INSIDE Author of ‘Orange is the New Black’ shares her incarceration experiences to students.
ILLINI PRIMED FOR DEEP RUN IN NCAA’S
Get in the spirit with C-U Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’
Team will face off against Murray State on Friday.
Local high schooler scores dream role in classic ballet. Life & Culture, 6A
THURSDAY DECEMBER 4, 2014
SPORTS, 1B
THE DAILY ILLINI 5he independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 144 Issue 055
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Q&A: Salaita opens up on future plans BY ABIGALE SVOBODA STAFF WRITER
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Rebecca Wilson, junior in LAS, shows Jakia Hussian, freshman in LAS, a list of potential topics to write to the Illinois State Legislature during the Student Alumni Ambassadors's letter writing campaign at the Illini Union on Wednesday.
Letters for higher education Students voice opinions through letter-writing campaign to reps BY JOSH WINTERS STAFF WRITER
As freshman Jason Selling walked into the Illini Union Wednesday afternoon, he was hardly thinking about writing a letter to his federal representative, but seconds after walking through the doors, that’s exactly what he found himself doing. Whether it was the temptation of free cookies or the enthusiasm of the Student Alumni Ambassadors, SAA, who were volunteering for
a letter-writing campaign, Selling couldn’t help but participate. The SAA and Illinois Connection, the University’s grassroots advocacy organization, hold a letterwriting campaign each semester. Their goal: to motivate University students to write a letter to their federal representative in support of higher education “I think legislators want to hear from the kids that they’re supporting with
their money,” said Maverick Woodside, SA A vice president of student engagement. “If they hear from faculty, it’s going to be less impactful than hearing from students, the people that the money is directly affecting.” SAA and Illinois Connection’s fall letter-writing campaign coordinates between all three of the University’s campuses and works to encourage students to write to their respective federal representative on higher education issues. “We are writing to (federal) legislators, state representatives and senators in
Washington DC to support higher education things like Pell Grants, research funding,” Woodside said. The groups hold a similar campaign during the spring semester, but their letters are sent to state representatives. SAA and Illinois Connection also hold their annual “Lobby Day” in the spring, organizing a multi-campus trip to Springfield so students can speak directly to legislators about higher education policy. Roughly 200 students traveled to Springfield for last year’s Lobby Day, said
STAFF WRITER
In just under an hour, Roey Gilad was supposed to talk about three challenges and one opportunity Israel faces. During Wednesday night’s talk at the Architecture Building, he managed to do that while using a few Midwest examples to simplify the complex topics. Gilad is the consul general of Israel to the Midwest, based in Chicago. Gilad said this was his third trip to the University, the previous time being for an Illini basketball game. A good number of students who attended the talk are in Illini Students Discussing Israel, a studentled class part of the registered student organization Illini Students Supporting Israel (ISSI), who hosted the event. “I wanted to go see him because I’m very interest-
ed in Israeli politics, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to get a more in-depth explanation of the challenges that are affecting the region today,” said Cristina Valdez, student in the RSO class and senior in LAS. The title of the talk, “Israel Facing the Current Situation in the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities,” suggested Gilad was going to discuss multiple opportunities with the challenges for Israel, but he shrank it down to one. The first challenge was Iran’s nuclear strategies. According to the World Nuclear Association, Iran is developing uranium enrichment under concealed plans and Iran “has not suspended its enrichment-related activities” as required by the UN Security Council. “If a state has both these
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INSIDE
The Daily Illini: Why did you decide to file a lawsuit
DI: Do you plan to take more legal action against the University? SS: “You know, I’m not really sure at this point what’s going to happen. But I’m
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SEE LETTERS | 3A
Consul general addresses Israeli challenges, goals BY REBECCA JACOBS
The Daily Illini held a Q&A over the phone with Steven Salaita, whose rejected appointment to the University has stirred months of conversation about academic freedom and shared governance. He has since traveled to various colleges and universities to speak, several professors have boycotted the University and cancelled lectures and many departments have issued votes of no confidence against Chancellor Phyllis Wise. Salaita recently filed a lawsuit against the University for violating the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. We’ve heard from administrators who back the Board of Trustees’ vote and professors who support reinstating Salaita, but now we hear from the former Virginia Tech professor himself.
against the University? What do you hope to gain from it? Steven Salaita: “Mostly it’s a question of public interest. I think both I and — more importantly — the citizens of Illinois have a right to know what went into this decision given the tremendous damage it’s caused to the University’s reputation. It’s pretty clear that the public, the taxpayers, have a right to know what considerations went into the decision, what the thought process was like, whether anything illegal happened, whether, you know, it was in fact, donor pressure that led to this decision, who was involved.”
DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO
Steven Salaita spoke over the phone with The Daily Illini on Wednesday about academic freedom and his lawsuit against the University.
Letter to Killeen concerns Salaita BY ABIGALE SVOBODA STAFF WRITER
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Roey Gilad, consul general of Israel to the Midwest, speaks to students at the Architecture Building on Wednesday in regard to Israel’s unique situation in the Middle East. evil intentions and ability to bring this dream come true, this is when we become concerned,” Gilad said. Using a football-based metaphor, he said that if a team is five to 10 yards of the end zone, they’re going to score a touchdown,
“unless it’s the Bears,” he said, with a chuckle. The second challenge was the Israeli-Palestinian situation, as there “isn’t a day when there isn’t an attack” in this “time of crisis.” Gilad approached two
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The University’s president-elect Timothy Killeen received an open letter Tuesday from 34 University faculty members, which began with congratulations but moved quickly to serious matters. The letter, from University chairs, heads or directors of departments, warned Killeen he is walking into the University at a difficult and crucial point in its history, after the Board of Trustees rejected Steven Salaita’s appointment, sparking conversation of academic freedom and shared governance across colleges.
Kirk Sanders, chair of the philosophy department, said the goal of the letter was to help University officials, faculty and staff find common ground on Salaita’s case. “The aim is to find a way forward for the University by focusing on shared values and principles, regardless of how particulars of the Salaita case play out,” Sanders said. “Certain signatories of the letter would like to see it play out one way, and certain members would like to see it play out another way and the important thing is we’re trying to
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