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As the semester came to one of its highpoints during homecoming week, many alumni, retired staff and community members gathered at Southern Illinois University (SIU) to celebrate their many years of unstinting service to SIU and its students. There were many exclamations of déjà vu from those who walked the Salukispirit-strewn hallways in past decades, finding the school a vibrant but altogether different place.
Still, especially in SIU’s tightly-knit arts departments, where students have easy access to professors, alumni are not easily forgotten by those they mentored and grew with. On Friday, October 14, as the returned classes paced their old stomping grounds, alumni, including those from the Daily Egyptian and Saluki AdLab, celebrated one such community, 75 years in the making, on the anniversary of the School of Journalism and Advertising.
SIU alumni participate in a panel for the Daily Egyptian during the 75th anniversary of the School of Journalism and Advertising Friday, Oct. 14, 2022 in Carbondale, Ill. Annie Hammock | ahammock@dailyegyptian.com
The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of Southern Illinois University Carbondale on a weekly basis. Fall and spring semester editions run every Wednesday. Free copies are distributed in the Carbondale, Carterville, and Springfield communities. The Daily Egyptian can be found at www.dailyegyptian.com or on the Daily Egyptian app!
The Daily Egyptian, the student-run news organization of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, is committed to being a trusted source of news, information, commentary and public discourse, while helping readers understand the issues affecting their lives.
The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of Southern Illinois University Carbondale and functions as a laboratory for the School of Journalism in exchange for the room and utilities in the Communications Building. The Daily Egyptian is a non-profit organization that survives primarily off of its advertising revenue. Offices are in the Communications Building, room 1259, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, Ill., 62901.
@2021 The Daily Egyptian. All rights reserved. All content is property of the Daily Egyptian and may not be reproduced or transmitted without consent. The Daily Egyptian is a member of the Illinois College Press Association, Associated Collegiate Press, College Media Advisers Inc. and the College Business and Advertising Managers Inc.
Letters and guest columns must be submitted with author’s contact information, preferably via email. Phone numbers are required to verify authorship, but will not be published. Students must include their year and major. Faculty must include rank and department. Others include hometown. Submissions should be sent to editor@dailyegyptian.com
“Well even though it’s 75 years, the journalism program was here, like, at the beginning of time. When the college started in the 1860s, journalism was one of the first programs,” said Jan Thompson, the director of the School of Journalism. “So the importance of the program, within this university, has always been there.”
The evening started with a panel of the Daily Egyptian’s (DE) editors from the last decade, which took place in the DE’s newsroom. Each of the former editors told journalism students where they are in their careers currently. Panelists came from all over, ranging from Sarah Gardner, director of social media strategy for National Geographic in Washington D.C. to one of SIU’s own sports communication associates, Tyler Dixon.
While each editor presented their own colorful history with the DE, few contributed more to the paper than Kayli Plotner, who helped save the DE from hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt in 2014. Leveraging her twitter movement, #savetheDE, she proposed funding the DE with a student media fee, going from the Undergraduate Student Senate to the top levels of the schools administration. It’s thanks to her, and supporting faculty mentors like Professor Bill Freivogel, that the Daily Egyptian is one of relatively few school papers able to offer its student workers payment for their efforts.
Brain Muñoz, a panel member and 2019 graduate, was one of many that saw the fruits of previous editors’ labor.
“Over the years, looking at the work that the Daily Egyptian did - even when I wasn’t at SIU - was amazing and one of the big reasons why I came to SIU,” Muñoz said. “I would go - at my previous university that I was attending - I would go and look at the Daily Egyptian’s content: the stories they were putting out, the community features, the photo essays. I’m like, ‘I wanna be a part of that, I don’t know how they’re so good at what they do!’”
Muñoz would go on to transfer to SIU as soon as possible, almost immediately becoming the director of photography at the DE. He was made Editor in Chief by the fall semester of his senior year.
“Luckily we’ve been able to persevere through 75 years because of the shoulders of the giants we stood on and we continue to blaze the path forward and try and bring in more folks to experience the same magic we experienced here,” Muñoz said.
After the panel, the School of Journalism held its 75th anniversary reception in North Light Studio, drawing dozens of familiar faces, both old and new. On the way there, alumni and retired faculty were treated to a newsroom plastered in photos of past editors, reporters and faculty of the DE, including Gus Bode, the Daily Egyptian’s sardonic mascot of 66 years.
Once an author of his own column in the DE’s Friday Entertainment issue, “The Pulse,” Gus has sometimes been a controversial figure, like the time he provoked a group of women to storm the DE’s newsroom and release a live chicken, but has a reputation for always being honest and frank. His comments over the years and many other items of DE memorabilia greeted the homecoming Salukis.
However, no matter how many memories the DE dredged up for display, some attendees couldn’t help but be wowed in the wake of time’s progress at SIU. Tom Hexamer, formerly the Radio and Television equipment manager at SIU, marveled at the technological changes at the school, where he spent the entire second half of his career.
“You see that [large, ceiling mounted crane] right there? That hung over the printing press in this room at one time, a monster! And what that thing would do up there is lift the big rolls of paper and put them on the printing press,” Hexamer said. “Years ago the equipment that you worked with, your cameras, your audio recorders, your film processors; if it wasn’t heavy, it wasn’t any good.”
Journalism isn’t always the easiest field. The deadlines can be harsh
on one’s personal schedule, the pay is seldom generous and the subject matter of reporting can range from the happiest of occasions to the darkest crimes. It’s common for journalists to switch careers early on after dealing with demanding companies and disadvantageous contracting conventions. In short, it is unusual for an old veteran such as Hexamer to come along with 25 years of experience and a comparable amount of teaching experience.
“Every day was a learning day,” Hexamer said. “What you learned today was obsolete tomorrow, so you had to always, always, observe and learn. Once you get that established in your ethics, then the changes, and the changing technology, is easy to accept.”
Thompson noted the importance of the industry the DE’s students are learning.
“Those who are on the journalism side, they understand that what they are doing is giving a voice to those that don’t have a voice,” Thompson said. “We’re in the constitution. How important is that? Journalism is what keeps our democracy together. Journalism is what keeps people honest, so that the little guy has a chance.”
Thompson went on to praise the advertising side of the School of Journalism and Advertising, which has won many awards, recently even securing a 2 million dollar contract with the state.
“We’re kicking some butt,” she said. “We have some of the most talented kids in this school, we do! It’s my job as the director, as all my faculty, to find that passion in you, to make sure that, if this is what you wanna do, we’re gonna lift you up [...] We’re the little train. We are full of heart. We are the ones that, you know, people might not see us in the room but if we’re given the chance they’re gonna hear us, they’re gonna feel us, and we leave some people in the dust.”
“I was like putting the two together to become a vet in the future is my overall goal,” Acevedo said. “And to really like having that aspect of the medical field but kind of dealing with animals since I feel they’re usually on the side-burner compared to humans.”
Homecoming to Acevedo means being able to shine a light on students who show excellence in and out of the classroom, he said.
“I feel with homecoming it allows me to connect and meet people, like I said in the beginning, just because that’s my overall motto in life,” Acevedo said. “Why hate someone or don’t talk to somebody if you don’t know them that well?”
