The DI Housing Guide Edition: September 2023

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Editor’s note

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LIKA LEZHAVA editor@dailyillini.com

s the fall semester is far underway, apartment hunting season has arrived. Many will be resigning their leasing contracts, some already have a plan, few will stay in the dorms for another year. Nevertheless, everything is up in the air for next school year.

Searching for a new apartment that you will be living in a year from now, especially if you are doing so with people you’ve never lived with before or have not known for long, can be very stressful. The Daily Illini understands exactly what you’re going through, so we’re here to give

Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Lika Lezhava editor@dailyillini.com

Managing Editor for Reporting: Lisa Chasanov reporting@dailyillini.com

Managing Editor for Visuals: Jacob Slabosz visuals@dailyillini.com

Managing Editor for Online: Rohit Chatterjee online@dailyillini.com

News Editor: Marta Narag news@dailyillini.com

Features Editor: Lillie Salas features@dailyillini.com

buzz Editor: Sarah Bond buzz@dailyillini.com

some tips, history and opinions that you may not have thought about before.

AYou may have seen a “Housing Guide” edition of The DI before, but this year we decided to take a bit of a different approach.

We still have the tips and tricks that you love, but we’ve also compiled some information about other aspects of campus housing that may not be discussed very often.

Wanna clean up your apartment and throw in some nice decorations? Check out page 9 for the “Dos and don’ts of cleaning” and page 10 for “Cultivate your space with these easy houseplants.”

If you want to learn more about the history of residential segregation in Champaign, turn to page 11 to read “The complex racial history of University Avenue.”

Because we no longer do weekly editions, we unfortunately couldn’t have a separate edition for Hispanic Heritage Month, but you can flip over to page 19 for our Hispanic Heritage Month insert to read “Canopy Club’s Latin Night brings Latin pride to CU community” and “Q&A: Leticia Villarreal Sosa.”

Did you miss this year’s Pygmalion festival? No problem! We got the scoop and brought your favorite performers from the stage to the page on page 23.

Does astrology play a big role in your life? We have the perfect housing horoscope for you on page 28. And, of course, we could never forget your favorite Fighting Illini sports on page 32!

All of these stories and more can be found on dailyillini.com. Happy apartment hunting!

@di.sports

Opinions Editor: Raphael Ranola opinions@dailyillini.com

Sports Editor: James Kim sports@dailyillini.com

Photo Editor: James Hoeck photo@dailyillini.com

Graphics Editor: Amy Sanchez graphics@dailyillini.com

Design Editor: Sophia Kim design@dailyillini.com

Copy Chief: Haley Jin copy@dailyillini.com

Social Media Director: Lauren Jenkins social@dailyillini.com

ON THE COVER

An aerial shot of Campustown, a popular area for many University students to live. In Housing Guide, we explore the ins and outs of campus living, highlighting experiences and things to keep in mind all

across the Champaign-Urbana area.

JACK LARSON THE DAILY ILLINI

VOLUME 153

ISSUE 3

In the Fall Housing Guide, we explore various aspects of housing both on and off-campus housing. From the history of segregation on campus to decorating apartment interiors with easy to care for houseplants, Housing Guide covers all the bases. Read more exclusive stories online at dailyillini.com or check us out on social media @thedailyillini.

04 NEWS

DESIGNERS

04 UI rises in U.S. News & World Report Ranking

06 HOUSING GUIDE

06 Legacy202 ushers in new look for Greek life

10 Cultivate your space with these easy houseplants

11 Unpacking the complex racial history of University Avenue

16

OPINIONS

16 Editorial | Consider compassion toward people without housing

18 Students tell us their housing experiences at UI

19 HISPANIC

20 Q&A with Leticia Villarreal Sosa

21 UI fails to allocate resources to Folklorico

28 PUZZLES

32 SPORTS

34 Star forward Silber leads Illini soccer in final season

39 Code of conduct issues surface in Big Ten

Jacob Slabosz Sophia Kim

UI rises in U.S. News & World Report Ranking

eighth.

success and remove “alumni giving, faculty with terminal degree, class size and high school standing” as ranking metrics.

The administration expressed positive feedback to the changes in the ranking indicators.

According to a statement from the O ce of the Chancellor, “It is good to see some of these companies making adjustments to their rankings to give more weight to factors that speak to

a university’s e orts in areas around educational access, a ordability and achievement.”

The statement added that the presence of many highly ranked programs re ects the University’s goals of “delivering excellence on a massive scale.”

The chancellor said in the statement that “the ranking that always matters most to us is the one our students make when they selected Illinois as their top choice for their college education.”

In a recent national university ranking conducted by the U.S. News & World Report, the University of Illinois climbed from No. 41 last year to No. 35 among all universities in the nation.

The Grainger College of Engineering and the Gies College of Business received high rankings in the report. Engineering was ranked No. 5 in the best undergraduate engineering programs. Several programs in Business were ranked in the top 10, with accounting ranked second and insurance ranked

The University is ranked No. 12 in top public schools, tied with the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Gisselle de la Cruz, junior in LAS, explains that the University’s constant high ranking of the top public schools drew her to apply.

“One of the reasons I chose to attend UI is because they teach their students how to be successful in any area,” de la Cruz said.

In May, U.S. News and World Report announced that they would be changing the methodology of ranking schools to place more emphasis on students’

Alma Mater, located at the corner of Green and Wright streets, on Sept. 22. Recently, the University climbed in the rankings of national universities, jumping from 41st to 35th place.

STAFF WRITER DIAMOND STEWARD-HUTTON dstew7@dailyillini.com

ANNE SCHMIDT THE DAILY ILLINI

Legacy202 ushers in new look for Greek life

MICHAEL BALES mcbales2@dailyillini.com

After completing construction this year, Legacy202 is the latest building to join the selection of campus luxury apartments — but with a twist. One corner of the building is not occupied by apartments, but by a brand-new fraternity home.

“I think 2014 is when this thing first got thrown around,” said Brian Moran, a member of the Beta Theta Pi alumni group tasked with development of their chapter’s new home. “And what compelled (us) to think of this was that our original home was built in 1912.”

In 2014, the original Beta Theta Pi house was over 100 years old. For Moran, the historical aspect of the home resonated positively.

“When you look at the pictures going back through all the decades, seeing all these men year after year photographed in front of this building just reinforces the history and what it has meant to so many people,” Moran said.

While this history was important to Moran, there was a looming challenge associated with maintaining a home designed to accommodate horse and buggy: $3 to $4 million in repairs and remodeling.

“To bring these really old homes back to levels that people are accustomed to today is a significant investment,” Moran said, which left him and his fellow alumni with the question, “Who’s gonna put up that money?”

Instances of a generous donor funding fraternity home repairs have happened, but it runs the risk of the house needing those repairs all over again in several years without any return on the investment. Beta Theta Pi alumni wanted to do it differently.

Instead of funding repairs, the old house was torn down. In its place, a new concept for Greek housing — Leg-

acy202 — was constructed with investment from alumni.

In the corner of the development stands the chapter’s new home, while the rest of the building is leased out to tenants.

The estimated total cost of Legacy202 is $26 million, which far exceeds the estimated price of repairs for the old house. However, because units are being leased to tenants, alumni investors will be seeing financial return.

Though it may be a while before the investors see a profit, some members of Beta Theta Pi will receive a more immediate return from the new development.

Eli Crouch, current president of Beta Theta Pi, joined the fraternity soon after the old house had been torn down in 2020.

“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,”

Crouch said in anticipation of the home’s opening.

For the past couple of years, Beta Theta Pi has had to use University facilities for meetings and hasn’t had a place of their own, but that is all about to change.

“The whole idea behind that is that while we want to maintain a nice lodge space — and we do like to have guys to live close to the house,” Crouch said. “But we also want to maintain, like I said, that good order and neat and tidiness.”

Per policy, the house will be a dry house and brothers will not live there.

According to Moran, the Beta Theta Pi house “won’t have the essence of a frat house in a traditional sense.”

Instead, it serves as a physical space for meetings, studying and “creates a culture where people are connected

to an organization where there’s more meaning in actual friendship,” Moran explained.

Most Legacy202 units have been leased for the semester. Of the building’s 99 units, there are only 12 spots remaining.

Described on the Legacy202 website as “luxury student housing,” the units boast numerous amenities. With rent ranging from $995 to over $2,000, the apartments also come at a luxury cost. Fortunately for Crouch and his brothers, the luxury extends to the new fraternity space.

“I mean, it’s probably the nicest eating area that you’ll ever see,” Crouch said.

While the luxury is nice, for Crouch — who hasn’t ever lived in a chapter house — it’s just “nice to have a space to call home.”

Legacy 202, a luxury apartment complex on the corner of Second and Daniel streets, stands tall on an overcast day. The complex also includes the new house of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

JACK LARSON THE DAILY ILLINI

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

A history of Black housing at UI

The rst Black student enrolled at the University of Illinois in 1887. However, Black student enrollment remained extremely low until the late 1960s. Here is an overview of the history of Black student housing at the University.

Early years

Jessica Ballard, archivist for multicultural collections and services at the University Archives, said the University did not have many housing accommodations for Black students available around the late 19th century.

Due to the community’s “restrictive covenants,” the Black community primarily lived on the north end of Champaign, Ballard said.

“That’s pretty much where a lot of Black students were living as well,” Ballard said. “If they weren’t from the community, … there (were) often people in the Black community that would open up their homes (to students).”

Postwar period

It wasn’t until 1946 that the rst Black students — Quintella King and Ruthe Cashe — lived in University Housing in Evans Hall.

In a research paper written by professor Joy Ann Williamson, other Black women would follow. According to Williamson, Black and white women were not allowed to room together.

Williamson added that discriminatory practices from landlords and prohibitory contracts further limited the housing options available. Exceptions to this included fraternities and sororities, which owned houses closer to campus.

“The north end … might have been

about a 30-minute walk one way,” Ballard said. “So (Black students) still felt their community wasn’t (as) present as they would have liked.”

Williamson echoed Ballard on the challenges of living in the north end, noting that “traveling to and from campus by foot meant lost time for study and recreation, while white students could take advantage of both.”

