Winding Down

Winding Down As the Fall 2021 Semester draws to a close, take a look back at campus activites, views and more.

"Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away; Lengthen night and shorten day; Every leaf speaks bliss to me Fluttering from the autumn tree....." Fall Leaves Fall by Emily Bronte

In November, USI was awash with magnificent colors as the temperatures droped and we experienced the first frost. Maple, oak and ginko leaves accumulated on the campus sidewalks for students to crunch underfoot as they made their way to class. The very last of the flowers bloomed before the first hard frost chased them away for the winter.

A bee enjoying one of the remaining sunflowers in the patch outside of the Arts Center.

And as the temps dropped, the iced coffees and frappuccinos morphed into hot coffees. More sweaters and coats were seen across campus, as we said goodbye to the last warm and sunny days of the semester.

The Multicultural Center's South East Asian Student Union celebrates Diwali

Diwali is a festival of lights and one of the major holidays celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists. The five-day festival is traditionally celebrated between mid-October and mid-November. The spiritual holiday celebrates light over darkness (with the making of the lamps), good over evil and knowledge over ignorance.

Alumni Services and Volunteer USI encourage Screagles to be thankful

Students hung ornaments on the holiday tree, located in the UC Breezeway, with slips of paper that contained what they are thankful for as the semester comes to an end.

Students also drew challenge cards which gave them a task to complete to express gratitude leading into the holidays.

Trees were displayed and open for decoration for two days in November and were filled with ornaments both days.

From hanging Commencement banners to displaying art, staff were out and about on campus getting ready for the Thanksgiving break, which began on November 24.

A family reunion

Two decades after molding the University of Southern Indiana into a Division II basketball powerhouse, Bruce Pearl reunited with his former program Friday, November 5 against his national champion player-turned USI Men's Basketball Head Coach Stan Gouard. The Screaming Eagles displayed promise for the 2021-22 season in a tough exhibition loss at Auburn University, 68-54.

USI Men's Basketball Quick Notes

USI is picked to win the GLVC East conference in 2021-22 for the second-straight season. USI won the GLVC East in 2020-21.

The Screaming Eagles received votes to be ranked in the NABC Preseason Top 25 poll.

Despite missing the last month of the 2020-21 season, the Eagles won the GLVC East Division by 3.5 games and were second overall in the GLVC's Point Rating System.

Junior guard/forward Jelani Simmons, a member of the All-NCAA II Midwest Regional team, leads USI's returners with 13.5 points per game, while All-GLVC Senior guard Mateo Rivera is the leading returning rebounder with 6.4 per game.

A Christmas Carol

All of USI's performances of the well-known holiday story, "A Christmas Carol," were sold out. The next play USI Theatre will take to the stage will be "Stop Kiss" in February 2022. Tickets will be available soon.

Pictured above left to right: Noah Harrison as Marley, Director Elliot Wasserman, Madalyn Cottrell as the Ghost of Christmas Past, and Bladen Allbright as the Ghost of Christmas Present.

Screagles finish their seasons strong

Led by freshman Cameron Hough (Olney, Illinois), University of Southern Indiana Women's Cross Country raced to a 15th-place finish in a 34-team field at the NCAA Division II Championships. Hough completed the six-kilometer race in 21 minutes and 22.6 seconds to finish 33rd in the 256-competitor field.

Junior Noah Hufnagel posted a top 20 finish as USI Men's Cross Country finished 26th out of 34 teams at the NCAA II Championships. Hufnagel concluded the 10-kilometer race in 30 minutes, 50.5 seconds to finish 17th in the 245-competitor field.

USI Men's Golf completed their fall season by finishing second place out of 12 teams at the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational at the Pearl Golf Club. This was the third straight second place finish for the Screaming Eagles this season.

USI volleyball players celebrated Senior Day.

Senior members of the USI Softball team posed for a photo.

USI Women's Basketball opened the season ranked No. 1 in GLVC Eastern division preseason picks. Above, junior guard Tori Handley battles a player from our cross-town rival, University of Evansville.

USI Men's Basketball needed extra time in the Sports Center to bring home the "Battle of the Bridge" trophy, defeating Kentucky Wesleyan College with a score of 85-80.

Fans welcome back basketball

Students, fellow athletes, staff and even President Rochon cheered the Screagles on to victory at the opening home games in the Screaming Eagles Arena.

Housing students were invited to paint fall festive signs to hang on their doors. Area Coordinators say the late Friday afternoon activities in the Residence Life Community Center are popular with the students as they wind down for the weekend.

The march toward finals

Coming back to campus after Thanksgiving break, Screagles hunkered down in their favorite study spaces and prepared for their road to the finals. It's a time of papers, presentations, study groups, finals prep and much more.

USI students enjoyed the last few beautiful days of autumn all over campus before the cold, rainy weather chased them inside Rice Library and the University Center to gather and study. We'll patiently wait for the usual beautiful blooms of of spring on USI's campus, as well as the welcomed sight of the first hammock on The Quad.

Created By

Barbara J. Goodwin

Appreciate

Credits:

Barbara J. Goodwin