The Daily Illini: Weekly Edition 2022

C-U holds sixth annual Women’s March

By Lisa Chasanov Contributing Writer

University students, staff and com munity members gathered Sunday morning in front of Alma Mater in observance of Champaign-Urbana’s sixth annual Women’s March.

This year’s march was co-sponsored by the Myra Bradwell Association for Women Law Students and the Univer sity’s chapter of If/When/How and was organized in solidarity with the National Women’s March, which will take place on Saturday in Washington D.C.

Participants marched from Alma Mater to the Champaign County Court house and chanted, “My vote, my voice! My body, my choice!” while holding handmade signs inscribed with slo gans including “Bans off our bodies” and “Respect our existence or expect resistance.”

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JAMES HOECK THE DAILY ILLINI

Protestors assemble at the front of the Champaign County Courthouse a er a march for women’s rights on Sunday.

In a speech addressing the crowd at Alma Mater, Illinois State Representa tive Carol Ammons, who represents the C-U area, said the impact of participa

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tion in events such as this one is not lim ited to reproductive health care.

“Let’s pour our hearts out on any issue that we care about, whether it’s end ing gender-based violence, protecting reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, workers’ rights, immigrant rights, envi ronmental justice or voting rights,” Ammons said. “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

Organizers of the event echoed this sentiment. Chloe Carpentier, president of the University’s chapter of If/When/ How, said the debate surrounding Roe v. Wade does not stop at one issue.

“It’s about all reproductive rights for people who have uteruses, not just abortion,” Carpentier said. “What comes with (the Dobbs decision) is the fear that they are going to step toward contraception.”

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UI startup prepares to launch dating app

Founders seek to create authentic interactions for users

By Jessie Wang Staff Writer

Cryptic flyers can be spotted on bul letin boards all over campus that are “seeking UIUC’s finest” for a variety of different positions. Sathwik Reddy and Josh Jay James, the app’s found ers, are behind these flyers.

“We are a dating app that will give users a time, place and person to go on a date with,” said Reddy, a recent com puter science and economic graduate.

Reddy met James, senior in Gies, through the iVenture Accelerator while working there as a program coordinator. The iVenture Accelera tor is funded by the Gies College of Business to support student start ups. Together, Reddy and James decid ed to start their own venture.

“I would consider myself a serial social entrepreneur,” James said. “I love to work on startups, and I’ve been working on them since high school.”

Reddy said the iVenture Accelera tor and the University’s student cul ture in general encourages innovation.

According to the iVenture website, the program is home to more than 50 start ups and has worked with over 300 stu dent entrepreneurs.

Now in their eighth cohort, iVenture is helping entrepreneurs on a variety of different projects. iVenture’s current portfolio includes ASL Aspire, which aims to improve STEM education for students in the deaf community, and Digiphy, a startup that allows users to buy NFTs without a crypto wallet.

“(The iVenture Accelerator) creates an ecosystem for people to build and create an inclusive culture of change makers,” Reddy said.

The app—the name of which the developers would like to keep secret until release—is set to soft launch around Thanksgiving and officially debut next semester.

For now, James said they are keep ing details under wraps until they are ready to give “a fully fledged campaign.”

Although the dating app market is saturated with apps that serve dif ferent niches — from Tinder, Hinge, Bumble and beyond, Reddy and James said that there exists a clear problem

that they aim to solve.

“Right now, just about any dating app is more of a matching app,” Red dy said.

In a 2019 study conducted by researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technolo gy using self reported data from over 250 college students, they found that a larger amount of matches are made than the actual amount of meetups that happen.

The poor conversion rate can be attributed to a few different factors,

Reddy said, including misaligned motivations for using the app, poor profile engagement and lack of user experience.

Reddy added that because these matches don’t convert to dates, the app is looking to implement an approach completely different from what any body’s experienced on dating apps so far.

“It’s not just dating apps — all kinds of apps are actually designed and developed quite unethically … they’re engineered to keep you hooked, ” Reddy said. “We want to see if we can develop a user interface and user experience to get people to go outside (and) do the exact opposite.”

James said the primary goal of dating apps is to keep users online because dating app companies lose money every time someone gets into a relationship.

The majority of all dating apps are owned by the same company — Match Group. Their portfolio includes

Match.com, Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid and others.

“They all have the same DNA … so the state of the market (is) ripe for dis ruption,” James said.

Looking at the bigger picture, James said dating apps hold a lot of influ ence on society and have negative consequences.

“The paradigm of apps has created (an) addictive business model that has led to the loneliness epidemic,” James said. “This has become a gargantuan issue for our generation.”

He believes the app’s user expe rience is part of a larger industrywide trend that prioritizes new val ues, including a shift toward authentic interaction.

“We believe that we’re heading into this roaring 2020s … of unprecedent ed growth spurred by these next-gen technologies designed to enhance your real-world experience,” James said.

JESSIE WANG THE DAILY ILLINI

A flyer “seeking UIUC’s finest” designers and developers for a dating app that is set to launch next semester.

“(Dating apps) all have the same DNA ... so the state of the market (is) ripe for disruption.”

