Western Courier| February 27th, 2019

Opinions: Students shoud be provided storage space by the University.

Sports: Baseball comes out on top of series with RedHawks.

WesternCourier.com

Wednesday, February 27, 2019 - Vol. 119 Issue 60

@WesternCourier

City Council considers allowing Sunday alcohol sales

By Steven Barnum news editor

felicia solomon/courier staff

Melissa Worley (top) and Mayor Mike inman (bottom) discuss potential lift of Sunday alcohol sales ban.

Macomb businesses are not allowed to sell packaged alcohol on Sundays, but a local business is trying to change that as soon as next month.

Melissa Worley, the store director at Hy-Vee, doesn’t want her employees to continue having to remove liquor from the shelves once every seven days. Instead, she asks the council to consider allowing the store – and all Macomb businesses – to sell alcohol between the hours of 12 p.m. and 9 p.m. every Sunday.

Mayor Mike Inman said that the idea to end the prohibition was discussed at a general government meeting last week and that it has been part of a larger discussion for the last few years. Although the ordinance would benefit more than just Hy-Vee, Inman thinks that Worley deserves recognition if the council finalizes the proposal.

“Hy-Vee decided to step up and try to craft an ordinance that they think is beneficial for their business model and beneficial in the community,” Inman said. “I applaud her (Worley) for stepping up.”

There are other alcoholrelated proposals within the ordinance. Although the proposal would allow them to sell packaged liquor on Sundays, they would not be able to sell kegs of beer. If someone in a group wants to purchase alcohol, everyone in the group must show their identification to avoid situations where older friends buy liquor for their underage friends.

Worley seeks to offer customers wine samples for four-hour periods instead of just two hours, and to allow employees who are 18 or 19 years old to authorize liquor sales. With the proposal, the

latter will be allowed as long as the store’s computerized checkout system is working properly. Otherwise, those who sell the liquor must be 20 years old.

City Attorney Kristen Petrie said that Worley’s requests are reasonable. According to Petrie, the 20 year old age minimum is in place to prevent irresponsible behavior from younger employees; however, 18-year-old employees in restaurants with liquor licenses are allowed to serve alcohol.

“I moved to Macomb two years ago and I was surprised by the liquor sales law on Sundays. I wanted to come by and show support of these changes,” a resident of 50th Street said from the public comment section.

In terms of an agreement, there is no clear opposition to the ordinance as of now.

Inman indicated that the hours of 12 p.m. and 9 p.m. and no keg sales are non-negotiables, but nothing is definite. The first reading for the ordinance proposal is on the agenda for the next meeting and final action is tentatively scheduled on March 18.

Elsewhere in Macomb, the council will vote on whether to sell part of the building located at 133 W Jackson St. The proposal would allow Inman to act as an agent to sell the building, which the city has owned for a year.

The city only owns the western half of the building, but according to City Administrator Dean Torreson, the city is trying to acquire the other half as well.

After the council took bid offers, local entrepreneur Chris Trotter separated himself as the frontrunner.

Liquor page 2

News: University Union Board announces annual West Fest line up.

Sports: Analyzing top college basketball teams.

2

NEWS

WesternCourier.com

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

SGA discusses student fee changes

josh purnell/courier staff

Joe Roselieb

josh purnell/courier staff

Western Illinois University President Jack Thomas spoke at Tuesday’s Student Government Association (SGA) meeting about Western’s future financial status.

Thomas said that it’s easy to focus on the negativity surrounding the upcoming cuts at the University, but that there are also positives that Western should boast. He sees the increase in full-time freshmen enrollment at a rate of almost four percent between the fall 2017 semester to the spring 2019 semester as progress. Thomas is hopeful that those numbers start a trend to maintain retention.

He lists factors like the University’s decisions to offer new online programs, more opportunities for high school students in dual enrollment courses and Governor J.B. Pritzker’s plan to increase the funding for public universities by five percent as reasons for potential growth in the freshmen class.

Despite strong appreciation for the governor’s plan to increase the funding at Western, Thomas said that the University still has to cut costs.

“Even with the governor’s assurances, as result of the budget situation and decreases to the enrollment, we cannot decrease the institution’s expenditures without reducing the University’s operating expenses,” Thomas said, “which include personnel.”

Thomas noted that rumors of the president’s office employing four secretaries is untrue; instead, he said that there are two secretaries that serve himself, the Board of Trustees and the University’s general counsel. He also said that several recently vacated positions in his office were not filled.

Student employment at Western will likely be impacted with the recent increase in the minimum wage in the state of Illinois.

Western will begin increasing the minimum wage by one dollar starting in January of 2020.

Although the University will have to pay all minimum wage workers $15 per hour by 2025, there is a bill

Letisha Trepac

Liquor

WC Located on the third floor of the Heating Plant Annex on the south end of campus across from Sherman Hall.

