The Daily Egyptian February 8, 2023

Page 7

In Memoriam: Paden Shultz

On the night of January 30, 2023, SIU lost an unforgettable soul who was loved by everyone who knew him: Paden Schultz. He was a sophomore zoology student who was very active in campus life as a member of the Marching Saluki’s, Pep Band, Dawg Pound, TRiO, and a member and mentor in the Saluki Summer Bridge program. He aspired to make a career in tiger rescue and conservation and was frequently seen talking about these large cats with many of his friends and classmates.

Paden Shultz was a friend to many and a light to all that will forever leave an impression on SIU and its students. He made countless friends during his time here and always knew how to light up a room with his fun-loving personality and unmatched humor. He would always take time out of his day to talk to someone and consistently worked to try to help others and improve any melancholy mood one might have. Despite having health issues and injuries, he never let anything keep him down and was resilient until the end.

Many of his friends and classmates have come forward to recount memories and notable feelings that will always stick to each and every one of our minds. One student who was in band with Paden says, “He always insisted on marching and participating with us regardless of his sprained ankle which put him on crutches for most of the 2022 season.”

He was seen walking around on crutches for so long that he began to decorate them in accordance with the seasons and holidays, his most notable decorations being the black Halloween

themed garland wrapped around the crutches with skulls and the multicolored lights for Christmas.

“He was very dramatic and charming and always had the sassiest thing to say and knew how to make everyone laugh, he always knew how to lighten the mood,” his band mate recounted.

Another band member similarly remembers Paden’s unique and determined personality.

“When Paden was on crutches and wished to play with us but couldn’t, he still came to every practice and performance with a smile on his face and crutches decorated,” Lily [Last Name Redacted] said.

She wanted to make note that “his personality and smile could brighten anyone’s day” and he will always be remembered with a shining smile on his face.

Many others were familiar with him because of his participation in the Summer Bridge program in both years of 2021 and 2022.

“From our first encounter, I noticed that he was very cheerful, funny, spunky, sassy, and down to earth, we had classes nearly every semester and I could always count on him to make our classes more enjoyable,” Nina Davis says.

She and Paden shared many times together and “would ride bikes together to the dorms after class all the time and had many conversations about future endeavors and career interests.”

Whether or not the two had seen each other, they would always take the time to catch up and have some laughs.

“I’m so glad I was able to say my last ‘hi’ to him before he passed and he was a light to everyone he met,” Nina said.

p. 3
p. 7
p. 5 the
p. 12 Salukis
Year of the Rabbit Moon
The mothers of our community
fire at Walnut Street Baptist Church
vs. Missouri State
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Presidential memo marks a shift

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A zoom seminar was held on Wednesday, Feb. 1 by the office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Morris Library introducing research students and faculty to ORCID.

ORCID is a non-profit organization which provides a system that links the work of a researcher to themselves and enables easier cross-referencing and networking.

This comes as a result of National Security Presidential Memorandum 33 (NSPM-33), an initiative set forward initially by former President Donald Trump and endorsed by President Biden after taking office, which aims to strengthen the security of American research and intelligence.

A statement released by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy said, “NSPM33 directs a series of actions for Federal research agencies with an emphasis on developing standardized policies and practices for disclosing information to assess conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment among researchers and research organizations applying for Federal R&D awards.”

Major changes this memo details include: the implementation of Digital Persistent Identifiers (DPI) for researchers for easier identification through government or non-governmental sources,

disclosure requirements, setting appropriate consequences for disclosure violations and standardizing research security programs.

According to Jennifer Horton, an assistant professor with the Morris Library, ORCID is currently the only existing platform that already meets the standards laid out in NSPM-33.

“ORCID meets all the disclosure and identification requirements, and I’ve even seen that some journals won’t print your work unless you have an ORCID for you and your team attached,” she said.

Some of the organizations mentioned include The Royal Society, PLOS and the American Geophysical Union among others who agreed in 2016 to utilize ORCID IDs for all research published in their journals with other signatories planning to institute the policy across the board.

According to Horton, the ID consists of a 16- digit number which is linked to a free personalized account that houses links to the user’s research and acts similarly to a social media page with a biography and updatable list of employers, works and other social links.

She said one of the biggest benefits of using ORCID is the ability to link it to other research platforms, namely SciENcv, a site used frequently by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and its

ability to automatically populate forms with information, greatly reducing the time spent filling out grant applications.

Ashley Metzenbacher, pre-award manager of the Office of Sponsored Projects Administration at SIU, said the implementation of NSPM-33 is set to be fulfilled by October of 2023 and aided with the seminar to raise awareness of the changing ruleset for researchers.

“SIU will not be requiring the use of ORCID IDs to do research, but we do recommend using it to stay ahead of the curve and ensure the greatest potential success for our students,” she said.

She said once an ID has been claimed and a profile has been created it can be additionally integrated with sites like Web of Science, CrossRef and DataCite, websites which automatically compile works and links to works, and will be able to automatically update to reflect new research.

Horton said those who may need assistance setting up an ORCID can contact her via email at jhorton@lib.siu.edu or come into the Morris Library to be helped in person.

Metzenbacher said additional seminars will be done in the future to ensure SIU researchers have the tools and resources they need to create a DPI in the coming months.

Staff reporter Wiliam Box can be reached at wbox@dailyegyptian.com

Page 2 | News Wednesday, February 8, 2023
William Box WBox@dailyegyptian com Lane Frost | lfrost@dailyegyptian.com

Year of The Rabbit Moon

Patient, quick-minded with subtleties of ingeniousness. The humble rabbit, an ancient Chinese zodiac represents gentleness and a beacon of hope for the Lunar Year to come.

In various East Asian countries, the Lunar New Year is the overall celebration of a new moon cycle tied neatly together with the soon approaching arrival of the spring season. Spring is one of the major seasons of the year as crops can be planted and animals are being born or hatched.

This agrarian centered philosophy or way of thinking that vastly impacted modern holidays and traditions in the region. This philosophy is not unique to just Eastern Asia but most of the world frankly has traditionally depended on the season to produce bountiful harvests for prosperity and a means for humble survival for the winter.

Traditionally farmers would be rationing their root vegetables and not eating much meat, milk or eggs as the animals were worth more alive to breed or plow the fields or even lay eggs that could be sold. So the Lunar New Year celebration is centered at the end of winter when there was very little before and after but, during the holiday, mass feasting of fresh colorful foods with meat, eggs, sugary sweets and even an extra spoonful of rice would have been such a pleasurable delight in an otherwise flavorless, rationed and hungry time for most people.

