Today: High: 43, Low: 26

E!"#$%&'Friday: High: 40, Low: 24

Saturday:High: 42, Low: 27

VOLUME 95, NO. 67 DECEMBER 3, 2009 8 PAGES

D&%(" THURSDAYPULSE, PAGE 4: Gus Bode says catch the train and some tunes.

Nick JohnsonDAILY EGYPTIANNICKJ39@SIU.EDU

When Sheri Cook’s husband saw her family pound on the table and stomp on the floor to converse for the first time, she said he asked if they were mad at each other.

“It was culture shock,” said Cook, a deaf professor at John A. Logan College through one of her student interpreters. “That’s just how deaf people communicate.”

At John A. Logan, Cook trains students to be interpreters for the deaf, instructs all four levels of American Sign Language (ASL) and teaches a course in deaf history and culture.

Cook, who was born deaf, attend-ed a hearing high school in Chicago and completed her undergraduate degree in education at Northern Illinois University before teaching at an all-deaf elementary school in Wisconsin for six years. After she and her husband moved to Murphysboro with their two sons — both of whom can hear — Cook earned a graduate degree from SIUC and began teach-ing at John A. Logan.

Cook said most of her students now are hearing.

Though her deafness has been categorized as severe, she has learned to speak through years of speech therapy, Cook said. But she prefers not to mix spoken English and ASL when teaching, she said, because one is manual and one is spoken.

Her students learn ASL at the same time they learn how to inter-pret, she said.

“I think I’ve noticed that many hearing people want to learn sign language,” Cook said. “It opens your mind up to a bigger world than just spoken language.”

Marcy Hale, a student inter-preter in one of Cook’s classes, has experience with sign language and

the deaf culture — she grew up in Jacksonville, site of the Illinois School for the Deaf. Hale said an advantage of having a deaf teacher is the one-on-one experience with the culture and language.

“It’s not somebody that’s not a native to the language trying to teach (it),” she said.

Cook’s sister, who is also deaf,

teaches at the Illinois Institute for the Deaf. Cook said her parents served as positive role models for her and her sister.

“My parents were deaf, and they were independent, so I knew I could do that,” she said.

While independence hasn’t been a major problem for her, she has faced discrimination, Cook said.

“People ask me ‘Why do you speak funny? Why do you talk fun-ny?’ They think I’m dumb; they don’t see me as equal,” Cook said. “They correlate speech with intelligence. And it’s not true; those are two very separate things.”

Cook said the lives of deaf peo-ple, including her own, were greatly improved when the Americans with

Disabilities Act was signed in 1990.When Cook worked at Sears in

high school before the ADA, she re-quested a phone with a volume dial so she could hear customers, but her manager told her to give the phone to another hearing person.

!"#$%&'()*+,#*"+&'-.+"/0)&10$2&#"--,('*3&

JULIA RENDLEMAN | DAILY EGYPTIAN

Sheri Cook, left, signs to Marion High School students Arianna James and Tshachile Blythe, right, during a deaf studies class Wednesday. Cook, who trains college students at John A. Logan College to be interpreters for the deaf, takes her class to Marion’s high school each week to work with the students. “Many hearing people want to learn sign language — it opens your mind up to a bigger world than just spoken language,” Cook said.

Please see DEAF | 2

Madeleine LerouxDAILY EGYPTIANMLEROUX@SIU.EDU

University officials have said fur-loughs and layoffs could be a poten-tial result of the budget crisis, but how those furloughs would work and who it would apply to remains unclear.

Dealing with a lack of state ap-propriations for the fiscal year, the university has looked at possible cuts anywhere to meet basic obligations such as payroll and bill payments. SIU President Glenn Poshard has said if state funds don’t begin to come through, one last-resort option for the university would be furloughs and layoffs, yet officials are unsure of specific rules and regulations on furloughs.

A furlough is an unpaid leave of absence where affected employees don’t perform usual job duties.

SIU spokesman Dave Gross said the university would have to deal with significant legal hurdles to implement any kind of furlough, and would most likely have to look at individual con-tracts to see how and who could be affected.

