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BY NATALIE VAN BOOVEN Staff Writer Former U. S. President Calvin Coolidge once said, “Patriotism is easy to understand in America. It means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.” Nowhere in recent American history has this point become clearer than in the wake of 9/11, especially when the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001—in short, the USA PATRIOT Act—was passed. At the time, it was hailed as the thing we needed to stop terrorism on our own shores. In fact, enthusiasm for the Act was such that former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) was the only Senator to reject it. Now, 14 years later, several sections of the PATRIOT Act are set to expire in June, namely Section 206 (the roving wireta...

Understanding the Importance of Keeping Up-to-Date with the News BY LEAH CUMMINS Contributing Writer Until I took American Politics this semester, I never realized how many current events about which I did not learn. I noticed that a lot of college students ignore politics and say it does not apply to them (not including students majoring or interested in political science; this is just a generalization). However, many college students do not have a grip on current events. I personally am guilty of not always knowing what is going on in the world, but I still try to follow the news channels and see major events. After hearing the news every day in American Politics, I notice exactly how much I have missed when I do not take the time to learn about the daily news. Scrolling on Facebook or ...

BY JACOB SCHLOTE Contributing Writer I was lucky enough to attend the stand-up comedy event performed by Paul F. Tompkins. The show was great, and I cried with laughter on several occasions throughout his hysterical show. The event was almost sold out and rightfully so as I don’t think anyone was disappointed. The show was as he put it, “based on the life and times of Paul F. Tompkins.”   He told a semi-life story, and it just so happens that he has lived a very hilarious life so far. He is from a war family, and his dad fought in WWII; he noted that people were not supposed to talk about their feelings to anyone, and as a result, he kept them bottled up inside forever. Tompkins explained that because he was from that generation, he had a hard time with relationships and wanted someone w...

BY MAGGIE MUELLER Contributing Writer   Adam Tournier has been a professor of science at McKendree University for five years. Having his Ph. D in Physics Quantum Electronics, Adam, which is what he likes to be called by his students and faculty, teaches general science classes, such as Astronomy and Concepts in Science. Adam also teaches upper level science classes for students pursuing a physics engineering minor. Each fall semester, he likes to add a general university class for first year students called University 101, which is a general education requirement for all McKendree students. Adam’s favorite class to teach is his second semester calculus-based Physics Electricity and Magnetism. Adam was born in upstate New York. Throughout his childhood he lived in many different p...

BY LAUREN APETZ Staff Writer I attended this musical on March 3 at the Fox Theatre through the McKendree University Honors program. Through this program I was able to get to go see this musical for free. I had seen the movie so I thought I had an idea of what was going to happen, but I was still amazed and surprised about how great the performance was. I was so mesmerized by the set due to its beauty and the many surprises it held. There were moving stairs, fire, explosions, and the grand chandelier drop over the audience, which I was something I was not expecting. The way the staging was designed, the audience was sometimes actually a part of the performance and they even had actors out in the audience. Having this kind of involvement makes a musical so much more engaging. The Phantom...

BY TAQUISHA DRISDELL Assistant Editor        McKendree Share Your Story is a play which was a part of Global Awareness Week at McKendree University. The unique play was directed by Michelle Magnussen and the theater department. The play had a cast of twelve actors who are students at the university. The cast members were Taylor Anderson, Mignon Biggs, Victoria Day, Joshua Fleming, Tyler W. Jewell, Carliann Huelsmann, Adam Kaul, Logun Norris, Dakota Reed, Shaniese Tally, Chloe this, Natalie Van Booven. The concept of the play was for the cast to tell different stories about the experiences various students have had at McKendree University. The set of the play was created to mimic different areas of the campus. For example, they had the tables and chairs that are used in 1828, they had the ...

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...