Western Courier| November 20th, 2019

Sports: Women's basketball takes on in-state rival Bradley Braves.

Opinions: The rec center needs improvements.

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Wednesday, November 20, 2019 - Vol. 120 Issue 39

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Abraham announces repercussions after finalizing investigation

By Marc Ramirez news editor

On Tuesday, Nov. 12, the Division of Student Services and the University Counseling Center held an open forum to address a note holding racist implications that was found in a computer lab on the third floor of Currens Hall the day before. Yesterday, Interim President Martin Abraham sent out a follow up email regarding the investigation that took place in the days following the event.

“I would like to thank uTech and OPS personnel for their swift action in investigating this serious matter,” Abraham

wrote in his email to the Western Illinois community. “An individual was identified and has been referred to Students Rights and Responsibilities (SSR) for behavior/conduct.”

According to Abraham, judicial referral was found to be the most appropriate course of action for the time being. The Student Rights and Responsibilities serves as the disciplinary body for the student population and will be conducting a thorough review and taking measures decided after the conclusion of the review.

During the open forum held in the University Union Grand Ballroom on Nov. 12, it was made very clear that students,

faculty, staff and administration in attendance had no tolerance for the hate demonstrated in this act; and when caught, they wanted to see consequences taken and punishments instilled. It was also discussed that some students feel that racism is embedded in Macomb and that change needs to take place to better the university community as a whole.

“As I stated in a letter that day following the discovery of the night, hate has no home at WIU,” Abraham wrote in his email to the Western Illinois community. “Prejudice, bigotry and harassment are not tolerated.”

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Abraham sends follow up email to Western Illinois campus community.

LGBT*QA hosts Trans Day of Remembrance

By Devon Greene editor-in-chief

The LGBT*QA Resource Center is hosting the Trans* Day of Remembrance vigil at 7 p.m. today in the Multicultural Center.

The Trans* Day of Remembrance was started in 1999 by advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith, in the memory of Rita Hester of Boston, a transgender woman who was murdered on Nov. 28, 1998 after being stabbed 20 times in her apartment. The suspect was never found.

Smith spoke about the importance of the day when it was founded.

“Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender biogry and violence,” Smith said. “I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people, sometimes in the most brutal ways possible, it is vitally important that those

we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice.”

The rememberance day will consist of a candlelight vigil to remember those in the transgender or non-conforming people who have been murdered in 2019.

According the the Human Rights Campaign, at least 22 transgender or gender noncomforming people were murdered this year. Those include, Dana Martin, 31, of Montgomery, Ala., Jazzaline Ware, 34, of Memphis, Tenn., Ashanti Carmon, 27, of Md., Claire Legato, 21, of Cleveland, Ohio, Muhlaysia Booker, 23, of Dallas, Michelle “Tamika” Washington, 40, of Philadelphia, Pa., Paris Cameron, 20, of Detroit, Mich., Chynal Lindsey, 26, of Dallas, Chanel Scurlock, 23, of Lumberton, N.C., Zoe Spears, 23, of Fairmount Heights, Md., Brooklyn Lindsey, 32, of Kansas City, Miss., Denali Berries Stuckey, 29, of North Charleston, S.C., Tracey Single, 22, of Houston, Bubba Walker, 55, of Charlotte, N.C., Kiki Fan-

troy, 21, of Miami, Jordan Cofer, 22, of Dayton Ohio, Pebbles LaDime “Dime” Doe, 24, in Allendale County, S.C., Bailey Reeves, 17, of Baltimore, Md., Bee Love Slater, 23, of Clewiston, Fla., Jamagio Jamar Berryman, 30, of Kansas City, Kan., Itali Marlowe, 29, of Houston, Brianna “BB” Hill, 30, of Kansas City, Kan., Johana “Joa” Medina, 25, of El Paso, Texas and Layleen Polanco, 27, of New York City.

Along with a candle lit in the remembrance, every name will be read to honor and celebrate their lives.

“The vigil remembers Trans* individuals who have been murdered in 2019, and also serves as a call to action that we will not stand for violence towards Trans* people, and together we can make a change,” Grace Davis, LGBT*QA Resource Center graduate assistant said to University Relations. “We mourn the lives our communities have lost, and celebrate the lives that those lost had lived.”

Trans* Day of Remembrance will kick of at 7 p.m. tonight.

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2 NEWS

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

WesternCourier.com

Picture Perfect Modeling Troupe hosted fashion show

By Aariani Allen courier staff

Picture Perfect Modeling Troupe is a black modeling organization on campus. The organization was founded in 2009 at Western Illinois University “Picture Perfect Modeling Troupe exists in hopes to educate the campus on fashion and to show that beauty is reality,” Purple Post reads. “We introduce our members and our audience to the many aspects of the modeling industry.”

