INSIDER
04/19/2018
Margaret Sullivan
Student Journalist
United States of America
Recent college graduate beginning my professional journalism career
Email: [email protected]
United States of America
Recent college graduate beginning my professional journalism career
Email: [email protected]
Donald Trump's Walk of Fame star got into a sticky situation on Sunday. L.A. Pride Resist Marchers made a statement by covering his Hollywood star with a bunch of "resist" stickers, bearing the phrases "resist transphobia," "resist misogyny," "resist racism," and "dissent don't relent," among others.
Devil horns, the American Sign Language gesture for "I love you," or Gene Simmons' personal creation? That will be for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to decide, because the Kiss frontman just filed an application for trademark ownership of his iconic hand gesture.
Talk about tenacity. Just hours after the devastating Grenfell Tower fire destroyed her home, 16-year-old Ines Alves, still wearing her pajamas, sat for her school chemistry exam. Alves had fled her 13th floor apartment with her family around 1 a.m., with her chemistry notes in tow, escaping the blaze.
President Trump loves taking credit for things-even if they happened before he was born. During an exchange with Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela on Monday afternoon, Trump patted himself on the back for the fabulous job the United States did building the Panama Canal ... in 1914.
One of Hollywood's wealthiest men just got hundreds of millions of dollars richer. George Clooney has decided to sell his tequila company Casamigos to Diageo for as much as $1 billion, the company said Wednesday.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's obvious disdain for the media seems to have reached a new level. In an interview with Lifezette publisher Laura Ingraham, Spicer accused the White House press corps of asking "snarky" questions in order to become famous on YouTube, because that is obviously the dream of any reporter.
President Trump is known as a bit of an egomaniac. But would he really adorn the walls of several of his properties with a Time magazine cover feature about himself that is not real? It seems that way.
A large sweeping mural in the far north of Canada says all you need to know about a new climate change awareness project: "Know I'm Here" is painted in big white letters across a squat gray building. Local ecosystems are suffering in the area due to climate change, and yet the dangers are often overlooked.
President Trump and the GOP can't seem to escape Handmaid's Tale protestors - not even halfway around the globe. During his visit to Warsaw, Poland to meet with world leaders ahead of the G20 summit, Trump was met by a group of vocal protestors in long red robes and white hoods, a nod to Margaret Atwood's 1985 dystopian novel.
This Donald Trump Jr. story is one that just won't quit, and Shep Smith continued to prove himself as Fox News' voice of reason today when he got wind of an eighth confirmed participant in Trump Jr.'s 2016 meetings with a Russian lawyer. The news of the eighth (!!!)
Congresswomen are protesting for their right to "bare arms" - literally. On Friday, dozens of House Democrats wore sleeveless clothing and posed for photos to mark the occasion, which has been labelled "Sleeveless Friday." The dress initiative was the brainchild of Rep.
A team of Afghan girls who were denied entry to the U.S. to compete in a robotics competition are now going to be allowed in, thanks to ... President Trump? Yep, you read that right. In an incredibly ironic twist, Trump reportedly urged U.S.
Former Thinx CEO and founder Miki Agrawal has just secured a new book deal, not long after she settled a sexual harassment complaint in May. This second book for Agrawal (her first came out in 2013) will be entitled Disrupt-Her and will focus on how women in the workplace can "remove filters that are holding them back."
Calls to emergency services could become just a fingerprint away, thanks to Apple's latest innovation. A patent application from Apple published Tuesday, according to CNBC, described technology that would trigger a 911 call in a way that is designed to hide your actions from attackers.
Do you have a hankering for adventure and several million dollars laying around? Then this might be the perfect getaway opportunity for you, if you can hold on tight for a few years. NASA recently held a competition, which was won by a team of graduate students from MIT, to design a commercially enabled habitable module for use low in Earth's orbit.
President Trump has always encouraged U.S. companies to hire American workers- except, of course, when it comes to his own business ventures. On Thursday, during the White House's "Made in America Week" no less, Trump's Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida filed requests with the Department of Labor to hire 70 temporary foreign workers as cooks, housekeepers, and servers at the private club.
The statement "President Trump has a big ego" is news to absolutely no one at this point. It was recently discovered the president even had a fake Time magazine cover (featuring himself, of course) framed at several of his golf courses.
