Western Courier | January 22nd, 2020

Sports: Men's basketball prepares for Omaha.

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Opinions: Getting to know the Democratic party.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020 - Vol. 120 Issue 47

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Former Leatherneck heads to the Super Bowl

By Devon Greene editor-in-chief

Former Western Illinois University Leatherneck and current defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs is on his way to Miami in pursuit of the Lombardi Trophy.

Khalen Saunders was at Western from 2014-2018 where he made his presence known as the anchor of the defensive line. Saunders redshirted the 2014 season and came in the 2015 season with a bang, playing all 13 games, recording 27 tackles and 2.5 sacks. In his sophomore year, he was named an Honorable Mention for the All-Missouri Valley Conference team. He started all 11 games and increased his productivity with 48 tackles. Saunders’ junior season came with an increase in name recognition across the Missouri Valley Conference.

He was placed on the Honorable Mention Preseason All-Missouri Valley Football Conference, Phil Steele’s AllAmerican list and First Team

All-Missouri Valley Football Conference team. In his final season with the Leathernecks, Saunders recorded 72 tackles and 6.5 sacks.

Saunders gained notoriety before the 2019 draft with his athleticism that went viral on Twitter from a tweet by Adam Schefter showing off his ability to do a backflip. Saunders went on to impress in his performance at the Senior Bowl and was drafted in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs came into the 2019-2020 NFL season as heavy favorites to make the Super Bowl and after a turbulent season and a colossal injury scare in the form of a knee dislocation from star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, they’ve made it to the biggest stage after a 3524 victory over the red-hot Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship game. Saunders recorded one tackle in the game. This will be the Chiefs’ chance to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl

since 1970 when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Louisiana.

In Saunders’ rookie season, the 324-pound lineman recorded 22 total tackles and one sack. The one sack came against one of the premier quarterbacks in the league, Aaron Rodgers in their matchup against the Packers on Sunday Night Football.

Saunders went to social media after the highly emotional win on Sunday.

“Loved meeting Mr. Hunt’s trophy, but I’m trying to see that Lombardi now. Super Bowl bound,” Saunders said.

On Monday, he took to social media again to say that he and his Kansas City Chief teammates are not finished yet.

“Woke up feeling like I still got something to prove. We ain’t done. Victory Monday,” Saunders said.

The Chiefs will take on the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 54 on Sunday, Feb. 2 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Saunders sets his sights on the ball carrier.

et from Macomb Police. His brother, Tamara Walker, was looking for him for nearly two weeks after he wasn’t at home.

President Heather McMeekan said, when Tamara noticed his brother was missing, he went straight to the police station to try to file a missing persons report. McMeekan said police refused to help Tamara, even though he was Marshawn’s legal guardian, claiming “since his brother was an adult, they couldn’t take a report.”

McMeekan said Tamara continued searching for his brother on his own without any help from police. After more days passed, the brother asked another officer to take a report,

but he refused as well, according to McMeekan.

McMeekan said one police officer told Tamara with a witness nearby, that another officer had given Marshawn a one-way train ticket to Chicago. McMeekan said Tamara continued searching for his brother without any assistance or support from Macomb Police.

According to McMeekan, a few days later, the police officer changed his story by saying they had not given Marshawn a train ticket. Tamara grew more frantic and traumatized, according to McMeekan, so he received help from a mental health professional who went with him to the police station

to finally file a report about his brother being missing and endangered.

McMeekan said Macomb Police finally filed a missing persons report approximately two weeks later, but did not mention Marshawn was missing in the report because police gave him a train ticket to Chicago.

McMeekan said Chicago Police eventually located Marshawn sitting on a stoop, with frostbitten feet, in the same clothes he had left Macomb in two weeks prior. McMeekan said the frustration grew even more for Tamara when he had to drive to Chicago to get his brother and bring him back to Macomb at his own expense

BECCA LANGYS/PHOTO EDITOR

Group demands investigation; calls on Macomb Police Chief to step down

By Devin Brooks NEWS3 reporter

MACOMB, Ill. (NEWS3) — A McDonough County group is demanding an investigation into the Macomb Police Department and calling on the Chief to step down or be removed after an incident involving police issuing a train ticket to a mentally ill Macomb man.

The Democratic Women of McDonough County held a press conference Friday expressing their anger and outrage over what happened to 43-year-old Marshawn Walker who went missing but was eventually found safe in Chicago after reportedly receiving a train tick-

with no assistance or apology from the Macomb Police Department, who McMeekan said, created the emergency in the first place through their own actions.

McMeekan calls the whole ordeal a common practice by Macomb Police to make unwanted and unwelcome people in the community go “missing by design” to “get rid of” them.

McMeekan said, the practice encourages people to go wherever they want to go, to leave the community and not return.

Investigation page 3

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Wednesday, January 22, 2020

NEWS

WesternCourier.com

sports editor

TER S E

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rent students, tour campus and more.

If prospective or admitted students can’t make it out to any of these scheduled events, they still have the opportunity to come visit Western. Campus information sessions begin at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on most weekdays and few Saturdays and are followed with a tour of the campus. Visit wiu.edu/visit to register.

Finally, Admissions created the new “Leatherneck Visitor Scholarship” which gives incoming (already accepted) freshmen and transfers a one-time $1,000 award if they attend an on-campus WIU Undergraduates Admissions event. Incoming freshmen and transfers who are interested in being considered for automatic scholarships at western can visit wiu.edu/apply. Even more information about scholarships can be found online at wiu.edu/scholarships.

Anyone with further questions can contact Undergraduate Admissions at (309)-298-3157 or email admissions@wiu.edu.

WC

OU

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Western Illinois University Admissions released the schedule for the spring, which includes a variety of events ranging from overnight visits to scholarship opportunities.

