Issuu

SPRING TECHNOGRAPH SEE INSERT

THE DAILY ILLINI

MONDAY March 8, 2021

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

Download our app!

Vol. 150 Issue 38

Could Unofficial officially be over?

The UIPD has its own procedure to monitor events during Unofficial. Along with the police presence on campus, as they have done in previous years, the party patrol will also monitor any potential gatherings. “We’ll have our party patrol active and that’s not really an official thing we’ve been doing that ever since the pandemic began, and that will continue this weekend,” Wade said. Businesses that profited off Unofficial such as merchandise stores are also struggling due to COVID-19. “We closed the store permanently this summer due to COVID, so I have no idea what if there are any plans for Unofficial this year,” said a TeShurt representative. The event’s decline has resulted in bars no longer prioritizing the event as much due to the lack of attendance over the years. According to Joe’s Brewery, “Unofficial is no longer a thing.” Overall, students should abide by the COVID-19 protocols this Unofficial season and try to find alternative ways to celebrate the occasion with friends. “Our community is going to be sticking by the rules this weekend, and we would really like to encourage everyone else to as well,” Bressler said. “If you do witness a policy violation, please fill out the form on the IFC website or contact the University of Illinois police via their nonemergency number.”

BY ALIZA MAJID STAFF WRITER

CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI

A biohazard trash stands in the middle of the ARC for students to dispose of COVID-19 testing materials on Feb. 1. Illinois graduate students are concerned about a lack of information from the University about COVID-19 disciplinary actions.

Students call for clearer discipline BY VIVIAN LA STAFF WRITER

Graduate students want more clarity from the University about how COVID-19 discipline is being handled, as well as more information about testing guidelines. Angela Ting, a master’s student in FAA and a representative for the Graduate Employees’ Organization, said it’s been hard trying to advise students because the testing guidelines are not clear. “The discipline regime, or structure, is just not clear at all,” Ting said. “So people are being threatened with different disciplinary actions.” The organization has had five graduate students facing disciplinary action for COVID-related infractions reach out to their grievance committee, four of which live in University Housing. The fifth case was Ivor Chen, who lives in an off-campus apartment. Kai Shinbrough, doctoral student in LAS and GEO representative, said the num-

ber of students they’ve had reach out is another issue because they don’t know exactly how many graduates are facing disciplinary action because the University is not telling them this information. Forty graduate students faced disciplinary action for COVID-19 related issues last semester, whereas around 90 have faced or are facing disciplinary action for such issues this semester, Justin Brown, associate dean of students, said in an email.

Lack of communication for students in University Housing

GEO representatives said the overall lack of information from the school concerning COVID-19 testing guidelines is unclear, especially for graduates and their dependents in University Housing. “We’ve heard from a lot of students that are worried, trying to do the right thing but not really sure what the right thing is,” Elinor Fuji-

moto, doctoral student in AHS and GEO representative, said. In University Housing, there are 638 graduate and professional students and 271 family dependents living in the three apartment communities, according to Chelsea Hamilton, spokesperson for University Housing. Family members over the age of 18 are required to test weekly. Those under the age of 18 are not required at this time, Robin Kaler, spokesperson for the school, said in an email. Even though these are the guidelines, it’s largely unclear what happens if their dependents fall off the testing schedule, Fujimoto said. “Does that reflect on the student?” she said. “Does that lead to discipline? That’s just one of the glaring omissions that we’ve unfortunately not been able to answer to any capacity for people.” People also have different dependents of different ages

and abilities. Some of them are older or more vulnerable to COVID-19 for underlying reasons, which makes it difficult to test sometimes, Fujimoto said. “We want more clarity about what kinds of infractions warrant what kinds of discipline,” Shinbrough said.

Concerns for international students

“Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day,” a March day of partying and binge-drinking at local bars and parties, is a longstanding tradition for University students, though new restrictions have shrunk the event significantly. The pandemic may be the final straw in putting this event to rest. “I think a lot of the efforts that have been taken on by the University and the city over the years are what has contributed to sort of this downward trend of an unofficial St. Patrick’s Day,” said Patrick Wade, communication director for University of Illinois Police Department. Students are still required to abide by the city’s emergency COVID-19 orders set in place that limit social gatherings to 10 or fewer people while maintaining social distancing and wearing masks. The Interfraternity Council has also placed restrictions reiterating the fact that no social events are allowed this semester due to COVID-19, and these restrictions will be heavily monitored during the weekend in order to hold chapters accountable. “We check houses two to four times a day starting from March 4 going through March 7,” said Reese Bressler, the vice president of public relations at IFC. “We want to make sure that our houses are clear of any social events this weekend because that is the rule from FSA fraternity and sorority affairs, and that is a rule that we echoed to all of alizam2@dailyillini.com our chapters.”

Fujimoto said the GEO is hoping Chen’s widely-publicized situation and resulting campus support will cause more students to reach out to them for help. “In the face of no information from the University, we only know what’s happening because people are reaching out to us,” Ting said. Brown said the overall disciplinary process for testing noncompliance is the same for any other Student Code violation and applies to undergraduate, graduate RYAN ASH THE DAILY ILLINI and international students. Students wait in line to get into KAM’s during last year’s “It really seems to us like Unofficial on March 6, 2020. Constant campus patrolling and warnings from University officials resulted in a decline of

SEE DISCIPLINE | 3A Unofficial activities this past weekend.

UI loses key member of virus response team University students BY MONA ALRAZZAQ STAFF WRITER

Greg Gulick, University of Illinois’ Interim Chief Information officer and key member of its COVID-19 steering committee, passed away from COVID-19 on Feb. 16. “Greg’s empowering and compassionate leadership during this COVID-19 year is a major reason why our university was able to reopen this fall and bring our students back to campus,” according to a Masssmail sent to faculty and staff. Gulick contracted COVID-19, but continued working with the University by “attending meetings remotely and offering his staff and other colleagues wisdom, moral support or just a funny comment to make them laugh,” according to his obituary. “As an integral member of our University COVID-19 Steering Committee and part of our SHIELD team, Greg was instrumental in guiding our decisions and actions in directions that always put the well-being and needs of our students, staff and faculty first,” said the University through the Massmail. The COVID-19 testing dashboard was publicized in August to make information about the University’s response to the virus wide-

ly available. The most recent version of the dashboard has been in the works for weeks, but was delayed after Gulick’s death. This update includes breakdowns of the different categories by each population on campus, including undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty and others. It also includes data regarding how many unique users there are of the Safer Illinois application on a daily basis. The goals of this update are to make the data easier for researchers to interpret and also to enhance transparency in order to allow people to better understand the consequences of their actions, according to Robin Kaler, associate chancellor for Public Affairs. “The goal is always to try to change and help people to understand the risks better,” Kaler said. According to Kaler, the hope is that by providing a clearer understanding of how the virus is spreading amongst undergraduates specifically will encourage students to make decisions to slow that positivity rate down. The update also includes a link to share the dashboard with other people and allow them to directly access the information through the

DAILYILLINI, DAILYILLINISPORTS

INSIDE

Police

demand recognition through census category CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Several University students are currently working towards getting a space for the Middle East and North Africa community and advocating for the identification of Middle Eastern and North African classifications on student censuses. On March 2, the University’s Arab Student Association and Students for Justice in Palestine participated in an event hosted by the Arab American Cultural Center at University of Illinois at Chi-

link instead of having to go through a different webpage to access it. The University plans to gather data about how many people are in isolation versus how many people are in quarantine in the near future. Any other updates would also continue to make data more accessible to researchers or

Life

Culture

Crossword

others who intend to publicize it. The University has processed 1,539,374 tests as of March 4 with an overall positivity rate of 0.40%. On March 4, the positivity rate was 0.09% with 10,237 tests processed.

Opinions

Features: Student stock market interest skyrockets

Sports: Curbelo, Dosunmu thrive in win

PAGE 5A

PAGE 1B

monaa2@dailyillini.com

THEDAILYILLINI 6A

@THEDAILYILLINI |

Letters

Sports

SEE CENSUS | 3A

INSIDE

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNVIERSITY

Technology Services Interim Chief Information Officer Greg Gulick poses for a professional photo. Gulick passed away in February from COVID-19 and was an essential part of the SHIELD team.

@THEDAILYILLINI, @DI_OPINION, @DI_SPORTS |

cago addressing the lack of representation amongst the student population who identify with the MENA. MENA is an acronym for the regional subcontinent of the Middle East and Africa that many of the Arab Americans in the United States identify with and is seen as neglected by many Arab American students who have been told to check off the “white box” because they are neither Asian, Hispanic or Black.

BY NESHMIA MALIK

THEDAILYILLINI

Classifieds

Sudoku

THEDAILYILLINI 4B

buzz

2A Monday, March 8, 2021

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

THE DAILY ILLINI 1001 S. Wright Street Champaign, IL 61820

Champaign

• Nothing to report.

(217) 337-8300

University

• An offender was issued a State of Illinois notice to appear in court at the Public Safety Building, 1110 W. Springfield Ave. around 9:05 a.m. on Tuesday. According to the report, the offender violated an order of protection. He entered Roger Adams Laboratory, 600 S. Mathews Ave., for work-related duties. A judge had previously ordered the offender

The Daily Illini is the independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. The newspaper is published by the Illini Media Co. The Daily Illini does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of the University of Illinois administration, faculty or students. All Illini Media Co. and/or The Daily Illini articles, photos and graphics are the property of Illini Media and may not be reproduced or published without written permission from the publisher. First copy is free; each additional copy is 50 cents.