Mail: 1 University Circle, WIU, Macomb, IL 61455 Phone: 309-298-1876 Fax: 309-298-2309 Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays E-mail: micour@wiu.edu Member: Illinois College Press Association, National Association College Press

STAFF MEMBERS editor-in-chief Devon Greene DJ-Greene@wiu.edu news editor Steven Barnum

proofreader Amanda Wandachowicz

SS-Barnum@wiu.edu

A-Wandachowicz@wiu.edu

opinions editor Allison Young

photo editor Becca Langys

AN-Young@wiu.edu

RE-Langys@wiu.edu

sports editor Bradley Piros

assistant photo editor Sara Remar

BJ-Piros@wiu.edu

SE-Remar@wiu.edu

assistant sports editor Chris Bean

production manager Jimmy Pierson

CR-Bean@wiu.edu

JM-Pierson@wiu.edu

edge editor Marc Ramirez

business manager Faith Rucker

MA-Ramirez3@wiu.edu

F-Rucker@wiu.edu

copy editor Brie Coder

advertising manager Jacob Day

B-Coder@wiu.edu

JD-Day@wiu.edu adviser Will Buss WJ-Buss@wiu.edu

josh purnell/courier staff

Jack Thomas

improve his potential Jackson Street property.

The city will continue to discuss the future for 133 W Jackson St. and the possibility of ending Sunday’s liquor-sale ban during Monday’s meeting at 5:15 p.m.

PUBLISHING AND CIRCULATION

The Western Courier is published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the regular school year, excluding holidays, finals week and semester breaks. The WC updates the website weekly during the summer. All content reflects the editorial discretion of the students operating the newspaper and must be interpreted as unofficial university communication. While every attempt is made to determine the validity of advertising contained herein, the advertising in the WC is not to be construed as endorsements of any specific products or services. The WC assumes no responsibility or liability resulting from the content of paid advertisements. Subscription price is $36 per year mailed third-class bulk rate from Macomb.

The WC is printed by The Galesburg Register-Mail in Galesburg, Ill.

COPYRIGHT 2017

No reproduction or reuse of material is permitted without written consent of the WC. All rights reserved. To request permission to reprint any material from this publication, please contact Nicholas Ebelhack or Will Buss at 309-298-1876.

ESTER WC

OU

C

If approved, Trotter will purchase that portion of the building for 80 percent value according to the building’s appraisal.

“The plan here is for Mr.

the city’s decision to offer him financial help. He also applied for the Downtown Renovation Grant Program, which the council recently amended. If Macomb selects Trotter ’s application for the grant, they will give him an additional $20,000 to

josh purnell/courier staff

Aaron Steele

N

from front page

Trotter to rehabilitate this building, starting with a new roof, and making this into usable space again,” Torreson said. “I think his plan is to get started sometime in the spring.”

Trotter ’s plans for the redevelopment project relies on

to make that happen even sooner.

According to Western’s Budget Director, Letisha Trepac, this will be problematic for the University.

“That’s a substantial raise, and our budgets are based on revenue,” Trepac said, “so if our budgets stay the same and our cost per hour goes up, then there will be fewer hours available on campus.”

Thomas said that wage increase would force the University to continue to be creative when making cuts.

“The state is not giving us anything additional,” Thomas said.

“We have to absorb that cost ourselves. It’s not that we don’t want it, but this will put a strain on the institution.”

“We have to continue to do as much as we can to reduce spending and savings while also keeping the University’s future in mind,” Thomas said. “Western has been here 118 years and we want to see it 118 more years and beyond.

These are not easy decisions for us to make but we have to position ourselves for the future.”

One of the ways Western chose to save money is taking the North Quad offline beginning this fall. Joe Roselieb, Director of Residential and Auxiliary Facilities, said that the decision was made to benefit new students. He also said that it was a calculated choice to both cut costs and minimize the potential damage.

From his rough estimates, the University will save more than $1 million by no longer offering dorms in the North Quad.

Freshmen will live in the same residence halls as upperclassmen, which he said could add to their first year experience that Western has to offer. Roselieb told The Western Courier in January that the University does not currently plan to demolish either of the buildings because they are optimistic about a reversal in the declining enrollment.

The University is proposing increases to student fees to support the University Union and the University Housing and Dining Services. The SGA will vote on this during their next meeting on March 5.

RIE

R

news editor

W

By Steven Barnum

ADVERTISING POLICY

The WC does not knowingly accept advertisements that discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, handicapped status, veteran or sexual orientation, nor does it knowingly print ads that violate any local, state or federal laws.

One copy of the Western Courier is free.

Additional copies $1.

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS The WC needs your help to maintain accuracy. If you find a factual error, call the WC office at 309-298-1876 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Please ask to speak to an editor to ensure the inaccurate information can be corrected as quickly as possible.

@WesternCourier

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

NEWS 3

NOTICE OF EXAMINATION MACOMB POLICE DEPARTMENT

The Board of Fire & Police Commissioners of the City of Macomb, Illinois hereby gives notice that examinations will offered to all eligible applicants to create an Eligibility List for hiring for positions with the Macomb Police Department.

At time of application, applicants must be at least 21 years of age and no more than 35 years of age. Military veterans may extend the age limit one year for every year if active duty, not to exceed ten years. Applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent; must have completed 60 semesters or 90 quarters hours from an accredited academic institution; must posses valid driver’s license. To move forward in hiring processes, applicants must have physical and written exams, medical and psychological evalutions and background investigations; must have visual acuity 20/20 each eye corrected (minimum) with normal color vision and depth perception; must have good habits and be of moral character. Proof of U.S. Citzenship and if hired; McDonough County residency is required.

STARTING SALARY as of 05/01/18, $47,078.76 per year.

Forty-hour work week with time and a half for all overtime.

