The Daily Illini Vol. 150 Issue 31 Feb. 8 by The Daily Illini

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Will ‘Pass COVID’ pass UI Senate?

Vaccinated students praise CU’s ‘streamlined’ process

More lenient grading policy to be considered

In response to the ongoing pandemic, the University Senate will discuss proposal EP.21.062 on Monday afternoon. If approved, students will have the option to choose a “Pass COVID/No Pass COVID” grade mode and the drop deadline will be extended this semester. While initial drafts of the proposal addressed additional concerns that the University had, the Senate Educational Policy Committee ultimately distilled it into two main points: • Extend the drop deadline to 11:59 p.m. on the “last day of classes” (for full semester and term B courses, this would be Wednesday, May 5) • Allow students to opt for a “Pass COVID/No Pass COVID” grade option for all courses during a sixday window from May 22 to May 27 When considering academic policy modifications, EdPol was in charge of drafting the proposal this semester, whereas last semester’s “No Record COVID” proposal originated from the Office of the Provost. “We really started it back then,” said Kevin Pitts, vice provost for Undergraduate Education. “This time around, other than consultation, it was really the EdPol Committee that started it.” During the EdPol meet-

ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITOR & STAFF WRITER

Pass COVID/No Pass COVID vs. CR/NC Proposed "Pass COVID/No Pass COVID" - Grades of D- and above can be replaced with "PZ" (Pass COVID) and receive course credit. - Would replace existing CR/NC policies this semester. - Students will have a 6 days to opt for "Pass COVID/No Pass COVID" (May 22-27, 2021). - The late drop deadline will be extended to 11:59 p.m. (CT) on "the last day of instruction" (May 5, 2021 for full-semester and 2nd term courses, and March 5, for 1st term courses) - Students in Law, MD, or DVM programs cannot use this option.

Last Semester's CR/NC Policy - Grades of C- and above can be replaced with "CR" and receive course credit. - Students had from Dec. 19, 2020 - Jan. 5, 2021 to elect CR/NC. - Expansion of existing CR/NC policies. - The late drop deadline was extended to Dec. 18, 2020 for full-semester and 2nd term courses. Students in courses that ended before Dec. 1, 2020 had to contact their advisor to drop a course late. - Students in Law, MD, or DVM programs could not use this option. Source: UIUC Senate ANGELINA CHAN THE DAILY ILLINI

ing last Monday, much time was spent discussing if the University should allow students with D grades to receive credit and how to do so under the proposal. Normally, under the University’s established credit/no credit (CR/NC) poli-

cy, students with a grade in the D range who opt for CR/ NC would not receive credit for that course. “If a D is normally a passing grade, why would it not be passing for CR/NC?” Pitts said. “The answer is that’s because of the way

CR/NC is defined.” This left students with D grades in a Catch-22 situation, where they would have to choose between electing CR/NC and receiving no course credit or keeping SEE GRADE | 3A

Second week of class brings rise in new cases NEWS EDITOR

After a favorable start to Illinois’ spring semester, the University’s COVID-19 numbers took a turn for the worse last week. The second week of class brought 256 new cases of COVID-19, almost double that of the first week on 3,000 fewer tests. Campus leadership hoped the weeklong screening period built in to the semester would curb the spread from returning students, flattening new cases to a trickle and getting ahead of more contagious COVID-19 variants. However, the second week’s rise in cases confirms significant campus spread of the virus, where those who caught the virus elsewhere have brought it into the community. Since Jan. 15, the University has identified 590 new cases of COVID-19, including 357 since classes began on Jan. 25. The picture of spread on

Champaign County vaccine efforts

Campus spread heightens in second week of class

BY ETHAN SIMMONS

Source: Illinois Shield Team 80 70

56 new cases on Feb. 5

60 50 40 30 20 10 0

First week of class

Second week of class

CASSIDY BRANDT THE DAILY ILLINI

campus is still far better than fall semester. By the second week of class, 1,530 people had already tested positive for COVID-19 on campus. Regardless, the University’s president Tim Killeen forecast “300-500 cases” to start the semester, which depending on the timeframe, Illinois may have already exceeded. More than 20 cases of the contagious B117 virus variant have already been identified

ing whichever is available. Each vaccine’s side effects vary from person to person. Leininger said she was fortunate to have mild side effects and emphasized that the side effects do not outweigh the positives of receiving the vaccine. According to Leininger, the only side effect she felt was a sore arm. After receiving the vaccine around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, her sore arm lasted through Wednesday, but she was able to manage the soreness with a dose of Tylenol. By Thursday, she was back to normal. “Obviously, my experience doesn’t speak for everybody; I know some people had way worse side effects, but even my friends who did have worse side effects were fine by (the day after),” Leininger said. “It’s worth it.” Zain Bando, junior in Media, was able to receive his first dose of the Moderna vaccine at CRCE on Jan. 27 as a resident of Beckwith. Bando said his experience was overall seamless. “The people there were nothing but respectful and kind regarding our concerns and what our needs were,” Bando said. “It was a super easy process. Pretty much the only lingering effect that I had was that I had a bit of arm pain which subsided with some recovery medicine afterward.” In addition, Bando said he felt slightly fatigued after the process, but he was still able to function regularly throughout the rest of his day. On March 4, Bando will receive his second dose of the Moderna vaccine. He added that while he will feel more protected from the virus after the second dose, he will remain vigilant, continue to social distance and wear facemasks. Even though many are rushing to get onto waiting lists to receive the vaccine, some are still unconvinced of its effectiveness and safety. Bando said while he understands some people are hesitant, receiving the vaccine is a step in the right direction of returning to a sense of normalcy. “I hope that if people are considering getting the vaccine, they can look at personal stories like mine and say if he can get it, and I have the opportunity to

BY HEATHER ROBINSON & MATT TROHER

BY WILLIE CUI STAFF WRITER

Vol. 150 Issue 31

Meanwhile, Champaign County’s vaccine efforts continue to outpace the vast majority of Illinois counties. By Saturday’s tally, Champaign ranked fifth in total doses administered — with 39,982 — and percentage of fully vaccinated people — 3.54% — against Illinois’ 102 counties. The four counties that rank ahead in doses — Cook, DuPage, Lake and Will — all have more than triple the population of Champaign County. Additionally, Adams, Calhoun, Piatt and Fulton counties, which have all fully vaccinated a higher percentage of their populations, have less than a third of the people that Champaign County does. Statewide, around 2.24% of Illinois’ 12.7 million people have received both doses of a vaccine.

on campus. The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District processed another 10,153 tests on Sunday, which brought back 72 new cases. Countywide, 673 people are considered “active” cases by the county, still ordered to isolate for the virus. Since the pandemic began, 16,906 county residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and 112 have died from virus @esimmsnews complications. ecsimmon@dailyillini.com

Student employees across the University have begun receiving the COVID-19 vaccine due to new eligibility guidelines allowing inperson employees to receive the vaccine. Students who’ve been vaccinated report minimal side effects, and hope to set an example for those yet to receive the vaccine. A Massmail was sent on Jan. 29 informing the campus community of this wave of eligibility, with those eligible receiving a subsequent email containing more information on how to schedule a vaccination appointment. This wave of eligibility is the first to include a significant portion of the University is student body. Student response to the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District’s vaccination program has been positive, praising the program’s organization and efficiency. Once eligible students were notified they could receive the vaccine, they were directed to sign up for an appointment time at one of the various campus vaccination locations, including CRCE and the iHotel — the latter serving as the current vaccination hub for the campus community. Tara Leininger, sophomore in LAS, received the vaccine on Feb. 2 due to her position as a Resident Advisr for University Housing. After receiving a signup sheet by email on Jan. 29, Leininger signed up for a vaccine appointment and made the trip out to the iHotel. Leininger was surprised by the efficiency of the vaccine program. “I didn’t know what to expect going in, but once I got there it was pretty streamlined,” Leininger said. “It was hectic because I talked to like four different people. I came in and someone checked me in, someone else took my temperature, someone else took my paperwork, and I talked to someone else who sent me to the nurse who gave me the shot. I felt like I was doing a lot, but they moved me around in the line pretty quickly so it didn’t take that long even though I felt like I did a lot.” Leininger received a dose of the Moderna vaccine during her appointment. The CUPHD has supplies of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, with students receiv-

SEE STUDENTS | 3A

Students complain over backed-up ARC reservations BY PAYAL RATHORE STAFF WRITER

The Activities and Recreation Center has adopted a reservation system for student users late last fall that has carried over into spring semester. Two weeks in, spots for the gym are backed up for almost a full week. “Making a reservation is a little tricky as the reservations fill up very quickly,” said Nellie Lynch, sophomore in Speech & Hearing Sciences. “Standing in the queue to get the Safer Illinois status check is also a bit cumbersome.” Earlier in the fall, no reservation system was in place for the majority of open ARC spaces when it reopened in August and until Nov. 19. Reservations were only required for the pool, individual racquetball court usage, 1:1 badminton, group fitness classes and individual basketball hoop

use. Recently, complaints have extended to online student forums like r/UIUC on Reddit and Facebook. “On (Nov.) 20, our region was placed in Tier 3 of resurgence mitigations, which required reservations for all activity. The ARC was closed for fall break and when we reopened on Nov. 30, we required reservations as well as operating under modified capacities along with other changes,” Jessica Gentry, Campus Recreation associate director of programs, said. So far, no updates have been provided for the reservation system since the directive from campus that all operations and facilities remain under the Tier 3 guidelines until at least Feb. 8. Talks related to what changes to the ARC’s operations can or should look like once allowable are still going on.

