The Daily Illini: Volume 143 Issue 59

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 | L e t t e r 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 5 A | S p o r t s 1 B | C l a s s i f i e d s 5 B | S u d o k u 6 B

THE DAILY ILLINITHURSDAYDecember 12, 2013

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WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM he independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871 Vol. 143 Issue 59 | FREE

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BY AUSTIN KEATINGASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Meet Bert. He’s a robot. He can solve puzzles, shoot Nerf guns and move his arms; but he’s more than just a machine — Bert does all of these things autonomously. Bert can mimic intelligence.

Housed in a lab at the Beck-man Institute, the iCub robot is the Language Acquisition and Robotics Group’s primary means of researching artifi cial intelli-gence, said graduate student Onyeama Osuagwu, who works in the lab. It is made to refl ect a three-and-a-half-year-old human child in its physical and neural characteristics.

“I hate the word artifi cial intel-ligence,” Osuagwu said. “There is no such thing as artifi cial intelli-gence — the systems may not be what you see in the natural world, but intelligence is intelligence, so we just study intelligence, or what has been deemed lately ‘cognitive computing.’’’

The group studies this “cogni-tive computing” in several ways, and recent graduate Vishnu Nath Kamalnath was recently awarded the Hind Rattan Award, one of the highest awards the president of India gives to non-resident Indian

citizens, for “exceptional contri-butions to science and technology” with his work in the lab.

There are two camps in cogni-tive computing — strong AI and weak AI — and Kamalnath was given this award for his attempts to bridge the two.

“Weak AI is the part where you use AI for simple, practical pur-poses like credit card fraud detec-tion,” Kamalnath said. “Strong AI is a purely academic fi eld right now. The difference is that it encompasses everything that weak AI does, but it also has what we call ‘consciousness.’”

He said that right now, nobody has reached anywhere close to strong AI, but in his research for his master’s thesis, he tried to come as close as possible to strong AI with something he called deep learning.

He programed a skeletal pro-gram into Bert and put a 3D puz-zle in its hands. With the program, Bert could realize where the ball was and where the edges of the 3D maze were, but from there, how it solved the puzzle was its own prerogative.

“If you give a robot a maze and you program it to roll the ball from A to B, B to C — yes, it’s very easy

for the robot to do that,” Kamal-nath said. “But now, let’s say I give the robot the maze and the robot looks at it and then can fi gure it out ‘OK, there is a path that exists, or there isn’t a path that exists, and if there are multiple paths, I need to fi gure out the best possible path.’”

Kamalnath said this problem-solving ability makes it so Bert understands his impact on his environment, much like when a small child hits a rattle and real-izes the impact causes a noise.

“The causation effect is being analyzed,” he said. “It can under-stand that by tipping the board in its hand, the ball starts roll-ing, and it goes from point A to point B, ‘Interesting, now I can move the ball whatever way I want and fi nally bring it to the end position.’”

Kamalnath added that the maze work he conducted sets itself apart from other work in the fi eld.

“Maze solving in general is a very established algorithm, but just programing a robot to solve a maze is like child’s play — any-one can do it,” he said. “The point is that we’re not just looking for traversal of the maze, we’re look-ing for using learning to solve the maze.”

In addition to this, Kamal-nath’s former colleagues at the lab look at other aspects of AI and machine learning. Graduate stu-dent Logan Niehaus, for example, worked on movement recognition, and in extension, taught Bert how to wave .

“We also do language acquisi-tion with the robot as well; we’re in the vein of a gentlemen of Nor-bert Wiener, who is the founder of cybernetics, so we’re actually learning language autonomous-ly, language cues and so forth,” Osuagwu said.

For his bachelor’s thesis , Kamalnath turned Bert into what he playfully called “a terminator.” Bert would shoot a Nerf gun at a

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ISS gives $6,000 for UI bike paths

Students forced to live in fl oor lounges

Concealed carry not likely to affect students on campus

BY MEGAN JONESSTAFF WRITER

After hearing many students’ concerns over the state of the campus’ current bicycle trans-portation system, the Illinois Student Senate at its Wednesday meeting allocated $6,000 as sub-sidy to Facilities and Services to repaint three miles of exist-ing bike paths during the Spring 2014 semester.

David Mischiu, senator and senior in the FAA , said Facili-ties and Services lacks a unit for bicycle-related planning; there-fore, the department struggles every time an allocation for funds arises, as they do not know who will pay for the repairs.

The resolution passed with a vote of 26-1 with three abstentions.

After Amelia Neptune, the department’s previous bicycle coordinator, left her job, Facili-ties and Services has yet to hire a replacement. In the mean-time, the department is work-ing with students who previously worked with her in order to help “transition us until we can fi nd a replacement,” said Stacey DeLo-renzo, Transportation Demand Management coordinator.

All funds for bike paths are allocated from the Transporta-tion Demand Management bud-get, which currently does not have enough money to repaint University sidewalks, Mischiu said. He added that Facilities and Services is asking for the sen-ate’s allocation out of necessity.

“Their budget right now is

$130,000, and they need $124,400 just for street painting within the coming year, which would leave them with ($5,600), which is not enough to even pay their employees’ paychecks,” Mischiu said.

Facilities and Services has already invested $16,000 into its 2013 Campus Bicycle Network Master Plan project this sum-mer; signs were posted around campus, and 3.1 miles of bike paths were repainted. However, additional funds are now needed.

“There’s a bucket of money from (Transportation Demand Management) for all the proj-ects that we need to take place, but that includes all the streets, stripping and the signs,” DeLo-renzo said. “So there’s nothing at this time specifi cally just for the bike program, but we hope to get to that eventually.”

In 2010, the University wrote its Illinois Climate Action Plan, iCAP, which works toward creat-ing a carbon-neutral campus by 2050; iCAP identifi ed a severe lack of funding in the area of bicycle-related infrastructure and planning, according to the resolution.

“This is a question of students getting along and fi nding it eas-ier and safer to travel to class without worrying about a biker hitting them or a pedestrian acci-dentally walking into their path,” Mischiu said. “I myself have noticed the bike lanes on this campus, and a lot of them are

BY STANTON POLANSKISTAFF WRITER

The doors along the two long hallways of Trelease Hall’s top fl oor are nothing out of the ordi-nary for a residence hall, each adorned with a peephole and a couple of names. Just beyond the elevators at the end of each hallway is a door framing glass layered over with black paper to prevent outsiders from seeing in.

The four names tagged onto the black paper resemble the normal dorm doors down the hallway, but this is actually a lounge that stu-dents have been living in tempo-rarily. Freshmen Nick Gamsby, Randy Lam, Ryan Steckler and Oscar Montes are the last lounge dwellers in the building.

Every year the University guarantees all students housing. But because they cannot be cer-tain how many students will re-sign for another year or predict

how large the freshman class will be, the target of 7,000 incom-ing freshmen set by University Housing is often surpassed, said Kirsten Ruby, associate director of Housing for marketing. This year, their estimation was sur-passed by 481. As they wait for standard dorm rooms to become available, converted lounges become home for many students at the start of the school year. On Sept. 4, 184 students were in tem-porary housing, according to Uni-versity Housing’s fall contracts report.

But this temporary housing, despite what the makeshift door might imply, is well-equipped for those who missed out on the stan-dard rooms.

“I don’t mind it at all,” said Lam, who is in LAS. “Having four roommates is not that bad.

BY BRITTNEY NADLERSTAFF WRITER

Come the start of second semes-ter, there will be a difference statewide — but not one that stu-dents are likely to notice on cam-pus. In January or February, Illi-nois will start granting concealed carry permits to residents, though fi rearms will still be prohibited on campus.

Illinois became the last state in the nation to legalize concealed carry when state legislature passed the Concealed Carry Act on July 9 , giving the Illinois State Police 180 days to set up a system to review applications for permits.

To obtain a concealed carry permit, citizens must meet a list of requirements, complete an appli-cation and complete a 16-hour fi rearms training course, said University Chief of Police Jeff Christensen . Instructors are

already being certifi ed and are holding courses throughout the state.

Students on campus are not likely to see a change because in order to obtain a concealed carry permit, citizens must be 21 years old, and the University prohibits weapons on campus .

“We don’t (have any safety con-cerns),” Christensen said. “Our concerns are educating every-body and doing what we need to do in terms of meeting the require-ments of the act. Our statute is very much like other states where it’s prohibited on campuses, and it has not been problematic.”

The law does not change the unlawful use of weapons. Instead, it allows people with concealed carry permits to carry fi rearms, though there are certain excep-tions, such as schools, Christensen said.

“Nothing really changes on campus other than, if you have a concealed carry permit and you’re coming to campus, you

need to secure it in your vehicle as prescribed in the act,” he said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VISHNU NATH KAMALNATH UNIVERSITY ALUMNUSBert, a robot the Language Acquisition and Robotic Group uses to research artifi cial intelligence, readies his Nerf gun. Recent graduate Vishnu Nath Kamalnath programmed Bert to shoot a target and measure the error, each shot more accurate than the next.

MEET BERT

Number of students living in temporary housingUniversity Housing strives to provide housing to all applicants who apply, but they do not always have space for everyone. The overfl ow is placed into lounges and over the semester, they are moved to permanent housing. Aug. 28: 40 women, 156 menEnd of October: 0 women, 79 menToday: 0 women, 65 menSOURCE: KIRSTEN RUBY, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF HOUSING FOR MARKETING

SEE BERT | 3A

SEE CONCEALED | 3A

SEE HOUSING | 3A

SEE BIKES | 3A

Illini trying to advance in Champaign regional as they look for a Final Four trip

FINALS EDITION TIPS AND TRICKSThe Editorial Board shares advice on how to survive fi nals week,including eating healthy, sleeping well and remembering to take breaks

OPINIONS, 4A

ARE THEY ELITE?

SPORTS, 1B

UI students teach robot autonomy, solve problems

But seriously ... are we done yet?

2A Thursday, December 12, 2013 THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

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WEATHERPOLICE

Champaign Burglary from a motor vehi-

cle was reported at Circle K, 601 N. Neil St., at around 5 p.m. Saturday.

According to the report, an unknown suspect stole property from the victim’s car.

Theft was reported in the 200 block of West Healey Street at around 5 p.m. Tuesday.

According to the report, an unknown suspect stole a cata-lytic converter off of the vic-tim’s car.

Aggravated battery was reported in the 500 block of East Grove Street at around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

According to the report, the victim was battered by an unknown suspect.

University Damage to motor vehicles

was reported at parking lot C-10, 501 E. Daniel St., at 11 a.m. Sunday.

According to the report, one vehicle had its side mirror pulled off and a second vehi-cle had a dent in the driver’s side door.

Urbana Battery and mob action

were reported in the 2500 block of Philo Road at around 9:30 p.m. Monday.

According to the report, two unknown offenders battered the victim at an unknown location.

A 29-year-old male was arrested on the charges of driv-

ing under the influence and flee-ing or attempt to elude police at Church Street and Good-win Avenue at around 8 p.m. Tuesday.

According to the report, the officer attempted to stop the suspect for not using his turn signal. The suspect refused to stop his vehicle and then showed signs of being under the influ-ence of drugs once he stopped.

Identity theft was reported at the U of I Credit Union, 206 E. University Ave., at around 11 a.m. Tuesday.

According to the report, an unknown offender used a deceased victim’s debit card to withdraw money from the vic-tim’s bank account.

