“Tell the truth and don’t be afraid.”

EastErn nEwsT H E D A I L Y

D A I LY E A S T E R N N E W S . C O MT W I T T E R . C O M / D E N _ N E W S

Thursday

D E C E M B E R 6 , 2 0 1 2V O LU M E 9 7 | N o. 7 2

Panthers flop in second half to WesternPage 7

RSO delivers petition with 968 signatures to PerryPage 3

McClatchy Tribune

SPRINGFIELD -- As state gov-ernment leaders struggle to reach agreement on pension reform, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is floating a plan that’s a mix of new and old ideas to try to break the logjam.

State workers, teachers, universi-ty employees and legislators would have to kick in more money from their paychecks each year to under-write their pensions, and some of them would have to wait longer to retire.

The plan also would rein in cost-of-living increases that have expo-nentially increased the pension bur-den on taxpayers and would set a 30-year target date for fully funding the financially bedraggled systems.

Some rank-and-f i le lawmak-ers led by Democratic Reps. Elaine Nekritz of Northbrook and Dan Biss of Evanston see the approach as a way forward and are scheduled to formally unveil it Wednesday.

Union members are disappoint-ed that workers and retirees were excluded from the discussion but hope the proposal would represent a starting point, said Anders Lindall, spokesman for the American Feder-ation of State, County and Munici-pal Employees.

The proposal contains a version of the politically problematic shift of the state’s costs for suburban and downstate schoolteacher pensions onto local school districts over sev-eral years. That idea is pushed by House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, but opponents have ar-gued it would lead to property tax

increasesUnder the proposal , ret i rees

would get an annual cost-of-living increase on only the first $25,000 of their pensions, $20,000 for those who also get Social Security.

Retirement ages would not rise for people 46 and older, but a phase-in would increase retirement ages by as much as five years for people 34 and under. Current re-tirement ages vary, such as 60 for rank-and-file state workers and 55 for prison guards.

Employee contributions would rise 1 percentage point the first year and another percentage point the second year. Contributions for rank-and-file state workers now are about 7 percent, according to the union.

The proposal also would make it clear that a failure by public em-ployers, such as the state or a school district, would be grounds for a lawsuit if they didn’t make proper annual payments -- a major reason that many public retirement systems are underfunded.

New public school teachers and state university workers would be part of a cash-balance plan, sort of a hybrid between a plan that guaran-tees employees a certain benefit and also partly relies on investment re-turns.

The plan comes as Illinois faces a pension debt of as much as $96 bil-lion, the worst in the nation. Dem-ocratic Gov. Pat Quinn has not-ed that increased pension payments in the coming years could cut into how much the state has left to spend on education and other government services.

STATE

Ill. lawmakers float pension reform plan

JACKSON AVENUE

By Katie Smith | Staff Reporter

JAC surpasses $18,000 mark

MARCUS SMITH | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WSDano Rieble, owner, talks with patrons Wednesday evening in Jackson Avenue Coffee. He was having a fund rais-ing event to stay in business.

By Katie Smith Staff Reporter

Charleston community mem-bers successfully raised $19,168 for Jackson Avenue Coffee Wednesday, earning about $1,200 more than the shop needed to pay off their state tax debt.

The JAC will pay its $18,000 debt to the state and preserve what customers consider to be a sanctu-ary for the Charleston community at 9 a.m. Thursday in Springfield.

A line of loyal customers trailed out the door of the JAC at 6 p.m. when the event started, to show their support for the coffee shop.

Those who waited in the cold to make their donations included high school and college students, friends and family of the owners as well as artists and musicians who display their work in the shop.

Dano Reible, owner of the JAC, said the benefit’s turnout was proof of the shop’s significance in town.

“This is a direct correlation to how important that the JAC is to the community,” Reible said. “This wouldn’t be happening if there wasn’t a true heartfelt commitment to it in this community.”

Donna Wieck, a Char les ton community member, said the JAC is an important piece of the town, most notable as a safe-haven for its younger residents.

“It’s a place where college kids can come and it’s a homey, cozy place to be,” Weick said. “It’s just a nice feeling to drive by and see peo-ple sitting out here.”

Barb Hunter, a Charleston res-ident, agreed, stating the JAC has consistently been a safe place for young people to pass their time.

“It really is a community re-source for us parents who have teenagers,” Hunter said. “I had a

daughter that went to high school in this town and she and friends would meet up here and meet up when she comes home.”

Reible said he was amazed how quickly the fundraiser came togeth-er.

“Natural ly, this puts me out there and it says, ‘I couldn’t do it’,” he said.

Pride aside, Reible said he does not mind reaching out to the com-munity for financial help.

“It doesn’t bother me,” Reible said. “I don’t care. It’s all about the JAC. It’s not about me.”

Reible’s wife, Vicki Reible, remi-nisced about her experience owning the coffee shop with her husband and the impression she believes it has made in her own life.

“We wanted to give back to the community,” she said. “We always wondered what our purpose in life was, and this seemed to be it— a way to give back.”

Vicki Reible said the JAC has become her second home, and the “blessing” of watching the young-er community members grow up has created the illusion of a second family as well.

Throughout the event, customers were encouraged to take the stage and perform music as well as give testimonies expressing their appre-ciation for the business.

Yvonne Larson, a Charleston res-ident, shared that she believes her 7-year-old daughter, Gretta, is one of the JAC’s biggest advocates.

“She found out by coming here that she has the blues inside of her,” Larson said.

She explained that after visiting the JAC, Gretta began composing original songs such as the, “’I Don’t Want to go to Bed’ Blues” and tak-ing a great interest in the harmon-ica.

Upon discovering Gretta’s love for the blues, Reible voluntarily fed her curiosity by teaching her a new song each week.

Gretta, who just celebrated her seventh birthday, donated all of her

birthday money to the JAC. The Larsons are not the only

family to find artistic support from the JAC, however.

I a n Ph i l l i p s , a p o e t a n d a Charleston resident, said he met the Reibles through friends, and they have since shown nothing but support of his poetry.

“It’s kind of like a hippie net-work, I guess,” Phillips said. “Once I got to meet him it was just a good thing.”

Phillips recently published his first collection of poems titled, “69 Poems” and offered 50 percent of the book’s profits to whatever the Reibles could not raise.

Melanie Mills, a communica-tions professor and coordinator of the event, said she was immedi-ately willing to help the business and knew others in the communi-ty would want to take part.

“We have always known that Dano and Vicki do this as commu-nity service first and business sec-ond,” she said.

Mills said she believes the JAC’s service to the community was the motivation for people support the business the way they have.

“The community has been very forgiving,” she said. “The commu-nity recognizes this is more than a coffee shop.”

Katie Smith can be reached at 581-2812

or kesmith2@eiu.edu.

Shop to remain Charleston landmark

MARCUS SMITH | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS

Heather Miller, 15, of Charleston, holds up a button Wednesday eve-ning at Jackson Avenue Coffee.

