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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022
VOL. 105, ISSUE 14
A look at Ketanji Jackson’s career after supreme court confirmation Ethan Braun | ebraun@dailyegyptian.com
“Her experience at this point [is] head and shoulders above many of her peers at this point in her career.”
On Thursday, April 7, the Senate voted 53-47 to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve as the first Black woman on the United States Supreme Court. It’s a historic moment and one that’s had a good deal of lead-up and attention from Jackson’s senate hearings in recent weeks. Reyna Herrera, president of the Women’s Law Forum at Southern Illinois University (SIU), said she believes that the new opportunities for diversity Jackson will bring with her to the court will be valuable. “Although the Supreme Court has gotten more diverse over the last few decades, the Court is still predominantly white males,” Herrera said. “I think it is important to have a racially and ethnically diverse Court that represents the United States because that ensures that everyone’s voices will be heard.” Jackson is set to replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer as soon as he retires this summer. Like many law practitioners before her, Jackson spent several years studying at Harvard Law, eventually graduating with a Law degree in 1996. One of the most notable moments in her time at Harvard was when a fellow student hung a Confederate flag from the window of their dormitory, prompting Jackson and several others to protest. Jackson spent several years working as a clerk for various judges in Massachusetts and Washington D.C. after graduating Harvard, before serving as a clerk to the judge she would eventually be nominated to replace, Stephen Breyer. While her clerkship did matter by allowing her to establish connections in Washington, what arguably sets Jackson apart from the rest of the current judges in the Supreme Court is the time she spent as a public defender. She spent two and half years representing clients who were unable to afford private lawyers. She will be the first Supreme Court Justice with this kind of experience since Thurgood Marshall retired in 1991. Politicians championing Jackson’s experience argue the time spent defending
poor and vulnerable defendants would put her in a better position to rule in cases affecting the public than the rest of her peers. Those opposed to Jackson’s nomination argue that this experience may cause her to make rulings perceived as being “light on crime.” Herrera says she believes Jackson’s prior experience in public defense could be a valuable asset. “Being a public defender means long hours and intense cases with sometimes very little reward,” Herrera said. “I believe the work ethic and mindset required to be able to handle that job will translate well into the role of a Justice on the Supreme Court.” During her time in public defense, another highlight of Judge Jackson’s career was the time she spent at Guantánamo Bay, the highly controversial military detention camp that’s been used to contain suspected and confirmed terrorists from the U.S. wars in the Middle East with a long history of waterboarding and other forms of torture. During her time there, Judge Jackson represented four defendants. Among the defendants were various enemy combatants accused of having connections with Al-Qaeda or the Taliban. All four defendants were eventually ruled to be not guilty and were
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Activists react to new hate crime measure: Lynching added to list of hate crimes
- Daniel Asonye Law School Democrats President
‘Elden Ring’ re-establishes what video games can achieve
defendants she represented Dustin Clark | @dustinclark.oof
transferred out to other countries. Speaking on her role at Guantánamo, James Jones, president of the Black Law Student Association (BLSA), said her work at the detention camp should be separated from her political positions and endorsements. “I believe her work at Guantanamo Bay is noteworthy only because of the crimes [they]
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SalukiCon making a comeback
were being charged with,” Jones said. “I do not believe that the work she did there in any way reflects her support for those crimes. Her work was exactly what we expect from every criminal defense attorney. Our adversarial system of justice doesn’t work without zealous representation on both sides.” Please see JACKSON | 3
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SIU Camfest hosts Little Muddy Media Festival
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Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Activists react to new hate crime measure Lynching added to list of hate crimes
Joel Kottman | @JoelKottman
Activists respond after President Biden signed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act into law March 29. “I am pleased that the federal government has finally made lynching a hate crime, but I am sorry that it took so long and so many tries,” said Cindy Buys, a commissioner for the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes. Buys said the first bill to make lynching a federal crime was introduced into Congress more than 100 years ago and it has failed dozens of times over the last century. She said the latest bill was introduced in 2019 by retiring Illinois congressman Bobby Rush, but it did not receive enough votes in both houses of Congress to pass until recently. “This is because, prior to the Civil Rights era, antilynching bills often died in the Senate due to a lack of support from southern senators where the majority of these lynchings occurred,” Buys said. The bill was passed unanimously by the U.S. House of Representatives on February 28 and by the U.S. Senate on March 7. Under federal law, a hate crime is one that is motivated by bias against the victim based on a protected personal characteristic such as race, gender or religion. Emmett Till was a 14-year-old boy who was abducted, tortured and killed in 1955 in Mississippi by a group of white men after Emmett was accused by a white woman of whistling at her and touching her. The woman later recanted her accusation. Buys said lynching became a tool to suppress Black people, particularly after the Civil War when former slaves were declared free. “According to a report by Equal Justice Initiative, there were more than 4,000 racially motivated lynchings in the U.S. between 1877 and 1950. These racially-motivated lynchings are a form of vigilantism that threatens the rule of law, Buys said. Buys said the Anti-Lynching Act acknowledges a horrific part of U.S. history that we often do not want to talk about and that people need to acknowledge the past to assist in healing and reconciliation. They also need to learn from it and prevent such crimes from happening again, she said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin (D) said the legislation explicitly designates lynching as a hate crime and, while lynching may be yesterday’s issue to many, it reflects one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s past. Durbin said we should not ignore the reality that at least 56 documented lynchings occurred in Illinois from 1877-1950 and that Till’s history is our history. Buys said, “Acknowledging the bias of the perpetrator is important to understanding why hate crimes are committed and creating strategies to root out bias and prevent it from causing harm in the future.”
She noted the U.S. still has racially motivated murders today, such as the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in 2020. These present-day racially motivated crimes demonstrate that more work needs to be done, Buys said. Durbin said this legislation was a reckoning of one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history and that acknowledging and reflecting on the Jim Crow era is an important aspect of healing and moving forward from the atrocities of the era. “This legislation is just the beginning. In Congress, we are still fighting for racial equity in the context of voting rights, economic development, health care outcomes, education and more,” Durbin said. Buys said she hopes, by acknowledging this terrible past, we can learn from it and move forward to a better future with less bias, hatred and violence. “The Illinois Commission on Hate Crimes and Discrimination is studying hate crimes and how they can best be prevented. While our work is not complete, I believe that education and training to recognize our biases, learn to respect one another and value our differences is an important part of preventing future hate crimes,” Buys said. Durbin said across the country, there have continued to be violent, racially-motivated attacks against religious and ethnic minorities and communities of color. “Last year, President Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act following a spike in hate incidents targeting the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. I was a proud co-sponsor of the legislation, which will improve the Department of Justice (DOJ) and local law enforcement’s response to these hate crimes,” Durbin said. Buys said she hopes people will take this opportunity to learn more about the history of lynching and other hate crimes and take steps in their communities to proactively address bias and hate in a positive and constructive way to prevent further harm. Durbin said he hopes U.S. residents will learn about the atrocities of the Jim Crow era and recommit themselves to the civil rights issues of our time. Buys urged people who want to learn more to participate in public hearings of the Illinois Commission on Hate Crimes and Discrimination. More information can be found on the group’s website. Staff reporter Joel Kottman can be reached at jkottman@dailyegyptian.com and on Twitter: @ JoelKottman.