STAFF

Editor-in-Chief

Photo editor

JJ Kim editor@dailyillini.com

Ryan Ash photo@dailyillini.com

Managing editor, Reporting

Asst. photo editor

Samantha Boyle reporting@dailyillini.com

Managing editor, Online

BY ROYAL SHRESTHA STAFF WRITER

Design editor Kaitlin Mikrut design@dailyillini.com

Asst. design editors Brian Nguyen

Managing editor, Visuals

Shana Olivero video@dailyillini.com

Video editor

Cassidy Brandt visuals@dailyillini.com

Asst. video editor

News editor

Special sections editor

Ethan Simmons news@dailyillini.com

Shivali Shukla supplements@dailyillini.com

Asst. news editors

Buzz editor

Diana Anghel Luis Velazquez

Jillian Little

Tara Mobasker

Asst. buzz editors

Asst. daytime editors Carolina Garibay Heather Robinson Salem Isaf

Ava Traverso

Sports editor

Haley Follman copychief@dailyillini.com

Asst. sports editors Jackson Janes Carson Gourdie

Asst. sports editor of on-air Brendyn Jones

Features editor Elizabeth Sayasane features@dailyillini.com

Asst. features editors

Copy chief Asst. copy chiefs Rachel King Citlaly Leanos

Social media director Jane Knight disocial@dailyillini.com

Brand Manager Samantha Roberson

Co-Publishers Kit Donahue Melissa Pasco

Rohit Jammu Jared Ebanks

Opinions editor Andrew Prozorovsky opinions@dailyillini.com

Asst. opinions editor Maii Rashed

Longform editor Zainab Qureshi longform@dailyillini.com

TODAY’S NIGHT SYSTEM STAFF Night editor: Gwyn Skiles, Matt Troher Copy editors: Jennifer Orozco, Dan Harty, Elizabeth Wessel, Kathleen Findlay, Zainab Qureshi Designers: Julia Eversmann, Jonah Ozer Page transmission: JJ Kim Web manager: Samantha Roberson

to avoid the building. an unknown offender damaged • Theft $500 and under was the victim’s vehicle by scratchreported near University and ing the paint and leaving marks. Goodwin avenues between 4 p.m. • Criminal damage to property on Monday and 6 a.m. on Tueswas reported on the 00 block of day. According to the report, the unknown Urbana around 6:46 bicycle was locked to a rack. The a.m. on Monday. According to estimated value of the bicycle is the report, the offender dam$200. aged multiple victim’s vehicle tires throughout multiple hunUrbana dred blocks of multiple streets in • Criminal damage to property was a residential neighborhood. reported on the 800 block of Divi- sion Avenue around 5:30 p.m. on news@dailyillini.com Monday. According to the report,

Krannert Art Museum receives new Native American art

Cameron Krasucki

Samantha Roberson online@dailyillini.com

Gabby Hajduk sports@dailyillini.com

How to contact us

POLICE

The Krannert Art Museum has recently acquired many artworks to showcase the history of Native American art. This is part of a larger initiative taken by KAM to increase awareness of women, people of color and Native Americans. KAM has received artworks ranging from paintings and glasswork to the biggest donation yet, which is over 100 works of Pueblo pottery, according to Julia Kelly, KAM’s assistant director for marketing and communications. “Fairly early in the Krannert Art Museum, we understood that we have a role to play on campus in showing the contemporary relevance and creativity of amazing artistry by Native American artists, African American artists and women artists of all time periods,” Kelly said. One of the artworks given was a painting called “Loss” by Kay WalkingStick, who is known for multidimensional panel paintings. Another artwork is called “Glass” by Preston Singletary, who works solely with glass. These are just some of the recently acquired artworks by KAM that are currently on display in the decorative arts gal-

The Daily Illini is located in the basement of the University YMCA at 1001 S. Wright St., Champaign, IL 61820. Our office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday.

General contacts Main number: Advertising: Newsroom: Production:

(217) 337-8300 (217) 337-8382 (217) 337-8345 (217) 337-8320

Newsroom

Online: If you have a question about DailyIllini.com or The Daily Illini’s social media outlets, please email our editor at online@dailyillini.com. Employment: If you would like to work for the newspaper’s editorial department, please fill out our form or email employment at dailyillini.com. Calendar: If you want to submit events for publication in print and online, visit dailyillini.com. Letters to the editor: Letters are limited to 300 words. Contributions must include the author’s name, address and phone number. University students must include their year in school and college. The Daily Illini reserves the right to edit or reject any contributions. Email opinions@dailyillini.com with the subject “Letter to the Editor.”

Advertising

Placing an ad: If you would like to place an ad, please contact our advertising department. (217) 337-8382 or e-mail advertise@illinimedia.com.

The Daily Illini is online everywhere you are.

Website dailyillini.com

The Daily Illini App Play Store, App Store

Facebook The Daily Illini The Daily Illini Sports

Twitter PHOTO COURTESY OF KRANNERT ART MUSEUM

A piece of pottery from a recent acquisition of art from Native American artists is pictured above. The pot features imagery of abstracted feathers, wings, waves and crosshatching that refer to Hopi stories about their ancestors.

lery or anyone to view. Despite the current pandemic, KAM has taken many precautions to ensure student safety. Walk-ins are currently in place for any student interested in viewing the different galleries. The addition of these Native American artworks will increase the total works of art at KAM

100

(Includes domestic shipping; International shipping $50 extra)

to over 11,000, with nine permanent galleries and four temporary galleries. Some of the new artworks are already on display in the decorative arts gallery and the Pueblo pottery will all available to see during an exhibit next spring semester. “When you come to the museum, even if you’ve been in the European

painting gallery, the decorative arts gallery or the many different galleries here, each time you walk into these places, you’ll see completely new art,” Kelly said. “This keeps things fresh and allows you to see something completely different in your next visit.” royals2@dailyillini.com

@TheDailyIllini @DI_Sports

Instagram @TheDailyIllini

Snapchat TheDailyIllini

Corrections When we make a mistake, we will correct it in this place. We strive for accuracy, so if you see an error in the paper, please contact Editor-inChief JJ Kim at (217)-337-8365.

YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE SO MANY GREAT MEMORIES FROM YOUR TIME AT COLLEGE. HOLD ON TO THEM FOREVER WITH THE OFFICIAL U OF I YEARBOOK.

illioyearbook.com or call 217-337-8314

Order your yearbook online at

MONDAY March 8, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

NEWS deliberate in gathering information and data regarding cases,” Sinnokrot said. “No information about MENA students is even available because we are grouped in an ‘other’ or ‘white’ category.”. The MENA community is greatly concerned that these students are being accounted for as ‘white’, making this a vast misrepresentation of a population who identify as a completely separate race. Another concept brought up by Sarah Hasan, UIC graduate, was how the MENA community was told to identify as “white”, yet they aren’t able to fully reap the benefits of being white. Hasan, who has also been heavily involved in the MENA campaign work, discussed her experience with being utilized as an image to represent diversity at UIC when she feels that she is not represented at all. “How does it make sense that us Arabs and MENA students are tokenized to benefit the university’s image, but we’re made to feel invisible when we’re on paper because we are considered white,” Hasan said. Hasan continued to elaborate on the lack of resources and educational opportunities for the MENA community because if they are classified as white, they do not qualify for many financial aid resources catered to minorities.

FROM 1A

CENSUS

CASSIDY BRANDT THE DAILY ILLINI

The front side of the University YMCA office stands tall on Sunday morning. The Illini Media Company operates from the basement of the building.

Illini Media Company comments on data breach that forced The Daily Illini to cancel one Thursday The Illini Media Com- publication. pany released a statement “As we announced Feb. 17, on the computer breach data servers owned by the THE DAILY ILLINI STAFF REPORT

CASSIDY BRANDT THE DAILY ILLINI

The front desk of the Illini Media Company office is pictured above. The organization recently suffered a ransomware attack that forced the cancelation of one Thursday publication.

Illini Media Co., which The Daily Illini, WPGU-FM, The Illio, buzz and Technograph, and that previously operated the Illini Media Tech Center, were hacked twice in the last two months. These hacks potentially exposed personal confidential information about current and past IMC student and nonstudent employees. We have reported these incidents to federal law enforcement and state officials are working on several fronts to retrieve and restore all of our data files. The potentially vulnerable files center on payroll, so only data about IMC employees who received pay as students since 2003 or as non-student staff since 1999 could be compromised, if at all. A 2017 Illinois law requires that Illinois resi-

dents who may be affected by a data breach are to be notified by the keeper of the files that were breached, so out of caution, we are posting this notice. We do not know with any degree of certainty if the files were actually stolen or have been exposed to unlawful use. We encourage you, however, to learn more about potential identity theft at the “Protecting Consumers” webpage of the Illinois Attorney General, which also links off to several informative and helpful websites. Go to www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov/ consumers/hotline.html. We will keep the public informed about our status as the situation resolves. Thank you for your forbearance during this difficult situation.”