THEATER

By Seth Schroeder Opinions Editor

The first time Katie Genauldi per-formed as Emily, a young woman who was raped at a party, she found out Em-ily’s real world counterpart was in the audience.

Now, Genauldi brought the per-formance to Eastern Wednesday with the “Erasing the Distance” non-prof-it troupe.

Genauldi said she was glad she did not know at the time that Emily was watching her performance, but after-wards was glad to meet her and here how grateful she was.

“Emily’s story is so inspiring. She’s like a rockstar,” Genauldi said. “She said it was almost as if she didn’t have to car-ry it anymore, which is awesome.”

The group uses theater to spread awareness of mental health issues and gave two performances at Eastern.

The performances included Genaul-di as Emily as well as four other actors who each portrayed a different individ-ual who coped with a mental illness.

Philip de Guzman, who portrayed Jaron, a man who coped with addiction and depression, said each story comes from interviews with real life people that come to “Erasing the Distance” to tell their story.

He said the interviews can last hours and are recorded word-for-word before being sculpted into a 10-minute perfor-mance that a professional actor will per-form.

Maura Kidwell, who performed as Marie, a young woman who coped with depression-based eating disor-ders, said professionals take on the performances because it is not always emotionally safe for the actual indi-vidual to constantly revisit their pain in front of an audience.

Troupe performs skits on social issues

TROUPE, page 5

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T H U R S DAY, D E C E M B E R 6, 2012N o. 7 2 , V O L U M E 9 7

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CORREC TION

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Attention postmaster: Send address changes to: The Daily Eastern News 1802 Buzzard Hall Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL 61920

EastErn nEws

Editorial BoardEditor in Chief ..............................................................................Elizabeth Edwards

DENeic@gmail.comManaging Editor ............................................................................ Ashley Holstrom

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Advertising StaffAdvertising Manager ....................................................................Breanna BlantonPromotions Manager ...........................................................................Kate Hannon

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News StaffDaily Editor ................................................................................Samantha McDanielFeatures Editor ........................................................................................... Tim DetersIn-Depth Editor .....................................................................................Robyn DexterSports Editor .......................................................................................Jordan PottorffVerge Editor ............................................................................................. Jaime LopezAssistant Daily Editor ................................................................. Amy WywialowskiAssistant Photo Editor ....................................................................... Miranda PlossAssistant Online Editor ...............................................................Dominic Renzetti

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AboutThe Daily Eastern News is produced by the students of Eastern Illinois Uni-versity. It is published daily Monday through Friday, in Charleston, Ill., during fall and spring semesters and twice weekly during the summer term except during university vacations or examinations. One copy per day is free to students and faculty. Additional copies can be obtained for 50 cents each in the Student Publications Office in Buzzard Hall.The Daily Eastern News is a subscriber to McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

ContactIf you have corrections or tips, please call:

217•581•2812or fax us at:

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“Tell the truth and don’t be afraid.”

Comments / TipsContact any of the above staff members if you believe your information is relevant.

CorrectionsThe Daily Eastern News is committed to accuracy in its coverage of the news. Any factual error the staff finds, or is made aware of by its read-ers, will be corrected as promptly as possible. Please report any fac-tual error you find by email, phone, campus mail or in person.

C AMPUS

In Wednesday’s edition of The Daily Eastern News, the article “Tax levy approved” misidenti-fied Brian Bower’s former position.

The city attorney advises the council on le-gal matters.

The News regrets the error.

Tim Deters Features Editor

For international students, the holiday season can be a difficult time to celebrate their cultural festivals and connect with loved ones, said one international stu-dent.

Joy Ignalaga, a senior art ma-jor, said the holiday season is a time when international students must either find a way to return home or celebrate the holidays thousands of miles from their family, which can be very chal-lenging.

Ignalaga’s family originated from the Philippines, where they were part of an international Ro-man Catholic Church that wel-comed all religions.

“Our church was very diverse, very liberal, and they were very open-minded,” she said. “We fol-lowed a rule where we learned about each other’s religions.”

Even after her family moved to Bahrain in the Middle East when she was young, Ignalaga’s family continued to practice their Fili-pino form of Roman Catholicism and observe Simbang Gabi.

Ignalaga explained that Sim-bang Gabi honors the Virgin Mary and celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ in a similar way most forms of Christianity do.

Children reenact the birth of Jesus Christ, families get togeth-er and make lots of food and ka-raoke plays constantly.

“As long as you have karaoke, you are fine,” she said. “You must have karaoke in a Filipino party.”

However, since moving to the United States to go to college, Ig-nalaga said it has been very chal-lenging trying to celebrate Sim-bang Gabi.

One of the largest challenges she has faced is finding a commu-nity of Filipinos who also practice her form of Roman Catholicism and celebrate Simbang Gabi.

“It’s hard to connect with peo-

ple because there’s not a lot of Fil-ipinos around,” she said. “You would have to go out of town to a bigger Filipino community where they celebrate Simbang Gabi.”

As well, the celebrations of Simbang Gabi are not nearly as lively and fulfilling as celebrations back home.

“The celebrations were tremen-dous; the festivities were numer-ous,” she said of Simbang Gabi celebrations in Bahrain.

Even though Ignalaga might not be able to enjoy her tradition-al celebrations as she would at home, she said she still enjoys cel-ebrating the traditional American Christmas with her host family.

“They would invite us to their Christmas celebration in their home,” she said. “It is quite dif-ferent going to a home where they have different food with dif-ferent people.”

One of the differences between the American and Filipino cele-brations is the assortment of food prepared for the holidays, Ignal-aga said.

“We never have turkey with Christmas,” she said, laughing. “We just don’t have turkey peri-od.”

Despite being able to celebrate Simbang Gabi with friends and community members in the Unit-ed States, Ignalaga said nothing compares to celebrating with her family.

Unfortunately, she explained the cost of traveling and the chal-lenges of taking so much time to travel to Bahrain have made get-ting home nearly impossible since moving to the United States.

“It truly is difficult,” she said. “Taking the trip is quite a hassle.”

However, Ignalaga said she finds ways to overcome the dis-tance and time zone barriers to celebrate and connect with her family, primarily through tele-phone and Skype conversations.

Because she and her family members are not able to commu-nicate on a regular basis, she said telephone calls and Skype sessions become extended conversations and bonding sessions rather than

simple holiday greetings.“It is usually quite long,” she

said. “It becomes a conversation instead of a greeting.”

Unfortunately, other interna-tional students are not as lucky as she is, Ignalaga said.

Some international students are not able to connect with their family or area residents whom they can share the holidays with.

“They want to celebrate with people, but they just don’t know who to celebrate with,” she said.

Ignalaga encouraged students to take the time to keep interna-tional students in mind while cel-ebrating the upcoming holidays and also try to welcome an inter-national student into those cele-brations.

By doing so, she said each stu-dent can learn from the other about a different culture while also forming friendships that could last well into the future.

Tim Deters can be reached at 581-2812

or tadeters@eiu.edu.