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Wednesday, April 20, 2022
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Illinois Humanities casts spotlight on criminal justice system and racism Joel Kottman | @JoelKottman
The latest exhibition by Illinois Humanities, Envisioning Justice Re: Action, highlights the issues of mass incarceration and its disproportionate impact on Black people. It is virtual and accessible from anywhere in Carbondale and Southern Illinois. The organization, based out of Chicago, uses the arts and humanities to raise awareness about important social justice issues. Executive director Gabrielle Lyons said the original idea for this project was initially shortterm and designed to work with communities highly impacted by mass incarceration in Chicago. She said when the original exhibition came to a close, she realized the group needed a longer-term initiative to continue to empower activists and artists to have those much needed conversations. “Our communities, particularly communities far away from Chicago are deeply connected to communities in Chicago in some ways through the injustice of the way the carceral system works,” Lyons said. The program manager for Envisioning Justice and Illinois Humanities, Tyreece Williams, said so many visited that original exhibition that he wanted to create another space for people to engage and interact with. “Our mandate is to be in service to the entire state of Illinois, so we made a virtual interactive platform for our viewers to engage in,” Williams said.
“The topics in the exhibition are critical and necessary for us to understand and to talk about if we really want to get to a place of healing.” - Tyreece Williams Envisioning Justice and Illinois Humanities program manager
Illinois Humanities began by calling for commissions and asking for artists interested in creating new works to help people envision a future without mass incarceration. The group commissioned 14 artists, mostly from Illinois, and worked with them to create prompts, then on creating a website that was easily accessible and user friendly. “Some folks are formerly incarcerated and experiencing reentry, so their projects help us understand their experience,” Lyons said. Chicago filmmaker Joshua Jackson is working on a six-minute, 10-episode documentary highlighting stories of people who successfully transitioned from prison back into society. Jackson did an episode on Nicole Coco Davis, who is setting up transitional housing in Chicago and Northwest Indiana for Envisioning Justice. The episode told the story of how her not having resources when she got out of prison affected her. “After we talked and built up trust, she agreed to be a part of the documentary. Due to the pandemic, we had to socially distance ourselves,
but I was able to document the process of her setting up her transitional homes,” Jackson said. Jackson said he hopes his piece helps people understand that it’s important not to dwell on the past but rather focus on the future. “Yes, Nicole went to prison, but it’s what she’s doing now that matters and the best part was setting up transitional homes to help others successfully transition back into society,” Jackson said. Jackson said he wants people to look at what she’s doing and share their resources while working to be advocates. Williams said the topics of the works range from police torture to healing. There is also a toolkit filled with interactive activities for participants to explore as part of the main exhibition. Lyons said there’s a podcast as part of the main exhibition that explores local and international acts of creative resistance as well as encouraging people to drink tea while listening to the podcast. “It’s important to use that shared moment for something as simple as a cozy cup of tea, as a vehicle for coming together,” Lyons said. Lyons said there is a collaboration called Unbarred Poetics for people to watch videos of four poets and then have a structured conversation as well as a two-part puppet play in Spanish. “This play is looking at the ripple effects of harm on communities but they’re doing it through an experimental puppet play,” Lyons said. Jackson’s toolkit idea goes along with the theme of transitional housing. “I asked people to find shelters, transitional homes or halfway houses where they lived, figure out what they needed, and mark where it is so we can create a map for people who need those resources,” Jackson said. Lyons said participants can also download templates and activities from the toolkit like how
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to write a play from scratch, how to make the puppets and how to lead discussions based on prompts. Williams said Envisioning Justice has micro grant opportunities on their website and will be giving out $1,000 micro grants to people who want to use the prompts or exhibition works to facilitate group activities. “We want as many people across the state to be engaged [as possible] so, if people are interested in bringing a group of folks together to engage with the works of the exhibition, I highly encourage them to look at our micro grants opportunity,” Williams said. Williams said he hopes the site has longevity and that it reaches a lot of people. “The topics in the exhibition are critical and necessary for us to understand and to talk about if we really want to get to a place of healing,” Williams said. Lyons said the first step to combating racism is moving the conversation, which has been in the shadows for years, into the forefront. She said the issue of racism has to be made mainstream to enable people to stretch their imaginations and visualize alternatives. Lyons said the next step is shining a light on the artists and activists who are doing highly impactful and amazing work directly with communities. “For social justice to happen, it has to center the voices, people and experiences most impacted by the injustice and our project has been extremely focused on that,” Lyons said. Lyons said she hopes they can host more inperson events to enable people to engage with the tools in-person as well as sharing it across the state of Illinois. Staff reporter Joel Kottman can be reached at jkottman@dailyegyptian.com and on Twitter: @ JoelKottman.
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In the span of four years, Jackson went from private practice at a D.C.-based law firm to the D.C. court of appeals, which she joined with bipartisan support after being nominated twice by President Barack Obama. The D.C. court is largely seen as the nation’s second-most influential court, only behind the Supreme Court itself. At the hearing for her nomination in 2012, former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who is related to Jackson by marriage, had glowing things to say about her qualifications. “Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji’s intellect, for her character [and] for her integrity is unequivocal,” Ryan said. “She’s an amazing person, and I favorably recommend her consideration.” Since her time at the DC Circuit court, Judge Jackson gained attention briefly in 2018 when she ruled that Don McGahn, a counsel to the then-president Donald Trump administration, must comply in testifying in the at-the-time ongoing probe into Trump’s connections with Russia, despite orders from Trump to do otherwise. She famously called
out Trump, stating “presidents are not kings” and that “no one is above the law.” It is also worth noting that Jackson sided with the Trump administration in 2019 in dismissing an environmental agency’s claims that the administration had overstepped its boundaries in building a border wall between Mexico and New Mexico. Given a long line of experience, Daniel Asonye, president of the Law School Democrats, says he believes that Judge Jackson will be a valuable addition to the Supreme Court. “Her experience at this point [is] head and shoulders above many of her peers at this point in her career,” Asonye said. “She brings a comprehensive perspective of our legal system, pre-trial, post-trial, appellate, criminal and civil. It’s really quite impressive, and I’m proud of the experience that she stands to bring to the Court.” Staff reporter Ethan Braun can be reached at ebraun@dailyegyptian.com.
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News
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
School of Media Arts presents faculty showcase
Joel Kottman | @JoelKottman
When four buttons were simultaneously pressed, the corresponding computer screens lit up with videos of H.D. Motyl, the associate dean of CAM, shaving his head. The Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Media Arts presented a faculty showcase Monday, April 11 from 7-9 p.m. as part of the College of Arts and Media (CAM) Festival. The projects presented at the showcase ranged from those meant for the big screen to still images and videos. Motyl said he was inspired by the pandemic to make this video, because his hair had become too long and he needed to cut it. “There’s a photographer named Barbara Probst who does these still photographs and covers moments with two to 10 cameras, and I’ve always wanted to do something like that,” Motyl said. Motyl said he had other scenarios in mind but chose this project because he needed to cut his hair, he had all the equipment and no students were using it. “I got the equipment room manager, Connor Felson, to help me and so I was able to cut my hair while doing an experiment in video-making,” Motyl said. Artist Aidan Levoi had an art project where she set up various figurines in looping circles to represent birth, death and chaos. Levoi said she based the written description of the art piece on her own unique language. “It’s based on the rules of Middle English, as well as some rules of Latin, German and Spanish. I really like how in Spanish, there’ll be a question mark upside down at the beginning, or an exclamation
point upside down at the beginning, because then you don’t have to get to the end of the sentence to know if it’s a question or an exclamation if you’re reading it out loud,” Levoi said. Interim director for the School of Media Arts Robert Spahr had a three piece video sequence. The first video was called Misdirection Cruft. A computer software grabs images from corporate software and Youtube, Spahr said. The software combined images from car crashes uploaded onto the platform and the corporate imagery along with the theme song and quotes from the sitcom “All In the Family.” Spahr said he produces a new video every day, and all three of his videos being presented were automated. “The next piece is footage from 9/11 and text from Tucker Carlson’s show, so it’s kind of connecting 9/11 to our present as the text is what’s going on today,” Spahr said. Spahr said there’s no footage of the Twin Towers themselves, only people reacting to the situation. The third video consists of images of school photos of children with text from CNN headlines. “I made that third video the day of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and the next three videos are on my website: robertspahr.com,” Spahr said. Gallery viewer and cinema instructor Cinzia Padovani said she couldn’t choose a favorite but enjoyed Motyl, Spahr and Kalayeh’s videos. Walter Metz, a cinema instructor, did a presentation on the fusion of pedagogy and art targeted at students learning to be artists. Metz said it surprised him to see studies showing some students didn’t know how to find Mexico on a map or how to form a historical timeline.
