The Daily Egyptian - November 17, 2021

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2021

VOL. 104, ISSUE 31

Dawgs win Home-Opener

Right: SIU guard, Dalton Banks, gets tangled up and looses the ball during a drive that would be a turnover for the Salukis’ during SIU’s 73-55 win over Austin Peay during the Charles Helleny Tip-Off Classic on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021 at the Banterra Center at SIU. Jared Treece | @bisalo

Please see HOME OPENER | 8

SIU student shooting spurs conversation on gun violence William Box | @William17455137

Michelle Dietzel, a secondyear student at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU), was injured in a shooting near campus on the night of Oct. 23 during a student party.

Dietzel was shot in the head while attending a student party on the 700 block of West College Street, according to a police report. She was one of two victims of the shooting.

The shooting took place at approximately 2 A.M. Dietzel attended the party with her friend Anna Schmersahl, another secondyear student, and another unnamed friend. Schmersahl said the two were together before the party.

“Next thing I know, I see someone run through the front

door from the porch yelling, ‘get down,’” Schmersahl said.

“I heard one pop, and I grabbed Michelle, pushed her and my friend on the ground, and laid on top of them.”

Schmersahl said multiple shots were fired, but the trio laid on the ground until they felt it was safe. At this point, Dietzel was saying she could not see, and Schmersahl dragged her into another room where 911 was called. When Schmersahl noticed blood coming from what she believed to be a head wound, she sought help from Emergency Medical Services (EMS) which had arrived on the scene.

“I took her arm around my shoulder, and started pushing people out of my way,” Schmersahl said. “I saw red and blue lights outside, and I opened the door, grabbed the

first officer I could see, and had him check Michelle’s head.”

Schmersahl and the third friend were questioned about the night’s events by an officer before being released. As the pair was leaving, she was hit by a car attempting to leave

Schmersahl said.

While in the hospital, Schmersahl contacted Dietzel’s boyfriend, who then notified the Dietzel family of the shooting.

Schmersahl was released from the hospital that night, after examinations showed no major

She has since recovered some of her sight, though she’s lost peripheral vision, according to an interview with WSIL. Dietzel said she feels dissatisfied with the way the school administration has been taking accountability for the

“It matters to students to feel protected on campus. When [SIU] don’t take responsibility and action after things like this it really changes how your students feel about your school.”

- Michelle Dietzel SIU Student Shooting Victim

the area. She was taken to the hospital by EMS, where she was able to inquire about the status of Dietzel’s injuries.

“They got her consent for me knowing her information, and that’s when I found they actually found the bullet in her skull, and I will say my heart plummeted to my stomach,”

injuries from the impact of the car.

“Really, it was just a really long, very traumatic night,” Schmersahl said. “I know you can’t predict every little thing, but I wish things were a lot safer in this town.”

Dietzel suffered temporary blindness following her injuries.

shootings around campus.

“I feel like they’re not taking responsibility on their part of this,” Dietzel said. “They took three days to send out an email about the event while people were out partying that entire weekend.”

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Wednesday, November 17, 2021

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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!

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Faculty Senate votes down grade adjustment, mental health resolution Jason Flynn | @DEJasonFlynn

In a nonbinding vote, the Faculty Senate decided against a resolution including a “pass/no-pass” grading option following a series of traumatic events during the Fall 2021 semester.

“I think it is extremely hurtful,” Undergraduate Student Government (USG) President Isaiah Overton said.

The resolution was about more than the pass/no pass grading, Overton said. It was about providing the student body all of the resources they need to remain successful after such a stressful semester SR 22-01, which was drafted by the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and supported by the Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC), also advocated for measures to address students’ mental health, including a campus-wide survey, closing the school for three mental health days and reinstituting fall break.

“This resolution wasn’t just created by students, everyone had a hand in it,” Overton said, including faculty members, members of Counseling and Psychological Services and administrators.

Faculty senators expressed concerns in the meeting that students who take a “pass” grade and move on to higher level coursework won’t all have a full grasp of the material needed to succeed in the later classes.

Overton said the problem should be addressed when professors are designing their courses.

“If you are passing a student, that student has met the course requirements, and if you are not passing a student, that student has not met the course requirements,” Overton said.

Other faculty senators said they felt the resolution could do more to address Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s (SIU) mental health counseling backlog.

“They didn’t take time to read over the resolution,” Overton said. “The issues that they were expressing were the issues expressed in the resolution.”

Provost Meera Komarraju said in the meeting most other Illinois schools are not continuing to extend the pass/no-pass grading option to their students.

SIU is in a unique position compared to most other schools because it’s in an extremely economically depressed region, and many of the students the school recruits are from low-income families, Overton said.

“They did the work to get them down here, now they need to do the work to keep them here,” Overton said.

The advisory body’s meeting, streamed live on YouTube on Tuesday, Nov. 9, stirred controversy among viewers after technical difficulties and an apparent miscount of the vote, originally recorded as passing, led to a second vote in which the resolution did not pass.

After the resolution was tallied as passing in the first round of voting, with 19 in favor, 15 against and 3 abstaining, faculty representatives, including President Yueh-ting Lee, gave follow-up remarks which indicated they’d officially supported the resolution.

“We are just part of the process. Even though most of us voted for it, it doesn’t mean that the the chancellor and the provost will finally approve this,” Lee said.

Following the remarks, the Faculty Senate began department reports for about three minutes, in which time the majority of viewers left the stream, and Secretary Matt Gorzalski interjected to point out there had been a clear miscount in the SR 22-01 vote.

There had been 37 votes counted. The Faculty Senate only includes 36 voting members, and Gorzalski said only 32 senators were present.

“I’m a little uncomfortable. I don’t know if people voted who were ineligible,” Gorzalski said.

Joe Sramek suggested the vote be redone.

“It’s going to take us time, but if you’re really concerned about the vote not being legitimate then that’s the only proper way to proceed,” Sramek said.

President Lee forged ahead with the rest of the Senate business, and the USG resolution vote was picked up again toward the end of the meeting.

Lee asked for suggestions from the senators.

“I feel a little awkward with the USG students having left at this point,” Grozalski said. “They left under one impression. If the vote turns out to be different, then that’s pretty, that puts us in a bad spot.”

Jennifer Brobst, who indicated after the first tally that she’d voted against the measure, initially suggested the vote could be postponed, but backed away from the idea.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. All along, we needed to respond quickly and tell them that we care.

Let’s just do it,” Brobst said.

Jay Needham supported redoing the vote right away. The resolution failed, with 11 in favor, 15 against and 4 abstaining.

Comments on the YouTube stream indicated viewers were angry about the decision, though it was nonbinding.

“I feel like we had the wool pulled over our eyes,” one user commented.

USG Vice President Grace Gunn suggested in the chat students could voice their concerns by emailing Chancellor Austin Lane and Komarraju.

The comments section on the video has since been disabled.

In an emailed statement, Lee said issues with the senate vote arose from a technical issue in which everyone on the Zoom call, 37 people, received a ballot though there were only 31 eligible votes present.

We acknowledge that our voting mechanism was technologically not perfect, but we are willing to improve it and make it better in the future,” Lee said.

The faculty members care about students, Lee said in the statement, and will continue to find collaborative ways to support them.