Their mission as an organization is to introduce aspects of the modeling industry using specialized photography, innovative fashion, unique runway techniques and mechanics community service for their members and community.

As it stated on their social me-

dia websites, they are hoping to enhance each individual's knowledge of a professional model experience.

On Saturday, Nov. 16, PPMT presented their “Dressed and Obsessed” fashion show featuring Western’s very own designers. The publishers were Shaun Jordan, 2DaNextGeorge and PPMT’s very own ReDesigned. The doors opened at 2:30 p.m. and show started shortly after.

Last week, students were selling $5 presale tickets and $7 at the door. The organization did a raffle last week on their social media page for the chance to win two free tickets to the show. The two winners of the raffle were two current students here at Western.

The theme of the event was “Come Dressed to Impress”

therefore, the event featured a best dressed contest. The fashion show consisted of clothing brands Publishers Clothing and 2DaNextClothing. Each brand had students model their clothing lines in the fashion show.

The creator of the brand “Publishers Clothing” was in the fashion show, who is also a former Western Illinois student who graduated last year.

Another Western University student in PPMT, showcased her own custom fashion outfits in the show. Students who came to the show saw a variety of dancing, modeling and culture all in one.

The organization meets every Monday at 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and every Wednesday at 8 p.m. to 10 p.m at the University Union B Room.

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Students involved in Picture Perfect Modeling Troupe pose for pictures before their show on Saturday.

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Wednesday, November 20, 2019

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NEWS 3

Resident Assistant Council pairs with Salvation Army for holiday festivity

By Marc Ramirez news editor

Western Illinois University’s Resident Assistant Council (RAC) plans to hold its 18th annual Thanksgiving Dinner Thursday on Nov. 21, for those who need help within the Macomb community. Dinner will kick off at 4:30 p.m. and conclude at 6 p.m.

The event will be hosted at The Salvation Army, located at 505 N. Randolph St. This is an opportunity that allows students from Western and residence life staff to cook and provide food for the community and have facilities to do so with.

“For the event we are partnered up with Sodexo and the

Salvation Army to put on this fun event for the community,” Herb Sommer, RAC President said. Essentially, it’s a big Thanksgiving dinner for the community to attend. The event will have all the great food you would see at any other Thanksgiving dinner.

It’s important for us to put on this event because we want to always stay connected to and build those bonds with the Macomb community.”

"This is an event that RAC looks forward to every year," Erica Hoffman, Corbin-Olson complex director and RAC advisor said in an interview with University Relations.

“RAC is proud to represent WIU and give back to the Macomb community during this

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holiday season.”

Sommer said something very similar when he explained why it’s important to let students, faculty and staff know about the event.

“It’s vital for students to get involved in their community and help in any way they can.

It helps remind and humble ourselves as student leaders that helping others is an essential part of life,” Sommer said. “My favorite part of the event is being able to meet the community that expands past Western’s campus.“ For more information, or to volunteer, contact Hoffman at ED-Hoffman@wiu.edu, contact Sommer at HC-Sommer@ wiu.edu or contact the Salvation Army at (309) 837-4824.

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Western Illinois University's Resident Assistant Council will be pairing with The Salvation Army to host a Community Thanksgiving Dinner on Nov. 21.

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4

OPINIONS

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

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The Western recreational center needs to be fixed As a college student, it can be difficult balancing school and health all at once. On campus, Western Illinois University provides students with a recreation center that is open to all students on and off campus.

The rec center includes lifting areas, intramural sports and an aquatics center. Although this gym is open to all students to get physical activity done weekly, I also believe that Western needs to make many improvements to the recreation center or open another facility that is similar on campus.

One downfall to the rec center

is that the sauna area has been closed all semester. Although it may be broken, having it completely out of use for an entire semester reflects poorly on the university. Not only has the sauna area been out of use, but it seems like equipment across the entire rec center is consistently out of order or broken.

This can be an inconvenience for many students that tend to workout daily or have a weekly workout schedule that they abide by. These points are not the only problems that could be solved in the rec center by the university.

There is also an issue with availability and access in the gym for machines and other areas that are offered.

The rec center only possesses two squat racks and four bench presses in the main lifting area. According to the Western Illinois University website, the total student enrollment for full and part time graduates and undergraduates in Fall 2019 is over 7,000 students. Considering that not all people attending this university are engaged in physical activity weekly, I believe that having two squat racks and four bench presses is an inconvenient number seeing that we have this many students. From my personal experiences, I have gone to the rec center to work a specific muscle group and it has taken me much longer to

complete my lifts due to the lack of machines and equipment. I believe this issue can be resolved if the university invests more money into the rec center. For instance, the gym does not offer a wide variety of machines for students to use during their lifts.

