The Daily Illini: Feb 15, 2023

JACK LARSON THE DAILY ILLINI

Alleged peeping tom to appear in court

By Piotr Fedczuk Staff Writer

A male University student was issued a court notice by police last Wednesday for entering women’s shower areas in the Florida Avenue Residence Hall.

Officials ordered Pranav Chittharanjan, freshman in Business, to appear in court for disorderly conduct, police reports said. He was reported to have entered several women’s shower areas between 3 and 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 5, at Oglesby Hall, a part of FAR.

Reports said Chittharanjan viewed at least one woman showering before being confronted by resident advisers. Later that day, Chittharanjan was transported to Carle Foundation Hospital for undisclosed reasons where he remained until police confronted him on Feb. 8.

“I thought it was terrible, and I wouldn’t expect that here,” said Ben Grzelak, freshman in DGS. “But, I mean, I don’t know any other measures that are in place other than RAs that occasionally check.”

Grzelak said that the University should have more ways to prevent incidents like this.

“It feels like there should have been a little bit more accountability there,” Grzelak said.

As of Friday, Chittharanjan has deleted his public social media accounts and has been dismissed from his fraternity, Beta Alpha Psi, where he was the director of web development.

“(Chittharanjan) is no longer associated with our organization,” Kyle Yu, president of Beta Alpha Psi, said in an email.

fedczuk2@dailyillini.com

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JAMES HOECK THE DAILY ILLINI

Students gather outside the Florida Avenue Residence Halls on Nov. 8.

Coup changes Brazil history class structure

By Vivian La Assistant News Editor

After the attempted coup of the Brazilian government last month, Marc Hertzman, associate history professor, decided that he had to change how he taught his class — HIST 405: History of Brazil — for the upcoming semester.

“I just kind of thought, ‘Wow,’” Hertzman said. “It was a gradual realization, ‘I can’t teach this class the way I normally do.’”

The attempted coup on Jan. 8 was a culmination of many social and political factors, including how Jair Bolsonaro, former right-wing president, undermined election results for months after his loss in October.

Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed government offices to protest the transition of power to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, also referred to as Lula.

But the issue is a lot more complicated, as students in the class are coming to understand.

For Brazilian students in the class, it’s been an opportunity to talk about issues important to them, which they can’t do in Brazil.

“To me, it’s like a breath of fresh air,” said Danielle Massulo Bordignon, graduate student studying Portuguese-Brazilian studies. “To be here and have the chance to talk, to not feel repressed — it’s amazing.”

In the first three weeks of the semester, the class — made up of undergraduate and graduate students — explored coverage of the coup attempt. Lectures and activities were driven by student questions.

These questions included the connection to Brazil’s 20-year military regime, Bolsonaro’s ties to white supremacy and how the Portugueselanguage press is different from the Spanish-language press.

“I’d say a good number of the students, you know, had some sense of (recent events in Brazil),” Hertzman said. “But that’s really what we’ve done collectively, sort of like build our own understanding of it.”

Part of that understanding has come from comparing Brazil’s Jan. 8 to the United States’ Jan. 6 insurrection, he said.

“This is possibly an opportunity for (students) to be thinking about regime change, about democracy, about the functioning of government and transfer of power in a way that is, on the one hand unique, and on the other hand, very much has to bear with our world

today,” Hertzman said.

But Hertzman and some of the Brazilian graduate students in the class said there’s limits to that comparison.

For example Daiane Geremias Goulart, graduate student studying Latin American & Brazilian studies, said that comparing the countries takes away from what “must be paid attention to.”

“This has already happened in Brazil, and I think only comparing it to the U.S. loses the important things that must be paid attention to,” she said.

Each of the graduate students in the class had the opportunity to present a more nuanced topic related to recent events in Brazil.

Leonardo E Silva Ventura, graduate student studying Latin American & Brazilian studies, explained to undergraduates how white supremacy played a role in the coup attempt and Bolsonaro’s presidential term.

“The democracy is threatened at this moment, and you need to understand the history behind it,” Ventura

said.

He sees a connection between the social progress that’s been achieved in recent decades for marginalized groups in Brazil and why Bolsonaro supporters want to return to the old days of military intervention.

