The Daily Egyptian - April 22, 2026

THE Daily Egyptian

‘Profit is their goal’: SIU faculty question university’s partnership with Risepoint

KRISTIN BORCHERS

kborchers@dailyegyptian.com

Southern Illinois University faculty and staff are sounding the alarm about the school’s contract with a for-profit company that recruits students for online academic programming, citing concerns over a profit sharing agreement that funnels tuition dollars from those programs to the private firm.

Faculty and staff at SIU also allege that, beyond questions concerning profit methods, the company uses predatory recruitment tactics.

In 2023, SIU entered a contract with Risepoint, an online program manager, or OPM, to recruit students to master’s programs. Half of the tuition revenue from Risepointrecruited programs is channeled straight back to the company, which is owned by a private equity firm.

By Spring of 2027, SIU administration plans to expand the partnership with Risepoint from eight master’s programs to 18 additional programs, raising further concerns among faculty about professor workload and enrollment

strategy at a school that has struggled to claw its way back from dramatic enrollment declines.

According to the contract, obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, SIU’s agreement with Risepoint — formerly known as Academic Partnerships — is set to go until 2030. Risepoint, now the largest OPM in the country, was purchased in 2019 by Vistria, a Chicago-based private investment firm. The forprofit company is responsible for recruiting online students to SIU’s degree programs that partner with Risepoint.

“Because their profit is their goal, they tend to try to extract as much tuition as they can from students, to pay instructors as little as they can get away with, and the quality of the educational experiences suffers, as do retention rates and graduation rates,”

David M. Johnson, the chair to the Faculty Senate budget committee, said in an interview with the Daily Egyptian.

Johnson is part of a handful of Faculty Senate members who have

SIUC students to see 2% tuition increase

SIU’s Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition rates for Carbondale students for the upcoming academic year, marking the first adjustment in nearly a decade.

University leadership framed the increase as a necessary step to maintain operations while keeping costs relatively low compared to peer institutions.

“Carbondale is requesting a 2% increase in tuition rates for undergraduate and graduate students for the academic year, 2026-2027,” Chancellor Austin Lane said during the board’s April 16 meeting at SIUC. “This would mark the first tuition adjustment for undergraduate and graduate students after eight consecutive years at the current per-credit-hour rate.”

The Board of Trustees approved

the tuition increase with a unanimous vote. Under the new rates, incoming freshmen will pay $4,916.25 per semester, compared to the previous $4,818.75 rate. This amounts to an increase of $195 annually. The current rate will remain in place for students currently enrolled in the university.

Lane said the increase is intended to balance affordability with the university’s financial needs.

“SIU Carbondale holds its longstanding tradition of accessible education for students across the state, the nation and the world, while continuing efforts to minimize barriers to degree completion,” Lane said.

The proposed adjustment is meant to help offset increasing operational expenses while maintaining student support services and academic quality, he said.

been raising questions regarding Risepoint at the faculty governing body’s meetings for the past few months.

Although Risepoint brought in 170 online students in the 20242025 school year and 350 students

this year, 50% of tuition revenue goes to Risepoint, according to the contract. As stated in the SIU Board of Trustees minutes from its September 2024 meeting, tuition revenue paid to Risepoint for their services will accumulate to an estimate of $5,000,000 over the seven-year period. Board meeting minutes state the goal of the contract is to grow programs that have fewer than 100 students to 1,000 students over its lifetime.

Duckworth: City to get $2M in

federal funding for new shelter

WOLF

ORION

owolf@dailyegyptian.com

The City of Carbondale is expected to receive $2 million in federal funding for a new homeless shelter, according to a March email City Manager Stan Reno sent to City Council, which the Daily Egyptian obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

According to Reno, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s office gave the city “unofficial notice” that it would receive the money, which it had applied for two years ago to demolish the Warming Center and build a new shelter.

If the proper requirements are met and the funds are confirmed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Development (HUD) and granted to the City of Carbondale, the goal is to renovate an already existing property

to meet the needs of the homeless community.

306 W. Mill St. is currently owned by a company called NeuroRestorative, which Reno has been working with to potentially donate the building to the city for this possible homeless shelter.

“The property at 306 W. Mill St. is potentially suitable because it was originally designed and continues to function as a multi-occupant residential facility,” Reno wrote in an email to the DE. “That means much of the essential infrastructure, such as sleeping quarters, shared living spaces, accessibility features, and safety systems, is already in place.

“This significantly reduces the level of renovation or retrofitting that would typically be required to convert a building into a shelter or supportive

housing facility,” Reno wrote. Reno said the process is dependent on federal procedures through HUD and that the city must meet the department’s requirements before any funds can be released.

“At this point, we have not been given a definitive timeline for when funds might be available or when the partnership will fully materialize,” Reno said.

The Carbondale Warming Center and Good Samaritan have been discussing consolidation alongside the potential for this new homeless shelter, according to the email from Reno to City Council. Neither of the organizations responded to emails regarding the subject.

Nathan Colombo, a Carbondale City Council member, said in an

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Published by the students of Southern Illinois University Carbondale on a weekly basis in print, and every day on dailyegyptian.com. Fall and spring semester editions run every Wednesday. Free copies are distributed in the Carbondale, Carterville, and Springfield communities.

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CORRECTIONS

In the April 15 edition of the Daily Egyptian, the story titled “Iranian students at SIU react to the ongoing war at home” incorrectly stated that the Iranian Education Panel was hosted by Iranian students. The event was organized by the Carbondale Area Interfaith Refugee Support and co-sponsored by the International and Immigration Law Society and the Southern Illinois Chapter of the United Nations Association. The online story has been updated to correct these errors.

Southern Illinois University

TRIO Project Upward Bound Project 2026 Summer Program Positions

The Project Upward Bound (PUB) Program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is an educational assistance program funded by the U.S. Department of Education. It is designed to assist qualifying high school students in developing the skills and motivation necessary for successful completion of post-secondary education or training. Services are provided to participants throughout the academic year and during six weeks in the summer

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Century-old Horstman’s closes, leaving Carbondale without a dry cleaner

BRAYDEN GUY

bguy@dailyegyptian.com

After serving the Carbondale community for 100 years, Horstman’s Cleaners and Furriers has permanently closed its doors. While the operations in the building have ceased, its legacy is cemented in Carbondale’s history.

The Horstman family started the business in Du Quoin and moved into a new building in Carbondale in December of 1925. The original Carbondale building was on West Monroe Street, which is behind the current public library, according to an issue of The Daily Independent published on Thursday, Dec. 24, 1925.

Under the ownership of Ned Farris, the business would move in November of 1964 to 303 S. University Ave., according to an issue of The Southern Illinoisan published on Sunday, Sept. 6, 1964, where it stood until its closure on March 22, 2026.

In 1965, the business would enter the hands of the Kirk family.

“That is when my dad bought into the business,” Jon Kirk, the current owner, said.

One of the few remnants of the original location is a brick in the ground in front of the current business that reads “Horstman’s.”

“That was from the original Horstman’s, just up the street…It was one of the few things that got moved over,” Kirk said.

He said his father kept the Horstman’s name since “it was established,” and that he gets mistakenly or intentionally called a Horstman “all the time.”

