Eastern News
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OC TOBER 17, 2011 V O LU M E 9 6 | N o. 1 3 3
EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CHARLESTON, ILL. D A I LY E A S T E R N N E W S . C O M T WIT TER.COM/DENNE WS
Pumpkin patch funds equipment, plane tickets
Football defeated on road; losing streak at 6 games
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HOMECOMING
Homecoming Week kicks off today By Rachel Rodgers Administration Editor
The visual array of themed sandwich boards and the bombardment of blue decorations strewn across campus means the Homecoming spirit is in the air. The kickoff event for Homecoming Week is the “Royal Blue” Coronation today at 7 p.m. in the McAfee Gym. Jacob Swanson, a junior philosophy major and the Homecoming coordinator for the University Board, said he thinks the coronation is important because students can see who will be representing them as
Homecoming Events Oct. 17: 7 p.m. McAfee Gym “Royal Blue” coronation Oct. 18: 5 to 7 p.m. “Billy’s Clues” scavenger hunt Oct. 19: Noon to 2 p.m. Library Quad “Blue-B-Que” picnic 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Library Quad “Bleed Blue” spirit T-shirt swap Oct. 20: 7 to 9 p.m. South Quad “Big Blue Playground” family fun night Oct. 21: 7 to 9 p.m. McAfee Gym “Crank-up the Blue” pep rally Oct. 22: 9:30 a.m. Sixth Street and Grant Avenue Homecoming Parade 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. O’Brien Stadium Parking Lot “Billy’s Backyard Football Tailgate” 1:30 p.m. O’Brien Stadium Homecoming Football Game Homecoming King, Queen, Prince and Princess. “Coronation is the moment when Homecoming really begins and it sets the tone for the entire week,”
Swanson said. At 5 p.m. on Tuesday, students can participate in the “Billy’s Clues” scavenger hunt. Tiffany Leschke, a second-year
graduate student in the College of Student Affairs and an advisor for the UB Homecoming Committee, said “Billy’s Clues” will be a photo scavenger hunt. She said students can pick up the scavenger list of about 50 items in the Student Activities Center at 5 p.m. and students can participate in teams of two or three people. “Teams will have two hours to go and take pictures, and they must return to the SAC by 7 p.m.,” Leschke said. At least two members of the teams must be present in each scavenger hunt photo, and the top three teams
FREE PIZZ A
will receive prizes, she said. The first place prize is a $75 gift card for each team member, then $50 gift cards for the second-place team, and $25 gift cards for the third-place team. From noon until 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Eastern is celebrating Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day with the Homecoming “Blue-B-Que” picnic in the Library Quad. “We are trying to get more faculty and staff members involved in Homecoming and we thought this would be a great way to work toward that goal,” Swanson said. HOMECOMING page 5
HOMECOMING COURT
Past winners weigh in on coronation By Nike Ogunbodede Campus Editor
Winning a place on Eastern’s Homecoming Court is a numbers game—the online popular vote counts for 30 percent, 10 percent for candidate applications and the judges’ vote, based on the candidate’s interview counts for 60 percent. The “Royal Blue” coronation will take place today at 7 p.m. in the McAfee Gymnasium. Eastern’s court is comprised of a king and queen, prince and princess, faculty king and queen and a little prince and princess.
NIKE OGUNBODEDE | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Sam Bixby, 25, receives a free Domino’s Pizza after Charleston Fire Department firefighters Jason Armstrong and Blake Graven checked his smoke detector on Saturday. The CFD teamed up with Domino’s to raise awareness for Fire Prevention Week.
Fire Dept. gives out free pizza Firefighters also inspect smoke detectors for fire prevention week By Nike Ogunbodede Campus Editor
Sirens were silent and fire hoses perfectly undisturbed as the candy-apple red 306 fire engine sped down the streets of Charleston—not to put out a fire—but to provide residents with free pizzas. Driving engine 306, Jason Armstrong and Blake Graven—sans yellow uniforms—were one of many Charleston Fire Department firefighters to pair up with Domino’s Pizza for an hour shift of delivering pizzas to surprised Charleston residents. In an effort to raise awareness for fire prevention week, members of the Charleston Fire De-
partment checked working smoke detectors before giving the residents with properly working detectors their pizza free of charge. Sam Bixby, 25, said he was expecting to give a tip to the deliveryman, not open his house up for an informal inspection. Bixby’s smoke detector was not attached to its dock upon the arrival, Graven said. Bixby said he unhooked his smoke detector because of its incessant beeping. “It’s only been unplugged for a week, but I probably should have gotten it checked instead of removing it,” Bixby said. Upon further inspection, it was discovered that Bixby did not have a carbon monoxide detector even though he had a gas-fueled appliances. “He did have a gas water heater and gas is what causes carbon monoxide—it’s fumes of the burnt gas,” Armstrong said. Eastern students need to educate themselves on
what their landlords need to equip their homes with before they sign a lease, Graven said. In accordance with the Illinois state law, every “dwelling: place is required to have at least one approved functioning carbon monoxide alarm within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes. “CO kills a lot of people every year,” Armstrong said. Bixby said he was glad the fire department was able to talk with him about such a serious and under-discussed issue. Eric Schroeder, a senior physics major, said he was excited when the firefighters explained that he would be getting a free pizza if his smoke detector was in working order. “I knew it was OK cause it always goes off when we are trying to cooking,” Schroeder said. PIZZA, page 5
King Charles Jacques, a senior biology and French major, was the 2010 “Bets on Blue” Homecoming King and the third consecutive member of SAE to win king. “I think it really helped that I got really involved and I cared about the campus and I wanted to make an impact,” Jacques said. Jacques said his favorite event was the Homecoming football game. “I actually met one of my good friends that day because she was messing around with the band kids,” Jacques said. “We got to interact with so many different people.” Jarrod Scherle, a graduate student, was the second member of SAE to win homecoming king in 2009. Dan Rolando began the winning streak in 2008. Scherle said his interview went exactly how he wanted it to. “I was really on my game that day,” Scherle said. Scherle said the way he networked himself and the friends he had willing to support him is what he thinks set him apart. Scherle also said his favorite event was the 2009 football game. “The Homecoming Royalty got to met Tony Romo,” Scherle said. “I got a picture with him and got to shake his hand.” Homecoming King is not just a one-day event and the obligations can interfere with other things so the winners should have enough time to make multiple event commitments for that week, Jacques said. CORONATION, page 5