Undergraduate students said this class is unlike anything they’ve taken before — answering the question of why history matters because it starts with such a visible, recent event.

“It’s exciting, especially since I don’t have much background information on Brazil,” said Summer Matthes, junior in LAS. “I go in everyday like everyone else, reconstructing the country’s history and putting it into context.”

Matthes said the most interesting thing she’s learned is how far back Brazil’s history can explain present day issues. To understand the motivations of Bolsonaro supporters, for example, the class needed to dive into Brazil’s history of military dictatorship.

Brazilians view the military differently than Americans, Bordignon said.

Having worked in Brazil’s federal courts, she explained how two decades of military rule is a reason why the country’s current constitution lists more legal rights for citizens compared to the U.S. Constitution.

“We have lost our democracy before,” Bordignon said.

Even though this isn’t the first time Hertzman has tried to connect the present to the past in his teaching, he said it’s different this time because of how engaged students are.

“The students and the conversation we’re having are demonstrating to me how dynamic it can be when students take charge of the material,” he said.

Hertzman said that he hopes this experience will encourage students to “broaden their horizons” and think about other places in the world — and not just in the context of history.

“There’s a lot to learn about our own sort of precarious state right now by looking somewhere else,” he said.

VIVIAN LA THE DAILY ILLINI

Marc Hertzman, associate professor in LAS, sits among a collection of books in his office in Gregory Hall.

Cultural center seeks director, plans opening event

By Mae Antar Staff Writer

The Salaam Middle East North African Cultural Center has finally opened its doors in Urbana. After at least two years of working toward establishing a center for the Arab community on campus, the center had its soft opening in December.

The center is the second of its kind in the nation for this demographic on college campuses; the University of Illinois at Chicago had the first.

Currently, the center’s doors are open, but it is not holding any events, and no programs are in place. Once the center has its grand opening, however, it will be able to offer what other cultural centers have to their respective communities.

“Anyone can stop by and check it out, and it’s a casual place to study, hang out or meet people,” said Suaad Rashid, the MENA Student Coordinator for the Arab Student Association. “I think things will start to be more structured when there is a director who has a vision for the center.”

The cultural center is awaiting its grand opening until a director has

been hired, but the hope is to hold the opening in early spring.

Arabs face discrimination and underrepresentation across America, and the University is no exception. Middle Eastern and North African students say they have felt underrepresented on campus.

“I thought that (the cultural center) is trying to represent a culture that’s kind of underrepresented,” said Hibah Lodhi, a student employee of the MENA center.

Domonic Cobb, the assistant vice chancellor for Student Success, Inclusion, and Belonging, oversees the cultural center. Cobb described the extent of underrepresentation historically for Arabic students at the University.

“I’ve been hearing about conversations here on campus for the desire for (an Arab Cultural Center) for over a decade,” Cobb said. “There have been people talking about this in the late 90s (and) the early 2000s.”

To many Arab students, this opening is an important, long-awaited milestone regarding their place on campus and their connection to the community.

“I think just being able to show that we’re here and we exist is very important,” Rashid said. “We’re actually here, we’re not just white, and we have our own differences.”

maeaa2@dailyillini.com

MAE ANTAR THE DAILY ILLINI Alec Loessy, freshman in Engineering, studies with some friends at the Salaam MENA Cultural Center.

MAE ANTAR THE DAILY ILLINI The Salaam Middle Eastern and North African Cultural Center is located at 700 S. Gregory St., Urbana.

C-U Fab Lab: Where art meets technology

Makerspace partners with C-U community to combine accessibility with innovation

By Azu Gama Staff Writer

Hidden on the South Quad is a studio where you can make your creative dreams a reality: The Champaign-Urbana Community Fab Lab, a makerspace dedicated to students and community members.

A makerspace is an open, collaborative workspace that offers tools and materials to aid users in fabricating their ideas.

The C-U Fab Lab opened in October 2009 after about a year of planning from the original team. It is currently run by a team of University members, community members and volunteers from the area. The lab has partnerships with all of the local middle schools, the Urbana Free Library, the Urbana Neighborhood Connections Center and Illinois Extension.

