The Alestle Vol. 75 No. 11

THE

alestle

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

the student voice since 1960

Thursday, November 11, 2021 Vol. 75 No. 11

Carbondale student dies in Astroworld crowd surge PAGE 2 English Department brings LGBTQ+ horror author to campus PAGE 5 Women’s Basketball wins first game of the season PAGE 8

Redshirt junior guard Carlos Curtis from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, jumps over two Quincy defenders to make the basket. | Clair Sollenberger / The Alestle

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“Larger-than-life” Jacob E. Jurinek: SIU campus mourns loss of another student OREOLUWA OJEWUYI The Daily Egyptian

CARBONDALE—Following the Astroworld music festival that left eight dead and countless people injured, the SIU and Carbondale community gathered to honor the life of third year journalism student Jacob (Jake) E. Jurinek.

The memorial began with words from Jurinek’s girlfriend Emma Braning, who met Jurinek just before coming to SIU in the fall of 2019. She thanked the community for coming out to show their support.

“It means the world to me and his family to see how many lives he touched for only even being in Carbondale for two and a half years,” Braning said.

She remembered Jurinek as an outgoing, loving partner and friend.

“Jacob in the best way possible was an attention whore. He loved putting on a show for everyone and being the center of attention. I know he’s looking at all of us here gathered in his honor and wishing he could be here,” Braning said.

Jurinek always wanted to make those around him happy and smile, she said.

“As hard as it may be, he wouldn’t want us to be sad and standing here crying because of him. He would have wanted us to laugh and become friends,” Braning said.

Braning said her relationship with Jurinek was a special one.

“We have laughed together, cried together. Seen each other at our worst and our best. We told each other everything.

He was truly my best friend in the entire world,” she said.

Braning credited Jurinek for introducing her to many of her friends at SIU. “One thing that I always admired about Jacob was his people skills. He made friends everywhere he went . . . along with that, I never heard him say anything negative about anyone. I guarantee you, if you had smiled or waved in his direction, I had probably heard about it,” Braning said.

While combing through posts following the Astroworld tragedy, Braning found heroic stories about Jurinek and his childhood friend, 21-year-old Franco Patino, who also died in the tragedy.

“One girl said that both Jacob and Franco had told her that they would protect her and her sister. Fortunately for them, both girls came out unharmed. Even in a time when I know his anxiety was probably high and he was scared he still looked out for those around him,” Braning said.

SIU Faculty members that worked closely with Jurinek during his time at SIU remembered Jurinek’s strong and positive energy in the classroom and in his professional work. Jurinek became a member of SIU’s AdLab team under the supervision of Bridget Lescelius, who first met Jurinek in the fall of 2020.

“He had a sense of curiosity and wonder that you don’t see in all students and for me it was like that crossroads when you go from child to adult and he was just starting over that bridge. There was still this childlike wonder in everything he did,” Lescelius said.

Lescelius said Jurinek was bright and had a full future ahead of him.

“In my classes, he would sit right next to me, so he could engage and so he could challenge me because he loved a challenge.

He still didn’t have a filter. He said what he thought and the other students loved that,” Lescelius said. “I don’t even know how to describe the truthfulness, just the authentic nature of ‘This is who I am,’ and he really had that voice of who he was.”

Lescelius said Jurinek was ready to “kick into gear this semester”. He wanted to be a strong and present part of the AdLab team. The first Monday after the Astroworld tragedy Lescelius walked into class and felt the missing presence of Jurinek.

“I wasn’t expecting to meet so many

A poster filled with photos of Jacob Jurinek during the vigil on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 at Faner Plaza at SIU in Carbondale, Illinois. Jurinek, who was a junior at SIU, was one of the eight victims of the Astroworld festival tragedy on Nov. 5 in Houston. | Jared Treece / The Daily Egyptian

students that inspired me and he was one of them. I just, I really liked him. I thought about how his dad raised him, kudos to his dad. What a wonderful, wonderful human being he raised,” Lescelius said.

Jan Thompson, director of the SIU School of Journalism, made a statement sending condolences to the family and friends of Jurinek.

“His spirit, humor and commitment to always doing his best will be missed at the School of Journalism,” Thompson said.

Fourth year student Mikaylan Roach, a classmate and working partner of Jurinek said, “Everyone is so heartbroken and in shock about this sudden loss in our community. I will miss his endless jokes and animated storytelling the most.”

Sammie Oxford, a fourth year student at SIU, met Jurinek in her first semester at SIU in the dorms.

“Jacob had such a witty and energetic personality. He was very outspoken and always had something clever to say. His determination and dedication came through in every project he worked on in AdLab and in his classes,” Oxford said.

Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Media, H.D Motyl, met Jurinek in a University 101 course he taught and remembered Jurinek as “so sweet and lovable” and very talkative and energetic.

“He would come over and come to visit me in my office just to talk. He was talking about nothing, but it didn’t matter cuz he just wanted to talk. I mean for me it really broke up my day and brightened my day,” Motyl said.

