Housing lowers monthly electric rates

By Tom Cronin - Public Affairs Reporter

      The cost of electricity for most on-campus apartment and townhouse residents has gone down for this semester.
According to UIS Housing and Residential Life Director John Ringle, the monthly rates this semester are $30 for west campus townhouses and private renovated Clover Court apartments, $20 for Bluebell and Larkspur courts, and $15 for private two-bedroom Clover Court units that have not been renovated.
     Last semester’s monthly rate was $35 for all apartment and townhouse residents, aside from those living in family units. According to Ringle, residents were billed for four months last semester over what was really a five-month billing period – from early August through early January.
     Residents have also been billed for four months this semester, Ringle said, but the billing period lasts an actual four months – from early January through early May. The total of these monthly charges should already appear as one item on residents’ UIS bills.
     Families living on campus will receive monthly electric bills from Housing, and the electric costs for Lincoln Residence Hall are included in the overall Housing rate for the semester.
     In November, both the Housing Residents’ Council and Student Government Association passed a joint resolution recommending $20 monthly rates for Bluebell and Larkspur. Residents of these courts said at an HRC meeting in August that the charges were unfair to them because their electric costs have historically been lower than those in Clover Court and the townhouses.
     “I think it was a good example of students being motivated by economic self-interests to try to arrive at a better deal for themselves, and administration realizing that they’re perhaps partially correct and adjusting the rates accordingly,” Ringle said.
In August, Ringle told The Journal that the HRC/SGA Utilities Committee would meet with him monthly to review the bills as they came in and determine how accurate Housing’s “guesstimates” were for the fall semester.
     The committee recommended maintaining the $35 monthly fee for residents of Clover, Marigold, Foxglove and Pennyroyal courts because they found that the fee was reasonable and “in line with the spirit of the flat utilities charge” for these residents.
An analysis of approximately 15 months of data showed average monthly electric costs of $27.64 for Clover; $27.30 for Marigold, Foxglove and Pennyroyal; and $15.71 for Larkspur and Bluebell, according to the HRC/SGA resolution.
     Ringle said that he decided to reduce the monthly electric rate for residents of the west campus townhouses and the private renovated Clover Court apartments because a $30 monthly rate is more consistent with past consumption patterns than a monthly rate of $35. Although last semester’s “monthly rate” was $35, the charge for each actual month amounted to $28 because of the five-month billing cycle.
     For Clover Court residents in private two-bedroom units that have not been renovated, the monthly rate was reduced to $15 because it was “more in line” with the actual cost of electricity in these units, according to Ringle. The historical average monthly electric cost for these units is $58.74, he said, and four residents currently live in nearly every unit. Assuming full occupancy, the monthly cost per resident would be $14.69.
     With the exception of those living in family units and in private two-bedroom Clover Court units that have not been renovated, all residents have been charged at least $2 more each month than the historical averages.
     According to Ringle, these added charges would compensate for above-average electric costs that might result from a rate increase by City Water, Light and Power; a predicted colder-than-average winter; units that are not fully occupied; and a potential increase in energy consumption.
     If the revenue from student electric payments exceeds the cost of electricity, the surplus would be added to either the Housing budget or a specific reserve fund for the department, Ringle said in August.
     According to Ringle, a monthly electric bill that is $2 higher than the cost of electricity would not be “cost prohibitive” to residents. If the electric rates were not high enough to cover the cost, however, Housing would not be able to pay its bill with CWLP and would probably need to charge residents a second time.
     “The last thing I want to do is nickel and dime people to death and have to come back midyear and say, ‘I’m sorry, we undercharged you; we’re going to have to charge you more,’” Ringle said. “To me, that’s not wise and prudent stewardship of student dollars.”
     The proposed monthly electric rates for the 2005-‘06 academic year range from $20 to $30 and are based on past consumption patterns, Ringle said. Beginning next academic year, electric and cable charges will be included in the overall charge for Housing. The University of Illinois Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the proposed rates today.
     With the proposed rates for next year being court specific, the rate of increase for electric charges will likely be the same for all courts in subsequent academic years, Ringle said.
     “I think once we get through this transition phase that most students, and many of their parents, will probably be very pleased we will be able to offer a one-bill sort of one-stop shopping concept for them, which I think will make us much more competitive with our off-campus competitors, as well.”