Josh Jay James, co-founder of dating app startup

Nine students remembered at UI memorial

Tradition started in 2019 to remember deaths during last school year

By Srikamal Munukutla Contributing Writer

The University held a campus memorial service Thursday to com memorate the nine students who passed away in the last year, host ing a banquet for the friends and family of the students in the Illini Union, as well as a public campus memorial at the Anniversary Plaza outside the building.

“(The memorial is) a really good celebration of life,” said Vindhya Kalipi, vice president of the Illinois Student Government and junior in LAS. “It’s a really nice way for the community to come together and remember those we have lost.”

The University started hold ing campus memorials in 2019 as a result of discussions with other schools.

“As we engaged in other Big Ten

offices like ours, and we were hear ing about the events they had, we decided that it was time for us to join in and do something similar,” said Ann Marie Morgan, assistant dean of students.

An hour-long private banquet event was held only for the fami lies of the students who passed away.

“It’s a way for the families to arrive on campus, to take a deep breath and to relax, as well as an opportunity for them to engage with some folks here at the University,” Morgan said.

After the banquet, there was a pub lic campus memorial at the Anniver sary Plaza outside the Illini Union.

During this time, friends, faculty and family who knew a student as well as those who didn’t were able to honor the students who passed away.

The evening started off with a speech by Morgan, who talked about how the loss of those students affects the whole University community and how saddened the University was.

Then, the opening remarks were given by Bill Bernhard, University Provost and interim vice chancel

lor for academic affairs. He talked about college being a place where students go for a promise of great things to come, not a time for memo rials and sadness.

After the opening remarks, Ste phen Bryan, associate vice chan cellor and dean of student support, began reading the names. He read the nine students’ names while the audience said “We remember them” after each name with a moment of silence.

The names were followed by a per formance of the Illinois state song by the Varsity Men’s Glee Club, fol lowed by the reading of an anony mous heartfelt poem.

Closing remarks were made by the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Danita Brown Young, who said the students who passed away will always be a part of the University.

“When one student passes away, it really affects the entire communi ty. It’s a beautiful tribute and I am so glad that the University has started doing it,” Kalipi said.

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI Stephen Bryan, associate vice chancellor and dean of Student Support, reads the names of nine students who passed away within the last year at the campus memorial service on Thursday.

CU Pride Fest empowers LGBTQ+ community

By Lillien Salas Contributing Writer

Last Saturday, the streets of down town Urbana were alive with color and music as participants of ChampaignUrbana’s Pride Fest took the streets. Booths representing community organi zations and small businesses dotted the sidelines, and every color of the rainbow could be seen with a passing glance.

As a part of the 2022 CU Pride Fest, the Pride Fair offered welcoming and safe opportunities for community members to flaunt their pride along side live music, vendors, food trucks and arts and craft activities.

“When I come here, I just look for ward to celebrating with everyone else, and it just makes me so happy to see young people who are so comfortable with being queer because we’re able to create a better life for them,” said local resident Leyla Cohen. “We have more resources available. I look forward to just seeing everybody here.”

The event was open to the public with free admission. Community organiza tions displayed their support for the LGBTQ+ community in attendance, including Elliott Counseling Group and the Rape Advocacy, Counseling and Education Services, known as R.A.C.E.S.

Brea Wickert, client care special ist at Elliott Counseling Group and medical advocate at R.A.C.E.S, said she believed it’s important to have LGBTQ+ individuals connected to the proper tools in order to help them succeed.

“I’m really looking forward to peo ple getting connected with resources. We’re out here, and I see so many dif ferent mental health agencies, medical agencies, so I really think it’s impor tant for us to be connected with the community,” Wickert said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing people get the help they need.”

The fair also served as an hub for local artists and businesses. On the vendor side, products of all types were for sale, including handmade earrings, bags, hats and clothing.

“I think my favorite part would be the people who make their own jewelry and sell them. It’s like art,” said Ren Bi, junior in LAS. “It’s a creation, and it’s made to be enjoyed by the public. That’s why I love pride.”

Aviv Sagiv, freshman in DGS, said he felt a strong sense of community dur ing C-U’s pride celebrations.

“I come to this parade every single year. It’s always fun to see people you

know around here. It’s always a good vibe,” Sagiv said. “The community always shows up and makes it special. I love seeing all the cute outfits and all the people covered in flags.”

Events for the 2022 CU Pride Fest started on Sept. 24 and ended Sunday. However, according to local resident Michael Grant, celebrating pride goes beyond the one week of events. Grant

stressed the importance of practicing acceptance every day in order to aid the LGBTQ+ community.

“Work on accepting pronouns, even neopronouns. They are important. Work on accepting ‘weird’ sexuali ties. I have a weird sexuality and it was caused by trauma, so sexualities can be caused by trauma,” Grant said. “Also, know that being gay is not a choice. Work on accepting people.”

Not only are pride-related activities giving queer community members a safe space, but they’re also drawing community members towards par ticipating in activism and bringing awareness to issues that the LGBTQ+ community faces. Bi highlighted the importance of individual action.

