The Daily Illini Volume 150 Issue 8 by The Daily Illini

THURSDAY September 17, 2020

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Vol. 150 Issue 8

Big Ten reinstates 2020 football season BY GABBY HAJDUK SPORTS EDITOR

Big Ten football is back. The conference announced in a press release on Wednesday it has voted to start its college football season on Oct. 23-24. “The Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors (COP/C) adopted significant medical protocols including daily antigen testing, enhanced cardiac screening and an enhanced data-driven approach when making decisions about pr ac t ic e/c omp e -

tition,” the release said. “The COP/C voted unanimously to resume the football season starting the weekend of October 23-24, 2020. The decision was based on information presented by the Big Ten Return to Competition Task Force, a working group that was established by the COP/C and Commissioner Kevin Warren to ensure a collaborative and transparent process.” The press release indicates all “student-

athletes, coaches, trainers and other individuals that are on the field for all practices and games” will undergo daily testing starting Sept. 30. All studentathletes that test positive for COVID-19 will have to “undergo comprehensive cardiac testing” and cannot return to competition for at least 21 days following a positive diagnosis. The Big Ten will monitor positivity rates of the virus both on campus and on the teams. Com-

petition must stop for at least seven days if a team has a positivity rate of 5% or higher or if the population positivity rate is 7.5% or higher. After voting to postpone the season on Aug. 10, the conference presidents re-voted and decided to have a fall college

football season, first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel early Wednesday morning. The decision comes after two successful weeks of college football, including one week of Power-5 games. Speculation intensified on Tuesday morning when a video surfaced on Twitter of the University of Nebraska president getting caught on a hot mic before a news conference saying “We’re getting ready to announce the Huskers and Big Ten football tonight.” Optimism for a fall season started over the weekend after a comprehensive plan was presented to the Big Ten presidents with an

emphasis on medical protocols that had changed in recent weeks and became available to the league. Players, coaches and fans have been expressing their eagerness for a fall season ever since the season was originally postponed. This included a petition started by Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and multiple Big Ten head coaches making formal statements on their desire for a fall season. The Big Ten said updates regarding other fall sports and winter sports will be announced shortly. @gabby_h11 ghajduk2@dailyillini.com

THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO

The Illini Football team erupts in celebration after defeating the Michigan State Spartans on Nov. 9, 2019. The Illini won 37-34. The Illini now have the chance to build on the success in 2019 as this season is set to start Oct. 23-24.

International enrollment drops BY MONA ALRAZZAQ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Rather than enjoying a normal senior year on the University campus, Sarah Kishta attends virtual classes from Zagazig, Egypt, a time zone seven hours ahead of Champaign, Illinois. “I had to flip my sleeping schedule to keep up with my deadlines and homework and also be able to keep track of everything,” Kishta said. “In the Egypt time zone, my classes start from 4:30 p.m. to 12 a.m.” According to the University’s newest numbers, 576 fewer international undergraduates chose to continue their enrollment at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign this fall. For the remaining international undergrads, the COVID-19 pandemic has created myriad challenges, ranging from time difference adjustments to social sacrifices. Jiwon Lee, sophomore, resides in Daegu, South Korea. Lee had to also adjust her sleeping schedule due to a class that meets twice weekly at 4 a.m. Korean Standard Time. Other big plans had to be

put on pause due to the pandemic. Lee was selected to be a resident advisor at a dorm on campus, but was unable to return and accept her position due to the global pandemic. Lee was disappointed because the RA position relieves a lot of financial burden. Maintaining social interaction and meeting people during the pandemic has also been difficult for international students. Jana Barghouthni, freshman, currently lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, nine hours ahead of Champaign. “Not physically seeing anybody makes it hard to put yourself out there and makes it much more difficult to make friends,” Barghouthni said. Despite the social and academic struggles that arose due to the global pandemic, some international students find returning to campus next semester unlikely with rising COVID-19 cases in the United States. However, other international students were almost forced to return to the U.S. due to the currently retracted policy to cancel visas for international students announced by the Trump administration

prior to campus’s reopening. When Lee first heard the news, she worried over the increasing COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and feared a mandated return. “It was too dangerous, so I did not want to go back, but since I did not want my visa to be canceled, I had no choice because it was almost a forced thing to go back,” Lee said. Lee was grateful for the lawsuit filed by universities all over the country that resulted in the retraction of the policy which she said “gave freedom for international students to stay safe and take their courses online.” While students like Lee feel secure staying home, other students, like Kishta, are hopeful that circumstances will get better and they will be able to return to campus in the spring. “I will mainly focus on my internship to be able to graduate, but I am also willing to live some memories I didn’t get to experience as a senior.” Kishta said. “I would like to explore campus and places that I never had the chance to go to before.” monaa2@dailyillini.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF SARAH KISHTA

Sarah Kishta looks over lecture slides at 2:15 a.m. from her home in Zagazig, Egypt. Kishta has had to adapt to virtual classes through a seven hour time zone difference.

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Rebecca Lee Smith, professor in AHS at the University, explains the recent peaks in COVID-19 cases. She shared the data during a Senate Executive Committee meeting on Monday.

Modelers optimistic about COVID-19 data BY ETHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR

New data displayed at Monday’s University Senate meeting revealed two trends about the on-campus spread of COVID-19: spikes in cases correlate to weekend exposure, and most of the spread is taking place in off-campus housing. Rebecca Lee Smith, professor in AHS at the University, showed how the peaks of new cases on campus — around Aug. 25, Aug. 31 and Sep. 8 — came almost exactly one week apart from each other. Given the virus’s incubation period, these upticks in cases all correlate to weekend exposure, Smith said. Likewise, any spread from last weekend would appear in tests conducted from Monday to Wednesday. Smith displayed another data set obtained from McKinley Health Center: new student cases across dorms, Greek houses and offcampus housing over time. While new cases in dorms and Greek life were reigned in within a week of the late August-early September spike, cases haven’t fallen as quickly in off-campus apartments.

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“On-campus housing has come down remarkably, beautifully,” Smith said. “Offcampus housing has not come down as much as we would like.” Some behind the University’s testing efforts were worried the drop in cases was from a lower proportion of undergraduates getting tested, but this data shows genuine student improvement, said physicist and lead modeler Nigel Goldenfeld. “We are cautiously optimistic about the way things are going,” he said. As for the student restrictions lifted Wednesday, Goldenfeld said it’s too soon to

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make a plan for the rest of the semester. “It depends on how we relax the measures that we’re currently taking,” Goldenfeld said. “And so we will obviously be analyzing these data in the next day or so, and coming to some conclusions as a team about what is the right way to do this.” Smith said University modelers are looking to obtain data from ChampaignUrbana Public Health District on where students are getting exposed to the virus, instead of where exposed students live.

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A graph depicts amounts of positive COVID-19 tests over time at the University of Illinois. Over 10,000 tests were conducted on Monday.

