CONCERT CURIOSITY
BUZZER BEATEN
The spring concert reveal will take place at the men’s Basketball game Thursday.
The women’s basketball team lost 7472 after a last-second Tennessee-Martin layup in Wednesday night’s game.
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“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID” Thursday, February 9, 2017 C E L E BRATI NG A CE NTUR Y OF COV E RA GE E S T . 1 915
VOL. 101 | NO. 98 W W W . D A I L YE A S TE R N N E W S . C O M
Students can pick, request legal talks
OLIVIA SWENSON-HULTZ | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Protesters from all over the state rally for full funding for higher education in Illinois at the State Capitol in Springfield on Wednesday.
Higher ed supporters rally for funds By Analicia Haynes Online Editor | @DEN_news Supporters for higher education across the state made the journey to Springfield Wednesday, despite a blizzard, to rally for higher education and Monetary Award Program Grant funding. Led by the The Illinois Coalition to Invest in Higher Education, the rally served as part of a sustained effort to let the governor and legislators know that supporters for higher education are not going away, David Tretter, the president of the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities, said. The coalition is an umbrella group for colleges, universities and their supporters. Tretter, who introduced many of the speakers, called the budget situation shameful. “We’re doing real damage to the state, taking away opportunities for Illinois residents to be able to go to college,” he said. “And we’re picking on the poorest students of all who receive the MAP grant, so we know that if those students don’t get their MAP grants they essentially don’t go to college.”
Signs with statements such as “Higher Education is the Future,” and “Fund Education for Fund’s Sake” hovered over the crowd, held up by students who chanted and cheered along with the many speakers. These students included William Riley, a junior aviation administration and public policy major from Lewis University, who said if he does not get his MAP grant funding for this year, it would be a struggle to return to his university. “If you don’t invest in your education in your state, then your state is doomed to fail,” Riley said. “Education, that’s your pathway through life. If you don’t have a quality education how are you going to be prepared for the jobs of the future.” Riley drove down to Springfield with other peers from his university and said he is not just rallying for MAP grants, rather, for an entire budget and said he wants to let his legislator know that. “My question to the legislators is this: What’s the game plan?” Tretter said. “We talk about wanting to build the economy, bring in businesses, and if you devastate the higher education system, you can almost guarantee that’s never going to happen.”
OLIVIA SWENSON-HULTZ | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Chris Welch, The Illinois State Representative from the 7th district and a member of the appropriations for higher education committee emphasizes the need to invest in higher education.
Tretter said the budget impasse affects many different people in every district and feels it is the job of the coalition to make the case and represent all those who could not make the trip. “800,000 students across the state trying to find their way to get their education, and isn’t it a little ironic that most of these legislators have not only
one college degree, but some of them have master’s degrees?” Tretter said. “We want to give these Illinois residents the same opportunity that most of these legislators had. Someone helped them go to college…and we’re taking all those opportunities away from the people they’re supposed to represent.”
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EIU Fem host, “Dark Girls” to talk colorism By Molly Smith Contributing Writer | @DEN_News A documentary on the attitudes and biases dark-skinned women face, “Dark Girls,” will be shown as a part of African-American Heritage Month. “Dark Girls” is set to start 7 p.m. Thursday in the Phipps Lecture Hall of the Physical Science Building and
will be followed by a discussion panel. Maya Lee, president of EIU Fem, said the group’s main goal is to empower women and focus on intersectionality. She said EIU Fem chose to show “Dark Girls” because it brings to light issues that African-American women face. The film focuses on struggles such as self-esteem issues that women of
color have, and will also touch on the multi-billion dollar business of skin bleaching creams, which darker-skinned women of color sometimes feel the need to use to keep up with beauty standards. Lee said she thinks the film teaches viewers about the dialogue on colorism, or discrimination against those with darker skin. “It is an overlooked issue in the
black community, so we want to start a conversation on this so hopefully we can open people’s minds,” she said. “…The point of the movie is saying that the treatment that dark women face is unfair because people are beautiful no matter their shade of skin.” Molly Smith can be reached at 5812812 or mesmith7@eiu.edu
By Leon Mire Associate News Editor | @DEN_News Students and faculty who wish to learn more about common legal issues can now book presentations for their class or organization with a new program offered by Student Legal Services. The form to schedule a presentation can be accessed on the Student Legal Services website by clicking on “Request a Speaker.” Presentations should be requested at least two weeks in advance. Kirsten Bays, interim director of Student Legal Services, said she was willing to speak on a variety of legal topics guided by students’ needs. Bays said she would be especially interested in speaking to students at residence halls and fraternities and sororities. She will also speak in classes if the instructor wants to discuss a specific legal topic or Illinois law more in-depth as well as talk to university professionals to help them guide students through issues they commonly face. Although Bays is the only staff attorney on campus, she said she has professional connections with other local attorneys who have expressed interest in giving presentations if the topic is outside her expertise. One of the topics she has already prepared a presentation for is “How to Expunge Your Criminal Record.” In the case of some violations like underage drinking, underage use of a fake ID or public indecency, if a student is not convicted of a crime, they can later have their records cleared of the violations. “Many times students like to get those off their records before they apply for jobs or grad school,” she said. “And there are very specific rules you have to follow to do that and very specific paperwork you have to use.” One common misconception students have about their criminal record, Bays said, is that violations for underage drinking are automatically cleared off their record after judicial supervision because they did not plead guilty. The truth is students must request for their criminal record to be expunged, often a couple of years after the fact, and violations with a guilty plea cannot be expunged. Bays said she thinks many students would like to learn more about expungement. Some students come into her office who think their lives are ruined by a mistake made in their youth, she said. Legal, page 5