With enrollment numbers being a common topic of discussion for the university, it’s important that they put on intriguing and exciting Admissions events for prospective students and that’s exactly what they have lined up.

The first of these events is Experience Western. This specific event will give already admitted students the chance to stay the night in a dorm room, eat at various places on campus and even attend classes with current Western students. The cost is $35, which covers three meals (Day 1 dinner and Day 2 breakfast and lunch) as well as the overnight accommodations. This event will be held three times this spring, each on a Sunday night into Monday morning. The dates are Feb. 9-10, March 1-2 and April 19-20. Visit wiu.edu/experi-

enceWestern to register.

The next event will be held on Saturday, Feb. 15 before the Leatherneck’s men’s and women’s basketball games inside Western Hall. It will be a free pre-game social for prospective students to ask questions, enjoy appetizers and watch two NCAA Division I basketball games.

It’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy some WIU sports and get those important questions answered.

As always, Admissions will continue to put on Discover Western. This event, that will also happen three times, gives prospective students the chance to tour the Macomb or Quad Cities campus, meet with academic advisors in their field, talk with current students and more. The three dates for this event are Monday, Feb. 17, Saturday, Feb. 29 (Quad Cities) and Saturday, April 4. Register at wiu.edu/DiscoverWestern.

On Monday, March 23 Western will host “Admitted Students Day.” This event gives admitted students the chance to meet with faculty and staff, attend a class, meet cur-

5 Day Weather Forecast sourced by

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By Bradley Piros

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Admissions announces Spring event schedule

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H 33 / L 29 H 34 / L 30 H 35 / L 32 H 36 / L 28 H 35 / L 26

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

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Investigation from front page

McMeekan said she calls on Macomb Police Chief Curt Barker to step down or be removed, and an investigation of the Macomb Police Department to be launched by the McDonough County State’s Attorney’s Office. McMeekan said she also calls for an explanation, with a full apology, to be read at a Macomb City Council meeting.

McMeekan calls on the program to give one-way transit tickets be ended permanently.

McMeekan said police have changed their story multiple times saying a train ticket did exist for Marshawn, then saying it didn’t happen, with the department or Amtrak having no record of it.

McMeekan said Macomb Police eventually said they found a receipt and claims they hand out one-way tickets to Chicago for black men who claim they don’t have housing.

Chief Barker said, on Dec. 11 just before 1 p.m., Marshawn came to the police station to speak to an officer. Barker said Marshawn told an officer he had got into an argument with his brother, Tamara, and that he no longer lived with his brother and needed homeless services.

Barker said the officer sent Marshawn to the local men’s homeless shelter Samaritan Well, but said there were no vacancies. Barker said that’s when the officer contacted four other shelters between Quincy and Galesburg, however, the officer said there were no vacancies.

Barker said after the officer told Marshawn there were no vacancies, he told the officer he could go to Chicago to “use the shelters up there” because he was “familiar with that” and “could find a place there.” Barker said the officer then responded, “I think we can do that.”

After that, Barker said, Marshawn was taken to the train station and the officer purchased him a ticket. Barker said there was no more contact with Marshawn after this point.

On Dec. 14, Barker said an officer happened to drive by where the brother, Tamara lives. Barker said that’s when Tamara flagged the officer down, saying “Hey, my brother’s missing, I haven’t seen him since the eleventh.”

Barker said that encounter was the first contact an officer had with the brother informing them of Marshawn’s disappearance.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020 The officer that came in contact with Tamara responded, “No, he’s not missing, we helped him get to a shelter in Chicago and gave him a train ticket,” according to Barker.

Tamara responded back to the officer saying, “No, he can’t, I’m his guardian and I want to be able to report him missing.” Barker said the officer told Tamara to bring paperwork indicating guardianship to the police department to make a copy and fill out a missing persons form in order to put Marshawn into the Law Enforcement Agency Data System (LEADS). LEADS alerts any officer that a person is missing. Barker said all the department knew about is Marshawn living with his brother, but did not know if Tamara was officially his guardian until filling out the paperwork.

Barker said while Tamara was filling out a missing persons form on Dec. 14, the officer contacted Amtrak Police, saying “Hey, did Marshawn ride the train.” Barker said Amtrak Police told the officer “no.” At that point, Barker said Tamara assumed Marshawn did not get on the train so he figured he was still in Macomb more than likely. Ultimately, Marshawn did use the train ticket on Dec. 11 after Macomb Police contacted Amtrak again days later to ask, although Barker said he’s unsure why Amtrak said Marshawn was not on the train during their first inquiry.

On Dec. 19, Barker said Tamara returned to the police station and asked what the status was of Marshawn because he hadn’t returned.

Since the department was busy, an officer met Tamara back at his house. Tamara told the officer, “Hey, it’s been a few days, and I know he didn’t take his medicine, so I’m starting to get worried about him,” and he added, “I think another gentleman may have given him a ride to Chicago,” according to Barker.

Barker said the officer called that person and they said, “I just saw him at Ayerco here in town.” Barker said that’s when the department posted a picture to Facebook alerting the public about Marshawn missing on Dec 20., nearly a week after Tamara filed a missing persons report. Barker said the department believed Marshawn was still in Macomb because of the phone call with the person saying he was spotted at the Ayerco gas station.

On Dec. 21, Barker said the department received a call from the Chicago Police Department saying Marshawn was found in Chicago.

Macomb Police then called Ta-

mara, who drove to pick up Marshawn from Chicago and brought him back to Macomb, according to Barker.

On Dec. 22, Barker said Tamara contacted the department around 4:30 a.m. and said Marshawn was back in Macomb, so police removed him from the LEADS database and informed the public via Facebook of his safe return.

