Questions arise over student rights

By Mark Brockett - Sports Reporter

Recent student concerns about actions and procedures of policies by housing employees have called for the creation of a student bill of rights.
                The most recent incidents took place on the night of January 26 when a townhouse Resident Assistant found an underage Lincoln Residence Hall student passed out in the Pennyroyal apartment laundry room. According to UIS Housing Director John Ringle, the R.A. attempted to revive the student but could not; therefore they called the UIS police to respond to the situation. The police then attempted to revive the student and did to the point where they could identify his Blood Alcohol Content level, which was twice the legal limit.
                Ringle added that the R.A. went to look for the source of where this student may have received the alcohol. Residents from Marigold 3 soon had a visit from the R.A. who also brought another R.A. to serve as backup which Ringle cited as being standard procedure.
                Samantha Drews, the SGA President, was present at Marigold 3 at the time of the R.A. visit.  She explained how they knocked on the door and a nonresident from the home yelled to “come in” and not an actual resident from the house. As one of the residents went to look through the peep hole and check to see who it was, the door began to open and the resident went to keep it shut but was unsuccessful. Drews noted that the R.A’s said that they saw people coming into the home and that is why they had stopped by to check on the situation.
                Ringle said that the R.A. report included that they had received a tip about where alcohol was present in the townhouses. Drews pointed out that there were no Lincoln Residence Hall students present in the townhouse.
                According to Ringle, the R.A’s notified the police that there were underage people drinking in a campus residence. The police proceeded to use a breathalyzer on the two underage people, who Drews noted as non-UIS residents, present in the house. One of those individuals was arrested for a previous incident that had taken place on campus two years ago.
                Ringle reiterated that when the police become involved, they are in charge of the given situation and that housing only serves as a source for information and it was standard procedure to involve the police when alcohol is involved with underage drinkers.
                There was another incident in which an R.A. allegedly forcibly detained an underage student who had come to visit a resident from another Marigold home. The student then had to take a breathalyzer and passed with zeroes. That resident reportedly filed a complaint with housing. Ringle verified that a complaint had been filed but the R.A’s report did not include that incident.
                Ringle pointed out that such alleged behavior is not tolerated and not a part of the Resident Assistant training methods. “We let our R.A’s know that they must refrain from touching any individual at all times,” said Ringle. “We certainly do not have that type of behavior in our Resident Assistant Handbook.”
                Ringle verified the fact that any Housing official can enter any housing residence at all times. He pointed out that it is in the UIS Housing rules and regulations that it is in every contract that a housing student signs.
                Drews sees these most recent issues and past instances as cause for a student’s Bill of Rights to be composed. She cites how every student’s rights and needs should be met and incidents such as these further her concerns as SGA president that students truly do not know their rights. While she agrees that there should be latitude, she also believes that a set linear process should be in place.
                Ringle noted that not every situation should follow an A, B, C process. He said that are certain variables that play into each situation that makes a set process null and void.
                If the Bill of Rights for students was composed, while they wouldn’t include their input in formulating the document, Ringle said they would review it once it is finalized and include them in their training and policies.
From an image standpoint, Ringle is fully aware of the negative air that housing is surrounded by. He stated how most of the conflict that occurs between staff and students involves alcohol. However, he stated alcohol isn’t housing’s main objective and the housing staff does attempt to follow through with positive objectives.
            “It has been communicated to me that the expectations of housing is to create a cooperative community environment, to provide reasonable opportunities for people to engage in community activities and something to do that doesn’t involve alcohol,” said Ringle. “I would hope that students that do engage in alcohol know that we would rather have it handled with us than with any other legal authorities.”
Drews countered with her own concerns as well as the students. “Due to the fact that housing wants to deal with the alcohol violations in house they must set forth a realistic, logical, and constitutionally minded set of procedures to deal with alcohol offenses,” said Drews. “I will agree that RA discretion is important, but it should not come at the cost of a student’s right to privacy. I am of the mind that the RAs job can only become easier if they have a clear process to follow when addressing an alcohol related situation. Students have a right to know what will happen to them if an RA knocks on their door. There should be a linear process that a resident can point to and say, "Ok this is what they will do."

