The Daily Illini Vol. 150 Issue 54 May 6 by The Daily Illini

FINALS EDITION THURSDAY May 6, 2021

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

WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

Read online!

Vol. 150 Issue 54

LONGFORM

JONAH OZER THE DAILY ILLINI

UI library to undergo long overdue renovations Undergraduate Library set to close January 2022 for conversion

BY WILLIE CUI ASSISTANT DATYTIME NEWS EDITOR

Sitting between the Armory and the largely subterranean Undergraduate Library is the Main Library. Despite not being the most eye-catching building on campus, the historic Main Library, constructed in the 1920’s, housed one of the University’s most prized assets: its collections of rare books and manuscripts — one of the largest in the world. Yet, the vault that houses

the University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library “is at the end of its useful life,” according to John Wilkin, dean of Libraries and University librarian. It’s no secret that the Main Library is in need of renovation. Problems with the Main Library’s bookstacks, such as issues with fire safety and the preservation of library materials, have been the subject of discussion among library staff for decades.

CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI

The Main Library sits quietly at 1408 W. Gregory Drive in Urbana, Illinois on Wednesday morning. The historic Main Library is set to undergo much needed renovations.

“Some folks may feel that the space in the Main Library is conducive to study or not conducive to study, but one fact remains — those stacks ranges are a danger to the collection,” Wilkin said. “They need to be replaced.” Since 2018, the University Library (the entity responsible for the various libraries on campus) has been working on a plan to renovate the Main Library and convert the Undergraduate Library into a dedicated facility for the University’s collection of rare books and manuscripts. However, throughout the planning process, members of the humanities faculty and University Library administrators have been at odds over the renovation plans. Concerns were raised by faculty regarding the location of UGL services during the years-long renovation period as well as potential flooding issues with the UGL. Additionally, faculty members have expressed frustration at the University Library’s lack of transparency regarding the renovation plans, as well as what they see as half-hearted attempts at seeking input. Attempting to address this,

Ralph Mathisen, professor in LAS and newly-elected chair of the University Senate Library Committee, proposed a resolution in April to delay the UGL conversion and establish a committee to assess the needs of students, faculty and staff. Despite being co-sponsored by 11 faculty senators and having the support of 14 University department heads, the resolution was rejected.

Problems with the Main Library

Despite their differences, both the University Library and the faculty members agree that the Main Library is long overdue for renovation. “One of the things which everybody wanted and had been wanting for a very long time was to renovate the old stacks of the Main Library,” Mathisen said. The conditions in the bookstacks of the Main Library pose a fire hazard and accelerate the decay of library materials, according to Wilkin. “Susan Orlean’s book ‘The Library Book’ about the fire for the Los Angeles Public Library — the library burned down — the structure that she describes there is exactly

the same structure we have for stacks ranges one through five,” Wilkin said. “It’s a fire hazard and environmentally it’s accelerating the decay of those materials.” William Maher, University archivist and director of Archives for the University Library, noted that, due to the way the original stacks were built, fire can easily spread from one level of the stacks to another. “If you go into the first section of the stacks, you can actually look down and drop a piece of paper from one level to the next,” Maher said. “And as a result of that, any fire that would start at one level, would present a risk of transmitting

to other levels.” Moreover, he noted that conditions of the older stacks of the Main Library are not conducive to preserve library materials from deterioration. “If you’ve ever left a newspaper in your car for a week, especially in the summertime, by the time you go back to it’s yellow … that is because the paper contains wood pulp in it and when that interacts with atmospheric moisture and heat, it’ll start breaking down and acidify,” Maher said. “One of the best ways to globally stop that in its track is by storing material at lower temperatures and SEE LIBRARY | 3A

INSIDE

Features: Seniors perform final dance theses inspired by identity

Editorial: Recognize personal progression this finals season

PAGE 5A

PAGE 6A

ATTENTION SENIORS Make senior year special and live at

911 S Locust St. 1 BR in Senior land

DAILYILLINI, DAILYILLINISPORTS

INSIDE

Police

@THEDAILYILLINI, @DI_OPINION, @DI_SPORTS Life

Culture

Crossword

Opinions

@THEDAILYILLINI, @THEDAILYILLINISPORTS 6A

Letters

Sports

THEDAILYILLINI |

Classifieds

Sudoku

THEDAILYILLINI 4B

buzz

2A Thursday, May 6, 2021

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.

STAFF

Editor-in-Chief

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

Cameron Krasucki photo@dailyillini.com

Asst. photo editor Lanie Hibel

Design editor

Chieh Hsu online@dailyillini.com

Jonah Ozer design@dailyillini.com

Managing editor, Visuals

Asst. design editors

Ryan Ash visuals@dailyillini.com

News editor Amrita Bhattacharyya news@dailyillini.com

Asst. news editors Aliza Majid Mona Alrazzaq

Julia Eversmann Angelina Chan

Video editor Maddy Chemers video@dailyillini.com

Asst. video editor Tara Mobasher

Buzz editor Carolina Garibay

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

Sydney Wood

Sports editor

Citlaly Leanos copychief@dailyillini.com

Copy chief

Jackson Janes sports@dailyillini.com

Asst. sports editors Angelle Cortes Will Payne

Asst. sports editors of on-air

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: Tyshawn Primer, Margaret Burnetti, Elizabeth Wessel, Madelyn Heidke, Xiadani Mendoza Designers: Page transmission: Diana Anghel Web manager: Chieh Hsu

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

How to contact us

POLICE The estimated cost to repair the window is $142.

Champaign

• Nothing to report.

University

Urbana

then threatened them with a knife. • Criminal damage to property was reported on the 1300 block of Hill Street around 11 p.m. on Monday. According to the report, an unknown offender slashed two tires of the victim’s vehicle while the victim was at work.

• Criminal damage to property • Aggravated assault was reported was reported at the Main Library, at Save A Lot on the 200 block of 1402 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana on North Broadway Avenue around Tuesday. According to the report, 7 p.m. on Monday. According a University employee reported to the report, the unknown that a window was broken someoffender assaulted two victims time between Friday and Monday. while at a public bus stop and news@dailyillini.com

Check out these study spaces for finals BY AMRITA BHATTACHARYYA

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

General contacts Main number: Advertising: Newsroom: Production:

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. Employment: If you would like to work for the newspaper’s editorial department, please fill out our form or email employment at dailyillini.com. Calendar: If you want to submit events for publication in print and online, visit dailyillini.com. Letters to the editor: Letters are limited to 300 words. Contributions must include the author’s name, address and phone number. University students must include their year in school and college. The Daily Illini reserves the right to edit or reject any contributions. Email opinions@dailyillini.com with the subject “Letter to the Editor.”

NEWS EDITOR

Fi na ls a re fa st approaching, and it’s time to buckle down and start studying. With the ongoing pandemic, the University’s study spaces may not be as accessible as they are in a normal year. However, the University is still offering multiple study locations, and there’s always other options around campus as well. Let’s take a look at some of the best study spaces for finals this year!

Advertising

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.

The Daily Illini is online everywhere you are.

Website dailyillini.com

The Undergraduate Library

The Undergraduate Library remains a timeless classic among students. With its large windows providing natural lighting and a quiet level on the bottom floor, it’s an excellent place to get some work done with no distractions. The UGL is allowing students to book study rooms and tables, which must be made at least two hours in advance. In addition, I recommend that you enjoy the UGL while it’s still around, as there are eventual plans to turn the UGL into a special collections facility.

Campus Study Halls

If you’re especially conscious about ensuring everyone adheres to COVID-19 protocols, the Wellness Ambassadors will be hosting campus

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

The Daily Illini App

THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO

Students study at the main stacks of the Main Library on April 30, 2019. There are many good places to study on campus.

Study Halls, in which the ambassadors will be ensuring compliance with testing requirements, face mask coverings and following room capacity g uidelines. Study Halls will be hosted in Everitt Lab, Gregory Hall and Bevier Hall.

Caffé Bene

With two locations on campus, you’re bound to find one that isn’t full. Caffé Bene provides a peaceful coffeehouse atmosphere, so if you’re scared about crashing during your study session, a cup of coffee isn’t too far! With large tables and plushy seating, the small perks of Caffé Bene provide some much need-

Play Store, App Store

ed comfort during the to 11 p.m. stress of finals.

Illini Union

The Illini Union has multiple study areas, each with a distinct aesthetic, so you can switch it up if one location gets too monotonous. To start off, we have the Courtyard Café. This location is great if you want Starbucks on standby, and the individual-sized tables in the courtyard ensure that social distancing is taking place. There’s also the Illini Union Ballroom, which is on the second floor on the north side of the Union. All study locations in the Union will be open Thursday through next Friday from 7 a.m.

Facebook The Daily Illini The Daily Illini Sports

The South Quad

If you’re starting to feel like you’ve been cooped up inside too long, try spending some time out on the South Quad! It will most likely be less packed and quieter than the Main Quad, and the historical bell tower provides some beautiful scenery. These are just a few of the locations you could study for finals this upcoming week. Remember to take care of yourself in the process and rely on your support network if you start feeling burned out. Best of luck, Illini!

Twitter @TheDailyIllini @DI_Sports

Instagram @TheDailyIllini

Corrections Monday’s story on UI silence toward police shootings stated that Black Students for Revolution is an RSO at the University. The BSFR organization is not directly affiliated with the University. The Daily Illini regrets this error.

abhatt52@dailyillini.com

BREAKING NEWS KEEP YOURSELF UPDATED AT

dailyillini.com WITH NEW CONTENT EVERY DAY

ALL NEW

NEW NAME Same convenient urgent care

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

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.