Applications packets may be obtained at the Mayor’s Office, City Hall, 232 E. Jackson St., Macomb, Illinois 61455, Phone (309) 833-2558, or on-line at: https://www.macombpolice.com/application-requirements/ All applications and attachments must be completed, signed and on file by 4:30 P.M., Tuesday, March 12, 2019. If sumbitting the application packet by mail, it must be postmarked on or before the application deadline date AND received at the Mayor’s Office within five (5) calendar days of the deadline. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Testing date is March 30, 2019. Applicants should report to Brophy Hall, on the Western University campus at 7:30 A.M.

The City reserves the right to require reimbursement of training expenses on a pro-rata basis if an officer resigns within the first two years of employment.

The City of Macomb is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.

4

OPINIONS

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

WesternCourier.com

Recognize a good friendship when you have it

Friendship in college is weird. Freshman year you usually get put into a room with someone you don’t know and are expected to live in harmony for a year.

Typically, you’ll become friends with your assigned roommate and make more friends as the years go on.

While this wasn’t the case with me, it is for a few of my friends. The reason I’m writing this is because I’ve come to realize that having

friends in college is one of the most important factors in having a stressful in college experience. Personally, if I didn’t have my friends to lean on and support me when I needed it, I probably would have dropped out freshman year and never looked back.

Friendship is important in general, but when it comes to college, it is much more necessary. With stress from classes, homework and extracurriculars, it would be impossible

to take it all on by yourself. It seems strange to think you’ll have these friends for a lifetime, but as history shows, it happens. It is no surprise that you would make friends like this in college, because you are on your own and get to decide who is going to be a positive influence in your life and who isn’t. When it comes to this decision, sometimes making that choice after you’re in the friendship is the most difficult.

Recently, I’ve had a falling out with one of my closest friends. This made me realize that sometimes there are people who you think are going to be there forever, but end up impacting you negatively.

While a decision like this is very often difficult, it is necessary. If you have friends who are not impacting your life in a positive manner, or who treat you like less than you deserve, it is probably time to make a change. I’m aware this change may not be easy, or even possible for you, but in the long run it will be a great change. While my situation was a pretty easy one to decide, it went on for a long time due to my fear of losing friends. When you realize a friend is impacting you negatively, it can be a tough hill to climb. The way to get through this is to make sure you have other good friends you can rely on

to have your back if it goes badly. My friends were very understanding and helpful in my situation, even though it was a mutual friend. Remember your self worth. If you discover one of your friends is toxic or negative in your life, it is okay to leave them behind.

Pixabay

Everyone needs a good friend in their life.

Participating in research during college is important We have all gotten those emails from some graduate student asking to take their survey for their thesis. These emails are sent to random students in hopes of getting participants.

The first thought that comes to most students minds is to delete the email and move on with their day. I think it’s important to address that these surveys should not be blown off. As a research assistant, I now understand how important research is. Whether the research is for SONA through the psychology department or a graduate student's research thesis proposal, it’s everywhere and it’s awesome. You are probably saying to yourself, “I do not conduct research so why does it matter?” The research surveys you are sent or the required hours of research participation you have to do

for certain classes are so important! Most of the data collection for graduate students projects and other clubs and organizations come from the students. Taking one 15 minute study through SONA means the world to a researcher who is not getting a lot of data collection. It is also important to participate in research because you are helping research assistants understand how to conduct an experiment.

If you want to be a part of a research lab, creating and disbursing surveys can help you prepare for the research part of your major. Joining a faculty members research lab gives you advantages such as public speaking skills, respect from professors and content to build your resume. Building connections with faculty members in your department is a great way

to open doors to new networking opportunities as well. Participating in research builds your critical thinking skills. If you are a researcher or a research assistant, it takes a lot of time and discipline to make sure you are collecting data and coding the right things.

I have been a research assistant in the psychology department for about three years now. I have worked on a total of four projects and it has been awesome. I feel so valued as a research assistant and I get to meet new people and experience new things at the same time. As a research assistant, you learn a lot about teamwork, whether that’s by collaborating with other research assistants or other faculty members. Research here on campus is very valuable to a lot of people.

So next time before deleting that survey sent to you from some random graduate student, contemplate how much it would mean to that researcher for you to take five minutes out of your day and complete that survey.

Editorial Policy

The editorial views of the Western Courier shall be confined to this editorial and are to be separate from news coverage otherwise noted. The editorial presented is based on the ideas and views of the WC editorial board.Columns are the opinions of the columnists alone and should not be construed as the opinions and beliefs of the WC staff as a whole.

Letters & Local Forum Policies

E-mail letters to the Editor and Local Forum messages to micour@wiu.edu.

Letters should not be more than 350 words in length. The author’s name and phone number must be included for verification purposes. Failure to include such information will lead to the letter being discarded. The WC staff will edit letters in cases of timeliness, obscenity length and grammer, and we do not guarantee publication of all letters.

2019 Fall Semester Editorial Board

Edge Editor - Marc Ramirez Editor-in-Chief - Devon Greene Opinions Editor - Allison Young

@WesternCourier

 Peace of mind is a beautiful thing and ignorance is bliss. The type of ignorance and peace of mind I speak of is storage and convenience. When students travel to school they typically arrive by car. This is because the immense number of items that you need to bring back and forth from home to the dorms can be quite a lot.