“One of my experiences teaching civil rights is that some students put the Civil War in the 20th century and World War 1 in the 19th century,” Metz said. Metz said he wants to present students with ways of thinking about the world through mapping. He presented two maps of the world and explained about different geographical areas like the Middle East and Africa. Metz said he presented a film about the world made by a Ukrainian director in his Islamic cinema class the morning Russia invaded Ukraine. “I said to my Islamic cinema class that I didn’t know any Chechen cinema but at the very least this is a way of thinking about how Putin’s assault on civilization is manifested in a way as art serves as a tool to strike back against the government,” Metz said. Metz said another useful outcome of mapping in geography is the teaching of international cinema, which, in its most basic framework, assumes the nation-state is the primary unit for analysis, which is both unproductive and untrue. Metz said he wrote an essay on a Malian film called “Genesis,” a reinterpretation of the Abrahamic story of Jacob and Esau and how the film is funded with French money. “So on the first day of class, I’m going to give the students a blank piece of paper and ask them to draw me the world and on the last day of class, I’m going to ask them to do the same thing,” Metz said. Metz said he hopes this allows students to engage in different media cultures from around the world. Radio, Television and Digital Media instructor Jay Needham spoke on a series of sketches he created. Needham said it’s the first time he’s sharing
the sketches, and he started making them when COVID-19 started and his mother was dying. He would go down to the studio, sketch scenes and work on improvising them. “And it was really kind of a fun journey in some regard and they weren’t completely done but they began to feel like scenes, only without characters,” Needham said. Needham said he enjoys using the piano as an instrument to accompany his sketches and he enjoys the power of music. Kalayeh said that there were multiple ways of doing virtual journaling including making TikToks and collaborating with others over the span of 30 days where people contribute without seeing what others are creating. Kalayeh talked about some projects he made including one called Creating Across the Media where his students created spontaneous films and distributed them over the internet and social media platforms. “One of the lessons was poetic cinema so I started looking at Yoko Ono’s poems and found one where she talks about not saying anything negative about others for three days, 30 days, and then for 90 days,” Kalayeh said. Kalayeh said he started making TikToks and Youtube videos based on that concept and as people responded to them, they became characters in the film. “This idea of bringing TikTok to the University Museum is very refreshing,” Kalayeh said. Staff reporter Joel Kottman can be reached at jkottman@dailyegyptian.com and on Twitter: @ JoelKottman.
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
News
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Visitors gather in the SIU Communications Building to play videogames on Thursday, April 7, 2022 in Carbondale, Ill. This event was held by SalukiGames and live streamed on playingforpets.com, Twitch, Facebook, and Youtube. Tiffany Young | @photographybytiffa
SIU Communications department host first ever Playing for Pets fundraiser
Janiyah Gaston| @DEJaniyah
Students and faculty gathered at the Southern Illinois University (SIU) Communications building to take part in the communications department’s first Playing for Pets fundraiser on April 7 and 8 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The proceeds from the event were donated to St. Francis Care animal shelter. Donations were taken online through the Playing for Pets gofundme page or by participants bringing dry pet food to the event. Justin Young, assistant lecturer and faculty sponsor of the event, said he held playing for pets at another university he worked at and thought it would be a good thing to bring to SIU. “I think that oftentimes people don’t think about video games as a communal experience,” Young said. “You get together with a group of people and so often video games are meant [to be] super competitive and we really try to kind of dissuade that,” Young said. According to Young they originally were going to host the event at SIU three years ago, but, due to COVID-19, they had to hold off. He said the event was a great way to bring people together and support animal shelters. Young said they chose St. Francis Care because they had a good reputation around Carbondale and they are a no-kill shelter, which means they do not euthanize animals after a certain amount of time. The video games at the event included Overcook, Tricky Tower, Garfield Kart and other games. For anyone who could not come in and join the fundraiser, the gameplay was live-streamed on Twitch and uploaded
Gamers select their characters on Thursday, April 7, 2022 during the Playing for Pets event held in the SIU Communications Building in Carbondale, Ill. This event was hosted by SalukiGames and live streamed on playingforpets.com, Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube. Tiffany Young | @photographybytiffa
to YouTube. Jami Allen, one of the organizers for the event said the event attracted a lot of people. “I think it definitely played off that it was different from a bake sale or a hot chocolate sale because of the difference and the variety of people that were able to attend,” Allen said. Allen said having video games as the main theme of the fundraiser attracted 50 students to come in person. Allen said as of right now, they are not sure if they will be hosting Playing for Pets again next year. Jordan Marshall, a second-year student at SIU, said although there are a lot of stray animals running around Carbondale, people still seem to not be
aware of how many are out there. “[There are] [stray] dogs around the city and [people] don’t really know that. You can just drive around and have all kinds of pets that are out and about, and they’ll get taken to animal shelters and not all of them are as nice as St. Francis where they’re humane,” Marshall said. Marshall said this event was a good way to spread awareness about animals who need loving homes. “SIU should host more events like [this] because it’s a lot of fun to do charity events like this that also bring in technology because most of the times when I see events, it’s just food which is really good of course, but I think it’s more intriguing to be like,
‘Hey, we’re having a video game or something that’s not always seen or heard of,’” Marshall said. Jacob Armstrong, a third-year student, said he and his family have made an effort to adopt pets from shelters or take in strays instead of going to pet stores. “Adopt, don’t shop,” Armstrong said. “I think it’s much more important to try to focus much more on getting animals that are already here rather than trying to buy from animal stores.” Wilbur Moon, a first-year student said the only difference between shelter pets and pets at pet stores is that shelter pets were not shown enough affection. “At first, she was scared, because she was abused by her past owner
and then they took her to the shelter and then like a week or two later, we picked Roxy up, our rottweiler and she’s like the most loving, caring dog. Shelter dogs are by far very loving if you give them the right care,” Moon said. Moon said when he got his dog, Roxy, from the shelter it took her a while to warm up to him because she had been abused by her previous owners. Overall $600 was raised within 3000 hours of live streaming. Assistant to the Editor Janiyah Gaston can be reached at jgaston@ dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter @ DEJaniyah.
