The Daily Illini: Humans of C-U Edition 2022

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ISG vice president resigns

By Jessie Wang and Lika Lezhava Staff Writers

Vindhya Kalipi, junior in LAS, resigned from her position as vice presi dent of Illinois Student Government on Oct. 10. Her resignation follows a dis agreement over free speech and conver sations sparked by Matt Walsh’s appear ance on campus.

According to a statement it released, ISG agrees that Matt Walsh’s statements are hateful. The statement also says that ISG supports the LGBTQ+ community. However, ISG found itself “in disagree ment on whether such hateful speech should be allowed on campus and in soci ety more broadly.”

Before Walsh’s arrival, Kalipi believed ISG should release a statement saying that the University should have taken steps to prohibit Walsh from coming

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to campus and call out the University directly. Garrett Forrest, junior in LAS and ISG president, disagreed.

“We ended up putting out a statement that I think rightfully got a lot of back lash because it was not really firm in either way,” Kalipi said.

The Daily Illini is the independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The newspaper is published by the Illini Media Co. The Daily Illini does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of the University of Illinois administration, faculty or students.

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Kalipi also said that she hoped ISG would form an advocacy coalition to peti tion for change on a governmental level, a philosophy Forrest disagreed with.

On the other side, Forrest believes a universal policy against hate speech sets a dangerous precedent.

“Hate speech … can be very taxing on people,” Forrest said. “It’s something that we do that we unfortunately, in my view, have to accept as the price of free speech.”

Kalipi said she knew many people who said they felt negatively affected by Walsh’s appearance.

“I am very thankful to the entire Uni versity community for supporting me and my resignation,” Kalipi said. “I urge everybody to stick to their beliefs and stand up for what they think is right.” news@dailyillini.com

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Corrections: When we make a mistake, we will correct it in this place. We strive for accuracy, so if you see an error, please contact Editor-in-Chief Heath er Robinson at (217) 337-8365 or email editor@dailyillini.com.

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The artist who turns fruit into fistfights

engine and raise the brake screech. To figure out how the vehicle’s trac tion impacts the functional sound of the brake, Burke said he has to collect data on the cars and experiment with different sounds.

By Yuzhu Liu Assistant Features Editor

Trevor Burke walks into a grocery store and picks out various fruits and vegetables. Then, back in his room, he smashes a fresh watermelon with a hammer in front of a microphone covered with a towel. As the desk gets messy, Burke knows he’s made another masterpiece.

Burke is a sound designer at Deep Silver Volition, a video game studio in downtown Champaign. He uses pro duce to design sounds for Volition’s line of action and shooter games — rip ping bell peppers for a punch, cracking celery for broken bones and squeez ing grapefruit for the sound of blood.

“It’s stupid sometimes,” Burke said. “What you have to do to get sound is sometimes nonsensical and not what you’d expect.”

Burke found his passion for music production in middle school. Unlike his peers, eager to express themselves through electronic music, he decid ed to pursue “the science of sound.” Burke added that he has more fun solv ing problems when building a specific sound with his music knowledge.

“It’s the same reason why somebody would enjoy math or more scientific (kinds) of things, where it’s a bit clear er in its path with definite answers,” Burke said.

As an avid gamer, Burke said his interest in shooter games led him into the industry. He explained that a microphone could not capture a sat isfying sound when recording a gun shot in a field.

Burke described how he breaks a gunshot sound effect down into several parts: instant-moment sounds that are called transients, consistent sounds that are called the body, mechanical sounds and a kick drum base layer. He then uses an assortment of Tupper ware containers, fireworks, wrenches and tiny bags of nails to imitate the different sounds and combines them to create a realistic gunshot sound.

“The funniest part is what you are adding to that gunshot to make it sound more satisfying and more specific is completely up to you,” Burke said.

“Use almost anything on anything if you know how to process it or blend it in the right way.”

Burke said he believes sound is a massive delivery of emotion, and most people don’t realize the signifi cant appeal of sound. He said he knows that quality sound design involves over a million different behind-thescenes techniques, filling up a fre quency space and creating a more fluid process.

“Maybe I add a little bit more bass

in the chest thump when you fire the gun,” Burke said. “Fits it more, I like it more. In the context of the game, better sound is what makes you stand out.”

For Burke, building the sound of a vehicle can take up to an entire week. Unlike movies where the sound of the engine accompanies pre-recorded foot age, video games need to ensure that every sound fits the player’s actions.

As the player hits the brakes, sound designers turn down the volume of the

“There was a lot of complicated effort that goes at the end of that pro cess of implementing it into the game,” Burke said.

Although the designed sounds have to conform to their functional roles, Burke said he sees creativity in his job. He gradually figured out his pre ferred nuances among audio software plug-ins and compared his work on the audio workstation to musicians’ per formance on guitar pedals.

“The building blocks are the same, and it’s more about how you apply it and how creative you can get,” Burke said.

Burke also works on otherworld ly sounds for more fictional worlds. Burke said he had to use his imagi nation when creating the sound of a fireball. He first hears the sound in his head and then tries to think of reallife techniques and objects that could bring it to life, such as dry ice and seltzer.

“If you get 10 people to do 10 sound designs, they’re all going to come up with different sounds, and that’s the self-expression,” Burke said. “It’s just how can I get something where I see it and say, ‘Yeah, that sounds good. I liked that.’”

Burke said that since many studios want an individual to take on all roles in the process of video game sound design, he encourages students who wish to pursue a career in this field to obtain a “whole spectrum of skills” from recording to programming.

