The Daily Illini Vol. 150 Issue 54 May 4

MONDAY May 3, 2021

THE DAILY ILLINI The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

Visit our website!

Vol. 150 Issue 54

RSO criticizes UI silence toward police shootings

BY BRENDYN JONES ASSISTANT ON-AIR EDITOR

In the wake of recent police shootings, the RSO Black Students for Revolution issued a statement to the University about its silence.

S p e c i f ic a l l y, the organization called into question why there had been no University statement about Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo or the start of the trial of Derek Chauvin.

BSFR encompassed many things in the statement published on April 18, discussing Black and Latinx underrepresentation on campus, University Housing putting the multicultural advocate program on hiatus and the lack of student involvement in this decision making.

“We’re not in those spaces helping make those decisions,” said Madison Jackson, senior in LAS and a member of BSFR. “If they really cared about what the students think about their lack of diversity and inclusion, then they would have more student input in those spaces.

But we’re not in those spaces and so they’re coming from a very elitist perspective.”

The statement also expressed frustration with the large number of Massmails regarding COVID-19 vaccine appointments in comparison to the small amount of Massmails addressing “incidents of systemic violence.”

In April, the University issued 10 Massmails about vaccination eligibility and one regarding racism as a systemic issue. That

Massmail addressed the verdict of the Derek Chauvin trial.

As of Sunday, there has yet to be a Massmail about Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-yearold girl who was killed by police in Columbus, Ohio on April 20, two days after the BSFR statement was released.

Events off campus may have spurred the statement

by BSFR, but issues of policing and racism aren’t foreign to the University campus. In 2019, a noose was found in Allen Hall, causing student outrage.

According to University of Illinois Public Department data and Illinois Newsroom, between 2016-2019, 54% of all people taken to jail by UIPD were Black. In 2019, Black people were 4.4 times more likely than white people to be stopped by UIPD, according to an Illinois Department of Transportation study.

Dimitri Love, senior in LAS and another member of BSFR, talked about some of the difficulties of being a Black student at a predominantly white institution.

“You’re not represented at a PWI,” Love said.

“Representation matters a lot, whether people fail to realize it or not. When certain things like (police shootings) happen within this country, because it’s bound to happen again, you have professors that are not as susceptible to what the traumas bring.”

BSFR ended the statement with a list of demands to the University. The demands included things

PHOTO COURTESY OF BLACK STUDENTS FOR REVOLUTION’S FACEBOOK

Members of the RSO Black Students for Revolution pose for a photo. The organization recently called out the University on their silence regarding police shootings.

like strategies to defund UPID, mental health days for students impacted by policing, increased funding to cultural houses and a call for “Project 1000,” an initiative to substantially increase the number of Black students on campus.

Since the murder of George Floyd last May, the University has released some initiatives to address systemic issues on campus.

In July, Chancellor Robert Jones created the Office of the Vice Chancellor for

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

According to the Office’s website, Jones has promised $2 million annually to “focus intellectual and scholarly talent of our university to examine two of the greatest challenges facing our society and seek new solutions.”

Associate Chancellor for Public Affairs, Robin Kaler, said via email that Jones has hired Alice Cary as the director of Public Safety and one of her goals is to implement 21st century policing to the University

campus. Those would include adding a social worker to co-respond to incidents with police “during mental health emergencies and adding a community engagement director to the staff.”

T h at c om mu n it y engagement director position was filled by Dementro Powell, who has served as interim assistant director of the Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center.

According to Love, none of these changes meet the BSFR demands, however,

as the organization calls for much larger changes to the University.

“The University is trying to meet those said things to the public,” Love said. “But, we’re not foolish in knowing that those are very hollow.

You can’t make change without directly impacting the system, and you’re a part of the system. You can greatly impact change by investing in institutions.” brendynjones@dailyillini.com @brendyn_jones

Students propose sustainability general education requirement

BY VIVIAN LA ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITOR

Student senators are seeking University Senate approval for a proposal to add a three-hour sustainabilit y genera l education requirement for undergraduate students.

Student senators said they want to ensure Un i ver sit y s t udent s graduate with an awareness of sustainability and global

climate change. “ Hav i ng it a s a graduation requirement, at least it plants the seed of sustainability and gets (students) thinking about it,” said Tyeese Braslavsky, junior in LAS and Illinois St udent G over n ment senator. “Maybe that seed will grow into something.”

Braslavsky co-authored the Senate proposa l with student senators Jessica Nicholson, Dana

Yu and Creen Ahmad.

Braslavsky said preventing irreversible damage from climate change starts with education.

The Senate Executive Committee has been generally supportive of the proposal, but there are logistical concerns to address, Braslavsky said.

The proposal calls for a current six-hour general education requirement or subrequirement to be

PHOTO COURTESY OF TYEESE BRASLAVSKY’S FACEBOOK

Junior Tyeese Braslavsky is a student in LAS that works as a Student Senator at Illinois. She and other members of the council proposed a general education to add three more credit hours for undergraduate students.

reduced for the threehou r s u s t a i n a bi l it y requirement. The total number of hours needed to graduate wouldn’t be affected.

“But that’s a difficult pat h to n av igat e,” Braslavsky said. “Because each unit, especially those that have a lot of gen-eds in their departments, they — understandably — want more people to take those courses.”

The next step for the proposal team is to establish a working group to have individual conversations with different units and departments about these requirements.

The proposal, which passed as an Illinois St udent G over n ment resolution in December 2019, was first drafted two years ago by the Student Sustainability Committee.

Nicholson, one of the original authors, said it started as a discussion a b out su st a i n a bi l it y education.

“Tackling sustainability issues a nd creating solutions requires the involvement of multiple fields of study,” Nicholson said. “Our motivation was to ensure every student gets that in some capacity, and the best way to do that is to create a gen ed

requirement.”

Nicholson said she’s feeling optimistic about the future of this proposal, and the team is aiming to establish a working group to lead proposal efforts before the end of the semester.

The proposa l wa s endorsed by and received support from various campus organizations and faculty. Registered student organizations and environmental groups were also supportive.

T he Inst it ute for Sustainability, Energ y a nd Env ironment is one such organization.

Meredith Moore, iSEE’s sustainability programs coordinator, said she’s incredibly excited about this proposal.

She said the proposal fits into the campus’ larger Illinois Climate Action Plan. Along with working toward the climate plan’s goal of carbon neutrality, the aim is to educate students on sustainability and climate change along the way, Moore said.

“Having this gen ed would help us reach some of those goals about the importance of sustainability, why they should care and how they should care,” Moore said.

Braslavsky said this requirement would play into the University’s overall goal to better society.

“They will go out and make the world more sustainable,” Braslavsky said. “That very much SEE PROPOSAL | 3A

INSIDE

Opinions: Counseling Center declares depression over

Buzz: Support stores during boba shortage

PAGE 6A

PAGE 6B

ATTENTION SENIORS Make senior year special and live at

911 S Locust St. 1 BR in Senior land DAILYILLINI, DAILYILLINISPORTS

INSIDE

Police

2A

@THEDAILYILLINI, @DI_OPINION, @DI_SPORTS |

Life

&

Culture

4A

|

Crossword

5A

THEDAILYILLINI |

Opinions

6A

@THEDAILYILLINI |

Letters

6A

|

Sports

THEDAILYILLINI

DAILYILLINI

1B

4B

|

Classifieds

|

Sudoku

THEDAILYILLINI 4B

|

buzz

6B

2A Monday, May 3, 2021

THE DAILY ILLINI 1001 S. Wright Street Champaign, IL 61820 (217) 337-8300 Copyright © 2021 Illini Media Co.

The Daily Illini is the independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. The newspaper is published by the Illini Media Co. The Daily Illini does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of the University of Illinois administration, faculty or students.

All Illini Media Co. and/or The Daily Illini articles, photos and graphics are the property of Illini Media and may not be reproduced or published without written permission from the publisher. First copy is free; each additional copy is 50 cents.

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

How to contact us

POLICE an unknown offender entered mul• Burglary from motor vehicles tiple unlocked vehicles and stole was reported in the 900 block of electrical equipment.

South Vine Street around 1 p.m. on Thursday. According to the report, news@dailyillini.com

Champaign

Urbana

• Nothing to report.

University

• Nothing to report.

UI to waive testing for vaccinated people

Longform editor

Diana Anghel editor@dailyillini.com

Matt Troher longform@dailyillini.com

Managing editor, Reporting

Photo editor

Heather Robinson reporting@dailyillini.com

Managing editor, Online

Design editor Asst. design editors

Ryan Ash visuals@dailyillini.com

News editor Amrita Bhattacharyya news@dailyillini.com

Asst. news editors Aliza Majid Mona Alrazzaq

Newsroom

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

Advertising

Lanie Hibel

Managing editor, Visuals

(217) 337-8300 (217) 337-8382 (217) 337-8345 (217) 337-8320

Letters to the editor: Letters are limited to 300 words. Contributions must include the author’s name, address and phone number. University students must include their year in school and college. The Daily Illini reserves the right to edit or reject any contributions.

Email opinions@dailyillini.com with the subject “Letter to the Editor.”

Asst. photo editor Jonah Ozer design@dailyillini.com

Main number: Advertising: Newsroom: Production:

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

Cameron Krasucki photo@dailyillini.com

Chieh Hsu online@dailyillini.com

General contacts

Employment: If you would like to work for the newspaper’s editorial department, please fill out our form or email employment at dailyillini.com.

STAFF

Editor-in-Chief

The Daily Illini is located in the basement of the University YMCA at 1001 S. Wright St., Champaign, IL 61820.

Our office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday.

Placing an ad: If you would like to place an ad, please contact our advertising department.

(217) 337-8382 or e-mail advertise@illinimedia.com.

Julia Eversmann Angelina Chan

The Daily Illini is online everywhere you are.

Video editor Maddy Chemers video@dailyillini.com

Asst. video editor

Website

Tara Mobasher

Buzz editor

dailyillini.com

Carolina Garibay

Asst. daytime editors Asst. buzz editor Willie Cui Vivan La

Sydney Wood

Sports editor

Citlaly Leanos copychief@dailyillini.com

Jackson Janes sports@dailyillini.com

Asst. sports editors Angelle Cortes Will Payne

Asst. sports editors of on-air

The Daily Illini App

Copy chief

Play Store, App Store

Asst. copy chiefs Kathleen Findlay Zainab Qureshi

Social media director Jane Knight disocial@dailyillini.com

Josh Pietsch Claire O’Brien

Brand Manager

Features editor

Co-Publishers

Gwyn Skiles features@dailyillini.com

Kit Donahue Melissa Pasco

MaryKate Green

Asst. features editors Rohit Jammu Jenni Kellenback

Opinions editor Nathaniel Langley opinions@dailyillini.com

Asst. opinions editors Nick Johnson Samuel Rahman

TODAY’S NIGHT SYSTEM STAFF Night editor: Zainab Qureshi , Matt Troher Copy editors: Margaret Burnetti, Abigail Tui, Rylee Smith, Hannah Stewart, Jillian Salomon Designers: Page transmission: Diana Anghel Web manager: Chieh Hsu

Facebook

CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI

The Daily Illini The Daily Illini Sports

A Carle pharmacist writes the date on Moderna vaccine labels at the Church of the Living God on Feb. 20. The University will begin to waive COVID-19 testing for vaccinated individuals starting in the fall.