Junior Rose South is a computer science major and chose to come to SIU because of the community connection she has with Carbondale.
“I am a legacy. My dad’s from SIU,” South said. “Carbondale [has] always been kind of like my second home, Rainbow Cafe, I’ve been a part of that organization since I was like 13.”
“They had my major and I just chose this over probably a bigger school because of all the love and friendship that everybody gave me here.”
Vezensky said he got into architecture for his love of designing things.
He is currently president of Kappa Alpha Fraternity, vice president of the Interfraternity Council and an umbrella organization under the Undergraduate Student Government with Fraternity and Sorority Life.
“I really wasn’t involved in high school. I just kind of, like, went to school, went back,” Vezensky. “That was just kind of something that I wanted to improve on in college. I wanted to make these four years a little different.”
Homecoming gives students a chance to be able to embody school pride. Vezensky said he really wanted to attend SIU and be involved in the community.
Jamilah lewis | @JamilahlewisSouthern Illinois University students Brittany Wendel and Grace Gonzalez were chosen as this year’s homecoming royalty in a vote by students.
Wendel is a fourth-year student in dental hygiene who fell in love with SIU during a tour her sophomore year of high school, which was originally for her older sister. Her decision to study dental hygiene dates back to second grade.
“I’ve always wanted to go into dentistry,” Wendel said. “So knowing they had such a good program, it’s actually the only bachelor’s program for dental hygiene in the state of Illinois, I, like, was hooked the minute I saw campus and, like, knew they have what I wanted.”
Wendel said she was inspired by early visits to her dentist.
“Over time, I, like, figured out that I wanted to go more of, like, a focused route with dental hygiene,” Wendel said. “I just love being able to provide that dental care to patients and, like, being able to improve their overall health while just focusing on the mouth.”
Wendel is the vice president of Saluki Ambassadors, a part of the Dawg Pound and the Student Chapter of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (SADHA) and also runs the Southern Illinois University (SIU) Tiktok account and is known as the Tiktok girl on campus.
“I’m, like, not in media or anything like that. They actually found me on Instagram and I was just very active on their pages,” Wendel said. “They asked me to come in and just do, like, a screen practice and just see how I was on screen in front of the camera. And it actually went really well and they, like, offered me a job and I’ve been doing it since then.”
In her hometown in Streamwood, Illinois, Wendel said she volunteers at
open mic nights and Broadway camps. Her biggest volunteer experience comes from Saluki Ambassadors with campus tours.
Wendel wanted to run for homecoming court to bring more attention to Saluki pride and how fun it is to be involved in homecoming.
“I really like the idea of being that example of just what it means to be proud wearing maroon every single day because it’s my whole wardrobe,” Wendel said. “Who cares what is fun and isn’t fun just make it fun, just being super involved on campus and I just I love being the embodiment of your Saluki pride.”
Homecoming for Wendel is a time for current Salukis, alumni and possible future Salukis to come together.
“It’s more than the tailgating and stuff. It’s, like, we’re watching a football game together,” Wendel said. “We’re cheering on the same team. We’re having a parade to showcase all the SIU stuff, all the Carbondale stuff we have. It’s just a great way to come together I think as a community.”
Wendel said she has been involved in homecomings since she was young, being in cheer a good amount of her life and being in homecoming parades.
“It’s always fun to come have this one reason to come together,” Wendel said. “I don’t think it’s ever, ever gonna go away, because it really is, like, the homecoming. It’s like everybody coming back home.”
Wendel’s co-winner, Grace Gonzalez, was not available for an interview at the time of publication.
She is a fourth-year early childhood major with an American Sign Language minor. She is from Chicago and is president of Sigma Kappa.
Eight other students make up the homecoming court.
Arianna Goss is a senior in Healthcare Management from Sainte Marie, Illinois, who decided to come to SIU because of scholarship
opportunities.
“That’s what pulled me to campus were the interviews for those,” Goss said. “Then based on my tour here and meeting students, I decided ultimately to go here.”
She plans to go into public health or long-term care, is currently interning at the Liberty Village of Marion and is also very involved on campus.
“I’m a part of the Honors Program and Student Health Care Management Association also Undergraduate Student Government,” Goss said. “Delta Zeta Sorority and then I serve on a couple of committees under Undergraduate Student Government and then I also completed the REACH program last year for undergraduate research.”
Goss said she decided to run for court this year because of the memories she has of seeing other students doing it.
“My freshman year, I worked for the football team as an athletic trainer aid and I just remember seeing all of you know, both juniors and seniors serving on that court,” Goss said. “I guess in my mind, I was always like, I would love to get to that point to know that like, I’ve been involved on campus and ultimately would get to serve in that capacity.”
Julian Acevedo is a senior studying zoology and came to SIU because of the welcoming environment he experienced while on a tour of the school.
“When I visited the first time I really liked the people and diversity here and I really liked that everyone was welcoming and friendly compared to some other schools I went to,” Acevedo said. “Being able to have a community like that, to kind of connect to and meet new people, is something I really like.”
Acevedo said he’s from a family with people in the medical field; he took an interest in medicine and has a love for animals.
South said she found her love for computer science in high school while taking a web development class and took interest in coding.
“I’m also part of the Society of Women Engineers… the University Honors Program and the Chancellor Scholars Program,” South said. “I’m also part of SASI [which] is Social Action of Southern Illinois and then I just participate in a lot of, like, local activism work.”
She chose to run for homecoming court to show other people like her who might be a different body type and sexuality that they can be involved also.
“‘I’m doing it to show other people that you can [be] people who like aren’t in sororities, people who like have larger body types, people who are gay, like and just kind of this like, you know, woman in STEM,” South said. “It’s just kind of like, showing this idea that like, you don’t have to fit into a mold to do it and to be good at it.”
Rob Hodges is a senior majoring in aviation and transferred from Northern Illinois University for a better academic environment that fits him.
Hodges is currently in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated, is involved with the Black Affairs Council and used to be an Undergraduate Government senator. After graduating, he plans to work at an airline and ultimately wants to work with helicopters.
Hodges said the decision to run for homecoming court came to him one day.
“I didn’t run in high school, and I just felt like running,” Hodges said. “It can just show like, you know, young dudes, it’s okay to, like, put yourself out there. Make yourself vulnerable.”
Jacob Vezensky is a senior in architecture and came to SIU after feeling the inclusiveness the school has to offer.
“I didn’t even get to stay for, like, the full tour and even then, like, everybody, like [was] really open,” Vezensky said.
“I feel like there’s no other better way of doing it than being on homecoming [court],” Vezensky said. “I’ve sat down, watched the last couple of Homecomings [and] had to work the last one, so I wasn’t able to run for that, but this year, it’s senior year. I feel like it’s on the line.”
Senior Kylen Lunn, the DE’s own Multimedia editor, is majoring in cinematography and chose to attend SIU after a welcoming tour and seeing how beautiful the campus was.
Lunn said he got into cinema in high school after looking at videos on YouTube.
“My freshman year of high school I [got] this recommended YouTube video [that] came on my YouTube page. It was a video by this guy named Sam Kolder and he’s, like, a travel videographer,” Lunn said. “He made this video about traveling to Hawaii and ever since I saw that, I was like, oh my god, like this is exactly what I want to do with my life.”
