ACC ace at it again Illini defeat Wake Forest, 95-82 SPORTS, 1B
Friday November 30, 2012
The Daily Illini www.DailyIllini.com
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 142 Issue 65
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UI design team heads to China Students to compete in design challenge with Peking University BY ABIGAIL SOLANO STAFF WRITER
PHOTO COURTESY OF ABIGAIL SOLANO
Team photo during second workshop in Datong, China. From left to right: Zak Helmick, John Han He (Peking University), Michael Wang, Wilford Dong Liang (PKU), Celia Jingqiu Liao (PKU) and Kevin Donovan.
University students will travel to China to compete against students from around the world to build the best solar-powered home. This will be the fi rst year the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon , an interna-
tional design competition where 20 universities design and construct sustainable homes, is held in China . The competition will take place in Datong, China in August, and the winning house will be built there. Winners will return in the spring to help with construction. The University fi rst started
participating in the U.S.-based competitions in 2007 but has not placed since 2009, when the team won second prize. Some universities have teamed up with universities in other countries. This year’s University team, which is composed of students from various colleges, has partnered with Peking University in China. “It is an honor to be the partner to Peking University because they were selected to organize China’s fi rst solar decathlon competition,” said Kevin Donovan,
project manager and graduate student in architecture. “Peking chose us based on our success in previous competitions. It is really a great thing for U of I.” The ultimate goal of the team is to make a net zero house, meaning its energy consumption has to break even with its energy production, which in this case will be via solar power. The houses will be judged on their performances in 10 categories: architecture, market appeal, engineering, com-
See SOLAR-POWERED, Page 3A
Ill. experiences drop in holiday car fatalities BY CARINA LEE STAFF WRITER
This year’s Thanksgiving weekend brought record-low crash fatalities. Data collected by the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Traffic Safety showed decline in fatal car crashes from the 6 p.m. the night before Thanksgiving to midnight Nov. 25, with only three incidents this year compared with eight last year. On average, there have been about 12 deaths from car crashes each year since 2009, with about 50 percent of the incidents being alcohol-related, according to the Division of Traffic Safety. To combat extensive reports of drinking and driving over the holiday and especially what is referred to as “blackout Wednesday,” IDOT along with hundreds of law enforcement agencies and the Secretary of State’s office launched the “Drive to Survive” campaign Nov. 19. The campaign urged drivers to buckle up and avoid drinking and driving as an increased number of law enforcement officers would be on the roads. IDOT Secretary Ann Schneider said in a news release that the state has been working to improve traffic safety on Illinois roadways, especially over holiday weekends. “Under Gov. Quinn’s leadership, statewide seat belt usage rates are at record highs and annual traffic fatalities appear on track to total less than 1,000 for the fourth consecutive year,” she said. “Major capital improvements under way for Illinois roads and bridges should continue to reap logistical and safety benefits for motorists in years to come.” IDOT spokesman Josh Kauffman said that this year, the department aimed to involve more enforcement agencies and media campaigns. Kauffman said the campaign is expected to continue through the end of the year. “I think the public did get the message,” said Dave Druker, spokesman at the Secretary of State’s office. “It seems like, by and large, the crashes were at a minimum.” As someone who drove to Chicago last year in December during the holidays, Ho Jae Nam , senior in LAS, said it is a relief to know that the state cares about traffic safety. “Last year when I was driving, I barely saw any police officers on the road,” Nam said. “It is good to know that police offi cers will be overlooking traffic safety.”
Carina can be reached at lee713@dailyillini.com.
MAJDI MOHAMMED THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Palestinians celebrate as they watch a screen showing the U.N. General Assembly votes on a resolution to upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority to a nonmember observer state in the west bank city of Ramallah on Thursday. The U.N. General Assembly has voted by a more than two-thirds majority to recognize the state of Palestine. The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the United Nations was approved by the 193-member world body late Thursday by a vote of 138-9 with 41 abstentions.