BY ALEX CHANG STAFF WRITER

The Un iver sit y announced on Thursday that fully vaccinated individuals will be able to waive testing if they provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, e.g., a COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card, to McKinley Health Center.

The waiving of tests is expected to begin sometime before August 23, the first day of instruction for fa ll 2021.

However, waiving of tests could possibly start sometime this sum-

mer, according to the Massmail.

For now, individuals are encouraged to upload photos of their vaccination cards to their MyMcKinley Portal.

After logging in to MyMcKinley, the upload page can be found under the forms section of the website header, titled COV I D -19 Vac ci ne Record Consent.

After uploading, the University will verify the individual’s vaccination status, and verified individuals will no longer require testing

in order to comply with COVID-19 testing compliance and building access.

Internationa l students with vaccination records printed in languages other than English will need an official English translation of their records in order to be eligible for upload.

Students who received both doses of vaccines at CRCE have their information entered automatically, and do not need to upload any documentation.

Full vaccination sta-

tus is defined as 14 days after receiving either the second shot of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or the first dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation.

The University stresses that despite being cleared for testing, all other precautions such as wearing masks and social distancing still apply to fully vaccinated individuals. alexrc2@dailyillini.com

Twitter @TheDailyIllini @DI_Sports

Instagram @TheDailyIllini

Snapchat TheDailyIllini

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.

ALL NEW

NEW NAME Same convenient urgent care

DOWNLOAD FREE. LISTEN NOW.

Apple and the Apple logo and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.

OSF OnCall Urgent Care – formerly OSF Urgo – brings the best of our urgent care options under one new name.

Walk in for care at one of our locations in Champaign-Urbana or get treated from the comfort of home with 24/7 virtual visits.

• Urgent care for minor illnesses and injuries • Easy online scheduling • Open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, including holidays • Get in and out in under 40 minutes • Walk out with medications or supplies you need to get better

Learn more at osfoncall.org/newname

THE DAILY ILLINI READ ONLINE AT

dailyillini.com FOLLOW US

ON SOCIAL MEDIA

3A

MONDAY May 3, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

NEWS

UI alumna works on NASA mission PROPOSAL FROM 1A

years of work.

“Is the student body generally aware of racial issues a nd minorit y cultures?” Braslavsky said “Yes, probably. But we still have this gen ed because there’s always room for more.”

Sustainability is an issue of such urgency that the University should be doing something, she said. But proposal supporters are in agreement that the process shouldn’t be hasty.

“We want things done correctly, and not just quickly to get them passed,” Moore said.

Overall, students should care about the future of this planet, she said.

“Every action does make a difference,” Moore said.

“If we lead by example and spread that awareness, even to one other person, we can build this culture of sustainability.”

Braslavsky said that beyond trying not to destroy the planet, there should be a focus on preventing it from happening again.

“This needs to be an effort globally, and that starts with education,” she said.

feeds into the mission of the University to better STAFF WRITER the community that it’s in.”

University alumna MiMi A common view among Aung is currently overthose involved with the seeing the operations for proposal is how awareness NASA’s Ingenuity helicopof sust a i nabi l it y is ter, a technology demonuneven across the campus stration to test the first community. powered flight on Mars.

“The people who care The helicopter rode to are a ver y dedicated Mars attached to the belly demog raphic,” Moore of the Perseverance rover. said. “But what we’re Aung was born on camreally struggling with is pus and moved to Burma how to tap into students at an early age. When she who have no background was 16, her parents sent her in sustainability.” back to Illinois to pursue an Nicholson said based education. on student surveys that From migrating to the ISG has conducted, there’s United States at the age of mixed response on whether 16 to working at The Deep students feel like they’re Space Network in the NASA educated enough to make Jet Propulsion Lab, Aung an impact. has traveled far and wide “The common student to pursue her passions, isn’t an environmental which ultimately led her to science major, but most are work on a NASA program aware of climate change,” designed to test the first Braslavsky said. “But I’m powered flight on Mars. a firm believer that there’s Aung graduated from never too much education.”

Grainger College of EngiPHOTO COURTESY OF NASA/JPL-CALTECH/ASU Braslavsk y drew neering and later completed NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter is photographed by the Perseverance rover on Mars right compa risons bet ween her masters, which led to her after a successful high-speed spin-up test on April 16. University alumna MiMi Aung is currently this proposal and the work on NASA’s helicopter overseeing the helicopter operation. newest general education mission. requirement added in 2018, During her master’s more in Engineering, said we’ve sent something to that’s a big deal, because U.S. minority cultures. She program, her mentor con- that this mission is sepa- Mars to fly, which is a big some Mars’ atmosphere is said this was the result of vla2@dailyillini.com nected her to project Star- rate from Perseverance deal,” Ansari said. “Flying very thin compared to the link. The concept of this because the Perseverance something from another earth, by about 100 times.” project was there would Rover does experiments planet is crazy, giving the “One of the incredible be two spacecraft a kilo- with the soil samples, but helicopter command, and things is that not only did meter apart, and the light Ingenuity is a helicopter it’s just doing it. We have we make something f ly between those two would that is a flight test. only flown things on earth on Mars but it was mostbe combined, canceling the Ansari mentioned work- so we’ve only had expe- ly done autonomously, light from a star so that an ing on a project for Titan, rience in Earth’s atmo- because Mars is very far Earth-like planet can be Saturn’s moon, which sphere. So the flow of the away from us, twice the BY ALEX CHANG present in each county. found around it, accord- has a lot of atmosphere to air there is very different distance we are from the STAFF WRITER According to the study’s ing to Aung in a Discover send an aircraft to Mars. because of the density.”

Sun where signals take 17 Mobility restrictions conclusions, movement interview.

If controlling a little heli“It’s a controlled flight, minutes to reach us, so this could be effective only restrictions were only The new mission that copter on Mars is possible, it’s not just falling or is very innovative,” Sieg- for a short duration, effective in the short term. recently landed on Mars, then the aircraft could parachuting down, it had fried said. according to a new study Despite the increased along with the Persever- have cameras and sensors a deliberate mission,” This new phase will published by graduate severity of the second wave ance Rover, will assist installed and can be sent Eggl Siegfried, professor begin after the helicop- student Junghwan Kim in of COVID-19 in the United in exploring the plan- to other places, collecting in Engineering said. “It ter completes its next two the Journal of Transport States compared to the et of Mars and other samples and information recently had its first flight flights, according to NASA. Geography. first wave, the study found expeditions. about the atmosphere. test, which was successful.

The study analyzed daily that mobility decreased at Noor Ansari, sopho“So this is the first time It just hovered a bit, and nmalik20@dailyillini.com mobility data of people in a lower rate and rebounded 2,639 counties across the faster than the first wave.

United States, provided as “One possible theory anonymized mobile phone that I have for this, and record GPS locations. The we need more data to location data included look a nd deter m ine mobility data for pre and more, is the concept of post-pandemic levels. quarantine fatigue, and Junghwan Kim, doctoral how people became tired candidate in LAS, is the of restrictions despite a primary author of the more severe pandemic,” study. His doctoral advisor Kim said. and second author of the Another finding was study is Mei-Po Kwan, that counties which adjunct professor in LAS. were Republican had “My interest in research their mobility rebound is understanding the to pre-pandemic levels complex relationship significantly faster than between human mobility Democratic counties. and environmental health, “Not only from my own such as pollution, or in study but from many other this case the COVID-19 studies that reported pandemic,” Kim said. very similar results that A primary motive for the politica l pa r tisa nship study was to analyze how explains people’s response the COVID-19 pandemic to the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent travel such as wearing masks, restrictions affected real- with more Republicanworld movement patterns. leaning people being less This would help quantify willing to wear a mask”, how ef fective travel Kim said. “I think that restrictions actually were this is really an example of in reducing movement. the political nature of the Movement restrictions pandemic and COVID-19, PHOTO COURTESY OF STANFORD PRESS’S TWITTER were rated on the state which is very different Author Michael Fischbach poses for a photo with his book “Black Power and Palestine” at the Middle East Studies Association awards level and were obtained from most countries like on Nov. 16, 2018. University RSO’s Black Students for Revolution and Students for Justice in Palestine spoke with Fischbach about from the Oxford COVID-19 South Korea, and speaks intersectionality of Black and Palestinian struggles.

Government Response about the politicization of Tracker, which evaluates a public health issue.” responses on a sliding W hen the pandemic severity scale. ends and the evolution of Additional variables the pandemic can be seen of interest included as a whole, Kim would like

BY MONA ALRAZZAQ AND Michael Fischbach, the “The Palestinian people standing history of Black p opu l at ion d en s it y, to do a holistic analysis of BRENDYN JONES author of the book. are living in a modern day and Palestinian solidarity poverty levels, political mobility data in a similar ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR AND The discussion began apartheid regime,” said that was highlighted in the partisanship, COVID-19 study in the future.

ASSISTANT ON-AIR EDITOR w it h t wo com mon Jamiel Abed, sophomore in book written by Fischbach. severity and the number Two RSOs co-hosted a ideologies that have had Engineering and member “The struggles Black of mobility restrictions alexrc2@dailyillini.com discussion with the author of a historically negative of SJP. “There is so much people face in America, “Black Power and Palestine: impact on both Black segregation that goes on or globally, are kinda Transnational Countries people and Palestinians: in Palestine, they drive identical experiences that of Color” regarding the settler colonialism and on different roads, there Palestinians face,” Love connection between Black imperialism. Members of is a physical wall that said. “We should be in and Palestinian struggles. both organizations also separates the Israelis and link and in solidarity with Dimitri Love, senior in drew comparisons between Palestinians,” Palestinians as well as LAS and member of Black police in America and Israeli Fischbach noted the standing in solidarity with Students for Revolution, Defense soldiers. linkage between Black Power Black people.” said that Students for “As the IDF are stationed leaders and Palestinian Love advocated for Justice in Palestine and across all occupied areas causes. He discovered, after people to “be on the side of BSFR have been discussing in Palestine, police in the years of research, that the humanity” and noted how hosting a joint event for a U.S. station themselves in prominent civil rights leader he believes that Palestinian while. After Love picked predominantly Black and Malcolm X visited Gaza due struggles are often not up a book talking about Brown communities,” said to this intersectionality. discussed and advocated for how Black and Palestinian Creen Ahmad, junior in “Black Power activists as heavily as they should be. struggles are intertwined, ACES and member of SJP. believed fervently that they “I’ve come to notice he decided to reach out to Other a spects of were part of a wider battle that that is ignored when the author in hopes to get intersection that BSFR and against imperialism and it comes to Palestinians,” him on board.

