MONDAY October 3, 2016
THE DAILY ILLINI The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 146 Issue 13
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Night shift with UIPD: a reporter’s ride along BY LILY MASHAYEK STAFF WRITER
Editor’s note: Staff writer Lilly Mashayek rode along with University police offi cer A.J. Martin on Sept. 23 from 9:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. The following story is from
her perspective. “You can always talk your way into a ticket, but you can never talk your way out of a ticket,” said UIPD Offi cer A.J. Martin as we drove off after he gave someone a warning for speeding on
Green Street. During my evening with Martin, I quickly learned that it’s a tough job policing a top party school. From stumbling students who didn’t know which direction was north,
to fighting in the Pizza Hut parking lot, UIPD has their hands full – that’s without even stepping foot into the bars. The UIPD doesn’t strive to give out as many tickets as possible, Martin said. If
he stops someone who has a good attitude and shows they are willing to learn from their mistake, he’d rather give them a warning and educate them. Martin said UIPD are “not doing it to be jerks” when they
8:50 p.m.
9:04 p.m.
9:12 p.m.
I arrived at the University of Illinois Public Safety Building and was given a ballistic vest. It forced me to sit up straight while riding around the cop car. It wasn’t as heavy as I thought it would be, but mine didn’t have the metal plate in it like the bulletproof vests do. It was uncomfortable at first, but I got used to it.
I got in the police car with Officer A.J. Martin. I got to sit in the front seat and see all the equipment in the car, which included a laptop and a police camera. Martin said police work is just like that scene in “21 Jump Street” when Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill’s characters say they can’t wait to do cool cop stuff like seeing explosions, but then the movie cuts to a scene of them riding their police bikes through a park. We started driving and headed toward Green Street.
We stopped in a parking lot on Green Street to watch for people texting and driving. At night, Martin said, it’s easy to see who is texting because the phone screen lights up the car.
The night shift begins with mostly reactive work, like texting and driving. However, toward the end of the shift, they respond to more calls for service, like breaking up fights or backing up another officer.
10:00 p.m.
9:29 p.m.
We arrived back at the parking lot. While there, I saw a bus drive by, and I asked Martin if he’s ever pulled over a bus before. He said he has and that bus drivers have a tough job because they have to deal with a lot of variables while still keeping on schedule.
Martin backed up another officer and said a car was pulled over for speeding, and the officer who pulled them over gave them a warning. As we left the scene, Martin told me his goal isn’t to give students tickets. He said the last time he wrote a drinking ticket was two years ago on Unofficial.
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We got called to back up an officer who found a student passed out. When we got there, the student was on the ground. The officer got him to stand up, but it was clear he had had a lot to drink, even though he told the officer he only had seven beers that night. Martin called the student’s friends, who eventually came to pick him up. If his friends hadn’t shown up, Martin said he would have been taken to the hospital.
We left the scene, and the student’s friends took him home. Officer Martin said that it was important for students to know that if they are underage but their drunk friend needs medical assistance, they can call for help, and they will have immunity from getting drinking tickets for up to three people.
We got a call that a resident advisor at Florida Avenue Residence Hall had smelled marijuana coming from one of the dorm rooms. When we arrived, the resident advisor took us up to the room. Officer Martin and another officer talked to the students whose dorm it was, but they said they didn’t find any evidence of drugs. No tickets were given.
12:00 a.m.
11:51 p.m.
We arrived at the apartment of the RP, which was located right above the restaurant, but they failed to answer the door to talk to Martin. Instead, we went downstairs to Merry Ann’s, and asked them to turn down the volume of their music. They complied.
Someone reported a noise complaint against Merry Ann’s Diner in Urbana, so we went to go talk to the reporting party — or RP — the person who made the complaint.
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As we parked in a lot on Green Street, Martin heard a fight so we went to go investigate. He was right, but as soon as we got there and he turned on the siren, the people fled the scene. One of the guys told Martin that it was his little brother who had gotten in the fight and that everything was under control now. However, Martin said the fights get broken up, but they don’t necessarily stay that way. The people involved tend to find each other again and pick up where they left off. Turns out Martin was right.
While driving down Green Street, we heard another fight, so we went to where it was happening. As we pulled up, we realized it was the same man who was involved in the first fight that we had broken up earlier. Martin told me to wait in the car, and he went to go talk to the man.
Backup arrived and Martin continued to talk to people to see what happened. Martin’s shift ends at 1:30 a.m. “At the end of the day (the goal is) that we get back safe to our families,” he said.
FAFSA change affects 71 percent of students Seventy-one percent of students at the University rely on financial aid to fund their education. Yet this year sees a major change to the typical financial assistance application process. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly known as FAFSA, has been available since Oct. 1 for the 2017-2018 school year. In the past, FAFSA opened applications on Jan. 1. Dan Mann, director of Student Financial Aid at the University, believes the change is positive for both students and families. This
9:25 p.m.
Martin saw a car driving too fast, so we followed the car. He pulled the car over into a parking lot by 309 E. Green and went to go talk to the driver.
We were told that the person who had complained about the noise at Merry Ann’s, the RP, was ready to talk now, so we went back to his apartment. Officer Martin told him that he asked Merry Ann’s to turn down the music, and he suggested for the RP to get a white noise machine to help drown out the sound from the restaurant.
STAFF WRITER
lmasha3@dailyillini.com
10:08 p.m.
12:37 a.m.
BY ANDREA FLORES
give people tickets, but that sometimes it reminds them that there are consequences for their actions and puts them in the mindset of being careful.
three-month change has been coined “early FAFSA” by the Department of Education. “These changes are designed to make the financial aid application process earlier, simpler and more accurate,” Mann said. For the early FAFSA, the income data must be from two years prior to the application year, or what is called “Prior-Prior Year.” For the 2017-2018 school year, students will need to use income data from 2015. Officials claim the earlier income data makes it easier for families to fill in application forms with their
already completed tax information. It will also be easier to import their income and tax information on the FAFSA from the IRS using the online Data Retrieval Tool, the DRT, Mann said. This change comes as a surprise to Alex Mackowiak, freshman in LAS, who echoed many students’ feelings that FAFSA doesn’t provide enough award money to students and instead offers loans. The early FAFSA would not have mattered to Mackowiak last year, as a college bound senior. “I don’t have much opinion on that though, because I
Suspect for shooting arraigned in Champaign
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didn’t get much, if any, money from FAFSA,” he said. The financial aid factor in the college application process plays a key role in the college application process, Mann said. “Students can now apply for financial aid at the same time that they are applying for admissions to college,” Mann said. Senior at Maine East High School, Jasmine Castro, knows how important financial aid is in deciding what university to attend next fall. “My sister and I will both be attending college, and
Benefits and drawbacks of flu-shots, which are offered at McKinley Health Center
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