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: Lincoln Land students fill
vacant townhouse units
By Tom Cronin
The population of the campus townhouses is no
longer entirely made up of UIS students and their families. UIS
Housing Director John Ringle said that “just a handful” of
students – about five or six – from Lincoln Land Community College
are currently living in townhouse units that would otherwise be
vacant.
“I actually think that it’s a
good partnership that could benefit both Lincoln Land and UIS
because I think probably the life experiences of the students at
each campus could benefit each other,” Ringle said. “They
certainly could learn something from each other, I think, by
living together as roommates or apartment-mates.”
All apartment and townhouse
options at UIS are open to Lincoln Land students on a
space-available basis, Ringle said. The occupancy rate in the
townhouses is 92 percent, and the campus has an overall occupancy
rate of 87 percent, he said.
“We have the excess capacity
right now, and they are college students, so we thought it was a
perfect target expansion of our market to ask if they would be
wanting to live on campus,” Ringle said. “Now, that and their
location. You can’t beat the closeness of Lincoln Land. It’d be a
little different if we were targeting Robert Morris students or
Springfield College in Illinois students because they’re just not
as well-situated as Lincoln Land students are.”
Jason Stuebe, Student Government
Association president, said that he approves of the idea to rent
vacant townhouse units to Lincoln Land students, as long as UIS
students aren’t displaced.
“As long as they’re paying the
same fair rates as UIS students are, if not a little higher, I
personally see no problem with it so long as that it doesn’t
displace any UIS students,” he said.
Lincoln Land students who are
current UIS townhouse residents are paying the same housing costs
as UIS students with the same housing arrangements, Ringle said.
The Lincoln Land students are also being held to the same
contractual obligations as UIS students, and they must adhere to
the same student code of conduct, he said.
Stuebe said that he doesn’t think
the two groups of students will have any difficulties getting
along.
“If it got to be something where
there was a clear difference between how UIS students acted and
Lincoln Land students acted, well then you got to look at it,”
Stuebe said. “… We’re all adults here. I don’t see any problem.”
Discussion about opening the
townhouses to Lincoln Land students began during last semester’s
privatized housing RFP process, when one of the companies proposed
a housing project that anticipated a potential market that
included Lincoln Land students, Ringle said.
“So we actually got a jump on
thinking about whether or not we would kind of make that first
overture to them,” he said.
Whether or not Lincoln Land
students will be allowed to live in the residence hall that’s
being proposed depends on the terms of the agreement between UIS
and the contractor selected for the development, Ringle said.
Extra funding from the housing
payments of Lincoln Land students would be put into either a
designated reserve fund or an operational budget used for things
that include furniture and carpet replacement, he said.
“Because we are an auxiliary and
we don’t get tuition dollars, anything that we take in eventually
benefits our students in the form of renovations, upgrades,
furniture replacements, carpet replacements,” Ringle said. “All of
that means that we have excess money then to be able to plow back
into the organization.”
Retooling
for a new Semester
By Jonathan Meyer
The new semester has begun and clubs are busy
planning events. ICCB, the campus organization in charge of
divvying up a great deal of money for clubs met recently. On that
same day, the Student Activities Committee (SAC) also organized to
schedule upcoming events for the campus community.
ICCB allocated several hundred
dollars to the Muslim Student Association. This money will be
used for the organization’s monthly activities and serve to pay
for food and other expenditures. The Muslim Student Association
is also planning to put on Women in Islam as their major event
this semester.
The ABC Service Club requested
and received funds to send thirteen individuals to the COOL
Conference. This conference is held from March 11-14 and promotes
active group community service. There are still several openings
for the trip. One thousand dollars was set aside for this event.
The Indian Students Organization
is planning to have several activities soon, including a movie
night. This group received $750.
A new club on campus, the
Mid-Knights requested money for T-shirts. They had previously
requested funds but the appeal was tabled under a call for a more
exact cost estimate. This time, the organization received $380
for 40 T-shirts.
At the same time, SAC is working
on ways to use their current budget. Because, not a lot has been
planned for SAC so far, many ideas were put forward at this
meeting.
In the fall, this student
organization put together a trip to see a St. Louis Cardinals’
game. Over 60 students participated in this event. There has now
been talk of going to a new game.
This idea was especially popular
because, after spending all winter in doors, it would be an event
where students could students outside. “We can alternate. Go see
the Cardinals in the fall and the Cubs in the spring,” suggested
Carly Hawkins.
The group also put forth ideas
for a concert on campus. The date for such an event is currently
pending. However, it would most likely be in mid-April. In order
to attract more students, the event may be held in either a marked
off parking lot or the studio theater. The prospect of a dance
was also discussed, but SAC felt it was questionable how many
students would attend versus how many would see it as “too high
school.”
A bowling night is another
possible activity. This would take place in the evening sometime
in early April. Participants may receive a sizeable price
discount and be able to bowl and hang out for several hours.
Sponsoring massages over
midterm’s week is another activity being discussed by SAC. There
is a massage school in Springfield from which to draw volunteers.
There will be several places to receive massages throughout
campus. The exact locations are still being determined.
SAC members are currently looking
into the potential costs for these events and will use their
budget accordingly. At the next meeting, these events will be
revisited accompanied by more specific information. Additional
activities may also be planned.
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