You can feel the amount of pride the people historically put into the dishes through their complexity and

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Paden lived in the Felts dorm hall on West campus where many others got to know him and “he always had these most extravagant inflatable outdoor things he would put outside his door for every season or holiday,” said one former neighbor, who always looked forward to seeing these fun decorations after breaks, with the most notable being a giant ‘It’ inflatable during Halloween. She followed up by saying “Paden was loved by so many on the floor and even though I don’t live there anymore I know Felts floor 2 is hurting right now.”

Another former neighbor from Felts said that “Paden was such an energetic odd-ball in the best way

sophistication. For example, people in Korea make soup with rice cakes that have been made by laboriously pounding sweet glutinous sticky rice until it becomes like chewing gum in texture. In China, people make a steamed freshwater fish that has been stuffed with slices of peeled ginger and garlic before it is steamed over hot water and basted with sweet rice wine which usually is served alongside various side dishes like fried spring rolls which resemble golden bars to symbolize good fortune. And in Vietnam, where they celebrate the Lunar New Year a bit later than the rest of Eastern Asia, they typically make a sticky coconut red rice called Xoi Gac which is just as sweet as it is savory.

The Lunar New Year for many East Asian countries is very similar to our Thanksgiving and Christmas all in one! People often exchange small gifts and red envelopes filled with money to celebrate. The eldest family member would present the envelope and usually the children will bow, then get on all fours on the floor and touch their forehead to the floor before standing back up and doing another 90 degree bow. The deeper the bow, the deeper the respect being shown.

Family, food and cultural traditions are what makes the Lunar New Year so important in all East Asian cultures alike.

Staff reporter Cian Lehtonen can be reached at clehtonen@dailyegyptian.com

possible, he was a lover of animals and of the arts and I’ll forever remember all the cursed ceramic objects he created from impossible mugs to drink from to a toilet plant pot,” which happened to be a fan favorite amongst his Felts dorm members.

“He was a very special and unique individual that no one could replicate, always stepping to the beat of his own drum and was a friend to so many people,” Elyse Dilks said.

Paden truly was a friend to everyone, and even those who were simply friendly with him commented that “Paden was a stand up individual and bright, fun, and lighthearted even with a 10 pound boot around his foot, who was a welcome addition to

every group outing,” one classmate of his said. Another pointed out that while they didn’t know him that well, “he was so fun to talk to and could tell he was an all around great guy.” His spirit reached everyone he saw, whether or not they were close.

There were many others, including myself, that knew him through the zoology program and had classes with him. I distinctly remember my very first week at SIU, walking into an entry level biology class and getting greeted by this incredibly outgoing and sweet individual, Paden. This was the first time someone had acknowledged me in a class as an equal in all my time as a student, and this pattern continued in two other classes, most notably

my zoology seminar class last semester. He would always turn around in his seat to talk to me and consistently made sure I was feeling comfortable. He didn’t know it, but he helped me more than words could say, and having someone talk to me after never experiencing this kindness before in a very hard period in my life was life-changing. Although I didn’t know him and he didn’t know me as well as many others, thank you. Thank you for being here for me when no one else was my friend, I’ll miss you.

Paden Schultz had two memorial services, one on campus Friday, Feb. 3rd for students and faculty and another at Newman Catholic Center on Sunday, Feb. 5th for the community. Hundreds attended

both services and paid their respects to him and his family and friends. Please seek help if you are struggling and do not ignore your mental health during this time.

SIU Counseling and Psychological Services professionals are available for student assistance by calling (618)-453-5371. The national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached by texting or calling 988.

“We will forever remember you Paden, Rest in Peace.” - Elyse Dilks.

Staff reporter Mo Collar can be reached at mcollar@ dailyegyptian.com or on instagram @m0.alexander.

News | Page 3 Wednesday, February 8, 2023
clehtonen@dailyegyptian com Brooke Nicholas | bnicholas@dailyegyptian.com

Black RSOs offer a community within a community

It’s Thursday night outside the student center, the last few rays of sunshine beating a feeble retreat towards the horizon. The air is cold and empty, a frigid wind snatching away the words of the handful of students in Faner courtyard and scattering them to the stars above.

People shuffle around spasmodically, and skulk in their coats against the biting weather. As one draws near, you can make out conversation in impish tones and cheerful celebrations of the group’s own wit. Through the front doors, the halls of the student center seem monolithic, and every room cavernous by their abandonment and silence. Of course, it’s only because it’s 6pm and all the school’s own activities are through for the day. Most students are home, starting in on dinner or dozing off over unattended homework. But there’s something very odd about the feeling when you come up through all the emptiness where the schools thousands of other students toil day in and day out, most probably unaware or indifferent to a community that surrounds them each day of their time at SIU.

“Well, I think the biggest issue in the Black community and Carbondale, especially SIU, is that we’re not as close knit as we should be,” said Amir Ferguson, president of Project Love. “We should be here to help everyone else. We should be here so make sure all the Black students who we see we know, but a lot of Black students get separated

or they get, like, in their own groups or cliques. And I feel like we should start by being more close knit, like, we’re all the Black students on campus. We’re a minority so we should be tight - closelike we should be a family making sure everyone succeeds.”

Forever singled out by its differences and yet painstakingly curated, unified, and moved to excellence by their fellow students, SIU’s Black RSO community is a whole unto itself, a community within a community and eager to celebrate the fact. Gathered in Faner auditorium on what was more or less the eve of Black History Month, hundreds of Black faces looked to their more experienced peers for advice on professionalism, how to be a better man or woman, and how to engage more with the community of Carbondale.

“The most important issue is to be heard and to be seen,” said Kayla Vaughen, the president of Naturalistas, a beauty and personal hygiene club at SIU. “I think us having our RSO fair is a good way to be heard and be seen because, yes, we have an RSO fair that student engagement offers but I think us having our Black RSO fair tends to help the issue.”

Many organizations came to the student center auditorium to present their missions to students, from the Black Male Roundtable, which offered the men in the audience guidance on how to achieve professionalism and lessons on how to network, to Project Love, an RSO dedicated to

helping the less fortunate of Carbondale.

