The cause of death of an SIU student has yet to be determined. Rev. Bob Gray, SIUC’s police chaplain, confirmed Nathan Morrow, a student and member of the congregation at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Carbondale where Gray is a pastor, died Thursday. Although the cause of death is undetermined, Morrow had been at St. Louis University Hospital after being involved in an assault incident on Oct. 23, sources have told the Daily Egyptian.
University information states the 31-year-old was a senior studying art. Shawn Spooner, one of Morrow’s coworkers at the Student Center’s Craft Shop, said he will be greatly missed. Spooner said she has attended the university with Morrow for five years, and he was a very passionate person with a big heart and loved what he did. Spooner said she wants the campus community to know Morrow was a genuine, one-of-a-kind person. Gray said visitation and funeral services will
be held in his hometown of Mount Pulaski on Tuesday. He said a memorial service will also be held at 3 p.m. Nov. 25 at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Carbondale. A benefit will be held to raise funds for the Morrow family. Two bands, I Am Ruin and In The Wake of Fiction, will play at 10 p.m. Nov. 28 at Tres Hombres, where a silent auction and raffle will be held as well. Calls made to the Carbondale Police Department concerning the assault incident have not been returned, and Gray said an autopsy will be performed.
SIU has been recognized for its efforts to develop a diverse campus community. The university has been named one of 48 schools in the nation to receive the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity award from INSIGHT into Diversity magazine. The December 2012 issue will feature the list of institutions awarded. The award honors U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion. “It is always wonderful to get national recognition about SIU’s celebration of diversity and our commitment to inclusion,” Chancellor Rita Cheng said. “The rich diversity of our campus contributes in a significant manner to the education of our students and adds to student learning and success.”
According to the group’s website, INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine has been in circulation for 40 years and is the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. The HEED award recipients were selected based on the institutions’ diversity and inclusion initiatives. The universities are expected to include all aspects of diversity including gender, race, ethnicity, veterans, people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ community. “I think SIU does a good job with the resources it has to incorporate diversity, but we can always do better,” said Wendy Weinhold, Coordinator of LGBT*Q Resource Center. “With the LGBT*Q community that I work with often being marginalized, the university does a good job offering outreach and events that recognize and provide educational outreach for LGBT*Q folks.”
Weinhold said she thinks diversity is a necessary part of the higher education mission and an important tool for learning. A call for HEED award applications was announced in March, according to the website. Recipients of the award range from large to small, including public and private schools, community colleges and graduate schools. Institutions were assessed based on the school’s success in catering to diversity and inclusion of students, faculty and staff. “Recently, SIU added several new programs to further enhance our student experience, including creation of the Center for Inclusive Excellence and the launch of the Black Male Initiative,” said Cheng. “It is nice that the tremendous commitment of our faculty, staff and students to diversity is getting noticed.”
The legalization of gay marriage in three states this election may lead other states to consider it, too. Four states had amendments on the ballot related to gay marriage. In three states — Maine, Maryland and Washington — voters approved the legalization of gay marriage. In Minnesota, an amendment passed that makes it illegal to ban gay marriage. Nine states — Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Washington — have now legalized gay marriage, according to the National Conference of State Legislature website. The data also shows five states allow civil unions, which are different from gay marriages in that they are only recognized in some states, and couples do not receive a number of protections and rights that civil marriages receive such as tax relief and emergency medical decision-making power. Illinois allowed civil unions after the General Assembly passed the Civil Union Act in December 2010, which established legal protections for samesex couples across the state. Gov. Pat Quinn signed the legislation into law in January 2011. Wendy Weinhold, coordinator of LGBT*Q Resource Center, said every election is important for the LGBT community. She said Illinois allows civil unions so that same-sex couples can be recognized. “Civil unions are important because LGBT people can be recognized as people who can love,” Weinhold said. She said gay marriage is not just about the institution of marriage but also to have the same taxation rights as any other heterosexual couple. “Marriage is a privilege that favors heterosexuals,” Weinhold said. She said she is hopeful that the LGBT community will be more accepted in the future. “I am positive that in the next 25 or so years, it will be a much better environment,” Weinhold said. She said a large amount of attention and money goes toward LGBT equality, and the sooner it is legalized, the sooner attention can be focused on issues that have been overlooked such as equality between those of different class, ability and gender. David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, said the election was a definite success for the younger generation and Democrats. “I think the gay community has a lot to celebrate, not only with the electoral votes but with the change of public attitude,” he said. A poll conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute that was published in September asked Illinoisans to take a position on the legal rights of gay and lesbian couples. The results state 43.6 percent said they think gay or lesbian couples should be allowed to marry; 31.8 percent think couples should be allowed to form civil unions; and 20.2 percent think there should be no legal recognition of relationships between gay or lesbian couples. The remaining 4.4 percent said they do not know where they stand. Yepsen said the success of gay marriage in the election was largely caused by a new attitude that younger Americans have. He said younger Americans are more comfortable with previously controversial social issues.
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LAURA ROBERTS | DAILY EGYPTIAN
Carlos Smith, a senior from Chicago studying history, dances Friday at the Student Center as a part of SIU Idol: Broadway at Southern. Smith jumped on stage while music played between acts and many members of the audience joined in from the aisles. The event was sponsored by the Blacks Interested in Business Registered Student Organization and was held to showcase local talent.