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Needles wait to be filled with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the I-Hotel on Jan. 12. The vaccine is now limitedly available to eligible students.

INSIDE PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

The front entrance to the Activities and Recreation Center stands tall late in the afternoon. The ARC has reopened to students in a limited capacity, making reservations hard to attain for some students.

“While some of our individual areas operated with reservations, which our members seemed to appreciate and navigate with relative ease, it was a big shift

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for staff and users when we began accepting reservations for all activity on Nov. 30,” Gentry said. “As it’s

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The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District is leading vaccine distribution to our county. We will follow their guidance and share vaccination opportunities with students when they become available. Even after a student is fully vaccinated, they will be required to continue mandatory COVID-19 testing. This will be the UniversiMARK CAPAPAS THE DAILY ILLINI ty policy until the medi- Chancellor Robert Jones prepares to deliver the State of the University address on Jan. cal community has a bet- 24, 2020. Jones answers questions from the Illinois community below. ter understanding of the impact of the vaccine in throughout this semester. county. How close did the preventing disease spread. University come to moving

Individuals who are vaccinated (faculty, staff and students) are required to follow all University COVID-19 safety protocols including testing regularly, wearing face coverings, practicing social distancing, etc.

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After vaccines become more widespread for students, what will COVID-19 testing look like for students?

If a senior that’s about to graduate receives their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from the University, will they be able to receive their second dose even after they graduate?

Kit Donahue Melissa Pasco

attendance, which is a violation of a local health ordinance.

Chancellor Jones talks student vaccinations

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of East Stoughton Street around 2:11 a.m. on Saturday. According to the report, police initially University responded to the scene after they An offender was issued a notice were notified of a nuisance party. to appear in court for hosting a Upon arrival, the officers noticed nuisance party in the 500 block there were more than 10 people in

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What is your biggest concern about being able to make it through the spring semester before vaccines are more widespread?

I worry that individuals who are vaccinated will not practice COVID-19 safety protocols. I also worry about pandemic fatigue among students. It is absolutely essential, now more than ever, that we all continue to be diligent to protect ourselves and one another.

What is the biggest positive that you see that shows the University will safely make it through the worst part of the pandemic?

We have been incredibly encouraged that there was no COVID-19 transmission in our in-person classrooms for the fall semester. I think we can say that our classrooms are one of the safest places to be in our

How does the new variant affect the University’s plans for student safety during the spring semester?

We are working with CUPHD closely and continue to monitor the situation. We will follow their guidance.

If some students decide not to get vaccinated, what will the University’s response to that be?

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the spring semester to fully online at any point?

The University SHIELD team continues to monitor our positivity rate and number of cases. If at any point, the University leadership felt it was unsafe to continue in-person instruction, we would have made that decision.

How well has the planned non-instructional days this semester been received When vaccines become with students and staff?

available, students, faculty We’re hopeful the nonand staff can decide if they instructional days will give wish to be vaccinated. It is students a bit of a break, not mandatory. and we have instructed professors not to have any How much less plastic mandatory course-relatdoes the new test tubes ed requirements on those consume compared to the days. Of course, while we original vials used? would preferred to follow When you compare the our regular academic calnew (smaller) test tubes to endar, including having the previous (larger) test Spring Break, the health tubes, we are reducing the and safety of our campus amount of plastic by about community remains our 75%. number one priority.

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NEWS FROM 1A

STUDENTS

SCREENSHOT OF ZOOM

Champaign City Council member Clarissa Nickerson Fourman speaks during the “People’s City Council” forum on Thursday. Speakers at the forum discussed defunding the police in Champaign and Urbana.

CU candidates debate police funding BY MONA ALRAZZAQ STAFF WRITER

The Champaign-Urbana “People’s City Council,” a group of community activists running to fill the city council with progressive representatives in Champaign and Urbana, held a forum over Facebook Live where candidates discussed defunding the police and took questions from citizens. This forum began with a land acknowledgement drafted with the assistance of the Native American House at the University. The acknowledgement recognized that the residents are currently living on land of territories of the Native American tribes. It continued with a moment of silence to the lives lost due to COVID-19, specifically mentioning those in Illinois and in prison within the statement. Justin Michael Hendrix, a candidate for Champaign City Council District 3, introduced a sample legislation supported by all can-

didates on the forum that called for “narrowing police roles to make space for fiscally responsible and effective services.” All candidates present on the panel noted the vagueness of the resolution but supported it overall. Each candidate shared specific views on their perspective on defunding the police, where the cut funding should go and whether they would accommodate people who held a different viewpoint. Jake Fava, candidate running for Ward 1 of Urbana, disagreed with how 21% of the upcoming Urbana city budget is dedicated to funding police, whereas 12% is allocated to community development. He noted a “really clear opportunity to divert funding” to mental health, family and housing services in order to help prevent crime and increase quality of life for community members, which was echoed by many other candidates on the panel. “All these things are contributors and predictors of

crime. The more that we can start to address those things, the less pressure we put on police to do everything,” Fava said. Jared Miller, candidate running for Ward 7 of Urbana, noted how “different kinds of harm require different kinds of responses.” Many candidates agreed that responses to mental health crises and domestic violence situations should be handled by other services instead of the police. Candidate for Champaign Township Supervisor Rita Conerly discussed how she herself has been directly impacted by the police and has had family members impacted by the police. This experience led her to believe there has to be a different response to mental health and to trauma. “Defunding the police is not only to better support our community, but it also to alleviate police from responding to calls in which they’re just not trained to deal with,” Conerly said.

Incumbent candidate running for District 1 of Champaign, Clarissa Nickerson Fourman, noted that she supports fundamentally changing law enforcement, but she “represents a group of people who cannot live without the police.” Fourman said that the number one calls in her area are for domestic violence and that her children hear gunshots several times a week. However, she argued that the police are not fully equipped to deal with drug rehabilitation and mental health on top of all of their other duties. “You’re asking the police to go from a high speed chase to interviewing a rape victim,” Fourman said. “That’s ridiculous.” All candidates on the reform call are running for a position and will be on the ballot on either the consolidated primary election on Feb. 23 or the general election on April 6. monaa2@dailyillini.com

Campustown businesses see slow activity BY ABDULLAH DEAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Nearly one year after COVID-19 spread to the University community, businesses in the area continue to grapple between the momentous health risks of infection and the economic cost of being closed. With changing health regulations, businesses have oscillated in their level of in-person availability in response to rising or declining community infection. For many restaurants and cafes around Campustown, business continues to be slow. “Even with indoor seating back, we definitely don’t have quite as many customers as before,” said Connie, an employee at Caffe Paradiso. Zen Thai, a restaurant on Green Street that closed for several months due to the pandemic, has struggled to gain sufficient customers. “It’s been very slow because of the COVID situation and not many people walking around Campustown,” said Ploy, an employee at Zen Thai. “It’s even slower than last year.” Many businesses in the area have shortened their hours and seen reduced demand. Students coming back for the year had a negligible effect and more so this semester. “ We def initely see less traffic for sure, and even less this semester,” said Tim, an employee at Brewlab. When COVID-19 infections rose to record highs last summer, indoor dining was banned and businesses struggled to generate activity. They were lifted once cases began to subside

RYAN ASH THE DAILY ILLINI

A Brewlab employee checks out a customer on Oct. 20. Small businesses, like Brewlab, have seen slow activity to start the semester.

in late summer, but put in place again when infections rose to even higher highs last fall. “Indoor seating was closed for the longest time,” Connie said. “We had to reduce hours a lot more than usual, especially during the summer. In the fall, indoor seating got closed [again] which we took a big hit from.” Caffe Paradiso started doing takeout but a big part of coming to a cafe was the indoor experience, according to Connie, which customers were not able to get for a good chunk of last year. For students looking to

help, employees and shop owner’s advice is simple: come in and purchase whatever you can. “Just coming in and ordering stuff from us would probably be the most we can ask for,” Connie said. Spending more money on takeout and indoor dining would be beneficial too, according to Ploy. Tipping generously, being kind and open-minded to staff is also helpful. Business setbacks from COVID-19 have been more pronounced on Blackow ned a nd minorit y businesses. Mariah Madison, found-

er of Buy Black Chambana, leads an organization that works with Blackowned businesses heavily impacted by the pandemic. Students can go on the directory page of Buy Black Chambana, see what businesses they’re interested in and then proactively purchase products that suit their needs, according to Madison. “If they’re looking for takeout options, we have many options, and we also try to share information about what’s going on and how you can get involved,” Madison said. anoora4@dailyillini.com

actually did, he felt really bad flu-like symptoms for almost exactly 24 hours after the first dose, since it acted like a booster. Still, he was back at work the next day and he was totally fine, which I thought was really cool. Because I didn’t have COVID, I would expect to get more severe symptoms after my second dose because then it works as a booster.” It will be a few months until the rest of the campus community will be eligible to receive the vaccine, with most experts predicting the majority of students will be able to get vaccinated by April or May. Despite this, the first wave of student vaccinations brings about hopes for what campus will look like when things return to normal, whenever that may be. “The first thing I’ll do when everybody’s vaccinated is I want to eat inside Jarling’s,” Leininger said, referring to Jarling’s Custard Cup, a frozen custard shop in Champaign. “You can’t sit outside in the cold, it’s been a long time since I’ve been in, and I miss that place.”

