The Alestle Vol. 74 No. 14

T H E

ALESTLE

thursday, 12.10.20

The Student Voice Since 1960

vol. 74 no. 14

“Scuba Claus� at the St. Louis Aquarium combines the beloved holiday tradition of meeting Santa Claus with an educational experience. Kids and adults alike can learn all about their favorite marine animals during upcoming Saturdays and Sundays. | read more on page 4 SAFETY FIRST: SIUE to make COVID-19 testing mandatory for spring return, other new initiatives | page 2

WORK(OUT) FROM HOME: At-home fitness sees spike in popularity as more are embracing the comforts of home | page 7 | Photo courtesy of Tami Brown, St. Louis Aquarium

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SIUE PD continues investigating flashing incidents DAMIAN MORRIS reporter

SIUE PD continues its search for the suspect of the flashing incidents from Oct. 18 and Oct. 31.

SIUE Police Chief Kevin Schmoll said SIUE PD continues to check in with the Madison County police chiefs.

“We have a monthly meeting to check with them,” Schmoll said. “None of them in the Madison County area had any incidents similar to this.”

Schmoll said he and other officers check the trails every day, but have now given more attention to the trails on weekends, since the incidents occurred on a Saturday and Sunday.

“I personally would be on the trail, I brought my wife,” Schmoll said. “Me and her would go out and hit the trail looking for somebody who fits the description. We put undercover female officers on the trails on the weekends, because that’s when these occurred … dressed in athletic attire, and seeing if they could spot somebody who fit the description, so we could apprehend this person, but that never happened.”

According to Schmoll, they had the suspect trapped in the woods on Oct. 31 following the incident, but were unaware he had jumped into the lake until later.

“We were actually waiting for a K-9 unit to come out and search for him in the wooded area,” Schmoll said. “He actually swam across the lake to get away. We didn’t know when he got in the water, but the reason we knew that is a fisherman saw someone in the water who swam to the other shoreline and back over to the 400 side of Cougar Village and got out and escaped from us.”

Schmoll said the department made the university aware of the incidents following the second occurrence.

“We sent the crime safety bulletin to the university community to make the university community aware of the incidents,” Schmoll said. “We now have two incidents, so we have a pattern, which means we had to make our university community aware of the incidents so they know, and can help us solve this and be aware this is happening on the trails.”

Schmoll said he would like to implement surveillance cameras on the bike trails as well, but needs more funding to do so.

“We don’t have any surveillance cam-

eras in that area,” Schmoll said. “It would be really helpful if we did … I’m a big proponent of surveillance cameras. Since I’ve been chief, we’ve added hundreds of cameras on all three campuses. It just comes down to the money right now. If we can find money and grant money, we’re always looking for that. That would be a possibility if we could get a grant out there that would award us the money to put up surveillance cameras, I will definitely put them in that area on the bike trails.”

Schmoll said he asks that people contact them if they see anything suspicious.

“Be aware of your surroundings at all times, and if you see something suspicious, please call us immediately,” Schmoll said.

“That way if something were to happen, the faster we know about it, the faster we can hopefully apprehend [the person] that is doing this on the bike trails.”

Junior mass communications major Trinity Bishop from Chicago, said she and her friends have been more scared on campus between the flashing incident and The Reserve shooting. “[In] my three years of being here, I haven’t heard anything like that happen, and I was just surprised that this was happening,” Bishop said. “So with those incidents, it just has me self-conscious whenever I go to my car at night, so I make sure I lock my doors as soon as I get in and things of that nature. Even my friends who live out here as well, they feel the same way since those recent incidents.”

SIUE PD offer a number of safety precautions, including a 24/7 non-emergency number, safety rides, safety walks and emergency phones, according to Schmoll.

“We can give you a safety ride or do a safety walk with you at any time … and there’s emergency phones on the trails and there’s one very near a location near where these two incidents have occurred,” Schmoll said. “That can be utilized as well.

If you can hit the button, you don’t even have to talk. It’ll give us the location and we’ll come out and see what’s going on at that activation of the emergency blue light.”

Bishop said she is glad to see SIUE PD providing safety precautions.

“I appreciate [the police] taking the precautions to do whatever they can … to make sure that students are safe,” Bishop said. “I would say the route that they’re going does make me feel more safe, but I

BY THE NUMBERS

COVID-19 at SIUE New confirmed positive cases (from tests conducted by SIUE and self-reporting):

Nov. 27 - Dec. 3: 3 students, 5 faculty/staff Nov. 20 - 26: 1 student, 4 faculty/staff 14-day new positive tests: 4 students, 9 faculty/staff All prior weeks positive tests (Aug. 1 - Nov. 19): 187 students, 37 faculty/staff Total positive cases: 191 students, 46 faculty/staff

Tests conducted by SIUE Nov. 27 - Dec. 3: 157 Nov. 20 - 26: 102 14-day new tests conducted: 259 All prior weeks tests conducted (Aug. 21 - Nov. 19): 1,416 Total tests conducted: 1,675

Positive cases identified by SIUE testing: Nov. 27 - Dec. 3: 1 Nov. 20 - 26: 1 14-day new positive cases: 2 All prior weeks positive cases (Aug. 21 - Nov. 19): 55 Total: 57

600 550 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50

do wish that they had caught the person.

That would make me feel even safer, because now I still have to worry about that whenever I go outside.”

Schmoll said even though they will provide safety walks, they highly recommend walking with a friend as they can’t always do this.

“We can’t do that every time, but if you can, walk with a friend, or if you’re out exercising, exercise with a friend.

During this time make sure you, under the COVID pandemic, be safe through social distancing. If you can do that, do that as well.”

He said they also have an app that allows people to communicate with the police department in a variety of ways.

“We’ve talked about the safety app, the Rave Guardian App, where you can text us if you can’t talk; we’ll alert our dispatch and assess what’s going on at that location, and we’ll send an officer to you,” Schmoll said. “There’s a 9-1-1 button on that Rave Guardian App as well, and you can also take pictures. You can take a picture of the suspect and send it to our dispatcher.”

Sophomore mathematics major Nicholas Wolden from Centralia, Illinois, said while he doesn’t personally feel less safe, he is pleased to see the campus police providing these resources.

“I still feel the same level of safety in regard to the shooting since that was off campus,” Wolden said. “With the flasher, I’m glad people were on top of it and reported it to SIUE PD. I could have been scared, because I do run in my free time … but from what I’ve heard it’s only affected women … I definitely like it, anything for more safety.”

Coordinator for Outreach and Prevention Initiatives and Staff Counselor Lisa Thompson-Gibson said she recommends students who are feeling anxious or unsafe go to Therapist Assisted Online.

“I would encourage students to go to Therapist Assisted Online for self-guided, interactive modules on topics like stress, anxiety and mindfulness, as well as other mental health related topics,” Thompson-Gibson said in an email. “Students can self enroll using their SIUE email and the service is free.”

