THE LEADER THE AWARD-WINNING STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT ELMHURST COLLEGE.
VOL. 49 November 4, 2014
The Leader invited to try indoor skydiving at iFly in Naperville See page 13
Author C.J. Pascoe seeks to redefine homophobic discourse See page 3
Gov. Quinn gives $1.8 million grant to EC Zachary Bishop editor-in-chief
With election day a week away, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn made an appearance at EC on Oct. 28 to announce the state will grant the college $1.8 million for renovation and remodeling projects for the Schaible Science Center. This is the second grant EC has received from the Illinois Jobs Now! project, a capital construction program that aims to create more jobs, revitalize K-12 and higher education, and improve its science facilities. Just last year, the state granted EC $1.5 million for this purpose. “We want to make sure we have our labs at our public universities and right here at this college second to none,” Quinn said to a crowd of EC students, faculty, and staff in the Kranz Forum. “Making these investments in science is going to change our world and make our world healthier and better, better for all.” See QUINN on Page 5
Gov. Pat Quinn announces a grant given to EC’s Schiable Science Center for $1.8 million.
Photo by Peter Flockencier
Six “concerned students and citizens” gather in protest of Gov. Pat Quinn
Photo by Miguel Herrera Six protesters gathered outside of EC holding signs accusing Gov. Pat Quinn of failing Illinois.
Luis Rodriguez news editor
Six protesters gathered outside the old entryway of EC on Oct. 28 holding signs accusing Governor Pat Quinn of failing the people of Illinois during Quinn’s announcement of a
grant given to EC’s Schiable Science Center. The six protestors, who refused to give names and identified themselves as “a group of concerned students and citizens,” came to EC during Quinn’s announcement saying that Quinn has failed student,
families, and Illinois. “I think he’s failed all families,” said one of the protesters. “He’s definitely failed Illinois and he’s definitely failed my family.” Though Quinn came to EC to announce a grant, the protesters believe he was there to rally
voters for the election on Nov. 4. “There wasn’t an election two years ago,” said a protester. “He was at DePaul earlier today doing the same thing.” The protesters believe that Illinois is in bad shape and that Quinn and his administration are a main reason for this. They believe that Bruce Rauner and Evelyn Sanguinetti are a better fit to fix Illinois, though the task is very large. “I see 49 states ahead of us in all categories, which is sad because Illinois is a great state,” said a protester. “They need to bring jobs back to Illinois and fight for term limits to fight corruption in Illinois. It was solely on Pat Quinn and his administration to fix Illinois.”
“I see 49 states ahead of us in all categories, which is sad because Illinois is a great state” Protester The main argument of the protesters was that Illinois is
in bad shape; they also believe that the U.S. isn’t doing much to help fix the issues. The group of protesters believed that a model of a good governing system does not exist in the U.S. and that is a big problem. “America’s got to work hard to make a good model,” said a protester. “We need change for a better Illinois.”
“America’s got to work hard to make a good model” Protester While Quinn was late for his speech, students from EC sought out the protesters and showed their support for what they were doing. “We saw a lot of concerned students,” said a protester. “We had a lot of people come up to us, and every student who came out was in support.”
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•State of Flux•
Millennials push economic equality Andy Prignano opinions editor
My last few columns have been largely about things that I find infuriatingly depressing. Police overreach, national security officials not being held accountable, and the war on terror’s self-perpetuating nature. When I began writing this column, I gave it the name “state of flux” as a reference to something Edward R. Morrow said. He said, “this reporter’s beliefs are in a state of flux. It would be easier to enumerate the items I do not believe in, than the other way around.” I’ve always felt that way when it comes to politics, and I figured this column would be an avenue to express that, and “ya know what’s BS” really isn’t that professional of a name. Turns out, actually writing such a negative column can get very depressing. With that in mind, I bring you Rolling Jubilee. Rolling Jubilee is a project by Strike Debt, an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movements. The whole idea is to raise money which will then be used to pay off debt that the group considers unjust, like student loans and medical bills. Rolling Jubilee is able to do this because debt is oftentimes made public. The original party that is owed money will attempt to sell the debt to investors, who then collect money from the payments, as a way to avoid any massive losses. Rolling Jubilee buys this debt and then forgives it. This is one of the most encouraging things to happen since the actual Occupy pro-
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tests themselves and is one of the few things that gives me a great sense of pride in my generation. Here are people that have identified a great injustice in our society, and after massive protests failed to get the federal government to correct that injustice, they are trying to do it themselves. They were violently removed from their protest grounds by police and their spirits were still not broken. Realizing that the federal government was too gridlocked and uninterested, they decided to take matters into their own hands. They prove that Occupy Wall Street was not about a bunch of bored college kids hanging out and causing trouble, but a legitimate movement. These are the people who saw the high watermark that Hunter Thompson so eloquently wrote about, gave it the finger, and decided to keep fighting. Most of all it shows that our nation’s outrageous economic inequality is something that progressives of my generation are not willing to tolerate. We are a generation whose reputation is marred by selfabsorption and an unwillingness to work hard and spend money. Rolling Jubilee’s existence flies in the face of that reputation and shows that some of us are actively working to make this a better country. Some of us actually give a damn about what is happening in the world around us. Rolling Jubilee is proof that we see the unfairness our current economic system is wrought with and are not willing to accept it, even if it means putting the burden on ourselves.
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Editor-in-chief: News Editor: Opinions Editor: Beat editor: Graphics Editor: Photo editor Copy editor: Business Manager: Adviser:
Zachary Bishop Luis Rodriguez Andy Prignano Kailey Hansen Nikki Smith Peter Flockencier Kathryn Kuszynski Elyse Christofanelli Ron Wiginton
Internet photo Apple CEO, Tim Cook, came out as gay and is the first publicly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
Andy Prignano opinions editor
Apple CEO comes out On October 30, Tim Cook, the current CEO of Apple, came out as gay in an article for Businessweek. While Cook’s sexuality was not kept secret from his colleagues, this is the first time he has ever publicly commented on it. He has never denied his sexuality, but has generally steered clear of discussing it. The reason for this, Cook says, was for the sake of privacy and to keep Apple’s products the focus of the company instead of the CEO’s personal life. The reason he gives for coming is the belief that he may have holding back information that would give hope or closure to other LGBT individuals. He wants to give hope to people who may not be as confident in their identity as him. Cook became the CEO of Apple in 2011, which has long been a supporter of the LGBT community, after its founder and former CEO, Steve Jobs, died.
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Kurdish fighters invade city of Kobani Kurdish fighters from Iraq have entered the city of Kobani in Syria to help local Kurds in the fight against ISIS. U.S. Air Strikes have helped slow down the ISIS assault on Kobani, a city on the border of Turkey, the past few weeks, but these assualts have not been enough. So for the first time in 40 days, Turkey is allowing Kurdish fighters from outside of Syria to enter the city. They hope this will increase the defense against ISIS. The fighters from Iraq refer to themselves as peshmerga, which means those who defy death. While ISIS has been barraged by air strikes, battled with Syrian forces, Sunni rebels, and Kurdish rebels, they continue to grow and spread throughout Syria. Those within ISIS claim this is because are receiving fighters and money from those loyal to the Islamic State’s cause. ISIS claims that U.S. air strikes are doing nothing but increasing support for their cause.
