UIS to celebrate Earth day

By Ashley Rook - General Assignment Reporter

Earth Day, which has been a national environmental event since 1970, will be commemorated at UIS with a variety of earth-friendly activities planned for next week.  These activities, which include a keynote speech by leading ecologist Dr. Sandra Steingraber, will give UIS students an opportunity to celebrate the Earth and learn more about environmental issues.
The first Earth Day was held in 1970 and founded by Gaylord Nelson, a former Wisconsin senator and environmentalist.  Since then, it has been an annual celebration of the Earth and a way for people around the world to become more committed to protecting their environment.  Through the Earth Day Network, more than 12,000 groups in 174 countries continue to coordinate Earth Day events around the world every year.
“Earth Day serves as a reminder to all of us that the planet we live on and the things we take for granted won’t be around for future generations unless humanity cleans up its act by adopting ways to live on this Earth in a sustainable manner,” explained Students Allied for a Greener Earth President Mike Mikulski.  “Earth Day is important for UIS students because it allows for others to change their perspective, to come and appreciate the components of life that this planet holds and choose to live in such a way that nurtures our Earth—not destroy it.”
The highlight of UIS’ Earth Week will be the speech from ecologist Dr. Sandra Steingraber, titled “Contamination without Consent: How Chemical Pollutants in Air, Food and Water Violate Human Rights” at 7:30 p.m. April 19 in Brookens Auditorium.  Sponsors include the Center for State Policy and Leadership, the Capitol Scholars Honors Program, environmental studies, the College of Public Affairs and Administration, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Student Affairs.
Steingraber, called “the next Rachel Carson” by the Sierra Club, is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Ithaca College and an internationally renowned expert on the link between pollution and human diseases. 
UIS’ celebration of Earth Day begins Monday.  On Tuesday, SAGE will run a table offering Earth Day-related literature, materials on how to live a more eco-friendly life, and an Earth Day quiz intended to raise awareness of environmental degradation.  On Next Wednesday, SAGE will offer a panel on sustainable local food systems and show a film, “The True Cost of Food,” which will explore the environmental and social cost behind the agricultural business and SAGE members will take part in a campus-clean up next Friday by picking up litter on campus.

In response to the Journal Editorial

I am writing to each of you as students in response to last week's editorial in the UIS Journal entitled, "Students should have a say in survey, too." As the Student Government Association President, I feel it is my privilege and duty to respond to the concerns that this article presents 
I would like to address two major issues raised by the authors of this editorial:
1) Students do have a say in matters of the Campus Senate, administrative situations, and general campus events.
2) Students are the only constituency on campus with DIRECT representation to the Board of Trustees, the final governing board of our University.

I also request that any student with extensive knowledge of the Chancellor’s performance submit a letter of evaluation to be presented to the Board of Trustees during the Board’s July Executive Session Meeting.

First, the Student Government Association (SGA) President appoints students to every Campus Senate committee. Campus Senate committees include vital committees such as the Undergraduate Council, Graduate Council, Campus Planning and Budget Committee, Academic Technology Committee, etc. In addition, students are afforded 5 voting seats on the Campus Senate itself. As the Student Government President, I am a member of the Campus Senate Steering Committee (somewhat like an executive board) and am afforded a report at every Campus Senate meeting. Therefore, five members of the SGA will be involved in the closed session Campus Senate Meeting to discuss the Chancellor’s evaluation as conducted by the faculty.

Second, there is one major issue which the previous editorial missed. The only person from the UIS campus who sits on the Board of Trustees (BOT) is a student!  The students currently have more direct representation on the BOT than the faculty, administration, and staff at UIS. The Board of Trustees is the final governing body of our University. While this survey will be reviewed by President White, it is ultimately the Board of Trustees who will guide President White in his decisions on contracts for campus chancellors. The survey conducted by the faculty will be submitted to the Board Of Trustees in their July Executive Session meeting. The newly elected Student Representative to the Board of Trustees will be present and participating in the Executive Session this July.

