THURSDAY September 24, 2020
THE DAILY ILLINI
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Vol. 150 Issue 10
UI Senate endorses kingfisher mascot With warm responses on multiple University online communities, her design caught the attention of Illinois Student Government. Multiple representatives worked with Hulsey to introduce and gauge the design with the student body. Back in March, students voted in favor of adopting the kingfisher as a University mascot 4,222 to 3,597 in a non-binding poll, included on the Illinois Student Government ballot. Next, Hulsey will try to work with the Chancellor and his committees, as the final decision around a mascot lies with Jones and the UI athletics department. An athlete Q&A panel around the mascot is scheduled for October, Hulsey said. The University has been without a mascot for 13 years. Chief Illiniwek’s last official appearance at an athletics event was in February 2007, nearly two years after the NCAA ban of Native American mascots in 2005. “A mascot is the face of school spirit from many schools and we need something to represent us,” Hulsey said. “I’m really excited to see how this turns out. I think it’ll be a way for a University to show solidarity by saying that we are committing to the decision we made in 2007 and we mean it.”
BY ALIZA MAJID STAFF WRITER
A vast majority of the University Senate voted in favor of an orange-and-blue belted kingfisher as a new mascot for the University at Monday’s meeting. The resolution called for Chancellor Robert Jones to adopt a new mascot, condemn public displays of Chief Illiniwek and consider the kingfisher as a potential successor. Of the senators present, 105 voted yes for the resolution, two voted no and four abstained. Spencer Hulsey, creator of the kingfisher mascot and 2020 graduate of the University, was “apprehensive” about seeing the meeting’s results. “I didn’t know what was going to happen,” she said. “No one did.” But seeing the count roll in was exhilarating. “The live time reaction was intense, because (the votes) went from 50, 60, to 70 and then my friend was like ‘I think we could hit 100,’ and we did,” Hulsey said. “It was so quick. I could not believe it was such a consensus.” Hulsey grew up on a farm in Kinmundy, Illinois, where she saw countless birds flock to her pond. One day in mid2019, Hulsey doodled an Illini-inspired kingfisher and spread her design to a campus subreddit. alizam2@dailyillini.com
MARK CAPAPAS THE DAILY ILLINI
Students line up at PAR to vote on Election Day on Nov. 6, 2018. The early voting period in Champaign County began Thursday morning.
Early voting begins in Champaign County BY ALIZA MAJID STAFF WRITER
The Champaign County began its early voting period on Thursday morning at the Brookens Administrative Center/Gymnasium in Urbana. The Center is located at 1776 E. Washington St. Parking is on the north side of the building, off of Art Bartell Road. The facility opens for voters from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The location has been changed this year from the Clerk’s office due to the larger spaces needed to accommodate voters and abide by social distancing protocols. In a news release, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons encouraged vot-
ers to vote by mail if possible, but he said the next best alternative would be to vote early in order to avoid the lines on Nov. 3 and limit exposure. Early voting centers will have plexiglass partitions for judges, hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray, masks and gloves to ensure the safety of all participants, Ammons added. Eligible voters can vote at the Brookens Administrative Center/Gymnasium on the following dates and times: • Sept. 24 – Oct. 18, Monday – Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. • Oct. 19 – Nov. 2, Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. – 7
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p.m. and Saturday — Sunday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Another 11 sites will open in Champaign County for early voting, from Oct. 19 – Nov. 2. Each of the following sites will be available on weekdays from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) – 201 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign, Illinois 61820 Illini Union – 1401 W. Green St., Urbana, Illinois 61801 Lake of the Woods, Elk’s Pavilion, 301 Senna Drive, Mahomet, Illinois 61853 Leonhard Recreation
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Center, 2307 Sangamon Drive, Champaign, Illinois 61821 Meadowbrook Community Church, 1902 South Duncan Road, Champaign, IL 61822 Parkland College, Student Life Center, 2400 W. Bradley Ave., Champaign, IL 61821 Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 802 E. Douglas St., St. Joseph, IL 61873 The Church of the Living God, 312 E. Bradley Ave., Champaign, IL 61820 The Gathering Place (First United Methodist Church), 220 S. Marshall St., Rantoul, IL 61866
alizam2@dailyillini.com
Party complaints decrease since start of semester BY SAMANTHA BOYLE MANAGING EDITOR FOR REPORTING PHOTO COURTESY OF SPENCER HULSEY
Spencer Hulsey updated the design for her belted kingfisher mascot idea. Hulsey, 2020 University graduate, saw her mascot design win a nonbinding student body referendum on March 9, then it won the endorsement of University Senate on Monday.
New positivity rate, daily cases hit semester lows Under 0.4% of 8,000 daily tests have been positive in past 11 straight days BY ETHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
The share of new COVID-19 cases continues to fall in this week’s rounds of campus tests. For 11 straight days, under 0.4% of an average 8,000 daily tests have been iden-
tified as new cases of COVID-19, a prolonged rate unseen since the summer. On Saturday and Sunday, the University confirmed just 13 and 11 new cases respectively, the two lowest daily totals in over a month. In the wake of the University’s two-week stay-athome order for undergraduates, the on-campus spread appears to be slowing. It’s no small feat. According to Martin Burke, professor in LAS and SHIELD SEE DAILY CASES | 5A
INSIDE
Opinions: Ginsburg bequeaths legacy of critical social change
Sports: Megan Cooney to lead young Illini team
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The number of large parties on and near the University campus has substantially decreased over the past few weeks, according to the University Police. The party decrease comes as the Division of Public Safety has been enforcing public health rules and students have been cooperating, the UIPD news release said. Since the start of the semester, police reports of complaints for loud noise or large parties have dropped by 61%. During the first week of school, there were a total of 114 reports of complaints; during the most recent week, Sept. 14 through Sunday, there were a total of 44 calls. Of the 44 from last week, 23 parties were in compliance with public health regulations meaning the gatherings had fewer than 10 guests maintaining social distancing. From Aug. 31 through Sept. 6, there were 74 reports and from Sept. 7 through Sept. 13, there were 48 reports. Other students have been fined for hosting parties. Two University students have been issued three citations each related to parties hosted on Aug. 28. Charges include a $750 fine for endangering public health, a $350 fine for hosting a nuisance party and a $255 fine for reckless conduct, adding up to $1,355 in total fines for each host. The news release stated that police and the Office
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for Student Conflict Resolution have been working together in cases where academic discipline is warranted. More recently, there’s been more widespread compliance from the University and C-U community as they have taken health guidelines more seriously. The stricter lockdown conditions the University put in place for two weeks have also seemed to reverse the rapidly increasing positivity rate on campus the first couple of weeks of the
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semester. “This is what we want to see. We are glad to see that, in the vast majority of cases, students are voluntarily complying and cooperating,” said Executive Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police Alice Cary in the news release. “We do not want to issue citations and fines to our students, and we do not enjoy being the party police. But the safety and the health of our community is our foremost priority, and right now, the global situation
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demands that we take this approach.” Collective action is more important now than ever before to public safety and well-being, Cary added in the news release. “It is inspiring to see the collaboration between our students, staff, faculty and administrators in keeping the spread of COVID-19 to a minimum, and I am proud to be a part of this community effort,” she said. sjboyle2@dailyillini.com
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