Social media challenge raises bucket loads of money

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Social media crazes constantly take the Internet by storm—from selfies to twerking, these fads tend to leave nothing but annoyance in their wake. However, the newest one may end up having a different effect.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is the latest fad to flood the internet. People are challenged by friends and family to dump a bucket of ice water on their head in order to raise money and awareness for Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. At first, this may seem like the most ridiculous craze to hit social media yet, but when taking a closer look, it may actually be helping quite a bit.

It all began when former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates, of Boston, Mass., promoted this challenge and helped spread it throughout social media. Frates has been suffering from ALS since 2012.

According to the ALS Association, from July 29 to Aug. 21, the association has received a total of  $41.8 million in donations. During the same period in 2013, the association only received $2.1 million. These new donations have come from existing donors, as well as more than 739,000 new donors.

Maureen Barber Hill, president and CEO of the St. Louis chapter of the ALS Association, said this movement is quite phenomenal.

“People with ALS and the ALS community nationwide are benefiting from this outpour of generosity,” Barber Hill said. “We look forward to using these donations and making more concrete plans for the future.”

Barber Hill said while the ALS Association provides many programs and services to patients at no cost, living with a diagnosis is an expensive journey and could cost a patient up to $250,000 per year. This money will help many unfunded programs, counseling, clinical and in-home care programs as well as research efforts.

“It can take up to 15 years and $1 billion to develop one new drug [for ALS],” Barber Hill said. “These donations provide an enormous lift in that area.”

However, not everyone feels this challenge is doing more good than not. Junior mass communications major Joseph Vollbracht, of Clayton, Ill., said the Ice Bucket Challenge is getting out of hand.

“It started off as a cute, innocent way to raise money for a good cause and have fun nominating friends and family,” Vollbracht said. “But once the media started picking it up, people were blogging about it and reposting videos constantly. It began to sort of take over the social media platform, and that is the point where many people, myself included, got annoyed with the challenge.”

Vollbracht said he was challenged and decided not to participate or donate to the cause.

“I felt as though this challenge had become less about the charitable organization that is mentioned in the title and more about people just hopping on the bandwagon and posting a video of them dumping water on themselves,” Vollbracht said. “The whole point of the challenge is to donate to charity, yet person after person chose to avoid donating by soaking themselves in ice water. I see no point whatsoever in doing that.”

Senior math major Kaitlin McElroy, of Bunker Hill, said the challenge is great because it has raised so much awareness.

“I participated in the challenge to continue spreading this message,” McElroy said. “There is currently no cure for this awful disease, so this is a great opportunity for people to help out in a way that’s accessible to almost everyone.”

Whether to raise awareness of this cause or to merely gain attention, this challenge is sweeping the nation and making a change in the ALS community.

Barber Hill said the association is grateful for the donations and support; however, there is still more to be done in terms of finding treatment and a cure.

“After the ice melts, we hope these new donors will continue to be engaged and that this will begin a new relationship,” Barber Hill said.

To find out more about donating to the ALS Association, visit alsa.org.

Caitlin Grove

Via alestlelive.com

‘If I Stay’ haunts audiences with its depiction of best-selling young adult novel

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When people endure near-death experiences, they tend to say their lives flash before their eyes, and they see the good, the bad and the ugly in the process. This is exactly what happens in the film “If I Stay.”

“If I Stay” is a film about love, heartbreak and everything in between. Mia Hall (Chloe Grace Moretz) is a quiet high school student who has everything going for her — a potential acceptance to Juilliard, a fun, lively family and a loyal best friend. Until one day, while driving down an icy road, an oncoming truck strikes her family’s car, and Mia’s world is changed forever.

The remainder of the film is spent with Mia having an out-of-body experience, watching herself in the hospital, and flashing back to memories from her past. She looks back at the good and the bad, in an effort to decide whether to keep fighting and wake up from her coma or to let go.

This film did a wonderful job of making the movement between the flashbacks and the hospital scenes easy to follow. At first, it is a little difficult to catch on to the fact that they are flashing back and forth, but once that is established it becomes easy to understand.

Mia reminisces about many things during her looks back in time, but the most prevalent memories are concerning a boy named Adam (Jamie Blackley).

Adam is a local rock musician who fell in love with Mia the moment he saw her playing her cello. He is the type of boy every high school girl dreams of; he waltzes into your life, unannounced, and changes everything. He adores her love of classical music, takes her to the symphony and even dresses up as Beethoven for Halloween in an effort to express his feelings.

I do not normally like love-at-first-sight stories because I feel they are unrealistic and predictable, but the story of Mia and Adam’s love is one I enjoyed very much. It seemed so real; they had real struggles in their relationship. For example, they had completely opposite music choices and they got into fights about stupid things just like every other couple in the world. It is the classic story of falling too hard too fast and I appreciate that they did not try to sugarcoat it like many Hollywood movies do.

Apart from the love aspect of the film, the film did a fabulous job of incorporating the world of classical music through Mia’s love for it. I have personally never been exposed to music of the sort, but hearing how beautiful the cello sounded changed my views on this particular music style. Mia is passionate about her music and unapologetic about how much it means to her. The way they show her following her dreams and embracing her talents is inspiring.

