Wednesday, March 7, 2018 - Vol. 118 Issue 64
Faculty respond to SGA bill Rock: “Well I think you’ve struck a nerve”
JIMMY PIERSON/PRODUCTION MANAGER
By Steven Barnum courier staff
NICHOLAS EBELHACK/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Faculty Senate and Student Government Association members discuss attendance and participation policies at Tuesday's Faculty Senate meeting. Clockwise from top left: SGA Director of Academic Affairs Madison Lynn, Faculty Senators Marjorie Allison, Susan Czechowski and Robert HironimusWendt, Faculty Senate Chair Steven Rock and Student Member to the Board of Trustees Wil Gradle.
By Nicholas Ebelhack editor-in-chief
Student Government Association (SGA) Director of Academic Affairs Madison Lynn and Student Member to the Board of Trustees Wil Gradle responded to faculty concerns pertaining to two bills up for discussion at Tuesday’s Faculty Senate meeting. The bills, written by SGA College of Business and
Technology Senator Amanda Wrenn, ask for professors to review their course policies to consider that students dislike attendance and participation grading policies. These bills, initially proposed on Feb. 6, have been tabled over the last month to allow for additional research to be conducted. Lynn briefly explained the bill in her report to the Faculty Senate. “The issue was that some students had expressed
concerns about attendance policies and being graded on their attendance in course, being penalized on whether or not they attend,” Lynn said. Gradle then expanded on the bill in discussion to the request of Faculty Senate members wishing to hear more about the concern. “The concept is that attendance is the students right since they pay to take the class,” Gradle said “If they
feel like the class is not worth going to or if they should have the option of whether or not to attend.” Initially, faculty members responded that the concerns outlined in the bill were null since an SGA bill can’t force a change in policy, as Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Robert Hironimus-Wendt said.
Senate
page 2
Women fall short of championship return By Brandon Reidy courier staff
MARC RAMIREZ/ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Emily Clemens darts up the court in a semifinals loss to South Dakota State.
Sioux Falls, South DakotaThe Western Illinois University Leathernecks (22-9) matched up against South Dakota State University (256) on Monday, March 5 at the Denny Premier Center. The atmosphere was electric going into the contest, and there was plenty of hype surrounding the two teams’ third match up. The game began to get one sided quickly, as South Dakota State University started off the game on an eight point run. It was not until Junior forward Taylor Higginbotham drove to the basket and put Western
on the board that the leathernecks began to pick up some steam. At the end of the quarter, they still faced a hefty deficit trailing 27-14. The game did not get prettier for the Purple and Gold, as the team was out-scored in the second quarter 26-10. The first half was dominated by the Jackrabbits, and player of the year Macy Miller and Madison Guebert. The two combined for 28 first half points and seven rebounds. For the Leathernecks, they were led by Morgan Blumer, who led Western with eight points.
Basketball page 2
A large fight in Western Illinois University Thompson Hall led to the arrest of seven students and one non-student, each charged with mob action. The fight broke out in the dining center on Saturday, March 3, with students nearby to witness. A video of the conflict was shared on Twitter, and has been re-tweeted over 600 times. What began to look like several isolated altercations ended up escalating into one large fight as seen in the video. Several punches can be seen being thrown and landed, while students piled on top of one another. The students ranged from 18 to 20 years old, and they were residents of Tanner Hall and Henninger Hall. One additional person, a non-student from Chicago, was also arrested. All eight individuals were processed and lodged at the McDonough County Jail between 12:26 a.m. and 7:56 p.m., and indefinite suspensions have been issued to the students, who are now prohibited from stepping foot on University property. The incident prompted a response from University President Jack Thomas, who was understandably disappointed with what took place. “Fighting and other acts of violence are not tolerated at our University,” said Thomas. “We will not allow those select few individuals to mar our University’s good name and detract from the great things we are doing at WIU.” An investigation of the incident is ongoing.