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Entertainment
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Column
‘Elden Ring’ re-establishes what video games can achieve
Zaden Dennis | zdennis@dailyegyptian.com
In the summer of 2019, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), developer FromSoftware announced what would eventually become one of the most anticipated games of all time, “Elden Ring.” The game immediately enticed fans, as it would be partially written by the legendary author George R. R. Martin, most known for writing the fantasy series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” also known as “Game of Thrones.” The game seemed to be a return to the fantasy genre for the developer, which made the inclusion of Martin even more exciting. FromSoftware’s most popular and well-known games, the “Dark Souls” series, are also based in a fantasy setting. “Elden Ring’’ would mark the first time the developer would be returning to the fantasy genre since the release of “Dark Souls III’’ in 2016. The excitement for the game was an amalgamation of many contributing factors. The game boasted a completely open world, which was a relatively new territory for FromSoftware. Early trailers and descriptions of the game also detailed an insane level of customization and versatility, even in comparison with the developers’ previous efforts which were similarly dense. The game’s scale seemed impossible at the time, although it ended up being even larger than anyone had anticipated. FromSoftware has become synonymous with a high standard of quality when it comes to their games in the last decade. Each game it released,
Seth Martin | @seth.mart
including “Dark Souls,” “Bloodborne” and “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” only improved on the previous one, setting a gold standard for the developer. As someone who plays a lot of new games every year, big and small, at least three of FromSoftware’s titles have easily earned their place as what I consider some of the greatest games
of all time. This track record raised the hype for “Elden Ring” even further in the time between development and release. The game saw numerous delays in development due to its scale and the COVID-19 pandemic. But after nearly five years of development, “Elden Ring” was finally released on February 25. It saw immediate, immense success, receiving perfect scores from many reviewers as well as selling 12 million copies worldwide within the first three weeks of release: a success that reached far beyond anything FromSoftware had seen before. The game itself, as well as many of the developers’ previous games, generally has a laissezfaire approach when it comes to gameplay and design. It often does not give the player a direct path or guide to traverse through the world or the game mechanics. It often will give the player the tools required to succeed but allows you to figure out how to use them yourself. This approach, as well as the game being quite difficult (especially for newcomers), is a source of division among many. While this style of gameplay is a breath of fresh air in its originality, it can alienate some in the early hours of the game. But if you give the time and effort to adapt to FromSoftware’s difficult and eccentric mechanics, the result is extremely rewarding in my experience. Really, in most every corner of the game, whether it’s the story, gameplay, world design or even its User Interface (UI), it consistently delivered an original and unique spin that cannot be found from any other developer in the games industry. So often, major triple A titles, like Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla” or CD Projekt RED’s “Cyberpunk 2077,” do very little to push forward their genres in any significant way. The level of polish that is present in “Elden Ring” also puts other developers to shame. For a game as massive as it is, I personally experienced no significant bugs or technical issues. Although, there were some players reporting that, at launch, there were issues including enemies appearing invisible and occasional game crashes, most were resolved in a patch that was released a few weeks later. But even so, a game this polished is becoming increasingly uncommon, as many developers are perfectly fine with selling $60 titles that are unfinished and full of bugs. When it comes to the game’s world, it was totally mesmerizing. While playing, I often found myself having to stop and bask in how
truly massive it was. There were often areas in the game that were completely optional and were big enough to be their own standalone game. The game took me nearly 100 hours to complete, which is actually in the lower end of the timeframe that can be spent in the game. As someone with a lot of prior experience with FromSoftware’s games, I spent far less time having to learn the mechanics than some other players might experience. This time never felt overwhelming or pointless. Every moment of the game was completely engrossing and meaningful. Often with modern open world games, it is very apparent when the game’s size is artificial. Games like “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla” may take a similar amount of time to fully complete, but that time is made up of repetitive tasks and grinding to check something off a list and increase a counter from 99 out of 100, to 100 out of 100. No such thing is present in “Elden Ring.” The game was so engrossing in fact, that just on the first night of me playing, I ended up doing so until 5am without even realizing. This would become a common trend during my journey in finishing “Elden Ring.” I find it to be a very rare and special experience when a game can capture me so completely and where I forget to think about anything else. Some might call this unhealthy, but I call it a job well done on the part of FromSoftware. “Elden Ring” never let up the gas, which in turn had me never forgetting how well crafted and special it was. With every new area, boss or mechanic, its mastery was clear. The gameplay will be familiar to those who have played FromSoftware’s previous works, but it is far more varied. With each new weapon or ability you gain, it can completely change your playstyle, which keeps the combat consistently feeling fresh and never boring or repetitive. “Elden Ring” offers one of the most rewarding and immersive experiences a modern video game can achieve. It serves as one of the few truly “open” open world games and treats each miniscule area or character with the same care and polish as the ones at the forefront. It holds the possibility of endless hours of gameplay and is some of the best value you can get for your $60 in terms of entertainment. It’s a game that I would implore anyone with an interest in gaming to give a shot, as it is easily one the best games I have ever played. Staff reporter Zaden Dennis can be reached at zdennis@dailyegyptian.com and you can find his other reviews at letterboxd.com/Zadenator.
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Column
Entertainment
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You are trying too hard
Aaron Elliot | aelliot@dailyegyptian.com
Might I address something that hasn’t been spoken about much? I would like to say something a bit controversial in the fashion world, and I do not want to be chastised for it because these are from my own observations. This phenomenon of celebrities and influencers wearing only Camp related clothing is becoming a bit much. Please don’t throw any random objects at my head or put a hit out for me, but I mean it. Let me explain: In 1964, Susan Sontag published an essay she had written about the meanings and connotations of the word Camp. Now, this is not the Smokey Bear kind of camp, although he himself would be considered as both camp and Camp. He is camp, as in camping and being in the woods, but he is also Camp in the way that he is a bear that can talk, wears pants but no shirt and carries a shovel that he doesn’t seem to use. “Camp is the art that proposes itself seriously, but cannot be taken altogether seriously because it is ‘too much,’” Sontag said. I believe this note is probably the most relevant of all at this time. To explain Camp, you have to give examples. Notoriously Camp things and objects she named would be Swan Lake, Tiffany lamps, and womens clothing of the 1920s, specifically referencing the feathered and fringed/ beaded dresses. All of these things are serious in their own right. Swan Lake is just a ballet, Tiffany lamps are just a light source and clothing of the 20s was just clothing, but they all have something in common. They are just a bit too much... in a good way. They’re a bit too grand for their own good. There is nothing wrong with Camp. As you see by the examples given, none of these things go out of their way to be campy, they just inherently are.
It’s like the movie “Mommie Dearest.” If you have seen the movie, you know that it is supposed to be a very serious testament of childhood trauma and domestic abuse. In reality it is just Faye Dunaway going through her Joker moment, rampaging around in oversized shoulder pads and screaming at a child actress to scrub the bathroom. That is Camp. If it is out of touch enough to be just a bit ghastly yet enjoyable, it would be described as Camp. Celebrating the famed author and the cult following the essay had created, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York used it as their main source of inspiration for the 2019 Met Gala and exhibition theme. Coming after a year where the theme was directly inspired from religion, this was quite the switch up, providing a dress code that was less regimented and more fun. “Camp: Notes on Fashion” gave the safe space for camp icons to do their thing and wear wacky clothes. This was Lady Gaga’s bread and butter, as she lives, breathes and exudes Camp. Although the Met Gala is just one night a year, it gives a big look at some possibilities for fronting trends and oncoming fashions. I would consider it to be the most influential fashion event of the year. Designers pull their favorite stars and adorn them in the finest garments money can provide. This sets a big part of the mood for collections coming in the seasons ahead. As actual Camp couture designs were ripped off and manufactured around the world and our clothing got more chunky and silly-looking without a lead up, this market for out of the ordinary clothing boomed. The problem with this peculiar case is that it never seemed to die off. People love their Camp now, but can it really be considered Camp if it is
intended to be so? A really important quote from Sontag’s essay is the one that I feel has been overlooked the most. “One must distinguish between naive and deliberate Camp. Pure Camp is always naive. Camp which knows itself to be Camp (“camping”) is usually less satisfying,” she said. Bingo. It’s not that this cycle of interpretation of Camp is not Camp, it’s that it is dissatisfying. Thus, as I watched this year’s award shows, I observed a distressing pattern. These trends are still creeping their way out of the woodwork. Although trends have died down a bit, celebrities and influencers still see every event as an excuse to wear something that is considered Camp. The amazing and talented singer SZA wore a Camp-ish outfit to the Grammy awards. The Jean Paul Gaultier gown she wore was… interesting. Fake flowers with black netting layered on top, all cascading down the front of a nude tulle gown. Lil Nas X always has a flair for the theatrics through fashion, but the pearl suit he donned on the same night was an extreme act of trying to be perceived as camp. Although not a Camp icon herself, Carrie Underwood looked like a freshly poured Malibu Sunrise in the worst way possible. Intending to be Camp can be more harmful than good, and in real Camp fashion, seriousness is what amplifies Camp. How am I supposed to be completely convinced that Yola, the English singer with four nominations this year, picked out this “serious” outfit for this serious occasion when she looked like the Purple People Eater! There are ways to be Camp and sophisticated. At the 1963 Oscars, long time Hollywood star
Joan Crawford wore a fringe dress, colored her hair, nails and eyes a bright shimmering silver. Nothing too fancy, but what upped the Camp factor is that she was not even up for an award that night. Crawford was there to possibly be receiving an Oscar on behalf of Anne Bancroft in The Miracle Worker. She went all out to just stand on that stage for 10 seconds. Fabulous. The best executed outfits of the evening in my opinion were worn by Doja Cat, Lady Gaga and Tiffany Haddish. The iconic custom made Versace dress worn by Doja Cat to the Grammys was just sensational. Covered head to toe in crystals and sporting an opaque purse filled with candy. Hello, that is Camp! Lady Gaga knows Camp better than anyone else and knows how to use it to her advantage. She also knows when to pull back and reign it in. You can see this through her choice of dresses over the past year. They were sophisticated and elegant while always having a nod towards the Camp in life. Tiffany Haddish took the cake for me with her stunning Prada gown, champagne-colored sequins covering every inch of her body with a large statement bow on her shoulder. She had a balance of actual award show glamor and a bit of Camp culture sprinkled in. There has been an obvious decline in this trend that I loved and still hold very dear to my heart, but it is for the better. Time goes on, fashions change and mainstream trends will go underground again soon. We just have to wait it out. In the meantime, if you are still dressing in a Camp way, remember… just don’t try so hard. Staff reporter Aaron Elliot can be reached at aelliot@dailyegyptian.com.