For more information, visit the SIUE Police Department website or call their non-emergency number 650-3324.

Madison County confirmed cases by day

November 29 30

December 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Source: Madison County Health Department COVID-19 Dashboard, as of Dec. 9

Percentage of isolation/quarantine space available on campus (as of Dec. 3): 99 percent

Source: Health, Reporting, and Testing page on SIUE’s COVID-19 website, as of Dec. 4

COVID-19’S impact on Madison County All of Illinois’ regions remain under Tier 3 mitigations, which went into effect Nov. 20. These mitigations include the following: - Retail is limited to 25 percent capacity; grocery stores and pharmacies are limited to 50 percent.

- Bars and restaurants must be closed between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. the next day, and indoor dining cannot be offered.

- Personal care services must operate at a maximum of 25 clients or 25 percent capacity, whichever is less. Face coverings must be worn at all times, and services where face coverings cannot be worn, such as facials and beard trimmings, must be suspended.

- Health and fitness centers may operate up to 25 percent capacity, but no indoor group classes can be offered. Face coverings must be worn at all times, and locker rooms must be closed.

Source: dph.illinois.gov.

| Summer Bradley / The Alestle

SIUE secures plans for mandatory testing, contact tracing in spring JOHN MCGOWAN reporter

When returning to campus for the spring semester, SIUE students will be required to test negative for COVID-19, as the university expands its testing capabilities and switches to a saliva-based test.

Though SIUE planned to use University of Illinois’ SHIELD test system, it did not get FDA approval quickly enough. Instead, the university will be using a different saliva-based test from GENETWORx, a laboratory based in Virginia.

Michael Schultz, SIUE’s COVID-19 Coordinator, said the saliva-based test maintains the reliability seen in testing this semester and is less intimidating.

“In reviewing the data, we found that saliva testing did have an excellent sensitivity rate, and we felt that that would meet our needs without being intrusive,” Schultz said.

Some were hoping for full mandatory testing next semester, citing the possibility of an undetected outbreak without it. Instead, the school is planning a mix of mandatory and voluntary testing.

Students in on-campus housing will be required to submit negative test results before entering their living space, and all other on-ground students or faculty members will be required to submit a negative test in the 48-hour period before they return.

Schultz said this is in accordance with CDC guidelines, which instruct individuals to get tested when they switch bubbles of who they are around.

Chancellor Randy Pembrook said these pre-tests will help make everyone on campus feel secure.

“Hopefully [pre-tests] will give people confidence that everyone in the on-ground population has been tested at least once,” Pembrook said.

During the semester, around 500 students will be invited to get tested each week, though they won’t be required to.

Schultz said they will be offering incentives to students who come in, such as providing an amount of Cougar Bucks or entering them into a drawing for a parking hang tag.

Pembrook said the higher level of testing all comes down to statistics.

“The larger your sample is, the more you can approximate the characteristics of the overall population. So, by having more people test in a convenient, easy way — saliva — we hope that we’ll have good handle on the health of the overall population of people on campus,” Pembrook said.

According to Schultz, the hiring of four contact tracers has been approved, and there are also plans to hire interns directly from the Department of Public Health.

The new testing plan was approved during a Board of Trustees meeting on Dec. 3, in which the deal was announced to be around $1.5 million.

Sophomore mass communications major Jared Speer, of Troy, Illinois, said he was happy saliva testing will be available.

“I think the saliva testing will be beneficial in helping keep campus safe … I have friends that go to [University of Illinois], and they have told me they feel safer on campus,” Speer said.

Other students offered proposals to improve the testing plan. Junior chemistry major Abbigayle Hedrick, of Murphysboro, Illinois, said she thinks more at-risk students should be tested more often.

“The saliva test, I think, is a good idea.

It sounds a lot more comfortable than a nasal swab,” Hedrick said. “As for the invites, I think there should be a hierarchy of people that need to be tested more regularly rather than just random invites, like student workers or students in athletics.”

Students can learn more about COVID-19 testing and the new testing option on SIUE’s website.

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Webinar examines Edwardsville namesake’s life of “murder and mutilation” GABRIEL BRADY reporter

“Beyond the Bronze: The Ninian Edwards Statue in Context” was a webinar that offered a look into the life of Ninian Edwards, a former Illinois governor, and his actions, which included attacking Native American villages.

Actions such as these are why Our Edwardsville, the group who hosted the webinar, has been calling for a statue of Edwards in downtown Edwardsville to be relocated.

Public Historian Brian Ellis, one of the speakers on the panel, was already familiar with Edwards’ story. About 12 years ago, Ellis was chosen to portray Edwards in a presentation from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, and researched Edwards for that role. Ellis said his own Indigenous heritage made Edwards’ story even more disturbing, and led to him asking to change the production he was in.

“Being Cherokee, my family narrowly avoided the Trail of Tears by moving West and denying our [American] Indian heritage,” Ellis said. “When I started reading about Ninian Edwards’ outright disdain and destruction of Native Americans in Illinois, I’m like ‘How can I do this show?’”

Ellis said he then chose to focus on two perspectives, rather than just Edwards’. Ellis found letters sent between Potawatomi Chief Gomo and Edwards, which he said he used to write this story.

According to Ellis, a few people from the Winnebago tribe in Wisconsin came down to Southern Illinois and killed and scalped a few settlers, including children.

Ellis said Edwards demanded Gomo to turn in the men who committed this act, but Gomo told him that they were not from his tribe, and his people did not know them. “[Edwards then] goes from Southern

12.01.20 SIUE PD received a report of a sexual assault that had occurred in October. Investigation into this matter continues.

12.02.20 An employee notified SIUE Police that someone was living in a Cougar Village apartment who was not a resident of the apartment. An officer went to the apartment and indicated the individual was not there at that time.

A catalytic converter was reported stolen from a vehicle parked on South University Drive near Stadium Drive.

12.03.20 SIUE PD responded to a report of a suspicious person on the Alton campus. A man was throwing punches in the air and throwing himself on the ground. An officer spoke with the man, who said he did not need police or medical assistance. The man left the campus without further incident.

12.05.20 SIUE Police assisted Edwardsville PD with traffic control and securing the scene at a traffic accident.

Illinois to Peoria, and en route, he found American Indian villages … and he destroys the villages, and even digs up their seed-corn, which destroys their food for next year. And then he finally comes to the village near Peoria, and murders and mutilates women and children, and it’s a really horrific account,” Ellis said.

The path Edwards took to destroy these Indigenous villages is known as The Edwards Trace, and is now a hiking path.

Ellis said accounts from Indigenous people on this trail were tragic, and according to some accounts from Edwards’ men, they were horrified, too. However, according to Ellis, Edwards’ account of this story is celebratory..