He came to SIU to further his studies in film and hopes to do video works with bands traveling with them as a personal videographer.
“I am a senior producer in Alt News, I’m a crew member in MCM, which is Movie Camera Movement,” Lunn said. “And whenever Photo Genesis is a thing I’m like, just a crew member involved in that.”
Lunn decided to run for homecoming court as a last hoorah before he graduates, he said.
“I feel like I’ve lived every memory that I could have at this school and I just wanted to kind of keep adding on to that,” Lunn said. “Also, my parents went to SIUC as well, but like they did it remotely. And they just kind of I’m just kind of whenever I told them I was running, I just saw how happy they were and it kind of made me really happy.”
Court members Alaina Herman and Raven Spears were not available for an interview before the time of publication.
Staff reporter Jamilah Lewis can be reached at jlewis@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter @jamilahlewis
The Survivor Empowerment Center formerly known as the Women’s Center, set up its Clothes Line Project outside of Faner on Tuesday, Oct. 11 to spread awareness about domestic and sexual abuse.
October is nationally recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the Clothes Line Project is designed to remember victims of domestic abuse and let people who were or are abused speak out.
Different colored shirts were hung up to represent different stories: white for someone who died due to violence, yellow for survivors of domestic violence, pink, red, and orange for survivors of sexual assaults, blue and green for survivors of child abuse or incest, and purple for people who have been attacked because of their sexual orientation.
Anna Margrum, the domestic violence program coordinator, and Sarah Settles, the domestic violence house case manager, said the Survivor Empowerment Center is open to helping anyone, no matter what their age or sexual orientation, get out of an abusive situation.
“We have a shelter for folks that need a safe place to stay to come and stay, and then we also offer quite a few services such as legal advocacy.
We have counseling, we have child advocacy, we have a disturbing array of services and they’re all free of charge,” Margurm said.
Although the Center is located in Southern Illinois, it will help any survivor no matter what area they come from, Margrum said.
Settles said her role is to help people who are trying to start over and get their life together after leaving an abusive situation.
“I am in charge of six different units, three houses, and three apartments, and just, depending on availability, they are allowed to stay in those places for up to two years until they get on their feet,” Settles said. “During that two years, I work with them on different things, such as getting their license, getting their life together, social security cards, birth certificates, and anything that they need that may have been taken away during their time of abuse.”
Because October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, it is important to remind people this is a serious issue and can happen to someone regardless of their age, Margrum said.
“I initially experienced this here at SIU as a student years ago. [...] I read the various shirts and the ones that stuck out to me most were the ones that are size 2T,” Margrum said. “Because those are indicative of child abuse and a survivor. Some
of what they write on those are really graphic experiences.”
Margrum said, when she saw the Clothes Line Project for the first time, it hit close to home because she is from Carbondale, and seeing all those shirts from people in the community made her want to help.
She said this will not be the only event the center will be hosting this month. There will be a take-back-
the-night rally and a pumpkin stroll.
“Our big event is going to be we have a take-back-the-night rally and candlelight vigil that’s going to be at the Pavilion in Carbondale and that’s on the 27th which is a Thursday from 5 to 8, Margrum said.
The rally will have speakers educate people about domestic
abuse and violence, and there will be survivors sharing their experiences, she said.
“I know October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but just be aware that it’s prevalent all year,” Settles said.
Tony Easton, Senior, Zoology Major writes a preliminary report on the management of Red Foxes Oct. 13, 2022 outside the Morris Library in Carbondale, Ill. “Right now I’m working on a preliminary report for my Wildlife Biology Principles Class. It’s pretty much an overview on the management of Red Foxes, across the world, but with emphasis on the Illinois population” Easton says.
Ethan Grimm egrimm@dailyegyptian.com
Charlie Bell (right), Frankie Tomlinson, (left) relax and hang in some hammocks outside Oct. 6, 2022 at Steagall Hall Dorms in Carbondale, Ill. “All of us are Forestry majors in Tree ID. This is our way of relaxing after a long week of testing,” Bell said.
Ethan Grimm | egrimm@dailyegyptian.com
Charlie Bell (top left), Frankie Tomlinson (bottom left), Emily Holtrop (bottom right), Duncan Rank (top right) relax and hang in some hammocks Oct. 6, 2022 at Steagall Hall Dorms in Carbondale, Ill. “All of us are Forestry Majors in Tree ID, this is our way of relaxing after a long week of testing,” Bell said.
Ethan Grimm | egrimm@dailyegyptian.com
Black Greek fraternities and sororities gathered at Shryock Auditorium on Saturday, Oct. 14 for the annual Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Homecoming Step Show.
Jashuan Murray, a second-year student and co-host of the show, announced each performance would be judged on various things such as style and performance. He also announced that the winner would win $1,000.
Alpha Phi Alpha decided to do a performance to get the crowd excited. After that, Grace Gunn, the other host, announced the Saluki Shakers as the first to perform for the contest.
Lia Khan, a third-year student and member of the Saluki Shakers, said the team being able to open up for the step show is a new thing
for them.
“I feel like we just get to connect with a different part of campus that we don’t usually connect with,” she said.
Khan said students would enjoy the fact they are doing a new routine that has more of a hiphop beat to it.
After the Saluki Shakers went on, a moment of silence was held for first-year student Keeshanna Jackson, who passed away last year. Gunn said, as Black college students, it is important to experience and have fun at college, but students also need to remember we are a community and we need to look out for each other.
The Miss Ebonness court was introduced to the audience and Alpha Phi Alpha performed again. To get the crowd more excited, Gunn
and Murray had the crowd put the letter E or V up, to see if they were supporting Vanity Fashion Fair Models or Essence Fashion Models, the Vanity Models performed first.
After Vanity went on Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. performed. The president of Sigma Gamma Rho, Briyanna Robinson, said participating in this year’s step show was essentially reintroducing SIU to the group. Robinson said when Black Greek Organizations host events like these it shows other Black students SIU is a community.
Dynasty Dance, Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s first Black majorette team went up and performed their routine. Essence Fashion Models was up next.
Gunn announced to the audience that the annual Ebony Ball will be coming up on
March 25 and encouraged people to come out and support.
Before the winner was announced, different fraternities and sororities such as Omega Psi Phi, Zeta Phi Beta, and Alpha Kappa Alpha, came up on stage to perform to get the crowd revved up.
At the end of the night, the winner was Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc.
“The energy is unmatched, because it only happens once a year,” Khan said. “It’s really good vibes all around. It’s very entertaining, and there’s a lot of talent and a lot of work that goes into this show.”
Staff reporter Janiyah Gaston can be reached at jgaston@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter @DEJaniyah.
Active Minds, a non-profit mental health organization, and SIU Student Health Services teamed up to bring the organization’s Send Silence Packing program to campus on Oct. 10 on the Morris Library lawn.
Send Silence Packing is a display of backpacks of college students who committed suicide; it includes information about them and their lives gathered from family and friends.
Aaron Plattus who was representing Active Minds at the program said the display’s been touring colleges/universities since 2008.
“One of our big goals is to empower people to be there for their friends should they need to reach out to someone,” Plattus said. “To be strong enough to be vulnerable in a situation where they aren’t reaching out to someone, maybe they should be.”
