The Alestle Vol. 75 No. 3

THE

alestle

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

the student voice since 1960

Thursday, September 9, 2021 Vol. 75 No. 3

insidE: SIUE reflects on 20th anniversary of 9/11 PAGE 2

Annual Rocky Horror Picture Show returns PAGE 4

Women’s soccer starts home season with a win PAGE 7

“Master Peace,” created by Kevin and Jennifer Box, is a sculpture created for the Missouri Botanical Garden’s “Origami in the Garden” exhibition, which runs from April 17 to October 10.

The exhibition coincided with the Botanical Garden’s Japanese Festival, an event celebrating Japanese culture and heritage. | Emily Sterzinger / The Alestle

alestlelive.com

PAGE 2

Thursday, 09.09.21

Professors reflect on 9/11 and its aftereffects - 20 years later DANA MCLENNAN copy editor

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack which killed nearly 3000 people and injured thousands more on Sept. 11, 2001. The attack on American soil brought about changes in travel, counterterrorism, government surveillance measures and increased Islamophobia.

Professor of criminal justice, Matt Petrocelli, who served 10 years previously in the Army, said when 9/11 happened his instant response was to defend his country.

“When it became clear it was a coordinated terrorist attack, I became enraged. I immediately contacted the Department of Defense and tried to be reactivated,” Petrocelli said. “I didn’t get an opportunity to do that, but that was my immediate reaction.”

Petrocelli said a record number of individuals who previously had no desire or intent to join the military prior to 9/11 responded to the recruiting efforts because the country was incensed.

“It was really the last time I recall the country rallying around a cause,” Petrocelli said. “It was a moment that I believe that the country was collectively enraged by what happened and wanted to give a collective response.”

Petrocelli said the U.S. was well guarded, being one of the most geographically well-protected countries in the world with good allies to the north and south.

“To have an attack like that happen on American soil and have 3000 people killed by way of that attack, that shook people to their core,” Petrocelli said. “For the first time, the United States was attacked by a foreign entity in a very real way.”

Vice Chancellor for Administration Morris Taylor said changes in national security measures that resulted from the terrorist attack have been both positive and negative.

“On the one hand, it has been positive because it has made us more sensitive to the potential threats that are out there, but on the other hand, there have been instances of abuse of power, unfortunately, at times

by government authority,” Taylor said.

Taylor said as Americans we have to be concerned about being both safe as a country and also free, but it’s a delicate balancing act.

“I remember shortly after 9/11 the government went into high gear to do some things like wiretapping and other things to show we were safe, but some of those procedures were questionable, and perhaps even in some regards unconstitutional,” Taylor said. “I think it was one of those things where [there] were several works in progress and was sort of a kneejerk reaction to a very dangerous situation.”

Kenneth Moffett, department chair and professor of political science said while some of the changes made to national security were good others were not. “[There was a] dramatic increase in racial profiling, especially of Muslims and those from Middle Eastern or North African countries,” Moffett said. “In part, how that happens is through some of the increased security and surveillance apparatuses that were put in post 9/11.”

Taylor said he believes the racial profiling of Middle Eastern people that occurred after 9/11 has calmed down somewhat but that it’s a fact that people are being profiled every day without justification simply because of their heritage.

“You have to be open minded. You can’t just treat someone [like that] because they are from a different part of the world or you think they might be a potential terrorist,” Taylor said.

After 9/11, airline security was federalized, and the Transportation Security Administration was created. Professor Emerita Rowena McClinton of the history department said her travel after 9/11 was affected because of her time spent in the Middle East and predominantly Muslim countries.

“Every time I would leave, get on an airplane for a long time I was searched, and patted down because I fit a certain profile that if you have an aisle seat and have gone to the Middle East or you had been with non-Christian people for any length of

time you were pointed out as suspicious,” McClinton said.

Moffett said besides the TSA the USA Patriot Act and questions of civil liberty violations were also introduced as a direct result of the attacks.

“The USA Patriot Act, which allows for all sorts of searches that prior to 9/11 would undoubtedly not have been constitutionally permissible,” Moffett said. “It is debated whether the Patriot Act itself is constitutional, simply because of the relative invasiveness and lack of clear legal transparent procedure.”

McClinton said fear and a heightened awareness of security guided both positive and negative results in the years following 9/11.

“There were many programs instituted in schools to teach about the history of the Middle East and to help educate people about the Muslim religion,” McClinton said. “But there has been some prejudice against women who wear the veil here in this country.”

