Sports: Women's basketball falls to Redbird rivals.
Opinions: Kamala Harris drops out of Presidential race.
AWARD-WINNING STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY. SERVING MACOMB SINCE 1905.
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Friday, December 6, 2019 - Vol. 120 Issue 43
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Organizations Ballin' with Sigmas
SARA REMAR/ ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
The women of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority hosted a fundraising event in efforts to raise money for their sister Destinee Jones. Members of Pi Kappa Phi, Delta Tau Delta, Delta Upsilon, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Private Club and Alpha Gamma Rho participated in the organizations three-on-three basketball tournament. Tri Sigma raised $5,168 over the course of their fundraising initiative.
2 NEWS
Friday, December 6, 2019
WesternCourier.com
Western takes leaps with new scholarships for incoming freshmen
By Tea Wheat courier staff
This year, Western Illinois University has introduced many new scholarships for incoming freshmen for the 2020-21 school year. As many know, scholarships are often a deciding factor in where students choose to go to college. Money is often a huge deciding factor in the college education process, and Western has done an amazing job in working to help incoming freshmen eliminate the financial burden that college often causes. The Western Commitment Scholarship will continue to be given to incoming freshmen that meet the GPA and ACT requirements for the merit portion. The need portion of the scholarship will be assessed by the university and granted as they see fit. The Western Commitment Scholarship gives up to $8,000 to incoming freshmen students. One new thing about this scholarship is that the commitment scholarship will follow the individual that it is given to, even if they were to move off campus. The President’s Scholarship is another scholarship that will continue to be given, along with many others. The Presi-
dent’s Scholarship grants 100 percent of tuition, fees, room and meal plan. These commitment scholarships, along with many others, are often the basis for why some students may choose Western. The new scholarships include the Leatherneck Visitor Scholarship, Local Leatherneck Housing Scholarship, Chicago and St. Louis Leatherneck Scholarships, Leatherneck Book Award and the Alumni Legacy Scholarship. The Leatherneck Visitor Scholarship will award a one-time scholarship of $1,000 to an incoming freshman that attends an on-campus event with Undergraduate Admissions. The Chicago and St. Louis Leatherneck Scholarships both award $1,000 to an incoming freshmen from surrounding metropolitan areas of the given cities. For example, the Chicago Leatherneck Scholarship covers students from Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry or Will counties. The Chicago and St. Louis Leatherneck Scholarships are renewable for up to three years. The Local Leatherneck Housing Scholarship awards a one-time scholarship of $3,000 to an incoming freshman who resides in a hometown near Macomb, this
scholarship is for an on-campus residence hall room. The Leatherneck Book Award awards $1,200 for textbooks to incoming students who are eligible for a Pell grant (determined through FAFSA). This scholarship is renewable for up to three years of continuous undergraduate study. The Alumni Legacy Scholarship awards $1,500 to incoming freshmen students who are either the child or grandchild of a Western Illinois University graduate. This semester is renewable for up to three years of continuous undergraduate study. On top of these more updated or completely new scholarships that students are automatically able to get just by applying to the university, there are still countless other scholarships for incoming students, as well as current students, to apply to! These scholarships normally require a bit more work such as an essay and an application, but they are still readily available for those who wish to apply. For more information about the new scholarships as well as other scholarships, please visit the WIU website, or contact the financial aid office with any additional questions or concerns.
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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 PUBLISHING AND CIRCULATION editor-in-chief Devon Greene DJ-Greene@wiu.edu
proofreader Mary Kilbourne
news editor Marc Ramirez
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photo editor Becca Langys
opinions editor Allison Young
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assistant photo editor Sara Remar
sports editor Bradley Piros
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production manager Jimmy Pierson
assistant sports editor Chris Bean
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CR-Bean@wiu.edu
business manager Janiya Haynes
edge editor Rachel Greene
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assistant business manager Nash Miller
copy editor Amanda Wandachowicz
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advertising manager Tyler Hoffman
proofreader Alexis Lowe
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adviser Will Buss WJ-Buss@wiu.edu
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.
