Sports: Lakers win Game 1 of the NBA Finals
Opinions: The decrease in cash usage
UNIVERSITY.
WesternCourier.com
Friday, October 2, 2020 - Vol. 121 Issue 10
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RockyTHON hosts annual Miracle Jeans Day By Rachel Greene editor-in-chief
Western Illinois University RockyTHON, formerly known as Dance Marathon, is hosting its fifth annual Miracle Jeans Day. According to their website, “RockyTHON at Western Illinois University is a yearlong fundraiser that raises money for local Children’s Miracle Network hospitals, more specifically St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The fundraiser culminates in a 12-hour long celebration in which participants stay on their feet (or dance!) the entire time!” On Oct. 8, Western Illinois University employees, as well as anyone else who is interested in supporting this
cause, are being asked to donate $5 in exchange for the chance to wear jeans rather than their typical professional attire. RockyTHON President Mary Leamon said, “Miracle jeans day is a day where people are encouraged to donate $5 to RockyTHON, and in turn can wear jeans to work all day. This is a great opportunity to raise funds and awareness for kids in children’s miracle network hospitals. The money our program raises goes to the Children’s Hospitals of Greater St. Louis. We do Miracle Jeans Day twice a year, but this year it is especially important because of the way the hospitals have been impacted by COVID-19. The kids need our help now more
than ever, and as the new slogan for CMN goes, kids can’t wait.” The organization, which typically holds the largest philanthropic event on campus, is hopeful that the Spring semester will provide some sense of normalcy. While the fate of the main RockyTHON 2021 event is still debatable, the Leadership Team and Executive Board are still planning on gathering on March 27, 2021. The Vice President of Finance for RockyTHON, Justin Brown said “This semester due to COVID-19 we are hosting this event in a manner that requires no-contact, allowing participants to donate online and utilizing campus mail to deliver the sticker. The concept and idea
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remain the same, but we are heavily focused on ensuring the safety of all participants and those who are choosing to support RockyTHON on this occasion.” In a typical year, Rocky -THON would be hosting inperson events such as their color run, pancake dinner and tabling. This year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the organization is being forced to get creative. Miracle Jeans Day has moved to no contact, the color run has evolved into a virtual 5k, and they will begin tabling in masks and from a safe distance in the coming weeks. The Vice President of External for RockyTHON, Marisa Santore, said “This year has been exceptionally difficult in terms of recruit-
ment and boosting morale for students. As an organization, though, we are always finding new ways to persevere. Miracle Jeans Day is a perfect example of an event that could be easily tweaked to work in our new reality. I am excited to see people posting pictures of them in their jeans and to get the community excited about helping the kids.” For those who want to participate, registration is available at bit.ly/WIUMJD2020 or by check (payable to WIU RockyThon) or cash.
Opinions on Page 3: Introducing the staff OPINIONS 3 | SPORTS BACK PAGE
NEWS 2
Friday, October 2, 2020
WesternCourier.com
Horn Field corn maze set to open MACOMB, Ill. -- This year's annual visit to the corn maze at Western Illinois University's Horn Field Campus will be administered in a new way to follow the University's event protocol. The maze will be open Saturdays and Sundays in October, beginning Oct. 10. Reservations will be required to attend the activity this fall. Planning and preparation take on a whole new
scenario as we want to do our best to maintain the safety of our participants. The event is limited to 50 attendees at one time, so reservations will be taken in one hour blocks on Saturdays and Sundays in October. Social distancing and masks will be required. The entry fee is $5 per person for all ages, and exact change is appreciated. Checks, made payable to Horn Field Campus,
will also be accepted. Contract tracing information will also be recorded by all participants on site before entry into the maze. Youth ages 15 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. It would be easy to cancel this year's maze activity, but with enough vigilance and participant cooperation, we can still offer an outdoor, family-friendly, fall event for
the community. Make a reservation, visit the corn maze, and take in the beauty of the season. To reserve a time to visit the maze, visit bit.ly/3cOv5BF. Facebook allows us to offer real-time updates in terms of weather cancellations and announcements. Follow us at Horn Field Campus. Horn Field Campus is located at 985 China Road, Macomb. For more information
or questions, please contact the office at hf-campus@wiu. edu or at (309) 298-4676. Please notify the staff in advance if accommodations are needed. Courtesy of University Relations
COVID-19 Dashboard Updates
WIU.EDU
This data is accurate as of Thursday.
