The Daily Illini: Weekly Edition Nov. 16 2022

The art exhibit “Quinceañeras: Celebration, Joy, and Ethnic Pride” opened at Spurlock Museum on Oct. 4 and will be on display until Dec. 4. To read more, see PAGE 7

Unofficial midterm election results

By The Daily Illini Staff Report

Champaign County and Illinois vot ers cast their ballots last Tuesday to determine the fate of several electoral offices and a referendum.

According to the Champaign Coun ty Clerk’s election database, the unof ficial results as of Saturday, Nov. 12 for several races are as follows. These percentages reflect the votes counted so far, and will change as more votes are counted.

Right to Collective Bargaining Measure

60.4% of voters said “yes” to the amendment.

Governor

Incumbent Democrat JB Pritzker received 56.8% of the vote, while Republican challenger Darren Bai ley received 40.3%.

U.S. Senate Race

Incumbent Democrat Tammy Duckworth received 58.1% of the vote, while Republican challenger Kathy Salvi received 40%.

U.S. House District 13

Democrat Nikki Budzinski received 71% of the vote, while Republican Reagan Deering received 28.7%.

Champaign County Clerk

Incumbent Democrat Aaron

Ammons received 53.8% of the vote, while Republican challenger Ter rence Stuber received 46.2%.

Champaign County Sheriff

Incumbent Democrat Dustin Heu erman received 54.6% of the vote, while Republican challenger John P. Brown received 45.4%.

Champaign County Executive

Democrat Steve Summers received 55.2% of the vote, while Republi can challenger Ted Myhre received 44.8% of the vote.

news@dailyillini.com

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Guaranteed Income Project to start in C-U

By Michael Bales Contributing Writer

This year, a new Champaign County program will aim to reduce homeless ness and determine the potential for guaranteed income at a larger scale.

The program, called the Champaign County Guaranteed Income Project, is a collaboration between the Universi ty and the county’s Regional Office of Education and will provide aid to 10 homeless families who have children in school.

“In order for this to potentially be something that is ongoing, it has to show that people are able to gain that stabil ity,” said Kim Nix, the connections program coordinator at the Regional Office of Education.

Nix said she hopes to see that the guaranteed income — $750 per month for six months — help families set tle themselves in the area by gaining employment and safe, secure housing.

Nix and the research team at the Uni versity ultimately want to know if the three-phase pilot program will answer an overarching question: Did having a guaranteed income give families time to get on their own feet?

Currently, the pilot is still in phase

one. This involves surveying the fami lies before the monthly payments begin. Phase two will be a round of interviews that include talking to school districts, community partners and the families themselves. Phase three is the distribu tion of the monthly payments.

The total sum necessary for the monthly payments is funded by the Chancellor’s Call to Action to Address Racism & Social Injustice Research Program.

The Call to Action program, announced by Chancellor Robert Jones in 2020, “is a commitment by (the Uni versity) to put the need to address sys temic racism and generationally-embed ded racial disparity into concrete action to find new solutions,” as stated on the University website.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2019 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, Black families made up 52% of homeless families with children in the country despite Black Americans repre senting 13% of the national population.

However, not all Americans are on board with the idea of guaranteed income. According to a 2020 study by the Pew Research Center, 54% of Americans said they would be against

a national guaranteed income of $1000 per month.

“I think there’s two forms of skepti cism,” said Christopher R. Larrison, associate professor in Social Work and the lead researcher in the pilot pro gram. “One set of skepticism is very strongly related to that concept of ‘Are people going to misspend money?’”

Larrison said that research into this skepticism has been conducted as recently as 2018 to as far back as the 1960s.

“In both instances, they really didn’t find people misspending money,” Larri son said. “It’s extraordinarily unusual.”

According to Larrison, skepticism is rarer among families, which is who the Guaranteed Income Project hopes to help.

Larrison described the other form of skepticism as “Why do you deserve it versus why don’t I?” But he already had a distinction in mind when consid ering who should receive money from the project.

“Nine times out of 10, (those receiv ing guaranteed income are) in a position that wasn’t self created, but is really the result of structural problems that have really made it very difficult for them to make a decent living,” he said.

Larrison said the Guaranteed Income Project is for those who need help with the daily costs such as food and rent and not necessarily those who would keep the money in the bank.

Piloting the program with families who have children means not only help ing them out presently, but also giving the student a better chance to com plete secondary education, according to SchoolHouse Connection.

A 2018 SchoolHouse Connection study found that high schoolers’ chances of graduation increased by 12.3% when they were in low-income yet housed living situations, as opposed to being homeless.

If Nix and Larrison see the stability they are aiming to achieve from the pilot, Larrison said, the next step would be creating a more permanent fund through the contributions of local busi nesses and private donors to establish a more permanent solution to student and family homelessness in the area.

As for remaining skeptics, Larrison posed a question.

“How do you expect anybody to get out of a vortex of debt if you don’t give them at least an opportunity to?”

ALEXIS RAMIREZ THE DAILY

ISG Matt Walsh controversy continues

By Yuzhu Liu Assistant Features Editor

On Oct. 6, right-wing political com mentator Matt Walsh visited the Univer sity for a screening of his documentary “What is a Woman.” The same night, the Illinois Student Government posted a statement on its Instagram account. While expressing its support for the LGBTQ+ community as pointing out that Walsh’s claims are hateful, the state ment declared that “free speech permits such discussion to occur.”

