INSIDE The editorial board says enough is enough — the amount of coffee we consume is just too much OPINIONS, 4A
Books so good, you can eat them
RAYVONTE RICE’S LONG ROAD HOME
SPORTS, 1B
Edible Book Festival today at UI YMCA
LIFE & CULTURE, 6A
After Illinois overlooked him in high school, Rice proves he can play in the Big Ten
It’s going to be a mom-umental weekend
Use our Moms Weekend Guide to plan out a memorable time
INSIDE C
THE DAILY ILLINI
TUESDAY April 1, 2014
he independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Vol. 143 Issue 99
HELD TO A HIGHER STANDARD BY SARI LESK STAFF WRITER
Editor’s note: This is part two of a two-part article series. Deputy Brad Atkinson of the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office can bench press 98 percent of his body weight without flinching. He can run a mile and a half in less than 12 minutes. He can crank through 40 sit-ups in 45 seconds. But Brad’s physical fitness is not the key to enforcing the law. His ability to pass the Police Officer Wellness Evaluation Report, or POWER test, is not what will make Brad, or any of his classmates in Basic Law Enforcement Class No. 3017 at the Police Training Institute, a good police officer. Dr. Mike Schlosser, director of PTI, says the key lays in two skills. “The two most important things I think to be a cop are common sense and, does anyone remember?” he asks his students. “Knowing how to talk to people.” After meeting the physical fitness standards set by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, it was time for the staff to show the recruits how to protect and serve their communities as sensible officers who know how to treat people — a job in which they’ll be held to a higher standard. In their first two weeks of classes, the recruits adjusted to their basic schedule of at least eight hours of class per day and started to cover the basics: a tactical mindset and principles to apply to their work, personal wellness, “Verbal Judo,” or communications skills and community-oriented policing. In the second week, the recruits made their first visits to the Willard Training Center — where they began learning control tactics — and the shooting range called the Tactical Training Center, where they began firearms lessons. They also added daily physical training, activities that would range from running circuits with
STAFF WRITER
A bill, which would create a task force to assess whether adding another Illinos school to the Big Ten Conference would be feasible, was passed by the Illinois Senate’s Higher Education Committee on March 19. The bill is currently on the floor of the Illinois Senate waiting to be put to a vote. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University are currently the only two schools in the state that are members of the Big Ten Conference. State Sen. Michael Connelly, R-Naperville, who co-sponsored the
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BY CLAIRE HETTINGER STAFF WRITER
resistance bands to running up ramps at Memorial Stadium. Once, the training even included an exercise for the vocal chords: singing the Star Spangled Banner outside the Armory. The recruits had to arrive for PT by 5:45 a.m., line up in an array of three or four rows facing their squad leaders — four recruits selected by PTI’s administration to help with day-to-day operations during the 12 weeks of training. During PT, the squad leaders led daily stretching and warmup exercises. *** Week three was the time for the recruits to test their knowledge in the first integrated scenario. PTI considers its scenario-based training a point of pride because it gives the recruits several opportunities during their training to apply their classroom knowledge to mock crimes. The recruits arrived in their department uniforms and lined up for a uniform inspection with Mr. Chuck Deakin, the operations manager. “If you look sharp, you command respect,” Mr. Deakin told them. Mr. Ed Ogle, who’s retired from Brad’s department, then broke the recruits into five groups and sent the students down the back stairwell of the building into the basement to find their assigned rooms. His parting advice to the students prior to taking their first police reports was to remember they’re in a training environment. “Mistakes are good,” he said. “You are going to learn quicker from your mistakes than if you ace everything.” One by one, they were called to stand before the ceiling-mounted camera and practice interviewing techniques on an assigned dispatch — either property damage or stolen property. To successfully take the report, the recruits would have to draw on their recent instruction and establish the elements of the offense — the circumstances that have to be satisfied for a crime to be prosecuted. When Brad’s turn came, nervous and not knowing what to expect, he wrote a stolen bike report for Steve Malloch, who also retired from the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office. But Malloch was agitated — at least his character was.