Ellis also said Edwards burned down the French village of Peoria, Illinois, despite the U.S.’s alliance with France at the time. “[Edwards] arrests all the French men, and takes them to St. Louis, and leaves the French women and children … in the town square, where their houses, and even the church and warehouses are burned down around them. And who rescues these women? Potawatomi Chief Gomo,” Ellis said.

“He takes the French women and children back to his village, and arranges for them to be safely transported to St. Louis so they can be reunited.”

This story about Edwards, along with other similar accounts, are why Our Edwardsville wants this statue relocated. The statue in question was put up in 2008, and the surrounding plaza was then named after him. Alderman S.J. Morrison was not on the Edwardsville City Council when the statue was erected, and he said he was curious why the statue and plaza were created as well.

“The idea was to take a corner of downtown, a prominent corner of downtown, and convert from a bit of an eyesore, there was a vacant building there and a

gravel parking lot, to a signature park for our community. And in many ways, I think they were successful in doing that. They created a nice park, green space, lovely trees, a fountain and so on,” Morrison said.

“To be honest, I really don’t know why a statue of Ninian Edwards was chosen for that particular location. When I have asked a similar question, what I have learned is that … there really wasn’t anything recognizing Ninian Edwards, and so this was an effort to do so.”

At city council meetings in recent months, Edwardsville residents have spoken out both for and against the relocation of the statue. Those opposed to its relocation have often said statues and monuments like this one play an important role in reminding people of the past.

Ben Dickmann, who was city administrator when the statue was unveiled, spoke in support of keeping the statue at one of these city council meetings. Dickmann said Edwards’ achievements should be acknowledged alongside recognizing his more deplorable actions and beliefs.

Professor of Sociology Florence Maätita said the reason the discussion of Ninian Edwards has received so much attention is partly because of the notion of white fragility, which is similar to white guilt. According to Maätita, white guilt is the guilt felt by some white people for the horrendous actions of their ancestors, while white fragility is the knee-jerk reaction of anger and disagreement some white people feel when forced to acknowledge these actions.

“I think that guilt is part of the response that some people, namely white people, have when it comes to these kinds of issues, like race relations or introducing a different lens to understand a history, but … chances are, it’s not just guilt that you’re experiencing. It’s guilt and something else that is the source of this discomfort. And

what is the source of that discomfort? It’s having your experiences and your very existence questioned,” Maätita said. “This discomfort is often interpreted as guilt, but you can also say that this discomfort also contributes to this notion of white fragility.”

President of the Lincoln School Alumni Foundation and Longtime Community Leader Herman Shaw said he was very grateful for the support that the youth have given to Black Lives Matter and to Our Edwardsville. Shaw said that if we want these young people to remain active in politics, they need to see that their voice can be heard.

“If we expect [young people] to contribute and try to help us build our community, I think that we need to do something relatively soon because … I think they might lose their interest and their motivation, and I don’t want to see that happen to these young people,” Shaw said. “I think that they took it upon themselves to bring this to our attention, and I think that they need to feel like their thoughts matter …

I think it’s important that we thank them.”

Visit the Our Edwardsville website for more information.

Americans with Disabilities Act turns 30 in 2020, more work to be done both nationally and locally NICOLE BOYD copy editor

The Americans with Disabilities Act, which offers legal protections to people with disabilities, has been in effect since 1990, but people with disabilities still face challenges in the educational sphere today.

Assistant professor of teaching and learning Jennifer Hernandez teaches about the history of the ADA in an education course. Hernandez said the main purpose of the ADA is to ensure access to public spaces.

“ADA really allows people with disabilities, especially physical disabilities, access to public spaces, but only public spaces. It doesn’t protect them in private locations. So for example, if I went to a really expensive, wealthy country club, they might have one sidewalk or one door that opens but they wouldn’t necessarily be required to make every inch of their space accessible,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said self-contained environments for students with disabilities are one thing that harms students with disabilities because they do not get interaction with their peers without disabilities.

“We have classrooms, we have schools and then we actually in this area have a school district, Special School District of St. Louis County, not 25 minutes from Edwardsville, is an entire school district set up just to support the needs of students with disabilities. But that actually keeps them from, a majority of the time, being able to get … access to having an educational opportunity with their average peers, their non-disabled peers,” Her-

nandez said.

ACCESS Director Dominic Dorsey said the ADA sparked conversations about educational programs becoming more inclusive, such as math courses allowing calculators when the main purpose is for students to know when to use an equation.

“What are we attempting to judge, and are we creating barriers that are not really getting to the heart of what we want students to demonstrate? ADA opened up those conversations for students to be able to take part in, and to allow institutions and faculty as well to start looking at, ‘What is really the core, essential [ability] that we are trying to get students to master in this course?’ As opposed to creating environments where we’re excluding individuals, either absent-mindedly or intentionally,” Dorsey said.

Ronda Morris, a concierge for Esquiline, from Caseyville, Illinois, experienced a stroke when she was 10 years old. This gave her limited use of her left side and caused her to lose feeling on the surface of her left side. Morris said this limits her in activities that require two hands and distance walking, but job placement offered by the Department of Rehabilitation, through the ADA, helped her to find a job.

“They helped me with the resume, and they helped me with mock interviews, which I knew how to do, they just wanted to make sure. And then when the job [came] along, then they called and talked to the one that does the hiring. I still had to go in for the interview, but what’s something else the Department of Rehabilitation does is if a company hires some-

one that’s disabled … they get a tax break at the end of the year,” Morris said.

Dorsey said although society has become more inclusive, there are opportunities to allow students more accessibility before they have to ask.

“The more we start looking at class design, the more we start looking at event programming, the more we start looking at building spaces as a true opportunity for all individuals regardless of ability level to be included; I think they will get a whole lot closer to the spirit of the ADA. But right now, we still have far too many people who are enamored with the letter of the law, as opposed to the spirit,” Dorsey said.

New Horizons President Julia Goren, a junior sociology major from High Ridge, Missouri, said the organization gives students with disabilities a space to voice their concerns, and she sent out a survey to see what their concerns are this semester. She said while many of the concerns centered around burnout and Zoom fatigue, others were related to campus accessibility.

“Some students complained about actual accessibility on campus, like with the snow being piled up in the handicapped spaces and just overall accessibility,” Goren said. “Even in the Goshen, because there’s only one ramp in the Goshen Lounge, and there should be one on the other side parallel to that just to make it easier. And then someone wanted a bench in the lower level of the Student Success Center next to Health Services, and we’re trying to get that put in too.”

To learn more about New Horizons or ACCESS, visit their websites.

PICK UP OUR GRADUATION ISSUE STARTING DEC. 15 page 4

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‘The look of wonder in kids’ eyes:’ Safe ways to meet Santa this holiday season DAMIAN MORRIS reporter

Santa is finding creative and safe ways to visit kids this holiday season everywhere from behind acrylic and railings to fully online virtual meetings.

thursday, 12.10.20

Students and community members attempt to keep nursing homes hopeful JOHN MCGOWAN reporter

Scuba Santa at the St. Louis Aquarium The St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station is showcasing Scuba Claus, an underwater Santa Claus at 11 a.m., 1:15 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through Sunday, Dec. 20 as well as 1:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 21 through Thursday, Dec. 24.