“The furlough thing is murkier (than layoffs),” Gross said. “It would be sort of a contract-by-contract basis with each of the employees.”

Gross said because layoffs have a uniform procedure and hearing pro-cess, unlike furloughs, they are more easily understood by all.

“Layoffs are well understood; ev-erybody understands how that works

in terms of seniority and who gets laid off first, who comes back to work first,” Gross said. “Furloughs are a little bit of a different creature.”

Gross said, in addition to following any policies or guidelines in collective bargaining agreements, the university would follow rules being proposed by the State Universities Civil Service System. According to the system’s Web site, the organization administers, develops and maintains rules and procedures relating to the employment of professional, technical and support staff at major public universities in Illinois.

Mary Follmer, assistant director of legal services for the State Universities Civil Service System, said the organi-zation began developing a furlough rule several months ago because of the state’s fiscal situation. The

proposed rule was brought to advi-sory groups at universities and a copy of the proposal will be available Friday on the Illinois Register on the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules’ Web site, Follmer said. The proposal will be online for a 45-day period to collect comments and suggestions, she said.

Follmer said the proposal would ultimately have to go to the organization’s Merit Board, comprised of one Board of Trustee member from each of Illinois’ 13 public universities. She said the organization intends to bring the revised proposal to the Merit Board on Jan. 20 for approval.

“In no way is this furlough rule advocating that universities furlough,” Follmer said. “It’s simply put in place in the event that that has to happen.”

Follmer said in the meantime, for civil service employees of the univer-sity who have not agreed to a furlough program or have guidelines in their collective bargaining agreements, fur-loughs would not be possible.

“At the present time, no, there’s no furlough rules in place,” Follmer said. “That’s why we’ve kind of found that it’s critical that we get it done with in the next 90 days, in the event that something needs to be done this spring.”

Chancellor Sam Goldman said a pending court case between the state and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, could take the option of furloughs away completely.

!"#$%"&'(#"$)*(+,-(.%$/0/)*(",0$)+#1(-).),-(%,(#).#)*),2+2/%,University must look at individual contracts

Please see FURLOUGH | 2

NewsThursday, December 3, 2009 !"#$%&'(%)*#"+2

“I felt really dependent on the other people that I worked with, and I didn’t like that feeling,” Cook said.

The 1988 protests by deaf students who were outraged the president of Gaulladet University, an all-deaf col-lege in Washington, would be hearing, also affected Cook’s life, she said.

“I was shocked to see that there were deaf people on TV, (and) they got what they wanted,” said Cook, who was a freshman in college at the time.

Cook said she has also been de-nied interpreters at doctor appoint-ments, a service that is mandated by the ADA.

In addition to counseling families who have deaf children, Cook also serves as vice president of the Little Egypt Association for the Deaf, a group dedicated to supporting the lo-cal deaf community through charity

and volunteer efforts. Many deaf people in southern

Illinois don’t know their own rights, Cook said. Some deaf people think if a doctor won’t pay for an interpreter, they need to pay themselves, and that’s not true, she said.

Bruce Jett, who is also deaf, serves as the treasurer for LEAD and said part of the group’s purpose is to better facilitate communication between deaf and hearing people.

Hearing people often feel ner-vous and scared when trying to com-municate with a deaf person, he said. Written communication is often a good method, but not all deaf people know how to write, so they may be writing in ASL, and that would con-fuse an English speaker, Jett said.

One goal Jett has for LEAD is to help more deaf people in south-ern Illinois obtain a videophone system. The webcam-like Internet

communication system, where deaf people can communicate with each other and hearing people with the as-sistance of operators fluent in ASL, is free but still requires high-speed Internet access, Cook said.

“Many deaf people don’t have VP because they don’t have high-speed Internet access,” Jett said. “We’d like to make VP public like how pay phones are.”

Cook’s students also volunteer once a week at Marion High School, where they work with the handful of deaf students there.

