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BY ABIGALE SVOBODA STAFF WRITER The Urbana City Coun- cil will formally invite the University to host a public discussion about Urbana’s recent lawsuit against Carle Foundation Hospital. After much discussion on the issue at the Dec. 8 meeting, the council decided to hold the resolution in committee while they work to revise it. Urbana mayor Laurel Prussing spoke about the resolution and why the Uni- versity should be a part of the discussion at the meeting. “It’s in the long-term interest of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Cham- paign to promote healthy and sustainable local com- munities in order to attract students, faculty and staff,” Prussing said. She emphasized the need to have a public discussion, in which other members of the community would be able to make comments and ask questions. Carle, which no longer pays Champaign County property taxes, has pledged $10 million per year to the University’s proposed medi- cal school if approved by the Board of Trustees. The reso- lution proposed by Prussing argues that Carle’s pledge to the University is equivalent to the cost of the hospital’s property tax. Since the hospital has been tax-exempt, the citi- zens of Urbana are facing INSIDE Police 2A | Horoscopes 2A | Opinions 4A | Crossword 5A | Comics 5A | Life & Culture 6A | Sports 1B | Classifieds 3B | Sudoku 3B THE DAILY ILLINI THURSDAY December 11, 2014 38˚ | 26˚ WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM 5he independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871 Vol. 144 Issue 59 | FREE @THEDAILYILLINI, @DI_OPINION, @DI_SPORTS THEDAILYILLINI THEDAILYILLINI DAILYILLINI, DAILYILLINISPORTS @THEDAILYILLINI BY ELYSSA KAUFMAN STAFF WRITER For Bobby McAllister smoking is a way to combat the high-stress environment that comes with college. “I have tried quitting smoking — and I have quit for about a month and a half with the patches — and then I got to school and stress started again,” said McAl- lister, senior in LAS. Smokers aren’t going any- where, he said. If the Uni- versity wants to enforce the ban, he believes it needs to offer students more free resources to quit smoking. The University ban on smoking went into effect in January and was soon fol- lowed by an Illinois state law in July, which barred smok- ing on all state campuses. “We discussed a revalua- tion before it became a state law to ban smoking on cam- pus,” said Renee Romano, vice chancellor for student affairs. “We will not have to decide to continue the ban because it is now a state law, but we will still discuss the topic.” A student smoke-free ambassador program that enforced the ban last semes- ter ended this year due to a lack of funding. Sarah Sommer, graduate student in LAS, worked as a smoke-free campus assis- tant last year. She trained and managed a team of stu- dent ambassadors whose purpose was to educate peo- ple on campus about the ban. Last year, students were able to apply for the ambas- sador team and selected stu- dents who took weekly shifts around campus and discour- aged those who continued to smoke. “The University has most- ly focused on voluntary compliance through educa- tion,” Sommer said. “This included increased signage and communication around campus, and the student ambassador group.” She said in cases of repeated noncompliance, existing campus disciplin- ary measures are followed. Additionally, there is a reporting mechanism on the smoke-free campus website University ‘soft’ on enforcing smoking ban, not issuing tickets BY EDWIN HSIEH STAFF WRITER For some students who go out for a night at the bars, it’s not uncommon to wake up with something miss- ing, whether it’s a wallet or a phone. Joe’s Brewery is the first campus bar to try an online lost and found platform called Crowdfind, which allows people to claim their lost belongings online. The campus bar began using the service this month. Crowdfind is a startup cre- ated and run by L Street Col- laborative, a venture devel- opment firm that acquires, incubates and launches tech- nology companies. Benji Friedl, account executive for L Street Col- laborative and University alumnus, explained that Crowdfind allows business- es to post pictures of lost items online. “Say people leave at 2 a.m., and they realized they left their stuff in the morn- ing but the bar doesn’t open until afternoon — they can go online and take a look at the virtual lost and found and actually identify their object,” Friedl said. “It immediately gets rid of panic and makes the pro- cess easier.” The website allows users to post found items as well as file claims for lost items at specific locations. Mike Ferrin, front door manager at Joe’s Brew- ery, said people leave their belongings and clothes at the bar “all the time, every day.” “Now if you lose some- thing, you can go on the web- site; however, most people still call and look for it,” Fer- rin said. Typically, he said, the bar receives about four to five phone calls in the morning asking if the missing items were found. The lost items are sometimes claimed, he added, but often sit in the Joe’s Brewery tests website for finding lost and found items PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ANNA HECHT THE DAILY ILLINI DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTO Urbana mayor Laurel Prussing will invite the University to a discussion about the recent lawsuit against the Carle Hospital Foundation. BY JOSH WINTERS STAFF WRITER Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge John Belz ruled Illinois Senate Bill 1, more commonly known as Illinois’ pension reform bill, to be in violation of the state’s con- stitution on Nov. 21. The pen- sion reform bill was passed on Dec. 3, 2013. In his written opinion, Belz said, “On its face, the Act impairs and diminishes the benefits of membership in State retirement systems in multiple ways,” includ- ing reducing the amount of annuity that retirees can receive, capping the pen- sionable salary of members of select state retirement systems and raising the retirement age for certain retirement systems. John Colombo, interim dean of the College of Law, said supporters of the bill knew it was in violation of the Illinois constitution when they passed it, but claimed that they had the legal authority to do so. It was this theory that he said Belz addressed in the ruling. “The legal theory is essentially, ‘Yes, we know it diminishes pension ben- efits, but the legislature has residual authority to do that in times of crisis; this is a time of crisis, and therefore we should be allowed to do it,’ ” Colombo said. Belz said because SB 1 diminishes and impairs pension benefits and does not have any clear defense, the Court concluded that the act violated the Pension Pro- tection Clause of the Illinois Constitution. Article XIII, section five of Illinois’ constitution states that, “Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agen- cy or instrumentality there- of, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.” Supporters of the pen- sion reform bill were quick to criticize the decision. Right-leaning think tank Illi- nois Policy Institute issued a report the same day of the ruling, expressing its con- cern that without significant reform to the state’s pension system, Illinois’ debt will continue to rise with little hope of slowing down. “As long as SB 1 is tangled up in the courts, Illinois’ massive pension debt will continue to balloon,” said Ben VanMetre, senior bud- get and tax policy analyst, in the report. “The unfunded pension liability is so large today that it would take three years of a complete government shutdown, dur- ing which the entire general fund went toward pensions, just to break even.” According to the Commis- sion on Government Fore- casting and Accountability, Illinois unfunded pension liability is roughly $111.2 bil- lion. In the report, VanMetre said that Illinois could face credit downgrades over its massive unfunded pension liability, and that the pension systems themselves could soon face bankruptcy. However, opponents of SB 1 have hailed the ruling as Unions celebrate pension ruling 10 MINUTE TALKS KEEP THE DOCTOR AWAY Health-based programs help students stay healthy. PAGE 5A TWO MORE TIL FINAL 4 Florida is next up for volleyball in Sweet 16. Lighting up Urbana Candlestick Lane celebrates its 50th anniversary. Page 6A SPORTS, 1B SEE BAN | 3A SEE JOE’S | 3A SEE PENSIONS | 3A SEE CARLE | 3A Lawsuit remains unresolved EDWIN HSIEH THE DAILY ILLINI Joe's Brewery on Fifth Street. University to be invited to discuss Urbana’s lawsuit against Carle

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Page 1: The Daily Illini: Volume 144 Issue 59

BY ABIGALE SVOBODASTAFF WRITER

The Urbana City Coun-cil will formally invite the University to host a public discussion about Urbana’s recent lawsuit against Carle Foundation Hospital. After much discussion on the issue at the Dec. 8 meeting, the

council decided to hold the resolution in committee while they work to revise it.

Urbana mayor Laurel Prussing spoke about the resolution and why the Uni-versity should be a part of the discussion at the meeting.

“It’s in the long-term

interest of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Cham-paign to promote healthy and sustainable local com-munities in order to attract students, faculty and staff,” Prussing said.

She emphasized the need to have a public discussion, in which other members of the community would be able to make comments and ask questions.

Carle, which no longer pays Champaign County

property taxes, has pledged $10 million per year to the University’s proposed medi-cal school if approved by the Board of Trustees. The reso-lution proposed by Prussing argues that Carle’s pledge to the University is equivalent to the cost of the hospital’s property tax.

Since the hospital has been tax-exempt, the citi-zens of Urbana are facing

INSIDE P o l i c e 2 A | H o r o s c o p e s 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 | L i f e & C u l t u r e 6 A | S p o r t s 1 B | C l a s s i f i e d s 3 B | S u d o k u 3 B

THE DAILY ILLINITHURSDAYDecember 11, 2014

38˚ | 26˚

WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM he independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871 Vol. 144 Issue 59 | FREE

@THEDAILYILLINI, @DI_OPINION, @DI_SPORTS THEDAILYILLINI THEDAILYILLINIDAILYILLINI, DAILYILLINISPORTS @THEDAILYILLINI

BY ELYSSA KAUFMAN STAFF WRITER

For Bobby McAllister smoking is a way to combat the high-stress environment that comes with college.

“I have tried quitting smoking — and I have quit for about a month and a half with the patches — and then I got to school and stress started again,” said McAl-lister, senior in LAS.

Smokers aren’t going any-where, he said. If the Uni-versity wants to enforce the ban, he believes it needs to offer students more free

resources to quit smoking. The University ban on

smoking went into effect in January and was soon fol-lowed by an Illinois state law in July, which barred smok-ing on all state campuses.

“We discussed a revalua-tion before it became a state law to ban smoking on cam-pus,” said Renee Romano, vice chancellor for student affairs. “We will not have to decide to continue the ban because it is now a state law, but we will still discuss the topic.”

A student smoke-free

ambassador program that enforced the ban last semes-ter ended this year due to a lack of funding.

Sarah Sommer, graduate student in LAS, worked as a smoke-free campus assis-tant last year. She trained and managed a team of stu-dent ambassadors whose purpose was to educate peo-ple on campus about the ban.

Last year, students were able to apply for the ambas-sador team and selected stu-dents who took weekly shifts around campus and discour-aged those who continued

to smoke. “The University has most-

ly focused on voluntary compliance through educa-tion,” Sommer said. “This included increased signage and communication around campus, and the student ambassador group.”

She said in cases of repeated noncompliance, existing campus disciplin-ary measures are followed. Additionally, there is a reporting mechanism on the smoke-free campus website

University ‘soft’ on enforcing smoking ban, not issuing tickets

BY EDWIN HSIEHSTAFF WRITER

For some students who go out for a night at the bars, it’s not uncommon to wake up with something miss-ing, whether it’s a wallet or a phone.

