Western Courier | March 5th, 2018

Opinions: Jared Kushner contributions are negative.

Edge: MGMT adapts to a new sound.

Sports: Men fall by six in first round of championship tournament.

Monday, March 5, 2018 - Vol. 118 Issue 63

Leathernecks thrash Mavericks Clemens scores 36 points in 96-56 victory

By Devon Greene sports editor

GOLEATHERNECKS.COM

From left to right, Emily Clemens, Taylor Higginbotham and Sam Pryor race up the court in their 96-56 victory over the Omaha Mavericks Sunday afternoon.

The Western Illinois University Leatherneck women’s basketball team cruised their way to a near wire-to-wire victory in a 97-57 rout of the University of Omaha Mavericks.

The Leathernecks dominated the Mavericks in both of their season meetings. Western manhandled Omaha on their home court with a 90-51 victory and it was more of the same when they blew-out the Mavericks in Macomb, Ill. with a 103-68 victory.

The first quarter was tightly contested by both teams. Western’s junior forward Taylor Higginbotham opened the game with an easy layup and Omaha responded quickly with a layup of their own. Junior guard Jess Walter gave the Mavericks their only lead of the game at 5-4 with a three-point jumper.

Senior point guard Emily Clemens and Higginbotham ac-

counted for 13 of the Leathernecks’ 24 points in the first quarter and 40 of the 56 points in the first half. Clemens was scoring at an extremely efficient rate in the first half, going 8-9 from the field and 7-8 from the free throw line. Higginbotham was not far behind shooting 7-10 from the field and 1-2 from the three-point line.

The Mavericks were able to stick with the Purple and Gold in the first quarter in large part because of their three-point shooting. Both teams attempted 17 shots in the first quarter and even though Western finished shooting 64 percent from the field, far better than the 41 percent from Omaha, the Leathernecks found themselves only leading 24-20. The Mavericks sunk five three-pointers in the first quarter that kept them in the game.

Basketball page 6

Plungers chill out at Spring Lake

SARA REMAR/ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Macomb community members participate in the annual Polar Plunge for the Special Olympics of Illinois at Spring Lake Sunday afternoon.

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Friday, March 2, 2018

NEWS

William Turkington courier staff

Western Illinois University’s Geographic Information Systems Center helped law enforcement locate a missing Macomb woman in a heavily wooded area not far from her home at 10 a.m. Feb. 23, injured and immobile.

GIS Center Director Chad Sperry assisted with the search on Thursday until rain forced them to retire for the evening. The crew, comprised of 20 volunteers, search and rescue teams from Mercer, Brown and Peoria counties, the McDonough County Sheriff’s Department, firefighters from Emmet-Chalmers, Industry, Colchester, Adair and Bushnell, the Illinois State Police, and the WIU Office of Public Safety gathered at 8 a.m. on Friday to begin a ground search. Rescue workers heard the woman yelling for help and quickly located her.

“The relationship between GIS and law enforcement is a natural one,” said Sperry.

“As technologies such as UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) develop, their clear benefits to search and rescue necessitate their use.”

GIS’s proficiency is such technology has made them a crucial part of modern search and rescue missions, and this wasn’t the first time they helped law enforcement with cases of missing people.

“Law enforcement and GIS experts have worked together many times in McDonough county on search and rescue missions,” said Sperry. “This would be the case in many other areas of the U.S. as well.”

Sperry was responsible for providing UAV support with both thermal and true color cameras. Sperry also made aerial and topographic maps

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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which are vital for searching dense areas unfamiliar to search and rescue workers.

“We can use GPS technology in handheld units to mark clue locations such as footprints, items of clothing, evidence of campsites, and candy wrappers or food and drink containers,” said Sperry. “We have also started developing smart phone support that allows real time tracking of search teams so the search coordinator can access team locations and patterns at any time.”

Sperry thanked his team of students who assisted in field operations comprised of Josh Anderson, Adam Fackler, and Edgar Rodriguez. GIS Center staff members Keisuke Nozaki and Renee Buker provided support from the office. But even having gone through these situations many times, the team still feels very real emotions in a situation of this magnitude.

“There were wide ranging emotions due to the lifethreatening situation facing our missing person, a heightened sense of urgency, and the adrenaline associated with the strong desire to locate the subject,” said Sperry. “Finding the subject was euphoric for most of the participants.”

As technology becomes more advanced and essential to our everyday functions, so does it in the emergency management applications industry.

Professor Sperry encourages students who are interested in the technology and its application to visit their center.

“We encourage any interested students to take a GIS course or stop in the WIU GIS Center for more information on GIS or the GIS minor, housed in the Department of Geography,” said Sperry.

“GIS has reached a critical mass and its applications are immeasurable.”

STAFF MEMBERS editor-in-chief Nicholas Ebelhack NA-Ebelhack@wiu.edu assistant news editor Marc Ramirez MA-Ramirez3@wiu.edu assistant news editor Steven Barnum SS-Barnum@wiu.edu opinions editor Ryan Zurek RP-Zurek@wiu.edu sports editor Devon Greene DJ-Greene@wiu.edu assistant sports editor Haley Richards H-Richards@wiu.edu edge editor Baylee Brynteson BM-Brynteson@wiu.edu copy editor Brie Coder B-Coder@wiu.edu

proofreader Valerie Clemens VN-Clemens@wiu.edu proofreader Alexis Lowe AL-Lowe@wiu.edu proofreader Tacuma Venzant T-Venzant@wiu.edu photo editor Becca Langys RE-Langys@wiu.edu assistant photo editor Sara Remar SE-Remar@wiu.edu production manager Jimmy Pierson JM-Pierson@wiu.edu business manager Faith Rucker F-Rucker@wiu.edu advertising manager Patryk Mazur P-Mazur@wiu.edu adviser Will Buss WJ-Buss@wiu.edu

PUBLISHING AND CIRCULATION

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.

