New coach on court
Adrian Grenier Students’ night out with visiting ‘Entourage’ celebrity
Matt Bollant to head women’s basketball SPORTS, 1B
Thursday March 29, 2012
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The Daily Illini www.DailyIllini.com
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Vol. 141 Issue 121
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Race, deadly force laws at center of Martin controversy
Q&A: NOAH “XAPHOON JONES” BERESIN OF CHIDDY BANG
Black fraternity hosts vigil on Quad to increase awareness BY RAFAEL GUERRERO STAFF WRITER
For the second time this week, University students held a vigil in honor of Trayvon Martin on Wednesday night. The controversial death, shrouded by the topics of use of force and racial tensions, continues to grab national and local More online: For attention. more photos from On Feb. 26, Martin was the coverage of the shot and killed in Sansecond Trayvon Martin vigil ford, Fla. by 28-year-old this week for check out George Zimmermann . DailyIllini.com. According to reports, Zimmermann was found with a handgun while Martin was unarmed. Zimmermann said he acted in self-defense. The African-American fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha set up the vigil, which included a silent lap around the Quad, spoken word performances and guest speakers. Chapter president Hameed Bello, senior in LAS, said he did not participate in the fi rst vigil on Monday; but he said his fraternity decided to help out after hearing that Trayvon Martin’s family is trying to raise more awareness. “We recognized it was a situation that we had seen happen before,” Bello said. “It provides a platform for African-American students on campus and as well as other minorities. The vigil provides attention to a situation that is very prominent.” The policy in question is the “stand your ground”
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See VIGIL, Page 3A
MICHAEL BOJDA THE DAILY ILLINI
Chidera Anamege, of the duo Chiddy Bang, performs Wednesday night as part of the Axe One Night Only event at the Canopy Club.
GOING OVER WITH A BANG Fresh, young duo discusses method, nicknames, reasons for success
BY VERONICA MOSQUERA STAFF WRITER
Since its start in 2009, band Chiddy Bang has been bringing a new vibe to hip-hop through its eclectic mixes of indie and alternative music. Consisting of Chidera “Chiddy” Anamege and Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresin, Chiddy Bang, in its new album “Breakfast” has successfully reached a huge fan base despite being young talent. Chiddy Bang currently has multiple college concerts lined up and the potential for more singles to drop. The duo performed at the Canopy Club Wednesday night along
More online: For further with Diplo as part of a concert entertainment coverage series hosted by AXE. The Daiof the Chiddy Bang ly Illini had the chance to talk to Beresin about what his band’s and Diplo concert check out DailyIllini.com. music is all about.
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The Daily Illini: You guys met and started in college. How has your relationship with each other and your music evolved since then? Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresin:
It’s evolved because we’re more comfortable with each other now after about three and a half years. As with any initial relationship, you’re trying to get to know each other at first. We’re more comfortable with correcting each oth-
er and weighing in with our opinions now. We try to focus on each other, and now we’re traveling and meeting new people. There are amazing new ideas, and you take all that and balance it with the person that you work with. Meeting more people gets more complicated, but we’re more selfreliant and confident.
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Training board votes to not recertify UI Police Institute
Swinging low on the Quad
BY STEVEN VAZQUEZ STAFF WRITER
JOSHUA BECKMAN THE DAILY ILLINI
Michael Smith, junior in LAS, relaxes in a hammock in the high branches of a maple tree on the Main Quad. Placing his hammock about seven feet off the ground “was difficult,” Smith said Wednesday, “and getting in it was weird. But I’ll be out here again.”
INSIDE
WILLIAM SHI THE DAILY ILLINI
Will Patterson, associate director of the African-American Studies and Research Program at the University, speaks during a vigil hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha for Trayvon Wilson. Students gathered on the Main Quad on Wednesday.
At the start of the month, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board voted not to certify the Police Training Institute’s April Basic Law Enforcement class. As a result, the Police Training Institute, or PTI, can no longer offer its most basic training class. According to an email from Urbana Police Chief Pat Connolly, the PTI is no longer certified to offer its advanced courses either. In a letter to affected police stations, the institute’s interim director Michael Schlosser said this is an “unfortunate outcome” because there had been renewed discussions between the board and University in the weeks leading up to the meeting. The discussions aimed to create an agreement that would allow the institute to continue offering its courses. “It was a shock for me to learn at the board meeting that these discussions were not going to continue,” Schlosser said in the letter. Schlosser said he was unable to provide further comment. Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing is a residing member on the board. Prussing
said she believes the decision derived from board director Kevin McClain, who, she said, has a vested interest in closing the PTI so that he can play a leadership role in building a new institute. In 2010, amidst the budget crisis, the institute was set to close in order to cut costs. Beyond economics, the University’s reasoning was that it was not part of the basic mission of the school. Since then, the decision was put on hold when legislators crafted an amendment to the original bill that established the institute. The amendment would create a source of funding for the institute — a $25 fee leveled against those convicted of misdemeanors and felonies — and would also take the responsibility of certification off the board and transfer it to the University. Prussing said immediately after the board discovered that the University wanted to close the PTI, it began to look into opening a new academy at Western Illinois University, an effort that she said McClain had hoped to spearhead. Western Illinois ultimately did not want to go forward with this plan if the PTI was going to remain open.
See TRAINING, Page 3A
Po l i ce 2 A | C a l e n d a r 2 A | O p i n i o n s 4 A | C ro sswo rd 7 A | Co m i c s 7 A | G re e ks & C a m p u s 8 A | S p o r t s 1 B | Cl a ss i f i e d s 3 B - 5 B | S u d o ku 5 B