He said Jurinek was initially a cinema major but found his true passion in graphic design. After one of their talks in his office, Motyl walked Jurinek down to the AdLab RSO at SIU. Chancellor Austin Lane recalled the traumatic events that have occurred in the Carbondale community to SIU students throughout the fall semester. Freshman Keeshanna (Shanna) Jackson died as a result of a shooting at a college party in August, followed by the loss of aviation student Joe Ermel, who died fatally in a motorcycle crash. Three students were also shot and injured at parties in October.

“I don’t think you ever fully recover from death, especially with students so young, and who are dying, and in tragic ways. Not only Jacob, we have other students early in the semester like Keeshanna and had some students injured,” Lane said.

Lane recognized that the entire SIU campus continues to grieve the loss of these students. He said he hopes to see the SIU campus unite as a “Saluki nation and support each other.”

“You know, we do hope to move forward but that doesn’t mean that we have to forget what happened. As we’re moving forward, we have to really look out for one another. You got to support one another. We really have to allow ourselves to shed some tears and to think about folks that we don’t have here any longer. It’s been a tough fall semester,” Lane said.

Jurinek also worked for Saluki athletics during the 2019-2020 season in the communication department. Jurinek started working for Saluki athletics in his freshman year at SIU. Coordinator of Social Media, Licensing and Branding, Michael Black worked with Jurinek in Saluki Athletics.

“He helped our Sports Information Directors in-game with stats and other assigned duties, while also assisting with miscellaneous graphics for athletics. Jacob had an energetic personality and brought a lot of enthusiasm to the office. He was always eager to learn and lend a helping hand,” Black said.

The memorial concluded with Braning reading a statement from Jurinek’s family.

“Jake was beloved by his family and by his seemingly countless number of friends for his contagious enthusiasm, his boundless energy, and his unwavering positive attitude. He was an avid fan of music, an artist, a son, a best friend to many, and a loving and beloved cousin, nephew, and grandson,” the statement read.

Braning continued through tears, saying Jurinek was “deeply committed to his family” and referred to as Big Jake by his cousins for his “larger-than-life” personality.”

“Jake will be remembered as the best friend to his father, Ron Jurinek. Jake and Ron were brought closer together than ever by a preceding tragedy, the passing of Jake’s mother, Alison, in 2011,” Braning read. “In the decade since, Jake and Ron were inseparable- attending White Sox and Blackhawks games, sharing their love of professional wrestling, and spending weekends with extended family and friends at Jake’s favorite place, the family cottage in Southwestern Michigan.”

Ron Jurinek asked that the public give the family the time and space to process and heal from the aftermath of Jurineks death.

“We’re comforted by the fact that the hundreds of people Jake touched over the years will carry a piece of his spirit with them,” said Ron Jurinek.

Braning said Jacob was everything she had prayed for in a companion.

“He was brave and honest and true. Always strong in what he believed in and passionate about what he liked,” Braning said.

Thursday, 11.11.21

News in brief

Longer passwords means changing them less often, according to ITS Information Technology Services spoke at the Student Government Meeting on Nov. 8 about upcoming changes to cyber security measures.

ITS announced that in the spring semester, they are planning on implementing a new password system for the university. The new system would require users to create a longer password as the current one is only eight characters.

ITS said once the new password system is in place, e-ID passwords would have to be changed much less often. The new password system would increase security measures for students and ITS, hopefully protecting student information more effectively.

ITS has nearly finished implementing a multi-factor authentication system for staff, with nearly 80 percent of staff and faculty having a multi-factor authentication system in place. ITS brought up the possibility of allowing students to implement that system voluntarily as well.

Students able to work over summer without being enrolled in classes Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Jeffrey Waple announced at the Student Government meeting on Nov. 8, that changes in student employment rules will mean that students no longer have to be enrolled in a summer class to continue working at the university.

Students will have the ability to work over the summer without being enrolled in class. For students who decide to take summer classes, the university will still cover the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax, whereas students who are not enrolled in class will have to pay the FICA tax. The FICA tax is a withholding tax, meaning it comes straight out of a student’s paycheck.

Waple said he has been at the university for seven years and this is the first time they have removed the condition of enrollment for student workers. He said the main reason for that was the push from student government to remove that stipulation.

According to Waple, more information will be released soon to employers who can relay the information to their employees.

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Thursday, 11.11.21

BY THE NUMBERS

COVID-19 at SIUE

New confirmed positive cases

11.03.21

Officer took a report regarding a stolen purse at Lovejoy Library.

Officer responded to a domestic disturbance between roommates at 417 Cougar Lake Dr. and advised it was a verbal argument only.

11.04.21

Officer took a report regarding a damaged weight machine at the Vadalabene Center.

11.08.21

Officer responded to a report of a stop sign being hit and damaged at 5618 New Poag Road, Environmental Resource Training Center.

