THE DAILY ILLINI
MONDAY March 11, 2019
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 148 Issue 49
Tesla coil concert electrifies with fire tunes
BEN TSCHETTER THE DAILY ILLINI
The Tesla Coil Concert on the Bardeen Quad during the Engineering Open House on Friday. The concert featured large electromagnets that played hit songs from Taylor Swift, AC/DC, Bruno Mars and more.
Otter chaos:
University recognized for Mascot referendum fails amid online havoc disability accommodations BY ETHAN SIMMONS STAFF WRITER
The Alma Otter mascot campaign hit a roadblock Friday; 52 percent of participating student voters voted “no” to adopting the otter as a symbol of the University. The question, “Do you approve of making Alma Otter an official symbol of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign?” on the Spring 2019 Illinois Student Government ballot resulted in a 3,510-3,807 vote. ISG Vice President Alice Zheng, student Senator Anna Sekiguchi and Chief of Staff Susan Zhou authored the Alma Otter referendum. Student representatives planned on presenting results of the vote during future meetings of the Chancellor’s Commission on Native Imagery, Zhou said. “This year is the best year
to pose this referendum, whether or not students want the University to move on and accept Alma Otter as the new symbol and mascot,” Zhou said prior to the vote. The student vote signals a new chapter for the viral Alma Otter phenomenon. Three months ago, Alma Otter was nothing but a word association joke between a few friends. On Dec. 13, University juniors Austin Lindell, Connor Latham and John Farwick were celebrating Farwick’s birthday at Cocomero, a frozen yogurt store on campus. Lindell glanced at Alma Mater across Wright Street and made the joke. Latham and Farwick laughed, went back to their apartment with Lindell and photoshopped the pun to life. The group pulled up an image of an otter — specif-
ically with its arms up, to al flourish. This took “like 10 resemble the statue — lay- minutes maximum,” Latham ered on a jersey with “Alma” said. scribbled on the corner and The next day, Lindell postadded the otter’s reflection SEE OTTER | 3A in the water for profession-
PHOTO COURTESY OF AUSTIN LINDELL
Original Alma Otter design posted by UI junior Austin Lindell on the UIUC subreddit on Dec. 14.
KENYON EDMOND THE DAILY ILLINI
The University Solar Farm covers 20.8 acres and is located along the south side of Windsor Road between First Street and the railroad tracks.
STAFF WRITER
The University was recently recognized as the second best college for students with physical disabilities by College Magazine. According to the publication, the 10 schools that made the list were judged on the basis of their accessible dorms, classrooms and transportation. The schools also get the entire campus involved by advocating for awareness and inclusion for students with physical disabilities. Zain Bando, freshman in Media, uses a wheelchair. He said the Universit y deser ves the recognition. “It’s wonderful to see the University of Illinois take great strides in making sure that students with disabilities are considered when attending a major university,” Bando said in an email. The University has implemented efforts to make the college experience more convenient for those with disabilities. For example, Nugent Hall is a disability-friendly dormitory that provides students with assistance for laundry services, daily room services, maintenance, computer tech support and parking. According to the Disability Resources & Educational Services center on campus, each member of the community at Nugent Hall is responsible for contributing in maintaining a positive residential environment so that all members have opportunities for personal growth. Bando said one of the
UI leads Illinois going green BY BENEDICTE MULUMBA YENYI STAFF WRITER
The state of Illinois will move to using 100 percent renewable energy, which includes solar, wind and other naturally replenished energy sources, by 2050, according to the Clean Energy Jobs Act that passed Feb. 27. Rizwan Uddin, director of the energy systems program, said Illinois is the
most nuclear state in the country, as almost 50 percent of its energy comes from nuclear power. “Illinois has always been the center of nuclear reactors and activities,” Uddin said. The Act, also known as Bill SB2132, targets 2050 as the year the state can go fully fossil-fuel-free. Their first step is to generate 45 percent of the electricity of
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the state from renewable sources by 2030. However, Uddin said this bill will be problematic for the state as to what will happen if the wind stops blowing on a summer night. “On a summer night, your windmills are not turning and you don’t have any other source of electricity,” Uddin said. “What is always needed is what we call base load power, some reactor that
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will continue to provide electricity when the wind is not blowing.” Currently, a small amount of energy used in the state comes from solar and wind, which cuts down the carbon, Uddin said. Nuclear is currently counted as nonrenewable, but it is carbonfree, which makes Illinois a wonderful green state.
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services that helps him the most is DRES, as it provides academic accommodations for classes such as extended examination times and even class scribes. “DRES does a great job of meeting student needs on a regular basis,” Bando said. In addition, the University’s bus system is an asset for helping students make their way around ca mpus. Cha mpa ig nUrbana Mass Transit District buses assist students in getting around campus to classes, dorms and offcampus locations. “This allows students with disabilities to have another way to transport themselves if the weather is restricting them from doing so,” Bando said. However, Bando said he notices the University still needs to improve accessibility in certain aspects. “A drawback of the system is that if you have a special event that you’d like to go to on a weekend evening, you have to call them on the Wednesday (before) the event,” Bando said. “Sometimes, plans can change, and I wish there was a way to find a solution in order to make the traveling experience better.” In addition, as a sports fan, Bando wishes the State Farm Center was more accessible for students with disabilities. He has noticed the Orange Krush entrance is not accessible, which forces him to go through the main west entrance and ask for someone to escort him to his seat.
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