As one member of Black Male Roundtable told the audience, “This is that time where reality comes in. That’s what it did when he was 18. It happened when I was 16. So go have your fun, go play basketball, it was a stressful week but you need to get involved, get some experience, know how to talk to people, because without that you’re really just in school for no reason.”

Many students at SIU arrive with little to no parental assistance in college life, whether that is because of their parents own lack of college education or due to poverty or strife at home. According to EAB, a national education consulting firm, one-third of all college students in the U.S. are first generation. Though SIU has won several awards due to the success rate of its first generation students and has a dedicated First Saluki Center, it is difficult to make up for a public school’s failings or a lack of enrichment early in students’ lives with class time alone. Especially with discrimination and cultural differences to think about as they enter college, communities tend to be tight knit and supportive.

“I feel like it’s [SIU’s] a good environment to start something,” Vaughen said. “But I also feel like you can still bring more people out because I feel like right now we have half of the Black community. We are trying to get the whole percentage of the Black community because, yeah, we see the same people here and stuff like that. Other people we never see.”

As well as trying to tap the potential of their peers, many Black RSO’s concern themselves with social issues, and the advancement of understanding and compassion between different groups of students. The Black Women’s Task Force, an RSO dedicated to supporting women and teaching them to help themselves, hosts a prevalent event called girl-code guy-code, wherein women and men describe their different life experiences to each other, and share their opinions about being the gender they are.

“I think that we made a name on campus and I feel like everybody knows they appreciate what we have here,” said Kyleigh McDavis, a member of Black Women’s Task Force. “From a personal standpoint, I feel like safety at SIU is a big issue. And in Carbondale also, I feel like there’s a lot of things going on and not enough being done to fix that. So I feel there are some ways we can come together and try to work on that issue, to make it safer for a lot of people here. I want everybody to feel comfortable.”

Recent shootings in Carbondale have taken

lives as close as University Village, where many SIU students live and work. Additionally, police were increasingly active during the Polar Bear celebrations.

“I feel like the RSOs has helped give people more to do after class,” McDavis said. “I think that, for some RSOs, it’s a stress reliever. It’s a place for people to express their thoughts and just feel comfortable and then to see a familiar face. I feel like more people are more inclined to join when they see somebody that looks like them in RSOs and that gets the numbers up and more people in.”

Perhaps contributing most directly to a reduction of present and future violence in Carbondale is Project Love, which drew a long line of volunteers at the RSO fair, many of them already members of other organizations at the fair.

“We basically just help with the empowerment of everybody in the community,” Ferguson says. “We go to nursing homes, churches, on campus, anywhere where the less fortunate need help, we go to help out. We clean up, we do fundraisers. Anything pretty much. Food drives, clothes, drives, we do anything we can do to help out everybody.”

Towering over the action whenever people come over to his stand, a wide grin splits Ferguson’s face no matter who he talks to.

“Basically, I had a troubled childhood myself,” Ferguson said. “So I want to help the less fortunate because I know how it feels to feel like you don’t have help. It feels like no one hears your voice and nobody’s here for you. I just want to make sure everybody is heard, everybody has a voice and everybody has help. I’ve gone through traumatic experiences to become the man I am today. And I don’t want nobody else to have to go through what I went through.”

All over the room, over the blare of speakers pumping out several different beats, and the bustle of the crowd, connections sprang into place between students, or were renewed for another semester of growth and community and ownership over that community.

“Just because you don’t need help or you’re not part of the less fortunate doesn’t mean they aren’t out here,” Ferguson said. “They are out here and they are very much in need of help. So we all need to help each other and that’s what this is. This RSO fair shows students that there are successful Black men and women on this campus. You could become one of those successful Black men and women.”

Staff Reporter Daniel Bethers can be reached at commonitem6damage in Instagram, or at

Page 4 | News Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Daniel Bethers @commonitem6Damage

Fire at Walnut Street baptist Church

Firefighters and city workers watch as the Walnut Street Baptist Church fire is contained by the Carbondale and Murphysboro fire departments, Monday Feb. 6, 2023. Naia McPherson | @ naiamcpherson

A city worker watches as the Carbondale and Murphysboro fire departments contain the fire at Walnut Street Baptist Church in Carbondale, Monday Feb. 6, 2023. Naia McPherson | @ naiamcpherson

Firefighters Dan Snider and Jamison Bartlow man a hose aimed at Walnut Street Baptist Church as it burns on the corner of Walnut and S University Ave. Monday Feb. 6, 2023. Naia McPherson | @ naiamcpherson A firefighter stands at the foot of an aerial ladder while the fire at Walnut Street Baptist Church is extinguished in Carbondale, Monday Feb. 6, 2023. Naia McPherson | @ naiamcpherson
News | Page 5 Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Firefighters Dan Snider and Jamison Bartlow man a hose aimed at Walnut Street Baptist Church as it burns on the corner of Walnut and S University Ave. Monday Feb. 6, 2023. Naia McPherson | @naiamcpherson

Stop trashing books in SIU dumpsters

There are dozens of departments located in SIU that supply hundreds of hard copy resources such as novels, textbooks, journal articles and scientific journals that can be found on the shelves of hundreds of varying professors’ offices and public bookshelves throughout the school. As the years go by, some of these hard copy books begin to not receive as much attention and use and, as a result, collect dust. Unfortunately, another result has begun to emerge in the form of mass waste.

Along with the Daily Egyptian, I also work for the Life Science Department as a lab assistant. Part of my job entails taking unusable equipment, old tests and papers to the dumpsters to make room within the labs and various professors’ offices and keep a secure work environment. Upon my arrival on one of these trips, I was shocked to find over 100 old textbooks, scientific journals and guides discarded in waste bins, ready to be trashed.

Immediately after dumping the unsafe equipment and papers, I went to work digging the books out of the trash, placing them onto a cart and wheeling them up to the third floor of Life Science II where two large bookshelves sit ready for professors, assistants and students to place old books they have no further use for. These books sit there

awaiting students and faculty that may have a want or need for each and every book sitting on the shelves rather than discarding them. There are dozens of majors and minors that could take advantage of these books.

This discovery is not the first of its kind, however. A week before the 2022 fall semester came to a close, there were around 30 various books discarded in a similar fashion. This is when I became aware of the issue, but there is no doubt in my mind that this practice has been going on for much longer than a year or two. In fact, there are over 320 million textbooks sent to dumpsters each year rather than being refurbished or donated according to the National Wildlife Foundation of America.

