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By Haley Rey, Editor in Chief Photos from McKendree University McKendree’s Swim and Dive Team, established in 2016, practices between 18 and 20 hours a week. There are two-hour swim practices each week day afternoon and on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday mornings, and one-hour weights sessions on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  The team practices in the McKendree MetroRecPlex (aside from weights sessions), which was built in 2017. In case you’ve never been in a college competition pool, it is 25 yards long, and the RecPlex’s pool has 10 lanes. At the bottom of each lane is a black line that spans the length of the pool. Swimmers stare at this black line—or at the ceiling, during backstroke—for 16 hours a week. A few years ago, a friend asked me what I thought about for tw...

By Haley Rey, Editor in Chief Photos from Phoebe McCutcheon, Craig Tompkins, Rose Marinucci, and Emily Olague As most on-campus residents may know, McKendree’s Resident Life staff has three new Resident Directors at McKendree this year: Emily Olague, Rose Marinucci, and Charles (Craig) Tompkins. You may have even seen their faces on the TV screens in Ames, but are you aware of how much they do for our campus life? I had the opportunity to sit down with all three staff members, who work in the three traditional dorm halls on campus: Walton, Barnett, and Baker. I know more about the job now, but I remember that as a freshman and sophomore, I had no idea what the specifics were when it came to my RD.  I asked them all several questions, beginning with how they found their wa...

By Chloe Gamber, Head Academic Writer Photos from pressbooks.senecacollege.ca, clipartstation.com, and shutterstock.com I had the chance to discuss the topics of communication and ethics with Professor Damon Chaffin. Professor Chaffin has “35 years of management experience with Fortune 500 companies and ventures,” along with private consulting with other business owners. Professor Chaffin discussed how communication today is essential in the work environment. Communication skills are needed in order to develop other soft skills for a career. Many may have higher knowledge and technical skills but without communication, they may be underestimated. Proper language etiquette allows us to show a hiring manager that we are ready for a career that involves self-growth. No matter the caree...

By Abigail Kishimoto, Head Culture Co-Writer Photos from McKendree University, and stock.adobe.com Communication is at the center of every relationship you have had, whether it be the relationship you have with a significant other, with friends, in athletics, or even in the classroom. I would argue that communication is the most important aspect of relationships, especially when in college. College is a time when most are experiencing independence for the first time, and with that comes a lot of new experiences when it comes to relationships.  When you come to McKendree, you are introduced to a new student body from which you will choose friends and romantic partners. You may also be a part of a new sports team where you build relationships with teammates and coaches. Additi...

By Abigail Kishimoto, Head Culture Co-Writer Photo from stock.adobe.com Throughout a majority of your childhood, you are pushed toward this end goal of going to college. If you play a sport, you are told to work hard so that you can get a scholarship for college. To push you to get better grades, you are told that you need those good grades if you want to go to college. If you begin to question whether you want to even attend college, you are told that you will not get a good job if you choose not to attend.        But what do they mean when they say that college will be beneficial for your future? I began to really question this for myself when I was ending my sophomore year here at McKendree, so I thought I would share my experience for those who may be in a...

By Chloe Gamber, Head Academic Writer Photos from participants mentioned and simplextrading.net, collected by Phoebe McCutcheon Participants The Brown Bag for September 22, 2021 was hosted by Dr. Pamela Manning and the Lyn Huxford Center for Community Service. Dr. Manning truly loves helping those in need, which was emphasized through her introduction. During this Brown Bag, three organizations were presented along with some great opportunities to volunteer through each one. All participants provided social media for those who are interested in reaching out to seek help or volunteer. Dr. Pamela Manning American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society strives to have a world without cancer and in order to do this, they approach cancer at various angles. Mandie Erns...

By Kenneth Glidden, Head Culture Co-Writer Photos from Phoebe McCutcheon and weebly.com This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing McKendree University’s Reverend Dr. Beverly Wilkes-Null, the chaplain as of July 1, 2021. As I walked into Bothwell Chapel, there was nothing but peace and quiet. I took a few steps in and was met with Reverend Beverly’s office where she greeted me with the most enthusiastic hello. We sat down to chat as I asked her a few questions and welcomed her to the Bearcat family. Reverend Beverly—or as she calls herself, Rev. Bev—is from Hopkins County in Western Kentucky, which she described as a small, rural area in which she was surrounded by family. Before she became the chaplain here at McKendree, Rev. Bev worked as a district superintendent, but she alre...

By Dylan Powell, Head Sports Writer Photo from plus.espn.com This past Saturday, McKendree found their first win of the season on the road against Walsh University in Canton, Ohio. The Bearcats improved to 1-3 on the season in the final non-conference game of the 2021 season. Larry Davis, a redshirt sophomore offensive lineman for the Bearcats, shared, “When it comes to winning a game in football it takes more than one or two people, it takes an entire team, and this weekend that is exactly what happened. The Bearcats drove out to Ohio to play Bearcat Football as a team.” The team scored a season-high of 24 points, racking up 355 yards on offense, with senior running back Jace Franklin VI leading the way on the ground, gaining 84 yards while redshirt freshman Brady Feldmann had 6...

By Chloe Gamber, Head Academic Writer Photos from swic.edu, iStock, and Dr. Ann Collins 1787 On September 17, 1787, the delegates in the United States Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed the U.S. Constitution! In remembrance, the Holman Library along with the All in Civic Engagement Committee gathered to make their mark. Professor Collins had students from three different American Politics classes join at the library. Pocket constitutions along with pencils were handed out for the students. The students also engaged in writing questions and responses on civil liberties and civil rights. Understanding these fundamentals of our history and celebrating it is a spectacular way to gain knowledge from others and to become involved in something bigger than our lifetime. ...

By Abigail Kishimoto, Head Culture Co-Writer Photos from braunability.com and Abigail Kishimoto Think about it, have you ever seen a student on McKendree’s campus in a wheelchair? For most of us, the answer is no. This is an issue that many students at McKendree have never had to consider, being that we are a campus mainly composed of able-bodied individuals. I would even go as far as to argue that our campus is simply not accessible to those in wheelchairs. Voigt Hall staircase Valerie Prio, an Ed.M. student in higher education at Harvard University, and a wheelchair user, herself, argues that if you cannot find a university’s disability services page within two minutes, then that school is probably a bad fit for a wheelchair user (you can read about this here). I put Valerie...