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Purdue boils the Illini, 66-58
THE DAILY ILLINI
THURSDAY January 16, 2014
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
43Ëš | 18Ëš Vol. 143 Issue 62
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Board plans to increase base tuition to $12,036 for class of 2018
STATE LAWS: WHAT’S NEW BY ELEANOR BLACK STAFF WRITER
With a new year comes new laws, and though some important changes — such as the legalization of same-sex marriage — will not be going into effect until later this year, others will be seen more immediately. Here are five of the more than 200 laws going into effect this month.
The maximum speed limit on tollways and interstate highways outside of urban areas this year has been raised from 65 mph to 70 mph. Illinois’ eight urban counties — Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Madison, McHenry, St. Clair and Will — have the option to opt out. Though the law went into effect on Jan. 1, the speed limit in a particular area does not change until the speed limit road sign is changed.
If Illinois motorists want to talk while driving, they must now use now use hands-free technology to do so, though exceptions will be made in emergency cases. Violation of the law will result in fines starting at $75 for first offenses, $100 for second offenses, $125 for third and $150 for fourth and subsequent offenses.
Eleanor can be reached at eablack2@ dailyillini.com.
Tuition increase matches last year’s
Speed limit change
No cell phone use while driving
BY MARYCATE MOST STAFF WRITER
With students on their final week of winter break, University faculty and administration kicked off the new year with an Urbana-Champaign Senate Executive Committee meeting, as well as two Board of Trustees committee meetings.
Board of Trustees
Medical marijuana
Concealed carry
Cigarette butts are now considered litter
Illinois became the 20th state to legalize medical marijuana, though the legalization comes with strict regulations and a waiting period attached. Within the four-year pilot program, a person cannot be prescribed more than 2.5 ounces of marijuana over a period of two weeks, and the prescribing doctor must have a treatment history with the patient. Additionally, the medical marijuana can only be purchased through one of the 60 state-regulated dispensing centers.
Illinois has also become the final state to allow concealed firearms to be carried in public. Concealed carry license applications went live on Jan. 5, and more than 11,000 applications were accepted. Carriers must be at least 21 years old and have a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card, 16 hours of concealed carry firearms training and other requirements, to be eligible for a license.
Strict littering penalties will be in place for those who toss their cigarette butts. Another recent law fines litter violations a minimum of $50. A first time violation will now be considered a Class B misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $1,500, while a second violation will become a Class A misdemeanor. A third offense could lead to jail time ranging from one to three years and a $25,000 fine. Violators may also have to clean up litter on a public highway for a month-long period.
Members of the board’s Audit, Budget, Finance and Facilities Committee, at their meeting Jan. 13, discussed the University’s plan to increase tuition by 1.7 percent, student fees by 2.3 percent and housing fees by 2 percent. This proposal is set to appear before the board at its Jan. 23 meeting in Chicago. This proposal matches last year’s tuition increase of 1.7 percent, the University’s smallest tuition increase since 1994. “The percentage is the same as it was a year ago — it is a continuation of what has become a downward trend,� University spokesman Tom Hardy said. “This is attributable to a number of factors, including a Board of Trustees policy from 2011 that says tuition increases should be inflation neutral.� A $202 increase will put base tuition rates at $12,036 per year for incoming instate students at the Urbana-Champaign campus, according to a press release. The 2.3 percent increase in fees and 2 percent increase in housing would mean a total increase of $269 per year. The board’s Governance, Personnel and Ethics Committee met Jan. 9 to review potential board items. Among these items were the appointment of associates and fellows to the Center for Advanced Study and a review of a possible extension of athletic director Mike Thomas’ contract. These items were reviewed by the committee and are also set to be approved at the upcoming board meeting, Hardy said.
Campus-wide smoking ban in effect UI officials trying to create culture that supports new policy BY MIRANDA HOLLOWAY ASSISTANT DAYTIME EDITOR
A campus-wide smoking ban took effect on Jan. 1 and prohibits smoking on all University property. These new measures ban the use of tobacco, non-tobacco plants, such as marijuana, and electronic cigarettes, according the University’s official policy. The ban was put into motion in November 2011 after a student referendum showed almost 70 percent of those who voted supported the smoking ban. After about a year of planning and research, Chancellor Phyllis Wise announced in October 2012 that the campus would become smoke-free by fall that following year; however, it was postponed to Jan. 1, 2014, to avoid adding stress during finals week. A group of volunteers who are trained in talking to people about the ban will take part in enforcing it. “In other words, if someone is smoking on campus, I’m assuming that they might not know or they haven’t gotten into the habit of not smoking on campus yet,� said Renee Romano, vice chancellor of Student Affairs.