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By Josh Bowling

courier staff

Western Illinois University students who are descendants of Illinois State Police officers and possible LEJA students are eligible for a new scholarship.

LEJA Professor Dennis Bowman has established the Illinois State Police Memorial Scholarship Endowment at Western.

Undergraduate and graduate students whose parents worked for the Illinois State Police and have at least a 3.0 grade point average, will be able to apply for this scholarship beginning this spring.

The scholarship is available to all majors, however it will be awarded to an LEJA major if no descen-

Monday, March 5, 2018

dants of the Illinois State Police apply. The amount is $1,000 for each year. Preference for the scholarship will be awarded to students whose parents were killed or injured in the line of duty working for the Illinois State Police.

“When any student loses a parent, the financial burden of paying for college can be overwhelming,” said Brad Bainter, Vice President for Advancement and Public Services. “Regardless of their major, these types of students will benefit from additional support. Scholarships such as the new Illinois State Police Memorial Scholarship Endowment make Western even more appealing to these students.”

Bowman previously had estab-

lished another scholarship at Western. Five years ago, the Pete Lackey Memorial Scholarship was created to honor a former colleague of Bowman who was killed in the line of duty back in 1972.

“This scholarship furthers the relationship between Western and Illinois State Police, who are active in hiring Western graduates,” said Bowman.

“Not only will it help the individual student financially, but it will enhance an already great existing relationship between Western and the Illinois State Police,” Bowman said. “I think that is important between any law enforcement agency and academia. You need those positive relationships beyond just

NEWS 3

hiring graduates.”

Those relationships, according to Bowman, are influential in developing the next generation of law enforcement professionals.

“These students are attached to the Illinois State Police because their father was a trooper or their mother was a criminal investigator” Bowman said. “They just feel a strong bond with the agency.

This scholarship is a fulfillment of my work and contributions here. Knowing the reputation of the department and the quality of the students, I have seen a great relationship between this program and the Illinois State Police.”

This scholarship makes Western’s already law enforcement program, which attracts more students than

any other academic discipline, even more enticing for potential students according to Bowman.

"The pursuit of a higher education standard in law enforcement is something that has been debated for decades and finally, in my professional time, I've seen that develop and become a reality which has been very rewarding," said Bowman.

A reward to Bowman, is that Western has continued to develop over the programs existence.

“It's no secret that WIU has one of the strongest LEJA programs in the country, both at the undergraduate and graduate level. That reputation is what draws law enforcement majors to the university.”

Monday, March 5, 2018

4 OPINIONS

Since the beginning of the Trump administration, there has been a lot of talk about the role of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The senior advisor has recently been the center of controversy surrounding his involvement in the blockade of Qatar. This, on top of the fact that he recently lost his security clearance, would have been enough to bring the Obama administration to a screeching halt. However, as we have seen time and time again, Republicans are not held to the same standards as Democrats.

This scandal should be far

larger than it is. The allegations against Kushner are that he backed a blockade on Qatar because they refused to fund his property in New York. According to Newsweek, his family business sought funding for their building from Qatari finance minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi in April 2017. They were refused. A month later, Kushner was a driving behind White House support for a blockade of the Gulf nation led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Not only has Qatar been a long term ally of the US, but they also house

one of the largest US military bases in the Middle East, so this blockade put US troops in danger as well.

Sunday, US Senator Chris Murphy went on ABC News and stated, “If it’s true he’s got to got.” I wholeheartedly agree with Senator Murphy.

The idea that Kushner would unnecessarily support putting US troops in danger for his personal financial gain is untenable. In fact, his actions are pretty much the exact definition of corruption.

It is time for Kushner to step down. He no longer has topsecret security clearance, so he can no longer fulfill his duties as an advisor to the president. He has been accused of abusing his position for his own personal gain. This misuse of power is so flagrant that he should be removed

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from power immediately. But I understand that is unlikely to happen. Trump isn’t going to oust his own son-in-law, and Republicans are never going to get around to actually governing this country.

Time and time again through the Trump administration we have seen the same pattern of behavior. Trump, or

a member of his administration is accused of corruption, details come out that clearly reveal shady behavior, and nothing is done, because the public has moved on to the next scandal, and the Republicans in control of Congress have no incentive to ensure that the corrupt officials in the White House see justice.

Editorial Policy The editoral views of the Western Courier shall be confined to this editorial and are to be separate from news coverage otherwise noted. The editoral presented is based on the ideas and views of the WC editoral 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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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.

2018 Spring Semester Editorial Board Edge Editor - Baylee Bryntesson Editor-in-Cheif - Nicholas Ebelhack Opinions Editor - Ryan Zurek

Letter to the Editor “We’re people, not pawns,” read a quote from Student Member of the Board of Trustees, Wil Gradle, and the subtitle to the front page Wednesday. However, by censuring UPI, SGA has vacated their own stated neutrality and have become pawns, knowingly or not, of the University Administration, the other negotiating party. They have here engaged in the same unethical information asymmetry they accuse UPI of committing. By

their own admission, as seen in Speaker Patrick Quinlan’s Letter to the Editor, the negotiation process “does not involve students, and for good reason.” Then why, I ask, is SGA inserting itself into them? While impartiality is their claim, it is not supported by their actions. While I do agree that instructors should not be using class time to promote UPI goals for the negotiation, there is nothing wrong with members picketing or passing out flyers,

the Administration has those same capabilities, should they chose to do so. SGA’s claim that students should be removed from the negotiation process is also right, but they have not furthered that goal with this measure; perhaps they should by removing themselves, as a student body, from any future discussions of the matter.

