closest to the sun, just four million miles away on Dec. 24, according to NASA.

Danley said, “Pretty much every source of energy you use is derived from the sun in some way or another outside of some things like nuclear power. The more we know about the sun, the more that we are able

to understand not just our place on Earth, but how we interact with the environment, what resources we have and how things have changed over time.”

He believes that the research conducted in heliophysics could also serve as a valuable resource in addressing potential challenges that

may arise in the future. “And for our current technology, the more we know about the sun, the more that we can predict things like coronal mass ejections or large solar flares that will affect technology on earth, and we can prepare for that and hopefully keep ourselves from having

creating stars and heralding doomsday: the mythologies of the total solar eclipse

From demons eating the sun to eternal misery, several myths have been shared about the total solar eclipse. Some of these myths still inflict fear in people who are preparing to watch the eclipse on April 8.

In ancient Greek mythology, it was believed that eclipses were a sign that the gods were angry or upset with humans, which led to the sun disappearing from Earth and bringing untold misery. The word eclipse came from the Greek word meaning abandonment or disappearance.

When eclipses occurred, Greeks believed that catastrophe would fall upon them, that the royal family would fall or that demons had eaten the sun. As more eclipses have taken place, mythologies have changed throughout different cultures.

Not every myth has been scary or negative, some cultures believed that the eclipse was the sun and moon coming together to make more stars or that it was a silly act caused by a child.

In Transylvanian folklore, the solar eclipse was believed to originate from the sun’s reaction to man’s bad behavior or sins by turning away or becoming dark.

It was also believed to create a poisonous dew that would harm the people watching it.

In Indian mythology, Rahu, who was an immortal demigod, had his head cropped off by Lord Vishnu. Rahu had a grudge against the sun and moon which lead believers in Indian mythology to think that, during a solar eclipse, Rahu was eating the sun. Since Rahu did not have a body, his reign of victory did not last long, the sun would pass out of his throat shortly after. The Ancient Chinese believed multiple stories of why solar eclipses occurred. One belief was that the future of the Emperor was being told by heavenly signs.

Another was that a celestial dragon was eating the sun and attacking the moon. These beliefs were supported by the Chinese term for eclipse, “shi”, which also means to eat. The Chinese would bang loud drums to scare away the dragon that was eating the sun.

In South America, the Inca saw the solar eclipse as time to provide a sacrifice because they believed that the sun god was displeased. The sacrifice was supposed to appease the sun god and stop the source of his wrath.

In more recent years, more myths or misconceptions have been believed surrounding the total solar eclipse. Some of those

include dangerous radiation that could harm pregnant women and their babies. These myths have been proven wrong; during the eclipse there is actually less radiation than there is when the sun is regularly shining.

Another recently believed myth is that the eclipse is a sign that something bad is about to happen. This myth is encouraged by what psychologists call confirmation bias. It is where people remember all times when two things occurred at once, yet forget every time they have not.

Confirmation bias causes people’s brains to have a slanted view of cause and effect that can be remembered easily because the human brain is trained to look for what it already knows. This method is used as a survival rule of thumb, since eclipses do not occur often, people try to speculate what course of action they should take to survive the event.

A largely believed myth is that the solar eclipse means the end is coming. Some people currently believe Carbondale will be the epicenter of this doomsday, because it lies at the crossroads where the 2017 and 2024 paths of totality intersect.

If the world is ending, there are

things that need to be done to prepare. As people run to collect food, water and emergency belongings; there are other important supplies that should be included.

If a checklist is being made, here is what should be written down for various scenarios.

Boring basic doomsday checklist: 1. Food 2. Water 3. Emergency kit and supplies 4. Flashlights 5. Battery powered radio 6. Whistle to alert others if in danger

Exciting doomsday checklist: 1. Snacks 2. Water and Coffee 3. More snacks 4. Emergency kit (this one is still important) 5. Portable charger (to stay updated with the Daily Egyptian live blog, which starts at 11 a.m. on April 8) 6.The newest edition of the Daily Egyptian 7. Reading glasses (if you need them so you can stay updated with the DE) 8. Speaker to play music to alert others and party til the end.

Both of these checklists could be beneficial if the eclipse takes a turn for the worst. Though the second list insures that the end of the world can still be fun, as long as no zombies arrive.

Day Starr-Fleming | DaySF on Facebook

Bhayva

disastrous events during very, very traumatic events all of a sudden,” Danley said.

Danley will also be leading a team of students in capturing telescope feeds during the eclipse to further enhance our understanding of solar phenomena and contribute valuable data to ongoing research efforts.

