8-29-2012
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PDF file for 8-29-2012 issue.TRANSCRIPT
As anyone who has been to the east side of campus has prob-
ably noticed, there have been massive renovations taking place with all of the apartments on that side. Not only have the outsides of Clover, Bluebell and Lark-spur courts been overhauled, the insides have been updated and renovated as well.
When asked what their ideas were when it came to renova-tions to be done, Keith McMath, Assistant Housing Director, said they thought, “let’s give each area its own identity.”
This meant a new appearance both inside and out for all three courts, to make each one differ-ent from the next. The new ap-pearance took shape with a color scheme for the siding of the buildings, and a matching accent wall in each apartment. Lark-spur has been done in a deep red, Bluebell has a deep blue outside, and Clover is now a sage green, which was the favorite among the tour group that Journal staff joined.
All of the renovations were done to be as sustainable and cost effective as possible. The outdoor stairs and decks are made with all recycled plastic and wood, and built to last. All of the new appliances are energy star rated. The furniture that is in the apartments is the same furni-ture that was there before, as it was undamaged, but it has been
reupholstered and refinished to modernize each piece. Housing wanted to reuse and recycle as much as possible, and stick with the sustainability theme that is seen throughout this renovation.
In addition to necessary reno-vations and updates, Housing wanted to add as many student requested updates as possible, to rival the preference for the town-houses across campus. These additions include a more resi-dential look, garbage disposals, dishwashers, and larger closets.
One outdoor amenity highly requested by students was an outdoor fire-pit. This was ac-commodated by Housing as well, with co-funding from the Student Government Associa-tion. The outdoor space took the shape of a courting bench and a large fireplace, both made of
thick gray stone. Housing really wanted to “ad-
dress the unfavorable stigma,” with East Campus Housing, es-pecially Clover Court, with the renovations. They figured the best way to do that was to take everything out of the apartments and redo them. Now, not only does Clover Court have a new look and new appliances, it has larger bedrooms and closets.
Chancellor Koch inquired what the most exotic living loca-tion would be for students now that all of these renovations are taking place. John Ringle, Hous-ing Director, replied that it would have to be Clover, because “they have the largest walk-in closets any student should have.”
With all of the new closets there is another update that stu-dents living in the renovated
courts will notice, and that is a lack of doors on those closets. The students really didn’t use them, according to McMath, and they cause maintenance prob-lems when they broke.
“It opens the room up by not having doors,” he continued. Housing is encouraging students to hang a curtain rod if they want the closet covered, and that way each student can add their own color choice and flair to the room.
With all of the renovations there will be a slight decrease in beds available on-campus, and this is partly due to the demand for private bedrooms, instead of shared bedrooms. Shared bed-rooms in the apartments used to be the cheapest on campus liv-ing choice, but that choice will change after all the renovations are completed.
So what are these renovations going to cost students? Ringle stated that there will be a rate increase of about 8.4 percent, which is an addition of around $350 dollars for the whole year to housing costs. He also stated that they are hoping to standard-ize rates for both the apartments and the townhouses in the next few years.
The apartments in Bluebell and Clover will be ready for the fall semester, but Larkspur has four that will not be ready until September.
Koch stated that these reno-
August 29, 2012Volume 37 Issue 1
Big screen summer
By Kati Maseman
Editor-in-Chief
.Page 5
Page 7
Page 2
State Police veteran and
forensic scientist debuts second
book
Chancellor’s Convocation,
Looking forward to growing UIS
News
Renovationscontinued on Page 2
A&E
A&EPhoto by Colten Bradford
Top: Recently renovated Larkspur court shows its themed color of deep red.Bottom: Housing director, John Ringle, explains the purpose of the new outdoor fire pit located by the apartments.
Renovations bring new life to East Campus Housing
Page 2 The Journal Wednesday, August 29, 2012
By Kati Maseman
Editor-in-Chief
Renovationscontinued from Page 1
Welcome to a new year at UIS,
It is a welcome back for many of you, and the beginning of a new experience for others. As those of you who live on campus may have noticed, this issue of The Journal was delivered
right to your door or mailbox. This is because the staff here at The Journal wants to make your paper convenient and readily available to you.
The Journal has also recently expanded publication from 2,000 copies to 3,000 copies per is-sue, and we are looking to expand our off-campus distributing as well.
We hope that many of you will become weekly readers, and share our paper with your friends. If you ever need an extra copy, just head to one of our many newsstands around campus, includ-ing locations in UHB, PAC and Brookens.
For those of you thinking that news in paper form isn’t really your style, head to our brand new website at www.uisjournal.com to keep up with what is going on around you. With new stories added regularly during publishing times, and new developments in multimedia, we are striving to bring you the best possible student news site that we can.
We look forward to hearing from all of you as the school year goes on, whether that comes in the form of general feedback, comments on our website, Letters to the Editor, or guest columns.
Thanks for reading, and we hope you have a great semester.
