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CU to host first black, UI task force creates recommendation for African arts festival procedures for cases of sexual misconduct going on.” Most of the food vendors will give their own twist on traditional African and Black foods like jerk chicken tacos and AfroItalian fusion cuisine. Local stores such as Art Coop and the Idea Store will sponsor some education activities, including a coloring booth where children can color and simultaneously learn about African countries as well as other countries around the world. Creating and motivating others to participate in events like these are important to the sistersin-law because many people are not knowledgeable about African history and culture, Susan said she encounters such people on a daily basis. Some even in her professional career as she has a PhD in Educational Policy from the University. “There are lots of people who still think that Africa is a country. I just got that question last week,” Susan said. “We are not people who just came out of slavery. We’re also people who invented more than half the technology that’s here today.” Exposing other people to different cultures is one thing but at the end of the CU Black and African Arts Festival, both Susan and Cindy had some other ideas of what they wanted people to retain about their experience. For one, they hope to give people the opportunity to listen to rising artists. “Lizzo came through here just a few years ago, and she wasn’t really well-known back then,” Susan Ogwal said. “The people you’re about to see and witness are going to be in the spotlight in the next year or two.” Overall, the goal of the C-U Black and African Arts Festival will be to unite the citizens and celebrate what it means to be proud of one’s heritage. “Us coming up with a festival like this will bridge the gap between people who come from different places,” Cindy said. “We want you to know that did something that was positive and healthy, and you also learned about different people in the process.” The C-U Black and African Arts Festival will be on Sept. 27 from 2-10 p.m. and Sept. 28 from 10 a.m.7 p.m. General admission is free.
BY JILLIAN LITTLE ASSISTANT BUZZ EDITOR
Sisters-in-laws Susan Ogwal and Cindy Ogwal are very proud of their African ancestry and immigration from Uganda but often had trouble finding any festivals that celebrated the diversity of African people in the Champaign-Urbana community. “I’ve lived here for over 20 years, and we’ve never had anything of this nature at all,” Susan said. “We moved to Champaign in the 90s and started middle school here.” As a response, they decided to make one of their own. “Susan and I spoke about coming up with a festival and got tired of going to Chicago festivals,” Cindy said. “Our planning really started in April.” Talks of a festival had been in the works for years, but the pair started thinking about it critically only a year ago. After applying and winning the Urbana Arts Grant (a program that encourages the display of any creative expression to the rest of the community), months of planning and getting in contact with vendors and musicians, the first annual C-U Black and African Arts Festival was born. “Our overall goal is to highlight the expression and creativity of African a r t ist s a nd ex pose them to the rest of the community,” Susan Ogwal said. “W hether you’re from Jamaica, England or anywhere else in the world, we want to celebrate you.” This coming weekend, the C-U Black and African Arts Festival will offer activities that are fun and enriching for guests of all ages. “We want this to be a safe space for everyone to feel like they belong,” Cindy Ogwal said. “We want people to go home at the end of the day and say, ‘Hey! I actually went somewhere where I felt at home.’” While there are going to be many items people can buy like art pieces, traditiona l children’s clothing and skincare products, but the thing that stands out is the diversity of talent in the entertainers that will perform throughout the weekend. “You’ll get everything from poetry to story-telling to live bands,” Susan said. “W henever you come, something’s going to be jel3@dailyillini.com
Features: Astrologer fights social media stigma
Sports: Breslin makes impact on, off field
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54% of students report knowing where to get help following an incident of sexual misconduct.
30% report understanding the process that occurs following a report of misconduct.
Source: University CASSIDY BRANDT THE DAILY ILLINI
widespread harassment is or how individuals may choose to convey that information. Alison Wilkinson, attorney for McAllister Olivarius, has been working on the sexual harassment case against Gary Xu, former head of the East Asian Language and Culture Department, and has just filed a complaint on behalf
of his three former students. Wilkinson said in the case of Xu, the victims were all from China, where there is a stronger deference element to the professorial student relationship, which Xu knowingly used to his advantage. “Some sort of beginning, primer, intensive session with foreign students would be
really helpful to set the stage for what should and shouldn’t be allowed,” Wilkinson said. According to the Sexual Misconduct Perceived Campus Response Survey, about half of students reported knowing where to get help following an incident of sexSEE MISCONDUCT | 3A
The Un iver sit y welcomed the “most diverse” class in history, according to the Report on the Entering Class of 2019. The report included greater enrollment of African American and Latinx students, as well as women, transfer students and students from rural areas. The Illinois Commitment program played a large role in the increase of enrollment diversit y, according to Andy Borst, director of Undergraduate Admissions. “Historically, when we look back even back to 1968, when we’ve initiated major need-based aid financial programs, we’ve seen a corresponding increase
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ANDY BORST DIRECTOR OF UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS
in overall diversity, but particularly in our African American diversity, and I think that is what we are seeing with the Illinois Commitment Program,” Borst said. Gr e t c hen Adams, a ssist a nt dea n for Undergraduate Student Affairs in the College of AHS, said she also believes Illinois Commitment was one possible factor in the
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“The way that Illinois commitment was marketed and advertised to students … encouraged a lot of students — and a diverse population of students — to apply across the state.” However, Adams said she will not be sure if Illinois Commitment was truly a factor until she gets the percentages of how many AHS students are part of the program from the Office of Admissions. Borst also said the University has various prog ra ms in place, particularly for recruiting African American students, as well as a large staff in the Chicago suburbs recruiting p o t e nt i a l s t u d e nt s throughout Chicago and downstate Illinois. “We’re looking for influx
“ I would say that we have a fairly robust recruitment commitment to improving campus diversity and particularly African American diversity.”
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Students report awareness of process following sexual misconduct
Class of 2023 shows historical diversity
CO-FOUNDER OF C-U BLACK AND AFRICAN ARTS FESTIVAL
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After recent reports and professor complaints, the University is looking to improve its sexual misconduct policy. Robin Kar, professor in Law, is chair of a task force developed by the Provost in January aimed to comprehensively review the policies, practices and procedures the University has that are used to handle sexual misconduct cases. The task force is made up of experts on sexual harassment, domestic violence and confidentiality, and transparency, Kar said. “Our charge was to focus on sexual misconduct by faculty,” Kar said. “The reason for that is just that faculty has a lot of additional procedural protections meant to protect tenure and academic freedom. So it’s kind of the hardest case to solve.” Leslie Wexler, professor in Law, said social and institutional change is most likely to occur when all parties see a need for progress. “Students, faculty, staff and community members should keep pressure on the University and other big institutions to address the #MeToo era,” Wexler said. “Decision-makers inside those institutions should be working for institutional reform and a more equitable culture.” Wexler said despite sexual harassment being a pervasive problem, many people do not believe victims, because there is unawareness of how
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Students sit in the Lincoln Hall Theater during a STAT 107: Data Science Discovery lecture taught by Karle Flanagan and Wade Fage-Ulmschneider. According to the Report on the Entering Class of 2019, the Class of 2023 is the “most diverse” class in history.
“Our overall goal is to highlight the expression and creativity of African artists and expose them to the rest of the community.”
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increase in diversity and enrollment. AHS recently posted on its Twitter that this year’s freshman class was one of the largest and most diverse groups of new students for the college. For the entire campus, 23.2% of the freshman class is considered underrepresented. “I do think Illinois Commitment made a difference,” Adams said.
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2A Thursday, September 26, 2019
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POLICE • Armed robbery was reported on the 1900 block of Lynwood Drive, around 4 a.m. Tuesday. According to the report, while working as a delivery driver, the victim was robbed at gunpoint and had cash and one food item stolen. • Deceptive practices was reported on the 300 block of South Staley Road, around 5 p.m. Monday. According to the report, a representative at a mattress clearance center called the victim to confirm a line of credit had been opened. After learning it was not opened by the victim and was fraudulent, the representative canceled the account. • Criminal damage to property was reported in the 400 block of East John Street. According to the
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• Theft was reported at the Mechanical Engineering Building, 1206 W. Green St., Saturday. According to the report, a University contractor reported copper wire and tubing worth around $200 were stolen from a construction receptacle by an unknown offender.
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• Disorderly conduct was reported at Firestone, 303 W. Main St., around 5 p.m. Monday. According to the report, an intoxicated employee started an argument with his employer and claimed the employer battered him. Other
employees at the business claimed the employee wasn’t battered. The employee was eventually escorted from the property for the remainder of the day. • Theft was reported on the 900 block of Springfield Avenue, around 3 p.m. Monday. According to the report, an unknown offender stole the victim’s bicycle from a rack outside of the victim’s apartment. • Domestic dispute was reported on the 1400 block of Ivanhoe Way, around noon Monday. According to the report, the offender and victim, who have children and live together, had an argument over financial issues.
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As Illinois continues to fight against the opioid crisis, especially after receiving a recent $38 million grant, local efforts in Champaign-Urbana are still looking to prevent opioid-related tragedies. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a total of 17,029 people died in 2017 due to opioids. The number of deaths related to prescription opioids has been rising steadily since 2014. Of deaths related to both opioids and syntheticnarcotics,fentanyl is the main narcotic seen. Fentanyl, as described by the NIDA, is a synthetic drug used to help manage severe pain or pain from surgery. It is similar to morphine but can be 50 to 100 times more potent. Maureen McMichael, associate professor in Veterinary Medicine, said a poppy-seed size of fentanyl can kill someone if ingested. When used incorrectly, fentanyl is dangerous for not only humans, but also animals. Because it is their duty as drug enforcement offi-
cers to search for illegal narcotics by sniffing out for the drugs, K-9 units also have the potential to overdose on drugs such as fentanyl if exposed. This issue was brought to the College of Veterinary Medicine two years ago by Illinois State Police when one of their dogs was exposed to fentanyl. Since then, the College of Veterinary Medicine has been training police departments, fire departments and emergency medical technicians on how to respond to such cases. The solution is using a reverse agent to reverse the effects of the drug, known as Narcan. While all three first responding agencies have already been carrying Narcan since 2015 after the passing of the Illinois Heroin Crisis Act, it was not known whether Narcan was safe to use on canines. The College of Veterinary Medicine found it was. “These dogs are savings lives,” McMichael said. “They deserve for us to return the favor.” Carle Foundation Hos-
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pital has also been working with first responders to help fight the opioid crisis. Michael Smith, medical director for Carle Emergency Medical Service, said they have been working with public health organizations, such as Rosecrance, a rehabilitation center with three locations in Champaign, to combat the opioid crisis. Carle also has its own rehabilitation center, which reaches out to the community and practices wellness education.