News
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Wednesday, April 20, 2022
SalukiCon making a comeback
Janiyah Gaston | jgaston@dailyegyptian.com
Southern Illinois University (SIU) hosted their fourth annual SalukiCon on April 16 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Student Center. During the event there were a variety of things for people to partake in such as video games, anime showcases, meet and greets and other events The day before the actual event people who bought tickets before the event were able to get early access to what would be at the con. During the early access event people got a chance to see what a few of the vendors were offering and were able to play with VR helmets. Nathan Bonner, the co-chair of the SalukiCon committee, said the first SalukiCon in 2017 was called EclipseCon because of the eclipse that occurred then. “The first one was in 2017 in connection with the Eclipse festivities. So when we were successful enough to do a follow up,” Bonner said. “We decided to do SalukiCon and then in 2024 of course, during the eclipse festivities in April of that year, there will be another EclipseCon.” According to Bonner, when they had EclipsecCon in 2017, over 3000 people came in attendance, and because of its popularity, they decided to host it again. Bonner said they had a variety of things to do during the event for people to enjoy. “As far as that we of course have a vendor room with various vendors and from toys to artists, to crafters to authors. It just goes on and on and on,” Bonner said. “There seems to be an incredible mix of vendors this year. There will be an escape room put on by the linguistics and the library. There will be an anime showcase in the old main room.” Besides vendors and video games, SalukiCon had guest speakers from the power ranger series and from different animes, along with board games for people to play, Bonner said. The first event to kickoff the SalukiCon festivities was the anime showcase hosted by the SIU anime RSO animekai. During the showcase, different anime were being played
throughout the day. Scott Throne, owner of Castle Perilous Book Store and a vendor at the event said he participated at the very first SalukiCon and always enjoys coming to it. “It’s always fun to have a crowd of people who are all interested in that sort of project or who are interested in comics, graphic novels, anime games, all congregated in one under one roof,” Throne said. Throne said every year this event seems to bring more and more people who are interested in anime, video games and other related things together. “Most vendors up there will have comic related items, anime related items, pop culture, we will be one of only three places in there with the games,” Throne said. Anita Palmisano, the owner of Little Black Cat Company, has participated in SalukiCon since its beginning in 2017. Palmisano said she is always excited to sell her soaps and other products at the con. “All of my bath and body scents are geekythemed with fun little descriptions to match. Some of the scents are custom blends you won’t find anywhere else,” Palmisano said. “I also make a lot of other arts and crafts. I do decorated tumblers, handmade bags, and artwork.” Palmisano said she ends up having a lot of repeat customers to get new items or repurchase items they like. Samantha Cockrum, an artist and vendor at SalukiCon said she was excited showing her artwork for the first time at the con, and it was great to connect and meet new people. “I see fan art from a fandom that I’m part of. It’s really exciting to hear that someone you don’t know, someone you can connect with because there is also a fan of something that you love, and I think that’s just something that you can’t really experience anywhere else,” Cockrum said. Cockrum said since she draws inspiration for her art from a variety of fandoms she hoped it would attract people who are interested in different fandoms as well. Attendees Envy and Melanie Hanson said they were excited to attend the con because
Cosplayers and fans alike attended SalukiCon on April 16, 2022 at the SIU Student Center in Carbondale, Ill. Professional cosplayers like Marz Stardust (pictured above) set up booths in the Student Center ballroom selling fandom memorabilia. Trevor Reaman | treaman@dailyegyptian.com
they could dress up and show off their outfits and hangout with people who share their same interest. Envy said when it came to her costume it took around an hour for her to get her costume just right and to add the details. Hanson said it is hard to share your interest in anime with someone who does not understand and think it is important to have events like these where people with similar interests can be themselves without fear. “A lot of them like, some people don’t really enjoy things that we do and so they kind of snark at us for it,” Hanson said. “Yeah, you get made fun of a lot. So these events allow you to find more people that have your special interests.” From noon to 2 p.m., guest speakers spoke at the event. Peter Adrian Sudarso, an actor and the Blue Ranger in Power Rangers Ninja Steel, said he was excited to attend and be a guest speaker at SalukiCon for the first time. He
said the event was a great opportunity to bring people together who have different interests. Brennan Mejia, another actor and the Red Dino Charge Ranger said the overall atmosphere of SalukiCon is always welcoming and exciting. “Everyone just feeds off of the same environment. Everyone’s very supportive, like you walk around to other booths, and everyone’s really friendly,” Mejia said. “It’s not like a competition between ‘I’m going to sell more, make more money.’ Everyone just wants to have a good time and hopefully connect with someone in the audience.” Mejia said having this relaxed atmosphere where people are enjoying themselves and not trying to compete for who can get the most people at their stand makes cons like this one event more special. Assistant to the Editor Janiyah Gaston can be reached at jgaston@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter @DEJaniyah.