Student spends holidays far from home

By Stephanie Markham Staff Reporter

The Council on Academic Af-fairs will vote on revisions to the technology-delivered course policy during its meeting Thursday.

Jeffrey Stowell, chairman of the online learning committee, submit-ted recommendations to the CAA and the Council on Graduate Stud-ies for changes to the acceptable certifications for instructors of on-line courses.

The potential changes include removing the EIU Online Learn-ing Modules from the list of possi-ble certifications and adding the Il-linois Online Network’s master on-line teacher certificate.

“The Illinois Online Network’s certification is an example of the type of rigor that we would expect in being trained for online teach-ing,” Stowell said.

Stowell said the EIU Online

Learning Modules offer training videos and tips from faculty mem-bers who have previously taught online courses.

“We felt that simply watching 45 minutes of video without any direct engagement with other peo-ple who have experienced teaching online courses is insufficient to en-sure the quality of instruction,” he said.

The council will also vote upon two new courses and three revised courses.

One proposal is the revision of “HIS 3600G: The U.S. Constitu-tion and the Nation,” a writing in-tensive, general education course required for all history majors, to provide an online edition for off-campus students.

CAA member Debra Reid, a his-tory professor, said she has taught the on-campus version of the course, and she has taught other courses online for the University of

Illinois.“There really will be no differ-

ence in course content between the online and the on-campus ver-sion,” Reid said. “It’s a bit of a dif-ferent delivery system, but the con-tent doesn’t change. It’s not easier; it’s not less work.”

Reid said online classes are es-sential for students in the School of Continuing Education.

“There is a large body of stu-dents who are not on-campus stu-dents, and practically their entire curriculum is done off campus,” she said. “This is a really impor-tant general education offering.”

The history department also proposed a new course titled “HIS 3385: American Maritime History since 1400.”

The proposal states, “This course will explore how America’s maritime culture shaped the na-tion with an emphasis on its reli-ance upon the Atlantic Ocean.”

If approved, the new course would be available in the Fall 2013.

From the department of early childhood, elementary and mid-dle level education, the council will review proposals for two re-vised courses, “ELE 3250: Early Childhood Curriculum, Methods, and Assessment in the Primary Grades,” and “ELE 4770: Teach-ing Science & Social Science in the Primary Grades,” and one new course, “ELE 3225 Early Child-hood Curriculum, Methods, and Assessment: Birth – Age Five.”

If approved, all three elemen-tary education courses would be available in the Fall 2013 semester.

The council will meet at 2p.m. Thursday in Room 4440 of Booth Library.

Stephanie Markham can be reached at 581-2812

or samarkham@eiu.edu.

Online teaching classes may be availableCOUNCIL ON AC ADEMIC AFFAIRS

• On Monday at 3:45 p.m., a sexual assault was reported to have occurred in October 2012 at Weller Hall. This incident is under investi-gation.

• On Tuesday at 12:08 p.m., criminal dam-age to government property was reported at the African-American Cultural Center.

BLOT TER

TIM DETERS | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS Joy Ignalaga, a senior art major, will celebrate Simbang Gabi, a Roman Catholic celebration in the Philip-pines commemorating the Virgin Mary and birth of Jesus Christ, during the upcoming holiday season. However, like many other international students, she must celebrate the holidays in the United States, separated from family and centers of culture.

International student shares holiday challenges

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News EditorRachel Rodgers217 • 581 • 2812DENnewsdesk@gmail.com

FAIR TR ADE

By Nike Ogunbodede Associate News Editor

President Bil l Perry was sur-prised with an impromptu meeting Wednesday at 2:52 p.m.

Armed with two signs, a letter of support from the Student Senate and a petition consisting of 968 signa-tures — a few signatures shy of their 1,200 goal — four student members of the Fair Trade Global Justice Co-alition walked into President Bill Per-ry’s Old Main office.

The petition was addressed to Per-ry and the members of the President’s Council.

While in the office, the four stu-dents — still holding the signs — gave Perry an approximately two-minute long explanation of their col-lective hope that the university would affiliate with the Worker Rights Con-sortium.

In the past, Eastern was affiliat-ed with the Fair Labor Association, a nonprofit that focuses on having ma-jor clothing manufacturers adhere to national and international labor laws.

President Bill Clinton created the association in 1999.

The Worker Rights Consortium was started by student groups for universities to help monitor their ap-parel’s manufacturers.

Sara Boro, a second-year college student affairs graduate student, said she hopes the administration will weigh both options and decide to join the more than 180 affiliated uni-versities in the United States.

“At the university, we talk about be-coming global citizens and doing all of these things to impact the world in a positive way…and we feel like the uni-versity is a perfect place to start some-thing like this,” Boro said.

Roy Lanham, a campus minister for the Newman Catholic Center, showed up to support the student or-ganization, and said he thinks the or-ganization’s passionate response was a testament to the university.

“Too often I think we find our-selves saying, ‘when I get out of here, when I get my degree, when I leave Eastern,’ and what I find more excit-ing is when students say ‘hey, how do I begin to apply that which I’ve al-ready learned,’” Lanham said.

Eastern needs to lead by example, he said.

“This institution can’t just talk about doing what is good and right to our students and say, ‘go do that, see you,’” Lanham said.

Boro first learned about the issue

of fair trade from Haiti Connection while at the Newman Catholic Cen-ter in her junior year as an under-graduate student at Eastern.

Now Boro said her day-to-day life has changed.

“I look at all of my T-shirt tags, I went through my entire closet—I just freaked out and stopped buying stuff,” she said. “What I want to do person-ally now is to research what to buy to make it easier.”

While wearing Eastern gear, Boro said she would like to know – with-out a doubt – that the workers, who sewed the T-shirt, picked the cotton or even the coffee beans were treated properly and received adequate com-pensation.

Fellow member Alayna Graham, a senior sociology major, agreed.

“Here in America we have a min-imum wage so that our citizens are not going to be suffering as much as the people in Bangladesh or Hai-ti…they don’t have people protecting them,” Graham said. “We are (their) voice instead of just letting them fend for themselves.”

Fair trade is about standing up for people whose voices are being sup-pressed by governments, manufac-turers and lack of resources, Graham said.

“We are trying to get people in there making sure that the people that do have jobs have enough mon-ey to support their family,” she said.

Lena Elmuti, a senior chemistry major, said the petition signing pro-cess was predominately about educat-ing students on labor laws and condi-tions in other countries.

“Most of the students had not even heard about the WRC let alone the Fair Trade Global Justice,” Elmuti said.

Members of the Fair Trade Glob-al Justice Coalition decided to change its name to the Students for Peace and Justice.

Ryan Freer, a junior political sci-ence major, said the issue of fair trade is a bipartisan issue.

“I think people, on some level, re-ally want human rights of people—it’s not just a right or left, Democrat or Republican issue,” Freer said.

Boro agreed.

“Just paying people a fair wage can change a lot of things and once they have enough money then they can start to improve their own communi-ties,” Boro said. “I think it’s a better answer to a lot of the world’s prob-

lems is to just give people what they deserve and their dignity.”