This event was hosted to allow MENA-identifying students to voice their experiences with the lack of racial classification in most censuses. A few University students attended the event to speak upon their MENA experiences on this campus. Creen Ahmed, senior in ACES and member of Arab Students Association, is currently working on drafting up a resolution for the University to install a MENA cultural center on campus, an initiative that has been pushed solely by students for the past two years with no support from administrators. “Having a cultural center for MENA students is important for garnering a community on campus and providing a shared space for students to come together for events, activities and networking,” Ahmed said. Not only are MENA students on campus advocating for a physical center, but they are also concerned about the lack of representation in reference to COVID-19 statistics on campus. Sofia Sinnokrot, senior in LAS, highlighted the demographic disparities on campus when accounting for the MENA population in the COVID-19 census. “More recently, the University has administered more than a million COVID tests and has been incredibly nmalik20@dailyillini.com

JONAH OZER THE DAILY ILLINI

news@dailyillini.com

Classics department hosts modernized performance of ‘The Suppliants’ BY GEORGE PHELAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

While the Department of Classics may not seem like a department oriented towards the present, their recent partnership with the European Union Center showed just how relevant their area of study can be to modern issues. On March 5, members of both departments fundraised a performance of Aeschylus’ “The Suppliants,” along with a panel following the show, which discussed the issues of immigration and gender, which the ancient Greek tragedy touches on. The performance was hosted at 2 p.m. by the Out of Chaos Theatre Company over Zoom, with actors from London to Crete acting out the Danaids’ plea for refuge from forced marriage. Professor Angeliki Tzanetou, associate professor of the Classics at the University of Illinois and a key leader in the project, described how “The Suppliants” is a play already written to discuss issues of immigration

FROM 1A

DISCIPLINE these disciplinary procedures were written up with domestic students in mind, and the University just threw international students into those same procedures,” Shinbrough said. Dismissal could disproportionately impact an international student if they’re relying on being a part of the school to stay in the country, he said. Chen said in an email that if some kind of external oversight can be introduced that would be a great improvement. “Of course the Univer-

in the context of ancient Athenian democracy. “Even though there is this kind of distance, that distance is bridged because the myths in the Athenian theater were told in a way that brought and dealt with contemporary issues,” Tzanteou said. Those issues of how democracies deal with immigration, are just as relevant to modern democracies in Europe and the Americas, said Emanuel Rota, director of the European Union Cwenter and another key leader of the project. As an associate professor in the Department of French and Italian, Rota saw this collaboration with the Classics department as a step towards connecting emotionally with issues of immigration, as well as with issues of gender. “These women prove to be not just passive victims, but also people capable of taking their destiny into their own hands,” Rota said of the Danaids. The panel after the play included local immigration

sity should have power implementing its own rules and regulations, but this power should have boundaries,” Chen said. “(The University’s) power over students’ destinies is frankly immense.”

GEO struggles to advise graduate students and proposes solutions

Kaler said that information related to COVID-19 testing requirements has been shared repeatedly with students on “virtually every university communication channel.” Channels include the campus Massmail, the University COVID-19 website and GradLINKS — a newsletter sent to graduate

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

The performance hall of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts sits empty between performances. The Department of Classics helped fundraise a performance of “Supplicants.”

activists such as Gloria Yen, director of the New American Welcome Center at the University YMCA, as well as Hellen Gerolymatos MacDonald, a clinical associ-

ate professor in Education who leads a study abroad program in Greece focused on issues of refugees, asylum and displacement. The cast and director of

Out of Chaos Theatre Company were also a part of the panel, giving insight into their interpretation of the play as well as discussing the issues it presents, con-

necting between the conflicts of play and reviewing its modern parallels.

students every Sunday. “Students who choose to be in the community during the pandemic are responsible for learning and following the policies and protocols designed to keep everyone as safe as possible,” she said. “The University has said that they’ve tried using all of the means of communication available to them, but still there appears to be this disconnect,” Shinbrough said. Shinbrough said the only thing they’ve been able to tell graduates that reach out to the GEO for help is to follow what guidelines are available from the school. “Unfortunately, the only

thing we can tell grads to do is to follow the University procedures as well as anyone can because the consequences can be so unexpectedly dire,” he said. And for students facing disciplinary action, the GEO has advised students to accept the sanctions “because we don’t know what’s going to happen if things escalate and (they) try to dismiss you,” Fujimoto said. Additionally, the GEO has been encouraging and helped graduate students request testing exemptions. Ting said it’s also not clear what sort of situation allows an exemption versus what doesn’t, but liv-

ing with dependents at high risk, working 100% remotely or living too far from a testing center have been working for some. As of Feb. 25, 645 exemption requests have been received in the spring semester and 408 have been approved, according to Kaler. Overall, GEO representatives said they’d like clearer information about what infractions lead to what sort of discipline, similar to how teaching assistants use rubrics to ensure fairness with grades. “I think that they should be very hesitant about disciplining people just because of that lack of communication given that the lack of under-

standing of protocols is so widespread,” Shinbrough said. But ultimately, Shinbrough said graduate students should have representation on the University committees that make disciplinary decisions. If in the beginning, a member of the GEO was on one of these committees, this whole situation of communication and unfair discipline could’ve been avoided, he said. “The University should give us a seat at the table,” Shinbrough said. “I think that’s really critical going forward.”

georgep2@dailyillini.com

vla2@dailyillini.com

MONDAY March 8, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

LIFE & CULTURE

Sexuality class fosters empathy, compassion BY JENNI KALLENBACK STAFF WRITER

Students with majors unrelated to Gender and Women’s Studies and Sociology may not consider taking courses in these disciplines. Taking classes like GWS/SOC 202: Sexualities, though, can equip students with the knowledge to better understand the world around them, whether in the context of society as a whole or in day-to-day interactions at school and work. Megan Gargiulo, graduate student in the department of Spanish and Portuguese with a minor in GWS, works as a teaching assistant for GWS 202. She said she finds that the study of GWS naturally intersects with her research, examining prisons for women who were accused of sexual or moral crimes in Mexico in the 1700s. “There’s intersections of gender, race and class in the crimes that were punished by these institutions, and they were institutions that were for women exclusively, so a study of sexuality is sort of inherently part of looking into the institutions I’m researching,” Gargiulo said. She said the study of any GWS topic involves looking critically at ideologies put forth by religion, public education and other institutions in society. “We don’t question heterosexuality, it’s just sort of taken as the norm, or we don’t question these sort of identities,” Gargiulo said. Kaizha King, senior in LAS, made GWS her third

major in addition to history and political science after taking courses in those areas that were cross-listed with GWS and SOC. She is also the undergraduate representative for GWS. GWS 202 was one of the first courses King took after declaring her GWS major. She said she felt that the course was very eye-opening. “It’s a course I think should be required for every adult, not just because you’re into GWS or into sociology, but because you learn so much in that course about relearning what you think is normal,” King said. She took the course with professor Ghassan Moussawi and engaged with topics such as hierarchy, oppression and heteronormativity. “Knowing that knowledge can help you unlearn some of the toxicity from the patriarchy, which you should, but also just learning how to be a person and learning how to navigate the world as either a person who doesn’t identity on the (gender) spectrum or someone who does identify on the gender-normative spectrum,” Moussawi said. Tosin Olowu, junior in Education, also took the course with Moussawi and appreciated how students felt comfortable disagreeing with one another. “We even talked about this idea of the echo chamber and how some classrooms and some spaces are literal echo chambers where everyone is just repeating the same thing and that can

KAITLIN MIKRUT THE DAILY ILLINI

happen so much in social justice-y areas too,” Olowu said. Olowu has always been interested in social sciences because as an education major she said she

feels she needs to be aware of social and political conditions that can affect the classroom environment. She said people in STEM majors or non-humanities majors should take courses

like GWS 202 too. “Whether it’s physics or business, most people are training to interact with some sort of greater population, and in order for you to successfully interact with

that population you have to recognize the ways in which they’ve been left out of certain conversations,” Olowu said. jk31@dailyillini.com

CS majors destress during ‘SOS Communi-Tea’ BY FIZZA HASSAN STAFF WRITER

JULIA EVERSMANN THE DAILY ILLINI

A year has passed since the world went into an emergency lockdown suspending all forms of in-person communication for an indefinite period of time. Realizing the impact of this mental health, Elizabeth Gonzalez, computer science undergraduate academic adviser, came up with the idea of hosting weekly Zoom hangout sessions called the ‘SOS Communi-Tea.’ This event has been serving as an outlet for computer science students to destress by connecting with each other through light discussions and games over a cup of tea. Gonzalez said it provided the “opportunity to socialize, connect and network as new students get to share a common thread with the seniors who guide them on various platforms. Students want to hear from someone who has navigated through the years. It is a place where I have seen relationships begin.”