Ukrainian and Russian officials have reached a deal concerning natural gas deliveries. With the current tensions between Ukraine and Russia there has been concerns that Russian natural gas will not shipped to Ukraine, thus leaving its citizens without any heat. The deal focused on how much Ukraine must pay Russia for the gas that it has already consumed and how much they must pay for continued deliveries. In June Russia cut off all gas deliveries to Ukraine and demanded they pay all outstanding debt (over $4 billion). With winter on its way it was imperative for the countries to work out a deal to keep Ukrainian homes heated. It was agreed upon that Ukraine will now pay $378 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas until January, when it will start paying $365. It is expected that Ukraine will pay Russia upwards of $1 billion for natural gas deliveries by the end of the year.
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Campus Shortz: Hard news briefs (usually) in 500 words or less
Zachary Bishop editor-in-chief
EC Trustee Emeritus dies from Parkinson’s disease Rev. Charles F. Mayer, an EC trustee emeritus and alumni, died at age 80 on Oct. 26 after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. Mayer was a minister, serving at St. Peter’s Church in Chicago from 1975 to 2008, but also taught sociology at Loyola University and Triton College. He also wrote several published devotional and spiritual booklets. After graduating from EC in 1956, he went on to earn masters degrees from Garrett Theological Seminary and Northwestern University. Mayer served as a member of the EC board of trustees from 1993 to 2007. He was also a chairman of the board of Bethany Hospital, council member of Evangelical (now Advocate) Health Systems, and board member of St. Paul’s House. “[Mayer] was a minister of the people who used his humor, compassion and wit to inspire generations of congregations, communities and philanthropic organizations,” his Chicago Tribune obituary states. A memorial service for Mayer
will be held on Nov. 8 at St. Peter’s in Chicago. Intramural sports program begins at EC Playoffs for EC’s co-rec soccer league, which ran from Oct. 1428, occurred this past week on the college mall, thus kicking off student government association’s and the office of student activities’ intramural sports program. Six student-created teams participated, and the “Los Torros” team became the soccer league’s champions. All of the games were played five-on-five and at least two members of both sexes were required to be on the field at all times. In November, the intramural sports program will host open gym events for basketball, volleyball, and badminton at R.A. Fagnell and an ultimate dodgeball tournament at Sky Zone in Elmhurst on Nov. 7. Chaplain initiates dialogue on “Finding Your Moral Compass” To perpetuate the conversations on values that students engaged in during orientation week, Chaplain H. Scott Matheney has been hosting a discussion series titled “Finding
Photo by Hannah Jasinski Blake McNamara actively plays a intramural soccer game with other EC students.
Your Moral Compass at Elmhurst College.” Each week since Oct. 14, Matheney has invited a member of the faculty, staff, or administration to share their idea of a moral compass before members of the EC community in the Hammerschmidt Chapel. This past week, Laura Wilmarth Tyna, director of leadership, service and engagement, spoke on the topic. These sessions aim to help answer students’ questions re-
garding what is a “moral compass”, why a person needs one, and where they come from, Matheney said in a phone interview. He further stressed that not all moral compasses have to be religious or spiritual, but can be practical or philosophical as well. Matheney also believes that having discussions on the idea that a moral compass is relevant, especially given the college’s current situation. “In some ways, the school is
going to have to find its moral compass during the search for a new president,” he said. “It has to look back on its history and current values … to figure out what guides the college morally.” Future speakers for this discussion series include Associate Dean of Students for Student Activities Ian Crone, Associate Professor of Nursing Mary Pabst, President S. Alan Ray, and future Interim President Larry Braskamp.
Sociologist C.J. Pascoe looks to redefine homophobic discourse Nora Georgieva staff writer
Author of the book “Dude: You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School,” C.J. Pascoe, spoke at EC on Oct. 22 explaining that homophobic discourse is not used only for sexual preference anymore, so it needs to be redefined. Drawing her conclusions from thousands of interviews and ethnographic research, she found that homophobic words are now thrown around for gender policing or even just for fun, mainly between boys, and have little to nothing to do with what “fag”, “homo”, or “gay” actually mean in today’s society. Before words like “fag” or “homo” were strictly used to describe a person’s sexual preference, but now these terms are used both for sexuality and gender. “It can be both about sexuality and gender, and sometimes it is more about the one or the other,” she said, referring to homophobia and its discourse. “The behavior these boys are engaging in is normal. That is, we expect them to engage in this behavior.” Pascoe explained that we
need to understand what masculinity is because it is central to homophobic bullying. She argued that according to many of the boys she interviewed, being masculine meant to be “powerful, confident, unemotional, heterosexual, and dominant” and those boys’ daily lives consisted of showing these things to one another. Today’s homophobia is also gendered, making it a lot more acceptable to be a lesbian than to be gay. Pascoe explained that guys are not okay with “homos” but they are okay with chicks being on top of each other. “To see two hot chicks banging bodies in bed, that’s every guy’s fantasy right there,” Pascoe quoted a high school boy she had interviewed. “It is not about a disjunction but more so about seeing women as sexual object,s” said Pascoe in explanation of the high school student’s quote. The boys at the high school then challenged Pascoe further by stating that homophobia has nothing to do with being gay. The high school boys argued that using homophobic discourse has nothing to do with sexual preference at all. They argued that it is like calling
Photo by Peter Flockencier Sophmore Eri Svenson talks to C.J. Pascoe about her book.
someone an idiot for lacking masculine traits most of the time. “If a guy is gay and masculine, in other words can throw a football around … it’s just a preference and he’s still a dude and that’s okay,” she quoted a boy she had interviewed. Several students and faculty gasped and even giggled at points during Pascoe’s lecture, many people shaking their heads in agreement, including junior Maddie Pizza.
“A lot of the things that [Pascoe] said, needed to be said out loud,” said Pizza. “Things that people often think about but are too nervous to vocalize for being seen as outcasts.” Pizza believes that bullying and homophobia is a very important topic for students to explore and discuss. “We all need to realize that our relationships and the understanding of those relationships are evolving very quickly and we are making ground
breaking advancements in acceptance but we are still learning and creating this new discourse.” Pascoe concluded her argument by stating that, “[she] would suggest that it is more important to talk about emotional literacy, social injustice, and inequality to address the root causes of bullying, rather than encouraging kids not to tease each other for some undesirable difference.”
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Rabbi Eric Yoffie argues for better interfaith dialogue
Photo by Allen Riquelme Reformed Rabbi Eric Yoffie says that there is still room to improve interfaith dialogue.
Gianfranco Ocampo
staff writer At his EC lecture on Oct. 30, former president of the Union for Reform Judaism and Reformed Rabbi Eric Yoffie argued that tensions between different religions are due to the difficulties of interfaith dialogue. Yoffie said that dialogue between faiths is difficult though it is much better than it was in the past. However, he argues there is still a lot of room to improve.
He said that in order to move interfaith dialogue in a good direction, people need to discuss religion in isolated terms, keep religion in the private domain, and be more expressive and emotional in their thinking of religious preferences. “The goal of interfaith dialogue should not be a conversation searching for common ground as it leads religious platitudes, but of personal experience,” said Yoffie . Yoffie then gave examples
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of how bad interfaith dialogue has damaged relationships between faiths. He explained how Jews and Catholics had disagreements in the past especially because the Catholic Church didn’t take any responsibility for what happened to the Jews during the Holocaust.
