THE
Daily Egyptian SERVING THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SINCE 1916.
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2021
VOL. 104, ISSUE 27
1, 2, & 3
BEDROOMS (618)549-0335 | (618)549-0895
AVAILABLE Grab a roommate for $300-$350 per person!
805 E. Park Street
Page 2
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Contact Us
Email: editor@dailyegyptian.com Faculty Managing Editor: Annie Hammock
News Editor: Jason Flynn
ahammock@dailyegyptian.com
jflynn@dailyegyptian.com
Editor-in-Chief: Oreoluwa Ojewuyi
Sports Editor: Ryan Scott
oojewuyi@dailyegyptian.com
rscott@dailyegyptian.com
Design Chief: Chloe Schobert
Graduate Contributer: Nick Karpinski
cschobert@dailyegyptian.com
nkarpinski@dailyegyptian.com
Photo Editor: Sophie Whitten
Business Manager: Lyn Sargent
swhitten@dailyegyptian.com
lsargent@dailyegyptian.com
Multimedia Editor: Chris Bishop
Business Office: Arunima Bhattacharya
cbishop@dailyegyptian.com
Alumni center named for siblings who gave largest gift in association history
618-536-3305
About Us
The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of Southern Illinois University Carbondale on a weekly basis. Fall and spring semester editions run every Wednesday. Free copies are distributed in the Carbondale, Carterville, and Springfield communities. The Daily Egyptian can be found at www. dailyegyptian.com or on the Daily Egyptian app!
Mission Statement The Daily Egyptian, the student-run news organization of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, is committed to being a trusted source of news, information, commentary and public discourse, while helping readers understand the issues affecting their lives.
Publishing Information The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of Southern Illinois University Carbondale and functions as a laboratory for the School of Journalism in exchange for the room and utilities in the Communications Building. The Daily Egyptian is a non-profit organization that survives primarily off of its advertising revenue. Offices are in the Communications Building, room 1259, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, Ill., 62901.
Copyright Information @2021 The Daily Egyptian. All rights reserved. All content is property of the Daily Egyptian and may not be reproduced or transmitted without consent. The Daily Egyptian is a member of the Illinois College Press Association, Associated Collegiate Press, College Media Advisers Inc. and the College Business and Advertising Managers Inc.
Submissions Letters and guest columns must be submitted with author’s contact information, preferably via email. Phone numbers are required to verify authorship, but will not be published. Students must include their year and major. Faculty must include rank and department. Others include hometown. Submissions should be sent to editor@dailyegyptian.com
acknowledgements The design and artwork provided in this publication are supported by a Windgate Scholarship Charitable Foundation scholarship awarded by the School of Art and Design, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Julie Guida and her brother, Scott Moller, pose beside the new Alumni Center named for them after a $500,000 gift. Photo courtesy of Caleb Hale Annie Hammock | ahammock@dailyegyptian.com
The home of the SIU Alumni Association, part of Woody Hall, has a new look and a new name, thanks to a $500,000 gift from a brother and sister who called the campus home decades ago. “I think this sibling story, of her and me both coming here and having similar work experiences, hopefully that’s something other people read about and get inspired and see there is a lot of opportunity here,” Moller said in a Facebook live interview posted by the Alumni Association. Moller was promotions director for the SIU Arena when it was booking bands like Van Halen, Foreigner and Billy Squire, Guida sold advertising for the Daily Egyptian. The siblings later founded Marketing Werks in Chicago, which had Fortune 500 clients such as Verizon, Bridgestone, Lego and Hershey. Moller said they started off in spare bedrooms of a house in suburban Chicago, and two years later occupied two floors of the Prudential Building downtown. The company was worth $100 million when it was sold in 2013. Moller’s and Guida’s gift is the largest in the Alumni Association’s history. “What a great way to give back,” Moller said. There are 250,000 Saluki alums in the U.S., 42nd in the nation, Guida said, and the Alumni Center bearing her and her brother’s name is the hub for all those people.. “We felt like the Alumni Center was really doing some really good work in trying to help students out, as well as trying to connect former students with the university,” Guida said. The center is housed in Woody Hall, a place the siblings said they remember with affection, especially the “absolute chaos” of the “Woody Hall Shuffle,” standing in long lines during registration periods, leaving to go get permission to take already full classes, and standing in more lines. “There was a certain resilience you had to have to get through it,” Moller said. “Maybe that’s what made us tough.” Guida said Woody Hall, and the beautiful
new center, looks nothing like she remembers. “It wasn’t exactly a pretty place,” Guida said. “It was well worn.” As for the new Guida-Moller Family Alumni Center? “It’s amazing,” Guida said. “Totally renovated. Clean and nice.” Moller said the center sends a message that there is life after college. “We’re proof of that,” Moller said. Guida said she hopes current students look at it and remember to take advantage of all the resources SIU-C has to offer. “Remember, once you’ve made it in your career path, and you have something to give back, it doesn’t have to be the type of gift Scott and I made, but give back to the place that helped you start your journey,” Guida said. Managing Editor Annie Hammock can be reached at ahammock@dailyegyptian.com
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Page 3
Protestors criticize CPD officer’s conduct in detaining CCHS student William Box | @William17455137
A Black Carbondale Community High School student was restrained by a Carbondale police officer at a Casey’s General Store near the school. The Thursday, Sept. 23 incident has sparked four protests with more expected to come in upcoming weeks. The female student will remain unnamed as she is under the age of 18. According to a press statement released by the Carbondale Police Department (CPD), an officer responded to a trespassing complaint against the student at a Dollar General near the site of the incident. The student was banned from the store previously and was identified by employees as having reentered on the date in question. The student was confronted at a nearby Casey’s by a single officer, who attempted to identify the student. The student refused to identify themself at which point the officer pinned the student to the ground. Then an off-duty officer from another agency assisted in controlling the crowd that gathered. According to the police press statement, once the student was in custody, she continued to refuse to identify herself and remained combative until another officer was able to make the positive ID. The student’s backpack was removed from their person in order to seat the student in the squad car. Officers then made contact with the student’s parents and the student was subsequently released.