“On an individual level, we have to reflect what we have and what we don’t have. Basically, what are our privileg es, and how can we use our individual efforts and privileges to benefit people around us,” Bi said. “I think individuals have power to change the community. It’s not our responsibility, but it’s our call to make this happen.”

BRIGIDA DOCKUS THE DAILY ILLINI

A parade attendee expresses their excitement as they spread out their rainbow butterfly cape on Saturday.

BRIGIDA DOCKUS THE DAILY ILLINI

C-U community members ride their decorative floats Saturday at the Pride Fest parade.

Exhibit captures transgender stories

By Caroline Sweeney Contributing Writer

As a part of Uniting Pride’s annual CU Pride Fest, McKinley Church & Founda tion celebrated with its very own “Art ists’ Alley” on Thursday, where commu nity members admired and absorbed the work of photographer Jess T. Dugan.

Dugan’s project, “To Survive on this Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconform ing Older Adults,” is about giving repre sentation to a group of people that aren’t talked about much in present day culture.

Dugan captured these stories by photo graphing a portrait of the subject along side a few paragraphs in which they recount their own experiences.

Executive Director of the McKinley Foundation, Paula Hancock, is in charge of bringing different exhibits to Artists’ Alley. Hancock met Dugan and one of the subjects of the portraits, Gloria Allen, when they were brought to Champaign since they had the same exhibition last year for Pride Fest.

Due to the pandemic last year, they “didn’t have a great turn out to the inperson events, (because) more people

did the virtual events,” Hancock said. The exhibit was brought back this year in hopes more people would stop by.

Ivory Chorng, a graduate student studying Information Management, said she felt compelled to come to the exhibit again this year.

“I’m a trans person and it’s a trans related exhibit,” Chorng said. “All the characteristics of this exhibit are relat ed to me, and I (thought) I should come here, and the exhibit was and perfect.”

Hancock added, “my predecessor is trans and she is one of (those) older adults who sort of paved the way for people today, which just goes to show how there are a lot more people than most realize, that go through this.”

One of the selected pieces focuses on a subject named Grace and her extensive journey since the ’60s: “In the ’60s they called me a sissy. In the ’70s they called me a f*ggot. In the ’80s I was a queen. In the ’90s I was transgender. In the 2000s I was a woman, and now, I’m just Grace.”

This was the final sentence from her interview included alongside her por trait. Chorng relates that to her own per sonal experience and emotions, as she had transitioned in 2021.

Stephanie Mosqueda, sophomore in Media, views photographs from Jess T. Dugan’s exhibit featured in the “Artists’ Alley” on Thursday.

“Most of the time, I’m on campus, (and) most of the time I don’t have trou ble. I can’t imagine if I were to transition at 60, because right now, trans people still have much more difficulty or hard ship in their normal life,” Chorng said.

Since “Artists’ Alley” was attached to a residence hall, there was a lot of foot traffic through the exhibit. Though they may not have intentionally visited, stu dents and passerbys got a better under standing of what LGBTQ+ individuals go through on a daily basis.

According to Executive Director Han

cock, there has been a noticeable impact on students during the two years the exhibit has been public.

“Several of them saw it last year and said how much it meant to them,” Han cock said. “Somebody (even) said that it was what gave them confidence to make the transition.”

As a queer, nonbinary individual, Dugan displays a deep understanding of how important it is to share their story, a recurring theme throughout the proj ect and one that is important to LGBTQ+ individuals.

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI

Rising crime elevates student anxiety

By Ashleigh Kendrick Staff Writer

The number of reported crime inci dents in Champaign has gradually increased in recent months, and stu dents are becoming worried about their safety on campus.

On Aug. 27, a shooting occurred on Third Street near Tower at Third. The incident left many students weary, like Allyson Kochevar, senior in LAS.

“It makes me very nervous,” Koche var said. “I enjoy going to the bars, and I have my friend group, and we like to do that, but I don’t think we’ve been to the bar (since).”

Kiki Kitsinis, senior in Media, shared similar concerns. Kitsinis said they are not only hesitant of going out to the bars, but also about living so close to where incidents occur. Kitsi nis lives behind The Red Lion, which is close to the location of the Aug. 27 shooting.

“It’s probably one of the most stressful things when you hear gun shots outside your window,” Kitsinis said.

Kitsinis explained that at first, she thought the gunshots were fireworks,

but once she heard police sirens and people shouting, she knew the situa tion was serious.

“I heard the sirens, and they didn’t stop for a while, then we got the Illi

ni-Alert,” Kitsinis said.

Brennan Taylor, sophomore in LAS, was enjoying his night out when he heard the gunshots. Taylor said after hearing the gunshots, he hurried home.

Taylor said he is also concerned about the increase of crime on cam pus, with his main concerns being for his female friends.

“I have a lot of female friends who don’t carry around pepper spray, and that worries me a little bit more,” Tay lor said. “If you have pepper spray, there’s a better chance of you get ting out of a situation without being harmed, but if not, it’s a little more difficult.”

