THE DAILY ILLINI
THURSDAY April 22, 2021
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 150 Issue 51
Student dismissed for testing violation UI alters courses for
prior knowledge gaps
BY ALIZA MAJID ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
The University has dismissed Antonio Ruiz, graduate student in LAS, for not complying with the COVID-19 testing policies this semester. The dismissal of Ruiz has gained attention on social media as the petition advocating for his reinstatement has around 3,000 signatures as of Saturday, with the campus community rallying online in support of his case. With Ivor Chen’s case occurring earlier this semester, many people have once again started to question the treatment of graduate students at the University. Chen is a graduate student in Engineering who was initially dismissed earlier this semester for COVID-19 noncompliance, but was reinstated after his case was revised. The Graduate Employees’ Organization has called out for support for this case because Ruiz has various health risks and physical disabilities that have prohibited him from taking the University’s saliva test. Ruiz received his initial disciplinary notice for testing noncompliance on Oct. 20 and attempted to apply for test exemption and was denied since he resides in University Housing. “He got several letters from documentation from physicians that he’s worked with as evidence during the hearing,” said Ellie Fujimoto, member of the GEO. “Because he lived in University Housing, he couldn’t get
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PHOTO COURTESY OF GRADUATE EMPLOYEES’ ORGANIZATION/CHANGE.ORG
Graduate student Antonio Ruiz poses for a photo. Ruiz is the second student dismissed from the University this academic year because of COVID-19 testing noncompliance.
an exemption and he didn’t know about the nasal swab test.” The University released a Massmail on Jan. 15 stating that only students living in non-University housing and who don’t come to campus are eligible for COVID-19 testing exemptions. According to the GEO, Ruiz was not informed about the nasal swab alternative until March 25 during the hearing with the Office for Student Conflict Resolution, which he immediately applied for on March 26. “Our experience has been that information presented outside of the formal disciplinary process about a disciplinary action often presents an incomplete portrayal of
the facts,” said Robin Kaler, associate chancellor of public affairs. “For example, for the entire academic year, we have offered an alternative testing option to any student who cannot use the saliva test.” During the hearing, Ruiz attempted to explain his medical conditions with various supporting documents from doctors and faculty as evidence but was dismissed. Initially, the dismissal was effective immediately and Ruiz received a trespassing notification that prohibited him from entering any University property, even though his residence was in University Housing. According to the new information the GEO
received, this information has been clarified by the case coordinator to allow Ruiz to enter University property for the purpose of testing, and he has until May 13 to vacate the residential building. The GEO is continuing to push forward the reversal of this dismissal case and reinstate Ruiz. “We’ve launched an email campaign to put some pressure to at least get the sanctions for Antonio reduced,” Fujimoto said. “We just don’t want him to have to move across the country, especially given that he’s vulnerable to complications resulting from COVID-19.” alizam2@dailyillini.com
Library renovations continue despite concerns BY WILLIE CUI ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITOR
Due to pandemic disruptions, faculty members have expressed concerns over the University Library’s plans to renovate the Main Library and convert the Undergraduate Library into a special collections facility. During its April 5 meeting, the University Senate discussed a resolution (RS.21.03) that called for delaying the UGL conversion for six months so that “a committee including library staff and concerned faculty and student stakeholders” can meet and discuss these concerns. “What’s gonna happen to the undergrads?” said Ralph Mathisen, co-sponsor of the Senate resolution and professor in LAS. “We’re gonna be throwing them out of their favorite space and trying to squeeze them into the Main Library.”
Although the resolution was co-sponsored by 11 faculty senators and endorsed by 14 heads of department, it was ultimately rejected by the University Senate after University Library administrators voiced their opposition. Initially, the University Library planned to renovate the Main Library after first converting the UGL into a special collections facility. One of the greatest concerns voiced by faculty is that undergraduate students would have to “squeeze” into the unrenovated Main Library during the UGL conversion. “I believe the public space in the Main Library … is at most a third of the square footage of the UGL,” said Lori Newcomb, professor in LAS and member of a library working group. “And that’s for everyone.” This is confounded by growing concerns that the Univer-
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY
A concept drawing of the Main Library’s future renovation is shown above. University faculty is concerned for new construction at the Main Library due to disruptions caused by the pandemic.