SJP touched on include a white settler colonialism Love said. “When we talk BSFR and SJP decided similar pattern in terms directed against fellow about human rights across on having a general of environmental racism peoples of color like one marginalized folks or informative discussion that disproportionately Palestinians,” according to oppressed folks, we need CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI rega rd i ng t he l i n k affects Black Americans Fischbach. to not turn a blind eye to A Covid-19 vaccine worker puts a bandage on an individual between Black struggles and Palestinians, as well as Members of BSFR and another.” who received the Moderna vaccination at the Church of the and Palestinian struggles, higher incarceration rates SJP say the main takeaway Living God on Feb. 20. A new study suggests that the spread followed by a question for both groups and other from this event is to educate monaa2@dailyillini.com of Covid-19 is linked to a possible rise/fall in mobility which is and answer session with forms of discrimination. people about the long brendynjones@dailyillini.com dependent on a series of variables.

BY NESHMIA MALIK

Study finds mobility impact on COVID-19

RSOs discuss tie between activist struggles

4A

MONDAY May 3, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

LIFE & CULTURE

Students call Chauvin Verdict a silver lining

BY FIZZA HASSAN STAFF WRITER

On May 25, the murder of George Floyd sparked protests all around the world against systemic racism in police. Derek Chauvin, the ex-police officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck and prime suspect in the case, was charged on three counts of murder and manslaughter and was finally put to a public trial.

The entire world followed the court proceedings with anticipation as the days progressed and multiple witnesses were seen being brought in by the prosecution and defense. This case had a deep impact on the Black community who have a long history of dealing with systematic racism and suppression.

When the words “guilty” rang on televisions throughout the world and the image of Chauvin getting taken away replayed on multiple news networks, many emotions surfaced.

Faith Nolan, graduate student in FAAand member of the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students, said that with the climate of the country and the history of trials in the past, she truly didn’t know how everything was going to end.

“I feel like everyone was at the edge of their seats with this,” Nolan said. “The fact it lasted so long made people nervous, including myself.”

Nolan said she felt that for most, seeing the trial unfold

was mentally taxing.

Kayla Brothers, president of the Black Greek Council, said that when she saw posts saying “guilty” on social media, she was nervous since justice has never been served. She said cops have never been to sent jail — only given probations. When the witness doctor declared the cause of death was asphyxia, she said she felt like she wasn’t being tricked and that the doctor was on their side — giving her hope.

Sydney Bell, sophomore in LAS, said she wasn’t alone in her surprise for the guilty verdict and the conviction.

“Everyone went to the trial expecting the worst basically, because we have seen the same outcome time and time again, thus we thought he would be not guilty,” Bell said. “As more articles and evidence surfaced, more people gained that he will be actually charged and everyone was surprised that he was charged on all three counts.”

Bell emphasized how she thought that communities need to do more. She strongly feels the University and RSOs should offer more resources to their Black students.

“Being Black is a lot to take in,” Bell said. “It would have been nice to see the University at least doing more to acknowledge this for their Black students because it is one thing to see the killing of a Black individual on your timeline, but you keep seeing

PHOTO COURTESY OF POOL VIDEO VIA COURT TV/PBS NEWS/ZUMA PRESS/TNS

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is handcuffed and taken into custody after being found guilty of all charges in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on April 20. Floyd’s passing sparked momentum from the Black Lives Matter organization.

it over and over again.”

Bell said one of her professors acknowledged the stress students faced surrounding the trial and gave accomodations.

“My chemistry professor pushed back the due dates on the week of the trial to give everyone a mental break from the trial and acknowledged how emotionally strenuous it was,” Bell said.

Even with the conviction of Chauvin, Black students remain skeptical of future rulings related to police brutality against the Black com-

munity. Although justice was served in such a historic event, Nolan thought that it was unfortunate that it happened in the first place.

“We shouldn’t be happy with the bare minimum,” Nolan said.

Brothers said she thinks change needs to be made at a more local level. She said that although positive things have come out of this trial, Black people are still getting killed, leaving a need for internal change within these institutions.

“When it comes to patrolling and policing the actu-

al campus, there have been racially motivated events,” Brothers said. “There have been issues where favor was shown to other students and there was the opposite for minority Black students.”

Many find it questionable if a future precedent has been set by the Chauvin trial. Bell said she feels that people are supposed to have faith that things will have a just outcome — but unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case for a majority of these cases.

“This is America and racism is basically rooted,” Bell

said.

The Black Lives Matter movement gained a lot of momentum following Floyd’s murder and Bell said that the movement needs to maintain its pace.

“I hope more things are done, but it seems like people only talk about BLM and police brutality only when something happens,” Bell said. “I’d like to see the topic being discussed when nothing is happening. We don’t have to wait for another killing to happen.” fhassan3@dailyillini.com

Independent filmmakers thrive despite pandemic

BY AIDAN FINN STAFF WRITER

The year is 1932; all hope is lost in the land down under.

A barren, hollow wasteland lies in what was once a fiery warzone fought by the Australian populus against the undefeatable. An enemy without reason, without hesitation or remorse. Unequivocally determined to destroy all farmland and crops in its path.

This was the reality for those souls who fought in the Great Emu War of 1932 in Australia.

Well ... at least that is the image

attempted to be created by filmmaker Kyle Harrington on the hilltops of Angeles National Forest in California.

“We had joked for years about the war, it just so happened that this was the perfect time to make this joke a reality,” Harrington said.

Independent filmmaking is a diverse and creative forefront in the content creation medium. The scale of such is small, however, the ideas are anything but.

The rise of small-scale directors to critical acclaim has con-

sistently risen. Just recently, Chloé Zhao, a Chinese filmmaker known primarily for her work in independent American films, just won Best Director at the 2021 Oscars for her work on “Nomadland.”

Diving deep into the endless assortment of independent films available on YouTube, a charming short film has gotten what many say is deserved attention. “1932: The Great Emu War” from Flightless Films debuted in September of last year and has slowly grown in popularity with its

KAITLIN MIKRUT THE DAILY ILLINI

WE HAVE

absurd take on history.

“The Emu War” has in recent years become a meme, depicted in the image of the Vietnam War or World War II as a violent struggle to fight off the flightless bird. The director of the project, Kyle Harrington, and producer, Noah Dains, discussed the absurd idea.

“The idea to make some kind of dramatization of the Great Emu War in some form or another had been around for a while, mostly because of the ridiculousness of the actual history and the longstanding fascination with it on the internet,” Dains said. “I think what finally drove me to write the script and get the ball rolling on an actual short film was the fact that Kyle and I had graduated and would actually have time and the resources to make it.”

The filmmakers claimed the Sam Mendes war-flick “1917” gave the basis for the dramatic parody to gain ground. With the idea ready to go, the practicality of actually shooting it came into the mix, and Harrington said that like many indie crews it came down to getting the right friends involved.

“The team’s skill set really made the movie and everything you see in the film is a

OFFICIAL RCH ME

result of Noah and my skill sets,” Harrington said. “Noah and I both have backgrounds in visual effects. Noah is particularly great with costumes, sets and finding these phenomenal locations due to his background in production design.

My background is centered more on writing, video game development and a kind of general film knowledge.”

Harrington said shooting the film with the crew in tow went swimmingly, with few accidents and apparently wrapping up with only $3 thousand spent on the budget. But then the pandemic swept the nation and like the entire industry, big and small, the movie was delayed due to serious post-production issues with getting audio redubbed socially distanced and visual effects implemented.

“This caused the biggest delay for the film because we wanted to have some really nice, clean audio to elevate it to the level we think it deserved,” Harrington said. “We eventually were able to record in the most (COVID-safe) way we had the ability to, but that was a tough few months of just waiting for the appropriate and safe way to do things.”

Dains further said how eventually several small reshoots

NOW!!

Get your official WPGU 107.1 FM merch at

redbubble.com/people/wpgu/shop · T-shirts · Stickers

· Hoodies · Tote Bags

· Phone Cases · And More!

were needed, and the difficult process of such took nearly the whole summer. Eventually in September the final product released.

Prospective student filmmakers are already faced with the intimidation of entering a cutthroat industry, now the pandemic makes entry even more difficult for small players.

As graduates of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts with years of early experience in the industry, Dains and Harrington said they were still devastated by the industry slow down, but both shared some uplifting and proactive advice to those still gunning to break onto the scene.

“Find your niche, and hone in on it,” Dains said. “There’s a lot of ways to have a career in film, but all of them are dependent on your reputation with other people in that industry, so keep it pristine, and find something good to be known for. If you’re in college, this is the perfect time to find out what you excel at and what talents you can develop. And it’s also the right time to make mistakes, so make them now before they have larger career repercussions.”

aidanf3@dailyillini.com

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

5A

Monday, May 3, 2021

University laboratory sells animal products

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UIUC ANIMAL SCIENCES WEBPAGE

A bulk package of ground pork roast and frozen boneless beef chuck sits on a wooden cutting board in the University’s Meat Science Lab. The lab supplies local residents with different kinds of products that are harvested from the University farms south of campus.

BY ALEX LAZARO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Meat Science Laboratory has been referred to as a hidden gem of the Champaign-Urbana community for some time now, supplying the local residents with different kinds of products that are harvested from the University farms south of campus. These farms are managed by the Department of Animal Sciences and they are overseen by students and professional staff.

Ben Peterson, alum from the University’s class of 2016 and manager of the meat lab, specified the types of products that are sourced locally.

“We harvest cattle, pigs and lambs,” Peterson said.

“Poultry products are actually harvested down in Arthur, Illinois. They are packaged down there, and then they are brought to us to sell. Eggs come from the

University poultry farm, and we sell those by the flat.”

The Meat Science Laboratory staff makes sure to follow strict guidelines as there is a zero-tolerance rule for mistreatment of the animals.

“We are a federally inspected plant — a USDA and FSIS inspected plant,” Peterson said. “We have an inspector here everyday, especially on our kill days. They make sure we are humanely harvesting the animals.”

A team of inspectors and veterinarians carefully check the animals to make sure they are safe to process, determining whether they go into the food supply or not by checking for physical signs of illness.

Once the animals are processed, the internal organs are inspected as well to determine if the meat can be sold to consumers.

The carcasses are stored in a specialized cooler set to a range of 32℉-34℉ degrees that is meant to rapidly chill them to ensure the best meat quality. The average amount of time for a carcass to spend in this cooler is 24 hours, but some carcasses are aged longer, depending on the type of meat that the carcass has.

Once the carcasses have been aged to their ultimate pH level, which determines visual appeal and good meat quality, the carcasses are moved to the cutting room.

The carcasses are broken down into their primal cuts, a piece of meat separated from the larger carcass.

“For the most part, across the three species of pork, beef and lamb, the primal cuts are shoulders, loins, legs and basically bellies,” Peterson said.

The primal cuts are then broken down into subprimal cuts, which are the pieces of meat that can be

bought at local grocery stores or butcher shops.

Peterson said that these types of cuts are products such as pork chops, ribs, steaks, ground beef, sausage, ham and much more.