Kyungwon Koh, director and associate professor at the School of Information Sciences, is the lab’s director.

“It’s a makerspace within higher education that reaches out to both on- and off-campus communities,” Koh said. “They have access to some very expensive tools (that) can cost $20,000.”

Makerspaces are usually located within schools, libraries and community centers. They’re open to all people with different interests, skills and backgrounds. Makerspaces are usually open to the public, which means that anyone can go in and work on anything that they’d like to at the moment.

Fab Lab staff are also available to provide guidance.

“People who come in always have cool ideas,” said Mark Hayek, junior in Engineering, who works as a lab assistant at the lab. “I think it’s fun to brainstorm with them to figure out how to make it.”

The Fab Lab is also known for its unique summer camps that create accessible programs for those in the community.

“There are kids who haven’t seen a keyboard or mouse before, so when we do summer camps it’s a big deal,”

Koh said. “There’s a huge digital literacy gap.”

Some of the popular camp offerings are the ones that involve video games like Minecraft and role playing games, or RPGs.

“You play Minecraft, scan the builds you made in Minecraft and then print them out with 3D printers,” Hayek said.

The lab also serves as a space for some University courses. Every semester, the lab offers different classes in informatics. For example, there are open studio courses and some that focus on game design and coding.

Nikita Agarwal, graduate student studying information sciences, found the lab through a course she took, INFO 415: Makerspace: Open Studio.

“(INFO 415) is based out of the Fab

Lab, and they teach you how to use the different tools and technologies,” Agarwal said. “We could do 3D printing one week or laser cutting another week. It was fun.”

Recently, she used the lab’s services to embroider a hoodie for her brother.

“I learned how to sew in that class, and that’s something that I’ve always wanted to learn,” Agarwal said. “I feel (that as) clothes get more expensive and worse quality, it’s nice to be able to know the basics of mending clothes.”

The lab also facilitates research and advocates for youth and group learning within makerspaces.

“I spent years studying how (teenagers and children) learn actually when they play with it and make it,” Koh said. “Often, another thing that

is really fascinating is that people learn within the makerspace without even knowing that they are learning.”

One goal of the lab is to make its studio as accessible as possible, available to everyone regardless of their abilities.

“There are limitations in not just the Fab Lab, but in all makerspaces and maker movements about accessibility because current technology is very visual,” Koh said. “But we see the potential for blind people, because it’s also a physical and tangible textile.”

Hayek said that the lab has had a lasting impact on him.

“Working with the Fab Lab definitely changed my worldview,” Hayek said.

JACK LARSON THE DAILY ILLINI

Amaan Mirza, senior in Engineering, (center) constructs a cardboard prototype for his INFO 418: Makerspace: Escape Rooms class. The University course allows students to make hands-on projects in the C-U Fab Lab.

Kamerer’s Annex, now KAMS, opens

By Megan Krok Staff Writer

Champaign bar KAMS celebrated its 90th anniversary on Friday. Throughout its history, KAMS has undergone drastic changes, but the bar has always remained a popular hub for students.

Now called the “home of the drinking Illini,” KAMS wasn’t always a bar. KAMS started as a couple of family-owned drug stores.

According to Tim Norris, KAMS director of marketing, in the 1920s, the Kamerer family owned two drug stores in the Champaign-Urbana area. Not only did the store provide pharmaceuticals, but it also served food that was popular among students.

Following the success of the drug stores, the family expanded to open Kamerer’s Annex on Feb. 10, 1933. Advertised as “Another Good Place to Eat,” the Annex continued to serve the same food as the other stores but

at a different location. Dining options, particularly dining halls, were limited for students at this time, but the Annex provided convenient meals for students on campus.

Students eventually nicknamed the Annex “KAMS.” Decades later, the nickname remains.

After KAMS survived the Prohibition that ended in December 1933, it eventually became known as a “great place” to get a chicken dinner and beer.

KAMS even fed soldiers from the now-decommissioned Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul during WWII, according to Norris.

In the 1950s, KAMS began selling pizza and continued to grow as a social spot on campus. The spot continued to evolve into what it is today.

“Its consistency is that it has always been a great place for people to gather and eat,” Norris said.