McClinton said she was in Chicago on scholarship at the Newberry Library in 2001 when she learned of the attacks. She said she remembers thinking how vulnerable the United States was at that time to another attack.

“I walked from where I was staying in Chicago in an apartment to the Newberry,” McClinton said. “I would look up at the John Hancock center and just think, ‘If planes flew into that building it would have the same effect of what had happened to the Twin Towers in New York.’ There was such a heightened awareness … ‘and how we were going to safeguard our security?’”

Taylor said he was in his office at SIUE when his sister from New Jersey called and told him she could see smoke coming from New York but that it wasn’t until the second plane hit the towers that they knew that there was an attack.

“I remember, [someone from the] department found a TV. I can’t remember which room it was in, and we just began to listen to the news accounts as it was all unfolding, almost unbelievable, kind of

somewhat surreal,“ Taylor said. “It was a very traumatic day. And we were all basically on red alert because we didn’t know exactly what was happening.”

Moffett said he was a teaching assistant working on his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Iowa and learned of the first plane that hit the Twin Towers during class from one of his students and subsequent attacks afterward.

“I went … to the common area where they had the TV on and everybody was glued to the television, trying to make sense of what just had just happened and what was happening,” Moffett said. “I was just dumbfounded how this could happen.”

Moffett said another faculty member encouraged him to teach his afternoon class and discuss the events of that day with his students and he was glad he did.

“I’m thankful I took that approach,” Moffett said, “because two students in that class that day ended up being directly affected by the events of 9/11.”

Petrocelli was a professor at Cal State in California and remembers receiving a frantic phone call from his mother at 6 a.m to tell him that someone had blown up the Twin Towers.

“My brother was a police officer. We grew up in northern New Jersey just a few miles away from New York City, and he was a first responder. He was there that day, that morning, responding there,” Petrocelli said. “Luckily, he didn’t get hurt, but obviously a lot of guys did so I have a very vivid memory of that.”

Taylor said the country seemed to pull together a lot closer after 9/11, but that closeness has sort of faded over time and that we should learn from that.

“It’s kind of an irony that it takes us [being] on the precipice of disaster sometimes before we can pull together and see that we need each other, more than ever,” Taylor said.

Moffett will be holding a virtual seminar, “Constitution Day: Civil Liberties 20 Years After September 11,” on Sept.

17. The seminar is open to SIUE students and staff.

On-campus organizations for students to check out NICOLE BOYD social media manager

Asian American Association The Asian American Association is a new organization that aims to connect Asian students in the SIUE community through social events such as going out to eat and community service. Their main volunteer opportunity is a partnership with AAA and Mizzou, where they make care packages for people experiencing homelessness.

“It’s just a good wawy to meet people in the Asian community,” Amy Do, a senior nursing major from O’Fallon, Missori, and president of the Asian American Association, said.

Do said those interested in joining can check out their page on GetInvolved, but she also recommends that people tell their friends in the Asian community about their organization.

Criminal Justice Club The Criminal Justice Club provides opportunities for students to network with guest speakers, engage in community service opportunities and attend prisons and crime labs so students can better understand the career fields and what to expect.

“We sometimes go to the TSA service in St. Louis [and] help them train their

dogs for the airports,” Luis Molina, club president and a junior criminal justice major from Streator, Illinois, said.

Students interested in joining the Criminal Justice Club can visit the Criminal Justice Department or email Molina at lumolin@siue.edu.

Geography Club The Geography Club meets once a month, and meetings typically include an activity or a guest speaker. The club is looking at getting geography professionals to come help with resume building, as well as volunteering at the Gardens or the Watershed.

“We’re looking at getting people from [National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency] to come down and explain what they do there,” Turner Reed, vice president and junior geography major from Quinton, Iowa, said.

Reed said students can get involved through the GetInvolved page, email him at tureed@siue.edu or Elizabeth Semande at esemand@siue.edu. He also said they can check out their Facebook and Instagram pages, where they post most of their announcements.

Pre Health Hub The Pre Health Hub is a group of students interested in combining health care fields together. The organization has pre-

med, psychology, pharmacy and pre-dental students. They host general assemblies where they work through case studies together, as well as small groups of students within the same health care profession that meet biweekly to discuss study tips and time management.

Senior Michelle Duong, communications coordinator, said collaborative health care is the basis of the club.