“The goal of interfaith dialogue should not be a conversation searching for common ground as it leads religious platitudes, but of personal experience” Eric Yoffie However, a member of the audience, Bert Cohn, spoke of
how he felt an improvement with the Catholic Church even after his parents were killed during the Nazi reign. Yoffie explained how relationships between the faiths have improved, to a point. “Changes in the [Catholic] church are nothing less than a revolution,” Yoffie said. Yoffie also talked about how interfaith discourse also plays into what is happening in Israel and the Middle East. He said that talks between the Middle East cannot only be political and that people need to be more theological, in doing so individuals can understand it more thoroughly and also make the conversations more interesting. Yoffie also expressed that the fighting in Israel is only over a piece of land and could be resolved more easily if theology
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was brought into more of the discussions. Yoffie said that interfaith discourse needs to be discussed more seriously in the world.
“Changes in the [Catholic] Church are nothing less than a revolution” Eric Yoffie He also expressed that people need to involve the words of Rienhold Niebuhr as he feels that Niebuhr has faded from religious conversation. Yoffie’s lecture was a part of the Abraham Joshua Heschel lecture series.
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QUINN from page 1 While the timeliness of his visit suggests Quinn had underlying motivations for announcing the grant, Connie Mixon, political scientist and director of the urban studies program, stresses thats the funding was not a political handout. “[Quinn] was here as in his role as governor, not his role as candidate,” Mixon said. “This was an appropriation the college has been working on for a while … we have been lobbying the Illinois State Assembly for it.” However, Quinn did spend most of his grant announcement speech sharing his views on supporting education in Illinois. “We have to invest in K-12 and our community colleges, but these four-year public and private universities, like Elmhurst, are indispensible to a great society,” Quinn said. “We cannot leave our students behind when they’re in college. We want them to graduate from college and go forward in the world.” Quinn wants to support college students by increasing the number of students covered by the $373 million Illinois invests in the Monetary Assistance Program (MAP) scholarships, which is currently at 140,000 people. “We have 150,000 students of Illinois who … are eligible for
the MAP scholarship, but the state runs out of the money,” Quinn said. “I believe we should invest and double this program to cover those students.” Mixon did concede that Quinn’s visit to campus did have some political benefits for his campaign, saying if this were not an election year, another state representative would most likely have announced the grant. “[The visit] gave Quinn face time in suburban Chicago, a constituency that will play a huge role in the governor’s election. Suburban women in particular are going to be the key,” Mixon said. Quinn’s visit and the grant shows that the state legislature cares about helping college students succeed, the president of the EC Democrats said. “Even though [I’m] not a student in any science program, I look forward to seeing … what great things my fellow students will now be able to do with all the money,” said Patrick Ackerman, a political science major, in an email. “Having the governor himself … present the money, even though he’s in the midst of a heated gubernatorial race, made the grant that much more meaningful.” Similarly, the president of the EC Republicans found Quinn’s visit inspirational because it showed students the true pow-
Photo by Miguel Herrera EC student Anders Winquist-Bailey and others waited for over an hour for Gov. Pat Quinn to arrive at EC.
er of democracy.
“[The visit] gave Quinn face time in suburban Chicago, a constituency that will play a huge role in the governor’s election. Suburban women in particular are going to be the key” Connie Mixon “While watching the governor I thought to myself, even though I disagree on certain
policies he supports, this is true democracy in action,” said senior Dean Sprang in an email. “To see our governor come to Elmhurst and shake hands with young undergraduate students and get them to think that that could be them one day was truly inspirational.” However, Mixon fears that many students may not have viewed Quinn’s visit as the Illinois government supporting college students. “Unfortunately I think our students are like the American public in general … they create a culture of antipolitics,” she
said. “Many of them may have just seen Quinn’s visit as him giving away money.” According to Mixon, students need to organize and lobby for more support from the government, like EC did for this grant. “I wish students would become informed … and actually show up to vote,” Mixon said. “They need to demand the same kind of respect from the government.” Watch Quinn’s speech at EC on The Leader’s YouTube Channel.
Bill Maher criticized for views on Islam Gianfranco Ocampo
staff writer 3,000 students at UC Berkley signed a petition to stop Bill Maher from speaking at their commencement ceremony after Maher’s debate with Ben Affleck about the dangers of Islam. On “Real-time with Bill Maher” earlier in the month, Maher and Sam Harris, author and co-founder of Project Reason, were called-out by Affleck on their views of Muslims, calling them “gross” and “racist”. Inam Ul Haq, adjunct professor in EC’s religious studies program, agreed ,saying that many factors lead to the conclusions that Harris and Maher drew, none of which are the fault of the Islamic religion. Haq attributed the problems in the Middle East to a lack of education compared to the West, which also contributes to some of the subjugation of women. Haq says that in these cultures there aren’t as many schools and the schools that exist don’t usually allow women to participate. During the segment that occurred a month ago, Harris gave some statistics that he felt drew a connection to an argument of criticizing Islam. Harris mentioned that almost eighty percent of British Muslims wanted the Danish cartoonist who drew pictures of Muhammad for the Dan-
ish publication Jyllands Posten prosecuted, which Haq said was missing a larger point. The problem that arose for British Muslims was not them attempting to restrict freedom of speech but that a small minority was being attacked explained Haq, “You cannot visit the south side of Chicago and insult blacks.” When Affleck and Harris debated on Maher’s show earlier this month following a comment from Maher, Maher said, “Not only does the Muslim world have something in common with ISIS, it has too much in common.” “We’ve been sold this meme of Islamophobia, where every criticism of the doctrine of Islam gets conflated with bigotry towards Muslim people,” said Harris in defense of being critical of Islam.
“Not only does the Muslim world have something in common with ISIS, it has too much in common” Bill Maher It was at that point that Affleck said their views were “gross” and “racist” and tried to explain his view. “When you say Islam and Muslims you are saying 1.5 billion people and any statement
Internet Photo Ben Affleck criticized Bill Maher and Sam Harris views of Islam on “Real-time with Bill Maher.”
that broadly generalizes like that is racist,” Haq concluded on why Harris and Maher were being racist. Harris and Maher have defended their points by saying Islam is not a race and drawing comparisons to Communism and Islam. In a recent blog post, Harris defended his critical views of Islam by comparing it to Communism. Harris wrote, “But imagine that the year is 1970, and I said: ‘Communism is the mother
lode of bad ideas.’ How reasonable would it be to attack me as a ‘racist’ or as someone who harbors an irrational hatred of Russians, Ukrainians, Chinese, etc.?”
“When you say Islam and Muslims you are saying 1.5 billion people and any statement that broadly generalizes like that is racist” Inam Ul Haq
Maher has also defended himself on another episode of his show by arguing that Islam isn’t a race and that his ideas were blown out of proportion because he was arguing against a Hollywood celebrity. Even though the petition has received thousands of signatures, UC Berkeley is still allowing Maher to speak at their commencement ceremony and Maher has announced that he is accepting their offer.
