Opinions: The importance of mental health
Sports: Predictions in the Barclays Premiere League
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Wednesday, September 23, 2020 - Vol. 121 Issue 6
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COVID-19 cases compared
By Rachel Greene editor-in-chief
The number of COVID-19 cases on the Western Illinois University Macomb Campus continues to drop with each passing week of classes. When the Western Illinois University COVID-19 Dashboard was last published in an edition of the Western Courier, the amount of active cases for residential students on the Macomb Campus was 18 and non-residential students on the Macomb Campus was five. As of Tuesday night, however, the amount
of cases had dropped to just one active case among residential students and zero active cases among non residential students. As of Tuesday night, Illinois State University had three new cases, the University of Illinois had 42 new cases, Northern Illinois University had 16 new cases, Eastern Illinois University had 41 new cases and Southern Illinois University had five new cases. These cases represent the on-campus student population. In comparison to other Midwestern universities,
Western is doing the same or better in terms of stopping the spread of the virus. In researching other Midwestern universities’ COVID-19 Dashboards, Western Illinois University is on the low end of the spectrum in terms of new and active cases. The data from all of these schools, however, may not be entirely comparable. Western Illinois University has made testing elective. Other schools, like the University of Illinois, test more students more frequently. There, it is required that all students get tested twice a week. In com-
parison, testing at Western Illinois University is optional and depends on the willingness of students to subject themselves to testing. Other schools, like Northern Illinois University, required on campus students to test no more than seven days prior to moving in, requiring them to show a negative result to move in. Northern Illinois University students are also required to test when selected at random. While the data is readily available on the dashboard website for each institution, it remains a challenge to
compare any schools when each one has such a different protocol for handling COVID-19. Some schools have mandatory testing, which consequently leads to their percentage of cases being higher. Other schools boast a low percentage of tests, but this is from a much more limited testing pool and does not guarantee that the campus is COVID-19 free. In addition, some schools input data each day, while others’ information is updated weekly.
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This data is accurate as of Tuesday night.
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Wednesday, September 23, 2020
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Governor J.B. Pritzker promotes 2020 census in Macomb emma garcia assistant news editor
Ilinois Governor JB Pritzker made a stop in Macomb this past Friday to give a brief speech urging residents of the county to fill out their 2020 census forms, and to encourage all friends and family to do the same. There is only one way for the state to get a complete and accurate count of all residents and that is by participation and civic engagement. Every 10 years in this country, we count the number of people living in a state, and that number determines the funding from the federal government that goes towards
schools, childcare, hospitals and roads, as well as many other things. This number also determines how many representatives each state will have in congress for the next 10 years, and if you choose not to fill out your census form, a $100 fine will be put in place. Pritzker said that Illinois is doing well with the census rate, but Macomb’s rate is even lower than it was 10 years ago, and it’s lower than the statewide rate. “Just a one percent undercount could result in the state losing hundreds of millions of dollars in
federal funds” He goes on to say that the form takes less than 10 minutes to fill out, which can be done online at my2020census. gov or you can call the office of State Representative Norine Hammond, and she will provide you with assistance. Pritzker emphasizes that there is no question about citizenship on the census form this year so that everyone living in this country can be accurately accounted for. The Supreme Court has temporarily delayed the Trump administration from adding a question about citizenship to the 2020 census so that all communities could be properly funded. When immigrant communities are underfunded, it affects all communities of the state. After several other speak-
ers encouraged the public to participate in the census, Governor Pritzker returned to the podium for questions. “I want you to know that Western Illinois is on my mind,” he said when asked about the recent shooting “Obviously we’re all deeply concerned to make sure our schools, our universities, our K12 institutions and so on are safe for people to attend. It sounds like this was a somewhat isolated incident between two people.” Emiliano Vera, Maya Lee and Morrow Owens attended the speech and asked Pritzker if he would continue to use his power to halt companies such as Ameren from shutting off utilities. “It’s been my goal from the very beginning of COVID-19 to make sure that our families
are protected from all of the effects, not just the health and safety but also the financial effects.” The three were disappointed by his answer and began to chant for him to use his power to prevent these shut offs, which caused Pritzker to leave the podium after just two questions. “This should be a top priority if we are actually going to conduct a good census,” Vera said. “If people are not in their homes because they can’t pay their utility bills and they get shut off, that is damaging our COVID response, it’s damaging our census participation and it’s just being cruel to people who haven’t been able to work for months during the middle of a pandemic.”