I decided to go around to different buildings around campus and was met with more book filled dumpsters at places such as Rehn, Pulliam and Lawson Hall. Luckily, there weren’t as many here, but the point still remains that this issue is a campuswide one that needs more attention.

SIU is a college rooted in science and communication, yet the idea of conservation seems to be just that: an idea rather than an action. The third floor of the Life Science II building has multiple bookshelves lined up in the halls for other students, assistants and professors to place books they have no use for anymore. This allows students and faculty the opportunity

to have access to novels for their future career paths or simply to enjoy a piece of literature or science. This is where I place the books found in the dumpsters so those too, can be of use to someone in the future. There are some who discard these books because they are outdated and have information that has since been proven incorrect, but what many people don’t realize is these books could be very useful for historical

context and to see how information evolved over the years. Any form of evolution is very important for us to learn from so we do not continue to make the same mistakes and repeat the same inaccuracies.

Suppose this situation isn’t necessary anymore; these books could still be donated out or refurbished into something different. There are several areas around Carbondale that take textbook and novel donations and several more that will point you

in the right direction. The science department could even potentially make a profit by selling these books. There are so many other choices that one could make before throwing these books away.

It’s time to change, and this would be a good start.

Staff reporter and photographer Mo Collar can be reached at mcollar@ dailyegyptian.com or on Instagram @ m0.alexander.

Page 6 | News Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Mo Collar | @M0.alexander Dozens of books found in the trash at the bottom floor of Life Science II Jan. 12, 2023 at SIU in Carbondale. Mo Collar | @m0.alexander Dozens of books reshelved on the third floor of Life Science II Jan. 12, 2023 at SIU in Carbondale. Mo Collar | @m0.alexander Dozens of books reshelved on the third floor of Life Science II Jan. 12, 2023 at SIU in Carbondale. Mo Collar | @m0.alexander

The mothers of our community

On a cold and wintery day here in Southern Illinois, feeling a bit run down after a long week full of activities and chores, I simply felt as if I could not get off the couch. My body felt like mushy mashed potatoes as I laid there and stared at the ceiling above, thinking about the randomness of the world and any little odd fact that my brain could scrounge for during such an empty space of my time.

My intrusive voice said to me in a very pointed tone “guuuuuurl, get up queen.” I giggled quietly to myself like a mad person and began to think of my speech pattern. As a homosexual male, I speak a little bit off, and I have zero intentions in changing it. Instead of the word “yes,” most of the time I say “slay,” or sometimes I jumble up random little tidbits of sayings and blurt them as if they make sense to the general public.

I have been speaking this way as long as I can remember, but I know where and when in my life there was a very big influence of this vernacular in my life, and it would be when I was around 12 years old. I had just come out of the closet, my newest obsession was all things fashion, drag and the gay community of the time. Of course, that was when everyone was wearing 3-D glasses frames to school as a statement, and there was still controversy as to if gay people should even marry, but besides all that, I was definitely realizing what community was most becoming of me.

Little Aaron was consuming any piece of media I could that felt as if it represented me and who I was born as. Although I felt loved and supported by my friends and family, there was still this sense of disconnection as mostly everyone in my life was straight or straight passing, and I was not. I basically cut my baby teeth watching Ru Paul on Logo and put myself to bed at night listening to the lovingly supportive gay sermons of Tammy Faye Bakker. I was constantly searching for something that looked and sounded “normal” to me.

The 1990 documentary, Paris is Burning, opened my eyes to a world that felt right. Directed by Jennie Livingston and filmed during the height of the AIDS epidemic, this documentary shows times of trouble and love for people amongst the LGBTQ+ community. Set up in a campy yet informative way, this program aims to educate those who have never been amongst the community and to represent those who are. The entire documentary revolves around a very specific subculture in New York known as ballroom culture and the different ways it has influenced fashion, modeling, dancing and performance all together.

To say that my younger self was obsessed is an understatement. Now that I have watched it multiple times as an adult, I think to myself how my youthful eyes probably shouldn’t have been consuming such media, but I truly do believe that I am better off

now for it than not. My eager mind was thirsty for knowledge on my own community and was finally being quenched by something that didn’t feel sugar-coated or marketed specifically to catch the eye of any queer that happens to see it.

There is a certain grit to this documentary, a bit of beauty and filth. It peeks into the lives of queer individuals living freely at a time when it wasn’t always as safe to do so and doing their prep work for the balls that they will be competing in. The film focuses on many different individuals, most of which are house mothers. A “house” is a group of people who perform in balls together, but it is stated in the film that they are really like chosen families, providing love to each other that the harsh world wouldn’t.

Ballroom culture was started by Black Americans and is rooted in the beginnings of drag. Transgender women of color who performed in shows, allowing drag and performance art to become a form of entertainment, not for straight people so much as other queer individuals. Drag and female impersonation has been around since the beginning of time, but it was either kept underground for queer communities or used in shows and media as laughable entertainment.

In the 1960s, Drag became less of a vaudeville style act and stepped into the world of pageants and cabaret acts. Dorian Corey, an older house mother featured in the film, speaks on the

change of times and how things evolve. Through the 1970s, the ballroom circuit was starting to find its footing to produce what came of it during the 1980s.

The dance style called “Vogue” became relevant amongst ballroom culture during the 1980s and transformed the balls from being a form of pageantry, to a being of its own. Named after the magazine, the dance features strange and awkward positions inspired by the poses you would see by glancing at the cover or flipping through the hallowed pages of a Vogue magazine. The goal of the dance is to make your body appear rigid, yet fluid while moving around. There is inspiration pulling from high fashion and even Egyptian art and hieroglyphics.

Although Voguing and ballroom culture is inspired by fashion, a lot of fashion post 1990 had a lot of ties to ballroom culture and was pulled from popular themes or categories in balls at the time. The song “Vogue” by Madonna was an homage to the ballroom community and their specific style of dancing. Voguing is still prevalent today and is still a prominently safe space created by Black and Latinx queer individuals for queer individuals.

In recent years with the HBO program “Pose” has become a favorite of the LGBTQ+ community, depicting ballroom culture at the same time that “Paris is Burning” was filmed. The show features multiple characters

struggling with their everyday lives surviving with HIV or AIDS, and Transgender black women paving the way for the community. This very much helped push ballroom culture back into the mainstream media as it is today.