“We as faculty members are just part of this process, and our votes are advisory. It is not the final decision.

It is up to the Chancellor,” Lee said.

Overton said Lane has been extremely responsive to USG members this year and seeks their perspective whenever possible.

“This is not the end of it,” Overton said.

News Editor Jason Flynn can be reached at jflynn@ dailyegyptian.com and on Twitter: @DEJasonFlynn.

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Page 3

Dominique Martinez-Powell dmartinez-powell@dailyegyptian.com

ROTC students exit in a line after presenting the wreath at the Veterans Vigil Wreath ceremony Nov. 11, 2021 at SIU in Carbondale, Illinois. “For our ceremony, we present the wreath, and then present arms and hold for 22 seconds to memorialize veterans who have committed suicide. On average, 22 veterans take their lives every day, ranging to about every 65 min, which makes that time for us serious when we stand silent for those 22 seconds,” second year Air force ROTC cadet Angelo Weyer said. Dominique Martinez-Powell | @dmartinez_powell.photography

ROTC students switch out for 15 minute shifts at the Veteran Day silent vigil Nov. 11, 2021 at SIU in Carbondale, Illinois.

“Basically, we have guards standing out and sitting in front of the US flag. As well as a wreath that we have, which represents all branches of the military as well as prisoners of war and those missing in action presented by our POW MIA flag,” fourth year cadet, Rebecca Singer from Airforce ROTC, said. Dominique Martinez-Powell | @dmartinez_powell.photography

At 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 11 the cadets of Southern Illinois University’s ROTC program started their silent vigil to commemorate Veterans Day and honor those who have served in the military, past and present.

Second year cadets Ben Konvalinka and Angelo Weyer of the Air force ROTC at SIU were among the many people who helped bring this event into fruition.

After a brief pause of the annual event due to COVID-19, SIU’s Airforce and Army ROTC cadets organized to bring it back this year. While in the past the vigil has been a 24 hour affair, it was shortened last year due to COVID 19 precautions and this year due to a shortage of students in the ROTC programs according to Konvalinka.

This year is the 40th anniversary of the vigil and it lasted from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Old Main Flagpole near Woody Hall.

“The vigil is a pretty important event for us. What we were really hoping for and did get quite a bit of was a lot of community outreach. We wanted a lot of people from around Carbondale to come and see us but most of all, we really wanted to show our support for the veterans that have come before us and basically honor them and show how much we care about them,” Konvalinka said.

Cadets from the ROTC programs took 15 minute shifts in twos to stand before the Old Main Flagpole at a parade rest. Many people and their families came to watch the silent vigil.

Fourth year cadet, Rebecca Singer from Airforce ROTC, said, “They hold rifles and they stand at a parade arrest, which is a modified form of attention, just looking down at the ground just to think for about 15 minutes, stand and honor those before, and then we have a new guard come in and they switch off.”

At 11 a.m. there was a wreath laying ceremony held on the second floor of Davies Hall where people came to listen to the speakers.

“We decided to bring back some of our guest speakers. People who have spoken with us before. That being Mayor Mike Henry, Mr. Paul Copeland, who was a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, and this year we put a few changes into it as we’ve invited our provost Meera Komarraju with us,” Weyer said.

The Navy Junior ROTC from Paducah, Ky. was invited to join the SIU ROTC programs in the wreath ceremony so that all branches of the military would be present to pay respects to all branches of the military.

“We’ve not had a ceremony in the last two years and particularly last year was due to the pandemic. This is something that we’ve wanted to get back up and running,” Weyer said.

Konvalinka said that the programs will continue the annual tradition and they hope to build on it and add more to the ceremonial traditions in the future.

Staff Photographer Dominique Martinez-Powell can be reached at dmartinez-powell@dailyegyptian.com.

Gun violence continued from

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Dietzel said the police know who the perpetrator was, but she’s unable to say more due to pending legal proceedings.

Dietzel’s shooting injury took place at a time when gun violence has become a topic of conversation within the communities of Carbondale and during a semester in which four Salukis have already died.

Nancy Maxwell is the director of Carbondale United, a local organization aiming to create a better community through organization and direct action.

Maxwell said gun violence is a multifaceted community problem with multiple causes.

“Lack of support, poverty, systemic racism, lack of things to do, lack of places for young people to go all contribute to the problems we’re seeing now,” Maxwell said.

Poverty and income inequality were correlated with homicide and violent crime in an article printed in the School Science & Medicine Journal, a Netherlands-based, peer-review academic journal, in 1998.

Economic policy writer Kyle Moore wrote an article with the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank which focuses on middle and lower class economic issues called “Racial disparities in unemployment persist, despite claims of a ‘labor shortage.’”

In the article, Moore examines the 2021 Fiscal Third Quarter (Q3) rates of unemployment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics broken down by race on the state and national level.

According to the article, the national Black unemployment rate for Q3 decreased from 9.2% to 7.1%. This compares with the national White unemployment rate decreasing from 4.7% to 4.3%.

The statistics said the ratio representing the Black to White unemployment rate in Illinois was 1.9, indicating a rate

nearly twice that of the White population in the state.

According to U.S. Census data, areas with a predominantly black population in Carbondale have a poverty rate of 53.6%. An individual is considered to be in poverty if they receive less than $12,880 per year, scaling by approximately $4,500 with additional members of the household.

Maxwell said there is little recourse for youths in the community suffering from harmful or dangerous home environments, particularly for Black male youths like those involved in the majority of gun violence in Carbondale.

“There’s a young man we’ve been trying to help who’s having problems with his mom,” Maxwell said. “We tried to get him a place somewhere other than that home, and, with the difficulty we have faced trying to help him, I can imagine it’s very despairing to him.”

Maxwell said students often show signs of difficulties in their daily lives by acting out and hoping someone will help them. She said when a similar situation occurred in her life, she was aided by a local community center and a social network of people inside and outside the community.

“Unfortunately, not every child has that type of support system,” Maxwell said. “Once again, nobody’s paying attention to the children with the warning signs.”

Maxwell said a major issue Black communities face is the feeling they cannot trust institutions ostensibly designed to help them.

“I think [the Department of Child and Family Services] DCFS has a harder road to go on than the police do,” Maxwell said. “It was put in place to help families and maybe provide some of the resources they don’t have to keep the family intact.”

Maxwell said a major issue with both DCFS and the police is the lack of help which can be administered unless criminal or neglectful behavior has taken place.

“When he went to the police, the student we were trying to help was told by law enforcement to go home,” Maxwell said. “They said they couldn’t do anything unless he came back with bruises. So what do you do when you get in a place like that?”

Maxwell said she promotes the use of the Dentmon Center, a local indoor sports center, as a place for community involvement and youth development.

“We’re starting a Midnight Basketball Run on Fridays where people 14 to 24 can come play basketball from 11 to 2 A.M.” Maxwell said. “There will be people they can talk to.

They will be fed. They’ll get a jersey and a bag so people can know where they’re coming from and where they’re trying to get to.”

Maxwell said the Dentmon Center is a good first step to changing the community, but it cannot be expected to be the only facet to solving the problem of gun violence in Carbondale.

