The Daily Egyptian - March 29, 2023

THE Daily Egyptian

Seasons of Change: Climate and its impact on local agriculture

An old saying in Southern Illinois goes, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.” Regardless of how true the statement is from day to day, a common refrain throughout media and politics in the most recent decades has been related to climate change.

While movie and television portrayals of the dangers of climate change tend to lean toward the apocalyptic, as in major pictures like “The Day After Tomorrow” and “Snowpiercer,” the realities of global climate change are often much less cataclysmic and can be just as insidious in rural, agricultural communities.

“There are a lot of factors that are very relevant here in Southern Illinois,” said Leslie Durham, a professor of environmental geography at Southern Illinois University (SIU). “We’re predicting longer, warmer summers, but that may actually change some of the pest behavior as well.”

Durham said the earlier and longer lasting increase in temperature may allow the life cycles of pest creatures like ticks and other insects, which feed on crops or harm livestock, to extend exponentially, allowing them to be more destructive for longer periods of time compared to previous decades.

“There are several research articles that have come out recently claiming Carbon Dioxide (CO2) levels are somehow changing protein content or nutritional value in some of these crops. So in rural communities like Southern Illinois, where agriculture is important, I think some of these issues will have an impact.”

University Farms is a collection of farms owned by SIU and operated primarily by students and volunteers.

Chris Vick, the director of the farms, said weather affects every aspect

of the job and can be drastically changed with changing climates.

“Agriculture is about 80% weather, believe it or not,” Vick said.

“You can be the best farmer in the world, you can do the best job and do everything right and still fail, and that has everything to do with weather.”

According to Vick, while measures can be taken to mitigate changes in temperature and precipitation, unforgiving and unseasonable longterm weather patterns can negatively affect growing and planting throughout the year.

“Over the last three years April has been a little drier and May has been our wettest month when typically April is our wettest month, and last fall was the driest fall I’ve seen in all my years in agriculture, ” Vick said. “So what we’re seeing is more extreme weather patterns and, maybe, longer wetter periods.”

Justin Schoof, director of the school of Earth Science and Sustainability at SIU, said these wetter weather patterns have also come into conflict with civil engineering intended to keep the Mississippi River navigable for transport of goods, resulting

in increased flooding. Changing weather patterns have led some areas, including the river, to experience severe drought, but flooding is a real concern once the rains come in the spring.

“Over the years a number of dikes and levies have been built to kind of hem the river in, but as the rain has increased, that water goes into the river and the river has no way to go but up, leading to some of the large scale flooding we’ve seen in recent years,” Schoof said.

In addition to the increase in rain, the increase in and popular usage of formerly niche climatological terms and phenomena shows a trend toward more instances of extreme weather.

“It’s only been fairly recently that we’ve started hearing terms like atmospheric rivers, which are driving a lot of the rain in California right now, or polar vortexes or bomb cyclones,” Schoof said.

The increase in inclement weather also makes it difficult to find times to harvest or plant crops, according to Vick.

“What we used to talk about was

planting season, now we’re talking about planting windows,” he said. “You used to be able to say, ‘in April, we’re going to plant corn.’ But now you might have had a seven day window when it was dry enough to do field work and if you didn’t get planted in seven days then you’re planting in June and you’re going to take about a 20-30% yield loss.”

He said the main way some farms have been able to adjust to this has been through the implementation of bigger, faster farming machines to handle the process more efficiently, though this can put a strain on the many small, privately owned farms across the U.S.

The Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) printed their annual report on the assets, debt and wealth of the farming sector Feb. 7, illustrating an upward trend of debt in the sector and estimating an increase in debt for 2023 by 4.7% after adjusting for inflation.

“I would say you’ll see more disparity, especially in small farms. Larger farms or operations actually

have the technology and the money to weather some of these things, so it’s really the smaller farms that are hurt the most and lack the labor, equipment and technology to overcome some of these issues,” Vick said.

Duram said it’s important to not allow the scale and gravity of climate change to paralyze people into inaction, whether on the individual level or broadly as a society.

“We need society-wide efforts and to do that we need people in positions of power to make the right choices and help us solve the climate crisis,” she said. “So the number one priority is to figure out who the candidates are and vote for someone who is willing to understand and take action to help us find climate solutions.”

She said small actions done to reduce emissions, like driving electric cars or using sustainable energy sources can make an impact on the climate crisis, but broadly reducing subsidies on fossil fuels will make the largest impact.

According to Duram, anxieties about climate change are as high as 68% among young people in the U.S. She said one of the best ways to combat the trend is to become personally involved in actions dedicated to fighting the issue through protests and community action.

“I think there’s a lot to be said about trying to incremental things to address the issue while also feeling like you’re part of a bigger group. After all, it’s young people who are protesting and trying to take action, so I’m thinking as you become more involved in politics and as more people become involved, we’ll finally see more change.”

Staff reporter William Box can be reached at wbox@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @William17455137.

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The Dawgs beat the Flames

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SIUC Chess hosts first champtionship

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Badd Axe Ladies

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William Box | @William17455137

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Persian New Year welcomes spring

Nuroz, also known as Nowruz, is the Persian New Year that is celebrated on the first day of spring, which usually falls on March 20 or 21. This ancient holiday has been celebrated for more than 3,000 years in Iran and other countries such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, and parts of India and Pakistan.

The word Nuroz means “new day” and marks the beginning of a new year in the Persian calendar, which is a solar calendar based on the position of the sun. The festival represents the rebirth of nature after the cold winter months and is a time for renewal, hope and positivity. The main focus of this 13 days of holiday is to bring people and families together to celebrate the rebirth of the Earth.

In addition to these seven items, some people may also include other items on the Haft-sin table, such as a mirror (representing reflection and selfreflection), a candle (representing enlightenment and happiness) and decorated eggs (symbolizing fertility and new beginnings).

Overall, the Haft-sin table represents the renewal of life, hope for a prosperous new year and the values that are important in Persian culture. Another popular tradition during Nuroz is the practice of jumping over bonfires, which symbolizes the idea of leaving behind negativity and starting anew. People also visit friends and family, exchange gifts and feast on delicious traditional dishes.

gather with family and friends to engage in various activities such as picnicking, playing games and flying kites. Many people also bring along sprouts from the Haft-sin table that were grown over the past 12 days and toss them into a nearby body of water, symbolizing the renewal of nature and the cycle of life.

In addition to these activities, some people also engage in the tradition of tying a knot in a blade of grass, symbolizing a wish for good luck and prosperity in the coming year. Others believe that unmarried individuals should tie knots in the grass to find a suitable partner.

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The celebrations for Nuroz typically begin a few weeks before the actual day, with people starting to clean their homes and prepare for the holiday. One of the most important rituals of Nuroz is the Haft-sin table, which is a table decorated with seven items that begin with the Persian letter “sin.” These items usually include Sabzeh (wheat, barley, or lentil sprouts), which symbolizes rebirth and the arrival of spring. Samanu (sweet pudding) represents wealth and fertility. Senjed (dried oleaster fruit) signifies love and affection. Sir (garlic) represents health and healing. Sib (apple) symbolizes beauty and health. Somagh (sumac) signifies the color of sunrise and the new dawn of a new year. Serkeh (vinegar) represents patience and age.

Nuroz is not only celebrated in Iran and the surrounding regions, but also around the world by millions of people of Persian descent. In fact, in 2010, the United Nations recognized Nuroz as an international holiday, highlighting its importance as a symbol of cultural diversity and renewal. The 13th day of Nuroz, known as Sizdah Bedar, is a significant day in Persian culture and is considered an important part of the Nuroz celebrations. Sizdah Bedar usually falls on April 1.