Cook said while technology such as closed captioning and videophone has greatly improved accessibility for the deaf, there are some obstacles. Internet videos still aren’t captioned, for example, she said.

“There’s no reason to not have full accessibility for deaf people,” Cook said.

DEAFCONTINUED FROM 1

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InterVarsity Christian Fellowship• Topic: “Spiritual Warfare”• 7 p.m. today in Life Science III Auditorium

Southern Illinois Dance Company in Concert• 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday in Furr Auditorium• $8 for adults, $5 for students and $4 for children 15 and under

Delta Chi Date Auction• 7 - 9 p.m. Saturday in Student Center Ballroom B• Tickets can be bought at the door for $2• All proceeds go tot he Jimmy V Cancer Research Foundation• Call Ryan at 618-334-8854 for more information

According to the State Journal-Register, AFSCME Council 31 filed a lawsuit in Johnson County in August after Gov. Pat Quinn proposed laying off about 2,600 workers this year to help cope with budget issues. In September, a judge issued a preliminary injunction to hold the layoffs, which were set to begin Sept. 30. According to the article, Quinn has appealed the ruling to the

Fifth District Appellate Court on the basis of his plan being responsible and legally sound.

Goldman said the university would need to wait for a decision in the appeal before being able to implement or even consider any furloughs.

“If the judge says ‘no,’ (then) it’s off the boards, there’s no furlough,” Goldman said.

Anders Lindall, public affairs direc-tor for AFSCME Council 31, said that

is not the case. The legal proceedings, Lindall said, are specific to state em-ployees only and would not affect the university.

“I would distinguish between the state and the university,” Lindall said. “It’s a separate contract govern-ing university employees versus state employees.”

Lindall said furloughs also must be negotiated with unions before implementation.

FURLOUGHCONTINUED FROM 1

Thursday, December 3, 2009News !"#$%&'(%)*#"+ 3

Erin HolcombDAILY EGYPTIANEEERIN9@SIU.EDU

When college students hear about free food and free services, they may wonder about hidden drawbacks.

At the Gaia House Interfaith Center, there is no catch when taking advantage of its services, said Julie Grey, a member of the Gaia House Registered Student Organization.

Well, maybe one catch.“We’re very welcoming of new

people here because they can do dishes,” Grey said. “There’s this sort of thing about doing dishes here, though; a lot of the good conversa-tions happen in the kitchen.”

A lot of good food also hap-pens in the kitchen, Grey said. The center hosted its annual Vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner Nov. 19, opening its doors to everyone once again.

The Gaia House has served din-ners, hosted various group meetings and allowed anyone to use the space it has offered for more than 60 years.

There are no requirements to become a part of or even visit the building located on the corner of Grand Avenue and South Illinois Avenue, Grey said. Curious students or residents need only a friendly at-titude and a yearning for a tranquil place to visit, she said.

“And you don’t have to be reli-gious,” Grey said. “There are a lot of

people who come here who are and aren’t religious.”

The center hosted its first Gaia Café Monday. Anyone could come in and take advantage of the center’s free Wi-Fi, fair trade coffee or tea and its quiet atmosphere. The Gaia Café is held from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. weeknights.

Matt Coleman, a member of the organization, said Grey, his girl-friend, was not the only reason he got involved with the Gaia House. He said he is a strong supporter in sustainability, a concept the center also supports.

“But not just the idea of sustain-ability in ecology, but how we sup-port people and programs here,” Coleman said. “It’s really great to get involved.”

The community support that the center receives means just as much

as the support it gives to the people that frequent the house, he said.

“It does a lot of good for a lot of people, including ourselves,” Coleman said.

Gavin Betzelberger, a member, said he was intrigued by the center because it held a lot of history and opened doors for him to meet new friends and find a niche.

“You go to a lot of different places, and this was a good place that had a lot of things to it,” Betzelberger said. “It’s a safe place, a warm place.”

He said he’s a strong advocate for the center because of the many events it hosts, such as Tai Chi, various dinners and book readings; all of which are held by many dif-ferent groups in the Carbondale community.

