INSIDE RSO promotes letter writing in attempt to spread positivity around campus. Turn to Page 6A.
SUCCESS AT THE START OF PROMISING CAREER
Krewella sends her message with music “Enjoy the Ride“ with Krewella this Wednesday
Miller’s victory at weekend tournament first by Illinois freshman since 1992
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THE DAILY ILLINI
WEDNESDAY October 16, 2013
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The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Vol. 143 Issue 30
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FREE
Government shutdown focus of local protest BY ELEANOR BLACK STAFF WRITER
Not even the threat of rain could stop members of the Champaign-Urbana community from meeting outside of Rep. Rodney Davis’ Champaign office to ask him for his vote in reopening the government. As the government shutdown entered its third week, MoveOn, a progressive public policy advocacy group, organized protests at more than 50 congressional offices across the nation. About 30 members of the community attended the protest for the 13th district, which was organized by Robert Naiman, policy director at Just Foreign Policy. “We want Rep. Davis to disassociate himself from the extreme Republican right wing that has shut down the government in order to try and take health insurance away from millions of Americans who are getting it through the Affordable Care Act,” Naiman said. “We want him to vote to raise the debt ceiling without attaching these hostage-taking demands on health care, social security and Medicare.” Many other attendees at the event also voiced their support for the ACA, including Jim Duffett, executive director at Campaign for Better Healthcare. “We believe that health care is not a privilege, but a right. We’ve been pushing for affordable, accessible guaranteed health care for everyone for nearly 25 years,” he said. “Obamacare gets us extremely close, and it has already been operating.” He added that the ACA would help hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans, who would previously have been unable to receive health insurance. “For any party, Democrat or Republican, whether you don’t like a certain bill and you want
BRENTON TSE THE DAILY ILLINI
A group of students walk past a memorial that was placed in front of McKinley Health Center, where University student Mimi Liu died after being hit by a truck on Lincoln Avenue on Oct. 9.
REMEMBERING
Mimi Liu Accident victim remembered as talented pianist with a big heart
BY HANNAH PROKOP DAYTIME EDITOR
Mimi Liu’s smile could light up the whole room. The loving, optimistic 20-year-old is remembered best by her friends as a musically talented pianist with a big heart and a bright future. On Oct. 9, Ms. Liu, of Chicago, was killed by a pickup truck on Lincoln Avenue. Since then, candles have been placed along the sidewalk in memory of her life. “She was the type of person who, if you ever needed anything, she would drop
Award named after Mimi Liu
whatever she was doing and just be there for you,” said Winnie Mei, Ms. Liu’s roommate and junior in ACES. Mei said she met Ms. Liu their freshman year of college. They spent a lot of time together their sophomore year, even though they didn’t live together. The two became close friends and lived in an apartment together this year. Mei said Ms. Liu loved to play piano, cook and be with friends. She was also involved in the Minority Business Students Association, where she was on the
place award at a CFAS concert. A winner’s concert, held in November at the Chicago Cultural Center, will also be dedicated to Ms. Liu. Ms. Liu has been competing in the CFAS’s competitions since she was young and has won several awards, including the Virginia Geyser
The Chinese Fine Arts Society in Chicago, where Mimi has been a member since 2003, is naming a scholarship award after her at their music festival this Sunday, according to Christini DeMarea, executive director at CFAS. The scholarship will be given as the first
PHOTO COURTESY OF JASMIN SHAH
Mimi Liu attended the Merit School of Music in Chicago. She is shown playing the piano at the Performathon concert in February 2009.