Post-1960

Housing and discrimination continued to be a challenge for Black students, even as the Black student population grew in the late 1960s with Project 500 — an e ort launched in 1968 to bring in diverse students and o er equal educational opportunities.

Ballard said that the in ux of Black students in 1968 aided the Black Power movement led by the Black Student Association.

“When you start to get more black

students by 1968, that really made a difference, because there were more voices,” Ballard said.

However, she said issues arose when the administration did not ful ll many of the promises they made in Project 500. Financial packages did not go through.

In 1968, Project 500 students organized a sit-in to gain the same accommodations as other students.

“The response was that early in the morning, the police came with dogs and there were over 200 students that were arrested,” Ballard said.

Eventually, Chancellor Peltason conceded to some of the demands of students, which included having a Black Cultural Center.

“Black Studies also started to emerge, the Black chorus as well,” Ballard said. “So, it really was a movement that brought a lot of programs that are still highly valued today.”

& Landlords

Lawyers

How predatory rental practices fly under the radar

MANAGING EDITOR FOR REPORTING

LISA CHASANOV lisamc3@dailyillini.com

Dylan Bogash, senior in LAS, toured several campus apartments before transferring to the University in the fall of 2022. When she saw a relatively inexpensive one-bedroom apartment on the Smile Student Living website, Bogash decided to tour the space.

“On the website, it was a beautiful, spacious unit full of natural light,” Bogash said.

When she arrived at the building, Bogash said the unit being shown was a far cry from the one she was expecting.

“When I got there, we were touring the basement unit, which was moldy and had no windows,” Bogash said. “When I talked to the realtor, I told her this was not what I drove down here for, and they took no accountability. It just felt so swept under the rug.”

According to Thomas Betz, director of the O ce of Student Legal Services at the University, although there is nothing illegal about this practice, it is sometimes predatory. Betz pointed out the speci c di culties associated with the international student experience.

“It’s almost like the term ‘bait and switch’ — they bait you with the beautiful apartment and they switch it,” Betz said. “Don’t sign the lease until you see the actual unit. The trick is, that is really di cult to do if you’re in Beijing.”

For many students, a campus visit before signing a lease is not an accessible option, due to either sheer distance from Champaign-Urbana or other limiting factors. Still, Betz said the leasing company has almost no legal obligation to be transparent about their o erings.

“There’s no de nition of luxury; it’s pu ery and it just doesn’t have much meaning,” Betz said. “They can always win that case. When they show the model on their website and YouTube, there’s a little ne print that always says ‘this is a model.’”

Betz said that there are certain things about an apartment, such as the advertised quantity of bedrooms, plumbing, running water or heating, that the leasing company must legally provide. Other things, unless explicitly promised in the lease, are not obligatory.

According to Betz, the rst line of defense students have against issues with their apartments is reading and understanding their lease in its entirety.

“Students will come to (Student Legal Services) and say ‘I want to challenge, I want to blah, blah, blah,’” Betz said. “I always say, ‘Let’s look at the lease.’ I always make students read the lease. I say, ‘Well, on page three, you’ve agreed to this.’ … I’m not knocking you, you just didn’t read your lease.”

The leases brought forth by many realtors, Betz explained, are extensive and often require tenants to waive crucial rights in assumption that they won’t read the ne print.

“You have some of these leases, you sign everything away except your rstborn,” Betz said, laughing. “Sometimes you’re signing away your right to make a complaint about mold and bedbugs, which I think is ridiculous — but I see them all the time.”

According to Betz, there are legal rights for students whose landlords are not meeting expectations outlined in their leases. Betz also said that landlords have a responsibility to maintain certain basic standards of living.

First, Betz advises that students save records of every complaint or maintenance request — particularly with code violations.

“They need to go to the landlord, do a screenshot and when it’s not quickly resolved, they need to go to the city and get a code inspection,” Betz said. “Both cities do have the power to close them down if necessary on an (unsolved) heat or plumbing issue.”

According to Andrew Greenlee, professor in FAA teaching urban planning, predatory practices are often more impactful within the campus community because students are likely rst-time renters.

“Part of the challenge for new housing consumers, new renters, more generally, is that oftentimes they don’t yet have experience,” Greenlee said. “Students often don’t understand what recourse they have if those promises are not ful lled by a landlord or by a property owner.”

Greenlee said that students are susceptible to this kind of a practice due to a variety of factors that are unique to their experience.

“They take advantage of a population that is geographically constrained, …nancially constrained, but also have — in many cases — a lack of information to ght back against approaches that are predatory in nature,” Greenlee said.

Garrett Jurina, sophomore in LAS, said he lives in a Smile Student Livingmanaged apartment that does not have a working re alarm. Jurina said he plans to withhold rent and report the issue to the city of Champaign.

“They haven’t even gotten back to me, but I told them that I’m withholding rent until they x the re alarm because it means our apartment is legally uninhabitable,” Jurina explained.

According to Jurina, these behaviors on the part of Smile are symptomatic of a predatory market.

“There’s always going to be a demand on campus for student housing,” Jurina said. “No matter what they o er as a price, students are going to have to live somewhere. There aren’t enough dorms or University housing to house all the students on campus, so I think they just take advantage of that to bump prices up.”

A “Now Leasing” sign displayed at a Roland apartment, located at 905 S. First St. in Champaign.

Dos and don’ts of cleaning

Get a cleaning caddy.

Moving into your own space can be a liberating experience. However, with more independence comes more responsibility. Dust, dander and dirt can build up quickly, whether you’re living by yourself or with roommates. Here are some tips and tricks to keep your space fresh and clean.

Dos:

Utilize white vinegar for cleaning. According to Dr. Maria Vila in The Zoe Report, vinegar can be used to clean surfaces such as shower doors, bathtubs, clothes and even a dishwasher, as it helps “remove oil residues, mineral build-up from water, soap residue and stains from food and wine.”

You’ve created a steady cleaning ow and you are slowly making progress, but then you can’t nd your Scrub Mommy! Keeping your cleaning supplies in a carriable caddy saves you the additional chore of playing hide-and-seek with your cleaning supplies. Start cleaning from the top.

According to All Services in One, starting your cleaning from higher surfaces and working your way to the bottom “ensures that any dust that falls o from higher points will eventually end up on lower levels” that you can sweep up later. Ask for help.

You don’t have to clean everything by yourself, especially if you have roommates. Divide up tasks to get the job done faster. If you live alone, ask a friend to come over to help. Sometimes cleaning up can seem overwhelming when you think about everything you have to do,

so having someone there to help you can ease the stress and make the cleaning process faster.

Don’ts:

Do not utilize white vinegar for disinfecting.

Although vinegar is a good surface cleaner, according to The Zoe Report, unlike bleach, it is not a “complete solution to disinfectant.” The Zoe Report and Dr. Vila stated Bleach is able to eliminate 99.9% of bacteria, viruses, mold and mildew, while vinegar is only able to eliminate 90% of bacteria and 80% of viruses. So, if you need to clean, use vinegar, but if you need to disinfect, use bleach. Never mix the two, as according to Healthline, it can create a harmful and irritating chlorine gas. Do not use cleaning solutions in closed o spaces.

When using cleaning solutions containing bleach or other hazardous chem-

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To learn more about the RIMSAP & Rural Nurse Practitioner Scholarship Programs, visit www.rimsap.com or contact Donna Gallivan at 309-557-2350

icals, remember to open a window or, if you’re in a bathroom with no window, turn on your ventilation system. You don’t want to trap yourself in a space with hazardous chemicals and risk your well-being.

Do not mix certain cleaning chemicals.

As mentioned before, do not mix bleach and vinegar in order to avoid creating chlorine gas. However, according to Good Housekeeping, you should also never mix cleaning products with these chemicals in them:

• Bleach and ammonia

• Multiple drain cleaners

• Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar

• Bleach and rubbing alcohol

To prevent exposing yourself and others to hazardous gasses, take the time to read the ingredients of the products you are using.

Following this list of dos and don’ts can help you clean safely and e ciently. Now put on some tunes, get your broom and mop out and clean the day away! If allowed, a nice smelling candle or a plug-in air freshener may be a great nal touch.

1/2 horizontal

Cultivate your space with these easy houseplants

space.

LILLIE SALAS lmsalas2@dailyillini.com

You’ve moved in, settled down and added your own decorative touches to your living space.

Along with adding to the positive aura of the room, Pied mont Healthcare explained indoor plants can improve air quality, reduce stress and help individuals improve their mental or emotional health.

However, there are plants that look amazing, but die quickly due to overbearing instructions of how to keep them healthy.

Here are ve manageable houseplants to help revive the ambiance of your home.

The snake plant

The Dracaena trifasciata, most commonly known as the snake plant, is one of the easiest houseplants to

They vary in sizes, but are recognized for their hardy, vertical leaves with distinct patterning.

The plant is very tolerant of low or high amounts of lighting, making it easy to place anywhere, and requires minimal water.

As long as you don’t water it in very high amounts or place it in freezing temperatures for extended periods, the snake

The Chlorophytum comosum, also known as a spider plant, is largely considered to be a highly adaptable houseplant, according to Gardening Know How.

These plants grow ribbon-like green leaves with white stripes and can be a unique addition to your plant collection.

Whether they are hung in a hanging pot or on your table, their clusters of leaves and white owers can add a fun touch to the scenery.

Despite its rst impression, Real Simple clari ed spider plants do not attract spiders.

These plants do well with indirect light and can tolerate a certain amount of neglect if you forget to water them. Watered once a week, this plant will be sure to thrive and sprout new blooms.

Pothos

The pothos, or Epipremmum aureum, is a owing ivy and could be a good beginner houseplant.

Also known as Devil’s Ivy, it doesn’t do well in direct sunlight, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This could make pothos a great contender for a dorm or apartment plant if there are not large amounts of sunlight, although it can still survive in a range of environmental conditions.

It only requires water when the soil surface feels dry and it naturally prunes itself.

Monstera deliciosa

Known as the split-leaf philodendron, Swiss cheese plant and the Mon-

stera deliciosa, this popular houseplant stands apart from the others with its glossy, split leaves.