“Try to learn the entire process instead of just saying, ‘I’m a sound designer; (that’s) only what I’m going to do. You’re gonna have to hire me if you want me to (do) sound design, nothing else,’” Burke said. “It doesn’t work like that.”

Despite the competitive job market, Burke said the sound design industry has been enlightening professionals with plenty of fun and that people are usually happy with their work.

“It is genuinely just a bunch of dweeb nerds who just love learning about it and love focusing on it since it’s so creative, entertaining and, most of the time, (there’s) a lot of passion,” Burke said.

Trevor Burke uses unorthodox methods to create sound effects for video games

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI

Trevor Burke stands at the entrance of Deep Silver Volition’s lobby in downtown Champaign on Oct. 18. Burke works as a sound designer for the video game developer.

“If you get 10 people to do 10 sound designs, they’re all going to come up with different sounds, and that’s the self-expression.”

Trevor Burke, local sound designer

The harpist who strums up community in C-U

Dallas musician performs at Urbana farmer’s market

By Piotr Fedczuk Staff Writer

There are 47 strings strung on the curved wooden frame of a harp. Even a breeze could make a sound, but only a harpist could create a melody.

At Urbana’s Market at the Square, vendors sell meat, bread, fruit, soap and art, while one person plays the harp for anyone who wants to listen.

In an industry filled with older musicians, Benji Davis, a 20-year-old Celtic harpist from Dallas, stands out.

“(The harpists in Dallas) felt like, twice my age, but it was much more than twice my age,” Davis said.

Davis said many of the harpists they know are older musicians who decided to pick up harp at 50 or 60 years old. There are a lot of barriers of entry for young harpists. Purchas ing a harp and paying for lessons are expensive, and parents invest thou sands of dollars into their children’s interest.

On most Saturdays, Davis puts an open instrument carrier on the side while performing to collect tips from the community.

“Everyone here is so nice and so generous,” Davis said. “A lot of peo ple have been trying to book me for

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gigs outside of the farmer’s market.”

Davis has found a community in the Lincoln Square Mall parking lot, filled with customers and vendors every Saturday between 7 a.m. and noon.

However, Davis is also looking to get into Urbana’s harp community.

For the opportunity to meet a local harpist, Davis is considering going to a performance by the American Harp Society at the Champaign Pub lic Library in December.

Beginning their musical career with piano and accordion, Davis made the switch to harp because they could “play the melody and accompany (themself) at the same time.”

“I think it’s just such a beautiful sound,” they added.

However, Davis decided against pursuing music for the rest of their life. “I don’t feel very excited about doing (music) for a living,” they said.

Late into high school, Davis took interest in theater and later took a costume design class under an encouraging teacher.

“He was just a great role model,” Davis said.

Enjoying the class and the process of creatively expressing themself, Davis worked for Station Theater in Dallas during their production of “Dream Hou$e.” In the future, they hope to produce costumes for operas.

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Celtic harpist Benji Davis sits next to their harp at the Urbana Farmers Market on Oct. 15.

Fueling passion for driver’s education

By Park Mitchell Contributing Writer

From running to softball and any thing in between, Judy Weber-Jones thrived as an athlete and coach for more than 20 years. But in 2022, sports are far from her focus.

For the past 38 years, driver’s edu cation has become Weber-Jones’ call ing, and she makes sure everyone know that. So, how did a dedicated high school coach become so passion ate about the number one killer of teens?

“What better occupation is there to save somebody’s life than teach ing (driver’s education),” Weber-Jones said.

Weber-Jones grew up in the small town of Tuscola, Ill., about 30 min utes south of Champaign-Urbana. In high school, Weber-Jones was a star athlete and a part of the volleyball, basketball, softball and track teams. One of her major accomplishments as an athlete is holding the school record for the largest win in a basketball game, with a score of 113-21.

“I look back at that as a coach now and think that was pretty unsports manlike,” Weber-Jones said.

After obtaining her master’s from Eastern Illinois University, she began her coaching career and became a physical education and health teach er at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School, as well as the head coach in all the sports she played in high school. Gibson City High School was also where she would begin her driver’s education journey, but the seeds were planted well before.

Weber-Jones said that two events played a major role in her decision to pursue driver’s education. First, the story of her high school teach er and basketball coach Bill Burrus, who declined to attend a St. Louis Cardinals game in order to help out Weber-Jones’ father. “The person that took Bill Burrus’ place ended up hav ing a car crash, and that person was killed,” Weber-Jones said.

Second, as underclassmen in high school, two seniors were killed in an overpass crash. “I just thought there was a need since it is the number one killer of teens,” Weber-Jones said.

In 2005, after two close family friends of Weber-Jones were in a car crash that killed one of them, the necessity for better driver’s education became clear to her. With the help of the parents, she started a chapter of

Project Ignition in Gibson City.

Weber-Jones explained that Project Ignition is a driver’s education club focused on peer-to-peer learning.

“It’s been the best service learn ing teen safe driving project that I have ever witnessed or been a part of in my educational career,” WeberJones said.

The project was successful, receiv ing multiple grants of over $10,000. In 2016, Weber-Jones retired from teaching and coaching at GCMS, but her career in driver’s education was

not finished.

Wayne Bekiares, an old friend and mentor of Weber-Jones, encour aged her to join him at Urbana High School for a few years. For a while, Weber-Jones was unsure about the opportunity, but when a new position opened up, she decided to go for it. After arriving at Urbana High School, Weber-Jones knew she had made the right decision.

“I felt the kids kind of needed me,” Weber-Jones said.

