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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2024
Trans-exclusionary activist speaks at Carbondale PD Annalise Schmidt aschmidt@dailyegyptian.com
A group of protesters gathered at the Carbondale Police Station Thursday evening on Oct. 10 to push back against a controversial speaker associated with the Riley Gaines Center, an organization named after a former collegiate swimmer who advocates for policies that exclude transgender women from competing in women’s sports. The event, initially planned to be held on the SIU campus, was moved to the Carbondale Police Department, but event organizers made it clear that their voices wouldn’t be silenced. The event, titled “Real Women’s Day,” was hosted by SIU’s chapter of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), an American nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college and university campuses. According to a statement SIU released on Thursday, Turning Point USA had been placed on probation as of Oct. 4, 2024, due to a violation of the RSO Handbook Flier policy. The violation occurred when the organization posted stickers on the exterior of the Agriculture Building’s newly repainted door openers, resulting in damages amounting to approximately $200. As a result of
this probation, the group was not permitted to use university facilities, including the Student Center, for their event. In the statement it was noted that, “For an RSO to use university facilities, including the Student Center, it must be in good standing, and its members must adhere to university policy and the Student Conduct Code. A group’s ideology and the topic of the event are not criteria.” Earlier in the day on Thursday, members of the group also set up a table outside of Lentz Dining Hall on campus to advertise the event and were asked to leave by a representative from the housing department. The SIU chapter of Turning Point USA, which has previously had events on campus before, will be permitted to resume regular activities as of Nov. 1. “We respect the First Amendment rights of our campus community to peacefully express their opinions, including those on issues where people passionately disagree,” the SIU statement further clarified. “We will balance that right with the necessity for our community to be safe, the requirement to provide an environment free of discrimination and harassment, and the obligation
TURNING POINT | 3
Carbondale protesters march down the strip during the trans-exclusionary event hosted by the SIU chapter of Turning Point USA Oct. 10, 2024 in Carbondale, Illinois. Libby Phelps | @libbyphelpsphotgraphy
VOL. 108, ISSUE 9
Jungle Dogs last performance
D. Ward (left) waves at the crowd that came to watch the Jungle Dogs perform while Keith Huffman (right) plays with the band Oct. 11, 2024 in Carbondale, Illinois. Enan Chediak | @enanchediak See more photos on Page 7
Salukis drop fourth in a row on Homecoming Weekend Nick Pfannkuche npfannkuche@dailyegyptian.com
SIU completed the celebration of Homecoming week on Oct. 12 with a football game against No. 2 North Dakota State University (NDSU), but with a final score of 24-3, the Salukis marked their fourth straight loss of the season, leaving them at 2-5. Against the powerhouse ninetime national champion, the Salukis wanted to set the tone by scoring first. It looked like they were going to do just that as their first drive got deeper into Bison territory, but a fumble recovered by the defense ended the drive and set the tone for the rest of the game. “Looking back, that was a tough play,” Head Coach Nick Hill said. The Salukis got the ball first on the sunny Saturday afternoon with true freshman Jake Curry under center. The Dawgs would work their way into Bison territory, with some help from three penalties on the defense. Curry completed a pass to Allen Middleton which was
promptly fumbled and recovered by an NDSU defender. Curry, in the first start of his career, finished with 15 completions for 152 yards. The freshman found himself starting after the Salukis lost both quarterbacks DJ Williams and Hunter Simmons to injuries earlier in the season. “I was proud of Jake,” Hill said. ”18 years old, making your first start against that defense, tough task.” After a couple of short gains, NDSU quarterback Cam Miller found a wide open Joe Stoffel for a gain of 37 to get into Saluki territory. Two runs by CharMar Brown set up Barika Kpeenu to punch it in from 6 yards out. Looking to answer, SIU was unable to get anything going and punt. The Bison responded with an unsuccessful series of their own and punted the ball right back. The Salukis were able to pick up a pair of first downs before NDSU’s defense put an end to the drive. A well-placed punt by Paul
Geelen had the Bison starting from their own five. NDSU made their way up to their own 36, but an offensive pass interference took the momentum away and forced another Bison punt. On the next SIU possession, Curry found Middleton for a pickup of 18 and Vinson Davis for a 24-yard gain, to get into Bison territory. The drive would end with a 50-yard field goal by Geelen to get the Dawgs on the board. “I’d say I have a pretty good connection with all the receivers,” Curry said. “It kind of shows sometimes.” NDSU responded to the score with their running game, picking up 53 yards on nine carries before Miller connected with Chris Harris for a touchdown. With 31 ticks before halftime, the Salukis tried to respond, but were only able to get just beyond midfield when the clock hit zero. Out of the break, NDSU quickly made their way into SIU territory, FOOTBALL | 10