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CHEERS TO A GREAT SEMESTER
MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2017
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Vol. 130 / No. 31
Good luck on finals, Redbirds! Before you walk Milner dean helps open Qatar’s first national library CINDY HERNANDEZ News Reporter | @Cindylu_7
As December graduates leave the ’Birds nest Friday, there are ways to make the flight smoother EMA SASIC Editor in Chief | @ema_sasic
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pproximately 1,200 students are expected to pick up their diplomas and call themselves alumni beginning Saturday during Illinois State University’s winter commencement. There will be two ceremonies in Redbird Arena. The first begins at 9 a.m. and will include graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education and Interdisciplinary University Studies, and Mennonite College of Nursing. The second at 1 p.m. will include College of Applied Science and Technology, College of Business and College of Fine Arts graduates. Around 1,050 baccalaureate degrees and more than 100 graduate degrees will be awarded. Those participating are expected to stay throughout the entirety of the ceremony. Graduating college is a rewarding experience, but the days leading up to the big moment can be hectic. There are several ways to make the walk across stage as painless as possible.
Arrive on time Students are advised to arrive at least one hour prior to the start of the ceremony with their cap and gown. Bachelor’s and master’s degree candidates will check-in at Horton Fieldhouse, located north of Redbird Arena. Students should enter Horton Fieldhouse from the south side, facing the Turner Hall/Redbird Arena parking lot. Doctoral degree candidates will receive separate check-in instructions via email. Guests are also encouraged to arrive early in order to find seats and escape the late crowd. Doors will open one hour prior to the start of each ceremony.
Leave personal belongings with guests Although graduation is a great time to capture the best social media moments, commencement gowns do not have any pockets, and there is no storage for personal belongings. As a result, students should only bring their cap and gown. Guests are reminded no bags, boxes or backpacks except for purses and medical equipment will be allowed in Redbird Arena. “As a courtesy to all guests attending commencement, items such as balloons, balloon bouquets, signs, banners or other visual obstructions are discouraged,” Terri Haerr, commencement coordinator, said in a previous interview with The Vidette. “In addition, please refrain from using any type of noisemaker as graduates cross the stage. Loud noises and outbursts will distract from recognition of the next graduate.”
Dress to impress, but comfortably Students will be standing in line for a while before they make it to their seats in Redbird Arena, so comfortable shoes are a must. All degree candidates participating in commencement should wear appropriate academic regalia. Saturday is expected to have a high of 51 degrees with a 10 percent chance of precipitation.
Think responsibly Possession and consumption of alcohol at commencement is strictly prohibited. Students with alcohol will not be allowed to participate.
TOP: A 2016 December graduate takes a picture with College of Arts and Sciences Dean Gregory Simpson after receiving his diploma cover (Archive photo). ABOVE: A student smiles to friends during the May 2017 commencement (Monica Mendoza | Photo Editor).
Bright smiles Students will have a selection of photos taken by professional commencement photographers before they walk across the stage and while they receive their diploma cover. The photography
company GradImages will contact the graduate’s Illinois State University email address within one week of the ceremony with proofs and pricing information. Graduation photos can be found online by visiting www.gradimages.com/ illinoisstateuniversity.
Associate Dean of Milner Library Dallas Long traveled to the nation of Qatar to help launch the Qatar National Library this past fall. The library is the first large public and research library in the country’s history. The grand opening was in November. Long was approached by the Fulbright Program on a Specialist Award, which makes him available to other countries in need, to help train the staff. The Fulbright Program Dallas Long is a part of the U.S. Department of State. The program is an educational exchange program that is designed to increase mutual understanding between people of the United States and other countries. Former Milner dean Sohair Wastawy is now working as the Executive Director of the Qatar National Library. According to Long, Wastawy contacted the Qatar embassy to invite him to work with the opening of the library. There were 120 staff members hired to work at the library. “I was surprised by how multicultural the staff is,” Long said. “Qatar is modernizing very rapidly and had hired staff from all over the country,” he added. “I think that’s what surprised me the most.” With more than 15 years working in library sciences, Long has spent several years overseeing Milner’s Access Services area. In Qatar, Long was in charge of training the library staff to manage the interlibrary loans and to train the front-line circulation desk, or Access Services, employees. Long helped train staff with how to deal with customer service and difficult situations. They worked through various scenarios such as answering the phone, what to say when a book is damaged and even how to help people with special needs, such as low vision or physical challenges. He also helped review many of the library’s policies and consulted with the special collections staff on several ideas for a public reading room for rare books. see LIBRARY page 5
PAGE 2 | NEWS | THE VIDETTE