The casting in this film was brilliant. Moretz was phenomenal; she was able to portray the many different emotions that went along with this role and did it in a way that illustrated all the trials and tribulations that go along with teenage life and a traumatic event such as this, in a way that is relatable and realistic.

Blackley did a wonderful job as well, embodying exactly what it means to be a love-struck musician. Stacy Keach played the role of Mia’s grandfather and had a few heartbreakingly wonderful scenes.

I will admit, I cried more than I wanted to at this film; there are so many scenes that, if you put yourself in Mia’s shoes, will cause you to tear up. There was a point during the film where the actors were silent, and all you could hear was the sniffles and crying of everyone in the theater. I was prepared for it to be an emotional film; I just was not sure if it would be overly emotional to the point where it is depressing, but it was not. It was the perfect amount of happy and sad that will make you walk away thinking how beautiful of a film it was.

“If I Stay” is based on the best-selling novel by Gayle Forman. I have not read the book myself, but from the chatter I heard from moviegoers after the screening, the film matched the book nicely. So if you are a fan of the novel, you should not be disappointed either.

This is a film that will make you laugh, cry and appreciate every person you have in your life. It makes you realize that everything you have done and everyone you have met up until today has made you exactly who you are and if you choose, can give you reason enough to stay.

Caitlin Grove

Via alestlelive.com

‘The Giver’ hands audiences authentic interpretation of its novel

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Imagine a world where everything is black and white — no one lied, love was forbidden and emotions were not felt by anyone. Anyone, that is, except for The Giver.

“The Giver” is a film based on the beloved, best-selling novel by Lois Lowry about a colorless and impassive futuristic world. As bizarre as it sounds, this film depicts what the world would be like if past memories were stored only by one person in the society.

Members of this community do not see themselves as trapped or miserable because they do not know the extent to which they are missing out — they are simply accustomed to the strict way things are. That is, until one boy is given the opportunity to feel things he never knew were possible.

In this society, on an individual’s 18th birthday, The Elders of the community assign them to their futures. They are placed in jobs such as nurturer, groundskeeper or drone pilot, among many others. However, a young boy named Jonas is assigned the unique position of the Receiver of Memory.

What occurs between The Giver and The Receiver is straightforward — The Giver passes along stored memories of those who lived before the society existed to The Receiver.

Some memories are good, others are bad and painful, but all the memories cause Jonas to realize the emotions and experiences the society is missing. He then sets out on a rebellious journey to release these memories to the community.

Growing up, this was one of my favorite novels. When any book is made into a movie, I am hesitant to see the film for fear of disappointment. But I can confidently say this film exceeded my expectations and anyone who has read the novel will enjoy it. “The Giver” remains close to the novel and it even provides viewers with a more in-depth look into the world this society lives in.

It may benefit moviegoers to have background information about the story before they waltz into the theater. The film does not do a superb job at explaining why the society is the way it is and what certain terms they use mean, so having an idea of how the society works could help to better understand the film.

“The Giver” has a stellar cast, including newcomer Brenton Thwaites as Jonas, the film’s lead character. Thwaites is accompanied by Jeff Bridges as The Giver, Meryl Streep as The Chief Elder and Katie Holmes as Jonas’s mother. Casting actors who would be able to properly embody the characters from the novel is a huge task, and I feel as though each contributed to the successful representation of these notable individuals.

The Giver is an excellent film about truth, love, fear and self-discovery. Those who have experienced this classic story through the novel will be pleased by the way in which the story is brought to life right before their eyes.

Caitlin Grove

Via alestlelive.com

Sports: Years of hard work pay off for SIUE volleyball’s Colclasure

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From the time Chelsea Colclasure turned eight, her parents had involved her in many different activities—softball, soccer, dance and, most importantly, volleyball.

“It’s probably the most exciting of all the sports I was playing,” Colclasure said. “You’re constantly scoring, your team’s always cheering. It became my main attraction.”

Thirteen years later, Colclasure now holds the record for most digs in SIUE history.

Colclasure, now a senior nursing major, has been a starting libero since her freshman year, an achievement volleyball Head Coach Leah Johnson said is no easy feat.

“It’s one thing to start as a freshman, it’s another to maintain that position all four years,” Johnson said. “For her to have earned it and kept it says a lot about her growth as an individual on the court and her leadership.”

Colclasure said when she was younger, she played a variety of positions before finally deciding on libero.

“I’d set and even hit, but that was when the nets were a lot lower. Then when everyone else kept growing and I stopped, I got moved to the back row,” Colclasure said. “I love libero; I like that I keep people from scoring and how that makes them mad. I’ll pick a player out and go after them—I pick their best hitter to make sure they don’t score.”

Colclasure had never expected to play volleyball in college; she assumed no school would work with her to balance both a sport and the nursing program.

“It took me a while to decide to try to find a school that would work with me, because I just figured no one would,” Colclasure said. “I picked this school because the campus is really pretty, they have my major and my coach was willing to work with me to be a nurse and let me play sports. Not many schools were open to do that.”

Johnson said Colclasure was one of her first recruits as coach at SIUE. At the time, the volleyball team  was in need of someone who could fill the role of libero and start as a freshman.

“I liked the fact that she had been in a program that had been tough,” Johnson said. “They worked very hard and emphasized ball control defense, so I knew at the very least I was going to get someone who understood that was a priority. I got more than I ever bargained for.”

Colclasure said she is glad she decided to juggle both athletics and nursing.

