It is that time of the semester again when IVCC students need to prepare themselves for registra tion.
The time is now to start seeing a counselor and picking your classes for Spring 2023 in order to stay on track with your academic goals. It is important to be prepared prior to selecting your classes for the Spring Session at IVCC. After all, you are not just picking classes, you are planning your future.
Spring 2023 registration starts on Tuesday, Nov. 1 with many options available.
According to Aseret Loveland, assistant direc tor admissions & records, there are several ways to register for classes.
She stated, “Students can register online through WebAdvisor starting at 8 a.m. and at 9 a.m. and by phone or in person registration at the IVCC Admissions office or Ottawa Center.”
Loveland encourages students to meet with their counselor prior to the first day of registra tion.
“It’s a smart move especially if a student plans to transfer beyond IVCC,” she said.
IVCC student Jake Wagner said, “Registering can be tricky sometimes for everyone. It requires patience and even luck to get it all correct on your first attempt.”
Prior to meeting with a counselor, a student can prepare independently.
Loveland suggested that students review their program of study and the guidesheet for their ma jor. This can be done online at ivcc.edu/catalog.
Loveland added, “[Students] can review what courses are still required to fulfill their degree re quirements and... review Spring 2023 courses of fered on WebAdvisor.”
She suggested students save their preferred courses to review with their counselor.
Why is it so important to register early?
Jace Addis, a sophomore at IVCC, said, “If you wait to register later, you risk the chance of not getting the classes you need to graduate on time or to transfer to another college.”
Furthermore, by registering early, students can ensure to get in a course they may need for their preferred program.
Another advantage of enrolling early, Love land stated, is that “students will have more flexi bility by enrolling in courses that fit their personal lives, and have the opportunity to determine if in person, online or hi-flex courses are a better fit.”
Loveland stressed, “Stop in or call the counsel ing center at 815-224-0360 to meet with a counsel or. The earlier, the better.”
FAFSA for 2023-24 opened Oct. 1. Students should complete the form as soon as possible for aid consideration.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) is a form completed by current and pro spective college students to determine eligibility for financial aid.
IVCC or any other college/university that you apply to cannot grant you financial aid if you do not complete the FASFA.
You cannot receive IVCC Foundation Schol arships without filling out the FASFA.
So even if you do not think you will get any aid from completing the FASFA... you should still submit it!
The FASFA opened on Oct. 1, 2022, and must
be completed by June 30, 2024.
You should complete the FASFA as soon as possible, as most federal and state aid is limited and awarded on a first come, first served basis.
Most colleges will have a date that they want their students to submit their FASFA by, so make sure to check that.
Go to www.studentaid.gov and create a FSA ID, if you do not already have one.
Fill out the form which contains questions regarding your demographics, your parents’ de mographics, your dependency status, and your financial information.
You will be prompted to add up to 10 colleges that you are interested in to send your FASFA to, free of charge.
If you have any questions about the FASFA process, IVCC’s Financial Aid Office is available to help. They are also planning to do a few FAS FA workshops in the upcoming months, with dates yet to be determined.
The community is invited to tour Illinois Valley Community College’s new Dental Health Center at an open house 5 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26. The facility is located in the upper floor of the gymnasium building.
Dentists will arrive at 6 p.m. to participate in the open house and will stay for an advisory board meeting at 6:30. Dental professionals are welcome to stay for the meeting, said Den tal Assisting Program Coordi nator Heather Seghi.
Submitted photo
IVCC’s new Dental Health Center has eight “operatories” in the clinic and a 16-station lab.
The college’s new $1.2 mil lion dental assisting and hy giene lab opened for the fall semester Aug. 15. For informa tion, contact Seghi at (815) 2240359.
Illinois Valley Community College’s College Democrats held a drawing for six gasoline gift cards on Spirit Day, Sept. 14. Winners were Gabe Lucas, Taylor Kelly, Manuel Solano, Autumn Hand, Sabrina Hight,
and Marley Bodine.
The gift cards were donated by State Rep. Lance Yednock, Appellate Justice Mary Kay O’Brien, and the LaSalle Coun ty Democratic Central Commit tee.
The College Democrats plan on-campus activities to increase student involvement in politics and government, participation in political activities, and sup port for local Democratic office holders and helpers.
Gunnar Jauch of Spring Valley was named the Illinois Valley Community Col lege Foundation 21st Century Scholar at a Thursday evening ceremony at Starved Rock Lodge.
Jauch was honored along with three other finalists at the 16th annual 21st Cen tury Scholars Society dinner.
