Sunday, April 24, 2016
Springfest 2016 ends with mud tug-of-war
Students at the University of Illinois Springfield ended Springfest 2016, a week-long event featuring a variety of fun and educational competitions, with the annual mud tug-of-war on April 23.
Springfest is one of the longest running and most popular traditions at UIS. Springfest challenges include a scavenger hunt, trivia night, flag & chant competition, and sports day.
For more information, visit the Springfest Facebook page.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
UIS "Take Back the Night" march & rally calls for an end to violence against women
WHEN: Friday, April 22, 2016, beginning at 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: The candlelight march will start with a brief ceremony near the colonnade on the UIS main quad and progress towards the Student Life Building (SLB) Gym where a rally will be held.
DETAILS: “Take Back the Night” empowers women and all people to reclaim their right to be part of the night and the human experience of nighttime. “Take Back the Night” will include survivor stories, poetry and a healing observance. T-shirts will be distributed.
The Clothesline Project and 10 Paper Cranes to Heal the Violence will also be on display. The Clothesline Project is made up of t-shirts telling women’s stories. The 10 Paper Cranes project was created at UIS three years ago. Students create paper cranes streamers dedicated to victims/survivors.
The supporting organizations for the event include the Asian Student Organization (ASO), Bicycle Advisory Committee, Bio Club, Gamma Phi Omega International Sorority, Global Sisterhood, Indian Student Organization (ISO), International Student Association (ISA), Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC), Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS), Rotary Club, Saudi Arabian Student Association, Student Allied for a Greener Earth (SAGE), Sustainability Committee and Vietnamese Student Association.
For more information on “Take Back the Night”, contact the UIS Women’s Center at 217/206-7173 or womenscenter@uis.edu.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Events planned to celebrate Earth Week at UIS
Friday, April 22
Earth Day Bike Ride, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Meet at the North entrance to TRAC for a group ride to Chatham along a local bike trail. Bring your own bike or register to reserve a TRAC bike. Co-sponsored by the UIS Bicycle Advisory Committee. Contact Nancy Barrett with questions at nfbarret@uis.edu.
Take Back the Night March & Rally, 8:30 p.m., Colonnade
Join us for a rally and march to raise awareness of the ways that both women and the earth itself are impacted by violence. Sponsored by the Women’s Center. Contact Lynne Otterson with questions at lotte1@uis.edu.
Tuesday, April 26
Free Electronics Recycling Event, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Bring your old computers, monitors, printers, etc. to the loading dock on the north side of Brookens Library for recycling. A list of acceptable items can be found on the BLH Computers website. Only the items that BLH Computers accept for free will be taken. UIS faculty, staff, and students are welcome to bring items from home. No university property will be accepted. For more information, contact Dave Barrows at dbarr1@uis.edu.
Wednesday, April 27
Earth Week Keynote, 7:30 p.m. Brookens Auditorium
The UIS Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series presents “Our Turn to Lead: Paving the Way for A Resilient, Secure and Sustainable Future” starting at 7:30 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium. The Earth Week keynote address will be delivered by Roger-Mark De Souza, director of population, environmental security, and resilience for the Wilson Center. Focusing on ways we can build our resilience to natural and human-made shocks and stresses by investing in youth, women and communities, De Souza will explore how integrating concepts like women's empowerment, reproductive health, community engagement and food security can lead to better policy and actions that help us cope with adversity.
Thursday, April 28
Earth Week Fair at the Colonnade, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Learn about how you can get involved locally. Representatives from 15 local environmental and outdoors organizations will have tables with information, giveaways, and activities. Come early for free sandwiches and snacks from Head West. Co-sponsored by SAGE. Contact Clair Casper with questions at ccasp2@uis.edu.
Friday, April 29
UIS Community Garden Dedication & Picnic, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Come see the new UIS Community Garden (on the north side of the Shepard House on Shepard Road) and find out how you can get involved. Dedication ceremony, work party, and BBQ with free food. Like us on Facebook for more information. Search for “UIS Community Garden.” Contact Megan Styles with questions at mstyl2@uis.edu.
Earth Week events at UIS are sponsored by the Campus Senate Committee on Sustainability, the ECCE Speaker Series, SAGE, Biology Club, SOFA, WACCI, the UIS Bicycle Advisory Committee, the Women’s Center, Recreational Sports and the Department of Environmental Studies.
