de APRIL 11, 2018
sInce 1916
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
Vol.101 Issue 51 @daIlyegyptIan
Anna Spoerre | @annaspoerre
The Edmonton skyline in Edmonton, Alberta, on April 5.
Montemagno’s Ingenuity Lab closes, employees blame his leadership
Employees of Montemagno’s nanotechnology lab come forward about the “toxic” and “hostile” work environment he created in a lab where he employed family ANNA SPOERRE | @AnnaSpoerre
EDMONTON, Alberta — Nine months after Carlo Montemagno left a position as director of Ingenuity Lab to assume the chancellorship at SIU’s Carbondale campus, some members of the Alberta community are still picking up the pieces of what they call a
failed project brought to life and then abandoned by its director. Ingenuity Lab was established in 2012 by the government of Alberta in partnership with the University of Alberta and Alberta Innovates to conduct nanotechnology research related to health, environment, energy and agriculture. Though a reason was not
explicitly given, funding for the lab will be cut this year following a review of the lab’s operations. Some individuals who worked closely with Montemagno said the employment of his family members, combined with poor leadership, may have contributed to the early downfall of what was intended to be a 10-year-long $100 million
project to bolster innovation within Alberta’s oil-reliant economy. Life in the lab “He said ‘jump,’ and we said ‘how high?’” said Josh Cunningham, a graduate student who was cosupervised by Montemagno in his lab from 2013 to 2017. Cunningham now works as a research assistant at the university
of Alberta. Though Cunningham called Montemagno a “driven dude” who helped him make beneficial connections in his field of study, he also said over time the director cultivated a “hostile,” “weird” and “toxic” work environment. Please see ALBERTA | 14
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The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of Southern Illinois University Carbondale 43 weeks per year, with an average daily circulation of 11,000. Fall and spring semester editions run every Wednesday. Free copies are distributed in the Carbondale and Carterville communities. The Daily Egyptian can be found daily at www.dailyegyptian.com.
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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.
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Photo credit for the front cover: The Edmonton skyline in Edmonton Alberta, on April 5.
Anna Spoerre | @annaspoerre
Wednesday, april 11, 2018
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First annual campus walk to raise awareness and money for suicide prevention RANA SCHENKE | Daily Egyptian
The university is holding its first Out of the Darkness Campus Walk on April 14, to raise awareness and donations for suicide prevention. Participants can register online at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s website through noon on Friday, April 13, or at the walk starting at 4:30 p.m. Suicide is one of the top three leading causes of death in adolescents ages 15-19, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s website, almost twice as many people in Illinois die of suicide than by homicide. Illinois’ suicide rate is at 10.28 percent, and the national rate is at 13.26 percent. These rates are per 100,000 population. “The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has a goal to reduce the annual rate of suicide by 20% by the year 2025,” said Angela Peterman, the walk’s chairperson. “I think that’s a great goal.” The walk is organized by Salukis On Your Side, the university’s suicide prevention program and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, according to a university press release. Participants are not required to pay a registration fee but are encouraged to help raise funds and/ or donate. “Most of the money [donated] stays right here in southern Illinois to provide educational resources for suicide prevention,” Peterman said. The top fundraising team by April 14 will lead the walk and
carry the walk banner. The top individual fundraiser will cut the walk ribbon, according to the walk’s informational page. Participants who raise $100 by April 14 will receive an official Out of the Darkness Campus Walk t-shirt. Donations can be made on the registration website or at the registration booth before the walk. A resource fair featuring information tables hosted by local businesses and nonprofits will open at 4:30 p.m., according to the walk’s informational page. Additional activities at the walk include customizable walk bibs, a raffle and a candlelight vigil. “We will also be having a memory tree, where people can fill out leaves with names of people they may have lost, and in return, they will get a package of seeds to plant in memory of that person,” Peterman said. Mental health professionals will also be on the walk for anyone wanting to speak with them. The walk itself starts at 5 p.m. and is about two miles long. It starts at the Student Center, goes to the Carbondale Civic Center on 200 South Illinois Ave. and then returns to the Student Center. As for those who should participate in the walk, Peterman says the walk is for everyone. “It’s for people in support of suicide awareness and prevention, it’s for people who have lost friends, loved ones, anybody. It’s for the campus, but it’s for the community as well,” Peterman said. People can participate as individual walkers, team captains or team walkers, virtual walkers and volunteers.
“It's for people in support of suicide awareness and prevention, it's for people who have lost friends, loved ones, anybody. It's for the campus, but itls for the community as well.” - Angela Peterman Chairperson, Out of the darkness walk
At the walk, participants will be able to select honor beads, which show their personal connection to the cause. White beads are for loss of a child, red for a spouse or partner, gold for a parent, orange for a sibling, purple for a relative or friend, silver for a first responder or military, green if the wearer has struggled personally, blue if supporting the cause, and teal for friends and family of someone who struggles, according to the event's webpage. Leashed dogs are welcome and encouraged; for a $10 donation at the Foundation’s booth, participants can get an official AFSP Pooch bandana. Staff writer Rana Schenke can be reached at rschenke@dailyegyptian.com.
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Mary Newman | @MaryNewman_DE A Piper Arrow sits outside a hangar at Southern Illinois Airport on Friday. The airplane was built specifically for SIU aviation students to train for their commercial flight certificates, and will be integrated into courses by the middle of summer.
SIU Department of Aviation brings three new planes to the fleet JEREMY BROWN | @JeremyBrown_DE and if you do, what's the cost of that? It's
The Department of Aviation purchased three new Piper Arrows for the fleet, replacing five early 80’s Cessna aircrafts. Chief Flight Instructor and Program Coordinator John Voges said the new arrows were purchased using student flight fees, meaning the funds did not come out of the university's budget. “It’s just like going to a business, you’re going to end up paying for their service,” Voges said. “We don’t make a profit, we’re simply going to charge what we need.” Voges said the older Cessna aircrafts were becoming increasingly expensive to maintain, comparing it to maintaining a vintage car. “Imagine buying a 57 Chevy,” Voges said. “Where are you going to find the parts for a 57 Chevy? You don't. If you need a part for a 57 Chevy [you go to a] salvage yard where you might find one,
extremely high.” As the supply of those aircraft begins to dwindle, Voges said, there's not too many people who have demand for those parts. Voges said when deciding which planes to purchase to replace the Cessnas Piper Arrows were the best choice on the market. “To go over some others, there are Composite Technologies, we're not really a big fan,” Voges said. “We like the metal skin, it's better overall. It stands the test of time better.” Assistant flight instructor Chris Siderius said the new Piper Arrows specifically replace the five Cessna 172s and 182s because both are considered “complex aircrafts.” A complex aircraft has retractable gear, Siderius said. Retractable gear can allow pilots to move the landing gear up into the body of the aircraft.
“[The Cessnas] still have a lot of life left in them,” Siderius said. “But the reason we've elected to acquire new aircraft is that the equipment that's onboard [the Cessnas] is an older style of equipment.” The older planes use steam gauges, Siderius said, a whole cluster of dials such as altimeter or airspeed indicator. “We're getting rid of those for electronics light displays,” Siderius said. “Or what the industry calls ‘glass cockpit.’ Which is digital avionics, basically a computer screen. [It] provides all of the same information in a much easier to understand format.” Siderius said students start with steam gauge planes to develop their skills first and foremost. “Once they've demonstrated their abilities, we introduce them to the digital avionics,” Siderius said. “It's like using an abacus before plopping a scientific calculator in your hands.”
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A Piper Arrow sits outside a hangar at Southern Illinois Airport on Friday. The airplane was built specifically for SIU aviation students to train for their commercial certificates, and will be integrated into courses by the middle of summer. MARY NEWMAN @MARYNEWMAN_DE
Siderius said the purchase of the new Piper Arrows is the first time the university’s fleet is incorporating anything not made by Cessna. “The biggest difference is that Piper aircraft tend to be what we call low-wing,” Siderius said. “The wing is on the underside of the fuselage
instead of on top. They're just as forgiving as a Cessna.” Voges said the five older Cessna planes are being phased out this semester, so any students that started their training on those planes will finish it on them as well. Safety Officer and Associate
Professor for the Department of Aviation Mike Robertson said the shift from five to three aircrafts will work fine because the maintenance time in maintenance will decrease. “From my perspective, being the safety officer, having these new aircraft is extremely beneficial,” Robertson
said. “Because the likelihood of a gearup type of an incident, is decreased significantly.” Robertson said the new planes are great from a recruitment standpoint as well. “Those other planes were not attractive. [They’re] 30-year-old planes,” Robertson
said. “From a safety perspective, I think lowering that risk of having gear related accidents [is] probably going to make parents who send their students here feel better as well.” Staff writer Jeremy Brown can be reached at jbrown@dailyegyptian.com.
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Carbondale campus opposes proposed $5.1 million shift in state funding AMELIA BLAKELY| @AmeliaBlakely
The SIU Edwardsville campus community argues shifting five million dollars in state funding to the Edwardsville campus will make the overall Southern Illinois University system thrive – the Carbondale campus disagrees. “We strongly believe that a failed SIUC would ultimately lead to a failed SIU system,” said Ahmad Fakhoury on behalf of SIUC's faculty senate through a memo sent to the SIU Board of Trustees obtained by the Daily Egyptian on April 7. “Such a decision at this time would derail determined attempts by both the faculty and the administration at SIUC to reinvent the institution.” The Board of Trustees will decide at the April 12 meeting whether to shift approximately $5.1 million in state funding from the Carbondale campus to the Edwardsville campus. The possibility of the proposal was discussed to be considered on March 9 at the Board of Trustees retreat meeting at the Touch of Nature. “We’re asking the board to reconsider the allocation model because we believe it is important to the system and our campus,” said Denise Cobb, SIUE provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “We’d liked to be viewed as a full partner in the system and as a contributor to this system.” This has been a matter of discussion since the peak of the state budget impasse, SIU President Randy Dunn said at the meeting. The matter resulted in SIUC borrowing $37 million from the Edwardsville campus in May 2017 after the university exhausted $83 million in reserve. The borrowed $35 million was repaid in July 2017, said SIU
university spokeswoman Rae Goldsmith. In the original state allocation model roughly 60 percent of the funding went to Carbondale, excluding the medical school and 40 percent went to Edwardsville, Dunn said. The funding shift to SIUE, which is the fastest growing public university in the state, would let the institution expand its campus, programs and graduate education Dunn said. Edwardsville has made the investments in the university to have the capacity for growing programs and departments, Cobb said.
