The Daily Illini: Q&A Edition Mar. 22 2023

Answering the questions you’ve always had

The Daily Illini and College Media Madness

By Lika Lezhava Editor-in-Chief

As our sports writers are hunkering down to cover the basketball tournaments that come around every March, the rest of the newsroom is prepared to take on College Media Madness. This year, 31 college newsrooms, including our very own, have joined together to compete in the annual fundraiser College Media Madness.

The Daily Illini took home first place in 2021! Falling a bit short, but not too

far from victory, we placed third in the 2022 tournament.

This year, we plan on taking back the title of the winners of College Media Madness!

A large part of the donations will go to bettering the equipment in our newsroom. We plan on purchasing new digital cameras as well as video equipment so we can cover all your favorite sports, music events and news.

As an independent student news source, it is important that we take these opportunities so we the students

The Daily Illini is the independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The newspaper is published by the Illini Media Co. The Daily Illini does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of the University of Illinois administration, faculty or students. All Illini Media Co. and/or The Daily Illini articles, photos and graphics are the property of Illini Media and may not be reproduced or published without written permission from the publisher.

can continue to deliver the best quality journalism to our peers.

Your donations are what will help us achieve these goals. Donations can be made at collegemediamadness.com, where you can also check our ranking until April 3!

The Daily Illini is excited to take part in this competition. We are thankful for the donors who have helped our newsroom grow!

editors@daillyillini.com

How to contact us

The Daily Illini is located in the basement of the University YMCA at 1001 S. Wright St., Champaign, IL 61820. Our office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday.

General phone numbers

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Newsroom contacts

Online: If you have a question about dailyillini.com or The Daily Illini’s social media outlets, please email our editor at online@dailyillini.com.

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Calendar: If you want to submit events for publication in print and online, visit dailyillini.com.

Letters to the editor: Letters are limited to 300 words. Contributions must include the author’s name, address and phone number. University students must include their year in school and college.

Corrections: When we make a mistake, we will correct it in this place. We strive for accuracy, so if you see an error, please contact Editor-in-Chief Lika Lezhava at (217) 337-8365 or email editor@dailyillini.com.

Is land acknowledgment enough?

By Lillie Salas Features Editor

Due to the history of the University and its controversy surrounding the former mascot, a land acknowledgment statement is required to be read at many campus events to acknowledge the Indigenous tribes that were native to Champaign County.

However, how much progress has been made through this statement, and how do Native American students and staff feel about this statement in reality?

Many Native American students on campus have strong opinions about how the land acknowledgement statement actually helps the Native population.

Although it could be refreshing for some to hear the University recognize the 13 tribes listed before campus events to pay respects, the Native American community may not feel that this effort is enough.

Cydnee Weber, senior in LAS and a descendant of the Cherokee Nation and Pamunkey tribes, displays mixed feelings about the statement.

“I really wasn’t too sure how I felt about it when I first heard it,” Weber said. “Obviously, it is super important to know and acknowledge how the University came to be, and that these lands belonged to different tribes. However, I felt like there is more that needs to be done.”

Weber stated that the mispronunciation is common when announcers read the statement, which contains numerous tribal names.

Weber acknowledges that it can be hard to properly pronounce words that are not in your first language, but she feels that if the University wants to take real responsibility, it should be held responsible for respecting and enforcing the correct usage of tribal names.

“If you care enough to give the land acknowledgement, then why would you not care enough to pronounce things correctly,” Weber said. “Not taking the time to work on pronunciation shows that you simply do not care. This is just another thing on your checklist you have to get done. Just another thing you have to say.”

The statement is often viewed as performative, according to various Native American students currently on campus.

Yanaba Schroeder, freshman in ACES, is enrolled as a member of the

Navajo Nation and shares the idea that the statement is not doing enough and recognizes its performative tone when it is used to take responsibility.

“I thought it was nothing more than a way for the University to protect itself,” Schroeder said. “It was a basic cut-ofthe-mill statement that most universities or establishments make to make it known they are on Native lands.”

Despite the criticism of the land acknowledgement statement by some, other native individuals on campus recognize the positive impact it has had since being implemented.

Jenny L. Davis, director of the American Indian Studies program at the University and citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, feels that the statement has brought more attention to the importance of acknowledging the history of the land.

“The land acknowledgment statement, at its core is just a statement of facts,” Davis said. “But before 2018, probably no more than a very small handful of people could have listed or named whose tribes and land the University is on. Because of the land acknowledgment statement, they’ve all heard it. They’ve heard it multiple times and I think that’s a pretty significant shift that’s happened in the past few years.”

