Event Management, Dining and Hospitality (EMDH), the Multicultural Center and the Graduate Student Association will host a screening of “Barbie” from 7-9 p.m. Monday, March 24, in the Old Main Room of the Bone Student Center. This event aims to celebrate Women’s History Month. Students are encouraged to wear pink or dress like Barbie and Ken. Attendees should also bring a blanket or pillow to sit on. This event is free, and students can RSVP here.

American standup comedian and actor, Brian Regan, will visit Bloomington this weekend while on a national tour. He will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 22 at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. Regan has multiple comedy specials on Netflix and has appeared in television series such as Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” and Peter Farrelly’s “Loudermilk.” He has also had numerous interviews with talk show hosts such as David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon. Regan shared his backstory of getting started in comedy while in college. “I went to Heidelberg College in northwest Ohio,” Regan said. “I thought I was going to be an accountant…and then I realized you had to be smart and know math, so that wasn’t going to fly. I talked to my football coach, and he recommended I switch majors to the communications and theatre arts department.” Regan said he then began acting and writing speeches for his classes, which helped him to develop skills for standup comedy. Regan listed some of his proudest accomplishments from his career. “I did 28 Letterman’s [appearances with David Letterman],” Regan said. “I’m very proud of those and the work I was able to put into those, and now I’m on a TV series called “Loudermilk” which I’m very proud of because it gives me the opportunity to try some acting.” “I’m proud of everything I’ve done, but those stand out a little bit,” Regan continued. Assistant Director of Arts and Entertainment for the City of Bloomington, Mike Wilcott, said Regan’s tour presented the perfect opportunity to achieve a new goal set forth by the BCPA. “We have a relationship with his [Regan’s] company and we reached out and said, ‘Hey, we want to have a couple more comedy things lined up,’” Wilcott said. “We do about four comedy shows a year but we’re always looking for more.” Wilcott said his committee is adding new shows almost every week. Regan said he tries to travel to as many places as possible while on tour. “I’m allowed to put red X’s through places I don’t want to go to, and I’m very proud to say that I didn’t put a red X through Bloomington,” Regan said. “I’m going to be on stage trying to share things that I think are funny, and I hope they choose to agree. If they choose to agree, they can reward me with some laughter,” Regan continued. Regan said his act tries to appeal to all audiences. “I have older people who like it and some people bring their kids, not that it’s a kiddy show; I’m not on stage twisting balloon animals,” Regan said. “If they’re over 120 years old, I don’t think they’ll enjoy my act, but if someone is 115 years old, I think they’d really get into it.” Regan shared how he comes up with material for his shows. “I occasionally binge jump up and down,” Regan said. “I see things, I feel things and I experience things where I say, ‘Huh, that’s kind of funny and odd…I wonder if that would work on stage.’ I’m not the kind of person that can sit down in front of a blank piece of paper and come up with comedy.” “My best ideas come when I’m sticking a fork into a toaster and I’m getting electrocuted. For some reason my brain is alive and I start coming up with good comedy material,” Regan continued. Regan finished by offering advice to performers who want to get better with audiences. “Don’t try to figure out what other people think is funny because that’s too hard of a task,” Regan said. “But if you can figure out what you think is funny, then get on stage and share that. You want people to agree with it, but I often say, if I’m having a so-so show or a bad show, I pretend I’m in the audience and I ask myself, ‘What would make me laugh if I was sitting out there?’ Sometimes that works to convince other people that I’m funny.” Regan said he thinks the same technique could work with performers in music. “I think bands have internal disagreements with whether they should be trying to make hits or doing what they like. It’s a struggle within a band and it can be a struggle within and individual’s mind,” Regan said. "I prefer the people who stay true to what they like and what they enjoy,” Regan said.