Students typically have clothes, school supplies, technology and miscellaneous goods. I propose that we have a service where students can send two footlockers of proportional sizes prior to

OPINIONS 5

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

arriving on campus.

What goes in the footlocker can be determined by what is allowed in the dorms. Anything that can seem to be of value, dangerous (ie. weapons) and food or at least perishables, are forbidden. This is for safety and to avoid the accumulation of rodents.

This would exponentially help the average students travelling expense. A program of this stature would eliminate student's from renting vehicles or even taking a car altogether and instead take the Amtrak, which is

popular transportation amongst students.

What happens when you must go back home and you need your things to be sent back to where you live? Students that are returning can submit a request to stay in the program and leave their footlockers in the storage area until next semester.

If you are graduating or not returning, then you need to take your footlocker back home so that the incoming freshman and transfer students can have room for their footlockers. Footlockers that are not taken out of the storage in time will be discarded by Western’s discretion.

The way to avoid something like this is to submit a late stay request. This would adhere to students and families that have schedules that do not align

Contact Allison Young

with the universities calendar.

The extension would only be three days.

Now, one may think that the number of footlockers would be astronomical even if it were a paid service. The way to combat this is to require either incoming and or returning students to have a certain GPA and or have a need for the storage.

When people pick up the footlockers, the floor resident assistant will adhere to any questions, locating and providing paperwork to get the footlocker and to return it when the end of the semester comes if the student plans on using the service again.

Other rules are in place like only students in dorms can use this service and you must be coming within a certain amount

of days after your footlocker has arrived on campus. This is to ensure that people are unloading the items in their footlocker in their dorms.

Sending in your footlockers would require the school to have drop-offs so probably at least one in Chicago Union Station and one in O’Hare Airport.

This would be so the footlockers can be processed and handled. If more drop-offs were available, it would be nice, but this is the bare minimum.

Now, people may still take a car to school regardless if storage space or advanced luggage service is available. The option is what matters as it will create less stress for students when travelling from home to their dorm, because the last thing students need is added stress.

AN-Young@wiu.edu

6

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Sports

Women's from back page

Furthermore, the Pioneers came into Western Hall at the beginning of the conference season looking to steal one on the road against the Leathernecks; however, the Leathernecks were able to pull off their first home victory against Denver in an 87-78 outing. The team had five players score in double figures while the Pioneers had four players.

Madison Nelson of the Pioneers had a team high of 14 points along with 11 rebounds. Higginbotham was able to notch up a game high double-double with 23 points and 17 rebounds, while shooting efficiently from the field and playing great defense.

These two teams have changed from the beginning of the season, so game plans will be different and the stakes will be higher.

The Leathernecks have another road game on Saturday against first seeded South Dakota State, which will be their last game of the season. Both games are extremely important for our Leathernecks to win and clinch a comfortable top-five seed; however, the team is too good on the road with a 3-7 record. Tip-off begins at 2 p.m.

Leatherneck fans need to support our women’s basketball team by watching them live on television and online this Thursday.

Twitter: DC_Juan00

GOLEATHERNECKS.COM

Danni Nichols goes up for a layup.

WesternCourier.com

Track and Field conclude successful indoor season at Summit League Championships BROOKINGS, S.D. — This year’s indoor Summit League Championships didn’t disappoint, as the Western Illinois track and field teams succeeded in making one last statement to the rest of their conference before kicking off the outdoor season. The two-day event held at the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, S.D. provided multiple Leathernecks with hardware after some memorable efforts. Coming into the competition, the Purple and Gold would have their sights set on capturing their first second-place-orbetter finish since the 2003 indoor Summit League Championships.

Leading the charge for the Leathernecks on day one of the event was junior Michaela Bush. She secured the team’s first silver medal in the pentathlon, shattering the school record with an eye-popping score of 3,676 points. Whose record did she break?

She broke her own, for the second time already this season. This was all thanks to dominant performances in both the high jump (1.65 meters) and the shot put (11.43 meters). However, Bush wasn’t done there. She capped the first round of the event off with two more personal all-time records in 800-meter run (2:24.89) and the long jump (5.37), where she finished third and sixth in her heat.

Track and field is a sport of inches, and that came to show in the long jump. Junior Bo Brasseur put her vertical ability on full display, clearing the mark of 5.87 meters, which would be good enough for a first-place finish on most days. That wasn’t the case here, however, as South Dakota State took home the top prize after eclipsing Brasseur’s score with a 5.98-meter leap.

While Brasseur was narrowly edged by her foe, she still walked away with a silver medal of her own.

CLASSIFIEDS

WC

For Rent

For Rent

Submit a classifieds ad to JD-Day@wiu.edu

Spacious 2-5 bedroom homes for rent. 10 month lease available. Great locations, close to bus stops, plenty off street parking, all new windows, AC, energy efficient furnace, hardwood and ceramic tile floors, free washer/dryer. Well maintained (24 hrs.) by local landlord.

Call 309-255-1233.

Houses for Rent 2016/2017: A&D Real Estate has several 3, 4 and 5 bedroom houses for rent, all with at least 2 bathrooms, recently rennovated and located close to campus. Call for a tour or visit our website at www.wiucollegerentals.com. Local landlord with a focus on clean and updated housing with personal service for your college housing needs. 309-313-1122.