Scavenger Hunt kicks off 24th annual UIS Springfest
A record number of students helped to kick off Springfest 2016 with the annual Scavenger Hunt on April 18, 2016. Springfest is one of the longest running student traditions on campus, which started in 1992.
Scavenger Hunt participants were given a surprise list of over 200 items to collect during a one-hour period. Points were awarded based on the number of total items collected.
Students were not allowed to use cars, bikes, or other transportation and had to collect all of the items on campus.
Monday, April 18, 2016
UIS Illinois Innocence Project to celebrate 15 years of working for the wrongfully convicted
WHEN: Saturday, April 30, 2016 from 5 to 10 p.m.
WHERE: President Abraham Lincoln Hotel, 701 E. Adams St., Springfield
DETAILS: Featured speakers include Kirk Bloodsworth, the first death row inmate in the United States exonerated by DNA evidence and recent Illinois Innocence Project exoneree Teshome Campbell who was released on January 29, 2016, after 18 years of wrongful imprisonment.
Bloodsworth was convicted and sentenced to die in Maryland’s gas chamber for the 1984 rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl. In 1992, he pushed to have the evidence against him tested for DNA. Testing proved that evidence from the crime scene did not match Bloodsworth’s DNA profile. He was released from prison on June 28, 1993, and pardoned by Maryland’s governor. He is now a tireless advocate for civil rights and justice.
Campbell has always maintained his innocence for the 1998 Champaign County murder for which he was wrongly convicted, primarily due to the failure of his trial counsel to investigate and interview witnesses. Thanks to the efforts of the Illinois Innocence Project and the law firm Perkins Coie, a federal court reversed Teshome’s convictions. In January, the Champaign County State’s Attorney moved to dismiss all charges.
The Project will present Defender of the Innocent awards to Perkins Coie for its pro bono dedication to freeing Campbell and to the Illinois Times for giving the innocent a voice. The newspaper has published numerous stories about the wrongfully convicted starting with the Project’s first exoneree, Keith Harris, in 2003.
Registration for the Defenders of the Innocent event is required by April 25. For more information or to register, visit www.uis.edu/innocenceproject/ or call 217/206-6569.
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
UIS Health & Wellness Fair to offer free health screenings and information
WHAT: University of Illinois Springfield Health Services and Campus Recreation presents the annual Health & Wellness Fair. The event will offer health screenings, information and door prizes. The fair is free and open to the public, students, faculty and staff.
WHEN: Wednesday, April 20, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
WHERE: The Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC) at UIS
DETAILS: The Health & Wellness Fair will offer information on sexual & reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, HPV, organ and tissue donation, men’s and women’s cancer prevention, bone density, relaxation and stress reduction and healthy eating. There will also be cooking demonstrations and food samples.
A free colonoscopy prescreening will be offered, as well as oral cancer, prediabetes, blood pressure, and sun exposure screenings. BMI testing will also be available.
The Central Illinois Community Blood Center will also be hosting a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC) for those interested in donating or blood typing.
For more information, contact Linda Nixon of UIS Health Services at 217/206-6676 or ltait2@uis.edu.
UIS Earth Week keynote explores ways of achieving a resilient, secure and sustainable future
WHEN: Wednesday, April 27, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: UIS Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library
DETAILS: Focusing on ways we can build our resilience to natural and human-made shocks and stresses by investing in youth, women and communities, De Souza will explore how integrating concepts like women's empowerment, reproductive health, community engagement and food security can lead to better policy and actions that help us cope with adversity. He will present innovators who are developing new ideas and models of social change to address global and local sustainability in countries such as Ethiopia, Nepal and Tanzania. By sharing stories of some of these remarkable innovators, he will discuss the surprising ways that the broader integration of sustainability and conservation practices and policies can open the door to a resilient, secure and sustainable future.
Before joining the Wilson Center in 2013, De Souza served as vice president of research and director of the climate program at Population Action International. From 2007 to 2010, he served as the director of foundation and corporate relations at the Sierra Club. He holds graduate degrees in international relations and development policy from George Washington University and the University of the West Indies.