The Illinois State University Police Department (ISUPD) announced a new addition to its Community Engagement Unit Wednesday morning, a therapy dog named Pawfficer Korg. Pawfficer Korg will arrive at ISU on March 21 and will have public service duties to provide comfort and support to students. He will serve the same role as Pawfficer Sage, ISUPD's first therapy dog who began service in 2019 and passed away in 2024. To welcome Pawfficer Korg to the family, the ISUPD will host a welcome event from 4-6 p.m. on April 11 in the Spotlight Room of the Bone Student Center. The event will be open to the public.

Students for Justice in Palestine at Illinois State University (SJP-ISU) led the "Hands Off Gaza" rally against what they called the U.S. takeover of the Gaza strip on Tuesday morning. The rally started in Uptown Circle, where attendees gathered to march from Uptown to the quad. Several ISU students and members of the community were in attendance. “I think that a lot of movements have students as a part of it,” an attendee said, “Being a college student, [we] have the ability to make change and do stuff like this.” Freshman psychology major Sam Byrd attended the rally. Byrd discussed the importance of collective action. “I don't have any individual power myself, but if we can all get together and do something, then that’s how we make a difference,” Byrd said. After the march, the group gathered on the quad to allow protestors to speak out about the Israel-Hamas conflict. The rally also addressed the end of the cease-fire agreement, which ended early Tuesday when Israel launched an attack on Gaza. SJP-ISU advocated for domestic rights during the rally as well, highlighting the deportations happening in the U.S. Byrd said he arrived at the rally early to get to know some of the people in attendance. He said he hoped his efforts at the rally will help the movement progress and encourage more people to join. “I’d like to get to know the people here and be involved in some sort of change because I feel very frustrated not being able to do anything,” Byrd said. An anonymous attendee said they want to be more proactive and that this rally was a good opportunity for that. “Not only do we owe it to ourselves, we owe it to other people to care about others and try to make as much of a change as we possibly can,” the attendee said. “Do more research about what’s going on, not just in Palestine but also in Sudan and Congo. There are a lot of things going on,” the attendee protester continued.

Health Promotion and Wellness will have a "PAWSitively Stress Free" session from 1-3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19, on the third floor of Milner Library. Students can take a break from studying to interact with therapy dogs free of charge. Other stress-relieving activities will also be available. More information about this event can be found on Redbird Life.

Illinois State Night Live Auditions will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, March 21, in Centennial East Room 224. The event's host organization, Normal Humor, brings "SNL" mock shows, sketches and stand-up comedy to the community. This is the 21st official Illinois State Live Auditions event and it is first come, first go. No preparation needed. Students are invited to come only with their best jokes. Attendees can RSVP here.

Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at Illinois State University raised $350 for OSF Children’s Hospital at a “Cups for a Cause” event last month in Stevenson Hall. The fundraiser was the fraternity’s first philanthropy event of 2025, with more on the way. Sophomore cybersecurity major and current Philanthropy Chair of Phi Kappa Psi, Lucas Racine, was responsible for the event. “The sheer number of people who donated to the cause without even getting a donut or coffee was incredible to see. It warmed every single one of my brothers' hearts to see such generosity from the ISU community,” Racine said. Phi Kappa Psi has set a donation goal of $2,000 for the semester. Racine said Phi Kappa Psi chose OSF Children’s Hospital to donate to for several reasons, including the location and how the issue hits home with the members of their organization. “We decided on OSF for a few reasons,” Racine said. “The first and main reason we chose OSF is because it supports the health of sick children. The future generations of this country deserve to have the highest quality medical care no matter the circumstances of their birth.” “As a Greek organization, Phi Kappa Psi was founded on the idea of service to others, so OSF really was the perfect choice for the donations to go to,” Racine continued. Freshman computer hardware engineering major, Matthew Johnson, explained how they selected their donation goal of $2,000. “We took our old average amount of money raised and we raised the bar further because we want to be a lot more involved in the community this semester,” Johnson said. Future Phi Kappa Psi events can be found on Instagram.

Career Services will host a photoshoot session for students in need of headshots from 3-4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18, on the second-floor concourse of the Bone Student Center. Students can stop by for a free headshot photo and learn about other services, resources and programs Career Services provides. The photo will be sent directly to the email address entered into the system the same day. Students can receive a free headshot at ISU career fairs or at the next photoshoot session on April 22.