The Monstera has a large range of sizes depending on the variety, but the deliciosa variety is a medium-sized plant that grows quickly.

These plants thrive with bright and indirect lighting. Watering a Mon stera once a week will be enough to see new growth as you continue to care for it.

The Spruce said Mon steras can even get wa tered less frequently dur ing the fall and winter seasons, which make it a manageable plant for students during their busy schedules.

String of pearls

The Senecio rowley anus, also called string of pearls, is a creeping succulent vine with pea-sized, round leaves and clusters of white owers.

These plants are commonly put in hanging baskets and are a quirky piece of decor to add to your room.

Home Depot stated these plants are fastgrowing and easily propagated. String of pearls are very lowmaintenance and are easily adapt able as they move from location to location.

They only require minimal water and need to be kept out of direct sunlight, but otherwise could be a conversation starter for anyone who sees them.

FEATURES EDITOR

Planted, a plant store located in downtown Champaign at 16 East Washington Street, is a popular spot to buy house plants. It is easily accessible by bus.

JACOB SLABOSZ THE DAILY ILLINI

Unpacking the complex racial history of University Avenue

in the late 1960s.

LISA CHASANOV lisamc3@dailyillini.com

Although it is now lined with freshly built luxury student apartment buildings, Champaign’s University Avenue is also paved with regional signi cance dating as far back as 1940.

Barbara Suggs-Mason, co-chair of the Champaign County African American Heritage Trail, said University Avenue has long served as the uno cial border between the University’s campus and Champaign’s North End, a region traditionally occupied by the twin cities’ African-American community.

“Segregation in Champaign-Urbana has been progressive — meaning that back in the late 19th century and early 20th century when there were few African Americans in the community, it was not necessarily segregated,” Mason said. “As the population of African Americans increased, it didn’t matter whether you were a teacher or a laborer — you lived north of University Avenue, with few exceptions.”

According to an archival study by University urban planning doctorate alum Natalie Prochaska, a report from the local League of Women Voters found that the population of Black residents of Champaign-Urbana quadrupled between 1940 and 1968. This period is when the patterns of segregation grew more evident in previously-progressive Champaign, Mason said.

“Those housing patterns were everywhere — it resegregated and (the North End) became known as the Black area,” Mason explained. “Working class whites moved either west to places like Garden Hills or to other new subdivisions. They had covenants (with the local government) where they were not to sell to Black people.”

Mason explained this pattern was somewhat reversed by the employment of Black professors at the University starting

“Today, housing is more open than it was before,” Mason said. “It began to open up when the University of Illinois started recruiting (Black) professionals for the campus and people demanded quality housing in quality areas.”

While this movement eventually succeeded in integrating certain areas, Mason explained that a liation with the University a orded access to previously unavailable housing to an exclusive group of Black residents.

“African American people were being employed in those positions at the University and it was kind of known in the community that they were,” Mason explained. “It was increasing. I’m not going to tell you it was huge, but compared to what it had been, it was better.”

According to Mason, the University likely had power in determining whether or not a Black employee would have access to previously unavailable or predominantly white neighborhoods.

“Some individuals and their families could a ord to move into what you might want to call white spaces and they were open to them,” Mason said. “I don’t know all of the inside track in terms of how the University of Illinois helped to get them into those spaces, but I imagine (University a liation) certainly helped.”

Andrew Greenlee, professor in FAA, explained the University often had more impact on housing and segregation patterns throughout the area than even local government due to its stake in land and development.

the local governments and the county and that we think about the role that the University has played over time.”

Greenlee reiterated the importance of University Avenue as a line in discussions surrounding the boundaries of Champaign’s historic North End, noting the residential separation between communities still exists.

The Champaign County African American Heritage Trail serves the area as a reminder of the areas that have been underscored with signi cance for the local African American community, outlining signi cant sites across the region.

Greenlee said there are likely reasons other than segregation at play when discussing why community members continue to live on the North End rather than moving into now-integrated housing.

“It’s kind of tough to capture the story or the reasons why people might be choosing to live in some of those places and to separate that out from a lack of choice,” Greenlee explained. “Understanding the mix of those factors or what underlies them now is a lot more challenging to diagnose than it is to kind of think about this across history.”

“As urban planners, we think of universities and other large institutions as being urban developers,” Greenlee noted. “The University holds a large amount of property and plays a large role in that. It’s important when we think about those patterns, we can think about the roles of

According to Mason, the blurring of boundaries between the North End and predominantly white areas of Champaign-Urbana has not caused the local Black population to identify with their historic neighborhoods any less.

“You have people who live now on the southwest side of town, but they still drive to the north end to go to church,” Mason said. “It’s important to feel like a part of the community.”

MANAGING EDITOR FOR REPORTING

As the population of African Americans increased, it didn’t matter whether you were a teacher or a laborer — you lived north of University Avenue, with few exceptions

Barbara Suggs-Mason, co-chair of the Champaign County African American Heritage Trail

A group of students cross the street at the intersection of University Avenue and Wright Street on Sept. 24.

ANGEL SALDIVAR THE DAILY ILLINI

Apartments & Leases 101 – Virtual Presentations

Fall is a popular time to begin looking for housing for next year. OCCL is here to help! If you are frst time renter or even an experienced renter, mark your planner to attend one of our virtual presentations with tips for fnding housing, what to look for when touring apartments and how to understand your lease. Our goal is to inform students of their rights and how to protect themselves from a poor renting experience.

Attend one of our Fall 2023 presentations:

• October 1 at 6:00 pm

• October 16 at 3:00 pm

Visit

PURCHASE RENTER’S INSURANCE

Your landlord is not responsible for loss to your property resulting from thef, natural disaster, or any other cause other than landlord’s negligence.

Renter’s insurance should cover replacement costs for personal property loss, the cost of a hotel if displaced from your home, and liability insurance.

• Make a budget.

• Identify your “must have” and “wish list” items.

• Keep your options open: University Housing, Private Certifed Housing, apartments, homes, etc.

• Search online and set up appointments to view multiple listings.

• Check websites such as Yelp, Google reviews, or UIUC's Reddit page for peer reviews about the rental company.

• See the EXACT unit you plan to rent … not the model.

YOUR LEASE

Leases are BINDING legal contracts.

Once you sign it you are responsible for the ENTIRE term.

Before signing the lease, you should …

• read the lease

• negotiate with your landlord adding or deleting clauses for anything that concerns you

• require the landlord to put any promises they have made to you into the lease

• request two copies of the lease — you want to have the landlord's original signature and take a copy with you

• Set up a lease review with OCCL

Roommates

• Choose roommates based on compatibility … not friendship.

• Complete a roommate agreement to establish expectations.

Landlord Concerns

• Give landlord time to rectify the situation.

• Meet with Of-Campus Community Living to identify options.

Sublease

• Get written consent from the landlord.

• Complete a sublease agreement between both the original tenant and the subtenant.

Security Deposits

• Clean the apartment before moving out.

• Take pictures.

• Change address with post ofice.

Consider compassion toward people without housing

THE DAILY ILLINI EDITORIAL TEAM opinions@dailyillini.com

Our University is nestled between the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana — a bastion of learning and labor, a jewel amid the corn elds.

The C-U community is so xated on the University that even the convenience stores far o campus sport orange and blue. Some might even say that the University exists in a microcosm or a kind of bubble. Duality exists in a college town — particularly at this university — between those who live here and those who pay to spend a siz-

able fraction of their four years here.

When our lives and routines are constrained to the same bubble, it’s easy to become absorbed in our own reality, which is nobody’s fault. As students, we are constantly surrounded by other students who live comfortably enough to attend this university. Our perspective is ultimately quite narrow.

Try keeping this thought in mind while on a simple trip down Green Street for groceries or a meal — it’s sobering. In stark contrast to our fellow students, there are a handful of unhoused individuals — who tend to be mainstays on Green — who are instantly recognizable when one goes on a Target run.

Many of us have grown up conditioned to be desensitized towards unhoused individuals to the point where we dehumanize them. Sometimes we turn them into characters and novelties based on their mannerisms. They become an inconvenience, an obstacle that we’re meant to avoid on our way to the next location. Or they become a threat you should be wary of.

There’s a kind of “etiquette” that a lot of us are taught when we’re young in these scenarios: Don’t make eye contact with them, don’t give them money because they’ll just blow it on the same drugs and alcohol keeping them unhoused. They’re lazy and should get a job instead of relying on handouts. Or they are some kind of scammer and are not actually homeless.

We’ve turned unhoused individuals into some kind of lower life form that we judge with harsh scrutiny.

If you don’t feel comfortable giving out change, consider buying them food, using gift cards or donating directly to a homeless shelter either with money or essentials. On top of food, homeless shelters often need hygiene supplies and clothes, namely socks and underwear. You could also volunteer your time at a homeless shelter — any help would likely be welcome.

The discomfort unhoused people face is unimaginable. Between hostile architecture, like nearly every bus stop in the area, and having to deal with extreme weather conditions without permanent housing, very few would willingly subject themselves to this lifestyle and have to panhandle to scrape by. The vast majority of us have lived a life where we have a roof over our heads and are food secure. The same cannot be said for the people we ignore on Green Street every day.

Homelessness does not just look like

the individuals one may encounter on Green. There are a multitude of reasons why somebody may lack a permanent home, and none of these should ever serve as a barrier to being treated humanely. Homeless shelters that require sobriety tests or criminal background checks con ict with what should be the fundamental objective of all homeless shelters: to give people a place to stay with dignity and unconditional support.

The number of unhoused individuals in Champaign County is 215 as of January, an increase of 78 from the 137 counted in January 2022, according to the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission. The number of beds available for these unhoused individuals has increased in large part due to the Strides Shelter that opened last year.

The opening of a singular facility is a Band-Aid solution to the homelessness problem. Like everywhere else, rent has been climbing in Champaign County and is one of many roadblocks that prevent people from accessing permanent shelter, alongside income level, low credit scores and rigid bureaucracy.

