FROM SAFETY TO TOP RECEIVER
Transgender actress Laverne Cox, of “Orange is the New Black,” speaks to students about her life and career.
Hull would have traded his career game for a victory.
LIFE & CULTURE, 6A
WEDNESDAY November 13, 2013
SPORTS, 1B
THE DAILY ILLINI The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Education graduates face varied challenges BY MIRANDA HOLLOWAY STAFF WRITER
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Nanomi Jakobsson, D-103 speaks at a panel discussion about student loan debt held in the Lincoln Hall Theater on Tuesday.
State lawmakers speak out against student debt BY MEGAN JONES STAFF WRITER
To kick off the Illinois Student Senate’s Student Debt Awareness Week, State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-103, Student Senator Tony Fiorentino and Student Loan Justice founder Alan Collinge held a panel to discuss a problem many students face today: the United States’ loan system and its purported lack of consumer rights. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau reported that outstanding student loan debt in the United States stands between $902 bil-
lion and $1 trillion, and Fiorentino said it’s time for students to finally take control. In 2010 to 2011, about 57 percent of public four-year college students graduated with debt, borrowing an average of almost $24,000. “In the seven or eight years that I’ve been fighting this crisis, not one college, not Berkeley, not UCLA, not Harvard or Yale, has made any significant impact,” Collinge said. He added that it is not possible to default on student loan debt, which could cause it to be a lifelong burden for some students. “This is the longest, worst monstrosity not only to people
who borrow, but also to parents who have to pay out of pocket,” Collinge said. “This not only hurts poor people, it crushes them and it hurts moderately wealthy families who have to pay out of pocket as well.” Jakobsson spoke about the resolution she submitted to the Illinois House of Representatives calling for bankruptcy protection for student loans, which would making Illinois the first state in the U.S. to propose this. She also proposed changing Illinois’ income tax to a fair tax system. “If this was to pass, most people in the state of Illinois would see their income tax go down,” Jako-
bsson said. “We are doing this because we have such an unfair taxing income in the state of Illinois. We would gain more state revenue, which would help many things such as higher education, kindergarten through high school education and social services.” Attendees were invited to sign a petition asking for a change to the income tax system after the panel. David Green, a resource and policy analyst at the Center for Prevention Research and Development, spoke about his upcoming campaign for Congress in 2014, which centers around how colleges should avoid becom-
ing like corporations and should strive to make themselves universally available. He added that America’s gross domestic product has doubled since 1970 due to productivity, but the U.S. is not seeing the revenue due to unwise policy changes. Fiorentino called his peers to arms, encouraging them to make an impact and show their representatives that this is an issue. A rally will take place on Friday, Nov. 15, on the Quad to give students a chance to demonstrate how student debt impacts them.
Megan can be reached at majones5@dailyillini.com.
Extension celebrates 100 years BY BRYAN BOCCELLI STAFF WRITER
The University of Illinois Extension is on its way to celebrating its 100-year anniversary and is recognizing how much the program has enhanced youth, family and community wellbeing across the state. The Extension program is the University’s communitybased outreach arm. Illinois Extension offers educational programs across the state in five broad areas: healthy society, food security and safety, environmental stewardship, sustainable and profitable food production, and marketing systems, said Sandra Davis, county extension director for DuPage, Kane and Kendall counties. This centennial celebration kicked off earlier this year in honor of the program’s success in communities across Illinois throughout the last century. “Extension played an important role in many major events in our history — from the adoption of hybridized corn to the start of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program to the introduction of Telenet, the first distance-learning system,” Davis said. The program began in 1913 and has continued to grow into a focal point in many communities throughout the state. The University of Illinois Extension has 27 units statewide, each composed of a few counties.
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Urbana and Champaign fire departments respond to a chemical spill at the Chemistry Annex Tuesday caused by a chemical reaction in a waste container.