get it and protect my fellow peers, then I’m going to do everything I can to ensure that I’m being as safe as possible,” Bando said. Angelina Hwang, sophomore in AHS, works in the Illini Emergency Medical Services program as an Emergency Medical Technician. In addition to her work as an EMT, Hwang studies Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, building her knowledge of the medical field. Hwang was vaccinated on Jan. 19, receiving a dose of the Moderna vaccine. Similar to Bando and Leininger, Hwang’s only side effects were a sore arm and some slight fatigue. With her work and academic focus within the medical field, Hwang spoke about how the vaccine’s use of antibodies can contribute to the severity of each individual’s side effects. “The way the vaccine works is mainly through antibodies,” Hwang said. “Let’s say you had COVID before, and already have the antibodies in your sys- mtroher2@dailyillini.com tem. One of my EMT friends hrr4@dailyillini.com

FROM 1A

GRADE

ID,” this was later removed by EdPol because it can be done administratively at a later date. “We will leave that to the colleges to do,” Moorhouse said. David Rivier, associate professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and EdPol committee member, expressed concern that the extended late drop deadline, originally set as the last day of final week, would result in inequities for students in courses with earlier final exams. As a result, the late drop deadline was moved to 11:59 Central Time on “the last day of classes” before finals would begin. There was also concern about potential GPA inflation as a result of expanded CR/NC policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Pitts noted that “everybody knew that this could be done” and “it is what it is.” “It wasn’t really the main goal of expanded CR/NC. We were really thinking about how we could help out students that are struggling,” he said. “But at the same time, when you have policies like this, they’re available to everybody.” A larger concern that the University has is the policy’s potential implications, and the effects they could have on students in the future. “There’s an unknown on how this will play in the future,” Pitts said. “You could potentially have students who have three semesters worth of a whole bunch of credits.” As a result, the University is hoping to make students aware that there could be potential side effects of having many courses graded as CR/NC. “What happens when they apply to med school, or employers who are looking at their transcript? Are they going to just say ‘Okay, that was COVID, don’t worry about it,’ which I hope they do, or are they going to handle it differently? We don’t know that,” Pitts said.

their D grade and receiving credit at the cost of a lower GPA. Because the University cannot change the existing definition of CR/NC, EdPol decided to create a special grade category for this semester to allow students with D grades to receive credit, which Pitts believes is more in line with “the spirit” of the proposal. “They’re really aligning the idea of CR/NC with the way we do our normal grading, and I think it makes a lot of sense,” Pitts said. “On the transcript, it’ll be ‘PZ’ for ‘Pass COVID’ and ‘NZ’ for ‘No Pass COVID.’ Those will be special symbols that’ll be in use this semester.” Originally called “Pass/ Fail COVID,” this grading option was later renamed to “Pass COVID/No Pass COVID” at the urging of Eric Meyer, associate professor of Journalism and EdPol committee member. “Just for simplicity, I would use the terminology ‘Pass/No Pass’ and it would be something that clearly is a limited COVID-19-related grade,” Meyer said. “‘No Pass’ is less of a scarlet letter against you than a ‘fail’ would be.” Additionally, EdPol expressed concern that some students with failing grades last semester did not opt for CR/NC. “In this particular past semester, we had close to 2,000 students [with failing grades] who did not elect ‘no credit,’” said Linda Moorhouse, professor of Music and chairwoman of EdPol. Instead, these failing grades were changed unilaterally last semester by the University to ‘no credit’ at the request of the undergraduate deans. While initial drafts of this semester’s proposal did include a section calling for grades of F or ABS (grade given for an unexcused absence from a final exam; equivalent to an F) to be automatically converted to “No Pass COV- williec2@dailyillini.com

FROM 1A

ARC

access the facility. Building counts and capacities are actively monitored to ensure compliance with the stated guidelines. Along with compulsory masks, equipment has also been removed or made unavailable to ensure appropriate social distancing. “Campus Recreation is providing as much access and services that public health guidelines allow, actively reviewing those and working with campus to determine how we can continue to expand our operations,” Gentry said.

new to everyone, there are certainly bumps along the way and we have certainly made adjustments where we could try and improve the experience.” Current regulations followed at the ARC are those issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Illinois Department of Public Health and the state of Illinois. All students, faculty and staff are required to show granted building access through the Safer Illinois app to payalr2@dailyillini.com

MONDAY

February 8, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

LIFE & CULTURE

Spence Farm adjusts to accommodate CU BY GWYN SKILES STAFF WRITER

When driving back to campus, speeding past the cornfields that signal school is nearby, one might see a patch of maple trees, jutting from the sea of green stalks. In front of these maple trees lies Spence Farm and the ninth generation of farmers to cultivate its land. Spence Farm is featured in the documentary “Sustainable” for their efforts to grow sustainably and share their knowledge with others. The film looks at the instability of America’s food system both economically and environmentally. It explores the issues faced by those who work in agriculture as well as the people emerging as leaders working to fix it. When COVID-19 first hit Illinois, the restaurants Spence Farm delivered to began to close. This posed a challenge for co-owner Will Travis. “We were delivering to about 45 restaurants,” Travis said. “That week that everything shut down we went to having about three restaurants.” Years before the pandemic, Travis said his father and co-owner of Spence Farm, Marty Travis, wondered what they would do if restaurants began to close. “We thought it would never happen but ‘what if?’” Travis said. “We would pivot to doing groceries for

PHOTO COURTESY OF VILLAGE FARMSTAND WEBSITE

Farmer Marty Travis sits in a field with one of his pigs. Travis, along with his son Will, co-own Spence Farm and have recently pivoted to selling their produce to families.

families.” That’s just what they did and their sales grew to be double what they were before COVID-19, Travis said. Individuals order on the Village Farmstand website and Spence Farm packages

the orders in bulk to send to the customer pick-up location in Evanston. As restaurants are starting to re-open, Travis said he estimates the farm is supplying 30 percent of the original restaurants. However, Travis said the bulk of

their business is individual orders. Spence Farm has also started another initiative in an effort to keep restaurants in business. Travis said they’re supplying prepared frozen meals or shelf staples for restau-

rants to sell. “We’re able to keep the restaurants selling products but not having to have people in the seeds doing that stuff as well,” Travis said. Spence Farm currently supplies one restaurant in

Champaign County, The Wheelhouse. This restaurant located in St. Joseph focuses on serving great food with locally sourced ingredients. When crafting their vision for the restauSEE FARM | 5A

International students adapt to travel limitations Pandemic forces students to remain in United States BY ROHIT JAMMU ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEKSANDR ZYKOV

Beachgoers enjoy a day on Arambol beach in Goa, India. Jared Lobo, junior in LAS, is from Goa and has not been home since December 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now approaching a year since the University shifted to its COVID-secure format, many are still experiencing problems with residence, classes, post-graduation plans, internships and family. When the virus first started forcing schools to move to an entirely online setup in March 2020, the large confusion about the travel limitations prompted many students to remain in the states, either on campus or moving to stay with relatives. Jared Lobo, junior in LAS, was one of the many international students who chose to stay. He said that the last time he visited home was in December 2019, for Christmas, and ever since then, his plans have been prone to change. Normally, come winter break, Lobo, being a prac-

ticing Catholic, would fly back to Goa, India to spend Christmas and New Years’ with his family, leaving his brother working in the U.S. as his job provided him with limited leeway in terms of vacations. With the onset of COVID-19, Lobo chose to remain in the states to limit prevent exposing his family to the virus. A benefit to this decision was getting to spend Christmas and New Years with his brother. “I still traveled to North Carolina by plane, so although one of the factors of the decision I made not to return back home when everything with COVID went down was indeed to minimize my exposure to the virus, the fact that I went to Carolina to stay with my brother throws that argument out of the window,” he admitted. However, Lobo said that at the same time, he had no other choice as he couldn’t stay where he had been initially subleasing. He highlighted the fact that his case was a strong point to be made when encouraging people to stay inside to help reduce the spread of

infectivity. There were still people out there, like himself, who have no choice but to expose themselves via travel. Lobo, who was staying in the dorms when COVID-19 hit, moved out to sublease with his friends. He also decided to drop his plans of being a Resident Adviser for his junior year, leaving him with no apartment or dorm to stay in after. Staying in a friend’s apartment from March till the end of summer, Lobo was eventually forced to move out when in-person classes resumed in the Fall. Lobo said that he then subleased from someone else he knew, eventually traveling to stay with his brother over this winter break and returning once again this semester to yet another new place. “I’ve had to move around from place to place quite a bit for the whole of the last year. I almost feel like a bit of a nomad, living with different groups of friends in different apartments at different points of the year,” he said. Lobo said although the whole of the last year was a tiring and confusing time,

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he did have some fun over the summer break. “While the campus is generally dead over summer, a lot of my friends were on campus because either their internships got canceled, moved to a completely online setting, or just didn’t go back,” he said. “So, it was nice to have friends, who I shared classes with as company over the summer.” Lobo also said being an international student meant comparatively limited internship and job opportunities as not all companies accept international student applications. The virtual career fair, Lobo said, made it harder for international students as, while normally you could walk up to someone, have a conversation, make your elevator pitch, it’s a completely different experience now. “The virtual career fair built in such a way that now it’s through a text box, and if you make it past that, then it’s a live video call with the interviewer which is definitely, in my opinion, harder to do,” Lobo said.