With the positive effects in mind, Davis still feels that the University should not stop trying to do better.

“I think it’s a first step. An opening and a first step towards some important conversations that we need to have on campus and towards people being fully aware of where they’re at and the histories of how it came to be,” Davis said. “I think it’s part of larger initiatives that we have where we’re trying to increase the number of Native students that attend here.”

Aside from increased Native enrollment, Native students feel there are various steps the University can take in order to better their experience on campus.

Students say that one of these steps could be to fully remove images of the former mascot, “Chief Illiniwek”, from merchandise and other forums.

A tradition that lasted from the 1920s into 2007 was Chief Illiniwek performing a series of offensive performances during different sporting events. This mascot was played by white men and mocked sacred Native American traditions.

Chief Illiniwek was retired Feb. 16, 2007 by the chair of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Since then, the land acknowledgment statement was created, and the earliest recording

of its existence was the online publication of it in 2018 through the Office of the Chancellor’s website.

“The University cannot say that they are supportive of Indigenous students and that this is a place where students from all backgrounds have equal opportunities to learn when an awful Native stereotype still plagues this campus,” Weber said. “Unofficial or not, the Chief is still deeply embedded in the culture of this campus. Just because it’s no longer an official mascot doesn’t mean he’s not everywhere.”

Native students feel developing the Native American House and planning different events centered around Native culture, there is still more that needs to be done before the University can be praised.

To set goals to create change, Schroeder said that overall knowledge of the community is necessary and Indigenous students will fight to be acknowledged on campus.

“We as Indigenous people still rise,” Schroeder said. “No matter the hardships and obstacles placed in the way for us to achieve higher education, we will continue to fight and represent our ancestors and where we come from in a resilient way.”

AMY SANCHEZ THE DAILY ILLINI

What’s the deal with daylight savings?

By Marta Narag News Editor

Daylight saving time has been utilized in the United States since March of 1918, which means that for over a century, Americans have been turning their clocks forward and backward for a reason not understood by so many.

But what does the law say, why does it exist and why is it still relevant today?

Daylight saving time was first legally introduced in 1918 during World War I. According to the Standard Time Act of 1918, incorporating daylight saving time was “An Act To save daylight and to provide standard time, for the United States.”

Not only did this law introduce both daylight saving and standard time to the U.S., but it also split the country into five different time zones, though the split for time zones is a much less polarized issue.

Multiple laws have tried to govern the flow of the clocks. Shortly after the Standard Time Act of 1918, President Woodrow Wilson repealed

it because of how unfavorable it was amongst the public.

The law, repealed in August of 1919, was hardly enacted before its veto. The repeal made it optional to participate in the biannual clock switch.

In 1942, during World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed another DST-related bill into law. Though it was more or less the same law, this one was “AN ACT To promote the national security and defense by establishing daylight saving time.”

Both laws occurred during wartime – a key aspect of DST’s existence. War is costly, and the original goal of DST was to save energy during the war.

The most recent and presently utilized law governing the clock switch is the Uniform Time Act of 1966, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The Department of Transportation was created in the same year, and one of its first goals was to oversee the national switch between DST and ST.

Instead of its goal of saving energy,

the Uniform Time Act was “motivated by transportation improvements” and that it “mandated standard time within the existing time zones and established a permanent system of uniform DST, including the dates and times for twice yearly transitions,” according to the DOT.

The DOT also explained that though they head the biannual clock switch, they are not in charge of the legal jurisdiction of DST, meaning they cannot change or repeal its existence in the law. It is up to each state to decide if it chooses to participate.

Two bills have been introduced in Illinois in hopes of making DST permanent.

In the Illinois Senate, a bill known as SB0533 was first introduced in 2019. It passed three rounds of hearings in the Senate, but died before the second hearing in the House.

From the Illinois House in 2021, another bill known as HB0216 moved to make DST permanent in Illinois. It moved through various committees, but it was adjourned in January of this year and never made it into the Senate.

Nationally, a bill proposed in 2021 by Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, known as the Sunshine Protection Act, hoped to do similar things. Though it was unanimously passed in the Senate, it was never heard in the House. It was reintroduced at the beginning of this month and is currently going through various committees.

The one-pager of the bill cites various health, economic and crimerelated effects of DST. It details how making DST permanent might combat these outcomes and also addresses common misconceptions.

