HARSH LOSS
TARBLE ARTIST
The Panthers fell to 3rd place in the OVC after losing 72-64 against SIU-E Saturday.
Kim Krause, who has paintings on display in the Tarble Arts Center, spoke to students about being an artist.
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Monday, February 15, 2016 “TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID” C E L E BRATI NG A CE NTUR Y OF COV E RA GE E S T . 1 915
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Sweet Words
HIV testing available Wednesday By T’Nerra Butler Multicultural Editor | @DEN_News
ams and actually being in the room proctoring them,” Long said. “That’s a body in the room with them.” Long said not being able to maintain the same level of security during exams does a disservice to students and instructors. Now that her account has been frozen, Long is not able to hire people to proctor these exams. Long said faculty would be able accommodate students, they just do not know how they are going to yet. “There’s a lot of re-thinking going on,” Long said. Long said the testing office is not just sending students out the door, but it is trying to look up department contacts and resources to give to students. “Sometimes students might be a little timid to go to their instructors,” Long said. Waggoner said the testing office is doing all it can to give students accommodations and advocate for them. “They will still get their services; it’s just going to be different,” Long said. “Hopefully (the Testing Center) will be back again. I like working with the kids.”
For the last few years during African-American Heritage Month, the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority have hosted an HIV testing day on campus. This year’s testing day will begin at 10:13 a.m. Wednesday in the Arcola-Tuscola Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. This year is no different when it comes to the free testing. Kathryn McIntosh, the chapter president, said the sorority invites an HIV clinic to come to Eastern that brings in a certain amount of tests. The testing is anonymous, and this year clinicians are distributing 60 tests. This testing is on a first come, first served basis. The test will go until 1 p.m. and the results come back the same day. “Having this says that we actually care about people getting tested,” McIntosh said. McIntosh said the testing is open to the campus and community. She said the women also do a drawing and give out free gifts to participants. Ashley Howard, the first vice president of the organization, said her group has done the testing day every year because it is part of a bigger social movement on a national basis. “We just adopted it and started doing it for African-American History Month,” Howard said. In past years, the sorority has provided lunch to the students where they get swiped in to one of the dining centers, but McIntosh said the group may or may not do that this year. The women of the organization think it is important for the African-American community to get tested, McIntosh said. She said HIV is something that commonly happens in the African-American community and many fail to get tested. “I feel like they’re scared,” McIntosh said. “Scared of results, scared to see that they might be positive. But it’s important to get tested because it can be a life or death matter. McIntosh said people can have the disease and not be aware of it, and having testing on a college campus is vital because students are sexually active. “People live their lives, of course, and you can do whatever you want, with whoever you want to whenever you please,” McIntosh said. “But you need to be careful.” A common issue students face is the mindset that they are invincible and they will never contract the disease, McIntosh said. “Some feel like their partner isn’t capable of passing something like that on to them,” McIntosh said. Howard said students tend to steer away from uncomfortable topics and sexually transmitted diseases can be an uneasy discussion. “It actually reminds them that this is something our nation is facing, and it’s something that we all should be aware of,” Howard said. Howard said AIDS affects people on a global level, and having a testing day shows that the sorority brings light to black issues.
Cassie Buchman can be reached at 581-2812 or cjbuchman@eiu.edu.
T’Nerra Butler can be reached at 581-2812 or tabutler@eiu.edu.
MOLLY DOTSON | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Cassidy Webb, a junior sociology major, and Jarron Gaddis, a senior computer science major, read candy hearts during their Valentine’s Day date in Stevenson Dining Center. The two met at Eastern and have been dating for almost two years.
Testing Center services suspended Students to receive testing assistance through faculty after staff layoffs By Cassie Buchman Associate News Editor | @cjbuchman The Testing Center will be suspended starting Monday because of a lack of staff members available to continue running it. Students who need accommodations will receive them through faculty as opposed to the center in Ninth Street Hall. Kathy Waggoner, director of Student Disability Services, said the only full-time Testing Center employee was let go during the previous layoff period, and other staff members had to do that employee’s job in addition to their own responsibilities. As of March 11, the Office of Testing and Evaluation will lose two additional staff members who will be bumped to different positions. Waggoner said the Testing Center would only need one person on staff to run it again. The Office of Student Disability Services will remain operational, Waggoner said. Students can still get their accommodations based on the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students will still provide documentation to the Office of Student Disability Services and meet with Waggoner to talk about the accommodations they need. Waggoner approves the accommodations, which can include extended test time, a separate testing environment or a test reader. Accommodations can also include a note-taker and captioning for students with hearing impairments. The students used to talk about accommodations they needed with their instructors and take their tests in the Testing Center.
"Every department has different space, and every
department has different resources. If they want to call me they can ask me questions, but I don’t know their departments as well as they do."
Kathy Waggoner, director of Student Disability Services Waggoner said the Testing Center helped faculty who did not have the resources or knowledge to accommodate students and protected the university against lawsuits. “Since there isn’t always space and since it’s much more difficult for faculty to provide those accommodations, sometimes accommodations are not provided or are provided inadequately,” Waggoner said. “That puts the university at risk.” Waggoner said it is a shame the Testing Center had to be suspended because it is important for students and faculty to have help. Faculty will determine with their departments and chairs how they will accommodate testing situations for students with disabilities. Waggoner said rooms are available for scheduling if students need a quiet space, though she is not sure if that is easy for all departments. “Every department has different space and every department has different resources,” Waggoner said. “If they want to call me they can ask me questions, but I don’t know their departments as well as they do, or their space, or their time.” Wendy Long, director of the Office of Testing and Evaluation, said it is breaking her heart doing this, but it is a matter of staffing. “It really gets time consuming keeping track of students and instructors and all their ex-