Sports: Rebuilding the men's basketball team
Opinions: The 2020 election season heats up
UNIVERSITY.
WesternCourier.com
Monday, October 5, 2020 - Vol. 121 Issue 11
@WesternCourier
RockyTHON hosts virtual Spooky Sprint 5K By Rachel Greene editor-in-chief
Western Illinois University RockyTHON is hosting its first-ever virtual 5K event on Oct. 9 through Oct. 11. Because of University policies and COVID-19 regulations, typical fundraisers and events can not occur. RockyTHON tends to host a color run 5K, but throwing the colored powder during a pandemic is not a feasible option. This event will close out RockyTHON’s Child Health Week. Child Health Day, which starts Monday the 5th, is a national holiday that recognizes the support
of children’s health. One of the Directors of Special Events, Rachel Burd, said, “Since we can no longer have the color run, we are so excited that we have found a way to raise awareness and funds for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals of St. Louis. To register for the Spooky Sprint 5K, participants can fill out a Google Form on the event’s Facebook Group which is called “RockyTHON’s Virtual Spooky Sprint 5K” and then an email with more information about registering on the app. There will be contests and prizes given such as most money fundraised during
the week, top three finishing times for the race and Western Illinois University student organization with the most participants.” Rather than a color run, the special events team decided to shift to a fun, seasonal event and thus the Spooky Sprint 5K was born. As the name suggests, the event will be Halloween themed, and participants are encouraged to wear costumes. If they decide to participate pets, pet costumes are also highly encouraged. There will be prizes provided for the best costumes and for the winners of the 5K. The event will be held virtually via the
Sports on Page 4: MLB expands playoffs to 16 teams FOLLOW US ONLINE @WESTERNCOURIER
“JustMove-Keep Connected” app. The race will take place over the course of three days in order to give more participants the chance to get involved. Because there are no supplies required and there is not a venue, the event is free to all participants, but donations are highly encouraged. The Vice President of External, Marisa Santore, said, “I am very excited for this event to occur. Not only is it an opportunity to fundraise for the kids, but it is also an opportunity to showcase our organization and hopefully recruit more students to join us in supporting our cause.
It has been increasingly challenging to reach students, especially freshmen, so we are grateful for this chance to share our passion for the kids with them! I think the costumes are going to make this event super fun and will boost morale.” To donate, people can go to https://events.dancemarathon.com/index. cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive. participant&participant ID=757165. If someone wants to donate to a specific participant to help them win the prize for most fundraised, they can simply put their name in the memo line.
Opinions on Page 3: Introducing the staff OPINIONS 3 | EDGE 4 | SPORTS BACK PAGE
NEWS 2
Monday, October 5, 2020
WesternCourier.com
President Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis By Emma Garcia assistant news editor
After testing postive for COVID-19, Trump departed from the White House on Friday for the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, for a “precautionary visit” while he would work from the hospital’s presidential suite to continue his official duties. First Lady Melania Trump also tested positive for COVID-19, along with several others in the White House. These recent events have caused a lot of emotion as the virus that has killed over 205,000 Americans alone has now spread to the highest reaches of the U.S. government. Kyle Ramlow, graduate student and political science
major at Western Illinois University said, “I wish the President and First Lady the best in the recovery process. President Trump has a difficult job, especially now in this election year. He is getting some of the best care that anybody could receive. Whether you agree with his policies or not, I believe we should hope for a speedy recovery because we Americans cannot handle anymore chaos in 2020.” A month before the presidential election, Trump attended a political fundraiser knowing that he had been exposed to an aide with the disease, but had mentioned nothing to the crowd. He has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of the
virus, rarely wearing a protective mask and urging the reduction of shutdown rules. Senior Brooke Barnes said, “Hopefully this will be an eye opener to some on how anyone can get COVID, and it is a very real thing happening right now in America.” "President Trump remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms and has been working throughout the day,” said Press Secretary Kaleigh McEnany. “Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the president will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days.” Senior Tate Dowell said that, “President Trump
having COVID is a chance to put politics aside and focus on the well being of people.” The president’s physician, Sean Conley, said in a memo late Friday that Trump received a dose of an experimental antibody cocktail by Regeneron that is in clinical trials. “The president had a high fever and his oxygen saturation was transiently dipping below 94 percent,” Conley said. “Given these developments, I was concerned for possible rapid progression of the illness, however he claimed he wasn’t short of breath.” Later that day, the president had been up out of bed and moving about the residence with only mild symptoms. The first lady
had a “mild cough and headache,” Conley reported, and the rest of the first family had tested negative. Both Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris have tested negative. Vice President Mike Pence tested negative as well Friday morning and “remains in good health,” his spokesperson said. Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who was with him and many others on Saturday, tested negative as well. Many White House and senior administration officials were undergoing tests Friday, but the full scale of the outbreak around the president may not be known for some time.