“We want to move forward,” Cobb said. “We need your help to do that.” A common theme in the discussions of shifting funds on the SIUE campus was the Edwardsville campus being treated equally, SIU Board of Trustees chair Amy Scholar said. “SIUE wants to be seen as an equal partner in the system,” Scholar said. If the reapportionment is approved, the state allocation model would be a formula using enrollment as one of the main factors. “One would think that the
biggest percent of a formula driver should probably should be enrollment,” Dunn said. “You can build in performance factors – incentives if you wish.” According to the reallocation of appropriation agenda item, a third external party will create a formula model for the redistribution of state funds. The formula could include other factors in addition to enrollment, including, facility needs and costs, funding for research, research productivity, and economic impact of the universities in their communities. Shifting $5.1 million dollars in the 2019 fiscal year would
Daily Egyptian file photo
be the beginning of a four year redistribution of state funds process, according to the "Authorization for Phase 1 Reallocation of Appropriation Budget" agenda item. With a multi-year adjustment plan, approximately $17.7 million to $23.3 million of state allocations could shift from Carbondale to Edwardsville within four years, according to the agenda item. When reconsidering the allocation of state funding, Carbondale’s infrastructure should be held an account, Chancellor Carlo Monteamgno said during the Board of Trustees retreat.
Wednesday, april 11, 2018 Currently the university has $709 million maintenance that was put off due to financial reasons while Edwardsville has $102 million in deferred maintenance needs, he said. “The cost in maintaining the university is dramatically different. we are 150-year-old campus,” Montemagno said. Montemagno said he has asked trustees to delay potential alterations to state funding until an independent analysis on state allocations is conducted, according to his blog post on April 4. If the agenda matter is approved, the five million dollar shift could compromise the university’s financial recovery and stability, would equal a layoff of 110 faculty and staff, could damage recruitment efforts and take more than $39 million from the economy, he said in the post. “We cannot absorb any part of the additional $5.1 million reduction by further increasing tuition, by further deferring maintenance of our facilities, or by reducing staff without damaging the quality of programs and services we provide,” Montemagno said in his post. If the shift is approved, a plan that considering budget options across campus will be created within the next two weeks to be put in place by July 1 he said. Pushback to the proposal has also come from U.S. representatives and state representatives and senators. U.S. Representatives Mike Bost, Terri Bryant, Dave Severin, Natalie Phelps-Finnie and U.S Senators
Paul Schimpf and Dale Fowler urged bipartisan caution to the proposal, according to an Illinois state senate news release sent on April 6. Schimpf supports evaluating and possibly updating the state allotment between the two campuses but that change should come after a careful study has been performed and with the full support of the board, according to the release. “The current proposal is scheduled to go before an incomplete Board of Trustees, without the benefit of outside, impartial study, at a time when SIUC is in the midst of a reorganization,” Schimpf said in the news release. “I urge the university President and the chair of the Board of Trustees to rethink their decision to press ahead with this vote.” The data in the agenda item is selective and failed to acknowledge 45 years of history when Edwardsville relied on Carbondale as it was forming into the university it is now, according to the memo sent by the SIUC Faculty Senate. "Given the current financial state of SIUC, the proposed reallocation of resources at this time would be devastating – not only to SIUC but also to the communities throughout the region," the memo said. The Board of Trustees and President Dunn did not respond to the Daily Egyptian's requests for comments. Campus Editor Amelia Blakely can be reached at ablakely@ dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter @AmeilaBlakely.
“I urge the university President and the chair of the Board of Trustees to rethink their decision to press ahead with this vote. ” - Paul Schimpf U.S. Senator
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SIU brings community and students together with Farm to Fork dinner RANA SCHENKE | Daily Egyptian
SIU L AW JOURNAL SYMPOSIUM
EXPLORING THE SECOND AMENDMENT 10 YEARS AFTER DC VS. HELLER
PROGRAM
April 19, 2018 | 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
LOCATION
SIU School of Law, Auditorium 1150 Douglas Drive Carbondale, IL 62901
COST
$50 includes program, lunch and 4.5 MCLE credit
REGISTRATION
bit.ly/2018lawjournalsymposium
INFORMATION
bit.ly/2018_SIULAW_symposium Individuals with disabilities are welcomed. Call 618/453-5738 to request accommodations.
SIU is hosting the third annual Farm to Fork Dinner bringing the campus and local community together to showcase local food and talent, at Grinnell Commons on April 18 at 5:30 p.m. “The event itself, of course, is meant to celebrate local food,” Sustainability Coordinator Geory Kurtzhals said. “So it celebrates sustainability, it’s celebrating our community, and it’s helping to connect students with where their food is coming from.” Kurtzhals is a part of the committee in charge of the dinner. “The first year of this event came about because of a very passionate SIU student, a graduate student, who took the lead on putting this dinner together with one of our chefs from housing,” Kurtzhals said. Since then, the event has grown; Kurtzhals estimates that around 130 people were served at last year’s event. This year’s dinner will be cooked by university chefs Sean Eberly and Pam Reed, according to a university press release. The four-course meal will be made with ingredients grown or produced by farms in the southern Illinois region. Farm to Fork Committee Chairperson Rachel Dycus said some of the farms grow items specifically to be served at the dinner. Last year, many of the ingredients were picked the day of the event. “They were literally picked in the morning and we ate them in the evening,” Dycus said. “It was wonderful.” At the dinner, student musicians from the School of Music will provide musical entertainment. Kurtzhals said the Horticulture club has grown and designed plants that will be used as centerpieces. “I’m not aware of any other event that SIU hosts that has this particular dynamic and has a celebration of local food,” Kurtzhals said. The evening’s menu includes a spring salad with champagne vinaigrette,
“All of us are becoming more and more disconnected with where our food is coming from, so this is an opportunity to reconnect with that.” - Geory Kurtzhals Sustainability Coordinator
cauliflower, pear and blue cheese soup, chicken with wild mushroom and garlic sauté, roasted potatoes, fresh asparagus, and strawberry coulis with pastry and cream, the press release said. Guests can also select a vegan main meal option when registering that replaces the main course with sweet potato gnocchi with vegan cream sauce and spring sugar snap peas, the press release said. For guests over 21, beer and wine pairings will be available at an additional cost. One of the vineyards contributing wine to the dinner is Blue Sky Vineyard of Makanda, Illinois. “We like to make premium wines made from premium grapes, and I feel that they are best enjoyed with food,” Karen Hand, winemaker at Blue Sky said. “[The event] introduces people to wines who may not typically drink wine with dinner, so it just introduces the wines to a wider population,” The farmers and brewers are invited to the event which allows students to have a human-to-human connection with the people who grow their food, Kurtzhals said. “All of us are becoming more and more disconnected with where our food is coming from, so this is an opportunity to reconnect with that,” Kurtzhals said. Jill Rendleman, owner and manager of All Seasons Farms in Cobden said the dinner also helps the farms involved because it is a way to meet the public and tell them about the farms. “It’s a connection... between the
farmers and the university community, which I think is something that could be built upon,” Rendleman said. Rendleman’s farm is known for its quality fruits and vegetables, which are produced without chemicals or genetically modified organisms. “We are a certified organic farm, so we produce certified organic vegetables and fruit, and we’re one of just two or three [farms] in Southern Illinois that do that,” Rendleman said. In order for a farm to be certified organic, it has to meet certain standards, such as growing crops in soil that has not had synthetic herbicides and pesticides applied to it for three years prior to harvest, according to the USDA website. Organic food is believed to be better for people and for the environment because it does not use chemicals that could be harmful to people, plants, and animals. Rendleman said that her farm was founded with a mission to help improve the natural environment and the community. The Farm to Fork dinner allows All Seasons Farm to introduce organic, locally produced food to the greater community. Other local farms and vineyards participating include Flamm Orchards, Kite Hill Vineyard, and SIU Farms. This event is made possible through the partnership of SIU’s University Housing with the university’s Sustainability Office, Department of Animal Science, Food and Nutrition and the SIU Fermentation Science Institute.
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Nurses at Student Health Center unionize in hopes for fair wages KITT FRESA | @KittFresa
Seventeen nurses at the Student Health Center are forming a union with the hopes of receiving fair wages, as some nurses believe they are the lowest paid in the state. “It’s not ok,” said Jamie Beckman, a nurse of ten years at the Student Health Center. “We’re pretty sure we’re the lowest paid nurses in the state of Illinois. We haven’t had a raise in five years.” Rick Lezu, a Staff Representative from the Illinois Nurses Association has been organizing unions for the last 30 years and is organizing the union for the nurses at the Student Health Center. “One of the issues that I found interesting from my perspective is that the maintenance crew – a guy that mows the yard – gets paid more than the nurse,” Lezu said. “If I was the administration of this university I’d be ashamed to discuss nursing pay – it's embarrassing.” Nurses are not recognized for their skills, such as a plumber or an electrician. “It has to do with the gender profession," Beckman said. "It's sad that we have to say that.” There are ten registered nurses and seven licensed practical nurses total in the Student Health Center, all have said they are on board with the formation of the union. Beckman said the nurses have a skill set just like the plumbers or the electricians on campus who are paid $80,000 or more a year but nurses who have the ability to save your life get paid under $40,000 and Licensed Practical Nurses get paid under $30,000. The average pay for a plumber at SIU is $81,818 and the current staff's salaries range from 81,060 to $85,112, according to salary information obtained by the Daily Egyptian. The average pay for an electrician at SIU is $78,278 and the current
“One of the issues that I found interesting from my perspective is that the maintenance crew – a guy that mows the yard – gets paid more than the nurse. If I was the administration of this university I’d be ashamed to discuss nursing pay – it’s embarrassing. -Rick Lezu Staff Representative from the Illinois Nurses Association
staff's salaries range from $77,888 to $82,567, according to salary information obtained by the Daily Egyptian. The average pay for nurses at SIU is $42, 134 and the current staff's salaries range from $17,750 to $69,499, according to salary information obtained by the Daily Egyptian. Three nurses in addition to Beckman told the Daily Egyptian about their experiences working at the Student Health Center. Due to the concern of repercussions, the three nurses chose to stay anonymous. “We have an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) that works in our building that has 30 years of nursing experience and she makes $12 an hour. There is a sign out in front of Burger King that they start hiring people at $9 an hour so think about that,” a nurse at the Student Health Center who wished to remain anonymous said. “She makes three whole dollars more than the people that take your order at Burger King, and she has 30 years of experience, and she can’t get a raise.” The nurses at the School of Medicine start at a wage $10,000 more a year for the same job description. Student Health Center nurses said that is because they unionized.
