Opinions: Halloween special edition
Page 7: Female athletes deserve more respect.
Sports: Jackrabbits bound past Leathernecks.
Monday, October 30, 2017 - Vol. 118 Issue 29
From impasse to impasse Western and UPI negotiations move to mediation post-state budget crisis
By Nicholas Ebelhack editor-in-chief
An Oct. 12 exchange between Western Illinois University’s University Professionals of Illinois (UPI) chapter President Bill Thompson and University administrators emphasizes where the two parties are after a year of negotiations. “Do you intend that the administration will take the same permanent cuts that you are asking for faculty, advisers, counselors and admissions officers to take going forward?” said Thompson, posing the question to Western Illinois University President Jack Thomas at a town hall meeting between administration and faculty members. UPI and Western have disagreed on economic proposals over the last year, resulting in prolonged negotiations and discontent from both parties. Thomas emphasized that Western’s administrative staff had taken cuts over the last three years as the university’s appropriated funding from the state of Illinois and enrollment are in decline. “I can’t just say what we are going to do specifically, but what I can say is that we have been fair, we have always been fair and we will continue to be fair,” Thomas said. “We would not ask people to do things we wouldn’t do.” Thompson quickly retorted with a request: “So you’re going to take a permanent cut?” Thomas replied: “I’m not going to say that we are going to take a per-
manent cut Bill because you haven’t decided that you are going to take a permanent cut.” Legal Counsel and Ethics Officer Rica Calhoun then stepped in for Thomas, asking Thompson to clarify what he is asking for. The exchange between Thompson and the Calhoun continued. “Is the President and his leadership team willing to take the same permanent cuts, including cuts to future earnings, like minima for us, that they are asking us to take?” Thompson said. “It’s not a question of whether we accept it, it’s a question if going forward are you willing to do that.” “And the question that we are posing back to you is that if we are willing to do it, are you willing to take those cuts?” Calhoun responded. “We have not received a response about that.” “We have not heard that they are willing to do that and they have told us repeatedly ‘no,’” Thompson replied. “Every constituency group has their own needs for the institution and we have to be cognizant of that,” Calhoun said. “It’s not about whether or not you are going to negotiate for administrators or not, it’s about the fact that our history has shown the university has been fair and equitable whether it is raises or not.” The conversation from that day ends there, but UPI and Western continue to disagree on numerous economic proposals. The two parties are prepared to enter mediated discussions today, hoping to make progress.
NICHOLAS EBELHACK/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Thompson speaks with UPI Vice President Molly Homer (top) at the Oct. 12 town hall meeting while Thomas and University Contract Administrator Russ Morgan (bottom) field questions.
NICHOLAS EBELHACK/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
University Professionals of Illinois President Bill Thompson and Western Illinois University President Jack Thomas approch each other on Oct. 12 following a town hall meeting between the administration and faculty. “Class” warfare Thompson said that UPI’s intentions aren’t to squeeze money out of the university. If anything, he said they want to set an example of fairness across. “We want a contract that recognizes the value of the employees, and what we bargain typically gets copied by all the smaller unions,” Thompson said. “We want something that treats us fairly and recognizes the difficulties that the university has recently been through.” Western’s administration says that they have the same interest. But according to University Contract Administrator Russel Morgan, who’s duties include representing Western in negotiations, certain proposals aren’t feasible considering the continued decrease in appropriate funds from the state of Illinois for higher education. One facet of the divide pertains to faculty workload. UPI is asking for a reduction in workload by three Academic Credit Equivalents (ACE) for faculty. This reduction is equivalent to one less three credit hour class for instructors each academic year. This would be a three-three agreement, with three classes taught per academic semester. “It would cost the university over three million dollars in new faculty to cover the additional faculty needing to teach,” Morgan said. It’s a seemingly innocent proposal but it’s very costly.” However, Thompson said that the reduction is beneficial to the university because it allows UPI’s members more opportunity to contribute in other meaningful ways. “This would allow faculty more time to spend with their students, more time to do research and more time to commit to service, things that make this university a good place,” Thompson said.
“You would decrease the quality of teaching when you increase the amount of work the teacher must do, especially when you have people teaching at the higher level where the classes take a lot of preparation,” Thompson continued. “The proposal is appropriate for a teaching only institution but WIU isn’t that. It’s antithetical to what the university wants to do as a university.” According to Morgan, the university’s current proposal is to maintain the
three-four status quo, meaning three classes would taught in one semester and four in the other. However, there have been talks of a four-four agreement in the past, which would be four classes each semester. The four-four offer has been pulled from the written proposal according to Morgan, but Thompson is not con-
Negotiations page 3
Western's decline in enrollment (top) and state appropriations (bottom) visualized.
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Monday, October 30, 2017
NEWS
WesternCourier.com
Western takes back the night
NICHOLAS EBELHACK/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The Western community unites outside Sherman Hall to commemorate the 28th annual Tack Back the Night rally, empowering people to speak out against domestic and sexual assault on Thursday.
By Emily Stieren assistant news editor
The Macomb campus community assembled as the Western Illinois University Women Center’s held their 28th annual Take Back the Night (TBTN) rally in an attempt to spread awareness about assault in all forms last Thursday. “We do (TBNT) each year,” said Western President Jack Thomas, “It lets everybody know that this university is very supportive of women affected by violence. It also is just to support women in general. Not just women, but men too; it is violence against both.” The rally began outside Sherman Hall. Displays of resources and services were presented. Organizations such as the University Counseling Center, the Interpersonal Violence Prevention
Committee and Victim Services had tables with information regarding how someone affected by violence could get support. “We help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault,” said Carol Smith, a domestic violence counselor at Victim Services. “We get orders of protection, have counseling services and help them find shelter if they need it.” The TBTN Rally continued on the steps of Sherman Hall with Jose Morales and Morgan Knutsen as the orators. Morales stated how one in three women and one in six men worldwide have been victims of sexual or domestic violence. Knowing that men are affected by this violence prompted the TBTN committee to make this year’s theme “People Helping People.” “The theme was inspired by a couple of things,” Knutsen said.
