THE DAILY ILLINI
MONDAY November 2, 2020
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Vol. 150 Issue 21
Students experience burnout from classes
LONGFORM
mental health deteriorating as the University increases With the semester 10 weeks course intensity throughout in, Sarah Abdullah, junior in the semester. AHS, is feeling the weight Professors play a large role of the amount of work she in affecting their students’ has to complete on a week- mental health, and supportly basis. Classes continue to ing them is one of the most tear Abdullah away from her effective ways to help them social life and destroy her navigate their classes during mental health without avail. this pandemic. “We’re just suffering Hallie Workman is a teachthrough our assignments er’s assistant this semesjust to get to the next one and ter and has taken up a social it’s a nevsuppor t er-ending role for her cycle Monst udent s day through in hopes S u n d a y,” to relieve Abdulla h t h e i r said. “I just stress and feel like help them we’re not throughreally able out the to catch a course break menof the tally or emosemester. SARAH ABDULLAH tionally.” “I think JUNIOR IN AHS Abdulif my la h has number been strugone goal is gling to balance her aca- to get my students to learn, demic integrity along with I have to make sure they’re her mental health these past okay first,” Workman said. few weeks, like many others Understanding the position nationwide. many students are in during “I know personally I take this semester and being flexithat personal burden on ble with their classes has been myself and give myself an idea Workman’s priority because that I don’t need anyone to she knows that not all the prohelp me through situations,” fessors on campus are doing she said. “I don’t think it’s a the same. healthy way to deal with our “I think professors and mental health.” administrators and departCollege students nation- ment heads need to solicit wide have been thrown into honest feedback from underthe same situation as Abdul- grads” Workman said. “I lah and sympathize with her think that’s kind of the bigrhetoric. Students are heav- gest thing that they’re missily concerned about their ing right now.” academic performance durProviding a sense of secuing the coronavirus and are rity in the classroom and havextremely stressed with the ing professors take students’ current predicament. input into account this semesBurnout has been extreme- ter will help address the conly high in students this semes- cerns many will have in class ter because of the pandemic, because this is a new dynamic and many mental health ser- everyone is trying to adapt to. vices acknowledge this is a “We can’t send students common issue among their online in the midst of a globstudent clients. al pandemic and wide social “I have a lot of clients who unrest and expect them to are students and motivation be as productive as a normal is something that we’re con- semester,” Workman said. stantly battling,” said Erica “That’s insanity. We cannot Aina, a clinical supervisor at keep the same expectations Elliott Counseling Group. as we had last year.” A large misunderstanding With this disconnect between the student popu- between the University and lation and the administration has resulted in student SEE BURNOUT | 3A BY ALIZA MAJID STAFF WRITER
“I just feel like we’re not really able to catch a break mentally or emotionally.”
KEVIN GAO THE DAILY ILLINI
Lawn signs line the grass of the Main Quad outside of the Illini Union voting site on Thursday. Many important state positions are up for grabs in the 2020 Illinois election.
What’s at Stake for State Legislature? Illinois’ legislative elections impact policy, budget ing is set by the Illinois State Legislature. Jacob Baron, junior in LAS, spends much of his time thinking about politics. In addition to his political science major, Baron has an internship with the Illinois Public Interest Research Group, a nonprofit organization that has been encouraging voters to turn out during this election. In addition to the presidential election, Baron believes that voters should be informed on who’s running for State Legislature as well. “Most of the local laws that are affecting your dayto-day life are State Senate and State House and are affected by the candidates we elect to those positions,” Barn said. “Quite honestly, understanding your state legislature is just as important as understanding your national legislature.” What happens in Springfield will arguably have more of a direct impact on University students’ lives than what happens in Washington. Tyler Swanson, sophomore in ACES and political director of the Illini Democrats, emphasizes the importance of downballot elections. The Daily Illini reached out to the Illini Republicans twice by email for comment on this story but received no
BY MATT TROHER ASSISTANT LONGFORM EDITOR
With Election Day on the horizon, the presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden is practically unavoidable. Wherever you turn, there’s a political ad for one of the two candidates or reports about a new development in their campaigns plastered on your social media feed. At times, it may seem like the presidential election is the only thing at stake on Nov. 3. However, nearly 200 state and local elections will occur across Illinois. A third of the State Senate, the whole of the State House and three State Supreme Court judges are up for election this November. While Illinois reliably votes Democrat in presidential elections (Biden is up by nearly 20 points in the most recent polls, according to 538.com) the results of down-ballot elections such as the State Senate and State House of Representatives will give a vital insight into the true demographics of our state. These elections matter just as much to Illinoisians, if not more, than the presidential election. The Illinois State Legislature directly shapes State policy, tax levels and the State budget. More specifically, the University’s state fund-
response. “Regardless of what happens in the Presidential Election, the national and State Senate races will be what really decides how America goes forward for these next six years,” Swanson said. “The majority for either party will be what determines what happens policy-wise.”
crats, and five are held by Republicans. Of the 20 seats up for election in the Illinois State Senate, ten of them are uncontested elections. When an area has a solid voter base for one party or the other, like Chicago or rural southern Illinois, the minority party doesn’t run a candidate to save expenses. Since there is no opponent, these districts are locked for the political party running the sole candidate. Of the ten uncontested elections, eight feature a Democrat candidate, while two feature a Republican candidate. With uncontested districts functioning as locks for the political party running in those districts, political analysts add the sole running candidate to the pre-election party total. After the election, there will be 31 Senate seats that will definitely be filled by a Democrat, and 17 that will definitely be filled by a Republican. Ten Senate Seats will be up for grabs in competitive elections. Even if the Republican candidate were to win each of their elections, the Republican Party would not be able to eliminate the Democrats’ majority. Illinois Republicans know that flipping the State
State Senate: Democrat stronghold, room for Republicans to fight back
Democrats hold a majority in the Illinois State Senate, and it’s not changing any time soon. They’ve held a majority of the Senate since they took control from the Republicans in 2002, and their majority has expanded ever since. Of the Senate’s 59 seats, Democrats hold 40 compared to the Republicans’ 19 seats. A vote in the Senate only needs a simple majority to pass. The majority mark in the Senate is 30 votes, well exceeded by the Democrats’ 40 seats. State Senators serve for terms of either two or four years, depending on the year first elected. Every election year, one-third of the Senate is up for election. This year, there are 20 Senate seats up for election. Of the 20 seats up for election, 15 are held by Demo-
SEE ELECTIONS | 3A
Illinois restricts Region 6 as COVID-19 spikes BY WILLIE CUI STAFF WRITER
The Illinois Department of Public Health along with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced new restrictions for Region 6 of the state’s COVID-19 response plan, which includes Champaign County. These restrictions, which take effect on Monday, Nov. 2, include the suspension of indoor service at bars and restaurants, requiring bars and restaurants to end outdoor service by 11:00 p.m., and requiring customers to make reservations beforehand when dining out. The restrictions also limit gatherings to a maximum of 25 people. Schools and polling places are exempt from these new restrictions, and the University does not plan on making any changes to in-person instruction. “We will continue courses as planned,” said Chancellor Robert Jones in a Massmail. These mitigation measures are being implemented in response to Region 6 having “an average positivity rate of eight percent or higher” for three consecutive days, resulting in strict-
er mitigation measures. “ St a r t i ng Mond ay, (Region 6) will join the majority of the state in operating under resurgence mitigations,” said Gov. Pritzker in a press release. On Oct. 14, IDPH announced its decision to exclude the University’s saliva-based test results from Region 6’s testing data for the purposes of the state’s COVID-19 response plan. “This will allow us to better identify testing needs and trends in that region,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. As a result, the seven-day rolling test positive rate for Region 6 was recalculated by IDPH while excluding the University’s saliva tests. It was most recently updated on Oct. 28, when the figure hit 9%. In addition to these new measures, the cities of Champaign and Urbana reminded the public in a joint press release to continue following public health guidelines such as wearing a face mask in public and practicing social distancing. In state, on campus and countywide, new cases con-
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New COVID-19 cases bounce back in October 250
248 new cases in the last week
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tinue to surge. There were 248 new cases of COVID-19 identified on campus during the week ended Friday, after 109 the previous week and 85 the week before. Since Aug. 15, 3,045 students, faculty and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 using on-campus saliva tests. The Champaign Urbana Public Health District currently reports 6,498 confirmed cases of COVID-19
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Concerning graffiti lays painted on the side of the Main Library on Oct. 24. Some students have felt the negative effects of COVID-19 on their mental health.
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in Champaign County, with 527 cases considered active. On Oct. 28, there were 296 active cases in the county. On Saturday, IDPH confirmed another 7,899 cases of COVID-19, a new single-day high for Illinois. Illinois has broken its own daily record for new cases in each of the previous four days.
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• Theft of a motor vehicle was reported at parking lot F-23 at 1101 W. Florida Ave. in Urbana on Wednesday. According to the report, the University student learned their vehicle was stolen when he was contacted by police officers who found his vehicle in Bondville, Illinois.
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an unknown amount of items and destroyed some of the victim’s clothing using bleach. • An arrest was made on the charge of endangering the life/health of a child and assault on the 600 block of West University Avenue in the Carle Hospital emergency room around 7:32 p.m. on Wednesday. According to the report, the arrestee’s child was a patient at Carle and the arrestee aggressively shook her child during an argument with Carle staff. The arrestee then threw a blanket at a Carle security officer and lunged toward the officer, reportedly placing him in a reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery.
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• Theft of motor vehicle parts and accessories was reported on the 2800 block of Hundman Drive around 10 p.m. on Tuesday. According to the report, a catalytic converter was stolen off of a van. There was no suspect information and no video surveillance. • Aggravated discharge of a firearm and criminal damage to property were reported at the intersection of North Bradley Avenue and Oak Street around 3 p.m. on Tuesday. According to the report, police responded to a shooting in the area. • Theft under $500 was reported on the 600 block of East Green Street around 6:15 p.m. on Mon-
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The Circle K on North Cunningham Avenue in Urbana on Sunday morning is pictured above. Police arrested a suspect of a human trafficking scheme here on Friday night.