University reaches 2,000 COVID-19 cases Fifty-nine cases attributed to faculty, staff in recently updated case count

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The University of Illinois’ surpassed two COVID-19 milestones this week: over 2,000 cases identified from 300,000 saliva tests since the program’s introduction in July. Over two-thirds of all tests have been conducted since classes began on Aug. 24, while 1,649 peo-

ple have tested positive for COVID-19 on campus during those same weeks. Entry tests in the nine days before classes revealed 288 imported cases of COVID-19 on campus, on par with the University’s projections. However, community spread took hold, and 501 new cases were identified from 77,000 tests during the first week of class. Then, after two weekends of social gatherings, COVID-19 cases spiked, with 815 new cases in a week after 73,000 tests, including 549 new cases from Aug. 31-Sept. 2. The jolt in cases led University administrators to limit undergradu-

ate students to essential activities for a two-week period, which ended Wednesday. T he r e s t r ic t ion s appear to have stemmed the spread significantly. The week ended Sept. 13 yielded 293 new cases from over 56,000 tests. From Sept. 10-14, the single-day new case positivity rate stayed below half of a percent. Essentially, for four days, fewer than one in 200 tests turned up a new case of COVID-19, a streak that hadn’t been matched since move-in week. The University has not revealed how many individuals are being tested each week. However, more than 40,000

people have downloaded the Safer Illinois tracking app. Additionally, as of Monday, 59 University faculty and staff had tested positive for COVID-19 on campus since July; under 3% of all confirmed cases, said associate professor Rebecca Lee Smith at the Senate Executive Committee meeting. More than 95% of all confirmed cases are from undergraduate students, and around 80% of those students are asymptomatic, Champaign-Urbana Public Health District administrator Awais Vaid said. ecsimmon@dailyillini.com

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contact students who test positive for COVID-19 within half an hour of their results’ arrivals. According to Bryan, 99% of COVID-19-positive students respond within a minute of receiving a text from the SHIELD team, affirming that they understand their isolation expectations. Nearly 2,000 students have tested positive for COVID-19 using the oncampus saliva tests since the program began in July.

CUPHD does all contact tracing in the county, which Goldenfeld acknowledged as the primary mitigation strategy. The Safer Illinois app is “icing on the cake,” he said. “The app is tuned only to provide an exposure notification only if it’s longer than two hours,” Goldenfeld said. “If made shorter, it would deliver a huge number of false positives. That would make people ignore it.” Meanwhile, Student Affairs is working to make isolation and quarantine more bearable for students. “During the isolation and quarantine period we know it’s tough for students to stay in a room for 10, 14 days,” said Danita Brown Young, vice chancellor of Student Affairs. Young said Student Affairs employees are making daily phone calls to students in the residence halls and informing them of their dining and healthcare options. Her department will be rolling out an “isolation and quarantine box,” with things like cards, bath pillows, puzzles and games to keep isolated students occupied. Additionally, a new wave of random prizes are coming to students who behave within the University’s COVID-19 guidelines, University spokesperson Robin Kaler said. Kaler mentioned one of the incentives: the chance to do a TikTok with Chancellor Robert Jones. Young gave special mention to the Interfraternity Council and other Greek organizations for their cooperation in cutting in-person activities. “Everyone has really been trying to play their part and do their job or role, and students have really stepped up to hold those students accountable,” Young said.

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Students gather on the porch of a house on First Street on Aug. 29. After violating COVID-19-related policies, eight students have received interim suspensions. Pictured students are not known to be involved with suspensions.

Students suspended after violating COVID-19 policies University continues to investigate policy violations BY ETHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR

Eight University students have been placed on interim suspension for violating COVID-19-related policies, while hundreds more reports are being investigated, school officials confirmed at a Sen-

ate Executive Committee meeting on Monday. A total of 273 reports of potential COVID-19 policy violations were sent to the University last week, 270 of them involving students. “Most of the alleged violations are for social distancing noncompliance or the mask and face covering noncompliance,” said Stephen Bryan, dean of student support and advocacy, at Monday’s meeting. The number of reported gatherings on and around campus fell from 20 during Labor Day weekend to just five last weekend, Bryan added.

These reports were sent through the University’s online COVID-19 enforcement form and to the Office of Student Conflict Resolution’s email address, conf lictresolution@illinois. edu. University administrators have pointed to the number of students breaking quarantine directives for some of the unforeseen spread, though that number also fell. While 43 students broke quarantine or isolation directives two weeks ago, only 24 did last week, Bryan said. Bryan rejected the idea

that students are shirking masks for political reasons. “As I’ve been out on the party scene riding around, I haven’t encountered that notion at all that it’s a resistance to wearing the mask because of the political environment,” Bryan said. “Instead, I’ve encountered more of a notion of I’m invincible — what we would typically see at this 17 to 21 year old age range of: ‘It’s not gonna happen to me, or if it does, it’s not that big of a deal.’” Bryan touted the efforts of SHIELD Team 30, a group of Student Affairs employees who work to

People Over Profit marches outside University president’s house BY SALEM ISAF ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITOR

A new organization on campus, People Over Profit, organized their first demonstration today to protest the University’s handling of the coronavirus. At noon, group members met on the Main Quad with megaphones and called on passersby to join them as they started their protest. One of the speakers continually asked pedestrians if they were “comfortable going into debt forever for Zoom University,” referencing the cost of tuition as well as most of the University’s classes being held remotely. Around 50 demonstrators showed, filling up the grassy area in front of Foellinger, spread about six feet apart while wearing masks. From there, People Over Profit members gave speeches through a loudspeaker to those that would listen. The content of the speeches criticized the University for many things, including not paying University workers hazard pay and raising tuition while President Tim Killeen received a raise. The group had a few dif-

SALEM ISAF THE DAILY ILLINI

Protesters gather outside of UI President Tim Killeen’s on Monday. People Over Profit, a new organization, organized the demonstration.

ferent demands, the first being a 30% tuition refund. “That’s on account of the drastic decline in quality from an online University, based on the educational experience they prom-

ised us,” said Nona Porter, senior in Fine and Applied Arts. “These are not online University tuition rates, and people are gonna be in debt forever for this ridiculous excuse of a college

SALEM ISAF THE DAILY ILLINI

A People Over Profit member gives a speech on the Main Quad on Monday.

education.” The group is also demanding hazard pay for building service workers, resident advisors, teaching assistants, SHIELD workers and any other University employees at great risk of exposure, along with a contingency plan for the close of campus come November and a meeting with President Tim Killeen to discuss their demands. The group invited crowd members up to speak as well, including Drake Materre, who was active in many of the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer in Champaign-Urbana. Diamond Arrington, a junior in FAA, called for the University and her peers to think of immunocompromised students. “A lot of our neighbors, being my fellow students

here at the U of I, have not been considerate of those who have disabilities, of those who are at a higher risk of becoming sick or contracting the virus,” Arrington said. “Because they partied, they went out to bars, they were drinking and they caused our numbers to rise. They were not considerate of anyone that attends our University.” Arrington also finds blame with the University and its part in opening up campus and putting workers at risk. “I think it has to be a mutual thing. If our university sets standards, you should expect your students to step up to those standards, and the standard should be consideration.” Arrington said. “It should be care, it should be love.” Following the speech-

es on the Main Quad, protesters marched to Killeen’s residence and arrived at the President’s House at 1:30 p.m. They chanted on the lawn for Killeen to come speak with them. Killeen stayed inside the house. Someone from within the house came and told protesters that Killeen was in the middle of a formal boarding meeting. The chants included “hey hey, ho ho, Tim Killeen should spread the dough” and “hazard pay for hazardous work.” University Police arrived at the President’s House around 1:45 p.m. and informed the protesters that they needed to leave the property because it was privately owned. Protesters dispersed around 2 p.m. isaf2@dailyillini.com

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September 17, 2020 The Daily Illini

LIFE & CULTURE

UI creates CS Mental Health Committee BY ELIZABETH SAYASANE FEATURES EDITOR

During the month of September, individuals and organizations whose lives and work revolve around mental health draw attention to Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Every year, thousands die by suicide. This month provides an opportunity to share resources and stories, destigmatizing the conversation and helping those in need. Several students on campus recognized a particular need for mental health services within the computer science department at the University. To address this need, the CS Mental Health Committee was created. Ananya Cleetus and Omar Khan, seniors in Engineering, Melissa Chen, junior in Engineering, are all members of this committee. “We’re basically an organization that’s trying to promote a lot of mental wellbeing and awareness around mental health in the computer science community at U of I,” Cleetus said. Their initiatives and programs range from de-stressing events to formal speaker presentations. They do policy work, making an effort to change policies concerning faculty training and available student resources. They have also created a mental health forum. On this page, students can anonymously post about their concerns or stories and receive support from fellow CS students. They also have a page of mental health resources, as well as a guide on how to be a mental health ally. “The reason why we need this organization is that mental health is something that’s a little bit less talked about in the CS community,” Chen said. “It’s apparently