Daylight saving time is not permanent, and according to a poll done by Monmouth University, only a third of Americans like changing their clocks. If DST were to become permanent, there would be later sunrises and sunsets, rather than the earlier ones that ST would ensure. But until something gets passed at either the state or national level, Americans will continue readjusting their clocks.

mnarag2@dailyillini.com

How do birds know how to migrate?

By Megan Krok Staff Writer

As spring approaches, the weather is getting warmer and birds will begin migrating north again. With this in mind, it brings up the question: How do birds know how to migrate?

Luckily, Dr. Michael P. Ward, professor in ACES and ornithologist, helped answer this question.

According to Ward, birds will “decide” when to migrate based on photoperiod, the period of daylight each day.

“Just like we are noticing the days are getting longer, birds that breed in central Illinois, but are spending the winter in Central and South America, also note the days are getting longer,” Ward said.

The longer days create hormonal changes within birds. This causes

birds to gain fat that will be stored during migration and provide twice the amount of energy when burned compared to protein or carbohydrates, according to bird migration organization Journey North’s website.

Once their bodies are ready, the birds will begin their migration. Birds instinctively know which direction to fly, Ward said. They will fly in a northern or northwestern general direction.

But how do birds know which direction to fly? According to Ward,

there are multiple factors that help birds “navigate from their wintering grounds to their breeding grounds.”

First, birds can sense magnetic fields.

“In some ways, they have an internal compass,” Ward said.

In other words, birds can use tools in the sky to help navigation. Birds use stars and constellations, such as the Big Dipper, to guide them. Additionally, they use the location of the sun and polarized light, or light at sunset.

“Birds have multiple and redun -

dant systems that allow them to perform their amazing migrations of thousands of miles,” Ward said.

Another way birds navigate their journeys north is by using the surrounding landscape and its landmarks. According to Ward, birds will use general landmarks like coastlines and consistent smells on the landscape to guide them.

To explain this idea further, Ward referenced the example of the chimney swift, named after their tendency to nest in people’s chimneys. These birds will migrate to and from the same locations each year.

“When the chimney swifts arrive in late April to campus those individuals likely bred on campus last summer, spent the winter catching insects over the Amazon Forest and then returned to campus,” Ward said.

mfkrok2@dailyilllini.com

“Birds have multiple and redundant systems that allow them to perform their amazing migrations of thousands of miles.”

Dr. Michael P Ward, professor in LAS

Why don’t we ask questions anymore?

By The Daily Illini Editorial Board

Do you remember being a child, fascinated by the wider world around you, incessantly asking questions to the annoyance of your parents? According to Time, young children typically ask a question every two minutes.

Why is the sky blue? Where do babies come from? Where did the dinosaurs go? Why do I have a bedtime? Is Santa real? Are we there yet? Why can’t we have McDonalds. These questions, which may pester and annoy parents, are vital for learning and development.

Children have an innate curiosity. According to clinical psychologist Linda Blair, children use “Why?” questions to learn more about the world around them as their brain begins to develop. Asking “Why?” also gives children a sense of security, soothing and validating their curiosity. Children love to learn.

But as we grow older, our natural curiosity and wonder about the world seem to taper off. Why is that? Research indicatesthat when children begin school, the number of questions asked per hour drops from 27 to two or three.

Moving on to the present: College degrees are not cheap — especially at the University of Illinois. If you’re going to college and pursuing a degree, you likely thought that the value of a college degree would help balance out the short-term cost of attending a university.

There’s a plethora of research about the greater amount of lifetime earnings college degree holders have, as opposed to those who do not have a college degree.

In purely economic terms, going to college is a no-brainer.

But the purpose of college — to expand one’s intellectual horizons, grow as a person and obtain a well-

rounded education — gets lost in this preoccupation with graduating on time and making money soon afterward.

We’re all guilty of this, be it consulting Reddit or upperclassmen friends about the easiest general education courses to take, or passing up on interesting classes because they wouldn’t fit your already packed schedule. Oftentimes intellectual betterment is our second priority.

Why wouldn’t it be? The college environment is not conducive to learning.

At a big university like the University of Illinois, the issue of packed lecture halls with hundreds of students creates barriers between students and fully engaging with the course content.

Similarly, students have to contend with packed and disorganized office hours — if you even attend them at all. Most other times, taking the time out of your day to go to office hours is inconvenient and not worth the effort. Even in small environments like discussions, meant for more personal engagement with an instructor, there exists the age-old fear of “looking dumb” in front of your peers.

