CAMtastic Newsletter March 2024
The Eclipse Live: Meet the Professor Bringing the Event to the World
When the moon starts to creep in front of the sun at 12:42 p.m. local time on April 8, Associate Professor Karla Berry and her students will be making sure people all across the globe can experience the “magical” event.
Berry, who works in the School of Media Arts, is teaching an electronic media workshop so students can create content, in advance and in real time, for a live YouTube feed. You can get a quick preview on the SIU SolarSTEAM channel.
Eclipse 2024 Live from SIU Carbondale will also be broadcast on WSIU From 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
“We will be live as we follow from Mazatlán [Mexico], then we have Eagle Pass, Texas … so that’s kind of where the shadow hits the U.S. for the first time. Then Carbondale, we’ll spend a lot of time in Carbondale, of course, we have multiple telescope feeds here. Then we go to Vincennes, Indiana, then Oxford, Ohio, then I think it’s Edinburgh, Pennsylvania,” Berry said.
Watch parties for the YouTube live stream are planned as far away as Copenhagen, Denmark. 
The stream, which students affectionately refer to as “the Karla show,” will be based at SIU’s stadium, where thousands are expected to gather to witness totality. That will start at 1:59 p.m. Central time and last four minutes, as day briefly turns into night.
Berry hopes the live stream audience can feel the sense of wonder, just as the real-life audience does.
“I want them to geek out about all of it, you know,” she said. “Bottom line, they'll learn something about this, they will engage with just this magical, natural, you know, just an event like this is a phenomenon.”
Berry’s students have a wide range of tasks for “the Karla show.” Some are producing documentary clips, while others are doing social content like “fun, flashy vertical videos,” according to cinema major Kaylee Wobig.
“I’ve never seen a total solar eclipse before. I’ve actually never seen an eclipse at all, so for this to be my first ever viewing…it’s really special for me, because I get to be so up close and personal with it.” 
All of the students are working regularly with eclipse chasers and other heliophysics experts.
Cinema major Alyssa Krueger said the number of people that base their lives around eclipses and studying the solar system is “crazy.”
“There’s so many people with so much knowledge,” she said. “It’s really nice that all of them are willing to share with us and tell us all of their experiences.”
Radio, television and digital major Nathan Culli got to spend time with some of those people during an October trip to watch an annular eclipse in Midland, Texas, where he documented the science going on around it.
“It kind of prompts me for April’s eclipse to really see what totality is going to be like because I only got a hint of it.” RTD major Gavin Melton was in SIU’s stadium during that annular eclipse, taking Karla’s class in the fall. He calls it a “surreal” experience.
“You feel really small in those moments,” he said. 
Fellow student AJ Rice felt similarly when he witnessed his first total eclipse back in 2017.
“I was shocked at the perspective shift,” he said. “Like how tiny you are in the world.
Rice said it’s breathtaking to see two giant celestial objects interacting.
“I’ve always found it fascinating that the moon is just such a perfect size. If it were any bigger there would not be the cool corona,” he said.
Rice calls himself a “big science nerd” who listens to a ton of science podcasts. His comes into the project with a much different background than Culli.
“The extent of my astronomy knowledge before this was one unit in sixth grade science,” Culli said.
The students and Berry are working directly with NASA contractors on their production. The SolarSTEAM project is being funded largely through a NASA grant and many other projects are working in collaboration with the eclipse.
The Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative is a network of citizen scientists that will have telescopes set up along the path of totality. They will be feeding content to Berry’s live stream.
The film company Cosmic Picture is using this eclipse and the 2017 event to produce an IMAX film. 
Another project involves a virtual field trip for middle schools in the Chicago area who are connected to three middle schools in Southern Illinois.
“We will have students in the north and south connected, so they get to share experiences,” Berry said.
Krueger said Berry is a “gem” that “keeps this thing turning.”