“We believe that the officer should be held accountable for their actions.” - Victor Ludwig Protester
No injuries were reported as a result of the incident, but the student has been charged with trespassing, resisting a peace officer, and aggravated battery to a police officer. The student was banned from the Dollar General before the day of the incident for wearing a backpack inside. The incident was partially recorded and the video has since circulated on social media, generating a pushback from members of the community. The Sunrise Movement has since begun a weekly protest campaign which began on Wednesday, Oct. 13. The protests begin at the Carbondale Civic Center and end at the CPD, with marchers saying the the officer’s treatment of the student was unwarranted. Farhana Mohamad-Ali is one of the protesters with the Sunrise Movement. “We just want the CPD to put a public statement out or maybe take some action against the officer or own up to what they did,” Mohamad-Ali said. “This shouldn’t be happening in 2021.” Victor Ludwig is another protester who showed his support at the Oct. 13 protest. “We believe that the officer should be held accountable for their actions,” Ludwig said. “When this type of violence is perpetrated, especially against young women in our community, it is unacceptable.” Chastity Mays, the assistant director of the Gift of Love Charity, has organized multiple campaigns to demand an apology for the student and call for a change in the way local police approach nonviolent crime. “The officer did exactly what he was supposed to do and Chief Reno stands by what he did, which is a problem,” Mays said. Mays said the officer had the opportunity to alleviate the situation but chose to escalate the use of force. She said the crime reportedly committed was nonviolent and should have been a low priority situation for law enforcement. “It’s excessive use of force,” Mays said. “There was no reason for the way he treated her. This young girl did not deserve to be slammed on the ground for going into a store.” Following the incident, Mays organized a community phone campaign to call the CPD to make a complaint against the officer in question and to decry what they say is excessive force. Mays also spoke to the District Manager of the Dollar General and was told the establishment did not have a ban on backpacks. This calls into question the reason the student was banned originally, as the Dollar General is also a popular place for students from the high school to purchase snacks and hang out. The store manager of the Dollar General declined to comment. “The employees of that store need to be talked to and told there is not a backpack ban,” Mays said. “That’s definitely something people looking into this case need to know.” On Thursday, Oct. 7, Mays participated in a meeting alongside Nancy Maxwell and spoke with Police Chief Stan Reno as well as Jackson County State’s Attorney Joe Cervantez and City Manager Gary Williams along with several other community members including the grandfather of the student. Mays said at this meeting Reno agreed the student was not violent at the time of the initial confrontation, countering the officer’s statement of the event. At the meeting, the group asked for charges against the student to be dropped, for the city to support the implementation of the Cure Violence program currently spearheaded by the group Carbondale United, and to have officers take part in a communication training program. Mays said the officials had little to say during the meeting. Mays also worked with groups including the Sunrise Movement and the Southern Illinois Unity Coalition to organize a protest outside of the Dollar General on Friday, Oct. 8, at which protesters wore backpacks in solidarity with the student. State’s attorney Cervantez works closely with the CPD and reviews reports before they go to prosecuting attorneys. His office collects and tracks data regarding arrests and reports against officers.
Rylee Peterson holds a sign that says, “Refund Our Community,” during the March for Mattie protest Oct. 13, 2021 in Carbondale, Ill. “It’s pretty clear that the event was racially motivated [...] I just want to see some justice for [the student] and some action taken against Officer Burris,” Peterson said. Sophie Whitten | @swhittenphotography
“If I feel that an officer is not trustworthy or not credible or needs further training, we would explain that to their superiors,” Cervantez said. “We push reports back to law enforcement agencies regularly, so this system is already set up to help guide law enforcement.” Cervantez said the issue in question is not whether force was used, but whether the force was justified. He said when force is used, a report is made which is then reviewed by his office. As the case is ongoing, Cervantez declined to say whether the use of force in this instance was justified. He did say he was surprised and alarmed when he was informed of the suspect’s juvenile status. “Our citizens and our community expect those with the responsibility of carrying a badge to not just enforce the laws but to follow and not be above the law,” he said. Cervantez said it is vital the community to know a system of checks and balances is in place to balance the power of law enforcement with the power of the state’s attorney to protect the rights of citizens. “It’s important to know that there is an expectation not just for police officers but also for the community,” he said. Cervantez said the primary concern when an officer arrives on a scene is to ensure they follow the protocol given by their department regarding the use and escalation of force, called a force continuum. “We want to see how police officers act with and whether they use that force continuum,” Cervantez said. “It’s very important to look at it that way because they do have a very dangerous job.” Cervantez said body cameras are going to be coming soon to the CPD. He said these cameras will allow prosecutors in his office to get as much of the truth as possible, which can clarify the uncertainty surrounding incidents by capturing the entire encounter. Staff reporter William Box can be reached at wbox@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @William17455137.
Page 4
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Editorial: Documentary shows highlights and pitfalls of small town journalism
Annie Hammock | ahammock@dailyegyptian.com
A small town is about as strong as its newspapers and its banks, according to the Pulitzer Prize winning editor of Storm Lake Times, Art Cullen. His family’s newspaper, and what it means to his town, is the focus of the documentary “Storm Lake,” screening Oct. 26 from 6-8 p.m. at the Guyon Auditorium inside Morris Library. The film launches this season’s Indie Lens Pop Up series, which brings people together for in-person and virtual film screenings, and community-driven conversations about documentaries that will be broadcast on the PBS show Independent Lens. This particular conversation about smalltown newspapers is certainly relevant for the people of Carbondale and the surrounding area. Nearly 2,000 local newspapers have been shut down over the last 20 years, leaving many communities without the reporting that ties its people together, and without the spotlight that shines into the darkest corners. “Without strong, local journalism to tell a community’s story, the fabric of the place becomes frayed,” Cullen said in the film.
At the Storm Lake Times, five of the 10-person staff are members of the Cullen family. Photo courtesy of Jerry Risius
Hundreds of counties in the U.S. are currently without a newspaper, according to journalism scholar Penelope Muse Abernathy, who describes these areas as “news
deserts.” She said it leaves communities with, “limited access to the sort of credible and comprehensive news and information that feeds democracy at the grassroots level.”
The newspapers that do remain are facing a financial crisis. Please see STORM LAKE | 5
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Page 5
STORM LAKE continued from
4
As more people turn to their phones to get the news, more newspapers are being left in the racks. Fewer people subscribe to get their paper delivered and online subscriptions bring just a fraction of the money. Likewise, as readers shift to online viewing, fewer advertisers are paying for print ads, which traditionally have been the financial life blood of a newspaper. The differences in rates between print ads and online ads is so extreme, it’s become known as the dollars to dimes dilemma. No small town community journalists are getting rich off of their work, least of all the Cullen family, which was happy to turn a mere $2,000 profit the year this documentary was being filmed. After all, a profit, no matter how small, is infinitely better than a loss. The Storm Lake Times is, overall, a break-even venture, Cullen said in the film. It is truly a labor of love. Journalism is a labor of love for most of the people practicing it. Rank and file journalists do it for the love of the story, love for their community and love for an informed democracy. Democracy in action is a highlight of the documentary, which focuses in part on how the Storm Lake Times covered the 2020 Iowa Caucuses. We also see how the newspaper kept going even as the town became caught up in the COVID crisis, becoming an epicenter of the epidemic. “Thankfully, the people of Storm Lake are more fortunate than so many other communities around the country. Despite their struggles, they are connected by their