In 1970, KAMS’s location was replaced by the bar Dooley’s. KAMS

would reappear in 1975 when Jack Kamerer, the son of original owner Martin Kamerer, decided to reopen the place.

KAMS reopened in September 1975 on Daniel Street. The bar would remain at this location until the building was sold in 2018 to Scott Cochrane and closed its doors on Oct. 20, 2019.

In 2020, KAMS reopened at a new location on Green Street, where it has stayed since then, serving “blue guys” and good times.

“The new building is a nod to its history,” Norris said. “Having 90 years, it’s a very important place, especially to alumni, and it’s a very special place. We’re always looking for ways to improve and grow.”

Although KAMS opened on Feb. 10, 1933, the bar hosted its anniversary celebration on Feb. 11.

Bargoers received a commemorative anniversary pint glass, had the opportunity to be entered into a raffle and got photographed to be a part of a 90th-anniversary photo collage that will be placed in the bar.

mfkrok2@dailyillini.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF 1969 ILLIO YEARBOOK

KAMS, pictured in 1969, celebrated its 90th birthday on Friday. It originally opened Feb 10, 1933.

Conspiracy theories leech off social media

By Maggie Knutte Senior Columnist

There is an epidemic. It’s taking over every household — every person alive. It’s consuming our every being until we are mindless zombies. It fits onto your tiny phone screen. It’s leeching off of your attention, controlling you like a puppet. It’s disguised as a brightly colored app.  Social media is the master of the compliant public.

Large tech companies birthed out of Silicon Valley have been exploiting the public since their start. Raking in billions of dollars per year — which only increases each year from advertisers — these oligopolies continue to look for new ways to feed their bottomless greed and keep users scrolling.

In September 2020, The Social Dilemma was released on Netflix. The documentary features insights from former employees of social media companies who detail the disturbing truths behind the motivations of companies like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. It also follows the realistic enactment of a boy whose life becomes destroyed by the addictive algorithms of social platforms. This boy falls victim to the dangerous conspiracy theories that plague social media sites, falling down a rabbit hole that ends in police custody.

Despite this revolutionary documentary’s release, we are still facing the same issues it highlights three years later. A research article published in 2021 on Frontiers’ online journal looked at the use of social media as a news source and its effect on the belief of conspiracy theories. Consistent with previous research, the study found that people using social media as a news source are more likely to support conspiracy theories.

Many, despite their intentions, end up getting their news from social media. This is usually harmless. For example, you might see a post about a local high school student attending an Ivy League school or a missing poster for a dog. However, there are also dangerous, targeted theories and hoaxes out there that are bigger than most people realize.

During the 2016 presidential election, a conspiracy known as #PizzaGate blew up. Started as a political rumor against candidate Hillary

Clinton, it soon spiraled into something dangerous. The conspiracy theory suggested that pizza restaurants were being used for child trafficking and sex trafficking by the Democratic Party.

Edgar Maddison Welch was a young man from North Carolina who was tricked by this conspiracy. On Dec. 4, 2016, Welch entered Comet Ping Pong pizzeria with an assault rifle and fired his weapon. Thankfully, no one was injured, but this could have easily been another mass shooting.

Welch genuinely believed he was saving children from human trafficking, and now regrets his decisions after serving four years in prison because of it. A widespread conspiracy theory like this has the potential to take lives.

Social media companies can try to regulate the spread of misinformation — the intentional distribution of falsities — but catching every

conspiracy theory in their virtually infinite stream of content doesn’t seem like a close reality. Educating yourself and fact checking and questioning what you see can help prevent you from falling victim to these destructive lies. Conspiracy theories aren’t always outlandish — they can creep up on and convince even the most informed people.

Government conspiracy theories have always been around, but now with the instantaneous nature of social media, it is much easier for someone to create a rumor or theory and spread it. The scariest part is that the number of people believing in these theories seems to be as high as ever.

Since 2020, conspiracy theories surrounding COVID-19 have been massively popular. One of the more popular theories is that COVID-19 was planned by people in power. A Pew Research study found that 25% of adults polled believed that there

was some truth to this theory. Another popular theory is that COVID-19 isn’t even real. For a disease that kills, spreading conspiracies could cost someone their life.