“That was just shocking,” Beckman said. The contract which sets the School of Medicine's nurses' wages was signed by SIU Chancellor Carlo Montemagno, Student Health Center nurses said. The nurses found their counterparts at the School of Medicine and their salaries start off at $10,000 more than the nurses at SIU, Beckman said. "That was just shocking that you can work at the same university, do the same job, just because your in a different building," she said. The Student Health Center operates like any other doctor’s office and has an extensive array of medical treatment abilities. Imaging, on-site labs, psychiatric services, counseling, immunizations, and sports medicine are a handful of services that the nurses said they offer. The nurses typically work eight hours a day, five days a week and average about 500 patients each week, according to the nurses. “We take care of students who are very very sick, we’ve had patients that have come to school that have been diagnosed with cancer, who have chronic illnesses, diabetes,” said a nurse at the Student Health Center who wished to remain anonymous. She said they treat basic healthcare
needs like take care of colds and flus and stitching up cuts and gashes. “We still have to have the same skill set as anyone that works in the hospital,” Beckman said. “It is world class health care.” The School of Medicine examines people from the public but does not have as extensive a clinic as the Student Health Center. The nurses from the Student Health Center said they could make more money at other health centers like the hospital or a care facility, but choose to stay because they love the students and their jobs. The nurses say SIU is taking advantage of that. “I think there’s just something about the mentality of being a nurse that you’re constantly a giver, you’re giving and giving and giving and so you almost feel guilty when you ask for something in return,” said a nurse at the Student Health Center who wished to remain anonymous. Lezu said the administration is negotiating with the nurses but are relying on fallbacks like basing the nurses pay on enrollment and saying that future projections are not looking good. “Go find some money, find something to keep your students
healthy, give your nurses a somewhat decent living and we’ll build on that as we go," Lezu said. "We just want the nurses to be treated with some respect – give them some money, give them some respect.” Beckman said the nurses aren’t trying to say they understand the financial climate in the state of Illinois, but they deserve to make fair wages as professionals. “This is us demanding a raise,” said a nurse at the Student Health Center who wished to remain anonymous. “If they can afford the chancellor, they can afford to pay the nurses.” She said when students can’t get your medication because your insurance won’t pay for it, it’s the nurses who contact the insurance agencies. The nurses sit on the phone with your insurance to get students approved for your medication. She said the nurses bridge the gap for new students between their now distant moms and their new grown-up lives. She said often it's the first time students have been to the doctor without their mom or dad and they have no idea. “We explain the way everything works and then explain their insurance to them and explain where the pharmacy is, when to call for refills, how to call for refills,” a nurse at the Student Health Center who wished to remain anonymous said. “We do more with less every day.” The nurses said they invite students to come to the Student Health Center to stop by and say hello. “Let us know that you support us, that would be awesome. Better yet, send an email, make a phone call –tell the chancellor that you support us,” a nurse at the Student Health Center who wished to remain anonymous said. Features editor Kitt Fresa can be reached at kittfresa@hotmail.com.
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Seventy five percent of faculty chose to extend or not advance Montemagno's restructuring plan KITT FRESA | @KittFresa
Out of the faculty who voted, 75 percent chose to extend the deadlines for reviewing or not advancing SIU Chancellor Carlo Montemagno’s restructuring plan, according to a press release from the Illinois Education Association's regional office and the Faculty Association. Faculty Association President Dave Johnson said this statistic represents the votes cast so far. The Faculty Association continues to mislead the campus community by the misrepresentation of information, Montemagno said in his his blog post “Embracing Accuracy” posted on March 27. “Faculty votes to extend the time for dialogue are just that — a vote to create time for more information and discussion as allowed in our collective bargaining agreement,” Montemagno said in his blog post. “These votes do not reflect either positive or negative perspectives.” Johnson said he thinks faculty who voted to slow the reorganization process down or opposed it did so because they believe the chancellor’s proposal is not in the best interest of their programs and students. “The number one thing people are concerned about, which has been true since the beginning of this process, is the elimination of academic departments,” Johnson said. Montemagno said the release of the statistics is a disservice to anyone who values the university’s future. "I believe that these votes for extension reflect the considerable confusion among faculty surrounding the larger reorganization, as well as resistance to the chancellor’s initial timetable, which was always unrealistic," Natasha Zaretsky, a member of Faculty Association and Coordinating Committee for Change said. The Faculty Association responded in a press release to the chancellor’s blog
with a rejection that the voting statistics were inaccurate and sharing the results of faculty votes does a disservice to SIUC. "The Faculty Association has done an extraordinary job of communicating with the community and of attempting to shed light on a confusing and rushed reorganization plan," Zaretsky said. "In my view, anyone who cares about the future of SIUC owes them an enormous debt." The release included a straw poll statistic, that was taken by various departments based on the merits of the chancellor’s plan, according to the the Faculty Association. 79 percent of faculty who voted in the poll voted against the chancellor’s proposal in their area, including overwhelming margins of votes cast in the proposed schools of Engineering, Physical Science and Humanities, according to the release. Montemagno responded in his blog and said straw polls are a normal part of the negotiation process among faculty to assess where they are starting from. “They are not final votes and many have been positive," Montemagno stated in the blog. "In fact, the only final vote to date was unanimously in favor of creating a School of Computing.” The Faculty Association responded to the blog by saying straw polls serve only to allow faculty to negotiate with one another. “The 111 faculty who voted to oppose the chancellor’s plan in their area (as opposed to the 30 who voted in favor) were sending a message to the chancellor, whether he wants to hear it or not,” the Faculty Association said in the press release. In this straw poll statistic, 141 faculty members voted in total. The Faculty Association said the chancellor contradicts himself by trying to find support in the “many” positive votes in straw polls. “Apparently the votes of 79 percent of faculty who voted no are
meaningless, while the 21% who voted yes count," Faculty Association said in the press release. "Apparently only positive, private input sent directly to the chancellor counts; public votes by faculty and students do not count— unless they are cast in favor of the chancellor’s plan.” The Faculty Association said the chancellor stands by his claim that feedback on his plan has been positive, but has yet to provide the evidence necessary to support his assessment. "I don’t think that the chancellor has adequately responded to the resolutions passed by the Faculty Senate or the Graduate Council calling for the retention of departments," Zaretsky said. "Nor has he provided any evidence that the feedback he has received is largely positive." Faculty Association said that the chancellor is contradicted by public votes by the Faculty Senate, Graduate Council, Graduate Student Professional Council, and Undergraduate Student Government, the Coordinating Committee for Change survey results, and now by the compilation of votes in the press release. In his blog post, Montemagno said one of the statistics referenced in the press release was distributed selectively. “Based on the comments of a number of individuals, including faculty, it appears that the referenced survey by the Coordinating Committee for Change was distributed selectively; many have indicated that they were never aware of it,” Montemagno said in his blog. The survey included responses from 246 faculty both non-tenure track and tenure track faculty and showed that 39 percent of faculty supported the chancellor’s plan. “Overall, only 36 percent of the more than 1000 people to fill out the survey voiced support for the chancellor’s plan. The CCC survey also found 62 percent of faculty opposed the elimination of departments and chairs,” the Faculty Association press release said.
The Faculty Association responded to the blog and said, “The chancellor implies that the CCC survey was 'distributed selectively,' but bases his claim solely on vague, anonymous 'comments of a number of individuals, including faculty'.” Faculty Association went on to explain that the CCC group publicized its survey via press coverage and Facebook advertising which was directed at all Facebook users in the Carbondale region. The survey was open to anyone with an internet connection and that the group has been transparent about its methods and results, the Faculty Association said. "While some faculty may support the reorganization and others may simply want more time to review it, the cumulative evidence of votes, combined with the CCC’s survey data, makes clear that the chancellor does not have the buy-in that he needs for the plan to succeed, at least in its current incarnation." Zaretsky said. The press release also discussed Montemagno’s progress with reorganization, specifically dealing with the April 12th Board of Trustees meeting. “Last fall, the chancellor announced his plan to present the Board of Trustees with a comprehensive proposal to reorganize the Carbondale campus for their approval at their meeting on April 12,” the press release said. “It is now apparent that nothing will be ready in time for board approval at that meeting. This means that no major changes will be in place at the outset of the next fiscal year (July 1, 2018), so any hypothetical improvements on campus would likely not take hold until July of 2019 at the earliest.” Montemagno responded in his blog saying while his goal was to have a finalized plan by the Board of Trustees meeting in April, it was always dependent upon the speed with which faculty reviewed and
responded to proposals. “I fully support and respect that some faculty want to take the time for discussion allowed in the process. Meanwhile, I have updated our trustees on the plan and its status,” Montemagno said. “It is highly inaccurate to state that there will be no major improvements until July 1, 2019. As I stated in a recent blog post, we will move forward as things are approved through the process.” The Faculty Association said the chancellor blames the delay in finalizing plans on faculty taking time to review and respond to proposals. “But the contractual discussion period for most proposed schools ended on February 13; that for most others schools ended on March 13,” Faculty Association said. “Yet of the twenty proposed schools, only three have been presented to faculty for final review.” Faculty Association said faculty have not been sitting on these plans for the last six weeks but really they have been stuck in Anthony Hall. They said this is because the chancellor has tried to force through more changes than his own staff can process. Additionally, they said Montemagno shifted to proposing college RME’s, a process which they said has now been indefinitely extended. “The chancellor argues that it is “highly inaccurate” to say that there will be no structural changes on campus until July 1, 2019," Faculty Association said. "But major changes to university structures and programs are only practicable when the 'catalog year' begins, on July 1 and the chancellor will miss that deadline this year. If the chancellor really intends to merge departments or make other major changes in the midst of an academic year, between July 2018 and July 2019, that is a recipe for chaos.” Features Editor Kitt Fresa can be reached at kfresa@dailyegyptian.com and on Twitter at @KittFresa.