biweekly paper, in part because hometown journalism is nothing short of a mission for all the Cullens,” said the film’s Director of Photography Jerry Risius. Then, there are the smaller stories, the ones that capture the essence of small-town life. These include a profile of a factory worker trying to make it big as a singing contestant, and the pig who went to school, wearing a diaper, to help the children learn all about a pork producer who is a pivotal part of the town’s economy. Such articles may seem quaint to those living in large cities, but they are the type of stories that bring neighbors together. They are a far cry from the coverage so readily, and unfairly, decried as “fake news.” Journalists like Art Cullen and his family aren’t plotting the demise of one political candidate or another. They are not deeply embedded in a conspiracy theory to control the masses. They focus on facts, not fear; on the truth, not some tainted version of it. “Our hope is that, through the story of the Cullens and their paper, we might inspire viewers to care more deeply about their own local news source, if they’re lucky enough to have one, and community,” Storm Lake Director Beth Levison said. “Maybe a newspaper really is something that can unite us, and not divide us.” The Indie Lens Pop Up Screening of Storm Lake is open to the public. The documentary will be broadcast on PBS Nov. 15 and streamed at video.pbs.org from Nov. 15 – Dec. 14. Managing Editor Annie Hammock can be reached at ahammock@dailyegyptian.com
16
Page 6
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
A historical look at SIU: When Halloween was official
Ryan Jurich | rjurich@dailyegyptian.com
Halloween in Carbondale has a well-deserved reputation of almost mythical proportion. From car flipping and beer tossing to keggers and John Candy, this Halloween we look back at the holiday’s long tradition at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and the parties that started it all. The Halloween festivities SIU students know and love today largely got their start in the early 1970’s. The October 31, 1975 edition of the Daily Egyptian (DE) boasts a few Halloween themed advertisements, including an invitation from the Student Government Activities Council to a “Funky Halloween Costume Contest,” but most of its pages are covered in unrelated stories. The November 4 edition of the DE from the same year reports that a crowd of 700 costumed party goers shut down traffic on Illinois Avenue from Friday night until 2 a.m. The article said no arrests were made but notes several incidents of minor property damage and theft were reported over the weekend. As the 1970’s drew to a close, SIU’s student population increased to 23,236 students, and Halloween grew with it. Student government remained involved, with the Oct. 29, 1980 issue of the DE advertising a Student Senate funded Halloween concert, designed to draw students away from Illinois Avenue. Further articles make it clear that all attempts to structure the free-spirited nature of the party largely ended in failure. “It was just crazy,” said SIU alumnus John Timmerman, who attended the ’79 party. “There was a group of people dressed as an Amtrak train, maybe eight or ten people. There were people dressed as Hanes underwear […] everybody was having a good time, and everybody was festive and wanting to dress up.” The DE’s coverage of Halloween speaks to the event’s growing popularity. Ads littered the pages leading up to October 31, broken up by police advisories urging caution. Four firemen, 30 Carbondale police, 20 SIU police, and a number of State Police were reportedly watching over the event in 1980. The DE reported an attendance of well over 10,000 people with only 41 arrests recorded, down from the reported 100 arrests made in 1978. “[A]s soon as students started to crowd the streets, the barricades came down and [...] the cops shut down the streets for six or seven blocks”, said Timmerman of the parties. “The police were fairly preventative. They didn’t want stupid stuff to happen. Lo and behold, some person left their Volkswagen there, and they [students] flipped it end over end about 20, 25 times down the street.” The 1980 Halloween edition of the Daily Egyption notes, “Police also had to deal with a group of about 18 men,”
who were caught rolling a Volkswagen Beetle around. The article concludes police were able to work with the men to roll the car over to a parking lot by the train tracks, out of the way of the crowd. Legendary comedian John Candy filmed the 1980 Halloween festivities for a NBC special named “Roadshow” while on hiatus from Saturday Night Live. In the video, viewers can see the vast crowds of makeup-covered revellers, replete with the odd Santa Claus and Michael Jackson. In between accepting drinks offered by the friendly crowd, Candy interviewed then-SIU Professor Harold Grosowski, who spoke highly of the event’s attendants. “That same weird behavior you see out there, that’s the student who you’ll then see in the classroom doing some very innovative work in whatever department he or she might be in,” Grosowski said. In these early years, the holiday was considered both an economic stimulus for the town and a good-natured way to blow off steam. By 1985 opinion regarding the Halloween bacchanal had changed for the worse. Attendance was now recorded in the tens of thousands, and Halloween ads for costumes and events covered two and even three pages of the DE. They ran alongside multiple complaint columns, rosters of injuries in the dozens, and reports of property damage in the thousands of dollars. The sexual assault of a 17 year old girl in 1981 marked an extreme case in a yearly cycle of increasingly out-ofcontrol behavior. In response SIU began banning alcohol sales during the run-up to
Halloween 1995, front page of Daily Egyptian after the mob action. Photo from Daily Egyptian archives
A panel made up of University faculty, community members, and students cooperated on recommending regulations to a Presidential/Mayoral Task Force on Halloween. Alcohol sales were completely banned in the city for the week, including kegs and other goods. Thousands of students living in the University dorms were sent home for a mandatory five-day break. “We want to get to the point where we’re not concerned about Halloween,” said then-City Manager Jeff Doehrety.
“I think it got out of hand more. It became much more of a drunken party. People became a little bit more … I don’t want to say violent, but more problems were caused.” - John Timmerman SIU alumnus
the event, law enforcement presence was greatly increased and university preparations were no longer ad-hoc. Events were hosted by SIU Housing, Student Council and other organizations in an attempt to contain the affair, to little effect. Despite this, the University continued to assure students that it would allow Halloween festivities to occur. “I think it got out of hand more,” said Timmerman of the parties he attended in the early 1980s. “It became much more of a drunken party. People became a little bit more … I don’t want to say violent, but more problems were caused.” City of Carbondale officials made the decision to further cut back Halloween celebrations in 1988 with the cooperation of University administrators.
Officials felt the rules didn’t do enough to tone down the atmosphere, and by the mid-1990’s the tradition had been officially axed. Some SIU students had a hard time letting go. In 1995 a confrontation between 500 bar patrons and city police resulted in 14 arrests, eleven of which were of SIU students. The incident climaxed with the throwing of “MacGuyver bombs,” despite the many restrictions in place to prevent the destruction that occurred the previous year, when multiple business windows were shattered, cars were torched and participants were maced. Determined party-goers would continue to clash with police yearly, well after the party was past its prime. In the mid-2000’s, the university’s mandated 5-day break was
Halloween 1995, photos of the mob action. Photo from Daily Egyptian archives
circumvented by students who gathered to party the week before the break began, often in secret, inviteonly house parties to avoid attracting attention. Thus, the tradition of “Unofficial” Halloween that SIU students know and love today was born. University and Carbondale officials have allowed the new tradition to continue to grow, often with tacit agreement between authorities and party hosts; so long as the party stays calm, the police tend to stay out of the way. In 2013, the ban on Halloween was officially lifted. “I think it was really an evolution in the 5-6 years I was there,” Timmerman
said. “I think by the end it was just, let’s have a party and who cares about dressing up. The group of people I hung around with, though, we still dressed.” “My wife and I went as Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind, except that I was Scarlett and she was Rhett,”” Timmerman said. “It was hard to fit into a dress, but I did. A big antebellum dress hoop dress. She actually wore the tuxedo we got married in.” Consulting reporter Ryan Jurich can be reached at rjurich@dailyegyptian.com.
Page 7
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Spooky Places: Carbondale locals weigh in on scariest local locations
A sign reading “hundley house” sits before a Carbondale home that is notable for hauntings and a double murder in 1928. Sophia Rogers | @srogers@dailyegyptian.com Joel Kottman | @JoelKottman During the hallowed month of October, spirits and ghosts may wander about Carbondale where residents say they’ve sighted the restless undead. The Daily Egyptian released an online questionnaire which asked respondents to reveal what they think
are haunted locations in town and whether they believe in ghosts. Out of the ten people who responded to the questionnaire, four people said they believe in ghosts, two people said they don’t believe in ghosts, three people said maybe they believe in ghosts and one person said that it’s impossible to prove that ghosts exist.
