The Daily Illini
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The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
Vol. 142 Issue 154
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STATE FARM CENTER
State Farm Center to be renovated Two-year upgrades will cost $160 million BY JOHNATHAN HETTINGER STAFF WRITER
The 50-year-old arena, Assembly Hall, was renamed the State Farm Center on April 29, ahead of a long-planned renovation. The $160 million renovation, which was announced in March by athletic director Mike Thomas, will update the facility to include premium seating, extra amenities and stateof-the-art technology. Students passed a referendum in March with 54 percent of the vote in favor of a 30-year, $25-per-semester fee charged to students. The fee is expected to finance 17 percent of the renovations. Three-quarters of the renovation is expected to be funded by donors, Thomas said. “It has been the place where students, faculty and staff have gathered for so many different occasions from Commencement to convocation, from the circus to Big Bird,” Chancellor Phyllis Wise said in April. “It is our academic center. It is our athletic center. It’s our cultural center. It’s our community center. And now, it’s the State Farm Center.” The University and the State Farm Insurance Company agreed to a $60 million, 30-year deal for the naming rights to the hall. “In the world of college athletics, State Farm is a five-star recruit,” Thomas said. State Farm, the 43rd largest company in the United States, is located in Bloomington, Ill., just 50 miles northwest of campus on Interstate 74. The University and State Farm have had a long-standing relationship that includes both advertising and academics, like State Farm’s presence in the University’s Research Park. Many students, alumni and fans reacted negatively to the name change on Twitter, saying they will refuse to refer to the arena by its new name. But Thomas said he thought fans would think the new name is “terrific” and “wonderful.” The renovation will begin in March 2014 and last until Nov. 2016. Basketball seasons will not be affected. Men’s basketball head coach John Groce said in April he expects the renovations to have a positive impact on the program. “It’s a program-changing event,” Groce said. “In college athletics, you’re either moving on an upward trend, or you’re staying the same. I tell my players that if you’re staying the same, you’re really getting worse because those people on an upward trend are passing you by, and I think in this case, for us to get to where we want to go, to restore and renovate this iconic building for the multi-purposes that it’s used for, it’s a huge, huge step in the right direction.” Women’s basketball head coach Matt Bollant said in April that he has been showing recruits the mock-ups first-thing when they arrive on campus. “It’s that big of a deal to recruits that we show it to them right away and let them believe that this is going to happen, and today is a big step toward that,” he said. The architectural design was submitted to the University by Los Angeles-based firm AECOM on Nov. 1. The new design includes 12 premium 14-person suites, 80 four-person mini-suites, and about 1,000 club seats. The renovations also include an increase in student-seating from 700-1,200. Overall, capacity is expected to fall from 16,618 to about 15,200. The renovation will also add air conditioning to the arena. Assembly Hall opened its doors on March 2, 1963. In the years since, it has become nationally known for its unique design. The renovations keep the facility’s design while updating its interior. “This is exactly what the campus was hoping to achieve when this project was undertaken over 50 years ago,” Wise said. “The intent was to build a place like no other, where as a community we could assemble together. We stay true to those intentions in preserving this facility.” Thomas said that, overall, the project will cost between $260 million and $300 million after the 30-year bonds taken out on the renovations are paid in full. The Board of Trustees will vote on the proposal May 29.
KELLY HICKEY THE DAILY ILLINI
University service workers and Service Employees International Union Local 73 members hold a protest on the Quad on March 6, chanting, “The University works because we do!” SEIU members received the University’s counter proposal and voted on it, when it was approved April 5.
University vs. Unions SEIU
GEO
University, service workers agree to new contract after strike
After months of negotiations, GEO gets tuition waivers, reimbursements BY TYLER DAVIS ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Following last semester’s eight-month contract negotiation period with the University, more than 100 members of the Graduate Employees’ Organization stood in solidarity with the Service Employees International Union during its three-day strike in March. Stephanie Seawell, GEO spokeswoman, said GEO members walked the picket lines with service workers, bringing out coffee and cookies as well as working with groups of undergraduate students to get the word out. “For a lot of GEO members, the fact that we didn’t feel like (the service workers) were being treated fairly by the University was doubly appalling because of how little these workers make,” Seawell said, mentioning that many workers are laid off in the summer and need to then pay for their own benefits. Seawell said the SEIU has always stood with the GEO, adding that when graduate employees went on strike four years ago, service workers “were with us every time we (had) rallies. ... They’re always really supportive.” “(Service workers) keep the University running, they clean the bathrooms, they pick up the trash,” Seawell said. “If we’re going to be a world-class university, we need a strong workforce and food team. It’s really important to us as graduate students.” In December last year, the GEO secured tuition waivers — a principle issue for graduate employees — until 2017, when their contract ends. Before coming to the agreement, GEO came close to a strike, voting to form a strike committee to make work action plans in late November.
