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December 5 2012 issue
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Holiday recipes from our staff to
the stressed college student
.Page 10
Page 6
Pages 2
Prairie Stars win on family night
Violence in the Middle East,
reactions from the US, UN and UIS
News
Food
Sports
Photo by Alex Johnson
SGAcontinued on Page 3
December 5, 2012Volume 37 Issue 11
UIS student Denton-McCaster charged with Mechanicsburg murder
UIS student Juatasha Denton-McCaster, 22, charged with
three counts of first-degree mur-der of her husband, Norman Mc-Caster, is in the Sangamon Coun-ty Jail on a $5 million bond.
Denton-McCaster has also been charged with dismembering a body, concealment of a homi-cidal death, and obstruction of justice.
The charges were filed this week. Denton-McCaster at-tended her first court hearing Wednesday.
Authorities identified Norman McCaster, 22, as the man whose headless, handless and footless body was found dumped in a field in rural Mechanicsburg in late October.
Derek Schnapp, UIS director of public relations, confirmed Wednesday that Denton-Mc-Caster was an undergraduate in liberal studies.
Schnapp said that all persons, faculty, staff or student, who pose a possible threat to campus secu-
rity are placed under review by the administration. For students, this follows the steps in the Dis-ciplinary Code under Polices and Procedures from Student Affairs.
He also said that there is a different type of review for cases like this one that occur off-campus than there would be for crimes that take place on-campus. “When it comes to off-campus incidents, outside law
enforcement and other entities are involved with the process and how the individual is dealt with,” said Schnapp. No matter if a crime occurred on-campus or off, the administration may look into the case and decide whether that individual should be allowed on campus, or what risk to secu-rity may be involved.
Reviews may start with charg-es and be followed through to a
conviction. On a case-by-case basis, the administration will determine if a person’s charges need to be reviewed and if the person should be subject to sus-pension or expulsion from the university. Schnapp also stated that the university cannot dis-close if a student is under review by the administration due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
By Kati Maseman
Editor-in-Chief
UIS student Juatasha Denton-McCaster, 22, charged with three counts of first-degree murder of her husband, Norman McCaster, is in the Sangamon County Jail on a $5 million bond.
New Vendor Task force and parking, topics for SGABy LaNee WoodGeneral Reporter
Students protesting against Chick-fil-A at the April 15 SGA meet-ing. Chick-fil-A is no longer being considered as a possible food vendor at UIS. The SGA’s New Vendor Task Force is now con-sidering a pub style restaurant, run by UIS Food Services, for the future Student Union Building.
Student Government Association created group, the New Ven-
dors Task Force, proposed that in the new student union build-ing that there be a “Pub style res-taurant” that be run by UIS food service employees.
Instead of implementing an idea for a franchise to work out of UIS, this pub would carry name brand food items; such as T.G.I. Fridays’ hot wings and po-tato skins like the Grab N’ Go. It would, though, carry a variety of name brand food items.
The New Vendor Task Force was represented by Caitlyn Clau-sen, a senior accountancy major, and Van Vieregge, Executive director of Auxiliary Services. Before they proposed this idea, it was proposed that there be a Chick-fil-A. That idea was not pursued due to the controversy
with the LGBTQA and commu-nity. Some felt the company was anti-gay and those ideals conflict with UIS.
It would be a costly expense to house a franchise and be able to keep up with the cost. This new idea offers students more variety and relieves them of wor-
ries of how to sustain a franchise over the summer. This new pub would also be able to “change and adapt based on students wants and needs.”
“Those are readily available to be purchased by our current vendors,” said Clausen.
In other business, SOFA is
moving to clear up by laws be-cause some allow student or-ganizations to take advantage of them. The SGA did not look over these new revisions to the bylaws because they were not in to the executive board on time. President Bouray did mention, however, that they will be able to examine the revision in the next executive board meeting.
Issues about parking that were brought up in the 99 prob-lems campaign were also topics for discussion. What is consid-ered visitor parking was cleared up, and visitors are able to use spaces up to three days before they receive a ticket. Adminis-trative reports and Parking Op-erations announced that if they need, they were more than wel-come “to come in and stop by and share with me why they need a longer stay than three nights.”
Page 2 The Journal Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Syriacontinued on Page 5
NEWS
By Daymon Kiliman
Assistant Editor for News
Violence in the Middle East,reactions from the US, UN and UIS
One of the latest ongo-ing spots of violence
and unrest today is in Syria, a country that has seen decades of violence from those who dare to question its government. Syrians have been fighting to reclaim the dictatorial regime of President Bashar al-Assad and attempt to oust the Ba’ath Party. Al-Assad was instated as President after his father Hafez al-Assad passed away in 2000.
The result of the violence in Syria has come with deadly con-sequences. Massacres of men, women and children, tear gas at-tacks, car and suicide bombings and other violent tactics have led to an especially dangerous public sphere in Syria. Protests and demonstrations against the regime continue to meet violent resistance and Assad has shown no sign of conceding power.
Refugees from Syria have been shuffled to Turkey, Leba-non and other surrounding na-tions. Due to the influx of refu-
gees to neighboring countries, the Syrian people face negative attacks from nationals in their new communities. According to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, 2.5 million people have been displaced within Syria as of No-vember 2012. The BBC says the United Nations has expressed this estimate is a conservative one.
The United Nations has placed different sanctions on
Syria and continues to condemn the government’s use of violence against its people. Several inter-national aid and justice organi-zations have called for al-Assad and his sympathizers to concede and stand trial for crimes against humanity.
So with the continued vio-lence, one wonders – where has the support from the United States been to find a peaceful solution?
Freshman accounting major Amena Tayyab said she think the United States has not done enough to show its opposition to the violence in Syria. “We’re living in a society where no one cares and the government backs off and doesn’t do much, it plays a difference in what the people will do – and that’s what the government will do,” she said.
Most recently, the U.S. an-nounced it would evaluate the
possibility of providing weap-ons to Syrian rebels to help them defend themselves against al-Assad’s regime. Tayyab said she doesn’t think that would save Syrian lives.
“If we look at history aka Cuba, Chile, Afghanistan, there were problems because what we (the U.S.) would do is install someone in power who was nice to us as the leader,” she said. “And if that is not what their intention is whatsoever, the best thing to do is man up and does something about it. Take a big-ger stance, tell the U.N. leaders we need to do something be-cause that’s the whole point of the UN.”
She added that instability in the region could be long-term. “Yes it’s nice that people are free now but there is so much unrest that they had followed their system for so long that now there is no system. It’s going to take a very long time to create a new one.”