In the questionnaire, graduate student, Jesse Snider, said lots of places in Carbondale are probably haunted, but only one stood out. “The spookiest place in town is my house because it’s full a’ ghosts,” Snider said. Some of the places respondents commonly said were the most haunted are the Hundley House,
Faner Hall, Shryock Auditorium, Altgeld Hall and Oakland Cemetery. Rylee Peterson, a Carbondale local, said Southern Hills is the spookiest place in town because it looks like a post-apocalyptic nightmare field. For Victoria Kreher, a Carbondale local, the university is the spookiest location because ghosts can be seen roaming the halls of buildings. Scott Thorne is the owner of Castle Perilous, a gaming and comic book store. Thorne gives haunted tours around Carbondale exploring the most legendary haunted locations. “The spookiest place, before the University pulled it down, was Sunset Haven,” Thorne said. The university pulled down Sunset Haven because too many people were going in there and poking around, Thorne said, because, “it used to be the county poor house.” There are still unmarked graves where the building used to be, Thorne said. “The most likely place to see something weird is the railroad tracks down by Boskydell and Makanda, and then the American Bottoms, even though that’s not in Carbondale,” Thorne said. Faner Hall, Shryock Auditorium, Wheeler Hall, Altgeld, the Student Center, Morris Library and Pulliam Hall are also haunted places, Thorne said. “I think one of the spookiest places in Carbondale is the Hundley House,” Kreher said. “One of the ghost hunter shows filmed in Carbondale several years ago went there.” Johnny Gray, an SIU-C teacher also said Hundley House ranks high because of murders that occurred there. Gray said there was a very creepy vibe when he visited the upstairs apartment. The Hundley House was the
sight of a double murder when J.C. Hundley and his wife Luella were shot on Dec. 12, 1928. Nearly a century later, the murder is still unsolved. “What is a ghost? Energy? A soul? The manifestation of phenomena based on belief?” Gray said. SIU student, Tiffany Young, said she believes in demonic energy, but not ghosts. Gray said other haunted places in town include the Kleinau Theatre at SIU-C and Oakland Cemetery. Lawrence Gaydos, a Carbondale local, said his mother lived in a very active house haunted by ghosts, and the spookiest place is the crawl space underneath. “I also think the attic under the roof of my house is haunted,” Gaydos said. Ellee Fillmore, a Carbondale local, said that she believes in spirituality, meaning life existing beyond life on the physical earth. “The Rain House has unsolved murders and several sightings of spirits,” Fillmore said. Fillmore said the Amtrak station is another haunted place because a paranormal investigation was done there with several sightings. There are some who believe in ghosts, some who doubt the existence of spirits, some who believe maybe there are unexplained malevolent forces at work and some who believe it’s impossible to prove the existence of ghosts. Whichever way you believe, there are plenty of local haunts to explore and experience the strange and unknown phenomena of the ghosts of Carbondale. Staff reporter Joel Kottman can be reached at jkottman@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @JoelKottman.
Games and Ghosts:
Scott Thorne turns niche interests into local spooky attractions
Brandyn Wilcoxen | @Brandyn_2020
Scott Thorne has a Ph.D. in business administration, but, if you were to spend your Friday and Saturday nights in October with him, you would think his doctorate was in the paranormal. “I’ve had an interest in ghosts for a number of years,” Thorne said. It’s not just an interest of his, but of the many people that join him on his Haunted Carbondale walkingtour, where Thorne shows off many places around Carbondale that are rumored to be haunted. “Especially this time of the year we get a lot more interest, people showing up wanting to have a walking tour,” Thorne said. “But you have to be interested in them, and if you get an interest in them, then you hear the stories.” Ghosts and paranormal activity is a common thread, but, as Thorne mentioned, that interest won’t be realized unless there is an outlet to express it. “That’s one of the reasons we do the Haunted Carbondale thing is to let people know about it,” Thorne said. By day, Thorne is the owner of Castle Perilous, a games store that has been a fixture of downtown Carbondale since opening in 1990. Castle Perilous specializes in tabletop games, board games and roleplaying games, and it also carries miniatures, comic books and graphic novels. Although Castle Perilous’ product selection might not appeal to everyone, it has still seen plenty of business over the years from those interested in what the store has to offer.
“[It is] very much a niche, was more so several years ago. Especially the board gaming and the role-playing has exploded,” Thorne said. He credits a recent increase in popularity of roleplaying games to a shift in public perception. “[W]ith celebrities like Vin Diesel, Stephen Colbert, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson becoming more open about their enjoyment of Dungeons & Dragons and other role-playing games,” Thorne said. His interest in Dungeons & Dragons from the beginning of the game’s existence was the initial inspiration for his decision to open Castle Perilous. “I was an early adopter of Dungeons & Dragons, I started playing when it first came out in the late ‘70s, early ‘80s,” Thorne said. “I liked selling stuff, and I decided to come down to SIU to get my master’s degree. I had extra money, and Carbondale did not have a game store. [...] So I came in and I decided ‘okay, I want to open up a gaming store.’” Castle Perilous opened on the upper level of The Island building, located where University and Normal Avenues split. The store gradually expanded from part of the second floor to the entire second floor, and then outgrew its space and relocated to its current location at 207 W. Main St. in 2007. While initially focused on Dungeons & Dragons, Castle Perilous added different games to its lineup as it grew in popularity. “About ‘93, we saw the advent of the collectible trading card game Magic The Gathering, [...] and that got really big. It started to supplant the role-playing. We also saw the growth of the miniatures wargame,
primarily Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40K,” Thorne said. The selection at Castle Perilous continued to grow and expand as new communities and demands for different games would come up. Starting as a Dungeons & Dragons store, it became a central location for many looking for products for games not suported by chain retail stores. “Pokémon was a monster, so to speak, in terms of, it drew a lot of attention to us because we were one of the few places that you could find Pokémon aside from the mass market at the time,” Thorne said. The rise of games like Pokémon, which maintains a loyal fanbase after more than 20 years on the market, also has introduced the ability for Castle Perilous to appeal to multiple generations. “We see people bringing their kids in, playing Pokémon back here in the ‘90s, they were eight or nine years old. Now they’re in their twenties and they’re starting to have kids and bringing their kids in, so we’re seeing the next generation coming in,” Thorne said. Castle Perilous’ status as a sizable retailer with a niche selection makes it somewhat of an attraction for visitors from other towns, and even other states. “We pull in from about two hours around. We get customers driving up from Poplar Bluff, we get customers driving up from Paducah, we have customers up over from Mt. Vernon,” Thorne said. “We get people who will drive on occasion down from St. Louis, even though there’s good gaming stores up there, but they just don’t have the selection that we do.” In the age of the internet, games stores like Castle
Perilous are not immune to the struggles of small business ownership. “There’s been about four or five games stores that have opened since we did, they usually last about four years. And then, for one reason or another, they shutter,” Thorne said. As highlighted during the Covid-19 pandemic, the internet is well-equipped to handle turning traditionally in-person activities into digital experiences. With games, the internet provides plenty of resources to play without the use of physical materials, or even the presence of players. Still, in 2021, players are continuing to turn to Castle Perilous for their tabletop gaming needs. “Even with Zoom and other online functionality, most people still prefer sitting around a table and playing games with people they can see, not over a camera. You can see their full body, you can see their reactions. We just had some people last night that picked up a copy of Wingspan. They can play online, but they also prefer to have a physical game in front of them and a group of people,” Thorne said. Whether he is hosting Haunted Carbondale or running Castle Perilous, Thorne has always pursued whatever interested him. Three decades after seeing his interests underserved, Thorne now owns and operates a local landmark, serving the interests of many people just like him. Staff reporter Brandyn Wilcoxen can be reached at bwilcoxen@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @Brandyn_2020