By Jason Satek - SGA/General Assignment Reporter

      If you were so inclined to call the news desk of WUIS-WIPA at 4 a.m., there is a good chance you would find Rich Bradley there. The news director of the station for the past 31 years, Rich took on the additional role on Interim Manager as of January 1, replacing the retiring Brad Swanson.
     After deliberating, he agreed to fill in as the search for a permanent replacement continues, though he is not interested in the position himself. “I view myself as a caretaker,” he states. “I’m wearing both hats right now, but have not applied and am not interested in the job full time. My job is to make sure we stay on the air.”
     Bradley has a degree in radio/television from Southern Illinois University, where he first became interested in student-run radio. “It seemed like a trip, and I was bitten by the bug.” In 1974, he came to Sangamon State, in part to fulfill a career goal of building a station from scratch. “The notion of public radio appealed to me very much. I enjoyed the work here, the university campus atmosphere and working with students, so I stuck it out.”
     Rich describes the station format as news, information and classical music. “Typical public radio,” he states, with eclectic weekend programs like “Car Talk,” “This American Life” and “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me,” which he lists as his personal favorites.
For a typical workday, Rich goes to sleep around 9 p.m. and rises about 3:15 a.m., He then works from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m., skipping any nap opportunities during the remainder of the day. “The older I’ve gotten,” he admits, “the easier it is to get up.”
     Regarding the retirement of his friend Swanson, Rich admitted he has no retirement plans himself, but would be less than honest to say he had not begun thinking about it. “I enjoy the work. As long as I enjoy it, I’ll stay. If it ever gets to the point were getting up to host Morning Edition becomes tedious or a chore, it’s time to hang it up.”
Anyone interested in volunteer opportunities at the news desk should contact him at 206-6524.

Campus Police Briefs

By Tom Cronin

      Jan. 4, 11:18 p.m. – After receiving a report of what sounded like shots fired, officers were dispatched to Sunflower Court. The officers investigated the area in question and the adjacent areas and found no evidence of any shots being fired.

Jan. 6, 12:11 a.m. – While on patrol, an officer noticed a subject walking down the road on West Lake Drive. After questioning the subject, it was determined that this individual had been involved in a previous domestic dispute and was looking for a cell phone that may have fallen out of the subject’s vehicle.

Jan. 6, 3:55 a.m. – After receiving a call by code blue machine, an officer was dispatched to Pennyroyal Court. Once on the scene, it was determined that a fight had taken place between roommates. Neither party wished to press charges, so the matter was forwarded to Housing for adjudication.

Jan. 6, 6:30 a.m. – After receiving a call reporting harassment, an officer was dispatched. The officer took a report, and the investigation is ongoing.

Jan. 7, 1:14 a.m. – While on patrol, an officer noticed a vehicle off the road. When the officer investigated further, it was determined that the driver was still in the vehicle. As the officer attempted to question the driver, the driver attempted to flee on foot. The officer subdued the driver, and the driver was arrested for DUI. The subject was transported to Sangamon County Jail.

The Police Beat is a compilation of brief summaries of selected UIS Police reports. To read the complete list of report summaries, visit www.uis.edu/police/.

