TUESDAY January 22, 2019
THE DAILY ILLINI The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
39˚ | 25˚
Vol. 148 Issue 34
Snowy paths hinder wheelchair mobility These measures include looking at the forecast, ensuring equipment is in working condition, making sure each staff member has a clear shift and task and coordinating with the cities of Urbana and Champaign to indicate who is responsible for what sidewalk. “F&S staff are committed to the safety of the students, faculty and staff during any events, and the teams are always ready and willing to react to those events,” Breitwieser said. Despite the measures F&S takes, Schaefer thinks the area around Nugent Hall, home of Beckwith Residentia l Suppor t Services, receives more attention than other places on campus, including Wright Street. He wants anywhere on campus that is a center for the Illinois community and life to be cleaned with the same precision as the area around Nugent is.
BY DAVID RUVINSKIY STAFF WRITER
Last week, Avery Schaefer, sophomore in DGS, was forced to ask a passerby to spot him as he attempted to roll his wheelchair down an ice-covered ramp by the Undergraduate Library. Similarly, Zain Bando, freshman in Media who also uses a wheelchair, became stuck in a patch of snow on his way to the State Farm Center. “It’s one thing to say you’re going to do something, and it’s another thing to do it,” Schaefer said. “Until I have actually gone out there during or after a snowstorm and I can get around, I’m going to remain skeptical.” Steven Breitwieser, manager of communications and external relations at Facilities & Services, said in an email that F&S has several measures in place to ensure the accessibility of the sidewalks on and around campus during the winter season.
SEE WHEELCHAIRS | 3A
MARK CAPAPAS THE DAILY ILLINI
The super blood wolf moon right after totality on Sunday night. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is completely covered by the moon’s shadow. Last night’s moon was not only a total lunar eclipse, but also a supermoon, which occurs when the moon is closest to the Earth in its orbit. The red hue is a result of sunlight passing through the Earth’s atmosphere.
Motions denied in Christensen case
Judge rules against six requests
THE DAILY ILLINI STAFF REPORT
Attempts made by the attorney of Brendt Ch r istensen, a l leged kidnapper and murderer of Chinese visiting scholar Yingying Zhang, to dismiss the death-penalty case and suppress evidence failed
when U.S. District Court Judge James Shadid denied six motions made last month on Jan. 14. Christensen is due to stand trial in April. Michel le Zor t ma n, Christensen’s wife, who has filed for divorce, testified that her apartment was searched without her consent at the time of last month’s hearings. This contradicted FBI agents’ testimony, as they said they obtained voluntary consent before the search.
In rulings released to the public on Jan. 14, Shadid said the search was conducted lawfully. Evidence acquired from the search should therefore not be neglected. Shadid also denied the motions to suppress the following: Christensen’s activity in jail; statements he made to his girlfriend, wife and law enforcement; recordings of Christensen taped secretly by his girlfriend; a motion stating the federal death penalty was
unconstitutional. Andrew Leipold, professor in Law, said the attorneys were just doing their jobs. “They had grounds for thinking that the evidence had been obtained were in violation of Mr. Christensen’s rights, so they did what defense lawyers are supposed to do, which is advocate for the behalf of their client and try to vindicate those rights through the process,” he said. KENYON EDMOND THE DAILY ILLINI
news@dailyillini.com
A sidewalk on the Main Quad is covered with snow and ice on Jan. 13.
INSIDE
F&S aims for rapid snow removal Millennials remain
positive though living costs increase
BY BENEDICTE MULUMBA YENYI STAFF WRITER
Snow removal is considered priority work; however, despite all the salting and snow removal, there are still areas around campus that remain uncleared. According to the Facilities & Services website, pavements, sidewalks, bicycle lanes, Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility ramps and building entrances must be cleared at all times, especially after a snowstorm. Mohamed Attalla, executive director of Facilities & Services, says based on the forecast, the office’s activities start in advance of the snowfall by prepping equipment and ensuring they are in good working conditions. It plans its team’s schedules and shifts together with planned
BY CLARE BUDIN SENIOR REPORTER
KENYON EDMOND THE DAILY ILLINI
A snowman on the Main Quad stands in front of the Noyes Laboratory of Chemistry on Jan. 13.
availability. than 16,000 spaces, 90 F&S is responsible for miles of sidewalk, 10 miles providing snow removal of bicycle paths and lanes for 23 miles of roadway, 147 parking lots with more SEE SNOW | 3A
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With college debt, wage and wealth inequality still on the rise, it may be easy for students to fall into the mindset that their future economic prospects are bleaker than ever. Now 10 years out from the global economic crisis in 2008 and the subsequent recession, the financial environment for millennials — those born between 1982 and 2004 according to The Atlantic — is filled with more road bumps and barriers than previous generations.
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According to the Pew Research Center, fewer millennials today are able to afford the rising price of homes and find a fulfilling job to pay off their debts from school. However, despite these daunting statistics, the perspectives of students and faculty alike were surprisingly optimistic toward future University graduates and students. George Deltas, professor in LAS, said in an email the influx of pessimistic news stories and articles about
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