By Nafia KhanGeneral Reporter
Campus Senate discusses counseling program, pays tribute to late professor emerita
The Campus Senate is considering a reso-
lution that would raise the minimum requirements for graduation from the Human Development Counseling pro-gram to 61 credit hours. The increase would allow the pro-gram to maintain accreditation by the Council for Accredita-tion of Counseling and Related Educational Programs.
Although not required, graduation from a CACREP accredited program puts stu-dents on a “direct and expedit-ed path towards licensure,” ac-cording to James Ermatinger, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
William Abler, Associate Professor Human Develop-ment Counseling, stated that for many students interested in
counseling, finding a universi-ty with a CACREP accredited program is a deciding factor. “It represents quality and ad-herence to standards that are linked to licensure require-ments,” he said.
John Martin, Associate Profes-sor of Chemistry, suggested the Campus Senate should consider postponing a decision un-til the body has a better idea of what next year’s budget will look like. “I think in a universe of unlimited resources, this is a no brainer,” he said. “This is not a zero expense issue, so I think we need to carefully con-sider the expense. I think it’s incredibly difficult to do that not knowing what the change in revenue will be next year.”
The new accreditation stan-
dards require programs to of-fer greater depth and to reduce faculty-to-student ratios, ac-cording to Sharon LaFollette, Chair of the Graduate Council and Professor of Public Health.
New resources may be required to meet these standards.
“This is an extremely as-sessment intensive program from the perspective of indi-
vidual students,” LaFollette said. “The faculty have an ex-tensive workload just in main-taining the day-to-day assess-ment of their students.”
Six faculty members in the program work with
125 students, each currently generating about 50 credit hours of classwork across three concentrations. In addition, faculty in
HDC have other re-sponsibilities, such as reviewing hours of practice counseling
sessions conducted by students.
Despite uncertainty regarding next year’s budget, Holly Thomp-
son, Associate Professor of Human Development Counsel-ing, said, “That commitment to maintaining the accredita-tion standards was made a long
time ago when we initially pursued accreditation.”
Abler agreed, saying, “Our backs are to the wall.”
Provost Lynn Pardie said that this professional area has seen steady increases in hir-ing, which means prospective students will continue to seek accredited programs, and those credit hours represent tuition dollars. “This is a very high functioning program. It rep-resents the institution very well,” she said. “It’s one of those programs that links us really directly to our surround-ing community.”
The Campus Senate will vote on the resolution in its next and final meeting of the semester on December 14.
Heather Dell, Associate Professor of Women and Gen-
Map of the Middle East with Syria highlighted. The Conflict in Syria has caused many to flee to surrounding nations (Turkey and Lebanon) in search of safety.
(Mills) was very energetic and really cared about her students
but also managed to change things dramatically here in the state in working to secure more
funding for childcare.-Heather Dell,
Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies,
remembering late professor emerita Sandra Mills
“”
Campus Senatecontinued on Page 4
Page 3Wednesday, December 5, 2012 The Journal
Mission StatementThe Journal is the editorially independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Our mission is to publish news and feature stories, editorials and opinions relevant to the campus community while upholding the highest professional and ethical standards as outlined in The Journal Code of Conduct and Editorial Board By-laws and Procedures.
Editor-in-Chief: Kati Maseman
@KatiLu91
Assistant Editor for News: Daymon Kiliman
@dkiliman
News Reporter: Ashley Henry
Columnist: Sean Bruce
Columnist: Julia Brown
Assistant Editor for Features: Lori Beckham
@ramari76
Features Reporter: Ray Carter
Sports Reporter: LaNee Wood
@L-wood5
Sports Reporter: Adam Buck
General Reporter: Nafia Kahn
Photographer/Illustrator: Alex Johnson
Web Editor: Tushar Thakkar
Distributer: Chris Nava
Layout & Design Editor: Colten Bradford
Business Manager: Kate Richardson
@KateARichardson
Adviser: Debra Landis
Letters to the EditorLetters may be sent by e-mail to [email protected], postal mailed to The Journal, SAB 20, UIS, Springfield, IL 62794 or faxed to (217) 206-7710. Letters should be 300 words or less. Deadline for submitting letters is noon on Thursday of each week.
Editorial/Guest CommentaryJournal editorials are the opinion of the news-paper’s editorial board. Guest columns should be between 300-500 words. The Journal does not necessarily endorse opinions expressed in any column. The Journal recognizes the im-portance of providing a forum for our readers to express personal views.
Questions may be directed to The Journal at (217) 206-NEWS.
Advertising PolicyThe Journal does not knowingly accept adver-
tisements that discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, disability, military status or sexual orientation, nor does it knowingly print ads that violate any local, state or federal laws.
Editorial Board:Kati Maseman Editor-in-ChiefDaymon Kiliman Assistant Editor for NewsLori Beckham Assistant Editor for FeaturesTushar Thakkar Web EditorColten Bradford Layout and Design Editor
SGAcontinued from Page 1
A lot of people think that it’s just people who work out
regularly that can come here, but it’s really for everyone. You
can learn a new sport; it can even be a social thing -Aislinn Bartlett,
TRAC Facility Supervisor
“
”
Police Beat
University of Illinois Springfield Police De-
partment reported the following calls for the period of Nov. 23 to Dec. 2.
Intoxicated Subject12/2/12 at 3:28 a.m. in Lin-
coln Residence Hall.While on patrol, officers re-
sponded to a call concerning a subject being wheeled by sev-eral individuals into the above location via a cart. Upon inves-tigation, it was found the subject was intoxicated. The subject was taken to a local hospital via am-bulance. A report was completed.
Complaint12/2/12 at 1:25 a.m. in the
Quad.Officers responded to a call
concerning a large group of loud individuals congregating at the above location. Upon arriving on scene, officers found that the group was foot traffic from a dance held earlier in the evening heading back to their residences.
Explosion12/1/12 at 2:37 a.m. in the Vi-
sual and Performing Arts Build-ing.
Officers responded to a report of an explosion at the above lo-cation. The explosion site was located and contained.
Patrol Investigation11/27/12 at 9:19 p.m. in
Health and Sciences Building and Visual and Performing Arts Building.
Officers responded to a call concerning an odor of hot wires or something burning. The area was checked; nothing was found.
Suspicious Person11/27/12 at 3:05 a.m. in Mari-
gold Court.Officers responded to a call of
a suspicious person at the above location. The subject was not lo-cated.