Running for a consecutive third semester this Spring, the social hangout values mental health as one of its core principles. “We have a partnership with some of the RSO leaderships within our CS community that work in collaboration with us,” Gonzalez said. Melissa Chen, a junior in Engineering and member of the computer science mental health community, has been attending the social hours since April last year. “We have been conversing with Ms. Gonzalez to help student’s mental health,” Chen said. “She reached out to the student organization and specifically asked us to attend.” Chen said that she also admires the fact that she was able to hear the class experiences of other CS students during the sessions. Omar Khan, a senior in Engineering, attended the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 sessions. He said, “It’s a great way for the CS department stu-

dents to get together, talk, interact, get to know one another and really have space to destress after a long week and stay in touch with people.” The participation fluctuates depending upon the time of the semester. It increases during the middle of the semester when pressure builds up and students need a social timeout. “After being alone for an extended period of time and then talking to people, having that extensive routine normality back in your life definitely helps in these difficult times” Khan said. The discussions are flexible and guided by students with topics ranging from academics, change in classes, recommended todo things on campus, places to be, video games and more. “Ms. Gonzalez would come up with creative ways to have conversation starters or introduce a jeopardy board. We talked about common interests, experiences, even the weather. It

is such a disparate group of people, most of us would never have run into each other otherwise,” Melissa said. Students who keep returning to these sessions said the sessions helped them find their way back to normality. “International students from China, India, Singapore also join us on occasions. Students who come back or see us few times in a semester, it is still meaningful for them to attend,” Gonzalez said. Khan said since it’s all CS students, people are more inclined to talk to one another. He wanted to help cultivate this social atmosphere because he knew how it felt to not have people to talk to. “During these meetings, I got the chance to meet new people that normally I wouldn’t have hung out with and I really enjoyed the opportunity,” Chen said. fhassan3@dailyillini.com

Sponsored by:

SUPERMOM CONTEST

Is your mom the master of multi-tasking? Is she the fun Mom all your friends go to for advice? Does she deserve a

$100 VISA gift card and a $50 gift card to the Illini Union Bookstore to treat herself this Moms Weekend?

If so, enter our contest at:

dailyillini.com/SUPERMOM

All moms/mom figures are welcome!

Deadline to enter: Sunday, April 4th

THE

DAILY ILLINI

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

Monday, March 8, 2021

New technology assists student stock traders BY FARRAH ANDERSON STAFF WRITER

When Chris Perry, freshman in Business, realized the University didn’t have a club focused on options trading, he asked his Business 101 professor if she would send out an interest form to the freshmen class. They received over 120 forms. Once he realized the interest, Perry got to work designing the club, finding a faculty advisor and building the executive board. Within months, the Investing and Options Trading Organization was up and running. After receiving over 100 formal applications, they settled on keeping the club at 60 members. Perry said although everyone was surprised by the interest, it didn’t seem too unusual to him. “People really underestimate how involved and interested our generation is,” he said. Perry approached Richard Excell, lecturer in Business, to serve as a faculty advisor for the group. Although Excell said he didn’t have any experience with RSO’s, he said the immediate interest took him by surprise. “We had a student organization start from scratch that really had that much interest,” Excell said. After witnessing the increase in trading because of things like commissionfree trading on apps like RobinHood and more free time in quarantine, Excell said that students now have better opportunities to make good decisions while trading. “The tools at the disposal for students to analyze and to make intelligent decisions have never been better,” Excell said. “Not only is

ANGELINA CHAN THE DAILY ILLINI

there an interest, but finally the ability to make intelligent decisions are also there.” Although interest is up, Excell said that there’s a right way and a wrong way for students to get involved in the market. From seeing the work that the students in IOTO have been doing, Excell said he’s impressed by the thoughtfulness the group is taking to understand the market and its risks. “They’re not just going out there throwing their mon-

ey at it and hoping they get lucky,” Excell said. “They’re trying to learn and they’re trying to use the tools that are at their disposal to get better at doing this.” Perry said he started trading his senior year of high school after saving up and doing some research. After opening an account, Perry said his interest in the market grew. He said he wants to help students learn how to trade in a responsible way. “This can be a wealth-creating tool but it can also be a wealth-destroying tool,”

ANGELINA CHAN THE DAILY ILLINI

he said. A nd when Per r y approached Lukas Saulis, a freshman in Business, about the idea for IOTO, Saulis said he was totally on board. He is now the vice president of marketing. Saulis said when he started trading he didn’t know much. After putting some money in the market and seeing what would happen, Saulis said he decided to pursue finance as his future career. “I just fell in love,” Saulis said. “I want to learn more about it because there’s so much to learn.” Now, Saulis said he’s learning the ins and outs of trading from mentors on campus and within IOTO. As a novice trader himself, Saulis said he wants to help students like him navigate the market on their own. “We wanted to help college students become young adults who know how to be financially free and can achieve that by themselves,” Saulis said. Saulis said he also learned about trading from the Investment Portfolio Organization, another student organization on campus.

Mentored by Adam Azhari, a sophomore in Business, Saulis said he looked up to Azhari as someone with more experience than him. Azhari, the vice president of recruitment for IPO, said the organization saw a large increase in interest this past year. Fortunately, Azhari said they were able to expand the group to support more students since they’ve moved to Zoom. Azhari said he thinks the sheer excitement of the market and visibility of the recent GameStop situation could be why more students want to be involved. “We are a generation that loves thrill,” he said. “And although the stock market isn’t supposed to be some wild rollercoaster ride, you can definitely have it be a wild roller coaster ride if you want to.” Although many student organizations like IPO and IOTO provide members with professional mentoring and practical advice, increased interest has made them more competitive. Caleb Berry, freshman in Business, said he wanted to create a more casual envi-

ronment. He created the UIUC Retail Investors made up of 16 students on Discord. Members share trading tips and tricks to help each other out managing their own portfolios. After starting trading over winter break this past year, Berry said he created the group because he knows how difficult it can be to get started. “Just three months ago, I was clueless as to how anything in the stock market worked. I remember having to watch Youtube videos or read online how to get started,” Berry said. “And the goal with this group is to have others progress quicker than I did.” Whether students begin their trading journeys by creating clubs, signing into Discord or saving up birthday money, Excell said the earlier they start learning, the better. “The earlier they can start that and the earlier they can start with an intelligent strategy, the more financial freedom they’ll have in their lives,” Excell said. farrah2@dailyillini.com

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

ALL NEW

DAILY ILLINI APP

NEWS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS • Stay up-to-date on all things Illini • Get breaking news immediately • News, sports, features, opinions

ALL NEW! Exclusive offers only available in the App

Apple and the Apple logo and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.

ACROSS

1 Entry in a doctor’s calendar: Abbr. 5 Thanksgiving vegetable 8 100, gradewise 13 Rage 14 “Early in life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better ___ some noise”: Malcolm X 15 Take care of 16 Journey 17 Jessica of “Fantastic Four” 18 Reeves of “The Matrix” 19 One on the front lines during a crisis 22 Do a new production of, as a recording 23 Alternative to carpeting 24 “You bet!” 25 Became a millionaire, say 29 “It’s ___ of the times” 33 Finish first in a race 34 Factory-inspecting org. 35 Crown wearer at a fall football game 39 Bullets and such 40 Since, informally 41 Turn topsy-turvy 42 Tight embrace 44 Advanced deg. for a writer or musician 46 Hair tamer 47 ___ Trench (deepest point on earth) 52 Unmanned Dept. of Defense aircraft 56 Rob

23 24 30

38 41

46 52

PUZZLE BY SOLEIL SAINT-CYR

57 & 58 Collective consciousness … or a hint to the ends of 19-, 35- and 52-Across 59 “Beats me!” 60 Qatari leader 61 Lake bordering Cleveland 62 Kick up ___ (be unruly) 63 Web portal with a butterfly logo 64 Bucks and does

DOWN

1 “… happily ever ___” 2 Prize money 3 Light beam splitter 4 Like a go-go-go personality 5 Certain New Haven collegians 6 “Allahu ___!” (Muslim cry)

7 Brunch, e.g. 8 Invite on a date 9 One’s equals 10 Faucet problem 11 ___ Reader (magazine with the slogan “Cure ignorance”) 12 Like lemons 14 Dull photo finish 20 “Bye Bye Bye” boy band 21 Incorrect 25 ___ and tonic 26 “Understood” 27 Fifth-mostcommon family name in China 28 Round of applause 29 “Moby-Dick” captain 30 A few 31 “___ Be” (2010 #1 hit by the Black Eyed Peas)

32 Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, for two 33 Rapper ___ Khalifa 36 Circular windows 37 Popular gift shop purchase 38 Actor Dennis 43 Greetings 44 Singer Gaye 45 Cooking device in a fast-food restaurant 47 Injures 48 Ready for battle 49 Bête ___ 50 “Little Orphan ___” 51 Passover observance 52 ___-certified organic 53 Double ___ Oreos 54 DoorDash list 55 Not us

The crossword solution is in the Classified section.