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and feel safe.” In January, a number of community groups formed the Keep he Bloomington City Council Families Together campaign with will meet Monday to discuss a goal of establishing Bloomingthe possible drafting of a reston and the Town of Normal as olution or an ordinance that would welcoming cities for immigrants. declare Bloomington a safe and Members of the campaign welcoming place for immigrants, include the Immigration Project, regardless of immigration status. Illinois People’s Action, Illinois District 87 and Unit 5 school American Civil Liberties Union, boards have passed welcoming resNot in Our Town, Unitarian Uniolutions in recent weeks. versalists, League of Women The council had planned to Voters, Black Lives Matter and consider a resolution welcoming New Covenant Community. immigrants in July, but removed “We’re working with our city the item while they awaited for Gov. attorneys because we want to Bruce Rauner to sign the Trust Act do it right and safe and legally into law. and make a strong statement for Vidette Photo Archive The law Rauner signed prohibited immigrants in our community,” Community members gathered at the McLean County Museum of History to local law enforcement from search- participate in the Day of Resistance, targeted toward accepting immigrants. Black said. “I have constituents ing, arresting or detaining someone who had concerns about the solely based on their immigration recent directive by the federal now that it has come to pass, we will be discussing status. Local law enforcement authorities will government. I’ve heard from people in my the policy in about a week or two.” still be able to communicate with immigration ward, as well as throughout the community.” Black said that he wants to make sure that agents and hold an individual for immigration Black said the council wants the idea vetted the city is allowing law enforceauthorities if there is a valid in public before making any final decisions. ment agents to do their job warrant. “I don’t know at this point in time [of a prowhile allowing a safe and wel“This comes from a desire posal], but when we talk about this kind of coming community for their to make our immigrant comcontroversial issue and deliberate it, we also immigrant population. munity more welcome in want to pass the best policy that our citizens “As I have said before many Bloomington. This idea will be and staff agree on,” he added. “Those in our times, I do strongly support decided by the majority of the community should speak out, get involved and the welcoming city ordinance, city council,” alderman Scott stay tuned and in touch with what is going on as the mayor,” BloomingBlack said. “A number of alderin the local community.” Tari Renner Scott Black ton Mayor Tari Renner said. men were concerned about this “Everyone should be welcomed topic a couple months ago, and
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2017
December grad reminisces before commencement Danielle Alexander is ready to cross the stage after four years of finding herself at ISU
STAR JOHNSON News Reporter | @Star2flyy_
Senior sociology major Danielle Alexander appreciates her education as an undergrad as it has pushed her out of her comfort zone to become the confident woman she sees herself as today. During her freshmen year at Illinois State University, Alexander enjoyed the freedom she had away from home, but realized she did not like the “adulting” aspect of college because she was not used to being independent. “Freshmen year taught me a lot about myself. It taught me you have to grow up at your own speed. You can’t grow according to how your peers are growing, you have to grow according to your own plan,” Alexander said. College has challenged Alexander academically and think outside of the box. As a sociology major, Alexander cannot put herself into a box because she has to analyze otherse and write often. She added that she has to be able to think in multiple ways and write from her perspective as well as a sociological perspective. Alexander said the most influential person in her life at ISU is Dean of StudentsJohn Davenport,
we’re scared of what college has to offer us,” Alexander said. “In life, there is no reward without risk, so you have to be comfortable with change because if you’re here for four or five years, you’re going to change four or five
times. You’re going to change according to the situations you’re in and the people that you’re with. Always remember that you’re here to better yourself, don’t take your eyes off the prize.”
Submitted Photo
Danielle Alexander accepted her certificate of achievement during the Umjoa recognition ceremony in May. Ph.D., because there were many times she went to his office thinking everything was falling apart and he helped her organize her academic life and find solutions to her problems instead of worrying. As a student handling projects and assignments or studying for exams, Alexander mostly appreciates the resources she had available to get her work done. “I feel like a lot of schools in the state are underfunded. The students don’t have a lot of resources and ISU does a really good job of
giving us what we need to get our work done. We’re not just confined to studying at Milner. We have [multiple] study spaces, we have all of the computers, printers and technology we need,” Alexander said. Alexander’s advice to new or current ISU students is to not be afraid of change and growth, be openminded and to not forget they are here to get a degree. “I think a lot of us come in and we are afraid of what’s here. We don’t know who we’re going to become and we’re scared to change and
“Always remember that you’re here to better yourself. Don’t take your eyes off the prize.” Danielle Alexander, Senior sociology major
Alumni Relations to host holiday murder mystery dinner SARAH ATEN News Reporter | @saramaten
An interactive murder mystery dinner for Illinois State alumni and students will take place from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Alumni Center Room 118. Past and present Redbirds are encouraged to take part in the event, which will involve a mystery centered around “I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus.” The Central Illinois Birds of the Last Decade Network and Without A Net Entertainment helped make the event possible. In “I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus,” mall Santas are attempting to get ready for the holiday season and a murderer lurks as the Santas are fired due to cutbacks. Guests are encouraged to put the clues together to solve the case. This is the first holiday murder mystery Alumni Relations has hosted and they plan on having similar events in the future due to positive feedback, Stephanie Duquenne from Alumni Relations, said. “We have young alumni coming, so that’s our alums that have graduated ten years or less, but then we also have alums from past decades coming, so it’ll be a
nice evening where alums from all eras will be able to network and have fun,” Duquenne said. To attend, participants must register by noon Monday by going online or contacting Alumni Relations at (309) 438-2586. The cost of the dinner and the interactive murder mystery play is $30 per person. There will be a cash bar. The dinner will include appetizers of red skinned potato slices with cream cheese, barbecue baked meatballs, mushroom caps with spinach and brie and baked brie phyllo dough. “Their goal was to provide a fun holiday event that alumni and friends of Illinois State University can come to just to reengage with the university and have a fun evening,” Duquenne said. There will be rewards for participating and for correctly guessing the murderer. Sarah Aten is a news reporter for The Vidette. She can be reached at smaten1@ilstu.edu Follow her on Twitter @sarahmaten.