“As time goes on, we have realized that domestic violence and sexual assault is not just a women’s issue. It is an issue that affects all genders, races, classes and sexualities. That means it takes all of us to help stop this violence from being accepted and continuing in our society. The theme symbolizes the need for everyone to fight back against the violence.” TBTN’s goal is to find a voice for survivors and empower people to speak up against all forms of assault. According to Thomas, domestic and sexual assault are especially relevant on university campuses all over the world. “At every college campus, you are going to have some issues,” Thomas said. “We try to minimize them as much as possible, and we try to spread the word and let people know that kind of behav-
ior is not tolerated at Western Illinois University. We will do all that we can do to prosecute any individual to the fullest extent of the law when something like that does happen.” After the introduction, the TBTN proclamation was read. It was signed by President Jack Thomas, Mayor Mike Inman, the Director of the Women’s Center and the Director of Victim Services to recognize survivors of all forms of interpersonal violence. The TBTN march to Chandler Park involved a breath-taking amount of chanting, candles and emotion. Their march to end violence finished at the park where the “Survivor Speak Out” took place. A handful of victims shared their stories with the crowd. This heart-wrenching segment brought tears to the audience’s eyes as they heard the statements of the
brave participants. “There are a lot of people that come forth to talk about their experiences as they normally do,” Thomas said. “It is good for people to hear those testimonies and those stories. Unfortunately, we are saddened by those stories that are told, but we appreciate people coming forward and supporting this event.” The TBTN Rally encouraged the large audience to recognize the difficulties men and women must face who have been affected by violence. The experiences that were told by survivors brought a gloomy, but hopeful vibe to those in attendance. “We must encourage bystanders, victims and survivors to share their stories to begin healing and motivating others to act,” Knutsen said. “You matter, your truth matters and change is going to come.”
ANGEL STRACK/PHOTO EDITOR
ANGEL STRACK/PHOTO EDITOR
NICHOLAS EBELHACK/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
NICHOLAS EBELHACK/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Mayor Mike Inman and Western President Jack Thomas (left) convene at the Take Back the Night rally as the Macomb campus community to spread awareness about all forms of assault on Thursday.
WC
STAFF MEMBERS editor-in-chief Nicholas Ebelhack NA-Ebelhack@wiu.edu news editor Isaiah Herard IA-Herard@wiu.edu assistant news editor Emily Stieren EN-Stieren@wiu.edu opinions editor Shannon Norris SA-Norris@wiu.edu
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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Monday, October 30, 2017
NEWS 3
Students give back at Make a Difference Day
Jasmyne Taylor/courier staff
Student participate in Make a Difference Day, an annual event dedicated to volunteering andmaking a positive impact, on Saturday.
By Tabi Jozwick courier staff
Make A Difference Day (MADD) provided students with the opportunity to volunteer in the community for a day of service. The event was a time to make a difference around both the Western Illinois University campus and the Macomb community through volunteerism on Saturday. “Saturday was a national day of service,” said Western’s All Volunteer Effort (WAVE) president Taryn Butler. “It is not just us, it’s everyone across the nation who has decided to make a difference.” Macomb Mayor Mike Inman welcomed the volunteers to Make
UPI
from front page
“The administration will say that it’s no longer in the proposal, which we had a disagreement about previously, I said that’s not true, it’s still in the proposal,” Thompson said. “Even if it isn’t in visible in the proposal, if it’s not off the table, it’s still in the proposal.” Morgan said he has reiterated multiple times over many months to Thompson that a four-four is not being proposed anymore. “June 21 is when we took it off the table and we have confirmed that three times since then, and I have talked a number of times with (Thompson) about this. What we are asking now for just status quo, we don’t want to change anything about workload. UPI wants to reduce workload.” Thompson said that he isn't convinced until the negotiations are complete. “The fact that they pulled it out of the public part of the proposal that is something they are willing to give on but I just don’t know,” Thompson said. “The four-four is still in the proposal, if we don’t do X, Y and Z they are going to put it back in. It’s not off the table.” “Working like dogs” Another significant topic of discussion brought up by UPI's members is how the university will administer raises and bonuses over the course of a career at Western, with parties disagreeing on minima place in payroll structure. Minima is concept that profes-
a Difference Day and shared a few opening remarks. “I can’t tell you how excited I am and proud of the fact that you are here Saturday morning,” Inman said. “I do quite honestly brag about WAVE to the community all the time. This organization has a standing reputation in the community and on campus under the leadership of Ethan Briscoe and all of the volunteer coordinators that worked with getting you together and helping out.” Michelle Janisz, Director of Student Activities, also shared her thoughts about Make a Difference Day. “As what Butler mentioned, this is a national day of service,” Janisz said. "This is about stu-
dents and anyone else wanting to volunteer and help someone out in the community and literally what it says, make a difference in someone’s life, organization, whatever it is that they need help with.” New this year, instead of going to one site to volunteer, Western students went to two different sites for their volunteer service projects. “The reason behind that change was because we wanted to impact the community more,” said WAVE advisor Ricky Boche. “Instead of doing eight sites for two hours, why not split it up into two one-hour sessions and be able to hit more sites, so the idea was to hit 12 or 14 sites in comparison to eight. In the long run,
we want to further impact the community and get our WAVE members out to more community service projects.” Volunteer services were conducted at Salvation Army, The Crossing, Wesley Village, Country View, Genesis Garden, Mosaic, Wesley United Methodist Church, West Central Illinois Arts Center and the YMCA. Students also stayed on campus to make get — well cards for the patients at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. “There was one project in particular here in town, a shelter for folks and families struggling and that’s Genesis Garden,” Inman said. “I don’t know if you all would be constructing anything there, but they would have a
lot of work there for you and it needs to get finalized. The project itself has been struggling for a couple of years.” After their time serving both the Western and Macomb communities, students shared their thoughts about the importance of volunteerism and making a difference. Both biology major Mikayla Goodwin and university advising major Lizzy Gonzalo said that making a difference means that they gave back to the community and help those out in need. “It’s important to be able to reach out and help out those in need because you would never know when you yourself is going to be in need and how volunteers can help you,” said WAVE vice president Mattea Scanlan.
sors will make a certain amount of money at each phase of their career, regardless of what expertise that professor provides to the university. At Western, according to Thompson, most faculty members make minima, with professors in the College of Business and Technology making more minima in many cases. “Minima is a concept that everyone is equal, the value of the knowledge is equal,” Thompson said. “If you are in the art department or the journalism department, your value at minimum is as valuable as the knowledge in the biology or psychology department.” But the demand for certain disciplines is higher than others. Because of that, Morgan said that it would be in the university’s interest to shift to a structure that rewards performance rather putting faculty in these minima lanes. “When we compare WIU’s salaries to our peer groups, what we see is that we are generally ahead of our peer groups for associate and full professors, but if you look at it by discipline we are out of whack,” Morgan said. “In our disciplines where there is high demand our professors are underpaid such as in accounting or nursing, but in other disciplines with less demand the professors are over the average.” Western wants to move away from minima and focus on performance by increasing the amount of money into professional Achievement Awards (PAA), which are monetary awards given to faculty who perform extra duties, such as serving as an adviser for a student organization.