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assistant photo editor Sara Remar
opinions editor Allison Young
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production manager Brandon Trost
sports editor Chris Bean
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Cash is no longer the king The time we live in is one of the most fast paced eras when it comes to information, communication and interactions. With the current events transpiring in the world, we have the recipe for a completely isolated world where digital interactions are the “new” normal. The most interesting thing about our societal and economic interactions is that they have changed so abruptly. Analysts of all different fields and practices would tell you that
the Internet and the advantages it provides will eventually cause a shift from the typical physical interactions to completely digital ones. That time has come now more than ever and anyone that wants to keep up with the times we live in will have to adjust. One change to everyday life is how we purchase things, whether it be food, clothes or appliances. These items are now more commonly purchased online. Now, this was always an option,
Introducing the Staff Hello! My name is Emma Garcia and I am the assistant news editor for the Western Courier. This is my first year here and I am a freshman studying music education. In the future I hope to become a high school choral director and get my doctorate in musical arts. On campus I am a part of the National Association for Music Education and recently joined Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority. I am very excited to get more involved and continue to work towards my goals here at Western Illinois University.
but the frequency in which we handle transactions online has skyrocketed to a level that we thought would take years to get to. The abrupt transition in the way money is exchanged means that people can no longer use money. Cash has always been labeled as a fast way to complete a transaction because the amount could be easily presented and counted upfront. This means the consumer can be happy, ensuring that they won’t have an overdrawn account or not have enough funds by not paying attention to balances. While the merchant is happy that cash is coming in without having to pay the fees associated with accepting online transactions, since transactions have been switched
to online, both merchants and customers must deal with or adapt to a fully online world. Society tends to gravitate toward what is more convenient and comfortable for us. So, if the world continues to be in this current state and people have to continue using other electronic methods of payment, people will want to use cash once the world is back to normal. The advantages of cash will still be there, but the psychological effect of cash will diminish as people adjust to different forms of handling the transactions. This shift in methods of paying for our goods may be seen as a huge stepping stone for new ideas and or inventions. When problems arise or something imminent is
demanded, solutions are created to solve the problems and fill the demand. Before cash, there was trade and now we look forward to seeing more electronic transactions like debit, credit, PayPal and Bitcoin. With these methods, we may find that they are easier, more efficient, and safer than our previous method just as cash was easier than trade. With technology, we expect progress and innovation, and the type of way a transaction is done should be no different. Wherever we are as a society, we must understand that we can be better than we were yesterday. That continued thinking has gotten us to where we are now and will continue to get us to the places we want to get to tomorrow.
Lakers cruise to an 18-point Game 1 win
Everyone knew this series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat was going to be exciting, and Game 1 certainly delivered. L.A. took a 1-0 series lead with a dominant 116-98 win Wednesday night. The Lakers were slow to start while Miami came out firing. The Heat managed to own a 25-12 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter, all this while Lebron James was taking his usual rest. It wasn’t looking too great for L.A., but they stormed back to take a 31-28 lead after one period of play. Miami went a little over three minutes without a basket, which opened the door for the Lakers, and they never looked back. At halftime, the Lakers were up
65-48. L.A. kept their foot on the pedal and took a 93-67 lead after three quarters. The fourth quarter was the only one in which Miami outscored L.A. They did so 31-23, but it just wasn’t enough to close the giant lead that the Lakers pulled away with. Anthony Davis scored a game leading 34 points with nine rebounds and five assists. Lebron James almost dropped a triple-double but was one assist short scoring 25 points with 13 rebounds and nine assists. He currently holds the record for most triple-doubles in the NBA Finals with 10. These two were of course a big part of the win, but so was the Lakers’ bench. They added
31 points to this one with Alex Caruso scoring 10 of them. You can argue that Miami’s bench was better this game but that’s because Tyler Herro or Kendrick Nunn didn’t start. They combined to score 32 points, more than all of the Lakers’ bench. Together, Miami scored 49 points off the bench and lost. That’s because Duncan Robinson put up a whopping zero points. Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo combined for only 14. Jimmy Butler put up 23 and Jae Crowder had 12, all from behind the arc. It appeared as if Dragic, Adebayo and Butler all picked up minor injuries of some sort during the game as well. The Heat shot just 31.4 percent (11-35) from the threepoint line while L.A. went 15-38 or a slightly better 39.5 percent. Miami had a 42.7 percent field goal rate to the Lakers’ 45.2 percent. That’s a quick summary, but what can we take away from this game?