What is the University doing for these people? It’s hard to believe that the University is “charged by our state to enhance the lives of citizens in Illinois,” while Illinoisans without adequate resources su er in the elements minutes away from Alma Mater. The Editorial Board is curious as to what initiatives the University has in place to make good on its mission.

The onus isn’t on us to solve the homeless crisis, even if there are things we personally can do on a micro-scale to help in a small way. But, at the very least, it’s important to step back and examine our own privilege and to be kinder to those who might otherwise be down on their luck.

Number of individuals of Champaign county who identified as unhoused

Scout’s quest for a new home

CAMPUS SCOUT scout@dailyillini.com

Scout knew his month was ruined upon seeing that blasted sign outside the Main Library entrance to the steam tunnels: “Closed for Fumigation.”

So what if Scout’s absence from campus over the summer allowed the underground raccoon infestation to ourish again? It’s not like he could reset the traps, being where he was over the summer.

In any case, Scout was suddenly down a place to sleep, and up in worries over the furry creatures getting at his priceless secret stash of recalled Milky Way bars from the 90s with the packaging reading “Milfy Way.”

It was time for Scout to gather the courage to face the menacing open maw of the Champaign-Urbana housing market, hoping to learn some invaluable life lessons along the way.

The Apartment

Optimistic as ever, Scout printed out a web page of di erent apartments around the area for rent. He blindly tossed a dart at it and made an instantaneous decision.

The next day, Scout set out to tour his prospective abode — an apartment just o Green Street, close enough to smell the delectability of Bangkok Thai in the evenings but far enough to feel a profound sense of fear every time he heard a car back re.

Scout stepped inside and gaped in awe at the apartment’s magni cence. As the landlord showed him around, Scout made mental notes of its amenities. There was running water, a window and what the landlord called a shower of “Sahara-esque” design: The water rarely came, but when it did, it was a sight to behold.

Feeling cozy already and more than a bit cultured, Scout took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. The landlord began to object for some unknown reason, and Scout fell straight through the berglass and paper

maché.

Being used to the steam tunnels, Scout didn’t bat an eye, but the sight of him lying in a cloud of dust in the next room over was too much for the landlord to bear.

Onto the next prospective abode.

The House

Suburbia had always intrigued Scout — what kind of individual would settle down in a stately fashion, mowing the lawn once a week and only having time to use it once a month?

Still, Scout made his way up the cobblestone steps of a quaint little Urbana cottage. Wrinkling his nose, he looked

around at the surrounding architecture. Having forgotten to notify the realtor, Scout showed himself in and took a long look around. Immediately, Scout felt like a chicken at a swan convention. The pristine marble countertops of the kitchen and the grand towering pillars of the foyer gave Scout an immediate inferiority complex.

Scout missed the tight corridors and comfortably dense air of the steam tunnels. Looking down at his re ection in the oor of the foyer, he realized this bougie Urbana lifestyle could never be for him.

Scout was, and would always remain, a man of the people.

The Dorm

A man of the people. That was Scout. Staring at his re ection had given him an epiphany. He’d packed his bags and walked over the minute he got o the bus from Urbana. And then, there he stood, gazing upon that beautiful brick building — a University dorm.

To his surprise, he would be sharing this spacious residence with another student — Scout couldn’t believe it. Imagine, your new home coming along with a complimentary best friend.

It had only been a few perfect minutes consisting of Scout eagerly listening to his roommate’s life story before a loud buzzing overcame them. Scout realized that dorms encourage residents to leave in the case of a re, whether it was real or not. This was news to Scout, seeing as how the steam tunnels’ acetone-covered walls often produced magni cent columns of ame.

Scout sighed. Perhaps cuddling with a family of raccoons wasn’t so bad after all.

He grinned to himself. There truly was no place like home.

*Campus Scout writes opinion-based, satirical stories and uses ctional sourcing.* Submit tips to scout@dailyillini.com

AMY SANCHEZ THE DAILY ILLINI

Students tell us their housing experiences at UI

ASSISTANT

OPINIONS EDITOR

AARON ANASTOS

aaronda3@illinimedia.com

MAGGIE KNUTTE

mknutte2@dailyillini.com

was just not a pleasant experience.”

TALIA DUFFY

taliagd2@illinimedia.com

OPINIONS EDITOR

MEGAN HARDING

mhard6@illinimedia.com

In every housing situation, there’s some good and bad. For every broken dishwasher, there’s a fun meal shared with your friends, to be remembered for years to come. The Daily Illini opinions team went around the Main Quad asking students for interesting stories related to their particular housing situation.

Housing successes

“I was just walking back into the dorms after being kind of stressed out from the day, and there’s like six people by my door, just sitting on the ground, talking, and they’re like, ‘Oh my God, come join us,’” said Ashley Lulkin, freshman in LAS. “So, I just sat down, and we ended up talking for, like, an hour there. It was really cute, and it made my day better.”

“The rst day going into my friend’s dorm oor — he had told me about some interesting people on the oor, and so I just expected it would be just a little bit more lively than my normally quiet oor,” said Justin Dyser, freshman in Business. “When I walk in, it’s as if the Last Supper is taking place and there’s a whole meal spread out all over the tables. About ve to six people and one of my friends were chowing down on some Indian food they ordered in. And so for from the impression of someone on a relatively quiet oor, it was shocking to see people out and about.”

Housing failures

“I don’t think I was prepared for the heat that came around the rst week, because I was barely sleeping,” said Claudia O’Grodny, freshman in LAS. “I was never getting work done, so I’m glad the weather cleared up. I would literally sit in front of my fridge, have my fridge open 24/7 and it

“First thing: In the parking garage, the ceiling above my car, the roof gave out,” said Olivia Elkin, senior in LAS. “So, all of the ceiling dropped on the top of my car. So, that was fun. Nobody told me about that. My sink got ooded three di erent times, I had to get a new garbage disposal. My AC was broken for four days in 100-degree heat. You know how there’s balcony doors that are like glass? Mine shattered — the glass just completely shattered.”

“OK, so one day I wake up, it’s 8:50 in the morning and I have a 9 a.m. class in the English Building,” said Zyra Sheikh, junior in Engineering. “And I lived at PAR, so it was like quite a trek. I look at the bus schedule, I’m like, OK, I have ve minutes. I can make it to class. I’ll be late, but it’s ne. So I go to the PAR bathroom and I open the door and through the mirror, I make eye contact with my neighbor who was butt naked on the toilet. And then I closed the door and left. We never really spoke about it properly, but it was quite a traumatic moment for me. I’m glad it happened the way it did, cause if it was reversed, I think I would have literally just died. Like, I would have been morti ed.”

Megan is a sophomore in Media. Aaron is a sophomore in Media.

Talia is a junior in LAS.

JAMES HOECK THE DAILY ILLINI

SENIOR COLUMNIST

JAMES HOECK THE DAILY ILLINI

JAMES HOECK THE DAILY ILLINI

JAMES HOECK THE DAILY ILLINI

SENIOR COLUMNIST

ASSISTANT

So I go to the PAR bathroom and I open the door and through the mirror, I make eye contact with my neighbor who was butt naked on the toilet.

Zyra Sheikh, junior in Engineering

Q&A with Leticia Villarreal Sosa

LILLIE SALAS lmsalas2@dailyillini.com

Faculty, students and organizers of La Casa Cultural Latina lled a banquet hall in the Illini Union on Friday to recognize Latino alumni and faculty.

The Latinx Symposium aimed to highlight “Latina/o/x/e excelencia and achievement” through a series of interactive panel discussions lasting from noon to 5 p.m., according to an Instagram post by La Casa Cultural Latina.

Previously untold stories of Latino alumni and faculty were given a platform for all interested members to hear.

Leticia Villarreal Sosa, one of the featured panelists during the rst portion of the event, is an associate dean for research and faculty development and a professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

She earned her bachelor’s in social work at the University of Illinois and her doctorate at the University of Chicago. Sosa is a licensed social worker and provides leadership for social workers na-

goes into depth on the testimonies of Latina activists in Chicago during the ʼ60s and ʼ70s.

She spoke about Latinos in education and gave advice to Latino students nding their way through educational environments.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

The DI: What has been the greatest achievement of your career?

Sosa: Getting the PhD has been a huge accomplishment. I was one of the rst Mexican American women to get a PhD from a particular program at the University of Chicago.

When I think about that PhD experience, I get really tearful about it because it was traumatic, it was di cult. I envision it as a process of getting beaten down and getting myself up over and over and over again. So, for me, that’s a really powerful experience.

In general, being a Latina in academia, I think often about having to work so much harder to prove yourself and, at this point in my career, I feel really good about

ence for students.

That’s important and impactful work too in terms of creating spaces for students because it’s not just about them being able to take this class and learn how to be a social worker bilingually, but it’s also an a rmation of your identity, who you are and valuing the cultural wealth.

DI: The panelists mentioned imposter syndrome a couple of times throughout the event. Do you have any advice to those Latino students who are coming up in university and nding their way?

Sosa: A lot of the messages we heard today with everyone about imposter syndrome were really valuable. Like understanding what you bring, your strengths, the cultural wealth and the navigational capital. All of these things we can already do.

So, with imposter syndrome, I think some people really push back on that because it’s not about something being wrong with us, we’re not the imposters. It’s these systems that don’t make us feel welcome or like we belong.

I know it’s one of those hard things and I think what students can do is to realize

us. We bring a lot of strength, a lot of capital and a lot of intelligence in di erent ways to these environments.

DI: How do you feel the University can better support the Latino community?

Sosa: Thinking about mentoring and what students really need when it comes to that is important.

One thing I was sharing earlier was that many of us are here because of these little moments or someone who happened to be there, but it was not systematic. It was accidental. Maybe someone happened to encounter somebody that gave them a little mentoring one way or another.

Trying to create more systematic processes that allow for mentoring with students in a way that really meets them where they’re at instead of making assumptions about what they know or don’t know is important.

DI: Do you have anything else you would like to add or anything you think is important that I did not mention?