Joe’s Brewery is the first campus bar to try an online lost and found platform called Crowdfind, which allows people to claim their

lost belongings online.The campus bar began

using the service this month.Crowdfind is a startup cre-

ated and run by L Street Col-laborative, a venture devel-opment firm that acquires, incubates and launches tech-nology companies.

Benji Friedl, account executive for L Street Col-laborative and University alumnus, explained that

Crowdfind allows business-es to post pictures of lost items online.

“Say people leave at 2 a.m., and they realized they left their stuff in the morn-ing but the bar doesn’t open until afternoon — they can go online and take a look at the virtual lost and found and actually identify their object,” Friedl said. “It immediately gets rid of

panic and makes the pro-cess easier.”

The website allows users to post found items as well as file claims for lost items at specific locations.

Mike Ferrin, front door manager at Joe’s Brew-ery, said people leave their belongings and clothes at the bar “all the time, every day.”

“Now if you lose some-

thing, you can go on the web-site; however, most people still call and look for it,” Fer-rin said.

Typically, he said, the bar receives about four to five phone calls in the morning asking if the missing items were found. The lost items are sometimes claimed, he added, but often sit in the

Joe’s Brewery tests website for finding lost and found items

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ANNA HECHT THE DAILY ILLINI

DAILY ILLINI FILE PHOTOUrbana mayor Laurel Prussing will invite the University to a discussion about the recent lawsuit against the Carle Hospital Foundation.

BY JOSH WINTERSSTAFF WRITER

Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge John Belz ruled Illinois Senate Bill 1, more commonly known as Illinois’ pension reform bill, to be in violation of the state’s con-stitution on Nov. 21. The pen-sion reform bill was passed on Dec. 3, 2013.

In his written opinion, Belz said, “On its face, the Act impairs and diminishes the benefits of membership in State retirement systems in multiple ways,” includ-ing reducing the amount of annuity that retirees can receive, capping the pen-sionable salary of members of select state retirement systems and raising the retirement age for certain retirement systems.

John Colombo, interim dean of the College of Law, said supporters of the bill knew it was in violation of the Illinois constitution when they passed it, but claimed that they had the legal authority to do so. It was this theory that he said Belz addressed in the ruling.

“The legal theory is essentially, ‘Yes, we know it diminishes pension ben-efits, but the legislature has residual authority to do that in times of crisis; this is a time of crisis, and therefore we should be allowed to do it,’ ” Colombo said.

Belz said because SB 1 diminishes and impairs pension benefits and does not have any clear defense, the Court concluded that the act violated the Pension Pro-tection Clause of the Illinois Constitution.

Article XIII, section five

of Illinois’ constitution states that, “Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agen-cy or instrumentality there-of, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.”

Supporters of the pen-sion reform bill were quick to criticize the decision. Right-leaning think tank Illi-nois Policy Institute issued a report the same day of the ruling, expressing its con-cern that without significant reform to the state’s pension system, Illinois’ debt will continue to rise with little hope of slowing down.

“As long as SB 1 is tangled up in the courts, Illinois’ massive pension debt will continue to balloon,” said Ben VanMetre, senior bud-get and tax policy analyst, in the report. “The unfunded pension liability is so large today that it would take three years of a complete government shutdown, dur-ing which the entire general fund went toward pensions, just to break even.”

According to the Commis-sion on Government Fore-casting and Accountability, Illinois unfunded pension liability is roughly $111.2 bil-lion. In the report, VanMetre said that Illinois could face credit downgrades over its massive unfunded pension liability, and that the pension systems themselves could soon face bankruptcy.

However, opponents of SB 1 have hailed the ruling as

Unions celebrate pension ruling

10 MINUTE TALKS KEEP THE DOCTOR AWAY Health-based programs help students stay healthy. PAGE 5A

TWO MORE TIL FINAL 4Florida is next up for volleyball in Sweet 16.

Lighting up Urbana

Candlestick Lane celebrates its 50th

anniversary.Page 6A

SPORTS, 1B

SEE BAN | 3A

SEE JOE’S | 3A

SEE PENSIONS | 3A

SEE CARLE | 3A

Lawsuit remains unresolved

EDWIN HSIEH THE DAILY ILLINIJoe's Brewery on Fifth Street.

University to be invited to discuss Urbana’s lawsuit against Carle

Page 2: The Daily Illini: Volume 144 Issue 59

2A Thursday, December 11, 2014 THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

WEATHERPOLICEChampaign

Theft was reported on the 500 block of East John street at 4 p.m., Tuesday.

According to the report, a 20-year-old male stole money from a business.

Theft was reported on the 200 block of East Chalmers

St. at 12 p.m., Tuesday.According to the report,

the offender stole a tablet and a mini stereo from the victim’s apartment.

Urbana Theft was reported at

Uncle Martin’s Bar, 1104 N.

Cunningham Avenue, at 9 p.m. Sunday.

According to the report, a woman reported that she left her wallet at the local busi-ness. The wallet was missing the next day.

Compiled by Bryan Boccelli

HOROSCOPESBY NANCY BLACKTRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES

Today’s BirthdayPrepare for a power surge! List goals before 12/23, and prioritize. Embark upon a spiritual quest. Saturn in your sign (through 12/19/17, with springtime retrograde) ampli! es your skills, practices and con! dence. After 3/20, your family appreciates love and compassion. 4/4 brings new community participation. After 8/11, focus shifts from studies to career advancement. Collaboration can get romantic.To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19)Today is a 7 — Someone brings home a nice surprise. There’s more money available, so ask for what you need. Direct the play of the game, and consider an unusual suggestion. Honor and acknowledge your team when you get the chance. Replenish reserves and build morale.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20)Today is an 8 — A delightful development at home is worth talking about. Family fortunes can improve now. Choose the path you desire. Get advice from an eccentric friend. Share thoughts and feelings. Listen to what your kindred spirits think. Light up the group with laughter. Celebrate together.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20)Today is a 7 — Imagination and creativity pay well. A job could require travel... go ahead and go. Complete the written portion of your work easily and early. Consider an unusual

proposition. You have what you need. Write, record and express yourself. Bask in the limelight.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22)Today is a 9 — Unexpected income comes in handy now. Work hard and produce more, without suffering. Do it for love, not money. Adapt ideas to current needs. Let your partner take the lead. You can gain more than you thought possible. Let intuition in" uence your decisions.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22)Today is a 9 — You’re the star today. Let yourself get pulled onstage. Do what you’ve been practicing. Stretch your body and mind. Leave your case open and replenish your coffers. A go-between helps you negotiate a deal. Express what you have to say, and have fun.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22)Today is a 7 — Get productive on a creative project with good music and a cup of tea. Finish up so you can start the next. Let’s others know how they can help. Get lost in contemplation. Ask questions and dig for ideas. Friends devise a great plan.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22)Today is a 7 — Have meetings, work on group projects and get together with friends. Today favors social interaction. There’s more creative work coming in. Work together for a common goal. It could even get pro! table. Get your message out and grow your movement.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21)Today is a 7 — Work faster and make more money. Exceed expectations. Invest in high quality and efficiency.

Learn skills by participating hands-on. Earn an unexpected bonus. Friends have useful connections. Be bold with romance... create love and give it away.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21)Today is an 8 — An unexpected trip could be just the thing to clear your head. There’s a puzzle, and you have the tools to solve it. Dreams provide an answer. You can afford what you need. Money saved is money earned. Relax and enjoy what you have.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19)Today is a 7 — Review the facts with your partner, and you can deduce what’s needed. Listen and learn. Budget for the future you’ve invented together. Re-assess assets, and choose what to spend on and where to wait. Solicit imaginative solutions. Include music and creature comforts.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18)Today is an 8 — Strengthen your social infrastructure. Re-connect with a partner, and renew a bond. Follow a strong recommendation. Get a good deal by pulling strings. Others respect your point of view. Visualize your objective before taking action. Keep a secret and win a prize.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20)Today is a 9 — A partner explains what’s in your blind spot. Provide excellent service with a smile. A brilliant insight helps you achieve a goal. Wrap up a job and request a bonus for extra efforts. You’ve earned it. You’re increasing your area of in" uence.

The Daily Illini is online everywhere you are.

FOLLOW@TheDailyIllini@DI_Opinion@DI_Sports@DISportsLive@technographLIKEdailyillinidailyillinisportsreadtechno

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All Illini Media Co. and/or Daily Illini articles, photos and graphics are the property of Illini Media Co. and may not be reproduced or published without written permission from the publisher.

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Today’s night system staffPhoto night editor: Melissa McCabeCopy editors: Kirsten Keller, Sa-mantha Ziemba, Kieran Hampl, Sarah Foster, Susan SzuchDesigners: Kelsie Travers, Bryan Lorenz, Sadie Teper, Ana Kodas, Juli Nakazato, Jennifer Chong Page transmission: Alex Wen

In the December 9, 2014 edition of The Daily Illini, the article “Academic Senate debates statutes, state pensions, awards honorary degrees” stated that the recommendations to University Statues were postponed. The article should have stated that two recommendations for amendments were made during the meeting. The Daily Illini regrets the error.In the Dec. 10, 2014, edition of The Daily Illini, the article, “App benefi ts social media users,” referred to YuVue’s chief information offi cer as Tracy Kirch. Her name is Taylor Kirch. Additionally, Robin Rutledge, digital media entrepreneur, was not included in the list of the founding members of YuVue. The Daily Illini regrets the errors.When we make a mistake, we will correct it in this place. We strive for accuracy, so if you see an error in the paper, please contact Editor-in-Chief Johnathan Hettinger at (217) 337-8365.

CORRECTIONS

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Page 3: The Daily Illini: Volume 144 Issue 59

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM Thursday, December 11, 2014 3A

WOULD LIKE TOCONGRATULATEOUR DECEMBER 2014

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7.1

BY ERIC FRIESSTAFF WRITER

A new study hopes to aid farmers in the production of bioenergy crops. The study, led by atmospheric scienc-es professor Atul Jain, mod-els the yield and stability of three different bioener-gy crops over various geo-graphic regions.

These crops could be used as alternatives to corn for the production of ethanol.

This is the first study of this type that has been con-ducted on such a large scale and included data about the stability of the crops, Jain said. The model can assure farmers that growing bio-energy crops will produce a good, long-term return on their investment and can also help decide what crops are best suited to their land.

Jain and his team are cur-rently working to make the results of the study available to farmers and the public.

