the daily egyptian for 7/19/11

8
Jeremy Schroeder says it was a corrupt judicial system and excessive spending that allowed Illinois to become the sixteenth state to abolish the death penalty. “Twenty innocent people were on death row ... we had a broken system and all too oen the death penalty was used,” said Schroeder, executive director of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. e Illinois Senate and House approved the death penalty ban July 1. Gov. Pat Quinn signed the bill in March and commuted all inmates on death row to life sentences rather than executions. e Capital Litigation Trust Fund, a state treasury fund used to nance state executions, will now be re-distributed to provide services such as counseling to murder victims’ families. Money will also be put into state law enforcement. e state spent millions of dollars per year in death penalty cases and prosecutions said David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute “It takes a lot of money to kill someone,” he said. “Millions were spent on gathering evidence, appeals (and) attorneys. is was costing us a lot of money.” In 2000, former Gov. George Ryan declared a moratorium, when a state can no longer execute inmates, to ensure innocent people would not be executed, according to the State of Illinois’ website. e moratorium was a result of Chicago police using methods of torture to get people to confess to crimes they did not commit, according to an article in the Hungton Post and the Center of Wrongful Convictions website. Yepsen said although Illinois has not executed a person in more than 10 years, inmates were still sentenced to death row and money was still spent on execution trials. Schroeder said 20 inmates in Illinois have been released from death row since 1967 because of DNA evidence and trial investigations that later proved their innocence. Nearly 50 members of the Illinois Education Association were dressed in black and held yellow signs with the number ‘379’ as they entered the doors of Ballroom B during the SIU Board of Trustees meeting. e IEA members held up the signs at the July 14 meeting in the Student Center to send a clear message to the BOT members, said Randy Hughes, president of the Faculty Association He said ‘379’ represents the number of days union members have worked without a contract. e 50 people were said to represent more than 3,400 members of the IEA unions on campus, which includes the SIUC Faculty Association, Non- Tenure Track Faculty Association, Association of Civil Service Employees and Graduate Assistants United. “We wanted to bring the message to the Board of Trustees members, a number of whom are relatively new, who may not have been following the 379 days of what’s been happening with the contract negotiations,” Hughes said. All four unions have concerns about job security, health care, the future of collective bargaining, the employee voice at SIUC, according to a letter signed by all four union presidents. e letter was read to the BOT members during the public comments section of the meeting. Hughes said he believes a better approach from administration is needed in regards to contract negotiations. “There’s a better way the administration could be handling the negotiations,” he said. “A more collaborative approach ... a partnership between faculty, staff and students would (serve as) a better relationship.” Behind the stage of the McLeod eater, there’s a bustling world that few audience members may ever think about, but without which the world portrayed on the stage would cease to exist. e backstage area houses a labyrinth of work areas lled with ying sparks, sawdust, towers of old set pieces, the whir of sewing machines, festoons of stage lights and the odor of fresh paint. For six days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the summer season, the backstage is where the play is put together — piece by piece. Every piece of scenery, every prop sword or teacart, every costume donned by the actors and every sha of dramatic light is the fruit of hours of labor by an ever-busy sta that may never grace the stage themselves. During summer stock, theater lingo for the summer season of shows, that job is even more hectic and demanding. “Everybody works hard, but that technical crew is amazing because I don’t think they even get a second,” said Vincent Rhomberg, director of marketing for the McLeod eater. e McLeod Summer Playhouse consists of three shows that run from June to August. is season’s shows are “A Chorus Line,” “e Sound of Music” and “Peter Pan,” which opens July 28. Rhomberg said while the Summer Playhouse is aliated with the university, it has an identity of its own and draws its funds from several di erent sources. e backstage talent for the McLeod Summer Playhouse, such as the actors, come from both the local area and across the Midwest, Rhomberg said. Technical Director Jamie Lindemann said despite the hard work, McLeod is less demanding than some other theaters. “Summer stock is notoriously rough on technicians,” he said. “Twelve-hour days are not uncommon. Around here, we’ve been keeping it to something a lot more sane … long days if we need to, but we go home at night, which is not always true.” ough the hours might be sane, the schedule is fast and Lindemann said the turnaround rate from one play to the next must be swi . “We have two days to go from Austria to Neverland,” he said. As technical director, Lindemann said he is the engineer for the play’s scenery. He said the scenic designer hands him an image of the set and he gures out if it’s possible, how it can be done, how much it will cost and then starts the technical drawings for it. “I’m up working on what we’re going to need for the day a couple hours before work starts,” he said. Lindemann said it’s a job that relatively few people can do, so he usually doesn’t have too much trouble getting work. But that doesn’t mean he’s exempt from having to go where the work is. e life of a theater technician professionally is pretty nomadic,” he said. One advantage of moving around, though, is that you create a network of people you know, Lindemann said. e vast majority of the time, you go somewhere, you work with somebody who knows someone you’ve worked with,” he said. “e theater world is so small.” Lighting designer Christopher Jorandby said the same thing has been true for him. He said he’s never gotten a job from a cold interview. 7XHVGD\ -XO\ Volume 96, Issue 179, 8 pages Elizabeth Wehrli, as Maria, sings with actors as they play the Von Trapp children in the musical performance of “The Sound of Music” Friday at McLeod Theater. The play was the second production this season of the McLeod Summer Playhouse. The third production will be “Peter Pan,” which opens July 28. JAMES DURBIN | DAILY EGYPTIAN Backstage crew passes summer with hard work, fun times ELI MILEUR Daily Egyptian Unions stand out at Board of Trustees meeting Chancellor Rita Cheng, surrounded by SIUC faculty and students, listens to concerns raised by members of Graduate Assistants United Thursday at the Board of Trustees meeting in the Student Center. The ‘379’ represents the number of days the four Illinois Education Association unions have been working without a contract. The four unions represent 3,400 members, which include graduate students, civil service employees, faculty and non- tenure track faculty. All four union presidents, in a letter addressed to the board, said they have concerns about job security, health care, the future of the employee voice and collective bargaining at SIUC. STEVE MATZKER | DAILY EGYPTIAN Illinois kills death penalty due to wrongful convictions LAUREN LEONE Daily Egyptian WHITNEY WAY Daily Egyptian Please see MCLEOD | 3 Please see DEATH PENALTY | 3 Please see BOT | 3 '( 'DLO\ (J\SWLDQ 6LQFH ZZZGDLO\HJ\SWLDQFRP

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Page 1: The Daily Egyptian for 7/19/11

Jeremy Schroeder says it was a corrupt judicial system and excessive spending that allowed Illinois to become the sixteenth state to abolish the death penalty.