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PAGE 4 | THE VIDETTE
VIDETTE EDITORIAL
MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2017
We no longer agree on what’s fact; that’s a problem
O
n Saturday, a Washington Post reporter named Dave Weigel mistakenly posted a photo from a Trump rally that insinuated Trump’s crowd was smaller than he was suggesting. It turns out the photo Weigel posted was from before the president walked in, and people were still making their way to their seats. The president called Weigel and The Washington Post out, and as Maggie Haberman, Glenn Thrush and Peter Baker brilliantly explained in their most recent New York Times piece, Trump’s Twitter account served as his Excalibur in a furious battle to uphold what credibility he believes he has. Weigel apologized for his error, while the president called for him to be fired. Let that sink in for just a moment. The President of the United States called for a reporter to be fired. This is not an irregular occurrence for President Trump. Too often, he calls for reporters to lose their jobs, while he enables those who purposefully misguide the public. Whether it’s Sean Hannity, Kellyanne Conway, Breitbart, Sean Spicer or the artist formerly known as The Mooch, the list is long, and the lies are plenty. The man who essentially started the birther movement doesn’t care about truth, and as a result, he consistently undermines
the members of the press who actually do care about the truth. Weigel made a mistake, and he owned up to it. Trump and his associates perpetuate lies on a daily basis, but they maintain their absolute truth and anything else that is slightly critical is fake news. The First Amendment is under constant fire in this political climate. It is now more important than ever to be able to wade through the actual fake news. Outlets such as Breitbart, Fox and Russian Facebook links you probably should have known were bogus anyway, have made it so that we no longer agree on what is fact anymore. One side acknowledges them,
and the other blatantly disregards them as fake news. Find the sources that hire fair and quality reporters that are the proprietors of the truth that Trump hates so much. Other than just reading quality journalism, we can pay for a subscription to a national newspaper, support smaller journalistic ventures or read local papers for starters. The impact that can be made in one’s own community is the greatest untapped means of change we have in this country. The national scene unites us because it affects all of us, but in addition to making a small difference on a large scale, you
can make a large difference on a small scale in your community. Combat the same type of attitude toward journalists that will inevitaONLINE POLL bly trickle down in smaller towns that support Trump and his crusade against the media. Read your local paper, write letters to the editor when you don’t necessarily agree with something and, if you so choose, write about things that Cast your vote at are imporVidetteonline. tant to you. In short, com or by using simply use The Vidette the information at mobile your disposapp al to your advantage, and you’ll likely find that there is a clear line between Trump, those who support him and those who seek the truth.
What are your thoughts on the United States press?
?
Editorial Cartoon by Phabian Clark | Vidette Editorial Cartoonist
EDITORIAL POLICY Editorial written by ALEX GOUGH, a member of The Vidette’s Editorial Board. Editorial policy is determined by the student editor, and views expressed in editorials are those of the majority of The Vidette’s Editorial Board. Columns that carry bylines are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Vidette or the University.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Victims, don’t make the same mistake I made Let’s win our grad Dear Editor, I am writing to you and your readers in the hope that I might be able to be a little helpful and supportive. When I was a 25 year-old college student back in the 1970s, I was very badly sexually harassed for a long time by a female college professor who had a lot of power over me. Like most of my “fellow-victims and survivors,” I have been too ashamed and embarassed to tell anyone about it for the past 40 years, aside from my wife — until now. I have found that a lot of people do not take the sexual harassment of a male by a female seriously. I have sometimes been mocked, teased and insulted about it. And, as many others find
out, I have sometimes been called “a liar” and told that I “made the whole thing up just to get attention, pity and sympathy from others.” I want to URGE all victims of sexual harassment to immediately report it to someone in a position of authority. One of the biggest regrets of my life is that I did not. Please do not repeat my mistake. These perpetrators need to be stopped. And please do not repeat my mistake of blaming myself for it. You did NOT do anything to bring on that predatory behavior or to encourage it. It was NOT your fault. Stewart Epstein
Betsy Dirksen Londrigan for Illinois’ 13th District Dear Editor, Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) doesn’t support students. Or at least, that’s what his recent votes indicate. Davis voted for the tax reform legislation last month, despite the bill containing components that will negatively impact students, including the graduate student tuition waiver repeal. Graduate school education is notoriously expensive; without this provision, students who rely on this support to get their postgraduate degrees will have to somehow find the means to increase their income, while already attending classes and working on campus — or drop out of school. The House tax bill will also eliminate the student loan interest deduction. College graduates are already saddled with enormous amounts of student debt. This bill will make it even harder for