“I like to say that it’s a bunch of awkward people getting togeth-er and making it not awkward,” Betzelberger said.

To learn more about the Gaia House Interfaith Center and view future events, go to http://ourgaia-house.com.

!"#"$%&'()$&**)+($,)"-(.$,))/#01(.$,)(("1)(Center continues community support

NEW CENTER TAKES FLIGHTChancellor Sam Goldman, left, Gov. Pat Quinn, middle, and SIU President Glenn Poshard break ground on the Transportation Education Center at Southern Illinois Airport Wednesday. Early Wednesday, Quinn signed into law a bill to release the federally supported bonds to pay for the construction of the $63.3 million facility. The project, which is part of the Illinois Jobs Now capital plan, will create 350 construction jobs and is estimated to take two years to complete. The new facility will house aviation and automotive technology programs and replace the dilapidated World War II-era buildings now being used. ISAAC SMITHDAILY EGYPTIAN

!!I like to say that it’s a bunch of awkward people getting together and making it not awkward.

— Gavin Betzelbergermember of the Gaia House Interfaith Center

PulseThursday, December 3, 2009 !"#$%&'(%)*#"+4

Travis BeanDAILY EGYPTIANCARDSOS@SIU.EDU

From Chicago to Memphis, one man is raising money for charity with his guitar and a train ticket.

David Kav, a musician from Chicago, said he boarded the Amtrak in Chicago on Tuesday and began his Writing the Rails tour. He will be performing in various cities in Illinois en route to his final destination in Memphis, Tenn., he said.

Kav said he is raising money through his shows and all profits would go toward the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He said he hopes the tour will be the first of many and he will be able to raise money for other charities.

“Every town we are looking into helping out a charity,” Kav said. “What appealed to us about St. Jude’s was its pediatric care. Anything about children has always tugged on my heartstrings.”

Leah Jones, owner of Natiiv Arts and Media, said Kav is one of her clients. She said when she first met with Kav, she had a one-on-one brain-storming session with him and sug-gested the tour.

“We were sitting there, and I said, ‘You know, I see you and your guitar on a train,’” Jones said.

Jones said Kav thought about it and decided to start planning the tour over the summer. She said Amtrak chose not to sponsor the event, but the tour may convince Amtrak to sponsor fu-ture tours. New artists would be used

for other tours in order to reach out to more charities, she said.

Theresa Carter, a Chicago native who runs thelocaltourist.com, is docu-menting the event with photos and video for the event’s Web site.

“A trip like this, it needs to be docu-mented,” Carter said.

Carter said Amtrak has been very cooperative with the event. She said she feels pressure to do her job well so the event can be repeated for a differ-ent charity.

“If I do a good job at recording this, documenting it and creating excite-ment then (Amtrak) is more likely to sponsor future tours,” Carter said.

Kav said his journey kicked off at Maui Wowi, a coffee shop in Chicago. He said he performed Tuesday at the Aroma Café in Champaign and

Wednesday at Mac’s Uptowner Cellar in Charleston. He will perform from 7 to 9 p.m. today at the Longbranch Coffeehouse.

Kav said he would end his tour Saturday in Memphis at the St. Jude’s Memphis Marathon, where he will be playing along the route of the race. He said he would hold a private concert Sunday for patients of St. Jude’s and their parents. Kav said he has had to adapt to different environments dur-ing his tour. While the vibe was more upbeat in Chicago, he said it was much more subdued in Champaign because students were studying for finals. Also, he had hoped to perform on the train rides, but he did not feel the mood was right.

“I just go with the flow,” Kav said. “The flow has not called me to play on

the train just yet. But that may change.”Apart from receiving recognition,

Kav said he would use the Writing the Rails experience to inspire songs for his next album. In addition, he said he hopes the experience will allow him to make some human connections.

“I’m looking to get something I didn’t expect,” Kav said. “And so far, that’s what I’m getting.”

!"#$%$&'()$*+#(,-.)&/()&$0#(12)(%3&)$.4

I ’m looking to get something I didn’t

expect. And so far, that’s what I’m getting.

