The Daily Illini: Volume 143 Issue 9

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TUESDAY September 10, 2013

DIPLOMACY BETTER APPROACH IN SYRIA The Daily Illini Editorial Board says the U.S. should start with non-military action in Syria before attacking.

Fighting Illini football ranks in the lower half of its conference, even after a weekend victory. For a full list of rankings, turn to Page 1B.

Turn to Page 4A

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Vol. 143 Issue 9

Community members plead for peace $ ULVLQJ QXPEHU RSSRVH LQWHUYHQWLRQ LQ 6\ULD 0WFS UIF QBTU GFX XFFLT UIF OVNCFS PG "NFSJDBOT XIP PQQPTF NJMJUBSZ JOUFSWFOUJPO JO 4ZSJB IBT JODSFBTFE CZ QFSDFOU 3FQ 3PEOFZ %BWJT 3 JT MFBOJOH BHBJOTU WPUJOH GPS NJMJUBSZ JOUFSWFOUJPO JO 4ZSJB

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Matt Pasquini’s perspective on the conflict in Syria, turn to Page 4A.

STAFF WRITER

Members of the community gathered in front of the Champaign County Veterans’ Memorial Monday night holding signs asking the U.S. government not to bomb Syria. As they held lit candles, speakers urged the crowd to call Representative Rodney Davis, R-13, and ask him to vote against military intervention in the civil war-torn country. “We’re trying to show the faces and voices of people in this community in opposition to a new war,� said Robert Naiman, the organizer of the event and the policy director at Just Foreign Policy. “We’re particularly trying to influence Representative Rodney Davis because he’s our local rep-

resentative in Congress, he’s the means by which we have the best chance of influence.� Davis said he is currently leaning against voting for congressional authorization because he feels that not enough information has been given as to what this show of force would entail. “I’m leaning ‘no’ on this vote because I just don’t think that the president or the administration has made the case as to what this mission is actually going to accomplish,� Davis said before he attended classified briefi ng with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry to find out more information about the proposed action. Former Representative Tim Johnson, one of the speakers at

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Russia urges Syria to turn over weapons

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the event, opposes military intervention for fear of what could ultimately result from it — the death of both innocent Americans and Syrians. “I see it as post-World War II bi-partisan war mania, starting with Korea and extending to Syria with numerous entries in between,� Johnson said, “None of which have served the objectives for which they were allegedly assigned to ... all of which killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people.� Davis said that his objection toward taking military action against Syria was because he was taking notice of his constituents’ opinions.

BERLIN — Russia on Monday urged Syria to put its chemical weapons stores under international control, intended for destruction, as a way to avoid a western military response to the alleged Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack in a Damascus suburb. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his government had been in contact with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem to make the request, and was hoping for “a fast and positive answer.� “We are calling on the Syrian authorities not only to agree on putting chemical weapons stores under international control, but also for its further

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SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

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BY JOHNATHAN HETTINGER STAFF WRITER

A task force of faculty members recommends that the faculty senate and University administration focus more on faculty concerns. The Senate Executive Committee listened to a report from Randy McCarthy and Nicholas Burbules, leaders of the SEC Task Force on Faculty Issues and Concerns, as well as SEC member Joyce Tolliver. McCarthy and Burbules, who previously had disagreements regarding the unionization of faculty on the Urbana campus, worked together to head the task force, which met over the summer to compose the report. Burbules called the report “a set of concrete, realistic, actionable items.� The report addressed many concerns that faculty face across campus including salary, benefits and tenure review. The report comes shortly after the release of Chancellor Phyllis Wise’s strategic initiative for the Urbana campus, which includes a plan to hire 500 new faculty members over the next five to seven years. The report cites the recent American Association of University Professors’ ranking of faculty salaries, which says the Urbana campus is 17th among fouryear public universities for full professors, 43rd for associate professors and 10th for assistant professors. Barbara Wilson, executive vice provost for faculty and academic affairs, was at the SEC meeting in place of Wise and Provost Ilesanmi Adesida, who were both traveling. Wilson said hiring the additional faculty members is a “work in progress that is going a little slower than expected, but it is making some progress.� She identified the three clusters that the University will start hiring faculty in: health and wellness, social equality and cultural understanding, and energy and the environment. The plan has six clusters total, and Wilson

MICHAEL BOJDA THE DAILY ILLINI

New members of the 2013 Sigma Delta Tau pledge class meet each other as they open their bid cards on the Quad on Monday. Opening the cards on Bid Day culminates the twoweek recruitment period. Visit DailyIllini.com for a Bid Day photo gallery.

Judge dismisses Carey Ash’s complaint )RUPHU VWXGHQW WUXVWHH FDQGLGDWH SODQV WR DSSHDO BY JANELLE O’DEA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Illinois Circuit Judge Michael Jones dismissed University graduate student and former student trustee candidate Carey Ash’s complaint against a University dean with prejudice at the hearing held this morning. Ash had fi led the complaint against Kenneth Ballom, associate vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students, following Ballom’s elimination of Ash from the spring 2013 student trustee election on the basis of in-state residency disputes. Ash claims he is a resident, as he pays state taxes and votes instate, among other reasons.

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“I fi nd that the defendant, with arguments for the mootness doctrine, is well-taken,� Jones said. William Brinkmann, representing Ballom from Thomas, Mamer & Haughey LLP, and Ash, representing himself, presented arguments for nearly an hour before Jones made his decision. Brinkmann opened arguments and stated the election cited in the complaint — the spring 2013 student trustee election — was over; therefore, the mootness doctrine applies. The mootness doctrine refers to a principle of judicial procedure whereby American courts will not decide on cases in which there is no longer any

actual controversy. Brinkmann said no allegations within the complaint were pursuant to public interest. He also said there was no factual pleading that some violation of the law was likely to continue. Both public interest and continual violations of the law are exceptions to the mootness doctrine. In response, Ash presented a stack of documents he prepared and organized. Ash argued the court had changed his name from Carey Ash to Carey Hawkins Ash, thereby asserting him as a resident of the state of Illinois. Ash also said he has lived in the state for a number of years, and he both votes and works in the state. Ash said he also qualifies as a resident under the University’s code, which states student trustee applicants must be a res-

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administration to determine if someone is or is not a resident,� Jones said. After the hearing, Brinkmann said the issue was “fairly straightforward.� “The complaint he was seeking to reverse was what could not be reversed,� Brinkmann said, referencing Ash’s eligibility for the 2013 election. Ash said he would appeal the decision in an interview following the hearing. “I guess my quote on today would be what else do you expect?� Ash said. “You have a court that is in downstate Illinois that is in the backyard of the University. We expect fairness and justice, and we expect those things to prevail. And they didn’t today.�

Janelle can be reached at news@dailyillini.com.

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ident of the state of Illinois. Ash said he was denied on the basis of tuition requirements, which are irrelevant to Illinois residency law. Upon hearing Brinkmann’s argument that the complaint was not of public importance, Ash said student trustee eligibility requirements affect a large number of people and will affect the University’s students in every way. Jones said he is not so sure that Ballom’s 2013 decision will foreclose Ash’s eligibility to run again in 2014, as Ash stated it would. Jones said the law requires that a student trustee must be a resident, but the law doesn’t defi ne what a resident is. The decision is left up to the administrative officials to determine resident or non-resident status. “I fi nd it not desirable for this court to second-guess this

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