The Alestle

The Alestle SIU Edwardsville’s student-run news organization. “Like” us for news updates. Louis and Edwardsville. For more information, call (618) 650-3528.

The Alestle is a member of the Illinois College Press Association, the Associated Collegiate Press and UWIRE. The name Alestle is an acronym derived from the names of the three campus locations of SIUE: Alton, East St. The Alestle publishes online-only editions on Tuesdays and print editions on Thursdays during fall and spring semesters, and on Wednesdays during summer semesters.

Hidden in the Habitat: The William C. Shaw Sky Lab, located just off of North University Road around the cross country f...
19/05/2026

Hidden in the Habitat: The William C. Shaw Sky Lab, located just off of North University Road around the cross country fields, is perhaps one of SIUE’s more unknown locations, according to Professor of Physics Thomas Foster, who helps run the lab.

“It is one of the little secret gems that the university has that they don’t take advantage of,” Foster said.

Construction on the Shaw Sky Lab was completed after the death of Professor William C. Shaw, described as one of SIUE’s dedicated physics educators with a love for astronomy, according to SIUE News. Shaw taught at SIUE from 1959-1973 and died 1977. Friends and family of Shaw helped fund the project.

“The Shaw Sky Lab is intended for public viewings, outreach and teaching,” Foster said. “What it was funded to do is to educate people about the night sky.”

✍️ Reporter Lily Berkenbile

📲 https://www.alestlelive.com/lifestyles/article_004239c1-400d-4aba-9334-13734c765ac6.html

A MATTER OF OPINION: I was initially scared of following my twin brother to college, but it taught me more about our ind...
15/05/2026

A MATTER OF OPINION: I was initially scared of following my twin brother to college, but it taught me more about our individuality and connection than anything else.

I often get asked what it’s like to be a twin, and I’m never quite sure what to say. How do you describe something you’ve always been? It comes with its ups and downs, just like anything else in life. You fight, you laugh, you cry. Sometimes you’re best friends, and sometimes you are anything but. If you do something wrong at school, you can rest assured that your twin will tell your parents.

It also comes with an unusual amount of questions. There’s some repeat offenders — no, telepathy does not exist — and a few questions are better than others. My personal favorites typically include entertaining but severely misinformed biological knowledge, such as whether or not his children would technically also be my children and vice versa — again, no. The most common, though, has been the same for as long as I can remember: “Who’s the better twin?”

Trust me, there is no answer to this.

✍️ Reporter Madison Steffen

📲 https://www.alestlelive.com/opinion/article_4e8c23b0-c73c-455f-a9db-17af2b07154a.html

13/05/2026

For this edition of Alestle Newsbite, Opinion Editor Brandi Spann gives us a look into the top stories of this issue.

Click the link in our bio to read more of these stories!

🎥 Opinion Editor Brandi Spann, Online Editor Sophie Hawkins and Multimedia Editor Gavin Rask

Edited by Multimedia Editor Gavin Rask

NEWS: Increased enrollment during the Fall 2025 semester put pressure on various academic departments to accommodate a h...
13/05/2026

NEWS: Increased enrollment during the Fall 2025 semester put pressure on various academic departments to accommodate a higher number of students. While Enrollment Management is looking to increase enrollment further, department chairs say they’re prepared to adapt to more students for the fall.

Current pressures

Department of Philosophy Chair Alison Reiheld said that hiring the necessary number of lecturers has been a challenge due to uncertainty surrounding the number of sections required for the amount of registered students.

“[In] previous years, predictions of how many sections we’re going to need were not enough. That happened last fall, and it happened this fall. Now, that’s a good problem to have, but it is a problem that needs to be solved,” Reiheld said.

✍️ Reporter Gavin Quinlan

📷 Multimedia Editor Gavin Rask

📲 https://www.alestlelive.com/news/article_3f9b01db-22f7-4d40-95d3-0916b04111f6.html

OLIVIA'S CORNER: The grim day has arrived. After suggesting hundreds of movies and having some of the coolest experience...
10/05/2026

OLIVIA'S CORNER: The grim day has arrived. After suggesting hundreds of movies and having some of the coolest experiences of my life, I am walking away from my corner and seeing what awaits around the bend — in other words, I am graduating. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to write this column and for the time I’ve spent at The Alestle.

