TOP CAT
Women’s soccer player Meagan Radloff currently leads the team in goals scored this season. Page 8
CARDINAL CONCERT Members of the EIU Concert Band prepare for
their first performance of the semester Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Doudna Fine Arts Center. Page 3
Dai ly Eastern News
THE
WWW.DAILYEASTERNNEWS.COM
Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013
“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID”
Dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge
VOL. 98 | ISSUE 39
administr ation
EIU-UPI members to meet to address legislative issues By Rachel Rodgers Special Projects Reporter @rj_rodgers Eastern’s chapter of University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100 strives to achieve a position where members are not constantly responding to threats, the EIU-UPI vice president said. Continuing to advocate for the fair treatment of state workers, EIU-UPI members will address issues of reform in Illinois during its fall membership meeting at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the Coleman Auditorium. Developments in pension reform and legislation to move toward a progressive income tax system will be two key topics addressed during the meeting, said Fern Kory, an English professor and the EIU-UPI vice president. Pension reform that calls for diminishing benefits in the hopes to fill a fiscal hole of about $95 billion affects more than professors at the university, Kory said. “Everyone who works at EIU has based financial decisions—how much to spend, how much to save, whether to take a job at EIU versus somewhere else—on their expectation that they would get the
benefits they were promised, benefits that are protected by a constitutional amendment,” she said. “We can’t go back in time.” In early January, when the passing of pension reform was thought to occur during the lame-duck session in the Illinois General Assembly, UPI members gathered in Springfield to inform legislators of the potential negative effects pension reform could have on state workers. “A union is its members, and every action taken by those members has made a difference in our fight against reforms that unfairly punish state workers for a problem created by legislators,” Kory said. She said tax reform, as an alternative to pension reform that diminishes benefits, will help solve t h e Il l i n o i s f u n d i n g d i l e m m a , which could allow the state to focus more on jobs and education priorities. Tax reform would come in the form of House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 33, introduced by State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson who represents the 103rd district encompassing Champaign and Urbana.
ISSUES, page 5
administr ation
Faculty voting fills empty positions Staff Report
Sa jjad Abedian | The Daily Eastern Ne ws
Freshman business major, Eric Benson, prepares to throw during a dodgeball match Wednesday at the Library Quad. Delta Delta Delta sorority organized the event to raise money for St. Jude Hospital.
C ampus
Conference to help educators deal with bullying consequences By Samantha McDaniel Associate News Editor @DEN_News While talking to a student about bullying and family issues he was dealing with, an Eastern faculty member was unsure of what to say because she felt unprepared to handle that emotional situation. Mildred Pearson, a professor in the Department of Early Childhood, Elementary and Middle Level Education,
said she has had students come to talk with her in the past about similar situations, but was not taught in graduate school how to handle some of the personal issues students deal with. “The emphasis for Bridging Voices in OUR Community began when students would be weeping in our class at night and they would share their own personal stories about attempting suicide,” Pearson said. “When I found myself in a very unfamiliar place after almost 30 years of teaching, I was like,
‘How do I deal with these issues?’” It is because of these feeling of uncertainty that Pearson said the third annual Bridging Voices in OUR Community Bullying Conference will focus around the social and emotional learning standards involved with bullying issues. The conference will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. throughout the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.
BULLY, page 5
As the opportunity for special election voting ended early Wednesday night, five Eastern faculty members remained unopposed in their bids for committee spots. The special elections, which were to fill vacancies on eight different university committees, included positions on Faculty Senate, Council on Academic Affairs and University Personnel Committee. Of the eight elections, only one— that for Sanction and Terminations Hearing Committee—had more than one candidate, while two of the eight had no candidates whatsoever. Jon Oliver, a kinesiology and sports studies professor and vice-chair of Eastern’s Faculty Senate, said the low turnout among candidates was a result of having to hold special elections. Oliver said the positions are normally filled during the spring, during which he said there is a much more abundant and diverse field of candidates. However, as of this September,
when Faculty Senate began accepting nominations, there were a number of vacancies. Oliver said the spots were left open for a variety of reasons, including faculty leaving the university and resignation because of time constraints. He noted that, unfortunately, many faculty members already have expectations to serve within their respective departments, leaving them less time to serve on university committees. Regarding the two still-vacant positions on the University Personnel Committee and the Enrollment Management Advisory Committee, Oliver said he had high hopes that voting would result in write-in candidates. He said there has already been one write-in candidate from the College of Business, who will need an additional nine faculty confirmation votes from various faculty to receive the appointment. Ultimately, Oliver said while the turnout for the special elections were comparatively low, he was optimistic the spring elections would bring a larger pool of candidates.