Students flooded to the Instagram comments, including Soumil Biswas, sophomore in ACES. He argued that the University, which prides itself on the inclusivity of LGBTQ+ individu als, should have prevented Matt Walsh from spreading hate speech against trans people.

“I don’t know if hate speech really consists of free speech, but the hate that was brought to trans people because of this event definitely does not align with the University’s beliefs, so they should not allow that to happen,” Biswas said.

Biswas said he believes ISG should have censored the event. He noted that the student government should repre sent the voice of the student body, and many in the student body were calling for condemnation.

“The statement ISG put out was very lackluster,” Biswas said. “It was kind of a dumb response because they could just condemn it or just stay silent.”

Four days after the incident, Vindhya Kalipi, junior in LAS, resigned from her position as the vice president of ISG. According to ISG’s announcement, Kali pi resigned over “a fundamental differ ence of opinion regarding free speech.”

Before Walsh’s arrival, Kalipi talked to administrators and looked through existing laws. She said she understood the Supreme Court has upheld that hate speech is technically protected under free speech. However, Kalipi said she was upset and believed ISG should take a stand and prohibit hate speech.

“We represent students, and we should be listening to what the student body that elected us and believed in us wants,” Kalipi said. “If the administra tion doesn’t want to do anything about it, at least we should be doing something.”

Kalipi recalled that she was frustrat ed when she found out she was the only executive member who believed hate speech should be prohibited.

President Garrett Forrest, junior in LAS, said that though he agrees Matt Walsh’s visit was harmful, he

believes free speech is the foundation of democracy.

“The price of having free speech — the price of having a society where you don’t have to worry no matter who’s in power of your views being suppressed or you being punished for advocating for something … The price of that is hate speech,” Forrest said.

He mentioned the counter-protest out side Walsh’s discussion.

“When Matt Walsh was here, there was a counter protest outside there, high lighting the beautiful diversity of the LGBTQ+ community,” Forrest said. “I think it’s on those of us who are opposed to hate speech, who are opposed to the ideas being spread by people like Matt Walsh, to be even louder to convince even more people that we’re right.”

Forrest noted his other concern was that the demand to ban Walsh could impact his relationship with Universi ty administration.

“It would have reduced my ability to negotiate and work with them on trying to address all of the other issues that I’m really focused on trying to make prog ress on this year, whether that’s campus safety, textbook and course material or (providing help to) students dealing with sexual assaults,” Forrest said. “They do appreciate and have respect for the fact that I didn’t ask them to do something

that they legally couldn’t have done.”

Kalipi said she initially drafted a lengthy response that discussed why hate speech should not be protected, but the executive team decided to trash the whole statement and started a new one. Kalipi said she regrets approving the second statement and signing her name on it.

“For a second there, I fell into the politicians’ trap,” Kalipi said. “I was so nervous about how it would be if the executive (team) disagreed. I think that ultimately, I was just scared.”

Patrick Porter, senior in LAS and ISG Senator, said that the executive team excluded regular ISG members from the drafting process.

“There wasn’t even any discussion whatsoever, so when everybody else saw it, that was the first time I saw it,” Por ter said. “I didn’t expect to see that kind of response.”

Porter said he and many in the Sen ate disagreed with Forrest’s rhetoric, which looks like it was “copied and past ed.” Porter argued it is the student gov ernment’s “minimum responsibility” to reaffirm their support for the LGBTQ+ community. He pointed out that redi recting the targeted transgender stu dents to the University’s resources is not enough.

Knowing the lack of response from

University administration, Porter said ISG could have taken this opportunity to show more decisive leadership. He said the response was so disappointing that he published a statement of his own, claiming that ISG must stand against hate speech.

“There are clearly many of us within ISG that weren’t happy with the position that we as an official body took … some of us don’t want to necessarily be associated with the statement,” Porter said. “If we were able to deliberate on this a little bit more to add our own insight into it, I’m not sure if it would have made any significant difference in this instance.”

Forrest clarified that multiple peo ple were involved in the decision-mak ing process, including Kalipi, who For rest said was “a strong defender” of the position of Porter and many other ISG members. Forrest asserted that he has the right from the Student Government Constitution to unilaterally make a state ment on behalf of ISG.

“I am the leader of this institution, and I’m not obligated to bring more people into the discussion when I’m making a post like that,” Forrest said. “I had to make what I believed was the right deci sion, and having more people involved in that discussion, I could say wasn’t going to change my mind about that funda mental issue of free speech.”

Mia Macias, junior in LAS, said she was mad when reading ISG’s response. She said she understood the free speech standards but believed more precautions could have been taken to protect trans gender and nonbinary students. She said she expected to see informative mass mails and helpful resources.