Illinois State University’s Health Promotion and Wellness will host a nutrition tabling event from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18, at Watterson Dining Commons. The event aims to spread nutrition awareness with March being National Nutrition Month. After completing a survey, students can speak with a Health Promotion and Wellness graduate student to better understand their survey results. More information on the event can be found on Redbird Life.

Municipal elections for the Town of Normal and the City of Bloomington are coming up on Tuesday, April 1. Here is a full rundown of the mayoral candidates and information voters should know beforehand. Normal candidates: Mayor Chris Koos Chris Koos has been the mayor of Normal since 2003 and is running for reelection. If re-elected, this would be his sixth term. He has served on the board since 2001. Along with his position as mayor, Koos is on the Amtrak Board of Directors. He was nominated by former President Joe Biden for this role in 2023. The U.S. Senate confirmed his role in 2024. As mayor, Koos wants to raise standards for development, maintain the integrity of Normal’s older neighborhoods and improve town and student relations. Koos is also the owner of Uptown’s retail specialty stores, Vitesse Cycle Shop and Often Running. Kathleen Lorenz Kathleen Lorenz is currently serving her third term as a council member. She started in 2015. Before joining the council, Lorenz served with the Normal Planning and Zoning Commissions for more than 10 years. Lorenz is currently the director of administration for Home Sweet Home Ministries. She also has over 20 years of experience in management in the healthcare industry, where she started as a management engineer. Lorenz worked for the United Way of McLean County from 2018 to 2024. Lorenz has many goals as mayor, including working with Bloomington on a number of issues and striving to use current funding for mental health to improve those resources. Lorenz also wants to work on economic and residential development, especially improving housing development. Chemberly Harris Chemberly Harris is currently serving her second term as a council member after being elected as the first Black member in 2017. She brought the Racial Equity Summit to Normal after joining the council. Harris has served and volunteered with 13 boards, committees and organizations. She says she finds serving others to be fulfilling. In 2018, Harris graduated from the Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership Training Academy. Harris currently works as a Technical Analyst at State Farm Insurance. If elected as mayor, Harris wants to focus on creating more permanent fixes to issues like the housing crisis. Bloomington candidates: Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe Mboka Mwilambwe started as a council member in 2011, where he served until he was elected as mayor in 2021. He is running for his second term. Mwilambwe has worked at Illinois State University since 1997 and currently works in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access. His work focuses on ensuring compliance with ISU’s anti-harassment and non-discrimination policies. Mwilambwe has many goals in the event he is elected, including revitalizing both the Eastland Mall and Downtown Bloomington long-term. Mwilambwe would also like to work on long-term solutions for the housing shortage and repair infrastructure. Cody Hendricks Cody Hendricks has served as a council member since April 2023. He also served on the Pekin council board from 2011 to 2015. Hendricks currently works at Olympia High School as a history teacher, where he is also union co-president.

Illinois State University President Aondover Tarhule announced a new website dedicated to updating students on the evolving federal directives. In a March 17 email to students, faculty and staff, Tarhule said the Office of General Counsel is working with the Institutional Resiliency Steering Team to assess the impact of the directives and adapt as necessary with any changes. The website will provide information and resources on the directives most relevant to ISU. Tarhule also encouraged the campus community to attend the upcoming Resilience, Innovation, Sustainability and Excellence (RISE) forums. The goal of the forums is for ISU members to learn about the progress made in bolstering the University’s financial stability. Regardless of the uncertainty at the federal level, Tarhule encouraged students to "move forward with optimism and determination" during the final weeks of the spring semester. "Let’s make the remainder of this semester productive, positive and inspiring for our students and each other," Tarhule said in the email.