Kirk started working at the dry cleaning business in 1977 when he was in junior high school. He would walk there after school. His brother and sister also worked for the business throughout their schooling. Kirk took over the business in his senior year of college when his father

suffered a heart attack, and has been running the place since 1995.

“My brother went on to be a college professor, and my sister works for Southern Illinois University. I was the youngest…So I just kinda took it over,” he said.

Despite the technological advancements and cultural changes over the past 50 years, not much has changed about the business’ processes and principles, Kirk said.

“It is basically the same as it is now… The same basic principles that were used then are used today,” Kirk said.

“The equipment is a little bit better as far as pressing and stuff like that, but everything is done by hand.”

The dry-cleaning industry, however, has changed significantly throughout the years.

“The whole state of dry cleaning has been dwindling down. When my dad had the business, I could probably name seven or eight dry cleaners within 25 miles of where we were,” Kirk said.

“Now you have me and Marion and that’s it, and really, I’m gone.”

Kirk gave multiple reasons why the dry cleaning business has dwindled. One is that the student body of SIU has “been cut in half.”

“When I was going there, you could not even get a parking place. Now you go there, and it’s like, ‘Is anybody going to school there?’” Kirk said. SIU enrollment has been declining since 1991 when enrollment peaked at 25,000 students. In fall of 2025, on campus enrollment was at 9,026 students.

William Lo, executive director of the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce, said that many local businesses had also suffered from the steady decline in SIU student enrollment.

“A lot of legacy restaurant and bar owners on the Strip have expressed that enrollment hurts their business,”

opportunities for undergraduate and graduate employment,” Lane said.

“This modest proposed increase helps to sustain essential resources, support for faculty and staff and maintain program quality amid rising operational cost, while keeping SIUC among the more affordable options in its peer group,” he said.

According to Lane, student leaders were involved in discussions leading up to the proposal.

“As a result of that, both the executive and full bodies of the Undergraduate Student Government and Graduate and Professional Student Council were engaged across several meetings to discuss this increase,” he said. “The students were receptive and understood how the increases would be allocated to support the university.”

In addition to tuition, administrators discussed a proposed increase to the general student fee to support athletics.

“We met with these same bodies of students to discuss the increase in the general fee that would be allocated to support SIU athletics. Athletics intends to use these resources to improve its media operations and provide more

Lo said. “That is tough, enrollment is not something that you and I can really improve. All we can do is make sure our business is run well.”

Lo said that he thinks Carbondale “gets a bad rap,” and that it affects enrollment.

Kirk also cited the pandemic as a major disruption that “messed up everything.” He said people would “wear whatever they wear around the house,” since they worked from home or could not leave the house.

While the size of SIU’s student body and the pandemic have contributed to the business’ stagnation, the national decline of the dry cleaning industry has been going on since 2001, according to Business Insider.

The most influential factor was the cultural shift in fashion to more casual clothes.

“People are wearing less dress clothes, and even the large percentage of clothes we were doing could be done in somebody’s home by being washed and ironed,” Kirk said.

Part of the business’ name, furriers, is a service for a fashion trend that is not as popular anymore, but might be resurging.

“That was a big thing back in the day. When Horstman’s first opened, people wore a lot of fur coats and leathers,” Kirk said. “Now it’s kind of frowned on.”

Regardless of the dwindling industry of dry cleaning, Horstman’s is closing because of Kirk’s health and well-being, he said.

In February of this year, Kirk had slipped on the ice outside the back door of Horstman’s. He had multiple fractures in his ankle and had to get surgery. Kirk has recently started physical therapy.

“They can’t run that place without me being there,” he said.

Up until his injury, Kirk had been consistently running the business and

working for 30 years.

“I’ve been working forever, six days a week, and long hours,” Kirk said.

With Horstman’s closed, the closest dry cleaner to Carbondale is Monroe Cleaners in Marion.

“I’ve already had the guy in Marion call me, and he said, ‘Man, you gotta get up and running; I can’t handle this additional payload,’” Kirk said.

In a March 21 phone call, Fred Monroe of Monroe Cleaners told the Daily Egyptian that Horstman’s closure had increased the workload on their staff.

“We are at the same amount of people with more business,” Monroe said.

Both Kirk and Lo think that there is still a market for a dry cleaner in Carbondale.

“Without looking at any data…I think the demand is there, especially since we have so many professionals,” Lo said.

Kirk said that “there is still a market there,” but that it would be a hard job.

Kirk said that his most standout memories were the people he worked with and the customers. He had

worked closely with his family and served customers who were thirdgeneration patrons.

Betty Kiefer worked with Horstman’s for over 70 years and was “extremely gifted at what she did,” Kirk said. Kiefer died in 2024 at the age of 95.

“She was like a second mother to me,” Kirk said.

Even with the need to focus on his health, Kirk said he was sad about closing up shop.

“I hate that I had to close the place,” Kirk said. “I miss all the people working there and all my customers.”

Many people on social media thanked the business for their service to the community. On a May 27 Daily Egyptian Facebook post about Horstman’s thenpotential closure, Jodi Usher Siefert wrote, “The only cleaners we ever trusted. Thanks for being the best.”

“The best cleaners!! We will miss them a lot!!” Nancy Cook wrote.

Staff Reporter Brayden Guy can be reached at bguy@dailyegyptian.com

The university proposed a $1.50 increase to the General Student Fee for on-campus students, raising it from $130.00 to $131.50. According to the proposal, the additional revenue will go toward supporting intercollegiate athletics. The General Student Fee for off-campus students will remain at $80, and the optional textbook program fee will stay at $26.

As reported in NCAA Membership Financial Reporting System documents, SIU athletics has seen student fee revenue increase by $330,325 over the past six years, rising from $5,386,926 in FY 2020 to $5,717,251 in FY 2025.

Revenue from these fees peaked in FY 2021 at $5,783,714, then fell to a low of $5,477,846 in FY 2022 before continuing an upward trend through FY 2025, when it reached $5,717,251.

With that trend and the approved student fee increase, the total revenue generated from these fees is expected to increase in the coming year, according to the proposal.

There will be no changes to housing rates, and dining hall plans will remain at current prices. Beginning in summer

2026, however, students will have the option to add flex dollars to their dining plans, which can be used at all food locations managed by the Student Center.

In addition to tuition and general fees, the board also reviewed and approved course-specific fees tied to certain programs. These fees, effective summer 2026, are intended to cover hands-on learning costs such as travel, equipment and program operations.

Within the School of Human Sciences, REC 531, Outdoor Adventure Trip Leadership, will carry a $450 course fee to support expenses related to a multi-day trip, including transportation, equipment and supplies.

In the School of Anthropology, Political Science and Sociology, ANTH 496, Field School in Archaeology, will see its course fee increase from $50 to $600, to help cover fieldwork-related costs such as travel and equipment.

The board also approved fee increases for aviation courses, with officials citing the need to maintain aircraft, support operations and build reserves for future program needs.

Lane said the university remains

focused on providing a high-quality education as a Research 1 institution, offering a range of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs while aiming to deliver strong value for students.