Sincerely,Kati MasemanJournal Editor-in-Chief
vations were helping UIS to meet the high expectations that are placed on the campus. She continued by stating that these renovations are helping to make students safer, and enhancing their experience at UIS, which will help make them more suc-cessful.
The renovations that are wrapping up now are the Stage 2 renovations. Family housing will be Stage 3.
Family housing will see the start of renovations after Labor
Day, and they will continue until Thanksgiving break. Only two of the three buildings will receive renovations at this time, and Ringle stated that a construction fence will be put up around the two buildings, to keep the fami-lies who remain in residence safe from the work being done.
These buildings will be re-ceiving new decks, and main-tenance indoors. Housing staff will be conducting the indoor updates, which include: repaint-ing, carpet extraction and sham-pooing, floor waxing, appliance replacement, basic repairs and plumbing work.
When all of the work is done, the family residents will be re-located to one of the renovated buildings during Winter Break, while the other will be avail-able for new family applicants. Then during the spring semester the last building will receive the same updates.
These renovations will in-crease cost for students by $168 for the spring semester. Annual rates will be set during October.
For additional details or if you want to see the renovations for yourself, visit our website at www.uisjournal.com for a video tour.
Looking forward to growing UIS
I’ve been listening and learning on all levels, said
Koch.The academic year kicked off
with the Chancellor’s Convoca-tion. The speech was a reflection from Chancellor Koch on her past year, as well as a look to the upcoming year. Koch highlight-ed several things that UIS has planned for the upcoming sea-sons, including how UIS excels, and what the university’s main goals are for the academic year.
Also debuting at the event was UIS’ new marketing cam-paign, “Leadership Lived.” This phrase will serve as a motto, a call to action and a lifestyle choice for the students and fac-ulty at UIS. There are new bill-boards projecting this image throughout Springfield, and the icon for the slogan will be draw-ing attention to this new phase for UIS wherever it can, thus creating the idea: UIS, where leadership is lived.
In addition to the marketing campaign, UIS has three areas of excellence according to Koch, which make it more visible to the community. Those areas are a high quality liberal arts experi-ence and education, exceptional public affairs opportunities, and outstanding professional pro-grams. She continued that these are the identity and aspirations of the Springfield campus of the University of Illinois, and that Public Affairs is an “example of what UIS can be best at in the world.”
To continue with sets of three, Koch stated that the major pri-orities for UIS in the upcoming years include continuing to grow enrollment, hiring and retaining talent, and upgrading and adding new facilities.
Enrollment GoalsThe numbers of new first
time freshman, as well as Latino and African-American students are up for this semester. Koch wanted everyone to get involved with keeping this trend up. “Re-cruitment and retention…is ev-eryone’s job,” she said. Enroll-ment drives the revenue engine at UIS, as without students, there would be no university.
Along with the new market-ing tag line “Leadership Lived,” UIS has highlighted that it is teaching focused, a supportive community, opportunity rich, and has a tradition of educat-ing public servants and leaders.
Koch also wanted to point out that everyone can help market the university. “There is no bet-ter ambassador for this universi-ty than you,” she stated to those in attendance.
Another way UIS is focus-ing on growing enrollment, is the addition of new programs. Listed as a reason people don’t choose UIS, lack of popular pro-grams is an issue that the univer-sity is actively trying to change. There will be a need assessment taken, and then programs will be added to fit in with the frame-work of current programs. There will also be additions to help meet regional needs.
UIS’ online programs are also being enhanced as much as possible. UIS has been recog-nized by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for its online programs. Gates is even work-ing with UIS, among the likes of Harvard, MIT, and Penn State to create new and advancing online learning.
Hiring and Retaining Tal-ent
UIS would like to approve and streamline the hiring pro-cess. There is also a focus on hiring “teachers and scholars who will contribute to student and university success,” said Koch.
Competitive salary for pro-fessors is also a high priority for the Chancellor, as well as add-ing more diversity to the staff. She stated that adding diversity among staff will “enhance un-derstanding and appreciation of diversity on campus.”
“I am very optimistic about our future, primarily because of the talents of all of you,” said Koch to the faculty and staff in attendance.
New FacilitiesUIS has several major proj-
ects underway, according to Koch. A priority for UIS is to
Courtesy of UIS Public Relations
Like us!The Journal, the UIS student newspaper
Chancellorcontinued on Page 3
Page 3Wednesday, August 29, 2012 The Journal
Andrew Dambrauskas for Illinois 96th
You don’t expect to win when you’re a write-in
candidate, especially when your last name is Dambrauskas. But the longer I [campaign], the more support I’m actually get-ting. I’ve actually been able to insert myself as a third voice in this race.
– Andrew DambrauskasAndrew Dambrauskas’
political ambitions may not rise to the level of such notable UIS alumni as the late State Sen. Vince Demuzio or former Mayor Karen Hasara, as his ultimate goal is to become a teacher after completing a degree in history at UIS, but this November he is running as an independent write-in candidate for Illinois’ 96th Representative District.
