Daily Egyptian WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2016
SINCE 1916
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
VOL. 100 ISSUE 42
Shots fired near Saluki Apartments BILL LUKITSCH AND LUKE NOZICKA DAILY EGYPTIAN
Carbondale Police responded to multiple reports of shots fired at East Cindy Street and South Wall Street about 8:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Lt. Matt Dunning said. Dunning said no one was injured during the incident. Police have two
suspects in custody but, as of 11 p.m., would not release further information about them. Police were seen taking a person into custody at Saluki Apartments about 9:15 p.m. There was evidence of multiple shots fired on scene, Dunning said. SIU student Cody Gallardo, who lives in the building, said he was in his
Spring enrollment dips from previous year CORY RAY | @CoryRay_DE
A decade ago, university enrollment was at more than 20,000. Enrollment has now fallen below 16,000 students. SIU’s enrollment is down from the 2015 spring semester by 878 students, according to a university statement released Tuesday. University officials, interim Chancellor Brad Colwell said, expected the decrease as low spring numbers are a result of low fall numbers. Graduate enrollment dropped nearly 12 percent from the previous spring semester, with 420 students fewer graduate students. “In part, we attribute the additional decline in graduate enrollment to the delayed decision to award graduate assistantships given the uncertainty in the state budget,” the news release said. Many graduate students were on newly-introduced single-semester assistantship contracts and were concerned about renewal of their contracts this spring until Colwell issued a statement on Oct. 26 telling the university to move forward with those renewals. “At the time, it seemed like the fiscally-wise thing to do because we didn’t have any sense of the what the budget was going to be,” University
Spokesperson Rae Goldsmith said, “but it had unintended consequences because it created a lot of uncertainty.” For future semesters, Goldsmith said the university knows it must inform students earlier. “This year we know that we cannot do that again even though we know we’re in exactly the same spot we were in last year,” Goldsmith said. “We can’t leave students hanging like that because they have other choices.” While undergraduate enrollment decreased by nearly 900, enrollment declined at a steady rate from spring 2015, instead of sharply falling all at once. Colwell attributes this to the university’s decision to continue funding Monetary Award Program grants for undergraduates. Because this this academic year’s decline in undergraduate admissions, however, Goldsmith said recruitment is one of Colwell’s top priorities as chancellor. “We’re trying to build additional bridges between the academic units and admissions so that everybody’s rowing in the same direction,” Goldsmith said. Cory Ray can be reached at cray@dailyegyptian.com
apartment when the shots rang out. “I heard three loud bangs and just chilled till it settled down,” said Gallardo, a junior from Aurora studying psychology. This is the third incident Carbondale police have responded to involving a gunshot since Saturday. At 2:45 p.m. on Monday, Carbondale police officers responded to
a report of a gunshot wound victim at the Memorial Hospital of Carbondale. Police say the victim, who was shot at an unknown location, received medical treatment for “what is believed to be non-life threatening injuries.” At 6 p.m. on Saturday, SIU student Spencer DePue suffered a single gunshot wound to his upper-right shoulder. After he was shot, DePue, a
senior studying management, walked to the 700 block of East Grand Avenue, where he was helped by Pinch Penny Pub staff and transported by ambulance to Carbondale Memorial Hospital. He was later moved to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis for treatment. “Actually I feel quite well and in good spirits despite my predicament,” DePue said in an email Sunday.
A healthy embrace
Jacob Wiegand | @JacobWiegand_DE Jennifer Pellow, left, general manager and co-owner of the Town Square Market, hugs Becky Skibinski, right, a regular customer, while she makes a visit Tuesday to the Town Square Market in Carbondale. “We’re trying to promote sustainable living by making food available, by sharing information about what is good and healthy food and by showing people that it’s affordable also,” Pellow said. Skibinski said Carbondale is lucky to have businesses like the Town Square Market. Pellow and Skibinski have known each other for nine years. “Being a small store, it’s really easy to get to know your customers,” Pellow said. Skibinski said the thing she enjoys most about the market is the people.
Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction may shed light on global warming ANNA SPOERRE | @AnnaSpoerre
A furry groundhog woke up Tuesday to a sunny morning which, legend says, signifies an early spring. Every year on Feb. 2 since 1887, a groundhog named Phil in Punxsutawney, Pa., forecasts Abbey La Tour | @AbbeyLaTourDE the coming of spring for the U.S.
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If he sees his shadow, there will supposedly be six more weeks of winter. However, some experts call this hogwash. Despite predicting the weather for 129 years, Phil has yet to show he’s a reliable weatherman. The accuracy of the rodent’s forecasts are about as accurate as flipping a coin.
However, this American tradition based on a German legend gets people talking about the weather every year. Though he does not have much faith in the animal’s foreshadowing prowess, Nick Hausen, a meteorologist at WSIL TV, agreed spring weather is arriving sooner
than later. But he does not think the winter coats should be put away just yet. “It’s still winter, and I think we still have quite a few cold spells [left],” Hausen said. To read the rest of the story, please see www.dailyegyptian.com