SIU System President Dan Mahony echoed those points in an email sent to SIU staff and faculty, describing the decision as a balance between “affordability and long-term sustainability.”

“At SIU Carbondale, a modest tuition increase of 2% will support continued investment in academic quality, student services and the overall strength of the institution,” Mahony wrote in the email. “This is SIU Carbondale’s first tuition increase since 2018.”

Mahony also addressed decisions at the system’s Edwardsville campus for the upcoming school year.

“At SIU Edwardsville, undergraduate tuition and fees will remain unchanged, reinforcing a strong commitment to accessibility and value for students and families.

The board did approve a 3% increase for dining and a 3% increase for housing to support facility updates,”

he wrote.

While undergraduate tuition will stay the same at SIU Edwardsville, the approved increases to housing and dining are intended to support ongoing maintenance and improvements to campus facilities, according to board discussions.

“Together, these decisions reflect our shared responsibility to ensure that an SIU education remains both high-quality and within reach, while positioning our campuses for continued momentum in the years ahead,” Mahony wrote.

The approved changes reflect what university leaders described as an effort to maintain affordability while continuing to invest in campus resources and student opportunities.

For a more detailed breakdown of tuition and fees, including costs specific to individual colleges and programs, see pages 50–57 of the Board of Trustees meeting agenda materials available online on the SIU Board of Trustees website.

Salukis set 18-hole record in final regular season tournament

ELI HOOVER ehoover@dailyegyptian.com

Heading into the Jan Weaver Invite on Thursday, April 11, the SIU women’s golf squad wasn’t sure what the rest of their season may hold, but after a record-setting weekend resulted in a 3rd place finish in Murray, Kentucky, their confidence heading into the MVC Championship is at an all-time high.

“It was a really eye-opening moment for the whole team, like, oh, we can compete with (Murray State) and get that confidence going into conference,” junior Calli Smith said.

Smith was at the top of the leaderboard all weekend, becoming the first Saluki to shoot two rounds in the 60s in one weekend and finishing seventh in the individual standings. Smith’s two rounds of 69, matched by junior Kayla Sayyalinh in the third round, are tied for the third best round in program history. They are the first Salukis to reach the mark since Secilia Ho at the Little

Rock Golf Classic in October 2022.

“Just knowing that coach believed in me helped me become more confident throughout the rounds,” Smith said.

Sayyalinh finished the weekend tied for 12th with fellow Saluki junior Allie Santos. The team as a whole broke the program record for best 18-hole score with a combined 285 between Smith (69), Sayyalinh (69), Santos (73), senior Ella Overstreet (74) and junior Amelia Zingler (76) in the third round. They beat the previous record, set at the 2008 Saluki Invitational, by one stroke.

The Salukis also recorded the second best 54-hole score in school history, displacing SIU’s effort at the 2020 Hoover Invitational, on their way to a third place finish out of seven teams.

One shot stood out above the rest, however, as Santos made a hole-in-one in her first round of the weekend.

“It was pretty insane how everything lined up, because we were literally talking about it on the bus to the tournament,” Santos said of hitting a hole-in-one. “My coach was probably the loudest person on the course when it happened.”

One of the two teams to finish ahead of SIU was Murray State, one of the favorites at the conference championship tournament, but Santos doesn’t mind being considered the underdogs.

“We don’t have any pressure on us, and we can come up behind them without them even realizing it,” she said. “I feel like we showed that at this tournament.”

The MVC Championship took place from Sunday, April 19 to Tuesday, April 21 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. For results, visit siusalukis.com

Sports Reporter Eli Hoover can be found at ehoover@dailyegyptian.com or on Instagram @hoovermakesart

Football finishes spring season at Saluki Stadium

ELI HOOVER

ehoover@dailyegyptian.com

The Saluki football squad took the field for the last time of the spring season on Friday, April 17 for their annual spring game in front of hundreds of fans at Saluki Stadium, many of them SIU students enticed by prize raffles and food and drink deals.

The team started with position drills, with Saluki Radio’s Pat Poore walking fans through what each drill was supposed to accomplish.

After those finished up, two SIU students took to the turf to attempt short field goals and went a combined 0-4. Keeping the kicking theme going, the Saluki faithful got their first look at new punter Elijah Gorman in punting drills.

At that point, it was SIU students Jared and Colby’s turn to run routes and try and catch touchdowns from Saluki quarterbacks JC Mirasola and Owen Rann. Mirasola to Jared was the only combination to yield

a positive result.

Then came the live scrimmage portion of the event, which was largely dominated by the defense as it has been all spring. Almost immediately LB David Obadein intercepted Jake Curry, prompting an audible roar from the crowd.

“We need a full stadium like that every game, every Saturday,” Poore said in response.

The offense wasn’t kept off the scoreboard completely, as late in the night QB ET Harris threw a touchdown to Edward Waters transfer WR Aiden Showers for the only score of the night.

SIU now will have to wait until the summer to take the field again. Fans’ first chance to see them in action in the 2026 season will be Thursday, Aug. 27 in Pensacola, Florida when they take on the newest member of the FCS, the West Florida Argonauts.

Sports Reporter Eli Hoover can be found at ehoover@dailyegyptian.com or on Instagram @hoovermakesart

Salukis pin Panthers, sweeps series 3-0

AARON CARNAHAN acarnahan@dailyegyptian.com

Junior third baseman Amanda Knutson stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning of Game three against the University of Northern Iowa with the Salukis trailing by one and two runners on second and third. With a powerful swing, Knutson sent the ball high and deep to right center field, putting the Salukis in front of the Panthers. The Salukis squared off against UNI in a three-game series at Charlotte West Stadium on Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18.

APRIL 17: SIU 2, UNI 1

Missouri Valley Conference pitcher of the week Brooklyn Danielson started the game in the circle for the Salukis. The SIU freshman pitched five and two-thirds innings, allowing three hits and just one run while striking out six Panthers hitters. Danielson was working around traffic on the basepaths with UNI stranding 13 runners on base in the contest. Danielson held the Panthers to just one run during her five two-thirds innings of work.

Junior pitcher Emily Delgado relieved Danielson in the sixth inning. Delgado pitched scoreless one and one-third innings, leading the Dawgs to a 2-1 victory. Delgado picked up the win and moved to 7-4 on the season.

The Salukis trailed the Panthers by one run after four and a half innings.

In the bottom of the fifth, an RBI single to center field by redshirt sophomore right fielder Moleah Blomenkamp scored grad student outfielder Brooklyn Pritchett to tie the game at 1-1.

Sophomore first baseman Hayden Kurtz came through in the bottom of the sixth with a clutch single to left field to score junior catcher Sydney Potter. Kurtz’s RBI single turned out to be the difference in the game and the Salukis won a gritty pitching duel over the Panthers by a final score of 2-1.

APRIL 17: SIU 3, UNI 1

The Saluki offense got on the board first in the second game of the series. In the bottom of the third, junior designated player Emily Williams singled to center field and Blomenkamp came all the way around from second base to score and put SIU in front 1-0.