The 96th legislative district covers downtown Springfield and the city’s east side and stretches to Decatur, where it en-compasses that city’s downtown district and many small commu-nities in between. Dambrauskas, a Springfield native who grew up on the city’s east side, be-lieves that the area, despite span-ning two distinct cities, connects
neighborhoods with similar de-mographics and concerns.
One of the concerns Dam-brauskas identifies is crime. “When you look at the demo-graphics of people committing crimes, they tend to be less edu-cated, young, and unemployed. You have people in desperate situations who feel they need to commit crime for survival,” stat-ed Dambrauskas.
He believes the biggest deter-rent to a rising crime rate is edu-cation. But in a contrary move, many local governments have responded to tightening budgets by cutting funds to workforce and adult education programs. The Illinois Community Col-lege Board has cut grants to the Lawrence Adult Education Cen-ter in Springfield and the Adult Education Program at Richland Community College in Decatur. Dambrauskas believes this move is “the surest way to get crime rates up in [the 96th] district.”
By pledging to make voca-tional training and adult educa-tion a centerpiece of his cam-paign, Dambrauskas hopes to “amplify a lot of the voices in the 96th that can’t seem to connect with either of the other candi-dates.”
His opponents on the ballot in
November include Democrat Sue Sherer of Decatur and Republi-can Dennis Ross Shackelford of Rochester. Both cite education as a priority on their respective websites, but they also identify as fiscal conservatives intent on balancing Illinois’ budget. Who-ever wins the seat will surely be facing tough funding negotia-tions as Illinois continues to face budget shortfalls.
The consensus-building skills Dambrauskas practiced in the Model Illinois Government while a student at Lincoln Land Community College may serve him well during such tough ne-gotiations. John Vinzant, Profes-sor of Political Science at LLCC, advised the school’s team that won the Outstanding Large Del-egation Award during the simu-lation held in March at the Illi-nois State Capitol. Dambrauskas served in the model Senate as a committee chair.
Vinzant states that participa-tion “ involves a lot of public speaking, negotiating with fel-low students, building relation-ships, and researching your po-sitions – all of these are things Andrew could do well.” Howev-er, he warns “there are certainly realities that come with on-the-job training. In the legislature,
party pressure cannot be ignored, especially in a hyper-partisan en-vironment. The leadership exerts tremendous pressure, as well.”
Despite these realities of po-litical office, Dambrauskas feels prepared for the challenges. “When you look at the three can-didates in this race, I’m the only one who has stood on the House floor and debated a bill,” he jokes. “Obviously, there are peo-ple who aren’t going to take me seriously because I’m a 23-year-old college kid,” he continues, “but the flip side is that there are a lot of college kids and young voters in the 96th who look at me and say, ‘we have all these people making decisions in the name of the next generation but we don’t have anybody repre-senting the next generation in the Statehouse.’ I feel like I’m up to it, and that’s what matters.”
Dambrauskas is happy to dis-cuss people’s concerns this vot-ing cycle while he is walking around downtown, on campus, or knocking on doors on the east side. He will likely offer a busi-ness card that can be used be-fore entering the voting area that clearly provides the correct spell-ing of “Dambrauskas.”
By Daymon Kiliman
News Reporter get funding for the renovation of Brookens Library to update the building and bring it into the modern era.
For new constructions, there will be a Public Safety Building breaking ground in the Fall of 2013. This building will be the new home of the Campus Police Department. There is also plan-ning, and a funding search under-way for a new academic building that will be constructed to the south of the Health and Sciences Building. And of course, there is the Student Union, which should be opening in 2015 if funding and planning go accordingly. This building, according to Koch, will add visibility to UIS, enhance enrollment, and create a positive campus environment.
Provost, Lynn Pardie, opened the Convocation with some re-marks on change. She stated that “no matter how strong our past accomplishments, we cannot stay static.” She continued to say that challenge and change can always bring new possibilities or being even better.
Chancellor Koch concluded with a challenge to UIS, stating “define a future consistent with our history.”
Chancellorcontinued from Page 2
Page 4 The Journal Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Chinacontinued on Page 10
OPINIONMission Statement
The Journal is the editorially independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Our mission is to publish news and feature stories, editorials and opinions relevant to the campus community while upholding the highest professional and ethical standards as outlined in The Journal Code of Conduct and Editorial Board By-laws and Procedures.
Editor-in-Chief: Kati Maseman
@KatiLu91
Assistant Editor for News: Daymon Kiliman
@dkiliman
News Reporter: CheVaughn Starling
News Reporter: Ashley Henry
Columnist: Andrew Majors
@Andrew Majors
Columnist: Sean Bruce
Assistant Editor for Features: Lori Beckham
@ramari76
Features Reporter: Ray Carter
Sports Reporter: LaNee Wood
Sports Reporter: Adam Buck
General Reporter: Natalie Noble
@natialiernoble
Photographer/Illustrator: Alex Johnson
Web Editor: Tushar Thakkar
Distributer: Chris Nava
Layout & Design Editor: Colten Bradford
Business Manager: Kate Richardson
@KateARichardson
Adviser: Debra Landis
Letters to the EditorLetters may be sent by e-mail to [email protected], postal mailed to The Journal, SAB 20, UIS, Springfield, IL 62794 or faxed to (217) 206-7710. Letters should be 300 words or less. Deadline for submitting letters is noon on Thursday of each week.
