UNDERWATER LEARNING Amid changes, Scuba classes at the ARC continue to float on.
LIFE & CULTURE, 6A
MONDAY February 9, 2015
WILDCATS TOP ILLINI IN EVANSTON
SAFETY FIRST Safety should be the first priority for Urbana community as council approves purchase of Tasers for police.
Having lost its last 8 of 9 games, women’s hoops finds itself in a rut.
SPORTS, 1B
OPINIONS, 4A
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University considers gender-neutral bathrooms BY JANE LEE STAFF WRITER
PHOTO COURTESY OF STEPHANIE LEE
Volunteers keep warm at the fourth annual One Winter Night event on Friday, where volunteers raised money for C-U at Home.
ONE NIGHT OF AWARENESS Participant recalls homeless days, encourages locals to show empathy at ‘One Winter Night’ BY SARAH FOSTER STAFF WRITER
With a cardboard box beside her and a difficult past behind, Champaign resident Breelyn Mehrtens leans on the edge of a portable chair, staring into the distance. “I had been homeless during the summer (of 2002),” Mehrtens said, pulling the tops of her pink mittens over her fingertips, “from June to August.” Though it’s been more than 10 years, she can’t help but think of those three months — especially as she decides to relive that past again, during C-U at Home’s fourth annual “One Winter Night.”
The event took place Friday and winded down the streets and sidewalks of downtown Champaign. According to Jay Schubert, volunteer coordinator and donations organizer for C-U at Home, the organization has raised $95,000 so far this year. The event’s organizers aimed to raise a total of $100,000. Melany Jackson, executive director for C-U at Home, said this year’s event doubled the number of box dwellers and funds, and it benefited from the added educational component new to this year’s event. Tony Comtois, mentor for C-U at Home who also participated as a box dweller, has been active with C-U at
Home for approximately three years. He presented in the education program at Friday’s event and spoke about the importance of shelter living. “When the speaking part was over with, some of the people were out walking around visiting the box dwellers, and when they saw me in mine, they told me it was great,” Comtois said of the reception for the educational program. “To not just only have the homeless awareness event, but to also have an educational part of it.” Only two hours after the event’s 6 p.m. start, Mehrtens’ skin turns red from exposure to the chilly, February air. She knew bearing the conditions for another 10 hours wouldn’t be easy, but she said she wouldn’t have missed it. “Not only are (the homeless)
The University of Illinois is known for a diverse and inclusive campus, yet it is still in the process of providing more options for dorms to have gender-inclusive facilities. In late January, University Housing sent emails to students residing in Allen Hall to take part in a survey to gauge interest in having a gender-inclusive restroom on one floor for a week-long trial. The survey closed on Jan. 30 and a housing committee met Wednesday to evaluate the results of the survey, which showed that no floors met the 75 percent threshold needed to implement the pilot program. While the threshold was not met, Kirsten Ruby, associate director of housing for communications and marketing, emphasized that a high number of students expressed interest in creating the facilities. “The survey got a good deal of interest on a couple of floors in Allen, but there wasn’t a single floor that responded high enough for us to proceed right
away,” Ruby said. Ruby said the main reason for proposing the survey was to explore ways that University Housing and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center can make the community more inclusive. “One part of that, in a community like we have, is that a student who is transgender may want or choose to use a restroom, and they only have two choices,” Ruby said. “One way that a community could be more inclusive would be to provide a restroom that is identified as gender-neutral or gender-inclusive.” Leslie K. Morrow, director of the LGBT Resource Center, said the group is trying to expand and reach out for gender-inclusiveness in residence halls. “These are conversations that we had with housing, and we know that they’re willing to work with us and make those options,” Morrow said. “They’ve been a great partner and working alongside us. Matter of fact, they are the ones that reached out to us, quite honestly.”
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URBANA-CHAMPAIGN SENATE
Academic senate asked to review TCF Bank partnership with UI to end Salaita’s case Contract with University expires at end of February
DAILY ILLINI STAFF REPORT
The University’s partnership with TCF Bank will not be renewed after its contract expires at the end of February. Although there will no longer be a TCF Bank branch on campus or in the Champaign-Urbana area, Mark Goldman, director of corporate communications at TCF, said students who bank with TCF don’t need to panic. All of TCF’s on-campus ATMs will remain open until at least May 18. Goldman said the company continues to make improvements to its mobile and online banking platforms to increase convenience while eliminating the need to visit a physical branch. In addition to the guarantee of ATMs and online access, students should take comfort in knowing that their account will not be affected. “TCF is committed to serving the
needs of the student population and we believe that students will continue to benefit from TCF product offerings — particularly checking and savings accounts,” Goldman said. “Any student that maintains their account with TCF will continue to enjoy the same benefits and the same account structure that they do today.” However, Goldman said students who have their TCF Bank account attached to their i-Card will no longer be able to use that service as of Feb. 28. “No student will be expected to close or switch bank accounts as a result of the contract ending,” said John Ealy, Senior Associate Director of i-Card Programs at the University said, in an email. Students will still have access to their accounts, but will be required to use their TCF issued card. Students who do not have a TCF card should call TCF Bank’s toll-free number or visit the on-campus branch before Feb. 28.