The meat goes into a smoke house after it is cured so that it is a safe product able to be stored for a long period of time.

Peterson said that each meat product has a specific procedure that must be followed to ensure it is handled properly, from processing to storing it, known as the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points. The staff must maintain records to ensure that these steps are being followed correctly.

Once the meat is ready to be sold, it is packaged and the inventory on the Meat and Eggs Sales website is updated. Customers are able to select the products they would like and a curbside pick-up time for their

purchase.

Although the main consumers of the meat lab are residents of the Champaign-Urbana community, the staff said that it has been able to expand to other areas, including the Chicagoland area.

Kristin Iverson, a sales specialist that has been with the meat lab since her time as an undergraduate student, said that customers are usually a good mix of local residents and residents of other cities, showing how much support the lab has been able to accumulate over the years.

“We have people who are college students that come by, but then we have people who drive down from Chicago to get products here,” Iverson said. “They’re alumni that have moved throughout the state. Usually when they do that, they either do a really big order or they talk to their family

and friends and they’ll come down to pick up four or five orders.”

Joe Metz, assistant manager of the meat lab, said that he has enjoyed his time working alongside Peterson, learning as much as he can to take into the next phase of his career, especially a better understanding of food safety.

“The meat salesroom has four goals: First goal is teaching, second goal is research, third goal is extension, and from all three of those, our fourth goal is sales,” Peterson said.

“We’re not here to make money. We’re here to train students, give them a nice resume builder, teach them a skill they may not have had in the past and then also reach out to the community as well to educate consumers about where their meat comes from.” alazar20@dailyillini.com

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

IF THEY CAN DO IT,

SO CAN YOU!

WEAR a MASK THE

DAILY ILLINI

ACROSS

1 Fighting, as countries 6 Team sport with scrums 11 Naked ___ jaybird 14 Stage of development 15 Writer Zola 16 Fractional amt.

17 Equestrian outfit 19 Part of a chem class 20 Lie snugly 21 Perfect example 23 French friend 24 Take a lo-o-ong bath 26 Home plate officials, informally 27 Minor job at a body shop 29 Children’s character who lives in a briar patch 33 Not bottled or canned, as beer 35 Word that might be “proper” 36 Hamlet’s dilemma … with a phonetic hint for the last words of 17- and 29-Across and the first words of 45and 63-Across 42 ___ vera 43 Wedding or parade 45 𝄞𝄞 51 Voice below mezzo-soprano 52 Schemer against Othello 53 What the Supremes said to do “in the name of love” 55 Test for an advanced deg. seeker 56 Requirement for sainthood 60 Peninsula with Oman and Yemen 62 Suffix with Sudan or Japan

1

2

3

4

5

6

14

7

8

9

11

15

17

18

24

27

28

33

22

25 29

26 30

34 36

31

37

47

32

35 38

39

42 46

13

19 21

23

12

16

20

45

10

40

43

48

49

52

50

53 58

59

41 44

51 54

56

57

60

62

63

66

67

68

69

70

71

55 61

64

65

PUZZLE BY LYNN LEMPEL

63 California golf resort that has hosted six U.S. Opens 66 Tennis do-over 67 Garlicky sauce 68 Slow, musically 69 Units on a football field: Abbr.

70 One who laughs “Ho, ho, ho!”

71 Beginning

DOWN

1 Mo. with many (not so) happy returns?

2 Popular Girl Scout cookie 3 Undertake with gusto 4 Buyer’s warning 5 Monopoly payments 6 Try, try again?

7 Actress Thurman 8 Taunt

9 Spot on a radar screen 10 Supposed source of mysterious footprints in the Himalayas 11 Self-assurance 12 Shrimp ___ (seafood dish) 13 Optimally 18 Amorphous lump 22 Place to take a bath 23 Kerfuffle 25 Shelters for shelties 28 Run one’s mouth 30 Outback hopper, informally 31 Routine that one might get stuck in 32 Pay to play 34 Ring, as church bells 37 Mississippi’s ___ Miss 38 Huge bird of lore

39 In vitro fertilization needs 40 Citizens of Brussels and Antwerp 41 Theatergoer’s break 44 What a ballerina twirls on 45 At just the right moment 46 Made a higher poker bet 47 White wetlands birds 48 ___ constrictor 49 And others: Lat. 50 Shout after an errant drive 54 Artist Picasso 57 Tax pros, for short 58 “Star Wars” princess 59 Black, in poetry 61 Has-___ 64 Toasted sandwich, familiarly 65 All the rage

The crossword solution is in the Classified section.

6A

MONDAY May 3, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

OPINIONS Bush presidency’s sins shatter nation NATHANIEL LANGLEY OPINIONS EDITOR

A

Correspondingly, over 7,000 U.S. soldiers have died in combat as well as at least 52,000 armed forces being wounded in action.

In addition to statistics not bestowing justice to the lives, the responsibility of the families and friends lost rests on the shoulders of the commander in chief who originally led them to war: President George W. Bush.

George Bush, likewise, is a man of faith.

However, his fervent faith repeatedly enveloped his judgment and impeded the nation into decades of obscured conflicts and crises.

Bruce Bartlett — a former advisor to President Ronald Reagan, and treasury official with President George H. W. Bush — proclaimed in a 2004 piece for “The New York Times Magazine” that Bush possessed a “weird, Messianic idea of what he thinks God has told him to do.”

Bartlett, subsequently, defined Bush’s faith as fundamentalist as those he was countering in the Middle East: “He truly believes he’s on a mission from God.” Similarly, Bartlett chronicles Bush as a man led by instinct; later relaying a story from thenSenator Joe Biden who questioned Bush’s leadership aptitude and contended, “Mr. President, your instincts aren’t good enough!”

The only “Mission Accomplished” within the Bush presidency is America flailing at the 21st century’s entrance.

Consequently, this former administration deserves no condolence nor nostalgia: A failed leader warrants no pity.

The Bush preeminent strike into the American soul, principally, dawns the premier flaws of the Trump administration.

The 2008 financial crisis shaped generations into eight years of political bankruptcy — both figurative and literal.

Four years of ineptitude

by Trump, nonetheless, shape nightly headlines and dinner conversations but fail to modify history.

The Bush blemishes prevail in the American psyche. As such, the legacy of this administration and its executive merit not only deserve strict scrutiny but as well as accountability.

History will define a pre- and post-George W. Bush America. Furthermore, only now is the nation recovering from the shortcomings and tribulations of the past presidency: A return of competent government appears over the horizon.

The mission for American ascendancy is prolonged and daunting, but first and foremost, it requires thorough command.

Even more so, the American memory must not wipe the experiences under the meager solely because “worse” management steps in.

George W. Bush cannot receive a public pardon. The imperfections immensely outweigh any achievements his administration yielded. Yet, with refreshed accountability toward the 21st century’s flunkee, asserting liability towards American leadership persists as the hope for a mission lacking accomplishments.

merica has set adrift since its former captain abandoned ship. Its former skipper, a man who, while in office, adversely affected every aspect of American life, somehow today enjoys fanatical followings.

The man: former President George W. Bush. The ship for which he has forsaken to its tumultuous present: the United States of America.

At nearly every contemporary woe’s center — be it an economy continually recovering from the 2008 JONAH OZER THE DAILY ILLINI financial crisis, education policy mired with mismanagement or, especially, “forever wars” internationally lingering — Bush epitomizes “wrong man, seling Center reps credit to diverting more of our a promising and formidable wrong time.” the decrease to COVID-19 resources to Massmails.’” remedy against misery for Failed foreign and domesCAMPUS resetting the standards for “‘We’re all in this subsequent semesters. tic policies have shaped SCOUT SATIRE loneliness and isolation. together, and that’s what Described as ‘Cookthis nation into its cur“‘As COVID-19 forced crucially lifts the spirie Clicker,’ but instead of rent predicament: polarthe entire nation into social its of those depressed or clicking for-profits, indiized, impoverished and frail. n an effort surely to distancing and convention- depressed-in-waiting,” viduals will click away their Erroneously, some blame inspire the masses, the al public social interaction Dr. Franklin concluded. stress and/or depression. a different recent presiUniversity’s Counseling decreased, depressed indiScout vehemently thanks The Counseling Center dent for all complications, Center announced it had viduals felt less unnaturalhis source for this magnifiaspires for further ‘cyberand as much damage as the completed its annual 2020- ly lonely and removed from cent news. Scout, moreover, counseling’ methods man inflicted onto society, 2021 academic year society,’” said clinical coun- sends profound gratitude to next year. all faults pale in comparireview Friday. selor Dr. Janet Franklin. the Counseling Center for Still, Scout remains son the blatant misconducts Publishing their exten“‘We’re all miserable their fantastic transparency reserved over University conducted beneath Bush. sive review following a now. They (the depressed) and thorough study. mental health services.

With former President tumultuous year, spectadon’t have to feel sad about Besides the announceFor instance, if the review Donald Trump, the nation tors were stunned when the being stuck inside for the ment that the Counseling exposes few psychologisuffered under an inept center disclosed that this tenth Saturday night in a Center will transfer sercal ailments within the man peddling incompeschool year had been the row or about not having vices into Massmails, Scout student population, why tence. In contrast, Presibest on record for student sex in fourteen months. also learned that with this change anything? dent Bush — an adequate mental health.

Everyone’s lives equally tremendous data, students Certainly, the Counleader by modern metNonetheless, an enlist- suck now.’” will be trusted more than seling Center would not rics — knowingly peddled ed, dependable source Dr. Franklin later asserted ever to handle their own want to ruin a great thing negligence surrounded by was on the scene for this year proved that digital mental health.

— even if next year’s absolute scoundrels Scout and detailed the comradery triumphs therSimilarly, amidst nonsen- encouraging project is for war. bombshell news from the apy and praised the mental sical rumors of improper digital, “cookie-clicking” Although many comCounseling Center. health Massmails sent over funding, the center revealed stress balls? pare the two leaders as “Representatives of the the past semesters. fresh plans for the 2021Nevertheless, one can equally appalling, their University Counseling “‘There was a remark2022 year. only hope that the Counsimilarities end when Center were completely able positive correlation In addition to limiting seling Center forges ahead denoting Trump’s words thrilled to report a substan- between Massmails disaccessibility towards coun- with its newfound luster. were rather scandalous tial decrease in depression cussing mental health seling, the Center’s suppleThe search continues.

— yet rarely translating rates in surveys filled out by and students’ overall well mentary proposal for indito policy — while Bush’s the student population over being. Going forward, we vidual, digital stress balls Submit tips to: emboldened actions the past year. The Coundefinitely look forward delivered over Massmails is scout@dailyillini.com unquestionably linger to this day.

No worse policy handling presently prevails than the “Bush Doctrine.”