Nike Ogunbodede can be reached at 581-2812

or ovogunbodede@eiu.edu.

RSO delivers petition with 968 signatures to Perry

NIKE OGUNBODEDE | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WSPresident Bill Perry holds a packet Wednesday consisting on a CD presentation, a petition filled with 968 signatures, fair trade research and a letter of approval from the Student Senate while four members of the Fair Trade Global Justice Coalition: Sara Boro, Ryan Freer, Alayna Graham and Lena Elmuti explain their opinions to him. The organization surprised Perry in his office.

NIKE OGUNBODEDE | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS Ryan Freer, a junior political science major, Sara Boro, a second-year col-lege student affairs graduate student, Alayna Graham, a senior sociology major, and Lena Elmuti, a senior chemistry major, march toward Old Main from the Newman Catholic Center on Wednesday.

I think I’m going slightly mad and I think you are too, but you don’t realize it.

Cell phones — oh, I’m sorry, did your cell phone just vibrate? I apologize for distracting you.

Cell phones are making us crazy. They’re making us feel things we don’t, like when you’re in third grade and tell a girl that you love her and want to marry her.

You don’t actually feel that. You didn’t actu-ally just feel your phone vibrate in your pocket either — unless, of course, it did.

We’ve been trained like puppies to “Please put your cell phones on silent, while in class,” so we do the alternative and put them on vibrate.

I have my phone on vibrate so often that I’m starting to feel phantom vibrations in my pock-et.

In class, when somebody’s phone vibrates everybody then checks their pockets like the move was synchronized.

Even when you think the vibration is too far away to be in your pants, you think it’s yours and it’s not. Still, you check your pocket —

phantom vibration.The same happens to me when somebody’s

phone goes off and actually rings. I’m well aware that my phone is on vibrate, but I still check my phone.

It’s worse when you’re expecting a call or hope to get a call.

Say you’re expecting a phone call from your dentist to tell you if you have a cavity or not (I’m trying to make this as not dramatic as pos-sible). You are anxious for the call, so you check your pocket to see if it’s vibrating when you have no reason to.

The same happens when you would like

to receive a call — maybe because all of your friends are getting calls, or you’re driving on the highway and bored.

Then, there are the moments when you just check your phone — just because. It’s like a timer goes off in your head and you’re pro-grammed to check your phone to see if you missed a call, text or update from your King-doms of Camelot app.

Next time you find yourself checking your phone, expecting to see you’ve missed some-thing and all you see is the time, remember this column.

You remember this column forever!Phantom vibrations have become a daily part

of my life and I don’t think they’re going any-where.

Hold on a second, I think my phone just vi-brated.

Be right back.

Alex McNamee is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or

denopinions@gmail.com.

4T H E DA I LY E ASTE R N NEWSD A I LY E A S T E R N N E W S . C O M

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Opinions EditorSeth Schroeder217 • 581 • 2812DENopinions@gmail.com

Students should pay attention to pensions

TIM MCHUGH | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS

STAFF EDITORIAL

The daily editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Daily Eastern News.

The DAILYEASTERN NEWS

EDITORIAL BOARD

“Tell the truth and don’t be afraid.”

Editor in ChiefElizabeth Edwards

Managing Editor Ashley Holstrom

Online EditorSara Hall

News Editor Rachel Rodgers

Associate News EditorNike Ogunbodede

Opinions Editor Seth Schroeder Letters to the editor can be submitted at any time on any topic to the Opinions

Editor to be published in The Daily Eastern News. The DEN’s policy is to run all letters that are not libelous or potentially harmful.

They must be less than 250 words.

Letters to the editor can be brought in with identification to The DEN at 1811 Buzzard Hall.

Letters may also be submitted electronically from the author’s EIU e-mail address to DENopinions@gmail.com.

This past weekend as I sat in my usual staff meeting at The Daily Eastern News, the staff did something different, we celebrated.

Usually our meetings go the following way, get in a circle, talk about our weekends, go over what’s going on next week, and then it’s back to work we go.

Depending on the day and what stories we have running Monday, many of us are at our desks still working as the meeting goes on. This weekend we did go about our business but we also had a Secret Santa party with cookies, cake and gifts. We went around the circle giving each other some of the most ri-diculous things we could find for about $5.

Gifts included whoopee cushions, singing ties, Nutella, leopard print Santa hats and lots of candy. Then we had to take a “family” pic-ture. Yes, you read correctly, I said family. For the past four months I have spent my time outside of class in the newsroom and would say the staff have become like family to me.

We work in the newsroom, we eat in the newsroom, some people sleep there (some-times you just need a nap) and sometimes

we play there. This semester I have probably spent more time in that room and with those people than anywhere else and with anyone else on campus. In the past four months I have spent more time with these people than my own biological family.

So yes we have functioned just like a fami-ly and I have no problem calling us that. We have fought and made up just like a family has and in the end we all want what’s best for each other (I hope).

Like most students we are here in Charles-ton about nine months per year. The friends we make on campus become our support groups and the people we spend our time

with. It’s important to celebrate our school families because without each other where would we be?

I know it is the last week of classes before finals and all most of us have on our minds is studying for finals, passing our classes and getting home as fast as possible. I am not an exception to this mentality and in fact am questioning right now why I am writing this column instead of studying, but that is be-side the point.

So before you rush out of town next week, take a break this weekend between all of your studying and packing for home and do some-thing nice for your friends to celebrate the holidays with them.

I’m not saying spend hundreds of dol-lars or even any money at all. Our staff had a blast with baked goods and stuff from the dollar store.

Amy Wywialowski is a junior history major and can be reached at 581-2812 or

denopinions@gmail.com.

Amy Wywialowski

Alex McNamee

Celebrate your school family as well

For all students who hear the words “pension reform” and cringe with boredom, wake up.

This applies to every student who plans on becoming a teacher, politician, social worker, judge or any position in the wide array that the state employs.

Basically, if you plan to work for the state in any capacity, the future of your retire-ment—even if it looks like it is decades away—needs to be of interest to you.

On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of the General Assembly’s House of Representatives proposed a pension reform bill that would increase the retirement age, require employ-ees to pay more for their pensions, implement a cash-balance plan and decrease cost of living adjustments.

On top of the weight added to state employees, the proposed pension reform also creates fiscal tension for state universities, community colleges and local school districts.

The bill proposes shifting employee costs to the employer, like Eastern.

The shift entails phasing the pension costs to schools, 0.5 percent of payroll each year. These would be mandated payments, and if unpaid, other state funds could be intercept-ed.

The end goal would be to have the pen-sion systems 100 percent funded in the next 30 years.

Legislators are slated to vote on pension reform in Springfield between Jan. 3-8 dur-ing the lame duck session. This is a danger-ous time, meaning that many legislators who do not need to worry about reelection might vote against the interest of their constituents.