NYDAILYNEWS.COM
Trump transferred to Walter Reed hospital after COVID-19 diagnosis
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
PUBLISHING AND CIRCULATION
StAFF MEMBERS
proofreader Mary Kilbourne editor-in-chief Rachel Greene
MC-Kilbourne@wiu.edu
R-Greene2@wiu.edu
photo editor Sara Remar
news editor Rachel Greene
SE-Remar@wiu.edu
R-Greene2@wiu.edu
assistant photo editor Sara Remar
opinions editor Allison Young
SE-Remar@wiu.edu
AN-Young@wiu.edu
production manager Brandon Trost
sports editor Chris Bean
BL-Trost@wiu.edu
CR-Bean@wiu.edu
business manager Janiya Haynes
assistant sports editor Chris Bean
J-Haynes2@wiu.edu
CR-Bean@wiu.edu
assistant business manager Nash Miller
edge editor Peyton Finnegan
NK-Miller@wiu.edu
PM-Finnegan@wiu.edu
advertising manager Tyler Hoffman
copy editor Amanda Wandachowicz
TE-Hoffman@wiu.edu
A-Wandachowicz@wiu.edu
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 RegisterMail 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 Will Buss at 309-298-1876.
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.
This entire election process has been truly crazy and unpredictable. Just when you think things are going pretty well, a bombshell is thrown that completely changes everything. First it was Coronavirus, then the economy and unemployment, then the protests and riots and even the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. But one element that is just unbeliev-
able is the fact that the President of the United States contracted Coronavirus himself. Even though this news is shocking and concerning given the fact that he’s the leader of the free world, it’s not really that much of a surprise since President Trump has been hesitant of wanting to to wear a mask on certain occasions and still continues to have big gatherings
Introducing the Staff My name is Dionlashon Washington Jr. and I grew up in a large town called Matteson, Illinois. Coming from a big loving family, they raised me to be a well respectful man. I went to Rich Central High School where I played basketball, track and football. Starting on varsity since sophomore year, I earned a full ride scholarship to Western Illinois University, where I now dominate the sport of football. I am now a 20 year old sophomore in college that loves filmmaking and photography as well. I have a huge following of 75,400 followers on TikTok. One day I hope to play in the NFL while being a successful filmmaker all at the same time.