“I feel like there’s a lot that (ISG) can do in their power to at least try and stop something like this from happening again,” Macias said. “But, even if they had, it’s possible that someone like this could still come to campus, but it’s also the fact that they weren’t really will ing to try.”

yuzhul2@dailyillini.com

SEBASTIAN HOLT THE DAILY ILLINI

Student doodles his way to TikTok fame

By Rebecca Oriza Staff Writer

While TikTok content typical ly involves flashy dances and trendy songs, Jorge Calderin, graduate stu dent studying biochemistry, has found success in sharing his doodles of bio chemistry concepts.

As a visual learner, Calderin always doodled on his notes. Coupled with his fascination for the lipid membrane since high school, he naturally picked the username @doodlesinthemembrane.

Calderin is currently doing research related to lipid membranes, which are barriers around cells. Calderin pre viously worked as a chemistry tutor throughout his undergraduate years but stopped when he was a senior. This led him to start his content creation jour ney in 2019.

“I wanted to continue doing some thing along the lines of tutoring, so I just started creating digital resources,” Calderin said. “I just found myself on social media because I wanted people to actually use them.”

Now, about three years after he start ed, @doodlesinthemembrane has 411k followers and 7.1 million likes. Calderin attributes his account’s growth to his consistency, as he tries to post every day. While he said it was never really his goal to go viral, he is humbled that his videos have been used by so many students across the globe, including stu dents at the University.

“The last milestone I was really appreciative of was 400,000 on Tik Tok,” Calderin said. “One time, some one came up to me at a coffee shop, and I thought they were going to ask if they could sit at the table. (Instead) they were like, ‘No, are you are you doodlesinthemembrane?’ I think I got as red as a tomato — I don’t even know what I said, but it felt great, but I also felt really shy.”

From short explanation videos and animated atoms to an entire book of resources, Calderin covers a broad range of topics, including organic chem istry. He only makes videos on topics and subjects that he has already com pleted or tutored in.

Although he uses he free time to cre ate content, Calderin said he does not mind.

“It’s not work for me,” Calderin said. “It’s almost like therapeutic — I love it so much. Before I started grad school, (doodling) was an all-day endeavor. I just loved it, I did it all the time. Now, if I’m lucky, I complete a page a week.”

On his platform, Calderin also discusses his academic struggles. Despite this, he said his struggles didn’t deter him from applying to graduate school.

“I struggled so much in school and in undergrad,” Calderin said. “My GPA wasn’t the best — I failed exams, and I retook classes, and I had a 3.1 (GPA) when I graduated, which is just above the minimum for graduate school. I had friends that had way higher GPA’s, (and) that stings a little bit. We have a ten dency for comparison, and I think it destroys us, but your grade point aver age doesn’t define you.”

Calderin said that even after getting accepted, grad school had not exactly been a walk in the park. He said that every day comes with its challenges.

“Get ready to face failure — con stant, never ending failure,” Calderin said. “I failed experiments throughout undergrad, but I didn’t feel the entire ty of the responsibility until I got into grad school. Your mental health gets so attached to it.”

Other than doodling, Calderin empha sized the importance of having a sup port system and knowing your limits.

“A lot of what brings me back is (that)

I’m really fascinated with my research, and I like the environments I work in,” Calderin said. “It takes work ethic to survive, and making sure you’re tak ing care of yourself is the most impor tant thing.”

Calderin said his unexpected Tik Tok fame came with inevitable inter net trolls, but they don’t get to him, nor do they affect his dedication to creating more resources.

“I know they’re (videos) not perfect,” Calderin said. “One day, hopefully they will be great, and through practicing now, by the time I’m in front of a class room, I can be a great professor one day, and that’s my goal. I’ve had some professors who have reached out and talked to me about their experiences in grad school and how they really appre ciate the work I do, and that means a lot.”

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI

Jorge Calderin, graduate student studying biochemistry, shows his iPad that he uses to doodle and write his notes. Calderin posts educational content for his 411k followers on his TikTok, @doodlesinthemembrane.

“We have a tendency for comparison, and I think it destroys us, but your grade point average doesn’t define you.”

Jorgge Calderin, graduate student studying biochemistry

Students weigh pros, cons of Duo 2FA

By Aarushi Aggrwal Staff Writer

You put your phone on the charger, tuck yourself in your warm bed and decide to work on this one last assign ment. You try to log in to Canvas, enter your credentials, hoping to see the cas cading list of tasks. Instead, the word “DUO” appears, and you roll your eyes — it’s the Duo two-factor authentication notification again.

Duo 2FA is a process wherein the identity of a user is verified through two distinct means, usually a password and a one-time code sent via MMS. 2FA is employed in order to provide an extra check when granting users access to their account information or private data.

The University recently implemented mandatory 2FA, requiring all students to use it to log in to their University of Illinois accounts. Opinions on the mat ter are mixed.

Courtney Hau, freshman in ACES, said she finds the change “annoying,” and that she, like many other students, thinks that 2FA is a little inconvenient.

“I find myself not checking my email

at all because I know I’m going to have to go through Duo again,” Hau said.

“I would assume that they’ve intro duced it for safety reasons, but it’s just annoying.”

Shashwat Mundra, freshman in Engi neering, said he is a strong advocate of 2FA.

“Passwords today can be easily cracked, stolen or even guessed,” Mun dra said. “Duo just sends you a notifi cation, and it takes two clicks to veri fy your identity. It is a small step that goes a long way in protecting my sen sitive data.”