Brendon Kepple Political Science Student

Monday, March 5, 2018

E2 EDGE

In 1958 Physicist William Higinbotham created the first video game, long before “Pong” was ever thought of. From the last decade up until now, people have been concerned with how video games affect society. The most recent controversy within the video game community is how drugs are used in their games.

Data scientist Logan Freedman from the Archstone Organization, a drug awareness research organization, analyzed how drugs were used in some of the 100-best selling video games from all consoles. The results are quite interesting along with

his conclusion to the matter.

Freedman took notes on real and fictional drugs used within these games. The issue with the prevalence of drugs in games is not simply their existence, but the way they’re used. He found that drug use in video games are often shown in a positive light, giving characters a performance boost and unlikely strength.

Across all the genres he researched, action games feature the most drugs with a little over 50 percent. Roleplaying games come in second with 20 percent of games mentioning drugs in some capacity. The last set was

MGMT

ple looking at their phones too much. The song is kind of dreamy-sounding.

The track “James” begins with someone giggling. The singing is low in pitch. This song is good for a rainy day.

“Days That Got Away” sounds a little like “Vaporwave.” If you haven’t heard “Vaporwave” or don’t know what it is, go check it out.

You’ll kind of know what I’m talking about. The track is very much like their previous hits, yet slower. You can hear the similarities in musical style.

“One Thing Left To Try” is a definite banger. This track is happy and sad at the same time. Its very 80s-sounding in a way. I like it a lot; its something to dance to.

“When You’re Small” is a sad song with acoustic guitar. Its good for when you want to chill and read a book.

“Hand it Over” is a good song for when your riding in the car, watching a sunset after a good day. It’s also a good conclusion to the record.

“Little Dark Age” by MGMT is a must-listen for fans of the duo and pop-fans alike.

They are back with a new hit album and all the tracks are good. The overall theme and mood is gloomy, yet cool.

Gothic yes, but also new age, and synths are heavily used.

This album is good because now we know MGMT aren’t going away.

from E1

The first track is called “She Works Out Too Much.” The lyrics are about a relationship that isn’t working out.

It has a lot of references to workout videos. This track is different from all the other tracks, because it doesn’t follow the gloomy goth style the others do. Its very catchy and upbeat. It’s weird, but in a fun way.

The next song is the title track, Little Dark Age. Its synth-pop sounds are very nostalgic. The lyrics are well written: “I grieve in stereo, the stereo sounds strange.

I know that if you hide, It doesn’t go away.” The overall mood of this song is dark and scary. It’s definitely a banger.

They made a music video for “Little Dark Age.” It includes a lot of scary imagery put together. There is a girl who walks into an abandoned place, and finds a lot of scary things. There are images of fruit and wood being chopped. People with expressionless faces stare at things. There is a magician that performs a bunch of tricks. Occasionally you see the members of MGMT, accompanied by a goth girl, playing their synths and singing. Its overall very weird.

TSLAMP sings about peo-

Monday, March 5, 2018

shooter games with just under 20 percent.

He also mentions in his studies that games either use real life drugs or fictional named drugs that represent some type of real world drug. In the Max Payne series for example, the protagonist’s use of painkillers help replenish his health, though he is quite addicted to them.

Also in the 2017 game “Prey” drinking alcohol replenishes health, at the cost of briefly blurry vision. In the Elder Scrolls series, the characters use fictional drugs called crystal, that is smoked out of a glass pipe. Freedman said that crystal in the game resembled crack cocaine. In other games which were not mentioned, he noticed that players were encouraged to make drug cocktails to stay awake, gain energy and of course to get high.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), which assigns age and content ratings for video games, is “happy with it’s drug related guidance.”

A spokeswoman for the ESRB said to BBC “The ESRB’s robust rating submission process ensures accurate, detailed and reliable rating information that parents are aware of, regularly use and trust to help decide which games and apps are appropriate for their children and family.” She also added “However, given the context in which drugs appear in a game, the ESRB may assign a restrictive age rating, along with either the drug reference or use-of-drugs content descriptor.”

Even though Freedman researched the effects of drug usage in games, he went on to tell reporters including

Write For EDGE Contact

bm-brynteson@wiu.edu

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Rolling Stone that he doesn’t want game content to be changed in anyway. Instead he wants parents to be mindful of what their children are playing.

Will this study affect the way we play video games?

Probably not, but still it’s an interesting study.

Another research subject on the rise again is if video games cause incidences like the recent mass school shooting that happened in Florida last month. This subject has been studied numerous times since the 1999 Columbine High School shooting and has the same results, that there is no correlation.

Whether researchers are looking at video games and their usage of drugs, or if violent video games cause crime, most researchers can agree that it’s okay for people to still play video games.

E3 EDGE

Monday, March 5, 2018

Evan Williamson

staff writer

The road to WrestleMania continued Feb 25, for the Elimination Chamber event.

As the superstars of Monday Night Raw competed in a variety of matches. The night started with the preshow which featured a tag team match featuring Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson versus The Miztouarage (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel).

It was a relatively basic match. Nothing happened, but it was a nice way to get the crowd warmed up for the main show. The main show kicked off with a historymaking match. It was the first ever Women’s Elimination Chamber match. An elimination chamber match is a sixsuperstar match, that takes place in a steel cage with a roof on it and four pods that house the other participants.

Two would start the match

Today’s entertainment industry is arguably the driving force of culture.

Hollywood stars have reality shows, bridging the gap between stardom and common life. Competition shows like “America’s Got Talent” reign supreme as the number one watched shows, besides sporting events.

With all this being said, it is safe to say that the hunger for success is stronger than ever.

The Internet has set a virtual stage for anyone to perform instantly to the whole world.