In the fall of 2002, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace described this strategy NOAH NELSON as holding “that AmeriSENIOR COLUMNIST ca should not wait to be attacked, but move proactively to disrupt and ocated at the corner defeat terrorists of Wright and Green and tyrants.” streets, the Alma On the surface, the Mater statue endures doctrine appears suffias one of the most cient for counter-terrorrecognizable sites at ism purposes. Yet, this the University. dogma persists today in Alma Mater depicts a America’s forever wars mother figure wearing — with President Biden academic robes and arms only recently announcing stretched out for welcomthat U.S. forces will exit ing, with two attendant figthe futile, Afghan combat ures representing the Unizone 20 years following versity’s motto “Learning” the 9/11 attacks. and “Labor” behind her.

Chiefly, the Bush The message etched at the presidency is best illusbase of the statue reads: trated with the hypocrisy “To thy happy children of Bush’s “Mission Accomof the future, those of the plished” banner presidpast send greetings.” ing over the President’s Whether you are a curTHE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO address to armed forces rent student, faculty The Universities Alma Mater statue sits at the corner of Wright and Green streets on April — with this specific “mismember, alumni or pro3, 2020. Columnist Noah Nelson argues that Alma Mater holds historic value that is undersion” enduring across two spective student, you appreciated. generations and counting. have certainly captured Within his May 1, 2003, your picture in front of Alma Mater was unveiled tion. Subsequently, Alma ing a global pandemic. speech, Bush claimed, the statue or passed her at Columbia University in Mater has integrated It’s okay to fret and fear “The war on terror is not before. Nevertheless, New York. itself as a part of the Uni- not doing as well as you over, yet it is not endless. the statue is legitimately Taft forged a more versity, but with a lesson. had hoped in a class: We We do not know the day of more than a photo oppor- unique Alma Mater: He We are here on camare growing individufinal victory, but we have tunity; instead, it is a aspired for a woman pus to earn a degree and als, learning and laboring seen the turning of the symbol of the University standing from her throne, approach the next step every day. tide.” with a long, rich history welcoming her chiltoward a better life.

If you ever need assisThe “Mission Accomakin to the institution. dren home while figures Alma Mater teaches us tance or just a bit of plished” banner supWhile home from Paris “Learning” and “Labor” that learning and labor inspiration, say hello to posedly advocated this in 1883, University alum presided behind her as a play a pivotal role in our Alma Mater. “tide” receded, but its Lorado Taft began sculpt- symbol for the University lives, especially during No matter what you’re unspeakable consequencing Alma Mater four years and its crucial motto. our time at the Univergoing through, she is es remain. after he graduated from Upon completion, the sity. With those skills, we there to welcome her In a report by Brown the school. Though sev10,000-pound and 13are bettering ourselves children home.

University’s Cost of War, eral years passed, Taft foot tall Alma Mater was every day — and in the And our home is right over 500,000 lives have finally searched for fund- dedicated in 1929 and process, making our uni- here at the University of perished since the U.S.’s ing for the project in 1916 stood on the south side versity just as proud of us Illinois. initial involvement in the — a year after Lincoln of Foellinger Auditorium as we are of it.

Middle East — around Nathaniel is a sophomore in Memorial sculptor Danuntil 1962, when it was College is no doubt dif- Noah is a junior in Media.

250,000 of those killed LAS. iel Chester French’s own moved to its current loca- ficult, especially durnoahen@dailyillini.com being civilians. ntl3@dailyillini.com

Counseling Center ends depression I

Alma Mater possesses undervalued history

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.

1B

MONDAY May 3, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

SPORTS

MEN’S GYMNASTICS

Illini claim distinguished titles during difficult season

BY BRADLEY ZIMMERMAN STAFF WRITER

The Illinois men’s gymnastics team wrapped up its 2021 season a few weeks ago at the NCA A championships, claiming sixth place in the team competition. Though the team didn’t finish where it hoped to, junior Ian Skirkey won an individual championship on pommel horse. Two weeks earlier, fellow junior Michael Fletcher won the Big Ten vault championship, and a month before that, volunteer coach Alex Diab won the still rings championship at the USA Gymnastics Winter Cup. While Fletcher, Skirkey and Diab’s titles were the highlights of the 2021 season, there was more to the season than just these three accomplishments.

COVID-19 undoubtedly was the defining characteristic of the season. After the pandemic brought the 2020 season to a screeching halt, the team lost not only the rest of that season but also its summer practice. Under normal circumstances, the team spends the summer on campus, practicing in Kenney Gym to improve routines. But because of the pandemic, the team spent the summer of 2020 scattered across the country — or stuck abroad in junior Léo Valentin’s case. It wasn’t until August that everyone arrived on campus and got to work.

The team did so under strict COVID-19 protocols that were maintained for the entire season. The team had to test frequently, using not just the University’s saliva test but also a nasal swab test mandated by the Big Ten Conference.

The gymnasts limited their interactions with those not on the team and spent almost all their time at one of three campus locations: their campus residences, Kenney Gym and Memorial Stadium’s Varsity Room. They didn’t go home once this academic year, not even for Christmas.

“It was rough,” said senior Jordan Kovach.

“Part of collegiate athletics is the college part, and we couldn’t really experience being a college student. We were missing a vital puzzle piece of what we were used to and what we enjoyed. It wasn’t easy.”

CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI

The men’s gymnastics team cheers during the meet against Ohio State Jan. 23 at Huff Hall in Champaign. The Illini had injury issues all year, though they still had several individual accolades throughout the season.

Something else the team had to work around was the lack of fans in Huff Hall. Normally, the Illini feed off the energy of the crowd while also interacting with the younger fans — tossing out t-shirts, handing out yardsticks of gum for every stuck landing and signing autographs after select meets.

The Illini did none of that in 2021.

“It was definitely different,” Kovach said. “I don’t think a single person enjoyed not being able to have any fans. The atmosphere is completely different, and I do think that has quite an effect on a competition.”

But the team’s adherence to protocols paid off. The Illini had just one positive test result in the last eight months — Danny Graham in February — and the only meet postponed on their schedule was of no fault of their own.

“During the season, I’m sure not a lot of us wanted to (follow the protocols),” Kovach said. “We just wanted to hang out with

our friends and see our parents. But at the end of the day, I think what we did was right, and it shows because we were very successful at not getting sick.”

The Illini started the 2021 season with a bit of history: They soundly defeated Northern Illinois in the first-ever virtual meet in the history of NCAA gymnastics. Moving ahead to Big Ten competition, Illinois defeated Ohio State but lost to Penn State a week later by a razor-thin margin of just .15 points.

It was at this point in the season that injuries started to pile up for the Illini, injuries that would play a significant role as the season progressed.

Valentin and freshman Will Hauke suffered season-ending injuries in practice after the Penn State meet. Junior Clay Mason Stephens also was unavailable after this meet due to a minor injury and later traveled to his native Australia in hopes of qualifying for the upcoming summer Olympics in Tokyo. American and Aus-

tralian travel restrictions and quarantine protocols would not allow him to fly back and forth like he did last season.

Kovach says losing these three gymnasts were the biggest roster losses Illinois endured in 2021.

“We were missing some very big routines, and the spots were too big to fill completely,” Kovach said.

“Injuries played a huge factor in how we finished up the season.”

Illinois lost its next meet against Iowa and split a trimeet against Michigan and Nebraska. Going into the team’s final meet against Minnesota, the Illini suffered another setback when junior all-arounder Hamish Carter came down with a nerve injury in his neck, keeping him out of the meet.

Though Illinois beat Minnesota by a point, the team’s score of 393.800 — down almost 12 points from its previous meet — was a clear indication of the damage injuries had inflicted upon the team and its chances for success.

Going into the Big Ten Cha mpionships, head coach Justin Spring was faced with a sobering statistic: 70% of his starting routines — the routines he would have in the lineup to compete — belonged to injured gymnasts.

“Never in my 12-year (coaching) career have I had that many routines out,” Spring said before the championships. “It just so happens that the injuries we’ve had are on our best all-arounders, and it’s costing us so much.”

While Illinois finished fourth in the Big Ten team championship, junior Michael Fletcher won the Big Ten vault title with a score of 14.600, edging out Nebraska’s Taylor Christopulos by fiveone-hundredths of a point.

Fletcher, an all-arounder who returned to competition this season after tearing his ACL in 2019, had never won a vault title in any collegiate meet before. His title earned him First Team All-Big Ten honors.

“It feels really great,” Fletcher said afterward.

“I came back from my knee injury (and) was deal-

ing with some issues on vault, and I’m really proud of myself for overcoming them and having a great vault.”

Skirkey and sophomore Connor McCool earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors for runner-up finishes on pommel horse and floor exercise, respectively.

Sophomore Evan Manivong also was named the recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

With the nation’s eighthhighest national qualifying average after the Big Ten Championships, Illinois stamped its ticket to the NCAA championships two weeks later. Carter was able to compete that weekend, but it remained an uphill battle for the Illini.

They placed third in their qualifying session to make it to the championship session, where they finished sixth. The Stanford Cardinal won its second consecutive team national championship, defeating Illinois by more than 16 points.

“We just didn’t have the SEE REWIND | 3B

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Adam Miller announces transfer to Louisiana State

BY JACKSON JANES SPORTS EDITOR

Former Illinois freshman guard Adam Miller has announced he is transferring to Louisiana State after initially entering the transfer portal April 1.

“The biggest reason I chose LSU, you know, (head coach) Will Wade; I had a great relationship with him,” Miller told Jeff Goodman on The Field of 68 when asked why he chose the Tigers. “He understood my game; he understood my feel ... I feel like he’s a good coach; I feel like he knows my game. I think he can take advantage of that, and I told him I just want a coach that trusts me, and I can come in and win and help them get the job done, so I felt like that was best at LSU.” Miller was a four-star recruit out of Morgan Park High School in Chicago, Illinois. He was the fourth-highest-rated commit in Illinois history and was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2020. The Peoria native averaged 8.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists while starting all 31 games for the Illini last year.

He also was a threat from beyond the arc, shooting 34% from deep while knocking down 52 treys, the second most on the team

behind only senior Trent Frazier.

“Adam was a big part of our success this season, starting every game as a freshman and contributing not just on offense but defensively as well,” Head Coach Brad Underwood said in a statement April 1.

“He has a very bright future ahead, and we wish him all the best.”

LSU shot the three well last season, finishing with the fourth-most treys and the third-best 3-point percentage in the Southeastern Conference. The team also made the NCAA tournament as an 8-seed, knocking off 9-seed St. Bonaventure before falling to top-seeded Michigan.

But the Tigers have seen a lot of turnover with their roster, as several players have declared for the NBA Draft, including Trendon Watford, Javonte Smart and Darius Days, three of the team’s top four scorers last season.

They did land Missouri transfer Xavier Pinson, and Miller is expected to slot into the starting lineup as a lead guard.

“One thing I learned from Coach Underwood is to be a man about everything you do,” Miller said. “Be on time, make sure you get the

RYAN ASH THE DAILY ILLINI

Freshman Adam Miller scans the court for teammates against Maryland Jan. 10 at State Farm Center. Miller announced Saturday afternoon that he is transferring to Louisiana State.

job done; whatever you gotta do, make sure you get it done, so I’ll definitely take some things from that team and from my other teammates that were older than me — Ayo (Dosunmu), Kofi (Cockburn) ... They taught

me a lot, so I feel like I’m prepared the most I’ve ever been right now to take on anything in the basketball world.”