“Instead of having these lanes where people get automatic salary bumps, we want to give more than double the money for their promotions as they continue their career,” Morgan said. “This is a concern for a lot of people, and what we want to do is make our salaries more in line with the marketplace for teaching positions in different disciplines.” UPI’s proposal rejects this promotion proposal, and asks to continue what has been established, but restricting the number of PAAs an employee can receive, which Thompson said has been an issue. “People started getting PAAs not just every four years, but two every four years, and that was nearly everyone. Some people would get three every four years and a significant minority were getting them every year because faculty work like dogs, and it’s not that difficult working like a dog to amass those points to get a PAA.” Thompson said that the current structure for salary increases has worked for some, but not all faculty members. Even with its flaws, he said the elimination of minima bumps/ lanes would be detrimental to faculty. “The university’s proposal actually hurts them because it hurts the associate faculty by replacing the minima structure with these one-time raises that are far below what people would make in their career at WIU,” Thompson said. Whereas Morgan emphasized that Western’s salaries would be more in line with salaries across the countries under the university’s proposal, Thompson believes
that it goes against what has been promised. “The Board of Trustees has twice voted on making sure that our average salaries must meet or exceed our peers, and that is their highest priority,” Thompson said. “If that’s the case, then you need to do stuff to make those statements come true, and for us that means thinking about how we can help the associate faculty.”
would have a strike authorization vote.” Thompson said. “If that passes we would be able to go on strike and if that happens there is a time period where we could do that.” A strike, while possible, isn’t on Thompson’s mind just yet. “Is a strike within the realm of possibly? The answer is naturally, but do we want to? That’s a no, I don’t want to go on strike and I don’t know anyone who would want to. We are not at that moment where we would want to do that.” When asked what the atmosphere of these previous meetings have been, Morgan responded saying that the university is hopeful mediation will succeed, but if it does not, Western will continue to find ways to work towards an agreement. “We are twelve months into these negotiations and in my mind, I thought we would be done with these months ago,” Morgan said. “I didn’t expect that we would still be working on it. We are patient and we will take as long as we need to.” According to Thompson, damage has already been dealt due to prolonged negotiations and an unstable fiscal environment in the state of Illinois. “We’ve had a lot of people resign from WIU because of the unstable work environment,” Thompson said. With declining enrollment, shrinking appropriations and continually expressed dissatisfaction from faculty in statements and published letters, both parties are preparing to enter a new phase. Whether or not success will be found will only be evident as these meetings occur through the rest of the semester.
The next steps Today, Western and UPI will enter the mediation phase of contract negotiations. The university announced on Sept. 19 that it would be requesting a federal mediator, who will meet with both parties multiple times over the next few weeks. “We have five sessions with the mediator over the next few weeks, and the mediator will try to help us find some common ground,” Morgan said. “We have reached common ground on a few issues on noneconomic items, and even in these proposals we aren’t that far off but hopefully the mediator will bring us a bit closer in places where we are far off.” But this does not guarantee UPI, who declined to jointly request mediation in September, and Western will find an agreement soon. Thompson said that should either side decide that mediation has failed that additional procedures will follow. “(Western) could then ask the Board of Trustees to vote to impose the last best offer, and if that is not something that is palatable to our members we
Monday, October 30, 2017
4 OPINIONS
WesternCourier.com
Watch what you eat Double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble, the candy you eat may reduce you to rubble. While for years, parents and public service announcements alike have warned of the dangers of finding foreign objects in your candy, they didn’t warn us of the dangers that the candy itself poses. Nearly all our favorite Halloween candies are dangerous to our health, so while you are checking for breaks in the packaging, you may want to check the ingredients list as well. While high amounts of sugar intake are considered poor for our health, we assume that risk when we consume candy on Halloween, but there are several ingredients that possess destructive powers far surpassing high fructose corn syrup in our sweets. We love to open our bags of candy and find the bright colors and vibrant smells of Halloween, but those colors are unnatural, and believed to be highly dangerous. The petroleum derived colors you’ve
come to recognize as Yellow five or Blue one, among many others, have been linked to various kinds of cancer and neurological hyperactivity. These dyes are extremely prevalent in candies, you will find them in Reese’s Pieces, M&M’s, Skittles and Starbursts, among others. Candy will sit on shelves for months before it is sold, so great lengths are taken to ensure its freshness. Many candy companies like Nestle and Hershey’s will rely on preservatives like TBHQ to avoid rancidity. In a peer reviewed report found in the National Library of Medicine, the Toxicology Data Network reports that “TBHQ produced single strand DNA breaks in human cells.” If actual breaks in your DNA don’t alarm you, perhaps this will: A study conducted by Alexandra E. Turley, Joseph W. Zagorski, and Cheryl E. Rockwell testing the effects of TBHQ on our T-cells concluded that: “Activation of T cells is an important event for the initiation of a variety of adap-
tive immune responses. Such responses are critical for host defense against a number of bacterial and viral pathogens as well as fungi and parasites… the food preservative tBHQ impairs primary human T cell activation.” Other substances companies will use to keep their candy fresh are partially and fully hydrogenated oils. These dense, saturated fats are very bad for your heart, raising bad cholesterol levels sky high. If you find yourself enjoying a nice Snickers bar, or a Three Musketeers bar, you are also indulging in hydrogenated oils, a substance deemed unsafe for human consumption by the FDA. The FDA stipulates, “removing PHO’s from processed foods could prevent thousands of heart attacks and deaths each year.” There are real monsters in this world far more dangerous than Pennywise the clown or Chucky the doll. They lurk in the shadows of your consumption, seeking to grow fat on the destruction of our bodies and our minds. There is no need to run from these heinous villains, but a sense of vigilance and dietary awareness will go a long way for your health, not only on Halloween, but for the rest of your life.
The best and worst handouts
Stop handing out raisins and candy corn for Halloween. What 5-year-old do you know that gets excited over a snack-sized box of raisins? We all remember coming home from trick or treating and dumping our entire bag of candy out on the living room floor and separating all of our new goodies. Lets be honest, our eyes didn’t light up when we saw a bag of pretzels or candy corn falling from the bag. Snickers or Sour patch Kids, on the other hand, were a jackpot. With Halloween literally on our doorstep, I’m going to give out some tips to the best and worst Halloween candy to give out (or eat yourself). When it comes to Halloween candy there are a few prominent categories. You have your chocolates, you have your sweets and then lastly you have your letdowns. Your chocolate category contains all of those candy bars we know
and love. According to a survey on KidzWorld.com, The top ranked chocolate bars are Kit-Kat at number 1, Reese’s at number two and Twix comes in at number three. When it comes to Illinois specifically however, Snickers is ranked the favorite Halloween candy. The key to handing out any chocolates is to give out the full size candy bars. We all remember when we were young and we would run to all the houses we knew had the big candy bars. The next primary category when it comes to Halloween candy is the sweets. This is all your fruity flavored candy, gummies and hard candy. These are good for handing out because you don’t have to worry about them melting or getting smashed in the bags. The top sweet candies for Halloween are Skittles, Nerds, Starbursts and Sour Patch Kids. I personally also would love getting the fruit snacks or gum-filled lollipops.