RYAN ASH THE DAILY ILLINI

Current senior Ananya Cleetus sits in Lincoln Hall on Jan. 22. Cleetus is one of the three members of the CS Mental Health Committee.

some big weakness to have a mental illness and to have to talk about it. This is not actually true; it should not be the case.” Their latest initiative, in honor of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, is a postcard drive fundraiser. From Sept. 11 to Sept. 25,

people can purchase postcards, craft a personalized message and send it anywhere in the United States. It costs $3 for one, $5 for two or $9 for four. The message can be a photo, a video or a text, and they will put a QR code on the card. All of the proceeds from

this event will be donated to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The choice to send physical postcards was intentional on the part of the committee. “We’re all connecting with each other virtually right now,” Chen said. “One

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of the reasons why we wanted specifically to do a postcard drive is to make sure people can connect with each other offline.” They also have an option if someone wishes to support the initiative but does not want to send anyone specific a postcard. They can choose a templated message to send to the local nursing home. From the start of the pandemic, many nursing homes went on lockdown, closing off visitors. Elderly people were not able to see their loved ones frequently anymore. The committee members figured this was one way they could help. Chen said that they wanted to send postcards to nursing homes to remind people that they’re still loved and they’re still cared for, even though we may be far away from each other. The entire initiative focuses on connecting people during this time of physical distance. Khan said right now no one knows what connectivity will look like. We also do not know how these socially distanced semesters will affect students’ mental health. “We just hope to provide students more and more opportunities and resources to be able to stay connected with each other and just be able to talk about their con-

cerns and problems,” Khan said. The rigor of the CS program already puts a tremendous amount of stress on students. Cleetus said the stigmas around mental health are particularly difficult to break through. The group is now working hard to foster discussions about general health and well-being. The pandemic hindered their efforts, as it may have exacerbated any of the mental health concerns these students may have been facing. Cleetus said, “I think the pandemic has really brought mental health to the forefront of student concerns … a lot more people are aware of how important mental health is in the overall health of a person.” Moving forward, the committee is growing and coming up with more ideas for initiatives that will help their community. Cleetus said they have been coming up with different training exercises for students and faculty, ways to develop their forum and relaxation events. “It’s extremely easy now to just be so, so isolated,” Khan said. “We’re here to support you, and we stand by you and we stand for you in every way we can.” eis3@dailyillini.com

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Thursday, September 17, 2020

RYAN ASH THE DAILY ILLINI

A pair of students wearing masks sit in the grass in the middle of the Ikenberry Commons on Sunday. Since the semester looks much different than in years past, students are adapting to life during a pandemic.

Campus community deals with COVID-19 Students adapt to daily life, rules in a pandemic BY ELIZABETH SAYASANE FEATURES EDITOR

and one tomorrow. I don’t definitely about getting actually know the name of things done. I’m just trythis class, which might be ing to get through it. more on me than anyone else. That’s life. I don’t really have that much going for me. Mostly I’m just enjoying hobbies and not leaving the house whatsoever. I’ve started brewing alcohol.

With the University’s hybrid approach for returning to classes this semester, students’ day-to-day lives vary widely. The Daily Illini interviewed several students to assess how well they were adapting to being college students during a pandemic.

Lauren Kim, Junior in AHS

Kailey Bambula, Senior in FAA

Anthony Crespa, Senior in ACES

Well, honestly, I’m not feeling too great about the semester. On one hand, I feel like I have a lot more free time, but on the other hand, I feel like teachers almost care less about telling us what’s happening. I have about three classes right now where I have no idea what’s happening, and I have major projects due — one on Wednesday

I feel like my experience isn’t really positive or negative; I’m just in the middle. I’m okay. The only thing that sucks is not being able to see friends and the whole virtual thing. I just don’t like being stuck inside. Other than that, I feel like the University’s been doing a good job, like with tracking the number of cases.

I’ll start off by telling you I have a monthly calendar in my room, and there are only a couple days where there’s nothing in them. If I were to pick one word that would describe how I’m feeling, it’s overwhelmed. I’ve managed it better this week than the first two weeks, so I feel like there’s an adjustment period. But I do still feel the anxieties of due dates. They feel looming, like they’re hovering over me, and I’m just scared. There’s always something else. I feel like I can’t take a break, even PHOTO COURTESY OF JIHO though I know I should, KAHNG but I almost want to power through just so I can get Jiho Kahng, Junior in LAS things done. For me, it’s It’s been going really well.

HELP US ALL STAY SAFE are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.

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work environment and flow of the day. We also have to be really careful in retrieving archival material, each book or manuscript has to be quarantined for at least four days, so we are developing easier ways to digitize and make content accessible online.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HIBA AHMED

Hiba Ahmed, Junior in Business

COVID has made it more difficult for me to explore my interest in more RSOs this semester, but it has made me admire how committed students are to creating positive change on campus despite the challenges COVID poses.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LAUREN KIM

PHOTO COURTESY OF KAILEY BAMBULA

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTHONY CRESPA

Initially, because I was so caught up in the fact that my environment at home was really bad, I didn’t really consider the pros of having online classes, and also the classes themselves were not prepared for online classes … the Zoom sessions allow for more collaboration between the students. When people are confused, they can ask other students in the comment section, and people help each other out.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DREW HOWARD

Drew Howard, Fifth-year Senior in LAS

PHOTO COURTESY OF HANAA KHAN

Hanaa Khan, Freshman in LAS

The way that classes are structured has made it more accessible for me. Most of my professors record their lectures during the live class and then post them on whatever website they use for students to peruse on their own time. This really makes it easier for me in some of my harder classes because I can replay the lectures or parts of the lecture as many times as I want until I get whatever concept I was confused on.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMINA MALIK

Amina Malik, Senior in LAS

I’m a pretty social person ,and being physically able to go to a classroom was one of the things that I think helped me stay well in-tune with a schedule and pacing, so now it’s very self-oriented, and if I can set the alarm and do the thing versus (having) a physical destination I have to be at with the thing. It’s just a different locus of control. I don’t think it’s been too bad, I just wish people would do what they needed to do so we could use our full facilities and it wouldn’t be irresponsible to use the (Main Quad). I’m not even comfortable to just hang out on the (Main) Quad, even though I would love to.

COVID has affected me most in my work atmosphere; usually, there are many people working in our office, and researchers coming in and out. All of that has stopped now, and at most two people are allowed to work onsite. That definitely affects the features@dailyillini.com

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 4 10 14

Block letters? Clue weapon They may be cured Constellation beneath the tail of Scorpius 15 Novelist ___ de Balzac 16 Mine, in Marseille 17 Sign on a mountain roadway 20 Perennial known for attracting butterflies 21 Simple bike trick 22 Famed French wine region 26 Lead-in to X, Y or Z 27 Apple platform 28 Disconnect 29 Go, on a Monopoly board, e.g. 31 1974 C.I.A. spoof 33 Heater 34 Put on low, in a way 35 Dinnertime annoyance 38 Rocky’s love in “Rocky” 41 Crew mover 42 Hideo who threw no-hitters in both the American and National Leagues 46 Fitting nickname for athletes at Whittier College 47 “Deadline: White House” channel 49 Photographer Goldin 50 Greeting in 63-Across 51 Actor with a “Rocky” performance, familiarly 54 “Do tell!” 56 Dental crown alternative

32 35

29 33

37 41

43 49

PUZZLE BY JON OLSEN

57 Group whose motto is a hint to this puzzle’s theme 61 Property claim 62 Cook slowly, in a way 63 City that’s home to the Sugarloaf Cable Car, informally 64 Crispy brisket bits 65 They might appear in cameos 66 Chinos color

DOWN

1 Travels à la Theodore Roosevelt in 1909-10 2 What might be in trouble if it’s out of the woods? 3 Bookstore section 4 Spins 5 ___ Cephas Jones, Emmy winner for “This Is Us”

6 Winner of the 1966 World Cup: Abbr. 7 Here-there link 8 Rooster, at sunup 9 Actress Anne 10 Visibility reducer 11 Blend 12 “Tartuffe” playwright 13 February 4th, for many? 18 Wolf ___, sea urchin predator 19 Enters, as data 23 Like soy milk 24 Like most ice rinks 25 Amount in red 30 Tax evasion agts. 32 What the nests in bird’s-nest soup are made of 34 Kevin who played Hercules

36 Irritating inconvenience 37 Pessimist’s word 38 John or Paul, but not Ringo 39 Sea creature pictured on the flag of Anguilla 40 Ran again 43 Ready for trouble 44 Illness that tonic water was invented to treat 45 Sole heir, perhaps 47 “Let me go now” 48 Benjamins 52 Reason to lower the bar 53 Las Vegas-toDenver dir. 55 Part of the eye 58 “Supposing …” 59 “Kid-tested” cereal 60 Language suffix

The crossword solution is in the Classified section.