Data was collected and compiled by Yang Song, Ph.D student in LAS, under

the guidance of Jain. The model includes data collect-ed between 2001 and 2012 at more than 75 sites across the U.S. Three different spe-cies of grasses were studied: miscanthus, and two differ-ent cultivars of switchgrass, Jain said.

“We need to understand the relationship between the environmental condi-tions and the growth of those grasses — how the different environmental factors will control it,” Song said. “That is the most important part of this research.”

The data, collected at smaller-scale research plots, was used to create a model that can estimate and pre-dict the yield and stability of the crops at other loca-tions and on a larger com-mercial scale.

“The major issue is that we cannot grow these crops everywhere. There are cer-tain environmental con-ditions that favor them to grow in certain parts of the world,” Jain said. “And

these are not really well-established crops at this time. Although we can get high yields from these crops, there are certain issues.”

Jain believes it’s impor-tant to shift ethanol pro-duction away from corn to alternatives such as these grasses because of envi-ronmental and food supply problems associated with corn.

One problem with using corn to produce ethanol is that there is less corn that can be used for food, which can cause a shortage and raise food prices.

“There is a competition between the food vs. the energy,” Jain said.

In addition, the growth of corn for ethanol has environ-mental repercussions.

Corn growth requires a lot of nitrogen fertilizer, which has resulted in nitro-gen leeching and pollution of the soil and water, Song said.

The grasses included in the model would minimize these effects if used instead

of corn. “The best thing about

those grasses is that they don’t invest a lot of the nitro-gen because they can recy-cle their nitrogen by them-selves,” Song said.

Growth of these grass-es could help cut down the nitrogen leeching and reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, she said.

Jain said in areas where solar and wind energy are less available or more cost-ly to generate, bioenergy crops are often more ben-eficial. They are especially important in areas such as the Midwest, he said.

“I think we have plenty of land here, and the land is quite fertile,” Jain said. “I believe that if we can use part of this land to grow energy crops, perhaps it could be beneficial not only to the farmers, but also to the users.”

Eric can be reached at [email protected].

UI study could help farmers

BY JESSICA RAMOSSTAFF WRITER

The Marching Illini will be joining the Illini football team as they head to Texas for the Zaxby’s Heart of Dal-las Bowl over winter break.

The bowl will take place on Dec. 26, and the team will face Louisiana Tech. Barry Houser, director of the Marching Illini and Ath-letic Bands, said most of the band, with the exception of those with holiday commit-ments, will be in attendance. The band will leave for Texas on buses on Dec. 23.

The last bowl attended by the Marching Illini was the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco in 2011. Due to transportation costs, Houser said only a portion of the band was able to attend.

“Everything that we do is supported by the division of intercollegiate athletics,”

he said. “They look at what they’re able to do financially based on the bowl payout. A lot of it has to do with loca-tion, the length of stay, when its taking place, mode of transportation as well.”

The entire band will attend the bowl game in Dallas.

The band will do a 5-min-ute pregame performance at the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl and a 6-minute halftime performance. The Louisiana Tech Marching Band will also be in attendance.

The band will return to Champaign on Dec. 27.

“We’re just extremely supportive and appreciative to Mike Thomas, to Coach (Tim) Beckman and the rest of the folks in DIA (Division of Intercollegiate Athletics) for allowing us to go.”

Jessica can be reached at [email protected].

Marching Illini heads to Dallas

BY ABIGALE SVOBODA STAFF WRITER

An email regarding account security claiming to be from the “University of Illinois Email Team” was sent to students and faculty Monday and Tuesday. Brian Mertz, CITES spokesman, said the email reached about 500 people before the depart-ment was able to block it.

The email, which was sent from “[email protected],” is an address that Mertz said is just a spoof. He said it is easy for hackers to make it appear that phishing emails are coming from a different address than they are actu-ally sent from.

Mertz said CITES has been able to completely block the link on the Illinois network, a new development in their security technology.

Because CITES was able to block the email and the enclosed link so quickly, they

did not believe it warranted a mass email, Mertz said. How-ever, CITES did post about the attack on social media, as well as on their site called “The Phishing Hole.”

Students and faculty can visit The Phishing Hole to see a full list of University spe-cific attacks being handled by CITES. Mertz said students and faculty do not need to be concerned about this particu-lar email anymore but added that email users are always at risk of being targeted for these attacks.

“(Phishing emails) are something that people have to live with, there’s no fool-proof system, so we just want people to get good at identify-ing these emails,” Mertz said.

Students who have already been targeted can call CITES for more assistance.

Abigale can be reached at [email protected].

CITES blocks fake alert email with new security technology

NEWS BRIEFSTRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

East Los Angeles gang members arrested by federal agents in attempt to weaken gang

Chinese environmentalists release list of companies exceeding emissions standards

A!er report, United Nations says U.S. must be held accountable for torture

LOS ANGELES — Twen-ty five members of an East Los Angeles street gang were arrested and five more were being tracked as fugi-tives as hundreds of agents swarmed the city’s Eastside on Wednesday in an oper-ation authorities said was aimed at weakening a gang that has been rooted in the community for decades, authorities said.

Authorities said the gang has been active in the Boyle Heights neighborhood for 50 years and described the raid as a “day of accountability.”

Federal prosecutors announced a sweeping indictment Wednesday morning against the Big Hazard street gang, which they said has “deep ties” to the Mexican Mafia prison gang.

BEIJING — Environmen-tal groups in China issued a report Tuesday detail-ing more than 1,000 compa-nies that they say regularly exceed emissions standards, an attempt to “name and shame” Chinese industries that contribute to the coun-try’s notorious air pollution.

Some of the industries “are in repeated violation of dis-charge standards and so have become a serious source of

risk,” according to the report, which was released by the nonprofit Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs and two other nongovernmen-tal organizations.

Alleged violators include highly profitable publicly traded companies in China, including Kingboard Chemi-cal Holdings Ltd., Aluminum Corp. of China and SinoChem Cokechem Co., a subsidiary of SinoChem International.

GENEVA — One day after the release of a damning Sen-ate report on the CIA’s deten-tion and interrogation pro-gram, the United Nation’s top human rights official said Wednesday a key treaty the United States has signed requires that officials be held accountable for torture.

“The Convention Against Torture is crystal clear,” says Zeid Raad al Hussein, the U.N.’s high commissioner for human rights. “It says — and I quote — ‘No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a

threat of war, internal politi-cal instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.’”

The convention, he said, “lets no one off the hook — neither the torturers them-selves, nor the policymakers, nor the public officials who define the policy or give the orders.”

The rights chief made his remarks on the 30th anniver-sary of the adoption of the 1984 convention, which the United States and 155 other countries have signed.

where people can report vio-lations of the policy.

Romano described the University’s enforcement of the ban as an educational, soft enforcement. The Uni-versity has not issued tick-ets for smoking on campus and has no plan to issue tick-ets in the future.

According to the Uni-versity smoke-free web-site, smoking is defined as lighting or burning of any type of substance that con-tains tobacco or lighting of burning non-tobacco plants or marijuana. This ban also includes electron-ic cigarettes.

“I think that perhaps stu-dents won’t start smoking,” Romano said. “Young peo-ple tend to start smoking and becoming addicted at this age, if they don’t start it leads to a healthier campus.”

McAllister said he has tried to quit smoking at home through the use of patches, which he receives from his mom’s health care plan.

“They said in the rules that they are going to offer anti-smoking treatments. They do at McKinley, but it costs money,” McAllister said. “The University should give out free patches or gum

because if they really want people to quit smoking hab-its on campus, that’s what you have to offer.”

McKinley Health Cen-ter offers programs to help students stop smoking, but it comes at a cost. Zyban, a drug to help quit smoking, costs $5 per month, a box of nicotine gum costs $25 and nicotine patches cost $15 per week. The center also offers three programs that include options for free counseling sessions or paid treatment.

Beth Frasca, health edu-cator at McKinley, works with individuals that come in for help quitting. Frasca said patients can talk to a nurse practitioner or a phy-sician to determine if coun-seling, tobacco cessation aid or medicine is necessary.

In addition, McKinley offers group or one-on-one counseling to determine if individuals are ready to quit smoking or to offer the nec-essary resources to quit.

“The goal of the smoke-free campus policy is to cre-ate a healthier environment and protect everyone on campus from second-hand smoke, since studies have shown there is no safe level of exposure, even outdoors.” Sommer said.

Elyssa can be reached at eskaufm2 @dailyillini.com.

bar unclaimed.Nathan Scott, Fire-

haus employee and senior in Media, said the small items that are left behind are stored in a box. Larg-er items, such as coats and jackets, are stored in the basement until the owner comes to claim it.

Other bars such as KAM’S, Murphy’s Pub and Legends Bar & Grill use a similar approach as Firehaus.

Crowdfind currently has plans to negotiate with oth-

er Champaign-Urbana busi-nesses to use its virtual plat-form, Friedl said.

“We are currently in nego-tiations with Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit along with introductory talks with the University of Illi-nois Athletic Department,” Friedl said. “Joe’s Brewery is currently on a trial basis, and we are looking to cover Champaign in a Crowdfind blanket to help set up a uni-form process to find your lost items.”

Edwin can be reached at [email protected].

a victory for Illinois public sector workers across the state.

Ricky Baldwin, assis-tant director of the Service Employees International Union Downstate Division, expressed his satisfaction with Belz’s decision to strike down SB 1.

“The short answer is ‘we told you so,’ ” Baldwin said. “The unions said it was unconstitutional from the beginning, we told every-body who would listen that it was unconstitution-al, and lo and behold, it’s unconstitutional.”

Baldwin said while the pension system is in dire need of reform, the legisla-tors themselves are to blame for its role in Illinois’ climb-ing debt, not the beneficia-ries who have already made their pension payments.

“The state can’t pay its bills, and the pension is one of them,” Baldwin said. “But the only reason it became a huge problem for the pension is because it’s constitution-ally required to pay that bill, with interest, if they (legisla-tors) don’t make a payment.”

However, SB 1 is far from a dead bill. Illinois law mandates that the Illinois Supreme Court reviews all district court rulings that strike down an Illinois stat-

ute. Colombo said that while he believes the Court will likely uphold Belz’s deci-sion, the nature of their rul-ing could have major impli-cations for future pension reform legislation.

“The Illinois Supreme Court is going to uphold Judge Belz’s opinion,” said Colombo. “I think the only real question is, how will they do that?”

Colombo said the length of the Court’s opinion is key. The justices could either issue a summary opinion in which they sim-ply express their agreement with Belz, or they could take the appeal, put it on an expe-dited schedule with the first hearings as early as January and hear oral arguments in March.