With February being Black History Month, we should remember all of the Black queer individuals who created and inspired many things to this day. We should attribute queer jargon and aesthetics to the trans mothers who created them and allowed others to catch on. The LGBTQ+ community wouldn’t be free if we didn’t have these trailblazers paving the way before us. We wouldn’t have RuPaul’s drag race, pride parades and many other things that could just be chalked off as gay without these women and men standing their ground for a community that they built, and we should be utterly grateful to them.

So on my cold wintery day where I shadily told myself to get up, I instead clicked on my television, got all snuggled up and re-watched Paris is Burning for the umpteenth time. I nourished my soul and thought about how grateful I am to the women who paved the way for me to do anything, even to have the privilege to write about it. To all the trans and queer Black and Latinx mothers who set not only me, but a whole community on the right path, I thank you.

News | Page 7 Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Staff writer Aaron Elliot can be reached at aelliot@dailyegyptian.com
aaron elliott aelliott@dailyegyptian CoM
Page 8 Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Students gather for Trivia Nite with the Student Programming Council Feb. 2nd, 2023 at the Student Center in Carbondale, Ill. Ethan Grimm | @ethan_grimm Feyi Arowolo (Seated Left) and Bethany Peppers (Seated Right) , accept answer sheets to see who won the round of trivia Feb. 2nd, 2023 at the Student Center in Carbondale, Ill. Ethan Grimm | @ethan_grimm A team of students pickz prizes after winning a round of trivia at Trivia Nite Feb. 2nd, 2023 at the Student Center in Carbondale, Ill. Ethan Grimm | @ethan_grimm

Student Programming Council Humans of SIU

Page 9 Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Celeste Woods (left) and Amilia Estrada (right), read trivia questions for Trivia Nite with the Student Programming Council Feb. 2nd, 2023 at the Student Center in Carbondale, Ill. Ethan Grimm | @ethan_grimm Teams of students participate in Trivia Nite put on by the Student Programming Council Feb. 2nd, 2023 at the Student Center in Carbondale, Ill. Ethan Grimm | @ethan_grimm

Daily Dawgs: The day Rufus met his mom

Hi guys! It’s me, Rufus! Today I want to tell you about the day I met my Mom. That was such an awesome day! I was just a tiny puppy, so I don’t really remember it, but Mom tells me the story all the time, and it’s one of my favorites! It was July 8, 2015 – the best day of the year if you ask me.

It all started when my Mom’s friend, Ashley, found me in her yard. Mom and Ashley have been friends for like 100 years or something, I think. Anyway, Ashley couldn’t find who I belonged to, so she decided to put my picture on Facebook asking if anyone wanted to take me to their house. Mom told me when she saw my sweet face (she can be so embarrassing) she knew I was meant to be her baby.

Guys! Mom said at first they thought I was a Pit Bull puppy! Can you believe it? They’re so silly!

Anyway, she called Ashley right away and guess what – she still had me! Mom drove to Ashley’s house the very next day and when she saw me in person for the first time she almost started crying. How embarrassing! I was curled up on the couch, cuddling and snoozing with Ashley’s daughter. We sat and visited for a while before we left, and on the drive home I rode in Mom’s lap. She said I even put my paws on the wheel and helped her drive home!

When we got there, she let me run around in my new yard for a little while before she took me inside. And guess what - I had a lot of stuff there already! There was a bed, toys, food and water bowls and my very own kennel! I also had a brother there named Buster, but I’ll tell you more about him another time. Mom said that seeing us side-by-side was funny because he was so much bigger than me, and that he even carried me around sometimes! He’s still bigger than me, but he doesn’t carry me around anymore. I put a stop to that nonsense pretty early on.

Since it was the day Mom got me, she calls it my gotcha day and we celebrate every year! She always tells me how happy she is that I came to be her baby, and that she doesn’t know what she’d do without me.

Mom also teaches me a lot of stuff, like about animal shelters and rescues. She said there are a lot of doggos and kitters that don’t have homes like mine, and they live in the shelter until a human

family meets them and adopts them. Mom talked to someone at one of those shelter things recently, and found out a lot of cool stuff! I’ll let her tell you!

All across the country, animal shelters and rescues work tirelessly every day to save the lives of millions of animals per year. One such rescue, St. Francis Community Animal Rescue & Education (St. Francis C.A.R.E.) is located in Murphysboro, headed by Director Diane Daugherty.

“At any given time we have between 150 to 200 animals in our rescue,” Daugherty said.

St. Francis C.A.R.E. strives to not only save the lives of animals through rescue and adoption, but they also work diligently to educate the community about the importance of taking proper care of their pets.

“We give tours to schools, and sometimes we go to the school, to help the children understand that spaying and neutering is critical,” Daugherty said.

Attempting to control the population of unplanned and unwanted animals is the first step in saving lives, Daugherty indicated, which is why the rescue focuses so much attention on that topic. With that in mind, St. Francis C.A.R.E. offers a low-income spay and neuter clinic for the community several times per year.

Helping to find good, permanent, homes for the animals already in the shelter is another top priority. Interested parties must first fill out an application for adoption, and the staff thoroughly screen applicants in a variety of ways.

“We call landlords to make sure pets are allowed in the residence. If applicants have, or have had, pets we call the vet’s office to make sure those animals are on heartworm and flea preventatives. It’s in the best interest of the animals we adopt out to make sure they go to the best homes possible,” Daugherty said.

Adoption days are always exciting for the staff at St. Francis C.A.R.E. as they get to see their love and hard work pay off by sending animals to their forever homes.

“It’s awesome,” Daugherty said, “We always get the adoption picture before the families take their new pet home. Everyone is always so excited and the energy is just awesome.”

Adopting can seem costly, but there are many advantages to using a shelter, such as the animals having already been vetted. All pets adopted from

St. Francis C.A.R.E. are microchipped, spayed or neutered and up-to-date on shots.

“When someone adopts an animal, they’re really saving two lives with one adoption. They’re giving a good home to the pet they adopt, but they’re also opening a spot for us to take in another rescue animal,” Daugherty said.

Mom’s friend Ashley told her that if she wasn’t able to find a home for me, she would have taken me to a shelter. I probably wouldn’t have minded being at a shelter like St. Francis C.A.R.E. because Mom said the lady she talked to was really nice and

makes sure all the animals there are taken really good care of. But I’m glad I got to go home with my Mom when I was just a tiny puppy. And that was almost eight years ago!