Sizdah Bedar is also known as “Nature’s Day” or “Picnic Day” and is celebrated by spending time outdoors, usually in parks, gardens, or other natural settings. It is believed that spending time in nature on Sizdah Bedar brings good luck and ensures a happy and prosperous year ahead. On this day, people typically

Overall, Sizdah Bedar is a joyful and lighthearted day that celebrates the arrival of spring and the beauty of nature. It is a time for relaxation, enjoyment and spending time with loved ones in a peaceful and natural setting. Nuroz is a significant holiday celebrated by millions of people around the world, particularly those of Persian descent. This ancient festival marks the beginning of a new year in the Persian calendar and symbolizes the rebirth of nature and the renewal of life. The Haft-sin table and the tradition of jumping over bonfires are just a few of the many customs associated with Nuroz. Nuroz is a wonderful reminder of the values of renewal, hope, and positivity, and serves as a symbol of cultural diversity and unity.

Staff photographer Saba Saboor Mofrad can be reached at ssaboorroohmofrad@dailyegyptian. com or @ssaboor_

Two members of the Persian Association give a speech about The Persian new year (Nowruz) and the cultural background of this ancient celebration at The Persian New year event March 20, 2023 at the student center ballroom at SIU in Carbondale, Ill. Saba Saboor Rooh Mofrad | @ssaboor_

Saba Saboor Mofrad @Saboor

Carbondale’s rich history of women’s activism and protest

daniel

The year is 1968, and you’re a female student at SIU. You must attempt to wrestle success and financial independence from a male-dominated academic environment only just beginning to give women and people of color the first inches of equal ground. You are also treated differently in school policy itself, which condescends to tell female college students and female college students alone when you must return to their dorms each night, whether or not you are allowed to stay overnight at other places, and when you are allowed to have visitors. Unlike male students, who have no curfews so long as they are over the age of 18, you are required to check in at your dorms every night before 11:30 pm Mondays through Thursdays, and after 2 a.m. Fridays through Saturdays. The only way for you to escape from being tucked away beneath society’s protective underskirts in the ‘60s was to do well in school; attaining a GPA higher than 3.3 as a sophomore or being a junior or senior of good academic standing, and getting permission from your parents (if you are under the age of 21) before being allowed to regulate your own hours. As women’s history month comes to a close, the rich history of SIU compels us to take a second look at our own efforts at reform, and acknowledge the generation that helped lead us to the freedoms women on campus have today.

Steve Falcone, a young teacher, sent that late ‘60s administration an open letter, pleading for an end to women’s hours: “What you are not paying attention to is that the old clock is broken. Its springs have burst themselves trying to keep up with the shrinking day of industrial America. What is needed is a new generation who will not be clock-oriented [...] Be grown men and now consider what freedoms you can grant this new generation under your guidance to cope with the problems of tomorrow. Don’t train them in your lifestyles, they’ve got to live far different lives from the age you grew up in. Free the students to work out a lifestyle which will be meaningful in their futures.”

Although the generation which strove for reform so single mindedly in the ‘70s now occupies most positions of power today, whether they be corporate, academic, or political, their work remains unfinished as the struggle for broad freedoms continues, with same sex marriage and women’s reproductive rights recently reentering the political arena.

Civil rights leader, and professor, Julian Bond spoke in the SIU Arena in May of 1969 at the invitation of student government.

“The oppressed ought to be more than the poor and the black. The oppressed ought to be students whose schools do not teach them, workers whose unions do not represent them, voters who want more than an echo…that ought to be the goal of politics,” he said. “To gather together the oppressed and discover the limits of their endurance. For our young people, those who are currently restructuring the American university, there is a job waiting…outside of the Ivy colored walls of American education.”

The issue of women’s hours, as well as other issues, such as administrative censorship of the Daily Egyptian, administrative discipline of students independently of the student government, and the overall superfluous nature of the student government in campus affairs galvanized students to organize the school’s biggest political movement, know as the Action Party. It quickly became notorious for its propaganda, and relentless political activism without the use of any form of violence, a merit the upcoming riotous war protests of the ‘70s could never lay claim to. It featured its own propaganda production arm, which constantly

produced pamphlets and news briefs to be handed out to as many students as could be reached, as well as a host of affiliated student organizations and a contingent of thousands of sympathetic students.

Members of the Action Party, and its precursor, the Student Movement for Rights and Progress (RAF) even had dedicated roles focused on touring SIU’s campus, giving speeches at halls and apartment complexes to anyone who would listen.

Combining this effort with the Women’s Liberation Front (WLF), a feminist student organization which had a strong core of female students organizing the massive protests against women’s hours and negotiating with the administration, the Action Party was responsible for various compromises from the administration.

“This honest and progressive step will better not only the individual in his attempt to educate himself in both his group and personal relationships, but will also enhance the university’s image as a serious academic institution. No university can seriously ask anyone to choose a major field of study, a life philosophy, a vocation, or any other meaningful goal and, at the same time, deny basic daily freedoms of choice,” said a RAF press release in April, 1968.

This statement, pronounced with all the gravity provided in the blazing civil rights movements of the ‘70s, which at one point culminated in a violent shootout between six members of the Black Panthers and Carbondale police, and the smog of riotous retribution and protest kicked up by the Vietnam War, strikes a profound note even through when pulled up through the decades and a deluge of modern issues. War was a leviathan on the scene of SIU’s campus culture, resulting in the 1968 bombing of the Agricultural building, the 1969 burning of the Old Main building, and 1970 riots which grew so intense that 400 students were arrested, and the entire campus was shut down for three weeks. Even up through the ‘90s, protests wracked the strip of Carbondale every Halloween, provoking police use of mace and tear gas, which eventually resulted in police brutality protests resembling those of the Black Lives Matter movement.

At the very beginning of this long avenue of activism and retribution, lies the Action Party. Startlingly and vigorously, the Action Party began to win over seats in student government quickly after its formation as a countermeasure against SIU administration’s somewhat successful attempts to “divide and conquer” RAF, writing its own constitution and holding its own meetings on subjects of importance to students. For perhaps the first time in decades, the issues of students were the subject of more than hallway rumors and disapproving professor reviews as students began to take matters into their own hands.

In one instance, the Action Party even became a detective in the case of a Floyd Crawshaw, a wellconnected public official in Carbondale who was reported to have drunkenly knocked a student cyclist into oncoming traffic with his car, killing a person, but was let off after only paying $100. The party used its influence to search for witnesses, asking students to bring evidence directly to the president of the Action Party in an attempt to make up for state evidence which was too sparse for a conviction.

One of the Action Party’s (in 1969 the most dominant of many new copycat parties) most public and transformative issues was that of women’s hours, which it pursued with advice and support from the Women’s Liberation Front, another student organization at the time.

According to the Daily Egyptian’s reporting at the time, the Women’s Liberation Front held several enormous rallies, which often attracted more

men than women, reaching a 2 to 1 ratio at one memorable protest held on May 9, 1969, during which a massive walkout in protest of the current women’s hour rules was planned.

“The women are scared, it’s the job of every guy here to get the ball rolling!” said Bill George, an observer at the nearly 2000-person event. “Are you going to let the university carry on and treat us like dogs?”

“‘Go get your asses kicked in chicks, we’re right behind you’…you’re damn right you are, about 10 miles behind,” replied George V. Graham, editor of the Big Muddy Gazette, a somewhat infamous left wing paper at the time.

The walkout was to be staged in response to a Student Senate bill which unanimously abolished women’s hours completely, only to be blocked by higher levels of the university administration who argued that the policy kept up appearances for sake of enrollment, and prevented students from being distracted by relationships.

On May 17, 1969, Pat Hadlin, who represented the Women’s Liberation Front, presented to the board of SIU and President Delyte W. Morris along with 14 other students, several of which were from the Big Muddy Gazette, which was currently suing SIU in the U.S. District Court of East St. Louis, asking that the school be prevented from interfering with the paper by revoking its distribution permit. This, after the Big Muddy Gazette printed a nude caricature of President Morris, and a story critical of Chancellor Mac

Vicar.