Illinois State University’s Student Government Association is celebrating diversity on campus by hosting its annual Diversity Week festivities. SGA will host several events throughout the week of March 17-22, encouraging students to appreciate the diversity of the Redbird community. Diversity Week kicks off on Monday with screenings of the Oscar-winning films “Everything Everywhere All at Once” at 3 p.m. and “Moonlight” at 5:30 p.m. in the Old Main Room of the Bone Student Center. SGA will host an art exhibition from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Old Main Room. On Wednesday, SGA will hold a panel discussion from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Bone Student Center’s Circus Room. SGA will have an Inclusive Game Night from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, in the Old Main Room. Students can celebrate the flavor of culture with the SGA’s Food Festival from 4-8 p.m. Friday, in Room 375 of the Student Services Building. On Saturday, SGA will conclude Diversity Week with a Cultural Showcase from noon to 5 p.m. in Brown Ballroom III, followed by a second Food Festival from 5:30-8:30 p.m. in SSB Room 130. Students interested in attending are encouraged to check the SGA’s Instagram, Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter accounts, for further updates.

Birds Give Back, Illinois State University’s annual day of giving, significantly exceeded expectations last month. The university amassed 4,450 gifts from students, alumni, staff and families during the Feb. 27 event, shattering its initial goal of 4,000 gifts. It also raised $1,987,537 in gifts, pledges and challenges. The College of Arts and Sciences had the most donations, with $331,412 raised through 1,406 donations. The School of Communication topped the leaderboard with 481 gifts received. The Athletics Strength and Conditioning Center also had the most gifts for a single campaign, receiving 243 gifts and raising a total of $60,712. The Economics Department General Fund had the biggest increase in gifts, going from six gifts to 69—a staggering 1,150% increase from 2024. Additionally, the department earned a $1,500 bonus due to the Birds Give Back “biggest boost” incentive. The full leaderboard is available on the Birds Give Back website.

After 22 months in the interim role, Jeri Beggs was formally introduced as Illinois State University’s 13th director of athletics on Tuesday during a reception at Hancock Stadium. ISU President Aondover Tarhule welcomed Beggs to the podium by touting her “unique background” and reputation as a “strong relationship builder” for the program. “She has my full confidence in helping us elevate not only our athletic programs, but more importantly, what I believe is the main driver for success—a strong student-athletic experience,” Tarhule said. Beggs is the first woman to hold the position and joked that she is undaunted by any superstitions associated with the traditionally unlucky number. “I am proud and humbled to be the 13th athletics director at ISU. Unlike many of you in the room, I am not the least bit superstitious, and so 13 does not bother me at all,” Beggs said. Beggs mentioned a few of ISU’s recent athletic achievements, including the football team’s return to the playoffs, women’s golf winning the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and men’s basketball playing in the College Basketball Invitation later this month. Given all the changes at the collegiate level, like Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal, Beggs is prepared for the challenges ahead. “My vision has been to win championships, graduate student-athletes and be the best campus and community partner we can possibly be, and that will not change. The only thing that’s really changed is I need a new set of business cards,” Beggs said. Before wrapping up her opening remarks, Beggs recalled her time as the faculty athletic representative and championed the Redbird spirit she became known for. “It was always good to be a Redbird. We didn’t always have the most money or the fanciest facilities, but we did things right,” Beggs said. “We put a good product out on the court and in the field [and] we got great grades.” “I was really proud to be a Redbird, and so I got known for saying, ‘it’s good to be a Redbird,’” Beggs continued. “It was true then, and it’s true now: It’s good to be a Redbird.” During the question and answer session, Tarhule said he expects more championships on the horizon, but stressed that the University’s athletes are students first and foremost. “We want to continue that tradition to make sure their experience as students, their experience as athletes is fulfilling and rewarding for them and for the institution [and] for their families,” Tarhule said. “We need to continue that tradition of supporting our student-athletes the best way we can, including with resources, [and] with programming to make sure that they are successful,” Tarhule continued. Beggs was later asked what triggered her decision to take on the full-time position. Originally, she had submitted her retirement paperwork and already had one foot out the door. However, she simply could not walk away as she craved a new challenge. “I never imagined that this would be the new challenge, but it honestly didn’t take me very [long] to figure out that I actually really enjoyed this job, and I really felt like I was contributing to Redbird athletics,” Beggs said. Amid the upheaval caused by conference realignment across the Division I landscape that has affected the Big Ten Conference, Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Beggs reiterated her commitment to the MVC. “It would be a mistake for us to move anywhere right now,” Beggs said.