Barker said Jan. 7, was the first time he had heard of a concern due to him being out of the office in the weeks prior. Barker said he questioned his officers on Jan. 7 and wanted to understand rumors of a mentally disabled man being put on a train and not wearing winter clothing. Barker said he asked the officer of Marshawn’s condition and whether he had winter clothing on. The officer responded, “That’s absolutely not the truth; he had on the Carhartts, winter coat, and he was not in crisis while talking to him,” according to Barker.

Barker said the officer told him, “I tried the four different locations to get him shelter, including our shelter here, but no one would take him. He told me he could get a shelter in Chicago and he wanted a ticket, so I helped him get there.” Barker then asked the officer, “When you ran his information through the computer system, did it alert you that he has a mental condition?” The officer said “no,” then Barker asked if it said he had a guardian, the officer said “no.” Barker talked to the director of the dispatch center to ask if Marshawn could be added in the computer system indicating his disability, and the software company was eventually able to indicate his needs.

Barker said he had the officer go to Marshawn’s residence to help set him up in an emergency database system that indicates immediate family and guardians in case of an emergency.

“We don’t have a program where we put people on a train and get rid of them,” Barker said. “Our intent is to find them resources, and if we don’t have the resources in town to help them, and if that’s to Chicago, Quincy, with Amtrak being the easiest mode of transportation, of course that’s what we’re going to use; but it’s not something that’s done frequently,” Barker said. “It’s not just one-way tickets to Chicago, hoping the person never comes back; that’s not it. Our intent is to get them to where the resources are. How we can help these individuals is our goal; our goal is to help people. We don’t have a goal

NEWS 3 of pushing people away.”

The crisis intervention team is members of the community from the hospital, psychologists, mental health counselors, social agencies, and other emergency personnel.

Barker said Marshawn had insulated carhartt pants on with a winter coat on himself when the officer took him to the train station.

When NEWS3 asked Barker why the department did not ensure Marshawn got to his destination safely, Barker said the officer felt Marshawn was coherent and told the officer “when he got there, he would not have no problem getting to where he needs to be.”

Barker said Marshawn didn’t ask the officer for any other service or that he needed money or additional help once he arrived in Chicago.

NEWS3 asked Barker if the department has had contact with Marshawn in the past, Barker said “the officer has seen Marshawn in crisis before, but the officer said Marshawn was in the best mental state he had ever seen him in. They were having a conversation, relaying everything back; he had no issues. The officer felt comfortable putting him on the train and sending him up there and felt he would make it to the shelter just fine.”

Barker said he doesn’t know where Marshawn ended up in Chicago, but “the reason why Chicago Police contacted us is because he had been disorderly.” Barker said Marshawn was not found on a stoop, “He was found due to a disorderly conduct complaint about someone yelling and that’s how they came in contact with him.”

Barker said, if the department knew Tamara was Marshawn’s guardian, they would have contacted him. Barker said he’s addressed the department about handling situations like this one in the future.

When NEWS3 asked Barker to respond to allegations of discrimination and prejudice within the department and the handling of this particular incident alleging police unfair treatment and misconduct of a mentally ill black man, Barker said, “Anytime anyone believes they're being discriminated against, I ask them to fill out a complaint form so I can investigate,” Barker said. “I have no one coming in to fill out complaint forms for me to investigate. It would be investigated and not tolerated.”

Barker called the entire incident a misunderstanding, saying, “it did not have to get this far, but there’s other people out there with political agendas that are making com-

plaints with motives that are not true. I feel sorry that Tamara and Marshawn are getting pulled into that. If they would have brought their concerns to me, I would have been able to look into this sooner, instead of having to find out from other individuals that are people trying to do investigations without making it known what they were doing. If that wouldn’t have taken place, we could have got on to this sooner, and hopefully could have got to Marshawn sooner and talked with him and got him entered into the database a lot sooner.

But I think we have a good solution to it now and we’re going to make an effort for everybody that we’re in contact with in our crisis intervention team to get entered into the database; I think that’s really important.”

“I wish they didn’t have to go through all of that. Let’s hope it never happens again,” Barker said.

“I expect all of my officers to treat everyone like they would treat anyone of their own family. We treat everybody fair. I can guarantee you my officers are treating everyone fairly. This is a political thing on their part and they can play their political game. If they have a particular incident that they would like for us to investigate, please come forward and provide the names, don’t stand up and read an affidavit with no name on it and then expect us all to believe what you’re saying. Come forward, give us the names and allow us to investigate those cases, and if there was any sort of discrimination, I promise you, we will get to the bottom of it.”

NEWS3 asked Barker if there is a policy or procedure when providing someone with a means to receive transportation or help, but Barker said there is not, other than showing a need and the department having a limited amount of money to use every year for this service.

McMeekan said she wants to know why the department didn’t issue a public apology, but Barker said an apology to the Walker’s from the department happened when officers went to help Marshawn get entered into the emergency database.

Macomb Police asks for any resident who is a caregiver for someone with a disability register their loved one into the https://www. cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/drivers/ECD/home.html database. It alerts authorities of emergency contacts if police were ever to come in contact with them.

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2020 Spring Semester Editorial Board

Edge Editor - Rachel Greene Editor-in-Chief - Devon Greene Opinions Editor - Allison Young

4

OPINIONS

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

WesternCourier.com

Getting to know the Democratic Party The Democratic Party has been around since 1828, almost 200 years. It is most notoriously known as the party that started the Civil Rights Movement with the progression of minorities in American society. When most people think of the Democrats, they think of the party that is for the average citizen, but is that necessarily true?