Cosplayers find a home at SalukiCon on April 16, 2022 at the SIU Student Center in Carbondale, Ill. From the novice to professionals, cosplayers from all skill levels assembled alongside others of various fandoms at SalukiCon. Trevor Reaman | treaman@dailyegyptian.com
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
News
Page 9
SIU Camfest hosts Little Muddy Media Festival
Ara Rice (right) watches his and other students’ short films at Morris Library April 12, 2022 in Carbondale Ill. Julian Castillo | @julcastillophotography
Students across campus watch “On the Lawn” directed by Walker Spaulding at Morris Library April 12, 2022 in Carbondale Ill. Julian Castillo | @julcastillophotography
Students watch their fellow classmates’ films at Morris Library April 12, 2022 in Carbondale Ill. Julian Castillo | @julcastillophotography
“Collision Course” directed by Jacob Boehme premiered at Morris Library April 12, 2022 in Carbondale Ill. Julian Castillo | @ julcastillophotography
Film students talk about the films at the end of the night at Morris Library April 12, 2022 in Carbondale Ill. Julian Castillo | @ julcastillophotography Students watch an experimental film created by one of their classmates at Morris Library April 12, 2022 in Carbondale Ill. Julian Castillo | @julcastillophotography
Sports
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Wednesday, April 20, 2022
‘We want to be playing our best softball in May’ Salukis look to finish the season strong
Brandyn Wilcoxen | @Brandyn_2020
In the three-year period from 2019-2021, Saluki softball went 86-37, winning 70% of its games and making appearances in the NCAA Tournament both times the tournament was held. Those final three full seasons under long-time head coach Kerri Blaylock were some of the best seasons the program had experienced since the mid-2000’s. On March 2, Blaylock stepped down as head coach for health reasons. In her place came interim coach Jen Sewell, who has been at Southern Illinois for 14 years. Sewell is credited with transforming SIU into one of the best offenses in the Valley, one that routinely leads the conference in most offensive categories. While any midseason coaching change can rock a program, Sewell’s transition to becoming the third head softball coach in school history has been smooth sailing so far, as the Salukis have gone 11-7 since she took over. “She [Sewell] knows how this place works and knows how to keep it going,” utility player Jenny Jansen said. “It really hasn’t been much of a difference.” No stranger to Saluki softball, Sewell joined the team in 2009 as a volunteer assistant before being added to the full staff in 2010. She had spent 11 years at Southern Illinois as an associate head coach before 2022. Her integration into the lead role has been as fluid as anyone could hope. “She knows how the ball rolls around here, and our culture,” infielder Ashley Wood said. “‘We’re just like a family so it didn’t really affect us.” Under Sewell, Southern Illinois has kept up its offensive production
in 2022, leading the Valley in batting average, on-base percentage, runs per game and walks. “I think a lot of people don’t see that Jen was more of the on-the-field coach and Kerri was kind of like a baseball manager…” Jansen said. “So I think when she stepped down, it wasn’t really a huge change, because Jen’s kinda the one that runs practices and coaches throughout the game.” While Blaylock has stepped away from coaching duties, she still maintains an administrative role within the program and helps with day-to-day operations. “I do know that we miss her, and we miss just talking to her and having fun,” Jansen said. “She’s just a really good person to be around.” Jansen is in her fifth and final year with the Salukis. She holds the alltime records in career hits and RBIs and sits in the top five in home runs. Jansen, more than anyone, has reaped the rewards of Sewell’s offense. Jansen’s rate stats in 2022 are hovering around career highs, and her counting stats are on pace for a similar feat. With her career soon coming to a close, her focus has been just on finishing strong and enjoying the end of the ride. “I’m just trying to have fun in my last year,” Jansen said. “I know I only have about 15 games left. I just go play every game with the mindset that it’s supposed to be fun, and I’m not gonna get to do this forever.” Jansen took advantage of the extra year of eligibility given by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given one more chance to write her final chapter, Jansen capitalized. “I’m here on my terms, and I kinda get to do it my own way and have fun the way I wanted to,” Jansen said. “I picked to be here, so just keeping that mindset that it’s fun, and I’m here because I chose to
be here. It makes it a lot better and it makes it fun. It’s gonna make it easier going out.” Her fellow senior, Ashley Wood, has another year of eligibility but is choosing to forgo it and call it a career after this spring. For several athletes, including Jansen, the opportunity to play an additional year of their sport is exciting, and for some, it’s the obvious choice. For others, like Wood, it’s simply time to wrap it up. “I have a COVID year, but I’m not gonna take it. I’m too old. My body’s falling apart,” Wood joked. “I’ve had my time.” The decision to exercise an athlete’s “COVID year” carries a lot of weight in their immediate future. It allows them to squeeze one final year out of a sport they had played for over a decade but also forces them to return to school and go through yet another year of academic studies on top of the stress of keeping in competition form. Most players have to apply for grad school to return to their sport because their academic progress will have been completed in their first four years. “It’s a lot of other factors that come into play,” Wood said. “It’s a lot more than just playing.” In Wood’s case, her 2021 season was cut short by a knee injury. She has bounced back well from that injury, batting .344 with an OPS of .938 while starting each of the team’s first 30 games. “I’ve never had a major injury like that before, so I didn’t know what the comeback would have been like,” Wood said. “It’s been pretty smooth… It took me a weekend to get comfortable playing again, but I think after that tournament, I kinda just got on a roll.” Wood’s 30 games played so far this year is the most she’s played in a spring season since her freshman
campaign in 2019. Between her second year getting cut short by the pandemic, her third year ending with an injury and being forced to miss the exhibition games the team played this past fall, this season is a test of endurance for Wood. “It definitely felt like I took four years off,” Wood said, referring to her first weekend back at the beginning of this season. Before the year began, Jansen set some team goals: Winning the regular season conference championship, staying consistent throughout the season and going back to the NCAA Tournament and making some noise. With a month left to go and the Salukis sitting at 17-13 (6-5 MVC), they will have some work to do to hit all of those marks. The team started off the year going 2-2 in each of its first three weekend tournaments. Conference play opened up in mid-March, with the Salukis scheduled to play five games in five days against the top teams in the Valley in Missouri State and Northern Iowa. Further complicating that stretch was the fact that Missouri State was scheduled to play a doubleheader against SIU on Wednesday. The first game went 13 innings and ended in a 6-2 SIU victory, but the worn-out Salukis dropped the second game that immediately followed and were swept by Northern Iowa that weekend. However, since those early struggles, SIU has bounced back to take six of its last seven games and enters a portion of the schedule that many consider to be more winnable games. Opponents such as Valparaiso (9-18, 1-8 MVC) and Bradley (1715, 5-4 MVC) are teams Southern Illinois will need to beat if it hopes to compete among the league’s best. “I think we got a lot of the hard
series at the beginning, and now we’re kinda coming into the middle,” Wood said. “I think that’s gonna help us get into a groove right before the conference tournament.” Like with most college sports, regular season play only matters up to a point. To a team with the recent success that SIU has experienced, what truly matters is its performance in the postseason. If it can finish strong with momentum heading into the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on the weekend of May 11, everyone will forget the early season struggles. “I’ve been telling everyone the whole year: if we’re playing our best softball in March and April, we’re in trouble,” Jansen said. “We want to be playing our best softball in May.” A fact that best highlights this is the relationship between Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa. In 2019, SIU swept UNI, but the Panthers ended up winning when they met in the Valley tournament later that year. In 2021, the Salukis were swept by UNI but ended up winning the Valley championship in May. “When you go to the postseason, everybody’s 0-0,” Jansen said. “It’s definitely hard to beat a team four times. I think we’re due for a win when we go play [Northern Iowa] next time.” The Salukis will next play at home against Indiana State on April 23, hosting the Sycamores at Charlotte West Stadium for a doubleheader on that day followed by a third game the next day. They will finish out the Valley schedule, with the conference tournament scheduled for the weekend of May 11 in Springfield, Missouri. Staff reporter Brandyn Wilcoxen can be reached at bwilcoxen@dailyegyptian. com or on Twitter at @Brandyn_2020
Salukis hope to reach new heights behind new head coach Kelly Bond-White
Cole Daily | @cdaily_de
Kelly Bond-White had big shoes to fill when she decided to take the job with Southern Illinois University’s (SIU) women’s basketball program. Just last season, the Salukis won the regular-season conference title and made the NIT tournament. “Kelly just oozes with success [...] when you’re around Kelly you just know she’s a winner,” interim athletic director Matt Kupec said. Bond-White will be taking the place of former head coach Cindy Stein. “I’m extremely proud of our
team. This group was an extremely competitive group. We had some great people that give us their best every day,” Stein said. She said SIU was capable of more but was still happy with the end result of the season, being one of Southern Illinois’ best in more than 15 years. After the season, Stein gave her endorsement to one of her assistants, Jody Adams-Burch. “We have a very good associate in Jody Adams-Burch. She’s right here in the school so she knows the program and knows how we did it,” Stein said.
