The tree poised near Alma Mater faces its removal early Monday morning so as to cause minimal inconvenience to the University of Illinois community. URBANA — The end will come at the break of day Monday for an oft-photographed campus tree. The hulking hackberry tree that hovers near Alma Mater — that iconic graduation week hotspot for picture-takers — faces its removal early in the morning so as to cause minimal inconvenience to the University of Illinois community. read more