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University Housing to get new look TARA KULASH Daily Egyptian The university’s housing plan will include new residence halls on the east side of campus within the next 10 years. Chancellor Rita Cheng proposed the updated plan at the SIU Board of Trustees meeting Dec. 8, which includes demolition of the Brush Towers after construction of dormitories nearby, renovation of Thompson Point, and rebuilding Greek Row and graduate housing. “I think it is widely recognized that our housing is aging, and we will need to address it with new housing as well as fixing up what we have,� Cheng said. She said the university brought in an outside
firm to evaluate both the condition and market for student housing. “We knew that we had deferred maintenance, and we wanted to make sure that we had an expert eye on all the various dimensions of student housing,� Cheng said. Cheng said at the Faculty Senate meeting Tuesday two of the fourstory dorms will be built on the east side of campus before the demolition of one tower, then the dining hall will be renovated. Afterward, the two other four-story dorms will be built before the university tears down the other tower. SIU President Glenn Poshard said he thinks the plan looks feasible and could help enrollment. Please see TOWERS | 3
ISAAC SMITH | DAILY EGYPTIAN
Two-year-old Allison Dyer, of Murphysboro, visits with Santa Claus Tuesday at the University Mall. Allison's mother, Denise Dyer, said her daughter handled the visit much better this year. “This is her third time, but last year was all tears,� Dyer said. Max Luttrell, of
Murphysboro, said this is his third year being Santa and it is something he looks forward to each year. The most typical things Luttrell is asked for are dolls and trucks, though he said he also gets a lot of children who ask for laptops and iPods.
State still owes university millions SARAH SCHNEIDER Daily Egyptian The state still owes the university $52 million for the current fiscal year, SIU President Glenn Poshard said Tuesday. Poshard told the SIU Board of Trustees Wednesday the state had paid the final $22 million appropriations for fiscal year 2011, but six months into fiscal year 2012, both the Carbondale and Edwardsville campuses are already owed $67 million of the $219 million in yearly appropriations. He said getting the money for FY11 was a relief. “That was a Christmas present for us,� he said. “It enables us to keep our bills
paid-up. The budget is the budget, so (whether) we get it in July or December, it has already been budgeted.� Until the state pays the university, Poshard said they would have to continue making decisions to pay bills such as budget cuts and not filling the 280 positions that were eliminated this year. “The longer those stay open, the revenue we get from those help us to continue to pay our bills,� he said. “All the steps we have taken to manage the budget in the way of cuts and of programming efforts and efficiencies, all of those things are the way we survive when we are not getting payments on time from the state. That means more
revenue from the cuts that we have made are held in central administration to pay the bills.� He said the university had to make the cuts they did, such as a 4 percent cut to all colleges and departments last year and a 2.2 percent cut to all colleges and departments this year, to plan for the state not making payments. “If we didn’t change anything, and we continued to fill positions, and we didn’t have any money accruing to us from that, then this would be devastating to be paid six months late,� he said. “But because we are six months late, we had to take the position of not filling positions ... to get caught up as much as we can until we do get state payments.�
Gossip website targets SIU students SARAH MITCHELL Daily Egyptian
JESSICA TEZAK | DAILY EGYPTIAN
Mae Smith Hall is among the two towers of Brush Towers scheduled to be torn down during the next 10 years and replaced with new low-rise residence halls. The cost will be around $171.5 million. Chancellor Rita Cheng said the towers are aging structures, a problem that needs to be addressed.
Maggie Weinstein had never heard of a website called The Dirty until her friends said her photo and negative personal information about her had been posted on the site. The website, TheDirty.com, asks viewers to anonymously submit gossip about people of the community. According to the website’s mission statement, “The content that is published contains rumors, speculation, assumptions, opinions, and factual information.� Weinstein said the description of her contained offensive language and false information. “It is embarrassing that my school and other important people in my life can come across this,� said Weinstein, a sophomore from Chicago studying social work. “I want people to know me for the successful, positive and happy person that I am instead of the horrible, false
things posted.� The Dirty separates its posts by cities and colleges. Southern Illinois University is among the site’s hundred top colleges. According to Compete.com, a web traffic analysis service, The Dirty attracts over 200,000 visitors per month. The website gained popularity in 2009 after posting topless photos of Miss California pageant winner Carrie Prejean, whose crown was later stripped as a result. Jon Poynter, a sophomore from Frankfort studying graphic design, found information about him on the website last summer. He said it angered him and he does not know who submitted his picture to the website. “I think the website should be shut down," he said. "The stuff that was said is not true and people should not say stuff like this because it could lead to further consequences." Nik Richie, The Dirty’s owner, has received public scrutiny from Dr.
Phil McGraw, who accused Richie of perpetuating cyber bullying. In response, Richie said the purpose of the website is not to hurt people. "It's to get a rise out of people," he said. Jean Cunningham, chief psychologist at the Wellness Center, said she thinks the purpose of gossip websites is to be hurtful. “Almost every human being cares about how others feel about them, so to be publicly depicted in a negative manner is going to be hurtful to anybody,� she said. Weinstein said she thinks The Dirty's participants have low self-esteem. She said she thinks people who post anonymously on gossip websites have nothing better do with their time. “A person who has to anonymously put other people down to make themselves feel better just shows the type of person they really are,� she said. Please see GOSSIP | 3