He said, “Over the beginning of the fall semester last year, and throughout this semester, I trained students in how to do astrophotography. We would take our telescopes, most of it was testing during the night sky to get them familiar with the equipment, get them familiar with the cameras with the software that we were using, and carry that over to doing solar astronomy.”

Danley said the team was clouded out during the annular eclipse last year, but still got the opportunity to practice and learn new techniques. By gaining practice imaging the sun throughout the last two semesters, these students will now be able to use their newfound skills to capture high-quality images of celestial phenomena. They can both observe

and study the sun during the upcoming eclipse and beyond.

“I built up a group that has good experience, and those are the students that will be traveling with me for the eclipse. We’re going to spread out a little bit to make sure that at least someone gets a view, and several students are going to be running the NASA equipment that they’re providing,” Danley said.

During the total solar eclipse the team will be able to see how the sun changes during unique circumstances.

“Overall, the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative is to take, hopefully assuming good weather conditions, a continuous stream of the solar eclipse from Mexico to Canada,” Danley said.

This large span of imaging will allow the team to get results regardless of weather or complications.

“In cases of weather, if you can’t see the sun, you can’t see the sun,” Danley said, “sometimes you can increase the exposure, and you can see the sun through the clouds. Telescopes are far better than your eyes, and you can change different qualities of it. But if we’re completely clouded out, we try to get around that by expanding the area that we’re in. From

there, hopefully we’ll at least get a glimpse of the Sun sometime during the four minutes that we have in totality.”

Observers of the total solar eclipse will be able to view the corona, a part of the sun that is not normally visible on Earth.

“The corona is not very well understood. It is millions of degrees, which is far hotter than the surface of the Sun, which is what we normally observe,” Danley said.

Even with spaceborne telescopes, the primary focus of most missions is the outer corona or the outer bands, due to the sensitivity and inability to repair equipment once it is in space.

During an eclipse, Danley said, “We are able to see that inner corona that we’re not normally able to observe and that provides us a lot of opportunities to actually understand the interactions between the corona and the very, very upper surface of the sun.”

Other projects at SIU will be using this research to actively engage with the community and contribute to outreach efforts.

“SolarSTEAM, the other part of that project that’s ongoing well after the DEB

initiative, is really to emphasize interest and solar astronomy or just astronomy in general,” Danley said.

The project has been a big kickoff point for SIU’s increasing astronomy influence in the past few years.

Last year, Danley embarked on a trip to Australia for its solar eclipse. Joining him were several students from the Study Abroad group, as well as faculty members of SolarSTEAM, who were already acquainted with the equipment. Together, they engaged in a practice session, putting their equipment to the test in a real-life situation. This experience allowed them to determine the most effective techniques to use during the 2024 eclipse.

“It was really a good time to get familiar with our equipment. And when we got there, we imaged the eclipse. We had a few hiccups, the eclipse time for Australia was between 48 and 54 seconds, which is a little bit different than four minutes and four seconds. So any errors that we had, we were just going to have to deal with them,” Danley said.

Along with this research and imaging, NASA is urging people across the U.S. to take as many pictures of the sun during

the eclipse as possible. They hope to use the additional data to determine more information about the sun.

Danley said, “People and universities play a big part in this eclipse, because you’re going to have so many telescopes pointed at the sky at a time, and the more telescopes, the more observers that you have viewing, the more information you’re going to get.”

He said he has an absolute love of astronomy and astrophysics and really enjoys doing the imaging, taking the data and getting to work with interesting people on projects. Because of this passion, he hopes others will take the opportunity to take part and learn more in the process.

“Really, if anybody has any interest in the sun, they should…read our [academic] papers, they can see how we’ve gotten involved with it. Everybody should be really encouraged to just kind of research the sun a little bit again, it’s really one of the most important things in our lives,” Danley said.

Staff reporter Annalise Schmidt can be reached at aschmidt@dailyegyptian.com.

Art in the Shadows: The Eclipse Artistry of Professor Corey Tester

One of the faculty members currently working to make the total solar eclipse a success is Associate Instructor Corey Tester. The School of Art and Design’s Visual Resource Specialist is also a designer and photographer on the SIU eclipse team.

“I’ve…worked on a logo for SolarSTEAM, which is a NASA grant-funded project with the STEM education research center. And so I have a logo for them, branding for them, some promotional materials, expo, a trade show, backdrops and tablecloths and things like that,” Tester said. “They can be well represented and all the big expos in the arena, in the stadium, big shows, and a lot of people are really into it.”

