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THE DAILY ILLINI
MONDAY January 27, 2014
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Trustees OK tuition hike for 2014-15 Board also approves pension
Decorating with love
resolution in wake of new law
stream.” The 1.7 percent increase NEWS EDITOR AND STAFF WRITER matches last year’s tuition hike, The University Board of the smallest since 1994 and is set Trustees approved a 1.7 percent to remain in line with “nationtuition hike on all three cam- al inflation indices and projecpuses for the 2014-15 academic tions,” according to a Universiyear at its meeting in Chicago ty press release. This is based on Thursday, raising the base on the board’s inflation-neutral tuition rate to $12,036 per year tuition-setting policy, which was set three years ago. on the Urbana campus. However, decrease in state The Urbana campus will see an increase of $202 in base revenue could potentially call tuition. The tuition rates for the for larger tuition increases in Chicago and Springfield cam- the future, Hardy said, and a puses will rise $178 and $158, drop off in state funding puts respectively. the board’s policy in danger. Incoming in-state freshmen “If the state cannot continare guaranue to provide teed this rate revenue confor four years, sistently, it is as part of the possible that (future) tuition state’s guaranteed tuition i ncre a s law. es might be Christophe greater than Pierre, vice the rate of president for i n f l at ion ,” Hardy said. academic The board affairs, said also approved next year’s a 2.3 percent tuition rates increase in will bring student fees in additionon the Urbana al revenue, campus, rais“enabling us ing the cost of to improve these fees to access and ensuring some TOM HARDY $2,984. This UNIVERSITY SPOKESMAN level of affordexcludes stuability and dent health allowing us insurance to provide financial aid to our fees, which will be voted on at students.” the board’s March 6 meeting. University spokesman Tom The Urbana campus will Hardy said annual tuition also see a 2 percent increase increases recommended by the in room and board costs. Based University and approved by the on a standard double-occupancy board are distributed in a vari- room and a 14-meal-per-week plan, the cost of housing is set at ety of means. “It goes to our core academic $10,180 for next academic year. mission, teaching and research, The combined cost of tuition, it goes to pay salaries and run student fees and housing for the our physical operations,” Har- Urbana campus will increase 1.9 dy said. “It is an unrestricted percent to $25,200 for 2014-15. source of funding, and along with the state appropriation, it represents the core revenue SEE BOARD | 3A BY LAUREN ROHR AND MARYCATE MOST
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Residents of Champaign and Urbana learn to decorate a Valentine pole as part of Spurlock Museum’s Be Inspired: A Demonstration Day by the C-U Spinners and Weavers Guild event on Sunday outside the museum.
Smoking policy ignites controversy Senators oppose proposed punishable student code changes related to smoking ban
YOUR VOICE
How should the University enforce the smoking ban?
BY MEGAN JONES STAFF WRITER
As the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs prepares to update the University student code, Illinois student senators Rachel Heller, junior in LAS, and Kevin Seymour, graduate student, submitted a resolution, which opposes any changes to the student code that would allow the University to reprimand students for smoking. “We would support the smoking ban, but we do not support reprimand for any student,” Heller said. “I really don’t like it when I’m walking out of a dorm or walking out of a class, and I have to walk through a cloud of smoke, but I don’t think students should have a punishment of possible expulsion from the University for a fundamental right that they have.” Seymour said he and Heller realize that they are fighting a losing battle in trying to stop all changes to the student code, and it likely won’t be possible to exclude the punishment clause. However, Renee Romano, vice chancellor of Student Affairs, said the University hopes to employ an educational and community approach rather than a disciplinary one. “Our approach really isn’t punitive; however, if a person just refused to comply and just keep doing the same thing over and over, we would pursue a disciplinary situation based off the fact that there’s a University policy that they refuse to adhere to,” Romano said. Punishment would depend on a variety of situations, such as if a student is already on conduct probation. Romano details
“It goes to our core academic mission, teaching and research, it goes to pay salaries and run our physical operations.