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opinions
ecleader.org
l Editorials l
Stop scaring us: why more info should be revealed on recent departures
Cartoon by Vinnie Lotesto
In the past month or so, both EC President S. Alan Ray and Jim Cunningham, vice president for finance and administration, have stepped down. This raises more questions than it answers. The first question: did they step down or were they fired? As we all know, the college has been facing financial problems. These problems have taken up a good portion of our news over the past year or so. Ray seems to have been stripped of most responsibilities and Larry Braskamp will gradually be taking over. Add that to Ray’s short tenure he became president in 2008 and it leads you to wonder. Whether or not Ray stepped down may not be the most concerning question. A more concerning question is if the college’s financial problems are even worse than we thought. The administration has generally done a fine job of keeping students informed of the financial situation. They have put a positive spin on everything, but that makes sense. The administration adopts the solutions to EC’s problems, of course they would believe in them. However, with two high-ranking officials stepping down, one of them the president (whether they were forced out or not), so early in the year does not look particularly encouraging. This will lead some people to the conclusion that EC is heading down a dangerous path. Those who think Ray and Cunningham stepped down will inevitably say it has the looks of rats jumping from a sinking ship. Those who think both officials were forced to step down will worry how badly Ray and Cunningham mismanaged the college. While this may seem like fear mongering, it is not. We do not intend
to spread unnecessary panic and worry. We are merely trying to explain that speculation can be raised when enough information isn’t available. Until the reasons for Ray and Cunningham’s departure are made more clear, most people will assume the worst and worry that EC is headed for disaster. The best way to keep people calm isn’t by keeping them in the dark. Doing that only makes them panic and the little information that has been released about Ray and Cunningham’s resignation gives that appearance. By being a little bit more open about this situation and explaining what has led to it, the board has the chance to nip any rumors in the butt and restore any confidence that may have been lost over the past few years. If Ray and Cunningham stepped down because they see EC as a sinking ship, then great, let us know how you plan to prove them wrong. If they felt they were in over their heads again, tell us how the interim president will be more capable. If they were asked to step down for being ineffectual, tell us and explain how the interim president will be better. Whatever you do, don’t keep us in the dark. Students are panicky by nature. Sure we have our bright spots, we’ll work for cheap, eat almost anything, and can write a research paper in mere hours, but for the most part we’re terrified. If you keep us in the dark we will assume it’s because the truth is too terrible to face.
opinions
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November 4, 2014
l Under the Microscope l
May cause mild Bankruptcy
Brett Peto staff writer
Treating cancer is a tricky thing. Treating the cost of treating cancer is even trickier. Consider Zaltrap, a drug used to battle advanced colon cancer. Its manufacturer, Sanofi, charged about $11,000 for a month’s supply when it was introduced in 2012. Compare Zaltrap to Avastin, an older drug designed for the same purpose. Its manufacturer, Genentech, charges about $5,000 for a month’s supply. Newer is better, right? More expensive means more effective, right? Not this time. Every clinical study of Zaltrap and Avastin concluded, on average, that they extend patients’ lives by an identical 42 days. Well, Zaltrap must be less toxic or cause fewer side effects, right? Actually, evidence from those clinical studies indicates, if anything, Zaltrap is a bit more toxic than Avastin and produces no fewer side effects. The answer is easy then. Oncologists should have ignored Zaltrap, stayed loyal to Avastin, and waited until Sanofi slashed the price before prescribing it. That didn’t happen. Most oncologists got on the price escalator and bought into Zaltrap. That’s because Sanofi bought the oncologists, according to “60 Minutes” reporter Lesley Stahl. Upon Zaltrap’s introduction, Sanofi offered oncologists a deal. Oncologists could buy Zaltrap wholesale and sell it to their patients at retail price. The cut winding up in the lab coat pockets was six percent, six percent of $11,000 is $660 per month, per patient. And the average oncologist sees 50 to 75 patients a week. Until Dr. Leonard Saltz, Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s chief of Gastrointestinal Oncology Service, coauthored an opinion piece in The New York Times blasting Sanofi, Zaltrap, and the twisted wonderland of pharmaceuticals in general.
The cut winding up in the lab coat pockets was six percent, six percent of $11,000 is $660 per month, per patient. And the average oncologist sees 50 to 75 patients a week.
In response to this one article, Sanofi slashed the price of Zaltrap to $5,000 a month. But the situation didn’t improve, it deteriorated, because instead of lowering the price, Sanofi would sell Zaltrap for the old price of $11,000 and send oncologists a rebate check for $6,000. The price cut was thus fictional to patients, and the personal profit of $660 had, overnight, sweetened to $6,000. But it proved a point.A few months later, another outcry forced Zaltrap down to $5,000 for everyone. The familiar tale pharmaceutical companies have woven for decades is they have to charge such high prices because of such great research investments. Indeed, the cost of bringing a new drug to market is over $1 billion. However, if the original $11,000 price of Zaltrap was so critical to continued research, how could Sanofi have ever reduced it by more than half without flinching? It’s time for some caveats. Of course oncologists don’t see only patients with advanced colon cancer. Of course not all oncologists prescribe Zaltrap even for the patients they do have who suffer from advanced colon cancer. So the numbers were probably smaller than estimated, perhaps $10,000 or less a month from Zaltrap alone. But there’s the problem: oncologists also don’t prescribe just one drug. Other drugs are similarly arm-and-a-leg expensive, tallying upwards of $100,000 per year. And none of that covers hospital stays, other medical care, a restricted and pricier diet, and lost wages. Even with insurance, what family other than the richest can afford this? Not many. Most who are diagnosed with advanced colon cancer are old enough to qualify for Medicare. By law, Medicare doesn’t negotiate drug prices; it pays whatever the manufacturer asks. And Medicare patients without supplemental insurance plans pay 20 percent of the cost of their cancer drugs. That $2,200 a month seems doable if you tighten your belt to the last notch, but it becomes unconscionable when you learn $2,200 is more than the average monthly income of half of all Medicare patients. To live an extra 42 days, these patients draw from inheritances, trusts, home equity loans, credit cards, vacation savings, sons and daughters, and, eventually, nothing. No list of side effects includes “bankruptcy.” And yet, here we are.
Dear Editor, I just read the Phi Mu opinion in the Oct. 21 edition, and I must say, I disagree that this is Phi Mu’s fault from the information I have read. While it was awful that this event occurred, the only time it could be Phi Mu’s fault is if those who perpetrated the act were leaders in the sorority.
