Opinions: Show your support at home games.
Sports: Leathernecks set sights on Tennessee Tech.
WesternCourier.com
Friday, September 20, 2019 - Vol. 120 Issue 14
@WesternCourier
Acting President and Interim Vice President for Student Services answer students questions By Marc Ramirez news editor
JOSH PURNELL/ COURIER STAFF
Tuesday’s Student Government Assocation’s meeting opened up with guest speakers John Smith and Interim President Martin Abraham. Smith currently serves as the Interim Vice President of Student Services at Western Illinois University. Smith, previous director of Beu Health Center at Western, was named VPSS on July 15 following the departure of Ron Williams. Smith started his speech by reassuring the room that their voices do matter and he will do what he needs to in order to make sure that they are heard. “We want students to have a voice in the direction that the University is going,” Smith said. “Without hearing from you, we are doing our best with the feedback that we are getting.” He continued that by saying through Higher Education we are highly encouraged to take leadership roles and use the voices that we have in the positions that we hold. Next to the podium, was
Abraham, who spoke on how his three months at Western have been filled with going out and meeting with students and members of the community. “We are here as a University for our students,” Abraham said. “If it weren’t for you there would be no reason for us and you need to keep that in mind when you’re thinking about what’s important to you. We need to know, we need to hear from you, so we can be responsive for whatever those needs are.” Abraham stated that he is working perpetually to try and get student’s voices heard throughout various meeting groups across campus. In efforts to do this, Abraham is attempting to set up a Student’s Roundtable, which would serve as an opportunity for students to air their comments, questions and concerns. “I find that every time I talk with students I get some great information and some great ideas,” he said.
Student Government Association page 2
JIMMY PIERSON/PRODUCTION MANAGER
By Christopher Gibson
courier staff The Western Illinois Football team will be back in action on Saturday, looking for their first win of the season’s campaign. Set to kickoff at 3 p.m., the Leathernecks are facing Tennessee Tech at Hanson field. The Leathernecks are coming off their first home loss, their third straight, to Montana State by 23-14. The defense shined in the first half, keeping the game tied at seven going into the half. However, the offense couldn’t seem to score, only mustering a touchdown per half. The first half touchdown came in the second quarter, when junior quar-
terback Connor Sampson connected with his wide out, junior Dennis Houston for a 65-yard touchdown pass. Their only other bright spot came in the third quarter when senior Jared Drake rushed for a three-yard touchdown run to make the game a three-point difference. The offense racked up plenty of yards, for a total of 373 yards and had some good drives going for them before they were stopped due to penalties. The Leathernecks had nine penalties that were called on them, resulting in 105 lost yards in the process. This was the main killer for the team and this will definitely be something they
will be looking to fix against the Golden Eagles. Another key for the offense moving forward will be taking care of the ball. The Leathernecks had two fumbles and an interception in their previous game. The defense needs to play better against Tennessee Tech than they did last week against Montana State. The defense allowed a total of 343 all-purpose yards and didn’t record a sack for the first time all season. If our Fighting Leathernecks are hoping to win come Saturday, the defense needs to go after and pound the Golden Eagle’s quarterback. Tennessee Tech is going into Saturday with a 2-1 record, win-
ning their last contest by a score of 31-14 over Virginia-Wise. Led by sophomore Bailey Fisher under center, the Golden Eagles are averaging an astounding 418 total yards per game so far. Fisher averages 221 passing yards a game, often connecting with wide outs Darrius Stafford and Austin Hicks, who both have 10 receptions through their first three games; the pair averages 58.3 and 57 receiving yards per game, respectively, and Hicks has a touchdown to go along with his impressive receiving numbers on the season. The Golden Eagles also get a good amount of help from the ground game from running backs An-
drew Goldsmith and David Gist, both of whom average over 45 rushing yards a game and both have scored a touchdown in the process. This means that Western’s defense should have their hands full come Saturday. However, this is a team that is hungry for a win. While the first three games haven’t come out in our favor, this team knows how important it is to win before heading into conference play, because once the team hits conference play, nothing comes easy. This should be a winnable game for Western Illinois, as long as the team comes ready to play, and more importantly, ready to win.