MONDAY November 16, 2020
THE DAILY ILLINI The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 150 Issue 25
Illinois hits grim new COVID-19 milestones BY ETHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
In almost every possible metric, Illinois’ COVID-19 situation is taking a turn for the worse. For nine straight days, the state has topped 10,000 new cases of COVID-19, including 15,415 new cases reported on Friday, a new 24-hour high. Hospitalizations hit 5,415 on Saturday — another record for Illinois — and the sevenday statewide test positivity rate is up to 14.7%, up 3.3% in just six days, while the state conducts an average of 93,000 tests per day. The Illinois Department of Public Health announced another 166 deaths from the virus on Saturday, including 66 previously unreported deaths from Friday. The last time Illinois saw more than 100 deaths in a 24-hour period from the virus was in early June, after a peak in cases in May. A stay-at-home advisory hits the Chicago area on Monday, and increased mitigations may come to all of Illinois’ 11 regions if metrics don’t improve substantially. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker extended the eviction moratorium another 30 days, up
to Dec. 12. Region 6, which includes Champaign County, is par for the course on many of the state’s discouraging virus metrics. The region’s seven-day positivity rate was up to 13.5% as of Wednesday, excluding the University’s tests. Regional figures are updated with a three-day lag by IDPH. After months of hovering between 2-4% test positivity, Champaign County is also seeing a surge in cases. This Wednesday, it hit a seven-day positivity rate of 9.3% from its non-University tests. The University of Illinois hasn’t been spared from increasing cases either, though the gap in new cases from the county as a whole has widened in the last week, and many have been coming from the Champaign-Urbana community — not the other way around. Indeed, after increases in cases among staff and faculty, non-undergrads have been ordered to test twice weekly, after months of needing only one test a week. Chancellor Robert Jones described campus as a “quasi-bubble” in last week’s COVID-19 briefing, but the Uni-
versity is coming off its two worst weeks of new cases since mid-September, with 336 cases last week and 299 new cases in the week ended Friday. Students and faculty are gearing up for the holiday season with their families, but for those who have been exposed to COVID-19 in the last week, those plans may not come to fruition. Public health mandates a 10-day isolation period after testing positive and a 14-day quarantine after exposure to the virus. Most students in undergraduate housing cannot return after fall break without paying a $60 daily fee, and classes are going all-online anyway. Those who return will be barred from participating in non-essential activities on campus, much like the September lockdown. With temperatures dropping and indoor activity becoming all the more necessary, Illinois — and the nation — is heading for dark days this winter. The next two weeks will be critical toward slowing the spread and saving lives.
Illinois shatters daily COVID-19 case records in November New high 15,415 cases
16,000
12,000
8,000
4,000
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Nov. 1
Nov. 14 Source: Chicago Tribune
@esimmsnews ecsimmon@dailyillini.com
BRIAN NGUYEN THE DAILY ILLINI
UI employee resigns after tweet backlash Islamophobic, racist tweet screenshots spread over social media BY MATT TROHER ASSISTANT LONGFORM EDITOR
A University employee has resigned after the surfacing of racist and Islamophobic tweets made from his personal Twitter account received considerable attention and criticism from the campus community. Larry Jacobsen worked as an investigator in the Office of Student Conflict Resolution. Prior to being an employee of the University, Jacobsen was employed as a detective with the Urbana Police Department. Chancellor Robert J. Jones sent a Massmail Thursday morning condemning Jacobsen’s tweets and stating that “as of yesterday afternoon (Jacobsen) is no longer employed by the University.” “These posts are hurtful and antithetical to our University values of inclusivity and respect,” the Massmail read. “They diminish all of us, lessen our sense of community and damage our connections with each other.” Although the Massmail does not clarify whether Jacobsen’s employment with the University was ended on his own regard or not, a statement posted on Wednesday to Twitter stated that Jacobsen resigned. The recent Massmail did not mention whether Jacobsen resigned voluntarily or was given the option to resign or be fired. “The continued presence of
KAITLIN MIKRUT THE DAILY ILLINI
Professors try new virtual engagement methods
you’re in a classroom,” Ott said. “Just you have a little person on a computer.” Dr. Andre Schleife, professor in Engineering, teaches MSE 404: Laboratory Studies in Materials Science and Engineering MIC/MAC, a project-based course centered around students working individually under the guidance of their instructor. In past years, the class was held in a computer lab
BY WILLIE CUI STAFF WRITER
MATT TROHER THE DAILY ILLINI
Former University of Illinois employee Larry Jacobsen tweeted Islamaphobic content on Oct. 18. Jacobsen resigned from his post as an investigator in the Office of Student Conflict Resolution.
this individual would undermine the trust and compromise our disciplinary process,” the Massmail said. Jacobsen did not respond to The Daily Illini’s requests for comment. Jacobsen received negative attention after screenshots of his tweets were posted to the “Spotted in Chambana” Facebook group. The screenshots were then shared on Twitter. A popular tweet contained screenshots of Jacobsen’s racist and Islamophobic tweets. The Tweet had been retweeted 300 times and was favorited 561 times as of Thursday. The University responded to the tweet on Monday, Nov. 9 with a photo of a PR statement. Office of Student Conflict Resolution Director Justin Brown also responded to The Daily Illini’s inter-
view request with the same statement. The statement made note that Jacobsen was a parttime employee. According to the statement, his duties consisted of only data entry, and he was not “involved in evaluation or adjudication” during the student disciplinary process. The statement also emphasized that his comments were made “on his private social media accounts outside of his University working hours, and he has the same personal freedom of speech and expression as any other individual.” Jacobsen’s Twitter profile was not “locked” or set to private. Anyone with the link could view and interact with his tweets. After the University released its statement, Jacob-
sen’s job title on the Office of Student Conflict Resolution website changed from “Investigator” to “Academic Hourly.” Following his resignation, Jacobsen’s name and position have been removed from the website. Although Jacobsen’s Twitter profile didn’t explicitly state he was an employee of the University, his bio stated that he was “working as an investigator at a big 10 U” and had his location set to Champaign, Illinois. Jacobsen deleted his Twitter account shortly after initial attention from the student community. Despite this, screenshots of the offensive tweets were shared on social media sites such as Twitter and Reddit.
Catherine Ott, senior in Engineering, sits at her desk working on her project while her professor walks around the classroom checking in with students and answering any questions they may have. However, like many other things this year, this classroom has moved online into a virtual meeting space that resembles an old 8-bit video game. “It’s pretty much like
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