In the bottom of the fifth Southern Illinois showed off their baserunning skills when Knutson swiftly scored on a passed ball. Junior center fielder Mikaela Coburn displayed her wheels going from first base to third on the passed ball. The Salukis were unable to bring Coburn home from third, but after five innings of play, Southern Illinois led Northern Iowa 2-0.

In the top of the sixth inning, the Panthers responded with a run off an RBI single to cut the Dawgs advantage to one run.

Williams stepped up in the bottom half of the sixth when she laced a ball off the right field wall to bring home senior co-captain and infielder Hailey Wilkerson for an insurance run. The Salukis were ahead 3-1 with three more outs to get a victory.

Delgado was able to put the game away and secure the win for the Dawgs. Delgado pitched two innings of scoreless softball, striking out two and surrendering two hits. Delgado achieved her fourth save off the season. Freshman pitcher Hailey Lucas was the victorious pitcher moving to 8-6 on the year. Lucas pitched five innings allowing six hits one run that was unearned and four strikeouts throwing 111 pitches. SIU defeated UNI by a final score of 3-1.

APRIL 18: SIU 5, UNI 3

A thrilling final game of the series saw three lead changes on senior day at Charlotte West Stadium. After three and a half innings, the game was scoreless. Coburn broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth when she shot a single through the left side of the infield, bringing home Pritchett.

Wilkerson came up in a big spot with the bases loaded and two outs. Wilkerson was disciplined at the plate and worked a walk to score Knutson from third and extend the Southern Illinois lead to 2-0.

The Panthers offense came alive in the top of the fifth. A solo home run to begin the inning brought the score

to 2-1. UNI took control of the game after another home run that put the Panthers ahead for the first time in the contest.

The Salukis responded in the bottom half of the inning. Knutson came through in the clutch, launching a long home run to right center that brought Potter home from third and Kurtz home from second base. Knutson’s 7th home run of the year retook the lead for the Salukis at 5-3.

Danielson started her second game of the series in the circle for the Dawgs. Danielson pitched four innings, allowing three hits and just one run while picking up five strikeouts.

Danielson was relieved in the fifth inning by Lucas. Lucas threw just a third of an inning and allowed two runs before being relieved by Delgado.

Delgado finished the final two and two-thirds innings of the contest allowing no runs and just one hit. The Salukis were victorious by a final of 5-3 and Delgado was awarded the win moving to 8-4 on the season.

The Salukis celebrated three graduating players on senior day with head coach Jen Sewell speaking about each of them.

Sewell said senior infielder Hailey Wilkerson was one of the best captains the team has had, pointing to her ability to manage her teammates.

“Hailey was pretty badly injured in the indoor (season) and fought all the way back… those are things that the

team sees and the inner circle sees but the fans don’t get to see the toughness and the resilience that comes with that.”

Sewell said.

Graduate student Brooklyn Pritchett transferred in from Utah State. Sewell talked about how well Pritchett fit the team.

“That kid did nothing but integrate herself into our department, into our team, into our office, into our outfield,” she said. “It gives me chills thinking somebody can do that so easily and that fast.”

Sewell praised senior second baseman Erin Lee for anchoring the team defensively.

“If I look out there and Erin is there, then we are okay,” she said. “She has ran our defense for so long. Those of you who have been around know we run our defense through Erin.”

Sewell added that Lee has never taken a day off.

With the series sweep, the Salukis moved to 28-14 overall and 17-5 in the MVC. Northern Iowa falls to 2219 overall and 10-8 in MVC play.

The Salukis return to action taking on the Murray State Racers in a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 21. First pitch will be at 2 p.m. from Racer Field in Murray, Kentucky. See the Daily Egyptian website for coverage.

Sports Reporter Aaron Carnahan can be reached at acarnahan@dailyegyptian.com

Strong offense and a near no-hitter fuels Saluki sweep over Bradley

Note: Due to inclement weather, the final 1.2 innings of Game 1 of the series were finished on April 18.

Following a tough loss to Arkansas State, SIU Baseball went back on the road, this time heading north. The Dawgs arrived at Bradley University for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series against the Braves from April 1719. After a dominant three games, the Salukis outscored the Braves 29-8 and walked away with a three-game sweep over Bradley.

APRIL 17: SIU 10, BRADLEY 1

Centerfielder Henry Kufa got hit by a pitch to lead off the game for the Dawgs.

Right fielder Kye Watson notched a single, putting runners at the corners. A wild pitch allowed Kufa to be the first run to cross the plate in the contest.

Andrew Evans, the strikeout leader among MVC pitchers, took to the mound for the Salukis. The dominant righty sent down the Braves in nine pitches in the bottom of the first.

Left fielder Kristian Sprawling drilled an RBI double in the second inning, putting SIU up 2-0. After a stolen base, Sprawling scored on a balk.

Neither team could plate any runs until the bottom of the fifth inning, where the Braves got on the board with an RBI single.

The Salukis got the bases loaded in the top of the sixth inning after playing small ball and capitalizing on a Bradley error. Watson knocked in the lead runner with a sacrifice fly. Following the RBI, shortstop Tim Simay got hit by a pitch to reload the bases. First baseman Cecil Lofton worked a full count, but won the battle after knocking a grand slam over the left field fence, giving the Dawgs an emphatic 8-1 lead.

After a Sprawling hit by pitch in the top of the seventh inning, third baseman Jaden Flores mashed his second homer of the year, giving the Salukis a comfortable 10-1 lead.

Pitchers Jack Macintosh and Alec Ammerman finished the job, and the Salukis were back in the win column.

APRIL 18: SIU 6, BRADLEY 2

Shortly after finishing the first game, the Dawgs searched for a series victory in Game 2 of the series against the Braves. Kufa doubled down the right field line, and Lofton notched a single, but the two first-inning hits were not enough to get on the board.

Pitcher Troy Shepard started for the Dawgs and faced early trouble after putting the first two batters on base. The lefty bounced back with three consecutive strikeouts, blanking the Braves in the first inning.

After a single by catcher Mason Schwalbach, Watson ripped an RBI triple off the wall to put the Salukis up 1-0 in the top of the third. A throwing error allowed Watson to score and Kufa to reach base. After hustling into second base on a ground ball, Kufa suffered an apparent injury and was removed from the game.

Shepard continued his dominant start, mowing down the Braves’ offense with ease.

A throwing error and a passed ball allowed two more Salukis to score, upping their lead to 4-0 in the fifth inning.

As the game progressed, the Braves struggled to put up a single hit, and Shepard was racking up strikeouts.

The Salukis padded their lead in the top of the ninth with a Sprawling RBI double. Pinch hitter Kaleb Hall knocked in a run on a groundout, making it a 6-0 affair.

Shepard, after striking out a careerhigh 12 batters, was pulled in the

ninth inning after surrendering a walk and a double. Both of those runners would score, but the Salukis’ proficient offense provided a big enough cushion to take the game 6-2 and secure a series victory.

APRIL 19: SIU 13, BRADLEY 5

SIU got off to a hot start in pursuit of its first sweep of the season. Designated hitter Kyle Mager got the Salukis on the board with a single through the left side.

Pitcher Meade Johnson got set to work for the Dawgs. The Braves ambushed the SIU pitching and put up two early runs.

Despite scoring first, the Salukis entered the second inning facing a 2-1 deficit.