FALL INTO SAVINGS with Charleston Boulevard Apartments! Now offering SPECIAL RATES through Dec. 2017! Call for specific details 309-833-4545!.

NICE, CLEAN, WELL MAINTAINED 1 TO 6 BEDROOM HOUSES FOR 2016-2017 Our houses have hard wood floors, ceramic tile, central air, washer and dryer and are close to campus with plenty of parking. We offer a ten month lease so you don’t pay for the months you aren’t here. Please call 309-255-1959 for a showing.

Now showing for 2017 & 2018 year 2, 3, and 5 bedrooms homes all close to campus. Call 309-331-4565.

Westen Investments: Leasing season has officailly begun, and we’re showing properties now! 1-5 bedroom houses close to campus are ready to be leased for this upcoming school year! Call our office at 309-833-5995 to schedule an appointment! Stay updated with us on Twitter @Western_Invest STC Investments now leasing for the 18/19 school year. We have 1-6 bedroom apartments/houses ready for you to call home! Check out our selection at www.stcinvestments.com.

You can also find us on Facebook to see daily posts!

On the men’s side of things, senior Josh Kirby punched his ticket to the final round in the 60-meter hurdle with a time of 8.33 seconds, good for fifth place in the preliminary race. In turn, freshman Dyllan Bonk continued his impressive rookie campaign for the Leathernecks. He placed eighth in the 60-meter dash, crossing the finish line after 7.03 seconds.

The final round of the meet began on Saturday with Kirby itching to secure yet another medal. He came through in the 60-meter hurdle finals, bettering his time from the previous day with an 8.28-second finish. It’s been quite the career for Kirby, who now has four medals throughout his time at Western Illinois, one bronze and two silvers.

Women’s thrower Carrissa

Tinsleyforced her way into Western’s record books in the shot put with a 14.03-meter toss, sixth-best all-time for the school. Although this performance stood out, she placed just eighth in the event, showing the stiff competition the Leathernecks were up against throughout the entire competition.

When it was all said and done, the Purple and Gold walked away from the indoor Summit League Championships with six all-time program marks. Surely an impressive feat, the team will have this to build on as the outdoor season inches closer.

The Leathernecks will have ample time to prepare for their first outdoor meet of the season. On March 23, they’ll head to Carbondale, Ill. for the Southern Illinois Invite.

GOLEATHERNECKS.COM

Michaela Bush soars a for a silver medal in the high jump event.

LARGE STUDENT RENTALS 5 and 6 Bedroom Homes are still available!! Ask for our $1000.00 Discount program! First come first serve for the last large homes that are open for the fall.

NICE, CLEAN, WELL MAINTAINED 1 TO 6 BEDROOM HOUSES FOR 2017-2018 Our houses have wood floors, ceramic tile, W/D, central air, and are close to campus with plentry of parking. We offer low rent and a 10 month lease to save you money! Call 309-255-1959 for a showing.

Small 1BR apt near campus and downtown. All utilities included. (Electric, Water, DISH, Garbage) $500/month, $300 deposit. Available immediately. Also have 2BR, you pay electric. $600/month, $350 deposit available September 1st. Please contact 309-255-4367 for a showing.

Timbercrest Apartments 1587 Riverview Drive Now showing 1 & 2 Bedroom Units. Very clean, close to WIU campus with bus stop in front of building. Washer/dryer available in most units, all other appliances included, FREE INTERNET, ceiling fans in every room, pet friendly. All units have off street parking and private decks overlooking campus. Both 10- and 12-month leases are available. Openings for Summer 2017 and school year 2017/2018. Deposit required. Phone (309)833-3192 and leave message.

Westen Investments: Are you looking for an apartment? We are now showing our beautiful 1-3 bedroom apartments for this upcoming school year! Don’t like paying for utilities? Ask about our ALL UTILITIES options, and be sure to check out our website (westerninvest.com) to see our listings! Schedule an appointment with us today at 309-833-5995.

The nicer apartments are going fast, excellent service- 24 hour emergency maintenance. Reasonable prices. Studio, 1-3 bedrooms, locations on/off campus available ‘18-’19 school year. Check us out at rentcollegepads.com. If interested, please call F & H Rentals 309/837-1705.

RATES $5.50 per issue (open rate) $4.00 per issue (campus rate)

For Rent Available now: Close to campus, clean studio apartments, excellent condition, reasonable rent, and partly furnished.

Ceiling fans and a/c. Professionally maintained. No pets.

Semester leases offered. Call 309 837 4369 and leave your phone number if not there. Email: MandKhousing@gmail.com ALL APARTMENTS - ALL INCLUSIVE Get control of your budget. Know exactly what you are spending each month. Each apartment includes free a/c, free heat, free electricity, free water, free cable tv, free hi speed internet, and free off street parking. Laundry on site.

No noise policy. Bus stop across the street. Close to campus. Well maintained. Studios are $460/mo, One bedrooms are $620/mo. Call Doug at 309-255-8179 for an appointment.

For Rent: Little Swan Lake, 30 min from campus. 2br, 2bth, heated double car garage with work area. $600 per mo.

(309) 335-2206 after 6:00 pm, may leave message anytime.