Page 8
siu
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Above: 2019 Mrs. Illinois America, Rachel Marks, waves as she goes by the parade route during the SIU homecoming parade on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 in Carbondale, Ill. Jared Treece | @bisalo
Below: A crowd of attendees dance during the SIU homecoming sneaker ball on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 in the Student Center at SIU. Jared Treece | @bisalo
SIU crowned its Salukis Royalty winners at halftime during the Homecoming football game. The 2021 Salukis Royalty were Brandon Goede and Claire Waldon on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 at Salukis Stadium in Carbondale, Ill. Jared Treece | @bisalo
Scan the QR code to view more photos that accompanies the story. The Marching Salukis make their way down Illinois Street during the SIU homecoming parade on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 in Carbondale, Ill. Jared Treece | @bisalo
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Page 9
HOMECOMING
2021 Above: Sam Bakos, left, Triston Allen, and Tavonte Paige catch bead necklaces being thrown from parade floats during a watch party event held in front of the Kappa Alpha Order house during the SIU homecoming parade on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 in Carbondale, Ill. Jared Treece | @bisalo Below: SIU chanceller, Austin Lane, waves to the crowd while riding with members of the Dawg Pound during the SIU homecoming parade on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 in Carbondale, Ill. Jared Treece | @bisalo
10,644
in attendance at the 2021 Homecoming Game Source: SIU Athletics
SIU running back, Donnavan Spencer, rushes into the endzone with a 3-yard run during the Homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 at Salukis Stadium at SIU. Jared Treece | @bisalo
Page 10
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
Pumpkin patches
return to provide fun during the fall season Bandy’s gift shop sits at the entrance of Bandy’s Pumpkin Patch Oct. 13, 2021 in Johnston City, Ill. Co-owner of Bandys Pumpkin Patch, Kelly Bandy, said, “We start this business in February, even though we don’t open until September. There’s so much that goes into it that people don’t know about.” Dominique Martinez-Powell | @dmartinez_powell.photography Kristen Owens | kowens@dailyegyptian.com Pumpkin patches in the Southern Illinois area have reopened for the 2021 fall season, providing people with an affordable way to partake in fall activities such as picking out pumpkins, sipping on apple cider and going on hayrides. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the call for social distancing, this yearly tradition was largely put on hold in the fall season of 2020. Kelly Bandy, owner of Bandy’s Pumpkin Patch in Johnston City, Ill., recently took over running the business with her husband, Troy Bandy. Bandy’s Pumpkin Patch has been in business for 35 years. This anniversary follows a year of closing down the patch due to the pandemic. “There’s so much that goes into it that people don’t know about. The ordering of the seeds, and ground prep, the fertilization, all that stuff,” Kelly Bandy said. “We had to make the call before we put all the overhead into the business, and that was back in March of 2020.” Kelly Bandy said she wasn’t sure how people would respond to coming to the patch this year after dealing with the pandemic, and to her surprise Bandy’s received a record turnout of guests. People that had visited Bandy’s before expressed to her how thrilled they were to be back, Kelly Bandy said, and her family also shared the joy in returning to their patch. “We’ve only closed one day in 35 years. So to close for an entire season was a big deal for us, and we missed it,” Kelly Bandy said. “I mean this is something our family looks forward to every year.” The last time Bandy’s Pumpkin Patch had to close there’d been a hurricane, pumpkins were floating in the yard. Kelly Bandy said people still showed up that day with their rainboots. Although they were upset to close during the 2020 season, Kelly Bandy
said that they felt the decision was necessary and used the time as an opportunity to renovate their patch and “pass the torch down to the next generation.” “My husband and I just officially took it over this year, the very beginning of this year,after helping manage it the last couple of years,” said Kelly Bandy. “We passed it down, now, to the next generation... and we have a son who will take it over when we’re done with it.” The Bandy’s underwent upgrades to the infrastructure and play areas,
run by the Marlow family and has been in business since 1998. Mary MarlowGoins works at her family’s pumpkin patch, which her brother, Timothy Marlow, now formally owns. In addition to handicap accessibility, Timothy Marlow acknowledges the wealth gap in the area and strives every year to create new activities with the intention of providing people of all income levels with the opportunity to participate at the patch. “Our goal is to be affordable,” Marlow-Goins said. “We do not charge
“We’ve only closed one day in 35 years. So to close for an entire season was a big deal for us, and we missed it. I mean this is something our family looks forward to every year.” - Kelly Brandy Owner of Brandy’s Pumpkin Patch
and added ways to provide handicap accessibility to their visitors. Bandy’s now provides an ADA compliant ramp as well as side doors on the hayrides for people who use wheelchairs. Kelly Bandy said they had been faced with an issue in the past and knew they had to fix it. Being able to provide ways for all people to participate at their patch was very important to them and went behind some of their additions for the past year. Another addition to the patch this year is a separate play area for people with Autism to ensure that they are provided a way to meet their sensory needs and able to avoid overstimulation. Signs were also placed throughout Bandy’s Pumpkin Patch to remind visitors that all people are welcome regardless of their race, religion, gender or political affiliation as long as they are kind to one another. Another handicap accessible pumpkin patch is Marlow’s Pumpkin Patch in Mt. Vernon,Ill. Marlow’s is
admission, we just charge based on activities so anyone can come here and play.” Marlow-Goins said she wants people to keep in mind that they are still a privately-owned and family-run business, so they try to meet all needs to the best of their abilities. Marlow-Goins said the pumpkin patch serves as a way to honor her family. Marlow’s Pumpkin Patch originated on her grandfather’s farm and has been passed down from her grandfather, to her father and now to her brother. Nearly the entire family works together each year to run the pumpkin patch for the few weeks that it is open. “My dad works nearly all year round painting. He’s retired, and has been retired for quite some time and he paints and does decorations for our hayride, and just enjoys working on it throughout the year,” Marlow-Goins said. Marlow’s Pumpkin Patch was open during the 2020 fall season with limited
activities in order to meet the guidelines of the pandemic. Marlow-Goins said, although there were limits placed on activities, people still expressed how appreciative they were to have it partially opened in order to get out of the house after time spent quarantining. Breezy Hill Farm in Benton, Illinois is another pumpkin patch that was open during the 2020 fall season. Jamee Shelton, along with her husband, is the owner of Breezy Hill Farm and has been in business for 16 years. Shelton said other than ensuring they were consistently keeping up with guidelines, she and her husband weren’t faced with too many difficulties during the 2020 season. In response to the pandemic, Breezy Hill Farm has installed more hand washing stations and provides hand sanitizer around the farm. They also accommodate for social distancing on hayrides, if need be. Shelton said those who visited the patch were “more than eager to be out,” and it gave visitors a sense of normalcy that they needed following such an unusual year. “This year it’s been well, as well. I think people are over the pandemic. They’re ready to move on and get out,” Shelton said. Along with the hygienic additions, a new activity was installed called the “Hoop Shoot Wagon,” which is a basketball activity that involves a gravity wagon. Shelton said they strive to add a new activity each season and are more than happy to provide a way to bring families together year after year. “I’ve seen people have kids, and then their kids are having the kids and bringing them out,” Shelton said, “it’s kind of interesting.” Staff reporter Kiersten Owens can be reached at kowens@dailyegyptian.com.