Sosa: Knowing your history is so important. A lot of my own work is about this notion of knowing who you are and pushing back on these larger societal nar-

UI fails to allocate resources to Ballet Folklorico

FEATURES EDITOR

LILLIE SALAS lmsalas2@dailyillini.com

Students may have spotted Ballet Folklorico Mitotiani on campus — the group can be hard to miss with their colorful faldas and unique costumes. As the members complete each step, their shoes make noise to accent and follow the rhythm of traditional Mexican music.

Founded and established in 2017, Ballet Folklorico Mitotiani is a registered student organization dedicated to promoting and educating the greater C-U area about a traditional Mexican dance style called Folklorico. With the growing demand for Folklorico on campus, the RSO has said the University is not putting in full e ort to accommodate their needs.

Members of the RSO said it was di -

cult to nd a solid Hispanic presence on campus at rst, but the dance group allowed people with similar backgrounds and familiar experiences to build relationships.

Tonantzin Zavala, president of Ballet Folklorico Mitotiani, described how many Latinos might feel once they arrive at a predominantly white institution.

“Right away, (Latinos) feel like they may not belong here,” Zavala said. “They feel like they’re not welcome here. They feel very homesick and Folklorico provides that connection to seeing someone else on campus that maybe looks like you, shares traditions like you and comes from the same background as you. It provides someone a home away from home.”

RSO members said this sense of security for many students could be a reason why the RSO has expanded increasingly throughout the years. This semester’s

interest meeting had 70 students in attendance.

Even with the growing interest in the RSO and their already-established presence on campus, the group has been facing di culties.

Laura Perez, general member of Ballet Folklorico Mitotiani, discussed the issue of inconsistent practice spaces on campus.

“It’s kind of been a struggle nding a permanent practicing place because what we always hear is about our tap shoes,” Perez said. “Our shoes come with nails on the bottom and we always hear complaints about the oor.”

2023 new student enrollment statistics showed 1,251 students self-identi ed as Hispanic, which is an increase from only 1,066 students self-identifying as Hispanic in 2022, according to the Illinois News Bureau.

Zavala used this statistic to highlight

the demand and interest for Hispanic organizations on campus. Even with seemingly positive news about increased participation numbers within the RSO, this leaves a need for larger practice spaces.

The RSO has been met with obstacles and speci c requirements they cannot meet when trying to book practice spaces that allow their type of dance shoe, according to members of the RSO.

RSO executive members said after they had reached out to multiple institutions related to dance, music and theater on campus, they have been left with no accommodation or alternative practice spaces.

“We feel very neglected by the University, especially for Hispanic Heritage Month,” Zavala said. “I’ve seen them post our pictures on their pages. I’ve seen the University post us, but where is the help from them. We know they know we’re here because they’re posting us on their social media. We know you know about us, and they’re promoting us.”

When visiting the University’s diversity and inclusion page in the Undergraduate Admissions website, an image of Ballet Folklorico Mitotiani is the rst featured image people will see.

Ballet Folklorico dancers stand outside alongside each other. Recently, the group has faced challenges in receiving practice space due to the University’s regulations based on their footwear.

“The image they’re painting is, ‘Look at the University,” Zavala stressed. “We have this art, so we love culture. We love Hispanic Heritage Month. On the other side of it, where are the responses to the emails? Where are the resources?”

Executive members of the RSO stated the uncertainty of their practice spaces could a ect the future of the group and stressed they need more e cient support from the University, instead of feeling as though they were ghting against the institution.

Andrea Palacio, treasurer of Ballet Folklorico Mitotiani, said she felt the University should do better for communities that do not already have the privileges to ensure their successes.

“It’s a little bit unfair to us when we’re expected to meet the same standards when we’re already held at a lower level,” Palacio said. “It’s a lot harder for us to meet those standards or gain what we want to when we don’t have the resources in the rst place to, not even advocate for ourselves, but to even gain access to what we’re trying to do.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF @BALLET_FOLKLORICO_UIUC

Canopy Club’s Latin Night brings Latin pride to CU community

Every month, The Canopy Club hosts a Latin Night, created and hosted by Chicago native DJ ZAY. The event, labeled by The Canopy Club on their website as “the biggest Latin party in C-U,” will next take place Oct. 7.

ZAY said he created Latin Night as a solution to combat the lack of events for the Latin community on campus, which he felt wasn’t proportional to the size of the Champaign-Urbana Latin student population.

“I noticed there weren’t many events going on for Latino representation at the University,” ZAY said. “We have a huge Latin community, but we don’t have representation for it in the nightlife.”

ZAY is a 23-year-old graduate from Southern Illinois University with a degree in graphic design. He said he

picked up DJing during his freshman year of college, and has been putting on shows ever since.

Now, ZAY is the primary performer at Latin Night, and has created an event that provides a space for Latino students to be themselves and connect with others.

Melissa Sanchez, junior in LAS, said despite having places like La Casa Cultural Latina, it can be hard to connect with other Latinos.

“With the local culture being so white, it can be di cult to feel comfortable indulging in Spanish music or other cultural aspects without feeling kind of isolated,” Sanchez said. “It’s really freeing to be in a space where you don’t have to worry about being out of place.”

ZAY said the Latin Night environment creates a space for absolutely everybody to feel comfortable sharing their culture.

“Latin music, globally, doesn’t have boundaries or restrictions to just a Spanish-speaking person,” ZAY said.

“Actually, Latin Nights are very diverse. I’ve seen multiple cultures and ethnicities under one roof.”

ZAY said Latin Night events create opportunities for people to build connections with one another.

“I go into the room not knowing anyone,” ZAY said. “I leave the venue meeting people, and we have great experiences that we’ll have for a long time.”

The upcoming Latin Night will feature performers alongside ZAY. The University dance group Stiletto Queens will be performing, along with up-andcoming DJ Uri.

The atmosphere of Latin Night has created some magical events in the past, like a proposal and engagement taking place at one of the shows last academic year. ZAY said that night was sold out.

ZAY said he wanted to give back to the community with the event by donating pro ts from the shows to various charitable organizations.

“When Puerto Rico got hit by a hurricane, I contributed one of my nights

to actually be able to donate a good amount of the funds into that Puerto Rico hurricane fund,” ZAY said. “That was one thing I was able to do because of the Latin community.”

ZAY said he’s also used funds from previous Latin Nights to donate to a Thanksgiving food drive and a relief fund for victims of massive earthquakes in Turkey, which took place previously this year.

Sanchez said she plans on attending the upcoming show after attending two previous Latin Nights.

Sanchez described what Latin Night means to her.

“Having it be a reoccurring event not only allows for Latine students to enjoy their culture, but having it semi-frequently also increases the chance that non-Latine students will come in, and maybe learn more about a culture other than their own,” Sanchez said.

Tickets for DJ ZAY’s upcoming Latin Night can be purchased online at canopyclub.com.

ASSISTANT BUZZ EDITOR

Performance at Canopy Club during a past Latin Night featuring Calle Verde and Adrian Sanchez on Guitar.

Ax and the Hatchetmen discuss band life as students

The DI chatted with two members of Ax and the Hatchetmen — a Chicago-based seven-piece band — two days before their Pygmalion show at The Canopy Club on Sept. 21.

The band is made up of lead singer and guitarist Alex Ellis, vocalist and guitarist Kenny Olzewski, guitarist Sal Defilippis, bassist Hunter Olshefke, drummer Nick Deputy, and, uniquely, Phil Pistone on trumpet and Quinn Dolan on saxophone.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

DI: What has Ax and the Hatchetmen been up to lately?

Ellis: We just wrapped our summer of touring, which was a lot. We just did a couple of scattered gigs. We’re mostly getting ready for these next few shows. We want to make an album, maybe this winter. We’re trying to work that out, see if we want to work with anybody to get some help making it. We’re exploring our options before hitting the studio.

DI: How is the band feeling about the Thursday performance in C-U?

Ellis: Good! None of us have ever been even out to Champaign before, we’ve only driven through. We’re also excited to check out the campus, we have a bunch of friends out there. And we’re excited to check out Canopy Club.

DI: What’s the story of the band’s inception?

Olshefke: There’s a guitarist named Sal, who posted a fingerstyle acoustic guitar video. Axel messaged him on Instagram, and they began to hang out and jam.

Soon, they were looking for other guys to play with. I knew Sal, I grew up with him. So, I came over and played some bass.

We went through a few renditions of drummers that we knew through jazz band, and the rest of the members kind of came with that. We got Nick on drums — who was in jazz band with us — and Kenny on guitar, and then Quinn on sax. Phil was at a jazz conservatory.

Ellis: We met at a conservatory called Midwest Young Artists in Fort Sheridan, we were in the same jazz band. And every time he played it was like, woah.

“Sleeping in My Jeans” and “Silhouette” were the first couple songs we ever made. Then it was like, “Well, we have the songs, let’s record them and release them.”

DI: What’s your songwriting process like?

Ellis: It’s not a decision. It’s just like, there’s a thing when there wasn’t five minutes ago. And you’re just gonna build this thing to where it makes

sense. Then it’s, “Do I like it or not?” And everything is based on that.

We’ll sit down to write other parts after the lyrics have been made. We keep playing around with each other until some guy does something and everyone likes it. It’s kind of a tedious process.

It’s like, “Alright, let’s try and make a fun song, or like a dancy song,” and then half the time, it will come out the complete opposite.

DI: So the lyrics typically come first?

Ellis: Yeah, generally it’s been chords and lyrics. There’s usually a story to tell lyrically, and then that’s taken to everybody else and they put music on it.

DI: What’s it like to be in a touring band and also in college? How do you balance those two things?

Ellis: It absolutely sucks. I hate it with my entire heart.

Olshefke: You miss a big chunk of what you could be doing.

Ellis: You’re either gonna be a good college student or a shitty band member, or vice versa. You can’t do both well.

I’ve been a shitty college student and trying to be the best band member I can be. I have no friends at school, and when we’re not traveling, we’re working on either homework or band stuff. Yeah, I hate it.

DI: Can you tell me about “Peach Trees,” your most popular song?

Ellis: It kind of, as far as I know, came out of nowhere. Kenny came to practice one day and said, “Hey, let’s try this out.” He had the riff with some words. That one was real quick. There’s not much to that song. It’s just fun. It’s a couple of verses real quick. But that was a nice, quick and efficient turnaround.

