STRONG START
The Eastern men’s soccer team’s spring season began Saturday with a 1-0 win against Western. PAGE 7
DANCING QUEENS
Eastern’s chapter of the National Association for Colored Women’s Club led a dance workshop Tuesday at the Student Rec Center.
D aily E astern N ews
THE
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Tuesday, March 29, 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. 125 W W W . D A I L YE A S TE R N N E W S . C O M
Faculty Senate to discuss endorsing letter By Cassie Buchman Associate News Editor | @cjbuchman The Faculty Senate will vote on whether or not to endorse a letter from President Glassman urging faculty to send positive messages to current and prospective students at their meeting at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Room 4440 of Booth Library. Faculty Senator Grant Sterling said in this case, the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate spoke to Glassman, who raised some concerns about what the faculty had been saying to each other and other students. In his letter, Glassman said he has received many emails from students and parents who were confused about Eastern’s fall 2016 semester. “I am told that part of the confusion is coming from information students are receiving from faculty during class time and also outside of class,” Glassman said in the letter. According to the letter, students have reported hearing a “variety of conflicting and inaccurate messages about academic programs being eliminated, the necessity of transferring to another institution and the closing of EIU.” Sterling said Glassman wanted to set the record straight on what was going on. By endorsing the letter, Faculty Senate would be saying they are behind the contents of the letter as well. “It’s the president’s letter, but we would in effect as a senate be saying, ‘yes, what the president is saying here is reasonable, so faculty members should take it seriously,’” Sterling said. Glassman said he has every expectation that Eastern will receive an appropriation and the university operation and instructional programs will continue into the fall semester and for years to come. In the letter, he explained that even if Eastern does not receive an FY16 or FY17 appropriation, the university will quickly make plans to restructure itself financially to have operating expenses adjusted to meet tuition and fee revenues. Glassman added that though some may have other thoughts about the future of Eastern, he asks them to set aside “any pessimistic views so as not to harm us even further by creating confusion or negativism among our current students that could also be transmitted to prospective freshman and transfer students.”
LETTER, page 5
JOSH SAX TON | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Patrick Davis, a senior general studies major, freestyle raps during the BSU Comedy Roast and Cypher show Monday in the auditorium of Lumpkin Hall.
Rapping, comedy brings laughs By T’Nerra Butler Multicultural Editor | @DEN_News Rapping, laughing and clapping echoed in the Lumpkin Hall Auditorium as rappers from across the campus and the community spit some of their hottest lyrics. The Black Student Union had the night filled with laughter with their “Who’s Got the Juice” rap cypher. The night featured different artists who took turns with their play on words with a series of beats. These instrumentals came from rappers like Meek Mill, Nicki Minaj, Drake and Lil Herb. The night was set up to have three rappers during each cypher who took turns on the microphone. Between the passing of the mic and the lyrical verses recited, the crowd gave generous claps and appreciation to those they thought earned it. After each cypher ended, the crowd was encouraged to text in the names of who they deemed the winner of the rap battle. Both the crowd and rappers were mixed when it came to racial background. Tiarra “Mello” Webb, the social affairs chair for the BSU, planned the event and said a diverse crowd was one of her biggest goals of the
"The class clown finally found a niche. Some of the stuff I go through, I feel as though what makes it funny is that I can make it relatable to others.”
Larry Smith, comedian
night. She said the diversity of the crowd represented unity on campus and that it gives a chance for people to feel welcomed in a place where they may not be the majority. Webb said she thinks the night broke some of the tension on campus. She said with the budget and pressure with the presidential elections, something to take the edge off of students was needed. Webb was among the rappers and finished the cypher off with lyrics like, “I put your eyes in your mouth, now you see what I’m saying.” Webb said it was all for sport and even though she took most of the votes, she let Derek Rios, a freshman communication studies major, win the battle. Rios had been rapping for a year and said he started after seeing a group of other teens with lyrical talents. “Rapping gets me out to places like this
where I can meet other people who like to rap as much as I,” Rios said. Rios said the comedian for the night helped to ease his stage jitters so that he could rap with comfort. “He really did a good job at making everyone feel comfortable before getting up there,” Rios said. In between cyphers, Larry “Larro” Smith, a comedian, performed a series of jokes where he called out members of the crowd for more engagement. Smith said he has been doing stand up for the last four and a half years and started because he grew up being the funny kid in class. “The class clown finally found a niche,” Smith said. “Some of the stuff I go through, I feel as though what makes it funny is that I can make it relatable to others.”
RAPPING, page 5
Residence halls participate in privilege discussions By Analicia Haynes Administration Editor | @Haynes1943 Students linked minds and created understandings based on fairness and equality Monday night during the in-hall events for Social Justice and Diversity Week of the Residence Hall Association. Each residence hall hosted an activity to discuss the concepts of privilege as well as the oppression individuals may possess and dis-
cuss how they benefit or are held back by these concepts. Students in Thomas Hall and Andrews Hall participated in the “Privilege Chains” activity where they were given a paper clip chain with eight links. After listening to and interpreting several statements that address potential cases of privilege or oppression, the participant either removed or added links to their chain. The statements also highlighted diversity
issues such as race, gender, sexual orientation and religion. Statements included, “If your sexual orientation is not associated with a closet,” for which they added a link, “I will need to teach children in my life about racism for their survival,” for which they removed a link, and “I have been denied a job because of my sex or disability,” which they also removed a link for. Stacy Rowan, the associate resident director
of Thomas Hall, said she thinks the university does a great job educating students on issues of diversity but there is still room to grow. “I think (the activity) really opens students’ eyes to see the type of privilege they might have over someone else,” Rowan said. “I think it is also important to reflect on how they can use their privilege to help someone who maybe doesn’t have that privilege.”
RHA, page 6