Alice Cary, chief of the University of Illinois Police Department, said she is aware of the concerns of par ents and students alike, and the UIPD is taking various measures to ensure safety on campus.

Cary said the UIPD is trying to implement more proactive measures on campus to deter criminal activities from occurring.

“We’re trying to be as visible as possible,” Cary said. “When people see a law enforcement officer, peo

ple tend to straighten up a little bit.”

Cary also said there are nearly 2,300 cameras on campus that are utilized to deter crime. Although the cameras are not monitored in real time, Cary said they are still very useful.

“That’s more of an after-the-fact tool, but that too can be a deterrent to people because they know that they’re going to be known when they’re act ing as criminals or doing criminal activities,” Cary said.

Although new technology is being implemented on campus, Cary rec ommends students travel in groups and in well-lit areas.

On top of the new technology and increased presence of officers, Cary said the UIPD is still looking for more technological opportunities to utilize on campus. Cary said they are open to suggestions on technology or how to improve as a department.

“That’s our job, really — to make sure that we can have a great expe rience here,” Cary said. “We can’t be everywhere at once, but we’re cer tainly trying.”

New studio advances accessible design at Beckman Institute

By Nicole Littlefield Staff Writer

In November, the Beckman Institute will open the doors to the (dis)Ability Design Studio, a studio catering to the needs of disabled individuals interest ed in design. The partnership between the Beckman Institute and the Univer sity’s Disability Resources and Educa tional Services, or DRES, will support the interdisciplinary design research focused on the real-life experiences of people with disabilities.

Deana McDonagh, professor in FAA and chair of Graphic Design in the col lege, said they are proud and passionate about the studio. McDonagh explained that ‘dis’ in the name of the studio is in parentheses because it focuses more on the ability part of the word. McDonagh and Adam Bleakney, a research affil iate in Beckman and DRES, are codirectors of the studio and have been collaborating together since 2017.

In April, McDonagh was named the 2022 Beckman Institute Vision and Spirit Award winner, which is an annual award that recognizes a faculty member who exemplifies the vision of Arnold Beckman, the institute’s found er. The award included $150,000 in research funding, which made the (dis) Ability Design Studio possible.

“This was an opportunity that Adam and I grabbed to create a space on the ground floor, which is easy access,” McDonagh said. “We wanted a welcom ing space, and it’s really just develop ing, and we want it to be a catalyst. We don’t know where it’s going, but we have a very strong feeling it’s going to make a change.”

The space is designed for everyone. Each part of the studio was placed with intention. The chairs are lightweight and easy for anyone to move, and there are only a few because visitors are encouraged to “bring your own chair.”

A cuckoo clock hangs on the wall and marks the passing of time with audi ble cues, which is helpful for people with visual impairments. Instead of a standard, standing whiteboard, there are boards on tables so there is enough space for wheelchairs and service ani mals to move throughout the area.

“It was really important that Adam,

any of the athletes and any of the stu dents who are wheelchair users could feel like they could go into the kitchen area,” McDonagh said. “I wanted the place to be welcoming and joyful.”

While the (dis)Ability Design Studio has not officially opened its doors to the public yet, elements of its design have already been integrated into the east wing of the Beckman Institute.

McDonagh and Amanda Henderson, an alumna of industrial design, worked together to redesign the wing and incorporate empathic design.

McDonagh said she concentrated on improving quality of life with intui tive and innovative products. Bright red rocking chairs, movable hexag onal tables and three “spun chairs” are some of the recent additions to the studio.

The (dis)Ability Design Studio has a sister site. Bleakney also leads the Human Performance and Mobility Maker Lab, or HPML, within DRES, which develops tools and technology that assist individuals with disabilities.

“The (dis)Ability Design Studio and HPML work synergistically,” Bleak ney said. “Whereas, we do hands-on development, 3D printing, processing and other types of industrial design like prototype making.”

The HPML has worked on a variety of projects, such as creating adaptive sports equipment for veterans and 3D printing masks throughout the COV ID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve done a project creating wheelchair racing gloves and delivered those to grassroots programs and for children and adults around the coun try,” Bleakney said. “Currently, (we’re) designing a lightweight and independent aisle chair for use of getting on and off an airplane.”

Joseph Peters, a postdoctoral researcher, works with Bleakney and looks at the qualitative data from sur veys for assistive device development projects. They also coach the Univer sity’s wheelchair track and field team, which allows them to get user feedback from competitive athletes.

Another project they are working on is the Personalized Unique Rolling Experience Project, or PURE, which is a hands-free wheelchair. The proj

ect began in 2018 after the team, led by professor Elizabeth Hsiao-Wecksler, placed as semi-finalists at the Toyo ta Mobility Unlimited Challenge. The project was awarded a $1.5 million grant by the National Science Foun dation under the National Robotics Ini tiative Program.

“(There are) really simple tasks that we take for granted,” Peters said. “Like texting and walking or holding a cof fee in your hand, and walking at the same time, or drinking coffee while you’re walking or holding your wife’s hand while you’re walking. These are very basic activities that we take for granted that a wheelchair user does not have access to because they’re unable to do both at the same time.”