Compiled by Hannah Prokop

HOROSCOPESBY NANCY BLACKTRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYExpand your territory this year. Explore your passions through direct experience, travel and study. Follow your higher calling for the greatest good. 2014 waxes golden, with extra income into March. Partnership and teamwork are your secret weapons. Romance, beauty and creative brilliance sparkle during springtime, for a late summer launch and autumn career success. Ask for what you want and get it.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 — Make a promise, and cultivate your rewards. Don’t touch savings; focus on making money instead. Postpone expense. Apply discipline and each step forward earns rewards. Stubborn persistence wins out over apathy or giving up. Stick it out.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20)Today is a 5 — You don’t have to go very far to !nd what you want. Your patience pays off. But don’t get arrogant; accept coaching from an expert. Replenish your reserves whenever possible, especially by resting and eating well.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20)Today is a 5 —Results con!rm your faith. Wait until the moon changes signs to make your move. Something’s coming due. You can

!nd the money for a household project. Contact team members and keep everyone informed of the latest information.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22)Today is a 6 — Ideas lead to results. Postpone expansion (professional and personal, even romance) for now. Your public life interferes with your privacy for the next two days. Soften your tone. Don’t rush things or share strategy. Plan your next move.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22)oday is a 6 — Get farther than you thought possible, without throwing your money around. Responsibilities take priority today and tomorrow. You can !nd what you need to do what you’ve planned. Women play big roles. Beauty and art soothe your soul.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22)Today is a 5 — You have more than you need. Something you try doesn’t work. Be gracious, even if annoyed. New opportunities will open soon, but there are still barriers. Dreams of distant and exotic destinations !ll your imagination. Gather information.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22)Today is a 6 — Relax. Don’t try a new idea yet; it’s not time to launch, travel, or take risks. Pay the bills today or tomorrow, and review resources. You’re especially charming now. Take deep breaths, and think about what you love.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21) Today is a 7 — De!ne your

objective. Don’t go yet, though; it’s too expensive at the moment. Use what you have to achieve a dream. Study with a partner. Start a new phase in your relationship. Ask for speci!c puzzle pieces. Push yourself forward.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21)Today is a 6 —Venture farther out, and contact a distant friend. Get down to the nitty-gritty today and tomorrow. Others help out. Rest when you can. There’s more work coming soon. Let people know what you’re after.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19)Today is a 5 — Discover talents you didn’t know you had. Notice what doesn’t work about your routine and change it (add fun). Your partner’s !nances need attention. Help out and things could get romantic. The next two days are lucky for love.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18)Today is a 6 — Household issues require attention. Get the highest quality at the best interest rates. Costs may be higher than expected. Wait on unnecessary expenses. It all works out. Plan a luxurious evening at home with good food and company.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20)Today is a 7 — The two of you light up the room. A !nancial shortfall is temporary. Take an opportunity to add comfort to your environment. A project doesn’t turn out exactly as you pictured, but it still works. Express your love.

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In the Dec. 11, 2013, edition of The Daily Illini, the article “UI could improve food sustainability efforts through Real Food Challenge campaign” incorrectly stated that Emily Nink was the co-president of Real World Hopkins. She is the co-president of Real Food Hopkins.

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THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM Thursday, December 12, 2013 3A

visionworldtattoo.com

SNAP cutbacks affect local residents

Urbana police see rise in car burglaries

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ISS helps fund bike pathsThe highlighted portion within the map still needs to be painted and

its cost will be funded by the Illinois Student Senate.need to be painted

SOURCE: Student Senator David Michiu SCOTT DURAND THE DAILY ILLINI

BY BRITTNEY NADLERSTAFF WRITER

The Urbana Police Depart-ment is advising residents to keep their cars locked after a sharp increase in burglaries this year, Urbana police Lt. Robert Fitzger-ald said.

Urbana car burglaries have increased from 121 in 2012 to 196 so far this year, Fitzgerald said. Of the last 36 burglaries report-ed, every car was left unlocked, allowing easy access for thieves.

During this time of year, the Urbana Police Department sees a spike in car theft due to the holi-day season.

“People are opportunistic,” Fitzgerald said. “So people are going around searching car doors and ... opening up stuff, looking for loose change, taking things out, especially when you get close to the holiday season. People leave stuff wrapped in the back ... so people are looking for that.”

Potential robbers are aware that college students are leav-ing items in cars on campus, especially when they are mov-ing home for the holiday break.

“We’re asking people if they see people loitering in their neighborhood late at night to give us a call, not to approach them, but to call us,” Fitzgerald said. “The offi cers are going to be out

there. We want to identify these people to make sure they’re not up to no good.”

The Urbana police have put extra patrols in southeast Urba-na and the areas that have been hit heaviest, Fitzgerald said. He sent emails to several neighbor-hood watches and other groups to remind residents to keep car doors locked, windows rolled up and garage doors closed.

“In one of the details we did last week, an offi cer went out and found several garage doors open and went to talk to the people,” he said. “Then we put out a blast message to these groups saying, ‘Hey, don’t leave your garages open overnight.’ So we’re being proactive. This is not just a south-east Urbana problem, this is a county-wide problem.”

Urbana police are also enforc-ing a “Lock It or Lose It” cam-paign to encourage residents to lock their car doors. Offi cers put fl yers on car windshields and hand out pamphlets as they pass people to remind residents of pos-sible car burglaries.

Brett Enghausen, vice presi-dent of Hanson’s Auto Repair in Urbana, said he has not seen an increase in burglary repairs because burglars haven’t had to actually break into vehicles.

“The downside to a locked vehi-

cle is if (burglars) want to get in there, they will break something,” Enghausen said. “Alarm systems are handy as a deterrent.”

He said the cost at Hanson’s Auto Repair for replacing a bro-ken window could be $100 to $200 depending on the vehicle, with an additional $100 for installation. A broken side-view mirror could cost between $50 and $150, along with an $80 labor cost for the hour it takes to install the part.

Kathy Wallig, a long-time Urbana resident and member of the Southeast Urbana Neigh-borhood Association, subscribes to daily crime reports from cri-mereports.com to stay updated with the crime in her area, espe-cially since her daughter-in-law’s car was robbed.

“My daughter-in-law was parked in my driveway for less than fi ve minutes,” Wallig said. “She came inside to pick up my grandkids. Less than fi ve min-utes, she got out to the car and her purse was gone.”

Wallig said she lives on a “qui-et, secluded” street that sees few pedestrians, leading her to believe that whoever stole her daughter-in-law’s purse lives nearby.

“Every single one of those cars (robbed) has been unlocked — they’re crimes of opportunity,”

Wallig said. “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to steal stuff out of a car, especially an unlocked car, and, if it’s there, it’s just an open invitation to everybody.”

Wallig has noticed the efforts from the Urbana police and has informed her neighborhood about them through the neighborhood association’s Listserv and Face-book page.

“If things are stolen from their cars and their cars are unlocked, obviously the person who stole it is the fi rst person you want to condemn for that, but the police can’t be everywhere, every sin-gle minute keeping their eye on something that really is an indi-vidual’s responsibility to take care of,” she said.

The Urbana police are holding a community meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 2200 S. Philo Road. The meeting will educate residents on vehicle safety and vandalism, Fitzgerald said.

“We want to live in a nice, qui-et, crime-free area, I think that’s everybody’s desire, but people are people,” Wallig said. “There’s good people, there’s bad people. That’s just the way it is. Life hap-pens. So do what you need to do.”

Brittney can be reached at [email protected].

BY ELEANOR BLACKSTAFF WRITER

During its monthly food distri-bution night Nov. 21, Wesley Eve-ning Food Pantry was fi lled with families waiting to be called up so it could pick up any food items it may need.

One of those waiting was Nicole Sechrest of Urbana, who said she has been on food stamps, now called the Supplemental Nutri-tion Assistance Program, since 1999. Like many other households across the country, she had recent-ly found out that SNAP benefi ts were cut starting Nov. 1.

Her benefi ts were cut by $20, the maximum for a two-person household. Her initial reaction was shock, then worry about what the cut would mean for her family.

“I kind of was shocked, like, ‘No, it’s not going to get cut, we’ll be just fi ne,’” she said. “‘But if it

does get cut, then we go to the food banks. But what if the food banks shut down?’”

Sechrest found out about the cuts from one of her friends, then had to confi rm the news with her caseworker, whom she meets with once a week.

“I just had to fi gure out by myself (about the cut) and it was kind of scary,” she said. “You had to ask questions and then you hear a bunch of bull about it.”

The cut came as a result of the end of the 2009 American Recov-ery and Reinvestment Act’s tem-porary boost to the program, initi-ated in response to the recession, which increased monthly benefi ts by 13.6 percent.

David Lloyd, policy analyst at Voices for Illinois Children, a chil-dren’s advocacy group, said the boost was made to stimulate both the economy and aid families who

were personally impacted by the recession.

“SNAP benefi ts are considered one of the best ways to stimulate the economy, mostly because when people receive them they immedi-ately spend them because food is a necessity,” he said. “Economists basically estimated that whenever we give an extra dollar of SNAP benefi ts out, there’s a multiplier effect that benefi ts the economy. There’s big bang for your buck.”

Lloyd said the cuts will affect about two million people, includ-ing about 900,000 children.

“It was essentially a 7 per-cent cut on average, or about $9 per person, per month,” he said. “Now the average benefi t per per-son per meal is less than $1.40. It has extremely negative effects on families who are still strug-gling around the country and in Illinois.”

He added that so far, the imme-diate effects have been on food retailers, especially as the cuts started during the holiday season.

Donna Camp , the director of Wesley Evening Food Pantry, said it was too early to tell how people would be affected but she imag-ined that there may be an increase in attendance.

“It could be that the fi rst month or so, people may just be trying to get by. It will be as the SNAP cuts continue, that three months from now, six months from now, some-body has a health issue and their car breaks down, now they’re real-ly having to decide, ‘What do I pay for?’” she said. “If they know that they can get food here, then that helps them be able to take care of some of their other needs.”

Eleanor can be reached at [email protected].

faded, unpainted and in disrepair.” The idea of bike path renew-

al began last year when Mischiu sought something meaningful for the senate to positively impact campus life. He began thinking about how bicycle transportation is important in terms of encourag-ing carbon-neutral forms of trans-portation. He began working with Amy Liu, a sophomore in FAA and the chair of the senate’s Environ-mental Sustainability Committee.

Liu said the University has experienced higher instances of bike usage when bike lanes are present, and many students do not feel comfortable riding their bikes alongside cars on the street. “Stu-dents are obviously tight for mon-ey, and they need the freedom to get to places they need to be with-out a car, so bikes are a very good method for that,” Liu said.

DeLorenzo said Facilities and Services has not spent a lot of money on bike path maintenance in recent years, which is why the department currently needs the allocation.

“Given the context of the cho-rus robes last week, the fi nan-cial affairs committee has been behaving really differently, par-ticularly with these multi-thou-sand dollar allocations,” Mischiu said. “Unlike chorus robes, these improvements will benefi t the entire student body, not just one (registered student organization).”

Parliamentarian Christopher

Boidy added that this will benefi t the severely visually impaired, and reminded senators that the University is a disability friend-ly campus.

Facilities and Services is cur-rently updating an “extensive” campus bike plan, which is in its fi nal draft. DeLorenzo said she doesn’t think they will ever be done making improvements due to the nature of maintaining bike paths and lanes.