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FARM

out of the class because he’s been there.” Despite not working in Washington anymore, Coppess said the flexibility of still being involved in politics while he teaches at the University is something he values every day. “I feel fortunate to have been able to have both seen how that transition process works from the inside and to know that the things we worked on mattered,” Coppess said. “It has been an incredible way to continue some level of involvement.” Although he said he never would have imagined that he would be a professor someday, he said teaching young people and watching them form ideas is more rewarding than he ever would have thought. And for him, the interactions he sees in the classroom inspire him to keep working towards a bigger goal. “It gives me hope that you guys will figure it out and fix it all someday.”

rant, chef and owner, Ryan Rogiers knew he wanted Spence Farm to be their supplier. “When my wife and I decided to open a restaurant, we knew we wanted a farm-to-table and to work with local farms,” Rogiers said. “We actually watched the documentary and contacted him and the rest is history.” W hen C O V I D -1 9 impacted The Wheelhouse, Rogiers said he spoke with Marty about selling groceries at the restaurant. “When COVID-19 started last March, Marty and I talked right away because he was worried about keeping revenue,” Rogiers said. “I started having groceries available at The Wheelhouse.” Rogiers decided to add something special for patrons who order Spence Farm’s produce and pick it up at The Wheelhouse. When customers come and pick-up their boxes, Rogiers said he made videos to show customers how to prepare the food at home. “It’s been pretty popular,” Rogiers said. “We probably do about 10-15 grocery boxes a week now which drives revenue for the restaurant and helps the farmers.” Coming down the road, Travis said Spence Farm is trying to start a home delivery service for the Champaign area. Travis said they also have preliminary projects lined up with the University to provide food and sustainable agriculture education. In the meantime, Travis said he wants students to know that buying locally is a great option. “There’s good food that’s grown locally,” Travis said. “You can support at the restaurants. So search it out and it’s not always as expensive as what people think it is.” Travis also encourages students seeking a career in agriculture to look beyond traditional methods of farming. “Learn all sides of it,” Travis said. “There’s so many different ways of agriculture. I feel like many people kind of close off and stay in their lane and it always helps to see the other side of it as well.”

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Professor Jonathan Coppess prepares to give a lecture on Friday afternoon. Coppess worked as a volunteer on the Department of Agriculture team for the BidenHarris transition.

Professor bridges leadership gap with Biden BY FARRAH ANDERSON STAFF WRITER

Jonatha n Coppess’s third-grade son’s eyes darted across the TV as ivory polar bears trudged across the arctic tundra. He watched curiously and then turned to his dad and asked about why they are going extinct. Unsure of what exactly to say, Coppess watched iceberg after iceberg collapse into the ocean on the screen. “It was just a crushing conversation to say, ‘Maybe we’re trying, maybe we’re doing better,’” Coppess said, “but I do worry about the world they’ll grow up in and what it means for their winters to be different.” As a former Senate employee, current University professor and recent volunteer for the BidenHarris transition team, Jonathan Coppess has seen the real effects of policy play out before him. But now a father and teacher for young adults in college, he said his work hits closer to home. “There’s so much more

on the other end of these policies and the real-world implications that are so much more significant,” Coppess said. Coppess volunteered for the Agency Review , the collection of teams transitioning departments from one president’s administration to the next, as a member of the Department of Agriculture team. He said the team ran into delays after the former president refused to concede. Without the letter of ascertainment confirming President Biden’s win in the 2020 election, the Agency Review was unable to start their work. “Ever ybody on the ground knew the reality that this election was not truly contested and wasn’t really even close,” Coppess said. “So once we got the ascertainment, then that stuff filtered out as you put your head down and do the work.” Coppess said the daily work of the team included reviewing budgets and transferring information to agencies within the federal government.

“There is this need to bridge the gap between the two leadership teams,” Coppess said. “You don’t want your new leadership to come in blind and be cold on the issues.” After growing up on a family farm in Ohio, Coppess got his Bachelor’s degree in Business from Miami University and then went on to graduate from George Washington University Law School. “Because agriculture is something I grew up with and it’s family, it’s the kind of thing you can throw yourself into,” he said. From being named administrator of the Farm Service Agency by Tom Vilsack to researching farm bill policy at the University, Coppess’s career has often revolved around agriculture. He said that although a lot of his work has been examining large policy decisions, his past reminds him that real people are affected by government decisions. “It grounds that because you know the type of people that are on the other end of

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it,” he said. But after working in Washington for eight years, he and his wife Susan Coppess decided to relocate to the University. Now the undergraduate coordinator for recruitment in ACES, she said public service is a priority as they try to raise their kids to be good citizens. “When something like this that is an opportunity to serve and be an active citizen presents itself, we kind of both agree that those are things that we will try to make room for in our lives for if we can,” she said. Now a professor in the College of ACES, Coppess teaches classes about agricultural law and policy while researching the history of farm bill policy. Kristen Kurtz, senior in ACES, took classes with and was a teacher’s assistant for Coppess during her time at Illinois. After setting her sights on a future in politics, Kurtz said Coppess has a lot to offer his students. “He has such a wealth of knowledge,” Kurtz said. “You’ll get so much more

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

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1 Has a long shelf life 6The Lone Star State 11 Place to recover one’s health 14 Native Alaskan 15 Vigilant 16 Arctic diving bird 17 Identity of 61-Across 19 “The X-Files” agcy. 20Like some reactions and flights during storms 21 Blacktop 23 Opposite of WSW 24 Part of a needle 26 Something a diva may sing 27 Overhaul, as a show 30Originator of 61-Across 34 Teacher’s note accompanying a bad grade, maybe 35 Rapper Shakur 36 Television portrayer of 61-Across 40Singers Bareilles and Evans 41 Steer clear of 44 Film portrayer of 61-Acoss 48Contract stipulation 49 Lead-in to “man” in superhero-dom 50Flow out, as the tide 52 Youngster 53 Pain in the lower back 57 “Just leave!” 60 Back talk 61 Co-founder of the Justice League 63 Bullring cheer

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64 Humdingers 65 Plainly visible 66 Something to write on or crash in 67 Ocular inflammations 68 Smell or taste

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1 Corporate hierarchies, figuratively 2 Property recipient, in law 3 Rising concern? 4 ___ fish sandwich 5 Linger 6 Late in arriving 7 Inventor Whitney 8 “Hercules” character who got her own show 9 Rainbows, for example

10 Part of an assembly instruction 11 Mac browser 12 Go ___ (become listed on a stock exchange) 13 Japanese dogs 18 “I don’t want to hear a ___ out of you!” 22 Meat in many an omelet 25 Teach 28 Adams who played Lois Lane in “Man of Steel” 29 Brainy bunch 31 Tax return pros 32 Batmobile, e.g. 33 Eight-related 35 Poi ingredient 37 Mid-June honoree 38 Longoria of “Desperate Housewives”

39 Some delivery people 42 Weather map lines 43 Easing of international tensions 44 Racehorse’s gait 45 Eagle constellation 46 Thrown (together) 47 Shoot the breeze 48 Trucker who relays “bear traps” 51 Confer divine favor on 54 Leather-punching tools 55 Joint malady 56 Just 58 “Terrible” time for tykes 59 Relocate 62 Payment ___

The crossword solution is in the Classified section.

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February 8, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

OPINIONS Society overindulges in comforts of past ably worse place than it was in previously, it has become ASSISTANT decadent. Key signs of decaOPINIONS EDITOR dence include a lack of clear direction as a society, an increasingly hollow culture fter a month of being and social alienation, espein 2021, there are cially among young people many highly anticiwho never lived in a time pated films set to be released before extreme decadence within the year. Of course, had set in. as is the trend in the last few In many ways, we have years, these films are domi- ceased to imagine a path nated by sequels, remakes forward and would instead and reboots rather than prefer to look back. When a original IPs. group no longer imagines a This point has been talkfuture worth hoping for, a ed to death by now of course, nostalgic and distant past is but often with flawed logic. much more appealing. People are quick to put the In other periods of Americart before the horse and can history, even someaccuse Hollywood of being what recent ones, there was “out of ideas” or devoid of a much greater emphasis originality. But this is far on innovation and change. from the truth. There is nev- A society on the decline er a shortage of people in the retreats within itself. The U.S. and abroad with ideas fear of a bleak future makes for original screenplays and everything we already recother works. ognize seem much more As with many things, comfortable. A small, dying money is the driving facfire in a vast expanse of cold tor. We as a society would unknown. rather consume something But it isn’t a beacon of we already expect to have hope. In fact in many ways it a baseline of quality than is the opposite. To reject the venture into the unknown. future in favor of the past is It’s the same reason many a delusion. The past is gone, people will eat at a chain res- and every time we try to taurant in a new city rather siphon it for an increasingly than a similarly priced local fleeting hit of dopamine we eatery. It’s low risk and low only diminish our enjoyreward. ment of these things. Some of the biggest We as a society should upcoming films this year ask more of ourselves. The include roughly six superdecadent self-indulgence hero movies, a Fast and the that derives from scraping Furious sequel, another the bones of previous eras James Bond movie, a Misfor entertainment creates a sion Impossible sequel, a cultural ouroboros that ultiGhostbusters reboot/sequel mately devours itself. We (again), a Top Gun sequel have entertained and con(somehow) and a Saw Spisumed ourselves to death noff (also again). with no idea of a way out. This lack of desire to progWe have to branch out. ress with original ideas and Venture into the unknown embrace new entertainment and take a risk on something is more a reflection of a culdifferent. Or perhaps even ture in decline than a lack of make something of our own. originality. The producers The future is ours to seize, of the content have not run but we can only do so if we out of ideas, we as a society shuffle off the shackles of the have run out of the capacity past. to enjoy it. When a state or culture Dylan is a senior in Media. finds itself in a considerkdg2@dailyillini.com DYLAN GRAY

PHOTO COURTESY OF XU YU/XINHUA/SIPA USA/TNS

Chinese Go player Ke Jie, third from right, and other guests attend the opening ceremony of the Future of Go Summit before a match between him and Google’s artificial intelligence program AlphaGo in China on May 23, 2017. Columnist Clint argues we must be careful when developing artificial intelligence.