Smith said public health organizations, as well as local school systems, are the best platforms to promote the dangers of the opioid crisis. For Smith, it is important to stop the crisis as soon as possible, as he believes it is getting worse in the Champaign-Urbana area. “We send ambulances out every day for overdoses,” Smith said. “It is definitely the number one public health crisis.” jzeped4@dailyillini.com
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September 26, 2019 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com
FROM 1A
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MISCONDUCT ual misconduct. About 30% report understanding the process that occurs following a report of misconduct. Wilkinson said teaching assistants, faculty and most people who knew what was going on with Xu said they didn’t feel there was a clear reporting path. “They either hadn’t been trained, or they didn’t remember that they had been trained,” Wilkinson said. “Or they didn’t know how anyone could respond since he was the head of the department.” Though students could be unaware of how to report a sexual harassment incident, only about 3% were concerned with being punished by the University. Wilkinson said the University has expressed willingness to change in order to prevent similar instances from happening in the future. Wexler said, though it would be a difficult step, she would like to see reform in the University Misconduct Policies such as divorcing the narrow Title IX interpretations and clear the path for punishment. “As a lawyer, I deeply respect the need for due process,” Wexler said. “But the current rules seem to impede rather than foster accountability.” Kar said the task force will produce a report of recommendations on how the University should be handling sexual harassment cases, which should be finalized and given to the provost by the end of this term. “You want to do it as quickly as possible, you also want to do it thoroughly because these are actually very hard questions,” Kar said. “I think people are going to feel very different when the report comes out.” Once the report has been given to the Provost, there is still a period for public discussion, as the report contains recommendations that the University must ultimately decide to implement. Kar said one recommendation from his task force’s report is to ensure the University and faculty not enter into nondisclosure confidentiality agreements, which should positively impact the University in the long term. “One thing we need to remember is that sometimes if we give information about a respondent, that allows people to make inferences about a complainant,” Kar said. “So you have to be careful; it’s a tricky balance.” He said another one of the task force’s recommendations is to produce regular, comprehensive sexual misconduct filings with outcomes and explanations as to how they’ve been handled, while ensuring no confidentiality or privacy concerns are revealed. “We want to make sure we don’t traumatize the plaintiffs or children from reporting by making this kind of data public,” Kar said. Wexler said that courts have interpreted the language of Title IX differently, making for a lesser understanding. “Many scholars … have criticized courts for their unduly narrow interpretation and suggest they depart from common sense understandings of harassment,” Wexler said. She said the courts have previously used interpretations from Title VII’s anti-discrimination statute to conclude that behavior only rises to the level of harassment if it is severee or pervasive. Though this is the language of federal legislation, the University can separately amend its code to make its standard more clear, Wexler said. Kar said he believes the package, created by his task force, can change the way other universities handle sexual harassment. “My aim is to present a package of recommendations that takes the University of Illinois further than higher education has gone and to serve as a model for the nation,” Kar said. rnwood2@dailyillini.com
Chinese organization condemns Hong Kong protests BY ETHAN SIMMONS STAFF WRITER
On Sep. 12 , the University chapter of the Chinese Student Scholars Association denounced the Hong Kong protests on their Facebook page, making a rare entry into political conversation. In a previous publication, CSSA stated they had “no relationship with politics” and “completely focus on providing a better living and studying environment for students, especially Chinese students, on campus.” In the post, CSSA called for the Champaign-Urbana Chinese community to focus on their education and “stand firmly” in favor of the “One Country, Two Systems” slogan that has guided Hong Kong and China’s relationship for over two decades. The post also referred to Hong Kong protesters as “radical factions” and “rioters,” who intend to “sabotage Hong Kong’s rule of law and threaten the bottom line of ‘One Country Two Systems.’” “With continuous strikes, audacious destruction of Hong Kong’s cityscape and social order including the airport and the (Mass Transit Railway), Hong Kong’s original prosperity and stability is now replaced by conflicts and violence,” CSSA said in the post. “The majesty of the motherland cannot be challenged, and the Chinese are indivisible.” The Facebook post garnered 90 reactions and over 25 comments. The post was shared to the University subreddit, where it gained over 300 upvotes and 170 comments. Facebook commenters mostly discussed the justification of the protests and the alleged violence of the protesters. “Law enforcement is protecting general citizens and streets from violence, arson and vandalism that
China ranked first among international student population at U of I
# of students from China
# of students from Hong Kong
5,275
20 (Ranked 20th among international student population)
Source: Univerisity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
CHANTAL VACATHE DAILY ILLINI
are caused by so-called ‘peaceful protesters’ who are genuinely mobs,” commented Jingnu Xia in response to pro-Hong Kong commenters. “Don’t try to justify an illegal act using so-called ‘freedom’. Most of the idiots even don’t know how to write ‘freedom’ properly.” Boyuan Zhang responded to commenters with the story of a protester allegedly biting a policeman’s finger off. “This is what you called a peaceful protesting. Those violent actions can be found easily on the internet, why won’t you mention this,”
“Imagine living and studying in a country that gives you human rights that your home country doesn’t, and then denouncing support for people who want to have those same human rights.” EVAN LEE PROSPECTIVE UNIVERSITY STUDENT
Zhang commented. Evan L e e, f r om Springfield, Illinois, plans to attend the University next year. Lee discovered the post on Reddit and decided to investigate further. “Imagine living and studying in a country that gives you human rights that your home country doesn’t, and then denouncing support for people who want to have those same human rights,” Lee commented. Lee opposed the post for potentially limiting political speech. “I just know that the fact that (Chinese students) came to America to study and live here, it’s kind of ironic that they took that opportunity, but then when people are pushing for more independence in China that they don’t show support for it,” Lee said. ecsimmon@dailyillini.com
SCREENSHOT COURTESY OF FACEBOOK
The Chinese Student Scholars Association urged students to remain peaceful toward the Hong Kong protests on their Facebook page on Sept. 12. The post received attention across different social media sites.
FROM 1A
DIVERSITY
in diversity wherever we can find it, but we’re doing application workshops with students,” Borst said. “We’re visiting high schools. We’re doing college fairs to talk to students. We have a few mentoring programs. We’re doing bus trips to campus. I would say that we have a fairly robust recruitment commitment to improving campus diversity and particularly African American diversity.” Kev in Pit ts, v ice provost for undergraduate education, said he thinks the program played a significant role in the entering class report in two respects. “First of all, I think it helped low and moderateincome students understand that there are considerable financial aid opportunities,” Pitts said. “Of course, when a student applies to college, they don’t know what the real cost is going to be. They know college is expensive. Hopefully Illinois Commitment helped them understand that there is considerable financial aid out there.” He said the Illinois Commitment program a llowed even more students to apply and the University, upon receiving their application, to at least have a “fighting chance” for applicants to attend the University. Pitts said he also thinks the program played a considerable role in the Universit y ’s tra nsfer student enrollment.
JACOB WARGO THE DAILY ILLINI
Students prepare before class in Foellinger Auditorium on Tuesday. The freshman class that started in fall of 2019 showcases the considerable progress the University has made toward diversifying the student body.
“Our transfer numbers were up considerably this year,” Pitts said. “We believe what happened there was that students who originally chose another option, perhaps community college because of cost, came to Urbana-Champaign because of the Illinois Commitment program.” He said the University has made considerable progress with diversity within the student body but also has “a lot more work to do.”
“There’s no doubt about that,” Pitts said. “Not only in recruiting and attracting students from underrepresented groups to campus but also making sure that the campus environment is inclusive and open and welcoming to all students (is vital). So this is something that the chancellor has made a priority; it is something that we continue to work on, and we welcome student input on how we can be better in
those regards.” He said the University welcomes student input as they do so with the student success initiative. Through the initiative, students can advise the University on how they can make campus open and inclusive, and students can ultimately help all students have an excellent experience and be successful. “The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is committed to being a leader
in advancing diversity and equity and creating a climate where all can achieve their highest aspirations,” said Chancellor Robert Jones in an email. “We are pleased to see record numbers of underrepresented students a nd f irst-generation students in the Class of 2023, because it is evidence that we are living up to our land-grant mission.” kbelser2@dailyillini.com sekang2@dailyillini.com
4A Thursday, September 26, 2019
THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Students remain optimistic amid recession fears BY CLARE BUDIN ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITOR
With fears over tariffs, taxes and jobs growing into signs of an economic slowdown after one of the longest periods of growth in American history, University students’ outlooks for the future aren’t as bleak. The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index found its largest monthly decline, at the end of August, in economic confidence since December 2012, which could largely be attributed to consumer anxiety over rising taxes, tariffs and government spending. Despite these uncertainties, Michael Conrad, graduate student in Labor and Employment Relations, said he believes issues around tariffs, while currently alarming, won’t rile the market forever. “In (President Donald Trump’s) strategies and rhetoric around tariffs, I think China still has leverage and can outlast us compared to our farmers who are struggling against these tariffs,” Conrad said. “I can’t imagine he’ll go all in and not back down until the economy goes into collapse over a tariff system that’s just a way to flex power over China right now. It shouldn’t be enough to disrupt the entire market.” Conrad also pointed to low unemployment numbers and opportunities in the job market for reassurance. “The economy is basically the only thing people are giving Trump props for right now, low unemployment and jobs coming in,” Conrad said. “A lot of them are gig jobs, but it’s better than nothing.” Ryan Lamare, associate professor in Labor and Employment Relations, had a more pessimistic view of the current and future job market. “We’ve had a very long
period of growth in the job market, but it’s been a bit different from other longterm periods of growth because a lot of it has come from precarious or low-paying work, not the types of jobs that would have been made available in the ideal boom times of the past,” Lamare said. “I do think a downturn is coming because downturns always come up at some point, and we also have more of a chance of a downturn when we have more precarious jobs that can be easily removed from the labor market.” Lamare said companies and employers providing fewer protections and less job security for workers only further contributes to an unstable market. “If these jobs had a lot of protections around them, either legal protections or protections through unions, it might be a little more difficult to take away those jobs because employers have a lot more opportunities to control the labor market when it looks like things are about to turn the other way.” Lamare said he is also not prepared to praise Trump on employment growth, something he has used frequently to dispel criticism over many of his policies. “Trump is taking credit for something that was very clearly on the upswing before he ever took office, which is a big deception,” Lamare said. “The reality is that effect was on the way already from the Obama administration after Bush left office and left a spiraling decline in his wake.” Lamare said the stats provided to average citizens paint a sunnier picture of unemployment numbers than the reality. “For instance, the unemployment rate only factors in those who are looking for jobs and failing to find jobs, not taking into
THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO
Gies College of Business celebrates the donation from the Gies Family at the Business Instructional Facility on Oct. 26, 2017. Michael Conrad, graduate student in Labor and Employment Relations, points to low unemployment numbers and opportunities in the job market for reassurance about students finding employment upon graduation.