“It’s a start, but now we need other programs to come around that will hit other interests like singing or acting or another sport besides basketball,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell said other groups exist in the area with a similar goal of building a better community, but coordination between the groups would better serve their goals and the community at large.

“I’d like to see other area groups join in the effort and we can do it all together,” Maxwell said. “This is not something one group can take on by themselves, and, since most of this violence is perpetrated by Black youth, Black leaders need to take the lead in this endeavor.”

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

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Opinion

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Student workers picking labor fights as a path to building stronger communities

Jason Flynn | DEJasonFlynn

Campus workers are on strike at Columbia University in New York right now, their second this year, and the second largest current strike in the country.

Media outlets have paid renewed attention to labor struggles in the past year, heralding a “strike wave,” a “Striketober” and more recently “Strikesgiving,” as workers in a variety of industries have taken action to improve their living conditions following the economic turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic.

New York University workers went on strike in April, and won a tentative agreement raising starting pay to a whopping $26.

The trend toward worker action in higher education isn’t limited to New York schools.

This year, Graduate Workers Union at Illinois State University staged a series of protests, a hunger strike and authorized a la bor strike to pressure the administration into offering better contract terms.

Northwestern University food workers’ strike authorization, coupled with support from Students Organizing for Labor Rights, secured employees’ terms for healthcare benefits and a $19.88 starting wage.

Actions are even happening in deep-red states, like neighboring Kentucky where campus workers in Lexington were able to push the base wage for campus workers up to $15 in a state where the minimum wage is still $7.25.

Worker demands have also gone beyond wages.

United Campus Workers of Alabama,

Being a supermajority economic driver in a city or urban neighborhood means, for many communities, gaining leverage over the spending and decision making of the local college is the only way for community members to take control of their own lives.

- Jason Flynn News Editor

based in Tuscaloosa, are hosting town halls to expand mental health resources, which are also massively backlogged at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Those actions are due in no small part to university administrators refusing accountability for basic human needs, like stable housing, food, safety and income. The additional pressure of COVID was really just the spark in the tinderbox.

At SIU, it’s clear there’s something lacking that has kept campus workers from stopping work to press for better working conditions.

SIU has largely mismanaged the COVID crisis, refusing to release infection numbers for months, and dragging its feet providing safe, practical separation between infected and uninfected students and staff.

When Resident Assistants anonymously sounded the alarm on the school’s negligence, administrators threatened to fire employees.

GAU and the faculty union won limited safety protocols, but this fall the

administration chose to let infection spread run rampant through campus, despite petitions from employees and students.

Those issues are on top of campus workers’ poverty wages, a cap on working hours that makes it difficult to access welfare services and overloaded counseling services in the wake of tragic student deaths.

The fact is, absent real pressure, the university doesn’t need to make concessions.

College towns, Carbondale included, are effectively company towns where a university is the solar center of the community, and all other activity is drawn into its orbit.

As Davarian L. Baldwin outlines in his book, “In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities,” universities exert control over local governments, employees, real estate markets and have their own police forces and healthcare industries.

For Southern Illinois University, that gravity extends beyond the city of Carbondale, and

out across all of Southern Illinois.

The school contributed about $1.4 billion and 17,707 direct and indirect jobs to the regional economy annually, according to a 2011 economic impact study.

“As SIU goes, so goes Southern Illinois’ economy,” Reporter Molly Parker said in a 2016 article.

Unfortunately for community members, SIU administrators are comfortable paying employees the bare minimum in an extremely depressed region.

So it goes.

Being a supermajority economic driver in a city or urban neighborhood means, for many communities, gaining leverage over the spending and decision making of the local college is the only way for community members to take control of their own lives.

Campus workers in other parts of the country are coming to terms with that reality, and, in the last five years, launched one of the largest labor organizing drives in US higher education history.

Union organizing in education isn’t particularly new. Professors at Howard University, notably a historically Black institution, organized the first American Federation of Teachers union in 1918.

Recent union formations have a different character, though, as most are non-faculty.

A plurality are student workers, tired of their political energy being funneled into student programming committees, resident’s associations or student governments that have no binding power at their institutions.

Please see WORKERS | 5

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

News

Page 5

NASA selects SIU µBites research team for Deep Space Food Challenge Jamilah Lewis | @jamilahlewis

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has selected Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s research team, µBites (micro-bites,) for their Deep Space Food Challenge to find ways to make nutritious and tasty food with minimal waste.

NASA has selected 23 other teams across the globe to participate as well and receive $25,000 for phase one of the challenge to design the prototype.

Professor Lahiru Jayakody leads µBites and is assisted by other faculty from various departments including microbiology, biochemical science, geology, physics and biomedical engineering.

Faculty members include Poopalasingam Sivakuma, Gayan L. Aruma Baduge, Matt McCarroll, Scott D. Hamilton-Brehm and Ken Anderson.

“Right now what we have is the design at a conceptual level,” Jayakody said. “So, we need to build up a prototype. I believe it’s going to happen next summer because phase two is developing the prototype and the food out of the system, and showing it’s working right.”

Jayakody said this is a new study astrophysicists are looking at as they work towards explorations to Mars.

“This is a different [way of] thinking going into real food,” Jayakody said. “Some people try to make protein, [and] that’s it. We try to go beyond that.”

Scott Hamilton-Brehm, assistant professor of microbiology, said he’s using his expertise on microbes to form a system where they can make food.

“One of the things we have to do is treat this like an environment in which you have to have a reactor and grow the microbes using something to make food,” he said. “My part is dealing with pumps and being able to control a microbial system so that you can use it for industrial practice such as food.”

Hamilton-Brehm said their way of going about the challenge is novel compared to their competitors like the Interstellar Lab in Los Angeles, using plant growth science, or the KEETA team in Bangkok, using bio culture.

“The process is really start to finish,” HamiltonBrehm said. “You have to have the raw materials.

The raw materials have to be processed [in a 3d printer], and then, at the end, you have to get a product that’s edible.”

The winning team’s project would also be able to make food production easier in scarce environments, and the team thinks it will be great both for space exploration and Earth.

“Imagine if we put the full force of a company behind us, and you make this into a device,” Hamilton-Brehm said. “You can bring it to

Zachary Gutenkauf and Jennifer Pierce start research as part of the SIU research team that helps to feed astronauts in Life Science III at SIU Nov. 8, 2021 in Carbondale, Illinois. “This is a multidisciplinary team requiring many specialties. Currently we are in phase one, which is the NASA proposal phase. We are waiting on the phase two ‘rules’ for proof of the concept, which are anticipated to be revealed tomorrow at 10am on NASA TV [Tuesday November 9, 2021]. Once we know the rules for phase two, then the game is afoot,” director of the coal and energy research and a professor in geology, Ken B. Anderson, said. Sophia Rogers | sophia.rogers@siu.edu

any war-torn area or highly devastated [area], resource wise, and you just feed it garbage carbon and it starts printing food for everyone. It doesn’t have to be out in space. It could be a huge benefit here on Earth.”

Geology professor Ken Anderson helped develop oxidative hydrothermal dissolution (OHD) which helps break down substances into a water-soluble liquid.

“Lahiru takes that and feeds that to his genetically engineered microbes… They

convert all that into something usable,” Anderson said. “You take the waste, break it down, feed it to the yeast [and] the yeast turns it into the product which can then be turned into food again.”

