Family Weekend Edition 2016
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D aily E astern N ews
“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID” Friday, September 23, 2016 C E L E BRATI NG A CE NTUR Y OF COV E RA GE E S T . 1 915
INSIDE FAMILY WEEKEND
FAMILY FOOTBALL
The Eastern football team will host Austin Peay Saturday at 1 p.m. Page 8
VOL. 101 | NO. 24 W W W . D A I L YE A S TE R N N E W S . C O M
Lack of funding hinders planning By Cassie Buchman News Editor | @cjbuchman Although Eastern received a stopgap budget in July, the university will have problems planning for the future without full funding. After going without a budget for nearly a year, Illinois lawmakers passed a stopgap budget Gov. Bruce Rauner then signed, giving Eastern a stopgap appropriation of $12.6 million rather than its anticipated appropriation of around $38 million. Eastern President David Glassman said as long as the stopgap funds continue to come in at a predictable measure, the university can operate. The problem, he said, is that there cannot
be any long-term planning done without full funding, which is what the university ultimately needs. “It handicaps us (but) doesn’t jeopardize operations,” Glassman said. The question now for the university is how to plan while spending as conservatively and prudently as possible, especially as its cash reserves are “virtually gone.” Now, Glassman said, there is nothing to back the school up if it runs into a deficit. State Senator Pat McGuire, D-Joliet, recently told the Joliet Junior College Board of Trustees he has heard from his colleagues that Illinois might have to rely on stopgap budgets through fiscal year 2019, according to an article in The
Morris Herald-News. Glassman said though there are many legislators who believe in a grand compromise where a full budget is passed, there are others who think a compromise is too difficult to campaign with. Senator Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, said the way this year has gone, this is an unfortunate possibility. “I think Senator McGuire and I, we’re not the only ones who have that opinion,” Righter said. Democratic candidate for state representative Dennis Malak also said more stopgap funding in place of a full budget could be a reality for Illinois, but the upcoming elections can change this, as well as a shifting legislature. Stopgap, page 6
HOME BOUND
The women’s volleyball team returns to Lantz Arena tonight for its first home conference match of the season. Page 8 SEPT. 23, 2016
The Daily Eastern News' weekly arts and entertainment section
WHAT DOES FAMILY MEAN TO YOU?
FAMILY WEEKEND 2016
OLIVIA SWENSON-HULTZ | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Caroline Hochmuth (left), a freshman elementary education major, and Jennifer Olmedo (right), a freshman athletic training major, discuss low class numbers as they do each other's makeup. "When we took our class picture, we only made an E instead of EIU," Hochmuth said.
Eastern carries on despite empty floors By Meka Al Taqi-Brown Contributing Writer | @DEN_news
If my family comes we may go out to eat or go bowling. They are people I can go to no matter what. They won’t judge anything, no matter what I tell them. In a nutshell family means: support. Morgan Austin, freshman English major
Family is everything. They helped to raise me and to become the person I am today. My family is not coming down this weekend. I tend to go home at least once a month, so I don’t get home sick often. In a nutshell, family means: support, love. Kyle Crowley, senior kinesiology and sports studies major
My family provides a support system for me, getting through college. They are my safe place when I am trying to figure things out. As far as family weekend, this time gives families a time to see the lifestyle of a college student. My family gets to spend time with me since I am away from home and create memories. In a nutshell, family means: refuge, safety. La'Quantus Ruskin, senior communication studies major
Welcome families! Check out this week’s edition of The Verge to find out more about music, activities and events happening around town this Family Weekend. Page 1B
As Eastern’s enrollment goes down, the number of empty floors has gone up in the residence halls. Starting this academic school year, there are five floors closed in Taylor Hall, one floor closed in Thomas Hall, two floors closed in Andrews Hall and one floor closed in Lawson Hall. Pemberton Hall is the only residence hall in the North Quad that has only half a floor closed. Mark Hudson, the director of Housing and Dining, said the Housing and Dining Office was aware of lower admissions for this fall semester, and expected most of last year’s students to resume living on campus. “We knew we were going to have a lower incoming class this year and that was going to affect the number of people that were going to live on campus,” Hudson said. “A lot of the students that came back were returners.” Hudson said housing and dining keeps re-
cords on how many students come to Eastern over the years. Hudson goes into detail about what happens behind closed doors on the empty floors. “Once the school year started we (were) going back onto those floors and doing painting and repairs,” Hudson said. The vacant floors are also used as guest rooms for visitors that stay on campus for different events and are used for the summer conference program. Junior marketing major Rylee Garrett said the empty floors within the halls do not distract her while living in the residence hall. She said her floor in Taylor Hall is more peaceful than her former school. “I feel pretty comfortable with it. I just transferred from SIU and they had 17 floors, and it was very loud all night long,” Garrett said. “So having only four floors, I found it to be very quiet and relaxing, more like home.” Katrina Thompson, a freshman early childhood education major, lives in the South Tower of Thomas Hall and said she is used to all of the
floors and rooms being occupied. Thompson said she likes how the floors are filled, and she has not encountered any problems yet. “I really like it; it’s really nice. I don’t have any complaints about it. Everyone is super nice and I haven’t had any noise issues or anything.” Thompson said. Housing and Dining Services is still making efforts to provide a positive experience for students even though there are closed floors. Hudson said whether there are 20 residents on the floor or 50, the resident assistants will try to provide a college experience for all of their residents. “Our goal is to make sure residents have an equal experience no matter how many people are around them,” Hudson said. “We want to make sure that there (are) enough people on each floor.” Meka Al Taqi-Brown can be reached at 581-2812 or mrbrown7@eiu.edu.