Phi Mu has to own up to their members, but just because of a few extremist actions, that doesn’t mean it was Phi Mu’s fault as a whole. To blame a national group on the actions of a few is unreasonable. If you want an apology, seek it from the members themselves. Or, if there *were* leaders involved, ask an apology from
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those people specifically. As it stands, I do not like how the four people who did this suddenly represent all of Phi Mu, because that is precisely how that article reads. Sincerely, Kevin Sana EC Senior
Death of the idealist: new approach to the 2016 elections
Krin Daniels/Daily Cougar
Gemrick curtom
Daily Cougar, University of Houston President Barack Obama killed the political idealist. I expect that the campaigning for the 2016 presidential election will be lackluster in the public’s eye compared to 2008 campaigning because American voters have witnessed the dwindling of an uplifting campaign from Obama’s administration. Obama relied heavily on hope and change as part of his political message and, understandably, could not deliver the change he promised. For radical change to happen, it requires a lot of time and patience. If anything, the Obama administration has laid out the ground work and foundation for change to happen. The purpose of government is to primarily maintain what already works, such as the U.S. Constitution, the Federal Reserve and the Constitutional Budget Office. As New York Times opinion columnist David Brooks pointed out, “the politics of the last few years have left people disappointed, disillusioned and cynical.” People had high hopes, aspirations and expectations when Obama took office in 2008. While Obama has done many great things in both of his terms, it’s not enough to satisfy what the nation expected. At the next election, American voters will be looking for a resilient world leader. Americans won’t be looking for the seemingly perfect political candidate that can be expected to do no wrong. No longer are we looking for a savior. We want a realist who understands that government con-
sists of core functions that counteract negative actions. The government is in place to “put out fires,” keep criminals off the streets, settle disputes and prevent already bad situations from getting worse. Public relations senior Christina Nemry said she looks for an articulate candidate with good rhetoric and who can deliver their message effectively. “I want a candidate that has been in the political world with notoriety. I’m looking towards someone like Hillary Clinton,” Nemry said. “She’s gone through scandals, she’s risen out of them and she’s well-known enough in the public eye. To me, Clinton will be a strong candidate in the running because she won’t over promise what she’s capable of doing.” People also vote for the candidate that promises the biggest impact. Over time, when the winning candidate fails to deliver the promised results, people become disappointed and it becomes a cycle of highs and lows. While Obama failed to delivered the promise for large-scale change, the current administration has seen a massive improvement following the Bush administration. The Huffington Post outlined several reasons on why “Obama is one of the best presidents ever” and listed several reasons such as his advocacy for equal rights, peace, environment and education. In addition, Washington Monthly listed the top 50 accomplishments of the Obama administration. Most of these accomplishments fall under the economy and the end of the war in Iraq. Then there are some people, su-
chas business administration junior Caroline Alvarez, who do not agree with the accomplishments the media has praised. “I haven’t seen much change, except him making matters worse,” Alvarez said. “Obamacare is a good idea, but in the fine print it does more damage than what current healthcare provides. Most people are paying more on their premiums than they would be for their regular healthcare insurance provider.” I believe most people will be concerned for economic growth, foreign policy and affairs in the coming election. Voters are going to look towards a leader with extensive experience in politics, beyond anyone else in recent years. I expect the candidates will continue the work and progress made by the Obama administration. Like many political issues, healthcare and education reform will take many years before coming into effect, which is something that voters fail to understand. When the nation demands that these types of changes happen, they’re often met with disappointment. “Obama talks a big game but doesn’t follow through,” Alvarez said. “He made all these promises during his election, but people don’t see any of the results.” This disappointment has impacted many Americans who will come into the next election with a more cynical belief towards politics, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this view. America’s voters need to be more realistic about current affairs and the approach to solutions. The political idealist will have to lower their ideals when they vote in 2016.
Ditch THe boring saNdwIch There is never an excuse for a dull sandwich. Whether it is a simple peanut butter and jelly or a BLT, there are so many ways to change it up. Instead of the classic PB&J, try cashew butter (its thick and extremely rich in nutrients) with sliced bananas and honey drizzled on top. If you’re in the mood for something a little more carnivorous, try smoked turkey breast with ripe avocado, cream cheese, mix in some chives for a stronger taste, and tomatoes on a croissant. And always remember, a little bacon never hurts.
There’s nothing like a bowl of warm Kraft Mac and Cheese on a bris names that only chemistry students can decipher is nothing less than
But if you’re like me, you know Easy Mac eventually gets old. Maybe buds call for a change, try one of these five quick, easy, and oh-so de
Yo maMA’s mac & cheEse
Bring me aNotheR...burgER!
The key to great mac and cheese, we’re talking gourmetfancy here, is homemade cheese sauce. This is much simpler than it sounds and can be prepared in a few minutes. All you need is at least one type of cheese (sharp cheddar is always a good choice), milk, butter, and flour. If you want to make the dish more hearty, add some heavy cream as well. Let those ingredients simmer for a few minutes, constantly stirring to avoid scalding. When everything is finished, mix it all together and season with pepper and oregano.
In addition to changing the type of meat in the classic burger, from beef to turkey to tofu, there are so many different ways to dress up a burger: jalapeno peppers, pineapple slices, bleu cheese, fried eggs—let the creative burger juices flow! To take the regular burger to the next level, go ahead and use ground beef instead of frozen burgers. Then make two halves with the meat, stuff mozzarella, cheddar cheeses, and bacon bits in between, then seal the two halves up like a sandwich. Grill that bad boy up and top with your favorites—guacamole, caramelized onions, and more cheese, and stuff between two buttered and toasted buns, switch it up and try pretzel bread. Commence mouth watering.
sk Chicago fall day. The powdered concoction of cheese culture and n delicious.
e not after the third box of the week, but eventually. When your taste elicious upgrades to some of your favorite dishes.
Oodles of nOodlES
The nEw fruit salAd
Ramen: aka the staple meal of college students everywhere. This recipe is best done with the beef or original flavored broth. In addition to ramen, all you need is green onion, soy sauce, and ginger. Prepare the ramen, slice the green onion, mince some ginger, and add a few drops of soy sauce. That’s it! For a more complex dish, you can add carrots, broccoli, baby corn, celery, beans, and pork.
Croutons and ranch can only do so much! A quick way to add some flavor to a plain salad is simple—fruit, oil, and cheese. Spice it up by slicing strawberries, tart green apples, oranges, raspberries or blueberries on the dull leaves and throw on some chopped walnuts. Finally, top with crumbly goat cheese and drizzle a mix of olive oil, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar. Voila, a fancy salad in fewer than five minutes.
Next time you’re in the mood to eat something delicious, tie on a red-checkered apron and turn up some music. There’s no need to macerate anything and let it sit overnight—simply throw together one of these easy meals in between classes. So go and get your Gordon Ramsey on and start cooking!
Graphics and layout by Nikki Smith
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School library transforms into theater for a night
kailey hansen beat editor
The A.C. Buehler Library might be known for its quiet solitude, but on the last weekend of October it transformed into center stage! On the evening of Friday, Oct. 24, students from a mix of majors joined together in the library to tackle creating a series of short plays based around the theme of minorities. Their goal was to write, direct, and perform these short plays in exactly 24 hours. Based off of the idea of the 24 Hour Play Project done by various schools and theatre companies, the EC theater department sought to bring together writers and performers in an effort to create entirely student-made performances for the campus in what was
aptly named “Plays Live/Live”. The event was run by theater faculty Andrew Behling, Kendra Holton, and librarian Peg Cook. “Students are making these plays from scratch,” Cook explained. “The stakes are low. This is a time to be creative and take risks.” The event began on Friday night when six writers piled into the library to choose which actors they would want to cast. While the actors slept (some in the library), the writers relied on coffee and creativity to put together a finished script by morning. The directors and actors met early Saturday and spent all day rehearsing throughout the building to get ready for the public performance on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 7pm. Six diverse short plays lasted approximately ten minutes
each and centered on various issues regarding minorities of mental health, conformity, race, and gender. Sophomore theater student Karly Hanna signed up to direct but ended up taking on an acting role in a completely different show as well. “I came in at nine at night thinking I had the whole day to plan this! But that went out the window on Saturday morning at 7:30 when they told me I’d be acting in one too, so I’d only have the morning to work,” Hannah said. “But it wasn’t a big deal. You just go with the flow. I fell in love with my script and I was so pleased with how good and funny and charming and deep it was because it was written in a few hours.”
