Good food and brews: Restaurant DESTIHL serves both in Champaign FEATURES, 6A
Student becomes master Zymkowitz makes impact on Illini softball — as a coach SPORTS, 1B
The Daily Illini
Tuesday May 1, 2012
High: 77˚ Low: 62˚
www.DailyIllini.com
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
Vol. 141 Issue 144
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URBANA-CHAMPAIGN SENATE
Enrollment plan approved by Senate members, up for final review BY CARINA LEE STAFF WRITER
DARYL QUITALIG THE DAILY ILLINI
Dorinda Miller, president of AFSCME Local 3700, a union that represents clerical workers at the University, speaks to rally-goers about the opinion that those of the University of Illinois management are “a bunch of cardboard cutouts” at the Alma Mater on Monday.
UI employees rally for new contract Clerical, technical employees express concerns about slow bargaining process BY LAUREN ROHR STAFF WRITER
University employees and members of local units of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees labor union rallied together Monday afternoon, expressing their concerns about the
negotiation of the union’s contract and wages. AFSCME’s two locals units on the Urbana campus, Local 698 and Local 3700 , represent clerical employees and technical staff. The University’s bargaining team has been negotiating these two
groups’ contracts since July 2011, and they have met for 22 bargaining sessions to date, said campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler. Kaler said they have reached an agreement on many noneconomic issues. However, Dorinda Miller, president of AFSCME Local 3700, said the University cancelled its third consecutive meeting with the two groups last week and neglected to inform members of the cancellation. As a result,
Miller said she is unconvinced that there are “decision-makers at the negotiating table.” Kaler said the University’s bargaining team had to postpone last week’s meeting and inadvertently did not notify the union’s leadership, although the team did inform the management committee. She said the team reached out to the chief negotiator, however, and apologized
See RALLY, Page 3A
Urbana-Champaign Senate members discussed the enrollment management plan, which has been distributed to all campuses for fi nal review, at its meeting Monday. The revised enrollment management plan, titled The Path Forward , looks to increase diverse student enrollment each year and to ensure that these students successfully graduate with a degree. Members of the Urbana-Champaign Senate approved the plan Monday, and the document will now be sent to the University Senates Conference for a fi nal review. Once the Conference reviews the plan, it will be sent to the Offi ce of the President , then the Board of Trustees, said Don Chambers, the Conference chair. Michael Biehl , chair of the enrollment management task force, said the revised document mainly addresses the faculty’s major concerns with the original document. “We believe this current document represents an evolutionary progression from the original external (enrollment management) report and provides, along with the previous UIUC and USC (enrollment management) task force reports, a better framework,” Biehl said. “Our UIUC (enrollment management) task force believes (the) current enrollment management process is well-respected and not broken.” No major concerns were brought up during the Senate meeting, and it passed with little discussion. Nicholas Burbules , Senate member, said it is up to the University administration to follow through with the plan laid out in the document. “We will see what happens next in terms of further steps of implementation,” Burbules said. “We certainly think that the revised proposal that has
See U-C SENATE, Page 3A
Unemployment rate steadily decreasing for recently graduating seniors in job market Comparison of unemployment rates The unemployment rate for young adult workers has decreased over the past year but remains higher for recent college graduates. 20
Young adults, ages 20-24
Unemployment rate among young workers (%)
Young adults, ages 25-34 15
14.9%
13.2%
10
9.2% 8.6%
BY GEORGE COVENTRY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The unemployment rate for college graduates remains high but is steadily dropping as graduating seniors from the class of 2012 are entering a competitive job market. Seasonally adjusted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists March 2012’s unemployment rate among young adult workers between the ages 20 to 24 at 13.2 percent compared to 14.9 percent one year ago. Katie Kennealy, associate director of the University Career Center, said she believes the job market is beginning to rebound. However, she explained that while many companies are starting to hire again, there are now more applicants for each available job. Kennealy said one of the main causes for the current unemployment rate of postcollege adults is the current economic situation. The national unemployment rate was recorded as 8.2 percent in March 2012 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jae Kwon, senior in LAS, has already
secured a job at a marketing consulting firm in New York City. Kwon recommended using all the sources and opportunities provided by the University to find a job. “For me, studying abroad experience and (an) internship abroad definitely helped,” Kwon said. “That was the thing that really highlighted my resume. Make sure you tailor all your resumes specifically to each of the internships or experiences that you have.” Jenna Nygaard, senior in AHS, has received a few job offers but hasn’t settled on a career choice yet. Nygaard said she feels lucky that the job markets for her career interests are currently stable. However, she noted that her circumstances are not shared by a lot of her friends whom are graduating and looking for jobs. Nygaard said she recommends not rushing the jobhunting process. “Don’t stress about it because things will fall into place,” she said.
See UNEMPLOYMENT, Page 3A
YOUR VOICE
Q: What are your plans after graduation? COMPILED BY GEORGE COVENTRY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
5
0
March 2011
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
INSIDE
March 2012
BRYAN LORENZ DESIGN EDITOR
“I’m going to work at Microsoft as a developer.” SARAH D’ONOFRIO, senior in Engineering
“I’m looking for a job currently — on the west coast with good pay.” PAUL LAMBERT, senior in Engineering
“I’m going to go to graduate school for occupational therapy.” ELAINA DIXON, senior in LAS
JOSHUA BECKMAN THE DAILY ILLINI
Professor of Asian American Studies and Gender and Women’s Studies Fiona Ngô speaks during the final Quench lunch-hour lecture in the Illini Union on Monday.
‘Quench’ lecture addresses learning outside classroom BY KLAUDIA DUKALA STAFF WRITER
Using humorous accounts of her own personal college experiences, Professor Fiona Ngô’s lecture, “On Punks, Professors and Public Sex,” encouraged students to do what they enjoy despite other people’s opinions. The lecture was given Monday as the spring semester’s last presentation for the LGBT Resource Center’s Quench Lunchtime Discussion Series at the Illini Union. Ngô said college is a transitional period in a person’s life, and many students tend to forget about the things that interest them because they fear that they won’t be accepted by soci-
ety, or they won’t be useful for their professional careers. She said students generally stick with socially acceptable activities and schoolwork rather than what actually interests them. “Don’t let the contradictions that guide our lives stop you from trying to make the world a better place in whichever way it appeals to you,” she said. “It could be by baking or healing animals or breaking windows, whatever you think works for you.” Ngô modeled that behavior by discussing her college experiences. She said most of her
See QUENCH, Page 3A
Po l i c e 2 A | C a l e n d a r 2 A | O p i n i o n s 4 A | C r o s s w o r d 5 A | C o m i c s 5 A | B u s i n e s s & Te c h n o l o g y 6 A | S p o r t s 1 B | C l a s s i f i e d s 3 B - 5 B | S u d o k u 4 B