Tester is also a part of the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative, a nationwide citizen science team that broadcasted new and exciting views of eclipses. He designed the logo for the initiative and worked on some of the promotional materials for the project. To see more about this project visit Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative

“They’ve been able to work on some projects with me and the STEM education research center and that’s how I got involved with this go around the eclipse. I have produced a lot of several different logos for them for different grant-funded projects on campus. It’s the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative. So I designed that logo and worked with some commercial materials for them,” he said.

DEB is a citizen science team that broadcasts live views of eclipses across the United States. The goal of the Initiative is to provide new views of eclipses while engaging the public in scientific research. The DEB Initiative is made up of over 80 white light solar observation teams located in Mexico, the US, and Canada.

“So I did a t-shirt design for them that they sold at their visitor center in 2017. So there’s a 2024 version of that with different dates and information but the same coordinates... I also was able to capture a nice photograph of the Eclipse in 2017. I am fortunate to have a lot of support with equipment this time around, so hopefully I can capture an even better photograph of the Eclipse, perhaps a video with much higher resolution, higher definition,” Tester said.

As a designer, Tester likes to distill complex ideas into their simplest forms

“I developed a lot of visual identities, logos, that sort of thing, designs of t-shirts, and graphics like that. The point of a successful logo is to distill those complex ideas down to something simply identifiable... so we’ve been working on using graph design to communicate and get conversations started,” he said.

Tester was born and raised in a family that valued both art and science.

“My mom is an artist. She’s a very talented

and creative painter, and mixed media artist and has been her whole life. I got a lot of lessons growing up from her and encouragement,” Tester said.

He spent countless hours in his youth drawing and sketching, and it was during this time that he developed a love for visual storytelling and the power of imagery. As he got older, he began to see the connections between art and science, realizing that they were not so different after all.

“My dad, to be honest, had a lot of the science interest, I think, comes from my dad as well he actually studied forestry at SIU but he actually ended up working in the advertising department in a movie theater company, in a carousel music theater, so but I grew up here until I was about in fourth grade, grew up in Carbondale,” Tester said.

The eclipse project has been a remarkable opportunity, he said.

“So, it is great to be able to collaborate with some of the scientists on campus. And merge my expertise in design and photography and their expertise in capturing the eclipse, capturing data about the scientific data about the sun. One of the most, basically the most important thing in our lives is the sun. So, it’s a great opportunity to collaborate,” Tester said.

Staff Reporter Jasmine Thompson

can be reached at jasmine.thompson.dailyegyptian.com

Jasmine Thompson Jasmine Thompson@dailyegypTian com

Corey Tester, a professor at Southern Illinois University shows the total eclipse path for the upcoming Eclipse on April 8. He will be one of the official designers and photographers who will capture the upcoming eclipse March 28, 2024 in Carbondale, Illinois.

Simeon Hardley | @SimShardPhotography

in the catering business for some time, but around the pandemic, the vision for their seasoning business began to form in Yemisi’s mind.

“I was pregnant with my second son, and kind of stuck in a chair and frustrated because I couldn’t work,” she said. “So many things were going on, and I’m a praying woman, so I sat and I’m like ‘God, what do you want?’”

The vision began in little pieces, starting by Yemisi Anderson making the mixes to use in their catering, not knowing the idea would turn into an entire spice line.

“My husband’s name is James, that’s the J in the JAY Effect, and my name is Yemisi, that’s the Y, and our last name is Anderson, and that’s the A. That’s how the name came about. So the Jay Effect is what you get when the two of us come together,” she said.

Their seasonings are now sold at The Neighborhood Co-op in Carbondale, Smalls Meat Market in Marion, Higginson Farm in Carmine and Riverside Mercantile in Elizabethtown, as well as online at thatsthejayeffect.com.

The Andersons said their garlic and herb and original blend sell fast online. The Jay Effect will be at the fest on Saturday and Sunday.

Melanie Aldridge, owner of Meadows Bluff Farm, will be a returning vendor, making this year her third at the fest.

Aldridge has been in business for six years and started off making soap using goat’s milk after it proved successful in relieving her daughter’s eczema symptoms.

Now she sells a variety of products.

“This weekend we will start selling our deodorant cream and magnesium body balm. The balm helps with joint aches and pains. The deodorant cream is infused with oils and all the good stuff that’s supposed to help promote breast health, soften lumps, things like that,” she said.

All of the products are tried and true, Aldridge said.

“It’s all tested. It all goes through a testing phase before the final product hits the market. Me, my family and friends have all tried the products on our website.”

Aldridge’s dog has also tried some products.

“Yogi was an outside dog, a farm dog. And in the summertime, the gnats and all of that would just fly around him and irritate him. So I came up with a product to help with it. It made the flies and the gnats and all of that disappear,” she said.