Weber-Jones continued Project

Ignition at Urbana High School for the next six years, and today, she is enjoying retirement. She still con tinues to work part-time as a driving instructor at Urbana High School, and her passion for driver’s education is never waning.

Some of Weber-Jones’ and her stu dent’s work at Urbana High School Project Ignition can be found at urba nahighschoolprojectignition.weebly. com

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JACOB SLABOSZ THE DAILY ILLINI

Judy Weber-Jones has been a driver’s education teacher for the past 38 years. Prior to becoming a driving instructor, Weber-Jones was a star athlete and head coach at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School.

Guiding the formerly incarcerated home

By Jessie Wang Staff Writer

Tamika Davis was incarcerated from 1999 to 2008. When she returned home from prison, she had nothing.

“It was hard for me to find employ ment — it was hard for me to find hous ing,” Davis said. “I had nowhere to turn and no support system installed.”

Davis said she is living proof that people can rebuild their life after incarceration. Two years before she was released from prison, her chil dren were put in DCFS custody, and after her release, she had to “push through all odds” to get them back.

“I never want to see a person com ing from my experience to say that they can’t make it,” Davis said. “I know what it looks like to be out there by (yourself).”

In 2014, she met Marlon Mitchell at church, who asked Davis about the idea of starting a prison reentry program.

Davis agreed to help build the pro gram that is now known as First Fol lowers. It was created to build resilient communities by “providing support,

guidance and hope to formerly incar cerated people and their loved ones through peer mentorship,” according to the organization’s website.

At First Followers, Mitchell serves as the executive director, and Davis is a peer mentor at the organization.

Davis said her personal experienc es motivated her to help found First Followers and build the organization from the ground up.

“(I joined) because the communi ty needed a reentry program,” Davis said. “I knew that there was nothing here for returning citizens back into their communities.”

Davis said that formerly incarcer ated individuals face huge barriers in finding employment and fair housing.

According to the Illinois Justice Project and Metro Planning Project, in Illinois, about 28,000 people are released from prison each year, and “nearly 40% of people return to pris on within three years.”

To address these barriers, First Fol lowers operates a halfway house to help formerly incarcerated individu als reintegrate into society and offers programming to help them find jobs.

First Followers is also part of H3, a coalition of organizations in Cham paign County created to end commu nity violence.

As a peer mentor for First Follow ers, Davis is able to draw from her past and use it to help others.

“My passion is my pain. I’ve gone through it.” Davis said. “I’m able to take somebody that’s (had) the same

experience as me and show them how to … better themselves.”

Davis said a support system and access to resources also plays a huge role in preventing recidivism, which is relapsing into unlawful behaviors.

“With a support system, you can always make it,” Davis said. “You don’t know you want to change until you’re put in a different environment.”

Davis said she believes the cur rent criminal justice system should be restructured to focus on rehabilita tion rather than punishment. Instead of tearing families apart, the system should aim to preserve, she said.

“The system should be made to actu ally help and not take away from fam ilies,” Davis said. “Stop tearing fami lies apart — put families together.”

Davis’ passion for helping oth ers goes beyond her role at First Followers.

“You won’t be out there by your self,” Davis said. “I will carry you to the water. And if I need to take my hand and bring water to your mouth to help you drink, I will also do that.”

jessiew4@dailyillini.com

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI Tamika Davis talks about the program First Followers and its goal in aiding and giving hope to those formerly incarcerated.

Mixing a cocktail of music, food, service

Rosemary Ferrara brings years of experience to Rose Bowl Tavern

By Gwyn Skiles Staff Writer

Forty years ago in Paxton, Ill., a young girl sat in a chair at the back of her dad’s Italian restaurant, Mama Ferrara’s, and watched as her mom taught her how to roll silverware.

Rosemary Ferrara, known around Champaign-Urbana as the bartender at the Rose Bowl Tavern with a hearty laugh and an appetite for conversation, has worked in restaurants ever since she was a little girl.

“My first bartending shift was for my mom’s 40th birthday,” Ferrara said. “She built a stage in the parking lot of our restaurant. I was 10 (years old) at the time … from the very begin ning, I’ve loved everything about it.”

Ferrara said her parents gave her everything she needed to be successful.

Her dad, an immigrant from Corato, Italy, gave her his business mindset, and her mother gave her a passion for getting to know others.

“My brother got none of that,” Fer rara said with laughter. “Like, he’s a police officer.”

However, Ferrara wasn’t always a natural. When she was 21 years old, she said she was fired three times from her first job as a manager at The Great Impasta, which is now closed.

“I was very young and just was a hot mess,” Ferrara said. “A year later, (they) would be like, ‘Are you ready to come back?’ And I’d be like, ‘Yes, thank you.’”

Ferrara began to consult for differ ent restaurants like Black Dog Smoke & Ale House and Watson’s Shack & Rail in the Champaign-Urbana area. She said she would be a steady force for owners looking to make business in a difficult industry.

But it was tiring work, and Ferrara said she started to get burnt out.

“I remember opening Watson’s, and I climbed into bed one night, (and) my ex-husband was like, ‘Did you eat today?’ and I said, ‘I think I had a hush puppy,’” Ferrara said. “He was like, ‘That’s not enough.’ So he brought me a bagel, and I sat up in bed and ate it with my eyes closed the whole time.”

Ferrara was hired at the Rose Bowl Tavern right before the pandem

ic began, and her first training shift was scheduled on the same night Gov. Pritzker announced the shutdown.