Yet another massive protest was held on the 20th, drawing 700 women students from their dorms past the allotted women’s hours, as part of a crowd of 1500 thousand total. Students sat on the lawn and listened to speeches and folk songs broadcasted over a loudspeaker. John Taylor, a Black student who helped organize the protest called it “step number one in the liberation of all the students.”

“When we win, the student government will be strong on campus,” said Jane Voget, a WLF leader of the protest.

It was the first of several more protests, which drew reaction from the campus administration in the form of a committee composed of five students and two assistant deans of students. The committee was charged with determining parental and student opinion on the issue, eventually recommending that all students over the age of 18 be allowed to determine their own hours…with female students under the age of 21 still needing to obtain parental permission, much to the chagrin of the Action Party and the Women’s Liberation Front.

This happened despite the facts that a large majority of the female student body expressed clear disapproval of women’s hours, only 9.4% of parents believed their daughters to be too immature to regulate their own hours, and the faculty widely disapproved of the concept of women’s hours.

Dawgs 13 beat Flames 5

Ryan Rodriguez (9) at bat against the UIC Flames March 25, 2023 at the Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Ill. Ethan Grimm | @ethan_grimm

Matt Schark (32) with an out at first against the UIC Flames March 25, 2023 at the Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Ill. Ethan Grimm | @ethan_grimm

Pier-Olivier Boucher (22) on first base against the UIC Flames March 25, 2023 at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Ill. Ethan Grimm | @ethan_grimm

Salukis Baseball Team celebrating their win against UIC Flames March 25, 2023 at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Ill. Ethan Grimm | @ethan_grimm

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Steven Loden (44) celebrating after his game winning home run against the UIC Flames March 25, 2023 at the Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Ill.

Ethan Grimm

Salukis Baseball Team celebrating their win against the UIC Flames March 25, 2023 at the Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Ill. Ethan Grimm | @ethan_grimm

KEEP YOUR HEALTH AT THE TOP OF THE LIST. There is no day like the present to start to take better care family’s health. The SIU Center for Family Medicine in Carbondale is accepting new patients.

Stay ahead of the race and make your health a priority this year. Schedule your annual appointment with your primary care provider by calling 618.536.6621 or visit siumed.org.

Family Medicine covers a broad spectrum of care for all ages, every kind of disease. We do this with a wide offering of treatments and specialty clinics for all patients. Call 618.536.6621 to schedule your first appointment.

Panel:

Adrian Matejka

Sarah Minor C T Salazar and Amie Whittemore 5:30pm - 6:30pm CST

Paul Bonzagni (8) pitching against the UIC Flames March 25, 2023 at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Ill. Ethan Grimm | @ethan_grimm

Nathan Bandy (7) at bat against the UIC Flames March 25, 2023 at the Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Ill. Ethan Grimm | @ethan_grimm

SIUC Chess Club hosts first championship

Issac LudIngton ILudIngton@daILyegyptIan com

Student chess enthusiasts gathered in the student center on Sunday to compete in a Chess Championship hosted by the SIUC Chess Club. According to the club, the group’s first public competition proved a success.

“We had about 20-plus people show up for the tournament,” said club member Sepehr Gashti. “It’s really cool to see the growing community of chess.”

The 20 students included novices who had played chess for as little as a few weeks, amateurs who played as a regular hobby and others with a lifetime of experience and professional aspirations.

Matches were timed so each player had 10 minutes of play, with two seconds added for each move. This means players did need to mind the clock, but that play could continue at length if it remained quick. When combined with a 6-Round Swiss format, a non-elimination format which allocates points to the winners and matches them accordingly, this created an increasing (though quiet) intensity as the tournament progressed.

Through the six rounds, more experienced players gradually began to face each other, leading to longer games, narrower victories and circles of spectators.

“I had a lot of fun,” said Jake Anderson, a student who was introduced to the game by friends in the Chess Club. “I played the guy that got first in the whole tournament. Just to be able to do that, it’s pretty cool.”

Other competitors stressed that the community of chess players on campus is very welcoming and encouraged anyone interested in learning the sport to come out to competitions and Chess Club meetings.

“Even if you don’t think you’ll do well, or if you’re new to chess, just come have a good time anyway,” said Austin Oganovich, a newer club member. “There’s a lot of people here willing to teach, so if you’re willing to learn, then it’s a good opportunity.”

The tournament games were played using new chess kits, 20 sets of boards and pieces along with eight timing systems, purchased for the Chess Club through the support of Undergraduate Student Government funding.

Obtaining this permanent equipment was essential for ensuring that a newer group like the Chess Club could offer the game to interested students.

“The moment I stepped here [at SIUC], I started looking for the chess club, and then unfortunately due to the COVID pandemic, there was no functional club,” said Mosharrof Hossain, President and founder of the club. “The first couple of months we had to bring our own boards, clocks, everything. Now we are not short on anything.” Hossain said that roughly 1213 students have been attending their meetings, meaning that the newly purchased sets would also ensure that those visiting are less likely to need to wait to play the game. Anyone interested was invited to come to these regular meetings to play, with the club meeting every Friday from 5-7 p.m., typically in the Mississippi room of the student center. For those interested in competing beyond the level of the Chess Championship, the club also hopes to compete in more professional events. Hossain cited a recent friendly

team match against SIU Edwardsville and pointed to another inter-university event being tentatively planned for October in Indiana. The club plans to send a team if able.

As for the Chess Championship itself, experience proved to win the day. After six rounds, Mosharrof (who has been playing actively since 2017) emerged as the champion through several highly-focused games, winning the prize of a chess.com themed ball.

The club is hopeful that

events like this championship and other tournaments will help the group to grow and offer more events, including the idea of possibly adding more meetings per week if interest continues to grow.

“I believe that promoting this event and all this stuff will definitely bring more players,” Mosharrof said. “I see so many new faces today.”

Anunplayedchessboardsitsonatable in wait for the next match at the Chess Championship March 26, 2023 at the SIU Student Center in Carbondale, Ill.

Staff reporter Isaac Ludington can be reached at ILudington@dailyegyptian.com

Never another lynching: the crusade of Ida B. Wells

“The editorial furnished at last the excuse for doing what the White leaders of Memphis had long been wanting to do: put an end to the Free Speech,” Wells said. “On the following Monday morning the Commercial Appeal appeared… and called on the chivalrous white men of Memphis to do something to avenge this insult to the honor of their women.”

A mob would gather the next Monday, May 27, at a local cotton exchange center and, at the urging of leaders of the community, including the owner of the store which had competed with Wells’ friends, would go on to storm the “Free Speech,” destroying the printing press inside before burning down the building itself.

According to Brown, the lynching, which took the lives of her good friends, destroyed her place of work and could have taken her own life had she not been out on assignment. It would provide the impetus to begin a life of advocacy despite not being traditionally educated past an eighth-grade level.

“And that’s when she became a powerhouse. Within the next two years, she was traveling all over America and England, talking about the conditions of the South and talking about White supremacist control and domination over the Black community,” Brown said.

graduate student, came to visit her to learn about what she was doing,” Brown said. “She’s doing all of the field research we understand as sociology and cultural anthropology today, but we don’t give her any credit because, well, she was a journalist.”

Wells-Barnett would work with colleagues and fellow leaders in the Black community of the early 20th century, helping to create and personally founding a number of long-lived organizations which continue the work of advancing the equality of Blacks in the U.S., like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs (NACWC) before her death in 1931 at 68 years old.

Wells-Barnett’s work would take her to dangerous areas across the country, often bringing on threats of violence wherever she would go and even to her own home, but according to her daughter, Alfreda Duster, she was seen by many as to be determined by an almost religious zeal.

On March 9, 1892, the papers ran late in the city of Memphis, Tennessee. When they finally printed, they told the grotesque story of the previous night’s events in graphic detail.