Guys! I’ve known my Mom almost my whole entire life! Isn’t that cool?

Anyway, I’m out of time because Mom talked too much! I won’t be writing next week because Mom said it’s a special edition, but I’ll be back right after that!

Love, Rufus

Page 10 | Features Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Day Starr-Fleming | @daydreamingddrawings Rufus, after coming home with his Mom, playing with a stick that was just his size July 8, 2015 in Pinckneyville, Ill.

“The Menu” ate and left no crumbs

Satirical dark comedy “The Menu” is a commentary on consumer culture and misinterpretation of value in a craft. It can apply to many aspects of life in a consumerist driven world, not only in food service. However, the choice of using an elitist restaurant provides an interesting approach to the concept of the wealthy taking advantage of the service industry and ruining the meaning of art and artist.

We follow as celebrity chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) hosts a highpriced exclusive event for hand-picked guests including critics, investors, self proclaimed foodies, actors and people so rich that it’s as if this experience is equivalent to going to an Applebee’s.

Slowik uses every dish as a learning tool. He uses his time with the patrons to point out how they don’t care about the art form or the taste of his creations, such as when he serves a bread plate with no bread because in his words:

“Bread has existed in some form for nearly 12,000 years especially amongst the poor, flour and water could it be simpler….It is, and has always been the food of the common man. But you, my dear guests, are not the common man and so tonight you get no bread.”

He also states in his speech, “Even today, grain represents 65% of all agriculture; fruits and vegetables only 6%.” As many will state, that is a reference to the 1%.

While the patrons are a fan of the conceptual piece, they still are not fully understanding as some guests try to ask for bread, some are displeased by the quantity and some are trying to look deeper into the “theme of the meal.” The only one who truly notices that they are being called out is Margo (Anya Taylor-Joy), who wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place. The course after that is framed around a story from the chef’s childhood of a lower class family and domestic abuse. While the guests are quite literally eating it up, he serves them a taste of their own realities showing them they are not much different and they are in fact not untouchable even though they have money and fame.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

It’s at this point that the chef realizes he and Margo have something in common, and he forces Margo to pick which side she will be on: the side of the service workers or the side of the consumers. The guests begin realizing something is wrong once death and violence begin to ensue, yet they still continue to eat.

The chef then takes time to point out all of their flaws and tells them why they deserve what is awaiting them. Then he shocks them with the chance to escape they have not yet truly attempted. While he gives the men a head start, pointing out the injustices towards women, the men ultimately go through more strife while their attempts fail, and

they are brought back to square one.

Once everyone is back in their seats, the chef then reveals a truth to the guests and a trial to the self proclaimed foodie to further prove that it is an art and cannot so easily be done as it can be discussed and used to put others down. Much is true with many art forms and having this brought to the attention of the guests further proves the point of the event.

After realizing there is no escape and they all begin to accept their fate, Margo tells the chef exactly what she thought of the night and asks for a proper meal, allowing the chef to feel excited to cook for someone again which he had mentioned was missing from his life.

Once Marwgo takes her bite and pays her bill, she takes her food to go and leaves watching as they accept their fate with burger in hand as she is the only one who understood the true value.

Staff reporter Bre Gallagher can be reached at bgallagher@dailyegyptian.com

Entertainment and Culture | Page 11 Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Quoin Location:
Chloe Schobert | @chlo_scho_art
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SIU 73 Vs Missouri State 53

Page 12 | Sports Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Marcus Domask (1) shoots from the free throw after a technical was called on the Bears of Missouri State University Feb. 5, 2022 at Banterra Center in Carbondale, Ill. Lylee Gibbs | @ lyleegibbsphotography Foster Wonders (0) shoots from the corner during pregame warmups just before the Salukis faced Missouri State at home Feb. 5, 2022 at Banterra Center in Carbondale, Ill. Lylee Gibbs | @ lyleegibbsphotography Lance Jones (5) looks to pass the ball across the court during the home game against Missouri State Feb. 5, 2022 at Banterra Center in Carbondale, Ill. Lylee Gibbs | @lyleegibbsphotography
Sports | Page 13 Wednesday, February 8, 2023
JD Muila (11) looks towards the referee in wait for the ball to go back into play during the home game against Missouri State Feb. 5, 2022 at Banterra Center in Carbondale, Ill. Lylee Gibbs | @ lyleegibbsphotography Dalton Banks (3) moves the ball down the court towards the Salukis basket during the home game against Missouri State Feb. 5, 2022 at Banterra Center in Carbondale, Ill. Lylee Gibbs | @lyleegibbsphotography Jawaun Newton (13) yells in celebration after the Salukis pull ahead of Missouri State early in the game Feb. 5, 2022 at Banterra Center in Carbondale, Ill. Lylee Gibbs | @lyleegibbsphotography Lance Jones (5) dribbles the ball around the corner past guarding Chance Moore of Missouri State Feb. 5, 2022 at Banterra Center in Carbondale, Ill. Lylee Gibbs | @ lyleegibbsphotography

JUCO-built Saluki baseball makes a formula for success

Coming off of a Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship and 44-win season, Saluki baseball is in a great place under fourth-year head coach Lance Rhodes.

Each of those accomplishments were the first time for the program since the 1990 season. For the last few years, the goal has been to catch up to that team, including the NCAA Tournament appearance, which remains the most recent time the Salukis did so.

“What we’ve been able to do in a short amount of time, in a couple of years, has been tremendous as far as just setting the standards of our program, and what we want to achieve, and what we want our seasons to look like,” Rhodes said. “We’re at a point now where we’ve just got to continue taking steps forward, and the next step forward is to get into a Regional.”

The 2023 team believes it has what it takes to get over the hump. In fact, reigning MVC Joe Carter Player of the Year, shortstop Kaeber Rog, feels like it should have already happened in 2022.

“My main thing is I want to go to Regionals, go to Super Regionals, where all the cool baseball is being played,” Rog said. “Last year, a lot of people might not agree, but I feel like as a team we kinda underaccomplished last year… I thought we were a damn good team.”

Rog won the MVC Player of the Year award and Newcomer of the Year in 2022, becoming only the second ever to do so after Dallas Baptist’s Darick Hall in 2016. Hall now plays for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball.