Most machines in the back half of the gym are almost the same machines as the free weight. Not only is the lack of machines an issue, but the schedules of the power lifting area are also problematic. The power lifting area is only open during certain hours of the day which can be conflicting for students’ lifting schedules. Most students lift before or after their classes and schoolwork is done which brings me to my point that availability is a key issue with some of the rec center’s

problems. This matter can be fixed if they hired more staff to allow longer hours, or if they were to put up risk and liability notices to allow students to lift at their free will.

All in all, the university rec center is one of the most used assets on campus. Allowing students to practice a healthy lifestyle along with getting an education is crucial. By fixing and addressing these main problems at the university rec center, I believe that the students’ overall satisfaction with the university will improve. This will also improve Western’s recruitment process while giving tours to incoming students.

Hopefully, Western Illinois University will invest more time and money into one of their most important assets on campus.

to that hall.

The meal plan has become convenient for many students as the food is close, although there are still things that could be improved with the meal plan. Whether it is in the dorms or the Union, all of the food options are accessible for students. In the Union, Burger King is a last-ditch option for most since the addition of Chick-Fil-A. Einsteins also does well in the Union with a long line of hungry students.

After all, the swiping moni-

toring your meal plan is comfortable with the posters and cards located all around campus and online for students.

After the Union, the variety on campus is zilch. After spending a month or so on campus, the food gets repetitive and unhealthy. The hard part of eating the healthy options are even fewer selections than the unhealthy ones. The healthy options are poor in seasoning and flavor, which deters students from eating healthy altogether.

The meal plan used in the Cstore can be very convenient for students without vehicles that need hygienic items or miscellaneous things. Even some medicines can be found in the C-store, which can save

someone a Walmart run when they may be feeling under the weather.

Time is of the essence when you are in college, and time management is something that we hear associated with college quite often. Unfortunately, as meal plan holders, we are also timed and told when we can eat. Since most of the staff in the dining halls and the Union are other students, there is a time constraint on how long they can work.

With those time constraints, we end up having less time for students to get food or just the food they intended to get. Regardless, after spending time in the dorms, in class, running errands or at

work, it is nice to be able to decide what you want to eat when you want to eat. More options could be given, or time could be extended just as Burger King continues their hours.

Even after you spend your money on food and items in the C-store, you may have extra cash on your meal plan. This extra money can be refunded but only certain amount, which is ridiculous.

This means you have to spend money on things you would not typically get or give the school the money. Something as trivial as this can easily be changed, and if any or all of these changes were made, we would have a better meal plan experience.

Perks vs. disadvantages of having a meal plan

Most of us have to live on campus, and because we live on campus, we are required to have a meal plan.

The meal plan gives students a set amount of money on their university ID card for each semester. The money on the card can be used around campus, and this includes the C-store, University Union and dining halls. The dining halls have a rotating schedule of food that can be checked online, and each dining hall has stations or days specific

OPINIONS 5

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

@WesternCourier

Take Thanksgiving as a break As the cold wintery months pass, students find themselves accumulating more and more stress.

Thanksgiving break is the perfect amount of time for students to take that break that they need to recollect all of the knowledge that they learned throughout the semester. In other words, it is the best opportunity for kids to mentally prepare themselves for one of the hardest times of the year:

finals. Finals are two weeks after Thanksgiving break, and then right after the stressful amount of time consuming tests, there is a whole month off from school for Christmas break. In my opinion, Christmas break is the best time for students to wholesomely prepare themselves for the last semester of school before summer.

These breaks allow students, especially those that live

far away or even in different countries, to spend actual quality time with their families. A lot of students around this time of year are very home sick and need these breaks from school just to have the mental capacity to continue on with their studies and keep a positive mindset.

Taking this break allows students to get jobs over break and save up money for the semester ahead as well as take classes that are only a couple short weeks if they need to catch up on credits. Not only that, but even the faculty and staff get to go home to their families and see their kids and spend that quality time with them for the

holidays. Overall, these breaks are a stress reliever, a chance to hangout with friends and family and a typically relaxed environment. There’s not a lot of things to necessarily worry about during these holiday breaks besides the fact that the good food needs to be cooked on time.

Each student has a different way of spending their time on break, from taking classes and still doing homework to continuing to work their summer jobs. Junior McKenzie Hinrichsen, who is a nursing major, is going to spend her break working in an assisted living facility to save up money for when she comes back to

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school. “I am looking forward to spending time with my family for the holidays and being able to relax because nursing school is pretty hard," Hinrichsen said. Most students can relate to this.