“I just saw my beloved industry take a hit like it had never done before,” Fer rara said. “We lost a lot of our favor ite home bars and music venues … So being at Rose Bowl, and being a part of bringing back the scene in ChampaignUrbana has just been phenomenal.”

Music has always been a big part of her life, and Ferrara said that being a part of preserving live music in the community is a huge honor. She said

she majored in journalism at Columbia College Chicago and used to dream of working for Rolling Stone Magazine.

Now, she helps create content for the Rose Bowl, combining her two passions.

“I just wanted to be surrounded by musicians and write about them,” Fer rara said. “I get to do that while also bartending.”

Ferrara said she has too many favor ite events and performances to choose from, but she particularly loves see ing the jazz students grow throughout

their time in the program.

“I joke that I’m their den mother and that they’re my jazz babies,” Ferrara said. “I love to bring shy people out of their shell.”

Whether it be students or locals, Ferrara said it’s one of the greatest plea sures to witness people grow.

“There are people who I waited on for their first date that I see get engaged, and then I get a baby announcement,” Ferrara said. “Champaign-Urbana is a transitional city. It’s a stepping stone for so many people. The best part of working in this industry, whether it be in a restaurant or a bar, is I get to be a part of people’s milestones in their lives.”

gskiles2@dailyillini.com

CANDICE ZHOU THE DAILY ILLINI

Rosemary Ferrara shares her history working in restaurants and the ups and downs that came with it, leading up to her current position as a bartender for the Rose Bowl Tavern.

“Champaign-Urbana is a transitional city. It’s a stepping stone for so many people.”

Rosemary Ferrara, bartender at Rose Bowl Tavern

The minister who helped desegregate Urbana school district

By Faith Allendorf Managing Editor for Reporting

Every Sunday is the same for Dr. Evelyn Burnett Underwood.

She wakes up, puts on a matching bright-colored skirt and blazer and drives with her husband to New Will Free Baptist Church in Champaign. She stands in front of her church audience with a smile on her face and delivers a ground-breaking sermon.

For Dr. Underwood, her relationship with Christ has always been empow ering and for many years of her life, Dr. Underwood has empowered people.

From becoming the first Black per son to serve on the Urbana School Board to founding a program that helps young musicians obtain instruments, Dr. Underwood is the definition of a trailblazer.

Dr. Underwood was born in Hernan do, Miss., in 1943. She later moved fur ther south to Cleveland, Miss., after her parents divorced.

There, the four-year-old Dr. Under wood and her relatives worked as sharecroppers. She described the expe rience as “bad; horrible, horrible, hor rible,” and said sharecropping kept her out of school.

“When the cotton was in the field, we couldn’t go to school,” Underwood said. “What happened to me … I cry now. We were subhuman … we lived in a thirdworld country. Nobody protected us in Mississippi.”

Evelyn later moved to ChampaignUrbana during the Great Migration after some of her relatives found job opportunities there.

However, there was another reason why her mother wanted to leave Mis sissippi. Evelyn said that while walking one day, her uncle was beaten “unmer cifully” because he did not get off the sidewalk in time for a few white wom en to pass.

“That was my mother’s brother — her baby brother,” Dr. Underwood said. “People went up in arms about how they beat him, and they told (us) he had to get out or else people would come and kill him like what happened to Emmett Till. We got him out that night.”

When her family moved to C-U, they were looking for a better life. However, while Illinois had no Jim Crow laws like Mississippi, the area was still under de facto segregation.

In C-U, schools were racially segre gated despite the fact that no law in Illi nois enforced segregation. Dr. Under wood attended Willard School — an all-Black school.

In 1964, Dr. Underwood became the first Black person to work in medical records at the University. Eventually, she moved to engineering and worked with a professor who started the Black studies program.

Dr. Underwood became heavily involved in her children’s education and supporting their needs. Her pas sion for equal education would lead to her being part of a group that pushed the Urbana school district to desegre gate: The Ellis Drive Six.

The Ellis Drive Six — Carlos and Willeta Donaldson, Paul and Shirley Hursey, Jo Ann Jackson and Dr. Under wood lived within four houses of each other in the Ellis Drive subdivision, the first Black subdivision in Urbana.

The effort started when Carlos Don aldson and Paul Hursey stumbled upon a University student’s dissertation in 1965.

The dissertation found that students who went to J.W. Hays Elementary, an all-Black school later renamed after Dr. Martin Luther King, were one to two grade levels below students from other (mostly white) schools in the district.

Evelyn said the six parents held meetings and “worked diligently to try to change things.” They attended school board meetings and openly spoke about desegregating schools.

Eventually, in 1966 the all-white school board agreed, and Urbana became the first Illinois school district to implement a desegregation plan.

Evelyn said the transition was rough. Many were not supportive of the plan, and Black students continued to be subject to racism in the desegregated schools. Dr. Underwood said that her daughter’s second grade teacher would throw things at her instead of setting them down on her desk.

“Oh my God did they treat our kids

like dogs when they went to those schools,” Dr. Underwood said. “It was horrible, but we had to stay (strong).”

Dr. Underwood’s husband, Bishop King James Underwood, whom she has been married to since the ’80s, said segregation did not really change in the schools until “people’s minds were changed.”

Over time, however, James Under wood said that minds were in fact changed.

“All of the kids that were going to those schools, they had thoughts about us,” he said. “But when we got together, they saw that we were not what they thought we were … and that’s when we began to become integrated.”

In 1968, Dr. Underwood became the first Black person elected to serve on the Urbana School Board, where she served for 12 years.

