Opinions: Tax reform bill faulty from the start.
Edge: Winter movie previews.
Sports: Women's basketball continues to fight.
Monday, December 4, 2017 - Vol. 118 Issue 41
JESSIE MATIAS/PRODUCTION MANAGER
By Tabi Jozwick courier staff
To commemorate World AIDS Day, the Beu Health Center’s Alcohol and Other Drugs Resource Center organized Western Illinois University’s World AIDS Day event at the Multicultural Center on Friday. According to Peace Corps Fellow graduate assistant Kari Rogers, World AIDS Day is an international event that is held annually on Dec. 1. “It was started by the United Nations to bring more awareness to the disease, commemorating people who have
been lost to the disease,” Rogers said. Today, people are more knowledgeable about HIV and AIDS than they were previously, however, there is still more work that is needed to bring more awareness to HIV and AIDS to the people. According to the United Nations, more than 36 million people are living with HIV. More than one million people died from AIDS-related deaths in 2016. “When HIV and AIDS were first discovered, there was not a lot that was known about them,” Rogers said. “It was totally new to people, so it
was unsure exactly how it was spread at first. There was a lot of false information being spread around like the physical contact, just being around someone with HIV, touching them accidently could cause transmission, which, that is false. That what we know now that it is only spread through sexual contact or share injections materials, usually drug use, so that is one of the things that we are trying to address.” The issue of false information came to a climax in the U.S. with the story of Ryan White, a Kokomo, Ind. high school student diagnosed with HIV after
a contaminated blood treatment. Although doctors said he stood no risk to other students, White was not allowed back in school due to poor understanding of HIV and AIDS. Even with the education that the people were getting about the facts about HIV and AIDS, it still has not erased the stigmas against HIV and AIDS. The social media project #letsendit at the event encouraged participants to use a photo of themselves with the hashtag #letsendit on their social media platforms to encourage others to end the stigma against HIV and AIDS.
“There’s definitely still a stigma in the world,” Rogers said. “It is something that we can even see when we had our HIV testing in the Union (on Wednesday), there are people that shy away from that. There is still definitely a stigma attached to it because not everyone is comfortable telling people of their status if they are HIV positive because of the stigma that is still out there and lot of people that are HIV positive still must deal with that daily, that stigma. It’s sad, but true.”
AIDS day
page 3
Meth found in cart arrest
JESSIE MATIAS/PRODUCTION MANAGER
By Nicholas Ebelhack editor-in-chief
Over the past month, the Western Illinois University chapter of University Professionals of Illinois and Western administrators have been in mediated negotiations regarding faculty contracts. While mediation rules prohibit the release of details pertaining to ongoing sessions, an update is expected at the Dec. 15 Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting. Today, a fourth mediated session will take place, followed by another scheduled for Dec. 18 with the opportunity for further negotiations should it be deemed
necessary. Western has released multiple statements updating when mediation efforts would be taking place. In the Nov. 17 update, Western stated in a press release that, “(Western) is concerned that misinformation continues to be shared. This misinformation is unsettling to our University community, and can undermine any progress that both parties are striving to achieve. This continued rhetoric risks harm to the institution’s reputation, which in turn can have a detrimental effect on enrollment and recruitment initiatives.” The specifics of the problematic rhetoric were not addressed in the press release.
The upcoming BOT meeting will also feature many resolutions to be proposed. For example, Resolution 17.12/1, Tuition for Active Duty Military Personnel, proposes that “the Board of Trustees establishes a new tuition rate for United States military personnel who are serving in active duty status for the purposes other than training.” Also on the agenda is resolution 17.12/4, which pertains to the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council contract with Western, and 17.12/2 which pertains to the Western’s internal auditing. The open meeting is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. in the University Union Capitol Room.
MCDONOUGH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
Brandon D. Jackson, 36, of Bushnell, Ill. was arrested on Nov. 3 for a stolen twowheel acetylene cart, theft over $500 and unlawfull possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamines).
By Isaiah Herard news editor
McDonough County Sheriff Rick VanBrooker reported the arrest of Brandon D. Jackson, 36, of Bushnell, Ill. on Dec. 1. Jackson was arrested on Nov. 30 at a residence in Bushnell where McDonough County Sheriffs recovered a recently reported stolen two-wheel acetylene cart. The cart was reported stolen from a Prairie City address. The Sheriff’s
Office also recovered four ladders and four liquified petroleum cylinders that officials believe were stolen from a nearby business in Bushnell. Jackson was also in possession of less than five grams of methamphetamine. Jackson was lodged in the McDonough County Jail for theft over $500 and unlawful possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). His bond was set at $50,000 on Dec. 1, 10 percent to apply.