at the White House and even at his rallies. With his own CDC and Coronavirus task force undercutting him at every turn, Trump has still disregarded his own administration’s guidelines in hopes to secure his reelection chances. But even before that, Trump and Biden participated in their first presidential debate and after watching it entirely, it was honestly one of the worst debates I’ve ever watched. Trump constantly interrupted Biden and barely let him get any answers in. If anything, the moderator Chris Wallace completely lost control of the debate due to Trump’s constant interrupt-
ing. The only policy debate that I remember hearing was the discussion on the environment and Biden's plan to transition to renewable energy by 2035. Aside from that, it was predictable Trump being irritating and Biden just reacting to it in a relatable fashion. After watching the first one, I honestly don't want to see the next two, but I will likely watch them for pure entertainment. With less than 30 days left until the election, I honestly just want this to be over. I can only speak for myself, but I really haven’t learned anything new about both of these candidates. I know Trump wants to appoint con-
servative judges, build a wall on the southern border, and so on. Biden wants to focus on renewable energy, deal with the coronavirus, and so one. Pretty much everything I knew a year prior. However, the one thing that’s for sure is the fact that we may not know who the winner is until after the election, which would make it even more chaotic. Because of mail-in ballots and the obvious litigation that could arise, this election, just like in 2000, could be decided by the Supreme Court. If such a thing were to happen, in my opinion, that would be the biggest middle finger of 2020.
E2 EDGE
Monday, October 5, 2020
MELANIE HIGGINS Entertainment writer
It is almost that time of the year again for the 2020 People’s Choice Awards. Voting for the PCA started earlier this week on Oct. 1 and will continue until Oct. 23. E! News announced the newly added categories which include the New Artist of 2020, Soundtrack Song of 2020 and Collaboration Song of 2020. Not only are there some new categories, but there are also new faces you will be seeing this year: Tik Tok stars. The fairly new app TikTok has blown up to be the number one entertainment app in the Ap ple App Store. The creators on the app have had a quick rise to fame with the number one creator having nearly 91 mil lion followers. The 16-year-old Charli D’Amelio is one of the youngest to ever be nominated for the Social Star of 2020. This would not be D’Amelio’s first time breaking a record. The
TikTok star has broken a Guin ness Book World Record for the most followers on the TikTok app. The D’Amelio’s never anticipated TikTok becoming their entire life and soon after joining, it changed everything. In only one year, D’Amelio and her sis ter Dixie D’Amelio have created their own makeup line in a col laboration with the well-known makeup brand Morphe. The girls have also had a collaboration with Coastal Craze and released their very own sets of nail polish. Charli’s biggest collabora tion so far has been with the coffee company Dunkin’ Donuts. The company released her very own drink called “The Charli” which is a cold brew with whole milk and caramel. The D’Amelio sisters are nominated alongside their good friend Addison Rae, another TikTok celebrity. Since Addison joined TikTok, she has become bestfriends with
WesternCourier.com
the Kardashian clan. Rae posted a video on her Youtube channel about her day hanging out with Kourtney Kardashian. This video captured their morning routine together, starting off with a workout after a swim in Kourt ney’s pool. During Rae’s rise to fame, she has also started her own makeup company called Item Beauty. Addison’s whole brand revolves around being positive and spreading love. Her slogan for Item Beauty is “I love you, say it back.” Rae first got started on TikTok while she was attending college at Louisiana State University as a Sports Broadcasting and Journalism major. After her career taking off, Rae decided to drop out of LSU to pursue her social media career. The other nominees for the Social Star category include Emma Chamberlain, JoJo Siwa, Liza Koshy, Loren Gray and the 2019 winner David Dobrik. Each influencer dabbles in Youtube and TikTok, so it will be interesting to see which social star will take home the award. The Award show takes place on Nov. 15 at 9 p.m.
TikTok has become extremely popular in the last year, especially amongst younger generations.
PINTEREST.COM
The People's Choice Awards take place on Nov. 15th at 9 pm.
CNN.COM
Rob Jeter and Co. look to rebuild Leatherneck program
By Brendan Reidy courier staff
It's no secret that the Western Illinois men’s basketball team has struggled the last six years under the Billy Wright era. After losing season after season, the Leathernecks finally got the change they so desperately needed. They opted to bring an experienced coach who has had success
at the Division I level. After plenty of rumors on who the next coach would be, they ultimately decided to bring in coach Rob Jeter. Jeter has been around the college basketball scene for quite some time, but he’s known for his tenure with the University of Milwaukee. Coach Jeter left UWM as the all-time winningest coach with an 185170 record from 2006-2015.