Drug Law Violation11/26/12 at 3:40 p.m. in Tril-
lium Court.Officers responded to a call
concerning a small bag of can-nabis found in one of the apart-ments at the above location. The cannabis was confiscated. A re-port was completed.
Mental Subject11/23/12 at 2:05 a.m. in B-
Lot.Officers were dispatched to
the above location for a Code Blue activation. Officers assisted a subject who was having mental health issues. A report was com-pleted.
Check out www.uisjournal.com for the complete Police Beat.
The Department of Recreational Sports implemented new and longer operating hours in its TRAC facility. TRAC is now open Mon.-Fri. from 6 a.m. to 11p.m. and Sat.– Sun. from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Photo by Colten Bradford
Changes on TRAC by student request
It has been a semester full of changes for the Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC), starting with new classes and the recently opened juice bar. The most re-cent change comes in the form of extra time to work out.
The Department of Recreational Sports implemented new and longer operating hours in its TRAC facility. The change put in place will keep TRAC open Mon.-Fri. from 6 a.m. to 11p.m. and Sat. – Sun. from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The new hours are part of a request from the Stu-dent Affairs office, along with other student organizations who sought longer hours in place for students. As part of the request, the extended hours are in a trial period from the implemented date, until the end of the 2012 fall semester, with the option to carry over the change into the 2013 spring semester.
Facility Supervisor Aislinn Bartlett explained that TRAC is going to be showing a few slight changes in the coming semester, which began in late Sept. with the opening of the TRAC Juice Bar. She added that students have responded well to the juice bar being put in place, and that they are eager to submit sugges-tions and comments in order to
improve the addition for future
semesters. Also new for this semester
was the addition of a group exer-cise program, Lower Body Blast. Bartlett said that along with this, Zumba, Yoga and Yogalaties have been popular group exer-cise programs among students. She added, “All the classes are really low key, you don’t have
to have athletic abilities by any means; they can just be a lot of fun.”
As it currently stands in their 2009-2014 Strategic Plan, the Department of Recreational Sports’ mission is, “…to meet the needs and interests of all who study and work at the University of Illinois Springfield.” Accord-ing to Bartlett, however, with the changes TRAC is undergoing, the mission statement is being revamped this semester in order to reflect the new approach.
Another way students can take advantage of all that TRAC has to offer is by participating in their Outdoor Adventure Trips series. The trips are open to students and com-munity members alike, and require some addi-tional costs.
“We do some day trips which in-clude
kayaking or canoeing on Lake Springfield. Then we also do overnight camping trips,” said Bartlett. “At one point it was even discussed to do a sky diving trip, so there is definitely a lot of diversity in [this program] for a lot of different people.”
Additionally, TRAC offers in-tramural sports from basketball
and volleyball to squash and cricket – and they are always looking for new suggestions for offerings to students. Bartlett said that the program has got-ten a lot bigger this se-
mester with so many students interested. Similarly, TRAC and PAC co-sponsor
Wacky Wednesdays and Fundamental Fridays which work to get students involved in on-campus programs. Activi-ties range from free throws to games, with the opportunity to win awards and prizes.
“A lot of people think that it’s just people who work out regularly that can come here, but it’s really for everyone. You can learn a new sport; it can even be a social thing,” said Bartlett.
With plenty of new offerings at TRAC, as well as its extended hours, there is something for stu-dents and faculty alike.
For more information and fee schedules visit www.
u i s . edu / recs -ports.
By Ashley Henry
News Reporter
Dual citations that are given out for a violation were dis-cussed as well. The logic behind dual citation is that regardless of which law you may be breaking you are, indeed, violating some law. If two tickets are given out at the same time then it saves the trouble of the guess and check
citations. If only one of the vio-lations is applicable, then the of-fender can go through a process of appeals and will not have to worry about paying the other ticket.
“Typically if they are parked and there are no hang tags at all and we see that, we’re either as-suming that they are a guest or they are a resident who hasn’t yet purchased their hang tag,” said campus police. Even though it
may be a pain to residents/visi-tors, it is a way to be thorough and catch all of the violators.
In final news, there is a survey, which was made available for students on Monday, about the potential mascot name change. It will be available for two weeks. So if you have any suggestions or want to share your opinion, make sure to fill out the survey in your email.
Page 4 The Journal Wednesday, December 5, 2012
OPINION
Have an opinion?
Then write a letter to the editor!
email: [email protected]
Situational generosity
The holidays have long held the connotations of
giving, family, close-knit emo-tional bonds, and several other positive emotions that seem to invoke nostalgia from the ma-jority of Americans. It is a time to share experiences with loved ones, enjoy good food, and oc-casionally indulge in an act of charity or giving. Indeed we most often hear about such acts during the holidays. Whether it is a dinner event for the home-less, volunteer help for stray ani-mals, or some simple act done on a personal level, many of us feel inspired to act with altruism dur-ing these times. However, is this necessarily a good thing?
I do not mean to say that char-ity is in some way a problem. I cannot condemn generosity, re-
gardless of the motivations be-hind it. If anything, we could benefit from a greater amount of charity. Numerous people both here in the U.S. and around the world both need and rely on the charity of others. That said, should we contribute only dur-ing holidays? Should we only choose to give aid to others when we feel the impulse and obliga-tion from the season?
I do believe this disparity in the timing of charitable contribu-tions constitutes a serious prob-lem. While it is fine to donate money or hold a charitable event during the holidays, it only helps the needy during those specific instances. They still have to face the very challenges of survival in the times to follow. The benefits provided by holiday charity cer-tainly help this struggle, at least a couple of times a year. However, they suffer from a deficit during other times.
Indeed, there might even be a surplus of aid on the holidays in
some ways. For instance, there are often so many dinners and events for the homeless or less fortunate during the holidays that they actually have to choose which event they will attend and many functions end up with large amounts of leftovers. It is simply a waste to provide all that service in an environment with-out adequate need.
Therefore, I urge people to think when going about their holiday giving this year. Will the money or time you give make a difference when you give it? Would it not be better employed at some other time during the year when the needy still face similar challenges without the benefit of holiday charities? Ef-fort spent in a futile endeavor is effort wasted when people need all the help they can get.
That said, what we really need is more charity. This dis-parity in giving would not be a problem if contributions were large and continuous enough to
provide for the needy people of the world. Therefore, I sincerely believe that rather than giving at the right time, people should give more all the time.
Critics might argue that such a system would create a cycle of dependence, where people benefiting from charity would feel no need to better their cir-cumstances. However, very few people are content simply living off the generosity of others.