Ridwan Oyebamiji, service coordinator, said students who job shadow in the health care field find that health care professionals don’t collaborate effectively, so the club aims to bridge that gap.

Students can join the Pre Health Hub through their GetInvolved page.

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers focuses on applying technical skills to projects through hands-on experience. The organization is open to everyone, and they are planning on doing Human Power Vehicles this year.

“I usually encourage freshmen and sophomores that don’t have enough classes with projects to get their hands-on earlier, rather than waiting for their senior year,” Jeancy Muleba, president and senior mechanical engineering major from St. Louis said.

Students interested in joining can visit their page on GetInvolved.

09.05.21 Officer responded to a welfare check request by a parent for her son.

Officer advised contact was made with subject and subject did not need police assistance.

Officer responded to a report of a sticker being applied to a vehicle’s bumper that was not wanted.

09.06.21 Officer assisted Edwardsville PD on a loud noise complaint. Officer advised subjects left the area and agreed to keep the noise down. SIUE Officers handled the complete call.

Officer assisted Edwardsville PD with conducting an investigative stop on a vehicle they were looking for regarding a theft in their venue. SIUE Officer detained the subject until Edwardsville PD arrived on scene and took over the call.

09.07.21 Officer responded to an active fire alarm. Officer advised the alarm was activated due to a humidifier.

Officer responded to a report of a subject leaving her airpods in the building and then someone stealing them.

alestlelive.com

Thursday, 09.09.21

BY THE NUMBERS

COVID-19 at SIUE

New confirmed positive cases (from tests conducted by SIUE and self-reporting):

August 27 - September 2: 18 students, 3 faculty/staff August 20 - 26: 41 students, 4 faculty/staff

14-day new positive tests: 55 students, 8 faculty/staff All prior weeks positive tests (August 6 - 19): 24 students, 4 faculty/staff Total positive cases: 79 students, 12 faculty/staff

PAGE 3

Madison County confirmed cases by day

225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50 25 0

26

27

28

29

30

31

1

2

3

AUG - SEPT Source: Madison County Health Department COVID-19 Dashboard under the Cases by Day tab as of August 30.

Percentage of isolation/quarantine space available on campus (as of Aug. 30): 94 percent Source: Health, Reporting, and Testing page on SIUE’s COVID-19 website, as of August 30.

Tests conducted by SIUE

August 27 - September 2: 1,827 August 20 - 26: 1,988

COVID-19’S impact on Madison County

14-day new tests conducted: 3,815

All prior weeks tests conducted (August 6 - 19): 1,175

All of Illinois’ regions remain under Phase 5, which went into effect June 11. All sectors of the economy reopen with new

Total tests conducted: 4,990

health and hygiene practices permanently in place:

Positive cases identified by SIUE testing:

• •

August 27 - September 2: 11 August 20 - 26: 40

14-day new positive cases: 51

All prior weeks positive cases (August 6 - 19): 17 Total: 68

• •

Large gatherings of all sizes can resume.

All sectors of the economy reopen with businesses, schools and recreation resuming normal operations with new safety guidance and procedures.

Conventions, festivals and large events can take place.

On June 30, Illinois returned to mandated masks indoors regardless of vaccination status.

Source: dph.illinois.gov

| Kirsten O’Loughlin / The Alestle

‘Make it unthinkable’: Missouri Republican will push anti-abortion bill similar to Texas law JONATHAN SHORMAN The Kansas City Star / TNS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One of Missouri’s leading anti-abortion legislators plans to offer a bill similar to the Texas law the U.S. Supreme Court allowed to go into effect last week, which empowers citizens to enforce the state’s near-total abortion ban by suing providers and others who assist women in getting the procedure.

Republican state Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, who chairs the House Children and Families Committee, has promised to introduce a version of the legislation. The commitment, coming from an influential lawmaker, signals that Republicans see a possible new route to effectively ending legal abortion in Missouri.

“We are absolutely going to do everything we have in power to try to eliminate abortion in Missouri,” Coleman said. “And not just eliminate it, but make it unthinkable.”

Missouri law already includes a ban on abortion after eight weeks, but the state cannot enforce it while a legal challenge to the restriction makes it way through federal court. Judges are set to review an injunction against the law later this month.

The ban, if it ever goes into effect, would be among the toughest abortion limits in the nation.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a major abortion rights ruling next spring that could significantly weaken or even overturn the court’s 1973 Roe v.

