Wednesday, April 2

Tag: Featured

More Than a Game
Sports

More Than a Game

By Grant Riggs, Editor-in-Chief Lebanon, Ill. - To many people, basketball is just a game, and a silly one at that. Players run up and down the court, repeatedly banging away at each other in hopes of putting a small ball into a slightly bigger hoop. To some extent, these people are correct. At the end of the day, it is just a game, with a winner and loser. However, on countless occasions, basketball has touched people in a way that transcends winning and losing. Sports, particularly basketball, have been a crucial part of my family for as long as I can remember. It began with my great-grandpa Otto, who had a passion for following sports in his hometown of Highland, Ill. He became known for being a part of the “chain gang” who operated the first-down markers at every home Highland High Sc...
Behind the Success: Andrew Best
Sports

Behind the Success: Andrew Best

By Zach Breeding, Co-Editor of Sports LEBANON, Ill. - Anyone who has followed the McKendree men's hockey team as of late is well aware of their success. And anyone who pays attention to the stats or watches the games is also aware that much of this success falls on the shoulders of starting goalie Andrew Best. This previous season, Best was a standout performer. He limited opponents to just a 2.06 goals against average prior to entering the team's last tournament of the season. Considering that the Bearcats regularly scored more than seven goals in each game makes this statistic even more impressive. However, looking back on the path that brought Best to Mckendree, it's clear that he faced many trials and tribulations along the way. From a young age, it was clear what sport Best would pl...
Al Alone: Issue Two
Cartoons, Entertainment

Al Alone: Issue Two

By Benjamin Richter, Cartoonist/Contributing Writer Issue Two Al is just like the rest of us. He has been friend-zoned. Is there a more alienating experience? Support me and see more! Instagram: @brichstudios - Facebook: B-RICHstudios. For questions, comments, or concerns, contact Benjamin Richter at bjrichter@mckendree.edu. All images created by Benjamin Richter. 
McKendree’s Biggest Fans
Personality

McKendree’s Biggest Fans

By J.T. Russell, Contributing Writer "We just love the people and the atmosphere. Everyone is so nice to us. I mean, who doesn’t like going to McKendree games? It’s our favorite thing to do.” This is a quote from 29 year old Mark Junior Reinacher. Mark is part of a tenacious tag team duo with his twin brother, Robert Lee Reinacher. Together, they are, (cue in John Williams’ Superman Score), McKendree’s Biggest Fans. Before Mark and Robert became widely recognized by the Lebanon community as McKendree super fans, the twins could be found roaming the halls of O’Fallon high school. “I loved high school.” says Mark. “Playing volleyball and basketball during P.E. was fun, but talking to all the girls was my favorite.” After high school, Mark and Robert moved down to Carbondale, IL, for a short...
The Musical Fusion of Quebec’s Le Vent du Nord: Melding the old with the new to create something unique
Campus Events

The Musical Fusion of Quebec’s Le Vent du Nord: Melding the old with the new to create something unique

By Jack MacLean, Copy Editor Folk music serves as an expression of the people and era from which it originates. For Le Vent Du Nord, a folk band out of Quebec, Canada, delivering that expression to audiences is as exciting as it is daunting. The band, whose name translates literally to “The North Wind,” formed in 2002, when Olivier Demers, the fiddler/foot tapper/guitarist, was studying music in college. After some early mix-ups during its first 5 years, Le Vent landed with its current line-up – Olivier Demers, Rejean Brunet, Nicolas Boulerice, and Simon Beaudry. Today, the four-man band performs around 120 concerts annually, as well as a multitude of music festivals, in both Canada and the United States. “There’s a market for it,” said Réjean Brunet, the band’s resident accordionist, bas...
Why Can’t We Be Friends?
Campus News

Why Can’t We Be Friends?

By Paxton Cohoon, Contributing Writer Living with roommates is never easy. These roommates can end up being great friends or the bane of existence. Regardless if roommates are great friends, fights are still bound to occur. Common arguments involve what temperature to set the thermostat at, cleaning or lack of cleaning habits, and monopolizing the bathroom. How you approach these arguments is key when dealing with roommates. Here at McKendree University, roommates are to try to resolve their problems amongst themselves. If that does not work, they are to inform their Resident Assistant (RA). If that still does not work, they can also inform the Resident Director (RD). McKenna Scaturro, senior at McKendree, resolves her roommate conflicts by discussing them with her roommates in a friendly...
Behind the Success: Darren Wynn
Sports

Behind the Success: Darren Wynn

By Zach Breeding, Co-Editor of Sports Darren Wynn's life is one that is heavily influenced by family and friends. And if it wasn't for his family, he may not have even had the opportunity to achieve the massive success that he has as a wrestler at McKendree. "My biggest inspiration has to go to my family, they always push me. I'm the oldest cousin and brother, so I have to show the younger people in my family how to take care of business," said Wynn, a redshirt junior from Champaign, Ill. This backbone, along with his coaches, is also Wynn's support system. However, it's not just a helping hand that his family provides. They were also his initial push into wrestling. Wrestling has been a part of Wynn's life since the second grade, but this wasn't by his design. Up until his sophomore yea...
Women’s Track Takes Flight
Sports

Women’s Track Takes Flight

By Zach Manion, Contributing Writer After a successful weekend at Missouri Southern State University, the McKendree University Women’s track and field team propelled themselves to 21st in the nation, their first national ranking since becoming a Division II program in 2012. Before joining Division II, the men's and women's track and field teams experienced some dominant years at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) level. The men’s and women’s teams had a total of six national championships and multiple All-American performances before making the jump to Division II. The women’s team boasts five national championships, including winning the indoor national championship an unprecedented four years in a row. Fast forwarding to the present, the women’s success this ye...
Mike Babcock’s Relentless Pursuit
Sports

Mike Babcock’s Relentless Pursuit

By Grant Riggs, Editor-in-Chief On Wednesday, February 1, at 6:30 a.m., Mike Babcock, 5th-year head football coach at McKendree University, walked into his office knowing the next five hours would determine the future of his program. The occasion? A day that would bring about the culmination of months of hard work - National Signing Day. For Babcock and his nine-man coaching staff, the current day's work began at 7 a.m., when high school seniors started faxing in their National Letters of Intent (NLI) to play football for McKendree. The preparation for this one day, however, required a countless amount of hours. “It’s not 8 to 5” Babcock said, “A lot of times, you’ll be up at 4:30 a.m. to be at a school at 7:30 a.m. because that’s the only time to talk to a kid. It’s a lot of hours for al...
Coming soon: Renovation of Holman Library
Campus News

Coming soon: Renovation of Holman Library

BY ANNA BELMONTE Staff Writer Recently, we have explored one of McKendree’s plans for the Forward Campaign: the renovation of Voigt Science Hall. Now let’s turn our attention to another objective: the renovation of Holman Library. When it opened in 1969, Holman Library was a great addition to McKendree’s campus that students still enjoy today. However, in the age of technology, modern libraries are employing library space to encourage collaboration, community and technology use. “[Libraries have] gone from very book-centric to very technology-centric,” says Senior Vice President Victoria Dowling. Paula Martin, Director of Holman Library, says that having a technologically-equipped library “helps us to be able to evolve for whatever technological changes happen in the future. It’s impossib...