Scuba Claus and elves dive into a shark habitat, and an elf is on a communication system that allows them to interact with the audience on the other side of the tank, according to the executive director of the St. Louis Aquarium Tami Brown.

“You can talk to the elf and ask questions about the animals they’re swimming with, about Scuba Claus, or make your holiday wish … We have an entertainer standing in front of the wall with a microphone, and through that microphone they can speak to the elf, and the elf can speak back to the audience,” Brown said. “So our guests can communicate with them through the seven inches of acrylic.”

Brown said seeing Scuba Claus is included in the ticket for the aquarium.

“It is included with your aquarium visit and you do not have to sign up to see Scuba Claus specifically, but we do encourage you to purchase your tickets for the aquarium in advance,” Brown said.

There is nothing like the glee on the childrens’ faces when they interact with Scuba Claus and his elf, according to Brown.

“I just love the look of wonder in kids’ eyes when they come into the gallery and see Scuba Claus in there swimming in there with the sharks,” Brown said.

“It’s an expression I can’t even describe, it’s really fun.”

Brown said she believes the aquarium is one of the safest ways to visit Santa Claus this year.

“A visit with Santa is of course a huge part of every holiday season, and this year with COVID, we’ve put a super safe spin on it,” Brown said. “You’re separated by seven inches of acrylic, salt water and a bunch of other things, so it’s probably the safest way you can interact with Santa this season.”

While Scuba Claus is the main Christmas attraction for the

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

Scuba Claus and his elf take a dip in the shark habitat at the St. Louis Aquarium, allowing children to tell him their Christmas wishes through a communication system. | Photo courtesy of Tami Brown, St. Louis Aquarium

aquarium, Brown said there are plenty of other areas of Union Station to explore as well.

“That’s the main feature at the aquarium, but Union Station has [the] Believe! Polar Express Experience, their pancakes with Santa, lunch under the lights, and the whole observation wheel is lit up green and red for the holidays, so there’s a lot happening,” Brown said.

For more information, go to the St. Louis Aquarium website.

Virtual Meet & Greet Santa through Edwardsville High School The Edwardsville High School’s Winter Color Guard is hosting a Virtual Meet & Greet with Santa from 5-8 p.m. on Dec. 16-17 and Dec. 21-22.

Leah Cummins, Director of EHS’s Winter Color Guard, said each video session costs $20 for one child and $8 for each additional child. She said each Zoom meeting will be about 5-6 minutes, but will allow the customer 10 minutes total to make sure everything goes smoothly.

“We’ll give every person a 10 minute time slot, just to make sure each person’s Zoom has enough time to log in, everyone can hear each other, and we’ll have a secure connection,” Cummins said.

Cummins said each meet up will be personalized and catered to the child or children based on a registration form the parents or families fill out. She said Santa Claus will have access to this information before the meeting.

“We’ll ask the child’s name,

age, what the child wants from Santa, what’s their favorite toy or favorite interest, and then I also have an option for the family or parent to include anything else they would like Santa to know, so that way it’s kind of up to them,” Cummins said. “Like, if there’s a special circumstance [such as], the parent says, ‘My child’s been really good this year’ or something like that, maybe something the parent’s been working on with the child, so that they can include that in the meeting.”

Cummins said she hopes to also include a small token from Santa Claus, given COVID-19 regulations will allow it.

“Right now, we are planning on doing, if the parent lives in the District 7 and Edwardsville area, a porch drop off gift, and that’s a surprise,” Cummins said.

“As long as our COVID mandates stay the way they are. We may have to cancel that portion … It’ll be like a small token from Santa. That way we can have the child really feel like they connected with him.”

For more information, go to the Virtual Meet and Greet with Santa website.

Santa at the Lucy Haskell Playhouse in Alton Haskell Park hosted their annual Santa at the Playhouse on Dec. 5 at the Lucy Haskell Playhouse in Alton.

Running the event was Ann Kuebrich, who said they gave the kids gift bags as they came to the park for the Santa Claus meet and greet.

“The bags had a letter that

they could write to Santa, and it also had ornaments and crayons in it so they could color an ornament to hang in there in the tree in the park,” Kuebrich said.

Kuebrich said although the kids could still see Santa, they took safety precautions through social distancing, wearing masks, and not letting the kids go inside the playhouse.

“They stood in line to see Santa Claus, but this year it was different because of COVID,” Kuebrich said. “Typically, the kids would go in the house to see Santa and get to sit on his lap and talk to him, but we couldn’t allow that this year. We had to keep everything outside, so they stood on the front steps, and we had a railing that kept the kids from getting too close to Santa.”

However, she said they were still able to briefly talk to Santa Claus, get their pictures taken with him and leave their wish lists with him.

She said the Alton Municipal Band also made a showing with their brass ensemble who played Christmas carols for them.

Kuebrich said that even though they had a smaller showing this year, she was just excited to still bring Santa to the kids.

“We had about 50 kids,” Kuebrich said. “Typically, we’d have around 100, so a little less than a normal year, but this is not a normal year. We were thrilled in that we were able to still host this event in a safe manner, and give some bit of normality to the kids.”

For more information about this and future events, go to the Lucy Haskell Playhouse Facebook page.

Due to the high risk of contracting COVID-19, residents in nursing homes have been cut off from their families for months.

However, many nursing homes and community members are doing what they can to make the time stuck inside a little easier.

For many nursing home residents, visits from family and friends are out of the question.

According to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, there have been over 354,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in American nursing homes, along with over 72,000 deaths. With the mortality rate so high, workers and community members are trying to help make life in the homes easier.

DeAnn Billings, Churchgoer at Copper Creek Christian Church, has worked with her church to distribute craft kits to residents. When assembled, these tissue paper kits become a stained-glass window with a cross, and they come with a card to write personalized messages on. Churchgoers can take them home, assemble them, and bring them back to have members of the church deliver them to nursing homes.

Billings said these kits help show residents they’re cared for by both God and the community.

“Not only do they know that a person is thinking about them, but they can also find some hope through Christ as well, you know, that God hasn’t forgotten them,” Billings said.

Before the pandemic, Billings would visit resident homes in person. She said she saw the effect of loneliness on people who didn’t get visitors.

“There were people that they couldn’t even communicate – they didn’t have their speech anymore, but they would have a tear streaming down their face … just knowing that there was already that devastation out there to begin with, then COVID hit and made it that much worse,” Billings said.

Sophomore nursing major Maria Fitzgerald, of Edwardsville, cares for residents at Stillwater Senior Living and Memory Care.

She said the staff at the home have a multitude of resources, games and events planned for residents.