sity Library is indefinitely postponing the Main Library renovation due to pandemic disruptions. “So this is just scuttlebutt — the (University Library) decided that they needed to back off on redoing the Main Library,” Newcomb said. “And this is exactly what faculty didn’t want to have happen.” According to Mathisen, the University Library’s original plan was to use the space recovered from demolishing the Main Library’s central stacks during the renovations for undergraduate needs. “There were those of us who wondered, ‘Why do you have to expel the undergraduates from their library?” Mathisen said. “There must be other options for expanding the space for special collections.” While the initial plan had a “two to three year awkward period” where undergraduates would have to make do with sharing the unrenovated Main Library, Newcomb is concerned that this might remain that way. “My concern now is that since the Main Library renovation is on indefinite hold, that this crowding becomes the new status quo,” Newcomb said. Newcomb noted that the resolution’s proposal for a working group to evaluate the needs and concerns of faculty and students was “appropriate” and that fac-
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tion of the course,” said Stephen R. Downie, associate director of Academic Affairs in the School of Integrative Biology. This section will emphasize active learning and the use of highly trained teaching assistants and instructors. Downie added that it is the same section used for merit and Access and Achievement Program scholars which focuses on skill development, problem solving and the use of case studies. This will be IB150 Lecture CL2. Another course that will undergo changes is CMN 101: Public Speaking. “First, our plan is to have smaller cap sizes for CMN 101 and CMN 111-112 sections so that the instructor can provide more individual attention to students,” Mardia J. Bishop, Director of Public Speaking Instruction, said in an email. The cap size will be held down for both fall 2021 and spring 2022. CMN 101 plans to increase the amount of time and exercises that was originally spent on communication anxiety. More opportunities for small group work will be provided so that students can get used to peer interaction. “We don’t know the effects that online learning has had on interpersonal communication, but we are prepared to address any deficiencies by adjusting the curriculum to allow more time for students to interact with each other,” Bishop said.
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ulty “have been promised that in the past.” However, she also noted that the resolution called for a six-month delay in renovating the UGL, which would have placed the project’s funding at risk. Mathisen took issue with how the University Library “was absolutely intransigent” THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO during the Senate meeting. Students in a statistics class listen attentively in a lecture at the “I made some notes of the Lincoln Hall Theater. Some introductory courses may require very disrespectful way that meetings with Teacher’s Assistain’s instead of office hours next year. they treated this very innocent request to continue to have inquiry,” Mathisen said. “One thing they did, was to recapitulate what the plans were and just say ‘No, you’re wrong,’ or they said ‘Well, the planning process is already over; you already had your chance for input, so tough on you.’” In a written statement, John Wilkin, dean of libraries and University librarian, along with David Chasco, chair of the Library Consultation Working Group and Pia Hunter, chair of the Senate Library Committee, urged the University Senate to vote against the resolution, “so that efforts to advance the Library’s future needs can continue.” “Postponing that work will almost certainly cause the Library’s building project to fail,” they said. “Most of the Opinions: Earth Features: Increases funding for the first phase canDay reminds society in Anti-Asian hate not be used for other purposes ambition is decisive scare UI community and will be forfeit.”
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Introductory courses may change their content to focus more on basic concepts which may have not been covered or understood well in high school due to the nature of online classes during the pandemic. The First Year Academic Experience Task Group is charged with looking at potential learning loss and knowledge gaps because of the pandemic. Gretchen Adams, assistant dean for Undergraduate Student Affairs, serves as the current chair of the task force. “Some departments will have smaller and more frequent discussion sections.,” Adams said. “Some others are thinking of administering an assessment to gauge where students might be struggling and may hold extra workshops.” Adams added that certain courses may also have required meetings with the Teacher’s Assistant instead of optional office hours. For this change, more TA’s are being hired and changes in TA training are being introduced so as to transition from online to in-person instruction. Peer tutoring opportunities may also be on the rise because of this change. One such course that plans on introducing changes is IB 150: Organismal and Evolutionary Biology. “We’re going to use the results of an optional placement test to identify students who are likely to fail IB 150 so we can put them in a new sec- payalr2@dailyillini.com
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