While these are all problems that are characteristic of life at a big university, it’s important to recognize that these kinds of issues kill curiosity.

More and more students find themselves struggling with grade obsession in some capacity. When you need a high GPA to land that first internship or apply for graduate school, it would be self-sabotage to challenge oneself with a challenging gen-ed that may sound appealing.

Grade obsession is associated with internal and parental pressure, financial anxiety and academic validation. These pressures can go as far as causing students to cheat — especially with the advent of artifcial intelligence such as ChatGPT, which more and more students are using as

a crutch to complete assignments. But even speeding through online tutorials, using Chegg or Quizlet for answers and otherwise using resources to think for you could be considered “cheating” as well.

We’ve all cheated in the process of obtaining an education in one way or another. The bottom line is that students are no longer learning for the sake of learning — unless they actively choose to do so.

We are in no position to tell you what your priorities should be. We’re students too, so we understand the importance of graduating on time and maintaining a high GPA. Like everyone else, we want to land a job that will pay off the cost to attend college.

Instead, what we’re inviting you to do is to change your mindset when it comes to the college experience as a whole. It’s an incredible privilege to attend a university. Ultimately, four years is a short amount of time in the grand scheme of things — so savor it.

Learn as much as you can — about yourself and the world.

Grab some friends and take on that challenging gen-ed headfirst. Who knows? A class that does not count towards anything except personal enrichment could change your life.

Join a club that doesn’t align with your intended career or field of study, just for the sake of experiencing something new. You might find a new hobby, not to mention an interesting talking point at an interview later on.

Talk to a professor about what their research focus is. Most times, they’d be happy to nerd out about their interests, and you may even make a friend.

College, at its core, is the ultimate learning experience, both academically and intellectually. Thus, your time as an undergraduate is the perfect time to ask questions.

The Daily Illini Editorial Board challenges you to take full advantage of this opportunity to channel your four-year-old self — ask endless questions as to why the world works the way it does.

AMY SANCHEZ THE DAILY ILLINI

What’s with the squirrels on campus?

By Matt Troher Staff Writer

The Eastern Gray Squirrel. Sciurus carolinensis. Ten or 11 inches long on a good day, with a fluffy tail nearly as long as their body. They’re scruffy, they’re described to be kind of dopey looking and they’re everywhere on campus.

They’re a staple of the University. Freshmen and seniors alike line up to gawk every time a squirrel lifts a half-eaten slice of pizza out of a trash can. This campus is known for our squirrels. Heck, one even has its own Wikipedia page.

It’s common for a campus tour guide to inform prospective students about a campus squirrel-watching club when the inevitable critter scurries in front of a hurried tour group. Sometimes, the guide tells the tale of a subsequently formed squirrel-watchers-watching club in which members gaze at the supposed squirrel watchers in a humorous, self-referential, collegiate in the traditional sense type of way.

But how did they get here? Why are there so many? If someone drives 15 minutes off campus to Mahomet or Tolono they’ll still see squirrels, but not nearly as many as those that crowd Campustown. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t those skittish little creatures congregate in less-populated areas?

Turns out, the story of the University’s squirrel population is a story of environmental degradation and human influence that began over a hundred years ago.

Prior to mass settlement and agricultural development, Illinois was covered by a rich mix of prairie and forest – habitats where squirrels can thrive. But by the time the University was founded in 1867, forests and prairies alike were being razed down to accommodate both the fast-growing state and the agriculture needed to sustain the nation. In 1978, the Illinois Natural History Survey published a report titled “Distribution and Abundance of the Grey Squirrel in Illinois,” detailing this decline.

“The (Illinois) gray squirrel apparently began declining in abundance almost as soon as the first white settlers began to clear the wilderness forests,” the report reads. “In Illinois, extensive clearing of the virgin forests led to the virtual disappearance

of gray squirrels in many of the central and northern counties.”

Enter Andrew Sloan Draper, fourth president of the University of Illinois. A gruff, stately man beset with white mustache, Draper served as a New York state representative and as a judge before heading the young University for a decade from 1894 to 1904.

Draper saw the University and its surrounding community devoid of wildlife and came up with a plan to spruce up the area: Capture roughly 100 squirrels from out of town and introduce them to the campus, where they could be fruitful and multiply.

On July 5, 1901, Draper sent a letter

to the University Board of Trustees officially recommending the introduction of the squirrels.

