Last week, The Alestle reported that Tyrone Johnson was pictured in the photo on the cover. Instead, it was Junior Mass Communications major Darrius Brimmage of Belleville, Illinois.
thursday, 01.31.19
the
Correction:
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Tennis sweeps Western Illinois at recent event page 7
alton — east st. louis — edwardsville
vol. LXXI no. XXIV
Cougar Cupboard gears up for second semester of operation MADISON LAMMERT reporter
What was formerly a meeting room on the second floor of the Morris University Center is now the Cougar Cupboard, a food pantry, with one semester in operation under its belt. After reflecting on Fall 2018, many changes are underway to better serve active SIUE students, faculty and staff. One such change was increasing the amount of food allocated. “Things that have changed specifically for just a one-person family is that we added two more cans of vegetables … and we also included another ramen instead of just one,” Stephanie Bargiel, Cougar Cupboard graduate assistant and graduate student in biology, of Granite City, Illinois, said. Larger families of five or more members are also allotted increases in specific food items such as beans, rice and mac and cheese. The amount of toiletries that patrons are alloted has also increased. Items previously considered toiletries, such as toilet paper, paper towels, tissues and napkins are now in their own category called paper products.
There’s now a new family section that contains larger sizes of allotted items as well as baby supplies. “We’re really trying to compensate and show families that we are really supportive of them, whether it be through offering some infant formula to larger sizes of toiletries, to actual baby items,” Bargiel said. Patrons consist of active SIUE students, faculty and staff and are allowed to visit the pantry once a month. 185 patrons visited in Fall 2018. The pantry was visited 365 times in the fall, and approximately 40 times this semester, according to Bargiel. While Bargiel is happy the cupboard is being used as a resource, she recognizes that the large amount of use is a testament to the problem of food insecurity. “[It’s negative] if you think of it like an emergency room — you want the emergency room to be empty because you don’t want emergencies,” Bargiel said. “So, something like this is like an emergency room. We want people needing it to utilize it, but we don’t necessarily want to see massive growth because that would mean that there is a more intense issue at play with food [insecurity].” The pantry has also grown in
the number of donations received from community members, students, staff, faculty and student organizations as well as other sources. According to Bargiel, patrons have donated over 5,000 items. “There’s still the overall awareness that food scarcity is a huge problem and it’s closer than you think, so it’s really cool that organizations and various students, faculty and staff are helping out with that,” junior chemistry major and Americorps volunteer, Dalia Hassan, of Springfield, Illinois, said. In trying to maintain patron confidentiality, volunteer consistency is a must. Freshman business management and criminal justice major Colin Boysen, of Carpentersville, Illinois, volunteers at the cupboard once a week and finds it to be a rewarding experience. “I’ve been to a couple of other volunteer opportunities that are all very external in serving the greater community,” Boysen said. “This is more of a … direct way to take care of the SIUE community.” While Bargiel recognizes the problem of food scarcity is complex and requires solutions at a higher level, she is proud the cupboard supplies the SIUE com-
SIUE celebrates life, message of MLK
Out of SIUE’s center for preforming arts, a group of East St. Louis dancers and drummers perform their “Unity One” piece in a traditional West African style. | Jakob Ruffner / The Alestle TYLER PLETSCH reporter
SIUE welcomed Christine Taylor, Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Alabama, as the keynote speaker at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Luncheon on Jan. 23. Taylor highlighted King’s ambition and emphasized that his message still applies to current times. She spoke to younger generations and made it clear that King’s fight for civil rights actual-
ly wasn’t long ago, and his message still plays a part in today’s society. Many higher education instructors and political figures were among attendees in the Meridian Ballroom. SIUE chancellor Randy Pembrook addressed the room and touched on diversity at the university. “Additionally, SIUE now has a Black Faculty and Staff Association constituency group formally recognized by the SIUE Board of Trustees, a reinvigorated diversity leadership group and has developed [the] 2019 diversity and
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inclusion spring summit, exploring the theme: complicit bias and institutional change,” Pembrook said. Pembrook tied in some of King’s speeches and correlated them to events that happen around campus and the country. “[King’s] passion for courage, for truth, for justice and compassion, for dignity, humility and service, he essentially defined his leadership. His was a voice for all time and his dream focused on the importance of relationships on honor and justice,” Pembrook said. “Leadership’s not for the faint of heart. It is not something you do, depending on how many likes you get on Facebook or Instagram,” Taylor said. Taylor stressed that she is not a devoted follower of King and his work, but rather a rallier behind it. “Professionally, I picked up my own baton and became a drum major for justice within my circle of influence,” Taylor said. She touched on how people of color are being stopped by police for being black and King’s work is far from complete. Taylor also mentioned everyone in the U.S. is privileged because they have the opportunity to get a public education.
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see MLK on page 3
munity w i t h immediate help. “While [the cupboard] is just essentially a BandAid on the problem of accessibility to certain social programs for students, it is something that is helping people right now,” Bargiel said. The Cougar Cupboard’s hours are Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Wednesdays from 3 to 7 p.m. including spring break, and patrons don’t need to show documentation of need. Donations are accepted at the front desk of the Kimmel Student Involvement Center, and current areas of need are flour tortillas, bread, canned chicken, jarred tomato sauce, canned fruit and can openers.
Volunteer applications are also available at the Kimmel.
MADISON LAMMERT
650-3527 @madison_alestle mlammert@alestlelive.com
Campus not closed for weather despite wishes HANNAH MILLER sports editor
SIUE administrators kept campus open Wednesday as temperatures dipped to a windchill of -29 degrees as 8 a.m. classes began, regardless of nearly 2,000 members of the SIUE community signing a Change.org petition Tuesday night, asking class to be cancelled and voicing their concerns about what they saw as dangerous cold weather and wind. Administrators addressed the cold weather around 10 a.m., Wednesday, in spite of students taking to Facebook and Twitter with requests for the university’s decision. SIUE shared a statement to their Facebook and Twitter accounts to respond to students. “It is the goal of the university to remain open unless emergency conditions require otherwise. With no snow, no ice, plenty of sunshine and low winds, individuals can protect themselves with proper precautions against this winter weather. Individuals should dress warmly, make outdoor trips as brief as possible and drink plenty of water,” the statement read. Dozens of students responded to SIUE’s statement on Twitter to share their frustrations with these suggestions. “How are we supposed to
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make ‘outdoor trips as brief as possible’ when everyone has a 15-minute hike from the red lots? Why has the governor announced a low-temp emergency but SIUE fails to recognize how much time their students must spend outdoors?” senior nursing major Alison Knowles, of Mount Olive, Illinois, tweeted Wednesday morning. Vice Chancellor for Administration Rich Walker said university officials based the decision to keep campus open based on a variety of factors, including weather and road conditions, adding that administration does not take into account student-made petitions. “We don’t have ice, we don’t have snow, we didn’t get the wind that they were predicting,” Walker said. “And that just leaves us with the temperature. Winter temperatures in the Midwest can be mitigated with the proper precautions. If students will bundle up and wear a hat, gloves, scarves and cover their exposed skin, they’ll be just fine, as proven by the thousands of students that came to school today.” Student Government also took to Facebook to get the community’s take on the cold weather, asking in a poll if people were in favor of changing the university’s see WEATHER on page 3
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