Social media companies don’t appear to be changing their algorithms. More than anything, they are trying to keep you on their sites for longer, possibly increasing your chances of being exposed to disinformation. If it gets them clicks, they don’t care.

Laws to protect the public on social media can take up to a year to get passed, and that’s if they can make it through the whole process. Everyone needs to take measures now to protect themselves. In a society that is chronically online, we are exposed to more information than ever. Don’t let yourself be consumed by the Alex Joneses of the internet.

SEBASTIAN HOLT THE DAILY ILLINI

The fall of 116-year-old Illini Hall

The demolition of Illini Hall, which was the original home of The Daily Illini, comes as part of a $192-million renovation project of Illini Hall and Altgeld Hall. The building taking its place will include a new data science center on its second floor.

JACOB SLABOSZ THE DAILY ILLINI

JAN. 20

Early in the demolition process, Illini Hall stood with a few windows removed.

JACOB SLABOSZ THE DAILY ILLINI JAN. 24 – Just days later, all of the windows had been removed.

JACOB SLABOSZ THE DAILY ILLINI FEB. 3 – As demolition started, the front staircase, overhang and door were all removed, leaving rubble scattered across the front of the building. Next, the bump-outs on the front of the structure were removed. Demolition would soon move to the south end of the building.

ALYSSA SHIH THE DAILY ILLINI FEB. 5 – A student skateboards past Illini Hall while demolition took a weekend break.

the removal of the entire south end, wires hung out of the walls. Numerous blackboard were left in place, still covered in formulas and equations from previous happenings in the building. Projected to be completed by 2026, the space will soon be occupied by a 140,000-square-foot facility for mathematics, statistics and data science.

FEB. 7 – A view of Illini Hall from the southwest.

FEB. 11 – After

FEB. 6 – A high-reach demolition crane helped to demolish a large amount of the structure. The crane was used to prevent possible damage to nearby buildings.

You weren’t born in the wrong generation

By Aaron Anastos Columnist

Humans never seem to like where they are.

The general character of 2023 can be described with terms like “uncertainty” and “anxiety.” Especially among younger people, 2023 isn’t seen as the most positive time to watch the future approach.

With their economic futures up in the air and a front-row seat to a threering political circus, people of the new generation of young adults find themselves facing an ominous storm on the horizon.

This general fear, spurred by the major events of the past few years (that bear no repeating), often causes young people to see the past through rhetorical rose-colored glasses — the post-WWII and pre-Y2K Garden of Eden, when we knew who the bad

guys were (Nazis) and we knew who to trust (MLK).

Americans back then didn’t think they were living through the “good old days.” They were too busy securing their rights to vote, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race and sex and going about the day without worrying about a Panzer (or worse, a white-sheeted bigot crashing through their front window).

The 20th century was a long, long hundred years, packed with more content and drama than the (reportedly) jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring season finale of The Bachelor. To rope the 20th century into a tight, simple romantic story of the triumph of good over evil does a major discredit to those who toiled and suffered to ensure that democracy and civil rights lived on into the 21st century.

Sure, from a specific viewpoint, it may have been morally easier to

storm the beaches of Normandy, but there’s a reason we acknowledge that day with solemn head-bowed respect, not streamers and confetti.

Scrolling through social media is something complicated in itself, and it’s impossible to be certain of the machination or agenda behind every piece of content one views. But as a 2023 college student, I’d rather have a moral conflict while laying on the couch than live through everything we now make star-studded and monumentalized feature films about.

Every generation has its woes. Humans will always make mistakes, and there’s nothing to show us that they’ll stop anytime soon.

But those of the current younger generation have something that other generations have possessed and either utilized or squandered, much to their long-lasting fates — hindsight. The mistakes of the past are easier

to interpret than a Dr. Seuss Cliffs Notes.

Navigating the political and social strife that envelops us in 2023 is treacherous. The typically-partisan audience of President Biden’s recent State of the Union Address presented a clear demonstration of where Americans stand divided. The worries of the past are harder to appreciate when the worries of the future remain in their heads so menacingly.

However, anxiety over what the future can do to us would be better spent on what we can do for the future.