UN votes to recognize Palestinian state BY KARIN LAUB, MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH AND EDITH M. LEDERER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Exactly 65 years after Palestinians rejected a United Nations partition plan for Israel, the organization granted statehood to Palestine on Thursday. The historic General Assembly decision to accept “Palestine” as a non-member observer state won’t immediately change lives there, since much of the territory of that state — the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem — remains under Israeli control. Palestinians say the recognition isn’t just symbolic. They believe U.N. recognition will strengthen their hand in future talks with Israel, which has lambasted the Pales-
tinian move as an attempt to bypass such negotiations. Some University students feel that the U.N.’s decision may not change much in the Middle East. “I think for the most (relations) will stay the same,” said Lauren Neiberg, president of Israel Illini and senior in LAS . “It’s safe to say for now nothing is going to change.” Yet many Palestinians savored the massive global recognition — 138 of 193 General Assembly members voted “yes,” with 41 abstentions — following decades of setbacks in the quest for Palestinian independence in lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War. “It’s a great feeling to have a state, even if in name only,” said civil servant Mohammed Srour, 28, stand-
ing in a fl ag-waving a crowd of more than 2,000 packed into a square in the West Bank city of Ramallah. “The most beautiful dream of any man is to have an independent state, particularly for us Palestinians who have lived under occupation for a long time.” The United States and Israel immediately criticized the vote. “Today’s unfortunate and counterproductive resolution places further obstacles in the path of peace,” said U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice. Dana Al-Qadi , graduate student and member of Students for Justice in Palestine, said recognizing Palestine as a state will not impede the peace process. “I believe the United States voted no because Israel voted no, and the
U.S. foreign policy is very much dictated by Israel and their desires,” she said. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the U.N. vote as meaningless and accused Abbas of delivering a “defamatory and venomous” U.N. speech “full of mendacious propaganda” against Israel. Netanyahu argued that the U.N. move violated past agreements between Israel and the Palestinians and that Israel would act accordingly but did not elaborate on what steps it might take. The Palestinians reject Israel’s claim that the recognition bid is an attempt to dictate the future borders of Palestine. Instead, they say,
See PALESTINE, Page 3A
Women’s Resource Center hosts panel about body image BY MADDIE REHAYEM STAFF WRITER
Students and community members were encouraged to “come as they were” Thursday night to the Women’s Resource Center to participate in a panel discussion and Q-and-A about body image and empowerment. Amanda Hwu, sophomore in social work, organized the event, called “As You Are,” because she saw a need for more such programs. “I really wanted to get (body image-related events) started again and give resources to people to find out more and really explore the empowerment that comes with these kind of events,” she said. About 50 students and community members gathered at the center
INSIDE
where the panel shared personal experiences and discussed advancements in diagnosing eating disorders and the spectrum of weightrelated health issues. Janet Liechty, a social work professor who studies family influence on body image, was on the panel at the event. She said she has also struggled with body image. “I would say my healing journey was really in college when I found women’s groups like this and really for the first time deconstructed a lot of those messages that get put on us,” she said. She emphasized the importance of resistance when “(managing) all these projections.” Other panel members discussed cultural identity.
Jessica Robinson, a graduate student on the panel, researches hiphop feminism and black girlhood. She spoke about the media’s portrayal of black women. “They’re silent but their bodies are very apparent,” she said, referring to the women in music videos, which she admitted aspiring to be like as a child. “When we look at black women in the media, we’re not really looking at Michelle Obama” Rachel Storm, program coordinator at the Women’s Resource Center, thought the program spoke to the values of the center. “Opportunities to talk about body image open up a lot of discussion for building self-esteem in young people,” she said. “Especially college-age women are inundated with
messages of body negativity that encourage them to not value their bodies and to instead have shame around their bodies.” Andi Phillips, an alum of the School of Social Work, shared her way of “internalizing” the comments others made about her body as a girl. Instead of rejecting the notion of having a big butt, she “chose to embrace that.” It gave her a leg up when boxing out other players on the basketball court. “I remember thinking, “Yeah, you’re right; I am going to use it. And I embraced it,” she said. “I was recognizing what my body could do.”
Maddie can be reached at rehayem2@ dailyillini.com.
MICHAEL BOJDA THE DAILY ILLINI
Sarah Woulfe, junior in LAS, contributes to the art project at the "As You Are" Body Image Empowerment Event on Thursday night at the Women's Resources Center.
Po l i c e 2 A | H o ro s c o p e s 2 A | Co r re c t i o n s 2 A | O p i n i o n s 4 A | Le t t e r s 4 A | C ro s s wo rd 5 A | Co m i c s 5 A | S p o r t s 1 B | C l a s s i f i e d s 3 B - 4 B | S u d o k u 3 B