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Brian Munoz | @BrianMMunoz Demonstrators sit in SIU Chancellor Carlo Montemagno's office on Thursday, April 5 during a protest on the proposed police academy at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale campus.
Demonstrators occupy chancellor's office for nearly 25 hours KITT FRESA, BRIAN MUNOZ & FARRAH BLAYDES
Students and community members staged a sit-in after marching from the Communications Building to Anthony Hall yesterday, in protest of a proposed police academy at the university. Protests came hours after SIU Chancellor Carlo Montemagno released a statement that he would be tabling the decision on the proposed addition of a police academy.
“I continue to believe that SIU Carbondale can bring together the expertise of its faculty to create an innovative institute focused on training culturally competent law enforcement officers,” Montemagno said in a written statement. “However, I think the ultimate recommendation about whether we go forward should come from the faculty who would lead the delivery of the institute’s programs.” Demonstrators demanded Montemagno release a written statement saying there will not
be any form of a police training institution at SIU. USG senator Zhi Hao "Eric" Tsang presented the formal request to Montemagno yesterday during the beginning hours of the sit-in. “We, the people of the SIU community demand that the chancellor’s office release a statement today that there will be no police academy or public safety institute at SIUC and that all processes regarding its implementation will be halted
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Brian Munoz | @BrianMMunoz Demonstrators talk with each other on community during the early hours of Friday morning, while at an occupation of SIU Chancellor Carlo Montemagno's office in Anthony Hall. The occupation followed a march through campus the previous day in protest of the proposed police academy at the Southern Illinois University
Brian Munoz | @BrianMMunoz Breyonna Bonner, a freshman from Chicago studying criminology and criminal justice, protests outside of the Student Services Building on Thursday during a demonstration on the proposed police academy at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale campus.
immediately,” the statement read. Police officers patrolled Anthony Hall and the surrounding buildings while demonstrators occupied the chancellor’s office overnight. “We have a lot of food and drink donated by professors and other people who agree with what we're doing and wanted to support us in some way,” Brynn Kosmic, a Carbondale community member and demonstrator said. Anonymous professors donated food and coffee, according to SIU Student Trustee Sam Beard. Friday morning demonstrators hung up signs and banners outside of Anthony Hall with messages such as “no cop academy” and names of victims of police brutality written on cardstock. Shortly after Montemagno greeted protesters and complimented them on their professionalism during the demonstrations. “I want to let you know how proud I am of all of you –
even though we don’t agree on everything, I want to let you know that you’ve comported yourself as professionals,” Montemagno said. “You were respectful, you were polite and you were able to provide a level of communication to express your ideas, that makes me very very proud of all of you.” Montemagno told the demonstrators he was happy with how they are expressing themselves during protests. “This is one of the reasons we fight for, we fought for in our nation – to have freedom, to be able to express our thoughts, and you’ve done it perfectly,” Montemagno said. “So I want to take your pictures, I want to tweet about how proud I am of all of you.” Beard said they would take a picture with the chancellor under the condition he say on camera that there will not be a police academy at SIU. Montemagno denied the request and said the decision ultimately
would rest with the faculty of the proposed school. “I can’t do that – that’s going to rest with the faculty and the faculty are going to ultimately make the decision about whether or not we can do that or not,” Montemagno said. Montemagno and the demonstrators discussed on how the chancellor possesses the authority to deny the creation of a public safety institute. “You don’t wield that authority lightly,” Montemagno said. “I would not wield that authority in the absence of having a dialogue first, to preempt a dialogue and a discussion is not the way to do things.” The chancellor praised the demonstrators on the points that they brought up to him. “You’ve raised a number of points which are significant and those points have been communicated it will be part of the discussion,” Montemagno said. “I also believe
Brian Munoz | @BrianMMunoz Jai Parham, a freshman studying theater from Chicago, talks about the similarities and differences between the Howard University demonstrations at their demonstration at SIU Friday, during an occupation of SIU Chancellor Carlo Montemagno's office in Anthony Hall. The occupation followed a march through campus the previous day in protest of the proposed police academy at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale campus.
that we have an opportunity if we do it right to provide a way of educating the next generation of police officers – officers that are culturally competent.” Montemagno promised demonstrators that when issues on the proposed police academy are discussed or debated, there will be a seat for the students to provide their perspective. The demonstrators vacated Anthony Hall early Friday afternoon.
Features editor Kitt Fresa can be reached at kfresa@dailyegyptian. com and on Twitter at @KittFresa. Photography and Multimedia editor Brian Munoz can be reached at bmunoz@dailyegyptian.com and on Twitter at @BrianMMunoz. Staff reporter Farrah Blaydes can be reached at fblaydes@ dailyegyptian.com and on Twitter at Farrah_Blaydes.
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Anna Spoerre | @annaspoerre The National Institute for Nanotechnology — recently renamed the Nanotechnology Research Center — on the University of Alberta campus in Edmonton, Alberta, on April 5. The building housed part of Ingenuity Lab, which was headed by Carlo Montemagno from September 2012 through April 2017.
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“[Montemagno] has big dreams, big vision,” Cunningham said. “He has a great ability to sell ideas and convince people that things are possible, but from what I’ve seen is it was lacking in the actual ability to get people to actually achieve those goals or help them achieve them.” Cunningham said Montemagno’s focus on final product over process often left people floundering.
This, he said, wasn’t a good fit for academia. “[Montemagno] likes people who like him,” said a former research associate at the lab. “In that sense he’s the quintessential narcissist. So, ironically enough, it’s easy to get along with [Montemagno] because if you tell him that he’s great, that he’s fantastic and all you’re trying to do is coast along and make him happy, he’s going to be your best friend.” The former research associate
was one of 11 people interviewed in Edmonton for this story who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of harming their careers. Adam Bergren, a research officer at the National Research Council of Canada, said it appeared to him that Ingenuity Lab never really got off the ground. Bergren shared a workspace with lab employees and said as an observer it seemed the lab became its own brand, and the partnership encouraged between
the Nanotechnology Research Center and the university didn’t quite see the light of day. He said he often observed a chaotic workplace, with people frequently expressing frustration and confusion. “There was an inner circle, and then everyone else,” said a former researcher at the former National Institute for Nanotechnology — recently renamed the Nanotechnology Research Center — who had experience in Ingenuity
Lab. Montemagno “tried really hard to make it seem like everyone was part of this family, but it was blatantly obvious that it wasn’t.” The former Ingenuity Lab researcher said a goal of Montemagno’s initiative included facilitating the sharing of lab equipment, knowledge, workspace and funding among different groups of professionals who might not interact as easily otherwise. The long-term goals were to tackle global problems by conducting
Wednesday, aPril 11, 2018 interdisciplinary nanotechnology research, Montemagno said. “The tragedy in this is that what he was hired to do – it was needed, it was desperately needed,” said a previous research associate at the lab. “The university needed more coordination, needed that investment, needed the ability to break down the silos in-between the camps. But you can either do that by bringing in the hydrogen bomb and after that there’s nothing left, or you can bring in the peace-builder.” He classified Montemagno as the former. “They chose the quintessential alpha male type that thrives not only on the recognition – so they chose a narcissistic character – but they chose somebody who believes that he’s better than everyone else,” the former research associate said. “My management style is to hold people accountable for their work,” Montemagno said in response to complaints about his leadership. “Some rise to the challenge and are successful, while others are not.” All of Montemagno’s responses were given via email as he said he was unavailable for an interview. The former Ingenuity Lab researcher said what bothered him most was some people inside Ingenuity Lab claimed accomplishments that were either inflated or wrong altogether. “When you’re a scientist you only have one reputation, so if the story around town is that you worked at Ingenuity Lab so you probably manufactured your numbers like everybody else that manufactured their numbers, that’s a tough one,” the researcher said. A lab technician who lost her job in the most recent round of funding cuts said even though she is searching for a new job, she doesn’t include Ingenuity Lab on her resume because she doesn’t want to be associated with Montemagno and his family. She said there was a hostile environment during her time in the lab, but didn’t actively try to leave because it would be
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“[Montemagno] likes people who like him. In that sense he’s the quintessential narcissist.” - Former research associate at Ingenuity Lab
difficult to find a job with similar opportunities. A postdoctoral fellow who also spent time working under Montemagno and is actively looking for job openings at the University of Alberta said he keeps the lab off of his resume for the same reason. Lab under review In June 2017, a review of Ingenuity Lab was authorized. The process wrapped up in September as part of a review of all Alberta Innovates funded programs, said Robert Semeniul, the new media specialist at Alberta Innovates. Montemagno announced his relocation to SIU shortly after the review got under way. Meanwhile, an interim director — Murray Gray — was appointed by the university to redirect the initiative, Semeniul said. “I was looking for an institutional leadership position that presented new challenges and opportunities — where there was work to be done and I could make a difference,” Montemagno said of leaving Alberta for Illinois. “I also missed interacting and working directly with students.” “This was supposed to generate incredible amounts of economic activity,” said a former researcher at the former National Institute for Nanotechnology who had experience in the lab. “After awhile — three or four years — people were astonished at the lack of anything coming out of this lab, out of this giant pile of money that was being spent.”