“Twenty innocent people were on death row ... we had a broken system and all too o! en the death penalty was used,” said Schroeder, executive director of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

" e Illinois Senate and House approved the death penalty ban July 1. Gov. Pat Quinn signed the bill in March and commuted all inmates on death row to life sentences rather than executions.

" e Capital Litigation Trust Fund, a state treasury fund used to # nance state executions, will now be re-distributed to provide services such as counseling to murder victims’ families. Money will also be put into state law enforcement.

" e state spent millions of dollars per year in death penalty cases and prosecutions said David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute

“It takes a lot of money to kill someone,” he said. “Millions were spent on gathering evidence, appeals (and) attorneys. " is was costing us a lot of money.”

In 2000, former Gov. George Ryan declared a moratorium, when a state can no longer execute inmates, to ensure innocent people would not be executed,

according to the State of Illinois’ website. " e moratorium was a result of Chicago police using methods of torture to get people to confess to crimes they did not commit, according to an article in the Hu$ ngton Post and the Center of Wrongful Convictions website.

Yepsen said although Illinois has not executed a person in more than 10 years, inmates were still sentenced to death row and money was still spent on execution trials.

Schroeder said 20 inmates in Illinois have been released from death row since 1967 because of DNA evidence and trial investigations that later proved their innocence.

Nearly 50 members of the Illinois Education Association were dressed in black and held yellow signs with the number ‘379’ as they entered the doors of Ballroom B during the SIU Board of Trustees meeting.

" e IEA members held up the signs at the July 14 meeting in the Student Center to send a clear message to the BOT members, said Randy Hughes, president of the Faculty Association

He said ‘379’ represents the number of days union members have worked without a contract.

" e 50 people were said to represent more than 3,400 members of the IEA unions on campus, which includes the SIUC Faculty Association, Non-Tenure Track Faculty Association, Association of Civil Service Employees and Graduate Assistants United.

“We wanted to bring the message to the Board of Trustees members, a number of whom are relatively new, who may not have been following the 379 days of what’s been happening with the contract negotiations,” Hughes said.

All four unions have concerns about job security, health care, the future of collective bargaining, the employee voice at SIUC, according to a letter

signed by all four union presidents. " e letter was read to the BOT members during the public comments section of the meeting.

Hughes said he believes a better approach from administration is needed in regards to contract negotiations.

“There’s a better way the

administration could be handling the negotiations,” he said. “A more collaborative approach ... a partnership between faculty, staff and students would (serve as) a better relationship.”

Behind the stage of the McLeod " eater, there’s a bustling world that few audience members may ever think about, but without which the world portrayed on the stage would cease to exist.

" e backstage area houses a labyrinth of work areas # lled with % ying sparks, sawdust, towers of old set pieces, the whir of sewing machines, festoons of stage lights and the odor of fresh paint. For six days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the summer season, the backstage is where the play is put together — piece by piece.

Every piece of scenery, every prop sword or teacart, every costume donned by the actors and every sha! of dramatic light is the fruit of hours of labor by an ever-busy sta& that may never grace the stage themselves. During summer stock, theater lingo for the summer season of shows, that job is even more hectic and demanding.

“Everybody works hard, but that technical crew is amazing because I don’t think they even get a second,” said Vincent Rhomberg, director of marketing for the McLeod " eater.

" e McLeod Summer Playhouse consists of three shows that run from June to August. " is season’s shows are “A Chorus Line,” “" e Sound of Music” and “Peter Pan,” which opens July 28.

Rhomberg said while the Summer Playhouse is a$ liated with the university, it has an identity of its own and draws its funds from several di& erent sources. " e backstage talent for the McLeod Summer Playhouse, such as the actors, come from both the local area and across the Midwest, Rhomberg said.

Technical Director Jamie Lindemann said despite the hard work, McLeod is less demanding than some other theaters.

“Summer stock is notoriously rough on technicians,” he said. “Twelve-hour days are not uncommon. Around here, we’ve been keeping it to something a lot more sane … long days if we need to, but we go home at night, which is not always true.”

" ough the hours might be sane, the schedule is fast and Lindemann said the turnaround rate from one play to the next must be swi! .

“We have two days to go from Austria to Neverland,” he said.As technical director, Lindemann said he is the engineer

for the play’s scenery. He said the scenic designer hands him an image of the set and he # gures out if it’s possible, how it can be done, how much it will cost and then starts the technical drawings for it.

“I’m up working on what we’re going to need for the day a couple hours before work starts,” he said.

Lindemann said it’s a job that relatively few people can do, so he usually doesn’t have too much trouble getting work. But that doesn’t mean he’s exempt from having to go where the work is.

“" e life of a theater technician professionally is pretty nomadic,” he said.

One advantage of moving around, though, is that you create a network of people you know, Lindemann said.

“" e vast majority of the time, you go somewhere, you work with somebody who knows someone you’ve worked with,” he said. “" e theater world is so small.”

Lighting designer Christopher Jorandby said the same thing has been true for him. He said he’s never gotten a job from a cold interview.

Volume 96, Issue 179, 8 pages

Elizabeth Wehrli, as Maria, sings with actors as they play the Von Trapp children in the musical performance of “The Sound of Music” Friday at McLeod Theater.

The play was the second production this season of the McLeod Summer Playhouse. The third production will be “Peter Pan,” which opens July 28.

JAMES DURBIN | DAILY EGYPTIAN

Backstage crew passes summer with hard work, fun timesELI MILEURDaily Egyptian

Unions stand out at Board of Trustees meeting

Chancellor Rita Cheng, surrounded by SIUC faculty and students, listens to concerns raised by members of Graduate Assistants United Thursday at the Board of Trustees meeting in the Student Center. The ‘379’ represents the number of days the four Illinois Education Association unions have been working without a contract. The

four unions represent 3,400 members, which include graduate students, civil service employees, faculty and non-tenure track faculty. All four union presidents, in a letter addressed to the board, said they have concerns about job security, health care, the future of the employee voice and collective bargaining at SIUC.

STEVE MATZKER | DAILY EGYPTIAN

Illinois kills death penalty due to wrongful convictions

LAUREN LEONEDaily Egyptian

WHITNEY WAYDaily Egyptian

Please see MCLEOD | 3 Please see DEATH PENALTY | 3

Please see BOT | 3

Page 2: The Daily Egyptian for 7/19/11

D!"#$ E%$&'"!( N!"# Tuesday, July 19, 20112

The Weather Channel® 5 day weather forecast for Carbondale:

Today

10% chance of precipitation

Wednesday Thursday Friday

0% chance of precipitation

Saturday

10% chance of precipitation

96°74°

98°76°

95°76°

95°77°

93°76°

10% chance of precipitation

10% chance of precipitation

Gus Bode says:

“Need a job that will provide you with great experience?”The DE is looking for: Arts & Entertainment, campus, city,

multimedia and sports reporters and copy editors. The DE also needs a web administrator with basic web programming skills.

