Beyond Roe v. Wade: Court decision shouldn’t be hot-button topic OPINIONS, 4A
Under one roof
Fourteen residents live and eat together GREEKS & CAMPUS, 6A
Thursday January 24, 2013
The Daily Illini
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
www.DailyIllini.com
Vol. 142 Issue 86
Members of SEIU picket for contract
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ILLINOIS STUDENT SENATE
ISS chooses new PR chair, vice president
Local 73 to vote on strike authorization
Former chief of staff runs unopposed for both roles
BY CARINA LEE
BY TYLER DAVIS
STAFF WRITER
STAFF WRITER
With a strike authorization vote Thursday and Friday, the Service Employees International Union Local 73 gathered again to raise awareness about the group’s contract negotiations with the University. By picketing, the group is hoping to push the University to raise campus wages and better working conditions. SEIU and the University have been in contract negotiations since June. Thomas Haley, building service worker for five and a half years, said he feels positive about the outcome of the picket. “I thought we had a great turnout today — a lot of noise and a lot of honks and a lot of appreciation from the community,” Haley said. “I feel that we made a point and I feel that point has been made very loudly. “The Alumni Center calling the police on us, it goes to reinforce the belief that a point has been made.” Aaron Ammons, vice president of SEIU 73, said a strike is likely if there isn’t more progress with negotiations with the University. “People are getting more and more engaged, and I’m really starting to get upset with the lack of progress in the negotiation,” Ammons said. “If management does not come through with legitimate proposals, then I think a strike is likely.”
Following two Illinois Student Senate resignations this month, Jenny Baldwin, former chief of staff and sole nominee, will assume both positions, after being elected to them at Wednesday’s meeting. “I never pictured VPX (vice president-external) as something I would do,” the junior in LAS said. “But you know, sometimes opportunity just knocks and things happen. I’m excited to get to work.” Former vice presidentexternal and senior in LAS Ryan Young announced his resignation at last week’s meeting, and former public relations committee chair Rachael Markwell announced her resignation Jan. 19. Young said he could have graduated last semester and decided recently to retroactively apply to graduate, so he will no longer be a student at the University. “(It’s) bittersweet of course, but it’s definitely the right thing to do to let new people take over and represent,” Young said. “I’m still going to be involved behind the scenes.” Young said in a pre-election speech that because of the past movement of senators within the body, outreach projects have become more the responsibility of the public relations committee instead of the vice president-external. Now Baldwin will take on both roles, something Young had
Carina can be reached at lee713@ dailyillini.com.
High: 24˚ Low: 21˚
KELLY HICKEY THE DAILY ILLINI
A group of SEIU members gather outside the Alice Campbell Alumni Center on Wednesday to protest their contracts and pensions for building service and food service workers at the University.
planned to do last semester before his resignation. “It’s pretty much just merged the role of chief communications officer and PR chair, so that’s really helpful,” Baldwin said. “We’ll be able to get things done faster and more efficiently.” Baldwin said she wants to start working on promoting student elections, and she is also looking into hiring a graphic designer. Senator Chris Dayton, senior in LAS, nominated Baldwin. He said she would not have to be brought up to speed, and she has already proved she is qualified to serve as vice president-external. Young said he wants to actively work with the senate in an advisory role to the new chief of staff until the end of August, when his lease ends. He plans to attend graduate school to study student affairs and hopes to serve as a highlevel administrator within a university in the future. Young also said he looks forward to seeing what Baldwin accomplishes as vice president-external, mentioning that as no one ran against her, it goes to show how much the senate supports her. “I know she’s going to be focused on really revamping our image and leading PR and the vice president’s office with a strong unified message,” he said.
Tyler can be reached at tadavis2@ dailyillini.com.
Future ECE building suffers water damage BY CORINNE RUFF STAFF WRITER
ROCHELLE WILSON THE DAILY ILLINI
Nicole-Anderson Cobb speaks on gun control and steps that can be taken in order to prevent gun violence in the future. The forum was held Wednesday at the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities.
Gun violence event calls for local action Speaker says public cannot wait longer BY CHRISSY PAWLOWSKI STAFF WRITER
The Education Justice Project at the University held an event on gun violence Wednesday, featuring guest speaker Nicole Anderson Cobb, outreach coordinator for the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. The EJP, a unit within the College of Education, holds monthly forums to discuss issues related to violence and criminal justice. Rebecca Ginsburg, EJP director and University professor, said
INSIDE
gun violence was a prominent issue to discuss in one of these forums. “We actually organized this before (the) Sandy Hook (Elementary School shooting),” Ginsburg said. “It was just an awful coincidence, and after Sandy Hook, it’s even more important. ... This is a problem that’s not going away, (and) it’s a problem that needs urgent, urgent attention.” While Cobb said she supports President Barack Obama’s gun control proposal, which was introduced Jan. 16, she said she thinks the public cannot wait for legislative action. The proposal calls for increased background checks
on those purchasing firearms, a limited size of gun magazines and limits on semiautomatic gun sales. At the forum, Cobb discussed why action is needed at universities to prevent school shootings. The U.S. Senate briefly discussed the gun control proposal at their session Tuesday. According to a Senate press release, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reminded senators to avoid being partison in order to reach a consensus on gun control. “Those principles will be fore-
See GUN FORUM, Page 3A
Despite a water leak in the Electrical Computer Engineering building that fl ooded the basement, construction on the building is still expected to be completed on time. Illinois’ construction management agency, Capital Development Board , is in the process of assessing the damage the four million gallon leak did to the basement. Kirk Fernandes, project manager for the building, said the agency is expecting results of the assessment within the next few weeks. Andy Blacker, spokesman for the University’s Facilities & Services Division, said the leak was found on Jan. 6 in the central chilled water system by construction workers and
SARI LESK THE DAILY ILLINI
Construction continues at the new Electrical and Computer Engineereing building, located near the Beckman Institute. The building is expected to be completed on time despite a water leak that flooded the basement. was patched up later that day. “Utility crews (from the Department of Facilities & Services) were dispatched to the site and were able to stop the flow of water,” he said. The water from the building was then pumped to the city sewer line and treated by the Champaign-Urbana Sanitary District. Rick Manner, executive director of Champaign-Urbana Sanitary District, said they treated the water during the
course of one week to prevent overflowing the system. Because the water came from a chilled system, Manner said the water was cleaner than most water they treat. “It was less strong than typically sewage is,” he said. “That’s why we could easily process it. It was just a matter of making sure it didn’t overflow any of our sewers.” Manner said the Sanitary
the tuition and fees for the 201314 academic year at its regular meeting Thursday. Final recommendations for tuition costs could be released any time before then, Hardy said. At the board’s meeting in Springfield in November, University President Robert Easter cited a 123 percent increase in tuition and fee costs since 2002. But he said keeping education
costs affordable is a priority for the University. Last year, the board approved a 4.8 percent tuition hike for the class of 2016, raising the base tuition rate for in-state students from $11,104 to $11,636 annually. If tuition rates are increased for the next academic year, they will most likely be modest increases, Hardy said.
See ECE BUILDING, Page 3A
BRIEF
Tuition rates not yet set for next year When the University board of trustees’ retreat came to a close Wednesday, University spokesman Tom Hardy said the recommendations for next year’s tuition numbers had still not been fi nalized. The board will vote to approve
Po l i ce 2 A | H o ro s co p e s 2 A | O p i n i o n s 4 A | C ro sswo rd 5 A | Co m i c s 5 A | G re e ks & C a m p u s 6 A | S p o r t s 1 B | Cl a ss i f i e d s 4 B | S u d o ku 4 B