millennials to pay off their student loan debt and do things like buy a house or start a family. Speaking of families, while many colleges and universities waive the tuition fees for their employees and their families, the House bill will treat these waivers as taxable income, once more hurting people seeking an education. I support Betsy Dirksen Londrigan for Congress because she’ll fight for students and their families, unlike Davis. Dirksen Londrigan wants to raise the age of the child tax credit to 18 to help parents pay for college. She wants to make it easier for graduates to pay off their student loans and raise the cap on employer-provided tuition waivers. Dirksen Londrigan will stand up for students like me, and that’s why we need to send her to Washington and dump Davis. Perry Harlow
student union
Dear Editor, During the past few weeks, U.S. congressional Republicans have introduced and voted on tax legislation that shifts the tax burden from the wealthiest and most privileged Americans to working individuals, students, teachers and the underserved. As an ISU graduate student, I am deeply concerned about how this tax legislation will impact my financial position. This tax legislation would count waived tuition as income, nearly doubling income tax liabilities for graduate students. This would cut into graduate students’ poverty level wages and would further discourage prospective students from joining graduate programs. While criticism by educators and graduate students grows nationwide, Republican lawmakers are still choosing to support this legislation. Even Representative Rodney Davis, who represents ISU and four other universities, voted in support of this harmful legislation. Davis sold out graduate students to fund tax breaks for the wealthy and big business interests. Wednesday, ISU students, faculty and community members spoke out against Davis’ decision to support this tax bill. Let’s work toward winning our graduate student union so that we have a voice in our working conditions locally and nationally. J.D. Lewis
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Never hesitate to share your concerns, thoughts
A
MY VIEW EMA SASIC | Editor-in-Chief
s we reach the end of first semester and 2017, I can’t help but reflect on the wonderful achievements The Vidette accomplished this year. Something we are all so proud of is reaching, and exceeding, one million page views. It’s a goal we’ve been hoping to accomplish for a while (since I joined the paper
as a freshman), and I’m ecstatic it happened with all the talented people on my staff. My sub-editors, reporters and photographers all did a phenonmenal job capturing and sharing people’s stories that our readers care about. Thank you for your passion and hard work this semester. I’m so proud of all of you.
Something I’m personally proud of is the overcrowded Viewpoint page. Every week, I received so many guest columns and letters to the editor; just look at the three featured in today’s issue alone. I loved reading all of your thoughts and am so honored you chose The Vidette as your medium for self-expression. Please continue to do this in the
new year and beyond. If you have something you want to say, it’s worth sharing. Just know there will always be space for you in The Vidette. Never be hesistant to speak your mind because that’s the point of a newspaper’s opinion section. From all of us at The Vidette, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and we’ll see you next year.
THE VIDETTE | NEWS | PAGE 5
MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2017
Pi Sigma Epsilon partners with app developer, uses ISU as test market SparkDJ combines with Spotify to serve as a party’s DJ ANDREW DOUGHERTY Political Reporter | @addough
A new start-up firm and app developer, SparkDJ, is currently working with Illinois State University’s Pi Sigma Epsilon to test their market research program to get insight and make improvements on the new music app. SparkDJ is a music streaming service that is integrated with Spotify and is programmed specifically for parties and events. It adds the transition between songs that a DJ would to avoid the silence in between songs. Party-goers can request songs from their own phones and influence the music by voting on the song requests that are currently in the queue. “There was a university-wide email sent to students and our Vice President of Marketing answered it and asked if there was anything we could do for them,” sophomore international business major Malin Quande Haugen said. “We’re always looking for new ways to grow and bring new business opportunities.” Pi Sigma Epsilon is a co-educational professional business fraternity with a focus in marketing and sales. “We’re not too sure why they chose ISU but perhaps it is because of our willingness to work with them. They reached out to us and we went back and made that connection. They liked what we had to offer and the potential we had. So, once they started working with us, they decided to make ISU their testing ground to really gauge college students,” junior marketing major Lauren Cotton said. “In the future, they’re hoping to expand to other universities as well as expand their brand ambassador team.”