Brian Siegel, the only sena-tor who voted no, said it’s impor-tant for Facilities and Services to reprioritize their budget for bike path improvements, as he believes more students travel by bike than by car. While he is for repairs toward bike paths, he does not believe the student fee money should go toward this project.

“They need to make bike lanes more of a priority rather than coming to the senate,” said Siegel, senior in Media. “The 1.2 miles will not even fi nish the whole project. It’s important for F&S to come forward with bike lanes as a priority with a grand plan to the senate.”

Mischiu said not being able to see the paint on bike lanes makes all the difference.

“I ride my bike around here, and the network has got a lot of dis-tance to go before it’s really func-tional in my view, but the least we can do is paint these bike lanes because it is a safety issue,” Mis-chiu said.

Megan can be reached at [email protected].

BIKESFROM 1A

You get to know them. It’s fi ne. You respect their space. I don’t know — I kind of prefer temporary housing, but that’s just me.”

Inside the room is a pair of bunk beds divided by a stack of porta-ble closets. Just inside of one door is a cut-in countertop with cabi-nets. Lam said he stores a lot in that space.

“I don’t know if other lounges have that space over there,” he said. “But I fi nd that it defi nitely feels like there’s a lot more space it the temp housing rooms than oth-er rooms. Sometimes when other people come in, they walk in and are like, ‘Whoa, you guys have so much more space in here.’”

After the May 15 priority hous-ing deadline, housing assignments are made in the order that applica-tions are received. Lam applied for housing about two weeks after the deadline. He hoped that he would get a standard assignment, but he fi gured he might be in tempo-rary housing. The emails he had received over the summer from University Housing gradually matched his intuition.

Lam moved in at the start of the school year with two other ran-domly assigned roommates: Mon-tes and Steckler. Gamsby arrived later.

Originally, it had been Gams-by’s plan to commute to and from school because his family lives only 45 minutes away. But early on, the plan lost its traction, and

he applied for housing one week into the semester.

“I have all 8 a.m. (classes), so I was pretty excited to be on campus so I could to get to class,” Gams-by said.

Across the middle of the carpet-ed fl oor lays a router and blue Eth-ernet cables that fl ow to the bunk beds like rivers branching away from a lake. The setup in the room is not quite perfect.

“We’ve got it fi gured out, but in the beginning it was a bit of a has-sle getting everything to work,” Lam said.

Because fl oor meetings typically take place in lounges, meetings for the 12th fl oor take place elsewhere in the building.

Though he lives in a converted lounge without couches and other amenities a standard lounge would have, he has never been in anoth-er fl oor’s lounge. Still, he feels his fl oor might be missing out.

“Sometimes I feel sorta bad for taking up the lounge space because all the other fl oors have lounges and from what I hear, lounge is a chill place where everyone hangs out,” he said. “Taking away that, it kind of feels bad a little bit.”

University Housing moves stu-dents living in lounges without win-dows into their permanent rooms as soon as they can. Because the lounge on the 12th fl oor has win-dows, it will be one of the last to make the transition back to a nor-mal lounge like the other fl oors.

But Lam and Gamsby are fi ne with that. The four roommates have “meshed” despite minimal privacy, and they say that they

don’t think lounge living is any worse off than their permanently housed peers.

“I’ve never lived in a normal room but I think (living in a lounge is) about the same as living in the other ones except you just have more roommates,” Lam said.

They think about their current home similarly to how others in temporary housing have over the years, Ruby said.

“You’d think they might be clam-oring and calling us every day, ‘when can I move?’” she said. “It’s more of the opposite: ‘Gee, I really like it here, can I stay?’”

The move for Lam, Gamsby, Steckler and Montes will likely take place sometime early next semester. But the four randomly-assigned roommates, who found a way to get along, might be sepa-rated by being assigned different dorms.

“I already know my roommates, and getting another roommate next semester is going to take some adjusting,” Lam said. “Hopefully they’ll move us out in twos.”

Though all four of them have made a point to give each other enough space, it was never too much for the lounge on the top fl oor of Trelease.

“You always have somebody to talk to,” Gamsby said. “Somebody that’s there to hang out with.”

Next semester, the thought of giving roommates space may slip away, but there won’t always be somebody around anymore.

Stanton can be reached at [email protected].

HOUSINGFROM 1A

target, and using its programming, he would measure the error and fi re again, each shot being more accurate than the next.

“It’s almost guaranteed to miss the fi rst time around because it’s just a trial shot,” he said. “Once you’ve given the fi rst shot, it mea-sures the error, and then it sequen-tially goes to reduce the error in such a way that you almost get an accurate shot in like, the fourth try.”

He’s going to come back for his doctorate next year, and when he does, he will rejoin the lab and con-tinue working on Bert.

“It could move even further along by recognizing different people, talking to people and inte-grating natural language process-ing with the learning,” Kamalnath said. “I want to integrate more of the fi ve senses humans have to see how far it affects the learning.”

In addition to this, he said he hopes AI will grow in conscious-ness, not only with deep learning, but also in public consciousness.

“AI should be a lot more visi-ble and shouldn’t just be associat-ed with terminators,” Kamalnath said. “Things like this will slow-ly start having a lot more main-stream effect on the public, that’s what I see the future of AI going toward.”

Austin can be reached at [email protected] and @austinkeating3.

“But for example, somebody that is going hunting or target shoot-ing, they’re not covered by that, so you still can’t have any weapons on University property.”

Aleksander Dapkus , senior in LAS, is the president of Illini on Target, a registered student organization that allows students to shoot at a nearby range . He is also a member of Students for Con-cealed Carry on Campus , an orga-nization that has chapters on cam-puses nationwide to fi ght for the right to carry a concealed fi rearm on campus.

“There’s always the potential for (danger),” Dapkus said. “(Con-cealed carry) should be allowed on campus mainly for the fact that crime in this area is not completely unheard of. We get Crime Alerts of some pretty bad robberies.”

Dapkus said some campuses do allow concealed carry, and there have not been any issues, mainly due to the age limit. If permit own-ers break the requirements of the law, their permit will be revoked.

“There’s a ton of rules when it comes to concealed carry, and there’s tons of reasons why the government can take away your license to carry,” Dapkus said. “Even the smallest little slip-up with the law and the right to own a license is taken away. It takes a different type of person that really takes the responsibility of carry-ing more seriously.”

Elizabeth Ambros, senior in

AHS, and Mark Esposito, junior in Engineering, started a concealed carry education business to teach students how to shoot.

Ambros served six years in the Navy as a combat medic for the Marines, and Esposito became a rifl e and pistol expert in the Marines.

“We wanted to instill the prin-ciple of gun safety in our local city here in Champaign,” Ambros said. “We feel a lot of the residents of Illinois are unaware of what the different gun rules are, what own-ing a gun entails, how guns work. We feel that educating populations is going to be one of our greatest contributions.”

Ambros thinks it is important for students to be educated about fi rearms regardless of wheth-er they wish to own one or not, because, as evidenced through-out history, the more knowledge-able people are on guns, the safer they will be.

“There are some people who are physically unable to defend them-selves,” Esposito said. “You can have all the martial arts train-ing in the world, but, if you’re a 110-pound female against a 250-pound guy, you’re not defense-less, but I think the gun is a great equalizer in that case.”

For more information, visit immediateactiondefensivetrain-ing.com.

Steffi e Drucker contributed to this report.

Brittney can be reached at [email protected].

CONCEALEDFROM 1A

BERTFROM 1A

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 contri-butions. 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.

Last September, CEO of Gen-eral Motors Dan Akerson did some foreshadowing. He

stated at a Detroit conference on leadership that, “The Detroit Three are all run by non-car guys. Someday, there will be a Detroit Three that’s run by a car gal.”

The board of GM announced on Tuesday that product chief Mary Barra will replace Aker-son who is retiring in January. This will make Barra the first woman to ever lead one of the Big Three U.S. automakers, and will make her one of the high-est-profile female CEOs in the world.

This is a significant achieve-ment as the U.S. auto industry has been notoriously dominated by males.

Barra began at GM as an 18-year-old co-op student, pur-suing an electrical engineering degree at what is now Kettering University (formerly the General Motors Institute). Quickly mov-ing up the ranks of GM and earn-ing an MBA from Stanford, she has become a tremendous exam-ple of the potential that women have to impact technology.

Granted, this is certainly not anything new. Other prominent female technologists include Ginni Rometty of IBM, Maris-sa Mayer of Yahoo! and Ursu-la Burns of Xerox. However, the club is still relatively small. Barra’s accomplishment repre-sents a benchmark in how far women have come, but also can serve as inspiration for future achievement.

There is still a tremendous gen-der gap within the fields of sci-ence, math and engineering.

For instance, women only rep-resent 18 percent of the engineer-ing student body at the Univer-sity of Illinois, the Daily Illi-ni reported in November. Over-all, in 2011, women only account-ed for about 18 percent of all engineering bachelor degrees awarded in the United States, according to a study by the American Society for Engineer-ing Education.

The future economic suc-cess of the American economy requires that we can harness the power that women can bring to the table. The trouble is that American STEM education tends

to resemble a leaky pipeline or a sex-based filter, which removes women along the way to STEM careers.

This is not a problem that your average plumber can fix. It’s not that women can’t handle the coursework, it’s that they are often deterred by certain societal stereotypes.

Civil and environmental engi-neering profes-sor at the Univer-sity of Colorado Boulder, Angela Bielefeldt, told PBS in an inter-view, “Wom-en tend to leave engineering with higher grade point averages than the men ... but they per-ceive that their technical skills are sometimes different. And

they’re not different, in reality.”She went on to say that men

are often quick to delegate more menial tasks to women in group work, and can end up easily dom-inating the group if the women are not assertive enough to push back.

These behaviors can lead women to feel isolated, and cause them to leave the STEM fields. Thus, the troubling cycle continues in which women are

deterred from succeeding in technology because a disappoint-ing amount of history depicts them doing so.

This is why we need to hear more success stories like that of Mary Barra, to inspire women to stay the course even if it may seem that the odds are stacked against them.

There have been many initia-tives aimed at trying to keep women in the STEM fields — targeting girls when they are young, trying to highlight the aspects of science and engi-neering that are glamorous (such as promoting creativi-ty and impacting society), and even the intriguing idea of introducing a female statue to accompany “Grainger Bob” on the Illinois Engineering Quad (though this idea remains quite controversial).

While there is no simple solu-tion to this problem, part of it should certainly be highlighting role models like Mary Barra for excelling with a STEM educa-tion. Making celebrities of these individuals could be an impor-tant step in ingraining the notion in our youth that when it comes to technology, girls can play with the big boys.

Andrew is a junior in Engineering. He can be reached at [email protected].

As a media and cinema studies major, I am notoriously asked, “Well,

what are you going to do with that?”

To satisfy the onslaught of further interrogation, I simply respond by saying that I plan to work in a social media agency or for some publication.

But the real answer? These are two fields I am interested in, but how should I know exactly what I am going to do with the rest of my life?

The reason I don’t know specifically “what I’m going to do with that” is not because I don’t have ambitions or goals for any career, but rather because I don’t know what opportunities I will be presented with in the future and where exactly I will end up — I can only guess.

And while many people may have these long-term plans of internships and job prospects (myself included), it is still nothing more than hope and a prediction.