Wade decision, which made abortion legal nationwide. That outcome would give state lawmakers in Missouri and elsewhere a freer hand to restrict or potentially outright ban the procedure in the years to come.

But the Texas law may provide Missouri abortion rights opponents a quicker path. The Texas measure prohibits abortion after six weeks of pregnancy but blocks government agents from enforcing it. Instead, Texas residents are authorized to sue abortion providers who break the law and others who aid women seeking abortions.

The law was designed to thwart court challenges by making it difficult to sue the government to block it. The decision paid off: The Supreme Court voted 5-4 last week to allow the Texas law to

Anti-abortion protesters stand in front of the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis on May 30, 2019. | Jill Toyoshiba / The Kansas City Star / TNS

go into effect.

If Missouri Republican lawmakers unite around the idea, the General Assembly could pass and Gov. Mike Parson could sign similar legislation in the first part of 2022 — months before the Supreme Court hands down its anticipated abortion decision.

“Conversations are ongoing amongst the legislators,” Coleman said. Her plan to introduce a bill was first reported by St. Louis Public Radio.

House Speaker Rob Vescovo and other top Republican leaders didn’t respond to a request for comment. Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, a Sullivan Republican, didn’t return a voicemail left for him Tuesday.

Vescovo, who, like Coleman, is also from the city of Arnold, has a “long history of being pro-life,” and she said she couldn’t imagine him not supporting it. She added, however, that she had not spoken

with Vescovo.

State Rep. Hannah Kelly, the assistant majority leader, said the House GOP caucus is dedicated to “protecting and preserving life” but offered few details about what legislation would move forward. The Mountain Grove Republican said lawmakers must first focus on the veto session, which begins next week.

State Rep. Keri Ingle, the top Democrat on the House Children and Families Committee, didn’t return a voicemail Tuesday. But Democrats have already made clear they will fight any attack on abortion rights.

“A full 70% of Americans do not want to see Roe v. Wade overturned, but now it’s under attack,” the Missouri House Democratic Caucus said on Twitter, referring to a 2019 survey by Pew Research Center.

“We have a responsibility to protect it and a woman’s right to choose.”

In addition to limiting abortion

access for Missouri residents, a Missouri law modeled after Texas would likely have the effect of making abortion access more difficult for Texas women who may now be traveling to other states for the procedure. In the wake of the Supreme Court decision, Missouri’s sole abortion provider is preparing to offer services to patients from Texas.

“When politicians in other states have failed people in need of abortion, we have answered the call. RHS will do it again because abortion is health care and health care is a human right,” Yamelsie Rodríguez, president and CEO of Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, said in a statement.

“However, despite our best efforts, the injustice here is that for far too many patients, traveling out of state will push access out of reach altogether,” Rodríguez said. “This is the reality we’ve long been warning about.”

NEXT WEEK: REVIEW OF NEW GAME, LIFE IS STRANGE TRUE COLORS PAGE 4

lifestyles alestlelive.com

contact the editor: lifestyles@alestlelive.com 650-3527 Thursday, 09.09.21

Rocky Horror Picture Show returns with a ‘good, sexy time’ DAMIAN MORRIS managing editor After a one year break from their performance of “Rocky Horror Picture Show”, the Student Experimental Theater Organization returned with a larger audience than before.

“Rocky Horror Picture Show” is a movie that has gained the title “cult-classic” and lead to performances that entail having the movie playing while live actors perform what is occurring on screen. To enhance audience engagement, it also includes a prop bag for each participant and audience prompts on a different screen for things to shout out, dances and when to use the props.

Senior theater performance major Montana Hughey from Billings, Montana, said while she has assisted with Rocky Horror at SIUE in the past, this was her first time participating as an actor. She said she had always wanted to play Frank N. Furter and was very happy with her experience in the role.

“This is the best crowd we’ve had in probably six years, so it was an amazing turnout, even for a COVID year,” Hughey said. “I’ve never felt like that on stage, I’ve been doing this a long time, but that was amazing. The energy of the audience was just fantastic; they were such good sports.”

The actor for the character Columbia, junior theater design and technical major Emma Davis from Kansas City, Missouri, said they felt performing in the Madison room, rather than the full Meridian Ballroom, along with a larger-than-usual crowd enhanced the show’s experience.

“It definitely kind of kept the energy going that was in the space because we were really packed in,” Davis said. “Especially because we had to add more chairs and there were more people in here, it was very nice to have all that energy.”

