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SPORTS, 1B WEDNESDAY August 27, 2014
THE DAILY ILLINI 5he independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Vol. 143 Issue 003
Students call on Wise to rehire Salaita Protesters demand a voice in University affairs BY JOSH WINTERS STAFF WRITER
Outside of the Swanlund Administration Building, nearly 100 protestors assembled on Tuesday morning to call for the reinstatement of Steven Salaita to the American Indian Studies program. Andrew Assad, University alumnus, returned to campus to participate in the demonstration. As he reached the top of the Swanlund stairs, he opened his backpack and took out his degree from the University. “I feel that it’s not fair that I get to keep my degree, while Steven Salaita gets un-hired,” Assad said. “So, I’m going to ungraduate myself.” Assad tore apart his computer science master’s degree. When all that remained of the diploma were scraps of paper, he joked that he planned on delivering the shreds to Chancellor Phyllis Wise and said he no longer wanted to be affi liated with the University. On Aug. 1, Salaita
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to change legislation BY ALEX SWANSON STAFF WRITER
received a letter from Wise and Christophe Pierre, vice president for academic affairs, explaining his job offer was subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees at its September meeting. “We believe that an affi rmative board vote approving your appointment is unlikely. We therefore will not be in a position to appoint you to the faculty of the University,” Wise wrote in the letter. Ahmad Hamdan, senior in LAS and member of Students for Justice in Palestine, wielded a megaphone as he generated cheers of support from the crowd, expressing his frustration with the University and Wise’s decision to withdraw Salaita’s job offer. “This is an infringement on all of our rights and is something that is a complete misrepresentation of the student body,” Ahmad said. “This is something that is undermining our rights; our rights as citizens, our rights as students. This is not her [Wise’s] University, it’s ours.”
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UI alumnus Andrew Assad tears his computer science master’s degree to pieces on Tuesday in an effort to protest the University’s decision to rescind a job offer to Steven Salaita. Following Hamdan’s statements, Stephanie Skora, senior in LAS, expressed her frustration at the absence of a platform for students to voice their opinions on Salaita’s future at the University. Skora
Five stations, one locker let students charge cellphones BY EDWARD GATHERCOAL STAFF WRITER
MARIAH MATTHEWS THE DAILY ILLINI
Jon Buie, senior in engineering, uses one of the new charging stations set up in the Illini Union.
called on Wise to “put the money aside [and] put the donors aside,” and start a dialogue with students herself. “We don’t want to yell at her, we want to have a civil discourse, which is what
she claims to value above all else,” Skora addressed the crowd. “We want to sit down with Chancellor Wise and the board of trustees and ask them ‘why’?”
SEE PROTEST | 3A
The Illini Union recently installed five KwikBoost cell phone charging stations and one charging locker for students to use. “It is our goal at the Illini Union to listen to the students and respond accordingly to their feedback,” said Lowa Mwilambwe, Illini Union director, in a press release. “As the request for charging stations became more frequent, we took action in order to provide the necessary amenities in today’s rapidly evolving technological society.”