Spacious 3 Bedroom Upper in Duplex close to campus and Jackson St. All utilities furnished and appliances Includes cable and internet 18/19 school year $375.00 per Br Ph 309 255 8086 Please leave message Still have some nice large locations available at reasonable prices. Excellent service- 24 hour emergency maintenance. 1-8 bedrooms, locations on/off campus available ‘18-’19 school year. Pets at some locations. Check us out at rentcollegepads.com. If interested, please call F & H Rentals 309/837-1705.

Looking for 2 roommates to share a 3-bedroom furnished house beginning in August for 2018-19. 10- to 12-month contract. New carpet, air, garage w/ storage, laundry. $300 each per month, plus utilities. Call Sharon at 309-338-3888.

Sports 7

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

@WesternCourier

March Madness is almost here Christopher bean assistant sports editor @cre_bean

It’s Feb. 27, and that means we’re two days away from the greatest month of the year: March. Not only does winter end, but we get to witness the greatest three weeks of the year: March Madness, the perfect name for it. When you think you’ve seen it all, madness happens right in front of your very eyes. Whether it’s from buzzer beaters to upsets, no one can predict what happens next. Last year was the first time in tournament history a 16 seed beat a one seed. No one will forget when UMBC beat Virgina by 20 to make the impossible happen. Even though it busted a lot of people’s brackets, that upset was so fascinating to watch, and goes to show you what March is all about. Let’s take a look at how March may turn out this year.

If you’re one of those people that wait to watch college basketball until March, or just don’t watch it at all, I’m willing to beat you’ve all heard of the phenomenal Zion Willamson. Williamson is the freshman star from Duke, and is surrounded by three other talented freshmen, arguably making the Blue Devils the team to beat this year. RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish join Zion as elite freshmen. All three are projected to be drafted in the top four spots of the draft along with Murray State star Ja Morant. Point guard Tre Jones is the other freshman who completes Duke’s roster.

Jones is the best defender on the team, and makes sure Duke’s offense is flowing nicely on every possession. Duke is currently no. three in the nation. They suffered

their third loss of the year last week to rival North Carolina, 88-72. Just over 30 seconds into the game, Willamson completely tore his shoe in half and suffered a minor injury. He missed his second game in-a-row last night against Virgina Tech. He is dayto-day and will be back soon.

When the Blue Devils are at full strength, they are almost impossible to beat, and look to add yet another title to their University.

Staying in the ACC is no. two Virgina. The Cavaliers are 24-2 with both of their losses coming from Duke. Outside of that, they have been perfect and led by their suffocating defense.

The Cavs are led by juniors Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy. Both fit Tony Bennett’s system well and can shoot the lights out at any point in a game. Completing their roster is arguably the best two-way player in college basketball: sophomore De’Andre Hunter. Hunter is averaging 15.2 points and 5.4 rebounds a game in his first year starting. Bennett has completely changed the culture of Virgina when he was hired right after the 2009 season. However, they have never been to the Final Four, and this team has a lot to prove after they lost in the first round to UMBC last year.

North Carolina completes the three-way tie at the top of the ACC. The Tar Heels are 22-5 and fifth in the nation. Roy Williams team is led by senior Luke Maye, who is averaging 15.2 points and 9.9 rebounds a game. Freshmen Cobe White and Nassir Little

complete UNC’s roster. Little is a projected lottery pick but comes off the bench, just showing you how deep this roster is. The Tar Heels had a rough start to the year because of their difficult schedule, but are heating up at the right time of the year.

Shifting gears to the Big 10, they currently have six teams in the top 25, which is the most out of any conference beating out the ACC’s five. They are led by instate rivals Michigan State and Michigan. Both teams faced off on Sunday in a back and forth battle, but MSU held Michigan to only nine points in just under a 15-minute span, pulling away with a 77-70 win and now leads them by one game in conference play. Michigan State lost junior guard Josh Langford for the year who was averaging 16 points a game, and junior center Nick Ward Jr. is out indefinitely with a fractured hand. But this hasn’t slowed down the Spartans who are led by junior point guard and arguably Big Ten Player of the Year, Cassius Winston. Winston averages 19.2 points and 7.4 assists a game. MSU has been eliminated in the first weekend three years in-a-row, and this team looks to ride their big win on Sunday into the postseason.

Michigan is 24-4 and have consistently one of the best defensive teams the whole year. The runner ups from last year seem to be getting better even though they lost three pieces from last year’s team. Freshman Ignas Brazdeikis has been very impressive, averaging 14.4 points a game. Even though the defense has been consistent, at times the offense has disappeared. If they can be consistent on both ends, there is no doubt they can get back to the title game.

The Big East has a two head-

ed monster in Marquette and Villanova. Marquette is led by point guard Markus Howard who averages 25.3 points a game.

The Golden Eagles are currently 10th in the country with 23-4 record. Villanova has taken a bit of a step back with a 20-8 record and currently on a three-game losing streak, but don’t count out the defending champs come tournament time.

The SEC is also a two headed race, led by Kentucky and Tennessee. Two weeks ago, Kentucky demolished the Volunteers who were no. 1 at the time. For Kentucky, it was their most complete game of the year, and just like UNC, the Wildcats are staring to perform at the level we see every year from John Calipari’s team. Before Tennessee lost to Kentucky, they were the best team in the country for a month in-a-row. Head coach Rick Barnes has changed the identity of Tennessee, who plays with a lot of tempo and physicality. It helps when you have two monsters in your backcourt in senior Admiral Schofield and defending SEC player of the Year Grant Williams. They average 35.9 points a game. Together they look to power the Volunteers to a long run in March.