Coexist with machine intelligence CLINT DOZIER SENIOR COLUMNIST

he year 2020 was, well, terrible ... in many ways. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the entire world to a near standstill, and millions have either been infected or killed by the virus. The economies of many major countries are now in recession, with millions having lost their jobs in the United States alone. And, to top it all off, 2020 was the year we lost one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time — and my personal guitar hero — Eddie Van Halen to a lengthy battle with cancer. This is not to say that nothing good at all happened in 2020, and there was perhaps one area in particular that experienced more progress in a single year than ever before: the development of artificial intelligence. Among the most notable of these AI advancements was GPT-3, created by the company OpenAI, and AlphaFold, created by the AI subsidiary of Google, Deepmind. To be frank, GPT-3 is cooler and more interesting than AlphaFold, but AlphaFold is, for lack of a better term, a way bigger deal. When I say GPT-3 is “cool,” I mean it’s very impressive

upon first glance. GPT-3 is what’s known as a natural language model, which means that it can interpret and process natural human language, and it does so shockingly well. GPT-3 can do just about everything, from writing essays, answering questions, impersonating historical figures, writing computer code, designing websites and now generating images only from a text description. The YouTube channel ColdFusion has an excellent video on GPT-3 with even more detail. There is a good deal of debate among experts, however, around exactly how impressive GPT-3 really is. AlphaFold, however, is an amazing breakthrough, and that idea is not really being disputed by experts. Simply put, AlphaFold has “solved” the decades-old problem in Biology of protein folding. The protein folding problem is (or was) the endeavor to determine a protein’s 3D shape from the information of its amino acid sequence. This problem being “solved” means that AlphaFold has achieved a score of 87 in the Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction competition, with a score of 90 or better being considered roughly equivalent to the experimentally determined structure. This will have far-reaching implications, especially for the speed and efficiency with which medical research and drug development can be completed. AI researcher

and podcast host Lex Fridman has an excellent YouTube video on this topic. However, a major problem with these AI breakthroughs is that researchers don’t yet fully understand how the algorithms within these systems work. That is to say, these AI systems are making decisions to produce an output, but researchers don’t know why those decisions are being made. This is the problem of AI algorithms being a “black box.” An algorithm is nothing more than a set of instructions. Think of an algorithm like a recipe. An algorithm could be as simple as: “multiply these two numbers together” or as complicated as the human brain. Any form of intelligence, biological or non-biological, consists of nothing more than an algorithm or set of algorithms in order to produce a result or solve a problem. To complete any task from driving a car to doing algebra homework or even just watching Netflix, algorithms are being run and deployed on the hardware that is your brain. So why is that a problem with AI? Computer science researchers have gotten so good at developing complex algorithms, like GPT-3 and AlphaFold, but also for things like Facebook and YouTube, that they are increasingly unable to explain why a system is making the decisions that it does. Thus, these algorithms are a “black box.”

Max Tegmark, AI researcher, physicist and author of “Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” recently appeared on the Lex Fridman Podcast and discussed the issue. Tegmark said of technologies like AlphaFold and GPT-3: “… you know what all of those have in common besides being powerful is we don’t fully understand how they work… they’re all basically black boxes…” Tegmark further discussed the research he is conducting at MIT to try and “demystify” the processes behind these AI systems. He stressed the need to solve this problem before something goes awry, not after. This is an existentially relevant goal, and it is one that will need to be realized before AI is deployed in ever more important and potentially dangerous situations, not after the damage is already done. Facebook’s algorithm potentially leading to echo chambers and polarization is bad, but it can at least be remedied. An algorithm that’s driving your car, flying your plane or inventing new drugs? It doesn’t have any room for error. That is why the black box problem is so important and why it must be overcome before an AI system does something catastrophic, and the clock is ticking. Clint is a senior in LAS. cdozie2@dailyillini.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB

Actor Daniel Craig stars in “Spectre.” Columnist Dylan argues against the Hollywood trend of rebooting old series rather than making fresh content.

‘High School Musical’ still bears cultural relevance after 14 years ing might just be their hidden talent. NOAH NELSON As they audition for the SENIOR COLUMNIST spring musical, they soon meet drama club addicts, twins Sharpay (Ashley Jan. 20, 2006, Tisdale) and Ryan Evans Disney Channel (Lucas Grabeel) who are introduced the not too fond of Troy and world to a little film titled Gabriella making the call“High School Musical.” Lit- backs. Soon, the latter two tle did anyone know that deal with their new singthis 98-minute film would ing ventures while being turn into its own franchise persuaded by their friends followed by two sequels, a Chad (Corbin Blue) and sold-out arena tour, merTaylor (Monique Coleman) chandise and countless to stick to the clubs they lifelong fans. Though the know best. first film was released 14 In the upbeat jam “Stick years ago, the stories and to the Status Quo,” viewers lessons from all three films learn that some basketball are still relevant today. players like to bake, nerds For those who have nev- like to dance and skaters er seen or heard of these like to play cello. Everyfilms, the story follows thing changes as students high school basketball star break away from their norTroy Bolton (Zac Efron) mal status quo, and show who meets chemistry the world who they realgenius Gabriella Montez ly are and what they can (Vanessa Hudgens) after do besides their known singing with her unexpect- talents. edly at a New Year’s Eve In the years the films party. When Troy soon were released, they were learns that Gabriella has a phenomenon. The cast transferred to East High sort of were like The BeaSchool, they find that sing- tles, appearing everywhere

from talk shows, commercials and other projects. The films took the world by storm, at least it did for the children who grew up watching them, who are now most likely in high school or college. The lessons these films teach are much like the college experience. Here at the University, everyone majors in whatever field they enjoy and hope to work in for a lifelong career. Even so, many students change their major. They try out for several clubs to test the waters of their interests. Like the “High School Musical” movies, college is all about finding your way in life and doing what you love to do. The films teach everyone that no matter what anyone says, if you want to do something, do it. No one should stop you. You have to find your passion in life in order to live a great one. There may be some bumps in the road, but in the end, it will all be worth it. Time and time again, “High School Musical” is

PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB

Olesya Rulin, Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron star in “High School Musical.” Columnist Noah believes the film is still relevant today.

brought up in conversation in one way or another. And why shouldn’t it be? Whether anyone knew it or not, the films teach these valuable life lessons with the added bonus of catchy songs and dances to match. So join the club that

interests you. Do the hobbies you’ve always wanted to do. In the process, always be yourself, and never stick to the status quo. While doing so, accept others for who they are, too, because we all have to live with one anoth-

er for a long time in this world. Never give up. Keep your head held high. And remember to embrace those around you because at the end of the day, we’re all in this together. Noah is a junior in Media. noahen2@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

February 8, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

SPORTS

MEN’S BASKETBALL

DOSUNMU MAKES HISTORY IN DOMINANT WIN BY JACKSON JANES ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Dominant. That’s probably the most fitting word for Illinois’ performance on Saturday afternoon against No. 19 Wisconsin, completely outplaying the visitors from start to finish. After an ugly, hardfought win against an unranked Indiana Hoosier squad on Tuesday, the Illini looked like a completely different team against a Badger team that was ranked

one place above them to start the season. Games like this serve as a reminder that Illinois has a legit shot at making a deep tournament run in March, with a fastpaced offense, aggressive defense and high energy during pregame warmups to the final whistle. The Illini outmatched the Badgers in almost every facet of the game for all 40 minutes, leading to a dominant 75-60 win to extend the team’s win streak to four games. A triple-double from junior Ayo Dosunmu and a doubledouble from sophomore Kofi Cockburn are easily the highlights from the Illini’s 15-point win, but let’s take a look at eight performances from Saturday afternoon’s victory.

KOFI COCKBURN How often does a player finish with a double-double yet isn’t the player of the game? That was the case for Cockburn on Saturday afternoon, notching a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the season, which is also tied for the most in all of college basketball. Cockburn made every Badger player look small, dominating in the

paint on both offense and defense. He also took full advantage of Ayo Dosunmu’s delightful dishes in the paint, finishing with eight (yes, you read that correctly) dunks. The Jamaica native brushed aside everything Wisconsin threw this way for one of the best games of the season. Cockburn’s size and physical presence on offense and defense is a huge plus for the Illini, and they will need the sophomore center to keep putting together dominant performances like this if they look to make a deep run in March.