“It involves a lot of responsibility, organization and putting your priorities straight,” Colclasure said. “It’s made me grow as a person and as a leader; it’s helped me learn to work with authority and just being able to get everything organized.”

Colclasure said after graduation, she plans on going to nurse practitioner school in order to advance her degree.

“I liked the health field and I knew there were endless opportunities for it, so many things I could do with it,” Colclasure said. “I want to do oncology with kids; I really like kids and I think oncology is awesome, crazy and a really interesting field.”

Colclasure said this year has been the most difficult year balancing her two passions. However, she is fortunate to have parents who help keep her grounded.

“They’ve supported me though everything, even when I wanted to quit they pushed me to do better and keep at it,” Colclasure said. “My dad helps me a lot to get through things; he makes me realize that I am a strong person and I can do both. He’s a good mentor.”

Colclasure’s parents are not her only supporters. Her teammate, roommate and best friend of three years Haley Norris is also one of Colclasure’s biggest cheerleaders.

“She affects our team in a really positive way,” Norris said. “She is a big stabilizer for us and a lot of people, especially our underclassmen, look to her for guidance and confidence on the court.”

Johnson said Colclasure’s leadership is one of the many qualities that have distinguished her throughout her career.

“The past couple years she has been a stabilizing force for us. She has a great read on the ball and she knows how to put herself in the right place. She has easily been our most steady ball control player, so that in and of itself in the game of volleyball is irreplaceable,” Johnson said. “She can also communicate with me very well; I feel like she and I understand one another, having played the same position. She has a good head about her, not only by taking responsibility and being accountable for the things that she can and can’t control, but also working with me to be challenged, improve and grow.”

Norris said since she and Colclasure have the same sense of humor, they got along from day one. The two have also bonded over sharing the same position.

“She pushes me to try to be better,” Norris said. “You would think it would be like, ‘You don’t like each other because you are competing, but since the beginning we just clicked. We are open about how we’re competing, we’ve both been able to push each other and I think that has been a maturing factor in our relationship. We’ve been able to be best friends, even though she is my competition.”

Johnson said when Colclasure was recruited, she was an average student, and Johnson explained to her in this program at this level, average is not acceptable.

“She said, ‘I know it’ll be different when I get there,’ and I just had to trust her. That is the relationship we had from day one, there was a great level of trust,” Johnson said.  “She came here as an exceptional student and got accepted into nursing. She’s doing something that is hard for your typical nursing student and she’s doing it with a full-time athletic job and doing well and excelling. I think that’s another testament to the person she is and why accomplishing such a record and so many accolades throughout her career should not surprise anyone, because that’s just the nature of her.”

Colclasure said when the digs record was broken, she wasn’t even aware of what she had accomplished.

“I didn’t even know I broke it. My coach was like, ‘Congratulations, you broke the record the other day.’ I remember last year they said I was five digs away and then I forgot about it,” Colclasure said. “It is really cool to have my name somewhere on the university because of this. All the hours that you put in, working hard every day at practice and dedicating yourself to—it really does pay off.”

Johnson said having herself been a libero, she can attest to the fact that this accomplishment is outstanding.

“It’s very difficult to do; you almost have to be a starter from your freshman year to be able to break that kind of record. But just being on the court isn’t enough, you have to be a skilled, smart player and Chelsea is all of those things,” Johnson said. “I think it speaks volumes to the people around her, too. She’ll tell you that she couldn’t care less about a record, as long as her team’s winning. Those around her help make her good, too. They trust her, they see her potential and they want her to be great.”

Norris said Colclasure has the ability to keep things light and fun on the court.

“If someone makes a mistake, instead of letting them get down on themselves, she would just be like, ‘Dude it’s fine, just laugh it off,’” Norris said. “But she is also super driven. She has a lot of pride and always wants to be the best in what she does.”

Johnson said one of the most distinctive things she will remember about Colclasure is her desire to improve the team in any way possible.

“I remember her first couple years we played 10 five-set matches and we were so competitive, but we were coming up 50/50 on those. She’d come to the front of the bus and say, ‘Coach, what do I need to do to help us win; what else can I do?’ and I just kept saying, ‘Chelsea, you’re going to have to be patient; not everyone’s where you are yet. But you’re going to get them there,’” Johnson said. “It’s funny because this year she’s asking the same thing, but she’s talking about a whole different level. We are 6-5 and she’s asking that same question because it’s not good enough still. That’s a great place to be in and that drive is always something I’ll remember about her.”

Colclasure said her motivation comes from realizing this is her last year in the program.

“This year I know I don’t have anymore chances to win the [Ohio Valley Conference] tournament or go to [National Collegiate Athletic Association] tournament and that’s always been a dream to go to the NCAA’s,” Colclasure said. “Also working hard for my teammates; I love every single one of them. They are like my family so I think they keep me going every day.”

Colclasure said being a part of this program for the past four years has meant a lot to her and helped her grow.

“It meant that I worked really hard to get where I wanted to be,” Colclasure said. “I went into practice everyday. I tried to get better everyday and I’d say, looking back, it was a great experience. I loved being around all my teammates, my coaches and I wouldn’t change it.”

Caitlin Grove

Via alestlelive.com

Sports: SIUE’s first national champion

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In 1972, the SIUE men’s soccer team defeated Oneonta College 1-0 to clinch the Division II National Championship. This was SIUE’s first national championship in any sport and its first D-II championship in soccer.