Montemagno said through ground-breaking research the lab attracted external grant funding, including $9 million the last year he ran the lab. In 2014, Ingenuity Lab was recognized by The New Economy magazine as the best nanotechnology research organization. The final review has not been made public. Gray did not respond to requests for comment. Keeping family close In early April in Edmonton the remnants of the Ingenuity Lab were gradually erased from the Nanotechnology Research Center on the University of Alberta’s campus. A nametag pinned to a cubicle wall there displayed the name Kyle Minor, Montemagno’s nephew, and graduate student and project leader in his uncle’s lab. Minor was one of three family members Montemagno employed at Ingenuity Lab. Montemagno’s daughter, Melissa Germain, and son-in-law, Jeffrey Germain, (both of whom are now employed at SIU) were also given jobs at the lab in Canada. The Germains’ positions were a condition of Montemagno’s hiring in Alberta. “I can see why the people who hired [Montemagno] liked him, because he has a charismatic presence and he says the right things to the people he is speaking to,” a previous research associate at the lab said. Montemagno was brought to the university of Alberta in 2012 with an annual salary of $500,000, almost $400,000 in U.S. currency
at Tuesday’s exchange rate. He also received a $1,000,000 interestfree housing loan, according to his employment paperwork. “Your intention to employ, through funding available under the NEBSL Accelerator initiative, your son-in-law and daughter in positions commensurate with their education and experience is acknowledged,” Montemagno’s contract read. The contract, which purported to follow the University’s “Employment Policy” and “Managing Conflict of Interest in Employment Procedure” was signed by David Lynch, Alberta’s dean of engineering at the time of the hire. Lynch did not respond to requests for comment. According to emails obtained through public information requests, there was a personal agreement between Lynch and Montemagno that the expenses for the immigration costs for him and his family would also be covered. “On occasion, the recruitment of specialized faculty members includes a provision for the hiring of a family member into a position commensurate with their education and experience, and subject to our recruitment policy,” said Kiann McNeill, spokesman for the University of Alberta. Melissa Germain was hired as a laboratory technician in March 2013 with a salary of $3,452.68 a month (about $2,740 U.S.) paid for by a trust fund. Her LinkedIn profile shows she was promoted to director of communications in
2015, and Montemagno confirmed that. However, none of the contracts obtained through information requests had her listed in any position aside from lab technician, though her pay increased to $5,995.67 (about $4,760 in U.S. currency) a month in 2017. Jeffrey Germain, Montemagno’s son-in-law, was hired in October 2012 as a research associate earning $120,000 a year, about $95,000 in U.S. currency. Montemagno signed his contract. An organizational chart from Sept. 27, 2012, obtained through information requests, shows Jeffrey Germain directly below Montemagno. In 2015, an associate director position was added and Jeffrey then reported to that person instead of Montemagno to eliminate the potential for conflict, according to an email sent by Engineering Dean Fraser Forbes to faculty relations personnel. Montemagno said in an email statement that neither of the Germains reported to him in Alberta and that their relation to him was well-documented. Funding for the Ingenuity Lab was significantly reduced April 1, and all funding will end on Sept. 30, McNeill said. Eight lab employees were laid off on March 31, and five did not have their contracts renewed. The remaining employees have end dates running up to the Sept. 30 closure. “How could we blow this so bad when it looked so good?” a former research associate said. “How could it become so controversial, so dominated by hostility toward others? It became the thing that it was supposed to break. It became this extremely siloed, extremely closed environment that is exactly what that thing was designed to bust up in the broader context of the university.” Anna Spoerre is a reporter at the Daily Egyptian. She can be reached at aspoerre@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter @annaspoerre.
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Opinion: Doing something DANIEL A. SILVER
Whatever your opinions of Chancellor Carlo Montemagno’s proposal, the fact remains it is not about improving enrollment any time in the next seven years. It is also not about saving money. He said so himself. If programs and jobs are cut due to continuing losses in enrollment over the next several years, that will happen whether we do nothing or if the Chancellor’s proposal is pursued. Years have been wasted not pursuing an expeditious enrollment plan. Something has to be done. It should be of great concern to everyone that no plan is currently before the Board to expeditiously
“If programs and jobs are cut due to coninuing losses in enrollment over the next several years, that will happen whether we do nothing or if the Chancellor's proposal is pursued.” - Daniel A. Silver, J.D. Interim director of SIUC paralegal studies
stem the declines in enrollment, to improve retention on campus, or to really hear our students’ voices. There are a number of prudent things that can be done that are constructive and have positive probabilities of timely success. There is a plan at sidoingsomething.blogspot.com for the Board’s consideration; a
“Each success is designed to expeditiously improve enrollment and retention, enhance SIU, the morale and successes of our students and faculty,andto improve our region.” - Daniel A. Silver, J.D. Interim director of SIUC paralegal studies
plan to lower fees and tuition with a superior media blitz, to institute a Center for Cross-Cultural Student Success, a return to 60 credit hours required for transfer students to SIU, a 2 percent reduction in SIU salaries that exceed $150,000.00, and advertising in movie theaters. This plan can be pursued if we all unify to demand it. Each success is designed to expeditiously improve enrollment and retention, enhance SIU, the morale and successes of our students and faculty, and to improve our region. The plan’s Center for CrossCultural Student Success will enable an active, contemporaneous, comprehensive support system for at-risk students, including, but not limited to, an emphasis on recognition of diverse cultural needs of varied races, ethnicities, and genders. Established programs and resources will benefit all undergraduate students in significant ways, taking care not to be used or viewed as culturally divisive or restrictive. Years ago, SIU had the Center for Academic Success with fully funded and staffed peer advising, staff mentoring, and close monitoring of academic progress for all academically atrisk students. The CAS had a sophomore return rate of 77
percent, which was also true of the once very successful Minority Engineering Program. Consider SIU’s overall 2016 retention rate of 43 percent. Eastern Illinois University claims an additional 4,400 new students in one year by expanding its advertising, especially to movie theaters. Imagine if we had advertised in theaters that showed your favorite movie over the last year. Recognizing that many things need to be accomplished, shoring up enrollment needs to take priority over others. Implementing this comprehensive plan in no way ignores that additional ideas exist to remedy problems we identify at the university. At this time, in this place, we simply must pursue a strategic plan to jump-start and sustain enrollment and retention. How things proceed is up to each of us. If you believe something has to be done, then you need to do something. Read the documented plan at sidoingsomething.blogspot. com. Write to the Board of Trustees at mistyw@siu.edu before April requesting pursuit of this comprehensive plan. Thank you. Daniel A. Silver, J.D., Interim Director of the SIUC Paralegal Studies Program can be reached at dsilver@siu.edu.
Wednesday, aPril 11, 2018
Editorial: Why medical marijuana may be the answer to the opioids epidemic THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
America's opioids crisis has taken a staggering toll, killing more than 42,000 people in 2016 alone and more than 250,000 people over the past decade. On Thursday, underscoring the severity of the crisis, Surgeon General Jerome Adams issued a statement without apparent precedent in which he urged "health care practitioners, family and friends of people who have an opioid use disorder, and community members who come into contact with people at risk for opioid overdose, (to learn) how to use naloxone and (keep) it within reach." "Get naloxone," he wrote. "Save a life." Naloxone is the highly effective anti-overdose drug that is now routinely carried by many first responders. Adams' suggestion that so many Americans have it at hand is a stunning acknowledgment of the pervasiveness of opioids, which he said kill 115 people a day. At that rate, there would be 42,000 more deaths this year, the same as in 2016, an indication anti-opioid efforts have done very little. Yet you don't have to look far to find potentially great news on opioids as well. A new report in the Journal of the American Medical Association's Internal Medicine magazine points to the promise of an inexpensive, far safer drug that could be used as a painkiller instead of opioids: marijuana. The report detailed two massive studies that looked at opioid prescriptions issued over a five-year span under Medicare and Medicaid programs. The studies found that opioid prescriptions dropped by 5.88 percent among states that enacted
laws allowing for medicinal use of marijuana and by 6.38 percent among states that passed laws allowing for recreational use. States in which marijuana could be bought at regulated medical dispensaries saw a 14.5 percent decline in opioid prescriptions. There are two clear takeaways from the findings: The first is that they appear to confirm another Journal of the American Medical Association report — published in November — that showed that patients at a New York City emergency room suffering significant pain reported about the same relief whether they were given a combination ibuprofen/acetaminophen tablet (the over-the-counter medications in Advil and Tylenol); a prescription drug like Percocet (a combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen), Vicodin (hydrocodone and acetaminophen) or Tylenol No. 3 (codeine and acetaminophen). This study illustrated the dangerous readiness of physicians to prescribe addictive drugs, a key factor in the opioids epidemic. The second takeaway is that without high-profile prompting from authorities, hundreds of thousands of Americans — at least
— have turned to non-addicting, nonlethal marijuana to deal with their pain problems. This suggests that if the U.S. government put its weight behind promoting cannabis as a painkiller, progress could be made on the opioids crisis. Which brings us to the twist in this otherwise-encouraging picture. Before becoming president, Donald Trump called the war on drugs "a joke" and declared himself "100 percent" in support of medical pot use. But then Trump made the fateful decision to pick Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, as his attorney general and to defer to him on drug policies. There aren't many American politicians more opposed to marijuana than the former federal prosecutor. His January decision to crack down on states allowing recreational marijuana use led to analysis pieces suggesting he was more worried about marijuana's negative effects than opioids. Sessions' reefer madness means thousands of Americans may keep dying from overdoses in coming years. It also suggests the president should listen to his surgeon general — not his attorney general — to address one of the nation's gravest problems.
“States in which marijuana could be bought at regulated medical dispensaries saw a 14.5 percent decline in opiod perscriptions.” - Journal of the American Medical Associations Internal Medicine magazine
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Letter to the Editor: An open letter to the SIU Board of Trustees, yes to the chancellor's plan, no to reallocating Carbondale's budget As members of the SIU Alumni Association Board, we have the envious task of being both goodwill ambassadors and cheerleaders for a University that enriched our lives. SIU is abundant with traditions and past accomplishments. These are the things that make our job easy and enjoyable. We are also deeply concerned about our University’s future. Years of budget delays and cuts combined with leadership changes have caused us to feel uneasy about what the years ahead will look like for our alma mater, SIU. Then, along comes a man with vision, integrity, and determination, Dr. Carlo Montemagno. Chancellor Montemagno laid out
a straw man plan for a bright future for SIU and is committed to going the distance and to do whatever is necessary to return the SIU campus back to its glory days. This is truly something in which to be excited. His resilience is a characteristic we find common in the stories we hear from alums. Many SIU graduates faced daunting obstacles to earn their degrees. However, they persevered and their SIU experience served them well throughout their lives. Likely, the most important tradition we need to continue is the SIU tradition of helping individuals find and develop their talents so they can contribute and become productive members of society.