Second baseman Gabe Petrucelli tied the game in the top of the third inning with an RBI single.

Once again, the Braves answered and took the lead with an RBI sacrifice fly in the fourth inning.

The first pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning was sent over the right field wall, and the Braves had a 4-2 lead.

With the bases loaded in the top of the sixth inning, the persistent SIU offense came to life once again. Watson got the first RBI after getting hit by a pitch. Lofton added two more with a double. Mager drove in his second run

of the game on a groundout, and the Salukis were up 6-4.

For the second time in the series and third time on the season, Flores put a ball over the fence, extending the lead. Bradley cut the lead down to two runs in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI single.

Watson stepped up in the top of the ninth with the bases loaded again. The surging lefty drove in two more runs with a single. Simay added to the offensive onslaught with an RBI single. Mager, already with two RBI, sent one out of the park for a three-run home run, seemingly putting the game out of reach at 13-5.

Pitchers Dylan Petrey and Dawson Hargrove worked together to finish the game, and the Salukis secured their first sweep of the season.

With this victory, SIU is now 16-22 overall and 7-5 in MVC play. The Braves fall to 8-32 overall and 4-11 in conference games. Coverage of the Salukis’ road game against the Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State University on April 21 can be found on the Daily Egyptian website.

Medieval Combat Club brings

PEYTON COOK

pcook@dailyegyptian.com

Foam fighting, also known as Belegarth, picked up in Carbondale in 2001, when a couple of people from Bloomington, Illinois moved to Carbondale for school.

In 2013, a RSO was formed at the university and created the Carthage Belegarth Medieval Combat Club, Founding member CJ Jasinski (Sir Twinkle) said. The club meets twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. The hours do change based on the season as when it is colder out, they practice in the SIU Rec Center. When warm, they practice in front of Morris Library in the grass. “We run a bunch of different game modes depending on the day,” President Andy Marshall said. Some game modes include Aztec Football, fighting in pairs, duels and teams.

“I enjoy coming out, getting to beat up people, but also getting to make connections with other people and getting to introduce myself even after I fight them,” upcoming Vice President Quincy Washington (Q) said.

A lot of members have found lasting friendships with the club from those initial connections.

“It’s very important to us that we have this community of people who are likeminded and enjoy the same thing and that we have this as

brings the community together

safe space to be ourselves, frankly, because there are increasingly few places like that in the world left anymore,” President Andy Marshall said.

Uniquely, the club allows community members to participate as well.

“I’ve been in this community for about 10 years. I started doing it here at SIU, and I’ve been with it ever since,” Instructor David LaBoube said.

Community members even have the chance to participate as instructors. “That allows them to be on the field with us in an official capacity that noncoaches are kind of discouraged from doing by the school,” Andy Marshall said.

David Croteau, a founding member and the club’s first treasurer secretary, started in 2004 and has participated ever since. “Not only is a lot of the gear the group has stuff that I donated but I also worked for a company called forged foam that makes a lot of the gear that’s used professionally,” Croteau said.

“I’m glad that the group is still going and I’m glad that there’s still people interested coming out. I’m glad that I was convinced to try it out over 20 years ago when I first had someone stop to tell me to try it out,” Croutou said, who met his wife through medieval combat.

Digital Editor Peyton Cook can be reached at pcook@ dailyegyptian.com, or on Instagram at @cookmeavisual

Cosplay, celebrities and community: Saluki Con draws crowds to SIU

Capes, costumes and camera flashes filled the Southern Illinois University Student Center this weekend as Saluki Con 2026 brought students and community members together for two days of panels, vendors and celebrity appearances.

The convention, held April 18-19 at SIU, featured a mix of pop culture, science and creative programming, including workshops, anime screenings and a cosplay contest. Attendees moved between rooms for discussions on publishing, voice acting and other topics, while vendor booths lined the Student Center with artwork, collectibles and handmade items.

Actor Henry Thomas, known for his role as Elliott Taylor in “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” appeared as a featured guest during the convention’s evening programming. He also spent time meeting attendees in the student center earlier in the day.

“I’ve never been to this part of the country, so I was excited to drive through the Cahokia area, and it’s just really beautiful here,” Thomas said Thomas also reflected on his career and growth as an actor.

“In retrospect, it can look very planned out or even easy,” he said. “But especially starting as a child actor, it can be a hurdle. Hollywood tends to put you in a category, and I had to prove that I was talented beyond that.”

He added that events like Saluki Con allow for more personal interaction with attendees.

“You have more time to interact with people at events like this,”

Thomas said. “Every convention is different, and you get to meet people from all different walks of life.”

Actress Annabeth Gish, known for roles in “The X-Files” and “Sons of Anarchy,” also appeared as a featured guest. She met with attendees in the student center earlier in the day.

“It’s always really authentic and real,” Gish said. “I have a son who is a freshman in college, so that age group has a soft spot in my heart.”

Gish said her passion for acting continues to come from the impact of the arts.

“I love what the arts can do and how they can reach so many people,” she said.

Beyond celebrity appearances, Saluki Con provided a space for artists and small businesses to share their work with attendees.

Isaac Lee, a self-published comic

artist with IHL Studios from Sesser, Illinois, said he returns to Saluki Con each year in part because of his connection to the area.

“I attended school here, and I like the setup and being able to have a different kind of experience with students,” Lee said. “I was born and raised here, so it’s good to come back every year.”

Lee said events like Saluki Con offer important opportunities for artists to connect directly with audiences.

“It’s a place where artists can showcase their work in person without relying on social media,” he said. “For me, it’s also a space where my work feels validated.”

Throughout the weekend, attendees browsed vendor booths, participated in scheduled activities and engaged in panel discussions, creating a steady flow of activity across the Student Center.

For many, the convention offered more than just entertainment, serving as a place where people with shared interests could come together.

Saluki Con continued to Sunday, April 19 with additional panels, workshops and a cosplay contest.

Staff Reporter Tay Acree can be reached at tacree@dailyegyptian.com.

Risepoint partners with SIU for recruitment to eight master’s programs in the College of Business and Analytics and the School of Human and Behavioral Sciences.

The current programs Risepoint manages are Master of Public Health; Master of Accountancy; Master of Public Administration; Master of Business and Analytics; and Master of Business Administration, with concentrations in Marketing, Finance and Analytics for Managers.

Master of Business Administration with concentrations in Accounting and Management and Accounting; Master of Accounting with concentrations in Taxation and Auditing/Accounting Information Systems were in the original contract.

“There is zero penalty to the institution for not implementing the programs/concentrations in the RisePoint partnership agreements,”

Jeff Harmon, SIU’s chief communications and marketing officer, wrote in an email to the DE. “The agreement is simply a nod that the institution would further explore and consider the possibility of specific program partnerships.”

Additionally, in the 2023 contract, Risepoint fronted SIU $200,000 for advertisements and recruitment of prospective students. In a contract addendum, which adds the 18 additional master’s and undergraduate degrees, Risepoint disburses $300,000 to the university. Those 18 additional courses aren’t set in stone, as the university could opt not to implement all of them.