During this season the team achieved a record of 11-0-3.

Rick Benben, the Cougars’ goalie that year said he still remembers the goal SIUE scored, which ultimately won the game.

“It was a really nice goal,” Benben said. “I think we played well. It was a tight game and, in hindsight, every kick of the ball meant something.”

SIUE player Tom Twellman — now 62 — said the most difficult part was that the game occurred in the middle of an ice storm, causing the field to be mostly frozen and forcing many players to wear high-top tennis shoes for traction.

“It was a shame that we had to play the final game in those conditions,” Twellman said. “But I thought we out-played the other team. Under those conditions it was a battle, but we did it and came out victorious.”

Benben said once the game started, he didn’t think much about the importance the game held.

“I think once the game starts, it really just comes down to playing,” Benben said. “I really don’t think you’re thinking about the magnitude of it. You’re just concentrating on doing your job. You think more about the importance of it once it’s over.”

That year, the team was under the instruction of SIUE Hall of Fame head coach Bob Guelker. Guelker was head coach at Saint Louis University from 1959-66 and reigned as head coach at SIUE from 1967-85. While with the Cougars, Guelker held a record of 216-67-21. In 2005, he was inducted into the SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame.

“Oh my god, Guelker was extraordinary. It was really just amazing,” Benben said. “Coach Guelker was, at the time, the Phil Jackson or Bill Belichick, whoever you want to pick as your best coach of any sport, of college soccer. I was just extremely fortunate that he ended up at SIUE after he left SLU and I had the opportunity to play for him.”

Twellman said that Coach Guelker impacted his life and playing abilities.

“He was a very good man,” Twellman said. “He taught us a lot about life, he talked about the intangibles and how to be a good person and athlete.”

After graduating SIUE in 1973, Benben carried on his love of soccer. He joined the SIUE coaching staff that year and remained assistant coach under Guelker’s guidance until 1982. During this time, he helped bring SIUE its second championship win in 1979, when the Cougars won the DI championship.

In 1982, Benben made the move to Kansas City, Mo., to become assistant coach and director of player personnel for the Kansas City Comets. This was a Major Indoor Soccer League team and Benben remained assistant coach for them through the 1987 season.

Benben is currently the head coach for the University of Missouri Kansas City men’s soccer team and is entering his 17th season in this position.

“As the years go by, I think I more clearly understand the magnitude of that game and experience,” Benben said. “To think that, not only that year we won the championship but pretty much every year from the time I entered through 1980, we were at the top of collegiate soccer, and that is pretty extraordinary. I feel really lucky to have been a part of that.”

Once Twellman graduated, he was drafted in both soccer and baseball but chose the baseball route. He played professional baseball for three years with the Houston Astros and is currently president and CEO of Hair Saloon Holdings, commonly known in the St. Louis area as the Hair Saloon For Men.

“I’m proud to think of those memories,” Twellman said. “They are some of the best memories I’ve had. I looked forward to every practice and every game. We couldn’t have had a better group of guys. It was a tremendous experience.”

Benben said that these memories are some of his favorites when looking back over his life.

“These memories are built, and I appreciate them more and more every day,” Benben said. “The older you get, the more you appreciate your teammates and coaches. We had a team full of fantastic people. There’s no more profound way to say it. They did a lot for us. They certainly shaped my life, and I think a lot of the guys would say the same thing.”

Caitlin Grove

Via alestlelive.com

Sports: Wrestling for a cause: Dynamo Pro Wrestling prepares to throw down against strokes

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Dynamo Pro Wrestling will be holding Stroke “Ain’t” No Joke, a professional wrestling fundraiser to benefit the American Stroke Association, at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 12th at the Sports Academy in Glen Carbon.

In April, former pro wrestler Kenny “Kenny G” Garrett suffered a stroke. Garrett had a career in the wrestling business that spanned more than 5 years. He began his training in California, spent some years in the independent circuit and essentially wrestled wherever he could, whenever he could. He was a man who helped advance many others’ careers and had a great impact on the lives of many in the wrestling world.

Thankfully, eight days after his stroke, Garrett was able to walk out of the hospital on his own. The only thing holding him back was a slight limp.

The incident left many of his colleagues feeling inspired. Luke Roberts, media consultant at Dynamo Pro Wrestling, was one of those affected.

“It’s one of those things that doesn’t hit you until somebody near you gets there,” Roberts said. “At that point, we all sat there and said, ‘We need to do something to promote stroke awareness.’ We needed to do something to make people aware that stroke is not just an older persons’ disease; I mean Kenny was only 53 years old.”

Originally, Garrett’s supporters had wanted to help the hospital that had helped Garrett after his stroke, but after that fell through, they came up with another plan.

“Through wrestling, we knew people at the American Stroke Association. We talked to them and put together this fundraiser with the one big thing being that a big portion of what we raise goes to them,” Roberts said. “It was one of those things where through a bad situation, another one opened up, and we can now do more on a bigger level, helping a national foundation.”

Garrett said it is very important to him as well to do something to give back.

“I want to try and enable people who are in my situation,” Garrett said. “As we’re finding out, people younger and younger are suffering from strokes. It was just something that struck me. It hit me so hard. I felt it was something I owed to give people who are suffering from this any assistance that I could.”