This implements a thought into the American mind that anyone who’s anyone can be

and every five minutes another participant would enter.

A participant is eliminated by pinfall or submission. The last one standing wins. The Raw Women’s Championship was on the line, with Alexa Bliss the defending champion taking on Bayley, Mandy Rose, Mickie James, Sonya Deville, and Sasha Banks. Out of all the matches, I think this one was the least predictable which made it that more enjoyable. The women used the chamber as a weapon like their male counterparts. During the match, we saw a teased heel turn as Banks attacked Bayley (though it is every woman for themselves).

This could be a preview of a future match at WrestleMania. A problem I had with the match was that Sonya

famous and successful in that respect. Consequentially, the American people are impatient and want gratification immediately.

Let’s slow down. Literally.

Entertainment in media used to be a slow and savory occasion. “Little Orphan Annie” on CBS radio lasted an entire hour with brief commercials of Ovaltine intermittently.

There were no flashes of light and there was no ability to speed it up or slow it down. Most importantly, there was no way to stream and listen on-demand.

Fast forward to the age of

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Deville was the second woman eliminated. She is a former mixed martial arts fighter and I feel like they could build her into a stronger character.

Alexa Bliss was victorious, at the end of the day. After the match, she had an inring interview. One of my favorite things in the modern era of WWE is breaking character (kayfabe). Bliss who is a heel broke character for a few moments before going right back into her persona in a brilliant display of why she is great on the mic.

She told ESPN “Those were real tears for a minute, and then I had to be mean. It was great because I knew what my next move was. I was very excited to how the crowd was going to react. I am very proud of the women’s division and genuinely happy that this happened and the fact that I got the “You deserve it!” chant from the crowd, I don’t take that for granted; it’s amazing for our fans to do, but at the end of the day, I’m the bad guy and I can’t have them cheer-

ing me. It wouldn’t be very Bliss of me if I thanked them for cheering me.”

The next match was a tag team championship match, which I believe was just to fill up time. It wasn’t a terrible match, but it was forgettable.

Going back to the women it was Auska versus Nia Jax in a back and forth match that resulted in Auska staying undefeated. After the match, Jax tackled Auska through the barricade, much to the delight of Bliss.

We then saw the matchup between “Woken” Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt. It was a good match, but it was pretty much just a preview for the WrestleMania match up that they are most likely going to have. One month ago I talked about “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey joining the WWE and on Sunday she signed a RAW contract.

In a segment that everyone had been waiting for since the Royal Rumble, Rousey stood in the ring with Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, and Kurt Angle. Her stipulations for the contract was that she

wanted no special treatment and wanted to be at WrestleMania. It was then announced that she would be competing at WrestleMania.

After a series of somewhat comedic events that revealed Stephanie McMahon and Triple H using her. Rousey put Triple H through a table, which was awesome. Stephanie then slapped her and ran away. With Rousey signing her contract, I think it is a safe bet that three years since the teased mixed tag team match, it is all but official for this year.

The final match was a seven man elimination chamber match. It was already pretty much established who was going to win but it was still decent. Roman Reigns won, much to the disappointment of most of the fans, and earned the right to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania.

Overall it wasn’t the best event, but its purpose is to build to on April 8 for WrestleMania 34, which should be another history making event.

sitcom television and longseries programs, shows like “Friends” aired once a week for 20 weeks. Each episode was only 30 minutes and each left the viewers with immense cliffhangers.

This type of viewership is dwindling. Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu offer series whose episodes are available at once.

While “Stranger Things”, “Handmaid’s Tale”, and “Orange is the New Black” are all quality shows with A-list actors, where is the hook?

Are the writers afraid that viewers won’t stick around to see what happens next? Do the viewers require instant closure to a situation lasting an entire season?

Well, the writers are certainly justified to think this way.

The average American now spends over eight hours a day in front of a screen.

Whether that be TV, a tablet, or a phone, we are constantly connected 100 percent of the time, at our disposal.

This is both a blessing and a curse.

We can find information out instantly at the push of a button. Well, not a button because phones don’t have buttons. The entire world is literally at our fingertips.

Referring to a previous article, we are living in the midst of a technological revolution. We have been exposed to a tsunami of innovations that are available to everyone.

That’s where repercussions appear. We don’t know how to wait anymore.

The American mind has been trained to expect amazing things to appear seemingly as the tides change.

No, instantly learning about a serious event like the

Parkland Florida shooting is not a bad thing. That is where technology has prevailed.

However, the freedom and openness of the internet has allowed many people to expect everything to be readily accessible.

It is safe to say that instant gratification, masked by entertainment, is the propulsion of culture. How much faster can we go?

Experts say that we are still in the infancy of the technological revolution and that things will only move faster and become more readily available.

As the famous quote says, “With great power, comes great responsibility”, the literal sense means that with greatness, complacency may come.

We must be careful not to misuse the tools this revolution brings.

E4 EDGE

Last night, Cinema honored the best and brightest at the Oscars, but two nights ago, the 2018 Razzie awards handed out their their awards to cinemas dullest, most annoying and hopeless films of the year, culminating in a number of awards for the year’s punching bag, “The Emoji Movie.”

Let’s be honest, “The Emoji Movie” was destined for a “Worst Picture” award since the moment it was conceived. It’s insulting because it assumes that a kid’s movie doesn’t have to assume a standard of quality, and because it demonstrates any lack of creative thought by personifying

Monday, March 5, 2018

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images that have already done the creative part for them.

“The Emoji Movie” was released in July of 2017, so it’s been out for quite some time. But because of its recent award-winning (losing?) status and Netflix release I discovered on a less-than-sober Saturday night, like a sadistic cowboy I’m going to beat this dead horse just a little bit longer.

