PANTHER FORUM
STAT ATTACK
Check out this week in sports by the numbers, including stats from men’s basketball, track and field, swimming and softball. PAGE 7
PAECE is hosting a forum called “Panthers Are Really Black!” at 6 p.m. Tuesday to celebrate African-American Heritage Month. PAGE 2
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D aily E astern N ews
Tuesday, February 23, 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
VOL. 100 | NO. 105 W W W . D A I L YE A S TE R N N E W S . C O M
Students react to Rauner’s grant veto By Analicia Haynes Administration Editor | @Haynes1943
Glassman said Eastern and other public universities are using reserve funds to cover expenses not being covered by the state. He also touched on the recent round of layoffs, saying they will need to lay off 177 civil service employees and have administrative and professional employees take unpaid days off in March, April, May and June if there is no appropriation given to Eastern. He said that once an appropriation arrives, laid off employees would be hired back as the appropriation provides.
In the wake of an unprecedented budget impasse and the recent veto of the Monetary Award Program grant funding, several students expressed their concerns and fears. Kalie Musser, a freshman math major and MAP grant recipient, said money was tight for her growing up. “We didn’t have a lot of money and that was kind of rough,” Musser said. “We would want things and we knew our parents wanted to give them to us but they couldn’t so we went without a lot.” After her parents divorced, Musser said her mom went back to college, earned her nursing degree and served as a source of inspiration for Musser. Musser said her mom’s college success showed her the hope she needed to go to college. She said the MAP grant gave her an opportunity to avoid taking out an incredible amount of money in loans. However, last Friday Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed Senate Bill 2043, which would have appropriated the needed funds for MAP grants. The state has been without a budget for eight months. Musser said if the MAP grant is taken away from her, she would have to take out an additional $5,000 in unwanted loans. “Don’t veto our education,” Musser said. “Not everyone is as fortunate to come from money or to be able to have that opportunity to afford college.” Paul McCann, the interim vice president for business affairs, said there is no funding at this point for the fall semester for either MAP or the appropriation but just like this year, the university will do everything it can to support the students. McCann said after students file their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, follow the requirements of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for MAP grant eligibility, and see if the state appropriates the money in 2017, then the university can react. Eastern funded the MAP grants for the Spring 2016 semester by using the university’s cash flow. McCann said the money Eastern is owed from MAP grants totals between $7 and $9 million and the lack of state funding for the grants have reduced cash flow for the university rather than revenue. He said the layoffs and furloughs could not have been avoided if the MAP grants were funded. “Eastern funded the grants because we felt that it was unfair for a student to make a decision to attend school, based upon the award of a grant, and then have the state not fund the grants,” McCann said. Musser said if the MAP grant is not funded then the ability for students to rise from their low-income class environment is revoked.
RUMORS, page 5
GRANT, page 5
JASON HOWELL | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Rep. Reggie Phillips, R-Charleston, talks to constituents as budget concerns caused students to descend on the capitol steps of the Illinois Statehouse to rally for higher education funding on Wednesday in Springfield. Phillips recently received $53,000 from Gov. Rauner’s committee.
Rep. Phillips receives money from Gov. Rauner’s committee By Cassie Buchman Associate News Editor | @cjbuchman
Rep. Reggie Phillips, R-Charleston, recently received a contribution of $53,000 to his reelection campaign from Citizens for Rauner, Inc., a committee originally created in support of the gubernatorial candidacy of Gov. Bruce Rauner. Phillips said he reached out to the governor’s office and asked if he would be interested in contributing to his campaign. Phillips said since Rauner had sent out checks to other Republican candidates for other offices and he was currently working with Rauner on multiple issues, Phillips and his staff thought he could ask Rauner for the donation. Prior to this, Phillips said he had financed his first campaign for representative himself, and made a commitment to not take a pension or health insurance. Phillips said he has been donating his salary to scholarships, food banks and other places that
"It’s still an honor. But under circumstances, I do not think it looks most appropriate. Reggie Phillips, State Representative need it. Phillips already has a relationship with Rauner, as the governor has endorsed his campaign for re-election as representative for the 110th district. He said this relationship helps him help the district, as the governor will be more likely to listen to him about issues such as funding Eastern. Since receiving the money, Phillips has been watching Facebook posts criticizing the decision to take the $53,000 and decided it was not the best idea. Phillips said instead of using the money given to him by Rauner for his re-election campaign, he would donate it to areas in the district such as Sexual Assault Counseling and Information Ser-
vices. He said he will do this by leaving the money he received from Citizens for Rauner, Inc. in his campaign, but he will match the $53,000 he received from the campaign from his own pocket and donate it. “It doesn’t matter how they get it, people need help,” Phillips said. “They need money.” Erin Walters, executive director of SACIS, said they had a meeting set up for Phillips to give a donation on Monday. She said she heard this from one board member who talked to Phillips and let him know SACIS is struggling to keep their doors open.
PHILLIPS, page 5
Glassman dismisses university rumors Staff Report Eastern President David Glassman sent an email to all students Monday aiming to dispel rumors circulating the campus and clarify information on the budget impasse. Glassman defined the budget impasse as the “standstill and thus complete lack of budget” in his email. The state government has not passed a budget for eight months now. The amount that each university gets from the state is determined when lawmakers approve the state budget, which usually happens
on May 31 for the fiscal year that begins on July 1. These funds are then given to the university over several payments throughout the year. Since there is no budget, there is no money from the state going to the public universities in Illinois. “This has become a challenge for every one of us as we all rely on our state appropriation to fund our operations,” Glassman said. Eastern is currently owed about $40 million for university operations and between $7 and $9 million for Monetary Award Program award reimbursements.