THE DAILY ILLINI
THURSDAY August 30, 2018
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The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Vol. 148 Issue 2
University grants free tuition for low income students BY THERESE POKORNEY AND SAMANTHA BOYLE ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITORS
The Illinois Commitment will offer in-state students free tuition starting Fall 2019, if their family income falls below $61,000. The program will be effective starting Fall 2019. It will cover tuition and fees for all qualified freshmen for four years and all qualified transfer students for three years, according to the Office of Student Financial Aid website. Content Strategy Director Allison Vance said the University will allocate $4 million each year from institutional support and private donations for the tuition assistance program. However, there is no limit on the number of students accepted into the program, she said. “We are committed to making sure each student receives free tuition if their family income is less than $61,000,”
ADAM ZHANG THE DAILY ILLINI
Professor Murugesu Sivapalan gives a lecture to students in the Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory on Wednesday. Sivapalan was awarded the Creativity Prize by the eighth Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water for his work in flood prediction.
Professor advances flood prediction research BY ZIHAN WANG STAFF WRITER
Murugesu Sivapalan, University professor in Engineering, has been awarded the Creativity Prize by the eighth Prince Sultan Bin
Abdulaziz International Prize for Water. The prize rewards scientists, inventors and research organizations around the world for their contributions in the fight against global
water problems, according to the PSIPW website. Sivapalan and his colleague Günter Blöschl were recognized for their work in socio-hydrology. “Socio-hydrology is a new
science that studies the twoway feedbacks between water systems and people; i.e., the effects of societal actions on hydrology and the effects of hydrological phenomena on societal
development,” Sivapalan said in an email. Socio-hydrology views water problems as an economic issue and a cultural SEE AWARD | 3A
SEE COMMITMENT | 3A
Workplace wellness study makes strides Wellness programs prove less beneficial BY THERESE POKORNEY ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITOR
To increase gym use and decrease health care spending , employers often implement workplace wellness programs to promote healthier lifestyles. However, a large, randomized control trial conducted by two professors in finance found these programs might not work as advertised. Dav id Molitor and Julian Reif, co-authors
of the Illinois Workplace Wellness Program study, researched the effects these programs had on University employees for over a year. Almost 5,000 employees volunteered to participate in the process. "Workplace wellness programs are increasing in popularity and cover over 50 million people,” Molitor said. “There are a lot of existing studies that look at companies where participation in these programs is voluntary. Our study differs fundamentally, since employees were randomly assigned to two groups so we could see any health changes.” For the study, more SEE WELLNESS | 3A
INSIDE
PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTONIO PEREZ
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed Senate Bill 2354 and House Bill 5020, which will affect the MAP grant system by implementing required adviser meetings, “reverse transfer” and more.
New bill to change MAP grant system BY SAMANTHA BOYLE ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITOR
Chris Tamas makes name over social media
Get to know the Urbana DIY scene
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Gov. Bruce Rauner recently signed two bills regarding transferring credits, academic advising and the certainty of the Monetary Award Program, commonly known as MAP grants, for returning students at the University. MAP grants are awarded to students who are residents of Illinois and have financial need. The recip-
ient does not need to pay back this type of grant according to House Bill 5020, one of the two bills Rauner signed. Senate Bill 2354 states every public institution in Illinois needs to arrange meetings between academic advisers and students to inform them about the steps necessary to complete the students’ degree requirements. These meetings would take place only after stu-
dents have completed 30 hours of academic credits and are interested in pursuing a degree, whether at initial institution or a prospective transfer school, the bill says. This bill also states a student can “reverse transfer” credits to receive an associate degree from the community college they attended. A student can reverse transfer if a student has taken at least 15 credit
GU WPGU
hours at a community college and “a sufficient number of hours of academic credit at a State university in the prescribed courses necessary to meet a community college’s requirements to be awarded an associate degree,” SB2354 states. This requirement will not be enforced until the 2019-20 school year. Bob Steltman, executive SEE BILLS | 3A
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