The Daily Egyptian - [October 5, 2022]

Justice for Iran, a martyr for

they march the street and they demand justice for those who committed such a crime. They are simply looking for freedom of speech, freedom of clothing and freedom of choosing their own life and their own destiny,” Mohammadzadeh said.

The militant theocracy did not take well to the criticisms by its citizens, reportedly turning live ammunition on protestors, killing dozens of people and injuring hundreds more, according to non-government organizations monitoring the situation.

For many in Iran, women in particular, the Internet offered the only example of a world where women have a chance to build their lives as they please, unhindered by regressive governments with only one idea of what it means to be a woman. These women, with SIU students among their number, often come to western countries chasing the source of these ideas.

Members of the Persian/ Iranian Students Association and the staff of the Center for International Education came together on Sept. 29 in solemn remembrance of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who was brutally detained by Iran’s Morality Police during a visit to Iran’s capital city, Tehran, where she later died.

“Right now in Iran they cut off the Internet. They simply don’t want the world to see

what they’re doing to their own people,” said president of the Persian/Iranian Student Association, Mohammed Mohammadzadeh.

For not wearing the compulsory Hijab properly, Amini was taken away from her family to a detention center, where she is reported to have been badly beaten. After falling unconscious, she was transported to a hospital, where the Iranian government claims she remained in a coma for three days before dying of a heart attack.

Like a rock tossed down a precipitous mountain peak, Mahsa Amini’s death soon built the simmering dissatisfaction of the Iranian people to a thunderous crescendo heard up and down the streets of Iran in the footsteps of thousands of protestors. They cried out for the rest of the world to hear, drawing condemnation for the Iranian government from the United Nations and the international community according to UN News.

“People all around Iran,

At the Center for International Education, dozens of Iranian students and staff gathered to view pictures of six people killed in a recent protest, as well as a candle lit shrine for Amini herself. A mournful Iranian tune warbled through the speakers above the display, drifting through the air above the weighty silence of the mourners. Dozens of posters and art pieces adorned the walls, commemorating Amini’s life and protesting enforced Hijabs.

Despite the government shutdown of the Internet in Iran, videos of women cutting their hair in protest have propagated throughout the Iranian community and beyond. The very hair that the government proclaims must be hidden under a Hijab, lest men are tempted by it, is held overhead, free of the Hijab until Iranian women are too.

The loss of the Internet in Iran is even worse than it sounds.

Through the Internet and western education, Iranians are not just wary of the old regime: they know what they’re missing out on.

“This is our next generation. How can they be strong women for our country? How can they be strong mothers for our country?” said Jenny, a woman at the vigil. “They cannot be. Not in the future of our country with these women. Maybe in the past the Hijab was good for women because there wasn’t any social media in the world and they didn’t know what was happening in other countries. Now they’re annoying, they’re asking us ‘why do we have to Hijab, but another country doesn’t.’”

Jenny asked to remain anonymous. She and other people interviewed by the Daily Egyptian for this story are quoted using pseudonyms.

Without the internet, only very rich and powerful women are able to appear in public without hijabs, without fear of the morality police.

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“We don’t like it, we don’t want to have it, but I think it is a sign of their power,” said Marissa, an attendee at the vigil. “They want to make us wear the Hijab because I think it is a sign that they’ve increased their power in the country. For example, some days ago, it was a protest and many girls that wear like Mahsa were there without any problem, because they were rich and regime.”

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There’s good reason to fear repercussions from the Iranian government. Previous protests that have turned violent include the gasoline protests of 2019, which, according to the Associated Press, spread to hundreds of cities and towns and also resulted in a temporary shutdown of the internet. From the student protests in 1999 to Iran’s 2009 presidential election protests, the country has often been rocked by controversy and a cycle of violence.

“Actually we didn’t choose to be Muslims. Many countries maybe have chosen their religions but because we didn’t choose this, this is why we have protests right now.,” said vigil attendee Samantha. “People are really angry about morality police because they killed girls - not just Mahsa - even before that.”

The feeling is becoming more and more prevalent, she said.

“We feel that empathy from other people: that we are all human,” Samantha said. “Because we are living in Iran and we have government that we don’t like them, it’s not our right to undergo this kind of feeling.”

Iranians now depend on those countries that inspired their effort in the first place to be their voices in the absence of their own.

“I think that when people share it on social media and talk about it, it helps me because I understand that, ok, people are getting involved in these problems,” Marissa said.

“Because, in Iran, the internet is shut down, so they couldn’t do anything.

We are out of Iran, so we can do something for them that are in Iran. So we need to ask our friends in Carbondale to do something to help us, to be our voices, to say something on social media. It is a thing that I need.”

Justice

Traditional Irainian Halva dishes sit on a table in memorimum of Mahsa Amini’s passing Sept. 27, 2022 at the SIU Center for International Education in Carbondale, Ill. Daniel Bethers | dbethers@dailyegyptian.com

Posters hang on a sign at Mahsa Amini’s vigil Sept. 27, 2022 at the SIU Center for International Education in Carbondale, Ill. Daniel Bethers | dbethers@dailyegyptian.com

Future teachers getting ahead with new teaching partnership

Jamilah lewis | @Jamilahlewis

Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU) started a new partnership this semester called Saluki Teacher Residency Partnership (STRP) to help prepare teaching students more quickly and give financial support and mentorship opportunities.

The School of Education website says the goal of STRP is to “bring together local educators from the schools and the university in a partnership with community mentors to recruit and support diverse teacher candidates from their admission into the Teacher Education Program through their first two years of teaching.”

Senior Alex Quinn , majoring in special education, said she found out about the program through email, as did many participants.

“You’re spending more time in the classroom,” Quinn said. “Then, of course, the financial part of it was also an added bonus, so it’s more like a scholarship they were paying us to go into the schools.”

Quinn is at the General John A. Logan Attendance Center teaching elementary students, specifically special education.

“I go into their classrooms to observe their classrooms and work with our students,” Quinn said. “I work with seven first grade teachers plus my resource teacher that I’m with.”

Quinn said she’s at the school Monday through Thursday and has check-in meetings with an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum, Dr. Christie McIntyre.

“It’s hard. It’s a lot, but then the second semester is full days, Monday through Friday, full hours that your teacher goes,” Quinn said. “How SIU gets that long winter break, we don’t get that break. We go [off] whatever our school district is, so we are there the full time that those teachers are there.”

Quinn said there’s many benefits being in the classroom environment for a full days, multiple times a week, helping build work relationships and trust in the school.

“Since I’ve been there every day, full days, It’s like, they kind of just let me do whatever, like, they still watch me but I’m able to, if I want to run the lesson, I can run it,” Quinn said. “ I get more teaching experience and also more experience

with the kids, so they’re kind of letting me be my own teacher, in essence, which is really nice.”