A+

AYO DOSUNMU This is a no-brainer. paint for easy dunks, the junior guard got things done After one his worst performances on defense as well, holding starting guard Brad Daviagainst Indiana on Tuesday, a game in which he fouled son to zero points while also forcing two steals. out down the stretch, Dosunmu put together a hisDosunmu’s selflessness on and off the toric display against the Badgers, going for a triplecourt shows why he’s one of the best playdouble (21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists), the ers in all of college basketball, and perfirst of his Illinois career and only the third in proformances like this should remind us gram history, with the last one occurring in 2001. how influential Dosunmu has been on Everything Dosunmu did was essentially perfect, this basketball program ever since first both on offense and defense. The Chicago native set announcing his commitment to Illinois. the tone early with his high energy and intensity, and He is a special player, and Saturday’s game that certainly rubbed off on his teammates. Not only did he was a beyond special display from the thirdget things done on offense, frequently finding Cockburn in the year Illini guard.

A+

ADAM MILLER Three-pointers are the freshman’s specialty, though his production from beyond the arc has dried up a bit as of late. Miller’s production on Saturday, however, was much more promising, as he finished with six points, including going 2-4 from deep, and two steals. Miller has been impressive on defense as of late, bringing high intensity and energy even when his scoring has slightly decreased. His two steals, including one where he came out of seemingly nowhere to pick redshirt

B-

junior forward Micah Potter’s pocket. This type of awareness is crucial, and his confidence in his three-point shooting is essential for both Miller and the Illini moving forward. Another important note: the Illini are undefeated since Miller bleached his hair. That can’t be a coincidence, right?

TRENT FRAZIER Frazier’s last three performances have been noth- with 22 points. But that doesn’t really tell the whole story, as ing short of incredible, becoming the third the entire Badger offense ran through him, and Trice piece of Illinois’ three-headed monster hit several tough shots with Frazier in his face and alongside Cockburn and Dosunmu. tightly contesting every shot. Saturday afternoon, the senior guard Passion is the name of the game for Frazier, and played well once again, finishing with that quality was obvious as the senior dove on the eight points, two rebounds and two floor to grab a loose ball after forcing a turnover. assists, which is somehow his worst The Florida native exemplifies everything that Brad outing over the last nine days. Underwood’s team is about: energy, teamwork and Typically tasked with defending the passion. The Illini will certainly face a huge loss next opposition’s best player, Frazier guarded Wis- season without Frazier. consin’s star guard, D’Mitrik Trice, who finished

JACOB GRANDISON Since replacing Da’Monte Williams in the starting lineup, Grandison has impressed on both ends of the court, using his silky smooth shot and intensity on defense to fit right in on Illinois after sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. Against Wisconsin, Grandison played well yet again, finishing with five points and four rebounds. Grandison is never going to put up jaw-drop-

ping numbers, but he has found his groove as a role player, as he makes shots when he needs to yet steps aside when Dosunmu or Cockburn are playing well. The Illini know they can rely on the redshirt junior, and on Saturday he shot 40% from the field on 2-5 shooting, including 1-3 from behind the arc. The Holy Cross transfer has solidified his place as a starter in Underwood’s team, and his solid defense and shooting display against Wisconsin further proved his value in this Illinois team.

B-

GIORGI BEZHANISHVILI A seven-point, two-rebound performance for the junior forward won’t turn any heads, but Bezhanishvili doesn’t necessarily need to put together high-scoring performances to have a good game. Against the Badgers, the Georgia native’s energy and tight defense was extremely important, helping the Illini get into second or third gear any time their engine seemed to slow. You can’t teach Bezhanishvili’s passion, and his loud screams as he sprinted down the court in the second half

was just one instance of the impact he has on this team. His leadership and positivity, regardless of the score or opponent, is essential to this Illini team, as he is always willing to pick his teammates up any time their heads are down. Bezhanishvili brought the energy on offense and defense, and his 75% shooting performance was the highest over the last three games. The junior is one of the most influential player on this squad, even if he doesn’t put up double-digit points every game.

B+

ANDRE CURBELO It’s hard to put into words how bad Curbelo was on Saturday, but I think Brad Underwood said it best: “What the h--- was that?” After a solid 12-point performance on Tuesday, the freshman guard looked all over the place on Saturday against Wisconsin, going scoreless while picking up two fouls and four turnovers despite playing just eight minutes. Every shot Curbelo took was nowhere close to going in, and he looked indecisive every time the ball was in his hands.

Deemed a “one-man wrecking crew” following a shockingly poor run in the second half, it’s easy to understand why Curbelo didn’t step on the court again after getting subbed out with just over 13 minutes to play. Let’s hope the Puerto Rico native can put this game behind him quickly, as this was certainly his worst game in an Illini uniform by a country mile.

DA’MONTE WILLIAMS In the first half, Williams looked down and out, especially after he picked up a flagrant foul with just over seven minutes to play in the first half, and it seems like he was going to have another frustrating outing. But in the second half, the Peoria native looked like a completely different player, and he ultimately finished with five points and nine rebounds. His energy significantly improved in the second half, and he hit his first three-pointer since Jan. 16 to overcome recent struggles from beyond the arc.

Williams’ defense was also much more impressive in the second half, something he’s struggled with over the last few games. Underwood and the Illini need to hope Williams can keep putting together solid outings, and he will likely see an increase in playing time.

B-

@JacksonJanes3 janes6@dailyillini.com

Monday, February 8, 2021

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WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

SOCCER

Illini improve energy ahead of season BY ANGELLE CORTES STAFF WRITER

PHOTO COURTESY OF FIGHTING ILLINI ATHLETICS

Junior guard Tara O’Malley poses for a player headshot. O’Malley recently walked-on after being a team manager for two years.

Tara O’Malley earns walk-on spot in 2021 BY CLAIRE O’BRIEN STAFF WRITER

Illinois’ team this year has a face unfamiliar to fans, but she’s certainly familiar to the team. Junior guard Tara O’Malley walked onto the team this year after serving as a manager for two years. O’Malley went to high school in Chicago and at the end of her senior year was looking to earn a Chick Evans Scholarship, given to golf caddies that covers housing and tuition. Illinois has an Evans Scholar house, where recipients of the scholarship live. O’Malley was also in touch with head coach Nancy Fahey but wasn’t prioritizing basketball. “In my senior year, I kind of had placed all my energy towards obtaining (the Evans scholarship),” O’Malley said. “And then if basketball had worked out with whatever school I was ending up, that was some-

Devastation. That’s what senior forward Katie Le felt back in August after Big Ten announced all fall sports would be postponed. “I remember getting the news that season was canceled and was crying on the field,” Le said. Regardless of the season, the team still kept practicing, though there was no clear goal or set date to look forward to. The coaches were able to create an intrasquad Friday Night Lights series to have some sort of competition so the girls could suit up and have something to play for. Though the series gave them a sense of competition, sophomore defender Eileen Murphy said it didn’t have the same thrill or rush as playing a non-conference or Big Ten game. Jan. 10 was when the Illini arrived back on campus for their required week-long

quarantine and were able to get back into practice on Jan. 18. A couple of days later, on Jan. 22, was when the schedule was released, revealing the season will start on Feb. 20 with three home games in a row, including a season opener against Purdue. With a season and future games already in their minds, Le and Murphy say there has been a noticeable difference in the mentality and focus of practice. The intensity is high, and everyone is motivated for their first match. For the first two weeks on campus, practices were first voluntary, and the coaches weren’t present. Le said even without the coaches it was full of energy and everyone was pushing each other to get better. “Even this week, it was eight hours with the coaches, and we still used the time that we got for our advantage, and we’re excited to get back into 20 hour weeks

and still work hard and keep going,” Le said. Due to the weather, the team has been practicing in the Irwin Indoor Football Practice Facility. A disadvantage to this is a football field is not as wide or as long as a soccer field, so the coaches have had to get creative with drills to make use of what they have. “The other day we set up our back four 75 or 80 yards wide so that they really get a sense of what it’s like from sideline to sideline on a true soccer field,” said head coach Janet Rayfield. “Then when we want to go 60 or 70 yards of length from what it’s like from the goal to the midstripe and beyond the other side, then we can turn and go the other direction.” The team has had seven months to prepare for their first game in over a year. In a normal year, preseason would happen at the beginning of August, and about two weeks later, they would be on the field for their

first game. Though the season was delayed, the extended amount of time to prepare gave the team a chance to build up chemistry on the field. Especially for the freshmen, it gave them a chance to get integrated into the team. “Our coaches have stressed this year how lucky that we have been able to play together for a whole semester, so our chemistry is definitely a lot better,” Murphy said. “Like you can even tell that it’s definitely helped that we had more time to play with each other.” As the home opener inches closer and closer, everyone is excited and ready to finally get on the field and play a competitive game. With Demirjian Park wrapping up construction, the Illini will play there at some point during the season. Fans will not be allowed in, but attendance for famiSEE ENERGY | 3B

thing that I would also try to pursue.” O’Malley got the Evans scholarship and was able to serve as manager for the women’s basketball team. While serving as team manager, she worked closely with Jenn Dynis, who played for Fahey when Fahey coached at Washington University in St. Louis and was originally the team’s intern and now serves as video director. When O’Malley originally was a manager, she often did tasks like making sure the athletes had enough water, but over time, she got to practice with the team. The women’s basketball team has practice players, who usually are men who come in and practice with the team. During the 20192020 season, they didn’t have as many practice players, so Dynis and O’Malley PHOTO COURTESY OF ILLINOIS SOCCER TWITTER occasionally got to jump in Senior forward Katie Le (6) celebrates with her teammates after a goal is scored during competition. Le talks about persevering SEE O’MALLEY | 3B

through COVID-19 as a student athlete.