However, it seems many students have been misled with this perception that you must come into college with a “solid” major, one that will guarantee you a specific job with financial

security in the future, and in doing so, you might have to risk putting your own interests and passions on the sidelines.

When in reality, that should not be the case, because doing something you love tends to drive you to go further within a particular field, and that in itself can lead to a financially successful future. It’s not like your major is a life sentence — there is more that defines your desirability in the workforce, such as leadership involvement and experience in the field.

With my particular major, though, passion is not an issue.

I enjoy my classes, I’m intrigued by my homework assignments and I care about what my professors have to say. In other words, doing the whole “school thing” is not a chore because I am excited and willing to learn about my major. And that motivation is what drives me toward obtaining a job in this particular field.

But unfortunately, the same can’t be said for everyone. Keith Marshall, executive director of the Campus Center for Advising and Academic Services says, “Many freshmen end up going into majors in fields like business, biology and engineering, despite the fact that they do not have a particular interest or aptitude for these areas,” The Daily Illini reported last week.

The trouble with this strategy is that it could generate a sense of apathy toward these students’ majors. If students are choosing majors solely based on infamous job security and prestige, then that leaves the risk of them doing jobs in areas they don’t particularly care about or might not even be good at.

I would never choose to have a doctor that carelessly or emotionlessly does his job just because he can. I want a doctor who wants to be doing what he is doing and is motivated to help me.

We need to be more than a generation of apathy — mindlessly, robotically doing our jobs.

Having a major you love is what will spark future success in whatever field you enter.

Take the example presented in a New York Times article of David Muir, an anchor and correspondent for ABC World News, who majored in journalism (a major often criticized for a lack of job prospects) at Ithaca College. He also works with a slew of people who weren’t journalism majors.

Not only does Muir’s case emphasize that an uncommonly prosperous major can lead to a successful career, it also demonstrates that job opportunities extend beyond your major in college.

By the end of these four years, it is not always about what

the degree says, but the skills that stand behind what it took to get that degree. As author Jeffrey J. Selingo says, majors are “fungible” — they are interchangeable; they are not set-in-stone.

The major you choose should not be the end-all-be-all decision for the rest of your life that locks you into one position, so picking something that you enjoy is worth it.

It is more about the fact that you worked hard to earn a degree, which indicates a level of devotedness, ability to meet deadlines, maintaining responsibility and several other important skills that ultimately any job would be looking for.

And if you carry desire behind it all, then it can only make your case that much stronger out in the workforce.

So when people ask me, “Well, what are you going to do with that?” I truthfully want to say that I don’t know — and neither do many other people.

I can’t predict exactly where my journey will take me, but because of the excitement, desire and experience I have with my media and cinema studies major, I look toward my future with great confidence.

Nicki is a junior in Media. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @NickiHalenza.

THE DAILY ILLINI

EDITORIALHow to stay alive

and succeed during !nals week

New GM CEO sets benchmark for women in technology

EDITORIAL CARTOON STEVE SACK MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE

ANDREW HORTON

Opinions columnist

NICKI HALENZA

Assistant opinions editor

Majors are unimportant compared to passion

With the end of the semester, the blight draws near.

But worry not fellow students; cast away your fear.

Finals return, forty thousand brains go numb.

But there are many wise finals’ tips to draw from.

With hope of removing some of the drear,The Editorial Board wishes

to leave you with some tips right here.

Get some sleep.Don’t go through finals week as a zom-

bie — get some Zs. As tempting as it is to be a cliche college student, pulling all-nighters during finals week really isn’t a good idea. A lack of sleep can hinder your ability to both study for and take your fi-nal and, in most cases, napping by itself is not enough to keep you at optimal perfor-mance. In fact, most students require 8.5 to 9.25 hours of sleep a day to stave off a va-riety of maladies related to sleep depriva-tion, such as drowsiness and low energy.

Know when to stop and take a break.

You can only retain so much information during any one study session, so don’t over-exert yourself. Periodic concentrated study sessions interspersed with breaks can en-sure you remain fresh while prepping for your exams. Consider taking in the beau-ty of our fresh frozen tundra with a study break walk around campus. If that doesn’t wake you up, check your pulse.

Keep some variety in your studying.

Spice up your study sessions by regularly changing subjects. Instead of, “Today I will focus on Molecular and Cellular Biology,” consider allocating two hours to one exam, taking a break, then two hours to a differ-ent course, and so on. Planning out regular alternation can help ensure equal prepara-tion across your classes and keep you from burning out on a particular subject.

Keep a regular workout schedule.Don’t use finals as an excuse to skip the

gym. Keeping your body fit is a good step toward a sharp mind. Swim at the ARC, workout at CRCE, do crunches in your dorm room. Many students have a regu-lar workout regime during the school year. Don’t upset the rhythm your body has fall-en into just because you have finals, plan around the them. Regular exercise can be a great way to relieve exam stress and anxi-ety.

Eat well.While it can tempting to stress eat a

bounty of junk food during finals, consid-er keeping some healthier alternatives on hand that may also boost your brain func-tion. Consider fish or nuts as means of get-ting your daily omega-3 fatty acids, linked to learning and memory. Snack on fresh berries, many, like strawberries, cranber-ries and blueberries, contain antioxidants and flavonoids that can increase blood flow to the brain and improve memory. Nuts and beans are great ways to get some pro-tein while maintaining your glucose level, the fuel your brain runs on.

Take a rain check on finals week parties.

Is your best friend’s 21st birthday the day before your Astronomy exam? As much as you may want some kind of escape from your textbooks, consider skipping on parties that cut out significant chunks of your study time that will probably leave your ability to study impaired.

Treat a final as final.

After that brief sense of relief follow-ing handing in your exam to the proctor, the pains of uncertainty begin: “What if I marked A instead of C?” “Was the z-score really 15?” “Were there questions on that last page?” While some of this rumination is inevitable, don’t let it control the rest of your finals or winter break. After you fin-ish a final, close the book on that course and move on. Continuing to think through how you could have done on a final can cre-ate unneeded stress that could prove detri-mental to your success on later exams. Not discussing exam specifics with others can also help.

Barra’s accomplishment

represents a benchmark in how

far women have come.

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM Thursday, December 12, 2013 5A

EDUMACATION JOHNIVAN DARBY

BEARDO DAN DOUGHERTY

DOONESBURY GARRY TRUDEAU

DOWN 1 Dish with melted

cheese

2 Occupy

3 Just above

4 + 6

5 Some commuter “reading”

6 Joe of “NCIS”

7 Overran

8 Tramp

9 Shylock trait

10 Sharp circle?

11 Willingly, old-style

12 Nonkosher sandwich

13 Uncertainties

19 Discouraging advice

22 Japanese flower-arranging art

25 Line at a stationery store?

26 Topps collectible

30 Cataloging things

32 Fight back

33 Whacked

34 Vogue on a dance floor

35 Shaving brand

36 Place to get a bite?

38 Certain heat conduit

43 Mishmash

46 Lit

49 Ship’s route

53 Familiar phone conver-sation starter

55 Common spice in Indian food

56 Shades

57 Cereal killer

58 Went to and fro

59 Convergent point

62 Oscar-winning John

63 Entry

64 Fence (in)

66 Word before rain, heat and gloom

The crossword solution is in the Classified section.

ACROSS 1 They’re thrown from horses 7 Fake11 “The Silence of the Lambs”

org.14 Join the game, in a way15 Spun16 TV ET17 The “you” in “you caught my

eye” in a 1965 #1 hit18 Casino sights20 It flows in the Loire21 Pasta name suffix23 Boss of TV’s Mork24 Small-time thieves27 Johannes : German :: ___ :

Scottish28 O’Hare or Newark Liberty29 Totally awesome31 One usually buys a round

one35 Olympian Ohno37 Some archaeological finds39 Author of “The Prague Cem-

etery”40 “Hawaii ___”41 Suffix with drunk42 Schleppers’ aids44 Relative of a tank top45 “Roots”

surname47 Slip past48 Touchdowns: Abbr.50 Antibloating brand51 It can cause bloating 52 German word that’s

67-Across spelled backward54 Con game58 Glove material60 Fool61 It may be

topped with an angel62 What an intersection may

have65 Excavation67 German word that’s

52-Across spelled backward68 Parthian predecessor69 City north of Lisbon70 Butt71 Setting for a fall72 Minimum

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 65 66

67 68 69

70 71 72

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Women’s Basketball/UT Martin: Dec. 21

Men’s Basketball/Missouri: Dec. 21Scottrade Center, St. Louis

Men’s Basketball/UIC: Dec. 28United Center, Chicago

Dec 12 - Dec 19

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13 NCAA Regionals Semifinals at 4PM and 6PM / State Farm Center

° General Admission All-Session passes are on sale for $15 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14

NCAA Regional Finals at 5:30PM / State Farm Center ° Visit FightingIllini.com for more details!

WPGU 107.1

How to stay healthy over the winter holidaysBY MARA SHAPIROSTAFF WRITER

It can be difficult to find the motivation to eat healthy and stay active during winter. The eggnog and pies are calling, and mom’s cooking does not help either. However, it is important to main-tain a healthy body even when all we want to do is pig out on holiday treats and watch Netflix.

Erica Nehrling Meador, assis-tant director and dietician of din-ing services, explained how peo-ple can fall into the trap of eating more than necessary during this time of the year. She said that people are usually all-or-noth-ing thinkers, either overload-ing on one food item or taking huge servings instead of pacing themselves.

Nehrling Meador also stated people often mindlessly eat dur-ing the holidays and do not take into consideration what or how much food they are putting into their bodies. She also explained people can fall into the trap of eating simply because they see others eating.

To avoid taking in more cal-ories than necessary, Nehrling Meador suggested students stick to smaller portions.

“Students can start with bigger servings of vegetables and meat and smaller servings of starch-es,” Nehrling Meador said.

When it comes to beverages, water and skim milk can counter-act high-calorie foods, she said. She also said alcohol around the holidays cause people to lose their inhibitions, resulting in stu-dents not caring about what food they consume.

“It helps to go middle of the road. It’s hard to say, ‘One day I ate unhealthy, (the) next, per-fect,’” Nehrling Meador said.

Nehrling Meador said she doesn’t necessarily disapprove of snacking during the holidays.

“Try veggies and water or a low-calorie beverage prior to a meal,” she said.

The University Housing chefs are trained to decrease salt and fat content while still making the food flavorful. For exam-ple, the Dec. 10 menu at Illi-nois Street Residence Hall had salmon and roasted vegetables, cream of potato soup and assort-ed cheesecakes for dessert. Neh-rling Meador stressed that while healthy options are available, comfort foods are also necessary.

“It’s so easy to gain weight. We hit Thanksgiving and don’t get back on track until Jan. 1. People make all-or-nothing New Year’s Eve resolutions where they give up everything,” she said. “Try to do 50 percent; do better 50 percent of the time in stepping towards being healthier.”

University Housing Dining Services has also tried to rem-edy excess food intake. One of the benefits of the University’s

decision to eliminate dining hall trays in 2008 is that it decreas-es the amount of food a student puts on his or her plate, as well as decreases the amount of uneat-en food thrown away, Nehrling Meador said.

Besides eating healthy, stu-dents also should continue their workout regimes during the winter.

Kenneth Wilund, associate professor in kinesiology, and Caroline Smrokowski, Campus Recreation personal trainer and program assistant for per-sonal training, both stressed the importance of staying active during the winter.