Meadows Bluff Farm will be at the fest both days, and products can also be found at Higginson Farm Mercantile in Carmi, Cricket & Red Brick Antique Mall in Carterville, or by visiting the website, meadowsblufffarm.com.

Another returning vendor is Vicki Harger, owner of Big Muddy Peddler. This will be her second year at Carbondale Spring Fest.

Harger has been making pan poured, sootless, scented candles made from coconut wax since 2020.

“Honestly, I didn’t like candles,” Harger said, pointing out that the black soot other candles create mixes with the air that we breathe, and stains the curtains, carpets, and other things in our homes.

“I thought to myself, if I’m going to sell a candle, I need to sell a quality one.

So I sat down and studied, researched, tested, and carried on until I fixed what I thought was wrong with them.”

Harger said she eventually crafted a clean candle for an environmentally conscious person. They produce very little smoke, and are very aromatic, the coconut oil blending seamlessly with the fragrance oils.

“They’re biodegradable, compostable and vegan,” she added.

In honor of the eclipse coming up, Harger created a candle to embody the rareness of the experience.

“I created a candle called Daylight Moon, and it’s also on my website. I picked the scent deliberately because it has a warm and cool factor to it, like you’re sitting on a quiet beach, no one else is around and you’ve got the warmth on your face and you’ve got like a cool cave at your back and you’re sitting right where the two meet so you’re smelling the salty air, you’re smelling cool blue lotus flowers, hibiscus, and some muskier scents. And it should mingle together like that,” she said.

Harger’s products will be at the fest, but you can find them on her website, bigmuddypeddler.com, as well as quite a few shops listed under the locations tab. All of the vendors are excited to see the crowd this special year brings for the Carbondale Spring Fest.

Staff reporter Katie Kwasneski can be reached at kkwasneski@dailyegyptian.com

Fashion students showcase skills with eclipse designs and vintage garments

Student fashion designers are putting the final touches on a vast array of garments to be featured in the Fashion Studies’ Student Showcase Fashion Show April 25 at 7 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom.

This year’s lines include eclipse-related garments, along with more typical clothes. The show doesn’t usually have a theme, but organizers wanted to tie it in with the biggest event of the year: the total solar eclipse.

Some of the students were each given a phase of the eclipse to inspire them. A junior going by the single name Lisa was assigned the after-effects of totality.

“So, I have two looks that are kind of like dark representing the actual Eclipse and then my next two looks are like representing the flowers opening back up and like nature going back to its original phase,” she said. Lisa was working on a trio of bows, one sheer white with a narrow black ribbon, the others black with white accents. The white bow was for a dress, while the black ones were for the models’ hair.

“I’m definitely going through a bow phase right now,” she said.

Junior Aaron Elliott was assigned the second interphase part of the eclipse, which produces a phenomenon called Bailey’s Beads, an effect created when the outer rim of the moon’s typography allows only beads of light to pass through. To represent this, Elliott is scattering small bells across a swath of denim. His collection heavily features the traditional fabric, as he favors American folk wear.

“I mean, what’s more American than denim,” he said.

Elliott is also representing another phenomenon called the diamond ring effect by embroidering pieces of mirror on a dress to catch the light. He said the eclipse theme gave him direction.

“My interpretation of it was, what would you be like if you didn’t know what a solar eclipse was? How would you want to do it? How would you celebrate it? So, I imagined that these people are trying to get the sun to come back, because the sun does give us life. So, these people are having a celebration of sorts,” he said. Lisa said, despite having a common theme, the eclipse collections “couldn’t be less alike.” “We all just kind of took it and ran with it basically,” she said.

The student designers not working on eclipse garments base their designs on chosen decades. For senior Kylah Smith, that means the 1930s.

“Like any type of Harlem Renaissance time period, where fashion trends were really big and what people were wearing was most important because, right after the Great Depression, clothes were starting to become a thing again. People were starting to be able to wear what they wanted, especially women. Women were able to start wearing pants instead of wearing dresses or skirts traditionally. So that’s really what I wanted to focus on,” she said.

Her collection features peaches and pinks contrasted with neutral shades. One of her pieces is a pink romper, the type of which was quite popular as beach wear in the 30s.

A freshman who goes simply by Jada is

Aaron Elliott sewes eclipse themed design for the Fashion Studies Student Showcase Fashion Show April 1, 2024 at Quigley Hall in Carbondale, Illinois. Elliott was inspired by American folk wear and says “Theres nothing more American than denim.” Daylin Williams dwilliams@dailegyptian.com

also favoring pink, creating a dress with bows designed to evoke a 70s ballerina’s outfit.

“So far it’s not done, but I promise you it will be cool,” she said.