Despite the recommendation from Stein, the Southern Illinois athletic department decided to start a nationwide search for a new head coach, which led to Bond-White, an assistant for Texas A&M who played under Stein while both were at the University of Illinois, where Stein was an assistant at the time. Texas A&M went 14-15 last year, losing in the first round of the SEC tournament. They had a successful start to the season until they reached their conference schedule, where they went 4-12. Bond-White said she will carry on the legacy of Southern Illinois
proudly with her new team. “[Kupec and Chancellor Austin Lane] shared their vision of what this program has been, with coach Stein winning a championship here,” Bond-White said. “But even more importantly, [they believe in] what we continue to be and where we can take the program.” Bond-White has had ties with SIU for a number of years as, during her introductory press conference, she revealed her first scholarship offer came from then Southern Illinois head coach Cindy Scott when Bond-White was in the seventh grade.
As soon as Bond-White arrived in Carbondale, she was given a tour of the athletic facilities around campus. She even threw out the first pitch at SIU’s baseball game against Bradley on Sunday, April 3rd. Bond-White said one of the reasons she chose SIU was because of the support around SIU athletics from the facilities to the fanbase. “I’m a relationship person, so everything comes back to family,” Bond-White said, “That was something that attracted me Please see SALUKIS | 11
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Sports
Southern Illinois University Carbondale TRIO Project Upward Bound Program 2022 Summer Program Positions Summer Program Begins 6/26 through 8/5 Project Upward Bound (PUB) Program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale PUB is an educational assistance program funded by the U.S. Department of Education. It is designed to assist qualifying high school students in developing the skills and motivation necessary for successful completion of post-secondary education or training. Services are provided to participants during the regular school year (Academic Year Program) and during six weeks in the summer (Summer Program)
Summer Positions Available Teachers Science: (1 available position) English: (1 available position) Spanish: (1 available position) Teachers will meet Monday-Friday for 5 weeks providing instruction and assessments to high school students. Teachers should be prepared to designed project and skilled-based curriculum using core standards and real-life situations to provide instruction.
Work Study Teachers Architecture: (2 available positions) Engineering: (2 available positions) Business: (2 available positions) Art: (2 available positions) Work study teachers are scheduled Monday-Friday for 4 weeks providing support and assistance to high school students and classroom teachers.
Residential Staff Overnight Monitor- (2 positions available) 10:00pm -6:00am Residential staff (except overnight) will live in dormitories with students monitoring and coordinating student activities.
Minimum Qualifications: Tutor/Counselors- Junior standing in college Teachers- Graduate students preferred Overnight Monitor- Must be able to stay awake overnight and monitor the students.
To Apply If interested in applying visit: https://projectupwardbound.siu.edu/
APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED UNTIL ALL POSITIONS ARE FILLED. To ensure full consideration, please submit all materials by 5/6. Questions? Email markida@siu.edu or call (618) 453-3354.
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SIU Softball drops to Bradley
Joseph Bernard | @Jojobernard2001
The SIU Softball team traveled over to Bradley for a three-game set against the Braves this weekend. The series could have gone better for the Salukis however, as they dropped all three games after earning significant leads in each of them. The Salukis were highlighted by performances from graduate student Jenny Jansen, who tallied three total RBIs across the three-game set, after going four for 10 at the plate. Sophomore pitcher Madi Eberle got the starts in games two and three of the set, pitching a total of 10.1 innings, giving up seven earned runs, and 12 total hits, while striking out nine. Junior pitcher Sarah Harness started in game one of the series. She pitched 7.1 innings, gave up five earned runs and nine hits while striking out five and walking three. Game one started out as a pitcher’s duel, with only one run coming to the plate for SIU through five innings. In the sixth, SIU struck some more runs to add to their lead, making it 4-0 heading into the seventh. Then, Bradley strung together four hits in the inning to clear the lead for SIU and tied the game up and headed into extras at 4-4. In extras, it only took a walk, an error and a single for the Braves to score the winning run and walk off the Salukis. Game two started off with yet another Saluki lead after a two-RBI single by senior
Salukis
continued from
Sidney Sikes in the first. A run scored for Bradley in the bottom of the inning making for a 2-1 game. It was another pitcher’s duel from there as the board was filled with zeros until the bottom of the sixth where Bradley plated two more runs off a homer to take the 3-2 lead heading into the final three outs. The Braves closed it out and SIU went down in game two with a 3-2 final. Game three started yet again with multiple runs being scored before Bradley even recorded a third out. Jansen notched a bases-clearing double to score three runs for SIU and give them another early lead. The Braves gained one back in the second after a leadoff homer started the inning off. Later in the fourth, a fielder’s choice gave SIU their three-run lead back after sophomore Rylie Hamilton reached home plate. But Bradley was itching to come back in this one. In the fifth, Bradley tied things up after Eberle gave up a three-run homer to make it 4-all. The game was about to go into extras, but a fielding error by Elizabeth Warwick gave Bradley the winning run and the sweep over SIU with a 5-4 final. The Salukis will try to turn things around once with their final game of the road trip when they face Murray State on Wednesday. That game is set for a 3 p.m first pitch time. Sports reporter Joseph Bernard can be reached at joseph.l.bernard@siu.edu or on twitter @Jojobernard2001.
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here. It intrigued me when everyone talked about the logistics of the coaching staff and how everyone pulls off of each other as resources.” Last year’s SIU women’s basketball team mostly consisted of fourth year students across its roster. Stein said she felt bad for them, knowing how much they gave to the program day in and day out. “I’m just disappointed that our seniors had to go out on that type of game. My heart goes out to them because they work their butt off. I just felt like they deserved better,” Stein said. According to the new coach, she wants to come in right away and build a winning culture. Most of the players coming in will be new to the program, so she understands she has a lot of work to do. “All I want [the players] to focus on is the next step. We don’t have to look at the big picture right now, we’re just going to look at the details of what is right in front of us,” Bond-White said. The athletic department is expecting a lot from Bond-White. Kupec said he knows the future is looking bright for Saluki basketball. “It’s a storied program. We’ve won championships, we won this past year. But with coach Kelly Bond-White, we think we’re gonna take this program to a whole new level,” Kupec said. At Texas A&M, Bond-White was known for her prominence as a recruiter. Southern Illinois hopes she can bring that edge to Carbondale. “I think the best way to attract talent is by just being authentic. And just like [what] I was given, we talk about access to opportunity,” Bond-White said. “We don’t make many promises, but what I promise them is an access to opportunity, and that
we’re gonna work hard and get after it.” The new coach said she wants to develop good habits within the team and that’s where the building blocks are established to form a winning program. “I was walking through the halls, and I saw the Saluki standards pyramid,” BondWhite said, “It talks about toughness, integrity and building champions. Those are value-based things, but those are habitdriven, and that’s all I want our young ladies to know.” On the court, Bond-White wants to ensure the Salukis are meticulous and efficient in everything they do. “One of the things we need to do is control the pace and tempo. [...] When it’s time to push, we’re gonna push. But when it’s time to slow it down and isolate, I want to look to score early,” Bond-White said. Kupec said he expects Bond-White to deliver everywhere, not just on the court. “What we do here is we win on the court, we win in the classroom and we win in the community. Just being around Kelly, you know she knows how to do it right,” Kupec said. Bond-White will need togetherness in order to have success at her new school. She needs everyone to buy in. If everyone does so, Bond-White said the sky’s the limit. “I want to bring back that connection, bring back the legacy of Salukis that have built this foundation,” Bond-White said. “Then, we can take it to the next level, so our current players can understand the sacrifices they have made and be able to cut down nets like they did last year.” Sports Reporter Cole Daily can be reached at cdaily@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at cdaily_de.