Plattus said most of the bags don’t have anything in them but few have things donated by
families of the people.
“I think a big part of the culture and the stigma around suicide is not talking about it,” Plattus said. “I think having it out in the open is definitely a good thing in terms of changing the conversation and changing the culture.”
Plattus said many people have been affected by suicide and having a display like this makes the conversation unavoidable.
The assistant director of Counseling and Psychological Services and Interim Director of wellness and health promotion,
Shelly Ridgeway, said she likes the name of the program because it makes a statement.
“It really speaks to in and of itself that we need to speak up. There needs to not be a stigma; there needs to not be fear about talking about these issues,” Ridgeway said. “It’s really important for people to seek help.”
Ridgeway said the goal is to let students know that their mental health is a priority and it’s important to know where resources on campus are for
them.
“With people being that much in need, we really need to be doing more to reach our students,” Ridgeway said. “To impact them in ways that will be meaningful to them, so that they know how and when to get the services that are available to them.”
The national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is now available by simply dialing 988.
In honor of the Southern Illinois University (SIU) class of 1972 turning 50, the Alumni Association hosted an awards ceremony at the University Museum on Friday, October 14.
Caleb Hale, the SIU director of communication, and Cathie Mieldezis, the director of constituent college relations, said having these types of events for alumni keeps them connected to the Saluki community.
“We have a number of programs that allow alumni to network, mentor students if that’s their wish, or they can give back through scholarships or they can just come back through events. We had a good time, but we also offer a way to stay connected back to someone’s specific college as well,” Mieldezis said.
Hale said the time alums spend away from the university and then come back for events such as homecoming and class anniversaries, can bring back a lot of memories.
“Distance plus time can really build alumni sentimentality about their days in college and likewise about this place,” he said. “So we see that a lot, not necessarily with people who have just finished college, but for people who are several years out. Perhaps they’re on solid footing with their career in life. They’re ready to re-engage with the university, find out what’s going on and how they can help.”
Alums Marilyn Ayward, who majored in social welfare, and Jean Cairns, who majored in accounting, said one of the things they remember was the riots due to the Vietnam War and Old Main burning down.
Cairns said she remembers the National Guard surrounding the East Campus Towers and seeing tear gas and smoke come out of the buildings.
Ayward said, due to the riots, the
schools had to close down about six weeks before summer break and the administration had to institute pass/ fail for students.
Kathleen Herrera-Ondera, who majored in education, said during the time of the riots, it was very noticeable that the atmosphere on the campus had changed.
“When SIU was closed because we had mini riots and we had the National Guard out here, and stuff, so that probably was the scariest time ever for me to be on the campus because I used to walk around to Thompson woods [...] and here on the corner, they were people with guns in full uniform, and couldn’t walk any more than three people,” she said.
Not all the memories of SIU were that hectic. Ayward said she remembers how students would go and hangout around the strip of Carbondale.
“I enjoyed doing it and going downtown to the bars. Going to the strip thing and hearing the bands,” she said” “ [...] next to Dairy Queen there used to be a hill and it was an old hospital. It was up a little bit of a hill, but then people, on Sundays when there were no classes or anything; some of us would go down there and sit on the hill and then like get some Dairy Queen and get some coffee and just sort of hangout.”
Herrera-Ondera said the Alumni Association really makes an effort to reach out to alums and keep them updated on what is going on with the campus.
“They always include me [in] everything and that’s half the battle, I think. So I think they do a really great job down here,” Herrera-Ondera said.
“Whenever I have a question about homecoming or anything I can text the alumni center and they always
respond and if not that same day, then the next couple of days.”
At the end of the ceremony, Mike Blumhorst, the Alumni Associate
BrEanna GallaGhEr BGallaGhEr@DailyEGyptian com
Float along this year’s homecoming parade with The Daily Egyptian as we take you through what some of the fan favorite floats were, where the float builders got their inspiration for the theme, who was in attendance and what some of their favorite memories were here at SIU.
Many people told us they were just happy to get out there, excited to see everyone showing support, staying connected and ready for a good time. This sentiment seemed to be felt throughout the parade with children catching candy, alumni reminiscing and telling stories of their time here with the future generations of Salukis.
The Delta Chi alumni shared with us that this was their first year marching in the parade as the Walking Pharaohs. And for a lot of them, it was also the first time seeing everyone since graduation.
The theme for this year’s homecoming was the Walk of Fame. Sigma Pi took the idea and ran with it, and it ended up being most of the attendees’ favorite. Their float consisted of a wrestling ring covered in images of famous alumni as well as some of the things they have done, with homage to two former alumni, Bob Odenkirk and Randy Savage boxing it out in the ring.
Parade goers seemed to love all of the bands that marched, with all the music the bands provided setting the tempo for the entire parade.
Former band director Matt Bishop, who was with his wife Laura Bishop, said, “We met in grad school and built our life in Carbondale after graduation and now we get to enjoy watching our children continue on as the third generation to have interest in band and seeing them get these opportunities to play.”
When asked about their favorite memory of their time here at SIU, no two people had the same response. Some mentioned parties, some talked about the big wins we have had in sports, and some said it was meeting life-long friends.
Alum Matt Sebalja said, “I think my favorite memory has to be when I first
joined Sigma Pi. The brothers showed us the history of the frat and our brothers, and where old Greek Row once stood, and it’s nice to see what all came before, to know you are a part of something bigger.”
That’s really what this whole event is about anyway: getting together with a group of people that all have something in common and celebrating that. It might be that you enjoy sports, are involved with Greek life, that you are alumni or are a current student. We all have one thing in common and that is that we are all Salukis.
Staff reporter Breanna Gallagher Gaston can be reached at bgallagher@dailyegyptian.com.
Three years ago, after growing my hair out for what felt like ages, taking care and maintaining it as if it were my child, I decided to lop off my midlength hair. It was my junior year of highschool, and I had always trotted around either a short crew cut or a shaggy layered look, so I thought perhaps I would take a bob around for a spin.
Taking inspiration from pictures of the late French singer Edith Piaf, I wanted it sleek and blunt, which I went through with after also tacking on bangs to the list of things I wanted. After an early morning trip to the beauty parlor, I felt amazing; I left with a very blunt, straight across bob with even more extreme and blunt, straight across bangs.
The next day, I got up horrendously early to remove the wet set curlers I had put in the night before, to brush my curls until they turned into waves and pinning two very large clips on each side of my head. After I felt that my hair was good enough to leave the house, I got dressed in what I can only describe as a very European style outfit, sang my little confidence song and left the house.
That school day was a day full of mixed reviews and emotions.
You see, I was so caught up in the
excitement of getting this hairdo, I kind of neglected to tell everybody, so there was no warning. I went from long layers to Clara Bow in one night. A lot of people asked me if it was a wig, and even more people asked me why I did it. There were sporadic compliments here and there, mostly backhanded, but I give those better than I receive them, so mostly everyone got an ear full that day. I finally had given up all hope when I sat down at lunch with the guy I liked, and he took one glance at me and said, “What did you do to your hair?” while gesturing his finger at his head. Only one day into having this new bob, and I was sick of it.
