The Daily Illini Vol. 150 Issue 49 April 15

THURSDAY April 15, 2021

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Student Opinions on the Electoral College Thinking about the way the president is elected in this country, would you prefer to... (%)

ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITOR

so the candidate with the most votes wins candidate with the most Electoral votes wins 43

Postgrad

60

39

College Grad

55

44

Some College

56

42

HS or Less

52

45 Source: Pew Research Center JONAH OZER THE DAILY ILLINI

Students weigh in on Electoral College Should winner take all? Community debates, favors reform state has a different amount of electoral votes, not necessarily based on current population density. When a citizen votes for an electorate, they are choosing someone to represent their viewpoints in a presidential race, rather than voting directly for a presidential candidate.

While many in America think the Electoral College is a fair representation of citizens to vote, many others view it as an outdated system. Those who believe it’s outdated prefer the idea of a national popular voting system in which a presidential candidate must win by majority vote of all U.S. citizens, rather than by electors in key swing states.

Student opinion on the topic of the national popular vote has become a divi-

BY LILY DOLAN STAFF WRITER

It has been three months since President Joe Biden was inaugurated and five months since election day.

Due to the contentious nature of the election, opinions about the Electoral College were strong — a Pew research study found 60% of Americans were in favor of Electoral College reform prior to Election Day. The Electoral College represents a key divisive issue that seems to be split up by party in the U.S. The Electoral College is an American institution for voting in which all of the electoral votes from a state are awarded to one candidate running for president based on who the electors choose to vote for. Each

sive issue, with students at Illinois representing a wide range of positions.

The founding fathers enacted the Electoral College through the Constitution, and since then, over 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College, according to the National Archives’ record.

This represents a key opinion of many citizens, that an alternative to the Electoral College might be a favorable replacement.

Dat Luu, sophomore in LAS, is the president of the Illinois chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America. He views the Electoral College as an outdated establishment and proposes that in an ideal world the national popular vote

would be the voting system.

Since becoming interested in politics at a young age, he felt compelled to see change from outdated institutions.

He currently represents a key demographic of students who align with a more leftist ideology.

“The founding fathers, at least in hindsight, didn’t understand that in several hundred years there was going to be a country of 320 million people and the economy is totally different,” Luu said. “So, they implemented (the Electoral College) without understanding that conditions have changed now to the point where this is doing more detriment to our society.”

Luu displays a key opinSEE ELECTORAL | 3A

Candidates reflect on spring campus election

BY WILLIE CUI

Preliminary Results For 2021 ISG Presidential Election

ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITOR

After a month of unconventional campaigning because of the pandemic, the certified results for the campus student elections this spring were finally released on Monday by the Campus Student Election Commission.

According to the results, Enoma Egiebor and Nicole Arnold won the election for Illinois Student Government president and vice president with 55.10% of the vote, defeating Tyler Swanson and Vada Gregory (40.92%), and William Walton and Max Marsh (3.98%).

“It was long and hard fought, and it definitely was a great run for us,” said Arnold, ISG vice president-elect.

Additionally, Mariama Mwilambwe, sophomore in LAS, won the election for student trustee with 40.73% of the vote, defeating Alexis Perezchica, junior in LAS and current ISG president (35.7%); Adrian Wong, graduate student (14.43%); and Justin Huff (9.15%), junior in ACES. Egiebor and Arnold, both

Candidates

Total Votes

% of Votes

Enoma Egiebor & Nicole Arnold

2,258

55.10%

Tyler Swanson & Vada Gregory

1,677

40.92%

163

3.98%

4,098

100.00%

William Walton & Max Marsh TOTAL VOTES

they were afraid to go further due to pushback from professors in the Unit.

“There needs to be a different culture in that Unit in particular,” Govindarajan said. “We need to look into why people are afraid of retaliation for bringing these things up.”

Christine Fair, professor at Georgetown University, alleged in 2017 that Chakrabarty sexually harassed her during her time as a student at the University of Chicago in 2004.

Koshy wrote that those accused of such allegations deserve a fair investigation, and in Chakrabarty’s case, no policies were violated during a 2018 investigation through the University of Chicago.

“That said, we know the outcomes of such processes are imperfect,” she wrote.

“These remain difficult issues that deserve care and consideration, and the Unit believes the best way to navigate them is through open and transparent dialogue.”

Wros said it’s rare for such allegations to be false because there are no advantages for victims to go forward.

She said there are implications for the department, the school and academics in general if allegations are dismissed because reputations can dissuade students from pursuing a certain degree.

A similar situation happened at the Australian National University in 2018 with a speaker event involving Chakrabarty. Over 150 students signed a petition to cancel the talk, but the event went ahead.

Wros said the Unit’s decision to go forward with their speaker event sends a message to sexual abuse survivors that these allegations will not be believed

by University faculty and administration.

“I feel like there is an implied threat to elevating and celebrating rapists and harassers,” Wros said.

“It sends the message that at the end of the day, the students don’t matter, that survivors of this type of abuse don’t matter.”

These issues of sexual misconduct and fears about coming forward to the Uni-

BY VIVIAN LA

Change the current system Keep the current system so the 55

Vol. 150 Issue 49

Speaker with sexual harassment allegation concerns UI students

LONGFORM

Total

Visit our website!

Students in the Graduate Employees’ Organization have concerns about an upcoming speaker event with a professor from the University of Chicago who has an allegation of sexual harassment against him.

The speaker discussion with University of Chicago Professor Dipesh Chakrabarty will take place on Monday via Zoom, moderated

by Susan Koshy, associate professor in LAS and director of the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory. The Unit is hosting the discussion.

“We’re concerned about the psychological and physical safety of all members of the campus community,” said Emily Wros, master’s student in Information Sciences and GEO representative.

The GEO released a statement on Saturday calling for the University to cancel the talk and issue an apology.

“The GEO believes that there are no scholarly contributions that are important enough to excuse abusive behavior,” the statement said.

Wros said there are many concerns among students in the GEO and that requests to cancel the event have been denied.

In an email, Koshy said the Unit treats allegations of sexual harassment “with the utmost seriousness and care.”

She wrote there are procedures to address these concerns and “spaces of dialogue to explore these issues in their full complexity.”

Koshy wrote that her own personal experiences with sexual harassment and gender discrimination have shaped her as a person, scholar and leader. Focusing on issues of race, gender and sexuality in all conversations is one of her “her deepest commitments,” she wrote.

Wros said these concerns were initially brought to the GEO’s attention by a colleague in the organization who chose to stay anonymous due to fear of retaliation.

Advith Govindarajan, doctoral student in LAS and GEO representative, said when some people brought up this issue in the Unit,

SEE SPEAKER | 3A

INSIDE

Source: Illinois Student Government JONAH OZER THE DAILY ILLINI

sophomores in LAS, are “gearing up” for the ISG transition set to occur on April 21 and are seeking staff to fill their presidential cabinet. Additionally, they have been reaching out to different RSOs in order to gauge student needs.

“We really just want to hit the ground running and

make sure we have our ducks all in a row before we get into office on April 21,” Egiebor said.

Furthermore, Egiebor and Arnold have been working with Asian student organizations such as the Asian American Cultural Center in an effort to combat anti-Asian discrimination, such as host-

ing workshops that teach how to respond when witnessing anti-Asian discrimination.

Egiebor and Arnold also hope that with a return to normalcy, the University will be more willing to increase funding for the cultural houses on campus, which have

Features: Solarpowered home opens in Champaign

Opinions: America’s gun obsession aggravates violence

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Mobile Museum of Tolerance visits campus

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• Theft under $500 was reported on the 2500 block of Prairie • Damage to property was reportGreen Drive around 2:30 p.m. ed at Willard Airport, 11 Airport on Monday. According to the Road, Savoy. According to the report, the victim was visited by report, sometime between April acquaintances from out of town 3 and Saturday, a sharp object and realized that her handgun was used to make scratches on was stolen after they had left. the trunk of a parked vehicle.

Hillel at the University partnered with Organic Oneness to bring the Mobile Museum of Tolerance on campus, a large bus that people can enter for interactive workshops centering on tolerance, awareness and understanding.

The mobile museum held six workshops for students and was parked outside the Illini Hillel on Monday.

According to a press release, the goal of the Mobile Museum of Tolerance is to encourage and empower people to raise their voices against intolerance, anti-Semitism, bullying, racism and hate — irrespective of their background.

“The main goal is to help students understand that building bridges is the most important thing we can be doing,” said Alison PureSlovin, director of the Midwest region for the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Pure-Slovin said the mobile museum is in its third year and that the University is the first college they have visited.

The University was picked as the first college because of an increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus, Pure-Slovin said.

The exterior of the bus features the faces of historical figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Anne Frank.

Inside the bus, there were screens and seating for students to learn about tolerance and history, according to their website.

Films are shown across their multiple screens that discuss the history of events such as the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement. Pure-Slovin said they use history to have conversations about today’s social issues.

“The Museum serves as a unique opportunity for students from all backgrounds to come together and learn about each other’s needs and challenges,” said Erez Cohen, executive director of Hillel, in a press release.

“We are excited for the opportunity to foster real dialogue between student groups,” Cohen said.

It is the latest education-

al initiative by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish global human rights organization based in Chicago. It is the first of its kind in the United States, according to a press release.

“Having the museum on campus is a great way of promoting understanding, truth of history, justice, and unity on campus,” said Yogev Ben-Yitschak, representative of Organic Oneness, in a press release.

“This is exactly what Organic Oneness stands for.”

Due to social distancing, the bus held groups of 12 students at a time and was active from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday. Roughly 60 students participated in workshops throughout the day, Cohen said.

Cohen said that there were existing issues on

campus which need to be addressed. The goal of the program was to have open and honest dialogue amongst people with different backgrounds, he said.

“The feedback that we got from students was extremely strong as many said that they had never had a full conversation on these topics,” Cohen said.

Pure-Slovin said she thinks students welcomed the experience and enjoyed having a facilitated conversation.

“After the students participated, I hope they went back and continued the conversation,” Pure-Slovin said. “We’re just a vehicle to help the campus have a conversation. It’s what you do moving forward.”

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CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI

Students from the Sigma Delta Tau social sorority and members of student government listen to speakers on the Mobile Museum of Tolerance at the Illini Hillel on Monday afternoon. The bus hosts interactive workshops to raise voices against intolerance, antiSemitism, bullying, racism and hate.