During the post-show TalkBack, Holton announced that approximately 25% of the students involved with “Plays Live/ Live” were not theater majors. The event brought an opportunity for non-majors to try their hand at acting and English majors to try playwriting. Sophomore Grace Bellino debuted in her first acting role. “I was very nervous to perform, but there was so much positive, encouraging energy from everyone,” she said. “My favorite part of the project was seeing how much we were able to accomplish in 24 short hours and that we were able to take part in something provocative and very unique that I hope will spark a conversion on our campus as well as create appreciation for the arts.”
Talk-Back brainstormed potential future themes such as being yourself, equality, and expanding on the theme of minorities. The discussion also included audience feedback and questions for the participants about their process of bringing the shows to life in a day. The performance received positive feedback and the possibility of making this an annual event is in the works. “It was kind of a crash course, and I feel even more passionate about directing than I did going in.” Hanna says. “I want to give it another shot, dive in, and I can’t wait until next year.”
Photos by Kailey Hansen Top: Grace Bellino and Peg Cook show off their acting chops in the library basement. Bottom: Danny Sanchez uses the stairwell as his stage, while the audience peers down.
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“The Maze Runner” is a standout literary adaptation Movie Review
hunter heilman niner online, UNC charlotte First came “Harry Potter”, then came “The Hunger Games”, then “Divergent”, and now comes “The Maze Runner”, the new Young Adult (YA) Novel adaption to hit the big screen. After numerous failures from YA movies like “Vampire Academy”, “Beautiful Creatures” and “I Am Number Four”, studios are still trying to reach out to adolescent fans through these literary movies, and giving directors a chance to make real works of art from the pages of a novel. 20th Century Fox tries their hand at this hot genre for a second time, following their massive success with this past summer’s “The Fault in Our Stars” with a new dystopian thriller “The Maze Runner”. Is their new film a hit? Or is it another big company trying to match Lionsgate on “The Hunger Games”? “The Maze Runner” does resemble “The Hunger Games” at first glance, and I mean that in the best possible way. The film has a very natural look about it, with it’s color palette consisting of neutral colors, dim lighting and natural environments. The film is sharp though, the special effects are spectacular, the direction is clean and effective, with sporty editing and stunning cinematography, “The Maze Runner” certainly succeeds from a aesthetic standpoint, but is the actual film surrounding it any good?
“The Maze Runner” captivates audiences with impressive cinematography.
The movie is good. The movie is really good. As someone who read “The Maze Runner”, I am incredibly satisfied with the film version of it. While I can’t speak for every change they made to the movie in terms of what was in the book and what wasn’t. The movie is a very strong entry into the already crowded YA genre. I’d even go so far as to say it’s the best non-sequel YA movie since the first entry of “The Hunger Games”, which is a high bar in my eyes. Here’s the rundown, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) finds himself in an elevator with no memory whatsoever, when the elevator comes to a stop, he is pulled out
by a group of adolescent boys in an enclosed, grassy area called “The Glade”. The boys already there have built a civilization out of nothing and have survived as such for three years, with no recollection of any life before coming, and no idea why they were put there. Outside of The Glade, there’s a maze that is key to escaping to freedom, the only problem is the maze keeps changing and inside the maze are mechanical beasts called “Grievers”. Thomas is hellbent from the start to enter the maze and find his way out, but is interrupted when another person arrives in the elevator, a girl (Kaya Scodelario), who at first glance, recognizes Thomas.
“The Maze Runner” is a showcase for the future of young Hollywood, with wonderful performances from the cast all around. There was no real standout performer of the film simply because everyone was spectacular as a whole, which is not an easy accomplishment given the sheer size of the cast including Aml Ameen, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki-Hong Lee, Blake Cooper and Will Poulter to name the bare relevant minimum. I really hope “The Maze Runner” does well at the box office (judging by how many people were in my IMAX theatre and how many more people were going into the standard show-
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ing next door, I doubt it will be a problem), because I really want to see how this series progresses. The acting is wonderful, especially for this not being a dialogue driven tearjerker a la “If I Stay” and “The Fault in Our Stars”. The direction is top notch for the first film in a series. It may not be as groundbreaking as “The Hunger Games”, but the timing is offset by how engrossing the film is. “The Maze Runner” is not only wonderful entertainment, it’s simply well made filmmaking, which is hard to come by in something that doesn’t already have a Marvel name on it.
Three highly-anticipated records make their debut Music Review
Cover of Taylor Swift’s new album “1989”
joe tassi staff writer The week of October 27 released a diverse set of records from hip hop to country to psychedelic rock. Music fans of different genres all had a new tune to sing after three hugely anticipated albums were released into the public domain.
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The Flaming Lips – “With A Little Help From My Fwends” The Flaming Lips brought together a diverse cast of musicians in order to help them cover The Beatles’ classic album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Unfortunately, the help from their so called “fwends” does not produce a
particularly pleasing rendition of the beloved original. Beatles fans’ bias towards the original songs will either make them love this record or hate it. The Flaming Lips tore the structure of these songs apart almost completely and redefined the way in which these songs were supposed to be heard. The opening suite of the album, featuring “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” paired with this album’s title track make for a very strange, uninviting opener. The song is filled with distorted synthesizers, auto-tuned vocals, and just a lot of unnecessary noise. However, the rendition of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is incredibly powerful. The song features Miley Cyrus, whose vocals work well and shows off her talent during the chorus. Sadly, the rendition of “With A Little Help From My Fwends” does not come anywhere near holding up to the original album. he band was almost trying to take on the spirit of psychedelic soundscapes that The Beatles were able to master so well, and upgrade it to fit the likes of modern technology.
In the end, The Flaming Lips were generally unsuccessful.
Taylor Swift – “1989” Taylor Swift takes a new approach to her musical style in her latest release, transforming from country girl into fullon pop sensation. While her previous albums have been labeled in the country pop genre, “1989” is Swift’s first album to be labeled solely as pop. For this album, Swift seems to have dropped her signature acoustic guitar, and focuses her sound around different dance beats. Instead of the repetitive break-up songs Swift became infamous for, the topic of most of her songs becomes more fun and uplifting. The opening track exemplifies this clearly with the empowering words of “Welcome to New York.” The lead hit single “Shake It Off” is also one of the album’s strongest tunes, featuring a solid rhythmic groove that you can’t help but ‘shake it off’ to. The music on 1989 is clearly a risk for Taylor Swift’s musical career, as it is something completely different from what her fans are used to. However, Swift nails it with a strong debut into the world of pop music.
T.I. – “Paperwork” T.I.’s latest album “Paperwork” is a mixture of highs and lows. While the record certainly has some credible standout tracks, there are also plenty of songs that surprisingly made the final cut of the album. The opening track titled “King” is one of the most exciting features of the entire album. T.I.’s flow on this track is impressive, and interweaves between extremely catchy choruses. “New National Anthem” is another good track featuring solid beats and top-notch vocals from Skyler Grey. However, such tunes as “No Mediocre” do not not improve the album. Besides the incredibly weak and repetitive lyrics on this track, the music itself does not provide any value or substance that makes this song worth listening to multiple times. “Paperwork” has a diverse set of material but includes too many weak moments scattered throughout, which drag this record down from what could have been T.I.’s best work.
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Netflix Newbies: two complete TV series to stream kailey hansen beat editor In case you haven’t already formed an unhealthy addiction to one of the top movie and television streaming websites (what is a social life, really?), Netflix is enticing audiences with new TV show additions to binge-marathon. Ranging from this fall to the upcoming winter months, these newbies are among a few of the new or soon-to-be available series’.