“She is so scatterbrained but in the best possible way,” Krueger said. “She is talking with so many people all the time, constantly getting new information for us and being so open and transparent about, so everything she knows, we know…she’s been absolutely fantastic.”
Outside the Box Music Festival Should be “a Blast”
This year’s “Outside the Box” music festival will “transcend mere entertainment” and “highlight new concepts and embrace new sounds” at various locations around SIU from March 18 through April 19, according to Professor Eric Mandat, who will perform a clarinet recital and other duties.
“Outside the Box” is celebrating its seventeenth year by bringing in composers and artists from as far away as Taiwan and as close as right here on campus. The U.S. based musicians hail from cities ranging from Chicago and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Orlando, Florida. The styles cover electronic music to classical and many genres in between.
One of Mandat’s clarinet compositions will be performed by the Little Giant Chamber Chinese Chamber Orchestra from Taiwan, which will perform on Friday, April 19 in Shryock Auditorium.
Mandat said he believes the audience will gain an expanded appreciation of the art of listening as they experience new sounds.
Festival organizer Associate Professor Chris Walczak agrees.
“We're pretty excited about Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra visiting us from Taipei, Taiwan. The ensemble specializes in the fusion of traditional Chinese instruments and Western orchestral instruments. Five brand new compositions will be premiered by the group along with SIU faculty performers.”
The festival was founded by Kathleen Ginther, who taught composition and music theory at SIU for 18 years. Her works have been praised as “music of ethereal delicacy” and “otherworldly rapture” according to the Outside the Box website, which says her compositions are “searching and contemplative in nature, but often displays a streak of playfulness and whimsy.”
Ginther is a featured artist this year and said it’s good to be back.
“I’m so excited Chris Walczak invited me to write a new piece for the Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra and the Altgeld Chamber Players, our SIU faculty ensemble,” she said.
She said it was a challenge to create work for the chamber orchestra.
“Writing a piece that combines Western classical instruments with ancient Chinese instruments is one of the hardest things I’ve ever attempted, but also so much fun.”
In addition to the concerts, the festival offers symposiums, workshops, and other ancillary events, Walczak said. Outside the Box allows School of Music faculty and students, and the community at large, a chance to work closely with the guest artists, who are nationally and internationally acclaimed.
“Of prime importance when considering who to feature each year is how engaging the guests will be; it's critically important that the featured guest artists are excited to interact with our students, faculty, and members of the community,” Walcak said.
Ginther said she hopes the festival will bring awareness of how talented the musicians and composers of SIU are.
“I hope it brings to the audience a sense of excitement in hearing music that has never, ever been heard before. I hope it brings a bit of understanding of how collaborative music making is…and I hope the audience has a blast.”
All events at Outside the Box are free and open to the public.
Outside The Box 2024 Schedule of Events
MONDAY, MARCH 18 7:00 PM, Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall
The festival this year opens up with the Sampen and Bunce Duo who take the evening to explore the duality of music and society as they perform a concert of contemporary music for saxophone and electronics. The duo will showcase their program In Two Worlds to kick off Outside The Box 2024!
TUESDAY, MARCH 26
10:00 AM, Altgeld Hall Room 119
Please join us for a discussion session led by special guest artist Jessica Speak on the topic of Building Musical Community Wherever You Are. Open to all SIU faculty and students and the general public.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27
7:00 PM, Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall
The SIU Clarinet Studio, under the direction of SIU Visiting Professor of Music and Distinguished Scholar Eric Mandat, will present its annual Outside the Box concert. The featured guest for the evening will be international performing artist and Stetson University clarinet professor Dr. Jessica Speak. The concert will feature several of Mandat’s chamber works for clarinets, including the premiere of his new duet, Five Miniatures (2022).
THURSDAY, MARCH 28
7:00 PM, Altgeld Hall Room 112
SIU faculty percussionist Christopher Butler will perform a concert of electric and innovative new music for percussion and computer.