Police arrest suspect of human trafficking scheme
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Un iversit y Police arrested a man Friday night who was involved in a kidnapping scheme, UIPD announced Saturday morning. The 27-year-old male suspect was arrested on
the charges of aggravated kidnapping and forcible detention, according to police. The suspect allegedly demanded the parents of the victim pay a ransom for the victim’s release. The incident involved at least one 25-year-old
victim and he wasn’t physically injured at the time of the suspect’s arrest. UIPD learned Friday afternoon that a meeting set up to exchange custody of the victim for money was to occur at a gas station in the 1800 block
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NEWS Professors fear contested elections BY MONA ALRAZZAQ STAFF WRITER
BRIGIDA DOCKUS THE DAILY ILLINI
Children attending a drive-thru trick-or-treating event at the Champaign County Fairgrounds receive candy on Saturday. Many Champaign-Urbana residents celebrated Halloween with COVID-19 precautions this year.
County dons masks for Halloween BY MATT TROHER ASSISTANT LONGFORM EDITOR
Houses in residential Urbana are decorated with papier-mâché skeletons, make-shift spiderwebs and ghosts dangling from trees. The steps to nearly every house are lined with pumpkins, a few already decaying from being put out too early. One house has a table in front of it with candy spread out, a healthy amount of space between each piece. Some trick-or-treaters wear two masks, one for their costume and the other to protect against COVID-19. There are six feet between each trick-ortreater, cautiously adhering to social-distancing guidelines that have been commonplace since March. Halloween is typically celebrated to its fullest extent by all ages. Children spend their days trick-or-treating, which college students plan parties around the holiday. However, with the holiday taking place during an uptick in COVID-19 cases, community members had to adapt to celebrate the holiday as safely as possible. Public health and University officials worked to ensure Halloween was celebrated as safely as possible in light of a recent increase in positive COVID-19 cases. With 7,899 new cases confirmed on Saturday, Illinois reached a new peak in single-day new cases since the beginning of the pandemic. On Oct. 26, the University saw 74 new positive cases, the highest number of single-day cases since Sept. 8. The Champaign Urbana Public Health District instituted a number of guidelines directed at helping community members
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students, Abdullah believes the administration does not take mental health issues seriously and usually covers up these incidents. “In the English building bathroom stalls there’s always suicidal comments, suicide notes or messages on the walls but they just paint over and act as nothing happened,” Abdullah said. A recent case of this mental health epidemic can be seen through the various alarming graffiti statements that have been plastered across campus. Many students are concerned about their peers’ mental health but aren’t surprised that these comments are resurfacing on campus. “I think that it just comes to show that people really don’t have an outlet when it comes to expressing how they truly feel,” Abdullah said. “I do think people are desperate right now and I can totally understand desperate feelings often get met with desperate action.” Many students are unable to access mental health resources or are
stay safe while still having fun amidst this uptick in cases. These guidelines, released on Oct. 2, included social distancing while trick-or-treating, wearing a CDC approved mask with any costume and for houses distributing candy to leave their candy individually wrapped and spaced apart on a table in front of their house. Champaign Mayor Deb Feinen worked with the CUPHD to create these guidelines and played an active role in spreading the word out to the community. In assessing the campus community along with the Champaign-Urbana community at large, Feinen hopes that student’s activities won’t cause a major increase in cases so close to the end of the semester. “Our students are so close to basically the end of their semester, at least on campus, before they head home for Thanksgiving, and we’ve done such a tremendous job and all of the testing at (the University) has kept an incredibly low positivity rate,” Feinen said. “(The students have) managed to stay throughout the whole semester that was planned, which was the goal. We don’t want large spikes relating to Halloween, that would be really unfortunate, and it puts lives in jeopardy.” In addition to guidelines set by the CUPHD, the University sent a Massmail on Tuesday, Oct. 27 encouraging students to make responsible decisions and celebrate the holiday as safely as possible. “I’m writing to remind you to continue to make choices that maximize the
safety of our entire community this Halloween weekend,” said vice chancellor for Student Affairs Dr. Danita M. B. Young said in the Massmail. “I encourage you to only participate and celebrate in ways that are safe and in compliance with university and CUPHD guidance.” Some students opted to celebrate Halloween in a more laid-back fashion. Whether their decision to take the holiday easily was due to concerns over the pandemic or personal preference, many students spent the day indoors with their roommate or a few close friends. Cole Diaz, junior in ACES, decided to relax on Halloween instead of going out and partying. “I’m just going to do some simple things to have an enjoyable night,” Diaz said. “My girlfriend is actually back at home right now, so I’m left alone on campus. I’m really just watching some Netflix, I’m going to cook some good dinner or order out, maybe play some guitar, just take the night easily.” Although some students approached the day with a sense of caution, the possibility of large social gatherings still remained. Diaz expressed a sense of concern over a potential spike in cases after the holiday. “I’m not sure how many people are going to ignore the different warnings and guidelines,” Diaz said. “I think there probably will be an increase because people will want to have little gettogethers, and that always increases the chance of getting (COVID).”
unsure where to go in order to get professional mental health services right away because of the limited amount of information available on the subject. Nathan Oommen, president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness chapter at the University, is attempting to relay these mental health resources to the student body in order to help his peers. The National Alliance on Mental Illness is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with mental illness. “Our biggest thing was making sure the resources are available for people,” Oommen said. “Letting them know about the counseling center, DRES and different resources that are available that they may not know about.” Abdullah thinks the University counseling center doesn’t provide adequate services at the counseling center due to the lack of funding. “I think that the biggest issue is that the Counseling Center is underfunded and understaffed,” Abdullah said. “The counseling center gets only approxi-
mately $20,000 in funding every year but the University, investing hundreds of thousands and up to millions into the athletic programs.” Access to resources on campus and off campus provides necessary aid to various students who require some sort of assistance when coping with their mental health. Abdullah has emphasized the importance of acknowledging the mental health issue at the University and believes that this should no longer be covered up or hidden by the administration. She planned the suicide prevention vigil on Sunday with a few other people on campus in order to raise awareness about this issue and shed light on the mental health status on campus. “It’s another way to show that we really need to be there for each other as students and we really need to be taking care of one another and being easy on ourselves because no one else is,” Abdullah said.
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The increase of mail-in and absentee ballots because of the global pandemic and different institutional distrust in laws increases the possibility of legal action over ballot counting procedures in swing states, which could result in a contested election. Richard H. Piles, a professor at New York University School of Law, explained the major concerns over the contestation and delay of election results along with Vikram David Amar, a professor at the University during a Zoom lecture for Law. There are more likely to be an increased amount of problems regarding absentee voting and the spread of information this year, Piles explained. People who requested absentee ballots but decide to show up in person can slow election results down and lead to election officials having to make sure that ballot isn’t already cast. Institutional issues also risk further delay or delegitimization of the election process, according to Piles. He explained how we have “candidates who are prepared to delegitimate the election process without question.” “If we get into a really close election, which almost by definition will become a contested election, I don’t have confidence we have institutional legitimacy with the various institutions that would have to be involved to help resolve this process,” Piles said. This belief that correlates with similar beliefs of a “rigged election” from the losing side leads to less acceptance over results and more conflict. Piles noted specific concerns with Pennsylvania which he says has a “toxic combination of being an extremely critical state with the worst election policies in the country.” Pennsylvania is a swing state (a similar amount of support for each candidate is present which makes them deciding factors in close elections). With the influx of mail-in ballots this year, it is unlikely that swing states will show a clear winner as quickly as last year, according to the lecture. A Supreme Court decision recently allowed longer deadlines for absentee ballots to be counted in Pennsylvania and North Carolina
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ELECTIONS
Senate is a futile endeavor. Instead, they’re focusing on a different goal — eliminating the current Democrat supermajority. Democrats hold a supermajority, the number of votes needed to override an executive veto, in both legislative chambers. The number constituting a supermajority varies from state to state, and in Illinois is three-fifths of the legislative chamber. For the Illinois State Senate, a party needs 36 of the 59 seats to hold a supermajority. Going into the election, Democrats hold 40 seats, meaning that Republicans have to flip five seats to eliminate the Democrats’ supermajority. Of the ten contested elections, seven districts are currently held by a Democrat, while three are currently held by a Republican, meaning that Republicans have to win five of the seven elections where the incumbent is a Democrat to eliminate the Democrats’ supermajority. One of these Democratheld seats up for election is the 52nd congressional district, which encompasses all of Champaign-Urbana, as well as the neighboring towns of Danville and Rantoul. The 52nd Senate Seat is currently filled by Democrat Scott M. Bennett. Bennett is a graduate of the University of Illinois Law School and has held the 52nd district’s seat since he was appointed to fill a vacan-
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President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Reading, Pennsylvania, on one of four stops in the Keystone State on Saturday.
up to three days after election day as long as the ballot is postmarked by Election Day. Pennsylvania is also one of the seven states in which mail-in ballots cannot begin being processed until Election Day. These policies lead to even further delay of election results in Pennsylvania. Piles also explained, however, that with the more early votes that come in, the less of an effect the three-day window of processing and counting absentee ballots will have on results. “No matter what the outcome, if it comes down to litigation and a fight in Pennsylvania after Tuesday, there really is no happy outcome to that even though there will have to be a resolution,” Akram said. Piles also noted how the outcome has to be resolved more quickly than other elections. “If we want to imagine a nightmare scenario, the presidential election is under a totally different timetable than any other election; it has to get resolved more quickly than any other election has to get resolved,” Piles said. The electoral college and the statute that regulates it says the electors have to vote by Dec. 18, six weeks after the election. Even under normal circumstances, any disputed issues over the election risks prolonging the results for five or six weeks. “If we’re gonna contest a close election and we have lots of absentee ballots still to process and count in critcy in 2015. He won reelection in 2016 over Republican challenger Micheal P. Madigan with 61% of the vote. While Bennett is being challenged by Republican Alexander Ruggieri, the seat has not been won by a Republican since the last Illinois State Senate redistricting in 2010. The Illinois State Legislature has been out of session since May 23, and will not reconvene until early January 2021. The next state legislative session will begin with the swearing-in of newly elected officials. Madison Jackson, a senior in LAS, serves as the Director for Governmental Affairs for Illinois Student Government. She emphasizes the importance of down-ballot elections in determining who makes up the state legislature, and how they influence important issues on a local scale. “We should be spying attention to the legislative sessions that are coming up,” Jackson said. “In the past, there has been discourse about issues such as the ACT, and how the ACT has historically and continues to exclude certain marginalized populations from being able to get into Universities. There have been debates over incarceration issues, and they start locally.”