Now lets hit on the most important category, the letdowns. These are called the letdowns because they almost literally let you down in your heart and happiness. These can also sometimes be referred to as the trash baggage. It is called this because it is not only unnecessary baggage in your trick or treating bag but it is also more than likely going straight to the trash. The candy in this category includes any and all fruit, bags of pretzels, gum and especially candy corn. Now, being that most of us reading this are college students, I highly doubt we will all be sitting out on our porches with full size candy bars to give to the Macomb youth this Halloween. One way you can dive into the Halloween candy wonderland is to drag your tired and hung over butts to Wal-Mart on Wednesday and fill up your carts with the post Halloween sale candy. Now the key to success on this special day is to get there early. The candy section is a hot spot once November 1st rolls around. So get there early, buy in bulk, and most importantly hide it all from your roommates as soon as you get home.
October 30, 2017
Page 1
E2 EDGE
Sum 41
from E1
“Picture this, everyday kids that just can’t find a way/Stuck in disarray, can’t find hope for better day/It’s the degeneration of childhood frustration,” Whibley sings with a powerful guitar and bass track to support him. “Over the past 30 years teenaged suicide has increased/300% in North America/And is the second major cause of death in Canada.” The juxtaposition between seemingly bright and poppy instru-
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is known for showing some of history’s most important documentaries. Recently, PBS showcased Ken Burns’ “The Vietnam War.” Burns and Lynn Novick co-produced the miniseries that traces the conflict in Vietnam from French colonialism to the public opening of the memorial wall in Washington D.C. that honors American soldiers who served in the war. The documentary goes further in depth by having 80 participants tell their stories, showing the story from all viewpoints. Many of the participants were either on the fighting side, or the peaceful side. Several of the soldiers in the mini-series are those who fought for and against the rise of Communism. During one of the interviews, an American Marine talks about how he fears the darkness. When he was raising his children, he told them at one point they were too old to use a nightlight. While discussing his fear, he breaks down in tears saying he still uses a nightlight just so he doesn’t have to see the enemies in his sleep. Throughout the series,
Monday, October 30, 2017 mentals and dark lyrical content is years ahead of its time. Only recently have social scientists and national news outlets like The New York Times begun publishing reports and stories about the severe anxiety people under the age of 25 face day to day. If you think it can’t get more serious than teenage suicide and anxiety, consider arguably the best song off the album, “Still Waiting.” Released in 2002, at the height of the rampup leading toward America’s War on Terror, “Still Waiting” features
each episode gets more emotional than the one before it. Nine Inch Nail’s Trent Reznor — known for his dark compositions in films like “The Social Network,” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and “Gone Girl” — composed the instrumental background music that makes the documentary even more haunting. Images from both sides show the brutality the war had. One of the photographs shows a woman holding her two children crying as the enemy was kicking her out of her home. Burns’ mission when making the documentary was to offer his audience a wide variety of viewpoints of the conflict. This is supposed to help the audience identify with the people who lived through it. Along with increasing viewer ’s knowledge on the content, Burns’ second goal was to state how our current society is following the trends from the War in Vietnam. “The Vietnam War,” applies to the current national mood of how we are divided like we were back then.
Vietnam page E4
some of the darkest material on the album in terms of both music and lyrics. It begins with a standard fare of early 2000s punk rock gems with too many downstrokes; however, it takes a dark turn with elements of horror punk and heavy metal, a mixture of musical styles not taken seriously since Misfits in late 70s and 80s. Whibley seems to sing directly to the American people: “Drop dead/A bullet to my head/Your words are like a gun in hand/You can’t change the state of the nation/ We just need some moti-
WesternCourier.com vation,” is nothing but a scathing criticism to the rhetoric of the War on Terror. The chorus, on the other hand, features lyrics more reminiscent of peaceful protest songs from the 60s and 70s: “So am I still waiting/ For this world to stop hating?/Can’t find a good reason/Can’t find hope to believe in.” The, “can’t find a good reason” line came back a few years later when Sum 41 released an even darker and more serious album, “Chuck,” in 2004. The flippant nature of early 2000s pop punk is worth
remembering; however, the more serious albums are worth listening to as well. Greenday made their political turn with “American Idiot,” an album-long screed against President George W. Bush. Bands like Anti-Flag, Black Flag and Rancid have been known for their serious messaging for decades. While Sum 41’s musical quality may have dipped in later years, their serious work, specifically “Does This Look Infected,” is definitely worth listening to and understanding, especially given the context of society 15 years after its release.
Edge 3
Monday, October 30, 2017
@WesternCourier
“The 39 Steps” is an absurd play that keeps audiences laughing
JULIAN SALGADO/COURIER STAFF Top left: Hannay flees the police on a train after Pamela gives away his identity. Bottom left: Hannay was again identified by Pamela and both were captured by the secret organizations henchmen. Right: Hannay addresses the audience during the beginning of the play.
“The 39 Steps” written by John Buchan and directed by Lysa Fox and staring James Tweedale, Samantha Bonzi, Matt Bender and Sean Pollock, ran this past week in the Horrabin Theater, as part of the theater department’s main stage productions this fall. This comedic play had many characters despite having only four actors. Tweedale played the lead in this performance, a character called Hannay. Bonzi plays the love interests (yes you read that correctly). She plays the three female love interests Annabelle, Margaret and Pamela. Then Bender
and Pollock made up the rest of the cast and each played a number of different characters. Bender and Pollock were constantly changing characters throughout the play, from comedians to police men to women and everything in between. Out of the entire comedic play there is one scene that I found particularly funny, in which Bender and Pollock ran around Tweedale, changing characters as they ran in what turned out to be a hilarious scene. The two actors played around four different characters in the one scene and the funniest part
was that Tweedale’s character was completely unaware. The actors were running circles around him changing their hats and becoming entirely different people. It was by far my favorite scene of the play. The actors did a phenomenal job differentiating each character from the others they were playing despite the fact that they were switching roles very quickly. Bonzi did a great job playing the three women Annabelle, Margaret and Pamela. She was able to individualize the different characters and give each one a distinct personality. Tweedale also did an excellent job. His character went through quite an ordeal, is accused of murder, unearths a secret organization and is on the run
from the police. Tweedale does a fantastic job portraying his characters odd predicament and, often frenzied, emotions. With such a small cast one would expect that they would either work very well or very poorly together. Luckily, the talented cast worked extremely well together, they played off each other well and had good on stage chemistry. It was also very neat to see how they made use of the set. The play had a simple set and it was utilized to the fullest, moving pieces around to create everything from a living room, to a train car, to a car and more. The simple pieces of the set were just what this play needed, it allowed for the audience to use their imaginations to picture the
character ’s surroundings and the constantly changing roles of the actors. The actual substance of the play was a bit odd at times. Certain jokes for me fell flat but the rest of the audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. It took me a little while to really get into the play, not because the performance was bad but because the writing was not what I was expecting. That being said, I did enjoy the show and the rest of the audience was laughing hysterically from the beginning right up to the end. The play was rather absurd with constantly changing roles, a bizarre plot and eccentric characters. However the show’s fast pace and hysterical characters made it fun to watch.
