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The Daily Illini
Tuesday April 3, 2012
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www.DailyIllini.com
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
Vol. 141 Issue 124
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ILLINOIS STUDENT SENATE
Gebhardt elected student body president BY MELISSA ESPAÑA STAFF WRITER
With 53 percent of the vote, Brock Gebhardt was selected as student body president at Monday night’s Illinois Student Senate executive board elections. The election, which was held at the Illini Union, was introduced by current student body president and student trustee-elect David Pileski. “(The winners of tonight’s election) are elected to represent the students on our campus,” Pileski said. “(They) balance time not just for the senate but for the students.” The meeting was open to the public, though only current sen-
ators could vote. Each candidate was allowed five minutes to give a speech, which was followed by a Q-and-A session with the candidate, deliberation and a final vote. Gebhardt was chosen over two other candidates: Sarah Koritz, student senator and junior in Business, and Jim Maskeri, student senator and junior in LAS. This was Maskeri’s second run for student body president, as he ran last year but lost with 43 percent of the vote. Gebhardt is a senator emeritus, member of the academic affairs committee and member of the Illini Media Company board. He also chairs the smoke-free campus committee.
In his speech, Gebhardt emphasized his dedication to supporting students and making change. “Let’s be a senate that answers the call to defend students’ rights and students’ money,” Gebhardt said in his speech. “(My father used to say), don’t tell me about how many sleepless nights you put in. Tell me what you achieved. That’s what matters. Focus, action and relevance .... Our goal is student advocacy.” While much of the 20-minute deliberation focused on the other two candidates, specifi cally Maskeri, Sam Barghi, current vice president-external and senior in LAS, said that Gebhardt
had more supporters than the discussion exhibited. “I think he had more supporters than detractors,” Barghi said. “People were more vocal than others, but at the end of the day, it’s about how many votes you had and the support you can get behind the scenes.” In other executive board elections, Ryan Young, student senator and junior in LAS, was elected vice president-external, and Drew Tavernor, student senator and freshman in FAA, was elected vice president-internal. Kevin Seymour, graduate student, won the treasurer seat. The new elected officials will be sworn into office April 18.
PORTRAIT BY DARYL QUITALIG THE DAILY ILLINI
Brock Gebhardt was elected student body president during an Illinois Student Senate meeting in the Illini Union on Monday. Gebhardt will be sworn in on April 18. Gebhardt is a member of the Illini Media Company board.
UI Chancellor launches survey to seek student input on campus future to students,” Pileski said. “Especially with the latest survey, I think it’s really important to engage students in long—term planning for our University.” Pileski added that as a student, it is good to be able to offer their input about how the University is doing. “It’s very good to be part of these long—term discussions to really make progress and changes to the campus,” he said. The results from the survey will be specifically used for strategic planning, according to the email. Completion of the survey is expected to take about 15 to 20 minutes. Jason Kosovsk i , senior communication and evaluation coordinator at the provost office, said over 1,200 people have responded so far. “It seems like some of the concerns have been about education, energy, environmental sustainability, jobs, poverty and equality,” Kosovski said.
BY CARINA LEE STAFF WRITER
Cha ncel lor a nd vice president Phyllis Wise sent out a mass e-mail last week inviting students, faculty and staff to participate in an anonymous, voluntary survey in order to gain input on their concerns and how they feel the University should address them. The survey is part of Wise’s Visioning Illinois Excellence into the Future initiative. “The chancellor is conducting a visioning exercise to help determine where the campus should be 20 to 50 years from now so we can plan for that,” said Robin Kaler, campus spokeswoman. “She is having quite a few visioning events where people can come and brainstorm about that (plans for the University), and for people who can’t attend one of those, she has put together a survey.” David Pileski , student body president, said the survey offers students a chance to have their voices heard. “I really admire Chancellor Wise’s attention to reach out
See SURVEY, Page 3A
CLAIRE EVERETT THE DAILY ILINI
Brian Weihmeir, freshman in ACES, watches a video about farming in Monsanto’s interactive farm in the Turner Hall parking lot. Monsanto, which tours this exhibit around the country, came to Champaign-Urbana on Monday and will stay until 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Monsanto farms for future America’s Farmers film shows how to feed growing population BY EMMA WEISSMANN
Flagging down sexual assault
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Flags line the quad Monday as part of the Red Flag Campaign promoting Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
“The America’s Farmers Mobile Experience,”an interactive farming exhibit, arrived on campus Monday as a part of the America’s Farmers campaign. The campaign is an agriculture advocacy program through Monsanto, a biotechnology corporation. The exhibit educates consumers about the challenges facing modern farmers and offers tours of all three sections of the exhibit, according to a press release. The exhibit will remain open for a fi nal day Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in parking lot F-28. The exhibit, which travels across the nation in a trailer, has traveled to 22 states and participated in 70 events, said Kim Skinner, outreach marketing manager at Monsanto. The Monsanto Co. specializes in farming sustainability and promotes the idea of using scientifi c methods to produce a higher yield of crops with ideal genetic characteristics. Three of these methods — plant breeding, biotechnology and agronomics — were highlighted in the “mobile experience.” According to a video shown in the exhibit’s 180-degree theater, the world’s population is estimated to reach 9 billion in 50 years with no increase in farmland, energy or water. The exhibit revolved largely around
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this issue of global overpopulation and how the food supply and the increasing number farmers can adjust to the growing demand. of people I agree with because there’s The idea for the exhibit came from no way you’d be able to feed the world farmers who said they recognized there population with only organic farming,” she were benefits to organic said. “There hasn’t been production but felt using much research done as science in farming was to if there are negative practical. The farmers effects of GMOs asked Monsanto to help (genetically modified tell their side of the organisms), so I don’t think that people should story, and the “mobile experience was created discount (GMOs).” as a way to do that,” Skinner said she hopes Skinner said. the exhibit will educate “(Those in opposition University students to scientific farming) about the main issues were saying we should of the industry. She produce food the way our also said she believes ancestors did 50 years the exhibit will show ago, which is certainly students how they are an option ... and we’re connected to agriculture in their daily lives. defi nitely not against organic (farming),” she “U of I is obviously a JANE CHRISTENSEN said. “But we can’t feed a great agriculture school senior in ACES planet of 9 billion people and has a lot of great doing it that way.” agriculture heritage Jane Christensen , senior in ACES, here, so we’re hopeful that for the agriculture attended the exhibit on Monday and said students, (the exhibit) is something they can while not everyone agrees with these talk to their peers about,” Skinner said. farming methods, she believes that using the “Also, the students who aren’t agriculture techniques presented in Monsanto’s exhibit students at U of I, we want them to get a is beneficial to farmers. better idea of, ‘What is agriculture?’ and “What Monsanto is doing about the issue, ‘How am I connected to agriculture?’”
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“What Monsanto is doing about the issue, the food supply and the increasing number of people I agree with because there’s no way you’d be able to feed the world population with only organic farming.”
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