Senior hits a last-second 3-pointer in final regular season game to beat Iowa PAGE 1B
Ekey beats buzzer, Iowa
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SAT and ACT needs to change format to better gauge students’ abilities PAGE 6A
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Editorial: SAT reform
THE DAILY ILLINI
MONDAY March 10, 2014
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Trans-friendly surgery added to insurance
62Ëš | 37Ëš Vol. 143 Issue 90
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UNOFFICIAL ‘PANDA’-MONIUM
Next year, student health insurance plan to cover gender confirmation procedure 0RUH RQOLQH IRU D YLGHR RI WKH UHFHQW WUDQVJHQGHU ULJKWV UDOO\ RQ 7KXUVGD\
BY MEGAN JONES STAFF WRITER
Next semester, Chip Austin, a transgender graduate student, will have the ability to take advantage of a surgery he would not otherwise have been able to afford without student health insurance: gender confirmation surgery. “I’m going to be able to take advantage of this coverage, and that’s going to treat my gender dysphoria,� Austin said. “This is going to be very beneficial to my personal safety along with my mental health.� Gender dysphoria, listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), arises when a person feels uncomfortable with the gender they were assigned at birth. Gender confirmation surgery is one of the disorder’s known treatments. At Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting, trustees approved the addition of gender confirmation surgery to the student health insurance plan for students at the Urbana campus, although trustee Timothy Koritz and student trustee Mike Cunningham voted in opposition. “We’re trying to balance our own personal points of view... while also representing the taxpayers and the people of our state,� said board chairman Christopher Kennedy. Austin said he believes having this coverage will encourage a more trans-friendly culture on campus. “There are a lot of trans students who are closeted or afraid, and having this coverage there is telling them that it’s okay to be trans on this campus, and that is very important,� Austin said. Justin Ostrowski, Illinois student senator and senior in LAS, and Stephanie Skora, trans junior in LAS, joined the Student Insurance Advisory Com-
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YLVLW www.DailyIllini.com.
Student trustees voice opinions at Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting
Urbana trustee Mike Cunningham: “I would make the argument that 90 percent of this campus has no idea that this is being added to the student health insurance. There was a petition that circulated, but the more and more I talk to students, the more and more I find out they have no idea this is going on. I am the student trustee on campus. If I just found out 17 days ago, I can’t possibly imagine what the rest of the 40,000 students don’t know or feel.� Q Chicago trustee Danielle Leibowitz: “As you know, the benefit was added to the Chicago campus last year. I am concerned that the students at the Urbana campus might not have been properly informed about this, and I completely respect the opposing views on this issue. However, I do support passing this.� Q Springfield trustee Jamaal Hollins: “This is something that has not been discussed at my campus... This is something the students do support — there are rallies and petitions.� Q
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PUJA PATEL THE DAILY ILLINI
0RUH LQVLGH )RU PRUH A group of female students smile for a photo with someone in a Panda suit at the corner of Green and SKRWRV DQG FRYHUDJH RI Wright streets during Unofficial St. Patrick Day festivities on Friday. Panda Express was offering free 8QRIĂ€ FLDO DFWLYLWLHV WXUQ WR food samples during the day. 3DJHV $ DQG $
Campus student election results released Frye named Urbana student trustee, 3 fees will continue under referendum
Âť Âť Âť Âť Âť BY MEGAN JONES STAFF WRITER
Lucas Frye, junior in ACES, will serve as student trustee to the Urbana campus for the 2014 to 2015 academic year. Frye ran against Nick Reinberg, junior in LAS, who received 899 votes and Andrew Kim, who received 353 votes. Frye received 1,195 votes. All three fees up for review will continue under the spring 2014 student referendum. The Cleaner Energy Technologies fee, a $2 fee per semester, was approved with a vote of 2,861 to 623. The funds help support multiple sustainability projects on campus. The Legacy of Service and Learning Scholarship Fee, a $12.94 fee per semester, was approved with a vote of 2,016 to 1,380. The funds create a scholarship that is distributed to Uni-
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versity students with fi nancial needs. The Sustainable Campus Environment fee, a $12.06 fee per semester, was established to fund initiatives such as creating more green buildings on campus, promoting recycling and sustainable farming practices. The fee was approved with a vote of 2,670 to 824. Additionally, undergraduate students Jaylin McClinton, Victor Rivera, Dionne Gatling, Frantz Jacques, Colton Kochanek and Karim Popatia were elected to the Student Organization Resource Fee, or SORF, Board. The graduate students elected to the SORF board were Shawn Gordon and Matthew Petruszak, who is also an Illini Media employee.