My distaste for my new bob was less of something that I felt personally, as I felt quite chic with it, but more of a feeling of others being judgemental, and I was not happy about it. I was tired of being compared to Lord Farquad from Shrek, to which I was told I had a likeness. Generally, people are not quite receptive of this hairstyle, as it was for so long perceived as out of style and old-fashioned, but they never really quite went out of style. What is it that people don’t like about the bob hair style?
The 1920s was the time we had seen the bob hairstyle, specifically on women. The “pageboy bob” had been around for centuries before then but exclusively for men, as
women were expected to have much more fashionable hairstyles throughout history, always long, even if it was concealed or tied up. When you close your eyes and think of a woman, you generally think of someone with long hair, as that is what is perceived as feminine in western cultures.
The bob was a big step in women’s hair styles; it let go of the traditions that women’s hair must be long, but many people had a very big problem with that, as it was “masculinizing” women and making them unattractive. Many women shied away from the fashions of it and clung to their long hair, putting it in tight to the head curls and styles, but most women, by the end of the decade, had cut their hair and let go of the weight of the past.
Time trickled on and hair styles changed, as they always do, but many women still opted to have a bob, as it has something that most hairstyles don’t and that is convenience. With most haircuts, you cannot just tuck it right behind your ears and it will stay in place, but with a bob, you can; you can do anything with it like that. It is also easier to put under a bandana or even wear a hat. Through the decades as styles of hair evolved, got bigger and even shorter, many women still opted to keep their bobs since they were so easy to
upkeep.
It has been 100 years of bobbed hairstyles, and people still have an issue with them. That is quite shocking to think about. You cannot just say, “I don’t like bobs. They just don’t look right,” because that is not enough of an explanation. Why do they not look right to you? Are they too masculine? Maybe they are a bit old lady-ish to you? More than likely the reason you don’t like the style is because you knew someone, likely a woman, who had a bob and was powerful, perhaps even a bit intimidating. Take note of this as you go on in life: the most sensible women in the world usually have their hair bobbed off at some length with or without bangs.
A few years have passed, and I grew out my hair to my shoulder blades and am living life a bit more grown up now, afraid of the way people made me feel for having the hairstyle that I so wished I had back. While binge watching my new comfort show, Downton Abbey, I became a bit obsessed with the hairstyles of the show, and a particular scene in season five when a particular character cuts her hair and shocks her family by looking like “Pola Negri.” This silly scene brought back that indescribable feeling of joy that I got after getting my hair cut a few years back. I wanted it. It is a new decade since then, and fashion always repeats
itself, so perhaps I would give the bob a second chance.
Nervous and excited, I made an appointment with my step sister at the salon she works at. After hours of dyeing and trimming and smoothing, my sweet magicworking sister turned me to the mirror and showed me my final results. My heart pounded with excitement as I peered into the glass and saw the most beautifully coiffed angled bob I had ever seen. Full of nothing but praises, I left the beauty parlor feeling strong and invincible.
I still get looks since I have cut my hair, but instead of feeling embarrassment or shame, I feel mighty and strong, like I could take on the world. I have noticed something about having a bob and how it is the ultimate “don’t mess with me” haircut. I’m not entirely sure why, but I am very sure that it is rooted in judgment on the type to have a bob and how strength and will is usually perceived as snobbish or cold.
I am sure I will one day change my hair again, but I am not sure; this style seems to suit me for the time being. Until then though, I will sport around my bob and hold myself high, as that is what it takes to even have a bob in this world.
Staff Reporter Aaron Elliott can be reached at aelliott@dailyegyptian.comThere is a short list of directors working today that can acquire many A-List actors and almost immediately be assumed as an Oscar contender, and David O. Russell is among those few. Since 2011, O. Russell has been nominated for best director three times, for “The Fighter,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and “American Hustle.”
While having a style that plays directly into the Academy’s sensibilities, he also has proven to make movies widely loved by audiences, with his films often being very financially successful as well as critically. Both “American Hustle” and “Silver Linings Playbook” surpassed $100 million at the domestic box office, which is uncommon for most original awards-season films.
Russell does have the benefit of most of his films being led by a major star, with common collaborators like Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence. It seems that most of his films are sold with these stars to get audiences into the theater.
“Amsterdam” is Russell’s latest and his first in seven years, following “Joy,” which was released in 2015. The film is easily his most star studded, with the first teaser poster literally just being all the names of the actors in the film, including Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldaña, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Taylor Swift, Rami Malek and Robert De Niro.
Very rarely has such a massive slate of talent all collaborated in a single film, which assumes that there’s no way the film wouldn’t be as successful as Russell’s previous efforts, right? Well, it seems that “Amsterdam” is set to be a major flop, as its opening weekend’s numbers are quite dismal, earning under $7 million, with the film’s budget reportedly nearing $100 million.
This seems to be a result of broad audience disinterest, as the film’s plot is far less straightforward compared to Russell’s previous works, as well as early reviews being largely negative.
But when addressing the film’s performance, as well as the gap between his last project, this also can be seen as a result of Russell’s many controversies. Without going too far in-depth, the director has been accused of sexually assaulting his niece, as well as frequent and repeated reports of the director being physically and verbally abusive towards his crew on set.
These allegations are very serious and are not unimportant to the director’s image, as well as his relationship with actors going forward, so it is likely that this is partly the cause of the film’s poor performance.
“Amsterdam” may be the year’s most perplexing film, as its plot is extremely convoluted, mostly by design, albeit still entertaining throughout its nearly two-and-a-half-hour runtime. The film is supposedly
based on things that “mostly” all happened, which is a not-sosneaky way of saying barely any of it is real.
It seems a fool’s errand to try and explain the plot of the film, except that it’s a tale of friendship between our three leads, Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington. They get caught up in being framed for a murder, which then leads into larger conspiracies. The film takes
place in the 1930s, still feeling the reverberations of the first World War and the early winds of the second.
The film is interested in the effect the first World War had on its veterans, as nearly every character in the film was in some way a part of the war. It often jumps around to different periods in our characters’ lives, running their origins alongside the main, current-day plot.
“Amsterdam” is undeniably
messy, taking on a baffling number of ideas and plotlines just within its first hour. It attempts to tackle huge historical events, philosophical ideas and an examination of the powers of society that lurk in the shadows.
It bites off far more than it can chew with certain concepts, including those as complex as budding Nazism, entering the film nearly halfway into the runtime. This makes these attempts feel severely underdeveloped and unsuccessful, even when they feel like they heighten the stakes.
The film is highly ambitious, although mostly to its own fault, as all these scattered ideas rarely come to any satisfying conclusion or statement. But they all still manage to be engaging and thought provoking, even if they’re gone within the blink of an eye.
It has a unique tone, atmosphere and overall energy that can be overwhelming and frustrating, but I found once I let myself just go with the film’s chaotic energy, I had far more fun than attempting to deconstruct any of it.
The final 30 minutes are dizzying in its culmination of countless, equally confusing elements but still manages to feel like something important is happening, even if you can’t quite explain what.
If this all seems hard to wrap your head around, well that’s because it is. But despite all of the glaring flaws of “Amsterdam,” I still found myself enjoying all its twists and turns and all the big swings are still fun to admire, even if they inevitably miss.