Dynamo Pro Wrestling does a good amount of charity work, but this is the first event they have done for a large charity.

Roberts said the reason the wrestling company picked this specific charity was he wanted to help others like Garrett.

“Kenny has been such a vital part of the company behind the scenes,” Roberts said. “There are a lot of guys in the professional wrestling business that have gained from what Kenny did. He had a lengthy career; he wrestled for 16 years. He trained his daughter, and he was one of the guys who really gave me the opportunity to step behind a microphone and get away from just being a wrestler and a referee.”

Garrett said this event has people gathering from all over the country to help support.

“We’ve got the greatest guys in the Midwest, from over in Kansas City to local guys here, to guys even coming up all the way from Florida,” Garrett said. “My daughter is even coming into town that day, taking a break from her busy schedule.”

Garrett’s daughter, Santana Garrett, Total Nonstop Action’s Brittany, will be joining the elite crew of wrestlers for this event. Garrett said he never expected his daughter to follow in his footsteps, seeing as she was more of a girly-girl. However, once she did, he was more than happy to train her.

Roberts said this event carries huge importance for not only the American Stroke Association, but for the wrestling company as well.

“I think this event has been a huge thing for our company because it’s allowing us to bring in wrestlers from other parts of the country and see if our guys match up,” Roberts said. “I would say this is one of, if not the biggest, event in my tenure with the company, and I’ve been here the better part of six years.”

Dynamo Pro was started in 2007 by two men who were previously part of Gateway Championship Wrestling, a premiere contemporary wrestling company.

In the seven years since the company was started, Roberts said it has grown by leaps and bounds.

“One of the biggest things is, in the past year, we have had a lot more as it relates to merchandising and DVD production,” Roberts said. “We’ve gone from one stationary camera at events, to running three cameras and a high-def stationary camera. Another thing that’s also grown is our talent base; when we started we’d have 20 or 30 people, and now we have 45 to 50 on our current talent roster. We’ve had wrestlers travel internationally, and several of our gentlemen have had tryout matches for the [World Wrestling Entertainment].”

Roberts said the amount of time each athlete puts into the business depends on which avenue of the wrestling business they have gone in to.

“As for the actual wrestlers, it’s unreal how much work they put in, going from city to city,” Roberts said. “But it’s not just the wrestlers; everyone who’s involved in Dynamo Pro gives 110 percent. There are a lot of long nights. For me personally, in my 24 and a half years in wrestling, I’ve been a wrestler, a referee, a time keeper, an announcer; basically, you name it in the wrestling business, I’ve done it.”

When it comes to wrestling styles, Roberts said Dynamo Pro has a little bit of everything.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who wrestle high-flying lucha libre style, who can do backflips and stuff that you would see in a Mexican wrestling style,” Roberts said. “Then we have a lot of guys in the mid-range whose wrestling style is very similar to those in the World Wrestling Entertainment and Japanese style; they go out there and they know it’s a sport. I’ve seen those guys knock each other silly with kicks and punches. Then we also have the heavyweight guys, they are at least 260 pounds, 6 feet 6 inches, and they are the ones who will go out there and do unbelievable things.”

Roberts said since Dynamo Pro Wrestling offers a variety of styles, this is the type of event that is truly family-friendly wrestling.

“It’s one of those where you can get the 5, 6, 7-year olds in the crowd who are just mesmerized by the John Cenas and the Undertakers or that kind of wrestling,” Roberts said. “But at Dynamo Pro, you can also have your grandmother come to the event and be just as much a part of the action as these little 6, 7 and 8-years olds.”

Roberts said Dynamo Pro Wrestling chose the Sports Academy as its venue for a number of reasons.

“This is where we tend to draw our biggest crowd. When we did our reunion show here, we put around 500 people in the Sports Academy,” Roberts said. “It’s also a great location for all of the organizations being a part of this because this area has the most dedicated, loyal fans. The people of the metro east, the riverbend area and this community in general, —when there’s a cause that comes out, we really rally together.”

Roberts said he hopes to be able to announce on the day of the event how much money the wrestling company raised and, shortly after, make a trip to the American Stroke Association offices to deliver the good news.

“We definitely want to make it a point in the next couple days, once everything is packed up and put away, to actually be able to go over to their offices, speak with their representative and say, ‘This is what we did, this is the money we raised and this is going to help,’” Roberts said.

Roberts said there are many reasons for people to come out to this event and support this cause.

“Everybody in this day and age knows somebody who has been affected by stroke,” Roberts said. “My biggest thing is the idea that, where else can you go to a professional sporting event, take your grandchildren and your grandparents, be within 50 feet of the competitors and at the same time raise money for a very worthy cause?”

This event, Garrett said, is for such a good cause and is shaping up to be everything they could hope for.

“There’s a lot of organizations coming together for this. It’s not a ‘me vs. you’ kind of thing,” Garrett said. “It’s everybody putting everything aside and coming together, and that right there makes me feel very proud.”

Doors to the event open at 6 p.m., with a start time of 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 if purchased in advance, $12 on the day of the event and $5 for children ages 5 to 12.

Caitlin Grove

Via alestlelive.com

Sports: Leap of faith: La’ Derrick Ward’s belief in self, SIUE takes him to the top

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After nine years, senior track star La’ Derrick Ward has endured the many trials and tribulations that go along with being an athlete.

