thePROSPECTUS
WEDNESDAY
February 3, 2016 Volume 10, Number 4
News | MAP Grants
Entertainment | Wild nights
Opinions | Politics
Sports | Fitness
Springfield considering alternate options for MAP Grants.
View photos from Keller Williams KWahtro and DJ Carnage at The Canopy Club.
When did America stop being great?
Parkland Fitness Center offers many benefits.
Page 2
Page 8
Page 3
Page 7
Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil ‘predicts’ early spring
Photo by Billi Jo Hart | The Prospectus Parkland College Student Life is hosting a Valentine’s Dinner on Friday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. In anticipation of the event, students were invited to make free stuffed animals like the ones pictured above on Wednesday, Feb. 3.
Black History Month commemorated at Parkland Scott Barnes Staff Writer
Parkland College serves a diverse community and houses a student body made up of people from many different ethnical backgrounds. February is Black History Month and there will be various things taking place on campus to commemorate the event. There is a Black History Month Planning Committee that is responsible for planning the annual celebration and they have many events scheduled throughout the month. A few notable events that are scheduled include “Does Race Matter?” which takes place from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in Room D116 on Thursday, Feb. 4. “Black Male/ Female Relationship Discussion,” which will be held on two separate occasions. Part one of the discussion will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 10 and part two will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 24. Both events will take place in Room U140 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. “Police and the Community” is another discussion that will be taking place in Room D224 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 15. There will be many other events in addition to these discussions, including a free evening of music and dancing featuring DJ Antwon George in the student union from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on
Photo by Zonghui Li | The Prospectus Pictured above is the display in the College Center at Parkland College commemorating Black History Month. Thursday, Feb. 11. There will also be a Soul Food Luncheon in the cafeteria from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 17. Christopher Wilson is the administrative assistant to the dean of students and dean of enrollment management as well as the co-chair for the Black History Month planning committee. He explained that the committee wanted to take the advantage of the opportunity of honoring black history to address some of the more weighty topics associated with race relations in an open and direct way. He also explained why he thinks an open discussion about these issues is important. “I think you can just tell by the current climate that we’re in socially and politically that there’s a lot of tension in the community and not a lot of effort going into understanding different points
Sponsored by
of view,” Wilson said. “I think that dialog, communication and learning about history is extremely important for people to understand where other people come from. If there were more empathy and sympathy toward what other people go through, I think there would be a lot less hostility.” Donna Tanner-Harold is a counselor as well as the director of the Black Student Success Project at Parkland. Tanner-Harold also serves as the Co-Chair of the Black History Month Planning Committee. She agrees that there should be more open discussions about race at the college. “It’s an event for people to get together and talk about things that are a little bit uncomfortable,” TannerHarold said. “Talking about race is uncomfortable. Race
Fact or Fiction There were once Olympic Tug of War athletes.
westgateapts.com
and police and the community, as we’ve seen in the news and all the events that have happened, it’s hard and it’s tragic and lives are being lost. People are hurt and they need to talk about it.” In addition to in depth discussions, a dance and a day of authentic African American cuisine, there will also be various displays being showcased throughout campus. One such display will be located in room D179. The display is put together by the Museum and Education Department Director at the Museum of the Grand Prairie in Mahomet, Ill., Barbara Oehlschlaeger-Garvey. “I enjoy it,” OehlschlaegerGarvey said. “I enjoy telling the story of anybody’s history. It’s particularly nice to delve into the history that Doris Hoskins put together because I knew Doris quite well and she was just so dedicated to the task of collecting everyone’s history.” The display always pertains to a certain topic and this year’s theme is “Hallowed Grounds: Sites of African American Memories.” Students interested in learning more about the events planned throughout the month can find more information by visiting the student portal at My.Parkland. There will also be signage displayed around campus promoting the events.
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — The handlers of Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, said the furry rodent failed to see his shadow at dawn Tuesday, meaning he “predicted” an early spring. “Is this current warm weather more than a trend? Per chance this winter has come to an end? There is no shadow to be cast, an early Spring is my forecast!,” read Jeff Lundy, vice president of the Inner Circle of The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. Lundy is one of the top hat-wearing group that announces the forecast every year. A German legend has it that if a furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last another six weeks. If not, spring comes early. The forecast was delivered with temperatures in the low 20s, on a clear day when the high temperature was expected to reach the unseasonably mild mid-40s. The Inner Circle congratulated the mid-week crowd of about 10,000 revelers, which the group said was one of the largest for a weekday celebration. Many of those in attendance had stayed overnight and partied into the wee hours waiting for the groundhog’s forecast. Truth be told, Phil’s handlers don’t wait to see if he sees his shadow — which he almost certainly would have Tuesday. Instead, the Inner Circle decide on the forecast ahead of time and announce it on Gobbler’s Knob, a tiny hill near the town for which the groundhog is named, about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Records going back to 1887 show Phil has now predicted more winter 102 times while forecasting an early spring just 18 times. There are no records for the remaining years. Tuesday’s celebration was billed as the 130th forecast by Phil. A number of other prognosticating groundhogs sided with Phil on the extended forecast.
Show current ID and receive $10 off application fee at Westgate Apartments 1600 W. Bradley Ave. Champaign, IL Open M-F 9am - 5:30pm, Sat. 10am - 4pm
Answer on page 5
Newsroom | (217) 351-2216 | prospectus@parkland.edu • Publications Manager | Kelly Youngblood | (217) 351-2216 | prospectus@parkland.edu • Advisor | Chaya Sandler | (217) 353-2627 | csandler@parkland.edu • Production Supervisor | Billi Jo Hart | (217) 351-2216 | prospectus.jojo@gmail.com • Advertising | Linda Ticehnor | (217) 351-2200 | prospectusads@parkland.edu