Most people just want a sta-ble, secure method of providing for themselves and their fami-lies. Charity is, at best, a stopgap measure to help people survive in times of trouble until they can acquire the means for provision. However, such considerations remain the matter of theoretical debate. Only once we, as a soci-ety and as a species, can provide for those without the ability to do so in a satisfactory manner, will these concerns become relevant.
Holiday mad dash
The holidays can be a stressful time. You’ve
got to find the right present for everyone on your list, the money to buy those presents, and time to visit everyone who you’ve bought gifts for.
Time is my biggest issue ev-ery year. Many people these days don’t belong to a traditional fam-ily. There are step-families, ex-tended families, and in-laws, just to name of few variations, and even friends whom you might call family.
Even though many compa-nies acknowledge the holidays by giving their employees both Christmas Eve and Christmas day off, there are some compa-nies that don’t close their doors for any reason and many families celebrate other holidays instead of Christmas like Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.
My family cele-brates Christmas, but my husband and I both work at a hospi-tal. We don’t always get both days off for the holiday or even the same day off. In addition to work-ing, we also have sev-eral different family and friend functions to squeeze into about 48 hours. One year, we had 12 events we were obli-gated to attend.
While all these factors can cause the holidays to seem like a timed game show contest, there are some things you can do to ease of the stress caused by mul-tiple obligations.
The dates aren’t what are important. Fam-ily, friends, and cre-ating memories are. Don’t worry about making sure you see everyone ON Dec. 25.
The holiday sea-
son lasts about two months. If stores can start celebrat-ing and decorating the day after Hal-loween, why can’t families? My mom’s side of the family has their
Christmas gather-ing on New Year’s
Day, but maybe the weekend before Christ-
mas would be better for your family.In order to remove focus from
the actual dates, some traditions may have to be changed or gotten rid of all together. Most families have traditions surrounding the holidays and many people are
resistant to change. However, as hard as
it may be, chang-ing traditions can lead to new, maybe even bet-ter, ones. For example, when I was younger,
my mom and I spent Christmas Eve with my great grandpar-ents, helping them prepare for the big gathering on Christmas day. When they passed away, that tradition was no longer, but my mom and I started making time for each other on Christmas Eve, focusing on our small inner circle.
Your inner circle is very im-portant. Getting caught up trying to please everyone competing for your time, it can be easy to neglect the people who are the closest to you. Make sure you take a little time out of your hec-tic schedule and do something special with them.
And last but not least, avoid the guilt trips. Remember, you are only one person. You can’t be everywhere at once.
Even though some of these suggestions will require collabo-ration with other family mem-bers, advanced planning and understanding can create a less stressful and happy holiday sea-son for all.Illustration by Alex Johnson
Campus Senatecontinued from Page 2
der Studies, and others on the Senate paid tribute to the late Sandra Mills, Professor Emeri-ta of Social Work. “Sandy was an incredible colleague,” Dell said. “She also did tremendous work for the State of Illinois. She was an active social work-er who taught with a lot of en-ergy.”
Mills was a Licensed Clini-cal Social Worker who joined UIS in 1994 as a visiting pro-fessor. She served on numerous campus committees, including the Graduate Council, Campus Senate, and the Higher Learn-ing Commission task force.
“She was very energetic and really cared about her students but also managed to change things dramatically here in the state in working to secure more funding for childcare,” Dell said.
Page 5Wednesday, December 5, 2012 The Journal
By Anthony Anello
Guest Columnist
UIS students encouraged to prepare for winter weatherNovember was Winter Storm Preparedness Month in Illinois
Freezing temperatures, snow and ice are the
norm for most winters in the state and it is critical that ev-eryone, including UIS stu-dents, start preparing now for winter weather. Winter storms can cause widespread power outages and dangerous driving conditions. That is why it is important to have an emergen-cy supply kit for your home/dorm and vehicle.
A home/dorm emergency supply kit should be stocked with items to ensure residents stay safe for, at a minimum, three days. The kits should include a battery-powered National Oceanic and At-mospheric Administration (NOAA) weather alert radio, a flashlight, extra batteries, non-perishable food, water, a first-aid kit, extra medications and special items needed for babies and pets.
A vehicle emergency pre-paredness kit can help com-muters stay safe and warm un-til help arrives. A car or truck kit should include a cell phone
and charger, flashlight, extra batteries, first-aid kit, snack foods and water, a container to melt snow, blankets, extra clothing, gloves and hats, sand
or kitty litter, shovel, wind-shield scraper and a tool kit.
A winter storm prepared-ness guide developed by the Illinois Emergency Manage-ment Agency (IEMA), the Na-
tional Weather Service and the American Red Cross covers winter weather terms and tips for staying safe at home, in the car and at work or school. The guide is available on the Ready
Illinois website at www.Ready.Illinois.gov.
Commuters should take spe-cial precautions when travel-ing during the winter months. Always check the latest weath-er conditions along your travel route prior to leaving. During a winter storm, limit travel to daylight hours on main roads and provide your itinerary to a friend, relative or co-worker.
If you become stranded, pull as far off the road as pos-sible, engage your hazard lights and hang or tie a colored cloth (preferable red) to your antenna, window or door. Stay in your vehicle where rescuers are most likely to find you.
Make sure the exhaust pipe is not obstructed by snow, and then run the engine and heater about 10 minutes each hour to keep warm. It is important to open a window slightly for ventilation when the engine is running and periodically clear away snow from the exhaust pipe.
For more information about winter storm preparedness, visit the Ready Illinois website at www.Ready.Illinois.gov.
UIS students brave the weather during a blizzard in February of 2011. Students are enouraged to prepare for any winter weather in the coming weeks.
Photo by Colten Bradford
April 11 & 12, 2013 Early Registration ends December 14, 2012.
o All students who submit their poster abstracts by this deadline will have their posters paid for by StARS.
General Registration will continue until February 15, 2013.
Keynote Speakers
o Mary Jo Bang, author of six books of poems, including The Bride of E and Elegy, which received the National Book Critics Circle Award.
o Ryan Ewing, Assistant Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Alabama. He is currently exploring the surface of Mars with the NASA Curiosity team.
For more information visit the StARS webpage at
http://www.uis.edu/undergraduateresearch/stars/index.html
Tayyab said she really thinks awareness surrounding Syria is important, as that would put political pressure on the U.S. to act. She added that since she first learned about the violence overseas, it has made a huge im-pact on her.
“I saw a post on Facebook from the massacre in Homs, and it was a picture of three young brothers who has died. They were shot, bloody and you could see they had urinated on them-selves because they were so scared,” she said. “That was the first time I was physically sick from seeing such a picture. I thought, who in their right mind would do something like that to these kids?”