ical states, like Pennsylvania or Wisconsin or Michigan which all do this process more slowly than states like Florida, you can imagine the process being dragged out maybe even intentionally,” Piles said. If it is decided that there won’t be a “clear final solution of who won the vote” in time (or the election has failed) in a certain state, legislatures can step in and appoint the electors in whatever manner the legislature decides. Electors are usually determined by popular vote, but in cases where the election has “failed,” the legislature can decide. What is likely to happen in this scenario, according to Piles, is that governors would probably quickly certify the candidate who is currently winning the popular vote in that state as the winner. This would lead to two different slates of electors — most likely one for Donald Trump and one for Joe Biden — being submitted to Congress under a joint session. Although this process is very complicated and unclear, Akram said it is “ultimately the governor who gets to make a call and represent which slate actually speaks for the state.” Congress then has to decide which votes to count from a state if two or more slates of electors are submitted. “We don’t want to get to any of those places,” said Piles. “If we do, we’ll be in for a very very difficult situation.” monaa2@dailyillini.com
Representatives. Unlike the Federal House of Representatives, which exists to provide a more demographically representative lower chamber to our Federal legislature, the Illinois State House functions as an extension of the Senate. Each State Senate district is split into two halves according to population, creating twice as many House districts as there are Senate districts. All 118 House districts are up for election. Representatives serve for twoyear terms. This leads to the potential for a massive turnover come inauguration day, depending on how election day shapes out. Of the 118 seats up for election in the Illinois State House, 52 of them are uncontested elections. Of these uncontested elections, 44 feature a sole Democrat candidate, while eight feature a sole Republican candidate. The vast majority of these uncontested districts are located in Chicago, home to a large liberal voting block. Since the entirety of the Illinois State House is up for election, there is a possibility, albeit a slim one, for Republicans to flip the House in their favor. To take hold of a majority of the House, a party needs to occupy 60 seats. In order State House: Up for grabs, for Republicans to flip the likely Democrat hold, House, they will need to flip Republicans to focus on 16 districts currently held by eliminating supermajority a Democrat. Twice as big but less wellThere are 24 districts known as the State Senate is the Illinois State House of SEE ELECTIONS | 5A
4A Monday, November 2, 2020
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Monday, November 2, 2020
UI adds more college-centered counselors BY VIVIAN LA STAFF WRITER
This academic year, the Counseling Center added embedded counselors to the College of ACES, Applied Health Sciences and University Housing. Embedded counselors are placed within colleges across the University and were established to make it easier to access campus mental health resources. “We’re just making sure students get their needs met wherever they are,” said embedded counselor in the Gies College of Business Jennifer House. “We’re having a lot of concerns with stress and isolation.” Along with pandemicrelated stress, the Counseling Center anticipates students to come in with sociopolitical stress from the upcoming election. Counseling Center services have been conducted online or through telephone due to the pandemic. House said they want to meet student needs and be ready for those who need emotional support through weekly workshops. The Counseling Center has a workshop on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. specifically about coping with sociopolitical stress. The responsibilities of counselors in the embedded program provide similar clinical, outreach and prevention services as regular counselors. The biggest difference is they operate from an embedded site within a specific college and “provide tailored outreach events and workshops,” House said. Embedded counselors are familiar with specific major paths and course loads of students. Media Communications Coordinator for the Counseling Center Nichole Evans said expectations within majors are considered, but that there’s also a lot of sim-
JONATHAN GOSSETT THE DAILY ILLINI
The Illinois Counseling Center, located on John Street, on Friday morning is pictured above. The Counseling Center recently added embedded counselors to multiple colleges at the University.
ilarities in the stress students experience. “We understand there are unique concerns,” she said. The embedded program started three years ago and was first piloted in LAS and Engineering, the two largest colleges on campus. “The goal, eventually, is to have an embedded counselor in each academic college,” she said. One factor that is preventing the addition of more embedded counselors is adequate office space within the college, according to Evans. Ease of access is a primary goal of the program. In pre-pandemic times, students could visit counselors in-person. “It’s a lot easier to go to a counselor that is right down the hall as opposed to going to a counselor across campus,” Evans said. Jackie Way, senior in LAS, said she was not aware of the existence of embedded counselors but has had positive experiences with
the counseling center for the past four years. “One-on-one counseling is a lot more valuable to me … I’ve developed a pretty good relationship and history with my counselor,” Way said. “I feel supported and I’m lucky to have access to a counselor.” Way has been seeing the same traditional counselor through the Counseling Center since her sophomore year. Way said the Counseling Center is doing the best with the staff they have, especially with a student body as large as the University’s. “I personally feel like my mental health needs are fulfilled,” she said. “However, I know many other students are struggling, and I think the University could make more of an effort to acknowledge these students’ struggles.” Evans said that a lot of students have the misconception that it’s hard to get an appointment.
SALARY GUIDE
“COVID has changed things, but in the past, people thought that when the center opened and they didn’t call, they wouldn’t get an appointment,” she said. There is a spot for everyone and the Counseling Center has triage counselors who can assist right away if appointments happen to be filled, Evans said. Overall, Evans said the embedded program has been well-received and she’s excited to find more ways to give students access to services even in a pandemic. Especially with the pandemic, House said it’s important to practice self-care. “It’s so easy right now to get caught up in one activity after another,” she said. “Some people feel like they can’t ask for help because everyone is struggling, but there isn’t any right or wrong reason to reach out for help.” vla2@dailyillini.com
FROM 3A
ELECTIONS
with a Democrat incumbent and a Republican challenger. Republicans must win at least two thirds of these races in order to assume a majority in the House. Historically, incumbents have a much higher chance of winning reelection, with 90% of Congressional House races being won by the incumbent. Illinois House elections are historically more competitive compared to the Illinois State Senate. In 2018, 18 House elections were decided by less than ten percentage points. Furthermore, six elections were decided by less than two percentage points. In 2018, House District 54 was the closest election seen state-wide, with Republican Thomas Morrison defeating Democrat Maggie Trevor by a margin of only 43 votes. These close margins of election emphasize how important voter turnout is for either party. Illinois House District 103, which contains the entire Champaign-Urbana community, is currently represented by Democrat Carol Ammons. Ammons, who has served as Champaign-Urbana’s State House representative since 2016, is being challenged by Libertarian Brad Bielert. While Ammons faces opposition from the third-party candidate, the 52nd District has been represented by a Democrat since Illinois’s last redistricting in 2010. Despite the potential for a shakeup in the Illinois House, elections for state legislature still do not receive the same amount of attention as larger elections, especially during a presidential election year. Even those who are passionate about politics find themselves paying more attention to nationally-impactful elections instead of local ones. Nataly Esparza, senior in LAS, has spent the last few days canvassing for Joe Biden in Pennsylvania. Her enthusiasm for politics and activism is on display through her dedication to attempting to turn out the votes. However, her
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commitment to the National campaign has resulted in less attention toward state legislature level elections. “I feel like a lot of people are focusing on the presidential election rather than the local election,” Esparza said. “That adds to why many people, myself included, don’t have much to comment on (state legislature) elections because people are focusing more on the bigger elections.”
Implications of eliminating the supermajority
The possibility of Republicans eliminating the Democrats’ supermajority in the House is much more likely than the possibility of flipping the House majority. To reach a three-fifths supermajority in the House, one party must control at least 71 seats. To eliminate the Democrats’ supermajority, Republicans need to flip four seats, a much more likely prospect than the 16 seats needed to gain a simple majority. Both chambers must override the veto in order for the veto to be overturned. Since Democrat J.B Pritzker was elected governor in 2018, the entire Illinois State Legislature has been Democrat-held. Because of this, there has only been one gubernatorial veto overridden since Pritzker took office in 2019. Erasing the Democrats’ supermajority in either chamber is an important goal for Illinois Republicans. As Illinois gears up for a gubernatorial election in 2022, Republicans are sure to leverage Pritzker’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic against him in an attempt to take control of the gubernatorial seat. If a Republican were to win the Gubernatorial election, and Republicans eliminate the Democrat supermajority in either the House or the Senate, then the governor can veto any legislation passed by a Democrat-controlled legislature without being overridden. mtroher2@illinimedia.com
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5A
6A
MONDAY
November 2, 2020 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com
LIFE & CULTURE
BRIGIDA DOCKUS THE DAILY ILLINI
Zoe Hannon, sophomore in Business, presents her acai bowl in front of Foellinger Auditorium on Friday. Shine Acai opened this May.
UI Business student opens Shine Açaí BY CATHERINE PAVILIONIS STAFF WRITER
Finally settled into the adjusted workload of online learning, students are able to find some sort of routine in the madness. For Zoe Hannon, sophomore in Business, there is always something going on between being a full-time student and running her own business. Having had plenty of downtime in quarantine, Hannon decided to piece together a plan for an idea that she had been mulling over for weeks—starting her own business. After serious consideration and with the support from her family, she opened Shine Açaí this May. “With all of the hardships that people are experiencing in the COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted to create a product that could really brighten people’s lives and bring happiness to them,” Hannon said. “When I realized that I had all this time with quarantine, some new ideas and things that I really wanted to apply from my classes inspired me to start this business.” Starting a business is no easy task, so when Hannon decided to take on the challenge, she was faced with the difficult decision of how to begin or where to turn. “Obviously when you think, ‘I want to start my own business,’ the first thing in my brain was, ‘Where do I start?’” Hannon said. “The first thing I really did was apply for a business license through Palatine because I felt that these people
BRIGIDA DOCKUS THE DAILY ILLINI
Zoe Hannon’s Shine Acai bowl rests on the ground.