At around 2:30 a.m. three Black men named Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell and Will Stewart had been taken from their jail cells by approximately 75 masked white men, placed on a train north out of town and mercilessly gunned down by the mob.

“Everybody in town knew and loved Tommie,” wrote Ida B. WellsBarnett in her autobiography, “Crusade for Justice.” “He and his wife Betty were the best friends I had in town. And he believed, with me, that we should defend the cause of right and fight wrong wherever we saw it.”

This tragedy, as told in “Crusade for Justice: the Autobiography of Ida B. Wells,” was the result of racial tensions in the neighborhood in which she lived, called the Curve, as the three men owned a grocery store named People’s Grocery, which competed with a White-owned store in the same area. The attack took place when Wells was out of

town in Natchez, Mississippi, for a work assignment.

“Free Speech,” the newspaper Wells edited for in Memphis, Tennessee, was published even later than the others following that fateful night. In it, a plea was printed directed to the Black community declaring the city of Memphis could not be trusted to defend the lives of Black people against White violence and calling for those who could to flee somewhere safer and keep from spending to save for the eventuality.

The call would have the intended effects on the community in the following weeks, according to Wells. Churches left with their entire congregations, luxury goods stores saw their business nearly stop altogether and an adhoc boycott on the local railroad began in earnest among Black people.

Wells would see the effect of the boycott and the power of community action for herself and would take on a leading role, beginning a life of activism against the barbarity of lynching, according to Dr. Joseph Brown, a professor of Africana Studies at Southern Illinois University (SIU).

“So she wound up saying, ‘I need to rethink the whole notion of what lynching is about,’” Brown said.

According to Brown, the popular consensus surrounding lynchings at the time, which Wells subscribed to before what would come to be known as the Lynching at the Curve, was that the practice was the result of backlash following incidences of sexual violence from Black perpetrators against White women.

“And then she realized it had nothing to do with rape,” Brown said. “‘They are successful business people, and that’s driving you crazy’… She would go on to write articles, she interviewed people and she put out there the idea that this is part of White supremacist economic insecurities.”

In her autobiography, Wells describes writing an editorial in “Free Speech” three months after the Lynching at the Curve on how the “thread-bare lie” of Black sexual violence being the primary motivator of lynchings across the country is seldom even believed by the perpetrators of the lynchings, but instead are used as post-hoc justifications for an action taken to inflict pain and fear onto the relatively newly-emancipated population.

He said Wells would marry her husband, Ferdinand Lee Barnett, a fellow Black rights activist and lawyer who lived in Chicago, from where she would live and base her work for the remainder of her career.

It’s from Wells-Barnett’s home, now upheld as a national monument dedicated to her life and work, that she would travel across the U.S. documenting the violence and oppression inflicted against Blacks in prominent local papers like the Chicago Defender, The Conservator and personal publishings from herself and her husband.

“Wells was working as a sociologist, going from place to place in the field, collecting testimonies and drawing conclusions from it,” Brown said. “[She] used that material to make all sorts of arguments in the political and social spheres.”

Brown said Wells-Barnett’s work collecting the stories and experiences of blacks experiencing atrocities during and after events like the East St. Louis Pogrom in 1917, the Tulsa Massacre in 1921 and the many similar events which took place throughout the institutionalization of Jim Crow would inspire others like contemporary W.E.B. DuBois to develop what is now known as the field of Sociology.

“DuBois was known as the father of Sociology, but he, as a

“The most remarkable thing about Ida B. Wells-Barnett is not that she fought lynching and other forms of barbarism,” she would write as the preface for her mother’s autobiography in 1970. “It is rather that she fought a lonely and almost single-handed fight with the single-mindedness of a crusader long before men or women of any race had entered the arena.”

The original autobiography contains a preface story told by Wells-Barnett in which she tells how a young girl compared her to Joan of Arc, a teenage French peasant girl in the early 15th Century who, seemingly led by divine guidance, fought battles against impossible odds to free her people from English domination. Duster, citing this, said, though the comparison was more than a little strained, the efforts involved could be, in some ways, even more insurmountable.

“Joan had the advantage of rallying a generally sympathetic French people to a common patriotic cause. Ida Wells was not only opposed by Whites, but some of her own people were often hostile, impugning her motives,” Duster said. “Ida B. Wells was a Black woman born into slavery who began openly carrying her torch against lynching in the very South bent upon the degradation of the Blacks… and the measure of success she achieved goes far beyond the credit she has been given in the history of the country.”

Staff reporter William Box can be reached at wbox@dailyegyptian. com or on Twitter at @William17455137.

WILLIam Box | @WILLIam17455137

Peyton Cook | @_peytoncook_

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Firefighters head back down stairs March 25, 2023 at the City of Carbondale Fire Department Training area in Carbondale, Ill. | wgiessinger@dailyegyptian.com

Two firefighters start to go into the building March 25, 2023 at the City of Carbondale Department Training area in Carbondale, Ill. | wgiessinger@dailyegyptian.com

Courtney Looft poses before the fire training March 25, 2023 at the City of Carbondale Fire Department Training area in Carbondale, Ill. | wgiessinger@ dailyegyptian.com

Bad Axe Ladies check on their gear March 25, 2023 at the City of Carbondale Fire Department Training area in Carbondale, Ill. | wgiessinger@dailyegyptian.com

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Taking the stress out of buying a car

Ryan GRieseR | RGRieseR@dailyeGyptian com

The car buying process can be daunting for even established adults; for college students who are young in their financial life, it can be even scarier.

Terms like “interest rate,” “credit,” and “pre-qualified” fly around, often with students not knowing what they mean.

Isaac Norris and Kim Babington want to make sure you understand everything about buying a car, from financing to driving one off the lot.

Norris, a salesperson at locally and family-owned Vogler Ford in Carbondale, has a few things that students should be mindful of when purchasing a vehicle.

“Honesty is always the first thing… you want to be able to trust your salesperson. Make sure it’s a good running vehicle, that it’s in good shape.”

Norris also recommends doing a little bit of research before coming to a dealer.

“Definitely want to do a background report [such as a Carfax report]. Maybe even talk with the bank and make sure you know how much you can get qualified for and how much you can get approved for.”

After you find the car you want, there is a multitude of ways to finance.

Norris recommends financing through a dealership, although it should be noted doing so benefits the dealership.

“They’re able to pick out what bank is going to give the best [interest] rate, the best offer,” Norris said.

Another option for financing comes from the SIU Credit Union. Babington, the vice president of community outreach has advice about the process of buying a car and financing through an institution outside of a dealership.

“Have another adult with you. Know what you’re looking for. And make sure you are checking Carfax and the [Kelley] Blue Book value,” Babington said.

Babington also recommends visiting a financial institution and getting preapproved for financing before going to a dealership. That way, she said, you are more likely to get a lower interest rate on your loan, and you are less likely to be sold something you may not be able to easily afford. Of course, financial institutions have a vested interest in keeping the financing with them, since they earn the interest.

Interest rates are a critical part of any loan payment. The higher the interest rate, the more money you are going to end up paying. Interest rates are always going to be a part of any loan from a bank, dealership or credit union, as interest is how they make money.

Interest is essentially money that you pay the

bank for giving you a loan. You must pay back both the entire amount of money you borrowed, as well as the interest to the bank.

Babington, who has worked in the financial industry for 42 years, also suggests that students get loans that are specifically for cars rather than using their student loans to get a vehicle.

“My suggestion to a student is if you have a student loan, you use that only for your student purposes… take out what you just need.”

Credit is an important aspect to consider for a loan as well. Credit is a number based on your financial history that tells the place you are borrowing money from how likely you are to pay it back. A car loan is a great chance for you to build credit while still in college, whereas a student loan does not allow you to build credit because you are not currently paying it off.