A conspiracy theory subreddit devoted to President Donald Trump is apparently writing our legislation now. According to Wired , a Republican staffer actively asked r/The_Donald-widely known for being home to racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia-for advice in crafting an amendment. H.Res.477, which was proposed on Wednesday, calls for an investigation into the alleged misconduct of ...
As they say, when it rains it pours, and Anthony Scaramucci seems to be stuck outside in the middle of a monsoon without an umbrella. The former White House communications director blew up the internet with an explosive (and expletive-filled) New Yorker interview, had his wife file for divorce, and lost his job in President Donald Trump's administration all within 10 short days.
The head of the Coast Guard has broken ranks with President Trump and pledged to stand by transgender service members under his command. Trump announced last week, out of the blue, that after consulting with his "generals and military experts," the United States government would "not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S.
UPDATED (12:15 p.m. ET, Monday October 30, 2017): Updated to add account of George Papadopoulos The Twitter accounts belonging to members of Trump's administration receive a lot of attention, and rightfully so - Trump has proven time and again Twitter is his preferred medium for communicating just about everything.
Most people know about In-N-Out Burger's animal style fries, Jamba Juice's gummy bear smoothies, and Starbucks' infamous pink drinks. But what about the secret menu items of other restaurants-high-end places? Enter Off the Menu Club, a foodie's dream app. The app is a members-only club for discovering secret-menu items from new and trending restaurants in Los Angeles, according to its website.
No, Robert Downey Jr. is not messaging you privately and asking you to donate money to a charitable cause- you're being scammed.
After President Trump's awful Twitter tirade against Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski in the wee hours of Thursday morning, one surprising outlet stepped forward to condemn his actions - Fox News. Several presenters on the channel spoke out against the sexist tweets during the course of the day and the network even focussed on the issue instead of the daily White House press briefing.
Katie Karpetz is a business witch. No, really. Karpetz, a Canadian who identifies as a bog witch because of her unruly hair, is literally in the business of selling products marketed specifically for other witches. She sells everything from vintage amethyst tower wands designed to soothe insomnia, to custom-made "witch bottles" whose recipes are top secret.
Following the disastrous (to say the last) press conference President Donald Trump gave Tuesday on Charlottesville and white supremacy, his political allies were few and far between. So few, in fact, even Fox News apparently could not track any down.
President Trump has a large, inflatable surprise waiting for him when he returns to Manhattan - a giant rat made in his likeness. The Trump rat, an art installation that was funded via Kickstarter, has been greeting New Yorkers at Fifth Ave. and 59th Street. Here it is in all its glory.
The Department of Justice wants to know the IP addresses of more than a million visitors to a website that organizes protests against Donald Trump - a request the website's host has called "a clear abuse of government authority." The site in question is #DisruptJ20, which is hosted by DreamHost.
Manny has achieved a lot for a six year old. He's a philanthropist and social media influencer with more than a million followers on Instagram, including Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart. He's appeared on Good Morning America and had his own booth at a music festival.
Imagine taking an evening dive and seeing a fish casually strolling along the ocean floor ... on what looks like a pair of legs. That's exactly what happened to a French diver off the coast of Bali, Indonesia on a recent night expedition. Luckily, he filmed the encounter so scientists (and the internet) could enjoy.
What could you buy with $1,000? A new MacBook? A pair of Louboutins? How about one share of Alphabet stock? Alphabet, Google's parent company, crossed a major threshold Monday by passing $1,000 per share, just six days after Amazon reached the same milestone.
Fasten your seat belts Totoro fanatics - because you've got some good news coming your way. Studio Ghibli has just announced plans to build a new theme park based on Hayao Miyazaki's beloved 1988 film, My Neighbor Totoro.
Is known for being one of the most accessible universities in the United States for students with disabilities. However, the issue of accessibility on college campuses is far from solved, including...
w may seem like a typical Downer's Grove native. Gretsch graduated from Downer's Grove North in 2010, where she competed on the varsity swim team. She attended college at Washington University in St. Louis. She works for a medical records software company in Madison, Wisc., where she lives.
Phyllis Wise announced her resignation in early August after a year of controversy and public scrutiny. View a timeline of the events that followed.After an arguably tenuous 2014-2015 academic year and summer, the University will start the fall semester with remnants of yet another controversy still fresh on the minds of members of the University...