The son of Edward and Dana Jauch will transfer to Belmont University in Nash ville next fall to double-major in econom ics and finance and plans to stay on at the university to pursue its joint, three-year JD/MBA program.
Attending IVCC for two years “has not only been one of the best decisions I’ve made but also one of the most important,” Jauch said.
mentorship. It has helped him achieve a 3.9 GPA.
Finalists receiving $1,500 each were Chloe Bruce (far right), Makayla Ritko (left), and Eric Lane.
Merit award winners receiving $750 each were Natalie Orozco of Mendota and Haley Roalson. To qualify, students need a minimum 3.5 GPA as well as extensive col lege involvement and community service.
The 21st Century Scholars Society was established in 2007 to honor and reward IVCC’s most promising second-year stu dents. It has awarded more than $220,000 to 191 students including $9,000 to six scholars this year.
The Society is currently made up of 36 members each contributing $500 annually.
21st Century Scholar Gunnar Jauch, left, with fellow final ists Makayla Ritko, Eric Lane and Chloe Bruce.
Illinois Valley College’s One Book, One College contin ues their collaboration with Safe Journeys of Illinois and Freedom House of Illinois to promote Domestic Violence Awareness Month with events this October:
Clothesline Project was displayed outside Jacobs Library. Those affected by domestic violence were encouraged to create and hang T-shirts with messages regarding the issue.
Domestic Violence 101, was offered Oct. 12 in the Jacobs Library Active Learning Space
Zonta’s Annual Domestic Violence Luminary Walk, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27 starting in Washington Square Park, Ottawa.
Barb Sigel, an adult domestic violence counselor, and Michelle DeVoss, a domestic violence legal advocate pre sented “Domestic Violence 101.”
The presentation helped the audience recognize domes tic violence and how to help oneself and others who are fac ing this problem.
After the Zonta Domestic Violence Luminary walk, at tendees can meet at First United Methodist Church, 100 W. Jefferson St., Ottawa, to hear speakers from the community discussing domestic violence.
Zonta International is a nonprofit organization advo cating for women’s equality, education and an end to child marriage and gender-based violence.
For information, visit www.ivcc.edu/onebook or contact Jayne Leipart Guttilla at Jayna_LeipartGuttilla@ivcc.edu.
In his acceptance speech for the $3,000 first place award, Jauch credited IVCC basketball coach Chris Herman and eco nomics instructor Rick Pretzsch for their
For information, contact Executive Di rector of Community Relations and Devel opment Fran Brolley at (815) 224-0466.
As the cold and flu season approach es, many people anticipate a spike in COVID-19 cases. Staff at IVCC, however, have already been preparing for such a scenario.
The pandemic rocked the world when it hit and lockdowns were set in place all over the world, just two short years ago. Since then, according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), there have been hundreds of thousands of cases and millions of deaths. Not only that, but multiple variants of the virus have also cropped up with their own complications as well.
IVCC’s COVID-19 Coordinator, Kim ber King, stated that the college is pre pared for any possible surges in cases this winter by keeping up to date on the guidelines provided by the CDC and IDPH (Illinois Department of Public Health).
She told the IV Leader that the school is continuing to collect positive test re sults from both students and faculty. This is done in order to help with contact tracing and minimizing the risk of the spread, exposure, of COVID on campus.
There have been vaccination clinics offered in the past at IVCC, but currently there are no clinics scheduled.
King also said wearing a mask can be a case-by-case scenario. She pointed us
towards the CDC’s recommendation of wearing masks based on risk on a per sonal and community level.
More generally, according to Jona than Lambert, a Public Health Reporter at Grid News, a majority of Americans aren’t aware of Omicron COVID booster shots. This could potentially be danger ous for this upcoming winter. The Omi cron variant of COVID is fast spreading and while it may not be as severe and deadly as other variants, a surge in cas es can still lead to hospitalizations and deaths, according to the CDC.
The IV Leader also asked some stu dents what their thoughts on the Omi cron booster shots are, if they would get it, and why.
Cara Bonczkowski, a sophomore at IVCC, told the Leader that she “did not see the point” in getting the Omicron booster shot, because “the last one didn’t last,” and she doesn’t want to return for a shot with every new mutation of the virus.
Another sophomore, Kallie Cantlin, told the Leader that also did not plan on receiving the shot.
Cantlin said she “heard bad side ef fects about boosters recently, from both people I know personally dealing with them, and articles online.”
More school-related COVID-19 in formation is available atwww.ivcc.edu/ covid19/ or emailingCOVID@ivcc.edu.