Big 12 is very interesting right now because Kansas does not lead the conference, their rival Kansas State has a one game lead over them. Kansas did help themselves out after dominating the Wildcats 64-49 on Monday night, but will most likely need to win out and have Kansas lose at least one more game to continue their streak of winning the Big 12 which will be 15 years in-a-row.

Texas Tech is also in the race with a 10-4 record in conference play and dismantled the Jayhawks on Saturday, 91-62. Neither one of

these teams are inside of the top ten, but all three of these teams were in the Elite 8 last year and know how to make a run.

There are two teams that are not in the power five conference: Gonzaga and Houston. The Zags moved into the no. 1 spot this week and are 27-2. The are led

by Rui Hachimura, Josh Perkins and Brandon Clarke. They went to the title game two years ago, and Mark Few's team may be in for the long run again. Houston on the other hand has the fewest loses this year, and lost in heartbreaking fashion last to at the buzzer to Michigan. If it wasn't for that, the Cougars could have easily been in the title game.

Kelvin Sampson's team is poised to the long run.

Last but certainly not least we have potential under dogs. Now it’s hard to say what double digit team will make a deep run, like Loyola-Chicago did last year, but two teams to look out for areSouth Dakota State and Murray State. SDSU is led by Mike Daum who is the 10th highest scorer in NCAA history, and scored his 3,000th point on Saturday. The Jack Rabbits are 23-7 and looking to make a deep run after losing in the first round three years ina-row. I talked a little bit about Murray State before because they have a guy name Ja Morant. He is projected to be a top three pick in this year’s draft and reminds me a lot of Russell Westbrook.

The Racers are 23-4 and have seven in-a-row. If they make the field of 68, this is another sneaky team to look out for because of the talent Morant possess.

March is almost here and that means madness is upon us. Sit back, relax and enjoy the entertainment because I guarantee you will see something you’ve never seen before.

Baseball win series against RedHawks

By David Koier courier staff

The Western Illinois Leathernecks baseball team have made some improvements in the win column, as the team won their series this weekend against the RedHawks of Southeast Missouri State.

The Leathernecks, who were winless going into the series, won two of the three games against the RedHawks, who were undefeated up until this weekend.

The cold and rainy weather Friday afternoon didn’t affect the bats of the Purple and Gold. A wild pitch in the third inning started the scoring as junior Kevin Raisbeck scored after he reached an infield single and advanced to third off of a double by junior center fielder Drue Galassi.

Galassi would then score on the next pitch off of a

sacrifice fly by senior Deion Thompson. The Leathernecks wouldn’t stop there as in the top of the fourth Alex Dorethy would score after senior Steve McShane reached first, due to an error by the RedHawks shortstop Tyler Wilbur.

The scoring would continue throughout the rest of the game including two home runs by Galassi, which helped the Leathernecks take the win in game one, 9-2.

Earning the win for Western was junior Javin Drake. Drake went five innings allowing only five hits, one run, while striking out one. Sophomore Jace Warkentien earned the save after going four innings allowing one run off of four hits striking out two in the process.

Head coach Ryan Brownlee credits the team’s success in game one to the amount of preparation put in this past

week. “That was all our guys.

They had a great week of prep for the weekend. They focused on getting better with 2Ks and having a better approach in their counts.”

On Saturday afternoon, game two started off with a bang for the Leathernecks.

In the top of the second, Dorethy hit a two-run homer to put the Leathernecks up early. Those two runs would be the only ones scored and would not be enough to keep the RedHawks at bay.

After the full nine innings, the red-hot RedHawks had crossed home 14 times demolishing the Leathernecks, 14-2.

Earning the win for SEMO was Noah Niznik while Dorethy was given the loss for his second of the season.

Just as they had in games one and two, the Purple and Gold scored first and quickly in game three on Sunday.

McShane scored off of a sac-

rifice groundout by Dorethy giving the Leathernecks a quick 1-0 lead. It wasn’t until the fifth inning when the RedHawks would retaliate, as SEMO right fielder Brett Gonzalez took advantage of a Diego Munoz error, scoring the first run of the day for the RedHawks.

The Leathernecks took advantage of another miscue as Raisbeck scored off of a wild pitch by Logan Winder, giving Western the lead once again in the top of the eighth.

That lead was short lived when in the bottom of the eighth, SEMO right fielder Devon Wilson scored off of a single by third baseman Alex Nielsen.

No team could score again in the ninth, so fans in Cape Girardeau were treated to some free baseball. It wasn’t until the 11th when someone finally broke the tie. A single by senior CJ Schaeffer

Jr. scored the go-ahead run for the Leathernecks and two batters later, Raisbeck added some insurance for Western hitting a two-run double.

The Leathernecks took game three and the series with a score of 5-2.

Earning the win for the Leathernecks was sophomore Jack Carberry.

Brownlee was very proud with how the team worked this weekend. “I'm excited for our guys. It was great to get a hard-fought road series win. SEMO is a really good team, hard to navigate from an offensive standpoint. The whole team did a great job of keeping their composure in a tough environment.”

Western Illinois travels to Southern IllinoisEdwardsville this upcoming weekend for a three game series against the Sallukis, which begins Friday afternoon.