To borrow from J.R.R. Tolkien, we cannot choose the age into which we are born, and no one wishes to be born into times of strife. We can only decide “what to do with the time that is given us.”

Aaron is a freshman in DGS. aaronda3@dailyillini.com

SEBASTIAN HOLT THE DAILY ILLINI

Illinois sweeps in Braggin’ Rights bout

By Conor Blount Assistant Sports Editor

Following last weekend’s home doubleheader, Illinois women’s tennis was back on the road this Friday for Braggin’ Rights against Missouri. For the second year in a row, Illinois did not drop a single point to the Tigers, leaving three singles matches and one doubles match unfinished for a final score of 4-0. On top of moving Illinois’ 2022-23 record to 3-3, this win extended Illinois’ all-time undefeated record against Missouri, which now sits at 4-0.

and Jozie Frazier quickly cruised to a 6-1 victory on Court 2, giving Illinois an early lead on the doubles point. Making sure to capitalize on the lead, senior Ashley Yeah and freshman Violeta Martinez claimed a comfortable 6-3 on Court 3 to give Illinois a 1-0 lead going into singles play.

after dominating 6-2 in the first set. Treiber was the next Illini victor, who had the advantage of fresh legs on her opponent, sailing to 6-4 victories in straight sets on Court 5. The Braggin’ Rights clinch was applied by Frazier, who earned 6-2 and 6-4 victories on Court 4.

The top two courts were putting up much more of a fight, as Duong was forced into a tiebreaker game in the first set and No. 72 Yeah was getting ready for a third set when Frazier won her match. Martinez, who had started late, was leading 3-2 in her first set when Illinois won the match.

Seniors Emily Casati

Beginning as always with doubles play, Illinois rolled out its same three duos as last weekend. The lone ranked duo in the match was Illinois’ No. 19 junior Kate Duong and sophomore Megan Heuser, but ultimately the Illini did not have to lean on their ranked duo, as courts two and three wrapped up before Duong/Heuser could finish.

In singles, Illinois rolled out the same six who competed in doubles with the inclusion of sophomore Kasia Treiber instead of Casati. There were only five courts, so Martinez and her Missouri counterpart on Court 6 had to wait for one of the other five matches to end for their match to begin.

If there was any chance for the Tigers to come back when entering singles play, it was quickly dwindling away as Illinois claimed set one on Courts 1-5.

From there, it was a matter of which three Illini would finish first. Court 3 was the first to fall, as Heuser claimed a 6-4 second-set victory

The Illini now sit at 4-3 overall, with a home win against Illinois State on Sunday. This coming Friday, Illinois welcomes the Xavier Musketeers to Atkins Tennis Center as it aims to stay above .500 early in the season.

@blountco21

cblount3@dailyillini.com

SIDNEY MALONE THE DAILY ILLINI Senior Josie Frazier prepares for a backhand return to her opponent during a match against Georgia Tech on Feb. 3.

Los Angeles Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle

“TEN MINUTES TO WIN IT” BY AMIE

Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Nichols Lewis

Black history powers film storytelling

By Odeth Rubio Assistant buzz Editor

Historical figures taking central roles in blockbuster films is not a new thing. Looking back through decades of film history, there are mountains of settings, events and characters inspired by well-known historical figures.

Black historical figures have also been portrayed in many popular films, representing significant moments in Black history.

Many of these films have recently received awards and are critically acclaimed for their captivating plots, characters and memorable performances from the cast. One such film, titled “Selma,” depicts Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous march to Selma, Ala. Another film, “Harriet,” depicts the story and legacy of Harriet Tubman. The film “42” details Jackie Robison’s life and career when he became the first African American player in the MLB.

John P. Claborn, professor in LAS, presents many of these films within his curriculum. Claborn has been teaching film courses, mainly introduction to film courses, for over a decade.

“I’ve been teaching film for probably 15 to 16 years now. Overall, mostly intro level, and I also incorporate film into my African American literature class,” Claborn said.

A notable film to Claborn is the biopic titled “Malcom X,” which is based on the autobiography he co-authored. Claborn believes the film depicts X’s beliefs.

“‘Malcolm X’ is great, released in 1992 as a Spike Lee biopic starring Denzel Washington,” Claborn said. “He was very open about Black self-defense.”