The material is largely elevated by the performances, as everyone involved is giving it their all. Each new vignette with its stars felt impactful, and rarely did any performance feel wasted. The actors and actresses compliment the script’s absurdity and take things that could have been far worse and turn them into something palatable.
“Amsterdam” may not be the best thing to hit theaters this season, but it’s undoubtedly unique and not entirely without merit. It’s hard to recommend, but I had a fun time watching these stars bounce off each other. Closer to an absurdist historical comedy than an awards season drama, it is nevertheless a film I’m glad I saw in theaters this week.
Staff reporter Zaden Dennis can be reached at zdennis@ dailyegyptian.com and you can find his other reviews at letterboxd.com/Zadenator.
Alpha Phi Alpha hosted its third annual Powderpuff Flag Football game Tuesday, Oct. 11.
The game was held just north of the Mae Smith and Schneider towers on East Campus at SIU and was open to anybody wanting to participate in the event. Students who weren’t even in a sorority/fraternity were all welcome and encouraged to play in the game.
Teams were separated by colors white and black and had specially made shirts for the game to show off their names and numbers on the back. Members from Alpha Phi Alpha helped coach each team, including Jayshaun Murray and Jaquarius “JP” Phillips. The black team ended up taking the match over the white team with a 21-14 final score.
Murray said the fraternity hosts the event because the girls on campus need some more acknowledgment.
“We do it so the girls can get a little recognition on campus because we feel like a lot of the events on campus are
held towards gentlemen. We just wanted something strictly for females during homecoming week, especially during breast cancer awareness month. We get a great crowd, so we wanted to try to do it every year now,” he said.
Murray was in charge of preparing the white team. They called themselves the “Ice Warriors.” He said he’s enjoyed doing it every year he’s been involved.
“They come with good energy. They’re the reason that makes us want to do it again every year. When we do our signups table, they bring all the energy and a crowd by promoting it and all,” Murray said.
Both teams were equally as excited about being able to play. Black team player Francesca Stewart said it was another chance to do something she loves.
“I used to play flag football, so, like, this is kinda my thing anyways. I just wanted to be here and be involved and get into it and have fun,” Stewart said.
Some of the women put in serious work to try to perform their best for the event.
“We ran drills for like two days a
week and figured out what we’re going to be running, we would learn the plays, and just get a feel of us as teammates in practice,” Stewart said.
For preparation, everybody needed to learn the basics before they could decide on teams, so everyone practiced in a group for a couple of weeks before the big game.
“They needed to learn how to catch, so we made them run straight, curve, and slant routes while trying to catch the ball,” Murray said. “That was as a whole group before we split them up into teams with our draft. We chose female captains as well and they picked the teams, we’re just responsible for teaching them how to play.”
The annual event is one of the features of what Alpha Phi Alpha calls “Alpha week,” which coincides with homecoming. Events include a “breakfast with bros,” as well as a Sunday church service, step show, breast cancer walk and tailgate.
Sports editor Joseph Bernard can be reached at joseph.l.bernard@siu.edu or on Twitter @Jojobernard2001.
Saluki athletics officially inducted the eightperson 2022 class into its Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Friday night. The careers of the inductees spanned from as early as the 1960s to as recent as this year. Some of them are long-retired, while others are still pursuing careers both in and out of the sports world.
Among those inducted were athletes Corky Abrams, Elmer McDaniel, Bob Roop, Derek Shelton, and Carisa Winters; coaches Kerri Blaylock and Don DeNoon; and athletic trainer Ed Thompson.
During his three-year stint in the Army, Bob Roop had a chance encounter with Larry Kristoff. Kristoff is a Carbondale-native who competed in the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympic Games as a wrestler. In the lead-up to the ‘64 Games, he and Roop wrestled in a match.
“He beat me, but it was close,” Roop said. The effort seemed to be enough to impress Kristoff, who offered Roop a scholarship to come to Southern Illinois University.
Roop would go on to achieve a record of 66-18 as a Saluki, winning a national championship in his senior year. He made the U.S. Olympic team in 1968, and placed seventh in the Greco-Roman heavyweight division, losing to the eventual gold medal winner that year.
In accepting his induction, Roop voiced his respect for Kristoff, who was a 19-time national champion at SIU. He also emphasized how grateful he was for the opportunity he was given by Kristoff to become a Saluki.
“If you had a team of the last 50 years, and you had two people on it in each weight class of the best wrestlers this country produced, Larry would be on that team,” Roop said.
“In my mind, I’m wondering ‘what have I gotten into?’”
Corky Abrams received more than 200 offers to play basketball in college, but it didn’t take long for him to choose Southern Illinois University. Just after beginning his first semester of classes, Abrams was pulled into the office of then-head coach Paul Lambert.
“He sat me down, and he wanted to talk to me about the next four years and his expectations,” Abrams said.
Lambert told Abrams his goals; each one seemed less realistic than the last. The first goal was to have four consecutive winning seasons “with minimal losses.” The second was to make the NCAA Tournament, something the Salukis had never done. By this point in the conversation, it started to feel more like a wishlist than expectations.
“Third thing on his bucket list: he actually wanted to join a powerhouse basketball conference,” Abrams said. Lambert had added that he ultimately wanted to win a championship as well.
At the time, Southern Illinois was an independent school after the short-lived Midwestern Conference dissolved in 1972. To not only find a conference to join, but a “powerhouse basketball conference,” was a tall task.
“In my mind, I’m wondering ‘what have I gotten into?’” Abrams said. “Why would you wait until I get here?”
Abrams’s career unfolded almost exactly as Lambert expected. From 1973-77, the Salukis had four winning seasons. They made the National Invitation Tournament in 1974, joined the
Missouri Valley Conference in 1975, and won the conference championship in Abrams’s senior season along with a trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Individually, Abrams set the school record for career field goal percentage at .599, which still stands to this day. He also finished among the alltime leaders in points, rebounds and assists. He was named to the All-Conference team in SIU’s first season in the Valley.
When your career spans more than three decades, you cross paths with a lot of people. Ed Thompson estimated the number of Hall of Famers he worked with to be 135, including players, coaches, administrators, and Mike Reis. As an athletic trainer at Southern from 1979-2012, Thompson remembers working with pretty much everybody who went into the Hall of Fame this year.
Thompson, a native of nearby Marion, had the opportunity to work with who he considers to be “the best trainer ever,” living only 16 miles away from campus. That trainer was Robert “Doc” Spackman, who was joined by Thompson as the only trainers in the Saluki Hall of Fame.
“I soon learned that there really wasn’t a more respected individual in the campus community, or really in southern Illinois, than Doc Spackman,” Thompson said.
Thompson’s team consisted mostly of women’s head trainer Sally Perkins, and physician Rollin Perkins. He credits working for a quarter-century within the institution for giving them “the consistency in the equity of care that we maintained the whole time.”
It was also a guiding principle to ensure that athletes received equal treatment regardless of the sport they played. This reflected Spackman’s position against preferential treatment for men’s basketball when he clashed with then-AD Gale Sayers in 1979, leading to his resignation.
“In order for our student athletes to trust in what we were recommending them to do, they had to believe that we had their best interest at heart,” Thompson said. “Same thing with our coaches.”