Come to Room 1247 of the Communications Building for an application.

About Us) e D!"#$ E%$&'"!( is published by the students of Southern Illinois University Carbondale 50 weeks

per year, with an average daily circulation of 20,000. Fall and spring semester editions run Monday through Friday. Summer editions run Tuesday through ) ursday. All intersession editions will run on Wednesdays. Spring break and ) anksgiving editions are distributed on Mondays of the pertaining weeks. Free copies are distributed in the Carbondale, Murphysboro and Carterville communities. ) e D!"#$ E%$&'"!( online publication can be found at www.dailyegyptian.com.

Copyright Information© 2011 D!"#$ E%$&'"!(. All rights reserved. All content is property of the D!"#$ E%$&'"!( and may not

be reproduced or transmitted without consent. ) e D!"#$ E%$&'"!( is a member of the Illinois College Press Association, Associated Collegiate Press and College Media Advisers Inc.

Mission Statement) e D!"#$ E%$&'"!(, the student-run newspaper of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, is com-

mitted to being a trusted source of news, information, commentary and public discourse, while helping readers understand the issues a* ecting their lives.

Publishing Information) e D!"#$ E%$&'"!( is published by the students of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. O+ ces are

in the Communications Building, Room 1259, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL 62901. Bill Freivogel, , scal o+ cer.

HoroscopesBy Nancy Black and Stephanie Clement

Now arrange the circled letters to form the surprise answer, assuggested by the above cartoon.

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAMEby David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

Unscramble these four Jumbles,one letter to each square,to form four ordinary words.

PMCOH

NIRYO

OERRVF

DOYROP

©2011 Tribune Media Services, Inc.All Rights Reserved.

Sign

Up

for t

he IA

FLO

FCI (

OFF

ICIA

L) J

umbl

e Fa

cebo

ok fa

n cl

ub

(Answers tomorrow)THUMB SIXTY PRETTY RUDDERYesterday’s Jumbles:

Answer: Their day at the beach did this — SUITED THEM

gg y

Answer here:

Today’s Birthday — It’s all coming together this year. You’ve got talent, optimism and good business ability. The only things stopping you are your own negative conversations, like, “I’m no good” or “it’s not enough.” Let it be, and keep pushing anyway. Do it for others.

Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is an 8— A female partner soothes ruffled tempers. Take care with details. Explore passion today. Creativity with art, food and atmosphere gives rise to romance.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 7—Go ahead and get what you need for your home. Good deals are available. Avoid impulse buying, but restore functionality to extinguish a daily complaint.

Gemini (May 21-June 21) — Today is a 5—Pay attention to what you’re doing. Impulsiveness could cause accidents. Consult with your team to allay any doubts. Keep systems clean and functional to avoid trouble.

Cancer (June 22-July 22) — Today is an 8 —You’re looking good, and can do well financially now. Follow directions, move quickly and stick to the plan. Tempers could flare later, so lay low and take it easy.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is an 8 — Love is like an unstoppable force of nature. Don’t hold it in. Share it with others and it grows in the process. Sometimes the process is messy, and impetuous words slip out. Forgive.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is an 8—Make your home a safe haven that friends gravitate toward. Friendship is a great basis for partnership. Put expectations and promises in writing, before you commit.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is an 8— You especially appreciate beauty today. Create some, and others notice. It doesn’t need to cost anything. Clean up a mess, and enjoy the clear space.Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is a 7 —Use kindness to surmount misunderstandings, silly arguments and health issues. Remember what really matters before you open your mouth. Be kind to yourself and others.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 7— A controversy may spark. The difficult part is almost over. Communication eases the issue, so keep your objective in mind, and bring everyone together.Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 7 — The world seems to be coming at you fast now. Find comfort at home, and proceed with caution. Use your common sense and engag-ing personality to sidestep barriers.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is an 8—Money may come easier today, but don’t waste it. Create income from the not so obvi-ous places, but avoid economical risks now. Be a magnet for change.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 9— Focus on what you love, rather than on trying to win the argument. Sometimes winning has you losing. Manage your power well so that nobody gets hurt. Use your talent.

! ursday’sAnswers

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold boarders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For

strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visitwww.sudoku.org.uk.

THURSDAY’S ANSWERS

Level: 1 23 4

D"#$% E&%'(#")S!"#$ B%&'(Tuesday, July 19, 2011 7

Page 3: The Daily Egyptian for 7/19/11

“! e idea of getting a job from essentially a stranger seems an oddity and an absurdity to me,” he said.

Jorandby said people can move up the ranks very quickly in the theater, and as an assistant in the theater department he reminds his students to always respect not only those above them but also those below, as they could " nd themselves working for someone who had once worked for them.

He said his job consists of deciding which lights are hung, when they’re turned on and when they’re turned o# .

“It sounds really simple, but we’re going to have probably 200 instruments up there, so deciding which ones are going up there ends up being kind of like conducting an orchestra,” he said.

Jorandby said the theater requires a mix of technical and creative skills. He said he started as a carpenter in the theater and was told he could make

more money working construction, but the theater o# ered an experience that building houses couldn’t.

“Building a stud wall is one thing, but I’d prefer to have to build a house that has to transform into a giant tyrannosaurus rex and burn down on stage,” he said.

In fact, many people in the theater started in one area and moved to another. Teena Sauvola, scenic charge, and Jamie Karas, props master, both moved into their jobs from other ones.

Sauvola said she started as an actor in high school and had fun, but the " erce competition in college made her realize it was not the path for her. She said she found that she had more fun harvesting her artistic abilities in behind-the-scenes work and hopes to move on to " lm.

“! at’s why I enjoyed starting out in theatre, because it’s so much about creating a world out of nothing,” she said.

! is summer, she’s responsible for every painted surface on the stage. She’s given renderings by the set designer, and

she and her one assistant then interpret them on a large scale.

As props master, Karas said she is in a leadership position for the " rst time. She said she always volunteered to help with props in college and realized it was her calling, but she found out too late that Northern Illinois University didn’t o# er good prop classes. She said people like Sauvola are thankfully always available to mentor her.

Karas said this is also her " rst summer stock.

“(! is is) my " rst time out of school doing work, so it’s a very exhilarating, nerve-wracking experience,” she said. “But I’m enjoying it very much.”

In the basement below the noisy set-building area is the costume shop, which is managed by Caitlin Entwistle. She said her job is di# erent every day.

As the shop manager, Entwistle makes sure all the supplies are on hand and does " ttings with the cast members. As the designer for “Peter Pan,” she also creates the costume drawings. She said

she interacts with the actors more than most backstage sta# and started out as an actress herself before moving onto costumes.