— David KavChicago musician

Classifieds !"#$%&'(%)*#"+ Thursday, Decpember 3, 2009 5

Wednesday’s answers

(Answers tomorrow)

Now arrange the circled letters to form the surprise answer, assuggested by the above cartoon.

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAMEby Mike Argirion and Jeff Knurek

Unscramble these four Jumbles,one letter to each square,to form four ordinary words.

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©2009 Tribune Media Services, Inc.All Rights Reserved.

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Answer: When the surgeon hung the brain illustrationon the wall, it became a — “FRAME” OF MIND

!"#$%&'&(')&(*+,-(."(&/0)(+"12(0"%3#4(/4-(567865(7"9(:,4(7"%-(7"/+-&+.;(0"4'/,4.(&<&+8(-,*,'(=('"(>?(@"+(.'+/'&6*,&.("4()"1('"(."%<&(A3-"B32(<,.,'(111?.3-"B3?"+*?3B?

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Wednesday’s answers

HoroscopesBy Linda C. Black

Study BreakThursday, December 3, 2009 !"#$%&'(%)*#"+6

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Across1 Cheese town in the province of Noord-Holland5 Cooper’s tool9 Like some potatoes14 Snare __15 Powerful 19th century Virginia family16 Positive terminal, at times17 “Imagination at work” company20 N.Y. summer setting21 Sale condition22 Deceived23 Stranded motorist’s aid25 Cambodian money26 Fried-dough carnival treat

30 General on a Chinese menu33 Fiesta Bowl site34 Work units35 Group including flower children’s children, briefly36 Pants fabric37 Big conflict38 Actress Blakley39 Je t’__: Parisian’s “I love you”40 Bouquet holder41 Drambuie ingredient42 Govt. ID issuer43 Doors #1 hit covered by José Feliciano45 Innermost part46 Grant and Vanderbilt47 Spotted cat50 Exceptional

52 Subway alternative55 “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” author58 Cream of the crop59 Doughnut shapes60 Merrie __ England61 Begat62 School founded in 144063 Ad, or word that can follow the end of 17-, 26-, 43- or 55-Across

Down1 Slight advantage2 Stowe novel3 Quaker Oats trademark4 Marseille Mrs.5 Mount McKinley’s state6 Sub station?

7 Puzzle center?8 Subj. taught bilingually9 More risqué10 Spy’s briefing contents, briefly11 Firewood order12 Correct, perhaps13 Empire State Building style18 “Silent Spring” author Carson19 Inventor Howe24 Winesap, e.g.25 Contrition26 Singer James et al.27 Explorer aided by Sacagawea28 Dogma-rejecting spiri-tual genre29 Junk

30 Court bouncer31 Show contempt32 Kind of daisy35 Silly38 Stop and shop, e.g.40 Artistic merit43 Came menacingly into view44 Large game fish45 1950s-’60s Yankee Boyer47 Laudatory poems48 City SW of Bogotá49 Mideast bigwig50 Scream51 Opening for dynamic53 Pakistani tongue54 Surfboard fin56 Way to go: Abbr.57 How the weasel goes?

Today’s Birthday — It will be difficult to talk your way out of responsibilities during the coming year, so don’t even try. Expect household emergencies to demand your time and resources. At the same time, you find ways to enrich your home and environment through gardening, painting and other inexpensive means.

Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is a 7 — Share the essentials today and save details for later. You can institute change without saying exactly why.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 6 — Today you face opposition from your banker or from other financial contacts. Hint: don’t plan major transactions for today. Tomorrow will work out a lot better.

Gemini (May 21-June 21) — Today is a 7 — What seems clear at first turns out to have layers of complications. Use your judgment to determine the best choice. Then, stick to it.