October is upon us: a month full of candy, costumes, and all kinds of spooks. Now if you’re like me, you avoid haunted houses and corn maz es like the black plague. Most people, however, agree that it’s fun to be frightened—as long as the threat is fake.
So what happens when it’s not? What if the scary stories lose their light-hearted fun? What if, instead of spooking us for a single night, they loom over us—not just for weeks or months, but our entire lives, and gen erations to come?
Take it back a few years to Hal loween in 2019. I remember snow on the ground, my tires skidding on the way to a party, and layering leggings under my (already sad-looking) costume.
While the past two years were the typical fall weather, and this year will likely be the same, I’m still stuck on the ninety-degree days we had at the end of September. Because… what?
With Illinois weather being notoriously fickle, it’s easy for some to write off those events as weird, isolated incidents.
In fact, another reason why climate change isn’t quite as talked
about around the Midwest is because, right now, our rural economies are benefitting from it. According to an article from GlobalChange.gov, increased levels of CO2---along with longer and hotter growing seasons--are producing more crops. While it’s true that violent weather has offset these agricultural gains, it’s also fair to say the Illinois Valley hasn’t quite felt the harsh effects of climate change.
But take a look at our East Coast. Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida last week as a powerful Category 4 storm, cutting off the power of over 2 million homes and taking the lives of at least 100 people.
And Ian may be the most re cent, but most people remember the names Katrina, Irma, Maria, Harvey, and Dorian. Each of these hurricanes wreaked havoc on our coastlines, and in large part, were intensified by climate change.
Global warming has increased ocean temperatures everywhere, and with the melting of a once-frozenover Arctic, sea levels have risen. The article “Hurricane Ian: How climate change is making North Atlantic tropical storms worse” state, “condi tions that breed hurricanes are now
found further north and south of the equator than they used to be. And hurricanes form outside the seasons people once expected them.”
Of course, these effects are being felt everywhere across the globe, hit ting hardest in the Arctic and Africa.
Hotter days, violent weather, damged ecosystems and habitats, flooding and droughts, erosion, and ocean acidification are just a few of the scares countries around the world are facing.
A real, true, terrifying threat looms over planet Earth. As much I love seeing Star Wars and Star Trek trick-or-treaters, there’s no sci-fi solution to global warming. Without taking the proper action in time, we might be dooming ourselves to the really, really bad ending of a Holly wood horror film.
Luckily, we can all do our part to combat climate change. Instead of buying plastic bottles and containers, buy reusables. If possible, cut down on your driving time. Eat less meat and avoid the drive-through window at fast food joints.
And don’t litter: have a happy Halloween---but be conscious of where you throw your candy wrap pers.
Editor: Elisabeth Farrell Assistant: Ryan Nolasco
Staff: Drake Weber, Izabella Nanez, Julian Godina, Phalen Hes senberger, Eric Lockwood, John Cheli, Ricardo Diaz, Noah Simon, Logan Bland, Erin Brooker, Katriene Sibbaluca, Grace Spolec.
IV Leader, a member of the Associated Colle giate Press, is pub lished monthly by students of Illinois Valley Community College. Editori als and columns express opinions of student and staff members and do not neces sarily express the views of IVCC, the administration or the Board. Edito rial opinions are those a student editorial board.
BY PHALEN HESSENBERGER, JULIAN GODINA AND IZABELLA NANEZ IV LEADER COLUMNISTSLetters to the editor must be signed and should be addressed to the IV Leader Office B-316, IVCC, 815 N. Orlando Smith Rd., Ogles by, IL 61348-9691.
www.ivleader. com
Read the IV Lead er online, meet the staff, apply for a staff position, and explore the newspaper’s long, distinguished history online.
The first “Hocus Pocus” doesn’t top my list of all time favorite movies, but I still find it enjoyable.
In fact, I like it enough that I was excited to check out the sequel.
“Hocus Pocus 2” was released on Disney+ on Sept. 30, just in time for the beginning of Halloween month.
After watching “Hocus Pocus 2,” I can say that I enjoyed it.
The movie does often rely on nostalgia, which, as I discussed in a previous review, I’m generally not the biggest fan of.
Characters from the original movie return, most notably the three witches, the Sanderson Sisters.
However, they have good reason to be in the movie— they aren’t just meaningless cameos.
After all, you simply can’t have a Hocus Pocus movie without the Sander son sisters.
The nostalgic parts that bother me the most are the lines, jokes, and plot points repeated from the first movie.
On the other hand, there are many fresh and updated jokes made possible from the modern-day setting that
Though this image is subject to copyright, its use is covered by the U.S. fair use laws because it illustrates an educational article/review about the film from which the film illustration was taken.
weren’t possible nearly 30 years ago.
