THE
Daily Egyptian SERVING THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SINCE 1916.
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2025
VOL. 108, ISSUE 20
Federal funding freeze presents challenges for SIU researchers
Annalise Schmidt aschmidt@dailyegyptian.com
A freeze on federal funding issued by the White House on Monday, Jan. 27 briefly suspended payments for federal grants, loans and specific educational programs, causing widespread confusion and concern across the country and at SIU before being quickly reversed the next day. As of Jan. 29, the White House announced that the Office of Management and Budget had rescinded its directive to pause federal grant payments and other programs, reversing the freeze just a day after it was announced.
However, the administration clarified that while the original memo calling for the freeze had been reversed, the broader effort to review federal spending would still proceed, according to reporting by NPR. Even though the freeze was short-lived, it created anxiety for institutions like SIU, particularly in research areas reliant on federal grants. Researchers now face lingering uncertainty about how federal funding policies may continue to change in the coming months. According to an email sent to SIU faculty on Jan. 28 from Constantinos Tsatsoulis, vice chancellor
for research, the freeze would have affected a wide range of activities related to federally funded awards. Federal advisory committees, panel reviews, new award issuances and the distribution of funds under open awards would all be paused as agencies undergo an administrative review. After the reversal, SIU Chief Communications and Marketing Officer, Jeff Harmon, wrote in an email to the Daily Egyptian, “SIU Carbondale leadership continues to monitor the executive orders, meeting daily to examine their impact. We have not received direct information or guidance
SIU RESEARCH | 2
From the house to The Island: New escape room captures Carbondale’s attention
Forest Palais poses for a portrait Jan. 31, 2025 at The Island escape room in Carbondale, Illinois. Dominique Martinez-Powell | @d.martinezphoto Peyton Cook Dominique Martinez-Powell @cookmeavisual @d.martinezphoto
About a year ago, Forrest Palis, owner of the new downtown Carbondale Island Escape, made an escape room for his little cousins. They enjoyed the escape room so much that he decided to start building the
business he owns today. “They inspired me to come find a place to rent,” Palis said. “About a month later. I found a spot to rent.” The escape room is located right next to Blend Tea and Crepe Lounge and is right above Project Human X at 715 S. University Ave. Suite 2B Carbondale, Illinois. Palis started building it about a year and a half
ago. He turned an open space into an office and two areas with multiple rooms for different escape rooms. Pallis also had a part in building the yoga studio, which is also located at The Island. He went to multiple escape rooms around the state while he was planning his own. “I felt like there were escape rooms around ESCAPE ROOM | 5
For SIU vs. Drake coverage see page 6
Spring marks 5th semester of enrollment increase, university says
Lylee Gibbs lgibbs@dailyegyptian.com
The spring 2025 semester marks the fifth consecutive semester of enrollment increase at SIU Carbondale following a fall semester that saw the highest boost of student enrollment in 33 years, according to a Jan. 30 press release from the school. SIU saw a 3.3% enrollment increase – the second year in a row that is over 3%. Currently, 10,869 students are enrolled, slightly short of fall semester numbers due to December graduations, according to the release. Of the total, 8,362 students attend SIU on campus while offcampus enrollment is 2,507 according to director of communications Kim Rendfeld. “I personally thank everyone in Saluki Nation for all they have done to attract students and help them succeed from orientation to graduation,” Chancellor Austin Lane said in the release. This is the second year in a row of an enrollment increase trend – the first time since 2000. From 2024, undergraduate enrollment increased by 3.6% while graduate enrollment increased by 2.5%, according to university data. Fully online enrollment increased by 24% and continuing students increased by 11%. The freshman class enrollment increased for a fifth consecutive year. Of the students enrolled, over 7,800 are Illinois residents. “In recent years, we have made concerted efforts to red carpet the Southern Illinois region, and they continue to pay off. Enrollment from the region rose 18%,” Lane said in the press release. The university’s goal to enroll 15,000 students by 2030 is on track, as envisioned in the Imagine 2030 strategic plan, according to Lane. Editor-in-Chief Lylee Gibbs can be reached at lgibbs@dailyegypitan.com or through instagram @lyleegibbsphoto