The Court could also potentially issue an advisory opinion, in which they would outline how pension reform could be achieved constitu-tionally, but Colombo said that this is unlikely.

“Courts, particularly supreme courts, don’t get involved in what we call advisory opinions; they gen-erally just decide the issue that’s in front of them is, ‘Is this law constitutional?’” Colombo said. “Given the state’s arguments, I could see this being a two-page opinion.”

Josh can be reached at [email protected].

a 10 to 11 percent proper-ty tax increase to cover the loss, as 86 percent of Car-le’s tax-exempt property is in Urbana.

During the meeting, Alderman Eric Jakobsson, Ward 2, stated that he does not believe the agreement between Carle and the Col-lege of Engineering’s pro-posed medical school is rel-evant to the situation.

Jakobsson recommend-ed the city council should just organize and host the public discussion on its own, regardless of wheth-er the University wants to participate.

The resolution also states that part of the University’s land grant mission requires the institution to study, understand and promote good public policy.

Alderman Michael Madi-gan, Ward 6, said he does not have a fair discussion of the situation, but he said he did think that the reso-lution pushes toward one conclusion.

“If we’re going to do something like this as a city government we ought to be inviting everyone to the table to have a fair impact on the discussion,” Madi-gan said.

Abigale can be reached at [email protected].

BANFROM 1A

JOE’SFROM 1A

CARLEFROM 1A

PENSIONSFROM 1A

STUART LEAVENWORTH TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICEHeavy pollution hangs over Beijing, China, on Tuesday.

MELISSA MCCABE THE DAILY ILLINIThe Marching Illini will travel by bus to Dallas to perform at the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl.

Page 4: The Daily Illini: Volume 144 Issue 59

W inter break is a great time to relax after the stress of finals, pro-

viding a way to get your mind off of school.

During the semester, there is not as much time as we would like to pursue our own personal endeavors, and while it is important to rest during break and let your mind recover after a long semester, it is also important to utilize this time to devel-op skills that could further your career. Many classes we take during our undergradu-ate careers are spent learn-ing the theory behind certain concepts, and often times hands-on experience must be done on our own time, outside of classes and school.

During break, many of us spend time with our families and friends at home, but it is wise to allocate our time just as we do at school to maxi-mize productivity. Winter break is the perfect oppor-tunity to flesh out certain projects because we are able to give our full attention to them.

Try making a schedule of things that you want to accomplish during the day, such as working on personal assignments and practicing professional skills.

According to an article in Forbes, the top four skills that employers look for in potential employees are criti-cal thinking, complex prob-lem solving, judgment and decision-making, and active listening.

I believe that these quali-ties are significantly devel-oped in school. For instance, students learn to decide how to manage their time effec-tively, and exams call for students to think criti-cally about what they have learned in class to solve complex problems.

These “soft” skills, which are abilities that are more gen-eral and asso-ciated with aspects like work ethic and communica-tion, are undoubtedly essen-tial for working profession-als, but the technical skills that you can acquire in your free time make you more ver-satile and can tip the balance when you are applying for jobs, hence why winter break is the perfect time to work on some of these projects.

For someone like me who is in electrical and comput-er engineering, a common technical skill that employers look for in employees is com-

puter programming. Com-mon forms of programming include website and mobile application development.

You don’t need a degree in computer science to be able to program, and in fact, you could learn to make your first website over break. It prob-ably won’t be the most visu-ally appealing site, but one can easily learn the basics of web development in a month

with the vast amount of resourc-es that are available for free on the Internet.

Learn-ing to make websites is very use-ful for those interested in marketing a product or promoting an organization. Programming

is a desirable skill because it can allow you to perform otherwise tedious tasks at work, such as calculating sales quickly, and it can help you to widely advertise your company.

Aside from learning a tech-nical skill this break, also take time to work on proj-ects such as polishing your resume. Work on an elevator pitch — a minute long speech that summarizes your profes-sion and skills.

The University stresses the

importance of being able to market one’s self when look-ing for a job, through events such as career fairs, so developing your professional image is crucial to increas-ing your desirability as an employee. Employers want to hire people who look profes-sional and have the appropri-ate qualifications.

It takes time to learn some-thing new such as comput-er programming, for exam-ple, but investing the time into developing a skill dur-ing break may give you the initial energy you need to continue practicing it daily. I think it is easier to keep practicing something once you have some experience as opposed to when you are just starting out.

You may even find that you have discovered a new passion. When returning to school in January, you might find that you no longer have as much time to practice your new skill or work on your personal projects, but since you have already taken the steps to start working on something new, you are much better off than you were before.

Take time to have fun dur-ing break, but remember productivity is also neces-sary during this month of freedom.

Luke is a freshman in Engineering. He can be reached at [email protected].

OPINIONS4ATHURSDAY

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS | [email protected] with the subject “Letter to the Editor.” The Daily Illini reserves the right to edit for length, libel, grammar and spelling errors, and Daily Illini style or to reject any contributions. Letters must be limited to 300 words. Contributions must be typed and include the author’s name, address and phone number. University students must include their year in school and college.

THE DAILY ILLINI

EDITORIAL

Thinking back to fresh-man year on campus, many things may come to

mind. Whether it is memories of hopping on the wrong 22 Illini bus, sporting our new, fancy lanyard on campus or showing up to the wrong building for a final exam, freshman year is nothing short of an experience.

However, I would be will-ing to bet one class sits in the memory of all liberal arts and sciences students on this campus: LAS 101 Freshman Seminar.

Over the past two years, I have had the honor and priv-ilege of being able to call myself a teaching assistant for a unique class the College of LAS has to offer. I have taught anywhere from eight to 23 students how to navi-gate this new chapter in their life, introducing them to a variety of topics and campus resources.

Teaching students basic aspects of college life and hammering in life skills is one of the most benefi-cial things the University can do. Introductory cours-es in the University’s differ-ent colleges are a great way for these things to be accom-plished during this transition

process.Last Wednesday marked

my final class as an LAS 101 TA during my college career and it did not come without much nostalgia.

Like any teacher would argue, you become attached to your students and see-ing them grow is the most rewarding thing someone can experience. The difference between students when they enter LAS 101 and when they exit is substantial. This is why I argue this class, and the topics covered, is essential and should stay mandated for all LAS fresh-men. The same goes for the oth-er introduc-tory courses offered in every college.

I will never forget my first day teaching my classes both last year and this year. As my students walked into my classroom with their heads down and cell phones out, I was filled with anxiety and fear of the unexpected.

If I had a nickel every time I heard “why do I have to take this stupid one-credit class?” I could pay my stu-dent loans.

One major change I noticed

between my students when they entered my class and when they exited was their understanding of the lev-el of responsibility college requires.

To be successful in college, students need to be responsi-ble enough to turn in assign-ments, seek help when need-ed and study for exams.

We all claim that high school is very different than

college. The first few assignments my students handed in for LAS 101 were met with much grade grubbing. My students did not like the no late work pol-icy, and they were unhappy with the grad-ing proce-dures, which they made

known.The first time they had a

writing assignment, I was less than pleased with the subpar responses they yield-ed. However, at the end of the semester when I was grad-ing their next writing assign-ment, I could see the growth they had made.

I would argue that their first semester of college served as the wake-up call my students needed to make the improvements necessary

to succeed. This is because LAS 101 teaches freshmen about a variety of topics including resume develop-ment, DARS reports, reg-istering for classes, study abroad, critical reading and so much more.

Every aspect of LAS 101 is beneficial if students decide to get something out of it. As I continued to teach my stu-dents throughout this semes-ter, it was awesome to see the personal growth they were experiencing.

When I look back on my college years, I know that my time teaching LAS 101 will be one of the parts I think of most. Being able to have an impact on the future of Uni-versity students has been extremely rewarding and something I will never forget.

My advice to incoming freshmen when they pre-pare to take LAS 101 or oth-er introductory freshman courses would be to take the class very seriously. The introductory course your col-lege offers will teach you necessary lessons for col-lege success. But, having a bad attitude and not taking it seriously will result in a neg-ative experience.

However, for those who let it, LAS 101 will help change you into a responsible college adult.

Rebecca is a senior in LAS. She can be reached at [email protected].

Boldly go into your !nal frontier

T he final stretch is here, and it’s a race to the finish line. Winter break lies a tantalizing

nine days away, and final ex-ams are the last hurdle. The flash cards come out, trips to Starbucks become more frequent, and regret arises from sleeping through our 8 a.m. classes every week.

Along with this time of the semester comes the on-slaught of inevitable stress. Many students may put their physical and mental health aside and become anxiety-ridden from all their tests and assignments. As such, it is important to note that counselors are available to meet with stu-dents and provide their ser-vices through the Counsel-ing Center. To schedule an appointment, students can call (217) 333-3704 to get in contact with a counselor.

Unfortunately, there is no perfect, proven plan for tackling exams, but we have a few tips on how to have a successful fi-nals week to keep students’ stress and sanity in tact.

1. One of the best ways to keep your mind healthy and retain information is to diversify your study loca-tions. The Courtyard Café at the Illini Union is an Il-lini favorite as well as the numerous coffee shops within walking distanc-es on campus. The library is another alternative to the dorm room or apart-ment. But forewarning to the aforementioned study venues, these locations also serve as prime people-watching locations, so avoid if you are prone to easy dis-tractions.

At both the Undergradu-ate Library and Grainger, they have study rooms for group or individual study sessions equipped with space for up to eight peo-ple. Sign up for rooms ei-ther on the upper or lower levels of the UGL, depend-ing on if you prefer a quiet-er environment.

2. When focus becomes impossible, the best ap-proach is to take a break. It may seem like a waste of time, but when you’re rereading the same para-graph over and over for half an hour, it pays to re-boot your system. It doesn’t have to be more than ten minutes, but giving your brain a rest allows you to come back to your study material more refreshed.

3. Sleep schedules be-come a thing of the past when finals roll around, but don’t underestimate the power of a full night’s sleep. Sleep deprivation can be linked to cognitive is-sues such as memory loss, which as you can guess is probably why you couldn’t remember that math equa-tion for last week’s test.

Losing sleep can have very negative impacts on students’ abilities to per-form well on exams. If sleep is out of the question, even a twenty minute pow-er nap before your final can help to refresh your mind.

Though seemingly simple and straight-forward, these tips are a great place to start for students anxiously anticipating the start of fi-nals week. But, fortunately, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel as winter break quickly approaches. Good luck on exams, fellow Illini!