Learn more at osfoncall.org/newname

THURSDAY May 6, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

NEWS

FROM 1A

LIBRARY

humidities.” Specifically, Maher noted that stacks numbers one through three in the Main Library lack any air conditioning. “It gets very hot in there over the years,” Maher said. “Even in the wintertime, because the heating systems were designed to essentially overheat, and the heating is exacerbating that problem.” Also, mold was discovered near the rare books area of the Main Library in 2008. Although this was not in the stacks area of the Main Library, the discovery led the University to install a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in the Main Library, according to Maher. Additionally, parts of the Main Library are not compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements regarding accessibility, according to Lori Newcomb, professor in LAS and member of the Library Consultation Working Group. However, due to the age of the building, it was “grandfathered in.”

Renovation plans — a history

Since the early 1990’s, University officials have been considering different ways to go about renovations. “As far back as the 1990’s, there have been plans underway or at least ideas about how to best renovate the Undergraduate and Main Library,” said Pia Hunter, former chair of the University Senate’s Library Committee and teaching assistant professor in Law. “That’s happened over a series of different meetings, and I think there was a big study in 2006 where planners came and assessed the structure.” In 2006, the University Library hired several architectural firms to investigate the potential renovation of the Main Library with a focus on better integrating undergraduates into the Main Library. The talk of renovations went quiet until 2008, when the University Library commissioned the nowdefunct architectural firm Woollen, Molzan and Partners to draft a plan for the renovation of the Main Library. This plan sought to address many of the issues with the Main Library and also construct additional stacks to the west of the building, but the almost $300 million price tag proved too expensive for the University, and so the plan was rejected. In 2018, once Wilkin returned to the University Library after serving as an interim provost for the University, the University Library revisited the prospect of renovating the aging building, and the 2009 plan was “dusted off.” However, parts of the 2009 plan were substantially altered. The initial 2009 plan called for the construction of a new library facility near Newman Hall that would be serviced by robotics. This new facility would be built before the demolition and infill of the Main Library stacks and would have served as replacement stacks during the construction period.

However this was deemed too expensive and was dropped from the 2018 plan. As a result, the order of construction had to be reversed. The University Library decided to convert the UGL first — before the Main Library infill and renovations would take place. Under the renewed 2018 plan, the University Library will turn the UGL into a special collections facility and then demolish and rebuild the central stacks of the Main Library, using reclaimed space from the demolitions to host undergraduate services. Although the University Library proposed a project schedule in March 2020, which estimated project completion by 2026, Wilkin said that this timetable “is no longer possible” and that rebuilding and renovating the Main Library “will be scheduled some time in the future.” According to Wilkin, as it stands now, the University Library plans to first convert the UGL into a special collections facility, then demolish the old stacks of the Main Library and construct a new infill to it for undergraduate services, and then renovate other portions of the Main Library, before finally constructing a roof over the UGL courtyard. However, much of when these stages will occur is dependent on whether and when the University Library will secure the funding to proceed. While the University Library has secured around $46.8 million for the UGL conversion, around 90% of

“As far back as the 1990’s, there have been plans underway... about how to best renovate the Undergraduate and Main Library.” PIA HUNTER UI SENATE LIBRARY CMTE. MEMBER

needed funding, they have yet to do so for the remaining stages, Wilkin noted. According to him, the total cost of the renovation project is roughly $250 million spread over each stage of the project, with roughly $50 million for the UGL conversion, $100 million for the Main Library infill, $72 million for Main Library renovations and $28 million for constructing a roof over the courtyard of the converted UGL. In its fiscal year 2022 budget proposal for the University Board of Trustees, the University included a request for $100 million in state funding for the Main Library infill portion of the renovation project. However, that funding will not come in the 2022 fiscal year “because the Governor did not include the University’s request in his proposed budget,” Wilkin noted in a later email. The University Library plans to fund the remaining stages (the Main Library renovations and the roof over the UGL courtyard) through a variety of sources, such as the University’s deferred maintenance fund and private donations, though this will be done over a longer period of time, he noted. Nevertheless, Wilkin is

JONAH OZER THE DAILY ILLINI

confident that the University Library will secure the funds to complete the renovation project, even if it will take some time to do so.

The mounting concern

Among the various concerns regarding the renovation plan, the largest and most pressing concern is: What about the undergraduates? When the UGL closes, the University Library will need to find a way to accommodate the undergraduate patrons who previously used the UGL. To plan for this, the Universit y Libra r y established the Under g r a du at e/ M a i n Library Integration Working Group to investigate options for the relocation of undergraduate services and to find alternative spaces for use by undergraduates during the renovation period. Their solution was to find space in other University libraries and relocate undergraduate services there. “(The working group) has identified the need for between 535 and 700 seats based on use of the UGL,” Wilkin said. “And they’ve identified between 818 and 878 additional seats in the Main Library, ACES, Grainger and the Music and Performing Arts Library to meet those needs without displacing other users.” Faculty members take issue with this plan, noting that undergraduates and other library patrons would have to endure this crowding for several years until the Main Library infill is complete. “There’s going to be a couple of rooms that are repurposed for undergraduate study space, but whatever that is, it’s going to be a shadow of the UGL,” said James Brennan, professor in LAS and a member of the University Senate Library Committee. “And that’s going to be true for a minimum of five years, maybe ten years.” Brennan, who attended the University as an undergraduate in the 1990’s, noted that the UGL was designed as a study space and is now being repurposed for a task it wasn’t designed for.

CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI

The Undergraduate Library courtyard receives bountiful amounts of sunlight from the west on Wednesday morning.

“The Undergraduate Library is designed as a study space, that’s why it’s so good,” he said. “It’s designed for light. Now we’re repurposing it as a structure where light can’t go in.” Newcomb noted that the plan would leave fewer library spaces near the Main Quad for undergraduate use. “I don’t think that plan is in the best interest of the undergrads,” she said. “That there’s going to be no group study space within walking distance of the Main Quad or the southwest residential campus, is really a shame.” Newcomb also noted that the atmosphere would be different than in the UGL and the alternate spaces would be more crowded as more students would be sharing the same space. “No matter what they say about (the) number of seats, the loss of square footage for human use is MASSIVE,” Newcomb later stated in an email.

Flooding issues

Moreover, there has been concern over potential flooding issues with the UGL. “The Undergraduate Library had been built on a swamp with known drainage issues,” Mathisen said. When it was initially constructed in the 1960’s, the UGL was installed with two sump pumps and a backup generator for redundancy. Even if one pump fails during a power outage, the remaining sump pump and the backup generator would be able to protect the UGL from flooding. However, to ensure this redundancy remains viable, the pumping equipment needs to be consistently maintained, and it is difficult to tell whether the sump pumps remain functional unless they are in use — when they are needed to pump water out. In 2017, there was an instance where both pumps failed, resulting in water reaching the floor of the UGL’s equipment room, roughly two feet below the sub basement. Although the pumps were previously identified as being beyond their serviceable life, they were not replaced immediately. While the water issue is not their largest concern, many faculty and staff are uncomfortable with the prospect of storing the University’s rare and archival collections in the UGL, given the potential risk of flooding. “If you were going to continue to use the UGL the way it has been, and the worst happens and the water table rises or there’s flooding that the equipment can’t take care of, then it’s damaged … and the books that would be there would be damaged or destroyed, or cost a lot to clean,” said a source familiar with the topic. “But that’s different than when you’re putting rare and unique collections there … That Issac Newton manuscript that they’ve got? There’s no other one in the world. None.”

Lack of transparency

Most of all, faculty members take issue with what they see as a lack of transparency, and feel that the University Library is not taking outside input seriously. “Our frustration has been that the library administration is completely uninterested in even speaking for five seconds about any alternatives,” Brennan said. “They say ‘This is the only alternative; it’s the only one that’s financially viable; if we don’t move ahead right now, not only will we lose money but these endangered materials will become further endangered.’ And that’s kind of been the standoff point for probably two years now.” He further noted that the faculty members feel that they have been listened to, but not heard. “There’s been a lot of consultation, but there’s been no real listening,” Brennan said. “Particularly to the idea that we need to consider alternatives, and if the alternatives look really bad by comparison, then maybe there would have been a pretty wide consensus to go ahead

“The library administration is completely uninterested in even speaking for five seconds about any alternative” JAMES BRENNAN UI SENATE LIBRARY COMMITTE CHAIR

with this plan. But there hasn’t been that discussion.” Newcomb takes issue with the University Library’s lack of communication with the public regarding the impacts the UGL conversion will have on students. “My objection is that the changed priority hasn’t been communicated to the public so that the undergraduates realize how long they’re going to be homeless,” she said. This view is echoed by Brennan, who wonders if undergraduates are “even aware that the Undergraduate Library is gone.” “I think it’s increasingly clear the costs, particularly regarding s t u d ent displacement from study space,” he said. “That’s clear now, but that was never clear during the whole consultation process.” Brennan also noted that this lack of communication has allowed the University Library to remain tight-lipped about many of the renovation plan’s details, particularly regarding the cost of the plan. “You have people right now who are in junior high school, who won’t have the same sort of study space and experience that people who were students here until March (2020) had,” Brennan said. “That’s a huge cost. I don’t know what figure you could put on that, but … if undergraduates understood the public-space cost that this plan has, they might ask for

more figures about why this is deemed the only acceptable plan.” Mathisen said that the University Library has refused to consider any outside input when planning the renovations, noting further that any attempt at dialogue through a series of “town halls” was “heavily stage-managed” by the University Library. As a result, he proposed a resolution to the University Senate for the creation of a committee to review the renovation plan and delay the UGL conversion by six months. Ultimately, the resolution was rejected by the University Senate even though it was broadly supported by the humanities faculty after the University Library came out in heavy opposition to it, noting that the delay would put the funding for the UGL conversion at risk. Since then, Mathisen has proposed a resolution in the LAS faculty senate calling for the college of LAS to create an independent ad hoc committee “to continue dialogue with the library administration and advocate for the interests of our undergraduates during the renovation.” Despite this, the Universit y Libra r y maintains that student and faculty interests were always represented during the planning process for renovations. Wilkin pointed out that the Library Consultation Working Group, which was created by the provost to discuss the renovations, was largely composed of faculty as well as an undergraduate and a graduate student. Additionally, he noted that the University Library held several town halls where the University Library presented its renovation plan and answered questions about it. Sara Holder and David Ward, co-chairs of the Undergraduate/Main Library Integration Working Group noted that they consulted with different “focus groups” of students when developing their plan for undergraduate services.