Getting to see the ins and outs of a school system, like healthy communication with their office and going to meetings with other faculty and staff, has been a help, Quinn said.

She said she found love for being a teacher over time and loves working with the children.

“I get a million hugs a day being in elementary and I love it, and that’s all they want,” Quinn said. “You don’t know, at this age, like, they can’t identify that, ‘oh, this student has an IEP (Individualized Education Program),’ like, they’re different. They don’t see that, they don’t see any difference. They just see their friends, like, regardless of their developmental areas or anything.”

Still being a student herself, Quinn said it does get stressful since she’s taking 12 credit hours along with the program.

“It’s a lot of extra work and it’s really a time management thing,” Quinn said. “It’s a lot, but a lot of our assignments, our teachers are being really good at, like, our instructors and my clinical placement teacher, like, our assignments kind of line up.”

Quinn said she is ready to get through this semester and to be in the classroom full time next term.

“I do think it’s an experience that people should try to branch out,” Quinn said. “Really look into it and make sure you get all your questions answered first though, because, like, once you’re in the program, there is no getting out.”

Cynthis Skiles, a senior in special education, said she likes everything the partnership has entailed towards getting experience in her career path.

“So the amount of exposure we were getting was definitely a big plus,” Skiles said. “We were told we were going to get a mentor teacher and a, like, a community mentor and so that was definitely something that really drew me to the idea.”

Skiles is teaching at Carbondale Community High School, working with freshmen and sophomores with her mentor English teacher Josh Taylor.

Skiles said she liked the transition from observing the class to leading some of the lessons.

“If my teacher needs to go to a meeting or something, I teach the class for that period,” Skiles said. “I’ve become, like, the kind of pushin sub because I’m in the classroom, and so I know the kids and I know what we’re working on.”

Being able to work with the children and seeing how to properly motivate them is something Skiles has enjoyed learning, she said. She’s become a sort of co-teacher in Taylor’s classroom.

“I sit down with Josh and we kind of look over ‘okay, so what are we doing next week?’” Skiles said. “How is this gonna tie into this big project that we’re doing and so being able to see how he structures his class to get to the point that he wants to be at has been really neat.”

Skiles said she appreciates the amount of time she gets to spend in the school that she wouldn’t be able to get without STRP.

“If you were there one day a week, you know, it’s not kind of the things you would get into,” Skiles said. “Making sure that all their accommodations are accounted for and kind of like move in IEPs, like, things that happen on the job, but you’re not really, like, taught or you don’t experience, until they happen.”

She said she enjoys that she gets to build a relationship with the students from the beginning to the end of their school year.

“Last semester, in the spring

semester when I was student teaching, it’s not something I thought about, like all the little ins and outs and what goes into the day to day basis,” Skiles said.

“There’s a lot that I didn’t think about and so being exposed to that has been fantastic.”

Senior in elementary education Alivia Meier teaches the fourthgrade Carrutthers Elementary school in Murphysboro with mentor teacher Tracy Landewee.

“The fact that I could be in a classroom full time for the entire year was super appealing to me,” Meier said. “That’s so much knowledge and just in and outs daily that I was going to learn that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to otherwise.”

The financial help within the program was alluring to Meier and getting the experience of coteaching for an entire school year.

“I love it and I have built such a rapport with the students by being there,” Meier said. “I have been there since day one at their open house, they met me along with my mentor teacher, Mrs. Landewee. And so I have been a constant in their school year from the very beginning.”

Being there from the beginning has made Meier a trusted adult to the children.

“A kid that you know, if you can call on them by name, and you can talk to them and check in with

them every day and see how they are, like, you become a constant in their lives,” Meier said. “It’s so sweet, you know, when they leave every day, instead of saying, you know, despite misses along the way, it’s always ‘bye Mrs.Landewee, bye Mrs. Meier’.”

Meier said she enjoys working with Landewee and couldn’t have asked for a better mentor teacher. Landewee gives Meier the room to make the decisions she would make as a teacher.

“The trust that she’s put in me to essentially come in her classroom and just kind of take over, you know, in a lot of ways and do a lot of things that she’s done on her own for so long,” Meier said. “The fact that she’s willing to share that with me, and let me be so integrated into her classroom is just fantastic.”

With STRP being a new program, Meier said communication is essential to balancing her workload.

“They don’t know what we’re going through and, as the guinea pigs of the program, they don’t know how we’re feeling or when too much is too much, unless we vocalize it,” Meier said. “I think that that’s something that really just comes with time where we have to be really big advocates for ourselves.”

Staff reporter Jamilah Lewis can be reached at jlewis@dailyegyptian. com or on Twitter @jamilahlewis.

Cynthia Skiles educates students on a math problem Oct. 3, 2022 at Carbondale Community High School in Carbondale, Ill. Kelsey McKee | @kelsey.mckee_photography

Black Affairs Council and NACWC wrap the Black Experience with a bonfire

involved,” Dockery said.

Black Affairs Council (BAC) and the National Association of Colored Women’s Club (NACWC) hosted a bonfire on Friday, Sept. 30 at the West Campus Pavillion near Campus Lake from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m as an end to the SIU Black Experience.

The Black Experience, put on by BAC, is held at the beginning of the semester and lasts for the first six weeks of school. The goal of the Black Experience is to help Black students get more engaged on campus. Throughout those six weeks different Black Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) host a variety of events, from paint nights and fashion shows to study jams.

Sarah Alli-Brown, a secondyear student and the program coordinator for BAC, said she joined because she wanted to be more connected with the Black community on campus.

“Being in a PWI [Predominantly White institution] trying to maneuver by yourself without Black people, people there that have support, [or] people that have been around your whole life, it can be kinda hard and I just love to see people smile,” she said.

Alli-Brown said she put the bonfire together last year, and loves doing it because Black students from all over campus get to come together for a night of fun.

She said events like the bonfire exposes students to the different Black organizations that they could potentially join and could possibly make them want to do more for the Black community as a whole on campus.

“So I think by seeing the smile on people’s faces and people enjoying the events and wanting [...] to be a part of whichever RSO, whether it is a dance RSO whether it’s an RSO that puts on events whether it is a fraternity or sorority, you just make them happy and feel welcomed”, AlliBrown said.

Kania Dockery, a third-year student and the historian of the NACWC and member of BAC said these RSOs coming together to host this event was a great way to show Black students what they are all about. She said this year not many freshman have been getting involved on campus and they should.

