THE DAILY ILLINI
THURSDAY February 14, 2019
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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LONGFORM: PART 2 OF 2
A long way to go
Racial ignorance, discrimination still at large on campus
Vol. 148 Issue 41
DNA evidence to be used in Christensen trial
BY TAYLOR HOWARD ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITOR
Denying a motion to exclude new blood and DNA test results, U.S. District Judge James Shadid has allowed results to be used in April for the trial of Brent Christensen, alleged murderer and kidnapper of Chinese visiting scholar Yingying Zhang. After new evidence of handprint-shaped bloodstains and DNA was discovered at Christensen’s apartment, his attorneys filed a motion to exclude new test results from the trial in April. The court heard testimony from Jerrilyn Conway, legal program manager in the DNA Casework Unit of the FBI, to determine the result’s threshold for admissibility. Conway explained the blood and DNA samples were tested using STRmix,
Fifty years later
University students are still fighting for what was proposed to administration 50 years later. Bradley Harrison,2014 alumnus and then-student leader, said the United States is racially divided, especially when it comes to interacting with other students at the University. “I would walk into white spaces and I would think that those spaces were safe for me and welcoming towards me, but then there would be a negative encounter,” Harrison said. “Now, and this is bad, black people and minorities, when they go into white spaces, (black students) are already prepared for them.” Another negative encounter students may have is the need to combat the stereotypes of their race. Terrell Spurlock, senior in LAS, said that within his major, he must represent the black community well. “Being the only person representing my race in my classes, I always feel the extra burden that I need to represent my people properly,” Spurlock said. “I always feel like I need to be on my best behavior.” Nearly half of the country’s African-American population has reported experiences with discrimination with either law enforcement, at school or in the workplace. Junior in LAS Dimitri Love said racism is institutionalized. “I say this in reference of this society and institutions that limit and deny access of people of color, more specifically black folks,” Love said. “There were systems put in place to deny folks equal opportunities that was never fully addressed and places (and) institutions to this day still carry these practices consciously and unconsciously.” According to the Notre Dame University counseling center, racial stereotypes can be passed down from generations. Labels negatively impact the way someone is perceived. President of the Central Black Student Union and 2015 graduate Olabode (Buddie) Oladeinde said he was often judged based off his appearance. “Being black is energy. When I walk into a room, I am noticed and people will judge me before they even hear me speak. I walk in and I have long (dreadlocks) and I am darkskin and I am dressed a certain way,” Oladeinde said. “But when they realize I can articulate myself, I am not looked at in the bad light.” Love believes there are
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Dimitri Love studies in Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall. Love and other students of color on campus hope to bring awareness to different issues facing the University.
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Kyra Lavalais stands at the Business Instructional Facility. Lavalais is the president of Creating Opportunities Recognizing Excellence and firmly believes in student leadership.
still concerns the black community faces such as wage gaps, the criminal justice system and educational inequalities that target black and brown people. As a member of the Black Students for Revolution, the organization’s mission is to “advocate for the communities worldwide and people who identify along different oppression spectrums across the country.” Part of its mission is to
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Houlding LLP is New Yorkbased and specializes in civil rights cases. Centrella said his firm litigates racial harassment cases throughout the country, but they have never seen a case like this at an institute of higher education. He said they typically only see this type of conduct in industrial settings. Robin Kaler, associate chancellor of public affairs, said the University’s attorneys were still reviewing the lawsuit as of Sunday, and the University will not discuss specifics of the litigation at this time. Kaler said when the University learns of concerns, it looks into them and takes action to address them. The lawsuit also alleges the Office for Access and Equity, formerly the Office of Diversity, Equity and Access, which is in charge of investigating discrimination claims, is “rife with internal racial harassment.” Plaintiffs allege in the lawsuit the office’s director
BY OLIVIA WELSHANS
recognize the needs of people of color and bring awareness to those issues. The organization has a list of set demands that they have brought to University officials, including scholarship, retention and recruitment. Spurlock said they want to fulfill what was started 50 years ago on this campus. “Our demands are very similar to the ones of Project 500 as we want to improve and recruit African-Amer-
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UI faculty file racial harassment lawsuit University employees filed a lawsuit on Jan. 28 in federal court, containing allegations of racial harassment of black employees and claims the office tasked with investigating discrimination is itself guilty of racial harassment. The plaintiffs allege in the class action complaint filed with the court that racial harassment is “standard operating procedure” at the University. The lawsuit alleges University staff used racial slurs, stereotypes and other offensive racial language toward black workers, calling them “n-----,” “boy,” “monkey,” “lazy,” “angry,” “rowdy” and “Aunt Jemima.” According to the lawsuit, black employees were “exposed to threats of racial violence, such as nooses, swastikas, KKK garb, racist graffiti and confederate flags.” Attorney Jesse Centrella is working on the lawsuit representing the plaintiffs. His firm Friedman and
ican students here on campus. We want to see the University go into the schools on the South Side of Chicago,” Spurlock said. Retention in the black community has been decreasing since 2003, placing African-Americans at 5.13 percent. Spurlock said it’s not that black students cannot get in, but they cannot stay. SEE DISCRIMINATION | 3A
Profits shouldn’t undermine fire safety
New DIY space promotes inclusivity
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a forensic software that produces a likelihood ratio to measure the possibility of a new sample to match a known sample. This software has been used by the FBI since 2015. Elisabeth Pollock, Christensen’s attorney and assistant federal defender, questioned the credibility of the examination. Polluck argued at least 50 studies stating the software is credible was conducted by one of the founders of STRmix. Polluck questioned why the FBI used the STRmix and not a newer DNA testing method that studies the actual DNA sequence. Along with an initial test indicating if even a very small sample of blood is present, a confirmatory test will be conducted to assure the
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