E4 EDGE
Monday, October 30, 2017
Vietnam
from E1
When the documentary covered the fall of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. Burns made sure to add what the U.S. Embassy stated about the event: “Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it. Let us hope we do not have another Vietnam experience,
and that we have learned our lesson.” Burns’ goal is for current society to not repeat the events of the past, yet try to fix them for a better future. There were many things I learned when watching this documentary. One thing that stuck to me was how many American soldiers passed in the war. On the US Wings website, nearly 61 percent of American soldiers who passed
WIU Film Club hosts event for Military Appreciation Week
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were under the age of 21. If there is one thing I think is the most important message out of this documentary is that our soldiers matter. Whether we agree or disagree with war, we must recognize if it weren’t for their service, we would not be free. Next time you pass a veteran or one currently serving, thank them for their service. Your thanks are what they cherish.
On Nov. 7, the Film Club will be hosting an event to celebrate Western Illinois Uiniversity’s Military Appreciation Week as well as the 10th anniversary of the schools film minor. The event will feature a showing of the short film “In My Brothers Shoes,” a presentation by the director and a concert by the composer of the film. According to director Lucia Mauro, the film “In My
Brother ’s Shoes,” is about a young man who deals with the loss of his younger brother, a marine, who died in combat. The young man travels across Europe wearing his brothers combat boots, hence the title. The film, which was released in 2014, has received awards and been shown at many other universities and at military events all to honor those who have fought for this country.
The concert at this event will feature the films composer Enzo de Rosa. Rosa is known for being a pianist, composer and an arranger. According to Rosa’s website he has been part of the music production for over six hundred different films, shows and plays. He should put on an excellent performance at the event. The event will take place at 6 p.m. in the Sandburg Lounge with a reception and then will move into the Sandburg Theater for the concert, presentation and film screening. For more information contact the club’s faculty advisor Roberta Di Carmine.
“A Bad Moms Christmas” to have even more bad moms
VIIMEO.COM
One of my all-time favorite movies, “Bad Moms” starring Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn as the three main characters is getting a sequel, “A Bad Moms Christmas.” The original “Bad Moms” is a romantic comedy that stresses the insane amount of work that mothers do on a day-today basis and how they
can get fed up and tired of all their responsibilities at times. Huayi Brothers Pictures is releasing “A Bad Moms Christmas” on Wednesday. I am really looking forward to watching this movie because I am a major fan of the holidays and enjoyed the first movie so much. I have watched several trailers
and I am counting down the days until I watch it in theaters. Something that I think will be similar to the first is the behavior of the three main characters and how they are viewed as abnormal mothers. Kunis, Bell and Hahn reprise their roles as Amy, Kiki and Carla. There are some new faces, too, like Tony and Emmy award-winning Christine Baranski as Amy’s mother, Emmy award-nominated Cheryl Hines as Kiki’s mother and Academy Award-winning Susan Sarandon as Carla’s mother.
Baranski is most recently recognized as Leonard Hofstadter ’s mother from the CBS sitcom, “The Big Bang Theory.” I am hoping that this movie is just as successful as the first one. While having only a 58 percent on the movie review website Rotten Tomatoes, the original grossed over $180 million at the box office. I am excited to see how this movie goes because the difference in this film is that the bad mom’s mothers are coming to visit for the holidays. I can predict that this will be a
stressful evening for the main characters. All the work that goes into hosting a holiday dinner can be a lot of work along with hosting your guests. I look forward to seeing how the main characters interact with their own mothers and of course all the hilarious chaos that will likely ensue. Once again, this movie comes into theaters on Wednesday and it will be a show you will not want to miss. If you enjoy comedies and mothers misbehaving, this is definitely a movie for you.
Want to write for EDGE? Contact am-hohman@wiu.edu
Monday, October 30, 2017
@WesternCourier
OPINIONS 5
JESSIE MATIAS/PRODUCTION MANAGER
It’s late October and once again everyone gathers around to celebrate one of autumn’s best holidays, Halloween. When I was a kid Halloween was my absolute favorite holiday, I obviously loved the candy and dressing up in costumes, but as I’ve grown older something has changed about the holiday. Part of it is just growing up of course, but another part is a real change in the atmosphere. It’s lost its spirit. Something is
diminishing the flavor of Halloween. It’s happened to other holidays too. I think Halloween and other holidays in this country have lost a lot of their meaning. What should be meant as opportunities for people to come together, celebrate and have a good time have slowly turned into massive marketing opportunities for corporations, sacrificing wholesome holiday feels for an extra profit. What I am talking about, of course, is
the absolute travesty of Christmas decorations being sold before Halloween. On some level, I empathize with these stores and businesses. I get how tempting Christmas sales must be for them. After all, many stores make most of their yearly profits on Black Friday and the time leading up to Christmas. But they have been too greedy. All that money was too alluring. They crept up with their red and green displays, and their portly Santa statuettes. They started playing “Last Christmas” a little bit sooner each year. Soon their jolly product arrangements took over the Thanksgiving sections, and the fall displays
began to be taken down a little bit earlier every year. This country lost a whole month’s worth of a holiday. And now they’re doing the same to Halloween. Isn’t it enough that these greedy corporations start selling their wreaths and baubles before Thanksgiving? Isn’t one cherished American holiday enough for these corporate monsters? I held my tongue when I first saw a cardboard cutout of Santa Claus before Black Friday, but the 20th of October is just too early for Rudolph and the other Reindeers. Pretty soon all of the jack-o-lanterns will be replaced with tiny statues of elfs. “It’s
the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” will be defaced by “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” If we aren’t careful, every single Halloween tradition we hold near and dear to our hearts will be overtaken by cheerysnowy evil. I say enough is enough. I propose a boycott on any store that dares diminish the sacred value of Halloween by desecrating it with winterholiday villainy. It’s time we take a stand. This is the year we reclaim Halloween. We are going to take revenge for Thanksgiving, and one day Christmas decorations, displays and music will be back where they belong: late November and December.
