Student Engineering Magazine at the U of I: Finding sustainable solution to water crisis SEE INSERT
technograph
THE DAILY ILLINI
THURSDAY September 15, 2016
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
81˚ | 64˚
Vol. 146 Issue 8
|
FREE
Student senate drafts report to debate, update constitution BY MICHAEL SEMACA
No. 44 among National Universities No. 10 among Public Universities
STAFF WRITER
Changes could be coming to the Illinois Student Senate’s Constitution. The ISS has formed a Commission on Constitutional Reform, which will have meetings throughout the week to discuss possible adjustments to the document. “What we are proposing is an ongoing process,” Senate Vice President Internal Spencer Haydary said. “Right now the Commission on Constitutional Reform is meeting to draft a report for the Illinois Student Senate to debate, and this will include a recommended Constitution. In a few weeks, the Student Senate will be debating the report as a body, and fi nalize the Constitution that we would like to see put on the ballot for referendum.” Haydary couldn’t dive into details regarding what exactly will change in regards to the Constitution, claiming that the ISS is examining the entire document, with changes being made constantly. “What I can say is that we are working to ensure a balance of efficiency, accountability a nd transparency as an organization,” he said. Haydary further explained that one of the primary goals of a revision would be to make sure the student population has a more direct say in Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections. Currently, the four executive officers of the ISS Executive Branch are chosen by the student senators themselves - not by ordinary students. “The main concern is making sure we open our organization up more to the entire student body, and that they have a direct say in electing their President and Vice-President,” he said. “This is not to say that our
UI falls in annual college ranking BY MEGAN JONES STAFF WRITER
U.S. News and World Report released its annual college rankings Tuesday, with the University coming in at 44th among all national universities. The 2017 ranking is three spots lower than the 41st rank the University received in 2016. This year, it tied with five other universities: Lehigh University, Univer-
sity of California-Davis, University of California San Diego, University of Miami and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. However, the University tied with University of Wisconsin-Madison as the 10th top public school in the U.S., which is one spot higher than the 2016 ranking. According to the report, the rankings are formulated on up to 15 different
measures of academic quality, with the most emphasis placed on factors such as student graduation and retention rates. The average six-year graduation rate among the top 10 National Universities is 95 percent, compared to 71.3 percent among all ranked universities. Freshmen retention rate among the top 10 universities is 98.1 percent as opposed to
86.9 percent for all ranked schools. The report includes a summary of each school’s academic life, fi nancial aid, student body and more. Princeton University topped the list for the sixth year in a row, followed by Harvard, which was ranked second for the fourth consecutive year.
majones5@dailyillini.com
SEE ISS | 3A
Nuclear fusion device receives $1 million grant, research begins University device uses lithium technlogy BY MICHAEL SEMACA STAFF WRITER
The Department of Energy awarded a $1.05 million grant to the University’s nuclear fusion device, the Hybrid Illinois Device for Research and Applications, or HIDRA. This grant, the first one for the machine, will allow researchers at the University’s Center for Plasma Material Interactions to conduct experiments with the HIDRA. “The g ra nt is specifically for developing liquid lithium technology to be run inside the fusion reactor as a component that faces the plasma,” Daniel Andruczyk, the head of the HIDR A department at the CPMI, said. The HIDRA is able to perform a high-tech process called nuclear fusion. This involves
taking two types of hydrogen atoms and smashing them together at high speeds, causing them to form the element helium and releasing huge amounts of energy. One of the biggest obstacles of fusion reactors is that they require massive amounts of energy to run the reaction. The molecules must be at extremely high temperatures — hotter than the sun — to actually fuse. This poses a huge problem for researchers, as temperatures like that can melt anything the reactor’s walls are made of, forcing them to consider more unorthodox solutions. “A whole bunch of people over the years have thought, ‘Well, if we’re melting this stuff, why don’t we just start with a liquid?’ A liquid metal,” Andruczyk said. “Turns out lithium is probably one of the best liquid metals we can have.”
SEE NUCLEAR | 3A
WENYUAN CHEN THE DAILY ILLINI
The Northern Triangle exhibition is a response to the current Central American refugee crisis along the US/Mexico border. It aims to open spaces for constructive and ongoing dialogues about human rights and immigration. The exhibition is on view in the Krannert Art Museum through Dec. 22.
Krannert exhibit highlights immigration
The Northern Triangle sparks conversation BY ANDREA FLORES STAFF WRITER
Nuclear Fusion 0.015% deuterium
On campus, the conversation around immigration has not been quiet. Last semester, chalk messages near the Latina and Latino Studies building seemingly held a pro-Trump stance on immigration. These messages included “Build the Wall” and “They have to go back #Trump.” Now, the conversation continues on campus through Northern Triangle, an exhibition at Krannert Art Museum focused on immigration, displacement and geographic identity. Borderland Collective, the long-term art project group behind Northern Triangle, stems out of Texas,
1 liter water
react with trititum
900 liters of gasoline
Using nuclear fusion, all the deuterium from a liter of water could become as much energy as is released by 900 liters of gasoline... ...That’s enough energy to run your car for seven months! Source: Dr. Daniel Andruczyk of the NPRE department
DAILYILLINI, DAILYILLINISPORTS
INSIDE
Police
2A
where this exhibition premiered. Northern Triangle was on display in Chicago last spring and can be viewed on campus through Dec. 22. Jason Reed, founder of Borderland Collective, said in an email that the goal of Northern Triangle is to develop space for exchange and conversation, but also to create cultural objects in the form of pictures, drawings, maps, poems, essays, books and exhibitions as a way to contribute to a larger dialogue around these issues. Thousands of unaccompanied minors migrating into Texas from the northern triangle region of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador inspired the exhibit. Director of La Casa Cultural Latina, Gioconda Guerra Pérez, was excited to see this exhibition
Opinions
4A
|
Letters
4A
|
Crossword
that images both support and contest power; bringing this fact together with themes of migration and borders is a real contribution at our historical and political moment,” Powell said in an email. The moment Powell refers to is this presidential election year. Both she and Reed agree that this exhibition adds to the dialogue surrounding the race. “It worked out to be quite timely not only because an election is happening but because this election is happening, which is being played out largely over issues of citizenship, immigration and American Exceptionalism,” Reed said. On Sept. 15, a gallery conversation is being held at Krannert Art Museum on the exhibition and the topics behind it. Powell and Pro-
@THEDAILYILLINI
THEDAILYILLINI
THEDAILYILLINI
@THEDAILYILLINI, @DI_OPINION, @DI_SPORTS |
come to campus. Sponsoring the exhibition provided an opportunity to bring differing perspectives to the conversation. Pérez noted that it is important to look at these issues through a humanitarian perspective. Through La Casa, Pérez is aware of students who come to the United States in K-12 schools here in Champaign-Urbana. “Last year, we were very involved with the unaccompanied minor project. We had students in our K-12 schools, who were here by themselves,” she said. “We will be having conversations with people in the community.” Amy Powell, curator of modern and contemporary art at Krannert Art Museum, is no stranger to the importance of this story that Northern Triangle has narrated. “The artists recognize
5A
|
Life
&
Culture
6A
|
Sports
1B
|
Classifieds
SEE KRANNERT | 3A
5B
|
Sudoku
5B