BRUSH THE DUST OFF
Antique bookstore opens on the Square, offers old books and artwork. Page 3
NO GAIN WITHOUT PAIN
Thorton Fractional South High School won the IHSA state badminton tournament.
Page 7
Dai ly Eastern News WWW.DAILYEASTERNNEWS.COM
THE
“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID”
VOL. 97 | ISSUE 149
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Ongoing issues | sexual assault
DIREC TOR SEARCH | FPM
New facilities director to be declared By Robyn Dexter @robyn_dexter Submit ted photo
The most recent chalking that appeared on campus written on a concrete wall of the Doudna Fine Arts Center sometime aroun Monday, May 5, read “If U R sexually assaulted – report it! If U dress and act like a whore, dont walk home alone.”
Two sexual assaults reported, new chalk message appears By Robyn Dexter @robyn_dexter The adviser for the Women’s Empowerment League, Jeannie Ludlow, said the two recent reports of sexual assault may be tied to the activism of the past few months. “The activism has had two important roles in increasing people’s willingness to report: we’ve given a clear and consistent message that sexual assault does happen on our campus, and the processes and procedures have been made more clear,” Ludlow said. In addition to the two alleged sexual assaults have been reported in the area, there has been more chalking concerning sexual assault near the Doudna steps. According to a press release from the Charleston Police Department, a sexual assault was reported in the 1000 block of Fourth Street on April 27. In addition, a sexual assault was also reported in Pemberton Hall on May 1 at 1:25 a.m. The two cases are under investigation by the University Police Department, CPD and the Coles County State’s Attorney office.
A new chalk message was also displayed on the overhang of the Doudna Fine Arts Center for a short time around May 5. The message read, “If U R sexually assaulted – report it! If U dress and act like a whore, dont walk home alone.” The chalk was erased late Monday afternoon. Ludlow said the chalking was an example of victim blaming. “The implication is that if you don’t report it, it’s not a real sexual assault,” she said. “And if you are sexually assaulted, it’s because of the way you were dressed or the way you were acting.” Ludlow said that although she thinks the person who did the chalking did not mean it this way, the message reads like a threat. “It’s almost like saying, ‘You behave in an appropriate way, or else you’re going to be raped,’” she said. “It goes back to the idea of rape as punishment.” Ludlow said as soon as she contacted President Bill Perry and Dan Nadler, the vice president for student affairs, they went out to look at the chalking and make sure it was taken down. The ideas that have been brought forth in the past semester really bring to
light rape culture and the effect it can have on a college campus, Ludlow said. “We’ve done some work on changing policies and practices, but we haven’t done a good job addressing rape culture,” she said. “If we don’t change rape culture, this kind of attitude, like we see with this chalking, is able to flourish, and the changes we make in policy and practice will be far less effective.” Ludlow said rape culture is an international issue and not just something the Eastern community is struggling. “However, it’s something we really have to fight on a local level,” she said. “This really shows us the places where we have more work to do.” Erin Walters, the director of the Sexual Assault Information and Counseling Service, agreed with Ludlow on the offensiveness of the recent chalking. “I was really upset when I saw what had been written, because it’s extremely insensitive and victim-blaming,” she said. One of the biggest things Walters was concerned about with the message was how things like that can be a trigger for survivors of sexual assault. “Any time sexual assault is brought to the forefront, just the idea that peo-
ple are talking about it can be very triggering for a victim,” she said. “When the dialogue is so blaming and the message is that someone asked for (sexual assault), it’s just disgusting on every level.” While she is not sure if the continued discussion surrounding the topic has directly led to more instances being criminally reported, Walters said it does help bring these ideas into the spotlight. “What’s interesting to me is how the dialogue has increased, but our numbers are consistent,” she said. “Sometimes the increase in conversation brings in more referrals to (SACIS), but sexual violence is not something new that’s happening now. It’s something that has been happening all along.” Walters said it is important that students know what their resources are and the community can respond in a way that will be effective. She said SACIS, since it is not affiliated with the university, will maintain regular hours over the summer. “Our work will stay the same regardless,” Walters said. Robyn Dexter can be reached at 581-2812 or redexter@eiu.edu.
Universit y | Board of trustees
Gov. Quinn appoints new BOT member Staff Report A new Board of Trustees member has been appointed to fill the spot left open when Gov. Pat Quinn decided not to reappoint Leo Welch in January. The new board member, Jan Spivey Gilchrist, was appointed by the governor May 3. Bob Martin, the vice president for university advancement, said he is ex-
cited to have Gilchrist as a part of the board. “She is both a distinguished alum (of Eastern) and a notable one as well,” he said. “We are honored to have someone of her talent and background on the board.” Gilchrist earned her bachelor’s degree in art education from Eastern in 1973 and was named a Distinguished Alumna by the EIU Alumni Association in
1992. Martin said Gilchrist was nominated for the position by someone who thought she would be a great fit for the board. “You can either self-nominate or have someone nominate you, and she was nominated by someone who thought she would bring value to us,” Martin said. “Definitely, she does.” Having an alumna as a part of the
board can be hugely valuable to help oversee the happenings of the university, he said. “She has an interest in the arts, which is good because a lot of times the interest is just in the business side of the university,” he said. “An interest in the arts brings a creative splash to our board.” Gilchrist will serve a six-year term and will serve at her first Board of Trustees meeting on June 17.
A search committee has been working since last year to find a new director for Facilities Planning and Management. The last of the interviews for the three candidates have been completed, and committee chairman Paul McCann said a decision will be made shortly. “(FPM) is a fairly complex entity,” he said. “They maintain the facilities, both new construction and remodeling along with janitorial.” The new director is expected to have a wide area of knowledge about Eastern, and the position requires a “tremendous amount of depth and skill,” McCann said. The search committee has been seeking this wide range of talent since December after Dave Crockett was named interim director last July. “We hit the ground running about the first of the year,” McCann said. The search committee began receiving resumes shortly after and began conducting phone interviews. They received about 64 applicants for the position. “Our hope was to bring people to campus as soon as spring break was over, but we got delayed a little bit,” he said. “We got things done as soon as we could.” Three candidates were brought to campus over the past few weeks, with interviews conducted on May 1, 3 and 7. McCann said the three candidates are incredibly unique and talented, and they come from very different backgrounds. Keith Yaktus comes from a military background. “He had a position quite similar to this one in the military taking care of bases,” McCann said. “The way he describes it, he’s a city manager.” Tom Simmonds comes from a background directly related to universities. “He has done a lot with sustainability and is very impressed by Eastern’s Renewable Energy Center,” McCann said. “He wants to take us to the next step.” Tim Zimmer, the third candidate interviewed, has a combination of the other two candidates’ skills. SEARCH, page 5