CHATMAN’S CHANGE Red-shirt senior cornerback Dylan Chatman talks about his transition from the basketball court to the football field.
DISCUSSION POINTS
Various multicultural groups met to discuss Eastern’s racial climate. PAGE 3
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Thursday, November 12, 2015 “TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID” C E L E BRATI NG A CE NTUR Y OF COV E RA GE 19 15- 201 5
VOL. 100 | NO. 58 W W W . D A I L Y E A S TE R N N E W S . C O M
Faculty vote no confidence in vice president By Cassie Buchman Administration Editor | @cjbuchman Results of a weeklong vote that ended Monday indicated that faculty voted no confidence in the performance of Blair Lord, the vice president for academic affairs. Out of the 349 people who voted, 67.6 percent voted no confidence, and 261 eligible voters did not participate. The Faculty Senate sent the results to President David Glassman and the rest of the faculty Wednesday morning. Jeffrey Stowell, the Faculty Senate vice-chair, said it would be up to Glassman to decide what to do with the information. “Ultimately this is information the president has to consider in his evaluation of the provost,” Stowell said. The Faculty Senate has not yet had a meeting to discuss what to do with the results other than release them publicly. The senate has ratified the data electronically. “We have acted as quickly as possible to verify that we accept this data from (Information Technology Services) and be able to make that public,” Stowell said. Stowell said the senate has to consider the strength of the voters’ argument and determine what will be done. “This is an expression of displeasure from the faculty who voted,” Stowell said. “There were
VOTING RESULTS
Provost Blair Lord many who didn’t vote.” Robert Miller, Eastern’s general counsel, said in “A Review of Shared Governance: Confidence Votes” that votes of confidence are generally symbolic and do not require official action by a governing body when submitted. However, the general intent is that a negative outcome will pressure or embarrass officials to resign from office. Confidence votes are mostly used when administrators are seen as using a “top-down” approach to running a university. “That means the administrators are going to tell the faculty what to do without receiving input first from the faculty,” Stowell said. Stowell said people should be cautious in their interpretation of the vote.
YES CONFIDENCE
113
NO CONFIDENCE
236
TOTAL VOTES
349
DID NOT VOTE
261
ELIGIBLE VOTERS
610
SOURCE: FACULT Y SENATE COMMUNIC ATION
“We did have a very high turnout relative to other faculty elections,” Stowell said. Of those eligible, 57 percent to voted in the referendum. Stowell said the problem with this is that the senate does not know how the other 43 percent of people who did not vote feel. “It could be that remaining 43 percent felt in either direction, which would clearly produce different interpretations,” Stowell said. “So we have to recognize there is error because of an incomplete sample. Ideally, every person would have voted.” The vote comes after a petition with more than 100 signatures asked for such a referendum. Gary Aylesworth, one of the authors of the
petition, said the petition started because members of the faculty felt they were being denied a voice in how the campus was run. “We would like a transparent process in shared governance,” Aylesworth said. Aylesworth said he would like to see better management in the area of admissions and more transparency. Lord declined to comment on the results of the vote, but he has spoken about shared governance in past Faculty Senate meetings. During an Oct. 20 meeting, Lord said he believes in and understands shared governance from being a faculty member for 25 years before becoming provost. “I’m here every single Faculty Senate meeting; I’m here every single CAA meeting; I listen carefully, I try to consider it,” Lord said during the meeting. This is not the first time a petition for a vote of no confidence in Lord has been circulated. According to an article in The Daily Eastern News from March 9, 2010, a petition had been circulated that spring questioning his hiring practices, among other issues. Aylesworth said this petition, unlike the one that led to this year’s vote, failed to go forward to be voted on for various reasons. Cassie Buchman can be reached at 581-2812 or cjbuchman@eiu.edu.
Veterans remembered in ceremony with songs By Mackenzie Freund City Editor | @mgfreund_news The annual Veterans Day ceremony ended with a bang after the three volleys were fired off by the cadets of the Eastern Army ROTC Cannon Crew Wednesday morning at Old Main. The volleys were followed by “Taps,” played by Michael Eckardt, a music major and trumpet player. Cadet Jacob Trigleth, a junior biological sciences major, was the master of ceremonies. Before the volleys were shot and “Taps” was played, Trigleth gave some background of their origins. Trigleth said the three volleys originate as far back as the Roman Empire. He said the volleys were a signal that burials were complete and the soldiers could resume the battle. Trigleth also explained the history behind “Taps.” “The music for ‘Taps’ was adapted by Union War General Daniel Butterfield for his unit until July 1862, and it continues to be used today for the end of military day, and the end of military life,” Trigleth said. The ceremony also included remarks made by Eastern student veteran TJ Prater, a sophomore communication studies major. Prater talked about his experience serving over-seas in Afghanistan and how he felt when he came home. “The day we returned from Afghanistan, one man short, but the rest came home, we stepped off the bus and received a standing ovation,” Prater said. Prater said they did not know the people who greeted them because they were from local communities. “The fact that they were all willing to be there when we got home just made it nice to know that our work is valued,” Prater said. Prater also requested that people find a veteran and thank them for their contribution and sacrifice they had made when they choose to serve. Along with Praters remarks, Eastern President David Glassman talked more about the history of Veterans Day and gave some facts of members of the Eastern community that have
MACKENZIE FREUND | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Construction laborers and carpenters fold up the U.S. Flag after taking it down Wednesday after the Veterans Day Ceremony in Old Main.
served. Glassman talked about former librarian Mary Josephine Booth, who volunteered to work for the Red Cross in France and Germany during World War I. “As a volunteer, she paid all of her expenses including travel, boarding and lodging,” Glass-
man said. “She was the only faculty member to serve over-seas during World War I.” Glassman said Eastern has a proud history of honorable members of the Eastern community. Glassman told those in attendance about the 1941 Homecoming festivities that started with
some of the male members of the freshman class who pounded on a bass drum on the rooftop of Old Main during an all-night vigil.
VETERANS, page 6