that help new businesses register might be able to give me some guidance in terms of the next steps.” After opening her business, Han-
non began going to her local farmer’s market in Palatine every Saturday to set up a tent for her açaí bowls. Before long, she was selling out her bowls almost every weekend. As a way to serve her customers taking
extra precautions for COVID, she began to make biweekly deliveries within a ten-mile radius of her town. With the support of her community, her business began to grow. Before classes began again in the fall, Hannon also had to find a way to make sure that she
would be able to balance schoolwork and managing a small business. No longer at home to be able to go to the farmer’s market each weekend, she took on a new role while her parents and siblings took care of selling the product. “The business didn’t stop when I came back to school because I am on campus this semester … Once I went away to school, I was doing all of the management operational oversight, while my siblings are the ones I hired to continue running the business in terms of making the bowls and being at the farmer’s market,” Hannon said. “In terms of managing workloads, it sometimes can be a little challenging … it’s really just been about a lot of clear communication and organization.” Looking to the future, Hannon hopes to be able to establish a building in her hometown in order to better serve a larger community of people. Her goal is to take on more of a management role so that she can help her business to grow. “I would say that the dream would be to establish a brick-and-mortar location in my hometown within the next year,” Hannon said. “This business is kind of like my baby, where I’ve raised it, it has grown, and it would be hard because I wouldn’t be as involved. However, it would be wonderful because then I could also be pursuing other things at the same time.” cjp7@dailyillini.com
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7A
Monday, November 2, 2020
Age of politics skews representation Electorate get younger, politicians get older
BY ELIZABETH SAYASANE FEATURES EDITOR
When the 115th Congress began its term in 2017, the average age of its members was among the oldest in recent U.S. history. The average age of the House was 57.8 years. For the Senate, it was 61.8 years. However, the congressional elections held in 2018 introduced the youngest freshman class since 2011 with figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress at 29 years old. Yet the average age of Congress stayed the same. The young adult voter population has shown low rates of voting the past several years. The polls, however, saw an increase in their participation from 2012 to 2016 and a larger jump from 2014 to 2018, in part thanks to strong initiatives coordinated on places like college campuses. Hira Khan leads some of these initiatives as the state coordinator for the Campus Vote Project in Michigan. “I recruit students from campuses and then help them do civic engagement work on campus to get their fellow peers to be more engaged in the democratic process,” Khan said. This engagement includes town halls, student panels and tabling, working to educate their young peers on the basics of voting. These students
Generational makeup of Electorate
*Generation Z is not yet elegible to run for Congress
30
28% 25%
25
53.9%
50
20
40
31.5% 15 10
30
10%
9%
5
20
8.6%
10
0 Silent Generation
Baby Boomers
Generation Milennials X
Generation Z
6%
0 Baby Boomers
Silent Generation
Generation X
Milennials
Source: Pew Research Center CASSIDY BRANDT THE DAILY ILLINI
cover how to get an absentee ballot, how to register, where polling locations are and more. Khan said informing these students could be the key to getting a larger voter turnout from this demographic. Whether the problem is missing deadlines or confusion over how to vote by mail, educating these voters can go a long way. While the students Khan works with never specifi-
cally cite the age of candidates as a particular issue they consider when voting, she thinks it could potentially play a part in voter turnout overall. “Elected officials are running their campaign (and) maybe they don’t target students as being a big population or they don’t necessarily rely on the student vote to be re-elected,” she said. “Therefore, a lot of their policies, while they
IF THEY CAN DO IT,
SO CAN YOU!
WEAR a MASK DAILY ILLINI
60
27%
CASSIDY BRANDT THE DAILY ILLINI
THE
Generational makeup of Congress*
serve the overall community, they don’t have necessarily specific items that are focused on students.” This lack of attention paid to issues specifically affecting younger voters could be just part of a larger issue with engaging younger voters. Aleksander Ksiazkiewicz works as an assistant professor of political science at the University studying political psychology. This means looking at how people make political decisions and how their political attitudes are shaped. While he said he does not know of much research looking at age as an identity that could affect political behavior, it may fit alongside the overall idea of descriptive representation. “Descriptive representation,” he said, “is the question of ‘do the people who represent me in office, do they share social identities with me?’” These identities could be race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or, Ksiazkiewicz said, it could be age. Young people looking at the officials who represent them do not see a reflection of themselves. “It seems plausible to me
that that could be a reason why then, at least for some people, they may decide not to want to get involved in politics,” he said. “They say, ‘you know, (it) clearly is not a thing where I’m welcome.’” Samuel Weinberg, however, has not let the age of candidates, or his own age for that matter, stop him from political involvement. Weinberg is 19 years old and the founder of the Settle for Biden campaign. He said the mission of this initiative was to get progressives out to vote for a candidate who he said was not the first choice of anyone on the left wing of the party. During the Illinois primary, Weinberg voted for Bernie Sanders. W hen Sanders dropped out, Weinberg said he heard many people say Biden and Trump were two sides of the same coin. He decided he needed to help get a progressive case out for Biden, showing he was better than Trump. Biden, if he were to become president, would be the oldest person to ever be sworn into office. While Weinberg and most of his team are in their late teens,
early 20s, he said Biden’s age does not bother him too much. “I don’t think that the age of the candidates itself is what matters most, I think it’s more their ideas,” he said. Overall, Weinberg said he would like to see more young candidates and younger people in politics in general. However, he also said when it comes to governing, experience does matter. He does not expect the average age of a politician to be the average age of a voter. The older generations will not be around forever to shape the politics of America. Younger voters are increasing their participation and younger candidates are taking their chances running for office. Khan, in working with several college-age students, said a shift may be taking place this year. “I think that given the large amount of young people who are coming out to vote this year, it’ll be kind of an eye-opening moment to see how engaged young people really are,” she said. eis3@dailyillini.com
NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD ACROSS
1 “Aida” composer 6 “Do it now!” 10 “Play It as It Lays” author Didion 14 Embellish 15 Note to a staffer 16 “___ us a son is given” 17 Celebrations with hula dancing 18 Support the pasture entrance? 20 Calorie-counting regimen 22 Patron 23 Movies, informally 24 Check someone’s parent to make sure she’s of drinking age? 27 Pong game company 29 ___ loss for words 30 Russian space station until 2001 31 Liza Minnelli musical set in Berlin 33 Peaty places 35 Church official 37 Was introduced to the doctor? 42 Swirling currents 43 Lift on a ski slope 45 Small, lobsterlike crustacean 48 “Life Is Good” rapper 51 Thurman on the big screen 52 Derby entrant 53 Do some trawling at sea? 55 Gobbled up or down 56 Capital of Latvia 59 Sort 60 Criticize Sega’s hedgehog design? 63 Annoying summer swarms 66 And all the rest, in brief
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PUZZLE BY LYNN LEMPEL
67 Actress Reid of the “American Pie” films 68 Not important 69 “___ we forget” 70 Truant G.I.’s infraction 71 Big health insurer
DOWN
1 Kilmer who played Batman 2 End of a college web address 3 Driver’s furious fit 4 Priestly Gaul or Celt 5 Pants line that’s partly hidden 6 Loudening device, informally 7 Blood fluid 8 “Famous” cookie guy 9 Head of the Holy See 10 Container for cider or ale
11 12 13 19
Equal in rank Apparel Dead end sign Language of the Quran 21 “That’s personal stuff I didn’t need to hear” 24 Taxi 25 Itsy-bitsy bit 26 Corsage flower 28 Not stated directly 31 Brand of small planes 32 Radio journalist Shapiro 34 Frets (over) 36 Corrosive cleaner 38 Venomous vipers 39 Smartphone precursor, for short 40 Plentiful 41 Partner of rank and serial number 44 Dirty rotten scoundrel
45 Small place of worship 46 Turn on an axis 47 Large sports venues 49 “Don’t ___!” 50 Scarlet letter, e.g. 53 Capital near the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that’s still largely intact 54 Redheaded orphan of Broadway 57 Smidgen 58 Bite like a beaver 61 Computer key not pressed alone 62 Ripken who played a record 2,632 consecutive majorleague games 64 2,000 pounds 65 Mexican Mrs.: Abbr.
The crossword solution is in the Classified section.
8A
MONDAY
November 2, 2020 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com
OPINIONS
KENYON EDMOND THE DAILY ILLINI
Picture above is a view of the Black Hills atop Mt. Cooldige in South Dakota. Columnist Nathanial recounts his time in Kadoka, South Dakota and speaks on the persitence and resonance of the American spirit.
American spirit persists in Kadoka, South Dakota tiny. With a week and a half of planning, we were determined to visit our friends COLUMNIST working in Montana and ventured West: a trip consisting of more than 3,700 he American spirit miles. demonstrated itself Joking along the way 117 miles east of that fate was too fortunate Mount Rushmore and 743 for us, our luck subsequentmiles west of Rockford, ly ran amok about 117 miles Illinois. east of our hotel that first In a town of 708, Kadoday of pioneering. Gathka, South Dakota was perered along the highway on a sonally a reservoir for the simmering July afternoon, endearing American spirit fate found us in the form this past summer. of witnessing a harrowing Established in 1906, the motorcycle accident. town’s name originates Following our westfrom the Native American ern voyage were scattered word for “Hodoka,” transmotorcyclists migrating lating to “hole in the wall” to Sturgis for the yearly — an appropriate name for motorcycle rally; luckily Kadoka as the town lies for Grace and I, we found as the gateway to one of ourselves traveling a week America’s natural wonders: ahead of the typically the Badlands. clogged transit — thereKadoka found its original fore avoiding the worst of trade-in serving as a cattle the motorcyclists on the 80 train depot — a venture mph speed limit freeways that lasted until 1980. The west of Sioux Falls, South town still survives today, Dakota. and rather than serving There, in front of the as a connection for cattle, Buick Grace and I drove, Kadoka specializes in netrose anguish and fear when working fearlessness to any suddenly a motorcycle in and all travelers before it. front of us swerve, flip and This summer, my friend deliver its two passengers Grace and I found oursoaring onto the sides of selves under the sway of an the highway. Shock-ridden, 11th-hour Manifest DesGrace immediately pulled NATHANIEL LANGLEY
T
over, and I called the cops while numerous cars swiftly passed by only shaking their heads at the alarming scene. Only a few seconds after Grace and my diversion off the highway were we followed by a dashing woman who whirled her minivan across the medium trench and rapidly took charge in the recovery effort. As I stayed on the phone with local police, a scene akin to a small-South Dakotan-town-version of The Avengers assembled onto the scene in which Grace and I would later learn to be various townspeople of Kadoka, South Dakota. The American spirit asserts itself in times of personal and societal crises. It manifests itself in our trials and tribulations: when we are under attack and when fear looms in the mind of its people. Through tumultuous events such as Pearl Harbor, the Cold War and 9/11, the American spirit was united against a common enemy. Today, where our common enemy is our common neighbor, it is too easy to weigh judgment against fellow Americans
over bureaucratic apprehensions. Yet also in this time, it is easy to forget the things that unite all of us are the smaller moments of cooperation that can materialize frantically. There was more that united than divided us on the South Dakotan highway that day. The Arkansan motorcyclist couple who lay aching on the highway shoulder were surrounded by South Dakotans and us two Illinoisans who sought good company and patiently waited for help to arrive. Fortunately, on that heated highway, the good company that surrounded this motorcyclist couple was predominantly from the town next door, Kadoka. The minivan mom who originally skirted across the highway turned out not only to be the related to the owner of the ranch where we found ourselves to be but also was the town’s previous teacher, related to the LifeLine helicopter pilot and the sister of a gas station owner down the road and across from the Badlands. The American spirit appears only when needed and on its own time. Indeed