With a spacecraft being a closed area, all the wastes produced with the ship could all help produce foods, Anderson said.

If µBites wins phase one they could win around $500,000. Phase two has not yet been announced.

µBites is confident in their project with the challenge and will stick together throughout all the phases if they progress.

“SIU’s not big enough to work on every problem that there is,” Anderson said. “But the problems that we choose to work on [we’re] second to no one.”

At least 61 new bargaining units have formed since 2016, according to data gathered

by Washington University, and at least a third of those were student workers’ unions.

Many Illinois colleges have been part of this wave, including Loyola, University of Chicago, Illinois State University and Northwestern University.

SIU’s sister school in Edwardsville, formed in 2018, is a part of this student worker wave.

SIU’s own student worker union, Graduate Assistants United, which certified in 2006, was ahead of the curve.

Student worker organizing in the University of California system this year is

likely to bring 30,000 new members into United Auto Workers (UAW).

It’s clear SIU needs a shift in favor of campus workers.

Unions for undergraduate student workers organized at Grinnell College in Iowa, George Washington University in Washington D.C. and Reed College in Oregon could be a model for empowering campus workers.

Even with additional workers organized, there would need to be more coordination and cooperation among all campus workers to fight for better conditions for everyone in the community.

Campus workers also need to be aware of and stand in solidarity with community struggles outside the university.

Like workers at UK, the SIU could rally around addressing safety by supporting youth initiatives at the Dentmon Center, healthy food systems through organizations like Carbondale Spring and expanding healthcare.

It’s only by working together that Southern Illinois can build a brighter future for itself.

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

Workers 4 continued from

Some groups, like United Campus Workers, are even organizing around a wall-to-wall model that represents all campus workers, uncommon among higher education institutions where employees of different classifications generally bargain separately.

New organizing in higher education is, in part, the result of a 2016 ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that “student teaching assistants” and “student research assistants” at private universities are, in fact, employees and not just students that happen to get some money for working at their school.

News Editor Jason Flynn can be reached at jflynn@dailyegyptian.com and on Twitter: @ DEJasonFlynn.

Page 6

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

SIU professor, Alan Walters, poses for a photo in the pumpkin fields at the Horticulture Farm on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. Dr. Walters, who is a professor of Vegetable Science and Breeding in the Department of Plant, Soil and Agricultural Systems, is researching how to get pumpkins to grow bigger in hotter climates. Jared Treece | @bisalo

Joel Kottman | @JoelKottman Dr. Alan Walters, a professor in Plant, Soil and Agricultural Systems, has been working to create heat tolerant pumpkins that can grow in warmer climates.

Walters teaches vegetable science and breeding and has been at SIU for twenty-three years.

The ideal temperature to grow pumpkins is between 75 and 85 degrees. Once temperatures get above that, pumpkins tend to not thrive.

Illinois is the leading state in pumpkin production and there are plenty of other uses for pumpkins, aside from Halloween carving and Thanksgiving pie Walters said.

“Pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed oil, pumpkin granola, pumpkin fruit bars,” Walters said. “In some countries they produce pumpkin seed oil and use it on a salad instead of your typical salad dressing.”

Walters said his research will benefit farmers in Southern Illinois as the region gets increasing summer temperatures.

“Once it gets above 95-100

degrees, a lot of times we get that in the summertime, it really affects fruit setting,” Walters said.

Fruit setting is the process where flowers become fruit and their size is determined.

Walters said that if the climate keeps increasing in temperatures, farmers

healthy soil levels.

Walters is going to Brazil on a Fulbright, which is a scholarship grant for teachers to do research abroad to work on severe environmental issues such as lack of pollination and pollinator decline.

Walters said he is trying to develop

Walters studied how fertilizer treatment, adequate pollination and water regulation also aid pumpkin growth.

“You have to have just the right amount of water for pumpkins at the right time for them to grow,” Walters said. “You don’t want too much water.

You want adequate amounts of water,

“If the climate keeps increasing in temperatures, we have to have crops that can still produce under those high temperature strains.”

- Alan Walters SIU Plant, Soil, and Agriculture Systems Professor

must have crops that can still produce under those high temperature strains.

“The media really wants to talk about climate change and how it’s going to be impacting us here in the next 150 or 200 years,” Walters said. “If the climate keeps increasing in temperatures, we have to have crops that can still produce under those high temperature strains.”

Walters has assisted farmers in Kabul, Afghanistan and Austria to promote growth of their crops and maintain

better varieties of pumpkins than what is on the market right now.

“We should get higher yields with these varieties, because they’re going to set more fruit than what we normally would expect to see on a lot of the other pumpkin varieties that we grow,” Walters said.

The research included fertility trials, cover crop trials and weed control trials to try to increase the productivity of pumpkins.

because if there’s too much water you’re going to get a lot of other fungal diseases.”

Shape and size are also taken into consideration, keeping in mind consumers appreciate pumpkins’

A tractor plows the fields for next year’s planting season at the pumpkin fields at the Horticulture Farm on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. Jared Treece | @bisalo

aesthetic qualities.

“Consumers are not going to buy a crappy looking pumpkin, so you have to make sure that the size is what the consumer is going to want to purchase,” Walters said.

The pumpkin research can also be applied to other vegetables, such as tomatoes.

“Tomatoes, which are very similar to pumpkins, once the temperatures get above a certain range, they start to drop the fruit,” Walters said. “So, it’s applicable to a lot of different crops to develop these more hot-tolerant abilities for a plant to set fruit.”

While in Brazil, Walter said he’ll be helping small growers address pollination issues for melons.

Staff reporter Joel Kottman can be reached at jkottman@ dailyegyptian.com and on Twitter @JoelKottman

Page 7

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

A Historical Look at SIU:

What’s in the Lake?

Dustin Clark | @dustinclark.oof

Ryan Jurich | rjurich@dailyegyptian.com Campus Lake, touted as “one of the jewels” of SIU campus, has been closed for seven years due to high toxicity levels, and continues to run up against obstacles to rehabilitation.

In 2019 the Daily Egyptian (DE) reported the lake was “expected to reopen” after passing numerous environmental health checks.

The optimism never turned into reality.

The COVID-19 pandemic derailed any significant re-opening plans, and by 2021 the lake has again closed after a report by the Illinois EPA recorded unsafe levels of toxins in the water.

Natural beauty often ranks highly in the promotional material of Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU). One of the campus’s most heavily photographed spots is the scenic landscape of Campus Lake. Yet as the lake finishes its seventh year of semicontinuous closure, the question remains whether SIU’s very own environmental enigma will ever be solved.

Purchased in 1956 from the same Thompson family that gave its name to Thompson Point and Thompson Woods, Campus Lake was originally known as Thompson Lake. It was only after its purchase that it would be re-christened, when a new Thompson Lake was created just north of Carbondale to serve as a local reservoir.

The lake is spring-fed, not man-made, though expanded and altered throughout the years, with the addition of a levy on its west side raising the water level,. It’s natural origins and long history would turn out to be both a blessing and a curse.

Ellee Fillmore, a graduate student in behavior analysis and therapy, has been present for many of the recent changes to the lake.