Jada said she doesn’t pay much attention to what’s happening in the wider fashion world.

“I feel like everybody has their own taste. I feel like that’s the whole point of fashion is that everybody is very different. Everybody’s bringing something to the table, you know. I try to just be more like, whatever I feel is more of my taste,” she said.

Student designer Noah Eaton is going darker, harkening back to the film noir vibe of the 1940s.

He said the goal is to modernize a look while staying true to the vintage feel.

“I went with that sort of aesthetic of like trench coats and suiting. But my specific design perspective is sort of like genderless clothing that anyone can wear. So, I have like a suit gown, for instance, that a male model is wearing. And then my female model is wearing a trench coat look. And then I have another male model wearing a skirt,” Eaton said.

He said it’s important that the garments flow naturally while the model struts along the catwalk.

“If you want something really dramatic, the flow just lends itself to that,” Eaton said.

Freshman Chloe Antoine agrees. She’s working on the longest dress in the show. She chose a colorful floral fabric to match the feel.

“It’s flowy, like something I could see myself in,” she said.

Antoine worked with her model, Emily Brinkman, to pick out the fabric.

“I just kept sending her pictures until we figured out what would look best with her

skin tone and hair, what we could accessorize with it best,” Antoine said.

The student showcase will allow her to demonstrate her work, she said.

“I can actually show off my skills, what I did throughout the semester, a glimpse of what I could do in the future,” Antoine said.

Lisa is also looking forward to a chance to show off.

“It’s literally our blood, sweat and tears are going into this,” she said. “So it’s definitely a big event that I always look forward to.

Senior lecturer Judy Huyck said the

showcase also lets parents see what their tuition dollars are being used for in a way that’s more effective than a grade report.

“They actually see what those grades reflect and what the students have put in and all the work that they have put in,” she said.

Hyuck said she hopes the audience comes away saying: “’Wow! So this is what this department does. This is what Fashion Studies in the School of Architecture puts out.’ Yeah. It’s a neat program, and the only one in the state of Illinois.”

Melanie Aldridge showcases her many products from Meadows Bluff Farm March 22, 2024 at the Pavillion in Marion, Illinois. Daylin Williams dwilliams@dailyegyptian.com

Daily Egyptian Staff

2024 Southern Illinois Crossroads Eclipse Festival Events

ONCE IN A LIFETIME. AGAIN.

Into the Darkness:

Celebrating the Eclipse with Music Concert with local schools premiering eclipse-inspired composition.

Shryock Auditorium

Friday, April 5

Crossroads Eclipse Research Workshop

Engage in research opportunities and presentations. Multiple campus venues

Friday, April 5 - Monday, April 8

Saluki Con Presents Eclipse Con Comic-con with special guests, vendors, panels and more!

Student Center

Saturday, April 6 - Sunday, April 7

Eclipse Eve Live: Sky Observers Hangout

Live podcast and star-viewing event with Michelle Nichols, Adler Planetarium. Shryock Auditorium (outside)

Sunday, April 7

Carbondale Eclipse Concert

Check out downtown Carbondale for an evening full of celestial connection through rhythm and dance.

Washington/E. Main St.

Sunday, April 7

Crossroads Astronomy Science and Technology Expo

Activities, exhibits, demonstrations, presentations.

Banterra Center

Sunday, April 7 - Monday, April 8

Crossroads Art and Craft Fair Arts, crafts, eclipse items. North of the Banterra Center

Sunday, April 7 - Monday, April 8

Eclipse Day at Saluki Stadium Guided eclipse-viewing event. Tickets available at 877/725-8547 or on eclipse.siu.edu.

Saluki Stadium

Monday, April 8

Other events:

Chalk-Eclipse – Friday, April 5 Run from the Sun 5K – Saturday April 6

Carbondale Spring FEST – Saturday, April 6 - Sunday, April 7 StraightUp Solar Campus and Community Area - April 8

For a full list of all events, event times, food and parking:

Eclipse Information

Glasses

Eclipse glasses are available for every student on campus. It is extremely important to wear eclipse glasses to prevent eye damage. Eclipse glasses will be available – 1 per student – during the following dates and at the following locations:

April 1-5, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Morris Library Circulation Desk

Student Services Building Front

Desk

April 8, Starting at 8 a.m.

Alumni Association

Chancellor’s Office

Eclipse volunteers

Evergreen Terrace Office

Lentz and Trueblood Dining Halls

Neely, Mae Smith and Schneider

Front Desks

Saluki Stadium

Student Center ID Office

Student Health Center

Student Recreation Center

Wall and Grand Mail Room

Tickets

The student section at Saluki Stadium has been reserved for students to attend Eclipse Day at Saluki Stadium. Current SIU students with their valid SIU student ID will get into the event for free. As students come in, we will check and swipe their ID and hand them a ticket in the student section. The student section for the SIU Eclipse Event is for students only, and seats are first come, first serve.