MONDAY March 8, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

OPINIONS Game of chess evolves into distinguished esport

at 370 thousand concurrent viewers. Chess.com now boasts 50 million members SENIOR COLUMNIST across their free website and app. Chess personalities are he question of whether drawing sponsorships analor not chess is a sport ogous to esports players. has always been a gray Super GM Hikaru Nakamuarea. The game is easy to ra signed with esports Team understand and watch, Solomid and the gaming but an immense amount drink brand GFUEL. Simiof training and talent are larly, WFM Alex Botez both needed to become a certified signed with Team Envy and master. The lack of physical- runs sponsored streams for ity in the game distinguish- Tinder. Brands recognize es it from basketball, yet it profit, signaling they expect demands more respect than chess to continue to expand being just a tabletop game its online presence. such as monopoly. There’s no significant difThe chess boom this year ference anymore between has been attributable to chess and established three events: the COVID-19 esports such as League of pandemic, Netflix’s The Legends or Valorant. They Queen’s Gambit and Chess. use the same platforms, com’s PogChamps tournadraw similar sponsorships, ments. The consistent rising are easy to learn but hard to popularity of online chess master and are distinct from over the past year hints sports because they are virit’s not a fad, but an evolutual rather than physical. tion of the game into a new It’s strange to say, but chess medium. was ahead of its time as an Chess.com’s Pogesport. champs tournaments have Some might object that been incredibly successchess is distinct from ful because they expand esports because it can be the chess player base to played outside a computuntapped audiences. A large er. While true, I expect variety of Twitch streamthe future of the game to ers and YouTubers such as continue down a virtual PHOTO COURTESY OF KAMRAN ALI xQc, Pokimane, MoistCr1Ti- path. The convenience of Authorities commence the evening flag lowering ceremony at the India-Pakistan International Border near Wagah in August 2017. KaL and Ludwig have loyal instantly playing a game Columnist Eddie believes that India is integral to Biden’s Asia-related policy. fan bases that follow them to with anyone around the the tournament. The incluworld and the benefit of sion of mainstream celebri- having your games anaties such as Logic and Rainn lyzed by a computer engine Wilson in the tournament to improve far outweigh draws the attention of eyes the nostalgia of the board. to align the US with the territory. Namely, he suc- of the time, in a connot usually on twitch and Unless you’re Beth Harsubjugated peoples of the ceeded in revoking Artitext which quite directly gives a stamp of authenticity mon and can play a game EDDIE RYAN subcontinent on these cle 370, a constitutional involves China. to the event. on the ceiling, of course. COLUMNIST fronts. To reaffirm his clause that had providIndian-administered The Queen’s Gambit The social stigma that recently donned progres- ed considerable autonoKashmir is, in fact, India’s was a smash hit on Netflix, chess is boring is the only sive colors, however, he my in Indian Kashmir, as only majority Muslim breaking records with its true obstacle to the game. ust one month into must do so in good faith. well as in doubling down state, and many of its 62 million viewers in just It’s wrong of course, once the Biden presidency Immediately followon curfews and police members favor either four weeks. Beth Harmon you take the plunge you’ll be and with a plethora of ing the emancipation of invigilation. independence or absorpis a compelling protagonist in awe of the myriad opendomestic concerns at the India and Pakistan from In spite of a tenuous tion into Pakistan. Givand her fantastical jourings and stellar technique. forefront of public conBritish ownership in 1947, ceasefire agreed upon last en the wholly detestable ney through the chess world Playing a back and forth sciousness, one acknowlKashmir emerged as a month, the recent introstate of human rights in in the ’60s is captivating game on your phone with a edges that an appraisal flashpoint of nationalist, duction of Taliban-style Pakistan, where honor because it represents chess friend between lectures is a of this administration’s religious and economic sticky bombs — secrekillings, forced converin an interesting way while great way to set your mind at foreign policy would be tensions between the two tive explosives which can sions of young Hindu girls accommodating viewers ease and stay sharp. premature. This notwith- nations. In quasi-paralbe detonated remotely and capricious applicawho have no knowledge of There’s a reason why standing, in light of some lel with Palestine, Cyprus and attached to vehicles tions of a blasphemy law the game. Rather than crechess has persisted 1,500 rather propitious tone and Kurdistan, Kashmir — seems to foreshadow aimed at stamping out ate a bar to entry to viewyears. It’s a beautifully simshifts on Russia and Saudi reflects the grave conless than a sustained peri- dissent go unabated, I ers, it invites curiosity and plistic battle of the wits Arabia, the temptation to sequences of externally od of tranquility in the personally wouldn’t favor emphasizes how anyone can that is accessible to all. If I indulge in a bit of specula- imposed territorial parti- region. the latter option. This learn the game. haven’t sold you on its entertion and prescription here tion and represents one of Short of any underconviction is strengthThe results have been sig- tainment value, watch Logic is tough to resist. the more venerable selfhanded interference, ened by the observanificant sustained growth of dressed as Dwight play a As it should do, China determination struggles militaristic or otherwise, tion that Pakistan itself chess on online platforms. grizzled Rainn Wilson in a occupies the preeminent of the contemporary lot. which would likely have is an acronym for PunOn Twitch, the chess cattight series. They’re no Beth position on a foreign polThis Himalayan region horrendous consequencjab, Afghan, Kashmir and egory has exploded from Harmons, but the flurry of icy docket more deliberstretching from northes, the Biden adminisIndus-Sind, an indication 1.02 million hours watched blunders will keep you on ately geared towards Asia ern India through northtration must turn its of an ambitious, revanin February of 2020 to 22 the edge of your seat. than those of Biden’s pre- east Pakistan was afford- attention to the present chist appetite that at least million hours in February decessors — We shall see ed the chance to accede opportunity for diplomat- rivals that of India. of 2021. Amongst Logic and Matthew is a junior in LAS. if this lasts, one foreign to either of its would-be ic facilitation. Both Biden Nevertheless, such are Rainn Wilson’s matches last krauter3@dailyillini.com policy expert grumbles patrons; initially favorand Vice President Harthe demographic realities month, Chess.com peaked in the above piece, since ing independence, it only ris have already proven to be straddled by the U.S. “pivots to Asia” always sought India’s support more amenable to leveling in any facilitating role. In end with “divots in the after incursions from harsh critiques against view of this, the most pruMiddle East.” Pakistani tribes aiming Modi than their predeces- dent and noble approach Whether or not an to recuperate it to their sors, and Harris’ Indian would position advocacy Asia-centric mentality homeland. Thus erupted heritage could amount for Kashmiri civil libercongeals at the Pentathe first of several wars to some leverage in disties and restored autonogon, heightened attenbetween the two neighcussions of human rights my as the foremost Amertion must be paid to India. bors and the prolonged abuses in Kashmir. ican demands on India. This reasoning is twoperiod of tension that If neither leader conA simple human rights pronged: first, on account ensued, rendered starker cretely and decisively focus could earn favor in of Kashmir, home to a in recent decades by the counteracts Modi’s demPakistan, a strong ally of decades-long thermonuintroduction of apocalyp- agogy, then they must China, without intimatclear cold war between tic weaponry. be pressured to do so, a ing to the Pakistanis any India and Pakistan; secToday, both counstrategy likely to prove sort of allegiance regardond, because of the ongo- tries claim all of Kashnecessary on other proing Kashmir’s eventual ing and widespread farm- mir, though each controls gressive and internation- fate. An eye must instead ers strikes. Both are only certain portions of alist fronts. This is not to be subtly kept to future emblematic of the callous- it. Recent events of conimply, however, that the independence rather than ness of Prime Minister flict include a series of solutions here are simple to its continued servility Narendra Modi’s Bharati- airstrikes and counor that the remedy to a to either state. ya-Janata Hindu nationterstrikes between the 70-year geopolitical saga alist party, which constiadversaries in 2019, a is ready-made. Indeed, Eddie is a sophomore in tutes a conspicuous threat scuffle which precipitatAmerica is perched rather LAS. to the Kashmiri and Indi- ed highly controversial unfavorably between two ecryan2@dailyillini.com an peoples. legislation from Modi in allies, neither of which is Biden would do well the Indian-administered all that agreeable much JULIA EVERSMANN THE DAILY ILLINI MATTHEW KRAUTER

India bears importance to foreign policy

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

University of Illinois must expand library of open-source textbooks

a student coming from a lowincome household, going to college was a daunting task. Apart from all of the new experiences I would encounter, I was skeptical as to how I would be able to afford college tuition,

room, board and, on top of all of that, textbooks. Initially, paying for textbooks was not even a cost I had calculated in my mind. Footing the bill led to me being less likely to purchase the materials in the future, which in turn hurt my educational

experience. On average, undergraduate students budget between $1,200-$,1300 for textbooks and supplies each year. The average undergraduate degree takes four years to complete, which would cost students around $4,800-

$5,200 in textbooks by graduation. Textbooks are often essential in ensuring a student understands and is able to stay on track with the course material. One of the best solutions to solving this problem is using open-source textbooks. Open-source

textbooks allow students to no longer have to worry about saving up thousands of dollars to afford the textbooks. The University needs to expand their usage of open-source textbooks. By spreading awareness and shifting the focus to

textbook affordability, we can create a more equitable educational environment for students from all backgrounds. Jonah is a senior in LAS. opinions@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.

MONDAY March 8, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

SPORTS MEN’S BASKETBALL

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Opinion: Big Ten honors top players

Illinois, Michigan, Iowa boast coach, athlete All-Big Ten awards JACKSON’S PICKS JACKSON JANES ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Coach of the year • Juwan Howard

Player of the year • Ayo Dosunmu

Freshman of the year

• Hunter Dickinson

First Team

• Kofi Cockburn • Ayo Dosunmu • Franz Wagner • E.J. Liddell PHOTO COURTESY OF FIGHTING ILLINI ATHLETICS

Kofi Cockburn celebrates after a play against Michigan at Crisler Center on Tuesday. The two teams had been feuding for weeks online, adding to a long list of Big Ten beef this season.

Conference play sees drama BY BRANDON SIMBERG STAFF WRITER

Basketball is a competitive sport, and when you have competition combined with unrelenting school pride, you’re going to get into arguments. Arguments, feuds, rivalries, beefs, whatever you want to call them, are a part of what makes college basketball so fun and silly at times. With COVID-19 protocols, I was worried we weren’t going to have many feuds this year in the Big Ten. Postgame press conferences were conducted solely through Zoom, and the post-game handshake lines were terminated, which is where some feuds have taken place in the past. But, the Big Ten didn’t let me down. There were fan beefs, coach beefs and even parking police beefs. Let’s dive into three of the best feuds from this season.