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Friday, December 6, 2019
WIU Macomb Campus Fall Final Schedule Classes Meeting T, TH, or T TH only Begins Exam 8 AM Tuesday, 8 AM 9 or 9:30 AM Thursday, 8 AM 10 AM Tuesday, 10 AM 11 AM Thursday, 10 AM 12 or 12:30 PM Tuesday, 1 PM Thursday, 1 PM 1 PM 2 PM Tuesday, 3 PM Thursday, 3 PM 3 or 3:30 PM 4 PM Friday, 10 AM Tuesday Evening Tuesday, 6 PM Thursday Evening Thursday, 6 PM
NEWS 3
All Other Classes Exam Begins Monday, 8 AM 8 AM Wednesday, 8 AM 9 or 9:30 AM 10 AM Monday, 10 AM Wednesday, 10 AM 11 AM 12 Noon Monday, 1 PM Wendesday, 10 AM 1 PM 2 PM Monday, 3 PM Wendesday, 3 PM 3 or 4 PM Friday, 8 AM Monday Evening Monday, 6 PM Wednesday Evening Wednesday, 6 PM Friday, 6 PM Friday Evening
1. Exam dates refer to the exam week (Monday - Friday). 2. Each exam period is 1 hour and 50 minutues. 3. The period 8 - 9:50 PM on M, T, W, TH is reserved for Common Finals or Conflicts. 4. Math Common Finals are offered T, W at 6 PM. Conflicts with evening courses wil be resolved with the Math Department. JIMMY PIERSON/ PRODUCTION MANAGER
Ceramic Rocky dogs go up for auction
MARC RAMIREZ/ NEWS EDITOR
The 'Rocky" dogs that were hidden around campus as a part of Western Illinois University's Homecoming will be auctioned off starting Monday and ending Wednesday in the Brattain Lounge of the University Union. People can submit a silent auction bid starting at $5 and increasing in $5 increments. The auction will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. All proceeds will benefit student scholarships.
4
OPINIONS
When California Senator Kamala Harris first announced her presidential bid, especially on Martin Luther King Jr. day, her candidacy for me felt very symbolic. A female candidate of both Jamaican & Indian descent from the biggest state in the country seemed like a formidable candidate for president in 2020. Unfortunately, as the race started to move on, Harris’campaign slowly began to unravel and eventu-
Friday, December 6, 2019
ally lead to her departure. When Harris first announced her candidacy, she was greeted with over 20,000 enthusiastic supporters who came to her announcement rally in Oakland, Calif. Harris’ campaign seemed fresh, energized and embodied the kind of diverse candidate many people wanted, but as the race began to take shape throughout 2019, towards the end, Harris’ support slowly started to dwindle until she
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was in the low single digits. A reason for this may be the fact that Harris’ underestimated the amount of black support Joe Biden would be able to sustain. In the first debate, Harris went after Biden’s stance on federalized public school busing and even saw an increase in her support afterwards, but throughout the entire year, Biden’s support among older black voters in particular has not significantly shifted and Bernie Sanders’ support among younger black voters seemed formidable, leaving Harris with the little support from the group that she needed the most. Another reason is the fact that she’s a former prosecutor and doesn’t have the best
record when it comes to it. In a time when there is so much angst against the criminal justice system, making the case to elect a prosecutor is a hard sell for people. Instances when Harris was District Attorney of San Francisco or California Attorney General only cast suspicion when her stances of jailing parents for truancy was exposed and publicly being against marijuana as A.G. didn’t help, as well. Her response when criticized for her past stances were only met with a stern defense of being a good prosecutor by her and her campaign. An important reason why Harris eventually plateaued is the fact that she really didn’t have a core message
or core policy proposals. Her stance on medicare for all was very confusing to people after she wrestled with the question of whether private insurance under her plan would stay or be eliminated and the fact that she got outshined by a candidate who eventually rose in the ranks like Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren. The field of candidates was simply too big to not have an explicit set of ideas and proposals. In the end, Kamala Harris still has a bright future ahead of herself and even though her candidacy for president didn’t succeed, the symbolism of her candidacy as a woman of color running for president will surely not be forgotten.
ment of Western Illinois has transformed along with me. There may be fewer people in school, less availability of classes and less hours in the dining hall, but there have been more opportunities than there were. I have worked for the school newspaper for two years, became President of the WIU Marketing Club President for one year, was able to go to a conference with the Millennial/Generation Z Community in Atlanta, Ga. this semester, and had many chances to meet some of the greatest friends, coworkers and educators of my life. Each and every moment of
this experience has been enlightening, enriching and educating. I will never forget my first day of classes, the time I got a girl kicked out of class for starting an argument about a dead rat in Arizona tea can and inventing the greatest grilled cheese sandwich with my old roommate at 3 a.m. when we were studying for an exam that I got a 57 percent on. Time and time again, Western has been a rollercoaster of emotions. I cried when I got points taken off an assignment for not having enough friends on my LinkedIn account. I was happy when I got my first cat. I was proud
when the WIU Marketing Club raised $1,000 for Samaritan Well at the Sleep Out for the Homeless event. All in all, Western has been an adventure of a lifetime, from classes to all the friends I have had the opportunity to meet. I will never forget my time here. I will always be a Leatherneck, I will always bleed purple and gold. I want to thank every single person who has been alongside me during this time. You will never be forgotten and remembered forever. I hope each and every one of you have an amazing rest of your time here and in the future.