Miller was expected to take on a more prominent role on offense for the Illini

given the departure of junior Ayo Dosunmu to the NBA Draft, though the return of Frazier, Jacob Grandison and Andre Curbelo, along with the addition of Utah transfer Alfonso Plummer and incoming fresh-

men Brandin Podziemski, RJ Melendez and Luke Goode, should have the Illini more than set to fill in his production.

@JacksonJanes3 janes6@dailyillini.com

2B Monday, May 3, 2021

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

FOOTBALL

Four Illini enter names in draft, find new homes in NFL

BY JACKSON JANES SPORTS EDITOR

The 2021 NFL Draft is officially over.

Four Illini players entered their names into the draft in hopes of getting that coveted call on either Thursday, Friday or Saturday. Two players had their dreams come true, while two others missed out on getting drafted but signed as undrafted free agents soon after the draft closed Saturday evening.

Let’s take a look at the four players who will vie for spots on NFL teams come the summer and fall.

Nate Hobbs

RYAN ASH THE DAILY ILLINI

Kendrick Green (53) stands with teammates prior to the game against Iowa at Memorial Stadium Dec. 5.

Kendrick Green

Former Illinois offensive lineman Kendrick Green was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round becoming the first Illini taken in the draft since Nick Allegretti was picked by the Kansas City Chiefs in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Recruited as a four-star defensive tackle out of Peoria High School, Green opted to redshirt his first year in Champaign in 2017. The next year, Green shifted to the offensive line, starting all 12 games at left guard and establishing a

running game that was the second-best in the Big Ten with 243 yards per game.

Green went on to start all 33 games in his three seasons for the Illini, and he earned consensus All-Big Ten First Team honors and was named to USA Today’s All-America Second Team, becoming the first Illini to earn AllAmerica honors since 2011.

Green is the first Illini to be drafted by the Steelers since Terry Hawthorne in 2013, and the Peoria native likely will get time at either guard or center for the Steelers going forward.

Former Illinois cornerback Nate Hobbs was selected in the fifth round was by the Las Vegas Raiders. Hobbs is the second Illini selected in this year’s draft after the team didn’t have any players selected last season.

Hobbs came to Illinois as a three-star cornerback recruit, and he quickly proved himself to Lovie Smith and took on a prominent role on defense, playing in all 12 games and making 10 starts as a freshman. Despite being a freshman, Hobbs led the team in defensive snaps, finished with the seventh-most tackles

THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO

Josh Imatorbhebhe

Though he also missed out on getting selected during the draft, former Illini wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe has signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent.

Imatorbhebhe played for the University of Southern California for two seasons before transferring and using his last two years of eligibility at Illinois. After not having much of a role in Los Angeles, Imatorbhebhe made an immediate impact in Champaign, quickly becoming quarterback Brandon Peters’ top target in 2019. The Suwanee, Georgia native made 33 catches for 634 yards, averaging 57.6 yards per game. His nine touchdown receptions were the fifth-most in the Big Ten and are the second-most in

program history.

The biggest game of his college career came against Michigan State, making four catches for 178 yards to help the Illini claw back from a 25-point deficit and beat the Spartans in East Lansing in the largest comeback in program history.

As a redshirt senior in 2020, Imatorbhebhe started seven games and finished with 22 receptions, 297 yards and three touchdowns, all of which were the most on the team.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound receiver impressed at the Illinois Pro Day, recording 46.5 inches in the vertical jump, which would have been one of the highest in NFL Combine history.

@JacksonJanes3 janes6@dailyillini.com

THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO

Illinois cornerback Nate Hobbs recovers a fumble during the game against Rutgers Nov. 2, 2019 at Memorial Stadium.

Milo Eifler

Milo Eifler celebrates an incompletion during the game against Iowa Nov. 23, 2019 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.

and forced a fumble.

After making his first career interception in his sophomore season, the Louisville native put together a career-best junior season.

Hobbs started all 13 games while notching 67 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery, which he returned for a 36-yard touchdown against Rutgers Nov. 2, 2019.

Hobbs declined a bit in his senior season, recording 31 tackles and an interception, which led to a James McCourt game-winning field goal against Rutgers Nov. 14 for the team’s first win of the season.

After not hearing his name called during the draft, former Illini linebacker Milo Eifler has signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent.

After spending two years, one of which he redshirted, at the University of Washington and playing in all 13 games for the Huskies in 2017, Eifler transferred to Illinois with two years of eligibility remaining. He quickly took on a key role in Lovie Smith’s defense, playing all 13 games while starting 12 of them as a junior.

In his first season in

Champaign in 2019, the Berkeley, California native made 63 tackles, including 10 for a loss and one fumble recovery. He recorded the only touchdown of his collegiate career on that fumble recovery, returning it seven yards for a score at Minnesota Oct. 5, 2019.

Despite missing three games due to injury in his senior season last year, Eifler still made five starts at linebacker and made 27 tackles.

Eifler will try and make the 53-man roster as the season CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI approaches.

Josh Imatorbhebhe runs after making a catch against Northwestern Dec. 12 at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois.

Housing Find your next home with

The Daily Illini

Start and end your housing hunt today!

housing.dailyillini.com

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

Monday, May 3, 2021

3B

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Portal pandemonium: Roster changes signal transfer trend

BY BRANDON SIMBERG STAFF WRTIER

The month of April was one of the most bizarre offseason periods in college basketball history. With the one-time transfer rule in effect, the transfer portal is filled with talented players from all leagues, including the Big Ten. The outlook for many Big Ten teams next season changed. Expected names like Ayo Dosunmu and Luka Garza have departed, but some players have surprisingly transferred in and out of the league.

Here’s a look at which teams have gotten better, worse or stayed roughly the same this offseason. For the sake of clarity, I’m only addressing roster moves made since the season ended. So an incoming 2021 player who committed prior to this offseason will not be included in my assessments.

Stock: Up

• Indiana When the offseason started, the Hoosiers looked like they could be one of the worst teams in the Big Ten next season. Former head coach Archie Miller was bought out, their priority target Brad Stevens turned down the job and more than half of the roster entered the transfer portal.

Indiana then hired former New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson, who swiftly turned the program around.

He retained underclassmen Race Thompson, Khristian Lander, Jordan Geronimo and Trey Galloway. The biggest news, however, was the surprise decision made by Trayce Jackson-Davis to spurn the NBA and return to Indiana for another season. Jackson-Davis is currently the only player among the top 15 scorers in the Big Ten who is guaranteed to return next season.

Woodson also made splashes in the portal, snagging former Northwestern starting wing Miller Kopp and Pittsburgh point guard Xavier Johnson to add talent and depth to fill the shooting void. Woodson added some youth with top45 four-star guard Tamar Bates as well.

The Hoosiers did lose wings Armaan Franklin and Al Durham in the portal, but given how bleak things looked after Miller was fired, they are certainly in a great spot compared to where they were just a month ago.

• Maryland A year ago, Mark Turgeon

FROM 1B

REWIND

start value to be in contention,” Spring said. “If you take our start values with our healthy lineup, and if we have a perfect day, we could be a 417 team, neck and neck with the best teams in the country. But we just didn’t have that this year.”

But making it to the championship session is a win to both Spring and Kovach.

“Making the finals for NCAAs is pretty good for any team,” Kovach said.

“Obviously no team wants to finish last, but with what we were given in regards to injuries, we handled it really well.”

The highlight of the NCAA championships for the Illini was Skirkey, who had the highest pommel horse score in the team’s qualifying session and had one of the few pommel horse routines that hit in the championship session.

His score of 14.166 easily captured the NCAA championship and All-American honors.

“From the start, I never really had any strict ex pect ations for my performance,” Skirkey said afterward. “I just wanted to go out there, do the best that I could and keep myself calm leading up to the routine.”

McCool, who placed sixth on f loor exercise, also earned All-American

RYAN ASH THE DAILY ILLINI

The Illinois men’s basketball team waits for a call at their game on Jan. 19 against Penn State. Although Illinois basketball will be losing key players, they have transfers coming to the team.

struck out left and right on key point guard and center replacements. Yet, the Terrapins still managed to make the NCAA tournament with a relatively young roster. Turgeon did not face those same problems this offseason, landing Rhode Island point guard Fatts Russell and Georgetown big man Qudus Wahab.

Both players were doubledigit scorers at their previous schools and should be immediate impact players.

The Terps likely are losing senior Darryl Morsell, who entered both the NBA Draft and transfer portal, while juniors Aaron Wiggins and Eric Ayala are testing the draft waters (while maintaining their college eligibility). But considering neither Wiggins nor Ayala is expected to be drafted, both should return to give Turgeon one of his best teams in his Maryland tenure.

Stock: Neutral

• Illinois It’s bizarre for a team that did as well as Illinois did last season to have a ton of roster turnover, but that’s exactly what happened to Brad Underwood’s group this season. Dosunmu, as honors.

McCool also earned Regular Season All-American honors on floor exercise from the College Gymnastics Association, as did Graham on still rings, Manivong on vault, Skirkey on pommel horse and Carter in all-around.

The CGA also recognized Carter as its Gymnast of the Week Jan. 26 and its Specialist of the Week Feb. 23.

Skirkey received the latter accolade Jan. 26, while freshman Logan Myers was named CGA Rookie of the Week a week earlier.

Carter and Myers swept the Big Ten’s weekly accolades Jan. 25 after being named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week and Freshman of the Week, respectively.

Fletcher and Diab also competed in the USA Gymnastics Winter Cup in late February: Fletcher as an all-arounder and Diab exclusively on still rings.

Fletcher placed in the middle or at the bottom of the field in almost every event he competed on, but he came away with a secondplace finish on vault.

Diab, who won two NCAA still rings championships during his college days at Illinois and won last year’s Winter Cup still rings championship, successfully defended his title with a combined two-day score of 29.800 (14.850 on day one and 14.950 on day two).

While the Illini earned almost 20 individual accolades this season, an unofficial one they earned was

expected, has forgone his remaining eligibility. Kofi Cockburn has declared for the draft, and though he does have his eligibility, the buzz surrounding the big man is that he will turn pro. Junior Giorgi Bezhanishvili also announced he will be turning pro.

The surprise move was the transfer of freshman Adam Miller. Even with those departures, Underwood has added some pieces to make up for the losses.

Illinois landed Utah senior guard Alfonso Plummer to fill the role of a scoring guard and Florida sophomore forward Omar Payne to fill the void up front. They also secured a commitment from 2021 four-star guard Brandin Podziemski.

Illinois also is returning seniors Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams, two much-needed retainments.

It’s safe to say this year’s Illinois team won’t be quite as good as last year’s squad.