The Democrats took over public influence in the 1960s with the Civil Rights Era. They pushed for equal rights for minorities, and for the most part, people agreed with them and made equality into law so that most people were not discriminated against. The Democrats targeted working class Americans, youth and minorities.

With this game plan, several laws were passed pushing for less discrimination and more equality among the sexes and different races. This was a noble pursuit during their time, but what are the Democrats working for during our time?

Women gained the right to vote in the 1920s. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion and national origin. In 2015, people of the same sex were allowed to marry nationwide. Right now, there are trans movements to ensure equality for trans people, who make up less than one percent of the population. So, what is there to truly fight for today? Are the Democrats aimlessly try-

ing to find another cause to fight for since that has been their platform for the 1960s, or are they actually trying to help people? The average citizen isn’t looking for the next fight, they are trying to take care of their loved ones and keep financial security.

Most government mandated programs that were pushed by the Democrats don’t work out as well as people hope that they would. Social Security is failing and will most likely not be around by the time we college-aged students need it. Welfare has helped some people, but has left some people in recurrent cycles of poverty. The Affordable Care Act, a.k.a ObamaCare, has continuously driven up prices, causing more problems than it has solved.

Relying on the government to ensure quality of living can have real downturns and times, so why would people want more governmental control? with People like Bernie Sanders’ and his plat-

form of Democratic socialism, makes people more reliant on the government, when they can ensure their quality of life on their own terms.

Most people know the term: if you want something done right, do it yourself. So why be reliant on the government to make something right? Because that is what we were led to believe by our elders and the mainstream media.

Most of us vote the way our parents vote when we are younger, until we start forming different political opinions of our own, and yet again, continue to change our political stances as we get older. Many of us college students start off as liberal because that is what we are led to believe causes change.

With protests and marches, several college students advocate for equal rights when they really do not know what they are fighting for. As stated earlier, Democrats target youths and rely on their ignorance about the world to

push their own agenda. How many college-aged students who are protesting and going to marches truly read and watch what is going on on the other side of the isle with conservatives? How many people watch five minutes of some people yelling at each other on TV while they are traveling somewhere and come to the conclusion that they do not know what they are talking about and brush them off? Almost everyone.

What is needed is for people to actively seek what they have been ignoring all this time and come to their own conclusions. Not listening to political analysts talking over each other and screaming at each other looking like idiots, nor scrolling endlessly through comment sections trying to find opinions of the masses that seems suited for the situation. Look at what the people you have dismissed as “crazy” and actively listen for their viewpoints.

You might learn something.

series more than five times all the way through. While “Friends” is one of my absolute favorite TV series, I do wish that it would have had a different ending. Spoiler alert, but the show ended with Ross and Rachel together, Chandler and Monica adopting twins and also deciding to move to a smaller area, Phoebe ends up marrying a character named Mike and Joey does not end up with a partner at all. I have always hoped that there

would be one last reunion season or episode, but it does not look like that is going to be happening anytime soon. So, if I were to rewrite the ending of the TV series, it would look a little something like this.

Let’s keep the final episode the way it is. Rachel gets off the plane and Monica is still giving up the apartment. I think that they could have given viewers a little taste of what their futures were like. So, I would have added one more episode that was a jump forward maybe five to 10 years.

In this episode we would see Ross, Rachel and Emma living happily together in New York City. We would also see Joey seriously dating someone and

finally settling down from his bachelor phase. He has also become a regular actor on a new soap opera and is no longer only known for being Dr. Drake Ramoray. Then there would be Phoebe married to Mike, still singing smelly cat in the coffee shop and perhaps even in some other settings.

Finally, there would be Monica and Chandler living happily in the suburbs with their two children.

Closer to the end of the episode there would be a reunion at Monica and Chandler ’s, because Monica always enjoys hosting the party. The kids would be playing as they are all much older and the original cast would discuss how

much they love their regular get-togethers and how many memories they have together.

They will be friends forever no matter the circumstances.

In my personal opinion, the regular ending of the show is fine, but they could have done so much more with it. They left all of the viewers for years to come, wondering how their lives ended up and where they are today. For us super fans who have seen the reruns hundreds of times, it never gets easier knowing that there will not be a follow up at the end. The producers left it up to us to imagine what their lives would be like and that is how I would imagine them leaving off.

Rewriting the ending of Friends

The first episode of the beloved show “Friends” aired on Sept. 22, 1994. I am sure that the producers of the show never expected it to be as big as it was.

Today, reruns from all 10 seasons are still being played on various different television networks daily. “Friends” has become a show that people still to this day talk about and even bond over. I know several people who are fanatics and who have rewatched the

OPINIONS 5

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

@WesternCourier

What are personal pronouns and why do they matter?

I’m sure everyone remembers being in elementary school and learning about pronouns. When we were taught pronouns in elementary school, it probably was not in much detail, just the definition and then some practice with how to use them.

By definition from the Oxford dictionary, a pronoun is “a word that can function by itself as a noun phrase and that refers either to the participants in the discourse (i.e. you) or to someone mentioned elsewhere in the dis-

course (i.e. she, it, this).”

When we speak, especially about someone else, it is extremely common to use pronouns to talk about them.

This is something that, as mentioned previously, we were taught to do from a very young age. Though, when we make these assumptions regarding what pronouns to use to refer to someone, they may not always be helpful.

For example, if one spoke with someone over the telephone and they had a very high voice, one may refer

to that individual as “she,” while the individual’s pronouns were never shared, nor does one know the individual’s pronouns. Other factors that often lead people to assume the gender of someone are their name and what they look like. Additionally, if someone shares their pronouns with you, make an effort to use those pronouns, as it shows your respect for that individual.

Now, pronouns are a bigger part of how people identify and have more to do with gender identification. When you refer to someone else as “he” or “she,” you are automatically assuming and assigning a gender to them.