“I feel like they don’t really come out to events like that. It’s important for them to kind of learn, being a Black student at a PWI is important in the way where you need to find people that relate to you that are Black and show Black excellence. I feel it is important that they do get

Showing Black first-year students more of the resources offered here at SIU and hosting more events will make them feel more comfortable on campus.

Malachi Moton, a secondyear student, said he came to the bonfire because he wanted to get more involved and go out to more events this year.

Eris Golden, a first-year student said it was a good way to get the Black student community together at SIU for a night of fun.

Traseanda Jones, a second-year student and the public relations chair for BAC, said they decided to put on a bonfire so Black students can get out and meet people. Students had a variety of things to do at the event.

“We have s’mores, of course, we have little pits so they go over here and roast your s’mores. [...] We also have, like, games. We have hula hoops, we have, like, card games such as Uno so that they could play,” she said. “And then we also have a lot of extra activities that we have for their grade level so that different grade levels can do different things so they can really meet their class.”

Jones said just having Black students together for a night and getting to know one another is a good way to get the connected.

“We did it because we felt like the Black retention rate is very small, at SIU, so a lot of people, they will come but they would never want to stay. And most of the reason why they felt like that is because they didn’t understand campus and didn’t understand people have power, or or they just simply, just stayed in their dorm rooms all day,” Jones said.

Staff reporter Janiyah Gaston can be reached at jgaston@dailyegyptian. com or on Twitter @DEJaniyah.

Jamie Lenoir sits around the bonfire to warm up during the Black Affairs Council Bonfire Sept. 30, 2022 at Beckers Pavilion in Carbondale, Ill. Michael Burton | Instagram @Akamai.Films

Student talks with their friends and enjoy the music around the bonfire Sept. 30, 2022 at Beckers Pavilion in Carbondale, Ill. Michael Burton | @Akamai.Films

Mekhi Smith smiles while socializing at the Black Affairs Council Bonfire Sept. 30, 2022 at Beckers Pavilion in Carbondale, Ill. Michael Burton | @Akamai.Films

Detrina McCoy poses for a photo at the Black Affairs Council Bonfire Sept. 30, 2022 at Beckers Pavilion in Carbondale, Ill. Michael Burton | Instagram @Akamai.Films

Naombi Greer roasts marshmallows and makes smores and hot dogs around the bonfire Sept. 30, 2022 at Beckers Pavilion in Carbondale, Ill. Michael Burton | Instagram @Akamai.Films

Attendees of the Black Affairs Council Bonfire huddle together to take a photo Sept. 30, 2022 at Beckers Pavilion in Carbondale, Ill. Michael Burton | Instagram @Akamai.Films

Members of the Black Affairs Council hang a banner in front of Pavillion Sept. 30, 2022 at Wesy Campus Boat Pavillion in Carbondale, Ill. Janiyah Gaston | @DEJaniyah

Students roast marshmallows over a fire pit Sept. 30, 2022 at SIU in Carbondale, Ill. Janiyah Gaston | @DEJaniyah

Miriam Diallo wears a blanket to keep warm at the Black Affairs Council Bonfire event Sept. 30, 2022 at Beckers Pavilion in Carbondale, Ill. Michael Burton | Instagram @Akamai.Films

Finding love while Black: The difference for Black men and women at PWIs and HBCUs

Janiyah Gaston | @DEJaniyah

Dating at any age can have challenges, especially for Black students, depending on whether they go to a Predominantly White Institute (PWI) or Historically Black College and University (HBCU).

When Black students attend PWIs and start dating, it is a bit of a challenge.

Black students can be faced with not being the desired type by White students. If they date within their race, they not only have to deal with a small population of Black students, but also colorism and unfair beauty standards within their community.

Colorism is defined in the Webster dictionary as discrimination largely within ethnicity groups that provides people with lighter skin color more privilage than people with darker skin.

Southern Illinois University is a PWI. The definition of a PWI is an institution that has a more than 50% population of White students. This is important because, according to the National Association of College and Employers, the college population nationwide is 13% Black.

According to the SIU enrollment website, the Black demographic at the school has gone up 3% from last year, meaning 1,665 Black students are currently enrolled this year. While the number of Black students has increased, they can still feel out of place.

Mariam Al-Faruqi, a first-year student studying psychology, said she came to SIU because her grandparents met here. But, when she first got here, she did not want to jump into a relationship right away.

“I was a little nervous. My older sister went to [an] HBCU. So when I heard about her adventures and how she was dating and her life, I was like okay, well, I’m going to [a] PWI and I don’t know if my experience is going to be as grand,” she said.

Al-Faruqi said seeing there were more Black students on campus than she thought seeing that many students shook off that fear.

The most noticeable difference, she said, is when a Black woman tries to date outside of their race, they have an unnecessary amount of judgment and Black men do not.

“I think overall there is a larger stigma against Black women dating outside of their race, especially because most of the time they’ll receive backlash even from people they don’t know,” Al-Faruqi said. “For either, ‘A’ not dating a black man, and ‘how are you giving up on your own community’ and ‘you need to help your community’ and also they aren’t seen as the desired for most people who are not their race.”

Simran Subramaniam, a graduate of Trinity College-Hartford wrote a senior thesis that explores how hookup culture is different for people of color at Trinity College. Patricia Hill Collins, a sociology professor at the University of Maryland wrote a book called “Black Sexual politics”, that explores how the politics in regards to black sexuality can be damaging. Collins, talks about in her book how Black women are seen as less

desireable than White women and have to compensate by being hypersexual.

She said due to these sterotypes being popular, it reduces Black bodies to just being seen as just objects of sexual desire.

Subramaniam points out the racial double standard between Black men and Black women when it comes to interracial dating or hookups. One of her participants said, Black women are opening themselves up to fetishization when they get with White men.

Another of her participants said when White women get with Black men they are seen as breaking racial barriers.

Courtney Alexander, an alum of SIU, said she has noticed from social media and from personal experience that some Black men have this mentality that Black women are only attractive if they look a certain way.

“I’ve seen a lot of damaging things online and I’ve heard some things in person as well. [...] And it’s so offensive when guys ask me ‘Oh, are you mixed with something?’ You have curly hair [and] the shape of my eyes,” she said. “They always insinuate that I’m mixed with something and I’m just, ‘why does it matter?’ I’m a Black woman and I am me.”

Alexander said this mentality plays into colorism because that mindset assumes for Black women to be attractive they have to be lighter skinned.

Cheyenne Lillard, a fourth-year student studying psychology said, from her personal experience, the stereotype that Black women are unapproachable and rude, makes it difficult for Black women like her to make connections.