This is where SIU excels and what is most at risk. We believe the best path forward is to embrace the work of Montemagno and give him time and resources to end declining enrollment and rebuild our University to the stature we are capable of attaining. It’s been recently reported that waiting lists at each of the top U.S. universities is at an all time high. The demand is there and we need to seize the moment and position SIU for these students. The clock is ticking and it is now time for our Board of Trustees to demonstrate their leadership by approving Dr. Montemagno’ s plan at their meeting this week. We were surprised and deeply
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concerned to learn the SIU Board of Trustees received a recommendation to cut the SIU Carbondale budget by 5.1 million dollars and move the funds to the Edwardsville campus. Carbondale has weathered an incredible storm of financial uncertainty and has survived. SIUC has a plan, under the leadership of Montemagno, to rebuild and become stronger. How could a substantial reduction in funds such as the one proposed make any sense while the University seeks to reorganize? We understand there is no urgency for this move so further thought and discussion would be prudent before acting. The chancellor has spelled out how this reduction would affect
the Carbondale campus in his blog https://blog.chancellor.siu.edu/ responding-to-a-funding-proposal/. Furthermore, this appears to be a distraction to what the real needs are for a healthy system, which is a robust and competitive SIU Carbondale campus. In conclusion, we believe the right thing for the SIU Board of Trustees to do is to approve as much of the chancellor’s plan as possible at their next meeting so we can go about the important work of furthering the essential mission of SIU. We also believe that the wrong thing to do to is to reallocate funding away from SIUC at a time when it so desperately Please see next page
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needs the financial and administrative support of our Board of Trustees. We applaud the numerous local legislators and the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce who share
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our view and have voiced their opinions on diverting funds away from Carbondale. Let us do what is required to continue to embrace the rich traditions of the past and to ensure that there is a robust future
for the Carbondale campus. Please say “Yes” to the chancellor’s plan and “No” to reallocating Carbondale’s budget.
sanctioned by the big man himself. The occupation peeked at what was probably about 35 people, almost all of whom were students, during which time we read aloud Slave Patrols and Civil Servants: A Brief History of Policing in Two Modes and engaged in the muchwarranted discussion about what it might look like to restructure the university from below. As it pressed on, we discussed other student movements around the country that were happening at that very same moment, a #NoCopAcademy battle was being waged in Chicago and students at Howard University in Washington D.C. were carrying out the largest occupation in their institution’s history. And as night fell, a delivery driver dropped off three pizzas sent by an anonymous professor — knowing that our teachers were proud of our bravery boosted morale as we rejoiced over those hot slices. On a mobile projector unit we screened the Netflix documentary about mass incarceration called “13th” and were surprised when we realized the campus police who had been sent to babysit were no longer glued to their phones, but rather were engrossed in the film. It was when we turned off the lights, unrolled our sleeping bags and fluffed our pillows that many of us realized there would not be a whole lot of shut-eye that night. Maybe it was the caffeine, maybe it was the absurdity of the whole situation or maybe it was the realization that those cops chaperoning us, those armed babysitters, were only one order away from beating the living hell
out of us. But I couldn’t sleep, probably only got 1 and half hours. We awoke to administrators stepping over students passed out on the floor, some of whom I had just met the day before. One secretary snapped at us, something about a meeting. More professors dropped off donuts and coffee, by this time we were overflowing with food sent by those who supported us but couldn't physically be there. In my entire life I don’t think I had ever tasted coffee so good, so warm, so rewarding. Brian Munoz | @BrianMMunoz But as the afternoon came we Sam Beard, Southern Illinois University Carbondale student trustee poses for a decided that our energy was best portrait on Feb. 26, outside of the communications building in Carbondale, Illinois. spent elsewhere, the occupation has run its course, made its will be no police academy at SIU." words and turning one's brain into statement. So we packed our bags His seemingly burning desire mush in the process. and moved out on our own terms. for that selfie was quickly Nearly everything the chancellor One of us even vacuumed extinguished. says seems to be misleading, at the place, leaving Anthony Hall He refused, saying that all of best, and so many of us in the SIU cleaner then we found it, “without the sudden he decided that the community know it. a trace” as they say in scouting. decision on the cop academy All in all, we, the students, The best part was at the end, and now rests with the faculty in the created a crack in the political I think this will always crack us up. associated programs, that in the life of campus and widened that Our campus CEO, the name of "shared governance" he crack into something that cannot chancellor that is, came out with just couldn’t bring himself to assert be as easily smoothed-over as an ear-to-ear smile plastered on his that sort of authority over academic the administration would like, face to offer public appreciation decisions made by faculty. regardless of whether or not their for what we did, thanking us for It is rather chilling that the official stance is one of appreciation. exercising our right to protest and chancellor finds it appropriate to Power to the students. Power to thanking us, I suppose, for taking use that sort of language when it the faculty. Power to the people. over his entire office and refusing is precisely the erosion of shared Restructure from below. to leave. governance that his administration He concluded by asking us to take embodies by making unilateral Student Trustee Sam Beard can a selfie with him for SIU's Twitter decisions about the future structure be reached at samuelrobert@siu.edu so he can "show his support" for of our school. or by phone at (618) 453-8418. these students who were literally Since he was hired last year, his His office is located in the Registered protesting him and his policies. administration has hid behind a Student Organization Suite on the I said with an equally forced carefully concocted, smarmy fog of third floor of the Student Center smile "We would ABSOLUTELY double-speak, language which says and his office hours are Mondays LOVE to take a picture with you one thing but literally means the and Thursdays: 12:30 pm – 2 pm after you say on camera that there opposite — destroying the value of or by appointment.
Larry Mieldezis, SIU Alumni
Association Board, President, Rick Wysocki, SIU Alumni Association Board, President-Elect, Scott Moller, SIU Alumni Association Board, Vice President, Gary Heflin, SIU Alumni Association Board, Executive
Committee, Laura Soucy, SIU Alumni Association Board, Executive Committee. SIU Alumni Association Board Vice President Scott Moller can be reached at scott.moller@siu.edu.
Column: An account of last week's occupation SAM BEARD | Sudent Trustee
As I am sure most of you heard, a group of students occupied the chancellor’s office after he refused to issue a statement that there would be no police academy at SIU. This 25 hour, overnight occupation was not at all planned but rather organically evolved out of a march that we had announced last week. All school year long, it appeared as if the chancellor spoke of his dream to see a police training academy on campus as little as possible. Yet, only a few hours before our publicly announced march against his proposed cop academy the chancellor broke his streak of silence and in an unprompted fashion told the Graduate Council that he was “tabling” the decision. What an absolutely shocking coincidence. That aside, tabling the cop academy seemed to be nothing more than a public relations move on the part of the administration: pass the decision off to another group, put it off to another time, thereby sidestepping the pressure that students and community members have built against the proposal. The decision making apparatus, (likely a combination of the executive, PR and policing structures of SIU) made a strategic move to allow us to stay in the chancellor’s office “as long as we wanted.” It really was a slick trick on their end, to allow us to make ourselves at home because, in a sense, it disarmed the movement. We were no longer practicing non-violent civil disobedience, for our occupation was now
Wednesday, aPril 11, 2018
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Answers for Wednesday >> Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit www. sudoku.org.uk
Wednesday, april 11, 2018
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FOR RELEASE APRIL 11, 2018
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis
ACROSS 1 Film director’s honor 6 Rich, dusty soil 11 Greeting at a dog park 14 100 kopecks 15 Common film festival film 16 Loving murmur 17 Phoenix-based hotel chain (and see circles) 19 Mac platform 20 Crankcase reservoir 21 Small bouquet 23 “Help!” at sea 26 Filing tool 27 Threadbare 28 Place for prayer 30 Collars 33 __ the hills 34 Web unit 36 Here, in Spanish 37 Agrees quietly 38 Skater Sasha or comic Sacha Baron 39 Short 40 Indianapolis NFLer 41 Veggie burger veggies 42 Accra is its capital 43 Struggled to achieve 45 Yellowstone attraction 46 Brewski 47 With 31-Down, “Proud Mary” singer 49 Nine and five, in nine-to-five: Abbr. 50 Cast a ballot 52 Sources of fragrant wood 54 Make a mistake 55 Old family recipe (and see circles) 60 Salty body 61 “Carmen,” e.g. 62 Not yet realized 63 Peak 64 Ten-time French Open winner 65 Sounds from a belfry DOWN 1 Mercury or Mars
4/11/18
By John Guzzetta
2 Alphabet Series novelist Grafton 3 “Young Sheldon” network 4 Kind of clarinet 5 Does some electrical work 6 Speech therapist’s concerns 7 Ready to pour 8 Genesis garden 9 Ringo Starr’s title 10 Motion detector, e.g. 11 Produce served in the fall (and see circles) 12 Civil rights hero Parks 13 Sly 18 Airline to Tel Aviv 22 Tediously moralistic 23 One carrying a torch? 24 “Hey, check it out!” 25 Feature of some penny loafers (and see circles) 27 Small, chirpy bird 29 Incurring late fees
Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved
©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
30 Forever 31 See 47-Across 32 Indian lutes 34 “Always be a __, even in prose”: Baudelaire 35 Finder’s cry 38 Computer “brains,” briefly 42 Gets ready (for) 44 Heavily favored 45 Pesky flier 47 __ cotta
4/11/18 4/4/2018
48 Exemplary 50 Garment for brisk days 51 Two-toned snack 52 Sent a dupe to 53 Reasonable 56 Org. that monitors wetlands 57 Actress Thurman 58 Cartoon sheet 59 Purported UFO crew
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Wednesday, aPril 11, 2018
Daily Egyptian file photo
Editorial: SIU is on life support, what happens if the board pulls the plug? DAILY EGYPTIAN EDITORIAL BOARD
SIU Carbondale, in its glory days, had peak enrollment of more than 24,000 students and was considered the proud flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University System. Today, the university has a dwindling enrollment of 13,346 students, low morale, lack of school spirit and a loss of its own identity. The chancellor’s reorganization has left a complete lack of clarity and has created a void of understanding between students and faculty by delivering reorganization content in academic jargon. Since 2000 the university has seen nine different chancellors, four
of which were interim, emphasizing a lack of stability in the most important leadership role. How can a chancellor advance an institution they are supposed to lead if the university is often used as a stepping stone to a bigger paycheck? The last chancellor in a permanent position before Chancellor Carlo Montemagno was Rita Cheng; she left after only four years to become president at Northern Arizona University. SIU is stuck with a chancellor who sits in his ivory tower updating a blog in an attempt to justify his decisions and enthusiasm for SIU — only interacting with students if it is part of his PR campaign to
spin his reorganization plan in a positive light. How did the university that has hosted a United States president, the secretary general of the United Nations and the university whose students participated in protests during the Vietnam war come to such a demise? The former jewel of southern Illinois is now at risk of losing its essential funding with a potential state allocation shift to its sister campus at Edwardsville. At the hand of Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, a knife was stabbed into the state’s higher education system and as the state faced a budget impasse, politicians in
Springfield twisted that knife bit by bit over the span of three years. A common argument made is that SIU Edwardsville “saved” the Carbondale campus from its demise with a loan of $35 million last May. The university paid back the loan to Edwardsville in July 2017, according to university spokeswoman Rae Goldsmith. The Edwardsville campus relied heavily on the Carbondale campus for support during the years of growth into the successful university it is today. In 1956, the original goal of the SIU Board of Trustees on the expansion campus was to make an accelerated provision for higher
education facilities in the MetroEast as quickly as state funding became available. The haste in expanding the university to serve the St. Louis area during the ‘50s is often forgotten. When the Southwestern Illinois Council for Higher Education executive committee and the SIU Board of Trustees agreed to expand the reach of SIU to the metro-east community, it is certain that it was never expected the expansion of the campus would attempt to take over as the flagship. The proposed shift of approximately $5.1 million dollars in state funds is only the beginning of SIU Carbondale’s death by a thousand cuts.