This event is sponsored by the Julia Henderson Fund, the World Affairs Council of Central Illinois and the UIS Sustainability Committee. For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speaker Series events and more information, visit www.uis.edu/speakerseries/. All events are free and open to the public.
UIS Speaker Series presents a screening and discussion of the documentary "Immigrant Nation!"
WHEN: Friday, April 22, 2016 at 4:00 p.m.
WHERE: UIS Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library
DETAILS: Immigrant Nation! is a story of Elvira Arellano, a figurehead for the immigration reform movement, and her one-year asylum in a church sanctuary to avoid deportation in 2006-2007. This film humanizes the issue of immigration reform and helps people understand the struggles of undocumented individuals and the issues they face. The film won several awards in 2010 including "Best Documentary" at the Chicago and San Antonio film festivals, and continues to be relevant today as the issue of immigration reform remains on the forefront of the U.S. political scene.
Director and producer Esaú Meléndez emigrated from Mexico City where he spent most of his childhood, and presently lives in Chicago with his family. He has been involved in film and TV production for the past 10 years, working as a director, producer, cameraman and editor. He studied film & video at Columbia College in Chicago, and soon after began working with the Spanish Broadcast Network, Telemundo, and WYCC, a Chicago PBS affiliate. He has also directed award winning short films El Solo in a New City and Escucha! Meléndez has directed and produced various commercials and music videos with his production company. His passion has always been to tell stories regarding social issues that affect the Hispanic community.
This event is co-sponsored by the UIS Diversity Center, Chicano Latino Male Society and Cygnets. For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speaker Series events and more information, visit www.uis.edu/speakerseries/. All events are free and open to the public.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
UIS Lunch & Learn Series presents "The Future of the Past: Museums"
WHEN: Tuesday, April 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: Public Affairs Center (PAC) Conference Room C/D, located on the lower level of the PAC on the UIS campus.
DETAILS: Russell Lewis, executive vice president and chief historian of the Chicago History Museum, will discuss the future of preserving and managing historical collections. UIS Professor Emeritus Larry Shiner will share insight on art museum design in the 21st century.
The cost for the hot buffet lunch and program is $23/per person. Reservations are requested, as seating is limited.
These lunch-time programs will stimulate thinking as they build upon the university's tradition of open and intelligent dialogue.
Visit www.uis.edu/advancement/alumni/ to register online. For more information, contact the UIS Office of Advancement at 217/206-6058 or email advancement@uis.edu.
Monday, April 4, 2016
UIS Theatre presents "Distracted" by Lisa Loomer
All shows will begin at 7:30 p.m., except the Sunday performance (April 24), which will begin at 2 p.m. A post-show Q&A, part of the ECCE Speaker Series, will follow the April 24 performance.
UIS Associate Professor of Theatre Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson will direct, with scenic design by UIS Assistant Professor of Theatre Dathan Powell and video/image design by UIS Assistant Professor of Digital Media Brytton Bjorngaard.
In Distracted, 9-year-old Jesse can’t focus at school, can’t sit still, and can’t follow directions. Is Jesse simply a typical 9-year-old boy, or is he suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, as his teacher suspects? Jesse’s parents clash over this potential diagnosis, their marriage suffers, and Mom struggles to find a solution amid various health professionals–one of whom wants to prescribe Ritalin. Neighbors and friends all seem to have their own diagnoses–and suggested solutions–none of which seem to work for Jesse and his parents.
The cast includes UIS students Beatrice Bonner, Diamond Dixon, Denise Gibson, Nicholas Jimenez and Liza Torrence. UIS alumni Dwight Langford and Tara McClellan McAndrew are also part of the cast along with community members Will Decker and Meredith Vogel-Thomas.
Ticket prices are $14 for adults; $12 for senior citizens (65 or older with a picture I.D.); $10 for UIS Faculty/Staff; $8 for UIS students (and all other college-level students) with a valid, current i-card or college I.D. card; and $6 for 17 and under. Please note that a service charge from Sangamon Auditorium, not included in the prices above, will be added to each ticket price, at the time of purchase. To avoid a higher service charge, buying tickets in person at the Sangamon Auditorium ticket office is highly recommended. You may also purchase tickets over the phone by calling 217/206-6160.
For more information on the production, please visit the UIS Theatre website at www.uis.edu/theatre.