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Tuesday February 5, 2013

The Daily Illini www.DailyIllini.com

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

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Vol. 142 Issue 94

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UC SENATE

Faculty discuss unionization, split opinions Some don’t want to break trust with administrators BY LAUREN ROHR STAFF WRITER

Faculty member opinions were split on the issue of unionization at an Urbana-Champaign Senate meeting Monday. Professors Randy McCarthy and Nicholas Burbules presented their opposing sides. McCarthy, professor of mathematics, is in favor of a faculty union and said a “strong, active voice is needed” to protect faculty members in the areas of pension and healthcare. “I believe that a democratic faculty union would give us an independent voice that lies outside the scope of the existing institutional faculty,” McCarthy said. Faculty unionization would not necessarily cause the chaos among faculty members and administrators that is often associated with the capability of striking, said Monica Bielski, assistant professor in labor and employment relations. She, as well as several other senators, said union leaders would be elected transparently, and

unionization would allow faculty members to make decisions democratically. But Burbules, who is a professor of education policy, organization and leadership, is opposed to collective bargaining. He said the University’s current system of shared governance does not need to be changed, as it is a collaborative partnership between faculty members and administrators. “That doesn’t mean we don’t get into arguments, but it’s the relationship of trust and mutual respect,” Burbules said. Many faculty members also agreed with him, including Joyce Tolliver, associate professor of Spanish. She said collective bargaining would lead to faculty members paying for the union out of their salaries. Faculty members discussed both sides, but there was no decision to take any action on either side.

Lauren can be reached at rohr2@ dailyillini.com.

CHONG JIANG THE DAILY ILLINI

Uduimoh Umolu, African Cultural Association historian, emcees during ACA's show "Africa, The Cradle of Life" held at the Krannert Art Museum on Saturday. February is national Black History Month.

UI celebrates Black History Month Concerts, film presentations, lectures and forums scheduled for month-long festivity BY JACQUELINE OGRODNIK STAFF WRITER

UC Senate approves new engineering degree programs BY LAUREN ROHR STAFF WRITER

In addition to a Master of Science program in Engineering, the University will soon begin offering a Master of Engineering, if it receives the proper approval. Top engineering schools such as Cornell, Stanford and MIT also offer similar degrees, which are generally course work based, not research based and for students who aren’t considering a PhD. The University’s Chicago campus already offers the degree through online-only course work. The

program would be almost completely covered in funding by tuition. The Urbana-Champaign Senate approved a proposal to incorporate this degree along with several other new programs at its meeting Monday. These include the addition of graduate programs for the College of Engineering, such as new major in materials engineering and a new graduate concentration in energy systems. Other programs approved included a new graduate minor

See NEW PROGRAMS, Page 3A

The University is celebrating Black History Month through events scheduled this year for the sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation. Events range from film presentations to concerts to lectures and forums. The events will continue to take place around campus throughout February and in early March. “It is important to spur discussion about Black History Month because it will spur discussions about history,” said Ronald Bailey, head of the department of African American Studies, in an email. Bailey served as a consultant to the filmmaker of one of the films that will be presented this week. The film, a documentary by Katrina Browne called “Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North,” explores the economic contribution brought on by the slave trade that led to industrial revolutions in the U.S. and Great Britain.

“I thought Ms. Browne was attempting a very thorough and honest exploration of a piece of history that was important, and doing it through the lens of family history, which made the story up close and personal,” Bailey said in an email. The viewing will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Lincoln Hall Room 1092. Bailey invited Browne to campus, and she will be available after the film to discuss the project with students, faculty and staff. Menah Pratt-Clarke, member of the planning committee and associate chancellor, said she encouraged students to partake in the month’s events. “It would be wonderful if every student on our campus could attend at least a few events,” Pratt-Clarke said. “They are very rich, out-of-classroom learning experiences.”

Jacqui can be reached at ogrodni2@ dailyillini.com.

STAFF WRITER

The LGBT Resource Center celebrated its 20-year anniversary on Monday. About 85 students, staff and community members gathered to share lunch while discussing future plans for the center as well as celebrating its accomplishments. Curt McKay, former LGBT Resource Center director who retired in 2008, was a panelist at the lunch and said the campus atmosphere has improved for LGBT students since the center’s opening in 1993. McKay was involved with a group of faculty and staff in 1993 who wanted to change that atmosphere. “There’s still lots of work to

be done, but we’ve come a long way in 20 years,” McKay said. “But it’s up to us to keep facilitating their (students’) ideas, to help them figure out what they want to do and develop as leaders to do the things they think are important to keep us moving forward.” Jim Hall, associate dean for student affairs and medical scholars program, was also a panelist at the lunch and discussed the evolution of the center’s name. “It’s important to be open to possibilities,” Hall said. “First, it (the group) started as the Gay Illini, then the Lesbian-Gay Illini, then the People for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns, and that’s where the current office

“Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North” Film screening and discussion Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. Lincoln Hall, room 1092 Sweet Honey in the Rock performance African-American women a cappella ensemble Saturday, Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Tryon Festival Theatre at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts National Youth Summit on Abolition webinar Webinar hosted by Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Monday, Feb. 11 “Freedom Riders” Film screening Monday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. Ikenberry Student Dining and Residential Programs Building, room 2025A For the complete list of events, visit inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu/MLK/ emanproc.html.

Five arrests made for possession of drugs in Krannert garage

LGBT Center celebrates and discusses progress BY JANELLE O’DEA

Upcoming events in celebration of Black History Month

BY LAURA SHAY DAYTIME ASSISTANT EDITOR

ROCHELLE WILSON THE DAILY ILLINI

Members of an LGBT panel discuss the concerns and progress of the LGBT community on the UI campus. The LGBT Resource Center celebrated 20 years of activism by holding a luncheon for students on Monday at the Union. name came from.” He said that after Leslie Feinberg, a transgender speaker and author, spoke on campus in the ’90s, the center decided to include transgender in the

name. McKay said these topics weren’t being discussed in 1993 when the center opened.

See LGBT, Page 3A

University police arrested five people on drug-related charges after finding numerous narcotics and cash in a vehicle in the parking garage of Krannert Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday. According to the police report, an officer in an unmarked car had approached the men, who were standing near a vehicle, and saw one of the men drop a bag of pills. He then stopped and searched the vehicle after finding cannabis. The search resulted in the discovery of cocaine,

ecstasy, LSD, marijuana, nitrious oxide and $3,000 in cash. Five men were arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Those arrested were: Marshall F. Giorango, 19; Sam D. Kacerovskis, 19; Thomas P. Rekasius, 20, all of Orland Park, Ill.; Shaji Ahmed Ali, 24, of Chicago; and Ieva Sobulevskyte, 19, of Westmont, Ill. University Police Lt. Matt Myrick said the offenders are not University students and that just Ali and Giorango are still held in Champaign County jail.

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