3. Jordan Bohannon v Iowa City Parking Police

Yes, you read that correctly. A starting guard on a top ten team in the country was beefing with his own city’s parking police. It started in late January when the Iowa senior guard received a ticket at CarverHawkeye Arena while waiting for a tow truck because he had a flat tire. On Twitter, he declared an official war against the parking police. “If the COVID vaccine was distributed out like the University of Iowa distributed out parking tickets at Carver, I think the pandemic would be over by now. These parking people have to be the hardest workers on this earth,” he tweeted. A day later, Bohannon parked his car for mandatory COVID-19 testing. He parked at 10:50 a.m., paid for up until 11:22 a.m. and came out to his car at 11:25 a.m. In that three-minute time frame, Bohannon received a parking ticket. “It’s no coincidence this happened the next day. The parking police are reading my tweets. I know that you know that I know you are watching and following me. I will not back down. I will not surrender. I will not quit,” he tweeted later that day. The beef became so pub-

lic that it led to a reporter legitimately asking about it during media availability. Bohannon did not mince words. “The Iowa City parking police, I don’t think any of the workers have a soul or a heart at that place,” Bohannon said. “I’m sure they are great people off of their jobs, but when they put on that uniform, I’m not sure there’s a heart in them.” This all led up to Iowa’s home loss against Indiana on Jan. 21, a game in which Bohannon, coincidentally, shot a season-low 0-9 and didn’t score a single point, meaning he had received more parking tickets that day than made field goals. This led people to question whether Bohannon was too distracted by the beef. It has been quiet on that front since then, and the beef may have died, but it’s one of the more memorable storylines of the season. As someone who has dealt with idiotic campus parking police before, I sympathized with Bohannon and felt connected to the Iowa all-time assist leader.

2. Michigan v Illinois

The top two teams in the league have been beefing for weeks now, and the feud is ongoing. It started when Michigan postponed its initial game against Illinois coming off a COVID-19 pause. Other Wolverine sports teams played that same day of the postponed Illinois game, and the men’s basketball team had zero confirmed cases. This led Illinois fans to believe Michigan was purposely “ducking” them, as the Illini were on a winning streak and a win against the Wolverines would have made the Big Ten race more competitive. Michigan fans of course denied this claim. Particularly, former Michigan player Anthony Wright, who is a notorious, and objectively hilarious, Illinois troll. After Michigan’s COVID-19 pause, it went on to win at Wisconsin and at Ohio State, while the Illini struggled to beat Nebraska and Northwestern, which, of course, Wright let the internet know about. Even the coaches got involved a bit. When asked about playing multiple road games in a short period of

time — because Michigan postponed earlier in the season — Brad Underwood said this, sending a subtle shot to Ann Arbor. “We’re going to honor the (postponed games) because we’re a member of this league. We’re not gonna be the teams that pick and choose what we play for whatever. We’re going to show up. I think it’s about character, and this team has a ton of it.” The Wolverines were not on pace to play 20 games unless they scheduled back-to-backs at the end of the season. When asked about this, Juwan Howard said that wouldn’t be the case, sending a slight shot at Illinois, Maryland and Nebraska in one quote. “Well, every program is different, and we’re a lot different from Nebraska and Maryland. So I’ll just leave it like that.” This all led to the Illinois at Michigan game on March 3 in Ann Arbor. There was tons of internet trash talk leading up to it. Without Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois was expected to lose. But, the Illini dominated the Wolverines for 40 minutes, pulling out a 23-point victory, and Illini Twitter let Michigan fans hear about it. Even with the Illinois loss, the Wolverines still went on to win the Big Ten. Illinois fans felt robbed and said it was unfair since Howard’s team played just 17 conference games. While the fanbase beef is ongoing, and will likely continue until the season ends, there appears to be no ill-will from the players’s perspectives. Illinois guard Trent Frazier said there is no rivalry. Even if it isn’t between the players, the fanbase beef between the two programs this season has been sensational content.

1. Hunter Dickinson v. Maryland

of view as to why things didn’t work out between him and the Terrapins. “Yeah, I did feel a little disrespected when I wasn’t recruited by them,” Dickinson said. “(But) I’m really glad with where I am right now. I’m 100% saying this is the spot for me. I’m happy to be here at Michigan.” Dickinson went on to dominate in College Park, scoring 26 points on 10-11 shooting. He made his presence felt even more by staring down the Maryland bench after a few buckets, ultimately leading to a technical foul. This brings up the obvious question: Why didn’t Maryland recruit a fourstar big in their own backyard? Well, it turns out they actually did. This story became so public that the Washington Post — yes, that same national newspaper that broke the Watergate scandal — did a whole story on this. The story included details from a former Maryland assistant, the Dematha head coach and even head coach Mark Turgeon. It turns out the Terps did recruit Dickinson, offering him a scholarship his sophomore season and contacting him regularly. And, Maryland does recruit the D.C. area, but they just don’t have a strong pipeline with Dematha. The team’s last player from the powerhouse came in 2002. Maryland, who lacks size up front this season, would gladly have taken Dickinson. All of these indicate that it was Dickinson who had little interest in the Terps. That brings me to my next question: Why did Dickinson go out of his way to slight Maryland in a press conference? And why was he so excessive when they played? I don’t think we’ll ever have an answer, but that is what makes this feud that much funnier. If Dickinson returns to Michigan next season, this story will continue to pop up. When your beef is so evident that it gets a deep dive from The Washington Post, that separates itself from the pack, and that is why this was the best Big Ten beef of the season.

Hunter Dickinson, the front-runner for the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award, hails from Dematha Catholic High School, just 2.5 miles south of College Park. The Terrapins offered Dickinson, but they did not make his final four, as he ultimately committed to Michigan. @BrandonSimberg Prior to the first contest simberg2@dailyillini.com between the two teams, Dickinson offered his point

• Luka Garza PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ATHLETICS

BRANDON’S PICKS BRANDON SIMBERG STAFF WRITER

Coach of the year • Juwan Howard

Player of the year • Luka Garza

Freshman of the year

• Hunter Dickinson

First Team

• Trevion Williams • Ayo Dosunmu • Franz Wagner • E.J. Liddell • Luka Garza PHOTO COURTESY OF OHIO STATE ATHLETICS

GABBY’S PICKS GABBY HAJDUK SPORTS EDITOR

Coach of the year • Brad Underwood

Player of the year • Ayo Dosunmu

Freshman of the year

• Hunter Dickinson

First Team

• Kofi Cockburn • Ayo Dosunmu • Aaron Henry • E.J. Liddell • Luka Garza PHOTO COURTESY OF FIGHTING ILLINI ATHLETICS

2B Monday, March 8, 2021

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

McQueen, Nye share more than just a first name Illini freshmen duo brings outof-state talent to Champaign BY CLAIRE O’BRIEN STAFF WRITER

Two freshmen on the Illinois women’s basketball team share the first name Aaliyah. Further, Aaliyah McQueen and Aaliyah Nye also have a lot more in common. They’re both from Michigan. Nye and McQueen both played for the same Amateur Athletic Union team — the Michigan Storm Elite — in high school. They didn’t go to the same high school, as McQueen is from Flint — as is Illinois women’s basketball director of recruiting Tianna Kirkland — and Nye is from East Lansing, home to Michigan State. McQueen and Nye both started playing basketball at an early age. Nye’s mother wanted her to dabble in all the sports — Nye tried soccer, softball and dance, among others — but Nye liked basketball the best. McQueen’s late father introduced his daughter to the game, and she found she enjoyed it. “My father passed away due to murder, and he was the one who introduced me to basketball when I was about 2 years old,” McQueen said. “So, I decided to just put my all into that and just find something to get my mind off my dad. Then, I ended up just loving the game and loving everything about it.” McQueen played for several AAU teams before joining the Michigan Storm, though she also played for another team, the Michigan Mystics. She was among the stronger players in the program. In a matchup against the Michigan Storm when McQueen was in sixth grade, the

THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO

Aaliyah McQueen (21) cheers on Aaliyah Nye (32) as she shoots a 3-pointer at State Farm Center on Jan. 25 against Nebraska. Nye and McQueen share a first name, are from Michigan and have a great bond tied together by basketball.