“He never made them do it alone.”
Don DeNoon became the first women’s track and field coach to be inducted into the SIU Hall of Fame. In an 18-year career between 1983-2001, DeNoon was a three-time conference Coach of the Year, nine-time conference champion, and produced three Olympians.
To his daughter Patricia DeNoon, he is simply her dad.
“I remember my dad as someone who was always there for me,” Patricia DeNoon said. “No matter how busy he was, and coaching is definitely a six-to-seven day a week job, I never felt like he wasn’t there.”
A known race walker, Don DeNoon is said to have earned respect with his six-minute mile time while walking. He kept up his athletic ability during his time as a coach, and never felt detached from the athletes he was responsible for.
“He never made them do it alone,” Patricia DeNoon said. “Often, my dad would run with his athletes in practices, showing them that not only was he their coach, but that he could still keep up with them, and was willing to work as hard as what he asked them for.”
Upon Don DeNoon’s death in March 2021, many Salukis expressed their love and support for their former coach. With his posthumous induction, Patricia DeNoon said that he was not
one to chase that recognition.
“He would be honored to receive this award tonight. But, he wouldn’t want all the fanfare that goes along with it… He never intentionally stepped into the spotlight, but the light has shone on him many times.”
When Derek Shelton was in kindergarten, his teacher asked everyone what they wanted to be when they grew up. Only two students did exactly what they said they would; one became a dentist, and the other became a Saluki.
Now, at age 52, Shelton is a Saluki Hall of Famer, and has been the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball since 2020. If you asked him which accomplishment he was most proud of, the Carbondale-native would point to the former.
“Today was the first day my wife and my youngest have ever been on campus here,” Shelton said. “And to be able to walk around and to see everything, to share that with them was really special.”
Shelton is the son of two SIU graduates. He attended a baseball camp at Southern Illinois when he was eight years old, riding the train to campus and meeting Saluki baseball coach “Itchy” Jones. His relationship with Jones spanned the next few decades, all the way up until Shelton played catcher for his Saluki team in 1990.
“I caught the last game that he [Jones] coached here,” Shelton said. “That kinda hit me a little bit, because we’re talking about a living legend at this institution. That resonated a lot with me because of how much he’s meant to me throughout the years.”
In a Saluki uniform, Shelton was considered a high-end defensive catcher. He played 177 games from 1989-92, and played on Southern’s most recent NCAA Tournament team in 1990, which was also Jones’s final year before leaving for the University of Illinois.
After Shelton’s minor league baseball career didn’t pan out, Saluki baseball coach Dan Callahan, who would go on to be the secondwinningest coach behind Jones, offered him a position as a volunteer assistant. That job planted the seeds for Shelton’s return to baseball and a second career as a coach.
Shelton’s final big break came when Mark Newman, another SIU Hall of Famer, offered him a coaching job in the New York Yankees minor league system. Newman was one of the people responsible for the Yankees dynasty of the late-90s, but to Shelton, he was a former Saluki helping a fellow Saluki.
“A lot of coaches would have gotten fed up…”
Carisa Winters credits much of her softball success to former coaches: Stephanie Walker, who Winters described as a “this crazy pitching coach that lived in Murphysboro,” and taught her how to pitch; legendary Herrin softball coach Bruce Jilek and Saluki Hall of Fame coach Kay Brechtelsbauer. Walker and Jilek both passed away in 2021, and Brechtelsbauer died a month before Winters’s induction.
Winters transferred to Herrin for her junior year of high school to play for Jilek. She would wake up early in the morning to get a pitching session in before school, which she chose the 5:30 a.m. time slot for.
“Jilek’s pitching techniques have been replicated through all levels of softball, and I dare go as far, country-wide,” Winters said.
Winters met Brechtelsbauer and assistant coach Kerri Blaylock when she was being recruited to become a Saluki. They gave her the opportunity to achieve the dream she had worked toward her entire life: getting a scholarship at a Division I school.
She also credited Brechtelsbauer for having “a lot of compassion, and a lot of patience,” as Winters matured as a young adult. From meeting her at age 16, to seeing her through to graduation at SIU, Brechtelsbauer kept her steady through both her athletic career and her academic career.
“A lot of coaches would have gotten fed up, and they would have tossed me on and moved on,” Winters said. “Not Coach B [Brechtelsbauer].”
Once she was on the field, Winters was lightsout. In a 26-day span in spring 1997, she threw four no-hitters for a program that has only seen 33 across its entire history. She would go on to make the All-MVC team in each of the next three seasons, and would have a win or save in 64 of the team’s 111 wins in those years.
Winters played her last year for Southern Illinois in 2000. That senior season coincided with Blaylock’s first year as the head coach of the softball team, and the beginning of a new era for the program.
Most of the time, just the Hall of Fame accolade would be enough to encapsulate someone’s career. But some are so instrumental in their contributions to a program that it is impossible to do them justice.
Blaylock took over for Brechtelsbauer to become just the second-ever Saluki softball coach in 2000. She led the program for 22 seasons, eventually passing Itchy Jones for the most wins in any sport in school history with a 751-413-1 career record.
Saluki football celebrated Homecoming weekend by taking care of business at home, as it moved to 5-2, 4-0 with a win over the Western Illinois Leathernecks (0-6, 0-3) by a score of 30-7. In doing so, three of its top offensive players tied or broke records on the day.
Javon Williams Jr. punched in all four of Southern’s touchdowns on Saturday, tying the record for the most rushing touchdowns in a game at Saluki Stadium with 4. Williams tied Matt DeSomer, who achieved the feat in November 2018 against South Dakota State.
“Javon’s a special talent. I think anybody would tell you that,” head coach Nick Hill said. “He’s pretty natural at doing things. And then I think his attitude has been outstanding this year.”
Williams received the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week honor – the fourth of his career – last week with two touchdowns scored against Missouri State. In the team’s return to Carbondale, the Centralia-native doubled that award-winning output.
“He asked me the other week, he was like ‘Have you ever met somebody that could throw the ball, run the ball and catch the ball?’” starting quarterback Nic Baker said. “I was like, ‘yeah, me.’”
Baker turned in another efficient day with 25for-27 passing and 227 yards through the air. His
completion percentage of 92.6% broke Saluki Hall of Famer Joel Sambursky’s school record set back in 2004, when he threw 12-for-13 against Indiana State.
“It’s cliche, but I mean, we’re just winning. That’s all I really care about. That’s all that really matters,” Baker said. “But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care about that stuff a little bit. It means something to you, just to see your name with other names that are recognized at this place.”
Baker’s first target and competition of the day went to Avante Cox, who officially broke the school record for most consecutive games with a catch. Cox’s first-quarter catch pushed him to 39 straight, breaking a tie with Saluki Hall of Famer Cornell Craig.
Although he did not break any records on Saturday, running back Ro Elliott had a great performance as well, racking up 130 all-purpose yards; 66 on the ground and 64 through the air.
Southern’s defense came to play as well. Through the first three quarters, Western Illinois gained only 66 yards on 32 plays. It held the passing game to 13-for-35, just a 37% completion percentage. Western’s leading rusher had only 15 net yards.