After starting his collegiate career at Florida International University in 2019 and 2020, where he batted below the Mendoza Line, Rog transferred to Eastern Florida State, a junior college in Brevard County, Florida. There, he slashed .354/.420/.512 and was recruited to come to Southern Illinois for the 2022 season.

Having gotten a taste of Division I baseball, Rog said that his main goal at Eastern Florida State was to work his way back up.

“My goal was to go back to D1, and go back to a better D1 than my previous one,” he said. “It wasn’t always that easy, especially with COVID. D1’s weren’t coming out to see.”

Not only did he achieve that, but he turned in an awardwinning performance in his debut season with the Salukis. Rog’s All-American year saw him hit 14 home runs after only hitting three in his entire career across NCAA and summer league ball.

The key ingredients to Rog’s added power element in 2022: confidence and comfort.

“It was getting comfortable swinging my most powerful swing,” Rog said. “In baseball, most times it’s hard to hit. So it’s easy to get in a feel of trying to hit the ball first, trying to make contact. Last year I really got comfortable like, never mind just contact, get comfortable swinging hard, trying to destroy the ball.”

That confidence could also be seen in Rog’s prominent leg kick, which went semi-viral on social media for its uniqueness, paired with the success Rog saw while using it. It’s something that he developed during his time at Eastern Florida State.

“I started it because I have problems hitting changeups,” he said. “I used to sink my body a lot, so I started using a leg kick, so I keep my body straight up… And then you need confidence when you hit, so the more I kept hitting, the more confidence I kept getting, the crazier my leg kick kept becoming.”

Also returning for his senior season is infielder Ryan Rodriguez, who was named to the All-MVC Second Team as a third-baseman in 2022, and also appeared on the All-Conference Tournament team.

“I think the same player is gonna return,” Rodriguez said. “Hopefully better. I think I’ve put in a lot of hard work in practice. I’m not really thinking about the past, I’m not thinking about last season and what there is to expect of me in the future. I’m just dayby-day trusting the process and trusting our team.”

Similarly to his teammate, Rodriguez committed to a Division I school in Sacramento State out of high school. However, he instead went to College of the Desert in his native southern California. After the COVID-19 pandemic canceled what would have been his second season there, he transferred to Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel, Illinois.

“It was kinda out of the blue,” Rodriguez said. “I got to transfer there after I verbally committed here to SIU. I was left without a place to play because COVID had shut the junior college where I was at down two years in a row, and so coach Rhodes kind of helped give me some other school options for junior colleges.”

At Wabash Valley, Rodriguez would slash .305/.402/.524 and earn his way onto Rhodes’s Salukis, where he kept up his production at the Division I level. Additionally, his time in Mt. Carmel helped get the west coast kid accustomed to Illinois, especially the weather.

“The first junior college I went to, we didn’t even own a tarp because it didn’t even rain,” Rodriguez said.

“That was kinda funny when I first moved out to Wabash, having to do tarp pulls. I was so new to that.”

Notably, Rodriguez was responsible for four late-game hits that led to Saluki wins in 2022, including a 10th-inning walk-off home run against Illinois.

“Those were definitely some exciting games,” he said. “I think those are memorable for the whole team, the whole dugout and just the atmosphere we were able to have and bring to the field. That’s what makes the game fun.”

Coincidentally, Rodriguez’s connection to Southern Illinois University goes beyond just playing for the Salukis. Back home in California, he would receive lessons from Dan Cassidy, who played infield for SIU in the mid 1980’s. Cassidy was teammates with Saluki Hall of Famer Steve Finley, who went on to be a 2x MLB All-Star.

“I ended up seeing [Cassidy] at the alumni weekend, and I was mindblown because I didn’t even know he came here,” Rodriguez said.

In fact, their journeys to Carbondale were somewhat similar. Cassidy transferred to Southern as a junior and played for two years after spending time at Southeastern Illinois College in Harrisburg.

The transition from junior college (JUCO) to Division I can be a difficult jump, especially for batters facing better pitching. However, at the end of the day, it’s still the same game of baseball, no matter the level.

“You wanna show what you’ve got,” Rog said. “Especially the new guys that we’ve got now from JUCO. They want to show that they can also compete well at the D1 level.”

Both Rog and Rodriguez joined the Salukis in 2022 as two of the team’s JUCO transfers. It’s a formula that Rhodes has credited as helping build the program into what it is today.

“It’s kind of a philosophy that we’ve attacked recruiting with, as far as just bringing in some junior college players with experience, some more mature, physical bodies,” Rhodes said. “Along with that, we have to recruit more players more often, but it’s been successful for us, so we’ve kinda continued that trend.”

While it may seem to be a disadvantage for a program to bring on so many short-term players without much experience playing together, that doesn’t appear to be the case, especially considering the results.

“I think coach Rhodes does a phenomenal job recruiting, and coaching us up,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t even think it’s a problem, really. I feel so comfortable with these guys and this team, that it doesn’t matter that we’ve only been together for the fall.”

As a mid-major school, Southern Illinois isn’t exactly a

top destination for high school prospects. But being a Division I school, it serves as a great opportunity for players to work their way up to that level and still compete in the highest division in college baseball.

“We don’t have the luxury of having a high school kid that’s gonna be in your program for three, four, five years,” Rhodes said. “We need those [JUCO] guys. The intentions that we have when we recruit those guys are that they’re gonna come in and be impact players for us immediately.”

Rhodes holds a record of 96-42 in three years as head coach of the Salukis. In August, he signed a fiveyear contract extension to keep him in Carbondale through the 2027 season. His tenure as the leader of the program has been popular not just with fans, but with the players as well.

“For me, Rhodes is one of the best head coaches in college baseball,” Rog said. “His attention to details is unbelievable, and it makes me want to respect him as a head coach so much.”

While this year’s team looks to at least match, if not improve on the accomplishments of the 2022 Salukis, it faces a tougher road to that goal. This year, the nonconference schedule is notably more challenging, including a weekend series against Kentucky of the SEC.

In total, SIU will play 20 games against RPI top-100 teams from the 2022 season. That boost in difficulty may prove to be the difference between the Salukis making the NCAA Tournament in 2023 or not.

“We have a bunch of very competitive non-conference weekends at the beginning, and as long as we’re able to take care of business and win the games that we want to win, I feel like we’ll have a chance to look back at the end of the year and not just have to win the conference tournament to get into a Regional,” Rhodes said.