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Monday, February 8, 2021

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

WOMEN’S GOLF

Isabel Sy assimilates to new team, environment BY JADEN KATZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

MARK CAPAPAS THE DAILY ILLINI

Junior all-around gymnast Shaylah Scott performs a floor routine at Huff Hall in a competition against Iowa on Jan. 31. Scott was recently named team captain for her contributions to the team.

Shaylah Scott impresses with floor routine BY JONAH PEREZ STAFF WRITER

Junior Shaylah Scott has been on a roll to start the season, as she has taken first place on floor through her first three meets, scoring a 9.875 against Nebraska to open the season, a 9.875 in a tri-meet with Rutgers and Maryland and, most recently, a 9.900 against Iowa. “I think just paying attention to details and being really intentional with every skill I do at practice. It’s like no way to turn, so every turn I take, I do it with meaning, and I do it with the intention of having as minimal deduction (of points) as possible,” Scott said. “It’s really paying off.” Hailing from Dallas, Texas, and a part of gymnastics since she was two years old, floor has always come naturally to her, but it was never her best event. Beam has always been what she really excelled in, so this start surprised her. Scott says a combination of an ultra-focus and happy-go-lucky attitude has played a huge part in

FROM 2B

O’MALLEY and practice with the team. Over the past few years, Fahey got to know O’Malley and her family very well, and after having seen her in practice for a while, the thought of O’Malley joining the team crossed Fahey’s mind. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the program, and Fahey found she could use an extra player on the team. She wanted to be sure she was bringing on someone who was a good fit for the program, who understood what it was like to be in the program and who had a strong work ethic.

her early-season success. She has always known improvement is possible at all times, and being good at something doesn’t mean to stop trying to get better. “She is just a great example for everybody on the team,” said head coach Nadalie Walsh. “She is constantly happy. She’s constantly willing to make changes and do whatever it takes to get better ... She’s very consistent, confident, comfortable ... and I think that she’s just going to continue to be a rock for us on the events that she’s competing.” Walsh also praised Scott for her versatility. Their plan for her this season is to slowly increase her workload as the season progresses, as Walsh also wants to use her on vault, adding to her time on beam and floor. Beam and floor are her bread and butter, but she has been able to add vault to her repertoire. Because of this, she needs more time to prepare herself for competition in the event. You don’t improve and don’t reach the heights she

has reached without a topclass support system. Her teammates and coaches are always pushing her to be better, and they don’t let her get complacent with where she is as a gymnast. This type of united and family culture can’t be found everywhere, which is a testament to what Walsh has built at Illinois. “I came in like two or three visits here, and every time it just kind of felt like home,” Scott said. “The girls were always very welcoming ... nothing made you feel uncomfortable. Everybody’s always trying to help you, and it’s just like a really familial feeling because family is so centered around what Illinois believes in, and I really enjoy family ... It just felt like someplace I needed to be.” Her leadership has been nurtured and resulted in her being named captain this year. It was humbling to know she was believed in and looked up to as a leader, Scott says. Walsh attributes this to how comfortable Scott makes people feel. She can

make people laugh but also hold the team accountable and focused. She says what needs to be said and earned the respect of her teammates through her character and overall consistency. “I’m a very happy person; I always try to bring good vibes,” Scott said. “I try to stay in the moment, and so sometimes when teammates are stressing about an exam that they have coming up or a test that they had last week and they don’t know if they did well, or even the next events ... I always just try to give them some of my energy... It’s very flowy, it’s constant ... so everybody else can have constant happiness around them.” “When I’m doing school, I’m thinking about school, but when I’m at practice, I’m thinking about practice. Just reminding them to stay in the moment. You can’t control what hasn’t happened, and you can’t control what already has happened.”

She didn’t have to look too far to find the person who best met what she was looking for, and the staff knew O’Malley would be an excellent addition to the team. “You have to have somebody that understands one, our culture and wants to add to our culture, and she (definitely) does that,” Fahey said. “She’s one of the hardest workers, and so it wasn’t really a tough decision. I was very excited when she said yes.” Dynis got to do the honors and let O’Malley know the coaching staff wanted her to walk onto the team. “She was ecstatic (when I) asked,” Dynis said. “I think she had always kind of had a goal of trying to

walk on, and now that it happened, we are more than happy that she has. She deserved it.” After coming back to Champaign and quarantining, O’Malley was set to join the team. It took a minute for O’Malley to adjust, and Dynis recalled having to remind O’Malley on her first day she was relieved of her managerial duties. “She was like, dressed, in there super early ... because that’s the kind of kid she is,” Dynis said. “I was bringing all the basketballs and the equipment out and she came in. She was like, ‘Oh, let me help you.’” “I was like, ‘Tara, you’re not a manager anymore, hon. Like, get out on the court. Start shooting, like

you don’t need to help me,’ you know. And she was just like, kind of laughing about it.” Though O’Malley has only played in a handful of games this season, her teammates are happy to have her on the team. “She’s probably literally the most positive person I’ve ever met in my life,” said junior guard J-Naya Ephraim. “Previously, when she was a manager, I mean, I seen all the hard work and the potential that she had, so I’m glad that she’s a part of this team.”

but also your ability to stay present,” Sy said. “It is also how you handle yourself when something goes wrong because it is not a game of perfection.” This mindset has helped Sy remain level-headed and provides great optimism that she will have a big season once collegiate competition kicks off at the Founder’s Club in Sarasota on Feb. 7. While it likely won’t be an issue in the Sunshine State next week, Sy recognizes playing in adverse conditions could be challenging for her, as she hasn’t had to deal with it consistently to this point in her career. “Being from California, there was not too much rain and it was never really cold,” Sy said. “I want to continue working on my mentality during those times where the weather may not be perfect.” Sy went on to credit her coaches and teammates for helping alleviate this concern, as she can always rely on them to help her through any struggle she faces on the course, as well as, more importantly, off it. Expectations are high for this group, and the season is set to kick off on Sunday, and, despite her age, it is safe to say those expectations apply to Isabel coming off a very successful, albeit strange first semester in Champaign.

W hen Illini women’s golfer Isabel Sy first arrived on campus, she was burdened with many challenges that all freshmen face when leaving home for the first time. Coming all the way from San Israel, California, she was alone in the midst of a global pandemic and had to balance golf responsibilities; it could have been even more daunting if not for the support system already in place with the team. “It was a little difficult to be independent for the first time,” Sy said. “Living on my own was an adjustment, but I felt so welcomed from the start and still am surrounded by great people in an amazing environment.” Sy credited senior Tristyn Nowlin for being instrumental in helping her feel welcomed due to her “kindness and leadership.” Sy was able to use support from teammates and coaches to help her settle in right away. This led to some very strong individual performances this winter, especially at the Christmas Cactus Collegiate Challenge, where she took home the trophy after posting a +2 in the threeround event. The San Israel product feels her fierce mentality during tournaments allows her to stay focused and outlast her competition. “Golf is not just about your ability to perform Jadenk3@dailyillini.com

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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.

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Freshman Isabel Sy swings her club for a promotional image. Sy faced some challenges in moving from California to Illinois during a pandemic but has been welcomed by the team and quickly found her place.

FROM 2B

ENERGY

Rayfield said the team is taking it step by step to get the opportunity to get out on a full-sized pitch. Currently, the coaches are being thoughtful about the health and safety of the players, but they hope the first time they are out in the field is not in full uniform against Purdue.

lies is still up in the air. Considering soccer is played outdoors and football was cleared to have families present in Memorial Stadium, time will only tell. As the cold winter weather persists, the Illini have con- @AngelleCortes tinued to practice inside, but acorte37@dailyillini.com

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Monday, February 8, 2021

‘Mirror’s Edge’ embodies 2000s BY AIDAN FINN

buzz calendar

STAFF WRITER

BY RUKAYAH HUSSEIN

buzz factor: Let’s go back to the 2000s, the best of times. It was the era of “SpongeBob SquarePants” reruns, slider-phones, “Halo 3,” American war atrocities, Netflix on the Wii and the sunset years of Blockbuster. It was magical consumerism fueled time and one of the greatest decades in terms of video games. The 2000s was arguably the last gaming era, where original big-budget titles were in full force. Titles like “Dead Space,” “Gears of War,” “Bioshock” and, today’s review, “Mirror’s Edge.” Developed by DICE in 2008, “Mirror’s Edge” is a first-person parkour game set in a dystopian America with Tim Cook’s vision. The world is a clean, primary color megacity that’s ruled under excessive surveillance and corporate corruption. Players can play as Faith, a delivery runner who works in the shadows. Capable of kicking butt and taking a bullet, she embarks on a 10-12 hour quest to clear her family’s name after she and her sister Kate are framed for a political assassination. The game revolves around parkour drive action, with

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, FEB. 8 PHOTO COURTESY OF STEAM

A promotional image for the videogame “Mirror’s Edge” is pictured above. The game was released on Nov. 11, 2008