account those who are so despondent by the state of the labor market that they’ve just given up completely in even searching for work,” Lamare said. “If you remove that group, the unemployment rate looks really good, but that’s from ignoring a lot of people (who) have decided to not even bother to try, hundreds of thousands of people over this last boom cycle.” However, Lamare said
those who are highly educated and have recently graduated from respected institutions like the University are largely free of worries over employment stability. “Students are currently pretty optimistic about their likelihood of finding a job, and they should be in the immediate term since they’re to a degree insulated from the precarious jobs that have been made
available during this period,” Lamare said. “Not many of our graduates need to take on gig economy work, which is where a lot of job growth has been, for example.” Andrew Smith, graduate student in Engineering, already has a job offer and said the biggest concern in the future of the growing computer science industry isn’t high unemployment, but high competition.
“There’s growth right now and there’s always going to be a need for tech jobs, so one of the concerns may be an oversaturation in the job market and greater competition since so many people want to be computer scientists,” Smith said. “Right now there’s still a need, but I’m not sure what the field’s going to look like a few years from now.” claredb2@dailyillini.com
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THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Siebel Scholars Class of 2020 The Siebel Scholars program was founded in 2000 to recognize the most talented graduate students in business, computer science, bioengineering, and energy science. Each year, over 90 outstanding graduate students are selected as Siebel Scholars based on academic excellence and leadership and join an active, lifelong community among an ever-growing group of leaders. We are pleased to recognize this year’s Siebel Scholars.
BIOENGINEERING JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY WHITING SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO JACOBS SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Scott Albert Morgan Elliott Michael Ketcha Christine O’Keefe David Wilson
Andres Aranda-Diaz Kara Brower Mialy DeFelice Alexandro Trevino Andrew Yang
Pranjali Beri Xin Fang Vishwajith Ramesh Martin Spang Yiqian Wu
MIT SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Sarah Bening Jared Kehe Lauren Milling Lauren Stopfer Andrea Wallace
Roberto Falcón-Banchs Christina Fuentes Ari Joffe Sally Winkler Kayla Wolf
BUSINESS MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
STANFORD UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO BOOTH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Alexandra Beizer Allison Brouckman Emma Kornetsky Hans Nowak Jonathan Tham
Timothy Brown Phillipe Rodriguez Nathaniel Segal Angela Sinisterra-Woods Ilana Walder-Biesanz
Shining Li Benjamin Lin Tobin Mills Margaret Poisson David Tracy
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY KELLOGG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
Abhishek Ravi Ellie Ryan
COMPUTER SCIENCE CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
Kenneth Holstein Michael Madaio Amadou Ngom Eric Wong Junpei Zhou HARVARD JOHN A. PAULSON SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCES
Marcus Comiter Sebastian Gehrmann Meena Jagadeesan Yuliang Li Alexander Wei MIT SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Katharine Bacher Enric Boix M. Doga Dogan Kyungmi Lee Clinton Wang
Noah Apthorpe Sumegha Garg Mengying Pan Zoe Paraskevopoulou Raghuvansh Saxena STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Benjamin Anderson Benjamin Hannel Caroline Ho Jihyeon Lee Luca Schroeder TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Mengyang Liu Hongyu Lu Jianxin Ma Junye Yang Xiaoyuan Yi
Alvin Kao Titan Yuan UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
Mingzhe Hao Camilo Arias Martelo Jonathan Tan Kevin Yao Yuliana Zamora UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Nuraini Aguse Qingrong Chen Aniket Murhekar Jonathan Osei-Owusu Joon Sung Park
ENERGY SCIENCE CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EARTH, ENERGY
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
Elizabeth Reed
& ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Timothy Anderson
Thomas Foulkes
ÉCOLE POLYTECHNIQUE GRADUATE SCHOOL
TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY
THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO
Maxime Grangereau
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Pengfei Meng
Sangwon Kim
MIT SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Graham Leverick
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Patricia Hidalgo-Gonzalez POLITECNICO DI TORINO DOCTORAL SCHOOL
Marco Savino Piscitelli
www.SiebelScholars.com
5A
6A
THURSDAY
September 26, 2019 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com
LIFE & CULTURE
Music student draws crowds with sax appeal BY BANU GULECYUZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
It’s Monday at 9:17 a.m. on the intersection of the Undergraduate Library to the Main Quad. As students scramble to their morning classes, the sound of a saxophone leaves some smiling as they continue on their way. For most students whose days are set up for stressful and hard work, the sound of one student’s morning saxophone can compel them to relax. “Saxophone Man,” Kevin King, is a senior in FAA at the University. Fluent in four instruments: saxophone, clarinet, flute and piano, King is currently learning the oboe, and he hopes to pursue music after he graduates this spring. The Daily Illini: What inspired you to play so many instruments? Kevin King: When I was very young, around age three or four, my parents wanted me to play piano at our church, so they sent me to a school of music where I started taking gospel piano lessons. I didn’t play saxophone until I was six or seven. I remember when I was young, I didn’t really like piano that much and remember in elementary
“It gives me a feeling of freedom. I feel like I’m a superhero. When I’m playing the saxophone, I feel like I’m Superman, and I’m flying in the realms of notes and all this stuff. I don’t know how to describe it. I feel hopeful.” KEVIN KING SENIOR IN FAA
school an intercom saying, ‘Would anyone like to be a part of the jazz band?’ And I thought to myself, ‘I should go check that out’. I didn’t know what instrument I wanted to play. I said guitar! And they said, ‘No we have too many guitar players already.’ They said ‘what about the tuba?’ And I said ‘no.’ And then they were like, ‘OK, well, what about the saxophone?’ When they demonstrated, I
thought, ‘Wow, that sounds really cool!’ Although I sounded awful, I knew it was for me. DI: You play a wide variety of instruments, Kevin. Is learning an instrument like learning a language? KK: Being a great musician helps you go from one instrument to another. There are similarities, for example, in the way you can finger one instrument to another. In this
CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI
Kevin King, senior in FAA, plays the saxophone outside The Canopy Club on Friday. King is fluent in four instruments: saxophone, clarinet, flute, and piano.
way, they are kind of like (in high school) and the instant replicas. I picked flute senior year (in high up the clarinet junior year school). I didn’t pick up the oboe until last year; it’s my newest instrument. I also know how to be a beginner. I was a beginner at piano and clarinet at one point. It is difficult, but I am used to taking a step back and humbling myself to learn a new instrument. DI: What inspires you to wake up to play sax by the UGL? KK: I really like practicing outside … It is like an acoustic stage. When practicing inside, the sound bounces off the walls. It gives you the illusion that you have a big sound, it gives you a reflection. But when you are outside, there is nothing for the sound to bounce off of. If you play outside, then when you go back inside the sound gets bigger. It’s sort of putting a weight on your back and then once you take the weight off you think, ‘Wow, that wasn’t so bad’. DI: Do you ever get stage fright? KK: I’ve been playing in front of people since I was five or six and don’t think I was ever afraid. I always thought, ‘Oh, people are watching! I can play my best in front of them.’ DI: How does playing music make you feel? KK: It gives me a feeling of freedom. I feel like I’m a superhero. When I’m playing the saxophone, I feel like I’m Superman, and I’m flying in the realms of notes and all this stuff. I don’t know how to describe it. I feel hopeful. When I read the newspaper and there’s CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI all this bad stuff going on in Kevin King plays the saxophone outside The Canopy Club on Friday. To add to his mastery of music, King is currently learning the the world, I really feel like I oboe. can make a difference with
my instrument. DI: What has been one of the most memorable gigs you have played in? KK: I have a lot of memorable gigs. One was I played with Buddy Guy when I was a sophomore in high school. I learned a lot from that gig — one, I learned you don’t have to play a lot of stuff to make people feel something. I was young, hungry and I was playing out of control. You know sax, you play fast. And Buddy told me, ‘You don’t have to do all that.’ Another memorable one was playing for Jennifer Hudson: a horn section gig, the Bruno Mars kind of stuff. I was playing a gig at Ravinia, a stage that wasn’t as big as hers but still big. She heard me playing, and we exchanged information. She called me after, and I had to unfortunately turn down the opportunity to play for her because I had another gig. If I have another commitment to something, I will not turn it down for anything. DI: What is your opinion on the music program here at the University? KK: One of the greatest in the world. Our Jazz program is ranked one of the best. When I first came here, I had several offers and the main reason why I chose here is because they gave me a full scholarship. I come from a family who has grit and will say you have to go to college and pursue your dreams. I even turned down Julliard when I really wanted to go. I am happy I choose this place and feel like I’ve gotten so much better. banueg2@dailyillini.com
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Thursday, September 26, 2019
7A
CAMERON IRELAND THE DAILY ILLINI
Written in stars: Astrology piques campus interest BY SIDNEY MADDEN ASSISTANT FEATURES | LONGFORM EDITOR