Dr. Underwood loved and still loves education. She has earned five degrees in her lifetime — including a PhD and

a JD — and has started and contribut ed to many programs in C-U. She ran for Urbana Mayor in 2017 as well as the circuit clerk. Her motto was “I am Urbana.”

A few of her contributions and involvements include serving as vice president of the NAACP Champaign County, as the first female president of the Ministerial Alliance of C-U and as the president of the Illinois Counsel ing Association.

Dr. Underwood also founded the Dr. Evelyn Burnett Underwood Instru mental Assistance Program. For over 25 years, the program has provided instruments for over 1,500 students who could not afford their own.

Today, Dr. Underwood is an associate minister at the New Will Free Bap tist Church where her husband was the senior pastor for 42 years before retir ing in September.

Dr. Underwood remains a fierce fight er, and ultimately, everything she does ends with love.

“I know that I cannot hate and think I’m going to heaven,” she said. “Now don’t get me wrong — I will fight with this mouth — but I believe that it ends with love.”

faithaa2@dailyillini.com

“I know that I cannot hate and think I’m going to heaven...”

Dr. Evelyn Burnett Underwood

SIDNEY MALONE THE DAILY ILLINI Dr. Evelyn Burnett Underwood spends time preparing food for the congregation and charity on Sunday. Dr. Underwood is an associate minister at the New Will Free Baptist Church.

The bishop who built a church himself

By Faith Allendorf Managing Editor for Reporting

Urbana resident, Bishop King James Underwood, built his life from the ground up with many tools, whether they be hammers or his faith in Christ.

Bishop Underwood was born in 1938 on a plantation called Panther Burn, named after the Black Panthers. The plantation was within the Mississippi Delta.

At the time, Mississippi was a Jim Crow state, where things, as Bishop Underwood said, were “separate and not equal.”

“We had a different bathroom from the whites, and when we had water fountains, we couldn’t drink out of the same ones whites drank out of,” Bishop Underwood said.

Bishop Underwood mentioned that while they weren’t close, he knew and used to play with Emmett Till — a young Black boy who was brutally tor tured and lynched in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman.

“He didn’t even know the woman,” Bishop Underwood said. “He was just down visiting his grandaddy in Mis sissippi … and we had fun, and I knew him as another person we played with.”

After graduating high school, Bish op Underwood and his family ran into trouble and had to flee the South because of an incident that lead to death threats.

The bishop said his family was “great cotton pickers,” for they could pick 1600 pounds of cotton a day. Because he was the youngest, James was the one to take the cotton to the cotton gin where it would be bailed and later sold by the sharecropper.

Bishop Underwood’s dad told him to bring all of the cotton money back, but the sharecropper refused and was going to take some of the money. James told them that his dad said to bring all of the money back, and the sharecrop per was insulted.

“He was going to hang me and they called me a smart-mouthed ****** because I stood up and wanted to do what my dad wanted done,” Bishop Underwood said. “That night, I had to leave because they came looking for me.”

After moving to C-U, Bishop Under wood became a minister of the gospel. Bishop Underwood was elected as vice bishop to the bishop over Kentucky. Soon enough, though, Bishop Under wood became the bishop over Ken tucky, Illinois and Indiana.

“One year after (the previous bishop) was elected, he died, and that made me become the bishop over three states,” he said.

Bishop Underwood served in that position for nine years before he was elected as the general bishop of the Western Division Free Will Baptist, where he was over nine states of Bap tist churches. He was in this position for another nine years before a stroke left him unable to serve.

Bishop Underwood has always been a hands-on person. While growing up in the South, he learned a lot of “survival skills,” and he was also a Boy Scout.

Bishop Underwood recalled learning hunting, fishing, canning, growing crops and construction.

“We were never hungry … because we were hunters,” Bishop Underwood said. “We lived good because of sur vival skills.”

Bishop Underwood’s love of God and his trade skills would lead him to take on one of his biggest projects: build ing a church.

Bishop Underwood is the founder of New Free Will Baptist Church in Cham paign, a church that he built with his “own bare hands.” The Bishop said that

in 1979, God had told him to build the church. The church was built in two years, and since he had built it himself, the building was debt free.

“God said that I gotta build a house for the people,” Bishop Underwood said. “Everyone thought that I wouldn’t be able to finish it, but I did it.”

When Bishop Underwood initially went to build his church, the city would not allow it. They told him that he had to go through trade school at the Uni versity. But that was unnecessary, for Bishop Underwood said that his life time already provided the training he needed.

When an inspector came by to inspect Bishop Underwood’s church, they were blown away.

“He said, ‘I never seen anything like this. You mean you built this?’” Bish op Underwood said. “They didn’t give me that chance or opportunity to show that I could do it … because I didn’t fit their mold.”

In addition to being the senior pas tor at the church, Bishop Underwood worked full time at Alloy Engineering for 35 years. He also provided outreach and religious services to those at Cha nute Air Force Base in Rantoul.

Bishop Underwood was a represen tative for Project Reality in 1985 for the C-U area — a project dealing with teaching and evaluating adolescent health education. His leadership at his church started the Good Morning Breakfast program, which provided meals for Birch Village Housing Proj ect children.

For 42 years, Bishop Underwood was the senior pastor of the church, with his wife by his side as the associate min ister. In September this year, Bishop Underwood retired.

Bishop Underwood’s wife, Dr. Eve lyn Burnett Underwood, said that her husband’s retirement dinner was “big,” and people came from many places to celebrate and support the bishop.

“We had a big dinner, and people came from Indiana and other places in Illinois — there were probably about 200 people,” she said.