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r-greene2@wiu.edu PHOTO BY FELICIA SELMON
Governor Pritzker addressing the citizens of Macomb.
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When thinking about one’s overall wellness, the concept of physical health is what is talked about first and most often. People usually focus on whether or not the person is physically fit, are they a healthy weight, do they have any health conditions that would deem them “unhealthy.” In the time of many unprecedented situations and stressful events such as the current pandemic, these are what people talk about when they
talk about health, however, there is another element that is just as important. Mental and emotional health and wellbeing are just as instrumental to one’s overall wellness as physical health. Now more than ever, we need to be paying attention to our mental health and really make sure that we keep up with that just as much as we would our physical health any other day. Self care and reflection are two vital parts to
upkeep and checking in on mental health. Something that is often misconstrued about self care is that it is as easy as “treat yourself” every day or on numerous occasions. Unfortunately, self care is much more than treating yourself. Taking care of yourself and putting in the work to take care of your body and mind, that is self care, and it’s not always glamorous. Sometimes it is hard, painful and ugly, and that is okay. It is okay for things to be hard, so long as you give yourself grace and patience as you continue to learn and grow. On Thursday, the Western Illinois University University Counselling Center will be holding one of its most popu-
lar events. Fresh Check Day is a mental health awareness and suicide prevention event that is put on each year by the University Counselling Center. In the midst of a pandemic, the University Counseling Center was still able to find a way to host this important University-wide event. Fresh Check Day will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on an online format this year. Fresh Check Day is completed by universities nationwide as a suicide prevention and mental health awareness event. There will be a drawing for an Amazon gift card and pizza gift cards for those who attend. Fresh Check Day is a great way to check in on yourself and see how you are doing mentally and emotion-
ally, and I highly encourage everyone to attend if able. Again, just because it is not the norm and it is still a bit taboo to discuss mental and emotional health and wellbeing, do not let that stop you from taking care of yourself! Just as much as you would rest if you broke your ankle, it is important to rest if you need a mental break. It is okay to not be okay, but it is so important to get help when you need it. People do care and more people than you may realize will be there to help and support you where you need it. Reach out to your support system of the University Counselling Center if you feel you need extra support, and do your best to work toward a self-care routine.
Introducing the Staff Hi! My name is Rachel Greene and I am the current Editor-in-Chief of the Western Courier. Previously, I served as the EDGE Editor here. I am currently a junior and am a Communication Major with an Event Planning Minor. On campus, I am very involved. I currently serve as the Sigma Sigma Sigma President, the Vice President of Finance for University Union Board and the Vice President of Communications for Rock-
yTHON. A fun fact about me is that my favorite thing in the world is coffee and I am a camp counselor in the summer! I have always loved to write and had an interest in journalism, so the opportunity to run the Western Courier is super exciting for me! While this year is truly a year like no other, our amazing staff continue to persevere and produce newsworthy content for the Western Illinois University community.
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Predicting Barclays Premier League nine best teams
Last season, it was a twoteam race to win the Barclays Premier League. Liverpool won the league finishing with 99 points while Manchester City finished with 81. The third and fourth place teams, Manchester United and Chelsea both finished with 66 points. Needless to say, it wasn’t much of a competition toward the end of the season. Will this year be the same, or do we have some new contenders for the 202021 season? Of the 20 teams in the league, only nine of them really have the firepower and quality to win the hardest league in the world. So, let’s start from the bottom I suppose. The Wo l v e rh a m p t o n Wanderers have one player that can make or break their season based on his own success and that is forward Adama Traore. Last season he made 27 shots and only scored four goals and assisted nine. He’s not afraid to shoot, though, taking 43 shots. However, only 12 made it on target. If the Wolves have a chance at all, Traore will have to do a little bit more, but it doesn’t seem likely at the moment as he is still in quarantine after testing positive for COVID19. It’s not looking too good for Wolverhampton. The next team are the 5000 to one odds beating Leicester City who won the league in the 2015-16 season. These guys finished in fifth last season with 62 points, which isn’t a bad finish for them. Obviously, they’d love to be
playing in the Champions League, but that’ll have to wait until next season. Forward Jamie Vardy scored an astonishing 23 goals in 35 games, but he can’t do it all himself. They won the league four years ago because they had an overall solid, well-balanced team. They can’t rely on Vardy to do it all again, however, if Vardy is on fire again this season, they could sneak into the top four if they beat a few of these bigger teams coming up later on the list. Next up is Everton. They just signed James Rodriguez for an undisclosed amount, and I think that he’ll be the key that finishes them well above the mediocre 12th place they finished a season ago. They just opened their season with a 1-0 win against Tottenham Hotspurs, so they are off on the right foot. Rodriguez played almost the whole match. I don’t think Everton can finish top five, but they’ll certainly do better than 12th. Those are three teams that aren’t quite there yet to win the league, I think. Coming up now are three heavy hitters who always have a chance, it’s just whether or not they can stay consistent and get results against one another. Let’s start with the Spurs. We already discussed their week one loss to Everton, which doesn’t look promising, but they sure do have the talent to make a run at the title. The problem is, since this league is normally so tight and competitive, one bad loss like this could be the differ-
Christian Pulisic dribbles it in the open field.