“When I first got here six years ago, the lake on campus did not look like it does today,” Fillmore said. “It was closed off so that you weren’t supposed to even walk around it. There were certain areas of it that were accessible, but you couldn’t go all the way 360 degrees around it.”

The 2016 lake closure Fillmore described was the second closing in recent memory for Campus Lake, the first occurring in 2014. Then, as now, dangerous algae and bacteria were blamed.

An Oct. 13, 2014 article of the Daily Egyptian quoted then-Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Kevin Bame who said, “we are closing the boat house and temporarily banning fishing or boating on the lake. We urge people to keep their pets away from the water.”

The same article noted both Evergreen Reservoir and Piles Fork Creek were closed for similar reasons, before adding, “the University cannot predict how long the lake will be closed.”

Later DE and local news articles said the lake would remain closed in 2015, with the same warning signs that had been posted a year earlier being placed around the lake.

Despite the reportedly dangerous conditions, the “Polar Bear Plunge Club” was allowed to hold its Special Olympics fundraiser by performing their annual run into the freezing cold winter waters of the lake. The 2015 plunge involved community members and high school groups, and raised just over $55,000.

Uncertainty surrounding the lake’s closures, combined with the allowance of activities like the Polar Plunge and other misinformation about the algae blooms, would eventually feed into SIU’s constant student-led whirlwind of gossip and rumor.

“They [the SIU administration] said it was because of the bacteria in the water, that you weren’t supposed to touch it, and they had that orange plastic fencing around most of it,” Fillmore said. “A large rumor when I was in my undergrad was that it was one of those fraternity traditions to do some kind of hazing in the lake, and that somebody passed away. After learning some more about it, I figured out that wasn’t actually what happened.”

In 2004, SIU officials permanently banned the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity from campus, citing a, “violation of eight charges stemming from the drowning of SIUC freshman Brent Johnson.”

The lake in question for this incident was Cedar Lake, a 1,750 acre reservoir just south of Carbondale.

The true reason for Campus Lake’s closure remained the algae blooms. In 2016, the University began an operation to fully dredge all 40+ acres of the lake in an attempt to clear out the algae, something not done since 1957 according to Bame.

An April 1, 2018 article in the Southern Illinoisian detailed the drainage activities, noting they involved several different colleges, departments and student projects in a variety of attempts to rehabilitate the lake.

In total, an estimated $450,000 was spent, and more than 24 thousand tons of debris was removed from the lake bed.

In addition to the biological matter and debris, more than 100 fishing rods, fifteen cell phones and several bicycles were removed.

A Feb. 28, 2018 article in the DE noted scientific testing of the lake bed revealed one last surprise: an, “unusually high presence of fecal matter.”

“It wasn’t until I got to campus that I noticed this awful smell on the first and second day of move-in,” Fillmore said about the 2016

draining. “It was completely drained. It was just mud.”

As the lake recovered from the draining, the University continued to invest in it. The Becker Pavillion boat dock, complete with canoes and paddle boats, would be added to the lake thanks to a generous donation from Ralph Becker, a 1955 SIU alum.

Students also assisted the recovery, with work from the Green Fund and various other college departments adding to the recovery activities.

“There are several things that you can do with the lake, but I don’t really like how much they talk about Campus Lake when you’re hearing

about our school, and seeing pictures of it,” Fillmore said. “There’s really not a lot going on there.”

Though paddle boats and canoes are still occasionally allowed into the water, and the scenic Campus Lake Trail remains open, warning signs have stayed up and activities around the lake are still restrained.

“I would really like to see some more things being centered around that part of campus in future, because it is really pretty,” Fillmore said.

Staff reporter Ryan Jurich can be reached at rjurich@dailyegyptian.com.

Page 8

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

SIU guard, Lance Jones, takes a moment while waiting to throw in the ball during SIU’s 73-55 win over Austin Peay during the Charles Helleny Tip-Off Classic on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021 at the Banterra Center at SIU. Jared Treece | @bisalo

Joseph Bernard | @jojobernard2001

Saluki Men’s Basketball (1-1) returned to the Banterra Center for their first home game Friday night. SIU struggled in the first half, but ultimately came out on top with a 73-55 victory over Austin Peay (1-1).

The Salukis were highlighted by three double digit point performances in junior point guards Lance Jones and Steven Verplancken and junior forward Marcus Domask.

Jones led the team in points with all of his 22 points coming in the second half. Jones went 8-12 on field goals and led in steals with two.

He also tied for the lead in assists with three and tallied two rebounds for himself. Verplancken put up 14 points, going 6-8 on field goals for the night. He also led the team in minutes played with 36 and put up three rebounds and an assist.

Domask had 15 points tonight, going 5-7 on field goals, while putting up five rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

Also worth mentioning would be senior guard Ben Coupet and junior forward J.D Muila. Coupet and Muila shared the lead for rebounds on the night, with both of them tallying eight to go with the seven points they both put up. Coupet two assists and a steal on top of that while going 3-7 on field goals, with Muila going 3-4 on field goals.

The Salukis had a rough go to start things off and found themselves down 14-7 only five minutes into the game, but an 11-2 Saluki run put them up by two at 18-16 halfway through the first half. It was back-and-forth the rest of the first half, with neither team gaining a lead more than three. A last minute push by Ausin Peay set up a three point shot by freshman Caleb Stone-Carrawell with 24 seconds left and the Governors took the lead going into the second half at 27-25.

The Second half didn’t really start out the best either for the Salukis, but that’s when Jones started his run. Down by four early in the second half, Jones and Domask highlighted a 26-7 second half run for the Salukis to give them an insurmountable lead midway through the second half. Their lead grew as much as 19 at one point. A dunk by Domask with less than four minutes to go put an exclamation point on the second half run that gave SIU the win at 73-55.

The run simply came down to SIU not

missing their shots. Southern went 18-28 on second half field-goals. Domask said the team fixed some of their shooting decisions from last game against Little Rock.

“We moved the ball well, we didn’t take contested threes. I thought in the last game against Arkansas Little Rock we took some contested threes that just weren’t good shots for our offense. But tonight we didn’t really take any of those, I think the stats showed,” Domask said.

The game was only the second for Domask since coming off of his injury that made him miss most of the season last year.

Below: SIU forward, J.D. Muila, goes up for the basket during SIU’s 73-55 win over Austin Peay during the Charles Helleny Tip-Off Classic on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021 at the Banterra Center at SIU. Jared Treece | @bisalo

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Page 9

He said some nerves were still there with him, but Coach Mullins ultimately calmed his nerves.

“I think I was a little timid at the start of the game and passed up on some shots. Coach talked to me about how they were closing out and stuff like that.

So I just kind of let the game flow to me and listen to the coaches,” Domask said.

Coach Bryan Mullins loved the great shooting percentage from the team, but said they could still improve in other areas.

“I thought our paint touch decision making was good and we finished around the basket tonight. We didn’t shoot the ball well from three and that’s where I think one of our strengths is as a team so if we can put together the three point shooting with our paint touches, then I think we can be a very, very good offensive team,” Mullins said.

Jones, the star of the second half, said the win gives them the opportunity to improve going into the Paradise Jam tournament in the Virgin Islands.

