SWEET REWARDS
STAT ATTACK
A local assisted-living community will award those who donate items with cupcakes, coffee and conversation.
Senior guard Ta’Kenya Nixon is 226 points away from breaking the all-time school scoring record. Read more men’ and women’s stats for the season.
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D ai ly Eastern News WWW.DAILYEASTERNNEWS.COM
THE
“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID”
VOL.97 | ISSUE 82
TUESDAY, January 15, 2013
BUDGET | STATE FUNDS
Students react to electronic boards By Samantha McDaniel Student Governance Editor
After attending a study abroad trip, an Eastern student came back to campus and saw a new element in the atmosphere of the North Quad. The Eastern administration installed the first of six digital display boards in the North Quad behind Old Main. Rachel Sepich, a sophomore English major, said the display boards are invading the tranquility of the area. Sepich said when she moved back to campus this semester she automatically thought that the display boards did not belong in the space. “I think they are an eyesore, and they’re useless because if they are mostly advertising then we’re not going to be getting informed about events,” Sepich said. Sepich said she liked the North Quad because of the historic buildings, but the display boards take away from that. “I live in Pemberton and appreciate the historical tranquility of the North Quad, and then there is this big, electronic thing in the middle of it,” Sepich said. The boards will become similar to bulletin boards and people will just start to walk past them, she said. She also said the boards just present more advertising to the students who are already surrounded by these influences. “We’re already in a consumer society, so why do we need more advertising down our throats?” Sepich said. Eastern administrators have said the display boards are meant to educate students on what is going on around campus, but Sepich said there are other forms that already do that. “Personally, I read the paper, I try to read every new flyer that they put up, and I find that I am informed without (the display boards),” Sepich said. Jocelyn Swanson, a junior foreign language major, disagreed and said the display boards will provide a way of learning to students who do not read the newspaper and are not as connected with social media. The display boards do not take away from the campus, Swanson said, but add an element of information for those who do not have access to other forms of information communication. “They could be used to talk about a wide variety of events and not just seeing the same posters around campus,” Swanson said. REACTIONS, page 5
Eastern receives delayed payments By Stephanie Markham Administration Editor Eastern has received about 10 percent of the appropriated funds it is owed by the state for fiscal year 2013. William Weber, the vice president for business affairs, said Eastern received its first payment of $4,370,043.70 on Dec. 28, which was nearly six months through FY13. State legislators granted Eastern a total of $44,410,100 for the fiscal year, Weber said. He said the delayed start in payments was a result of late payments from two years ago. “We didn’t finish getting our FY11 appropriations until December 2012,” Weber said. “So, this year they got FY12 paid off by October, but they haven’t gotten as early a start on the current fiscal year as they did before.” The budget of appropriated funds totals around $109 million, with 65 percent coming from tuition, Weber said. President Bill Perry said the total amount of state appropriated funds has decreased over the past years. “That number this year is $44 million, but it moves around,” he said. “Six or seven years ago it was up to about $51 million, so it’s been dropping.” Weber said the ratio of tuition to state funds in the appropriated budget has increased over the past ten years. “If you go back to FY02 of our tax and tuition dollars, roughly two-thirds was the state’s general revenue funds,” he said. “Now we’re getting very close to the exact opposite.” Weber said the ratio was about 50-50 in 2008, and is currently 40-to-60 for tuition to state funds. He said the changed ratio has
not caused an increase in the price of tuition. “In the past few years we’ve been very modest in terms of our tuition increases, and our increases have been much smaller percentage wise these past couple of years,” Weber said. The appropriations budget goes to support academic instruction. “The dollars that pay for our professors and all the classroom supplies and everything required to deliver the academic programs, those come from the appropriated funds from tax and tuition dollars,” he said. Before Illinois started experiencing problems with cash flow in 2009, Eastern would be reimbursed within 30 days of sending in a voucher, Weber said. He said Perry has instilled several methods of managing Eastern’s funds to compensate for the state’s delayed funding, including a soft-hiring freeze, which required the president’s approval of any new positions or new hires. He said Perry also required vice presidential approval for travel purchases, and the university continues to make budget decisions wisely. “Our treasurer Paul McCann and his office monitor purchases very closely, and we hold back on purchases until we have the cash available to pay for them,” Weber said. Eastern also received approximately $4.6 million in map grants for the fall semester on Jan. 3. “Essentially all the state universities are in the same position; they have received about 10 percent of their appropriations and their fall map money to date,” he said. Stephanie Markham can be reached at 581-2812 or samarkham@eiu.edu.
C AMPUS | THEATRE AR TS
Students compete in theater festival By Bob Galuski Entertainment Editor
PHOTO ILLUSTR ATION BY TIM DETERS
For Blake Morris, the past week has been a whirlwind of auditioning workshops, free plays and heavy competition. Along with seven other nominated students, Morris, a senior theatre arts major, has just returned from Saginaw, Mich., where he spent the last week competing in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. In order to compete in the festival, eight students were initially nominated, and each student brought a partner with whom to perform a scene. Jean Wolski, a theatre arts professor, said students were nominated based on performances they gave while in Eastern productions.
The students are judged by an outside source, such as professional critics, she said. “They are seen by professionals, as well as members of the theatre society who have experience, or are part of a graduate program,” Wolski said. As this was Morris’s first time attending the festival, he said he did not know what to expect. “It ended up being a great way to network and see what other schools and students were doing,” he said. Morgan Reidy, a sophomore theatre arts major, said when she was nominated, more people knew before she did. “I went backstage after one of the shows and everyone was congratulating me and hugging me, and I had no idea what was going on,” Reidy said. FESTIVAL, page 5