University raises student insurance premiums
By Michael Caruso, Staff Writer
April 3, 2020
On March 12, the University Board of Trustees approved an increase in insurance premiums for students enrolled in the University healthcare plan. The new premiums will be $723 per semester for undergraduates and $927 per semester for graduate students. This marks a 33% increase in premiums for Un...
University offers online counseling to students
By Diana Anghel, Assistant News Editor
April 2, 2020
On March 16, the University Counseling Center announced it will immediately switch to a phone triage system until online counseling is launched. Students that are under the University’s United Healthcare can now access online counseling through third-party counseling services. Those that do not h...
Student workers lack certainty on jobs, payment
By Laszlo Richard Toth, Staff Writer
April 1, 2020
Many University student workers feel uncertain about the future of their employment and compensation. Following the closure of a majority of University facilities due to COVID-19, many students have been temporarily left without a job. Despite this loss of income, student workers may still hav...
University revises academic policy for remainder of semester
By Aliza Majid, Staff Writer
March 31, 2020
On March 16, the University suspended all in-person classes for the rest of the spring semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students have been calling for grading scale changes after the academic alteration. The transition has been difficult for many students, and because of the overwhelming stre...
Grainger, Carle Health design emergency ventilator
By Diana Anghel, Assistant News Editor
March 30, 2020
After an intense week of work, a team from Grainger and Carle Health has developed a prototype for an emergency ventilator to aid in the national crisis of ventilator shortages. Due to the exponential growth of COVID-19 cases, U.S. hospitals are facing a detrimental shortage in ventilators, machi...
COVID-19 cases, closures and cancellations: a running list by The Daily Illini
By Ethan Simmons, News Editor
March 28, 2020
On Wednesday, March 25, the United States surpassed China as the world leader in confirmed COVID-19 cases. Here's a rundown of nationwide, statewide and localized numbers for readers of The Daily Illini, along with virus-related closures, cancellations and postponements. Confirmed cases of coronav...
Kingfisher wins student vote, sparks debate
By Salem Isaf, Assistant Daytime News Editor
March 27, 2020
The belted kingfisher mascot proposal passed the student body by a vote of 4,222 to 3,597 on March 9. This is the most student support the campus has seen for a new mascot since early 2007, when Chief Illiniwek retired. This vote is nonbinding, and students will have to wait to find out if the Universi...
Travel bans, restrictions restrain students’ break plans
By Diana Anghel, Staff Writer
March 26, 2020
University students were forced to make a decision to drop or to continue their spring break plans as the coronavirus escalated. Many students decided to stick with their plans, while others decided it was best to stay home to avoid highly infected destinations. Jack Casey, junior in Engineering, traveled ...
Deadlift policy creates confusion at CRCE
By Aliza Majid, Staff Writer
March 25, 2020
Students were outraged after a post on the University's subreddit claimed that deadlifting was banned at the Campus Recreation Center East. The user was told that lifters were not allowed to use equipment for deadlifting, rows and “any other exercises that could cause loud noises” at CRCE. As a result...
COVID-19 impacts arts community
By Bridget Boisvert Curtis, Contributing Writer
March 24, 2020
Only a couple weeks ago, the stages and galleries at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts were filled with music playing through the large halls and crowds of people teeming to see performances. As the end of March nears, the performing arts center is eerily empty, echoing with the uncertain, str...
Coronavirus prevents students from returning home
By Heather Robinson, Assistant Daytime News Editor
March 23, 2020
With coronavirus concerns on the rise, many international students were unable to travel home over break. Various travel bans prevented students’ returns to areas considered high-risk for the virus. According to University Housing, about 170 students stayed in residence halls during spring br...
COVID-19 confirmed in two University employees
By Ethan Simmons, News Editor
March 21, 2020
COVID-19 has arrived on the University campus. Two University employees have contracted COVID-19, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District announced Saturday. The employees are males — one in his 30s, the other in his 50s. They are Champaign County's second and third confirmed cases of the...