Editorial/Guest CommentaryJournal editorials are the opinion of the news-paper’s editorial board. Guest columns should be between 300-500 words. The Journal does not necessarily endorse opinions expressed in any column. The Journal recognizes the im-portance of providing a forum for our readers to express personal views.
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Editorial Board:Kati Maseman Editor-in-ChiefDaymon Kiliman Assistant Editor for NewsLori Beckham Assistant Editor for FeaturesTushar Thakkar Web EditorColten Bradford Layout and Design Editor
First man to walk the moon no longer walks the earth:
and other lessons learned this summer
As it does every year be-tween spring and fall,
summer has almost completely passed us by once more and left each of us with a unique impression. For me, it was a fast-paced blur that has me po-sitioned to wrap up my stint at UIS after this fall semester.
It’s been a year since I’ve moved to Springfield, and the early positive reviews I be-stowed upon colleagues and classmates of our campus and city have not faded as the months have been peeled away from the calendar. Springfield offers a great deal for students, and I’ve been incredibly lucky in my time here to learn some
valuable lessons. And perhaps fewer segments of time provid-ed me with as many lessons as these brief summer months we just endured. First lesson, al-ways try to spend your days in a place with functional, work-ing air conditioning.
For me personally, I learned the value of independence, self-sufficiency, and dedication while hauling an apartment’s worth of stuff from downtown Springfield to a new, less dun-geony living arrangement in the midst of record setting high temperatures. I learned how to pace those days moving around two summer courses that we very investing and reading heavy.
I learned how to drag my younger sister all the way to Colorado to see a concert at Red Rocks (and a Colorado Rockies game too). Also dis-covering a video game utopia in LoDo Denver called The 1-Up,
that was packed with vintage style arcade and pinball games from wall the wall. Spending an afternoon with some old 8-bit friends was long overdue. I watched my older sister get married, and then proceeded to literally dance the night away.
I learned how to operate an old school jukebox while a random request hotline burst out from those dancing and regaling in the relaxing sun-set. I remember a heavy dose of The Beach Boys that sum-mer night, and that memory is surely not just mine. A version of that memory extends back through time, across genera-tions of people just doing the one thing we all find ourselves doing between the months of May and August. We learned many other things collectively
If you ever get the chance to travel internationally,
I’d say take it. You may find yourself thousands of miles away from home, eating food that tastes great (but will make you sick more often then not), surrounded by people who don’t speak English that you’ll have to communicate with through a combination of in-terpretive dance and strenu-ous pointing, and dealing with cultural aspects that border on the bizarre. Despite all that, I can almost guarantee that you will come back from such an experience with a sense of satisfaction. It is a sense that I currently enjoy after my trav-els this summer.
For those of you who might not know, UIS has a number of foreign exchange programs to countries all over the world. If you are like me however, the idea of spending an entire se-mester, or year even, in anoth-er country is a bit intimidating. Luckily there are even pro-grams for people like me who want to visit foreign countries without actually having to in-vest much time in the process. Which is why I found myself heading to Harbin, China on one of UIS’s summer global experience programs. Those interested should visit the Of-fice of International Programs website. Now I will warn you that usually such a program is not particularly cheap, al-though I got lucky as a schol-arship, tuition waiver, and healthy dose of saved up air-line miles made my particular trip very economical.
The intended purpose of the program I participated in was to teach Mandarin Chinese and basic elements of Chinese culture. They did so through a series of lecture-style, classes (woo...), interactive presenta-tions, and field trips. The first two were interesting enough, but the trips gave me the best stories. Over the course of the month that I stayed there I climbed a volcano, drank natu-
Far from home A
Have an opinion?
Then write a letter to the
editor!email: journal@
uis.edu
Columncontinued on Page 6
Page 5Wednesday, August 29, 2012 The Journal
By Lori Beckham
Features Reporter
Susan Vondrakcontinued on Page 10
SummaryTaking place 3 weeks after
the ending of No Evidence of a Crime (Vondrak’s first novel), Kathleen Jackson has moved to the Department of Police Psy-chology.
Pairing up with her former partner of investigation, Jim Jarrod, and his new partner Teri Sedgwick, the three investigate an alleged suicide of Congress-man Phillip Thatcher, a promi-nent figure who the detectives believe played a role in a previ-ous murder.
At first the evidence sug-gests murder from an obvious suspect, but the more the detec-tives unravel the case, the more complex it becomes. As more events and evidence unfold, Kathleen embarks on a person-al journey as the case reveals a dark connection to her past.
Positive Criticism Vondrak does a fine job re-
introducing the characters with-out tiring readers who have read the first book. She gives bits of background information only
when the story calls for it.The beginning is well struc-
tured. Kathleen’s first day as a police psychologist is a good beginning because the reader can immediately identify with her as the new person in the of-fice.