However, Claborn finds that X’s story and historical impact is depicted more narratively when compared to Martin Luther King Jr.’s story and historical impact.

“There are films with parts where he shows up here and there, but ‘Selma’ is the only one that focuses substantially on his life,” Claborn said.

“Selma” focuses on MLK and his allies’ lives in activism during the Civil Rights Movement, mainly centering around the march led from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. — actions which ultimately inspired and led Lyndon B. Johnson to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Claborn said he believes historical films can be and tend to be his-

torically correct, but it does depend on the nature and goal of the film as well. However, he also thinks history is extremely broad, particularly because historical figures can be hard to condense.

“That’s tough — that gets to the nature and purpose of the film,” Claborn said. “Part of the purpose of film is to portray (and) condense a lot when doing biopics. The important thing is to convey the emotional truth.”

Claborn believes historical films affect our society as they allow for individuals to be educated on topics they may not have heard yet. He also believes films create doors for more cultural production as well, such as in the film “12 Years a Slave.”

“In my African American literature class, we read Solomon Northup’s slave narrative and watched ‘12 Years a Slave.’ The 2013 film, which won Best Picture, marked a major turning point and more attention to Black stories,” Claborn said.

Courtney M. Cox, who was previously a sports journalist at ESPN, is an

assistant professor in Media. She has also worked for NPR and WNBA. Her interest is focused on issues of labor identity, technology and sports.

“I study sports, so that’s going to be a very biased lens. I teach a sports and documentary class,” Cox said.

Cox said she believes Muhammad Ali is an important Black historical figure that has been portrayed in film culture repeatedly, and she understands the importance of this representation.

“I think Ali is one of the most interesting, important figures in general of the 20th century,” Cox said. “I think (about) how we conceptualize how Ali (came) back into public memory during the ’96 Olympics in Atlanta at the lighting of the torch, (and how) these are all these really important moments that are not only (captured) on film, but also tell us these larger kind of histories of who we say we are as Americans.”

Cox believes the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, are other notable Black historical figures that have been portrayed, figures which she personally feels connected to.

“I think Serena Williams is one of the most important figures of our time,” Cox said. “I think part of that is not only thinking about how athletes have been branded in a particular way, but if I extend that to Serena and to Venus, I think about Venus fighting for gender equity and pay equity at Wimbledon, which extended across major tennis tournaments.”

This can be seen specifically in the portrayal of the Williams sisters in HBO’s film “King Richard.”

“That film rejuvenates conversations for folks that weren’t around. It brings folks into this space that didn’t experience their dominance firsthand in the 90s and early 2000s to see what this meant in terms of media coverage for women’s sports,” Cox said. “(It’s) huge to think about what this means in terms of how they are understood in this space, how they experience racism and sexism in tandem with each other.”

But hearing stories is just one side of the narrative. Telling the stories makes all the difference.

“I’m really interested in who gets to tell these stories. I’m interested in how we receive them and how we understand the world around us,” Cox said.

“I’m just as interested in who gets to write these stories, tell them, who’s cast for these stories, the angles that they portray. I’m interested in how we get historians and media scholars involved in researching and helping tell the stories accurately.”

However, Cox also added that there are many stories regarding Black historical figures that are not being told.

“Ali, the Williams sisters and Jesse Owens — these are the stories we know so well. But for every story like that there’s so many voices, so many folks we lose to the archives,” Cox said. “It’s about power. It’s about who matters, who gets to tell the story, who’s represented and how they’re represented.”

Cox also said that we need to see history from a marginalized-community perspective in any way possible.

“For me, it’s not only important to tell the story so they don’t fade away,” Cox said. “We learn from the past, so we can also celebrate these folks ... I think the other side of it is thinking about the power of storytelling and the opportunities for folks both in front of and behind the camera to get opportunities to perfect their craft.”

SEBASTIAN HOLT THE DAILY ILLINI

‘Family’ band makes magic out of music

By Kylie Corral buzz Editor

It’s a Friday, and downtown Urbana has settled into a tranquil evening. Inside the Rose Bowl Tavern, a crowd of people gathered to see Bandits on the Run.