THURSDAY

September 17, 2020 The Daily Illini

OPINIONS THE DAILY ILLINI EDITORIAL

President Trump faces legal jeopardy CLINT DOZIER COLUMNIST

or even the most casual observer of American politics, two things are obvious about President Trump: he is doing poorly in his re-election campaign against former Vice President Joe Biden, and he may be in a mountain of legal trouble. According to FiveThirtyEight’s roundup of national polls, Trump is currently trailing Biden by around seven or more perKAITLIN MIKRUT THE DAILY ILLINI centage points nationally. Biden is also leading Trump in most swing states, and FiveThirtyEight’s presidential election forecast gives Trump only a 24% chance ing Center and McKinley could tell their own story students. of victory on election night. were spread thin and overabout future plans upendIn a sense, the UniversiFurthermore, a staggering 57% of Americans disapbooked, but now, when these ed by COVID-19, such as ty, by trying to control one prove of the way Trump has resources are even more a lucrative internship or a public health crisis, is willhandled the COVID-19 panneeded, there have been no study-abroad program being ingly creating another. But plans to help students. canceled, but then to confine the ladder crisis the Univer- demic, the most prevalent issue of the race. The University does have that student to a dorm room sity has taken few steps to “But the polls were all a page for student supor apartment for the semes- mitigate. wrong in 2016!” many of you port resources in a time of ter, condemn them from Students can’t be expectmight shout, and it certainly COVID-19, but it doesn’t seeing their friends and ed to internalize and cope felt like they were. In realappear to have dramaticalgive them the obligations of with a once-in-a-lifetime ity however, Charlie Cook ly expanded on the existonline school; it’s a perfect pandemic on their own. of the Cook Political Report ing resources or prioritized cocktail for souring mental Mental health on campus mental health, but rather health. has always been notoriously points out that 45 states voted for president exactly coronavirus inconveniences. College students are underfunded, and it is time The University adminisalready tasked with makthe University step it up. The how they were supposed to, and two states were considtration has poured enoring stressful decisions, but University has the disposmous amounts of money luckily the stress of organiz- able income to spend on stu- ered toss-ups. Only polling into its testing apparatus, ing one’s life is typically cut dent relief, and because they in three states — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennwhich is great, but it is by bar hopping or gathering claim to care about the stusylvania — showed Clinton unfortunate that the Unifor a movie night. Since the dent body, they must. leading Trump before the versity chose not to match University is cracking down Chancellor Jones, it is election, so pollsters actuitself by pouring more on gatherings, rightfully time we stop the probally got things much more money into mental health so, the least they could do is lem entirely, rather than right than wrong last time resources. manage the repercussions stopping one and allowing around. Most college students that come with secluding another to surface. If the presidential election were tomorrow night, it seems fairly safe to say that President Trump would be toast. Joe Biden would likely be the victor, and his margin of victory would not be small. That isn’t to say Trump couldn’t win. Trump absolutely could win and may very well do just that, but with just under eight weeks until the Nov. 3 general election, time is running out for the President to make significant headway regarding public opinion. Because of this, Trump is rightly concerned, and he has been amplifying his attacks on Twitter against Biden in recent weeks. Additionally, there has been more news recently regarding the multiple investigations into both Donald Trump and the Trump Organization, being conducted mostly in his home state of New York. The New York State attorney general is currently investigating whether or not CASSIDY BRANDT THE DAILY ILLINI the President and his organization committed fraud. New York County District entertaining frenzies. to expand its fanbase. ners are having fun. PogAttorney Cyrus Vance is Chess viewership has Some in the chess comChamps doesn’t advertise skyrocketed with the sucmunity are unhappy with itself as the pinnacle of play, also investigating the Presicess of PogChamps. The the success of PogChamps. it’s unabashed amateur lev- dent for potentially inflating the value of his assets New York Times observed Stefan Löffler of ChessTech el entertainment. Lebron and has acquired records of 41.2 million hours of chess argued PogChamps made a James and the NBA don’t viewed on Twitch between foolery of the participants, get upset that middle school Trump’s transactions with March and August, nearly and that “letting beginners basketball players have fans Deutsche Bank. Furthermore, The United States four times the total viewplay for an audience is some- at their games even though Attorney for the Southern ership in the preceding six thing one should never do.” they consistently miss months. The 1,500 year old Löffler represents a subshots, the professionals sup- District of New York implicated Trump in multiple Clint is a senior in LAS. game reached a milestone community whose admiport the beginners. Chess crimes in 2018 legal filcdozie2@dailyillini.com 150,000 concurrent viewers ration for the highest level would do well to remember on Twitch, and at one point of competition blinds them there’s a time and place to PogChamps was the most to the harsh reality that revere the highest level play, viewed stream on the entire not everyone can be World but that it is not the only platform. A second iteration Champion Magnus Carlsen. valid form of play. of the tournament shared Gatekeeping beginners As PogChamps has illussimilar success. from the chess community trated, chess players come The highly entertainis off-putting and damagin all shapes and from all ing format in tandem with ing to the community as a walks of life. It’s an easy many being home-ridden whole. Beginners watchgame to learn, but incredidue to COVID-19 lockdowns ing others at their skill level bly difficult to master. Being has produced a massive being supported by the best a novice isn’t something chess boom. PogChamps is players are encouraged to to be ashamed of. As chess successful because it targets devote time to improving. writer Irving Chernev once new audiences that would They improve by playing, said, “every chess master never have been reached if taking lessons, joining local was once a beginner.” The the virtual tournament had groups like Illini Chess Club accessibility of the game is invited the most elite playon campus and buying strat- where the true beauty of PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLES EDWARD MILLER ers in the world. The audiegy books. All this contribchess lies. Demonstrators gather in downtown Chicago during the Protest ence of Twitch is young, and utes to the economy of the Trump and Protect Mueller protest on Nov. 8, 2018. Columnist the time-tested game has to chess community. Matthew is a junior in LAS. Clint claims Trump is running for reelection to avoid criminal embrace a modern culture Most importantly, begin- krauter3@dailyillini.com charges.