For example, one of the witches flies around town with a Roomba under each foot because she can’t find a broom.
For me, the setting and resulting jokes make the sequel stand apart from the original.
While I enjoy the pres ent-day setting, I also enjoy the opening 10 minutes of the movie, which take place
in 17th century Salem, Mas sachusetts.
It’s nice to see some of the Sanderson Sisters’ ori gin, and the actors who play the younger versions do an excellent job capturing the mannerisms of the witches.
This sequence almost makes me wish the entire movie was a prequel instead of a sequel.
Despite this, I still en joyed “Hocus Pocus 2.” It’s worth checking out if you’re
Illinois Valley Community College will host Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead Celebration from Oct. 31 through Nov. 3 in side the main entrance.
IVCC’s Hispanic Leadership Team, Illi nois Valley Visual Arts Club and the Project Success Leadership team invites IVCC stu dents, employees and the community to join in the first annual celebration.
Every Nov. 1 and 2, Latino communities all over the world celebrate and honor loved ones who have passed on to their next life. Dating back almost 3,000 years, the celebra tion involves highly-decorative and bright ly colored altars and memorials covered in flowers and lit with candles.
It is a joyous time for families and com munities to celebrate memories by sharing
food and festive music but also the grief of losing loved ones.
The group asks participants to bring in photos of deceased loved ones (human or animal). Each person can also write a note or happy memory to the loved one. Partic ipants can also bring an offering (ofrenda) of non-perishable food and sealed drinks to provide nourishment to the deceased and memorialize what they enjoyed on earth.
Bring items the week of the display. Daily activities will be posted at a later time.
For information, contact IVCC art in structor Shannon Slaight-Brown at Shan non_slaight-brown@ivcc.edu or (815) 2240351 or Director of Adult Education Sara Escatel at sara_escatel@ivcc.edu or (815) 224-0355.
a fan of the original or if you’re looking for a Hallow een movie that’s fun for the whole family.
Illinois Valley Com munity College is hosting “Shawnee Showdown: Keep the Forest Standing,” a screening of the docu mentary at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 14 in the Dr. Mary Margaret Weeg Cultural Centre.
The event is spon sored by the IVCC Amer ican Chemical Society, Bio Club, and the Starved Rock Audubon Society.
It recalls past conflicts and environmental vic tories and underscores an uncertain future for Southern Illinois’ Shaw nee National Forest. In the face of climate change, activists are again asking questions about proposed logging in the forest.
Following the screen ing, there will be a Q&A with environmental ac tivists who participated in the protests and remain active today.
The film retraces the battle over commercial logging within Shawnee for more than 30 years.
For information and to view the film trailer, visit: https://www.shawneefor estdefense.org or email shawneeforestdefense@ gmail.com.
Day of the Dead will be celebrated from Oct. 31 through Nov. 3 in a display inside the IVCC main entrance.
The Illinois Valley Community College Theatre Department will premier its first full-scale musical since 2019, MAME!, featuring a large cast of community members, stu dents and faculty Nov.10-20.
IVCC Director and Choreogra pher of Musical Theatre Don Grant Zellmer said “MAME!” is the perfect show for the time — a classic with fa miliar music and a ‘feel-good’ story.
The cast required performers of all ages, ranging from a ten-year-old boy to mature actors.
“While the production isn’t ex clusively a holiday show, it’s the per fect fit as it ticks through the months and years and includes the wellknown musical number, ‘We Need A Little Christmas,’” said Zellmer.
The cast includes: Kelly John son as Mame Dennis; Deb Torri as Vera Charles; Rebecca Eltrevoog as Agnes Gooch; Jackson Layhew as Patrick Dennis as a child; Jake Jak ielski as Patrick Dennis as an adult and Gregor; Brian Towne as Dwight Babcock; Ethan Darrow as Lindsay Woolsey; Zellmer as Beauregard Burnside;
David Zuniga as Ito and other characters; Michael Lee as Claude Upson, Ralph Devine and Vera’s stage manager; Karen Lesman as Doris Upson, Cousin Fan and M. Branislowski; Lexi Johnson as Glo ria Upson, a dancer and others; Zoe Starkey as Pegeen Ryan, a dancer and others; Alyce Scott as Sally Cato;
The Illinois Valley Community College Theatre Department will premier its first full-scale musi cal since 2019, MAME!, Nov.10-20.
Sitonya Allan as Mother Burnside; Austin Hack as Junior Babcock; and Zoë Bush, Genevieve Hunter, and Rheagan Goluba as dancers, compa ny and various other roles.