BUZZ EDITOR SARAH BOND

Ax and the Hatchetman lead singer Axel Ellis smiles at the crowd during the band’s Pygmalion debut on Sept. 21.

DANIEL ZHOU THE DAILY ILLINI

Artists Monét X Change, Alaska 5000 serve music, comedy at Pygmalion

The performance ended with a touching serenade featuring a baroque aria penned by “Johann Sebastian Lady Bunny.”

the self-proclaimed planet Glamtron native performed softer piano renditions of selections from her albums, “Anus” and “Red 4 Filth.”

In a written statement prior to her performance, Alaska said she was excited to visit Urbana and perform for the campus community.

On Thursday evening, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alumni and international drag superstars Monét X Change and Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 performed a double feature at Krannert Center’s Foellinger Great Hall as part of Pygmalion festival.

The event opened with Monét’s voice over the intercom announcing her impending arrival and instructing the audience to behold her expertly crafted gure.

The bulk of the “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” season four winner’s portion of the performance was a rousing comedy set featuring references to the gay experience, ranging from Grindr rendezvous to queer-coded stories in Disney movies.

“I have faithfully been using (Grindr) since its inception in 2008,” Monét said. “I was part of the beta testing group, so I did the research and groundwork to nd out how the app is going to work for you.”

Monét then shared poignant anecdotes from her struggles with gender identity and sexuality as a child, citing pretend games like house and Power Rangers as opportunities for her to express her feminine side.

“I was always jealous of other queer people … who could pass as kids, but I could never pass as straight,” Monét said. “I have been this gay since the fourth grade. Wig and everything.”

Monét then noted the quantity of RuPaul’s Drag Rage franchises that occur concurrently each year, recalling that the fans used to need to wait for “Mercury retrograde” to see a new season.

“I found a very shocking statistic the other day that said since Jaida Essence Hall won drag race in 2020, we have had 21 additional winners across all franchises,” Monét said, laughing. “We were begging (for new seasons). Now, they just all run into each other. … It is the real multiverse of badness in this environment.”

After addressing her loving fans, Monét then introduced her extraterrestrial sister act before exiting the stage.

Fellow All Stars winner, Alaska 5000, slowly oated onto the stage in a oorlength blue gown and a signature blonde wig of practically inconceivable altitude.

The drag sensation began her set with an emotional live rendition of the “White Lotus” theme song before informing the hordes of adoring public that Champaign — or rather, Champagne — was her favorite beverage.

After engaging brie y with the crowd,

In her nal segment, Alaska encouraged the crowd to shout out the names of songs that they wished to hear her sing. The eclectic range of audience suggestions resulted in a medley of “Green Light” by Beyoncé, “Come In Brazil” by Alaska and Katya Zamolodchikova, the “Cheers” theme song and “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born.”

Alaska descended upon the crowd on several occasions to address it from a closer distance, resulting in hilarious audience participation and numerous opportunities to snap photos of the star.

“I’m very much looking forward to appearing at Pygmalion,” Alaska said. “I love the theatre, and I love going to places I’ve never been, and I love Monét X Change.”

Alaska also noted that her style of comedy was something that simply comes to her when she was in drag.

“I didn’t curate it,” Alaska explained. “It was a channeling of something beyond myself that beamed into my brain. I knew instantly who Alaska was and who she is, and she came to me a fully formed alien person. I am merely a conduit for her.”

International drag superstar Alaska 5000 performed the song “White Lotus” at Pygmalion festival on Sept. 21.

MANAGING EDITOR FOR REPORTING LISA CHASANOV lisamc3@dailyillini.com

DANIEL ZHOU

THE DAILY ILLINI

Divino Niño imbue psychedelic vibe into Pygmalion day 2

ivino Niño, an American Colombian psychedelic pop band, performed outdoors at Urbana’s Rose Bowl Tavern Friday night. The set was part of the 2023 Pygmalion festival’s second day.

The Chicago-based band, originally formed in 2013, brought their dreamy vibe to the Champaign-Urbana music community at 10 p.m. for an hour-long set.

The nice weather and Divino Niño’s groovy sound most likely helped to bring a diverse and sizable crowd to the venue.

The band consists of childhood friends Camilo Medina and Javier Forero — who play guitar and bass respectively

— and contribute to the group’s vocals. Guillermo Rodriguez-Torres serves as a guitarist and vocalist as well, and Pierce Codina plays drums. Justin Vittori, who joined the group later in 2020, is an instrumentalist.

The rst half of Divino Niño’s set consisted of songs from their 2019 album “Foam.” The band played “Quiero,” “Coca Cola” and “Melty Caramelo.”

The group sang in Spanish and English, with some songs sticking to one language and others seamlessly blending the two.

The band kept up a nearly constant ow of music, barely breaking between songs and keeping a steady rhythm of genre-defying tunes. Elements of pop, rock, funk and rap were present in Divino Niño’s smooth performance.

Medina used the few times the band

took brief pauses between songs to thank the crowd.

“You guys are such a vibey audience,” Medina said. “Thank you for being so cool.”

Medina took the lead vocals for most of the band’s songs, with Forero coming in to take over on some tunes, like the group’s 2019 hit “Cosmic Flower.”

The colorfully lit stage added to the psychedelic vibe of the set, which was helped by audio e ects placed on the band’s sound by Vittori.

For the second half of the performance, the band played “Drive,” “Especial” and “Ecstasy,” all songs from their newest album “Last Spa on Earth,” released in 2022.

Divino Niño got the crowd especially energized during their performance of

“Miami,” when Medina climbed onto the barrier at the front of the stage while singing.

The set wrapped up with “Mona,” another song from “Last Spa on Earth,” with a huge change in energy in the middle of the track. Medina rapped the bridge of the song energetically to cheers and clapping from the crowd.

Divino Niño exited the stage to a hugely positive response from their audience, who cheered in Spanish for one more song.

Next, groups Kangaroo Court and Thelma and the Sleaze took over Rose Bowl Tavern’s indoor stage.

Divino Niño’s Pygmalion performance was one stop on their current tour of the United States, which will continue through October.

ASSISTANT BUZZ EDITOR

Dave’s Hot Chicken merges muchneeded spice with perfectly crisp tenders

case you have any questions.”

The chicken itself is very crispy and coated in a messy layer of seasonings and spices. The tenders are quite large and feature a thick layer of crunchy breading.

With a cup of the chain’s signature condiment, Dave’s Sauce, and the option for extra packets, getting an ample sauce-to-chicken ratio is much easier than with other chicken restaurants — looking at you, Cane’s.

Dave’s Sauce appears to be a mayonnaise-based dip with avors of Dijon mustard, pickle juice and poultry seasoning. For a lack of better comparison, the condiment tastes like a less zesty Cane’s Sauce with no notes of ketchup. The sauce is creamy and full of avor.

Even at the “hot” spice level, the chicken’s heat is minimal, but not nonexistent. The seasoning blend tastes vaguely of cinnamon — a strange yet weirdly pleasant addition.

The slider at Dave’s Hot Chicken differs from many in that it includes a kale slaw in addition to the usuals — pickles and Dave’s Sauce. There is also an option to add cheese sauce to the sandwich for an upcharge.

For students who have grown bored of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers’ limited menu and monotone avors, look no further than Dave’s Hot Chicken.

Located just south of the intersection of Neil Street and St. Marys Drive in Champaign, the new spot is two miles from the Main Quad.

Starting at the Illini Union, the trek to the chicken joint involves one of three routes: a cumbersome 47-minute walk, a 22-minute bus ride or a 12-minute car ride.

The East Hollywood-based Nashvillestyle hot chicken chain opened their Champaign location on Friday.

The original Dave’s location was a passion project conceived by its namesake, Armenian American professional chef Dave Kopushyan and his childhood friends: Arman Oganesyan, Tommy Rubenyan and Gary Rubenyan.

The group’s concept for Dave’s was inspired by a demand for Southern-style fried chicken in the Los Angeles area, as well as the simple fast-food format of fellow California-based chain In-N-Out.

Upon entering the chain’s new Champaign location, patrons are immediately greeted by the aroma of various spices and deep-fried goodness. Walls aggres-

sively decorated with gra ti-esque spray paint feature Illinois football and basketball jerseys, as well as “Illini for life” spelled out in bright neon colors.

The menu is in no way extensive — with options of chicken tenders, sliders or a combination of the two, there aren’t many meal possibilities. However, all tenders and sliders are o ered in seven heat levels: no spice, lite mild, mild, medium, hot, extra hot and reaper.

Fries are included in the meals, with the option to upgrade to cheese fries or mac and cheese for an additional charge.

When ordering, friendly and personable sta greet customers while eciently tending to bustling lines. After ordering, they tell you their names, “in

The crispness of the chicken works well with the runny texture of the sauce and cheese, while the kale slaw adds an element of freshness that the pickles could not provide on their own.

Regardless of your choice in chicken, napkins will be required. Since the dry blend of spices is tossed onto the tenders, it’s bound to come o on your hands. Things will almost certainly drip, but that’s a part of the experience.

The fries at Dave’s Hot Chicken are also seasoned with a avorful spice blend completely free of heat. The mild avor pro le of the side dish counteracts the heat of the chicken well.

Paired with a milkshake, a meal from Dave’s is sure to satisfy those in search of something more distinctive than an everyday chicken tender.

JACOB SLABOSZ THE DAILY ILLINI

The Dave’s number three meal consists of one tender, one slider and a side. Dave’s Sauce and extra pickles also accompany the meal.

MANAGING EDITOR FOR VISUALS JACOB SLABOSZ

Los Angeles Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle

“FINISH LINES” BY BRIAN CALLAHAN

ACROSS

1 “That’s sorta funny”

4 Oscarnominated biopic about a Supreme Court justice

7 Pampered pet’s destination

13 “If I Were Man”

18 Good Grips brand

19 In the way of

20 Eyepieces

22 Soprano Fleming

23 Choking hazard warning label

25 Like some car engines

26 Disciple of Haile Selassie, informally

27 *Coral Sea structure

30 Fawning parents?

31 Roland Garros playing surface

32 “Far out!”