“When you do an auto loan [through student loans], you are not building your credit,” Babington said.

She also said there isn’t really a “best” time to buy a car except for when it’s right for you, even if dealers are running promotions that seem appealing.

“That depends a lot on the dealers… you just have to be very, very careful with what you’re doing and how you’re doing it,” Babington said.

She has two final pieces of advice that she stresses.

“Go by a budget. A lot of people have a budget but don’t go by it. If you don’t have a budget, you can’t really be financially fit in the future… When you’re getting these loans, put them on automatic transfer so that you don’t forget to make your payments. That helps your credit and your credit score,” Babington said.

Paying attention to the full price of the vehicle is another important thing to remember; though you may be able to afford the monthly payment, you may be paying a much higher interest rate or a longer term loan than you really want to

World Baseball Classic has global impact; SIU players react

HowaRd woodaRd HwoodaRd@dailyeGyptian com

Team Japan won its third World Baseball Classic (WBC) last Tuesday as it defeated the U.S. by a 3-2 score. It summed up perfectly for baseball fans, with Los Angeles Angels teammates

Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout facing off in the top of the ninth with two outs in a one-run game. Two of the most talented players to ever play the sport going at it head-to-head as they played for their respective countries. Ohtani threw a nasty sweeping slider in a 3-2 count that Trout swung through as Japan celebrated being on top of the baseball world again. “Everyone wanted to see Ohtani versus Trout and it was the last batter of the game, but I think it’s pretty good for baseball and people want to see stuff like that,” Salukis outfielder Pier-Olivier Boucher said.

Boucher and his fellow SIU outfielder Matthew Vallee are both from Quebec, Canada. They room together and usually always try to have a baseball game on, no matter if it’s their home team, Toronto Blue Jays, or a World Baseball Classic semifinal match.

“When we’re back home, we just put a game on usually so whatever game’s on, if it’s the Jays, we just always have baseball on TV,” Vallee said.

Boucher said, “We did every day when we could, when we didn’t have no practice or nothing like we just watched on TV.”

Another teammate of theirs, Kaeber Rog, is a Curaçao native, and he was rooting hard for Team Netherlands during the WBC.

“I watched as most of it that I could watch. I watched Team Netherlands almost every game. It was a little harder because they played in Taiwan… it was like 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. every day…So I watched the beginning of games and for the end of the games, I watched highlights,” Rog said. “It’s the most fun baseball to watch in my opinion.”

Not only is it entertaining to watch, but it’s significant for the players as well. Several on the Dominican Republic team were asked a question posted on Instagram on which they would rather pick, winning the WBC or the World Series.

“Everything you do for your country has a bigger significance,” San Diego Padres hitter Nelson Cruz said.

Of the six players shown in that clip posted by La Vida Baseball, some said they had equal value, but no one picked the World Series outright.

“I think the MLB is obviously the best baseball in the world. But I think if you compare the WBC and Major League Baseball… the World Baseball Classic is more like…just straight everyday trying to win for your country,” Rog said.

Rog’s statement is backed up by the incredible audience that the WBC brought in over a twoweek period. The classic’s final game between Japan and the U.S. was broadcasted on Fox Sports One, which claims to have drawn 5.2 million viewers over the night. This makes Tuesday’s game the most-watched World Baseball Classic game ever. It trounced the initial record set by a matchup between the U.S. and Puerto Rico in 2017 that topped out at 3.05 million viewers.

The big takeaway is the reach to the global audience where countries outside of America shattered records as they watched and rooted for their teams. Two preliminary games in the tournament were found on a vast amount of televisions in several countries. The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico squared off in pool play where 61% of televisions in Puerto Rico turned on the game. A quarterfinal game where Japan and Italy faced off had 48% of households in Japan tuned in, according to the Clutch Points website.

Japan also hosted a game on March 12 against Australia in the Tokyo Dome. Ohtani smashed a ball 448 feet away in the first inning, and fan Yuma Akatsu caught it. Ryan General of NextShark detailed Akatsu’s experience after Ohtani hit the souvenir her way. She passed the ball to other fans around her where they got to take a quick picture and have a small moment with the ball as well.

“It was a great experience,” Akatsu told NextShark. “I’m really happy that I was able to share that experience with everyone else around.”

The ball made its way around to the 41,664 fans in attendance and eventually back to Akatsu. Compare that to a huge moment that took place late during the last MLB season: the fan who caught Albert Pujols’ milestone 700th home run at Dodger Stadium left the game shortly after getting it authenticated on site. Whether it was to later exchange it with Pujols for money and memorabilia or to escape the premises without getting bombarded for the piece of history, that ball definitely wasn’t getting passed around the stadium.

Another member of Team Japan was Saint Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar, who actually was born and raised in California. His mother, Kumiko Enokida, is Japanese, and Nootbaar was the first ever to join the Japan baseball team by virtue of ancestry in order to honor his mother. Even with the language barrier he faced upon arrival in Japan, Nootbaar became a Japanese sensation in no time.

“It’s been unbelievable,” he said.

His celebration after players recorded hits, making the action of a pepper grinder, was seen being done by fans throughout the Tokyo Dome. He gave his teammates pregame speeches as his personal translator converted the English into Japanese a few feet away. Over Japan’s World Baseball Classic championship run, the Cardinals’ new international superstar’s Instagram following has jumped to over 1 million followers. For reference, he began March at 50 thousand and is now equal in following to that the Cardinals have in total. After Japan beat the U.S. in the WBC final, Nootbaar gave the gold medal to his mom.

“Without her, none of this would be possible,” Nootbaar said.

A very intriguing story throughout the tournament was Tampa Bay Rays star Randy Arozarena. He was born and raised in Cuba, where he made a name for himself as one of the top players in the country at only 19 years old. But due to various circumstances, such as an embargo being placed on the island and then affecting the economic system, Arozarena left Cuba by taking the risky journey of rafting to Mexico in order to make the most out of his talent.

“You honestly just have to risk your life for your family. When you’re in the ocean, the only thing you’re thinking about and hoping for is that you get here,” Arozarena told MLB.com in 2020.

“There’s been people that are out in the ocean for days, months, and there are others that don’t make it because they die.”

But Arozarena survived the voyage, playing for several Mexican baseball clubs before signing an international deal with the Cardinals and later being traded to the Rays. But he still wasn’t a Mexican citizen even though he wanted to play for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic.

Arozarena pleaded for the President of Mexico to help in the process of earning his citizenship after WBC organizers lifted some restrictions on players being able to play for certain countries.

He officially became a Mexican citizen in April

2022 and qualified to play for the national team. He didn’t disappoint in his efforts to be a part of Team Mexico, as he slashed .450/.607/.900 with a home run, six doubles and 9 RBI. He also stood out in the outfield, with two huge catches, including robbing a home run in Mexico’s semifinal game against Japan. He virally posed with his arms crossed and a straight face after each of his signature moments. Even though Mexico didn’t reach its ultimate goal, Arozarena recognized his impact.

“I feel good because I know there are children who are now starting out in baseball and that is going to be a boost to grow their career,” Arozarena said in a post-game interview.

Team Mexico manager Benji Gil echoed Arozarena’s statements.

“These two weeks are going to attract so many players in Mexico, and Mexicans that live abroad. For that reason, I believe this was a victory even though we didn’t win today,” he said.

SIU alumni and San Francisco Giants pitching prospect Joey Marciano was also involved in the tournament, as he was selected for Team Italy, although not pitching. Marciano was drafted by the Giants in the 36th round of the 2017 MLB draft. After family circumstances forced an early retirement in 2019, Marciano returned to professional baseball the following year.

He has since been a consistent and reliable reliever in the Giant’s minor league system, recording a 3.66 ERA while striking out 121

batters in 105.2 innings pitched between the organization’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. He could possibly make his major league debut for the Giants this season.