Corrections When we make a mistake, we will correct it in this place. We strive for accuracy, so if you see an error in the paper, please contact Editor-inChief Diana Anghel at (217)-337-8365.

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THURSDAY April 15, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

Women in Engineering face sexism ence and junior in Engineering, experienced sexism first hand.

“I heard from one of my friends that (a male classmate) was going around telling people, ‘The only reason

BY SOPHIE CASABURI STAFF WRITER

After completing her summer internship at Google following her freshman year, Aishani Pal, president of Women in Computer Sci-

Huang also noted that some engineering students focus all of their attention on schoolwork and experience social isolation and loneliness.

“When you deprive someone of social behavior … they become really desperate,” Huang said. “If the only thing that they see is this girl that they’re working with, maybe that’s why they act … that way.”

According to Pal, WCS will implement mandatory training for its fall officer board members to “prevent bullying and assault of any type.”

Although the Computer Science department cannot require RSOs to implement this training, it has been “highly encouraging” and said it could send out a “blast email” about the training to spread the word to other RSOs, according to Pal. However, cultural change among the student body is needed to make lasting changes to sexism and harassment in Grainger, Pal said.

“Cultural change … is extremely hard,” Pal said.

“You have to have the students make this change, encourage their friends to make this change, in order to actually make a substantial difference for the future.”

JONAH OZER THE DAILY ILLINI

Aishani got this internship is because she’s a woman’,” Pal said. “My heart sank when my friend told me.”

Sexism is not a new problem on campus. The University’s 2019 Campus Climate Report found that 26.7% of women (about one in four) experienced sexist hostility during their time at the University.

In addition to sexism, conversations recently arose on Reddit regarding harassment toward women in electrical and computer engineering and computer science courses.

“I can tell you right now that this Reddit post, this storyline, I’ve heard billions of times across students, peers, friends,” Pal said. “It’s just something that for some reason women and minorities in this field … have been experiencing.”

According to Gally Huang, sophomore in Engineering, there is a sense of entitlement amongst some engineering students, which may cause this type of behavior.

“They feel like they can do stuff because they ‘earned it,’” Huang said. “If (they) help her with homework … (they) feel like (they’re) messing up the curve … and they feel like they have an entitlement like ‘Oh, you should go out with me now.’”

positions so we don’t have everyone vote on everything,” Monsalud said. “We have to vote for president, vice president, governors, but it seems unreasonable to have everyone know everything about each topic. It seems reasonable for everyone to know who they can rely on and that way they can vote for them and they can take care of them in their best interest.”

Adrian Dela Cruz, freshman in Business, is frustrated with slow bureaucratic government institutions. He feels as though Congress is too slow to pass bills, especially when they are so divisive. Despite the frustration, he can still idealize a middleground position.

“I don’t think America is ready for the big change yet unfortunately,” Dela Cruz said. “I feel like the easiest way was to make sure that for electors, all the votes are equal because that would result in abolishing the Electoral College. Just keeping the system but modifying it to modern standards.”

On the other hand, if gerrymandering was not a consideration, some believe the way in which Maine and Nebraska split up Electoral College votes per district would potentially create a better system than the “winner takes all” system of today.

Gerrymandering is a political strategy in which congressional districts are split up to favor certain political sides over the other. This way, a certain candidate or political party has a better chance of winning because the districts are drawn up in a way that includes many of their constituents.

Tyler Swanson, sophomore in LAS, is president of Illini Democrats. As an extremely politically active student, Swanson has also been involved in student gov-

ernment. He has a more centrist ideology but still favors the abolishment of the Electoral College.

“I think voting by congressional district makes sense in the way that it kind of breaks down votes in states which is good in the case of Nebraska it allows Democrats to get about there and same thing in may in Maine it allows both Democrats and Republicans to split votes,” Swanson said. “But then you also gotta keep in mind that a lot of congressional districts are gerrymandered to an extreme extent.”

Political races affected by gerrymandering can result in the interests of citizens of particular districts not being fairly represented. The potential for a popular vote might alleviate some of the harm done by gerrymandering as the specific districts of voters would not be a relevant point in political races anymore.

Both sides seem to have potential compromise solutions, as evident by students that are of a certain opinion are still willing to address the concerns of the other side. Framing the issue in certain ways can relate a lot to why some people believe their opinion. For example, people say the National Popular Vote would be antiDemocratic because it would favor large states while others say the Electoral College is anti-Democratic because it favors swing states.

Big takeaways from this issue of framing can be that those around you tend to influence opinions, so hearing all potential solutions without the divisive labels like Democrat or Republican can lead to supporting a cause for what it is rather than what others have to say about it.

The Electoral College remains a very polarizing issue throughout the U.S.,

as roughly half of the country can be expected to vote for or against it based on the label of Democrat or Republican. According to the Pew Research Center’s Electoral College poll, 71% of Democrats favor a popular vote system compared to 37% of Republicans.

No one interviewed for this topic is a self-identified Republican and no one from Illini Republicans responded to The Daily Illini’s request for comment.

Trying to find people who are opposed to the Electoral College remains to be difficult on a college campus, 59.71% of Champaign County residents voted for Biden in the 2020 election, but looking into the wider population, more diverse opinions can be identified. In a Pew research poll conducted in January of 2020, 55% say the system should be changed so that the winner of the popular vote nationwide wins the presidency, while 43% favor keeping the Electoral College system, according to the Pew Research Center.

Ananya Rajagopal, freshman in Engineering, echoed the sentiments of Luu and Dela Cruz supporting the popular vote. Though, despite wanting to see a change in the overall system, she contends that the solution that she would like to see might not be the one that the U.S. gets.

“I think when candidates from a particular party have won the popular vote seven out of eight times but candidates from that party have not been elected seven out of eight times, that kind of says something about the system and how things need to change,” Rajagopal said.

“But I do think that allowing electoral votes to be split like that is a good start in the right direction.”

Women In Engineering at UIUC Grainger Undergraduate Gender Data 1 Unknown

1732 Women 5567 Men

Total: 7300 students

Percentage of Women by Major 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 ABE

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Source: Women In Engineering

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with grad students, with undergraduates, with staff and faculty,” he said.

Sarah Colomé, director of the Women’s Resource Center said in an email there are a variety of resources available for students and employees of the University when dealing with sexual misconduct.

Services include case management, safe housing, campus or court protections, reporting incidents and other options, Colomé wrote.

“While the harm may not have occurred here, the need for support and healing are still just as real,” Colomé wrote.

Confidential advisors are available to talk with anyone, she wrote. Information on accessing these services can be found on the center’s website.

versity are not exclusive to this department, Govindarajan said.

He said there are likely thousands of situations in which graduate students face harassment, but the GEO only hears about a dozen cases a year, which is indicative of a larger issue among the student body.

Govindarajan said he’s not asking for the University to anticipate all the needs of students but to listen when such issues come up.

These issues affect all students at all levels and to solve them, it requires people mobilizing together, Govindarajan said.

“The only way we can effect systemic change in the University is when we have organizing, not only vla2@dailyillini.com

sophiec4@dailyillini.com

ion of students favoring the national popular vote: The Electoral College is seen as outdated and not a fair depiction of current society and voting patterns. This argument has led to attempted amendments. For instance, in the 1970s after a close presidential race, the House of Representatives passed a bill to eradicate the Electoral College. However, the bill was struck down in the Senate.

A more recent proposal is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. This is the most recent proposal for abolishing the Electoral College, as it allows the candidate who wins the national popular vote to be awarded the state’s electoral votes, once enough states join the agreement. The NPVIC has been enacted into law by 15 states and D.C., totaling 196 electoral votes. It needs an additional 74 electoral votes to achieve its intended effect.

This agreement has had a tumultuous history from its proposal in 2008 and remaining unratified 13 years later. Brian Gaines, professor in LAS, and Jillian Evans, former professor in LAS, have researched this specific topic and written multiple peer-reviewed journal articles about the topic.

In one titled the “The Myth of the Bipartisan National Popular Vote Plan,” Evans and Gaines write that “looking ahead, it seems unlikely that the NPVIC can take effect without a large surge in the number of states with governments controlled by Democrats (either by the trifecta of unified government or by having vetoproof majorities in legislative chambers).”

A number of students said they found it difficult to find advocacy efforts that ledolan2@dailyillini.com would be beneficial to represent their ideas. Multiple students, even if they were strong in their opinions, found ways in which they could find middle ground because they were desperate to change the current system.

Cesar Monsalud, junior in Engineering, said he does not have a strong opinion on the Electoral College.

He found that the topic did not come into conversation except during election years, though he does understand the basic functions of how it works. Monsalud said he felt that there was still hope to amend the Electoral College rather than abolish it because the core idea that electors voting on behalf of others was a logical idea for PHOTO COURTESY OF PETE SOUZA/WIKIPEDIA U.S. citizens’ benefit.

Barack Obama talks on a conference call at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office on Aug. 19, “We have these elected 2009.

CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI

The English Building sits quietly on the Main Quad Tuesday evening. The Graduate Employees’ Organization has concerns about Dipesh Chakrabarty, University of Chicago professor, who is scheduled to speak over a Zoom call moderated by Susan Koshy, associate professor in LAS.

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can support them in that,” Mwilambwe said.

Mwilambwe noted that all the candidates who ran for student trustee this election represent “a different base on campus” and are all involved with different campus communities. As a result, she hopes to connect with them in the future to “learn more about their perspectives.”

Wong, who ran for student trustee against Mwilambwe, hopes that the elected students will be cognizant of “the broader needs and the broader traditionalities” of all communities and groups on campus.

“I really hope that they will think beyond undergraduate needs alone,” Wong said.

“And that they’ll think about graduate faculty, staff, clerical workers, food and building service workers and residents.”

Wong would also like the elected students to give “at least considerate weight” to the needs of these groups and “create opportunities and spaces” for them to discuss mutual needs.

During the election, ISG fielded two referendum questions. One called for reallocating 25% of the University of Illinois Police Department’s budget toward “resources for students, workers and community members” and passed with 78.08% of the vote. The other called for the creation of a University department to assist undocumented students and passed with 83.31% of the vote.

Wong noted that he was “really happy” with the results of the ISG referendum questions.

“I hope that the administration will consider the organized efforts and desires of their student body,” Wong said. “And I hope for any measure that the student body brings to administration, that they’ll take it seriously.”