Moving forward

The UGL will remain open next fall, though it is set to close in January 2022, when the building will be vacated, with estimated due date of 2024 for the conversion. Beyond that however, there is no timetable set in stone for the other stages of the renovation project. Wilkin could not provide an exact time for when construction on the Main Library infill will begin, only that he “can say for sure that they wouldn’t start until after 2024” when the UGL conversion is complete. “We have some of the most extraordinary rare and archival collections in the world, and we’re going to create a home for them,” Wilkin said. williec2@dailyillini.com

THURSDAY May 6, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

LIFE & CULTURE

Read online!

Prioritize health, do not sweat burnout BY ROHIT JAMMU ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR

It’s May once again and that means you’ve made it through yet another begrudging, infuriating and yet, what I hope was a complicated and fun semester. It’s been over a year since all of us have been confined to our own living spaces because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while some things have drastically changed, others have not. Chief among them: finals. Finals are the final frontier, between every college student and three months of unhinged summer. Finals week is the last stretch of battle that people endure and prepare for with hours of grinding and relentless focus. W hile most people stitch together some superficial understanding of the relationship between paying attention and being distracted, everyone seems to think that they’re opposites. If you’re sitting down to study, getting some homework done or preparing for finals and you find yourself distracted by another enticing icon on your desktop and the four social media apps on your phone. Don’t be alarmed— everyone gets distracted. With finals being at the end of a four-month-long struggle, burnout and the stress that comes with it is the most common thing people experience. Instead of trying to power through your inability to focus with unhealthy heaps

LANIE HIBEL THE DAILY ILLINI

Foellinger Auditorium stands tall on the Main Quad. Students get ready to say goodbye to campus as finals come around.

of caffeine and stress, give in to your burnout early, allow yourself to be distracted. Contrary to popular belief, the opposite of focus is not a distraction, it is simply exploration. People are easy to understand, ever yone likes being entertained and occupied — but we can only be entertained by something for so long. If you’re feeling an absolute

lack of motivation to focus and study, it’s because you’ve done it for so long. Instead, go get a cup of coffee with your roommates. Sit and gossip for an unreasonable amount of time with said cup in the living room. Everyone has that one friend who has their birthday smack in the middle of exams: Go celebrate that birthday. Break the monotony of

where and who you eat with. Frolic pointlessly on the main quad among the countless picnic blankets, hammocks and students playing spikeball. If you’re someone who studies at home often, reserve a room at the library, or vice-versa. Convince yourself you’ll get some work done with friends and achieve nothing. Experiment with what you

cook or eat. Reorganize and clean your room and/ or apartment. Sit down and listen to your favorite albums and playlists in one stretch. All of this is to say, if you feel unmotivated, burnt out, exhausted, stressed out and are panicking with the coming finals, know that it’s normal and don’t fight it. It’s pointless to force yourself to do something when you

aren’t giving your 100%, so don’t panic if you aren’t spending a majority of your time grinding with pure focus. Take a step back, give in early, and give yourself time to revitalize yourself. However, if you have a final literally tomorrow, do not do any of this. Go study, you can frolic around campus before your next final. rjammu2@daliyilini.com

Walk off your stress during finals, go outside BY GWYN SKILES FEATURES EDITOR

Finals are stressful. But this year, they feel even more so. Most students have been going full steam ahead since January. Not to

mention during a pandemic where most activities and gatherings that relieve stress have been canceled. Many scientific studies show that long-term stress weakens the immune system. Now more than ever,

it’s important to stay healthy and safe. To prevent illness and to get the final grades you desire, it’s important for students to take time for themselves. Block out at least an hour to lift your eyes

from the computer screen. The best thing you can do for yourself is spend time outside. Yes, it has been rainy. But grab an umbrella and go for a walk. Or, wait until the rain stops and go for a walk.

THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO

Sophomore Jacob Wargo walks out of Boneyard Creek wearing cowboy boots on Nov. 16, 2019. Students can relieve stress during finals week by taking a walk outside.

NEW CONTENT EVERY DAY AT

dailyillini.com

ADD IT TO YOUR BOOKMARKS

THE DAILY ILLINI

You might see a rainbow or notice new wildlife has grown. Campus is beautiful during May. Trees are in full bloom, and there are tons of bunnies hopping around. The air smells sweet, and it’s not too cold outside. Taking the time to enjoy your surroundings and exercise is vital to your studying process. Studies show that walking outside increases your endorphins. Endorphins help you remember information and build stamina to study longer. If you’re inclined, ask a friend to walk with you. Maybe reach out ahead of time to make sure you both can work it into your schedules. Make sure it’s a friend you can relax with. You don’t want to get stressed about friend drama or get further distracted. If you absolutely have no time to go for a walk, take a couple minutes to rest. Do jumping jacks in your room or take a 10-minute power nap. While studying, listen to

nature sounds. Believe it or not, they’re not just helpful for yoga. Look-up “nature sounds” on YouTube. It alerts the body into thinking you’re outside and provides a refreshing state of mind. Try to sit outside and study. Grab your textbook and head for the quad. Find a nice bench outside of a building. Or grab a table by the Undergraduate Library. Sit by a window. Allow yourself to watch the squirrels scamper and the birds chirp. Oftentimes during finals week, students lose touch of their passions and the subjects they study feel like busy work. So head outside, get some exercise, listen to your surroundings and you won’t regret it. Every student came to the University because they’re curious, ambitious and passionate. But the key to success is building breaks in your schedule and getting in touch with nature. gskiles2@dailyillini.com

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

Thursday, May 6, 2021

Graduating seniors perform final dances

PHOTO COURTESY OF FAA STREAM

Stephanie Show, senior in FAA, performs a piece titled “I”DENT”I”TY outside wearing a mask. The show was virtually streamed on Friday and Saturday despite setbacks from COVID-19. BY FARRAH ANDERSON ASSISTANT INVESTIGATIVE NEWS & LONGFORM EDITOR

As a young girl growing up in Chicago, Stephanie Shaw began to dance at church services with her family. Or, as her mom said, Shaw would just “get up and go.” Shaw said she’s been a dancer ever since. Once she got older, Shaw said her parents couldn’t afford to send her to dance classes. Instead, she started teaching herself to dance from watching YouTube videos and dance routines online. When she got to high

school, Shaw said she met a girl who took dance classes nearby and told her she wanted to dance just like her. “I told her, ‘I want to do that.’” Shaw said “‘I don’t know what you need to teach me, and I don’t know what I need to do, but I want to do what you’re doing.’” After that, Shaw said she took her under her wing. Whenever the two ran into each other at school, she would teach Shaw what she had learned at class the night before. Now a senior in FAA, Shaw presented her senior thesis

project last Friday night. The show was composed of 11 dance films shown on Friday and Saturday night — broken into Show A and Show B. Traditionally a live performance, the seniors in dance had to present their projects virtually this year because of the pandemic. Instead of performing their projects on stage in front of an audience, the seniors were forced to learn how to create dance films — something most of them had never tried before. Shaw ’s film named “I”DENT”I”TY” is focused on finding your own iden-

PHOTO COURTESY OF IBRAHIM SABBI

An illustration on the senior thesis project poster is shown above. The show was virtually streamed in two parts on Friday and Saturday.

IF THEY CAN DO IT,

SO CAN YOU!

WEAR a MASK THE

DAILY ILLINI

PHOTO COURTESY OF FAA STREAM

Angel Anderson, senior in FAA, performs her thesis titled “didn’t cha know,” which premiered online Friday night.

tity. Throughout her piece, five dancers in gray suits wearing white masks dance through a field. The viewer can’t tell the dancers apart. For Shaw, this was a deliberate choice. “You can’t tell one from another,” Shaw said. “We can look the same, but it’s what we claim and identify as, that makes us different.” At the end of the piece, the dancers shed their masks — finally allowing the viewer to see their physical identity. As a dancer with no formal training until she came to the University, Shaw said she questioned her own identity as an artist. She said she felt insecure about her skills in dance compared to students who had more formal training in studios. But eventually, she was able to see that her own identity was unique and embrace what she could do. “I was really able to let those insecurities and doubts go and fully develop into the dancer and artist that I am today,” Shaw said. “Our identities are not stuck to us — they are always changing.” Mya McClellan, senior in FAA, also presented her thesis project Friday night alongside Shaw’s film titled “it’s not me, it’s you.” Inspired to explore generational trauma after seeing the impact of George Floyd’s murder and the Black Lives Matter movement, McClellan said we’re still seeing

the effects of slavery today. “I want to end the cycles within my family,” McClellan said. “We still feel the effects of it in our body whether we know it or not.” Although the piece was largely about the Black experience for her, McClellan said that it became something different for both of her dancers who aren’t Black. She said it became a way for them to confront trauma that they’ve experienced in their lives. Dancing with a long strip of fabric throughout a majority of the piece, McClellan said she had to find a unique way to connect her dancers while still remaining socially distant. “I tried to find new ways to connect my dancers,” McClellan said. “They could feel each other’s weight and still manipulate each other’s body even though they couldn’t make physical contact.” Despite working on these projects for over a year, some seniors like Alexandra Green were forced to start over. After a professor in FA A critiqued her piece and said that her dancers looked “sexually assaulted,” Green said she couldn’t look at what she had made the same way. “Unknowing to her, I had experienced the trauma that the professor had brought up,” Green said. “I just could not look at what I had made the first semester the same.”