For the middle of the semester break, this is a great opportunity for families to spend time with their kids and grandkids and just relax. Family time, as well as mental health, is crucial to students away at college. Thanksgiving break allows students the opportunity to reconnect with their families and take the mental health break they so desperately need in order to come back to school better than ever.

Contact Allison Young

AN-Young@wiu.edu 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.

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2019 Fall Semester Editorial Board

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

6

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

SPORTS

Volleyball season comes to an end

By David Koier courier staff The season came to a close this past Sunday for the Western Illinois Leathernecks volleyball team. With a 3-0 loss to the No. 2 Summit League ranked Denver Pioneers, the Purple and Gold finished the season with a 6-23 overall record and 3-13 conference staple.

Under the tutelage of second year head coach Ben Staupe, the Leathernecks were able to double their overall victories from their 2018 campaign. Western also was able to improve its net defense from 2018 as Staupe’s defensive front recorded 234.5 total blocks this season, 27 more than 2018, good for third in The Summit League.

The 2019 season was highlighted by a match that took place early on in the season. In the Purple and Gold’s first tournament of the season, they faced off in their final match of the weekend against the Mississippi State Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference.

Going up against a Power Five Volleyball team would go on to be one of the toughest battles of the season for the Leathernecks, but it also showed the team’s heart and

BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR

JoJo Kruize spikes the ball back over the net.

passion early on. Western took set one against the Bulldogs 25-15, outkilling them 13-8.

Western kept it close by exchanging blows the next three sets 25-19 (Mississippi State), 25-15 (Western) and a down to the wire set four which almost saw Western complete the upset only to fall 26-24.

Heading to the fifth and final set, the Leathernecks felt all the support from all across Leatherneck social media.

Western Illinois women’s basketball head coach JD Gravina tweeted out right before the start of the fifth set, a picture of the match’s stream with the caption: “Pull up ESPN3 right this second and watch @WIUVolleyball battle Miss St! They already had 1 match point and now it’s the first team to 15 in game 5!”

The Bulldogs would go on to take set five over the Leathernecks 15-7, but not before Western made their statement. Western was able to get the better of the Bulldogs in kills (50-48), points (73-63), service aces (7-6) and blocks (16-9). Mackenzie Steckler was a force on the net that day, outblocking the entire opposing defense with 12 total blocks on the day accompanied by five kills.

With the season coming to a close, the Leatherneck volleyball

BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR

Mackenzie Steckler gets ready for an upcoming serve.

family had to say goodbye to three seniors who meant so much to the program.

Steckler finished the season a nationally ranked blocker with 146 blocks on the year, 206 career blocks and 395 career kills. Riley Schumacher participated all four years in her time at Western Illinois. Over her time with the program she totaled 194 kills and 121 blocks. JoJo Kruize joined the team this year and immediately made and impact. She finished the season with 264 kills and 211 digs, both good enough for second on the team.

While the season may not have ended the way the team had hoped, the team has a bright future ahead. There will be space to fill with the loss of three key seniors, but young up and coming talent has already stepped up to fill their shoes.

Sophomore Mariah Mitchell led the team in kills with 269 and had a team best .261 hitting percentage while also assisting Steckler at the net with 81 total blocks on the year. Freshman Elle Shult, Jessie Connell and Aubrey Putman also made a name for themselves this year and now, with a year under their belts, can only look ahead to what lies in store next year.

BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR

Riley Schumacher tries to tip the ball over the net.

WesternCourier.com

Former Leathernecks look to shine on the big stage

By Bradley Piros sports editor

Two Western Illinois University alumni will find themselves on one of the biggest stages they have ever been on come Sunday, Nov. 24 at 6 p.m. Those two alumni would be former football players here at Western, QB Sean McGuire and WR Jaelon Acklin.

The two former teammates will find themselves competing against each other in the CFL (Canadian Football League) Championship better known as the Grey Cup. In the 107th installment of the game it will be McGuire representing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Acklin for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

McGuire, the 23-year-old out of Franklin, Wis., was the starting QB for three seasons for the Leathernecks before the insertion of Connor Sampson. In his final season, McGuire had a 59.9 percent completion rate, throwing for 2,894 yards and 21 touchdowns.

The year before, as a junior, he had an even better 64 percent completion rate, throwing for 2,852 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also rushed for an extra 164 yards and a TD. In the league, he’s only appeared in two games, being the backup to the Blue Bombers’ current starting QB Zach Collaros as well as Chris Streveler. McGuire had two completions for 17 yards on three attempts.