Cancer (June 22-July 22) — Today is a 6 — Listen and learn. Today is not the day to push your own agenda. Others have plenty to offer. Take advantage.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 6 — You’ve been hatching some ideas. Find a way to express yourself to at least one female. You’ll feel as if you’ve accomplished a lot.Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 6 — Remain open to other people’s ideas, but don’t just roll over. You have good ideas, too.Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is a 6 — Your mission today is to accomplish as much as possible with the least amount of friction. Read between the lines. Try not to break anything.Scorpio (Oct. 23—Nov. 21) — Today is a 6 — You struggle to make yourself understood. Your imagination is running wild, but you can’t find the right words. Choose simple language.Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 6 — Listen and learn. You wish you were giving out the orders. Today you’re better off doing what the finance manager tells you.Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 6 — Associates pose big questions. Expect each person to support his ore her argument with facts. That way a simple solution can emerge.Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is a 6 — You could go into emotional overdrive now. Instead, listen to what the group says, and follow an older person’s example.Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 6 — Your imagination is fully engaged now. Anything others say fits right into your comprehensive plan. Don’t stop now.

Thursday, December 3, 2009Sports !"#$%&'(%)*#"+ 7

rvoyles@siu.edu

JEFF ENGELHARDT

jengel@siu.edu

RYAN VOYLES

Allen Iverson has agreed to a one-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, ending his weeklong “retirement.” What do you make of Iverson’s return?

!"#$%&'()*&+,-

Iverson was looking for playing time, and he’ll definitely get it now that Lou Williams is out for several months. Iverson is not the player he once was, but he can still put up good numbers and play an efficient point guard — plus he’s a bargain at $600,000. The 76ers just have to hope he doesn’t freak out on them again and that he doesn’t talk about practice or the bench.

Allen Iverson is still a good player, but he needs to get some counseling to overcome his fear of the bench. Those chairs can be a scary sight, but for a guy who would drive the lane and get clotheslined by players 100 pounds heavier than he was, it shouldn’t be as frightening as he makes it seem. He seems to have gotten over his fear of practice, if he can do the same with the bench, he could help the Sixers.

Who cares? DEREK ROBBINSdrobbins@siu.edu

Ray McGillisDAILY EGYPTIAN

RAY1021JR@SIU.EDU

As the weather cools down, the SIU track and field team hopes to start hot at the annual Saluki Fast Start Invitational.

The track and field team will open its indoor season at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the Recreation Center.

Last year, the men had the in-door Missouri Valley Conference Championship slip from their fin-gers on the last day of the meet, falling from first to third, while the women capped a dominant season with a conference championship.

“The expectations for both the men and women are naturally high,” head coach Connie Price-Smith said. “We lost one key per-son from last year for the women in Bianca (Stuart), but I think we can fill the void that was left through the freshmen we brought in. On the men’s side, we lost hardly any-body — so the expectations for them would be to exceed beyond what they accomplished last year.”

The men will add six new freshmen to their roster while the women will welcome 13 fresh faces to their team this year.

Price-Smith collected her sec-ond and third MVC Coach of the Year in the 2008-2009 season, one for the indoor and one for the out-door season.

“We always have a good fall training schedule, which stands for a good base to start the year fast,” Price-Smith said. “With the exception of our cross country

runners, the rest of the team is ready, prepared and excited to fi-nally compete.”

The women not only won their indoor conference championship last season, but also went on to capture the outdoor title.

Junior sprinter Meredith Hayes, who holds the second best time in the 60-meter hurdles in school history (8.61 seconds), said the team was able to stay motivat-ed in the offseason, thanks in part to the level of competition the new freshmen bring.

“We’re all trying to step our game up everyday because we know we have the potential to be great this year,” Hayes said. “The offseason is really long, so we just took it day by day, and the season is — thankfully — finally here.”

Hayes said the added youth brings a different element to the team chemistry this season, but ex-pectations have not been lowered.

“The younger group can be very vocal in expressing their opinion, but the team has still meshed just like years before,” Hayes said. “And as we head into the season, our main goal is keeping our spot on top of our conference.”

Back in July, the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association recognized both the men and women with

All-Academic Team honors. Schools are chosen based on both academic and athletic achieve-ments, but a team must hold a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average to be nominated.