Per the 2023 contract, Risepoint “will serve as the primary point of contact for prospective students’ initial inquiry,” “guide prospective students through the admission process,” and “will collect, use, disclose, and otherwise process personal data” belonging to students. Risepoint can also “share best practices related to online design, transition, and delivery of managed programs.”

The contract specifies that Risepoint will not create any curriculum, which should remain under the university’s sole authority.

‘Phoenix online kind of place’

Many faculty members have cited investigations by Protect Borrowers — a nonprofit that investigates financial exploitation — that have been published about Risepoint in Illinois. According to Protect Borrowers research, the company allegedly has a history of taking advantage of communities of color and low-income students, causing them to compete in over-inflated job markets while carrying a mountain of debt due to high-pressure sales tactics.

In October of 2025, Protect Borrowers experts Stephanie Hall and Ella Azoulay published a report titled “Sounding the Alarm on Risepoint.” Hall is an expert in college accountability and for-profit education industry and Azoulay is the research and policy analyst at Protect Borrowers. Upon reviewing hundreds of documents and contracts with partnering Illinois universities, Protect Borrowers urged the Illinois Attorney General and the

Illinois Board of Higher Education to implement greater oversight of the for-profit company. In-state institutions aside from SIU that partner with the company include the Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Illinois Springfield, University of Illinois Chicago, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Benedictine University and Eastern Illinois University.

All SIU courses partnered with Risepoint will be condensed into five- to eight-week courses, according to the contract, instead of the standard 16-week, semesterlong course. According to Risepoint officials, those courses will deliver the same amount of information as the standard-sized course. While Risepoint contends that recruiting students is easier when students have the option to join at various points in the semester, university faculty say this puts excess burdens on already burdened faculty. Faculty are also concerned for their students’ success in Risepoint-managed programs, noting nontraditional students could struggle with the accelerated course format.

“When you get so many students who are trying to be full-time students and they’ve got a fulltime job or some level of family responsibilities … it’s really hard,” Johnson said. “I think we need to be upfront with students about how much time it’s going to take if they’re going to get anything out of these courses. If these courses are being sold to people who are not in a position to benefit from them, then that’s a problem.”

When Faculty Senate members questioned faculty and student workload from the five- to eightweek courses at its March 17 meeting, Vice President and Managing Director of Risepoint Tony Abruscato said, “don’t think about it as jamming 16 weeks of content into eight weeks. It’s done a little bit differently. Every one of our partnerships has been extremely successful across the board. We’ve been doing this for a long, long time, and we meet the faculty where they are.”

Mark Morris, dean of the College of Business and Analytics, said students are charged the same tuition for the eight-week courses as the 16-week classes and learn the same amount of information.

“But, having an eight-week format allows them to proceed through the curriculum a little bit quicker,” Morris said.

Risepoint, located in Delaware, is owned by Vistria, the same company that also owns the University of Phoenix, a for-profit online institution. Vistria is a private equity firm based out of Chicago. In 2016, Vistria purchased Apollo Education Group, the owner of the University of Phoenix, for $1.1 billion.

In 2019, the University of Phoenix settled a lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission for $191 million. The school admitted no wrongdoing, but settled the deal after the FTC accused it of falsely claiming partnerships with highprofile companies like AT&T and Microsoft, promising students job placement post graduation. The total settlement included cancelling

$141 million of student debt. The remaining $50 million was paid to the FTC.

Rachel Tollett, Illinois Education Association Uniserv Director, said Risepoint has a dubious reputation.

“When you ship 50% of public students’ public money at a public university to a venture capital firm, I call that highway robbery. Right?” Tollett said. “You’re shipping it out of state, it’s not even staying in Illinois.”

As IEA Uniserv Director for both SIUE and SIUC, Tollett advocates on behalf of the faculty union. IEA is the largest union in the state representing teachers and education professionals. On April 6, Tollett spoke to 60 faculty members gathered for an emergency Faculty Association meeting to discuss Risepoint’s history and contract. Some faculty members were learning about Risepoint for the first time. According to the September 2024 Board of Trustees minutes, all faculty and staff were invited to multiple meetings to discuss the possibility of partnership.

At the emergency meeting, as instructors learned about SIU’s partnership with the company, many shook their heads and had a number of questions about the contract.

Both Jonathan Remo, the chair of the Faculty Senate’s undergraduate education and policy committee, and Johnson said that traditionally, contracts like this would be communicated to faculty and unions, but they’ve had to advocate for themselves.

“Do I want to work for a Phoenix online kind of place or do I go do something else with my career?”

Remo asked. “I wish there was a shared vision of what this place would look like in the future.”

As a committee member of the Faculty Senate, Remo wrote a resolution about Risepoint, which established formal faculty oversight and passed unanimously. Although resolutions are advisory and not binding, he was among the handful of faculty who presented their concerns to SIU Carbondale Chancellor Austin Lane and other administrators at a March 17 Faculty Senate meeting.

The University of Texas-Arlington paid Risepoint $178 million over a five-year period from their tuitionsharing partnerships. In 2020, the president of UTA resigned after an investigation by the consulting firm Proviti was launched. From a published audit, Provoti found an online nursing program allowed underqualified students to be admitted and found Risepoint covered overtime pay for university officials to drive up enrollment rates.

Mahony and Lane stand by Risepoint despite faculty’s concerns Eight of the additional 18 courses contracted with Risepoint that are set to be added are undergraduate degree programs converting over to the OPM’s management in January of 2027. The $300,000 that Risepoint will provide SIU over the course of two years will be to “fund new or enhanced faculty, program, and administrative positions critical to the growth and delivery” of the added programs.

Faculty say Lane developed and

Illustrated by David Starr-Fleming | dstarrfleming@dailyegyptian.com

signed the addendum without any prior communication to union officials or administrative personnel, noting that even if a faculty’s program is listed as a Risepoint program, everyone will be affected due to many university instructors teaching Core Curriculum classes.

“We would have to redo a significant number of our undergraduate UCC courses prior to January ‘27,” Remo said. “Officially, we haven’t been informed of any of this, so because I see paperwork I’m kind of ahead of the curve, but most of the faculty don’t know about this yet.

That’s going to be a university-wide change because we’re on the traditional 16-week semester system.”

Lane, however, said faculty don’t have to take part in Risepoint-managed programs if they find it doesn’t fit.

“If the faculty don’t want to participate in our programs, not Risepoint because we partner with Rise, they don’t have to,” Lane said at a press conference after the April 16 SIU Board of Trustees meeting.

“Whether or not academic units want to participate as a Risepoint partnered program is a decision an academic unit makes as a group,” Lane wrote in a follow-up email to the DE. “This is not an administrative decision. If the unit determines partnership will not work for them, they do not need to engage with Risepoint. This freedom is ensured and codified in our contract with Risepoint. Individual faculty members and their willingness and/or ability to teach any course, is negotiated with their school directors and Deans.”

During that board meeting, six faculty members expressed their concerns about the OPM. Each faculty member that spoke was supported by 30 fellow faculty members holding “Stop Risepoint” signs and a round of applause after stepping away from the podium. The DE questioned how Mahony and Lane took into consideration Risepoint’s checkered track record and its alleged predatory tactics.