He was also able to secure a win in the NCAA tournament against No. 5 seeded Oklahoma. After his time with Milwaukee, he became an assistant head coach at Minnesota and UNLV. Jeter brings an impressive resume to Western Illinois, but more importantly, he brings an intriguing assistant coach with him as well. Nick Irvin was one of the
first coaches Jeter announced that was going to be one of his assistant coaches. Irvin is one of Chicago’s most legendary coaches, and it was a big surprise to see him leave his very successful program he created at Morgan Park High School. He brings a plethora of connections from the Chicagoland Area and is going to be a huge factor when it comes to recruit-
ing in Chicago. His impact is already being made after Western has signed three of his former high school players. Western Illinois hoops is in good hands with these two at the helm, and it will be a fun time to follow this team with the program on the rise. Hopefully, Jeter and Co. can lead this team to some March magic in the years to come.
ALDS matchups include two division rivals
For the first time in its history, the MLB expanded its playoffs to 16 teams. With the shortened 60-game season, it only seemed fair to let a few more teams into the postseason; and who can complain about more baseball? The playoffs began this Tuesday with four straight days of the opening three game series Wild Card round. After a season that was plagued with early postponements due to teams contracting COVID19, the first round of the playoffs went off without a hitch (minus Mother Nature getting her licks in with a rain can-
cellation for Game 2 of the series between the Marlins and the Cubs). Nonetheless, eight teams were able to advance to the Divisional round and we fans get to enjoy another exciting week of postseason baseball. The American League hosted some of the most entertaining games in the Wild Card round, and the entertainment looks to be carrying over to the Divisional round. Here’s a look at what to expect this week in the AL. The American League Wild Card round was really over before it started. Out of the
four different matchups, three of them ended with two game sweeps. The Oakland A’s were the only team in the AL who needed to take it to a game three after dropping the first game to the Chicago White Sox. Both AL series are going to be some of the most interesting series in this postseason and for different reasons. Starting off with the A’s vs the Houston Astros, these divisional rivals have had some bad blood this season. Earlier in the season, A’s star Ramon Laureano started a bench-clearing brawl with the 2017 World champions after the Astros hitting coach made some remarks from the dugout. The A’s held the second best record in the American League this season, taking the AL West crown from the Astros who have won the title for
SANFRANCISCOCHRONICLE.COM
Ramon Laureano takes a deep breathe before stepping into the batters box.
Gerrit Cole throws a strike to home plate.
SI.COM
the past four seasons. While Astros bats have been silent for most of the season, the ‘Stros pitching has been a saving grace for the team. With a fire starting rotation featuring Zack Greinke, the A’s are going to have to keep their hot bats going if they are going to advance to their first ALCS since 2006. While the A’s and Astros settle their bad blood, the Tampa Bay Rays vs the New York Yankees will be all about the bats. The Yankees lead the MLB currently in the postseason in runs (22), home runs (7), slugging percentage (.653) and on-base plus slugging (1.062). The Bronx Bombers bats proved to be the saving grace for the team after the team’s pitching allowed a whopping nine runs in Game 2 of the Wild Card round, including four in the
first inning. After Gerrit Cole, the Yanks really don’t have a strong starting rotation after being injury plagued this season. On the other side of things, the Rays have shown they have both the arms and the bats. Their bullpen leads the American League with a 1.42 ERA this postseason while their starters have posted a 1.54. On top of that, the Rays were able to rout the Blue Jays in game two 8-2. With a rotation highlighted by Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, it almost seems inevitable that the Rays will be able to take this series. However, if the Yankees bats can continue to dominate and their pitching can hold the Rays to less than three runs a game, the Yankees may be able to once again make it back to the ALCS.
Zach Greinke delivers to home plate.
Former Cy Young award winner Blake Snell throws a dart to home.
PIONEERPRESS.COM
BLEACHERREPORT.COM