DAILY CHRONICLE
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Feb. 21-22, 2015 • $1.50
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Support for student-parents
NIU provides help through child care By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Tasha Smith didn’t miss a single class until she went into labor. S t a n d in g i n f r o n t o f h e r Asian-American families class at Northern Illinois University, Smith clenched her hands with every contraction. Already a mother of one, she was familiar with the pain and wanted to deliver the presentation she had worked on for months. After about five minutes, her professor urged Smith to leave class and get into an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Doctors put Smith on bed rest; she gave birth to her daughter, Taylor Miles, a week later on the day of the final. Smith grudgingly recalled she got a “B” in that class. “As parents, we have some pretty high expectations for ourselves,” Smith said. “Because it’s not just for us anymore.” More than 4.8 million college students are raising children, according to a study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. At NIU, college parents have several resources that help them address challenges, such as child care, housing and transportation. But some say the university could do more to support their academic pursuits, something NIU officials say they are trying to do. Smith, 26, first came to NIU in 2007. At the time, she was pregnant with her first daughter, Trinity Miles. She left after a semester because she said communication between her and the university about her living in the dorms broke down. After receiving an associate degree from a community college in Chicago, Smith returned to NIU in 2011. She earned a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer sciences in 2014 and has since moved into a master’s program in adult and higher education. She’s also president of the College Parents Group, which hosts weekly events and discussions. Like many working parents, her biggest obstacle is child care. Trinity is now in elementary school, but Smith relies on the Campus Childcare Center for her 1-year-old, Taylor. If she has a night class, howev-
Photos by Monica Synett – msynett@shawmedia.com
ABOVE: Tasia Bell (center), 26, a senior family and child studies major, helps her son, Aaron Smith (right), 6, with a kindergarten project Tuesday during a Northern Illinois University college parents group meeting at the student center. BELOW: Shatoya Black, a graduate student of applied family and child studies, makes a vision board using cut-out phrases and letters Tuesday during a Northern Illinois University college parents group meeting at the student center. er, Smith has to pay a baby sitter. Too many night classes caused Smith to switch her undergraduate and graduate degree topics so she could balance them with her children and her part-time job. “What do you do with your child?” Smith asked. “You want to graduate. You want to get this degree.” Addressing the needs of student-parents has been an adjustment for colleges. Such students account for about a quarter of the undergraduate students in the United States, according to a November 2014 report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. NIU doesn’t have an exact count of how many of its students are raising children, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Katrina Caldwell said, but they are trying to get a better idea. Caldwell said officials from the
See SUPPORT, page A6
Farmers’ profits may plummet Low price of corn expected to affect year’s net income By AIMEE BARROWS news@daily-chronicle.com WATERMAN – Nick Kessler, site manager at Monsanto’s Waterman Research Facility, said 2014 was a record year for corn across the country. “This past year there were the most bushels per acre produced in the history of farming, as far as I know,” he said. “2012 was a bad year, but 2013 and especially 2014 had really good production.” The party’s over, though. This year won’t be a banner year for corn, as corn will be
expenses creep higher, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released this month. Farmers who own land with a low cost of production likely will still make a profit, while those who rent land at higher prices will struggle. Those with high costs probably will try to cut household expenses, avoid making any large equipment purchases and try to cut costs for fertilizer and other inputs. About 80 percent of Illinois cropland is not owned by the Shaw Media file photo people who farm it, said Scott Net income for crop farmers is expected to fall by nearly 32 percent Newport, a farm business spethis year as corn and soybean prices remain low and expenses creep cialist in DeKalb for Illinois higher, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released Valley FBFM. this month. If estimates from the U.S. Agriculture Department hold more expensive than soybeans is expected to fall by almost 32 true, farmers in the United for farmers to produce. More- percent this year as corn and over, net income for farmers soybean prices remain low and See FARMING, page A6
White House tries to counter Netanyahu visit By MATTHEW LEE and JULIE PACE The Associated Press WASHINGTON – In what is becoming an increasingly nasty grudge match, the White House is mulling ways to undercut Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming trip to Washington and blunt his message that a potential nuclear deal with Iran is bad for Israel and the world. There are limits. Administration officials have discarded the idea of President Barack Obama himself giving an Iran-related address to rebut the two speeches Netanyahu is to deliver during his early March visit. But other options remain on the table.
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Among them: a presidential interview with a prominent journalist known for coverage of the rift between Obama and Netanyahu, multiple Sunday show TV appearances by senior national security aides and a pointed snub of America’s leading pro-Israel lobby, which is holding its annual meeting while Netanyahu is in Washington, according to the officials. The administration has already ruled out meetings between Netanyahu and Obama, saying it would be inappropriate for the two to meet so close to Israel’s March 17 elections. But the White House is now doubling down on a cold-shoulder strategy, including dispatching Cabinet
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See OBAMA, page A6