LUKE VEST

Opinions columnist

REBECCA KAPOLNEK

Opinions columnist

Introductory courses crucial for college success

EDITORIAL CARTOON JOHN COLE SCRANTON TIMES/TRIBUNE

The introductory course your college

offers will teach you necessary

lessons for college success.

Gain bankable skills over winter break

I think it is easier to keep practicing something once you have some

experience. ...You may even find a

new passion.

Page 5: The Daily Illini: Volume 144 Issue 59

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM Thursday, December 11, 2014 #ATHE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM Thursday, December 11, 2014 5A

EDUMACATION JOHNIVAN DARBY

BEARDO DAN DOUGHERTY

DOONESBURY GARRY TRUDEAU

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16

17 18

19 20 21

22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

32 33 34 35

36 37 38 39

40 41 42 43

44 45 46 47

48 49

50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57

58 59 60

61 62

63 64

DOWN 1 Leveler 2 Many a state lottery game 3 Mythical Greek who slew

Castor 4 Impersonated 5 “Just a mo!” 6 Hoopster Jeremy 7 European city of 500,000+

whose name translates as “to eat”

8 Result (from) 9 Snake’s place, in part10 Party game11 Beneficiary of the 37-Across,

in modern times12 “Just a moment!”13 Captain’s direction14 Filmdom’s Napoleon

Dynamite, for one21 “You can count on me”23 Flightless bird25 Setting for much of

“Inglourious Basterds”26 Schedule listing27 October War leader

28 Bad feelings?29 Last name of three

Indianapolis 500 winners30 Bad looks31 Copy editor’s concern34 Bear on a field37 Product of organic decay38 Pending, as a legal decree41 Loser on account of the

37-Across43 Deal45 Sort47 Eye49 Blue eyes, e.g.50 Hair gel, e.g.51 Language from which

“cummerbund” comes52 Tots53 Bone: Prefix55 First name in space56 What cabalists do57 One of eight for Stephen

Sondheim60 Vein filler

MATT GINSBERG

The crossword solution is in the Classified section.

ACROSS 1 Winter plantings? 9 First name in “Star Wars”15 One who’s just out for a

good time16 Junk shop transaction17 So to speak18 More

Serling-esque19 Leader of a noted

37-Across20Left for good22 “Nebraska” star, 201324 Turn blue?25 Feast of unleavened bread28 Southernmost U.S. capital32 Gardner namesakes33 Nonmusical Abba35 Diamond complements36 —37 See 19- and 54-Across and

11- and 41-Down39 —40Not perfectly

put42 Subject of a onetime

Nepali hunting license [true fact!]

43 Belated observation of 4/14/12

44Home of Charlotte Amalie46Like the people of Siberia48Unanimously, after “to”49 Stadium projection,

maybe50Co-signer, say54 Location of the 37-Across58 Priestify59 2014 World Cup host61 Strange bird62 Spare item?63 Airplane with the

propeller at the back64“As if you could kill time

without injuring ___”: Thoreau, “Walden”

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

Introduction to US Armed ForcesMILS 120/NS 120/AFAS 120MWF 2-2:50, Armory 143

This course surveys the four major branches of the United States Military and their historical development into “Professions of Arms”. Topics include historical surveys of each branch highlighting key historical developments, organization, structure and customs. Other topics include a discussion of the United States National Command Authority, United States Joint Military Operations and structure, the relationship between the United States military and its civilian constituency, and a survey of emerging issues.

U of I faculty who are also offi cers in each branch of the Military serve as instructors. In this inaugural instance of this course, the Department of Air Force and Aerospace Studies is lead department.

Questions? Contact us at 217.333.1927

NEW COURSE - Spring 2015

BY MADDIE GALASSISTAFF WRITER

This holiday season, providing family and friends with gifts doesn’t need to mean breaking the bank. With mason jars and other easily accessible items, these DIY gifts are both thoughtful and simple.

Easy holiday gifts with heart

BY TAYLOR LUCEROSTAFF WRITER

Students who have gotten into unhealthy eating habits can get the facts on their diet and how it affects their per-formance, specifically dur-ing finals week. The Center for Academic Resources in Engineering held a discus-sion event, “Ten Minute Talks,” on Wednesday night giving an overview of the important information right before finals.

The most recent Ten Min-ute Talk, “Feeding to Fuel your Brain for Finals” was held in the CARE-Group Study Room 404 at Grainger from 5 to 7 p.m.

McKinley Health Educa-tor in Nutrition Kelsi Evans spoke at the Ten Minute Talk. Evans said that the talks are a casual, question-and-answer format, where students can ask questions about the topic or discuss other topics, like McKinley services.

CARE Program Coordi-nator Dana Tempel said that CARE’s mission is to give students personal and pro-fessional support along with academic support. To do this, she said CARE often works with campus experts, like those at McKinley.

“The idea behind a Ten Minute Talk is, depending on what the topic is, McKinley sends over a health educator who specializes in whatever the topic is they’re covering, and the idea is for students to just take a ten-minute study break and come and gather information or ask any ques-tions that they might have,” Tempel said.

There have been five pre-vious Ten Minute Talks ses-sions during the fall semes-ter, including “Stress Less,” “Building Productive Rela-tionships” and “General Health & Wellness.”

Previous Ten Minute Talks also focus around healthy living. In a Ten Minute Talk last November, “Sit & Be Fit,” Tempel said the discussion focused on how students can engage in physical activity despite sitting for the time they do school work.

Tempel said activities like Ten Minute Talks are impact-ful for students.

“This really shows how important it is for the colleg-es and all the different units on campus to really work together to make sure we’re serving our students in every way possible,” Tempel said.

Tempel said that students

should know why eating right and taking care of oneself is important while working on finals.

“Obviously, we’re in a mode of trying to make sure our students know how to study the right way without skip-ping meals,” Tempel said.

To keep these discussions easily accessible to students, those speaking on the topics go to the students, instead of holding the discussions at McKinley, Evans said.

“And it’s not really a huge inconvenience for us, and as long as we’re reaching the students that need some assistance, we find it benefi-cial for both parties.”

Students are curious about healthy eating, according to Evans.

“Sometimes it’s just a lot of dispelling myths type of thing,” Evans said. “They’ll come in thinking that ‘Oh, I should be at my teenager weight’ and sometimes it’s a lot of education about what’s considered being healthy as an adult, and not expecting to look the same way that they may have looked a few years ago, for a freshman.”

Taylor can be reached at [email protected].

Students learn health tips

Hot chocolate mixPut the following items in a mason jar:• 1 cup powdered milk• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder• 1 cup granulated sugar• 1/2 teaspoon salt• 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips• 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy (optional)Pay close attention to the size of the container so that the ratio of ingredients is con-

stant. Include a little tag with the jar that lets the recipient know to mix the contents in a bowl and place a third of the mix in a mug. Then add boiling water and stir. The remaining mix should be stored in an airtight container.

COURTESY OF MYRECIPES.COM

Mason jar lantern

For this gift, simply paint the mason jar with acrylic paint of any color or design and include a tea-light. The jar may also be used for other things, such as holding pencils, makeup brushes and more.

Snowman in a jar

Fill a mason jar with white chocolate cov-ered pretzels and attach black buttons in a row down the front of the jar for a tasty snowman treat.

Manicure in a jar

For a fun, girly gift, include the items necessary for a manicure in a jar:

• Nail polish • Travel-sized nail polish remover• Cotton balls• Nail file

Peppermint bath salt

Mix the following ingredients in a bowl:• 2 cups Epsom salt• 4 drops peppermint essential oil• 4 drops green (or red) food coloringPour the mixture into a mason jar for fes-

tive peppermint-scented bath salt.

Maddie can be reached at mgalass2 @dailyillini.com.

Page 6: The Daily Illini: Volume 144 Issue 59

6A | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2014 | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

LIFE CULTURE

Stop browsing the Web for gift ideas and read thisMake cute and inexpensive holiday gifts using Mason jars.Find out more on Page 5A.

Merry Christmas! Religious ServicesReligious Services

University Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod

604 E. Chalmers | 344-1558

Divine ServicesSu n d ay 10 : 3 0 a m

A C o n g re g a t i o n o f S t u d e n t s i n t h e H e a r t o f C a m p u s L i f e

BY ANNABETH CARLSONSTAFF WRITER

or Rich Barnett, the annual open-ing of Candlestick Lane means it is time to dress as Frosty the Snowman.

For Kim Harden , it means deco-rating her yard with the help of her children.

And for Kipp Bates , it means see-ing his three-year-old son’s excitement when Grant Place is brightly illuminat-ed by strings of colorful hues.

While Candlestick Lane means something different to each of its sur-rounding residents, they all agree it is a tradition they look forward to every year.

Candlestick Lane is a Christmas light display located on Grant Place, a street in Urbana . Since 1963, the

residents of Grant Place have decorated their houses with lights for the community to enjoy throughout the

Christmas season. According to Hard-en, Candlestick Lane will kick off its 54th year at the opening ceremony Sat-urday at 6 p.m.

Each year, the streets are closed to cars, and the lighting marshal and torch bearers hold the opening ceremony.

Bates will take over this year for the fi rst time as lighting marshal. He said his job is to start at the north end of the street and stop at the south end, lead-ing children who touch lights at each house. When the children touch a light, it signifi es to the homeowners that it is time to turn on their lights.

Bates said this year is his second Christmas living on Candlestick Lane with his wife and son.

He said his favorite part of Candle-stick Lane is the spirit of Christmas it spreads as well as the history of the tradition.

“We are extremely honored to be on

this prestigious street,” Bates said.Bates also said that having a three-

year-old makes it even more special. Barnett, on the other hand, has lived

on the street for 38 years and has dressed as Frosty the Snowman for the lighting ceremony almost every year.

“It’s something different on the lane, and it’s fun to see the kids this time of year,” Barnett said. “They have so much anticipation and excitement.”

Some of Barnett’s favorite memories include when the residents put batter-ies in the candles to save power in an energy crisis and meeting people from other parts of the country who come to see the lights.

He also recalls one year in the early 1980s when Candlestick Lane was van-dalized and all of the neighbors came to together to fi x it.

“As you get older, it gets tougher but it makes you appreciate (Candlestick Lane) even more,” he said.

The same goes for Harden, who is 52. She said she almost did not move to the street eight years ago because she was worried she could not set up all the decorations by herself; howev-er, with the help of her children and

their friends, they are able to get all the lights up in two eight-hour days, she said.

Harden’s experience on Candle-stick Lane far extends the time she has lived on the street. She grew up in Tolono, Ill., and remembers that her dad brought her to see the lights every Christmas as a child.

