MONDAY December 10, 2018
THE DAILY ILLINI The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
32˚ | 21˚
Vol. 148 Issue 29
Final Four bound
UI insures against drop in Chinese enrollment BY OLIVIA WELSHANS STAFF WRITER
The Gies College of Business and the College of Engineering have become the first colleges on any university campus to purchase insurance to protect themselves from a potential drop in Chinese student enrollment. The University has agreed to pay $425,000 per year to an insurance company for up to $60 million in coverage to protect against factors outside of the colleges’ control, which could contribute to a decline in Chinese student enrollment, said Jeffrey Brown, dean of the Gies College of Business, in an email. The insurance payoff will take effect if enrollment drops by 18.5 percent in a year due to causes such as visa restrictions, trade wars or a major public health event, Brown said. The colleges entered the contract in 2017, which gives them coverage until 2020. Brown said the policy can be canceled at any time. Currently, over 800
AUSTIN YATTONI THE DAILY ILLINI
The Illini celebrate after scoring a point late in the match against Wisconsin in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament at Huff Hall on Saturday. The Illini won 3-1 and will head to the Final Four in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to play Nebraska. The appearance will become the fourth time the program has ever made it to the Final Four.
SEE INSURANCE | 3A
College of Law increases transparency Growing US STD Students informed of sexual misconduct claims against faculty BY JULIE KANG STAFF WRITER
Jay Kesan, professor in Law who was accused of sexual harassment in 2017, will be facing stricter consequences than those he was given last year, while the College of Law works to increase transparency to students by informing them of Kesan’s investigation results. Kesan violated the code of conduct and the University’s policies that ban sexual harassment and misconduct. Although the 2017 Office of Diversity, Equity and Access investigative report revealed
evidence which showed a pattern of Kesan engaging female students and colleagues in uncomfortable and highly inappropriate situations, Kesan was not given severe consequences upon investigation last year due to tenure and being cleared of proper charge. The report stated inappropriate actions including asking about others’ sex lives and inviting colleagues to stay at his apartment. Many people in the College of Law faculty, including Vikram Amar, dean of the College of Law, signed and
sent a letter to the University protesting the weak consequences. Students demanded his resignation. This semester, students were given the option to move out of Kesan’s classes. Kesan will also take an unpaid leave of absence beginning January 2019 for a year and will receive professional counseling. In addition, to promote transparency between students and the school, students who enroll in Kesan’s courses will be notified of the investigation results. Not all cases like this provide information about the investigation. Amar said Kesan’s sexual misconducts stated in the
2017 ODEA investigative report included misconducts before Amar arrived at the University as dean. Regardless, Amar views it as his duty to do everything he can to prevent future misconduct by anyone at the college. “Personally, and on behalf of my law school, I am very sorry that any faculty and students were harmed by this shameful conduct,” Amar said. Campus rules, as well as federal constitutional due process, prohibit severe sanctions to the accused if complainants wish to stay anonymous. Amar said this was a big reason why the penalSEE LAW | 3A
MTD sees increased bus ridership in winter BY DAVID RUVINSKIY STAFF WRITER
Ch a mpa ig n-Urba n a Mass Transit District buses see a 10 percent increase in ridership during the winter season compared with other times of the year, according to Evan Alvarez, planner at MTD. Although fewer people ride buses during the holiday season in November, December and January when students are out of town, there is a higher ridership each day due to the cold, Alvarez said in an email. “Students really care about getting to class, and that's why they're taking the bus, and so I feel like sometimes there can be some frustration where people are all trying to crowd onto the bus at the same time,” said Ellie DiGiulio, senior in LAS. Lisa Meid, communications director at MTD, said in an email if passengers are unable to fit behind the white line painted behind the bus driver’s seat, drivers are instructed to turn away passengers and notify the control center. If additional resources are available, the control center will
Police
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ual experience. “We know that an individual has many options in how they choose to prevent STDs, but if they are not aware of all of the options, they may not be able to find the prevention method that works best for them,” Donaldson said. Since taking her position, Dona ldson has focused on education where students of all different backgrounds, genders, races, ethnicities and sexual orientations can feel comfortable gaining information. This focus extends education on STD prevention. McK in ley ’s Sex ua l Health Peers, a studentled education group, leads workshops which focus on teaching students safer sex practices and pass out safe sex supplies, such as condoms, on campus. The group has led 11 workshops this semester and 34 workshops in the last academic year, Donaldson said. Donaldson meets with students one-on-one to answer questions about STDs and other aspects of sexual health. “We are always looking for new, creative, collaborative ways to increase availability of education
BY OLIVIA WELSHANS STAFF WRITER
With sexually transmitted disease diagnoses in the United States increasing for the fourth year in a row, the McKinley Health Center and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health Department do what they can to address the issue. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control found that 2.3 million cases of chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhea were diagnosed in the United States in 2017, surpassing the previous record by over 200,000 cases, which marked the fourth consecutive year of increase of these sexually transmitted diseases. According to the CDC, undiagnosed and untreated chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis can lead to health effects such as infertility, stillborn infants and an increased risk of HIV. Kate Donaldson, sexuality and peer education coordinator for McKinley, said increases could be due to cuts in funding for STD prevention programs at local health centers, a lack of condom usage and young people not receiving comprehensive sex education before their first sex-
SEE STD | 3A
INSIDE KENYON EDMOND THE DAILY ILLINI
CUMTD buses see a 10 percent increase in ridership in winter. The transit company is trying to keep up with the increase in demand.
send back-up buses. According to Meid, extra buses might not be available during peak times. If buses run along a route frequently, the MTD relies on the next bus to pick up pas-
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rate calls for action
sengers the previous bus could not. “We would clearly love to have more vehicles and drivers available, but that isn’t always fiscally or logistically possible,” Meid
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said. Because of the increase in ridership during the winter, Meid suggests University students arrive at
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