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THE DAILY ILLINI
THURSDAY September 7, 2017
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The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Vol. 147 Issue 4
Christensen attorneys attempt to leave case BY JESSICA BURSZTYNSKY NEWS EDITOR
Attorneys Tom, Anthony and Evan Bruno filed a motion on Sept. 1 to withdraw from representing their client Brendt Christensen, citing lack of sufficient funds. Christensen is currently being charged with the kidnapping of Yingying Zhang, a 26-year-old visiting scholar. While Zhang’s body has not been found, the FBI has said she is presumed dead after her June 9 disappearance. The attorneys met with Christensen on June 20 and agreed upon a set rate for representing a federal kidnapping case, according to the motion filed. Christensen agreed to a higher rate if more serious charges were added. At Christensen’s pretrial hearing on Aug. 28, prosecutors suggested they are seeking a superseding grand jury indictment within the next 30 to 45 days on additional charges.
BRIAN BAUER THE DAILY ILLINI
Daisy Cordelia, secretary of Alpha Psi Lambda, the nation’s first and largest co-ed latino fraternity, speaks to the crowds in front of Alma Mater protesting President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
University reacts to DACA rescission BY AARON NAVARRO ON-AIR NEWS EDITOR
P r e sident D on a ld Trump’s administration announced on Tuesday the administration will phase out a program protecting young undocumented immigrants, leaving the futures of
thousands up to Congress. The White House declared that immigration services will no longer be accepting any initial requests for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which shelters undocumented immigrants who
were brought into the country as children from immediate deportation. They also announced that there would be a six-month gap before the repeal is enforced and called upon Congress to find an alternate fix for the program.
Both University President Tim Killeen and Chancellor Robert J. Jones sent out Massmails Tuesday disapproving the administration’s decision and expressing their support for the DACA SEE DACA | 3A
“Attorneys reasonably anticipate that such additional charges may implicate the prospect of capital punishment,” the Brunos wrote in the motion. If prosecutors can prove that Zhang’s death resulted from Christensen’s kidnapping, he could face either life in prison or the death penalty. According to the report, Christensen has been unable to secure additional funding to pay for higher fees. The motion suggests that any delays in appointing a new council could negatively impact Christensen’s defense in his February trial. The Brunos would provide the new defense with “advice and consultation,” at no cost. The Brunos’ request will be discussed at a hearing on Friday at 10:30 a.m. at the Federal Courthouse in Urbana. burszty2@dailyillini.com
Fall semester brings classroom innovation, technology More classrooms start utilizing eText at Illinois BY JESSICA BERBEY ASSISTANT DAYTIME EDITOR
The University has released an innovative e-textbook which caters to the needs of those with disabilities. It provides visually, hearing and mobility-impaired students with resources they need, such as keyboard controls and speech recognition. eText at Illinois is essentially an e-textbook with videos and multimedia embedded into it, which can be accessed both online and offline. How students read has changed immensely over the years. Because of this, eText provides information a normal textbook would not provide, such as notes, assignments, videos and other multimedia. This allows students, teachers and authors to interact directly in each book’s contents. “The first time we offered (eText) to our students was in the fall of 2010 or 2011, so
it’s been around for at least six years,” said Yury Borukhovich, senior e-learning pro. “Slowly, more and more courses are using it.” Since its creation, eText at Illinois has served more than 28,000 textbooks to students across campus. eText is currently only an Illinois service, but the University is trying to work with other Big Ten schools to make a depository where students across the nation would be able to benefit from the resources and savings eText provides. The program works across all devices, such as smartphones, tablets, computers and speech readers. “It supersedes the reading experience that you would typically have through most commercial textbook operations like Pearson,” Borukhovich said. This fall alone, 4,860 students are using eText on campus, resulting in over $250,000 saved on text-
Middle Eastern art exhibit
Illini of the Week: Mike Dudek
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Armory remodeled with high-tech studios BY VIVENNE HENNING ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
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JESSICA JUTZI THE DAILY ILLINI
Room 172 in the Armory is one of the new innovation studios debuting this fall. The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning is embracing technology to improve teaching strategies and learning comphrension.
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Glass-paneled walls, connectable screens and movable furniture are premiering in renovated classrooms in the Armory this semester. The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning worked with different disciplines across campus to help develop innovative classrooms that focus on enabling faculty to teach more effectively and to give students an outlet to engage in more productive learning. The northeastern part of the Armory was under construction for the majority of the spring 2017 semester while classrooms were being developed. There is now an official iFLEX classroom, an Innovation Studio, a Virtual Reality Lab, a TechHub and an open-air office. The TechHub is where faculty, students and the public can come to view and test new, emerging technologies.
The space is very hands-on, with exhibits throughout the room that people can engage with and learn about, such as a student-developed augmented reality exhibit. MakerGirl, an organization aimed at getting girls interested in coding, is partnering with the University to host their camps and sessions. In return, the TechHub will be housing their 3D printers. Jamie Nelson, senior eLearning specialist, said they hope they’ll be able to partner with other manufacturers in the future to show off other emerging technologies. “This is more of an exposure space,” Nelson said. “Part of the duty is to let people try new things — spur the conversation of how we can use technology with education.” Two other new Innovation Spaces were added to the Armory: a Virtual Reality Lab with full room configuration and an Innovation Studio,
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equipped with six wireless, multitouch video walls and an interactive touch table. Illinois Flexible Learning Experience (or iFLEX) classrooms focus on helping to foster a creative and adaptable learning space, with multiple locations all over campus. These include: Huff Hall 209, Education 166, Armory 432 and Animal Sciences Lab 131, with Armory 182 being the newest addition. Director of the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning Michel Bellini said that it will be important to partner with faculty to learn about the different modalities of experiential learning to help them further develop and adapt these classrooms for instructor and student benefit. “We want the faculty to come with a course in mind and think about what works and what doesn’t work within that space,” Bellini said. “If you build a classroom it’s
not one-size-fits-all; it really varies among the type of instruction.” Ava Wolf, eLearning professional, said the iFLEX classrooms feature three aspects that distinguish themselves from typical classrooms. According to Wolf, the classrooms feature mobile furniture with chairs and tables on wheels, which enable the instructor and the students to reconfigure the furniture quickly and easily for different teaching purposes. Wolf said they also feature an increased amount of writing surfaces. There are glass panels and white boards all throughout the room to help foster breakout activity in small groups and discussions. The final and most prominent distinction of these classrooms are the increased and enhanced technologies,
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