Explosion occurs at Chemistry Annex ated as the fire departments cleared fumes from the building, Kaler said. Five people were decontaminated. An Illini-Alert was sent around 4 p.m. warning people to leave the area, if safe to do so. Shortly after the initial Illini-Alert, a second alert said the spill was isolated to one room. The scene was clear and it was safe to return to the building at around 6 p.m., according to a third Illini-Alert.
DAILY ILLINI STAFF REPORT
Urbana and Champaign fire departments responded to an explosion at the Chemistry Annex, 601 S. Mathews Ave., at around 4 p.m. Tuesday. A student poured hydrochloric acid into a waste container, which already had ammonia waste in it, according to campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler. A tight cap was then put on the waste container before the container exploded. The building was evacu-
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University of Illinois Extension celebrates 100 years of milestones
1887 — Congress created agricultural experiment stations at land-grant colleges to conduct research to improve farming methods. 1900 — In Macoupin County, W. B. Otwell of the County Institute provided corn seed to young people and encouraged them to compete for prizes in the fall. This eventually evolved into the organization of 4-H corn clubs. 1914 — Smith-Lever Act was passed nationwide, establishing the Extension Service. 1927 — Railroads cooperated with Extension on a livestock Extension program: “Cow, Sow, and Hen Special.” “In DuPage, Kane and Kendall counties, we strive to not only provide educational opportunities but also community outreach and activities,” Davis said. She said the Extension may have its roots in the rural agricultural community, but it has spread its wings to serve suburban and urban audiences as well. “Today, our local unit serves DuPage, Kane and Kend-
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Where College of Education graduates are teaching
SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS EXTENSION WEBSITE
all counties, which are three diverse communities that all have evolved over the last several decades, and our programming has changed to meet current needs,” she said. The program came from humble beginnings and has developed into a way for communities to collaborate in many
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Over the past three years, University graduates have gone on to teach in different environments. Out of the 36 percent of graduates from the three different classes who responded to a Council on Teacher Education survey: — 16% said they teach in Champaign County — 10% said they teach in Chicago — 43% said they teach in the suburbs of Chicago — 31% said they teach elsewhere SOURCE: DR. CHRIS ROEGGE, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE COUNCIL ON TEACHER EDUCATION
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Railroad cars featured exhibits such as animals, how to make up feed rations and other types of equipment. 1969 — Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program began in Illinois with 42 counties involved to provide nutritional education to low resource families. 1970 — Telenet, the first distance learning system, was introduced and used by Illinois Extension. 2012 — Cooperative Extension marked the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act, which established landgrant universities to educate residents in agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts and other practical professions.
The Illinois State Board of Education released its annual report cards Oct. 31, which show various types of information about Illinois public schools, ranging from test scores to spending per-student to demographics. According to the Board of Education’s report, this year’s statewide report card showed that 59 percent of elementary school students and 53 percent of high school students met or exceeded standards on their standardized tests. The state as a whole did not meet the goals of its Adequate Yearly Progress Report, which measures if they are on track to reach 100 percent proficiency by the 2013-2014 school year, according to the report. Individual schools saw test scores drop as well, as the Illinois State Board of Education raised the passing requirements for both math and reading on the ISAT test. In order to keep pace with the changes that occur in schools, the College of Education tries to give its graduates a good basis for the beginnings of their teaching careers, which can be built on with experience, said Dr. Marilyn Johnston-Parsons, associate head of undergraduate programs and certification in the College of Education. “We want our students to be prepared to teach in diverse classrooms, to be deeply grounded in their subject matter and to have a wide variety of pedagogical approaches they can use so they can meet the needs of all students,” she said. Chris Roegge, the executive director of the Council on Teacher Education, said that at the base level, teachers should be able to connect with students. “We want our students to recognize the capabilities and the limitations of all the kids that they teach in their classes and have at least the appropriate level of knowledge of how to engage with each one of those students and the individual needs that they have,” Roegge said. Brandon Rutherford, 2010 graduate and third grade teacher at Champaign’s Garden Hills Elementary School, said while students are still in school providing opportunities to help provide a basis of teaching experience is helpful. “They do a really good job of providing support for you while you are actually in the
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