Ward said one of the main things he loves about track is that a person can be as good at it as he or she wants. It all depends on the amount of work he or she puts into it.

“I played basketball, football — a lot of team sports. Track is a team sport also, but at the same time you can go as far in track as you want to go,” Ward said. “I’ve won team awards in track, but nothing is better than winning at something that you alone worked your hardest for and put that work in at.”

Ward has received many awards throughout his college career. He has been the indoor and outdoor conference champion in the Ohio Valley Conference, competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships and received an All-American award, was OVC Athlete of the Year in 2014 and became the first track athlete at SIUE to compete for a Division I national championship.

In addition, Ward had the longest collegiate jump of the season, an achievement of which he is proud.

“It wasn’t something that started off being my goal, it just ended up happening and was pretty cool,” Ward said. “It was kind of surreal; I didn’t really believe it at first when I saw it online. But when it did hit me, it was a good feeling.”

Even with all of these awards under his belt, Ward said his drive to win has not changed.

“They’re great to have, I take pride in my awards because I earned them,” Ward said. “But I don’t really hang on to them. Every award I get, I give to my mom because I know she’s proud. I love the fact that I won them, but once I win them, it’s on to the next thing.”

Despite all of his accomplishments in long jumping, it was not always Ward’s focus. He began his track career in sixth grade with the 400-meter race until one day when the team’s high jumper did not show up for a meet.

“They asked for someone to fill in. At the time, I was only doing a relay so I said I’d do it. I actually ended up being the best guy on the team at it so I stayed doing it,” Ward said.

After entering high school, his coach suggested he try long jumping.

“I tried it and was pretty good at it,” Ward said. “At first, I did high and long jump, but ended up being better at long because I didn’t grow much. You have to be pretty tall for high jump. Long jump ended up being my main thing. It’s more fun for me. It’s my favorite event.”

When it comes to game day, Ward said he does not have many special rituals before meets that particularly stand out from what other track athletes do.

“There’s not really a lot of prep leading up to a meet, just going over technique and approaches,” Ward said. “I listen to music all day prepping up to a meet, but that’s just to get away from everything and narrow my focus.”

One of the reasons Ward does not have many rituals has to do with the sense of calm he has before meets. He said he tends to take a “whatever happens, happens” approach when it comes to events.

“I’m probably the most relaxed guy ever. People ask me if I get nervous before meets and when I say no, they always look at me weird. Even for the biggest meets I’ve been to, I don’t get nervous,” Ward said. “I don’t really see the point of being nervous. It’s not going to make anything better. I’ve done the work, I’ve prepared and there’s nothing to be nervous about.”

Ward said he was recruited by the University of Missouri and a lot of other big schools, but he felt more at home at SIUE and really liked the sense of family he found.

“I came to a smaller school and people wondered why,” Ward said. “When I was recruited here, they actually got to know me as a person. Mizzou tried to sell me on their facilities and all the shiny stuff they had. It was all nice, but I’m just not a materialistic person. I felt like I was coming into more of a family here.”

Ward said it makes his accomplishments worth more at a smaller school.

“Competing for a national championship at Mizzou or [the University of Southern California], I feel like wouldn’t mean as much as winning it here,” Ward said. “There are a lot of people that think you have to go to these big institutions to excel in sports. As long as you put the work in and stay healthy, you can do anything. I’m proof of that.”

Ward said he owes his success to many different people who have motivated and helped him, especially those who have gone out of their way to make things possible for him.

“I have a little brother who’s in high school who jumps and looks up to me, so that’s a lot of motivation. I don’t really try to be over him about it, I just want him to have fun with it. I don’t want to put pressure on him. I also look up to my older brother as well. He’s always supporting me and is probably one of my biggest heroes. But my dad is a big influence — he has fought through a lot of adversity — just knowing that he came through so much and has tried so hard to keep me from it. I try my best to make him proud, show him that all the hard work he put into me wasn’t a waste,” Ward said.

Ward has many other loyal supporters, including his best friend Greg Hayes, a senior at Eastern Illinois University.

“He’s very hardworking when it comes to sports at school,” Hayes said. “He’s always himself. He never tries to be anybody he isn’t. He’s very determined. He never lets it overwhelm him. He just works as hard as he can and puts everything into his sport.”

Hayes said they became friends in sixth grade. They had a class together and after one conversation, the two just clicked.

“I was talking to him the other day about how he’s No. 1 in long jumping and how he feels about it. He has always been one of the best athletes and he’s never let it get to his head,” Hayes said. “He’s never been one of those people who’s a show-off.”

Ward said his best piece of advice for aspiring track stars and college athletes is to remember why they started playing.

“I really got into sports for the fun of it. In all honesty, when I started track, I didn’t think it’d be a sport I’d stay with and end up being so good at. I ended up finding a love for it that I didn’t know I had,” Ward said. “Just have fun and remember why you started, don’t forget that if you really want to succeed, then give it your all.”

Caitlin Grove

Via alestlelive.com

Sports: SIUE announces new assistant coach for women’s soccer

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Beginning this fall, Jordan Bishop will be joining the women’s soccer team as assistant coach.

Bishop played soccer for four years at the undergraduate level for Iowa State University. She has played for semi-professional teams as well as the professional team the Boston Breakers. While completing her master’s, she was the graduate assistant and director of soccer operations for Auburn University.

