Daily Egyptian WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2016
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Farm to Fork
Deans to host listening session, prepare for May 2
VOL. 100 ISSUE 84
ANNA SPOERRE | @AnnaSpoerre
Threats of violence next week have spurred administrators to organize meetings and services aimed at bolstering the safety of the campus community. Students can join a listening session with interim Provost Susan Ford from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Student Center Auditorium, said Lorrie Lefler, assistant to Lori Stettler, vice chancellor for student affairs. All of the deans have been invited as well, she said. Stettler scheduled the open forum following a conversation between her and more than a dozen students Monday morning in response to a racist YouTube video published last week that called for lynchings of black students May 2. Students who plan to attend are encouraged to express any hate-related concerns, such as racism, sexism as well as worries about the state of Illinois’ higher education. Ford also reminded faculty at a meeting Tuesday that classes should occur as planned on May 2, according to an email obtained by the Daily Egyptian from Meera Komarraju, dean of the college of liberal arts. The email advised instructors to hold classes as usual, noting that some students have contacted administrators expressing concerns about not being able to attend classes. Any instructors planning on canceling classes are being asked to submit an Absence Request form in advance. A “Safe Zone” tent will also be set up behind the new Student Services Building on Monday, Komarraju wrote. Departments also have the option of designating their own offices as safe zones. Anna Spoerre can be reached at aspoerre@dailyegyptian.com or 618-536-3325.
Autumn Suyko | @AutumnSuyko_DE Ben Handler, a junior from Beverly, Mass., studying aviation and business management, eats dinner Tuesday night at the Farm to Fork Dinner hosted by the SIU Sustainability Office at the Student Center. “I’m a big fan of sustainability,” Handler said. “I have a home garden back in the Boston area.” The dinner was cooked by William “Chef Bill” Connors out of local fruit, vegetables and pork from the SIU Sustainable Farm, All Seasons Farm, Lick Creek Beef, Flyway Farm, Miller Potato Farm and Flamm Orchards. “The goal was to get people thinking about local foods and what we’re doing on campus,” said Connors, chef for University Housing. “We’re trying to boost the center for sustainable agriculture and just get people thinking about how good local is.”
Illinoisans in support of veterans’ courts, poll finds ANNA SPOERRE | @AnnaSpoerre
More than half of Illinoisans would be in support of veterans being tried in special veterans’ courts, according to a recent Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll. The poll was conducted right before Illinois House Bill 5003, which would amend the Veteran and Servicemembers Court Treatment Act, passed from the Illinois House to the Senate last week. “Illinois law currently gives chief judges in each circuit the permission to start a veterans’ court,” said Delio Calzolari, associate director of the institute. Instead of being tried in the same court as civilians, he said, this law would not just allow but require some veterans — depending on the severity of their crime — to
undergo a different hearing. “The general public does have a sense that veterans face issues that are different from civilians and maybe the justice system should pause and deliberate … the fact that veterans may have issues that civilians do not,” Calzolari said. He said some veterans have
unique issues that manifest themselves after their service is completed. The special court would not apply to all veterans, but instead those whose criminality was connected to their military service and who were not charged with violent crimes, said Joe Cervantes,
“The general public does have a sense that veterans face issues that are different from civilians and maybr the justice system should pause and deliberate... the fact that veterans have issues that civilians do not.” - Delio Calzolari associate director, Paul Simon Public Policy Institute
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an assistant state’s attorney for Williamson County. “Instead of incarcerating them … we would send them to the treatment that they would normally get from the [Marion Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center],” Cervantez said. Richard Kulich, supervisor of the Veteran’s Justice Outreach Program at the Marion Veterans Affairs, said some people are under the impression that the court is like a “get out of jail free” card for veterans. He said that is not the case. Kulich said his program prevents the unnecessary incarceration of mentally ill veterans, veterans suffering from substance abuse disorders or traumatic brain injury by helping them to get treatment. Although not mentioned in the poll, the implementation of veterans’ courts in the Williamson
County first circuit is being considered, Cervantez said. “It’s just a matter ... of us utilizing the resources that we have in our community to help them out,” he said, referring to the Marion VA. Of those polled by the Simon Institute, 57 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of Republicans were in support of the bill. The results also showed most women and those younger than 35 were in favor of the bill. The institute conducted the scientific poll Feb. 15 through 20 via live telephone interviews of 1,000 registered voters across the state. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Anna Spoerre can be reached at aspoerre@dailyegyptian.com or 618-536-3325.