Each of the awards that “The Emoji Movie” won (lost?) Friday is well deserved. Director and writer Tony Leondis, who has previously worked on other blatant cash grabs such as “Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch,” “Kronk’s New Groove,” and

“Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters,” clearly had ran out of films he could make terrible sequels out of, and instead chose to make a terrible film based on two-dimensional 21st century hieroglyphics.

But Leondis had already proved he was a failure multiple times over through his body of work, The Razzies were essentially made for him. But for the slew of voice actors, it’s a critical blow to each and every one of their reputations.

The “Worst Screen Combo” award was given to “The Emoji Movie,” attributed to “any two obnoxious emojis.” This is a cast built on people with established careers including T.J. Miller (“Deadpool, “Silicon Valley”), James Corden (“The Late Show with James Corden), Maya Rudolph (Saturday Nigh Live, Bridesmaids) and Patrick

FREAKING Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation).

But any one of them paired with any of the others is either annoying, cringe-worthy, uncharismatic or any combination of the three. The majority of the film puts Miller (Gene, the “meh” emoji) with either the stereotypical newfound best friend Hi-5 (Corden) or with the stereotypical love interest Jailbreak (Anna Farris).

At no point does it feel like any of the characters have any chemistry. It could be assumed that the voice actors recorded themselves in different recording studios in different countries months apart from each other from how distant their connections feel.

“The Emoji Movie” was the pinnacle of bad cinema for the year, but the Razzies still had time to take a few shots at some

other awful performances. In a hilarious repeat offense, Tyler Perry received a second “Worst Actress” award for “BOO! 2: A Madea Halloween,” but wasn’t bad enough to take the title of “Worst Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel,” which was given to “Fifty Shades Darker.”

Tom Cruise received an award for his performance in “The Mummy,” likely for being the biggest underperformer of the year rather than the biggest loser as the Razzies’ “Worst Actor.” “Worst Supporting Actor” and “Worst Supporting Actress” went to Mel Gibson for “Daddy’s Home 2” and Kim Basinger for “Fifty Shades Darker” respectively.

Is this the last time that “The Emoji Movie,” and its peers will be flaunted for their ineptitude? Probably not, but is it well deserved? Almost certainly.

to a very positive path that the film industry will hopefully choose to follow.

Though there is positive change in many areas of film, film has not always been a reformative area of art. Sexism is present in film history, whether it be in subtle or obvious ways.

When thinking about horror movies, for example, many may think of the classic shower scene in Psycho. For those who may not know, this scene depicts a woman in the shower, who is then brutally stabbed and murdered.

This idea of the shower scene is not only depicted in Psycho, but in countless numbers of movies throughout the decades. The best part? Most (If not all) of shower scenes are of women. While this may

be coincidence, it continues the long history of sexualization of women in movies.

Whether it be the reoccurrence of women in shower scenes, or the voyeurism that many find to be “funny”, these things reinforce what is okay and what is not. For example, in both Psycho and Peeping Tom, Voyeurism is seen, and many watch this occur and don’t think much of it.

In the early ages of film, there were many times when a man would be watching a woman in secret and the ‘live audience’ would laugh about it- though men watching women change is not a laughing matter under any circumstances.

There are movies that generation to generation continue to watch, enjoy, and obsess over. In the Fast and the Furious movies, there is little female presence. While this may not be outright sexism, this sort of absence of women in films

continues to support the silent oppression that women face in their daily lives.

While most movies and tv shows support these traditional roles for women, there are heroes like Mulan which empower and uplift women to follow their dreams and do what they want to do, no matter what society and social norms may think about it.

Additionally, even in ScoobyDoo sexism and female gender role reinforcement is apparent. Daphne and Velma are a prime example of this. While Velma is less attractive, she is extremely intelligent and stands her own. Contrary, Daphne is beautiful and often is depicted as less intelligent and is often the “damsel in distress”.

Daphne almost always needed one of the men of the group to come to her rescue, often Fred, who is more muscular and attractive (also reinforc-

ing male stereotypes, but we’ll save that for another article).

This same type of gender role reinforcement in regard to beauty can be seen in Grease with the relationship between Danny and Sandy.

Sandy is depicted as the “perfect” woman, but still does not fully catch the attention of the ‘bad boy’ Danny until she is all done-up and beautiful by society’s standards.

The sexism that is apparent throughout decades of film only reinforces what women experience on a day to day basis. While it seems as though the film industry may be taking a turn for the better and is representing women on a more positive note, there continues to be sexism in new movies.

As time goes on, we can only hope that the film industry will continue to minimize and eventually eliminate sexism in movies.

Sexism in movies cannot be ignored

Movies and television have captured the hearts of man-kind for decades. What viewers see on the screen is what they expect to encounter in real life, for example, the typical high-school cliques (that don’t always exist in the real world) and those cliché romances (sorry, but it’s unlikely you’ll fall in love with a vampire).

However, some things depicted in film are real-life scenarios and issues, and film can be used to combat these issues and give power to minority groups.

An example of this empowerment through film is the increase of inter-race couples and the LGBTQA+ community throughout the years.

This change of focus in film throughout the years is the start

@WesternCourier

Monday, March 5, 2018

It is officially the beginning of March meaning that we have made it through two months of the new year already. Like most people, on Jan. 1, I claimed that I will strive to be a completely different person in 2018 and reach new goals. I am guilty of saying “New Year, New me” about 100 times in January but how many of us actually fulfil our goals by the end of the year?

Whatever your goals may be for 2018, if you’re having trou-

want to quit faster, whereas starting at a reasonable pace will keep you on track and get your body used to a routine.

Write your goals down somewhere you know you will look at often like on your fridge, on your door, in your planner or even have a reminder on your phone. It is scientifically proven that our brain seems to remember things we personally write by hand versus on a laptop or phone.

