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Thursday November 1, 2012
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Vol. 142 Issue 49
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ZOE GRANT THE DAILY ILLINI
Nigel Turk, freshman in Engineering, sits on the Main Quad dressed in tattered clothing and fake gore as part of his zombie costume. Turk was one of many students dressed up for Halloween on Wednesday.
Officials consolidate units’ disaster plans Police, faculty, civil service employees create a unified, all-campus emergency plan
BY TYLER DAVIS STAFF WRITER
A 60-page emergency plan doesn’t help much in the case of a tornado or open shooting. That was University Police Lt. Todd Short’s thinking when he decided to consolidate hundreds of individual building plans into one comprehensive plan for the campus. Until now, the University has not had a campus-wide emergency plan. The Building Emergency Action Plan includes a simplified version of existing plans, essentially laying out two options: get out or stay in, depending on the emergency. The cooperative effort is being headed by the University police department, the campus code
compliance and fire safety section of the planning division of Facilities and Services and building administrators. The plan also includes rescue assistance areas where people, including those who are physically or mentally disabled, can go if they are not able to evacuate or get to a safe area, according to the plan. “My goal is to give people as few things to think about as possible to expedite their (emergency) response,” Short said. These plans not only include University properties, but any Greek or private certified housing that falls within the boundaries of University Avenue in the north, Lincoln Avenue in the east, Windsor Road in the south and
Neil Street in the west. “We’ve been (working) very quickly because not only do we have an obligation and responsibility to assist people with (emergency plans), it’s just the right thing to do,” Short said. He said each building on campus is unique, and the people who work in these buildings would know them best. The plan will eventually be available in an online format that will be accessible to fi rst responders at emergency scenes. Bob Rauber, department head of atmospheric sciences, originally got involved with the project in order to bring the University to storm-ready status. Rauber had also been working toward achieving National Weather Service StormReady certification for the University and realized the two projects integrated well. “The idea of storm readiness really has evolved with the disasters that have happened,” Rauber said. “We’ve seen that there
is real, life-saving potential through preparation awareness.” In order for the campus to be certified as StormReady, all buildings on campus must meet certain criteria. First, a disaster plan must be in place, and second, staff must have access to building plans so students can be informed as well. This can be done by notifying students as to where they can seek shelter during the first few minutes of their first class, Rauber said. Also, all buildings must be inspected to determine whether there is a tornado refuge area. “We don’t want people telling people to go somewhere that might be locked or might be closed until we know what’s all there,” Rauber said. The third aspect is proper signage on campus buildings indicating shelter. “Right now, it’s very spotty on campus,” Rauber said. “If you look around, you won’t find many
buildings with tornado signs on (them). They generally don’t lead you to the place you should go. We want to fix that.” The Building Emergency Action Plan has been in the making since May 2012. The plans for the fi rst 100 buildings are expected to be completed by Jan. 1, 2013, and, all together, more than 200 buildings are expected to be completed by May 2013. About 40 buildings have already fi nished their plans. Short said the plans will be updated every 11 months. “It’s a lot of work, it’s a labor of love, (and) it’s a labor of respect for the University,” Short said. “I’ve been affi liated with this area for 40 years. I went to school here, and it’s not only what I do for a living, but it gives me great joy to be able to feel like I’m really making a difference one building at a time.”
DAYTIME ASSISTANT EDITOR
ROCHELLE WILSON THE DAILY ILLINI
Members from the GEO stage a “teach-in” at the Illini Union Courtyard Cafe onWednesday afternoon. The group protesting is looking for higher wages and improved health care.
INSIDE
The Graduate Employees’ Organization held a Halloween teach-in at the Illini Union Courtyard Cafe on Wednesday. The graduate and teaching assistants of the organization did the work they would normally do in their office in a public setting, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., to raise awareness about the group’s main issues with the University. “The big issues that are still on the table are health care and wages, but then our biggest issue is tuition waivers,” said GEO spokeswoman Stephanie Seawell. Carry Osborne, teaching assistant and GEO member, said these
issues affect the quality of undergraduate students’ education as graduate employees “teach 40 percent of intro-level courses at the University and 24 percent of classes overall.” Amanda Butler, teaching assistant, came to the teach-in to make sure her voice was heard. “The point is making a statement to the University that we are not alone, and that this means everything to us,” Butler said. Butler said a handful of undergraduate students approached her during the teach-in, and once they understood what the GEO was doing, they showed support and asked what they could do to help. She said students can con-
Q: Where did you get the idea for your Halloween costume? COMPILED BY VICKY CHENG STAFF WRITER
“I liked to throw really good Halloween parties back before college, and when I go Halloween shopping at costume stores, I have high standards. The costumes were ‘eh.’ But these, the fake wounds and stuff, were really good, so I thought ‘zombie.’” NIGEL TURK, freshman in Engineering
Tyler can be reached at tadavis2@ dailyillini.com.
GEO uses Halloween teach-in to raise awareness on contract dispute BY HANNAH PROKOP
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tact the Board of Trustees to let them know the situation directly affects them and encourage the board to bargain with the GEO. Butler rang a bell every half hour to signal GEO members to hold up signs to draw more attention to their teach-in. The signs identified the assistants’ departments, such as the one that read “NRES graduate student without a contract. Ask me for help.” Butler, along with three other assistants, organized the teach-in. She came up with the idea of holding up signs to engage more with members of the public. Tricia Dimit, who is on fellow-
See TEACH-IN, Page 3A
“I won (the costume) in a bet in high school. I had to wear it to a bunch of normal places, like the movie theatre, and a restaurant in the middle of the summer so it wasn’t Halloween. So I got a lot of weird looks and they said if I did it I could keep it.” HEATHER NORRIS, senior in Engineering
“I’m supposed to be a skeleton. Over the weekend I actually wore it a little differently. Today I wanted it to be warmer and I’m just like, ‘Oo skeleton socks,’ and I went with it from the socks.” AUFFY BIRJANDI, senior in LAS
Po l i c e 2 A | H o r o s c o p e s 2 A | O p i n i o n s 4 A | C r o s s w o r d 5 A | C o m i c s 5 A | G r e e k s & C a m p u s 6 A | S p o r t s 1 B | C l a s s i f i e d s 4 B - 6 B | S u d o k u 4 B