Officer took a report regarding a resident advising someone was trying to scam money from him at Bluff Residence Hall.

(from tests conducted by SIUE and self-reporting):

Oct. 29 - Nov. 4: 9 students, 0 faculty/staff

Oct. 22 - Oct. 28: 10 students, 6 faculty/staff

14-day new positive tests: 19 students, 6 faculty/staff All prior weeks positive tests (Aug. 6 - Oct. 21): 182 students, 30 faculty/staff Total positive cases: 201 students, 36 faculty/staff

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Madison County confirmed cases by day

225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50 25 0 OCT - NOV

30

31

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Source: Madison County Health Department COVID-19 Dashboard under the Cases by Day tab as of Nov. 9

Percentage of isolation/quarantine space available on campus (as of November 9): 98 percent Source: Health, Reporting, and Testing page on SIUE’s COVID-19 website, as of Nov. 9

Tests conducted by SIUE Oct. 29 - Nov. 4: 1,829

COVID-19’S impact on Madison County

14-day new tests conducted: 3,715

All of Illinois’ regions remain under Phase 5, which went into

Oct. 22 - Oct. 28: 1,886

All prior weeks tests conducted (Aug. 6 - Oct. 21): 18,247

effect June 11. All sectors of the economy reopened with new health and hygiene practices permanently in place:

Total tests conducted: 21,962

• •

Positive cases identified by SIUE testing: Oct. 29 - Nov. 4: 7

Oct. 22 - Oct. 28: 11

14-day new positive cases: 18

All prior weeks positive cases (Aug. 6 - Oct.21): 146 Total: 164

• •

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

Rachel Stack to retire in June 2022 after 8 years on staff ANDREW CROWDUS reporter

Vice Chancellor for University Advancement and the CEO of the Foundation at SIUE Rachel Stack has worked at SIUE since 2014. She will be retiring effective June 2022 after a long tenure at SIUE with the foundation.

Stack says she has enjoyed every moment at SIUE and has learned a lot.

“This was my first time being vice chancellor and I have learned so much from my donors, my board members, my colleagues and the chancellors that I’ve had the privilege to serve under, and my team of vice chancellors. I have really enjoyed it,” Stack said.

During her time at SIUE Stack has helped raise a lot of money for the university and the Foundation endowment.

“Over the course of the time I’ve been here, we’ve raised about $37 million, and we’ve grown the endowment to $37 million. When I came it was around [$20 million]. It’s been a really good experience,” Stack said.

SIUE alumnus and Assistant Director of Constituent Relations for the Foundation Nick Niemerg said Stack is a great

leader and has considered it a privilege to Niemerg said her guidance during the work with her pandemic shutdown inspired him.

“She is open to new ideas, she has this “You hear all these stories in the corgreat ability to empower her staff, to take porate world of bosses not being as aware new projects and run with it, and through of their employee’s needs and she has alher leadership, the numbers speak for ways put her staff’s needs first,” Niemerg themselves,” Niemerg said. Our endow- said. “Which makes working at the founment has increased tremendation that much more enjoydously since she took the reins able. She has really created a as the vice chancellor of the really cohesive unit, and we foundation. Her leadership is are all working and striving going to be missed, and she towards the same goals.” leaves very big shoes for the The goals that were set next person to fill.” by the Foundation last year Senior Director of Finanwere low because no one cial Affairs Jenell Wright said knew what was going to hapit has been wonderful to work pen with COVID. for Stack because she empow“I’m really pleased that ers her employees. last year we exceeded our | Vice Chancellor “Whereas some workgoal. We put a really low goal for University places the boss will come to because we didn’t know what Advancement the employee with a big probCOVID was going to do, but Rachel Stack lem and tell the employee how we ended up raising 5.6 milthey want it fixed, and that lion dollars which was amazthey want it fixed now and in this way,” ing. I think COVID made people reassess Wright said. She’ll come to you with, a lot of things in their lives, including what ‘Here’s my idea but what are yours?’ She they wanted their legacy to be, so I think isn’t afraid to pivot to your idea if that’s that is what played into it,” Stack said. what is best for the organization. That is Wright said Stack has also hired new exemplary leadership in my opinion.” directors to improve the foundation.

“She hired several new directors of development for the following departments: School of Engineering, School of Education, [Health] and Human Behavior, Athletics, as well as created a position and hired a prospect researcher. These positions as well as the new Enterprise system have all helped increase support and professionalize the SIUE Foundation,” Wright said.

“Stack was able to secure a lot of large gifts as well, according to Wright.”

“The amount is just increasing daily.

It was fun to be here when she got the 3.6 million dollar gift, it was my third week of work here and it was a really neat moment.

As a new employee at the time I was so happy for her,” Wright said.

Wright said Stack has a passion for helping students.