“I feel like it’s harder at a PWI… because people prefer lighter-skinned women or women who are White, at times, or women who are ambiguous looking,” she said. [...] “That does kind of hinder us and then, like, the whole

stereotype people like to say ‘oh that stereotype is not like this,’ is old now, the whole angry black female, but how come, when I’m approached, you immediately [say] ‘you look mean’ to me.”

Lillard said HBCUs could possibly also present their own string of challenges for Black women when they try to date.

“I can’t say that [dating at one is easier] because I’ve never been to an HBCU. I’m pretty sure it’s probably just about the same, but they probably do the same thing where you’d have to fit the aesthetics of a certain type of Black girl that is pleasing to them. Like, do you have the latest fashion and do you have the nicest hair, the bust down frontals and sewin’ and stuff like that,”

Brittany Sharkey, a first-year student studying health care management, said because people focus too much on looks now, it is hard to get to know someone. She said because Black women are often perceived as loud or ghetto, it makes it harder for Black women to date.

Thomas Boyd, a fifth-year student studying computer science said, when looking for a relationship, most people want to find someone who can understand certain issues that affect them and how those issues make them feel.

“There are certain topics that, if you were to say, if I were speaking to another Black person, they would get me on those topics. For example, differences in treatment, growing up in schools, especially if you went to predominantly White institutions,” Boyd said.

The population of Black students is not very large at PWIs, so when people go on dating apps they will mainly see White people in their area, he said. This can be a challenge when a Black person is trying to find someone with whom they have similar experiences.

“I would imagine those stereotypes

that we see amongst Black men and Black women and Black non-binary people, we don’t necessarily emphasize them because we’re on the same team in that situation,” Boyd said. [...] “I have seen some situations where you’ll be looked at differently because you hang out with Black people too much. ‘Why don’t you come hang out with us’ or ‘you hang out with White people too much? Why don’t you go hang out with Black people?’”

HBCUs could be a better dating environment for black people than PWIs because, at HBCUs, Black students will not have to worry about being judged as much for who they hang out with or deal with unwarranted stereotypes, he said.

Christian Devine, a second-year student studying broadcast journalism at the University of Missouri, a PWI, said Black students can get exhausted from trying to date on campus and try to date outside of their school.

“I would say dating can have a mental toll because, often, it’s harder to date outside of college because you don’t have that interaction with people as you do while you’re in college. Because there are like tens of thousands of people on campuses. So it’d be easier for you to date in college without going outside of college,” Devine said.

Carlandra Harris, a first-year student at Alabama State University studying biomedical engineering, said she feels at home attending her HBCU because she is close with her community and Black women are in her opinion are sought after more at HBCUs.

Cameryn Batiste, Paris Watkins, and Talisha Daniels, are fourth-year students at Xavier University, they said dating at an HBCU has some big differences when compared to dating at a PWI.

Batiste said having a wider dating pool of black people is good, especially if you are another Black person who

Lane Frost | lfrost@dailyegyptian.com

wants to date black people. She said their school being in the south does help expose everyone to Black culture more. Watkins said, in her opinion there is more of a social beauty standard than a beauty standard.

“Fashion wise, you got to dress a certain type of way. Like, if you don’t, if you’re the artsy fartsy or the thriftin chic or if you just wear a regular everyday clothes, you’re probably not gonna get anyone. People are attracted to those who know how to dress,” she said.

Daniels said, just being at an HBCU is an amazing experience in and of itself, because you are around people who understand you and who relate to you.

Sydney Jones, a second-year student at Tennessee State, said when she attended Lawrence Tech University in Michigan, due to it being a small PWI and a mostly male STEM school, she felt out of place.

“There is a saying that, like the majority of the Black women that I’ve met at the PWI, it was, like, ‘am I ugly or do I attend a PWI?’ Because dating was pretty much, I wouldn’t say nonexistent because there were a few of us that did or were in relationships, but it was very scarce, I guess you would say,” Jones said.

She said when Black women end up going to PWIs, not being around that many black people, and Black men who grew up in that area being used to dating White women, it severely limits Black women’s options when it comes to dating.

“To the Black young women and men on campus, don’t let people with an ignorant mindset discourage you from what you truly want. I say ‘stay focused on yourself for the time being, but [as] always, if you know what you want, go for it. Don’t let people discourage you from that,’” Alexander said.

Staff reporter Janiyah Gaston can be reached at jgaston@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter @DEJaniyah.

Column: Stop looking like trash

aaron Elliott aElliott@DailyEGyptian

I frequent Goodwill at least twice a week. No, I don’t need anything at all, as my closet has exited onto a rack in the corner of the room, and the rack has now consumed the small floral settee neatly planted beside it. There is no reason for me to add to what I call “clothing mountain,” but the terrible overconsumer in me screams for me to halt anytime I pass a thrift store.

If I am having a bad day, a trip to the Salvation Army will always bring me cheer, or if I have an event to attend, instead of making my way to Dillards, I’ll peek my head into any hole in the wall second hand store just to see if there is any gold tucked back between all the cringey old Wet Seal dresses and Abercrombie shirts. Even if I find something vintage that fits, and I know I don’t need it, I somehow end up coming home with it. Yes, this habit has been addressed by my therapist, and yes I know it isn’t healthy, but I would rather be surrounded by heaps of quality clothes when I die, rather than trash.

The other day, I was feeling a bit down on myself and decided to make a quick run through of our local Goodwill. I entered the doors,

smiled at my favorite worker while grabbing a cart and began my fast paced game of pulling dresses to the right as I examined the dress and tag. Yanking ugly dress after ugly dress to the right as I made my way down the rack, I observed something I hadn’t noticed before.

As a professional hoarder and expert second hand shopper, I was appalled by the amount of Shein and Fashion Nova dresses that were in front of me. Four years ago, all I could find while out thrifting were amazing Lesley Fay suits from the 1980s and anything that millennials wore to high school. Back then, it felt like it was rather slim pickings. Now there is a plethora of everything but most of all, fast fashion dresses from the last two years.

I huffed and continued on, shuffling through dozens of tube sock dresses, and paying attention to everything I touched, I thought to myself “maybe I should just go home.” Leaving this store empty handed meant something not about me and my growth from overindulging but about what these stores are now filled with… TRASH!

Shopping at thrift stores used to be considered a sustainable form of shopping. Remember the little slogan “reduce, reuse, and recycle”? By shopping second

hand, you were buying reused clothing and making a whole new life for a garment that would usually be considered unwanted or in need of recycling. How are you supposed to reuse clothing if it is falling apart?

On a rainy day recently, while a friend was wearing a black Shein top that she paid $4 for, the dye started to run down her arms after contact with water. That is a big deal, especially in the fashion world, as all textiles used in manufacturing clothing should be tested left and right to make sure things are according to plan and won’t do something like this. Right as I started to lecture her for wearing something so cheap, the shirt itself started to disintegrate as if it were made of tissue paper. All I could say was “Go take that off right now.”

