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Wednesday January 30, 2013
The Daily Illini www.DailyIllini.com
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
Ceremony held for new Student Veteran Lounge University opens lounge in Union to aid veterans’ transition, studies BY CHRISSY PAWLOWSKI STAFF WRITER
The Veteran Student Support Services unit hosted the grand opening of the Student Veteran Lounge on Tuesday. The lounge, located on the food court level of the Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St., will be dedicated to military veterans, but is open to all students. The grand opening featured speeches by Dr. Nick Osborne, director of the Veteran Student Support Services, and Renée Romano, vice chancellor of student affairs. After a ribbon cutting ceremony, members of the public, including students in the registered student organization Illini Veterans, were able to receive tours of the lounge. “The lounge is what’s considered to be a best practice in the higher education literature for serving student veterans,” Osborne said. “It provides a combination of social collaborations, relationships
and other veteran-specific information.” Osborne said the Veteran Student Support Services unit had been working on the project since 2009. He said the most important factor to the Illini Veterans for the lounge was location, which he said was achieved in securing the Union. “The Union is one of the best places to be on campus, so we were fortunate to get a good place like that,” he said. In addition to pamphlets and brochures containing information relevant to veterans, the lounge also provides a space for students to socialize and study. Student veteran Elizabeth Ambros, secretary of Illini Veterans and senior in AHS, said she thinks the lounge will be helpful for veterans easing into university life. “It gives new student veterans a spot to go to,” she said. “It’s like a homing beacon.” After serving in the military for eight years, Ambros joined the Illini Veterans in hopes of making friends she could relate to. “The social aspect is really
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Working out interview techniques at the ARC
ROCHELLE WILSON THE DAILY ILLINI
Brian Chen, junior in Business, talks to a recruiter at the Business Career Fair, which was held at the ARC on Tuesday. “I came here for an internship and experience communicating with recruiters,” said Chen when asked why he went to the Career Fair.
University updates emergency plans Officials express confidence for bomb threat response changes BY CHRISSY PAWLOWSKI STAFF WRITER
As public safety offi cials nationwide re-evaluate emergency plans following the Sandy Hook shooting last month, University officials remain confident about their recently updated plan. “I’m really particularly proud of the organizational structure that we have been able to put together on campus, meaning who exactly fulfi lls roles and responsibilities,” said University Police Lt. Todd Short. “If in the event we have a major emergency or major disaster, we can know exactly where we’re going ... If you try to defi ne that dur-
ing the time of the emergen- campus evacuation rules were cy, it becomes very chaotic and prompted by bomb threats counterproductive.” made at other universities, such The University updated as University of Texas and Louthe plan, called the Campus isiana State University. Short would not provide Emergency Operations Plan, details about on Dec. 10, four days prior to the the changes, Newtown, Conn. which are not shooting. A group made public of administradue to security tors and faculty concerns. Un iversit y called the Camspokeswompus Emergency an Robin KalOperation Cener said unlike ter Core makes elementary and changes annually as is required high school stuby the Illinois dents, UniverCampus Securisity students ty Enhancement have a larger Act , which was responsibility TODD SHORT, put into effect in to take safety University police lieutenant. 2008. prec autions, Short said the such as signing most substantial change to up for crime alerts and using the plan had more to do with resources like SafeRides and concerns about bomb threats SafeWalks, provided by Univerthan gun violence. Changes to sity police.
“I’m really particularly proud of the organizational structure that we have been able to put together on campus.”
“There are a lot of things students can do to actively try to make sure that they stay safe,” she said. “There’s no way to guarantee that you’re not going to be a crime victim, but we think that if everybody does everything they can, we certainly can reduce the chances.” Despite feeling content with the University’s plan, Short and Kaler said they are always looking to have conversations with faculty, staff and students about safety. “I think it’s extremely important to always have those communications because it’s important to get everybody in the state on board with these emergency response philosophies,” he said. “I think it’s good to have different disciplines represented in those forums to really open up those lines of communication.”
Chrissy can be reached at capawlo2 @dailyillini.com.
Student senate rewording bill’s title Senate committee nixes ‘forever’ from Fighting Illini bill BRENTON TSE THE DAILY ILLINI
Jose Orozco, student in Engineering sits in front of a fireplace and a television in the newly opened Student Veteran Lounge, which is located in the basement of the student union, on Tuesday. When asked about the new lounge, he said the lounge “provides the student veteran body with a central location where everybody can come together to build
BY TYLER DAVIS STAFF WRITER
The Illinois Student Senate is debating the use of the word “forever” as it continues discussion of a resolution aimed
at preserving the University’s Fighting Illini identity. On Tuesday, a senate committee removed “forever” from the title of a bill “ensuring our future as Fighting Illini,” though no other appearances of the word were removed. Chris McCarthy, vice chair of the Committee on Campus Affairs and a senior in Engineering, said other use of the word “forever” in the body of the bill will be discussed and possibly amended on the senate floor at its meeting Feb. 6. The resolution, sponsored by student body President Brock Gebhardt, was tabled during last week’s committee meeting in order to add
more cited research to the resolution before presenting it to the floor. Gebhardt said he thinks this resolution is separate from Campus Spirit Revival’s efforts to select a new symbol for the campus. “To say that the mascot and the team name are inextricably linked is false,” he said. “Think about the University of Alabama. They are the Crimson Tide. What is their mascot? It’s an elephant.” If passed, the senate will take the resolution to the board of trustees and the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Tyler can be reached at tadavis2@dailyillini.com.
Student senators to propose campus ban on concealed firearms Senators hope to create gun-free zone around UI BY TYLER DAVIS STAFF WRITER
The Illinois Student Senate is preparing a proposal to present to local police chiefs and University administrators that will draw the boundary of where fi rearms would be allowed should concealed carry legislation pass in Illinois. The proposal, being written
INSIDE
by student senators Christopher Dayton and Nick Larson, is still in preliminary stages. “I’d much rather make sure that we can get our voice heard early, put a bug in (legislators’) ears and make sure that we can keep the campus safe for our students and ensure a proper level of communication about this, rather than just crossing our fi ngers and see what happens,” Dayton said. The proposal will advocate the creation of a buffer zone of campus, in addition to areas covered by current state law and the student code, in which
carrying a concealed weapon would be illegal, depending on how lawmakers regulate concealed carry. By campus law, student possession of a weapon is illegal on any property controlled or owned by the University. Dayton said this buffer zone hasn’t been defi ned yet, but he said he will have a preliminary plan by the Feb. 6 senate meeting. He said he does not think weapons are conducive to student life and that introducing weapons to this campus creates an imbalance of power, as most
students on campus are not yet of age to own a weapon. He also said many aspects of campus culture don’t coincide with fi rearms. He cited an incident that occurred in the 100 block of East John Street on Nov. 4, in which a 22-yearold male reported coming home from a bar and engaging in a physical altercation with his roommate, during which a knife was displayed, and a single shot was fi red through his bedroom door. “If that is not a clear example of what can happen when you mix alcohol and fi rearms, it can
be a very scary prospect as to having potentially more fi rearms on this campus,” he said. Larson also said during last week’s senate meeting that because of the high population density, any sort of fi rearm discharge on campus is an extremely dangerous prospect. This proposal is being based on a similar resolution, sponsored by Dayton, Larson and senator Damani Bolden, which the student senate passed at last week’s meeting.
Tyler can be reached at tadavis2@ dailyillini.com.
“I’d much rather make sure that we can get our voice heard early, put a bug in (legislators’) ears and make sure that we can keep the campus safe for our students.” CHRISTOPHER DAYTON, student senator and writer of proposed restrictions on concealed carry
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