Like Wong, Egiebor and Arnold were also glad that the UIPD referendum passed.

Arnold did not expect “such a great turnout” for the referendum and noted that she “saw a lot of backlash right off the bat.”

“I just hope, as a Black student myself, that the University actually listens to us and tries to remedy some of our concerns,” Egiebor said.

“Because it’s just a lot and can be painful at times to even talk about. We just want to be heard.”

been struggling financially due to cuts in student campus fees.

“With the student fees, the Cultural Houses were one of the first budgets to get cut, and it’s really disheartening to see and really upsetting,” Arnold said. “I really do hope that once everything goes back to normal, they’ll be getting those fees back.”

Swanson, junior in ACES who ran alongside Gregory against Egiebor and Arnold, hopes that the culture of ISG changes, which he currently sees as “very cliquey” and “doesn’t feel inclusive.”

“There’s a lot of gatekeeping; there’s a lot of trying to be perfect all the time, and then that leads to people being left out or only certain people getting into the organization,” Swanson said. “I think overall it makes for a worse student government. So I hope Enoma and Nicole are able to recognize that.”

Swanson said that he and Gregory mainly worked with newer ISG members and campus groups that were not traditionally involved with ISG. “We knew that we were underdogs in a way,” he said.

“And we just weren’t able to put everything and get a victory in the end.”

Swanson also thinks that it is important for ISG “to be constructive rather than combative” when working with the University administration.

“I think the administration really does see the value of student government and want to be helpful,” Swanson said. “But we need to come to them with a plan to work together, not a plan to work against one another.”

Mwilambwe, who was elected student trustee, said that her immediate plans involve talking to various RSOs and student groups on campus in order to understand their goals for the coming year.

Mwilambwe also plans to contact University administrators and campus resource centers such as the Counseling Center to better understand the procedures the University has in place.

“I’m trying to get insight into not just how the system works in general, but how it’s worked for various stakeholders around campus, and how they believe it can be improved and how I williec2@dailyillini.com

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THURSDAY April 15, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

LIFE & CULTURE

Dining halls, students fail to reinforce recycling efforts

BY AIDAN FINN STAFF WRITER

Some people associate Earth Day with fifth grade macaroni art projects to be put on the fridge for a week.

Many take the day to admire nature and weather. It’s also a time to acknowledge the need to recycle. The United Nations General Assembly warns of the urgency needed to prevent irreversible damage from climate change.

In the United States, recycling isn’t enforced.

Some people recycle. Others don’t. Some people don’t even know what can be recycled.

“In terms of recycling, although much of it is sorted, most of it probably doesn’t get recycled,” said Nicole Park, sophomore in ACES and LAS. “I wish it was more transparent what can and can’t truly be recycled.”

Recycling seems to be universally agreed upon as a beneficial practice, yet the execution seems to be upsetting to many. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that, out of the 75% of the yearly waste stream that is recyclable, only about 30% is actually recycled.

Americans generate 21.5 million tons of food waste alone each year.

The University has made public efforts to promote recycling and has more

than 3,000 recycling bins in campus buildings for paper, plastic bottles and aluminum cans, as well as a newspaper and cardboard drop-off location at the southeast corner of Oak Street and Kirby Avenue in parking lot E14.

Asking students about their habits can reveal ways recycling can be promoted more effectively.

Eric Chung, freshman in Engineering, admits he is somewhat passive about recycling.

“If I accidentally put something in the trash, I don’t really care about that,” Chung said. “But I do try to at least recycle.

What I could do is be more conscious about the trash that I throw away and how to separate them.”

Tyler Livingston, freshman in LAS, said he could put more effort into recycling as well.

“I definitely (recycle) when given the option and it’s easily accessible to me, but I could do more,” Livingston said. “There’s definitely parts of the dining hall where recycling accessibility is somewhat limited.”

Students like these are not alone in their passive, non-urgent behavior when it comes to recycling. But many who actively have recycling on their minds, like Collin Barns, freshman in LAS, have thoughts on counterproductive activities

THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO

Trash is scattered along an empty field on March 9, 2020. People are unfortunately leaving their trash on the ground instead of throwing out or recycling the item.

by the University when it comes to reducing waste.

“In my dorm room I recycle, but like the things I get from the dining hall — a single-use pack of nonreusable utensils for every meal — is depressing in how much waste I generate because I don’t really have a choice,” Barns said. “The dining hall is the worst offender.”

There are students who prioritize recycling, even in the trappings of pandemic dorm life. Jonathan Augustus Albrecht, sophomore in LAS, offered ways to recycle more effectively.

“I recycle in my room,” Albrecht said. “I have a special container for paper recycling since they don’t give us an extra container and I’ve used the one they do

give us for plastic recycling.”

Albrecht said students who want to actively recycle should obtain a third container outside of the two provided in dorm rooms to help the sorting process of different recyclable materials.

“Separate your cardboard and plastics ahead of time,” Albrecht said. “When I was a student last semester, I

didn’t do that and it was a nightmare. This year I stepped up and brought two separate containers.

Housing needs to give us three containers. Trash, plastics and paper. They separate them at the dining hall, but we need to separate them in our rooms too.” aidanf3@dailyillini.com

Students, staff expect positive fall experiences

BY LIZ GREMER STAFF WRITER

With the expansion of COVID-19 testing and an increase in vaccinations the University plans to return to having more in-person classes. As students begin to register for classes for next semester on April 19, they will be met with greater opportunities both in and outside of the classroom.

“It is looking a lot more like fall before COVID-19, so that’s exciting,” said Robin Kaler, associate chancellor for Public Affairs. “We anticipate the vast majority, of course, to be in-person.

There will still be masking and social distancing, but we are anticipating it to be much more similar to the experience people had before (COVID-19).”

The University’s efforts to return back to in person learning are dependent on the vaccine rollout and student’s inclination to get it.

In a recent survey conducted by the University, it was found that 88.8% of students have or plan on getting vaccinated, Kaler said.

While many students plan on getting the vaccine, it is essential for the ChampaignUrbana community to reach

herd immunity. Until the state of Illinois makes it a requirement for students to have a COVID-19 vaccine, the University cannot enforce students to have it, Kaler said.

“We are really excited for student vaccinations,” Kaler said. “Whenever we announce the availability of vaccines, we tend to get a lot of interest. When you are talking about what herd immunity would be, when you are approaching 90% of people saying that they’re in, that’s going to get you to a point where you want to be at.”

LANIE HIBEL THE DAILY ILLINI

Students sit on the Main Quad overlooking Foellinger auditorium on April 3. University staff and students anticipate an enjoyable fall semester.

Many students anticipate the fall semester with excitement and eagerness to return to the classroom.

However, some students have hesitations about returning, depending on the community’s response to the vaccine, Allie Ruggiero, freshman in LAS, said.

Both students and faculty alike have noticed how different the University has been without the typical socialization. As a result of COVID-19, Ruggiero said there has been a greater sense of isolation.

“My experience with mostly virtual classes was somewhat enjoyable but I definitely did see a mental health and physical health decline,” she said. “I think I’m most excited about seeing and meeting people. It will be nice to see someone’s full face and finally be able to recognize them. Just to have a conversation normally, how it used to be.”

Ruggiero said that she feels good about going back to mostly in person and hoped most people are vaccinated by then.

“I personally am fully vaccinated, so I feel okay to start in person, but I understand other people’s worries about not wanting to, especially if the pandemic

isn’t declared over yet,” Ruggiero said.

As students and faculty look ahead to next semester, the in-person connection and socialization is one of the most important factors, Andreas Cangellaris, vicechancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost, said that the human factor was important. Cangellaris, who is very excited about in-person classes, said she missed interacting with the students.

Time at college is also a time of great learning about oneself outside of the classroom and identity formation. With having many experiences hindered due to social distancing, being able to return back to in-person settings is important for development, Cangellaris said.

“Especially for students, this is the time where their identity is being formed,” Cangellaris said. “We benefit from being with others.

Being challenged by others and disagreements, and the satisfaction when we learn.

That is beyond the classroom.

The ability of young people to come together, no matter who they are or where they’ve come from. That is the best thing the University offers to people.”

Although the University

is planning on having more in-person classes and opportunities, COVID-19 regulations will still be in place for the time being, Kaler said. While the degree isn’t known at this time, mask wearing and COVID-19 testing are still expected to be enforced next semester until the pandemic is declared over.

“If things get dramatically better, we can pivot to dramatically more in-person experience,” Kaler said. “And if things go badly, then we can pivot back to something similar to last fall.”

Since there is still time before the fall semester begins, lots of the plans can change and adapt to the status of COVID-19. Despite there still being uncertainty, Kaler said the University is confident in their plan and what is to come.

“Life is unpredictable no matter how well we plan,” Kaler said. “Life will always surprise us with challenges and unexpected events. But that is the great thing about human beings. As long as we don’t overwhelm ourselves with concerns, we find a way.

We come out better. No matter what comes your way, your objective is to understand it, manage it and overcome it.” egremer2@dailyillini.com

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5A

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Students unveil sustainable, modular home

BY VIVIAN LA ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITOR

A mile north of campus, a white, boxy house surrounded by a brown wooden deck stands out from the rest of the neighborhood. Solar panels sit on its roof, and the deck is populated with students show ing off colorful informational posters on architecture, water systems and other topics.

Students of the Illinois Solar Decathlon team held a grand opening on Saturday of ADAPTHAUS, a sustainable solar-powered home they designed and constructed.

Located on Walnut Street, the ceremony was a culmination of two years of work started by the previous decathlon team. Current decathlon members, representatives from campus sustainability groups and supporting faculty attended the event.

“I think it’s really cool to see something that comes from absolutely nothing — from a blank piece of paper — to something you can stand on and experience,” said Corinne Arfin, graduate student in Engineering and decathlon member.

ADAPTHAUS is the University’s entry in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2020 Solar Decathlon, a biannual collegiate competition to construct low-carbon, sustainable and livable homes.

The competition was supposed to be held in June in Washington, D.C. but was delayed and moved to a virtual platform due to COVID-19.

The competition will take place over the next few weeks.

The pandemic posed many questions, but the students rose to the cha l lenge, accord ing to Jona h Messinger, senior in Engineering and former president of Illinois Solar Decathlon.

The structural team had to make last-minute changes after a contract company that produced the steel beams for the house went out of business during the height of the pandemic, Messinger said.