The story is very character-driven concerning Kathleen, Jim, and Teri. When the three share the same scenes, their dif-ferent personalities create en-tertaining dialogue.
As for style, Vondrak’s writ-ing is similar to the style of Young Adult fiction. The writ-ing is easy to read, it uses the third person narrator, and it has good pacing.
There are also interesting facts about detective work that readers might not learn from other mystery novels. It is a re-alistic portrayal of criminal in-vestigation.
Negative CriticismWhile the information on fo-
rensics does provide the reader with interesting facts, there are times when it is tedious. This takes the reader out of the story when a character needs addi-tional explanation just so the reader is fully informed.
Although the protagonist and her supporting characters are well-rounded, the antago-nist’s character falls flat. The motivation for the original crime is never explored and the character is portrayed simply as evil.
The book does not stand ful-ly on its own. Toward the end of the novel, some characters will perform actions that seem out of character; only those who have read the first novel will know the connections. The ending does not make for a sat-isfying one, relying on the third installment for closure.
Overall AssessmentWhile the book has a few
problems, it is an entertaining narrative. The main charac-ters are likable, the pieces of the mystery fall perfectly into place, and the pacing will keep readers turning the page.
Readers should go into the first novel before reading this sequel. Those who read The Evidence is Clear will want to read the first book, because the second novel makes references that will entice readers’ curios-ity.
State Police veteran and forensic scientist debuts second book
Susan Connell Vondrak is a 24-year veteran in the
forensic department of the Il-linois State Police. She is also the author of No Evidence of a Crime (2010), a mystery novel surrounding the death of a con-gresswoman while detectives discover tampered evidence within the case.
In July, Vondrak released her second novel, The Evidence is Clear, a continuation of her first book about an alleged suicide of a previous character.
Vondrak said that during her years at U of I Urbana-Cham-paign and Springfield [respec-tively], she had always wanted to work in forensics; forensic sci-ence was the only job she applied for after college. Her passion for writing, however, occurred around 4 years ago.
When asked what compelled
her to write her first book, Von-drak said, “it’s not that I wanted to be a writer; I was just sitting there thinking I have a story and I want to put it down on paper…I think that some people just have this desire to write.”
She said her career’s influ-ence creates a realistic portrayal of detective work. “With the books that I write, you get the in-formation as the detectives get it; they have the same information as you.”
Vondrak emphasized that her
books reveal what it is like to be a forensics scientist, what de-tails they look for, and what par-ticulars are important at a crime scene and why.
She intended for her second novel to stand on its own. She said, however, “that proved a little more difficult, because you want to give some of the back-ground. I hate it when some au-thors in their sequels just write a paragraph explaining every-thing.”
When asked why she wrote a sequel instead of a separate story with new characters, Von-drak explained that she had writ-ten her first book and began the second before she looked for a publisher. She said she wanted it to be a series because she is in-vested in her characters.
“I hadn’t planned to do more than the three books with these
A RTS AND ENTERTAINMENTBook Review: The Evidence is Clear by Susan Connell Vondrak
Susan Vondrak
Page 6 The Journal Wednesday, August 29, 2012
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as a group this summer. Unfor-tunately, we learned that going to a long anticipated midnight movie debut was not the inno-cent escape from reality we all crave. We learned that the first man (Neil Armstrong) from our human civilization, that we are aware of, to walk on the moon no longer walks the Earth. That lesson came just days ago.
For those with an eye on the news, we learned that LeBron James can win the big one, we learned Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps can produce world re-cord speed with their bodies. We learned that the upcoming Presidential Election is likely going to get as bloodthirsty as we already imagine. And though the summer might be drawing to a final close this year, the lesson remains: try to squeeze every ounce of sun-shine out of every day no mat-ter where you happen to find yourself.
Columncontinued from Page 4
Photos by Kati Maseman
State Fair photo review
Taffy had people lining up to get a box of
mixed flavors. Some patrons also like to
stand and watch the taffy being pulled.
The famous Illinois State Fair
Butter Cow celebrated 90 years.A main draw of the State Fair is the Carnival Rides. Children especially enjoy ticket packages with unlimited rides. This particular ride is a tall swing that spins and tilts for a fun experience.
The fair always offers unique
food for patrons. This year a red
velvet funnel cake was a huge hit.
Page 7Wednesday, August 29, 2012 The Journal
Since the Mayans have predicted that the world
is going to end in 2012, it is only right that the summer had to go out with a bang. There has been lots of talk about the newest excitement in enter-tainment this summer, and it is only right that they are men-tioned.
This summer has been a season for blockbusters such as The Avengers, Ted, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Amazing Spiderman.
Ted tells the story about a lonely boy named John Ben-nett, played by Mark Wahl-berg, who got a teddy bear for Christmas, and wished that the bear could really talk to him. He named the teddy bear Ted (voice of Seth MacFarlane), and deals with the conse-quences of him becoming a life long friend. Of course, all little boys do grow up and outgrow their childhood toys. John now deals with his boyhood toy turning into a nuisance as he tries to live his adult life. From the Creator of Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane has created a comedy that guarantees audi-ence laughter and leaves them wanting more.