Wednesday, aPril 11, 2018 A death that could end in Edwardsville receiving $23.3 million in state funding over four years, which would previously have been allocated to the Carbondale campus. As Montemagno stated in his blog, if the funding shift is approved, Carbondale’s financial recovery and stability would be compromised — the shift in funds being equivalent to the layoff of 110 faculty and staff, and would take more than $39 million from the local economy. What does this look like for the Carbondale campus and the southern Illinois region as a whole? If enrollment continues to decline and funds continue to be shifted, the towers won’t be the only desolate buildings in the foreseeable future. The university, which has been an economic catalyst — adding thousands of students every year to the local economy — would turn into a community college that could potentially only serve the remaining blue collar families left in southern Illinois. Other students will flee to surrounding out-of-state universities, paying less and receiving more than what SIU could now offer them. The university turning into a community college would result in the loss of diverse and educated academics which add to Carbondale’s unique and diverse culture. While the outcome may look bleak, there are various things that set SIU and southern Illinois apart from your average midwest university and region. We’re located in some of the most scenic land in the state, with the heart of Shawnee Forest only minutes away from the university. For now, the Carbondale community sustains the local economy of native artisans, chefs, musicians and businesses which add to Carbondale’s rich culture. The beloved local breakfast and pizza spots students and the
community enjoy will not survive if the university continues to be depleted of resources and students. The Carbondale campus provides a window to the world for the locals. Losing the university will inevitably close the window to Carbondale’s diverse culture and opportunity for students and the community. Before approving the funding shift of approximately $5.1 million dollars, the Board of Trustees should consider what SIUC and its unique community has generated. SIU offers hundreds of academic programs and research opportunities at all levels — bachelors, masters and doctorate programs. There aren’t many universities where you can dive into research your freshman year and create substantive work in your field. Our alumni have reached success across the country and internationally. Jackie Spinner, former Washington Post reporter, attended the SIU School of Journalism and covered the war in Iraq after her time at SIU. Darryl Jones, the bassist for the Rolling Stones, attended our beloved alma mater and received his bachelor’s degree in political science and a masters degree in higher education. Curt Jones, the creator of Dippin Dots, Melissa McCarthy, famous for her roles in the Gilmore Girls and Saturday Night Live, Walt Frazier, former NBA player — the list goes on and on. An investment in SIU Carbondale is an investment in the betterment of future generations of students and it will not go to waste. If the SIU Board of Trustees gives up on our university, the Carbondale campus will die — and with that, so will the community that many call their home. Do not let Edwardsville gain a name through the death of Carbondale. The Daily Egyptian Editorial Board can be reached at editor@dailyegyptian.com or on twitter @dailyegyptian.
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Wednesday, aPril 11, 2018
Letter to the Editor: USG candidates fail to demonstrate qualifications to lead at Thursday's debate JONATHN FLOWERS
I am disappointed to note the lack of attendance at this year’s Undergraduate Student Government Presidential Debate. Specifically, this year, more than any other, the stakes of the Undergraduate Student Government Presidential election are real. The individual elected to the office of USG President, as head of the largest constituency body on campus, will have the authority to shape the future of this institution through their participation in Chancellor Carlo Montemagno’s embattled reorganization. The Candidate that ascends to the office of USG President will have to take seriously USG’s responsibility as a student administrative body to make policy suggestions for the reorganization in line with the best interest of not only the undergraduate student body, but the entire campus. The future President of USG, and his executive, will have to look beyond parking and RSO funding, and to performing duties that, until the election of President Emily Buice, lay unfulfilled due to the neglect of the previous presidents. In short: this year, USG will have to do its job. Unfortunately, all four of the gentlemen who sat on that stage last Thursday failed to demonstrate their capacity to lead USG through issues facing the undergraduate student body in the coming year, specifically with reference to the simultaneous crises of enrollment, retention, and recruitment, as well as the impending reorganization that has dominated campus discussion for the past semester. For example, Candidate
Eigelberger grounded his platform in the elevation of the STEM fields to a position of authority that he implied had been diminished in USG to the detriment of his “constituents” in the STEM fields. This is a point that I find ironic as the senators from the College of Engineering have been extremely engaged in their participation in USG and, to my knowledge, have not failed to contribute meaningfully to USG conversations. In fact, two senators from the College of Engineering were among the five senators who reached out to me for information concerning the reorganization so that they could better inform their constituents. Additionally, Candidate Eigelberger, was consistently unable to articulate an understanding of the issues facing USG. To provide an example, in response to a question asked regarding how he would include all student organizations in decision making, Candidate Eigelberger responded that he would work to prevent these organizations from getting “stomped” by the reorganization. Nowhere in the Chancellor’s proposed reorganization does he seek to consolidate or eliminate registered student organizations. To suggest that one of his responsibilities as president is to ensure that student organizations don’t get “stomped” by the reorganization is to evidence a clear lack of understanding of the way that the reorganization works or what the reorganization affects. This fundamental lack I might generously attribute to the relative lack of information on the reorganization among undergraduate students, however, as a candidate for the presidency of USG, Candidate
Eigelberger really should have done his homework. Candidate Newlin, despite his experience in USG, was also unable to articulate suggestions that did not, at the very least, violate the USG Constitution or repeat past mistakes. Both his suggestion to “vet” USG Senators and his suggestion for stricter requirements would entail rewriting the constitution to change those requirements before he takes office or over the summer without the consent of the senate; or a violation of the constitution after he takes office. Per the constitution as written, the USG Executive cannot simply “select” senators for umbrellas or other seats: umbrellas put forward their own senators in line with the constitutional guidelines. Any attempt by the executive to select senators would subsequently violate the constitution and would be grounds for impeachment. Moreover, this suggestion to tighten the requirements for USG Senators would drive Candidate Newlin into the same fight that dominated the first semester of Jared Stern’s presidency and almost led to his impeachment. When President Stern’s attempted to change the GPA requirements for senators to increase the “quality” or the senate, many senators rightly argued that this attempt was not only elitist and ablest, but would deny access to USG to many populations who are guaranteed representation on the senate. Moreover, Candidate Newlin demonstrated a fundamental lack of understanding of USG’s policy given right to participate in the reorganization, a right that also ensures Candidate Newlin’s position
Wednesday, aPril 11, 2018 as USG representative on two university wide committees. As I have said repeatedly in senate meetings where Candidates Newlin, Mitchell, and Henderson have been present, USG is granted voting rights on the Faculty Senate Undergraduate Education Policies Committee, which ensures undergraduates have a voice in policy decisions that move through that committee, including the RMEs related to the reorganization. That Candidate Newlin would assume that the reorganization is “too far along,” or “too progressed,” indicates how much attention he has paid to the presentations that he thanked me for delivering to USG during Thursday’s debate, as well as the brief policy advice offered to him on his ill-informed resolution to reorganize USG seats in preparation for the consolidation of students in Thomson Point. As a result, Candidate Newlin has no excuse for his provision of inaccurate information. Candidate Henderson, like Candidate Newlin, attempted to use GPSC and myself to attribute some measure of legitimacy to his platform. While I am happy that he took seriously my suggestion to seek out GPSC for mentorship, the fact remains that, until Friday, Candidate Henderson has not once spoken to me at length about how he might develop this mentorship relationship. To be clear, this is only a concern worth mentioning because Candidate Henderson made GPSC mentorship part of his platform, which would imply that he sought this mentorship before publicly announcing it. To be clear, Candidate Henderson has neither sought mentorship nor advice from GPSC prior to Friday afternoon after I expressed disappointment in the above. That aside, Candidate Henderson, like Candidate Newlin, fundamentally misunderstands the nature of the reorganization.