The team ended up re-working the plan to make the home structure out of wood from a local company.

“There were a lot of question marks,” Messinger

ELIANA CHANDRA THE DAILY ILLINI

Students of the Illinois Solar Decathlon team show off their informational posters at the grand opening of ADAPTHAUS on Saturday. The project is a sustainable solar-powered home that lowers carbon emissions.

said. “But what’s funny was that within the team, it was as if it was like ‘Alright, just another hiccup.’ At that point, we were pretty resilient.”

ADAPTHAUS is named after the project’s theme of adaptability, Maxwell McWilliams, sophomore in Engineering and marketing director for the decathlon team said.

McW i l l i a m s sa id ADAPTHAUS is a modular home that can be added on and expanded while still being sustainable.

The home is considered net-zero, meaning that it only produces as much energy as it needs.

Other features include solar panels, an app that can control appliances and possible monitoring of carbon dioxide emission levels.

The tea m needed to secure funding and sponsorships from various companies and campus groups. Organizations such as the University’s Institute for Sustainability,

Energy and Environment supported the construction of ADAPTHAUS. Provost A ndreas Cangellaris was one of the first people the decathlon team reached out to for financial support. In his dedication remarks, he said ADAPTHAUS is one of the best solar decathlon projects in the history of the University, which started in 2007. “ C o m m u n i t y commitment starts with all of us coming together, caring about something in common,” Cangellaris said. “What’s very exciting about this project is that it’s by the community for the community.”

The home will be donated to Habitat for Humanity after the competition ends, something Illinois decathlon teams have never done in the past, according to team vice president Yamini Yedetore, senior in Engineering.

“We’re really hoping this will set a precedent such that all the other homes are

lived in and used,” Yedetore said. “Because the designs are livable and made so that people can actually live a completely normal life in this amazingly sustainable, net-zero home.”

The Illinois Sola r Dec at h lon is an interdisciplinary team of students from many d i f ferent d iscipl i nes ranging from engineering, advertising and architecture.

“I think it’s a testament that anyone can contribute to a more sustainable future if they’re passionate about it,” McWilliams said.

The interdisciplinary nature of the work has allowed students like Messinger to appreciate the importance of differences.

“There are so many examples where folks had ideas that I wouldn’t have thought about, or in a year hadn’t have thought about because they were from another discipline,” Messinger said.

Mario Pozo, second year master’s student in FAA

and architecture team lead for the decathlon, said the experience has been reflective of how the real industry works.

As someone without an engineering background, Pozo said that’s what makes communication and collaboration so important.

“Even though it was a small-scale project, it has been a really informative experience to learn how the architecture and engineering fields work,” Pozo said.

Susan Martinis, vice chancellor for research and innovation, said during her dedication remarks that she’s incredibly proud of the diverse team’s efforts over the past two years.

“We know that the grand challenges that confront society will not be solved by one way of thinking or just one group,” Martinis said. “I can’t think of a grand challenge with more long-term consequences than the challenge of sustainable energy.”

Through this experience, Halie Collins, sophomore in Eng ineering a nd co-president of Illinois Solar Decathlon, said she’s learned how to apply her learning to a real-world situation.

“When you’re in college, you learn about all these technical aspects, but you don’t learn how in the real world, things don’t always f low as smoothly,” Collins said.

Yedetore said she knows that whatever industry she ends up in, she’ll think about sustainability in everything she does.

She’s hopeful that the over one hundred students in the decathlon team will also prioritize sustainability in the future, Yedetore said.

Pozo said seeing the house was the most exciting part of this experience.

“After a year or so of drawing, diagramming and analyzing, just seeing it built is extremely fulfilling and exciting,” she said. vla2@dailyillini.com

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ACROSS

1 Kerfuffle 5 Intentionally hurt 10 Org. with lots of inspectors 14 Contents of un río 15 Shelter 16 Noise from a fan 17 1940 Arthur Koestler novel set during the Moscow Trials 20 Signs of something moving?

21 Discontinue 22 Olympic women’s gymnastics powerhouse 24 Big public radio letters after “W” 25 Word with fine or found 26 Soup served with chopsticks 29 Short stubble 33 Any ghost, to PacMan 34 Randomizer 35 “Jacked” 36 South Asian living abroad 37 What might come with a flat fee 39 Barrel-___ 40Symbol for a timeout 42 “Now I ___ me …”

44 Abbr. in many an urban address 47 Scramble 51 Title with a tilde 54 Work very late 57 Author Wiesel 58 Safari runner, at times 59 Homeland of James Joyce 60 Observe daylight saving time, in a way … as in 17-, 29- and 54-Across?

65 Buzz in a rocket 66 Repair shop offering

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PUZZLE BY LESLIE ROGERS

67 Changes, as a 6-Down 68 Jack ___, co-founder and longtime C.E.O. of Twitter

DOWN

1 Something lacking staying power 2 The Bulldogs of the N.C.A.A. 3 Added assessments 4 Drink served hot or cold 5 Crow native to the Midwest 6 Smartphone alternative to a fingerprint scan 7 Hosp. administrations 8 Biscuit relatives 9 Types in 10 Accepts accountability for 11 Longhaired herder

12 In yoga, one point of a triangle formed in triangle pose 13 In yoga, one side of a triangle formed in triangle pose 18 Woman’s name that’s also a city in France 19 “%$#*” and “@#&!”

22 Like most books offered on AbeBooks.com 23 Function yielding 0 when applied to π 27 Weakness in an argument 28 Overdue 30 Disregard 31 Org. in Showtime’s “Homeland” 32 Not around 37 Actress Remini 38 Conditional keyword for a programmer

41 Trauma professional, for short 43 “Got it!”

44 Fin 45 Dense, spinning celestial body 46 It gets you close to home 48 Stoops 49 Hit the ___ 50 Still in stock 51 Evening affair 52 Put on the line 53 Noise from a fan 55 Bookworms, maybe 56 Wherewithal 61 Red state 62 Quibble 63 Young one in the Hundred Acre Wood 64 “I have seen ___. I have seen ___ on land and sea. … I hate ___.”: F.D.R.

The crossword solution is in the Classified section.

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THURSDAY April 15, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

OPINIONS THE DAILY ILLINI EDITORIAL

Suffering Burmese deserve solidarity

tatorship and the impending civil war signify not only EDDIE RYAN the stubborn sputterings COLUMNIST of democracy for a nation so long denied it. These events also raise some of ust two months have the moral complexities and elapsed since the jarring institutional infirmities and demoralizing miliwhich often underlie such tary coup in Myanmar. In struggles. the short time, one hasn’t One must not forget that had to look far for footage the Burmese military is of unfeeling repression set guilty of brutally perpeagainst bloody but valiant trating a gruesome genoresistance; nor has it been cide against the Rohingya easy to ignore the flagrant, Muslim minority over the vile stain blotted on the past several years, a damnJULIA EVERSMANN THE DAILY ILLINI southeast Asian subcontiing mark on Suu Kyi’s fornent more indelibly with merly sparkling record and each civilian death. a reminder that her governIf the tenacity of these ment must also atone for weary liberty seekers hasn’t its crimes. yet impressed itself upon Moreover, advancements ceived as patriotic and ferfirst place? According to a the public, whether through of the myriad of denouncevently American. Labeling 2017 Pew Research Center images of resolute threements and sanctions fellow citizens with varisurvey, about 40% of Ameri- finger salutes or of children imposed by western powous titles based on their gun cans live in a gun-owning throwing stones and bottles ers have been stymied at beliefs is futile. household. With such a large at junta soldiers from behind the United Nations Security Tribalism — by way of gun volume of owners, adequate makeshift barricades, Council by China and Ruspreferences — is counterpro- response lies in realizing the then perhaps an account of sia. Both claim to disapprove ductive to any effort comU.S. still suffers from bitter Myanmar’s long, gasping of civilian killings. Even so, bating the crisis of gun viodistrusts of its institutions struggle for democracy will. each has made the neceslence. This purposeless case and purported protection.

This is the nation where sary propitiations to its new of polarization, moreover, The answer, therein: An George Orwell learned to ally, from refusing the label embodies the current perassumption of individual despise Britain’s oppressed “coup” to providing tanks to vasiveness of guns: a grip so protection. The problem: colonial subjects for their the junta to decrying sancpowerful, society is congest- With scores adopting this dark skin and where he sub- tions as unwarranted intered with firearm lingo. mentality, individuals persequently underwent the ventions into Myanmar’s In 2013, the National Pub- ceive others as threats rather arduous process of educatinternal affairs. lic Radio recorded then-Vice than fellow beings. A coning himself out of this inculDespite the rapport President Joe Biden ending tinued problem: Americans, cated racism. Yet, while between President Xi and a meeting on curbing gun eventually, associate safeOrwell managed nearly to Suu Kyi, China’s treatment violence with Biden statguarding with hazardous purge himself of the colonial of the junta aligns with its ing, “We know that … there firearms. psyche, its vestiges have lin- long support for Myanmar’s is no silver bullet.” Later, As now-President Biden gered for the populace. military dictatorships. Both when questioned on when a once remarked, “there is no Emerging out from under it and Russia favor certainty proposal would arrive, “I’m silver bullet” in alleviating British auspices in 1948, above all else in their sphere shooting for Tuesday.” gun violence. There will be Myanmar — or Burma as it of influence and each apparThese otherwise simple no all-encompassing legiswas then named and is still ently views the new leaderdemonstrations of firearmlation — especially under sometimes called in defiance ship as a promising, if not related metaphors reflect a polarized times — that set— soon fell into a long milia malleable partner. These grander attachment in soci- tles this brutality. The best tary dictatorship. Stagnant states thus represent the ety. Whether it is calling for one can do in these tumulauthoritarianism imposed most formidable obstacle to “shotgun” in a friend’s car or tuous times, however, is to and reimposed itself repeat- meaningful United Nations grumbling about “sweating legislatively and publicly edly throughout the 20th action on this matter and bullets” on a hot day, Ameri- identify and respond to this century to such an extent many others. can speech is embedded cultural addiction afflicting that the Burmese developed As in Syria, protracted with gun metaphors. the U.S. a dark running joke. Orwell sanctions often immiserate Acknowledging this hold Although Biden newly had written three novels already destitute populaarms possess in speech, it declared this viciousness a about their homeland: “Bur- tions. Still, if not for Chinese becomes painfully obvious “public health epidemic,” mese Days,” “Animal Farm” and Russian vetoes, the UN gun control will only exist proceeding steps in combat- and “1984.” could cease funding to criponce America comprehends ing the cruelty necessitates a Led by the thuggish Gen- ple the regime into capitulaits vicious dependency. A societal apprehension. eral Min Aung Hlaing, the tion. Sanctions may not be a nation reliant and immersed America’s attachment to military juta’s recent arro- panacea, but with desperate with firearms — both dicfirearms punishes all. Akin gation of power from Aung mass uprisings led by people tated in the Constitution to any addict confronting San Suu Kyi’s National unafraid of standing up to and omnipresent in its one’s tribulations, admitLeague for Democracy is fascism, it seems the perfect streets and speech — is not ting this cultural fixation on another sad iteration of moment for a short burst of equipped to disentangle this firearms services no one is the country’s struggle for intense and targeted interprolonged predicament. the first step. Only then, will post-colonial stability and national pressure to prevent A question is then posed America proceed in its ardu- identity. the generals from consoliof what incentivizes a perous voyage recovering from Suu Kyi, the de facto civil- dating their power. son to retain a firearm in the this armed epidemic. ian leader whose party Myanmar still bears secured over 80% of the its old imperial deformivote in November’s ground- ties and is a locus of famillessly disputed election, cut iar geopolitical tensions. her teeth in this fight. She It had barely shaken these won the Nobel Peace Prize chains for democracy, albeit in 1991 for her pro-democan imperfect one, when its racy activities, and by 2011 people were forced into the had helped to inaugurate streets yet again to fight for the democratic wave which what many enjoy as a birthnow appears tenuous. Pres- right. Myanmarese have ently, she and several other lived the nightmare of elecparty members are reporttoral manipulation felt vioedly held in either military lently but ephemerally in the detention or house arrest United States on Jan. 6, and under fatuous pretenses. they hope that democracy With civilian deaths near- may once again suspire. ing 550, including chilIn the interest of demondren and funeral attendees, strating some basic solidarthings have rapidly degenity, I would like to plan a erated into an astonishing modest vigil for those killed quagmire. Those prepared in Myanmar. If anyone is PHOTO COURTESY OF GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR to overlook the situation interested in participating, Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the 2018 on account of Burma’s supplease contact me by email.

Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, posed insignificance, howPerhaps we may offer some Maryland on April 22, 2018. Columnist Noah Nelson argues that ever, must reckon not just small amount of support in Pence’s new book should intrigue everyone. with the localized atrocithis way. ties but with their pressingly right, but a book written by and Dick Cheney. global implications.

Eddie is a sophomore in LAS. a vice president will be even There’s no telling exactly The recrudescence of dic- ecryan2@dailyillini.com more interesting. what Pence will discuss in Since its establishment his memoirs, but one thing in 1789, the presidency has is for sure: No matter what always made great subject political party you are, the matters for books. Occasion- books will undoubtedly be a ally, the best of these arrive fascinating read. They will from presidents and vice describe one of the most presidents themselves. vital presidencies in the Over the years, most of history of the office, all the the men who have served in while Pence makes his case these positions have writfor future endeavors. ten about their life, time in I’m not as invested in polioffice and post-presidency tics like I once was, but I will years — most of the time, to still be interested in what save their political career. In Pence has to say in the memrecent years, presidents Bill oir. I greatly anticipate its PHOTO COURTESY OF NINJASTRIKERS/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Clinton, George W. Bush and release day.

The Student Union, along with many teachers, protest against Barack Obama have all done a military coup in front of the State Government Office in Hpaso. Their vice presidents Noah is a junior in Media.

An, Kayin State, Myanmar on Feb. 9. Columnist Eddie Ryan have too, including Al Gore noahen@dailyillini.com argues that suffering Burmese deserve stronger solidarity.

J

Gun culture inflames armed violence A merica is addicted to its guns. Besides leading the world in gunrelated killings, the U.S. also dangerously shepherds the world with immense gun ownership.

This debilitating fascination, judicially protected by the Second Amendment, contributes to America’s present predicament: nearly 316 Americans shot daily, with 106 dying from those strikes.

Furthermore, the sustained inaction by government leadership is an incredible failure not only to the concept of American exceptionalism but as well as a vehement disservice to those continuously dying of gun violence.

Correspondingly, a societal firearm fetishism penetrates through the American veil in more than disgraceful violence. Legitimate reform towards gun control in the U.S. requires lofty legislation and, now, a cultural comprehension of America’s darkest obsession.

Gun control — legislatively neglected — remains the first step in repairing this corrupted culture. Overdue solutions such as universal background checks, closing various loopholes and limiting access to firearms are certainly the highest pressing concerns. Despite legislation that may diminish this violence, the issue of individuals prime to shoot fellow citizens endures.

Following 2018’s Parkland shooting, journalist and veteran Andrew Exum noted

in The Atlantic that “watching reactions to the Parkland shootings, I am more confident than ever that America has a bigger problem with gun culture than it has with guns themselves.”

Additionally, Exum chronicled that 2004’s expiration of the 1994 assault weapon ban and America’s post 9/11 era “have combined to drive sales in the kinds of weapons that would have appeared frankly insane for the individual gun owner just a few years earlier.”

Since ‘04’s dismal expiration and the tragedy of 9/11, the U.S.’s culture has prioritized itself with individual protectionism: “If it’s every man for himself, I might as well buy a gun.” This menacing conviction — further capitalized by the likes of weapon manufacturers/sellers — permeates and kidnaps the American psyche from achieving any progress against violence.

Subsequently, Exum also asserted increasing tribalism surrounding firearm possession in the post 9/11 era: “People began to accumulate small arms less out of devotion to hunting or other shooting sports but rather because the process of buying firearms was an important cultural signifier.”

In contemporary America, various societal actors push patriotism onto firearm ownership. Those who dare contend that gun control is crucial are deemed “anti-American,” whereas individuals who flaunt their firearms are selectively per-

Pence memoir invokes immense interest came to mind: Why is Pence writing his memoir first?

One would think after a devSENIOR COLUMNIST astating loss in the 2020 election, Trump would be the one to initially write a ast week, former Vice memoir about his time in President Mike Pence the White House. And why announced he signed a wouldn’t he? During his four two-book deal with Simon years in office, he changed and Schuster, schedthe direction of the counuled for release in 2023. try, survived two impeachAccording to a recent article ment trials and experienced in The New York Post, the a presidency like no other. publisher said Pence will Even though there have pen “the definitive book on been talks about Trump one of the most consequenwriting a memoir of his own tial presidencies in Ameriin recent months, nothing can history.” has yet been made official.

The announcement of Nevertheless, Americans the new book sparks a slew are receiving the secondof questions: How will he best book: a memoir from describe his time during the a former vice president. It Trump administration? Will will be interesting to see he discuss parting ways with what Pence will have to say former President Donald regarding working in the Trump after the 2020 elecTrump administration, but tion and the Jan. 6 attack he isn’t the first to do so. on the U.S. Capitol BuildWhile Trump remained ing? How will Pence save his in office, many of his forpolitical career after much mer employees wrote about talk he might run in 2024? their time working during Whatever you wish to his administration. These know from his perspective include the likes of former or how this book could begin National Security Advisor a presidential run of his John Bolton, former White own, Pence’s memoir should House Press Secretaries Sarintrigue interest in everyone ah Huckabee Sanders and — whether you’re a political Sean Spicer, former Direcguru or an everyday Ameri- tor of Communications for can citizen. the Office of Public Liaison.

After his book announce- They were all no doubt interment, one major question esting books in their own NOAH NELSON

L

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS | opinions@dailyillini.com with the subject “Letter to the Editor.” The Daily Illini reserves the right to edit for length, libel, grammar and spelling errors, and Daily Illini style or to reject any contributions. Letters must be limited to 300 words. Contributions must be typed and include the author’s name, address and phone number. University students must include their year in school and college.

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THURSDAY April 15, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

SPORTS

MEN’S TENNIS

CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI

Senior Zeke Clark waits for the serve during the match against Minnesota April 4. Clark recently secured his 100th career singles victory, becoming the 16th player in program history to reach that mark.

Clark reflects on milestone career achievement

BY ENJI ERDENEKHUYAG STAFF WRITER

Tennis is mainly reactionary. Control can be hard to come by, and as Zeke Clark will admit, coming to terms with that hasn’t been so natural for him, especially in his early years at Illinois. Throughout his five years on the team, he has developed a complicated relationship with that fact. Only after learning his role as an individual, both on and off the courts, did it click for him. When that happened, his game clicked, too.

On Sunday at Nebraska, Clark clinched his 100th career singles victory, becoming the 16th Illini in program history to do so. Though he is “privileged” to be recognized among a decorated group of guys, Clark isn’t one to dwell too much on his personal accomplishments. In fact, he didn’t even know he was playing to achieve that

milestone until head coach Brad Dancer mentioned it.

“All I care about is doing what I can to put my team in the best position,” Clark said. “For me, personally, that’s making sure I’m prepared, doing my best to put my point up on the board, whether that would be singles or doubles. At the end of the day, if I can do that, that’s all I care about.”

True to the nickname used by his teammates to describe his gritty style of play, “All Day Zeke” delivered for the Illini against the Cornhuskers. In a straight-set victory, he grabbed the first singles point and joined the 100s club after defeating Albert Sprlak-Puk 6-2, 6-0.

“Gosh, I don’t know,” Dancer said as he tried to explain how he felt watching Clark’s monumental win. “I got a tear in my eye yesterday and felt like an idiot, but Illinois tennis is just lucky to have him.

Everything else I try to say sounds superlative and too cliche-ish. I think the best thing I can say is just …

Illinois tennis is so fortunate that Zeke Clark chose Illinois, and we’ve had the opportunity to have him on our team.”

Having known Dancer since 2013, which was well before he committed to Illinois, Clark’s relationship with his coach runs deep.

It’s no secret that Clark puts a lot of pressure on himself for the sake of the team, so when his first few college seasons weren’t going as well as he had hoped, his belief in himself waivered. Still, Dancer recognized his potential.

It was through this learning process that Clark grew into the individual and player he is now. He has become known as the “emotional leader” for the team, the one people look to for motivation and energy, and he prides himself

on the role. Usually being the first one on the court and the last one off, Clark has worked hard, which has manifested into stronger serves, strategic returns and quicker transitions within plays.