“We got our first chance at a win, we’re going to build on that and do whatever we can to stack up wins at the Virgin Islands,” Jones said Coach Mullins also said the game will give them a confidence booster heading into a tournament.

“It’s huge, first home game, we want to protect this place. So just having the crowd here, and then just obviously, confidence and momentum going into a big tournament,” Mullins said. “We’re gonna play three really good teams there. They’re all gonna be high. level games. So, we gotta build on this. We got to watch the film and We got to get better in the next six days before we play Colorado.”

Saluki Men’s Basketball will continue their season one week from today against Colorado in their first game of the Paradise Jam tournament. The game will start with a 7 p.m tip-off.

Sports reporter Joseph Bernard can be reached at joseph.l.bernard@siu.edu or on twitter @Jojobernard2001.

SIU guard, Lance Jones, drives the ball while being defended by Austin Peay’s Carlos Paez during SIU’s 73-55 win over Austin Peay during the Charles Helleny Tip-Off Classic on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021 at the Banterra Center at SIU. Jared Treece | @bisalo

A fan sitting in the Dawg Pound, celebrates after a scoring play from the Salukis during SIU’s 73-55 win over Austin Peay during the Charles Helleny Tip-Off Classic on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021 at the Banterra Center at SIU. Jared Treece | @bisalo

SIU guard, Dalton Banks, looks for a teammate while going up against Austin Peay’s Drew Calderon during SIU’s 73-55 win over Austin Peay during the Charles Helleny Tip-Off Classic on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021 at the Banterra Center at SIU. Jared Treece | @bisalo

Page 10

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Theater Department bringing the fever to SIU Janiyah Gaston | @janiyah_reports

Rion Towey decided to do Hay Fever, a comedy play, to provide people with just a few nights to enjoy a show and relax.

Southern Illinois University Carbondale theater department is putting on the play Dec. 2-4 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. at McLeod theater.

Towey said with the political polarization of the country, he wanted to bring people together.

“In light of what’s been going on these three years with the pandemic and the political climate in this country, I wanted a play that would make people laugh,” Towey said.

Towery said everything from the set, costumes, and props were done in house.

Amanda Talor, who plays Judith Bliss, one of the main characters, said she is excited to be back on stage and hopes everyone gets to see all the hard work that went into Hay Fever.

“It’s just really cool to see everyone who’s been working on it, whether that’s costuming, lighting sets or anything else,” Talor said. “It’s all just coming together.”

Gillian Coruz, who plays Judith’s daughter, Sorel, said the audience will enjoy the show because it’s about family.

“They share a lot of experiences together which I can relate to,” Coruz said. “Fighting with your brother, I relate to that a lot, and Sorel does that a lot in the show.”

While some of the actors are excited for the play it has been an adjustment for others.

Carter Reed, who plays Judith’s son, Simon, said it has been an adjustment for him from doing musicals to a comedy.

“I am normally more into musicals … so having all lines has been a bit of a jarring thing for me,” Reed said. “So it’s been a bit of an adjustment,” Reed said.

Mitchell Brandon, who plays Sandy, a guest of the Bliss family, said it is easier for him to get into his character’s personality.

“I’m pretty outgoing, but sometimes I do get a little nervous, and that gets shown through the character,” Brandon said. “He’s just very goofy. I think I’m very goofy so it’s easy to tap into.”

Uriel Achillieus, who plays Richard Greatham, a diplomat invited by the Bliss family, said this play will give the audience a chance to escape from pandemic worries.

“I think that given all the things that have

Students practice their performance for the play, “Hay Fever,” at the McLeod Theater Nov. 11, 2021 at SIU in Carbondale, Illinois. “It’s a comedy, of course I want people to laugh. But I’m confident in my cast. I’m confident in my design team and their ability and what they’ve put forward in bringing this production to life,” Director Rion Towery said. Dominique Martinez-Powell | @dmartinez_powell.photography

happened in the past two to three years, people want a good laugh,” Achilleus said. “I think people just want fun entertainment, and a lot of people really, really still love theater,” Abree Jean, who plays Mayra Arendelle, another guest of the Bliss family, said people need to attend shows like this one if they want live theater to survive.

Tickets for the show can be purchased the day of the performance.

“I am hopeful that people will have the desire to get back to supporting their local theaters, and theater in general, because I think it’s time,” Towery said. “People want to have a laugh and be entertained and get back to some sort of normalcy.”

Staff reporter Janiyah Gaston can be reached at jgaston@dailyegyptian.com or on Instagram at @janiyah_reports.vv

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SIU students practice for the play, “Hay Fever,” at the McLeod Theater Nov. 11, 2021 at SIU in Carbondale, Illinois. Dominique Martinez-Powell | @dmartinez_powell.photography

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Page 11

RSOs left with ’basically no money’ following fundraising rule change Janiyah Gaston | @janiyah_reports

Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) rely heavily on fundraising to support their activities throughout the year, but they have been restricted from one of their go-to fundraising tools — food sales.

Program Coordinator Alexander Maxwell, who oversees RSOs in the Office of Student Engagement, said RSOs are allowed to fundraise, but, as a result of additional regulations in place to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic, their options have been limited.

Any fold sold cannot be homemade, per the new regulations.

“Registered Student Organizations are welcome and encouraged to fundraise for their events, programs, and other needs they have,” Maxwell said. “Due to health and safety concerns, we ask that students do not sell food items they prepare themselves.”

If RSOs want to sell food for a fundraiser the food has to be pre-packaged and store bought, Maxwell said.

The RSO handbook on page 22 states “No product (food, promotional items, apparel, etc.) may be sold at or near the Banterra Center, Saluki Stadium, and the Student Center that would compete with a concession contract or retail sales… Per SIUC’s agreement with Pepsi MidAmerica, all beverages must be Pepsi products, including bottled water,” These rules have severely limited what RSOs can do in terms of fundraising.

According to Luis Barrera, the president of the American Sign Language Club (ASL) ASL is low in funds because of the fundraising rules put in place because of COVID-19.

“We wanted to do a big sale during the month of November and October like you know, spooky treats. But with the pandemic,

we’re not able to do that.” Barrera said. “It’s been hard to find out what to really fundraise. Right now we basically have no money, you know, like, $64. Maybe less than that.”

Barrera said the ASL club is still looking for other fundraising avenues, as other issues have also limited their options, such as there being only three approved spaces for hosting events, being required to buy Pepsi products and having to return leftover grant money.

Yulissa Lucha Miron, the treasurer of the Latino Cultural Association (LCA), said the purpose of LCA is to bring together different Latino groups and share their culture.

“The purpose is to provide students with more cultural heritage since everyone’s away from home, and have those things that people are used to back home, and be able to also make new friends and understand other cultural histories,” Lucha Miron said.

LCA is able to host fundraisers, but their items have to be approved by the University..

“There’s certain rules we have to follow. And [it] also depends on what kind of fundraiser it is.

So fundraisers need approval on certain things and others,” Lucha Miron said.

Nathan Diazleal, the president of AnimeKai, said his RSO is about bringing together people that are interested in anime. Diazleal said, in the past, their main form of fundraising was selling homemade cookies around the holidays.

“Before COVID, we used to bake cookies on Valentine’s Day for Halloween things like that,” Diazleal said.