“For some years I have had in mind the domestication of squirrels upon the grounds of the University and have made some investigations which lead me to believe that the suggestion is entirely practicable,” Draper wrote. “If successful, the influence upon University life, and upon the feelings of students, would be considerable, and students would carry that influence to all parts of the State.”

The Board of Trustees approved the recommendation the following day, and for that decision we can thank the board for the abundance of squir -

rels that call our campus their home. According to Draper’s own estimations, the initiative cost roughly $250, equivalent to nearly $7,700 today.

Thanks to Draper’s decision, the spirits of Illini over a hundred years later are certainly lifted by those scruffy little rodents running around. Students have taken affinity to specific squirrels, and even mourned the loss of a special spotted piebald squire affectionately named Pinto Bean. Two different Instagram accounts are dedicated to documenting the affairs of the campus squirrels (@uiuc_squirrels and @squirrels_of_uiuc).

JACOB SLABOSZ THE DAILY ILLINI

A squirrel sits on a tree on the Main Quad. In 1901, around 100 squirrels were added to campus, and the population drastically increased.

How do UI students visualize GPA?

By Liam Mathews Contributing Writer

Choosing classes is an experience every UI student goes through twice a year, and it can be quite a difficult one. Students can seek advice from advisors or professors on which courses are best for them to take, but at the end of the day, they must make the decisions for themselves. UI students widely utilize a GPA visualization site to help make this important choice easier.

The GPA visualization site provides the average GPA of every course offered at the University to students. This information allows UI students to pick which classes are right for them based upon expected difficulty. The GPA visualization site was created by Grainger Professor Wade Fagen-Ulmschneider and a team of students. In a brief foreword on the GPA visualization site, Fagen-Ulmschneider explains his role in and motivation towards creating this resource.

“For as long as grades have existed, I have not met a student who wasn’t at least a little interested in how ‘hard’ a

course was,” Fagen-Ulmschneider said. Fagen-Ulmschneider was inspired to create his visualization site after learning of the existence of a similar site, which required a $30 subscription for students to access the information. A bit of digging showed Fagen-Ulmschneider that the website had been created using a Freedom of Information Act request to gather the data on students’ GPA; he then submitted a similar request, which was granted.

Upon gathering the data, Fagen-Ulmschneider gathered a team of students to assemble the site, which was launched in April 2016 after months of hard work.

Many students find the GPA visualizations and disparity between sections provided by Fagen-Ulmschneider’s website particularly helpful when seeking to fulfill general education requirements.

“I’ve used (the GPA Visualizations site) to pick between classes that fill the same gen-ed requirement so I can better know the difficulty of the class that I’m signing up for,” said Owen Leander, freshman in Business.

Leander, among other students, praised the visualizations for how easy

it makes picking classes and choosing the difficulty of one’s schedule.

Fagen-Ulmschneider and his team continue to maintain the site by regularly updating the visualizations before registration every semester and securing GPA data through repeated FOIA requests.

“The primary goal was to save stu-

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dents money from purchasing this data from another site – it felt wrong that students were paying $30 for public data, and I wanted to make sure it was available in an accessible way to everyone free of charge,” Fagen-Ulmschneider said.

liamm4@dailyillini.com

What does the student government do?

By Raphael Ranola & Dan Kibler Opinions Editor & Columnist

The Illinois Student Government is meant to be the representative voice of students at the University of Illinois.

It is structured much like the United States government, with the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Like our actual government, students are elected into their positions.

However, the extent to which ISG plays a role in student life on campus is a contentious subject.

In this column, a number of students across all grade levels were interviewed and asked what they believed ISG does.

Some of these students possessed some knowledge of what ISG can do. They cited that ISG is capable of making policy that helps the student body.

Other students said that the most important function of ISG is its role as a liaison between the student body and administration.

Some of the students interviewed

had no idea what ISG does, both students who are new to the University and upperclassmen.

Others felt as though ISG does not do anything tangible to service the student body, and those participating in the organization are doing it for the benefit of having it on their resume.

In the eye of the student body, ISG exists on a spectrum. Some students acknowledge its capabilities while other students may not even know it exists. Some even argue that, while this is an existing organization, it exists only in name.

Many candidates in the upcoming ISG elections are hoping to redefine the role of ISG in student life. If these quotes are indication, this referendum is much-needed.