Marty Muloski is a 2nd year Mollecular Biology grad stu-dent. He has also been following the news on Syria and doesn’t think the U.S. should get in-volved.
“If they get involved, it would make things worse. May-be if Syria needs help writing a constitution, we can help there,” he said.
“Look at when we got in-
volved in Afghanistan and stop the Soviets from invading. We ended up helping the Taliban out by supplying weapons to the region,” he said. Muloski added that although Assad is a violent dictator, there is a pos-sibility that another power that is backing him and keep him in office or a radical Islamic fac-tion could take power and mess the political climate further in Syria.
However, Muloski is hopeful a peaceful solution is possible in Syria and in the Middle East as a whole. “The Middle East is the center of all civilizations and I think if they got away from hav-ing religious laws, then I think they can move back toward where they could be.”
Muloski also added that as a student of UIS, he has a strong message to send to his peers about what’s happening overseas in Syria and conflicts around the world. “People need to be more aware of what’s go-ing on in the world because in one way or another, it affects them.”
View the full article on our website at www.uisjournal.com
Syriacontinued from Page 2
Page 6 The Journal Wednesday, December 5, 2012
FOOD
Microwave Meals: Cheesy Potatoes
Recycle
The
Journal!
Holiday recipes from our staff to the stressed college student
Worst things about the holi-day season: all the stores are
crowded (with cranky people), I never have any money, and finals… need I go any further? The one thing that makes up for all the craziness between Thanks-giving and New Years… Calories don’t count, of course.
With that in mind, my roommate and I hosted a cheese-themed birthday party this past weekend. These recipes are
group-friendly and perfect for the holi-day season. I found all these cholesterol-packed goodies on Pinterest.
Mac and Cheese (courtesy of Alison Hale, UIS alumna)
1 (16-oz) box elbow macaroni1 teaspoon vegetable oil½ teaspoon salt1 stick (1/2 cup) margarine, prefer-
ably Parkay1 tablespoon flour1 to 1 ½ cups milk1 egg1 (16-oz) package Velveeta cheese,
By Kate RichardsonGeneral Reporter
diced1 (16-oz) package sharp cheddar
cheese, diced1 cup bread crumbsPreheat oven to 425 degrees. In a
large pot of boiling water, cook macaro-ni with oil and salt until al dente. Drain.
In a large saucepan, melt margarine over low heat. Add flour. Cook, stirring, for one minute. Add 1 cup milk and egg. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in Velveeta cheese and half the cheddar; cook on low heat until cheese is melt-ed and sauce is smooth. If sauce is too think, stir in up to ½ cup milk.
Add cooked macaroni to sauce. Stir over low heat for one minute. Taste and add extra salt, if necessary.
Pour mixture into a large greased casserole dish or baking pan. Top with remaining cheddar and breadcrumbs. Bake for 30 minutes or until top and bottom are browned. Cool slightly, cut, and enjoy!
Baked mozzarella balls (courtesy of How Sweet It Is)
Serves 2-4 [I ended up doubling this recipe]
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed½ cup flour2 egg whites
1 ½ cups Panko breadcrumbs1 teaspoon dried parsley [When mak-
ing, I added more parsley to give the mozzarella balls more color.]
Cube the mozzarella and set it in the freezer for 12-24 hours. This can simply be done the night before you make it. When ready to make, preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
Add the flour, slightly beaten egg whites, and Panko plus parsley in three separate bowls. Lay a wire rack on a baking sheet and spray with non-stick spray. A wire rack is not required [I didn’t use one and they turned out fine!], and you can also use a plain bak-ing sheet- line it with parchment paper and then spray it with non-stick spray.
Make sure the oven is at the correct temperature. Moving quickly, take the cheese out of the freezer and dredge it in the flour, dip it in the egg whites, and coat it in the Panko plus parsley mixture. Set it on the rack or sheet and quickly finish the rest. Spray each cube with cooking spray and pop it in the oven for 10-12 minutes. As long as you move
Recipescontinued on Page 8
Mac and CheeseBaked mozzarella balls Chocolate-covered OREO cookie cake
7 potatoes, cubed very small1/4 c. butter1/4 tsp. pepper2 c. grated cheddar cheese1 tsp. salt1 pt. sour cream
Cook potatoes 8 minutes on high in microwave. Put cheese, butter, salt and pepper in separate bowl and melt in microwave. Add potatoes and mix in sour cream. Cook on high for 7 minutes, covered.
Page 7Wednesday, December 5, 2012 The Journal
By Ray CarterFeatures Reporter
AVERY BRUNDAGE SCHOLARSHIPS
FOR ATHLETIC STUDENTS
NOW AVAILABLE FOR 2013-2014
LAST YEAR, 14 STUDENTS EACH RECEIVED $2,500 Undergrads & graduates are eligible
DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 11, 2013 See website for details or to apply online: www.usp.uillinois.edu/brundage
Followus! @uisjournal
Springfield volunteers for the holiday season
The holidays are fast approaching, and UIS
students are encouraged to get involved with the community. Contact Ministries Coordina-tor Julie Gentry said the num-ber of families in need for the holidays has increased.
“We have seen an increase with families that come to us for the first time. We’ve seen families that nor-mally donate, turn around and ask for help,” Gentry said.
Contact Minis-tries will provide two programs that will give to those in need. The Big An-nual Christmas Giveaway on December 19 will serve more than 600 Springfield families. A smaller, intimate program aimed at nine single mothers will also provide a “normal” Christmas for their families.
Gentry said the smile on a young child’s face makes the hard work worthwhile. “I’ve been doing these Christmases for five years, and I can’t tell you how many times they say it’s the best Christmas they’ve ever had. Just to hear the awe in their voices, because the Christmas tree was so big and grand is worth it!”
Gentry said Con-tact ministries will receive help from Westminster Pres-byterian Church and private do-nors; Springfield also allows residents to use community service hours to volunteer. Gentry said it is a big help to see people volun-teer, and the shelter couldn’t survive without the help of Springfield residents.
“It’s really good for stu-dents and residents to see a different side of things and volunteer a little bit,” Gentry explained.
Central Illinois Red Cross Communications Special-ist Wesley Lind says that it is more difficult to attract college-aged students to vol-unteer for the holidays. “It’s usually trickier with that age range, because they have more things going on like class, sports, and homework. We do have spontaneous youth vol-unteers throughout the year;
they usually work more with our Comfort Kit Drives,” Lind said.