This summer was the sum-mer for comic book fans be-cause DC and Marvel stole the box office. In The Amaz-ing Spiderman, the audience is introduced to Peter Parker, played by Andrew Garfield, an outcast high school student
whose parents abandoned him as a boy. He is left with his Uncle Ben, played by Martin Sheen, and Aunt May, Sally Field.
Like any normal teenager, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he became this person he is today. One day, Peter discovers a mysteri-ous briefcase that belonged to his father; it is then that he be-gins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance. This leads him to Oscorp and the lap of Dr. Curt Connors, played by Rhys Ifans, his father’s former partner.
As Pete embarks on a colli-sion course with Connor’s al-ter ego, The Lizard, he makes a life-altering choice to use his powers and shape his destiny to become the amazing Spider-Man. This film gives audience members amazing entertain-ment and a great feeling of suspense that keeps them on the edge of their seats.
In addition to The Amaz-ing Spider-Man, the summer kicked off with an extraordi-nary movie entitled The Aveng-ers. For the Marvel comic fans out there, Avengers was a great
treat. The Avengers featured Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), the incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hem-sworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scar-lett Johansson), and Captain America (Chris Evans). An
unexpected enemy emerges to threaten global safety and se-curity, and Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D. finds himself
By Che Vaughn Starling
News Reporter
Big screen summer
Moviescontinued on Page 9
Page 8 The Journal Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Another four years have passed, and that means
another presidential election. From Mitt Romney picking his running mate, to Barack Obama stating his support of gay mar-riage, it is clear that Romney and Obama have different di-rections on where each wants to take America during his presi-dency.
On August 11, 2012, Repub-lican Candidate Mitt Romney chose Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate for the 2012 presidential cam-paign. Romney said Ryan, 42, “has become an intellectual leader of the Republican Par-ty” when introducing him, and stressed that their campaign will focus on ways to create jobs, protect Medicare and Social Se-curity, and repeal the health care law enacted under Democratic President Barack Obama.
Although there has been talk about the young age of the Vice President hopeful, Romney has
full faith in Ryan’s experience and leadership skills. Since the announcement, Ryan has ex-plained his plans for the Ameri-can budget and cutting programs that help the elderly and poor. He also plans to help Romney with correcting the debt crisis in America. Despite the fact that Romney chose Ryan as his running mate, it has done little to change the polls in this presi-dential race. The race is still ex-tremely close between the two presidential candidates.
In addition to Romney choos-ing his running mate, Obama and Romney have chosen their stances on important issues for their campaigns. Romney plans to cut the marginal tax rate by 20 percent for individuals and the corporate tax rate to 25 percent. He wants to pass a bill to reduce non-security related spending by 5 percent, and cap it with the House Republican budget proposal that effectively rolls back expansion initiated under President Obama. Romney also wants to pursue deeper econom-ic cooperation with like-minded
countries that are committed to open markets, thus creating the Reagan Economics Zone, which promotes free enterprise and trade. Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, said the choice of Ryan is, “a state-ment by Mitt Romney that he believes that the economy is the most important issue.”
Obama’s economic and job plans reside primarily with the middle class and small business-es. He wants to grow high-tech U.S. manufacturing capacity and supply clean energy proj-ects with American-made parts and equipment, creating more jobs for the American people. He wants to continue to cut taxes for small businesses and working class families, and add funding for education and law enforcement programs. Addi-tionally, he signed the Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credits Bill, which encour-age businesses to hire unem-ployed veterans and those with service-connected disabilities.
For health care, Romney plans on giving power to each
state to create a health care plan that is best for its citizens; ulti-mately, removing the Affordable Care Act from law and replacing it with a more state-focus ap-proach. He wants to limit federal involvement and requirements on both private insurance and Medicaid coverage. Romney is offering to end tax discrimina-tion against the individual pur-chase of insurance, allow the purchase of out-of-state health care, promote alternative pay-ment methods, and inspire new consumer reports on alternative insurance plans.
On the other hand, Obama plans to keep the Affordable Care Act, which provides af-fordable nationwide healthcare, protects consumers from heath care insurance providers mis-treatment, increases preventive care, and reduces waste and abuse. Insurance providers will be required to publicly state rate increases, and consumers will now have the ability to appeal to an independent third party when providers deny coverage for services. Insurance com-
panies must provide rebates if they do not spend at least eighty percent of premiums on care. In addition, the Affordable Care Act allows young adults to stay on their parents’ health care un-til age 26, and new insurance plans will be required to cover a number of preventive services without charging a co-pay or de-ductible.
In civil and social policies, Romney feels the Supreme Court should overturn Roe v. Wade so the states can deter-mine their own abortion laws. He fully supports the Hyde Amendment, which bars the use of federal funds for abortion, and ends federal program fund-ing from groups such as Planned Parenthood.