In the case that someone has been reminded multiple times and will not comply with the ban, it will be seen as a violation of University policy, she said. “All students are expected to adhere to University policy, and all faculty staff are expected to adhere to University policies, so ... it would be just a gradual acceleration of consequences to try to get someone to stop,� Romano said. The University spoke with other smoke-free campuses around the country to learn about their policies. “What we’ve learned from other universities is that it’s really kind of a gradual educational and cultural change that occurs,� Romano said. Romano said she hopes the ban will make the campus healthier and cleaner and may encourage some smokers to quit. “If people chose to quit or not to pick up smoking as a habit, that would be really the best,� Romano said. Cessation programs are being offered through the McKinley Health Center, faculty insurance plan and other public resources, said Michelle Guerra, director of the Wellness Center. “One of the things we’d really like to do ... is to create a culture that really supports the smoke-free environment,� Guerra said. Guerra said although the majority of the feedback she has received is
How the smoking ban came to be
administrators, faculty and staff. April 2012: A survey was taken of 10 percent of student, faculty and staff to gather information about attitudes about campus tobacco use. Summer 2012: A committee submitted a report to the chancellor after reviewing information and policy options. October 2012: Chancellor Phyllis Wise announced that the campus will become a smoke-free environment. January 2014: Smoking ban is implemented after preparation.
The official policy surrounding the smoking ban covers all activities on campus property. The policy defines campus property as “any property owned, leased, occupied, operated or otherwise controlled by the University of Illinois� and includes private vehicles parked on campus property. November 2011: On a referendum, approximately 70 percent of students who voted on a question about making the campus smokefree were in favor of the idea. January 2012: Chancellor Phyllis Wise created the Smoke Free Ad Hoc committee made up of students,
Urbana-Champaign Senate Executive Committee The Urbana-Champaign Senate Executive Committee met Jan. 13 to propose the restructuring of non-tenured facul-
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SOURCE: MICHELLE GUERRA AND SMOKE-FREE WEBSITE
positive, some have voiced frustration about the change. “I think there are going to be some people who need to change their habits and figure out a game plan for getting through the day without smoking for whom this is going to be frustrating,� Guerra said. Some, like Stephanie Fessler, senior in Social Work, question if the policy is going to be effective. “I think that it’s going to do stigmatize it more, but it won’t actually stop an actual smoker from smoking,� she said.
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Fessler, who smokes, does not think that the outright banning will be effective in keeping regular smokers from smoking, nor does she believe it will encourage them to quit. “The difference of somebody who smokes in a bar and smokes on campus is that someone who smokes at a bar might not be an actual smoker, but generally if you’re smoking on campus it’s because you are carrying a pack with you because you are a smoker and this is what you choose to do,� Fessler said.
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Illini Chess Club makes consecutive Final Four appearance BY ZILA RENFRO STAFF WRITER
In a blur of pawns, knights and bishops, Eric Rosen and Michael Auger could be seen on Fox News during winter break playing a speed game of chess while simultaneously being interviewed about their recent success. In December, the Illini Chess Club went to the 2013 Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship and, for the second consecutive year, earned a spot in the President’s Cup, the collegiate chess final four.
The Illini team includes Rosen, Auger, Xin Leo Luo and Akshay Indusekar will be the only squad in the Final Four without any grandmasters or any coaches. The teams in the final four, two of which belong to Webster University and one hailing from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, will compete in Manhattan in April. Auger, president of the Illini Chess Club, laughed as he explained the shock of winning a spot in the top four a second time. “Before we went into (the Pan Am
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Championship), we joked about how we were going to do it again, but I don’t think any of us really believed it,� Auger said. The championship, held in Lubbock, Texas, included 42 participating teams representing 23 schools. Many of the teams have grandmasters, the highest title given to a player by the World Chess Organization- FIDE. Most teams also have coaches that train players for tournaments. Despite not having these amenities, the Illini players managed to beat some of the top teams.
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Akshay Indusekar, junior in LAS, began playing chess when he was a sophomore in high school. This is his first year on the Illini A-Team. “It was really interesting,� Indusekar said. “We played many difficult opponents. We upset three teams that were supposed to beat us.� Auger explained that these were upsets of teams that out rated the Illini team by 200 points on every single board.
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