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THE DAILY ILLINI
WEDNESDAY April 30 , 2014
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The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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TYLER DAVIS THE DAILY ILLINI
(Left) The stairs that lead to the front porch and entrance of the building do not have a handrail. According to OSHA regulations, every flight of stairs with four or more risers should be equipped railings. (Right) Lead paint is peeling from the basement walls of the center. All surfaces must be kept as free of accumulations of lead as practicably possible, according to OSHA regulations.
African-American freshmen enrollment on steady rise
African American cultural center in need of repairs BY TYLER DAVIS STAFF WRITER
The condition of the Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center isn’t news to its director, Rory James. He saw many of the problems when he first interviewed for the position in 2010 and he said the knowledge is commonplace. Of all seven cultural centers, James said the African American center is in the worst condition. The cultural center’s current location at 708 S. Mathews St. wasn’t intended to be its permanent location. Before the center moved in during the late 1970s,
Although African American freshmen enrollment has been on the rise since its last drop in 2010, African American student enrollment is now overshadowed by Hispanic, foreign, Asian and white students. 5,000
Asian
4,000
received a new kitchen and a gender neutral bathroom on its first floor, but these fixes don’t address the structural issues of the building. James said Facilities and Services provides the basic needs for the building, but at this point, it needs more than care. It needs something extra — institutional priority, which could now be the case. Following a statement released April 14, the University is exploring different options to relocate the center, Vice Chan-
it housed a fraternity. Upstairs, the windows are drafty. The stair treads on the three-story building are coming apart, causing a tripping hazard. Beyond the first floor, the building’s structure itself isn’t handicapaccessible, which James said prohibits a population of students from accessing the center’s services. In the basement, the tiles contain asbestos and layers of lead paint are peeling from the walls — and these aren’t the only hazards Facilities and Services noted in its March 24 building safety evaluation. Seven to eight years ago, the center
White
Foreign Hispanic
3,000
African American
2,000
Multiracial Unknown
1,000
Native American/ Alaskan Native Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander
0 06
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Fal
09
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Fal
10
l 20
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Fal
12
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Fal
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Fal
SOURCE: DIVISION OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION
AUSTIN BAIRD THE DAILY ILLINI
Illinois receives waiver for No Child Left Behind BY ALEX SWANSON STAFF WRITER
Illinois will now see more flexibility in teaching and education funding practices. The state recently received a federal waiver for No Child Left Behind, which will allow the state more freedom in meeting the standards of the law. In exchange, Illinois must follow state level plans to improve education. NCLB was created under the
George W. Bush administration in 2001, but was not approved for reauthorization in 2007. For years, NCLB has been a controversial topic throughout the country. The law calls for greater accountability for students and greatly increased standardized testing. Under the law, schools have certain standards in math and reading they are expected to meet or exceed. In order to provide relief for schools, Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan announced that states could apply for waivers starting in 2011, which allowed states to have more control in student assessment and standards than originally allowed under NCLB. Illinois first applied for the waiver in 2012, but the approval was delayed because of a disagreement between the federal and state governments in regard to a timeline for teacher evaluations.
The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Bureau of Indian Education and 45 states have applied for No Child Left Behind waivers; the District of Colombia, Puerto Rico and all but two of the states that applied have been approved. Mary Fergus, spokeswoman for the Illinois State Board of Education spoke to why so many states are applying for the waiver. “It was pretty well known
as a rather punitive law, so if you didn’t make a certain meet or exceeds ... you faced sanctions, you were called a failing school,” Fergus said. “So this was a chance for states to say, ‘we want to look at different metrics to look at students and look at how they are doing.’” Fergus also said the waiver will change the way that the state can fund education.