The company has recently partnered with Spotify, along with ten other companies, which makes the app free for anyone who has Spotify premium. “This is our first time working with a startup company like this and we’ll see what the future holds, but so far we’ve built a strong relationship with them with what we’ve been doing,” she added. “But we don’t have any specific plans with SparkDJ in the future so far.” Pi Sigma Epsilon has in the past done research with local companies, the Normal Public Library and ISU iRepair. “The way SparkDJ works is that whoever is playing their music off of Spotify clicks ‘host a party’ and then they can choose three different options. The first option is like a DJ mix which plays all the top songs that are Natalie Stuckslager | Vidette Photo Editor requested on Spotify such as rap or hip hop SparkDJ is working with Pi Sigma Epsilon to make improvements on the app. and it becomes a DJ curated playlist that lets people request them,” Cotton said. SparkDJ transitions songs like a live DJ so Quande Hauge said working on SparkDJ has helped with that there is nonstop music being played throughout the party, other aspects of life. eliminating the need to swap phones or pause the music to “It’s incredibly interesting because they’ve given us full change it. insight into what they’re doing and this kind of stuff gives us “The second option lets you pretty much find the vibe of your information that we wouldn’t learn from classes,” Quande party, whether its rap or EDM and it will only play those types Haugen said. “Through this project I’ve learned so much about of songs. The last one is that you use your own playlist and the marketing and analytics and it’s good to get this experience app incorporates that and in between the songs played it will early on, which is very helpful in your college career.” integrate them into the playlist,” Cotton added.
LIBRARY continued from page 1
The recently completed library is located in Education City. Libraries in the Middle East were only known to hold government and legal documents or manuscripts and antiques, so the concept of a public library is relatively new. The royal family in Qatar provided the brand new building.
The building follows the architecture of Qatar that combines ancient and ultramodern. It has a sparkling glass exterior and leads to an open floor plan with shelves made of marble. “I would definitely return,” Long said. “Although I have no immediate plans to do so, I would love to see it now that it’s open and how it is in action.” Now that he is back in the United States, he keeps in touch with the staff in Qatar and answers questions via email.
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PAGE 6 | THE VIDETTE
Features
MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2017
Perfect society Black and Latino Male Movement bonds ethnic groups to advance through barriers TIFFANI JACKSON-SKINNER Features Reporter | @_smilesssss
out about the movement, I was able to connect with motivated Black and Latino n a perfect society, skin students on campus who color and race would not faced the same problems.” play a role in how well one Garcia elaborated, “We is expected to excel in a task. came together, held each In a perfect society, access to other accountable and conemployment opportunities and tinued to reach our goal of higher education would not be graduation. Being the first based upon one’s racial backorganization I joined on ground and income. campus, it gave me motivaIn a perfect society, racism, tion and the tools I needed discrimination and advanceto become the leader I am ment barriers would cease to today and eventually helped exist. me attain leadership roles in In reality, these issues do exist other organizations as well.” and the people most effected by The organization has them are minority groups and provided programs and camtheir youth. paigns that allow students to African American and Latino show support for both culminorities tend to live in the tures on campus, same urban areas. Regardless “We have celebrated Latino of past tensions culture with a Dia de los between the Muertos celebration. We have celebrated African American to Know two — especially when racia l culture with our annual Black profiling, mass incarceration, History [Month] assembly. police brutality and educational Most importantly, we have achievement gaps, are topics — an annual Black and Latino the narratives of the young men summit which is a conferin the two follow a similar trend. ence where we discuss issues With the desire to break affecting Black and Latino these social, economic and edumale communities and ways cational barriers, the youth of to provide greater opportuthese two groups have decided nities for coalition building, to come together and form an education and workforce alliance to reach a common goal: readiness,” Garcia said. equality. The organization has many Illinois State University events planned for next recognizes the challenges semester and encourages minorities face and strongly students to attend and show Submitted Photo support for its cause. encourages its students to form organizations that provide safe President Ivan Garcia and past Vice President Will Carter work the Black and Latino Male Movement RSO booth at Festival ISU. “We definitely want people The advocacy organization offers resources and networking opportunities to help Black and Latino male students succeed. havens for those who feel alone to be on the lookout for our while attending a predominately events next semester. Our The ultimate goal of the organization is succeed as much as our counterparts. We are white institution. biggest event is the Black and Latino Summit to serve as a safe haven and to provide the able to offer help, resources and connections With a goal to unite both groups and sup- university community with programs and to the students who need it the most,” Garcia and it offers great information for any student port common experiences, The Black and activities that will foster a better understand- said. who wants to join or play a role in helping our Latino Male Movement was created in 2012 ing and appreciation for the cultural diversity Garcia states that the organization moti- minorities advance,” Garcia said. by ISU alumnus Carl Hunter. The movement works with other diversity of the Black and Latino community. vated him to stay in school and succeed, “We tend to only recognize issues of our own advocacy organizations to discuss mutual conIvan Garcia, senior communication science regardless of the barriers faced while being a groups and forget that others have faced bar- major and current president, says that the minority. cerns and ultimately provides resources and riers in the past as well. Being that Blacks and organization is unique because it aims for the “Coming to college, I felt out of place and networking opportunities to help Black and Latinos have and are still facing similar issues, advancement of both ethnic groups. alone because there was no one who looked Latino male students reach academic success. I wanted to find a way to bring our two ethnic For more information, please contact igar“Our movement targets a population on like me. It made me lose the eagerness I had to groups together on campus and cater to the campus that is statistically shown to not be here,” Garcia said. “However, after finding cia@ilstu.edu. advancement of both,” Hunter said.