“Friends” We all have our ‘Friends’: the goofy guy, the perfectionist, the girl that’s just a little strange, the two friends that are meant to be… It’s no secret why the hit sitcom following the simplistic plot of a group of friends braving the real world together has been one of the most successful shows on American television. Originally premiering in 1994, we were still crying in cribs when “Friends” made its debut. After a ten year run spanning almost two decades, the show will be making its way into the Netflix family on January 1. EC students shared why they enjoy the popular show and why they think it’s a success. “It’s a show you can easily watch with your friends or alone when your sick. Literally at any time.” said junior Keli Kli-
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ebhan. “It never gets old.” Senior Ricky Dingraudo says the show is what an “actual, realistic group of friends looks like” and it’s relatability is why it is so successful for our age group now despite it being a 90s show. What does this mean for us lowly college students? Most likely we will find another reason to procrastinate studying and spend a few hours in bed wishing the Central Perk was real.
Spin-off Oops: “Joey” Yes, this “Friends” spin-off is centered around Joey Tribbiani.
It ran for a whole two seasons and doesn’t quite live up to its inspiration. However, if your favorite character is Joey, or you have a thing for young Matt LeBlanc (“how you doin’?”), then this little peach might be worth your while on a rainy day.
“Gilmore Girls” Coffee, coffee, movie reference, boyfriend troubles, coffee. That’s pretty much the gist of the early 2000’s TV series “Gilmore Girls”. October 1 marked the launch of the complete seven seasons of show, much to the joy of die-
hard fans everywhere. For those who have never given the show a chance or may have only seen bits and pieces, a warning to the weak: they talk fast! Known for it’s witty humor and rapid dialogue, “Gilmore Girls” remains a guilty pleasure that’s slightly more trashy than your average teen-centered primetime drama. The story follows independent, rambunctious mother Lorelai Gilmore and her reserved yet ambitious teenage daughter Rory through their life in a small, homey town called Stars Hollow.
The comedy (with a little drama here and there) stars Lauren Graham (“Parenthood”), Alexis Bledel (“Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”) and is also Melissa McCarthy’s first major role (“Bridesmaids”). “The face that Gilmore Girls is now on Netflix is quite possibly the highlight of the semester,” said senior Katelyn Ditzler, who considers herself a serious fan. The show’s lovable characters are the reason it’s still in demand, according to senior Sarah Lemm who also watches the show. “I always find something new to laugh about,” Lemm says. “And it makes me wish I lived in Stars Hollow with all of the witty characters.”
Spin-Off Oops: “Bunheads”
Created by Amy ShermanPalladino, writer of “Gilmore Girls”, this show is really a lesser version of her first creation. “Bunheads” keeps the trend of quick, snappy dialogue and is set in an eerily similar town to Stars Hollow. Starring Broadway star Sutton Foster, the premise involves a Las Vegas girl stuck in tiny town after impulsively marrying a man who then dies. Weird. The show lasted one short season.
Find peace & quiet with off-campus study spots geena jacobson staff writer It’s a Tuesday evening and you’re cramming for that calculus exam at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning. You’ve had all week, two weeks maybe, but with tackling that English paper and maintaining a semi-decent social life, you’ve waited until the last possible second to study. Much to your dismay, your oh-so-courteous neighbors are graciously blaring a movie in the lounge and talking at the top of their lungs. And it’s not even quiet hour yet. We’ve all been here at one time or another and it’s never fun. When procrastination gets the best of us and you can’t seem to study in you dorm or the school library, sometimes it’s beneficial to take a breather and get off campus. Luckily for students, Elmhurst has a plethora of places that are within walking distance when you need to get away from the noisy campus. Here are a few hot spots for getting some peace and quiet.
Starbucks Lattes, frappuchinos, and macchiatos make that tenpage paper a little less daunting, help you stay relaxed and of course, awake. There are a ton of locations all over and it’s one of the best places for early morning cramming or late night studying. They also tend
Photo by Peter Flockencier EC students often head to Elijah’s Coffee for a warm drink and some solitude.
to play calming jazz music and have free wifi. 164 N York Rd Route 83. 680 W. North Ave.
Elijah’s Specialty Coffee & Tea Starbucks too mainstream for you? Maybe it’s just too packed and busy. Elmhurst hosts two locations of Elijahs, both of which have quaint, homey atmospheres (and couches!) that are perfect for settling in with some serious homework. 136 W Vallette St. 111 E 1st St.
Elmhurst Public Library This one might be obvious but it’s a certainly notable. The public library is right next to campus and has an array of different places to study, including desks, booths, and glass study rooms that are perfect for working on group projects. 125 S Prospect Ave.
BrewPoint Coffee The closest coffee shop to campus is BrewPoint Coffee with a chill and authentic coffee shop vibe. It has comfy seating and is generally pretty quiet. A
perfect place to caffeinate and study for dreaded finals when you want a short walk during the winter months. 124 W Park Ave.
Courageous Bakery Maybe you loathe coffee with a burning passion and refuse to study at a coffee shop. But who doesn’t like cupcakes? Courageous Bakery has study tables and offers a bunch of different sweet treats. Ten percent of the proceeds also go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Ride Janie Ride Foundation. 108 W Park Ave.
Panera Bread Carbs might be an alternative to caffeine. A warm, steamy bread bowl of soup is often the perfect companion to homework. Panera also has added free computers for the use of costumers. The coffee shoplike atmosphere is perfect for grabbing a meal when studying alone or with friends. 108 West North Ave.
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The Leader takes on indoor skydiving daniel wiggin staff writer Going skydiving frequently makes the top ten on people’s list of things to do before they die. However, traditional skydiving can be quite expensive and daunting, especially for first timers. Because the costs for outdoor skydiving includes renting a parachute, plane fuel, and securing a spot on that plane, the average price comes to about $200 a jump. A convenient, cheaper alternative opened in Naperville: iFLY Indoor Skydiving. While the term “indoor skydiving” can be somewhat misleading due to no jumping involved, the experience is still exhilarating and worthwhile nonetheless. News reporters from various colleges in the area were invited to experience indoor skydiving first-hand. We arrived at 1752 Freedom Drive Naperville (only a 25 minute drive away from the college) to a futuristic-looking wind tunnel and signed our lives away on a waiver. An enthusiastic and friendly staff greeted the group of apprehensive reporters and made everyone feel at ease. Kristin Miller, a trained skydiving instructor, explained the basics for proper skydiving form as professionals performed flips and high flying acrobatics in the nearby wind tunnel.
Once we were fitted in our jumpsuits, Miller directed us to the vertical wind tunnel. Four 350 Horsepower fans reside at the top of the 45 foot tunnel which can generate controlled winds of up to 150 mph, according iFly. I stepped into the tunnel and immediately felt myself floating in midair. There was no jump or feeling of falling, but it was remarkable to actually fly for two minutes, totally unsuspended. After the second of the two sessions, I felt comfortable with the basic mechanics of controlling my flight, but was disappointed that first-timers were unable to attempt flips and high-flying stunts. With no actual jumping required to enter the tunnel, less courage is needed to participate. This can be encouraging or disappointing, depending on your level of thrill-seeker status. Alex Jakubiak, the event coordinator at iFLY, emphasized the benefits of indoor skydiving by saying “[it] is the perfect way to experience skydiving without jumping.” It opens to the public this February and costs $45 per session. iFLY in Naperville is one out of only two indoor skydiving facilities located in Illinois. Though it may not involve free falling from the clouds, iFLY is completely worth it for those who want to get controlled skydiving experience (or are a little too scared to actually do the real thing). Photo by Peter Flockencier
Photo courtesy of iFLY Staff writer Dan Wiggin tries out indoor skydiving assisted by trained skydiving instructor Kristin Miller.