The trio is composed of Adrian Enscoe, Sydney Shepherd and Regina Strayhorn, all lead singers and best friends since their musical act came together. But before there was Bandits on the Run, Shepherd and Strayhorn were just two best friends attending the same school.

“We go way, way back,” Shepherd said. “Adrian and I are engaged, and Regina and I are best friends from our senior year of high school. We met at this boarding school. It was a boarding school for the arts. We became fast friends, and then we ended up going to the same college as well — (University of) North Carolina School of the Arts. Regina would write songs every now and then just for fun. We were going to school for acting. We weren’t even going to school for music.”

After graduating from their university, Shepherd and Strayhorn moved to New York City where they met Enscoe performing in the subway station. They even wrote a song about it.

“I moved in with Sydney, and we were all jamming in the apartment together, and Adrian said, ‘Let’s go play in the subway,’ and I was like, ‘I just moved here, but OK.’ We just found ourselves loving the vibe between the three of us,” Strayhorn said.

Enscoe was the one to come up with the band’s name: Bandits on the Run. After that, their signature move was pretending to be real bandits who would tell their audience that their performance was in fact “a stick up.”

Enscoe said that type of performance stopped after the incident at Pete’s Candy Store in New York, where one of the bartenders was convinced there was an actual robbery taking place.

“We’re just trying to be whimsical in other ways,” Enscoe said. “Our goal really is to bring a sense of play and magic to any kind of space (or) stage — often we’ll just play songs to random strangers that we meet and like to have fun and spread magic.”

Shepherd said the band is a very democratic one, where they all take turns singing in the lead and writing songs, emphasizing collaboration in creativity.

“We’re three individual songwriters and artists, but what definitely (makes us a band) ... is like the way that all of us collaborate. And you know, I don’t think any of our songs would be the same at all if it wasn’t for us coming together,” Strayhorn said.

Michelle Wattles, an audience member visiting from California, agreed, saying she was excited to see Bandits on the Run because of the band’s style as artists.

“All of them are very original in their songs, very eclectic in their attire, which is aligned to people and their vocals. Each of them individually is pretty phenomenal, and then to have that come together as one is what I’m looking forward to,” Wattles said.

For Wattles, the Rose Bowl Tavern is great in part because of its music presence, drinks and comfortable bar stools.

“A nice stage presence is key. My husband’s a musician as well, so you got to appreciate that in the sounds,” Wattles said. “I think they’ve got their sound bar and mixing dialed in, and that’s a good music listening adventure, which

is what we’re on tonight.”

Katie Walker, another visitor enjoying the atmosphere, said she comes to the Rose Bowl Tavern for the music it provides.

“I love live music, and we don’t come here that often; I always love the vibe, and we haven’t been here in a long time,” Walker said.

Walker said she enjoys the venue for many of the same reasons Wattles did.

“(I like) how chill it is. I like that the people are always friendly, drinks are cheap and there’s always some good music,” Walker said.

But tonight, Walker said she’s found herself at the bar to listen to the new band in town.

“(I’m here) hearing a new band that I’ve never heard before. I started to see the crowd come in, and I noticed it was kind of a younger crowd — mostly women — and I’m here for that,” Walker said. “I’m excited to hear some new sounds.”

As the Champaign-Urbana community gathered to come and see Bandits on the Run, Shepherd said it’s their shared community that has fostered a special

connection between all three of them.

“It’s like the community that sort of arises around a little family like ours,” Shepherd said. “We all live together, so we can write and create anytime we need to, and I think it’s kind of a unique thing, and that feels really lucky … I feel like we’ve, you know, made a little chosen family with this band and with the people that are sort of orbiting around it, which I think is really special.”

For Enscoe, he said he’s thankful for where this experience has brought him and will continue to bring him.

“It’s been very magical over the years, to go from playing truly underground to real venues and bigger venues and then going all around the United States and then Europe,” Enscoe said. “This past year, we went to Singapore. It’s something to be extremely thankful for. To be able to travel by doing something that you love and be with people from all over the world and really feel like you’re sharing something.”

JAMES HOECK THE DAILY ILLINI Bandits on the Run, a band from New York City, performs an encore at the Rose Bowl Tavern on Friday.