Challenging conversion ‘therapy’: Homosexuality is no disease
OPINIONS, 4
Ink to inequality Comic art that battles racial biases IN BUZZ
Thursday October 4, 2012
The Daily Illini www.DailyIllini.com
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
Vol. 142 Issue 29
BY CARINA LEE STAFF WRITER
KELLY HICKEY THE DAILY ILLINI
Chancellor Phyllis Wise receives a rose Wednesday from a student in honor of her anniversary as chancellor on this campus. Wise was greeted by 60 students with roses, spanning from the Illini Union to the Swanlund Administration Building.
Definition of marriage called into question
BY MATT RICE STAFF WRITER
Suppor t for sa me - sex marriage is rising in Illinois, and the state’s defi nition of marriage is now under legal scrutiny. Statistics from Southern Illinois University’s Paul Simon Institute for Public Policy released last week show a 10 percent rise in support for same-sex marriage from 2009 to 2011. Charles Leonard, who directs polling at the institute, thinks the result are a sign of deeper cultural change on the horizon in Illinois. “For a widely held social norm to change that much in two years is remarkable,” he
said. “My personal opinion is that a shift in voter sentiment this large is a step towards an environment in which same-sex marriage legislation can pass.” Also in 2011, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, which grants same-sex couples in Illinois the right to enter into civil unions. Since the law took effect on June 1, 2011, 156 civil unions have been recorded in Champaign County, according to Champaign County Clerk Gordy Hulten. Hulten said the process of applying for civil unions and marriages is identical, and both types of relationships grant almost the same rights. However, same-sex couples cannot simply be granted marriage licenses as differentsex couples are because of the 1996 Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act defines marriage as “between a man and woman.”
To a group of 25 Illinois couples who have fi led suit against the Illinois state attorney’s office, the 1996 Act is unconstitutional. Lambda Legal, a Chicago-based law fi rm that defends LGBT rights, and the American Civil Liberties Union have agreed to represent the petitioners in the case. The case Darby v. Orr charges that it is unconstitutional for Cook County Clerk David Orr to refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Orr, as well as State Attorney Lisa Madigan, declined to defend the 1996 law in court. “Marriage equality is long overdue in Illinois,” Orr said in a June press release. “I support it in no uncertain terms.” The lack of defense on Orr and Madigan’s part has led some to believe the case is a calculated effort to circumvent the legislature and change the act. Effingham County Clerk Kerry Hirtzel, along with Tazewell County Clerk Christie
|
FREE
Security report reveals increase in drug arrests
Chancellor Wise accepts flowers on anniversary
Lawsuit aims to allow same-sex marriage in Ill.
High: 81˚ Low: 46˚
Webb, have joined the case to defend the 1996 defi nition of marriage. “I just didn’t feel the law should be able to be changed without the legislature,” Hirtzel said. “Whether or not I support gay marriage is really not the issue. If it passed through the legislature like it should, I would grant (marriage) licenses.” To date, Hirtzel said in his county, he has provided eight civil union licenses. Hertzel and Webb are represented by the Thomas More Society, a self-described “national public interest law firm that exists to restore respect in law for life, marriage, and religious liberty.” However, Peter Breen, executive director and legal counselor for the Thomas More society, maintains that the fi rm wishes to preserve the integrity of our legal process. He said that if no one steps in to defend
See MARRIAGE, Page 3A
The University’s Division of Public Safety released the Annual Security revealed that drug-related cases are on the rise. According to the report, 92 drug-related arrests were made in 2009, while 90 were made in 2010. But one year later, drug-related arrests increased to 134 cases in 2011. Of those 134, 95 happened on campus, with 28 in residence halls and six off campus, and 33 arrests occurring on public property. In 2011, 218 drug cases resulted in a judicial referral, 73 more than in 2010 and 127 more than in 2009. University police Lt. Tony Brown said that although the overall number of arrests went up, the arrests made on public property decreased. Brown said the arrests made on drug abuse violations are just one small part of the department’s mission. Detective Joe McCullough of the University police investigates drug violations and follows up cases. He said the department is putting a lot of effort into drug enforcement. McCullough trains University housing staff members every year to make sure they can detect drug usage in residence halls by examining student behavior. He added that drug arrests are most common between October and November and between March and April, but he was not sure why. “We are also looking at the (student) behaviors and stuff like that, especially with the new drug trends, such as the synthetic drugs on the market,” he said. McCullough said it is also important to follow up on cases in addition to enforcing antidrug policies. “The other thing we have been doing is working evening hours with our unit to be out on times where there are the most narcotics violations,” he said. “We work hands on with our uniformed officers.” The report said the University will promote accu-
Uptick in drug arrests from 2010 to 2011 The number of drug arrests increased 49 percent in Champaign-Urbana from 2010 to 2011. The majority of the arrests happen on campus. Number of drug abuse arrests vs. referrals
’09
92
’10
90
’11
134
91
145
218
Arrests made on drug abuse violations Referrals made on drug abuse violation 2011 drug abuse arrests by location
95 on campus (28 from residence halls) 33 off campus 6 public property Source: Annual Security Report for 2011 SHANNON LANCOR Managing Editor for Visuals
rate information on drug use, encourage healthy behaviors and work with campus leaders to avoid drug-related arrests. Mary Russell, coordinator of Alcohol and Other Drug Office, said she encourages students to take a look at the report, which was released Friday, and take advantage of services provided by the University. “There are really good safety tips within the report itself,” Russell said. “I would also suggest that students think about utilizing SafeWalks. The attention to housing safety of our campus is very coordinated and very, very solid.”