“Most people over break tend to lose a lot of what they were working on. They get less active. It’s a lot easier to main-tain weight than to lose. It’s hard-er after having time off,” Wilund said.

Smrokowski explained the inclement weather often decreas-es students’ motivation to work out throughout the winter.

“In winter, people stay in, ver-sus over the summer, they’ll go out and do different activities. It can be harder to work out, but it can be very beneficial for your health,” she said.

Smrokowski recommended students utilize the resources offered by Campus Recreation, including circuit training. Stu-dents can choose a few exercises, such as squats or dips with a cer-tain amount of repetitions dur-ing each exercise. Using stairs is another convenient way to exer-

cise. At Campus Recreation, other activities include cycling, using kennel bells or participat-ing in suspension training, where a student can hold onto a rope and pull himself or herself up.

Students still can work out even if they can’t leave their apartments. They can do push-ups and burpees in the conve-nience of their living spaces. A burpee is when a person is in standing position, jumps down into a pushup, does the pushup, and jumps back up into a stand-ing position.

When it comes to working out during the winter, it is not uncommon for people to rely on their New Year’s resolutions.

“If you can try it out prior to New Year’s Day, it’s better to see if it will actually work. If you can’t do it in December, you won’t do it in January,” Wilund said.

Wilund said good motivational tools include keeping records of food intake and having achiev-able goals. He also warned against not working out all parts of the body.

“People need a well-balanced program, a mix of cardio and muscular strength,” Wilund said.

“Don’t just stick with one exer-cise. You won’t get bored. You should always challenge your-self and constantly be chang-ing it up. Build up intensity and don’t let your body plateau,” Smrokowski added.

Mara can be reached at [email protected].

the organization Donate to Dental Service and looking for ways to obtain dentures for the program’s clients. In both projects, students designed and created brochures that provided helpful information about purchasing low-cost den-tures, as well as facts on Prom-ise Healthcare’s free medicine program.

Salata said the project she worked on was in partnership with the Head Start Dental Clin-ic, a clinic that focuses on car-ing for families without health/dental insurance in Rantoul, Ill.

“We wanted to make (the office) a little more kid-friend-ly,” she said. Salata and her team painted the walls of the clinic and put up decals of trees and animals to make it livelier and “more welcoming.”

“It’s a serious thing (being afraid of the doctor),” Salata said.

Brittany Burd, senior in LAS, has worked alongside Salata this semester and has been a Smile-Healthy volunteer since Janu-ary 2013.

As a volunteer, Burd works closely with SmileHealthy’s Edu-

cation Coordinator Jeana Shroy-er and Volunteer Manager Rovee Fabi.

“I’ve created several educa-tional PowerPoint presentations and handouts for events, such as college health fairs,” Burd said. “I also formatted lesson plans to teach parents of children, ages 0 to 3, about proper dental care,” she said.

Burd said a consistent chal-lenge she has faced in her vol-unteer work and projects is “targeting the audience” (and) making sure that her presenta-tions appeal to the appropriate age groups.

Greenwalt recalled a previous LINC class that created an oral health campaign for teenagers, which was “edgy and topical.”

“They talked about tobacco use, oral piercings and drug use,” Greenwalt said.

She said that these are situ-ations that teens face in their own lives.

Salata and Burd said that, as LINC students, creating a dia-logue and being an active listen-er is important for their projects’ goals to be met, but sometimes, projects take more than a semes-ter to make it happen.

Salata explained she was also working on a side project this

semester, where she tried to raise money for SmileHealthy to obtain Nitrus, commonly known as “laughing gas.” Nitrus is used to help “stabilize” and “soothe” children for dental procedures like “pulling out a tooth” or “removing cavities,” Salata said. Salata said SmileHealthy has been looking to acquire Nitrus to broaden their services, but the resource is not in their budget.

Although she was unsuccess-ful in raising any money, Sala-ta was able to spread the word about the organization’s need for Nitrus and build relation-ships with other dental partners interested in donating to Smile-Healthy in the future.

“That’s the thing,” Salata said. “You get attached. You feel bad when things don’t turn out the way you’d hope.”

Despite the challenges, Sala-ta said that she plans to contin-ue working on the Nitrus fund-raiser even after the semester is over.

And that’s what makes LINC classes so special, according to Greenwalt.

“They teach you about life beyond finals,” she said.

Amanda can be reached at [email protected]

SMILE HEALTHYFROM 6A

PUJA PATEL THE DAILY ILLINITOP: Caroline Smrokowski, sophomore in FAA, demonstrates a leg lift

at the ARC on Dec. 6. She works for Campus Recreation as a personal trainer and program assistant for the personal training department.

BOTTOM: Smrokowski demonstrates a push-up at the ARC on Dec. 6. Students are encouraged to stay healthy over winter break by being mindful about portions and mindless eating, and continuing to stay

active even in adverse weather.

6A | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013 | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

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BY REEMA ABI-AKARSTAFF WRITER

Just over 53 years ago, the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra performed its first concert at Smith Music Hall. More than 250 performances later, the ensemble is still going strong, showcasing a variety of local musical talent. On Thursday, the CUSO is presenting “A Season of Joy,” conducted by music director and maestro Stephen Alltop. The holiday concert will feature seasonal classics like George Frideric Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” and Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride.”

Alltop is a seasoned veteran in the music world. He has conducted ensembles such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Apollo Chorus of Chicago, and has made appearances at Carnegie Hall, Basil-ica Cathedral of St. Denis in France, and on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” He currently serves as music director of the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra and Apollo Chorus of Chicago, among others. He is also a music lecturer at Northwestern University.

The Daily Illini had the chance to speak with Alltop about the CUSO concert and his musical background.

The Daily Illini: Could you talk about the highlights of this performance?Stephen Alltop: This will be a very community-oriented event, because it will feature the Cham-paign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, it will have the Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana (BACH) — which will be featured in Bach’s “Magnificat” — and the Illinois Children’s chorus, which will sing not only in Bach’s “Magnificat,” but they’ll join with the adult singers on the second half of the program, too, in our carol sing and the suite from music from the film “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

DI: Have you ever conducted the Champaign-Urba-

na Symphony Orchestra before?SA: I have twice. I’ve conducted it for my audition concert with the music director search last March, and then I conducted my first concert as music director in October — October 5th. This will be my third time.

DI: What made you want to work with the CUSO?SA: Because Champaign-Urbana is a great com-munity, and the orchestra has terrific musicians in it, and they get to play in one of the greatest con-cert halls in our country. And it’s also a community with a wonderful university. I’m a faculty member at Northwestern, and so I love the fact that our orches-tra includes not only faculty and community mem-bers, but students, because it’s a great opportunity for them.

DI: How did you choose the music for this holiday performance?SA: Well, this is a holiday program, so we wanted to have music of the season, which everything on the program is. And the nice variety from really well-known, popular things like Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” to fun, lesser-known things like the overture on “We Wish you a Merry Christmas” that is done in a baroque style. And that precedes a Bach master-work, which is the “Magnificat.” And that’s the most serious classical piece on the program.

So I’m really glad that we have this mix from light and popular holiday things to Bach’s “Magnificat,” which will also involve not only the choirs I men-tioned, but we also have five young soloists who will be featured in the Bach.

DI: How long does it take to practice and prepare for the concert?SA: Well, the choirs have been working for some time, and the orchestra (met this) week and (put) everything together. And I’ve been working with the soloists, and I do individual work with the soloists before they work with the orchestra.

DI: What do you do when you’re not working with

the CUSO?SA: Well, I teach full-time at Northwestern Univer-sity in Evanston, Ill., and I’m music director of a few other organizations including the Apollo Chorus of Chicago ... and the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, who I’ve been music director for a number of years. And I also have a summertime involvement in Wis-consin with (Green Lake Festival of Music), where I’m music director.

DI: What made you want to work in the music field in the first place?SA: That’s something that came from very deep inside me. I love music; I love the sound of it. It’s something I feel really deeply inside me, and I really feel very happy that I get to make music and lots of it.

DI: Is there anything else you’d like to mention about this upcoming performance?SA: I know that it’s an exam week on campus, but I think that students would really love it, and I think the community folks will also have a great time. It’s a wonderful program to bring kids to because we will do a version of “’Twas the Night Before Christ-mas,” and we will also have a visit, of course, from Santa Claus.

Reema can be reached at abiakar2@ dailyillini.com.

Want to keep food as a source of stress relief without taking a hit to your health? Check out DailyIllini.com to read about how stress eaters can get through finals week while eating healthy.

STEPHEN ALLTOP

‘A SEASON OF JOY’ COMES TO KRANNERT

Leadership studies minor offers project-based class SmileHealthy collaborates with UI LINC programBY F. AMANDA TUGADE STAFF WRITER

Taylor Salata said that as a kid, she was never afraid to go to the dentist.

“But that’s only because both of my parents are den-tists,” the sophomore in LAS said. She smiled from ear to ear and unveiled impeccably white teeth behind moistur-ized, unchapped lips.

As a result of declaring a leadership studies minor, Salata discovered ENG 315, an elective class for her minor that is otherwise known as “LINC,” or Learn-ing in Community. The cur-riculum offers project-based classes for University stu-dents. Each project has ties with local partners.

Naturally, Salata was drawn to SmileHealthy, a Champaign-based, nonprofit organization that helps fami-lies with oral health needs.

“We have been working together (with LINC) for about four years now,” said Nancy Greenwalt, executive director of SmileHealthy.

Greenwalt said that this isn’t a normal three-cred-it hour class. Students, like Salata, work with project managers throughout an entire semester to promote oral health care for children.

She said that four projects took place this fall semester, which catered to each stu-dent’s interests.

Students involved with the SmileHealthy Mobile Dental Clinics project updated the mobile unit, which provides general dental services like cleanings or fluoride treat-ments for families in the C-U community.

“We decided that we want-ed to make the mobile clinic more compact, and train the volunteers to actually unload the equipment,” she said.

Salata said that she and other students did even the smallest of tasks, which make a large impact.

“We (also) wanted to make it (the equipment) more eas-ily accessible,” Salata said, adding that she and other students helped organize the equipment by making labels and tags. “So that volunteers — or even me — if I looked at it, I could assemble it,” she said.

Another project involved partnering with Promise Healthcare, a service orga-nization that promotes Med-icaid expansion, Salata said. The third project entailed students collaborating with

Stephen Alltop conducts holiday concert for third time

SEE SMILE HEALTHY | 5A

COURTESY OF JOE MADDEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CHAMPAIGN-URBANA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

TOP: Stephen Alltop conducts the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra in front of an audience at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts on March 9.

COURTESY OF STEPHEN ALLTOPBOTTOM: Stephen Alltop raises his baton to conduct at the Chicago Symphony Center.

SPORTS1BTHURSDAY

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BY SEAN HAMMOND SENIOR WRITER

After a 72-65 win over Dart-mouth on Tuesday, Illinois head basketball coach John Groce sat between center Nnanna Egwu and freshman guard Malcolm Hill and told the media how happy he was that his team would finally have a day off.

“I’d love to be around these guys every day, but we’ve been going now for a while,” Groce said.

The Illini had just finished a stretch in which they had played three games in eight days and made two separate trips to Atlan-ta and back. Groce and his staff only had one day to prepare the players for Dartmouth.