Across the gridiron will be his former teammate, Acklin. As a rookie in the league, he’s racked up 708 yards and three touchdowns on 58 receptions. In his last game he had 45 yards on three receptions in the 36-16 win over the Edmonton Eskimos.

Because of that performance he was nagged as an offensive x-factor for the Tiger-Cats in one of the latest articles from the CFL’s main page titled “Grey Cup game breakers: 10 names to know before Sunday.”

While McGuire is unlikely to take the field, Acklin is a key playmaker for his side. Either way, it’s always fun when former friends become enemies for a day. The two will surely enjoy catching up and rubbing the win in the other's face. The game is this Sunday at 6 p.m. Tune in to ESPN if you’re interested watching a former Leatherneck make a name for himself on the big stage.

Twitter: @bradjp08

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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.

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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.

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.

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Westen Investments has just one 3-Bedroom ALL UTILITIES INCLUDED (Water, Sewer, Trash, Gas, Electric, and Internet) Apartment left! That’s right you just pay for rent, and the rest of it is on us! Call our office at 309-833-5995 to check it out.

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Sports 7

Reranking College Football Playoff rankings nine-game conference schedule.

They still have an opportunity for one more marquee win if they can knock off Utah in the Pac-12 title game.

No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide: The fact that the last of Tua Tagovailoa we will see in college football will be that injury is a shame. Alabama, though still, has a chance to do something special with their season behind Mac Jones. Don’t forget their receiving core is insanely talented and so is the defense. They are a program that gets the benefit of the doubt so don’t be surprised to see them back in the playoff.

No. 7 Utah Utes: The Utes have played two close games all year. A touchdown loss to USC in which the offense kept shooting themselves in the foot, and a five point win at Washington. Otherwise they have been dominating teams week in and week out. They still have a chance at the playoff but will need to beat Oregon in the Pac-12 title game.

No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners: After going down 28-3 to the Baylor Bears in Waco, it could be assumed that Oklahoma’s season was over.

Jalen Hurts threw for four touchdowns and ran for 114 yards in one of the biggest comebacks in recent memory (sorry Falcon fans). They will need a lot of help to get the playoff but after that big win they are certainly in the conversation.

No. 9 Minnesota Golden Gophers: It seems once a year a top ranked team goes into Kinnick and gets knocked off by the Hawkeyes of Iowa. This year’s victim was Minnesota. Coming off an emotional win over Penn State, it was going to be tough to get a win over a good team in a hard environment. They will play Wisconsin in a couple weeks for the Big 10 West title for an opportunity

to play Ohio State in the Big 10 title game.

No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions: PSU and Indiana played quite the game on Saturday and the Nittany Lions just found themselves ahead at the end. Journey Brown ran for 100 yards, while Sean Clifford ran for two and passed for one. They will need to play much better to even have a chance at Ohio State this week.

No. 11 Florida Gators: The Gators finished up their conference schedule with a 23-6 road win at Missouri. The defense limited the Tiger offense all day and Kyle Trask made just enough plays for a decent lead. The offensive line didn’t play their best but with a couple big plays, the Gators were fine. After the rivalry game with Florida State, the Gators should be playing in a New Year’s Six bowl game.

No. 12 Wisconsin Badgers: The Badgers went into Nebraska and just did whatever they wanted to do on the ground. Jonathon Taylor ran for over 200 yards and two touchdowns while the defense made some plays and forced Adrian Martinez into some mistakes. In a couple weeks the Badgers will head to Minnesota for the Big 10 West title game.

No. 13 Michigan Wolverines: Ever since that second half against Penn State, the Wolverines' offense and team in general have seemed to figure it out. They dominated Notre Dame, Maryland and now in-state rival Michigan State. Shea Patterson was magnificent throwing for 384 yards and four touchdowns in the 44-10 win.

No. 14 Baylor Bears: That had to be simply heartbreaking for Baylor fans. The dream season is over but there's a bright side. They will get a rematch with the Sooners in the goofy Big 12 title game in a couple weeks because the Big 12 is so mediocre.

No. 15 Auburn Tigers: The story of the season has been the defense plays extremely well and the offense just can’t seem to make

enough plays. Bo Nix threw the ball 50 times and completed 30 but the offense in general was only able to get two touchdowns in the 21-14 loss to Georgia. They didn’t ruin UGA’s season but they can still ruin Alabama’s.

No. 16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Notre Dame saw that ranking next to Navy’s name and simply didn’t care. Ian Book threw five touchdowns in the 52-20 win. They were up 38-3 at half if that gives any indication of how one sided this game was. The Irish are still in the hunt for a New Year’s Six spot if that’s any reconciliation for ND fans.