According to Diazleal, since COVID-19 has been around and the fundraising criteria has been changed to follow safety guidelines, it has put a hold on what RSOs can do fundraising wise.

“We mostly do like the group raise kind of food fundraisers, but

the ones that we do miss doing are definitely like the bake sales.”

Diazleal said. “You know, going to the store, buying pre-packaged food and selling it to them doesn’t make that much sense. It’s a lot more fun to make yourself,” Diazleal said selling prepackaged food to students does not really attract attention, whereas homemade food appeals to more people.

AnimeKai, LCA and ASL Clubare all trying to work within the guidelines regarding fundraising, but it’s been difficult to be successful.

“Being able to raise money, it definitely gives you a little bit more sway, and a better ground to make certain decisions. Diazleal said. “It kind of opens the door for more fun opportunities.”

Staff reporter Janiyah Gaston can be reached at jgaston@dailyegyptian. com or on Instagram at @janiyah_reports.

Page 12

Sports

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Salukis turn it around to defeat Indiana State handily 47-21 Cole Daily | @cdaily_de

The Southern Illinois football team (73; MVC 5-2) traveled to Terre Haute, IN to matchup against the Indiana State Sycamores (4-6; MVC 2-5). The Salukis won 47-21.

The Sycamores received the ball to start the game. They managed to drive the ball down into Salukis territory, but freshman cornerback David Miller intercepted the ball with 12:24 left in the first quarter.

The Salukis managed to convert this turnover into a 24-yard field goal by senior kicker Nico Gualdoni. Southern Illinois took the first lead of the game, 3-0.

SIU’s defense continued to be stifling, forcing Indiana State to punt on their next three drives. The Salukis turned two of those three drives into scores.

The first was a 31-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Nic Baker to junior wide receiver Avante Cox with 3:24 left in the first quarter. Then, Gualdoni kicked in another field goal, this time a 25-yarder, with 11:47 left in the second quarter.

The Salukis went up 13-0 after these drives.

Indiana State got a score on the board with 3:40 left in the second quarter with a passing touchdown from senior quarterback Anthony Thompson to junior wide receiver Dante Hendrix.

The Salukis managed a six-yard touchdown run by junior running back JaVon Willaims as the clock expired. The Salukis failed the two-

Graphic: Dustin Clark | dustinclark.oof and Photo: Jared Treece | @bisalo

point conversion after the score.

The halftime score was 19-7, Salukis in front.

The Salukis opened up the second half with senior running back Donnovan Spencer running the ball two yards out for a touchdown.

That gave the Salukis a 26-7 lead with 11:12 left in the third quarter.

During the Sycamores drive, senior defensive end Anthony Knighton intercepted the ball and took it 20 yards for the score. This gave the Salukis a 26-point lead, 33-7.

This play gave the Salukis even more momentum than they already had, as the Salukis forced a stop, and the offense was able to drive down the field and make the score 40-7.

This was the second Baker-to-Cox touchdown of the day, this time from nine yards out with 8:21 left in the third quarter.

The Sycamores were finally able to get something going with 2:53 left in the second half. They gave their team a sliver of hope with a touchdown pass from Thompson senior wide receiver Rontrez Morgan. The Salukis still held a commanding lead, 40-14.

The Salukis scored a statement touchdown

on the opening play of the fourth quarter, with Williams rushing it 43 yards to put SIU up big, 47-14.

Indiana State’s Hendrix scored his second touchdown of the game to make the score 4721 with 8:40 left in the game.

Southern Illinois started off their next drive with an electric play which was a 48-yard passing play from Baker to freshman wide receiver Izaiah Hartrup. However, Gauldoni missed a 35-yard field goal at the end of the drive.

Miller captured his second interception of the game with 3:17 left in the fourth and this would seal the win for the Salukis. They kneeled the ball during the final minute and ended the game 47-21.

Baker led the way for the Salukis offense 233 yards and two touchdowns. Williams and Cox also made major contributions. Williams with 79 rushing yards and two touchdowns and Cox with four receptions for 48 yards and two touchdowns.

On the defensive side, the cornerbacks shined for SIU. Miller had two interceptions, and senior cornerback PJ Jules led the team in tackles with nine.

The Salukis will play their next game in Saluki Stadium against Youngstown State on Saturday, Nov. 20. This game will be played at noon and is also Southern Illinois’ “senior night” game.

Sports Reporter Cole Daily can be reached at cdaily@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at cdaily_de

Women’s basketball loses road matchup vs Kansas City Joseph Bernard | @Jojobernard2001

The SIU women’s basketball team (0-2) travelled to Missouri today to face the Kansas City Roos (1-1). SIU lost the matchup by a 67-46 score on the night.

Graduate Student forward Abby Brockmeyer was by far the highlight of the night for the Salukis. Brockmeyer posted a double-double on the night with her performance. She tallied 21 points, a team high, 13 rebounds, also a team high, two steals, an assist, and went 8-13 on field goal attempts for the night. Brockmeyer also led the team in minutes played on the night with 31.

Also worth mentioning was senior guard Peyton McCallister. McCallister tallied nine points for herself which would be second on the team, but went 2-11 on shooting for the night. Luckily for her, she sank all four of her free throw attempts. McCallister also put up two rebounds, two assists, and a steal on the night as well off of 26 minutes played.

The Salukis just couldn’t nail their shots on the night. It took seven tries before they finally nailed one, but the early deficit was too much

to overcome for them. The Salukis got down eight points at 11-3 midway through the first, but an encouraging end to the quarter got them at 11-9 to finish the first quarter.

SIU just couldn’t stretch their success from the end of the first into the second quarter.

The Roos tallied the first seven points of the second and went on a 11-2 run to put them up 24-11 with 3 minutes to go in the second and finished the first half down 33-15.

The third quarter went a little better for the Salukis, as they outscored the Roos 1614 throughout and ended still down, but by a little less at 47-31.

The fourth ended up being too short of a time for the Salukis to come back from and the Roos outshot the Salukis 20-15 throughout and the Salukis just couldn’t find answers for the Roos as they went down 67-46.

The Salukis will continue their season back at home the day before Thanksgiving with their first home game of the season against IUPUI with a 12 p.m tip-off time.

Sports reporter Joseph Bernard can be reached at joseph.l.bernard@siu.edu or on twitter @ Jojobernard2001.

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Page 13

SIU Swim and Dive sweeps annual A3 Invitational Joseph Bernard | @Jojobernard2001

Both of SIU’s Swim and Dive teams took home first in the Annual A3 invitational over this past Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Four different schools were invited to take part in the event including Bellarmine, Valparaiso, Eastern Illinois, and the University of Evansville.

Both teams won handily and almost put up double the points as their second place counterpart. The men’s team put up 1,214.5 points while second place Evansville put up only 612.5 and the women’s team put up 1,353 points with second place Evansville tallying only 728 points.

On day one of the event, SIU swept in every event. For the men, the group of sophomore Alex Schlueter, senior Zander Minano, senior Zheng Yang Yeap, and sophomore Donat Csuvarszki set the school and pool record in the 200-free relay with a 1:19.60 time. The women also had a near season-best time in the 200-free relay with the group of freshman Celia Pulido, freshman Ali Robertson, freshman Jasmine Rau, and fifth year student Sierra Forbord at a 1:34.01 time.

