FALL TECHNOGRAPH SEE INSERT TUESDAY September 8, 2020
THE DAILY ILLINI
Download our app!
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Vol. 150 Issue 5
UI erases Black Lives Matter chalk messages Regardless of the intention, Ibrahim’s view of the University has changed. She feels as if these actions spoke for themselves. “A lot of people aren’t taking the Black Lives Matter movement seriously, and it seems to me that the University is doing the same thing because they’re ignoring what’s very obvious and real,” Ibrahim said. “Washing down something on the road isn’t going to make it disappear. It just seems like they’re trying to silence the voices that have been silenced for a very long time.” Many C-U students and community members have voiced their concerns over racial injustice through large demonstrations in the cities. Some individuals were concerned that marginalized voices were being silenced after last Friday’s chalk removal. The University clarified that it continues to support free speech rights and social justice for students as it does not intend to impede this development. As Chancellor Robert Jones stated in a Massmail on May 30, “The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a community committed to the scholarship, engagement, equity, inclusion and leadership that dismantles systems that utilize power, privilege and violence to disenfranchise, diminish and destroy.” The events of Aug. 28 have left an impact on the campus community and many hope that the University will become more active in supporting these issues in the future. “I feel like there’s just so much more the University can be doing to help out the Champaign population because at this point ... they’re feeding off of the community members and they’re pushing them out of here and prioritizing students over the resident population,” Araiza said.
BY ALIZA MAJID STAFF WRITER
KEVIN GAO THE DAILY ILLINI
Students wearing masks walk through the Main Quad on Aug. 21. Since classes began, there have been over 1,100 mew coronavirus cases on campus.
Campus cases spike significantly University sees over 1,100 new COVID-19 cases since start of classes BY ETHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
Since University students began classes on Aug. 24, a whopping 1,138 students, faculty and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 through campus’s saliva tests. For the most recent five days of testing where University data is available — Aug. 30 to Sep. 3 — 741 people tested positive on campus. Since move-in began on Aug. 16, over 1,400 people have tested positive. A surge of over 330 cases in just two days com-
pelled University officials to impose new restrictions on student movement for two weeks, starting Wednesday. Nothing is allowed but the “essential” for undergraduate students: going to classes, getting food, getting tested, working, attending religious services, getting solo outdoor exercise or receiving medical attention. Shortly afterward, the University’s Senate Executive Committee held an emergency meeting with experts from the SHIELD team and ChampaignUrbana Public Health District. They contextualized recent COVID-19 numbers and revealed new data about the state of the University’s COVID-19 response plan. Because of the long incubation period of COVID-19, all the dashboard’s figures and most available COVID-19 data are signals from the past.
“The numbers you are seeing right now are really the results of the early social activities that were going on the first week of classes,” said Rebecca Lee Smith, an associate professor of pathobiology who helped develop the University’s saliva test and oncampus protocols. From what the data show, the first week wasn’t as safe as the University hoped. Despite planning for some student noncompliance with COVID-19 policies, the University’s primary model predicted about 700 cases through the entire fall semester. “They did not put into the model willful breaking of the law with regards to isolation,” Smith said on Wednesday. “They did not put into the model students being told that they were (COVID-19) positive and choosing to go to parties or
to host parties. This is the equivalent of students being told that they are blowing well over the limit and still driving drunk.” Though the SHIELD team hasn’t heard much directly from the students who chose to attend or host parties after testing positive for COVID-19, some of their friends have relayed what rationales they heard. “There’s two main messages. One is ‘we’re going to get shut down anyways; have our fun while we can,’” Smith said. “The other is: ‘It’s not going to affect me.’ There’s some amount of feeling that ‘I’m not gonna get sick, none of us on campus are going to get sick, it doesn’t really matter.’” Others have downplayed the morbidity of the virus or called for students to go for herd immunity, she said. SEE CASES | 3A
On Aug. 28, the Champaign County Anti-Racist Coalition hosted a march that ended in front of the Alma Mater on campus. Protesters used chalk to write statements on the ground and had various speakers at the event to voice out their concerns. After the protest died down, University employees immediately washed off all the chalk statements. “I remember I was walking with my friend and we were coming back to our apartment and on our way we passed the Alma Mater,” said Guadalupe Araiza, sophomore in LAS. “We wanted to see if it was still there and pretty much all of the chalk that over 100 people did was gone.” As videos and pictures of University workers washing off the chalk surfaced around the internet, people began to question the University’s actions and their response towards the protest. University spokesperson Robin Kaler responded to the claims in an email: “Someone had chalked the area in violation of the Student Code’s 2-404 Chalking Policy, and workers were already scheduled to clean that chalk. The workers did not realize that more people had also chalked the area, so all the chalking was removed.” The U n i v e r s i t y ’s response has not satisfied some community members. Fildaus Ibrahim, a sophomore in Social Work, attended last Friday’s protest. She felt the University has not done enough to support the movement. “I would say the best thing they can do to show us that they’re supporting the community and not trying to silence them is take action and show us that they’re invested in what’s happening in the country by participating in the strikes and protests,” Ibrahim said. alizam2@dailyillini.com
KENYON EDMOND THE DAILY ILLINI
Students wait in line to enter The Red Lion on Aug. 21. Recently extended restrictions will disallow indoor dining at all Campustown bars and restaurants.
Champaign extends indoor dining, bar restrictions BY JJ KIM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Champaign Mayor Deb Feinen issued an amendment to Emergency Order 20-25 on Friday that extends indoor dining and bar restrictions at campusarea businesses until 5:00 p.m. on Sept. 16. The order follows Chancellor Robert Jones’ message to students earlier in the week that University students should avoid inperson activities except for essential activities like taking twice-weekly COVID-19 tests, attending class,
buying groceries and food, going to work, engaging in individual outdoor activity, attending religious services and seeking medical attention, for two weeks starting last Wednesday. “After consulting with public health and University officials about the higher than expected positivity rate of COVID-19 on campus, it was determined that continued restrictions on bars and restaurants in Campustown are necessary to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and to give the University a fighting
DAILYILLINI, DAILYILLINISPORTS
INSIDE
Police
2A
chance to remain open for the semester,” Feinen said in the news release. Feinen’s order disallows indoor dining in all Campustown bars and restaurants, though it permits outdoor service. Under the order, Campustown is the area enclosed by St. Mary’s Road on the south, Wright Street on the east, the Canadian National railroad on the west and East Healey Street and East Springfield Avenue on the north. The restrictions on indoor dining were first issued Aug. 18 in response to students
@THEDAILYILLINI, @DI_OPINION, @DI_SPORTS |
Life
&
Culture
4A
|
Crossword
5A
moving in, and were scheduled to end after Labor Day. The penalty for violating these orders can lead to a fine of up to $750 per violation per day. “We all have a role to play in keeping our community healthy and our businesses open,” Feinen said. “To that end, students, residents and visitors should continue to practice good social distancing, wear a face covering when around others and avoid parties and gatherings.”
Opinions
INSIDE
Features: Website promotes CU’s Blackowned businesses
Opinions: America has progressed on women’s rights
PAGE 4A
PAGE 6A
jjk7@dailyillini.com
THEDAILYILLINI |
KENYON EDMOND THE DAILY ILLINI
Students draw on the cement in front of Alma Mater in chalk following the CC-ARC protest on Aug. 28. The University quickly washed the chalk drawings away after the protesters left the scene.
6A
@THEDAILYILLINI |
Letters
6A
|
Sports
THEDAILYILLINI
THEDAILYILLINI
1B
4B
|
Classifieds
|
Sudoku
THEDAILYILLINI 4B
|
buzz
6B