COMPILED BY MEGAN JONES STAFF WRITER
the progression as starting with a conversation, possibly followed by a letter of warning and then other courses of action increasing in severity. Action taken by the University will vary person-to-person based on their disciplinary history, she added. “(The resolution) seems to imply that the student senate doesn’t want there to be any consequences for students who refuse to adhere to a University policy, so I think that it is problematic,” Romano said. “Students must comply to University policy just like staff and faculty. That’s kind of a basic condition of going to school here.” Seymour said many faculty are being misled by the notion of majority student support for the ban in regards to the referendum held during the fall 2011 semester. Many believe that students voted by a 70-30 percent margin to ban smoking on campus, when in reality, they voted to support campus dialogue and action by the administration to explore making the University smoke-free. The student code already states that students must adhere to all University policies, in which the smoking ban is included. “I’m a little frustrated
because I know what students want to know is: Can I be dismissed for smoking?” Romano said. “I think that likelihood would be very unlikely. Would someone be fired for doing that? Highly unlikely. That’s not the purpose of the smoking ban.” Both Heller and Seymour are members of the Conference on Conduct Governance, which handles all changes to the student code. The committee is currently reviewing the changes, and Romano hopes the code will be amended within the next few weeks. “We have been asked by others on the conference to come up with ‘compromise language’ which administrators and students could agree to, but that may prove to be very difficult to do,” Seymour said in an e-mail. Other enforcement procedures include an online reporting system, which can be found on the smoke-free campus website, and student ambassadors, who will be trained to remind anyone smoking on campus of the policy, said Michele Guerra, director of the UI Wellness Center. Notices for recruitment have been sent out, interviews will begin this week, and Guerra hopes to have ambassadors out by mid-February.
“I’d prefer if it wasn’t super enforced. I understand keeping safety for the community in mind, but it’s a personal right. The fact that they banned e-cigs too is a bit ridiculous.”
Construction to continue in Illini Union
“Maybe a ticket or something, but only for, like, $1. Even that kind of sucks though.”
“Honestly, they should put up more non-smoking signs. If you see it all the time as a constant reminder, it will eventually start to change the mindset on campus.”
Bathrooms, elevators will see upgrades in 73-year-old building DAILY ILLINI STAFF REPORT
SEE SMOKING | 3A
Study: Wage law has positive impact BY JULIANNE MICOLETA STAFF WRITER
Pressure from increasing state budget deficits, as well as debt from underfunded pensions, have caused critics to call for the repeal of Illinois’ prevailing wage law for government construction projects. However, according to new research co-authored by a University labor expert, Illinois’ prevailing wage law creates many positive economic and social impacts, and repealing it
would not result in any considerable savings for taxpayers or the state. “We have a strong prevailing wage law in Illinois,” said Robert Bruno, professor of labor and employment relations. “It’s better than most states in that it assures public projects are done efficiently and on time with the best results possible.” The policy mandates that contractors and subcontractors are required to pay all laborers who perform work on public projects
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to match the prevailing wage, the weighted average wage of a county, and benefits. The study is co-authored by Bruno; Alison Quesada, a labor education specialist; Frank Manzo IV, policy director of the Illinois Economic Policy Institute; and Dale Belman, professor of labor and industrial relations at Michigan State University, and it serves as the first study of the social and economic impacts of the statewide prevailing wage law.
Bruno said critics of the law claim that the prevailing wage is inflammatory, and it makes funding public projects more expensive by compensating labor at rates higher than market wages. However, repeal of the law would weaken the overall economy, Quesada said, because while it would lead to more jobs in construction, it would result in job losses throughout the
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electrical systems in the north building, the life safety alarm throughout the entire Union and the heating and cooling systems in the north food court, Guth said. Additional upgrades are planned for the elevators and restrooms. The upgrade on the two unisex bathrooms on the first floor at the northeast side is scheduled to begin in midMay and should be completed by August, Guth said. Other en h a ncements include a $1.3 million elevator project, which will begin in July and last until November. The construction will be on the main service elevator, and restrictions will be put in place on the other two elevators so customers have priority, Guth said.
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Construction will continue in an effort to upgrade and modernize the 73-year-old north side of the Illini Union. A recently completed project and two upcoming projects focus on upgrading multiple parts of the building, some of which were as old as the building, said David Guth, assistant director of facilities, in an email. The second phase of the $10 million infrastructure upgrade was completed in November in the original 1941 building, Guth said. The second phase of the project upgraded the heating and cooling systems in the building. The first phase of the project was completed in 2012 a nd upgraded the
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