“The big fella here has been under the weather and has still yet to tell me,” Groce said. Egwu, his head down, just barely cracked a smile. He didn’t let anyone see it for long.

“He just won’t tell me, won’t say anything,” Groce continued. “I really appreciate him and the way he’s handled himself. He’s tried to play through it and he’s probably looking forward to (the

day off) more than anybody.”Egwu and his teammates final-

ly got that day off on Wednesday. But it will be a quick turnaround. On Thursday the Illini will begin preparation for No. 15 Oregon.

Illinois travels to Portland, Ore., to play the undefeated Ducks on Saturday. Oregon, which reached the Sweet 16 of last year’s NCAA tournament, already has wins over Georgetown and Ole Miss this season.

The game will be played at Port-land’s Moda Center, home to the Portland Trailblazers of the NBA, in what is technically considered a neutral-site game. But Groce knows the Ducks will have a dis-tinct home-court advantage, play-ing a little more than 100 miles from their campus.

“Any time you get to play a team as good as Oregon in a semi-away game, that’s a great opportunity,” Groce said.

Egwu knows it’s not going to be easy to walk out of Portland with a win, but Illinois already made one trip out west and came away with a W over UNLV on Nov. 26.

“There’s a lot maturity that’s

involved in it,” Egwu said. “We’ve got to understand that we have to be prepared for this team just like any other team we’ve played.”

The Ducks (8-0) are ranked high, but like the Illini (9-1), have benefited from a favorable sched-ule. Oregon has won all six of its home games. The win over Georgetown was played at a U.S. Army base in South Korea, about as neutral as a court gets. The game against Ole Miss was won

on the road in overtime. As of Wednesday, the Ducks’

91.4 points per game ranked sec-ond in the country and their .529 field goal percentage was good enough for fifth in the nation. Ore-gon features six players averaging double-figure points, led by junior guard Joseph Young’s 20.2 points per game. The Ducks are also the 10th best 3-point shooting team in the nation, knocking down long-range shots at a 43.8 percent clip.

If nothing else, Oregon can put the ball in the basket. The Ducks will test the Illinois defense more than any team it has faced.

“We’re going to have to play better than we did (Tuesday),” Groce said. “Our guys know that. We have to have two really good days of practice in preparation.”

Sean can be reached at [email protected] and @sean_hammond.

Illini face fiercest challenger to date in No. 15 Ducks

BY NICHOLAS FORTINASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

The Illini have been here twice before, but not quite like this.

When Illinois faces Purdue on Friday, it will be the teams’ third meeting. Two major components will differentiate this match from the first contests: the venue and the stakes. In the rubber match of their series, the two teams will compete at State Farm Center for a chance to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.

“They’re a great defensive team,” head coach Kevin Hambly said. “They know us. We know them. It’s going to be about execution.

“We’ll make adjustments. They’ll make adjustments. That happens, but I don’t think there will be any major tweaks, you kind of are who you are at this time of year.”

In their two games against each other this season, Illinois and Purdue have split, each winning at home. The Illini lost the match on Oct. 11 in four sets before returning home to sweep

the Boilermakers. Despite the recent win in the series, though, Hambly said the Illini shouldn’t be overconfident.

“There’s a little bit of confidence in that but also teams are out for revenge,” Hambly said. “There’ll be some revenge coming at us, which could be a good thing or a bad thing. To me when this team (Illinois) believes that they should win, they compete a little bit harder, they’re a little bit more comfortable.”

The Illini’s road to the Sweet 16 seemed to be a fairly easy one. Illinois beat Morehead State in three sets in the first round before taking down foe Marquette in four sets in the second round. The Illini were outplayed in the first

set against the Golden Eagles but rebounded, winning the next three sets on the back of strong play from libero Jennifer Beltran and outside hitters Jocelynn Birks and Liz McMahon.

“I think the biggest thing is that we’ve been working really hard just when it comes to being scrappy, picking up balls, making really great plays on defense,” Beltran said. “We’re a really defensive-minded team, and that’s something we definitely pride ourselves on and it’s something we’ve been pushing ourselves to do every single day, so it kind of sets the tone for everything.”

Purdue’s road to the Sweet 16 looks similar to Illinois’. The Boilermakers beat Central

Arkansas in three sets and knocked off Missouri, the No. 4 overall seeded and highest in the regional, in a 3-1 win.

The Illini will have to face a well balanced, defensive minded team with good middle blocker KiKi Jones. Because of the familiarity between the two teams, Beltran feels the match will come down to whether Illinois can execute.

“We know if we do our part and do what we need to do we’ll take care of them,” she said. “I think we’re hungry. We see the opportunity that’s ahead of us and there’s a big chance for us to go and take it.”

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

Illinois to face Purdue in Sweet 16

LOOKING FOR WEEKEND ROUNDUP?We have a full schedule of all Illini athletic events while you’re gone

PAGE 4B

BY STEPHEN BOURBONSTAFF WRITER

There’s been two distinct teams that show up for the Illi-nois women’s basketball team.

One team scorches the net with one of the best offenses in the country and wreaks havoc on opposing offenses by forc-ing turnovers. The other can’t keep up on the scoreboard and gives up huge runs at a time that keep the Illini from being close.

Illinois (6-5) is still search-ing for consistency on the floor but haven’t been able to com-pete for the most part against teams from the six power con-ferences: Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, ACC, SEC and Big East. The Illini hold a 1-4 record against such teams. The lone victory was a 20-point come-back victory Monday night against Seton Hall, which looked as though it might turn into another defeat by blowout fashion.

“Just believing, that’s been the phrase we’ve been using the past few days,” senior Amber Moore said after the Seton Hall game. “We have the talent. We just have to believe in ourselves.”

Illinois is being outscored by 19.2 points per game against power conference teams and has missed out on chances for quality wins for its tour-nament resume. The Orange and Blue are winless in four chances against ranked teams or those earning votes in the latest NCAA poll.

Facing teams from smaller conferences, Illinois is 5-1, but they face only one more team from a non-power conference in the team’s final 18 games. The team has feasted on tra-ditionally weaker schools this season, outscoring such teams by 30 points per game so far, including a school-record 84-point victory over Alcorn State on Nov. 17.

The main difference has been the Illinois offense not being able to keep up. The Illi-ni put up 85.2 points per game in victories this season but have been held to 65.6 in the team’s five losses.

With the Big Ten confer-ence looming — a conference with five teams at least get-ting votes in the rankings — the Illini will need to step up against tougher competition if they want to reach a postsea-son tournament for a second consecutive year.

“It’s a real fine line when you schedule. You want to get some games to build confi-dence, but you also want to be tested,” assistant coach Mike Divilbiss said. “It’s a real bal-ance, it’s a real fine line, and we’re in a really tough stretch right now. So when we come out the other side of this, we’re going to be stronger for it and be a better basketball team because of it.”

Stephen can be reached at [email protected] and @steve_bourbon.

Women’s basketball shows two court faces

BRENTON TSE THE DAILY ILLINIIllinois' Jennifer Beltran digs the ball during the game against Minnesota on Nov. 30. The Illini lost 3-0. Illinois will play Purdue on Friday with the hopes to advance to the Elite Eight.

FOLAKE OSIBODU THE DAILY ILLINIIllinois' Amber Moore shoots the ball during the game against Seton Hall on Monday. The Illini won 71-70.

BRENTON TSE THE DAILY ILLINIIllinois' head coach John Groce instructs his team during the game against Darthmouth at State Farm Center, on Tuesday. The Illini won 72-65.

!e teams face o" 3rd time this year in bid for Elite 8

2B Thursday, December 12, 2013 THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM

BY SEAN NEUMANNSTAFF WRITER

Kneeling down on one knee with one arm slugged over a railing, Joe Olen is fi nally get-ting used to taking questions from reporters.

If you would have asked him a question about Illinois hock-ey three months ago, he might have been able to force out a brief sentence or two before looking away and breaking eye contact. But now, three months and 426.9 minutes of collegiate ice time later, he’ll laugh and maybe even make a joke about fi ghting another team’s goalie.

Head coach Nick Fabbrini said the rookie goaltender will start at least one game this weekend against Northern Illi-nois, Olen’s former school.

Olen made 45 saves in Satur-day’s 3-2 loss to No. 2 Robert Morris and has a 4-2-0 record as the Illini’s backup goalten-der this season, looking to add another game to the win col-umn this weekend against the Huskies.

“It’s cool to see him grow and grab and that confi dence and kind of believe in himself, which translates to our play,” senior winger John Scully said. “If he has confi dence in himself, we’ll have confi dence in him, and I think that really makes it a lot easier on us.”

Olen began playing goalie around age 10 and said he bene-fi ted as a goaltender from being able to grow up practicing with his brother John, Illinois’ lead-ing goal scorer who is current-ly playing overseas with Team USA.

“He could always shoot on me and we helped each other out,” Olen said. “I think that’s one of the reasons we got as far as we did, really.”

The Hawthorn Woods native said he fi rst learned to play hockey as a skater but was then put in net because of his size.

“I was really small,” Olen remembered, now standing at 6-foot-1. “I would just get destroyed physically. I was real-ly skinny and I was just getting bossed around, so goalie was my position after that.”

Olen’s attitude is refl ective of a player who has adapted to playing against bigger oppo-nents throughout his career. That’s to say he plays smart. When a scrum erupts inside his crease after a play, Olen swiftly skates away from the alterca-tion — something unfamiliar to Illini hockey fans who’ve spent the past couple of years watch-ing Nick Clarke scratch and claw his way into every scrap he can get into around his net. But Olen’s avoidance of scrums isn’t born out of fear. It’s strategy.

“I try to get the refs on my side,” Olen laughed. “Then whenever something happens, I like to get a couple penalties and calls go my way. But I’ll go down there and challenge the goalie one of these games. We’ll see what happens, depending on how big the goalie is.”

Olen remembered a time

when he had the chance to drop the gloves with the other team’s goalie a few years ago.

“Everyone was fi ghting on the ice and the goalie was 6-foot-5, so I just turned around and drank water the whole time,” Olen said, laughing.

Then he remembered the closest he ever came to fi ght-ing another goalie. It was dur-ing his time between the pipes with the Phoenix Junior Coy-otes when a line brawl broke out on the ice. He remembers skating the length of the ice, ready to drop the gloves with the opposing goaltender before being grabbed by a referee at the last second.

“That was the closest I ever came,” Olen said. “I was fi ve feet away.”

The 20-year-old’s willing-ness to jump into unanticipat-ed action is what has helped

make him a successful backup goaltender for the Illini, already allowing Clarke to rest for six games so far this season.

“You’ve just got to be ready no matter what,” Olen said. “Even if you’re not starting games, you should always be prepared just in case something happens.”

With four goaltenders on the Illini roster coming into this year, Olen wasn’t aiming to do anything more than get him-self back into the fl ow of play-ing hockey after taking last sea-son off. Now, he fi nds himself as the No. 1 contender for the starting job come next fall.

“It’s just what happens when you work hard,” Olen said. “You get chances and then you’ve got to make the most of your chances.”

Olen said he and Clarke work together in practice, but he’s learned the most from the

senior goaltender by simply watching him on the ice. At the beginning of the season, Clarke said he hoped to lead by example and act as a model for younger players, and that’s exactly what helped Olen the most earlier in the season, according to the rookie goaltender.