Dan is a senior in LAS. dkibler3@dailyillini.com

Raphael is a freshman in LAS. rrano2@dailyillini.com

Unknown

“I don’t know what they do, and I perceive no real impact from their end on the dayto-day lives of the students. I am pretty uninformed of their purpose which is pretty bad considering I am a senior and have been here for a long time. However they just mean nothing to me, I basically just have apathy towards them.”

Senior in LAS

Communication

“They serve as a conduit between the administration of the university and the concerns of the student body. They try to make the university a better environment for the students.”

Andrew O’Connell, senior in LAS

“I don’t really know.”

Freshman in Engineering

“Not entirely sure, it seems like different events and school things are impacted by it, but I don’t really feel the impact of them. Student government seems to have a big picture and not as much day to day. In 4 years here, I’ve maybe only noticed 1 major change from student government on school things”

Senior in LAS

“My best guess is they use their student perspective to communicate issues with the higher-ups in University administration”

Poorna Kumar, sophomore in AHS

Nothing“Basically nothing. Student government has no real objective or changes. It’s just for people who want to have a resume builder.”

Matt, senior in ACES

“Student government doesn’t seem to have any real purpose. Our representatives get to be mock politicians, which is nice, but a lot of this could be accomplished with an RSO. They pass meaningless resolutions with no pushback but also no implementation beyond student fees. I think less than 10% of the student body votes in the student election which feeds this powerlessness as the administration knows these representatives barely represent even a fraction of the student body. ISG makes no moves to resolve this practically and continues to drive themselves into the ground by instead focusing on infighting and becoming the headline of some controversy every year. I wonder if they do more than I think, but I have a bad feeling they don’t.”

Graduate student in FAA

“I’m honestly not sure, and I’m not sure if they are even capable of doing very much at the school because they don’t make the rules. Honestly, to me they seem like a bunch of role-players who run for positions and ask for votes from a bunch of people who haven’t heard of them.”

Senior in FAA

“To my knowledge, the student government takes part in voting on important decisions for the student body. Similar to a student council in high schools, but in high school it felt like a front to make students feel like they had a part in big choices. However, at this university, I have seen or heard next to none from our own student government, so as far as I am aware they aren’t voting on much that is impactful. The last thing I remember hearing about student government was their discussion on the Kingfisher mascot change, but I’m not sure that came to much fruition. So really from my own experiences here, I feel the student government doesn’t do very much or at least inputs such minor changes that it isn’t noticeable on the university-wide scale.”

Senior in FAA

“Ideally they are supposed to represent the student body and lobby on behalf of them to the university administration. In practice, I think it’s just a vestigial organ of the University administration.”

Miles Ralph, junior in LAS

Policy

“I know that there’s some form and structure to it like an actual government, and they represent the different schools and colleges on campus. However, the main thing I am familiar with is how they are in charge of discipline. I believe they hold trials for people who are on appeal for breaking various codes of conduct at the university.”

Senior in Media

“As far as I know student government makes policy on campus for select areas, but I’m not sure what those confines are, and I’m not totally sure what the specifics of ISG’s roles are.”

Sophomore in LAS

“They attempt to act as a liaison between the students and the administration. However, in practice, they represent something like one percent of the school arguing about stuff that the other ninetynine percent doesn’t care about.”

Senior in LAS

“It’s an elected group of students who try to act as a centralized voice for the whole student body so they can make suggestions on policies to the university officials.”

Brady Moran, senior in LAS

“Student Government is the place where students can bring up issues happening on campus and urge the administration to fix them. This includes things like drink spiking prevention with nightcaps and architecture students having to pay $10 a diagram and asking the university to print money. This can also include dealing with bigger things like antisemitism on campus or the GEO contract negotiations. The problem is we don’t have enough power to completely combat these issues, and we may never will.”

ISG Member, junior in LAS

Los Angeles Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle

“BRING IT ON” BY ALAN

MASSENGILL

DOUG PETERSON

Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Nichols Lewis

Vinyl records spin back into popularity

By Piotr Fedczuk Managing Editor for Reporting

Despite the current age of streaming, many still choose to listen to physical albums on record players, even though vinyl albums cost more and are more difficult to find.

Joseph McLain, junior in LAS, said he began to collect records because of the art on their covers. Eventually, he began listening to the records as well.

“I ended up investing in a decent record player, and I kind of realized that the sound quality is nicer than you can get on a CD or streaming services,” McLain said.

McLain said he used the same speakers for digital and physical music, which made the differences apparent.