While Southern could earn an automatic bid by winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, a tough non-conference schedule could warrant a look from the tournament committee if the Salukis fall short similarly to 2022, when they lost in the MVC Tournament finals to Missouri State.

In addition to a boost in the team’s resume, Rhodes feels that the difficult early schedule will help the team prepare for conference play, which begins in late March.

“We’re gonna have to win games against really good teams,” Rhodes said. “But that’s what good teams have to do. You’ve got to beat good teams in order to be an at-large opportunity. We were at the point in our program where we needed

to take that next step and challenge ourselves and see if we can make that a reality.”

As the Salukis push to return to the NCAA Tournament, they have the support of the members of that 1990 team, the last to do it. Notably, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton, who played catcher for the 1990 squad, gave the team a shoutout in his 2022 Saluki Hall of Fame induction speech back in October.

“I told Lance’s [Rhodes] group today. This group, next year, this is the group that breaks that,” Shelton said, referring to the program’s 33year drought.

In addition to Shelton, former Saluki head coach Itchy Jones has expressed his support for the team. 1990 was Jones’s final season with SIU before taking the lead job at the University of Illinois.

“Itch is still as energetic about this program as he’s ever been,” Rhodes said. “Derek has done some great things as far as rallying the alumni around our program. We’ve just got tremendous support here, which makes my job here as the head coach awesome. Just to have the people that truly have a love and desire for SIU baseball.”

That support carries a lot of weight coming from the last SIU team to make the NCAA Tournament. However, everyone involved – from players and coaches to fans and alumni – is ready to see that accomplishment overwritten in the record book, as the modern Salukis have done with other milestones in recent years.

“We hear and talk about it all the time,” Rhodes said. “We want to get over the hump and get back into Regional play. It was a long time before we won the conference. Obviously we took that step and we’ve won the conference, but at the end of the day, as satisfying as that was, every single one of us… are all in the same boat. It’s not the ultimate satisfaction, because we didn’t get into a Regional, and didn’t get a chance to play for Omaha. That’s the next goal, is just to make that a reality.”

Saluki baseball will open its season on the road at Wofford on Feb. 17. The team’s first game at Itchy Jones Stadium will be Feb. 28, as it hosts one game against Saint Louis.

“I think this time of the year, you’re always anticipating what a new group of guys are going to be able to come together and do,” Rhodes said. “With the excitement that we’ve had over the last couple years in the program, just to get back out on the field and hopefully continue that success is exciting.”

Staff reporter Brandyn Wilcoxen can be reached at bwilcoxen@ dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @BrandynWilcoxen.

Page 14 | Sports Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Brandyn Wilcoxen @BrandynWilcoxen

MVC Swim & Dive get ready for conference meets

Ending the season on Jan. 27 with four meets in the span of seven days, the Saluki swim and dive team is beginning their preparation for the road to the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Championships.

Last season, the Salukis finished fourth overall in the conference championship meet. Freshmen at the time, Celia Pulido, Jules Atkinson and Jasmine Rau finished with high placings and a few silver and gold medals. So, the preparation for this year’s meet is being taken very seriously to compete and finish as well as they did last year.

Pulido, Atkinson, and Rau have all been important parts to this year’s team, helping lead the women to wins in seven out of 11 meets on the year.

Pulido finished the 2022 conference championship with a first place gold medal in the 200 meter backstroke, was named the MVC Freshman Swimmer of the year for her performance

of holding four school records throughout the season and was named to the All-MVC team.

Fellow 2022 freshman, Atkinson, finished as the Saluki underdog with a gold medal in the 200 meter butterfly after being seeded fifth during preliminaries the day of the event. Atkinson was also named to the All-MVC team.

Another freshman that stood out of the crowd this year is Olivia Herron. In their most recent meet at Mizzou on the 27th, Herron broke the conference record time for the 200 breaststroke with a 2:11.88 time. She narrowly edged out previous record holder, Lauren Pavel, by less than a second to put her place in conference history.

Herron also broke the SIU record in the 400 intramural during the same meet, a sign of terrific things to come heading into the conference championships.

As for the men’s side, they’ve taken wins in six of their nine meets throughout the year, with their only losses being against top-25 ranked Missouri, Purdue,

and a narrow loss to McKendree by just 12 points. They ended the year on a Ending the season on such a high note can often lead to pressure to perform just as well in seasons to come. Pulido and Atkinson agreed their prior achievements set a precedent for them.

“It’s not pressure, it’s motivation, because I want to do the same things again this year. I want to get better and break the records I have set, it’s something that will help me to improve and race better than I did last year,” Pulido said.

This is why this year’s conference championship preparation has been taken so seriously, not just by these two athletes but by the entire SIU swim & dive team.

With the last meet of the regular season happening on Jan. 27 and the first day of the MVC conference championship being Feb. 16, the Salukis have a little over two weeks to prepare themselves to perform at the best

of their ability.

Some athletes will be stepping away from the weight room in days to come, so when the first day of the meet comes around, they can race at their best ability and without feeling sore.

“Personally right now I’m focusing on the small details of all my races. As a team we’re working on cutting down on our yardage in the water while still maintaining high intensity. Some of us will be stepping away from the weight room so when meet day comes we can perform well without feeling sore,” Atkinson said.

Closer to the start of the tournament, the team will enter their taper period. In swim and dive, this is the period leading up to a big competition when rest is increased and training volume is decreased so the athletes bodies are best prepared.

“Everything matters in this sport, nutrition, sleep, practice. All of this is very important, so we have a strict plan that we follow to get ready for every meet and at this point we’re taking it more

seriously and I think it’s going to help us on meet day,” Pulido said.

When it comes to goals, Atkinson and Pulido are both focused on two things:

“My main goal is that I want to qualify for the NCAA championship in the 100 meter backstroke again this year. I want to break my records again so I can see that I’m getting better and improving in all of my events, and obviously have fun,” Pulido said.

Atkinson followed with, “My goals for myself are to go for my best times, score in all of my events, and to have fun.”

The Salukis will travel to Iowa City, Iowa, on Feb. 15 to compete in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships in hopes of another strong finish to the conference season. The Dawgs will follow in the MAC championships just two weeks later in Oxford Ohio for another four days to test their skills.

Sports reporter Joei Younker can be reached at jyounker@dailyegyptian.com.

Sports | Page 15 Wednesday, February 8, 2023
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