Green said she then decided to have a discussion with her dancers about trauma they had experienced. Through their talks, Green discovered that they all had experienced anxiety and panic attacks — something Green said is a huge problem in the dance industry. Her dancers, including Haley Krause said they were each assigned a feeling you could experience during a panic attack. Krause choreographed a solo around her symptom of hyperventilation. “She didn’t pick these for us,” Krause said. “She assigned us based on our real lives.” Ibrahim Sabbi, senior in FAA, presented his piece on Saturday night and designed the promotional poster they used for the event. Sabbi said he wanted his artwork to connect the group of seniors which shows them all dancing intertwined. Although the process was filled with challenges, like when Sabbi’s hard drive crashed and he lost all his edits, he said it felt great to come together and premiere all their projects together this past weekend. “It feels good to know that even though a pandemic and so many restrictions placed on us, we still were all able to make really cool stuff and watch it together,” Sabbi said. farrah2@dailyillini.com

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD ACROSS

1 “Unbelievable!” 6 Actor Patel of “Slumdog Millionaire” 9 Film in which Will Ferrell wears yellow tights 12 Good, in Genoa 13 Specs can be provided for them 15 Talk like a tippler 16 ___ Building, former name of Chicago’s Aon Center 17 Losing dice roll 18 [sooo funny!] 19 6-Across, with “out” 22 What the Cyclops couldn’t do after Odysseus tricked him 24 “___ interesante” 25 Bull’s preceder in the zodiac 26 “Sooo funny …” 28 Fearing 33 Inits. before 9-Across 35 Pop star Grande, to fans 36 Airplane whose name is also a vitamin 37 Start of the third millennium 38 Something often skipped using a DVR 39 Way to say “hey” in São Tomé 40 37-Across, in slang 44 Overlooked 46 Pestering sort 47 Dip stick? 48 Depiction on Arizona and New Mexico’s flags 49 ___ loose 50 64-/65-Across and others 56 Ice-___ (old tennis nickname) 57 Bombard (with) 58 Sorting category in a music app 61 “Jeopardy!,” basically 62 Fix

17 19

35 38

PUZZLE BY SAM EZERSKY

63 Bumpkins 64 French holy title: Abbr. 65 Cheap beer choice, for short 66 S.U.V. with a geographic name

DOWN

1 Firm requirement, maybe 2 Word a cook likes to hear 3 Travel abroad 4 How many times TV’s Perry Mason lost a case 5 Quite a job, you have to admit? 6 Publicly criticize 7 Literary character who says “I will be myself” to Mr. Rochester 8 What might be parm for the course? 9 Friend of Cookie Monster

10 Occasion for a roast 11 Some natural hairstyles, informally 14 Perfectly thrown football 15 Gunk 20 Circular dwelling 21 Libertarian politico Johnson 22 1984 hit for Cyndi Lauper 23 Where I-5 meets I-710 27 What may come home to roost 28 Something that might be made with cold cuts from the fridge 29 Sister of Calliope 30 Filmmaker who co-created “Twin Peaks” 31 Like Tennessee Avenue and New York Avenue, on a Monopoly board 32 Have ants in one’s pants

34 Website with Oscars recaps 38 Vietnam’s Le Duc ___ 40 Sweat it 41 Ones with spots to fill 42 “One” on ones 43 Tony and Maria duet in “West Side Story” 45 Trey ___, R&B artist with the 2012 charttopping album “Chapter V” 48 Strong luster? 50 Occasions for roasts, for short 51 Hooligan 52 City roughly halfway between Cleveland and Buffalo 53 “Pirates of the Caribbean” star 54 Toning target 55 Noted leader of the Resistance 59 Pioneering co. in film noir

The crossword solution is in the Classified section.

THURSDAY May 6, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

OPINIONS

Read online!

Disoriented exams deserve renovation

THE DAILY ILLINI EDITORIAL

SAMUEL RAHMAN ASSISTANT EDITOR

JULIA EVERSMANN THE DAILY ILLINI

Semester produces resilient Illini T

his year’s finals could not arrive at a more distressing moment. Whether it be the pandemic lingering, colossal Zoom fatigue setting in from one year of online education or the “Mental Health” days having little impact on students’ well-being, this semester’s end could not come any sooner. Yet, Illini, the end is near. Hope remains over the horizon as the University plans for the increased return of inperson classes and activities. Moreover, vaccines allure to a “new normal” awaiting once the population reaches certain levels of protection. Nevertheless, finals this semester resemble either a godsend or additional hardship. For some, finals are the concluding obstacle before a relaxing summer. For others, these exams embody the ill fortune of a semester lacking a necessary spring break, further worsening the endured burnout. No matter one’s anticipation or dread for finals, a consideration for students’ well-being — as well as respect for their continued earnestness — must anticipate students post-finals. Additionally, because burnout prevents diligence, conquering fatigue

will become the latest challenge for University students and faculty. It is this perceived burnout, especially, that has permeated student and faculty life. Although the scattered days off this last semester were designed to alleviate burnout burdening mental health, little was relieved. Likewise, a semester continuously flowing from January through May has drained students. Without the typical spring break, students profoundly suffered from increased anxiety and struggle with perpetual academic work. Jared Frank, sophomore in Engineering, comprehended this moment in March when describing to The Daily Illini that a typical spring break is, “a great time to recoup and catch up with things that were left behind earlier and get a breather.” Yet with a semester excluding this worthwhile break, Frank noted, “it definitely is not the same, however, since you still have classes or midterms the next day. It feels more like catching up with work, instead of taking a break from work.” This incessant “catching up” leads to a finals season where students are

presently devoid of spontaneous impulse. Illini are due for proper credit, nonetheless, for reaching this closing mark. A pandemic throws all of society into a whirlwind. Education — as exhibited from transitions into Zoom and social isolation — is one of the fields most afflicted by COVID-19. Students, faculty and administration alike weathered this storm for multiple semesters now and, in the process, adapted to foreign circumstances — a valiant adaptation worthy of recognition. Despite irritating adjustments, Illini have persevered and managed to balance life amidst momentous political change, a debilitating pandemic and frequent periods of social isolation. Above all else, this effort deserves commendation. Consequently, it is in these occasions where character is tested and formulated. Besides the few who elected to ignore life’s recent modifications, Illini united in health and prosperity these last semesters. Assuredly, praise will not soothe the mental health woes inflicting students and faculty, but an acknowledgment for Illini’s is belated.

As this finals season aims to be the last before a “new normal” dawns, Illini must pause and reflect on their vigor and personal strides. A life reminiscent of pre-COVID-19 is distant, yet the worst lies behind. Therefore, Illini should strengthen their resolve as they prepare for what remains: a finish line filled with finals. Regardless of the overwhelming nature of finals, these persisting exams, projects or papers position themselves between a triumphant semester’s end versus a capitulation to burnout. It is an accomplishment to reach finals this semester. With COVID-19 heavily affecting physical and mental health, it is a remarkable achievement for students to learn amid the pandemic. Still, finals await. As such, students must recognize that over this exam-crowded horizon, better days persist. This finals season, be mindful of one’s mental health and righteous procurement. Although many finals stand for subsequent semesters, let this one exist as exceptional for its triumphs and tribulations. Crucially, Illini, prevail over the pain and secure a resounding semester.

Persevere through this atypical finals season NOAH NELSON SENIOR COLUMNIST

t’s that time of year again — and no, it’s not Christmas. On college campuses everywhere, it’s finals season: the tail end of the semester in which students feel the peak of stress, fuzziness, anxiety and depleted energy levels. We are all in the same boat: studying for final exams, working on final presentations, projects, papers and attempting to keep our heads above water. This semester hasn’t been easy for any of us, but we are almost done. In doing so, let’s power through to the end in these final weeks of the semester. For over a year now, remote learning has drained us daily. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Most University students will attend in-person classes in the fall, but we still must deal with this finals season. School can be stressful, so take moments for yourself. Whatever you like to do, just do it. Who cares what anyone else thinks. If it makes you happy and feel good, then that’s all that matters. It could be coffee

proxy. For courses that fall into this category of grading work ethics, the current normative structure of final exams is sufficient. The finals come down to how proficient students are at temporarily memorizing and cramming a semester’s worth of information into their head to be stored for a couple of hours and immediately forgotten — or, if not immediately, then later when a fresh semester begins. One could argue those with the best work ethics will be those who study continuously throughout the semester; cramming, then, is unnecessary as the semester comes to a close. That is true. But, for the majority of students with a time preference of the present, studying will be procrastinated until it can no longer be ignored — and thus the phenomenon of cramming. If temporary memorization is a skill employers look for, by all means, continue the final exam system for the courses utilized to measure work ethic. As for courses that provide specific knowledge and skills, whether an individual can temporarily memorize the semester’s information and then forget it is of no use. These courses and careers value the longevity of students retaining learned information. How do we measure academic longevity? Do not close the grade book at the end of the semester. Instead, leave 10% of the final grade in the form of quizzes administered at the end of every other subsequent semester. Take Philosophy 200 your first semester freshman year? At the end of the other seven semesters at the university, take a short quiz on PHIL 200’s material worth the final 10% of your grade. However, courses that exist as higher-level versions of earlier courses render this system partly unnecessary. After a student takes Intro to Macroeconomics then Intermediate Macroeconomics, the former’s grade book can be closed and the following quizzes will originate from the Intermediate course and so on. This proposal will be a very unpopular one, but as far as it accomplishes the job of accurately reflecting the long-term retention of information of students, it performs wonderfully. Nevertheless, as finals week draws near, ask yourself how your courses function in the context of your academic journey and what the core function of each final should be.

