FALL TECHNOGRAPH SEE INSERT
THURSDAY September 20, 2018
THE DAILY ILLINI
94˚ | 74˚
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Vol. 148 Issue 8
Counseling center works to combat suicide rate
HexNest designs safer, cheaper sports mats
BY OLIVIA WELSHANS
BY ERIC RZESZUTKO
STAFF WRITER
STAFF WRITER
Brigham and Women’s Hospital recently published a study revealing 20 percent of college students have contemplated suicide at one point in their lives, but this came as no surprise to the University Counseling Center. “Given what I know about college students and mental health and other things I’ve read and heard from other people, I felt like it is pretty in line with reality,” said Nichole Evans, suicide prevention outreach co-chair at the Counseling Center. The study found 1 in 5 college students have contemplated suicide, which also includes thoughts of suicide that occurred prior to college, said Cindy Liu, co-author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, said in an email. This statistic is not news to Evans, who has worked for the Counseling Center for more than four years. However, actual numbers can be hard for them to judge, she said. “It is kind of hard to really know because all we can rely on is what people tell us,” Evans said. “I’m sure there are many people who have suicidal thoughts, and they just dont tell anybody because they are embarrassed or they don't want to act on them. But they still have them.” From 2016 to 2017, the Suicide Prevention Team received and followed up on 301 Suicide Incident Reports, according to the Counseling Center 20162017 Annual Report. SEE SUICIDE | 3A
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Community Cat Day helps feral cats BY MADELYN FOSTER ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
The Universitys Shelter Medicine Program launched an initiative that provides opportunities for Veterinary Medicine students to gain hands-on experience while improving the health of feral cats. The program, called Community Cat Day, was made possible by a $15,000 grant from the Best Friends Animal Society, which covers the costs of spaying, neutering, vaccinating and microchipping approximately 500 feral
BY HEATHER SCHLITZ ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Jonathan Mullen, senior in Engineering and director of operations for Illini Solar Car, remembers driving so fast the solar car’s back wheels began skidding around turns as he raced to qualify for the American Solar Challenge. The Illini Solar Car team met the qualifying standards, covering 400 miles in two days and went on to finish seventh in the American Solar Challenge, a collegiate solar car competition covering thousands of miles, starting in Omaha, Nebraska, and ending in Bend, Oregon. Amalia Dungey, senior in Engineering and power distribution lead for Illini Solar Car, also drove the car during the competition.
McLaughlin practically perfect this season PAGE 1B
Indie band on making music as siblings PAGE 6B
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SEE CAT DAY | 3A
PHOTO COURTESY OF LOUKIA AGAPIS
University veterinary students prepare a cat for surgery. Spaying and neutering are two of the procedures that will be performed on almost 500 feral cats to reduce unwanted pregnancies and control the feral cat population.
cats within a 90-mile radius in Champaign County. Dr. Loukia Agapis, head of the program, said Community Cat Days will be held monthly during the fall and bi-monthly through the winter months. The program is set to conclude in March 2019. “During the actual clinical day, veterinarians, veterinary nurses and students perform the majority of the services,” Agapis said in an email. “Volunteers from our partner organizations help promote the program, transport
our furry guests and get them registered.” Jessica Sempek is the founder and director of Hospice Hearts, which is one of the partner organizations. Using the help of social media, Sempek was able to recruit enough people to help bring approximately 40 cats to receive basic care at the first Community Cat Day on Sept. 8. Sempek said she has been trapping and caring for feral cats for about five years and thinks Community Cat Day is important for controlling
Illini Solar Car team takes seventh in competition
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feral cat populations and protecting public health. “We obviously want the animals that are essentially wild vaccinated against rabies,” Sempek said. “The spaying and neutering reduces unwanted pregnancies and helps reduce the feral cat population in our community.” Agapis said Community Cat Day begins early in the morning, with students and staff organizing surgical lists and designating duties. When the cats arrive at the Univer-
When Mark Van den Avont recovered from breaking two spinal vertebrae during gymnastics his senior year in high school, he was inspired to create a new sports mat that would be safer and cheaper for athletes. Now a sophomore in Engineering, Van den Avont is about to celebrate the one year anniversary of his sports mat company, HexNest, in October. HexNest is in the process of developing the mats through lab testing and product design. The mats will use polymer filler rather than traditional foam, to introduce higher safety standards that currently existing mats do not provide. “We validated that you can create a mat out of our polymer and have it absorb an impact effectively, but we have some design challenges that we still need to fix before it’s mass production ready,” Van den Avont said. HexNest sports mats will be 5 feet by 8 feet, which are around the size of twin mattresses, and approximately 8 inches thick. They are estimated to cost $250, while similar mats usually cost up to $350 to $400. Van den Avont said he hopes the first prototype for the HexNest sports mat will be completed within a month and a half. HexNest has recently hired Ian Huntley, graduate student in Business, to handle marketing operations for the company. “So far what I have been
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“It’s really exciting to be in the car that you helped build, that you’ve been working on getting running. And when it goes it feels really smooth and sleek,” Dungey said. In July, the car, named Argo, underwent four days of inspections before they were allowed to take the car on the road, with volunteer inspectors checking the car’s electrical systems, battery and paperwork before dynamic testing began. During dynamic tests, drivers wound the car between cones, slammed the brakes on a slippery dragstrip and drove in figure-eights to prove they could maintain control of the car at higher speeds. KENYON EDMOND THE DAILY ILLINI After passing inspec- Nino Cirrincone, head of engineering for Illini Solar Car, helps teammate Kamil Czaplinski climb into the vehicle on Sunday. The 15-person team took seventh during the American Solar
SEE SOLAR CAR | 3A Challenge.
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