With this, it is best to either ask the person what pro-

nouns they use, or to use gender neutral pronouns such as “they.” There are many different pronouns people may use to identify, but the most common are “she, her, hers,” “he, him, his” and “they, them, theirs.” Though, there are other pronouns such as “ze, zir/hir, zirs/hirs.”

Personal pronouns are extremely important when speaking to others. If you make time to find out someone’s pronouns, that shows your respect and desire to interact with that individual.

It is always important to create inclusive environments where all are welcome and everyone feels safe and respected. According to mypronouns.org, “Just as it can be offensive or even harassing

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to make up a nickname for someone and call them that nickname against their will, it can be offensive or harassing to guess at someone’s pronouns and refer to them using those pronouns if that is not how that person wants to be known.” This is something to keep in mind when interacting with others, as well.

So, with that said, keep pronouns in mind. Do not be afraid to ask others for their pronouns if you are unsure, and most definitely do not be afraid to share your own pronouns. If this concept of pronouns is new to you, while this article highlighted some of the key aspects, I highly encourage you to go ahead and research more about pronouns!

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

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

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Dealing with the frustrating St. Louis Cardinals Zach Remelius courier staff

The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the biggest franchises in baseball.

Despite a relatively small market, they have had continued success decade after decade.

Despite a city population of just under 320,000 (St. Louis county has just above 996,000 people), the franchise continues to finish top two in attendance, and the reason they aren’t number one is because Dodger Stadium fits about 15,000 more people. They are in the bottom half of market size in baseball but continue to win and draw. After missing the playoffs from 20162018, they returned to the postseason in 2019 where they won the NL Central outlasting the Cubs and Brewers. They beat a Braves squad who was more talented than the Cardinals but self destructed in Game 5 and then got swept by the Nationals, scoring only two runs in the first three games and only putting up a four spot after falling behind 7-0 in game four. This is where the frustration crept in.

The market size and Midwest feel is going to make it hard for the Cardinals to recruit any major free agents. Routinely, they have lost

free agent battles to the mega markets in New York, Chicago and Boston. The way the Cardinals have to do things is to develop players, trade for them and then sign them long term such as they did with Paul Goldschmidt, Matt Holliday, Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen. For a franchise like this to never have to tear it down and rebuild like the Cubs or Astros did is impressive, but it has gotten stale. The team has become a high floor but low ceiling organization as it stands right now.

So, looking forward to the 2020 season, what needs to be done?

Anyone who kept track of the Cardinals last season knows it is offense and even more offense.

The bats were extremely inconsistent outside of Kolten Wong and Tommy Edman for most of the season. The offense finished in the bottom half of the league in a lot of categories, and they haven’t done anything so far to heal that. Marcell Ozuna hit cleanup for most of the 2019 campaign but bringing him back just means the status quo is back. Doing that means you have to really rely on guys like Matt Carpenter to have bounceback sea-

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Matt Carpenter points towards the dugout.

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sons and that Edman and Wong continue to spray the ball all over the field. What would help even further is if Goldschmidt got back to his MVP level. He was fine in 2019 but everyone knows he has another gear. That’s a lot of ifs for a team that has a talented pitching staff and bullpen. In the pipeline they have Dylan Carlson and Nolan Gorman who are extremely talented but won’t help this season more than likely. The ifs and hopefully when's become even more prevalent should Ozuna sign elsewhere.

So what can the front office do?

Well, with so many marquee names available for trade it is rather obvious. Francisco Lindor, Mookie Betts and Nolan Arenado are all available. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on Arenado.

The Cardinals, though, appear to be unwilling to trade major prospects or assets to acquire a superstar talent like the Rockies third baseman. It is like that joke from Family Guy “Nolan Arenado is Nolan Arenado but the prospects could be anything, they could even be Nolan Arenado.” The other hold up is the fact that the front office doesn’t believe it could bring in a $35 million contract. The internal cap according to owner Bill DeWitt is about $170 million. The payroll as it stands is around $156 million. What is frustrating about this

is the fact that DeWitt is the third richest owner in baseball and the Cardinals are worth $2.1 billion.

From an outside perspective, they could easily add that kind of money and they could try and bring back Ozuna. After the Rockies' GM shut down any idea of trading Arenado, the superstar spoke out about how he felt disrespected by the organization and hinted that he wants out. So, the price just went down on an MVP caliber player and at the moment it appears the Cards aren’t even interested because of the cost in both money and prospects or MLB level players. With two moves, the Cardinals could elevate themselves from postseason hopeful to bonafide contender but appear disinterested in doing that.

Should the Cardinals even go for it this year? They have some young talent, I mentioned the two big prospects already and Jack Flaherty who looks like a Cy Young contender for the next several seasons, is still young. Then you remember this could be the last season for Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright. Two franchise legends who they have paraded around and shown off for everyone and two players who have done everything they possibly could have and more for the organization. This may be their last hurrah and the front office, instead of doing what

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Paul Goldschmidt tips his helmet to the crowd.

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they can to send them out on top, appears to be okay with sending them out with a third place finish. They know Cardinals fans will show up for a goodbye tour (they show up anyway) and buy all the gear anyway.

That is the frustration of Cardinal fans. Like any other major team in any major sport, they expect championships or at least ready to compete year in and year out.

It looks like, however, the goal of the Cardinal front office is to keep payroll down and bring in the revenue from three million plus fans every season. The team is seventh in revenue and 10th in payroll.

That doesn’t appear to be that large of a gap, but fans are tired of being lied to and told they don’t have the money. The team has seen their biggest rival beat them in a playoff series and go on to end the most famous drought in sports and instead of doing what they can to be better, they have remained stale, getting lucky on the fact that what looked like a could be dynasty in Chicago has whimpered out.

