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Guests celebrate Student Center rededication ASHLEIGH BROWN Daily Egyptian Nearly 200 guests attended the ceremony Friday afternoon to celebrate the anniversary of a building where students, faculty and community members have come together for half a century. The Student Center has been the center of SIUC’s campus since June 10, 1961, when its first director, Doc Dougherty, dedicated
the building. Friday's presentation included a ribbon-cutting by Dougherty and speeches by Student Center Director Lori Stettler, Vice Chancellor Kevin Bame and assistant supervisor of the Information Center Phillip Booker. Featured speakers discussed the history of the Student Center and plans for the future still in the development stage. “I do know there are talks of bringing different restaurants to the Student Center with a more diverse menu for students,� Booker said.
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Darrian Washington, a senior from Chicago studying business marketing, attended the ceremony because she frequents the Student Center between classes to hang out with friends and eat. While she enjoys the comfort and peaceful atmosphere the Student Center can provide, she said she would like to see more space for students to congregate and more food choices. Please see STUDENT CENTER | 3
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Retired by fire
STEVE METZKER | DAILY EGYPTIAN
A member of American Legion 178 burns a flag Saturday outside headquarters in Villa Ridge. The Retirement Ceremony was held in honor of today’s Flag Day. Members of Post 178 collected used flags from around the area, mostly from the National Cemetery in Mounds City. Flag desecration is protected under the First Amendment, and many attempts to prohibit the act have failed. As recently as 2006, Congress tried to pass a
Flag Desecration Amendment, which would ban the desecration of the American flag for political expression. Though it passed in the House, the amendment lost by a vote in the Senate. “That don’t keep us veterans from bringing it up again in protest,� said James Richard, a member of Post 178. Flag etiquette requires unfit flags to be burned with honor. “We try to do it with dignity and arms,� Richard said. “We go a long ways to achieving that.�
Summer camp provides opportunities for individuals with disabilities LAUREN LEONE Daily Egyptian Although this is Cindy Jacobson’s fourth year at Camp Little Giant at Touch of Nature Environmental Center in Carbondale, she said she still keeps everything she makes, from the mosaic she created Monday to the old and new friends she meets each year. Because of programs such as Camp Little Giant, Jacobson, of St. Louis, who has cerebral palsy, is able to participate in activities she wouldn’t normally be able to do back home. Jacobson said she went fishing, attended a dance and went on a hayride. Jacobson’s mother Leslee Jacobson said when her daughter came to Camp Little Giant four years ago, she didn't know anyone. “Cindy’s normally afraid to do things, but I admire her for going to camp where she didn’t know a soul,� Leslee Jacobson said.
Since then, Cindy Jacobson has made lifelong friends. Camp Little Giant is the place where people with disabilities can go every year to have fun and adventure, said Vicki LangMendenhall, the camp’s director and certified therapeutic recreation specialist for Touch of Nature. The camp, which has been around for 58 years, serves individuals from different abilities, disabilities and age groups ranging from eight years old to 88 years old, she said. Camp Little Giant is designed for individuals with disabilities who can’t attend other summer camps, she said. Most of the time, an individual with a disability wants to participate in summer camps, fills out an application to attend, but is told no, Lang-Mendenhall said. “They’re told they can’t ride a horse, they can’t swim, they can’t ride in a boat,� she said. “But in our means, it’s a ‘we can’ attitude,� she said. “As long as we have the doctor’s OK and guardian’s approval, then
we make it happen.� The campers’ safety and health are the staff ’s utmost concern, she said. Nursing staff is on duty 24/7. “It is challenging for a lot of reasons. Campers have a lot of medical and health needs that we have to assist them with,� she said. “Obviously, we are limited with our resources, but we do the best we can. There are ways to make things accessible. Sometimes it’s mind over matter.� Cabin grouping ranges in size from 4 to 8 campers with 2 to 3 staff members per cabin, she said. Lang-Mendenhall said when she recruits staff members, she reaches out to those majoring in therapeutic recreation, special education and nursing but doesn’t limit who can join the staff. One staff member is majoring in fashion design, she said, but is one of the most energetic and creative people to work alongside. Please see SUMMER CAMP | 3
LAUREN LEONE | DAILY EGYPTIAN
Cindy Jacobson, right, of St. Louis, and camp counselor Kaylin Flamm, of Cobden, work on an arts and crafts project Monday at Camp Little Giant, a summer camp program offered through Touch of Nature’s Therapeutic Recreation. Jacobson, who has
cerebral palsy, has returned to Camp Little Giant every year for the past four years to participate in activities such as pontoon boat rides, fishing, swimming, weekly talent shows and haunted hay rides. The campers will go horseback riding today.