I wish I could stick my nose up and say, “How could you buy such garbage?” but I can’t. Clothing nowadays is extraordinarily expensive, and the quality of any garment is simply raggedy compared to something made 40 years ago; clothing companies that are making “sustainable” products price them so astronomically, that it is unrealistic for the average consumer to be able to afford something.

“They are only $300” a classmate nonchalantly pointed out during a lecture while talking about a completely eco-friendly and sustainable fashion brand making recycled textile jeans.

In my head, I thought about how utterly appalling it is. My Gloria Vanderbilt jeans only cost four dollars off the Goodwill rack, and were 40 bucks new. Of course, they were more than likely produced in some other, unregulated country and made of things that I would rather not know about, but for people like me, that is just kinda how it has to be.

We have made sustainable fashion, but it is only for the least sustainable people of all, wealthy people. In the past decade, we have witnessed a rise of greenwashing capitalism. There are now all sorts of bamboo toothbrushes (which are actually not very eco friendly), lots of linens made of all-natural biodegradable fibers and plenty of other recyclable materials, but they are marked at such a high price that the only people who can even think about being a little better in their habits are snobs who can afford to buy two of everything, in anticipation of the first one breaking or falling apart.

This irks me deeply. I want to

help our planet, but with how the planet is, how am I supposed to do that without spending gobs of money? Greenwashing has become the backbone of every single company. Instead of changing old methods of production, they still continue the old ways and produce the old products but also make socalled “better” products for ecoconscious people.

So what is our future, and where does fashion fit in? The world of design has tried to make its best impression and to try and leave less of a footprint. It’s all credited to small designers who themselves weren’t even leaving a trace of trash behind them. It isn’t the big name designers and the mass production of their clothes; it’s the fast fashion brands that continue to not only steal designs from other artists but produce them in thousands of colors, shapes and sizes.

We can hope and pray for something better, and even hold these brands accountable, but will they listen? They will have to once the world starts burning down around them in their highly flammable ensembles.

Staff reporter Aaron Elliott can be reached at aelliott@ dailyegyptian.com.

Brooke Nicholas | bnicholas@dailyegyptian.com

Humans

ofSIU

Margaret Petrilla, an SIU student majoring in history education, studies at the library Sept. 29, 2022 in Carbondale, Ill. Petrilla said she likes the library because she can get all her work done and then go home. Saba Saboor Rooh Mofrad | @ssaboor_

Mayah Bickers enjoys her Chocolate Cream Cold Brew Starbucks drink Sept. 29, 2022 at the SIU Student Center in Carbondale, Ill. “It’s nice to be able to go outside between classes,” Bickers said. Saba Saboor Rooh Mofrad | @ssaboor_

Emma Garcia, Deon Craig and Terrin Hannah hang out and enjoy the day on campus Sept. 29, 2022 at SIU in Carbondale, Ill. “I love the Sculpture works around campus, the school is really pretty,” Garcia said. Saba Saboor Rooh Mofrad | @ssaboor_

An

student

bike

SIU campus

Carbondale,

Mercedes Moll studies abstract algebra Sept. 29, 2022 at the SIU Student Center Carbondale, Ill. “I enjoy studying at the Student Center because it is easier to focus sitting at a desk. There are less distractions,” Moll said.

Humans SIU SIU

Nix Faglier, an SIU student, works on her laptop Sept. 29, 2022 at Student Center at SIU in Carbondale, Ill. Saba Saboor Rooh Mofrad | @ssaboor_

Jane Cogie (left) and Lauren Becker, debriefs from convention about community revitalization Sept. 29, 2022 at Faner Plaza in Carbondale, Ill. “It’s a once in a lifetime, once in a generation federal investment in transitioning our coal community, our energy communities to renewable energy, which is a big deal for Southern Illinois,” Becker said. Etahn Grimm | @ethan_grimm

Students smile at a man walking his dogs as they get on the bus Sept. 29, 2022 at Thompson Point bus stop at SIU in Carbondale, Ill. Saba Saboor Rooh Mofrad | @ssaboor_

Janna Harness and Kate Benner study and eat lunch Sept. 29, 2022 at Student Center at SIU in Carbondale, Ill. Saba Saboor Rooh Mofrad | @ssaboor_

Center in focus when

“Pearl,” solidifies Mia Goth as this generations scream queen

Earlier this year in March, A24 released “X” an elevated horror/ slasher that received much praise and has continued to be a topic of conversation throughout the year among horror fans.

The film was directed by Ti West and starred Mia Goth. Goth especially made a splash with the film, as she played the lead protagonist, Maxine, as well as the antagonist, Pearl, which required heavy use of prosthetics. Her performance was impressive in its duality and had everyone wondering what the future held for Goth as a leading woman.

Many were surprised to see that she would be back and better than ever just six short months after the release of “X,” when “Pearl” released in theaters on Sept. 16. Both Goth and Ti West returned as lead and director respectively. “Pearl” is a prequel, showing the backstory about how the villain of “X” came to be.

Goth is yet again playing Pearl, but without her aging prosthetics, as a young woman working on a Texas farm in 1918, 60 years prior to “X.” The film also largely takes place in the same location as “X.” While on the surface, it may seem like “Pearl” is retreading a lot of the same ground, it’s doing anything but.

“Pearl” is a major deviation from the pulpy gore-fest of “X” and is far more interested in the psychological torment that can make a seemingly innocent girl make the turn into a bona fide serial killer.

Pearl is stuck on the farm with her German immigrant parents during the Spanish Flu outbreak and the first World War. Her father was fully paralyzed in the war and has no communication or movement whatsoever. Her mother is ferociously overbearing and emotionally abusive, as she has been tasked with providing for the family in her father’s absence. Pearl’s new husband, Howard, is also absent serving in the war.

The film continues down a dark and twisted path, showing Pearl’s psychopathic deviant

tendencies slowly creeping into her day-to-day life. She has high hopes for stardom, wishing to be a rich and famous dancer who travels the world. As her relationship with her mother strains, things only get more tense.

“Pearl” is, without a doubt, Mia Goth’s film. Her performance alone carries it from beginning to end and showcases her immense talent. She bounces from terrifying, to hilarious, to achingly tragic with complete control and confidence.

Around halfway through the film, Pearl undertakes a major shift in character and mental stability, presenting one of the most realistic and upsetting portrayals of someone being pushed into complete psychopathy.

On top of a complete powerhouse performance throughout the film’s runtime, Goth acts out a gut-wrenching monologue near the end of the film that will terrify and impress any self-respecting filmgoer. This has already started some awards season buzz on social

media, with fans suggesting the scene deserves Oscar attention.