“It is quite a spectacle to see it all happen ... just marveling at the beauty and the work that goes into it,” Hard-en said.

Harden said people should attend because it is something to pay trib-ute to.

“Other areas of C-U have fancier lights but this is tradition ... and the pulling together of a neighborhood,” she said.

Annabeth can be reached at [email protected].

The most festive street in Urbana

BY ISABELLA JACKSONSTAFF WRITER

With fi nal exams quickly approaching, the stress lev-els on campus are quickly ris-ing. However, before wallow-ing in self-pity and a growing pile of class notes, students should look for healthy ways to deal with their stress.

This can be as simple as taking a short break from studying or homework to work out. According to stud-ies done by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America , exercise can be used to reduce fatigue, increase alertness and con-centration, and improve cog-nitive function. The endor-phins released through exercise can improve sleep and lift one’s mood, too. Run-ning, walking and yoga are the most common methods of exercise to reduce stress, but many other options are offered on campus.

Lisa Kinderman, a clini-cal counselor and the chair of the Integrative Health and Wellness Treatment Team at the Counseling Center, said that she discusses exercise as a stress-management tech-nique because of the way it affects people’s bodies and the chemicals in their brains. She said the “runner’s high,” or endorphins released dur-ing a workout, can lead to a sense of well-being after the workout. In some clini-cal studies, exercise has been shown to be as effec-tive as some antidepressant medications .

“If (students) aren’t feel-

ing great when they go into the ARC, when they leave, they typically feel different. They generally feel better,” she said.

For students who purchase a Group Fitness Pass through Campus Recreation facilities, there are a variety of class-es offered every day at both the ARC and CRCE, includ-ing yoga, cycling, zumba and water workouts.

Melissa Wagner, sopho-more in LAS, likes to attend a spin class at the ARC. She attended group fi tness class-es in her hometown and was happy to continue taking them on campus. She said that the structure of the class is helpful to her.

“I won’t sit on a bike for 40 minutes if I go by myself, or when I get tired, I’ll make it easier,” Wagner said. “With the classes, (the workout) is all structured for you, and the instructors will help you adjust the bike if you are a beginner. The group atmo-sphere helps motivate you to keep going.”

Wagner said that class-es can be small, with only three or four people typical-ly on weekdays, while classes on Friday nights or Sunday afternoons may be fi lled up.

“It helps to have a time on the schedule that I can’t move around, so I can base my schedule around that,” she said. “I treat it like a sched-uled meeting.”

When she has a bad day, Wagner said that exercise helps her feel better.

“It gets me focused on

something else. Instead of being in my own head or focusing on what’s going wrong, I focus on my body, my breathing, how I’m respond-ing to the exercise,” she said. “The release of endorphins is really nice. When I’m walk-ing back, I can refocus on the task.”

For students intimidat-ed by the thought of a large class or who would prefer to get one-on-one attention, per-sonal trainers at the ARC can be utilized for their knowl-edge of exercise techniques.

Lamija Rahmanovic, soph-omore in AHS, works with her trainer, Suzi Walthall, and acknowledges that work-ing out regularly is one of the best ways to combat stress.

“It allows me to channel my energy into something productive,” Rahmanovic said in an email. “If I feel anger, I can use exercise to release that anger, and I feel

better afterwards.”Exercise can be extreme-

ly benefi cial when used as a study break. Kinderman said that the brain is only equipped for around 45 min-utes of intense, productive studying.

“When our brains get tired, it will manifest for us physi-cally,” Kinderman said.

The Women’s Resource Center also provides free fi t-ness classes for women-iden-tifying students in the Wom-en on the Move series. On Tuesday nights, the class is Belly Fit, and on Thursdays, the class is Yoga for Healing. Both classes run from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Rachel Storm, the assistant director of the cen-ter, is in charge of the plan-ning and development of many of the programs.

Storm said that the yoga class taught at the Women’s Resource Center has part-nered with Amara Yoga ,

a studio in Urbana that requires its instructors-in-training to volunteer as yoga teachers for local groups.

“We were able to develop this yoga practice that is a gentle-fl ow yoga that real-ly centers people’s emotion-al and spiritual experiences and allows a healing space,” Storm said.

The program is benefi cial to both people who are recov-ering from a trauma, such as a sexual assault, and those who want the peaceful feel-ing brought on by doing yoga.

For students who are not comfortable or who have not had much experience doing yoga, Storm said that the instructors receive training in how to teach fi tness while keeping in mind body size diversity and trauma survi-vors who may not be comfort-able being touched.

“We also work to make sure that the class is acces-

sible for those people who are pregnant, people who are of size and people who have a disability,” she said. “The trainers are encouraged to always give alternatives as standard practice.”

Classes are open to all women-identifying students, and no prior knowledge is needed. The Women’s Center encourages people to dress comfortably, but provides all other materials, includ-ing yoga mats, hip scarves and zills, the fi nger cymbals used in belly dancing.

Storm said that the Wom-en on the Move nights work alongside the body image programing at the center to encourage a “Health at Every Size” mentality.

“We believe that fi tness can be for everyone,” she said.

Isabella can be reached at [email protected].

Students encouraged to schedule in exercise to ease fi nals stress

Residents come together to open Candlestick Lane

ISABELLA JACKSON THE DAILY ILLINI Meghan Drew, freshman in Engineering, demonstrates various yoga poses.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION FOLAKE OSIBODU

Page 7: The Daily Illini: Volume 144 Issue 59

SPORTS1BTHURSDAY

BY NICHOLAS FORTINSTAFF WRITER

Four blue banners hang from the rafters in Huff Hall for the Illinois vol-leyball team.

The banners commem-orate the team’s accom-plishments: One banner lists Illinois’ Big Ten Con-ference Championships. The next two banners hon-or the team’s back-to-back Final Four appearances in 1987 and ’88. The final ban-ner credits the 2011 Illini on their run to the NCAA Championship match.

As this year’s No. 9-seed-ed Illini prepare to play No. 8 Florida in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament this Friday in Ames, Iowa, head coach Kevin Hambly ref-erenced the banners while talking to the media about the team’s goals for each season. Hambly helped hang the final banner after the 2011 season, and

it hangs as a reminder of the magnitude of that team.

While the banners hang to commemorate the team’s past greatness, they’re also there to provide current and future Illini an attain-able goal.

“We’re supposed to be beyond this,” Hambly said of the Sweet 16. “(With) all the kids that we’ve recruit-ed, we’ve been talking about making Final Fours, winning national titles, try-ing to put banners up and not just advancing to the tournament. No one is sat-isfied with where we are. There’s more to do.”

While Illinois (26-7, 16-4 Big Ten) feels it should make it beyond this point in the tournament every year, the road to this sea-son’s Elite Eight won’t be easy.

This year, the Illini’s road to the Elite Eight goes through Rhamat Alhas-

san and Florida (27-3, 18-0 SEC).

Alhassan, a freshman middle blocker for the Gators, is one of the best middle blockers the Illi-ni will see all season in a year that included the Illini playing No. 1 Stanford and its 2013 All-American mid-dle blocker Inky Ajanaku.

Not only is Alhassan ath-letic — she can jump and touch 11-feet in the air, something no Illini can do — but Alhassan is also extremely gifted at scoring the ball efficiently. During the regular season, Alhas-san led the nation with a .471 hitting percentage.

“She’s really long and really tall,” Hambly said. “She can hit the ball straight down and over people.”

The Illini have struggled to stop offensively gifted middle blockers, like Aja-naku, this season.

In order to make sure Alhassan doesn’t beat Illi-nois, players in both the back and frontcourt have

been working in practice on reading the body lan-guage of hitters to antici-pate where they are going with the ball.

“It’s just making sure we know their tendencies and

Illinois vs. FloridaWhen: 7 p.m. Saturday in Ames, IowaTV/Radio: ESPN 3/WDWS 1400 AMQuick notes: Illinois will need to slow down freshman middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan and No. 8 Florida if they want to move into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.Hidden stat: Friday’s Sweet 16 appearance will be the Illini’s fifth in Kevin Hambly’s six seasons at the helm for Illinois.

BY CHARLOTTE CARROLLSTAFF WRITER

It will be a competition as usual for the Illinois quarterbacks as they pre-pare for the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl on Dec. 26.

While it was senior Reil-ly O’Toole who stepped up to lead the Illini in its last two wins, head coach Tim Beckman stated that the coaching staff will “encourage those compe-titions” to determine the starter.

While O’Toole didn’t practice last week as the seniors had the time off, both Wes Lunt and Aaron Bailey threw during prac-tices. Beckman said the two rotated between first

and second string receiv-ers as well to keep improv-ing the passing game.

O’Toole finished the sea-son throwing 98-for-167 for 1,049 passing yards, nine touchdowns and sev-en interceptions in 12 games. Lunt went 149-for-233 for 1,729 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions in sev-en games.

With O’Toole in at quar-terback, Illinois has more of a balanced attack. Last game, O’Toole ran for 147 yards and finished the sea-son with 261 rushing yards.

“Reilly’s really picked it up these last two weeks,”

QB uncertain heading into bowl game

BY JOEY FIGUEROASTAFF WRITER

Illinois women’s basket-ball has just two more games before Big Ten play begins, and one of its more pressing concerns may be finding the right rotation of players to come off the bench.

In its 82-72 loss to Seton Hall on Tuesday, the Illinois start-ers accounted for 170 of the 200 total minutes played. Nine-teen of those 30 bench minutes belonged to freshman guard Amarah Coleman, who scored 13 points in her limited time and has already established herself as the sixth player in the rotation. Coleman has embraced her role off the bench early on.

“I know that once I get in the game I’m going to play hard for my team, play defense for my team and help them win,” Coleman said. “So being on the bench has no effect on my play at all.”

Besides Coleman, senior guard Taylor Tuck was the

only nonstarter to play more than one minute at Seton Hall. Tuck pushed her way into the rotation with a solid showing in Illinois’ win over Virginia last week and has averaged about seven points in 13 min-utes over her past three games as the second option off the bench.

Head coach Matt Bollant acknowledged Tuck’s steady play over the past few games, but was not quick to say any players have locked down spots in the rotation just yet.

“(Tuck) played great against Virginia and kind of solidified that for now, but you never know how that might change,” Bollant said. “A cou-ple weeks ago, Taylor wasn’t playing much at all. We’re always looking.”

Coleman is the only non-starter to play in all 10 of Illi-nois’ games this season and is also the only player off the bench to average more than 11 minutes per game. At just over 10 minutes per game, fresh-

man guard Brooke Kissinger is second in bench minutes, but has fallen out of the rota-tion of late due to an extended shooting slump.