Sports
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Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Southern Illinois Pharaohs bringing a new brand of basketball to Carbondale
Joseph Bernard | @Jojobernard2001
The Southern Illinois Pharaohs are back in Carbondale after being absent since the 2017 season, bringing a professional minor league basketball team back to the area. The Pharaohs started their season recently with a road trip to Fort Wayne, IN, where they played the IU Royalty and won by a score of 109-93. The Pharaohs, part of the Official Basketball Association, started their inaugural season in 2016. However, after an Achilles tear by team owner and player Justin Dentmon, as well as COVID-19 concerns, the team never returned for their 2018-2021 seasons. Dentmon, currently a professional basketball player for the Guaynabo Mets, acts as both a player, owner and mentor for the athletes on his team. His role is a bit different from a traditional owner role, but he said he’s just doing what he can for the team. “I’m just helping as much as I can. I’ll be playing in a couple games because a lot of people over here don’t get to see me play because I go overseas and play. So, this will give the community a chance to see me play again and maybe a good homecoming,” Dentmon said. Dentmon saw an opportunity to bring the team back after creating his own gym in the Carbondale area for the
team to practice and compete. Before, the team was running all throughout Carbondale just to find places to have home games at. From Carbondale High School to Giant City, the team was playing at various locations in southern Illinois for their home games. Dentmon said he wanted to bring some professional players that can act as role models closer to Carbondale. “Kids haven’t seen professionals this close, so I’m trying to build a professional atmosphere so now the kids can see what a professional looks like, and so they’re prepared for the next level,” Dentmon said. “We’re just trying to build a professional organization to help these guys in the near future if they’d like to play overseas or in the NBA one day.” Dentmon is the owner, but Scott Edgar will be calling the shots as head coach of the team. Edgar has experience coaching various college programs, including Murray State, Duquesne, Eastern Oklahoma State and Southeastern Missouri State. Edgar said he’s hoping to bring a lot of excitement to the area. “People in this part of the country really enjoy basketball. They see great basketball in the winter season, so, hopefully, we can be just as exciting,” Edgar said. “There are a lot of local kids in this, so it’s giving a chance for the youth to watch a lot of older players
play and learn from that, and it also gives a lot of these young men a chance to extend their careers in basketball.” Edgar gave his praise to Dentmon for being such a huge leader, not only for the team but in the Carbondale area. “They look up to Justin a lot. I knew he was a tremendous player here and from what I’m learning he’s a tremendous role model here and a lot of them look up to him,” Edgar said. “I’m learning some of the pro techniques from him and implementing some things from college I learned. He’s been great for them,” Edgar said. Edgar said he believes this is a huge opportunity for up-and-coming basketball athletes to gain more professional experience. “It’s a great resume builder. This is an opportunity for some guys to start their first professional resume and others to strengthen what they’ve already established. This is just a few months of opportunity here, [but] the function of this is to help these young men become better and get recognized so they can further their basketball career,” Edgar said. Luqman Lundy is one player Edgar is hoping to further their resume in a professional setting. Lundy made the roster after an extensive training camp and tryout period before the season began. He said the tryout period was necessary for team bonding.
“The point of training camp is the camaraderie of the team and getting through all those difficult drills and stuff like that together. [We’ve] got a good sense of each other now and good chemistry even though it’s a hectic roster at times,” Lundy said. Lundy said a winning culture is what they’re looking to build at the moment. “I hope we bring an exciting brand of basketball and build a great outlet outside of SIU or other sporting outlets around here. We want to make a name for ourselves as the Pharaohs,” Lundy said. Dentmon said the team’s style of play is very high tempo, they’re still hashing out some things for the player’s assignments. “We play very fast. Coach wants to play fast, and we want to press the ball. We want to get up and down the court so everybody can score,” Dentmon said. “I’m also trying to help [Edgar] understand some things about the professional world. With him transitioning from college, it’s a bit different. Everybody is just trying to learn their roles, and once everybody gets that we’ll be alright.” Edgar said he acknowledges some of the things the team is going to have to overcome in order to earn some wins throughout the season. “We’re still a work in progress right
now with certain things. We play on a 24-second shot-clock rather than a 30-second one so it’s quick to begin with, but you have to make good decisions while you play quick. We just have to learn to play with each other and learn each other,” Edgar said. Lundy has a message for people considering coming out and watching the team play. “There’s a lot of local guys here, and it’s just going to be some fun basketball. We’re doing our best and going to get as many wins as we can, so if you want to see some winning then I suggest you come watch us play,” Lundy said. Edgar said he wants the support for the local team as well and thinks people will be entertained. “We got a great guy that’s given back to the community here in Mr. Dentmon, so come out and support him and see the product that we’re putting out on the floor. I think [everyone will] be entertained and have fun watching us play,” Edgar said. The Pharaoh’s home games will be played at the Dentmon Center in Carbondale. Their next home game will be against the Music City Kings, Saturday, April 23 with a 6:30 p.m. first tip. Sports reporter Joseph Bernard can be reached at joseph.l.bernard@siu.edu or on twitter @Jojobernard2001.
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Sports
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Bandy, Rog excel in weekend series win over Evansville
The Slugging Salukis crossed the plate 14 times each on Friday and Sunday to clinch a series victory over the Evansville Purple Aces, improving to 23-9 on the season and 4-2 in Valley play. The series opener on Friday saw every Saluki reach base at least once, as the team combined for 17 total hits and 10 walks. Kaeber Rog and Nathan Bandy were particularly efficient from the batter’s box, combining for seven hits in 10 Brandyn Wilcoxen | @Brandyn_2020
at bats. However, the Salukis were trailing 3-2 entering the eighth inning, but exploded with an eight-run eighth and a four-run ninth to take Friday’s matchup 14-4. The Purple Aces struck back on Saturday, as their top pitcher Nick Smith held SIU to two runs in six innings, and the bullpen shut down the rest of the game to wrap up a 6-2 Evansville win. Sunday’s finale was another example of
SIU pulling away at the end of an otherwise competitive game. Despite trailing 4-0 after three innings and 5-1 after four, the Salukis rode a six-run fifth inning to the victory, and tacked on six more in the ninth for good measure as they took the rubber match 14-5. Bandy had the batting equivalent of a perfect game, going five-for-five with an RBI and coming around to score three times. Rog added a three-for-five day of his own, including his eighth home run of the year.
Sandwiched between two great performances by Rog was an zero-for-five game on Saturday which broke his season-high 13-game hitting streak. Despite this, he catapulted to second in Division I in hits this season with 59, one behind the leader, Murphy Stehly of Texas. Teammate J.T. Weber is tied for sixth at 55 hits. Staff reporter Brandyn Wilcoxen can be reached at bwilcoxen@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @Brandyn_2020.
Southern Illinois Baseball tops SEMO 3-2 on the road; Salukis still reign supreme on Redhawks Cole Daily | @cdaily_de
SIU travelled to Cape Giradeau, Missouri to play their arch-nemesis Southeastern Missouri State University in a contest on
the baseball field. SIU came out on top in a closely contested affair, 3-2. In the first inning, Southern Illinois managed one run after senior Cody Cleveland touched home for the Salukis.
The Dawgs scored again at the top of the second after junior Ryan Rodriguez hit a home run near left field. However, at the bottom of the second, SEMO put themselves on the board, only managing one run. At the start of the third inning, the score stood 2-1. Both teams were kept scoreless in the third. At the top of the fourth, the Salukis scored another home run. This time, it was junior Nick Hagedorn’s turn. He helped the Salukis gain a 3-1 lead. The Redhawks fought back at the bottom of the fifth with a run to make the score
3-2. SIU held them to just one run in that inning, cementing their advantage. Neither team scored again through the next four innings, leaving SIU as the winner of the contest. Sophomore Nathan Bandy was the player who helped Cleveland touch home, giving him the only other RBI besides Hagedorn and Rodriguez. Senior J.T. Weber and junior Kaeber Rog also cracked the bat this game (Weber once, Rog twice). Sports Reporter Cole Daily can be reached at cdaily@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at cdaily_de.
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Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
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Wednesday, April 20, 2022
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