The Kits are important dur-ing the holiday season since they’re given to families that have lost homes due to fires. They contain non-perishable items soap, deodorant, and toothpaste. Most college stu-dents usually volunteer to help put these kits together on their campus, home, or the Red Cross Office.
Lind wants more college students to realize the oppor-tunities available for Springfield area college students. “We have our Meals on Wheels program, which is good for
college students. The Volun-teers meet at Memorial Medi-cal Center, where they get as-signed a route and a portable oven that includes five to six meals. Most students are done in an hour. There’s not just a need to volunteer for the holidays; students can easily volunteer through January or March,” Lind said.
Lind says that it’s impor-tant to remember that the win-ter months will see more local families in need. “During the fall and winter months, we
see a large spike in home fires and fi-nancial emergency assistance. For ex-ample, back in Oc-tober we responded to 10 local fires, where we gave as-sistance to between
40 to 60 people,” Lind said. That trend will continue
until the spring. The issues with the holidays are that fam-ilies will often turn on heat resources which could cause problems. “A candle could tip over or they could have a bad heater which displaces people from their homes,” Lind ex-plained.
The Red Cross’ goal is to give families immediate as-sistance so they can move on with their lives.
For more information on how to volunteer with these organizations this holiday sea-son, or anytime, visit: http://www.contactministries.com/volunteer/ or http://www.il-redcross.org/getinvolved/vol-unteerinfo.html
Contact Ministries
Red Cross
Page 8 The Journal Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Recipescontinued from Page 6
Finals are creeping up, prepare now
As the fall semester is coming to a close, full
time students might be over-whelmed by the approaching fi-nals week.
There are ways to ease that anxiety and get some work done; one source for help is the Center of Teaching and Learning (CTL).
The CTL is a place where students can get free tutoring on writing, from brainstorming topics to look-ing over the first draft. A stu-dent just needs to make an appointment with a tutor for a time that fits his or her sched-ule or attend one of the walk-in sessions.
Unfortunately the time to make appointments may have passed. The newest writing spe-cialist and clinical instructor from the CTL, Sarah Collins, ex-plained.
“We’ve been crazy busy and we didn’t expect to be booked that quickly…As of yesterday [Nov. 29], the earliest appoint-ment available was Dec. 10.”
Collins said that the number of student appointments have raised significantly since last se-mester (an extra 200 students) because of the higher number of admissions and the doubled re-quirement from English compo-sition students.
“The bulk of papers are from ENG 101 and 102,” explained Collins, “because they are re-quired to be up here [CTL] four times a semester. Previously it was only two times per semester. It’s added to how busy we get.”
Collins said the CTL has a waiting list for students; “We do have cancellations, we do have no-shows, so there’s always a chance if it’s a short paper.”
For those unable to sched-ule an appointment with a tutor, there are several things to do to be prepared. Collins’s first tip for stressed students is to get orga-nized.
Read Syllabi in Advance“Even before finals week…
look at your syllabus. See your due dates. ‘What do I need to do for this class?’” She said map-ping out all projects on a planner or a calendar will help students
prioritize their finals preparation. Reading each syllabus early will set dates in order, but also read-ing the descriptions for each final will give them time to brainstorm and research for essays. For ex-ams, it will give students an idea of when and how long they should study for each exam.
Get Away From It AllCollins noted
that it can be chal-lenging for dorm stu-
dents to get away from distractions
while studying. “Find a quiet place where you cannot be both-ered by your friends,
the TV, and all of these things. We
have a solarium up here [Brookens Library, fourth floor] that have
really comfy couches and desk space
and tables, so if students are looking for a
place to [study], we have a nice area.”
In addition, the Women’s Center [SLB] has a study area in their lounge from 2-10 p.m., Sun.-Wed. until Dec. 19.
“Distractions are so easy when you’re doing something you don’t want to do,” said Col-lins. “So if you can avoid those distractions as much as possible, that would help.”
Get Help From PeersIf a student can’t get a tutor
to look over his/her essay, just another pair of eyes can help ac-cording to Joey Cruse, a graduate teaching assistant (TA). Cruse is used to helping students with their papers, but as a student himself he also turns to his col-leagues at the CTL.
He said, “If you sit there and don’t practice what you preach, then it’s stupid; why not get an-other pair of eyes on it, espe-cially if you have such talented people around you? You should use your resources if you have them…have someone read your work out loud.”
For exams, Collins added that study groups are ideal if manage-able.
If Really AnxiousCruse has worked with anx-
ious students at the end of semes-ters. “Making someone comfort-able is probably the first thing to do with an anxious student,” he said.
By Lori Beckham
Assistant Editor for Features
Finalscontinued on Page 12
quickly, cheese should not melt fast. Remove from oven when golden brown and crispy. Serve immediately.
[I served the mozzarella balls with a store bought ma-rina sauce]
Chocolate-Covered OREO Cookie Cake (Kraft recipe)
1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil’s food cake mix
4 squares BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate
¼ cup butter1 pkg. (8 oz.) Philadelphia
Cream Cheese, softened½ cup sugar2 cups thawed Cool Whip
Whipped Topping12 OREO Cookies, coarsely
crushedHeat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare cake batter and bake
in 2 (9-inch) round pans as di-rected on package [Neither pan will be completely full. Try to make sure that both pans have the same amount of batter in them so that the layers will be even]. Cool cakes in pans 10 min. Invert onto wire racks; gently remove pans. Cool cakes completely.
Microwave chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or un-til butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 min. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in COOL WHIP and crushed cookies.
Place one cake layer on plate, spread with cream cheese mixture. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread top with chocolate glaze; let stand 10 min. or until firm. Keep refrig-erated.
We served the mozzarella balls as an appetizer along with a veggie tray (carrots, to-matoes, celery, and peas in the pod with ranch dipping sauce) and a port cheese wine spread (store bought) with crackers. It was the perfect beginning to a cheese filled night.
The mac and cheese really hit the spot. The breadcrumbs really set this recipe apart from other mac and cheese recipes I have made.
The OREO cookie cake (If you are wondering how this fit in—cream cheese filling, silly!) was amazing. The recipe warns that this will become a request-ed birthday cake among your guests and they were right- my boyfriend has already requested it for his upcoming birthday.
Hope you enjoy these reci-pes! Happy Holidays!
• While in North America we use stockings as gift holders, some countries like Holland and France use shoes for the same purpose.
• • “Mistletoe” literally means “dung twig”. The name comes from the fact that
mistletoe typically spring from bird droppings that have fallen on trees, grown from the seeds that have passed through the birds’ digestive tract.
