THURSDAY October 5, 2017
THE DAILY ILLINI
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The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Vol. 147 Issue 12
Student on witnessing Vegas attack BY JESSICA BURSZTYNSKY NEWS EDITOR
Hiam Hafizuddin and two of her friends were running late from the casino to a show they had tickets to early Monday morning. The group, in Las Vegas to celebrate a birthday, got a text from a promoter. The promoter said not to
come because shots were reported near the venue and roads were being closed off. Hafizuddin, senior in Business, initially didn’t believe him. The group faintly heard the first round being fired but brushed it off as fireworks. As the rounds continued, they saw paramedics and
police rushing to the scene of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino — where Stephen Paddock opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest Festival. As of publication, the death toll is at 59, with 527 injured. “We started seeing a flood of people rushing around and frantic,” Hafizuddin said, adding that the scene
was “chaos.” They got an Uber and took refuge in a strip club — the only high-security place they could find that was open. “We’re all very equally terrified, and we just didn’t want to be there anymore,” she said. “We’re just trying to understand what was
happening.” Hafizuddin said they were allowed to return to their hotel, the MGM Grand, across the street from the attack, around 4 a.m. People were still recovering in the lobby, bruised and bloody from escaping. Some bodies were being carried out. “There were all these dis-
placed people in blankets crying in our lobby,” she said. “A lot of them were people that escaped from there. Some people were injured and were sitting and waiting there to get help.” After watching the news for a couple of hours, HafiSEE VEGAS | 3A
New charges filed in Zhang kidnapping case “Asian female.” Christensen is facing up to five years for each count of false statements, if convicted. Christensen’s former attorneys were granted a request to leave the case on Sept. 10 because Christensen could not provide the funds to pay for representation against higher charges. Christensen was initially facing one count of federal kidnapping. A violation of 18 U.S. Code § 1201, or kidnapping, says that a person “shall be punished by imprisonment for any term of years or for life and, if the death of any person results, shall be punished by death or life imprisonment.” Though Zhang’s body has not been found, the FBI said on June 30 she was presumed dead. If prosecutors can prove that Zhang’s death resulted from Christensen’s alleged kidnapping, then he would be facing life in prison or the death penalty, even if he has not been formally charged with murder. Since federal law overrides state law, Christensen could still face the death penalty. If found guilty, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will decide whether to seek the death penalty. Christensen’s trial is set for Feb. 27, 2018.
BY JESSICA BURSZTYNSKY NEWS EDITOR
A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment against Brendt Christensen, former University physics student, according to a statement sent out from FBI spokeswoman Sharon Paul. The superseding indictment now issues charges of kidnapping resulting in death of Yingying Zhang, a visiting scholar, and an additional two counts of making false statements to the FBI in June. This indictment takes the place of the originally obtained indictment on July 12. “The indictment alleges special findings that Zhang’s death occurred during the commission of a kidnapping; that Christensen committed the offense in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner, in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse to the victim; and, that Christensen committed the offense after substantial planning and premeditation to cause the death of a person,” Paul wrote. When referring to the false statements, the superseding indictment charges Christensen of initially lying to the FBI by saying he stayed in his apartment and played video games. After being questioned again, he said he later dropped off an burszty2@dailyillini.com
BRIAN BAUER THE DAILY ILLINI
Coordinator of Campus Waste Management and Recycling Tracy Osby stands with bales of paper to be recycled at the Waste Transfer and Material Recovery Facility just off of campus. The University has been recycling around 80 to 85 percent of its waste this year, Osby said.
Facility assists recycling efforts BY LUKE COOPER STAFF WRITER
Though percentages for waste recycled by the University this year have not been released, indications show signs of improvement in line with the school’s ini-
tiative to recycle 90 percent of its waste by 2020. Tracy Osby, coordinator of Campus Waste Management and Recycling, said the University has been recycling “around 80 to 85 percent” of its campus-
wide waste so far this year. “It’s moving right along,” Osby said. The University has been working toward producing zero waste through recycling under the guidelines of the Zero Waste Move-
Disability services fraternity membership dwindles BY KAREN LIU STAFF WRITER
Delta Sigma Omicron is the first disability services fraternity that welcomes any person with a disability established in 1949 at the University, . However, the fraternity has become less active in recent years. Maureen Gilbert, coordinator of campus life at the Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES), said the organization started out as an advocacy group but has turned into a service fraternity over the years.
“They fought to have accessible entrances put on buildings and ramps put in,” she said. “They also traveled around, promoting sports as an avenue of teaching people about disability.” The fraternity played an important role in establishing what is now DRES, Gilbert wrote in an email. However, the fraternity has been encouraging the students to go out and join other organizations on campus over the last five to seven years. Martinez Johnson, masSEE FRAT | 3A
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Letters
A second chance for Nana
New look for Illinois offense
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Delta Sigma Omicron hosted a holiday party December 2016. It’s the only event currently hosted by the fraternity.
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