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Volleyball beats rivals North Central Tyler York staff writer
The women’s volleyball team defeated North Central in four sets at their Oct. 28 game in R.A. Fagnell Hall with Melissa Nava leading the team’s attacking front with 14 kills and total of 16.5 points in the match. The team improved to a 3-3 record in CCIW play. Bluejays came out strong winning the first two sets 25-12 and 25-22. North Central rallied back in a hard-fought third set beating the Bluejays 25-23. Elmhurst fired back to dominate the third set and therefore the match at a 25-12 final fourth set. Sophomore Hannah Nimrick had a stellar performance with 36 assists, nine kills, and 12.5 points. Seniors Jackie Pavilonis and Sam Szarmach combined for 19 kills as they played their last home game at Elmhurst. “We hold ourselves to a high
standard,” Nava said. “The coaches have high expectations of us.” Coach Hall said she wants to win conference and says “this team is capable of doing anything possible.” The team also has a motto or goal of getting better every day, according to Hall.
“We hold ourselves to a high standard ... The coaches have high expectations of us.” Melissa Nava Elmhurst just finished the Benedictine invitational 3-1, closing out with a loss to University of Chicago. The Bluejays hope to make a quick turnaround against Millikin University as they look to make it into the CCIW Tournament.
Freshman Alli Rogers spikes the ball against a North Central player.
Photo by Hannah Jasinski
Men and women’s cross country both finish in 5th at CCIW championships
Photo courtesy of Kelsey Plefka Freshmen Scott Blaszak and Daniel Wiggin and Senior Will Cross and confidently start the race.
Allen Riquelme staff writer
During the meet for the CCIW championships in Decatur, Illinois on November 1, the men’s and women’s cross country teams both finished in fifth place. Will Cross led the men’s team, earning all-conference honors by placing fourth overall with junior Andrew DeBolt followed behind finishing 26th overall for the men’s team. The women’s team’s top finisher was senior Charlotte Murphy, who finished in 23rd place, with freshman Sarah Melone following in 25th place. The men’s team faced tough competition throughout the day, men’s head coach Jim Akita said. “Today was a bittersweet day for our team. Overall, we took
5th in the conference, but our goal was a top four finish, which we missed by four points,” Akita said. “North Central is ranked number one in the country. Augustana is ranked 30th in the country, and Wheaton is ranked 35th in the country, so we were just behind those teams. Every team in the conference is tough. That is what makes the CCIW such a great conference.” Senior Will Cross was also disappointed by missing the team’s goal, but recognizes the steep competition they were up against. “It was slightly disappointing to miss fourth place by four points. In cross country, four points is nothing. If we had all just caught one more person we could have beat Carthage. It’s frustrating to lose by such a small margin,” Cross said. “North Central College and
Augustana College always have a strong presence and are nationally ranked every year … Needless to say, both teams are extremely deep and difficult to compete with.” However, Akita believed the team performed better than they had all season. “The great part of the meet was that we had nearly every single guy on the team run a personal best on the season, which is how we want to race at conference,” he said. “While we were disappointed in 4th, we raced strong and gave ourselves a shot.”
“Overall, we took 5th in the conference, but our goal was a top four finish, which we missed by four points.”
placing at regionals.” Women’s head coach Erik Guta believed the women’s team ran well. “I was very happy with the CCIW championship race. We knew we were the fifth place team going into the meet. We ran as well as we could. Six of our top seven runners had lifetime best times. That is all that matters to us,” Guta said. “We will try to improve upon our times in two weeks at the regional championships.” When asked about the Elmhurst team’s competition, Guta clearly stated, “We don’t worry about other teams, we just care about running our best.” Akita believes the men’s team is looking forward to improving at regionals. “We are making steps in the right direction ... regionals is the meet we’re gearing for,” Akita said. “Regionals is [when] we
see where we stand in the country. I expect us to finish higher in the CCIW at regionals and be a top 10 team in the region, which would put us as a top 35 team in the country.”
“We ran as well as we could. Six of our top seven runners had lifetime best times. That is all that matters to us.” Erik Guta, women’s head coach The men and women’s cross country teams’ next meet will be the midwest regional, which will be held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on November 15.
Jim Akita, men’s head coach Cross was pleased with his performance in the race. “Personally, I think I did a good job of breaking up the North Central pack. I had a pretty good idea of how the race was going to go, and I ran a very smart race. The pack went out slow for the first two miles and then hammered the middle miles,” Cross said. “My personal goal for the season is to place top 10 at nationals. More importantly, I’d like to lead the cross country team to a top 10
Photo courtesy of Kelsey Plefka Senior Charlotte Murphy lengthens her strides near the end of the race.
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sports
November 4, 2014
ecleader.org
EC sports round-up Trace Nardi staff writer
MEN’S FOOTBALL from back page Miller, with six catches and a touchdown, was the Bluejays’ top receiver with 104 yards. Camiliere rushed for 72 yards on 17 carries and completed 16-of-27 carries for 219 yards. The Bluejays’ record stands at 5-3 overall, 4-1 in the CCIW. The next game is at Millikin University on November 8 at 1:00 PM. Women’s Bowling On October 28, the Elmhurst women’s bowling team had an 11th place finish out of 20 squads at the Purdue Univer-
sity’s Boilermaker Classic. Senior Barbie Gutwein was the top bowler for the lady Bluejays with a 190 score during the two-day tournament. Elmhurst finished the tournament with a 2-4 record overall. Elmhurst also competed at the Jayhawk Invitational on November 1 in Lawrence, Kansas.
Men’s Soccer
The Elmhurst men’s soccer team toppled Illinois Wesleyan University with a 4-1 win on Oct. 25. The Bluejays lead 3-0 during the first half and scored 3 goals within 15 minutes. Junior Mike Emig led the Bluejays with 2 goals to secure the win.
59 minutes into the game, Emig scored his second goal of the game and fifth of the season. Elmhurst’s record now stands at 10-3-3 overall.
Women’s Soccer
The women’s soccer team won their first match in the CCIW Tournament since 2011 on November 1. Senior Emily Heimerdinger scored her sixth goal of the season and sealed the game for the lady Bluejays in a 1-0 victory over Carthage College. As the No. 4 seed, the lady Bluejays move on to the CCIW Tournament. Elmhurst will face Wheaton College on Tuesday, November 4.
Photo by Miguel Herrera Junior midfielder Josh Rudd runs to receive a pass at the Oct. 25 men’s soccer game against Illinois Wesleyan.
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EC football loses to Wheaton 56-20 Trace Nardi staff writer
On November 1, the Elmhurst men’s football team lost their first CCIW game to 11th ranked Wheaton College with a score of 56-20. Early in the game, senior Joe Camiliere hit sophomore Kaylon Miller with a short pass that turned into a 53-yard touchdown, giving Elmhurst a 7-0 lead. See MEN’S FOOTBALL in the EC SPORTS ROUND-UP on page 15
Photo by Allen Riquelme
Sophomore wide receiver Kaylon Miller struggles to avoid a tackle from a Wheaton College player.