ence between first and second come May. Either way, the front three of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Heung-Min Son will be tough to contain this season, but you can’t get blanked by Everton week one and expect to win the league. They’ll need to prove a little more consistency if they want to have a chance. Next is Arsenal. I’ll admit Arsenal is my team, but they are never really reliable. They opened up the new season with a 3-0 win over Fulham and currently sit in first place because of goal differential, but can they stay there? They made two key splashes in the transfer market to strengthen their midfield, which was admittedly their biggest weakness. They added Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid and Willian from Chelsea. The latter assisted on two of the goals in their first game and is already proving to be a good signing. And then they still have a well-rounded front three of Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe. These three combined for 37 goals last season, with Aubameyang putting 22 of those away himself. They’re off to a good start, but I still think they’ll finish fifth. Manchester United will finish either fourth or somewhere in the bottom half of the table. They have the talent, it’s just whether or not they can come together and prove themselves. They struggled last season down the stretch, and they can’t afford to start this season off like they ended the last one. Their new signee is midfielder Donny van de Beek from Ajax. He’ll have to prove himself but will fit in perfectly next to Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba to really solidify their midfield. Add in the young guns of Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood
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and Anthony Martial and suddenly United looks pretty strong. It’s even rumored that Gareth Bale could sign from Real Madrid to really spruce up the attack. With arguably the best goalkeeper in the world in David de Gea, they are an all-around stacked team. Maybe they’ll surprise me this season, but it’ll have to wait as their matchday one fixture was postponed. Chelsea finished fourth last season and I think they can do better. They made the biggest splash in the transfer market with five terrific signings. They strengthened their attack with Hakim Ziyech from Ajax and Timo Werner from RB Leipzig, their midfield with Thiago Silva from Paris-SaintGermain and Kai Havertz from Bayern Leverkusen, and even their defense with Ben Chilwell from Leicester City. Werner scored 28 goals last season in the Bundesliga and assisted eight. Put this guy next to the American youngster Christian Pulisic and you have something special. If all these guys clique and figure it out, then I think this will be the most fun team to watch in the whole league and I know they’ll be able to finish in the top three. Finally, let’s talk about the two biggest hitters of them all. I’ll start with Manchester City. After trying to persuade Lionel Messi out of Barcelona all summer, they really didn’t do much else in the transfer market. But they still have the second-best offense in the league. Raheem Sterling scored 20 goals last season, Sergio Aguero scored 16, Gabriel Jesus scored 14, Kevin De Bruyne scored 13 and Riyad Mahrez scored 11. Their offense just runs deep, and that’s what will win the league. I’m saying it now, City will go back and
Mohamed Salah striking the ball.
win the league this season. You thought just their offense runs deep, no, it’s also their defense. Kyle Walker, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy and Nicolas Otamendi, just to name a potential starting four. This team has depth, a little more than the last team I’m going to talk about. That team is Liverpool, last year ’s champions. They will not repeat. You could call it a shaky start in their first game against Leeds United where they barely escaped with a 4-3 win. They looked awful out there. Sure, their attack is still lethal with the front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. These guys combined to a total 46 goals last season, with the majority of those assists coming from the defense, the two best wing backs in the world right now, Trent AlexanderArnold and Andy Robertson. Sure, they have the best center back in the game right now in Virgil van Dijk and one of the best keepers in Alisson. All this star power, but I still don’t think they’ll repeat. City is going to be more consistent this season and it will be a race until the finish unless Liverpool are the ones who can’t keep it together which could happen. All great teams come crashing down eventually, and I think this is the year for Liverpool. So, those are the nine teams who could win the premier league. Sorry to the other 11 that I didn’t mention, better luck next year. Regardless, this season is going to be fun. There’s a lot of new faces in the league ready to make a name for themselves or prove that they have what it takes to play in England. Hopefully someone doesn’t run away with the title too early this season.
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