TUESDAY, APRIL 9
7:00 PM, Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall
Directed by Eric Mandat, the Southern Illinois University Improvisation Unit will present a concert of mostly improvised music, with a special tribute to groundbreaking composer Morton Feldman.
THURSDAY, APRIL 11
7:00 PM, Shryock Auditorium
Get ready for an evening of completely new music for an eclectic variety of musical instruments and electronic sound composed and performed by SIU School of Music students!
THURSDAY, APRIL 18
11:00 AM, Shryock Auditorium
Outside The Box featured guest artists The Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra will demonstrate the captivating sounds and contemporary techniques of traditional Chinese musical instruments, speaking about the role they play in new music performance. Open to all SIU students, faculty, and the general public.
7:00 PM, Shryock Auditorium
Come hear this kaleidoscopic concert of new electroacoustic works by a variety of contemporary composers including SIU faculty members Christopher Butler, Dick Kelley, and Eric Mandat, joined by members of featured guest artists The Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra.
FRIDAY, APRIL 19
7:00 PM, Shryock Auditorium
Please welcome Outside The Box 2024 featured guest artists from Taipei, Taiwan, The Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra. Led by internationally acclaimed conductor Chih-Sheng Chen, the orchestra will perform five newly commissioned world premieres by composers Kathleen Ginther, Gregory Glancey, Zoe Lin, Eric Mandat, and Christopher Walczak. Specializing in the musical fusion of traditional Chinese instruments and western orchestral instruments, the group will be joined on stage by bassist Joe Bauer and SIU faculty performers the Altgeld Chamber Players featuring Robert Allison, trumpet, Christopher Butler, percussion, Jessica Butler, trombone, Anthony Gray, piano, Yuko Kato, piano, Richard Kelley, saxophone, Eric Mandat, clarinet, and Jennifer Presar, horn. Not to be missed!
From Parties to Down Time and Self-Sare: the Changing Emphasis for Spring Break
Spring break is seen in America as a milestone for every college student. There have been numerous songs, movies and even an MTV spotlight based around the week-long vacation. Or at least that is how it used to be seen. Chances are if you have family that lived through the 90s or 2000s you've heard crazy stories of spring break. The question is: does it still have the same appeal to college aged kids today?
A survey for the CAMtastic newsletter suggests the sentiment around spring break has changed.
Respondents mostly view it as a getaway from schoolwork and classes, but around 30 percent of students will be spending their time getting in extra hours at work and only 20 percent will be spending their week on vacation. The rest will be spending time with family or won't be going anywhere at all.
More than 81 percent of students reported that they had participated in spring break themselves, while 62 percent said their parents had indulged. So, let's break down the history behind why it got so popular in the first place to tell if we're really missing out.
Spring break started as an American tradition in the 60s after the release of the book “Where The Boys Are” by Glendon Swarthout, bringing many young people to celebrate the week away from school in Fort Lauderdale just as they did in the book.
In 1986, MTV took hold of the time-honored tradition and brought it to Daytona Beach, hosting numerous concerts and highlighting beach bums and the party atmosphere. This led to a bigger, better party every year, having college kids flock to the site in hopes of being on MTV or getting to see their favorite band well up into the 2000s.
It didn't stop there. In the 2010s the party era really hit its peak with shows like “Jersey Shore” and music celebrating and encouraging “everybody getting drunk.” It's no surprise it was a big deal. 2012 had not just one but two movies centered around the party life of spring break: “Project X” and “Spring Breakers.”
After the binge drinking and drug-fueled fights or promiscuous behavior, many cities decided to crack, down leading to curfews, stricter alcohol restrictions and noise violations. That caused a lot of party goers to move even farther south to Mexico.
Although spring break vacations and parties have not stopped, I've found more recently many students would rather spend time at home with friends and family or out in nature as opposed to on the beach drinking. The date from our survey backs that up.
Either way, however you spend your break, remember to relax and take some time for yourself. You are only young once might as well have some fun even if that means just laying on the couch and catching up on some shows.