this minivan-clad knight channeled the American spirit as she remained the calm, leading force in supporting the injured motorcyclists and stunned Grace and me. Huddled along the highway once the paramedics had arrived, Grace and I found ourselves to be adopted-citizens of Kadoka through trading stories and traveling experiences that crucial day. Likewise, Grace and I saw ourselves refitted to serve as the shade for the motorcyclist wife while the minivanmom in front of us led a group discussion over family and children to keep spirits high. President Harry S. Truman outlines the nobleness of the American spirit when he said, “America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and unbeatable determination … ” Facing us that afternoon was a decrepit fear of the unknown: a blank itinerary as to what would happen to the injured couple and an increasingly precarious expedition for Grace and me that started merely hours before. Nonetheless, the Ameri-
can spirit supplied us in the accident’s occurrence the courage and “unbeatable determination” for resolve that Truman aptly discerned. There were no discussions of economics, health nor foreign policy on the offbeat highway in Kadoka. Following the motorcyclists’ misfortunes, only topics of family and local chatter were the affairs of interest. Even while their bodies maintained troublesome harm could the husband and wife still bid jokes at their distressing situation — and there could the American spirit find solace. The American spirit cannot be confined into a single definition, but it can be applied to assorted situations across the American spectrum. For a pair of teens who were swept into a recovery effort in Kadoka, the American spirit demonstrated its resolve through challenging fear with camaraderie and uniting us with new companions more than 700 miles away from our home. Nathaniel is a sophomore in LAS. ntl3@dailyillini.com
Voting masses must determine election outcome, not courts rable and divisive times in recent memory, so it’s only SENIOR fitting this election evokes COLUMNIST the temper of the beginning of the century, which started with the head-scratching an election of such decision of Bush v. Gore. extraordinary cirIn the 2000 presidential cumstances, it’s fair election between George to say it is an election unlike W. Bush and Al Gore, the any other with consequenSupreme Court ruled Bush tial ramifications that will would be the next presithrust the country into a dent of the United States new unknown. Society has because the court held that had to adapt to a multitude Florida’s recount used proof different situations, and cedures that violated “the the political arena is no equal dignity owed to each different. voter.” The court ruled since The inherent democratstandards used to recount ic integrity of elections in ballots varied between America rests upon the fun- counties, the process was a damental principle the peo- violation of the Equal Prople decide. While the aftertections Clause and effecmath may be tumultuous, tively declared Bush the there should be no question victor. of the legitimacy in the peoHowever, this legal analyple’s votes, and it is outside sis by the court was unique the purview of the Supreme only to the 2000 election, Court to involve themselves and lower courts were even in deciding the outcome. instructed to never rely on This year has shaped up this obscure principle for to be one of the more memo- ballot tabulation again. ALICE LEE
In
ing military personnel, are unfounded and merely a ploy to further his political agenda. There is no evidential basis to question the legitimacy of voting by mail, despite the efforts of Trump and the Supreme Court to minimize decades of election law. In the past week, numerPHOTO COURTESY OF ELVERT BARNES ous legal decisions directDemonstrators chant outside the Supreme Court Building ly impacting the results during the 2000 Presidential Election Disenfranchised Voters of this election have been Protest on Dec. 11, 2000. Columnist Alice draws parallels passed, including the between chaos in the 2000 presidential election and today. Supreme Court’s refusal to extend the deadline for Twenty years after the in the literal sense. As hisWisconsin voters to cast unprecedented rationale, tory has shown, there are ballots by mail, a decision an election may once again more ways to influence an that irresponsibly cited be decided by the Supreme election beyond casting a Bush v. Gore, and the Texas Court. Only this time, the ballot. Supreme Court ruling the debate is over perceived President Donald Trump state can limit drop-off sites fraudulent mail-in ballots has adamantly asserted his for election ballots to one skewing election results. distrust of the validity of per county. One of the major politimail-in ballots, claiming These cases exemplify cal implications as a direct they could be manipulatthe sheer influence state result of the global pandem- ed and are rife with fraud. and federal courts have in ic is the increase in mail-in Trump’s criticisms of a long- deciding the outcome of ballots as voters are forego- held voting practice utilized elections, essentially overing marching to the polls — by citizens for years, includ- powering the people’s voice
and overstepping dual sovereignty. American election law should not be used as a mechanism to gain partisan advantage, but it cannot be denied the court’s rulings could very easily swing an election in favor of the court’s ideological majority. Twice now, the Supreme Court has intervened in the election process — shutting down the Florida recount and refusing an extension to ensure voters could still cast ballots during a pandemic. In the first case, there is still bitterness surrounding the circumstances around how Bush was elected president and the court’s decision. In the latter, the aftermath will play out in the weeks to come, but wherever the chips may fall, it has to be at the hands of individual voters, not the Supreme Court. Alice is a junior in LAS. alicewl2@dailyillini.com
Mask requirement in campus gyms hinders athletic performance CHIARA AWATRAMANI COLUMNIST
T
hroughout this pandemic, the University has taken multiple measures to ensure our safety here on campus, including requiring masks at the gym. Though this rule allows the gym to remain open for our use, certain aspects of this policy hinder athletic performance. Masks block the regular flow of oxygen to the body. At a gym where people lift, run, bike, swim, row and play sports, this reduction
in oxygen leads to earlier fatigue and prematurely increases one’s heart rate and blood pressure with minimal amounts of exercise, according to the National Institute of Health. Essentially, gym-goers cannot perform to their highest potential under this policy. With cardio exercises, the effects of masks immediately arise because these types of exercises, by nature, rely on the efficient exchange of oxygen. As masks block this airflow, performance decreases. Lifters also experience this elevation of heart rate which can turn a squat into a sweat fest. Completing rep-
etitions with low amounts of rest time in between feels like running a mile: sweat dripping, heavy breathing. While wearing a mask, those seeking to lose weight, improve agility, increase muscle mass or otherwise improve their overall physical fitness may experience slower improvements over time than would be expected under normal circumstances. Spirits may fall when fitness fiends note the difference in times or pounds without a mask compared to their stats with one. For example, someone trying to jump from an eight-minute to a seven-minute mile
might be surprised when their first mile on the treadmill with a mask clocks in at eight minutes and 30 seconds. In reality, people at the gym, or in any other space where a mask is required while exercising, should expect worse numbers due to the inefficient flow of oxygen face coverings cause. While it is tempting to attribute these statistical deteriorations to a personal lack of effort, it’s important to recognize the negative ramifications of masks in terms of athletic measurements. In the era of COVID-19, a herculean effort is required
to even set foot in a gym; it can therefore be disconcerting when one’s effort to seek fitness is rewarded with disappointing numbers. Considering the fragile nature of mental health during this pandemic, it may be inadvisable to implement any policy which could further discourage someone from going to the gym. Continuing to benefit from exercise during the pandemic may look different than it did pre-coronavirus, but it’s crucial to find ways to adapt. For example, since wearing masks at the gym hinders performance, consider adding outdoor exercises such as a bodyweight
circuit or running sprints to remind yourself of your maximum potential. Additionally, surgical masks are not only more effective at limiting the spread of the coronavirus but also are more breathable than cloth masks and are downright more comfortable. Choosing these masks over cloth ones might be worth a try. Overall, seeing as masks adversely affect an athlete’s performance, we must find ways to continue exercising to stay healthy and happy amidst a pandemic. Chiara is a freshman in LAS. cawatr2@dailyillini.com
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
MONDAY
November 2, 2020 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com
SPORTS ILLINOIS VS. PURDUE
Over the weekend, Illinois football fell to 0-2 after the game-tying touchdown came just eight yards short as Purdue won in Champaign 31-24. Illinois, led by fourth-string quarterback Coran Taylor, put up a decent offensive fight that was completely opposite of its week one loss. However, the defense was unable to stop the pass again, letting up 376 passing yards and only forcing six incompletions. The Illini’s turnover trouble, two interceptions and two fumbles lost, seemed to be the biggest thing that put them down in the first place, forcing them into a 31-10 deficit to start the fourth quarter.
The Limited Illini
Around an hour before the game, the team announced 14 players were out following the positive COVID-19 tests of senior quarterback Brandon Peters and redshirt freshman tight end Griffin Moore. The team did not specify who of the 14 were out because of contact tracing protocols and who were out with other injuries. This left the Illini with their third-string quarterback, Matt Robinson, who had a promising first drive but was injured scrambling on the last play of the drive. Taylor then stepped in as quarterback for the remainder of the game.
Turnovers
The turnovers by the Illini hurt them so much because of when and where they happened. Taylor’s first pick came when the team was driving and in the red zone. One of his fumbles gave the Boilermakers the ball at the 19-yard line and his second interception gave the Boilermakers the ball at the 23-yard line and led to a touchdown.
Honor Roll
This section is for shout outs to the players that had notable performances. Kendrick Green The junior lineman, who usually plays guard, moved to center today as Doug Kramer was one of the 14 players out on Saturday. He played well as usual. Caleb Griffin Caleb Griffin stepped up for the Illini as senior kicker James McCourt was out on Saturday and had a field goal made and went 3/3 on extra points. Blake Hayes Another good game for senior Blake Hayes, the Big Ten’s best punter. What more can you say?
OFFENSE The Illini offense was inconsistent on Saturday, but that is an upgrade from its almost non-existent display against the Badgers. While the offense was able to put drives together, the same thing that seemingly saved them on defense, turnovers, killed them on offense. Taylor had two interceptions, one on a throw that was behind his receiver, and one on a ball too high for his receiver. The interceptions put them in bad positions by stopping drives and giving Purdue a great position to score.
Despite the turnovers — four — the Illini offense looked good. Behind Taylor, who passed for 273 yards, the offense looked dynamic. A lot of option plays, rollouts and scrambles opened up a lot downfield for Taylor, who was able to hit a lot of throws. The run game looked solid throughout the game as running backs sophomore Chase Brown and junior Mike Epstein combined for 136 yards and a touchdown. Taylor led the game in carries with 17 and had some good runs, but also took some big sacks.
DEFENSE SECONDARY
Illinois’ defensive struggles picked up exactly where they were left week one against Wisconsin. Purdue’s first drive on offense was for five plays and 80 yards. It only took Purdue just under a minute and a half to slice through the Illini defense, through the air and with the run. The Purdue passing attack ended with 371 yards and two touchdowns, and O’Connell only had six incompletions. This comes after Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz only missed one throw last week. For some reason, Illinois’ defense can not force incompletions. Aidan O’Connell found holes in the defense all afternoon as the secondary had no answer for quarterback play in the second straight week. Even when the Illini got to receivers, missed tackles were another problem. Nothing was more telling of the secondary than when the Illini needed a stop on 3rd and 11 to keep their comeback hopes alive and let the Boilermakers convert the first down to seal the game.