inals: What’s the point? If 33% of my grade depends on a single paper or exam — and subsequently my course grade stems from this highly weighted metric — I believe I am entitled to the answer. For the majority of University courses, the semester’s final consists of a cumulative assignment meant to evaluate students on their grasp of the semester’s material. Yet, why is proving one’s knowledge of the course material at the end of a semester beneficial? This hints at a larger issue about the purpose of post-secondary studies in general. What is the purpose of college? The two main answers are, one, obtaining credentials as a signal to prospective employers, and two, attaining skills and knowledge necessary for employment. Examining the second answer first, grades in college matter because they represent the percent of material necessary for employment that you have achieved in academic studies. It is crucial whether a civil engineering major graduates with a 4.0 or 2.0 GPA: The underachieving student will not be perceived as not retaining the requisite knowledge to draft plans — for instance — for a structurally sound bridge. In job markets that do not necessarily depend on knowledge and skills gained at university, the answer to the question of college’s purpose is the aforementioned former. The credentialing of a four-year degree separates the most highly educated job seekers from the less highly educated, and therefore, a degree is more sought after from employers. College curriculums weed out less capable students; those who drudge through classes for the sake of proving their work ethics are rewarded with shiny gold stars on their midterm, a 4.0 and an easier job search. The purpose of college, as a whole, falls along a spectrum between these two answers depending on major and career plan. Likewise, so do the individual classes of the curriculum. The grades — and by extension, finals — of courses with material integral to one’s chosen career must accurately portray a given student’s mastery of the subject matter. Conversely, courses without applicable information strive to have cumbersome grading criteria for the sake of forcing students to display, and be graded Samuel is a junior in LAS. upon, their work ethic by srahma37@dailyillini.com

THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO

Students walk outside the Illini Union on Aug. 21. Columnist Noah Nelson encourages Illini to power through finals week.

breaks with your friends, a hobby like playing guitar or writing or, crucially, admiring the puppies play on the quad. Whatever you do, solely focus on it. Forget about school in the time being — that way, when you do come back to your studies, you will have a recharged battery. Studying for finals can be hard, but it’s not the end of the world. The sun will shine tomorrow. You will see all of your friends and keep going strong until the end. It’ll certainly be an uphill battle, but know-

ing it’s not the end of the world should make you feel better. Live for today, and tomorrow will subsequently arrive. This finals season might be the toughest moment of your lives, but you are not the worst-off person in the world right now. There are plenty of people around the globe in charge of countries, leading companies, fighting battles every day and so much more. Knowing this should help you understand you’re in a good place. You don’t have to run a business or a coun-

try. You just have to make it through these finals weeks of the semester. Fellow Illini, this semester hasn’t been easy, but no challenge is too great for any of us. I have great faith and believe in all of you to charge ahead these last few weeks. When it’s all over, we will feel that breath of fresh air, and another year at the University will be complete. So let’s power through Illini — we can do this, together. Noah is a junior in Media. noahen@dailyillini.com

MARK CAPAPAS THE DAILY ILLINI

Students study for finals on the first floor of Grainger Library on May 6, 2019. Columnist Samuel Rahman argues that semester finals need to be updated.

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.

THURSDAY May 6, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

SPORTS

Read online!

MEN’S TENNIS

Illini show resilience, win Big Ten tournament title BY ENJI ERDENEKHUYAG STAFF WRITER

No one closes out clutch matches quite like Zeke Clark, and Sunday’s play served as another reminder. With Illinois and Ohio State tied at 3-3, the Big Ten championship ultimately culminated to Clark’s third set. Though Clark carved out the lead, it soon withered away as Kyle Seelig went on a scoring run late in the match after sending several forehand blows down the line. But, true to his reputation, Clark willed through, and in a 6-7(7), 6-3, 7-6(4) victory, he helped the Illini claim the conference tournament title. “I can’t really put it into words how I felt then, how I feel now,” Clark said. “It feels amazing to win an outright Big Ten title. It means a lot.” In the final moments of the match, head coach Brad Dancer not only found himself at a loss for words, but also in a state of awe. “I had to go back on the bus ride home last night and watch what happened on match point, because I just sort of blanked,” Dancer said. Clark’s clincher, though, was spurred by the gritty groundwork the Illini already had established. Illinois snagged the doubles point after gaining early breaks in all three of its matches. Noe Khlif and Siphosothando Montsi were the first to edge a win (6-2), and Aleks Kovacevic and Hunter Heck followed suit (6-4). Early in singles play, the momentum shifted and veered in favor of Ohio State when Illinois dropped two matches. Heck, competing against JJ Tracy, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year who also

was undefeated at the time, lost his first set 6-0. In the second, Heck chewed off a 6-3 win to send the match into a tiebreaker, in which he went on an absolute tear. Showcasing his quick transitions and scrappy scheming, he clawed his way out of a 5-2 deficit, winning five straight games to take the set 7-5. The Buckeyes teetered with control on the remaining courts, capturing one more match before Khlif and Clark bounced back to take the two wins that would lead them to the title. In his match, Khlif competed against a player who essentially embodied his antithesis. Khlif likes the baseline rallies, while Ohio State sophomore Robert Cash is big on the serve-and-volley. Khilf said adjusting to this tactically different approach was difficult, but the Illinois senior pushed through the threesetter 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. “It was an incredible effort by both Heck and Khlif to fight back in their matches, and that was, again, the opportunity that set the table for Zeke’s drama,” Dancer said. When Illinois began its play this year, the team set its sights beyond the regular season; the Illini were determined to make history, and that would start with their long-time rival, Ohio State. The Illini hadn’t beat the Buckeyes in five years, but that didn’t diminish their ambition; it fostered it. “We have a group of 12 very competitive guys; they have a group of 12 very competitive guys,” Clark said. “We go at it every single time. “Beating Ohio State in the Big Ten championship is, well, we thought about it every day honestly at

PHOTO COURTESY OF LYDIA ASPLIN/NU COMMUNICATIONS

The Illinois men’s tennis team poses with the trophy they received for winning the Big Ten tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska Sunday. The team showed resilience by beating Ohio State 4-3.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LYDIA ASPLIN/NU COMMUNICATIONS

Senior Zeke Clark prepares to hit a ball at the Big Ten tournament against Ohio State Sunday.

The Illinois men’s tennis team celebrates on the court after winning the Big Ten tournament Sunday.

practice,” Khlif said. “We thought about it every day, and being able to do it is just a magical thing.” Illinois doesn’t have

DePaul at 4 p.m. Friday. The Illini have not lost a first-round NCAA tournament match since 1998, but they can’t let that record

too much time to celebrate, though, as it will host NCAA Regionals play Friday and Saturday, with the Illini slated to play

get to their heads in a season full of upsets and unpredictability. enkhjin2@dailyillini.com

MEN’S GOLF

Small’s legacy grows after sixth straight Big Ten title BY CHRISTIAN JONES STAFF WRITER

Illinois men’s head golf coach Mike Small’s list of achievements is long: He is a 2013 Illinois golf Hall of Fame inductee, five-time NCAA Regional Champion and 11-time Big Ten Coach of the Year. He’s had success as a player, and even moreso as a coach. But he’d never won six straight conference championships until now. “This is what you play for: legacy, and for records and for rings and things like that,” Small said. Over the weekend, Small and the Illinois men’s golf team captured the Big Ten title once again, a surprise to no one, but a record nonetheless. The Illini won five straight Big Ten Championships from 2009-2013, but they lost in 2014 in an upset to Minnesota, which was ranked 57 spots below them. That year, the Illini went on to win the NCAA Regional Championship and reach the quarterfinals in the National Championships, proving just how hard it is to win six straight conference championships even when you are the best team.

“The bigger you make something, sometimes the harder it is to get,” Small said. “We found that out when you win all these Big Ten championships in a row.” The No. 11 Illini were almost stopped at five again this year. Their win at Crooked Stick on Sunday came by just one stroke over No. 38 Iowa. They struggled early and exited round one tied with Iowa. F i f t h -y e a r sen ior Giovanni Tadiotto struggled the most. He shot a team-high first-round score of 83 (+11), which included multiple double-bogeys. But when it mattered most, Tadiotto stepped up. In the back nine of round three, Tadiotto recorded three birdies and the team’s lone eagle. His final-round play was crucial to the Illini taking a late lead. “Everyone in the conference remembers who’s the winner; everyone in the nation remembers who’s the national winner,” Tadiotto said. “They won’t remember who was the winner of the third tournament of the 2021 season.” This win meant a lot to Tadiotto and fellow fifthyear senior Michael Feagles, who finished fifth

PHOTO COURTESY OF DANNY MATTIE/FIGHTING ILLINI ATHLETICS

Junior Tommy Kuhl squats down on the green to analyze his put at the Big Ten Championship Saturday.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE MILLER/B1G TEN/FIGHTING ILLINI ATHLETICS

The Illinois men’s golf team poses with a Big Ten Championship banner Sunday after winning the tournament in Carmel, Indiana. Head coach Mike Small builds his legacy after the team’s sixth straight Big Ten title.

at Crooked Stick. They were juniors. arrived at Illinois when “When I got here as notable alumni Dylan a freshman, Nick and Meyer and Nick Hardy Dylan had won two Big

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE MILLER/B1G TEN

Junior Adrien Dumont De Chassart swings his club at the Big Ten Championship Sunday.