• • All the gifts in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” would equal to 364 gifts. • • President Theodore Roosevelt, an environmentalist, was against cutting
down trees for decoration. He even banned Christmas trees from the White House during his presidency.
• • “X” is from the Greek letter Chi, the first letter of the word “Christ.” That
is where the abbreviation “Xmas” comes from.• • “Jingle Bells” was written to be a Thanksgiving song for a church in Sa-
vanna, Georgia, 1857. It was so well accepted that it was sung again for Christmas, becoming one of the most popular Christmas carols.
• • Some parts of Evergreen trees are edible and a good source of Vitamin C,
but holly berries are poisonous. • • How many homes does Santa have to visit on Christmas? 842 million. How
fast must he travel to visit all those homes? Over 4 million mph.• • There is an old wives’ tale that if bread is baked on Christmas Eve, it will
last forever. Not recommended to find out.
Holiday Trivia
Page 9Wednesday, December 5, 2012 The Journal
What’s Happening This WeekendThursday, Dec. 6:
• 6:30 p.m. – Discussion and Book Signing, “Lincoln’s Ladder to the Presidency: The Eighth Judi-cial Circuit” by Guy FrakerAbraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, 212 N. 6th St., Springfield, IL 62701For more information, visit www.presidentlincoln.org ; call (217) 558- 8934 to reserve your spot.
Friday, Dec. 7:
• 7 p.m. – Foreign & Independent Film SeriesBrookens Auditorim, UISFree to the public
• 7:30 p.m. – Illinois Chamber OrchestraSt. Agnes Church, 245 N. Amos St., Springfield, IL 62702Tickets start at $5Call (217) 793- 1330 for more information.
• 8 p.m. – Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of ChristmasLincoln’s New Salem Historic Site, 15588 History Ln., Petersburg, IL 62675Tickets: $12 Call 217-632-4000 for more information and to purchase tickets.
Saturday, Dec. 8:
• 2 & 8 p.m. – Springfield Ballet Company presents “The Nutcracker”Sangamon Auditorium, UIS - Tickets start at $16
• 8 p.m. – Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of ChristmasLincoln’s New Salem Historic Site, 15588 History Ln., Petersburg, IL 62675
Sunday, Dec. 9:
• 3 p.m. – Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of ChristmasLincoln’s New Salem Historic Site, 15588 History Ln., Petersburg, IL 62675
• 8 p.m. – Springfield Ballet Company presents “The Nutcracker”Sangamon Auditorium, UIS - Tickets start at $16
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Page 10 The Journal Wednesday, December 5, 2012
SPORTS
By LaNee WoodSports Reporter
By Adam BuckSports Reporter
Photos by Adam Buck
Coachcontinued on Page 11
New coach and outlook for women’s basketball team
Women’s basketball sea-son is back; and with
new head coach Chad Oletzke. “I got to get things estab-
lished with the way we want to play,” said Coach Oletzke. He knows that coming in as new coach is not an easy task, but it is possible. He went on to say that even though he only has two freshmen on the team, “they are all, basically, freshmen because they don’t know what’s going to happen in the program.”
Guiding this team into the right direction should be no problem for Oletzke; he has 15 years of experience, eight cham-pionship titles, and five NCAA tournament bids. He is well qualified to help guide the Prai-rie Stars to the light. In fact, be-
fore he became the head coach he was an assistant coach for South Dakota State University. There he co-led this team to a Summit League regular season championship.
Currently the team has 10 players: one senior, four juniors,
three sophomores, and two freshmen. This gives the team a lot of space to grow, knowing they will only loose one player after this year. Their current re-cord is 1-4.
This may not seem like the best record, but this team has a lot of room to grow. The season has just started and they still have time to take off and ex-cel like they want to. They just have, according to Oletzke, to start building this new program “from the ground” and “imple-ment things” as they move for-ward.
Oletzke expressed that he was not at all worried about what previous coaches had done with this team, he was only con-
Prairie Stars win on family night
Last week the women’s basketball team won
its first home game this season against the Robert Morris Uni-versity-Springfield. Not only did the team win the game, they won by 17 points.
The Prairie Stars got off to an early 5-0 lead and then junior Megan Bergerud hit her first two three-pointers of the game within the first several minutes. The women contin-ued to score and increase their lead, but with just under eleven minutes left in the first half the Eagles went on an 8 point run to take their only lead of the night. The Stars fought their way back to regain the lead after an 11-2 run. Sophomore Carly Goede increased the Stars lead by 8 af-ter shooting a three-pointer with 3 minutes remaining in the first half.
At half time the Prairie Stars had the lead at 29-21.
The second half started off much like the first with the Stars continuing to extend their lead to make it a fifteen point game. Bergerud hit another three-point-er with just little over twelve minutes remaining in the game. The Prairie Stars would increase their lead to seventeen to make it 58-42 with two minutes remain-
ing. The Stars took off and left the Eagles in the dust to win their first game of the season with a fi-nal score of 60-47.
Bergerud led the Stars with eighteen points and 8 rebounds, while junior Alyssa Palmer and sophomore Gwen Zehner each had thirteen points. Junior Liz
Kelly added twelve rebounds for UIS and Senior Ashley Coffey finished the game 9 points and 7 rebounds.
After the game the athletic department celebrated Fam-ily Night at the Recreational and Athletic Center sponsored by the Bank of Springfield. The men’s game followed the festivities.
The men’s team, voted to fin-ish fourth this season, did not have the start they were hoping for this season and were looking to win to get back on track. The game began with the Stars taking an early lead and scoring the first six points of the game. The Stars
increased their lead to fourteen points when sophomore Dylan Sparkman scored with eleven minutes remaining in the first half. The lead then increased to a seventeen point game just 2 minutes before halftime. The two teams went into the locker room at half time with the score being 41-26 in the Prairie Stars favor.
After intermission the Stars kept their lead and the Eagles were never able to come close. With just five minutes into the second half the lead increased to
18 points when junior Regan Bruenger scored making the score 47-29. A dunk by Spark-
man, four minutes later, made it a 20 point game. Then with just under seven minutes remaining in the game junior Dylan Mo-sack made a bucket to give the stars a twenty-two point lead of the Eagles. The final score of the night was 72-56 making the men’s overall record 2-4.
After the game when asked about the night’s performance, men’s head coach Ben Wierzba commented “(It was ) sloppy. We made too many turn-overs and made too many mistakes.” With the season just now beginning the team has a few more things work out, but hopefully this win will put the team in the right di-rection.
