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Morris Library pulls salaries books off shelves Morris Library pulled the book of Personnel Listings, also known as the Salaries book, from public use Tuesday after SIU Legal Counsel advised it to do so. The book contains salaries of faculty, staff and graduate assistants. According to state law, all salaries should be made public. However, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act states it is illegal to post the salaries
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of graduate assistants, according to federal law. The U.S. Department of Education website states, “The regulations make clear that if an individual is employed at a school as a result of his or her status as a student, those records are education records under FERPA.� The American University website states education records, under FERPA,
may not be released to third parties without students’ written consent. David Carlson, dean of library affairs, said the Legal Counsel and library staff discussed removing the books because the student information was included in them. The Daily Egyptian requested to see the books but was denied. Please see SALARY | 4
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FA gives authorization to set strike date SARAH SCHNEIDER Daily Egyptian Faculty members represented by the Faculty Association — both tenure and tenure track — can now strike at any time. Out of the 88 percent of eligible voters who cast a ballot Wednesday, 92 percent voted yes to give the association’s Departmental Representative Council the authorization to set a strike date. The union was the second of the four
Illinois Education Association unions to authorize their executive council to call a strike. This does not mean there will be a strike, but it is the last legal step under the Illinois public labor relations act toward a strike. Randy Hughes, president of the Faculty Association and a professor in mathematics, said the council will meet Thursday to discuss what will be done next. Chancellor Rita Cheng said she does not think a strike is appropriate because the administration’s
bargaining team and the Faculty Association’s bargaining team are still making progress at the table. “I am disappointed because we have made considerable concessions with all the groups that are represented by the IEA,� she said. Hughes said the approval implies faculty are not satisfied with what they have been offered. “This is a strong message to the board and to the administration that they need to come back with better proposals that will better meet the
needs and interests of faculty, and it is our sincere hope that this will move negotiations forward and will get a mutual settlement,� he said. In accordance with the public relations act, the union may go on strike under certain circumstances such as, if the employees in the union are represented by an exclusive bargaining representative, the collective bargaining agreement has expired, the representative has requested a mediator, and at least five days have passed since an intent to
strike has been given. No union in the university’s history has gone on strike. This is the closest a group has come since 2003 when a contract was signed hours before a strike was set to begin. Jim Clark, IEA representative, said deadlines have a practical affect on bargaining. “A strike puts a deadline out there and says we are not going to continue with an open-ended time period,� he said. Please see UPDATE | 3
Palestine’s statehood bid divisive; community reflects ELI MILEUR Daily Egyptian As locals celebrated Rosh Hashana — the Jewish New Year — Wednesday, the future of Israel and Palestine was again center stage in world politics. “We have to pray they figure out a solution,� said former SIUC Chancellor Sam Goldman, a member of Carbondale’s Jewish community. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas submitted a request to the United Nations Friday for Palestine to be recognized as a sovereign state. The proposal is set to go before the UN’s statehood admissions committee. The U.S. is expected to veto any decision to grant Palestine statehood. “It’s just one more chapter in a long saga,� said David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. He said the conflict has huge implications for the U.S. including the future of its energy security and terrorism. Goldman said the conflict is important to Jews around the world because Israel is the homeland for the faith. “It is the birthplace of the people,� he said. Palestinian lands are currently governed in part by the Palestinian National Authority, which was established after the Oslo Accords in 1993. Goldman said he was present at the White
House for the signing of the accords — the result of the first face-to-face negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. He said the tears in the eyes of many of the people there revealed how important it was. “It was an incredible moment,� he said. “We all left filled with emotion and hope ... then it fell apart.� Conflict has continued since the accords were signed, and the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank still lack statehood status. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are an irritant and perhaps the main flashpoint in the conflict, Yepsen said. Goldman said Palestine has every right to seek statehood, but peace must be reached first. The conflict is a matter of survival for Israel, he said. “If Israel makes one mistake, they’re gone,� he said. It is time for Palestine to have statehood, said M.S., a Palestinian Carbondale man who requested to be identified by his initials. “At least they should have a state of their own,� he said. “The whole of Palestine is occupied for us.� Abbas’ statehood request is a good political move, but he doubts it is successful, M.S. said. It is important for Palestinians to have a homeland, he said, and a right to return to it. M.S. said the failure during the years of any peace negotiations prove Israel isn’t willing to cooperate with Palestine.
ISAAC SMITH | DAILY EGYPTIAN
Hormozd Gahuari, left, of Champaign, pours wine Wednesday for his fiancĂŠ, Ashley Medina, a graduate student in communication disorder science, during the SIU Hillel House celebration of Rosh Hashanan. Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas requested statehood recognition from the United Nations Friday. Moriah Bradley, director of the SIU Hillel House, said they are in support of Israel as well as direct communication between Israeli and Palestinian leadership.
“There are victims on both sides,� he said. “A lot of innocent people are dying and suffering.� Assaf Grumberg, an Israeli emissary to the Jewish Federation of Southern Illinois Southeast Missouri and Western Kentucky, said from
his perspective, most Israelis desire a peaceful solution to the conflict but will not move forward without resolving security issues. Please see STATEHOOD | 3
University dating scene gets technologically savvy Alex Broches, a Northern Illinois University graduate, created a new dating website called collegejunkee.com that differentiates itself from other college dating sites by using a Facebook login. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY STEVE MATZKER DAILY EGYPTIAN
TARA KULASH Daily Egyptian SIU students can now make an intimate connection by simply making an Internet connection. A new dating website specified for Illinois college students gained 89 Saluki users as of Monday. Alex Broches, a Northern Illinois University graduate, created the site, CollegeJunkee.com. The site is connected through Facebook to make it an easy experience for users, and Broches said there are about 125,000 user pages so far. Jack Hoggatt, a junior from Lake in the Hills studying physics, said he has been using the site for
about a month. He said he received a Facebook message from Broches that told him to make a profile on the site, which only took about 10 minutes to set up. He said its basic structure is really easy to understand and navigate. “I’m in a relationship with a girl I met on there, and she goes to SIU,� Hoggatt said. Britney Murbarger, a junior from Fairfield studying journalism, said she doesn’t think she would use the service. “It’s not that I’m against using a dating site, I just feel more natural meeting someone on my own time and directly,� Murbarger said. Please see DATE | 4