Hughey said she thought the crew really pulled together as a team and this show couldn’t have come at a better time.

“We all agreed that we all really need-

Montana Hughey’s Frank N. Furter pins Sydney Martin’s Brad Majors in one of the many sexually explicit scenes in this cult classic film. | Damian Morris / The Alestle ed this after being in quarantine for so long,” Hughey said. “No one has seen each other, no one has seen flesh in probably forever, so to come together and just have a good, sexy time, why not?”

Rocky Horror virgin, or first-timer to the show, sophomore mass communications major Madison Sample from Indianapolis said she had been asked to go to this show many times in high school, but never found the time to attend. Before the

show, Sample said she was very intimidated by the atmosphere and had no clue what she was getting herself into.

“I’m intimidated by the amount of hot women wearing fishnets. A lot of fishnets, a lot of skin … but I’m excited to be here,” Sample said. “It’s very dark in here with the red lighting, there’s a lot of people. I’m intimidated by the hot people here, there’s a lot of hot people here. I don’t feel hot.”

“Rocky Horror Picture Show” is a film with a cult following. And, thanks to this following, theaters showing the film usually have a cast of fans, dressed up and following along with the film as it plays behind them. | Damian Morris / The Alestle

Despite her nerves, Sample said she was happy to experience something new.

“Theater kids are kind of scary sometimes, because they are very dynamic, it’s loud, there’s a lot going on, it’s chaotic,” Sample said. “But I think that’s also a good thing. It’s getting you out of your comfort zone and pushing you, which is what you’re supposed to do in college.”

Sophomore special education major Katie George from Springfield, Illinois, said although she had seen the show before in her hometown, this was a whole new experience for her.

“When I saw it before, they were [only] acting it out, [there] wasn’t a movie,” George said. “And this was an interesting combination, but I enjoyed it … Interesting way to spend a Tuesday night.”

After the show, Sample said although she had no idea what was going on and was very overstimulated trying to follow the chaotic environment, she really enjoyed it.

She said her dad was excited to hear her thoughts as well.

“My dad used to go to these shows all the time, so my dad was texting me the whole time, he’s like, ‘Oh my God, how are you liking it?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know how I feel about you really loving this, Dad.’ Like, I’m a little scared that he was really into this in the ‘90’s,” Sample said. “I would do it again, I don’t understand what happened, but I definitely would do it again.”

For more information on this show and future SETO performances, visit their website.

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Thursday, 09.09.21

PAGE 5

Fashion show draws big crowds to historic Wildey Theater

FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter

The Art of Fashion is both a fashion design contest and a fashion show held annually at the Wildey Theater in downtown Edwardsville. This year’s theme was “Botanical Fashions in Nature” and featured many local boutiques and their models.

The event included a clothing design contest featuring local fashion designers who are either working with local boutiques or for themselves. After

the contest, nine local clothing stores were invited to walk the runway and show off their merchandise and showcase the diversity within Edwardsville.

The show was emceed by Elizabeth Grant with her assistant emcee, August Range, a 7th grader at Liberty Middle School.

Grant talked about what it was like to be backstage with the models before the show started.

“The energy and the vibe of the boutiques … is always fun before the event,” Grant said.

One of the event’s main

goals is to showcase the diversity within Edwardsville. The runway models are all local to Edwardsville, but come from many different backgrounds and ages. The runway was full of people from kindergarten to adulthood.

The event started at 7 p.m. but at 6 p.m., a VIP dinner was served, hosted by local restaurants. VIPs also received a gift bag filled with products from local businesses. All audience members received a small theme-appropriate gift for coming to support the event.

With students as models, and local businesses supplying the clothing as well, the fashion show was a truly local event. | Francesca Boston / The Alestle

Rich Walker, former Vice Chancellor for SIUE and the president of the Friends of the Wildey Theater, said the Friends of the Wildey Theater were grateful for all the support they have received, both from those who buy VIP tickets and those who just buy general admission.

Walker himself took part in the show by wearing a bowtie made of real flowers.

“Everyone in attendance gets a flower,” Walker said.

The event started off with guest singer Robert Phillips, a student at Lewis and Clark Community College, singing “Fly Me to the Moon.”

Up next was the fashion contest. Four local designers submitted their designs. First and second place were both awarded monetary awards.