Carina can be reached at lee713@ dailyilllini.com
Rebuilding of Nabor House completed Brothers enthused to live under same roof once again BY LIZ KOEHLER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
POOL-MICHAEL REYNOLDS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Barack Obama listens as Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney answers a question during the first presidential debate at the University of Denver on Wednesday.
Presidential debate focuses on weak economy DAVID ESPO AND JULIE PACE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER — In a showdown at close quarters, President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney sparred aggressively in their fi rst campaign debate Wednesday night over taxes, deficits and strong steps needed to create jobs in a sputtering national economy. “The
INSIDE
status quo is not going to cut it,” declared the challenger. Obama in turn accused his rival of seeking to “double down” on economic policies that actually led to the devastating national downturn four years ago — and of evasiveness on details for Romney proposals on tax changes, health care, Wall Street regulation and
more. Both men made frequent references to the weak economy and high national unemployment, by far the dominant issue in the race for the White House. With a prime-time television audience likely counted in the tens of millions, moderator Jim
See DEBATE, Page 3A
While some students find starting a new school year to be a challenge, the difficulty was amplified for the brothers of Nabor House, who spent the first month of school without a permanent home. Nabor House, 1002 S. Lincoln Ave., is an agricultural, nonGreek fraternity, which was founded in 1939 on Christian values. The Nabor House fraternity board decided to rebuild its house last year, when the University required fraternity and sorority houses to have a sprinkler system. During the transition, 17 freshmen pledges and four active members have been living in Illini Tower since school began. The 15 other brothers lived in Hawthorn Suites at 101 Trade Centre Drive in Champaign. Logan Frye, president of Nabor House and senior in ACES, who was one of the active brothers who stayed at Illini Tower to help the freshmen integrate, said living out of suitcases at the hotel was difficult on these members. Frye said that each week, members couldn’t check in until 2 p.m. Sunday and had to check out by
MELISSA MCCABE THE DAILY ILLINI
Ivan Dozier, right, senior in ACES, and his father, also named Ivan Dozier, move his couch into Nabor House on Wednesday. Construction was recently finished on the house, allowing members to move in. noon Friday. They also had to find alternative living arrangements for the weekends. Frye said the house had already been in need of repairs, so they decided to start over, a plan that had been in works since 2005. “The old house was an outdated facility that held 34 to 36 men comfortably,” Frye said. Jeff Ray, vice president of the Nabor House fraternity board and University alumnus, said they began fundraising in July 2011. Shortly after graduation ceremonies in May 2012, the old Nabor House was torn down and con-
struction began. Ray said the process went rather quickly because they used homebuilding company Homeway Homes. Ray said the board chose to use the company because they were on a time constraint and Homeway Homes’ system allowed for fast construction. “(The modules) are like big Lego pieces they put together in their factory and then come and actually set on-site ... which allowed them to keep on the tight timeline over the summer,” Ray said.
See NABOR HOUSE, Page 3A
Police 2 A | Corrections 2 A | Calendar 2A | Opinions 4A | Crossword 5A | Comics 5A | Greeks & Campus 6A | Spor ts 1B | Classifieds 3B-4B | Sudoku 3B