The PURE chair allows wheelchair users to use their hands by moving with the movement of the rest of the body. The chair works like a segway,

so the user will use their torso to tell the chair where to go, opening up many possibilities for people who use wheel chairs that are propelled by the user’s hands.

The (dis)Ability Design Studio is hav ing an invitational event on Nov. 30, and anyone interested in the studio can reach out to McDonagh or Bleakney for more information.

Bleakney said he hopes the Universi ty will see more changes in the future.

“With the HPML, my goal was to bring every point of campus to DRES,” said Bleakney. “To connect DRES into the north side, east, south, into where we’re at on the west. And now, we’re positioned on the north side. So, we can have another point from which we can create interdisciplinary research inno vation designing.”

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI

Directors Deana McDonagh and Adam Bleakney sit in the (dis)Ability Design Studio.

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI

Every aspect of the (dis)Ability Studio is designed to be as intuitive and accessible as possible.

AI project aims to enhance academic performance

By Willie Cui News Editor

In a research project funded by the National Science Foundation, Dr. Dong Wang and Dr. Nigel Bosch, both profes sors in Information Sciences, intend to use machine learning techniques to help students better estimate their abilities and understanding in the classroom.

“This is an interdisciplinary project that combines really two disciplines — one is on (artificial intelligence) and machine learning, and one is on educa tion,” Wang said. “For this program, it’s really an interdisciplinary innovation, both on the education side and also the machine learning and AI side.”

Wang highlighted two main priorities for the project — fairness and privacy.

“For education and in AI or machine software you’re using, you definitely want it to be fair, especially to people in different demographic groups,” Wang said. “As you are doing some prediction, you will definitely need some training data to train your model, then you want to protect the privacy of the data from the students.”

Using a machine learning technique called federated learning, the two researchers plan to develop a predic tive model that estimates student per formance and then compare the model’s predictions to students’ self-estimates in an attempt to help students improve their metacognitive skills.

“The educational motivation for this project is a common problem ... when to study, what to study and how long to study — those kinds of things,” Bosch said. “For those kinds of learning behav iors, it’s really important that students are able to accurately self-assess how well they know something.”

Students and selfevaluation

If a student knows they are falling behind in a course, then they can spend more time studying for that course or ask others for help, Bosch noted. Simi larly, if a student feels comfortable with a particular topic, then they can move on and spend more time on other things.

“But it’s actually very difficult for stu dents to properly estimate that, and, in general, difficult for people to estimate how well they know some particular topic,” Bosch said.

In the project, Wang and Bosch are looking specifically at how well students can predict their performance on an upcoming exam.

“The typical approach to trying to teach students how to estimate their knowledge is to give them feedback after an exam,” Bosch said. “So maybe they make some self assessment before the exam, then they take the exam. Then you give them some feedback on how well they thought they were going to do versus what they actually got on the exam, and then they can recalibrate.”

Through the use of machine learning techniques, the two researchers hope that building a predictive model can help provide students with similar feed back preemptively.

“If you only get feedback after the exam, it’s over — it’s too late to do any thing about that particular exam; you can only hopefully do better at estimat ing your knowledge on the next one,” Bosch said. “So that’s where AI comes into this, trying to predict (student performance) before an exam actually happens.”

Privacy and federated learning

When it comes to their research proj ect, Wang and Bosch will be looking at various potential indicators of student success to use as predictors for their model.

Along with more conventional indi cators such as previous assignments, Bosch said that this dataset will include

things like discussion forum usage and how often students visit the course web site and when they do.

“We create this AI based on lots of information about the students and what they’ve done in the course,” Bosch said. “And that raises all kinds of privacy and various types of issues on the AI side.”

Wang noted a “knowledge gap” in existing AI and machine learning lit erature. Currently, most machine learn ing models are built and trained in a centralized way, where data is collect ed and stored together before all of it is used to train the model.

“But in that sense, you already kind of violated (students’) privacy a little bit by collecting all the students’ raw data — their exam scores, their pre-scores, their performance in different aspects of the class,” Wang said. “Some students may not feel comfortable sharing that kind of raw data with your machine learning model.”

To help mitigate these privacy con cerns, the researchers plan on using a “distributed machine learning model.”

This technique, called federated learn ing, also known as federal or collabora tive learning, involves training various localized AI models using limited sets of data, where only model parameters, not raw data, are exchanged between the local models and the global model.

“We can run some local models on the students’ machines, like their comput ers, without sending all the raw data to

some central servers,” Wang said. “So in that way, we protect the students’ data.”

Fairness and accuracy

Wang noted that ensuring fairness in their predictive model is important, especially in the realm of education.

“People definitely want more fair ness in educational software,” Wang said. “But the reality is that there is a trade-off between the performance or accuracy of your prediction model and fairness.”

Wang explained that having imbal anced training data can lead to the resulting model being biased against underrepresented demographics.

“For example, if you have more male students than female students in your class, then you will get more training data on a male students compared to female students,” Wang said.

This is a “very natural problem” for machine learning models, according to Wang.

