THE DAILY ILLINI
THURSDAY October 3, 2019
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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the state of Illinois should have access to an affordable option.” Ten community colleges offer the Engineering Pathways transfer program, including recently added Elgin Community College and Lewis and Clark Community College. Niehans said these new partnerships help expand student access. Elgin Community College serves a large Hispanic community while the Lewis and Clark C om mu n it y C ol lege partnership expands access to students in southwest Illinois. A majority of the colleges offering the program are clustered around the Chicagoland area. About 150 - 200 students apply for the program each year. This school year, about 150 students were offered admission to the program, according to Niehans. The Grainger College of Engineering is able to admit an uncapped number of qualified students. The design of the program allows students to explore a variety of engineering courses that increase in rigor, so they can declare any major by the time they
BY CLARE BUDIN ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITOR
As students walk through the Main Quad every day, it is not uncommon to see preachers who often speak to nothingness, but also commonly attract crowds that form around them to listen as well. These campus preachers aren’t unique to the University, however. At Indiana University, a confrontation between a campus preacher, students and police led to a temporary ban of the preacher and his ministry. Campus preacher Brother Jed, whose real name is George Smock, and his wife Cindy Smock, better known as Sister Cindy, have been preaching on campuses for decades. Just recently, they were issued a warning after Sister Cindy was said to have allegedly pushed a man during a demonstration against college students’ promiscuous behavior and liberal beliefs at IU. Smock said neither he nor his wife ever touched anyone, and it was the student who was threatening the couple. “There was a student going around, shouting, ‘Hail Satan!’ and he got up in my wife’s face in a threatening way,” Smock said. In a statement to the IndiSEE PATHWAYS | 3A ana Daily Student, IU Police Department Captain Craig Munroe said after police arrived and began monitoring the scene, two men began kissing in the inner circle of the crowd and Smock gently pushed one of the men in response. “I see homosexuals and lesbians kissing in front of me every day to try to offend or shock me, but after decades of doing this, nothing really shocks me anymore,” Smock said. The incident caused the ministry a one-year ban on the IU campus; however, the ban has since been lifted and PHOTO COURTESY OF KERI NIEHANS Smock has been back on the Students involved in the Engineering Pathways Program gather IU campus to preach twice. on the patio of Engineering Hall on Aug. 10, 2018. This year 150 Robin Kar, professor in students were offered admission to the program. Law at the University, said college campuses have a long STAFF WRITER
As college decision day approached for Kimberly Bolaños, it grew clearer to her that community college was her most viable option. Her decision to attend Wilbur Wright College in Chicago coincided with her plan to apply for the Engineering Pathways program. “The moment I found out about the Engineering Pathways, I just thought that was the most perfect option that could possibly be ever,” Bolaños said. The Eng ineer ing Pathways is a two-year transfer program that, upon completion, guarantees admission to the Grainger College of Engineering for qualifying students from partnering community colleges. Keri Niehans, coordinator for the Engineering Pathways Program at the Grainger College of Engineering, said the purpose of the program is to provide access for students who choose to take a nontraditional college path. “People choose to start their route not through (the University) for a variety of reasons, often it’s financial,” Niehans said. “Students in
Vol. 149 Issue 12
Brother Jed sparks controversy
Engineering Pathways paves way for in-staters BY EUNICE ALPASAN
BRIAN BAUER THE DAILY ILLINI
Brother Jed preaches on the Main Quad of the University of Illinois campus. Brother Jed and his wife, who goes by the name Sister Cindy, have been preaching on college campuses for years.
1972 and God sent me back to the community I knew on campuses,” Smock said. Katya Hoffmann, sophomore in LAS, said preachers target college students because of their importance to the world’s future as well as their seeming malleability. “Right now, we’re going to college to become the new generation of leaders, so I think they’re trying to get us to abandon our ‘sinful ideals,’” Hoffmann said. “They may also want to take advantage of the fact that a lot of us are still basically kids and can be easily influenced.” Kar said as unpleasant and offensive Brother Jed and other speakers can be, it’s important for all free
“Right now, we’re going to college to become the new generation of leaders, so I think they’re trying to get us to abandon our ‘sinful ideals.’” KATYA HOFFMANN SOPHOMORE IN LAS
history of seeing controversial speech thrive. “Each generation may feel like it’s new in a sense, but there’s a long history of speakers coming to campuses and raising views that may be controversial or divisive in various ways,” Kar said. “It could be communism in the ‘50s and ‘60s, the Black Panthers later in the ‘60s, so it’s always been present in public forums like a univer-
sity campus since there are very wide free speech rights there.” Although Smock and The Campus Ministry’s website describes preaching the simple gospel of Jesus Christ, it is the members’ rhetoric that has made them so infamous on college campuses since Smock began preaching in 1974. “I was agnostic and socialist, but I got converted in
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Shoe Refresh opens doors in Champaign BY SALEM ISAF
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Shoe Refresh recently opened its first actual storefront in Champaign, welcoming changes to the local business. For the past two and a half years, students have turned to Shoe Refresh to fix up and polish off their dirtied shoes, and the use of this service has become a commonplace on campus. Before this change, Shoe Refresh founders Brandon Lehman and Julian Carter were operating out of their house in the same kitchen they started the business in. “A physical face, a storefront, was necessary in order to take that next step,” Lehman said. The duo said having this store helps make their brand more recognizable
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and helps put an image to the name Shoe Refresh. A l on g w ith the s t or ef r ont , L eh m a n and Carter acquired a warehouse just down the road, which is now used for the actual shoe cleaning. “It’s perfect for what we want to do,” Carter said. The warehouse has helped to streamline the cleaning process, and it is much closer to campus tha n their prev ious cleaning station, making pickups and drop-offs of shoes quicker and cheaper. Because they do the c le a n i n g el s e w her e , Lehma n a nd Ca r ter reserve the shop for the new side of their business: selling shoes and clothes. However, this shop doesn’t sell just any shoe. They are sticking to a small selection
RYAN ASH THE DAILY ILLINI
Shoe Refresh owner stands outside the new location. The shoe store hopes their business appeals to a student demographic.
of hype shoes and clothes. “We’re gonna have all this extra space, we should do something with it,” Lehman said. “We’re not trying to be Footlocker. We want this small, selective, exclusive, boutique high-
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end feel.” Lehman and Carter said They hope to differentiate themselves from online shoe stores and retailers in Chicago by offering free cleanings for in-store purchases.
The founders said hype stores are something a student from the suburbs of Chicago or an international student would be used to seeing at home, but there hasn’t been anything like that for them on campus before now. Marketing to international students is a specific point of interest for Lehman. One way he has approached this is through a partnership with TeaMoji, a bubble tea cafe on Green Street. “International students tend to be comfortable spending more money on shoe cleaning and do so more regularly,” said Jeffrey Cheng, TeaMoji’s marketing and branding intern.
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