Production manager passes on the torch
A few years ago, I never would have believed that this would be where I am today. I never thought that I would be at a university, let alone Western Illinois University. I never thought I would be a marketing major, and I never thought that I would be in a leadership position even though I held the office of President of WIU Marketing Club for the last
year, but here I am. Here I am, only 216 hours before I walk across the stage, and it is bittersweet. I’m going to be graduating, but before that, I want to look back at my time here at the Western Illinois University and the Western Courier. From when I started here back in August of 2017, times have changed. The environ-
OPINIONS 5
Friday, December 6, 2019
@WesternCourier
Keep your friends in mind this holiday season
The holiday season is often seen as the most exciting, holly-jolly time of the year. It’s hard to imagine that this time of the year could feel any other way but happy and merry and bright. Though, for some, this time of the year is nothing but memories, tears and sadness. Even just getting out of bed can be an unbearable task, especially for your friends that may be experiencing grief or depression during this time of the year. The holidays are extremely diffi-
cult for individuals that may have lost a loved one. It does not matter if the loss happened a month ago, a year ago or even 10 years ago, holidays are hard, and will always be some of the more difficult days that someone experiencing loss and grief will go through. There is an empty space that is clearly visible during this time of the year, and since there is such a heavy emphasis on spending time with friends and family, it is easy to focus on the friends and
family that may no longer be here. With the holidays taking place during the winter months, seasonal affective disorder, otherwise known as seasonal depression, is something that many experience. According to Psychology Today, seasonal affective disorder affects over 10 million Americans each year. It is important to realize how common this is, and how unnoticed it may go in one of your friends or family members. Additionally, it is important to keep in mind your friend’s family situation. Not all individuals have a close family or an exciting or even secure home life. During this holiday season, some may go back home to families who are rude, not understanding or an
overall burden on a friend’s mental state. Some go home to abusive households, or households where they can not be their true selves. It is important to keep in mind all the different stress factors that go into the holiday season as well, even a perfectly supportive and healthy family will likely ask about achievements, college, relationships, job aspirations, etc. This is stressful for anyone that may experience and can leave many feeling overwhelmed. So, this holiday season make sure to check in on your friends. Your grieving friends, friends that may have seasonal affective disorder, friends that don’t have the best homelife and any other friend that you may have and not know
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how they are doing. The best way to support a friend that is struggling is just to reach out and let them know that you care. Don’t be afraid to ask what a friend may need from you as well. It is always nice to know that someone cares. Most importantly, though, check in on yourself. Pay attention to how you are feeling this holiday season, as you may not even realize how you are truly feeling in the fast-paced hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Take time for yourself and things that you enjoy, and make sure to reach out to others or a professional if you need additional support or help. There is always someone there that cares, you just may not know it.
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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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
6
Friday, December 6, 2019
SPORTS
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Men’s basketball falls to 2-6 after loss to Evansville By Brendan Reidy courier staff
BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR
Kobe Webster passes to teammate.
BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR
CJ Duff takes the ball up court.