If you log on to any social media platform, you will likely find astrology memes f loating around, telling you Scorpios are canceled or that it is #LibraSeason. Social media, for so many niche groups, has broadened the exposure of astrology while also connecting people with similar interests. According to practicing astrologers, the astrology we see online is often generalized and not useful. Dave Mockaitis, a Universit y a lumnus and present- d ay a st rolo ger, explains while social media ultimately exposes the practice to more people, it also spreads astrological misinformation. “It’s easy to mistake the social media posts for real
astrology when it’s more like an introduction or an exploration,” he said. Astrologers analyze birth charts which primarily display the positions of the sun, moon and ascendent (zodiac sign that rose on the eastern horizon) signs at the time of birth. From this information, astrologers say they can figure out an individual’s personality and life trajectory. Mockaitis said many social media posts are based on over-generalizations of sun signs. Not all Geminis act a certain way because people are dynamic, he said. Even looking at the whole chart, he said astrologers can be wrong because “there is always a margin of error.” Even with this margin of error, however, he said most astrologers will deliver the same information
to clients because they are interpreting from the same chart. He does not personally claim to know what exactly will happen in an individual’s life, but he can and does identify time periods where there seems to be patterns of great happiness, strife, etc. “When we take into account the whole tapestry of the chart,” Mockaitis said, “then we’re really going to get into the nuanced descriptions that are accurate and relatable as well.” Brandi Tomlinson, sophomore in LAS and programming chair of the RSO Women of Color, has long found comfort in astrology. As a result, she felt inclined to plan an astrology-themed event for her club. Tomlinson said she is mostly drawn to astrology
out of her desire to understand others, especially if she is interested in them romantically. At the event, Tomlinson said over 20 members came to learn about the signs and get a reading. Her sister Bee reads tarot cards and is a practicing psychic based in Chicago. Tomlinson called her in to give a reading to the group. Bee also appreciates how astrology helps her understand others and herself better. “Being self-aware and being aware of others is very important to me,” she said in an email. “With astrology, I feel like I’m able to pick up on people’s personality traits or views, and I can pinpoint why they are the way they are.” Mela n ie A rch ipley, graduate student in LAS and secretary of the Society for Equity in Astrono-
my RSO, said it is important to draw a distinction between astronomy, a science, and astrology, which she describes as “closer to a belief system.” “Astrology and astronomy were nearly one and the same until the rise of testing scientific predictions,” she wrote in an email. Archipley said to make major life decisions based solely on astrology is dangerous, but he ultimately “support(s) people for whom astrology makes them feel comforted or closer to the universe in some way.” However, Mockaitis said astrology does not need people to believe in it for it to work. “It doesn’t mean you need to believe time is something like this or that there are gods in the sky or the planets exert influenc-
es or anything like that,” he said. “It’s just kind of looking at a clock.” Mockaitis also said there are certain ages throughout our lives where there are generally patterns of great change, including at 21. “There is kind of a claiming of independence,” he said. “It can feel a pretty dynamic year in terms of how we set ourselves apart from the expectations people set for us.” Astrology can be a deeply spiritual practice for some, a worldview for others or both. Ultimately, Mockaitis looks at astrology as a way to measure time. “What I think astrology is really good at is telling time,” he said. “Astrology is a qualitative approach to timekeeping.” sidneym2@dailyillini.com
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10/11
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10/20
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11/5
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1 Extremely slow speed 7 Have a sudden inspiration? 11 Sign of spring 14 Finalize, as plans 15 Scholarly sorts 17 Blood component 18 1971 title role for Charlton Heston, with “the” 19 Cotillion V.I.P. 20 Victoria’s Secret spec 22 Hebrew song whose title means “My God! My God!” 23 They’re served with spoon straws 25 Outdoor section of a zoo 26 Pizazz 28 “Look to the ___, thou sluggard” (Proverbs 6:6) 30 What a shift shifts 34 Stick around 36 Apple platform 38 Word with cap or crab 39 E.R. inserts 40 Seedy hangout … or a hint to finishing four Across answers in this puzzle 43 When “Roseanne” aired for most of its original run: Abbr. 44 What junkyards do 46 Something a pushup strengthens, for short 47 Mrs. John Quincy Adams 49 Conveys 51 Born, in Bordeaux 53 Beneath: Ger. 54 Device that runs 36-Across 56 Oscar winner for “Shakespeare in Love” 58 Often-abbreviated outburst 61 “Should ___ acquaintance …”
1
2
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14
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20 23
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34
35 40 45
49
30
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12
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63
64
38 42
47 51
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43 48
53 57
61
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69 71
29
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59
11
22
46
54 58
10
25
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44
9
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39
8
62 67
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70 72
73
PUZZLE BY EMILY CARROLL
62 Something to hold money in 65 Grow quickly 67 More relaxed 69 “For real?” 70 Shade on the visible spectrum 71 Versatile offensive football positions, for short 72 Hardens 73 Vacillate wildly
DOWN
1 Dirty Harry’s grp. 2 It flows past Memphis 3 Locale for much of the world’s oil shipping 4 Responds to on WhatsApp, say 5 Proceeded heavily and awkwardly 6 Elbow room 7 Hardly Michelinstar fare
8 Order in target practice 9 Brew 10 Pirate’s prop 11 Up for it 12 Latin catchall 13 Certain skirt 16 Employee incentives 21 2019 Women’s World Cup winner 24 Quick smoke? 25 Simple step 26 Use goo-goo eyes and make small talk, say 27 Neighbor of the gallbladder 29 One crying “Uncle!,” maybe 31 Converse 32 Get out of bed 33 Admit to office, with “in” 35 Halloween decoration letters 37 Actor Mineo
41 What soda and snack machines do 42 Start of a fight 45 Mail man? 48 N.C.A.A. hoops powerhouse 50 Has on 52 Campus extension? 55 Be crazy about 57 Jill ___, winning 2019 Women’s World Cup coach 58 Overlook 59 Creative influence 60 Goddess depicted with horns 61 NASA’s ___ Research Center 63 Nintendo rival 64 Brag 66 Opposite of closeted 68 Sophocles’ “___ to Man”
The crossword solution is in the Classified section.
8A
THURSDAY
September 26, 2019 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com
OPINIONS
Political actors distort economic system definitions ANDREW PROZORVOSKY COLUMNIST
M
isconceptions, inconsistencies and contradictions can be ubiquitously found in the political world. Rhetorical fallacies riddle the noise clamoring from pundits, talk show hosts, journalists and politicians themselves. Interpreting political terminology can be difficult, such as the many definitions the word “liberal” can possess. This problem becomes even worse when ideas are misconstrued or terms become weaponized and abused in order to make a partisan point. In American politics today, the highly politicized term is the word “socialism.” Both the republican and the democratic parties routinely misuse the word “socialism,” except perhaps the wing of the Democratic Party that has imputed itself to the philosophy known as “Democratic socialism,” but even this is a dangerous choice in a country that maintains such strong opinions on economic systems it often obfuscates. It is not just disconsonant attributions to socialism; both parties also appear to be inconsistent on their feelings toward capitalism of varying degrees. It is unrealistic to expect
all Americans be wellversed in political theory, but it is ignoble of those who should be — politicians, journalists, pundits or others who relay political messages — to mischaracterize these theories. There are stark contrasts between capitalism, social democracy, socialism and communism. Even categorizing political thought into those four schools is incredibly restrictive. Capitalism, while broad, often entails limiting obstacles to trade, increased privatization and optimizing competition and profits. Social democracy is a liberal ideology with a greater focus on equality. Socialism, at its most fundamental level, is characterized by public ownership of the means of production, substantial wealth redistribution and a robust welfare state. It should also be noted that given the broad scopes of capitalist and socialist thought, the two ideologies are not necessarily divergent. Communism is a far-left ideology that rejects social democracy and socialism and instead advocates for swift and violent revolution that ends with extreme equality and a collectivist restructuring of society. While pointing out the minutiae of differences between these ideologies might seem peripheral, it helps provide context as to
why the broad labeling of “socialism” is counterproductive and the loud denunciations of “capitalism” are regressive. No new ideas are encouraged when every suggestion is marred by depictions and mischaracterizations of a more radical ideology. Scandinavian countries, long held as the bastions of successful socialism, are not socialist. They are capitalist countries that emphasize social welfare through many government-sanctioned programs and increased government spending. This does not make them socialists, but proponents of social democracy. While many Democrats do have aims that would make America more similar to these countries, they should not be so quick to label them as examples of “socialism” or label their own aspirations as “socialist” either. It is not faithful to the ideology and only scares away American voters who have been conditioned to wince at the very suggestion of socialism. Republicans misconstrue the ideology all the same. Venezuela is a country that made an honest attempt at socialism. However, Republicans are mendacious when comparing Venezuela to Democratic policy proposals. Claiming that Venezuela’s political and economic turmoil is tantamount to the Democratic socialism
PHOTO COURTESY OF GAVIN STEWART
The Berlin Wall, a longtime symbol of socialism in Europe, falls in November 1989. Columnist Andrew outlines the dangers of misusing the term “socialism” in political spheres.