33 Shows of soft power?

35 Battleship response

36 Webpage standard

37 Delight

40 Pushover

41 Quick wink

42 Tribeca neighbor

43 Names on a fundraiser’s call list

45 Customizable Wii Sports avatar

46 *Place to chill on the train?

50 Wander off

54 Property transfer need

55 Word on a whiskey bottle

56 Stadium visitors

58 DDE rival

60 __ Xtra: soda brand

63 Pan Am rival

64 Track legend Zátopek

65 *Long-running comic strip about the Patterson family

71 First name in game shows

72 Old Prizm maker

73 Actor Morales

74 South, south of the Rio Grande

75 Liz of fashion

78 Vegetables in fried rice

81 Peal

Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Nichols Lewis

84 Fifth cen. pope

85 *Naval vessel known as a “flattop”

90 Org. with lots of “Raw” footage

92 Wrote 36-Across, say

93 Threesome

94 Fannie or Sallie follower

95 Salt spray

99 Gas additive brand

100 Luge, e.g.

101 Ctrl+C action

102 Belle & Sebastian genre

104 Hearty bowlful

105 Blue Pixar fish

106 Red or Card

107 *Dog breed that weighs no more than seven pounds

113 Iraq port city

115 “You had your chance!”

116 Centrum alternative

117 One who plays a part

118 To the extent that

119 Adobe file format

120 New __: cap brand

121 Caterpillar rival

122 Fins, or when parsed differently, a feature of the answers to the starred clues

123 Retired boomer

124 1040 fig.

DOWN

1 __ Kong

2 Lifted one’s spirits?

3 Traveler’s storage spot

4 Well-worn

5 Amorphous mass

6 Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” for one

7 Round up

8 Nail the midterm

9 Mascara container

10 Curved line, in musical notation

11 Twosome

12 “King of the Hill” town

13 Pt. of ETA

14 *Cause of some memory problems

15 Jeans measure

16 Part of etc.

17 San Simeon castle builder

21 Mount

24 Duracell options

28 Suckerfish

29 Gift tag field

34 Pass off (on)

35 Tarnish

36 Biker’s wheels

37 “The Back-up Plan” actress, familiarly

38 Sharing word

39 Org. with a community pool

42 Record half

43 Wear

44 Handled

47 *Need for a comprehensive background check?

48 Suisse peak

49 Playful growl

51 Hits hard

52 French friend

53 Couture initials

57 Veers port or starboard

59 Bell-shaped lily

61 Sox from Mass.

62 Cup insert

65 Experienced

66 __ hygiene

67 Portable drive capacity prefix

68 Restorative

69 Medieval land

70 Closing music

71 Roast hosts, briefly

76 “Young Americans” singer David

77 Son of Ares and Aphrodite

79 Prime minister before and after Churchill

80 Some bottle caps

82 Stretches out?

83 2024 and 2028

86 ORD summer hrs.

87 Weight room unit

88 Help

89 Del Books: sci-fi publisher

91 2023 award for Lionel Messi

95 Mythical mariner

96 Twist together

97 “__ Fideles”

98 Horn sounds

100 Emotional strain

101 Former “Iron Chef America” chef Cat

103 Word on a whiskey bottle

104 Instrument in the tanbur family

105 P&G detergent brand

108 Former U.N. chief Annan

109 Macedonian or Montenegrin

110 Aesop character

111 Winds down

112 Meg of “You’ve Got Mail”

114 “__ you sure?”

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org/uk

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3 A.M. ENCOUNTERS

GROCERY DILEMMA

Duong, Heuser bring home legendary season amid injuries

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR CONOR BLOUNT

cblount3@dailyillini.com

Through the 32 doubles matches that junior Kate Duong and sophomore Megan Heuser shared the court in, they had an astonishing record of 26-6 that was headlined by a 6-4 victory over the No. 2 duo in the country, Miller and Brown from Michigan. But in the weeks leading up to the NCAA doubles tournament, it appeared as if Illinois’ star duo would not get the opportunity to compete due an injury to Duong. A fractured left wrist had kept Duong out of one regular season match, two Big Ten tournament matches and a rst round NCAA championship appearance. The Illini claimed just one of the four available doubles points and only won one match during that stretch.

Although her injury had not completely healed by the time of the NCAA doubles tournament, the opportunity to compete against the best of the best was simply too enticing. For the rst time in a

month, Duong took the oor with a braceadorned left wrist and a desire to go out with a bang.

“Missing my team’s postseason made me a little bit hungrier to get on the court,” Duong said. “I love playing and I’ve never really taken three, four weeks o from the team. It de nitely put me in a position where having that mentality of ‘nothing to lose’ and having the motivation from not playing for the past four weeks really motivated me to play my best tennis and put everything out there, especially for Megan (Heuser).”

Under normal circumstances, entering the most challenging tournament of the year with a considerable amount of rust and a lingering injury would be a death sentence. However, Heuser chose a di erent approach.

“I honestly think the break helped us,” Heuser said. “Playing with someone di erent kind of relaxed me. When I am playing with someone else, I don’t have any pressure to uphold a ranking or uphold a ‘We have to win this match because

we have to make the tournament because we had such a great season.’ Coming into the tournament, … I was relaxed and I felt more comfortable on the court.”

As early as the rst serve of the tournament, it was clear the duo hadn’t missed a beat. They came out and slapped a duo from Fresno State in the face with a lopsided 6-1 rst set victory. Even though this was followed by a much tighter second set, Duong and Heuser closed out the match in straight sets (6-1, 7-6). The win may have been a valuable recon rmation of the duo’s return to form, but Heuser felt it from the jump.

“When we got back together, everything just clicked again,” Heuser said. “The connection that we had on the court is not just something we’re gonna lose in a month. I was a little bit nervous going into the match, obviously, but at the end of the day I had to convince myself that no one can take away the season that we had. We’re playing one arm down, basically, and there was no pressure on us to do anything. I think that was really comforting

and helped us play really well.”

Duong mirrored this sentiment, and even doubled down on her trust in the unwavering connection they possess.

“I have been playing with (Heuser) for years,” Duong said. “We know each other really well. Even if I took two months o , nothing would have been di erent.”

The hot streak lived on in the sweet 16, where Duong and Heuser rallied for a victory even after dropping behind 7-5 in the rst set. All-American status was given to each of the two Illini for advancing to the elite eight, a feat that no member of Illinois women’s tennis has accomplished since 2013 and the rst of whom to do so under head coach Evan Clark.

“They’re a great team and they are very deserving of several things,” Clark said. “It’s just a really unique story with her going down and her playing in the cast. We certainly knew what they were capable of but with Kate’s injury it made you question a little bit. What they did at the NCAA tournament with her still being in a cast … it was pretty remarkable.”

Their magical run was unfortunately brought to a close by a duo from Virginia in the following round. But even though the short-term goal is always to survive and advance, plenty of legendary heights had been reached by one of Illinois’ best duos of all time. Heuser, in particular, had the pleasure of scratching out a fair share of season and lifelong goals.

“At the beginning of the fall, I made three goals,” Heuser explained. “The three goals I made were to make NCAAs as a team, which we did, to make NCAAs for doubles, which we did and then to become an All-American. My dream was always to play at a big D1 school and be an All-American so that is something little-me will be proud of forever. That’s something that stays with me forever and something that lives as a legacy at Illinois forever. I am super grateful and humbled to have that honor at Illinois.”

THE DAILY ILLINI PHOTO FILE

Doubles partners Kate Duong (front) and Megan Heuser (rear) hype each other up between serves on Feb. 3.

Siebel Scholars Class of 2024

The Siebel Scholars program was founded in 2000 to recognize the most talented graduate students in business, computer science, and bioengineering. Each year, over 80 outstanding graduate students are selected as Siebel Scholars based on academic excellence and leadership and join an active, lifelong community among an ever-growing group of leaders. We are pleased to recognize this year’s Siebel Scholars.

BIOENGINEERING

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY WHITING SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

Fan-En Chen

Inez Lam

Sixuan Li

Sarah Yoseph Neshat

Paul Sargunas

MIT SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

Pablo Cárdenas R.

Viraat Goel

Itai Levin

Krista Pullen

Erin Tevonian

STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

Gustavo Ramon Chau Loo Kung

Michaela Hinks

Ali Kight

Gwanggyu Sun

Xianghao Zhan

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Cindy Ayala

Ruiming Cao

Sita Srinivasan Chandrasekaran

Cameron Tadashi Kato

Andre Lai

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO

JACOBS SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

Gisselle Gonzalez

Zhongyuan Guo

Bojing Blair Jia

Josh Mesfin

Madison Wilson

BUSINESS

MIT

SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Shiv Bhakta

Erica Cappon

Aoying Huang

Stefan Sayre

Tim Valicenti

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Tye Gerrard

Zane Stiles

Jessica Wang

Mark Whittaker

Andrew Wooten

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

BOOTH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Michelle Cao

Christian Eron

Anna Hillel

Kinaan Patel

Lucy Reading

COMPUTER SCIENCE

CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

Lea Elise Albaugh

Bailey Flanigan

Maxwell Jones

Paul Pu Liang

Shih-Lun Wu

HARVARD JOHN A. PAULSON SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCES

Salma Abdel Magid

Alex Cabral

Yuji Chai

Eric Ransom Knorr

Lily Xu

MIT

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

Kiril Bangachev

Charles Spencer Comiter

Abhishek Mukherjee

Chanwoo Park

Charlotte Park

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE

Linda Cai

Xinyi Chen

Minsung Kim

Akshara Prabhakar

Angelina Wang

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

Lovish Chopra

Sharon Lee

Julia R. Reisler

Daniel Shin

David Wendt

TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Yan Fang

Xiyuan Shen

Wenhou Sun

Leping Wang

Jintao Zhang

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Arjun Bhorkar

Sandeep Mukherjee

Anish Muthali

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

Jas Brooks

Kuntai Du

Miao Li

Madeleine Roberts

Divij Sinha

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Shivam Agarwal

Seemandhar Jain

Vidya Kamath Pailodi

Ruizhong Qiu

Shradha Sehgal

www.SiebelScholars.com

Star forward Silber leads Illini soccer in final season, leaves lasting legacy

able conversations with one another because a big thing is building those relationships off the field so that they transfer onto the field.”