SEE NIGHT | 3A
Faculty members meet Monday to debate further BY ABIGALE SVOBODA STAFF WRITER
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KAROLINA MARCZEWSKI
URBANA CITY COUNCIL
Urbana City Council considers contract with union BY FATIMA FARHA STAFF WRITER
The Urbana City Council will hold a special meeting of the Urbana City Council and Committee of the Whole on Monday. During the meeting, the council members will vote on a resolution approving a contract agreement between Illinois, the city of Urbana and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1331, which is a public services employee union. The council will also vote on another resolution approving an extension on the agreement between Urbana and the local International Association of Firefighters. Alderman Charlie Smyth, Ward 1, said the contracts are going to give firefighters and the union the same provisions of pay increase as the police
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contract, which will be finalized in one week. “We’re approving an addendum that has already been negotiated,” Smyth said. “It really allows the city to do some good planning, and makes the negotiation more efficient.” The committee of the whole will also be voting on a motion to allow a brick street renewal between Stebbins Drive and Oakland Avenue. According to the motion, the brick street has deteriorated and needs to be fixed. “Over the years, heavy traffic, including regular bus route travel, has caused the pavement section to become uneven and rutted, which has impaired adequate drainage,” the motion stated. “Portions of the pavement have been patched with asphalt to correct the deep rutting of the pavement structure.”
The council will also consider revising the annual budget ordinance and approving a redevelopment agreement with 129 North Race LLC. The redevelopment agreement is meant to activate the building and allow for more tenants for the future, according to the ordinance. The agreement would require renovations to the building as well as adding sections such as a photography studio and a gallery. The agreement also ties into the city’s 2012 Downtown Urbana Plan, which aims to strengthen economic activity in Downtown Urbana’s public spaces and engage with the community. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the city council chambers and is open to the public.
Fatima can be reached at farha2 @dailyillini.com.
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At the time, the Board of Trustees’ January decision not to reconsider Steven Salaita’s appointment to the University seemed like the end of the controversy. However, the Illinois Faculty for Academic Freedom and Justice will present a new resolution during the academic senate meeting Monday, asking members to re-evaluate the University’s decision. The resolution will be submitted by 13 faculty senators from a variety of departments and will address the report given by the University’s Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure and the Board’s decision that followed. Ultimately the resolution, written by history professor Bruce Levine, calls on the administration to follow all of CAFT’s recommendations, including to allow the College of LAS to review Salaita’s case and reconsider his employment. “The (Board’s) refusal to reconsider its initial decision after the release of the CAFT report was a slap at the faculty and a blow to oft-made claims that the faculty now participates in ‘shared governance’ of the University,” Levine said in an email. “If the Board compounds that effect by ignoring the stated opinion of the Senate as a whole, both the insult to and the disillusionment among the faculty
would grow exponentially, I believe.” The resolution cites that CAFT found the handling of Salaita’s case as unusual and unprecedented, furthering why the Board should follow the recommendations. “The process by which Dr. Salaita’s proposed appointment was withdrawn and eventually rejected did not follow existing policies and procedures in several substantial respects, raising questions about the institution’s commitment to shared governance,” CAFT’s report stated. The appended resolution concludes by calling on Chancellor Phyllis Wise, President Robert Easter and the Board of Trustees to “implement these recommendations promptly.” If the majority of the academic senate votes in favor of the resolution on Monday, it will be forwarded to University administration. Levine said he can’t predict the future, but he is hopeful the senate will do what he said he thinks is right. Otherwise, he believes the senate’s credibility will suffer immensely. “I would hope that the senate’s majority would now rise to the occasion, accept its responsibility, and do the right thing — endorse the finding of its own committee,” Levine said. As the University deals with Salaita’s case, many questions have arisen about the institution’s hiring procedures. The Hiring Policies and Procedures Review Committee Final Report, made in December, will be presented to the full
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