In this past weekend’s blow-out victory over Southern Illi-nois, five different Illini played

at least 10 minutes off the bench, which may have been a sort of trial run for Bollant to see who can contribute in the long run. Freshman guard Kennedy Cattenhead filled up

the stat sheet with four points, three rebounds and a steal in just 11 minutes, and sopho-more guard Taylor Gleason grabbed five rebounds in only seven minutes of action, but neither player even stepped on the court in the next game at Seton Hall.

Bollant hasn’t ruled anyone out of the rotation, but hasn’t firmly committed to many oth-ers, either, and is looking for a few more players to become reliable options to provide depth.

“Amarah certainly has sep-arated herself and has played pretty well and pretty con-sistently, and Taylor is sev-en, so we’re kind of looking at who’s going to be eight and nine at this point,” Bollant said. “Those kids need to be on edge and come ready and keep getting better, and we’ll see when they get their shot.”

Joey can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @joeyfigueroa3.

BY NICHOLAS FORTINSTAFF WRITER

Malcolm Hill didn’t lift his gaze from the microphone while he spoke about the best game of his career.

The sophomore forward seemed sad in his postgame interview Tuesday night even after recording a career-high 20 points, because his team-leading point total wasn’t enough to help Illinois in a 73-59 loss to No. 7 Villanova in New York City.

“I played all right,” Hill said. “You could say I had a good game with 20 points, but I feel like I made a lot of mistakes on the defensive, end and I let my team down this game. I got beat off the dribble a little too much.”

Hill finished the night at 50 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent from three to go along with five rebounds and a steal against the Wildcats.

While Hill wasn’t quick to compliment his personal pro-

duction after the loss, senior center Nnanna Egwu seemed to answer a question thrown his way about Hill’s offensive growth as if it was a wanted reprieve before the onslaught of questions about the loss.

“He’s been doing this for a while now,” Egwu said. “He’s still growing but he’s obviously grown a lot since he came in as a freshman.”

Hill’s biggest growth seems to be in his maturity. He looked past his individual accolades and focused on the team after the loss.

“I had a good game, but I don’t put too much into it because we lost,” Hill said. “I’m more disappointed by the loss and focused on how to get better.”

A work in progress

For stretches of games this season, this year’s Illini have looked as complete as any group head coach John Groce

has coached.In other stretches, the Illini

proved they still have a long way to go before they reach their true potential. The last eight minutes of Tuesday’s game proved how far.

While Groce thought the team played its best basketball to open the second half, both he and Hill said the Illini strayed from their typical style of play to end the game.

“We fell out of character,” Hill said. “We lost ourselves. We got a little too selfish on the offensive and defensive end.”

The Illini tied the score at both 38 and 50 points in the sec-ond half but weren’t able take a lead as the Wildcats waited patiently before beginning to pull away as the second half wound down.

To Groce, the reason the team lost momentum down the stretch was because of a lack of cohesion.

“We’re not a team yet,” Groce said. “We got two guys that sat

out all last year, and they’ve played nine games at this point. We have not figured out how to connect some of those dots and stay connected. We’ve got to learn how to stay connected and have that grit. We’re just not there yet.”

Looking aheadThe road for the Illini won’t

get any easier as Illinois heads to Chicago on Saturday to play Oregon at the United Center.

Groce said scheduling tough nonconference competition like Miami, Villnova and Oregon early in the season will hope-fully benefit the Illini later in the year, as the team grows from its mistakes in these loses.

“You get an opportunity to learn a lot about yourself,” Groce said.

Nicholas can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @IlliniSportsGuy.

Hill ‘let team down’ despite career-high 20 points

Illini searching for solid bench rotation

BRENTON TSE THE DAILY ILLINIIllinois’ Malcolm Hill scored a career-high 20 points against Villanova on Tuesday but said he let the team down on the defensive end.

SONNY AN THE DAILY ILLINIIllinois’ Amarah Coleman has stood out through her consistent performances this season and is currently playing sixth in the rotation.

“Those kids need to be on edge and come ready and keep getting

better, and we’ll see when they get their

shot (in the rotation).”

MATT BOLLANTHEAD COACH

SEE SWEET 16 | 2B

SEE FOOTBALL | 2B

KEVIN VONGNAPHONE THE DAILY ILLINIIllinois’ Danielle Davis, 10, goes for a pass during the NCAA Second Round vs. Iowa State at Huff Hall on Saturday. Illinois won 3-0. Illinois will play Florida on Friday in Ames, Iowa.

Going for another bannerSweet 16 matchup vs. Florida next up for Illini volleyball

FOLAKE OSIBODU THE DAILY ILLINIIllinois’ Reilly O’Toole ran for a total of 147 yards in the game against Northwestern on Nov. 29. A starting quarterback for the bowl game on Dec. 26 has not yet been named.

MEN’S BASKETBALLILL VS. ORESAT: 6 P.M.Chicago

VOLLEYBALLNCAA TOURNAMENT ILL VS. FLAFRI: 7 P.M.Ames, Iowa

HOCKEYILL VS. INDFRI: 7:30 P.M.SAT: 7:30 P.M.

WEEKEND ROUNDUP:WOMEN’S BASKETBALLILL AT VALPO SAT: 1:30Valparaiso, Ind.

“(O’Toole’s) really put the team on his back and helped get those last two wins. ... He’s really always the same whether

he’s been the starter or been the backup.”MIKE DUDEKWIDE RECEIVER

Page 8: The Daily Illini: Volume 144 Issue 59

2B Thursday, December 11, 2014 THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

owWant to know where you can park, when you can park, and when payment is due?Visit our website today for answersto these questions and more.www.ci.champaign.il.us/parking

getting the block in front of those and filling in the spaces and seems that we see,” sophomore defensive specialist Danielle Davis said. “It just comes down to us being scrappy and making plays and trying to really read where her arm is.”

While senior middle blocker Anna Dorn will be one of the first lines of defense against Alhas-san and the other Flor-ida attackers, Dorn and the frontcourt Illini know they can’t stop a player like Alhassan on their own.

“You just try to take up space, figure out what her tendencies are and just try to get your hands up to get a touch on the ball,” Dorn said. “When somebody jumps that high, it’s going to be hard to block them straight down, but just to slow it down for the back row would be ideal.”

While she is a major part of their team, Alhas-san isn’t the only Gator the Illini have to watch out for, Florida will be riding a 22-match win streak.

“Obviously they’re going to have a lot of momentum coming in, a lot of confi-dence,” Davis said. “That’s going to be really impor-tant for us as well to make

sure that we’re going in just as confident.”

Illinois’ confidence going into Friday’s match may come from the team’s five-match winning streak of its own.

The Illini may also find confidence knowing the banners at Huff Hall mean they’ve been this far in the tournament before and they deserve to be there again.

“Yeah, they won a bunch of games,” Davis said of Florida. “But they haven’t played us yet.”

Nicholas can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @IlliniSportsGuy.

W ith the cold weath-er we have had for the last month, it

is great news for Illinois sports fans that most win-ter sports have caught up to the weather and have finally begun their seasons.

One of the winter sports that I am particularly excited to follow (and write about) is the men’s gym-nastics team.

As the beat reporter for the team last year, I became fond of the sport that I had so little experi-ence watching before.

From my time cover-ing the team, I can tell you that the men’s gym-nastics team is easily one of the most successful teams at the Universi-ty. The only team I see challenging the gym-nasts for the top spot is the men’s golf team, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the country.

The men’s gymnastics team finished No. 4 in the country last year and won the NCAA Championships in 2012. With great success

in the past, the team has a chance of being just as competitive this season.

In the preseason Coach-es Poll, the Illini are ranked No. 5 national-ly to start the season and are one of six teams that received votes for the top spot. As of now, it is just speculation as to who is going to be the best team in the country at season’s end. Even once the season starts, it will take a while to get past the early scrim-mages and easy opponents to realize actually how good this team is.

With that said, I think the Illini will have a good chance on improving their rank throughout the season.

The team return its top-three contributors from last season: senior Jordan Valdez, junior C.J. Mae-

stas and sophomore Chandler Eggleston.

Valdez, known as a high bar special-ist, came away with the high bar nation-al title last season.

Last year, Val-

dez was also working on expanding his expertise onto other events and that will be one of the keys for the Illini this year.

Eggleston, who was a freshman last season, took

home the Big Ten floor title and was competitive all around. It is likely he will once again be a huge factor in how far the Illi-ni go.

Maestas also had an excellent season last year and helped the team advance deep into the postseason. He finished as the NCAA runner-up on still rings and will look to improve on that perfor-mance this year. Maestas,

who has suffered tough injuries in the past and has been a little bit incon-sistent at times, could still be the team’s best gym-nast. With continuous improvement off last sea-son’s finish, Maestas could cement his name as one of the best gymnasts in the country.

After talking specifical-ly about how pivotal these three were to the team’s performance last year, I

want to emphasize how consistent the team is all around and how that will be a huge strength this upcoming season.

Senior Mike Wilner and junior Fred Hartville will also be big for the Illi-ni this year and will use their experience to guide the five new freshmen on the team.

You might think of gym-nastics as only an Olym-pic sport or not nearly

as fun to watch as Illini basketball, but I implore all of you as sports fans to keep an eye out for the men’s gymnastics team this year, as it embarks on its mission to once again bring home the national championship.

Kieran is a sophomore in Business. He can be reached at hampl2@ dailyillini.com and on Twitter @KHampl95.

Men’s gymnastics deserves your attention

KIERAN HAMPL

Illini columnist

wide receiver Mike Dudek said. “He’s really put the team on his back and helped get those last two wins ... He’s been a back-up for most of his career and he’s really always the same whether he’s been the starter or been the backup, so I think that speaks high-ly of him.”

On the right trackWith Illinois’ 6-6 finish

(3-5 Big Ten) this season, the Illini qualified for a bowl game and Beckman will be back for another

season after demonstrat-ing the necessary prog-ress, according to Illinois Athletic Director Mike Thomas.

While the focus right now is on preparing for the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas bowl, it will take more than a 6-6 season for the foot-ball program to keep mov-ing forward. But for now Thomas has confidence in Beckman.

“He’s our football coach,” Thomas said. “I like the direction of the program, but once again we have to continue to do the things that make us a more competitive football program. Not just play in bowl games, but compete

in Big Ten championships ... at a high level.”