“I’d be careful with what I read online about claiming somebody is predatory,” Mahony said. “That has not been my experience. I’ve been for 20 years dealing with groups, not necessarily Risepoint, but other groups that basically do the same thing for the same cause. We have never found them predatory.”

According to Lane’s employment contract obtained by the DE through FOIA, he can receive an annual bonus of up to $65,000 for meeting “goals and objectives.” Those goals are approved by the SIU Board of Trustees before each academic year begins. Lane received his bonus the last two academic years, with

his goals for those years also including an expansion of online enrollment.

One of Lane’s 10 listed goals for the 2025-2026 academic year includes expanding “SIU Online” and “increasing fully online enrollment,” according to a list obtained through FOIA requests.

“My very big worry is that the reason he (Lane) is so enthusiastic about this (Risepoint) has nothing to do with whether or not he thinks it’s a good program and everything to do with the fact that it helps him make his bonus,” Tollett said in the Faculty Association meeting on April 6.

Lane, however, wrote in a followup email to the DE that his “bonus is not tied to enrollment.”

“Increasing enrollment, whether online or in person, is a goal we all share. Online education improves our ability to serve students who cannot come to campus or who are working adults.”

Faculty say they want increased enrollment, too, but that they want more students on SIU’s campus.

“When Risepoint recruits students appearing as enrollment specialists or experts in support and retention, they have no commitments and no drive to create a positive culture,” Chris Stantis, an assistant professor of Anthropology, said at the April 16 Board of Trustees meeting. “I fear that this can create students that are not inclined to call themselves alumni, not inclined to contribute to our shared future.”

Lane said he spoke with two students who formerly had degrees at SIU, but re-enrolled in Risepoint-managed programs. Lane said one lives in Chicago and one lives in St. Louis, each with busy lives unable to return back to campus.

He said that he asked the students how they heard about the Risepointmanaged programs. According to Lane, they followed up on a Facebook ad.

“They got a call immediately from a retention specialist that followed up with them,” Lane said. “The problem we have with our SIU online is that we don’t have enough staff to be able to follow up with the thousands of inquiries that we receive, which is why we went into business with a place like Rise, because they have internal infrastructure to help with that.”

Tackling a downward trend in enrollment

In the 2024-2025 academic year, 170 students enrolled in the Risepoint-managed programs, growing to 350 this year.

Since its peak of 25,000 students in 1991, enrollment at SIU steadily

From unused space to student hub: SIU to dedicate Student Center England Lounge

TAY ACREE

tacree@dailyegyptian.com

A once-underused fourth-floor space in the Southern Illinois University Student Center is being transformed into a new hub for student life, with the England Student Center Lounge set to be dedicated on April 30.

The space, formerly home to the student-run WIDB radio station, sat unused for several years before student leaders pushed to reimagine it into something more functional. According to university officials involved in the project, the idea originated within the Undergraduate Student Government as a way to create a place where students could spend time outside of class.

“We wanted to provide a space

SHELTER

CONTINUED FROM 1

interview with the Daily Egyptian, “The grant, as I understand, is written for the Warming Center and the City is a sponsor on that grant. The grant dollars will flow directly to the Warming Center.”

If the funds were to be approved and NeuroRestorative went forward with gifting the proposed property on Mill Street to the City, the City will be required to act as an intermediary

RISEPOINT

FROM 9

decreased for nearly 30 years. That was until 2023, when SIU reported an overall enrollment of 11,359 students. Holding fairly steady ever since, SIU started the 2025-26 academic year with 11,785 students — only 9,026 of which are on campus. SIU has not seen over 10,000 on-campus students since 2018, and a majority of enrollment increases in the last five years have been in online programs.

Currently, there are 1,894 students enrolled in online programs. Online undergraduate enrollment is up 23% in the last year — and up 53% over the last five years, while online enrollment in graduate programs is up 161% from 2023-24 to 2025-26.

Puzzle

where students could recreate, study and relax when they’re not in class,”

Brian Flath, director of development for student affairs, said.

Flath said the concept was initially geared toward commuter students who may not have a place to go between classes. He added that the lounge is meant to serve as what some describe as a “third space” — somewhere outside of home or the classroom.

Student leaders said that kind of space has been missing on campus.

“It is a space for students, designed by students,” USG President Lydia Phelps said.

The lounge includes several features aimed at supporting both academic and personal needs, including study rooms, a conference space, a

between NeuroRestorative and the Warming Center as well, Colombo said.

“If those organizations are able to align their strategies and secure necessary resources, it strengthens the entire support network,” Reno said. “Conversely, challenges in those areas could create gaps in services. So while the City is not a direct partner in those discussions, their success is closely tied to the overall trajectory of homelessness services locally.”

Colombo concluded, “The Mill

In contrast, the number of total students on campus has decreased, dropping from 9,178 to 9,026 — a 2% decline in the last year.

SIU is part of a broader trend in spiraling student populations across the country. From 2010 to 2021, total undergraduate enrollment in the United States decreased by 15%, according to the National Center of Education Statistics.

Morris, the dean of SIU’s College of Business and Analytics, said Risepointmanaged programs have helped bring in students amid the changing education landscape.

“It allowed us to reach students that we otherwise would not have been able to perhaps reach,” Morris said. “It (Master of Business Administration) was a two-year cohort model that was fine

Answers (puzzles on 12)

kitchenette and a large open seating area. It will also include a podcast recording room and music studio, giving students access to equipment that may not otherwise be available.

“We live in a world where people can make a living on the internet,” Phelps said. “If we don’t keep up with that, we’re not setting students up for as much success as they could have.”

In addition to creative spaces, the lounge will include a lactation room — a feature student leaders said reflects a broader effort to support nontraditional students on campus.

“We have a lot of nontraditional students here, and they should have a space that works for them,” Phelps said.

Unlike more traditional study or social spaces in the Student Center

Street property is the right place at the right time, and is a property that can stand the test of time.”

In the emails to City Council, Reno said that a main topic in the discussions between these two organizations has been their intake requirements. The Warming Center has very little restriction on who can use the resources they provide, whereas Good Samaritan has much tighter restrictions.

“Our state and our nation are stronger when we invest in our communities and families

15, 20 years ago, but in today’s culture and the needs of the students, it just wasn’t working well in the population. The enrollment was declining in that. This allowed us to be able to retool and reintroduce it in a way that students can get that same degree.”

But other faculty members, like Johnson, said they believe SIU administration focuses too much on enrollment numbers. Johnson said if SIU invests its resources into the quality of education and on-campus experience, students will come to campus.

“I think we’ve got to grow up and recognize that there’s more important things than the number of students on campus,” Johnson said. “What’s their experience like? Are they getting a quality education? Is the student life fun and is it a growth experience? I think if

and the library, which tend to be either highly social or more isolated, the new lounge is designed to be flexible and adaptable to a variety of student needs.

The open layout features movable seating and multiple areas that allow students to use the space differently depending on the moment.

“There’s something there for everybody,” USG Chief of Staff Chris Burnside said.

Flath said the goal of the lounge is to create a space where students can gather, build community and feel comfortable spending time on campus.