Pumpkins for sale at Bandys Pumpkin Patch Oct. 13, 2021 in Johnston City, Ill. “We’ve had some pretty record turnout. We weren’t sure how the community was going to respond. If they were still going to be kind of leery to come out, or if they were just ready to get out and apparently they’re ready to get out,” said Kelly Bandy, coowner of Bandys Pumpkin Patch. Dominique Martinez-Powell | @ dmartinez_powell.photography
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
Page 11
The Great Glass Pumpkin Sale: SIU Glass Making department brings Carbondale tradition back to campus Sophia Rogers | srogers@dailyegyptian.com
The Great Glass Pumpkin Annual Sale returned to Southern Illinois University outside Pulliam Hall’s Industrial Wing Saturday, Oct. 16 2021 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Great Glass Pumpkin Sale is put on by the Southern Illinois University Glass Making department and is an annual event where both undergraduate and graduate students in the glass program at SIU craft glass pumpkins to sell at this event. All of the proceeds from this event support the students and their work by renovating parts of the studio or by buying some of their supplies. Due to less involvement from the Carbondale community, students, and faculty SIU decided to bring The Great Glass Pumpkin Annual Sale back to SIU. This event was held outside of Pulliam Hall where SIU’s glass making studio is. Due to Covid-19 this event was held off campus last year but this year’s event is compliant with the Restore Illinois Plan. This means that everyone attending the event must follow all current campus and state pandemic safety protocols. SIU is committed to protecting others so everyone attending the event must wear a mask in any public space. “This year we have moved it back on campus to try to create some visibility for the students and this sale allows us to fund events and expand the studio outside the doors of this building and to really be able to bring some more people in,” Professor of glass making Jackson Hawkins said. The event being back on SIU’s campus makes it more convenient for faculty, students, and community members to get to the event. Carbondale is very much a college town so almost all events that SIU hosts there will be community members coming onto campus to support. A child from the Carbondale Community points to a glass pumpkin at The Great Glass Pumpkin Sale Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 outside Pulliam Hall Industrial Wing on Southern Illinois University campus in Carbondale Ill. Sophia Rogers | srogers@dailyegyptian.com
“The event itself drags [attracts] the entirety of Carbondale because it’s a traditional event. It brings the community into our department, specifically, and shows a very unusual technique and processes and it really puts us out there.” - Sadhvh Moles SIU Glass Making Graduate Student
A member from the Carbondale community reaches for a glass pumpkin at The Great Glass Pumpkin Sale Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 outside Pulliam Hall Industrial Wing on Southern Illinois University campus in Carbondale Ill. Sophia Rogers | srogers@dailyegyptian.com
A member from the Carbondale Community holds a glass pumpkin at The Great Glass Pumpkin Sale Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 outside Pulliam Hall Industrial Wing on Southern Illinois University campus in Carbondale Ill. Sophia Rogers | srogers@dailyegyptian.com
A third year graduate student Sadhvh Moles in SIU’s glass making program said“There definitely is more [community] involvement [with this event being back on campus] and I have only worked this event my first year and last year we had a small version in the co-op, so we were really excited to see everyone this year and came full force. It’s only been going on for one hour and I think we are almost empty. ‘’ In past years, this event has been held off campus but was moved back onto campus this year and the turnout was even better than expected. At 9 a.m. when the event started there was a long line down the sidewalk of people waiting to get in to look at the glass pumpkins. When the event was held off campus there was much less student and community involvement because most of the community lives around the college so it is easy for them to walk or even drive to campus. “The event itself drags [attracts] the entirety of Carbondale because it’s a traditional event. It brings the community into our department, specifically, and shows a very unusual technique and processes and it really puts us out there,” graduate student Sadhvh Moles said. Before one starts making a glass pumpkin they need to pick out the colors they want the pumpkin to be. After the colors are picked then the glass is put into a furnace or “inflation device” and the glass gets shaped into a pumpkin by controlling the airflow by moving the blowpipe while the glassblower shapes the glass with their tools. All of the money raised by this fundraiser event goes back towards the students in the glass making. The money made at this event goes towards renovating stuff in the studio or expanding the studio. “This event has been happening now for about 16 years and the pumpkin sale is a really great fundraiser for the department. It helps us pay for visiting artists and it helps to expand the students’ involvement and experience of the larger art community,” Hawkins said. The sale additionally provides the students with hands-on experience with glass making. The students get to see their final products on display for people to see along with all the money they made off their pumpkins being put back into SIU to help make the SIU glass making department better. “This event greatly impacts the students in glass making. Right now we are trying to rebuild a furnace and have a lot of studio maintenance we are trying to complete and all of that comes back to the students for their benefit,” Hawkins said. The glass making department is very small so when the art department holds events like this everyone has to participate in order to get everything finished on time. Although they are small they are definitely proud of what they can get accomplished despite. By doing events like this the glass making department is able to get more involved in the community and get their name out there. This will help them grow and expand their department so they can do more fundraisers to renovate more of the studio along with getting better supplies. “Everyone’s involved. At the moment our department is pretty small. We only have four graduate students so we have a bunch of volunteers from elective students helping us and our two faculty members are in full force as well,” Moles said. Staff photographer Sophia Rogers can be reached at srogers@dailyegyptian.com
Page 12
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
BTO and other Black organizations bringing a Spooky Surprise to SIU
Janiyah Gaston | @janiyah_reports
Black Togetherness Organization (BTO) is bringing back it’s annual haunted house on Oct. 27 - 28 in Grinnell Hall. BTO is an on campus Black RSO that works with housing to spread diversity and inclusion throughout the residence halls. Kourtney Sims, the president of BTO, said it has had haunted houses in the past, but due to COVID-19, they were not able to have one in 2020. “Sophomores and upperclassmen have been missing out on a lot of fun experiences on campus, and we just thought this would be something very bright and exciting,” Sims said. BTO is excited to bring back its haunted house for students, according to Sims. BTO will have its own haunted maze for students to enjoy. “We will also be having a karaoke room, and I believe someone’s doing an escape game, there’s a ton of stuff
“Sophomores and upperclassmen have been missing out on a lot of fun experiences on campus, and we just thought this would be something very bright and exciting.” - Kourtney Sims BTO President
going on,”Sims said. Along with BTO’s maze, other Black RSO’s will be joining in the fun as well. Black Affairs Council will be in charge of the karaoke room. The National Association of Colored Women’s Club will also be taking part in the haunted house and Alpha Phi Alpha will be in charge of escape games. Grace Gunn, the coordinator of Black Affairs Council, said she is glad to collaborate with
the other Black organizations. “We just ended up cosponsoring, and then they reached out to other black organizations on campus to be a part of, so it just became a big thing between all of us,” Gunn said. According to Gunn, Black Affairs Council’s main goal is to represent the African American community of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and to make sure that African American students
are being represented fairly on campus. “We organize The Black Experience, which is at the beginning of the year, multiple events for the first three or four weeks,” Gunn said. Aisa Ester, the president of National Association of Colored Women’s Club said her RSO will be hosting one of the game rooms in the haunted house with Alpha Phi Alpha. “We are going to provide games, get to know everybody,
make sure that everybody feels welcome and just aid in that continuous fun for the Halloween spirit,” she said. Ester said she expects a good turn out for the haunted house, and everyone will enjoy it. “The turnout is usually around, just for the haunted house, 200 something people when I was president or vice president,” Ester said. “BTO has grown so much, so I see it as being a huge event this year.” Sims and the other organizers are excited to have the haunted house back. “We hope it’s something that’s exciting, and that it’s going to be worthwhile for them,” Sims said. “That’s our overall goal with every event that we plan. We just want to make sure everyone has a good time, and that it’s like a safe and fun experience on campus.” Staff reporter Janiyah Gaston can be reached at jgaston@dailyegyptian.com or on Instagram at @janiyah_reports.