For all of his life, hard work and per sistence defined him as he built his life from the ground up. Today, Bish op Underwood looks upon his life with contentment.

“It’s been a good life,” he said.

faithaa2@dailyillini.com

SIDNEY MALONE THE DAILY ILLINI

Bishop King James Underwood speaks to the congregation on Sunday. Bishop Underwood was the senior pastor of the New Will Free Baptist Church for 42 years and retired in September.

From prima ballerina to patrol deputy

By A. Oishii Basu Contributing Writer

Before Lauren Frost found her call to action in public service, she was called to the stage. Frost, who gradu ated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in psychology, as well as Parkland College with a degree in criminal justice, also happened to be Champaign Urbana Ballet’s prima balle rina assoluta, serving as the sugar plum fairy in the Nutcracker for three years.

From the age of six or seven, Frost said she took to dance and finding a place to pursue it.

“When I turned 10 or 11, I fell in love with Champaign Ballet Academy … the discipline of it and the performance for other people, bringing joy to them through such a beautiful art form,” Frost said.

She rose through the ranks of CU Ballet with her role as Clara, leading her to be the company’s principal danc er. Kay Greene, executive director of CU Ballet, said Frost “was determined, and she had goals. She was focused, and her hard work paid off. She was such a wonderful mentor for the younger girls.”

In a career transformation, Frost recently accepted the position of patrol deputy at Champaign County Sheriff’s Department. She said she is training at the University of Illinois Police Train ing Institute until December, adding that she will complete a 20-week field officer program soon after.

“What better way to give back than being a public servant,” Frost said.

Frost added that ballet and police work have both brought her closer to the community. She also said that she stayed in Champaign for police work because she felt CU Ballet and the sur rounding community had treated her so well.

Frost said she believes that ballet has also served the community by educat ing the public on this art form.

“Performing at (Krannert Center for the Performing Arts) is such a bless ing … Not a lot of companies around this community are allowed to per form with such great costumes and props and environments where they can have people from such a big com munity come together and enjoy such a beautiful art form,” Frost said.

Now, Frost connects this to being in a uniform rather than a stage costume.

“Being able to go out everyday and meet someone new and learn some thing different is a huge thing to me,”

Frost said.

Civil service runs in the Frost family. Frost’s father retired from his role as deputy chief of the University of Illi nois Police Department in 2016. Her mother also works in telecommunica tions at METCAD, a local public safety dispatch center. Both of Frost’s broth ers are in the Air Force.

“Overall, my role models would be

my mom and my dad,” Frost said. “I just have so much respect for them and what they do. They are just the most amazing people I’ve ever met.”

Frost said meeting the people she trains alongside is her favorite thing about the institute. Most training days are 15 hours for her, requiring physi cal training and classes from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

“Ballet has really helped me prepare for this kind of training,” Frost said. “There are a lot of similar aspects. It’s a lot of staying focused, having time management, being disciplined, (and) being very motivated.”

Still, dance has not left her life, and Frost admits that she misses that part of her world very much. She said that in her free time, she visits the CU Bal let and the Champaign Ballet Academy to teach young dancers.

“She shines a light, and I’m quite con fident she probably has the strongest core of anyone in the Sheriff’s depart ment,” Greene said.

aobasu2@readbuzz.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF DARRELL HOEMANN

Prima ballerina Lauren Frost leaps across the stage during a CU Ballet performance. Frost recently made a career change and accepted a position of patrol deputy with the Champaign County Sheriff ’s Department.

“She shines a light, and I’m quite confident she probably has the strongest core of anyone in the Sheriff ’s department.”

Kay Greene, executive director of CU Ballet

Sparking imagination through local history

By Kylie Corral buzz Editor

History might not be the first thing on people’s mind when thinking about the Champaign-Urbana community. But for TJ Blakeman, local history is not only a passion, it’s a profession.

Blakeman is the president of Cham paign County History Museum’s Board of Trustees. Since the museum doesn’t currently have an executive director, he helps oversee the museum manager. He can also be found doing design work for exhibits as a chair of the exhibits committee.

Blakeman said that his day job is working not for the museum, but as a senior city planner for the City of Champaign. He added that there is no set schedule for him at the museum or as a city planner.

He started working at the museum in 2015 right at the verge of its clo sure after being in “bad shape” for a long time. Blakeman added that a steering committee was organized to weigh options of moving forward, as well as to evaluate what could be going wrong.

“So, it’s hard to believe it’s been seven years. But in that time, we’ve turned the museum around from days away from being closed and in a con siderable amount of financial debt to the position we’re in now,” Blakeman said. “We’ve completely overhauled the museum itself into the new more modern museum that it is (now).”

His fascination with history, how ever, doesn’t start with the restora tion of the museum. Blakeman said he began appreciating history from a young age, having grown up with his four great-grandparents until he was 18 years old. He said this unique childhood is what furthered his inter est in what the past can hold.

“Hearing my (grandparents) sto ries always sparked in imagination and history, and I would spend a lot of time in our local library as a young kid, looking at photographs, scanning pictures and old photographs, and I helped organize their historical col lection ... You know, I’ve always been interested in (it). That love of history, and especially downtown’s (history), translated into my profession,” Blake man said.

Blakeman graduated from the Uni versity of Illinois in 2003 with a degree in urban and regional planning, giving him the opportunity to work as a city planner for Champaign. He has been

working as a city planner for 20 years, aiding in the efforts to rebuild down town, Campustown and the economic development of Champaign.