Some more huge takeaway moments include early in the Classic when Czech Republic pitcher Ondrej Satoria, whose day job is being an electrician and who never topped 80 miles per hour on the mound, struck out Ohtani during Japan’s 10-2 victory. Satoria had Ohtani so out in front of the pitch, his helmet flew off and he fell to a knee on his swing. A few days later, they met as Ohtani asked for a signed jersey from the entire Czech Republic team and took a picture with Satoria.

“I really appreciated his post on Instagram. When he gives respect to us, it means a lot…we are amateurs, he is probably the best player who is playing baseball right now,” Satoria said. “I’ll put {the ball} somewhere in my living room. I got some dirt from the mound too, I’m going to put some in a bottle, and a picture of Ohtani when he’s swinging at my changeup.”

Moments like the ones described are the reason baseball was, at least for two weeks, the most popular sport in the U.S. The World Baseball Classic was a step in the right direction for baseball to show the true capabilities it holds as a sport.

Sports reporter Howard Woodard can be reached at hwoodard@dailyegyptian.com.

DePron steps up to the plate for her senior season

Joei Younker JYounker@dailYegYptian com

SIU softball player Aubree DePron came into the 2023 softball season with a different outlook than previous years. Having played at Southern Illinois her whole collegiate career, the Oklahoma native has been an amazing asset for the team.

Ending her sophomore and junior seasons hitting in the .270 batting percentage range, DePron stepped up to the plate for her senior season ready to leave her mark on SIU softball.

She started the season on fire with a .636 batting average, a .667 on-base percentage and an eight game hitting streak tallying 14 hits. These can all be attributed to her new-found confidence and aggression when she goes up to the plate.

“I’ve simplified my mentality at the plate: put the ball in play, trust your speed, and make the defense work,” DePron said

Although the Women’s Liberation Front was successful at entering some of the trustees’ meetings, despite not being able to get on the agenda, they were widely disregarded by the trustees for not being a registered student organization at the time, and inevitably due to the sexism of the time, for being women, with trustees mainly asking about what the male students thought about the matter. On May 17, before the walkout, President Morris took a tearful Pat Handlin aside, and told her that it “might not be time to press the issue right now.” As is often the case in matters of civil rights, the diminished stature of women left WLF with no choice but to appeal to the rest of the student body and their male supporters, who were taken more seriously by administration.

“We are planning campus walkouts every night until something changes,” said Judy Micheals, a member of the WLF. After the abolishment of the women’s hours by the Student Senate on May 15, and the walkout on the 20th, came consequences. Female students were threatened with “campusing” an infantilizing disciplinary action forcing women to spend a certain number of hours in their dormitory library or rooms, as well as disciplinary probation, a status which could see them expelled if they continued on to violate the rules in any way. Administration attempted to make assurances to the students, claiming that only women that already had histories of rule breaking would be disciplined for the walkouts, but the student government was having none of it, unwilling to accept any punishments or warnings for the

The Salukis started their season with two tournaments. The first was in Fort Myers, Florida, where the Salukis went 4-0 on the week. The second was in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where they took on Kansas, Ole Miss, North Dakota State and Sacramento State going 2-2, beating Kansas and Sacramento State, teams they wouldn’t normally see.

The latter was the game DePron said the Salukis started putting the puzzle together.

“The first game that comes to mind is Sacramento State, being in Mexico playing was an experience in itself, but we also played a really good game. All the pieces were coming together, hitting, defense and pitching,” DePron said.

As of March 26th, DePron is hitting .400 and is ranked 53rd on the D1 Softball national batting statistics. She also sits in the top 10 of the conference for hitting categories like total runs, total hits, on base percentage and even

students’ actions, which were not a rule violation under the student government’s bill.

The Student Senate itself staged a sit-in on President Morris’ own lawn in protest of any disciplinary action against female students taking part in the walkouts, approved democratically by its own 15-8 vote, with only the senators who voted in favor participating. Feeling responsible for the women who acted under the shield of the senate’s bill, they agreed to sit on the lawn until women’s hours were abolished and walkouts were granted amnesty, or until the participating members were expelled from the school. This was supported by the WLF, which asked any women experiencing discipline for the walkout to contact the Student Senate. At this point, a local attorney by the name of Julian Bond even considered taking the issue to court, as the school was thought to be in violation of Federal Civil rights laws, and Illinois State law.

When the lawn sit-in happened, not just the Student Senate, but more than 2,000 students showed up, all on President Morris’ lawn, including a hard rock band which played for 3 hours until the police showed up and demanded they stop or be “disbanded.” The band only left when 30 SIU security officers showed up equipped with riot gear and nightsticks.

“Girls, you have no hours,” said Carl Courtnier, a Small Group Housing senator who spoke first at the event. “The senate has already abolished them.”

Students were told by administrative aide Paul Morrill that the sit-in “could have no positive effect, only a negative one” but also that no action would be taken against students unless they violated the law.

stolen bases.

When it comes to the changes DePron made to get to this place, she said her biggest focus was cutting down on strikeouts; last season, she tallied 27 strikeouts in 151 at bats, making for almost an 18% strikeout rate. DePron has cut that percentage down by almost 10% this year, with only seven K’s in 85 at-bats.

“That’s 27 at bats that I didn’t put the ball in play and give myself a chance to get on base. Becoming more aggressive and jumping on the first pitch I like has helped me improve a lot,” she said.

Not only has DePron started off the season well, but so has the team as a whole. The Salukis lead the Valley in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, total bases, rbis and runs scored by wide margins, making for perhaps the best team in the conference at the moment.

With a coaching change during the 2022 season, the Salukis had

Crowds continued visiting Morris’ lawn every night, constructing an effigy of the president and hanging it from his roof on the second night, much to the chagrin of the administration. Meanwhile, the Student Senate was able to convince faculty to discuss the matter with students in official class time, and the measure was endorsed by Chancellor McVickar, who encouraged faculty to discuss the issue formally and informally.

As the nights on Morris’ lawn continued, criticism from administration was levied against the confrontational tactics of the protestors. Some students were persuaded, and requested that the demonstration be moved to SIU’s stadium, but were quickly outvoted by a loyalist core of students.

Lorek addressed the crowd of more than 400 students on Morris’ lawn, claiming to be studying the issue of women’s hours for the WLF. He said that he would present a case against women’s hours to the student board of trustees, and would file a lawsuit if the board proved unreceptive.

On the third day of the Morris lawn sit-in, Courtnier resigned from the student council, and started a hunger strike on Morris’ lawn, to continue until the same demands as those sitting in were met; that women’s hours were abolished and the women participating in the walkouts were granted amnesty. His hunger strike was to be short lived, disrupted by upwelling of radical students at the sit-ins on Morris’ lawn. Students were spotted with molotov cocktails, scaring the student senators and other protest leaders, who had almost lost control of the protest on previous nights. This, paired with a compromise struck between the student body vice president, Pete

some adjustments to attend to.

New head coach Jen Sewell took time during the team’s pre-season to work on its chemistry and how the Salukis played together. From having the Saluki Shakers teach the team their half time dance to group yoga classes, the team’s chemistry has been at an all time high.

The 2023 season is one of the best starts in Saluki softball history, and that is attributed a lot to the growing chemistry of the group. DePron said that there have been games when the team hasn’t put the three pieces (hitting, defense and pitching) together, but they have found a way to pull through and find a way to win.

“I think the love for the sport that every girl on the team has has gotten us to where we are at. In our minds we are always winning the game, even when we’re down no one gets nervous or tight,” she said.

Looking forward to the

Rozzell, and Chancellor MacVicar signaled the end to the Morris lawn sit-ins and the hunger strike. Allegedly, MacVicar promised that female students would only receive warning letters.

However, resistance to women’s hours remained very much alive, as some students from the demonstrations continued the protest across the street from Morris’ house as well as in a dome near campus lake for several more days.