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“This was a chance for states to say, ‘we want to look at different metrics to look at students and look at how they are doing.’” MARY FERGUS ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION SPOKESWOMAN
UI Police see spike in drug charges involving MDMA DBY JESSICA RAMOS STAFF WRITER
The University Police Department is seeing an increase in charges related to MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy or “molly.” In the 2013-14 school year, there has been a total of nine charges relating to MDMA — six of which took place from Feb. 3 to April 13. In the past, police have typically charged students with alcohol and marijuana use. Detective Joe McCullough, who supervises Street Crimes and Narcotics, said he believes drug-related trends start in high school when some students begin to use experimental drugs, which are later introduced on the college campus. However, the increase of MDMA use poses a great concern, McCullough said. “The trend is disturbing — the uptake of the trend. The problem I foresee is that sometimes the drug is substituted with other unknown substances, or ‘the bath salts,’” he said. “There’s
SEE MDMA | 3A
Looking into trends of MDMA charges 2013
9/26: A 20-year-old male was arrested for possession of MDMA. 10/7: Three men were arrested on drug charges and suspects were carrying MDMA. 11/6: A 25-year-old male was arrested on the charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Officers found powder cocaine packaged for sale and two ecstasy tablets in the suspect’s apartment.
2014
2/1: A 20-year-old female was arrested for possession of MDMA.
3/7: A 22-year-old male and a 19-year-old male were arrested on the charges of manufacturing and possession of a controlled substance. After conducting a search, police found marijuana and 59 bags of MDMA. The drugs were estimated at $3,900. 3/16: A 22-year-old male was arrested on the charges of possession of drug equipment and possession with an intent to deliver. An officer stopped the man, who dropped several bags on the pavement, which were suspected to contain MDMA. A further search uncovered several pieces of drug equipment, LSD and more MDMA.
3/18: A 18-year-old male was issued a notice to appear in court to face battery charges. Staff members at Lungren Hall, 1201 S. Fourth St., Champaign, called police officers after seeing the offender acting erratically and push an employee who tried to intervene. The male became combative when officers tried to subdue him. The offender admitted to taking multiple doses of MDMA. 4/9: A 18-year-old male was arrested on the charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia and a 19-year-old female was arrested on the charge of possession of a controlled sub-
stance with intent to deliver. An officer investigating a suspicious vehicle discovered MDMA pills, cannabis, drug paraphernalia, several containers of nitrous oxide and $3,800. 4/13: A 21-year-old male was arrested on the charges of aggravated battery and criminal damage to property. The man was seen acting wildly and ran from the police, climbed the fire escape to the roof, resisted the officer’s attempts to remove him and it took several firefighters with ladders to remove him. The man was found to have bitten someone earlier in the evening and admitted to taking the controlled substance, MDMA.
SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS POLICE DEPARTMENT POLICE REPORTS
URBANA CITY COUNCIL
Urbana City Council discusses possible use of Tasers, impact on community
BY CHRIS PULLAM STAFF WRITER
The Urbana Police Department may soon carry Tasers in addition to pepper spray and standard firearms. Representatives of the Urbana Police Department and the University Police Department gave a presentation on the use of Tasers during the Urbana City Council meeting Monday. While law enforcement argued the benefits of using these devices as an
alternative to other non-lethal weapons, such as pepper spray and rubber ammunition, a large number of citizens voiced their opposition. African-American citizens from the Champaign-Urbana community voiced the majority of the opposition, which lasted almost a full hour before the Taser presentation began. Their main concern was that the use of Tasers could follow the trend of traffic stops and racial profiling.
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Many members of the Champaign County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People spoke in opposition against the use of Tasers. As each citizen is allowed only two minutes to speak before the city council, members of the association took turns reading dozens of names of people, the majority of whome were African-American, who have died as a result of Tasers over the past several years.
“This could not come at a worse time, when we are trying to repair the relationship between the African-American community and law enforcement,” said Patricia Avery, president of the association. The use of Tasers has resulted in 540 deaths nationwide, as of 2013, according to an Amnesty International annual report. W hile African-A mericans account for only 13.6 percent of the U.S. population,Avery said
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police would impose to regulate use. Whenever a Taser discharges, it records the date, time, temperature, battery life and duration of use. In addition, a Taser Cam attached to the side of the device records audio and visual whenever the safety is disengaged. Connelly plans to work with the city’s Civilian Police Review Board to assess each Taser dis-
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they constituted 41 percent of all Taser-related deaths in the U.S. between the years 2003 and 2013. “Black people and people of color have been human targets for too long,” she said. Michael Schlosser, the director of the University Police Training Institute, and Patrick Connolly, the Urbana chief of police, explained the many safeguards built into Tasers, as well as the policies that the Urbana
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