DE F E N SI VE L I N E
The bright spot on the defense, for the second week in a row, was the defensive line. The position group had a lot of question marks entering the season, but so far they have exceeded expectations and been the best part of the Illini defense. Senior defensive lineman Owen Carney Jr. had a great day with three sacks and a forced fumble, and the rest of the line limited Purdue to under 100 total rushing yards.
CORAN TAYLOR On Wednesday, before the Illini found out the fourth quarter and coming close to a third. they would be without Peters and redshirt Junior offensive lineman Kendrick Green, who played with freshman quarterback Isaiah Williams, Taylor in high school, summed up how he felt about Taylor’s Taylor might not have thought he was performance: “As far as I’m concerned, he gave us a chance.” going to play on Saturday. But his mindTaylor’s decision-making at times was bad. However, as set was the same:“Be ready so you don’t Taylor learns to take care of the ball with another week of have to get ready.” practice and film review, he could be a good option for the Grading Taylor is hard, but as a Illini at quarterback as Peters will be out for the next two fourth-string quarterback, he did well. games at least. He had some missteps with his two interInconsistency usually grounds for a “C” grade, but because he ceptions and fumbles, but he led the team to a almost led the comeback and made me laugh in the post-game press comeback chance, scoring two touchdowns in conference, he gets a “B-”.
MEMORIAL STADIUM PRESS BOX Breakfast was solid with a burrito and fruit cup, but the highlight was and always is the cold brew. Lunch was a little underwhelming as the hot dogs’ buns were a little hard, but the giant cookie was an appreciated touch. While the sun shining into the press box made it feel like it was August, the temperature was nice after the sun moved behind the stadium. The music selection in Memorial Stadium
FOOTBALL
Without improvements, Illini are in for long season SPORTS EDITOR
QUENTIN SHAW THE DAILY ILLINI
Sophomore quarterback Coran Taylor throws a pass under pressure during the game against Purdue on Oct. 31. The Illini fell to the Boilermakers 31-24.
Coran Taylor sparks new life into offense fourth-string quarterback virtually never expects to The coronavirus has rav- put on the pads and play aged families, the econ- meaningful minutes. But, omy and Illinois’ quarterback depth chart. A SEE TAYLOR | 2B ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
@brendyn_jones brendynjones@dailyillini.com
FOOTBALL
BY GABBY HAJDUK
BY CARSON GOURDIE
was a little repetitive but nice. Listening to “Crunk Ain’t Dead” by Duke Deuce four times throughout the game really made my Saturday special. Thanks, Memorial.
After Saturday afternoon’s comeback fell short, the Illini sit at a bleak 0-2. With a depleted quarterback room, little depth on the offensive line and fundamental issues in the secondary, the odds of Illinois coming out of the 2020 season without a win are increasing by the day. A home-opener against the Boilermakers, a team the Illini handled just a season ago, was supposed to be a surefire win. Obviously, having to play a fourthstring quarterback changes that surefire win status, but it isn’t an excuse when the Boilermakers gave the Illini every chance to win down the stretch. There’s enough talent on the roster to make up for the quarterback position. Yes, the Big Ten football season is just two games in. We saw Lovie Smith’s team
fall into a hole with fourstraight early losses last year and still end up in the team’s first bowl game since 2014. But this season feels different. Most other Big Ten teams are improving. Northwestern, Purdue and Indiana all sit comfortably at 2-0 when last year the Wildcats finished 1-8 and the Boilermakers finished 3-6, both teams at the bottom of the conference. After ending the season in dead last, Rutgers looks solid at 1-1 after putting up 38 points against Michigan State in Week One. Maryland, a one-win team in 2019, also sits at 1-1 after upsetting Minnesota this weekend. Illinois isn’t in the same boat; there hasn’t been progression, but instead regression. Against Wisconsin, senior quarterback Brandon Peters looked flat and had tunnel vision for senior wide receiver Josh Imatorbheb-
he, who has dropped several passes in the first two games. The run game hasn’t been completely established; it was more efficient against Purdue than Wisconsin, but running backs junior Mike Epstein and sophomore Chase Brown need more consistency. The defense has given up 76 points in just two weeks. Wisconsin and Purdue’s Quarterbacks Graham Mertz and Aidan O’Connell are talented, but they shouldn’t be carving up a veteran Illinois secondary. Blown coverages have led to quick touchdown passes and holes left open in the middle of the field have caused smooth-sailing, efficient drives for Wisconsin and Purdue. All of these things should be fixed and improved in year five of Smith’s tenure, but they’re not. Which is why I’m not sure the Illini will win more than one,
maybe two games this season. Looking at the rest of the schedule, Illinois needs to improve in every area of the game, most importantly on defense, to come out of 2020 with something in the win column. Next week, Illinois hosts a surprisingly winless Minnesota. But Minnesota has still been able to put plenty of points on the board. They are being led by running back Mohamed Ibrahim who has rushed for 347 yards and six touchdowns in the first two weeks, while quarterback Tanner Morgan hasn’t been as impressive, putting up just 386 yards and two touchdowns through two games. Rutgers and Nebraska are both unproven teams but have solid foundations and can put points up. Then, Illinois has to host one of the SEE IMPROVEMENTS | 2B
2B Monday, November 2, 2020
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SOCCER FROM 1B
IMPROVEMENTS
and Rutgers could all be wins for Illinois, but not without massive improvements from both the players and the coaching staff. Either way, Illinois could be in for a brutal 2020 season, and we might have to restart the conversations about Lovie being on the hot seat.
top programs in the country, Ohio State, which speaks for itself. Illinois then wraps the regular season up with Iowa, who Illinois consistently struggles against, and Northwestern, who beat a depleted Illinois team at the end of last season. I would like to think @gabby_h11 Northwestern, Nebraska ghajduk2@dailyillini.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF ILLINOIS SOCCER’S TWITTER
Freshman Julia Eichenbaum advances with the ball during a Friday Night Lights game on Wednesday. Team White defeated Team Blue 3-2.
Team White scores late goal to win series BY ANGELLE CORTES STAFF WRITER
On Friday, the Illinois soccer team played their second game of the three-game Friday Night Light series. Team White defeated Team Blue 3-2 after a last-minute winner from sophomore forward Summer Garrison. The series is a best-outof-three between the two inter squad teams. Both teams have been set for the series and will stay the same throughout all three games. In the first game of the series, head coach Janet Rayfield put senior goalkeepers Sami Sample and Elizabeth Cablk in goal for the whole 90 minutes. In the second game, both freshmen keepers, Julia Cili and Natalie Phelps, were put in goal. With Team Blue down 1-0 in the series and losing 4-1 two weeks ago, they were looking to bounce back. After a scoreless 15 minutes of the game, a free kick was given to Team White after a foul just outside the box from sophomore defender Aleah Treiterer. Senior midfielder Hope Breslin stepped up to take the ensuing free kick. Breslin sent in a high cross towards the back post, and redshirt senior defender Henar Urteaga jumped over two defenders to score a header to open the scoring in the 16th minute of play.
The next goal came from Team White again. An intercepted pass from junior defender Ashleigh Lefevre to freshman forward Julia Eichenbaum saw the ball land at the feet of sophomore midfielder Lilian Lucas. Lucas took a shot about 25-30 yards from goal heading towards Cili. Cili pawed it away onto the bar but hit the wrong side of the bar and landed into the goal, putting Team White up 2-0 in the 25th minute of play. Under a minute after the goal from Lucas, Team Blue responded with some buildup play after kick off. The ball got to junior forward Lauren Stibich, who sent in a curling cross to the box. Redshirt sophomore defender Kendra Pasquale got on the end of the cross and tapped it past Phelps to get Team Blue on the scoreboard, cutting the team’s deficit in half. In the 27th minute, Lefevre had the ball in the defensive half. After Team Blue put on pressure, she sent a pass across goal but didn’t make it to Urteaga’s feet. Freshman forward Zoey Kollhoff picked up on the mistake and took advantage with a chip shot over a sliding Phelps, knotting the game up at two goals apiece. With less than 10 minutes left in the first half, senior forward Katie Le sent a through ball to sophomore
forward Ashley Prell. Urteaga came in to defend and shielded the ball from Prell for Phelps to pick up. After a diving save from Phelps, she appeared to hold her head, as she had been kicked by either Prell or Urteaga. Phelps walked off the field, with Sample ready to replace her in goal. The majority of the game stayed tied at 2-2. Both Team Blue and Team White had many chances and plays to get a goal but were unable to finish. For Team White, Breslin and Garrison both had multiple opportunities to put another goal on the board, though many of the shots either went over the goal or were blocked or saved. Breslin’s quick feet were able to get her out of tight situations to start plays, but there wasn’t a goal to show for her efforts. Another injury happened in the second half to freshman defender Joanna Verzosa-Dolezal. She looked to have been struggling for several minutes before coming off the field for the remainder of the game, causing Team Blue to play the final 13 minutes with only 10 women on the field. In the 86th minute, Garrison scored the winning goal, breaking the deadlock between the two teams. Eichenbaum sent in a low
cross into the box and Cili blocked it, though she was unable to get ahold of the ball. After a scrambled clearance from the defenders, the ball fell to Garrison’s feet, and she tapped it in for the rebound to get the winning goal for Team White, earning her the Woman of the Match award. “It was super exciting, it was my first goal since I’ve been here (at Illinois),” Garrison said. “It was exciting to play with my teammates and score for my team. I think we were working really, really, really hard the second half as a team, and we got so many chances on goal but just couldn’t put it in.” Though Team White won the Friday Night Light series, Rayfield still plans on playing the third game. “They don’t quit, they don’t give up and they find a way to score a goal and get back in it,” Rayfield said. “You give them a lot of credit, and that’s an experience that group of players can take into a real regular season. I think learning that response, that’s different from what happened two weeks ago gives growth for the players on that team. That’s exactly the reason why we’re doing these games on Friday nights.” @AngelleCortes acorte37@dailyillini.com
WRESTLING
Team restarts practices with COVID-19 protocols BY ISAAC HEPPNER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Illini wrestling team has not suited up for practice since March. The COVID-19 pandemic forced all facilities to shut down, which caused the team to suspend all future practices and events. On Sept. 10, the team held its first practice with safety regulations and restrictions. “We have sections taped off on a mat, and we have to stay in that section,” said redshirt sophomore Danny Braunagel. “If we leave our section, we have to stop wrestling to minimize the amount of contact we have with others.” With newly implemented Big Ten regulations, teams will be able to hold practices as long as contact is reduced and social distancing guidelines are enforced. The Illini will continue to practice for their upcoming season, which begins in early January. While normal practices won’t be held leading up to the beginning of the season, star senior Dylan Duncan and Braunagel both believe that they will be ready for the start of the season. The Illini are taking full advantage of these times and trying to make the most of these practices. “It’s been tough this year,” Duncan said. “There isn’t much we can do and we have been coming back into wrestling pretty slowly and it’s a hassle. We fight through it. Like water off a duck’s back, we keep going. It has almost made me more excited for the season to start.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF ILLINOIS WRESTLING’S TWITTER
Illinois wrestlers grapple during practice on Thursday. The wrestling team has recently restarted practices with new COVID-19 precautions.