Three members of the men’s team were also named to the Division-I All-Academic Track & Field team. The three who quali-fied are Jason Ordway, Joe Paradiso and Jake Deiters.

In the past five years, the men have placed in the top-five of the MVC indoor championships, but have yet to hoist the trophy.

Senior sprinter Sammy Biggs, who won the 400-meter two years ago at the MVC indoor champion-ship, said this year’s team is about the most talented he has ever seen.

“This years team looks ex-tremely strong already — we have Brandon (Deloney) and Stevie (Warren) back leading our sprint-ers, and Jeff (Schirmer) is coming off his All-American performance in cross country,” Biggs said

Biggs said if the team can elude the injury bug and avoid any grade eligibility obstacles then the team will be a force to be reckoned with.

“Based on what we see out of our throwers, sprinters and distance runners, I’m saying that conference championship is ours,” Biggs said. “It’s ours for the taking.”

“Elly will be an outstanding all-around outside hitter for us,” Winkeler said. “She has the abil-ity to be a player that can play all six rotations for us; we are happy to sign a player of her caliber and welcome her to the Saluki volley-ball family.”

Whitehead, a senior at Murphysboro High School, led her team to a 114-32 record in her four years. She had 1,156 kills and 485 block points with the Red Devils, which is the fifth most in Illinois history.

“With her skills and jumping

ability, we look for her to make an immediate impact on our program,” Winkeler said.

Less, a senior at St. Teresa’s High School, was part of a 34-3 record for her regional championship team this season. She holds the school record for blocks in a season with 400.

SIU out-blocked opponents last year 363 to 333, and the program looks to continue that trend.

Winkeler said Less would be a great addition to the team because she is well-rounded and her experi-ence would be an asset to the team going forward.

Blumhorst said she is excited to be part of the improving Saluki program.

“I can’t wait to see what we do next year and how much better we can be,” Blumhorst said.

VOLLEYBALLCONTINUED FROM 8

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TRACK & FIELD

!!I can’t wait to see what we do next year and how much better we can be.

— Lauren Blumhorstsenior libero

!!T he offseason is really long, so we just took it day by day, and the season is — thankfully — finally here.

— Meredith Hayesjunior sprinter

S!"#$% INSIDER, page 7: Will Iverson help the 76ers?

THURSDAY 8DECEMBER 3, 2009

D A I L Y E G Y P T I A N

Derek RobbinsDAILY EGYPTIAN

DROBBINS@SIU.EDU

The season is over, but optimism is high for the Salukis.

The SIU volleyball team ended its season last week with a loss in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to Wichita State, but confidence is high for the program heading into next season.

Sophomore libero Lauren Blumhorst said the team could

really build off this season.“With how well we played

against the bigger teams in our con-ference, we are no longer a program people can look past,” Blumhorst said. “We can play just as well as they can and I think next year we will do even better.”

Blumhorst said a big reason the team plays with such confidence against more established teams is because of the seniors on the team. Senior middle blocker Marina Medic said confidence and hard work were things she wanted to

leave with the team.“I want us to really believe we are

that good in the future,” Medic said. Medic said she and the seniors

had been with the team when they were less formidable and that SIU has improved each year under head coach Brenda Winkeler.

The Salukis confidence in the future is backed by three new re-cruits who bring something to the Salukis their current roster doesn’t have: size.

All three recruits are more than 6-feet tall. The only returning

Saluki who got regular playing time who is that tall is junior outside hitter Sydney Clark, who is exactly 6-feet tall.

The Salukis return five starters next season, including All-MVC First Team junior outside hit-ter Jennifer Berwanger, All-MVC Freshman Team setter Rachael Brown and MVC All-Tournament team right side hitter Alicia Johnson.

The Salukis add 6-foot, 1-inch outside hitter from Hastings, Minn., Elly Braaten, 6-foot middle

Emily Less from Forsyth and Jessica Whitehead, a 6-foot middle block-er from nearby Murphysboro, to the 2010 squad.