“She is very, very passionate about helping students. She will deal with student emergencies. It is challenging because most donations are restricted by donors and so we have all these funds that we have to put everyone’s separate wishes into. She is very attentive to make sure every possible solution has been checked to help make sure students can be helped,” Wright said.

Illinois to become first state to repeal parental abortion law BRANDON WELLS sports editor

After being debated for eight years, the Youth Health and Safety Act which would repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act goes to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who plans to sign it into law in June 2022.

A bill meant to repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act which forbids minors from having abortions without parental consent, the Youth Health and Safety Act is a bill that is meant to give support to minors seeking assistance during pregnancy including abortion care.

A strong advocate of the bill, Khadine Bennett, is the advocacy and intergovernmental affairs director of the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Bennett said she was excited to hear that the bill will be put into law next year.

“It feels really exciting, especially since it’s the culmination of years of work by lots of folks,” Bennett said. ”It means that once the governor signs it effective June

of next year, youth who are seeking abortions in Illinois don’t have to go through an unnecessary or brutal [process] that has had the affect of putting lots of youths in danger.”

Bennett said her work before joining the ACLU also related to advocacy for women, with reproductive rights taking a focus.

“One of my first real jobs after college was working at this organization called the Women’s Institutional Leadership Development for Human Rights,” Bennett said. “I worked as a young women’s program director where I worked with young people and our youth advisory board. A lot of our work was around trusting youth to understand what policies and practices are important for them and training young people to identify areas for policy improvement.”

Emily Werth, a staff attorney at the ACLU is involved with working on the Illinois Judicial Bypass Coordination Project, which aims to help and educate youth

on what their options are if they are impacted by the PNA. “Since the Parental Notice of Abortion Act went into effect in 2013, the ACLU has operated this project to provide legal assistance to young people who may need to go through a court process called judicial bypass in order to access an abortion without being forced to involve their parents or one of the other adult family members,” Werth said.

Werth said the ACLU has aided more than 575 youths over the past eight years in the judicial bypass process and have contacted and answered questions from more than 1,000 young people.

“I’ve worked with literally hundreds of young people over the last seven years, and their experiences vary to some degree — what is consistent is the fact that they know what is best for them [and] they involve other trusted people in their process,” Werth said.

Senior public health administration major Bridget Patrick of Edwardsville, Il-

linois, is the vice president of the Students for Reproductive Rights student organization. She said she was overjoyed when the bill passed the General Assembly.

“We’re the first state in the country to repeal the PNA … We are leading the change that is needed [and] we’re setting the tone for other states to follow,” Patrick said.

Being a woman herself as well as a mother and grandmother, Patrick said she wants to make sure she tries to fight for the progression of women’s rights as much as she can.

“As a woman, I want to be able to have my own decisions and have my own autonomy over my body … I want them and future generations to be able to have the right to decide what it is that they want to do with their body in whatever situation they’re in,” Patrick said.

For more information about how to get involved with the SIUE Students for Reproductive Rights, visit their Facebook.

NEXT WEEK: SIUE STEEL BAND PERFORMS IN GRANITE CITY PAGE 4

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contact the editor: lifestyles@alestlelive.com 650-3527 Thursday, 11.11.21

Gold, yellow, green and everything in between: Trees and nature for the end of the semester

The cool air of autumn always makes the trees change into the prettiest colors. And, as one of the largest college campuses in the U.S., SIUE has plenty of wide open spaces to show that beauty off. | Jihun Han / The Alestle

Thursday, 11.11.21

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Campus organizations partner to bring ‘Tons of Fun’ to SIUE NICOLE BOYD social media manager

Campus Activities Board, the Alumni Association and Campus Recreation worked together to bring back Tons of Fun, a family-friendly event for alumni, faculty, staff and students, after canceling last year due to COVID-19. The event included a bounce house, games and free food.

Lluvia Batres, a junior psychology major from Dodge City, Kansas, and head of the CAB’s family programming committee, said CAB generally hosts student-friendly events, but family programming focuses on events for student families.

“We do have families that live on campus, so we do events that reach out more towards them so they don’t feel left out while we do other activities,” Batres said. “[Tons of Fun] is open to students, families, the alumni families [and] staff families, and it’s just one night that they get a break, have fun and enjoy themselves.”

Batres said events such as Tons of Fun get student families more involved on campus.

“Instead of staying at their apartment all day, they get a break, go out, meet other families, have fun with other kids. It’s just a nice little break for everyone,” Batres said.

Nick Niemerg, assistant director of constituent relations for the Alumni Association, said the Alumni Association partnered with CAB and Campus Recreation a few years ago because they were looking for programming initiatives focused toward alumni with kids.

“We thought this was already a very well established event. We asked if we could chip in and help with it and it’s been

PAGE 5

Author brings body horror, writing insight to SIUE EMILY STERZINGER opinion editor

Edwin Kawashima, only 1 year old, enjoys the bowling offered at the Tons of Fun event. | Jihun Han / The Alestle great,” Niemerg said. “This is just a great opportunity to not only encourage a different type of alumni demographic you don’t normally see very often to come back to campus, but then to also interact with the students and the faculty and staff with their kids here too.”