Getting back into practice doesn’t necessarily mean bringing the team back together completely. Most athletes gain their team chemistry outside of the gym doing activities together. Due to the COVID-19 regulations, athletes can not be spending much time together. “We want to hang out as a team,” Duncan said. “Now all of a sudden there are these restrictions and you can’t be hanging out with more than 6-7 people at a time. It’s ruined a lot of time to hang out together and that’s what it’s all about. It’s about the journey, not the destination.” Athletes were forced to work out individually for the rest of the spring and over the summer due to the
COVID-19 regulations. Athletes could not enter Illinois facilities to practice or train during this time. Duncan and Braunagel both took similar approaches to get back to normal form. “When summer rolled around, I got a job down in Champaign at a local business, and that got me carrying things around and it helped me a lot,” said Duncan. “I started working out again and it taught me a lot mentally.” “I didn’t take any summer classes with restrictions on scholarships due to COVID, so I ended up getting a job,” Braunagel said. “When we moved into our apartment here, a private facility opened up and that’s where I trained until things started getting back
to normal.” When the season starts up in January, both Braunagel and Duncan believe they are ready to start their season off right with no setbacks. Though the official schedule has not yet been released, the Illini feel that they have a strong enough team and will put in enough work to face any team that comes their way. “The situation we have here is a lot better than some other schools and we are very fortunate,” Braunagel said. “I think we’re gonna be well prepared. I think as a University we are taking full advantage of these times and making the best of them.” @heppsballin iwh2@dailyillini.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF SAM ANDERSON/FIGHTING ILLINI ATHLETICS
Illinois head coach Lovie Smith gives instructions during practice on Oct. 12. After losing to Purdue at home on Saturday, Illinois is now 0-2 for the season.
FROM 1B
TAYLOR
accounting for less than a quarter of receptions. The tight ends took a step forward today with junior tight end Daniel Barker finishing with 74 yards while Josh’s older brother, Daniel, had a breakout game with 43 yards and a touchdown, his first since 2016. “He’s practiced well,” Smith said of the USC transfer. “(There’s) a reason why we brought him here. All three of our tight ends made plays throughout the day, and we’ll try to get them in the mix more.” But the biggest development was Taylor’s connection with Miami transfer junior wide receiver Brian Hightower, who finished with 97 yards and a score. Later in the game, Taylor leaned to Hightower to make big plays, including the touchdown that brought the Illini within a score. “Yeah, I looked good,” Taylor said. “I was calm and collected. It was a little bit rowdy at first. But, after the first couple snaps, I was good.” Of course, Taylor did play better than most would expect. However, his mistakes played a huge role in the defeat. The sophomore’s turnovers led to 21 points for Purdue, including Taylor’s fumble at the Illini 3-yard line. More than that, Taylor had trouble with handing off the ball at times, resulting in near turnovers. The immediate future indicates Taylor will lead the offense. But while Taylor did show some dualthreat talent, the Illini won’t be able to run the full playbook. “You have to (simplify the offense),” Smith said. “You can’t do all of your plays you would with a fifth-year Brandon Peters.” So, the Illini played a fourth-string quarterback, allowed 21 Purdue points off of turnovers, played without senior center Doug Kramer and ran a limited playbook while still being just eight yards away from forcing overtime. Taylor, who played confidently despite setbacks, ran a more lethal offensive attack in the fourth quarter than Peters did all last game. Though the Purdue loss puts the Illini in a 0-2 hole, a continued focus on getting more talent involved in the passing game while securing a running game will allow this Illini team to be Smith’s most talented offensive squad yet, even without Peters.
in 2020, it might just be the new normal. After senior quarterback Brandon Peters’ positive test, redshirt freshman quarterback Isaiah Williams being exposed to the virus and sophomore quarterback Matt Robinson’s injury, the Illini relied on redshirt sophomore Coran Taylor, with results ranging from dynamic to sloppy. Despite the loss, the offense provided life and hope, setting a blueprint for future success. But where do the Illini go from here? Well, depending on the status of Robinson, Taylor will take over under center while Peters quarantines for 21 days. A brief look at some stats would lead people to believe Taylor played a fine game; 273 yards and a couple of touchdowns did spark life into an inept Illini offense, but four turnovers from the Peoria native dug the Illini too deep of a hole. “I thought he threw the ball well at times ... It’s just hard stepping into the huddle,” head coach Lovie Smith said. “Another week of practice and he should be in better shape for the Minnesota game.” Robinson received the start Saturday, his third in an Illini uniform. Robinson, though he didn’t lead the Illini to any scores, played efficiently. But an injury in the first quarter knocked him out for the remainder of the game, leading Smith to call on his fourth-string quarterback. Purdue stunned Iowa last week, 24-20, with a surprise stout performance from its defense, which gave up 30.6 points per game last season. But despite having to play Taylor, Illinois played much better than they did against the Wisconsin. First, Illinois established a running game with its running backs. After being held to 47 rushing yards in Madison, the offense line and running backs manufactured 145 yards, opening up the passing game for an experienced Taylor. Second, Taylor’s ability to spread the wealth with the wide receivers showed fans the Illini do have a diverse and talented set of pass-catchers. Last week, Peters’ infamously targeted senior wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe and failed to get others involved in the air attack. Taylor wasn’t tied to the University of Southern California transfer, however. Jo s h I m at or bhe b - @GourdieReport he caught four passes, gourdie2@dailyillini.com
3B
MONDAY
November 2, 2020 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com
COVID-19
PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAELA PATTON
Sophomore Michaela Patton poses for a photo. Patton has joined the club volleyball team this semester.
Athletes find community amidst COVID-19 BY ELIZABETH SAYASANE FEATURES EDITOR
When considering the return back to campus this fall, one of the greatest uncertainties was sports. This not only concerned official student-athletes, but also those students who played on club teams and even intramural leagues. With restricted access to the ARC and limited times and places to play, these students who saw their fellow teammates as some of their closest friends on campus wanted to find solutions. Michaela Patton, sophomore in Engineering, tried out for the club volleyball team this semester, even amidst the confusion over how it would all work. Patton tried out for the team as a last-minute decision. She heard tryouts were taking place and realized this may be her only opportunity to play
since it would be impossible to find indoor volleyball courts otherwise. When she made the team, Patton said she was happy to have an excuse to get out of her dorm room to exercise. “I usually use exercise as a way to kind of relieve stress and this is just really stressful in general,” she said. The format for club sports has been different this semester compared to years past. There are no tournaments being hosted at the moment, so they never get to play against other teams. They do still have practices, but they are required to wear masks during practice and, like the rest of the campus, must be tested twice a week. Patton said they must communicate a lot more specifically when they’re playing. They also are careful to follow the
ARC guidelines and rules closely. “The masks during practice are a little bit annoying, sometimes it’s hard to communicate or hard to breathe even,” she said. “But I think it’s a necessary precaution in order to actually get to play volleyball.” Patton said she is also hopeful that next semester they may be able to participate in some tournaments, including Nationals. Right now, though, she said just practicing is better than nothing. This was also, Patton said, probably her last opportunity to play a team sport with this same setting. While she might play a pick-up game of volleyball, it would be her chance to play at this level with all the girls from her team just as she did during high school. She said this has made her particularly grateful for the chance to play now, even in
a limited capacity. Her team has also assisted Patton in coping with the stress and isolation many are feeling during this time. With all the girls on the team, Patton has been able to create a greater sense of community. As a new member of the team, Patton has had the chance to meet new people. All the girls, she said, are very sweet and have been great people to get to know. “They’re great; that’s been nice too because we’re all, like, trying to still continue to do the sport we love despite all the chaos and stuff that’s going on in the world right now,” she said. While she said it’s unfortunate they have been unable to have a normal volleyball experience with each other, she said, “It’s just added a few people who I know who I can lean on.” eis3@dailyillini.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAELA PATTON
Sophomore Michaela Patton serves the ball during a high school volleyball game.
Chancellor addresses disappointment over spring break removal What plans are in place for any students planning on coming back to off-campus housing after Thanksgiving break? What is the University expecting after Thanksgiving?
will be available on a firstcome, first-served basis. Information about locations and hours will be posted on the COVID-19 website before Fall Break. Wellness Support Associates will be checking for building access compliance at the entrances. You must be up-to-date on your COVID-19 testing requirements. Students who will be on-campus or in the community during breaks are required to continue their regular COVID-19 testing schedule. We will continue to offer on-campus COVID-19 testing sites even during breaks. Students who fail to follow our testing policies are subject to student discipline.
think it will affect coronavi- ing on or around campus but rus on campus? not needing to go into any The new Spring 2021 Aca- campus building? Is there demic Calendar was creat- any enforcement for this? ed under advisement of the SHIELD team. The changes, including requiring students to test negative twice before they can enter campus facilities and removing spring break, were recommended to curb COVID-19 spread. We believe these are necessary precautions. We know students are disappointed by the removal of Spring Break, and we are providing small breaks working to put in place more ways to support their mental health during the semester.
