TO GREENER PASTURES
The Eastern’s men’s basketball team prepares to fill two vacancies as Anthony Johnson and Aleksa Novakovic plan to transfer. PAGE 8
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE QUAD Dr. Cabage’s construction class is currently working on an “American Gothic Playhouse” project. PAGE 3
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D aily E astern N ews
Thursday, March 31, 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. 127 W W W . D A I L YE A S TE R N N E W S . C O M
Women’s studies, resource center finding their feet By T’Nerra Butler Multicultural Editor | @DEN_News Campus wide, people have been trying to find their feet for the Illinois budget impasse period. T h o s e w o rk i n g c l o s e l y w i t h women’s studies are no different. In October of 2012, Joseph McLean started working with the Women’s Resource Center as the office manager. McLean was one of those who were bumped in the fall semester and was made into the new office manager of the department of foreign languages. Although the position was given to another person, McLean said the duties of running an office from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. did not disappear. Now Leslie Ashley, the new office manager of the Women’s Resource Center, juggles both the center and the philosophy department after McLean’s parting. The things that make the programs unique are considered nonessential, McLean said. Ashley said all civil service office managers have the same title, but each department is special in its own right. “What I don’t think anyone has taken the opportunity to stop and look at is that each all of us are unique in our positions,” Ashley said. “What I do in philosophy is totally different from what Joe did in the Women’s Resource Center.” Ashley said the campus has lost one of the many people who aid in bridging the gap between Eastern and the community, whether it be collaborating with non-profit organizations or planning programs with the schools. September 21st, 2015, marked the day McLean made adjustments in the foreign languages department after being bumped because of campus-wide cuts. McLean said
he thinks Gov. Bruce Rauner cares little about how the budget affects the many people across the state. “A lot of us still have hope,” McLean said. “It’s this weird thing, where a lot of us are supposed to be looking for jobs, but there’s this feeling that a lot of us will get called back.” McLean was among the 177 civil service workers laid off on March 11th. “It’s this sort of fantasy. We all think we’ll wake up and it’ll be August 2015 and everybody is back where they belong,” McLean said. Students have been overseeing the Women’s Resource Center throughout different times of the day. Willetra Caldwell, a junior psychology major, has been working in the Women’s Resource Center since January. She said the women’s studies department, as a whole, gives her a lot of insight on how women are perceived today. Caldwell said those perceptions are vital and that is one of the many things the center provides for the campus. “If I didn’t work with this program, it all would be a blur to me,” Caldwell said. “I wouldn’t know how much the world needs women. We play just as much of an important role as men do.” Caldwell said she would not have seen the many contributions women have made had if it not been for her involvement with the center. Jeannie Ludlow, the coordinator of the women’s studies program, said although no direct cuts hit the program, women’s studies feels the cuts and budget issues as if they were a flesh wound. Ludlow said that technically she is the only faculty member in women’s studies. She said people in various departments whose department chairs picked them to teach for the program teach most of the other
T ’NERR A BUTLER | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Leslie Ashley, current office manager for the Women’s Resource Center, and Joseph McLean, former office manager for the Women’s Resource Center, look over documents in the new office location of the Women’s Resource Center.