Even parents wrote the Daily Egyptian with criticism of women’s hours criticizing the “3 - M company” (Morris, MacVicar, and Moulton) for women’s hours committees’ new, parental-consent centered plan, calling it arbitrary and discriminatory.

“They are playing with the natural reluctance of parents to give up their hold on their children, a reluctance difficult enough to overcome without the interference of self-righteous administrative elitists,” said Glenda and Patrick Engrissei, parents of two female students. “They are using, in fact fostering, divisions between parent and student, when it should be a function of the university to heal these splits. In essence, the proposed plan makes the administration an enemy of both parent and student.”

On June 8, fire broke out in four separate places in the Old Main building, destroying 24 classrooms. The building was found to be unsalvageable, and demolition crews were called in. Later in June, arson was announced to be the cause of the fire. The draft for the Vietnam war had begun to take effect, and the issue of women’s hours was largely forgotten, as the political environment on campus became a blazing inferno to match that of historic Old Main.

remainder of the season, DePron said, “I’m just excited to see how far this team is going to make it.”

The hardest part of the game for any athlete is the mental aspect, especially with a sport like softball. DePron’s personal goal for the remainder of the season is to stay confident in herself and her skills.

“I think this is something that I struggle with the most, remembering to trust myself,” she said.

Sitting a-top of the conference’s overall record at 23-5 on the season, DePron and the Salukis have a good opportunity to make a run in the postseason.

“I just want to keep having fun and competing with these girls, I think this team has high expectations and we want to make it far,” DePron said.

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

However, some scraps of information are still available in the years following the movement. The women hours committee finished its work about a year after its inception, on August 15, finalizing the university’s new policy of allowing all female students in good standing to choose their own hours, with the condition that those under the age of 21 were required to get parental permission. Along the way, a member of the WLF quit the committee, finding it to be ineffective at granting women equality on campus. Over the course of the protests against women’s hours, those who opposed them were often criticized for being uncompromising in their pursuit of equality, but were largely supported by women surveyed by the women’s hours committee. Less than 6% of women chose to stick with the school’s current regulations - the one’s so widely protested by the Action party and the WLF. 30% chose unconditional self regulated hours for all women, bringing them to total equality with male students. 50% choose self regulatory hours for all women students but freshman. The committee did little to address female students’ opposition to requiring parental consent.

Today, as students face an all time high in political polarization, a widening class divide, a cold war in danger of reigniting, and debt-inducing tuition rates (with a lawsuit suppressing the Biden administration’s forgiveness of student loans), it’s difficult to believe we are incapable of the same levels of political mobilization as students were in the ‘70s.

Staff reporter Daniel Bethers can be reached at dbethers@dailyegytian.com

Can you even tie your shoes?

Sometimes I get so bored in my biology lecture, my mind starts to wander and my attention starts to fade; I catch myself looking around the room for no reason other than to distract myself from my surroundings. I’ll be completely honest, I am usually taking a good gander at the room and thinking about my classmates’ clothing. Sweatpants and hoodies, nothing too exciting, and I’ll give them some grace because it is a Tuesday at nine in the morning.

I take my survey of coats, hats and scarves, then bob my head towards the floor to peek at the shoes. This time, I noticed something that I hadn’t noticed before, and of course had to psychoanalyze to the nth degree. Women’s shoes almost always have laces, while mens shoes now almost never have laces. This observation made me sit up in my uncomfortable seat in Lawson, raise an eyebrow and curl my toes in embarrassment at the fact that I was wearing laceless shoes at that very moment.

I was raised in a stereotypical boy way. Though I was a bit feminine, I was rough and tumble, dirty, and meaner than all get-out. My mother, being so modern, yet so old fashioned, had a tendency to baby my brother and I due to our gender. This was not obvious to me as a child, but as an adult, I am able to see even to this day the blatant over-affection for “her two boys.”

My older brother by five years, Trey, or “Treyboy” was the first boy to arrive after three girls. Treyboy is gentle, kind and really doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. He is a bit of a pushover sometimes but holds his own quite well. If you were to ask my brother if he thought he was the favorite child of our mothers, he would chuckle and deny it, but the truth of the matter is that he is, and that is because he is the only stereotypical boy. He played every sport in the book, broke things by accident and was slightly helpless up until adulthood.

Society has a tendency to baby men. It starts from the moment they come into this world and doesn’t end until they are in the ground. Old traditions have set us on this path where we cater towards men, of course, but very specifically manly men. This frustrates me because I catch myself falling into these primitive beliefs. Sadly, my type is tall, dumb, helpless and manly. There is nothing better than grabbing a man’s hands and feeling a little bit of rough texture from doing hard work, or the way they always look slightly disheveled, but that’s just because they can’t keep up with the conversation.

It is easy for me to see in my head, a mother in years past stitching together garments for her husbands and sons and making specific choices that not only live up to fashion standards, but also simplify the whole thing for the sheer fact that it needs to be easier for men.

You could argue that fashion styles and such dictate how simple a man’s garment is, and I concur. Of course, in recent times, men’s garments consist of jogger sweatpants, jeans and not much else but perhaps an Under Armour hoodie. Still, men’s garments have always been far less complicated than women’s, in both detail and construction.

I would love to imagine that the women creating these garments are saving the pretty frills and such for themselves, but, no, most of the time, the women gave their spouses the better materials, as he was head of the household and deserved it. I can’t stand that mindset; it’s so outdated. The whole “father eats first” mentality.

Although I have a soft spot for manly men, there are some traits that usually come along

with them that irritate me. Staring around at all the mens shoes in my lecture that are lacking laces, I get caught up thinking about my frustrations with my own gender. Just because some men have laces, doesn’t mean they know what to do with them.

“I’m not judging you,” I said through my partially gritted teeth to a boy as I pulled his size 11 foot to my knee. I felt the embarrassment in his body as he shakingly balanced himself in a position for me to tie his laces, as he had just heartfeltly admitted to not being able to tie his own shoes correctly. At that point, I could overlook just about anything, and most of the time, not think anything of it, but this was a real ick. I narrowed my face in discomfort from being snapped back to reality. I asked him why nobody ever taught him, and he could not find an answer. Somehow, this boy had gotten through his childhood and teen years without knowing how to tie his own shoes. As long as I knew him, I found myself drawing up his foot in public like a mother and tying his laces. After so long, I stopped noticing myself and my own embarrassment doing it, but rather other people doing it too.

I still see it, almost daily. If you go to the student center during rush times, you are sure to see some boy standing there a little embarrassed as his girlfriend makes bunny ears on his Nikes.

Here’s the kicker, they’re adapting. Of course, slip on boots have existed for quite some time, but I don’t know if you have heard of the brand “Hey Dude.” This shoe brand started in 2008 and originally carried only mens shoes. They are made of sustainable materials, they’re comfortable and the most important aspect about them is that they don’t tie. All you have to do when you own these shoes is slip them on and at most, hook your finger in the back to get it around your heel. They sound like a dream for anyone on the go, but they also sound like a good way for a man to get through life without ever having to worry about remembering how to tie his shoes.

“Men’s clothing” (and I use quotes because can we actually define a piece of clothing by gender?) is always designed in this leisurely manner. The pockets are always deeper, the denim is always sturdier and somehow there is much better quality. For the crowd that I don’t think would genuinely care about quality clothing, the industry sure puts in a whole lot more effort than they do for any standard women’s garment. Take it from me, who has a fine collection of both genders’ garments, my men’s clothing is always a better quality and almost every girl knows that too. So many women know better than to buy that overpriced but cheaply made stuff that they call women’s clothing and to go get their jeans and T-shirts from the mens department.

Now, I want to address the other men who might be reading this: acknowledge your privilege.