Democrats have promoted is an unfair characterization. Neither side seems completely steadfast in its opinion toward capitalism. While many Republicans unconditionally preach the superiority of capitalism, they are often found supporting a protectionist approach while opposing free trade, a manifestly anticapitalist stance. While many Democrats claim capitalism is the root of all society’s evils, they tend to support globalization, a fairly pro-capitalist stance that can end up helping the very corporations they despise. Furthermore, in the past
two years, Republicans have supported tariffs, trade wars, bailouts to farmers and the withdrawal from free trade agreements — all arguably anti-capitalist ideas. Democrats have supported measures that have led to the increase of automation and the loss of blue-collar jobs, supported free trade and opposed government intervention when it came to shielding farmers from the blast of the trade war. These stances break with the presupposed criticisms of the capitalist system. Both parties often turn to straw men when it comes to attacking economic propos-
als and posture themselves as indisputable supporters of one system. Both champion the merits and condemn the drawbacks of economic systems when they feel it is politically advantageous to do so. “Socialism” and “capitalism” are not the bogeymen they are made out to be. They have been polluted by conservatives and liberals for decades. It is time for the country to be honest with itself: Society needs some of both in order to be great. Andrew is a sophomore in LAS. atp4@dailyillini.com
Disney should treat employees better JOE DILLIER COLUMNIST
D
isney is one of America’s most beloved companies. When most people hear the word Disney, they think of its lovable cast of characters, like Mickey Mouse, Goofy and more. However, none of these personalities are accurate analogies to Disney’s business strategy, which increasingly seems to be in the mold of Scrooge McDuck and his vault of gold coins. Last year, Disney employees executed a nationwide labor strike to fight for a pay increase. At the Anaheim, California park, one in 10 employees reported being homeless in the last two years, and more than BRIDGET YAGIHASHI THE DAILY ILLINI two-thirds of their employees said they were food and housing insecure. Conditions are not much better at the other “happiest place on earth” in Orlando, Florida, where workers were also on been to curtail the usage of But if we stop paying our strike and negotiating with single-use plastic straws. bills, we lose our access to the company to raise their Businesses around the power and heat. These are compensation to livable country have adopted things we need, and thus, it wages. paper or biodegradable is not really an option. Apart from the fact it is straws and eco-friendly But what can we do? unfair Disney underpays its lids; many restaurants now We can force our govern- employees, this issue presonly give out straws to din- ment to acknowledge the ents a major practical probers who specifically ask for empirical evidence of clilem for taxpayers. When them and reusable straw mate change and work on companies do not pay their retailers have permeated finding us cleaner, better employees enough, the pubthe market. ways of producing these lic has to pick up the slack. However, while limiting necessities. It is no longer These employees often turn straw usage is a good start, viable for factions withto welfare and other social it’s hardly the solution to in our legislature to hold services despite working a environmental destrucopinions on things that are full-time job. Additionally, tion. Individual consumers facts. when employees are undercan make all the environClimate change is real. paid, the local economy is mentally-conscious deciClimate change is a probharmed. For example, If Dissions they want to, but at lem. And climate cannot go ney World raised its wages the end of the day, it’s the unmitigated. big corporations that conUnless our government tribute the most to pollurecognizes the very real tion and climate change. threat posed by its conAccording to CNN, the tinued neglect of climate biggest culprit of greenchange data, we will renhouse gas emissions is der our planet uninhabitburning fossil fuels for able. The U.N. estimates heat and power. People we have as little as 11 years don’t sit in their backyards before the effects of cliroasting fossil fuels over mate change become irrea bonfire; they’re not hotversible. Regulations need dogs. No, fossil fuels are to be put in place now to burned by huge companies restrict companies and to produce electricity and hold them accountable for heat for our homes. the world we all live in. Do we contribute by payIt’s time for all of us to ing our bills to these utility face the facts. companies? Sure, maybe.
THE DAILY ILLINI EDITORIAL
Face the facts: Climate change is real
As
millions of people around the world, including in Champaign, took to the streets Friday to demand transformative action against climate change, government leaders from the United Nations were getting ready to travel to New York for the 2019 Climate Action Summit. All leaders were expected to bring concrete and realistic plans outlining both the steps they would take to enhance their country’s contributions to reducing carbon emissions by 2020 and how these contributions would bring these emissions to net zero by 2050. In a time when many powerful Americans look at climate change as a myth or a hoax, it is meetings like these, where government leaders are pushed to make a change, that are more important than ever. Without government action, the efforts made on the part of individual citizens to become more eco-friendly, mean nothing. Recently, the big trend through social media has
to $20 per hour, it would “drive about $210 million in additional local spending,” according to The Nation. For reference, Disney posted a record net income of $12.6 billion in 2018, partially due to the lower corporate tax rates created by the Trump Tax Cuts. However, Disney's workers have not felt the benefits despite the fact $210 million is less than 2% of their profit, and park attendance and prices have increased. Instead, employee wages have actually decreased 15%, when adjusted for inflation. In short, Disney is paying its workers less, charging more, seeing record profits and paying negligible amounts of money in taxes. That’s not good enough. Another problem with Disney is the way it uses its money and influence to change our laws. In 1976, Disney lobbied Congress to extend the limits of copyright law to prevent the image of Mickey Mouse from entering the public domain. They did it again with the Copyright Extension Act of 1998 (also referred to as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act because the timing and influence are so blatant), and it is very likely they will use their influence a third time in order to push for another extension in 2023, when everyone’s favorite mouse will once again be open to the public domain. It is sad our laws are so easily influenced by corporations, and it is done at the consumer’s expense. By extending their copyright protections, Disney permits itself to stop innovating. It
can simply reuse the same characters and plot lines. This is one of the reasons the major Hollywood studios are full of remakes and rarely produce an original idea. It also tilts the market in favor of older and more established companies, like Disney, at the expense of new artists. Lastly, Disney’s corporate acquisitions have hurt consumers, because it has bought up more and more companies and dominated the entertainment industry. For reference, Disney owns ABC, Marvel, Lucas Film and 21st Century Fox. They also are a majority shareholder in ESPN and Hulu and has an equity holding in A&E, Lifetime and The History Channel. This sort of consolidation almost always means higher prices, less competition and less creativity, resulting in higher profits for the corporations in control. Disney is not alone in the way it treats its employees, rewrites legislation to protect its interests or eats up the market — making things worse for consumers. Growing corporate power is just a part of our time. But it spells bad news for consumers, workers and taxpayers. Part of the problem is Disney’s massive popularity. It is difficult to convince people that the company behind films, which most Americans cherish, could be harming us in any way. We need to be able to separate the art from the artist in this case and see Disney for what it is: a market manipulator. Joe is a senior in LAS. dillier2@dailyillini.com
404. That’s an error. Mickey Mouse image not found in the public domain
CASSIDY BRANDT THE DAILY ILLINI
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS | opinions@dailyillini.com with the subject “Letter to the Editor.” The Daily Illini reserves the right to edit for length, libel, grammar and spelling errors, and Daily Illini style or to reject any contributions. Letters must be limited to 300 words. Contributions must be typed and include the author’s name, address and phone number. University students must include their year in school and college.
1B
THURSDAY
September 26, 2019 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com
VOLLEYBALL
SPORTS
Illinois prepare for No.3 Nebraska BY BRENDYN JONES STAFF WRITER
The Illinois volleyball team is preparing to face No. 3 Nebraska after finishing its nonconference schedule this weekend 5-4 after winning it’s last two matches against Pacific and Loyola Marymount. The Illini started the season as the No. 6 ranked team, according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association coaches poll, but have since fallen to No. 20. After a Final Four appearance last season, a No. 20 ranking right before the start of conference play might not have been what the Illini would have liked to see. But Illini star Jacqueline Quade doesn’t look at other people’s rankings while judging her team.
“I don’t think our team is too concerned with those sorts of things (such as rankings),” Quade said, the team’s returning All-American. “After the course of the season, things will kind of fall into place the way that they should and how they will. I don’t think we really feel like we have anything to prove in that regard.” In the off-season, the team had to fill a few holes. The Illini graduated two AllAmerican seniors in Jordyn Poulter and Ali Bastianelli, making way for young players to receive time at those positions. The youth of the team, coupled with injuries before the season to players SEE NEBRASKA | 3B
THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO Illinois defensive specialist Megan O’Brien (16) gets ready to pass the ball during the match against Nebraska in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament at the Target Center on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. Nebraska defeated Illinois 3-2.
FOOTBALL
CLUB HOCKEY
BY MILES POWERS-HUANG
BY KELLY JOHNSON
STAFF WRITER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Williams sees first action of Illinois Illini to face Redbirds career in loss against Cornhuskers in club season opener Even a crystal ball couldn’t have helped predict which Illini quarterback was going to use nifty moves to find the end zone on a 10-yard rushing touchdown in the Illini’s Big Ten opener. The first player whose name would have come to mind wouldn’t have been Saturday night’s culprit, Brandon Peters. It would have been Isaiah Williams, who received the first snaps of his collegiate career in the 42-38 loss. The true-freshman carried the ball twice, getting stopped behind the line of scrimmage for a loss on both occasions. After Williams totaled minus-three rushing yards on the night, it’s safe to say Lovie Smith didn’t get the most out of his precocious newcomer. “(We) didn’t get a lot of production from the plays we put him in,” Smith said. “Eventually, we will. He’s ready to go, and eventually, he’s going to really be good, but the situation hasn’t allowed him to play much more.” The coaching staff has options with Williams, given he can maintain an extra year of eligibility if he appears in four games or less. Thus far, the coaching staff has turned to redshirt freshman Matt Robinson as the second quarterback behind graduate-transfer Peters. The California native took snaps in games where the Illini had big leads, while also coming in to fire one incomplete pass on the final drive of the game after Peters lost his helmet. Although Smith has maintained deep confidence in Peters since he was named the starter before the season, the Michigan transfer had an off night Saturday,
PHOTO COURTESY OF ILLINI ATHLETICS
Isaiah Williams runs with the ball at an Illini football practice on August 11.
“He’s ready to go, and eventually, he’s going to really be good ...” LOVIE SMITH HEAD COACH
throwing for just 78 total yards one touchdown and an interception while going 9-22. “Passing game-wise, we have to have more production,” Smith said. “We had 78 yards or something like that. (On) a night like that, gotta be able to do some things.” Though the passing game is in need of revamping after a sub-par performance against Nebraska, that is not necessarily an area where Williams could offer a greater option than Peters, as the freshman is more renowned
The Illini club hockey team will open its 2019-2020 season against Illinois State Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Illinois Ice Arena. The Illini are looking forward to their season opener, feeling confident their hard work in practice will translate to beating the Redbirds. This year’s practices have been about maintaining focus and game energy. “In years past, there were times where practice was a little softer,” said President and forward Charley Salk, senior in LAS. “Guys weren’t competing in practice as if it were a game. This year, we’re all competing as if it is a game.” Illinois ended last season with a loss to Minot State, who went on to win the Men’s Division I National Championship in the American Collegiate Hockey Association.
Illini ended ranked No. 11, with an 18-15-5 record. But their pre-season ranking for 2019-2020 is staying consistent, and the teams in the No. 11 place again. The team has high goals for the upcoming season, starting with winning its first two games against ISU. Later on into the season, Illinois is looking to beat rival Ohio University, win the CHHL and ultimately the National Championship. “Every team in our league is very strong. It’s a small league with about five teams,” said Treasurer and forward Neil Novosel, junior in Business. The Illini are looking forward to competing in their regular season but are also getting excited for the fun that comes with being on the team. Novosel is looking forSEE REDBIRDS | 3B
want to simply be anointed playing time. The freshman wants to fully grasp offensive coordinator Rod Smith’s system and earn his way onto the field above all else. “I don’t want (anything) guaranteed; I don’t want (anything) given to me,” Williams said. “I knew coming in, the one thing I had to focus on was me working hard (and) learning everything. I know my time (will) come.” Although preserving a year of eligibility is an important goal, the prospect of Williams running a zoneread with Reggie Corbin in the backfield, Daniel Barker running up the seam and Josh Imatorbhebhe getting down the field is a thought, which would not only have Illini fans salivating but opposing defenses sweating.
for his speed and rushing ability. Given how aggressively Nebraska stacked the line of scrimmage and stopped Williams for losses on Saturday, it’s likely Big Ten opponents will be out to stop him in the run game if he’s offered another opportunity on the field, even if it means leaving Illini receivers in single-coverage. Despite arriving to fall camp as a highly-touted four-star recruit, Williams stressed at media day dur- @MilesP_H ing football camp he doesn’t milesp2@dailyillini.com
BRIAN BAUER THE DAILY ILLINI
The Illini Hockey team stretches for their practice at the Ice Arena on Tuesday.