“So what people normally do in the machine learning literature is adaptive sampling,” Wang said.

While this would make the model fair er, it would reduce its accuracy.

“If I have more male data than female data, I can downsample the male data — I just remove some male data and keep the data more balanced,” Wang said. “However, that will unfortunately downgrade the performance of the male students, while you keep their perfor mance more balanced.”

Additionally, this trade-off becomes complicated when dealing with multiple demographic groups.

Continuing with his previous exam ple, Wang noted that dropping samples from male students to keep the mod el balanced can be complicated when those students are also from other minority groups.

“What happens if some of the male samples are from African American students?” Wang asked. “When you drop the data from those male students, you also drop the data from the African American male students. Then you can make it more biased against that group.”

For the project, Wang and Bosch hope to find a balance between the fairness of their predictive model and its accuracy.

“That’s definitely one challenge we want to address,” Wang said. “We want to build a model that can probably hit the sweet spot of the trade-off between the fairness and the accuracy of the model.”

SEBASTIAN HOLT THE DAILY ILLINI

Morally good billionaires don’t exist

NATHANIEL LANGLEY SENIOR COLUMNIST

The good billionaire is a myth. The image of charitable, affluent “gods among men lending a helping hand” is fake.

It’s not a rare feat to recognize that billionaires aren’t likable either. According to a poll from the Economist and YouGov, Jeff Bezos, former Ama zon CEO and billionaire, held a meager 28% approval rating among American adults. Similarly, Meta CEO Mark Zuck erberg received a dismal 26% approval.

However, the public perception of these figures holds little weight: They reign over private companies — unchecked and unanswerable to the American people.

Yet, as witnessed with the Patagonia CEO, Yvon Chouinard, “giving away” his company, the media treats these fig ures as mythological heroes — the very image billionaires crave to perpetuate. This treatment only escalates the cor rupt economic conditions the working class faces.

In an article by New York Times reporter David Gelles, Chouinard is humanized as an “eccentric rock climb er” and “reluctant billionaire” — far from the stereotypical, “man in suit” CEO.

Gelles describes Chouinard’s recent move stating, “Mr. Chouinard, his wife and two adult children have transferred their ownership of Patagonia, valued at about $3 billion, to a specially designed trust and a nonprofit organization.”

Moreover, the nonprofit organization is claimed to dedicate “$100 million a year” to combat climate change and “protect undeveloped land.”

Although Chouinard’s charity can be considered worthwhile philanthropy, the organization is designed for him to avoid financial responsibility.

Scott Hoyer, a journalist for Quartz, recently interviewed New York Uni versity law professor Daniel Hemel for his analysis of Chouinard’s “transfer” of ownership. In the interview, Hemel asserts the establishment of the non profit organization is no unique act: “They’re taking advantage of a feature of the tax law that lots and lots and lots of philanthropists take advantage of.”

Additionally, Hemel states this advan tage allows these billionaires to avoid

taxes — to avoid paying their fair share.

The decision to shift his wealth to a nonprofit is no noble love letter to the environment. Neither is it a brave choice that deserves what The New York Times titles the Chouinard’s as “the most charitable family in the country.” The nonprofit transfer is one of the count less selfish measures by billionaires to increase their excessive wealth.

Lauren Aratani, a reporter for The Guardian, found Bill Gates, who earns $2.85 billion a year between 2013 and 2018, paid an average federal income tax rate of 18.4%. For the average sin gle worker in the U.S. earning $45,000 a year, the rate was 21%. Through vari ous loopholes in tax codes, billionaires hide behind the guise of philanthropy to earn a lower tax rate than the aver age American worker.

Nonetheless, analyzing Gates, we again see a billionaire cover themselves with media friendly philanthropy.

The Gates Foundation, led by Bill and Melinda Gates, professes it has donated $65.6 billion since its 2000 inception. At

the same time, Gates avoided billions in taxes by utilizing nonprofit loopholes. Still, platforms regularly allow Gates to appear unquestioned about his tax dodg es and continue his march to sainthood.

With the Gates Foundation as his char itable shield, the former CEO morphs from COVID-19 to climate change expert — all the while his educational background is an incomplete degree in computer science from 47 years ago.

Furthermore, the Gates foundation acts as a cover for the former CEO’s misbehaviors. Tyler Sonnemaker, for Business Insider, details numerous instances of questionable conduct by the billionaire.

Reports such as a years-long affair — while married — with a Microsoft employee, a dinner invite for a founda tion employee where Gates stated “If this makes you uncomfortable, pretend it never happened” and meetings with notable sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein decorate Gates’ past.

While no reports indicate Chouinard shares as dreadful of a past as Gates,

claiming “philanthropy” in the name of cheating taxes is cruel. Cheating to increase your wealth while the work ing class pays proportionally more is cowardice.

Nevertheless, the god-complexplagued billionaires believe they’re enti tled to a different game. A game where their rules dictate their wealth; a game where they wield charity and greed in the same vein.

There’s no need to taint billionaires’ images: They already paint their greedy portraits themselves. What is no longer tolerable, however, is the positive recep tion their “philanthropy” receives.