“They have a really great life enrichment coordinator over at my facility … Some of [their programs] are music therapy, they’ve got story times, they’ve got bingo, and everyone can participate far away from each other and wearing a mask,” Fitzgerald said. see NURSING on page 5

thursday, 12.10.20 NURSING | PAGE 4

Fitzgerald said while they’re doing what they can to help residents, things can still be hard on them.

“For some of them, especially the ones with hearing impairment that need to see your face to understand communication, it can be really difficult, but they all know that it’s necessary,” Fitzgerald said.

Senior applied communications major Tiana Gipson of Alton, Illinois, works for Right At Home and an assisted living facility in Glen Carbon, Illinois. She said her facility has found a balance between having events and staying socially distant.

“The residents are decorating their doors and they’re voting on who has the best decorated door … They went and they put these little lit candles in bags and put them around the outside of the building so the building lit up …

It’s going on in sections, it’s not big gatherings,” Gipson said.

Gipson said that many of her residents are trying to look on the bright side.

“Their attitude is very positive. They’re positive individuals because I think in their minds they think things could be absolutely worse — or they have seen worse,” Gipson said.

While workers do all they can to keep residents happy, COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise in America, and the upcoming holiday season has shown things may not slow down.

As a result, Illinois recently moved back into Tier 3 mitigations.

Sophomore music education major Brianna Bennett of Highland, Illinois, works at San Gabriel Memory Care Facility. She said it’s not easy telling residents they still can’t see their loved ones.

“They ask all the time, ‘When

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is so-and-so coming? When can I see my family?’ It’s hard to tell them right now they can’t see their family because it’s to keep all of them safe,” Bennett said.

Billings said she’s also worried about the toll isolation has taken on residents with dementia.

“A lot of them are suffering from dementia, and that’s just going to make it that much even worse. They’re not able to regularly see their family members, and I think it’s going to help them deteriorate even more,” Billings said.

Bennett said keeping people happy in the home isn’t easy either.

“It is difficult on the staff to make sure we’re putting off all the positive energy we can just to make sure they’re getting that positive energy,” Bennett said.

Gipson said the pandemic had put enough stress on some workers at her facility to cause them to quit, leaving the rest of the staff in a tough position.

“When the pandemic first started, you had so many people walk out and just quit. So that meant that their shift had to be covered, and so you were working 24 hours a day,” Gipson said.

Fitzgerald said it’s hard in her nursing home too, but she understands why it has to be.

“It can get really frustrating, in all honesty. Going in to get tested, it seems like it’s all the time … I know that if we did get a case of COVID in my facility, it would really wreak havoc on everybody,” Fitzgerald said.

Readers who want to help out can send personalized messages to the residents at Stillwater Senior Living and Memory Care.

They can also check out San Gabriel Memory Care Facility and Copper Creek Christian Church at their websites.

page 5

Cougars for Changing Campus Culture wants to help students fight oppression JOHN MCGOWAN reporter

A new group on campus called Cougars for Changing Campus Culture wants to redefine what it means to be an ally, and give students the resources they need to fight against oppression.

The group, right now only consists of three grad students and an adviser, and is dedicated to fighting oppression of all forms and being a resource for students who want to learn about how they can help. Right now, the group is gauging interest through the use of a survey.

One member, specialized graduate social work major Emma Bowen of Pinckneyville, Illinois, spearheaded the project. She said the group is focused on a new form of allyship.

“It comes into relying on people within marginalized groups to take that labor onto themselves, and we didn’t want to do that … Eventually we kind of got to the main point in being an ally is fighting oppression – whether or not you are the one being harmed by it, and that’s more important than whatever being an ally is defined is,” Bowen said.

While they are planning for what a fully realized version of the organization would look like, all three members are graduating soon. Bowen said they’re focusing on reaching out to students interested in carrying on their legacy.

“We’re here until summer ends, that’s all the time we have here on campus. So, we’re trying

to start this and right now we’re looking for the students that are going to take the torch and carry this out,” Bowen said.

There are plans for what the group would do if it had dedicated membership. According to Bowen, they plan on collaborating with other organizations on campus and holding discussions both in person and online. She said they want to be able to educate students while simultaneously connecting them with other groups where they can enact change.

“Basically, we’re this space where you come in here, and you learn how to talk about these things, and you find your passions for the forms of oppression that you want to fight, and we connect you to other groups out in the community doing the work, so you can go out there and join the fight,” Bowen said.

The idea of a group for fighting oppression had been tossed around since fall of last year, but according to Bowen, it wasn’t until this summer that the idea became fully realized.

“The violence and police brutality over the summer really was a catalyst for us really getting a move on for this, and [we said], ‘okay yeah, there’s a lot of risks, and there’s a lot of ways we could do this wrong, but there are ways we could do this right and I think we should jump in,’” Bowen said.

Specialized graduate social work major Clara Kaufman of Stewardson, Illinois, said the group is important because many are taught to accept or even wel-

come oppression.

“A lot of the oppressive tendencies that you learn – it’s not because of you. You are a product of your environment. So, I think that it’s especially important to have a space that you can go to and say, ‘this is what I was taught,” and people are there to help you,” Kaufman.

Another member of the group, specialized social work major Amanda Depew of Centralia, Illinois, said she joined because she wanted to set up a place where conversations about oppression can take place.

“I’m biracial. I’m black and white, and so these are conversations that I’ve been having to have around dinner tables at holidays for quite some time, and it’s awkward when you don’t have that support. So, it was important to me to be a part of this, to have that support, and to help mold how these conversations will go,” Depew said.

The group’s adviser, Social Work Instructor Angelia Ham, said she took up the role for similar reasons.

“A lot of white people that I know and count as friends and family did not and do not see things the way that I see them, and did not really recognize the significance of social justice and the realities of discrimination …

It’s really about personal transformation that takes place over time,” Ham said.

Students interested in Cougars for Changing Campus Culture can take their survey.

CEO of MindsEye, along with several staff members, credits SIUE for success NICOLE BOYD copy editor

After graduating from SIUE, many alumni found themselves working for the same organization, MindsEye, using the skills they learned in college.

MindsEye is a St. Louis organization that serves the hearing and visually impaired by providing audio description and translating print to audio.

Jason Frazier, president and CEO of MindsEye, said he started working at MindsEye as a part-time board operator after he graduated from SIUE, and quickly became motivated by their services.

“I do have a personal connection.

My grandmother was visually impaired, so whenever I first started working here as a part-time board operator, I was inspired by the mission and just realized this is a service she could have utilized, and we didn’t know about,” Frazier said.

While working part-time at MindsEye, Frazier also worked part-time for ESPN. Although Frazier said he originally wanted to work in sports media, he became more involved with MindsEye after seeing the organization’s impact.

“I began to realize the impact of what we were doing. So community outreach became my next job there, then I became Development Director and then two years ago in 2018, after our previous presidency left, I was moved to the position of interim presidency, and then finally, two months later I was the full-time president and CEO of MindsEye,” Frazier said.

