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SGA Preps for End
of Year
By Jonathan Meyer
Preparations are being made for the
SGA elections to take place later this school year. As a result
of this election, SGA officers for next year will be chosen.
Certain issues regarding the SGA constitution are also expected on
the ballot.
According to UIS Administrator Jim
Korte, there will be a change this year compared to last year’s
election. In the past, online voting has been allowed for two
full days. However, most of the activity has taken place within
the first 24 hours.
This year, the plan is to run
elections for a day and a half, ending the vote on the final night
rather than continuing it until early morning. More specifically,
the election would run from the morning of Tuesday, April 25th
to Wednesday evening, rather than Thursday morning. Because SGA
offered no objections to this plan, it is very likely it will
occur.
There will be several steps leading
up to the election. The election is open to all students.
However, anyone wishing to run must submit the appropriate
paperwork by April the 15th at 4:30 PM. To obtain the
necessary papers, one should see Student Life Director Cynthia
Thompson.
All these individuals who wish to
run should also make themselves available at 5:00 PM for a
candidates’ meeting.
No one is allowed to begin
campaigning until they have met with Thompson. If anyone wishes
to run and can turn in the paperwork but cannot meet at that time,
appropriate accommodations can be made.
In addition to SGA officer
elections, there may be a constitutional amendment on this year’s
ballot. However, the precise nature of this amendment is not
currently known.
SGA member Brace Clement has been
serving on a committee devoted to addressing problems with the
current constitution. He said his committee had been making “a
great deal of progress” on the issue. The main focus has been on
removing problematic, questionable issues that have been “causing
some concern.”
Brace said everything would be
ready to present at the next SGA meeting next week. At this
meeting, the SGA will offer last second amendments if any were
deemed necessary.
Possible amendments might affect
SGA membership which is of special concern. The changes will take
place on July 1 of this summer. Vice Chancellor Chris Miller
asked to be updated as this issue moves forward as it may effect
budgetary concerns for the upcoming year.
Chicago alderman
discusses twists and turns of career
By Tom Cronin
When she first sought the office of
alderman in Chicago’s Fifth Ward, Leslie Hairston set some very
basic goals: to be visible and to provide city services for her
constituents. In a forum attended by UIS students, faculty and
administrators last week, Hairston said via speakerphone that she
thinks she’s been meeting these goals.
Hairston has worked as an attorney
in different capacities, but she said that she is currently a
full-time alderman. Her southeast-side ward includes large
portions of the community areas of Hyde Park and South Shore, as well as small portions
of Woodlawn and Greater Grand Crossing.
In recent weeks, Hairston has
vocally criticized the Chicago Fire Department about allegations
that firefighters have repeatedly broadcast racist and derogatory
language over the department’s radio system.
“… [T]he fire department …
continues to grapple with the racist attitudes of the
firefighters, so much so that the firefighters feel comfortable in
the presence of their supervisors and on air referring to people
in a derogatory way. Not just on one occasion, not just on two
occasions, not just three occasions, but actually the fourth
occasion where they’d thrown together every ethnic minority group
that they could and went over the air.”
The fire chief responded to the
allegations by saying that his firefighters couldn’t have possibly
broadcast this derogatory language over their radio system, and
that somebody else with the capability of transmitting on the
department’s frequency must have been responsible, Hariston said.
She said it was at that point when
she called the fire chief a “coward.”
Although she has been vocal on
numerous issues since entering office in 1999, Hairston said that
she wasn’t always interested in getting involved in Chicago
politics. A graduate of the University of
Wisconsin and Loyola University Chicago School of Law, the
Chicago native lived in Springfield
for seven years after receiving her law degree.
While here, Hairston served as an
Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois and was
responsible for handling litigation for the Consumer Protection
division of the Attorney General’s office. She also worked as a
staff attorney and special prosecutor for the State’s Attorneys
Appellate Prosecutors Office, where she argued two cases before
the Illinois Supreme Court.
“I have always been involved in
politics, and truly you cannot live in
Springfield for any amount of
time without being exposed to it,” Hairston said. “Most of my
experience has been on a voluntary basis, and therefore I got an
opportunity to learn the system pretty well.”
Hairston returned to Chicago in
1997, where she went into private practice as an attorney. She
said that she moved back into the community where she grew up and
saw some things that concerned her.
“So I called my local
representative and did not get an adequate response,” Hairston
said. “I started talking to some other people, and they came up
with the idea that maybe I should consider running.”
To Hairston, the idea seemed
hilarious. She said that she thought Chicago politics was “dirty
and nasty and mean,” and she didn’t want to be a part of it.
“But I think I had an even greater
commitment to making a difference in the community that I lived
in, and I think that drove me a lot further than actually the fear
of politics,” Hairston said. “I had been around politics because I
had lived in Springfield. So that was not as frightening, and it
was not as overwhelming or overriding a decision as it was to try
to do something good for the community.”
Hairston said that Chicago
residents approach their aldermen about local issues such as
zoning issues and garbage service, but they also contact their
aldermen about broader matters like the war in Iraq and the USA
PATRIOT Act.