While assignments and exam infor mation may not seem confidential or top secret, there’s much more information linked to students’ University accounts.

Jeremy Watson, manager of identity and access management at the Technol ogy Services at Illinois, explained in an email why it was necessary to add an additional level of security for students.

“2FA has been a requirement for undergraduates who receive financial aid,” Watson said. “It is an added secu rity measure because direct deposit information related to their account is part of the process. We noticed an

increase in phishing campaigns tar geting students recently. Many of those phishing campaigns via Outlook email were successful, and the students’ com promised accounts were used to gain access to university resources.”

Students’ payments, insurance, reg istrations and all other University affairs are packed into their Universi ty accounts. Because of this, one com promised account may also be used to compromise several other accounts.

Yani Bucio, senior in Gies, said she thinks that a lot of students are less aware of the reasons why 2FA has been

introduced.

“It’s definitely been annoying consid ering I have to take out my phone, get the text message, type it in and then get on with my work, which is kind of a hassle when I want to do some thing really fast,” Bucio said. “But it’s increased security, which is a very real issue today, so I understand the impor tance of it.”

Watson also spoke about the future of 2FA.

“It has become commonplace for 2FA to be used when accessing our bank via phone or computer,” Watson said. “Uni versities have been adopting 2FA solu tions for many years now. We hope to get as many University of Illinois ser vices behind a single login page. In the ory, the beauty of getting to that point, if you are authenticating through our page, you’ll only be prompted for Duo once per device/per browser.”

2FA is beginning to become an essen tial level of security in today’s cyberpowered age. Even students who find it a nuisance know its importance. Love it or hate it, 2FA is here to stay.

aggrwal3@dailyillini.com

AMY SANCHEZ THE DAILY ILLINI

Exhibit explores quinceañera tradition

Spurlock Museum

By Lillie Salas Staff Writer

Right now, when someone walks into the Spurlock Museum on campus at the University, they are greeted with vibrant colors and decorations. Videos of baile sorpresas and photos of celebrations are played and hung on the walls.

For many, the “Quinceañeras: Cele bration, Joy, and Ethnic Pride” exhib it displayed at Spurlock has brought truthful and accurate representa tions of a sacred celebration of wom anhood for many communities.

The free exhibit, which opened on Sept. 24 and runs until Dec. 4, was launched during Hispanic Heritage Month as another effort to diversify and educate the Champaign-Urbana community.

Emmett Zumerchik, junior in ACES, has worked at Spurlock Muse um alongside the exhibit. She high lighted the valuable information she observed while working.

“I feel like it’s important because one of the videos that they show talks about how women in the Latino cul ture take this as an important sym bol of life, and it’s a coming-of-age tradition,” Zumerchik said. “I think it helps students become culturally aware and diversify their minds.”

Zumerchik said she sees it as an interactive exhibit.

“I’d like to say that it’s very inter active,” Zumerchik said. “I always see people coming in, taking pho tos and laughing and smiling, so you should come check it out.”

The exhibit was composed by a team of doctoral students under the direction of Dr. Angharad N. Valdivia, research professor at the University.

Ariana A. Cano, graduate stu dent in the Institute of Communica tion Research, is a part of the team. Cano has six years of experience as a quinceañera choreographer, which gave her inside information about quinceañeras, while making the exhibit with her team.

“My own expertise and cultural background of having a quinceañera,

going to quinceañeras (and) being in quinceañeras helped me,” Cano said. “To prepare, we kind of decided, in the span of a year, to organize the museum following what the quincea ñera process looks like.”

The exhibit starts from the plan ning processes and goes all the way to the aftermath of the party and how the tradition lives on in through mainstream media representations.

A more in-depth view was meant to be achieved through the creation of the exhibit for all people to become more educated about the traditions of quinceañeras.

“What do quinceañeras mean for a girl who is 15 and coming of age?” Cano asked. “Suddenly she’s like, ‘What? I’m a woman now? What does that mean?’ I think it gives us a more in-depth view of Latino cul ture, but it tells us more about cul tures themselves — it tells us more about identity, (and) it tells us more about gender through the examples of quinceañera.”

It was important to the creators to gain accurate information to provide the public with.

Mary Anaya, freshman in LAS, visited the exhibit as part of an

assignment for class. She had her own quinceañera and reflected on her experiences while at the exhibit.

“I thought that was pretty accu rate, especially since that’s what I had for my quinceañera,” Anaya said. “The outfit they had for the surprise dance reminded me of mine and it was kind of similar.”

As a member of the Latinx commu nity, Anaya said she understood the importance of not only familiarizing the exhibit with people who were not knowledgeable about that aspect of Latinx culture, but also promoting self-reflection.

“I think it’s important because, for our culture — Latinx and other cul tures as well — it’s good to remind ourselves where we come from and our traditions,” Anaya said. “It’s important to celebrate womanhood and how far we’ve come in life. For other cultures, it’s important to edu cate and take out the ignorance from educating on how quinceañeras are valued in Latinx culture.”

Cano stressed the importance of providing financial support to the on-campus Latinx community so stu dents can focus on bringing cultural aspects and organizing without the worries of financial insecurity.