Despite being the most capped player on the roster, Silber has had no problem stepping back and allowing newer players to come in and impact the program. While the forward has utilized her experience to help lead her teammates on the pitch, she places heavy value on the fresh perspectives and ideas of her teammates. A lot of Silber’s leadership was on heavy display last year. After tearing her ACL and missing the entirety of the 2022 season, Silber had to take on a heavy leadership role from the sideline.

To leave any sort of legacy behind at an NCAA program is no easy feat, but graduate student forward Makena Silber has certainly left her mark on Illinois soccer’s program. After five seasons with the Illini, the Crystal Lake native will be remembered as one of the greatest forwards to wear the orange and blue, currently tied with Colleen Joyce for the eighth most goals in program history.

Silber has been no stranger to scoring goals for Illinois, with the forward amassing 21 career goals and seven game-winners in 71 starts. Despite this achievement, chasing scoring records is not something Silber focuses on.

“I think any college athlete hopes to leave an impact on the program that they played for, and on the people they

get to interact with on a daily basis,” Silber said. “As much as (individual achievements) are valuable to me, I really try not to think about that as much as ‘What can I do on a day-to-day basis to really leave a good impression?”

Silber’s journey kicked off to a strong start, with the forward scoring five goals in her debut season with the Illini in 2018. As a freshman, she started 17 matches and led the team with 46 shots. Needless to say, the foundation of Silber’s collegiate career was paved from the beginning, with one memory in particular standing out to the graduate student.

“We beat Duke when they were ranked my freshman year,” Silber said.

“It was my first collegiate game and my first collegiate goal. I think that will rank as one of the highest (memories).”

Silber continued to prove her ability in the attack each season, scoring six

goals in 18 games in 2019, three goals in 12 games in 2020-21 and five goals in 17 games in 2021. Along the way, the Crystal Lake native has earned a number of individual awards over her five years with the program, including 2018 Big Ten All-Freshman honors, 2020 United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-North Region honors and 2020 Third Team All-Big Ten honors.

Now a seasoned veteran on the Illinois roster, Silber has taken on a leadership role within the squad. With the program having struggled in Big Ten play in recent years, the 2023 Illini are shooting for success in this season’s conference campaign. One step in achieving this involves “reinventing a culture” within the program, something Silber is helping to promote.

“It’s been really cool,” Silber said. “We’ve started doing culture meetings to have really honest and vulner-

“Any time an athlete has a big injury like that, it forces a perspective shift,” Silber said. “I was able to take on a new role that I had never experienced before. It allowed me to see things that I might not have been able to see if I’d been able to play. I took on a playercoach role and was able to support and help my teammates toward the things I know they’re capable of. It was really cool to have that perspective.”

With Silber now fully recovered and back on the field for Illinois in 2023, the graduate student is able to continue leading from the pitch. After half a decade of goals, leadership and memories, Silber’s impact on Illinois’ program cannot be questioned. As the current squad hunts for Big Ten success this season, Silber will be spearheading the Illini attack one last time.

“It sounds so cliché, but everything goes by so fast,” Silber said. “You just really remember the people that you had around you and the emotions that I’ve felt in joy, love and support. I’m fond of all of those memories and they’re attached to so many people that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and continuing to know.”

@james_kim15

SPORTS EDITOR JAMES KIM jamessk4@dailyillini.com

Forward Makena Silber competes for the ball against Indiana on Sept. 21.

Silber makes her return to Illini soccer a er recovering from injury for her final season.

ERIC CHIANG THE DAILY ILLINI

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Meet the Illini: Pan, Barry infuse winning mentality into Illinois volleyball

Illinois volleyball has had a shaky start to 2023, currently holding a 5-4 record.

The Illini are represented by 16 hardworking players who are led by head coach Chris Tamas and his sta . Blocker Kennedy Collins and Columbia libero transfer Vanessa Pan are the team’s lone graduate students. Outside hitter Jessica Nunge serves as the only fth year on the team, while outside hitter Raina Terry comes in as the only senior on the roster. Hitter Kayla Burbage and libero Caroline Barnes entered the season as juniors.

Underclassmen include redshirt sophomores middle Sarah Bingham and setter Brooke Mosher. New addition libero Mad-

die Llewellyn comes in as a sophomore. The Illini’s redshirt freshmen are middle Cari Bohm, setter Bianca May and outside hitter Sophie Stephenson. Lastly, libero Lily Barry, outside hitter Taylor de Boer, middle Gabby Dean and setter Maya Imoto-Eakin round out the squad as the true freshmen.

With the season just beginning, many of the players have personal and team goals they want to accomplish. The Illini wouldn’t be as successful without their mindset of always wanting to improve and grow. As a freshman, many new adjustments are necessary. For Barry, these adjustments were made both on and o the court.

“I was honestly not nervous about the volleyball aspect,” Barry said. “I mean obviously, you have nerves as a freshman, but just being able to balance my schoolwork, my class schedule, my practice and travel-

ing, I was always pretty nervous about. But I’ve gotten a lot of help from my teammates and people outside of volleyball. My teachers are great, they understand my schedule very well and they help make adjustments for what I need when I’m traveling.”

On the ip side, there are Illini like Pan who are experiencing their nal year of collegiate volleyball. Similarly, however, Pan feels there are adjustments to be made after transferring from Columbia to Illinois.

“I’m really glad I made this decision,” Pan said. “After looking at a few options, I ultimately chose Illinois and I’m loving it so far. When I came to visit, I watched a few practices, and I just really liked the coaching sta and seeing how the team interacted made me want to come here.”

Balancing school work along with other commitments is something that many stu-

dents at Illinois learn to handle. Barry and Pan are able to balance their life thanks to the resourceful coaching sta and teachers they have access to. However, this also brings inevitable challenges.

“I knew coming in it was going to be hard,” Barry said. “We’re always the underdog in the Big Ten and we know that, but it just makes us work harder. We come in everyday and work hard and the expectations that our coach sets for us is very high. We try to meet them and if we don’t, we come back in the next day and push ourselves harder.”

‘Beyond winning and losing’: Code of conduct issues surface in Big Ten

Sports are among the world’s most lucrative forms of entertainment, so when issues within are brought to light, they stand out all the more. Since the inception of sports, owners, coaches and athletes have been put on pedestals and worshiped by society. However, they are no strangers to scandals and illegal activity.

We need joy in life — something to pour passion and loyalty into that consumes our time and gives us a break from the serious things in life. However, these sports gures we idolize are not immune to struggle and bad choices, especially not to the consequences that follow.

The Big Ten is nishing the process of losing its second head football coach in three months. Two disastrous cases remind us that earning millions of dollars yearly and being shown on TV every Saturday does not mean you are a good person.

It began when the Daily Northwestern — Northwestern University’s student newspaper — released an article detailing claims of vicious hazing in the football program. The school suspended then-head coach Pat Fitzgerald for two weeks as they discussed the program’s future.

As more details emerged of the hazing that included “forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of degrading nature,” as Northwestern President Michael Schill described, the school could not keep Fitzgerald around any longer. His contract was terminated on July 10, but that could not save the program from its broken state.

Three of the program’s most talented players transferred to di erent schools in the following weeks, and alumni of the program and school criticized the behavior that got out of hand. The actions under Fitzgerald’s watch will forever scar ev-

eryone a ected. In the most recent case, players for the Michigan State Spartans aren’t directly a ected by the actions of former head coach Mel Tucker, but a man they once looked up to failed them all the same.

Tucker continues to deny allegations that he sexually harassed rape survivor Brenda Tracy, claiming that “other motives are at play” for the university. Whether his claims are valid or dying words from a man in trouble, Tucker put himself in a horrible situation, giving Michigan State cause to re the coach for his actions.

While monitoring these cases at other schools, it is essential to remember what coaches’ jobs really are on college campuses. The Illinois athletic department made their code of conduct available after the recent a airs, outlining what their employees adhere to in their work environment. Above all else, the code of conduct states that employees “serve as role models and mentors for all DIA (Division of Intercollegiate Athletics) studentathletes.”

These people are supposed to be leaders. They recruit people’s children to

come to a university and learn how to become the best athlete and person they can be and “promote the safety and wellbeing of student-athletes.” It is immediately apparent that Fitzgerald and Tucker violated the most important aspects of their role with the team during their tenure by either physically and/or emotionally harming the men on the eld or by setting poor life examples.

The Illini have experience comparing their employees’ behaviors with the code of conduct in recent years, the most notable being men’s head basketball coach Brad Underwood in 2018. At the time of the probe, Underwood was entering his third season as a coach in Champaign when the University received tips concerning enough information to lead to a full investigation within the basketball program.

The News-Gazette was the rst to report this breaking news, citing the DIA report that Underwood had been accused of “verbal abuse, racial harassment and punitive use of physical activity.” After a month, the University’s legal counsel and faculty investigation representatives concluded that the accusations were false.

Underwood has always shown his ery personality on the oor, occasionally getting into players’ faces without regard for their eardrums. However, as long as the words he bellows match the guidelines listed in the DIA policies, the committee found that Underwood was within his rights.

The University was also contacted in 2015 regarding the football and women’s basketball teams. Neither issue received an investigation. Three instances over a decade show that the Illini are more than willing to put student-athletes’ wellbeing rst. But after all three turned into nothing, it also shows the Illini hired coaches who care for the players and follow the guidelines.

At the end of the day, collegiate athletics go far beyond just winning and losing, and programs like Northwestern and Michigan State football have lost sight of that. For now, the Illini have not been impacted and continue on the right trend for the future. Still, the last three months pose a warning to the rest of the country: Remember your duty to these kids. @benfader7

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR BEN FADER

DANIEL ZHOU THE DAILY ILLINI Illini helmet lays on the turf during a game against Penn State on Sept. 16.