First prize went to The Secret Gardeners, a local florist company. Their designs showcased the floral aspect of nature, with both dresses having full skirts made up entirely of a variety of flowers. The dresses were worn by Caroline Marcus, a student at Edwardsville High School, and Francesca Lantz, a preschooler who attends school at SIUE. Second prize went to Caidyn Crouch, a student at EHS. Her dresses featured flowers heavily as well, but with a simpler style skirt and corset design. Both designers used mainly organic materials to create their dresses.

The fashion show followed the contest. Nine local clothing boutiques walked the runway,

with nearly 100 models total. One of the models, Lorena Abrams, who walked with Cassandra’s Closet, felt nervous about walking in the show and explained how she overcame that.

“I just tried to pretend like no one was watching,” Abrams said.

Hadley Willis, a kindergarten student at N. O. Nelson Elementary School in Roxana, Illinois, also walked with Cassandra’s Closet. Willis was very excited to be a part of the show.

“I loved getting up there and dancing,” Willis said.

The event is one of the main fundraising events for the Friends of the Wildey Theater. Walker said over the past eight years, $30,000 has been raised just through The Art of Fashion event.

Chris Head, the treasurer for Friends of the Wildey and main coordinator for the event, explained one of the reasons for hosting the event.

“Our main goal with fundraising is to bring back The Wildey to its original glory,” Head said.

According to Head, since the theater opened up years ago, the Friends of the Widley group has been able to remodel several parts of the theater, including the box office and the lighting outside the theater.

The Art of Fashion is an annual event and the show is always looking for more designers to enter the contest. For more information, see the Art of Fashion Facebook page.

REVIEW: ‘Shang-Chi’ offers Marvel’s most beautiful fight scenes yet NICOLE BOYD social media manager

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Marvel’s first movie to center around an Asian superhero, brought storytelling, hand-to-hand combat and a beautiful music score unlike anything I’ve seen in a Marvel movie before.

It didn’t take long for me to forget I was watching a Marvel movie. The movie began by showing Ta Lo, a peaceful village brimming with mystical creatures and natural beauty. This is where Shang-Chi’s parents meet, with a fight that is flirtatious and romantic in every move. Unlike most love stories in the MCU, theirs is given a considerable amount of screen time and underscored by warm lighting and soft music. However, this tranquility doesn’t last long.

The real action begins after ShangChi is tricked into returning to China by his centuries-old father, Wenwu (Tony Leung), whose life has been extended by wearing the Ten Rings. Wenwu is convinced that his late wife is imprisoned in Ta Lo, and enlists his estranged children to help her. Shang-Chi and his sister, Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) don’t agree with the extremes Wenwu is willing to take, and find themselves fighting against him when he attacks Ta Lo. The fight scenes that incorporate hand-to-hand martial arts combat are choreographed artfully. It’s almost like watching a dance. With the exclusion of Marvel’s typical frequent cuts in action scenes, it’s much easier to actually watch and enjoy. Between this, the heavy focus on visual beauty and characters’ relationships, “Shang-Chi” didn’t have the typi-

cal feel of a Marvel movie, and was all the better for it. The film also had elements of nonlinear storytelling and scenes shown through multiple perspectives, which I found fascinating.

Sadly, the beautifully-executed handto-hand combat is replaced in the climax

by CGI dragons. However, even that is well done, with striking colors, visuals of nature and a soundtrack that swells along with the action.

While Wenwu is posed as the film’s antagonist, his story is complicated and tragic. He left behind his criminal empire for domestic bliss with his wife, but resumed to avenge her death, this time inflicting trauma onto his children. What humanizes him, however, is that he truly loved his wife and children, even if he didn’t really know how. His evil actions that we see through the majority of the film are all done out of love for his wife, which makes it a bit harder to hate him.

Wenwu also addresses Marvel’s problematic past in its portrayal of Asian characters, namely the Mandarin, a racist Chinese caricature that embodied the “yellow peril” of the 1960s. Wenwu, the real Mandarin (not the fake one that baited Tony Stark), mocks the character’s name and peoples’ fear of it, saying they’re afraid of a type of chicken. More importantly, his goal in this movie doesn’t concern conquering anything; he just wants to find his wife.

I do wish that we got to see more of Shang-Chi’s life in America, as well as his personality. What we do learn about him, we mostly learn from flashbacks or him giving drops of information to his friend, Katy (Awkwafina). However, this caused

me to be far more interested in Xialing, who taught herself martial arts behind Wenwu’s back and escaped to run an underground fighting ring. She engages in hand-to-hand combat against men and carries herself with cool confidence, yet doesn’t lack personality.