Production staff includes Zellmer, music director Alex Guerrero, tech director Chad Brokaw, producer/cos tume coordinator Dr. David Kuester,
stage manager Alyce Scott and assis tant stage manager Ash Holland.
MAME! plays at 7:30 p.m. Thurs days, Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 10 through 20. Online ticket sales open Oct. 17.
The original production of MAME! opened on Broadway in 1966 and starred Angela Lansbury.
Music and lyrics are by composer/ lyricist Jerry Herman, creator of Hel lo, Dolly!, La Cage Aux Folles and a host of other Broadway hits.
Based on the play, “Auntie Mame,” it became a movie starring Rosalind Russel. The musical version also became a movie starring Lucille Ball and Bea Arthur.
Students create pinatas during celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month at IVCC. The Hispanic Leadership Council was instrumental in planning activities to celebrate the month.
It was a lackluster sum mer for Chicago baseball.
The “rebuilding” Cubs are going to finish under .500 and the World Series hopeful Chicago White Sox are on their way to an under .500 season for the 8th time in 10 seasons.
So what went wrong?
For the Cubs, the pitch ing simply was not there this season. They went out and signed Marcus Stroman to a massive three-year $71 million dollar deal that quite frankly looked like a disaster in the first half of the season but was fantastic in the sec ond half of the year.
Drew Smiley and Wade Miley were disappointing pieces of the rotation.
The offense was really expected to be anemic with the lack of talent on paper.
For the White Sox, what really went right?
You had the disaster that was Tony La Russa manag ing the ball club, you had Lucas Giolito take a monster step back in regression, Lance Lynn was not his reliable self, the roster in a whole was just poorly constructed and the money was poorly spent on guys like Leury Garcia, who is the first utility man in MLB history that struggles to play defense and cannot hit the ball.
So what do the cross town rivals do to take a positive leap in 2023?
Well, first, for the Cubs, spend money. It’s evident catcher Wilson Contreas will not be the catcher next year, so that leaves money for the Ricketts to spend.
They need to focus on the shortstop market: they have a star already in Nico Hoerner, but you can never have enough star power in a lineup.
The Cubs could sign
Carlos Correa and move him to third or sign Trae Turner and stick him at second.
They also need to ad dress the rotation. Stroman is an obvious staple but they need more.
There aren’t a lot of household names on the 2023 winter starting pitcher market, but there’s some studs. The Cubs could target Just Verlander, Carlos Ro don, or Noah Syndergaard.
For the White Sox side of things, they have a bit more on the “to do” list.
Firstly, they have to do the right thing and bring back Southpaw Carlos Ro don. The White Sox let him walk for nothing because of injury issues in the past and in 2022 he had just one IL stint and was dominant on the mound.
They need to find a way to bring Elvis Andrus back to play second base. He was so good in the second half of the 2022 season — one of the true few bright spots.
Perhaps most impor tantly, the Sox must fill out the outfield. You have to let legend Jose Abreu walk in free agency to allow Andrew Vaughn to play his rightful position first base, and you cannot have Gavin Sheets playing right field. Aaron Judge is the dream for every team but that is realistically a New York teams battle.
AJ Pollock will presum ably be back on his player option playing left field; Brandon Nimmo has to be a must target for Rick Hahn.
After years of competing in National Ju nior College Athletic Association Division III, IVCC moved to Division I competition this year, making qualifying for nationals harder.
However, on Oct. 10, the IVCC doubles eam of Bri Strehl and Olivia Woods placed second at regionals and earned a spot at the national tournament.
The team won their spot with a tough match that included a tie breaker. Other IVCC players finished third and fourth, nar rowly missing a tourney spot.
Bri Strehl and Olivia WoodsThe NBA off-season finally came to an end, with the start of the pre-season on Sept. 30.
Teams got back together ahead of the start of the regular season to get ready, prepared, and get acclimated with potential new teammates.
The Chicago Bulls started their pre season off with a tough loss, with their late comeback effort coming up short against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The regular season will start on Oct. 18, with the reigning NBA Champions, the Golden State Warriors taking on the Los Angeles Lakers.
The defending Eastern Conference champions Boston Celtics will face the Philadelphia 76ers to complete the opening night of the NBA season.
This will be the 76th NBA season and every team is trying to prepare themselves to hopefully make a deep playoff run and ideally win the championship although their will be only one Champion at the end of the season.
BY NOAH SIMON SPORTS COLUMNIST
What went wrong with the Cubs, White Sox, and what they need to do in the offseason