Please be advised that due to the size of this event there will be a limited number of tickets available. Student tickets will be provided at the gate, with a valid SIU student ID, when doors open at 11 a.m. Student tickets will also be available from 9-11 a.m., at the Information Tents on the north and south sides of the Banterra Center. Students will receive a pair of eclipse glasses with their entry ticket.

Events

Southern Illinois Crossroads Eclipse Festival and stadium show Saluki Stadium is the epicenter of Eclipse Day events. SIU will team up with Adler Planetarium, NASA EDGE and others to offer a guided, fun-filled total solar eclipse experience.

The horseshoe-shaped facility has a seating capacity of 15,000, offering plenty of sky-filled views. Seating includes chairback seats as well as bleacher seating and spots on the grass berm enclosing the north end zone. Saluki Stadium is located at 1415 Arena Drive on campus. Doors open at 11 a.m. on Eclipse Day. Get tickets for the stadium and parking passes here.

The stadium’s guided tour is part of the overall four-day Southern Illinois Crossroads Eclipse Festival. View the festival schedule, food options (click and scroll down) and parking information. To purchase a parking pass only for Eclipse Day, go here.

Crossroads Eclipse Research Workshop

Science is the focal point for this event, which runs April 5-8. The workshop will highlight opportunities for research and astrophotography at designated observation areas at the SIU Farms Astronomy Observation Area, also known as the Dark Site, as well as on the main campus for workshop participants. Participants are asked to present on their research project to submit brief abstracts for either talks and/or poster presentations, and some may be selected to give presentations on Saturday, April 6. Organizers also will display research posters.

Crossroads Astronomy, Science and Technology Expo

The expo, which is free and open to the public, will highlight organizations and businesses specializing in solar, astronomy, science and new technologies. Set for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday and Monday, April 7 and

8, at Banterra Center, the event is a unique opportunity for the public to learn about cutting-edge science and technology, products and services.

Crossroads Art and Craft Fair

Be sure to check out approximately 30 vendors sharing their arts and crafts directly north of the Saluki Stadium April 7-8. The event opens at 10:30 a.m. Sunday and runs through 6 p.m., then reopens at 9 a.m. on Eclipse Day and will continue until 5 p.m. Art in many different styles and media will be available for viewing and purchase.

Saluki Eclipse Con

This event celebrates science, technology, arts, humanities and comics, and you don’t have to be a diehard comic or tech enthusiast to enjoy it. Star-studded panels, workshops, demonstrations, cosplay, networking opportunities and more all will be on tap. The con kicks off with a gaming event Friday, April 5, and runs 4-9 p.m. that day. An Eclipse Con ticket must be purchased to participate in the gaming event and the main event, which runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 6-7 at the SIU Student Center.

Eclipse Eve Live: Sky Observers Hangout

Organizers have planned a special episode of Sky Observers Hangout in front of a live audience from 7-9 p.m. Sunday, April 7, on the steps of Shryock Auditorium (indoors, if inclement weather). Join Adler’s Planetarium’s astronomy educators, who will lead the effort to get you up to speed for the next day’s eclipse. Special guests from SIU and NASA EDGE will join the live stream as well.

Unleash the Dawgs: How Saluki Athletics plans to improve overall experience

Ryan GRieseR RGRieseR@dailyeGyptian com

December 5, 2023, was a very significant night in Saluki Athletics history.

That night, the men’s basketball team notched a win over power five conference opponent Oklahoma State on national television. Spectators in the Banterra Center, if they were paying attention, were also among the first members of the public to hear of a campaign that, if fully completed, will reshape the face of Saluki Athletics.

A 10-year, 100-million dollar campaign called “Imagine Salukis Unleashed: A Vision for Victory in SIU Athletics,” was unveiled that evening. Later press releases shared stunning concept art that showed “either a new or enhanced facility for each one of our programs,” according to Todd Reeser, the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Athletics Fundraising and Executive Deputy Director of Athletics.

When asked about the initiative, SIU Chancellor Austin Lane was quoted in a December 2023 interview with WSIU saying, “If you’re not thinking in a bold fashion, you’re probably wasting your time and a lot of other’s time. You’ve gotta dream big.”

While the plan may easily be described as ambitious, athletic director Tim Leonard, who has been at SIU since the summer of 2022, has a history of completing big projects. In his eight years as the athletic director at Towson University, Leonard oversaw the construction of new basketball, football, softball and tennis facilities and also secured three of the largest gifts in

Towson athletics history.