Ten championships, and then I helped them win two more,” Feagles said. “(Tadiotto)’s my best friend. He’s my roommate. We’ve lived together for five years. So much of our decisions to come back were based on each other, and we wanted to do this together and lead this team.” The two seniors will leave Illinois knowing only success in the Big Ten, thanks in large part to juniors Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Tommy Kuhl, who finished second and tied for tenth, respectively, at the Big Ten Championships. Dumont de Chassart likely will be the team’s top golfer next year, and it’ll be

up to him, Kuhl and sophomore Jerry Ji to build upon the team’s current streak of Big Ten greatness. The Illini still have a chance to build on this team’s legacy. Two weeks from now, they will compete for the NCAA Regional title, which the Illini last won in 2019. After that, Illinois will attempt to do what no team in program history has done: Win the national championship. “I think it’s important to (the team),” Small said. “It means a lot. Playing for the University of Illinois is a big deal to these kids, and that’s what we want. That’s why we do this stuff.” @JonesChristianT ctjones3@dailyillini.com

2B Thursday, May 6, 2021

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

BASEBALL

Pitching struggles negate one of Big Ten’s top lineups BY CARSON GOURDIE STAFF WRITER

In Major League Baseball, if a player gets a base hit three out of 10 times, fame and fortune follow. While Illinois isn’t quite at that mark, the Illini have a combined batting average of .286, the highest team batting average in the conference. But despite players like Branden Comia and Jackson Raper having very productive seasons while anchoring the lineup, Illinois is sitting below .500 at 15-16 because of consistent pitching struggles. “We walk too many people, and we are behind in the count on a consistent basis,” said head coach Dan Hartleb. “We have a number of guys who need to make adjustments and get better and help us more.” While Hartleb has a right to be disappointed with his pitchers throwing balls, the Illini are in the middle of the pack when it comes to walking batters. But Illini pitchers rank first in home runs allowed this season, hurting the team’s chances to keep the run totals down to a minimum. Illinois’ pitching staff is currently registering a team earned run average of 7.27, with Minnesota being the only team in the conference with one higher. But Minnesota’s record sits at 4-26, while Illinois is flirting with a winning record, a testament to the strength of the lineup. Playing against conference frontrunner Michigan, Illinois was able to split the series despite being outscored by 18 runs over four games. The Illini were able to put up at least four runs in each game, topped off by a 13-run performance in a victory in game on Sunday. Third baseman Jackson Raper has transitioned well from Division II to Divi-

CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI

The Illinois baseball team meets on the pitcher’s mound to discuss strategy against Purdue April 18. The Illini are currently struggling with pitching.

sion I, as he’s been Illinois’ breakout star this season, batting .330 with nine home runs. Despite facing tougher arms, the North Carolina native’s experience and patience at the plate has produced solid numbers as he leads the Illini lineup with Comia. But giving up 18 and 19 runs makes it hard for any lineup to keep up with the opposition. However, the Illini bats try to remain focused on themselves and avoid chasing runs. “It’s better when you are on the winning side

of those for sure,” Raper said of losing high-scoring games. “It’s kind of what we have dealt with this year. (But) we’ve been on both sides. We don’t let the score affect what we do.” While pitching hasn’t performed as well as the lineup has, the rotation has shown signs of life, which gave the team confidence. It was just over a week ago that pitchers Riley Gowens, Ryan O’Hara and Cole Kirschsieper threw a combined no-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Purdue after surrendering 20 runs to them a few games prior. “We’ve had our ups and

downs, but that was a huge up,” said pitcher Andrew Hoffmann. “We are trying to build off of that. The pitchers have been lagging behind, but we thought we were starting to turn around.” But after the 11th no-hitter in the program’s history, Michigan was able to turn the tide and average 12 runs per game over the four-game series. “We need to believe in ourselves,” Hartleb said. “We need to take the things we do in practice and take it out to the mound to get hitters out. We have great role models on the pitch-

ing staff like Andrew Hoffmann. We just need other guys to be consistent with what they’re doing.” Despite facing a Wolverine pitching staff with the third-best ERA in the Big Ten last weekend, the Illini were able to consistently put runs on the board, signaling that Hartleb’s lineup will allow the team to compete against any team in the conference. With only 12 games left in the regular season, time is running out for the Illini to secure a higher seed in this year’s Big Ten tournament. Maryland, Rutgers and

Iowa remain on deck for Illinois, which all rank within the top eight teams in the conference in runs produced, so the slate doesn’t get any easier for the pitching staff. However, Illinois’ sophomore ace believes the rotation can still be an asset for the team. “I think we are right up there, but we need to clean a few things up,” Hoffmann said. “If something goes our way, we will be there. We proved we can beat anyone.” @gourdiereport gourdie2@dailyillini.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

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

Monday, May 3, 2021

VOLLEYBALL

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDY WENSTRAND/FIGHTING ILLINI ATHLETICS

Junior Taylor Kuper dives for the ball at a match against Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana April 2. Kuper is a force to be reckoned with after overcoming the struggle of finding her role in the first half of the season.

Super Kuper: All-Big Ten libero aces new responsibilities BY WES HOLLENBERG STAFF WRITER

The scariest part of playing against Illinois might be the sight of libero Taylor Kuper walking up to the service line. With her incredibly high level of expert spontaneity, opponents often find themselves on the wrong end of a guessing game as to where she might put the ball. While most players have one or two good serves that often become predictable, Kuper has five unique serves she’s mastered, leaving her with a skill set akin to an elite pitcher in baseball. Kuper credits her serving gift to her time as a hitter in high school. “I used to be a hitter, but I’m very short,” Kuper said. “If I was going to play at the highest level, hitting was not going to be an option. I grew up hitting different shots and scoring different ways. When you convert to defense, you

can only take those shots away from other people. When I’m behind the line, that’s (the only time) when I have control of the ball. If I want to drop a serve out, that’s like if I want to take an off-speed as a hitter.” This season alone, she scored a career-high 40 aces and averaged 0.56 aces per set, both marks near the top of the Big Ten. For her contributions at the service line, along with excellent defensive numbers, Kuper received a First-Team All-Big Ten nod this season, the first such accolade of her career. But the path to being a stalwart of the Illinois defense wasn’t an easy one. “For most (defensive specialists) or liberos, the recruiting process is not the prettiest,” Kuper said. “The hitters usually go first. Those are the players that coaches want to lock up before another coach

does. That’s not always the case, but for me, I always (saw) all my setter friends and all my (hitter) friends getting recruited and committing while I was still in phase one of talking with certain schools. It can be a hit to your confidence, so I just tried to remain positive throughout it all.” For Kuper, the arduous recruitment process ended with a commitment to Illinois in 2017 as one of the first players head coach Chris Tamas recruited when he joined the program. “When I worked at Nebraska, she came to camp,” Tamas said. “The head coach at Nebraska wanted to go a different direction, so Taylor was still available when I got the job here at Illinois. The first weekend I got to go out, she was playing at a tournament in Denver, and I saw how much she improved from the time I saw her at

that camp to the time I saw her in that moment back in March 2017. A kid that improves that much on her own merit deserves to get a shot here in a Big Ten program, so I brought her on campus and did a visit with her. She said she wanted to challenge herself at the highest level and would love to be an Illini, and since then she’s improved every year.” Since then, she’s been a steady starter for the Illini. She spent her first two years as a defensive specialist, and this year won the libero spot in practice. Though it was a recognition of her skill as a player, it came with some growing pains and added expectations in terms of leadership. “I think becoming our libero, she’s had to step into this leadership role,” said teammate Megan Cooney. “She’s come around figuring out what the best thing to say is in the right moment.