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The Western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks (2-6) tipped off against the Evansville Purple Aces (6-3) on Wednesday night. Leathernecks were looking to continue to add more wins after their shaky start to the season, but standing in the way on Wednesday was the streaky Purple Aces who have been very impressive to start the season. Not only are they 6-3, but they also defeated number one ranked Kentucky early on in the season, and Western Illinois had their hands full in a very anticipated matchup. The game got off to a hot start, and for Western Illinois it was the usual suspects who got going early and often in Webster and Pyle. However, what was very impressive is that the Leathernecks defensive game took a notable step up from their previous matchups. They held Evansville to 39 points in the first half, and went into the break up by four. In the second half, it was back and forth, but Evansville came out of the locker room ready to find the bottom of the basket and they did just that. They outscored the Leathernecks by eight points, and were able to defeat Western Illinois 90-86. It was another close loss for Western Illinois as conference play inches closer, but as always, there are things the team can build off of. Sophomore Ben Pyle scored 18 points and junior Kobe Webster dropped 19 points in only 16 minutes of action. Coach Billy Wright knows
how tough of an opponent Evansville is, but felt his team could have pulled off an upset on the road. “What jumps out at me right away were the 17 turnovers and the 28 points from our own mistakes. With that many turnovers, it's hard to beat anyone, let alone a quality program like Evansville, who just beat the No. 1 team in the country in Kentucky,” Wright said in an interview with WIU Athletics. “We're better than that, in terms of our turnovers and offensive efficiency. It comes down to us taking care of the basketball," Wright said. It was another game that was decided in the final minutes, but Western Illinois was unable to cross the finish line with the lead. It was the team’s fifth loss out of six losses where the game was decided within seven points or less. I thought we played with a tremendous amount of toughness. Our guys competed from beginning to end, fought through some adverse situations, and gave us the chance to win in the end," said Wright. Western Illinois is still trying to work out all the kinks to this young team, but the parts are all there to make sure this team is ready to compete come conference play. Western Illinois will look to get back on track on Monday at home against in-state rival Eastern Illinois. The two universities will be playing for the Battle Axe of Illinois, and Western will look to reclaim the trophy after losing it a season ago. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Western Hall.
BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR
Ben Pyle looks to make a pass.
BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR
Zion Young tries to stop the opposing team.
CLASSIFIEDS
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For Rent
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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.
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.
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
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Westen Investments has only two 4-Bedroom brich houses available. Call our office at 309-833-5995 to schedule a showing! We will show to 2-3 person groups as well!
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. You can also find us on Facebook to see daily posts!
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. 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.
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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.
Friday, December 6, 2019
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Sports 7
NXT rises above AEW in ratings after Survivor Series
What a month November was in the world of professional wrestling. AEW is still going strong with its weekly Wednesday Night Dynamite. They put on their first pay-per-view (Full Gear) since launching their weekly show. WWE made huge strides with Raw and SmackDown since making their complete overhaul of the brands and sending SmackDown back to network TV on Friday nights. On top of their weekly TV shows, the pro wrestling powerhouse set up quite possibly some of the best storylines of the year on the road to Survivor Series. All of these moments were exciting, but none can really compare to what the WWE has done with NXT, their oncedevelopmental brand that has begun to grow into WWE’s arguably best brand. The star studded locker room, full of main roster caliber performers, had quite the November
with an angle that left the wrestling world begging for more and giving the Black and Gold brand an edge on their AEW counterpart. It all began on Friday, Nov. 1 edition of Friday Night Smackdown. WWE was coming off of a slightly successful Thursday pay-per-view Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. However, many on the Smackdown roster was trapped in Saudi due to some complications. This left many fans wondering what would be in store for Smackdown. The show opened with WWE champion Brock Lesnar quitting the Blue brand to head to Raw for some unfinished business with foe Rey Mysterio. As Lesnar exited the building, the camera panned to see WWE COO Triple H, one of the heads of NXT, as well as NXT trainer and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels standing backstage. This raised the question: why
are two prominent NXT figureheads at Smackdown? As the night progressed, NXT commentator Pat McAfee joined Tom Phillips on commentary, NXT Superstars Matt Riddle and Keith Lee attacked Sami Zayn and NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler attacked Baylee, Sasha Banks and Nicki Cross. The icing on top of such an intriguing cake was the main event of the episode saw NXT champion Adam Cole defend his title against former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan. As Cole stood victorious over Bryan, the entire NXT roster overtook the ring with their leader Triple H. Triple H went on to declare NXT was ready for war at Survivor Series at the end of the month. This was the first of many shots fired over the course of the month of November between the three WWE brands. NXT consistently invade Smackdown and Raw causing chaos while also dealing with their own issues on Wednesday nights. With NXT’s own exclusive pay-per-view, Wargames, the night before Survivor Series, the Superstars of the Black and
Gold brand were not only rivaling with Raw and Smackdown but also between themselves. And the Battles fought over the weeks caught the eyes of the fans and it reflected in the ratings. For three straight weeks now, NXT has edged out Dynamite on Wednesdays in both viewership and overall rating. This is strongly thought to be due to the push that NXT has received in their overall storylines. All of that including NXT’s overall victory over the other two brands at Survivor Series. Many rising stars on the brand have proven that they are equals or even superior to those on the main rosters. With November being as hot as it was for NXT, can they keep it up in December? Budding feuds between Tomasso Ciampa, Finn Balor and Adam Cole as well as a battle between Baszler and Rhea Ripley for the Women’s championship will continue to peak the interests of fans. And until AEW starts to produce storylines that actually mean something and entertain audiences, I think NXT will take a strong hold on Wednesday night ratings in the wrestling category.
