THE DAILY ILLINI
THURSDAY March 18, 2021
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Visit our website!
Vol. 150 Issue 41
CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI
A student sits on Alma Mater after the Illini became Big Ten champions on Sunday. A crowd of students ran down Green Street in celebration of a historical win.
Students celebrate Big Ten win, rush Campustown BY AMRITA BHATTACHARYYA NEWS EDITOR
An orange wave of cheering students filled Green Street soon after the Illini won the Big Ten Championship Sunday afternoon. Awarded No.1 seed in the Midwest region for the first time since 2005, it was the fourth time in school history for Illinois. Katie Sackrison, freshman in Education, was walking on Green Street with
her friend when the game ended. When they saw a crowd of students rush past them, they knew Illinois had won the game. “The energy in the air, you could tell everyone was so happy and it was just like such an accomplishment, even for the school,” Sackrison said. Sack rison followed the crowd headed to Alma Mater. “There were people climb-
ing Alma,” Sackrison said. Literally on top of her, at the highest point.” Ali Abdullah, sophomore in Gies, was watching the game with his friend who lives on Green Street. Around 10 minutes after the game ended, Abdullah saw a “huge swarm of people” running toward the Main Quad and the Union. According to Sackrison, the celebration felt surreal because she hadn’t seen so
many people together in one place due to COVID-19. “I expected a lot more people to be like worrying about COVID.,” Abdullah said. “I thought everyone would be wearing their mask.” According to Abdullah, around half of the students in the crowd were either not wearing masks properly or not wearing them at all. Notable events of the celebration included someone lighting fireworks, as well
as a truck trying to drift but subsequently popping a tire on Green Street. The celebrations went into the evening, with the street being filled with more people than usual. “At some point I was like, I don’t know if the cars are honking for them to get out of the street or because they are celebrating that we won,” Sackrison said. Illinois has clinched an NCAA Tournament berth
after eight seasons and will be playing Drexel Friday. “I feel like since we had such a good team this year people have been really tracking the progress,” Sackrison said. “And I know a lot of people are excited for March Madness. They think we’re going to make it to the Final Four. And I feel like celebrations for that would be even bigger.” abhatt52@dailyillini.com
Illini Solar Car team reveals new vehicle, anticipates success CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Illini Solar Car team recently unveiled their second vehicle, a car named Brizo, in anticipation of this summer’s slate of solar car competitions. Brizo’s first competition will be the 2021 American Solar Challenge, which is scheduled to take place across multiple days spanning from late July and early August. The team will drive Brizo along the 800mile Santa Fe Trail, stretching from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico. This new car represents a significant milestone for the Illini Solar Car team, as it will likely allow the team to compete at a higher level in the future. Tara De Souza, junior in Engineering and director of operations for the team, introduced Brizo in the unveiling video. “As our first car, Argo had its shortcomings, and we were really eager to show that we are capable of creating something better,” De Souza said.
Tim Damisch, senior in Engineering and president of the team, recalls the very beginning of the new car. “Brizo was actually first conceptualized at Bangkok Thai on Green Street in 2018,” Damisch said. “Some of our alumni got dinner there and discussed the fundamental improvements they wanted to make with the next car.” Brizo replaced Argo, which was the first solar car built by the Illini Solar Car team. Improvements over Argo include a sleeker body design, lighter build and improved power management. Brizo is named after a goddess in ancient Greek mythology who was known as a protector of mariners and interpreter of dreams. This choice is intended to follow Argo alphabetically and stays true to the theme of Greek mythology established by the first car. Like anything over the past year, the process of designing and building Brizo has been complicated by the impact of COVID-19.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ILLINI SOLAR CAR
The Illini Solar Car team unveils its second generation vehicle named Brizo. The car’s first competition will be an 800-mile trek in the 2021 American Solar Challenge.
“Last year, we made a good transition towards an online format, but it has been very difficult to collaborate on these technical engineering projects,” Damisch said. “It has also been difficult to ensure steady construction of Brizo since we would often get a lot of work done
with a large group of people over the weekends.” The Illini Solar Car team annually consists of approximately 80 students from a wide variety of majors. After unveiling Brizo Saturday, the team still has more work to do to prepare for the upcoming
competition. “We have made a tight schedule of deadlines and goals for us to meet, so we are hoping to have Brizo driving mid-April, so keep an eye out for Brizo around campus,” Damisch said. Damisch also said that teamwork plays a crucial
2A
n
Do
Police
e yo v a ’t le
ILLINI! INSIDE
@THEDAILYILLINI, @DI_OPINION, @DI_SPORTS |
Life
&
Culture
4A
|
Crossword
5A
tdemouy2@dailyillini.com
ur housin g to
GOOD LUCK DAILYILLINI, DAILYILLINISPORTS
role in the success of the Illini Solar Car team. The team’s goal is to excel at the highest level of competition, and this can only be achieved with a tightly-knit race team that can fully realize the potential of Brizo.
luc k
BY THOMAS DEMOUY
THEDAILYILLINI |
Opinions
6A
@THEDAILYILLINI |
Letters
6A
|
Sports
THEDAILYILLINI
DAILYILLINI
1B
4B
|
Classifieds
|
Sudoku
THEDAILYILLINI 4B
|
buzz
6B