“It’s kind of how I got my game back, just watching him,” Olen said. “I wasn’t really con-cerned with position or the depth chart. I was just trying to get my game back, and that’s still where I’m at right now.”

By putting all his focus on getting back into the motions of a goaltender, Olen now finds himself in the midst of a season long changing of the guard. When the 2013-14 sea-son eventually comes to a close, Olen will be the man trying to replace Nick Clarke — one of the most celebrated goalies in

Illini hockey history.And so far this season, Olen

has been doing his best to live up to Clarke’s All-American standard. He has a higher save percentage (89.27 percent) than Clarke (86.80 percent) and only has two fewer wins than his senior mentor, who’s started 10 more games this season than Olen.

But Olen is trying his best not to worry about the responsibil-ities he’ll face when this sea-son ends. Right now, he said his mind is only on one thing: Northern Illinois.

“I don’t look forward that much,” Olen said. “I just try to live in the now. I’m thinking about the next game Friday, that’s all I’m thinking about.”

Sean can be reached at [email protected] and @Neumannthehuman.

Rookie goaltender gains confi dence

BRIAN YU THE DAILY ILLINIIllinois' Joe Olen looks to block a shot during the game against Michigan State at the Illinois Ice Arena on Sept. 28. The Illini won 7-4.

Olen No. 1 contender for goalie next season

THE DAILY ILLINI | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM Thursday, December 12, 2013 3B

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Six Heisman Trophy hopefuls head to New York

Yankees’ offseason spending doesn’t ensure wins

A.J. McCarron won’t win the Heisman, and it’s a damn shame.

“A quarterback will never win the Heisman playing at Alabama.” “Anyone can play quarterback for the Crimson Tide and be that successful.” “He just hands it off to the running back.”

Or maybe McCarron just makes it look easy.

The Heisman Trophy is awarded to the most outstanding player in college football each year, and with McCarron at the helm, Alabama has made three straight BCS bowl appearances.

The Sugar Bowl is no national cham-pionship, but it’s nothing to scoff at, either. And two national titles in a row? Jeez, what a resume.

Sure, the run game is big for Bama, but remember that 99-yard pass to Amari Cooper that put the Tide ahead of Auburn in the fourth quarter of the Iron Bowl? Perfect ball placement and a “job well done” from Nick Saban himself.

Not that it mattered, as Auburn shocked the world and made sure Ala-bama kicker Cade Foster would regret this game for the rest of his life.

Melodramatic? Maybe. But you better believe that coaching staff is going to recruit the best kicker they can find to avoid a repeat.

If Johnny Manziel wins the Heisman, I will lose faith in college football. He’s a great player, and his stats are off the charts, but he’s no longer “America’s Candidate.”

Last year he was “Johnny Football,” Texas A&M superstar who could do no wrong.

This year he played under con-stant suspicion of foul play and lost the respect of many fans for his cal-lous behavior. While Manziel passed for more yards and threw more touch-downs, his rushing numbers are way down from a year ago. In fact, they are almost cut in half.

Repeating is almost unheard of. The only other player to win the Heisman Trophy twice was Ohio State’s Archie Griffin in the ‘70s.

Then there’s Tre Mason. Where the heck did he come from?

Oh yeah, he’s relevant because Auburn is the luckiest team in Ameri-ca. No one knew his name until the Iron Bowl, and even then he wasn’t a Heis-man contender.

Mason put himself in the running after rushing for 304 yards against Mis-souri in the SEC Championship Game. In his postgame interview with CBS’ Tracy Wolfson, Mason admitted his desire to win the Heisman.

That simple sentence, that gall, is what got him a ticket to New York. It made people think, “Hey, this guy believes he’s the best player in the nation, so maybe he is.”

Jordan Lynch is representing for the Mid-American Conference, for all the great players that don’t get recognition because of who they play for.

The Northern Illinois quarterback was a force to be reckoned with. If they hadn’t lost to Bowling Green in the MAC Championship, NIU would be heading to a BCS Bowl. But no, they’ll be facing Utah State in the S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.

What a mouthful, and what a disappointment.

Boston College’s Andre Williams joins Tre Mason as the two running back can-didates to earn a ticket to New York. Despite his impressive numbers — 2,101 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns — Williams doesn’t have the national rec-ognition necessary to win the Heisman. He can’t compete with household names like Manziel and McCarron.

Rounding out the six finalists is Jameis Winston, the Florida State quar-terback who narrowly escaped being prosecuted for sexual assault just last week.

Known affectionately as “Famous Jameis,” this freshman led the Semi-noles to an undefeated record and a berth in the VIZIO BCS National Cham-pionship Game.

Can these bowl names get any longer?If Winston wins the award, as many

expect him to do, he’ll be the second straight freshman to earn the honor, following in the footsteps of Johnny Football.

Maybe having a good nickname is a prerequisite for winning the Heisman. Just ask RGIII.

The ceremony will take place this Sat-urday and will allow one of these ath-letes to taste the closest thing college football has to immortality: the Heis-man Trophy.

Aryn is a senior in LAS. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @ArynBraun.

The MLB offseason is not yet two months old, and the New York Yankees have committed close to $300 million to play-

ers who have not played a single game in pinstripes.

The Bronx Bombers have $153 million lined up for Jacoby Ellsbury, $45 million for Carlos Beltrán, $16 million for Hiroki Kuro-da and $85 million for Brian McCann.

Some things never change. Once again, the Yankees are compensating for a poor season with a lavish offseason and hoping it solves their problems. It won’t.

Full disclosure: there is no team I hate more in the sporting world than the New York Yankees. Being from Boston, I could say, “Yankees suck!” before I could walk, and as a toddler I instinctively punched chil-dren wearing stripes.

(Neither of those things are actually true, but I just wanted to fully air my bias as a complete and utter Red Sox fanatic.)

That said, it would be foolish to deny the success the Yankees have endured. From the Murderer’s Row lineup to the Steinbrenner

era, the Yankees have always been the team to beat. Their recent success has relied more and more on the acquisition of highly priced free agents, especially after the Red Sox won the World Series.

In 2004, the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years. In 2005, the Yankees swiped Boston fan-favorite Johnny Damon for four years and $52 million.

In 2007, the Red Sox won the World Series again, and in 2008 the Yankees signed Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia, whose contracts totaled $341 million.

So first of all, wow. Second of all, how many World Series titles has the Evil Empire won since the Sox captured the crown in 2004?

Just one.To go with this month’s signings, the

Yankees passed on the chance to resign Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson. Cano signed a deal with the Seattle Mari-ners worth $240 million, and Granderson was given a $60 million deal by the Yan-kees cross-town little brother, the New York Mets.

Cano has spent all nine of his years of pro baseball in Yankee Stadium, and it’s sur-prising the Yanks wouldn’t have gone after the most talented player on their roster.

Next year’s Yankees projected starting lineup (assuming the suspension of Alex

Rodriguez sticks) features just a single player (captain Derek Jeter) who was on the team before the Yanks won their 2009 title. In contrast, the Red Sox presumptive start-ing lineup next season will feature four players who have spent their whole careers with Boston, and an additional one, David Ortiz, entering his 11th year with the team.

Boston is the poster child for the lack of success of high-powered free agents. Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez came into Boston in 2010 with high expectations and hefty contracts, but ended up being unable to prevent the worst late-season collapse in team history (2011) and the worst season in the last 40 years of the franchise (2012).

They were promptly shipped to Los Ange-les, and the Red Sox used that money to sign lower-cost free agents like Mike Nap-oli, Shane Victorino and Johnny Gomes, who were key to their 2013 World Series triumph.

The bottom line is the Yankees and their fans should temper expectations for next season. All that free agency cash hasn’t guaranteed success in the past. Money can’t buy happiness, and it definitely cannot buy a World Series ring.

Peter is a freshman in Media. He can be reached at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @pbaileywells22.

JEFF SINER MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNEFlorida State quarterback Jameis Winston fights for extra yardage against Duke during the second quarter in the ACC Championship game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday. Winston is a Heisman Trophy finalist.

CHRIS LEE MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNEBoston Red Sox’s Jacoby Ellsbury drives in a run with a single in the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals during Game 5 of the World Series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Oct. 28.

ARYN BRAUN

Sports columnist

PETER BAILEY-WELLS

Sports columnist


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While you’re away: Breakdown of sports schedules over break

Jan. 12 Jan. 15 Jan. 18

Jan. 18

Northwestern vs. Illinois6:30 p.m.

Evanston, Ill.

Purdue vs. Illinois8 p.m.

State Farm Center

Michigan State at Illinois7 p.m.

State Farm Center

Dec. 31 Jan. 6Jan. 4 Jan. 9 Jan. 12Jan. 8Indiana at Illinois

2 p.m. State Farm Center

Northwestern vs. Illinois6 p.m.

Evanston, Ill.

Penn State at Illinois1:15 p.m.

State Farm Center

Penn State at Illinois 8 p.m.

State Farm Center

Nebraska at Illinois 1 p.m.

State Farm Center

Wisconsin vs. Illinois8 p.m.

Madison, Wis.

Dec. 14 Dec. 21Dec. 21 Dec. 28Dec. 28 Jan. 3Oregon vs. Illinois

8 p.m. Portland, Ore.

UT Martin at Illinois2 p.m.

State Farm Center

Missouri vs. Illinois4:30 p.m. St. Louis

Georgia vs. Illinois 3 p.m.

Athens, Ga.

UIC vs. Illinois1 p.m.

Chicago

Wisconsin at Illinois7 p.m.

State Farm Center

VS AT

AT

VS AT

VS AT

AT AT ATVS VS

VS

VS

VS

VS VS VSVS

VS VS

VS VS

AT

Jan. 17 Jan. 18DePaul at Illinois

7:30 p.m. Illinois Ice Arena

DePaul at Illinois7:30 p.m.

Illinois Ice Arena

Jan. 10 Jan. 11Lindenwood vs. Illinois

7:30 p.m. Wentzville, Mo.

Lindenwood vs. Illinois4 p.m.

Wentzville, Mo.

Dec. 13 Dec. 14Northern Illinois at Illinois

7:30 p.m. Illinois Ice Arena

Northern Illinois at Illinois7:30 p.m.

Illinois Ice Arena

AT

AT

AT

AT

HOCKEY

Jan. 12

Jan. 18 Jan. 18 Jan. 18

Jan. 17Ohio State at Illinois

1 p.m. Huff Hall

Indiana vs. Illinois11 a.m.

Iowa City, Iowa

Missouri vs. Illinois11 a.m.

Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa vs. Illinois11 a.m.

Iowa City, Iowa

Michigan at Illinois7 p.m.

Huff Hall

Dec. 29

Jan. 10

Dec. 30

Jan. 17

Midlands Championships Day 1 TBA

Evanston, Ill.

Rutgers at Illinois10 a.m.

ARC Pool

Midlands Championships Day 2 TBA

Evanston, Ill.

Iowa State vs. Illinois4 p.m.

Ames, Iowa

AT

AT AT

WRESTLING

SWIMMING AND DIVING

Jan. 18Jan. 19

Jan. 19

Hawaii Tournament All Day

Maui, Hawaii Illini Open All Day

Ft. Myers, Fla.


Maui, Hawaii

Jan. 16 Jan. 17

Jan. 17Jan. 18


Maui, Hawaii

Illini Open 4 p.m.

Ft. Myers, Fla.


Maui, Hawaii Illini Open

All Day Ft. Myers, Fla.