“That allows students, faculty and people to not have the stress of wor rying about work and other things that come with financial things,” Cano said. “Then, they can explore ways where their culture is applied to the institution or academics. Also, aside from food, you can bring in literature — you can bring in guest speakers.”

Cano urged students to come to the University as authentic versions of themselves. She explained that if students come as they are, from whatever background they descend from, the University can gain valu able perspectives that build better resources.

“Students themselves should just come authentically, so they should just come with whatever they already come with,” Cano said. “Whether it’s my culture in Pilson or my culture wherever — this is what I have to offer in this community. Whether I am studying hard sciences or human ities, this is what I bring from my culture, and it applies to these areas. Just coming off as true to who you are.”

display promotes cultural awareness, celebrates Latina womanhood

JACOB SLABOSZ THE DAILY ILLINI

A quinceañera dress is showcased at the Spurlock Museum’s exhibit, “Quinceañeras: Celebration, Joy, and Ethnic Pride,” which opened on Oct. 4 and will be on display until Dec. 4.

Bros, let’s watch ‘The Bachelor’

By Adam Gorcyca Columnist

Since its debut in 2002, “The Bache lor” has captivated millions of Amer icans as they tune in to see the lat est blossoming romances and cruel betrayals. Yet even after 26 seasons of electrifying entertainment, “The Bachelor” has still failed to capture male attention.

YouGov discovered in a 2020 poll that 77% of Bachelor Nation is com posed of women, highlighting the strong gender disparity in viewers.

Negative societal pressure deters some men from shows like “The Bachelor” by convincing them that viewing dating programs will mag ically strip them of their manhood. This type of thinking is not just hyp ocritical, but also harmful to men.

Influencers like Andrew Tate, who shame men for engaging in what they deem feminine activities, are simul taneously promoting a lifestyle of independence and confidence. They encourage men to ignore the outside world and stop at nothing to pursue their entrepreneurial passions.

Yet, in a show of utter hypocrisy, many men are shamed and mocked for engaging with interests that fall outside of the predetermined bubble of masculinity.

The mixed messaging and abas ing from influencers can lead to men feeling isolated from society and their male peers, leaving them without a community to find emo tional refuge in. With social isola tion often leading to depression and consistently high male suicide rates, there is no room for this harmful rhetoric.

Men should never feel ashamed of watching “The Bachelor,” because when it comes down to it, it’s down right entertaining. The latest season was ranked as one of the top shows for ABC’s 18-49 demographic, prov ing that the show has raw entertain ment value and power in American culture.

This entertainment value is pri marily drawn from the formula of the show, which pits a large group of women against each other to fight

for the heart of one man. By forc ing the contestants into direct com petition, the show design inherently cultivates an atmosphere of hostility and drama.

While this setup is commonly viewed as trashy, mean spirited and even emotionally harmful, there’s no doubt it’s entertaining. The series has seen a litany of drama-filled moments that keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

Who could forget the time Colton, bachelor of season 23, hopped a fence, shoved past a cameraman and escaped into the streets of Portugal after being denied by Cassie, sending production into an absolute frenzy? Or how about the time Rozlyn was kicked from the mansion after the discovery of her on-set affair with a producer?

It’s a tragedy that today’s society pressures men away from experienc ing these gut-wrenching moments and encourages them to take pride in just that.

Not only does “The Bachelor” pro vide hundreds of hours of entertain ment value, but it also showcases a strong sense of community.

While most focus on the relation ship between the bachelor and the show’s contestants, the relationships between the women are just as cen tral to the show. Despite a setup intentionally designed to turn these women against each other, they find a way to form deep bonds.

Seeing these women form mean ingful friendships despite the show’s competitive nature serves as a posi tive example for viewers by provid ing a model of how to be emotionally vulnerable and trust others.

These examples are vital for men who have difficulty connecting with others in a deep and meaningful way because societal norms frequently push men away from these deeper connections.

So remember, if you ever feel alone, there’s always room for you in Bachelor Nation.

Adam is a sophomore in LAS. gorcyca3@dailyillini.com

Censorship on Twitter is necessary

By Maggie Knutte Columnist

Trigger warning: This column includes discussions of antisemitic hate speech.

The word “censorship” often car ries a negative connotation, as many people consider censorship to be a tool the government uses to suppress and control public opinion. While cen sorship can have negative effects, it also protects the public from harm.

This happens frequently when we spend most of our day on social media. Social platforms work to keep offensive and obscene material off of your page while you scroll.

Famous people in particular pose a threat on social media. With a large following, celebrities are often idol ized — sometimes to an unsettling degree. Their large audience gives them power and influence, so their words should not be taken lightly.

Formerly known as Kanye West, Ye has a history of abusing the power of his audience. A few weeks ago, Ye shared antisemitic posts on both his Instagram and Twitter accounts. His tweet threatened, “I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” In this tweet, Ye was essentially condemn ing and wishing death upon Jewish people. He recently posted another antisemitic exchange on Instagram.

Sharing a post that attacks and wishes death to an entire group of people is both hostile and alarming — especially when that group has a his tory of persecution. Instagram and Twitter restricted Ye after he posted the hateful messages, and recently, major brand Adidas ended their part nership with Ye.