Chouinard and Gates’ strategies to cloak their greed behind charity are not distinct nor isolated. Given no govern ment response, the cycle will continue. Yet, to recognize their charity as noth ing more than tax-loophole and vanity projects is the first step to unraveling their fragile facades.

SEBASTIAN HOLT THE DAILY ILLINI

Los

BY TAYLOR JOHNSON

Be a good American: Just don’t vote.

By Aaron Anastos Columnist

Democracy can be a burden. Ask any American.

What a weight it can be to live in the greatest country in the world, and yet, there’s something missing — your own voice. Why should those fossils on Cap itol Hill get their 15 minutes and then some, and you’re left to bear with the runoff of whatever sewage-stained leg islation they’ve decided to implement.

That burden can be lifted. Don’t vote.

It’s not like your vote matters, any way. It’s not like the people who do vote have any grasp of what they’re saying, going so far as to determine which candidate’s bubble they fill in based on their level of physical attrac tiveness or the mood they find them selves in that day.

But worry not. You can still make a difference.

Don’t vote.

To protest is an American right, and you’re going to exercise that right

straight down to Pennsylvania Avenue. On Nov. 8, let Washington hear those silent cries of defiance as you further wear an indent into your sofa instead of joining the 36% of Americans who do turn out to the midterm polls.

It’s not like that 36% statistic was an optimistic increase between 2014 and 2018 among all ethnic groups and voting ages. One can only idly dream of what difference that could make, disregarding the fact that during the 2018 midterms, young voter turnout doubled. But who cares, it’s only the midterms.

Midterms couldn’t be less important.

They don’t even decide anything piv otal, like presidential elections do. All midterms are good for is controlling the balance of power within Congress, giving voters a chance to determine which political party holds the major ity. It’s not like they’re going to pass any important laws that regard hotly contested topics that directly affect voters.

With every House seat and a third of Senate seats up for grabs, no one can

THE DAILY ILLINI

really be expected to keep up. Power shifts constantly in Washington. Even if the Democrats lose both the House and Senate, which to some appears likely, all that would happen is a mas sive shift in the legislation that is pur sued in Congress.

Power will end up shifting again with the next president of the oppo site party like it always does.

By using your First Amendment

rights and abandoning your 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendment rights, you will be launching a protest of the highest order. By not showing up to your nearest polling place or sealing an envelope, you will have Congress shaking in their boots. They want you to vote, to show an opinion — it’s not like they’re going to run the govern ment their way.

As a member of this great democ racy, always remember your rights and the beautiful freedom to neglect them. No one has ever sacrificed any thing for voting rights, nor will they ever. All democracy means to voters these days is a horde of decrepit buf foons in monkey suits, sitting in a rect angle and talking in circles.

Forget your Frederick Douglasses, your Martin Luther King Jr.’s, your Emmeline Pankhursts and your Susan B. Anthonys.

What they fought for is now in your hands. Use it wisely.

Aaron is a freshman in DGS. aaronda3@dailyillini.com

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Illinois defense inspires win at Camp Randall

By Jonathan Alday Assistant Sports Editor

In head coach Bret Bielema’s return to Madison, the Illini stunned the Wis consin Badgers with a 34-10 victory over the hosts.

Wisconsin elected to receive after the coin toss, gaining strong field position after running back Isaac Guerendo got his team to the 46-yard line. Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz moved his team down the sideline, his drive ending on a 21-yard touchdown to Guerendo.

On the ensuing Illini drive, quarter back Tommy DeVito completed a few mid-range passes to get his team down the field, but stalled out at the 38-yard line. Punter Hugh Robertson came out on the field, placing the opposing offense on the 3-yard line.

The field position would pay divi dends as Mertz threw a pick to Kend all Smith. Illinois’ offense took advan tage of Mertz’s mistake as DeVito took Illinois’ drive into his own hands, sneak ing across the goal line to equalize the score.

A Taz Nicholson pick later that quar

ter eventually led to another DeVito sneak and touchdown, giving Illinois its first lead of the game.

By halftime, Illinois’ defense had managed to stop Allen, one of the most dynamic running backs in college foot ball, capitalizing on defensive intercep tions to get points on the board.

“I knew if we wanted to have a chance, we couldn’t let them run the football on us like they did a year ago,” Bielema said. “Ryan Walters from last year at the end of the season to where we are today, I bet you there wasn’t a day gone by where he hasn’t watched that film from a year ago.”

Starting the second half with the ball, Illinois began building momen tum down the field. A couple plays later, DeVito called his number for the third time, putting Illinois up 10 points on the opening second-half drive.

With Illinois comfortably creating separation against Wisconsin, the ensu ing kickoff spelled trouble for Wis consin as the special teams gave the ball back to Illinois at the Wisconsin 16-yard line off a muffed kickoff catch by Guerendo. Despite the momentum,

Illinois was unable to find the end zone, sending kicker Caleb Griffin for a 44-yard field goal.

After Wisconsin’s third punt of the day, Brown made sure to put the nail in the coffin, breaking away for 49 yards and a touchdown on the fourth play of the drive.