Enough pleasantries. As usual, I need to explain myself: an indie movie, to me, is one that’s relatively unknown and not widely discussed in mainstream media. I would say it often has a distinct sense of authenticity, may be unconventional and strongly character-driven. I’m not talking about films made outside of Hollywood — that’s the technical definition, but not what I mean necessarily.

Here are the ones I never got around to including in other Olivia’s Corners.

✍️ Copy Editor Olivia Whitlock

📲 https://www.alestlelive.com/lifestyles/article_e028872f-bca2-41a1-97e9-51f7e243588e.html

Meet some of the faces behind the Alestle!
09/05/2026

Meet some of the faces behind the Alestle!

NEWS: On May 1, four different workers’ unions that operate on SIUE’s campus gathered in Stratton Quadrangle to protest ...
08/05/2026

NEWS: On May 1, four different workers’ unions that operate on SIUE’s campus gathered in Stratton Quadrangle to protest against the proposed raises offered to faculty and staff, as well as the shortage of workers around campus.

The unions, which include the Faculty Association, Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Association, Professional Staff Association and Technical Staff Association, carried signs with slogans such as, “FAIR CONTRACTS 4 ALL” and “UNITED WE WIN,” and gave speeches advocating for their causes. They also gave out candy and “Minor bills” to passing students.

The faux bills were parody renditions of the standard American dollar and included a photo of Chancellor James T. Minor with a blurb of information relating to his salary.

✍️ Reporter Madison Steffen

📷 Multimedia Editor Gavin Rask

📲 https://www.alestlelive.com/news/article_4290b110-2b37-4d12-8772-8805529dacb7.html

A MATTER OF OPINION: In an effort to slow down my fast-paced schedule and disconnect from social media, analog hobbies p...
30/04/2026

A MATTER OF OPINION: In an effort to slow down my fast-paced schedule and disconnect from social media, analog hobbies provided a new space to explore my creative and cognitive abilities.

With deadlines, packed schedules and constant notifications, it can be hard to find time for yourself.

Analog, or so-called “grandma hobbies,” as social media has coined them, are offline and tactile hobbies that tend to be enjoyed by the older generations – hence the nickname.

For me, these hobbies have become a creative outlet that is mentally stimulating while providing space to slow down from the stresses of everyday life.

✍️ Online Editor Sophie Hawkins

📷 Opinion Editor Brandi Spann

📲 https://www.alestlelive.com/opinion/article_66049037-02fa-454c-b919-19190c91e9ff.html

NEWS: SIUE representatives will attend a hearing with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board on April 29 and 30 ...
28/04/2026

NEWS: SIUE representatives will attend a hearing with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board on April 29 and 30 regarding two charges of unfair labor practices filed against the university.

Both charges were filed on Feb. 6 by AFSCME Council 31, the labor union representing clerical, ITS, building service workers and other professional positions at SIUE.

The charges respectively allege that SIUE had violated the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act by unilaterally changing the work duties of office support personnel without communicating the changes to the union first and retaliating against a union member for telling union representatives about the actions alleged in the first charge.

✍️ Reporter Gavin Quinlan

📷 Multimedia Editor Gavin Rask

📲 https://www.alestlelive.com/news/article_c649d8ef-5c36-4e31-ba83-f15afb11bc36.html

LIFESTYLES: The International Studies Program, along with the Department of Languages and Literature, hosted the second...
23/04/2026

LIFESTYLES: The International Studies Program, along with the Department of Languages and Literature, hosted the second Spanish Film Club Festival as part of a larger celebration of International Studies Day.

Heidi Cuervo, director of the Teacher Education Program and associate professor of pedagogy and Spanish, presented the fourth movie, “Zafari.”

“It opens your eyes to not only cinema, but culture, language and how to approach things in different ways,” Cuervo said.

Pragda, an organization built to provide educators with the screening rights to a substantial database of Latin American and Spanish films, supplied the films and provided a grant that helped make the event possible.

✍️ Reporter Lily Berkenbile

📷 Photographer Jaiyla Owens

📲 https://www.alestlelive.com/lifestyles/article_f75089dc-6d01-4677-8e18-97f48da75162.html

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