The Illini football team heads to Minnesota for Big Ten showdown PAGE 1B THURSDAY November 19, 2015
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Describing terror in the ‘City of Light’ Students react to terrorist attacks and the effect at home BY DECLAN HARTY MANAGING EDITOR
Paris isn’t a ghost town. At least for Emilee McArdle it hasn’t been. McArdle, junior in LAS, wasn’t in Paris on Friday, when a series of terrorist attacks resulted in 129 dead and hundreds more injured. While her study abroad program is based in the city, McArdle was in Italy visiting a friend. After flying back Sunday, McArdle’s host mom drove her through the heart of the attacks in the 10th and 11th districts. Citizens and visitors stood outside the Bataclan Theatre as they drove by. McArdle described a scene of patrons mourning, placing flowers and lighting candles to commemorate those who died in the attacks. “Everyone’s in shock. It’s just a completely somber feeling everywhere,” she said. The “City of Light” is the
temporary home for McArdle and 11 other University students studying abroad. But the University’s connections to Paris reach far beyond those students as well; 47 native French students are currently studying at the University, and the Muslim community on campus has already felt a clear impact from the attacks. Mudassir Ali, president of Muslim Students Association and a junior in LAS, first saw the news of the attacks while at home. Ali said he immediately linked the attacks to the radical Islamic State, IS, and knew the attacks would cause a spur of inaccuracies and prejudices against Muslims across the U.S. “I couldn’t believe this happened without an ounce of hesitation, condemning everything that happened,” he said. “I felt immediately, given the context, that Muslims everywhere were going to be extremely affected.” Ali said that the issues that IS and other radical terrorist organizations have caused to the average Muslim civilian is that the organizations use the ideals
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AN UNSPOKEN PRESENCE, PART IV everyone he sees. As one of very few Native American students at the University, the president of the Native American and Indigenous Student Organization and a senior in ACES, he’s busy. He also loves the University, and he doesn’t want his college memories to consist of only upset caused by the Chief. “I get this drained, tired feeling because I’ve done this so many times, and at the same time that I’m proud to share accurate information with people, I also think that it is an unnecessary and unreasonable expectation put on an undergraduate student while I’m also going through science courses,” Castle said. A nd for Mega n McSwain, a graduate student in ICR who is of Navajo heritage, the only way to accurately honor Native American heritage is to stop using the Chief to do so. “I don’t understand how it could be acceptable for any culture or ethnicity to
BY ANNABETH CARLSON ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR
Editor’s note: This is the final part of a four-part series about how the tradition of the Chief continues on campus despite its ban in 2007. The Daily Illini focused on how and why the Chief has remained a prevalent image, and the mark it has left and will eventually leave on the C-U community and those of Native American heritage. Chris Castle is tired. It’s not that he’s given up, but he’s done it too many times. On any given day, during his walk to class or stroll through a hallway, he’ll see someone wearing a Chief shirt. He knows they’re not bad people. And they’ll usually stop wearing an image of the Chief if he approaches them and talks about the impact this has on him, as someone of Cherokee heritage, and others in the Native American community. But Castle can’t stop
be paraded around like a caricature at any event,” McSwain said. “If they were really wanting to honor Native Americans, I would think they would try to make some effort to educate themselves on not just Native Americans in this umbrella form, but recognizing and acknowledging specific Native American tribes because there are more than 500 in America alone and yet you find people that can’t name five of them.” But for so many others who are simply not willing to let go of the nearly century-old University mascot and symbol — despite its 2007 ban — the controversy of the Chief comes down to an issue over personal liberty.