Electricity costs are on the rise

By Ashley Rook - General Assignment Reporter

Rising gas prices aren’t the only increase that will affect UIS students, as a considerable rise in electricity costs is set to affect Housing residents this semester, due to dramatic rate increases by the utility provider.
City Water Light and Power, Springfield’s municipal electric and water utility, announced last September that rates would be raised to cover the costs of a new multi-million dollar generating plant.  On Nov. 1, 2005, they instituted a 9 percent increase in electric rates, and plan to follow with a phased series of six rate increases over the next two and a half years. 
As a result of these increased rates, Housing residents at UIS can expect to see their electricity bills rise by 15.5 percent this year alone.
The rate increase for Housing residents, discussed last semester by the Student Government Association, Housing Residents Council and Housing Director John Ringle, will take into account all future rate increases from CWLP, which will total 34.1 percent when the six increases are completed in April 2008. 
Other factors, such as student wages and benefits, technology upgrades, anticipated inflationary costs in staff salaries, administrative and operational expenses and utility increases, will also be considered when deciding on the price increase.
The anticipated rate increases were met with initial discomfort by SGA at their meeting in September, at which Ringle presented his plan for the fees and the reasoning behind them.  However, the Housing office has not received any complaints from students regarding rates for both this year and the next. 
In the fall of 2005, Housing initiated a “one-bill-fits-all” policy in which all Housing costs are included in one semester bill, which actually benefits the students as Housing has been forced to pay on their behalf for the rise in monthly electric bills.
Ringle believes that with the rise of electricity costs, students need to be more conscious of conserving energy, which they may have little incentive to do, as they are no longer directly affected by paying for the energy they consume individually. 
However, if students heat their homes irresponsibly, future residents will pay for their actions through higher rates in subsequent years. 
“In a cold-weather state like Illinois, you’re supposed to layer your clothing and keep the heat to a reasonable level,” Ringle said.  “Staff members have reported going into apartments where residents are dressed in shorts and t-shirts with the heat cranked to sauna-like levels, or where residents open their windows or doors to cool down an overheated apartment, rather than adjust the thermostat.  These are not responsible energy consumption habits or patterns, especially in a time marked by high costs of procuring supplies of all types, while simultaneously engaged in a war in an energy-supplying country.”
Housing plans on working with CWLP and a UIS grad student to conduct 20-25 energy audits as part of his masters’ project.  These samples will identify energy-wasting areas and ways to manage consumption overall. 
Housing will also be offering a weeklong series of programs, tips and contests to educate residents on living a more responsible energy-consumption lifestyle throughout the week of Feb. 6-11.

Fulbright scholar in Bangladesh

By Janee Mitchell - Feature Writer

The Fulbright Scholar Grant was awarded to adjunct faculty member Mohammed Shahidullah from college of public affairs and administration. The grant made provisions allowing the opportunity for Shahidullah to conduct research and teach for a six-month time period abroad.
Shahidullah left in December to work with the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee University during his duration.
He arrived in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, on Dec. 20 and plans to return on June 6, after attending a meeting of Fulbright scholars in India. He currently resides in a dormitory with 25 other participating students from India, Afghanistan, Nepal, Uganda, Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya, the U.S. and about 15 from Bangladesh.
According to the Web site of the Fulbright Scholar Program, when seeking potential Fulbright scholars for the grant award personal qualities such as “collegiality, adaptability, cultural sensitivity and ability to serve as a cultural ambassador” were expected of all the nominees. Recipients of the Fulbright Scholar Grant are meticulously chosen through thorough recommendation procedures and surviving the examination of their nomination in accordance with the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board policies.
 Shahidullah is experienced in research, teaching and other areas that made him highly qualified for the grant. He works as a state demographer, instructor for the university and has conducted previous research.
Shahidullah did his master’s and Ph.D. research was on Bangladesh. “Although I have been settled in the U.S. for the last 25 years, I was born and brought up in Bangladesh. I want to establish some network between UIS and BRAC University for academic and cultural exchange,” he said.
Since the beginning of its history, BRAC has been dedicated to relief and rehabilitation, working to alleviate poverty, create education, economic, health and social service programs to empower women and their families. As stated on BRAC’s Web site, “through experiential learning, BRAC today provides and protects livelihoods of around a hundred million people in Bangladesh.”
Shahidullah said he is teaching an online course, SOA 480: Marriage and the Family, and is expected to conduct research on health system development or HIV/AIDS program evaluations in Bangladesh. Shahidullah also took on the duty of assisting students in their report writing and data analysis.
While in Bangladesh, Shahidullah will “develop and teach a course in biostatistics and develop an exchange program.” Shahidullah also said he “would like to develop a course and give some presentations on my experience.” Shahidullah plans to, after successful completion of the research and teaching program in Bangladesh, build a bridge between BRAC University and UIS through joint course offerings. Shahidullah said his “job is to faculty members on how to online and also develop one or two course” that will be used for joint offerings between the two universities.
Shahidullah also said, “BRAC is an excellent place to learn about microfinancing, empowerment of women, public health intervention programs and other cultural activities. Students from many U.S. institutions including, Harvard, Columbia, Duke, Johns Hopkins and Michigan State University visit BRAC.”

Questions arise over student rights

Electricity costs are on the rise

Fulbright scholar in Bangladesh