On February 26, members of the United Faculty of Illinois State University (UF) Professor Keith Pluymers and assistant history professor Camille Cole discussed the yearly progress made by UF. The conversation began with talk of the bargaining process between UF and the Board of Trustees at ISU. The organization has been bargaining for over a year as they celebrated the anniversary on Feb. 27, the following day. Pluymers explained that in fall 2023, UF initiated a process called the “majority interest” petition. This advocated that Illinois unions could become officially certified as the exclusive bargaining agent for a group of workers. The labor union approved the petition Jan. 8, 2024, and UF bargaining officially began February 2024. Even after school let out in May, UF bargained all through the summer, even with a majority of students and faculty gone. The hope of a formidable contract being crafted was, and still is, the goal. During the past fall semester, tentative agreements between UF and the Board of Trustees were reached, but no signs of ratifying a full contract were shown. According to Pluymers, when UF develops a tentative agreement on all the articles of the contract, it will be sent out to all members of the organization to do a ratification vote. “The decision lies within the members to see if they think [the contract] is good enough to ratify, and then the Board of Trustees sign it on the behalf of ISU,” Pluymers said. Cole explained the course of action that was taken in December. This included the bargaining team requesting a federal mediator to come and help in the process of bargaining. A federal mediator, according to Pluymers, is an impartial individual who works for federal mediation and conciliation services: a small branch of the federal gov that sends in an independent individual who will listen to both sides. The position of the mediator was to make suggestions to try to help find places of agreement. Cole reported there had been more tentative agreements because of the mediator’s involvement. “We’ve TA’d [tentatively agreed on] some really hard articles that have taken months of bargaining. I think at least one case may have been 10-12 rounds of back-and-forth on proposals,” Pluymers said. Although the agreements have been considered a success for UF, the patience of members grows weary towards important topics that have not been addressed. “There are a couple of things that are really important that are still outstanding that really matter to faculty including leave policies, parental leave policies and also [resources] for students,” Cole said. “One of the things we have been trying to bargain on is increased access to resources for student mental health, and the administration team has refused to even talk about that.” One of the most successful mediation days took place on Jan. 31, when tentative agreements were reached on six items. The most important item in the eyes of UF included the Grievance and Arbitration article. More simply put, the UF mechanism to call out the university for violating an article of the bargaining contract is called the grievance process. From there, the grievance runs through a process that reaches a neutral arbitrator that has the power to render a judgment. Whatever the arbitrator lands on is the ultimatum of the situation. For UF, the grievance was sent in and discussed over the summer, and the arbitration was resolved on Feb. 28 after nearly eight months of bargaining. The end of February brought forth a single goal for March. “Our hope is to get a tentative agreement for the entire contract,” Pluymers said. “We want to be able to bring to the membership a complete TA that they are going to feel great about.” The ultimatum will remain in the hands of the Board of Trustees. UF has found that attending Board of Trustees’ meetings for public comments have been helpful towards making negotiation progress. However, the majority of the discussion continues to remain at the bargaining table between the two organizations. One concern that was addressed was the potential of professors and faculty going on strike in the case of negotiations not being met. Pluymers explained that the reason for a lot of the signs on the door is due to a majority of the members expressing concern that important issues have been moving slowly, and there have not been responses that indicated a desire to get to an agreement quickly. “There’s real frustration there. What’s really unfortunate is that sometimes in the course of labor negotiation that management, in this case a university administration, wants to test to see how far things go before getting serious, we would just prefer to get serious right away,” Pluymers said. This is not the path that Pluymers, Cole or any of ISU’s faculty want to take. Both professors expressed that they do their job to teach students who have dreams and are inspired to take their careers further in life. “When we see students who have a dream—whether it’s journalism, being a history teacher, when we watch them we can see that they are on the path towards reaching that dream. That's what is special to us,” Pluymers said. As for students, UF has become a well-known organization to those curious. Pluymers and Cole both agree that the classroom is a safe space for students to learn, and all questions about UF are able to be discussed outside of work hours. “I think some students are really interested in paying attention to what is going on, and some students have other priorities,” Cole said. Pluymers and Cole both agreed that students are more than welcome to reach out via email if they want to know more or have any questions about UF. At the end of the conversation, Pluymers and Cole thanked everyone who has supported, worked closely with, or simply expressed interest in the work of UF. “We appreciate the interest from students in what is going on here. The fact that students care and are concerned—it means the world to us,” Pluymers said. “We went into bargaining not just to win things for UF but to take wins for the university as a whole,” Cole said.

