Editorial: Chicago rallies can make a difference

Staff Editorial

Members of Eastern’s faculty union are set to travel to Chicago on Friday to join in the rallies further demanding higher education funding from the state.

The seven chapters of the University Professionals of Illinois are coming together to create a unified voice in the face of the 10-month budget stalemate that many claim has been “starving” public universities.

Eastern’s chapter will be heading to Chicago with two buses to take anyone from the community with who wants to participate.

By this point, Eastern people are no strangers to rallies.

After a community member started the Fund EIU group, Eastern had its own rally in early February that packed the Library Quad with supporters of the university.

Then, many Eastern students were present with students from other schools to rally in Springfield as Gov. Bruce Rauner gave his annual budget address.

A handful of students and faculty members even protested outside of the Stadium Bar & Grill in Mattoon when Rauner stopped there on his endorsement tour for the re-election of U.S. Rep. John Shimkus.

Students all over the state have obviously been frustrated from the beginning. With the universities and colleges they attend in danger of cutting faculty, staff and programs, and in some cases shutting down entire institutions, their futures are on the line.

The rallies coming up on Friday will demonstrate that professors are just as upset. Not only are some of them losing their jobs or watching friends get laid off, but most professors also genuinely care about the well-being and success of their students.

Eastern’s UPI chapter recently negotiated a plan with the administration to defer a percentage of their salary on a graduated system. Clearly, their issues with the state include the fact that their livelihoods are being jeopardized as well.

According to a Feb. 7 article in The Daily Eastern News, Rep. Reggie Phillips said after the Fund EIU rally that the “rhetoric and hype” of such a rally, especially one that voiced only the Democratic opinion, would not get the attention of Republican leaders like Rauner.

Rauner has proven that he can and will ignore people’s calls to action, as he did not mention higher education funding during his budget address despite hundreds of students rallying around him the same day.

However, that does not mean all of the rallying and speaking out from Eastern and others has been in vain.

The fact of the matter is that legislators cannot completely ignore all of their constituents.

Large demonstrations like rallies serve several purposes. Power is in numbers, and the more people who gather to proclaim what they want, the harder they are to ignore, especially if the voices are persistent.

Demonstrations can motivate people who would have otherwise been silent to become involved with the political process by contacting their legislators or educating others.

The Chicago rallies also have more potential to shake things up.

Not only will these rallies be larger, but being in Chicago also means they will attract more attention from the start, as the population is bigger and several mainstream media outlets are based there.

People in the Eastern community should make the effort to attend these rallies if they are available.

Understandably, some people have classes or other commitments on Friday. Professors and students alike will have to use their discretion, but showing that Eastern is not staying quiet and stands with other schools is surely an important occasion.

The first rally will be at noon in front of Chicago State University, and the second will be at 4 p.m. at the Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph St., Chicago.

Busses for the event will be at Lot W, north of Fourth Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Charleston, at 7:30 a.m. Friday, and the UPI is requesting a headcount of those interested by Tuesday afternoon.

The daily editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Daily Eastern News