Daily Egyptian

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Daily Egyptian WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2014 VOLUME 98 ISSUE 117

Alliance aims to end LGBTQ discrimination

USG introduces proposal for student trustee vote Marissa Novel Daily Egyptian

Students from SIU and SIU-Edwardsville each have one student trustee to represent them, they are elected by the students on the two campuses. Under current law, the governor chooses one of the trustees to have a vote on the SIU Board of Trustees, but this would change if a proposal put forward by USG Tuesday evening moves forward. The Undergraduate Student Government passed a resolution urging legislation resulting

in the Student Trustee’s vote on the Board of Trustees alternating between Edwardsville and Carbondale campuses yearly. President Cameron Shulak said after consulting with Southern Illinois UniversityEdwardsville’s student trustee, Mitch Morecraft, the proposal is in response to inappropriate political pressure on student trustees. “We want to call on the university’s and the state’s legislatures to figure something out and make this so it’s not a political game as to how this gets decided,” he said.

Shulak said two student trustees are present at the SIU Board of Trustee meetings but one, whom is chosen by the governor, is allowed a vote. He said the governor has not chosen either trustee for the student vote yet this year. “The governor should appoint the more worthy … or the more qualified, better representative of the student body,” he said. “Now, that’s not what happens. The governor picks who he likes more and who is going to vote more his way on things.” Please see USG · 2

SIU professor works to save Everglades

Gabriella Scibetta Daily Egyptian

Twenty to 40 percent of homeless youth are a part of the lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and queer community, according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute. This is one of the many statistics addressed Tuesday at a seminar held by the Illinois Safe School Alliance in the Student Center. The alliance is taking a stand in Carbondale to end housing discrimination for LGBTQ members, and is working with school districts to create safe spaces. Marcus Fogliano, regional education and youth outreach coordinator for the alliance, spoke at the meeting to educate housing authorities and organizations about youth homelessness in the LGBTQ community. “A study found in LA that 20 percent of foster care youth were LGBT, and bringing that information forward to people to realize that is a problem and that is out there,” Fogliano said. Fogliano said it is very encouraging to see such a small southern town addressing the needs of the LGBTQ community. The stop in Carbondale is a part of a statewide series educating people about the problem. “The main goal is awareness to let people know that there are community resources available to address youth homelessness and create safe spaces for youth in our community and our schools,” he said. Maya Rupert, a policy director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a San Francisco legal organization, said there are federal efforts underway to help protect LGBT people from housing discrimination. She said housing organizations partner with nonprofits such as the center to do outreach on specific constituency issues in the LGBTQ community. Rupert said in 2012, the LGBTQ Equal Access Rule was passed and has been increasingly gaining attention throughout the country. Please see SAFE · 2

Alcohol-related weekend hospitalizations

Friday 11 Saturday 13 b rAndA M itchell

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A idAn O sbOrne d Aily e gyptiAn Loretta Battaglia, associate professor of wetland ecology, talks with a student Tuesday in her office. Battaglia was appointed by the National Research Council to evaluate the progress of the Everglades Restoration Plan. She is one of fourteen members on the committee. “I believe I was appointed because of my work in the region,” Battaglia said.

Austin Miller Daily Egyptian

Everglades National Park is one of the largest habitats of biodiversity in the U.S., home to species like the American alligator, Florida panther and manatee. But the region has been greatly affected by the pollution and farming of humans. In 2000, Congress passed the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, a 30-year, $7.8 billion effort to restore the Everglades. This plan requires a panel of experts to review the restoration work every two years, and an SIU professor was selected to be a member of what was the fifth committee. Loretta Battaglia, an associate professor of wetland ecology, was selected by the National Research Council to be part of the 14-person council, which began in 2012. One of the fields the team researched was the effect of invasive species. These non-native plants and animals create many problems for the natives. Burmese pythons are one of the more publicized invasive species. Battaglia said many Floridians acquired

the big snakes to be pets, but later released them either because the snakes grew too big, or because the owners could no longer afford the animal. The pythons create issues with the native food chain. The snakes have decreased the population of the top native predator, the American alligator, Battaglia said. Committee member Daniel Simberloff, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, said pythons have caused a 90 percent loss of medium-sized native mammals in the region. Battaglia said it is hard to estimate the population of the snakes because the animals are always moving, but attempts have been made to track the snakes. “One of the treatments that’s available is licensed hunting, but it’s had extremely limited success,” she said. Simberloff said wild boars and feral cats are two other major invasive species in the Everglades. While Battaglia worked with the animals, her main focus was invasive plant species. Battaglia said the Japanese climbing fern,

Brazilian pepper and melaleuca plant are three of the largest culprits, all of which increase the chances of fires. “When this particular fern gets established, it climbs up and down the trees and tree islands and just carpets it—blankets it,” she said. “It is very susceptible to fire. Once it catches on fire, it makes these big flame ladders that extend all the way up through these tree island canopies.” The embers can be blown away by the wind and catch other areas on fire, Battaglia said. Simberloff said these plants require more water to survive than natives, reducing the amount of groundwater. Several biological agents have been researched to reduce the populations of these foreign species. The agents are natural predators from the species’ home, but there are concerns those agents will become invasive themselves. Battaglia said Native American tribes in Florida, specifically the Miccosukee, are greatly concerned if the restoration work has any harmful side effects, as a tree significant to the tribe is already suffering from an invasive fungus. Please see EVERGLADES · 2


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