An injury didn’t prevent 8-year-old Carson Mongrave from having fun. | Jihun Han / The Alestle

Natalie Rosales-Hawkins, assistant director of recreational programs, said Campus Recreation helps with providing the facility for the event.

“We’ve had this event in here numerous years, and so we’ve helped with the marketing and pretty much the layout and the setup for the whole event, and it’s worked really well in this space. It’s just something that we continue to enjoy working with either CAB or Alumni Services,” Rosales-Hawkins said.

Rosales-Hawkins said campus is trying to get back to a sense of normalcy.

“We’re trying to continue to provide opportunities not only for students, but faculty and staff and our alumni to stay connected with SIUE,” Hawkins said. “So that’s why this is a great partnership between Campus Rec, Campus Activities Board and Alumni Services to come together to provide a family friendly event like this.”

Yan Qi, assistant professor of civil engineering, said her family attends Tons of Fun every year, and is excited to return after missing last year due to COVID-19.

“Because of COVID-19 we are missing some games,” Qi said. “I hope next year they all come back.”

Amanda McMurray, a graduate social work student from Wood River, Illinois, said her family is visiting from out of town and she wanted to have a good weekend with her little brother, who loves bounce houses. She said she thought Tons of Fun would be a safe place.

“I like that everyone has masks on.

[It’s] a lot of fun. It’s like an open space so it can’t get any better for Friday night,” McMurray said.

Lora Johnson, who was previously an SIUE police officer and worked in human resources, said she attended Tons of Fun so her soon-to-be stepdaughter could have fun, and that she used to bring her kids when they were younger.

“It’s nice that we can have this kind of stuff again, even with COVID[-19] and what’s going on and everything that we can still have something like this to kind of have some sort of normalcy,” Johnson said.

Meg Cass, a writer, editor and an associate professor of English at University of Illinois in Springfield, was invited by the SIUE English department to hold two virtual events this week, a reading and a craft talk focusing on body horror.

Cass specializes in horror, and writes primarily in flash fiction, a writing style traditionally defined as works that are under 1000 words. They said flash fiction frequently works well with body horror, a subgenre of horror that seeks to depict disturbing imagery within the human body.

“I was speaking to a colleague about this recently, we were thinking about why flash fiction is really useful for using horror elements in fiction,” Cass said. “Maybe it’s something to do with the way flash fiction has a turn or a twist at the end in the way we associate with a horror story or a horror movie.”

Professor of English Geoff Schmidt was the faculty member who invited Cass to speak to SIUE students via virtual events. “[Cass is] really savvy about genre; fairy tales, horror, science fiction, they play a lot with kind of mashups of genre too,” Schmidt said. “It’s all still very character driven and prose driven, but the idea of genre and what [they] can do in different genres seems always to be lurking in the margins.”

Cass said they appreciate body horror as a subgenre for the way it helps people to think about repressed emotion, trauma and how both manifest within the body.

“There’s so many possibilities within horror and I think it’s a really exciting time right now as we’re starting to see more queer people, more women, more people of color working in the subgenre and decentering the more cliche stock tropes,” Cass said.

Cass collaborated with three friends to create a queer reading series titled “Changeling” that will be starting back up in January, featuring queer writers from the St Louis area, and expressed interest in having SIUE creative writing students join in the program.

“We’re just really excited to be able to create a space for queer writing in town and to bring folks together around supporting that work,” Cass said.

Valerie Vogrin, a professor in the department of English, said those who like to read, regardless of major, may find enjoyment in attending events featuring visiting writers.

“I’d like to think it’s a way for students to connect to that kind of creative side of themselves and to the side of themselves that loves reading, or likes reading, or is just curious about what writers are about,” Vogrin said.

Though there haven’t been any plans made yet, Vogrin seeks to invite another author to campus in the spring.

Schmidt said he hopes visiting writers will feed a sense of community for writers and students at SIUE. “I think we were worried about what happens to a community of writers in a pandemic when so many of our experiences are moved online. It’s not always been easy for everybody, it’s easier to feel isolated and not part of a community,” said Schmidt. “We’re really hoping to nurture that sense of community through the isolation of the pandemic.”

The virtual visit consists of two events, a craft talk on Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. and a fiction reading on Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. The craft talk will more in depth discuss body horror, and give students a chance to write a short piece during the virtual sessions.

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Educators should acknowledge the diversity in online learning environments THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board

Professors and other educators who enforce that mics and cameras must be on during the entirety of an online class fail to acknowledge the diversity of student circumstances and the conditions they have in which to learn.

When professors enforce that mics must be on during an entire class, they are assuming that every single student has a quiet and isolated place to work — free of distractions, outside interruptions or other people in general. It can be even more stressful for students when there is the possibility of being punished — either by deducting participation points, or being called out in class for not being able to follow the rigid rules that are set in place.