It can be hard to determine the impact of a message right after it’s posted. Shortly after Ye’s antise mitic posts, a group supporting him gathered on a freeway in Los Ange les holding posters. One poster read, “KANYE IS RIGHT ABOUT THE JEWS.” If Ye continued to fuel this fire on social media, it might have led to more antisemitic demonstrations — possibly even violence.

With censorship, we wouldn’t have to wait and worry about what some one could do after seeing a message like Ye’s.

Former President Donald Trump also abused his power on Twitter. On Jan. 6, he shared a tweet that led to

major terror and destruction at our nation’s capital. The impact of his tweet showed the dangers of what can happen if speech is abused by figures in power. It also proved that social media sites have a duty to protect the public, and Twitter could have done so by censoring those tweets.

Some may argue social media companies don’t have the right to censor Americans under the First Amend ment. However, the First Amendment only applies to government actors, not private companies like Meta and Twitter.

Some argue censorship on social media sites is politically motivated. In fact, a Pew Research study found that many adults think social media sites are likely to censor political views they find objectionable. This claim was brought up and addressed in a Senate hearing held by Repub

licans in 2019. They believed that social platforms were intentionally censoring conservative speech, but this claim was backed up by no solid evidence.

However, a study conducted on Facebook actually showed that both parties had equal engagement on the platform during the time leading up to the hearing. When it comes to polit ical content being censored, social media sites are not looking to silence one party, but rather stop misinfor mation from being spread.

Social media sites will often provide a warning for content that fact-check ers have found inaccurate or mislead ing. For example, Instagram often places disclaimers on posts relating to COVID-19 to make sure everyone receives accurate information.

When it comes to big issues like COVID-19, or other issues deemed

political, it is important not to spread misinformation. A recent study high lighted the danger of misinformation during COVID-19, including damage to individuals’ mental health.

Harmful speech can be more direct, too. Cyberbullying is a large issue that has plagued social media sites since their creation. Censorship helps tackle this issue and prevent some hateful messages from being spread.

In the future, social media compa nies should work to be more preemp tive in their censorship. Reviewing posts that block certain words before they are shared, or reviewing posts from a user with a history of harm ful posts — like Ye — can help make social media safer.

Maggie is a sophomore in LAS. mknutte2@dailyillini.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANGELA WEISS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES/TNS Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, attends the Wall Street Journal Magazine 2019 Innovator Awards at MOMA in 2019.

UI alum stars in new Apple TV+ movie

Chris Silcox details passion for gymnastics, entertainment industry

By Kylie Corral buzz Editor

There are many paths to take when attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and sometimes, more than one collide. For Chris Sil cox, his athletic career in gymnastics, as well as his studies in acting, helped shape his career in the entertainment and filmmaking industry.

Silcox, a graduate of, and a former NCAA gymnast at the University, stars as the character Leon in the newly released movie “Raymond and Ray.” Silcox, who was born in San Antonio, said he moved to the University to get his BFA in acting.

“I think I wanted to be an actor from when I was young,” Silcox said. “I did theater at the same time that I was a competitive gymnast there. The teach ing at University of Illinois was very different (than) the teaching I was giv en in Texas.”

He added that learning from various directors, as well as being immersed in the diversity that the University has, helped him become a better actor for his future career.

“I think that was a really great introduction into the world of theater because that’s what the writing and the artistic integrity is all about — the openness to people from other cultures and different backgrounds and under standing art in a very complex way,” he said.

Being a gymnast at the University also helped his acting career due to the competitive nature of both artis tic pursuits.

“Gymnastics is a very individual sport, just like acting can be a very individual profession (and) art form, and it taught me how to work togeth er with a team, how to build up anoth er person and how to take generosity from other people,” he said. “So, being a better athlete made me a better actor, and I’ve used that competitive spirit in an everyday sense.”

After college, Silcox said that he went on to do shows for Cirque du Soleil in Montreal, a show that had to be done 470 times a year, and he was also the stunt double for Tom Holland in “Spider-man: Homecoming.”

After about 75 professional films and

TV shows, Silcox said he is now jour neying into filmmaking and building on experience from his career in the film industry.

“Going every day to sets and learn ing how things are made, learning how to edit and how to put a story togeth er is very fun,” Silcox said. “It’s like being an engineer, and I have a need to do that.”

Silcox said he has already completed two short films — an adaption of David Lindsay-Abaire’s “A Devil Inside,” as well as an adaption of Eugene Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros,” both of which are fea tured on his YouTube channel.

He added that his experience doing stunts has helped him learn through the knowledge it has given him cre atively. Putting something together without words has been his education into editing and filmmaking, he said.

“It’s a fun little surreal fever dream,

and I’m really proud of it,” he said. “So I can’t wait to do something with a little bit more weight and a bit more length.”

Silcox added that his most recent project was the best experience of his life.

“Raymond and Ray,” a dark comedy directed by Rodrigo Garcia, is about two brothers, Raymond, played by Ewan McGregor, and Ray, played by Ethan Hawke, who reunite to dig their father’s grave. The movie was released on Apple TV+ on Oct. 21.