Making an analogy to a baseball pennant race, Thomas said the program must be consistent, com-petitive and relevant. He added that if Illinois can build a foundation and tra-dition, the Illini won’t be talking about coming from behind every November.

“I’d rather not be 4-6 and have to win the last two games,” Thomas said. “It’s better to be the one being chased than to be the chaser.”

Charlotte can be reached at cmcarro2 @dailyillini.com and on Twitter @charlottecrrll.

SWEET 16FROM 1B

FOOTBALLFROM 1B

FOLAKE OSIBODU THE DAILY ILLINIC.J. Maestas performs the rings routine at Huff Hall on Sunday, Jan. 26. Maestas is one of the Illini’s top contributors.

Building o! past successes, Illini are primed for a strong season

I implore all of you as sports fans to keep an eye out

for the men’s gymnastics team

this year.

Page 9: The Daily Illini: Volume 144 Issue 59

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM Thursday, December 11, 2014 3B

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58 E. Armory, C. 2 F $930, includes one parking

201 E Armory, C. 2 F $990, parking $70

53 E Chalmers, C. 2 F $1400, parking $50

201 E. Armory, C. 3 F $1365, parking $70

Tri County Management Group www.tricountymg.com 217-367-2009906 S. Locust, C. 1,4 F Efficiencies available. Sewer/Trash incl. Parking only $40/mo.

908 S. Locust, C. 1 F Heat/water incl. here. Some pet-friendly

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705 S. First, C. 4 F Sewer/Trash incl. Parking only $40/mo.

Weiner Companies, Ltd www.weinercompanies.com 217-384-8001502 W. Green, U. 4 F 2 Bathrooms, Dishwasher, Pet Friendly, Fireplace

810 W. Stoughton, U. 4 F 2 Bathrooms, Hardwood floors, Dishwasher, Pet Friendly

1006 S. Busey, U. 4 U 2 Bathrooms, Dishwasher, Pet Friendly, Large Yard

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Illini hockey puts new face in netDanna to be in net for 1st time this season against struggling HoosiersBY MATT GERTSMEIERSTAFF WRITER

This weekend will be Zachary Danna’s first time in net all season for the Illi-nois hockey team; howev-er, it won’t be his first time playing for head coach Nick Fabbrini.

For two years at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois, Danna played goal-tender while Fabbrini was an assistant varsity coach. At Fenwick, Fabbrini rarely worked with Danna because his main focus was dealing with forwards. This week-end will be different, how-ever, as Fabbrini’s attention will be on the sophomore in net when Indiana (5-9-1) comes to the Big Pond to face the Illini (13-7-1).

“He has definitely come a long way,” Fabbrini said. “He is a great kid and a big part of our team here, one of the favorites in the lock-er room I think. I’m looking forward to his opportunity to play this weekend.”

Junior Joe Olen, who typically starts for Illi-nois in goal, will not play this weekend for precau-tionary reasons related to a groin injury. Sophomore Zev Grumet-Morris, who has appeared in nine games

this season, will also play in goal this weekend.

This weekend is an oppor-tunity for Danna to show-case his talent as a net-minder and the Illini to add six points in the standings against a struggling Indiana opponent and end the first semester on a high note.

“We definitely want to go out and finish strong, espe-cially against Indiana,” freshman James McGing said. “It’s a team we should beat, so not getting the points would be a pretty big disappointment. It’s definite-ly a big weekend as far as momentum goes.”

McGing, who is second in points for Illinois with 17, has been a catalyst on the offensive end for Illinois. This week, however, defense was the focus for the Illini.

Last weekend, in a split against Robert Morris, Illi-nois tested its zone defense. Since the Illini primarily play man-to-man coverage due to the Big Pond’s larger rink size, Illinois struggled. The Illini have been working on zone and man coverage this week but are expected to play man defense at home this weekend.

“A big point of emphasis for us is going to be taking

care of the d-zone after giv-ing up six goals on Satur-day night,” Fabbrini said. “It’s been pretty good up until that point, so we’re just going to tighten a few things up.”

Robert Morris’ six goals that the Illini allowed in last Saturday’s overtime loss were the second most the team has given up all season. This weekend, the defense has a chance to redeem itself, and Danna will have his first chance to help out.

Despite not having any game experience this sea-son, Danna feels he is ready.

He has spent time men-tally focusing as well as fine tuning his fundamen-tals, so by this weekend’s semester finale, he is pre-pared to make the most of

his opportunity.“This is my first opportu-

nity all season to play,” Dan-na said. “I want to come out, have a great game, and show coach that I’m ready to step

up and play at this level.”

Matt can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @MattGertsmeier.

Illinois vs. IndianaWhen/Where: 7:30 p.m. Friday and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Illinois Ice Arena.Quick notes:Illinois will be without usual goaltender Joe Olen, who is out with a groin injury.Hidden Stat: The Illini are 9-4 with Joe Olen in net and 4-3-1 without him.

KEVIN VONGNAPHONE THE DAILY ILLINI The Illini hockey team will host Indiana this weekend. Illinois will be without starting goalie Joe Olen, and Zachary Danna is expected to play for the first time this season.

Page 10: The Daily Illini: Volume 144 Issue 59

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S K I P O L E S O B I W A NH E D O N I S T R E S A L EI N A S E N S E E E R I E RM O S E S E M I G R A T E D

D E R N M O P EP E S A C H H O N O L U L UA V A S E B A N N I N E SR E D P A R T I N G S E AI N A P T Y E T I B E R GS T T H O M A S S P A R S E

A M A N T I E RG U A R A N T O R E G Y P TO R D A I N S A O P A U L OO D D O N E T I R E I R O NP U S H E R E T E R N I T Y

This is the hardest piece I have had to write in my time at The Daily Illini.

You see, every Thursday column of mine has dealt with the nation-al collegiate football landscape. I’m not sure how well I’ve suc-ceeded, but it was my intention at the beginning of the year to write about topics that didn’t relate to the Illini football team. Think dif-ferent, as Apple taught me.

Along the way, I’ve written about everything from my pro-jected playoff teams (I got two right — Florida State and Ore-gon) to Northern Illinois being the best program in the state to call-ing for various coaches to be fired (three of the four I thought should be, were — Tim Beckman was the exception).

So why am I having difficulty writing?

Because this is my last ever piece of writing for The Daily Illini and there is so much I want to say, but so little space for the words to do so.

I’ve been grateful for the oppor-tunity to work for this publica-tion since 2011, when my early days consisted of me powerwalk-ing from Weston Hall to the Arbo-retum to cover cross-country meets. Clearly it took me a while to learn the Champaign-Urbana bus system.

Here’s a fun tidbit about me: For as big of a collegiate football fan I am, I didn’t go to an Illinois game until 2013, my first season on the football beat. I never bought into the 6-0 start in Ron Zook’s last year, and 2012, was, well, miserable.

And in my three years on cam-pus, I have seen the football team win 19 games. Nineteen football wins from 2011 to November 2014. Urban Meyer led his Buckeyes to more than half that total in his

first season alone.Three years is a small dot on

a timeline, yet in terms of what has happened on the college foot-ball landscape, three years is an eternity.

Big name coaches have been hired and subsequently fired. Pro-grams have risen and fallen. Ala-bama established itself as a dynas-ty. A playoff system was finally implemented. Joe Paterno passed away amidst one of the most of egregious scandals college sports has ever seen.

And at Illinois? There was los-ing. Lots of it.

Yet despite the mediocrity of the football program, my support for it won’t waver. When the 2015 sea-son starts, you bet I’ll be watch-ing. And if the team is worthy, I’ll make a trip to Memorial Stadium to watch my first-ever game from the stands.

I could get lost in reminiscing, but college football saw a differ-

ent first this past weekend that deserves our attention.

Sunday was a fascinating day in the history of college football when the first-ever four-team playoff was revealed. Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State will go down in history.

Questions about how Ohio State jumped 11-1 TCU were common. Not having a conference title game hurt the Horned Frogs, especially considering they blew out a lowly Iowa State team the same day the Buckeyes manhandled then-No.

13 Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game.

The committee chose the right teams. Remember, prior to Sunday, the weekly CFP rankings had no influence whatsoever on the final selection. They merely showed where teams stood.

All four teams are peaking at the right time, and this playoff is shap-ing up to be a thriller.

Two of the teams averaged 55 points in their conference champi-onship wins, with Alabama falling short at 42. Florida State eked out a win. As the only undefeated team left, and the defending champs, they are two wins away from being the first undefeated national cham-pions in back-to-back years since Nebraska in 1994 and 1995.

I have Alabama defeating Ohio “Quarterback U” State in the Sugar Bowl. Wisconsin was a one-dimen-sional team, allowing the Buck-eyes to commit to stopping the run. Alabama is not. Give Nick Saban weeks to gameplan and he will exploit any weaknesses. That weakness may just be third-string QB Cardale Jones.

In the Rose Bowl, Oregon will run away with a victory. Marcus Mariota has the Ducks’ offense playing on another level.

The first championship in a new era will be one many have want-ed for years: Alabama vs. Oregon. It’s an exciting matchup no doubt. Though the Crimson Tide boast that Saban defense and Lane Kiffin offense, and the Ducks have Mari-ota. I’ve been aboard the Mariota-hype train since mid-season. No reason to tumble off now.

So what’s my prediction for the final?

Oregon 48Alabama 45 Will I be right? I think so. Ore-

gon has been building its program for more than a decade to get to this point. The current Oregon program wasn’t built overnight; in fact, it was a perennial loser before the 2000s.

You know who else is building a program? Illinois.

I truly hope that it’s not too long

before someone down the line writes about the prospects of Illi-nois making the playoff. That will be a fascinating time. The stu-dents who get to be in stands for that team may or may not remem-ber the dark days of Illini football.

But I will. It’s why I love col-lege football even though I’ve seen more losses than wins. The satis-faction as a fan is much more grat-ifying after the years it takes to build a respectable program.

In the 23 years it took me to get to this point, Illinois has had

seven winning seasons. The sat-isfaction of getting a degree is great. But if Illinois has a winning record in the majority of these next 23 years, that will be more satisfying.

After all, millions of people get degrees every year. Illinois doesn’t always have a winning season.

Erik is a senior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @e_prada.

From cross-country stories to columns

ROBERT GAUTHIER TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICEOregon tight end Pharoah Brown (85) celebrates a 31-yard touchdown reception with teammate Dwayne Stanford in the second quarter against UCLA at the 2014 Rose Bowl.

There is so much I want to say, but so little

space for the words to do so.

Columnist re!ects on his DI time and makes one last predictionERIK PRADO Sports columnist


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