“Getting my costume was always my favorite part of plays,” Entwistle said.

She said once she’s designed a costume, she hands it to the draper, Nick Jones, who takes measurements, spends time making shapes with the fabric and starts to put the costume together.

Like Jorandby, Jones said theater work, costuming, in his case, requires a combination of technique and imagination.

“You have to be able to translate emotion into clothing, which can be really creative,” he said.

Jones said he has been working professionally in the theater for 11 years, and this is his fourth Summer Playhouse. He said though he loves it, he doesn’t particularly like the nomadic lifestyle.

“I’m very homesick right now, but it’s our life. It’s what we do and what we have

to do,” he said.Jones said some of that homesickness

is alleviated by the network of friends one creates when working around the country.

“You develop families in di# erent areas, so it’s not that bad,” he said.

With the last performance of “Peter Pan,” August 1 the McLeod Summer Playhouse will end another season and the sta# will have to pack everything up and head their separate ways. Another summer of hard work, learning experiences and new friendships backstage will inevitably give way to the fall, possibly without the audience ever knowing it was there.

“! at’s the biggest thing about summer theater … it only happens in three months and then its gone, so all these people come together, form really, really close tight-knit friendships, and then they disperse,” Sauvola said. “! ere’s something magical about how quickly it goes up and how quickly it comes down.”

At the meeting, BOT member Don Lowery suggested a rati" cation be voted on separately that included changes in faculty-administrative salaries. He said he would vote against those increases.

“My vote on this item in no way re$ ects on the quality of the service of these people that are involved,” he said. “However, I can not vote to adjust the salaries in these rough economic times when we are asking employees to take furlough days.”

Lowery and BOT member Donna

Mannering voted against the rati" cation.Applause from IEA members in the

audience followed Lowery’s comments and the two votes against the pay increases.

With the approved rati" cation, SIUC Provost John Nicklow received a 40.79 percent increase for his promotion from interim assistant provost to provost and vice chancellor for academic a# airs. With the increase, his salary is now $225,000, up from $159,816. ! e changes in payroll for SIUC also include 12 continuing appointments, which are for individuals already working at the university.

Chancellor Rita Cheng addressed the BOT members and those in audience with an update on the university, which included the increase in summer enrollment and budget cuts for " scal year 2012.

She said the 100-student increase in summer enrollment is the " rst increase in " ve years.

“! ese numbers add to the optimism we have for the fall,” Cheng said. “As of this week, we remain very, very hopeful for fall enrollment.”

Cheng said the university is monitoring its enrollment numbers closely. Freshman applicants for fall are

up 11 percent, admissions are up 10 percent, and the number of students admitted and eligible to enroll has increased 8 percent, she said.

Cheng said the university is implementing a 2 to 2.5 percent permanent budget cut across campus in response to the university's $5.7 million structural de" cit and the reduction in state appropriations.

“Our " nancial situation has improved over last year,” she said. “We are in a better position because we worked very hard to manage our " nances in (" scal year 2011) ... It is my expectation that by the end of " scal year

2012, (SIUC) will have reached the goal of a balanced budget.”

Hughes said he believes the BOT received a clear message a% er IEA members presented themselves at the meeting: ! e relationship between the IEA and university administration is damaged because of the ongoing contract negotiations.

“We don’t necessarily expect a public response from the board members and we’re not demanding a public response from them,” he said. “We just think there is room for improvement (with negotiations) and some opportunity to change the situation.”

! e last person executed in Illinois was Charles Walker in 1999, according to the Center of

Wrongful Convictions website.Richard Devin, a former Illinois

State Attorney, said he believes abolishing the death penalty is better than being in a state of moratorium. However, he said

death row is appropriate.“Some people don’t deserve to be

a part of the community,” he said.Yepsen said he believes life

imprisonment is equivalent to the death penalty.

“One hour of sunlight a day, and they put you in a hole until you die,” Yepsen said. “Psychologically, that’s more horri" c.”

Schroeder said the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death

Penalty will continue to advocate for a nationwide abolishment of the death penalty.

“We will have to " ght reinstatement issues,” Schroeder said. “We will remain vigilant.”

MCLEODCONTINUED FROM 1

BOTCONTINUED FROM 1

DEATH PENALTYCONTINUED FROM 1

D&'() E*)+,'&-N!"#Tuesday, July 19, 2011 3

Page 4: The Daily Egyptian for 7/19/11

D!"#$ E%$&'"!( N!"# Tuesday, July 19, 20114

Some have seen a Sex! st show while others have seen a Henhouse Prowlers show, but few know the groups are one in the same.

When the group plays a Sex! st show, the guys go by stage names they created. In fact, the members chose not to disclose their true names and instead provided only their alter egos.

" e comical members of the group are Clutch Johnson on guitar, Bradley Longwood on bass, Je# rey Chestnut on ! ddle and Chuck Oakton on banjo.

" e group has managed to maintain its fairly low pro! le alter ego. Sex! st is the sillier, home-spun fun side of the group. When they aren’t playing at places where Sex! st has caught on such as Tres Hombres and the Kinetic Playground, they go by the name Henhouse Prowlers.

" e band’s name and its origin only make the group more interesting.

Longwood said Sex! st started out as a joke in the group’s early days and has inspired many fan-made catch phrases like ‘let’s get ! sted!’

Some people, however, ! nd the

name to be vulgar.“(Sex! st) ended up taking on a life

of its own. We even tried to get rid of it at some point but it just didn’t work,” Longwood said.

Henhouse Prowlers is a more serious take on Sex! st as well as an easier name to book at family-friendly places, Longwood said.

However, Sex! st and the Henhouse Prowlers play a lot of the same songs.

Sex! st was dressed to the nines in an all black attire at their show at Tres Hombres Bar " ursday a$ er the Sunset Concert. It was a party atmosphere with no shortage of drunken tomfoolery.

" e group formed in 2004 and played at the Red Line Tap in Chicago every Tuesday for almost six years before they switched locations to the Kinetic Playground, also in Chicago.

" ursday’s show was a great time to be a fan of bluegrass. Compared to Dub Club, the Sex! st show was (thankfully) not as uncomfortably crowded and sweaty, but there was still a sizeable turnout.

A$ er seven years of playing, the group has acquired quite a fan base, especially in the Chicago and Carbondale areas.

“Any show in Carbondale is always fun. We seem to have developed a following here,” Longwood said. “" ere are always new and old faces. It’s like playing at a home away from home.”

" e band was full of energy in each of the songs it played and kept the audience entertained and begging for “one more song.” " e crowd could only respond in applause, cheers and non-stop dancing.

“" ey have great energy that Carbondale loves. When they play it’s almost like a hometown local band experience,” said Madeline Close, a senior from Wheaton studying psychology.