Unless something changes, gone are the days of bringing in guys like Holliday, Larry Walker and Scott Rolen to give an already good team a big boost. Now, if something does change and they do bring in a legit superstar, then I will be the first win to sing the praises, but as of this moment, all I can say

Marcell Ozuna makes contact with the ball.

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Wednesday, January 22, 2020

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Sports 7

Chiefs-49ers set to meet in Super Bowl LIV

This NFL postseason has been one to remember, with teams like the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints, two teams accustomed to deep playoff runs, getting eliminated from contention in the first round of action.

It didn’t end there, as what was the consensus Super Bowl pick for many in the Baltimore Ravens were knocked out by the No. 6 seed Tennessee Titans in their first game after receiving a first-round bye.

If there’s one lesson to be learned from this year ’s playoffs, it’s that it doesn’t matter all that much what you accomplished in the regular season. However, fans anxiously waiting to see which teams would be competing for the Lombardi Trophy in this year ’s Super Bowl must wait no longer; the stage is set for Super Bowl LIV in Miami.

Coming out of the AFC is the offensive juggernaut Kansas City Chiefs, with their head coach Andy Reid, looking to secure his first championship ring since becoming a head coach back in 1999. If he can come out on top, this appears

to be the first of what may be many appearances for a young and talented Chiefs squad that appears will be one of the NFL’s strongest dynasties over the next decade. Reid has ample experience in the playoffs, having coached in 28 postseason games with an even .500 record (14-14), however he’s come up short from the grand prize each time. The closest he ever came to the Lombardi Trophy was back in 2004, where his Eagles squad lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. In his team’s most-recent contest this past weekend, Kansas City defeated the Titans 35-24.

Representing the NFC will be the charging San Francisco 49ers, a team that emerged out of nowhere in 2019 after finishing 4-12 just a season ago.

Much of the praise should go to head coach Kyle Shanahan, who has taken an incredibly young roster and developed them into a championshipcaliber squad. With the aid of improved health, some free agent signings and draft picks, San Francisco found themselves back atop the NFC

West at 13-3, good enough for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

Opposite of the Chiefs, the Niners make their money on the defensive side of the ball.

In conclusion of the regular season, they ranked second in total yards allowed per game, eighth in points allowed and sixth in takeaways. This is a team that flat-out knows how to cause chaos in the backfield (partly thanks to the arrival of No. 2 overall pick Nick Bosa – nine sacks and 16 tackles for loss), notching 48 sacks (fifth) and a whopping 23 forced fumbles (first).

When these two teams face off on Feb. 2, the unstoppable force meets the immovable object. Led by 24-year-old gunslinger Patrick Mahomes, who already has one MVP and two Pro Bowl selections through his first three years, few could argue that the Chiefs don’t have, by far, the most potent offense in the league. In two games this postseason, Kansas City has posted a spectacular 419 yards per game of total offense. In fact, in their Divisional-Round versus the Houston Texans, they became the first playoff team since the Packers in 2007 to score touchdowns on six consecutive offensive drives, completing an unthinkable comeback after going down by 24 points in the first quarter. With a

deadly trio of tight end Travis Kelce (lead all tight ends in receiving yards in the regular season), wide receiver Tyreek Hill (two touchdown catches last week) and running back Damien Williams (425 yards and nine touchdowns in his five career playoff games), the Chiefs can come at you from any angle.

So, how exactly do the 49ers stack up against this? While KC boasts an undeniablyincredible offense, one area that’s been a glaring problem for them is their offensive line, letting up the league’s most sacks in 2019. This is something San Francisco can capitalize on by throwing plenty of pressure at Mahomes right from the very first snap. Their defense has played at a level where no team has even come close to beating them this postseason, as they defeated the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers both by 17 points. They’ve fared well against elite-caliber quarterbacks, most-recently giving Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers fits by causing him to throw two interceptions before the game was well out of hand.

When it comes to the opposite side of the ball for both squads, Kansas City has gone from a defensive punching bag to a respectable unit in 2019. They rank middle-of-

the-pack in terms of yards allowed per game (349.6) but have really clamped down on opposing passing-games since inking Pro Bowl safety Tyrann Mathieu to a threeyear, $42 million deal, finishing top-eight in that department. While they also possess a fruitful pass-rush, an area they’ve struggled in is against the run, surrendering 128.2 rushing yards per game, eighth-most in the league.

This is likely going to be the key matchup that will be the deciding factor in this game, as running the ball is something the 49ers have been superb at this season. During the regular season, they came in second behind only the Ravens with 144 rushing yards per game. Their rungame dominance was on full display last weekend against the Packers, where starting running back Raheem Mostert terrorized the Cheeseheads for 220 rushing yards and a remarkable four touchdowns.

No matter who comes out on top in Super Bowl LIV, fans can be certain they’ll be in for a great show. Vegas odds predict this game to be a tight one, as the Chiefs have currently opened as the 1.5-point favorites in Miami. However, this isn’t the first time the Niners have been overlooked, and they’ll be out to prove doubters wrong one last time.

Packers unexpected season comes to an end Sebastian gamboa courier staff

Coming into the 2019 season, there were mixed expectations for the Green Bay Packers. For two straight years, the Packers had missed the playoffs after injuries to future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Before the end of last season, the Packers fired head coach Mike McCarthy. In the offseason, however, the Packers made a number of moves which, despite the recent loss in the NFC Championship, would bring them a surprising amount of success this year.