Megan can be reached at majones5@dailyillini.com.
Newly elected Illinois Student Senators
College of Engineering:
The following senators were elected to serve for the Illinois Student Senate for the following colleges:
College of ACES: Sarah Hochman Kevin Zook Madison Scanlan Alyssa Neimark
College of Business/Commerce :
Heather Shade, architecture/art/landscape Bradley Berg, architecture/art/landscape Joshua Johnson, dance/music/theatre/ urban planning
Graduate College
Ronald Lewis, accountancy Zach Bass, business administration Scott Grubczak, finance
Kevin Seymour Calvin Lear Juan Bernal Chelsay Endres Caroline Clasby Simone Kaiser
College of Media: Victor Rivera
College of Social Work: Rachel Fisher
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences:
Brett Jackson, electrical/computer Sanil Pruthi, electrical/computer Vaibhav Maheshwari, mechanical/ industrial/agriculture/engineering mechanics Matthew Yi Chang, civil/environmental/ general/ materials science/physics
College of Fine and Applied Arts:
College of Applied Health Sciences:
KEVIN VONGNAPHONE THE DAILY ILLINI
PHOTO COURTESY OF CRAIG PESSMAN
Joshua Baalman, life sciences Rahul Kalluri, life sciences Kevin Huang, life sciences Laura Saldivar, humanities Matt Hill, humanities Christopher Smiciklas, humanities Steven Zhang, humanities Matthew Coppola, physical sciences/ mathematics Aishwarya Patel, physical sciences/ mathematics Bilal Chaudhary, physical sciences/ mathematics Mitch Dickey, social sciences Kathryn Schrantz, social sciences Nicholas Spiekhout, social sciences Jvon Howard, social sciences
General Curriculum: Daniel Donofrio Mark Schaer
Students protest for the addition of gender confirmation surgery coverage under student insurance outside the Illini Union on Thursday.
SOURCE: CAMPUS STUDENT ELECTION COMMISSION
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Board approves search committee for new University president BY MARYCATE MOST STAFF WRITER
The Board of Trustees approved a plan to decide on the next University president by January 2015 at its meeting Thursday. The fi rst step in the process will be the development of a search committee that will assist in selecting a new University president. According to a press release, the committee
will include 19 members from all three University campuses. The committee will be in charge of defi ning job expectations for the next president, who would replace University President Robert Easter when he retires on June 30, 2015. Committee members would also screen and select the potential candidates for the position . “This is truly one of the world’s premier universities
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with a long history of excellence in education, research discovery and service to our state and nation,� said board chairman Christopher Kennedy in a press release. “Our next president will advance our rich legacy and our commitment to producing the 21st century workforce and innovation that are the keys to progress and economic growth.� Trustees will appoint members to the Search Committee
to Assist in the Selection of the President based on recommendations from faculty senate and student governments at each campus. The committee will be made up of three trustees; eight faculty members from the University’s three campuses; a student from each campus; a representative from the University of Illinois Alumni Association; a representative from the University of Illinois Foundation; an
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the University of Illinois and ability to adapt to evolving fi scal environments. The board also approved student health insurance fees for the 2014-15 academic year, adding gender confi rmation surgery to the new health insurance plan for students on the Urbana campus.
MaryCate can be reached at most2@dailyillini.com.
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administrative officer; an academic professional; and a civil service representative. These positions will be fi lled by May. Once appointed, committee members will work to develop an outline of challenges, expectations and qualifications for the next president, which in the past has included stipulations such as ability to manage a large academic institution, agreement with the mission of
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