No. 17 Memphis Tigers: After kicking Houston around in the second half and winning over SMU, Memphis is a prime position to get to a New Year’s Six game.

Brady White has been fantastic this year and he threw for another five touchdowns on Saturday.

Whatever power program hires Mike Norvell is going to get a good one.

No. 18 Cincinnati Bearcats: The Bearcats and Memphis are primed for a big matchup on Nov. 29.

The winner may be the group of five team headed to a New Year’s Bowl while the loser heads to a bowl played before Christmas.

The Bearcats are also playing some awesome football lately but really struggled with USF in their last outing.

No. 19 Iowa Hawkeyes: The Hawkeyes pulled off their yearly win over a top 10 team at home and this year the victim was Minnesota. Tyler Goodson had a breakout game running for 94 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown. He will be a player to watch for them going forward and into the coming years. With Illinois and Nebraska on the schedule as well as a bowl game, the Hawkeyes have a real chance at 10 wins.

No. 20 SMU Mustangs: The Mustangs are hoping the Bearcats knock off Memphis in a couple weeks so they get a chance to play in the AAC title game. Shane

Buechele has thrown 28 touchdowns and the Texas transfer has a real shot at the NFL. Sonny Dykes will get another big time coaching job after this tenure at SMU. No. 21 Oklahoma State Cowboys: The country is not talking enough about running back Chubba Hubbard. The man has run for 1726 yards and 20 touchdowns and still has two games to play. The sophomore has a bright future in front of him.

The Cowboys sit at 7-3 and play Oklahoma in a couple weeks.

Hubbard will go for 200 in that game, mark it down.

No. 22 Boise State Broncos: This week the Broncos take on Utah State in essentially a title game for the Mountain West Mountain division. If the Broncos want to grab that spot in the New Year’s Six, they will need to win out and do so convincingly.

No. 23 Appalachain State Mountaineers: Knocking off South Carolina was a huge win for the program and this team should win the Sun Belt. They will have 11 wins and an opportunity at 13. For any program at any level 13 wins is an impressive feat that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

No. 24 Virginia Tech Hokies: A few weeks ago the Hokies were left for dead and Justin Fuente was in deep trouble. Since the blowout loss to Duke they have won four straight conference games and have a chance to win the ACC Coastal. With wins over Pittsburgh and Virginia, in their next two games, they will head to the ACC title game.

No. 25 Indiana Hoosiers: Just want to reward Indiana for all their hard work with a ranking.

They sit at 7-3 and play Michigan this week at home. Quarterback Peyton Ramsey has some played some pretty decent football this year and is set to have a big senior year next year. An upset over Michigan and a win the following week over Purdue leaves the Hoosiers with a chance at becoming Ten Windiana.

somewhere with this team, and the three people to blame are general manager Ryan Pace, head coach Matt Nagy and supposed to be “franchise quarterback” Trubisky.

Let’s start with Ryan Pace. He has been with the Bears' organization for six years and has completely reshaped the team in his image. Up to this point, he has been fairly successful, but has made some questionable moves that are fire able offenses. One of the great things Pace does are finding talent in the later rounds of the draft and spending wisely in free agency. He has found players such as All-Pros Eddie Jackson and Tarik Cohen in the middle rounds of the draft, and has also found stud players like Allen Robinson and Akiem Hicks on bargain deals.

Although these are some good traits a general manager should possess, he has struggled greatly with high draft picks and personnel decisions. He has had plenty of top 10 picks in his time as GM, and has whiffed on players like Kevin White, Leonard Floyd and even taking Trubisky over two MVP candidates.

When it comes to personnel, he thinks too much. This man has chosen two head coaches.

His first being John Fox, and experienced NFL coach who did not pan out for the team, but got another chance and chose Nagy who at first seemed like a home run pick.

Nagy has been the complete opposite of who he was a season ago. A supposed to be “offensive genius” who was tasked with turning the team around and developing Trubisky. In his first season, things were magical. The offense was transformed and Trubisky was a Pro Bowl alternate, but most of all, football was back to being fun

again in Chicago. Hopes for high for Nagy’s second year, but things got off to a rocky start in Primetime against the Green Bay Packers to whom they lost 10-3 in their season opener. From that point on, things began to spiral out of control with plenty of questionable play calls resulting in the Bears losing in close games.

The offense ranks almost last in every statistical category, and more importantly the Bears do not have an identity. Obviously not all the blame falls on the former NFL Coach of the Year, but there has to be a point where you admit you were wrong at points during the game, and that is something Nagy has refused to do.

The third member of the Chicago Bears trifecta is no other than quarterback Trubisky.