" e common denominators of the night were alcohol, smiles and getting down. " ere wasn’t a sober or unhappy person in the bar. It was a night of hilarious hillbilly dance moves that were hard to ignore and even harder to not join in on. It’s astounding how the love for one band can bring a group of complete strangers from all walks of life together.

Concert-goer Tim Field, a recent graduate of John A. Logan, said he enjoyed the show.

“" ey were great! " e guitar player

should play some civil war ! ddle next time.” he said. “He’s really good and I’d like to hear more of it.”

" e group seemed to be in tune with each other. You could pick out and hear each instrument separately and at the same time listen to the group as a whole. " e combination of the exciting energy-pumped bluegrass sound and melodic vocals made everything click. Oakton’s ! ngers % ying around the banjo were particularly interesting to

watch and listen to.“We try to play to the crowd and

try to chant and keep the crowds dancing,” Longwood said. “We like to meet everybody (a$ er the show) and get to hang out with fans and friends.”

Don’t worry if you couldn’t make it to the show this time around — according to its website, the band will be back in Carbondale Oct. 29 for a Halloween spectacular and again Dec. 17.

I think that would be a tragedy.

Ai WeiweiChinese artist and dissident, on the prospect of Beijing’s

banning him from returning to China after a possible 2012 stint as a lecturer at the Berlin University of the Arts

Good morning, Atlantis, this is Elton John.

Elton Johnsinger, waking the crew of the space shuttle, now on its last-ever mission; the message was accompanied

by a broadcast of John’s 1972 song “Rocket Man”

Sexfist, a Chicago bluegrass band, plays to a crowd Thursday at Tres Hombres. The group got together in 2004 and started playing at the Red Line Tap in Chicago.+

LYNNETTEE OOSTMEYER | DAILY EGYPTIAN

DARCE OLUNDDaily Egyptian

Sex! st plow through bluegrass at Tres

Page 5: The Daily Egyptian for 7/19/11

Some have seen a Sex! st show while others have seen a Henhouse Prowlers show, but few know the groups are one in the same.

When the group plays a Sex! st show, the guys go by stage names they created. In fact, the members chose not to disclose their true names and instead provided only their alter egos.

" e comical members of the group are Clutch Johnson on guitar, Bradley Longwood on bass, Je# rey Chestnut on ! ddle and Chuck Oakton on banjo.

" e group has managed to maintain its fairly low pro! le alter ego. Sex! st is the sillier, home-spun fun side of the group. When they aren’t playing at places where Sex! st has caught on such as Tres Hombres and the Kinetic Playground, they go by the name Henhouse Prowlers.

" e band’s name and its origin only make the group more interesting.

Longwood said Sex! st started out as a joke in the group’s early days and has inspired many fan-made catch phrases like ‘let’s get ! sted!’

Some people, however, ! nd the

name to be vulgar.“(Sex! st) ended up taking on a life

of its own. We even tried to get rid of it at some point but it just didn’t work,” Longwood said.

Henhouse Prowlers is a more serious take on Sex! st as well as an easier name to book at family-friendly places, Longwood said.

However, Sex! st and the Henhouse Prowlers play a lot of the same songs.

Sex! st was dressed to the nines in an all black attire at their show at Tres Hombres Bar " ursday a$ er the Sunset Concert. It was a party atmosphere with no shortage of drunken tomfoolery.

" e group formed in 2004 and played at the Red Line Tap in Chicago every Tuesday for almost six years before they switched locations to the Kinetic Playground, also in Chicago.

" ursday’s show was a great time to be a fan of bluegrass. Compared to Dub Club, the Sex! st show was (thankfully) not as uncomfortably crowded and sweaty, but there was still a sizeable turnout.

A$ er seven years of playing, the group has acquired quite a fan base, especially in the Chicago and Carbondale areas.

“Any show in Carbondale is always fun. We seem to have developed a following here,” Longwood said. “" ere are always new and old faces. It’s like playing at a home away from home.”

" e band was full of energy in each of the songs it played and kept the audience entertained and begging for “one more song.” " e crowd could only respond in applause, cheers and non-stop dancing.

“" ey have great energy that Carbondale loves. When they play it’s almost like a hometown local band experience,” said Madeline Close, a senior from Wheaton studying psychology.

" e common denominators of the night were alcohol, smiles and getting down. " ere wasn’t a sober or unhappy person in the bar. It was a night of hilarious hillbilly dance moves that were hard to ignore and even harder to not join in on. It’s astounding how the love for one band can bring a group of complete strangers from all walks of life together.

Concert-goer Tim Field, a recent graduate of John A. Logan, said he enjoyed the show.

“" ey were great! " e guitar player

should play some civil war ! ddle next time.” he said. “He’s really good and I’d like to hear more of it.”

" e group seemed to be in tune with each other. You could pick out and hear each instrument separately and at the same time listen to the group as a whole. " e combination of the exciting energy-pumped bluegrass sound and melodic vocals made everything click. Oakton’s ! ngers % ying around the banjo were particularly interesting to

watch and listen to.“We try to play to the crowd and

try to chant and keep the crowds dancing,” Longwood said. “We like to meet everybody (a$ er the show) and get to hang out with fans and friends.”

Don’t worry if you couldn’t make it to the show this time around — according to its website, the band will be back in Carbondale Oct. 29 for a Halloween spectacular and again Dec. 17.

I think that would be a tragedy.

Ai WeiweiChinese artist and dissident, on the prospect of Beijing’s

banning him from returning to China after a possible 2012 stint as a lecturer at the Berlin University of the Arts

Good morning, Atlantis, this is Elton John.

Elton Johnsinger, waking the crew of the space shuttle, now on its last-ever mission; the message was accompanied

by a broadcast of John’s 1972 song “Rocket Man”

Sexfist, a Chicago bluegrass band, plays to a crowd Thursday at Tres Hombres. The group got together in 2004 and started playing at the Red Line Tap in Chicago.+

LYNNETTEE OOSTMEYER | DAILY EGYPTIAN

DARCE OLUNDDaily Egyptian

Sex! st plow through bluegrass at Tres

Page 6: The Daily Egyptian for 7/19/11

D!"#$ E%$&'"!( Tuesday, July 19, 20116 C!"##$%$&'#

“! e idea of getting a job from essentially a stranger seems an oddity and an absurdity to me,” he said.

Jorandby said people can move up the ranks very quickly in the theater, and as an assistant in the theater department he reminds his students to always respect not only those above them but also those below, as they could " nd themselves working for someone who had once worked for them.

He said his job consists of deciding which lights are hung, when they’re turned on and when they’re turned o# .

“It sounds really simple, but we’re going to have probably 200 instruments up there, so deciding which ones are going up there ends up being kind of like conducting an orchestra,” he said.

