Month: April 2015

BY LEAH CUMMINS Contributing Writer Many students on campus are highly involved with McKendree and play various sports as well as join many organizations. One organization many students do not know much about is the color guard and winter guard programs at McKendree University. The color guard is part of the Marching Bearcat Band (MBB), and every member is a McKendree student. The winter guard, on the other hand, is a separate program that is affiliated with McKendree called Avidity Independent Winter Guard. As a MBB color guard member, I have practice three times a week, and we perform at every football game and other exhibition performances. We spin flags to music the band plays while performing and keeping formations. Because we learn new routines each week, our choreography is not ve...

BY ASHLY SCHMITT Staff Writer No wonder why the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s and Women’s basketball tournament is named, “March Madness”. Its been going on since 1908 causing basketball fans all over the world literally go mad and cause chaos over the brackets.   This month marks the sit on the edge of your seat throughout all of the games mentality. There are 68 of the teams playing throughout this time with the weight of single elimination hanging over their shoulders. The brackets are set up by rankings, but we all know these rankings lead to upsets. Threes always those people who want to root for the underdog! The playing and hype goes on for three weeks. The heavily weighted games comes the next two weeks, when it is down to the Sweet Sixteen. Then the teams...

BY EMILY DOERSAM Contributing Writer On April 7, 2015, the McKendree Cheerleading squad made their way to Daytona, Florida to compete in the 2015 NCA College Cheerleading Nationals. They competed in prelims at the Ocean Center on April 9. After speaking with head coach Bianca Timmerman, I learned quite a few things about this year’s team and this year’s competition. There are 45 cheerleaders, but only 20 of them compete. Although only 20 compete, every cheerleader has the opportunity to go and support the team. Each cheerleader has to attend all practices, maintain a 2.0 GPA, and must be a full time student. They will be going to Daytona with 32 cheerleaders. Getting to where the team is now hasn’t been an easy feat. I spoke with Coach Timmerman and asked her how it was possible for ...

BY WILL BASLER Sports Editor After a fairly successful 2014 campaign, the Cardinals fell in the National League Championship Series, falling just short of the World Series. The departure of key contributors Joe Kelly and Allen Craig gave the team a much different crew looking forward to the 2015 season. However, Cardinals management surprised many throughout the sports world when the swapped young starting pitcher Shelby Miller for Braves outfielder Jason Heyward. The Redbirds had a surplus of good, young arms, and a lineup that was starving for runs. This trade took care of that, and the improved Cardinals are ready to compete for their twelfth world championship. However, other teams in the NL Central have upgraded as well. The most notable of these upgrades came from the Chicago Cub...

  Vol. 93, Iss. 11 Editors Emily Lucia Editor-in-Chief Taquisha Drisdell Assistant Editor  Lauren Apetz Media Editor Will Basler Sports Editor Editing Team Emily Lucia Taquisha Drisdell In This Issue Eric Abrolat Cheyenne Autry Donna Bick Will Basler Jennifer Blumberg Kendra Brackman Rebecca McKee Malie Mills Ashly Schmitt Spencer Sweetin Mileena Tomasek Natalie Van Booven The McKendree Review is a student-run organization of McKendree University. The mission of The McKendree Review is to give students the opportunity to learn the news process and publish articles pertaining to their opinions and ideas. The staff does not agree with all statements and opinions, which rightfully belong to their writers. The McKendree Review Office can be found in Eisenmayer 208 on the McKendree C...

EMILY LUCIA Editor in Chief Well here it is. The first print issue for the semester. I have to be honest, I was a little worried we would not have gotten many articles. But as people sent them in, the less worried I felt. I want to thank all of the writers who appeared in this edition for submitting your stories. A school paper would be nothing without the students, so thank you. In addition, I would also like to thank McKendree’s faculty for supporting The Review. Without the support of people who constantly inspire the students on this campus, this paper would not be half of what it is. It is a truly beautiful thing to see students show so much interest in sending in articles. As a writer and someone who loves reading, it excites me to see such interest. It shows a willingness to learn...

By Emily Lucia Editor in Chief   It all began with the planning of a peace walk, inspired by the events in Ferguson, Mo. The walk was meant to bring the students of all nationalities and ethnicities together. It was to show that McKendree is one, united by learning. On Oct. 29, 2014, what was meant to be something completely harmless, turned into something that would cause a rift among students on campus. Rhoda Warner, a junior at McKendree University, had found her car vandalized. The walk was originally planned as an interfaith event, but Warner had another idea for this school year’s walk. “Years before we had done the walk on an interfaith level, we just gathered with people of different faiths. And I thought, why don’t we just open it up to the community?” Inspired by the rac...

By Donna Bick Staff Writer Martha Patterson, Ph.D. is an English professor at McKendree University and has been teaching on campus since 2004. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Carleton College in Northfield, Minn.; her Master of Arts degree in literary studies and her Ph.D. in English from the University of Iowa. Her teaching and research interests include American late-nineteenth and early twentieth-century studies, women’s studies and African American literature and culture. Along with her impressive teaching credentials, Dr. Patterson is a talented, skillful author. She has penned a monograph titled, Beyond the Gibson Girl: Reimagining the American New Woman. Her monograph was a revision of her dissertation, a requirement for the Ph.D. It is showcased in the...

By Ashly Schmitt Contributing Writer The problems in Ferguson, Mo. have yet to die down since the Michael Brown incident took place on Aug. 9, 2014.  The news has been filled with endless stories of riots and disturbances that have dispersed attention throughout the United States.  The shooting has been such a popular topic since then, to the point where you have to live under a rock not to hear about it.  Everybody has their different opinions about how the Ferguson Police Department handled the situation; the officer, Darren Wilson, stated it was self-defense against a criminal.  Throughout the months there has been protesters setting fires and protests in other major cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston and more.  Of course most of us saw these protests on the new...

By Lauren Apetz Contributing Writer A piano has 88 keys. You could play these keys in chopsticks style, or you could learn how to master the art of playing the piano. Dr. Joseph Welch could get you there. Dr. Welch has been an adjunct faculty member for two years at McKendree, but his experience as a pianist has gone on much longer than that. Dr. Welch has more than 15 years under his belt. His piano career began with conducting his stuffed animal orchestra in elementary school. Welch would putz around on the keyboard for a while before his parents finally got him professional training. As soon as he began playing, he knew he wanted to be a pianist. He has dabbled with other instruments, but he says, laughing at himself, “You don’t want me to play those.” Listening to Dr. Welch play ...