“You just can’t say enough about all levels of the defense,” Hill said. “...If you’re gonna play well in football, this game is the ultimate team game. Really, you played well because somebody else is doing their job.”
However, it wasn’t always sunny for the Salukis. The defense had a sloppy drive at the end of the first half to allow the Leathernecks to avoid a shutout. Later in the game, Williams fumbled a goal line attempt at a fifth rushing touchdown, marking the team’s first fumble of the year.
“I wish we would have finished that drive off, not turned the ball over,” Hill said. “That’s our first fumble of the year… but could be a good wakeup call.”
Partway through the game, Avante Cox appeared to injure his ankle, and immediately left the game. Hill said after the game that the injury doesn’t seem to be serious, and that Cox should not miss extended time.
“We’ll find out more tomorrow,” Hill said. “I think Avante will be good… It’s not a serious injury. Probably gonna be pretty sore here for a couple games, but if we know Avante, he’s pretty tough and resilient, and comes back from things.”
Avante’s twin brother D’Ante’ Cox knows plenty about missing games for injury. D’Ante’ only played one game in the past two years due to injury, but has been able to play alongside his twin this season.
“Obviously it was a thought throughout the game,” D’Ante’ Cox said. “He’s strong, so he’ll be fine I think… I missed plenty of games, so knowing that he’s not gonna miss too many opportunities like I’ve done.”
Facing a winless team, the No. 16 ranked
Salukis were expected to take care of business and defend their home field. Despite their opponent being seemingly over matched from the opening kick, the Salukis won’t take any win, especially in the Missouri Valley, for granted.
“We came into this game preparing like we did against Northwestern,” Hill said. “That’s the honest truth. To do your job at a high level, play at a high level, good teams do that.”
With the win, Southern Illinois will stay tied for first place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings at 4-0. The two teams they entered the week tied with – North Dakota State and South Dakota State – played each other on Saturday, with SDSU taking a 23-21 victory. The Salukis do not play the Jackrabbits this season, so the best they can guarantee is a share of the conference title if they win out. With four games remaining on the Valley schedule, that’s still easier said than done.
The Salukis will travel to Vermillion, South Dakota next week to face the South Dakota Coyotes (1-5, 0-3). Their next home game will be on Oct. 29, when Northern Iowa (3-4, 2-2) comes to Carbondale.
Staff reporter Brandyn Wilcoxen can be reached at bwilcoxen@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @BrandynWilcoxen.
“I tell Itchy often that if he hadn’t left and gone to the University of Illinois, I would not have broken his record,” Blaylock said.
Saluki softball burst onto the national scene under Blaylock, making eight NCAA Tournament appearances and becoming the only program in MVC history to reach five straight postseasons.
Her Saluki career began when she was given the opportunity by Brechtelsbauer to be an assistant coach for Southern Illinois in 1991. Brechtelsbauer would retire with 633 wins in 32 seasons as the winningest coach in SIU women’s athletics.
“She laid an unbelievable foundation for me to build on,” Blaylock said.
In high school, it was Bruce Jilek who had taught her how to pitch. Jilek’s impact spanned multiple generations, as he mentored Blaylock and later Winters, who would go on to share a dugout in 2000.
“Jilek’s the reason I wanted to be a coach,” Blaylock said. “I wanted to be just like him.”
As the head coach of a mid-major program, Blaylock faced an uphill battle when it came to building a competitive team. Against powerhouses like Alabama and Stanford, she needed to be a hard-working recruiter to keep up with them.
“You don’t know how proud it is when you’re beating those teams with all that money, and you’re representing this area,” Blaylock said.
Blaylock reflected on a game in the 2003 NCAA Tournament, where the Salukis were leading 6-0 in the fourth inning against Stanford, who was in the middle of 16-straight tournament appearances.
“I looked at [assistant coach] Buddy [Foster] and said ‘we’re beating Stanford!’” Blaylock said. “He said ‘shut up.’”
The underdog story of a Herrin-native
taking a mid-major program into the national spotlight is one that might seem too good to be true. But under Blaylock, it did come true. She retired in 2022, giving way to new head coach Jen Sewell. Considering the track record of her predecessors, Sewell has a lot to live up to, but Blaylock is confident that she will continue the legacies that both Coach B’s left.
“I’m not a man of many words.”
Elmer McDaniel didn’t have much to say when he was inducted. While the average Hall of Fame speech would last between 1020 minutes, McDaniel stood on the stage for around five minutes.
His Saluki career didn’t last very long either, as he only spent two years with the football team. The fact that he built a Hall of Fame career within 24 months shows how much he meant to those teams of the early-2000s.
A consensus All-American center, McDaniel anchored the offensive line for a team that went 20-4 with two conference championships and two playoff appearances. He noted that seven of his teammates are also in the Hall of Fame, including six that he blocked for.
Seemingly as quickly as he burst onto the scene and contributed to a playoff team, McDaniel graduated. It felt poetic that his Hall of Fame speech was as brief as it was.
McDaniel proved that someone didn’t need to be a coach for 20 years to have an impact on a program. Some of his teammates made it to the NFL; McDaniel didn’t. But in his short time at SIU, he played his way onto the same wall as those teammates, and many others immortalized into the Saluki Hall of Fame.
Staff reporter Brandyn Wilcoxen can be reached at bwilcoxen@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @BrandynWilcoxen.
games since the 2016 season, which was also their last MVC tournament appearance. The Dawgs posted a 21-12 overall record that year, with a 12-6 MVC record.
“The connection between the team and how we play together is getting so much better,” said senior outside hitter, Nataly Garcia.
And that connection plays into their end game as well.
“We’re just trying to make it…to the conference tournament, so that right there
is the ultimate goal,” Garcia said.
The women’s volleyball regular season runs until November 16, but the team is planning to be on the court postseason as well. With 9 games left on the schedule, all will tell about the teams postseason expectations with an exciting finish to be played.
The Dawgs still have to play fifth and fourth place teams UIC and Valparaiso this upcoming weekend to finish their long 5-game homestand,
take two road trips to Bradley and Illinois State, host Indiana State and Evansville, and finish out the year with three straight road games against #1 UNI, #2 Drake, and Missouri State.
No matter what happens with this team by the end of the year, there’s been huge strides of improvement all around, with a very encouraging future ahead of them.
Joei Younker JYounker@dailYegYptian comBringing home more wins so far this season than the past two combined, Saluki volleyball players have kept their eyes on the conference tournament.
Junior outside hitter Bailey Neuberger said the team came into this season with a lot more confidence.
“Getting some wins under our belt and knowing that we can win helped us a lot, mentally we’re in a much better place knowing this,” she said.
The Salukis have created a tremendous turn around this season, and some of this can be credited to a young freshmen core that have outperformed expectations. Players like Ceci
Bulmahn have turned from just getting playing experience, so being an everyday starter.
“The freshmen bring a lot of consistency to the team, Ceci is a consistent player that we can count on for both her ball control and getting a few kills per set,” Neuberger said.
While the team is now entering the second half of play and getting excited about the possibility of a conference tournament appearance, taking the season one game at a time is part of what all of Saluki athletics tries to do with their teams and it seems to be helping.
The improvement within the team has helped them earn the most wins through 20