“There are just small details that you can notice on the vinyls that I don’t think you can always pick up in a digital recording,” McLain said.

McLain said that in streamed music, recordings have lost finer details because of how the songs get compressed into digital forms.

However, McLain said the quality of

records can be inconsistent. Warped discs make music sound out of tune, and newer records had a noticeable dip in sound quality compared to older records.

McLain said he found difficulty obtaining his favorite artists’ records.

“There’s one album I ordered online last April, and I’m still waiting on it to come through,” McLain said.

With the increasing trendiness of records, McLain said prices have also increased.

“It’s kind of a money pit if you decide to jump in,” McLain said.

Bob Diener, the owner of Record Swap, a record store in C-U, was surprised by the sudden and rampant resurgence of vinyl records.

“I always expected vinyl to come back,” Diener said. “I didn’t expect it to come back as strong as it has.”

Diener said the revival started in 2008 and has continued to expand ever since.

“People who do not buy music wonder how this store still exists, which brings them in to check it out,” Diener said.

Before Record Swap grew to have

around 10,000 records, Diener said classical music records kept their store going.

“There’d be five or six professors that would be almost getting into fist fights over who would see this stuff first,” Diener said.

Customers kept Record Swap open, Diener said, which made him want to bring in every person he could.

“I always wanted to be a record store

that just had a deep, deep selection and all types of music,” Diener said. However, Diener said he had another goal.

“Opening up a records store was really my idea to increase my personal collection and get records at a much cheaper price, and learn more about music all over the world,” Diener said.

fedczuk2@dailyillini.com

ANNE SCHMIDT THE DAILY ILLINI

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Professionalism while performing

By Caroline Sweeney Staff Writer

Most careers or jobs have some sort of professional aspect woven into them. What do you do when something goes wrong? How do you handle things?

The entertainment industry deals with this issue as well, but in a public sphere. What do you do when you mess up in front of 10 million people? What do you do when your musical performance goes wrong?

Every year, the Grammys are presented in the United States by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

The award show always has performers. Some that performed this year were Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Lizzo, Sam Smith and last-minute add-on Harry Styles.

When Styles’ Grammys performance started, it revealed Styles along with several dancers on a raised platform. The platform spun the wrong direction.

Zena Abdelhamid, sophomore in AHS, who is also a big fan of Styles, noticed something was wrong almost instantly.

“Immediately I noticed that the energy levels were so low for someone who is usually a very bouncy and active performer,” Abdelhamid said. “I assumed he was just very exhausted since he is constantly touring, performing and recording new music.”

Charlotte Wisthuff, sophomore in Business, who is an avid watcher of Styles’ performances, also noticed something was off.

“I’ve been to a Harry Styles concert and know how he typically performs,” Wisthuff said. “His vocals were definitely not as strong as they were in concert and my impression was that he seemed nervous or stressed out.”

Brandon Mathis, one of the dancers in the performance, spoke out about the issue on an Instagram story.

“The moment the curtain opened and it was time to perform, our turntable started spinning in reverse, backward, freaking all of us out on live television,” Mathis said.

“After a week of rehearsing this piece perfectly, the moment it’s time to perform it starts going (the opposite) way,” Mathis said. “And in real time, we have to troubleshoot and try to do a complete piece in reverse. Talk about professionalism.”

This sparked a conversation about

professionalism.

“(Styles) seemed very professional the whole time,” Abdelhamid said. “He was a little thrown off in the beginning, but he was able to gather himself.”

Though a few of the dancers spoke

about what happened, Styles has not mentioned anything about the performance.

“As always, Harry handled the situation with grace,” Wisthuff said. “For his sake I want the public to know because

he doesn’t deserve the scrutiny and criticism. However, I don’t think it was necessary for him to address the situation.”

Though some fans, like Abdelhamid, believe that the Grammys should have released a statement acknowledging the error and apologizing to the singer.

“That would’ve been an appropriate response to essentially changing his whole performance,” Abdelhamid said.

Though some, like Wisthuff, think that neither party needs to apologize.

“It might come across as ‘overly defensive,’” Wisthuff said. “Harry’s talent speaks for itself and even though the stage malfunction made the performance more challenging, I don’t think he has anything to prove and neither do the Grammys.”

Despite technical errors in the performance, Styles celebrated several wins that night, including Album of the Year for “Harry’s House.” Styles was nominated seven times and won three awards.

Campbell Coker, student in FAA, said over email that she experienced a similar rocky performance.