publicity committee. At the University, Ms. Liu was a junior who transferred from DGS into ACES this year. She was majoring in agricultural and consumer economics with a concentration in agribusiness, said her academic adviser Jessa Barnard. Barnard was Ms. Liu’s adviser since August of this year. Although their relationship was primarily academic, Barnard said Ms. Liu was proactive in seek-
SEE MEMORIAL | 3A
Scholarship for playing in an ensemble, DeMarea said. For the past two summers and last spring break, Ms. Liu also worked as an intern for CFAS. She was the project manager of the music festival and worked on the planning, even when she was away at school, DeMarea
to use it as extortion for shutting down the government and causing this country to default ... is appalling,” Duffett said. Davis released a statement on Oct. 1 condemning the shutdown, adding that Congressional leaders and President Barack Obama must negotiate in order to reopen the government. “Like most of those I represent, I remain opposed to Obamacare, but a government shutdown is absolutely unacceptable,” said Davis in the press release. In addition to voicing his support for the ACA, David Green, a social policy analyst at the University’s Center for Prevention Research and Development and 13th District Democratic Congressional candidate, went to the protest to push for the reopening of the government. “I came to this protest because the immediate need is to get the government funding again, get people back to work, get people the services they need and oppose the extortionist tactics of the Tea Party and the Republican leadership in Congress,” he said. Green is asking for Rep. Davis and Congress to work for “genuinely people-driven social programs in this country,” which he believes Davis has not done. Similar to Green, Gov. Quinn criticized the government shutdown at a press conference held in Urbana on Monday. “I asked every elected official in Illinois, I’ve written letters to Boehner, the Speaker of the House. I’ve written letters to our Congressional members of the House,” he said. “We’re in a very serious emergency and we have to reopen the government right away.”
Eleanor can be reached at eablack2@dailyillini.com.
said. During her time in college, Ms. Liu would also come back to play concerts at CFAS. “Honestly, I’ve worked with a lot of young people in my life and she was very special; she stands out,” DeMarea said. “I hope her parents know that she is in our hearts and I think she impacted a lot of people ... the MELISSA MCCABE THE DAILY ILLINI
Robert Naiman, a member of Move On and resident of Urbana, points at a check made out to Republican congressman Rodney Davis as he speaks outside of Davis’ office in Champaign on Tuesday.
Meters to benefit homeless
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SEE METERS | 3A
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STAFF WRITER
N. NEIL ST. & MAIN ST.
Syria’s leader, Bashar AlAssad, made remarks Monday about deserving this year’s Nobel Peace Prize instead of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons — a group working to destroy his chemical weapons arsenal — even as life in Syria continues to be ravaged by violence and destruction. More than 2 million people currently live in refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and Turkey, while approximately 4 million are displaced within Syria itself. And, this past week, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation called for a cease-
- in front of Big Grove Tavern
N. WALNUT ST. & E. CHESTER ST. - around the corner from Ten Thousand Villages
S. SIXTH ST.
- between Green St. and John St.
SOUTHWEST CORNER OF GREEN ST. AND WRIGHT ST. *Not all of the homeless population pandhandles, while not all panhandlers are homeless. **The number of homeless people is based on information from January 2013 Source: Champaign County Continuum of Care Homelessness Point-In-Time Survey 2013
DAILYILLINI, DAILYILLINISPORTS
INSIDE
BY SAHER KHAN
METER LOCATIONS
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BY MEGAN JONES
Walking down Green Street, students come across panhandlers who ask for spare change and shake their cups. Instead of simply dropping in a quarter or two, students now have the opportunity to directly help fund agencies that provide aid to the homeless. Four blue parking meters, located on the sidewalks of downtown Champaign and within Campustown, were set up as a part of the “Make Real Change” initiative.
Resolution in Syria distant, say some campus Syrians
Make Real Change allows for direct donations The Make Real Change initiative hits the streets of downtown Champaign and Campustown in an effort to reduce panhandling and direct the homeless to the community’s offered resources. All proceeds from the listed parking meters will support Community Elements, a mental health agency that provides shelters to the homeless.
SCOTT DURAND THE DAILY ILLINI
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with the OPCW so the U.S. could avoid a military strike. Many from the University, including students, alumni and faculty with Syrian ties offer different takes on Assad’s rule and the future for the country. Ryan Hendrickson, visiting political science professor of international relations at the University, said that if the U.S. did intervene in Syria, it would have a short, limited strike in Syria. Whether that would do anything to resolve the issues in Syria, Hendrickson said, “no one really knows.” “The conditions are just absolutely awful in Syria, so
SEE SYRIA | 3A
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fi re between the Syrian regime and the opposition, or Syrian rebels. On Sunday, a rare ceasefi re let hundreds of people evacuate a suburb of Damascus, according to reports. Despite the cease-fi re, questions continue to arise about how long-term peace will be restored within the war-torn land. In mid-September, President Barack Obama decided to allow Congress to vote on whether the U.S. would intervene in the Syrian confl ict, but he then opted to put the vote on hold. Instead, the U.N. made a resolution that Syria would turn over its chemical weapons to international chemical weapons inspectors
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