“This season, I didn’t really try to put too many expectations on myself,” Clark said. “I just feel very lucky to have the opportunity to play for Illinois again, and I feel like that’s kinda allowed me to free up.”

As he finishes his final season after opting to take the COVID-19-induced extra year of NCAA eligibility, Clark is 13-0 in singles and 11-0 in doubles, and like his 100th win, he doesn’t pay attention to the record books or the undefeated accomplishments.

Instead, Clark would rather draw attention to another historical achievement earned Sunday when Illinois claimed the Big Ten

West division championship title. The team collected a share of it Friday when it beat Iowa 5-2 but clinched the honor outright at Nebraska.

Clark’s clutch performance was one of the three singles matches, alongside the doubles point, that helped Illinois secure the 4-0 sweep. Dancer says this title was a long-time coming for this team.

“Last year, you know, it’s funny,” Dancer said.

“Everybody was talking about what a disappointing year we had. I really felt like at the end of the year, we were on a great track.”

Before the pandemic cut the season short, Illinois sat on a 5-6 record and had won four of its last five matches. When Dancer heard four seniors were coming back this year in addition to his recruits, he knew Illinois’ future looked promising. Now, coming of the weekend, the Illini hold

a 16-2 record, are riding a 12-match winning streak and have the Big Ten West division championship to show for their hard work.

As a whole, the team is hungry for more with the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments approaching. And judging from their leadership and foundation, it seems like those goals may not be too far out of reach.

“I think there’s still another gear that we can find,” Clark said. “We still have a couple weeks to keep sharpening things, and that’s another thing about this group. Everyone, across the board — it’s not that we’re disappointed with where we’re at. We’ve had a good run, but we’re still very hungry, and we know what’s left to play for.

“I have full belief in myself and the guys to go out there and take care of business.” enkhjin2@dailyillini.com

COLUMN

NCAA needs fresh leadership after years of stagnation CLAIRE O’BRIEN SPORTS VIDEO EDITOR

Mark Emmert’s NCAA presidency has been a trainwreck. And it’s never been more evident than right now.

Emmert has been the NCAA’s president since 2010. He’s been dunked on several times for his lackluster leadership, including during a 2014 #AskEmmert Q&A. Lately, though, Emmert hasn’t done himself any favors. The status quo largely remains; it is just now athletes’ diets aren’t micromanaged following a 2014 rule change that allows athletes unlimited meals and snacks.

From refusing to invest in women’s sports to refusing to compensate athletes, the NCAA looks like Ebenezer Scrooge. And that’s under Emmert’s watch.

Emmert seems to think the NCAA needs to pick and choose where to allot money, as he chooses to splurge on the annual men’s basketball championships yet won’t pay the student-athletes who compete at that competition.

In early 2020, the NCAA lobbied against legislation in Congress that aimed to pay student-athletes. Emmert is fighting a losing battle and only looks more out of touch when you consider he takes home a 7-figure salary.

But states are taking action to enact change. Cal-

ifornia, which is often a catalyst when it comes to passing progressive policies, passed legislation in 2019 that would allow athletes to make money from endorsement deals.

While California’s law doesn’t go into effect until 2023, the courts may force the NCAA’s hand sooner.

The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing NCAA v. Alston, which addresses the issue of compensating student athletes.

The NCAA is essentially the only business in its market. If athletes want to play at a highly visible level in college sports, they essentially have to play at a Division I school.

And the NCAA’s monopoly status has been litigated before. In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the NCAA’s TV plan violated U.S. antitrust law.

The NCA A continues to fight tooth and nail to not compensate athletes.

Here’s a direct quote from its Alston brief: “Athletics contributes to the overall college experience, plays a lasting role for alumni, provides playing opportunities to the nearly half-million young men and women who compete annually and helps many student-athletes obtain a college education, which carries substantial long-term benefits.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES/TNS

NCAA President Mark Emmert, speaks out against anti-transgender legislation at a brief press availability on Capitol Hill on Dec 17, 2019. Emmert’s lackluster initiative in the past ten years demonstrates a need for new leadership, Claire O’Brien writes.

Sure, all those things are true. But what the NCAA leaves out is that many aspects of student-athletes’ lives are micromanaged.

For instance, student-athletes have to run summer employment (or employment in general) by the compliance office to make sure they don’t violate student-

athlete amateur rules.

The winds of change are blowing in Emmert’s face, and though he seems to slightly concede this reality, he’s more enthusiastic about getting windburned.

The NCAA likes to act like it can’t pay student-athletes, but it isn’t destitute. As a nonprofit organization, it

does not have to pay taxes, so taxpayers pick up the slack.

The NCAA had $480,000 to spend on lobbying Congress against the idea of paying its athletes, among other issues, last year. It had a net profit of $24.7 million in fiscal year 2017, according to its tax documents.

Its member schools are

not hurting for cash either.

To use a local example, Illinois’ athletics department made a net profit of $927,894 last year alone. If, for instance, the University were to compensate each of its roughly 530 student-athletes $15 per hour, which will SEE NCAA | 3B

2B Thursday, April 15, 2021

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

WOMEN’S GOLF

Nowlin uses fifth season to pursue professional career

BY RENATO ARTEAGA STAFF WRITER

As last year’s golf season was winding down with three regular-season tournaments remaining, senior Tristyn Nowlin and the women’s golf team had straightforward expectations: They wanted to make a splash at the upcoming Big Ten Championships.

Nowlin was expecting to pursue a professional golf career. She was expecting to lead Illinois in scoring to close out the year.

Nearly 13 months later, it may come as a surprise to see Nowlin expecting the same things, yet she remains at Illinois for a fifth season instead of the typical four. After the pandemic cut Nowlin’s fourth season short, she changed her plans and return for another year, using the extra year of eligibility granted to all spring athletes to her advantage.

At the end of this year, Nowlin still plans on becoming a professional golfer by competing in state opens and going to qualifying schools, which are annual qualifying tournaments for national golf tours.

The Kentucky native has been golfing since she was 8 years old but never considered playing golf at the collegiate level until late in her high school career.

“Realizing I wanted to play collegiate golf came kind of late,” Nowlin said. “I know I received a couple emails late into my junior and sophomore year (of high school). I didn’t really think about playing collegiate golf until I received those emails.”

It wasn’t until she found success at the junior level and in collegiate tournaments that she considered pursuing golf as a future career.

At her most recent solo tournament, the Augusta Nationa l Wo m e n ’s Amateur, Nowlin finished

PHOTO COURTESY OF TRISTYN NOWLIN’S TWITTER

Senior Tristyn Nowlin looks at the hole to plan her putt. Nowlin plans to continue her golfing career as a professional after the season ends.

in 51st place with a total score of +11. She also tied for third place at the Illini’s Clemson Inv itationa l tournament with a score of -5 and helped the team finish fifth overall.

Nowlin praises Illinois and all its resources for helping make her dreams a reality. She points to head coach Renee Slone as her “biggest golf inspiration.”

“I can talk about her for ages,” Nowlin said. “She puts 110% of her time into making us the best athletes, students and people we can be … Coach really does take all of her time to try and help us grow and communicate with us about our goals. Whatever we communicate with her, she will do whatever it takes to put us in the best

position to succeed.”

Though Nowlin has quite the resume with a long list of accolades, including making the All-Big Ten First or Second Team every season at Illinois and recording the second lowest si ng le -sea son scoring average in program history with 72.58, she embraces the emotional and mental struggle she continuously faces.

She also applauds her teammates for being one of her biggest motivators throughout her college career and recognizes the next stage of her career will come with changes.

“It ’s something I’ve emotionally been trying to prepare myself for as I enter my professional career, because I’m not

going to have that same close-knit environment,” Nowlin said. “Competing for something bigger than myself is something I’ve also been in search of as I try to enter my professional career, and really, the bigger motivator for that is my love for the game.”

At one point in her pursuit of success in college, Nowlin recognized she was having trouble remembering her purpose for playing golf and was focusing too much on results. She believes the key to continuing her success in golf is maintaining the perspective that golf is what she loves to do.

“I have goa ls a nd statistics I want to reach, but last season as I was preparing to end my

collegiate career, I got too caught up into the numbers and eventually lost sight of my love for the game,” she said. “I lost a little bit of joy and passion for it.”

Nowlin says she purely focused on the outcome of tournaments. When she didn’t perform as well as she wanted to, she would get down on herself. Her main focus became the statistics, and she started to pay less attention to the ways she could improve.

“I’m able to be more selfaware, thanks to resources at the University and also my coaches,” she said.

“Now, I’m able to embrace those struggles. I can look at the numbers, but I don’t determine my worth based on those.”

As her final season at

Illinois wraps up, Nowlin is excited for the few remaining tournaments, especially since last season was cut short.

The Illini will travel to Bloomington, Indiana for the Indiana Invitational Saturady for their final regular season tournament of the year.

This year’s Big Ten Championship will take place in Maineville, Ohio April 23-25.

“We’re excited. We’re going to get some really good feedback at the Indiana Inv itationa l,” Nowlin said. “I know we’re capable of great things, but we don’t want to focus on the results and instead embrace the moment.”

renatoa2@dailyillini.com

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Thursday, April 15, 2021

3B

FOOTBALL

Peters, Williams battle for starting quarterback spot

BY JOSH PIETSCH ASSISTANT ON-AIR EDITOR

On a football field, the most important player is the one under center at quarterback. For the Illini, who have two players with starting experience at the position, there is a seemingly tight battle for the quarterback spot.

Senior Brandon Peters and redshirt freshman Isaiah Williams both started — and won — games for the Illini this past season and are set for a long battle throughout the spring, and potentially the beginning of fall camp, to earn the starting spot. There seems to be no clear frontrunner at the moment, as both guys have been put as the starter at different times during camp so far this spring.

“Me and Isaiah ... we’re taking the reps as we go,” Peters said. “They ’ve been pretty even so far between (us), getting the one and the two reps, it’s pretty much even. But I mean your reps are limited throughout practice, so you’ve gotta make the best out of ‘em ... We’re both getting really good coaching, so the sky’s the limit.”

Peters was Illinois’ starter back in 2019, starting each game he was healthy, leading the team to a Redbox Bowl appearance. That season he threw for 1,884 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 11 starts. He also added 213 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

In 2020, Peters was sidelined for three games after testing positive for COVID-19 one game into the season. He started each game he was healthy for, aside from the season finale at Penn State. That season, he threw for 429 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions while adding 136 yards and a

touchdown on the ground.