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Page 13
Dustin Clark | @dustinclark.oof
What does this mean for Saluki Basketball? Cole Daily | cdaily@dailyegyptian.com
On Sept. 28, Belmont University announced they would be leaving the Ohio Valley Conference and moving to the Missouri Valley Conference effective. The university located in Nashville, Tennessee plans to make the official move in the fall of 2022. Belmont joins the MVC after winning three OVC tournament championships in the last nine years for the men’s basketball program. The Bruins have won eight of the last nine regularseason titles. For the women’s basketball program, they have won tournament OVC five championships in the past six years. In terms of regular-season titles, Belmont has won three of the last five in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Bruins have made the NCAA men’s and women’s National Tournament several times in the past few years. Senior guard Caitlin Link said she is excited about Belmont’s introduction to the Missouri Valley Conference. “Their men’s and women’s teams are both pretty good. The MVC has always been known as a great, competitive basketball conference. So the more competition, the better,”
Link said. Junior guard Trent Brown said he and his teammates are always thrilled to face better competition and prove themselves. “It’s going to make our schedule all the more impressive,” Brown said, “If anything it gives us a chance to play in games that mean more, and we have the opportunity to up our rankings if we win those games.” Link agrees with Brown, that the increase of skill in the conference is always a good thing. Despite the acknowledgment of Belmont’s success over the past couple of years, neither teams felt threatened by the Bruins according to the players. “The Missouri Valley is already so competitive, I don’t think it will make us anymore nervous,” Link said. “Certainly no one feels threatened. They’re just like any other great basketball team to join our conference,” Brown said. The Bruins have sent multiple players to the NBA in the past few years. The most recent being Dylan Windler, a small forward picked 26th in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft. Windler is currently still in the NBA, coming off the bench for the
Cleveland Cavaliers. Brown said the team knows they can match Belmont’s talent level. They don’t feel intimidated by the Bruins’ past. Sophomore guard Chris Cross said plenty of players on the Salukis roster have untapped potential themselves. “The firepower that we have from the people who have come in and the people who have been here is unmatched. We believe we can take anybody in the country,” Cross said. Link said she could foresee other teams in the conference having animosity towards Belmont their first couple years in the league. “I definitely think they will have a target on their back next season, being the new team and all. Teams are definitely going to want to show them what the MVC is like,” Link said. Brown said that despite the success Belmont had in the OVC, they shouldn’t expect the same in the Missouri Valley. The Bruins are not just going to walk into the MVC and have success. “Wins come at such a premium in our conference it’s going to be tough for them to have success right out of the gate,” Brown said. Belmont is a team that likes to move the ball and get open shots for their shooters. This can be
a tough system to play against, but Brown said the Salukis will match up well against them. “I got all the faith in the world in my team and any time we step on the court we feel like we’re going to win. In the way we space the court and the way we shoot the ball, it’s a game that could definitely go back and forth the next year,” Brown said. Cross said the big changes throughout the Missouri Valley Conference will not affect the Salukis. No matter the opponent, the team wants to go out and win every single night. “When it comes down to us, all we’re gonna focus on is SIU. We wanna focus on winning each game whether it’s conference or non-conference,” Cross said. However, this could have a major impact on recruiting in the future. Brown said that it could be harder to grab recruits that want to play in the MVC from Tennessee and neighboring states. Despite the big news, both teams are focused on their upcoming season and not on the outside distractions. Link said her team feels this is their year. “We want to get an automatic bid to head to the NCAA tournament, and obviously in doing that, we want to win our conference tournament,” Link
said, “This is the year where we have a big, veteran team and have a good freshman class coming in.” For Brown, he said the team may have struggled last year, but the Salukis will be back this year with increased depth and an extra year under their belt. “I think the sky’s the limit for our group this year. If we stay healthy, stay together, and lock into every game, I think we can accomplish some pretty great things,” Brown said. The Salukis are locked in for the start of the season this winter, but both teams are also excited for a change of pace in the coming seasons. Cross said he feels honored Belmont decided to make the move to the Missouri Valley. SIU is ready to show Belmont what the Missouri Valley is all about. “I think it’ll be great for the MVC to have more talent across the board [...] I think it just adds more fuel to the fire in our conference and it’ll be a great move for them,” Cross said. Belmont will be joining the MVC in all sports in the Fall of 2022. However, they don’t compete in football. Sports Reporter Cole Daily can be reached at cdaily@dailyegyptian.com
Page 14
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Chris Bishop | @quippedmediallc
Southern Illinois Miners disbanded as owners announce retirement Joseph Bernard | @Jojobernard2001
Marion, Illinois has seen its last days of professional baseball, as the Southern Illinois Miners have decided to cease operations and fold the franchise. This comes as the owners of the franchise, Jayne and John Simmons, decided to retire from ownership to spend more time with their children and grandchildren. The announcement was first made on Oct. 6 through a post on the team’s website with a statement by the owners giving thanks to those that made the franchise what it was. “This is a bittersweet decision for us,” the Simmons said on the team’s website. “We love the Southern Illinois community and our family roots run deep here. We appreciate the years of support we have enjoyed from baseball fans, civic leaders, business owners, vendors, and the city of Marion. We are at a time in our lives where we really would like to spend more time with our children and grandchildren”. However, the decision did not come without efforts to continue the team legacy through a different owner. Team manager and Chief Operating Officer Mike Pinto said every option to send the team to a different owner was considered. “There were a lot of conversations and almost everything that could be done had been investigated. It wasn’t that they were just going to retire and shut this thing down. They wanted to look at the options they had currently in front of them. Unfortunately, selling the team was not an option at this time,” Pinto said. The Miners were part of the Frontier League of professional baseball, an independent partner league with the MLB. The team
has brought over 60 players into Major League Organizations since its inaugural season in 2007 and has seen great success over the years, including earning “Frontier League Organization of the year” three times and winning their first league championship in 2012. Pinto said he was disappointed to hear about the loss of a great franchise . “I felt a lot of sadness at first to hear that something so great that was built over the last 14 years would be no more. The Miners were one of the premier franchises in all of independent baseball in the U.S. We accomplished some really great things, so it’s sad that the legacy wouldn’t continue,” he said. Pinto has seen the Miners grow from the start as he was the manager throughout all of the Miners’ 14 seasons. In that time, the Miners accumulated seven total playoff appearances, four division titles, and, of course, their lone championship. Although the decision was extremely saddening to hear for many, it was also expected by some. Pinto said the final decision by the Simmons’ was not a surprise to him as much as it may have been to some players and others in the community. “I knew they had a desire to downsize their investment portfolio and start watching their grandchildren grow up instead of managing the businesses. They had an awful lot of money in Southern Illinois with the team all these years and I think, at that point, they deserved to be able to retire and I certainly understand the decision,” Pinto said. Many of the players will begin to feel the effect of the move in the upcoming days, with each hitting