Head Coach Derek Burton said her extensive experience will make her a valuable addition to the team.

“Her professional and high-level college playing experience will really incent credibility and respect from our players so they can take what she gives them, like her opinion and her coaching, and know it’s valid,” Burton said.

Bishop will be joining the coaching staff as the third full-time coach, something Burton said will be beneficial to the team.

“This is a great step for our coaching staff and our program,” Burton said. “She’ll make a big impact in terms of having a third recruiter. She has a very high level of playing experience, which has given her eyes for evaluation, so she’s going to be impactful in our recruiting efforts.”

Bishop said she plans to contribute to the team in many ways.

“On the field, it’ll be more from an attacking standpoint, with the positional and tactical side of things. I’ve played at pretty much every level college-wise, so I think the experience on the field that I’ve had will help me to be able to relate to the girls,” Bishop said. “As for off the field, I am a younger coach so I think having that relatability with the players will be extremely beneficial.”

Burton said the fact that she is young is nothing but a positive.

“Still being pretty young and not so removed from the game, she can really bridge that gap from being a player at a high level to now coaching at Division I athletics,” Burton said. “They’ll know that they can take what she says to heart. This is a factor when it comes to the games and training, but also when it comes to the personal side of things. She’ll be able to have more of a connection with them than someone like myself, who’s 40 now, does not have to a 20-year-old.”

Bishop said she was drawn to this program partially due to her connection with Burton.

“Now in society, it’s all about connections and staying in touch with the people who make an impact on your life,” Bishop said. “Derek was my coach for my freshman fall so I’ve known him going on seven years now. I really respected him as a coach, so once I heard this position had opened, I quickly reached out to him and interviewed because I wanted to be a part of his program.”

Bishop said in addition to her connection with Burton, she is also eager to be part of a Division I team.

“That’s what I really like about this program; it’s somewhat fresh with the Division I status, so being able to be a contributor to progressing the women’s program into more of a notable team will be really exciting,” Bishop said.

Senior defender Samantha Jones said she is excited for Bishop to join the team.

“I worked a camp with her this summer and from what I saw, it seemed like she had a positive attitude, a pretty good ability to lead and a good work ethic,” Jones said. “It seemed like she knows a lot about the sport and having another person to help explain things will be great.”

Bishop said she has wanted to become a coach for most of her life and is very excited about the opportunity to do this at SIUE.

“My dad was a high school basketball coach, so I’ve grown up with a coach in my family,” Bishop said. “I just love the way that they can be a part of someone’s life and really make an impact in it.”

Caitlin Grove

Via alestlelive.com

A lesson in First Amendment rights and the meaning of beauty: Despite controversy, professor’s work in contrasting images comes together in gallery exhibit

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Southern Illinois University Mass communications professor Tom Atwood discovered beauty in the Wood River Refinery.

He began by photographing young women in front of the refinery and at first, it was nothing more than an urban backdrop for senior portraits, but it soon became much more.

Atwood said an English professor at McKendree University saw these portraits and told him it reminded her of an Allen Ginsberg poem, “In Back of the Real,” a poem which was about seeing beauty in unexpected, industrial places.

“When she sent me that poem I thought, ‘That’s exactly what this is,’” Atwood said. “Then I started to think about how you could create a series of pictures that would show this contrast between what people think of as beautiful, say a beautiful woman, but then to also somehow show the refinery in a way that is beautiful.”

Atwood said many see the refinery as an eyesore, but ever since he saw it through his son’s eyes, he had always seen it as something quite beautiful.

“When we first moved here, he was 3 or 4 and we would drive past the refinery on the way to Alton,” Atwood said. “My wife’s in the car looking at it thinking, ‘Oh my god. We live next to this? This horrible industrial place.’ But he was looking out the window in his car seat at it and said, ‘Dad, we are lucky to live here aren’t we?’ That’s what got me thinking maybe it is kind of a beautiful, awful place.”

Atwood said after he was sent the poem, he began thinking this project could become something more, possibly even an exhibit.

“The executive director of the Edwardsville Art Center saw the pictures and suggested it could become an exhibit and it became a good reason to do [the project],” Atwood said. “One reason I take photos is to create art and to have people see the art. So instead of me just shooting as a hobby, it gave it a real purpose.”

However, the entire project was not smooth sailing for Atwood. As it turns out, the refinery does not like having its picture taken and will take great measures to make sure this does not happen. The refinery has bought lots of land surrounding the complex in order to prevent things of this sort from happening.

Atwood said local police would stop him soon after he arrived on the site, telling him the refinery would confiscate his camera if he continued taking photos. Police and security told him he faced these restrictions due to the Patriot Act.

“Under the Patriot Act, which was put in place after 9/11, if certain strategic areas or energy places think someone is doing something suspicious on their property, they can take these extra steps,” Atwood said. “He said they could think I was doing something suspicious, like mapping the refinery, and could come out and confiscate the camera.”

Atwood said the first time he was stopped and told about this issue, he asked the officer what he would do if he were in Atwood’s position.

“He said, ‘Well first of all I would stay on public property or private property that you have permission to be on, and I would be as inconspicuous as possible,’” Atwood said. “So that’s the approach I took after that, to always shoot on public property and I did try to be inconspicuous, which often meant shooting someplace quickly and getting out.”

