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THE DAILY ILLINI

THURSDAY April 18, 2019

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The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

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Vol. 148 Issue 57

New bill changes UI admissions BY TIARA COSBY STAFF WRITER

A new Illinois bill may prevent colleges within the state from asking incoming students about their criminal history on college applications. The Criminal History in College Applications Act, also known as HB0217, seeks to change how colleges request specific information on student applications. The Illinois General Assembly specifies that information of recent criminal history, not limited to records of arrests and detentions, criminal charges or indictments and convictions, should be excluded from college applications. Julian Parrott, assistant vice president for academic affairs of the University of Illinois System, said in an email the University does require students to check a box if they have been convicted or charged of a crime. “It is rare for us to deny admissions based on selfreported criminal history,” Parrott said. “Currently about 1% of the applicants who check Urbana’s box are denied admission based on their criminal information.” Andrew Borst, director of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, said in an email there are two reasons the Criminal/Disciplinary History Review committee recommends denial. One way is if the student denies having a criminal or disciplinary history. The other is if the criminal history of the applicant presents a substantial risk of harm to the ChampaignUrbana community. “Universities across the country face increased pressure/obligation to maintain a safe environment for its students from acts of violence,” Borst said. Tauren Nelson, senior in LAS, said this bill would allow many disadvantaged students an opportunity to receive higher education. “I am in favor of this bill because it is an attempt to decrease barriers to higher education for those with criminal histories,” Nelson said. “This bill may also yield greater racial diversity with each incoming class.” The safety of other students on college campuses

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A section of SPAN 308: Spanish in the United States is held at the Foreign Languages Building on Tuesday. Recent years have reflected an increase in students wishing to study Spanish and a decrease in teaching faculty in the Spanish department, making enrollment for smaller, upper-level classes competitive.

Spanish students face high enrollment BY GRACE MALONEY STAFF WRITER

The number of students pursuing a degree in Spanish at the University is increasing, but the number of faculty is not, which may be a problem for the department. As of February, the Spanish department has 137 majors and 352 minors with a total of 489 students in the department, not including people who have yet to declare their major or minor. This total is up 30 students from last year. “In the U.S., the most commonly taught language to take is Spanish, so most of you guys come to the University choosing Spanish as your second language and to fulfill the language requirements,” said Ander Beristain, graduate teaching assistant in LAS. Beristain said while the department has many sections of lower-level class-

es, the upper-level classes typically have fewer sections, with about 20 available spots for students. These students are typically majoring and minoring in Spanish and need the class to graduate. Elena Maria Zannoni, senior in Business, said she was unable to get into an upper-level Spanish class for three semesters. “I looked at everything,” Zannoni said. “When I was a sophomore in the spring, literally every single (section) was full, so that’s why I had to push it back. When I tried again over the summer for the fall, nothing was there either. That’s why it had to get pushed back so much.” After taking almost two years off of Spanish, Zannoni said she was a little rusty going back to learning the language. However, she said studying abroad during her

second semester of junior year helped re-familiarize her with the language. “I was able to pick it up pretty easily after my entire semester in Spain, but I can’t imagine going into it blind like that,” Zannoni said. “If

“I started teaching four years ago. When I started, the cap was 23 (students), and I had to override four more people because they had to take it and it was the only section available,” Icardo Isasa said. “You had

“When I was a sophomore in the spring, literally every single (section) was full, so that’s why I had to push it back. When I tried again over the summer for the fall, nothing was there either.” ELENA MARIA ZANNONI SENIOR IN BUSINESS

you don’t practice it, you lose it, and I’m sure if it’s so hard to get into that really deters students from continuing.” Ane Icardo Isasa, graduate student and teaching assistant in LAS, is one of three TA’s for SPAN 303: Sounds of Spanish.

to override people all the time.” Icardo Isasa said other courses, such as SPAN 307: Bilingualism or SPAN 308: Spanish in the United States, get overrides often and have about 26 or 27 students. Icardo Isasa said a lot

of international students do not want to come to the United States anymore for various reasons, one of them being President Donald Trump. “International students have a limited amount of hours to work per week — 20 hours — and it happens to be the case that many of the TA’s in the Spanish department are international students, so that could have an effect,” Beristain said. After the 2016 election, international applications to the University decreased. However, they have slightly increased this year, said Mariselle Meléndez, head of the Spanish and Portuguese department. The graduate TA’s for Spanish are all paid and supported financially by the department. The University SEE SPANISH | 3A

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Students eat and work in the basement of the Illini Union on Tuesday. A study conducted at the University observed fathers’ effects on mothers and children during mealtimes in the area within and surrounding Champaign-Urbana.

Family interaction impacts mealtime practices BY JADE MORGANFIELD STAFF WRITER

Some people may spend their mealtime scrolling on their phone or watching television; however, a study revealed families spend nearly half of their time distracted during meals. The study, conducted at the University, was directed by Jaclyn Saltzman, who earned her doctoral degree in human development and family studies at the University. The researchers sampled 109 families living within a 50-mile radius of the study site, and the children’s age within these families ranged from 18-24 months old. Throughout the duration of the study, parents gave consent to be video recorded

during their mealtime. These recordings predominately took place during the evening, and on average, family mealtimes lasted roughly 17 minutes. The purpose of this study was to observe the presence of the fathers’ effects on mothers and how this affects their levels of responsive feeding. Responsive feeding refers to the actions of the individual adult — mostly mothers — and how they attend to their children. “What we were investigating was father’s effects on mothers, not really on children,” Saltzman said. “The most interesting thing that they found was … the effects of fathers on mom’s responsiveness. It was really showing that dads are important.

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They play a role in making sure kids are fed.” Although the father’s presence does play a crucial role in family mealtime, Saltzman does not want single or divorced mothers to be viewed with a negative perspective. “I really want to focus on the positive effects as much we can because too much research focuses on the negative, and that is stigmatizing and that is not the message we want to get across,” Saltzman said. Kelly Uchima, project coordinator for the Family Resiliency Center at the University, was also involved in the study. She highlighted the importance of an involved father during family mealtimes.

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“From a personal and a research standpoint, (it’s) very important, especially if there is a father type of person present … in the mealtime, because you can tell a lot with the way that the child is being raised and what’s going on when you’re watching a mealtime just in itself,” Uchima said. Although the study was predominately about a father’s effect on mother’s mealtime responsiveness, Uchima mentioned how a family with higher interaction levels can positively impact children. “If people are more mindful and present during, before and after these meals, I think a lot of times, that is (associated) with having a more present healthier life-

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style,” Uchima said. Distractions occurring during family mealtimes are not exclusive to technological distractions. Other distractions mentioned in the study include food-related distractions and non-technological distractions, such as reading. Uchima advised how families can ensure they are getting healthy levels of interaction with one another during family mealtime. “Definitely no screens … and just being with each other … and having a more mindful, involved conversation surrounding food and (the) preparation of food I think will be much healthier and educational,” Uchima said.

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