“I think it’s incredibly important to understand the complex nature of the world we live in, right? We don’t understand our own history,” Blake man said. “We don’t understand the struggles and the successes, and (we don’t) honor the people who built the stability and the institutions that we now take for granted. It was hard work. So I do think that history is not the solution. I’m very forward-looking as a (city) planner, and it’s my job to look forward in time and see how a community can better itself.”

He added that sometimes, solutions

can be rooted in history and makes it critical for that same history to be taught to everyone in the community.

Blakeman said from a community perspective, there will have to be lots of navigation, especially as diversity begins to grow and conflicts arise as people with different histories begin living side-by-side in the C-U area. Helping the community understand history better is key to the situation.

The Champaign County History Museum is one way to do just that.

“We’re very optimistic about our own future and about being able to grow the organization and grow the museum physically,” Blakeman said. “We’re working on exploring what that might look like. How do we grow

from the small tiny museum? We are now what I think a community our size deserves.”

Blakeman said he hopes people will come to see what is behind the Champaign County History Muse um’s doors. He also mentioned that the museum has recently been award ed the Museum of the Year by the Illi nois Association of Museums.

“I don’t think (history is) taught enough in our schools, and so I see the museum as a way to help the com munity and to give the community another tool to overcome some of the lack of education that we get in other facets of our lives.”

SIDNEY MALONE THE DAILY ILLINI

TJ Blakeman, president of the Board of Trustees for the Champaign County History Museum, browses through archival material in the Champaign County History Museum library on Oct. 19. Blakeman, along with the rest of the board, is responsible for deciding which artifacts and objects should go on display at the museum.

PAM AMICK KLAWITTER

by Patti

The grocery store that is second to naan

Annapoorna brings taste of India to C-U

By Fiza Dahra Staff Writer

Every morning at 10 a.m., Rakesh Handa opens up Annapoorna, one of the only Indian grocery stores in Champaign-Urbana that offers the Indian community a place to purchase food and ingredients imported from their homeland.

Annapoorna opened in 2003, and Handa, the current owner, took over in 2005. Handa had moved to Cham paign-Urbana from New Delhi, India, that same year.

“I saw potential in the business, hence why I took over, and I wanted to offer something to the Indian com munity in Champaign-Urbana,” Han da said. “As of now, I do not plan on expanding Annapoorna, and I wish to continue helping people taste good Indian food.”

The University has many interna tional students from India. Annapoor

na offers both the C-U community and students a chance to taste authentic Indian flavors.

“Annapoorna offers the community of Champaign-Urbana an opportunity to taste the food we have back in India,” Handa said. “From dosas to samosas,

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we have it all.”

Though Handa enjoys life in Cham paign-Urbana, he talks about his life back in New Delhi, India.

“I miss having my social circle and family around back in India,” Handa said. “I try to visit India once a year

to meet my friends and family in New Delhi.”

Nevertheless, he said he enjoys the small, close-knit community in Cham paign-Urbana and how it is a quiet town, unlike New Delhi.

“Champaign-Urbana has everything that an individual needs,” Handa said. Handa also mentioned how the Indian Cultural Society of Champaign-Urba na hosts multiple events annually to celebrate Indian festivals like Diwali.

“Having a community that celebrates all the festivals we celebrate back home in India makes us feel closer to home,” Handa said. “Due to the pandemic, a lot of the events hosted by the Indi an Cultural Society of ChampaignUrbana had to be canceled or post poned in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

Handa explained how his favorite part of his job is that he gets to inter act with different people daily.

“Interacting with people, coming to know them, and then helping people to eat some good Indian food is something I enjoy doing,” Handa said.

fdahra2@dailyillini.com

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CADEN BARGOWSKI THE DAILY ILLINI

Rakesh Handa is the owner of the local Indian grocery store, Annapoorna, located on Neil St. Handa became the owner in 2005 a er moving from New Delhi, India.

Local muralist brings color to C-U

By Odeth Rubio Contributing Writer

The Champaign-Urbana commu nity has been a long-standing outlet for creative freedom, with festivals, concerts and exhibitions and more recently, murals springing up across town. Downtown Urbana has numer ous, vibrantly-colored murals in the area each with its own story.

Rafael Blanco, a muralist born in Spain, recently finished a mural in Urbana. Blanco said he came to the United States as a 19 year old with a scholarship to Florida Southern Col lege and later transferred to Saint Mary’s College of California. After finishing school as an undergraduate, he attended the University of Nevada, Reno, where he obtained his master’s of fine arts.

He said he had been a studio artist for 15 years hoping he would become a gallery artist. However, while work ing as a gallery artist, Blanco came to realize it was not what he thought it would be.

“(I) would like to be able to paint until the day I die,” Blanco said.

Blanco’s mother inspired him to become an artist, for she would take him to different museums every week in Madrid. Growing up, he said he viewed art by Picasso, Dali and Rive ra. Blanco’s grandfather was a wellknown sculptor in Spain — always surrounded by art and the lifestyle that came with it.

Blanco said his first experience with public art was in 2014 during a 24-hour mural competition where he did not sleep or rest. During this com petition, he believed the process “was liberating,” and he was “able to con nect with hundreds of people at once.”

While he did not particularly like the end result, Blanco quickly fell in love with the process, adding that his purpose is not to do gallery shows, but to create more murals.

“The best advice I can give is to practice. Whatever your art form is, really try to master your skill,” Blan co said. “I think nowadays, there is too much conceptual art that the skill is being lost or we don’t give impor tance to skill anymore. It is some thing that we cannot really forget.”