I
RSO
ISU students safely navigate winter wonderlands this holiday season STUART STALTER Senior Features Reporter | @VidetteStuS
During winter, many people travel far distances to share the holiday spirit with their loved ones. Faced with a plethora of safety concerns, including dangerous weather and hackers targeting holiday shoppers, Illinois State University shares advice for safely navigating winter wonderlands. ISU Police Chief Aaron Woodruff offers two pieces of driving advice. "First, I would suggest that students make sure they clear the frost, snow and ice off a majority of their windows sufficiently enough to see before they start driving," Woodruff advised. "Often times, people only scape a small 'porthole' and then try to drive. This impaired view makes it difficult to see traffic and pedestrians around you. " Additionally, snowy conditions create the unique hazard of black ice. "Black ice often forms after melting and refreezing on the roadways and can be difficult to see," Woodruff said. "Drivers need to slow down and use caution whenever the roadway appears wet and temperatures get close to Aaron freezing [32 degrees F]." Woodruff Any driving hazard is amplified by alcohol consumption. According to the Institutional Investor, total consumption of alcohol has been projected to exceed $40 billion in November and December every year since 2014. As drinks disappear, so does judgment. Woodruff advises caution.
"I also know many students will choose to drink alcohol, but my advice is to do so in moderation and make sure responsible friends are around to help keep each other safe," Woodruff said. Woodruff notes that alcohol makes students easier targets for criminals. However, cyber criminals only need an internet connection to victimize everyone. An estimated 50 million cyberattacks occurred between November and January last year. Glen Sagers, security professor and School of Information Technology director, provides ways to protect passwords. "Use two-factor authentication wherever possible, which means that besides entering your password, you’ll also need to put in a one-time-use number," Sagers advised. "These can be generated by an authenticator app, sent via text message, or other methods." Glen Alternatively, Sagers notes that using Sagers a password protector will manage other accounts to ensure passwords stay updated and safe. Many apps exist to serve this purpose, including 1Password, KeePass and LastPass. Samantha Brinkman | Vidette Photographer When students must enter their own password, Sagers cau- ISU Police Chief Aaron Woodruff advises students be cautious of tions that modern passwords must be complex. black ice on the roads this winter season. "Good today means more than 10, or even better, 12 chardog gets lots of fleas every June when it’s hot" becomes "MDGacters," Sagers said. "Perhaps use a passphrase, which is a sentence, that’s only meaningful to one person. Do not use LOFEJWH." When coupled with numbers, this becomes a hard-to-hack password. things like common phrases or movie taglines." These pieces of advice can lead everyone to a happier holiUsing the first letter of each word in a passphrase and mixing in symbols is a great way of being unique. For example, "My day season.
THE VIDETTE | SPORTS | PAGE 7
MONDAY, DECEMEBER 11, 2017
ISU fends off late EMU flurry Sunday NICK LANDI Sports Reporter | @nlandi1033
Robinson made a 3-pointer with 2:09 left in the period. At halftime, Illinois State led Eastern Michigan 26-12 and seemed destined to cruise to a victory. Then, the Eagles’ offense came to play in the second half. Eastern Michigan shot 50 percent from the field (7-14) in the third quarter and 52 percent (11-21) in the fourth. ISU matched the Eagles by also making 7-14 field goal attempts in the third quarter as well as shooting 55 percent in the final frame. When the minutes began winding down, Eastern Michigan turned up the intensity in its full-court defense, causing ISU to turn the ball over 10 times in the last quarter. The Eagles got within five points when they trailed 61-56 with 19 seconds remaining. Ultimately, Green and sophomore Megan Talbot each made two free throws in the final minute to seal the victory for ISU. “I would just say it’s a lot of mental toughness, actually,” Green said about the final minutes. “Just kind of gathering the team and just settling down and not playing to their hectic level and just staying focused and poised during that high-pressure situation.” Having split its first eight games of the season, Gillespie’s team is looking to finish strong in its nonconference schedule, which has three games left. “We have a lot to prove to ourselves,” Gillespie said. “And our goal now is to do really well on our exams this week, but then to come out next Sunday and get another win because we will go into the Valley with a winning record, and that is our focus.” ISU gets a week off to complete finals before playing its next game at 2 p.m. Sunday at home against Cleveland State.