Top: Freshman guard Jamall Millison goes for the easy lay up against the Robert Morris defender.
Bottom: Freshman Nicole Collins tightly defends against a Rob-ert Morris player
Chad Oletzke
(It was ) sloppy. We made too many
turn-overs and made too many
mistakes.
-Ben Wierzba,Men’s head
basketball coach
“”
Page 11Wednesday, December 5, 2012 The Journal
By Adam BuckSports Reporter
Coachcontinued from Page 10
By Adam BuckSports Reporter
Letters of Intent bring new talent to athletics
The greatest feeling for any high school athlete
is when they sign a National Letter of Intent that will allow him or her to continue playing sports after high school. It’s a chance for the athlete to go to school on an athletic scholar-ship and play at a high level of competition.
The National Letter of In-tent (NLI) is a program that is administered by the NCAA, which helps form an agreement between a prospective student athlete and the signing institu-tion. The institution offers an athletic scholarship to the ath-lete in exchange that they will promise to enroll and play at that institution.
This agreement binds the student athlete to the signing in-stitution for one academic year. Should the student athlete have a change of heart after agree-ing to play, they would not be able to play at any NCAA in-stitution for that year. Once a student has signed a NLI for an institution no other institution can contact that student about playing for them. The NCAA has strict penalties for any col-lege or university that breaks this rule.
Nov. 14 was the official start of the early signing period for schools. The UIS athletic de-partment sent out twelve NLIs to prospective athletes. Most of these athletes have already giv-en a verbal agreement to play for the campus, but some are still undecided. Some potential student athletes may receive multiple NLIs from different schools, however they can only
sign one. The students had until Nov.
21 to make their decision and sign or else the letter would be-come null and void. They will not have another opportunity until the spring when the sec-ond signing period starts.
Each year athletic depart-ments send out dozens of NLIs hoping that prospective high school athletes will agree to come and play at their respec-tive schools. However, the process of recruiting potential athletes starts a lot sooner than when the NLIs are sent out. The process begins with an athlete contacts a coach and stating that they are possibly inter-ested in playing at their school. Sometimes coaches scout po-tential athletes by attending games and looking for players they believe will make a great addition to their team. The next step for the prospective athlete is to come and visit the cam-pus. While on-campus they can watch their potential team play and meet with the coaches to gain interest in playing at that school.
“We get them (prospective players) to come in and see the education side and the athletic side and sell them on that they are going to get a great educa-tion and play on a high level” stated men’s head basketball coach Ben Weirzba.
It is an exciting time in any high school athlete’s life, but according to the athletic depart-ment in an online article, “it’s an exciting time for the athletic staff as we secure our future ‘Stars’.”
Men’s basketball hopes to rise above the stars
Last year the men’s bas-ketball team exceeded
everyone’s expectations; this year them team has been voted on by the League of Coaches to finish the season in 4th place. With the team voted to finish at that rank, there is now an expectation for the team to do well this season too.
Head basketball coach Ben Wierzba said, “it’s better than where we were predicted to finish last year and we finished better than that so hopefully it’s a motivation for us to do better this year.”
The voting of the League of Coaches gives programs a chance to see where they stand and see what other programs think about their teams.
“This year our goal is to win the conference championship,” stated Wierzba. “Last year we fell a little short, but we know what’s in store when the con-ference games start.”
The conference games for the men’s basketball team start on December 8th when they take on Quincy University in Quincy, Mo. Wierzba also mentioned, “our goal is to get better each day and to learn from mistakes and continue to improve and get better.”
When asked about what he thought the strengths of the team were Wierzba com-mented “I think it’s our depth. I think one through twelve we got a lot of guys who can play as well as play several posi-tions.”
One thing fans will also no-tice about the men’s team this year is their height. With play-ers like sophomore forward Dylan Sparkman who stands at 6’10” and junior forward Dylan Mosack who stands at 6’8” there is a lot stature to this team.
Wierzba’s personal expec-tation for the team this year is to improve last year’s per-formance and to get the most out of each guy every day and to push the players to the next level. “If we can get twelve guys to push themselves to the next level we will be very suc-cessful,” he stated.
Unfortunately this season has not started off the way Wi-erzba and the coaching staff had hoped for. The team’s re-cord is currently 2-5 in overall
play. In most of the games the team has lost they have been a head of the other team in the 2nd half of the game, but were unable to keep the lead.
According to Wierzba the team is trying to find ways to win games. “We have been right there and we have had a chance to win those games, but once we start winning games it will start to snow ball in the right direction,” he said.
The next home game for men’s basketball is set to take place December 13 at the Rec-reational and Athletic Center when they take on Bethel. The shots are scheduled to start falling at 7 p.m. so head on out and watch the Prairie Stars exceed expectations and rise above the stars.
cerned with what he and he team had to work on moving forward.
“We [he and the team] had to come in on a daily basis to get better every day as individual players and as a team,” he said. “[We need to] learn about what we are trying, but then also in-crease our competitive…level.”
He went on to assert that the biggest components of their suc-cess are the team itself and their work ethic. He knows this will be difficult to show his players exactly how hard they have to work because this will be their first time in his program; and it is really hard trying to teach this
type of work ethic. “No one on our team really
knows what the expectation is,” said Oletzke. Getting the team acclimated to his program and his method is a major focus for him and his assistant coach, An-drea Riebock.
This team has a lot of poten-tial and with the correct guid-ance these Prairie Stars will blossom into an overall great defense.
Oletzke said it best, this team will come to “realize that there’s another step, and when we get to that step there is another step; and there is always constantly a higher step for them to drive for.”
Photo by Adam BuckCoach Wierzba goes over plays with the team during a time out.
Thanks for Reading!
Page 12 The Journal Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Finalscontinued from Page 8
He recommended talking with the professor if there are too many questions and con-cerns from a student. “Usually if there is an anxiety problem, that’s probably a better place to go to than me…your professor by large is probably the more [qualified] person to get some advice from [if concerns are re-ally high].”
Tutoring EventsIf students still want profes-
sionals to look over their essays or help brainstorm topics, there will be TA’s in UHB’s second floor lounge on Thursday, 1-7 p.m. Collins warns that students may have to wait before getting assistance, but no appointments are necessary.
Brookens Library will also have a CTL writing tutor avail-able for walk-in students every Tuesday night, 6-8:30 p.m. for the rest of the semester.
CTL: (217) 206-6503, BRK Building, Room 462, [email protected].
The Journal, the UIS student newspaper