No one is born with extensive knowledge of the cogs and gears of our five pension sys-tems and the vast political history that goes along with them, but as college students, a little bit of research should not give cause for pretending that the issue does not apply to you or that you can just worry about it later.

For a quick overview, the state has not ful-ly funded the pensions systems for decades, and the unfunded pension liability has grown past $95 billion. To put such an immense number in perspective, it would pay for a year’s tuition at Eastern for about 4.8 million years. That gross amount of pure debt would also pay for about 1.2 million students to graduate from Eastern on a four-year plan.

That is why Illinois is ranked 50th out of 50 states at funding pensions.

In short, the Illinois pension systems are in trouble—it serves as the elephant stomp-ing around the state that no one wants to talk about.

This is no laughing matter, and it is any-thing but boring. We ask you to open your eyes, take a stand and invest time in under-standing an issue that affects you.

The buzz is making us go mad, paranoid

COLUMN

FROM THE EASEL

COLUMN

5T H E DA I LY E ASTE R N NEWSD A I LY E A S T E R N N E W S . C O M

T H U R S DAY, D E C E M B E R 6, 2012N o. 7 2 , V O L U M E 9 7

N E W S

ART

JACOB SALMICH | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WSArtist in residence Beth Shadur stands in front of her class during a watercolor painting class at the Tarble Fine Arts Center on Monday. Her class will meet twice a week for four weeks.

By Amy Wywialowski Assistant Daily Editor

For the past three weeks, Beth Shadur has been commuting be-tween Highland Park and Charles-ton because she is the Artist in Res-idence for the fall.

Shadur has spent the time com-muting in order to complete the program, which actually takes place all over Coles County and parts of central Illinois.

Kit Morice, a curator of the Tar-ble Arts Center, who organized the program, said program brings a pro-fessional artist into local schools to expose children to different types of art and allows them to further their skills.

“It allows smaller schools who wouldn’t be able to afford to host an artist like this on their own to still get the benefits,” Morice said.

This year Shadur will visit Path-ways School, an alternative school in Greenup, Humboldt TLC in Humboldt and Jefferson Elementa-ry in Charleston.

Every year they partner with dif-ferent area schools and a new artist, Morice said.

The program is typically aimed at students in the sixth grade or old-er but depending on the school they may work with younger students as well, Morice said.

After years of organizing the pro-gram, Morice said she realizes how much adolescents need art as an outlet.

“We’ve had teachers come up to us after the program and say ‘this is what they need every day,’” Morice said.

Along with visiting one of the partner schools each week, Sha-dur also, teaches a core group at the Tarble two day a week for two hours. The group is composed of teens, adults and school-aged chil-dren.

They are working on construct-ing artist books that combine wa-tercolor paintings they have creat-ed and poetry they have selected or created.

“It is exciting because it is in-tergenerational, we have a moth-er-daughter team, a 15-year-old boy and his older neighbor who are good friends,” Shadur said. “I’ve been doing this type of book proj-ect since I met a poet in an artist colony.”

Morice said Shadur encourag-es students to show their work and has convinced students in the past to work up the courage to showcase their pieces.

The planning for the program ac-tually begins months in advance be-cause it is funded by grants through the state of Illinois and the artist is selected from a pre-approved list from the state. Shadur has been on the list since the ’80s and said she values these types of programs.

“The arts council pays 60 per-cent and we and our sponsors pay the rest,” Morice said. “We pick an artist off the list and plan all of the projects a head of time when writ-ing the grant.”

The program runs through Dec. 13 when the Tarble will host a re-

ception for all of the students who participated and their parents to see their work displayed.

Amy Wywialowski can be reached at 581-2812

or alwywialowski@eiu.edu.

Tarble reaches out to the community through art Shadur works with local school children

Jason Economus, who portrayed Matthew, a man with cerebral palsy and depression, said those attend-ing the show are already taking a first step to helping people deal with mental health issues.

He said talking about the prob-lems everyone faces helps people relate to each other and connect.

Economus said he was lucky to meet Matthew in real life and be-friend him.

He said despite the condition he lives with, Matthew has many oth-er aspects of his life such as chess, slam poetry and computer pro-gramming.

“All I want to do is remind you that these are real people,” he said. “Matthew exists, he’s out there. You meet him and f ind out he

wants a girlfriend. I do too! If we can find those moments of connec-tions we’re really not so far com-pared to where we think we are.”

Angela Johnson, who portrayed Julie, a woman whose friend com-mitted suicide and struggled with suicidal thoughts herself, said stu-dents should act as advocates for mental health issues, listen to peo-ple and reach out to them when they can.

She sa id many t imes people sweep mental illness under the rug and ignore it.

Economus agreed with Johnson, and said students can reach out to the people around them who might be struggling, relating the cause to the University Board’s current slo-gan “UB the one”.

“Start with where you’re at,” Economus said. “Be kind, just re-member everyone is going through something.”

Seth Schroeder can be reached at 581-2812

or scschroeder2@eiu.edu.

TROUPE, from page 1

SETH SCHROEDER | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WSKatie Genauldi, an actor with "Erasing the Distance,” portrays Emily, a real world woman who was raped at a party.

“All I want to do is remind you that these are real people,” he said. “Matthew exists, he’s out there.

-Jason Economus, “Erasing the Distance” troupe

Phone: 217 • 581 • 2812Fax: 217 • 581 • 2923Online: dailyeasternnews.com/classifieds 6T H E DA I LY E ASTE R N NEWS

D A I LY E A S T E R N N E W S . C O M

T H U R S DAY, D E C E M B E R 6, 2012N o. 7 2 , V O L U M E 9 7Classifieds

For rent

Help wanted

Roommates

Sublessors

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

FOR RELEASE DECEMBER 6, 2012

ACROSS1 Sundsvall rollers6 Trickeries

11 Pops14 Portion out15 Knighted

conductor16 Took in17 Typically pink-

flowered bloomer19 Paris pronoun20 Title words

preceding“beneath themilky twilight,” ina 1999 hit

21 “So relaxing!”22 Worrisome

engine sound23 Gateway Arch

architect26 Set straight29 Hit, maybe30 Breeders’ Cup

event31 Loses on

purpose34 Light touch37 Key Egyptian

artifactunearthed in1799

41 Coll. applicants42 Big name in beer43 Mindless

process44 Manitoba tribe46 Blood sugar

regulator49 Postwar

reception53 Neutrogena rival54 Like “ifs” and

“buts”: Abbr.55 Throw a feast for59 Back talk60 Tools of the

mischievous godhidden in 17-, 23-, 37- and 49-Across

62 Cézanne’ssummer

63 Pad user64 Light wash65 Le counterpart, in

Leipzig66 Like-minded gps.67 Guide

DOWN1 Grain holder2 Jai __3 Mass robes

4 Raspy-voiced“Like a Rock”singer

5 Where the antheris

6 Dallas-to-Houston dir.

7 Wedding dances8 HI hi9 Highest peak in

the Calif.Cascades

10 “Sprechen __Deutsch?”