There is not a doubt that both parties are not letting down their guards. This summer in-formed many Americans about each candidate and their stance on how to make America better. Only time will tell if either side has won the heart of America by November 6.
By Kati Maseman
Editor-in-Chief
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Summer campaign developmentsBy Che Vaughn Starling
News Reporter
Page 9Wednesday, August 29, 2012 The Journal
September 7 – The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest(2009), 147 minutes, R Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) fights to prove that she's innocent of committing multiple murders. As Lisbeth lies in intensive care, the corrupt officials in high office attempt to take advantage of her incapacitated state by accusing her of murder. But fiercely independent Lisbeth isn't about to play the scapegoat, and the more her accusers work to ruin her life, the harder she and her loyal friend Mikael Blomkvist.
October 12 – The Sum of Us (1994), 100 minutes, R Jeff (Russell Crowe) is a young gay man living with his widowed father, Harry (Jack Thompson). Although Harry has always accepted the fact that his son is openly gay, his acceptance is challenged. Jeff brings home a potential lover one night, and in turn, when Harry gets involved with Joyce, a divorcée he met through a dating service, she and Jeff can't see eye-to-eye.
December 7 – Lost in Translation (2003), English & Japanese, 104 minutes, R Feeling no small degree of culture shock in Japan, Bob spends most of his non-working hours at his hotel, where he meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) at the bar. Twenty something Charlotte is married to John (Giovanni Ribisi), a successful photographer who is in Tokyo on an assignment, leaving her to while away her time while he works. Beyond their shared bemusement and confusion with the sights and sounds of contemporary Tokyo, Bob and Charlotte share a similar dissatisfaction with their lives; the spark has gone out of Bob's marriage, and he's become disillusioned with his career. Meanwhile, Charlotte is puzzled with how much John has changed in their two years of marriage, while she's been unable to launch a creative career of her own. Bob and Charlotte become fast friends, and as they explore Tokyo, they begin to wonder if their sudden friendship might be growing into something more.
November 2 – Amelie (2001) French & Russian, 122 minutes, R One woman decides to change the world by changing the lives of the people she knows in this charming and romantic comic fantasy from director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Amelie (Audrey Tautou) is a young woman who had a decidedly unusual childhood; misdiagnosed with an unusual heart condition, Amelie didn't attend school with other children, but spent most of her time in her room, where she developed a keen imagination and an active fantasy.
FALL 2012 FOREIGN & INDEPENDENT FILM SERIES
Sponsored by the Office of Student Life 7pm Brookens Auditorium
Thursday, August 30:
• CommuterStudentPizzaPartywillbeintheCommuterLoungeinSLBatfrom4-6p.m.• ComedianGrantLyonwillbeatUISat9p.m.HeadtoBrookensauditoriumforalaugh.
Friday, August 30:
• Service-a-thon:Thiseventtakesplaceatseveraloff-campuslocationsfrom10a.m.-3p.m.Sponsoredby theVolunteerandCivicEngagementCenter, youcanchooseyourprojectfromoneoffourareas:PublicHealth,Sustainability,YouthandEducation,andHungerandHomelessness.
• 25yearsoldandup,Social:TacoNite.Ifyouareastudentwhois25yearsorolderheadonovertoPACat6:30p.m.tomeetyourpeersandhavesomefood.Partnersandfamilieswelcome.Registeratwww.uis.edu/studentlife.
• MovieontheQuadat8:30p.m.
Saturday, September 1:
• SaturdayNightLiveCelebrationsponsoredbyBSUandLegacyDanceTeam.DancepartyintheSLBMulti-purposeroom,startingat10p.m.
Saturday, September 2:
• UISBlockParty:everythingfrominflatablestoJelloOlympics,LiveAngryBirds,andvarioussports.HeadtotheQuadfromnoon-4p.m.
• BlueCrewBBQintheEastParkinglotofKiwanisStadium.4-5p.m.• Women’ssoccer:ComewatchthePrairieStarsplayLindenwood-Bellevilleat5p.m.
What’s HappeningThis Weekend
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in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.
As for the DC Comics fans, they were given a real treat with the release of The Dark Knight Rises. The Dark Knight kept audiences on the edge of their seats with excitement with its action-packed scenes, amazing casting, and breath taking special effects. In The Dark Knight Rises, it has been eight long years since Bat-man (Christian Bale) vanished into the night, turning into an instant villain in the city of Gotham. Because he sacri-ficed Batman’s good name and took credit for Harvey Dent’s murder, he is not welcome in Gotham. Then, Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) arrives on the scene with a mysterious agenda. Things really start to heat up when Bane (Tom Har-dy) emerges and starts terror-izing the city of Gotham. All of these events force Bruce to come out of his exile. Bat-man’s biggest challenge will be trying to save Gotham from
the notorious Bane, and living to see the light of day.