Men's basketball look to continue winning ways

By Titus Perez courier staff

Kobe Webster prepares to go on the attack.

Zion Young looks to make a pass inside Western Hall.

MY'ANNA PURDUE

JOSH PURNELL

DENVER — This past Saturday marked the first win of the month for the Western Illinois University Leathernecks (9-18, 4-10 Summit) defeating Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles (10-20, 6-9 Summit) on senior night. The win for WIU didn’t just snap a five game losing streak and send the seniors out the right way, it also set the Leathernecks up to gain momentum heading into the Summit League tournament, which starts March 9. The Leathernecks have two games left in the regular season before the tournament begins, each of them are on the road. The first will be against the University of Denver Pioneers (7-21, 2-12 Summit). The Pioneers will come into the game on a seven game losing streak, and WIU will be hoping to repeat the 78-60 win they conquered on Dec. 30 in Macomb.

The Necks had five players in double figures in that game, led by this season’s leading scorer, sophomore guard Kobe Webster.

His 22 points set the pace in that win and the team followed his lead, shooting exceptionally from the field by hitting 50 percent of their shots. Asking for a repeat shooting performance in this game could be a stretch, especially on the road, so the Necks will have to play some solid defense and be patient on offense. Being patient on offense will allow the Necks to exploit the weak Pioneers defense, who allows opponents to shoot 42 percent from three, giving up 11 a game. A way to get shooters open is to bring forth center Brandon Gilbeck. While Gilbeck is not a dynamic scorer, he’s one of the tallest players in the Summit League and demands double teams; those double teams can lead to open three point shooters for the Leathernecks. Gilbeck played just 12 minutes in the first game between the two teams, which could be a direct correlation to the poor three point shootings by the Necks. Having him more involved this time around should change that.

Freshman guard Zion Young could play a major role in this game as well, after getting his first conference start last game where he scored 12 points, swishing three of six three point attempts. That type of spark is exactly what head coach Billy Wright was looking for when he made the switch to Young. Wright should also try to get Webster out there earlier on.

Webster seems to struggle the entire game when he doesn’t get off to a good start. If he is pressing and forcing shots, the team will get out of rhythm. If this happens Denver will most likely take advantage.

Western’s biggest concern will be senior guard Ronnie Harrell Jr. Denver’s leading scorer (13.2 point per game) on the season has torched Summit League opponents from three all year. Harrell played his first three years for the University of Creighton Blue Jays, and is well adapted to playing in big games. He’s looking to go out with a bang as his college career comes to an end. Ade Murkey leads Denver in scoring with 15 points the first time these two teams played. He’s another player the Necks have to keep an eye on. He is their most efficient player and can explode at any time, scoring 31 points in a game earlier this season against the University of Northern Colorado Bears.

If the Leathernecks can jump on the Pioneers early, the game could be another blowout win. Allowing Denver to hang around will cause trouble because Murkey and Harrell have the talent to finish an opponent. The last time these two met, the Necks seemed to have figured the Pioneers out. They outscored them in the second half by 13 points, an encouraging sign heading into this game. Western should be focused on winning back-to-back games in conference for just the second time this season. Doing so would be big for conference standings heading into their last game of the season. You can catch it all on WRMS radio. Tip-off begins at 8 p.m this Thursday.

Women's hoops prepare for Pioneers

By Kejuan Rucker courier staff DENVER- The Leathernecks are playing their final two games of the season and both games require Leatherneck fans to tune in to ESPN3 as our women’s basketball team goes on the road. The first stop on their “rocky road” begins this Thursday against the fifthseeded University of Denver Pioneers. The Leathernecks and Pioneers are two of three teams looking to clinch that third spot in the conference for the upper advantage in the playoffs, so the stakes are high in this one.

The Denver Pioneers are back home after getting an overtime victory Saturday against North Dakota, defeating the Fighting Hawks in a one point, 92-91 win. The Pioneers junior guard Lauren Loven led the charge with 24 points, but did not finish the game after fouling out in the

fourth quarter. Junior forward Madison Nelson stepped up and took over, scoring 10 total points in the fourth quarter and overtime. She gave out a nice dime that set up senior guard Haley Simental to nail a three pointer and send the game into overtime. Nelson finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds in 38 minutes of action. The Pioneers opened and closed the game with some big free throws to seal the win.

On the flip side, the Leathernecks were at home on Saturday as the homegoing celebration for the all time leading scorer, Taylor Higginbotham, was in full effect. Unfortunately, senior night did not turn out how Higginbotham expected, as the Leathernecks fell short of a victory, being defeated 92-85 by the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles are the other team that is fighting for the third spot in the

Summit League with Western Illinois and Denver. They were able to spoil Higginbotham’s night, but every Leatherneck fan in Western Hall give her a standing ovation before the game. The lone senior scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds in her final home game of her Leatherneck career. Her teammates backed her up in the scoring department, as four of the five Leatherneck starters scored in double digits. The game was a very intense, back and forth battle, but it ended with Oral Roberts winning the game and taking the third spot in the conference. The Leathernecks now sit in fourth place in the Summit League, and the Pioneers are hoping to defeat them in their battle to steal the fourth seed.

Women's page 6

Taylor Higginbotham dribbles down court.

JOSH PURNELL