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Alumnus shares lessons
on leadership
When Donovan Pepper served as
president of the student body at what is now UIS in the early ‘90s,
Student Government Association, The Journal and the
university itself all went by different names. There was no Capital
Scholars Program, and University Hall and Lincoln Residence Hall
were not yet in existence.
One thing that Pepper said has
remained constant at the university over the last decade is the
multitude of leadership opportunities available to students.
Pepper, the director of public
affairs for the Chicago-based Illinois Restaurant Association,
delivered his remarks Thursday at the Homecoming UIS Student-Alumni
Leadership Luncheon. He earned two degrees in political studies
during his time on campus – a B.A. from what was then Sangamon State
University in 1994 and an M.A. in 1996.
In addition to participating in the
university’s Model Illinois Government program, Pepper was both vice
president and president of Student Senate, the precursor to SGA.
According to Pepper, it was easy to talk about his experiences in
student government because he had recently found some old issues of
the student newspaper, which was then called the SSU News.
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Lincoln Legacy Lecture
Series: Discussion on Civil Liberties
The Lincoln Legacy Lecture series
began with its first lecture, Civil Liberties in Lincoln's
Presidency, on Thursday Oct. 7. The lecture was given by Mark E.
Neely, Jr., a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Lincoln expert.
Several people came out to see the
lecture series, many of whom were extreme Lincoln fans. Chris
Umhoefer, Lincoln fan, said he was interested in discovering the new
ways of looking at the Lincoln administration and learn things he
had not known before.
There were also those who were eager
to hear Neely's response to how the civil liberties of Lincoln's
presidency compared to the civil liberties present today in Bush's
presidency. Jack Navins, Lincoln fan, said he was "most interested
in correlation between major issues then and issues now."
Neely started the lecture by
referring to an attack on New York City during the Civil War.
According to Neely, this was a poorly orchestrated and failed
attempt to burn down the city on the night of Nov. 25, 1864. Neely
said that Confederate agents from Canada were led by escaped
prisoners of war in the attack.
The attack on New York during
Lincoln's administration failed because of the lack of technology,
Neely said. As apart of their plot, the Confederate agents would
have had over 8,000 lives to destroy, aiming at setting fires at
night hangout spots and 13 hotels. However, they closed the doors
and the lack of air kept their fire from spreading. Neely also said
that the men had not been properly trained in terrorism.
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