But relative to where things stood at the beginning of the offseason from an expectations standpoint, this team is in a relatively similar position. A surprise return from Cockburn or

major transfer addition is what could elevate the current roster.

• Michigan The Wolverines were able to retain at least one of their four key seniors from last season when Eli Brooks announced his return.

They did lose Mike Smith and Chaundee Brown, and though Isaiah Livers has yet to make a decision, he’s expected to turn pro.

Most of the Wolverines’ moves for next season were made in the fall, as head coach Juwan Howard nabbed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. Retaining Brooks and Hunter Dickinson, in addition to that top class, is just enough to keep expectations af loat, which is another Big Ten regularseason title.

Stock: Wait and see

• Purdue With no seniors getting minutes last season, Purdue was expected to bring back its whole roster. No key players have transferred in or out. Trevion Williams has declared for the draft while maintaining his eligibility, and he is expected to return. If he

does, Matt Painter should have one of the best teams in the Big Ten next season.

• Ohio State The Buckeyes were able to retain senior Kyle Young for a fifth season, but not CJ Walker. Their offseason will be dictated by the decisions of Duane Washington Jr. and E.J. Liddell, who both entered the draft while maintaining their eligibility. Both are expected to return, and if they do, Ohio State will be a force to be reckoned with next season.

Stock: Down

in the second half of the season and may consider returning. If he comes back, he and Geo Baker alone should make the Scarlet Knights competitive. But if he leaves, it’ll be a reset year in Piscataway.

• Iowa With Garza’s expected departure, the Hawkeyes still expect to be relevant in the Big Ten picture. Joe Wieskamp has declared for the draft and is considered a true 50/50 decision.

The Hawkeyes’ big loss, though, was the surprise departure of sophomore CJ Fredrick, who entered the transfer portal. Fredrick was one of the best shooters in the league last season and was expected to be a key guy for Iowa this season. Senior Jack Nunge also elected to play his grad year elsewhere.

The Hawkeyes did return Jordan Bohannon for his super senior year, but the losses of Fredrick, Nunge and potentially Wieskamp, along with no big roster additions, have made it a rough offseason in Iowa City.

• Rutgers After their best season in nearly two decades, the Scarlet Knights have failed to capitalize on their NCAA tournament first-round win. Junior starting center Myles Johnson transferred to University of California, Los Angeles.

Starting guard Jacob Young entered the transfer portal and reserve forward Montez Mathis transferred to St. John’s University.

The one glimmer of hope for Rutgers is the potential return of Ron Harper Jr. Once seen as a surefire NBA @BrandonSimberg player, Harper slumped simberg2@dailyillini.com

CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI

Sophomore Evan Manivong is congratulated by teammates after performing a routine during the meet against Ohio State Jan. 23.

“viral sensation.” During Illinois’ meet against Minnesota, Manivong stuck his vault landing and celebrated by pulling his vaccine card from beneath his uniform, proudly displaying it for his teammates — and the Big Ten Network’s cameras — to see.

A video posted to the team’s Twitter account that depicts the celebration has accumulated 3.8 million views (compared to the few hundred the team’s

videos usually gets), and the story was picked up by news sources across the country. Stephen Colbert called the move, “a very cool way to raise awareness about vaccination,” while The Athletic’s Olivia Witherite called it “the ultimate flex.”

And it all started out as a joke among Manivong and his teammates, who were trying to come up with fun and creative ways to celebrate a stuck landing.

“It’s an insane feeling,” Manivong said about going viral. “It’s fun to be a part of.”

After a long season of abiding by COVID-19 protocols, seeing gymnast after gymnast go down with injuries, individual championships and accolades and one viral moment, the Illini are now in the offseason.

In the weeks since the NCA A championships, some members of the team

took advantage of the somewhat loosened protocols to go home and see their families for the first time since August. Others, like Fletcher, are back in Kenney Gym working on upgrades to their routines. The team also says goodbye to five seniors: Graham, Kovach, Diab, Joel Diaz and Tommy Mistretta, who all graduate in the coming weeks. @B_RadZimm bez2@dailyillini.com

4B Monday, May 3, 2021

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

CLASSIFIEDS THE DAILY ILLINI Classified advertisers can now place print and online classified ads directly at:

www.dailyillini.com/classifieds Sign in to set up an account with us.

Pricing is available on the site upon login. You can place ads in The Daily Illini print publications on Mondays and Thursdays, or on our dailyillini.com website, or both.

Help to make well known of sudoku-topical.c You like this website? Then recommend it to If you own yourself a website, place a link to If you print out the sudokus then print them t Tell your acquaintances, friends and teamma Just help to make this site well known.!

In addition to PAID ads for commercial businesses, we offer FREE ONLINE ads to UIUC students who sign into their accounts with “Illinois.edu” addresses.

Deadline: 11:00 a.m. one business day prior to publication

7

8

2

9

9 2

1

3

3

5

6

4

1

8

3 6 4

2 2

4

9

Enter the numbers 1-9 in the blank spaces so that each row, column and 3x3 square contains only one of each number. There is only one solution. (solution in Classifieds and online at www.dailyillini.com).

11

Submit a news tip to news@dailyillini.com

8 2

4

4 6 5 2 7 9 1 8 3

7

2 3 8 1 6 4 9 7 5

1 4 3 6 9 2 8 5 7

5 7 6 3 8 1 2 4 9

6

9 8 2 5 4 7 3 1 6

7 2 8 4 1 3 9 6 5

6 5 7 3 2 8 1 4 9

2 4 9 1 7 5 8 3 6

1 8 3 6 9 4 7 5 2

10

5 2 7 1 6 9 4 3 8

4 9 3 8 2 7 5 6 1

6 1 8 5 3 4 7 2 9

7 6 2 9 8 1 3 5 4

8 4 5 2 7 3 1 9 6

1 3 9 4 5 6 8 7 2

9 7 6 3 1 8 2 4 5

2 8 4 7 9 5 6 1 3

3 5 1 6 4 2 9 8 7

We are showing the world what we are made of.

5

3

1 3 8 6 4 7 5 9 2

5

5 6 4 9 2 3 1 8 7

9 7 2 1 5 8 3 6 4

6

5 8 2 4 3 7 9 6 1

3 7 9 6 8 1 5 2 4

1 6 4 9 2 5 7 8 3

Together, we can do so much.

7

4

9

7 1 9 8 3 5 4 6 2

H O T

6

8 2 7 9 1 6 5 3 4

T O E

4

P

SKILL:

3

6 5 1 4 2 3 7 9 8

9 1 4 5 6 2 3 8 7 E N T R A C T E

8 7

The Daily Illini relies on inside sources to break news to the campus community.

If you have information everyone needs to know, we want to hear from you.

3 9 4 7 5 8 6 2 1

3 6 5 7 8 9 4 2 1 B E L G I A N S

THE DAILY ILLINI Wants YOUR Input!

Sudoku 9

9

4 9 1 2 3 6 5 7 8 F O R E

1 3 6 7 2 9 4 8 5

5 7 2 8 4 1 6 9 3 E T A L I A

5 2 7 6 4 8 9 1 3

8 3 6 9 5 7 2 1 4 R R O U O T

A T B E S T

8 4 9 3 5 1 6 2 7

S C A M P I

Announcements

7 1 2 5 9 4 8 3 6

A P L O M B

Announcements

9 6 8 2 1 3 5 7 4

Y E T I T U A B N T O E V A P A B B E L E O N

Announcements

4 5 3 8 6 7 1 9 2

B L I P

2 9 1 4 3 5 7 6 8

G I B E

3 7 5 1 8 6 2 4 9

R R U E E M N G H A T L E S O A K B R E P N E O R N A L O E T R E B L E C L I A G O S M I R A C L E E S E P E B B L E T A I O L Y D S S A N T

6 8 4 9 7 2 3 5 1

A T W A P H A S R I D I N E S A M I D I N G O N T A T O B

29. Jul 2010

8 3 5 2

4

9 6

5

3 2

7

8

9

6

8

7 1

7 1 5 4 3 9 6 2 8

4 2 6 8 7 1 9 3 5

3 8 9 2 6 5 7 4 1

2 5 1 3 9 4 8 7 6

8 4 3 7 1 6 2 5 9

6 9 7 5 8 2 4 1 3

1

6 5 3 8 4 2 1 7 9

2 4 7 1 9 6 8 3 5

8 9 1 5 7 3 6 4 2

7 2 8 3 1 9 4 5 6

4 1 6 2 5 8 3 9 7

9 3 5 7 6 4 2 1 8

2

29. Jul 2010

covid19.illinois.edu

Par

SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE! WANT TO KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST ON-CAMPUS NEWS?

VISIT THE DAILY ILLINI ONLINE FOR REGULAR UPDATES & STORIES!

CLASSIFIEDS THE DAILY ILLINI Classified advertisers can now place print and online classified ads directly at:

Announcements

FOR RENT

Rentals

www.dailyillini.com/classifieds Sign in to set up an account with us.

Pricing is available on the site upon login. You can place ads in The Daily Illini print publications on Mondays and Thursdays, or on our dailyillini.com website, or both.

In addition to PAID ads for commercial businesses, we offer FREE ONLINE ads to UIUC students who sign into their accounts with “Illinois.edu” addresses.

Deadline: 11:00 a.m. one business day prior to publication

SUDOKU

XWORD

Help Wanted

Homes/Condos

SUDOKU

Merchandise

Services

www.dailyillini.com/ Transportation

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

Monday, May 3, 2021

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.

MONDAY, MAY 3

WEDNESDAY, MAY 5

Art of Science 11.0: Elemental PHOTO COURTESY OF CAILEIGH ALEXANDER

Fleurish, a flower shop located at 122 N. Walnut St., displays hippie art on different mediums.

Although they sell art, they can cater to any need in the flower department.

Fleurish offers floral pieces, art

BY CAILEIGH ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER

As we get further into the spring season and the weather gets warmer, flowers are a great way to celebrate the end of a stressful semester. With Mother’s Day and graduation rearing ahead, flowers from the perfect flower shop are a great way to celebrate.

Fleurish is a flower shop located in downtown Champaign at 122 N. Walnut St. and has a long history. It was first a drug store and was then turned into a bank and then a coffee shop. The antique flower shop provides customers with beautiful arrays suited for any celebration. They were originally located in Urbana for eight years and then moved to their Champaign location two years ago.

With white brick walls surrounding the store, decorative lamps and beautiful floral arrangements, stepping into Fleurish is like walking into a picture book. As customers step in, the aroma of flowers will hit them. Although it is a relatively small building, Kristine Fisher, Fleurish employee, uniquely utilizes the space. With pops of color around every corner, there is no doubt customers will be impressed with the creative minds of Fisher and other Fleurish employees.

This floral boutique provides a wide range of options for floral arrangements. They also provide customers with reasonable and affordable prices. Hand-tied bouquets range from $35 to $75. They offer arrangements for small everyday pleasures but also for more large-scale catering for businesses or large family events.