“This is a bittersweet decision for us. We love the Southern Illinois community and our family roots run deep here.” - The Simmons Owners of Southern Illinois Miners
free agency immediately. But third baseman Ian Walters was fortunate enough to have his path set out for him. He was traded to the Washington Wild Things less than 24 hours before the announcement that the team would fold. He said he was grateful to not have to go through the free agency process like many other players will have to. “I was pretty grateful because it put me in a position where I didn’t have to sit there and find someplace to go or to have to reach out to different coaches and stuff and tried to find a new place,” Walters said. Walters was one of the stars of the team this year, hitting a final batting average of .286, an on-base percentage of .376, and a slugging percentage of .409. Walters was very familiar with baseball in the Southern Illinois region, playing collegiate ball at SIU Carbondale and at Rend Lake junior college before that. Walters is also a native of Paducah Kentucky, which is less than an hour’s drive from Marion. Walters said he greatly appreciated the opportunity to play so close to home. “Just about every game I’d see a familiar face. My parents would come to games all the time and even my teammates from SIU and buddies from Paducah would come
and watch. It was a lot of fun for me to be close to home and have those familiar faces in the stands,” Walters said. Not only players will be affected. Concessions workers, field managers, kitchen workers, entertainment squads, video producers, and even mascot workers will feel the loss Director of Production Jon Weaver already had plans of moving beyond the Miners after this latest season. Weaver said shuttering the team will leave a huge hole all around. “It’s just a real big loss for the community, especially Southern Illinois University to not have that extra opportunity for communications students to do interns. I had a lot of great interns from SIU over the past two years and that really helped create the Miners production team what it was,” Weaver said. Getting work experience as an intern or other positions with the Miners could really open a lot of doors for future jobs in higher positions for people. Weaver said working for the Miners has opened up some more opportunities for him in the future should he decide to explore those. “I got to know a lot more people
in the league and helped it grow in the offseason a little bit when MLB did the partnership agreement with the Frontier League. Working there definitely opened up some new doors to continue working in minor league baseball if I want to pursue that in the future,” Weaver said. Weaver said losing the team for a little bit might help some of the people in the area realize how important having a baseball team might be. “People also might not realize what they have until it’s gone. As someone who loves minor league baseball, I always thought having a baseball team in a community like where I did growing up was a huge aspect of a community. Southern Illinois will definitely see the loss of the Miners baseball team as future summers continue,” Weaver said. One thing to be certain is that many people across Southern Illinois will be affected by the empty dugouts. . Whether that be fans, players, coaches, employees, or businesses that partnered with the team, the Miners will be missed by many. Sports reporter Joseph Bernard can be reached at joseph.l.bernard@siu. edu or on twitter @Jojobernard2001.
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Page 15
The power of superstition: SIU athletes do this to play their best Cole Daily | cdaily@dailyegyptian.com Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher would always eat two chocolate chip cookies before every game. NBA legend Michael Jordan would wear his basketball shorts he wore at the University of North Carolina under his Chicago Bulls uniform in every game he played. Superstitions are one of the foundations of sports. There are many notable superstitions in the sports world people may have heard of. Of all the athletes that play at SIU, many have traditions, superstitions, or certain things they must do before performing. These traditions can be found all across SIU sports. Junior cheerleader Abigail Clemens said that she ties her right shoe tighter than her left before every performance. She said it was an accident one day, but noticed it helped with her leaps. “When I fly, I go up on my right leg. So if my right shoe is tighter than my left, it helps me fly better,” Clemens said. Clemens said she is a very superstitious person outside of sports as well. In sports like basketball and volleyball, pregame rituals and routines are common practice. Whether you’re getting to serve the ball into play or lining up for a free throw, superstition is built into your system. On the women’s basketball team, senior guard Caitlin Link said she always wipes her shoes before free throws. For years, she always put her hair in a side ponytail, because she felt she used to play better in that style. “I’ve had different ones throughout my career but up until this year, I’ve always had a side pony. My tradition was always with my hairstyle and the headband that I always used,” Link said. Another superstition Link has is that she must wipe her shoes before shoting her free throws. “That was always my thing before free throws, I feel like I always have to do it,” Link said. Link said one of her teammates, senior guard Makenzie Silvey, always
listens to music before every home game, to help get her in the right frame of mind. On the men’s basketball team, junior guard Trent Brown said that he always has to take a nap before every game. He feels that every game he’s taken a nap before, he plays much better. Brown said he has some other traditions as well. “I also pay attention to the order in which I put on my jersey. I need to make sure it all fits just right,” Brown said. Brown always makes his trainer tap his ankle a few times after he’s done wrapping it. Brown said it’s like a superstitious inside joke between them. “It’s kinda funny, but if our trainer gets done wrapping my ankles and doesn’t tap the side of my ankle before I get off of the table, I don’t allow him to and I make sure he taps it,” Brown said. For the volleyball team, some of the players have pregame traditions. Sophomore hitter Nsia Gittens said she listens to Victory by Tye Tribbet. Sophomore hitter Tatum Tornatta said she jumps rope before every game to loosen herself up. Many players’ pre game rituals include a prayer, and Link said this is essential to her play on the court. “During the national anthem, I pray, and I do that every single game. If I don’t, I feel like I’m gonna play bad,” Link said. Link said her team does the “AllFather” (a famous prayer in the Catholic church) before every game. The Salukis use this tradition to help bond the players before the game. Brown said the men’s basketball team also says a team prayer. Volleyball players like sophomore Imani Hartfield, junior Nataly Garcia, sophomore Alex Washington and sophomore Bailey Neuberger said they pray during the national anthem as well. Whether it’s a certain song, a pregame meal or a piece of apparel they just have to wear, many athletes have
Anika Svancarek | @sw.ani.ka a little something they feel gives them the advantage. Superstitions across the sports world are as far as the eye can see. Sports Reporter Cole Daily can be reached at cdaily@ dailyegyptian.com
Study Break
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
CLASSIFIEDS $ MAKE MONEY $ GA IN EXP ERIENC E LO CA L RES TAURANT HELP N EED ED From dishwasher, cook, server, bartender to manager, working in the food service industry is a great way to learn skills such as punctuality, manners, good cooking not to mention meeting a multitude of other people! Once you have experience and a solid work history, it’s one of the most secure professions in the world as good employees are needed in almost every town and city!
Harbaugh’s Harbaugh’s is now hiring go-getters for all positions! Apply in person at Harbaugh’s Cafe. 901 S Illinois Ave, Carbondale, IL 62901 Quatro’s Pizza Quatro’s is hiring for a phone person, floater and a curbside runner. This is a job that will turn into a server for the right person. Initial times needed are lunch hours during the week and some evening hours during the weekend from 5-10pm. Must be available during most of the school breaks. Call direct with interest or questions. Pay rate is $13 - $15 per hour. Call 618-303-2199. Longbranch Café & Bakery Longbranch is hiring experienced servers, baristas and cooks. Call Elaine at 618-713-2227.
October 30, 2021
FREE!!!
FREE ?!
Bring this ad in on October 30th for Halloween Comicfest and get an extra
Free Comic
618-529-5317 207 W. Main castleperilous.com castlep@aol.com
Monday - Saturday 10 AM - 6 PM Sunday 12 PM - 6 PM
Page 16