For many students on campus, they will often have an online class followed by an in-person class, typically less than 15 min-

utes apart. For these students, they must find a quiet place on campus to set up for their following class. If they know that they must have their mic on for a class and the class requires vocal participation, they may hesitate to set up in the library, as it can be busy and full of other students working.

If students have the option of staying in their dorm, apartment or even at home, the promise of a quiet, distraction free space is not guaranteed. According to Statista, the national percentage of undergraduate students who live either on or off-campus with another person which includes living at home with parents, is 96 percent.

Only four percent of students live alone. Most students live with another person, which means that there is always going to be a possibility of noise or distractions in the background. Students who live in dorms often have zero chance of privacy, as there are no separate rooms in traditional dorms.

SIUE also has a decent number of students who are parents, or have chosen to continue their education while raising children.

Many of these parents choose online classes because they provide a type of flexibility that an in-person class would not. These students may opt to have their mics off for the entirety of a class because they have a fussy baby. Educators who enforce that mics and cameras must be on the whole class period, and enforce penalties for those who do not follow the rules, become ignorant to the fact that most students do not have access to a distraction free environment.

In the most basic sense as well, sometimes technology just doesn’t work. Microphones or headphones die in the middle of a class, or Zoom refuses to connect.

Students shouldn’t be penalized for technology refusing to cooperate.

Students understand why these rules are important. They help ensure students pay attention

during a virtual class, especially when Zoom fatigue sets in. But, if students are penalized for circumstances outside of their control, they may feel as though they are being set up for failure. Educators cannot blindly set rules and refuse to allow for accommodations.

Students also must take personal responsibility and put the same amount of effort into a virtual class as they would an in-person class.

Students aren’t asking for free passes or the excuse to blow off class, but instead for accommodations and grace. Many professors have been wonderful, allowing students to choose whether or not they choose to have their mics on the whole class and working with students when there are technical difficulties. However, for the few professors who penalize students for not being able to turn their mic on, understanding and compassion can do more for a student’s education than the fear of being failed.

woman putting a less-than-impressive amount of weight on the bar, and instances such as these reinforce that anxiety.

This is only one of many examples of poor gym etiquette I’ve noticed lately at the Student Fitness Center. Oftentimes, men doing deadlifts throw the weight down and make obnoxiously loud noises, another clear violation of gym etiquette. Again, this makes the weight room an uncomfortable place to be. It’s one thing to occasionally make an audible sound or grunt a bit while lifting heavy weights. It’s another to make caveman noises so loud everyone in the room can hear you, or throw the weight down so everyone knows just how tough and strong you are. No one’s clapping for you.

Aside from being a glaring red flag, excessive yelling can pose

a physical danger for others. Making such loud noises could distract or startle someone while they’re lifting, which increases their risk of injury. Additionally, if you actually need to make those noises, you’re pushing your limits too far and will likely hurt yourself.

I also see far too many people enter the weight room that aren’t wearing their masks properly. I understand pulling your mask down briefly to get a drink of water, but there’s no excuse to wear it under your chin during your entire workout.

A lot of my female friends avoid the gym for these reasons, and it doesn’t need to be that way. To make others feel more comfortable at the gym, common courtesy goes a long way.

Simply ask if people are finished using the equipment, wear your mask properly, wipe the equip-

ment when you’re finished and avoid any behaviors that would make someone uncomfortable: such as yelling, staring or offering unwanted advice.

Furthermore, the gym monitors need to do more to enforce gym etiquette. They should periodically check the weight room to make sure that everyone is wearing a mask and wiping the equipment, and step in if someone is being a jerk. A lunk alarm that sounds off when someone makes too much noise, as Planet Fitness has, could also be effective.

We all start working out feeling a bit self-conscious and unsure of ourselves — even gym bros.

It’s important to remember that feeling, and create an environment that doesn’t exacerbate it.

Everyone is there with the goal of self-improvement and deserves to pursue that comfortably.

Basic decency extends to gym policy, too NICOLE BOYD social media manager

It’s hard enough to break out of your comfort zone and start lifting weights at the gym. It’s even harder to do so when the environment at the gym isn’t welcoming.

Twice recently at the Student Fitness Center, my gym buddy and I have experienced a man step in and take over the weightlifting station we were using, while briefly walking away to grab different weights, despite us leaving our things on the station and other stations being available.

While this may not sound like that big of a deal, it violates gym etiquette, and definitely sends the message that certain people are more entitled to use the equipment than others. It’s intimidating enough for me to be there as a small

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PAGE 7

Thursday, 11.11.21

REVIEW: ‘Eternals’ doesn’t deserve all of the criticism it has received NICOLE BOYD social media manager

“Eternals” has its flaws, but it’s still enjoyable to watch, and much of the criticism it’s received can be applied to other Marvel movies, too.