As an SIUE alumnus, Frazier said getting involved in extracurricular activities

such as WSIE, the campus radio station, helped him to learn skills he now uses in his career.

“I took advantage of a lot of the extracurricular activities, but that kind of taught me about real-life work experience, about being on time — the soft skills — and that kind of helped me with that portion of my career,” Frazier said.

Frazier also said his classroom experience as a mass communications student gave him the necessary tools for the field.

“Most people in mass comm will tell you writing is key, so learning how to write will get you into a lot of doors. I still use that now with development stuff or sending out appeal letters or things like that,” Frazier said.

While at SIUE, Frazier worked for The Alestle, which he said helped him to make connections such as Greg Conroy, former director of public affairs, who Frazier later recruited as a volunteer.

“The very first time I met Greg, I was doing a story for The Alestle and he was there doing PR, and it was about the … library ... and now he’s volunteering at MindsEye. He’s been doing it for three years now, because when he retired, I said, ‘I would love to have you come in the building one day,’ and he finally took me up on my offer,” Frazier said. “And he’s been doing great work ever since.”

Angela Banks, chief operating officer of MindsEye, graduated from SIUE as a business administration major with an emphasis in Human Resources. Banks became involved with MindsEye by volunteering as a substitute reader, and later became a staff member in the Beepball program and

did audio description training. Banks said it took some time for her to see how her degree helped her become successful.

“You make a decision when you’re young, ‘oh, I’ll study this,’ and then your career takes a 180. It eventually circled back around. I’m grateful for that experience and for that education at SIUE,” Banks said.

MindsEye offers three major programs — broadcast information, audio description and Beepball — as well as an arts and culture accessibility cooperative.

Mike Curtis, director of special initiatives, manages the Beepball program and works with technology for audio description.

“In a lot of situations, Magan [Harms], our Arts and Cultural coordinator, will do [audio descriptions] at live theater, so at the [St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre] … Repertory Theater and a few other theaters around the St. Louis area. So we’ll audio describe those events.

We’ve audio described a lot of things at Enterprise [Center],” Curtis said.

Beepball is a form of baseball in which a beeping ball is used. Most players are visually impaired, and everyone wears a blindfold regardless of visual ability, except a few spotters and the pitcher, who tells the batter when to swing. The batter must make it to one of the bases, which are four feet tall and have speakers, before the fielders find the beeping ball. For players who have lost their vision, this is a chance to play baseball again.

“We use Beepball as a fundraiser, but until 2018 we committed it to be a program of MindsEye rather than just a fundraiser. So even though the fundraiser goes

to support our mission and everything else we do, we also use it as a learning piece … we’ll go into schools and universities and events around the St. Louis area and do random demonstrations at certain events just to spread awareness about Beepball and sports for people with visual impairments,” Curtis said.

Tom Williams, broadcast director at MindsEye and an SIUE alumnus, maintains broadcast equipment, manages volunteers when they do recordings and programs the radio station.

“The majority of folks that use our service are people who have lost their vision later in life, so they know what blue and green are. They just may not be able to see that anymore, so being able to provide that to those people is still massively important. Being able to get things out there that are a visual medium to people who no longer have that ability and still make it translate well is a big deal,” Williams said.

Visit MindsEye’s website to learn more about their programs.

opinion

PICK UP OUR GRADUATION ISSUE STARTING DEC. 15 page 6

T H E

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FALL 2020 GRADUATION ISSUE

JENNIFER GOECKNER managing editor

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ALEX AULTMAN lifestyles editor

MACKENZIE SMITH multimedia editor

Guess the theme of next week’s issue and tag @TheAlestle on Twitter!

Pick up a copy on campus or at MUC 0311 starting Dec. 15.

JORDYN NIMMER digital creative director

KHOI PHAM photographer

GABRIEL BRADY JOHN MCGOWAN DAMIAN MORRIS LILY SCHNIEDERS reporters SUMMER BRADLEY graphics manager CAMILO ZULUAGA-CAICEDO advertising manager GRACE JOSEPH advertising representative TYMEI DAPPERT JORDAN RICHEY office clerks BROOKE KRANKEL circulation manager ANGIE TROUT office manager

thursday, 12.10.20

THE ALESTLE

MADISON LAMMERT editor-in-chief

NICOLE BOYD DALTON BROWN ELIZABETH DONALD BROOKE HILL copy editors

share your thoughts: opinion@alestlelive.com 650-3527

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alestle VIEW

Wealthy countries should not be pushing intellectual property rights on the COVID-19 vaccine THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board Please note: This staff editorial reflects the views of the large majority of The Alestle staff, not of each individual staff member.

from implementing patents and institutionalizing a pharmaceutical monopoly on the COVID-19 vaccine.

Among other wealthy countries, the United States, the European Union and Britain expressed their opposition to the proposal in the WTO meeting on Friday. In order to pass a proposal, all 164 countries must reach a consensus — otherwise, the decision will dissolve into a vote.

The countries in opposition claim the suspension of intellectual property rights would undermine the collaborative efforts to fight the global pandemic.

However, we at The Alestle believe there is nothing collaborative about singular countries having

ultimate control of who receives the vaccines and in what quantities.

Positive results from U.S. pharmaceutical companies during COVID-19 trials have only further affirmed the pressing importance of the proposal in protecting the interests of poor countries.

Wealthy countries shouldn’t act as dictators over global health, only securing vaccines for their own people while the rest of the world suffers.

The three vaccines found to have positive results include AstraZeneca’s AZD12222, Moderna’s mRNA-1273 and Pfizer and BioNTech’s BNT162b2. Moderna is based in the United States, as is Pfizer, Inc., a German-founded

company. AstraZeneca is based in the United Kingdom.

With the three most successful vaccines originating from two of the wealthy countries in strong opposition to the proposal, the motives behind the opposition are questionable.

A poor life should be regarded as no less valuable than a rich life, but time and time again, wealthy countries expose their greed and nationalistic interests.

We all have an equal right to life, regardless of the country we were born into. Wealthy countries should stop putting profit over public health and should call a ceasefire in the pharmaceutical monopoly war over the COVID-19 vaccine.

Letters may be submitted at The Alestle office: Morris University Center, Room 0311 e-mail at opinion@alestlelive.com

Although three COVID-19 vaccines have been identified with sufficient results, the pharmaceutical monopoly on trade-related intellectual property rights will guarantee only the world’s richest will have access to the vaccine.

Amid a global pandemic, trade-related intellectual property rights should be suspended indefinitely.

In October, South Africa and India submitted a proposal to the World Trade Organization which would restrict member countries

All hard copy letters should be typed and double-spaced. Letters should be no longer than 500 words. Include phone number, signature, class rank and major.