Jorandby said the theater requires a mix of technical and creative skills. He said he started as a carpenter in the theater and was told he could make

more money working construction, but the theater o# ered an experience that building houses couldn’t.

“Building a stud wall is one thing, but I’d prefer to have to build a house that has to transform into a giant tyrannosaurus rex and burn down on stage,” he said.

In fact, many people in the theater started in one area and moved to another. Teena Sauvola, scenic charge, and Jamie Karas, props master, both moved into their jobs from other ones.

Sauvola said she started as an actor in high school and had fun, but the " erce competition in college made her realize it was not the path for her. She said she found that she had more fun harvesting her artistic abilities in behind-the-scenes work and hopes to move on to " lm.

“! at’s why I enjoyed starting out in theatre, because it’s so much about creating a world out of nothing,” she said.

! is summer, she’s responsible for every painted surface on the stage. She’s given renderings by the set designer, and

she and her one assistant then interpret them on a large scale.

As props master, Karas said she is in a leadership position for the " rst time. She said she always volunteered to help with props in college and realized it was her calling, but she found out too late that Northern Illinois University didn’t o# er good prop classes. She said people like Sauvola are thankfully always available to mentor her.

Karas said this is also her " rst summer stock.

“(! is is) my " rst time out of school doing work, so it’s a very exhilarating, nerve-wracking experience,” she said. “But I’m enjoying it very much.”

In the basement below the noisy set-building area is the costume shop, which is managed by Caitlin Entwistle. She said her job is di# erent every day.

As the shop manager, Entwistle makes sure all the supplies are on hand and does " ttings with the cast members. As the designer for “Peter Pan,” she also creates the costume drawings. She said

she interacts with the actors more than most backstage sta# and started out as an actress herself before moving onto costumes.

“Getting my costume was always my favorite part of plays,” Entwistle said.

She said once she’s designed a costume, she hands it to the draper, Nick Jones, who takes measurements, spends time making shapes with the fabric and starts to put the costume together.

Like Jorandby, Jones said theater work, costuming, in his case, requires a combination of technique and imagination.

“You have to be able to translate emotion into clothing, which can be really creative,” he said.

Jones said he has been working professionally in the theater for 11 years, and this is his fourth Summer Playhouse. He said though he loves it, he doesn’t particularly like the nomadic lifestyle.

“I’m very homesick right now, but it’s our life. It’s what we do and what we have

to do,” he said.Jones said some of that homesickness

is alleviated by the network of friends one creates when working around the country.

“You develop families in di# erent areas, so it’s not that bad,” he said.

With the last performance of “Peter Pan,” August 1 the McLeod Summer Playhouse will end another season and the sta# will have to pack everything up and head their separate ways. Another summer of hard work, learning experiences and new friendships backstage will inevitably give way to the fall, possibly without the audience ever knowing it was there.

“! at’s the biggest thing about summer theater … it only happens in three months and then its gone, so all these people come together, form really, really close tight-knit friendships, and then they disperse,” Sauvola said. “! ere’s something magical about how quickly it goes up and how quickly it comes down.”

At the meeting, BOT member Don Lowery suggested a rati" cation be voted on separately that included changes in faculty-administrative salaries. He said he would vote against those increases.

“My vote on this item in no way re$ ects on the quality of the service of these people that are involved,” he said. “However, I can not vote to adjust the salaries in these rough economic times when we are asking employees to take furlough days.”

Lowery and BOT member Donna

Mannering voted against the rati" cation.Applause from IEA members in the

audience followed Lowery’s comments and the two votes against the pay increases.

With the approved rati" cation, SIUC Provost John Nicklow received a 40.79 percent increase for his promotion from interim assistant provost to provost and vice chancellor for academic a# airs. With the increase, his salary is now $225,000, up from $159,816. ! e changes in payroll for SIUC also include 12 continuing appointments, which are for individuals already working at the university.

Chancellor Rita Cheng addressed the BOT members and those in audience with an update on the university, which included the increase in summer enrollment and budget cuts for " scal year 2012.

She said the 100-student increase in summer enrollment is the " rst increase in " ve years.

“! ese numbers add to the optimism we have for the fall,” Cheng said. “As of this week, we remain very, very hopeful for fall enrollment.”

Cheng said the university is monitoring its enrollment numbers closely. Freshman applicants for fall are

up 11 percent, admissions are up 10 percent, and the number of students admitted and eligible to enroll has increased 8 percent, she said.

Cheng said the university is implementing a 2 to 2.5 percent permanent budget cut across campus in response to the university's $5.7 million structural de" cit and the reduction in state appropriations.

“Our " nancial situation has improved over last year,” she said. “We are in a better position because we worked very hard to manage our " nances in (" scal year 2011) ... It is my expectation that by the end of " scal year

2012, (SIUC) will have reached the goal of a balanced budget.”

Hughes said he believes the BOT received a clear message a% er IEA members presented themselves at the meeting: ! e relationship between the IEA and university administration is damaged because of the ongoing contract negotiations.

“We don’t necessarily expect a public response from the board members and we’re not demanding a public response from them,” he said. “We just think there is room for improvement (with negotiations) and some opportunity to change the situation.”

! e last person executed in Illinois was Charles Walker in 1999, according to the Center of

Wrongful Convictions website.Richard Devin, a former Illinois

State Attorney, said he believes abolishing the death penalty is better than being in a state of moratorium. However, he said

death row is appropriate.“Some people don’t deserve to be

a part of the community,” he said.Yepsen said he believes life

imprisonment is equivalent to the death penalty.

“One hour of sunlight a day, and they put you in a hole until you die,” Yepsen said. “Psychologically, that’s more horri" c.”

Schroeder said the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death

Penalty will continue to advocate for a nationwide abolishment of the death penalty.

“We will have to " ght reinstatement issues,” Schroeder said. “We will remain vigilant.”

MCLEODCONTINUED FROM 1

BOTCONTINUED FROM 1

DEATH PENALTYCONTINUED FROM 1

D&'() E*)+,'&-N!"#Tuesday, July 19, 2011 3

Page 7: The Daily Egyptian for 7/19/11

HoroscopesBy Nancy Black and Stephanie Clement

Now arrange the circled letters to form the surprise answer, assuggested by the above cartoon.

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAMEby David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

Unscramble these four Jumbles,one letter to each square,to form four ordinary words.

PMCOH

NIRYO

OERRVF

DOYROP

©2011 Tribune Media Services, Inc.All Rights Reserved.