“I hope that it’s a place that students feel comfortable with and can kind of make their own,” Flath said.

Student leaders also said the space

— and that’s one of the things Congressionally Directed Spending allows us to do,”

Duckworth said in an official statement provided by her office.

“I’m proud I successfully secured $2 million for the City of Carbondale for the development of a new homeless shelter through the FY26 Congressionally Directed Spending process.

“I met with city leaders and local advocates in Carbondale last year and saw firsthand how more support is critically

we take care of that, then in the long run, I’d like to believe that enrollment will take care of itself, because students will go back home, they’ll talk to their siblings. Future potential students will know that SIU is a good place where you can get a good education and they’ll keep coming.”

How one state is regulating OPMs

Nathan Coulter, a Minnesota state representative who is vice-chair of the Higher Education Committee, said he first discovered online program managers like Risepoint while scrolling on Twitter. After investigating OPMs and speaking with faculty members at public universities in his state, he drafted a bill calling for regulation.

“I just kind of thought, well that just seems really problematic and seeing what happened in other states, my thought became well let’s get out ahead of this,” Coulter said.

HF4343, Requirements Related to Online Program Management Companies, passed in Minnesota in March of 2024, making it the first state in the country to regulate OPMs. The law doesn’t ban OPMs from contracting with the state’s public institutions, but puts guardrails on how they partner with universities.

According to HF434, contracts and addendums must be reviewed by the board of education, the tuition sharing must be a specific dollar amount — not just a percentage of revenue — and faculty retain their intellectual property rights. It also specifies that contracts cannot have incentive compensation for recruitment services

could encourage students to stay on campus longer throughout the day, increasing engagement and connection.

“I think people will start saying, ‘I’m going to the fourth floor,’” Burnside said. “It’ll just become part of their routine.”

A dedication ceremony will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 30 in the Student Center, with remarks scheduled for 11:15 a.m. Following the ceremony, attendees will be able to tour the space.

The lounge is named in honor of SIU alumni Bob and Pat England, whose $250,000 gift helped make the project possible.

Staff reporter Tay Acree can be reached at tacree@dailyegyptian.com

needed to address the growing homelessness issue in the region and help those in need. I look forward to seeing this shelter built and its impact on the Carbondale community.”

Mayor Carolin Harvey declined to comment, stating that she would wait until the partnership was officially announced by Duckworth’s office.

News Reporter Orion Wolf can be reached at owolf@dailyegyptian.com

and OPMs must not be involved with governance, curriculum development or implementation of new programs. Coulter said the law did not apply to existing contracts at the time, but any OPM contract that was negotiated or initiated thereafter.

“It was really gratifying to put something into place that we know is going to protect these folks who are learning and the folks who support the learning,” Coulter said. “I am not 100% anti-OPM, but I think anytime you have an entity whose primary function is making money, we need to make sure that we’re safeguarding our students, staff, faculty and administrators.” SIU faculty said they’re speaking up about Risepoint because they care so deeply about the university. After the six faculty spoke up about their concerns at the Board of Trustees meeting, some faculty said they felt relieved, but the work is far from finished.

“We all, faculty, (non-tenure-track), (tenure-track) faculty alike, we’re very invested in SIU, not just for our job security, not just for our programs, but for the culture, for the community, and just for the overall sense of what it means to be a Saluki,” Mike Olsen, president of SIU’s union for non-tenure-track faculty, said. “I’ve got my master’s here at SIU, so I’m proud of the faculty … but for me, there’s just a sense that there’s more work to do. I think that we all made very compelling arguments to the board of trustees. I just hope that they listen.”

Staff Reporter Kristin Borchers can be reached at kborchers@dailyegyptian.com

Boats sink, cheers rise at 51st annual Cardboard Boat Regatta

Cardboard boats slipped into the water, some gliding forward while others quickly collapsed beneath the surface, drawing cheers and laughter from spectators at the 51st annual Cardboard Boat Regatta.

Held at campus lake on April 18, the annual event challenges students and community members to build and race boats made primarily of cardboard, combining competition with creativity in one of the university’s longest-running traditions.

Teams launched their vessels one by one, paddling to stay afloat as

they raced across the water. Some boats held together long enough to reach the finish line, while others began to sink mid-race, forcing participants to paddle harder or abandon ship altogether.

William Stearns, aquatic director at the Student Recreation Center at Southern Illinois University, said the unpredictability of the race is part of what keeps people coming back.

“I mean, everybody that comes out, it’s always a great time. I mean, you’ve built a boat out of cardboard and then see how it does, and it’s one of my favorite things that I get

to do as part of my job,” Stearns said.

Spectators lined the shore, reacting to each launch and wipeout, as races continued throughout the event. Volunteers remained nearby to retrieve sunken boats and assist participants, helping keep the competition moving smoothly.

The regatta attracts students, alumni and community members, who gather each year to watch the race.

Staff Photographer Amilia I. Estrada can be reached at aestrada@dailyegyptian.com

ACROSS

1- Window covering

6- Pick up

10- Bear’s opposite, in the stock market

14- Michael of “A Fish Called Wanda”

15- Actress Lanchester

16- Diva’s delivery

17- Chimed in

18- Bridle strap

19- Symbol of meekness

20- Large spotted

cat X armor-plated burrower

23- Tolkien baddie

24- Focal point

25- USN rank: Abbr.

53- ___ Vegas

55- Pachyderm X horned speedster of Africa

28- Continental capital

31- Congers’ cousins

35- “Too bad!”

37- “Lovely” Beatles girl

39- Had a smoke

40- Wetlands rodent X venomous serpent

43- Loosen, as laces

44- Letter after epsilon

45- Lotion ingredient

46- Drawing

48- From ___ to riches

50- Conclusion

51- Follow closely

61- Couple

62- Side squared, for a square

63- Assumed name

65- Farm division

66- Excursion

67- Fragrant herbs

68- Neighbor of Libya

69- “Auld Lang ___”

70- That is, in Latin

DOWN

1- Hydromassage facility

2- Pilgrimage to Mecca

3- “The West Wing” actor

4- San ___, California

5- Withstand

6- German mister

7- K-6: Abbr.

8- Korean or Thai, e.g.

9- By chance

10- “Swan Lake” dancer

11- River to the Caspian

12- Prom ride

13- Family dog, for short 21- Integra or Legend

22- False gods

25- French dramatist and 1975 Nobel winner

26- Drop with a thud

27- Nibble on

29- Big name in crackers

30- Playful aquatic animal

32- “___ of Two Cities”

33- Klondike territory

34- Velocity

36- Moved quickly, like a small insect

38- Sask. neighbor

41- Sum up

42- Bird on a US coin

47- Drummers’ cymbal

assemblies

49- Sandwich meat

52- Celtics legend Bird

54- Dependable

55- Apiece

56- Old Italian coin

57- German refusal

58- Duct or Scotch stuff

59- Softwood tree

60- Chows down

61- Lobbying grp.

64- J.F.K. sight, once

Weekly Event Calendar

Your guide to upcoming local events over the next

PAGE

*To play Sudoku, fill a 9x9 grid with digits 1 through 9 so that each row, each column, and each 3x3 subgrid contains each number exactly once.