Not a movie, but certainly important, were the 2012 Lon-don Olympics! The Olympics had the most show time views on NBC. 36 million views per day was the total of people watching and cheering on the competition. The Olympics featured 30 different sports, over 200 countries, and new world records. The Olympics honored Michael Phelps af-ter he became the most deco-rated Olympian of all time with 22 medals. The U.S. also saw Gabby Douglas honored for winning gold in Women’s Gymnastics all-around event as well as a gold medal for Team USA. Overall, America won 104 medals in the 2012 summer Olympics: 46 Gold, 29 Silver, and 29 Bronze. The U.S. definitely accomplished something great!
This summer had some thrilling entertainment to watch from the hottest movies to some of the world’s larg-est most celebrated sporting events.
Moviescontinued from Page 7
Page 10 The Journal Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Welcome back! We missed you.
ILLINOISS P R I N G F I E L D
U N I V E R S I T Y O F Enjoy all the Welcome Week activities… Chancellor Susan J. Koch and the entire Chancellor’s Office staff
MORNING EDITION4-9 AM
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HERE & NOW 11 AM-NOON
ILLINOIS EDITIONNOON-1 PM
TALK OF THE NATION1-3 PM
FRESH AIR3-4 PM
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MARKETPLACE 6-6:30 PMBBC BUSINESS/WITNESS 6:30-7 PM
THE WORLD7-8 PM
Q8-9 PM
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BBC NEWS10 PM-4 AM
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
SCIENCEFRIDAY1-3 PM
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10 PM-3 AM
STATE WEEK
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LOCAL NEWS6:06 AM
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Scharacters. But as you’re writing, these people--and this may sound strange--but it’s like you know them…they become real.”
As for character inspirations, she clarified, “none are based off me, but a lot of them are based off people that I know. The main character, Kathleen, is not based off of anyone I know because she has a personality that’s a little bit different; she struggles to make it in this world. But the other
characters, to keep them in form, I did base them off people [from work].
She said her books are “not that gory, there’s not a lot of swearing involved, so younger readers could read it and get ac-quainted with forensics; I think my second book has a little more forensics than the first one.”
Vondrak is currently writing the third installment of the series. Her first novel No Evidence of a Crime, and her sequel, The Evi-dence is Clear, are available at www.oaktreebooks.com.
Susan Vondrakcontinued from Page 5
A d v e r t i s e w i t h ‘ T h e J o u r n a l ’Contact 217-206-7061
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rally carbonated water from a spring, practiced shadow box-ing with a master martial art-ist, learned to play the Chinese fiddle (surprisingly easy once you understand the basics), wrestled a Mongol, fed a live duck to a tiger, got caught in two separate typhoons, and visited a place known as the “Naive Bear Paradise” (unfor-tunately it was merely a theme park). Suffice it to say I have my fair share of entertaining anecdotes I can relate, far too many to tell in this article, although if you read my next column, you might see a few of them.
After my long month in which many things happened (see previous statement), I felt a profound sense of despon-dency not merely explained by the 14 hour overnight lay-over in the Beijing airport that I had to look forward to. I had grown fond of the people I had met and did not relish the idea of never seeing them again. Nevertheless, all things must end, and I made my way home, albeit with the serious consideration of going back next year.
Chinacontinued from Page 4
Page 11Wednesday, August 29, 2012 The Journal
Recycle
The
Journal
After the excitement of the Olympics fades away,
some might be left wondering: how did our local athletes do in London? Well, it is time to take a look at how area Olympians fared at the 2012 games.
Deron Williams, a former UIUC student and Illini player, and Andre Iguodala, a Lanpheir High School Graduate, joined Team USA to compete with 12 other teams from around the world. The United States played in Group A and faced France, Tunisia, Nigeria, Lithuania, and
finally Argentina. Never los-ing a game, Team USA charged straight to the medal rounds, re-sulting in the two local Olympi-ans and their teammates bringing home gold.
Kelci Bryant, a Chatham resi-dent, took home a silver medal for the U.S. as a part of a syn-chronized diving team in the 3m Springboard event. She and her partner Abigail Johnson scored a 321.90 for their dives, with their Forward 2 ½ Somersault 1 Twist dive gaining them the most points.
Lance Brooks of New Berlin competed in discus throw as a part of Group B. Of his three at-tempts, 61.17 meters was his far-
thest throw. Unfortunately with that distance he only ranked 21 in the qualifying round, and did not qualify in the time or dis-tance categories as he was short a little over 2 meters.
UIS Alumnus Richard Oruche, a member of the Nige-rian basketball team, played Tu-nisia in the first set of games and came out victorious. However, Nigeria went on a losing streak, starting with the U.S. in the sec-ond round. They did not make it to the medal rounds, as Argentina and France also defeated them. UIS gathered to watch the former Prairie Star basketball player and student as he faced the U.S. in the second round game.
SPORTSOlympic results for local athletesBy Kati Maseman
Editor-in-Chief
Olympic Medal Results:
Country Gold Silver Bronze Total Medals
U.S.A 46 29 29 104
China 38 27 23 88
Russia 24 26 32 82
Great Britain 29 17 19 65
Germany 11 19 14 44
Olympic Medal Results
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Page 12 The Journal Wednesday, August 29, 2012