11 Single-and-looking group

12 Do a makeupjob?

13 Stoop18 “Unfaithful” co-

star22 One that stands

to prevent astrike

24 More strange25 Soft-spoken

painter Bob26 Liberal subject?27 1939 Garland co-

star28 Defroster

alternative32 “Who am __

say?”33 Moral principle

35 Con36 Summer intern,

often38 Plural medical

suffix39 Stock holders?40 John Wayne

classic45 Campanella of

Cooperstown47 North of Paris48 Mascara mishaps49 Sank, in a way

50 High class51 Cary of “The

Princess Bride”52 Blond comic strip

teenager56 Secretary of

EducationDuncan

57 Get whipped58 Fancy pitcher60 Org. with Eagles61 Hardly shows of

support

Wednesday’s Puzzle SolvedBy C.C. Burnikel 12/6/12

(c)2012 Tribune Media Services, Inc. 12/6/12

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5-6 BD/2BA SPIRAL STAIRS ALL UTILI-TIES PAID, 50 IN FLAT SCREEN AND LEATHER FURNITURE 217.345.6210 www.eiprops.com_________________________12/10LOCATION LOCATION...Oh GIRLS THIS ONES FOR YOU!!!...1060 2ND 6BD 2/BATH HOUSE CLOSE TO BARS, TV AND FURNISHED $435 PP 217.345.6210 www.eiprops.com_________________________12/10Fall 2013, very nice 2, 3, 6 bedroom houses, town houses, and apts. avail-able. All excellent locations! 217-493-7559 or myeiuhome.com._________________________12/10VERY NICE 6 BEDROOM, 2 BATH HOUSE. ACROSS THE STREET FROM O'BRIEN STADIUM WITH LARGE PRI-VATE BACKYARD. myeiuhome.com 217-493-7559. _________________________12/10AVAILABLE NOW. 2 BR APTS, STOVE, FRIG, MICROWAVE, TRASH PD. 2001 S 12TH & 1305 18th STR. 217-348-7746. WWW.CHARLESTONILAPTS.COM_________________________12/10Right behind McHugh's. Very nice 2 and 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartments. Cable and Internet included. (217)493-7559 myeiuhome.com. _________________________12/10AVAILABLE NOW - QUIET LOCATION 1306 ARTHUR, 2 BR, 2 BA, STOVE, FRIG, MICROWAVE, DISHWASHER, W/D, TRASH PD. 217-348-7746 WWW.CHARLESTONILAPTS.COM_________________________12/10Price reduced! Townhouses 2 1/2 baths , washer/dryer , f in ished basement,no pets - $600/month. Call 217-345-3754._________________________12/101 bdr apts. water/trash paid, no pets. $300/month. Call 217-345- 3754_________________________12/103, 4, 5 and 6 bedroom houses. All have washer and dryer, dishwasher, and trash included. Rent $275-325. 10 month lease. (217) 273-2292 _________________________12/10Available June 2013. Nice one bed-room apartment. Good parking. Pet friendly. Call Todd (217) 840-6427._________________________12/10Available January 2013. Nice one bed-room apartment. Good parking. Pet friendly. Call Todd (217) 840-6427._________________________12/10House with 5 bedroom 2 bath 2 kitch-en available Fall 2013 - Great location! Corrie Rental on Facebook_________________________12/10Sublease 1 bedroom in 5 bedroom - 2 bath house close to campus until Au-gust 2013 $325/month plus utilities call 348-6011_________________________12/102 BEDROOM APARTMENT $210 EACH - WATER AND TRASH INCLUDED. FUR-NISHED OR NON FURNISHED NEXT TO CITY PARK AT 1111 2ND STREET 217-549-1957_________________________12/104 BEDROOM HOUSE & TOWNHOUSE AVAILABLE WITH LARGE YARD NEXT TO CITY PARK $250 EACH 217-549-1957_________________________12/107 bedroom, 2 bath home close to cam-pus. No pets. 217-345-5037._________________________12/103 bedroom homes $300/person, close to campus. Trash & yard service includ-ed. No pets. 217-345-5037._________________________12/106 bedroom, 2 bath home close to cam-pus. $250.00/person 217/345-5037._________________________12/105 bedroom, 2 bath homes. No pets. 217/345-5037._________________________12/10

$175 PER STUDENT FOR A 3 BEDROOM FURNISHED APARTMENT FOR 2013-14 SCHOOL YEAR, 10 MONTH LEASE, NO PETS. CALL 345-3664._________________________12/10Available January 1st. 1 BR Apts. Water & Trash included. Off-Street Parking. $390/MO. BuchananSt.com or call 345-1266._________________________12/10Fall 2013 1 & 2 bedroom apartments available east of campus. NO PETS! 217-345-5832 or RCRRentals.com_________________________12/10FALL 2013 VERY NICE 4 BEDROOM HOUSE ON 12TH STREET CAMPUS SIDE. AWESOME LOCATION. LARGER BEDROOMS, A/C, WASHER/DRYER, DISHWASHER, LAWN SERVICE INCLUD-ED. (217) 549-9348._________________________12/10One and two bedroom apartments. Furnished or unfurnished. Close to EIU. All electric, AC. No pets. 345-7286 jwilliamsrentals.com._________________________12/10Fall 2013-Houses 3,4,5,6 bedrooms. $300-350 per person. Includes trash, parking, laundry, AC. No pets. 345-7286 jwilliamsrentals.com._________________________12/10AVAILABLE NOW: 1 BR QUIET LOCA-TION. 605 W GRANT. STOVE, FRIG, DISHWASHER, W/D, TRASH PD. 217-348-7746 WWW.CHARLESTONILAPTS.COM_________________________12/106 Bedroom 3 Bath 1618 11th St. 5 Bed-room 3 Bath 2160 11th St. EIUStudentRentals.com 217-232-9595_________________________12/10NEW 2-BEDROOM APTS ON 9TH STREET ACROSS FROM BUZZARD available Aug 2013 Hurry before they're gone!! ppwrentals.com 217-348-8249 _________________________12/105 Bedroom House Available Fall 2013 at 1434 9th St. Great Location! Schedule your showing today! www.unique-properties.net 345-5022 _________________________12/10Fall 2013 need a group of 4 or 5 per-sons for 1837 11th St. Walking distance from Campus, 3 bath, Large kitchen, 2 Living rooms, 2 sets of W and D's, de-tached garage for storage/parties/smokers. $300.00 each for 5 persons $375.00 for 4 persons. No pets. Call or text 217-728-7426._________________________12/104 BR, 2 BA DUPLEX, STOVE, FRIG, MI-CROWAVE, DISHWASHER, W/D, TRASH PD. 1520 9th STR 217-348-7746. WWW.CHARLESTONILAPTS.COM_________________________12/10NICE 2 BR APTS 2001 S 12th & 1305 18th STR, STOVE, FRIG, MICRO-WAVE, TRASH PD. 217-348-7746. WWW.CHARLESTONILAPTS.COM_________________________12/10DELUXE 1 BR APTS 117 W POLK & 905 A STR, 1306 & 1308 ARTHUR AVE STOVE, FRIG, MICROWAVE, DISHWASHER, W/D. TRASH PD. 217-348-7746 WWW.CHARLESTONILAPTS.COM_________________________12/102 BR APTS 955 4th STR, STOVE, FRIG, MICROWAVE, DISHWASHER, GA-RAGE. WATER & TRASH PD. 217-348-7746. WWW.CHARLESTONILAPTS.COM_________________________12/10Coon Rentals Renting now duplexes and houses. Call 348-7872._________________________12/105 bedroom, 2 bath house - 4th Street! Parking, washer/dryer, water, trash, & LCD TV included. Available August 2013 - $200 per person call 217-369-1887_________________________12/10