Taco Bell isn’t the same without potatoes

TAMMY MERRETT program director

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DALTON BROWN copy editor

In a controversial and heartbreaking move, Taco Bell removed all potato items from their menu; they claimed this would make room for more plant-based options, but months later, no such options have been added. As a former regular customer, I’m calling on Taco Bell to bring potatoes back — or at least give us the plant-based items they promised.

Before I begin, I would like to properly honor the fallen heroes of Taco Bell corporate’s irrational decision; the $1 spicy potato soft taco, loaded potato griller, cheesy fiesta potatoes and seasonal nacho fries may be gone, but they will never be forgotten.

These items, each delicious and innovative in their own ways, centered around the best meat alternative Taco Bell had to offer:

the extremely versatile and undeniably delicious Taco-Bell-seasoned potato. Since its removal in August, the menu has become a slap in the face to everyone who doesn’t want to choose between meat and beans; yes, there are items like the cheesy roll-up and cheese quesadilla, but there’s no way vegetarians can justify that amount of dairy cheese.

In a press release, Taco Bell corporate said they were “simplifying” their menu to make room for new fan favorites and make progress in plant-based diet categories; this turned out to be a straight-up lie, as no new plantbased options have been added since the black bean revamp of their vegetarian menu in 2019.

Dreams of a Taco Bell collaboration with Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods have yet to come true, even as Burger King offers Impossible Whoppers, McDonalds tests the McPlant and count-

less other restaurants offer plantbased options.

The new “fan favorites” include a $1 “beef ” burrito – Taco Bell admitted their “beef ” is only 88 percent beef following a 2011 lawsuit – an absurdly tone-deaf item to introduce during a nationally declining demand for beef and increasing demand for plant-based alternatives. Who asked for a cheap roll of 88 percent “beef ” to replace the spicy potato soft taco? I just want to talk.

One night, despite months of stubborn protest, I found myself broke, hungry and missing the Americanized “Mexican” fast food that plagued my late night cravings for years. I decided to give potato-less Taco Bell a shot, to my immediate regret; the experience was a hollow shell of the one I once knew, a shell that should’ve been filled with seasoned potatoes. Yeah, I ate my

cheese quesadilla and cinnamon twists, but I thought about my missing potatoes the whole time.

I thought this must be the result of a nationwide potato shortage, but it turns out the opposite is true; farmers have had to destroy literal tons of overstocked potatoes because fast food chains and other potato wholesalers refuse to buy them, citing decreased french fry demand during the pandemic, according to the Chicago Tribune. Taco Bell, who only sells french fries for like 10 minutes at a time, has little to no excuse for stripping these wonderful spuds from its menu boards.

Tell me, Taco Bell, what’s more plant-based than a literal vegetable? Do what’s right and bring potatoes back. If you’re forcing us to eat your so-called “beef,” at least make it plantbased so I can feel good about it being fake.

sports

contact the editor: sports@alestlelive.com 650-3527 thursday, 12.10.20

PICK UP OUR GRADUATION ISSUE STARTING DEC. 15 page 7

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Through an Athlete’s Eye: Pandemic Style

Soon we’ll be playing through a pandemic LILY SCHNIEDERS reporter

Senior guard Mike Adewunmi scores 13 points for the Cougars at SIUE’s first men’s basketball home game of the season against the University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks. I Khoi Pham / The Alestle

One second makes all the difference for basketball GABRIEL BRADY reporter

The Cougars suffered a narrow loss against the Omaha Mavericks on Saturday.

Throughout the game, there were many points where the Cougars seemed to be making a comeback, yet they lost 6365.

Throughout most of the

first half, the Cougars trailed roughly 15 points behind the Mavericks. But by halftime, the Cougars had regained some ground, and the score was 24-35. While they were still losing, the Cougars were shortening the gap.

“They really played hard.

They were flying around. We were down 15, 17 early. And then to our guys’ credit, they

just kind of figured it out, and they cut [the Mavericks’ lead] to 11 at half,” Head Coach Brian Barone said. “[The Mavericks] are extremely wellcoached, [their coach has] been there around 18 years, and we just weren’t able to overcome it in the end, unfortunately.”

However, the Cougars see BASKETBALL on page 8

As the fall semester closes, things are just starting to heat up for athletes who had their fall seasons postponed due to the pandemic. I am one of these athletes.

As a forward and midfielder on the women’s soccer team at SIUE, I am accustomed to playing in the fall and not the spring. Because my season has been moved to the spring, my teammates and I will have to make many adjustments as we head into the new year.

While I would normally be relaxing on winter break, I have to use this upcoming break to focus on my fitness. I am going to have to push myself and go beyond my comfort zone to be in the best shape of my life when I get back in January. Doing that is going to be a challenge because we are still in a pandemic, so some gyms might close. If that happens, I’m afraid I’ll have to workout outside in the winter weather, which is less than ideal for anybody. Yet, I’m confident I can overcome this obstacle.

Not only will our preparation be different this year, but the season itself will be very different than a regular fall season. We have a lot of new regulations we are

At-home fitness heats up despite cold weather NICOLE BOYD copy editor

Research suggests the fitness industry will look different after the pandemic, with more people canceling their gym memberships and turning to at-home workouts instead.

According to a survey conducted by Harrison Co., a consumer-focused investment bank, 34 percent of gym-goers have canceled or plan to cancel their gym memberships due to COVID-19, and 40 percent of respondents reported exercising at home for the first time as a result of the pandemic.

Don Yakstis, a product knowledge specialist at RunWell in Edwardsville, a running and walking specialty store, said the store’s amount of customers has exploded since the start of the pandemic. “[There] is no question about it. We are now seeing people from different walks of life, so our elderly population is growing, our population of people who were normally sentient [is] growing,” Yakstis said. “Our clientele is not just runners, it is now people who are seeking pain relief. We have orthopedists, we have podiatrists, physical therapists that all send their patients to us to get fitted for shoes, to help them improve their quality of life.”

One explanation for this effect is that many people now have the opportunity to spend more time outside, Yakstis said.

“The outdoors is a great thing, and a lot of people, the daily bustle kind of secluded them from that. It pulled them out of that world, and now they’ve rediscovered that, ‘oh hey, fresh air is good and sunshine feels good.’

And they’re just sticking with it now,” Yakstis said.

According to Yakstis, even though the weather is

turning colder, the store’s clientele still shows interest in outdoor physical activities.

“There’s always a little bit of a decrease. This year we’re seeing a little bit less, so our clientele, even in the waning months, are starting to still go out and play,” Yakstis said.

Yakstis said those looking to continue running during colder months should follow what is called the 20 degree measurement to dress properly.

“If you’re running, we call it ‘the 20 degree measurement.’ Basically, whatever the outside air temperature is … you add 20 degrees to that, and that is how you should dress. So if it’s 50 degrees outside, you dress like it’s 70.

If it’s 30, you dress like it’s 50, and so on and so forth,” Yakstis said. “For walking, we usually do about a five to 10 degree difference. Kind of the same thing, but a little bit different. It all depends on the people, and with that is always the caveat that certain people will experience this differently.”