classes. She said there are few chairs who can do that now. The cuts that hit English and history trickled down to the women’s studies program and those professors are no longer available to teach women’s studies courses. “Because of the budget cuts, we usually offer four classes in the fall semester and now we’re only offering one,” Ludlow said. The program usually offers three sections of the women, men and culture class and one section online. Now they are only able to offer one face-to-face class. “The fault here lies with the governor and the politicians,” Ludlow said. “It’s not the chairs’ fault they can’t release people for women’s studies. It’s not the president’s fault, or the provost’s fault. It is Springfield, those are the bad guys.” Ludlow said looking around the
campus, she noticed a lot of those who left were some of the faculty members who brought diverse backgrounds. She said this could well be because of those people being new to campus and not having enough seniority, but the administration is not the blame for that. “Eastern’s faculty and staff were already not diverse enough,” Ludlow said. “When we look at the demographics of our students and the demographics of are faculty, they don’t match.” Ludlow said through it all, she has hopeful for Eastern’s future. “We hire and fire politicians. That’s what voting is,” Ludlow said. “We need to get those jerks out of office because they’re messing with us. They’re playing with (students’) education, my job, and they can’t be allowed to do that.” It is exhausting to wake up every
morning and worry, Ludlow said. Combating those two components is a difficult, but doable task, she said. She said she has never in her life felt like staying at home instead of going into work, and she said she still maintains hope. What gives her hope is that the campus is keeping education and the future of Eastern’s students in the forefront, Ludlow said. She said sometimes she hears people who sound defeated, and it is almost as if they are giving into the hand lawmakers have dealt out. “It is because we all are feeling so disempowered,” Ludlow said. “We must not let them beat us into disempowerment. We must keep pushing back.” T’Nerra Butler can be reached at 581-2812 or tabutler@eiu.edu.
Civil service keeps watchful eye Pre-rally events slated By Cassie Buchman Associate News Editor | @cjbuchman Areas around campus have been investigating and watching to make sure student employees do not take the jobs or take over the job duties left by the civil service workers who have been laid off. According to civil service rules, it is not allowed for a student employee to displace a certified Civil Service employee from their jobs. Patty Shonk, the chief union steward for Eastern’s chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said if students take over work done by laid off employees, that means that the laid off employee is actually needed, and should not have been laid off in the first place. Renee Kerz, the president of Eastern’s chapter of AFSCME, said issues have come up but they have been working with managers and imme-
diate supervisors to prevent job displacement from happening. “We have heard and checked in on it,” Kerz said. The union had been investigating this issue since the layoff notices started and brought possible problems up to the management’s attention to get a resolution. Kerz said there has been an ongoing investigation happening and they look into it whenever someone brings these issues to their attention, whether it is through tips from students or employees. She said the biggest issue was with the building service workers’ side, as they had student workers. Tim Zimmer, director of facilities planning and management, said they had not hired students to replace laid off civil service employees and have no intention of it. Students and others from different groups have offered to perform duties such as vacuuming and sweeping,
but these offers were rejected after being reviewed for job displacement and erosion, which is when a student takes the job duties of a civil service employee. In every circumstance, these offers of help were rejected. Zimmer said these students offered to take on these tasks because they take pride in their locations, and want to see these areas in the same conditions they were in before the budget situation. He said the recent layoffs have had an impact in every facilities department, and have caused them to prioritize safety and operational work over other things. Zimmer said so far, he has not seen any grievances filed by civil service workers and he has been in discussion with them as well. “We have to look at each issue as it arises,” Zimmer said.
WATCHFUL, page 5
By Analicia Haynes and Cassie Buchman Administration Editor and Associate News Editor | @DEN_News Two separate activities are being planned for Thursday, the day before Eastern faculty, students, staff and Charleston community members go to a Chicago rally. Starting at 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. outside of the northeast stairwell of Coleman Hall, students are organizing a social media campaign. People will be able to write a message on a board and take a picture to put on various social media outlets. Then from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. a community chalking event will happen at the Doudna steps. Billy Hung, media coordinator for the Eastern chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois, said it is at this chalking that people can express their anger, frustration and hope when looking at the end of the school year.
“We want to bring the message to Chicago for the rally,” Hung said. These events are also a way for those not going to Chicago to get involved. Hung said anyone can write a message on a board, or even take a selfie and put it on social media themselves, and tag it with #fundourfuture to participate. He said since the goals of the rally are to raise awareness and draw attention to the negative impact of the budget, having a social media presence will help. As for the rally scheduled for Friday, history professor Sace Elder sent an email to participants who signed up for the bus ride to Chicago detailing the day’s schedule. According to the email, participants can meet for departure at 7:15 a.m. in Lot W (north of 4th and Roosevelt) and sign in before the buses leave promptly at 7:30 a.m. RALLY, page 5