If Illinois State women’s basketball wanted to end its two-game losing streak, it was going to have to find a way to make more outside shots. ISU did just that in a 65-56 win over Eastern Michigan (2-7) on Sunday at Redbird Arena. Even with a late comeback from the Eagles, the Redbirds (4-4) got their record back to .500. “Always good to win,” ISU coach Kristen Gillespie said. “But we — I don’t want to say — got lucky, but we didn’t finish the game the way I would have liked to see our team finish.” Senior Hannah Green tied her careerhigh in points with 20 against the Eagles. Green previously scored 20 earlier this season on Nov. 26 against Missouri Kansas City. Junior Katrina Beck matched a careerhigh in 3-pointers made with four, leading her to a total of 17 points. Beck’s four 3-pointers was the most in a game by an ISU player this season. Beck also reached 500 points for her career after hitting her fourth 3-pointer of the game in the third quarter. The Chicago native finished with game highs in rebounds with eight and assists with six. As a team, ISU made a season-high seven 3-pointers. Despite only shooting 23 percent from that range entering Sunday’s contest, the Redbirds went 7-15 from three, good enough for 46.7 percent accuracy. The first quarter was a struggle offensively for both teams, especially for Eastern Michigan. Coming into Sunday with a sixgame losing streak, the Eagles missed their first 12 shots before senior Micah
Sam Layendecker | Vidette Photographer
Paige Saylor pushes the tempo for the Illinois State. Saylor played the full 40 minutes in Sunday’s victory.
ISU soccer adds Barney MIKE MARRA Sports Editor | @MikeMarraILSTU
First Year Honor Roll nominee. Barney was a member of the Sockers FC ECNL in Chicago under head coaches Trey Bradberry and Scotty Keena during her club soccer career. During her U17 and U18 years, she was invited to participate in ECNL’s Player Development Program for the Midwest. Redbird soccer finished the 2017 season 9-9-2, good enough for fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference, but was bounced in the first round of the MVC Tournament at Northern Iowa. Silvey and company return 18 players from the 2017 season and now add Barney.
Illinois State soccer head coach Brad Silvey is welcoming in a new face to the program. Plainfield, Illinois, native and University of Kentucky transfer Tate Barney has signed with the Redbirds. Barney will be entering her junior year after she was redshirted her freshman year after tearing her ACL at Kentucky. The sophomore played in five games, totaling 19 minutes. While at Kentucky, she was a Dean’s List and SEC
FOOTBALL continued from page 8
“I like Gabe’s flexibility as a player,” Spack added. “Obviously, you can never have enough tackles; however, if you can find a guy that is big and physical enough to move guys off the ball inside at the guard position as well, it’s a bonus.
Gabe played both positions at Illinois and we believe he can play both positions here as well, but we will see where he fits in best.” As a three-year letter winner at Jacksonville High School, Megginson was a four-star recruit out of high school, the No. 2 overall prospect and No. 1 offensive lineman prospect in the state of Illinois.
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PAGE 8 | THE VIDETTE
Sports
MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2017
ISU hoops 10-game assessment
MY VIEW NATE HEAD Sports Editor
A
Monica Mendoza | Vidette Photo Editor
Milik Yarbrough scored a season-high 30 points in the Illinois State men’s basketball team’s defeat to Murray State Saturday at Redbird Arena.
Murray State races past ISU Illinois State’s comeback comes up short, ’Birds drop to Racers, 78-72 MIKE MARRA Sports Editor | @MikeMarraILSTU
Illinois State had 26 seconds left in the game and a chance to tie it up, but instead, the Redbirds didn’t even get a shot off coming out of a timeout. Murray State erased an initial Illinois State 7-0 lead, eventually leaving 78-72. “[I’m] really proud of our guys, I told them any time you go on the road, I don’t care, it’s hard to win,” Matt McMahon, Murray State head coach, said. “I thought they really fought ... give a lot of credit to Illinois State, I know they faced some adversity, I thought those guys played their tail off.” Illinois State (4-6) closed out the first half without a basket the final 11 minutes, after starting the game making seven of its first 12 attempts from the field. The Redbirds led for the first 12:07 of the game and never again. “I thought we lost the game in the first half when we got frustrated by missed shots and some no-calls,” Illinois State head coach Dan Muller said. “We got really good shots, mostly, not all. We missed some shots around the rim, guy thought they were getting bumped, missed a number of open threes. I just said [at halftime] we’re getting great shots, our problem is our defensive focus when we miss shots ... that’s where we lost the game. Right there.” Murray State (6-1) enjoyed a stellar performance from Terrell Miller, who scored a
team-high 25 points, as the Redbirds had no answer defensively for Miller with Phil Fayne back home in Elk Grove, California, for his grandfather’s funeral. The Racers also used a performance from freshman Ja Morant, who seemingly hit a tougher basket each time he scored. “He’s got a great feel for the game. He loves to play, he plays with unbelievable energy and passion,” McMahon said of his freshman. “Where he hasn’t gotten enough credit has been at the defensive end of the floor. He’s been the point of our defense, his ball pressure has been really critical for us.” Morant finished with 15 points and held Keyshawn Evans to a season-low nine points. In the second half, Murray State extended its lead to as many as 13, but Illinois State fought back. Milik Yarbrough would score 17 of his gamehigh and career-high 30 points in the second half. “He was big time offensively, I thought his last 15 minutes of the game — and I know he had 13 at half, but I thought he really played at a high level,” Muller said. Without Fayne in the lineup, Yarbrough did not feel any added pressure and did not feel his role changed coming into this game. “I don’t think my role changed at all. I just knew I had to be a little more aggressive, be more of a play maker,” Yarbrough explained. “We practiced without him [Fayne] the last few days and we got a feel for it, but we’re not going