Silcox, acting opposite McGregor and Hawke, said the process of film ing the movie gave him a lot of profes sional experience and advice from the actors themselves.

“They were so generous and avail able with their praise and with their laughter on set,” he said. “The director, Rodrigo Garcia, he was like a maestro putting together this strange puzzle,

and he had things in his mind that he knew he was going to do, and he led us really to take care of our characters.”

Silcox said now that this project is done, he is looking forward to future TV show and movie roles to pursue.

“I’m excited to make a feature film, make a TV show of my own, to learn more and more about the entire process of storytelling and also to get back to theater and do some more plays, because I think I’ve been pret ty focused on film and television stuff for so long,” Silcox said.

He added that he hopes he will find himself at the University again as a teacher or an alumnus.

“I have a very soft place in my heart (for the University) and the things I learned there and the people I learned from.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS SILCOX

Chris Silcox (far right), University graduate and former NCAA gymnast, joins fellow cast members on “Raymond and Ray,” including Chris Grabher (from left), Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke.

Author revives history of Robert Allerton

By Odeth Rubio Staff Writer

Creative expression and nature is predominant throughout ChampaignUrbana due to the abundant communi ty landscape and artistic creativity. An important figure who was also deeply affected by nature’s surroundings and expressions was Robert Allerton, an artist from Chicago.

Maureen Holtz, a writer who has focused on the life and work of Allerton, wrote three books about his life and art. Holtz recently spoke at an event titled “Allerton’s Art with Maureen Holtz” at the Urbana Free Library where she presented Allerton’s legacy.

“The Archives hosts monthly talks on local history and genealogy,” said Sara Bennett, archives librarian at the Urba na Free Library. “The speaker, Mau reen Holtz, has written multiple books about Robert Allerton.”

The Urbana Free Library said that it held this event in hopes that art fans, as well as regular attendees, would get a more comprehensive look at Allerton and his life.

“Attendees can expect an in-depth

look at Allerton’s art collection and favored artists, now spread between Allerton Park, his property in Hawaii and the Art Institute of Chicago where he was a significant donor,” Bennett said.

In regards to her own work, Holtz said that her career centered the computer industry for more than a decade.

“Over 20 years in the computer indus try, then (I) retired to write a book,” Holtz said, talking about life before she started her work on Allerton.

Her work has consisted of three vol umes on Allerton — one being a pho tography book in which she hoped peo ple would view Allerton’s work through his eyes.

“I went to Allerton Park for the first time and saw the flowers and gardens (and felt that there) needed to be a book about the place,” Holtz said.

While being at Allerton Park, Holtz said she was deeply moved by the flow ers and gardens, and she felt there was a need to have a book solely dedicated to the place.

“(My presentation) is more of a focus on his art, statues and artwork,” Holtz explained. “He was a major donor to the Art Institute of Chicago.”  Holtz said people often overlook this

and said she hopes individuals can get more of a focus on the artistic side of Allerton.

In regards to what is next, Holtz said that she is currently working on more novels. She added, however, that she is witnessing the struggle to get nonfic tion published.

“It’s really good to make sure you have a sounding board — a critique group as they can tell you where you’re lacking,” Holtz said.

Holtz said she believes it is important for young writers hoping to complete a book one day to have a critique group in which they gain criticism, learning what they are lacking in their own work.

During the event, Holtz opened up with the relevance of Allerton to the Art Institute, stating that he not only is accredited for maximizing the build ing, but also for widening the collection.

Allerton is perhaps just as much a notable figure to C-U, having donated his home, Allerton Park, for recreational use here at the University just as much as he has also made an impact on the lives of artists.

odethr2@dailyillini.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF MAUREEN HOLTZ

Author Maureen Holtz spoke at the Urbana Free Library on Thursday about the life and work of Robert Allerton, the subject of her recent book.

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Illini duo earns first professional title

By Conor Blount Staff Writer

Coming off of a Regional title and an upset against the best doubles duo in the country, junior Kate Duong and sopho more Megan Heuser reunited with the rest of Illinois for their last competition of the fall season. Beginning last Sun day with the qualifying singles draw and wrapping up this Friday with the doubles championship, the Fighting Illi ni Open UTSA/ITF 15k marked Illi nois’ second home competition of the fall season.

The competition began for the Illini with senior Josie Frazier, along with sophomores Kasia Treiber and Kida Ferrari attempting to battle their way out of the qualifying draw. Frazier and Treiber were unlucky enough to face each other in the final round, where Treiber prevailed. Treiber was off to the main draw after two set wins.

The first round of the doubles draw saw another Illini on Illini matchup, as Duong/Heuser were matched up against Ferrari/Treiber. Duong/Heu

ser advanced to the next round, in two sets. Senior Ashley Yeah/Frazier also advanced to the next round after pull ing off a comeback three-set victory. Tuesday was an active day for the Illini. After dropping her first set 1-6, Yeah came back to win her match. The opposite occurred to Heuser, who bat tled for a set one victory against No. 6 Tori Kinard before dropping the next two sets. Treiber and her opponent trad

ed victories in the first two sets, but it was Treiber who came out on top as she took the third set 6-4. The only Illini who did not go to three sets was Duong, who took care of business with 6-4 and 6-1 victories.