UI must invest in mental health services

coronavirus permeated and crumbled every aspect of society, the world became one of isolation. A lonely world, filled with people forced to be antisocial, out of fear and government mandate. As a result, polls have illustrated that all the uncertainty and social distancing has bred a new epidemic — a mental health crisis. In particular, young people’s mental health has been impacted most by this pandemic. And yet, despite a surge in mental health issues, the University has seemingly still not committed more resources to mental health services on campus. A plethora of complaints existed prior to the pandemic, contending the Counsel-

PogChamps reinvigorates chess through Twitch MATTHEW KRAUTER COLUMNIST

hile the rest of the sporting world has been frozen amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a high stakes tournament pitted stars against each other in front of a live audience of 87,000 with $50,000 at stake. I’m describing, of course, the Pogchamps chess tournament on Twitch. Many might hear chess and begin to yawn, imagining two skinny high schoolers with glasses hunched over a board in silence for hours — riveting stuff. PogChamps throws those stereotypes out the window, pitting “Game of Thrones” star and strongest man in the world, Hafthor “The Mountain” Bjornsson, against Dota 2 esports streamer TFBlade. Interested yet? PogChamps’ roster of competitors draws heavily from the gamers of Twitch, featuring big names such as CallMeCarson, xQc and Ludwig Ahgren. Political pundit David Pakman, the “Mountain” and poker streamer EasyWithAces add to the diversity of the event. They all receive coaching from high level players such as WFM Alexandra Botex and GM Hikaru Nakamura. Veteran coaches commentate over their amateur play, who provide rapid analysis of the games and speculate what moves the players might make next. The games are fast paced, with both players receiving only 10 total minutes of move time. This often results in an “armageddon” endgame where game deciding moves are made in a split second. It’s incredibly accessible to viewers new to chess, and the inevitable blunders send the hosts into

ings involving the prosecution and sentencing of his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen. Furthermore, after concluding his investigation regarding possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller referred 14 criminal cases to other offices. Only the content of two of those referrals are publicly known — the one regarding Michael Cohen, mentioned above and the other involving former Obama White House counsel Gregory Craig. Considering that Mueller’s investigation focused mostly on Trump and his campaign’s potential wrongdoing, the odds that a good number of those referrals involve Trump in some way seem overwhelming. This adds to the possibility that there are “sealed” indictments or even arrest warrants for President Trump, which would remain private until he leaves office and can legally be prosecuted. The only thing shielding Donald Trump from these many, serious criminal investigations is the fact that he is the sitting United States President. A 1973 opinion from the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel prevents a sitting president from being indicted or prosecuted and clearly states: “The indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions.” This is the same OLC opinion that kept Special Counsel Robert Mueller from charging Trump with multiple counts of obstruction of justice. How are these two problems for Trump related? Donald Trump’s primary interest in winning this election is to keep himself out of criminal legal trouble. If Trump is defeated by Joe Biden in November — and again, that outcome is starting to look more likely as time goes on — there will be nothing left to save him from multiple criminal prosecutions, and one has to believe the President realizes that fact. Why else would a president so seemingly uninterested in merely doing his job be fighting so hard for a second term? Being president is one of the most difficult jobs in the world, and Trump would have a much easier time if his life were still the gold-clad, reality television fantasy he was living before he ran for president. That is not the life he will be returning to if he loses this election. His new reality in that case won’t likely be spent wearing a severalthousand-dollar suit while flying aboard his private plane, but instead wearing an orange jumpsuit while residing in a prison cell.

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.

THURSDAY

September 17, 2020 The Daily Illini

SPORTS

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

SOFTBALL

Illini use transfer portal to enhance current roster acteristics she looks for in infielders. “As an infielder, we’re going to have a different mentality,” Trout said. “A really important thing to me is kind of toughness. I want our infielders to kind of have our pitchers’ backs.” The Illini team has played in the NCAA Regional tournament several times under current head coach Tyra Perry, but the team has never advanced to a Super Regional in program history. The early exits strongly influence Trout’s recruiting strategy. “We want to win a Big Ten,” Trout said. “We want to, you know, make it to a Super Regional, just do things that our program has never done before. We need to recruit kids that have that mentality, they want to be part of the thirst. They want to, you know, be a part of that breakthrough (team).” The team’s softball performance isn’t the only factor that’s impacting its current recruiting strategy and processes. Trout said the Midwest has strong softball talent, and the University prioritizes recruiting students from Illinois. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all facets of the recruiting process. The coaching staff watches games virtually, and unreliable video streams make it more difficult for the coaches to see people play. “Even if it was working, it was just poor quality or you could only see the pitcher and the catcher,” Trout said. “It’s been extremely challenging.” Even though recruiting has changed over the years, one key component in the recruiting process is the growing transfer portal. “I feel like it gets hotter and hotter every year,” Trout said.

BY CLAIRE O’BRIEN STAFF WRITER

THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO

Illinois head coach Nancy Fahey talks to junior guard J-Naya Ephraim during the game against Nebraska at State Farm Center on Jan. 17, 2019. Fahey recently recruited three freshmen to play in the upcoming season.

Fahey, Illinois bring in three freshmen BY NITHIN REDDY STAFF WRITER

The women’s basketball team is in the midst of a roster overhaul. After losing three of the team’s top four scorers from a season ago, head coach Nancy Fahey is going to have to figure out how this roster can compensate for the departures. She’ll have to start by looking at her three freshmen: Erika Porter, Aaliyah McQueen and Aaliyah Nye. Porter, a forward out of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, attended Notre Dame High School, where in the first game of her senior season she scored the 1,000th point of her career. Porter’s game is heavily predicated on dominating inside. At 6-foot-3, Porter is able to punish opponents near the rim, protect the paint and hit the glass at both ends of the court. The Illini will need this after a season where size was missing. “Last season we were just too small,” Fahey said. “(Opponents) could be on our shooter, and it was hard to get clean shots off. Now they’re going to have to make decisions.” Porter finished off her career with back-to-back Colonial Valley Confer-

ence Player of the Year honors and was named to the CVC’s first team. The Illini are also bringing in guards McQueen and Nye. McQueen was a highly-touted prospect out of Carman-Ainsworth High School in Flint, Michigan. McQueen started high school at Goodrich High School before transferring to Carman-Ainsworth after her freshman year. In four years, McQueen finished with a record of 76-21, winning four district championships while being named to the AP Division 1 All-State team. Standing at 5-foot-9, McQueen is a quick and athletic guard who looks to take threes while also having the ability to attack the basket. With the Illini losing guards Brandi Beasley and Petra Holešínská to graduation and the transfer portal, respectively, McQueen will have the chance to compete for a lot of minutes on a roster looking to turn around their lack of success during Fahey’s tenure. As for Nye, a 5-foot11 guard out of East Lansing High School, she was one of the best players in Michigan. She finished her senior season averaging

16.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Nye’s East Lansing squad sat at a record of 23-1 and was getting ready to play for the regional title in Michigan’s state tournament before their season was suspended and eventually canceled due to the coronavirus. Despite being unable to finish out her career, Nye was named the AP Division 1 State Player of the Year in Michigan. In her time at East Lansing, Nye became the eighth player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points, amassing 1,370 total points, while finishing with a record of 90-8. Nye’s high school coach, Rob Smith, has called her a “team-first player” and complimented her selflessness. Nye has the ability to play multiple positions with her size, and her ability to score at three levels will be vital for the Illini. Along with her ballhandling ability and willingness to take on contact, Fahey has a player to build around. Fahey seems to have a budding pipeline in Michigan after getting two highquality players in McQueen and Nye. “As coaches, you start

developing relationships,” Fahey said. “We focus on Illinois, we focus on Minnesota and the Midwest or a great player in a different part of the country. What happens is you get great players from Michigan that say, ‘this is a great place to play’ and sometimes the word of mouth, which is what happened, helps.” As the freshmen continue to acclimate with the team, they’ll have to be prepared despite how the season shakes out. Without a firm commitment from the NCAA, this team will be held in limbo. Throw in the fact that the coronavirus has changed what student life is like, and athletes get a situation that incoming freshmen have never seen before. Fahey doesn’t seem too worried about how this class is adjusting, however. “They want to play basketball and they’re committed to that, so they have to make good decisions,” Fa hey said. “They ’ve always made good decisions, but now they have to do what we’re all doing with wearing masks and staying safe.” nithinr2@dailyillini.com