Although “Pearl” has completely solidified Goth as a force to be reckoned with, it wasn’t without its issues. While West is an undoubtedly impressive director, with a keen eye for visuals and talented editing to boot, his influence can wear a bit thin throughout the film.

While “X” could be considered on the slow side in terms of pacing for a modern slasher, it was a NASCAR race compared to “Pearl,” which suffers from a sadistically slow pace. It can range from euphoric, in the case of Goth’s monologue, to a complete slog in many sequences.

There are numerous scenes that would benefit from being cut down and shortened. The plot takes quite a while to display any sort of major turn, until around the last forty-five minutes of the film. “Pearl” is not exactly a traditionally structured film, but while this is not necessarily a negative, it undoubtedly could have used

some tightening.

I found myself often perplexed with long stretches of the film, which seem only to serve West’s own indulgence to let the camera or moment linger a bit too long.

This results in “Pearl” not being the most “fun” watch in many ways. While the subject matter at hand is already heavy, the film insists on poking and prodding its audience with West’s fully unrestrained aesthetic choices.

“Pearl” may be largely uneven and in need of some restraint, but when it works it really works.

There are loads of sequences that I haven’t stopped thinking of since walking out of the theater with most of them being elevated by the excellent cinematography from Eliot Rockett, a frequent collaborator with West.

There are many frames that already feel iconic, whether it be the kills or its end credits sequence, which may be the most uncomfortable you’ll ever be while reading a cast list.

“Pearl” is also heavily inspired by the glitzy technicolor films of the 1950s, having a color palette not dissimilar to those like “The

Wizard of Oz.”

On nearly every technical level, “Pearl” is masterfully made. While the prequel’s script can feel a bit undeveloped and overly ambitious, it serves as an impressive addition to the fastdeveloping lexicon of 2020s horror.

West and Goth are most certainly positioning themselves as horror’s next big duo as a third film in the “X” franchise has already been greenlit. This sequel, titled “MaXXXine,” will be set after the events of “X” in the 1980s, with West returning to direct and Goth reprising her role as Maxine. This strikes up similarities to other iconic director/star duos such as John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis.

There truly has never been a better time to be a horror fan than in 2022, with multiple stellar original films and even more to look forward to.

Staff reporter Zaden Dennis can be reached at zdennis@ dailyegyptian.com and you can find his other reviews at letterboxd.com/Zadenator

Anika Svancarek | @sw.ani.ka

“Don’t Worry Darling” struggles to do much of anything

Zaden dennis | Zdennis@dailyegyptian

“Don’t Worry Darling” is a film that has seen its fair share of media coverage in the leadup to its release. The film has been one of the most drama-filled productions in decades, as seemingly every person involved had some sort of tea to be spilled, with even lead actress Florence Pugh’s lack of social media marketing making headlines.

The film is director Olivia Wilde’s second feature following her 2019 smash hit debut, “Booksmart.” “Don’t Worry Darling” felt like a major departure from the comingof-age, ground level, small-scale roots of her previous film. Wilde pivots to a larger studio film, complete with decadent set design and a star-studded cast. Prior to its release, it even seemed like a potential awards contender.

The film stars Florence Pugh, Chris Pine and, in his first leading role, Harry Styles. Styles’s casting in the film caused a large stir of controversy itself, as many were skeptical of his ability to act alongside other seasoned performers. Although, it can be assumed that a large amount of the film’s fanfare and financial success can be attributed to Styles’ inclusion in the film, as his star power in the

musical realm is undeniable.

Early marketing and trailers suggested a mystery filled psychological thriller, with many layers to peel back in its plot.

The film takes place in the 1950s as Florence Pugh stars as our lead, Alice, who is a housewife to Harry Styles’ character, Jack, the family breadwinner. They live in “Victory,” an experimental utopian suburban community. Chris Pine stars as Frank, the community’s leader, who runs the company that all the communities’ men work at. Oddities and mysterious happenings begin to stack up as the film progresses, causing Alice to fall into a spiral of lies and deceptions.

To be blunt, “Don’t Worry Darling” is, like the drama surrounding it, a hot mess. Its long stretches of nonsensical dialogue, unbalanced acting and confounding plot twists create an experience nearly as disorienting as what Alice experiences throughout the film and not in an intentional way.

The film is far too overlong for its own good, as it has enough substance to maybe constitute a 40-minute episode of “Black Mirror” and certainly not its twoplus hour runtime. It’s constantly running in circles, rehashing scenes we’ve seen multiple times, following unnecessary plot developments and

forcing the audience to sit through countless meaningless monologues that feel nearly un-edited.

We are strung along with various instances of strange imagery and occurrences in their suburban town. None of them make any sense at all but hinge on the audience trusting that it will all make sense eventually once it reveals its secrets.

While I’m hesitant to reveal any of its major plot points, it can be said plainly that its major twist does not serve as a satisfying or logical connection to the film’s buildup.

Frustratingly, I found the twist itself compelling and interesting, but when the expectations are set so high, with nearly two hours of open-ended mysteries leading up to it, you feel a bit cheated by the end.

It felt as though many things were written on the fly or retroactively, with no effort to make it connect logically to the film’s actual plot or themes. The film often cuts to sequences of psychedelic, vaguely experimental imagery, outside of the film’s reality. But these sequences are far more in service of being “quirky” or “unexpected” rather than having any real depth whatsoever.

Florence Pugh is exceptional in her role, as the one thing that keeps “Don’t Worry Darling” from being completely unwatchable. She shows immense range and emotional

resonance, and she proves herself as one of the most exciting leading women that we have in popular film today. Although it does feel as though she is punching below her weight in certain moments, this seems to be the fault of the lackluster script and the film’s troubled production.

Chris Pine also shines through in his scenes and is best when he and Pugh are acting against each other. Though still frustrating, as they are only given one substantial scene to have any kind of fun with. Pine still comes off as a consummate professional in the film itself, as well as in the equally embarrassing press tour.

Disappointingly, one of the film’s largest missteps is the casting of Harry Styles. He is far from bad, but he is dwarfed in comparison when sharing scenes with Pine and Pugh, as they outshine him in nearly every way. He lacks any sort of command in his scenes and always feels like he’s in the background, which is perplexing for someone who is supposed to be the co-lead.

Styles’ performance is even more egregious once the film’s major twist is revealed. He plays the opposite of what the character should be and what the other male actors represent. He is far too charismatic and lacks any duality

that the reveal necessitates. This leads to the assumption that his casting was more of a marketing decision, or the result of a favor being called in, as virtually any other alternative casting would have been more suited for what the film required.