Christophe Pierre, vice president for academic affairs, announced he will resign to take a position as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Stevens Institute of Technology, effective August 31. Pierre will assume his new position on September 1.President Tim Killeen said the process for finding Pierre's replacement is under review, but will be...
Standing in West Side Park on a warm summer evening, Heidi Weatherford, pastor at McKinley Presbyterian Church in Champaign, led a crowd gathered to honor and remember those who were killed or injured in the Pulse nightclub attack in Orlando in song. "We are gentle angry people," she sang.
The last thing on Wotjek Chodzko-Zajko's mind was serving as the interim dean of the College of Media following Jan Slater's resignation. An experienced administrator and professor, Chodzko-Zajko said he was very focused on serving as the dean of the graduate college, a role he will continue to hold this year, when the provost asked...
Kathleen Harleman, acting dean of FAA, said if she did not decline within the two minutes of Interim Provost Edward Feser asking her to serve as dean, she knew she'd have to say yes. "I have too much respect for Ed to say no," Harleman said. "But it was never something I intended."
Nearly two years after physics professor George Gollin's unsuccessful campaign for democratic congressional candidate, three University professors became the subject of an ethics investigation by the Illinois Executive Commission. Leon Dash, journalism professor, Nancy Blake, literature professor and Laura Greene, physics professor, were found in violation of the Ethics Act which led to the investigation....
University officials continue to express concern over the lack of a state budget in Springfield but the Campus Faculty Association recently made a claim that the shut down in Springfield does not totally affect the University's financial situation. "The budget show-down in Springfield has made no difference whatsoever to the university's financial situation so far,"...
Concerns about policy language dominated the Senate Executive Meeting on Monday, where members discussed the background check approved by the Board of Trustees Thursday and the creation of the chancellor search committee. Background checks still a concern The University will implement a new background check policy on Oct. 5.
Tim Nugent founded Disability Resources and Educational Services at the University in 1948. Nearly 70 years later Rep. Rodney Davis, R-13, wants the government to recognize Nugent's leadership. During a visit to Nugent Hall and the University's DRES facility, 1207 W. Oak St., Saturday Davis, announced he will propose a bill to nominate Nugent for...
The University will not be hiring additional faculty to keep up with the influx of students - at least not soon. Walter Knorr, vice president and chief financial officer, said the University administration hiring freeze that President Timothy Killeen announced July 2 is still in place and will not be lifted until further notice.
To officially kick off the academic year, the Board of Trustees approved a widely debated background check procedure, addressed the lack of a finalized state budget and discussed 10-day enrollment numbers. Background checks A new background check policy will go into effect Oct. 5 and will require all new faculty, staff, civil service employees and...
UPDATE (12:35 p.m.) Walter Knorr, vice president and chief financial officer, reported an update on the University's financial state despite still lacking finalized state appropriations for fiscal year 2016. "We continue to have a spread of possible reduction ranges from $57 million, or 8.5 percent, to $209 million or 31.5 percent," Knorr said.
Negotiations on a state budget for fiscal year 2016 are at a standstill in Springfield and Walter Knorr, University chief financial officer, said if the state does not act soon the University won't have a finalized budget for the Nov. 12 Board of Trustees meeting. "I make no prognostication or comment on when the budget...
The Senate Executive Committee made good on their promise to call special meetings for the chancellor search process if necessary, and held an extra meeting Monday to begin the hunt. "We called this meeting to make sure we have a document we're all comfortable with," said Gay Miller, SEC chair.
Barbara Wilson, the dean of LAS who has been serving as the acting chancellor for the Urbana campus, was formally recommended to serve as the interim chancellor at the Governance, Personnel, and Ethics committee meeting Thursday. "She is currently serving as acting chancellor of the Urbana campus, and, from personal experience I know she has...
Many University administrators have questioned whether implementing employee background checks is the right move for the University but Patrick Fitzgerald, Board of Trustees Governance, Personnel, and Ethics Committee Chair said he is confident a policy is necessary. "I think it's important in a University where there are lots of different students, employees and faculty members...
The search for a new provost to replace Ilesanmi Adesida, who resigned Monday, will not begin until a new chancellor is named first, said Jan Dennis, assistant director for the Office for University Relations. "It's important the new chancellor have input into the decision of provost, because they work so closely together," Dennis said.
Acting Chancellor and Dean of LAS Barbara Wilson said she knows she can not do both jobs on her own, which is why she enlisted the help of Brian Ross, professor in psychology. Ross will serve as the executive associate dean of LAS until a permanent chancellor is named.