Michigan Storm coach wanted his players to slow down McQueen. McQueen played well against her future team and eventually decided to join the Michigan Storm. Nye’s older sister also played for the Michigan Storm. Nye also joined the Michigan Storm but started off on the “B” team. McQueen was on the “A” team when Nye first joined, so the two didn’t get to know each other for

a while. Nye eventually joined McQueen on the “A” team, and the two became friends during their high school years. “When Aaliyah joined the first time, I didn’t really know her. We didn’t play on the same team,” McQueen said. “About two years later, we ended up playing on the top team together and getting to know her was just like a sister to me.” McQueen’s and Nye’s families really got to know each

other during those years. The players carpooled together, and the families often stayed at the same hotel during out-of-town tournaments. When it came time for college, both players looked at their options. And while they didn’t prioritize ending up at the same school, they both ultimately decided on Illinois. McQueen committed first, deciding to attend Illinois two months before Nye announced she’d also

go to Illinois. But, McQueen was one of the first people Nye told when she finalized her decision. “I called Coach Fahey, and I committed,” Nye said. “And then, right after I called Coach Fahey, I called Aaliyah and I told her I was committing. And we were just, like, excited.” At college, Nye and McQueen live right across the hall from each other, so they hang out and see each other often. Geovana Lopes and Erika Porter also room

with them. But, Nye and McQueen have their fair share of roommate concerns — Nye said she sometimes has to remind McQueen to take out the trash — but they’re enjoying college and enjoy each other’s company. “We just joke around a lot,” Nye said. “It’s great to be around Aaliyah. She has good energy. I just love her.” @obrien_clairee claireo3@dailyillini.com

Attention University of Illinois Seniors:

Last call for Class of 2021

Senior Pictures FEB. 23 - MAR. 14 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

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

Monday, March 8, 2021

MEN’S BASKETBALL

DOSUNMU’S RETURN LEADS ILLINOIS

BY GABBY HAJDUK SPORTS EDITOR

Illini star Ayo Dosunmu returned to the starting lineup on Saturday after missing three straight games with a facial injury. After settling in, masked-up Dosunmu was back to his normal self, creating space in the lane, flowing in transition and dishing out passes to his teammates. Dosunmu’s production, combined with another stellar outing for freshman Andre Curbelo and a clutch 3-pointer from Da’Monte Williams, led Illinois to yet another ranked road victory over No. 7 Ohio State. While the Buckeyes challenged the Illini in the paint and forced multiple players into foul trouble, the Illini remained composed throughout 40 minutes and won the game in the final minutes. The Illini will now head into postseason play on a four-game winning streak and will get a double-bye for the Big Ten tournament, which starts Thursday. Let’s take a look at the performances of Illinois’ top seven players.

AYO DOSUNMU Masked up and back on the court for the first time since Michigan State, Dosunmu did what he always does for the Illini: close. Down by four with less than three minutes left, Dosunmu split a pair of free throws to bring the game within one possession. Then, after a Williams three to tie it up, Dosunmu scored the final five points of the game, including an and-1 layup for the go-ahead score. Coming off a three-game absence, Dosunmu never

missed a beat, tying a team-high 19 points on 70% shooting. Dosunmu also hit five of his six free-throw attempts. He was also a solid facilitator on Saturday, dishing out three assists. While the Illini still succeeded with Dosunmu out, having its star player back on the court heading into the Big Ten tournament will be crucial. Dosunmu also stated in the postgame press conference that he will wear the mask the rest of the season.

ANDRE CURBELO Curbelo is getting hot at the right time for the Illini. After struggling to be consistent most of the season, the freshman has found his groove in the last several games, going for a season-high 19 points at Ohio State. Curbelo has scored in the double digits his last five games and is averaging 17.6 points in the last three, which were Wisconsin, Michigan and now, Ohio State — all ranked opponents.

The freshman was productive off the ball as well, grabbing five defensive rebounds and dishing out a teamhigh six assists. While Dosunmu was gone, it looked like Curbelo was filling that all-around role and that has clearly continued with the junior guard back, only making the Illini stronger.

DA’MONTE WILLIAMS While Dosunmu hit the final shots for Illinois, it was a 3-pointer from Williams with 1:31 left to play that tied the game for Illinois, robbing Ohio State of any momentum. While Williams isn’t the most threatening

A-

or consistent scorer, he certainly knows how to show up in big moments. The senior came to play against Ohio State, as he finished with seven points, six rebounds and a steal. Williams also did a nice job helping against Liddell and guarded him well down the stretch.

JACOB GRANDISON Grandison has continued to prove he’s a special piece for the Illini this season. The junior was a big part of Illinois’ firsthalf success, as on two separate occasions he scored back-to-back buckets to give or extend his team’s lead.

Grandison finished with nine points on 4-7 shooting and also grabbed four total rebounds, including one offensive. His defensive energy and hustle to the boards is Grandion’s most important attribute, and he has rarely disappointed so far this season.

KOFI COCKBURN After a solid first half — scoring 10 points on 5-7 shooting Ohio State’s triple-team defense in the second half frustrated the Illini big, scoring just two second-half points. Part of that struggle can be attributed to Cockburn’s teammates failing to get him the ball, but the sophomore also missed three baskets. Cockburn did help hold the Buckeyes to 32 points in the pain, while the Illini scored 42. E.J. Liddell did

B-

have the edge on Cockburn again, as he scored 19 points and helped put Cockburn in foul trouble. Meeting Ohio State at any point in the postseason will be a challenge for Cockburn, as the Buckeyes and Liddell have found ways to minimize his touches and scoring.

TRENT FRAZIER Frazier spent most of the first half on the bench for Illinois after picking up two fouls within six minutes, leading to zero points through 20 minutes. In the second half, Frazier wasn’t much more efficient on offense, going 1-4 from the field. His one 3-pointer came at a crucial time, though, as he brought the Illini’s deficit from four to one with less than five minutes to play.

C-

The senior’s second-half defense is what really matters, as he held Duane Washington Jr. to four points on 2-10 shooting after he scored 11 points in the first half. Washington’s lack of late-game production helped the Illini stay within striking distance of the Buckeyes.

ADAM MILLER After a big 18-point outing against Nebraska — Illinois’ first game without Dosunmu — Miller has been pretty quiet. That was no different on Saturday, as the freshman scored just two points on 1-6 shooting. It seems like Miller has just failed to find consistency in his game and find ways to get to the bas-

THE

DAILY ILLINI

dailyillini.com

Look to the Daily Illini for Fighting Illini basketball coverage. Online and in print

ket, something he does almost as well as anyone on the team. If Miller can get that confidence back up throughout the Big Ten tournament, the Illini will be dangerous in the NCAA tournament. @gabby_h11 ghajduk2@dailyillini.com

ATTENTION RSOs THIS SPACE COULD

BE YOURS FOR A

DISCOUNTED RATE! 8,000 copies of The Daily Illini are distributed to over 150 locations every Monday and Thursday. Contact us today!

(217) 337-8382

advertise@illinimedia.com

DIGITAL ADVERTISING ALSO AVAILABLE

4B Monday, March 8, 2021

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

Part A

Announcements

THE DAILY ILLINI 4

8 2

Needs Help! 1 Your 6 5

5 8

5 9

1 5

The Daily Illini relies on4 inside 9 5 3 sources to6 break news to the 7 campus community. If you have 2 1 information everyone needs to know, we want to hear from you. 3 9

SKILL:

5 9

18. Jun 2010

9 8

Part A

Skill:

BLANK 5 SPACE RIGHT HERE

and it could be yours for a

DISCOUNTED RATE!

1 5

Enter the numbers 1-9 in the blank spaces so that each row, column and 3x3 square contains only one of each number. There is only one solution. (solution in Classifieds and online at www.dailyillini.com).

We’ve got a

Sudoku 2

1 tip 4 to5 news@dailyillini.com 6 Submit a news

UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENTS

Skill:

ATTENTION

S E D E R

A N N I E

N O I R E

H A N D

Announcements

C H E N

I S E E

S O U R

U T N E

L E A K

P E E R G R O Q U U P A I A D R M E D

A S K O U T

M E N U

M E A L W R G O W I N M I N G U Z G M F M A R T A R Y H I V E E M I R M S N

S T U F

A K B A R

I M M A

Y A L I E S

S O M E

T Y M P A E N T A S T Y E G N E C O O C R H U G E L I L I A L N O S S

U S D A

P R I S M

A H A B

P U R S E

A F T E R

Deadline: 11:00 a.m. one business day prior to publication

In addition to PAID ads for commercial businesses, we offer FREE ONLINE ads to UIUC students who sign into their accounts with “Illinois.edu” addresses.

Sign in to set up an account with us. Pricing is available on the site upon login. You can place ads in The Daily Illini print publications on Mondays and Thursdays, or on our dailyillini.com website, or both.

www.dailyillini.com/classifieds

Announcements 2

Classified advertisers can now place print and online classified ads directly at:

CLASSIFIEDS THE DAILY ILLINI

18. Jun 2010

5 6 7

7 5

1 PUT YOUR AD HERE!

8,000 copies of The Daily Illini are distributed to over 150 locations every Monday and Thursday.

Contact us today at (217) 337-8382! We’re ready to wheel and deal to help you reach your target audience. *Digital advertising available as well.

advertise@illinimedia.com

Housing Find your next home with

The Daily Illini Start and end your housing hunt today!

housing.dailyillini.com

6 9 8 2

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

Monday, March 8, 2021

buzz calendar BY RUKAYAH HUSSEIN BUZZ CALENDAR EDITOR

The buzz calendar is a compilation of events happening in the Champaign-Urbana area. Follow our top picks in Monday’s and Thursday’s papers for ideas on what to do on any night of the week, from where to eat to what to watch. Want to submit an event? Email calendar@readbuzz.com.

MONDAY, MARCH 8

TUESDAY, MARCH 9

Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week Book Release and Conversation  8 a.m. with Sharon Irish PHOTO COURTESY OF STEAM

The cover for the video game “Virginia” is pictured above. Buzz writer Aidan Finn spoke with the company director of the studio behind the game, Jonathan Burroughs.