Lastly, please remember that this situation deals with an evaluation of the Chancellor, not an election. While the Journal is correct in contending that not just educated people have an opportunity to vote;, one must bear in mind that this is not an election it is only an evaluation. It is important for the BOT to receive accurate commentary concerning the student opinion of the Chancellor's performance. The BOT is very aware of the limited direct student interaction with the Chancellor. Therefore, it is my opinion that this survey is not nearly as effective as letters from individual students could be. I would like to offer to any student, who believes they have a strong conception of the Chancellor's work and performance, an opportunity to submit a letter to the SGA to be included with the student trustee's report to the BOT in Executive Session this July. I intend to submit a letter with my evaluation of the Chancellor based upon my experience as SGA President over the past year. The current BOT representative, Carrie Bauer, will be submitting a letter to the same effect with our newly elected BOT representative. I would encourage any student who feels that they have legitimate concerns or praise in conjunction with the Chancellor's performance to please contact me at uissga@uis.edu and I would be happy to see that their written evaluation would be sent with the student trustee to the Executive Session in July.

To close let me say that there is in fact a direct line of communication between the students, faculty, and administration. That line is centered around the Student Government Association. We are elected to be leaders of the student body, to represent the needs of varying student constituencies, and to communicate the desires of the student population to all the necessary campus entities.

Buenas,

Samantha Drews
SGA President

UIS Theater presents 'Hedda Gabler' starting this weekend

By Stephanie Orr - Assistant Editor

“Hedda Gabler” is a depressing story of women’s liberation, but it has a point, according to Edward Barnett, a graduate student of public administration, who plays Eilert Loveborg in this semester’s production of the play.
Eric Thibodeaux-Thompson, assistant professor and director of theatre, explained that “Hedda Gabler” was written in the man’s world of the late 19th century and was considered scandalous when it came out because what a woman thinks is important in the play.
He said the character of Hedda is an embodiment of people who think for themselves. She “represents the burgeoning middle class of the 19th century,” which began to question authority as the Industrial Revolution took off. These people are seen as a threat because they aren’t the type to let authority figures tell them how to live their lives, Thibodeaux-Thompson said.
Even though the play was written more than a century ago, he said it is still fresh because the characters are universal. They have the same issues that people have today such as romance and professional competition.
Patrick O’Brien, a community member playing Judge Brack in the production, said it doesn’t feel like the script is more than a century old. He described the play as “one of the foundations of western theatre.” He said that the author, Henrik Ibsen, invented the style of realism in theater, which is the concept of life being acted out on stage as opposed to the extravaganza of vaudeville and other styles.
Thibodeaux-Thompson said that this play is challenging for the actors because it is a period piece. The play is set at the end of the 19th century and “the etiquette of the day is different,” he said. The actors have to stand, dress and speak differently for their roles.
Aasne Vigesaa, who portrays Hedda Tesman, said that her character is seen as cold and calculating, which she said she is, but Vigesaa said she tried to infuse the character with warmth in order to keep her from being simply a “manipulating machine.” Vigesaa said Hedda feels trapped by her circumstances and most people can identify with that feeling.
Roger Boyd, the community member portraying George Tesman, described his character as confusing. “He’s generally a nice guy, but he doesn’t pay attention to anything outside of his books,” he said. Boyd said he has some similarities to his character, which made the part easier to understand.
When describing his character, O’Brien said he was “the embodiment of all things evil,” but it was fun to play the bad guy.
Freshman Cap Scholar Rebecca Naus plays Berta, the Tesmans’ maid. However, she isn’t your stereotypical servant. “Berta’s a fighter,” said Naus. She described her character as the eyes and ears of the Tesmans’ house.
Barnett said, “I love my character because he is almost the classic example of talent wasted.” He explained that Loveborg is full of talent, like most people, but he can’t seem to control his impulses.
According to Myaa Fallon, a junior communication major, her character, Julia Tesman, “is the only one who doesn’t have any crushes or love interests in the play.” Fallon says that all the other characters have hidden agendas, which they are trying to pursue.
And that, according to Naus, is the fun part. She said the play focuses on the struggles of all the different characters, Hedda’s being the most obvious, and that figuring out what each character wants is interesting. Naus said the play will “really leave an impression on the audience.”
O’Brien agreed with Naus and said that the audience should “expect to be made to think… It is a play with more questions than answers.”
For his part, Thibodeaux-Thompson just hopes that the audience is moved by the production. He praised the cast saying that they are “all wonderful, without exception.” 
Thibodeaux-Thompson also gave special acknowledgement to the behind-the-scenes crew who work extremely hard and get much less recognition than those on stage
While everyone was fairly tight-lipped about the plot, Vigesaa did reveal there will be gunshots and humor.
Humor in a tragedy?
As Boyd explained, “It’s supposed to be this big drama tragedy thing, but the trick is to mix in the occasional laugh because that makes the ending that much more tragic.”

UIS to celebrate Earth day

In response to the Journal editorial

UIS theater presents 'Hedda Gabler' starting this weekend