2B Thursday, September 26, 2019
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ILLINI OF THE WEEK
Breslin exemplifies leadership on, off field BY CLAIRE O’BRIEN STAFF WRITER
Illinois junior midfielder Hope Breslin is currently tied-for-first in goals this season. But off the field, Breslin is passionate about the special needs community, speaks American Sign Language and was a member of Best Buddies in high school. She enjoys working with kids and helping them with language, and as a speech and hearing science major, one of Breslin’s career goals is to become a speech pathologist, but she also would like to keep playing soccer. “I really like working with kids,” Breslin said. “If I can still play after school, that would be probably my main thing.” As Breslin’s soccer career has gotten busier, she hasn’t spent much time getting involved in the special needs community in ChampaignUrbana, but is still dedicated to helping others. Breslin was active in Best Buddies in high school. Best Buddies is an international group where students with intellectual and developmental disabilities form friendships with students who don’t. In a high school setting, Best Buddies is an afterschool activity in which students get paired up with a buddy, where they do activities ranging from getting ice cream to going to football games together. “My either junior or senior year, I was actually assigned my own buddy,” Breslin said. “I would hang out with him outside of school, and we would go to the movies, we would go bowling or I’d just hang out at his house. And I think it was a really cool experience.” Breslin also took four years of American Sign Language in high school and continues to practice the language. “My teacher was deaf, so I think that also added to the learning experience,” she said. “I still try to sign as much as I can, just because I think it’s a really cool thing
ILLINI OF THE
WEEK THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO
Illinois midfielder Hope Breslin shoots the ball, scoring the game-winning goal against Indiana at the Illinois Soccer Stadium on Oct. 14. The Illini won 1-0 in double overtime.
to have, to know. And my teammates know that I sign, so now and then, they’ll ask me about like, ‘Oh what’s this sign?’ and so that kind of keeps it up a little.” Though Breslin isn’t as involved in the community as she was due to her commitment to the team, she is a key part of this year’s Illini squad, which is currently ranked No. 10 in the NCAA RPI with a record of 7-1-0. Breslin is tied-for-first in goals alongside sophomore forward Makena Silber and senior midfielder Arianna Veland, and each player has four. Last season, Breslin finished tied-for-second in goals with Silber; both had five
goals each. Senior Katie Murray led the team with eight goals, and Murray plays professional soccer in Finland. Breslin comes from an athletic background. Her brother, Nick, played volleyball at Kean University in New Jersey and is currently an assistant coach for the team. She said her brother was a role model for her growing up, but Breslin also looks up to US Women’s National team midfielder Tobin Heath. “I think I play pretty similarly to (Heath),” Breslin said. “So I’ve looked up to her my entire life, and just any chance that I get to watch her, I want to learn something new.” Growing up, Breslin played
a variety of sports including basketball, baseball, volleyball and, of course, soccer. She took to soccer the most and very quickly was able to distinguish herself, playing up a year in elementary school. “(My first soccer memory was) being pulled up to play with the older team,” she said. “(I) wasn’t really vibing with the team I was on, so they asked me to play up a year, and I was just so excited. And that’s, I think that was really the first time where I was challenged, just because they were older than me, bigger than me, so I had to learn to use my body more.” Breslin continued to challenge herself as a player and
scored 35 goals her senior season of high school. Before coming to Illinois, the New York native had a decorated high school career, scoring 82 goals and winning the Gatorade New York State Player of the Year in 2016. Breslin’s high school won three state championships while she was on the team, winning in 2013, 2014 and 2015. “I really credit my team, and my town, and my coaches,” she said. “At home, it’s such a soccer community there, so just having those players and coaches with that much knowledge and skill really meant a lot that they were able to help me.” Breslin chose Illinois since
she loved the campus and felt the coaching staff would help her improve. Demirjian Park was also a perk, but Breslin didn’t quite know what it would look like when she was a prospective student. “There were multiple schools that I visited,” she said. “I think the biggest thing is the coaching. That was probably one of my main things to look for in a school, just knowing that someone I can get better from was this coaching staff.” Breslin has not only improved as a soccer player, she has been able to find her passion off the field. @claire_obrien43 claireo3@dailyillini.com
THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Thursday, September 26, 2019
3B
BASEBALL
Snarskis transitions from teammate to coach
BY GABBY HAJDUK STAFF WRITER
For the first time in his baseball career, former Illinois pitcher Quinn Snarskis isn’t stretching during warm-ups or waiting for reps in the bullpen. Instead, he’s conversing with the coaches on practice plans or analyzing the young Illini pitchers. Just one year removed from his playing career, Snarskis is now a graduate student assistant coach for the Illinois baseball team. After suffering an injury last season, Snarskis knew playing the game wasn’t going to be an option anymore. Since the former pitcher was already returning to school to pursue a master’s degree in strategic brand communication, he reached out to head coach Dan Hartleb about a coaching opportunity. “I thought about (coaching) a lot,” Snarskis said. “I didn’t know if I wanted to, but I figured if I was coming back and the opportunity was here, I would like to take it. Just because baseball has been such a big part of my life, going away from the game was just so
weird to me. I wanted to be back for a year and see how coaching was, if I liked it, and so far, it’s been great.” While Snarskis initially pursued the coaching job, Hartleb was more than happy to give his former play the opportunity. “As a player, Quinn was one of those guys you never worried about,” Hartleb said. “He took care of things academically, is a very, very good person, good teammate. There were a lot of those things in place, and he’s one of those guys who you want to stay around your program.” Snarskis transferred to Illinois from St. Joseph’s college after his sophomore season, only playing two years for the Illini. The pitcher appeared in 22 games and started 17 at Illinois, finishing his two seasons with a 6-2 record and a 3.50 ERA. Even though his playing career at Illinois was short, Snarskis earned the respect of his team quickly. Since the players already trusted him as a leader by example and work ethic, the transition to their coach was smooth.
JONATHAN BONAGURO THE DAILY ILLINI
Pitcher Quinn Snarskis delivers a pitch against Indiana State on May 1. Snarskis is moving into a coaching position with the baseball team following an injury last season, leaving him unable to play.
“He’s more vocal now, as a coach,” said junior Jimmy Burnette. “He was always vocal as a teammate because he did have a lead-
ership role, but he’s more hands-on like in teaching instead of just being a leader.” Burnette is one of Snarskis’ closest friends on the team; the pitchers even lived together last year. While the dynamic on the field has changed, Burnette said the personal relationship between Snarskis and the players are the same, the team often joking about not being able to call him ‘coach’.
Since Snarskis is close with a lot of the current players, he and Hartleb have discussed where the line between the playercoach relationship stand. While the dynamic has been a weird at times for the former player, Hartleb said Snarskis has responded appropriately. “He’s got to keep to himself from within our group and can’t go back to players,” Hartleb said. “But if I weren’t comfortable with
“Just because baseball has been such a big part of my life, going away from the game was just so weird to me.” QUINN SNARSKIS JONATHAN BONAGURO THE DAILY ILLINI
GRADUATE STUDENT ASSISTANT COACH
Former pitcher Quinn Snarskis catches an infield fly against Indiana State on Wednesday. The Illini won 5-2.
@gabby_h11 ghajduk2@dailyillini.com
FROM 1B
FROM 1B
REDBIRDS
YOUNG including Mica Allison, Bruna Vrankovic and Ellie Holzman, and a nonconference schedule, which only included one team that didn’t play in the NCA A tournament last year, contributed to early losses. However, the Illini have not made excuses for themselves, and the expectations of the team have not changed since the first day of the season. “The goal is to improve from one day to the next,” said head coach Chris Tamas. “Every year is going to provide a different team for you. Even if you return a bulk of your lineup, you’re still going to have new people you have to get into your systems of play. I just look at it as we have to keep improving from where we started on day one. Now that we’re more healthy, we’re seeing a lot of improvement throughout the whole group.” There have been bright spots in the team throughout the first part of the season. The younger players have played a part of that as well. In an upset win over No. 7 Marquette, redshirt freshman Vrankovic earned 10 kills. Freshman Rylee Hinton put up eight blocks over four sets against the Illinois State Redbirds in her Illini debut; redshirt freshman Diana Brown has been a consistent starter at the setter position for the Illini all season, totaling 65 assists in her debut against Tennessee. The team sees the effect going through the non-conference stretch with young players has on the team. “We all knew that we were young and replacing some important people,” Brown said. “But we are starting to figure out how to play with each other and what balls each person is going to get. (We’re) just trying to mesh with each other. I think we learned a lot about how we focus as a team and honestly just how we work with each other.”
him being in that role or involved in some of those conversations, I wouldn’t include him. He’s very mature and understands both sides, and he’s done a great job.” His new position has been an adjustment for the whole team, but the biggest change for Snarskis is not being involved in the action. While it’s been different watching his former teammates warm up and prepare for games without him, Snarskis said the opportunity to teach has been just as exciting. “This program has done a lot for me in the past few years, so being able to come back and give back anything I can has been really important for me,” Snarskis said. “I’ve loved it so far, and I’m ready to keep going.”