WOMEN’S TENNIS MEN’S TENNIS

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Michigan vs. Illinois 11 a.m.

Ann Arbor, Mich.

Jan. 12 Jan. 18UIC vs. Illinois

1 p.m. Chicago

Windy City Invitational 7 p.m.

Chicago

Dec. 14

Dec. 19

Dec. 21

Regional Final5:30 p.m.

National Semifi nal

National Championship

VOLLEYBALL

Dec. 13No. 19 Purdue at Illinois

6 p.m. State Farm Center

AT

Jan. 10 Jan. 18Michigan State vs. Illinois

6 p.m. East Lansing, Mich.

Centenary & Wisconsin Eau Claire at Illinois

4 p.m.Huff Hall

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICSWOMEN’S BASKETBALL

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BY JIM THOMASMCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE

ST. LOUIS — It’s that time of year again at Rams Park — time for playing out the string. Three games to play and nowhere to go. And unlike college foot-ball, there are no consolation prizes in the form of a zillion bowl games.

With many bodies aching and wear-ing down as the long NFL season winds down, one of the biggest challenges is to keep going hard and keep giving max-imum effort when there is no reward on the horizon in the form of postsea-son play.

Sunday’s 30-10 drubbing at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals mathematically eliminated the Rams from playoff con-tention. And unfortunately for the Rams, it’s an exercise in frustration they are all too familiar with, having not made the postseason since 2004.

“I’ve been here before, unfortunate-ly too many times,” said defensive end Chris Long.

A 2008 draft pick, Long is the most ten-ured Rams player in terms of continuous service on the team.

So what keeps this Rams team going?

How do they avoid a letdown over the rest of the season, knowing they are destined to another January (and early February) watching the playoffs on television?

“Whenever you take the field, you’ve got the logo on your helmet, and your name on the back of your jersey. And you’ve got your teammates to play for,” Long said. “We have a responsibility to play good football.”

Long says he doesn’t get too wrapped up in playoff possibilities during the sea-son anyway. Of course, that might be because the Rams have never been all that close to the postseason during his six-year NFL career. The only excep-tion was the 2010 season finale, when the Rams lost a winner-take-the-division title matchup with Seattle.

“Ideally as a football player in the NFL, I really strongly believe that you should be up for every game equally,” Long said. “I know it’s gonna sometimes be a little less or a little more. But I really feel you have a lot to play for every time you take the field.”

Coach Jeff Fisher, who steadfastly — or is it stubbornly? — refuses to go big picture, would say only after the

Arizona loss that his focus is on New Orleans, whom the Rams play Sunday in the Edward Jones Dome. He also repeat-ed several times that “we’re gonna get better.”

To fans and observers, that sounds suspiciously like “Shoot, we’ll fix that” at the end of the Mike Martz coaching tenure, or similar musing by Steve Spag-nuolo or Scott Linehan.

“It’s really frustrating because we are doing the right things,” Long said. “Coach is doing a great job of putting us in positions to make plays. We’re just not making enough plays. We’ve had some bad breaks, but that’s no excuse for some of the mistakes we’ve made.

“It’s disappointing. It’s more disap-pointing these days when you lose ball-games, especially when you feel like you can win them. Because you know you have enough to win.”

For Long, “having enough to win” means he thinks the team is talented enough to be better than 5-8. And it’s a sentiment shared by other veterans in the locker room.

But the record says 5-8. And the last thing the Rams want is a situation where

a player is seen swinging a golf club in the locker room in the waning weeks of a lost season. (As if getting an early start on the offseason.) That actually hap-pened several years ago at Rams Park.

Quarterback Kellen Clemens says any kind of a late-season letdown won’t take place.

“I think that the veterans in this lock-er room will probably step up,” Clem-ens said. “We’ve already heard from some of them. We’re gonna go back to work. I think the thing that we want to see now going forward is: finish. Fin-ish the season strong. We want to see improvement.”

“We’ve gotta approach every day like we’re going to the playoffs,” defensive end Eugene Sims said. “Like we’re mak-ing a run to the playoffs.”

There’s another reason for pushing through the final three games against New Orleans, Tampa Bay and Seattle. It’s the reason the NFL stands for Not For Long to many players.

“Everybody’s gonna get critiqued now for next year’s roster,” Sims said. “Everybody’s fighting for a position on this team. I’m pretty sure everybody

will have to come out with a chip on their shoulder and support the logo of the Rams and the organization as well.”

Doing so will be easier said than done considering the closing three games. New Orleans (10-3) comes to town Sun-day in a dogfight with Carolina for the NFC South championship. The Saints, ranked sixth in total defense, also repre-sent the third consecutive top 10 defense the Rams will play, following Arizona (No. 5) and San Francisco (No. 4).

Tampa Bay (4-9) comes to St. Louis the following week as a rapidly improv-ing team, having won four of its last five following an 0-8 start.

And then in Game 16 the Rams travel to Seattle where nobody seems to win — except the home team. There’s a chance the Seahawks will have not only the NFC West title but also the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC wrapped up by then, which means they may rest a lot of their start-ers in that game.

No matter what, cornerback Janoris Jenkins says: “We’ve just got to come to work and finish strong. Finish these last three games strong and then go into next season with a positive vibe.”

Here we go again: Rams reduced to playing out the string

BY TOM SILVERSTEINMCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Green Bay Packers quarterback Aar-on Rodgers was moving around, throwing lasers and taking snaps with the No. 1 offense in practice Wednesday just as he did before breaking his left collarbone on Nov. 4 against Chicago.

And he was doing it without pain.

Yet Rodgers might as well have been wearing a question mark on the back of his jersey instead of his customary No. 12 given all the uncertainty surrounding his return to action. Until he gets clearance from team physician Patrick McKenzie, Rodgers will be traveling to Dallas this week-end as a spectator.

“Aaron still is not medically cleared, and I think it’s impor-tant to stay in tune with that because the topic of ‘Is he playing in the game?’ vs. ‘Is he medical-ly cleared?’ those are two totally different issues,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “So, Aaron’s obviously very important to our organization. He’s the face of our franchise.

“Until he’s medically cleared, just like any other player going through a significant injury, that’s really where the focus will be.”

One way to interpret McCar-thy’s comments is that Rodgers may have resembled the guy who won a Super Bowl MVP award at Texas Stadium three years ago, but it doesn’t mean he’s ready to

compete there again. As Rodgers stated Tuesday, until a CT scan shows that significant healing has taken place in the fracture area, the Packers aren’t going to clear him.

The biggest concern is that if the bone isn’t healed and he were driven into the turf the way he was against the Bears 5 {weeks ago, he could suffer a displaced fracture, which would sideline him for good this season and could require surgery to attach a plate to his collarbone.

“I’m very optimistic that he’s going to get back to full strength, and when that time comes I’m sure we’ll let everybody know about it,” McCarthy said. “I clear-ly understand the importance of Aaron to the team, to the NFL, but we’ve got to make sure we do our due diligence and go through the process of getting him healthy.”

A hurdle Rodgers seems to have cleared after a frustrating time last week is practicing without pain. When he tried to do anything more than throw from a station-ary position last week, he experi-enced discomfort, which forced him to suspend his workouts.

In individual drills Wednesday that were conducted during the portion of practice the media is allowed to watch, Rodgers was far more mobile and in one drill ran around and through block-ing dummies and threw across his body while rolling to the left. The throws had a lot of steam on them.

Asked about Rodgers’ pain lev-el, McCarthy said, “I don’t think he was in pain today from what I saw. That’s a question for him.”

Rodgers rescheduled his week-ly session with reporters for Thursday, so he was not available for comment. McCarthy indicat-ed Monday that Rodgers would be re-examined after practicing on Wednesday, so it’s possible the news conference was pushed back a day so that results of the latest scan were known.

Though McCarthy did not spec-ify what Rodgers did in practice, tight end Andrew Quarless spilled the beans when asked whether he had seen anything to make him think Rodgers would be ready this week.

“Twelve looked real good today,” Quarless said. “It was good to see him out there, real-ly working with the offense. He was out there before but wasn’t working as much with the offense, but today he took some offensive reps, which is a great thing for the team, definitely.”

When asked if Rodgers had tak-en snaps with the No. 1 offense, Quarless said, “Yes, sir.”

That information may not even help the Cowboys. Dallas coach Jason Garrett said in a confer-ence call earlier in the day that the defense was already prepar-ing for Rodgers. If Rodgers can’t play they would have spent valu-able time preparing for a guy who won’t be in uniform.

The decision the Packers face

in whether to clear Rodgers is familiar to Cowboys quarterback and Burlington native Tony Romo.

Romo broke his left collarbone on Oct. 26, 2010, and missed the final 10 games of the season.

The big difference is that Romo suffered a displaced or complete fracture of the clavicle where-as Rodgers only suffered a crack along the same bone.

But Romo said figuring out

when you’re ready to come back isn’t as easy as just showing the medical staff you can throw the ball.

“It’s very difficult,” Romo said in a conference call Wednes-day. “Obviously, the discomfort _ if you’re feeling it at all _ you can’t come back and play, but even more than that, even when you get relatively where you feel like it’s pain-free, it still doesn’t

mean you’re ready to play just because it’s such an easy thing to hurt again.

“And it’s a little different in the sense that if you come back right when you feel like you’re healthy, there’s just so many cases of peo-ple come down with another col-larbone injury, the same one just re-injuring it. That really plays a big role in determining when you come back.”

Packers’ Rodgers still not medically cleared

MARK HOFFMAN MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNEQuarterbacks Matt Flynn and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers are shown during the fourth quarter of their game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Nov. 17. The New York Giants beat the Green Bay Packers\ 27-13.

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703 W. Nevada, U. 1 U Cats allowed. Water, trash & parking included

704 W. Nevada, U. 1,2 U Water, trash & parking incl. Heat w/ most. Cats allowed

700 W. Oregon, U. 3 U Pet friendly! House! Hardwood floors

604 W. Nevada, U. St.,1 U Cats allowed! Heat, water, trash & parking included

403 E. Elm, U. 1 U Trash & parking included. Pets allowed!

Free apartment help! Issues with landlords! Lease reviews and landlord compalint records!


OUR MUSIC LIBRARY IS

12,000 SONGS. THEY WOULD COST $11,800 ON ITUNES.

THIS EQUALS 15,038

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LISTEN TO THE FACTS.

1

1, 2, & 3 BR units, Spacious, Great Locations.

MUST SEE!

BEST DEALS ON CAMPUS!NOW RENTING FOR FALL 2014

www.ppmrent.com 351-1800

211 W Springfield Ave Champaign, IL 61820(217) 352-1129 · www.roysebrinkmeyer.com

rentalsFOR RENT

FOR SALE 285

HELP WANTED 020Part time

merchandise HOUSES FOR RENT 510

APARTMENTS 430Unfurnished

SUBLETS 440

APARTMENTS 420Furnished

HELP WANTED 030Full/Part time

employment APARTMENTS 420Furnished



APARTMENTS 410Furnished/Unfurnished



R I A T A S S H A M F B IA N T E U P W O V E A L FR H O N D A ARMED B A N D I T SE A U I N I O R S O NBIT BIT C R O O K S I A N

H U B E P I C T R I PA P O L O B O N E S E C OF I V E O A R D T O T E ST E E K I N T E E L U D EA R R S G A S X A I R

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The Daily Illini: Volume 143 Issue 59