This is not to say “Don’t Worry Darling” is all bad. It has excellent set design that’s complimented by visually engaging, symmetric cinematography from Matthew Libatique. It also has a subversive and interesting score from John Powell that combines standard orchestration with dark synthesizers and anxiety-inducing vocal chants that enhance the film’s atmosphere greatly.

“Don’t Worry Darling’’ proves to be an especially devastating sophomore slump for Olivia Wilde, coupled with embarrassing reallife drama surrounding it, it’s hard to be optimistic for her future as a director. But if she bounces back with anything half as charismatic as “Booksmart,” her undeniably unique style may still have an interesting trajectory.

Rating: 4/10

Staff reporter Zaden Dennis can be reached at zdennis@dailyegyptian. com and you can find his other reviews at letterboxd.com/Zadenator.

“Avatar” is still one the best experiences you’ll ever have in a theater

Zaden dennis @letterboxd com/Zadenator

At this point, it’s highly unlikely that you aren’t at least aware of “Avatar.” As the highest grossing film of all time, it has been nearly impossible to avoid. Thirteen years, four theatrical re-releases and four announced sequels later, “Avatar” is still somehow dominating the film industry, especially now that its long-awaited sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” is hitting theaters this December.

In the lead up to “Way of the Water,” a wide theatrical re-release started on Sept. 23, and will only run for two weeks. This release boasts a fully remastered version of the film, with 4K visuals and High Dynamic Range color grading. The release is also exclusively in 3D, allowing audiences to re-experience, or experience for the first time, the wonders of the technology that the film pioneered all those years ago. It was also released in premium large formats such as IMAX 3D and Dolby Cinemas.

Although the excitement is rising for many filmgoers as we near the 13-years-in-development sequel, the film has seen its fair share

of skepticism. In the years since “Avatar” was originally released, it has become widely dismissed as being dated, overrated and overhyped. Younger audiences especially have lost respect for the film and simply do not understand why it was such a phenomenon.

In an interview with the New York Times, director James Cameron said many young movie viewers have never seen it in a theater.

“Even though they think they may have seen the film, they really haven’t seen it,” he said.

This is very likely a reaction from Cameron to the criticism of the original film.

The purpose of the re-release is to allow audiences to see the film in the way it was intended to be seen, as well as refresh the memory of those who have seen it already. I was part of the camp of not loving the film and not understanding its wide appeal, feeling it was lackluster in my memory, as I had only seen it once at home when it was initially released on DVD.

But I can confidently attest to the sheer power the film continues to have in its intended format. I saw the film in IMAX 3D, and I struggle

to recall any theatrical experience that quite rivals “Avatar” even this many years later. By way of the revolutionary 3D cinematography, as well as the massive IMAX screen, I found myself completely transported into the world of Pandora.

During its first 20 minutes or so, I was fearful that the film may just have lost its power all these years later, as the early lab sequences are exposition heavy and messy as well as being largely visually uninteresting.

But Cameron breezes past these moments to get to where the film truly shines, once our main character Jake Sully, enters his Avatar. The worldbuilding, set design and overall atmosphere of the world is still unrivaled and is completely unique.

As every tree, plant and creature floats around the auditorium before your eyes, it’s impossible to deny the sheer craft of Cameron’s vision.

CGI is an aspect of filmmaking notorious for its inability to age well and very quickly transforming from revolutionary to embarrassing. This is not the case for “Avatar.”

Every detail and painstakingly crafted environment is just as visually impressive and tactile as

it was in 2009, which emphasizes the difference between CGI that is developed and polished over a long period. Today, most films that feature heavy CGI, such as the Marvel films, are typically very rushed and are done under severe crunch very close to the films release date. This removes a certain level of artistry and care that is present in every single frame of Avatar’s visual effects.

While the film’s story can, at times, feel a bit rudimentary, surface level and cliched, one thing it cannot be called is ineffective. Similar to films like the original “Star Wars,” “Avatar” breaks its storytelling down to its most simple, classical form. It cuts out anything that fills unnecessary space or is too overly complicated. This simplicity is an aspect that turns a lot of modern filmgoers off, me included prior to this rewatch. But when you see it deployed with such efficiency now, it’s impossible to deny.

Despite these criticisms of the film’s plot, by the end of the first hour (out of three), I was entirely emotionally invested in all these characters. “Avatar” has a completely universal theme and story that anyone can understand

and connect with. Coupled with its excellent action sequences and a world that fully captures your imagination, you have a completely lean and economic blockbuster.

With this viewing of the film, my opinion of it has completely changed, proving Cameron’s point. I now find it abundantly clear as to why this film is as successful as it was, as it’s easily one of the most crowdpleasing theatrical experiences of all time. James Cameron has proved himself (again) to be a filmmaker not to be underestimated.

His aptitude for audiences is unmatched, which has been proven with “Titanic” and “Avatar,” both of which are in the top five highest grossing films of all time. Although it has been easy to forget about his sheer mastery of the craft in the long 13 years since “Avatar” was originally released, we likely will see him take the world over once again this December with “Avatar: The Way of the Water.”

Rating: 9/10

Staff reporter Zaden Dennis can be reached at zdennis@dailyegyptian. com and you can find his other reviews at letterboxd.com/Zadenator.

Southern Illinois Men’s Rugby looks to improve under new coach

Joei Younker JYounker@dailYegYptian com

Rugby is often considered one of the most aggressive contact sports.

Unlike most sports, rugby athletes wear no protective gear during their matches. Having 15 players from both teams on the field at a time, the object is to ground the ball behind the opponent’s try line, in the in-goal area as many times as possible.

“Anyone on the team can score, unlike other contact sports,” new head coach Mike Steele said.

Although it’s not listed as a Division 1 sport at SIU, rugby has brought an amazing culture to the campus that brings families and alumni back each season.

“We have a very fun and supportive group to be around, and I wish more people would be able to see that,” first year player Henry Smith said.

Smith called rugby “the greatest contact team sport in the world.”

“There’s no other sport like it,” Steele said.

This season was monumental for the men’s rugby team and consisted of recruiting over 15 new players and acquiring the club’s first official head coach. Before, the team had never relied on a combined playercoach position to run the team.

Second year player Kyle Carson said that created issues between

players and player-coaches.

“Having a coach this season brings in a level of respect and willingness to learn that we may not have had last season,” Carson said.

The volunteer coach for the rugby team is SIU Rugby alum, Mike Steele, said he’s wanting to get the team back into the win column.

“It feels like I’m giving something back to the school. I’m trying to get the club back to some of the winning ways; when I played we were winning a lot,” Steele said.