The action of the movie begins when creatures known as Deviants, believed to be long gone, return. We learn that the 10 Eternals were sent to Earth to protect humans from Deviants, but are forbidden from meddling in any other human affairs. Each Eternal has a different power: Sersi (Gemma Chan) can transform objects, Ikaris (Richard Madden) can fly and shoot lasers out of his eyes and Druig (Barry Keoghan) can control minds.

The Eternals must regroup after being broken up for thousands of years after a Deviant kills their leader, Ajak (Salma Hayek). Later, it is revealed that there is a greater threat to humanity, and the Eternals must race against time to save the world, although they can’t agree on what the most ethical decision is.

“Eternals” is similar to “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in that it uses nonlinear storytelling and has a different feel than other Marvel movies. We see the Eternals at various points throughout history - the Babylon Empire, the fall of Tenochtitlan, Hiroshima - out of chronological order,

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which makes you work to piece together their backstory. The main plot’s recent events are also told out of order, which allows for a bit of a plot twist and dramatic irony.

The movie is set more in nature than most Marvel movies, which creates visuals that I greatly prefer. Additionally, the lighting is warm and soft, and there’s very little sci-fi jargon.

Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) provides comedic relief as an overthe-top Bollywood star.

Originally, the Eternals were all written as white men. In the movie, there are only two white male Eternals. Now included among the Eternals are a Black deaf woman, a Black gay man, a Latina and a female Asian lead. We even see Marvel’s first on-screen gay kiss. Better yet, the movie doesn’t come off as preachy or pandering, because their identities are never discussed. They’re allowed to simply exist as they are and let their strengths speak for themselves.

I did find some parts of the plot confusing. While the Deviants give the Eternals a reason to reunite, they do little else to advance the plot, and the fight scenes including them are boring. They also continue trying to kill the Eternals, even though they are fighting against the same antagonist. It would have been more interesting to see the Deviants and Eternals join forces

| Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios

against him.

The character posed as the main antagonist is not interesting either, as he’s a faceless, nameless being without motive. The Eternal who sides with him is the truer villain, and the majority of the fighting in the climax is against him.

I actually prefer it this way, because he does have a motive, a backstory and an emotional history with the lead protagonist, all of which had me far

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ie, it ends on a cliffhanger with a clear lead-in to the next movie and plenty of loose ends. While some criticisms are valid, others are unnecessarily harsh. One critic complaining that Salma Hayek isn’t allowed to be “Salma Hayek-y” is really just complaining that she isn’t a Latina stereotype. Others have criticized the dialogue and Chan’s acting, which are stiff and unnatural at times, but that’s nothing new for Marvel.

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more invested than a being that has no interaction with the main characters.

I also got bored with some of the arguing among the characters, as I always do with Marvel movies. With a runtime of two hours and 37 minutes, I would have liked to see less of that, although it still wasn’t as bad as “Civil War” in that aspect.

Ultimately, “Eternals” is setting up for the next phase of Marvel. As in every Marvel mov-

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sports

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

NEXT WEEK: WOMEN’S SOCCER OVC HIGHLIGHTS AND CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES

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Thursday, 11.11.21

RESULTS Esports Club sweeps SIUC in all VALORANT parts of the grudge match VS.

13-6 OVERWATCH VS.

2-0 SMASH ULTIMATE VS.

6-0 RAINBOW SIX SIEGE VS.

1-0 LEAGUE OF LEGENDS VS.

1-0

BRANDON WELLS sports editor

After an intense day of gaming, the Esports Club took the day with wins in all five game categories against SIUC. Throughout the day, the Valorant, Overwatch, Rainbow Six Siege, League of Legends and Super Smash Bros Ultimate teams each played one game, aside from Smash Ultimate’s various rounds.

Junior secondary education major Ben Wilke of St. Rose, Illinois, is the president of the club and said that despite some technical difficulties throughout the day, the event went very well.

“We had a good showcase of both Carbondale and Edwardsville players and we had UGC [Twitch streaming talkshow] who I am very thankful for that they came out and did the production for us,” Wilke said. “Today we saw a lot of students put a lot of dedication into what they do.”

In terms of performance, Wilke said he believes both sides had very impressive plays throughout the day.

“It’s really hard to pinpoint who stood out because everyone stood out in their own specific way. I mean we can have some [SIUE] Valorant players who stood out really well with some cross-map kills [and] some Carbondale players gave a lot of our Edwardsville players a run for their money,” Wilke said.

Being one of the larger events the club has had in some time,

Wilke said he enjoyed getting to play against players who were as dedicated to gaming as he and the rest of the club are.

“Having people come together — especially in the midst of a pandemic — having this love of competitive video games come through and having them be all just one unit, I think that [it’s been] my favorite part about today,” Wilke said.