In the next round, the Illini got anoth er chance to defeat Kinard, but once again Kinard prevailed against Treiber. Yeah followed a similar route to vic tory as before, dropping the first set before winning the second and third. Once again, Duong was the only Illini not in a nailbiter, claiming her spot in the quarterfinals with two 6-3 sets.

Later that day, the Illini also com peted in the doubles draw. Yeah/Fra zier were unable to take down the No. 1 seed, winning just three games across two sets. After losing their first set in a tiebreaker game, Duong/Heuser kept Illinois’ hopes of another doubles cham pionship alive by winning back to back sets.

Things were winding down by Thurs day, with just Yeah and Duong remain ing in the singles draw while Duong/ Heuser were the only Illinois duo still

standing. Duong once again defeated her opponent in two sets to earn a spot in the singles semifinals. Yeah, how ever, was matched up against eventual champion Fangran Tian, who took the match in two sets.

In the doubles semifinals, Duong/ Heuser seemed in total control after dropping just one game in the first set, but their opponents were able to force a third set. The duo was able to pull out a close 11-9 victory for the tiebreaker game, punching their ticket to the dou bles finals.

On the final day of competition for the Illini, Duong kicked off action for the Illini in the singles semifinal, where she was eliminated in two sets. Deter mined to rebound from their singles losses, Duong/Heuser defeated No. 1 Kononova/Kozyreva in two sets with a 6-0 sweep in the first set and a tie break er win in the second set.

This was Duong/Heuser’s first profes sional doubles championship.

@blountco21 cblount3@dailyillini.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF ILLINOIS ATHLETICS

Junior Kate Duong and sophomore Megan Heuser receive their doubles championship check on Friday.

Another banner hung in State Farm rafters

By Drew Friberg Sports Editor

Somehow, a 38-point win was the second best thing to happen to Illinois head coach Brad Underwood on Friday night. His team’s 86-48 decimation of the Kansas City Roos took an emotion al backseat for the main event, which happened just minutes before tipoff.

Over the course of 12 minutes, Underwood and pieces from his 2021–22 Big Ten co-champion roster were celebrated in front of a stuffed State Farm Center. After celebrating a Big Ten tournament win in 2021, Under wood got the opportunity to celebrate a regular season success with some of the guys he had worked with in his entire Illinois career.

“It’s just a pretty damn cool eve ning,” Underwood said. “For those guys to be here, and for that to be their priority, it’s why I do it.”

“Those guys” that Underwood is referring to includes two-time AllAmerican Kofi Cockburn, who booked a later flight to his new profession al team in Japan in order to witness the ceremony, Alfonso Plummer, who played a game in Mexico City just 24 hours before, Trent Frazier, who flew 13 hours from Serbia to attend and Da’Monte Williams, who flew in from Belgium before the event.

While returners from that regu lar season chip win like sophomore guard Luke Goode, sophomore guard RJ Melendez, redshirt sophomore forward Dain Dainja, junior forward Coleman Hawkins, junior forward Connor Serven and junior center Bran don Lieb were also honored, it was the ones who came all that way that made it more special. Due to the cli mate within college sports now due to the transfer portal and NIL opportu nities, being a home for the ones that came back was a unique opportunity for Underwood.

“The arena was full, because (the fans) came back to see them, and that’s what makes Illinois special,” Under wood said. “Not everybody gets a place you can call home anymore, and those guys do.”

During the banner and ring ceremo

ny, each member of the staff was hon ored, from the graduate assistants to the members of the team themselves. However, each one was celebrated individually. Even Cockburn’s portion of the ceremony was short despite the enormous roar from the crowd when his name was called.

To cap off the ceremony, Frazier’s portion was a bit different. Immedi ately following Cockburn’s name was a three-minute video that recapped Frazier’s time with Illinois men’s bas ketball. The video had moments from

his first matches, including some that ended in dismal defeats, all the way to his final appearance at State Farm Center, where he collected the ball as the clock expired to crown Illinois champions of the Big Ten.

It was an emotionally captivating moment, and one that Underwood cosigned for his five year player. The video titled “Forever 1” honored the five years of dedication and work Fra zier put into the program. This was his moment to be celebrated for his role in the quick turnaround of a once below-

average roster.

“I wanted him to have his moment, because I’m not sure his jersey is going up (in the rafters),” Underwood said. “That’s the truth. He’s a pretty special young man in my book, and a great player, who’s come as far from the start to the finish as any player I’ve been around ... I think our fans needed to know what that cat’s all about. The ultimate winner.”

Players from last year’s team gather to accept Big Ten championship rings from Underwood

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Former Illinois men’s basketball guard Trent Frazier receives his 2022 Big Ten Championship ring from Illinois head coach Brad Underwood during the ring and banner ceremony on Friday.

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Former Illinois guard Da’Monte Williams holds his championship ring after the ceremony.

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI

Former Illinois guard Alfonso Plummer hugs head coach Brad Underwood during the ring ceremony on Friday.

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The Illinois men’s basketball team watches the 2022 Big Ten Championship banner reveal at State Farm Center before the start of the game against Kansas City on Friday.