Day two saw more success as the Salukis took 13 more first place titles.

The men had junior Adam Cernek, sophomore Gustav Persson, Minano, and Csuvarszki set a new SIU record for the 200-medley relay at 1:27.97. The women had Pulido break a new school, pool, and Missouri Valley Conference record for her 100-backstroke performance at 52.46.

Every event throughout day three, except one, had a first place showing by a Saluki. Highlighting some of the action for the women were the quartet of sophomore Nicole Horton, junior Lucia Romero, Pulido, and Forbord, who set a new school record for the 400-free relay.

Also worth mentioning was Pulido, who owns another school and pool record for her 200-breaststroke performance at a 1:54.26 showing. The men saw Csuvarszki setting another SIU record but for the 100-freestyle at a 43.58 showing.

Saluki Swim and Dive will have a long break before they come back to action at UIC on Friday January 14.

Sports reporter Joseph Bernard can be reached at joseph.l.bernard@siu.edu or on twitter @Jojobernard2001.

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Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Touch of Nature continues Catalyst Bike Race Series on November 20 Joseph Bernard | @Jojobernard2001 Touch of Nature will continue their annual Catalyst Bike Race Series with their third and final race on Saturday November 20. The previous two races happened on May 1 and Sept. 18 of this year.

The three-day race is the highlight of the Catalyst Mountain Bike Festival, occurring throughout Nov. 19, 20 and 21. The Festival looks to bring together all who love biking, hiking and all things nature in the Southern Illinois area.

The Bike Festival will have lots of different activities for participants to enjoy including live music, food and meal packages, and of course the bike race happening on the second day of the festival.

Touch of Nature acts as SIU’s outdoor laboratory for students and the community. They contain a large number of different programs including a REC therapy, leadership, environmental education, veteran adventures and training programs that all incorporate the unique natural resources that southern Illinois contains.

Assistant Director of Outdoor Education and Recreation at Touch of Nature, Brian Croft, said Southern Illinois is the perfect place for the Catalyst Festival to thrive.

He said there aren’t too many more places that have the same amount of variety in outdoor events like Southern Illinois has.

“Southern Illinois is positioned to be a midwest hub for outdoor recreation,” Croft said.

“There aren’t a lot of places in the country that have the same access to outdoor experiences that we have here. You can go rock climbing, mountain biking, canoeing, stand up paddle boarding, it’s all here in Southern Illinois and there’s nothing like it.”

The proceeds from the race will go toward the continued building of over 30 miles worth of trail at Touch of Nature’s Environmental Center in Makanda. Almost half of the construction of the trails has already started, with over 12 miles available to bike on already. Croft said these trails will be specifically designed for mountain biking.

“Many of the mountain biking trails prior to this were just refurbished old roadways and things like that, but these are specifically designed for mountain biking,” Croft said.

“You can tell when you’re on them that there’s flow and it’s very aesthetically pleasing.”

The Bike Race will be a 10 mile trail, so it’s nothing too extreme for somebody new to mountain biking, but still a fair task. You can also buy a package depending whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or expert at mountain biking, as well as options for kids and children

Seth Martin | @seth.mart

between the ages of 13 and 18 years old.

Racer April Martinez participated in the previous two racing events in the Catalyst series and will be participating in the upcoming one as well.

lower body strength is something I’ve been trying to do,” Martinez said.

Martinez said her goal isn’t necessarily anything specific, but would love to finish high.

“I didn’t really have a goal in

sponsor as many of the outdoor recreation activities as they can.

“We made a donation and have been at the races giving cold press juice samples in years past and we’re continuing to do so this year,” Martinez said.

“To me it’s mindless and serene. I can just focus on riding and being out in the woods and being engulfed in the forest. I love being free and going fast,” - April Martinez

Catalyst Series Racer

She said she’s been getting some more experience before the race in order to prepare herself.

“I had done some specific things to prepare for the first two races, but haven’t had as much time to prepare for this one, but getting out and riding on the trails as much as I can before it starts and just working on my cycling skills in general as well as

mind. My goal is always to finish, but I finished on the podium the last two races so I’m hoping to at least finish on the podium this time as well,” Martinez said.

Martinez is also participating in the event in a different way.

She and her husband own “The Joos Cap” in Carbondale, a cold press juice and smoothie bar in Carbondale. She said they try to

Another community sponsor that’s helping to host the event is “The Bike Surgeon”, a local bicycle shop in Carterville. The shop sells a variety of bikes and equipment anyone looking to feed their biking hunger might need. Manager of the shop, Gabriel Arnone, said the shop is helping Touch of Nature host the event in a variety of ways.

“We’re basically providing a blueprint for them and for future events. They had never hosted a bike event there. We’re just helping them figure out how it should go. We’ve also helped them get sponsors for prizes and other raffles at the event,” Arnone said.

The shop is also helping to promote the event in a couple ways as well. Arnone said they’re helping market the event throughout any way that they can.

“We contact people that come to our shop and people that we know go to other shops and try to get riders to come and support the trails at this event,” Arnone said.

“We’ve had an online presence as well to promote the event, but the community is close-nit, so word gets around that this is going on and people will end up coming out.”

With all this love for mountain biking to go around in the area, an outsider might just wonder what it is about biking that people that do it enjoy so much.

Croft said it’s unlike anything else you can experience.

“It’s just a different way to experience the outdoors,” Croft said.

“It’s a really cool way to get physical exercise and works as a nature exposure. Not everyone grows up doing the other outdoor activities like climbing or paddling a canoe, but a lot of people grow up riding a bike. It’s not a big leap to go from riding on the street to a trail. In a way it’s innately in who we are.”

Martinez said mountain biking clears her head.

“To me it’s mindless and serene. I can just focus on riding and being out in the woods and being engulfed in the forest. I love being free and going fast,” Martinez said.

Hosting this event is not only a fundraiser for Touch of Nature to continue building their new trails, but it’s also a way for people to come together in celebration of a love for the outdoor resources in southern Illinois. Croft said their goal with hosting the event is to bring all these people together.

“Our goal is to get as many people in southern Illinois, SIU students or just community members, outside and enjoying the amazing resources we have in southern Illinois,” Croft said.

You can register for the event on SIU’s Touch of Nature page on their website. The deadline to register is Wednesday, November 17.

Sports reporter Joseph Bernard can be reached at joseph.l.bernard@siu.edu or on twitter @Jojobernard2001.

Study Break

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

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City of Carbondale Police Department Interested in a career in Law Enforcement? The Carbondale Police Department is searching for entry level officers and lateral transfers. Your salary in only five years will be more than $64,500. Carbondale offers great benefits like health insurance, paid holidays, sick days, and personal time! We know the importance of having a balanced life and fulfilling career. We support ongoing training to help you continue to grow both personally and professionally. Apply online at explorecarbondale.com.

e Daily Egyptian is looking to hire new members to the newsroom!

Graphic Designer Photographers Reporters

To apply, please email editor-in-chief Ore Ojewuyi your copy of your resume and / or portfolio.

Ore Ojewuyi oojewuyi@dailyegyptian.com

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Wednesday, November 17, 2021

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