The “happy children” of future generations will receive greetings from current Illini as part of a time capsule University officials are compiling. Students, faculty and staff are invited to share greetings and memories, which will be placed in the base of the newly renovated Alma Mater. “There’s a unique opportunity to include something that shows where we are as a University,” said Joel Steinfeldt, University brand manager. “It is a way of showing student life (and) faculty life, what the University was like (to) the happy children of the future.” Officials hope the messages will reflect the spirit of the quote on the Alma Mater’s pedestal base: “To thy happy children of the future those of the past send greetings.” Steinfeldt said the notes are an important part of the capsule because they will give personal accounts and information about the campus in 2014. Departments across campus have submitted almost 100 small items to be placed in the capsule. Though the time capsule is physically small, Steinfeldt said they are trying to include as many people and campus units as possible. Some of the items included in the time capsule are: a pick from the Ellnora guitar festival, a brain LED light from materials science and engineering professor John Rogers, a commencement program and pin, a copy of The Daily Illini and a brick from Garner Hall. Sophomore in Engineering Relwin Jay Singh’s i-card will be included in the time capsule as one of the commemorative items, by a very lucky coincidence, he said. Singh needed to replace his i-card because it only worked half the time and told the ID center desk he wanted a new ID. Steinfeldt said he waited for the first student who needed a new ID. When Singh arrived, Steinfeldt stepped forward and told Singh they wanted to use his i-card for the capsule. Singh said he signed paperwork regarding his
SARI LESK THE DAILY ILLINI
TOP: Cody Hammond, a deputy sheriff from Coles County, pretends to be a criminal during a control tactics lesson at the Willard Training Center. Recruits took turns acting as both police and criminals to practice all of the tactics they learned during their training. BELOW: Andrew Connor, left, and Brad Atkinson, right, practice search techniques on Daniel Tallman. After the search, the officers practiced proper removal of handcuffs.
SEE ALMA | 3A YOUR VOICE
Words of wisdom for future Illini
Malloch, a facilitator for the session, portrayed a man whose bike, his only means of transportation, had been stolen. He complained he had called the police a half hour before Brad arrived. Brad, drawing from his classes, had to combine communication skills and legal knowledge. He also had to practice officer safety tactics by keeping his gunside back and his hands available in case Malloch tried to grab his weapon — a plastic weapon used for training purposes. The instructors don’t expect the recruits to prop-
COMPILED BY CLAIRE HETTINGER STAFF WRITER
“Don’t feed the squirrels, I actually had one attack me.”
SEE POLICE | 3A
Senators explore adding a third Big Ten school in Illinois BY ALEX SWANSON
|
Alma Mater’s restoration preserves more than just statue
MAKING OF A COP
Recruits learn communication is key as graduation approaches
57˚ | 41˚
bill with Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, said a large motivation behind the bill is the talented students each year who are denied admission to the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. If those students want a Big Ten education at a public university, they must leave the state to attain it, Connelly said. He added that his reasoning for backing the bill was to address the overwhelming demand he has seen for a Big Ten education at a public school, from parents whose children have been denied from the University. “We’re trying to address that demand...with this feasibility study
to see if maybe we can take one of our current schools and make it a Big Ten caliber school to address that demand,” Connelly said. Murphy said he felt this could be a very exciting opportunity for the University. “My vision of it is to have the University of Illinois freed up to be a magnet for international talent to Illinois, with the second (public) Big Ten university here providing the type of education that tens of thousands of our students want but currently have to leave Illinois to get,” Murphy said. Murphy likened his vision for the state to the educational position of
“Sometimes in class you are overwhelmed with information, and you have to walk outside and remember that there is still a world out there.”
Michigan. He said he believes that the excellence of the University of Michigan comes partially from the fact that Michigan State, another reputable Big Ten public university, is also available to accept local qualified students. Connelly stated that he didn’t have a specific Illinois university in mind for entering the Big Ten, but he did address the strengths of several Illinois schools, such as Northern Illinois University and Illinois State University. The task force would also be responsible for looking more closely
“Don’t worry too much. It’s not as bad as it may seem sometimes.”
SEE BIG TEN | 3A
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