Men’s gymnast takes home national title in last event of Illinois career SPORTS, 1B WEDNESDAY April 15, 2015
THE DAILY ILLINI 5he independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 144 Issue 107
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UI leaders discuss police, rights
Coloring better campus LGBTQ representation
“Breaking Brutality” event focuses on U.S. police violence Council member. “We realize this event In March, Tony Robin- will not break the cycle,” son, an unarmed 19-year- Davis said, “but we would old male, was shot and like to take steps toward killed in Madison, Wis- doing so today.” consin. The deaths of Eric Questions posed included Garner and Michael Brown what role the media plays were the results of similar in police brutality coversituations. age, what the public should “ Police take away br uta l it y from inciincidents dents of have been p o l i c e occu r brutaliring rapty, propidly over er police Ameritraining ca. It has a nd t he become need for something citizens to of a cycle” know their s a i d AARON AMMONS rights. URBANA COUNCIL MEMBER Joseph “This is Davis, edibr uta lity tor of the imposed by National Association of some officers. It’s not the Black Journalists Illinois police as a whole,” Ammons Chapter. said. “There are particuTo combat the cycle, the lar officers in these situChampaign chapter of the ations, and it’s no coinciNational Association of dence that black men are Black Journalists, hosted being gunned down all an event, “Breaking Bru- across the country.” tality,” on Tuesday. Ammons went on to The event was hosted stress there is a culture as a question and answer that exists in the police forum in which facilitators scene, which he said preTeryn Payne and Ariana vents police officers from Conner, from the associa- receiving repercussions tion’s University chapter for misconduct. “We should understand and former Illini Media Company employees, posed the laws that govern the questions to four panelists. police, as it helps you The panelists were Chas- understand why police offitidy Burns, public defense cers get the treatment that attorney, Sundiata Kei- they get,” Ammons said. Schlosser, a 20 -year ta Cha-Jua, professor in African-American stud- police veteran, said he ies and history, Michael teamed up with Cha-Jua Schlosser, Police Training to create a new system of Institute director and Aaron Ammons, Urbana City SEE POLICE | 3A BY MAGGIE SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER
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Students draw colorful patterns and pictures to make tie-dye shirts as part of the queer tie-dye event at Allen Hall on Tuesday, one of many events on campus for “Queer It Week.”
Master Plan boosts bike safety
SEE BIKES | 3A
2009 fatality - on Green Street in Urbana 2011 fatality - in Champaign at Anthony Drive and Market Street 2012- 726 fatalities accounting for
2.2% of total fatalities 167 accidents 69% in urban areas 96 in Champaign 60% in 49 in Urbana non-intersection 22 in UIUC territory encounters
40 35 30 25 Total 20 Crashes 15 10 5 0
Crashes in Champaign-Urbana
Crashes are most frequent between ages of 20 - 24
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Year
Champaign Urbana
GREEN STREET
DANIEL STREET CHALMERS STREET ARMORY AVENUE
FOURTH STREET
JOHN STREET QUAD
2
2 GREGORY DRIVE SOUTH QUAD STADIUM DRIVE STADIUM TERRACE 4 PLAY FIELD NOT SHOWN ON MAP
GREEN & MATTIS - 2
2
2 LINCOLN AVENUE
GREEN STREET
GREGORY STREET
4
DORNER DRIVE
FIFTH STREET
FOURTH STREET
Accidents by Intersection: THIRD STREET
Following the 2009 and 2011 bike related fatalities in the Champaign-Urbana area, bike safety regulations remain an issue as biking is a major form of transportation for students and residents. The Champaign-Urbana Urbanized Area Transportation Study, conducted in 2011, found that six percent of staff, 18 percent of faculty, and 12 percent of students use a bicycle as their primary form of transportation while on campus. To increase safety, new bike paths will be added on campus over the summer. The Champaign, Urbana and University police reported 96, 49 and 22 biking accidents respectively from 2011 to 2014. Accidents most likely occurred in morning hours at busy intersections such as Green and Fifth streets or Kirby Drive and Mattis Avenue — four accidents occurred at each. Matt Crosby, University Police Department representative, said there has been an increase in the amount of tickets being issued to riders failing to follow traffic regulations along Goodwin Avenue and Green and Wright streets for riders. The U.S. Department of Transportation reported 726 fatalities in the nation in 2012 from biking-related accidents in its April 2014 study. This accounted for 2.2 percent of the country’s
total fatalities that year. The study found that 58 percent of accidents occur at non-intersections. Nolan Sovcik, freshman in Engineering, said he rides his bike on campus almost everyday and has witnessed frequent biking accidents on campus. He said he avoids riding his bike on the Quad and on the intersection of Wright and Armory during passing periods. “I sometimes feel unsafe when there are a lot of bikers or pedestrians, and I definitely avoid certain areas at certain times,” Sovcik said. The University Facilities and Services Department approved the Campus Bicycle Master Plan in March 2014, which called for $4 million to be used to improve biking conditions. The plan aims to increase safety for all forms of transportation by replacing some existing bike lanes with street cycling lanes while repairing damage done to the network of bike paths already on campus. “These bikeways will improve the campus in three major areas: safety of bicycling through better visibility and predictability; reduction of conflict with other transportation modes; and increased convenience for cyclists,” according to the Campus Bicycle Master Plan. The new plan takes into
SECOND STREET
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
FIRST STREET
BY BRITTANY ZEEB
ILLIN0IS STREET CALIFORNIA STREET OREGON STREET NEVADA STREET IOWA STREET OHIO STREET
INDIANA AVENUE STALEY MICHIGAN AVENUE ILLINI GROVE PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE
MATTIS & KIRBY - 4
BRADLEY & NEIL - 2
BRADLEY & MATTIS - 2
PROSPECT & BRADLEY - 3
WHITE & RANDOLPH - 2
GREEN & FIRST - 2
LIFE & CULTURE
OPINIONS
Dancing for a good cause
State cuts will take away support Mental health should be a high priority, not up for the chopping board
IlliniThon to raise money in support of children’s hospital
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SPORTS
Gymnastics says goodbye to ‘Mom’ Illini “mother” will leave void on the team after her graduation.
“It’s no coincidence that black men are being gunned down all across the country.”
ISS fights Dept. of Education Advocates join Title IX hearings BY MAGGIE SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER
In the fall of 2014, Mitch Dickey, student body president, and Matt Hill, vice president-external, launched the “It’s On Us” campaign on campus to raise awareness about sexual assault, but they didn’t stop there. Dickey and Hill returned from Washington D.C. on Tuesday, where they met with legislators and Department of Education officials. Dickey and Hill made plans to fight the Department of Education recommendation that students not participate in Title IX conduct hearings, the hearings of sexual assault cases on campus. “It’s really important that students be included in these conversations, because it’s students deciding who
should and shouldn’t be a part of their community,” Dickey said. Dickey and Hill were representing the University at an event called “Big Ten on the Hill,” during which they had the opportunity to meet with other Big 10 student government members, “It’s On Us” campaign managers and policy leaders in the Department of Education, Hill said. “Most of the Big Ten are supportive of student adjudicators, and all of us did vote to support student adjudicators on the hearing boards,” Hill said. “I think what we’ve been seeing is universities are removing them from the hearing boards anyway.” Dickey said that although a recommendation by the Department of Education is not a law and it carries no legal obligation, universities often feel pressured to comply because of the authority
SEE TITLE IX | 3A
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