He has a career completion percentage of 53.5%.

Williams appeared in four games in 2019, which allowed him to declare a redshirt season in his first year as an Illini. In 2020, he started two games but was sidelined for two games due to contact tracing from Peters. Williams was impressive in his first career start, as he broke the school’s single-game qu a r t erback r u sh i ng record and lead Illinois to its first win of the year at Rutgers. He also made multiple big throws and was key in the final drive of the game, leading Illinois down the field for an eventual game-winning field goal by James McCourt.

Williams came in to replace Peters in each of the last two regular-season games of the year, throwing for a touchdown in each but was replaced by Peters after starting the season finale at Penn State. Williams threw for 393 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions last season while adding 389 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

With bright spots shown in the past for both quarterbacks, there is a lot each of them can do to improve their game and win the starting spot.

For Peters, his accuracy will always be a point of emphasis, and he mentioned footwork being something he’s focusing on this spring. Another aspect offensive coordinator Tony Petersen wants to see improvement is Peters’ leadership. Peters has always been on the quieter side, and Petersen knows vocal leadership is one of the most important parts of being a starting quarterback. “(Petersen) was just explaining to me that you can’t be a successful quar-

PHOTO COURTESY OF FIGHTING ILLINI ATHLETICS

Redshirt freshman Isaiah Williams throws the football during practice on March 23.

terback and not be vocal,” Peters said. “In this spring ball, he’s really pushed me to bring a little vocalism out of me, and so far it’s

going good, but I still have steps to go.”

For Williams, who has the potential to be one of the best dual-threat quar-

PHOTO COURTESY OF FIGHTING ILLINI ATHLETICS

Senior Brandon Peters runs drills during a lifting and conditioning session Feb. 23.

FROM 1B

NCAA be the minimum wage in Illinois in 2025, for 25 hours of sports activities per week for 20 weeks out of the year, it would cost $3.975 million.

Critics could argue that figure is roughly four times the net profit and thus athletes should remain uncompensated.

But lack of finances is no excuse. The athletics department can gather more donations or lobby lawmakers to help cover the cost. It is more than capable of finding other sources of funding.

All these groups are nonprofits, making them taxexempt, so the profits they generate are merely profits.

Yet when it comes to giving some of that wealth back to the people who generate it, the NCAA suddenly has empty pockets.

Emmert’s organization is also pretty stingy when it comes to equal investment and living up to Title IX, with its extraordinary underinvestment in women’s sports on full display.

The NCAA’s refusal to invest in women’s sports has never been more visible, and Emmert isn’t taking concrete steps to make

equality a reality.

The NCAA women’s basketball tournament had half the budget of the men’s basketball tournament, and weeks after that came to light, the NCAA seemed to take a slight baby step toward getting the message.

Journalist Emily Ehman, who played volleyball at Northwestern and is now a Big Ten Network analyst, tweeted April 8 that commentators would not be provided for the first two rounds of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament.

One day later, after Ehman’s tweet went viral, ESPN announced commentators would be provided at every match. But the fact it took the internet to speak up and point that out shows that while the winds of change are sweeping the land, it’s merely a gentle breeze for the NCAA. The NCAA looks progressively archaic with this weak support of women’s sports. And it’s refusing to listen. Female athletes weren’t invited to Emmert’s table a couple weeks ago to air valid concerns about gender inequality and the NCAA’s refusal to pay athletes, among other issues.

Emmert launched a commission to investigate gen-

der inequality, but the issue at hand is painfully obvious, its resolution is equally as obvious and the “review” seems to be a mere technicality, like it’s just something to check off a box.

Emmert has embarked on a low-effort apology tour designed to put a Band-Aid on valid concerns and criticisms. As I wrote last week, he isn’t interested in championing women, non-binary and transgender people in sports, and the NCAA would be better served by better leadership.

W hile Emmer t has never been a strong, vocal supporter of social justice causes, his lack of a moral compass continues to be mind-boggling.

To his credit, Emmert has shown moderate interest in pushing against discriminatory laws in the past.

Emmert’s organization took a stand for LGBTQ+ rights in the past, pressuring states such as Indiana and North Carolina to reverse anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

The NCAA pulled championships out of North Carolina following the state’s passage of a bill that discriminated against transgender people in 2016.

North Carolina voters ousted the governor who signed

that bill in the 2016 election, and the law was repealed the following year.

When the NCAA applies a full-court press on these states, they often change course. Now, as a number of states propose legislation to try to restrict transgender athletes’ ability to participate in athletics, the NCAA isn’t actively fighting the bills, instead opting to sit on the bench, completely disinterested in what’s going on outside of sports.

Mississippi passed a law in March, signed by Gov. Tate Reeves March 11, restricting transgender athletes’ participation in sports. It wasn’t for a month, until April 12, that the NCAA finally made a comment about the legislation, saying it might pull championships out of Mississippi.

This silence breaks the NCAA’s own precedent. It didn’t hesitate to pull events from North Carolina after that state’s law passed, but as these anti-LGBTQ+ bills pile up in state legislatures, the NCAA isn’t pressuring them to kill the legislation.

When the NCAA’s home state of Indiana passed a law in 2015 critics said would allow businesses to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community, Emmert said

terbacks in the conference, consistency is key.

For someone that has shown bright spots both in the air and on the ground on multiple occasions, staying consistent is what Williams thinks will improve his game the most.

“I’ve gotta become more consistent, and that just comes from putting in the work every day,” Williams said. “Physically, I don’t think there’s really too many things I can’t do on the football field; it’s just the mental that kinda stops (me).”

B ot h qu a r t erbac k s know there is a competitive battle going on, and the spot will remain up for grabs until someone proves they ’re better.

Petersen has an offensive plan no matter who the quarterback is, but until that’s determined, Peters and Williams will keep battling.

They have both expressed their respect for one another. Peters has complimented Williams’ game, specifically how

hard he sees the younger quarterback work.

“He’s a super hard worker; he’s a very coachable kid,” Peters said. “He listens, he takes good notes, he tra nsitions things from what we learn in drills to what we do in the scrimmage. I think Isaiah is gonna be a great player ... He’s definitely gonna be an older guy that guys look up to on this team.”

Williams also has high praise for Peters, mentioning how he has learned from him and how the two communicate every day.

This quarterback race is expected to last through the spring and most likely end shortly before the first game of the season in the fall. Peters and Williams will have their first chance to compete against each other in the spring game April 19, though they will more than likely keep battling for the starting gig for several months.

his organization opposed discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

Indiana reversed course, and then-Gov. Mike Pence was likely to lose re-election in 2016 in the wake of the bill.

But as is so often the case with Emmert, it’s all hot air. Months after Emmert opposed Indiana’s law, he donated $1,000 to Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign. Bush opposed same-sex marriage during his presidential run and did not agree with Obergefell v.

Hodges, the 2015 Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states.

As states around the nation try to limit transgender children’s ability to participate in sports, the NCAA hasn’t really defended transgender athletes. Defending the students should be a no-brainer for the NCAA, especially since experts say these laws are not scientifically sound, noting transgender athletes do not have a competitive advantage over cisgender athletes.

It’s not like the NCAA taking a stand is always futile.

To the contrary, the NCAA has applied pressure on states to be inclusive and work for all its citizens.

The NCAA made a big show of equality and social justice initiatives last year and got people to show up to the polls, but now it isn’t keeping up the energy. As states pass laws that make it harder for people to vote, disproportionately Black and lower-income voters, the NCAA has not taken a stance against the discriminatory voting laws.

Major League Baseball has been more vocal about these laws than the NCAA. April 2, after the Georgia legislature passed and Gov. Kemp signed the bill, MLB moved its All-Star Game out of Georgia. The NCAA has been silent on the issue.

From failing to compensate athletes to not taking a strong stance for inclusivity for all, the NCA A has largely upheld the status quo in society under Emmert’s watch.

The NCA A has a history of standing up for marginalized communities. Now, Emmert is silent, and the NCA A seems to have changed course. What’s the matter with Emmert?

@JPietsch14 pietsch3@dailyillini.com

@obrien_clairee claireo3@dailyillini.com

4B Thursday, April 15, 2021

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Thursday, April 15, 2021

CU Comedy hosts in-person show

BY CAROLINA GARIBAY BUZZ EDITOR

Throughout the pandemic, people everywhere have been trying to find an escape from the loneliness that inevitably comes with selfisolation and quarantine.

Luckily, more and more people are being vaccinated and restaurants, coffee shops and other stores are opening up, so there are more ways for people to see each other and enjoy some of their favorite pre-pandemic spots.

The same is true for the comedy scene in Champaign-Urbana. On April 17, Jesse Tuttle, head of CU Comedy, is hosting a stand-up comedy show at Baldarotta’s inside Lincoln Square in Urbana. Tuttle said that comedy is a way for people to escape some of the quarantine blues that a lot of people have been experiencing over the past year.

“People seem to be kind of clamoring for it more because it’s just been away for so long,” Tuttle said.

“There haven’t been any shows or any possible way of live entertainment.”

Tuttle first started in comedy about 12 years ago and first got involved with comedy in Champaign around 2010, when he said there wasn’t much going on in Champaign comedy-wise. Tuttle said there was a market for comedy in Champaign and that he still thinks CU Comedy could do more.

“Even after all these years we’ve been doing it, it’s (about) trying to find more outreach and even more of the market,” Tuttle said. “I don’t even think we’ve hit our overall potential that we can in terms of how big the shows could be in the area.”

Tuttle has been running shows in C-U and surrounding areas for about 10 years, but this past year has been particularly difficult show-wise since CU Comedy hasn’t been able to host shows the way they used to before the pandemic.

One of the main reasons that Tuttle is able to host an in-person show is because Baldarotta’s allows for COVID-19 regulations. Plus, Tuttle said CU Comedy has hosted shows there before.

“The few shows we’ve had have worked really great there,” Tuttle said.

“This one’s gonna be a little bit different because this time we’re there having to deal with restrictions, but we’re still trying to do something.”

Tuttle himself will be performing at the show on Saturday, as well as Zach Boblitt, Justin Tuttle, Vignesh Suresh and Al Nimpson.

Nimpson has performed in Champaign multiple times, and he said that the comedy scene is especially great because it allows him to expand his repertoire.