The most major of changes was at the head coach position as McCarthy, aside from being the head coach, also ran the talented offense. This meant that whoever filled the job would have to have offensive experience and implement a new offense for Rodgers and Co. for the first time ever. The coach the Packers ended up hiring was Matt LaFleur. Prior to the Packers, LaFleur ’s recent NFL experience had come as being the quarterback coach for the Atlanta Falcons for two years (one of which they went to the Super Bowl) and offensive coordinator for

the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans for one year apiece. With mixed success, LaFleur was a controversial pick to lead the future Hall of Famer Rodgers and the team overall.

One thing that Packers teams always lacked was a strong defense. In the offseason, the Packers picked up a plethora of key defensive players. The most notable were the two linebackers referred to as “The Smith Brothers” (although not related) Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith. Coming from the Ravens and Redskins, respectively, it was unknown how the two would perform with only mixed results on their old teams. Also acquired was safety Adrian Amos. After the Packers trading former first round pick Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix for Chicago Bears safety Amos, fans and experts were wondering who ended up with the better safety. Finally on the defense, the Packers drafted linebackers Rashan Gary and Ty Summers as well as cornerback Darnell Savage.

However, on the offensive side of the ball, not many

personnel moves were made.

The Packers offense is helmed by quarterback Rodgers who stands behind the NFL’s sixth best offensive line according to Pro Football Focus and Football Outsiders. The Packers have a strong onetwo punch at running back with Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams as well as one of the best wide receivers in the league with Davante Adams.

In terms of the outcomes of the season, the Packers ended up finding a surprising amount of success. While much criticism has been made of the Packers and how they came by their wins, most of that criticism is based purely off of the fact that the Packers have never won like they did this year, but more on that later. The Packers finished 13-3 in the regular season, winning the NFC North divisional title and earning a first-round bye in the playoffs with home-field advantage in the Divisional Round, where they would defeat the Seattle Seahawks 23-28. The Packers would then go on to play away versus the San Francisco 49ers who defeated them earlier in the regular season by a score of 8-37.

This time, the Packers were defeated 20-37 where they only showed signs of life when it was too late.

Despite the biting NFC Championship loss, it is still wildly impressive they did

so well with a rookie coach with a brand new offensive scheme and a new defensive unit. He set franchise records for new coaches being the first in Packers history to win 10 games, get his team to the playoffs and not only win the division, but actually go undefeated in all divisional games.

The Packers defense did a great job this season, essentially winning a large number of the games for the Packers.

Whenever the offense struggled, the defense stepped in to hold the opponent at bay enough for the offense to heat up. The Smiths combined for a total of 25.5 (41 total for the team) sacks, the most for any pair of outside linebackers in the NFL. The team’s defense would also finish top 10 in interceptions and scoring.

The 2019 Packers offense has drawn the most criticism.

This year ’s offense was not so dependent on Rodgers, instead attempting a more balanced offense. This year was the breakout year for running back Aaron Jones who led the league in rushing touchdowns. Because of the uptick in the running game, the passing game showed less impressive stats from years before. It is because of this that many have criticized that Rodgers played poorly and that he is “overrated” among other

things. While there were some games with sup-par play and issues settling into the new offense and building chemistry with young receivers, Rodgers still came in as a top 10 passer at number eight and led the league in lowest pass-interception ratio, which is a strong indicator of quarterback play as it indicates skill and performance, regardless of scheme and scoring strategy. Also, despite a turf-toe injury, Davante Adams was fourth in the league in yards/game which what he played all 16 games likely would have put him as third or fourth in receiving overall.

All in all, the Green Bay Packers’ season is impressive considering all of the factors at play. After a disappointing loss in the NFC Championship Game, it is key that the Packers make off-season changes to improve upon their struggles from this year and make some updates schematically to better suit the talent they possess. The focus should be on acquiring talented veteran depth at receiver and tight end as well as maybe inside linebacker and cornerback. This is a crucial time for the Packers, though, as time is running out in Rodgers’ career and they may not have the same opportunities in the upcoming season as they did this year.

Western Illinois baseball Men's basketball releases spring 2020 schedule takes on Omaha

By David Koier courier staff Does the cold and snow have you down? Well here’s a thought to warm you up: baseball is just around the corner! That’s right, in just about 20 days, Major League pitchers and catchers report to spring training. That’s not even the most exciting news. Just four days after that, the Western Illinois Leatherneck baseball season kicks off.

This past Sunday (Jan. 19), Western Illinois baseball coach Andy Pascoe, who enters his first season at the helm after a stint as an assistant coach at Butler, announced the schedule which is highlighted by matchups against two different SEC teams. Last season, the Leathernecks recorded the most Summit League victories in team history (16), capping off a 22-31 season that saw the team make their third consecutive Summit League Championship.

The Purple and Gold begin a three game series to start off the season against the Tennessee Volunteers on Feb. 14 in Knoxville. Last season, the Volunteers etched a 40-21 season record including an impressive 27-9 home record. Tennessee’s season was highlighted by a trip to the Chapel Hill regional, a trip that saw the Volunteers’ season end after a 5-2 loss to the Tar Heels of North Carolina.

The following weekend, the Leathernecks travel to the Jackie Robinson Tournament. Western closes out their road series’ with back to back weekends against Tigers, the first in Memphis followed up by the ones in Missouri.

The Leathernecks travel home to Alfred D. Boyer Stadium for the first time on Tuesday, Mar. 10 when they face off against the Clarke Pride. Last season the Purple and Gold were able to dominate while at home, scoring 12 wins compared

to just seven losses.

Western Illinois opens conference play with a weekend series beginning Friday, Mar. 13 against the Mastodons of Purdue Fort Wayne.

Western was able to handle the Mastodons last season as the Leathernecks went 5-1 against the team. Three times on the season

GOLEATHERNECKS.COM

Jace Warkentien winds up to throw a pitch.