Katy is meant to be the comic relief for much of the film, until we are reintroduced to Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), who played the face of Mandarin International in “Iron Man 3” and is kept imprisoned by Wenwu as a jester. While the choice of casting Awkwafina was critici-

zed for other reasons, I found Trevor to be genuinely funnier and more likeable. I did, however, see the merit in contrasting Awkwafina’s Chinese-American character with Chinese characters.

I would recommend “Shang-Chi” even to those who aren’t Marvel fans, because it’s so unlike anything I’ve seen before from Marvel. I would love to see more Marvel movies incorporate the elements that made it special, and I’m glad to finally see more Asian representation in the MCU.

| Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios

NEXT WEEK: POLITICAL DIVERSITY IN UNIVERSITIES

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OPINION

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Empathy from professors should be the standard THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board

Students come to university because they want to learn, but sometimes tragic life events happen. A lack of empathy from professors can often feel like a nail in their coffin.

University is a time meant to challenge students, giving them the opportunities and spaces to grow. But for many students, the academic pressure to be continuously performing can feel suffocating. For students who have lost loved ones, having to deal with grief along with school work can even feel terrifying. Other students who are dealing with complications due to COVID-19 or other illnesses worry about how their professors are going to

react. Many professors are kind and accommodating to these situations, others not so much.

We have all heard the horror stories of students being asked to take a photo at a grandparent’s funeral, or explain in detail what their family emergency is. Those are the cases when we ask the professors to extend empathy.

We aren’t asking for total leniency or excuses not to come to class. We want to do our work.

We are all in university to educate ourselves and earn a degree.

What we are asking for is more empathy in the academic world. We don’t want total exemption from the rules, just that faculty extends common courtesy to their students.

Extending deadlines for students facing family emergencies

is one solution, whether that is implementing a seven-day late policy that can be used all in one week or spread out over the semester, or extending the deadline for a single student going through a difficult time.

For students who are facing difficulty due to COVID-19 or other illness, allowing leniency in attendance policies is a simple way to show empathy.

Some professors worry that students will make up family emergencies to get out of work.

It’s understandable, but mostly baseless. If a student is going to go the lengths to make up a family emergency, that student is probably already struggling and is looking for a way to get a break from what often feels like an overwhelming amount of re-

sponsibility.

All we are asking for is a bit more understanding from our professors. We understand that our professors will also have personal hardships, so we strive to extend grace to them as well.

All we ask is that our professors extend the same grace to their students. The ability to thrive at university comes from wonderful faculty and how they treat their students. SIUE is filled with wonderful, kind and empathic professors, but it is often the harsh ones who leave the greatest impact. An empathic professor who extends kindness and grace during a student’s hard time will allow students to take their time to deal with life before coming back to school, ready to learn again.

Dear Dining Services: vegetarians eat more than just salads NICOLE BOYD social media manager

With the closure of The Wok and more limited options at Little Cocina, it seems Dining Services doesn’t realize that, contrary to popular belief, we vegetarians eat more than just rabbit food.

The Wok offered a tofu option with vegetables and rice, which provided vegetarian protein with a good source of amino acids and vegetables. Similarly, Cocina used to offer burrito bowls that could be customized to be vegetarian, containing beans, cheese, rice and vegetables. Now those options, and even the veggie quesadillas from Cocina, are gone.

Vegetarians are now left with a few options at Sammiches, Paavo’s and Grab n’ Go (where they are sparse and unpredictable),

and either a cheese quesadilla or chips and cheese from Little Cocina. While Entrees offers a vegetarian option at each meal, it often isn’t sufficient for a meal, and sometimes they don’t have what’s offered on the screen. Even our options at the salad bar have been severely limited this year, with the new four-topping limit, which again means less vegetables and less nutritional value in my salad. Starbucks has a whopping three vegetarian sandwiches on the menu, but it seems they’re always out when I try to order one.

I can’t even imagine being vegan at SIUE. A healthy lacto-ovo vegetarian diet should contain plenty of green, leafy vegetables, citrus fruit, eggs, soy, legumes, seeds, whole grains, nuts and beans — in other words, more than just

cheese-centered menu items or salads with four toppings.

Fourteen percent of college students are vegetarian or vegan, and of those students, 31 percent say the environment is their main motivation. For a campus that claims to be dedicated to sustainability, their dining options aren’t convenient for a diet that’s both sustainable and nutritious.