“You get a lot of college kids, so I can do my jokes about Kanye West and they’ll actually know who I’m talking about,” Nimpson said.

Though Nimpson has performed several times, he said that he wasn’t always the best at comedy. Nimpson said that when he first started out, he was only on stage for about 30 seconds

and didn’t even finish the joke.

Even though this wasn’t the best experience, Nimpson still learned from it and realized that he loved doing comedy shows.

“My thought when I left the stage was, ‘I could definitely do that again,’” Nimpson said.

He said that this experience drove him to be better at the next performance, which is a mindset that he continues to have at every performance, including the one this Saturday.

Nimpson said that the audience on Saturday can expect a lot of “weird, observational jokes” from him and guarantees that someone in the show will make you laugh.

“I think people are really just looking to laugh right now,” Nimpson said.

“It’s been a tough year all around, and any experience you can get to not think about that for an hour and a half, I think people are looking for that.”

For more information about CU Comedy and upcoming shows, visit cucomedy.com. garibay5@readbuzz.com

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buzz calendar

BY RUKAYAH HUSSEIN BUZZ CALENDAR EDITOR

The buzz calendar is a compilation of events happening in the Champaign-Urbana area.

Follow our top picks in Monday’s and Thursday’s papers for ideas on what to do on any night of the week, from where to eat to what to watch.

Want to submit an event? Email calendar@readbuzz.com.

THURSDAY, APRIL 15

A + D Visitors Series | Jonathan Jackson

 5:30 p.m  Virtual Event hosted by Krannert Art Museum  Free, registration required Jonathan Jackson translates client needs into dynamic, visual systems that can be presented at multiple scales. His solutions take the form of branding, spatial, environmental, interactive or print projects.

SATURDAY, APRIL 17

Champaign-Urbana Winter Farmers Market

 8 a.m.-11 a.m.  Lincoln Square, 201 Lincoln Square, Urbana  Free Shop from all of your favorite local craft, food and farm vendors indoors at Lincoln Square Mall. Masks and social distancing will be required in the space and limits on the number of shoppers that can be in the market area at the same time will be in effect.

Arthur 3rd Saturday Bazaar

 9 a.m.-4 p.m.  The Otto Center, 2058 Circle 1000, Arthur, Illinois  Free “Arthur 3rd Saturday” will be back in Arthur starting March 20. Crafters have been working so hard over the last year. COVID-19 never stopped us from doing what we love — crafting, sewing, woodworking, jewelry making, knitting, crocheting and much more. So come see what we will have, every third Saturday.

We are now at the Otto Center.

Astronomy Open House by C-U Astronomical Society

 7 p.m.-8 p.m.  Virtual Event hosted by ChampaignUrbana Astronomical Society  Free We will be using a remote camera attached to a telescope to show you live pictures of some fascinating astronomical objects. Every month, a detailed description of the night sky will be given so that everyone can go outside and see for themselves what interesting objects can be viewed. We will be showing some of the equipment our members use for their personal observation.

SUNDAY, APRIL 18

Krannert Center Debut Artists

 3 p.m.  Virtual Event hosted by Krannert Art Museum  Free Each spring for nearly 40 years, Krannert Center and the School of Music have together chosen an outstanding student through audition who is then presented in recital at Krannert Center with a full professional contract. The 2020 winner, Saori Kataoka, was unable to perform last year due to event cancellations related to the COVID-19 pandemic, so she and this year’s winner, Andrew J. Buckley, will share the stage in this year’s virtual performance. The Krannert Center Debut Artist performance is specifically devoted to the presentation of emerging young artists, presenting the audience an opportunity to see history in the making.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JESSE TUTTLE

Comedian Al Nimpson performs at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springield, Illinois for their Murder Mystery Dinner sketch. Nimpson will participate in a stand-up comedy show hosted by Jesse Tuttle of CU Comedy at Baldarotta inside Lincoln Square in Urbana on April 17.

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buzz

Jazz meets existential crisis in ‘Genesis Noir’ game

BY AIDAN FINN STAFF WRITER

Noir is many things, yet it’s very easily recognized. A guy in a trench coat, a moody atmosphere, drinking problems and familiar jazz (or in the case of “Blade Runner,” seriously good ‘80s synth music). It’s been argued whether or not it’s even a genre, but however you feel about it, “Genesis Noir” takes such notions of noir and shreds it in a blender.

Easily one of the most visually imaginative and appealing games I’ve ever played, “Genesis Noir” takes elements from the genre and adds a very existential twist to it. The game provides an incredibly rich art style that, despite its minimal stick-figure nature, is full of so much creativity in depicting the universe and cosmos as a literal crime drama. I had the pleasure of speaking with Evan Anthony, the creative lead at Feral Cat Den, who described what went into this project and what he hopes players experience from it. buzz: How would you describe “Genesis Noir” to someone unfamiliar with it?

Evan Anthony: “Genesis Noir” is an adventure game where you play as No Man, a watch peddler caught in a love triangle with other cosmic beings, Miss Mass and Golden Boy. When your affair turns into a bitter confrontation, you will witness a gunshot fired by a jealous god — otherwise known as The Big Bang. No

Man must jump into the expanding universe and search for a way to prevent or destroy creation and save your love. Essentially a film noir creation myth! buzz: How long was the development cycle of “Genesis Noir” from the first idea for the game to the release of the final product?

EA: The initial concept came after we read Italo Calvino’s “Cosmicomics” in 2013 while we were working as freelancers at various web/motion graphics/ installation studios. We spent a few years concepting in our spare time before committing to the project full-time in 2016. After creating a “vertical slice” demo (a 15m portion of the game intended to pitch the idea), we partnered with musicians Skillbard and publisher Fellow Traveller in 2017. In 2018, we ran a Kickstarter campaign, finalized the financing of the project and began hiring freelance pals to help with art and development. buzz: The combination of 2D and 3D animation, as well as the perfectly combined jazz, was astonishingly good. How did your team go about animating this?

EA: We created a custom tool to import handdrawn vector animation from Adobe Animate. This enabled us to have animation that is crisp at any resolution (as opposed to sprite sheets which have a defined resolution), control sequencing through

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEAM

A screenshot of the video game “Genesis Noir” is pictured above. The game was released March 26.

embedded scripts and easily iterate and import new work. buzz: Given how visually heavy the game is and its lack of dialogue, what do you hope players walk away from this game feeling?

EA: I hope curiosity is sparked about some of the

scientific concepts and historic periods featured in the game. I would love it if people became motivated to learn more and to reflect on the juxtaposition of the settings and themes within the game. buzz: What is some advice you would give to college students aspir-

ing to become game developers?

EA: One, be able to create slick work, but don’t be afraid to showcase imperfection if it demonstrates your passion and personality. Two, you can be a generalist or a specialist.

They’re both equally valid. Three, participate in

(or create) a community and learn from your peers.

Four, college is a time to be wildly ambitious and fail safely. Be naive. Be bold.

Fail spectacularly.

Genesis Noir is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

aidanf3@readbuzz.com

‘Rule of Wolves’ expands, adds depth to Grishaverse series

BY RUKAYAH HUSSEIN BUZZ CALENDAR EDITOR

One of the oldest and most beloved genres in all media is fantasy. To be able to escape to a new world, one full of both beauty and pain that defies the laws of our own reality, can be a desirable retreat for many of us.

Even from a young age, many of us have used reading as a form of escapism where fantasy novels practically come to life in our minds. Fantasy novels are as popular as ever, and one big name in the book community is Leigh Bardugo. Bardugo is best recognized for her fantasy young adult novels, collectively known as the Grishaverse.

The Grishaverse is a collection of book series within the same fantasy universe. Within these books, some people — known as Grisha — have special abilities, such as healing, controlling the elements and more. Bardugo has just published a new addition to the Grishaverse titled “Rule of Wolves.”

“Rule of Wolves” is the second book in a duology series. The first book is called “King of Scars,” and

this pair of books marks the third official series in the Grishaverse. The first series of the three starts with the book “Shadow and Bone.” The second series is also a duology, where the first book is titled “Six of Crows.”

Readers and critics alike have received Bardugo’s Grishaverse novels incredibly well, and these books have grown so much in popularity that Netflix has recently adapted them to screen. The “Shadow and Bone” television series officially premieres April 23.

However, just because Bardugo’s books have come to life on our screens does not mean that Bardugo is done writing. With the publication of “Rule of Wolves,” she composes a conclusion to yet another Grishaverse series.

“King of Scars” and “Rule of Wolves” primarily follow the character of King Nikolai Lantsov of Ravka. He first appeared in the “Shadow and Bone” book series, but now, as a ruler with literal and figurative demons engulfing him and his coun-

try, he must work with his friends, and sometimes even his enemies, to restore his kingdom and protect his people.

In “Rule of Wolves,” an old enemy within the Grishaverse has returned.

To avoid any further catastrophe, two powerful and intelligent men, Nikolai, and Commander Zoya Nazyalensky, strives to rid their arch enemy, known as the Darkling. However, on the brink of multiple wars and plagued by various unexplained phenomena that have endangered his people, Nikolai realizes he may need the Darkling.

With war imminent with the northern nation known as Fjerda, Nikolai has positioned an undercover spy and Grisha named Nina Zenik in the enemy country. Nina, disguised as a lowly Fjerdan, must gain information quickly and work to dismantle the looming oppression of Grisha in the country, all while dealing with her personal grief and the pressures of her job.

Zoya, battling with old

WE HAVE

spirits and enemies, must also deal with her position as a Grisha general and her affection for her king, Nikolai. Her powers are growing exponentially in ways she doesn’t quite understand at times. Ghosts are everywhere, as well as war. Her ability to be objective is just as important as ever, but obstacles are constantly thrown in her path.

Nikolai, facing scrutiny within Ravka and abroad, relies on his charm and intelligence to deal with what life has dealt him and his country. Haunted by demons and his past, “Rule of Wolves” tests Nikolai in more ways than he may be able to bear.

This novel is action-packed with something lurking around the corner every chapter. It is highly recommended that you read the other series in the Grishaverse before picking up “King of Scars” and “Rule of Wolves” to be more acquainted with the characters and this fantastical world. rukayah@readbuzz.com

OFFICIAL RCH ME

PHOTO COURTESY OF LA DAME BLANCHE ON FANDOM

The book “Rule of Wolves” is part of the series Grishaverse. The book was released March 30.

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