The success doesn’t stop there. While Leonard was a senior associate AD at Southern Methodist University, he was a key part of SMU’s “Second Century Campaign: SMU Unbridled,” which in part raised $125 million for athletics.

The improvements for SIU under the new initiative include a covered practice structure for football, a basketball practice facility, a women’s soccer stadium, a golf practice facility at their home golf course and a new concourse for baseball.

Funding will also go to programs like better nutrition, better mental health care and better tutoring for student athletes.

Reeser sees these things as increasingly important, especially in the ever-evolving world of collegiate athletics.

“There’s just so many that… you would say maybe don’t have anything to do with actually playing, but they actually do,” Reeser said.

While many of SIU’s current athletic facilities are fairly modern, many are still in need of improvement in order to stay ahead of the game.

“We’ve always got to continue to pay attention to the facilities. There’s no question that we’ve got to stay as cutting edge because facilities does play a part,” Reeser said.

Recruiting, which has only become more nuanced in the current Name, Image and Likeness [NIL] era, can often be largely determined by the resources an athlete will have available to them, including education, facilities and nutrition, which makes the need to stay on top of these areas even more critical.

Reeser said, “We need to continue to enhance what we’re doing. This is a competition and we are competing against others who are… trying to move beyond the Salukis.”

Baseball coach Lance Rhodes clearly sees the vision and thinks that these improvements will help immensely when selling SIU to prospective student athletes.

Rhodes said, “The future vision for SIU athletic facilities is first class. This will give us the opportunity to attract the best players in the country, as they will have an opportunity to be around top notch facilities to go along with the best atmosphere in the Missouri Valley.”

One could argue that SIU is overdue for improvements to athletics facilities. According to Reeser, many universities finish a campaign and “they turn around, have a campaign.” The last campaign at SIU, Saluki Way, concluded over a decade ago.

There has been little development for many facilities until this year, which has seen the Edward J. Shea Natatorium, Banterra Center and Itchy Jones Stadium all receive new video boards. “The Itch” also received a new turf playing surface.

Funding for projects like these and the Salukis Unleashed initiative as a whole, is one of the main areas where people may have questions, including why invest all of this money into athletics when there are other places on campus that could maybe use the money more?

Reeser is able to put that idea to bed, saying, “the money from this program comes from donor support… I don’t believe at all that that is coming out of some other pockets.”

There’s several key differences about Salukis Unleashed that make it unique from other athletic fundraising initiatives that Reeser has been a part of. The first is that it is a “subdivision” of the university’s wider fundraising program, Imagine 2030. The second has to do with the campaign’s starting point.

“Oftentimes when you launch campaigns, you have a certain amount of funding already in place. That isn’t the case here. What we do have is a very passionate fan base. We have passionate alumni from coast to coast… when you’re out there, people are very proud to say Salukis when they see SIU,” Reeser said Reeser is most enthusiastic about the alumni connection.

“I’m always excited to reconnect or connect with our alumni or fan base or donors. I think I get a lot of energy from just being able to paint the vision of what we’re trying to do,” Reeser said.

Donors also have a big say in what projects will be completed when.

“They’re all important, because if I have a donor that says ‘I want to do this,’ the priority just moved up,” Reeser said. “We’re not guiding, but ultimately, if someone wants to help our golf program, we want to show them how they can help our golfers.

One of the most notable projects included is a practice facility for the men’s and women’s basketball programs that would be attached to the southwest side of the Banterra Center. Besides the previously mentioned recruiting benefits it would provide for those teams, one other program would directly benefit

from the new facility: volleyball. Reeser said, “Our goal is to get volleyball over [in the Banterra Center]... it does so much for really, a critical program and I don’t think anybody would think any differently.”

According to Reeser, another new facility would play a role in where several teams, including football, baseball and softball

“That covered practice facility helps all of our programs… sometimes you need to get out of the elements,” Reeser said.

And while many may be skeptical when looking at the concept art for some facilities, especially the covered-but-notenclosed football practice field, Reeser says that the art released now is far from final.

“The rendering that we have was something that Tim [Leonard] did when he first arrived… When we were encouraged to move forward with this, that’s what we had to work with, so there’s plenty of room for change,” Reeser said.

While any and all of these improvements will directly impact future student athletes, Rhodes feels that the fan experience will continue to get better with each improvement made, especially for his baseball team.

“With the projected improvements, not only will it be a huge benefit to our student athletes, but our tremendous fans will have some of the best facilities in the country to go and watch our student athletes compete in,” Rhodes said.