I saw two main things from Miami. The first and foremost is that Butler can’t do it all himself. He cannot carry this team to an NBA championship. He needs his entire team to step it up a little bit. Robinson had an off night and he’ll do better, but it just goes to show that Butler needs all the help he can get to take down James and win the Heat’s fourth championship in franchise history. The second thing for Miami is that they are nothing if their three-ball isn’t on point. Once again, Herro had an off night, only going 2-8 from three-land. But they simply need that percentage to be better if they plan on outshooting L.A. We learned that Anthony Davis is not affected by the pressure and is ice cold as ever. In his first ever NBA Finals appearance he led his team in scoring. But, what else did he do? He drew fouls, going a perfect 10-10 from the line to help boost his team’s lead. We already knew that James
was going to show up to these finals saying that he’s locked in right now more than he ever has been in his career. That almost led him to a triple-double and, if the Heat can’t figure out how to contain him, then consider this series over. I don’t think Miami is getting swept, however. This thing really can go to seven. The Heat just all around had an off night. I believe they’ll somehow storm back to even the series Friday night. In all three of Miami’s championship runs, they’ve lost the finals opener. So, they’ve been here before and history is on their side, but maybe not against these Lakers. L.A. would love to tie the Boston Celtics for most NBA championships, and at the rate they’re going, they’ll do just that. I want a long and grueling series, but the Heat will have to do better than that before this thing’s over in four.
White Sox unable to execute late in season COURIER STAFF
Execution. The key element of any sports game, especially in the postseason. Execution is what separates the good from the great. And for my White Sox, the were unable to do that in Games 2 and 3 against the Oakland Atheltics, as they fell two games to one in the Wilcard Card Series. The Southsiders made their first playoff apperance since 2008 and were looking for their first playoff series win since 2005 when they won the World Series. The White Sox came into the year having high expectations and so did the fans. Their young core of Eloy Jimenez, Yoan Moncada, Nick Madrigal and Luis Robert are the promising future of the organazation and had high expectations. General Manager Rick Hahn brought in experienced veterans like catcher Yasmani Grandal and former Worlds Series champ
Dallas Keuchel, not to forget about superstar Jose Abreu. With the season being only 60 games long, there was no reason for this roster not to perform at a high level. And for most of the season, the White Sox did just that. As a matter of fact, the White Sox were the best team in the American League. Then, the last week of the season happened, finishing 2-8 in their last 10 games, including a four game sweep to the Indians. The Sox ended up losing the divison race to the Minnesota Twins and fell all the way to the No. 7 seed. They were one win away from winning the divison and hosting the Wild Card Series. But, the lack of execution to win ball games gave them a first round match up with the Oakland A's. The final 10 games of the regular season foreshadowed
what would happened for the Sox. In Game 1 on Tuesday, ace Lucas Giolito was everything the White Sox needed. Giolito pitched seven innings, only giving up one run, and pitched a perfect game through six innings. The Sox got home runs from Adam Engel, Abreu and Grandal to help them to a 4-1 win. In Game 2 and a chance to move onto the ALDS, the Sox had Keuchel on the mound. Keuchel had his worst outing of the year, giving up five runs in only three and a third of an inning. The former Cy Young winner only gave up one home run in the regular season, but Marcus Semien and Kris Davis both took him deep. The Sox were down 5-0 for most of the game until Grandal hit his second solo home run of the series to cut the lead to four in the eighth. The Sox were unable to get closer a called strike three on Nomar Mazara ended a potentail big inning as they trailed 5-1 heading into the ninth. After the first two batters recorded outs, the Sox were able to get the next five base
runners in a row to make it a 5-3 ball game, and the perfect person up to bat, the future MVP Abreu. Abreu didn't waste any time in his at-bat as he swung on the last pitch, but hit it right at the second basemen for the last out of the game, forcing a win or go home Game 3. The Sox started rookie Dane Dunning but gave him a short leash after giving up two hits in the first. Garrett Crochet, another rookie, came in and got the last out of the first. Robert hit a home run in the top of the second to score the game's first run. The Sox took a 3-0 lead in the third thanks to another RBI from Robert, and Mazara hit a double to bring in the third run. The lead would not last long. With two outs in the fourth, Catcher Sean Murphy took rookie Cody Heuer deep for a two-run shot to pull within one. Manager Ricky Renteria decided to put in Carlos Rodon to replace Heuer. The only problem was Rodon couldn't get an out and all three batters got on base, including intentionally walking Chad Pinder to load the bases just so they could bring in rookie
Matt Foster. But another mis-read from Renteria, as Heuer walked two in-a-row to give the A's a 4-3 lead after four. Mazara would get his second RBI of the game in the top half of the fifth to tie the game up again, but the A's came right back in the bottom half of the inning, getting a huge two out single from Pinder. The A's scored all six of their runs with two outs. After that, both teams would be shutout for the rest of the game. The White Sox left 12 men stranded on base, including the bases loaded in the seventh, and Abreu grounding out into a double play to end the eighth. The Sox would get a leadoff single from James McCann in the ninth, but the next three batters would retire to end the game and season for the Sox. There is a lot to learn in the offseason with this young team. Obviously it hurts not to win, but the future is bright and the next decade of White Sox baseball is going to be fun to watch.