All students who are living in the Champaign-Urbana-Savoy area are mandated to be testing on-campus for COVID-19 on their scheduled schedule (twice per week or every other day). We have records of who is testing, and we have been issuing student discipline for individuals who are not in compliance. Since the beginning of the semester, more than 1,000 students have faced discipline for violations of COVID-19 policies, including failure to participate in COVID-19 MARK CAPAPAS THE DAILY ILLINI How often do you presume testing. Chancellor Robert Jones prepares to deliver the State of the
Students who return to campus or the local community after Fall Break should test for COVID-19 as soon as possible after they return to campus. Continue to check the COVID-19 website for the most up-to-date testing site locations and hours. Students who return to or have remained in the community after Fall Break should limit themselves to essential activities only, such as testing, visiting the pharmacy and buying groceries through the end of the With the new plan in place for students are not getting testsemester. Some study spaces second semester, how do you ed twice weekly if they’re liv- news@dailyillini.com
Stay
University Address at the Illini Union on Jan. 24. He answered The Daily Illini’s questions about the Spring 2021 semester.
covered so you can stay here. covid19.illinois.edu
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5B
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THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Monday, November 2, 2020
6B
buzz calendar BY RUKAYAH HUSSEIN BUZZ CALENDAR EDITOR
The buzz calendar is a compilation of events happening around the Champaign-Urbana area. Follow our top picks in Monday’s and Thursday’s papers for activities to do on any night, from places to eat to things to watch. Want to submit an event? Email calendar@readbuzz.com or message us on Facebook.
MONDAT, NOV. 2
53rd Annual Virtual Turkey Trot
PHOTO COURTESY OF SOUNDCLOUD
Artist Bearcatshark performs at a live show. Bearcatshark will release his new album “Take it Back!” on Friday.
EP responds to social issues BY RAINA KUTLIROFF STAFF WRITER
buzz factor: Up-and-coming California artist Garrett Davis, better known as Bearcatshark, releases his newest and most impressive album on Nov. 6. Fans of Big Red Machine, Jack Garratt, Mt. Kimbie, Childish Gambino and Ted Hawkins will be impressed by Bearcatshark’s “Take it Back!” When asked about the genre of Bearcatshark’s sound, Davis describes it as if folk met electronic and mushrooms with hints of downtempo and chill/ vaporwave. After the tragic murder of George Floyd earlier this year, Davis was extremely disturbed and knew he had to transform his emotions and privileges into actions fighting racism. Davis immediately decided
to donate 100% of the profits made from “Take it Back!” to organizations such as the NAACP, Color of Change, The Conscious Kid and Gyrl Wonder. Ever since the growing conversations of racism in the U.S., Davis has been able to hear hip-hop music in a way he has never noticed before. He noticed that the ways people spoke and sang about race in the 1970s are almost identical to how people talk and sing about race now. Davis found this very troubling and decided to have his new album reflect his feelings about police brutality and race while donating the profits to those who can help fight racism and give back to Black communities. “Take it Back!” features 10 instrumental and folkyelectronic tracks. Davis describes his album as “com-
plex, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.” The most visceral and angriest track on the album “Take It Back!” will have you feeling as if you are exploding into the stratosphere. The most fun track off the album “Ya!” features New Yorkbased guitarist Remy Styrk and is just as quirky and unique as Bearcatshark is himself. Song “Rollerrama” is inspired by Tik Tok rollerskaters and has a classic ‘80s feel. “Anytime” starts light and soft and ends in a massive nostalgia blanket. Bearcatshark’s whimsical and nostalgic sound makes his music unlike anything ever heard before. Whether looking for study music or party music, the album “Take it Back!” somehow captures both moods simultaneously.
8 a.m. Crystal Lake Park, 206 W. Park St., Urbana Free (Donations encouraged) As this beloved event celebrates 53 years, we invite you to continue Urbana Park District’s Thanksgiving tradition by participating in this year’s Virtual Turkey Trot! Walk, run or roll your mile anytime between Nov. 1-Nov. 26 to participate. This virtual one-mile trot can be completed at any location. Please share your photos on our Facebook event page or email photos to info@urbanaparks.org.
Virtual Open Mic Night via Zoom!
7:30-11:30 p.m. A virtual event hosted by The Canopy Club Free Join the Canopy Club & ChampaignUrbana Open Mic Nights crew, including Mike Ingram, Anika Emily, Moe Pesci da Goodfella, Jake Fava Music, Lola Honey and more for weekly COVID-19 induced Zoom open mics. Until we can all be back at The Canopy Club, this is the best we’ve got.
The Noiz Assembly live on WEFT Sessions 10-11 p.m. A virtual event hosted by WEFT Community Radio Free What could be more terrifying than a full moon on All Hallow’s Eve? Why, Election Eve 2020. The Noiz Assembly returns to the WEFT Great Hall for an hour of experimental music. Tune in to FM 90.1 or stream at http://weft.org/listen/.
TUESDAY, NOV. 3
Jules Rose at Iron Post
5-7 p.m. The Iron Post, 120 S. Race St., Urbana Free Come out and hear some chill music and fine drinks this Tuesday evening. Both Jules Rose and Mary Welle will perform songs, so you don’t want to miss this one!
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 4
“Connecting You to Nature” – Virtual Hike through Perkins Road Wet Prairie
5:30-6:30 p.m. Anita Purves Nature Center, 1505 N. Broadway Ave., Urbana Free Join staff from the Anita Purves Nature Center during these virtual hikes through district natural areas. Learn about restoration and how to identify native and invasive plants. These programs are a great way to learn about nearby nature before visiting on your own. To watch, find the Anita Purves Nature Center on Facebook.
Wednesday Night Trivia at Barrelhouse 34
7-9 p.m. Barrelhouse 34, 34 E. Main St., Champaign Free We’re back! Grab your friends and join us for the best weekly trivia around! Each week, we have seven rounds of trivia designed to challenge you and ensure it’s your best night of the week. See you there, Urbana!
rkutli2@readbuzz.com
Attention University of Illinois Seniors:
Last call for Class of 2021
Senior Pictures ONE WEEK ONLY! Open from November 9th - 15th
Your safety is our #1 concern. See our website for more details. Portraits are from the waist up so dress accordingly. We provide the cap & gown!
Schedule your appointment at illioyearbook.com illio yearbook
O F F I C I A L Y E A R B O O K AT T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F I L L I N O I S S I N C E 1 8 9 4
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MONDAY
November 2, 2020 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com
buzz
Samantha Martin reflects on making ‘The Reckless One’ BY SYDNEY WOOD STAFF WRITER
With the upcoming release date of Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar’s newest album “The Reckless One,” Samantha Martin said she’s feeling optimistic, overwhelmed and not bored. “The Reckless One,” will be live-streamed on Empire Theater’s website on Friday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m. EST. Martin said the album is indicative of the human condition and universal emotions people experience. Martin has been nominated five times as Female Vocalist of the Year at the Maples Blues Awards in Canada. She is the band’s lead singer, songwriter, arranger and bandleader. Martin was introduced to guitar after her father bought her one when she was seven she didn’t realize she could pursue music as a career until after graduating from college. “The audiences’ reaction when I performed let me know that I could make a career out of it,” Martin said. “People were really into what I was doing, so I thought, ‘Hey, I’ll give it a go for a little while and see what happens.’” Martin’s music is influenced by the Black Pumas, Ike and Tina Turner, Charles Bradley, Marcus King and the Alabama Shakes. Now, her music style bounces between new and old soul depending on the song. She would define her music style as “vintage soul.” The band chose the name Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar because it’s representative of the band’s sound and where the sound originates from within the southern United States. “We tried to think of a band name that invoked the
cinematography of what the style of music is,” Martin said. The band’s size ranges from a 7 to 12-piece band depending on the show. For “The Reckless One,” Martin said the band’s size ran between a 10 and 13-piece band but said it depends on whether you include her in the headcount. Martin said her songwriting is mostly about the human condition. Love is a big theme in her songwriting, and it bounces between love ending and love beginning. She wants listeners to connect with her music and to see themselves in her songs. “I want the listener of my music to hear a song and for them to be able to relate to it and be able to put their baggage and their emotions and their experiences onto that song,” Martin said. A bulk of “The Reckless One” was recorded in 2019, and the band’s plans to do more live recordings for the album were canceled after the coronavirus hit. Once quarantine began, Martin shifted her focus from recording to the mixing and fine-tuning of the album. “The beautiful thing about being a musician is that you learn early on in your career how to make lemonade out of a pile of lemons,” Martin said. “Musicians can be quite creative when they want to be to figure out how to get something done.” Martin said some of her musical setbacks included finding the time to focus on writing song material for the album, money restrictions, the cancellation of the band’s performances and the delay of the album’s release date. She said the release date delay allowed her to take her time to improve the album and prevent it from sound-
PHOTO COURTESY OF FACEBOOK
Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar perform live. Martin will release her new album, “The Reckless One,” on Friday, Nov. 20.
ing rushed. “It’s a double-edged sword, the pandemic,” Martin said. “In some regards, it took my career and turned it upside down and shook it out, but at the same time, it opened up a lot of space and time to think about what I wanted the listener to hear and the type of record I wanted to make.” She’s been overwhelmed by the sudden transition from working with her small production team to the promo-
tion of “The Reckless One.” It’s a stressful time because there’s a lot of work to be done in a short timeframe. “When you’re sort of an independent artist on an independent label, it can be a lot of work, there’s a lot of moving parts and a lot of people who want a piece of your time, so I think I’m a little bit overwhelmed,” she said. Martin believes the music industry has made her a stronger person and a bet-
ter business person. It has helped her learn the intrinsic value of her career, the music she makes and who she is. “Everything in the music industry is two-sided,” Martin said. “Some of the hardest parts of the music industry are the most beautiful parts of the industry. When you succeed, you’ve earned it.” She is optimistic about the release of “The Reckless One” and is not bored during the album’s promotion.
“The record, ‘The Reckless One,’ is going to make you feel all the feelings, and it’s going to take you on a journey through the human experience,” she said. “It’s gonna make you dance, it’s gonna make you feel things, and it’s everything good about music in the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s but done in a way that is more modern.” smwood2@readbuzz.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF FACEBOOK
Left: Artist Samantha Martin sings Right: Artist Samantha Martin and her band pose for a group photo.
THE DAILY ILLINI
buzz Music Guide
February 10, 2020
Sex & Dating Guide
THE DAILY ILLINI
Monday, April 22, 2019
Best of CU
Sex & Dating Guide
Music Guide
Friday, November 13, 2020
Thursday, February 11, 2021
Monday, March 29, 2021
buzz
entertainment • music • arts • movies • food • culture • community
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8B Monday, November 2, 2020
Champaign Campustown Target is Now Open. Find us at E Green St & S 6th St.
Order ahead & have it waiting for you at the store. ©2020 Target Brands, Inc. The Bullseye Design and Target are registered trademarks of Target Brands, Inc. C-001374-06-007
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