Campus News Briefs

Nicholas Stewart, a student at Western Illinois University, and editor-in-chief of its student newspaper, the Western Courier, was suspended from his position in January by the administration, and brought up on charges of violating the Code of Student Conduct because he recorded video of a riot on campus, and sold that video to news organizations around the country. Although the Illinois College Campus Press Act prohibits universities from controlling campus newspapers, the administration argued that it was merely punishing the editor, not controlling content. After a public outcry, Stewart was restored to his position.

Rep. Jack Franks has sponsored a bill, HB 403, to phase out the 50% tuition waivers given to children of university workers employed for seven years or more. College presidents have spoken out against the bill.

Cornel West and Anita Hill cancelled speaking engagements this semester at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in response to the ongoing debate over the dismissal of Steven Salaita Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives released a 2016 funding blueprint that calls for freezing the maximum Pell Grant award at the current $5,775 for the next 10 years.

State Rep. Charlie Meier has introduced HB150, which would ban state universities from hiring anyone convicted of terrorism. The bill is a response to the hiring by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign of adjunct professor James Kilgore, an ex-felon who was involved in the Symbionese Liberation Army. However, because the bill only deals with people convicted of terrorism, it would not apply to Kilgore or any other professor in the US.