Even if I weren’t vegetarian, it would be difficult to find healthy options at the MUC, especially now that The Wok is gone. Sure, I would have the options of Boss Burger’s and Chick-fil-A, but with the exception of Chick-fil-A’s salads, they lack nutritional value (not to mention that many prefer not to eat at Chick-fil-A for moral reasons). Fries and sweets, however, are easy to find.

There are several ways to fix

this problem. We could return to weighing salads while still having an employee make them for safety reasons, or at least do away with the topping limit. Little Cocina could bring back burrito bowls and veggie quesadillas. While Entrees does incorporate vegetable sides and options such as falafel into their menu, they could include an option that is similar to something we would’ve found at The Wok. They could even have more than one vegetarian option. Grab n’ Go could offer vegetarian microwaveable meals, salads, wraps and almond milk more consistently.

I’ve been encouraged by the addition of fresh fruit to Grab n’ Go and the salad bar. Hopefully SIUE continues to make similar additions to promote the health of everyone on campus.

sports

contact the editor: sports@alestlelive.com 650-3527

NEXT WEEK: MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SOCCER GAMES

alestlelive.com

PAGE 7

Thursday, 09.09.21

Despite weather delays, Women’s soccer win home opener FRANCESCA BOSTON reporter

SIUE Women’s Soccer team took on the Kansas City Roos on Sunday, Aug. 29. Despite the high temps and an hour and 11-minute lightning delay, SIUE came out on top. The final score was 2-1.

Despite temps sitting around 90 degrees at the start of the game, 164 people were in attendance, with good support for both SIUE Cougars and Kansas City Roos. Twice throughout the game, the players were allowed a water break, due to the high temperatures. Andrea Frerker, a senior midfielder, talked about how it was to play that day.

“It was hot, hard to breathe, but overall, it was a good game,” Frerker said The first 34 minutes of the game went smoothly, with no goals, no surprises until a 30-minute lightning delay was called.

The 30 minutes soon became an hour and 11 minutes, until it was announced it was safe to play again and both teams flooded the field as the sun broke through the clouds. Both teams warmed up for 10 minutes before the game resumed at 3:56 p.m.

In the 44th minute, Sidney Christopher, a freshman midfielder, scored the first goal in

the game. It was an unassisted goal but Christopher gives a lot of credit to Taylor Dolt, a sophomore defender.

“We work on following the goal, so when Taylor got it forward, I happened to be right there and followed through to a goal,” Christopher said.

This goal was Christopher’s first goal of the season as well as her first collegiate goal. Her goal also broke the 0-0 tie between the two teams, so Chrisptoher’s teammates were excited about that.

“It was super exciting for [Christopher] to come off the bench and put one in, especially before half-time,” Frerker said.

At the start of the second half of the game, Bella Henderson, a junior goalkeeper, subbed in for senior goalkeeper Jensen Schoch.

The second Cougar goal came in the 51st minute of the game. Lily Schnieders, a sophomore forward, scored a goal with a kick that sailed past two Kansas City defenders. It was assisted by Angel Ikeda, a senior midfielder, and MacKenzie Litzsinger, a redshirt sophomore forward.

Head Coach Derek Burton said it was an important play of the game.

“It was a great play following

Andrea Frerker, a senior midfielder, and Matea Diekema, a freshman midfielder, look towards the ball, hoping for a header. Kansas City Sam Marek, a junior midfielder, and Anna Jennings, a sophomore midfielder, look as well. Emma Dutko, a sophomore midfielder, watches ready to spring into action, with Kayda Kamolz, a freshman midfielder for Kansas City, stands by as well. | Francesca Boston / The Alestle

four consecutive corner kicks,” Burton said. “It’s something we work on all the time, more in theory than actually play.”

Kansas City scored a goal in the 87th minute of the game.

Anna Jennings, a sophomore midfielder, scored the Roos only goal of the game, unassisted.

The Cougars played an

away game against Drake University on Sept. 3 where they lost 1-0. They also played an away game on Sept. 5th against Iowa State University where they were defeated 1-0.

Burton said that the team’s performance in the game against KC played into their practice plays for the week prepping for

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upcoming games.

“We had really good performance based on what we did well during the week, and really improved those skills in that game … a good step forward in progress,” Burton said.

Women’s Soccer’s next home game is 7 p.m. Sept. 9. It will be played at Korte Stadium.

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