Sports reporter Ryan Grieser can be reached at rgrieser@dailyegyptian.com.

The eclipse live: Meet the professor and students bringing the event to the world

When the moon starts to creep in front of the sun at 12:42 p.m. local time on April 8, Associate Professor Karla Berry and her students will be making sure people all across the globe can experience the “magical” event.

Berry, who works in the School of Media Arts, is teaching an electronic media workshop so students can create content, in advance and in real time, for a live YouTube feed. You can get a quick preview on the SIU SolarSTEAM channel.

Eclipse 2024 Live from SIU Carbondale will also be broadcast on WSIU From 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

“We will be live as we follow from Mazatlan [Mexico], then we have Eagle Pass, Texas..so that’s kind of where the shadow hits the U.S. for the first time. Then Carbondale, we’ll spend a lot of time in Carbondale, of course, we have multiple telescope feeds here. Then we go to Vincennes, Indiana, then Oxford, Ohio, then I think it’s Edinburgh, Pennsylvania,” Berry said.

Watch parties for the YouTube live stream are planned as far away as Copenhagen, Denmark.

The stream, which students affectionately refer to as “the Karla show,” will be based at SIU’s stadium, where thousands are expected to gather to witness totality. That will start at 1:59 p.m. Central time and last four minutes, as day briefly turns into night.

Berry hopes the live stream audience can feel the sense of wonder, just as the real life audience does.

“I want them to geek out about all of it, you know,” she said. “Bottom line, they’ll learn something about this, they will engage with just this magical, natural, you know, just an event like this is a phenomenon.”

Berry’s students have a wide range of tasks for “the Karla show.” Some are producing documentary clips, while others are doing social content like “fun, flashy vertical videos,” according to cinema major Kaylee Wobig.

“I’ve never seen a total solar eclipse before. I’ve actually never seen an eclipse at all, so for this to be my first ever viewing…it’s really special for me, because I get to be so up close and personal with it,” she said.

All the students are working regularly with eclipse chasers and other heliophysics experts.

Cinema major Alyssa Krueger said the number of people that base their lives around eclipses and studying the solar system is “crazy.”

“There’s so many people with so much knowledge,” she said. “It’s really nice that all of them are willing to share with us and tell us all of their experiences.”

Radio, television and digital media major Nathan Culli got to spend time with some of those people during an October trip to watch an annular eclipse in Midland, Texas, where he documented the science going on around it.

“It kind of prompts me for April’s eclipse to really see what totality is going to be like because I only got a hint of it.

RTD major Gavin Melton was in SIU’s stadium during that annular eclipse, taking Karla’s class in the fall. He calls it a “surreal” experience.

“You feel really small in those moments,” he said.

Fellow student AJ Rice felt similarly when he witnessed his first total eclipse back in 2017.

“I was shocked at the perspective shift,” he said. “Like how tiny you are in the world.

Rice said it’s breathtaking to see two giant celestial objects interacting.

“I’ve always found it fascinating that the moon is just such a perfect size. If it were any bigger there would not be the cool corona,” he said.

Rice calls himself a “big science nerd” who listens to a ton of science podcasts. His comes into the project with a much different background than Culli.

“The extent of my astronomy knowledge

before this was one unit in sixth grade science,” Culli said.

The students and Berry are working directly with NASA contractors on their production. The SolarSTEAM project is being funded largely through a NASA grant and many other projects are working in collaboration with the eclipse.

The Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative is a network of citizen scientists that will have telescopes set up along the path of totality. They will feeding content to Berry’s live stream.

The film company Cosmic Picture is using this eclipse and the 2017 event to produce an IMAX film.

Another project involves a virtual field trip for middle schools in the Chicago area who are connected to three middle schools in Southern Illinois.

“We will have students in the north and south connected, so they get to share experiences,” Berry said.

Krueger said Berry is a “gem” that “keeps this thing turning.”

“She is so scatterbrained but in the best possible way,” Krueger said. “She is talking with so many people all the time, constantly getting new information for us and being so open and transparent about, so everything she knows, we know…she’s been absolutely fantastic.”

Karla Berry, left in black, discusses plans with her eclipse production students at Saluki Stadium. Photo provided by Mark Stoffel

Saluki

Softball

Freshman Maddia Groff (9) goes for the pitch against University of Northern Iowa.

Photos by: Jason Isele | @iselephotography

Freshman infielder Amanda Knutson (4) makes it to home plate to tie the game against University of Northern Iowa March 29, 2024 at Charlotte West Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.

Freshman catcher Rylinn Groff (6) hits the ball off University of Northern Iowa.

Senior outfielder Bailey Caylor (20) steals from second to third base.