to blame the game on Phil because he wasn’t here.” The Redbirds would trim the Murray State lead to three or less five times in the final six minutes of the game, but never got closer than two points after William Tinsley scored three of his nine points with 2:33 left in the contest. With 24.6 seconds left in the game, ISU trailed 75-72 and Muller called a timeout. On the ensuing possession, Evans attempted to received a hand-off from Taylor Bruninga, but the ball bounced off Evans’ knee out of bounds, essentially ending the ball game. “We wanted to get Key the ball back and he was going to drive, if he had a lay-up, take it, if not we had shooters spaced in certain areas to kick it out to,” Muller said. “Just a mishandle, not why we lost the game, just going to fast and the ball bounced off — he [Evans] feels bad about it, but that’s not why we lost the game.” Bruninga would be the only other Redbird in double figures, as the freshman contributed 11 points. Illinois State now has one full week without games before heading to Oxford, Mississippi, to take on SEC opponent Ole Miss on Saturday. “The biggest thing is the academics and finals, which all start on Monday, but they’ll have tomorrow and Monday off. I haven’t decided exactly what we’ll do on Tuesday, but they need it. They need it physically and mentally,” Muller said. “[We need to] comeback a little refreshed and prepare for another really good team. Another really, really good team on the road.”
Redbird football lands U of I transfer MIKE MARRA Sports Editor | @MikeMarraILSTU
Illinois State football continues to reload this offseason as Gabe Megginson has officially signed to become a Redbird next season. The Jacksonville, Illinois, native comes from down the road in Champaign, Illinois, as he attended the University of Illinois for his first two collegiate football seasons. The official announcement comes after Megginson tweeted out “Roll birds” on Sunday. “We knew about Gabe a long time ago and he came to our lineman camp several times Photo Courtesy: ISU Athletics when he was in high school,” head coach Brock Gabe Megginson will transfer to ISU in 2018. Spack said. “It was early on that we knew he
was a special player and would most likely be a national recruit, and that was what he developed into. When he decided to make a change and transfer, it was easy for us to bring him in because we knew a lot about him and the type of person Gabe is. He’s exactly what you want in a FBS transfer and we are excited to have him here in the spring.” In 2017, Megginson made four starts on the offensive line at guard and tackle, while playing in all 12 games. In 2016, Megginson started in seven games, seeing action in 10 games after red-shirting in 2015. see FOOTBALL page 7
s the semester winds to a close, nerves are high as students around campus brace for finals week. While it still may be a while until professors upload final grades (calling a ReggieNet failure now), the marks are in for the Illinois State men’s basketball team. For the first 10 games, anyway. The Redbirds sit at 4-6 and have had to navigate through more than their fair share of adversity. From dressing just eight scholarship players for the first week of the season to missing freshman Elijah Clarence and the rim-protecting David Ndiaye, coach Dan Muller and his young roster have been dealt a tough hand. Honestly, while there have been some frustrating moments, it could have been worse than just six defeats. Let’s not discount a season-opening victory over South Carolina and a gritty win against Tulsa at Redbird Arena just over a week ago. The positives: Milik Yarbrough has emerged as a dominant scorer and shown his ability to score at will, Keyshawn Evans and Phil Fayne have been the potent combo that the team needed and freshman Taylor Bruninga has shown flashes of potentially evolving into a true shooting threat at the collegiate level. But, with the good comes the bad. For starters, the team’s scoring load has been carried by Yarbrough, Evans and Fayne. Other players, such as William Tinsley and Madison Williams need to find a way to score at a higher rate to lighten the pressure on the leading trio. Despite the recent shortcomings, Muller remains optimistic for the future of the team, tweeting “I love my team” after Saturday’s defeat and showing encouragement during the postgame press conference. “We’re not happy with our record, certainly,” Muller said. “I really like the growth of some of our players ... hopefully we get healthy pretty soon here and start developing our team again.” A major blemish on the report card comes from a head-scratching Nov. 25 loss to Charleston Southern in overtime at Redbird Arena. That one was brutally ugly on both sides, as either team eclipsed 40 percent from the field, and ISU finished at just 33 percent. Those kinds of games can’t happen as the Redbirds prepare for conference play, which opens against Evansville on Dec. 23. So, without further ado, my 10game grade is a firm C-plus. The team has offered moments of a potential deep postseason run, but has been plagued with inconsistency that has held the team back out of the gates. But, it’s still early. The real test comes when the conference title defense begins in two weeks. Time to study.