“What people don’t realize about
the alderman is that the alderman is the first line of defense for
anything that goes on in the city,” Hairston said. “People know
who their alderman is. They do not know necessarily who their
congressman is, who their state representative is, who their state
senator is.
“We are the first line of defense,
and we deal with the constituents on a daily basis. We are in
charge of their garbage. We are in charge of their tree-limb
trimming, their sidewalks, streetlights, traffic signals,
everything else. Yes, we are the lifeblood, and so if something
does happen, yes, they will call us.”
Hairston had been expecting to
speak at last week’s John Peter Altgeld Forum in person, but she
was unable to attend because her original flight from Chicago was
cancelled, and the second flight that she tried to take was
delayed because of mechanical problems. The March 24 forum was
presented by the UIS Pre-Law Center.
News Briefs
Spring Volunteer Naturalist Training
Every year
over 6,000 school children visit the garden for guided hikes and
programs. The number of volunteers available to help with such
activities is limited. On Thursday, April 15 Lincoln Memorial
Garden will hold its spring naturalist volunteer training from
9A.M. – 3P.M at the Nature Center (2301East Lake Dr). Call Sally
at 529-1111 to register or for more information.
Summer
Employment Opportunity
3 positions for
summer ecology camp counselors at Lincoln Memorial Garden are
needed. Requirements include a minimum of 1 year of college,
experience with children, and a basic knowledge of science. A
high level or energy and creativity and previous camp or outdoor
education experience are recommended. Salary is $7.25 an hour
(40hr/week) from June 7-July 30, 2004. If interested contact Sally Patterson at 529-1111
or forward resume, cover letter and 3 references by April 30 to
Lincoln Memorial Garden 2301 East Lake Dr. Springfield, IL 62707.
Prize money for
student scholars
The Illinois
State Historical Society invites Illinois high school students to
participate in an essay contest about Abraham Lincoln and the
Civil War era. Essays should be between 1,000 and 1,500 words
with an annotated bibliography and suggestions for further
reading. The focus of the essay should be on Abraham Lincoln or a
significant event in the Civil War period in Illinois. The winner
will be awarded an award of $1,000, plus a certificate at the
Banquet of the Illinois History Symposium in December 2004. For
more information, call Tom Teague at 525-2781, or visit the
Society’s web site at
www.historyillinois.org. The deadline for 2004 is May
31.
UIS study abroad opportunities
The Global Experience Program is
offering area residents a number of opportunities to spend part of
the summer studying abroad, in subjects ranging from community
work in Jamaica to Chinese ceramic art to excavating prehistoric
sites in Germany. To receive academic credit from UIS, regular
tuition and fees and registration deadlines also apply. For
information, contact Jonathan Goldberg Belle, UIS director of
International Affairs, at 206-6678 or go to the website at
www.uis.edu/internationalaffairs/studyabroad.htm.
Financial Ad
If you have
applied for spring 2004 financial assistance, or if you are
interested in applying, you must submit all documentation to
complete your financial aid file by 5:00 p.m. on April 15th. All required paperwork must be received in
the Office of Financial Assistance located in SAB 60 by that
date. If you have questions regarding this notice, please contact
our office at (217) 206-6724.
COPC helps make
"wonderful things" happen at Washington Middle School
UIS’ Community Outreach Partnership
Center has joined with Unity for the Community, a community
organization, to confront a number of critical, education-related
issues facing Springfield School District 186. As a result,
“wonderful things” are happening. During the fall of 2003, the
two groups “adopted” Washington Middle School, which had been
identified as a low-achieving school, and began a coordinated
effort to provide assistance to the school’s students, staff, and
parents in a number of ways. Efforts include a “Grow Your Own
Parent” group and bringing UIS student volunteers to WMS to assist
staff and tutor students during the school day.
UIS
students named to Who’s Who in American Universities
The 2004
edition of Who’s Who in
American Universities and Colleges
will include the names of 18 students from the University of
Illinois at Springfield who have been
selected as nationally outstanding campus leaders. Campus
nominating chose these students based on academic achievement,
service to the community, leadership in extracurricular
activities, and potential for continued success. Students named
from UIS this year are: Mahmood Akhtar, Rogel M. Galo, Tyson Roan,
Maria L. Barajas, Paula Herget, Jene Ruppert, Melanie M. Cain,
Denise Long, Jennifer E. Sconyers, Tabitha Curran, Amber E.
Martin, Matt Wallace, Jennifer G. Davis, Kathleen L. Murphy, Brad
Ward, Tavia Ervin, DeAnn Nix, and Wilverlyn J. Williams.
UIS Library
Webpage Survey
The UIS
Library Webpage Usability Survey is now available to test user
satisfaction with the current UIS Library website. Changes will
be made to the site based on the comments received from those who
take the survey. There will be giveaways for those who
participate. Participants will take the survey at Brookens
Library. For more information, contact Denise Green, Coordinator
of Reference at Brookens Library, at 206-6644 or green.denise@uis.edu.
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