Sign

Up

for t

he IA

FLO

FCI (

OFF

ICIA

L) J

umbl

e Fa

cebo

ok fa

n cl

ub

(Answers tomorrow)THUMB SIXTY PRETTY RUDDERYesterday’s Jumbles:

Answer: Their day at the beach did this — SUITED THEM

gg y

Answer here:

Today’s Birthday — It’s all coming together this year. You’ve got talent, optimism and good business ability. The only things stopping you are your own negative conversations, like, “I’m no good” or “it’s not enough.” Let it be, and keep pushing anyway. Do it for others.

Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is an 8— A female partner soothes ruffled tempers. Take care with details. Explore passion today. Creativity with art, food and atmosphere gives rise to romance.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 7—Go ahead and get what you need for your home. Good deals are available. Avoid impulse buying, but restore functionality to extinguish a daily complaint.

Gemini (May 21-June 21) — Today is a 5—Pay attention to what you’re doing. Impulsiveness could cause accidents. Consult with your team to allay any doubts. Keep systems clean and functional to avoid trouble.

Cancer (June 22-July 22) — Today is an 8 —You’re looking good, and can do well financially now. Follow directions, move quickly and stick to the plan. Tempers could flare later, so lay low and take it easy.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is an 8 — Love is like an unstoppable force of nature. Don’t hold it in. Share it with others and it grows in the process. Sometimes the process is messy, and impetuous words slip out. Forgive.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is an 8—Make your home a safe haven that friends gravitate toward. Friendship is a great basis for partnership. Put expectations and promises in writing, before you commit.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is an 8— You especially appreciate beauty today. Create some, and others notice. It doesn’t need to cost anything. Clean up a mess, and enjoy the clear space.Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is a 7 —Use kindness to surmount misunderstandings, silly arguments and health issues. Remember what really matters before you open your mouth. Be kind to yourself and others.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 7— A controversy may spark. The difficult part is almost over. Communication eases the issue, so keep your objective in mind, and bring everyone together.Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 7 — The world seems to be coming at you fast now. Find comfort at home, and proceed with caution. Use your common sense and engag-ing personality to sidestep barriers.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is an 8—Money may come easier today, but don’t waste it. Create income from the not so obvi-ous places, but avoid economical risks now. Be a magnet for change.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 9— Focus on what you love, rather than on trying to win the argument. Sometimes winning has you losing. Manage your power well so that nobody gets hurt. Use your talent.

! ursday’sAnswers

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold boarders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For

strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visitwww.sudoku.org.uk.

THURSDAY’S ANSWERS

Level: 1 23 4

D"#$% E&%'(#")S!"#$ B%&'(Tuesday, July 19, 2011 7

Page 8: The Daily Egyptian for 7/19/11

Jeremy Schroeder says it was a corrupt judicial system and excessive spending that allowed Illinois to become the sixteenth state to abolish the death penalty.

“Twenty innocent people were on death row ... we had a broken system and all too o! en the death penalty was used,” said Schroeder, executive director of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

" e Illinois Senate and House approved the death penalty ban July 1. Gov. Pat Quinn signed the bill in March and commuted all inmates on death row to life sentences rather than executions.

" e Capital Litigation Trust Fund, a state treasury fund used to # nance state executions, will now be re-distributed to provide services such as counseling to murder victims’ families. Money will also be put into state law enforcement.

" e state spent millions of dollars per year in death penalty cases and prosecutions said David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute

“It takes a lot of money to kill someone,” he said. “Millions were spent on gathering evidence, appeals (and) attorneys. " is was costing us a lot of money.”

In 2000, former Gov. George Ryan declared a moratorium, when a state can no longer execute inmates, to ensure innocent people would not be executed,

according to the State of Illinois’ website. " e moratorium was a result of Chicago police using methods of torture to get people to confess to crimes they did not commit, according to an article in the Hu$ ngton Post and the Center of Wrongful Convictions website.

Yepsen said although Illinois has not executed a person in more than 10 years, inmates were still sentenced to death row and money was still spent on execution trials.

Schroeder said 20 inmates in Illinois have been released from death row since 1967 because of DNA evidence and trial investigations that later proved their innocence.

Nearly 50 members of the Illinois Education Association were dressed in black and held yellow signs with the number ‘379’ as they entered the doors of Ballroom B during the SIU Board of Trustees meeting.

" e IEA members held up the signs at the July 14 meeting in the Student Center to send a clear message to the BOT members, said Randy Hughes, president of the Faculty Association

He said ‘379’ represents the number of days union members have worked without a contract.

" e 50 people were said to represent more than 3,400 members of the IEA unions on campus, which includes the SIUC Faculty Association, Non-Tenure Track Faculty Association, Association of Civil Service Employees and Graduate Assistants United.

“We wanted to bring the message to the Board of Trustees members, a number of whom are relatively new, who may not have been following the 379 days of what’s been happening with the contract negotiations,” Hughes said.

All four unions have concerns about job security, health care, the future of collective bargaining, the employee voice at SIUC, according to a letter

signed by all four union presidents. " e letter was read to the BOT members during the public comments section of the meeting.

Hughes said he believes a better approach from administration is needed in regards to contract negotiations.

“There’s a better way the

administration could be handling the negotiations,” he said. “A more collaborative approach ... a partnership between faculty, staff and students would (serve as) a better relationship.”

Behind the stage of the McLeod " eater, there’s a bustling world that few audience members may ever think about, but without which the world portrayed on the stage would cease to exist.

" e backstage area houses a labyrinth of work areas # lled with % ying sparks, sawdust, towers of old set pieces, the whir of sewing machines, festoons of stage lights and the odor of fresh paint. For six days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the summer season, the backstage is where the play is put together — piece by piece.

Every piece of scenery, every prop sword or teacart, every costume donned by the actors and every sha! of dramatic light is the fruit of hours of labor by an ever-busy sta& that may never grace the stage themselves. During summer stock, theater lingo for the summer season of shows, that job is even more hectic and demanding.

“Everybody works hard, but that technical crew is amazing because I don’t think they even get a second,” said Vincent Rhomberg, director of marketing for the McLeod " eater.

" e McLeod Summer Playhouse consists of three shows that run from June to August. " is season’s shows are “A Chorus Line,” “" e Sound of Music” and “Peter Pan,” which opens July 28.

Rhomberg said while the Summer Playhouse is a$ liated with the university, it has an identity of its own and draws its funds from several di& erent sources. " e backstage talent for the McLeod Summer Playhouse, such as the actors, come from both the local area and across the Midwest, Rhomberg said.

Technical Director Jamie Lindemann said despite the hard work, McLeod is less demanding than some other theaters.

“Summer stock is notoriously rough on technicians,” he said. “Twelve-hour days are not uncommon. Around here, we’ve been keeping it to something a lot more sane … long days if we need to, but we go home at night, which is not always true.”

" ough the hours might be sane, the schedule is fast and Lindemann said the turnaround rate from one play to the next must be swi! .