‘Virginia’ provides gamers rich storytelling experience BY AIDAN FINN STAFF WRITER

Nothing compares to the magical feeling of heading blindly into a new game and leaving incredibly satisfied. The experience is like finding an old gift card with money still left on it or spare fries at the bottom of your McDonald’s bag — completely unexpected, yet greatly enjoyed. It’s a rare experience for gaming though given the monetary barrier that would entice consumers to research a title before committing to a purchase. “Virginia” is a film-length interactive story told in the first-person perspective. Very little interactivity and no spoken dialogue, it follows an FBI agent’s investigation of a missing teen in a small and quiet American town in the outskirts of Virginia. In “Twin Peaks” fashion, the small scale soon devolves into betrayal and conspiracy as much more seems to be afoot. I got the chance to speak with Jonathan Burroughs, the company director of Variable State and one of the develop-

ers of “Virginia,” about his experience making the title and what he would share with university students eyeing a future in game development. buzz: How long was the development for “Virginia?” From the first idea to release the final product. Jonathan Burroughs: “ ... In terms of project length, I guess you could say “Virginia” was being worked on continuously from March 2014 until September 2016, so two and a half years, effectively. However, we abandoned our early prototypes and pretty much started fresh after we signed with 505 Games in January 2015, seizing the opportunity to build the thing properly once we had funding and a full team.” buzz: Going in blind for this game, I was surprised by its lack of dialogue. How did you go about creating and telling such a complex story-line with no words? JB: “ ... fairly early on, we discounted the idea of making something with voice performance, but purely on practical grounds. We could see that it’d probably be prohibitively

expensive for us as a new studio. That didn’t mean we discounted dialogue entirely — I think we initially imagined we’d use text to convey the storytelling. What changed our minds entirely and gave us confidence that we needed no dialogue at all was playing “Thirty Flights of Loving” and seeing the depth of drama and emotion that the game conveyed through its use of cinematic editing.” buzz: Are there any other games that inspired the design of “Virginia?” Any movies/comics? (David Lynch? “Mindhunter?”) JB: “Initially, it was a desire to blend the tone and central relationship of “The X-Files,” and probably that show’s supernatural storytelling too, with Lynchian surrealism. As time went on, I feel like “Silence of the Lambs” became a much bigger reference point for us. Clarice Starling’s character, her underdog status, possesses some of the qualities Jodie Foster brought to that performance, including the

 A virtual event hosted by Champaign County Economic Development Corporation  Free Champaign-Urbana has long been a hub for technology as well as agriculture. In the past decade, those two paths have converged, paving the way for the community to become an “epicenter for AgTech.” Join us for this ongoing event from March 8-12 to learn about how these two worlds collide.

Riggs Brewery Presents: Illinois Grain

 5-6 p.m.  A virtual event hosted by Riggs Beer Company  Free, but registration is required Riggs Beer Company leads the Midwest in the vertical integration of locally grown grain into beer! Their latest seasonal beer, Illinois Kölsch, is brewed with 100% Riggs-grown barley and wheat. Join us as Matt Riggs guides us through a virtual presentation where we will discuss both the challenges and excitement that come from crafting a beverage from the seed to the glass.

Virtual Open Mic Night with Canopy Club

 7:30-11:30 p.m.  A virtual event hosted by The Canopy Club  Free Join the Champaign-Urbana Open Mic Nights crew, including Anika Emily, Jake Fava Music, Moe Pesci da Goodfella, 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.

SEE VIRGINIA | 6B

Your resilience is

inspiring.

Let’s show the world what we are made of.

covid19.illinois.edu

 Noon-1 p.m.  A virtual event hosted by Krannert Art Musuem, but registration is required  Free Irish will join Jorge Lucero, artist and associate professor in Art + Design, and Lou Turner, clinical assistant professor in Fine & Applied Arts, to discuss artworks that Stephen Willats co-created with United Kingdom residents of modernist tower blocks and people living in low-rise and semi-detached houses. How did they describe their current situations? How did they imagine their futures?

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10

Lunchtime Live Storytelling

 1:15-1:45 p.m.  A virtual event hosted by Spurlock Museum  Free Take a relaxing lunch break and join Kim Sheahan Sanford, our assistant director of education and resident storyteller, for family-friendly stories from around the world.

Collage Concepts | Crafty Adults

 7 p.m.  A virtual event hosted by Champaign Public Library  Free Registration required. Come to our live webinar to learn a new craft every month at Crafty Adults! Are you looking to take your paper crafting skills to the next level? Learn some concepts to create cards, original artwork or decoupage projects! Join Laura Reiss as she shares how you can use a collage to tell a story, refresh a space or even preserve a memory. Crafters of all skill levels are welcome! This event is made possible by partnering with The Idea Store.

MONDAY March 8, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

buzz

Ethnomusicologist documents growth of UI bands BY JILLIAN LITTLE BUZZ EDITOR

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of everyday life, which rings true for those who work and learn in a university setting. Both students and professors have adapted to online learning. However, some departments haven’t fully integrated onto an online platform as their curriculum is performance-based. The University of Illinois School of Music continues to have class rehearsals, which has proven to be a perfect opportunity for some to maintain historical records of how many cope with these current circumstances. Scott Schwartz is the Director of the Sousa Archives and the Center for American Music. As a member of the campus community since 2003, Schwartz has dedicated his work to preserving the University band’s legacy. The pandemic has prompted him to take photos of those a part of the School of Music to document their thoughts and emotions. Using a Nikon lent to him by a volunteer, he has taken over 4,500 photos so far. “I felt it was important to capture what’s going on here,” Schwartz said. “Photographing is the piece of the puzzle, which is what I do. That’s the easy part.” The Sousa Archives and the Center for American Music have historically preserved records documenting concerts, including how directors and assistant directors have worked together over the years. “The pandemic is just a part of the University band legacy,” Schwartz said. “The differ-

ence is that I’ve been gathering people’s comments about playing and taking classes in a way that we haven’t done in the past.” Though Schwartz’s role at the University hasn’t changed much during the pandemic, his department has made strides to reshape how it reaches the campus community, including posting more on social media. “We can’t have visitors come to us as they did before to look at the exhibits and engage with the collections, which has been a little weird,” Schwartz said. “But if you don’t adapt, you die; so we’ve adapted.” Schwartz is no stranger to performing on stage and has played alongside many University bands in the past. His instrument of choice is the tuba. “Sometimes, I would even perform with the bands as a narrator,” Schwartz said. “We still work together on projects, but virtually.” The most challenging part of Schwartz’s photographing process is identifying people in the photos, especially since he can take hundreds during one rehearsal. In some instances, he has had to meet with band directors to double-check if names and spellings are correct. “There’s a spreadsheet I use, but sometimes it doesn’t have someone’s last name. That’s when I have to do a little digging and figure out what their email is,” Schwartz said. “Even then, there are five students with the same name on campus, so I spent a lot of time on that.” Schwarts says he was concerned that bands might be reluctant to have him pho-

PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOTT SCHWARTZ

A student conducts during a class rehearsal. Sousa Archives and Center for American Music Director Scott Schwartz has been documenting the School of Music during the pandemic.

tograph rehearsals. However, they are very willing to keep this historical record alive. Some of the students have even touched him with their words. “They embrace what I do as an artifact musician, and I appreciate that,” Schwartz said. “I get very passionate hearing the students’ reflections of what they’ve been going through and how much they persevere.” However, his project’s

focus isn’t only on students and professors; it also highlights workers of the building. “The archival history record didn’t necessarily focus on custodians and other staff who were managing the instrument rooms,” Schwartz said. “They are the ones who care for the building, and I felt it was important to capture their voices as well.” When future historians analyze primary sources

from the COVID-19 pandemic, Schwartz hopes that he has adequately captured how it felt for many to be a part of the School of Music during a chaotic time and provide context for the program. “We record this legacy now as opposed to waiting 10 or 15 years because people’s memories get a lot foggier,” Schwartz said. “They tend to put a negative or positive spin on their experience after you let years go by, so why the hell

do that?” There’s still a lot to be done as ensembles continue to rehearse. Though most performances have been put on hold, Schwartz’s message is clear. “Music-making will always be an integral part of the lives of each student and faculty member,” Schwartz said. “This project is still unfolding.”

FROM 5B

easiest route is probably to have either a computer science, 3D art, 3D animation or music qualification at the degree level. If you want to be a programmer, designer or work in production, pursue a computer science degree. If you want to work in an artistic discipline, pursue a fine art, 3D art or 3D animation degree. If you want to work on game music, pursue a music degree. If you want to write for games, that’s an extremely challenging discipline to break into and usually benefits from either being a distinguished writer in another medium or being a game designer who can also write, so my advice would be to be mindful of the hurdles there. Degrees aren’t essential — you can learn all these skills online and probably do so for a fraction of the cost. But without a degree qualification, you’ll need to demonstrate your skills by producing a body of your work.” “Virginia” is available on PC, Apple Mac, PS4 and Xbox One.

VIRGINIA

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEAM

Investigators in the video game “Virginia” discuss the criminal case during a cutscene.

ALL NEW

jel3@readbuzz.com

tone and visual storytelling from Jonathan Demme’s direction. I was obsessed with that film for a while. I think we all were.” buzz: What advice would you give college students aspiring to be indie game developers? JB: “I worked in studio game development in the UK for almost 10 years before going indie. The success of games like “Gone Home” and “Kentucky Route Zero” convinced my Variable State co-founder Terry Kenny and me that we could have a go at making something ourselves. These days, the boundaries to getting into indie development are lower than ever, although that isn’t to say they aren’t still substantial. Games typically take years to make, and you’ll need to be able to support yourself financially during the development process, not to mention paying for your equipment … ” “ ... as for breaking into the studio games industry, the aidanf3@readbuzz.com

THE BEST WAY TO KEEP UP WITH THE NEWS Use the QR code to sign up for our newsletter and get headline news sent to your email!

DOWNLOAD FREE. LISTEN NOW.

dailyillini.com