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For rent For rent For rent For rent For rent

7T H E DA I LY E ASTE R N NEWSD A I LY E A S T E R N N E W S . C O M

T H U R S DAY, D E C E M B E R 6, 2012N o. 7 2 , V O L U M E 9 7

S P O R TS

By Alex McNamee Staff Reporter

Taryn Olson started with a clean slate after former head coach Brady Sallee left Eastern for Ball State last spring.

Olson, a junior who spent two seasons on Sallee’s roster, didn’t play a major role in Sallee’s roster rotation, averaging sev-en minutes per game her freshman season and five her sophomore year.

Already, Olson is having her best year yet, averaging 4.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game this season.

Olson has been the first center off the bench this season, spelling starters Mariah King and Sabina Oroszova.

She said everything changed for her when Eastern head coach Lee Buchanan got the head coaching job after Sallee’s de-parture and told her she was going to play no matter what this season.

“I saw that as an opportunity and wanted to do something with it,” Olson said. “I didn’t have a choice.”

Buchanan hired John Swickrath as an assistant coach in the offseason. Olson said she and Swickrath, who coaches the post players, have developed a good relation-ship.

“He has been working with me on my technique and getting me out further, get-ting me some shots farther out,” Olson said.

King, a senior forward, plays her posi-tion as a post player who can step outside and shoot the ball. Olson said she is learn-ing how to do that.

Buchanan said having Olson and King going against each other in practice every-day has benefited Olson greatly.

“Mariah is a tough matchup,” Buchan-an said. “She’s quick. We pull her out on

the floor sometimes. It makes Taryn not just have to sit in the post. It makes her move her feet and be active.”

Olson said playing against King has helped her get stronger and adjust from the high school game to the college game.

Not only, though, has Olson gotten stronger playing against King, but her confidence has improved, too.

Olson said the comfort in knowing she can do whatever she wants to on the court as long as she puts her mind to it has made the biggest difference this season.

“If I make a mistake I play the next play as a new play,” Olson said. “I don’t think about it. I don’t let it get to my head like I used to.”

Olson has been consistent this season, scoring a season-high six points in two games and grabbing eight rebounds in the win against Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis.

Buchanan said it’s easy to help her im-prove because she’s such a coachable play-er.

“She listens to what you say and tries to apply it,” Buchanan said. “Those players are easy to coach.”

Buchanan said Olson is “at the tip of the iceberg” from where she can go from here. He said, “the sky is the limit.”

“Players have to put in the work,” Bu-chanan said. “See the pay off. Then hope-fully that makes you hungrier for that pay off.”

Buchanan was the associate head coach on Sallee’s coaching staff, but he said when he became head coach he might have giv-en Olson hope.

“If a player feels like she has a chance, she’s willing to work,” Buchanan said.

Alex McNamee can be reached at 581-2812 or admcnamee@eiu.edu.

All Accesswith Taryn Olson, women’s basketball, forward

Olson thriving under new coaching staff

Z ACHARY WHITE | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WSTaryn Olson, a junior forward, tries to steal a rebound from Miranda Liles, a junior center from the University of Evansville Tuesday at Lantz Arena. The Panthers look to take on Sacramento State Friday at 7p.m. in Lantz Arena.

SOFTBALL

By Corey Thiesse Staff Reporter

Eastern’s softball team has added six new players to the roster for the 2013-14 season. This group of commitments includes three in-state and three out-of-state athletes.

The three in-state players include An-nie Crouch of Waterloo High School,

Ashlynne Paul of Normal High School and Amber Toenyes of Edwardsville High School.

The three out-of-state players include Lindsey Besson of San Rafael, Ca., Kris-ten Hoppman of Sun Prairie, Wis., and Jessica Weber of Waxhaw, N.C.

Crouch plays the infield, as she throws and bats right handed. She is a third baseman by trade, but can play

each infield position.Paul plays catcher and will also be

used as a utility player, which means she can be used in whatever position the team needs her most.

Paul was starting varsity catcher or shortstop since her freshman season at Normal High School.

Toenyes bats and throws right-hand-ed and is expected to pitch and play

first base for the Panthers. Besson plays catcher as well as be-

ing a utility player. She bats and throws right-handed and played for a presti-gious travel organization that consisted of collegiate players from all over Cali-fornia.

Hoppman plays shortstop and throws and bats right-handed. In the last three years, she has earned all-con-

ference, all-district and MVP honors. Weber plays outfield and throws and

bats right-handed.

Corey Thiesse can be reached at 581-2812 or cdthiesse@eiu.edu.

Panthers ink six commitments for 2013-14 season

An extended version of this story is available at

dailyeasternnews.com

BASKETBALL, from page 8

Eastern took advantage of 11 first half turnovers by Western, scoring 16 points.

But much like the game itself, the turnover battle was a different sto-ry in the second half. The Panthers doubled their turnovers from the first half to the second half in jar-ring fashion, as they gave up 10 to Western in the second. That led to 13 points off turnovers for the Leath-ernecks.

“If you give them transit ion points, you are making things hard on yourself,” Spoonhour said. “That is what we gave them. Western is not a team that gets up and down the court, but they did on us because we made some bad turnovers.”

The Panthers’ turnovers allowed the Leathernecks to begin the second half on a 15-7 run, which eventually led to a 26-11 run in Western’s favor. The game opened up at that point, as Western would not relinquish.

“I’ve seen this enough now in the last few games,” Spoonhour said. “Our guys get a look about them when it gets tough. It’s a thing where you are just, ‘OK now I hope we can make this play, or maybe that guy will make this shot.’”

Spoonhour said that the Panthers must find a resiliency to put a stop to that mindset, and that starts with team effort, regardless of a player’s role.

“It requires everybody,” he said. “Whether your job is to block a guy out, maybe your job is to screen a guy, maybe it’s just your job to catch the ball so we can run offense. What-ever your job is you have to do it.”

Anthony Catezone can be reached at 581-2812

or ajcatezone@eiu.edu.