BY AUSTIN KEATING ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
The Service Employees International Union Local 73 voted April 5 to accept a new contract with the University after almost nine months of negotiations. Food service workers voted 89 percent in favor of the new contract, while 93 percent of building service workers voted in favor, said Ricky Baldwin, SEIU lead negotiator. The last time the University’s almost 800 union food and building service workers voted on a contract with the University was March 10. They rejected the contract, citing wage increases being too low, and went on strike for three days. “We’ll be out, ready to man our posts, and we’ll see how soon the University comes to the table,” said Aaron Ammons, local chapter vice president, the day before the strike. “They’re going (to) have to come back to the table with much more.” For the three days the union was on strike, the University temporarily replaced many of the empty positions to stay operational. On March 13, SEIU members who had previously walked out returned to work and negotiations resumed, eventually leading to the University’s April 5 contract proposal. Wages were the biggest concern for Union members throughout the negotiation period was wages. Though Ammons said the University’s final offer that members voted to strike over included a flat rate percent raise for SEIU employees, he said he and union members who voted, thought it was too low. “This is the right move because (of) the state of the times right now,” Ammons said. “(Because) our pensions are going up, health care may be going
See SEIU, Page 3A
DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO
Graduate students speak to undergraduates about contract negotiations and how they can work together to improve access to education. To many GEO members, tuition waivers are essential for the continuance of their work and education at the University. “We feel that tuition waivers are necessary for access to higher education for people of all incomes and diversity. We think it’s really important that tuition waivers are maintained,” said Erin Heath, a member of the GEO, in an interview on Nov. 9. “For example, I couldn’t afford to go here if I didn’t have a tuition waiver.” Seawell said over the past semester, the GEO’s Grievance Committee worked until early April to “track down” graduate employees who had been affected by a violation of tuition waivers in the College of Fine and Applied Arts in their 2009 contract. More than 250 individuals received reimbursements for tuition they had to pay as a result of contract violation. Individual reimbursements varied based on how much was
See GEO, Page 3A
ALMA MATER
Alma Mater absent at Commencement Extensive internal damage exceeds original expectations BY LAUREN ROHR NEWS EDITOR
After being removed last summer for restoration, the University’s iconic Alma Mater has been scheduled to return to campus in fall 2013, according to University officials. “The conservation of the Alma Mater is underway and moving forward,” said Andy Blacker, manager of external relations of the University’s Facilities and Services, although he said no specific return date has been determined. An inspection by the University’s Preservation Working Group in early
2012 determined that the Alma Mater needed to be repaired. Since its last restoration in 1981, water damage and corrosion had caused internal damage to its structure. “If we don’t do something to take care of it soon, we might see some serious damage to the sculpture in the next few years,” said Jennifer Hain Teper, conservation librarian and PWG chair, when it was first decided that the statue needed to be repaired in February 2012. Although the Alma Mater’s original return date was set for May 4, 2013, just in time for Commencement ceremonies, University officials announced in March that the statue would not return until the 2013-14 academic year. The Conservation of Sculpture and Objects Studio, the Forest Parkbased studio repairing the Alma Mater,
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found extensive internal damage that exceeded original expectations after the structure was removed on Aug. 7, 2012, campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler said in March. “I know it is disheartening, but we’re preserving her for the ages and not rushing to get her back just for this year,” Kaler said. According to a University press release, the statue’s 30 parts will be laser-cleaned, which will remove oxidation. Conservators will also repair and possibly even replace corroded metal. Additionally, when the statue returns to its place at the corner of Green and Wright streets, it will be restored to its original bronze instead of the familiar blue-green color that came as a result of air pollution.
“If we don’t do something to take care of it soon, we might see some serious damage to the sculpture in the next few years.” JENNIFER HAIN TEPER, conservation librarian and PWG chair
See ALMA, Page 3A
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Johnathan can be reached at hetting2@dailyillini.com and @jhett93.
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