Braaten, a senior at Hastings High School, had 328 kills, 239 digs, 42 blocks and 32 service aces this season. Braaten is a three-time all-conference honoree and was named All-State as a senior as well as an Amateur Athletic Union All-American.

Ryan VoylesDAILY EGYPTIANRVOYLES@SIU.EDU

When William & Mary takes the field Saturday, it will look to do the one thing it has had no problem with this season.

Stopping the run game. The Tribe (10-2) will look to carry

on their success Saturday, as they face the Salukis at 11 a.m. at McAndrew Stadium for the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. William & Mary come into the game as the top rushing de-fense in the country, only allowing 50.3 yards per game. The Salukis come into the game with the No. 1 rushing offense, averaging 230.8 yards per game.

Tribe’s head coach Jimmye Laycock said he has confidence in his defense, even with the talent of SIU’s Deji Karim and Paul McIntosh.

“They have real talent on that team, with their quarterback (McIntosh) and that running back Karim,” Laycock said. “I haven’t seen all of the film on them, but that is an imposing running attack. We’ll have to play to the top of our ability.”

The Tribe are coming off of a 38-0 victory Saturday over Weber State. The Wildcats had entered the game with one of the more proficient offenses in the country, averaging more than 30 points and 420 yards of total offense per game. But against the Tribe, the Wildcats could only muster up 161 to-tal yards of offense.

As a team, William & Mary is only allowing 12.7 points per game and just 230.2 yards of total offense while recording 42 sacks.

Buck Buchanan Award nomi-nee Adrian Tracy leads the nation in tackles for losses with 60.5, and his 30 career sacks are third among all active FCS players.

The secondary has its own presti-gious players, including redshirt fresh-man cornerback B.W. Webb. Webb was chosen as the CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year after recording 21 tackles, seven interceptions and two touchdowns on the season. His 50-yard pick-six in the first game of the sea-son against the University of Virginia earned him national defensive player

of the week honors from the Football Writers Association of America, the only time an FCS player has ever been awarded the honor.

SIU head coach Dale Lennon said the entire defensive unit for William & Mary is talented, and no single player stands out above the rest.

“That’s just a really talented group they have over there,” Lennon said. “A big and strong defensive line, quick linebackers and a persistent secondary; as a coach, they have everything you would want in your defense.”

Laycock said the key to a Tribe victory Saturday

would not be the defense, but the offense.

“We need to have our offense get up to the level that our defense

has played,” Laycock said. “It’s a team game,

so both sides have to play hard. The offense has

gotten up there several times this year, but we need to see it for as long as we can against Southern. ”

Though not as impressive as the defense, the Tribe’s offense has shown plenty of life this season.

William & Mary averages 372.4 yards per game and has only turned over the ball 14 times. Senior quar-terback R.J. Archer leads the squad with 2,347 passing yards, with 15 touchdowns to go along with seven interceptions.

Running back Jonathan Grimes leads the Tribe on the ground, averag-ing a team-high 91.8 yards per game, Courtland Marriner is their goal-line specialist with a team-high seven touchdowns.

Archer said the team has gotten over the playoff jitters and is hoping that his season will continue past this weekend.

“It’s a new season once you get into the postseason, everything pretty much changes,” Archer said. “I’m happy I get to have at least one more week to prac-tice and play, and I hope I get to do the same thing next week.”

Laycock said what would ulti-mately decide a game between two great defenses would be turnovers, whether forced or not.

“With two teams as talented as SIU and ourselves, turnovers will be the big key,” Laycock said. “Just one mistake here or slip-up there and we’ll lose this game.”

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PROVIDED PHOTOWilliam & Mary’s running back, Jonathan Grimes, rushes by a University of Rhode Island defender during the William & Mary 39-14 victory in Kingston, R.I., on Oct. 31. Grimes has rushed for 1,102 yards and six touchdowns for the Tribe. The Salukis are scheduled to play William & Mary at 11 a.m. Saturday at McAndrew Stadium.

Bring top-rated rushing defense to Carbondale

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Please see VOLLEYBALL | 7

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