“We have two days to go from Austria to Neverland,” he said.As technical director, Lindemann said he is the engineer

for the play’s scenery. He said the scenic designer hands him an image of the set and he # gures out if it’s possible, how it can be done, how much it will cost and then starts the technical drawings for it.

“I’m up working on what we’re going to need for the day a couple hours before work starts,” he said.

Lindemann said it’s a job that relatively few people can do, so he usually doesn’t have too much trouble getting work. But that doesn’t mean he’s exempt from having to go where the work is.

“" e life of a theater technician professionally is pretty nomadic,” he said.

One advantage of moving around, though, is that you create a network of people you know, Lindemann said.

“" e vast majority of the time, you go somewhere, you work with somebody who knows someone you’ve worked with,” he said. “" e theater world is so small.”

Lighting designer Christopher Jorandby said the same thing has been true for him. He said he’s never gotten a job from a cold interview.

Volume 96, Issue 179, 8 pages

Elizabeth Wehrli, as Maria, sings with actors as they play the Von Trapp children in the musical performance of “The Sound of Music” Friday at McLeod Theater.

The play was the second production this season of the McLeod Summer Playhouse. The third production will be “Peter Pan,” which opens July 28.

JAMES DURBIN | DAILY EGYPTIAN

Backstage crew passes summer with hard work, fun timesELI MILEURDaily Egyptian

Unions stand out at Board of Trustees meeting

Chancellor Rita Cheng, surrounded by SIUC faculty and students, listens to concerns raised by members of Graduate Assistants United Thursday at the Board of Trustees meeting in the Student Center. The ‘379’ represents the number of days the four Illinois Education Association unions have been working without a contract. The

four unions represent 3,400 members, which include graduate students, civil service employees, faculty and non-tenure track faculty. All four union presidents, in a letter addressed to the board, said they have concerns about job security, health care, the future of the employee voice and collective bargaining at SIUC.

STEVE MATZKER | DAILY EGYPTIAN

Illinois kills death penalty due to wrongful convictions

LAUREN LEONEDaily Egyptian

WHITNEY WAYDaily Egyptian

Please see MCLEOD | 3 Please see DEATH PENALTY | 3

Please see BOT | 3

Pole vaulting camps provide pre-collegiate athletes with the necessary tools and techniques to reach higher altitudes.

! e Saluki track team members held instructional camps at the Lew Hartzog Track, formerly McAndrew Stadium, on back-to-back Saturdays, July 9 and 16. ! e camps focused on pole vaulting and were open to both novice and experienced middle and high school athletes.

“We've got all ages and all abilities. We've got an 8th grader, and we've got a couple of seniors and everything in between," said Dan Digman, SIU pole vault and javelin coach, who led instruction in each of the camps.

! e camps aimed to evaluate each participant and provide necessary changes to improve every step of their technique and results on the track. ! ose who attended were subjected to various drills to promote constructive growth.

Pole vaulting as an event has been excluded from high school programs because of its cost and the danger involved. Digman said each pole can run anywhere from $200 to $500 apiece, and a good pole-vaulter needs a series of at least 10 in his or her repertoire.

“What the problem is, is it’s a dangerous sport and it’s really expensive,” Digman said. “! e cost is really high, and then it does cost quite a bit to insure this because it is one of the more dangerous sports out there.”

He said his primary concern

with youth pole vaulting programs is inconsistent and inexperienced instruction.

“! ere aren’t a lot of coaches in this area at the high school level, so kids are going out and jumping but don’t have much expertise helping them, and that compounds this,” Digman said.

Although there is limited accessibility to the sport in various areas, the kids who did come out did so to compete and represent their schools in upcoming seasons. A majority of the attendees were natives of southern Illinois and surrounding areas, with one camper from Arizona, who came out while visiting family nearby.

Kassie Riedle, 15, of O’Fallon, said she was told by her coach and other peers who have attended in the past that the camp would help her re" ne her technique. She said camp counselors break down the jump, and it was as if she was

relearning the process.“I learned new techniques I’ve

never learned before,” she said. “I went to a pole vaulting practice recently and it helped. I was getting higher already with just one day here."

David McCuan, 17, of Harrisburg, said he was new to the sport and saw tremendous improvement in his performance. McCuan said he decided to learn the sport because there was no

pole vault position in his high school track team. McCuan said he hopes the addition of the pole vault will help his team during state competitions.

“Harrisburg doesn’t have a pole vaulter, and we really need one since we got second in state,” he said. “It could also help us. As long as you get opening height, you can place in invitationals, and it could help us win some more meets.”

Digman said he hopes the camp provided comfort for developing athletes. He said he will continue to be available if they need any help in the future.

“I o# er these twice a year because I want these kids to be able to have some guidance, have somebody helping them,” he said. “I'm just trying to make this, especially the ones who don't have coaches, a resource to help them be as good as they can be.”

Brock McGee, a senior at Herrin High School, practices the pole vault at the Lew Hartzog track at SIUC Saturday. McGee, a state pole vault champion his sophomore year at Herrin, was one

of a handful of high school students across the area to participate in the last of two pole vault camp sessions. “It is fun,” McGee said. “And I am good at it.”

STEVE MATZKER | DAILY EGYPTIAN

Camp breaks it down to help youths get upNAREG KURTJIANDaily Egyptian

W hat the problem is, is it’s a dangerous

sport and it’s really expensive. The cost is really high, and then it does cost quite a bit to insure this because it is one of the more dangerous sports out there.

— Dan DigmanSIU pole vault

and javelin coach

University investigates athletic department operations

! e o$ ce of the Associate Chancellor " nished an investigation in regards to a complaint made about the operations within the athletics department, said University Spokesman Rod Sievers, assistant to the Chancellor for

media and community relations.Sievers said the " rst step of the

investigation process is complete, but it is a private matter within the university, and the details surrounding the complaint are not prepared to be revealed.

He said the university takes internal complaints seriously and will thoroughly evaluate the situation as the

process continues.“! ere is no timetable set, and there

is no sense in rushing it,” Sievers said.SIU Athletic Director Mario

Moccia said he was " rst made aware of the complaint several weeks ago and is trying to limit the distractions it may create within the department.

“I think any time you’re putting any e# orts to something instead of building

facilities, raising money, dealing with coaches and student-athletes, I think you can label it a distraction,” Moccia said. “We’re certainly trying to minimize that throughout the department.”

As distractions have occupied the department, permanent coaching positions are still waiting to be " lled.

One vacancy the university is

looking to " ll is the head coach position for the women’s golf team a% er current coach Diane Daugherty announced her retirement in April.

He said Daugherty " rst mentioned her retirement to him early in the year, but he declined to comment further on the situation.

“It was a mutual decision,” Moccia said.

CORY DOWNERDaily Egyptian