According to the KwikBoost website, its charging stations are compatible with nearly all mobile devices. The KwikBoost M8 charging stations include four Apple USB, three micro USB and one mini USB cable for a total of eight chargers per station. These five pedestalstyle stations are located in the Pine Lounge, Courtyard Café, Food Court, Student Organization Complex and North Lobby. The charging locker, located in the lower level of the Illini Union, consists of eight lockers with two charging cables per locker for a total of 16 chargers including eight Apple, six micro USB and two mini USB cables. Lewis said students can lock up their chargers with a lock code of their
choice and leave for a while, knowing their devices are secure. Matt Hill, vice presidentexternal of the Illinois Student Senate, met representatives from other universities at the Association for Big Ten Students conference, such as students from the University of Minnesota: Twin-Cities, who had implemented charging enhancements on their campuses. Hill and Ron Lewis, Illinois Student senator and sophomore in Business, teamed together to approach the Illini Union with the idea of adding stations to the building. At its Apr. 9 meeting, the student senate approved a resolution to spend $4,115
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Pay It Forward Act one step closer to campus On Aug. 15, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill into law that could potentially change student access to higher education. The Pay It Forward, Pay It Back Act will task the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) with studying the Pay It Forward, Pay It Back program that exists in Pennsylvania to understand how it could be adapted to work in Illinois. State Sen. Michael Frerichs, D-52, introduced the program to the state senate in February. He began planning the initiative after attending a series of public hearings about college affordability throughout the state. The aim of the act is to offer students scholarships that will cover full tuition. In return, the students would pay back the loan
once they are employed. Under this act, students could potentially attend college without tuition paid up front. Jennifer Delaney, assistant professor of education, offered some background information on the Pay It Forward concept. To her understanding, the idea originated as a class project from students at Portland State University in Oregon. The students designed a Pay It Forward concept that was loosely based on higher education funding systems in the UK and Australia. As of spring 2014, 18 states had introduced legislation on the program, but only Oregon had passed the bill into law. In regards to the feasibility of the program reaching a point where it could award scholarships to eligible students, Delaney said it depends on what the ISAC
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College of DuPage president leads effort
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Community colleges may offer BA’s in science, tech
0RUH RQOLQH For a video of the protest, visit 'DLO\,OOLQL FRP
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BY ALEX SWANSON
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study fi nds. “It really depends on what comes out of the study commission,” Delaney said. “The details of the proposals still are pretty vague and in most states that are
“What we’re wanting to do is make sure that students are successful ...” MIKE FRERICHS STATE SENATOR, D-52
considering this legislation, most of them are using some kind of study commission process to try to figure out the details of it.” Frerichs said there are concerns from universities about how they would fund themselves before the
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scholarship recipients are employed. Different methods for funding are currently under study. If the legislation does advance and the full-tuition scholarships are awarded, it could alter access to a college education. Frerichs believes the program can combat student debt and increase access to higher education. “Students are graduating with crushing debt burdens that really affect the kind of jobs they can take. And, if they don’t get jobs, that can really leave them in a tight place,” Frerichs said. “What we’re wanting to do is make sure that students are successful, that our college graduate students have opportunities to have good paying jobs.” Similarly, Jaclyn Gelfond, senior in LAS and president of Illini Democrats, believes the bill could increase col-
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0RUH LQVLGH Check
out the Daily Illini editorial for another take on how this will impact Illinois students. 3DJH $
lege affordability. “I think this bill helps a lot because people who might not have been able to afford to pay for college can still go and get the same education as their peers who do have that money,” Gelfond said. “I think it makes it more fair and evens the playing field.” Frerichs said that the benefits of the program could affect the entire state in addition to the scholarship recipients. “That will encourage greater participation in college, which is beneficial to our students, the economy and the state.”
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Illinois community colleges may be able to offer bachelor’s degrees in Illinois in the future. Dr. Robert Breuder, president of the College of DuPage, is leading an effort to change state legislation to allow community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees in applied science and applied technology fields. He began the effort several years ago while president of Harper College and since then, more than 20 states have authorized community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees in select fields. Joe Moore, spokesman for the College of DuPage, said this might be an opportune time to consider the issue again. “We think the time may be right to take another look at this, and do it,” Moore said. “President Breuder is, right now, leading a group of presidents from the Illinois Community College President’s Council for exploring how they might pursue this issue statewide.” Moore also said that the cost of a community college bachelor’s degree may be as little as a third or half of what a student would pay for a bachelor’s degree from a traditional four-year university. Proponents of the idea argue that community colleges should be able to offer bachelor’s degrees in applied technology and applied science areas when a traditional four-year university in that district does not or cannot offer that program. Breuder specifi ed that the need for baccalaureate degrees varies between districts. “What we’re trying to avoid is unnecessary duplication, unnecessary replication, but rather integration to compliment, you know, create a synergy among all of our education,” Breuder said. A study committee, chaired by Breuder, is investigating whether there is a demand for bachelor’s degrees in applied science and technology that cannot be met by four-year universities. For the proposal to move forward, the study committee must present their fi ndings to the President’s Council in late summer or early fall. Then, that council will make the decision whether to pursue legislative change that would allow community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees. Additionally, the proposal must have support from the Illinois Community College Board to ultimately be approved. Proponents would then seek legislative changes to allow community colleges in Illinois to offer bachelor’s degrees in applied sciences or technologies, where there is an unmet need in the district. Breuder believes the program would offer potential fi nancial benefi ts to the state, as well as community college students. “What we seek to do is to be able to bulk business
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