It can be tricky because people can get pretty sensitive in difficult situations. She was a great leader the last half of the season. The first half she was trying to shape her leadership skills and find what works best for her, and she really succeeded at that.” Tamas also cited a pretty big turnaround for Kuper around the midway point of the season, as the libero has significant added responsibility as not only being the team’s best backrow defender, but also leading the defense as a whole. With her role as libero and a leader on the team finally crystallized, Kuper will get the chance to spend a full season next year as a seasoned veteran in her role. “All I can think about is how I wish we were still playing,” Kuper said when asked about her First-Team AllBig Ten award. “It feels bad because my teammates went

through the same things with COVID-19 this year; it sucked. I wish there was a way that everyone got the recognition because they all deserve it. I mean, it’s nice and I appreciate the recognition, but I want them to be recognized as well.” Nowadays, Kuper has pulled off a magnificent rolereversal from being an underappreciated high school player to one of the elite defenders in the Big Ten. As she remains deferential about the accolades, Kuper has continued to feed into Illinois’ chemistry they worked hard to cultivate this season. With players like Kuper on the roster, the Illini just might have a chance to turn their season-ending upset over No. 8 Purdue into more than just a fluke. @WesHollenberg wih2@dailyillini.com

SOFTBALL

Robles reaches for perfection, displays defensive dominance BY ALLENDE MIGLIETTA STAFF WRITER

Perfection is not a standard; it’s an obstacle. Yet, the drive for perfectionism can be a positive force. By taking this perfectionist mentality and honing in on personal skills, techniques and tactics, selfimprovement is inevitable. Sophomore utility player Gabi Robles doesn’t let perfection become the adversary to her progression. She is aware of her personal expectations and standards for her competitive performance, but she strives to not let them get the best of her. “Honestly, I was my own, kind of, setback mentally,” Robles said. “I was just really hard on myself. I expect a lot from myself, knowing the work and time that I put in. ” There’s a quote by entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk that says, “glorify ambition not as a means to an end, but as a lifestyle.” It’s easy to allow setbacks and failures to determine “all or nothing” in a given situation. Robles makes it imperative to take this challenge and use it to her benefit, for within her perfectionism there are opportunities to reflect, learn and adjust her approach. Realistically, perfection is not attainable, though striving for perfection can bring excellence. This is exactly what Robles does. She uses her own expectations and passion for the game of softball to motivate and remind herself to stay relaxed and enjoy the moment she’s in. “(To overcome) that perfectionist mentality, just stay loose and remember that it’s softball and it’s fun,” Robles said. “I’m playing with my best friends, so (it’s impor-

tant) to just have fun with it, laugh and stay loose.” Robles not only uses her enthusiasm to better her game, but she also looks up to those players who have been here longer than she has for mentorship. With the guidance of her teammates, Robles is able to work toward continuous improvement. “There’s always something to learn,” Robles said. “Everyone on this team really wants the best for the person next to them. I learned to embrace their words and their advice and take it to heart and actually use it on the field.” Illinois has created a tight bond and on effective team through hard work. Each individual member’s abilities and ambitions increase the strength of the team. As a cohesive unit, Robles and the Illini adjust and improve their games with each new lesson learned. In the realm of COVID-19 when the dynamic can transform at any moment, it’s imperative to work while you can and take advantage of what you have, Robles says. “It’s a grind; it really is,” Robles said. “But taking each rep and not taking one for granted is what we’ve been telling each other. Nothing is guaranteed, especially with COVID, so we’ve just been working really hard.” With a current fielding percentage of .931, Robles’ fielding statistics include 29 catches and 25 putouts. Though her batting statistics aren’t up to par — averaging .232 with 56 at-bats, 13 hits, eight runs and five runs batted ins — she still perseveres toward her next success. “I’d say consistency at the plate is my next goal,” Robles said. “I’ve been

ELIANA CHANDRA THE DAILY ILLINI

Sophomore Gabi Robles runs to first base after a hit against Purdue on April 16. Robles tries to use obstacles she faces as motivation on the field.

working with the coaches a lot individually and on my own to get more consistent in the games.” The hard work seems to be paying off in one way or another. Robles’ defensive tactics put her at No. 8 on a recent edition of SportsCenter’s top ten plays. Her diving catch, which

she states could have been completed by anyone on the field, was a direct result of the team’s hard work and diligence in the outfield. “We work really hard in the outfield in practice,” Robles said. “We always say that we have the best outfield in the country. So, just all the work that we put in

in practices and stuff just made that easy.” The Minooka, Illinois native continues to trust her process as her drive to overcome her perfectionism grows with each day. Robles embraces becoming a better version of herself with new skill sets, improvements and mind-

sets being applied to her competitive excellence. As Robles continues to progress, she puts perfection aside. Her proverb to remember is to just “have fun, and don’t make it so hard on yourself.” @allendeauguste allende3@dailyillini.com

4B Thursday, May 6, 2021

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

29. Jul 2010

CLASSIFIEDS THE DAILY ILLINI

Announcements

www.dailyillini.com/classifieds

Help to make well known of sudoku-topical.com! You like this website? Then recommend it to your friends. If you own yourself a website, place a link to sudoku-topical.com If you print out the sudokus then print them twice and give one to one Tell your acquaintances, friends and teammates about sudoku-topica 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

6 1 4 2 7 5 3 9 8

2 4 6 5 7 1 9 8 3

4 2 6 7 3 9 5 8 1

1 5 3 8 2 4 9 7 6

9 8 7 5 6 1 4 2 3

5 1 3 2 8 6 7 4 9

6 5 1 9 2 4 3 7 8

UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENTS

Skill:

Sudoku 10

SKILL:

2 3

1 8

6 8

3 7 4 2

9 2

5 8

7 2 1

5 3

4 5

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).

8 5

7 5 4 1 2 8 3 6 9

8 1 3 9 4 6 2 5 7

4 3 7 8 9 5 6 2 1

1 9 6 3 7 2 5 8 4

2 8 5 6 1 4 9 7 3

3 2 9 5 8 1 7 4 6

6 4 1 2 3 7 8 9 5

2 8 4 1 7 9 3 6 5

6 7 9 3 5 4 8 1 2

1 6 5 7 2 3 4 9 8

9 3 2 8 4 5 1 7 6

7 4 8 9 6 1 5 2 3

3 9 7 5 1 2 6 8 4

8 5 6 4 9 7 2 3 1

3 2 8 6 7 1 4 5 9

9 4 7 3 8 5 2 1 6

2 7 4 1 5 6 8 9 3

1 3 9 2 4 8 5 6 7

8 6 5 7 3 9 1 2 4

5 1 3 4 6 7 9 8 2

4 8 6 5 9 2 7 3 1

BLANK SPACE RIGHT HERE 5 7 8 4 6 9 1 3 2

7 8 1 5 2 6 3 9 4

2 3 6 8 4 9 7 1 5

5 9 4 7 1 3 6 2 8

4 2 1 6 3 8 9 5 7

7 9 2 8 1 3 6 4 5

We’ve got a

9 6 2 7 5 3 4 1 8

3 9 8 4 2 6 7 1 5

7 1 5 3 4 2 6 9 8

ATTENTION

8 2 7 3 6 9 4 5 1

1 7 5 8 3 9 2 4 6

R E K S O E

5 3 9 4 8 1 6 7 2

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

5 2 9 6 4 8 1 3 7

F L A B

3 9 6 1 4 2 5 8 7

3 6 8 9 5 7 2 1 4 T H O

7 6 1 3 9 2 4 5 8

B E A D

7 5 8 6 9 3 2 1 4

6 4 1 2 9 3 8 5 7 O R A N G E

4 8 3 1 5 7 6 9 2

5 7 2 1 8 6 3 4 9 D A V I D L Y N C H

1 4 2 7 5 8 9 6 3

F I D G E T

S A M M Y

6 1 7 9 8 5 3 2 4

F R O S

9 8 3 5 2 7 1 4 6

8 3 9 4 7 5 1 6 2 E L M O

9 5 4 2 6 3 8 7 1

L U A U

S L I M E

5 4

8 3 2 7 1 4 5 6 9

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

2 6 5 8 1 4 7 3 9

E Y R E

4 7 1 9 3 6 8 2 5

D E C Y R U Y R T I M A D D B R E D P E S P P

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.

D O O R M A N

Announcements

9 4 5 THE DAILY ILLINI 3 7

Classified advertisers can now place print and online classified ads directly at:

M Y G O B U O N A M O C V E S E E H A R H E S S E B T E N O L A P A S S O B L E N B O R G Q U I Z S T E

Part A

5 3 8 7 4 6 1 2 9

4 9 7 1 2 8 6 3 5

2 6 1 9 5 3 8 4 7

7 3 4 9 2 1 8 6 5

5 2 8 3 6 4 1 9 7

6 1 9 7 5 8 4 3 2

and it could be yours for a

1 4 5 2 9 7 8 6 3

3 6 8 1 5 4 9 7 2

3 4 5 8 7 2 9 1 6

6 7 2 4 9 1 3 5 8

1 9 7 6 8 3 2 5 4

2 4 6 5 7 9 3 1 8

DISCOUNTED RATE!

6 1 8 4

3 6

7 2

2 8 1

PUT YOUR AD HERE!

3 7

2 9 7 1

9 7 2 3 6 8 4 5 1

8 1 7 9 3 2 5 4 6

6 5 3 4 7 1 2 8 9

4 2 9 6 8 5 1 3 7

8 1 9 3 6 5 4 7 2

9 5 6 2 1 4 7 8 3

7 8 4 5 3 9 2 6 1

1 2 3 6 8 7 5 9 4

3 8 5 1 4 2 9 7 6

8 5 3 4 1 6 7 2 9

9 6 2 8 3 7 5 4 1

4 7 1 2 9 5 6 8 3

8,000 copies of The Daily Illini are distributed to over 150 locations every Monday and Thursday. 29. Jul 2010

Part A

Skill:

Contact us today at (217) 337-8382! We’re ready to wheel and deal to help you reach your target audience. *Digital advertising available as well.

advertise@illinimedia.com

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

VISIT THE DAILY ILLINI ONLINE FOR REGULAR UPDATES & STORIES!

www.dailyillini.com/

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

Thursday, May 6, 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.

THURSDAY, MAY 6

Live Music: Jake & Jackson

 6 p.m.-8 p.m.  Riggs Beer Company, 1901 S. High Cross Road, Urbana  Free Jake is the former lead singer of the Boat Drunks who has retired from the touring life to be home with his kids. He is still playing occasional solo shows or duo shows with good friend Andy or his son Jackson. He tries to play songs we all like but don’t necessarily hear all the time.