With that being said, you will always remember what your goals are. With a constant reminder, you won’t forget to follow through with your goal, whether that’s going to the gym, reading a chapter of your favorite book every day, or simply a reminder to clean

OPINIONS 5

Don’t stop improving yourself ble sticking to your resolutions here are some ways to help you stay motivated.

Start small. If you’re someone who has never worked out a single day in your life, don’t promise yourself you will go twice a day to the gym for four hours! Start small and progressively build up to increase your goal. Maybe start by going 30 minutes a day, going four times a week or even walking to class instead of taking the bus. Starting an unrealistic goal will only make you

your room. Being someone who loves making lists and writing things down, it helps me stay organized and motivates me to complete everything on my list.

Set up a reward system for yourself. One of my favorite things to do is spoil myself.

As silly as it may sound, setting up a reward system for yourself may be the best way to motivate yourself. Waking up for my 9 a.m. class seems to get tougher and tougher as the semester goes on. Every week I promise myself that if I don’t attend every class that week, I can’t go out that weekend. As harsh as that may sound, it works for me. Sometimes I wake up not wanting to get out of bed and go to

class but then I remind myself that if I don’t go, I can’t enjoy myself that weekend. Or if you’re someone who set up a New Year ’s resolution to go to the gym and eat healthier for a whole month, you get to treat yourself with your favorite ice cream or even a day off of working out. Combining goals with the things you love as a reward not only keeps you motivated, but also keeps you happy.

Hopefully everyone is still perusing their New Year resolutions and hasn’t given up on them just yet. If you have given up already, I hope these quick and easy tips help you get back on track and help you reach your goals. Only 10 more months to go!

Find someone who makes you happy When I was in high school, I didn’t expect to find anyone.I never even imagined having a boyfriend in high school let alone in college. I thought most people didn’t find a significant other until after they graduated college, because college is about discovering yourself. A lot of people say high school is where you figure out who you are, and where you would find your soulmate but I think that is what college is for.

I always thought that high schoolers just wanted to have fun, and to live life. I never imagined having a boyfriend in high school let alone in college. I thought most people don’t find a relationship until after college because college is where you are figuring out life. Coming to college and experiencing everything, I can say I was wrong. Yes it can go both ways, the girls and guys can be immature and don’t know what they

want, but that’s not the case for everyone. Yes there’s the term “Saturdays are for the boys,” but that doesn’t apply to every man. There are a lot of guys out there that are looking for a relationship but don’t always know how to express it.

My first experience with my first year of college wasn’t the best when it came to men.

Some weren’t interested, already taken, or were not looking for relationship. Because of that, I gave up all hope and thought that no one in college wanted to date.

Just because of a few bad experiences, I generalized the whole college population. I was thinking to myself that

I have found myself over the years finding it difficult to support candidates whether because they come off aloof (or fake), or they did not take the time to listen to their constituents or potential constituents, let alone just wanting to stand with big politics as usual. This duo is different. The fact that they live our lives in the same way we do budgeting and trying to make things better for all.

Senator Biss (9th district), obtained student loans and received degrees in mathematics, to which he became a professor at the University

of Chicago before getting his start in politics. Representative Wallace (67th district), who's running for Lt Governor, obtained her degrees, while being a single mom.

She was a former counselor for those affected by substance abuse, crisis, and mental health issues before starting in politics.

These two have fought, wrote, passed legislation for the betterment of all, including HB2959 which “guarantees that health insurance companies may not discriminate based on pre-existing conditions” ; improve FMLA;

if those ment, go on dates, or be in a relationship, whatever the term may be, that they set the tone for all men in college. The difference between now and then is that I was a young naive freshman and now I realize that it’s not true for everyone.

I cannot lie and say that there’s someone out there in college for everyone. But if you keep your options open you might find someone that is worth it. There are so many genuine men out there who might have an interest in you, although they might have a funny way of showing it. There’s some boys out there who are willing to hang out with you, play

video games with you, go to the library and do homework you, go to the gym, go to sporting events, etc. There are some college boys out there he will like you for you, will not make you change just to fit in, will accept the fact that you may be different, and bring out the best of you. If you asked me if I had hope of finding a boyfriend during my freshman year, I would’ve said no.

Now that I’m a junior, I’ve experienced and opened up more, and now I can see past that there is a boy, and one day, he might just come. If you wait patiently, someone just may be your prince after the ball.

Letter to the Editor applying term limits. Both Biss and Wallace have consistently voted in favor of increased public school funding, improving senior living, and for protecting the environment.

The bottom line is this: I'm excited about the Biss-Wallace duo because I'm ready for change in our state government. I have personally spoken with Senator Daniel Biss and I see that he is more than another politician, as he believes in fairness for the working class and their families. We have heard big money at the top for too long,

so I'm ready for the guy who personally created legislation to reduce the influence of money in elections and works with small donors instead of writing himself million-dollar checks. So, let's make a stand, make our voices heard and vote Biss and Wallace March 20. Not just for us, but for the future of Illinois because it is we: the hard-working, middle class, working class, disabled, elderly and our children, who deserve a fresh approach.

Tammie Brown Beardstown Resident

Monday, March 5, 2018

6 SPORTS

WesternCourier.com

GOLEATHERNECKS.COM

Taylor Higginbotham snags a rebound against the South Dakota state Coyotes.

Basketball from page 1 Their defense was suffocating and recorded 9 steals in the first half.

Clemens, the Summit League leader in steals, snatched away five of her own and eight in the game which is tied for second all-time in tournament game history. The Mavericks were unable to find the bottom of the net while the Purple and Gold and Clemens were having their way with the Omaha defense. Clemens scored 20 points that helped the Leathernecks outscore Omaha 32-6 in the second quarter and take a 56-26 lead going into halftime.