Atwood said he was stopped a total of six times by police officers, refinery security or both.

“The last time was the worst, it was two security and one South Roxana police officer,” Atwood said. “That’s when they said they had put me on the homeland security list, which was a bluff. To me, that was intimidation or bullying almost, but it did stop the project for awhile because I did not want to be on that list.”

Atwood said the project started up again when Atwood’s brother posted the story to Facebook and said to contact the refinery. Atwood ended up getting a meeting with the refinery to discuss the issue and come to a potential agreement.

“For the last three shoots, there was an agreement that if I told them in advance where I was going to be, that there were certain areas I could shoot on and they wouldn’t call out the security,” Atwood said. “They said they are trying to stay under the radar; they don’t want attention drawn to the refinery so that somebody might then see it or think of it as a terrorist threat.”

Atwood said most of the shoots were done without notifying the refinery because he did not feel it was necessary.

“I do understand a citizen’s rights under the First Amendment and free speech, and I felt that there was no reason to be notifying a corporation on what I planned to do on public property,” Atwood said. “So I made a point not to call them because I didn’t feel it was right or necessary. I didn’t want them involved in the project in any way. Afterwards, I didn’t really like the agreement because then I was shooting at areas that they had designated.”

Atwood said while the threats slowed him down, they did not stop him from completing his project.

“It was pretty much done at that point,” Atwood said. “A lot of people had contacted me who wanted to be in it so I had plenty of pictures by that time. But I still had people who wanted to do it, so that’s why I did the rest of them after the agreement.”

Atwood said he would send out invitations to people he thought might be good or who may be interested in participating.

“In the invitation, it was always presented as a collaboration,” Atwood said. “I would say, ‘Do you want to do it? And if so, whatever you wear is up to you. I’m just trying to show a contrast between you and the refinery.’ This way, I thought I would have a lot of different looks. However, I shot some people that I didn’t know; some would say, ‘A friend of mine did it or I saw pictures, can I be in it?’”

Mass communications professor Suman Mishra said she volunteered as a model because she is  interested in photography and wanted to see what it is that Atwood really does.

“This is not something I’ve ever done. It’s not something I’m comfortable with, but I just wanted to have fun and to push myself to do something different that I wouldn’t normally do,” Mishra said. “Tom is really good in the sense that he really does make you very comfortable so it doesn’t feel like you are actually posing. So I’m happy for him. I’ve been seeing him do this for awhile and the exhibit is like a culmination of his work.”

Atwood said the exhibit will be a one-man exhibit made up of about 50 framed photos.

“The point of the exhibit is to sort of explore this contrast in beauty, explore the different kinds of beauty,” Atwood said. “Hopefully, they can expect to find beautiful, interesting photographs that maybe they did not expect. What is maybe surprising to some people is how beautiful the refinery can be.”

Mass communications professor Cory Byers and SIUE alumna Ashley Seering decided it would be fascinating to create a documentary to go along with the photos at the exhibit.

Byers said he and Seering wanted to add context to the exhibit through their documentary.

“We thought it’d be nice to have a short video to play there so people could get an understanding of why he did it,” Byers said. “I think if people come in and watch it before going through the exhibit, they’ll get a better understanding of what it’s about and what the point was from Tom’s perspective. Then maybe they’ll be able to appreciate the photos a little more.”

Seering, a former Alestle employee, said the idea for the documentary sparked after Atwood posted the story of his project online.

“A lot of people were asking questions about it and he had kind of explained it but it was hard to get all of the details, so I just always thought it would make a good story,” Seering said. “The point of the documentary is to tell the story behind the photos.”

Seering said they tried to capture every aspect of the process.

“We did one interview with Tom and we did some with the models that actually participated in the photo shoots, just to get their side of it,” Seering said. “Then we went out one evening when he was doing his last photo shoot at the refinery, just sort of to give people a live sense of what Tom was putting into the project.”

Seering said they are planning to produce two separate documentaries; one focused more on the art, which will be shown on a loop at the exhibit and one looking into the controversy, which will be posted online.

Atwood said he learned many things throughout this project, one of which was not only how deeply some people feel about the First Amendment, but also how strongly he felt about it.

“I never had to deal with this before, what I thought was a complete interference with a citizen’s rights,” Atwood said. “But people also feel really strong on the other side, too. Even a corporation has a right to security or invasion of privacy. I think I also learned about what you can and can’t do under the Patriot Act and what your rights are. You really do have to be careful in the decisions you make about any kind of journalistic or artistic enterprise because you can run into trouble.”

Atwood said he hopes people approach the exhibit with an open mind.

“Not only open minded in the way I went about shooting, that not everybody agrees with, but also just open to seeing the refinery as something other than just an eyesore or a bad corporation,” Atwood said. “I never really looked at it that way. I’ve always been fascinated by it, always thought it was beautiful; again, in a terrible, almost apocalyptic way. But I think if they go into the exhibit with an open mind about all of that, about this idea of beauty and what is beautiful, then I think it’ll be an interesting thing.”

“The Refinery Project: Images of Beauty and Industry by Tom Atwood” will open to the public July 18 through Aug. 22, with an opening reception Friday, July 22 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Edwardsville Art Center.

Caitlin Grove

Via alestlelive.com