Prank responsibly or face jail time Halloween is the best time of the year for many people and for good reason. It’s all about having fun and dressing up and spending time with friends. Some people enjoy the costumes or the decorations or watching scary movies; others just enjoy all the candy being discounted starting Nov. 1st. Whatever you’re excited for, halloween is a great time for everyone. In recent years though, things have started to get out of hand across the country in terms of pranks. Now don’t get me wrong, I love pranks. I mean if you don’t mess around
with someone and they don‘t pull pranks on you also, are you really friends? Know that pranks can get out of hand though and can even be illegal in some aspects. We all know that mummifying someone’s house with toilet paper is frowned upon and egging houses is illegal, but any permanent damages to houses or property is technically considered vandalism. If the owner doesn’t care then that’s one thing but they could always call the police if they so desired. Honestly, there are a lot better pranks than egging, anyway. Personally, I’ve always prefered
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scare pranks in the Halloween spirit. My years working at a haunted house may have biased me a little but I honestly feel like they’re the most fun as long as the other person knows it’s in good fun. They’re pretty simple too; all you need is a mask (or not depending on how jumpy the person is), a good hiding spot, and an unsuspecting or suspecting but just never learns victim. The range of reactions you can get are priceless
and you’ll have a story you can tease your buddy about until it loses its humor or they get you back even better. Just be careful that your helpless victim doesn’t have quick reflexes, there are many videos online of pranksters getting smacked by their targets out of reflective self-defense. While funny for everyone watching, a black eye is not what you want to get out of a prank. Also, make sure you know the person you’re pranking. Don’t be
the random person running down the street with a creepy mask trying to scare people. That’s a good way to get a nice reinforced apartment with a bunch of roommates. Scaring pranks can be a lot of fun as long as it’s in good fun for everyone involved. There are many other pranks besides scaring ones that are in good fun too. So this Halloween, have fun, but please prank responsibly.
Letter to the Editor Dear Editor, I’m in my fifteenth year as a professor at Western Illinois University. For most of my career at Western, I’ve enjoyed my work environment, students and colleagues. The last couple of years, though, have been extremely difficult. In part, that has been due to the budget impasse. Thankfully, the state now has a budget. Unfortunately, the administration of the university has taken a difficult situation and made it worse. The current collective bargaining agreement with the union is a case in point. The administration’s proposal to cut salaries, eliminate minimum salary increases, severely restrict merit pay increases and increase faculty teaching load (just to note a
few of the administration’s contract proposals) would have a long-term detrimental effect on the work environment for faculty and on the learning environment for students. Talented, innovative and marketable faculty will leave this university for institutions that demonstrate a commitment to support faculty by offering tangible incentives. The same such faculty will not seek employment at Western and will seek out other institutions that offer more competitive financial compensation for their teaching, scholarship and service. The students at Western will suffer the most from the administration’s effort to undermine support for an effective and committed
faculty. The union contract proposal, on the other hand, provides faculty with the financial support and incentives that will reward them for the teacher scholars that they are. Moreover, the union contract proposal stipulates that all tenured and tenuretrack faculty should teach three courses a semester, which will insure a high quality, university-level learning environment for students. The union contract proposal keeps Western competitive with other universities and makes the university attractive to new faculty looking for a home for their careers and a community to raise their families. Greg Hall, Ph.D. Professor of History Western Illinois University
Monday, October 30, 2017
6 SPORTS
Soccer
from page 7
The University of Nebraska Omaha is in the third spot with a record of 1-1-2, while Eastern Illinois University holds the fourth spot at 1-2-1. The Leathernecks only have one more league game against Denver, their last game of the season. While this game is important, and could be the deciding factor on which
team will win the Summit League, both teams will still be headed to the tournament this year. This game ended a threegame losing streak that the Leathernecks were facing, and should give them some momentum to carry out the rest of the season. The Purple and Gold are back in action on Tuesday, Oct. 31 in a nonconference matchup against the Bradley University
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Braves. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. in Macomb. The Braves are currently 9-7-1 on the season. In 2016, the Leathernecks lost to Bradley 2-0, however this game is not a crucial match for either team. A win would be a nice point on the Western’s win column, but the game will not go on to affect their Summit League standing. Twitter: @hayfourrr
Sexism from page 7
Sexism is one of the biggest issues in professional sports and the way the media portrays female athletes continues to fuel the fire. In today’s society, professional female athletes fall victim to the habits of the media in which they objectify and over-sexualize many female athletes. These female athletes are portrayed to society in an overall derogatory fashion that makes them seem to be of lesser value than their
male counterparts. Even the highest esteemed female athletes cannot escape the effects that the mass media has on professional female athletes. Sexism will continue to be a large issue for female athletes and there is simply nothing that they can do about it. It is a problem that continues to be ignored by a large chunk of the athletic community, and no respite will be found for these female athletes until mass media outlets change their habits when covering professional female sports.
CLASSIFIEDS
WC
For Rent
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LARGE STUDENT RENTALS 5 and 6 Bedroom Homes are still available!! Ask for our $1000.00 Discount program! Firsrt come first serve for the last large homes that are open for the fall.
Available now: Close to campus, clean studio apartments, excellent condition, reasonable rent, and partly furnished. Ceiling fans and a/c. Professionally maintained. No pets. Semester leases offered. Call 309 837 4369 and leave your phone number if not there. Email: MandKhousing@gmail.com
Submit a classifieds ad to Micour@wiu.edu
Spacious 2-5 bedroom homes for rent. 10 month lease available. Great locations, close to bus stops, plenty off street parking, all new windows, AC, energy efficient furnace, hardwood and ceramic tile floors, free washer/dryer. Well maintained (24 hrs.) by local landlord. Call 309-255-1233. Houses for Rent 2016/2017: A&D Real Estate has several 3, 4 and 5 bedroom houses for rent, all with at least 2 bathrooms, recently rennovated and located close to campus. Call for a tour or visit our website at www.wiucollegerentals.com. Local landlord with a focus on clean and updated housing with personal service for your college housing needs. 309-313-1122. FALL INTO SAVINGS with Charleston Boulevard Apartments! Now offering SPECIAL RATES through Dec. 2017! Call for specific details 309-833-4545!. NICE, CLEAN, WELL MAINTAINED 1 TO 6 BEDROOM HOUSES FOR 2016-2017 Our houses have hard wood floors, ceramic tile, central air, washer and dryer and are close to campus with plenty of parking. We offer a ten month lease so you don’t pay for the months you aren’t here. Please call 309-255-1959 for a showing. Now showing for 2017 & 2018 year 2, 3, and 5 bedrooms homes all close to campus. Call 309-331-4565. Westen Investments has only two 4-Bedroom brich houses available. Call our office at 309-833-5995 to schedule a showing! We will show to 2-3 person groups as well! For Rent: Little Swan Lake, 30 min from campus. 2br, 2bth, heated double car garage with work area. $600 per mo. (309) 335-2206 after 6:00 pm, may leave message anytime.
