WILL SOCIAL MEDIA TANK YOUR CAREER? FEATURES 7
ISU SOCCER LOSES MISSOURI VALLEY OPENER TO DRAKE SPORTS 12
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2015
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Vol. 128 / No.13
ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSIT Y’S NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1888
Jessi Dwyer/ Staff Photographer
Many members of the Bloomington-Normal area participated in the Buddy Walk at Carden Park & Prairieland Elementary School to bring awareness about Down syndrome.
Buddy Walk raises community awareness EMA SASIC Senior Reporter
The 11th annual Central Illinois Down Syndrome Organization’s (CIDSO) Buddy Walk brought together 562 walkers from the Normal community Saturday at Carden Park & Prairieland Elementary School. Co-chair Cheryl Crumrine explained year after year the Buddy Walk tries to educate the public on Down syndrome. “Our major goal here is to raise awareness for Down syndrome,” Crumrine said. “Another perk is that we get to make some money to support community programs.”
The goal each year is to raise $20,000, and prior to the walk CIDSO raised $7,000. Of the proceeds made from the event, 90 percent will stay in the community to support programs like Illinois State University’s Adult Literacy program, the Speech and Language program and the Heartland Academy for Learning Opportunities. As of Sunday night, the organization had raised $12,600, with donations still coming in. Although there were fewer walkers compared to previous years, Crumrine is still hopeful it will reach and possibly exceed its $20,000 goal.
This year, 19 Spirit Teams registered to participate in the one-mile, family-friendly walk to build unity and support. Some included Christy’s Caribbean Cruisers, Quinten’s Quest and Team Isaiah. Passersby saw a sea of colors as each team wore a unique T-shirt to identify themselves. Many ISU students and organizations participated in the Buddy Walk as well. The ISU National Art Education Association set up a table in Prairieland’s gymnasium for children to create tie-dye bandanas. Sophomore special education major Jacqueline Lejeune wanted to participate in the walk since it deals with her future career.
“I am part of the CIDSO organization, and I felt that it would be great to see the community I will be working in,” Lejeune said. Like many past Buddy Walks, volunteer Krysta Christensen said it is great to see so many community members come together to raise awareness for Down syndrome. “It’s been fantastic to see so many volunteers helping out today and having the community support us this year,” Christensen said. After the mile-long walk, attendees filed into Prairieland’s gymnasium to win raffle prizes. Gift baskets, gift cards, stuffed animals and toys were among the many prizes offered.
Normal hosts 12th annual Worldwide Day of Play AVE RIO News Editor
A bike rodeo highlighting bike safety for children was one of many activities at the Uptown Block Party and Worldwide Day of Play Saturday in Uptown Normal. The day included over 40 booths of free activities for kids, live music, and a reduced price of $4 admission to the Children’s Discovery Museum. The bike rodeo took place south of the railroad tracks on Parkinson Street. It included a bounce house, rock climbing with Upper Limits, and a free helmet giveaway provided by the Children’s Hospital of Illinois and Kohl’s Cares. The main part of the bike rodeo was the bike safety lessons. Children were taught the importance of helmets, riding single file on the Constitution Trail, how to tell others when you are passing them and more. Illinois State University freshman therapeutic recreation major Rachel Anderson was at the bike rodeo for a class. She handed out free water bottles to kids before they began their bike safety lesson. “I think it’s really cool to see all the kids getting really excited about learning more about bikes,” Anderson said. Kathleen and Dan Steadman, members of Friends of the Constitution Trail, a local advocacy group, agreed that bike safety is important. “It’s important that kids know how to get safely to and Jenna Kadziulis / Staff Photographer from places and they realize that they can ride their bikes Walker’s Tae Kwon Do was one of many organizations at Uptown Normal’s Worldwide Day of Play Saturday. instead of taking a car,” Kathleen Steadman, newsletter editor for the group, said. Dan said he was happy with the education going on at around the circus and he has been involved with it for a The knowledge kids gain now can affect them as they the bike rodeo. long time, but it takes a lot of work. On the other side of the railroad tracks at Gateway Plaza, grow up to be bicyclists. “I practice about one to one-and-a-half hours a day,” “You’re trying to educate them because there are a lot there was a live stage for various entertainment shows. Stoinev said. of problems between motorists and bikes,” Dan Steadman The ISU String Quartet kicked off the performances, and Other performances included a Zumba demonstration, said. “A lot of motorists think bicyclists don’t follow the shortly after, a juggler performed from CirqueMania. His high-school band and singer Leah Marlene who played rules of the road and they’re right. Trying to get people to act included exciting juggling and tricks involving his small guitar. follow the rules of the road is important so they don’t get dog. hurt and so the cars respect them.” see UPTOWN page 3 Christopher Stoinev, the performer, said he grew up