A couple of summers ago, Coker was in a production of “The Music Man” at The Legacy Theatre in Springfield, Illinois. On opening night, there was a serious accident backstage during the show that resulted in an ambulance driving away with one of their elderly cast members inside.

“With this happening during the middle of a performance, we were all obviously shaken and didn’t know if we could even continue,” Coker said.

Coker said about an hour later, the curtain went back up.

“The energy of the crowd really encouraged our performance,” Coker said. “We could feed off their energy.”

Coker said this performance really mattered to her.

“I think this performance deeply mattered to each and every one of us, so we focused on what good could come from that night and tried to forget about the bad, even if just for a few hours,” Coker said.

Coker said that professionalism is important to making sure a performance can continue when something goes wrong.

“Everyone is trying their best, and if you keep a certain level of professionalism, it’s easier to problem-solve and communicate,” Coker said.

ALLEN J. SCHABEN/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Harry Styles arrives at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, held at the Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 5 in Los Angeles.

Record-breaking Sickels leads Illinois so ball

damentals on her work in high school, which got her to where she is today.

Three varsity letters, two-time allcounty and conference and one section strikeout title later, an under-recruited Sickels headed off to ChampaignUrbana to join the Illini.

Sickels found early success with the Illini, just as she did during high school. Her impact was immediately noticeable, setting the program record for saves as a freshman on her way to taking home the Newcomer of the Year award.

Three years later, Sickels has almost every individual accolade you could imagine. But, more importantly, she found a home.

“I think the culture that coach Perry has built with this team is something that you don’t find at most schools,” Sickels said. “When COVID happened, I knew that if they were going to give me an opportunity to play another year, I was going to take it.”

Illinois has big aspirations coming off of its best season since 2018 after qualifying for the NCAA tournament and finishing third in the Big Ten conference. However, a disappointing postseason dampened the regular season excitement that had disappeared from the program for a while. With unfinished business hanging in the air, nobody is more determined to improve on the effort than Sickels.

“I just want to win a Big Ten championship,” Sickels said. “That’s our goal. There might be accolades to come along with that, but that’s our main focus right now.”

The Illini are certainly capable with the talent that they have returned. Sickels and the other experienced veterans strive for another top three seed in the conference this year, as well as a second shot at the crown.

By Ben Fader Staff Writer

Program records aren’t meant to last forever. However, they also aren’t meant to be obliterated. Fifth-year pitcher Sydney Sickels is no stranger to dominance on the mound, but in Feb. 11’s game against the Fordham Rams, Sickels was on another planet.

The Illini ace powered her way through all nine innings of the victory, allowing just two earned runs on five hits. While going the distance in an extra-innings affair is impressive in itself, one number in the box score jumps off the paper. Sickels recorded an Illinois record: 21 strikeouts on the day, breaking the previous record of

13, which she had reached multiple times.

The historical performance was a long time coming for the Iowa native, but something she had strived for years before deciding to use her COVID-19 eligibility year to return in 2023. Sickels’ path to etching herself in the record books began long before she would stay in ChampaignUrbana for a fifth season.

“I started pitching when I was like ten or so,” Sickels said. “I had a lot of family that played softball. A lot of cousins. My mom played when she was in college. It was just kind of something that was in the family, so I just ran with it.”

Sickels ran with it through travel

ball but was unsure what the future held regarding the sport.

“I would say the first varsity softball game that I pitched in high school was the moment where I realized this is something I could definitely continue doing,” Sickels said.

Leading Indianola High School, Sickels immediately found comfort on the mound and became opposing hitters’ worst nightmare. The righthander produced quite a résumé in high school, one she credits to her coach.

“I started working with my pitching coach from high school in eighth grade,” Sickels said. “And he was very detail-oriented in the mechanics of it.”

Sickels prides her health and fun-

No matter what happens, however, Sickels is grateful to call Illinois home and will forever remember her time here.

“I think being a leader on this team, trusting myself and having confidence in myself is something that I think this sport and this program has definitely given me,” Sickels said.

In her four-plus years with the Illini, Sickels has more than returned the favor to both the program and fans who benefit from her performances every time she steps on the rubber. Her strikeout record is just the beginning of her return for a fifth year, with two more months ahead to continue adding to a long list of accomplishments that won’t soon be forgotten.

THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO

Pitcher Sydney Sickles leaps while pitching against ISU on April 3, 2019. Sickels set a 21 strikeout record on Feb. 11 this season and continues to dominate the field during her fi h year.