The transfer portal is popping. It’s only been around for a couple of years, but the Illinois softball team has added several transfer players to its roster in recent memory. Assistant coach Laura Trout, who has been at Illinois since 2015, has seen a variety of changes in relation to recruiting in her time in Champaign. Some of the more notable changes include pushing the recruiting process back. “When I first got here, in softball, you could technically talk to and recruit eighth-graders,” Trout said. “Luckily, they have fixed that. You’re not asking an eighth-grader to commit to a school five years from now.” The Illinois softball team has picked up a few players from the portal in its short time as a resource, including current pitchers, junior Addy Jarvis and graduate student Kelsie Packard. Trout, who’s also in charge of recruiting, said her pitch to athletes focuses on the academic environment of the University. Illinois is ranked No. 47 in the U.S. News National Universities ranking for 2021. “The University of Illinois is a pretty high-level academic school,” Trout said. “For them to be able to compete here on the field, they obviously have to kind of hold their own in the classroom, so we gotta make sure we’re (getting) top students there.” Packard, who recently transferred to Illinois, cited the strong academics as part of her reason for deciding to attend the University. As the infielding coach, Trout focuses her recruiting efforts on infielders. While her pitch to prospective athletes is similar, she @obrien_clairee said she has specific char- claireo3@dailyillini.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF LIBBY KNIGHT

Junior Addy Jarvis winds up a pitch during the game against Louisville on March 6 in Louisville, Kentucky. Jarvis is one of two recent pitching transfers at Illinois.

SWIM & DIVE

Head coach Sue Novitsky reacts to Iowa’s multiple team cuts BY ANGELLE CORTES STAFF WRITER

On Aug. 21, the University of Iowa’s President, Bruce Herald, and Director of Athletics, Gary Barta, announced in an open letter to the university that four varsity sports programs would be cut due to financial exigency. “With the Big Ten Conference’s postponement of fall competition on Aug. 11, University of Iowa Athletics now projects lost revenue of approximately $100 million and an overall deficit between $60-75 million this fiscal year,” the open letter said. Iowa is cutting both the men’s and women’s swim and dive programs, in addition to the men’s tennis and gymnastics programs. The four programs will be discontinued at the start of the 2021-22 season, with the 2020-21 season being the last opportunity for the student-athletes to compete, should COVID-19 not limit athletics. While Iowa isn’t the first

university to cut its swim and dive program during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is the first school within the Power-5 Division I conferences to cut the swim and dive program. “We are heartbroken for our student-athletes, coaches and staff,” the open letter said. “We also understand how disappointing this is for our letter winners, alumni, donors and community members who have helped build these programs.” Iowa isn’t the only Big Ten school to see a cut to its swim and dive team; the Illinois men’s swim and dive saw its program cut in 1993. The program was cut due to financial problems with athletics, as well as failing to finish above last place in the Big Ten conference in the last three years of the program while not placing above fifth since 1954. When the announcement came out about Iowa’s cut to some of its athletics programs, Illinois head coach Sue Novitsky found out about

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID HARMANTAS

Women’s swimming head coach Sue Novitsky hugs senior swimmer Gabriele Serniute during Senior Day on Jan. 26, 2019. Novitsky felt shocked upon hearing about Iowa’s program cuts.

the news immediately. “I actually found out the day, like almost right at the time it was happening from our coaches association,” Novitsky said. “The executive director texted me and I was shocked and then sad and disappointed that opportunities were going to be taken away from swimmers and divers and also men’s gymnasts and tennis players.” While the athletes aren’t

able to comment on the issue, Novitsky said they were disappointed when they found out. During a team meeting that week, the team was given a chance to express any emotions and fears. “A lot of them have friends that swim at Iowa, and they lost their opportunities or some were recruited and supposed to be incoming freshmen this year,” Novitsky said.

Novitsky said while it’s a trying and financially straining time, colleges that cut athletic programs remove opportunities and dreams for up and coming high school students to be an athlete for those colleges. With one Big Ten swim and dive program cut, it causes some worry for coaches and athletes on whether the same thing will happen to them. However, Novitsky is confident that the program isn’t going anywhere. “I feel very good about where our standing is within our athletic department,” Novitsky said. “When you look at some of the other Big Ten schools, we’re relatively a smaller athletic department in terms of the number of sports we sponsor.” The athletic department is being very active in trying to find steps to take to minimize the financial implications that are probably going to happen if football or basketball doesn’t play. Novitsky appreciates the actions being taken by the administration

to keep the athletic department together. Novitsky said the swim and dive team is trying to keep its financial footprint as small as possible while still providing the best experience for student-athletes. “As a coaching staff, we’re constantly aware and even more so now with what’s going on across the country, but we want to do our part to help keep the entire athletic department together and viable and be able to move forward from the whole COVID pandemic,” Novitsky said. If by chance basketball and football wouldn’t be able to have a season, Novitsky said she’s been working with the national coaching association for college swimming and diving. Currently, proposals or changes to the current NCAA rules that can help keep swimming and diving sustainable at the collegiate level are being looked into. @angellecortes10 acorte37@dailyillini.com

Thursday, September 17, 2020

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

Illinois joins nationwide effort to save athletic programs BY BRAD ZIMMERMAN STAFF WRITER

In a span of just three weeks, the Universities of Iowa and Minnesota and the College of William & Mary announced the discontinuation of their men’s gymnastics programs, among other sports, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Facing multimillion-dollar revenue shortfalls, the universities will field their men’s gymnastics teams for one final season (should health and safety precautions allow) before disbanding them at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year. The discontinuation of Minnesota’s program requires the approval of the University’s Board of Regents, which will vote on the proposal next month. The board is already showing support for cutting the program, with none of the regents expressing opposition to the plan. Current and former gymnasts and coaches across the country are leading an effort to convince the board to change its mind and to convince Iowa and William & Mary to reinstate their programs and save the remaining 12 programs across the country. Several Illinois gymnasts have joined the movement by tweeting, retweeting and sharing posts via their Instagram stories. “We support each other,” said Illinois sophomore Dylan Kolak.. “Gymnasts have each other’s backs. That’s just the spirit that we have in gymnastics, and that’s one of the best parts about gymnastics.” Kolak is one of the most vocal gymnasts on the Illinois roster when it comes to supporting the three teams on the chopping block. He has filmed several videos explaining why he thinks they shouldn’t be cut and plans to upload them to Tik Tok, where he has over 52,000 followers. On Insta-

gram, in addition to sharing others’ posts via his story, he posted in his biography a link to a website where members of the public can contact Minnesota’s Board of Regents. Minnesota head coach Mike Burns tweeted the same link on Sept. 11 with a comment encouraging “anyone and everyone” to contact the board and express their disapproval of cutting Minnesota’s men’s gymnastics team. “Everybody should be passionate, but I do feel there is a little bit more on my plate just because I have the audience that I have,” Kolak said. “If we want to make these changes happen and get the awareness that we need to save this sport, we need an audience and we need people who are going to see this.” Fellow sophomore Connor McCool is another voice among the Illinois roster. Although he acknowledges the financial deficits Iowa, William & Mary and Minnesota are facing, he thinks these schools may have been too early to cut their programs. “All of the sports that were cut are being given another season to participate, so to me, it doesn’t make sense,” McCool said. “If they’re able to pay for this season, shouldn’t they wait until after the season, see what the revenue situation looks like and then say whether or not they need to make changes to the athletic program?” McCool pointed to the uncertainties about the Big Ten’s fall season as his reasoning. At the time, the Big Ten had yet to reinstate the 2020 football season. Now that the season is reinstated, the revenue shortfalls could be less than originally projected. According to McCool, who serves as a men’s gymnastics representative to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, even athlettic director Josh Whitman was sur-

prised by the early decisions Iowa and Minnesota made. “It just didn’t seem like that was a call that should’ve been made so early down the line,” McCool said. Something else that both Kolak and McCool are trying to bring attention to is the apparent unfairness and injustice their sport is facing. Perhaps the biggest thing they are bothered by is the fact that in the weeks following Iowa’s announcement to cut men’s gymnastics, Iowa’s football coaches were given pay raises. “Like, ‘Are you kidding me?’” Kolak asked. “You can’t just cut a program, saying that it’s strictly funding and budget issues, and then take that money and give someone a raise who is already making way too much money. That to me is absolutely ridiculous.” McCool compared it to Iowa’s athletic department stabbing its own athletes in the back. “It shows that there was a totem pole and that the sports that were cut at Iowa were at the bottom of it,” said McCool. “The football coaches clearly mattered more. If people were aware that sports are being cut while coaches are being given raises, I feel like there would be outrage among the athletics community. I just don’t think enough people know about that.” Kolak and McCool aren’t just fighting for the three teams on the chopping block; They’re also fighting for their sport as a whole and for its future. Only 15 universities across the nation sponsor men’s gymnastics as a varsity sport, so when three of them are simultaneously discontinued, Kolak says, “it hurts the sport so much.” “As a kid, you look up to these college athletes and that motivates you to work harder in the gym because you want to get to where

