THE DAILY ILLINI
THURSDAY January 24, 2019
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
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The past two academic years have seen a dramatic rise in bias reports filed through the University.
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Vol. 148 Issue 35
Food insecurity leads to federal investigations
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food insecurity as a “lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.” Food insecurity has become increa sing ly prominent on college campuses nationwide, prompting the government to investigate, according to a recently released study from the Government Accountability Office. According to the report, the GAO was asked to research this issue due to the federal investment in higher education and the risk food insecurity might have on students completing their degrees. The GAO noted there is limited information about the national prevalence of food insecurity among college students. In the analysis, the office reviewed 31 studies that identified a wide range of food insecurity rates among student subjects. Ann Marie Morgan, assistant dean of students, said the Office of the Dean of Students has had students experienc-
BY OLIVIA WELSHANS STAFF WRITER
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MULTIPLE BIAS TYPES UNCLASSIFIED SEXUAL ORIENTATION RELIGION RACE/ETHNICITY NATIONAL ORIGIN GENDER IDENTITY/EXPRESSION GENDER/SEX DISABILITY/ABILITY STATUS
30 0
2013-2014
2014-2015
2015-2016
2016-2017
2017-2018
SOURCE BIAS ASSESSMENT AND RESPONSE TEAM ANNUAL REPORT
BERCHAM KAMBER THE DAILY ILLINI
University offers bias report resource BY LUIS VELAZQUEZ STAFF WRITER
A social media post from the University police is encouraging students to report “acts of intolerance” to the school’s Bias Assessment and Response Team. The social media post was published on Dec. 27
on Facebook. The Bias Assessment and Response Team are accommodated within the Office for Student Conflict Resolution at the University. This team collects reports of bias-motivated incidents that impact students and publishes data regarding
the incidents that were reported. Private information, such as a student’s full name, is not publicly announced. According to BART’s annual report, there were 61 reports of bias from 2015 to 2016. There were 116 reports from 2016 to
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2017. From 2017 to 2018, 128 reports were recorded. Bias is defined as “inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair,” according to the Oxford Dictionary. SEE BIAS | 3A
For Cassandra Nikolaus, Sundays were all about food. She used this day to prepare all of her food for the upcoming week, walking to three different grocery stores and using coupons to find the best deals in a one-mile radius. Her purchase usually totaled around $50, which she paid for with food stamps and any money left over after paying her rent. This is what food insecurity looked like for Nikolaus when she was an undergraduate studying nutrition at a university in Washington. Now, Nikolaus is a Ph.D. candidate at the University, where she studies food insecurity on college campuses. “A lot of people who are going through these issues just see themselves as another broke college student. They think their issues might not be any different from someone down the hall,” Nikolaus said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines
SEE INSECURITY | 3A
Waiver deadline allows for insurance opt out
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BY JULIE KANG STAFF WRTIER
Students who missed the deadline to waive University health insurance last semester can submit a waiver form to review existing coverage until Feb. 15. The University requires all students to carry medical insurance. Students who do not have insurance at all or do not have insurance that meets the University’s minimum coverage standard are automatically enrolled in the student insurance plan the University provides. Kim Dalluge, department manager of the Student Health Insurance Office, said for the Fall 2018 term, there were 12,806 domestic and 5,062 international undergraduate students enrolled in the school’s insurance plan. A total of 3,800 domestic graduate students and 5,292 international graduate students are enrolled in the same period. Cindy Kang, sophomore in LAS, is paying for the school’s health insurance plan because she is an international student from South Korea and does not have a personal insurance plan in the U.S. However, Kang said she does not find the University’s insurance plan very beneficial. “It’s also another financial burden, especially as an international student who has to pay a high
Alumnus gets ‘nutty’ PAGE 6A
Keep warm this winter PAGE 4A
Say ‘Yes Yes Yes’ to Elsinore’s return PAGE 6B
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Students wait in line at the pharmacy window at McKinley Health Center, 1109 S. Lincoln Ave. Students who missed the first deadline to waive University health insurance can submit the waiver form until Feb. 15.
tuition fee,” Kang said. According to the Office of Student Health Insurance’s website, the 201819 academic year fees are $455 for undergraduate students and $582 for graduate students. Students must complete online waiver requests once every academic year to opt out of the automatic insurance plan.
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Every student’s health insurance is assessed each semester, so if a student misses the deadline for a waiver one semester, they always have a chance to do it in the next term. Austin Schmohe, sophomore in LAS, missed the first semester deadline to waive insurance because he thought the waiver carried over from the previ-
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ous year. Schmohe said although the student insurance plan provides decent coverage of most needs, it is a little expensive for what is offered. According to the Office of Student Health Insurance’s website, the University’s insurance plan covers “inpatient, outpatient and emergency care, as well
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as providing mental health care and prescription drug coverage.” Dalluge said a student can submit a waiver form in the fall, spring and summer terms. The registration period for this year’s spring term began Jan. 11. The Student Health Insurance Office has a SEE WAIVER | 3A
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