FRIDAY, MAY 7

Theater Studies New Work Festival

JONAH OZER THE DAILY ILLINI

Manifest success with music BY RAINA KUTLIROFF STAFF WRITER

With finals just around the corner, students are working on final papers, studying for exams and finishing up final projects. In order to ensure productivity, the perfect study playlist is a necessity. Please enjoy the music playlist below, featuring a mixture of some early 2000s acoustic hits, some Harry Styles-esque bops, all the way to Etta James and Eric Clapton. Don’t forget to sing along with writing those essays. Good luck! 1. “Dave’s Song” — Whitney 2. “My Speed” — Lake Street Dive 3. “Fidelity” — Regina Spektor

4. “Stunned One” — Fruit Bats 5. “Visions of Gideon” — Sufjan Stevens 6. “Inside Friend” — Leon Bridges (feat. John Mayer) 7. “Wonderful Tonight” — Eric Clapton 8. “My Lover” — Birdtalker 9. “My Eyes” — The Lumineers 10. “Bloom” — The Paper Kites 11. “In Your Arms” — ILLENIUM with X Ambassadors 12. “Cherry” — Harry Styles 13. “Best Part” — Daniel Caesar (feat. H.E.R) 14. “Patient Love” — Passenger 15. “Mrs.” — Leon Bridges

16. “Patience” — The Lumineers 17. “Below My Feet” — Mumford & Sons 18. “Soulfight” — Revivalists 19. “Sunday Kind of Love” — Etta James 20. “Like Real People Do” — Hozier rkutli2@readbuzz.com Scan the QR code below to listen to this Spotify Playlist

 7 p.m.  Virtual Event hosted by Krannert Center for the Performing Arts  Free The Theatre Studies New Work Festival provides an opportunity for three teams of Illinois Theatre students serving as playwright, director and dramaturge to collaborate in the development and production of a substantial piece of theatre. The audience will have the opportunity to watch the creatively staged readings of the teams’ one-act plays live-streamed from the Colwell Playhouse stage.

SATURDAY, MAY 8

Live Music: Luke Rund

 6 p.m.-8 p.m.  Riggs Beer Company, 1901 S. High Cross Road, Urbana  Free Luke Rund is a locally grown musician playing his favorite tunes. With a song list that hits just about any genre, his setlist has a little something for everyone. Luke played and sang for a year in Honkeytonks on Nashville’s famous Broadway Boulevard and is now back in Illinois to share some beers and good times here in C-U!

SUNDAY, MAY 9

Mother’s Day Bike Ride

 2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.  Anita Purves Nature Center, 1505 N. Broadway Ave., Urbana  Free There’s no better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than to take a beautiful bike ride through Urbana! Meet at Anita Purves Nature Center, then bike through Crystal Lake Park, over to Leal Park, visit the Boneyard Creek and then cycle back to Crystal Lake Park.

Spring Prairie Skies

 7 p.m.  Virtual Event hosted by Staerkel Planetarium  Free A virtual, live-narrated tour of the wonders of tonight’s sky, accompanied by some of the legendary stories of the ancient sky. Find out what constellations and planets are visible tonight and how to find them. This show is updated seasonally and is intended for all ages.

Housing Find your next home with

The Daily Illini Start and end your housing hunt today!

housing.dailyillini.com

THURSDAY May 6, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

buzz

Read online!

Boost your productivity during finals with these apps recommend check ing out YouTube creator Ali As finals w e e k Abdaal for videos on how approaches, so does to use Notion effectively. the need for increased productivity. Something Todoist that can help even the Todoist is a free taskbusiest college student management app that is orga nization w ith helps students and working productiv it y apps. If people to stay organized you’re looking for virtual while doing their tasks ways to get organized and and assignments. It also motivated, here are some offers premium features, apps that might help. but the free features can suffice for students. Notion Todoist allows users to Notion is a free note- color code, categorize and taking app that can be set the priority level of used with a PC, MacBook tasks, perfect for students and iPad. With Notion, you obsessed with details and can create notes in a format organization. You can similar to a website’s use this application on layout. You can create your PC, MacBook, tablets and own themes for your Notion phones. workspace and different pages, notes and project Forest plans that match whatever This application is theme you choose. You can usually available for mobile even download templates use, but if you want to use it for your notes to help you on your PC or MacBook, you out with designing your can use it through Google Notion. Notion is unique extensions since it doesn’t because it’s integrated with offer a desktop version. If Google Drive, Google Docs you are easily distracted and and other applications, have a hard time focusing so you can link sites or on assignments or studying files on your pages, which in general, this is a great app will make your notes for you. You can set a timer compact and neat. I would for the duration of time you BY AMANDA LEONARTO STAFF WRITER

want to study for, and there will be a graphic where you can grow a tree during that time. When you exit the app, the tree will die, which is the incentive for you to keep studying. Be sure not to overdo it, though! If you are using IOS, the app costs around $2, and it is free on Android, but there are also premium features available to purchase.

Cold Turkey

This application blocks the Internet in a way and helps users stay concentrated and avoid the urge to browse the Internet while studying. Sometimes, you just get bored while studying and end up opening YouTube, other streaming sites and online shopping browsers, which can prevent you from getting work done. Once you set the timer to study, there is no turning back! You cannot unblock the sites unless the timer is done. It is free with basic features, but if you want to get the premium features, you can get it for $39, and it is a onetime purchase, so you don’t have to worry about monthly payments.

KAITLIN MIKURT THE DAILY ILLINI

GoodNotes

This is another notetaking application that is widely known among iPad users. Compared to Notion where you use it by typing, you can use GoodNotes with a pen or stylus. If you prefer to write rather than

type, this app can help you write notes and save them digitally. It has the typing option, but I would recommend using it with a stylus or pen for optimal use of the app’s features. This application is a onetime purchase for about

$8, but the downside is GoodNotes is not available for Android and PC users. However, for A ndroid users, I would recommend using Microsoft OneNote. amandal@readbuzz.com

Take a break: Iyengar Yoga provides stress, anxiety relief BY CAROLINA GARIBAY BUZZ EDITOR

College is hard. Anyone who is a college student or who has been a college student knows that. And anyone who’s been a college student during the COVID-19 pandemic knows how much harder college has been this year. The pandemic has affected everyone in different ways, but young adults have been hit particularly hard. Throughout the pandemic, a larger number than average (56%) of young adults (ages

18-24) in the U.S. reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression, according to a brief by the Kaiser Family Foundation. As finals week quickly approaches, so do higher levels of stress for college students. Since high levels of stress are associated with anxiety and depression, thinking about healthy ways to cope with stress during this time could be beneficial for many students. Something that might be effective in regulating stress

for students is yoga. Several studies show that yoga is associated with lower cortisol (a stress hormone) levels, improvements in stress and reduction in perceived levels of anxiety. Lois Steinberg is a Certified Iyengar Yoga instructor and owner of Iyengar Yoga Champaign-Urbana and has over 40 years of experience studying, practicing and teaching yoga. In 1999, B.K.S. Iyengar himself, the founder of Iyengar Yoga, granted Steinberg permission to use

his name for Iyengar Yoga Champaign-Urbana. Iyengar Yoga focuses on detail and careful attention to alignment in yoga postures and poses and may be able to help students cope with high levels of stress, which can manifest physically in many ways. “You hold your body hard, you contract your diaphragm, which is the muscle involved in breathing, and you start having irregular breathing,” Steinberg said. Research shows that people spend about 47% of their day

PHOTO COURTESY OF LAURA LASCOE

Lois Steinberg (middle front) leads a yoga session at Iyengar Yoga Champaign-Urbana. Individuals can visit Iyengar Yoga to reduce stress and relieve unwanted anxiety.

WE HAVE

OFFICIAL RCH ME

thinking about the past or the future rather than what’s happening in the present moment. Steinberg said that yoga can correct this by teaching practitioners how to be in the moment rather than ruminate and worry about the past or present. “When somebody wants to ask me, ‘How do you handle stress?’ my answer is by being present because if you’re not thinking of the future or worrying about what’s going to happen, worrying about the past, that’s what’s creating a stress response — a flight or fight response,” Steinberg said. “So, it teaches you to rewire your thinking habits to be present. With that daily practice, for sure you’re present, and that’s what gives you that relaxation response.” Steinberg said that she practiced yoga in college every day and that whenever she had an exam, she would do a handstand for energy and increased blood circulation to her brain. “Those inverted poses balance all the systems of your body, so when I would do an exam, I’d stand on my hands and get ready because you have to sort of be relaxed and calm,” Steinberg said. But if you’re like the average college student, you most likely don’t know how to do a handstand. Luckily, yoga teachers at Iyengar Yoga Champaign -Urbana can teach you how to do a handstand, as well as several other poses and breathing techniques, said Dr. Steinberg. For college students,

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!

Steinberg recommends the Iyengar Ignite classes, which is a beginner’s Iyengar Yoga class that is active, challenging and well-paced. “I hope people come to love yoga in that class and a lot of it is just because of that movement, you get quiet in that movement, and then as you progress you learn to hold the poses longer and the movement is more internal inside,” Steinberg said. Iyengar Yoga ChampaignUrbana even offers special healing classes for certain parts of the body, such as the lower back and neck and shoulders. There is also a Women’s Essentials class that teaches yoga practice for healthy monthly cycles, including menstrual cramp relief, and a Men’s Essentials class that teaches maintaining fitness and improving flexibility, especially in the hips and hamstrings. Though some might say that yoga helps them with stress management, Steinberg says that “stress management” is an oxymoron. “You can’t manage your stress,” she said. “You can’t manage it. It’s going to come all the time. But if you’re present, you’re going to be in that relaxation response when that stress is there.” Right now, all classes at Iyengar Yoga ChampaignUrbana are online, and those interested can visit yogacu.com for class schedules or visit Steinberg’s website, loissteinberg.com. garibay5@readbuzz.com