THE DAILY ILLINI
THURSDAY February 13, 2020
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 149 Issue 39
Illinois Student Government takes interest in census BY SALEM ISAF STAFF WRITER
Along with the new decade comes, for many of us, a new civic duty. The 2020 census is right around the corner, being distributed in March and taken in early April. The main purpose of the United States census is to count the entire population of the country and where each person lives. The Illinois Student Government is taking particular interest in this decade’s census to help avoid a potential loss of seats in the House of Representatives. “There has been a lot of population distribution with people moving out of Illinois,” said Kirsten Peter-
son, senior in LAS and ISG Director of Governmental Affairs. Because the state has seen many people move away in the last 10 years, Peterson said it is more important than ever that all Illinois residents fill out the census to make sure the population count is not seen as dropping, thus keeping the same amount of members in the U.S. House of Representatives. For this reason, Nataly Esparza, junior in LAS and Assistant to the Director of Governmental Affairs, has MARK CAPAPAS THE DAILY ILLINI introduced a resolution Students prepare canvassing materials for Elizabeth Warren’s campaign at Caffe Paradiso on Sunday afternoon. Weekend SEE CENSUS | 3A
canvassing is one of the multiple increased outreach efforts made by RSOs to help bring awareness to the campaign.
Democratic RSOs bring Iowa experience BY ETHAN SIMMONS SENIOR REPORTER
PHOTO COURTESY OF TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
Boxes of buttons, mints and other census materials are prepared to be distributed at City Hall on Friday. Illinois Student Government hopes to shed light on the importance of accurate census data collection.
MARK CAPAPAS THE DAILY ILLINI
The Planter’s experiential marketing vehicle, titled the NUTmobile, sits between Gregory and Lincoln halls Tuesday evening. The NUTmobile travels across the country as a marketing campaign to recruit college seniors.
“By travel, I mean we are traveling the whole country.” According to Cory, there are only three NUTmobiles in the country. He said most people they encounter or interact with have never seen it before. Although the NUTmobiles are small in number, all are racking up significant mileage and brand attention for the campaign. “We drive into a new spot normally on Monday,” Cory said. “We get off days, so our weekend is probably like a Tuesday or Wednesday, and then we work Thursday through Sunday, going to different fairs, festivals and grocery stores.”
Over the past week, students have been greeted by the whimsical and confusing sight of the Planters NUTmobile, a vehicle in the shape of a giant peanut, parked around campus. The NUTmobile marked its territory Feb. 11 on Wright Street due to an experimental marketing campaign by the company Planters to recruit graduating seniors at the University. Dan Cory, brand spokesperson for Planters, said he and his team travel 48 out of the 52 weeks to different cities to recruit students around the country. “We are actually driving to Florida next week,” he said. news@dailyillini.com
INSIDE
Features: Community reacts to marijuana legalization
Opinions: Centrist Democrats need to take a stand
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Smith’s first campaign stop in the northeastern corner was a University YDSA of the state. Labor Day meeting last year. “The biggest thing was how civil everyone was, even Iowa experiences the people who were Trump During winter break, supporters and didn’t want Sepich canvassed for Warren to talk to me,” Sepich said. in Decorah, Iowa, a rural town of about 8,000 people SEE IOWA | 3A
BY LUIS VALEZQUEZ STAFF WRITER
Cultural houses and resource centers are offering the Lunch on Us program on campus for students to learn more about improving their own well-being. The Lunch on Us program is offered in different cultural houses, such as La Casa Cultural Latina, the Asian American Culture Center and the Women’s Resources Center. At La Casa, the program occurs every Thursday and runs from noon-1 p.m. Presentations and lunch are provided to students who attend the event during that time. Siyao Zhang, sophomore in AHS and president of Fitness Peers, gave a workshop at La Casa for Lunch on Us on Feb. 6 about exercising at home. Zhang said she hopes students will follow the workshop to better accommodate themselves. However, Zhang said she thinks the student body might not be aware of the resources offered by the University, such as Lunch on Us. “One of the things that we are trying to focus on is how to promote our program and resources so students can utilize them, even if they are not affiliated with organizations,” Zhang said. The presentations vary from topic to topic, but they generally revolve
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Jake Sepich, an organizer for the Warren campaign, prepares canvassing materials at Caffe Paradiso on Sunday afternoon.
Cultural house offers lunch, well-being program
What’s with the giant nut? THE DAILY ILLINI STAFF REPORT
Ahead of the Illinois primary in March, two RSOs are getting the word out for candidates in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Members of Illini for Warren and the UIUC Young Democratic Socialists of America canvassed in Iowa for presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, respectively. Both RSOs are ramping up outreach efforts on the Illinois campus, using divergent strategies to reach local voters. For Jake Sepich, senior in LAS and president of Illini for Warren, he and other Warren volunteers are going the traditional route by knocking on doors and handing out fliers every weekend, even if the college setting makes things difficult. “The biggest thing about canvassing students is it’s really hard,” Sepich said. “Students are really hard to find because they move every year.” Even if Champaign County provides updated addresses, Sepich is often stymied by apartment buildings that have limited-
access elevators or need keys to enter. Regardless, Sepich is pushing through. He’s camped out at Caffe Paradiso the last few weekends to talk with customers, and his RSO is planning an early voting event on March 2. Mea nwh i le, the University’s YDSA chapter is following instructions from their national organization: Register as many students as possible. “ It was their recommendation that since college students already over whelmingly lean Sanders, just get people registered and that’ll be enough,” said Neeraj Kumar, YDSA member and junior in Engineering. “(There’s) no need to convince people; just bring them out.” According to Kumar, YDSA registered over 100 students to vote last semester. Instead of door-todoor canvassing, members have found more success talking to voters between classes, often at bus stops and dining halls. Aside from Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, YDSA is pushing for Stefanie Smith, a democratic socialist candidate running in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District.
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THE DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO
La Casa Cultural Latina, Native American House, Asian American Cultural Center and Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center line Nevada Street in Urbana. La Casa is one of the cultural houses hosting the Lunch on Us program.
around some sort of self-improvement. Jorge Mena Robles, assistant director at La Casa, said the purpose of Lunch on Us is to be a useful resource for students on campus. Robles said it is a collaborative program with other resource and cultural centers. “We all have a date during the week that we host it, and the idea is so that students see the Office of Inclusive and Internal Resources centers does work together
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(with La Casa),” he said. Another important factor of Lunch on Us is giving students the opportunity to eat, Robles said. “One big piece is to be able to provide food, and we know that one way our community builds another community is through food, and so that is the purpose … being able to provide lunch for students,” Robles said. The Lunch on Us program is funded through the Student Cultural and Programming Fee.
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“That program is a fee that students pay and that fee is meant to pay for cultural programming,” Robles said. “So we use it, we apply for funding, we go to a hearing and if the funding is approved, we have Lunch on Us.” Yarit Alcantara, junior in LAS and worker at La Casa, said this resource is a good method to help students develop in a professional matter. However, Alcantara SEE LUNCH | 3A
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