I want you to remember everytime that you pull up your Levi jeans over your butt that those jeans have pockets that are functional, they more than likely will not rip from basic human movements and they were specifically designed to be easy for you. I want you to look at every piece of clothing you own and inspect it; think about how it evolved to get to where it is today. Do these statements make you feel uncomfortable? Are you too macho to care? Can you even tie your shoes?

aaron elliott | aelloitt@dailYegYptian com

Yarauseth Zavala | yzavala@dailyegyptian

Daily Dawgs: Parvo and the importance of proper vet care

Erica Loos | ELoos@daiLyEgyptian com

Hi guys! It’s me Rufus! Guess what I got to do last week! I got to go to Striegel Animal Hospital for a visit to meet Dr. Doggett! It was so much fun! I got lots of pets, scratches, good treats and tasted peanut butter for the first time! Do you guys know about peanut butter? It’s the best ever! Mom had talked to Dr. Doggett before we went there, and she told her that they’ve been seeing a lot of puppies coming into their clinic with parvo.

I know all about parvo. It is seriously bad news. When I was just a little fella, I got really sick with it. Me and Mom talk about it sometimes, and she always gets tears in her eyes when she tells me how glad she is that I stayed with her. I’ll tell you about when I was sick in a little bit, but first I’m going to have Mom tell you what parvo is and what Dr. Doggett said about it.

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On its website, the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University defines canine parvovirus (CPV) as “a highly contagious viral disease of dogs that commonly causes acute gastrointestinal illness in puppies. The disease most often strikes in pups between six and 20 weeks old, but older animals are sometimes also affected.”

Dr. Brandy Doggett of Striegel Animal Hospital in Carbondale said there has been a spike in parvo cases in the area recently.

“I did a brief look […] and between March of 2019 and March of 2022, we had only had three puppies that we suspected might have parvo, that we tested for parvo. In the year since March of 2022, until March of this year, we have tested 15 […] and I can’t even tell you how many of those were positive. It’s just, there are so many,” Doggett said.

CPV is a very aggressive virus that carries a high mortality rate. According to the National Institute of Health website, CPV “affects unvaccinated, insufficiently vaccinated, or improperly vaccinated dogs and results in a fatality rate greater than 90% if left untreated.”

Part of what makes CPV so deadly is the risk of dehydration due to diarrhea and vomiting in infected dogs, which is deadly in itself, but then further leaves the patient susceptible to secondary infection. Doggett was able to provide some information on how that happens.

“The lining from their intestines sluffs off, and then all the bacteria that live in the intestines, that are supposed to be there, get into the bloodstream and they become septic. That, and the dehydration, both of those are devastating,” she said.

Doggett said the best way to guard against infection with CPV is to vaccinate puppies against the virus. She further indicated that vaccinations from a licensed vet, rather than purchasing vaccines over the counter, are the best way to go in providing adequate preventative measures.

“[…] we had one puppy, unfortunately, a few weeks ago that passed away and he had been vaccinated with vaccines from the local farm store. And [over-the-counter vaccines are] not always treated correctly; staying cold, not frozen, not getting too hot. So the vaccines aren’t always going to protect and we’re just seeing more and more of

it,” Doggett said.

The main thing that Doggett and the staff at Striegel want the public to know is that CPV is “highly, highly contagious” and can live in the ground for an extended period of time.

“[I]t lives everywhere in the ground. If the ground is contaminated, and it can stay contaminated for anywhere from six months to five years, depending on who you ask. And so, if you have a puppy or a dog that has parvo, you probably would not be wise to get another puppy that has not completed its round of vaccines before you bring it into your home. Just because it does live in the soil, it can be in your floors, in your sofa. […] And it’s just absolutely contagious,” Doggett advised.

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Ok, back to me! Let me take you back to the fall of 2015 when I was only about four months old. It was Sunday, Sept. 13, and Mom noticed I wasn’t feeling quite like myself. I should tell you, too, that back then I had a brother named Sunny, who was a Mountain Cur. He hadn’t been part of the family for very long yet; Mom said it was just a few weeks. She said we both vomited in our kennels sometime in the night, and the rest of the day we weren’t acting like our usual selves, so she decided that she would call the vet the next morning and try to get us in for an appointment. When we got to the doctor’s office, they did a test and told mom that we were both positive for parvo. I could tell that made her upset because she started to cry. She talked to the vet for a long time about stuff I don’t really remember, so I’ll let her tell you.

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At the time, the vet I took them to gave me a wealth of information and options available for treatment. Hospitalization, which was the most effective option, with a survival rate of roughly 80%, involved intravenous fluids and antibiotics to guard against dehydration and secondary infection. Home care has a survival rate of about 20% and involves administering subcutaneous fluids several times per

day. The last option was humane euthanasia, which I was told not to feel guilty for considering as the virus is aggressive and devastating for a dog to go through, and often, without hospitalization, the dog will not survive. I wasn’t able to afford roughly $1,600 for hospitalization, so I made the decision to go with the home care option.

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Did I mention my mom was really upset? By the time we left, she took a lot of stuff home with her from the vet’s office – needles, a big bag filled with some kind of liquid and some tubes. When we got home, she made me and Sunny pallets on the kitchen floor, under a window we liked to look out of, out of old pillows and comfy blankets. She told us that we would need to be good boys and just rest because we were very sick. It turns out the needles, liquid and tubes were for us, too. She hammered a nail into the window frame above our pallets and hung the bag of liquid from it.

Then the bad stuff started happening. She took the needles and stabbed us with them! Then the liquid started filling up underneath our skin. She kept saying it was something called subcutaneous fluids, but I don’t know what that means. Mom said it was very important that we stay hydrated because we were so sick. We didn’t like it, but we laid very still for her while she gave us the fluids.

As the days went on, me and Sunny kept feeling worse and worse. We didn’t even feel like playing! Any time we ate our food, we would get sick and vomit. Water didn’t even want to stay in our bellies. Then one night, Mom said it was Thursday, Sept. 17, Sunny wasn’t doing very well. Mom got worried and called an emergency vet to see if there was anything else she could do, but while she was on the phone with them, mom said Sunny passed away.

Mom cried a lot and kept telling him she was sorry. I wanted to go cuddle her to make her feel better, but I was very weak. I hadn’t been able to keep any food or water down in a while, so I had trouble getting up and walking around. But I did

my best to comfort her from my pallet on the floor. I didn’t see Sunny again after that. Mom said he went over the Rainbow Bridge, where there is a big field that dogs can run and play in, and they aren’t old, or hurt or sick there!

Over the next few weeks, mom kept filling up little pockets of fluid under my skin and sitting on the floor with me talking to me, telling me that I was such a brave boy and how much she loved me and begging me to stay with her. And I did! One day, I felt like eating and went to my bowl, but there was no food in it. Mom put some different kind of food, not my regular dry kibble, onto a paper plate on the floor for me to eat. It was great! It was wet and soft; it tasted so good, I scarfed it up in no time! That made Mom very excited!

I must have eaten too much too quickly, because it made my belly hurt and the food didn’t stay down. That made Mom worry. She said maybe she gave me too much all at once, and next time she would put less on the plate. And it worked! The next time I was able to keep the food in my belly! We did that several times per day, and eventually I was able to eat a whole can and keep it in my belly!

After about a month from the time I first went to the vet, mom took me back for a check-up. The doctor was really happy to see me! And guess what! He said I was all better! That made mom so happy that she started crying again. Humans can be very confusing sometimes.

Well, I’m all out of time now, but Mom wanted to say one last thing before we go. - - - - - - - - - -

My dogs and I went through weeks of hell. Rufus survived, but Sunny didn’t, and it didn’t have to be that way. I failed my dogs, but you don’t have to. Please get your dogs vaccinated by a trusted veterinarian because you owe it to your dogs to care for them properly.

Love, Rufus & Mom

Day Starr-Fleming | @daydreamingddrawings

Sophie Whitten

Sophie Whitten swhitten@dailyegyptian.com