A search committee for a permanent chancellor will be assembled by the end of September at the earliest, the Senate Executive Committee discussed at a meeting Monday. Kim Graber, SEC vice-chair, said there are strict rules that must be followed on how the committee is established.
Senate Executive Committee member Abbas Aminmansour drafted an email usage code of conduct for the committee to follow and presented it Monday, following uproar about administrators' use of personal emails to conduct University business. On Aug. 7, the University released over 1,100 emails about Steven Salaita, James Kilgore and the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine that...
The University's College of Business is the third largest school on campus- just behind the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Engineering. With over 4,000 students enrolled in the 2014-2015 school year, the college hosts 10 percent of the total University population. However, the college consistently enrolls more men than women.
Barbara Wilson never expected she would be appointed the acting chancellor of the Urbana campus - it was never even one of her goals. "I just finished my first year as the Dean of LAS," she laughed. "I was imagining I would be continuing that role for the foreseeable future, and I was excited about...
The University's College of Business is the third largest school on campus- just behind the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Engineering. With over 4,000 students enrolled in the 2014-2015 school year, the college hosts 10 percent of the total University population. However, the college consistently enrolls more men than women.
Gov. Bruce Rauner's proposed budget cuts - 31.5 percent - to state funding for the University have loomed over administrators since last year. While legislators in Springfield continue to debate a state budget, University administrators are working to develop strategies to cope with the cuts if they pass.
The University's vision for the College of Business didn't include leading online education when it was established 100 years ago; however, the college could become the first institution to launch a Massive Open Online Course, MOOC, based MBA program. The Academic Senate approved a proposal for the new program, iMBA, and the Board of Trustees...
The Board of Trustees Academic and Student Affairs committee met Wednesday to discuss what committee chair, Karen Hasara, said will be a challenging year ahead. "This board is being asked to make decisions that no Board of Trustees ever has before," Hasara said. "We're extremely concerned about how we're going to do that."
President Robert Easter was awarded a $167,000 retirement bonus at his last Board of Trustees meeting Thursday. Easter's retirement and bonus comes while the University faces serious financial concerns. At the meeting, Walter Knorr, University vice president and comptroller, reported the University is $1.8 billion in debt.
The Board of Trustees will meet Thursday for the final time this academic year to discuss the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine and budget cuts, among other recommendations. It will be the last Board of Trustees meeting for President Robert Easter, where he is expected to receive the title President Emeritus.
Joyce Snider smiled as she held a poster brandishing the words "We Deserve Respect." Snider has been a University employee in civil engineering department for 30 years. "What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now! What do we want? Fair wages! Respect!" Snider chanted, still smiling.
The American Association of University Professors censure could be a stain on the University's reputation or a chance to start new, depending on perspective. Roy Campbell, Senate Executive Committee chair, said he sees censure of the University administration by the American Association of University Professors as a "black mark" on its reputation.
Members of the Senate Executive Committee continued discussions about Gov. Bruce Rauner's proposed budget cuts Monday. "We are expecting between $80 to $120 million cut for our campus," said Vice Provost Abbas Benmamoun. "To put it into perspective, $80 million is about two-thirds of state allocation that goes to LAS, the largest college on our...
Recommendations for the fiscal year 2016 operating budget Gov. Bruce Rauner's proposal to cut 31.5 percent of state appropriations to the University is still on the table but the University's operating budget is a little closer to being finalized. The Board of Trustees Audit, Budget, Finance and Facilities Committee met Monday and decided it will...
The Board of Trustees Audit, Budget, Finance and Facilites committee recommended increasing the budget for renovations to Everitt Laboratory.
The University's first Native American graduate may be honored by having the newest residence hall named after him. Though not all students at the University know who Carlos Montezuma is, Jamie Singson, director of the Native American House, said he believes they should. "Carlos Montezuma was an amazing leader as an alumni of the University...
Members of the Urbana-Champaign Senate nominated senators old and new to the senate's various committees at its Monday organizational meeting. The senate welcomed its new members for the coming academic year, elected committee chairs to the Senate Executive Committee and nominated representatives to the University Senates Conference and the senate's standing committees.
Creating the College of Medicine will cost $235 million, a task university administrators are trying to complete through fundraising and private donations. Of the $135 million left to raise, most of the funding will go toward hiring faculty, said Dan Peterson, vice chancellor for Institutional Advancement.