NEWS WEEK
Adam Cole cuts a promo in the middle of the ring.
WIKIPEDIA
Shayna Baszler stares down her opponent on the ramp.
What AEW Dynamite must do to compete with NXT
Ever since the debut of AEW (All Elite Wrestling) on network television back on Oct. 2, it immediately garnered the attention of wrestling fans all around. It dominated the ratings war against WWE’s Wednesday night program, NXT, for all except two weeks, those being the past couple of weeks. Ever since AEW got up and running on TNT, they won the ratings war against NXT for seven straight weeks because they were new and intriguing. They only lost the past couple of weeks because of the amazing booking from NXT before WWE’s Survivor Series and the Thanksgiving Holiday. Now, I’m a big NXT guy myself, but I have been keeping up with AEW from week to week because they do have some talent that interests me. They have arguably the best wrestler in the world in Kenny Omega alongside with so many other great supporting talents. Insert the two guys that jumped ship from WWE, Jon Moxley and PAC, formerly Dean Ambrose and Neville in WWE, respectively. They’re both spectacular to watch and have already had some epic matches under the AEW umbrella. Then there is the well-worked angle between Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes. It’s not the best angle in wrestling, but it is up there. Cody promised everyone that he would win the title from Jericho at Full Gear a couple of weeks ago, but failed to do so. Cody said if he didn’t beat Jericho for the belt that he would never challenge for it again. The main storyline was between Cody and Maxwell Jacob
Freedman, though. The two went into the night as best friends and left mortal enemies. After MJF threw in the
fix if they want to get back on top of the ratings war. Myself and Western Courier editor-in-chief Devon Greene met up with my dad at the University of Illinois State Farm Center in Champaign for this past Wednesday’s installment of AEW Dynamite and one of the main things that stuck out to us was how empty the arena was.
Kenny Omega walks into the ring for his match.
towel and forfeited the match for Cody, he apologized and the two had a moment in the ring. Then MJF turned heel and kicked Cody square in the balls, making it one of the most promising feuds in AEW. There’s a lot to talk about, but I’m not here to recap everything that’s happened or compare them with NXT. I’m here to talk about some of the problems they have and some of the things they’ll need to
Let’s take into consideration that they were just in Chicago the week before and they did have a good crowd there, but not so much in the smaller college town of Champaign. It was at least half empty in an arena that only holds 10,500 to begin with. That’s with half of it blocked off with the huge stage, and the place still looked empty. While we were there, we even noticed a few wrestlers take a look around the place
and realize how little people were there. So that’s the first thing I think they could change, take it to smaller venues until you build up enough people to actually sell out an arena. I said I wasn’t going to compare, but that’s what NXT does so well. They don’t travel and always hold their weekly shows at Full Sail University which seats maybe 700
PURORESU SYSTEMS WIKI
people. It creates a more intimate experience and it really brings out how lively the smaller crowd is. While we were at the show we were paying attention to how long each match was, and they were all generally the same. Every single match felt like it was about 12 minutes. There is no diversity in match length and it makes for a boring and predictable show. The wrestlers in the ring are top notch, but they always seem to be
putting on the same match time after time. This leads to another thing they have a problem with, which is building up their talent. When every match is around the 12-minute mark, it doesn’t really do anything to help better the talent. If you want someone to come out the other side looking strong, you send them in there to beat up their opponents in around two minutes or less so they come out looking dominant. AEW doesn’t really do that. Instead, it seems like their top guys are struggling to beat the up and coming talent. There was one match at the show we were at that really defined this point. Omega had a match on AEW Dark with a guy none of us had heard of, but the match was at least 15 minutes. If Omega is hailed as the best wrestler in the world, then why did it take him so long to beat some random opponent? The last thing I have is that they have trouble defining true faces and heels, or good guys and bad guys. Most everybody under the brand falls somewhere in between. Moxley, PAC, Hangman Page, SCU, Lucha Bros. and so many more fall into this weird category. Cody vs. Jericho is the main face vs. heel feud that they have going right now with a few other names being definitive good or bad guys. This is something they’ll have to do if they want their fans to believe in the wrestlers. While AEW does plenty of things right, they also have their discrepancies. If they want to regain the top spot in the rating wars, they’ll have to fix a couple of those things. Many people thought AEW was going to fail, but it’s clear that they’re here to stay and that they mean business. There’s so much good wrestling going on in the world right now, but that was just my honest review after seeing AEW Dynamite first hand.