Fleurish also supports other small businesses around the country. They have a candle collection that they buy from a small business in San Francisco, California. These candles have a wide range of funky designs and colors that serve as great gifts or decorative pieces. Sarah also collects vintage planters with various types of plants. If you are a succulent lover, I highly recommend checking out what Fleurish has to offer.

Besides that, beautiful arrangements of plants and flowers at the front of the store, my favorite part of the shop is the art located in the back of the store. With pieces created by Fisher, the art gallery perfectly fits the aesthetic of Fleurish. If you aren’t able to stop by the store, you can check out Fisher’s Instagram, @kristinefisher, to see her artwork and floral arrangements.

Fleurish has been work-

ing hard to follow COVID-19 regulations for its customers.

Fleurish requires all customers and staff to wear masks, and the staff gets routine temperature checks and disinfects the store regularly.

Fisher spoke about a few of the ways the pandemic has affected Fleurish’s business and events.

“There hasn’t been a lot of events since COVID-19 has started, due to the restrictions,” Fisher said. “We haven’t had a wedding since October and have had no weddings booked this year.”

Flowers are also hard to ship. Since sales have been down, prices of the flowers have inevitably gone up, to no fault of the store.

“Flowers are double the price,” Fisher said. “We get our flowers shipped by plane, so they are the first to be bunked.”

All small businesses need help right now. With Mother’s Day right around the corner, we can all show our support for local businesses.

No matter how much you are willing to spend, anything can help.

You can check out their Facebook page, @fleurishfloralart, and their website, fleurishshop.com.

 11 a.m.-3 p.m.  University of Illinois Arboretum, 2001 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana  Free The Art of Science program, hosted by the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), is a celebration of the common ground between science and art. The works in this installation were created by pairing IGB scientists and their research images with current IGB artist Julia Pollack. These pieces are the result of conversations between the scientists and artist, an abstract visual exploration to highlight the power and aesthetics of science imagery.

TUESDAY, MAY 4

Star Wars Kit: May the 4th Be With You

 9 a.m.-7 p.m.  Urbana Free Library, 210 W. Green St., Urbana  Free If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’ll want to pick up this kit! In celebration of May the 4, pick up a Star Wars activity kit! Kit includes coloring sheets, an R2D2 hat, a Baby Yoda Corner Bookmark and more!

(Available while supplies last.) Visit the library at the Children’s Question to pick one up or you can call 217-367-4057 to schedule a curbside pickup. Ask for the Star Wars kit.

Virtual Piano Player Demonstration

 Noon -12:30 p.m.  Virtual event hosted by the Music & Performing Arts Library  Free Join the Music & Performing Arts Library for a virtual lunch hour demonstration featuring the Library’s Steinway DuoArt reproducing piano and collection of piano rolls. See the piano in action and learn more about the instrument and roll collection. The demonstration will last approximately 30 minutes and there will be additional time for questions.

Lunchtime Live Storytelling

 1:15 p.m.-1:45 p.m.  Virtual event hosted by Spurlock Museum  Free Take a soothing lunch break and join Kim Sheahan Sanford, Spurlock Museum’s assistant director of education and resident storyteller, for family-friendly stories from around the world.

Trivia at the Rose Bowl

 7 p.m.-9 p.m.  Rose Bowl Tavern, 106 N. Race St., Urbana  Free Trivia back at The Rose Bowl Tavern, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., on the parking lot patio.

The Last American Hammer

 4 p.m.  Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana  $15, $5 for students Combining elements of comedy and empathy, The Last American Hammer tells the story of a failed rural community in Ohio’s rust belt. Its bluegrass-infused score features strings, mandolin and banjo .

cda8readbuzz.com

E H T H T I W P U P E E K O T Y A W THE BEST

S W E N T S E T A L S E I R O & ST Use the QR code to sign up for our newsletter and get headline news sent to your email!

dailyillini.com

5B

6B

MONDAY May 3, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

buzz

‘The Eternal Castle’ invokes imaginary nostalgia

BY AIDAN FINN STAFF WRITER

I was never a PC kind of person, the opposite of my Nvidia-nut of a little brother.

Yet despite having no history with the medium, the retro-PC aesthetic speaks to my soul.

Whether it be the iconic “Bliss” Windows XP background, the nostalgia-inducing chime of the Windows 7 boot-up to the old yet charming visuals of classic PC titles the likes of “Doom” (1993) or “Duke Nukem 3D” (1996), these were all cutting edge for their time and miraculously appealing to this very day.

Browsing the Nintendo eShop had me stumbling upon an immediately eyecatching title that seemed retro yet unique. Later, I would find out that it was a remaster of a video game that never existed.

“The Eternal Castle (REMASTERED)” is a 2019 action-platformer with a strange yet gripping art style that is reminiscent of early PC titles with its stark use of pinks and blues. With no immediate dialogue to be found, you move through environmental storytelling while you’re on a classic quest to get to the castle in the pixelated distance. Environments are the vehicle of the story and the game’s strongest attribute. A mix of “Mad Max” and “Blade Runner,”

it portrays a minimalistic vision of a bleak dystopia of conflict and poverty with few, yet bright, colors and hyperdetailed, but blurry visuals.

It’s a game you have to see to truly understand.

We spoke with Leonard Menchiari, who is the game’s lead designer, to discuss the title and its uniquely retro history. buzz: How would you describe “The Eternal Castle” to someone unfamiliar with it?

Leonard Menchiari: “The Eternal Castle” is a video game based on the socalled “cinematic platformer” genre that was very popular in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, inspired by popular old titles such as “Prince of Persia” and “Another World.” This genre emphasized on character movement, atmosphere and cinematic feel rather than fast-paced, highly responsive gameplay. buzz: How long was the development cycle of “The Eternal Castle” from the first idea for the game to the release of the final product?

LM: The first idea came to me in 2015. I expanded the idea with a friend, but I didn’t start until one-two years later. The production time took about two years, plus an extra year to market it after it was released. buzz: This game’s art style is truly something else. The

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEAM

Remastered game “The Eternal Castle” brings nostalgia to many people. The game was released Jan. 5, 2019.

vivid blues and pinks gave it such a unique atmosphere.

How did you go about designing such? Inspirations for the environment? (Hyper-violent Commander Keen?)

LM: Thank you! The graphics are inspired by one of the most eye-hurting graphic cards from the ‘80s called CGA. It was a step up from black and white and everyone hated it. The one thing that happened, though, is that everyone that experienced it remembers it, and that was

one of the keys to keep the same emotional attachment from that era of DOS gaming. buzz: Given the straightforward yet very vague storytelling on display, what do you hope players leave the experience feeling?

LM: The experience is very subjective. The story is loose enough so that anyone can get as in-depth as they wanted while still experiencing a good adventure. My initial idea was to have all dialogues in an unreadable font

just to expand on the concept that you don’t need words to go through a good narrative. buzz: What advice would you give college students aspiring to be game developers?

LM: Plan ahead of time, and start very small. The project will inevitably grow as you keep making it. The biggest challenge was always to stay in scope and not expand, no matter how great the ideas were. Any idea takes time to make, so keep the ideas aside

and value carefully if you want to add them or not after several days (or weeks). Most indies don’t finish because they end up doing something that ends up being much more than they are able to handle.

For how simple of advice it might seem, this is the most important one by far.

“The Eternal Castle (REMASTERED)” is available on PC and Nintendo Switch. aidanf3@readbuzz.com

Support local bubble tea stores during nationwide scarcity

BY RUKAYAH HUSSEIN BUZZ CALENDAR EDITOR

As if we haven’t incurred enough loss due to the pandemic, reports are coming in that there is a national boba shortage. Boba has gained a lot of popularity in the United States over the last several years, and due to shipping delays during the COVID-19 pandemic, the supply of small tapioca pearls found in most bub-

ble tea is dwindling. It is yet another item to add to the list of treasures the pandemic has not spared.

While supplies last and until our abundance of tapioca is restored, the C-U community is fortunate enough to have many bubble tea shops in the area where boba-lovers can get their fix before the situation transforms into something dire. There may be a boba

shortage, but there is definitely no shortage of options when it comes to bubble tea in Champaign-Urbana. The following is an ever-increasing list of the best boba places in the campus area:

Latea Bubble Tea Lounge:

Latea is located on Sixth Street, right next door to Paris Super Crepes. Latea is the ultimate spot in the area for classic bubble tea flavors.

Their drinks contain quality and authentic boba that will keep you coming back for more. Their menu offers a wide variety of milk tea, specialty drinks, smoothies, cheese floats and more. My personal favorite is the rose milk tea with tapioca.

ogy offers a unique selection of classic and signature teas that can pair well with tapioca boba, lychee and aloe.

Bearology is the bubble tea shop for all your aesthetic Instagram posts. Their beverages are available to consume in adorable glass jars and flasks. They even have Bearology: shimmering drinks that will A nother community shine in your social media favorite for all things bub- stories. ble tea is Bearology. Bearol-

Teamoji:

Teamoji is a beloved fixture for all things boba on Green Street. Those who frequent this popular stretch of the campus area should be familiar with Teamoji’s charming brick exterior — and avid boba-drinkers know they can get their hands on some delicious beverages from this location. Teamoji boasts a plentiful and unique menu, with nearly every classic bubble tea flavor imaginable. They supply incredible milk and fruit tea combinations, with new varieties of extraordinary fizz, slush and even latte drink options!

Kung Fu Tea:

LANIE HIBEL THE DAILY ILLINI

Junior Matthew Lang works at LaTea serving customers Bubble Tea. LaTea is one of many places on campus that serves Bubble Tea.

BREAKING NEWS

Tenko Tea:

Tenko Tea is a newcomer to our local boba community located on the Urbana side of campus. This bubble tea shop has a simple but flavorful menu that is bound to serve “happiness in a cup.”

They have premium milk and classic tea selections, fruit slushes, matcha, coffee, cheese floats and more — all of which you can combine with toppings such as golden boba.

There are certainly plenty of places to peruse for all of your tapioca needs in the C-U area. However, if you are looking for even more bubble tea to try out, local restaurants and cafes like Caffe Bene, Paris Super Crepes and Cocomero offer some boba options as well.

It may seem like the world is falling apart, so ease your stresses with some bubble tea.

Kung Fu Tea is a wonderful bubble tea chain with impeccable flavors. Located on Sixth Street, Kung Fu Tea has an extensive menu with an overwhelming selection rukayah2@readbuzz.com

ATTENTION RSOs THIS SPACE COULD

BE YOURS

KEEP YOURSELF UPDATED AT

dailyillini.com

of various bubble tea styles.

They offer everything from classic drink and milk tea options to punch, yogurt, espresso and slush beverages. Their drinks are completely customizable, so anyone can alter their drink of choice to their liking. You will never be bored of boba at Kung Fu Tea.

FOR A

DISCOUNTED RATE!

WITH NEW CONTENT EVERY DAY

8,000 copies of The Daily Illini are distributed to over 150 locations every Monday and Thursday. Contact us today!

(217) 337-8382

advertise@illinimedia.com

DIGITAL ADVERTISING ALSO AVAILABLE