His most recent mural was com pleted in Urbana on Illinois Street and titled “Dance on Illinois,” spanning across two walls of a single build ing. One wall contains the image of a young woman dancing with both

of her arms up. The background is striped light blue, turquoise, orange and yellow with a shadow that appears to be extending from her. Similarly, the other side depicts a young man dancing with one hand over his head, and the other pointed in the air. Both images seem focused on the moves of the painting, creating an interesting and detailed work of art.

“I think no matter what mural I’m working on, being able to actually just paint, (makes) everything stop, and all my worries are left behind,” Blanco said. He added that he is nev

er happy with end results, and he believes many artists feel the same — although he has a love for the process.

Blanco added that more artists are drawn to do murals and those art ists usually take notes on the areas murals are done in.

“Usually, we paint in places that are not pretty to start with, (places) that actually need help, so I think, just by making anything, people usually tend to appreciate that someone is trying to improve that place,” he said.

The idea of the mural was present ed through a real estate company,

which is aiming to provide resourc es with public art, as they “want to improve many units that they have,” Blanco said.

Social media, he believes, is tak ing practice time from artists. He also encouraged artists to apply them selves to opportunities that come when they put themselves out there. Blanco recognizes that he often gets denied as an artist, but he also gets many opportunities. He believes that denial is something individuals who want to succeed need to embrace, as it helps artists grow.

“Within the last two years there has been an explosion with murals and public art,” Blanco said. “So, I think we are seeing that more now in the Champaign-Urbana community.”

odethr2@readbuzz.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF RAFAEL BLANCO WEBSITE

Muralist Rafael Blanco paints the mural “UNR Diversity” at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2020. Blanco painted a mural in Urbana called “Dance on Illinois,” located on Illinois Street.

“I think no matter what mural I’m working on, being able to actually just paint, (makes) everything stop and all my worries are le behind.”

Rafael Blanco, muralist

Behind the curtain at CU Theatre Company

By Kylie Corral buzz Editor

A community can be shaped by many things, but for Kelly Nowlin, the Cham paign-Urbana community and her life have been greatly influenced by the enriching and creative presence of theater.

Nowlin is the executive director of the Champaign-Urbana Theatre Com pany and has been since 2015. She said that she primarily handles the compa ny’s administrative functions, but also serves as the liaison between board and company members that are present at CU Theatre Company.

Even though she may not be artisti cally involved in the company, Nowlin said she can often be found working with the artistic director when it comes to seasonal choices for shows and gets involved with staff as well. She add ed that she has a hand in fundraising, writing grants, overseeing contracts, bookkeeping and more.

It was during grade school, however, when Nowlin first came across theater. Not long after, she found her prior posi tion at the Monticello Theatre Associa tion by rediscovering the stage again.

“I was involved with theater in grade school, high school and church, and I always enjoyed it,” Nowlin said, “I hadn’t been involved for several years, and then in 2010, I auditioned for a show at the Monticello Theatre Asso ciation and was given a small part. I fell in love all over again. (Then) I was asked to be their board president, and I reluctantly said ‘Yes.’”

Although Nowlin said she wasn’t sure she knew what she was doing at first, she eventually went to a two-day the ater management conference, adding that she loved every minute of it.

“I remember coming back and tell ing my husband I felt like I missed my calling. At the time, I was a church administrator. Prior to that, I had been in property management and sales,” Nowlin said. “I had a strong adminis trative, leadership and business back ground and felt like I could help. It is essential to have a balance of artistic and business perspectives in a theater organization to be successful.”

She added that theater establishes a large creative outlet for people to express themselves and that people are generally more productive if they are also engaged in some kind of cre ative activity.

“Theater helps build confidence, enhances communication skills, teach

es how to work as a team and how to adapt and make one more self-aware,” Nowlin said. “These are also skills employers in our community want to see in their employees. Theater also gives our actors and audience a chance to see the world through a different per spective and can help create empathy.”

She said for the audience and the community as a whole, theatre gives people a chance to step away from the world and be entertained for a few hours.

“It is fun because, through my work behind the scenes, I enrich many lives,” Nowlin said.

Although she has had many encoun ters with the community as an execu tive manager, Nowlin’s most touching experience was during the summer of 2021. A long time faithful compa ny worker, Bob Weber, was in hospice

care, so the theater was brought to him.

“Our youth were doing Driveway Cabarets in place of our regular stu dent production because of COVID-19,” she said. “Driveway Cabarets were mini concerts of show tunes we held in people’s driveways, yards, porch es, etc. Another company member, Todd Salen, who worked extensively with Bob on shows, contacted me and booked a Driveway Cabaret for Bob and his wife, Jan. It was a surprise for Bob, and as sick as he was just loved it.”

Nowlin said that the most rewarding experience the CU Theatre Company has ever brought her and the C-U com munity is called the Penguin Project: a program for students with disabilities. After bringing the project to C-U for six years, Nowlin loved watching the growth of students involved.

“This year after the last show, we

recognized some of our artists who will be aging out of the program, and it was rewarding to see their poise and confidence on stage and to know there are kids who have now ‘grown up’ in the theater who maybe wouldn’t have had that chance if not for the Penguin Project,” she said.

Nowlin said she feels lucky to have found a community that values and supports the arts.

“Theater has diversified my friend ships. Because of the people I’ve met and care about, some of my views and opinions have changed, making me a better person,” Nowlin said. “I love how theater brings a diverse group of peo ple together, and after working togeth er on a play or musical, they become family.”

kyliemc2@readbuzz.com

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI Kelly Nowlin has been the executive director of the Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company since 2015. Nowlin found her passion for theater in grade school.