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Victoria Sananikone, Editor Photos from the courtesy of Google DISCLAIMER: I am no gaming connoisseur. In fact, some may even disregard this review based on the misogynistic idea that I am a woman. However, I believe it’s safe to say that most of my opinions on this video game are shared by my likeminded fantasy nerds. I have recently rekindled the title of gamer-girl, a title that I proudly found an identity in from the ages of around 10-14. Those were the good old days, when you came home from school with about a page or two of homework that you finished within 30 minutes to an hour. Afterwards, you were free to do whatever your heart desired, and mine longed to escape to other worlds of intricate stories, brutal combat, and the addicting sensation of completing a quest. I’m lucky to h...

By Victoria Sananikone, Editor Photos and gif from Google Welcome to the third installment of Vic’s Tuesday Tunes! As a lover of music, I thoroughly enjoy sharing my tunes with others who share my obsession or those who are simply looking for new music to listen to. Please enjoy the music listed below that I have been listening to frequently within the past month. You and Me- Penny & The Quarters This is such a sweet song, one that encompasses the definition of love to a T. This is the kind of song that you sing out loud by yourself and pretend that you’re Adele incarnate. The tune is old fashioned, channeling the impression that it was recorded in the 70’s; however this soul band found fame much later in 2010 after “You and Me” was featured in the film Blue Valentine. Blue Valen...

Katherine Gemmingen, Head Copyeditor Featured Image from Columbia University Hello, fellow Bearcats. My co-editors and I hope that everyone in the McKendree community is safe and healthy during the craziness that has occurred in just the last couple of weeks. Although we may not be having physical classes for the rest of the semester, the Review team is still striving to post content as regularly as we can. For that purpose, we need your help. We want to hear from you. Tell us about your experience with online classes, sports ending, quarantines, and anything else you want to discuss. This is a challenging time for all of us, and while I am neither a people person or an optimist, I do think we need to try to stay connected to each other. This is a strange, stressful time for us all. Our...

Magdalena Knapp, Editor Students, Get your calendars ready, sharpen your pencils, and write this date down: Thursday, April 23, 2020 On Thursday, April 23, 2020, we will have our annual Academic Excellence Celebration where you all can present whatever awesome and unique project you were working on this whole year. This is your moment to show that students are more than Netflix-watching, coffee-drinking and in-their-pajamas-to-class people, but that you are really creating something significant during the school year. To those who are undecided on whether to present something or not, think about this: Yes, it is great to have good grades, flawless attendance, and to turn in your homework on time, but many students do that. You have to be unique. By presenting your work at AEC you will be...

Article and Pictures contributed to by Joseph Blasdel, Director of Speech and Debate; McKendree Review staff McKendree University's Speech and Debate Team is one of the teams on campus that does not get enough credit for what they achieve. This season has been one to remember! Regular season is over for them, but they are not done yet. Our Speech and Debate Team is going into their post-season. Most of the performances will be hosted on our campus, so do not miss out on them! Mitch Deleel and Adeja Powell both showed their talent by turning in their best performance of the season, going undefeated at the University of Missouri’s National Warm-Up, while defeating the 7th, 8th, and 12th ranked teams in the country. Adeja was also awarded the Best Speaker Award for her individual performance...

Magdalena Knapp, Editor in Chief First-year and senior students, listen up! Some of you might have received an email during the past week about the “NSSE” (spoken: Nessie) survey. While most students probably have skimmed over it, some have actually clicked on it and taken it. NSSE stands for “National Survey of Student Engagement." During their college time, students are required to take a large number of surveys, which leads to some students having a mental aversion against surveys. This survey is actually one that you should consider taking! McKendree University, such as any other university, tries to serve the needs of its students, which is hard sometimes because the students’ needs are constantly changing. The NSSE was created to assess the areas where universities need improvement,...

Claire Jennings, Contributing Writer Kara Grafton, a 21 year old senior at McKendree University, has reached the busiest point of her college career. As a major in Music Education, her final semester at McKendree is spent student-teaching, which includes planning lessons, self-reflections, and execution of lessons that then undergo evaluation. In addition to student-teaching, Kara must work on her application to become a teacher--McKendree can only provide students with the necessary education, but it is up to the state to decide whether she is able to join the workforce. She reflects, “There is so much that is happening this semester that I wasn't expecting. I have to student-teach, apply for jobs, and complete my edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment) for the state of Illinois to comple...

Jhaidyn Brown, Contributing Writer Pictures: google.com The greatest to ever do it? That question seems somewhat unreal to ask now with this passing 5x NBA champion, 18x NBA All-Star, 2008 NBA’s Most Valuable Player, and 2x NBA finals MVP, as Kobe Bryant has solidified his position as the greatest.  Not only was Kobe an impeccable basketball player, he was also a great mentor, a great husband, and a great father. He had 4 kids, 1 of them, Gianna, passed away with him. The world was devastated and heartbroken over this news. I don’t think I’ll ever forget finding out the day he passed. I didn’t think it was real, my exact words being “this can’t be true, there’s no way” as I’m sure plenty of others said.  Kobe’s impact touched a lot more people than just NBA players. You had kids in the ...

Katherine Gemmingen, Head Copyeditor Photos from McKendree University Near the end of January, I sat down for a meeting with McKendree University’s new president, Mr. Daniel Dobbins. The campus never really had an official “welcome to McKendree” event for President Dobbins, and I wanted to find a way to introduce McKendree’s newest president to the community. For those of you who have never met or seen President Dobbins around campus, the man is tall. You really don’t understand the concept of an imposing figure until you’re a 5’2 girl walking into the giant space that is the president’s office in Wildy Hall to shake hands with a president who is easily a foot and a half taller than you are, not to mention this is the same man who was the focus of a less than positive piece that you had ...

Laurynn Davey, Contributing Writer Whenever friends and family ask what my major is, I confidently tell them Public Relations. However, I can always feel that confidence start to dwindle when they ask the following questions: “What’s that?” and “So you just make people look good?” I constantly find myself having to explain the profession to others, and when I think about it, I can’t really blame them for not understanding because once there was a time when I didn’t understand it either. It wasn’t until a teammate of mine suggested switching to the public relations major, back when I was still undecided, that I started educating myself about the job. The field of public relations (PR) is generally described as the ongoing interactions with a target audience that communicate consistent and ...