PHOTO COURTESY OF ILLINI MEN’S GYMNASTICS TWITTER

Members of the Illinois men’s gymnastics team lock arms in a circle at a gymnastics meet during the 2019 season. Members of the team have joined an effort to save various sports from disontinuation at American universities.

they are,” said Kolak. “That is such a good motivational factor to the kids and younger athletes. Imagine a 12-year old kid who’s been obsessed with Shane Wiskus and Minnesota gymnastics his whole life. Now that kid reads in the news that Minnesota men’s gymnastics is cut. What is that going to do to that kid? I’m just hoping that kids aren’t seeing this and being like ‘It’s done for. I’m done. That’s it.’ I want them to have hope that men’s gymnastics will survive and still be a persistent sport in the future.” For most gymnasts, the collegiate level is as far and as high as they’ll reach in their careers. Only a select few get to compete on the world stage at the Olym-

pics and world championships. But of all the men who competed for Team USA at world championships and the Olympics, 80% of them came from the collegiate system. Illinois head coach Justin Spring was one of those gymnasts, and he credits his experience with Illinois as having gotten him to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he won a bronze medal. Without it, Spring said, he wouldn’t have gone to the Olympics. On Monday, the College Gymnastics Association announced the creation of the Stronger Together Campaign, a fundraising initiative to help men’s gymnastics teams survive the pandemic and related revenue shortfalls. With-

in hours, the campaign received support from USA Gymnastics and from around the country. Also joining the effort is 11-year old Louie Diab, the younger brother of Illinois senior Max Diab. Louie, who wants to compete for Illinois when he enters college in seven years, announced via Instagram a fundraiser to be held on Saturday at the Village Links of Glen Ellyn in Glen Ellyn. Several of his brother’s teammates shared Louie’s post, as did the CGA. In a show of solidarity with the men’s gymnastics team, Illinois’ football student section Block I also shared Louie’s post. @B_RadZimm bez2@dailyillini.com

THURSDAY

September 17, 2020 The Daily Illini

COVID-19

University expands saliva test to community Mobile testing laboratory arrives BY ETHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR

On Wednesday, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District reported another 136 cases of COVID-19 from 9,281 new tests. Another 132 people were reported recovered by CUPHD, bringing the county total to 410 active cases. Hospitalizations for the virus jumped from one to five on Wednesday. ZIP code 61820 is Champaign’s biggest contributor to the pandemic: 229 of the active cases reside there, and there have been 1,798 confirmed cases there. The same ZIP code leads Champaign County in total tests with 163,986. As of Wednesday, 3,947 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Champaign County. Of them, 3,517 are considered recovered, five are currently hospitalized and 20 have died. The county has conducted 391,544 tests for the coronavirus since the pandemic began. Nearly 64% of all county tests have been done on people between the ages of 10 and 30 years old. In total, 1,588 confirmed cases have been from people between the ages of 10 and 20, while another 1,027 confirmed cases have been between 20 and 30 years old.

Deaths:

Currently Hospitalized:

Now that on-campus positivity is on the decline, spreading the saliva tests to Champaign-Urbana is a top priority for the University, Chancellor Robert Jones said at the Senate executive committee meeting on Monday. “Its first major deployment should be to serve the community. K–12 education: We’ve had two meetings with the superintendents of the school districts, and we will be looking at a way to make it available to the general public,” Jones said. The tests have already been brought to the other two UI system campuses, while the SHIELD T3 team is working to expand the testing to universities across Illinois and the rest of the country. The University has invested in several mobile testing laboratories. The first arrived Friday afternoon; it’s stationed on St. @esimmsnews Mary’s Road. ecsimmon@dailyillini.com

Active cases:

410 Confirmed Champaign County cases:

3,947

Recovered cases:

3,517 On Wednesday: There were 136 new cases, 132 new recoveries, 4 more hospitalizations and 9,281 new tests. Source: Champaign-Urbana Public Health District

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Thursday, September 17, 2020

‘The Baby’ is stellar debut BY SYDNEY WOOD

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STAFF WRITER

BY RUKAYAH HUSSEIN

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Released on Aug. 28, Samia Finnerty’s “The Baby” takes listeners on a celebratory journey of discovering that life isn’t the picturesque and adventure-packed journey that movies convince us it is. For a debut album, Finnerty exquisitely encapsulates the human experience through her authentic portrayal of loneliness, desire and betrayal. Signed to Grand Jury Music, Finner t y has released a string of singles and one album. “The Baby” is an impressive display of Finnerty’s musical artistry and features notable songs, such as “Fit N Full,” “Big Wheel” and “Triptych.” In “Winnebago,” Finnerty confesses her tendency to put on a pleasant facade when she’s in the public eye, even though she may be on the verge of tears. The song begins with a light, simple melody accompanied by Finnerty’s vocals, which loosely follow the pattern the initial melody sets. “ Winnebago” sta r ts modestly and increases its intensity at each chorus until it reaches the bridge. Finnerty’s resonant voice powerfully echoes as she acknowledges she may never be truly understood. Halfway through the bridge, the song’s intensity decreases and reverts to its original soothing tone. “Winnebago” portrays the human experience of acting like someone else to appear likable, and the tune concludes with Finnerty’s acceptance that she’s on her way to being herself. In a track favorite, “ Waverly,” F i n ner t y reflects on her inability to approach an unnamed woman, whom she calls Waverly. The tune begins with Finnerty’s dulcet voice wistfully describ-

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 in C-U 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.

THURS, SEPT. 17

SATURDAY, SEPT. 19

The Rives Brothers at The Iron Post

! 6-8 p.m. " The Iron Post, 120 S. Race St., Urbana # Free The Rives Brothers are back at The Iron Post! Come out and hear us perform some folk, blues, classic rock and original music! There’s no cover, but donations are suggested.

Pour Bros. Thursday Night Trivia

PHOTO COURTESY OF BANDCAMP

Displayed is the cover art of Samia Finnerty’s new album, “The Baby.” The album was released on Aug. 28.

ing Waverly, who works at a restaurant Finnerty visits. The song begins with her vocals and piano, and she is gradually joined by guitar, bass and a drum set that remain well balanced throughout the song. The sweet-sounding chorus is brought to new levels through Finnerty’s vocal shift to falsetto, which gives her voice a siren-like quality. In the chorus, she acknowledges how, at the root of her contact with Waverly, she is a customer no matter how she acts. Waverly’s unattainability is a focal point of the song as Finnerty daydreams of the implausible relationship between her and Waverly. “Is There Something in the Movies?” is a heartwrenching centerpiece of the album that depicts Finnerty ’s disenchantment with the entertainment business. The song begins soft and slow, and it is carried solely by her vocals and an almost silent guitar. Her voice and lyrics are the song’s focal points, which is evident near the

ending when her volume increases exponentially with palpable despair that leaves listeners in awe. The piece illustrates Finnerty’s resentment and lingering sadness toward the entertainment industry and her ultimate rejection of it at the song’s end. “Is There Something in the Movies?” is a surprisingly emotional song that will stop listeners in their tracks and leave them to rethink their outlook on the entertainment industry in the wake of Finnerty’s experiences of death, loss and betrayal. At its core, “The Baby” is Finnerty’s raw, authentic account of learning that sometimes life is awful, and there’s nothing we can do about it except keep moving forward. The album is her method of learning how to be alone and learning how to be okay with being alone. “The Baby” features an impressive display of her introspective personality, and listeners should have high expectations for her future releases.

