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WEDNESDAY February 5, 2014
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THE DAILY ILLINI The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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UI faculty considers unionization
23˚ | -3˚ Vol. 143 Issue 72
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50 Shades of White
Detractors stress the failure of unions at UIC BY MARYCATE MOST
Faculty unionization process
STAFF WRITER
As union organizers from the Campus Faculty Association travel from office to office, asking faculty members whether they would support faculty unionization, three University professors have taken it upon themselves to present the other side of the unionization argument. “There are hundreds of faculty that don’t want a union, and up until now there has been no outlet to express that,” said Nick Burbules, co-author of the statement opposing unionization and professor in Education. “That is why we created a forum for people to speak out.” Burbules, along with LAS professor Joyce Tolliver and Business professor Jeffrey Brown, created a statement on Jan. 24, opposing the formation of a campus-bargaining unit, or union. In just four days, more than 100 faculty members had signed the statement, Burbules said. This statement was prompted by the Campus Faculty Association urging faculty to sign union cards, Brown said. However, according to Campus Faculty Association President Harriet Murav, the organization has not been asking people to sign union cards but to sign a mission statement that supports collective bargaining. “We’ve been asking people to give their opinion,” Murav said. “It has no power — these signatures are in no way a commitment for anybody to do anything.” Murav and Campus Faculty Association colleagues see a number of advantages in unionization. “Faculty came here thinking this was a great university, and we’ve seen a shift where tuition gets higher and higher, where tuition gets bigger and bigger, many, many courses are taught by people who are underpaid,” Murav said. Unionization would put a floor on the wages paid to
The Campus Faculty Association has been advocating for faculty unionization, while professors Nick Burbules, Joyce Tolliver and Jeff Brown have written a statement opposing the movement. How would a union actually form on the Urbana campus? Here is how this process would occur. 1. CFA asks faculty what their opinion on unionization is, analyzing what percentage of the campus might be interested in joining a union. 2. CFA organizes a card drive in which faculty members would submit a card which signifies their vote on whether to unionize or not. 3. Then, there would be a grace period in which the CFA would have to gather the votes. “If they feel they have enough interest to do a card
BRENTON TSE THE DAILY ILLINI
Meng Liu, a graduate student, walks through the snow on the corner of Wright and Green streets. A winter storm covered campus Tuesday afternoon and continued through the night.
Criminal Identification Act revised More felonies can be expunged or sealed with the new change BY BRITTNEY NADLER STAFF WRITER
Having a criminal record serves as a constant roadblock for those seeking professional pursuits, such as employment or applying to college. But as of Jan. 1, some of those convictions may be eligible to be sealed or expunged, said John Roska, a lawyer with Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation. Five new Class 3 felonies and five new Class 4 felonies can now be hidden or removed from a person’s criminal record after a revision to the Criminal Identification Act. These felonies include a Class 4 conviction for possession of burglary tools, a Class 3 felony conviction for possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled
drive, they only have a small six-month period to do it,” McCarthy said. 4. If more than 50 percent of the faculty voted in favor of unionizing, the entire faculty would be unionized legally. SOURCE: RANDY MCCARTHY, HARRIET MURAV
employees, would require each union member to pay dues and could potentially unite the faculty’s voice. The Campus Fac-
SEE UNIONIZATION | 3A
Imprisonment for felony classes Certain Class 3 and Class 4 felonies, which encompass less severe crimes, such as retail theft, are now eligible to be sealed or expunged.
substance, theft, retail theft, deceptive practices and forgery, Roska said. Expunging a record is the most extreme form of clearing a conviction because the eligible felony is physically destroyed, Roska said. Expunged records can’t be seen by anybody, including local police, state police and state’s attorneys. Sealing a record will hide it from the general public, but the record is still in the police database and can be viewed by law enforcement and some government agencies, Roska said. Private employers can’t see sealed records, and that information doesn’t have to be revealed. “Expunging and sealing are statutory procedures,” he said. “If you fit into the categories, you qualify for expungement or
CLASS X
CLASS 1
CLASS 2
CLASS 3
CLASS 4
Punishable by 6 - 30 years in prison
Punishable by 4 - 15 years in prison
Punishable by 3 - 7 years in prison
Punishable by 2 - 5 years in prison
Punishable by 1 - 3 years in prison
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
Battery with a firearm
Sexual assault
Arson
Many assaults, batteries
Possession of burglary tools
EUNIE KIM THE DAILY ILLINI
SOURCE: ilga.gov - Illinois General Assembly
sealing. It’s not up to somebody to say yes or no — if you fit into the category, you get it.” To qualify, the crime has to fit certain criteria as outlined on the Illinois State Appellate Defender’s website, such as when it occurred and what the offender’s probation status is. “It’s hard to make sense of,” Roska said. “Figuring out if someone qualifies for expunging, or in particular, sealing, can be really exasperating to
figure out if it was this particular offense and if it was this particular sentence in that particular offense. And all of these have to match up precisely to qualify for it.” To file a petition for sealing or expunging, it must be filed in the criminal case after an allotted amount of time specific to the offense and time period in the county the arrest took
SEE FELONY | 3A
Vitoux carries on legacy of varsity fencing with club team BY CHARLOTTE CARROLL STAFF WRITER
FOLAKE OSIBODU THE DAILY ILLINI
Michael Vitoux teaches a group of students the basics of fencing at The Point Fencing Club in Champaign.
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Two NCAA Championships. Thirty-four Big Ten titles. Sophomore K atie Bora summed up her sport in just a few simple words. “It’s like chess and dancing combined,” said Bora, who joined Illini fencing this year and is trying her hand at the sport for the very first time. A constant struggle to maintain the mental lead while performing at a high physical level is the substance from which champions. It was this formula that launched Illinois’ Division I men’s fencing team into the realm of collegiate fencing lore and produced one of the most storied programs this country has ever seen. But that illustrious history is now just that — history. A oncegreat program is now merely a memory sealed away in records books and bygone players In 1993, Illinois cut the fencing and men’s swimming and diving teams. “At the time, the athletic
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But the fencing program’s history evoked much emotion as it drew out its final days. “They had successful programs, and some of the great people that had been involved in fencing were here at Illinois,” Brown said. “It was very difficult to do. And usually that (cutting teams) is the last decision you want to make. It was really unfortunate that the program was cut. It was very emotional, especially for the alumni.” With a sense of humor and an ability to relate each situation comically to his students, Michael Vitoux has no trouble relaying the lunges and positions of fencing to both his beginner and veteran students. Sometimes it’s a hypothetical knife fight at 2 a.m., which he uses to teach the first fencing position called “en garde.” Other times he teaches fencers to reach up to a shelf for food — to practice extending the arms full length. The class is kept laughing throughout. It‘s the first and last rule on
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department was operating on a budget deficit,” Associate Athletic Director of Athletic Communications Kent Brown said. “And I know they were looking for ways to save money.” In struggling economies, cutting sports teams has become a way to tighten an overextended budget. In the past four years, California, Maryland and most recently Temple have all been schools who planned to or cut at least five of their Division I programs. Though some were saved by donations, Brown added that universities are more likely to cut teams than add them. With a limited number of participants and diminishing growth potential at both the high school and NCAA level, the decision was made to cut Illinois fencing. Brown also said Title IX’s requirements to keep the money spent on athletics proportionate to the student body may have played a role in the final verdict as well. Just a few years later, women’s Division I soccer and softball were added.
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