8T H E DA I LY E ASTE R N NEWSD A I LY E A S T E R N N E W S . C O M

T H U R S DAY, D E C E M B E R 6, 2012N o. 7 2 , V O L U M E 9 7

SportS Sports EditorJordan Pottorff217 • 581 • 2812DENSportsdesk@gmail.com

@DEN_Sports tweet of the day: #EIU swimming announced its 2013-14 recruiting class, adding four swimmers that will join Eastern’s roster.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

By Dominic Renzetti Assistant Online Editor

The Eastern hockey club will head back on the road this weekend, taking on Missouri State on Fri-day and Saturday in Springfield, Mo., at the Medi-acom Ice Park. Friday's game starts at 7 p.m., with Saturday's game scheduled for a 5 p.m. start.

The Panthers are coming off a split weekend against the University of Louisville, which marked the team's third straight weekend split. The team's record now stands at 8-5-3.

The team's leading scorer from last week, senior forward Tim Shannon, is coming off a weekend in which he scored his first career collegiate hat-trick.

Shannon called most of the goals “garbage goals,” but he said it still felt great to record the feat.

“None of the goals were anything special, they all were 'garbage goals,' but a goal is a goal,” he said. “Although it did feel good to get the hat trick, when it is all said and done we still lost the game, so it didn't mean as much as it could have if we won it."

Shannon and the Panthers lost their opening game to Louisville 5-4. Of the team's losses, four have come by just a one goal difference.

After the Louisville series, Panthers' senior for-ward Chris Gallagher said the team needed to im-prove on its power play and penalty kill.

“We will be working on the Power play and Pen-alty kill for sure,” he said. “That was something that wasn't our strong suit of the weekend.”

Gallagher said the team did a better job in the second game of the Louisville series of staying out of the penalty box, which has been a struggle for the team all season.

“Our top power play line struggled getting any-thing set up,” he said. “The second game we did a better job of staying out of the box, so hopefully that continues into (this) weekend."

Missouri State will likely be one of the tough-est opponents the Panthers face this season, enter-ing the game with a record of 13-3-2. The Bears are coming off a weekend sweep of University of Wis-consin-Platteville, and recently split a series with St. Louis University, who the Panthers were swept by back in September.

Missouri State sophomore forward Jack Ryan leads the team with 16 goals this season.

Following this weekend, the Panthers' next game won't be until Friday January 4 at the Chicagoland Winter Classic, hosted by Illinois State.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-2812 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu.

Eastern club hits the road

HOCKEY

Jordan Pottorff Sports Editor

Eastern red-shirt junior wide receiver Erik Lora was named an FCS All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Lora was the lone player from the Ohio Valley Conference to be tabbed as an All-American.

“An All-American is naming the best play-ers in the nation,” Lora said. “To know that I made that list is an honor to me and every-body else. I got there because of my team and the coaches. I got here because of them.”

Lora set the FCS single-season record for re-

ceptions, totaling 136 receptions for 1,664 re-ceiving yards and 12 touchdowns.

He led the FCS in receptions and receiving yards, totaling the fourth best single-season re-ceiving yard total in FCS history.

Lora’s breakout game came against Mur-ray State in the Ohio Valley Conference sea-son opener.

Lora totaled a program and OVC record for receptions in a game, hauling in 21 passes for 269 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

“After the Murray State game that kind of showed me that I could have a spectacular sea-son,” he said. “I was aiming for 1,500 receiv-ing yards and 100 catches. I clearly surpassed that, and it’s just exciting that I set some goals

and I achieved them.”Lora’s record-breaking season came as a sur-

prise, as he missed the entire 2011 season due to injury.

Despite not seeing game action for over a year, Lora’s record-breaking season culminated with him being named OVC Offensive Play-er of the Year and finishing fourth in the Wal-ter Payton Award voting for the nation’s top player.

“It’s kind of surreal,” he said. “Nobody re-ally knew who I was before the season. I was kind of under the radar.”

Lora’s breakout season had him being the 13th player in program history to be named to the AFCA All-America team and also had

the Panthers claiming an OVC regular season championship.

“Fortunately, we had a good season,” he said. “We won the OVC and it all worked out. Being an All-American is just icing on the cake.”

Lora will return next year for his senior sea-son, and has set high aspirations for the 2013 season.

“Our team expectations are to win a nation-al championship,” he said. “That’s what we are working for and that’s what we prepare for.”

As for his personal expectations, Lora said he is focused on helping the team win and is not focused on setting records.

“I just want to have a winning season and make a contribution to my team,” Lora said. “If I break more records, whatever comes with it, comes with it.”

Jordan Pottorff can be reached at 581-2812 or jbpottorff@eiu.edu.

Lora named All-American after record breaking seasonFOOTBALL

JACOB SALMICH | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WSJunior guard Morris Woods jumps up for a shot against senior forward Terell Parks and junior forward Adam Link of Western Illinois University on Wednesday at Lantz Arena. The Panthers fell 57-45 against the Leathernecks.

Panthers flop in second half to Western

“It’s kind of surreal. Nobody really knew who I was before the season. I was kind of under the radar.”

Erik Lora, red-shirt junior wide receiver

Panther only player in Ohio Valley Conference to be tabbed All-American

By Anthony Catezone Assistant Sports Editor

The Leathernecks beat the Panthers at their own game: defense.

Despite taking a 27-20 lead into halftime, the Panthers were trounced 37-18 in the sec-ond half.

Eastern and Western Illinois play similar styles. The only difference is that Western was better Wednesday night in Lantz Arena, espe-cially in the second half.

“There is no question that Western played better in the second half, they won the game,” head coach Jay Spoonhoour said.

The 154th meeting between the in-state ri-vals ended in a 57-45 loss for Eastern – it’s seventh of the season.

The Panthers drop to 3-7 on the year, ex-tending its three-game losing streak. The Leathernecks improve to 6-3.

“We wanted to slow the game down, just run our offense more smooth,” senior guard Austin Akers said. “We were not getting very good shots in the second half and we were fouling. They were getting easy buckets and then they got (Terell Parks) going a little bit. We were just in an uphill climb then.”

Getting to the foul line has been an issue for Eastern all season, but against Western it was more evident than ever. The Leathernecks shot 21-of-34 from the charity stripe to the Panthers’ 4-of-8.

“We have not been very good at getting fouled all year,” the first-year head coach said. “It is not for a lack of trying. We drove it and posted it, but you have to be able to get an angle on a guy to force them to foul you. We pretty much played with them between us and the basket.”

Eastern was unable to find its range from be-hind the arch. It shot 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from three-point land.

Akers said if shots are not falling from deep, the Panthers have to know to try and drive the ball and draw fouls, which they didn’t do tonight.

Akers was one of three Panthers to score seven points, as he added three assists in the game. Not a single Panther managed to score in double-dig-its. Senior guard Morris Woods led the way for the offense with eight points.

Meanwhile, three Leathernecks registered double-digits in points. Adam Link paced them with 15 points on 4-of-5 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free throw line. Ceo-la Clark followed with 14 points, making 7-of-8 free throw attempts. Parks picked up 11 points, while also hauling in a game-high eight rebounds.

BASKETBALL, page 7