GOLEATHERNECKS.COM

Kevin Raisbeck sprints around the bases. last year, a game between the two teams ended before nine innings due to Western being up by 10 runs or more (seven innings twice and eight innings once). Fort Wayne looks to avenge a 7-45 overall (2-28 conference) record from

their 2019 campaign, a record that earned them dead last in The Summit League.

The following weekend, the Leathernecks play host to the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State.

The Jackrabbits were one game away from tying the eventual 2019 Summit League regular season champions Omaha Mavericks for the top spot. SDSU finished the season with a 28-22 season (19-10 conference) record, beating Western four of their six meetings last season.

For the third straight weekend in a row, the Leathernecks will once again host a Summit League rival as they face the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles Mar. 27-29. The Leathernecks had the Golden Eagles’ number last season as Western would not only sweep Oral Roberts at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium, but would head to Tulsa and take two of three on the road.

The Golden Eagles look to improve from a 29-26 (17-12) season which saw them take third in The Summit League Standings.

The final conference homestands of the season take place Apr. 10-12 against North Dakota State, and May 8-10 against reigning Summit League Champions Omaha.

Regarding the 2020 season, coach Pascoe told GoLeathernecks.com, “We are excited about this spring's schedule as it will be a challenging one for our guys, especially early.

Going on the road to two SEC schools and an AAC schedule will prepare our guys for the challenging conference schedule. We will also get an opportunity to go down to the Jackie Robinson classic to play against quality teams, including last year’s SWAC champions.

These early tests will tell us a lot about our team, while giving us an opportunity to play in front of some of the best baseball crowds in the country.”

Twitter: @DavidKoier

By Christopher Bean assistant sports editor

The Western Illinois men’s basketball team looks to get back on track tomorrow night when they take on the Mavericks from the University of Omaha.

The Leathernecks fell to 5-11 and 2-4 in The Summit League after their 87-70 loss to Oral Roberts last Thursday night.

Omaha comes in at 10-10, but currently on a two-game losing streak after winning their first three Summit League games.

The Leathernecks have been inconsistent so far this season, and they continued that in their 17-point loss to Oral Roberts.

Western shot it well in the first half, shooting 45.16 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc. However, they trailed by five at the half.

They were able to keep it a five-point game until 6:31 left in the game, when Oral Roberts ended the game on an 18-6 run.

Western’s offense didn’t shoot as well in the first half, shooting only 37.5 percent from the field, and like the first half; their defense couldn’t get a stop when they needed to. The 87 points from Oral Roberts is the 10th time the Leathernecks have given up 80 or more points. The Oral Roberts loss is a perfect summary of how their season has gone, playing well for 30-35 minutes then badly for the other five to 10 minutes which has cost them

many of their losses.

Omaha’s most recent loss is a hard one to swallow, after losing by 15 to the winless Pioneers on Saturday night.

Just like the Leathernecks, the road has not been kind to the Mavericks this year, with a 2-10 record. However, the script is flipped when they play at home, and they have yet to lose a game at home with an 8-0 record. The biggest reason for that is their offense. When they play at home they are averaging 80.5 points per game, versus averaging 67 points per game. The Mavericks have three players averaging double-digits: JT Gibson (14.2 points per game), KJ Robinson (14.1 points per game) and Matt Pile (11.9 points per game). Robinson is also fourth in three-point percentage, averaging 44.6 percent, right behind Ben Pyle in third, shooting 45.8 percent.

Pile is the only player to average more than 10 rebounds in The Summit League, grabbing more than 10.8 a game.

One of Western’s biggest weaknesses has been playing on the road. They are 1-5, while Omaha is a perfect 8-0 at home. The Leathernecks need to find momentum on the road because six of their last 10 games of the season will be played on the road. If they don’t pick it up, it will be another long disappointing season for the Leathernecks.

Auction items announced for WIU baseball Lead Off Dinner

By Bradley Piros sports editor

On Tuesday, the Western Illinois University baseball team announced some of the items that will be auctioned at the annual Lead Off Dinner and they include items for people of all ages.

The list includes the following: a Carlos Rodon autographed baseball, a Mitchell Trubisky autographed framed photo, a Bob Boone autographed framed photo, a Dennis Rodman autographed framed photo, game-worn Josh Harrison cleats, game-worn Fransisco Cervelli cleats, an Ernie Banks autographed framed jersey, a Chicago Cubs World Series scorecard, a Javier Baez autographed framed photo, two Cubs tickets vs. the Reds on July 19 and an Ernie Banks signed baseball.

On top of all the signed memorabilia, the Western Illinois baseball team will add in a few other items such as a baseball, jersey and

a helmet signed by the entire 2020 team. They will also auction off a VIP trip for two to watch the Leathernecks play in Iowa on April 28.

Lastly, the chance to be a bat boy for a game and a youth baseball camp (both 12 years or younger) will be sold off.

Single ticket prices for the event are $70 for adults and $40 for children eighth grade and under. Guests can save a little money by reserving a table for eight, which is $460 ($57.50 per person). There will also be VIP tables for $600 that includes two free drink tickets, VIP seating and a meet-and-greet with the staff.

Guests can reserve their spot online at LeathernecksTickets.com or mail in the completed registration form that can also be found on goleathernecks.com.

Anyone with further questions may contact Assistant Director of Ticketing, Events and Annual Fund, Shelby Borchardt at 309-298-1190.

Twitter: @bradjp08

BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR

C.J. Duff keeps an eye on the developing play.

BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR

Ben Pyle dribbles the ball up court for a shot.

BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR

Kobe Webster gets back to play defense.

BECCA LANGYS / PHOTO EDITOR

Zion Young makes a move to try and get open.