15 new recruits can be a lot for a team to take on, especially in a sport like rugby where it takes years to acquire the knowledge to play a sound game. The team has been trying some new things to get all of the players on the same page that they haven’t done so in past seasons.

“We’ve been watching practice film at the student rec center to help us better see what we need to work on in the next practice or for the next game,” Smith said.

But the large number of new players on the team this season contains both advantages and disadvantages for SIU Rugby.

“We have a lot of new people who haven’t played rugby that much, but I think, with time,

when everyone improves we could have a really promising team,” said Brady Forys, one of the new recruits.

The Southern Illinois Men’s Rugby team started its fall season Sept. 11 at St. Louis University. The night game was a new experience, with all of their prior games being played at 1 p.m. Temperatures for the games are usually around 80 or mid 90 degrees Fahrenheit, but with the night game, it was around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, making it more comfortable for the players.

Southern played a tough, hardhitting game, giving up only 10 points in the first half and only missing a few try opportunities and penalty kick opportunities.

The team did not give up and pressured SLU into the second half, but the Salukis again missed on penalty kicks and try opportunities. Mid-waythrough the second half, second year rugby player Kyle Carson scored, and Jacob Ray converted for Southern’s seven points.

SIU’s score and convert was followed by a SLU score and convert, which allowed them to add three more points with a penalty kick, ending the game with a final score of 20-7 to give SLU the win over Southern.

Although the Salukis lost the match, there were some positives that came out of the brawl with St. Louis.

“Our strengths as a team right now are our don’t-give-up attitude, we’ve got really good spirit and the guys just don’t give up. Weakness wise, we are in a learning process,” Steele said.

The team is a rebuilding exercise right now.

“We have a lot of good athletes that are in good shape. We’re all about team camaraderie, there’s no I in team, and now we’re working on the basics to see the fruit of our

efforts this season” Steele said.

The much improved team hosted Lindenwood B on Oct. 1, at 1 p.m. on the rugby pitch on the hill just south of the SIU Arena. The remainder of their schedule follows: Oct. 8 at Maryville University, 1 p.m.; Oct. 15 at University of Illinois B side, 3 p.m. Anyone who is interested in playing for the Men’s Rugby Club should contact team president, Jackson Hall, at (502) 235-6803.

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

SIU Rugby Alumni Mike Steele returns to campus helping the men’s rugby team by discussing plays and running drills with the team on Sept. 27, 2022 during their practice in Carbondale, Ill. Lylee Gibbs | @lyleegibbsphotography

David Gomes reaches to grab the ball from Will Wise while running an offload drill that worked on ball exchange during practice on Sept. 27, 2022 in Carbondale, Ill. Lylee Gibbs | @lyleegibbsphotography

Salukis add BYU to 2024 football schedule

Brandyn Wilcoxen | @BrandynWilcoxen

Saluki fans thinking about going to Lawrence, Kansas on Aug. 31, 2024 will have to adjust their plans, as Southern Illinois football will be heading to Provo, Utah instead.

The Salukis announced last week they will travel to face the BYU Cougars in 2024, which will be the team’s first game of the season. The game will replace a previously scheduled matchup against the Kansas Jayhawks on the program’s future calendar.

The Kansas game was originally scheduled in July 2020 to be played the next month to accommodate for COVID-19 related cancellations, but was ultimately postponed to 2024. Southern Illinois will receive a $560,000 payout for the game; $425,000 will come from BYU, while the rest will come from Kansas.

The news comes just a week and a half after the Salukis upset Northwestern of the Big Ten conference 31-24 in their second victory over a Power Five program in school history. Head coach Nick Hill was also involved in SIU’s first such win, a 35-28 win over Indiana in 2006.

“For our program and for our fans, it was a special day for all of Saluki nation,” Hill said of the Northwestern win.

BYU will join the Big 12 conference in 2023 as part of a nationwide conference realignment in college sports, making them a Power Five opponent by the time they take on Southern Illinois. Currently an FBS Independent, it will soon join the conference alongside Houston, UCF and 2021 College Football Playoff participant Cincinnati.

The Cougars may prove to be the toughest opponent Southern Illinois has scheduled in decades. Through Week 5 of the 2022 campaign, BYU has accumulated a record of 25-5 since 2020 and sits at No. 19 in the AP FBS Top 25 rankings. If BYU maintains its Top-25 status entering 2024, it will be the first time the Salukis will face a ranked FBS opponent since 1990.

SIU’s most recent visit to the state of Utah was for an FCS playoff game in April 2020 against Weber State, which saw the Salukis upset the No. 3 ranked Wildcats thanks to a game-winning touchdown pass from Stone Labanowitz to current SIU linebacker Branson Combs with 51 seconds left.

Although Southern Illinois has never played BYU, it has a history against Big 12 opponents. The Salukis lost to Kansas three times in 1986, 1987 and 2000; lost to Baylor in 2001; and most recently lost to Kansas State in 2021.

While none of those games ended in SIU’s

favor, the Salukis played close in a few of them. The 1987 matchup in particular was notable, as Southern had the ball and a five-point lead with less than five minutes to go when a fumble gave Kansas the opportunity to take the lead and the victory.

Last year’s Salukis held a two-point lead at halftime against Kansas State but ended up getting shut out in the second half and allowing K-State to take a 31-23 victory.

“I’m sick to my stomach because I felt like we should’ve won that football game,” Hill said after the loss to the Wildcats.

That team would build off of the close loss, winning its next five games en route to an FCS playoff bid. On the opposite sideline, Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman credited the Salukis for being a tough opponent despite being from the FCS.

“We’re excited about getting the win over a really good Southern Illinois team,” he said after the game. “I know the league really well that they play in and I know they have really good football players.”

While there is an overall talent gap between the FBS and FCS, the Salukis have proven that teams from the lower division can compete with and even defeat some of the more well-known schools in the country. Southern has led or been tied at halftime in six of its seven games against FBS opponents since Hill took over in 2016.

2024 is still a long way off, as many of the current Salukis will be graduated in favor of a new crop of players. Still, it’s going to be a great test for that year’s SIU team on its opening weekend. Although Southern just recently had a candidate for biggest win in school history, a tight contest with Brigham Young University could be even bigger.

“I’m proud of the way the entire building stayed together and really believed in going out there and winning that football game when probably most people did not,” Hill said of his team’s last win over a Power Five team.

If anybody could do it, it’s coach Hill’s Salukis. From Power Five teams all the way down to the lowest FCS schools, Southern Illinois has shown it can compete with anyone in the country on its best day. The program might be getting paid to play at BYU, but it will be looking for more than just money when it comes back home to Carbondale.

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

Sophie Whitten

Sophie Whitten