NICE, CLEAN, WELL MAINTAINED 1 TO 6 BEDROOM HOUSES FOR 2017-2018 Our houses have wood floors, ceramic tile, W/D, central air, and are close to campus with plentry of parking. We offer low rent and a 10 month lease to save you money! Call 309-255-1959 for a showing. Small 1BR apt near campus and downtown. All utilities included. (Electric, Water, DISH, Garbage) $500/month, $300 deposit. Available immediately. Also have 2BR, you pay electric. $600/month, $350 deposit available September 1st. Please contact 309-255-4367 for a showing. CLEAN, REMODELED, AND WELL MAINTAINED HOUSES AND APTS FOR RENT IN GREAT LOCATIONS. UTILITIES PAID FOR APARTMENTS. RENTING NOW FOR FALL 2017. ALSO RENTING TWO APTS FOR SPRING 2016. CALL JASON AT 309-221-3985. Timbercrest Apartments 1587 Riverview Drive Now showing 1 & 2 Bedroom Units. Very clean, close to WIU campus with bus stop in front of building. Washer/dryer available in most units, all other appliances included, FREE INTERNET, ceiling fans in every room, pet friendly. All units have off street parking and private decks overlooking campus. Both 10- and 12-month leases are available. Openings for Summer 2017 and school year 2017/2018. Deposit required. Phone (309)833-3192 and leave message. Westen Investments has just one 3-Bedroom ALL UTILITIES INCLUDED (Water, Sewer, Trash, Gas, Electric, and Internet) Apartment left! That’s right you just pay for rent, and the rest of it is on us! Call our office at 309-833-5995 to check it out.
RATES $5.50 per issue (open rate) $4.00 per issue (campus rate)
ALL APARTMENTS - ALL INCLUSIVE Get control of your budget. Know exactly what you are spending each month. Each apartment includes free a/c, free heat, free electricity, free water, free cable tv, free hi speed internet, and free off street parking. Laundry on site. No noise policy. Bus stop across the street. Close to campus. Well maintained. Studios are $460/mo, One bedrooms are $620/mo. Call Doug at 309-255-8179 for an appointment. Westen Investments still has affordable 1-4 Bedroom Apartment/Houses available. Be sure to check out our website (www.westeninvest.com) to see our available listings, and call our office at 309-833-5995 to schedule a showing. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to win prize giveaways! APARTMENT FOR RENT: FOR QUIET PERSON. ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT FOR RENT LOCATED AT 314 West Carroll ST Macomb, Ill 61455. Available end of August 2017-new carpeting yearly lease SMALEST FURNISHED IN MACOMB $345.00/month - HEAT & AC INCLUDED private entrance, off-street parking included call for appointment309-837-4748 or 255-5075 woodburning fireplace, ask for Paul. Bartender Wanted. Looking for a fun, outgoing person to bartend in a small town atmosphere. No experience necessary, will train. Flexible hours, nights and weekends. Only 20 minutes from Macomb in Blandinsville, IL. Contact 2 Doors Down at 309-652-3611, or Anne at 309-221-3945, or stop in during business hours for an application.
Sports 7
Monday, October 30, 2017
@WesternCourier
Pacheco grounds the Golden Eagles By Hayley Richards courier staff
Fernando Pacheco winds up for a kick against the University of Valpariso.
Josh defibaugh/copy editor
With just 26 seconds left in the game, the Western Illinois University men’s soccer team captured another Summit League win, defeating the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles 1-0. A goal from senior midfielder Alejandro Pacheco with nearly no time on the clock helped move the Leathernecks to 5-8 for the season and 3-1 in conference play. Senior forward Fernando Pacheco, the midfielder ’s brother, after he was able to net a ball that was deflected in the middle of the box, assisted Pacheco. This was Pacheco’s first goal of the season and his second in his overall career. “We brought our best work rate tonight and it payed off with an exciting goal to end it,” said Director of Soccer Eric Johnson “Oral Roberts is a handful and to earn a shutout at their place takes a total team effort. It was a great win for the Leathernecks.” Along with his goal, Pacheco ended the game with a total of two shots. Senior forward Armel Kouassi led the team
with three shots on goal, followed by senior forward Drew Whalen with two shots as well. Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Tim Trilk was able to record his second shutout of his career and totaled two saves on the night. Looking at overall stats, Western totaled nine shots in the game compared to Oral Roberts’ 12. However, only two of the Golden Eagles’ shots were on goal. Oral Roberts also totaled six corner kicks on the match, but was unable to finish any of their chances. This defeat put the Golden Eagles at 4-9-1 on the season and 1-3-0 in conference play. This leaves them fifth in the conference, with little chance at making it on to postseason play. It is safe to say that this victory has helped the Purple and Gold secure a spot in the Summit League tournament. They currently sit in second place in the standings, only behind the University of Denver who is currently 4-0 in conference matchups.
Soccer page 6
Start respecting female athletes
wikimedia.org
Serena Williams waves to spectators at the Australian Open.
Within the world of sports media, the way that female and male athletes are portrayed and discussed are not as equal as society would ideally like it to be, and nobody seems to be talking about it. In mass media, female athletes are noticeably treated in a more objectified, derogatory fashion than their male counterparts. Sexism is still an issue in the world of sports, and it is greatly due to the way that the media portrays professional female athletes. Women in sports are often objectified and treated with less respect than their male counterparts. Let’s take tennis star Serena Williams as an example. This past winter, Serena Williams added another win to her long list of victories when she beat out her older sister, Venus, in the Australian Open Tournament. Not only did she win, but she also broke the record for the highest amount of Grand Slam victories won by a single player. Williams is breaking records left and right and constantly winning matches, yet when she revealed to the world that she is pregnant, that was all the media could talk about. Williams is the most highly esteemed female tennis player in history, and she only made the front cover of many news
outlets when she told the world that she had a baby on the way. Of course, the excitement about a famous athlete having a baby is justifiable, but when it causes people to question the accomplishments of the athlete, it becomes an issue. When Serena announced her pregnancy, after people did the math and realized that she was pregnant when she won the Australian Open Tournament, many people began to question if whether her pregnancy could be considered a form of cheating. An article was published in the New York Times several days after the announcement that analyzed the effects that pregnancy can have on the body. This article opened up a discussion within the media that questioned the fairness of Serena’s win. Imagine winning the Australian Open and breaking a world record just to have your credibility questioned because you have a baby on the way. The way that the media reacted to Serena’s pregnancy is the perfect example of how female athletes tend to be objectified in the news. Arguably the most famous female tennis player gets pregnant and all of a sudden her pregnancy outshines the very reason that she is famous.