The Illini are hopeful to have a successful season on the ice, but they are also hoping to have a good season in the bleachers. Increasing the number of students who attend home games is also a top priority. “We’re trying to get more people in the rink, students this year,” Salk said. “We have a lot of Champaign attendance — parents and kids, (student) attendance has lagged considerably in the last three years, which is weird because we’ve gotten better. The games are really fun and early enough to go out after.” The Illini will be working hard to increase student attendance in games by tabling on the Main Quad and handing out free tickets. “There’s so many teams you can go see on campus lose, why not come watch us win,” Salk said.
ward to road games. “Getting off campus (and) clearing your mind about everything on campus, hanging out with the guys (and) team bonding,” Novosel said. Team bonding for the Illini often includes playing practical jokes on each other, whether it’s sticking candy in sleeping roommates’ mouth, hiding each other phones or having “shoe checks” at restaurants. “A shoe check is when we go to a restaurant,” Salk said. “You’re sitting at 3-4 tables as a team, and you sneakily apply ketchup to someone’s shoe. The objective is for them to not notice, and then someone yells, ‘Shoe check!’ And you look at your shoes. If you’re the guy with ketchup on his shoes, you have to stand up on your chair and sing a song.” kellymj2@dailyillini.com
“There’s so many teams you can go see on campus lose, why not come watch us win.” CHARLEY SALK PRESIDENT AND FORWARD
THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO
Illinois defensive specialist Taylor Kuper and the Illini celebrate after scoring a point during the match against Nebraska in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament at the Target Center on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018.
The two wins against Pacific and Loyola Marymount helped expose progress the team has made and the chemistry they have on the court. Tamas praised the team’s ability to adjust in both matches. Tamas expects more of this in the Big Ten stretch. He knows his team will have to make adjustments in the regular-season
schedule, one of the best conferences for college volleyball. Illinois’ first Big Ten test will be at home against Nebraska, who beat the Illini in the NCA A Final Four last season. Nebraska is currently ranked No. 3 in the nation with a record of 8-1, dropping one match against No. 1 Stanford. “We don’t expect any-
thing,” Brown said. “We need to earn everything. I think the thing that we expect is that each and every game is going to be a battle. The Big Ten is the best conference in the nation and every single night either team can win.” @brendyn_jones brendyn2@dailyillini.com
BRIAN BAUER THE DAILY ILLINI
The Illini club hockey team practices on the rink Tuesday. The team is hopeful its practices will pay off during its season opener Saturday.
4B Thursday, September 26, 2019
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Thursday, September 26, 2019
5B
FOOTBALL
Bonner shares poetic side, intends to inspire others BY JARED FARMER STAFF WRITER
Ra’Von Bonner wants to bring more than just his A-game to fans across the country. He wants to spread his writing, too. “I believe that’s the purpose of it,” Bonner said. “I want to get more of my writing out there, beyond just my friend groups and people,” Bonner said. “I used to keep it to myself, but I felt that I could really do something with this.” The junior running back has been writing spoken word poetry since he was a kid. His mom reads and writes poetry as well, which led to him gaining an appreciation for writing over time. “I do a lot of the things she does,” Bonner said. “I major in Social Work, which is what she used to major in as an undergrad,” Bonner said. “She’s my biggest inspiration.” Bonner reads spoken word poetry in front of his church, in small groups or just around his friends. Last year, he even shared some of his work on his social media, although he eventually took it down.
“It’s different when somebody just reads the words versus actually hearing my voice,” Bonner said. “Hearing all the pain and emotion and feelings behind it makes a big difference.” The creativity of the spoken word is what attracts Bonner to poetry the most. For him, it’s unique, and it’s more than words alone. There’s a story behind every piece, which he hopes will affect someone in a positive way. He doesn’t have a hard time finding inspiration to write, either. In his spoken word, Bonner writes about anxiety, depression, everyday struggles and life as a student-athlete. His writing also keeps him honest with himself and reminds him he’s human whenever he’s stressed or anxious. “I feel like sometimes, I struggle with being vulnerable, Bonner said. “I felt like poetry was an outlet to do that. So anything I don’t want to say faceto-face, I can write down in the form of a poem or spoken word. That’s more effective for me and for
JONATHAN BONAGURO THE DAILY ILLINI
Ra’Von Bonner wants to share his poetry and spoken word performances with the world, contrary to his role in the field.
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THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO
Running back Ra’Von Bonner rushes the ball during the game against Kent State at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 1, 2018. The junior wants to be known for more than just his role on the field; he wants to make a difference — using his poetry.
somebody else who may be doing the same thing,” Bonner said. “This journey in life, no matter what you do or who you believe in, there’s nobody who’s strong enough to do it all on their own. You’ll need something there that’s going to help pick you up when you’re down.” Bonner said his heart breaks when he sees others struggling. Knowing what it feels like to be in a funk, he looks to his pen to help encourage and inspire others to keep moving. “When I write, it’s not about saying how ‘I have it all together,’” Bonner said. “If anything, it’s to say ‘Me, too.’ I know what you’re going through. I’ve experienced that pain. But I want you to know that there’s healing for you, too.” For many like Bonner, the infinite expressions poetry conveys is what draws them in. It allows people
to be their most inventive, imaginative selves, he said. It can provide a mental break from stressors, but for Bonner, it’s also an opportunity to confront his thoughts head-on. “You can always try to run from your problems,”
Bonner said. “Personally, I could’ve just kept running and running and not deal with my anxieties, but eventually, I have to come back to it. For me, it’s a very big deal because I’m always thinking about, ‘How can I help my teammates? How
“This journey in life, no matter what you do or who you believe in, there’s nobody who’s strong enough to do it all on their own. You’ll need something there that’s going to help pick you up when you’re down.” RA’VON BONNER JUNIOR RUNNING BACK
can I help my friends, my mom, my sister?’ All things like that. But you have to have some form of self-care. You have to sometimes put yourself first. So that’s why poetry helps me.” Writing has made Bonner who he is today and stronger mentally. Life’s battles will continue to come, but when putting pen to paper, he’s ready to take a deep breath and punch through it. “This football stuff is going to end one day,” Bonner said. “Whether it be at the end of next year or after a few years in the NFL, I don’t want to be remembered just as Ra’Von the football player. I want people to hear the name Ra’Von Bonner and say they knew him as somebody who cared, made a difference and put other people before himself.” @jaredefarmer jaredef2@dailyillini.com
RESTAURANT
SPOTLIGHT
HAMILTON WALKER’S Nestled in the heart of downtown Champaign, Hamilton Walker’s offers lunch, dinner and brunch along with happy hour specials on appetizers and drinks from 3p.m.6p.m. Monday through Friday and a 3-course Sunday Supper Club dinner. Boasting an art deco modern decor, the front entrance has an intimate seating area and full bar with a vast selection of spirits and wine. The main dining area is posh, yet warm and inviting. Elevated circular booths line two walls of the dining area with ample seating space and great views of the tastefully decorated room. On my visit to Hamilton Walker’s I tried their 5 course tasting menu. The menu is carefully cultivated to provide a variety of their menu staples. My meal started off with a rich, velvety Lobster & Crab Bisque followed by a large crab cake loaded with real lump crab meat and red peppers paired with a gentle remoulade. The salad was a fresh and savory spinach salad tossed with a warm bacon dressing and topped with sliced radish, red onion, egg and garlic croutons. It is the perfect size
and the thick pieces of bacon really made this salad amazing. The main course of Filet medallions with Port Wine Mushroom Sauce was divine. Just the right portion of steak, these medallions were tender and flavorful. Hamilton Walker’s uses locally sourced beef from within a 150-mile radius of Tama, Iowa. The farmers follow sustainable practices and you simply cannot find better beef. Their garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus rounded out the plate. Last but not least, I had the Baked Alaska. I have not seen this decadent dessert on any other menu in the area but this curiously named dessert is a combination of vanilla cake, topped with a layer of “Chocolate
Shoppe” premium strawberry ice cream, covered with a light cocoon of toasted meringue served atop a thick Belgian chocolate sauce. The cake, ice cream and toasted meringue create a taste sensation that will compel you to have just one more bite. Reservations are not required but recommended, especially on weekends and holidays. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday from 10a.m.-2p.m. You can enroll in Hamilton Walker’s Loyalty Club to earn points for discounts and learn about special promotions and events. Delivery options through Grubhub and DoorDash are also available but food this delicious is best enjoyed in the restaurant.
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Thursday, September 26, 2019
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buzz calendar BY LIAM DWYER BUZZ CALENDAR EDITOR
The buzz calendar is a compilation of events happening in the Champaign-Urbana area. Follow our top picks in Monday’s and Thursday’s papers for ideas on what to do on any night of the week, from where to eat to what to watch. Want to submit an event? Email calendar@readbuzz.com.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 26
KAM Fall Opening Night Reception
6-8 p.m. Krannert Art Museum, 500 E Peabody Drive, Champaign Free Celebrate opening night for KAM’s newest exhibitions with a special welcome at 6:15 p.m. by Museum Director Jon Seydl and Marci Uihlein and Sara Bartumeus Ferre, faculty in the Illinois School of Architecture and curators of “Revealing Presence: Women in Architecture at the University of Illinois.”
Pygmalion Playlist!
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27
C-U Black & African Arts Festival 2-10 p.m. Lincoln Square Mall, 201 Lincoln Square, Urbana Free The mission of the C-U Black and African Arts Festival is to expose and give a culturally diverse experience to the Champaign-Urbana community by expressing both Black and African heritage. This includes art, music, fashion, entertainment, dialogue, performing arts, food and vendors. The festival runs through Saturday.