Clemens saw how important it was for the team to jump out to a lead early and get a rhythm going.

“We just wanted to come out strong and come out with a good

start and hopefully that would continue throughout the game and I think we were able to do that,” Clemens said. “ We went on a run there at the beginning and it just continued.”

The third quarter was more of the same for the Leathernecks.

Clemens opened the half with five straight points before Omaha’s junior guard Amber Vidal broke the Mavericks’ scoring drought with a mid-range jumper. Vidal was one of only three Maverick players to score in the third quarter and was the main source of offense for them all afternoon.

With a slashing layup scored by Clemens with 6:27 left in the third quarter Western extended their lead to 67-31 but the more staggering part was that Clemens had scored her 31st point of the game

which was equal to the entire point total of Omaha. The Mavericks and Leathernecks exchanged baskets for the remainder of the third quarter and the Purple and Gold took a 77-39 lead into the fourth.

Omaha found some fight left in their team in the fourth quarter and it was the only closely contested period of play since the first. Junior center Courtney Vaccher was able to bully her way to a couple baskets in the paint and Vidal kept nailing her mid-range jumpers, but they were still unable to make any dent in the 48 point lead and fell 97-57 in the first round of the Summit League playoffs.

The Leathernecks advance to play the South Dakota State Coyotes tomorrow which has been a tough matchup for the Lady Leathernecks all season. They dropped both of

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their first two meetings against the Coyotes, including a heartbreaking loss on senior night which is all the motivation Clemens needs for their game tomorrow.

“South Dakota State is tough and everyone in this conference knows how good and capable they are at getting back to the NCAA tournament,” Clemens said. “We are ready for a shot at them. We didn’t shoot the ball that well when we played them the first time so we’re ready.”

Leatherneck head coach, JD Gravina stressed how important this game was in finding their groove going into tomorrow’s rematch with the second seed in the Summit League.

“South Dakota State has defended us so well both times we’ve played them this year so we’re going to have to know that things are going

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to get tougher,” Gravina said. “This helped us get some momentum, especially when we’re not so dependent on our three-point shots like we were tonight. Hopefully that will carry us over into tomorrow.”

Gravina also knows how important of an influence Clemens made in this game and will have to make going into tomorrow.

“She’s going to have to do it again,” Gravina said. “And she’s been doing it all year. She’s such a neat kid to coach, she’s been really fun to be around. I’ve loved the way she’s approached her senior year.

Even after such a spectacular junior year, she’s shown us that she has a lot left to prove.”

The conference rivals square off at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

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Sports 7

Monday, March 5, 2018

@WesternCourier

MLB getting back in the swing of things

Major League Baseball has seen its ups and downs over the last decade. However, over the past two seasons the popularity has begun to rise. Many people believe it’s viewership is growing for many different reasons, but for me I believe it is growing because of the young talent pool of players and the equal level of competition between ball clubs.

The level of young talent across major league baseball is spectacular. Baseball fans have not seen this amount of young talent since the early 2000’s. There was a period in time when players such as David Ortiz, A-Rod, Carlos Beltran, Ichiro and the most famous player from this era Derek Jeter played in the big leagues.

Baseball was arguably one of, if not the most popular sport in America during this time.

However, the league began to lose viewership when those players all began to announce their retirements. The MLB began to lack the elite talent it once had.

Many people thought that the league would never be able to produce that kind of elite talent again, especially after the steroid era. However, that is not the case

anymore after the recent spike in farm system talent. For those of you who do not know, the farm system is another name for the different levels of Minor League Baseball. In recent memory, the farm system has been producing elite talent year after year.

Some notable talent that has come up to the big leagues recently has been Francisco Lindor, Aaron Judge, Ian Happ and Yoan Moncada. The Minor League development system is beginning to pick up more steam then ever before. The reason behind this is because the last two World Series champions both built their teams from the farm system. These two teams, the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros, are the trendsetters for the rest of the league.

These two organizations have proven that you can build a championship team through young prospects. They have teams such as the Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers and most notably the Chicago White Sox, buying into this method of stock piling prospects. While the Twins and Brewers are at the final stages of their rebuild, the Chicago White Sox are right in the middle.

The Sox went through a complete roster overhaul last season, and the organization brought in a surplus of top prospects. While very risky, the organization is confident that the young talent in the minor leagues will be the next great wave of MLB players.

The trend both the Astros and Cubs have set has made the league more competitive. Many teams are trusting the young players in their respective organizations. Over the past few seasons, the division races have been very close, and have made the MLB more fun to watch.

However, there are still some things Major League Baseball needs to do to make baseball more entertaining. The league is currently talking about the many rule changes they can make to make the games go faster. One thing the league is trying to do is implement a pitch clock to speed up the pace of play. The goal is to try and modernize the game of baseball for the younger generation who like a faster type of game.

This is one of the many things the league is trying to do to make the game of baseball even better.

Baseball season is right around the corner, and I cannot wait to see the new and improved MLB. With the combination of elite young talent along with a faster pace of play, one could say Major League Baseball is back.

Yankees' outfielder Aaron Judge swinging for the fences.

WIKIMEDIA.COM

Softball splits the double-header in series

By Christopher Bean courier staff

Megan Lotarski on the mound for the Leathernecks.

GOLEATHERNECKS.COM

AUBURN, Ala.— Western Illinois played a double header on Saturday. In the first game they played University of North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks (3-11), and in the second game they played the national powerhouse Auburn Tigers (21-2), the 12th ranked team in the nation.

In the first game against the Seahawks, the Leathernecks swung their bats early and often in the 6-1 win for there sixth win of the year. After UNCW scored in the top of the first, Ashley Minyard drove in Jasmine Lara for a tie run in the bottom of the first. Western took their first lead in the very next inning thanks to a Lara single, which brought in Sidney Bottino.