! 7-9:30 p.m. " Pour Bros. Craft Taproom Champaign, 40 E. University Ave., Champaign # Free Thursday night is Trivia Night at Pour Bros., and we’re taking the fun and games outside to the patio! We have plenty of space on the deck for socially distanced teams. You can reserve a spot by messaging us on Facebook or just show up, but teams will be first come, first serve. There will be a limit of eight people per team.

! 7 a.m.-noon " Market at the Square, Corner of Illinois and Vine streets in Downtown Urbana # Free Urbana’s Market at the Square returns for another season. This year looks a little different, but you can still shop local vendors to get produce from farmers in our area.

Visit Prairie Fruits Farms and Creamery

! 1-4 p.m. " Prairie Fruits Farms and Creamery, 4410 N. Lincoln Ave., Champaign # Free During open house hours, you can purchase items from the farm store, enjoy a cheese board with a glass of wine or beer (or nonalcoholic beverage), visit with the goats (no petting, please), and just enjoy the beauty of the outdoors in the summer!

Tom Grassman Band at One-T’s Cornerpocket

FRIDAY, SEPT. 18

The K-Tel’s at Pipa’s

! 7-10 p.m. " Pipa’s Pub, 604 S. Country Fair Drive, Champaign # Free Three hours of glorious musical gems from the ‘60s and ‘70s performed by this madcapped trio in a lovely outdoor setting. This is a socially distanced event.

Chalk and Drink

Market at the Square

! 6-8 p.m. " Analog, 129 N. Race St., Urbana # Free Summer is coming to an end, so why not have one more fun outdoor (distanced) event? This isn’t your usual drink and draw. We’re bringing out the sidewalk chalk, and the Analog parking lot is your canvas! Analog will be serving wine, and Neutral Cycle will have their bike tune-up station set up. Bring your ideas, chalk and of course, your mask.

! 9 p.m.-midnight " One-T’s Cornerpocket, 123 S. Mattis Ave., Champaign # Free Tom Grassman Band brings their rock-androll party music back to west Champaign! Formerly known as Goldy’s, Cornerpocket is C-U’s coolest new live music venue. Enjoy this free show!

SUNDAY, SEPT. 20

Joni Dreyer and Dave Cooper at Riggs

! 3-5 p.m " Riggs Beer Company, 1901 S. High Cross Road, Urbana # Free Dave is the guitarist from Nickel and Dimes, Joni is the vocalist for Groove Avenue and The Nightcaps, and Brad Hendricks will join in for a few songs on the harmonica. They have played together in various other bands for over 30 years. They play a wide range of classic rock, blues and Motown music. Brad Hendricks is also in Groove Avenue.

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Scoobert Doobert captures pandemic vibe in music Indie artist takes comedic approach to creating a pandemicbased album BY BECCA BERTRAM STAFF WRITER

Singer and songwriter Scoobert Doobert, based in Cardiff, California, creates comedic and relatable music for an indie-pop crowd. These elements are demonstrated through his recent album, “Masks and Monsters,” which was released on Aug. 10. The album cover features a picture of Shaggy from the television series “ScoobyDoo” donning a face mask, which is only fitting for the times. The album begins with the track “It Can Get Worse,” which can be hard to follow at times. Fortunately, it still holds a very indie-sounding vibe, which makes up for it. His track “Snuggle with Shaggy” is possibly the album’s fan favorite. It sounds like alternative-reggae music and has an addictive melody that makes fans want to bop their heads up and down. “Creature Comfor t ” follows, and the transition into the song is seemingly effortless. Moments like these make it easy to

appreciate Doobert’s artistry in the album. This song is more relaxed and sounds happier compared to the previous songs. In a way, “Creature Comfort” does its job of making the listener feel more comfortable, mostly when Doobert sings. His track “When It’s Over” has a funky beginning and is very captivating to the ear. The song starts with an echoey voice-over of Doobert’s voice, which almost sounds like the beginning of a movie. It’s unexpected for the funky beat to transition into rock ‘n’ roll as guitar chords layer on top of one another. It’s not a standout song, but it’s still good. “ Wash Your F-----Hands,” as one can tell, is hilarious and unique despite only being a minute long. The opening lyrics could make anyone laugh as Doobert sings, “Wash your f------ hands/Take time to make sure you’re clean/It’s just one second.” It’s a great way to comedically engage the audience without breaking out of the concept of the album. “Flip Flop Phil” is equally as unique. In the song, Doobert talks with his friend, Flip Flop Phil, and encourages him to chase his dream of being a musician. The overall message can be applied to anyone’s life. A second favorite track is “Quarantine and Chill,” which takes elements from R&B and features Babidi. Doobert sings about enjoying how every day is the same. He also wants someone to come quarantine and chill with him while trying desperately

PHOTO COURTESY OF YOUTUBE

Scoobert Doobert’s newest album, “Masks and Monsters,” was released on Aug. 10. Doobert embraces the COVID-19 pandemic as inspiration for his album, making each song relatable to listeners.

to get over an ex. As one very sensual. could expect from the “My Mind Is Slowly Slipsong’s subject matter, it’s ping” lies on the opposite side of the spectrum. It’s still relatable, as Doobert sings about having nothing to do but relax, which could drive someone insane. A favorite line is “vibing with the window” because it expresses a melancholy feeling with a positive outlook on the future. It is an interesting parallel and could remind someone of the feelings of dealing with poor mental health. However, we are just trying to go through life, monotonous in the right way. “Shaggy’s Anthem” is a little too sharp. To give the song credit, it does have an exciting beat that’s out of this world. It also has a trill at the beginning that adds to the beat’s uniqueness. The song falls short when there’s an addition of a harsh guitar that picks up in the middle of the music and only gets louder. The track “Happy Birthday,” featuring Gokudaxij, focuses on the experience of having a birthday during PHOTO COURTESY OF SPOTIFY COVID-19. Doobert sings, Artist Scoobert Doobert stands on one leg for a promotional image. “it’s my birthday and I’ll cry if I want to” as an homage to “It’s My Party” by

Lesley Gore. He introduces this line by pausing after the first verse and singing, “you can cry if you want.” There’s sadness behind the song, as canceled birthdays during the quarantine is something many individuals relate to. Doobert lets listeners know they’re not alone in their isolation experiences during these difficult times.

A second favorite track is “Quarantine and Chill”... Doobert sings about enjoying how every day is the same.

“Corona” is a piece of noisy instrumental music, and, despite it being hard to hear what Doobert is singing, it’s still enjoyable to listen to it. The next track is “Why, How, Yeah, Yeah,” which has a difficult message to understand, but rlb4@readbuzz.com it’s worth blasting on the radio when hanging out with friends.

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A third favorite on the album is “I Am A Slave to the Yeast,” which has the album’s best title. The song is about Doobert’s love for sourdough loaves, which is why he can’t go to the beach. He sings about how he’s eaten so much bread lately that it makes him a slave to the yeast. Unfortunately, the song is only a minute long. “Derrida Makes a Différance” is the album’s closing song and serves as the perfect ending, as it sounds like a goodbye. The only instrument is a guitar accompanied by Doobert’s voice. The song closes with static and a funky beat that leave fans wanting more. “Masks and Monsters” is worth listening to and provides a comedic outlook on living through a pandemic. You’re bound to find at least one or two songs from his album you’ll become addicted to, especially if you’re a fan of all music genres. It’ll be interesting to see where the future takes him.

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February 10, 2020

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