Later, Griffin knocked in another three points, officially toppling the Badgers.

Brown completed his fifth consecu tive game with 100+ yards, collecting 129 yards on the ground on 25 attempts against a highly respected Wisconsin defense. DeVito finished with a 133.5 passer rating and 167 yards on 24 pass ing attempts.

The Illinois defense made sure that the nation knew of its potential with Saturday’s dominant showing, holding Wisconsin to 59 yards of total offense throughout the entire second half.

“To come here and be able to play the way that we did, to me it’s a sign of respect back to Madison,” Bielema said. “I’m proud of what we built at Illinois and what we could show today.”

Illinois (4-1) returns home with

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID CRAAN/ILLINOIS ATHLETICS Senior quarterback Tommy DeVito runs on the field during the game against Wisconsin on Saturday. The Illini won 34-10.

momentum to host the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday.

jalday2@dailyillini.com

‘Next man up’ mentality gives Illini success

By Drew Friberg Sports Editor

113 kills and 15 aces in 10 matches is a solid start for a Big Ten outside hit ter. Heading into the conference sea son, senior outside hitter Jessica Nunge was ready to play and expand upon her impressive statline, with matches against Maryland and Northwestern ahead to open up her Big Ten account in her second season with Illinois.

“I feel almost like a veteran now, even though I transferred here,” Nunge said just three days before Illinois’ match against Maryland. “It’s gonna be a hard season, it’s gonna be a great season. It’s going to be so much fun to play.”

That Friday, just a few hours before first serve in Illinois’ Big Ten season, disaster struck. Nunge went down with an injury, forcing her to be ruled out of the first two weekends of Big Ten play, with no ETA on a return.

However, even with such a huge piece to the Illini’s attacking puzzle ruled out, the team rose to the occasion, taking down its first two opponents and going 2-0 on the weekend. No matter who it was that was ruled out, Illinois had a plan in place.

“In the moment, (the injury) was shocking, and it was scary,” redshirt senior setter Diana Brown said. “You just feel kind of guilty and sad for her. But honestly, we were just like, ‘Alright, next man up.’”

The “next man up” for Illinois in this case was redshirt freshman setter Brooke Mosher, who had never played a Big Ten match before. Despite this, she slotted right in at outside hitter in Nunge’s absence.

Having no collegiate hitting experi ence and just hours ahead of a match against one of the best middle blockers in the nation in Rainelle Jones, who led the NCAA in blocks per set last season (1.73), Mosher’s confidence was that of an experienced Big Ten hitter.

“Brooke looked me straight in the eyes and she was like, ‘I’m ready,’” Brown said. “What better do you want as a setter?”

The hitting performance that fol lowed was that of a veteran. Mosher put up a career high 14 kills against Maryland, while leading the Illini in hitting percentage with .346%. She had a much more tame second match of the weekend against Northwestern, putting up just five kills, but this still would have been her career high if not for

Friday’s match.

Illinois head coach Chris Tamas was impressed with Mosher’s performanc es, but he wasn’t surprised. He knew what Mosher was capable of when he was recruiting her.

“Brooke stepped in and played huge the entire weekend,” Tamas said. “She played everything in high school, so we threw her back out there and let her do her thing.”

Mosher’s huge performances against Northwestern and Maryland helped solidify her starting position as the team entered week two of Big Ten play against No. 5 Purdue and No. 8 defend ing national champions Wisconsin.

Mosher’s week two picked up where she left off in week one, with 13 kills and a block against Purdue, and a match-high 21 against Wisconsin. Despite losing both in five sets, she continued to lead the way for her team

in just her third and fourth match as a hitter, but this time against top-10 opposition.

In addition to Mosher’s presence in the lineup during conference, senior outside hitter Rylee Hinton had a brief stint in the lineup at the start of the sea son following an injury to first choice senior middle blocker Kennedy Collins in the team’s season opener against No.14 Georgia Tech. Illinois won its second match of the season over Ole Miss, where Hinton started due to the absence of Collins.

Dealing with injuries like this is nor mal in any program, but transitions usually aren’t as seamless as Mosher and Hinton’s. Playing through tough seasons and Tamas drilling versatility into his lineup has prepared Illinois for its injury-riddled start.

“I think that’s something we really learned during the COVID-19 season:

Just always be ready,” Hinton said. “It’s always next man up, and I learned that in my time here in general. You never know what’s going to happen between injuries, or someone might match up better with an opponent. So, just always be ready to go.”

Illinois’ season so far has charac terized the “next man up” mentality Tamas pushes onto his lineup. With a tough road ahead to the postseason and at least three top-10 teams left to play, sticking to the plan Tamas prepares for his team is key, no matter who is on the floor.

“It happened gameday, in the morn ing practice, so you just have to make a switch. I just reminded (the team) that one of our mantras is just ‘keep mov ing forward.’”

SYDNEY LAPUT THE DAILY ILLINI Illinois setter Brooke Mosher competes against Maryland on Sept. 23. Mosher performed well in her first Big Ten matches and had 14 kills against Maryland.