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BADGERS BEAT ILLINI HOOPS SPORTS, 1B MONDAY February 16, 2015

Flourishing business

Wisconsin’s Kaminsky scores 23 in 68-49 Illini loss in Madison on Sunday.

LIFE & CULTURE, 6A

Campus flower shop shares how they survive the Valentine’s Day rush.

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Uber drives in to C-U area

Community welcomed the app-based taxi service Sunday BY JANE LEE STAFF WRITER

There’s a new taxi service in town to rival the traditional yellow cab. Uber, the app-based taxi service that has been around in Illinois since 2011, officially launched its uberX service for Champaign-Urbana on Sunday at an event held at

Research Park’s Enterprise Works. Uber Illinois Managing Director Chris Taylor, Governor Bruce Rauner and Champaign Mayor Don Gerard were among those present at the event. “This was a wonderful event that recognizes Governor Rauner’s leadership in creating a great home for technology and renovation in Illinois, and also the University of Illinois in UrbanaChampaign, for welcoming a new service in and creating a great home for innovation,” Taylor said. Using the Uber app, rid-

ers can see available Uber cars in their area, including a profile of the driver showing a photo, a rating, the license plate number and car make and model. Upon arrival at his or her location, the rider is billed online through credit card transaction. Uber currently operates within 280 major cities across the nation. Before Sunday, Uber services in Illinois were only operated in Chicago and Springfield. At noon on Sunday, the company added four new locations as official operating centers: Aurora, BloomingtonNormal, Champaign-Urbana

and Rockford. Uber provides five types of ride options for customers at varying prices, with uberX being the least expensive. Taylor said the purpose of launching their service in Champaign-Urbana is to provide safe rides for people who want them. “We’re growing incredibly rapidly, and that’s really fueled by the fact that we provide a service that people like and enjoy,” Taylor said. Because the ChampaignUrbana community is heavily populated with students

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Vol. 144 Issue 57

FREE

ROCKFORD CHICAGO AURORA SPRINGFIELD CHAMPAIGN-URBANA BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL Base Fare ..................................................... $2.00 Per Mile ....................................................... $1.65 Per Minute .................................................... $0.20 Safe Rides Fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.00 Minimum Fare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5.00 Cancellation Fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5.00

Source: Mark Palmer, travel blogger

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Weekend tournament a success for Illini

Both men’s and women’s teams finish with 2-1 records BY LUCAS WRIGHT STAFF WRITER

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Illinois’ Nik Goncin goes for a contested shot during the game against Missouri at the ARC on Friday. The Illini won 53-46 and went 2-1 on the weekend.

Parking department launches Master Plan BY JANE LEE STAFF WRITER

Parking on campus can be a hassle, which is something the University’s Parking Department is taking into consideration while developing its new Master Plan for parking developments on campus for the next 10 years. The department kicked off ideas for the plan at a

Jan. 22 meeting. Michelle Wahl, director of Parking, said currently, with 147 parking facilities and five structures, there are approximately 16,000 parking spaces available at the University. There are approximately 1,600 students and approximately 9,000 faculty members with parking permits, she said, and these numbers

The Illinois men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams each finished 2-1 during its home tournament this weekend at the ARC. The Illini men opened up the tournament Friday with a favorable matchup against Edinboro. Illinois took a 29-16 lead at the half and never looked back. The team finished off the Fighting Scots en route to a 44-36 win. The big matchup Friday featured the Illini men’s team taking on Missouri, when Illinois and the Tigers both got off to a slow start. The Illini were plagued with foul trouble and had to sit senior Nik Goncin, a key contributor, throughout most of the first half. Sophomore Ryan Neiswender stepped up and added 10 points in the half to give them a 21-20 lead at halftime. Illinois was still shaky throughout the beginning of the second half, but the Illini hit their stride when Goncin got going around the 10-minute mark. Goncin scored 16 of the team’s 32 second-half points, to lead it to a 53-46 victory over the rival Tigers. “When (Goncin’s) hitting, he’s a really great leader out there and pushes the team,” coach Matt Buchi said. The Saturday slate featured the Illini women facing off against Wis-

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Springing into the New Year

give the Parking Department an idea of what it is working with. Brian Farber, executive assistant to the associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs and director of Auxiliary Services, said the Master Plan provides a strategic direction for 10-year periods

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Concerns raised over lots C-7 and C-10

JOHN STREET DANIEL STREET

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WRIGHT STREET

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Due to age, the two parking lots are being evaluated for changes as part of the parking Master Plan. No concrete decisions have been made about changes for the parking lots yet.

GREEN STREET

C7 C10 Main Quad

A student tries his hand at Chinese calligraphy during the Spring Festival at the Illini Union on Saturday. The Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year, starts on Thursday and is the most important holiday in China.

Study: Incoming freshmen study more, go out less BY MICHELLE REDONDO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

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SOURCE: University Parking Department

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An annual study shows that current incoming freshmen have lower mental health level, leading them to spend more time studying rather than going out with their friends. The study, performed by University of California at

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Los Angeles’s Higher Education Research Institute, surveyed incoming college freshman in 2014 to find that they have the lowest mental health level discovered in the survey’s 50-year history. In the study, 50.7 percent of the incoming freshman self-reported feeling depressed at some

point before college, a 2.3 percent increase since 2013. UCLA’s survey, The American Freshman, also discovered that partying and alcohol and drug substance use before freshmen come to college has dra-

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