Category Archives: Uncategorized

Representative Naomi Jakobsson has introduced a bill (HB4688) in the 96tth General Assembly that would fundamentally change the way trustees are selected at the University of Illinois. This legislation has two main elements: The first is the establishment of a … Continue reading →

On December 4, 2009, Cheyenne-Arapaho artist Edgar Heap of Birds gave a talk at the YMCA on the University of Illinois campus for the closing of his “Beyond the Chief” art exhibit. He spoke publicly for the first time about … Continue reading →

“As a revolutionary I will be today, tomorrow, and forever in the first ranks of my people, all the while knowing that I may lose my life.” —Walter Trochez Those who are not willing to stay silent in the face … Continue reading →

On December 8th, 2009, Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Reitz released her report on the death of Kiwane Carrington, a 15 year-old African-American, at the hands of Champaign police officers. Almost two months after the shooting, Reitz determined that while … Continue reading →

The nature of the daily interaction between local police and minority youth has become a topic of great discussion in our community. The recent police shooting of Kiwane Carrington and the charging of the other 15 year-old involved have highlighted … Continue reading →

El pasado diciembre, Ira McDougall se graduó de la Universidad de Illinois con el triunfo de una licenciatura en la ciencia política. Es un triunfo porque Ira es un estudiante indocumentado. La reforma inmigratoria no es simplemente un tema político … Continue reading →

This December, Ira McDougall (a real person with a different name) triumphantly graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of the Arts in Political Science. The seemingly normal feat is even more significant because Ira is an undocumented … Continue reading →

On November 6, 2009, we returned from a ten-day visit to Palestine and Israel. Our trip was organized by John Setterlund, a retired campus minister from Urbana who had recently spent two years working at a Lutheran complex in Beit … Continue reading →

In the August 2009 issue of the Public i, we published an article that was very critical of the Chinese government’s treatment of the Uygur (or Uighur, as it is usually spelled in the U.S.) minority. This article was read … Continue reading →

”The reason Jack Johnson was so beset by his own country, a country ironically which had only recently reaffirmed that all men were created equal, was because of his Unforgivable Blackness.” —W.E.B. DuBois Jack Johnson was an African American boxer … Continue reading →

LOS ANGELES 11/21—Just after midnight in the early hours of Thursday November 19th a group of about 30 students seized Campbell Hall on the UCLA campus and began their occupation of the building. The building was renamed Carter Higgins Hall … Continue reading →

I have lived in Urbana since I was six years old. However, I never understood the homeless situation in Urbana-Champaign. My journey began with my decision to spend this past summer volunteering locally in my hometown. Although I had done … Continue reading →

This semester, I conducted a course, Fine and Applied Arts 391: Making Change Through Homelessness Research (FAA 391), to upper-level undergraduate students. Over the course of the semester, students had the opportunity to engage a number of different social change … Continue reading →

In need of completing a senior workshop before graduation in May, I was drawn to a class titled Action Research Seminar (FAA 391), taught by Abbilyn Harmon. The fact that the course title contained both action and research left me … Continue reading →

On Monday, November 16th my union – the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO), IFT/AFT local 6300, AFL-CIO, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – began an open-ended strike over the University administration’s refusal to sufficiently protect graduate tuition waivers. Over 1,000 union … Continue reading →

Last Saturday, the second annual Chambana Cranksgiving collected 888 pounds of food for Eastern Illinois Food Bank. 34 riders (and several others who didn’t participate in the event, but donated food) crisscrossed Champaign and Urbana, visiting local grocery stores and … Continue reading →

The poor progress made by the G20 in St. Andrews, echoes a week of negotiations in UN climate talks in Barcelona where Industrialised World Intransigence on CO2 emission Targets has probably doomed signing a legally binding treaty at the crucial … Continue reading →

About 25 people, including several youth and their parents, showed up at the Champaign County courthouse on November 12, 2009 for a juvenile hearing of the other 15-year old involved in the police shooting of Kiwane Carrington. Police had originally … Continue reading →

IMAGINE STUMBLING INTO THE PARK to find what looks like a festival, picnic, yard sale, or all of the above. Hungry and low on funds, you ask a kindly merchant, “How much for this food?” They reply, “It’s free. Everything … Continue reading →

THE AIR WAS COLD AND THE SKY GREY as students huddled together around the Alma Mater in anticipation of the march to Assembly Hall for the Not Our Mascot Rally on Friday. According to the iResist Web Site, Chief Illiniwek … Continue reading →