Coming off a solid season, everyone was expecting a big jump because it would be the second year in Nagy’s system.

However, that was not the case.

It took Trubisky to his third game to get his first touchdown pass, and that was against the dreadful Washington Redskins.

He has been on and off with injury, but that is no excuse for being very inconsistent on passing attempts that seem to be either too high or too far ahead of his receivers. It seems like just yesterday everyone in Chicago was wrapped around Trubisky’s finger, and now it seems like the majority want him out of town.

There’s still six games left in the season, but it does not look ideal for Chicago fans. And if they keep playing the way they are, do not be surprised if one or maybe all three of these people are no longer with the organization. As an optimistic Bears fan, it’s tough to see how much things have changed since the infamous “double-doink," here’s to hoping they can get it figured out these next six weeks, and build that momentum into next season. Bear Down.

Zach Remelius courier staff No. 1 LSU Tigers: Joe Burrow remains the frontrunner for the Heisman after throwing for 489 yards and five touchdowns. Not to be outdone Clyde Edwards-Haire had a strong game going for 172 yards against Ole Miss after his big game against Alabama. The concern has to be allowing Ole Miss quarterback John Rhys Plumlee to run for 212 yards and running back Jerrion Ealy 141 yards.

No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes: Another week another blowout win for the Buckeyes. This time they made Rugters their victim. It is unusual to see Rutgers' 21 points against the Buckeyes in what was a sloppy performance defensively. Good thing they were playing Rutgers and were able to put up 56.

No. 3 Clemson Tigers: After the overtime scare against North Carolina the Tigers have won their last six by the scores of 45-14, 45-10, 59-7, 59-14, 55-10 and finally 52-3 against Wake Forest this past weekend. Safe to say they have rounded into form and are indeed a contender for the title. After some struggles with interceptions earlier in the year, Trevor Lawrence hasn’t thrown one in four games.

No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs: The Bulldogs ran out to a 21-0 lead over Auburn on Saturday and then held on as Auburn attempted to come back. Jake Fromm again completed under 50 percent of his passes in what has got to become a concern for UGA fans. He doesn’t turn the ball over though and as SEC East champions UGA has a date with LSU awaiting them.

No. 5 Oregon Ducks: Don’t lie, after the Auburn loss you forgot about this team didn’t you? Well, they are very talented and really good. If they can win their final two games, they will be the first team to ever go undefeated in a

Bears went into hibernation early COURIER STAFF

The Chicago Bears' season should be cancelled. They are the most disappointing team in the National Football League.

Coming into the year, the Bears were considered Super Bowl contenders after going 12-4 and making the playoffs behind an elite defense and an up and coming quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.

However, things went completely off the rails in the NFL's 100th season, and no one knows what happened to this once daunted team. The Bears currently sit at 4-6 and are in third place of the NFC North.

However, their playoff hopes are slim if any at that matter after losing in a very important Sunday Night Football matchup against the Rams.

There is a big disconnect

Women's basketball looks to bounce back against in-state rival Bradley Braves

By Alex Staab courier staff

Tonight will be one of the highestquality non-conference home opponents in town to take on the Western Illinois women’s basketball team (3-2), with that opponent being the Bradley Braves (2-1).

So what will be the difference-maker in Wednesday’s matchup between the Braves and Leathernecks? It may just come down to the three-point shooting. That’s one factor, anyway.

Bradley has two sharp-shooting players in Gabi Haack and Lasha Petree that combined for 125 threes, 845 points (28.2 points per game) in 18-19 and the dynamic duo has already hit 11 threes this season.

There’s also players like Chelsea Brackmann, who was one of the nation’s top rebounders a season ago, averaging 10.9 boards per game. In fact, Brackmann averaged a double-double a season ago, scoring 12.6 points per game as well.

That just scratches the surface in terms of potential Braves x-factors.

One could also look at freshman Mahri Petree, Lasha’s younger sister, as a key player. The younger Petree has six threes so far and is averaging nine points per game.

At the guard position, there’s also Tatum Koenig, an energetic player that will off and on run the point.

The Braves roster also has some international feel, as freshman

Violeta Verano is averaging 16 minutes per game thus far. Verano, a native of Spain, is the fifth international player in Bradley’s program history.

On the other sideline, Western Illinois will look to keep the momentum going off how they played against an always tough and physical Purdue Boilermakers squad, in which the Leathernecks fell, 66-59.

The road trip to West Lafayette saw one career high and a couple of career highs just narrowly missed. Annabel Graettinger (22 points; 2 shy) and Olivia Kaufmann (6 steals; 1 shy) both fell just short.

Meanwhile, Evan Zars swatted a career-high five blocks in the sevenpoint loss.