In March, Tony Robinson, an unarmed 19-year-old male, was shot and killed in Madison, Wisconsin. The deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown were the results of similar situations. "Police brutality incidents have been occurring rapidly over America. It has become something of a cycle" said Joseph Davis, editor of the National Association of Black...
In the fall of 2014, Mitch Dickey, student body president, and Matt Hill, vice president-external, launched the "It's On Us" campaign on campus to raise awareness about sexual assault, but they didn't stop there. Dickey and Hill returned from Washington D.C. on Tuesday, where they met with legislators and Department of Education officials.
University administrators left Monday's forum on Gov. Bruce Rauner's proposed state budget cuts with the reminder that the budget has not been finalized. State officials met with Chancellor Phyllis Wise, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Renee Romano and Research Park Director Laura Frerichs. Champaign Mayor Don Gerard, Champaign Mayor-elect Deborah Frank Feinen and Urbana Mayor...
Gay Miller, current educational policy chair for the Senate Executive Committee, will serve as chair of the executive committee for the 2015-2016 academic year. Miller won the election over Hadi Esfahani, professor in economics, and will succeed Roy Campbell, who did not seek reelection. Kim Graber will continue to serve as vice chair.
After a year of both struggles and successes, the University is looking ahead to a new year and new initiatives. Chancellor Phyllis Wise and Provost Ilesanmi Adesida held a town hall meeting Thursday to address the community on the past academic year and the University's future.
The convenience of online courses does not often outweigh the expense, allowing students to learn online without spending tuition dollars. Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, are free, online college courses. In an effort to compensate professors who spend time creating MOOCs, the Academic Senate is set to discuss a resolution on providing funding for...
Matt Hill, vice president-external of the Illinois Student Senate, urged the Academic Senate to pass a resolution about Title IX conduct hearings Monday. The senate passed the resolution, supporting faculty, staff and student participation in Title IX conduct hearings, which concern sexual assault on college campuses.
Members of the Academic Senate raised concerns regarding a new background check policy Monday. Currently, the University only requires a background check for University positions that are considered "security sensitive," such as handling money or interacting with controlled substances or minors. The Board of Trustees recently approved a new policy that would require all employees...
Steven Salaita is fighting back against the University's action to dismiss his civil rights lawsuit against the Board of Trustees, University administrators and unnamed donors. Salaita and the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a response Monday in opposition of the University's motion to dismiss the suit on Feb. 25.
One night while walking on campus Vanessa Gutierrez, Pathways Project Manager, was stopped by two police officers because they suspected she had just completed a drug deal, but her keys were all she had in her hands. "It's not about those two officers," said Gutierrez. "It's the whole structure that needs to change."
The University took the opportunity to state its case to legislators in the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on the potential impact of Gov. Bruce Rauner's proposed budget cuts for fiscal year 2016. On Thursday, Rauner approved two bills, which are effective immediately and cut University funding by 2.25 percent - $15 million - for...
No state has ever defunded its public universities. However, this could change for Illinois with Sen. William E. Brady's proposed bill. Currently the amendment to make the University a non-public institution is on pause as Brady edits his amendment and other representatives draft their own proposals and the government is in recess.
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the 2015 fiscal year budget bills concerning appropriations and finance Thursday. The bills, which take effect immediately, cut University funding by 2.25 percent - $15 million - for the upcoming fiscal year, set to begin July 1. "As promised, we are eliminating a $1.6 billion deficit without borrowing or increasing taxes...
"National crisis" are the words Jay Rosenstein, professor in Media, used to describe the current levels of college student debt. Rosenstein is not alone in his sentiments. In 2012, the average debt for a University graduate was $25,000. However, Rosenstein thinks he may have a solution.
Every year, hundreds of college students will visit the University to celebrate Unofficial St. Patrick's Day. Every year, many of these students will try to circumvent the dorms' no visitor policies. And every year, local police will arrest many visitors. But numbers from the University of Illinois Police Department show that more nonUniversity-affiliated students receive...
Sitting in a dark car at 10:00 p.m. Saturday night, members of the Party Patrol division for the night prepared to start their shift. As Angela Annarino, sophomore in AHS and LAS, started the car, Alex Tran, junior in LAS, turned to her and asked, "How many calls do you think we're gonna get?"