Another huge sports media issue is the over-sexualization of female athletes. If you scroll through the website for Sports Illustrated, you will often find that there are minimal stories covering professional female athletes, and any stories found are generally not centered around the sport that the female athlete plays. The most popular part of Sports Illustrated that features a large group of female athletes are the Swimwear Issues that they release each year. People often automatically associate female athletes with the quality of their bodies, and this can be partly blamed on Sports Illustrated for their Swimwear Issues. The bigger problem with the Swimwear Issue is not necessarily the models that appear in the issue, but the overall message that the issue sends to society. When female athletes pose for these photos, it suggests inferiority and places this stigma onto all female athletes. It causes society to value the bodies of these women more than their actual athletic abilities. Male athletes can pose for semi-nude photo shoots and are seen as legends, and when women do it, they are devalued and seen as objects rather than athletes. Thus, the sexualization of female athletes is a very prominent problem within the world of sports media.
Sexism page 6
Football beaten down at home By Devon Greene
assisstant sports editor
After a hot start to the season, the Western Illinois Leatherneck football team dropped their second straight game after a 52-24 blowout home loss to the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits. The Leathernecks’ loss this week sprouted from the inability to get stops on defense. The Jackrabbits opened the game with a six play, 75-yard touchdown drive that left the Purple and Gold in a hole from the very beginning. Junior quarterback Taryn Christion has been a huge problem for opposing defenses all season and he showed from the start that this game was going to be no different. Christion accounted for 60 of South Dakota yards in the opening drive. The Jackrabbits’ first touchdown came from a 30yard completion from Christion to sophomore wide receiver Marquise Lewis. Western’s first drive featured junior running back Steve McShane as the offense looked to establish the run early in the game. However, a holding penalty and a sack left the Leathernecks in a tough position with a third and 16 from the South Dakota State 30-yard line. Unable to convert the third and long, Nathan Erickson’s number was called and he converted on a 45-yard field goal attempt to put Western on the board. Momentum began to swing in the Leathernecks’ favor on their next defensive possession. A two-play drive resulted in an interception by junior linebacker Quentin Moon. This interception gave the offense spectacular field position, starting on the Jackrabbits’ 11-yard line. The Leatherneck offense only needed two plays to score off of a 6-yard touchdown run from McShane to give the Purple and Gold their first lead of the game at 10-7. South Dakota did not stay down for long and returned with a 10 play drive that resulted in a 30-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Chase Vinatieri. The next three drives ended in punts from both teams ANGEL STRACK / PHOTO EDITOR as both defenses started to give Seteve McShane bursting into open field on a two-touchdown day against South Dakota State University. the offenses big problems. JackThe favorable field position With five minutes left in the ern five yard line with just over rabbit junior punter Brady Hale from the short punt gave the half, the Jackrabbit offense was a minute left in the half and put the Leathernecks’ backs Jackrabbits the opening that able to find the end zone one Christion found another receivagainst the wall with a perfect they were looking for and they more time on a drive where er in the end zone on a 1-yard punt that was downed at the only needed three plays to they only left Western with 55 touchdown pass to Wieneke to Westerns’ own three-yard line. score. Christion found his se- seconds left in the half. South give South Dakota a 24-17 lead McShane and the offense were nior wide receiver Jake Wieneke Dakota found a big play on going into halftime. unable to get anything going on two passes of 23 yards and a 2nd and two from their 36 The third quarter is where it and red-shirt freshman punter a 13-yard touchdown. Western yard line on a 32-yard comple- all fell apart for the Purple and Adam Fellner was forced to responded quickly with a sev- tion from Christion to red-shirt Gold. Their first drive after the punt. Fellner was unable to get en play drive that ended with freshman receiver Cade John- intermission ended in a punt a decent punt off due to the lack Steve McShane finding the son. A roughing the passer pen- and the Jackrabbits converted of space and only got the ball end zone again with a 39 yard alty after a 10 yard completion on their next drive with big out to the 34 yard line. touchdown run. put the Jackrabbits on the West- plays. Christion and Wieneke
showed their chemistry all day and it continued on their fourth play out of halftime. Christion found Wieneke on a 17 yard reception on a big third and 15 that gave the Jackrabbits some room to operate. Christion ended the drive when he found Lewis once again streaking in the backfield for a 46-yard touchdown that widened the lead to 31-17. Western’s misfortune continued as the next drive ended with a fumble from senior receiver Jaelon Acklin. South Dakota State capitalized on the mistake and scored once again with a two-yard run from sophomore running back Mikey Daniels. The Leatherneck offense stalled once again on the following drive with a three and out and a punt from Fellner. The final touchdown of the third quarter came on another connection from Christion to Wieneke on a six-yard touchdown pass. The Jackrabbits capped off the third quarter with a 21-0 scoring output and put them up 45-17 with only the fourth quarter remaining. Western finally found the end zone at the start of the fourth quarter with a big 47-yard touchdown pass from McGuire to McShane. However, the comeback was short lived as the Jackrabbit offense was quick to respond with an 8 play, 82-yard touchdown drive that ended with Christion’s fifth touchdown of the day, this one coming on a one-yard touchdown run which would be the final score of the game. Western head coach Charlie Fisher saw that his team didn’t come out of the locker room fired up enough after halftime. “We are right at it in the first half and we didn't answer the bell in the second half. We got out-coached, we got outplayed, whatever 'out' you want to use we just didn't do well enough in the second half,” Fisher said. “South Dakota State is a really good team, very explosive offensively, and you have to credit them. They played extremely well and the bottom line is we have to bounce back.” Fisher sees the need for this team to respond to adversity and avoid the collapse that they succumbed to last season. “We have to bounce back, we have got to believe in our guys.” Fisher said. “We're a good football team and we had a little bump in the road here against two very good teams. We have to get back on our feet and go back to work tomorrow and get ready to go to Normal to play a really good Illinois State team." Leatherneck football is heading on the road next week to play Illinois State University. Twitter: @devondeadlysins