Who won the debate?
Offbeat, on screen
Absolutely no one. If anything, we all lost.
Found Footage Festival coming to C-U
OPINIONS, 4A
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The Daily Illini
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The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
www.DailyIllini.com
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IN TS Vol.PE142 Issue 34
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FREE
College Illinois returns after being closed Tuition program shut down in Sept. 2011 due to financial woes BY CHRISSY PAWLOWSKI CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ALYSSA PETERSON THE DAILY ILLINI
Gordy Hulten, Champaign County clerk, collects and sorts the final voter registration forms for the upcoming election in the southeast corner of the Illini Union on Tuesday. Hulten estimated the final collection to be around 300 forms. Tuesday was the last day of registration in Champaign County.
Voter registration breaks record Number still growing in Champaign County BY EMMA WEISSMANN STAFF WRITER
A record number of about 135,000 voters registered in Champaign County this year as of Tuesday. Champaign County Clerk Gordy Hulten said that number is expected to grow in the next few days. Hulten is the election authority for Champaign County. He said he has been “very aggressive” in his efforts to register voters both on and off campus since last spring. His efforts at the University included setting up voter registration kiosks around campus, making an appearance at Quad Day and teaming up with student organizations. Although Hulten will not have the fi nal number of registered voters until the end of October, he said he expects somewhere between 7,000 to 10,000 registered voters from the 10 precincts in the Champaign-Urbana area, which he considers the “core campus area.” Hulten paired up with the College Republi-
cans and the Illini Democrats at the University and trained them to register voters around campus. “I’m not surprised at all, and I’m thrilled that that many people are registered to vote,” said Despina Batson , president of College Republicans and senior in LAS. “I think people are very much engaged, and that number shows that.” Owen Marsden , graduate student in the School of Labor and Employment Relations, is a member of the Illini Democrats. Marsden said the registered student organization had a goal of registering 12,000 voters on campus by last Tuesday. “We came close (to our goal),” Marsden said. “I don’t have a specific number, but I know we have (registered) several thousand.” He said that although the Illini Democrats may not have made their goal by themselves, the total number of voters registered by all the organizations who represented themselves on campus probably came close to or met 12,000. Marsden and the Illini Democrats “tabled” at dorms and dining halls, encouraging students to vote as they walked by. They also explained what documents and forms students would need to bring on election day in order to vote. “(Registering) is one way for students to
express their opinion,” Marsden said. “And it’s also just sort of a larger, philosophical point that the United States is very proud of its history as a democracy. (Registering) is really the least you can do.” Batson said her organization registered an estimated several hundred voters. But she said the actual challenge is making sure that students actually get to the polls. “We had a strong voter registration outreach throughout campus, and students are very much aware about just how pivotal (this election) is,” Batson said. “Obviously, registering them to vote is to get them to the polls.” In order to reach that goal, Hulten said students who registered in the 10 “core campus” precincts and the 10 others surrounding them can vote before Election Day, Nov. 6. An early voting location will be set up in Room 317 of the Illini Union from Oct. 22 to Nov. 3 . Both Batson and Marsden said they were pleased to learn about the record high number of registered voters. “I just saw that 135,000 registered, and a smile came across my face,” Marsden said. “That’s defi nitely mission accomplished for us.”
Emma can be reached at wessmnn2@dailyillini.com
College Illinois, a prepaid tuition program, reopened early last week after shutting down in September 2011 because of underfunding and mismanaged investments. The program allows families to receive the tuition price as it is that year, regardless of when a student enters college. That price remains the same every year until graduation. Benefits only apply to students attending Illinois public universities. State Rep. Jim Durkin, R-82 , passed legislation in March that aimed to improve College Illinois’ structure and management by pushing for more transparency related to investments. Durkin said he thinks the program is important to families and should be salvaged. “We are going to continue to work through the summer (and) through the fall to improve this program, and we will not stop until we feel that we have a plan back in place that parents can feel confident and know that people in Illinois will start investing in,” he said in a news release. Joe Orsolini , president of College Aid Planners Inc. in Glen Ellyn , Ill., advises families on methods for paying for college. Despite the reconstruction of the program, Orsolini said he still advises parents to weigh the pros and cons before enrolling. “I would still be very cautious about that plan because they are, as of the last auditor’s report, (about) 3 percent underfunded, so you know they’re trying to get more money in, and basically it has to get higher to catch up,” Orsolini said. “I’m not real gung-ho on that plan.” He said underfunding is a prominent concern for investors because there is no guaranteed protection from the state. “In some other states, the state will step in if the plan is underfunded, but there’s no guarantee that the state of Illinois will come in and bail everybody out if that plan is underfunded,” Orsolini said. “So if they don’t have enough money or they run out of money at some point, parents are out of luck.” The Illinois Student Assistance Commission , which oversees College Illinois, reported that the plan’s rate of return was 1.65 percent as of Aug. 31. “Basically you’re betting that ... the people that manage that plan are going to do better than the rate of infl ation that colleges are going
See COLLEGE ILLINOIS, Page 3A
Foundation names president to help with fundraising
Champaign police investigate series of aggravated batteries
Last crop of the season
DAILY ILLINI STAFF REPORT
The University of Illinois Foundation named Thomas J. Farrell as the new CEO and president Wednesday. Farrell has previously worked at five universities as a fundraising executive. As CEO and president, Farrell will be in charge of the development of the foundation’s fundraising efforts. The foundation focuses on obtaining private gifts for the university system. “Tom’s two decades of experience and accomplishments in fundraising for top-tier universities demonstrate a strategic approach and organizational skill set that will continue to advance our development efforts,” University President Robert Easter said in a news release. Most recently, Farrell held the position of vice president for alumni relations and development at the University of Chicago. While there, Farrell raised $310 million. Farrell replaces Sidney S. Micek, who will step down in December after serving since 2000.
INSIDE
BY CARINA LEE STAFF WRITER
CLAIRE EVERETT THE DAILY ILLINI
Members of The Sustainable Student Farm harvested the last of the warm-season crops and will sell them at the final farm stand on the Quad at 11 a.m. Thursday. Farm manager Zack Grant said the farm has had a successful harvest despite the drought because of its irrigation system. After the sale Thursday, the farm will mostly produce cold-season crops.
The Champaign Police Department is investigating a series of aggravated batteries in the campus area involving offenders approaching pedestrians and punching them in the head. Nine incidents occurred between Sept. 2 and Sept. 30. Lt. Jim Clark of the Champaign Police Department said Champaign police are looking at other campus battery cases to see if they may have been related. Lt. Robert Rea of Champaign police said arrests have been made related to four of the incidents, but police are still investigating the five other incidents. He said the incidents may be connected to an
Internet trend called “point them out, knock them out.” “It’s a game,” Rea said. “A group of individuals identify someone walking down the street who might be an easy target. They randomly punch somebody in the head.” University police Chief Jeff Christensen sent out a public safety advisory to students Sept. 30 after a string of attacks occurred that weekend . He said the four attacks may have been committed by the same group of juveniles. Those four attacks happened after curfew between 1:30 a.m. and 3:22 a.m. in the vicinities of 500 E. Healey, 700 S. Sixth, 300 E. Springfield
See BATTERY, Page 3A
Po l i ce 2 A | Co r re c t i o n s 2 A | C a l e n d a r 2 A | O p i n i o n s 4 A | C ro sswo rd 5 A | Co m i c s 5 A | G re e ks & C a m p u s 6 A | S p o r t s 1 B | Cl a ss i f i e d s 3 B | S u d o ku 3 B
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