RYAN SOOHOO THE DAILY ILLINI
Listen Before You Go BY KATIE POWERS BUZZ EDITOR
Pygmalion Festival 2019 begins tonight and runs through Saturday. The Pygmalion musical lineup provides students and community members a chance to see some of their favorite artists and discover new ones as well. As you plan your weekend, check out our playlist of top songs from the national and local musical artists appearing at the festival. 1. “Boyish” by Japanese Breakfast
2. “In Heaven” by Japanese Breakfast 3. “Prom Queen” by Beach Bunny 4. “Pain Killer” by Beach Bunny 5. “One Kind of Solomon” by The New Pornographers 6. “Challengers” by The New Pornographers 7. “151 Rum” by JID 8. “Turntables” by Dead Horses 9. “Fooimal” by Boogarins 10. “Passion Fruit Tea” by Retirement Party 11. “Hard to Kill” by Bleached 12. “Warm Pants” by Dua
An Evening with Antoni Porowski (in conversation with Michelle Zauner)
Saleh 13. “What is Wrong” by Captured! By Robots 14. “Let Me Go” by Tatiana Hazel 15. “Sacramento” by Carly Beth 16. “Sun Salute” by The Data Waves 17. “Crane Your Neck” by Lady Lamb 18. “Black Moon Rising” by Black Pumas 19. “Chameleon World” by Jerry Paper 20. “Double Life” by Zzo
8-9 p.m. Krannert Center for Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana $40 The Queer Eye food and wine connoisseur, Antoni Porowski brings with him a lifelong passion for food and a history of catering private events in and around New York. Originally from Canada, Antoni was bitten by the culinary bug at a young age as he discovered the joy cooking brings from the likes of Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, Anthony Bourdain, and — most importantly — his own mother. A self-taught cook, Antoni worked in restaurants from Montreal to
kmp2@readbuzz.com
New York City where he continued to hone his craft and find his place in the culinary world.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 28
Green Street: Visualizing 100 years of the heart of Campustown 1-2 p.m. The Urbana Free Library, 210 W. Green St., Urbana Free Green Street in Campustown has been an enduring fascination for generations of Champaign-Urbana residents and students. Join Abby Bobrow, assistant director of storytelling for the University, as she talks about her recently published look at this iconic street and invites those in the audience to share their memories.
C-U Pride Fest Parade
3-4:30 p.m. The UP Center of Champaign, 1001 S. Wright St., Champaign Free The largest Pride Parade in downstate Illinois steps off in downtown Champaign at 3:00 p.m. This year’s parade is led by Sam Brinton, head of advocacy and government affairs at the Trevor Project, a national organization focused on LGBTQ youth suicide prevention. The parade features a broad cross-section of our local community, both queer and ally.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 29
SWIRL Queer Film Festival 2019
2-9 p.m. The Art Theater, 126 W. Church St., Champaign $10 SWIRL!, a brand new Queer Film Festival in Champaign-Urbana, will take place on Sept. 29 at The Art Theater. Happening during CU PrideFest 2019, SWIRL! aims to shine a light on queer filmmakers and celebrate art made for queer people, by queer people.
HOME by Geoff Sobelle
TH SEP 26 5:30PM 6PM 7:30PM 8PM
SA SEP 28
PYGMALION: TECH DEMO + Human Library // Marquee PYGMALION: Astronomy on Tap // Marquee PYGMALION: Michelle Zauner // Marquee PYGMALION: Michelle Wolf // Marquee
7AM 3:30PM 4PM 7:30PM
FR SEP 27 5PM 7:30PM 7:30PM 8PM
PYGMALION PYGHACK // Marquee Allerton Music Barn Festival: Songs for a New World, Lyric Theatre @ Illinois // School of Music HOME by Geoff Sobelle // Marquee PYGMALION: Antoni Porowski // Marquee
7:30PM
PYGMALION PYGHACK // Marquee Allerton Music Barn Festival: Songs for a New World, Lyric Theatre @ Illinois // School of Music PYGMALION: J. Allyn Rosser + Mark Halliday // Marquee Allerton Music Barn Festival: Celebrating 100 Years of Bird: A Tribute to the Music of Charlie Parker, University of Illinois Jazz Faculty // School of Music HOME by Geoff Sobelle // Marquee
TU OCT 1 7PM
Isango Ensemble: Aesop’s Fables //
Marquee
ACCESS FOR ALL TWO-SEASON CHALLENGE Everyone deserves a chance to experience the life-affirming power of the performing arts. In celebration of Krannert Center’s 50th anniversary, make a gift today at KrannertCenter.com/Give to ensure access to the arts for all. Every dollar given will be matched by generous sponsors.
KR ANNERTCENTER.COM • 50 0 S. GOODWIN AVE., URBANA • 217.333.6280 /80 0.KCPATIX
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September 26, 2019 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com
buzz
Future looks up for Zzo Local artist will perform at Pygmalion BY NILLY KUMAR STAFF WRITER
tion this time around, with clearer vocals and instrumentation. She still isn’t sure about what she plans on titling it or when she’ll be comfortable releasing it. “Right now, I’m finishing my degree in jazz studies, so that’s my main focus right now,” she said, but she plans on “knock(ing) out a big chunk of it during winter break when I’ll actually have time.” Lyrically, she says she still plans on sticking to her narrative-centered style of songwriting but making it more personal. “The new songs are definitely about me, whereas the last project was clearly about other people,” Willott said. Willott has spoken before about her fear of being personal in her music, something she’s said performing live has helped her overcome. “The first time I performed in public I was like ‘Oh god. This is so personal. I’m so nervous. People are going to realize what it’s about,’ but now I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s about this. That’s fine,” she said. “I always admire when artists sing about themselves and you really get to see into who they are as a person.” When I think of performances I wish I could attend again, I often think of that hot summer evening at Waluigi’s Mansion, which Willott cites as her favorite. The whole room was cloaked in purple light, and it’s difficult to think of another word for how the entire crowd felt other than mesmerized. It felt indescribable until they stopped playing, and when they ended their last song, the audience asked for an encore. Even though Willott and her band politely declined, the room full of college students forgot about the heat for an evening.
In early July, Zzo, local singer and song writer Zoe Willott, and her band played at Waluigi’s Mansion, a house venue in Urbana. It was one of her favorite shows she’s ever played. “We’ve been striving to have that same kind of energy on every set,” Willott said. Willott released her first full-length album, “Telling Other People’s Stories”, on Halloween last year and was named buzz Magazine’s favorite local artist in 2018. Since I last spoke to her, she’s become a town favorite, performing at venues like The Canopy Club, The Iron Post and Exile on Main Street multiple times. This weekend she’ll be performing at Pygmalion Festival at Blackbird in Urbana. When she first began playing, the performances usually just consisted of Willott and her piano. Since then she’s been joined by a guitarist, a bassist and a drummer, most of whom she met as fellow students in the jazz department at the university. “It’s been fun like actually having an audience,” Willott said. “I really respect everyone in the (Champaign-Urbana DIY) community. Everyone’s super nice, I never really met anyone who’s super mean spirited about anything, because we’re all there for the same reason.” Over the past year, she’s been hard at work on her second album, which she has fully recorded except for some remaining instrumentals. She said she’s aiming for much better produc- nskumar2@readbuzz.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF DATA WAVES
The Data Waves perform at Elbo Room in Chicago. The band formed at the University in 2016 and will perform at Pygmalion this weekend.
The Data Waves prepare for Pygmalion BY KAYLA BROWN ASSISTANT BUZZ EDITOR
The Data Waves are an instrumental funk band that got their start at the University of Illinois in 2016. They typically play funk-based grooves but write and cover music in a variety of styles, ranging from jazz fusion to hip hop. I had the chance to talk to the band about their origins and what’s coming next. Answers have been edited for length and clarity. buzz: How would you describe The Data Waves’ music to a first-time listener? Shravan Raghuram, drums: The Data Waves have always been a funkbased band, but we weave in and out of other genres like jazz, rock, RnB and pop. buzz: What song would you recommend for a firsttime listener? Raghuram: I would recommend to a new listener is “Sun Salute,” the first track on our EP, “Lady in Red”. This track is a great example of a song with composed parts and improvised solo sections. buzz: How did the band form? Sammy Gessesse, guitar: We’ve been a band together for two years. We were originally going under the name of the “Apothecaries”, a group formed through the Allen Hall rock band class. Since then, a few of the original members have changed; however, we seem to hold down a recognizable sound. buzz: How does the band
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Local singer and songwriter Zzo, Zoe Willott. Willott is working on a new album.
Champaign-Urbana’s premiere venue for independent, foreignlanguage, cult classic, experimental film, and special events
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balance making music with being a student? Aditya Kashyap, bass: Being a full-time student is demanding and timeconsuming, so time management is critical for us. When we first started out playing together, we would only rehearse the day before a show, or even the day of the show. It was tough to line up our schedules. As we started playing and writing more, we decided to dedicate at least two rehearsals a week to practice for live shows, write new songs and work on logistics. Despite how
in the studio, allowing us to play off of each other and improvise. The second EP was recorded at Portlandia House in Urbana, a prominent house show venue and hangout spot for the band. The first two tunes on this EP were taken from a live session for Groove Daze, which can be streamed on YouTube on the Groove Daze channel. The last three tracks were taken from a live performance. It has a raw and unhinged feel in comparison to the first. buzz: Do you have any plans to play somewhere outside of Champaign or
the band members, often creating a wave of inspiration for improvisational ideas. buzz: Will this be the bands first time at Pygmalion? Raghuram: This will be our first time playing at Pygmalion as The Data Waves. I’m most excited to see how the audience reacts to our set. Ever since last year, we’ve been set on writing as many originals as possible. It’s a great feeling to see the crowd vibe to a new song. It gives us confirmation we’re doing exactly what we strive to do, make music that people can enjoy. Kashyap: This will be the first official Data Waves set at the festival, and we’re stoked to be a part of it. The best part of the festival is being able to see and meet the other artists on the bill. There’s always so much to talk about and learn from other musicians. SHRAVAN RAGHURAM, buzz: What’s next for DRUMMER FOR THE DATA WAVES the band? Do you have new music coming out, any upcoming shows, or other busy the band can get, we Chicago anytime soon? exciting news? all respect one another’s Kashyap: Performing in Raghuram: We have a priorities and are under- Illinois has been our start- lot of new material that standing of each other’s ing point, but we hope to we plan on recording next time. expand into the Midwest month, as well as a couple buzz: I noticed you have and around the country. of singles that we plan to two EPs out that were Being full-time students release on our Bandcamp released just a couple limits our schedule, so we and SoundCloud pagmonths apart. What would will tour based on how per- es in the near future. We you say is the main differ- mitting our schedules are. also have some live shows ence between the EPs are? buzz: W hat is your planned for the month of Raghuram: The sound favorite part about per- October, which we’ll share of the first EP is very forming live? on our Facebook and Inscrisp and clear, due to it Gessesse: Connecting tagram pages in the near being recorded in a stu- with the audience. There future. dio. Though this is a stu- are moments when perdio recording, the tracks forming where energy from kaylarb2@readbuzz.com were still performed live the audience can be felt by
“It’s a great feeling to see the crowd vibe to a new song. It gives us confirmation that we’re doing exactly what we strive to do, make music that people can enjoy.”
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