Alex Garcia, a sophomore mechatronics and robotics engineering major from Breese, Illinois, began lifting weights during the first stay-at-home order last spring.

Garcia said although building muscle mass at home may be difficult without using more than body weight, people can use household objects or buy equipment to exercise effectively.

“I ran out of weights at home so I filled up milk cartons with sand. Originally what I did was, right when quarantine started, I went to Walmart and bought some free weights, like a medicine ball, some dumbbells, and worked out with those. But having anything you can work with weight-wise helps a lot,” Garcia said. see FITNESS on page 8

going to have to follow that we have not had in the past.

We normally come back the weekend before school starts.

Now because of COVID-19, we have to report back Jan. 9 so we can screen and get tested to be able to start training the first day classes start.

Once games and training start kicking off on Jan. 19, we will have to get tested 72 hours before each game. Of course, we are also under strict guidelines regarding self-isolation as the stakes are high now: If somebody on our team tests positive for COVID-19, we have to forfeit our game.

Athletes have had to overcome so many obstacles since the start of this pandemic and the past few months have been hard, but the months ahead are going to be even more difficult for some. That starts with preparing for a season they normally aren’t used to and having to find motivation to be ready when they come back.

I am ready and excited to actually play during a time like this, when no one thought we would actually be able to, even if it isn’t going to be a normal season.

There are going to be plenty of ups and downs during the season, but I am confident teams will be able to overcome them.

Workouts using filled milk jugs 1. Bicep Workout - Hold a milk jug in each hand with arms at your sides. Raise milk jugs across your chest to the opposite shoulder.

- Repeat 20 times with each arm, alternating arms.

2. Tricep Workout - Holding a milk jug in one hand, bend forward while keeping your legs straight and a neutral back.

- Extend your arm behind you, then bring the milk jug forward by bending your elbow.

- Repeat with the other arm.

3. Shoulder Press -Raise arms with elbows bent at a 90 degree angle with a milk jug in each hand.

- Extend arms so that they are straight, raising the milk jugs above your head.

- Lower arms to starting position, then repeat.

4. Leg Workout - Hold a milk jug in each hand, keeping them out to your sides.

- Keep legs shoulder width apart and squat.

- Repeat for four sets of 20 reps.

Workouts collected from youtube.com/watch?v=0BPsvwIO-mI

page 8

alestlelive.com BASKETBALL I page 7

seemed eager to turn the game around in the second half, and after just three minutes past halftime, the score was 33-35.

The message to the team after halftime, according to Barone, was to look for better shots on offense, focus on the fundamentals and be more aggressive on defense.

“Really, that just wasn’t who we are. You look at it, it felt like we were down significantly more, but it was only an 11 point game,” Barone said. “The message was pretty simple. I thought we took some bad shots in the first half, but we missed some wide-open layups and it was weird.”

Throughout the second half, the Cougars and Mavericks pushed against each other, trying to take and hold the lead.

Barone said leads were hard to maintain, but the Cougars put some real effort in.

“If you look at it, we were up three, or two, maybe four times, and I think they hit a three every time,” Barone said.

Sophomore forward Lamar Wright got two chances to secure points through free throws in

the last six minutes. Both times, Wright’s free throws gave the Cougars the lead, but the Mavericks would then quickly regain it.

Earlier in the second half, Wright had missed a free throw, but Barone said Wright came back from it with confidence.

“He did a really good job, went out there with confidence.

Lamar missed the two, but he came back and buried two big ones, and he made some good defensive plays,” Barone said.

“It’s just part of our growth. He did a really good job making some plays when we needed to, just not the ones at the end to completely stop them.”

In the last three minutes, approximately five timeouts were called between the Cougars and the Mavericks as each team looked to secure the lead with an incredibly close score during the game’s final minutes.

Barone said holding a strong lead against the Mavericks was difficult, despite the Cougars’ hard work. “[We need] to make the plays we need to make and the stops we need to get stopped, when we were up three, when we were up two, but we couldn’t

get that last stop, unfortunately,” Barone said.

Barone said the message to the team was focused on being aggressive, and getting out there.

“The message was just execute and be aggressive, take care of the ball, all that kind of stuff. I think we got a layup out of one, we got a wide-open shot on another one and another one they just guarded well,” Barone said. “As a coach, those are kind of things you try to prepare your team for. At the end of the day, the guys need to go make plays, and those are the guys that make more plays than I ever did as a player, and ever will as a coach, and I’m completely trusting of our guys to do the right thing.”

With 24 seconds remaining on the clock, the Mavericks fouled senior guard Mike Adewunmi, which gave him a chance at a free throw. Adewunmi scored both shots, and tied the game up at 63.

However, with one second left on the clock, the Mavericks dunked the last basket of the game, leaving the Cougars with a 63-65 loss.

Barone said the Mavericks

thursday, 12.10.20

were a tough team with tough players, like senior forward Matt Pile.

“I think what Pile did is … he ducked us in. I’d have to look at it again, but I think we gambled. He got us on his back, and then we gambled, and he was too deep for our rotation, and he obviously finished what you need to finish in a college basketball game,” Barone said. “I would say the ball pressure probably wasn’t where it needed to be to have a direct line of pass from the top, and then obviously the post defense was just out of position, unfortunately.”

Regardless of this loss, Barone said he was proud of the Cougars’ work this early in the season, especially with a relatively new team.

“You want to be able to show those positives, because they were positive,” Barone said.

“I mean, the reality of it is, we came back from a 7-0 run start.”

The Cougars’ next matchup is an away game against the Valparaiso Crusaders at 6 p.m. on Dec. 9.

For more information, check the SIUE athletics website.

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FITNESS I page 7

Garcia said in addition to following at-home workout programs, beginners can exercise safely by starting slowly and then increasing the intensity of the workout.

“I’d start out slow. Just get used to the movements … Getting the form down is what you need to do first, and then after that then you can increase the weight or go faster … I definitely would get used to all the exercises first before I started doing them fast, back to back to back,” Garcia said.

Tessa Schwarzentraub, a sophomore business and German major from Metamora, Illinois, is a trained yoga instructor and has led yoga classes at the Campus Recreation Center.

Schwarzentraub said although in the past her in-person classes have had higher attendance than her online classes, those who do not feel safe going to a gym may be more likely to search for at-home yoga options.

“You can always search online … and there’s subscriptions. It’s kind of like Netflix, almost, but it would be for yoga and there’s just tons of different options. You do have to pay for that, but the free version, I would recommend YouTube or looking into the Rec’s options,” Schwarzentraub said.

Schwarzentraub said although she sometimes struggles to stay motivated, remembering that she will feel better after exercising helps her to push through.

“I think maybe just recognizing, like if you’re super stressed, then convincing yourself that you’ll feel better after always works for me,” Schwarzentraub said.

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