Another big spark for Western Illinois saw the Leathernecks win the turnover margin by a wide spread, 23-11 to be exact. The Boilermakers only had 33 turnovers in the season prior to tipping off against Western Illinois.

Purdue led for essentially the entire game, 38:32 to be exact. The two teams were dead even at 24 made shots apiece, but perhaps the biggest difference-makers were the rebounds and free throws. Purdue won both. The Boilermakers shot 16-24 from the charity stripe, while the Leathernecks shot 5-7. While Western Illinois brought down 34 rebounds, the Boilermakers topped

that category with 56 boards.

Whether it be the three-point shooting or rebounding, something’s got to give when the Braves and Leathernecks do battle for the 10th time.

Double figure scorers will go head to head as Kaufmann’s impressive 18.6 points per game and Graettinger’s equally quality 16.2 points per game side up with Lasha Petree’s 13 points per game and Gabi Haack’s 12.3 points per game.

One final interesting statistic would be that both teams have kept the same starting five so far.

Western Illinois has not beaten Bradley since Dec. 5, 2016, the last time the Braves came to Western Hall. The score of that one was 91-77, and we could be looking for a moderately similar score Wednesday night, with Western Illinois edging Bradley in points per game so far, 80.8 to 77.3. The 2005-2006 meeting between the two is the only one that saw both teams score under 60 points. Bradley holds a 27-14 advantage in the 41 meetings thus far.

Western Illinois may have the better statistics on paper, but you’ll have to come to Western Hall and find out for yourself what happens when the in-state rivals meet.

Wednesday’s game tips at 5:30 p.m. and is followed by a men’s game against Northern Illinois at 7:30 p.m.

BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR

Annabel Graettinger plays defense.

BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR

Olivia Kaufmann makes a move against UIS.

Men's hoops take on Huskies; still in search of first win

By Sebatsian Gamboa courier staff

GOLEATHERNECKS.COM

Jaeden King shoots a three from the corner.

MYANNA PERDUE

Ben Pyle makes a move on a defender.

This week in men’s basketball, the Fighting Leathernecks are set to defend Western Hall in a tough intrastate battle with the Northern Illinois University Huskies. Overall, Western has about a 55 percent win rate against Northern Illinois with the series sitting at 47-39. However, Northern has been gaining on Western as the Leathernecks have not been able to defeat the Huskies since 1994.

In addition to defending their home in this Illinois showdown, the Leathernecks are also looking for their first win. Last week, Western fell to the University of Tennessee-Martin by a score of 91-90. This was the third loss of the season so far, leaving them at 0-3. To get to 1-3, the Leathernecks are going to have to see strong performances from their young stars. One of those players is No. 10 Kobe Webster. The sophomore guard is coming off a career high game against UT-Martin where he scored 28 points. His strong perfor-

mance was backed up by that of the freshman trio consisting of No. 15 Ben Pyle, No. 1 Zion Young and No. 2 Jaeden King. Pyle had the strongest out of the three with 18 points followed by Young with 15 points, and finally King with 13 points. All four are going to have to put on a show to knock off the Huskies.

This game also is less than a month apart from the Leathernecks’ last game before they go down the stretch of Summit League Conference games. Last year, the Leathernecks had a tough go in conference games where they had a 4-12 record. As such, the Leathernecks will be seeking to make improvements in this week’s face-off against Northern Illinois.

On the other side of the court, Northern Illinois is on a hot streak. While widely untested on the road, the Huskies are on a three-game winning streak, the latest of which coming against the Longwood University Lancers where the score was 65-48. That substantial score margin is present in all of the Huskies’ wins and may be indicative of a team

that has not had solid competitors. For this reason and their untestedness on the road, the Huskies are going to be trying to stay on top of their game.

To stay in top form, the Huskies are going to bring their best with their top scorer, the junior guard, No. 10 Eugene German. In the two wins where the Huskies had good offensive production, German scored over 20 points.

German’s efforts are supplemented by those of sophomore guard, No. 1 Trendon Hankerson, who has 41 points on the season. Finally, the Huskies will be reenforced by senior forward, No. 4 Lacey James and sophomore guard, No. 24 Darius Beane who have 38 and 32 points on the season, respectively. It is with these players and the even more depth that they have, the Huskies hope to be able to stand strong on the road.

Overall, this game will be a good test for both relatively untested teams. While it is still early in the season, this game will help set up the impending tough stretch for the Leathernecks, which is just around the road.

MYANNA PERDUE

Kobe Webster goes up to the rim for an easy layup.

MYANNE PERDUE

Zion Young looks to make a pass to a teammate.