Senior automotive technology and mechanical engineering major Nathan Diazleal of Franklin Park, Illinois, is the president of the SIUC Esports Club and said he didn’t necessarily have a favorite game that day, but wished they also could have included Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Rocket League in the matches.

Senior computer science major Jared Schneider of Red Bud, Illinois, is a member of the Cougar’s League of Legends team.

He said he was confident going into the game itself, but that this was also his first time playing in an in-person event against another team.

“I know there were problems in the past with people being able to hear people [on the other team] so my main goal was to have fun [and] take advantage of the fact that they can hear me,” Schneider said.

Being a member of the League team for years before, Schneider said the pandemic prevented them from having events like these before, but he was excit-

ed to get to play.

“It’s pretty interesting to see the other teams. Obviously you get to meet people [online] … but you get to know people and see them play as well,” Schneider said. “I kind of wish we would get to play more than one game, but with having so many of the other teams playing in one day it’s pretty understandable.”

Senior geography major Noah Ward of Goreville, Illinois, is a member of the Cougars’ Rainbow Six Siege team, who beat Carbondale’s team with a 1-0 final score. Ward said he believes that Carbondale did well against them despite being the less experienced team.

“I’ll give credit to Carbondale. We’ve been practicing together now for probably three or four years, so we’re very used to working together as a team and we have a lot more competitive experience. I know their program is a lot newer for Rainbow Six from what I’ve heard, so I think they played very well,” Ward said.

With the Rainbow Six team in mind, Ward said one of their members, Junior business major Jarred Ramsey of Decatur, Illinois, or better known on the team as GoldUnicorn had what he’d consider an especially impressive play where he was able to score two kills with a single C4 charge.

For more information about the Esports Club and other events like this, check out their Twitter, as well as their Discord and Youtube.

Women’s Basketball wins first exhibition of the season CAITLYNN HARBAUGH reporter

The game was off to a rough start, with the SIUE Cougars being down by seven points in the first quarter.

However, SIUE picked it up in the second half and won the game by eight points for a score of 74-66.

“We had a better coming out into that third quarter, ready to play. I think we were a lot more ready,” Head Coach Sam Quigley Smith said. “More than anything it was a focus of energy going into the second half that got us moving in the right direction.”

UMSL’s Faye Meissner, a senior guard, made the first shot in the game close to the eight minute mark for a total of two points.

Senior guard Gabby Nikitinaite scored the team’s first point at seven minutes and 53 seconds for two points.

Junior forward Mikayla Kinnard received the first penalty of the game at six minutes and 44 seconds into the first quarter.

The first quarter ended with SIUE accumulating 11 points and UMSL gaining 18 points.

PAGE 8

SIUE Standings WOMEN’S SOCCER

OVERALL OVC

SIUE Murray State UT Martin Belmont Tennessee Tech Southeast Missouri Austin Peay Eastern Illinois Morehead State

11-6 9-8-1 11-6-1 8-8-1 6-6-4 7-10-2 4-10-3 4-11-2 4-10-4

MEN’S SOCCER

OVERALL MVC

SIUE Bradley Loyola Missouri State Drake Evansville

6-10-2 5-11-1 9-5-1 15-1 6-9 4-13-1

SOFTBALL

OVERALL OVC

Morehead State Murray State Belmont Austin Peay SIUE Jacksonville State UT Martin Eastern Illinois Tennessee Tech Eastern Kentucky Southeast Missouri Tennessee State

11-30 22-29 15-25 27-16 18-21 24-25 27-19 25-19 19-30 35-17 30-17 9-33

All stats are from the OVC and MVC Websites

UPCOMING Cross Country at NCAA Midwest Regional Nov. 12 Volleyball vs.

Murray State 6 p.m., Nov. 12 Men’s Basketball at Chicago State 7 p.m., Nov. 12 Volleyball vs.

Murray State 2 p.m., Nov. 13 Wrestling at Evanston vs. Northwestern 6 p.m., Nov. 13 Women’s Soccer vs.

Notre Dame in Women’s Soccer Championship 12 p.m., Nov. 14 Women’s Basketball vs.

Memphis 2 p.m., Nov. 14

Junior Forward Madison Hackstadt (22) of Okawville, Illinois, goes for a shot as graduate student Allie Troeckler (23) of Bethalto, Illinois tries to block UMSL players. | Jihun Han / The Alestle

The teams then got about a minute or two to regroup and come into the second quarter.

Smith had to mentor both new players and older players, and this first game was the opportunity to show their hard work.

“It’s been a learning experience for everyone. Teaching

them, seeing how they like to be coached as well, but having incoming freshmen and transfers join a veteran group,” Smith said.

“You have to all mesh and find the right string of people, the right lineup, so that’s why you play exhibitions and scrimmages so you can see who plays well together, who does things well in

certain situations, putting them in the best positions to be successful. It’s a competitive mindset that we’re trying to instill in them.”

The Cougars picked it up in the second quarter, but only managed to score 14 more points, while UMSL scored a whopping 24.