Constitutional expert discusses war powers

By Tom Cronin - Public Affairs Reporter

     When U.S. senators and representatives approved the October 2002 resolution that authorized President George W. Bush to use military force against Iraq, they surrendered their Constitutional check on the presidency by failing to adequately question CIA intelligence reports, a Constitutional expert said Monday.
     In a lecture titled “President Bush and the War on Terrorism,” Louis Fisher said that members of Congress have given much of their war power to the executive branch since the mid-20th century and do not understand their institutional powers and responsibilities. He said that the Constitution gives Congress more power than the president in matters of foreign policy.
     Fisher, a senior specialist in separation of powers with the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, delivered his speech to a standing-room-only crowd in Brookens Auditorium. His appearance was sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Central Illinois, the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership, the UIS Speakers Fund and Lincoln Land Community College.
     The framers of the Constitution gave Congress the power to declare war, Fisher said, because European monarchs and executive leaders had a history of going to war for personal and private interests, instead of the interests of their nation.
     To achieve their goal of establishing a republic, the framers included in the Constitution a system of checks and balances that prevented any one branch of government from becoming too powerful, Fisher said.
     “The important thing is not the flag,” he said. “… The important thing is the republic. The flag, it stands for the republic. If you don’t have a republic, the flag doesn’t stand for anything.”
     Contrary to popular contemporary belief, the commander-in-chief clause in the Constitution does not give the president unilateral authority to go to war, Fisher said. Instead, it provides the armed forces with a unity of command and ensures civilian supremacy over the military, he said.
     “The framers never expected the president as commander-in-chief to do anything other than command the troops once they were brought into battle either by Congress through a declaration or by Congress through an authorization,” Fisher said.
     In the case of Iraq, Fisher said that Congress gave their war powers to the president by authorizing the use of force without questioning the validity of intelligence reports concerning alleged weapons programs.
     According to Fisher, members of the Bush administration have made several claims about Iraq based on intelligence that is now believed to be faulty. Among these claims are the connection between Iraq and al Qaeda, the assertion that aluminum tubes found in Iraq could only be used for nuclear weapons programs, and Bush’s statement that Saddam Hussein had been seeking “significant quantities of uranium” from Niger.
With the preventive nature of post-9/11 military operations, there is a greater need not just for intelligence, but for intelligence that is accurate and reliable, Fisher said. This cannot be achieved by simply spending more money on intelligence, but by building integrity at the top levels of the CIA, he said.
     “Until we can do that, I don’t think the United States has any credibility in spreading democracy abroad with the problems we have here at home,” Fisher said. “And Congress has to wake up. The only way the Congress is going to wake up is for citizens … to insist that they play their part … Otherwise, we won’t get back to a republic.”
     An author of more than a dozen books, including Presidential War Power and The Politics of Executive Privilege, Fisher has written more than 300 articles for law reviews, political science journals, encyclopedias, books, newspapers and magazines.
He began work with the CRS in 1970 and served as research director of the House Iran-Contra Committee in 1987, writing the final report.
Fisher has testified before Congress on issues such as war powers, Congress and the Constitution, executive privilege, CIA whistle blowing and covert spending. He has been active in the Central and East European Law Initiative of the American Bar Association, assisting with constitutional issues in several Eastern European countries.

Some of the information in this article was obtained from a press release from the Office of Campus Relations.

New Year brings new resolutions for UIS students

By Gabrielle Wiegand - Feature Writer

    Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! Happy New Year! It is 2005 and the first thing many people do after toasting in the New Year is make a New Year’s resolution.
On January 1, the year is fresh, clean and new. Anything is possible, so people resolve to do or, in many cases, not do something. However, it does not take long to forget all about a resolution and revert back to the habits of 2004.
     With so many Americans overweight and out of shape, a common resolution is to become more fit or work out more. Christopher Wyant, a senior English major made a joint resolution to exercise more and to learn to play the mandolin. “The exercising is coming along nicely,” said Wyant. “The mandolin just sits in the box, as of now.” Wyant said he does not usually make resolutions. He made one this year because he thought he “might actually go through with it this time.”
     Attending class and working simultaneously, like so many of the students at UIS do, it is easy to become disorganized and to procrastinate. Resolving to do something about this is a reasonable goal. Over halfway through January, Carly Hawkins, a senior political studies major, is happy with her progress to stop procrastinating. “I have not procrastinated on certain things but I continue to procrastinate on other things.”
     “I am definitely doing better then I was last year,” said Hawkins. “I make resolutions every year. When I was younger I never use to keep up with them, I would forget about them after like two weeks. Since I have gotten older, since college or senior year of high school, I have kept most of my resolutions.”
     Another popular thing people resolve to do in the New Year is to quit a habit that is harmful to them, for example smoking or drinking. Now, I could not find any college students resolving to quit drinking, but Jason Kennedy, a senior economics major, has decided to drink more. “I would say I have kept up with it so far, from what I remember,” joked Kennedy.
     Enjoying life more is a popular resolution in our fast paced, hectic country. Frequently though, stopping to smell the roses is much easier said then done. “My resolution is to be happy with myself, who I am, the decisions I make, and how far I have come,” said Alisabeth Manzoeillo, a senior political studies and communications major. “I am going to stop comparing myself to others, volunteer more and just do what makes me happy. I am not going to worry about what society may or may not think of me.”
     “So far it is going well. I do not really make resolutions, but if I do it is usually to be a better person both mentally and emotionally,” said Manzoeillo.
Some people, realizing that there is a better chance they will break their resolution rather then keep it, do not make New Year’s resolutions.
     "I do not make New Year's resolutions because it puts a lot of pressure on you to keep it when no one ever does," said Jamie Crain, a political studies masters student. "I use to make resolutions but I honestly never kept them. Usually within three weeks I forget about them."

Housing lowers monthly electric rates

Wearing two hats at once

Campus Police Briefs

Constitutional expert discusses war powers

New Year brings new resolutions for UIS students