Illinois State University will host an Earth Day Breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 22, in the Bone Student Center’s Brown Ballroom. Author and climate activist Zahra Biabani will be the guest speaker. Tickets for the event can be purchased here.

Members of the Bloomington-Normal community got the opportunity to introduce themselves to local candidates Tuesday, ahead of the April 1 election. WGLT co-hosted the open house event, which allowed candidates to talk with students, staff and community members. The event had dozens of candidates with tables and pamphlets, eager to engage with voters of all ages. Benjamin Zimmerman, a candidate for Bloomington City Council, stressed the need for community members to get civically engaged early. “I think the youth is our future, even [voters] younger than college age,” Zimmerman said. “Preparing them to be active in the community [and] take part in elections is a big piece of this.” Zimmerman said this event is important for the upcoming election due to low voter turnout in recent years. “There are 6,000 voters in my ward, and [in] the last two municipal elections, we [saw] around 600 to 700 voters turning out to vote. So please get involved,” Zimmerman said. Bloomington mayoral candidate Cody Hendricks discussed his preparation leading up to Election Day. “We did a lot of behind the scenes work, but Jan. 2, we hit the ground,” Hendricks said. “Campaigning can be stressful, but honestly, I feel like it's the best way that you learn about your community.” Normal mayoral candidate Chemberly Harris played the long game in prepping her respective campaign. “I've actually started on a journey maybe two years ago, and I got a mentor,” Harris said. “[The mentor has been] guiding me to think about how I lead [and] what is the appropriate way to lead a community?” Many candidates often field tough questions during an open house event. Town of Normal Mayor Chris Koos is seeking his sixth term and has years of experience in handling such questions from the press and prospective voters. “My philosophy is: know your core beliefs and stand by your core beliefs,” Koos said. “So you have to walk a line of explaining why you're standing for what you stand for, but have to honor what they stand for too.” Sam Majka, a senior political science and German major, attended the event to stay informed on the local political landscape. “I want to use this opportunity to learn more about what candidates are about,” Majka said. Majka had a positive experience speaking with several of the candidates. “I thought it was very polite, and it was very inquisitive,” Majka said. “[The candidates are] very open, listening to what students are saying, and they value that.” Although tensions tend to run high in politics, the atmosphere was communal, as reflected in many of the candidates' statements. “I love Bloomington, and I care about its future,” Hendricks said. Candidates not only expressed their love for the community but also encouraged residents to get out and vote, regardless of their beliefs. “Pay attention to what's happening; it can affect your life, and just be aware of what's going on at the local and state levels,” Koos said.

Illinois State University president Aondover Tarhule announced the appointment of Jeri Beggs following a national search that began in November 2024. Beggs is ISU's 13th Director of Athletics in the NCAA Division I era and the first woman to hold the position. Beggs has served as the interim director of athletics since May 1, 2023. During her time as the interim director, Beggs grew the Weisbecker Scholarship Fund 30% for 2023 with over $670,000 raised through priority seating. Beggs' efforts aided in an increase of over 400% in NIL dollars for ISU student athletes during her time. Under Beggs' leadership, ISU athletics set a departmental GPA record of 3.45 in Spring 2024 and the second highest in Fall 2024 at 3.43.