Leathernecks fall after late push by Illinois State Redbirds
By Alex Staab courier staff
NORMAL, Ill. — Western Illinois (4-5) (0-0) got off to a hot start, but the host Illinois State Redbirds (6-1) found their rhythm and kept it en route to a 78-65 victory over the Leathernecks at Normal’s Redbird Arena. The Leathernecks got off to about as good of a start as you could’ve asked for, hitting a total of five threes. Both Olivia Kaufmann and Sam Pryor hit back-to-back threes on consecutive possessions. Western Illinois also did a good job creating opportunities at the free throw line, something that, especially when asked about Annabel Graettinger’s efforts, Head Coach JD Gravina was really pleased with. “Yeah, I thought Annabel did a pretty good job. I thought they guarded Olivia pretty well on her drives. Annabel’s really good in transition. I think she’s pretty hard to guard” Gravina said. Adding to that, Gravina said he may try and fit Graettinger into the game plan even moreso in transition. On the other sideline, it was the Redbirds’ Lexi Wallen who got off to a great start, scoring all of Illinois States’ points up until the 1:00 mark of the opening quarter. By quarter ’s end, Western Illinois had a favorable 25-14 lead. Then the second quarter tipped off. The Leathernecks seemed like a totally different team, not able to find their shot, and fouls began to come into the picture
as well. That gave Illinois State the opportunity to capitalize, and they did. TeTe Maggett, who ended up with a career high 33 points once the game was finished, got going with seven of those 33 in the quarter. Western Illinois did manage a three from Kyra Washington off the bench, to go with makes from Graettinger and Pryor, but those were the only field goals made. That equates out to an eight point quarter, something the Leathernecks haven’t seen since the loss to Bradley at Western Hall on Nov. 20. Gravina feels that his team may have gotten a little too complacent with the results of the quarter. “Getting off to that hot start, I thought we played with really good pace, which was our goal offensively. We almost settled in a little bit,” Gravina said. That does appear to be the case, as Western Illinois went from a 11-point lead after 10 minutes to a one point deficit at the break. The second half provided an opportunity to turn things around, and the Leathernecks did all they could to make that happen. Evan Zars tried to crack into the scoring column a bit more, scoring six of her nine points on the night in the third. Zars would also end with 12 rebounds and four blocks by the night’s end. Graettinger continued her tenacious drive by creating a total of five free throw opportunities, going a perfect 5-5 in that quarter. Yet, it was too much Maggett once again. Maggett continued her hot streak, and you
BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR
Annabel Graettinger looks to make a pass.
Evan Zars pulls down a rebound.
BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR
could perhaps say she ramped it up, scoring eight in the quarter. Illinois State also got another quality quarter out of Lexi Wallen, who scored seven in the quarter. With just a quarter to play, it wasn’t over just yet. Western Illinois was behind by a very slim margin, 53-50 to be exact. The Leathernecks kept pace offensively, but Maggett shut the door in the fourth. The Redbird senior scored an impressive 16 of her 33 in the final 10 minutes. Maggett’s 6-6 from the free throw line in the final period would be part of the Redbirds’ 16-18 at the stripe, a total of 88.9 percent. Western Illinois fought hard in this one, quite literally, as it was a fairly physical game, but the host Redbirds would come out on top, once again by the aforementioned 78-65 final score. The game did bring a positive note, as junior guard Avery Hamm would make a return to the Bloomington-Normal area. Hamm is a graduate of Normal U-High, which according to Google Maps, is officially less than a mile (0.9) from Redbird Arena. Coach Gravina said it was great for Hamm to have that experience of a “Homecoming.” “It was just cool for her to get back here and, even last night, to see her family, and to see a big crowd. Avery’s just a kid that’s been working really, really hard. She’s a very selfless player.” Western Illinois has a couple of days off from games before returning to action Saturday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. against the Cougars of Chicago State.
BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR
Olivia Kaufmann chases down another player.
Women’s basketball winter break schedule Dec. 17 Dec. 19 Dec. 20 Dec. 29 Jan. 2 Jan. 4 vs.
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