To be fair, I did have the opportunity to speak with Candidate Henderson and correct his flawed understanding that units would lose their funding should they be merged with other units, however, this conversation was only incidental. Ironically, one of the points that the Chancellor has remained consistent on in his reorganization is that units would keep their specific foundation accounts, endowments, or other such monies tied to the department. In fact, this was the only concern that I have raised with the Chancellor that prompted immediate action on his part, both at the faculty level and at the level of the donors. Moreover, and this is a problem with all the candidates, a cursory glance at the Chancellor’s FAQ in preparation for the debate would have prevented Candidate Henderson from exposing his ignorance during the debate. To the extent that Candidate Henderson, in response to the second question of the evening, stated that he would distinguish himself as a professional by “understanding the problems that (undergraduates) face and may face,” his performance during the debate, specifically his portrayal of conflict with the administration as “cartoonish,” thereby trivializing USG’s vote of no confidence, the recent occupation of Anthony Hall, and GPSC’s ongoing resistance to the Chancellor’s decimation of graduate education, did not seem to indicate this. This brings us to Candidate Mitchell, perhaps the least wrong of all the candidates on the stage. However, being the least wrong is still wrong. While Candidate Mitchell did not make any of the missteps of his fellow candidates where the reorganization is concerned, this was only through avoiding citing specific facts about the reorganization and throwing GPSC under the proverbial bus through asserting the responsibility
Page 25 of USG to provide information to its constituents. This is a point for which Candidate Mitchell deserves credit, however, this does not give him a pass: not only has Candidate Mitchell been present for almost all the presentations delivered by GPSC to USG (like Candidates Newlin and Henderson) where the reorganization is concerned, he is also the recipient of the information I provide to the Black Affairs Council, by their own request. Now, what he did with that information, I do not know, but it was not in evidence at the Presidential Debate, and this is a problem for someone who presumes to lead USG through the trying times of the next academic year. Moreover, while Candidate Mitchell was the only Candidate to articulate actual policy structures as a solution to our diversity issues through name-dropping the Diversity Council, It’s On Us Taskforce, and the Culture of Respect Initiative, all three of which grant undergraduate students the capacity to effect change in diversity initiatives on campus, I wondered if Candidate Mitchell actually understood the function of those bodies, or was merely relying on the (again) repeated admonitions by GPSC to fill those committees. Like Candidates Newlin and Henderson before him, Candidate Mitchell seemed to be relying on the name of an administrative body, rather than expressing an understanding of the actual function of those bodies. Still further, despite name-dropping those committees, Candidate Mitchell did not actually articulate how he would resolve nearly a year’s worth of lack of participation by USG on those committees. To be clear, while my interest in the USG election is in how the individual elected will use their position as the head of the largest constituency on campus to affect positive change, none of the above
should be taken as an endorsement of any of the candidates. Rather, the above should be read as providing a critique of the four candidates before the undergraduate student body heads to the polls. And the undergraduate student body should head to the polls: given the outcome of the previous election two elections, it is essential that the undergraduate student body not just cast a vote, but an informed vote. If you were not present for the USG debate, seek out one of the candidates or their ticket and demand accountability for their qualifications, or lack thereof, to lead. Force these young men who would presume to be your voice, as each claimed, to demonstrate their worthiness to represent you. As a final note, as the largest constituency body on campus, the actions taken by USG through its president affect all other constituency bodies, GPSC included. To this end, I am not confident that any of the candidates on stage
last Thursday will be able to wield their authority in a way that benefits not only their constituency, but the whole campus. However, none of the four candidates will lead alone, if elected, they will be supported by a handpicked cabinet of individuals who, ideally, would complement each of the candidates’ short-comings. As the USG debate is not structured to present the qualifications of the candidates’ tickets, and none of the candidates were able to define those qualifications in any meaningful way in their answers to the questions, we must hope, against all odds, the candidates’ tickets will make up for the glaring shortcomings revealed during Thursday’s debate. If not, USG is in for a long year. Johnathan Flowers. Ph.D Candidate, Department of Philosophy, and president of the Graduate and Professional Student Council can be reached at j.charlesflowers@gmail.com.
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Wednesday, aPril 11, 2018
Meet Saluki baseball's record breaking pitcher Ryan Netemeyer, "I write my own storybook" DILLON GILLILAND | @DillonGilliland
Senior closer Ryan Netemeyer, SIU's recordbreaking closing pitcher, is the superhero of the team saving games when the team is in need. Reigning from Belleville, Netemeyer said he has been an outdoorsman his whole life and enjoys outdoor activities such as fishing, hiking and kayaking. However, the competitiveness of baseball is what he said drew him to the game. "I alway liked [baseball] and the competition involved in it," Netemeyer said. "There's also no time limit and I always liked that aspect of the game." Baseball runs in Netemeyer's bloodline as his dad, Dan Netemeyer, and cousin, Tyler Kehrer, pitched in the Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Angels organizations, respectively. "It was always cool," he said. "I got to see people like Mike Trout play before they were big and it was really fun." With the level of success his relatives had before him, Netemeyer said he still did not feel pressure to perform on the same level. "I'm my own person," Netemeyer said. "I write my own storybook." Growing up playing baseball with his dad coaching him along the way, Netemeyer said that he while he did want to play the field at one point, he always wanted to pitch because of the level of involvement in the position. "Pitching is just more fun because you're always in the game," the Saluki closer said. "You're not sitting back waiting for something to happen, rather, you're the one dealing the hand." In high school, Netemeyer spent his career as a starting pitcher at Mascoutah High School. There he earned several honors in his four years including All-State, All-Area, AllConference and a nod as an Under Armour Preseason All-American. Despite the awards he added to his trophy case, the Belleville native said his favorite high school memory was winning sectionals for the first time his senior year. Coming out of high school, Netemeyer received various scholarship offers including SEMO and Arkansas State but said he chose SIU because it was the ideal distance from his
Daily Egyptian File Photo Senior pitcher Ryan Netemeyer throws from the mound during SIU’s 13-8 win against Tennessee Tech on April 23, 2017, at Itchy Jones Stadium.
hometown and felt like the right fit. "It was real clear cut that I was going to go here," Netemeyer said. "I liked the coaches and the area. It was an easy decision for me." During his transition to Division I, Netemeyer said that the biggest adjustment was the increased speed of the game and pitching to more advanced hitters. "The game is a lot faster and you have to learn how to slow it down," the senior said. "You have to make it to where you're throwing your best stuff every time and sometimes you just have to tip your cap." In his first season at SIU, Netemeyer did not expect to make the transition to the bullpen. Instead of being disappointed about not starting, he welcomed the idea of being used as a reliever. "I just knew I was going to be pitching," Netemeyer said. "I took every opportunity I could." In his freshman season at Southern, the newlytransitioned reliever posted a 7.04 ERA with an opponent batting average of .283. He finished
with a 1-4 record in 19 appearances but was not satisfied with his first campaign in the bullpen. "That was a rough year," Netemeyer said. "It was a good learning curve, though. It showed me what I needed to do." In his sophomore year, he improved tremendously as he spun a 1.95 ERA with an opponent batting average of .208. He secured 12 saves, second-best in the Missouri Valley Conference, and earned Second-Team All-MVC. With a better understanding of how to pitch at the D-I level, Netemeyer said his honors did not excite him all that much. "I don't really hang my hat on awards like that," Netemeyer said. "It is cool to get recognized, though." As a junior he earned a school-best 15 saves and received recognition as a semifinalist for National Pitcher of the Year and NCBWA's Stopper of the Year. So far in his senior campaign, Netemeyer has struggled with a 6.75 ERA and a 0-2 record with
four saves. "It's frustrating to let your team down," Netemeyer said. "You don't want to be that guy, you want to be the guy that goes in there and gets the win." Although he suffered some tough luck earlier in the season, Netemeyer nailed down his 32nd career save, the most in SIU baseball history. "It's definitely something I'm proud of," the closer said. "A lot went into it and I owe a lot to my coaches." Pitching coach P.J. Finigan said he thinks Netemeyer's chance to break the saves record might have affected his performance early in the season. "I think he was pressing just because he knew how close he was to the record," Finigan said. "We didn't give him a lot of opportunities early on and when he finally got one, I think he was just antsy." Even when down on his luck, according to his coaches and teammates in the bullpen, Netemeyer has been a great leader and role model. "He's taught me a lot," freshman reliever Trey McDaniel said. "He's a great guy and he's got some big shoes to fill." In his last season, the closer said he wants to thank the program and the coaches around him. "I owe a lot to the coaches here and everything they have done for me," Netemeyer said. "This program is really going in the right direction." Like the rest of his team, Netemeyer said he wants nothing more than to win the MVC and go deep into the postseason. Along with the goals for this season, he said hopes to get drafted by a Major League organization. The Saluki coaching staff has full confidence in Netemeyer reaching the professional level. "He deserves to play," head coach Ken Henderson said. "People know about him and they know what he can do." Henderson said it takes a special person to do what Netemeyer can do. "Every time he goes out there, the game is on the line," Henderson said. "It takes a pretty special person with a good makeup to do what he does." Sports reporter Dillon Gilliland can be reached at dgilliland@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @DillonGilliland.
Wednesday, aPril 11, 2018
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Dawg talk with Dodd: Harrison cementing himself as Salukis' ace NATHAN DODD | @NathanMDodd
Standing at 6-foot-4 inches, sophomore starting pitcher Brad Harrison is quickly becoming the most feared pitcher in SIU baseball's starting rotation. Before the season started I would have told you that senior Michael Baird would be the ace of the staff. Now, Harrison is quietly moving into that role. Currently, Harrison sits near the top of nearly every pitching statistical category in the Missouri Valley Conference. His four wins lead the Saluki staff and are tied for fourth in the league. He also sports an ERA of 2.81 and 56 total strikeouts, both tops in the rotation. Harrison also shows great command of
his pitches, as he has only allowed 11 free passes on the season. While he may not possess the most electric stuff on the squad, Harrison has provided the most consistent results that coach Ken Henderson's Salukis have seen all season. Opposing hitters are challenged by Harrison's ability to limit mistakes, pound the strike zone and change speeds effectively. As far as the art of pitching goes, Harrison is the best the Salukis have. On February 27, he hurled a two-hit shutout at Belmont with 11 strikeouts on only 92 pitches. Exactly one week later, Harrison spun a one-hit shutout at SEMO with no walks and 13 strikeouts, both season-bests.
Against Valparaiso last weekend, he turned in another gem with 11 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings of four-hit baseball. While dominant on the mound, Harrison has been extremely efficient. In his four victories, he has averaged only 94.3 pitches and has gone at least seven innings in three of those wins. His stuff has given batters fits all year, as the opposition is only batting a combined .196 against Harrison, the second-lowest in the MVC. Along with being a standout starter, Harrison can absolutely rake at the plate. Doubling as an outfielder, he has gone 7-22 this season with a home run, four RBI and two doubles. He also is the proud owner of a .318 batting average.
Before the season started I would have told you that senior Michael Baird would be the ace of the staff. Now, Harrison is quietly moving into that role. Perhaps the Salukis have their own version of Major League phenom Shohei Ohtani. Maybe a tad far-fetched, but Harrison is a legitimate dual threat, nonetheless. He is a major weapon no matter where he is slated in Southern's lineup. As senior starting pitchers Michael
Marching Salukis HP H BW
Baird and Jamison Steege near the end of their careers, the Salukis can rest assured that Harrison will anchor their staff over the next two season. Sports editor Nathan Dodd can be reached at ndodd@dailyegyptian.com or on Twitter at @NathanMDodd.
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