The next at bat, Peyton Abbott drove in Rachel Beatty to take a 3-1 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth Beatty hit a two run home run giving the Purple and Gold more runs. Hailey Duwa singled to left field driving in Lara in the bottom of the sixth that made it 6-1. They ended up with 15 hits, with Lara and Beatty combining with seven hits. But that wasn’t the biggest story in the game.

Starting pitcher, Megan Lotarski pitched a complete game, giving up only one run in seven IP on four hits and two strikeouts.

She picked up her second win

of the year, and is now 2-3.

However, the second game did not go as planned. It was the complete opposite for Western Illinois. Auburn played like a top 12 team and got off to a quick start scoring two runs off of Western’s ace Emily Ira in the bottom of the first, from a sacrifice fly from Snow and a Shea single.

Snow, Perry and Shea knocked in three runs in a row to give Auburn a 5-0 through the three innings. Beatty was able to drive in Brooke Stulga in the top of the fourth to put Western on the board. Kelsey Marlow tripled and ended up scoring on an error by the right fielder that cut Auburn’s lead to 5-2 in the sixth. Draper got an infield single, to give Auburn a run in the bottom half of the inning. Auburn picked up their 21st win, and Kaylee Carlson remains undefeated with a 10-0 record.

For Western, this loses brings them to 6-12. Western had seven hits, but no player had more than one hit. Ira pitched all six innings on the mound for the Leathernecks, and also went 1-3 in the batters box.

Unfortunately, she is now 2-5, and still looking for her offense to produce runs for her. They will have to pick it up in the next two weeks, as there next nine games will be in Kansas. twitter: cre_bean

Necks fall in near upset

By Devon Greene sports editor

The Western Illinois University Leathernecks kicked off the postseason with a near upset over the number one team in the Summit League in the first round of the Summit League playoffs. The Leathernecks fell to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in a hard fought, 66-60 loss.

In the first two matchups of this season between these two teams, the Jackrabbits handed the Purple and Gold two double-digit losses with a 98-70 loss in Macomb, Ill. and an 82-62 loss in Brookings, S.D. With those demoralizing losses fresh on the brains of many fans of the Summit League, there were few that gave the Leathernecks a chance in round one of the playoffs.

Western’s head coach Billy Wright praised his team for fighting against expectations and putting on one of their best performances of the season.

“I don't know how many people believed, but I know that our that our team believed tonight,” said head coach Billy Wright. “We executed our game plan tonight, but we just came up a little short. It was a great environment and I am really, really proud of our guys. The future is bright.”

Freshman forward and Leatherneck standout performer of this season, Kobe Webster, scored the first basket of the playoffs. This basket gave the Leathernecks a lead that they held for a large majority of the first half. The Jackrabbits were able to tie up the game at 6-6 early with a three from freshman guard David Jenkins Jr. Gilbeck was the workhorse that fueled the Leathernecks offense in the first half of play. The 7-foot-tall big man scored 12 points in the first half and kept the Purple and Gold just out of reach of the Jackrabbits.

The back and forth battle emerged about halfway through the first half. South Dakota State’s junior forward Mike Daum gave the Jackrabbits their first lead of the game with a free throw at the 10:33 mark in the first half.

They weren’t able to hang on to the lead long as junior guard Delo Bruster responded with a three-pointer.

Daum answered Bruster with

Isaac Johnson dribbles on his way to the paint. a three of his own that gave the Jackrabbits a 20-19 lead.

The lead went back and forth for the remainder of the half until freshman guard Isaac

Johnson sunk a three-pointer that put the Leathernecks ahead 32-29 at halftime.

The Purple and Gold started the second half even more

FILE PHOTO

motivated, smelling the blood in the water. Senior forward Dalan Ancrum nailed his first two baskets of the second half and gave Western a 36-31

lead. Sophomore guard C.J. Duff then gave Western their largest lead of the game after he hit a three-point jumper that pushed the lead to 43-34.

The Jackrabbits then showed why they are the number one seed in the Summit League.

South Dakota State rattled off an 8-0 scoring run fueled by their defense. The Jackrabbits held Western scoreless for 3:54 but were still unable to take a lead. Johnson scored on a mid-range jumper as the Jackrabbits were knocking at the door, down 43-42.

However, the Jackrabbits responded quickly and took their first lead of the second half, and one that they would hold on to for the remainder of the game, courtesy of a layup from senior guard Skyler Flatten.

The difference in the second half was the level of production that the Jackrabbits were able to find from every member of their team. Daum was a force to be reckoned with in the second half. The twotime Summit League Player of the Year scored 17 points in the second half, which accounted for 45 percent of the team’s 37 total points scored in the second half. The other two players that helped carry the Jackrabbits to a victory were junior point guard Brandon Key and senior forward Reed Tellinghuisen.

Key, Tellinghuisen and Daum were the only Jackrabbits that scored in the last 10:21 second of play and scored the final 22 points of the game.

After Daum sunk a threepoint basket that gave the Jackrabbits their largest lead of the game with only 2:15 remaining. Western fought for their playoff chances and looked as if they were on the road to a comeback. A free throw from Ancrum and a layup from Johnson, brought the Leathernecks within six but a huge three-pointer from Webster with 38 seconds left to play put them back in striking distance as the Jackrabbits only held a 62-60 lead.

South Dakota State relied on Daum to bring home the victory and he answered the call as he sunk his final four free throws that gave them the 66-60 win. The Jackrabbits will take on the winner of the fourth seed Fort Wayne and fifth seed North Dakota State in round two of the playoffs.

Twitter: devondeadlysins