Faith being able to scale walls and hurdle fences with ease. This isn’t an Olympics event, but it can be classified as a constant stream of fight or flight run-ins with the police. The game discourages head-on combat and provides many ways the player can dodge and outrun aggressors. Boasting a beautiful yet minimalist art-style, the city of “Mirror’s Edge” is captivating. Rooms lit under a singular blue shade, night skies drenched in neon pink, and amazingly detailed interiors that are still impressive nearly 12 years later. It’s a metropolitan-sized Apple store. Combine the looks with a stylish 2000s soundtrack, electronic music that would fit right on an iPod touch

loaded with the Black Eyed Peas and the good-era of Pitbull. It’s a truly unique game world that has yet to be emulated. It’s a shame that linear single-player games like “Mirror’s Edge” are a thing of the past. Bloated open-world titles designed with continuous grind and reparative levels are now commonplace. “Mirror’s Edge” 2016 prequel, unfortunately, followed suit and bombed in the process. It makes the heart hungry for titles that pushed the medium, rather than desperately try to fit in. “Mirror’s Edge” is available on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. aidanf3@readbuzz.com

Champaign County Forest Preserve District Snowflake Search

! All Day " Champaign County Forest Preserves, 109 S. Lake of the Woods Road, Mahomet, Illinois # Free Ongoing event. Get out and explore your local winter wonderland in search of snowflakes! The CCFPD, along with the Museum of the Grand Prairie and Homer Lake Interpretive Center, have hidden 30 creative snowflakes and winter fun facts throughout Champaign County Forest Preserves. Can you find them all? Bundle up and find as many as you can! Please take a picture of your finds and share them on Facebook and Instagram pages using the hashtag #CCFPDSnowflakeSearch.

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.

TUESDAY, FEB. 9

The Art of Self-Care

! Noon-1 p.m. " A virtual event hosted by Parkland College # Free Parkland College will celebrate the historical achievements of African Americans with virtual events, including faculty lectures and student presentations. The college invites all community

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 10

Mornings with the Museum of the Grand Prairie: Love Stories

! 10-10:30 a.m. " A virtual event hosted by the Museum of the Grand Prairie # Free Bring your coffee and join museum staff members for some casual conversation via Facebook Live! The theme for this edition is “Love Stories.” Staff members will share stories related to the emotion of love. Hear about local stories of love from our area’s past, artifacts from our collection graciously given to a loved one and much more! Be sure to tune-in to hear these “Love Stories” and share your stories with the group too!

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

! 7-8:30 p.m. " A virtual event hosted by the Champaign Public Library # Free, but registration required Are you looking to take your paper crafting skills to the next level? Come to our live webinar to learn a new craft every month at Crafty Adults! This time around, learn some collage concepts to create cards, original artwork or decoupage projects! Join Laura Reiss as she shares with you how to use collages to tell a story, refresh a space or even preserve a memory. Crafters of all skill levels are welcome!

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The rooftops of the City of Glass in the videogame “Mirror’s Edge” wait to be traversed by the player.

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buzz

MONDAY

February 8, 2021 The Daily Illini DailyIllini.com

Induce nostalgia with these Netflix finds When the urge to cozy up with a Netflix binge session strikes, it must be listened to. The choices as to what show to binge next can feel overwhelming, so think of the list below as a guide to find the perfect show for the next nostalgic bingesession. These shows below are off the air, with some more classics being off the air for decades already. So grab the popcorn and a drink and allow these shows to take you back in time.

ines the challenges and excitement of going to high school, including the lust and loss that comes with it. “Twin Peaks,” a classic crime and mystery show starring actors Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Ontkean was recently remade as a 2017 hit-show, but the original 1990s classic is available to all Netflix watchers. A top-rated TV show of all time and winning three well-deserved golden globes, “Tw in Peaks” will have viewers shocked at the constant plot twists.

The 1960s & 70s

The 2000s

BY RAINA KUTLIROFF STAFF WRITER

SCREENSHOT OF ZOOM

A presenter teaches viewers a creative project involving yarn during a Crafty Adults event. Crafty Adults is a monthly series hosted by the Champaign Public Library that teaches viewers how to make various creative projects.

Crafty Adults gains popularity in CU Monthly series transitions sessions into virtual webinars BY RUKAYAH HUSSEIN BUZZ CALENDAR EDITOR

Many aspects of our daily lives have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have yet to return to “normal,” if normalcy is something we can remember. In-person activities have either adapted to meet our new restrictions or have remained on pause for the time being. However, new problems also come with unique solutions. Like other institutions, libraries have adapted to continue providing their usual activities and services. The Champaign Public Library has utilized Zoom to reach patrons for events and activities that would have otherwise taken place within the library. Laura Reiss, the host of the library’s Crafty Adults event series, currently presented over Zoom, spoke about the program and life at the library since last March. She is also an artist and avid crafter who loves learning and teaching new crafts. “It’s been a roller coaster!” Reiss said. “We have had to adapt just like everyone else. We transitioned and adapted most of our regular events into virtual

webinars.” According to the Champaign Public Library’s website, the Crafty Adults event series is “a monthly series at the Champaign Public Library that occurs on the 2nd Wednesday from 7-8:30 p.m. Each session focuses on a different creative project that takes about an hour. We have covered various projects, including candle making, macrame, weaving, painting and have even hosted ‘Make Your Own Kombucha.’ We call on our crafty staff to help teach these workshops and reach out to local artists in the Champaign-Urbana community. If you are a local artist and are interested in teaching a class, please feel free to contact the library.” The Crafty Adults series began in 2018 and has only gotten popular throughout its transition to Zoom. The event series is free to participant in, with registration for each event opening on the first of each month at 9 a.m. Over the next few months, there will be many unique and fun craft options during every event in the series, from knitting and sewing to beeswax food wraps and polymer clay jewelry. To complete these crafts, you’ll need some supplies. The CPL provides “craft kits to the first 30 registrants.” Due to the popularity of the series, the Zoom sessions are open to up to 100 people. If you can’t get your hands on a craft kit, the library provides supply lists to get

Perhaps not known to many, four seasons of “The Twilight Zone” are on Netflix. As described by Netflix, the 60s classic is chilling, suspenseful and ominous, and will leave any sci-fi lover on the edge of their seat. This show is even better watched with a close friend or significant other to hold tight during the nerve-wracking episodes. Legendary psychological thriller “Taxi Driver,” starring Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster in the 70s, tells the story of a New York City taxi driver who goes insane. Described by fans using words such as “masterpiece” and “disturbingly powerful,” “Taxi Driver” is sure not to disappoint.

The 1990s

SCREENSHOT OF ZOOM

Laura Reiss, the host of Crafty Adults, speaks to participants via Zoom.

your materials. “This month, we worked with a local yarn store, Klose Knit, to provide supplies,” Reiss said. “In March, I’ll teach a class on handsewing and plan to purchase most of the supplies from the Idea Store. It’s a great time to support local businesses and artists!” With the limited number of patrons allowed on the Zoom call, be sure to set a reminder when registration opens. If you miss out on the live webinar that month, the CPL posts a recording to their YouTube channel as well. The Crafty Adults event series is just one of the many activities and services that the Champaign Public Library provides.

Famous twins Tia and Tamera Mowry made their acting debut on the popular family sitcom “Sister Sister.” A childhood favorite for most, “Sister Sister” features six seasons of twins Tia and Tamera reunited after living the first 14 years of their lives apart. This show is a sure tearjerker and will have viewers wishing they grew up in the 90s. Another famous 90s show that deserves mention is “Dawson’s Creek.” James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams’s breakout roles of best friends Dawson, Joey and Jen. This show exam- rkutli2@readbuzz.com

“If you’re looking for other crafty events, our Children’s Department hosts their monthly craft program, Artsy Smartsy, as well as a Teen Take & Make and the Douglass Branch hosts a Take & Make on Mondays,” Reiss said. “We offer business, career and technology webinars each week, and customers can sign up for the Zoom link by visiting champaign.org/ events.” The Champaign Public Library is now open for “grab & go service” with many online events. “It is our goal to continue to provide as many library services as we can, safely,” PHOTO COURTESY OF IMDB Reiss said. Kyle MacLachlan stars in the TV show “Twin Peaks.” The rukayah2@readbuzz.com

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British TV classic “The It Crowd” is an absurd and witty sitcom about British 20 somethings trying to get by while working at an IT office. Starring Chris O’Dowd and Katherine Parkinson, “The It Crowd” has an average rating of 8.5/10 and is described as “absolutely hilarious” and “a brilliant show.” This series is great for anyone wanting to laugh. A personal favorite, all seven original seasons of “Gilmore Girls” and a four-episode 2016 special appear on Netf lix. Starring actresses Lauren Graham and Alexis Badel as a beloved mother-daughter duo, “Gilmore Girls” will having viewers wish we were back in the early 2000s with the flip phones and pagers. This show allows viewers to cozy up with a nice cup of coffee and grow up with high schooler Rory and her mother, Lorelei. “House of Cards,” Netflix’s first original series, features stars such as Robin Wright, Michael Kelly and Diane Lane. This sixseason series tells Claire Underwood’s story as the first female president while facing challenges and turmoil during her time in office. This series has suspense and drama and will have viewers wanting much more.

show, along with others streaming on Netflix, offer a nostalgic experience for viewers.