But what are the implications? Though people have the right to support the Chief, whether it’s by wearing a t-shirt with Native American imagery or yelling “Chief” during the “Three-in-One” at school
Students gather for solidarity rally, push for revolution Students congregated at noon Wednesday on the Main Quad for the black student solidarity rally, which was organized through social media, networking and word-of-mouth throughout the week. The event did not introduce any formalized demands to University administration or other governing bodies. It was not organized by any specific group or registered student organization on campus. Many students came dressed in all black. The Facebook page for the event — which served as one of its primary organizers — encouraged black attendees to bring “black signs and black flags along with their beautiful black skin and black voices.” The events were organized in part with the Mizzou protests and subsequent changes in administration in mind but touched on many other issues facing black students on campus and in the nation. Daniel Johnson, freshman in Media, said the event was meant to
sporting events, sociology professor Cynthia Buckley said the retired symbol’s presence impacts the social and racial climate on campus. For instance, on Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day, Buckley saw students wearing sweatshirts that depicted a headdress made out of beer bottles. Though students were not wearing the shirt for racist reasons, she thinks they should still consider the impression they make. “What do my actions look like to others? What are the signals I’m sending?” Buckley said. “People get very agitated, and they lose sight of the fact that it is not just a debate about tradition; it is a debate about our identity, our membership in the NCAA and it’s also a really strong indicator of what we value as a University.” Buckley explained that the climate is not great for minorities like Native American stu-
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Marching Illini in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade the very first time in Illinois history. This exhilarating event has fueled excitementnot only among the Marching Illini but the community as a whole. The Marching Illini, created in 1867, has generated a proficient and distinguished reputation. Being included in the world’s largest college band program, the Marching Illini has set standards for performance abilities through detailed drill designs and their annual concert at Assembly Hall, which attracts people from all over.
BY DIXITA LIMBACHIA STAFF WRITER
CHARLOTTE COLLINS THE DAILY ILLINI
Attendees hold signs advocating for racial equality during a rally on the Main Quad on Wednesday.. campus. He lamented that his race is brought up in discussions as a “token” and feels his achievements are often reduced to his race. “There’s always situations where people said things to me as if I don’t have feelings, or people aren’t aware that I’m an actual person. At the career fair this year, a member of the same organization introduces me as his friend like this to his friend: ‘Hi this is Ron, and he’s our token black guy for our organization,’” Lewis said. “Mind you, he was dead serious, and this wasn’t a joke, and if my dream company wasn’t there, I guarantee you I probably would have done something different than just shaking his hand and smiling.” George Tullock-Harris, an attendee of the rally and freshman in Business, says he feels outnumbered.
“I just found out that there’s less than 3,000 black students on campus, and there’s 44,000 students, so that’s kind of mind-blowing,” Tullock-Harris said. The fall 2015 demographic breakdown of the University reports 44,087 students, 5 percent of whom are black. Gus Wood, a speaker at the event and graduate student in History, said the event would not be the last of its kind. He said a “reform” of current systems of institutionalized racism would not be the correct choice of words for the push for equality for black Americans; he wants a complete overhaul. Wood said the term used should be “revolution.” “This is the beginning of a few events,” Wood said. “Just know that this isn’t the end.”
When attending collective events at Illinois like football games, there are many key factors that contribute to the excitement in the stadium. There are the students in the Block I cheering, the dancers bringing all the fans together, the announcers whipping the fans into a frenzy, and let’s not forget a vital element: the band’s creation of harmonious and orchestrated melodies. This year, the Marching Illini has been given the opportunity to perform at the Macy’s Day Parade for
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show support and solidarity. “I’m here in the support of the Mizzou acts, in support of a better future for the next generations and in support of changing the culture on this campus,” Johnson said. Solo artists and hip-hop groups recited raps as well as spoken-word poetry to an audience who snapped, cheered and raised their fists in support. The crowd fell silent to University student Olivia Winston’s solo performance of Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit.” Aside from talking about the Mizzou protests, speakers touched on issues like wage inequality for women of color, the state’s decision to suspend acceptance of Syrian refugees and the importance of supporting trans people of color and other underrepresented populations. Speakers also discussed the issue of microaggressions and discrimination against black students on campus. Ron Lewis, a member of the Illinois Student Senate and sophomore in Business, spoke on his personal experiences as a black student in a position of leadership on
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THE CHIEF
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ASSISTANT DAYTIME EDITOR
Vol. 145 Issue 53
LIFE & CULTURE
A crowd gathers for a vigil in honor of the victims of terrorist attacks in Paris at Lafayette Square, outside the White House, on Saturday, in Washington, D.C. People gathered
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